Research Terminology & Definition-latest(1)

RESEARCH TERMINOLOGIES AND DEFINITIONS

Prepared by:Izam Zuliana Yahya

Azna RosdenHamizah Ajam

Mohd Azlizal Abu Bakar

Prepared for: PM Dr. Jamaliah Said

WHAT IS RESEARCH?• According to Wikipedia, Research is the systematic

investigation into existing or new knowledge.

• It is used to establish or confirm facts, reaffirm the results of previous work, solve new or existing problems, support theorems, or develop new theories.

• A research project may also be an expansion on past work in the field.

WHAT IS RESEARCH?• In order to test the validity of instruments,

procedures, or experiments, research may replicate elements of prior projects, or the project as a whole.

• The primary purposes of basic research (as opposed to applied research) are documentation, discovery, interpretation, or the research and development of methods and systems for the advancement of human knowledge.

WHAT IS RESEARCH?• Approaches to research depend on

epistemologies, which vary considerably both within and between humanities and sciences.

• There are several forms of research: scientific, humanities, artistic, economic, social, business, etc.

PIECE OF HISTORYIbn al-Haytham (Alhazen), 965–1039, Basra - one of the early figures in the development of scientific method.

WHAT IS BUSINESS RESEARCH?

• According to Uma Sekaran & Roger Bougie in their text book, Research Methods for Business:

“ Business research is define as an organized, systematic, data-based, critical, objective,

scientific inquiry or investigation into a specific problem, undertaken with the purpose of

finding answers or solution to it”

TYPE OF BUSINESS RESEARCH

• Applied – Research can be undertaken for two different purposes. One is to solve a current problem faced by the manager in the work setting, demanding a timely solution.

• Basic – Generate a body knowledge by trying to comprehend how certain problems that occur in organizations can be solved.

COMMON RESEARCH TERMINOLOGY

• Knowing common research terminology helps you understand how to read and interpret scholarly journal articles so you can more effectively apply what you learn.

• This knowledge is even more essential when you are gathering facts about what is already known (related literature) before you conduct a study.

BASIC RESEARCH TERMINOLOGY

ABSTRACT • a brief overview of a research study.• Constitutive definition--the basic, dictionary

meaning

CONSTRUCT • psychological construct, is a term that describes a

human variable that is not directly measurable.• Control group--in experiments, the one that

doesn't get the treatment

BASIC RESEARCH TERMINOLOGY Term Explaination

Correlation a type of research design that depicts a relationship between variables, but not necessarily one of cause-effect

Data Information can be numbers or words. plural form of datum. the "data show" not "shows"

Dependent Variable the quality you are observing.

Experiment a research design used to find "cause-effect" relationships. the "effect of...on..". lots of variations. top shelf in research

Experimental Group the one that get the treatment

External Validity how generalizable the results are outside of the study as it concerns other populations and locations.

BASIC RESEARCH TERMINOLOGY Term Explaination

Further Study Is Needed

we don't know

Independent Variable the one you are manipulating. The effect of (independent, such as teaching method) on....

Internal Validity the extent to which a study measures what it is supposed to (accuracy within the study)

Mean the arithmetic average

Median the middle where half the scores fall above, half below. eliminates the influence of outliers

Mode the score that occurs most

No Evidence we don't know, haven't figured out how to attack the problem, or haven't cared enough to try

BASIC RESEARCH TERMINOLOGY Term Explaination

Operational Definition how a term is used in a study.

Prove not used in research about human performance. could result in a shunning

Random by chance

Random Sample everybody had the same chance of being assigned to any group. sometimes confused with who you ran into by chance who would participate

Reliability the extent to which a test is repeatable with similar results

Research a systematic, objective way to find out things

Research Design the game plan or method for finding out what you want to know. experiments, correlations, descriptive studies

BASIC RESEARCH TERMINOLOGY Term Explaination

Significance two meanings: significance of the study means why it is importance. statistical significance has a mathematical meaning

Standard Deviation a measure of spread. the average deviation of a group of scores from the mean

Statistical Significance an important finding that did not likely happen by chance. p<.05 means that there were less than 5 chances in 100 that the result would have happened randomly

Statistics mathematical tools based on the normal curve used to analyze data. researchers must match statistics with research designs

T-score a standard score on the normal curve where the mean is assigned "50" with deviations of "10". Allows more simple interpretation of student achievement.

