Research in English Studies Unit 5

UNIT 5 B
Writing research paper based on library research and action research
Unit 5
ELL 303/05
Readings and Research Work
in English Studies
Writing Research
Paper Based on
Library Research and
Action Research
C WAWASAN OPEN UNIVERSITY
ELL 303/05 Readings and Research Work in English Studies
COURSE TEAM
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Dr. Suma Parahakaran
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UNIT 5 D
Contents
Unit 5 Writing Research Paper
Based on Library Research
and Action Research
Unit overview 1
Unit objectives 1
5.1 Getting started 3
Objectives 3
Introduction 3
What is a research paper? 3
What are the qualities of a good research paper? 4
Time management in writing research paper 5
Choosing a subject of my research paper 6
How do I narrow my subject into a research topic? 12
Suggested answers to activity 15
5.2 How do I write a thesis statement? 17
Objectives 17
Introduction 17
What is a thesis statement? 17
The importance of the thesis statement 18
The C-S-C (context-subject-claim) method of writing 19

a thesis statement
A strong vs. weak thesis statement 22
Thesis statement checklist 23

E WAWASAN OPEN UNIVERSITY
The placement of thesis statement 24
Suggested answers to activities 25
5.3 Doing Research 29
Objectives 29
Introduction 29
Primary and secondary data sources 29
5.4 Preparing your outline 33
Objectives 33
Introduction 33
Writing the outline 33
Formal outline 35
Preparing the outline for your research paper 37
5.5 Preparing your draft 43
Objectives 43
Introduction 43
The hourglass analogy 44
How to write your introduction 44
5.6 Literature review: Setting up your thesis 47
Objectives 47
Introduction 47
Data and methods 47
Hypotheses 49
UNIT 5 F
Results 49
Discussion and conclusion 50
Further word on the conclusion 51
Writing the abstract 52
5.7 Revising and editing your research paper 59
Objectives 59
Introduction 59
Revising and editing your research paper 59
Your research paper format 61
5.8 Action research 69
Objectives 69
Introduction 69
Definition of action research designs 70
What are the types of action research designs? 71
What are the key characteristics of action research? 75
What are the steps in conducting an action research 77

study?
Evaluating the quality of an action research study 80
Summary of Unit 5 97
Course summary 99
Suggested answers to self-tests 101
References 105
Glossary 107
G WAWASAN OPEN UNIVERSITY
UNIT 5 1
Unit Overview
W elcome to Unit 5! In this unit, we will walk you through the steps of writing
a research paper. This course will introduce you to a research design and you
are required to write a research paper. The paper will follow a prescribed format
and you will be required to carry out a simple research. It can be a literature review
study, a survey, a case study, a quasi-experimental study or an action research. The
research paper is an excellent tool for learning about a topic of your choice. You will
learn the different skills required to write a research paper.
Unit Objectives
By the end of this unit, you should be able to:
1. Develop skills for writing a research paper.
2. Analyse an action research paper.
3. Write an action research paper.
4. Discuss issues related to copyright.
5. Write references and cite sources.

2 WAWASAN OPEN UNIVERSITY
UNIT 5 3
5.1 Getting Started

Objectives
By the end of this section, you should be able to:
1. Describe what components constitute a research paper.
2. Explain how to identify and evaluate the quality of your research paper.
3. Analyse the subjects that you want to write on so that you are able to
narrow it down.
4. Demonstrate the skill to manage your time and organise your writing
accordingly.
Introduction
Whether you are looking for information about a car’s safety records, a community’s
schools, or a company’s stocks, you will need to know how to gather, sort and track
the facts and opinions available to you. That is why you need to know how to do a
research paper. A research paper is a useful and efficient method of gathering and
presenting reliable information that preparing one is frequently assigned in high
school, college and graduate school. It shows your reader that you can gather, evaluate
and synthesise information. In short, it shows that you can think.
What is a research paper?

The word “research” originated from the Middle French word rechercher, meaning
“to seek out”. Writing a research paper requires you to seek out information about
a subject, take a stand on it, and back it up with the opinions, ideas, and views of
others. What results is a hard copy of a paper variously known as a research paper
or term paper in which you present your views and findings on the chosen subject.
When you write a research paper, you have to read what various recognised authorities
have written about the topic and then write an essay in which you draw your own
conclusions about the topic. Since your thesis is fresh and original, it should not
be merely a summary of what someone else has written. Instead, you’ll have to
synthesise information from a variety of sources to create something that is your
own. A research paper is not:
1. Merely reporting what others have said.
2. A summary of information from one or more sources.
3. Just a collection of facts on a topic.

To illustrate the point, here are examples and non-examples of research paper
topics:
Topic Suitable for a research Not suitable for a research

paper because it argues a point paper because it doesn’t
argue a point
Sleep Sleep deprivation adversely affects The effects of sleep
a person’s heart health deprivation
School Year-round school will raise Survey of topics taught in
students’ achievement secondary schools
Assessment Standardised assessment is an Different types of
accurate measure of success in standardised assessment
school
Public transport Public transport should replace Survey of public transport
private cars to reduce traffic
congestion
Hang Tuah Hang Tuah is the greatest Malay Chronology of Hang Tuah’s
warrior life history
Table 5.1 Examples and non-examples of research paper statements
What are the qualities of a good research paper?

The following guidelines provide qualities of a good research paper:
1. A good research paper will have a focused topic.
2. The paper will have terms and keywords which are well defined in
encyclopaedias.
3. The resources must be updated and written in a scholarly manner. This

can be done by using guided keyword searching.
4. Indexes can be used to find periodical articles.
5. The paper will show that the author has used scholarly journals and
other informative sources.
6. The author has to evaluate the findings.
7. Cite what the author has found using a standard format.
8. The paper includes an acknowledgement of the opposite views, but

shows why the point being argued is more valid.
Source: http://olinuris.library.cornell.edu/ref/research/skill1.htm
UNIT 5 5
Other important guidelines for looking at quality will include the following:
1. The contents must have statements that are supported by facts and
arguments which are logical.
2. The work must adhere to copyright issues.
3. References must be cited and written in an organised manner.
4. The language must be scholarly and the level of written work must be
scholarly enough that it can be accessed and used by educators and
authors of their own specific or multidisciplinary works.
Time management in writing research paper

Research can take more time than you envisage. Writing a paper is a multi-step
process and each step takes time. By starting early and planning ahead, you
can lessen time constraints and reduce stress as your paper is due. Since you’re
working under pressure within narrow constraints, it is important to know how
to allocate your time. In fact, one of the most challenging aspects of writing
a research paper is planning your time effectively. You do not want to end up
burning the midnight oil before the paper is due, downloading and “cut-and
-paste” inferior material from second-rate websites and keyboarding until you
are bleary-eyed and become ill. Your paper will be a disaster.
Before you plunge into the process, start by making a plan. Each plan assumes a
five-day work week, so you can relax on the weekends. Trust me, time management
is absolutely essential and the key to your success.
Sample schedule
4-Week Plan (20 Days): If you have 4 weeks (20 days) in which to complete a
research paper.
Task Time Date Due Date Done

Prewriting
1. Selecting a subject 1/2 day
2. Narrowing the subject into a topic 1/2 day
3. Crafting a thesis statement 1/2 day
4. Doing preliminary research 2 days
5. Taking notes 2 days
6. Creating an outline 1/2 day
Drafting
1. Writing the introduction 1/2 day
2. Writing the body 2 days

3. Writing the conclusion 1/2 day
Identifying sources
1. Determining where text notes are needed 2 days
2. Inserting notes into draft 1 day
3. Using internal documentation 1/2 day
4. Creating a list of reference works 1/2 day
Revising
1. Revising the draft 1 day
2. Revising, editing, proofreading 1 day
Editing
1. Editing the final draft 1 day
2. Proofreading the final draft 1 day
3. Creating the final paper 1 day
Contingencies 2 days
Total 20 days
If you have the luxury of more than, say eight weeks, then you adjust the time
accordingly. Remember that longer is not necessarily better. With a long lead time,
it is very tempting to leave the assignment to the last minute. After all, you do have
plenty of time. But “plenty of time” has a way of disappearing fast. In many instances,
it is actually easier to have less time in which to write a research paper, because you
know that you are under pressure to produce.
Choosing a subject of my research paper

Step 1: Brainstorm subjects
Choosing the right subject for your research paper is of paramount importance. The
right subject can make your paper; the wrong one can break it. Unsuitable subjects
share one or more of the following characteristics:
1. They cannot be completed within the time allocated.
2. They cannot be researched since the material does not exist.
3. They do not persuade since they are expository or narrative.
4. They are overused, trivial, boring, or commonplace.

UNIT 5 7
Start with your own ideas and interests
Since you are the one doing the writing, start with your own ideas and interest. All
writing begins with thinking. When you come up with a subject for a research paper,
as with any other writing assignment, you must draw upon yourself as a source.
All writers depend on their storehouse of experience  everything they have seen,
heard, read, and even dreamed.
Since not every method works for every writer, experiment with these techniques
to find the one or ones that suit your writing style. And even if one method works
very well for you, do not be afraid to try other ones. Different methods might
uncover other possible subjects for your research paper.
1. Keep an idea book. Many professional writers keep an “idea book” as a

place where they can store their ideas and let them incubate. You don’t have
to be a professional writer to use an idea book; it works equally well for
novice writers. Think of this as a scrapbook rather than as a diary or journal.
Here are some items that can serve as the seeds for a great research paper:
a. newspaper clippings
b. magazine articles
c. personal letters
d. snapshots
e. postcards
2. List ideas. You can also brainstorm ideas for possible subjects. This method
allows you to come up with many ideas fast because you’re writing words,
not sentences or paragraphs. To use this method, make a list of 10 ideas that
you have for research paper subjects. Here’s a sample:
1. immigration 6. pollution
2. organic farming 7. divorce laws
3. eating disorders 8. censorship of novels
4. child abuse 9. global warming
5. currency control 10. women’s rights
3. Make a web. Webbing, also called “clustering” or “mapping,” is a visual way

of sparking ideas for subjects. Since a web looks very different from a
paragraph or list, many writers find that it frees their mind to roam over a
wider variety of ideas. When you create a web, first write your subject in the
centre of a page. Draw a circle around it. Next draw lines radiating from the
centre and circles at the end of each line. Write an idea in each circle. I
strongly recommend you use free online software called Free Mind. You can
download and install it on your computer. The URL is: http://freemind.
sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Download
In Free Mind, you can hyperlink your web boxes to video, pictures, documents
in any format (PDF, PowerPoint or MS Word) easily. Here is a Free Mind
map which I use to write this unit.
Figure 5.1 A visual map using Free Mind
4. Draw visuals. A web is only one type of visual format; there are many
other visuals that you can use to generate ideas for research paper subjects.
Charts work especially well for some people; Venn diagrams or story charts
for others. Experiment with different visual formats until you find which
ones work best for you in each writing situation.
5. Use the “5 Ws and H”. The “5 Ws and H” stand for who, what, when,
where, why, and how. They are also called “The Journalist’s Questions” because
they appear in the first paragraph (the “lead”) of every news story. Asking
these questions forces you to approach a subject from several different
angles. Many people find this approach useful for starting highly detailed
papers.
6. Freewrite. Freewriting is nonstop writing that helps jog your memory and
release hidden ideas. When you freewrite, jot down whatever comes to mind
without worrying about spelling, punctuation, grammar, or style. Select the
method of composition that allows you to freewrite most quickly: keyboarding
or longhand. The key to freewriting is letting your mind roam and seeing
what subjects it uncovers.
7. Read. Reading can help you come up with great research paper topics. Try
different genres or categories to get ideas. Don’t restrict yourself. Here are
some possibilities:
a. short stories
b. novels
c. essays
UNIT 5 9
d. poems
e. newspapers
f. magazines
g. professional journals
h. critical reviews
i. autobiographies
j. biographies
k. plays and drama
l. scripts
Consult subject matter experts (SMEs)
If the above steps fail and you still cannot come up with anything you like, make
an appointment with subject matter experts, such as teachers and lecturers. E-mail
them to make an appointment to see them. Be persistent. Most of them will be
glad to see you and you can brainstorm your ideas with them.
Step 2: Consider your parameters
If you are asked to develop your own subject for a research paper, how can you
decide which of the subjects you have brainstormed shows the most promise? Start
with these four guidelines:
1. Time. The amount of time you have to write influences every writing
situation, especially when it comes to writing a research paper. Since there
are so many aspects of this situation that are out of your control  such
as availability of research materials  it is critical that you select a
subject that you can complete within the allotted time.
2. Length. The length of the paper is also a factor in your choice of subjects.
It will obviously take you much longer to write an 80-page research paper
than it will to write a 10-page research paper. Weigh this consideration as
you select a subject. The shorter the paper and the longer the time you
have to write, the more leeway you have to select a challenging subject.
3. Research. The type of research you use also determines the subject you
select. For instance, if your assignment specifies that you use primary
sources, such as letters, interviews and eyewitness accounts, you might
not wish to do a paper on Confucius, since there are relatively few
primary sources available and they are difficult to read. Conversely, if
your assignment specifies that you use secondary sources such as critical
reviews, a paper on one of Confucius’s writings would be very suitable.
4. Sources. The number of sources you must use and their availability are
also factors in your choice of a subject. If you have access to a major
university library with a million or more volumes and extensive free
databases, you are probably going to find the material you need. But if
you do not have an extensive library in your area or access to high-quality
databases, it might be much harder for you to get the secondary
material you need. In this case, you might want to consider a subject that
requires more primary sources such as experiments, interviews and
surveys.
Step 3: Evaluate subjects
The following are six guidelines to make the process of evaluation of the subjects
easier:
1. Consider your purpose. With a research paper, your purpose is to

convince. Persuasive writing succeeds in large part because it has such a
clear sense of purpose. Keep your purpose in mind as you weigh the
suitability of various subjects.
2. Focus on your audience. As you select a subject, always focus on your

audience  the person who will be reading your paper. Always remember
that you are writing for a specific audience. Tailor your subject to suit
your audience’s expectations and requirements.
3. Select a subject you like. If you have a choice, try to select a subject
that interests you. Since you will be working with the subject for weeks
and even months, you will find the process of writing your research paper
much more enjoyable if you like the subject matter that you have selected.
4. Be practical. In spite of the fact that you want to choose a subject that
appeals to you, nevertheless, look for subjects that have sufficient
information available, but not so much information that you cannot
possibly read it all within the allotted time. For instance, avoid research
papers on the entire history of Malaysia, Malaysian transportation system,
or modern Malaysian architecture. These subjects are simply too wide to be
covered in a research paper; they require a book-length dissertation.
5. Recognise that not all questions have answers. When you write a
research paper, you are attempting to find an answer to the question you
have posed or the one that has been given to you. Remember that not all
research questions lead to definitive answers. Rather, many questions
invite informed opinions based on the evidence you have gathered from
research. Dealing with questions that do not have definitive answers can
make your paper provocative and intriguing.
UNIT 5 11
To summarise:
Step 1: Brainstorm subjects
1. Start with your Own Ideas and Interests
a. Keep an idea book.
b. List ideas.
c. Make a web.
d. Draw visuals.
e. Use the “5 Ws and H”.
f. Freewrite.
g. Read.
2. Consult experts for subjects
Step 2: Consider your parameters
1. Time.
2. Length.
3. Research.
4. Sources.
Step 3: Evaluate Subjects
1. Consider your purpose.
2. Focus on your audience.
3. Select a subject you like.
4. Be practical.
5. Recognise that not all questions have answers.
Figure 5.2 Steps plan in choosing the subject of research paper (Dr. Toh Seong Chong
2013)
Activity 5.1
In this activity, you are to go through the steps suggested in the

steps plan discussed to refine a research question:
1. Read broadly and widely to find a subject about which you

are passionate. Immerse yourself in the literature; use your
library, read abstracts of other recent theses and dissertations,
check theses on the web.
2. Narrow your focus to a single question: be disciplined and

not overambitious.
3. Be prepared to change or modify your question if necessary.
4. Be able to answer the question ‘Why am I doing this project?’

(and not a different one).
5. Read up-to-date materials  ensure that your idea is achievable

and no one else has done or is doing it.
6. Consult other students who are further down the track,

especially those who have the same supervisor as you.
7. Discuss your ideas with your supervisor and lots of other people.
8. Work through the implications of your research question:

consider existing materials and ideas on which it is based,
check the logic, and spell out methods to be used.
9. Condense your research question into two sentences; write

them down, above your work area. Change the question if
needed.
10. Ask yourself: What will we know at the end that we did not
already know?
How do I narrow my subject into a research topic?

Now that you have learned how to choose a subject, we will now turn our attention
to the crucial issues of narrowing the subject to a topic. You will discover why this is
such a crucial step in successful research paper. For instance, sometimes, you choose
or are assigned a subject that is very broad. How can you deal with this challenge?
You narrow the subject into a topic.
UNIT 5 13
Subject vs. topic
First, review the difference between a subject and a topic. Recall that a subject of a
research paper is the general content. Subjects are broad and general. Examples of
possible subjects for a research paper are: health, music, television, education, genetic
engineering of foods, outsourcing and foreign policy. The topic of a research paper
is the specific issue being discussed. The topic of a research paper, in contrast, is the
specific issue being discussed. The following table shows some subjects narrowed
into topics for a research paper:
Subjects Topics
Animal rights 1. If zoos are cruel rather than educational.
2. If testing medical procedures/drugs on animals should be

increased or decreased.
Education 1. Teaching of Science and Math subjects in English should
continue.
2. If bilingual education is valid.

