Chapter 1: Research and Writing PDF

# LANE 331 Research Methods ## Chapter One: Research and Writing ### Research Research is a human activity aimed at seeking the truth. It is a careful, thorough inquiry and investigation into a subject. This includes using all appropriate print and electronic sources, asking the reference librar...

# LANE 331 Research Methods ## Chapter One: Research and Writing ### Research Research is a human activity aimed at seeking the truth. It is a careful, thorough inquiry and investigation into a subject. This includes using all appropriate print and electronic sources, asking the reference librarians for help, making use of bibliographies, and following the sincere guidance and instructions of instructors. We undertake research when we wish to explore an idea, investigate an issue, solve a problem, or make an argument that compels us to turn to outside help. We then seek out, examine, and use materials beyond our personal resources. In other words, to address the void of our knowledge and those unresolved problems by asking questions and seeking answers to them. Sometimes, even to find logical support for the answer of the question in our mind. Research is a kind of self-testing process. An issue or question arises in our mind along with a probable solution and answer. We go through the works of other researchers and try to find their answers or solutions of concern. The findings and conclusions of such an inquiry appear in the research paper. ### Research Paper/ Primary Research and Secondary Research The term "research paper" describes a presentation of student's research that may be in a printed, an electronic, or a multimedia format. The research paper is generally based on primary research, secondary research or a combination of the two. So research falls into two main categories: primary research and secondary research. The distinction between them is fairly simple: - Primary research is original work done with your particular study objectives in mind. - Secondary research is the use of previously existing resources to meet your research goals. In primary research, a student tries to examine the issue/subject in his mind through firsthand observation and investigation. ### Research Paper/Secondary Research For this purpose, he analyzes issue, conducts interviews and survey, and collects statistical data and historical documents. Secondary research is the examination of opinions and facts findings of other researchers on the subject. Secondary research at one hand, teaches student the techniques of investigation, examination and fact finding practices. On the other hand, it lends authority to the writer's opinion. Secondary research develops assessment, confidence and intellectual ability of students. The research paper is the amalgamation between writers' own point of view and carefully constructed presentation of other researchers' idea or ideas for clarification and verification on the subject. Learned facts and borrowed opinions must be fully documented in a manner that they support rather than overshadow the paper itself. A research paper is a form of communication. The language of the research paper is simple and convincing. Clarity and coherence must be ensured in a professional way. Research is a continuous process. It advances with the advancement of education and information. The diagram will prove helpful for students to understand the point. ### Selecting a Topic All writing begins with topic selection, which is a very significant and rational way to start a research. Different courses require different topics. Instructors are in a better position to suggest or propose a topic. Some instructors offer a list of topics to be chosen from. Some instructors just point out the area of interest and leave it to the students to find suitable and appropriate topic for themselves. If you have given the choice, review course reading and class notes to find topics that particularly interest you. In selecting a topic, students should always keep the following points in their mind: - Interest in the topic - Time given to the students - Space available to the students - Subjectivity in the topic - The accessibility of relevant sources - The amount and depth of research required for the topic - Interest of target audience - Code of norms Sometimes a student wants to modify or change his topic; he should feel no hesitation in doing so. However, it is highly recommended that the students should always seek the approval of the concerned instructor. ### Conducting Research After selecting an appropriate topic, the researcher starts collecting information from authentic sources. You may need to go to TV channels and radio stations. You may require establishing a solid contact with different government departments for updates and factual sources. The modern researcher should always be ready to visit and collect sources/information from some historical places in person. The next important source is your computer. You can easily surf for all kinds of information through internet. The whole world is now a click away from you. You can easily find almost all kinds of information from the internet. Through the World Wide Web, a researcher can read and transfer material. Different search tools are available on the internet for easy access. It is always advisable to use recommended sites. Your instructor and librarian can help you surf your way to recommended sites. Common ways to conduct searches with these tools are by subject or key words. Some search tools, such as Google and Yahoo!, offer alphabetically/hierarchically arranged subject directories through which you can navigate until you find specific topics you wish to explore. #### Library The library will be