RESEARCH IS PEOPLE ROUTINES:

Why are you anxious?

Compiler:
BAYU SENJAHARI, M.Pd., M.Ed

ENGLISH STUDY PROGRAM

ISLAMIC STATE OF HIGHER COLLEGE (STAIN) CURUP

2014

Preface
Alhamdulillah, praise to Allah SWT the beneficent and merciful. The handbook entitled
Research is People Routine: Why are you anxious? is finally completed. This handbook
is a compilation from several references that is purposively bound to enrich students
knowledge in research. The idea of contents is based on the compiler experiences in
supervising and examining students thesis. Thus, it is expected that the book be benefited
for everyone.

Curup, March 2014

Compiler,
Bayu Senjahari

List of Contents

Preface ................................................................................................................................... 2
List of Contents ..................................................................................................................... 3
ELICITING RESEARCH TOPIC ......................................................................................... 3
RESEARCH BACKGROUND/ INTRODUCTION............................................................. 6
THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS/ PROBLEMS ................................................................. 10
REVIEW OF THE RELATED THEORIES ....................................................................... 16
QUANTITATIVE OR QUALITATIVE RESEARCH ....................................................... 62
QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH ......................................................................................... 68
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH (I) ....................................................................................... 71
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH (II) ...................................................................................... 77
DATA COLLECTION TECHNIQUES ................................................................................ 81
CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION................................................................................ 85

ELICITING RESEARCH TOPIC

Tips to find a good research topic

Its a common knowledge that a good topic is not a very extensively studied one research
should bring new information to science. Still, how to find out what topics are worth to
study and what not? Check out the tips by Dr. Konrad Janowski from Department of
Clinical Psychology in Lublin, Poland.
What you should start off with is the basics figure out what field of psychology interests
you the most and then start narrowing it down. It can be hard at first, one needs to have a
rather broad knowledge in a subject to really orientate in the field. For example, some
topics may sound like a new discovery for beginners, whereas they may turn out to be a
common knowledge for the specialists. Still some effort (read: quite some
reading/browsing) will be surely rewarding.
Once you roughly know what interests you, you can go deeper to select the topic. The
following advice and criteria will help you to narrow down your topic even more.
Literature analysis
As you figured out, you wont be able to know what to choose not having read loads of
books and articles. It takes a lot of time and effort to browse through everything in the field
of your interest before you really get deep in the topic.
Tips to Remember:

Dont limit yourself to one book/article different authors and researches may
show various insights to theories and address the same problem in a different way.
When reading an article, focus on objective of the study, its results and the
conclusion use fast screening!
Be patient! Notice that to get an extensive overview of the field, it takes time and
cant be done in one day or a week.
Dont only collect literature analyze it!

Critical reasoning/ observation of reality

Keep your eyes wide open. For example, if you work as a volunteer in an hospital, you
may be able to see some behaviors among patients and thus draw topics that need and
should be addressed in research (and were not till now). The most important thing is to ask
questions and seek for answers.
It is significant to:

Constantly seek for new inquiries

Always have a critical mind
Dont take anything for granted ask questions about reality.
Even if something you want to address is already answered, dont hesitate to
deepen the problem or to look at it from another angle.

Moreover, dont forget about practical aspects before starting our own research. Ask
yourself the following questions:

Is it possible to investigate your subject? This means, will you be able to change
psychology concepts to measures/categories with your results?
Do you have appropriate tools and human resources for your project (methods
e.g., questionnaires; colleagues or a research group that could be involved, should
you need more people)?
Should there be no adequate method you may need to develop one. Are you ready
to handle the extra work before even starting research and performing pilot studies?

Strategies for focusing a broad research topic

(http://www.library.illinois.edu/ugl/howdoi/topic.html)

Are you overwhelmed with how much information you are finding? Try the suggestions
below:

Develop a tentative focus

List what you already know and questions you have about the topic and focus
on those you find most interesting
Find background information on your topic
Check our Electronic Reference Collection for an article in an online encyclopedia
you can trust.
Look for magazine articles
Magazine articles tend to be shorter and can provide a general idea of key issues or
controversies related to your topic. Try:
o Academic Search Premier
o Academic One File
Search CQ Researcher
This is a great source for finding background information and overviews of a wide
array of topics.
Choose a particular perspective on the issue
How do scholars from different subject fields approach your topic? Finding
different points of view can provide you with a better sense of direction. Look
through our subject-specific databases listed on the Find Articles page like:
o Education Full Text (EBSCO)
o Worldwide Political Science Abstracts (ProQuest)
o Pub Med (National Library of Medicine)
Limit your search to a specific time period
Look for date limit options when searching a database.
Need more help? Ask a Librarian for assistance.

Finding research topic ideas

You'll be spending a bit of time on your research paper, so be sure to choose a topic that
will sustain your interest!
You can find ideas for research topics by using the following strategies and resources:

Scan your textbook and other class readings for topic ideas and suggestions
Draw on what you have read or seen recently that interested you

Pick a topic relevant to your life

Considering a career in politics? Hoping to start your own business? Thinking of
studying abroad next year? Choose a topic that allows you to learn about something
you can apply to your daily life.
Check out our Subject Guides
Subject Guides cover a wide variety of topics and one just might spark your
interest!

RESEARCH BACKGROUND/ INTRODUCTION

What is research background?

http://www.anc.ed.ac.uk/dtc/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=136&Itemid=0

Introduction/Background: This section should describe the research area and findings from
previous studies. Write in a goal-directed manner. You will eventually be proposing some
experiment/models, therefore, the literature review should be designed so that it discusses
an issue or question that needs to be addressed in that area and provides a rationale for
your proposed study. Moreover, you should structure your Introduction so that the
motivation for your proposal becomes clear. To achieve that you should begin with a
relatively big issue and then focus down to the specific issue you are interested in,
highlighting the aspects of previous research (for example, some methodological flaw in
previous approaches or a novel finding opening a new field) that your proposal will
address. Summarize the most important and relevant results/expertise from your own
previous research/studies. You should try to demonstrate that you are (i) familiar with the
field of research and (ii) able to conduct the research in this field. By the end of the
Introduction, the reader should have a very good idea of what the central issue of your
proposal will be. Your Introduction should reference at least three original research articles
(see the section about references).

How to Write the Introduction of a Research Paper

http://science1.knoji.com/how-to-write-the-introduction-of-a-research-paper/

College students and even beginning graduate students are often confronted with questions
on how to write the introduction of a research paper correctly. Questions such as what
should be the content of the introduction or how should the introduction be written are
common.
Step 1. Define the Objectives of the Research Paper
What essentially are the objectives of the research paper? The main objectives of the
research paper should reveal the reasons for undertaking the research. It should provide the
reader the right direction needed to evaluate the results of the research paper. The
background information should be written in such a way that the reader need not examine
or browse other publications about the topic discussed in the research paper. The
introduction should provide the reasons behind the conduct of the research paper. The
introduction narrates the circumstances that led the author to conduct research and come up
with a solution to the problem identified.
Most important, the introduction should briefly and clearly state the objectives in writing
the research paper. It should be brief so that the reader will see immediately if the research
paper is relevant to his interest or discipline. The information provided should be founded
on some other previous study that has a bearing on the issues at hand.

Step 2. Rules on How to Write the Introduction of the Research Paper

There are rules to be followed on how to write the introduction of the research paper. The
introduction should state the nature as well as scope and limitations of the research paper.
The nature of the research paper refers to the circumstances that produced the existing
phenomena while the scope and limitations of the research paper refers to the extent by
which the problem was researched on and what issues have not been covered. This should
be written in easily understandable terms.

Writing an Introduction
http://www.crlsresearchguide.org/17_Writing_Introduction.asp

What is it?
An introduction is the first paragraph of a written research paper, or the first thing you say
in an oral presentation, or the first thing people see, hear, or experience about your project.
It has two parts:
1. A general introduction to the topic you will be discussing
2. Your Thesis Statement
Why do it?
Without an introduction, it is sometimes very difficult for your audience to figure out what
you are trying to say. There needs to be a thread of an idea that they will follow through
your paper or presentation. The introduction gives the reader the beginning of the piece of
thread so they can follow it.
When do I do it?
Many books recommend writing your introduction last, after you finish your project. This
is to make sure that you introduce what you are actually going to say. If your project
changes in the creating process, it is important to make sure that your introduction
accurately reflects what you will be saying. If, however, you have written a good outline
and stick to it, then it is fine to start writing your introduction first. Just make sure in your
proofreading that you have kept the thread consistent throughout the paper.
How do I do it?
Start with a couple of sentences that introduce your topic to your reader. You do not have
to give too much detailed information; save that for the body of your paper. Make these
sentences as interesting as you can. Through them, you can hook a reader and get them
very interested in the line of thinking you are going to develop in your project.
Then state your thesis, which may be done in one or more sentences. The length of your
introduction depends on the length and complexity of your project, but generally, it should
not exceed one page unless it is a very long project or a book. The average length of an
introduction is one-half a page.
Writing an introduction (2)
http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~bioslabs/tools/report/reportform.html

General intent:
The purpose of an introduction is to acquaint the reader with the rationale behind the work,
with the intention of defending it. It places your work in a theoretical context, and enables
the reader to understand and appreciate your objectives. The abstract is the only text in a
research paper to be written without using paragraphs in order to separate major points.
Approaches vary widely; however, for our studies the following approach can produce an
effective introduction.

Describe the importance (significance) of the study - why was this worth doing in
the first place? Provide a broad context.
Defend the model - why did you use this particular organism or system? What are
its advantages? You might comment on its suitability from a theoretical point of
view as well as indicate practical reasons for using it.
Provide a rationale. State your specific hypothesis(es) or objective(s), and describe
the reasoning that led you to select them.
Very briefly describe the experimental design and how it accomplished the stated
objectives.

Style:

Use past tense except when referring to established facts. After all, the paper will
be submitted after all of the work is completed.
Organize your ideas, making one major point with each paragraph. If you make the
four points listed above, you will need a minimum of four paragraphs.
Present background information only as needed in order support a position. The
reader does not want to read everything you know about a subject.
State the hypothesis/objective precisely - do not oversimplify.
As always, pay attention to spelling, clarity and appropriateness of sentences and
phrases.