Gambling 1. If casino gambling should be made illegal in the Malaysia.
Health 1. If hepatitis testing should be mandated for all healthcare
workers.
Crystallising your ideas
Every time you narrow a subject into a topic, remember your boundaries and
parameters: time, length, audience and purpose. Always consider what you can
handle within the restrictions you have been given, as well as what you would enjoy
writing the most about for several weeks or months. Follow these guidelines:
1. General subject: Start with a general subject that interests you and fits
the parameters of the assignment.
2. Question: Phrase the subject as a question.
3. Brainstorm: Brainstorm subdivisions of the subject to create topics.
4. Consult: Consult different sources for possible subtopics. Possibilities

include the Internet, card catalogue, reference books, magazines, friends and
the media.
5. Filter: Filter the ideas until you find one that suits the assignment, audience,
and your preferences.
6. Final topic: Write your final topic as a question.

An example
The following is an example on list of words related to global warming. Highlight

only the most specific topics developed from your brainstorming. For instance, if
you created a list of words related to global warming, review the sub list you created,
then the sub-sub-list, and so-forth.
In this example, the most specific topic is: Threat to Coastal Cities.
Topic: Global warming > List: Melting Ice Caps, Carbon Emissions, Ecosystems
Subtopic: Melting Ice Caps > List: Polar Bears, Rising Sea Levels, Desalination
Sub-Subtopic: Rising Sea Levels > List: Threat to Coastal Cities
Summary
Selecting a topic for your research paper can seem overwhelming

because there are so many unique ideas and people to choose
from. Do not worry if you don’t know exactly what you want
your topic to be. Allow yourself time to think and choose by
brainstorming and listing all those ideas or people that might
interest you. Refine your list by selecting two potential topics,
narrow it down by ultimately choosing one, and then ask yourself
the “5 W’s and H” to make your topic as specific as possible.
In this way, you can start with very large ideas or concepts and
break them down so that they are manageable, fun, and easy to
research.
UNIT 5 15
Suggested answers to activity
Feedback
Activity 5.1
To arrive at the topic for your research paper, follow the “three steps
plan” as suggested above. To assist you, I have prepared a checklist
for you. Follow this checklist.
Step 1: Brainstorm Subjects Date started Date done

Start with your Own Ideas and
Interests
1. Keep an idea book.
2. List ideas.
3. Make a web.
4. Draw visuals.
5. Use the 5 Ws and H.
6. Freewrite.
7. Read.
Consult experts for subjects
Step 2: Consider Your Parameters
1. Time.
2. Length.
3. Research.
Step 3: Evaluate Subjects
1. Consider your purpose.
2. Focus on your audience.
3. Select a subject you like.
4. Be practical.
5. Recognise that not all questions
have answers
UNIT 5 17
5.2 How Do I Write a Thesis Statement?

Objectives
By the end of this sub unit, you should be able to:
1. Explain how to write a thesis statement.
Introduction
This section will introduce you to what a thesis statement is and why a statement is
significant to the whole research. You will also know what the good characteristics
of a thesis statement are and where you need to place the thesis statement. This
skill is important as your thesis statement carries keywords and implies meaning
of the research you are conducting. It supports readers to understand quickly why
you are doing the research and the context when they browse through numerous
research statements.
What is a thesis statement?

A thesis statement is the central point you are arguing in your research paper.
A thesis statement is a very specific argument that guides your paper. Generally, a
thesis statement consists of two parts:
1. A clearly identifiable topic or subject matter.
2. A succinct summary of what you have to say about that topic.
An effective thesis statement explains to your reader the case you are going to make
and how you are going to make it. Your thesis also helps to keep you focused as
writer and determine what information you do (or don’t) need to include in your
analysis. Traditionally, the thesis statement is found near the end of your introduction.
Honing and tweaking a thesis statement during the revision process is ultimately
more important than having it exact and precise during the drafting process.
The importance of the thesis statement

The thesis statement is the modern version of what Aristotle called the “statement of
the issue”, and it deserves special mention because it is vital to the success of persuasive
appeals. In fact, thesis is a Greek word meaning “setting down” and, as used today, the
job of the thesis statement is to focus and announce (to “set down”) the argument.
The thesis statement is perhaps most important for the reader because it provides an
anchor early in the paper to help understand the points made throughout the essay.
It’s easy to underestimate the importance of the thesis statement, especially if you
don’t realise that, when used well, it carries the burden of the entire essay. Think of it
this way: The thesis statement is a promise from the writer to the reader. The reader
expects you to make good on its claim by demonstrating with concrete details and
logical reasoning how you arrived at that conclusion. Imagine your reader asking,
“Why did you say that?” or “On what grounds did you make that claim?” A reader
holds the thesis statement in mind while continuing to read through the rest of the
paper. Judgment is delayed as the reader examines the evidence offered and the logic
behind it. Once the reader comes to the end of the essay, judgment is no longer
suspended. If the writer has satisfied the demands of the thesis by carefully illustrating
each burden of proof with compelling evidence and sound logical explanation, then
the reader will be satisfied because the expectations suggested by the claim will be
met. This is the fundamental definition of a successful essay.
Kathleen Muller Moore and Susie Lan Cassel (2011) in their book entitled Techniques
for College: Writing The Thesis Statement and Beyond provides some very practical
guide and tips of writing effective thesis statement. This can be done most clearly
if you think of the thesis statement as having three parts: a context, a subject, and
a claim, as in the following example:
In Malaysia today, the documented increase in childhood emotional disorders

CONTEXT SUBJECT
reflects changes in institutional practices rather than a deterioration of family values.
CLAIM
Although you likely have read and written a number of thesis statements, perhaps
you have never looked at a thesis statement in this way before. The context places
the reader in the general area of discussion (“In Malaysia today”), the subject directs
the reader’s attention to the focus of the paper (“documented increase in childhood
emotional disorders”), and the claim tells the reader what argument regarding the
subject the paper will make (“reflects changes in institutional practices rather than a
deterioration of family values”). After reading the thesis statement, the reader should
have a clear understanding of the goals of the paper and be able to continue reading
to see how compellingly the case is made.
UNIT 5 19
The C-S-C (context – subject – claim) method of writing a thesis

statement
Kathleen Muller Moore and Susie Lan Cassel (2011) called this the C-S-C
(context  subject  claim) method of writing the thesis statement. The thesis
statement consists of three parts, namely context, subject, and claim. Both
authors further introduced three ways in visualising a thesis statement, namely, the
sentence format, the graduated triangle format, and the list format.
The sentence format
Because a thesis statement is a grammatical sentence, it is most often written in

sentence format. In using this type of visual representation, it may be helpful to
underline and label the C-S-C in the following manner:
Example 1
Despite pressure and discrimination, women have made great strides in the workforce.
CONTEXT SUBJECT CLAIM
CLAIM
Example 2
The most flagrant abuse of animal rights today ironically takes place in U.S. laboratories
CONTEXT SUBJECT CONTEXT CLAIM CLAIM
dedicated to the preservation of human life.
The graduated triangle format
Imagine plotting the context, subject and claim of the thesis statement along the base
of a graduated triangle where you can more easily see how they narrow to a focus. In
Figure 5.2, notice that the context is the broadest aspect of the paper (represented
by the far left and widest side of the triangle), the subject is cantered at a level of
breadth that is narrower than the context but not as specific as the claim, and the
claim represents the focus of the paper  that is, its argument.
Breadth
Context Subject Claim
Figure 5.2 The graduated triangle format of visualising thesis statement
Using the graduated triangle, the following are two examples:
Example 1
Consider this thesis statement:
Despite pressure and discrimination, women have made great strides in the
workforce.

Despite pressure and women have made great strides
discrimination, in the workforce.
Example 2
Consider this thesis statement:
The most flagrant abuse of animal rights today ironically takes place in U.S.
laboratories dedicated to the preservation of human life.
UNIT 5 21

contemporary American animal most flagrant abuses ironically
society rights take place in U.S. laboratories
The list format
The list format simply lists the context, subject and claim so that you can examine
each more closely. Here are the same two examples from above:
Example 1
Context: Despite pressure and discrimination,

Subject: women
Claim: have made great strides in the workforce.
Example 2
Context: today (that is, contemporary American society)

Subject: animal rights
Claim: The most flagrant abuse ironically takes place in U.S. laboratories
Activity 5.2
Diagram the following thesis statements using all three formats: the
sentence, the graduated triangle, and the list. Decide which format
you prefer and explain why. It’s possible that your format preference
depends on your writing needs. If this is the case, try to imagine
under what circumstances you would find each format most helpful.
1. In Malaysia today, the documented increase in childhood

emotional disorders reflects changes in institutional practices
rather than a deterioration of family values.
2. The poor food served on the canteens of most schools across

the nation represents school administrators’ privileging of profit
over student health.
Activity 5.3
For each of the following thesis statements, identify the context,

subject, and claim. It might help you to use one of the schematics
for identifying the parts of the thesis statement: the sentence, the
graduated triangle, or the list format.
1. For the music industry today, copyright laws should be set aside
in favour of free Internet distribution.
2. Nintendo’s video game James Bond encourages the breakdown

of family values.
3. Men’s mental health today still depends on being the main

financial provider for the family.
4. The major weakness in this department’s efficiency is the lack

of punctuality.
A strong vs. weak thesis statement
A STRONG thesis statement A WEAK thesis statement

1. Answers a specific question. 1. Vague: Raises an interesting topic
or question but does not specify an
2. Takes a distinct position on the argument.
topic.
2. Offers plot summary, statement
3. Is debatable (a reasonable person of fact, or obvious truths instead of
could argue an alternative position). an argument.
4. Appropriately focused for the page 3. Offers opinion or conjecture rather

length of the assignment. than an argument (cannot be
proven with textual evidence).
5. Allows your reader to anticipate the
organisation of your argument. 4. Is too broad or too complex for the
length of the paper.
5. Uses meaningful-sounding words

but does not say anything.
If you’re having trouble drafting a thesis, try filling in the blanks:
In this paper, I argue that __________ , because/by __________ ,

While critics argue __________ , I argue __________ , because __________ ,
By looking at ________ , I argue that ________ , which is important because ________ ,
The text, __________ , defines __________ , as __________ , in order to argue __________ ,
UNIT 5 23
Thesis statement checklist

Use this checklist to evaluate your thesis statement:
_______ 1. The thesis statement clearly states the main idea of my research
paper.
_______ 2. The thesis statement indicates that I am writing a persuasive essay.
_______ 3. Does my thesis offer a roadmap for the reader, containing

organisational cues on how to arrange the various parts of my
argument in the pages that follow?
Your thesis should not only state your argument but offer a roadmap
for your readers, as to how the paper as a whole will proceed. This will
often require one or two sentences beyond the single sentence that states
your thesis.
_______ 4. Does my thesis address a debatable topic?

Almost every paper assignment requires you to make an argument. In
order to do this, you must first have a topic about which one could
reasonably make at least two different arguments. If it isn’t debatable,
why spend the time to write about it?
_______ 5. The thesis statement is the appropriate scope for the assignment,
neither too broad nor too general.
Part of your task in writing a paper is not only to state what you will
argue, but also to make the argument itself. If you cannot complete the
argument in the space required, then you must narrow the scope of your
topic. Similarly, if your thesis is too narrow, you will have to brainstorm
ways to broaden your argument.
_______ 6. The thesis statement uses specific language rather than vague, general
terms.
The thesis statement is the central claim of your paper, so it must be a
complete sentence that explains the argument or purpose of your paper.
It is not a general topic or question; rather, it takes a stand on the topic
at hand.
_______ 7. The thesis statement is interesting, lively, intriguing; it makes my

audience want to read the entire paper.
_______ 8. The thesis statement shows evidence of original thought and effort.
The topic is fresh and worth my effort to write.
The placement of thesis statement

Some variation in placement of the thesis statement does exist, but most lecturers
distinctly prefer the thesis statement to be put in the final sentence of the initial
paragraph. The following are two examples of thesis statement – the italic sentences
– introduced at the end of the paragraphs.
Example 1
He is a vagabond in aristocratic clothing  shabby but grand. As he scurries along

in his cutaway and derby hat, aided by a cane, he is obviously a tramp, but a tramp
with the impeccable manners of a dandy. He is willing to tackle any job but seldom
does it properly. He often falls in love, but usually the affair sours in the end. His
only enemies are pompous people in places of authority. The general public adores
him because he is everyman of all times. Charlie Chaplin’s Tramp has remained an
international favourite because he is a character with whom the average person can
empathise.
Thesis
statement
Example 2
A quarter of a million babies are born each year with birth defects. Only 20 percent
of those defects are hereditary. Most could have been prevented: They are the tragic
results of poor pre-natal care. An unfavourable foetal environment, like that produced
by malnutrition in the mother or by her use of drugs, is a primary cause of many
kinds of birth defects.
Thesis
statement
UNIT 5 25
Summary
The above section helped you understand how to write a thesis

statement and how important it is for you to construct the statement
carefully before you write your research or reform it as you have
decided after understanding the context of your study.
Suggested answers to activities
Feedback
Activity 5.2
There are three ways to depict your working thesis statement, each of
which offers you a slightly different perspective. Notice that the three
parts may not be presented in C-S-C order in every thesis statement.
It is important that all the parts are there but not that they are in
a particular arrangement. The following are the suggested answer:
Example 1
In Malaysia today, the documented increase in childhood emotional

disorders reflects changes in institutional practices rather than a
deterioration of family values.
Sentence format:
In Malaysia today, the documented increase in childhood emotional disorders

CONTEXT SUBJECT
CLAIM
Graduated triangle format:

documented increase in
childhood emotional reflects changes in institutional
In Malaysia today, practices rather than a
disorders
deterioration of family values
The list format:
Context: In Malaysia today

Subject: the documented increase in childhood emotional
disorders
Claim: reflects changes in institutional practices rather than a
deterioration of family values.
Example 2
The poor food served on the canteens of most schools across the
nation represents school administrators’ privileging of profit over
student health.
Sentence format:
in most schools across the nation The poor food served in canteens
CONTEXT SUBJECT
represents school administrators’ privileging of profit over student health.
CLAIM
UNIT 5 27
Graduated triangle format:

poor food served in canteens
represents school
in most schools across administrators’ privileging of
the nation, profit over student health
The list format:
Context: in most schools across the nation

Subject: poor food served in canteens
Claim: represents school administrators’ privileging of profit over
student health.
Activity 5.3
To have a clear view of the listed thesis statement, use the graduated
triangle. The first one is done for you. Please continue with the
rest yourself.

should be set aside in favour of
music industry copyright laws free Internet distribution
today,
UNIT 5 29
5.3 Doing Research

Objectives
1. Choose what you need to do to carry out a review of literature pertaining

to your topic from the wide resources available.
Introduction
All the information that you need for your research paper is probably available,
but you must know how to locate and sort the useful facts from the useless ones.
And with so much information out there, knowing how to do research can save
you many frustrating hours. Start this process by examining the different kinds of
material that you can find.
Primary and secondary sources

All research materials can be sorted into two categories: primary sources and
secondary sources. It is important to know the distinction between these two types
of sources because they affect how you gather research.
Primary sources
Primary sources are those created by direct observation. The writers are participants
or observers in the events they describe. Primary sources include:
1. Autobiographies
2. Logs
3. Diaries
4. Eyewitness accounts
5. Interviews
6. Letters
7. Historical records
8. Journals
9. Oral histories
10. Statistics
11. Photos taken at the scene
12. Surveys
13. Blogs
Secondary sources
Secondary sources were written by people with indirect knowledge. These writers
relied on primary sources or other secondary sources for their information. Secondary
sources include:
1. Abstracts
2. Almanacs
3. Biographies
4. Book reviews
5. Critical analyses
6. Encyclopaedias
7. Explanations
8. Government documents
9. Indexes
10. Interpretations
11. Literary criticism
12. Textbooks
13. Web pages

UNIT 5 31
The differences between primary and secondary resources
Primary sources Secondary sources

1. Provide facts and viewpoints 1. May offer a broader perspective
that may not be available from than primary sources.
other sources.
2. Tend to be less immediate than
2. Often have an immediacy and primary sources.
freshness that secondary sources
lack. 3. May be affected by the author’s
bias.
3. May be affected by the author’s
bias.
Primary sources are not necessarily better (or worse) than secondary sources. The
most effective research papers often use a mix of both primary and secondary sources.
A research paper on land use will likely draw data mainly from secondary sources.
A paper on bilingual education might use mainly primary sources.
Summary
This section introduced you to the wide resource available to you

and explained how you can choose what you need to do to carry
out a review of literature pertaining to your topic.
This section will build the main context of your study and help you
to elaborate your findings later on.
UNIT 5 33
5.4 Preparing your Outline