BASIC RESEARCH TERMINOLOGY Term Explaination

T-test a parametric statistical tool that compares differences between the means of two groups; assumptions for use include normal distribution and at least interval data.

The Extent To Which a favorite phrase of researchers that means "how much". implies ranges and probabilities and avoids absolutes

Validity accuracy. the extent to which a test or study measures what it is supposed to measure

Variable a quality of interest that can be manipulated or observed. Also see independent variable, dependent variable.

Z-score a standard score on the normal curve. Each z-score is counted as "1" from the mean, plus or minus.

HYPOTHESIS

• A hypothesis is a tentative statement about the relationship between two or more variables.

• A hypothesis is a specific, testable prediction about what you expect to happen in your study.

ELEMENTS OF A GOOD HYPOTHESIS

• When trying to come up with a good hypothesis for your own psychology research or experiments, ask yourself the following questions:– Is you hypothesis based on your research of a

topic?– Can your hypothesis be tested?– Does you hypothesis include independent and

dependent variables?

ELEMENTS OF A GOOD HYPOTHESIS

• Before you come up with a specific hypothesis, spend some time doing background research on your topic.

• Once you have completed a literature review, start thinking of potential questions you still have.

• Pay attention to the discussion section in the journal articles you read. Many authors will suggest questions that still need to be explored.

HYPOTHESIS DEVELOPMENTThe precursor to a hypothesis is a research problem, usually framed as a question. It might ask what, or why, something is happening.

The research hypothesis is a paring down of the problem into something testable and falsifiable.

WHAT IS LITERATURE REVIEW?

• A step by step process that involves the identification of published and unpublished work from secondary data sources on the topic of interest, the evaluation of this work in relation to the problem, and the documentation of this work.

WHAT IS LITERATURE REVIEW?

• LR surveys and summarizes research on your topic. It should critically evaluate and explain why the chosen articles are significant in relation to your research topic.

• Summarize and synthesize the old and new sources to be related with the topic.

• Compare the similarities and differences among the chosen articles.

• Build critical idea on how to interprete the ideas and advise the reader on the most pertinent or relevant.

LITERATURE VIEW PROCESS

CHOOSE RESEARCH TOPIC

SELECT JOURNALS

FORM SEARCHING CRITERIA

SEARCH FOR ARTICLES THROUGH ONLINE

JOURNAL, ETC.

LOOK MORE ARTICLES FROM ‘REFERENCES’

COLLECT RELATED ARTICLES

SCAN AND ‘FILTER’ ARTICLES

DO CRITICAL READING

WRITE LR REPORT

LITERATURE REVIEW SEARCH• 1)Creating a question

Having a clear idea of what you are researching will keep you on track with your search, saving you valuable time. A focused question will give you a better start with your search because it will help you to determine appropriate keywords and limitations for your topic.

• 2)Data SourcesSuch as academic books, journal, reports, theses, newspapers, internet, unpublished manuscripts, conference proceeding.

CONTENT OF ARTICLES

• Topic• Abstract• LR for justification of problem statement• Problem statement• Methodology• Results & Discussion• Conclusion & Future works• References

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN ARTICLES???

• The research issue/problem statement• The proposed solution• The data used• Validation method & performance

measurement• The findings• The strength & weakness of the solution• The proposed future works

READ AND ASK:• IS THE MAIN RESEARCH QUEST OR PROBLEM STATEMENT PRESENTED CLEARLY?• IS THE RELEVANCE OF THE RESEARCH QUESTION MADE TRANSPARENT?• DOES THE STUDY BUILD DIRECTLY UPON PREVIOUS RESEARCH?• WILL THE STUDY MAKE A CONTRIBUTION TO THE RESEARCH?• IS THERE A THEORY THAT GUIDES THE RESEARCH? RELEVENT,

UNDERSTANDABLE, STRUCTURED,RELIABLE AND CONVINCING?• WHAT ARE THE METHODS USED? RELEVENT, UNDERSTANDABLE,

STRUCTURED,RELIABLE AND CONVINCING?• ARE VARIABLE VALID AND RELIABLE?• WHAT ARE TECHNIQUES USED-QUANTITIVE OR QUALITATIVE?• WHAT ARE THE FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS? RELATE TO THE RESEARCH???• WHAT ARE THE LIMITATION AND CONSIDERATIONS?

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE?

