TOPIC 75: THE STRUCTURE OF A RESEARCH REPORT
- Consider this title for a research report: “Improving Mathematics Achievement.” In your opinion, is the tittle adequate? Explain.
Based on my own opinion, the title is inadequate. First, it is recommended that a research title should have ten to fifteen words. For this case, the title has three words, and this indicates that it is a title with an extensive scope, and researching such a broad title would be challenging. Secondly, a good research title should show the variables that are going to be investigated during research. From the above title, there are no specific variables for the study. Thus, the title fails to inform about the study variables.
Bavdekar (2016) explains that a good title provides a general scope of the research. This means that a research title is used as a guide indicating how far the research will cover. The above title does not specify the kind of mathematics that it purposes to improve. In such a case, the title is supposed to clarify whether its grade one mathematics or college mathematics. In the case where the researcher settles on college mathematics, will the focus be on calculus, probability of algebra among other Mathematics topics? That way, the research will have narrowed down to a more specific title. Another essential factor that the topic has failed to cover is the study population. The topic intends to study: improving mathematics achievements”. If that the case, will the study focus on middle school, secondary or college students? And if its college student, which year are we focusing on? Finally, the area or region that the research is conducted on should be covered by the title. This would make the title more specific. In this case, the study can focus on colleges in a particular state or even a particular college. All these factors must be considered to make a good research title.
TOPIC 76: WRITING ABSTRACTS
- Select one of the abstracts in Appendix G. Is it consistent with the suggestions made in this topic? What are its strengths and weaknesses, if any?
Abstract 2: Abstract of an experiment
Abstract 2 is consistent with the suggestions made in this topic. The Abstracts begin by giving a little background about the experiment, which is closely followed by the purpose. From the abstract, the researcher states that “the purpose of this study was to report the effect of a computer intervention on the psycho-social adaptation of rural women with chronic conditions.” Providing the reader with the research purpose makes it easier to understand the whole abstract. Also, the research has a method section that explains the methods used for the experiment. In this section, the researcher has mentions the key participants for the experiment and measures used to obtain data from the experiment. Also, abstract 2 has a results section that provides an overview of the results obtained from the experiment. Lastly, the abstract has a discussion section that relates the findings to the general study population and other previous studies conducted on the same subject. More importantly, the abstract has used the subheadings to separate the presented information.
Generally, abstract two consists of the suggestions made in this topic because all the essential detail are captured on the abstract. The main advantage of this abstract is its ability to provide an overview of the whole research. Thus, a reader can only read the abstract and still grasp the major concepts of the research. The second advantage of abstract 2 is the use of subheadings. The subheadings make it easier for the reader to identify the needed information about the experiment. For instant, a reader who is only interested in results can quickly locate the results sections. This saves the reader from the burden of reading the whole abstract to obtain the required information. The main disadvantage of abstract 2 is that it is quite long, and this might be boring for a reader who wants to have a quick grasp of the research.
TOPIC 77: INTRODUCTION AND LITERATURE REVIEW
- Examine a research article to determine whether the introduction/literature review is consistent with the recommendations on this topic. Describe any consistencies and inconsistencies.
Topic: Childhood overweight and obesity: Affecting factors, education, and intervention.
Retrieved from: https://childhood-obesity.imedpub.com/childhood-overweight-and-obesity-affecting-factors-education-and-intervention.pdf
The above article was recovered from the journal of childhood obesity. The article purposed to explore the affecting factors, education, and the interventions related to childhood overweight and obesity. The report is consistent with the recommendations in this topic, whereby the body begins right after the abstract. However, the report has a heading “introduction” after the abstract. This is inconsistent with the recommendations whereby the body should begin after the abstract with no tittle. The article has several main headings and subheadings, which are inconsistent with the given recommendations. Based on the recommendation, the introduction is integrated with literature, which is the case for the article mentioned earlier.
Based on the recommendations, the first introductory paragraphs do address a specific research article. From the article, it is evident that the author has introduced the research problem by acknowledging that obesity among children across all ages has become a goal pandemic. The research supports this claim by referring to the previous research that was conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO). Also, it is recommended that the introduction must show the importance of the research, and this can be done using statistics. From the article, the researcher used statistics to show how important it is to address the issue of overweight and obesity among children. For example, “…the prevalence of obesity was estimated at 17% in 2011-2014…” Further, the author has used other studies conducted by different researchers to inform the literature review. Generally, the selected article has adhered to most introduction and literature review recommendations made in this top.
TOPIC 78: DESCRIBING PARTICIPANTS
- Consider a researcher who has studied the school achievement of children who reside with their parents in a shelter for the homeless. Name two variables that might be highly relevant, and two that would be less relevant for inclusion in a research report on this topic.
Various factors influence the school achievement of children residing with parents in a shelter for the homeless. In such research, there are both highly relevant and less relevant variables to consider. First, the student’s grade point average (GPA) is a highly relevant factor for the study. The student’s GPA shows the average value after all the student’s final grades are accumulated. One of the variables tested in the above topic is the achievement of children. Through the use of the GPA’s, the researcher will be able to understand the achievement of different children in different tests. Secondly, age is a highly relevant variable for this research. With age, the researcher can distinguish the research participants. For example, this research targets the school achievement of children residing with their parents in a shelter for the homeless. Thus, the researcher can use age to categories the children in either playgroup, middle school, or upper primary school. That way, the study results will be more specific as compared to when there is no age categorization. However, some variables are highly irrelevant, and they include religious affiliation and state or country of origin. The religious affiliation, either Christian, muslin, or pagan, has little or no impact on the school achievement of a child. This is the same for the state or country of origin.
TOPIC 79: DESCRIBING MEASURES
- In your opinion, how important is it for researchers to provide the sample questions for their measures?
