Investigation techniques io 5600 ucr

IO-5600 Investigation TechniquesBy Dr. Gilberto Hernández Quirós [email protected]

1Educational material created and customized by Dr. Gilberto Hernández Quirós for FAL-UCR. 2010

mailto:[email protected]

What is research?

• Research is the systematic process of collecting and analyzing information to increase our understanding of the phenomenon under study. It is the function of the researcher to contribute to the understanding of the phenomenon and to communicate that understanding to others. This course is aimed at helping students conduct research conducive towards the elaboration of a thesis or research project as part of the Bachelor’s Degree in English Language Teaching (ELT) at the University of Costa Rica.


Investigative Essay Writing • Investigative essay writing is closely related to research paper writing. Investigative writing

must begin with asking questions on the subject, and finding relevant sources of information, such as knowledgeable people, books, scholarly reviewed articles and journals, websites, or any combinations of these.

• In most cases, collecting information for investigative essays requires the ability to use a library on credible online resources. You would need to read the materials found on your topic, and then summarize, paraphrase, and quote key ideas accurately from other people’s writings. In addition, personal interviews with people knowledgeable in the field are often helpful. Talk to an expert, authority, witness, or participant of the event or occasion. You could also survey the general public to determine the majority attitudes or opinions, trends, and reactions. Once you have collected required information, you should then present your findings in a written form suitable for your audience, with clear references in the text to the sources of information.


http://newavessays.com/essay_research.php

http://newavessays.com/books_on_writing.php

http://newavessays.com/blog/?p=22

http://newavessays.com/bibliography_format.php

Techniques for Investigative Essay Writing • Begin with an interesting title and a catchy lead sentence or paragraph. The first few sentences of your

investigation essay arouse your readers’ interest and focus their attention on the subject.• Give background information by giving the relevant “who”, “what”, “where”, “when”, and “why” questions.

Answering the “wh..” questions ensures that the audience have enough information to understand your investigative essay fully.

• State the main idea, question, or focus of the investigation essay. The purpose of your research essay is to convey the information as clearly as possible. Readers must not guess the main idea.

• Summarize or quote information from written or oral sources, and cite sources in text. Quote accurately any statistics, data, or sentences from your sources. Cite authors and titles in accordance to the citation style you use.

• Write in an interesting and readable style appropriate for the intended audience. Clear, direct, and readable language is essential for an investigative essay paper. Use paragraphs and charts as appropriate.


http://newavessays.com/thesis.php

http://newavessays.com/custom_essay_statistics_help.php

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http://newavessays.com/help_3.php

Locating Research Information


• Education Statistics at a Glance, U.S. Department of Education http://nces.ed.gov/edstats/ Eric Processing and Reference Facility http://ericfac.piccard.csc.com/

• Federal Statistics http://www.fedstats.gov/

• Test Reviews online http://buros.unl.edu/buros/jsp/search.jsp

• Searching Eric http://www.eric.ed.gov

• U.S. Census Bureau http://www.census.gov/

• United States Department of Education http://www.ed.gov/index.html

• Library of Congress http://www.loc.gov

http://nces.ed.gov/edstats/

http://ericfac.piccard.csc.com/

http://www.fedstats.gov/

http://buros.unl.edu/buros/jsp/search.jsp

http://www.eric.ed.gov/

http://www.census.gov/

http://www.ed.gov/index.html

http://www.loc.gov/

Navigating and Searching the Web


• Alexa http://www.alexa.com Altavista http://www.altavista.com

• Ask Jeeves http://www.askjeeves.com/

• Excite http://www.excite.com/

• Google http://www.google.com

• Infomine: Scholarly Internet Resource Collections http://infomine.ucr.edu/

• Learn the Net http://www.learnthenet.com/english/index.html

• Yahoo: http://www.yahoo.com

http://www.alexa.com/

http://www.altavista.com/

http://www.askjeeves.com/

http://www.excite.com/

http://www.google.com/

http://infomine.ucr.edu/

http://www.learnthenet.com/english/index.html

http://www.yahoo.com/

Tutorials and Courses


• Java Applets for Visualization of Statistical Concepts http://www.kuleuven.ac.be/ucs/java/index.htm Library and Information Skills Tutorial http://webster.commnet.edu/libroot/workbook/wrkbk.htm

• Research Methods WWW Tutorial http://www.camden.rutgers.edu/dept-pages/sociology/main.htm

• Statistical Refresher Tutorial http://cne.gmu.edu/modules/dau/stat/

• The Scientific Method http://www.scientificmethod.com/

http://www.kuleuven.ac.be/ucs/java/index.htm

http://webster.commnet.edu/libroot/workbook/wrkbk.htm

http://www.camden.rutgers.edu/dept-pages/sociology/main.htm

http://cne.gmu.edu/modules/dau/stat/

http://www.scientificmethod.com/

Research Process and Content


• Basic Methods of Research http://www.siu.edu/departments/coe/ras1/504/Research_methods.htm Educational Research Course SDSU http://edweb.sdsu.edu/Courses/Ed690DR/690course.html

• QualPage: Resources for Qualitative Research http://www.qualitativeresearch.uga.edu/QualPage/

http://www.siu.edu/departments/coe/ras1/504/Research_methods.htm

http://edweb.sdsu.edu/Courses/Ed690DR/690course.html

http://www.qualitativeresearch.uga.edu/QualPage/

Writing Assistance


• Anomalous Anonymies—Grammar Goofs http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/goofs.htm Eminent Quotables http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/quotes/quotes_frames.htm