Steps in writing research background

http://classroom.synonym.com/start-research-paper-introduction-2436.html

Writing a research paper is a challenge for many high school and college students. One of
the biggest hang-ups many students have is getting started. Finding a topic and doing, the
research may be half the battle, but putting words to paper or starting an introduction often
proves to be an intimidating task. If done correctly, an introduction is a simple and
effective way to write the entire paper quickly.
Step 1
Conduct your research thoroughly. One-problem students run into when starting a research
paper introduction is failing to properly research the topic. Research doesn't involve just
gathering sources. It also involves reading and mentally digesting the source material.
Some students have difficultly with the introduction because they don't understand the
topic.
Step 2

Create a map or outline of your paper. You must understand the direction your paper is
going before you can properly write the introduction. By definition, an introduction
introduces the paper topic. Your intent should be to summarize the extent of your research
in one or two paragraphs, without necessarily giving away the ending.
Step 3
Write multiple rough drafts of your opening paragraph. You should complete each one
independently of the others and of your paper outline. You shouldn't ignore your paper
outline; instead, attempt to write the introduction without directly relying on the outline.
This allows your creative juices to flow and provides new insights about developing the
paper's body and conclusion. If you can't write the introduction without looking at source
material, you don't grasp your research.
Step 4
Choose the best version of your introduction and revise it. You should write a final version
of your introduction before moving on to the research paper's body. Your introduction
should summarize your paper, indicate its importance for future research and describe your
research's extent or sources.
Step 5
Ask someone to proofread and critique the introduction. Preferably, you should ask the
teacher or professor who assigned the paper to read the introduction, making sure it
conforms to the assignment's requirements. If it's written correctly, your instructor can
ascertain most of the paper's content without reading the entire document. Your instructor
can also provide direction for the rest of your paper.

THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS/ PROBLEMS

10

How to Write a Research Question

http://writingcenter.gmu.edu/?p=307

What is a research question?

A research question is a clear, focused, concise, complex and arguable question around
which you center your research. You should ask a question about an issue that you are
genuinely curious about.
Why is a research question essential to the research process?
Research questions help writers focus their research by providing a path through the
research and writing process. The specificity of a well-developed research question helps
writers avoid the all-about paper and work toward supporting a specific, arguable thesis.
Steps to developing a research question:

Choose an interesting general topic. Even directed academic research should focus
on a topic in which the writer is at least somewhat personally invested. Writers
should choose a broad topic about which they genuinely would like to know more.
An example of a general topic might be Slavery in the American South or Films
of the 1930s.
Do some preliminary research on your general topic. Do a few quick searches in
current periodicals and journals on your topic to see whats already been done and
to help you narrow your focus. What questions does this early research raise?
Consider your audience. For most college papers, your audience will be academic,
but always keep your audience in mind when narrowing your topic and developing
your question. Would that particular audience be interested in this question?
Start asking questions. Taking into consideration all of the above, start asking
yourself open-ended how and why questions about your general topic. For
example, How did the slave trade evolve in the 1850s in the American South? or
Why were slave narratives effective tools in working toward the abolishment of
slavery?
Evaluate your question.
Is your research question clear? With so much research available on
any given topic, research questions must be as clear as possible in
order to be effective in helping the writer direct his or her research.

Is your research question focused?

Research questions must be specific enough to be well covered in the space available. (See
flip side for examples of focused vs. unfocused research questions.)
Is your research question complex?
Research questions should not be answerable with a simple yes or no or by easilyfound facts. They should, instead, require both research and analysis on the part of the
writer.
Hypothesize. After you have come up with a question, think about what the path you
think the answer will take. Where do you think your research will take you? What kind

11

of argument are you hoping to make/support? What will it mean if your research
disputes your planned argument?
Sample Research Questions
Unclear: Why are social networking sites harmful?
Clear: How are online users experiencing or addressing privacy issues on such social
networking sites as MySpace and Facebook?
The unclear version of this question doesnt specify which social networking sites or
suggest what kind of harm the sites are causing. It also assumes that this harm is proven
and/or accepted. The clearer version specifies sites (MySpace and Facebook), the type of
harm (privacy issues), and who the issue is harming (users). A strong research question
should never leave room for ambiguity or interpretation.
Unfocused: What is the effect on the environment from global warming?
Focused: How is glacial melting affecting penguins in Antarctica?
The unfocused research question is so broad that it couldnt be adequately answered in a
book-length piece, let alone a standard college-level paper. The focused version narrows
down to a specific cause (glacial melting), a specific place (Antarctica), and a specific
group that is affected (penguins). When in doubt, make a research question as narrow and
focused as possible.
Too simple: How are doctors addressing diabetes in the U.S.?
Appropriately Complex: What are common traits of those suffering from diabetes in
America, and how can these commonalities be used to aid the medical community in
prevention of the disease?
The simple version of this question can be looked up online and answered in a few factual
sentences; it leaves no room for analysis. The more complex version is written in two
parts; it is thought provoking and requires both significant investigation and evaluation
from the writer. As a general rule of thumb, if a quick Google search can answer a research
question, its likely not very effective.

What is a good research question?

http://www.socscidiss.bham.ac.uk/research-question.html

It is important to start your thinking about the dissertation with a question rather than
simply a topic heading. The question sets out what you hope to learn about the topic. This
question, together with your approach, will guide and structure the choice of data to be
collected and analyzed. Some research questions focus your attention onto the relationship
of particular theories and concepts: 'how does gender relate to career choices of members
of different religions?' Some research questions aim to open an area to let possible new
theories emerge: 'what is going on here?' is the most basic research question in exploratory
research. For an undergraduate dissertation, your question needs to be more targeted than
either
of
these.
Creating a research question is a task. Good research questions are formed and worked on,
and are rarely simply found. You start with what interests you, and you refine it until it is
workable. There is no recipe for the perfect research question, but there are bad research

12

questions. The following guidelines highlight some of the features of good questions.
Top Tips:
a. Relevant.
b. Manageable in terms of research and in terms of your own academic abilities.
c. Substantial and with original dimensions.
d. Consistent with the requirements of the assessment.
e. Clear and simple.
f. Interesting.
Relevant
The question will be of academic and intellectual interest to people in the field you have
chosen to study. The question arises from issues raised in the literature or in practice.
You should be able to establish a clear purpose for your research in relation to the chosen
field. For example, are you filling a gap in knowledge, analyzing academic assumptions or
professional practice, monitoring a development in practice, comparing different
approaches or testing theories within a specific population?
Manageable
You need to be realistic about the scope and scale of the project. The question you ask
must be within your ability to tackle. For example, are you able to access people, statistics,
or documents from which to collect the data you need to address the question fully? Are
you able to relate the concepts of your research question to the observations, phenomena,
indicators or variables you can access? Can this data be accessed within the limited time
and resources you have available to you? Sometimes a research question appears feasible,
but when you start your fieldwork or library study, it proves otherwise. In this situation, it
is important to write up the problems honestly and to reflect on what has been learnt. It
may be possible, with your supervisor, to develop a contingency plan to anticipate possible
problems of access.
Substantial and (within reason) original
The question should not simply copy questions asked in other final year modules, or
modules previously undertaken. It shows your own imagination and your ability to
construct and develop research issues. And it needs to give sufficient scope to develop into
a dissertation.
Consistent with the requirements of the assessment
The question must allow you the scope to satisfy the learning outcomes of the course.
For example, you can choose to conduct a theoretical study, one that does not contain
analysis of empirical data. In this case, it will be necessary for you to think carefully before
making such a choice. You would be required to give an account of your methodology, to
explain why theoretical analysis was the most appropriate way of addressing the question
and how you have gone about using theoretical models to produce new insights about the
subject.

13

Clear and simple

The complexity of a question can frequently hide unclear thoughts and lead to a confused
research process. A very elaborate research question, or a question which is not
differentiated into different parts, may hide concepts that are contradictory or not relevant.
This needs to be clear and thought-through, but it is one of the hardest parts of your work.
Equally, you may want to begin with your literature review and data collection and you
may feel tempted to 'make do' with a broad and vague research question for the moment.
However, a muddled question is likely to generate muddled data and equally muddled
analysis. If you create a clear and simple research question, you may find that it becomes
more complex as you think about the situation you are studying and undertake the
literature review. Having one key question with several sub-components will guide your
research here.
Interesting
This is essential. The question needs to intrigue you and maintain your interest throughout
the project. There are two traps to avoid.
Some questions are convenient - the best you can come up with when you are asked to
state a question on a form, maybe or perhaps the question fits in with your units
so you decide it will suffice.
Some questions are fads - they arise out of a particular set of personal circumstances,
for example a job application. Once the circumstances change you can lose
enthusiasm for the topic and it becomes very tedious.
Make sure that you have a real, grounded interest in your research question, and that you
can explore this and back it up by academic and intellectual debate. It is your interest that
will motivate you to keep working and to produce a good dissertation.
Key Questions
What aspect do you find the most interesting about your chosen field or topic?
Is there 'room' for investigation in this sub-topic area?
Have you tried formulating questions in different ways?
Are you happy with your questions? (You will be the one working on them!)
Have you discussed your topic with your supervisor?

Developing Research Questions

http://www.sahs.utmb.edu/pellinore/intro_to_research/wad/res_ques.htm

Most people associate research with doing something: observing people, using equipment,
or analyzing data. However, the most critical parts of the research process are those parts
that are associated with thinking not doing. This section explains how to develop research

14

questions, define variables, and formulate hypotheses. Unless these three areas are
carefully done the researcher will waste his/her time in running around observing people,
using equipment, and analyzing data.
After one has become interested in an area of inquiry, and has studied the available
literature, it is time to formulate a research question and develop hypotheses. This stage is
the most crucial part of research. If one is not exactly clear about what one is studying,
then the result is a very muddy research study. Contrary to myth many research studies are
muddy and ill conceived, because of careless thinking at this stage of the process. A
research question is a formal statement of the goal of a study. The research question states
clearly, what the study will investigate or attempt to prove. The research question is a
logical statement that progresses from what is known or believed to be true (as determined
by the literature review) to that is unknown and requires validation.
It is important to be able to identify the research question. The other components of a study
grow from the research question in a logical manner. Once we have a clear research
question, the question leads to specific variables. The variables are the observable
phenomena that can be studied. A variable varies, that is it can be observed to change, or
can take on different attributes. Gender is a variable and it can take on two different
attributes, male and female. A knowledge of the variables allows us to understand the
hypotheses of the study. The hypotheses describe the predicted relationships between the
variables. The next chapter goes into more details.

15

REVIEW OF THE RELATED THEORIES

Understanding Literature Review
http://www2.uncp.edu/home/acurtis/Courses/ResourcesForCourses/LitReview.html

The literature review. A review of the literature is an essential part of your academic
research project. The review is a careful examination of a body of literature pointing
toward the answer to your research question. Literature reviewed typically includes
scholarly journals, scholarly books, authoritative databases and primary sources.
Sometimes it includes newspapers, magazines, other books, films, audio and video tapes,
and other secondary sources.
Primary sources are the origin of information under study, fundamental documents relating
to a particular subject or idea. Often they are first hand accounts written by a witness or
researcher at the time of an event or discovery. These may be accessible as physical
publications, as publications in electronic databases, or on the Internet. Secondary sources
are documents or recordings that relate to or discuss information originally presented
elsewhere. These, too, may be accessible as physical objects or electronically in databases
or on the Internet.
All good research and writing is guided by a review of the relevant literature. Your
literature review will be the mechanism by which your research is viewed as a cumulative
process. That makes it an integral component of the scientific process. Why do it? The
purpose of the literature review remains the same regardless of the research method you
use. It tests your research question against what already is known about your subject.
Through the literature review you will discover whether your research question already has
been answered by someone else. If it has, you must change or modify your question.
Considering your question. If you find that someone else, then search for these answers,
has not answered your research question satisfactorily:
What is known about my subject?
What is the chronology of the development of knowledge about my subject?
Are there any gaps in knowledge of my subject? Which openings for research have been
identified by other researchers? How do I intend to bridge the gaps?
Is there a consensus on relevant issues? Or is there significant debate on issues? What are
the various positions?
What is the most fruitful direction I can see for my research as a result of my literature
review? What directions are indicated by the work of other researchers?
Remember that nothing is completely black or white. Only you can determine what is
satisfactory, relevant, significant or important in the context of your own research.

