Ma. Jolina c. capucanan BEED II/B
June 27, 2016 RESEARCH 1
CHAPTER 1 ! RESEARCH PAPER PAPER
Chapter 1, with a highly focused review of the literature, and is normally the “prospectus” that a committee approves before the “proposal” to start research is approved. After the prospectus is approved, some of the review of literature may be moved into Chapter 2, which then becomes part of the proposal to do research. Chapter 1 is the engine that drives the rest of the document, and it must be a complete empirical argument as is found in courts of law. It should be filled with proofs throughout. It is not a creative writing proect in a creative writing class! hence, once a word or phrase is established in Chapter 1, use the same word or phrase throughout the dissertation. "he content is normally styli#ed into five chapters, repetitive in some sections from dissertation to dissertation. A lengthy dissertation may have more than five chapters, but regardless, most universities limit the total number of pages to $%& due to microfilming and binding considerations in libraries in those institutions re'uiring hard copies. (se plenty of transitional words and sentences from one section to another, as well as subheadings, which allow the reader to follow the writer)s train of thought. *ollowing is an outline of the content of the empirical argument of Chapter 1. (niversities often arrange the content in a different order, but the subect matter is the same in all dissertations because it is an empirical “opening statement” as might be found in a court of law. +ote that a dissertation could also be five pages of te-t and %& pages of pictures of dragonfly wings and 'ualify for a octor)s degree in entomology. entom ology.// Introductory 0aragraph tate the general field of interest in one or two paragraphs, and end with a sentence that states what study will accomplish. o not eep the reader waiting to find out the precise subect of the dissertation. 3acground of the 0roblem "his section is critically important as it must contain some mention of all the subect matter in the following Chapter 2 4eview of the 5iterature 2 and the methodology in Chapter $. 6ey words should abound that will
subse'uently be used again in Chapter 2. "he section is a brief two to four page summary of the maor findings in the field of interest that cites the most current finding in the subect area. A minimum of two to three citations to the literature per paragraph is advisable. "he paragraphs must be a summary of unresolved issues, conflicting findings, social concerns, or educational, national, or international issues, and lead to the ne-t section, the statement of the problem. "he problem is the gap in the nowledge. "he focus of the 3acground of the 0roblem is where a gap in the nowledge is found in the current body of empirical +research/ literature. tatement of the 0roblem Arising from the bacground statement is this statement of the e-act gap in the nowledge discussed in previous paragraphs that reviewed the most current literature found. A gap in the nowledge is the entire reason for the study, so state it specifically and e-actly. (se the words “gap in the nowledge.” "he problem statement will contain a definition of the general need for the study, and the specific problem that will be addressed. 0urpose of the tudy "he 0urpose of the tudy is a statement contained within one or two paragraphs that identifies the research design, such as 'ualitative, 'uantitative, mi-ed methods, ethnographic, or another design. "he research variables, if a 'uantitative study, are identified, for instance, independent, dependent, comparisons, relationships, or other variables. "he population that will be used is identified, whether it will be randomly or purposively chosen, and the location of the study is summari#ed. 7ost of these factors will be discussed in detail in Chapter $. ignificance of the tudy "he significance is a statement of why it is important to determine the answer to the gap in the nowledge, and is related to improving the human condition. "he contribution to the body of nowledge is described, and summari#es who will be able to use the nowledge to mae better decisions, improve policy, advance science, or other uses of the new information. "he “new” data is the information used to fill the gap in the nowledge. 0rimary 4esearch 8uestions