Objectives
1. Write the outline of a research paper
Introduction
The next stage in the writing process begins when you are ready to think about your
focus and how to arrange the ideas that you have gathered in the collecting stage.
Writers often find that writing a first draft is an act of discovery that their ultimate
focus emerges during this initial drafting process. Later revisions of an essay, then,
are not simply editing or cleaning up the grammar of a first draft. Instead, they
truly involve revision, seeing the first draft again to establish the clearest possible
argument and the most persuasive evidence. This means that you do not have to
stick with the way a draft turns out the first time. You can  and must!  be willing
to rewrite a substantial amount of a first draft if the focus of the argument changes,
or if in the process of writing, new ideas emerge that enrich the essay. The first step
in drafting is to write the outline of the research paper.
Writing the outline

An outline is an ordered list of the topics covered in a research paper. It is useful to
both the writer and the reader. The writer who writes from an outline is less likely to
stray from the point or commit a structural error  overdeveloping one topic while
skimping on another, for example. The reader, in turn, benefits from the outline
in the form of a complete and detailed table of contents. If your information isn’t
arranged in a logical fashion, your reader won’t be able to understand your point.
10 steps to create an outline
While outlining is not difficult, it can be challenging to get started. The following
are 10 steps to make the task easier:
1. Arrange your notes in a logical order that you can follow as you write. If
you’re having difficulty seeing an order, look for clues in the sequence of
your ideas. You can make a diagram, such as a flowchart, to help you visualise
the best order to use.
2. Write down major headings.
3. Sort the material to fit under the headings. Revise the headings, order, or
both as necessary.
4. Look for relationships among ideas and group them as subtopics.
5. Try to avoid long lists of subtopics. Consider combining these into related
ideas instead. In nearly all cases, your paper will be better for having linked
related ideas.
6. If you can’t decide where to put something, put it in two or more places in
the outline. As you write, you can decide which place is the most appropriate.
7. If you’re not sure that an idea fits, write yourself a reminder to see where it
belongs after you’ve written your first draft.
8. If an important idea doesn’t fit, write a new outline with a place for it. If it’s
important, it belongs in the paper.
9. Accept your outline as a working draft. Revise and edit as you proceed.
10. After you finish your outline, let it sit for a few days. Then look back at it
and see what ideas don’t seem to fit, which points need to be expanded, and
so on. No matter how carefully you construct your outline, it will inevitably
change. Don’t be discouraged by these changes; they are part of the writing
process.
Form of an outline
Outlines can take many forms. Outlines can be long, detailed notes that document
the progression that the paper will take. Outlines can be brief, bullet-points that
include only the main points of the paper. A more common form called the formal
outline is given here. In general, a standard university research paper should have no
more than four or five main points. This means you shouldn’t have more than four
or five Roman numerals in your outline. If you have too many ideas, your paper
will either be too long or more likely, vague and overly general.
The conventions of formal outlining require that main ideas be designated by Roman
numerals (I, II, III, IV, and so on). Sub-ideas branching off from the main ideas
are designated by capital letters (A, B, C, D, and so on). Subdivisions of these sub-
ideas are designated by Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, 4, and so on). And minor ideas
are designated by lowercase letters (a, b, c, d, and so on). Here is an example of the
proper form of an outline:
UNIT 5 35
I. Main idea
A. Sub-idea
B. Sub-idea
1. Division of a sub-idea
2. Division of a sub-idea
a. Minor idea
b. Minor idea
II. Main idea
The presumption behind this arrangement is that you do not merely generalise; you
support your contentions and propositions with examples and details. Indeed, that
is exactly what you are expected to do  to make assertions that are supported by
concrete examples and specific details. Notice that every subdivided category must
have at least two sections because it is impossible to divide anything into fewer
than two parts. An outline that divides the subject into three or four levels, that is,
down to examples or details, generally is adequate for most college-level research
papers.
Formal outline
A formal outline is expanded and divided into topics and subtopics. It helps you
create a map as you draft your research paper. An effective working outline has the
following parts:
1. Introduction
2. Thesis
3. Major topics and subtopics
4. Major transitions
5. Conclusion
Usually, the entries are written as sentences. Here’s a model of a formal outline.
Example
Thesis: Since cigarette smoking creates many problems for the general public, it
should be outlawed in all public places.
I. Cigarette smoke harms the health of the public.
A. Cigarette smoke may lead to serious diseases in non-smokers.
1. It leads to lung disease.
a. It causes cancer.
b. It causes emphysema.
2. It leads to circulatory disease in non-smokers.
a. It causes strokes.
b. It causes heart disease.
B. Cigarette smoke worsens other less serious health conditions.
1. It aggravates allergies in non-smokers.
2. It causes pulmonary infections to become chronic.
3. It can lead to chronic headache.
II. Cigarette smoking causes safety problems.
A. Burning ash may destroy property.
B. Burning cigarettes may cause serious fires.
III. Cigarette smoke leads to sanitation problems.
A. Ash and tar soil the possessions of others.
B. Ash and tar cause unpleasant odours and fog the air.
IV. Conclusions
A. Cigarette smoking injures people’s health and so should be banned in all

public places.
B. Cigarette smoking damages property and so should be banned in all public

places.
UNIT 5 37
Preparing the outline of your research paper

The basic outline of a paper
The following outline shows a basic format for most academic papers. No matter
what length the paper needs to be, it should still follow the format of having an
introduction, body, and conclusion.
1. Introduction
The introduction should have some of the following elements, depending on

the type of paper:
a. Start with an attention grabber: a short story, example, statistic, or historical

context that introduces the paper topic.
b. Give an overview of any issues involved with the subject.
c. Define of any key terminology need to understand the topic.
d. Quote or paraphrase sources revealing the controversial nature of the subject

(argumentative papers only).
e. Highlight background information on the topic needed to understand the

direction of the paper.
The introduction must end with a thesis statement (1 to 2 sentences in

length):
a. Tell what the overall paper will focus on
b. Briefly outline the main points in the paper
2. Body
The body of a research paper contains evidence that supports the thesis and
shows why it is correct. The body of the paper, the paragraphs that follow,
will present the evidence that proves” the thesis or, in the case of summaries
and descriptions, completes a picture for the reader. The thesis must also do
more than simply restate or summarise the background you were given in
the assignment. It should reveal the most important thing you learned from
your research. The following are important when outlining the body of your
paper:
a. Clearly present the main points of the paper as listed in the thesis.
b. Give strong examples, details, and explanations to support each main point.
c. If an argumentative paper, address any counterarguments and refute those

arguments.
d. If a research paper, use strong evidence from sources  paraphrases,

summaries, and quotations that support the main points.
3. Conclusion
The conclusion part should remind the reader of the thesis and reemphasise
its importance. In a narrative, it is the end of the story. In a descriptive or process
paper, it presents a result. In a persuasive essay, it restates your opinion and often
makes suggestions or recommendations about how you hope the reader will
respond to the information presented.
The opening sentence in any conclusion should not merely pick up on the
transition from the previous paragraph and hook back to the thesis; it should
also do more than simply restate it. It should end with the idea that you want
to leave with your reader. This is what you should do in the conclusion section:
a. Restate your thesis from the introduction in different words.
b. Briefly summarise each main point found in the body of the paper (avoid
going over 2 sentences for each point).
c. Give a statement of the consequences of not embracing the position

(argumentative paper only).
d. End with a strong clincher statement: an appropriate, meaningful final

sentence that ties the whole point of the paper together (may refer back to
the attention grabber).
Activity 5.4
Write an outline of your research paper using the following

template:
I. Introduction
Possible ideas for the introduction:

______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
Thesis statement (usually the last sentence(s) in the introduction):

______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
UNIT 5 39
II. Body (A paper may have a few or many main points; for this
activity, outline only 5 main points)
Main Point 1: ____________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________
Examples/Details/Explanations:
a. ____________________________________________________________
b. ____________________________________________________________
c. ____________________________________________________________
Main Point 2: ____________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________
a. ____________________________________________________________
b. ____________________________________________________________
c. ____________________________________________________________
Main Point 3: ____________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________
a. ____________________________________________________________
b. ____________________________________________________________
c. ____________________________________________________________
Main Point 4: ____________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________
a. ____________________________________________________________
b. ____________________________________________________________
c. ____________________________________________________________
Main Point 5: ____________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________
a. ____________________________________________________________
b. ____________________________________________________________
c. ____________________________________________________________
III. Conclusion
Reworded thesis (usually found near the beginning of the

conclusion):
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Other ideas to conclude:

___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Clincher ideas: ____________________________________

_____________________________________________________________
Summary
Keep your outline with you as you write and refer to it constantly.
Although it may change once you begin writing, you will always
have it as a basic guideline and original map of your thoughts.
Remember, your outline is a starting point and a solid, visual way
to organise your thoughts and sources. When you begin the actual
process of writing, you don’t have to worry about how to organise
your sources or how they will all fit together.
UNIT 5 41
Feedback
Activity 5.4
Here is an example of an outline written about the life of Rasputin,

the mad monk:
Title: Rasputin’s other Side
I. Introduction
Rasputin was, no doubt, a complex but simple man who found

himself in over his head and nothing in his life indicates any
intentional evil. He  like the rest of humanity  succumbed
to temptations-which in his case-being surrounded by power-
seeking sycophants  often took the form of reprehensible
behaviour.
Thesis statement: After six decades of being judged a

demoniacal libertine, Rasputin now deserves to be viewed from
another point of view  as a man who was intensely religious,
who passionately desired peace, and who was deeply devoted
to his family and friends.
II. Body
Main Point 1: The real Rasputin is difficult to discover.
A. The birth of Rasputin coincided with a shooting star.
B. The popular historical view of Rasputin portrays him as

primarily evil.
1. Supporters called him a spiritual leader.
2. Detractors called him a satyr and charged that

his depraved faithful were merely in awe of his sexual
endowments.
Main Point 2: Rasputin had intense religious feelings.
A. He was both vital and exuberant.
B. He had a simple peasant faith in God.

Main Point 3: Rasputin’s passionate desire for peace in Russia

revealed itself in several ways.
A. He was concerned for the Russian underdog.
1. He wanted a tsar who would stand up for the peasantry.
2. He spoke out boldly against anti-Semitism.
B. Because of his humanitarian spirit, he was opposed to all

wars.
Main Point 4: Rasputin had a gentle, compassionate side.
A. He showed great kindness to the Romanovs.
B. Maria Rasputin tells of her father’s love for his family.
III. Conclusion
Reworded thesis (usually found near the beginning of the

conclusion):
The contemporary press, as well as sensationalist articles and books

published in the 1920s and 1930s, turned the charismatic peasant
into a twentieth century legend. To Westerners, Rasputin came to
be the embodiment of the stereotypes attributed to the Russian
people in those times, backwardness, superstition, irrationality,
and licentiousness. To some Russians, especially the Communists,
he represented all that was evil in the old regime, which needed
to be overcome by the Revolution. To others, Rasputin remained
a symbol of the voice of the peasantry, and many to this day reject
the negative stories and honour the man.
Clincher idea:
History has shown that Rasputin is the man who catalysed the
Russian Revolution and swept away Tsar Empire forever.
UNIT 5 43
5.5 Preparing Your Draft

Objectives
1. Prepare a draft.
2. Identify statements to be arranged in a logical manner.
3. Arrange your ideas to form a logical sequence.
4. Analyse your main thesis statement.
Introduction
Once you have an outline to guide your writing, you are ready to write the first
draft. The first draft is where you try out the organisation that you created in your
outline and expand the ideas you identified to support your thesis. It is not the
finished product. A good draft can help you identify ways to express your information
accurately and your thoughts persuasively.
Before you begin, it is a good idea to again consider the members of your audience:
Who are they? What do they know? What style of writing and language will they find
most interesting or persuasive? Recognise that although members of your audience
may all be of a similar background and educational level, they will not necessarily
possess the same knowledge of the subject that you do. Ask yourself:
1. How much of the information covered by your research is common

knowledge? You want to provide sufficient explanation of unfamiliar
concepts, but, at the same time, not elaborating on the obvious.
2. What kind of information is needed to move your reader to a better

understanding of the subject or to agree with your assessment of it? The
answers to this question will provide the topics for the paragraphs in the
body of your paper.
3. What do you want the reader to remember most? This will be the focus of
your conclusion.
The answers to these questions will give you a sense of how much background you
will need to include about your subject.
The hourglass analogy
Introduction (broad)
Literature review
Methods and results (narrow)
Discussion (broad)
Conclusion (broad)
Figure 5.3 The hourglass analogy of a research paper (drawn by Dr. Toh Seong Chong
2013)
Think of your research paper as if it had an hourglass shape. You expose your
reader to a broad idea of what your thesis is about through the title or an
abstract. Use the introduction to guide the reader to the narrower research question
that you focus on. The literature review further situates your specific research
question in a larger body of knowledge. The methods and results sections are very
narrow  they focus only on what you did. The discussion is where you interpret
your findings, rather than just reporting on them. Here, you start to think more
broadly about the literature that you reviewed and you link your specific findings
to a broader body of research. Finally, the conclusion brings your reader back to
broader themes. How can your work be extended? What other questions does
it raise? How does it relate to other issues?
How to write your introduction

The introduction sets the tone for what will follow and signals the reader about
what to expect. It includes the thesis statement  the most important sentence
in the paper  and it should be written in an interesting way that entices the
audience to read on. It should not be too long, nor should it be too short; a half
to three-quarters of a page is usually appropriate. The length depends on the
amount of explanation that your thesis requires. The introduction has a lot of
work to perform. Each component has to do its job for the introduction to be
successful. Often, the introduction is the most difficult paragraph to write. In
your outline, you should have developed the elements that will go into the
introduction, including an overview of your research, a good working thesis, and
UNIT 5 45
a tentative transition sentence leading to the topic in the next paragraph. The
challenge is to present this information in an interesting order, so that the ideas
flow clearly from one to another.
Here are some tips for perfecting your introduction:
1. First, write your thesis statement. Your thesis statement should state the
main idea in specific terms.
2. After you have a working thesis statement, write the body of your paper
before you write the rest of the introduction. Each paragraph in the body
should explore one specific topic that proves or summarises your thesis.
After you have written the body paragraphs, go back and rewrite your thesis
to make it more specific and to connect it to the topics that you addressed
in the body paragraph.
3. Revise your introduction several times, saving each revision. Be sure that
your introduction previews the topics that you are presenting in your paper.
4. Do not try to pack everything that you want to say into your introduction.
Just as your introduction should not be too short, it should also not be too
long. Your introduction should be about the same length as any other
paragraph in your essay
Examples of introductions
Here are some starters for introductions:
1. Interesting revelations about the subject.
2. A question that asks your audience to weigh the importance of the subject.
3. A relevant quotation or claim about the subject.
4. An anecdote that shows how your subject affects people’s lives.
5. Important background or historical information about the subject.
Phrases to avoid in your introduction
1. Avoid: Everyone agrees that …

Instead say: Evidence indicates …
2. Avoid: Everywhere in the world …/In all the world …

Instead say: A common phenomenon is …
3. Avoid: Every single …

Instead say: Many …
4. Avoid: All …
Instead say: Most …
5. Avoid: None … (or no one …)

Instead say: Few …
6. Avoid: Never …
Instead say: Rarely …
7. Avoid: Forever …/Always …

Instead say: Many times …/Often …
The goal of the introduction to your thesis is to:
1. Identify your research question(s).
2. Briefly outline the major theoretical debates or bodies of work with

which you are engaging.
3. Provide a brief overview of the methods that you use to answer your question.
4. Make the case that your research question is important or that answering
it makes a contribution.
5. State your key findings briefly. Tell your reader what you found, and then
you will use the rest of the paper to explain how you discovered it and the
details of the findings.
6. Provide a roadmap or overview of the entire research paper to your reader.