16

Mechanics of a Literature Review

Your literature review will have two components: A search through the literature and the
writing of the review Obviously, the search is the first step. However, you must remember
that you love knowledge and that academic databases can be seductive. You could spend
untold hours clicking around the bibliographies of your favorite collections. You may have
fun, but you might not advance your literature review.
The solution? Have your research question written down and at hand when you arrive at
the computer to search databases or a library catalog. Prepare in advance a plan and a
preset time limit.
Finding too much? If you find so many citations that there is no end in sight to the
number of references you could use, its time to re-evaluate your question. It's too
broad.
Finding too little? On the other hand, if you can't find much of anything, ask
yourself if you're looking in the right area. Your topic is too narrow.
Leading edge research. What if you are trying to research an area that seems never to have
been examined before? Be systematic. Look at journals that print abstracts in that subject
area to get an overview of the scope of the available literature. Then, your search could
start from a general source, such as a book, and work its way from those references to the
specific topic you want. Or, you could start with a specific source, such as a research
paper, and work from that author's references. There isn't a single best approach.
Take thorough notes. Be sure to write copious notes on everything as you proceed through
your research. It's very frustrating when you can't find a reference found earlier that now
you want to read in full.
It's not hard to open up a blank text document in WordPad (Windows) or Text Edit
(Macintosh) to keep a running set of notes during a computer search session. Just jump
back and forth between the Web browser screen and the notepad screen.
Using resources wisely. Practice makes perfect. Learn how and then use the available
computer resources properly and efficiently. Log onto the Internet frequently. Visit your
research resources regularly. Play with the discipline resources. Enter the databases. Scope
out the reference desk materials.
Identify publications which print abstracts of articles and books in your subject area. Look
for references to papers from which you can identify the most useful journals. Identify
those authors who seem to be important in your subject area. Identify keywords in your
area of interest to help when you need to narrow and refine database searches. Read online
library catalogs to find available holdings. Be sure to write copious notes on everything.
Getting ready to write. Eventually, a broad picture of the literature in your subject area an
overview will begin to emerge. Then it's time to review your notes and begin to draft
your literature review. But, where to start?
Suppose you have several WordPad or Text Edit files full of notes you've written. And a
dozen real books and copies of three dozen journal articles. Pile them on a table and sit

17

down. Turn to your research question. Write it out again at the head of a list of the various
keywords and authors that you have uncovered in your search. Do any pairings or
groupings pop out at you? You now are structuring or sketching out the literature review
which is the first step in writing a research paper, thesis or dissertation.
Writing the lit review. One draft won't cut it. Plan from the outset to write and rewrite.
Naturally, you will crave a sense of forward momentum, so don't get bogged down. Don't
restrict yourself to writing the review in a linear fashion from start to finish. If one area of
the writing is proving difficult, jump to another part.
Edit and rewrite. Your goal is to communicate effectively and efficiently the answer you
found to your research question in the literature. Edit your work so it is clear and concise.
If you will be writing an abstract and introduction, leave them for the last.
Communicating ideas is the objective of your writing, so make it clear, concise and
consistent. Big words and technical terms are not clear to everyone. They make it hard for
all readers to understand your writing. Consider their use very carefully and substitute a
50-cent word for a $5 word wherever possible.
Style and writing guides are worth browsing if you are unsure how to approach writing.
Always re-read what you have written. Get someone else to read it. Read it aloud to see
how it sounds to your ear. Then revise and rewrite.
Writing the conclusion. Throughout your written review, you should communicate your
new knowledge by combining the research question you asked with the literature you
reviewed. End your writing with a conclusion that wraps up what you learned in the
literature review process.
While the interaction between the research question and the relevant literature is
foreshadowed throughout the review, it usually is written at the very end. The interaction
itself is a learning process that gives researchers new insight into their area of research.
The conclusion should reflect this.

What is a literature review?

http://people.uwec.edu/piercech/ResearchMethods/Reviewing%20related%20literature/reviewing%20related
%20literature%20index.htm

A literature review is an account of previously published material by experts and

researchers in a particular area of interest. The literature review gives the author an
opportunity to reference previous research publications to provide strengths and
weaknesses of the research. The literature review should provide the author with a base of
knowledge from which they will build upon with knowledge that they provide to the area
of interest (Procter, 2004)
Purpose: The review of related literature is a critical component of a research study and is
typically found in the introduction and discussion sections of the research study. The
following list includes potential benefits of conducting a literature review:
1. Provides confidence as you discover other individuals interest in the research area.
2. Allow you to get new or different ideas that you may not have thought about.
18

3. Provide networking opportunities with other individuals in the field.

4. Allows you to preview what methods others have used and derive strengths and
weaknesses found in these methods that could be utilized to enhance your research project.
5. Valuable resource that may disclose sources of information that you were previously
unaware of.
6. Potential to provide access to measurement tools created or used by other individuals
that have been effective.
7. Potential to reveal problems other individuals have come across in their research that
may help you to combat problems that you are facing.
8. Help understand your findings and help you to relate you research to previous research
(Leedy and Ormrod, 2001).
Process: There is no right or wrong way to conduct a literature review. The individual
researcher can conduct a literature review in a way that they find most effective and
efficient. Finding sources can be time consuming and requires some organizational skills.
Pencil and paper, electronic databases, and bibliographic software such as Endnote and
Procite can be used to document and categorize sources. There are many routes you can
take to begin the literature review. Library book collections, indexes and abstract, as well
as reference librarians and the Internet are all good places to start. On the right of this page
you will see some web links that will allow you to search for information on and for the
literature review (Leedy and Ormrod, 2001).
Once resources have been gathered it is time to write the literature review. Authors should
strive to write in a clear and concise manner. A literature review is more than just a
summary, and should include organization, evaluation, and synthesis of the material.
Organize the material and explain how it is related to the overall research topic you are
addressing. Synthesize the material into a summary that defines what is known and what is
not known, and point out any discrepancies in the material. It is also important that the
author clearly state questions that may lead to further research in the future. Dont forget to
reach out to other individuals for help because they can provide a valuable perspective that
may be critical to a successful literature review (Leedy and Ormrod, 2001).
Conclusion/ Outcomes: Conducting a thorough literature review will help broaden your
knowledge in the area of interest and provide you with a base from which to expound
upon. The literature review process could literally go on forever, however, knowing when
to end the literature review is important. When you begin to read the same information and
find the same data over and over without finding any new content, or you begin to witness
a repetition in research methods and results it may be time to end the literature review
process. Remember to allow enough time to complete the literature review and exhaust all
resources before you end the search for valuable information. The literature review adds
strength to the research project and shouldnt be looked over (Leedy and Ormrod, 2001).
How can I write a good literature review?
http://ludwig.missouri.edu/405/review.html

One of the most important early steps in a research project is the conducting of the
literature review. This is also one of the most humbling experiences you're likely to have.
Why? Because you're likely to find out that just about any worthwhile idea you will have
has been thought of before, at least to some degree. I frequently have students who come to
me complaining that they couldn't find anything in the literature that was related to their

19

topic. And virtually every time they have said that, I was able to show them that was only
true because they only looked for articles that were exactly the same as their research topic.
A literature review is designed to identify related research, to set the current research
project within a conceptual and theoretical context. When looked at that way, almost no
topic is so new or unique that you can't locate relevant and informative related research.
Here are some tips about conducting the literature review.
First, concentrate your efforts on the scientific literature. Try to determine what the most
credible research journals are in your topical area and start with those. Put the greatest
emphasis on research journals that use a blind or juried review system. In a blind or juried
review, authors submit potential articles to a journal editor who solicits several reviewers
who agree to give a critical review of the paper. The paper is sent to these reviewers with
no identification of the author so that there will be no personal bias (either for or against
the author). Based on the reviewers' recommendations, the editor can accept the article,
reject it, or recommend that the author revise and resubmit it. Articles in journals with
blind review processes are likely to have a fairly high level of credibility.
Second, do the review early in the research process. You are likely to learn a lot in the
literature review that will help you determine what the necessary tradeoffs are. After all,
previous researchers also had to face tradeoff decisions. What should you look for in the
literature review? First, you might be able to find a study that is quite similar to the one
you are thinking of doing. Since all credible research studies have to review the literature
themselves, you can check their literature review to get a quick start on your own. Second,
prior research will help ensure that you include all of the major relevant constructs in your
study. You may find that other similar studies routinely look at an outcome that you might
not have included. Your study would not be judged credible if it ignored a major construct.
Third, the literature review will help you to find and select appropriate measurement
instruments. You will readily see what measurement instruments researchers used
themselves in contexts similar to yours. Finally, the literature review will help you to
anticipate common problems in your research context. You can use the prior experiences
of others to avoid common traps and pitfalls.
You should use the literature to explain your research - after all, you are not writing a
literature review just to show what other researchers have done. You aim should be to:
1. Show why your research needs to be carried out,
2. How you came to choose certain methodologies or theories to work with,
3. How your work adds to the research already carried out, etc.
Read with a purpose: you need to summarize the work you read but you must also decide
which ideas or information are important to your research (so you can emphasize them),
and which are less important and can be covered briefly or left out of your review.
You should also look for the major concepts, conclusions, theories, arguments etc. that
underlie the work, and look for similarities and differences with closely related work. This
is difficult when you first start reading, but should become easier the more you read in
your area.

20

Write with a purpose: your aim should be to evaluate and show relationships between the
work already done (Is Researcher Y's theory more convincing than Researcher X's? Did
Researcher X build on the work of Researcher Y?) and between this work and your own.
In order to do this effectively you should carefully plan how you are going to organize
your work.
A lot of people like to organize their work chronologically (using time as their organizing
system). Unless developments over time are crucial to explain the context of your research
problem, using a chronological system will not be an effective way to organize your work.
Some people choose to organize their work alphabetically by author name: this system will
not allow you to show the relationships between the work of different researchers, and
your work, and should be avoided!