"he primary research 'uestion is the basis for data collection and arises from the 0urpose of the tudy. "here may be one, or there may be several. 9hen the research is finished, the contribution to the nowledge will be the answer to these 'uestions. o not confuse the primary research 'uestions with interview 'uestions in a 'ualitative study, or survey 'uestions in a 'uantitative study. "he research 'uestions in a 'ualitative study are followed by both a null and an alternate hypothesis. :ypotheses A hypothesis is a testable prediction for an observed phenomenon, namely, the gap in the nowledge. ;ach research 'uestion will have both a null and an alternative hypothesis in a 'uantitative study. 8ualitative studies do not have hypotheses. "he two hypotheses should follow the research 'uestion upon which they are based. :ypotheses are testable predictions to the gap in the nowledge. In a 'ualitative study the hypotheses are replaced with the primary research 'uestions. 4esearch esign In Chapter 1 this is a summary of the methodology and contains a brief outline of three things< +a/ the participants in a 'ualitative study or thesubects of a 'uantitative study +human participants are referred tyo as participants, non=human subects are referred to as subects/, +b/ the instrumentation used to collect data, and +c/ the procedure that will be followed. All of these elements will be reported in detail in Chapter $. In a 'uantitative study, the instrumentation will be validated in Chapter $ in detail. In a 'ualitative study, if it is a researcher=created 'uestionnaire, validating the correctness of the interview protocol is usually accomplished with a pilot study. *or either a 'uantitative or a 'ualitative study, using an already validated survey instrument is easier to defend and does not re'uire a pilot study! however, Chapter $ must contain a careful review of the instrument and how it was validated by the creator. In a 'ualitative study, which usually involves interviews, the instrumentation is an interview protocol > a pre=determined set of 'uestions that every participant is ased that are based on the primary research 'uestions. A 'ualitative interview should contain no less than 1& open=ended 'uestions and tae no less than 1 hour to administer to 'ualify as “robust” research.
In the humanities, a demographic survey should be circulated with most 'uantitative and 'ualitative studies to establish the parameters of the participant pool. emographic surveys are nearly identical in most dissertations. In the sciences, a demographic survey is rarely needed. "heoretical *ramewor "he theoretical framewor is the foundational theory that is used to provide a perspective upon which the study is based. "here are hundreds of theories in the literature. *or instance, if a study in the social sciences is about stress that may be causing teachers to 'uit, Apple)s Intensification "heory could be cited as the theory was that stress is cumulative and the result of continuing overlapping, progressively stringent responsibilities for teachers that eventually leads to the desire to 'uit. In the sciences, research about new species that may have evolved from older, e-tinct species would be based on the theory of evolution pioneered by arwin. ome departments put the theoretical framewor e-planation in Chapter 1! some put it in Chapter 2. Assumptions, 5imitations, and cope +elimitations/ Assumptions are self=evident truths. In a 'ualitative study, it may be assumed that participants be highly 'ualified in the study is about administrators. It can be assumed that participants will answer truthfully and accurately to the interview 'uestions based on their personal e-perience, and that participants will respond honestly and to the best of their individual abilities. 5imitations of a study are those things over which the research has no control. ;vident limitations are potential weanesses of a study. 4esearcher biases and perceptual misrepresentations are potential limitations in a 'ualitative study! in a 'uantitative study, a limitation may be the capability of an instrument to accurately record data. cope is the e-tent of the study and contains measurements. In a 'ualitative study this would include the number of participants, the geographical location, and other pertinent numerical data. In a 'uantitative study the si#e of the elements of the e-periment are cited. "he generali#ability of the study may be cited. "he word generali#ability, which is not in the 9ord 2&&? dictionary, means the e-tent to which the data are
applicable in places other than where the study too place, or under what conditions the study too place. elimitations are limitations on the research design imposed deliberately by the researcher. elimitations in a social sciences study would be such things as the specific school district where a study too place, or in a scientific study, the number of repetitions. efinition of "erms "he definition of terms is written for nowledgeable peers, not people from other disciplines As such, it is not the place to fill pages with definitions that nowledgeable peers would now at a glance. Instead, define terms that may have more than one meaning among nowledgeable peers. ummary ummari#e the content of Chapter 1 and preview of content of Chapter 2.
ource< 3arbara von iether, ;d