Use clear and simple language.
Summary
The above section explained how you can write introductions and
provided several examples. The section taught you to select certain
phrases important for maintaining the quality of your paper. This is
an important start as it is in this area that you decide your writing
style and engage the reader.
UNIT 5 47
5.6 Literature Review: Setting up Your

Thesis
Objectives
1. Write a literature review
Introduction
This section enables you to understand that the goal of a literature review is not
just to summarise past research; it is to identify two or three theoretical arguments
or empirical bodies of work in which you situate your research question. It also
guides you to connect your research question to a larger body of research, both
theoretically and empirically. The section follows the earlier section which describes
how to write your literature review. You are strongly advised to revise this section
before proceeding to the next section.
Data and methods

The goal of data and methods are to explain to your reader what you did 
both how you collected data and how you analysed them. We will discuss them
separately.
Data
In data, you walk the reader step-by-step through the process through which you
gathered your data. Start with the six important questions:
1. When: Describe over what time period were your data collected? Is it from
a one-time period or were there multiple time periods?
2. Where: Explain where your data was collected? Was it from one city? Was
it national? Was it from multiple countries?
3. Who: Describe the final analytic sample of subjects (or source materials, in
the case of content analysis/historical projects). What characteristics does
the population that you studied have? How did you choose this population
to work with?
4. How many: What is your sample size? How many cases do you have overall?
How many cases are in each key subgroup? What was the response rate?
5. How: This encompasses how the data was collected, and how the key
variables are worded. Did you collect the data or is it from a secondary
source?
a. Describe your sampling method: How did you contact them? If

you’re considering an in-depth case study, how did you select your
case? If you’re doing content analysis, how did you select the data that
you analysed? If you are not collecting original data, how did you
select the dataset that you used? Describe the sampling methods of
this dataset: what is the population?
b. Describe the instruments used: What kind of instrument did you use?
About how long did it take for each subject to complete the data
collection process? Show proof of validity and reliability of your
instruments. If you’re doing ethnography, how often did you visit the
field? How long did you stay in the field? What did you do while you
were there? If you are doing content analysis, where did you access the
media that you analysed? If you are not collecting original data,
describe what those researchers who actually collected the data did
 interviews, surveys, etc. You should include your instruments
(surveys, interview questions, etc.) as an appendix.
c. What were the variables measured? Limit in-depth description to

your key dependent, moderator and independent variables. How are
you conceptualising and operationalising the variables, both dependent
and independent? You should report on the frequency or average
scores for key dependent and independent variables, whether you are
doing qualitative or quantitative work. Let the reader know what the
sample looks like on key dimensions  what is the racial/ethnic, gender,
class or other key variable breakdown? If you are doing ethnography,
describe the field  what are the demographic characteristics of the
organisation, school, neighbourhood, etc.?
6. Why: As the researcher, you have made countless analytical decisions

along the course of your work. You need to provide a justification for
virtually every methodological choice that is made.
UNIT 5 49
Methods
After describing your data, you should tell the reader what you did. For qualitative,
non-participant or participant observation, in-depth case study, or content analysis
research, you should describe your coding scheme. You can include the entire coding
rubric as an appendix if you would like. For quantitative work, you should describe
your basic models and you might want to provide simple regression equations for
them. You cannot describe every model that you ran, but if you tested two or three
main dependent variables or if you used two or three sets of independent variables,
you might describe these two or three key models. This part should outline what
you did, which you will return to when you write up your results.
Hypotheses
You do not need to state specific hypotheses in your research paper, but if you’d like
to, a logical place to include them would be immediately before the methods section.
What hypotheses are you testing with each model? What theoretical or empirical
research informs your hypotheses?
Throughout your discussion of your data and methods, you should keep your
literature in mind and integrate it into your writing. What theories were your
instruments or models designed to test? What new populations, questions, or
methods do you use that past empirical research did not explore?
Results
In each results chapter, you should tell your reader what you found. Here, you
are describing the findings, but offering limited interpretation. The bigger picture
of interpretation occurs in the discussion section. You should organise the results
section by identifying:
1. What specific sub-question you are trying to answer.
2. How you are answering it  what analyses you are using.
3. What you found.
4. How your findings support any original hypotheses that you might have
had or how your findings fit into the research that you reviewed in your
literature review.
At the beginning of each results section, state what question you are trying to
answer  are you testing a hypothesis? Are you trying to identify patterns? Then,
state what you did. If you are doing quantitative analyses, briefly describe the
regression or statistical test you are using.
Then you should present your findings. You should walk the readers through both:
what analysis you conducted and what you found. For quantitative data, you should
start by describing your simplest model. Often, this includes control variables that
will be present in every subsequent model.
Discussion and conclusion

The goals of the discussion and conclusion parts are to:
1. Re-summarise your main findings. In the results part, you should go

into detail and describe each table you present. However, this can result
in your reader getting lost as to what the most important findings are. In
this part, you should return to your main research questions and state what
you found with regard to these main points. One organisational strategy is
to state the key findings at the beginning of the part, dividing the chapter
into one part about each main finding and then interpret the findings as
described below.
2. Interpret your main findings. This differs from simply describing the
findings, because rather than just stating what the patterns and trends
were in your data, you are beginning to answer the “so what” question.
Though you are stating your key findings rather than going back into
detail about everything you found, you should consider all of your more
nuanced findings holistically to determine what you have discovered
about the social phenomenon that you set out to study.
3. Discuss any methodological limitations that may compromise your

findings. It is important to be honest with your reader rather than trying
to hide something that you wish you had done differently. As the saying
goes, “Tell the truth and shame the devil”. Identify any problems with your
sampling, instrument, or analyses that might possibly impact on your
findings. Do not undercut what you’ve done; your findings are probably
true and well studied! But, if there is something that you wish you had
done differently because it compromised your project or because you
didn’t get as much information as you wanted, mention it briefly.
4. Discuss implications of your findings and suggestions for future

research. You can think about this in several ways. What does your study
suggest for policy  for the social lives of the group you’ve studied or for
the way we study the question that you undertook? Again, it’s important
to find a balance between underselling the importance of what you’ve
done and claiming that you have singlehandedly solved debates that have
been occurring for generations.
Think back to the hourglass analogy  the discussion and conclusion parts are
your opportunity to connect your work to broader issues. In the results part, you
have spent considerable time going into the details about your findings. Now, it is
your opportunity to help the reader make sense of the most important things you
UNIT 5 51
found, what they explain about the social phenomenon you set out to study, and
how the findings fit into the larger literature. Speculate on policy implications. If
you expect to find your results across social groups or in different time periods,
be creative about what other questions should be explored. The conclusion is in
some ways a summary, but it is also a window into future research possibilities
(not necessarily for you, but for others interested in this topic).
Further word on the conclusion

Just as your introduction captures the reader’s attention, your conclusion should leave
the reader thinking about the issues that you presented while bringing your paper
to a logical end. Some writers prefer to restate the main points in the conclusion.
Other strategies may be used, such as an inspiring quotation, a dramatic example,
or an important statistic. If you begin your paper with a question, you may decide
to answer the question in the concluding paragraph.
You might also urge the reader to take action on an issue, solve a problem, or change
a belief. Do not make the mistake of introducing new points that were not developed
in the body paragraphs. Moreover, never leave the reader hanging, wondering if you
forgot to end the paper or left something out. Be sure that your ending sounds like
an ending, without using conversational language such as, “This is all I have to say”,
“This concludes my paper on the topic of …” or even worse, “The end”.
Here are some examples of concluding paragraphs:
Topic: Dreams
Today, scientists have discovered some of the most complex and intriguing
functions of the human brain, but the meaning of one of the oldest and simplest
functions of the brain  dreaming  is yet to be discovered.
Topic: The Problem of Television
Reading stimulates a child’s imagination and so encourages thinking and doing.

Television, however, promotes a more passive attitude. Children see television
as the panacea to all of their problems. It fills their time, keeps them company,
answers their questions and makes them laugh or cry, all by just pushing a
button. To watch television, a child really does not have to do anything. That
is the real problem.
Writing the abstract

The abstract is an important piece of work as it is one of the first things that an
examiner will look at. Write the abstract after you have completed the first draft
of your research paper. The following subsection provides suggestions on how to
structure abstracts. Examples of abstracts are included for you to analyse.
What is an abstract?
An abstract highlights the introduction, methods, results, discussion and conclusions.

Although the abstract replaces an outline, we suggest that, for the sake of logical
progression and balance in the paper, you write from an outline even if you are not
required to submit one. Writing the abstract in a coherent paragraph is relatively
easy if you have outlined your paper. To produce a smooth abstract, you need only
link and condense the main ideas of the outline with appropriate commentary. In
writing the abstract, use no more than one page (about 120 words). Remember that
the whole point of abstracting is to condense.
The abstract should meet the following criteria:
1. Reflect accurately the purpose and content of your paper.
2. Explain briefly the central issue or problem of your paper.
3. Summarise your paper’s most important points.
4. Mention the major sources used.
5. State your conclusions clearly.
6. Be coherent so that it is easy to read.
7. Remain objective in its point of view.
Typical structure of the abstract
The abstract typically aims to provide an overview of the study which answers
the following questions:
1. What was the general purpose of the study?
2. What was the particular aim of the study?
3. Why was the study carried out?
4. How was the study carried out?
5. What did the study reveal?

UNIT 5 53
The typical structure of an abstract is then:
1. Overview of the study.
2. Aim of the study.
3. Reason for the study.
4. Methodology used in the study.
5. Findings of the study.
The following is an example of an abstract. Annotations/comments are highlighted

on the left margin to show the main features of the abstract:
Newspaper commentaries on terrorism:

A contrastive genre study
Abstract
Overview of the This thesis is a contrastive genre study which explores
study newspaper commentaries on terrorism in Chinese and
Australian newspapers. The study examines the textual
patterning of the Australian and Chinese commentaries,
interpersonal and intertextual features of the texts as well
as considers possible contextual factors which contribute
to the formation of the newspaper commentaries in the
two different languages and cultures.
Methodology For its framework for analysis, the study draws on systemic
used in the functional linguistics, English for specific purposes and
study new rhetoric genre studies, critical discourse analysis,
and discussions of the role of the mass media in the two
different cultures.
Findings of the The study reveals that Chinese writers often use
study explanatory rather than argumentative expositions in
their newspaper commentaries. They seem to distance
themselves from outside sources and seldom indicate
endorsement to these sources. Australian writers, on
the other hand, predominantly use argumentative
expositions to argue their points of view.
Aim of the study The study, thus, aims to provide both a textual and
contextual view of the genre under investigation in these
two languages and cultures.
Reason for the In doing so, it aims to establish a framework for
study contrastive rhetoric research which moves beyond the
text into the context of production and interpretation of
the text as a way of exploring reasons for linguistic and
rhetorical choices made in the two sets of texts.
Table 5.4 Analysis of an abstract

Adapted from source: Source: based on Wang 2006
Activity 5.5
Study the following abstract and identify where you can find the
following:
1. Overview of the study.
2. Aim of the study.
3. Reason for the study.
4. Methodology used in the study.
5. Findings of the study.
The political and educational implications of gender, class

and race in Hollywood film: holding out for a female hero
Abstract
This thesis examines the articulations of gender, class, and race in a

specific sample of films from the 1930s to the 1990s. The tendency in
these films is to depict women as passive, rather than heroic. Because
this has been the common practice, I chose to outline it through fourteen
films that exemplified an inherent bias when dealing with women as
subject matter. Brief summaries of several recently produced progressive
films are provided to show that it is possible to improve the image of
women in film; hence we may finally witness justice on the big screen.
In this discursive analysis, I trace specific themes from the feminist and
film literature to provide a critical overview of the chosen films, with
a view to establishing educational possibilities for the complex issues
dealt with in this study.
(Lewis 1998)
The language of abstracts
There are two ways to view your abstract as a summary of the research that was
carried out. The first way typically uses the present simple tense (This paper
examines ...). The second way typically uses the past simple tense (The study revealed
that ...) and the present perfect tense (Previous research has shown that ...). Table
below is a summary of these different tense uses with examples taken from the
previous abstracts.
UNIT 5 55
Summary of the thesis

Present simple This thesis examines the articulations of gender, class,
and race in a specific sample of films from the 1930s to
the 1990s
Report of the research
Past simple This study traced the development of the Women’s
Sports
Foundation (WSF) in Britain over its first eleven years of
operation (1984 – 1994).
Present perfect The WSF has moved away from philosophical origins
influenced by radical feminism towards a closer
alliance with the values and priorities of the sports
establishment.
Table 5.2 Use of verb tenses in abstracts
Writing keywords
Keywords are seven to eight words right after the abstract of your paper. These words
represent the major concepts of the paper. They reflect the nature of your work
that you have presented in the paper. Keywords are mainly used for indexing. The
keywords should be presented carefully so that when another researcher is searching
your paper on the Internet, your paper will appear in a search engine. You should
use only widely accepted terms within your research community.
The following is an example of keywords used in a conference paper:
World Conference on Information Technology – 2011

Cognitive Load Factors in Multimedia Learning: 10 Application Principles for
Instructional Designers
Seong-Chong Toh
Centre For Instructional Technology and Multimedia, Universiti Sains Malaysia
(USM), 11800 Penang, Malaysia
Abstract
Cognitive load theory (CLT) is one of the most widely accepted theories in the
design of multimedia learning. This paper is divided into three parts: The first part
describes the theoretical foundations and assumptions of CLT in the light of recent
advances in CLT research; the second part provides 10 prescriptive principles for
instructional designers; the third part reports the recent developments and findings
within the framework of cognitive load theory in the context of several experiments
conducted at the Centre for Instructional Technology and Multimedia, USM and
offers directions for future CLT research.
Keywords: cognitive load; multimedia learning; redundancy principle; modality

principle; working memory.
The keywords are:
1. Three to seven or eight words
2. Representing the major concepts of the paper
3. Used for indexing
4. Should be widely accepted terms
Summary
Writing your first draft should be fun. As explained in the section,

you are like a detective because you are linking all your clues and
essential bits of information together one by one. The above section
also stressed on the use of transitional words and phrases to help you
link one idea to the next  one sentence to the other. Gradually,
if you just focus on getting all the information from your notes on
paper, those sentences will form paragraphs and those paragraphs
will flow from one to the other.
Feedback
Activity 5.5
Newspaper commentaries on terrorism:

A contrastive genre study
Abstract
Aim of the This thesis examines the articulations of
study gender, class, and race in a specific sample
of films from the 1930s to the 1990s. The
tendency in these films is to depict women as
passive, rather than heroic.
Methodology Because this has been the common practice, I
used in the chose to outline it through fourteen films that
study exemplified an inherent bias when dealing
with women as subject matter.
Findings of the Brief summaries of several recently produced
study progressive films are provided to show that it
is possible to improve the image of women in
film; hence we may finally witness justice on
the big screen.
UNIT 5 57
Aim of the study The study, thus, aims to provide both a textual
and contextual view of the genre under
investigation in these two languages and
cultures.
Reason for the In this discursive analysis, I trace specific
study themes from the feminist and film literature
to provide a critical overview of the chosen
films, with a view to establishing educational
possibilities for the complex issues dealt with
in this study.
(Lewis 1998)
UNIT 5 59
5.7 Revising and Editing your Research

Paper
Objectives
1. Explain the different stages of revising and editing your research paper.
2. Write a research paper based on the draft that you have prepared.
Introduction
In this section, you will learn how to transform your first draft into a complete
research paper. This section elaborates on the different stages of revising and editing
the research paper so that it is all arranged in a logical manner.
Revising and editing your research paper

Transforming your first draft into a final draft can be a challenging process. The
following checklist questions may guide you as you decide what and how to revise:
1. The introduction
a. Do I catch the reader’s interest, provide relevant background, and narrow

the topic into a thesis statement sentence? Does the thesis encompass all
of my key ideas? Can I underline the thesis to make sure that it is clearly
stated? Do I need to adjust the thesis  either broaden or narrow it?
2. The discussion
a. Have I clearly organised my paragraphs using one main idea per

paragraph? Have I included a topic sentence to introduce the main idea
for each paragraph? Do I need to adjust any topic sentences in any way?
b. Have I used transitions as links back to the thesis and to preceding

paragraphs?
c. Does my argument:
i. Have a clear structure? (Can I easily outline it? Can someone else easily
outline it?)
ii. Develop in the most logical order? Would a different organisation be

more effective?
iii. Respond in sufficient depth to all aspects of the assignment?
d. Do I have enough evidence, or too much? Does my evidence advance the

argument in some way, without repeating the same points? Does each
sub-argument have enough explanation and support (quotations, detailed
discussion of events or language)?
e. Do I explain in my own words the significance of all quotations? Am I using

quotations to support my own analysis?
3. The conclusion
a. Does my conclusion bring my argument to a close? Does it tie the

argument together in such a way that the reader knows my purpose in writing
this paper? Does it accomplish more, such as provide a broader context for
the topic, propose a course of action, offer a new perspective on the topic, or
end with an interesting twist? Do I leave my reader with something to
ponder?
In addition to revising the structure of your draft paper, you should also carry
out sentence-level revision. The following list may assist you.
4. Sentence-Level Revision:
a. What grammatical and stylistic concerns do I see? Have I written with

clarity and conciseness? Check for the following:
i. Correct word choice, punctuation, spelling
ii. Clear pronoun reference (tip: avoid ‘this is’, ‘it is’ and ‘that is’
constructions)
iii. Consistent verb tense
iv. Variety in sentence structure
b. Is the emotional tone I use appropriate for my audience and topic?
c. What more could I say in the next draft? Could I strengthen my argument
with further evidence, provide a broader context, or examine counter-
arguments?
d. What could I eliminate in the next draft? Have I used irrelevant or

repetitive ideas, unnecessary quotations, etc.?
UNIT 5 61
5. General Suggestions
a. Read your draft aloud. We often hear weaknesses in writing more readily
than we see them.
b. Keep a reader in mind. Ask yourself, "Could someone else understand

what I am saying?"
c. Have someone else read your draft – your wife, your husband, a writing
tutor, a friend, a roommate, etc. It is very difficult to be objective about your
own writing. Be sure to acknowledge all the help that you receive and make
sure there is no conflict of interest if you work with someone else from the
same class.
6. The final step
a. Once you have completed the final revision, it is time for one more
effort  run a spell-check and proofread. You wrote it; take pride in your
final effort. Proofread your final draft.
Your research paper format

The Chicago Manual of Style (CMS)
Wawasan Open University adopts the Chicago Manual Style (CMS) format for
writing research paper. The following is a template of the CSM format:
Your Title Goes Here
John Q. Frederick
Wawasan Open University
UNIT 5 63
Your Title Goes Here
This template contains pre-settings for the essential features
of Chicago format: margins, indentations, font, line spacing,
and widow/orphan control, as explained in The Research Process,
pages 160, 224, and 244-45. To use this template, select "File-
-Save As" and save the template under a new name. Then use type-
over insertions to replace the title and the text in the body of
the template, or delete the body text in blocks. (Hint: Leave
the sample block quotation in place to preserve its paragraph
indentation and the triple spacing before and after it, as a
model. Use type-over insertions in the page of notes to preserve
the format and indentations.)
Here, then, is a sample block quotation:
A quotation that occupies more than four typed lines should
be indented five spaces from the left margin, double spaced,
without quotation marks at the beginning and end. Its right
margin should be set at 1". Triple spacing is best handled
in Microsoft Word by creating section breaks and setting one
line before and after the block at "Exactly: 18 points." The
citation superscript should be placed after the block's last
item of punctuation.1
I suggest printing this template to make sure that your printer
is properly configured. This page should print as 17 double-
spaced lines, plus a block quotation of eight lines preceded and
followed by triple spacing, plus a header.

