CSD 5100 Introduction to Research Methods in CSD Where To Begin?? Selecting the Research Problem Identification of a topic Framing a research problem Research questions in experimental-type designs Research questions in naturalistic designs The literature search

The Research Challenge Selecting a problem that is meaningful and appropriate for inquiry Meaningful means that the problem should generate knowledge that’s useful to the profession Answers the “so what?” question Appropriate means that the research question can be answered using a systematic research process and will yield knowledge to help solve the research problem

Identifying a Research Topic A research topic refers to a broad issue or area that’s important to you One topic can yield many different problems and strategies for investigation Where to find topics Professional experience Societal and professional trends Published research Existing theory

Professional Experience Clinical professional challenges Persistent issues that emerge in case review, supervision, or staff conferences Clinical themes that cut across different cases Professional discussions with peers about similar observations

Societal and Professional Trends Societal trends Trends reflected in legislation and funding priorities of federal, state, and local agencies, foundations, and corporations Specific requests generated by federal, state, and local government The Federal Register The NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts Professional trends Professional publications (ASHA Leader, ASHA journals) ASHA short-and long-term research goals and priorities

Existing Research Professional journals and professional meetings

Existing Theory Theories predict a number of propositions and relationships between concepts Each specified relationship within the theory must be submitted to systematic investigation for verification or falsification Inquiry is intended to substantiate the theory and advance its development, or modify it by refuting some or all of its principles

Framing the Research Problem Your job is to identify one particular area of concern within a broad topic area A specific research problem (question) is a statement that identifies the phenomenon to be explored and why it needs to be examined Questions to ask yourself What about this topic is interesting to me? What about this topic is of professional relevance to my practice as an SLP? What about this topic is unresolved in the literature? What about this topic is of societal or professional concern?

Research Questions in Experimental-Type Designs These questions are concise and establish clear limits as to what will be studied A priori questions Developed deductively Types of questions these designs answer DescriptiveExplanatoryPredictive

Descriptive Questions in Experimental-Type Designs Level 1 These questions are designed to elicit descriptions of a single topic or population about which little or nothing is known These questions focus on measuring the nature of a particular variable in the population of interest “what are?” “what is?”

Relationship Questions in Experimental-Type Designs Level 2 These questions are designed to build upon the results of Level 1 questions These questions focus on exploring the relationship among variables already described “what is the relationship?”

Testing Knowledge Questions in Experimental-Type Designs Level 3 These questions are designed to predict what will happen between two variables and provide a theory to explain why At this level, specific predictive hypotheses are formed Statements predicting the outcome of one variable based on the other “why?”

Research Questions in Naturalistic Designs A procedure for answering questions using primarily inductive reasoning The natural field forms the basis for discovery of more smaller and concise research questions Common methodologies of naturalistic designs EthnographyPhenomenology Grounded theory

Ethnography Primary research approach in fields like anthropology Concerned with the description and interpretation of cultural patterns of groups and the understanding of the cultural meanings people use to organize and interpret their experiences

Phenomenology The purpose of this method of research is to uncover the meaning of how humans experience “phenomena” through the description of those experiences as they are lived by individuals

Grounded Theory A method in naturalistic research used primarily to generate theory using an inductive process

The Literature Review The literature review Is a process where you will critically review what others have published about your problem Will help you refine your thinking and move it along to your ultimate research question Handout of the questions you should ask yourself when analyzing previous research

Why Do a Literature Review? The purpose of the literature review is to critically determine What previous research on your topic has been done The level of theory and knowledge development relevant to your problem area The relevance of the current knowledge base to your problem area A rationale for the selection of your research strategy

How to Conduct the Search When to do the search? A literature review always comes first and precedes the final formulation of a research question and the implementation of the study Limiting the search Setting appropriate boundaries as to what is relevant to search Mechanics of the search

Mechanics of the Search Literature can be accessed through On-line (computerized) data bases Library’s catalog search Other print indexes and abstracts Make friends with one of the library’s reference librarians; they are always happy to help you with your search Familiarize yourself with the library’s webpage; many journals and on-line indexes are available to UMD students Don’t forget the ASHA website ( and Google Scholar (I find this helpful) and Judith Kuster’s net connections for CSD ( Be thankful you didn’t have to do this back in the 1980’s!!!