APA Referencing guide

https://www.usq.edu.au/library/referencing/apa-referencing-guide

Academic conventions and copyright law require that you acknowledge when you use the
ideas of others. In most cases, this means stating which book or journal article is the source
of an idea or quotation.
Books (print and online)
General forms (when DOIs are assigned, use them):
Author, A. A. (year). Title of work. doi:xx.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Author, A. A. (year). Title of work. Location: Publisher.
Author, A. A. (year). Title of work. Retrieved from http://www.xxxxxxxxxxx
Author, A. A. (year). Title of work. Retrieved from xxxxxxxxxxxx database.
Include subtitles. All titles must be italicised.
Information about editions (if other than the first), series, volume numbers or chapter page
ranges should be included in parentheses ( ) after the title - not in italics but before the full
stop.
Other descriptive information may also follow the title and any parenthetical
information in brackets [ ] also before the full stop.
Type

Examples

Online books

A Digital Object Identifier (DOI) is a unique name assigned by the

International DOI Foundation that provides a persistent link to its
location on the Internet. When a DOI is available, no further retrieval
information is needed to locate the content.

21

Leaver, B. L., Ehrman, M., & Shekhtman, B. (2005). Achieving

success in second language acquisition. doi:10.1017/
CBO9780511610431
Schiraldi, G. R. (2000). The post-traumatic stress disorder
sourcebook: A guide to healing, recovery, and growth
[Adobe Digital Editions version]. doi:10.1036/0071393
722
When a DOI is not available, use the URL.
Burton, R. (1832). The anatomy of melancholy. Retrieved
from http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/b/burton/robert/
melancholy/
Database information may be given for books (monographs) of limited
circulation (e.g. from the University's database subscriptions).
Nazareth, L. (2007). The leisure economy: How changing
demographics, economics, and generational attitudes
will reshape our lives and our industries [Monograph].
Retrieved from Books24x7 database.
Use "Available from" when the URL leads to information on how to
obtain the cited material (rather than to the material itself).
Tyler, G. W. (n.d.). Evolution in the systems age. Available
from http://www.onlineoriginals.com/showitem.asp?
itemID=46&page=2
Books downloaded to mobile devices (without a DOI).
Ware, C. (2010). Cottage by the sea [Kindle version].
Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks Landmark.

22

Tzu, S. (2011). The art of war [Kobo version]. Berkeley,

CA: Shambhala.
Up to seven
authors

List all authors names.

Calder, A. (2009). Compliance for green IT: A pocket guide.
Cambridgeshire: IT Governance.
Bernstein, D. K., & Tiegerman, E. (1989). Language and
communication disorders in children (2nd ed.).
Columbus, OH: Merill.
Curwen, B., Palmer, S., & Ruddell, P. (2000). Brief cognitive
behaviour therapy (Brief Therapies Series). London:
Sage.

More than seven List the first six and then the last.
authors
Midgley, C., Maehr, M. L., Hruda, L., Anderman, E. M.,
Freeman, K. E., Gheen, M., ... Urdan, T. (2000).
Manual for the patterns of adaptive learning scales
(PALS). Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan.
In-text: (Midgley et al., 2000).
Edited books

General form:
Editor, A. A. (Ed.). (year). Title of work. Location: Publisher.
Roy, M. J. (Ed.). (2006). Novel approaches to the diagnosis and
treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (NATO Security
Through Science Series). Amsterdam: IOS.
Grubb, M., & Neuhoff, K. (Eds.). (2006). Emissions trading &
competitiveness: Allocations, incentives and industrial
competitiveness under the EU emissions trading scheme.
London: Earthscan.

23

Article or chapter General form:

in an edited book
or an
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (year). Title of chapter or entry.
encyclopedia
In A. Editor, B. Editor, & C. Editor (Eds.), Title of book
(pp. xxx-xxx). Location: Publisher.
Treasure, D. C., Lemyre, P. N., Kuczka, K. K., &
Standage, M. (2007). Motivation in elite sport:
A self-determination perspective. In M. S. Hagger
& N. L. Chatzisarantis (Eds.), Intrinsic motivation
and self-determination in exercise and sport (pp.
153-166). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Bergmann, I. (1997). Attention deficit disorder. In
The new Encyclopedia Britannica (Vol. 26, pp.
501-508). Chicago, IL: Encyclopedia Britannica.
Cormier, L. S. (1985). Action responses. In
Interview strategies for helpers (2nd ed., pp.
114-118, 121). Monterey, CA: Brooks.
Dadds, M. R., James, R. C., Barrett, P. M., & Verhulst,
F. C. (2004). Diagnostic issues. In T. H. Ollendick &
J. S. March (Eds.), Phobic and anxiety disorders in
children and adolescents: A clinician's guide to
effective psychosocial and pharmacological interventions
(Part 1, pp. 3-33). Retrieved from ebrary database.
Individual chapters may have their own DOI.
Jacobs, G. M., & Hall, S. (2002). Implementing cooperative

24

learning. In J. C. Richards & W. A. Renandya (Eds.),

Methodology in language teaching: An anthology of
current practice (pp. 52-58). doi:10.1017/CBO978051
1667190.009
No authors or
editors

If there are no authors or editors, move the title to that position.

Psychological effects of cocaine and crack addiction:
A survey of the psychological side of so-called
"designer drugs". (1999). Philadelphia, PA:
Chelsea House.
In text, use a few words of the title (in italics), or the whole title if it is
short, in place of an author name in the citation: (Psychological effects,
1999).
If a work is signed "Anonymous", begin the entry with the word
Anonymous as if it were a true name.

Author as
publisher

American Psychiatric Association. (2001). Diagnostic

and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.).
Washington, DC: Author.

Group authors

Full official names of group authors such as associations or government

agencies should be used. Parent bodies precede subdivisions. File by
the first significant word.
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2006). Measures of
Australia's progress (Catalogue No. 1370.0).
Canberra: Author.
Church of England. Archdeaconry of Maidstone. (1877).
The Church in its divine constitution and office, and in
its relations with the civil power: A charge delivered to
the clergy of the Archdeaconry of Maidstone at the
ordinary visitation in may 1877; with notes (Talbot

25

Collection of British Pamphlets). Retrieved from

http://www.archive.org/details/churchin itsdivin00chur
National Health and Medical Research Council (Australia).
Health Care Committee. Expert Panel on Mental Health.
(1991). Homelessness and severe mental disorders:
Report of the Health Care Committee Expert Panel on
Mental Health (Monograph series (National Health and
Medical Research Council (Australia). Health Care
Committee) No. 2). Canberra: Australian Government
Publishing Service.
Queensland. Department of Corrective Services. Women's
Policy Unit. (2000). Profile of female offenders under
community and custodial supervision in Queensland.
Brisbane: Author.
United States. Public Health Service. Office of the Surgeon
General. (1988). The health consequences of smoking:
Nicotine addiction; a report of the Surgeon General
(DHHS Publication No. (CDC) 88-8406). Rockville, MD:
Office of Smoking and Health.
World Bank. (2008). Textbooks and school library provision
in secondary education in Sub-Saharan Africa (World
Bank Working Paper No. 126. Africa Human Development
Series). Retrieved from EBL database.
Translators and
illustrators

Levy-Leboyer, C. (1982). Psychology and environment

(D. Cantor and I. Griffiths, Trans.). Beverley Hills, CA:

26

Sage. (Original work published 1979)

The Publication manual does not include examples for including
illustrators but the following format would be consistent.
Reesink, M. (1980). The princess who always ran away
(F. Tresy, Illus.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Journal and newspaper articles
General forms (when DOIs are assigned, use them):
Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (year). Article title. Journal Title,
volume number(issue number), page numbers. doi:xx.xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (year). Article title. Journal Title,
volume number(issue number), page numbers. Retrieved from
http://www.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (year). Article title. Journal Title,
volume number(issue number), page numbers.
The issue number of the journal is included if the journal is paginated by issue rather than
if there is continuous pagination throughout the entire volume.
Type

Examples

Journal articles
with a DOI
(Digital Object
Identifier)

A Digital Object Identifier (DOI) is a unique name assigned by the

International DOI Foundation that provides a persistent link to its
location on the Internet.
When a DOI is available, no further retrieval information is needed to
locate the content.
Make every effort to locate the DOI - it may not be immediately
obvious.
Radford, M. (2001). Aesthetic and religious awareness
among pupils: Similarities and differences. British
Journal of Music Education, 18(2), 151-159.
doi:10.1017/s0265051701000249

27

Rindermann, H., & Ceci, S. J. (2009). Educational policy

and country outcomes in international cognitive
competence studies. Perspectives on Psychological
Science, 4(6), 551-568. doi:10.111/j.1745-6924.
2009.01165.x
Online journal
articles without a
DOI (when a
DOI is not
available)

If no DOI is assigned, give the URL of the journal home page if the
article is available there.
Even if you obtain your article from an online database or another
source, try to locate the URL of the journal's home page that provides
access to the article.
Russell-Bowie, D. (2010). Cross-national comparisons of
background and confidence in visual arts and music
education of pre-service primary teachers. Australian
Journal of Teacher Education, 35(4), 65-78. Retrieved
from http://ajte.education.ecu.edu.au/
Voogt, J. (2010). A blended in-service arrangement for
supporting science teachers in technology integration.
Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 18(1),
83-109. Retrieved from http://www.editlib.org/j/JTATE
If you are unable to locate the DOI or the journal's home page and the
article was obtained from one of the University's limited circulation
database subscriptions, use the URL for the journal's entry/search page
within the database (or the database's overall search page if that is not
available).
Powell, D. E. (1990). Home-based intervention of
preschoolers with emotional disturbances and
autism. Preventing School Failure, 34(4), 41-45.
Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.

28

usq.edu.au/ehost/detail?hid=22&sid=49a21459-73
a6-4898-a22f-571dafe2e955%40sessionmgr10&
vid=5&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%
3d#db=a9h&jid=PSF
Online newspaper articles. Give the URL of the home page.
McMahon, S. (2010, July 19). Fund new Victorian era.
Herald Sun. Retrieved from http://www.heraldsun.com.au/
Newspaper articles from a database (if the article is not available from
the newspaper's home/search page). Give the URL of the database's
entry/search page. Include page number(s) if available.
Susskind, A. (1986, September 2). Academic blast for English
class texts. Sydney Morning Herald, 1. Retrieved from
http://global.factiva.com/sb/default.aspx?|nep=hp
Newsletter articles. The exact URL of the article can be used.
Print articles
without a DOI

Coltheart, M., & Prior, M. (2006). Learning to read in

Australia. Australian Journal of Learning Disabilities,
11(4), 157-164.
If a magazine or newsletter does not use volume numbers, include the
month, season or other designation with the year.
Beemster, M. (2008, December). Saving the Southern Bell
Frog. Australian Landcare, 27-29.
For daily or weekly newspapers, include the day and precede the page
numbers with p. or pp.
Parker, K. (2008, December 3). Plea for languages.
Koori Mail, pp. 19-20.
Murray, E. (2001, May 9). Refugee crisis! [Letter to the
editor]. Weekend Australian, p. A13.