UNIT 5 65
Notes
1. Jane Q. Doe, "Title of an Article," Title of a Magazine,
12 Aug. 1999, 23.
2. John R. Doe, "Title of an Article," Title of a Scholarly
Journal 18 (1987): 115.
3. Firstname Lastname, Title of a Sample Book (City: Publisher,
year), 267.
4. Martin Maner, Women and Eighteenth-Century Literature
[online], 14 Apr. 1999 [cited 9 Aug. 1999]; available from World
Wide Web: <http://www.wright.edu/~martin.maner/18cwom99.html>
[one screen].
[Designed for Word 97.]

Your research paper template
The following is a research paper template. It provides you with guidelines on the
number of words to be put in each section.
Title
(10 to 20 words − Includes all essential words in the right order and covey the purpose
of your research)
FIRST LAST NAME (Your name)

Your School, Organisation or Company
Abstract: (100 to 300 words – A single paragraph summarising the contents of the
paper. Highlights of the introduction, methods, results, discussion and conclusions
sections.)
Key words: (three to six words – representing the major concept of the paper)
1. INTRODUCTION
(Typically 1000 to 2500 words – Includes literature review and provides the context for
the research work that will be presented.)
2. METHODS
(Varies from 1000 to 3000 words – Includes an overview of your research work, the
rationale, specific features of your work, analytical model or experimental work,
methodologies/formulas/equations developed or used in reaching the results,
contributions that make your work stand out, advantages over other published work,
etc.)
3. RESULTS
(1000 to 2500 words – Includes the findings of your work. Evaluation/assessment of

the data, capabilities of your model, results of the experimental findings, etc.)
UNIT 5 67
4. DISCUSSION
(1000 to 2000 words – Includes a summary of the findings, the advantages over other
published work, limitations and your recommendations for future work. This section
can be combined with the Results section.)
5. CONCLUSIONS
(About 500 words – Tells the reader what has already been read and draws the
important conclusions; be sure to keep it short and make it as specific as possible.)
Acknowledgments: (A few sentences – At a minimum, this section should list the

sources of funding that contributed to the paper. This section may also recognise other
people who contributed to the paper or data contained in the paper, but at a level of
effort that does not justify their inclusion as authors.)
REFERENCES
(All referenced works cited in the paper. Follow the formatting requirements of the
journal in which the article is to be published. You may not include references that
were not cited.)
APPENDICES
(Data sources, derivations that are too extensive to be included in the Methods section,
etc. Should comply with the requirements of the journal. This section can come before
References.)
Summary
The above section took you through the process of proofreading

and editing. As you learned how to move from stage to another,
the above section taught you how to narrow down your errors and
unnecessary statements.
UNIT 5 69
5.8 Action Research

Objectives
1. Define action research and when to use it.
2. Identify the types of action research designs.
3. Describe the key characteristics of action research.
4. Identify the steps in conducting an action research study.
5. List the criteria for evaluating an action research report.
Introduction
Consider the following scenario:
Teacher Animah chooses to conduct an action research study. Her school committee
especially likes this approach because Teacher Animah will develop a practical solution to
the problem of students carrying knives in school. She asks this research question: “What
steps can our school take to encourage students to be more concerned about the possession
of weapons in the school?” Teacher Animah collects information from her students by
asking them to complete a brief questionnaire (quantitative data) and by having them
keep and write in a journal (qualitative data) for a couple of months about their
experiences with other students who carry knives to school. Teacher Animah also holds
conversations with fellow teachers and obtains their reaction to the problem. From this
data, Teacher Animah compiles a list of possible solutions and rank orders them based
on how individuals rated them. She presents this list to her school committee, and they
choose which solutions they can realistically implement. Teacher Animah has conducted
an action research study.
Action research is one of those terms that we hear quite often in today’s educational
circles. But, what does it really mean? If you ask three people to define action research,
you may find yourself with three different responses.
Typically, action research is undertaken in a school setting. It is a reflective process

that allows inquiry and discussion as components of the “research.” Often, action
research is a collaborative activity among colleagues searching for solutions to
everyday problems experienced in schools, or looking for ways to improve instruction
and increase student achievement. Rather than dealing with the theoretical, action
research allows practitioners to address those concerns that are closest to them,
ones over which they can exhibit some influence and make change. The process of
action research assists educators in assessing needs, documenting the steps of inquiry,
analysing data, and making informed decisions that can lead to desired outcomes.
Definition of action research designs

Action research designs are systematic procedures done by teachers (or other
individuals in an educational setting) to gather information about, and subsequently
improve, the ways their particular educational setting operates, their teaching, and
their student learning (Mills 2011).
Educators aim to improve the practice of education by studying issues or problems

that they face. Educators reflect on these problems, collect and analyse data, and
implement changes based on their findings. In some cases, researchers address a
local, practical problem, such as a classroom issue for a teacher. In other situations,
researchers seek to empower, transform, and emancipate individuals from situations
that constrain their self-development and self-determination.
History
In the 1940s, educational psychologist Kurt Lewin developed the concept of action
research. The idea was to have teachers address a classroom- or school-wide problem
by collecting data, analysing data and coming up with a solution for the problem.
When teachers conduct action research, they record and reflect on the planning,
process, tasks and steps that were done to solve the problem.
Assumptions of action research
Action research is based on the following assumptions (Watts 1985, p. 118):
1. Teachers and principals work best on problems that they have identified
for themselves
2. Teachers and principals become more effective when encouraged to

examine and assess their own work and then consider ways of working
differently
3. Teachers and principals help each other by working collaboratively.
4. Working with colleagues helps teachers and principals in their professional

development.
When do you use action research?
You use action research when you have a specific educational problem to solve. Action
research provides an opportunity for educators to reflect on their own practices.
Within the scope of a school, action research offers a means for staff development,
for teachers’ development as professionals, and for addressing school wide problems
(Allen and Calhoun 1998). In fact, the scope of action research provides a means
for teachers or educators in the schools to improve their practices of taking action
and to do so by participating in research.
UNIT 5 71
What are the types of action research designs?

A review of the major writers in education shows that the following two basic research
designs are typically discussed (Mills 2011):
1. Practical action research.
2. Participatory action research.
Figure 5.5 below gives an overview of their differences:
Figure 5.5 Two types of action research designs (drawn by Dr. Toh Seong Chong)
Practical action research
Teachers seek to conduct research in their own classrooms so that they can improve
their students’ learning and their own professional performance. Teams composed
of teachers, students, counsellors, and administrators engage in action research to
address common issues such as escalating violence in schools. In these situations,
educators seek to enhance the practice of education through the systematic study
of a local problem.
This form of action research is called practical action research, and its purpose is
to research a specific school situation with a view toward improving practice
(Schmuck 1997). Practical action research involves a small-scale research project,
narrowly focuses on a specific problem or issue, and is undertaken by individual
teachers or teams within a school or school district. Examples of practical action
research studies include these:
1. An elementary teacher studies the disruptive behaviour of a child in her

classroom. A team composed of students, teachers, and parents studies
the results of implementing a new mathematics program in the junior high.
2. A community college instructor studies his professional development using

technology in teaching.
In all of these examples, action research seeks to improve specific, local issues. It
calls for educators to involve teachers in research to study concerns in their own
schools or classrooms and to implement site-based councils or committees in
schools to enhance research as an integral part of daily classes and education. In
this environment, educators can test their own theories and explanations about
learning, examine the effects of their practices on students, and explore the impact
of approaches on parents, colleagues, and administrators within their schools.
To understand practical action research, we need to review its major ideas or

principles.
As identified by Mills (2011), the following principles focus on assumptions about

the role of teachers as learners, as reflective practitioners, and as individuals engaging
in small-scale research projects:
1. Teacher-researchers have decision-making authority to study an educational

practice as part of their own ongoing professional development.
2. Teacher-researchers are committed to continued professional development

and school improvement, a core assumption for any teacher who decides to
engage in action research.
3. Teacher-researchers want to reflect on their practices. They reflect so that

they can improve their practices. They do this individually or in school-based
teams composed of students, teachers, and administrators.
4. Teacher-researchers use a systematic approach for reflecting on their

practices, meaning that they use identifiable procedures to study their
own problems rather than using a random, “anything goes” design.
5. Teacher-researchers will choose an area of focus, determine data collection

techniques, analyse and interpret data, and develop action plans.
Participatory action research (PAR)
Participatory action research (PAR) is social inquiry involving communities,

industries and corporations, and other organisations outside of education. Rather
than focus on individual teachers solving immediate classroom problems or schools
addressing internal issues, PAR has a social and community orientation and an
emphasis on research that contributes to emancipation or change in our society.
Kemmis and McTaggert (2005) summarised six central features of PAR:
UNIT 5 73
1. PAR is a social process in which the researcher deliberately explores

the relationship between the individual and other people. The
objective is to understand how social interaction forms and reforms
individuals. Applied to education, participatory action researchers might
explore teachers working together in teams.
2. This form of inquiry is participatory. This means that individuals

conduct studies on themselves. During this process, people examine how
their own understandings, skills, values, and present knowledge both
frame and constrain their actions. Teachers, for example, would study
themselves to gain a better understanding of their practices and how this
knowledge shapes (and constrains) their work with students.
3. This form of research is practical and collaborative. It is collaborative

because it is inquiry completed with others. It is practical because
researchers typically explore acts of communication, the production
of knowledge, and the structure of social organisation to reduce
irrational, unproductive, unjust or unsatisfying interactions. Teachers,
for example, might collaborate with other teachers to reduce the levels of
bureaucracy in a school that might inhibit classroom innovations.
4. PAR is emancipatory in that it helps unshackle people from the constraints

of irrational and unjust structures that limit self-development and self-
determination. The intent of a study, for example, might be to change the
bureaucratic procedures for teachers in schools so that they can better
facilitate student learning.
5. PAR is critical in that it aims to help people recover and release

themselves from the constraints embedded in social media (e.g., their
language, their modes of work, their social relationships of power). For
instance, teachers may be constrained by a subservient role in the school
district so that they do not feel empowered in their classrooms.
6. PAR is reflexive (e.g., recursive or dialectical) and focused on bringing

about change in practices. This occurs through spirals of reflection and
action. When teachers reflect on their roles in schools, they will try one
action and then another, always returning to the central question of what
they learned and accomplished because of their actions. A spiral of looking,
thinking, and action best reflects the action research process.
Cyclical nature of action research
It is critical at this point to reiterate the fact that action research is not a linear process.
Action research has historically been viewed as cyclical in nature (Mertler and Charles
2008). That is to say, whereas action research has a clear beginning, it does not have
a clearly defined end point. Ordinarily, teacher-researchers design and implement
a project, collect and analyse data in order to monitor and evaluate the project’s
effectiveness, and then make revisions and improvements to the project for future
implementation. In all likelihood, the project would then be implemented again 
perhaps with next semester’s or next year’s students  when the effectiveness of the
revisions would be monitored and evaluated, with new improvements developed
for the next phase of implementation. One may be able to see that a given project
may never have a clear end  the teacher may continue to go through subsequent
cycles of implementation, evaluation, and revision, spiralling from one semester or
year to the next (Mertler and Charles 2008). It is a process as one of observing-
doing-observing-adjusting and then doing it again. The process of action research,
with its cyclical and spiralling nature, is portrayed in Figure 5.6.
Figure 5.6 The process of action research

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What are the key characteristics of action research?

Despite the differences between practical action research and PAR, both types of
designs have common characteristics found in action research. Understanding these
characteristics will help you better design your own study or read, evaluate, and use
an action research study published in the literature. These characteristics are:
1. A practical focus
The aim of action research is to address an actual problem in an educational

setting. Thus, action researchers study practical issues that will have
immediate benefits on education. These issues may be a concern of a
single teacher in a classroom or a problem involving many educators in a
building. It may be a school-community issue, an issue with a school policy
or structure that constrains individual freedom and action, or a concern of
individuals in towns and cities. Action researchers do not undertake this
form of research to advance knowledge for knowledge’s sake, but to solve
an immediate, applied problem.
2. The teacher-researcher’s own practices
When action researchers engage in a study, they are interested in examining

their own practices rather than studying someone else’s practices. In this
sense, action researchers engage in participatory or self-reflective research
in which they turn the lens on their own educational classroom, school,
or practices. As they study their own situation, they reflect on what they
have learned  a form of self-development  as well as what they can
do to improve their educational practices. Action researchers deliberately
experiment with their own practices, monitor the actions and circumstances
in which they occur, and then retrospectively reconstruct an interpretation
of the action as a basis for future action. In this reflection, action researchers
weigh different solutions to their problems and learn from testing ideas.
Action research has been called “a spiral of self reflection” (Kemmis 1994,
p. 46).
3. Collaboration
Action researchers collaborate with others, often involving co-participants

in the research (Schmuck 2009). These co-participants may be individuals
within a school or outside personnel such as university researchers or
professional association groups. This does not mean that outsiders should
co-opt practitioners by gathering data that serve only their needs. So that
this co-opting will not occur, outsiders need to negotiate their entry to a site
with participants and be sensitive to the involvement of participants in the
project (Stringer 2007). It involves establishing acceptable and cooperative
relationships, communicating in a manner that is sincere and appropriate,
and including all individuals, groups, and issues. Many individuals and
groups may participate in an action research project. Individuals may review
results of findings with the researcher, help collect data, or assist in the
presentation of the final report. Many aspects of the research process are
open to collaboration in action research. During this collaboration, roles
may vary and may be negotiated, but the concept of interacting is central
to understanding one’s practices.
4. A dynamic process
Action researchers engage in a dynamic process involving iterations of

activities, such as a “spiral” of activities. The key idea is that the researcher
“spirals” back and forth between reflection about a problem, data collection,
and action. A school-based team, for example, may try several actions after
reflecting on the best time for high school classes to begin. Reflecting,
collecting data, trying a solution, and spiralling back to reflection are all
part of the process of action research. The process does not follow a linear
pattern or a causal sequence from problem to action.
5. A plan of action
The next step is to identify a plan of action. At some point in the process,
the action researcher formulates an action plan in response to the problem.
This plan may be simply presenting the data to important stakeholders,
establishing a pilot program, starting several competing programs, or
implementing an ongoing research agenda to explore new practices (Stringer
2007). It may be a formal written plan or an informal discussion about how
to proceed, and it may engage a few individuals (e.g., students in a classroom)
or involve an entire community (e.g., in a participatory research study).
6. Sharing research
Unlike traditional research that investigators report in journal and book

publications, action researchers report their research to educators, who
can then immediately use the results. Action researchers often engage in
sharing reports with local school, community, and educational personnel.
Although action researchers publish in scholarly journals, they are typically
more interested in sharing the information locally with individuals who can
promote change or enact plans within their classroom or building. Action
researchers share results with teachers, the building principal, school district
personnel, and parent associations. In addition, online journals (both with
and without standards for inclusion), websites, and discussion blogs provide
opportunities for action researchers to publicise their studies.
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What are the steps in conducting an action research study?

In the steps that follow, remember that action research is a dynamic, flexible process
and that no blueprint exists for how to proceed. However, several steps in the
process can illustrate a general approach for your use. Visually, this is represented
in Figure 5.7.
Figure 5.7 The step-by-step process of action research organisational scheme

Drawn by Dr. Toh Seong Chong, 2013
Step 1: Determine if action research is the best design to use
Action research is an applied form of inquiry and it is useful in many situations.

