Research Paper: Scientific Methodology

Introduction to Research Paper

• Research starts with a scientific inquiry rooted in a problem.

Need for Scientific Methodology

• Nonscientific data sources may have limited accuracy and usefulness because of biases.
• Biases: sources aren't good for obtaining valid information.
• Someone attractive, popular, wealthy, or influential is more likely to be accepted.
• Accurate predictions increase with the length of acquaintanceship, leading to overestimating behaviors.
• Overconfidence bias: compounding inferential shortcomings where predictions feel more correct than they are.
• Bias: brain's coping mechanism with mass amounts of information.
• Pseudosciences: fake science that makes claims based on faulty/nonexistent evidence.
• Claims seem possible but lack empirical support/evidence; giving the appearance of being scientific, but has no true scientific basis.

Characteristics of Modern Science

• Scientific mentality: behavior follows a natural order, making it predictable.
• Determinism: specific causes for the way people behave.
• Gathering empirical data: data that's observable/experienced.
• Data collected in a systematic way is ideal but not always correct.
• Seeking general principles (laws): principles with the generality to apply to all situations.
• Theories: advanced understanding but still needs more information to be declared a law.
• Good thinking: collecting and interpreting data systematically and objectively; open to new ideas contradicting prior beliefs.
• Self-correction: more evidence increases confidence in a theory's correctness.
• Publicizing results: exchanging information is vital to the scientific process.
• Replication: repeat procedures to verify results multiple times.

Steps of Scientific Method

• Question
• Research
• Hypothesis
• Experiment/Study
• Facts and Observations
• Analysis
• Conclusion
• Results may be different than expected or as expected.

Action Research

• Improves conditions and practices in healthcare environments.
• Undertakes action research to bring about change in specific contexts.
• Generates solutions to practical problems and empowers practitioners.
• Features: participative, collaborative, situation-based, context-specific, problem-solving, and findings that emerge as action develops.

Capstone Project

• Culminating projects, senior capstone project, senior exhibition.
• Self-directed, challenging students to come up with the right project topic.
• Engages students in research, incorporates a practical output, develops understanding of the graduate experience, fosters integration of theory/practice and improves students' entry into their chosen field.

Feasibility Study

• Assesses the practicality of a proposed project plan.
• Analyzes technical, economic, legal, operational, and time feasibility factors.
• Asks: "Is this feasible?"

Common Sources of Research Topics

• Basic Research: formulates principles/theories to explain concepts/phenomena, deriving universally applicable knowledge.
• Applied Research: searches for solutions to specific problems by applying existing knowledge to create solutions and improving products.
• Personal interests, curiosities, casual observation, reports of others' observations, and behavioral theories.

Research Title

• Captures and sustains the attention of readers
• Summarizes the main theme or topic of the research paper and is the first point of contact between reader and paper.

Choosing a Research Title

• Avoid technical language; convey the essence of your research concisely.
• Consider the audience and convey the main idea of your research clearly/concisely.
• Use keywords to help readers find your paper.
• A descriptive title indicates what your research is about.
• Make it interesting through humor, wordplay, or creative techniques
• Identify the subject matter clearly and accurately.
• Provide context by indicating the area of study, methods used, and key findings.
• Indicate the questions/hypothesis to help readers understand the RS focus.

Steps in Choosing a Great Title

• Brainstorm interesting ideas or look for examples online.
• Study relevant literature.
• Choose the most engaging idea.
• Consult with your advisor.

The Problem and its Background

• The introductory part should grab the reader's attention by stating your main idea and how you'll support it.

Introduction

• Follows the TIOC format: trends, issues, objectives, and contributions.
• Issues have two types: blank spot (minimal literature) and blind spot (contradicting results).
• Statement of the Problem contextualizes the problem, describes the exact issue your RS will address, and articulates the gap in your RS that your RS aims to address.

Background

• Theoretical Framework follows the SEC format: state, explain, and contextualize. Discusses theories that helped researchers contextualize the topic.
• Conceptual framework illustrates the expected relationship between variables.
• Literature Review summarizes existing research on a specific topic.
• Research Simulacrum: visual representation of the variables and relationships in a study.
• Research Questions: focused questions the researchers aim to answer through the study.
• Hypotheses: proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point.

Research Method

• Research Design: strategy for answering research questions by collecting and interpreting data.
• Research Locale: place/setting the study is conducted.
• Population and Sampling. Population: entire group being studied. Sample: subset of a population.

