The Starting Point: Asking Questions Graziano and Raulin Research Methods: Chapter 3 This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law: (1) Any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network; (2) Preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or in part, of any images; (3) Any rental, lease, or lending of the program.

Asking Questions Research always starts with questions (Fueled by the curiosity of the scientist) Sources of questions Personal interests and observations Theories and research of others Most research is stimulated by other research Theories and past research stimulate new research Seeking solutions to practical problems (applied research)

Refining Questions Initial questions may be vague Vague questions can never be answered Refine questions Defining the variables Specifying their expected relationship Further refined into a “statement of the problem” and then one or more “research hypotheses” (covered in detail in Chapter 8)

Types of Variables in Research Variables defined by their nature Behavioral variables Stimulus variables Organismic variables Variables defined by their use in Research Independent variable Dependent variable A constant

Defined by their Nature Behavioral variables Any behavioral response of the organism Stimulus variables Any factor that affects, or could affect, behavior Organismic variables Any characteristic of a participant

Defined by their Use in Research Independent variable Variable that is manipulated by the researcher Dependent variable Variable that is expected to change as a result of the independent variable manipulation Constants Variables that are prevented from varying

Validity and Control Validity: How well a study, procedure, or measure does what it is supposed to do Enhance validity by controlling variables that could affect the dependent measure Such variables are called extraneous variables This course is devoted to the procedures required to control extraneous variables

Reading && Literature Review

Synthesis Did you Synthesis for your research Work??

Read and Evaluate What is the major hypothesis? Is this hypothesis relevant? What study population has been used? Is the number sufficient? How is the design of the study? Does the design answer your research question? Have possible confounders been taken into account? How are or will results (be) analyzed and presented? Has the paper / proposal been clearly written? How are the data interpreted / commented / related to the field of knowledge ? Is the conclusion correct?

LITERATURE REVIEW PROCESS

What is Literature Review ? A critical description of available literature/work related to a particular area of research •An examination of the research that has been conducted in a particular field of study •The selection of available documents on the topic and effective evaluation of these documents in relation to the research being proposed •Analysis and synthesis of information about a key theme or issue

Why should I do it ? •Focus your research problem •Determine what has been written about the topic •Position your research work within existing work •Produce justification for your research problem •Improve your method •Demonstrate ability to identify relevant information •Broaden knowledge base •Identify research trends

Required Skills •Locating relevant information from different sources •Internet, books, conferences, and journals •Organizing information in a logical structure •Evaluating and comparing information •Presenting information in a clear manner

Literature Review Process 1. Identify a set of keywords to search on the net 2. Download interesting work • Simple articles and Books to get general idea about the subject • Journal and conference articles for more details 3. Do a fast reading of these sources 4. Choose important work and read them in more details 5. Write a summary of their work. 6. Compare the gathered articles and list the pros and cons of each 7. Focus your research problem

Flow Diagram of Research Process

Notes •Keep literature up to date with what is current in the field •Use most recent and/or important articles to get more literature sources •Narrow and Focus your topic •Organize the electronic copies in a folder and give appropriate names to the files •Print the articles and organize them in a folder •Highlight the important parts of the articles and your read them

Literature Review Diagram

Writing Strategy • Establish a structure • Group the literature • Focus on your research problem • Write a research statement • Write as you read • Add new material as you read more papers • Draft  Evaluate  Revise

Summarize previous work • For each previous research • Locate the methodology used and results obtained • Look for any limitations • Identify the pros and cons of the work • Write your evaluation of the work • Most information can be found in abstract / introduction / conclusion • Group publications in similar categories, such as methods • You can copy from paper  paste to your file  MODIFY and always give credit to the reference used

Organizing previous work • Per Theme • Organize around the topics addressed • Per Methodology • Organize around the methods used • Per Chronology • Organize by publication date

Writing Structure • Introduce the topic starting from general and narrow down • Specify the importance of the research problem and its applications • Summarize what others did and your findings from the literature review • Conclude about current state of research in the area • Identify what is available and what is missing • Place your work within the published research

Useful notes • Make the flow logical and easy to read • Move from one idea to other in understandable fashion • Start from general issues, then focus to problem-at-hand • Write as you reading (i.e. do not wait until you read all) • Keep summary list • Avoid plagiarism