RESEARCH METHODOLOGY INTRO
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ONE IN A SERIES OF RESEARCH P APER TIPS FROM THE CTL Research and evaluation studies, including articles, papers for presentation at professional conferences, theses, graduate projects and dissertations, are successful only when they meet established standards of excellence. Any study may have pitfalls, sources of c ontamination, and invalidating factors by many names that challenge the findings and interpretations. The most effective way to avoid those unintended errors is careful and thorough planning that tries to foresee problems and make allowances when unavoidable difficulties exist—and they usually wi ll exist. A study that anticipates its own limitations and chooses the most appropriate and powerful solution to a given problem always impresses a critic. This series of “Planning Research” materials presents several sets of guidelines and checklists that may help both novi ce and more experienced researchers Some are more detailed than others, and some are slanted toward particular kinds of research. Readers should select the most suitable ones for their particular needs. In putting together any kind of complex academic or “scientific” writing, these six questions need answers: 1. What is the problem, why is it a problem, and how are you planning to approach it in your paper? The answer is your In tr od ucti on . 2. What have others in the field done or written about the problem? The answer is the Re vi ew of Li te ra tu re . 3. How did (or, in a proposal, will) you study the problem? The answer is the Ma teri al s an d Me th od s section (sometimes called Me th od ol og y or Re se ar ch Pr oc ed ur e ). 4. What did you (or, in a proposal, stated in general terms, do you expect to) find? The answer is the Re su lt s . 5. What do the findings seem to mean? Interpret them for the reader. The answer is the Di sc us si on . 6. What is (or do you expect will be) the significance of the findings? What should the reader remember as the most important point(s) of your paper? The answer is the Conclusion (and it may include Re co mm en da ti on s fo r further action or further research). Planning Research Papers 1 Six Basic Questions Check the other side of this sheet for some common errors in research design and methodology.
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RM INTRO
Transcript of RESEARCH METHODOLOGY INTRO
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ONE IN A SERIES OF RESEARCH PAPER TIPS FROM THE CTL
Research and evaluation studies, including articles, papers for presentation atprofessional conferences, theses, graduate projects and dissertations, aresuccessful only when they meet established standards of excellence. Any studymay have pitfalls, sources of contamination, and invalidating factors by manynames that challenge the findings and interpretations.
The most effective way to avoid those unintended errors is careful and thoroughplanning that tries to foresee problems and make allowances when unavoidabledifficulties existand they usually will exist. A study that anticipates its ownlimitations and chooses the most appropriate and powerful solution to a givenproblem always impresses a critic.
This series of Planning Research materials presents several sets of guidelinesand checklists that may help both novice and more experienced researchersSome are more detailed than others, and some are slanted toward particular kindsof research. Readers should select the most suitable ones for their particularneeds.
In putting together any kind of complex academic or scientific writing, thesesix questions need answers:
1. What is the problem, why is it a problem, and how are you planning toapproach it in your paper? The answer is your Introduction.
2. What have others in the field done or written about the problem? Theanswer is the Review of Literature.
3. How did (or, in a proposal, will) you study the problem? The answer is theMaterials and Methods section (sometimes called Methodology or ResearchProcedure).
4. What did you (or, in a proposal, stated in general terms, do you expect to)find? The answer is the Results.
5. What do the findings seem to mean? Interpret them for the reader. Theanswer is the Discussion.
6. What is (or do you expect will be) the significance of the findings? Whatshould the reader remember as the most important point(s) of your paper?The answer is the Conclusion (and it may include Recommendations forfurther action or further research).
Planning Research Papers 1Six Basic Questions
Check the other side of this sheet for some common errors in research designand methodology.
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PREPARED BY MILES D. WOKEN OF THE CENTER FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING, UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOISAT SPRINGFIELD, BROOKENS LIBRARY 460 * (217) 206-6503 * HTTP://WWW.UIS.EDU/CTL
Six Questions Needing Answers
Common Errors in Research Design and Methodology
1. Selecting a research area in which there isnt enough information toconduct a worthwhile study.
2. Trying to work on a problem that is too broad or poorly defined problem,leading to the failure to formulate clear and specific objectives.
3. Allowing personal biases to influence the research (i.e., the formulation ofobjectives, the selection of background literature, the design of the research,etc.)
4. Failing to define the research population.
5. Using a sample that is so small that it is not possible to test the hypothesesadequately or to analyze the performance of interesting subgroups.
6. Changing the design, in order to make data collection more convenient, inways that weaken the research.
7. Structuring the data collecting devices (questionnaires, interview guides,observation forms, etc.) in such a way that the results are biased.
8. Making excessive demands on the subjects that lead them to refuse toparticipate.
9. Attempting to carry out a study in one semester that would require two orthree years to do satisfactorily.
10. Failing to plan the data collection in enough detail to avoid excessivetreatment errors, or not planning the analysis until after the data arecollected.
11. Starting to collect the research data without carrying out a pilot study oradequately testing measures and procedures.
12. Reporting facts but not synthesizing or integrating the facts intomeaningful generalizations.
Here are a couple of sources you might find helpful if you want moreinformation. Days book is more in-depth and geared toward writers ofprofessional papers. Meriwethers is more basic and how-to, and is aimed moretoward writers of college-level research papers.
Day, R.A. (1979). How to write and publish a scientific paper. Philadelphia: ISIPress.
Meriwether, N. (2001). 12 easy steps to successful research papers (second ed.).Lincolnwood IL: National Textbook Co.