your most reliable guide as you conduct research for papers. Professional librarians will help you to find your relevant sources. The libraries conduct orientation courses and seminars to inform the students and general public on oncoming or updated facilities. There are every kind of facilities for all types of researchers; beginners to advanced researchers. The modern academic library can provide you with the following facilities: - Books - Magazines - Journals - Periodicals - Newspapers - Reference Works #### Facilities at Library 1. Indexes( guide you to materials in newspapers, magazines and journals) 2. Bibliographies (lists of related publications and other materials) 3. Collection of abstracts (presents summaries of journal articles and other literature) 4. Dictionaries (alphabetically arranged works that provide information, usually in concise form, about words or topics) 5. Encyclopedias ( works that give introductory information about subjects) 6. Biographical sources (present information on the lives of prominent persons) 7. Yearbooks (present information about specific years in the past) 8. Almanacs (annual publications containing data, especially statistics, about many subjects) 9. Atlases (collections of maps ) 10. Gazetteers (provide geographical information) - Printers - Photocopy machines - Internet facility Reference works are also available as electronic database on CD_ROM or online. Many libraries have a special section devoted to audio recordings (e.g., compact disc, audio tapes, long playing records), video recordings (e.g., on DVD or VHS), and multi media materials. For optimum utilization of the services offered by libraries, students should learn to use the central card catalog of library and become familiar with the environment. Students should also learn where to find current periodicals, special collections (e.g., rare books or government documents), copying facilities and the use of both microfilm and a microfiche reader (perhaps even a micro card reader). Graduate students in particular should be familiar with interlibrary-loan procedures and any privileges available to those engaged in advanced study. #### Library Search The students can find their required sources through online catalog of library holdings. You can search an online catalog by author, by title, and by subject. You can also locate your source through call number, keyword and Boolean searches. The students must also be familiar with the location of library materials. They must know that some books are kept in open shelves for easy access, but some works are kept in closed quarters, for which you usually have to present a call slip to a library staff member, who will locate the work for you. There are some separate sections for reserved works and reference works, designated in the catalog entry by reference. These works are too widely used to be borrowed and thus must also remain in the library. Libraries also commonly set aside areas for other types of materials: current materials, pamphlets, and nonprinting materials, like CD-ROMs, films, and audio/video recordings. In order to get full advantage, students are strongly recommended to visit libraries regularly. ### Working Bibliography #### Meaning and Explanation Working bibliography is a list of books, magazines, newspapers, articles, recordings, and other sources that should be consulted during your research. It is the first stage to discover where to find useful information and opinion on your topic. You should keep track of sources that you may use for your research. A record of such sources is called a working bibliography. The working bibliography usually changes frequently with the time due to changing perception of the topic that develops through research. There may be inclusions of discovery of possible new sources, and the exclusion of sources that do not prove useful. The initial working bibliography is usually compiled from bibliographies and reference works. The inclusions are made by the evaluation of sources relevant to the topic. #### Research Sources Computers are frequently utilized for composing research purposes nowadays. Make a computer file for your working bibliography. It will help you add, remove or make changes in the works. During the process of research, you can also arrange and rearrange your sources howsoever you wish (e.g., in alphabetical order, in chronological order by the date of publication, in order of relevance). You can also divide sources into groups like: those consulted, those not consulted; the most important; least important; most recent arrivals or past works. As these files are of key importance to you, keep a backup disk and copies of them on paper for your emergency use. #### Contents of Working Bibliography The working bibliography will eventually evolve into the list of works cited that appears at the end of the research paper. For this purpose, it is highly recommended to enter all the publication information needed for the works-cited list, like: - Author's name - Shortened form of the publisher's name - Full title of the book, magazine, article, journal, document - Edition - Number of volume and total volumes - City of publication/ network address, or URL - Year of publication, date of electronic publication - Page number The working bibliography is one of the most valuable documents starting from the beginning of your research till the citing source. ### Evaluating Sources #### Meaning and Explanation In today's world of technology, it is not that difficult to find sources for research paper but at the same time, it is not so easy to find reliable sources. Finding relevant and reliable sources is a challenge not only to students but, sometimes, to professional writers as well. A