CHAPTER OBJECTIVES - STUDENTS SHOULD BE ABLE TO:

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Maude Jefferson
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1 Chapter 3A Selecting a Problem and Reviewing the Research CHAPTER OBJECTIVES - STUDENTS SHOULD BE ABLE TO: Discuss how to find a topic for a research process. Discuss how to develop an idea into a research question, then a hypothesis. Develop a research hypothesis. Define the three types of sources for a literature review. Discuss how to use general, primary, and secondary sources. CHAPTER OBJECTIVES, CONTINUED - STUDENTS SHOULD BE ABLE TO: Define terms related to a literature review. Summarize how to use sources such as reviews, indices, and journals to conduct a literature review. Describe how scholarly journals work. Define electronic tools available via the WWW. Discuss how to use a bibliographic database program. Demonstrate how to write a literature review. CHAPTER OVERVIEW Selecting a Problem Reviewing the Literature Writing the Literature Review SELECTING A PROBLEM SOME PITFALLS TO AVOID!! Don t fall in love with your idea You may need to change your first idea Don t pick a trivial project Don t try to do more than is possible Try to do something (somewhat) new DEFINING YOUR INTERESTS WHERE DO IDEAS COME FROM? Personal experiences or first-hand knowledge Ask your professors Think about what has not yet been asked Last resorts? Perhaps you can think of a question related to one of the topics listed in the text FROM IDEA TO RESEARCH QUESTION TO HYPOTHESIS HYPOTHESES A QUICK REVIEW REVIEWING THE LITERATURE 1

2 REVIEWING THE LITERATURE DIFFERENT SOURCES OF INFORMATION USING GENERAL SOURCES General sources provide: A general introduction to topic areas Some clues to help search for more information A FEW GENERAL SOURCES The Reader s Guide, Full Text Mega Edition Facts on File Online Databases The New York Times Index Time Newsweek U.S. News and World Report Lexis/Nexis Academic Expanded Academic ASAP Google Scholar and Google Books Listing of Newspapers Government Printing Office The Statistical Abstract of the United States BE CAUTIOUS USING INTERNET SOURCES!!! Currently, the Internet is unregulated (unlike Secondary and Primary sources) The Internet is good for fun and ideas: But be cautious!! USING SECONDARY SOURCES Secondary sources provide: Scholarly summaries of research More sources of references A FEW REVIEWS AND SYNTHESES OF LITERATURE Annual Reviews The National Society for the Study of Education The Condition of Education The Encyclopedia of Educational Research Handbook of Child Psychology Encyclopedia of Psychology USING PRIMARY SOURCES Primary sources provide reports of original research Ulrich s Periodicals Directory lists thousands of periodicals, including journals WHY ARE JOURNALS THE BEST SOURCE? Articles are written in a specific, uniform format 2

3 Peer review: Experts review the article and make recommendations Many submitted articles never get published USING ABSTRACTS An abstract is a one- or two-paragraph summary of a journal article You can use abstracts to help decide whether a particular article will be useful USING ABSTRACTING SOURCES PsychAbstracts and PsychInfo Subject area search Keyword search Other abstracting sources Current Index to Journals in Education Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) Child Development Abstracts & Bibliography USING INDEXES Who s done research in this area? What abstracts are available? Comprehensive Dissertation Index Who s done research in an area? Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) Science Citation Index (now part of the Web of Science) Bibliographic Index CRITERIA FOR JUDGING A RESEARCH STUDY Is the review of previous research complete and recent? Are the problem and purpose clearly stated? Are the research hypotheses clearly stated? Is it clear how the study was conducted? Was the sample representative of the population? Are the results and discussion relevant to the statement of problem and purpose? Are the references complete and current? Do you have any criticisms of either the content or style? USING ELECTRONIC TOOLS IN YOUR RESEARCH ACTIVITIES Searching online Advantages of online searches Convenient, saves time Can be thorough It s the future SEARCHING ON THE WEB: GREAT SEARCH ENGINES Search engines help find information on the Internet Some of the more popular search engines: Google Yahoo! 3

4 Meta-search engines SurfWax Mamma ( The Mother of All Search Engines ) USING BIBLIOGRAPHIC DATABASE PROGRAMS Database programs are software that help Enter reference information using a standard format Change reference format to suit different manuscript requirements Search references for keywords Add notes to reference entries Generate a reference list for the manuscript Many available, for example: Endnote INTRODUCTION TO THE INTERNET & WORLD WIDE WEB Research activities on the Internet More About An Introduction to Usenet (News) Groups Using Mailing Lists or Listservs Using Your Own Website or Social Media EXPLORING THE WWW A home page is a collection of information For example, the Library of Congress home page at To set up your own, you may want to use GoDaddy, or Homestead, WRITING THE LITERATURE REVIEW WRITING THE LITERATURE REVIEW Read other literature reviews take advantage of what others have done Create a unified theme tell a coherent story Organize your background materials Work from an outline it will help you stay organized Relate different areas that you are working with to each other tell a coherent story Practice practice practice! HAVE WE MET OUR OBJECTIVES? CAN YOU: Discuss how to find a topic for a research process? Discuss how to develop an idea into a research question, then a hypothesis? Develop a research hypothesis? Define the three types of sources for a literature review? Discuss how to use general, primary and secondary sources? HAVE WE MET OUR OBJECTIVES? CAN YOU: Define terms related to a literature review? Summarize how to use sources such as reviews, indices and journals to conduct a 4

5 literature review? Describe how scholarly journals work? Define electronic tools available via the WWW? Discuss how to use a bibliographic database program? Demonstrate how to write a literature review? 5

And How to Find Them! Information Sources

And How to Find Them! Information Sources You may need to use many different information sources to fully research and understand a topic Reference tools: Books Journal articles Newspaper or popular magazine