Understanding Research: Definition and Key Elements

Research Definition

• Research is an artistic scientific investigation.
• Research is a process to investigate a topic or question.
• Research is required to discover new information, deepen understanding, or solve a problem.
• Research involves a careful and detailed study of a specific problem, concern, or issue using the scientific method.
• Scientific methods include observation, questions, and hypothesis.
• Research is an organized and systematic way of finding answers to questions.
• Being organized means there's a structure, a planned procedure, and a focus limited to a specific scope.
• Being systematic means there is a definite set of procedures and steps that must be followed in order to get the most accurate results.
• Finding answers in research is the ultimate goal, with success defined upon locating these answers.
• Questions are central to research.
• Without a question, research lacks focus, drive, or purpose.

Parts of a Research Paper

• A paper is academic writing providing analysis, interpretation, and arguments based on in-depth independent research.
• An abstract is a succinct summary of complicated research.
• The introduction is the section after the title and abstract.
• Introductions lead the reader from a general subject area to a particular topic of inquiry.
• Introductions establish the scope, context, and significance of the research being conducted.
• Introductions can summarize current understanding and background information.
• Introductions state the purpose of the work in the form of the research problem which is supported by a hypothesis or a set of questions.
• Introductions explain the used methodological approach to examine the research problem.
• Introductions highlight the potential outcomes with study results.
• Introductions outline the paper's remaining structure and organization.
• Literature reviews contain an overview of sources.
• These sources include: books, scholarly articles, and any others relevant to a particular issue, area of research, or theory.
• Literature reviews demonstrate how research relates to a larger field of study and provide an overview of current knowledge.
• Literature reviews help to identify relevant theories, methods, and gaps in existing research.

Hypothesis Details

• A hypothesis is a statement of expectation or prediction to be tested by research.
• A hypothesis is an intellectual or wild guess about the study's possible result.
• "Students who study using active recall techniques will score higher on memory tests than students who use passive review" is an example hypothesis.
• "Increasing the temperature of a metal wire will increase its electrical resistance" is another example hypothesis.
• Null hypotheses indicates there is no significant difference or relationship between variables being studied.
• Null hypothesis represents the "status quo" or absence of effect.
• Researchers often try to reject the null hypothesis to support their alternative hypothesis.
• "There is no difference in test scores between students who use active recall and those who use passive review" is an example null hypothesis.
• Alternative hypotheses state a significant difference or relationship between the variables being studied.
• Alternative hypotheses represent the researcher's prediction or expectation, and is the opposite of the null hypothesis.
• "Students who use active recall will score significantly higher on tests than students who use passive review" is an example of an alternative hypothesis.

Methodology

• Methodology is the systematic method to resolve a research problem through data gathering techniques.
• Methodology provides an interpretation of gathered data and drawing conclusions about the research data.
• Researchers using methodology determine what data to collect, who to collect it from, how to collect it, and how to analyze it.

Populations and Samples

• A population is the entire group that you want to draw conclusions from.
• Populations do not always refer to people.
• A sample is a smaller part or subgroup of the population.
• Sampling targets who will participate in a study.
• Reasons for sampling: necessity, practicality, cost-effectiveness and manageability

Respondents, Participants, and Subjects

• Respondents answer questionnaires, usually in quantitative research.
• Participants participate/answer questions in qualitative studies.
• Subjects are the people in the researcher’s experiment, usually in quantitative research.

Variable Details and Examples

• A variable is any factor, trait, or condition that can be manipulated, controlled for, or measured in an experiment.
• A's example uses the implementation of a gamified learning platform to increase student engagement in online history courses.
• B's example uses of regular mindfulness meditation practice to decrease self-reported anxiety levels in adults.
• C's example uses blue-light filtering software on computer screens to reduce self-reported symptoms of eye strain.
• Independent variables are changed or manipulated in an experiment, assumed to have a direct effect on the dependent variable.
• Dependent variables respond to these changes and are dependent on the independent variable.
• "The Effect of Watering Frequency on the Growth of [Specific Plant Type]" indicates frequency is the independent variable and growth of plant is the dependent variable.

Instruments

• A research instrument is any tool you may use to collect or obtain data.
• Research instruments measure data and analyze data relevant to the subject of a research.
• The format may consist of questionnaires and surveys.
• Instruments can also include interviews, checklists and simple tests.
• A good research instrument is validated and has proven reliability.
• It assists in answering the research aims, objectives, and research questions.
• Questionnaires are the main instrument for collecting data in survey research.
• Questionnaires are a set of standardized questions which follow a fixed scheme to collect individual data about one or more specific topics.

Data, Results, and Discussion

• Data is information that has been collected, observed, generated, or created to validate original research findings.
• Results detail "findings" and includes a section where the authors provide the data collected during their study.
• Discussion interprets/describes the significance of a finding, explains any new understanding or insights from the study of the problem.

References and Appendix

• References are at the end of a research paper.
• References give credit to authors consulted for their ideas.
• Appendix is a space for materials used but do not belong in the main text.
• The appendix is where researchers attach a copy of their research instruments.

Operational Definitions

• Operational definitions provide an alphabetical list of important terms, acronyms, or jargons used in the research study.
• Jargons are terminologies only understood by people in a certain group, therefore it is difficult for others to understand.
• Technical definitions are universal in meaning.
• Technical definitions come from materials such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, and books.
• Operational definitions how the term is applied or used in the research.
• Technical definitions are specific to a concept in a research study and formulated by researchers.
• Only terms, words, or phrases that have special or unique meanings in a study are defined.
• When defining terms, define technically, operationally, or both.
• Terms should be short, clear, and unambiguous.
• Algorithm, PPST, Quantum, Entanglement, ANOVA, Books, Seas, Students, Literacy, Phoneme, and Toys are all considered research terms.
• Expand further on a definition by using the included Term Class Distinguishing Characteristic.
• Additionally provide descriptions of: process narration, historical background, additional narration, cause/causes, effects/results/consequences, problem/solution, statistics, uses/applications, similarities, differences, analogies, classes/types/categories, examples, etymology, negatives, or advantages/disadvantages

Technical Writing

• Conventions are writing rules and practices governing how written language is structured and presented.
• They ensure clarity, consistency, and professionalism in written communication.