work in print form or on the web may not be measured, simply, as correct and authentic. The information in some print and electronic sources may be based on: - Wrong perception - Biased view - Erroneous facts - Outdated findings - Poor knowledge of the subject - Inappropriate treatment of the subject - Lack of factual presentation Assess the material against your knowledge of the subject and your intelligence. You can weigh the source against the reliable sources you are sure about and the treatment of the subject. Seek the help of your instructor and professional librarians in this regard. While assessing the source, keep the following points in your mind. #### Authority Some academic writings and articles in scholarly journals have been reviewed by readers, learned and professional people before going to printing press or on the web. These highly skilled professionals suggest improvement, if any, and recommend the material worth publishing. Some scholarly journals and publishing houses have their own board of editors, which review and assess the material provided by the writers and the feedback given by the readers. Thus the material passes through a foolproof process before it is published. This process is called "peer review". Thus it is important for the researchers to know the publishers' policy. Some publishers' names are too worthy and can easily be trusted. They publish materials after a strict policy of accuracy. If the publisher's name is not being mentioned, the authority may be doubtful. The author's name should also be given due consideration. Some print or electronic sources which have been published without authorship may be suspicious. Internet sources are more difficult to be adjudged for accuracy. Many online sources are self-published without any outside review. By consulting online sources, authors' credentials must be considered. Similarly, the name of the publisher or sponsoring organization of an internet site should be seriously considered. Note the last part of the domain name (e.g., the .edu in www.kaau.edu.sa). This suffix indicates where the source originates from. For example, (.gov), used for government agency; (.com), used for commercial enterprise; (.org), used for not-for-profit organization. Again, the domain used is no guarantee of the authority. The students here too are advised to take instructor and professional librarians into full confidence on the authority. #### Accuracy and Verifiability The bibliography, given at the end of research paper, helps the researchers to evaluate the accuracy and verifiability of the material. The list of work cited provides the information given in the text of the writer. The information can easily be verified through titles and reading of the materials given in the bibliography. The writer of the web publication may support with hyper textual links to the sources. Some sites give e-mail address for further queries and verification. If e-mail or other sources of contact have been offered, the researchers should avail the opportunity without hesitation. #### Currency Some sources are outdated and have less relevance with the works of recent researchers. The researchers should always consider up-to-date sources for their research, depending on the subject of research paper. The date of publication and revision are always mentioned on print sources. In electronic sources the date can easily be updated. Several dates are sometimes listed for an electronic publication. Ideally, a document should record all dates of publication and revision. It is therefore, recommended that consider that source where at least one date has been listed. The researchers can find the currency of works from the bibliography as well. The same information he needs for citing sources in his research paper. ### Taking Notes #### Methods of taking Notes When you come to know that the source is correct, reliable and useful for your research paper, you may like to take notes on it. The methods of taking notes may be different amongst researchers but the purpose is the same. The importance of taking notes has been acknowledged by all researchers whether students or scholars. Some researchers use simple papers for taking notes and then staple them later on. They mark the pages with page number. Some use a separate note book, while others use computer file or files for the purpose. Regardless of the method, take down all the information you will need for documentation and bibliography. Mainly there are three types of notes-taking: - Summary - Paraphrase - Quotation #### Types of Note Taking You may paraphrase or summarize when the original wording are not of prime importance. But if you want to transcribe exactly, word for word, in whole or partly, then it's important to quote them as it is presented in the source. Be sure to use quotation marks to distinguish between your point of view and that of the other writers. You must keep in mind to note only very important parts from other sources. Other sources or researchers' point of view should not overshadow your ideas or point of view. This is important not only for you as a researcher but also for your readers and instructor in terms of presenting something new to them. Whatever materials you are taking or whichever methods you are using, be sure to have full records with you in safe custody and have back up copies. It will help you in verifying your material at any stage of writing your research paper. Do not forget to get full information about the materials i.e. author, publication record and page number. ### Outlining #### Meaning and Importance Outlining refers to the main ideas or facts about something, without details. This is, actually, an intermediate activity between the research and writing