Taylor et al. (2015) define measures as the items that are used by the researcher to collect data, and the research respondents are expected to respond to these measures. Both qualitative and quantitative research use measures. There are different types of measures used in research, and they include survey questions and also the interview questions. Therefore, the measures used in both qualitative and quantitative research much be able to answer the research questions. Hagan (2014) emphasizes that research measures must be specific and brief, provide adequate information, consider the participant’s characteristics, avoid negotiations, avoid double-barreled questions, and should have multiple questions that purpose to measure the same construct.
Based on my opinion, the researchers need to provide the sample questions for their measures. The sample question helps the reader in understanding the constructs considered for the research. Therefore, the reader can read and understand the study results with little struggle. Secondly, it is expected that research conducted on a specific subject can be conducted by another researcher using the same steps and obtain the same or similar results. In such a case, providing sample questions would make it for the second researcher to follow through the research methodology and obtain the same or similar results. This is because the researcher will use the sample questions for the measures to formulate other similar questions based on the study subject.
TOPIC 80: REPORTING RESEARCH RESULTS
- If you have access to a published report of qualitative research, examine it to answer these questions: Is the results section organized around themes? Does the results section contain verbatim quotations from the participants? If yes, are there many quotations?
Article: A qualitative insight into informal childcare and childhood obesity in children aged 0-5 years in the UK.
Retrieved from: https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-018-6131-0
This qualitative report was retrieved from BMC public health database. The report purposed to explore childhood obesity in informal childcare settings. To collect data, the researchers engaged in four separate focus group discussions. These discussions took place in Edinburgh and Birmingham. For this qualitative report, the results sections are organized into themes. These themes include Theme 1, “the importance of informal care to families and society,” Theme 2; “practical and emotional roles of informers,” and Theme 3: “potential explanations for the link between childhood obesity and informal care.” The three themes are further discussed in detail based on the information obtained from the focus group discussions.
Also, the results sections contain verbatim quotations from the participants. These quotations do give an account of the responses that were given by the research respondents based on the research questions. For instance, theme 3 purposed to report the information on the potential explanations for the link between childhood obesity and informal care. One of the key factors discussed is that cross-generation limited the adoption of healthy feeding practices among most families. The researcher used the following verbatim quotation; “I would tell my mum how I’d want them to be fed, especially when they were younger only because we had different views about weaning and stuff like that.” However, the qualitative report seems to have so many verbatim quotations.
TOPIC 81: WRITING THE DISCUSSION
- Suppose a researcher stated, “More research is needed” in a discussion of future directions for research. Is this statement sufficient?
This statement is insufficient. This is because the statement fails to identify the area that requires further research. According to XY, the suggestion for further research revolve around several factors. First, the researcher can recommend further research that will build on the current research findings. In such a case, the researcher purposes of addressing the unanswered areas of the problem under investigation. It is important to note that every research has limitations. Therefore, the researcher can suggest future research to address the limitations of the current research. This can be related to the research objectives, questions, sampling techniques, sample size, and even the general scope of the research.
Also, future research can be suggested for a different location and even culture. In such a case, the researcher might suggest further research in a different setting. Finally, further research can be suggested to expand the model, framework, and even a theory that was assessed in the current research. All these areas are considered when recommending further research. Concerning the statement, “More research is needed,” the statement fails to address any of these aspects, and this has little importance to the consumers of the research. Based on the above understanding, the statement, “More research is needed,” is insufficient.
TOPIC 82: PREPARING THESIS AND DISSERTATIONS
- What is your opinion of the suggestion to concentrate on the composition of small sections as a way to overcome writer’s block when preparing a thesis or a dissertation? Have you ever used this technique when writing a long paper? Explain.
Writer’s block is a common phenomenon that is experienced by most writers. It is characterized by a feeling of being tuck when the writer is in a writing process, and there is nothing new that the writer can write. Different writers use different methods to overcome writer’s block. I believe that concentrating on the composition of small sections is an excellent way of overcoming writer’s block. First, researching different sections provides the writer with a general overview of the general topic. Also, small sections are an excellent way to help the writer identify the main points for the writing. Thus, the writer can pay attention to each significant point. Writing small sections makes it easier for the writer to write down the final paper because the writer is already conversant with the writing. This leads to a logical flow of points and a coherent paper.
I have used this technique when writing some of my essays. I remember an essay that was 15 pages long and accounted for 50% of my final grade. The essay was a personal reflection on Erik Erikson’s stages of psycho-social development. It was challenging to integrate this theory into my personal experience. However, I wrote small sections of the essay to overcome writer’s block. I started by writing the significant concepts of the theory and how these concepts can be applied in real-life situations. Also, I wrote about my personal experiences that I thought were related to this theory. Later, I joined the pieces, and there I had my 15-page essay.
Reference
Bavdekar, S. B. (2016). Formulating the right title for research. Journal of the Association of Physicians of India, 64(2), 53-56. Retrieved from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/292976399_Formulating_the_Right_Title_for_a_Research_Article
Hagan, T. L. (2014, July). Measurements in quantitative research: How to select and report on research instruments. In Oncology Nursing Forum (Vol. 41, No. 4, pp. 431-433). Retrieved from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263514077_Measurements_in_Quantitative_Research_How_to_Select_and_Report_on_Research_Instruments
Mumford, M. D., Zaccaro, S. J., Connelly, M. S., & Marks, M. A. (2000). Leadership skills: Conclusions and future directions. The Leadership Quarterly, 11(1), 155-170. Retrieved from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/299643118_Conclusions_and_Future_Research_Directions
Taylor, S. J., Bogdan, R., & DeVault, M. (2015). Introduction to qualitative research methods: A guidebook and resource. John Wiley & Sons. Retrieved from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/285471178_Introduction_to_Qualitative_Research_Methods