Jamie Patterson, EdD (Writing Expert) Philip Adu, PhD (Methodology Expert)

National Center for Academic & Dissertation Excellence (NCADE) The Chicago School of Professional Psychology

Chapter one: 1. Overall Chapter one 2. Problem statement 3. Purpose statement 4. Research question(s) 5. Limitations and delimitations 6. Conceptual framework

Chapter two 1. Searching literature 2. Reviewing literature 3. Writing the review (synthesizing) 4. Citing sources

Chapter three 1. Clarity/heading levels 2. Research approach/design 3. Participants 4. Statistical analysis 5. Qualitative data analysis

Common errors and Solutions

Pitfalls related to:

1. Overall Chapter one 2. Problem statement 3. Purpose statement 4. Research question(s) 5. Limitations and delimitations 6. Conceptual framework

Chapter One

Common errors

a. Length b. Informal language

Remember that Chapter 1 is meant to be an introduction of your study. The average Psychology dissertation has a Chapter 1 that is 14.4 pages in length (although your chair might require more or fewer!).

Avoid epigraphs, personal observations, experiences, or

opinion.

Overall Chapter One

Common Error: a. Inability to clearly state a specific problem that needs to be

addressed in the study

Features of a good problem statement

1. Stating the problem of interest 2. Relating it to a real life situation 3. Describing what has been done in the existing studies 4. Identifying gap(s) the studies in relation to the problem 5. Describing how the study is going to fill the gap

identified

Problem statement

(Creswell & Plano Clark, 2011)

Common Errors: a. Stating the contribution the study will make as the purpose

of the study b. Missing features of the purpose statement Purpose Statement: Describing what you want to do/conduct in the study The purpose statement should contain: Research method/approach Central phenomenon Specific participants Specific research location(s)

Purpose statement

(Creswell, 2009)

Common Errors: a. Mismatch between purpose statement and research

question(s) b. Improper construction of research question(s) Research question: It is the question to be addressed using data collected Functions: It drives the study Informs data research approach Informs data collection and analysis process

Research Question(s)

Research Question(s) cont...

(Saldana, 2013; Trochim, 2006)

Common Error: a. Inability to distinction between limitations and

delimitations of a study

Limitations: They are weaknesses related to decisions made in a study which are difficult to contain

Delimitations: They are features in a study that can be controlled so as to determine the parameters or scope of the study.

Limitations and Delimitations

(Simon, 2011)

Common Errors: a. Misunderstanding of conceptual framework b. Difficulty in developing a conceptual framework Conceptual framework: It is comprised of concepts, assertions, models, prepositions, and/or theories developed by researchers that explain your topic of interest, research problem , and/or phenomenon of focus

Conceptual Framework

Developing a conceptual framework is like solving a puzzle

Solving a puzzle Developing conceptual framework 1. Looking at the puzzle

Clearly describing the research problem/phenomenon

2. Examining each piece of the puzzle

Assessing each of the existing concepts, assertions, models, prepositions, and/or theories in terms of how they explain the phenomenon: examining underlying meanings, assumptions, strengths and limitations

3. Putting the pieces together

Synthesizing them to explain the phenomenon and identifying a gap, which your study would fill

4. Forming a picture with the pieces

Developing a diagram to illustrate the synthesis

http://www.public.iastate.edu/~laanan/ACTER/2010/symposia/Building_Conceptual_Knobloch.pdf http://ocedtheories.wikispaces.com/file/view/Camp+on+Theoretical+Frameworks.pdf

Chapter 1 Questions?

Pitfalls related to: 1. Searching for literature 2. Reviewing literature 3. Writing the review (synthesizing) 4. Citing sources

Chapter Two

Common Errors:

a. Relying too heavily on sources other than the library databases

b. Not properly tracking searches

Although you will come across many, many relevant and informative resources try to keep in mind that the vast majority of these will serve as your own education. The vast majority of sources that will be referenced in your dissertation will need to be from peer reviewed literature.

Use a matrix or some form of a tracking tool so that you

don’t lose time (and sanity!) repeating searches.

Searching for Literature

Common Errors: a. Too much time b. Too little time Develop your own system for determining whether to

spend time on an article. Skim the article for main items you’re interested in before investing time in reading the full article.

Once you determine that a source is worth the time of

reading—read it! Highlighter in hand! Avoid quoting an abstract.