stage. In this stage researchers collect all the information gathered from different sources, after evaluation, into groups or categories. Thus outlining helps the writer organize ideas, opinions and accumulated research into a logical, clear, and coherent whole. It is a common practice in educational institutions to ask for outline along with theses or dissertation. Some advisors/ instructors take serious note of outlines. Some instructors ask for outlines a lot earlier to the submission of your theses or dissertation. Some instructors permit the students to start writing only after approving their outlines. Some instructors add, remove, modify, or even change outline altogether. #### Using Computer for Outlining It is strongly recommended to create computer file/ files for an outline. You can give different names to different version of an outline, e.g., VERSION 1, VERSION 2 ....etc. Word processing, through its formation alteration, correction, storage, and retrieval capabilities, facilitates you in this activity. Although for professional writers outlining is an optional activity, but many of them discuss the outlines with experts. Scholarly research writers try to take approval of peer writers before publishing it in print or online source. As the purpose of writing a research paper is to find the ultimate solution to the problem or to find the most reliable answer to the question raised in your mind, you must revise, organize, and arrange your arguments in a systematic and logical shape. #### Purpose and shape of Outlining Two factors are important to the shaping of your research paper: your purpose and your audience. Your research paper must fulfill the purpose of achieving the high goals. Your audience must accept your logic without apprehensions. In order to have logical presentation of your idea and opinion duly supported by reliable and trustworthy sources, you should keep the following points in your mind: - Arrange and rearrange outlines into a coherent whole - Your outlines should be supported by logical examples - Your instructor's advice should be strictly followed - Approval of instructor must be ensured - Your logic and examples should appear comprehensive to your target audience - Facts must be correct and not outdated - Working outline should be easily changeable to final outline - Final outline must be free from irrelevant material - The material must not have an iota of biased view - Repetition should be avoided in development of thoughts - Comparison and contrast should not be over generalized - Introduction must be effective - Conclusion must be appropriate to the convincing explanation and invite further reading, findings, and research #### Recommended Order It is also a good idea to indicate in the outline, specifically and precisely, the quotations and reference sources you will use. All this planning may take a good deal of your time but the ultimate result will be a success. It is also advisable to follow recommended order for the outline. Descending parts of an outline are normally labeled in the following order: I, A, 1, a, (1), (a). Logic requires, of course, that there be "II" to complement a "I," a "B" to complement an "A,” and so forth and also that the coordinate parts of an outline be in parallel from (if “A” is followed by a sentence, then so should "B"; if "A" is followed by a phrase, then so should “B”). ### Writing Drafts #### First Draft Writing as a skill, can be improved through rigorous practice. Writers are rarely satisfied by the expression of their ideas as first set down. In the first draft your contents may not be complete. You may add something to the outlines or remove something. Your contents may need alteration. The material in the first draft, most of the time, are found lacking in logical arrangement. The facts may demand supportive examples. The presentation of sources may be at a wrong percentage. The writer may need to revisit the borrowed text. As the statistical data is subject to change frequently, the writer must find recent changes in the collected data. Sometimes, new ideas occur to you and the one mentioned in the first draft should be rationalized. You need to revise the contents and consult the working outline to assure the claim of research paper. Most of the times, especially in students' work, lack of clarity and cohesion has been reported. Students Of research papers should not consider it a permanent drawback of their writing ability. #### Subsequent Drafts Writers usually revise their first draft for contents and edit it for form. The shortcomings of contents and grammatical errors should have been corrected in the subsequent drafts. In revising, you may add, modify, rearrange and do away with irrelevant material. Any absurd expression should be replaced by a simple and lucid phrase. If a passage in the first draft is unclear or vague, you may have to explain it by writing another sentence or even a short paragraph. Some statements demand example for clarification; if so, you must give an example from the target community's culture to make it easier for them to understand. In later drafts you should focus on editing for form. A systematic process of revision will help you to use: - Correct words - Correct phrases - Economical words - Punctuation - Correct grammar The final draft is usually the culmination of a series of drafts. It should be carefully proofread and corrected. You are advised to take the help of your supervisor / instructor for suggesting standard dictionary and grammar books to be consulted on regular bases. Word processor can help you in your writing. You can store, change, insert, and retrieve your text in the word processor. Seek the help of your instructor in whatever you do and follow.