Chapter 2 Selecting and Defining a Research Topic

Gay, Mills, and Airasian

Topics Discussed in this Chapter

Identifying a Research Topic Reviewing the Literature Developing and Stating Hypotheses

  

Identifying a Topic


A research topic focuses the study to a defined, manageable size



It provides structure for the steps in the scientific method It is discussed in many ways
  

Research question Research problem Purpose of the research

Identifying a Topic


Four main sources of topics



Theory an organized body of concepts, generalizations and principles that can be subjected to investigation
 

Provides conceptually rich topics Provides confirmation of some aspects of theory

  

Personal experience Replication Library immersion

Obj. 1.1

Identifying a Topic


Narrowing and focusing topics



Three problems with broad topics



Enlarges the scope of the review of the literature beyond reason Complicates the organization of the review of the literature itself Creates studies that are too general, too difficult to carry out, and too difficult to interpret
Obj. 1.3

Identifying a Topic


Suggestions for narrowing topics



Talk to experts in the field

 

Professors in your college or department Researchers you know

Read secondary sources that provide overviews of your topic

  

Handbooks Encyclopedias Reviews

Obj. 1.2. & 1.4

Identifying a Topic


Quantitative and qualitative studies differences in when a topic is narrowed



Quantitative studies tend to narrow the topic initially Qualitative studies tend to narrow the topic throughout the research process itself

Obj. 1.4

Identifying a Topic


Researchable and non-researchable topics



Researchable topics


   

can be investigated through the collection and analysis of data. have theoretical or practical significance. have been conducted ethically. contribute to the educational processes can be adequately researched given the expertise, resources, and time constraints of the researcher.

Obj. 1.5

Identifying a Topic


Non-researchable topics


address philosophical or ethical issues.



Cannot be resolved through the collection and analysis of data Ultimately these are matters of opinion

address should questions.



Obj. 1.6

Identifying a Topic


The formal statement of a quantitative research topic

 

identifies the variables of interest. describes the specific relationship between the variables. identifies the nature of the participants.
Obj. 1.7 & 1.8

Identifying a Topic


The formal statement of a qualitative research topic

 

emerges over the course of the study. begins as an initial statement that tends to be stated as a general issue or concern. becomes focused as more is learned about the context, participants, and phenomena of interest. is typically stated late in a written study.
Obj. 1.8

The Literature Review

The review of the literature involves the systematic identification, location, and analysis of documents containing information related to the research problem
Obj. 2.1

The Literature Review



Functions of a literature review

 

Determine what has been done already Provide insight necessary to develop a logical framework into which the topic fits Provides the rationale for the hypotheses being investigated and the justification of the significance of the study Identifies potentially useful methodological strategies Facilitates the interpretation of the results
Obj. 2.2

The Literature Review



General recommendations for the scope of the review

 

Bigger does not mean better Heavily researched topics provide enough references to focus only on the major studies Lesser researched topics require reviewing any study related in some meaningful way even if this means searching related fields
Obj. 2.3

The Literature Review



Four stages when conducting a review

  

Identifying key words to guide the search Identifying sources Abstracting the information found in the references Analyzing, organizing and reporting the literature
Obj. 2.4

The Literature Review



Identifying key words



Importance of experimenting with several key words and combinations of them Using legal key words for particular data bases


ERIC Thesaurus


Accessed through the ERIC homepage

Obj. 2.4 & 2.8

The Literature Review



Identifying sources


Characteristics of sources
 

Primary and secondary Empirical and opinion

Importance of using secondary sources such as handbooks, encyclopedias, and reviews early in the review process
Obj. 2.6

The Literature Review



Identifying sources


Broadening and narrowing keyword searches



Three important Boolean operators

  

AND narrows a search OR broadens a search NOT narrows a search

Narrowing and focusing by date of publication, specific authors, titles, etc.

