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McGraw-Hill © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Preparing Research Preparing Research Proposals and ReportsProposals and Reports
Chapter Twenty-FourChapter Twenty-Four
McGraw-Hill © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Preparing Research Proposals and ReportsPreparing Research Proposals and ReportsChapter Twenty-FourChapter Twenty-Four
McGraw-Hill © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
What is a Research Proposal?What is a Research Proposal?
It is a written plan of a study. It spells out in detail what the researcher
intends to do. It permits others to learn about the
intended research and to offer suggestions for improving the study.
It also helps the researcher clarify what needs to be done and to avoid unintentional problems.
McGraw-Hill © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Major Sections of a Research ProposalThe Major Sections of a Research Proposal
There are four topics addressed in this There are four topics addressed in this area:area:
1) The purpose of the study2) The justification for the study3) The research question/hypothesis, including
variables to be investigated4) The definition of terms
See Figure 24.1, Organization of a Research Report.
McGraw-Hill © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Organization of a Research Report (1) Organization of a Research Report (1) (Figure 24.1)(Figure 24.1)
Introductory sectionTitle PageTable of ContentsList of FiguresList of Tables
Main BodyI. Problem to be investigated
A. Purpose of the study (including assumptions)B. Justification of the studyC. Research question and hypothesesD. Definition of termsE. Brief overview of study
II. Background and review of related literatureA. Theory, if appropriateB. Studies directly relatedC. Studies tangentially related
III. ProceduresA. Description of the research designB. Description of the sampleC. Description of the instruments used
(including scoring procedures)
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Organization of a Research Report (2) Organization of a Research Report (2) (Figure 24.1)(Figure 24.1)
D. Explanation of the procedures followed (the what, when, where, and how of the study)
E. Discussion of internal validityF. Discussion of external validityG. Description and justification of the statistical
techniques or other methods of analysis used IV. Findings
Description of findings pertinent to each of theresearch hypotheses or questions
V. Summary and conclusionsA. Brief summary of the research question being
investigated, the procedures employed, and the results obtained
B. Discussion of the implications of the findings—their meaning and significance
C. Limitations—unresolved problems andweaknesses
D. Suggestions for further research References (Bibliography) Appendixes
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Purpose of the StudyPurpose of the Study
The purpose states succinctly what the researcher proposes to investigate.
This should be a concise statement, providing a framework to which details are added later.
Clarification of the field of interest should be considered here.
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Justification of the StudyJustification of the Study
The researcher must make clear why this particular study is important to investigate.
He or she must present an argument for the study.
A good justification should also include any specific implications that follow if relationships are identified.
There could be an implication that current methods are not good enough, however, this should be made explicit.
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Research Question or HypothesisResearch Question or Hypothesis
The particular question to be investigated The particular question to be investigated should be stated here.should be stated here.
Favoring hypotheses will help clarify and Favoring hypotheses will help clarify and become a strategy point.become a strategy point.
It should be clearly stated as concisely as It should be clearly stated as concisely as possible.possible.
There should be any inference made if a There should be any inference made if a hypothesis is well-stated.hypothesis is well-stated.
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DefinitionsDefinitions
All key terms should be defined.All key terms should be defined. The researcher’s task is to make the The researcher’s task is to make the
definitions as clear as possible.definitions as clear as possible. Sometimes, terms will have to be modified Sometimes, terms will have to be modified
to fit the present study.to fit the present study. While it is probably impossible to eliminate While it is probably impossible to eliminate
all ambiguity, the clearer the terms used, all ambiguity, the clearer the terms used, the fewer the difficulties that will be the fewer the difficulties that will be encountered with the study.encountered with the study.
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Background and Review of LiteratureBackground and Review of Literature
This may be a lengthy section since it is a partial summary of previous work related to the focus of the study.
The researcher should demonstrate a familiarity with previous research and understand the relevance of the study being planned.
A major weakness of many literature reviews is that they cite references without indicating their implications for the planned study.
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ProceduresProcedures
The procedures section includes discussion The procedures section includes discussion of the following:of the following: Research DesignResearch Design SampleSample InstrumentationInstrumentation Procedural detailProcedural detail Internal validityInternal validity Data analysisData analysis
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Results/FindingsResults/Findings Results of a study can be presented only in a
research report. Results are usually not found in the proposal
section. This section is found near the end of the research
report and constitutes the description of what kind of analyses were performed.
The data are revealed by the form of statistical analysis that was applied to the data, and any significance that was observed.
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DiscussionDiscussion The discussion section of a report presents the
author’s interpretation of what the results imply for theory and/or practice.
Researchers place their results in a broader context.
Here, difficulties as well as limitations of the study are noted, and suggestions for future considerations are included.
Results and Discussion sections should be kept separate, since the Discussion section goes beyond the data.
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General Rules to ConsiderGeneral Rules to Consider A research report should be written as clearly
and concisely as possible. Research reports are always written in the past
tense and free from jargon. A style manual (APA manual) should be
consulted before beginning the report. Once the report is completed, it is a good idea
to have a thesis formatter/editor check for style and grammar.
Computerized programs have made research reports easier to complete, due to self-correcting programs.