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1. To learn the four steps involved in research

2. To develop guidelines for creating a research project

Objectives

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1. Select research topic2. Conduct research3. Sort and analyze

data4. Cite and document

sources

Research Project

Four steps for gathering data:

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• Collect newspaper and magazine articles about various topics of interest, such as:– technology– workplace politics– business ethics– economics

• Review so to develop ideas for possible research topics

Research Project

Select Research Topic

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• Conduct interviews – interviews should be of various

sources• other students• teachers• parents

– interview findings should be shared by students to spark further discussion and topic information

Research Project

Select Research Topic

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• Visit the library– select a topic relating to chosen subject area– check the amount of information relating to

chosen subject area – discuss with librarian:

• potential subject areas• location of sources• techniques for locating sources, based on students’

findings and ideas

– discuss ideas with the class

• Conduct research

Research Project

Select Research Topic

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• Secondary sources – are materials already published or created

about a topic– examples: library or computer research

• Primary sources – are original information about a topic not yet

published or created– examples: observation, experimental and

survey research

Sources

Secondary versus Primary

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• Involves the investigation of books, journals, periodicals, databases and stored records

• Allows researcher to discover information currently available about a topic

• Prevents unnecessary duplication of research

• Reveals areas about a topic which need to be researched

Library Research

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• Includes Computer-Assisted Data Searches– found in most libraries– designed to assist researchers in locating data sources

• Benefits:– save time and energy– prevent researchers from manually searching through

card catalogs, indexes and other sources of information– easy to use

• type in keyword or phrase and then print results• read summary of each result• highlight important sources• locate sources using bibliographic information found

on results sheet(s)

Library Research

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• The Internet can be a valuable research tool• Be sure to check the reliability of Internet

sources– Is the host a reputable source? (i.e., government,

education, other verifiable agency)– Why is the author/publisher writing about the topic? (i.e.,

are they trying to sell you something or convince you of something?)

– Has the website won awards or recognition demonstrating its accuracy? (i.e., has a website on heart health been recognized by the American Heart Association?)

Internet Research

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• Locate relevant websites– bookmark the site– print the current page– record the Universal Resource Locator (URL)

• Keep a log of search engines, keyword searches and results yielded

• Double check the reliability of each website to be used as a source

Internet Research

Tips

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• Includes one or more persons observing and recording facts about an activity– data from each observer are recorded and

compared to look for relationships among the activity being observed

• Requires observers to look for specific information and record their findings in the same way

• Does not give clues regarding judgment or analytical processes

Observational Research

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• Observers are located outside the main doors of Target ®

• Each observer is assigned to record information about people entering the doors during specific hours of the day, such as: – a male/female– an individual– a group– approximate age

Observational Research

Example

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• Target® could use this information to differentiate specials ran throughout the day based on customer types present during specific time periods

• This observational study needs to occur several times with set limitations for the information to be accurate

Observational Research

Example

Can you think of some of the limitations Can you think of some of the limitations

needing to be set?needing to be set?

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• Is designed to compare two or more items or situations

• Includes a control group and a variable group:– control group- under normal circumstances, no variable is

added– variable group- a variable is added to the control group

• any differences in the two groups at the end of the experiment are caused by the added variable

• Is used to test market new products• Is used to compare two different ways of doing

things• Is used to compare different working

environments

Experimental Research

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• Designed to determine something at a given time

• Typically conducted through:– interviews– questionnaire surveys

Survey Research

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• Validity– occurs when an instrument measures what it is

supposed to measure– requires cautious wording of questions and field

testing to ensure questions are easily understood

• Reliability– occurs when an instrument would produce the

same results over several administrations– requires using a large sample representative of

an entire population

Survey Research

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• Occurs through personal and telephone interviews