You might use it to address a problem, typically one in your work situation or
community. It requires that you have the time to collect and analyse data and to
experiment with different options for solving the problem. Ideally, to help with the
process of reflection, you need collaborators with whom to share findings and who
can potentially serve as co-researchers on the project. Action research also requires a
broad understanding of the many types of quantitative and qualitative data collection
to gather information to devise a plan of action.
Step 2: Identify a problem to study
The most important factor in action research is that you need to solve a practical
problem. This problem may be one that you face in your own practice or in your
community (Kemmis and Wilkinson 1998). After reflection, you write down the
problem or phrase it as a question to answer. The research problem is only one place
that you might begin your study. In addition to starting with solving a problem, you
might enter action research at other points (Schmuck 1997). Action researchers may
begin with identifying an area of focus, collecting data, analysing and interpreting
data, or developing an action plan (Mills 2011).
Step 3: Locate resources to help address the problem
Explore several resources to help you study the problem. Literature and existing data
may help you formulate a plan of action. You may need to review the literature and
determine what others have learned about solving the issue. Asking colleagues for
advice helps to initiate a study. Teaming with university personnel or knowledgeable
people in the community provides a resource base for an action research project.
Individuals who have conducted action research projects can also help you during
your research study.
Step 4: Identify information that you will need
Plan a strategy for gathering data. This means that you need to decide who can
provide data, how many people you will study, what individuals to access, and the
rapport and support you can expect to obtain from them. Another consideration
is what type of data you need to collect. Your choices are to collect quantitative
or qualitative data, or both. It is helpful to understand the possibilities that exist
for both forms of data. Mills (2011), for example, has organised quantitative and
qualitative sources into three dimensions:
1. Experiencing  observing and taking field notes.
2. Enquiring  asking people for information.
3. Examining  using and making records.
The choice of data sources depends on the questions, time and resources, availability
of individuals, and sources of information. In general, the more sources used and the
more triangulation among them, the more you will be able to understand the problem
and develop viable action plans. It is probably wise to limit data collection in your
first action research study so that you have a manageable amount of information
to analyse.
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Step 5: Implement the data collection
Implementing data collection takes time, especially if you gather multiple sources
of information. In addition to that, your participants may have limited time to
complete instruments or engage in interviews. Keeping an accurate record of the
information collected, organising it into data files for numeric or theme analysis,
and examining the quality of the information are important data collection steps.
Step 6: Analyse the data
You may decide to analyse the data yourself or enlist the help of other educators or
data analysts. You might show your results to others to find out how they would
interpret the findings. In most situations, descriptive statistics will suffice for your
action research data analysis, although you may want to compare some group data
or relate several variables. The major idea is to keep the data analysis manageable so
that you can identify useful information in formulating a plan of action.
Step 7: Develop a plan for action
A plan may be an informal statement about the implementation of a new educational

practice. It might be a plan to reflect on alternative approaches to addressing the
problem or to share what you have learned with others, such as teachers, individuals
in district offices, or other schools and communities. You might formally write out
this plan or present it as an outline. You can develop it yourself or collaborate with
school personnel in writing it. The important point is that you now have a strategy
for trying out some ideas to help solve your problem.
Step 8: Implement the plan and reflect
In many action research projects, you will implement your plan of action to see if
it makes a difference. This involves trying out a potential solution to your problem
and monitoring whether it has impact. To determine this difference, you might
consult your original objectives or the research question that you sought to answer
in the action research project. You also need to reflect on what you have learned from
implementing your plan and sharing it with others. You may need to share it broadly
with school colleagues, school committees, university researchers, or policy makers.
In some cases, you will not achieve an adequate solution, and you will need to try
out another idea and see if it makes a difference. In this way, one action research
project often leads to another.
Evaluating the quality of an action research study

To evaluate an action research study, we can consider using the following criteria to
assess its quality. These criteria are applicable to both practical action research and
PAR. In a high-quality action research study, the author:
1. Focuses on an issue in practice or an issue in the local community.
2. Collects multiple sources of data (often quantitative and qualitative) to

help address the problem.
3. Collaborates with others during the study to find the best solutions.
4. Shows respect for all collaborators so they are equal partners in the action
research process.
5. Advances a plan of action for trying to solve the problem.
6. Reflects on his/her own development as a professional.
7. Helps to enhance the lives of participants by solving a problem, empowering

them, changing them, or providing them with new understandings.
8. Develops a plan recommending changes to practice.
9. Reports the research in a way that is understandable and useful to audiences,

including other professionals.
Summary
The following are key ideas of action research that we have discussed
earlier:
1. Definition of action research and its use
The purpose of action research is to improve the practice of

education, with researchers studying their own problems or
issues in a school or educational setting. Educators engage in
reflection about these problems, collect and analyse data, and
implement changes or a plan of action based on their findings.
In some cases, the research solves a local, practical problem,
such as a classroom issue for a teacher. In other situations,
the research seeks ideological aims, such as to empower,
transform, and emancipate individuals and communities.
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2. Types of action research designs
Action research is an informal process of research in which

educators engage in a study of their own practices. Individual
teachers, teams within a school or district, or school-community
inquiry groups undertake this form of research. Two types of
action research designs exist. The first design, practical action
research, is an approach that involves educators examining a
school situation with a view toward improving practice. Rather
than a focus on individual teachers solving immediate classroom
problems or schools addressing internal issues, the second
design, PAR (or participatory action research), has a social
and community orientation and places emphasis on research
that contributes to emancipation or change in our society. The
PAR approach seeks to improve the quality of organisations,
community, and family lives. It espouses an objective of
improving and empowering individuals and organisations in
educational settings. Both the practical and the participatory
forms of action research have basic principles and models for
conducting research.
3. Key characteristics of action research
Action researchers use a process of inquiry, regardless of

design. The teacher or educator becomes the researcher. As the
researcher, the practitioner becomes self-reflective about the
process. Action researchers often engage others collaboratively
in the process as co-participants and enact a dynamic model of
inquiry involving iterations of activities, cycling back and forth
between identifying a problem, trying a solution, reflecting
on information learned, and applying new solutions. During
this process, they use a plan of action to guide the use of a
new practice. They base this plan on what they learned about
the research problem, and they share it with others, such as in
informal reports to colleagues, school officials, school boards,
and community members.
4. Steps in conducting an action research study
Action researchers begin with a practical problem that they

face or someone in a community might face. They help locate
resources and information to address the problem, and they
engage in data collection that might involve both quantitative
and qualitative forms of data. They analyse the data, often done
collaboratively with participants, and develop and implement
a plan of action.
5. Evaluating an action research study
Evaluation of an action research study is based on assessing

whether it addresses a practical issue, involves the collection
of multiple sources of data, proceeds with collaboration and
respect for participants, advances a plan of action and, in the
end, reflects both the researcher’s and the participants’ growth
toward improved changes to practice.
Self-test 5.1
For each of the following questions, choose the best answer.
1. A research paper is different from an essay because:
A. An essay contains fewer facts than a research paper.
B. An essay is more opinion dominated.
C. A research paper is an extended analysis based on data and

evidence.
D. A research paper is always shorter than an essay.
2. Establishing a strong, authoritative tone in your research

paper means:
A. Using a lot of factual information.
B. Choosing a writing style that establishes the writer as an

authority.
C. Using harsh vocabulary words.
D. Writing a persuasive paper.
3. In a research paper, footnotes usually appear:
A. In the table of contents.
B. In the introductory paragraph.

UNIT 5 83
C. At the bottom of the page.
D. Within the thesis statement.
4. An introductory paragraph should always contain:
A. The thesis statement.
B. As many facts as possible.
C. A summary of the subject matter.
D. A table of contents.
5. To proofread any document  including your research paper

 means to thoroughly:
A. Rewrite any sections that need work.
B. Restate the thesis argument.
C. Check for any spelling or grammatical errors and correct

them.
D. Change the pagination and footnotes.
6. A bibliography is an essential component of any research

paper because it:
A. Demonstrates to the reader the full knowledge of the writer.
B. Officially lists all the sources the writer has consulted.
C. Makes a final statement at the end of the paper.
D. Helps the reader understand the content of the paper.
7. A primary source:
A. Is the first source that the writer has consulted.
B. Always includes electronic material taken directly from the

web.
C. Is a better source of information than any other.
D. Includes eyewitness accounts or firsthand information

about the event or topic discussed in the paper.
8. Transitional phrases refer to sentences or paragraphs that:
A. Express the passage of time.
B. Link thoughts or paragraphs smoothly to one another.
C. Have a specific chronology.
D. Refer to the time that has passed between specific events

described in the paper.
9. A secondary source, as opposed to a primary source, is one

that:
A. Provides information in a second hand or non-direct way.
B. Is not as reliable as a primary source.
C. Was not written or recorded directly by a witness to the

events discussed in the paper or by someone with firsthand
knowledge of the subject.
D. Cannot be trusted and must be questioned for its legitimacy.
10. Which statement about reference books is always true?
A. They are always encyclopaedias.
B. They provide the most reliable statistical information.
C. They contain extensive charts and illustrations.
D. They cannot circulate or leave the library.
11. An illustration or photograph can be used, referred to, or

consulted as a source of information only if it:
A. Provides words or an explanatory text that accompanies the

illustration.
UNIT 5 85
B. Is accurately listed and documented in both the footnotes

and bibliography.
C. Is in colour and provides an accurate representation of events.
D. Is big enough to be inserted as a full page into the research

paper.
12. To include an abstract in your research paper means to:
A. Provide an overview or summary for your reader that

immediately states the topic of your paper.
B. State your thesis in abstract language.
C. Provide a conclusion.
D. Provide your reader with a complete list of all the reference

material that you consulted.
13. Internet or electronic sources are just as valid as print sources

as long as you:
A. Use the most modern or contemporary website.
B. Provide the reader with the exact web address and provide
correct documentation of the website.
C. Also make sure that the material is available in hard copy.
D. Provide accompanying web links.
14. The best way to remember the correct spelling of a word

and its proper usage is to:
A. Use a dictionary, look it up, and see the word in context.
B. Rely on the spell check on your computer.
C. Ask a friend to proofread your paper for you.
D. Use the grammar check on your computer program.

15. Interviewing professionals and experts in a particular field or

subject area that you are researching is important because:
A. People are always an established authority.
B. Oral history or word of mouth is more believable than print

sources or books.
C. They are primary sources and usually provide excellent

information on a topic based upon their own expertise and
experience.
D. People can reveal secrets or divulge material that most books

cannot.
16. The most effective statement among the following sentences

is:
(I) “I hope that if you will read my paper, you will believe me
when I tell you that John F. Kennedy was not assassinated
as the result of a plot but by a single assailant.”
(II) “John F. Kennedy, contrary to most historical opinions, was

not murdered as the result of a conspiracy, but by a single
lone assailant.”
(III) “My paper will tell you and prove to you all about John
F. Kennedy's death and the complex plot to murder him.”
(IV) “It's too bad that John F. Kennedy was killed. He was a
really cool and decent guy.”
A. (I) because it directly addresses the reader.
B. (Ii) because it words the argument in a direct statement.
C. (Iii) because it explains to the reader what the writer will do.
D. (Iv) because the language is informal and conversational.
17. When writing a research paper, the point of view that you
should always use is:
A. First person point of view such as, “in my paper, i will

state …”
B. An impersonal point of view so you can simply provide facts.

UNIT 5 87
C. Third person point of view such as, “if he or she reads my

paper, then he or she will understand …”
D. First person plural point of view such as, “we can see by
the facts provided here that the conclusion should be …”
18. The term printed material refers to any material that is:
A. In hard copy and text such as material found in books,

magazines, or articles.
B. From a source that uses the word print.
C. Complex in its writing or sentence construction.
D. An article from a reference book.
19. The purpose of writing an outline for your research paper is

to:
A. Assemble every single idea in alphabetical order.
B. Follow a fixed sequence of page numbers that do not change.
C. Provide a step-by-step guide and overview that links your

main points visually on one page.
D. Allow you to order events in a chronological arrangement.
20. A thesis statement is:
A. An opinion.
B. A conclusion.
C. The primary argument of your paper.
D. The analysis or evidence provided in your paper by a

professional journalist.
21. A preliminary outline is:
A. A final version of your paper.

B. A beginning or first draft of your outline.
C. The conclusion of your paper.
D. An abstract of all your relevant information.
22. You can include direct quotes from authorities and speeches
in your paper as long as you:
A. Explain to your reader why this material may be opinionated.
B. Analyse whatever you include.
C. State how and why they are important.
D. Cite the specific context from which they were taken in

your footnotes, endnotes, or parenthetical citations.
23. Brainstorming is a useful process because it allows you to:
A. Type your final draft more quickly.
B. Jot down many ideas that you can refer to later.
C. Interview another professional.
D. Write several rough drafts of your entire paper.
24. Using evidence in your paper to support your thesis

statement is important. The term evidence refers to:
A. Statistics, illustrations, speeches, or direct quotes that prove

your argument.
B. Your opinions and ideas about the topic.
C. What your professor thinks of your work
D. A convincing introductory sentence.
25. When you use the Internet to help you do your research, an
established website or search engine is:
A. An electronic site with an accompanying address that helps

you search for specific information.
UNIT 5 89
B. A university website.
C. A website that a librarian helped you to locate.
D. A site that has all the information you need on its home
page.
26. A thesis statement should always be clear and written:
A. At the very beginning of your research paper, preferably in

the introduction.
B. At the end of the endnote page.
C. In the table of contents.
D. In a separate bibliography.
27. The sentence, “Kennedy was a really cool president”, is a good

example of:
A. Shrewd analysis.
B. Direct reasoning.
C. Secondary information.
D. Colloquial or informal writing.
28. Which of the following statements is the most convincing

way to begin a research paper?
A. “I think you should listen to the evidence that i will present

to you.”
B. “I feel that you should listen to the evidence that i will present
to you.”
C. “The evidence presented will demonstrate that …”
D. “I believe this evidence is important because …”

29. It is important for a writer to have opinions. However, when

you are writing a paper, it is always better to:
A. State more opinions than facts.
B. Word your opinions strongly.
C. Tell the reader your opinion with informal and friendly

writing.
D. Support your argument or thesis statement with facts.
30. Similar to having strong opinions, a writer's emotions :
A. Should not be stated openly to the reader but instead

demonstrated and proved by the evidence.
B. Should be obvious.
C. Should be worded with extreme caution.
D. Should be documented with notes or citations, and a

formal bibliography.
31. A work of non-fiction is based upon:
A. Historical legend and folklore.
B. Facts and real-life occurrences.
C. Anecdotes and stories.
D. A lot of textual evidence.
32. A work of fiction:
A. Uses historical facts to shape a story.
B. Provides interesting statistical data.
C. Is based upon hard core evidence.
D. Is a product of the writer's imagination and may, but does

not necessarily, incorporate factual material.
UNIT 5 91
33. An annotated bibliography:
A. Is not alphabetised.
B. Contains valuable insights.
C. Provides a brief summary of the books that were helpful

during research.
D. Is part of the final analysis of the paper.
34. A definitive statement:
A. Makes a clear, strong point to the reader.
B. Uses a lot of vivid and imaginative detail.
C. Contains many facts.
D. Should be footnoted.
35. Statistical information should always be cited because:
A. Numbers should appear in a bibliography.
B. Facts can always be disputed.
C. Hard data should appear at the end of a paper.
D. A conclusion should always contain statistics.
36. In a bibliography, it is essential that:
A. Sources are arranged in chronological order.
B. Sources are grouped together by their usefulness.
C. All sources are alphabetised.
D. Sources are listed by category according to whether they are

primary or secondary.
37. An abstract typically accompanies:
A. A scientific or mathematical paper.
B. An essay only.
C. A paper on any liberal arts topic.
D. A paper with a great deal of footnotes or documentation.
38. The tone of a writer’s work usually refers to:
A. The effectiveness of his or her writing.
B. The mood that is conveyed within the work.
C. The instrumental sound of the language.
D. The feelings that the writer has for the reader.
39. When a paper has an authoritative tone, this means:
A. The writer presents his or her material knowledgeably.
B. The writer uses large vocabulary words to impress the reader.
C. The writer includes colourful illustrations.
D. The writer adds a long bibliography at the end of the work.
40. Unlike an opinion, a fact:
A. Is known to be true.
B. Is believed to be true.
C. Is something the writer wishes were true.
D. Is part of an anonymous legend.
41. Footnotes and parenthetical citations are important because:
A. They prove that the writer has done a lot of needless research.
UNIT 5 93
B. They protect a writer from accusations of plagiarism.
C. They make a writer seem intelligent.
D. They make a paper look more professional.
42. When listing books in a standard bibliography, the correct

procedure is to:
A. List all the printing editions of the books you have used.
B. Alphabetise your books by the author's last name.
C. Make sure the order of the books you have listed corresponds
with the order of your footnotes.
D. Write a corresponding list of the books' illustrations.
43. Using formal language in your paper means to:
A. Address the topic in a professional and serious manner with

language reserved for scholarly work.
B. Use very familiar words and language.
C. Assume a tone of superiority.
D. Become friends with your reader so that he or she is eager

to read your paper.
44. Common spelling errors are often found when a spell check is
completed; however, this method is not infallible. To be sure
that you find all errors, you can:
A. Give your paper to your professor and ask him or her to

grade it in advance.
B. Have a friend or a relative read your paper to look for errors.
C. Ask a librarian if he or she wouldn't mind checking your

paper.
D. Allow the computer to run a grammar check at least three

different times.
45. The difference between an emotional and a logical appeal is

that a logical appeal:
A. Is written more carefully.
B. Provides more reasonable arguments.
C. Is based upon fact.
D. Values the opinion of the reader.
46. In order to find a topic for your paper, it is often helpful to:
A. Copy an idea straight from a book.
B. Ask yourself some basic questions like, “who”, “what”,