Reviewing Literature

Common Error: a. Summarizing but not synthesizing Avoid summarizing a source—good rule of thumb is

that every single paragraph in the literature review should have at least two sources. The goal is to show what sources have in common, which doesn’t take a lot of background.

Writing the Review (synthesizing)

Common Errors: a. Lack of citations b. Missing elements of the citation Take the time to familiarize yourself with the APA manual.

Find tools on the internet that work for you (Purdue OWL, for example).

Always include a page number when citing to help

yourself as you move through the process (citations are only required when directly quoting, but citations are far easier to remove than they are to put in place after the initial draft).

Citing Sources

Chapter 2 Questions?

Pitfalls related to: 1. Clarity/heading levels 2. Research approach/design 3. Participants 4. Statistical analysis 5. Qualitative data analysis

Chapter Three

Common errors a. Organization and use of headings

Headings are a wonderful tool that will help guide

your reader through the material. APA p. 62 has an outline of all headings. Note that

you’ll only drop from a Level 1 down to a Level 2 (and Level 2 to Level 3, and so on) if there are two or more headings at the next level.

Heading Levels

Common Errors: a. Unable to clearly articulate research method/approach/design

and the rationale b. Confusing research approach with data collection strategy (such

as interviews, surveys and focus groups) especially for a qualitative study

c. Mismatch between research question/hypothesis and research approach

Research method/approach: It is a specific strategy used in conducting research. It guides research decisions related to the sampling strategy, number of participants, data collection strategy, data analysis and interpretation of findings.

Research Approach/design

Research designs cont...

(Creswell, 2007; Creswell, Plano Clark, Gutmann, & Hanson, 2003; Keele, 2011)

Common errors: No idea about the number of participants needed No justification of the number of participants chosen No idea about how participants will be accessed

Participants

Qualitative Quantitative Number of participants

Enough to collect rich data to address the research question

Large enough to prevent committing Type II error (for inferential statistics)

Justification Using research approach, participants’ homogeneity, phenomenon being studying, and level of saturation

Using the results of power analysis (Cohen's Power Tables and G* power)

sampling strategies

Sampling strategies: Convenient, purposive, random, stratified, and cluster sampling

Statistical Analysis

Common Errors: a. Unable to determine appropriate statistical analysis b. Unable to justify the statistical analytical analysis chosen Descriptive statistics Central tendency – mean, median and mode Measures of variability – Standard deviation, range, and

variance

Inferential statistics Determining appropriate statistical

analysis a. Rationale for the hypothesis

i. Prediction, relationship or causal effect b. Variables involved in terms of the number c. Level of measurement of the variables d. Appropriate statistical test e. Assumptions associated with the test

Statistical Analysis cont...

Statistical Analysis cont...

Common Errors: a. Unable to articulate how to analyze qualitative data b. Little knowledge about coding process c. Unaware of appropriate specific coding strategies

A code is a word, phrase, or sentence that represents aspect(s) of a data or captures the essence or feature(s) of a data

Qualitative Data Analysis

(Saldana, 2013)

Qualitative Data Analysis

ncade@thechicagoschool.edu

Schedule a methodology consultation with Dr. Adu or Dr. Glazek

Submit your draft for review by Dr. Patterson or one of our other DWEs

Questions?

American Psychological Association. (2009). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association

(6th ed.). Washington, D.C.: Author. Creswell, J. W. (2013). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches (3rd).

Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Creswell, J. W., Plano Clark, V. L., Gutmann, M. L., & Hanson, W. E. (2003). Advanced mixed methods

research designs. In A. Tashakkori & C. Teddlie (Eds.), Handbook of mixed methods in social and behavioral research (pp. 209–240). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Creswell, J. W. , & Plano Clark, V. L.. (2011). Designing and conducting mixed methods research. Thousand

Oak, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.. Simon, M. K. (2011). Dissertation and scholarly research: Recipes for success (2011 Ed.). Seattle, WA,

Dissertation Success, LLC. http://dissertationrecipes.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/AssumptionslimitationsdelimitationsX.pdf

Hanson, W. E., Creswell, J. W., Plano Clark, V. L., Petska, K. S., & Creswell, D. J. (2005). Mixed methods

research designs in counseling psychology. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 2(55), 224-235. doi:10.1037/0022-0167.52.2.224

Saldana, J. (2013). The coding manual for qualitative researchers. London: Sage Keele, R. (2011). Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Practice. MA: Jones & Bartlett, LLC

References