RS Ethics

• Guidelines that govern how RS should be conducted, including how to treat the participants and data collection.
• Consent: the researcher should seek informed consent from the respondent before data collection.
• Confidentiality: assure the respondents that their responses will be kept confidential.
• Anonymity: you don't know who the participants are and you can't link any individual participants to their data.
• Potential for Harm: Consider all possible sources of harm to participants.

Significance of the Study

• Justification of the importance of your work and its impact on your field, identifying knowledge gaps.
• Objectives of the Study describe what your research is trying to achieve and why.
• Research Aim is a broad statement of purpose. Research Objectives are more specific and indicate the focus.
• Scope and Limitations: define the topic and boundaries of the research problem
• Delimitations are boundaries, researcher's inclusion/exclusion decisions. Limitations affect study validity/reliability, characteristics out of your control.
• Definition of Key Terms: provides necessary background knowledge.
• Operational Definition of Terms: detailed explanation of the technical terms and measurements used.
• American Psychological Association (APA): citation format using author's last name and publication date in parentheses.

The Literature Review

• Collection/analysis of scholarly sources on a specific topic. Critically evaluates to give a clear picture of the state of knowledge on the subject.
• Literature refers to published materials. Studies refers to unpublished materials.

Writing a Literature Review

• Search for Relevant Literature related to research objectives/questions, ensuring sources are credible.
• Identify Themes, Debates, and Gaps; understand the connections and relationships.
• Structure: thematic, organize into subsections addressing different aspects of the topic.
• Synopsis: state what particular topic is all about.
• Evidence: provide pieces of evidence about the topic.
• Argument statement: state the problems of gathered evidences.
• Paraphrasing: recreating someone else's ideas into your own words without changing the original meaning.

Two Ways to Create In-Text Citations

• Parenthetical Citation: cite the references at the end of the sentence in parentheses before the period.
• Narrative Citation: add the in-text citation in the narration/text using the date in parentheses to the right of the author's name.
• Synthesizing: combining ideas and findings to make an overall point instead of summarizing.

Steps to Proper Citation

• Read, identify an idea, write a sentence and reference list, add in-test citation, and repeat.

The Methodology

• Method is a specific set of procedures that are used to gather data; defined, systematic approach to collecting and analyzing data.
• Methodology is the overall approach or framework the guides the RS process, and includes the methods used to gather data.
• Research Design is guided by research objectives/questions. Can be quantitative or qualitative.
• Quantitative Research collects, analyzes, and presents numerical data with statistics.
• Qualitative Research collects, analyzes, and presents data in the form of words, opinions, or thoughts.
• Research Locale: specific place/area where the research will be conducted.
• Population: entire list of your subjects of interest.
• Sample: specific group of individuals that you'll be collecting data from.
• Probability Sampling: random selection allowing inferences about the whole group.
• Non-Probability Sampling: non-random selection based on convenience.
• Probability sampling methods are simple random, systematic, stratified, and cluster.
• Non-probability sampling methods are convenience and purposive.
• Simple Random selects a random subset of population using a random number generator.
• Systematic researchers selects members at a regular interval.
• Stratified divide subjects into subgroups based on characteristics that they share.
• Cluster divide population into clusters then randomly select some of these clusters as your sample.
• Convenience selects units are selected for inclusion in the sample because they are the easiest for the researchers to access.
• Purposive uses their judgement to purposely select participants who can provide the best information.

Research Instruments

• Tools used to obtain and analyze data around research questions.
• Questionnaires: list of questions used to gather data from respondents.
• Open-ended: enable broad range of answers.
• Close-ended: limits responses, answerable by yes/no.
• Subject Matter Expert: has specialist skills, knowledge, and experience to practice in a field.
• Data Collection: gathering observations or measurements for first-hand knowledge.
• Online Surveys: popular for students due to low cost and flexibility.
• In-Person Survey: distribute a written questionnaire to be completed on the spot.
• Likert Scale: ranking system to measures a person's perception of how much they agree with a statement.
• Approaches in Interview: Individual, Dyadic, Focus Group, and Mediated.
• Individual: opportunity to interpret non-verbal cues.
• Dyadic: two participants who will interact and respond to open-ended questions.
• Focus Group: group of participants that'll answer questions on a topic of interest in a moderated setting.
• Mediated: AKA online interview using a computer.
• Interview Guide ensures the interviewer covers every topic and obtains necessary detail.
• Data Analysis: how data collected will be analyzed with 3 categories of descriptive statistics.
• Measures of central tendency are mode, median, and mean.
• Mode: most frequent value.
• Median: middle number in an ordered dataset.
• Mean: sum of all values divided by the total number of values.
• Thematic Analysis deduces the meaning behind the words people use by discovering repeating themes in text.