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Selecting a Problem and Reviewing the Research

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Discuss how to find a topic for a research process.

Discuss how to develop an idea into a research question, then a hypothesis.

Develop a research hypothesis. Define the three types of sources for a

literature review. Discuss how to use general, primary, and

secondary sources.

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Define terms related to a literature review. Summarize how to use sources such as

reviews, indices, and journals to conduct a literature review.

Describe how scholarly journals work. Define electronic tools available via the WWW. Discuss how to use a bibliographic database

program. Demonstrate how to write a literature review.

© 2011 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind.

Selecting a Problem Reviewing the Literature Writing the Literature Review

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© 2011 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind.

From idea and literature review to hypothesis.

From idea to literature review,with the research hypothesis on the way.

Idea→Research Question →Research Hypothesis →Literature Review

Idea Literature Review

Research Question Research Hypothesis

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Don’t fall in love with your idea You may need to change your first idea Don’t pick a trivial project Don’t try to do more than is possible Try to do something (somewhat) new

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Personal experiences or first-hand knowledge

Ask your professors Think about what has not yet been asked Last resorts?

◦ Perhaps you can think of a question related to one of the topics listed in the text

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You’ve identified an area of interest Now formulate a research question that:

◦ Is a clearly stated expression of interest and intent, and

◦ That implies a relationship between variables

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Stated in declarative form Posits a relationship between variables Reflects theory or literature Brief and to the point Testable

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Research Interest or Ideas

Research Problem or Questions

Research Hypothesis

Open Classroom and Academic Success

What is the effect of open versus traditional classrooms on reading level?

Children who are taught reading in open classroom settings will read at a higher grade level than children who are taught reading in a traditional setting.

Television and Consumer Behavior

How does watching television commercials affect the buying behavior of adolescents?

Adolescent boys buy more of the products advertised on television than do adolescent girls.

Effectiveness of Checklists in Preventing Hospital Infections

Does the use of checklists when preparing patients for surgery help reduce the level of infection in the hospital?

Those hospitals that regularly use checklists in patient preparation for surgery will have a lower rate of infection per 1,000 patients than these hospitals, which do not.

Food Preference and Organic Foods

Do consumers prefer food that is organic?

There will be a difference in preference level as measured by the I Food scale between those consumers who are offered organic food and those who are offered non-organic food.

Use of Energy by Home Owners

Will a home owner’s energy usage change as a function of his or her knowledge of his or her neighbor’s usage?

Those people who know how much energy their neighbors use on a monthly basis will use less energy.

Adult CareHow have many adults adjusted to the responsibility of caring for their aged parents?

The number of children who are caring for their parents in the child’s own home has increased over the past 10 years.

For Example:

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© 2011 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind.

Define your idea in as general terms as possible by using general sources.

Search through the secondary sources.

Search through the primary sources.

Organize your notes.

Write your proposal.

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Information Source

What it Does Example

General Sources Provides an overview of a topic and provides leads to where more information can be found.

Daily newspapers, news weeklies, popular periodicals and magazines, trade books, Reader’s Digest Guide to Periodical Literature, New York Times Index

Secondary Sources

Provides a level of information “once removed” from the original work.

Books on specific subjects and reviews of research

Primary Sources The original reports of the original work or experience.

Journals, abstracts and scholarly books, Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC), movies

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General sources provide:◦ A general introduction to topic areas

◦ Some clues to help search for more information

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The Reader’s Guide, Full Text Mega Edition Facts on File Online Databases The New York Times Index Time Newsweek U.S. News and World Report Lexis/Nexis Academic Expanded Academic ASAP Google Scholar and Google Books Listing of Newspapers Government Printing Office The Statistical Abstract of the United States

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Currently, the Internet is unregulated (unlike Secondary and Primary sources)

The Internet is good for fun and ideas:◦ But be cautious!!

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Secondary sources provide:◦ Scholarly summaries of research

◦ More sources of references

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Annual Reviews The National Society for the Study of

Education The Condition of Education The Encyclopedia of Educational Research Handbook of Child Psychology Encyclopedia of Psychology

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Primary sources provide reports of original research

Ulrich’s Periodicals Directory lists thousands of periodicals, including journals

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Articles are written in a specific, uniform format

Peer review:◦ Experts review the article and make

recommendations

◦ Many submitted articles never get published

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An abstract is a one- or two-paragraph summary of a journal article

You can use abstracts to help decide whether a particular article will be useful

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PsychAbstracts and PsychInfo◦ Subject area search

◦ Keyword search

Other abstracting sources◦ Current Index to Journals in Education

◦ Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC)

◦ Child Development Abstracts & Bibliography

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What abstracts are available?◦ Comprehensive Dissertation Index

Who’s done research in an area?◦ Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI)

◦ Science Citation Index (now part of the Web of Science)

◦ Bibliographic Index

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Is the review of previous research complete and recent? Are the problem and purpose clearly stated? Are the research hypotheses clearly stated? Is it clear how the study was conducted? Was the sample representative of the population? Are the results and discussion relevant to the

statement of problem and purpose? Are the references complete and current? Do you have any criticisms of either the content or

style?

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Searching online Advantages of online searches

◦ Convenient, saves time

◦ Can be thorough

◦ It’s the future

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Search engines help find information on the Internet

Some of the more popular search engines:

◦ Google

◦ Yahoo!

Meta-search engines◦ SurfWax

◦ Mamma (“The Mother of All Search Engines®”)

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Database programs are software that help

◦ Enter reference information using a standard format

◦ Change reference format to suit different manuscript requirements

◦ Search references for keywords

◦ Add notes to reference entries

◦ Generate a reference list for the manuscript

◦ Many available, for example: Endnote

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Research activities on the Internet More About E-Mail An Introduction to Usenet (News) Groups Using Mailing Lists or Listservs Using Your Own Website or Social Media

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A home page is a collection of information◦ For example, the Library of Congress home page

at http://www.loc.gov

◦ To set up your own, you may want to use

GoDaddy, www.godaddy.com or

Homestead, www.homestead.com

© 2011 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind.

© 2011 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind.

Read other literature reviews—take advantage of what others have done

Create a unified theme—tell a coherent story Organize your background materials Work from an outline—it will help you stay

organized Relate different areas that you are working

with to each other—tell a coherent story Practice—practice—practice!

© 2011 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind.

Discuss how to find a topic for a research process?

Discuss how to develop an idea into a research question, then a hypothesis?

Develop a research hypothesis? Define the three types of sources for a

literature review? Discuss how to use general, primary and

secondary sources?

© 2011 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind.

Define terms related to a literature review? Summarize how to use sources such as

reviews, indices and journals to conduct a literature review?

Describe how scholarly journals work? Define electronic tools available via the WWW? Discuss how to use a bibliographic database

program? Demonstrate how to write a literature review?