29

New drug appears to sharply cut risk of death from heart

failure. (1993, July 15). The Washington Post, pp.
A12, A14, A16-A17.
For articles with no identified author, in text use a short title in double
quotation marks (or the full title if it is short) for the parenthetical
citation: ("New Drug", 1993, July 15). See the citing in text section of
this guide for more detail.
Up to seven
authors

List all authors names.

Dyer, B., Pizzorno, C. C., Qu, K., Valach, L., Marshall,
S. K., & Young, R. A. (2010). Unconscious processes
in a career counselling case: An action-theoretical
perspective. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling,
38(3), 343-362. doi:10.1080/15388220.2010.483182

More than seven List the first six and then the last.
authors
Vaillancourt, T., Trinh, V., McDougall, P., Duku, E.,
Cunningham, L., Cunningham, C., ... Short, K.
(2010). Optimizing population screening of bullying
in school-aged children. Journal of School Violence,
9(3), 233-250. doi:10.1080/03069885.1010.482395
In-text: (Vaillancourt et al., 2010).
No authors

If there is no author, move the article title to the author position.

In brief. (2010). Harvard Heart Letter, 20(12), 7. Retrieved
from http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.usq.edu.au/
ehost/detail?hid=22&sid=6544e16c-21a3-4092-87
ad-ac80b1cda933%40sessionmgr11&vid=1&bdata=
JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&jid=
HHR

30

In-text: ("In brief", 2010).

If a work is signed "Anonymous", begin the entry with the word
Anonymous as if it were a true name.
Group authors

Full official names of group authors such as associations or government

agencies should be used. Parent bodies precede subdivisions. File by
the first significant word.
Australia. Department of Family and Community
Services. (2003, Spring-Summer). The role of
families in an ageing Australia. Family Matters,
(66), 46-53. Retrieved from http://www.aifs.gov.
au/institute/pubs/fammats.html
British Medical Association. (2007). British Medical
Association expert witness guidance. Clinical Risk,
13(4), 143-146. doi:10.1258/13562620778125112
University of Queensland. Department of Social Work.
(1998). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health:
Current policy issues. Australian Journal of Indigenous
Education, 26(1), 18-24.

Reviews, peer
Identify the type of medium being reviewed in [ ] brackets (including
commentary and author names) as required.
abstracts
If the details of the item being reviewed are clear from the title of the
review, no additional explanatory material in brackets is needed.
If the review is untitled, use the bracketed information as the title.
Boyd, W. (2010). Man as an island. [Review of the
book William Golding, by John Carey]. Retrieved
from http://www.nytimes.com/
Morris, S. (2008). Henry Giroux - urgently necessary and
necessarily urgent: An essay review [Review of the

31

book Against the terror of neoliberalism: Politics beyond

the age of greed]. Education Review, 11(3). Retrieved
from http://edrev.info/index.html
Handler, L. (1996). John Exner and the book that started it all:
A review of "The Rorschach systems". Journal of Personality
Assessment, 66(3), 650-658. Retrieved from http://web.
ebscohost.com.ezproxy.usq.edu.au/ehost/detail?hid=8&sid=
cb803886-39ae-441f-89fa-93befea3d30b%40sessionmgr13&
vid=1&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=
a9h&jid=4N3
Harrington, J. J. (2008). [Review of the book The blackboard
and the bottom line: Why schools can't be businesses,
by L. Cuban]. Retrieved from http://edrev.info/index.html
Barr, H. (2006). DVD review. [Review of the DVD Patient
voices, produced by Pilgrim Projects and the NHS Clinical
Governance Team, 2005]. Journal of Interprofessional Care,
20(2), 195. doi:10.1080/13561820600600782
Brooks, B. L., Sherman, M. S., & Strauss, E. (2010). Test review:
NEPSY-II: A developmental neuropsychological assessment,
second edition. [Review of the test NEPSY-II, by M. Korkman,
U. Kirk & S. Kemp]. Child Neuropsychology, 16(1), 80-101.
doi:10.1080/09297040903146966
Ackerman, J. M., & Bargh, J. A. (2010). The purpose-driven life:
Commentary on Kenrick et al. (2010). [Peer commentary on

32

the journal article "Rennovating the pyramid of needs:

Contemporary extensions built upon ancient foundations"].
Perspectives on Psychological Science, 5(3), 323-326.
doi:10.1177/1745691610369472
Colliver, J. A. (2002). Commentary on Cicchetti's "Reliability
of peer review". Teaching and Learning in Medicine,
14(3),142-143. Retrieved from http://www.informaworld.
com/smpp/title~content=t775648180
Abstract as an original source.
Pedder, D., & Opfer, V. D. (2010). Planning and organisation
of teachers' Continuous Professional Development in
schools in England [Abstract]. Curriculum Journal, 21(4),
433. doi:10.1080/09585176.2010.529652
Lim, J. M. (2010). Commenting on research results in applied
linguistics and education: A comparative genre-based
investigation. Journal of English for Academic Purposes,
9(4), 280. Abstract retrieved from http://www.elsevier.com/
wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/622440/description
#description
Web documents and sites
As with any published reference, the goals of a citation to online material are to credit the
author and to enable the reader to find the material.
When citing Internet sources, observe the following guidelines:

Follow previous sections for format of author, date, and title elements.
The date element should indicate the year of publication or, if the source undergoes
regular revision, the most recent update.

33

Direct readers as closely as possible to the information being cited; whenever

possible, reference specific documents rather than home or menu pages.
Include retrieval dates where the source material is likely to change over time.
Provide addresses that work where possible.

When citing entire websites, it is sufficient to give the address of the site in the text only
(e.g. Comprehensive information about the University can be found at
http://www.usq.edu.au, or, the University of Southern Queensland website
(http://www.usq.edu.au) gives comprehensive information). Specific information from a
site, or parts of a site, need to be cited as follows:
Type

Examples

Author and date

known

General form (include a retrieval date if the source material is likely to

change over time):
Author, A. A. (year). Title of work. Retrieved month day,
year, from source.
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2011).
Australia's health 2004. Retrieved from http://www.aihw.
gov.au/publications/index.cfm/title/10014
Allen, D. (2004). Dealing with your meeting notes. Retrieved
from http://www.effectivemeetings.com/meetingbasics/
notes.asp
American Psychological Association. (2008). HIV Office on
Psychology Education (HOPE). Retrieved June 24, 2008,
from http://www.apa.org/pi/aids/hope.html

No author given General form:

Title of work. (year). Retrieved month day, year, from source.
Psychological perspectives (n.d.). Retrieved June 2,
2001, from http://www.onl.org.jp/horo~3/htm
Other electronic media

Follow previous sections for format of author, date, and title elements.
The date element should indicate the year of publication or, if the source undergoes
regular revision, the most recent update.
34

After the title of the work, insert in brackets as part of the title element (i.e., before
the period) the type of medium for the material.
A retrieval or availability statement replaces the location and name of the publisher
typically provided for text references. Use "Available from" when the URL leads to
information on how to obtain the cited material (rather than to the material itself).
Include retrieval dates where the source material is likely to change over time (e.g.
Wikis).

See also, the audiovisual section of this guide for some examples not included here.
Type

Examples

Theses or
dissertations

Retrieved from a database.

Murray, B. P. (2008). Prior knowledge, two teaching
approaches for metacognition: Main idea and
summarization strategies in reading (Doctoral
dissertation, Fordham University, New York).
Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses.
(AAT 3302116)
Retrieved from an institutional or personal Web site.
McDonald, J. (2007). The role of online discussion forums
in supporting learning in higher education (Doctoral
dissertation, University of Southern Queensland).
Retrieved from http://eprints.usq.edu.au/3588/2/
McDonald_2007_whole.pdf

Encyclopedias
and dictionaries

Give the home or index page URL for reference works.

Claiborn, C. D. (2008). Psychotherapy. In D. Hoiberg (Ed.),
Encyclopedia Britannica online (Academic ed.).
Retrieved from http://search.eb.com
Psychotherapy. (2008). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Retrieved June 17, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/

35

wiki/Main_Page
Psychotherapy. (2008). In AskOxford.com. Retrieved
from http://www.askoxford.com/?view=uk
Annual reports

BHP Billiton. (2007). 2007 BHP Billiton annual report.

Retrieved from http://bhpbilliton.com/bbContent
Repository/20071114140799/bhbpannualreport07.pdf

Fact sheets,
brochures and
press releases

Florek, S. (2003). Megafauna extinction: Patterns of

extinction [Fact sheet]. Retrieved from
http://www.austmus.gov.au/factsheets/megafauna.htm
Australian Museum. (2003). Concretions, thunder eggs and
geodes [Fact sheet]. Retrieved from http://www.austmus.
gov.au/factsheets/geodes.htm
Xerox Corporation. (2004). Looks small, acts big: The Xerox
Phaser 3150 personal laser printer for business [Brochure].
Retrieved from http://www.office.xerox.com/latest/315BR-01
.PDF
Apple Inc. (2007). iPhone delivers up to eight hours of talk
time [Press release]. Retrieved from http://www.apple.
com/pr/library/2007/06/18iphone.html

Presentation
slides

OWL at Purdue University. (2004). Conquering the comma

[PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http://owl.english.
purdue.edu/workshops/pp/comma.PPT#256,1,Conquering
the Comma

Images

When referring to information gained from images:

Human skeleton [Image]. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.
teachpe.com/images/anatomy/skeleton.jpg

36

Saudi Arabia [Topographic map]. (2009). Retrieved from

http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/asia/
sa.htm
Tunbridge, D. I. (2003). Volunteers of the ACT Bushfire
Service lighting a back-burn on the Mount Franklin Road,
Brindabella Ranges, on the night of 11/12 January 2003
[Digital photograph]. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/
nla.pic-an24954626
Try to be consistent when specifying the medium in brackets [
], immediately after the title.
Message posted
to newsgroups,
online forums,
discussion
groups or
electronic
mailing lists

Moore, R. (2006, October 29). Survey of test subjects

[Newsgroup message]. Retrieved from
news://sci.psychology.consciousness
Blaire, T. (2007, January 20). Transition in leadership
[Electronic mailing list message]. Retrieved from
the Politics and Government electronic mailing list:
http://www.polgov.org/mail-archive/rp/msg7.html
For personal email, refer to personal communication in the section on
unpublished works.
Include the name of the list if the information is not part of the URL.

Wikis

Self-study: Broadening the concepts of participation and program

support. (2007). Retrieved June 18, 2008, from the Adult
Literacy Education (ALE) Wiki: http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.
php/Self-Study:_Broadening_the_Concepts_of_Participation_
and_Program_Support

Audio podcasts

Hutcheon, J. (2008, June 15). Jane Hutcheon reflects on life in

London [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from http://www.abc.net.

