Craigmore Christian School
Mrs DeGraaf and Mrs Davies
Introduction to Research Practices
• What is Research? • Why is it important?• Locating, Selecting and Organising
Information…• Guest Presenter• Qualitative and Quantitative research• Identifying Research Methods
OVERVIEW
WHAT IS RESEARCH?
Research is: Search for knowledge Investigating, establishing facts, solving problems, proving new ideas, developing new theories…
The new approach to SACE, which endorses learning ownership and choice
Beyond high school
Research Assistant No. 3340 13 months fixed-term, part time (0.5) $62,764 - $68,790 (G05)
Do you have the analytical and communication skills to support high-quality research at Curtin University?
As Research Assistant at the School of Built Environment National Research Centre you will support the work of a multi-disciplinary team undertaking coordinated, state-wide intervention-based research in the area of road safety.
You will be responsible for liaising with external organisations including government agencies and members of collaborative research committees. You will also assist in the development of questionnaires and conduct subsequent interviews, data collection, and analysis. The position also supports the drafting of grant and tender applications, reports and journal articles.
Ant Man: Nigel franks
How are ants able to form complex societies and how can they help us with our own society?
Result?“They’re more than the sum of
their parts.”
Research DiscoveriesFrank’s research has shown that ants’ rules can be represented as
algorithms… which are the instruction sets that guide computer programs to predictable results.
How can ant research be applied to the human world?
Election Committees
Computer Design
* CHOOSING A TOPIC
• Pinpoint what you hope to achieve during your research.
• Mind Mapping
• Websites- search engines• Surveys• Print• Conversations/interviews/emails• Diaries• Film clips• Newspaper articles• Fieldwork• Photos• Translations• Databases/court records• School /family• Library /archives/journals
SOURCES
ExamineCompare and contrastTo what extentDetermineExamine the connection betweenResearchA collection of A comparison between Assess the extent to which …
USEFUL DEFINING & REFINING WORDS
1. Useful & relevant
2. Primary and secondary sources
3. Opinion V Fact
4. Gaps: return to locating information
5. Review and modify topic
SELECTING INFORMATION
Useful and Relevant
Surveys and Interviews• specific questions relevant to your topic
• do not double up or repeat similar questions
• be sensitive to the people being surveyed: ETHICS
• Target the group you plan to survey/interview carefully
• How will you reach them? Are they under age? Permission?
• Respecting people’s privacy – anonymous and secure
• Their right to say no – always be polite and appreciative
Remember: Wikipedia is not always a valid source of information!
Useful FormatsSurveys and Interviews.... Continued: • Manipulating data/answers into a useful format
• excel• Pivot tables / pie charts / bar graphs• summary describing the number of similar comments
• Selecting useful information from everything you have collected• Skim reading (especially if you have gathered a lot of information)• Selecting out material / data that supports the outcome you seek• Focus on information central to your topic• Avoid information that clouds or confuses the issue
Sample Size
Jen Clark, 1st August 2011Facebook
Trip AdvisorPublic opinion blog on travel providers, restaurants etc
Opinion V Fact
Australian GovernmentDept of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communitieshttp://www.environment.gov.au/coasts/mbp/publications/east/fs-afa.html
Coffs Coast Tourism Associationhttp://tourismcoffscoast.com.au/0061.php
ORGANISING INFORMATION
ORGANISING INFORMATION
Referencing (or Citing) What? Acknowledging someone else’s work
Why? To prove your work is factual To show you can draw your own conclusions To allow readers to retrieve the references When? All sources whether you are directly copying words of the author (‘quoting’) or putting these into your own words (‘paraphrasing’)
PART 2: Identifying Research Methods
SOURCE 1
Photographs and text messages
SOURCE 2
Survey
SOURCE 3
Scholarly Journal Article
Thank you & Good Luck!