“where”, “when” or “why” about a particular subject that
interests you.
C. Seek the advice of a guidance counsellor or other working

professional.
D. Go to the librarian and ask him or her for a list of popular

topics.
47. A primary source is valuable because:
A. It provides a firsthand perspective about the event, time

period, or topic you are researching.
B. It is the best source that a writer can use.
C. It is the most documented and respected type of source.
D. It is from a very distinguished and respected individual.
48. Using note cards to take down information from books is

helpful and handy because:
A. Note cards can be arranged easily and quickly and stored

in one place.
B. Note cards are a more respected way of taking down

information.
UNIT 5 95
C. Note cards look more professional than large sheets of

paper.
D. Photocopying can leave dark marks on paper.
49. When writing footnotes, it is always important to list them:
A. In chronological order.
B. As a separate work from your note cards.
C. With a corresponding reference sheet.
D. In your opening credits.
50. A historiography provides:
A. A thorough listing of all electronic sources.
B. A summary of different ways of historical thinking about

a particular topic over time.
C. A complete list of illustrations.
D. A list of acknowledgements at the beginning of your paper.
Adapted from source: Research and Writing Skills Success in 20

Minutes A Day, Learning Express, 55 Broadway 8th Floor New
York, NY 10006.
UNIT 5 97
Summary of Unit 5
Summary
This unit has helped you to define action research and its use,
types of action research design, key characteristics of action
research and the different steps in conducting the research. Finally,
you have also learned how to evaluate an action research study.
UNIT 5 99
Course Summary
Summary
It has being a long and fulfilling journey. We have reached the

end of ELL 303/05 Readings and Research Work in English Studies.
I hope that you have enjoyed this journey as much as I enjoyed
writing it. Here is a brief summary of what we have learned:
In Unit 1, we focused on the three aspects of the use of the Internet

and the World Wide Web to source reading materials. We discussed
how to source reading materials from the Internet in a general way.
We have also explored sourcing online sources for teachers who are
teaching English studies. In Unit 2, we focused on reference books
related to English studies and DVDs from the Internet.
In Unit 3, we explored free online journal articles related to English

studies from Internet. A comprehensive list containing these
websites with URLs and comments were provided. Techniques to
select scholarly journal articles were also explained. Additionally, we
discussed time-saving techniques of reading journal articles. And
finally, we explained the concept of rhetorical analysis. In Unit 4,
we examined the purpose and scope of literature review. We also
explored the questions the literature review will answer. Three main
criteria of material selection were discussed. Finally, we discussed
methods of structuring literature review.
In Unit 5, we provided you a detailed step-by-step guide of writing

your research paper. We also provided you with a discussion on
action research, and the steps to implement action research.
UNIT 5 101
Suggested Answers to Self-tests
Feedback
Self-test 5.1
Check your answers using the following answer key.
1. C
2. B
3. C
4. A
5. C
6. B
7. D
8. B
9. C
10. D
11. B
12. A
13. B
14. A
15. C
16. B
17. B
18. A
19. C
20. C
21. B
22. D
23. B
24. A
25. A
26. C
27. D
28. C
29. D
30. A
31. B
32. D
33. C
34. A
35. B
36. C
37. A
38. B
39. A
40. A
41. B
42. B
43. A
44. B
45. C
UNIT 5 103
46. B
47. A
48. A
49. A
50. B
UNIT 5 105
References
Allen, L and Calhoun, E F (1998) ‘Schoolwide action research: Findings from six
years of study’, Phi Delta Kappan, 79(9): 706 – 710.
Creswell, J (2012) Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating

Quantitative and Qualitative Research, Pearson, Boston, USA.
Kemmis, S and McTaggart, R (2005) ‘Participatory action research’ in Denzin,

N K and Lincoln, Y S (eds) SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research, 3rd edn,
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 559 – 603.
Learning Express (2005) Research and Writing Skills Success in 20 Minutes A Day,
55 Broadway, 8th Floor New York, NY 10006.
Lewis, A G (1998) ‘The political and educational implications of gender, class

and race in Hollywood film: holding out for a female hero’, McGill University,
Canada.
Mertler, C A and Charles, C M (2008) Introduction to Educational Research, 6th

edn, Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Mills, G E (2011) Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher, 4th edn,
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Moore, K M and Cassel, S L (2011) Techniques for College Writing: The Thesis
Statement and Beyond, Wadsworth, Boston, USA.
Wang, W (2006) ‘Editorials on terrorism in Chinese and English: A contrastive

genre study’, University of Sydney.
Watts, H (1985) ‘When teachers are researchers, teaching improves’, Journal of Staff
Development, 6 (2): 118 – 127.
UNIT 5 107
Glossary
Abstracts Summaries of the major aspects of a study or
article, conveyed in a concise way (for this
purpose, often no more than 350 words) and
inclusive of specific components that describe
the study.
Action research designs Systematic procedures used by teachers (or

other individuals in an educational setting) to
gather quantitative, qualitative (or both) data
about  and subsequently improve  the
ways their particular setting operates, how
they teach, and how well their students learn.
Adding to knowledge Educators undertake research for it to

contribute to existing information about
issues.
Alternate forms and test-retest An approach to reliability in which the

reliability researcher administers the test twice and also
uses an alternate form of the test from the
first administration to the second
Analysing and interpreting the Researchers analyse the data, represent it in

data tables, figures and pictures, and explain it to
come up with answers to research questions
and statements asked in the research.
Attitudinal measures Assess affect or feelings toward educational

topics (e.g., assessing positive or negative
attitudes toward giving students a choice of
school to attend).
Audience Individuals who will read and potentially use

information provided in a research study.
Audiences will vary depending on the nature
of the study, but several often considered by
educators include researchers, practitioners,
policy makers and individuals participating in
the studies.
Autobiography A narrative account written and recorded by

the individual who is the subject of the study
based on extensive data collection.
Behaviour in ethnography An action taken by an individual in a cultural

setting
Behavioural observations Consist of selecting an instrument to record

a behaviour, observing individuals for that
behaviour, and checking points on a scale
that reflect the behaviour (e.g., behavioural
checklists).
Belief in ethnography How an individual thinks about or perceives

things in a cultural setting.
Between-group designs Those in which the researcher compares

results between different groups in terms of
outcome scores.
Biography A form of narrative study in which the

researcher writes and records the experiences
of another person’s life.
Case study A variation of ethnography in that the

researcher provides an in-depth exploration of
a bounded system (e.g., an activity, an event,
a process or an individual)
Central question The overarching question being asked in

a qualitative study. It is the attempt by the
researcher to ask the most general question
that can be addressed in a study.
Coefficient alpha A measure of the internal consistency of

items on an instrument when the items are
scored as continuous variables (e.g., strongly
agree to strongly disagree).
Cohort studies Longitudinal survey designs in which a

researcher identifies a subpopulation, based
on some specific characteristic, and studies
that subpopulation over time.
Confidence intervals The range of upper and lower sample

statistical values that are consistent with
observed data and are likely to contain the
actual population mean.
UNIT 5 109
Confounding variables Attributes or characteristics that the

(sometimes called spurious researcher cannot directly measure because
variables) their effects cannot be easily separated
from other variables, even though they
may influence the relationship between the
independent and the dependent variable.
Construct An attribute or characteristic expressed in an

abstract, general way, whereas a variable is an
attribute or characteristic stated in a specific,
applied way.
Construct validity A determination of the significance,

meaning, purpose, and use of scores from an
instrument.
Content validity The extent to which the questions on

the instrument and the scores from these
questions are representative of all the possible
questions that could be asked about the
content or skills.
Context in ethnography The setting, situation, or environment that

surrounds the cultural-sharing group being
studied.
Control variable A variable that the researcher does not

want to measure directly but is important
to consider and “neutralise” because it
potentially influences the dependent variable.
Typically, control variables are personal,
demographic attributes or characteristics.
Convergent mixed methods Consists of simultaneously collecting both

design quantitative and qualitative data, merging the
data, and using the results to best understand
a research problem.
Convenience sampling A quantitative sampling procedure in which

the researcher selects participants because
they are willing and available to be studied.
Correlation A statistical test to determine the tendency

or pattern for two (or more) variables or two
sets of data to vary consistently.
Covariates Variables that the researcher controls

for using statistics and that relate to the
dependent variable but do not relate to the
independent variable.
Curvilinear or nonlinear A U-shaped distribution in scores on a graph.

relationship
Data recording protocols Forms designed and used by qualitative

researchers to record information during
observations and interviews.
Degrees of freedom (df) Indicate to the researcher how much data was
used to calculate a particular statistic; usually
one less than the number of scores.
Dependent variable An attribute or characteristic that is

influenced by the independent variable.
Dependent variables are dependent or
influenced by independent variables.
Descriptive statistics Present information that helps a researcher

describe responses to each question in a
database as well as determine overall trends
and the distribution of the data.
Diffusion of treatments A potential threat to internal validity when

the experimental and control groups can
communicate with each other and the control
group may learn from the experimental group
information about the treatment.
Directional alternative Predict a certain direction for the relationship

hypothesis between the independent variable and
the dependent variable. This prediction is
typically based on prior research conducted
by the investigator or reported by others in
the literature.
Effect size A means for identifying the strength of

the conclusions about group differences or
about the relationship among variables in a
quantitative study. The calculation of this
coefficient differs for statistical tests (e.g., R2,
eta 2, omega 2, phi, Cohen’s D; APA, 2010).
UNIT 5 111
Equivalent time series design An experimental design in which the

investigator alternates a treatment with a
posttest measure. The data analysis then
consists of comparing posttest measures or
plotting them to discern patterns, over time,
in the data.
Ethical issues in qualitative Include issues such as informing participants

research of the purpose of the study, refraining from
deceptive practices, sharing information
with participants (including your role as a
researcher), being respectful of the research
site, reciprocity, using ethical interview
practices, maintaining confidentiality, and
collaborating with participants.
Ethnographic designs Qualitative procedures for describing,

analysing, and interpreting a cultural group’s
shared patterns of behaviour, beliefs, and
language that develop over time.
Experimental group A group in an experiment that receives the

treatment (e.g., the activity or procedure)
that the researcher would like to test.
Experimental treatment When the researcher physically intervenes

to alter the conditions experienced by the
experimental unit.
Extraneous factors Any influences in the selection of

participants, procedures, statistics, or design
likely to affect the outcome and provide an
alternative explanation for the results than
what was expected.
Extreme case sampling A form of purposeful sampling in which the

researcher studies an outlier case or one that
displays extreme characteristics.
Factorial designs Represent a modification of the between

group design in which the researcher studies
two or more categorical, independent
variables, each examined at two or more
levels.
Focus group interviews in Involve the researcher locating or developing

survey research a survey instrument, convening a small group
of people  typically a group of four to six
people  who can answer the questions
asked on the instrument, and recording
their comments about the questions on the
instrument.
Grounded theory designs Systematic, qualitative procedures that

researchers use to generate a theory that
explains, at a broad conceptual level, a
process, action, or interaction about a
substantive topic.
History A potential threat to internal validity in an

experiment in which time passes between the
beginning of the experiment and the end,
and events may occur during that time that
affect the outcome of the experiment.
Homogeneous samples Individuals in an experiment who vary little

in their personal characteristics.
Homogeneous sampling A purposeful sampling strategy in which the

researcher samples individuals or sites based
on membership in a subgroup with defining
characteristics.
Hypotheses Declarative statements in quantitative

research in which the investigator makes
a prediction or a conjecture about the
outcomes of a relationship.
Hypothesis testing A procedure for making decisions about

results by comparing an observed value
with a population value to determine if no
difference or relationship exists between the
values.
UNIT 5 113
Identifying a research problem Consists of specifying an issue to study,

developing a justification for studying it, and
suggesting the importance of the study for
select audiences that will read the report.
Independent variable An attribute or characteristic that influences

or affects an outcome or dependent variable.
Inferential statistics Enable a researcher to draw conclusions,

inferences, or generalisations from a sample
to a population of participants.
Instrumentation A potential threat to validity in an

experiment when the instrument changes
during a pretest and a posttest.
Instruments Tools for measuring, observing, or

documenting quantitative data. Researchers
identify these instruments before they
collect data, and they may include a test,
a questionnaire, a tally sheet, a log, an
observational checklist, an inventory, or an
assessment instrument.
Interaction effects Exist when the influence on one independent

variable depends on (or co-varies with) the
other independent variable in an experiment.
Interaction of history and A threat to external validity in an experiment

treatment that arises when the researcher tries to
generalise findings to past and future
situations.
Interaction of selection and A threat to external validity in an experiment

treatment that involves the inability to generalise
beyond the groups in the experiment, such
as to other racial, social, geographical, age,
gender, or personality groups.
Interaction of setting and A threat to external validity in an experiment

treatment that arises from the inability to generalise
from one setting, where the experiment
occurred, to another setting.
Internally consistent Scores from an instrument are reliable and

accurate if they are consistent across the items
on the instrument.
Interrater reliability Two or more individuals observe an

individual’s behavior and record scores, and
then the scores of the observers are compared
to determine whether they are similar.
Interval (or rating) scales Provide “continuous” response options

to questions that have presumably equal
distances between options.
Intervening variable An attribute or characteristic that “stands

between” the independent and dependent
variables and exercises an influence on
the dependent variable apart from the
independent variable. Intervening variables
transmit (or mediate) the effects of the
independent variable on the dependent
variable.
Interventions (or manipulations) An experiment are ways a researcher

physically intervenes with one or more
conditions so that individuals experience
something different in the experimental
conditions than what is experienced in the
control conditions.
Interview protocol A form designed by the researcher that

contains instructions for the process of the
interview, the questions to be asked, and
space to take notes on responses from the
interviewee.
Interview surveys Forms on which the researcher records

answers supplied by the participant in the
study. The researcher asks a question from
an interview guide, listens for answers or
observes behavior, and records responses on
the survey.
Justifying a research problem The researcher presents reasons for the

importance of studying the issue or concern.
UNIT 5 115
Limitations knesses or problems in quantitative research

that are identified by the researcher. In
quantitative research, these weaknesses are
enumerated one by one, and they often relate
to inadequate measures of variables, loss or
lack of participants, small sample sizes, errors
in measurement, and other factors typically
related to data collection and analysis.
Main effect The influence of each independent

variable (e.g., type of instruction or extent
of depression) on the outcome (e.g., the
dependent variable, rate of smoking) in an
experiment.
Maturation A potential threat to internal validity in an

experiment in which individuals develop or
change during the experiment (i.e., become
older, wiser, stronger, and more experienced).
These changes may affect their scores
between the pretest and the posttest.
Mean ( M) The total of the scores divided by the number

of scores.
Measured variable An independent variable that is measured or

observed by the researcher and consists of a
range of continuous or categorical scores for
variables.
Measures of central tendency Summary numbers that represent a single

value in a distribution of scores.
Measures of relative standing Statistics that describe one score relative to a

group of scores. Two frequently used statistics
are the z score and the percentile rank.
Median The term given to the score that divides the

scores, rank-ordered from top to bottom, in
half.
Meta-analysis A type of research report in which the author

integrates the findings of many (primary
source) research studies.
Missing data Information that is not supplied by

participants to specific questions or items.
This is because information may be lost,
individuals may skip questions, participants
may be absent when observational data is
collected, or persons may actually refuse to
complete a sensitive question.
Mixed methods research designs Procedures for collecting, analysing, and

“mixing” both quantitative and qualitative
methods in a single study or a series of
studies to understand a research problem.
Mode The term given to the score that appears most

frequently in a list of scores.
Moderating variables New variables constructed by the researcher

by taking one variable times another to
determine the joint impact of both variables
together.
Modifying an instrument Locating an existing instrument, obtaining

permission to change it, and making changes
in it to fit the participants.
Mortality A potential threat to internal validity in

an experiment when individuals drop out
during the experiment for any number
of reasons (e.g., time, interest, money,
friends, or parents who do not want them to
participate).
Multiple regression (or multiple A statistical procedure for examining

correlation) the combined relationship of multiple
independent variables on a single dependent
variable.
Narrative discussion A written passage in a qualitative study in

which authors summarise, in detail, the
findings from their data analysis.
Narrative hooks The first sentences in a research report that

draw readers into a study, cause readers to pay
attention, elicit an emotional or attitudinal
response from readers, and encourage readers
to continue reading.
UNIT 5 117
Negative correlations (indicated When the points move in the opposite

by a “” correlation coefficient) direction  when X increases, Y decreases and
when X decreases, Y increases.
Negative linear relationship Results when low scores (or high scores) on
one variable relate to high scores (or low
scores) on the other variable.
Nominal (or categorical) scales Provide response options where participants

check one or more categories that describe
their traits, attributes, or characteristics.
Nondirectional alternative Predict a difference between groups on the

hypothesis dependent variable but do not indicate the
direction of this prediction (e.g., positive or
negative).
Nonnormal distributions Scores result in frequency distributions

that may be negatively skewed to the right,
positively skewed to the left, concentrated
around the mean (negative kurtosis), or
resemble a flat picture (positive kurtosis).
Nonparticipant observer An observational role adopted by researchers

when they visit a site and record notes
without becoming involved in the activities
of the participants.
Normal distribution or normal A distribution of scores by participants

probability curve that can be represented by a graph that
approximates a bell-shaped curve.
Null hypotheses Make predictions that there will be no

statistically significant difference between
the independent variable and the dependent
variable.
Observation The process of gathering firsthand

information by observing people and places
at a research site.
Observational protocol Form designed by the researcher, before data

collection, that is used for taking field notes
during an observation.
One-on-one interviewing in Consists of investigators conducting an

survey research interview with an individual in the sample
and recording responses to questions.
One-on-one interviews The data collection processes in which the

researcher asks questions to and records
answers from only one participant in the
study at a time.
One-tailed tests of significance When the region for rejection of the null
hypothesis is placed only at one end of the
distribution.
Open-ended questions in Consist of questions posed by the researcher

surveys in which the participant provides his or her
own responses to questions.
Open-ended responses Allow the participant to create the options for

responding.
Operational definitions The specification of how variables will be

defined and measured (or assessed) in a study.
Ordinal (or ranking) scales Response options in which participants rank

order from best, or most important, to worst,
or least important, some trait, attribute, or
characteristic.
Outcomes (or responses, criteria, The dependent variables in an experiment

or posttests) that are the presumed effect of the treatment
variables. They are also the effects predicted
in a hypothesis in the cause-and-effect
equation.
Partial correlations Used to determine the amount of variance

that an intervening variable explains in both
the independent and dependent variables.
Participant observer An observational role adopted by researchers

in which they take part in activities in the
setting they observe.
UNIT 5 119
Participatory action research A design in action research aimed