Obj. 2.5

The Literature Review



Identifying sources


Searching for books

 

Electronic databases of university libraries Keyword searches ERIC Indices usually accessed more easily through the library at your university using EBSCO or other such search tools
   

Searching for journals or papers

 

Education Index Psychological Abstracts Dissertation Abstracts Readers Guide to Periodical Literature

Obj. 2.7 & 2.10

The Literature Review



Identifying sources


Searching the web



Search engines


Google, Excite, HotBot Yahoo!, Web Crawler, Lycos Dogpile, Mamma, Vroosh

Subject directories


Meta search engines



The Literature Review



Identifying sources


Educational sites


ERIC, Ingenta, New Jour, Education Week, National Center for Education Statistics, US Dept. of Education, Developing Educational Standards, Education Resource Organization Directory Quality, honesty, bias, and authenticity Thinking Critically about WWW Resources, Critically Analyzing Information Sources
Obj. 2.11 & 2.12

Evaluating web sites

 

The Literature Review



Abstracting the references



Locating, reviewing, summarizing, and classifying references Seven steps

      

Read the article abstract Skim the entire article Record complete bibliographic information Classify and code the article Summarize the article Identify thoughts about the article you believe important Indicate direct quotes properly
Obj. 4.1

The Literature Review



Recommended strategies when abstracting



Begin with the most recent references and move toward the most dated Record all bibliographic information


Author, date of publication, title, journal name or book title or website name, volume and issue, pages, library call number or URL

 

Identify direct quotes and record page numbers Identify main ideas

Literature Review


Analyzing, organizing and reporting



Technical nature of reporting

  

Documentation Formal language Adherence to prescribed styles (e.g., APA) Group by topics Analyze for similarities and differences within subheadings Discuss the least relevant studies first, followed by the most relevant studies Summarize the review and discuss the implications related to the research problem

Outline the review

 

Literature Review


Differences between quantitative and qualitative reviews



Quantitative reviews are typically conducted in the initial stages of the study Qualitative reviews are ongoing throughout the entire study reflecting the need to understand data as it is collected, analyzed, and interpreted
Obj. 3.1

Literature Review


Meta-analysis


A statistical approach to summarizing the results of many studies that have investigated the same problem Two unique characteristics
 

The review is as inclusive as possible The results of each study are translated into a statistic called an effect size (ES)
Obj. 4.3

Literature Review


Meta-analysis


Effect sizes


Essentially the difference between the means for the experimental and control groups in control group standard deviation units The average of all effect sizes for all of the studies summarizes the overall effect of the studies Effect size indices generally range from 0.00 to slightly more than 1.00
Obj. 4.3

Literature Review


Meta-analysis


Interpreting effect sizes



There is no single standard by which effect sizes are interpreted The authors suggest the following criteria


If the effect size is less than 0.30 it is considered small If the effect size is greater than 0.30 and less than 0.70 it is considered moderate If the effect size is greater than 0.70 it is considered large
Obj. 4.4

Developing Hypotheses


Two views of hypotheses



Inductive a generalization made from a number of observations



Typical of qualitative studies

Deductive derived from theory and aimed at providing evidence to support, expand, or contradict aspects of that theory


Typical of quantitative studies

Obj. 5.1 & 5.4

Developing Hypotheses


Defining a hypothesis


A researcher s tentative prediction of the results of the research



Formulated on the basis of knowledge of the underlying theory or implications from the literature review Testing a hypothesis leads to support of the hypothesis or lack thereof
Obj. 5.1

Developing Hypotheses


A good quantitative hypothesis

 

is based on sound reasoning. provides a reasonable explanation for the predicted outcome. clearly and concisely states the expected relationships between variables. is testable.
Obj. 5.2

Developing Hypotheses


Types of quantitative hypotheses



Research hypotheses state the expected relationship between two variables



Non-directional a statement that no relationship or difference exists between the variables Directional a statement of the expected direction of the relationship or difference between variables Null a statistical statement that no statistically significant relationship or difference exists between variables
Obj. 5.5 & 5.6

Developing Hypotheses
Non-Directional
There is no relationship between math attitudes and math achievement There is no difference in the achievement of students using technology or not using it

Directional
There is a strong positive relationship between math attitudes and math achievement Students using technology will have higher levels of achievement than students who are not using it

Null
H0: =0

H0:

=0

Obj. 5.5 & 5.6

Developing Hypotheses


Hypotheses in qualitative studies



Given the nature of qualitative research, formal a priori hypotheses are not stated
 

Generative role of qualitative research Testing role of quantitative research

Focus is on generating new hypotheses as a result of the study (i.e., inductive hypotheses)
Obj. 5.10

Stating Hypotheses


Formats for quantitative experimental studies



P who get X do better on Y than P who do not get X

  

P represents the participant X represents the treatment Y represents the outcome

Testing hypotheses
  

Statistical analysis of data Importance of the results regardless of the outcome Results support or fail to support hypotheses, but they never prove or disprove hypotheses
Obj. 5.7 & 5.9