• Personal interviews

Survey Research

• ability to obtain in depth answers

• ability to explore sensitive topics

• requires a lot of time and money

• most people do not want to be interviewed

Advantages Disadvantages

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• Telephone interviews

Survey Research

• are inexpensive• can be quickly

conducted

• low percentage of wanted responses

• people who respond are typically interested in the topic

• hard to establish credibility

Advantages Disadvantages

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• Can be conducted by mail or electronically

• Often occurs through questionnaire surveys

Survey Research

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Mail Surveys

• Inexpensive• Not limited

geographically• Respondents may

remain anonymous

• Low percentage of wanted responses

• People who respond are typically interested in the topic

• Slow process• Typically requires

multiple mailings to solicit a response

Advantages Disadvantages

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• Can elicit a quick response

• Results of data can be collected automatically and send on-going results

• Limited to people with computer and Internet access

• Can limit anonymity enjoyed by most respondents

Electronic Surveys

Advantages Disadvantages

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• Rating scale questions– numeric indicator (i.e., five high and one low)– verbal indicator (i.e., strongly agree, agree,

disagree, strongly disagree)

• Multiple choice questions

• Ranking questions

• Open ended questions– allows for an essay type response

Survey Research

Types of questions

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• Sequence items in a logical manner– list easy questions first, followed by more difficult ones– group questions with the same subject or topic in the

same section

• Ask for factual information rather than opinions when possible– opinions can change from day to day

• Remember short-answer items are preferred by respondents and easy to tabulate– respondents are simply required to make a check mark

or circle a response

Keys to Effective Questionnaires

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• Develop clear and concise questions– ensure question does not lead respondent to an answer– provide all possible answers or an “other” selection

• Avoid directions asking a respondent to skip or jump to a certain section– can be confusing– may cause an important section to be skipped

• Complete a test run of the questionnaire– check for clarity, ease of answering questions and quality

of answers

Keys to Effective Questionnaires

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• Tabulation– recording data from each questionnaire onto

one form can be done manually or electronically– to tabulate questionnaire answers manually

• make a list of each item• go through each questionnaire• make a pencil mark for each response• count the number of responses for each item

Gathering Results of a Survey

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• Sorting data can be simplified by:– color coding information based on ideas or themes– placing information in separate bins based on ideas

or themes– recording important information on cue cards with a

topic included to separate

Sorting and AnalyzingData

Be sure to keep the appropriate Be sure to keep the appropriate bibliographic information with each piece of bibliographic information with each piece of research during the sorting and research during the sorting and

analyzing phaseanalyzing phase

HINT:HINT:

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• Analyze information– analysis can occur by:

• comparing and contrasting themes• creating tables and charts based on questionnaire

survey results• summarizing recurring and important themes

Sorting and AnalyzingData

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• During analysis of data, prevent mental blocks such as:– trying to make results match expected

outcomes– hoping for spectacular results– attempting to compare information when there

are no similarities– basing a conclusion on lack of evidence

Sorting and AnalyzingData

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• Two common forms used in business are:– American Psychological Association (APA)

style– Modern Language Association of America

(MLA) style

Citing and DocumentingSources

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• Citation of a single author book: – Example:

Author. Title of Book. City of Publication: Publisher, Year.

• For more information regarding MLAMLA citations:– MLA Handbook for Writers of Research

Papers

MLA

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• Citation of a single author book: – Example:

Author. (Year). Title of Book. City of Publication: Publisher.

• For more information regarding APAAPA citations:– Publication Manual of the American

Psychological Association

APA

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1. List the four steps to gathering data for a research project.

2. What is the difference between primary and secondary sources?

3. What are the two benefits of computer-assisted data searches?

4. Explain observational research.

Quiz

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5. What are the two ways survey research is typically conducted?

6. What is the difference in validity and reliability?

7. List three types of survey questions.

8. When citing and documenting sources, what does APA style stand for? MLA style?

Quiz

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UC Berkeley Library. “Library Research Using Primary Resources”. http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/PrimarySources.html

Gay, L.R. (1987). Educational Research: Competencies of Analysis and Application, Third Edition. Columbus, OH: Merrill Publishing Company.

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