(PAR) at improving the quality of people’s
organisation, community, and family lives.
Although espousing many of the ideas
of teacher- and school-based practical
action research, it differs by incorporating
an emancipatory aim of improving and
empowering individuals and organisations in
educational (and other) settings.
Participatory or self-reflective The researchers are self-reflective and study

research their own classrooms, schools, or practices.
Percentile rank A particular score is the percentage of

participants in the distribution with scores at
or below a particular score.
Performance measures Assess an individual’s ability to perform on

an achievement test, an intelligence test,
an aptitude test, an interest inventory, or a
personality assessment inventory.
Phi coefficient The correlation statistic used to determine

the degree and direction of association when
both variables being related are dichotomous
measures.
Pilot test A questionnaire or interview survey is a

procedure in which a researcher makes
changes in an instrument based on feedback
from a small number of individuals who
complete and evaluate the instrument.
Plagiarism Using someone else’s work without giving

them credit for the information.
Plan of action in action research Where the researcher formulates an action

plan in response to a problem. This plan
may be presenting the data to important
stakeholders, establishing a pilot program,
starting several competing programs, or
implementing an ongoing research agenda to
explore new practices.
Population A group of individuals who comprise the

same characteristics. For example, all teachers
would make up the population of teachers,
and all high school administrators in a school
district would make up the population of
administrators.
Positive correlations (indicated When the points move in the same

by a “+” correlation coefficient) direction  when X increases, so does Y, or
alternatively, if X decreases, so does Y.
Positive linear relationship Low (or high) scores on one variable relate to
low (or high) scores on a second variable.
Posttest in an experiment Measures some attribute or characteristic that

is assessed for participants after a treatment.
Power in quantitative hypothesis The probability of correctly rejecting a false

testing null hypothesis.
Power analysis A means of identifying appropriate sample

size for group comparisons by taking
into consideration the level of statistical
significance (alpha), the amount of power
desired in a study, and the effect size.
Predictor variable The variable the researcher uses to make a

forecast about an outcome in correlational
research.
Preliminary exploratory analysis Consists of obtaining a general sense of

in qualitative research the data, writing memos of reflective ideas,
thinking about the organisation of the data,
and considering whether more data are
needed.
Preparing and organising data Consists of assembling all data, transforming

for analysis in quantitative it into numeric scores, creating a data file for
research computer or hand tabulation, and selecting
a computer program to use in performing
statistical tests on the data.
Presentation of results in Where the investigator presents detailed

quantitative research information about the specific results of the
descriptive and inferential statistical analyses.
UNIT 5 121
Pretest in an experiment Measures some attribute or characteristic that

is assessed for participants before they receive
a treatment.
Primary source literature Literature reported by the individual or

individuals who actually conducted the
research or who originated the ideas.
Probable causation Researchers attempt to establish a likely

cause-and-effect relationship between
variables, rather than prove the relationship.
Process of research Consists of a series of six steps used by

researchers when they conduct a study. They
are identifying a research problem, reviewing
the literature, specifying a purpose and
research questions or hypotheses, collecting
data, analysing and interpreting the data, and
reporting and evaluating research.
Product-moment correlation Called the bivariate correlation, the zero-order

coefficient correlation, or simply the Pearson r, and it
is indicated by an “r” for its notation. The
statistic is calculated for two variables (rxy)
by multiplying the z scores on X and Y for
each case and then dividing by the number of
cases minus 1.
Purpose statement A declarative statement that advances

the overall direction or focus of a study.
Researchers describe the purpose in one or
more succinctly formed sentences. It is used
both in quantitative and qualitative research,
and it is typically found in the introduction
or beginning section of research.
p values The probability (p) that a result could

have been produced by chance if the null
hypothesis were really true.
Qualitative research An inquiry approach useful for exploring and

understanding a central phenomenon. To
learn about this phenomenon, the inquirer
asks participants broad, general questions,
collects the detailed views of participants in
the form of words or images, and analyses
the information for description and themes.
From this data, the researcher interprets the
meaning of the information, drawing on
personal reflections and past research. The
final structure of the final report is flexible,
and it displays the researcher’s biases and
thoughts.
Qualitative research questions Open-ended, general questions that the

researcher would like answered during the
study.
Quantitative purpose statement Identifies the variables, their relationship, and

the participants and site for research.
Quantitative research An inquiry approach useful for describing

trends and explaining the relationship among
variables found in the literature. To conduct
this inquiry, the investigator specifies narrow
questions, locates or develops instruments
to gather data to answer the questions, and
analyses numbers from the instruments, using
statistics. From the results of these analyses,
the researcher interprets the data using
prior predictions and research studies. The
final report, presented in a standard format,
displays researcher objectivity and lack of
bias.
Quasi-experiments Experimental situations in which the

researcher assigns, but not randomly,
participants to groups because the
experimenter cannot artificially create groups
for the experiment.
Questionnaires Forms used in a survey design that

participants in a study complete and return
to the researcher. Participants mark answers
to questions and supply basic, personal, or
demographic information about themselves.
UNIT 5 123
Random assignment is the process of assigning individuals

at random to groups or to different
conditions of a group in an experiment. It
is a characteristic of a true experiment in
research.
Ratio (or true zero) scale A response scale in which participants check
a response option with a true zero and equal
distances between units.
Regression A potential threat to internal validity in an

experiment in which the researchers select
individuals for a group based on extreme
scores, and because they will naturally do
better (or worse) on a posttest than on the
pretest regardless of the treatment, they will
threaten the validity of the outcomes.
Regression tables Show the overall amount of variance

explained in a dependent variable by all
independent variables, called R2 (R squared).
Reliability Individual scores from an instrument should

be nearly the same or stable on repeated
administrations of the instrument and
that they should be free from sources of
measurement error and consistent.
Repeated measures design An experimental design in which all

participants in a single group participate
in all experimental treatments. Each group
becomes its own control. The researcher
compares a group’s performance under
one experimental treatment with their
performance under another experimental
treatment.
Representative The selection of individuals from a sample

of a population such that the individuals
selected are typical of the population under
study, enabling the researcher to draw
conclusions from the sample about the
population as a whole.
Research A cyclical process of steps that typically

begins with identifying a research problem or
issue of a study. It then involves reviewing the
literature, specifying a purpose for the study,
collecting and analysing data, and forming
an interpretation of the information. This
process culminates in a report, disseminated
to audiences, that is evaluated and used in the
educational community.
Research designs Procedures for collecting, analysing, and

reporting research in quantitative and
qualitative research.
Research objective A statement of intent for the study that

declares specific goals that the investigator
plans to achieve in a study.
Research problems The educational issues, controversies, or

concerns studied by researchers.
Research questions Interrogative statements that narrow the

purpose statement to specific questions that
researchers seek to answer in their studies.
Research-based research Problems that need further research because

problems a gap in the research exists or because the
research needs to be extended into other
areas.
Response bias Occurs in survey research when the responses

do not accurately reflect the views of the
sample and the population.
Response return rate The percentage of questionnaires that

are returned from the participants to the
researcher.
Reviewing the literature Locating summaries, books, journals, and

indexed publications on a topic; selectively
choosing which literature is relevant; and
then writing a report that summarises that
literature.
UNIT 5 125
Sample A subgroup of the target population that

the researcher plans to study for the purpose
of making generalisations about the target
population.
Sample size formulas Provide formulas, based on several parameters

that can be used to calculate the size of the
sample.
Sampling error The difference between the sample estimate

and the true population score.
Sampling error formula For determining the size of a sample based

on the chance (or proportion) that the
sample will be evenly divided on a question,
sampling error, and a confidence interval.
Scales of measurement Response options to questions that measure

(or observe) variables in nominal, ordinal, or
interval/ratio units.
Scoring The researcher assigns a numeric score (or

value) to each response category for each
question on the instruments used to collect
data.
Secondary source literature Summarises primary sources, and it does not

represent material published by the original
researchers or the creators of the idea.
Selection A potential threat to internal validity in an

experiment in which “people factors” may
introduce threats that influence the outcome,
such as selecting individuals who are brighter,
more receptive to a treatment, or more
familiar with a treatment.
Significance (or alpha) level A probability level that reflects the maximum
risk you are willing to take that any observed
differences are due to chance. It is called the
alpha level and is typically set at .01 (1 out of
100 times the sample statistic fall will be due
to chance) or .05 (5 out of 100 times it will
be due to chance).
Simple random sampling A quantitative sampling procedure in which

the researcher selects participants (or units,
such as schools) for the sample so that any
sample of size N has an equal probability
of being selected from the population.
The intent of simple random sampling is
to choose units to be sampled that will be
representative of the population.
Single-item scores Individual scores to each question for each

participant in your study.
Single-subject research (also Involves the study of single individuals, their

called N = 1 research, behavior observation over a baseline period, and the
analysis, or within-subjects administration of an intervention. This is
research) followed by another observation after the
intervention to determine if the treatment
affects the outcome.
Skewed distribution A distribution of scores that tends to pile

up toward one end of the scale and taper off
slowly at the other end.
Spearman-Brown formula A formula for calculating the reliability of

scores using all questions on an instrument.
Because the split half test relies on
information from only half of the test, a
modification in this procedure is to use this
formula to estimate full-length test reliability.
Spearman rho (rs) The correlation statistic used for nonlinear

data when the data are measured on ordinal
scales (rank-ordered scales).
Standard deviation (SD) The square root of the variance.
Standard scores Calculated scores that enable a researcher to

compare scores from different scales.
UNIT 5 127
Statement of the problem A section in a research report that contains

the topic of the study, the research problem
within this topic, a justification for the
problem based on past research and practice,
deficiencies or shortcomings of past research
or practical knowledge, and the importance
of addressing the problem for diverse
audiences.
Statistical significance When the observed values (e.g., before and

after a treatment in an experiment, the
difference between mean scores for two or
more groups or the relationship between two
variables) provide a statistical value (p value)
that exceeds the predetermined alpha level set
by the researcher.
Statistics The numbers derived from formulas to

measure aspects of a set of data.
Stratified sampling A quantitative sampling procedure in which

researchers stratifies the population on some
specific characteristic (e.g., gender) and then
sample, using simple random sampling, from
each stratum of the population.
Survey research designs Procedures in quantitative research in

which investigators administer a survey
or questionnaire to a sample or to the
entire population of people to describe
the attitudes, opinions, behaviours, or
characteristics of the population.
Target population (sometimes A group of individuals with some common

called the sampling frame) defining characteristic that the researcher can
identify with a list or set of names.
Testing A potential threat to validity in an

experiment when participants become
familiar with the outcome measures and
remember responses for later testing.
Test-retest reliability Examines the extent to which scores from

one sample are stable over time from one test
administration to another.
Threats to external validity Problems that threaten our ability to draw

correct inferences from the sample data to
other persons, settings, treatment variables,
and measures.
Threats to internal validity Problems in drawing correct inferences about

whether the covariation (i.e., the variation in
one variable contributes to the variation in
the other) between the presumed treatment
variable and the outcome reflect a causal
relationship (Shadish, Cook, & Campbell,
2002).
Threats to validity Refer to specific reasons for why we can be

wrong when we make an inference in an
experiment because of covariance, causation
constructs, or whether the causal relationship
holds over variations in persons, setting,
treatments, and outcomes (Shadish, Cook, &
Campbell, 2002).
Title Summarises the major idea of the paper in

a concise and clear manner. It should be no
longer than 12 words in length and should
avoid superfluous words such as “a study of ”
or “an investigation of.”
Transcription The process of converting audiotape

recordings or fieldnotes into text data.
Treatment variable An independent variable that the researcher

manipulates to determine the effect it
will have on an outcome. It is always a
categorically scored variable measuring two or
more groups or levels.
Triangulation The process of corroborating evidence from

different individuals (e.g., a principal and a
student), types of data (e.g., observational
field notes and interviews), or methods
of data collection (e.g., documents and
interviews) in descriptions and themes in
qualitative research.
UNIT 5 129
True experiments Experimental situations in which the

researcher randomly assigns participants
to different conditions (or levels) of the
experimental variable.
Two-tailed tests of significance When the critical region for rejection of the
null hypothesis is divided into two areas at
the ends of the sampling distribution.
Type I error Occurs when the null hypothesis is rejected

by the researcher when it is actually true. The
probability of this error rate is called “alpha.”
Type II error Occurs when the researcher fails to reject the

null hypothesis when an effect actually occurs
in the population. The probability of this
error rate is called “beta.”
Uncorrelated relationship of The scores in the distribution are

scores independent of each other.
URL Universal Resource Locator. It is the address

of a web page. Each page has its own unique
web address (URL). This is how your
computer locates the web page that you
are trying to find. An example of a URL
is: http://funbrain.com/index.html. In this
example URL, funbrain.com is called the
domain name. The "index.html" refers to the
specific page.
Validating findings in qualitative The researcher determines the accuracy or

research credibility of the findings through strategies
such as member checking or triangulation.
Validity The development of sound evidence

to demonstrate that the intended test
interpretation (of the concept or construct
that the test is assumed to measure) matches
the proposed purpose of the test. This
evidence is based on test content, responses
processes, internal structure, relations to
other variables, and the consequences of
testing.
Variable A characteristic or attribute of an individual

or an organisation that (a) can be measured
or observed by the researcher and that (b)
varies among individuals or organisations
studied.
Variable measured in categories Variables measured by the researcher as a

small number of groups or categories.
Variable measured as continuous Variables measured by the researcher on a

point along a continuum of scores, from low
to high.
Variance Scores will assume different values depending

on the type of variable being measured.
Within-group experimental An experiment design in which the researcher

design studies only one group of individuals, such as
time series or repeated measure designs.
Within-text references References cited in a brief format within the

body of the text to provide credit to authors.
Adapted from source: Creswell, J (2012) Educational Research: Planning, Conducting,

and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research, Pearson, Boston, USA.
Acknowledgement: The author wishes to thank Dr. John Creswell, University of

Nebraska  Lincoln, US for providing most of the list of glossary terms.

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UNIT 5 B

Writing research paper based on library research and action research

EXTERNAL COURSE ASSESSOR

© 2013 Wawasan Open University

Wawasan Open University

5.1 Getting started 3

What is a research paper? 3

What are the qualities of a good research paper? 4

Time management in writing research paper 5

Choosing a subject of my research paper 6

How do I narrow my subject into a research topic? 12

Suggested answers to activity 15

5.2 How do I write a thesis statement? 17

What is a thesis statement? 17

The importance of the thesis statement 18

The C-S-C (context-subject-claim) method of writing 19

A strong vs. weak thesis statement 22

Thesis statement checklist 23

The placement of thesis statement 24

Suggested answers to activities 25

5.3 Doing Research 29

Primary and secondary data sources 29

5.4 Preparing your outline 33

Writing the outline 33

Preparing the outline for your research paper 37

Suggested answers to activity 41

5.5 Preparing your draft 43

The hourglass analogy 44

How to write your introduction 44

5.6 Literature review: Setting up your thesis 47

Data and methods 47

Discussion and conclusion 50

Further word on the conclusion 51

Writing the abstract 52

Suggested answers to activity 56

5.7 Revising and editing your research paper 59

Revising and editing your research paper 59

Your research paper format 61

5.8 Action research 69

Definition of action research designs 70

What are the types of action research designs? 71

What are the key characteristics of action research? 75

What are the steps in conducting an action research 77

Evaluating the quality of an action research study 80

Suggested answers to self-tests 101

1. Develop skills for writing a research paper.

2. Analyse an action research paper.

3. Write an action research paper.

4. Discuss issues related to copyright.

5. Write references and cite sources.

5.1 Getting Started

1. Describe what components constitute a research paper.

What is a research paper?

1. Merely reporting what others have said.

2. A summary of information from one or more sources.

3. Just a collection of facts on a topic.

Topic Suitable for a research Not suitable for a research

Table 5.1 Examples and non-examples of research paper statements

What are the qualities of a good research paper?