Research

Ideas
Finding a general topic area
 Worse thing you may do
I heard this treatment is good I want do a
research to prove it.
 3 types of topics
•  General topics ( job stress, personality,
learning, moAvaAon)

•  Topics about groups (preschool children, cats,
grandmothers, police officers)

•  Topics about a parAcular behavior (bullying ,
math anxiety, overeaAng)

 Six sources of research topics
1. Personal interest (your favorite course,
subject, topic)
Using computers in teaching,
2. InformaAon/observaAon (any behavior that
arouses your curiosity)
Lack of black women in science majors
 Six sources of research topics
3. PracAcal problems (problems in your class,
school, job)
Six students failed in my last semester’s course

4. Pop ups -fleeAng thoughts (falling apples)

 Six sources of research topics
5. Readings (books, magazines, web sites, even
cartoons, adverAsements)
6. Theories (theories that predict a behavior-
opposing theories for the same behavior)
General & MulAple Intelligence theories
Learning Styles
 EvaluaAng the problem
•  EffecAveness (can I find an answer?)
Why are black and LaAno students behind white and Asians academically?

•  Significance (need, importance)

Is there a difference between freshman and junior students in their color preferences?

•  Originality ( already done)

Which one is more effecAve? Phonic or holisAc approach to reading?
Is parental involvement effecAve in students’ progress?
Does technology help learning?

•  Feasibility (competent, access to data, cost,

Ame, difficulAes (lack of cooperaAon)
Longitudinal study of Jewish students in k-12

8
 ReplicaAng a research
1- JusAfy the replicaAon
2- When your research is just a li_le different
from earlier studies your whole lit review should
focus on that LITTLE difference.
3- You cannot show the importance of iniAal
research and not talking about the importance
of your addiAon.
 Students’ projects
► Want to solve a very important problem
quickly.

► So they choose very broad (general) topics

How to improve quality of educaAon in California?
 Students’ projects
► ProvocaAve Topics

If you strongly believe something is good

perhaps not a good topic for research, since you
already know it is good and effecAve.
 Falling in love
•  SAcking with the first topic (you may change many Ames)

 Familiar Topics
•  Is too safe or too easy (Something familiar or
used in another course)

•  Literature review will be all posiAve

Parts of Research ArAcle
 Differences among the Topic,
Problem, Purpose, and QuesAons
General Topic Distance learning

Research Lack of students in distance

Problem classes

Purpose To study why students do not

attend distance education classes at
Statement
a community college

Research Does the use of interactive web

pages help to increase students’
Question
Specific enrollment in distance education
classes?
(Statement of the problem – significance of the problem)
 Primary & Secondary
•  A primary source is a firsthand report of observaAons or
research results wri_en by the individual( s) who actually
conducted the research and made the observaAons.

•  A secondary source is a descripAon or summary of another

person’s work. A secondary source is wri_en by someone
who did not parAcipate in the research or observaAons being
discussed.
 Difference
•  Secondary sources
1.  A textbook, for example, oeen summarizes 10 years of
research, ciAng several important studies, in a few
paragraphs.
2.  A meta- analysis, for example, provides a great overview of
an area by combining the results from a number of studies.

•  Primary sources
Individual research reports that fill 10 to 15 pages in journals are
oeen summarized in one or two sentences in secondary sources.
 Start with
Best way: Secondary sources and then choose a
few primary sources for more details and a
more specific research quesAon.

Easy way: Start with a primary arAcle to easily
come up with a tentaAve research quesAon and
then search the literature to come up with
specific quesAons.
WriAng the Literature Review
 Worst scenario
•  Making a list of unrelated or related but
fragmented research arAcles,.

•  Jackson (2007) said…..

•  Be_y (2009) said….
•  Thomas (1998) conducted a study about….
 The purpose of a lit review
Each research study is part of an exisAng body of knowledge
Your study should be a logical extension of past research
New research grows out of old
 Literature Map
•  You may use a literature map before start
wriAng your literature review.
•  A map helps you convey to others , the
current picture of the literature on a topic.