• Grammar and Writing Bookshelf http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/bookshelf.htm

• Guide to Grammar and Writing http://www.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/

• Help with Writing Research Papers http://mason.gmu.edu/~montecin/writ-pap.htm

• Merriam and Websterís Collegiate Dictionary http://www.m-w.com/netdict.htm

• Merriam and Websterís Collegiate Thesaurus http://www.m-w.com/thesaurus.htm

• Online References http://www.bartleby.com/index.html

• Online Resources for Writers http://webster.commnet.edu/writing/writing.htm

http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/goofs.htm

http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/quotes/quotes_frames.htm

http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/bookshelf.htm

http://www.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/

http://mason.gmu.edu/~montecin/writ-pap.htm

http://www.m-w.com/netdict.htm

http://www.m-w.com/thesaurus.htm

http://www.bartleby.com/index.html

http://webster.commnet.edu/writing/writing.htm

Style Manuals


• A Guide for Writing Research PapersóMLA Style http://webster.commnet.edu/mla/index.shtml A Guide for Writing Research Papers Based on APA Documentation http://webster.commnet.edu/apa/index.htm

• APA Pub Manual FAQ http://www.apastyle.org/faqs.html

• APA Style for Electronic Formats http://www.apastyle.org/elecref.html

• APA Style Guide http://www.apastyle.org

• Guide for Citing Electronic Information http://www.wpunj.edu/wpcpages/library/citing.htm

• How to Organize a Research Paper and Document it with MLA Citations http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Oracle/4184/

• The Elements of Style http://www.bartleby.com/141/index.html

• The Official MLA Site http://www.mla.org/

http://webster.commnet.edu/mla/index.shtml

http://webster.commnet.edu/apa/index.htm

http://www.apastyle.org/faqs.html

http://www.apastyle.org/elecref.html

http://www.apastyle.org/

http://www.wpunj.edu/wpcpages/library/citing.htm

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Oracle/4184/

http://www.bartleby.com/141/index.html

http://www.mla.org/

Online Journals


• Education Action Research: http://www.triangle.co.uk/ear/

Education Policy Analysis Archives: http://epaa.asu.edu/

Educational Insights: Peer Review of Graduate Student Research: http://ccfi.educ.ubc.ca/publication/insights/

Journal of Statistics Education: http://www.amstat.org/publications/jse/index.html

The Qualitative Report: http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/index.html

http://www.triangle.co.uk/ear/

http://epaa.asu.edu/

http://ccfi.educ.ubc.ca/publication/insights/

http://www.amstat.org/publications/jse/index.html

http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/index.html

Statistics


• Analysis of Variance and Covariance http://uku.fi/~mauranen/advbis/advbis4.htm Dr. Drottís Sampling Techniques http://drott.cis.drexel.edu

• General Tutorial on (Univariate) Mathematical Modeling (pdf) http://www.geocities.com/~mikemclaughlin/op_cit/Tutorial.pdf

• Planning of Statistical Investigations http://uku.fi/~mauranen/advbis/advbis2.htm

• Simple Linear Regression and Multiple Regression http://uku.fi/~mauranen/advbis/advbis3.htm

• Statistical Inference, Estimation, Hypothesis Testing http://uku.fi/~mauranen/advbis/advbis2.htm

• Statistical Resources http://www.stat.ufl.edu/

• The World Wide Web Virtual Library: Statistics http://www.stat.ufl.edu/vlib/statistics.html

• Using the Computer in the Statistical Part of Research: http://uku.fi/~mauranen/advbis/advbis5.htm

http://uku.fi/~mauranen/advbis/advbis4.htm

http://drott.cis.drexel.edu/

http://www.geocities.com/~mikemclaughlin/op_cit/Tutorial.pdf




http://www.stat.ufl.edu/

http://www.stat.ufl.edu/vlib/statistics.html


Miscellaneous Sites


• American Educational Research Association (AERA) http://www.aera.net British Educational Research Association (BERA) http://www.bera.ac.uk/

• Consortium for Policy Research in Education http://www.cpre.org/index_js.htm

• Education Index http://www.educationindex.com/

• Educational Research Assistance for Graduate Students http://gokate.freeyellow.com/

• Educational Research Network http://www.ernweb.com/

• European Educational Research Association (EERA) http://www.eera.ac.uk/

• Links to Professional Resources http://www.ipmaac.org/links.html

• National Foundation for Educational Research http://www.nfer.ac.uk/

• Suite 101.com http://www.suite101.com

• Federal Statistics http://www.fedstats.gov/

• U.S. Census Bureau http://www.census.gov/

http://www.aera.net/

http://www.bera.ac.uk/

http://www.cpre.org/index_js.htm

http://www.educationindex.com/

http://gokate.freeyellow.com/

http://www.ernweb.com/

http://www.eera.ac.uk/

http://www.ipmaac.org/links.html

http://www.nfer.ac.uk/

http://www.suite101.com/

http://www.fedstats.gov/

http://www.census.gov/

Thank You!

• Questions and [email protected]


mailto:[email protected]

Date post:	14-Dec-2014
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