37

au/correspondents/content/2008/s2274772.htm
Curtis, B., & Diez, M. (2008). Intermediate Spanish podcast
42: La Mafia [Audio podcast]. Available from http://www.
notesinspanish.com/category/intermediate-spanish-podcast/
Video podcasts

Give the name and, in parentheses, the function of the originator or

primary contributors (the director or the producer, or both).
National Geographic Society. (Producer). (2008, May 19).
Chimp memory beats humans' [Video podcast]. Retrieved
from http://www.podanza.com/podcast/national-geographicvideo-shorts/42ac4d6d3d12b6ad80303e9f6556d4a0/
Early Childhood Australia. (Producer). (2010). Intentional
teaching and the Early Years Learning Framework with
Judy Radich [Video podcast]. Available from http://www.
earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/eylfplp/play_based_
learning_and_the_eylf.php
Holland, A. (Producer), & Harris, H. (Director). (2008, June 12).
Bog man [Video podcast]. Retrieved from ABC: http://www.
abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/2272392.htm

Streaming videos Sarra, C. (2010). Elders and community [Video].

Retrieved from http://mediasite.eq.edu.au/eq/
Viewer/?peid=bb3dbc846b2a4426ae2f1256
bca8cf7e
Cambridge Educational. (Producer). (2011). Alcohol
and the family: Breaking the chain [Video]. Retrieved
from http://digital. films.com.libdbauth.nait.ab.ca/
portal/Playlists.aspx?aid=7892&xtdi98765

38

William James: The psychology of possibility (Giants of

Psychology) [Video]. (2011). Available from http://ffh.
films.com/id/20410/William_James_The_Psychology_
of_Possibility.htm
Interviews

Interviews that are not retrievable should be cited in text as a personal

communication (including month, day, year) and not included in the
reference list (see section on unpublished works).
Hughes, R. (Interviewer), & Cilento, D. (Interviewee). (2000,
June 20). Diane Cilento [Interview transcript]. Retrieved
from http://www.australianbiography.gov.au/subjects/
cilento/intertext1.html

Blog posts

Bedford, T. (2008, June 12). Re: Got a problem using EndNote?

Let us know here [Web log comment]. Retrieved from
http://library.usq.edu.au/wordpress/?p=539
McGarry, A. (2008, June 13). China's pain fires Olympic dream
[Web log post]. Retrieved from http://blogs.abc.net.au/
olympics/

Video blog posts BridgeTEFL. (2007, October 5). TEFL online tutorial:
(e.g. Youtube)
Teaching grammar in context [Video file]. Video
posted to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
EXg3w_jbNrc
Westrom, M. (2009, June 18). Psychology - short and long
term memory [Video file]. Video posted to http://www.
youtube.com/watch?v=TausqSK9p9k
Computer
programs,
software, or
programming
languages

Reference list entries are not necessary for standard off-the-shelf

software and programming languages. Provide entries for specialized
software or programs with limited distribution.
In text, give the name of the software, the version number and year.

39

Do not italicise the names of software, programs, or languages.

If an individual has proprietary rights to the software, name him or her
as the author; otherwise, treat such references as unauthored works.
Immediately after the title and version, identify with a source type such
as [Computer program], [Computer language], or [Computer software].
If no version number is available, include the retrieval date.
If the program can be downloaded or ordered from the web, give this
information in the publisher position.
Schoonjans, F. (2008). MedCalc Statistical Software
(Version 9.5.2.0) [Computer software]. Retrieved from
3D2F.COM Software Directory: http://3d2f.com/programs
/13-638-medcalc-statistical-software-download.shtml
Accurate Personality Test [Computer software]. (2007).
Retrieved June 19, 2008, from http://www.
sharewareconnection.com/accurate-personalitytest.htm
Tools and applications.
CultureGPS lite (Version 1.13) [Computer software].
(2011). Retrieved from http://itunes.apple.com/
app/culturegps-lite/id297051765?mt=8
Pages (Version 1.5) [Computer software]. (2011).
Retrieved from http://itunes.apple.com/us/
pages/id361309726?mt=8&ls=1
Scott, C. (2011). Treasure hunt - the interactive
boardgame (Version 1.1) [Computer software].
Retrieved from http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/

40

treasure-hunt-the-interactive/id4425986640?
mt=8
Data sets

twins.dta - twins study (life characteristics in midlife)

(UCLA Statistics Data Sets) [Data file]. 2003.
Retrieved from http://www.stat.ucla.edu/data/
Government of Southern Sudan. Ministry of Education,
Science and Technology. Directorate of Planning
and Budgeting. (2010). South Sudan 2010 secondary
data (2010 Annual School Census) [Data file].
Retrieved from http://southsudan.ed-assist.net/

Audiovisual and other media

Type

Examples

Motion pictures

General form:
Producer, A A. (Producer), & Director, B. B. (Director).
(year). Title of motion picture [Motion picture].
Country of Origin: Studio.
Grazer, B. (Producer), & Howard, R. (Director). (2001).
A beautiful mind [Motion picture]. USA: Universal
Studios.

Television
programs

Television program.
Campbell, C. (Executive producer). (2011, February 9).
The 7pm project [Television program]. Melbourne,
Vic: Network TEN.
Television series.
Gunton, M. (Executive producer). (2009). Life [Television

41

series]. United Kingdom: BBC Natural History Unit.

Television series edisode.
Fairfax, F. (Writer), Mulholland, T., & Rich, J. (Directors).
(2005). The curse of Tutankhamun [Television series
episode]. In P. Dolling [Executive producer], Egypt:
Rediscovering a lost world. United Kingdom: British
Broadcasting Corporation.
Videos and
DVDs

Strang, G. (1992). The teaching of calculus: Careful

changes (Selected Lectures in Mathematics)
[Videocassette]. Providence, RI: American
Mathematical Society.
The self: Testing and intelligence (Discovering Psychology)
[DVD]. (2001). Boston, MA: WGBH Educational
Foundation.
Annunziata, J. (2007). Play therapy with a 6-year-old [DVD].
Available from http://www.apa.org/pubs/videos/4310799.
aspx

Music recordings General form:

Writer, A. (copyright year). Title of the song or music
[Recorded by B. B. Artist if different from writer].
On Title of album [Medium of recording]. Location:
Label. (date of recording if different from copyright
date)
Badnews, U. R. (1927). We only live twice
[Recorded by P. Murray]. On Resurrection [CD].

42

Sandgate, Qld: Ibis Records. (1999)

Williamson, J. (2003). The last of the pioneers. On
Home among the gum trees [CD]. Pyrmont, NSW:
EMI Australia.
In text, include the side, band or track numbers.
"The Last of the Pioneers" (Williamson, 2003, track 5) ...
Audio recordings Bacon, T. (Writer). (1997). Amazing journeys (Literacy
Links Plus Fluent D) [Audiocassette]. Auckland, NZ:
Shortland.
Costa, P. T. (Speaker). (1998). Personality and
continuity (Audio Recording No. 207-433-88A-B)
[Audiocassette]. Washington, DC: American
Psychological Association.
Smith, D. (2001, August 16). Airline nightmare (Audio
Recording from Nightline series) [Audiocassette].
Brisbane, Qld: Australian Broadcasting Commission.
Australian poetry live: Classics from the Hazel de Berg
collection [Audiocassette]. (1996). Canberra, ACT:
National Library of Australia.
Other non-book
media

Specify the medium type or description of the form in brackets [

], immediately after the title. Capitalize the first letter of the notation. Be
consistent when specifying formats.
Media formats can include, but are not limited to, the following:
Motion picture, Television program, Television series, Television series
episode, CD, Record, Cassette, Audiocassette, Audiorecord, Audiotape,
DVD, Videotape, Videorecording, Videocassette, Computer software,
Data file, Chart, Flashcard, Game, Picture, Transparency, Slide, Realia,
Kit, Filmstrip, Print, Work of art, Microform, etc.

43

Fractions are as easy as pie: A game of common fractions

[Game]. (1985). Baltimore, MD: Media Materials.
Zupelz - orange: Stimulating logical thinking - one puzzle at a
time [Flashcard]. Narangba, Qld: Origo Education.
Shaping the future: Working with the under-threes [Kit].
(2000). Buckingham, United Kingdom: Open University
Press.
Nervous system [Picture]. (2006). Burleigh Heads: Network
Education Australia.
Measuring cylinders [Realia]. (n.d.). England: Gradplex.
Hill, M. (1985). Australia's first people (Social Studies
Wallcharts) [Chart]. Sydney, NSW: McGraw-Hill.
Leadership Research Institute. (1999). Creative
leadership [Brochure]. Toowoomba, Qld: Author.
Legislation and legal authorities
For more comprehensive information and other juridictions, see the Bluebook The bluebook: A uniform system of citation (19th ed.). (2010).
Cambridge, MA: Harvard Law Review Association.
Citations should be made to the print source unless an electronic source is designated the
official version (then for Internet and online sources use Citation, URL. or if it is from a
commercial electronic database, use Citation (Name of the Database).).
The following examples are for the Australian jurisdiction only.
Type

Examples

Legislation
(includes Acts
and Bills)

General form for Acts:

<Short Title of the Act in italics> <year in italics>

44

(Jurisdiction abbreviation) <subdivision if relevant>

(Country abbreviation).
Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) (Austl.).
Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 (Qld) s. 15 (Austl.).
General form for Bills:
<Bill Name> <year> (Jurisdiction abbreviation) (Country
abbreviation).
Interactive Gambling Bill 2001 (Cth) (Austl.).
Legal authorities General form for cases:
(cases)
<Case Name in italics> (year) <volume number>
<reporter abbreviation> <first page> (Country
abbreviation).
Carey v. Price 2005 132 ALR 255 (Austl.).
Mabo v. Queensland 1988 166 CLR 186 (Austl.).
Unpublished works
Type

Examples

Personal
communication

Personal communication may be unpublished lecture notes, letters,

memos, personal interviews, telephone conversations, email or
messages from non-archived discussion groups or bulletin boards,
photographs, images, tables or data; all these sources are usually nonrecoverable from the reader's perspective and are not to be included in
the reference list, but should be cited in text as they are referred to.
Cite personal correspondence in text only.
Give the initials as well as the surname of the communicator, and
provide as exact a date as possible:
O. Stone (personal communication, March 29, 2001)
(M. A. Toby, personal photograph, May 2, 1987)
Lecture notes are treated as personal communication if they are
unpublished (i.e. not copied and distributed in print or on the web with

45

the instructor's permission).