• A literature review is written to highlight specific arguments and ideas in a field of study. By highlighting these arguments, the writer attempts to show what has been studied in the field, and also where the weaknesses, gaps, or areas needing further study are.

• The review should therefore also demonstrate to the reader why the writer’s research is useful, necessary, important, and valid.

THE PURPOSE (CONT..)• Exposes main gaps in knowledge and identifies principal areas of

dispute and uncertainty (Mays et al, 2001).

• Helps identify general patterns to findings from multiple examples of research in the same area.

• Studies with apparently conflicting findings helps explore explanations for discrepancies.

• Helps define your terminology or identify variations in definitions used by researchers or practitioners.

• Helps to identify appropriate research methodologies.

TYPES OF LITERATURE REVIEW

STAGES OF LITERATURE REVIEW

KEY ELEMENTS OF A LITERATURE REVIEW

Provide an overview and an argument

- Provide a suitable start point by discussing your research question and your initial thoughts.- Provide overall summary; highlighting any gaps in research and conflicts in theory. - State own perspective and the scope of the investigation; limit established.

Read critically - The literature will not be unbiased sources of information.- For each item reads; we might consider the following:

- A clearly defined topic and question.- Is it an effective analysis and account of the subject?- Is there any bias evident (political, ideological, disciplinary)?- Includes academic or scholarly sources in the literature review.- Is the argument coherent?- Are there references to sources consulted? Have any sources or theories been ignored or omitted?- How relevant is it to the topic which you are investigating?

KEY ELEMENTS OF A LITERATURE REVIEW (CONT.)

Write analytically - Summarize the arguments of different authors in relation to your own research question or topic.- Compare and contrast different authors or theories and consider what are the new or emerging themes.-Point out own opinion and argument.

Identify areas for future research

- Relate the literature review to the rest of the research, and identify the bigger questions within the literature or subject.

Personal reflection - Use the literature review as an opportunity to reflect own progress, both in terms of finding information and in critical reading.

DOCUMENTING LITERATURE REVIEW• A review of the literature identifies and highlights the important

variables, and documents the significant findings from earlier research that will serve as the foundation on which the theoretical framework for the current investigation can be built.

• Literature review is a way of demonstrating 2 things:– Literature search – what you have found.– Understanding and analysis – how you have put what you found into

the context of your project.

• Importance of documenting literature review:– To convince the reader that the researcher is knowledgeable about the

problem area and has done the preliminary homework that is necessary to conduct the research.

– To convince the reader that the theoretical framework will be structured on work already done and will add to the solid foundation of existing knowledge.

HOW TO WRITE THE PAPER?– Introduction: Introduce the topic and briefly explain why it is

significant or important area for study. Define terms if necessary.

– Summary of articles: In a paragraph or two for each study, briefly explain the purpose, how it was conducted (how information was gathered), and the major findings. When referring to an articles, use the last name of author or authors and date of publication in the text. Eg. Calvin and Brommel (1996) believe family communication… OR Communication serves two primary functions in families—cohesion and adaptability (Galvin and Brommel, 1996)

– Conclusion: Briefly summarise the major findings of the studies chosen. Comments about what questions need to still be answered may be included.

– References: List the studies used on a separate page according to APA style format.

HOW TO WRITE THE PAPER?• Length

– Varies depending on its purpose and audience. – At least 20 pages (thesis or dissertation).

• Structure– Chronological: Group and discuss sources in order of their appearance

(usually publication), highlighting the changes in research in the field and your specific topic over time. Its useful for papers focusing on research methodology, historic graphical papers, and other writing where time becomes an important element.

– Thematic: Group and discuss sources in terms of the themes or topics covered. Its often a stronger one organizationally, and it can help in resisting the urge to summarize the sources. By grouping themes or topics of research together, will be able to demonstrate the types of topics that are important to the research.

A GOOD LITERATURE REVIEW?• Important variables that are likely to influence the problem situation are not left

out of the study.

• A clearer idea emerges as to what variables will be most important to consider (parsimony), why they are considered important, and how they should be investigated to solve the problem. Thus, the literature survey helps the development of the theoretical framework and hypotheses for testing.

• The problem statement can be made with precision and clarity.

• Testability and replicability of the findings of the current research are enhanced.

• One does not run the risk or “reinventing the wheel”; that is, wasting effort on trying to rediscover something that is already known.

• The problem investigated is perceived by the scientific community as relevant and significant.

THANK YOU