Doctoral
Swinton, M. A. (1984). Family stress in phenylketonuria
dissertations and
Master's theses
(Unpublished master's thesis). University of Auckland,
(unpublished)
New Zealand.
Online articles
not yet formally
published

In preprint archives, articles are posted online ahead of print and are not
yet indexed. Use the DOI or the exact URL.
Charles, S. J., & Hogan, N. (in press). Dynamics of wrist
rotation. Journal of Biomechanics. doi:10.1016/
j.biomech.2010.11.016
Vickers, P. (in press). Theory eliminativism as a
methodological tool. Philosophy of Science.
Retrieved from http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/8472/1/
Theory_Eliminativism.pdf
Advance online publications are generally peer reviewed but may not be
copyedited or formatted for final production. If there is no DOI
assigned, give the URL of the journal home page.
Diekelmann, S., Buchel, C., Born, J., & Rasch, B. (2011).
Labile or stable: Opposing consequences for memory when
reactivated during waking and sleep. Nature Neuroscience.
Advance online publication. doi:10.1038/nn.2744
Update your references and refer to final versions, if possible, before
you submit your work.

Manuscripts

General form.
Author, A. A. (year). Title of manuscript. Unpublished manuscript
[or "Manuscript submitted for publication", or "Manuscript in
preparation"].
Geisel, T. S. (n.d.). All sorts of sports. Unpublished manuscript.

46

Informally published or self-archived work.

Benchimol, G. (2007). Prospects for innovating organisations.
Retrieved from http://cogprints.org/5701/1/PROSPECTS_
FOR_INNOVATING_ORGANIZATIONS.pdf
Proceedings and technical reports
When citing from a mongraph (book), use the same format as for a book or book chapter.
Regularly published proceedings use the same format as journal or periodical articles.
Type

Examples

Published
proceedings in
book form

Capitalise the names of symposia, conferences and meetings.

If there are more than two editors a comma is placed before the
ampersand.
Hughes, H. (2002). Information literacy with an
international focus. In K. Appleton, C. Macpherson,
& D. Orr (Eds.), International Lifelong Learning
Conference: Refereed papers from the 2nd
International Lifelong Learning Conference (pp.
208-213). Rockhampton: Central Queensland
University Press.
Hirata, J. (2005). How Should happiness guide policy?
Why gross national happiness is not opposed to
democracy. In Rethinking development: Local
pathways to global wellbeing; the Second
International Conference on Gross National
Happiness. Antigonish, Nova Scotia: St. Francis
Xavier University. Retrieved from http://www.
gpiatlantic.org/conference/papers/hirata.pdf

47

Davelaar, E. J., & Usher, M. (2004). An extended buffer

model for active maintenance and selective updating.
In Bowman, H. & Labiouse, C. (Eds.), Connectionist
models of cognition and perception II: proceedings of
the Eighth Neural Computation and Psychology
Workshop (pp. 3-14). River Edge, NJ: World Scientific.
Retrieved from ebrary database.
Blascovich, J., & McCall, C. (2010). Attitudes in virtual
reality. In J. P. Forgas, J. Cooper, & W. D. Crano (Eds.),
The psychology of attitudes and attitude change (Sydney
Symposium in Social Psychology). London: Psychology
Press.
Proceedings
published
regularly

Treat regularly published proceedings as periodicals.

Kozkovski, O., & Van Strien, S. (2009). Local connectivity
and quasi-conformal rigidity of non-renormalizable
polynomials. Proceedings of the London Mathematical
Society, 99(2), 275-296. doi:10.1112/plms/pdn055

Conference
papers and
symposium
contributions

For symposium contributions, papers and poster presentations, give the

month with the year.
Gorman, B. (2009, March). A treatment plan: Some hopes
(pipe dreams?) and suggestions for effective statistical
education. In B. Gorman (Chair), The crisis in the
statistical education of psychologists. Symposium
conducted at the 24th annual meeting of the Society for
Industrial and Organizational Psychology, New Orleans,
LA.

48

Liu, C., Wu, D., Fan, J., & Nauta, M. M. (2008, November).
Does job complexity predict job strains? Paper presented
at the 8th Biannual Conference of the European Academy
of Occupational Health Psychology, Valencia, Spain.
Rosenshine, B. (1997). The case for explicit, teacher-led,
cognitive strategy instruction. Paper presented at the
Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research
Association, Chicago, IL. Retrieved from http://apaa.asu.
edu/barak/barak1.html
Abstract.
Dickens, A. (2003). Working with the community. Paper
presented at the 8th Australian Institute of Family Studies
Conference, Melbourne. Abstract retrieved from http://www.
aifs.gov.au/conferences/aifs8/dickens-ab.pdf
Technical and
research reports

General form:
Author, A. A. (year). Title of work (Report No. xxx).
Location: Publisher.
This format can be used for issue briefs, working papers and other
corporate documents. Include the appropriate document number where
available.
For online reports, identify the publisher in the retrieval statement unless
the publisher is also identified as the author.
Queensland School Curriculum Council. (2000).
Consistency of teacher judgement (Research Report).
Brisbane: Author.
Ford, M., Gurney, A., Heyhoe, E., & Gunasekera, D. (2007).

49

Energy security, clean technology development and

climate change: Addressing the future challenges in
APEC (ABARE Research Report 07.14). Retrieved
from Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource
Economics website: http://www.abare.gov.au/
publications_html/climate_07/apec_security.pdf
Australian Human Resources Institute. (2008). The parent
trap: The parental leave debate (Research Report).
Retrieved from http://www.ahri.com.au/MMSdocuments/
profdevelopment/research/research_papers/0809_
pulse_report_the _parent_trap.pdf
Aermark, L. (2011). Spectral and Hardy inequalities for
some sub-elliptical operators (Research Reports in
Mathematics Number 1, 2011). Retrieved from
Stockholm University, Department of Mathematics,
Research Reports in Mathematics website:
http://www2.math.su.se/reports/2011/1/2011-1.pdf
Database information may be given for monographs from the
University's limited circulation database subscriptions.
Bramley, G. (2010). Analysis of youth offending team
inspection reports (LGA Research Report). Retrieved
from ERIC database.
Australian Furniture Research and Development Institute, &
Standards Australia. (1997). Office desks (Australian/
New Zealand Standard AS/NZS 4442:1997). Retrieved

50

from Standards On-Line Premium database.

USQ Course materials
Type

Examples

Introductory and EDC1400 Foundations of curriculum and

study books
pedagogy: Introductory book. (2011). Toowoomba:
University of Southern Queensland.
PSY2030 Developmental psychology: Study
book. (2011). Toowoomba: University of
Southern Queensland.
Lecture notes
and handouts

These are treated like books if they are published, but like personal
communication if they are your own notes or unpublished. Lecture notes
are considered published if they have been copied and distributed in
print or on the web with the instructor's permission.
Lewis, M. (2011). EDC1300 Perspectives in
education: Course notes. Toowoomba:
University of Southern Queensland.

Customized
If you need to cite from a book of readings, use the date for that
publications and publication. If page numbers are required in text, use the book of
selected readings readings page numbers, not the page numbers from the original source.
(print)
Mishkin, F. S., & Eakins, S. G. (2012). Overview of the
financial system. In D. Pensiero & G. Adkins (Comps.),
FIN8201 Finance for executives, (pp. 55-75). Sydney,
NSW: Pearson Australia. (Reprinted from Financial
markets and institutions, 7th ed., pp. 55-75, Harlow,
Essex: Pearson Education)
Thompson, W. R., & Grusec, J. (2010). Studies of early
experience. In R. Pauley (Comp.), Early experience
and cognitive development: Selected readings (2nd

51

ed., pp. 100-190). Toowoomba: University of Southern

Queensland. (Reprinted from Carmichaels manual
of child psychology, 3rd ed., vol. 1, pp. 565-654, by
P. H. Mussen, Ed., 1970, New York: Wiley)
Online course
materials

Direct readers as closely as possible to the information being cited;

whenever possible, reference specific documents rather than home or
menu pages.
If the item has no obvious author, start with the title.
Terry, P. C. (2011). Module 5 - group and team
dynamics. Retrieved November 10, 2011, from
http://usqstudydesk.usq.edu.au/file.php/21967/
content/study-modules/m05.htm
Outline of inquiry. (2011). Retrieved November 15,
2011, from http://usqstudydesk.usq.edu.au/
course/view.php?id=21580
Hendry, L. (2011). Visual Pattern perception - shapes,
spatial frequency and Gestalt laws [PowerPoint
slides]. Retrieved from http://usqstudydesk.usq.edu.
au/mod/resource/view.php?id=457749
Audio and video (including Breeze presentations).
Petersen, S. (2011). Classroom reading pedagogy:
Reading strategies [Video podcast]. Retrieved from
http://usqstudydesk.usq.edu.au/files.php/21642/
Lecture_Reading_Strategies/index.htm
Zimbardo, P. (1989). The responsive brain (Discovering
Psychology) [Video podcast]. Retrieved from http://

52

usqstudydesk.usq.edu.au/resource/view.php?
inpopup+true&id=428028
BBC World Service. (2011). The family (Family, Sex &
Society) [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from http://bbc.
co.uk/worldservice/sci_tech/features/essentialguide/
theme_fam.shtml
Series titles included in the above two examples.
Online course
readings

For readings redirected to websites, pages or databases, follow the

instructions outlined in the books, journal articles and web documents
sections of this guide.
Otherwise, follow the following style for scanned or copied documents
that indicate "usqdirect.usq.edu.au" or "usqstudydesk.usq.edu.au" in the
URL.
Journal articles.
Arnold, T. (2001). Achieving playtime positives. Journal of
Early Childhood, 5(4), 117-121. Retrieved from
https://usqdirect.usq.edu.au/usq/items/d6s66b-678mbg7f-e098-0as8807g32a8/1/arnold_2001_117.pdf
Keeling, R. (2006). The Bologna Process and the Lisbon
Agenda: The European Commission's expanding role
in higher education discourse. European Journal of
Education, 41(2), 203-223. Retrieved from
https://usqdirect.usq.edu.au/usq/items/d6s67b-678mbg7f-e098-0as8707g32a5/1/keeling_2006_203.pdf
Book chapters.
Shore, R. (1997). What have we learned. In Rethinking the brain:
New insights into early development (pp. 15-52). Retrieved

53

from https://usqdirect.usq.edu.au/usq/items/a2s66b-678mbg7f-e098-0as9907d58/1/shore_1997_15.pdf
Tuczay, C. (2005). Trance, prophets and diviners in the Middle
Ages. In E. Pocs (Ed.), Communicating with the spirits:
Christian demonology and popular mythology (pp. 215233). Retrieved from https://usqdirect.usq.edu.au/usq/items/
d6s66b-511m-bg7f-e098-0as5507g32a3/1/Tuczay_2005_
215.pdf
If a DOI is evident, use that in place of the retrieval statement.
Dafni, A. (2007). The supernatural characters and powers of
sacred trees in the Holy Land. Journal of Ethnobiology &
Ethnomedicine, 3, 10-16. doi:10.1186/1746-4269-3-10
How to cite references within the text of an assignment
Use the author-date method of citation for quotations (exact words of another author) and
paraphrasing (summarizing the words and ideas of one or more authors).
Every line in the work should be double-spaced including the headings, footnotes,
quotations, references and figure captions. Triple- or quadruple- spacing may be applied in
special circumstances such as before and after displayed items. Single- or one-and-a-half
line spacing is never used except inside tables or figures.
Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing is when you summarize the ideas, concepts or words from the work or one or
more authors.
Please note: changing only a few words from another author does not constitute
paraphrasing.
Type

Examples

If you are
Brown (1991) investigated the effects of ...
referring to the
general theme of An investigation into the effects of maternal age
a book or article
(Brown, 1991) found that ...
When to include When paraphrasing or referring to an idea in another work, page or

54

page numbers

paragraph numbers are not required. But it can be helpful, for example
when paraphrasing or referring to information or an idea that can be
located on a particular page, quoting or referring to images, figures or
data, or when a work is particularly long and page numbers might be
useful for the reader.
Soil layers below the well tip contribute relatively little
water (Kozeny, 1988, pp. 223-224).
Kozeny (1988, p. 223) found soil layers below the well
tip contributed little.

When the authors Both the authors and years of publication appear in parentheses,
of a source are
separated by semicolons.
not part of the
formal sentence Reviews of research on sport and reading have concluded
structure
that at least some types of reading behaviours are related to
higher levels of physical health (Austin, 1990; McGovern &
Henderson, 2001; Wright & Morgan, 2001).
When the names
of the authors of
a source are part
of the formal
sentence
structure

The year of publication appears in parentheses following the

identification of the authors.
Wright and Mander (2002) found that although there was a
reduction in literacy, the difference was not statistically significant.

Group authors
The names of groups are usually spelled out each time they appear in
and abbreviations text.
(University of Southern Queensland, 2009)
University of Southern Queensland (2009)
Only abbreviate if the name is long, cumbersome and the abbreviation is
familiar or easily understood.
First citation in text.
(Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees [UNHCR], 2008)
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR, 2008)

55

Subsequent citations.
(UNHCR, 2008)
UNHCR (2008)
One or two
authors

Cite the names every time the reference occurs:

Smythe and Jones (2001) found ... (first and subsequent
citations)
... as has been shown (Smythe & Jones, 2001).

More than two

authors

For three, four or five authors, cite all authors in the first instance,
thereafter, only first author followed by "et al." (not underlined and with
no stop after "et") and the year of publication.
Campbell, Brady, Bradley, and Smithson (1991)
found ... (first citation)
Campbell et al. (1991) found ... (subsequent citations)
For with six or more authors, cite only the first author followed by "et
al." and the year. In the list of references give all names up to and
including six authors.

"and" or "&"?

In running text use "and" to join the names of multiple authors, but use
an ampersand (&) inside parentheses.
Jones and Brady (1991) continued to find ...
The authors found the same result in the second and
third trials (Jones & Brady, 1991).

Citing multiple
works by the
same author at
the same time

Arrange dates in order (oldest to newest). Use suffixes after the year
when there are multiple publications from the same year. If the
publication dates are same, the suffixes are assigned in the reference list
where these kinds of references are ordered in alphabetical order by title
(article, chapter or complete work).
Several studies (Jackson, 1999, 2001a, 2001b, 2005)
revealed a similar outcome.

Primary authors
with the same
surname

Include the first author's initials in all text citations even if the year of
publication differs.
T.R. Smith (2006) and B. E. Smith (2007) found that ...

56

J. J. Jackson and Robertson (2000) and E. M. Jackson

and Johns (2005) reached the conclusion that ...
Secondary
citations

You must acknowledge both the primary and secondary source of

information. To do this, include the primary source first and then insert
the words "as cited in" before the secondary source.
Cumming's (1980) study (as cited in Pauley, 1991) ...
This belief has been confirmed (Cumming, 1980,
as cited in Pauley, 1991) ...
You do not need to source the primary or original work cited (e.g.
Cumming, 1980) but the secondary source (e.g. Pauley, 1991) needs to
be given in your list of references.

No author

When a citing a source in text that has no identified author, use a

shortened title (or the full title if it is short) and year for the
parenthetical citation.
The in text citation for the online source "New drug appears to sharply
cut risk of death from heart failure" would be ("New Drug," 2001).
Use double quotation marks for article titles, chapter titles or web page
titles.
Italicize (without quotation marks) book titles.
(Psychological effects, 1999)
For works designated as "Anonymous", cite in text as Anonymous
followed by a comma and the date.
(Anonymous, 2007)

Legislation
(includes Acts
and Bills)

The Equal Opportunity Act 1995 (Vic) prohibits ...

... the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) ...
... according to s. 15 of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 (Qld) ...
... Interactive Gambling Bill 2001 (Cth) ...

Legal authorities Carey v. Price (2005)

(cases)
Mabo v. Queensland (1992)

57

Quotes
Quotations or quotes are when you use the exact words of another author or your own
previously published work. Quotations must always be referenced with page numbers.

Type

Quotations of less than 40 words (approximately) should form part of the text and
be designated with double quotation marks.
With quotations of 40 or more words, DO NOT use quotation marks; set the
quotation in an indented (about a half inch) free standing block of text. Use doubleline-spacing to separate the quote from the text of your work.
Examples

Direct quotation Less than 40 words.

Always include the author, year, and page number(s) as part of the
citation.
Students receiving "additional information literacy
training achieved higher grades than students who
did not attend any skills' sessions" (Capel, 2002,
p. 323).
40 or more words.
Although the groups contained different age groups, they
were not differentiated in the feasibility study:
The intensive ESL program was enthusiastically
supported by the administration and was popular
with the young learners and their parents. Although
the groups differed in age, measures of English and
French proficiency and language aptitude administered
at the outset of the experiment indicated that differences
between the fourth and fifth year classes were nonsignificant (White, Horst, & Bell, October 2007); thus in
the research reported here, we do not distinguish

58

between the two groups. (Horst, White, & Bell, 2010,

p. 334)
Do not omit or alter citations embedded within the quote. These
embedded citations are not included in your list of references unless
used as a primary source elsewhere in your work. In the above example,
the 2010 article (where the entire quote comes from) is included in the
list of references but the 2007 work mentioned within the quote is not,
unless it is used as a source elsewhere in the work.
For additional paragraphs within the quotation, insert a double-linespacing and indent the first line of each an additional half inch (five to
seven spaces).
Specific parts of Always give page numbers for quotations (if available).
a source
For sources that do not provide page numbers, use the paragraph
number, if possible, preceded by the abbreviation 'para.'
(Zelow, 2001, para. 17)
(Broome & Davies, 1999, para. 5)
(Bray, 1999, chap. 3)
(Beutler, 2000, Conclusion section, para. 1)
Images from other sources
Type

Examples

Reproducing or
adapting
copyrighted
photographs,
images, tables
and figures.

Tables and figures (including photographs and other images) should be

numbered above in the order in which they are first mentioned in text.
The title follows the number:
Table 7. Confidence Intervals With Upper and Lower Limits
In the text, refer to tables and figures by their number:
As shown in Table 7, there is a larger variation than we
would expect.
For both print and electronic forms, acknowledge the author and
copyright holder in the figure caption or in a note at the bottom of the
reproduction.
Note. Reproduced from "Which methods are best

59

suited to the production of high-quality research in

geography education?" by G. Butt, 2010, International
Research in Geographical and Environmental
Education, 19(2), p. 105. Copyright 2009 by Perks
& Prestage.
Note. Adapted from Emissions trading &
competitiveness: Allocations, incentives and
industrial competitiveness under the EU
Emisions Trading Scheme (p. 60), by M. Grubb
and K. Neuhoff (Eds.), 2006, London: Earthscan.
Copyright 2006 by J. Sijm, K. Neufoff and Y. Chen.
If copyright permission footnotes are required, refer to the Publication
manual.
Non-copyright or For images, tables or data used with the permission of another party,
personal images treat as you would a personal communication. Cite in text only and do
or data sourced not include in the reference list.
from others
Give the initials as well as the surname of the communicator, and
provide as exact a date as possible:
O. Stone (personal communication, March 29, 2001)
(M. A. Toby, personal photograph, May 2, 1987)
Items with a Creative Commons Licence
For items with a Creative Commons Licence, see the USQ Creative Commons Website for
more information.
Type

Examples

Creative
Commons

Information about the Creative Commons Licence is entered directly

after the item is used, within your assignment.
... (Zawacki-Richter, Hanft & Backer, 2011, p. 2). Used under a
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).

60

There is no need to include Creative Commons licensing information in

your list of references at the end of the assignment. Reference the item
as you would normally, according to its format. Information about
Creative Commons Licences is to be included with your in-text citations
only.
Publication dates
Type
Examples
Using the year

For journals, books and audiovisual media, use the year.

Within the text - (Smith, 2007) or Smith (2007)
List of References - (2007)

Including the
If a journal or newsletter does not use volume numbers, include the
month, season or month, season or other designation with the year.
other designation
Within the text - (Jones, 2007, December) or Jones (2007, December)
List of References - (2007, December)
Including the day For dailies and weeklies, include the day.
Within the text - (Brown, 2007, December 12) or Brown (2007,
December 12)
List of References - (2007, December 12)
Works accepted
for publication
but not yet
published.

Within the text - (Mills, in press) or Mills (in press)

No date
available.

Within the text - (Boon, n.d.) or Boon (n.d.)

List of References - (in press)

List of References - (n.d.)

61

QUANTITATIVE OR QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Differences between Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods

http://www.orau.gov/cdcynergy/soc2web/Content/phase05/phase05_step03_deeper_qualitative_and_quantit
ative.htm

Qualitative Methods

Quantitative Methods

Methods include focus groups, in-depth

interviews, and reviews of documents for
types of themes

Surveys, structured interviews &

observations, and reviews of records or
documents for numeric information

Primarily inductive process used to formulate

theory or hypotheses

Primarily deductive process used to test prespecified concepts, constructs, and hypotheses
that make up a theory

More subjective: describes a problem or

condition from the point of view of those
experiencing it

More objective: provides observed effects

(interpreted by researchers) of a program on a
problem or condition

Text-based

Number-based

More in-depth information on a few cases

Less in-depth but more breadth of information

across a large number of cases

Unstructured or semi-structured response

options

Fixed response options

No statistical tests

Statistical tests are used for analysis

Can be valid and reliable: largely depends on

skill and rigor of the researcher

Can be valid and reliable: largely depends on

the measurement device or instrument used

Time expenditure lighter on the planning end

and heavier during the analysis phase

Time expenditure heavier on the planning

phase and lighter on the analysis phase

Less generalizable

More generalizable

Understanding different types of research:

Whats the difference between qualitative and quantitative approaches?
http://chronicle.umbmentoring.org/on-methods-whats-the-difference-between-qualitative-and-quantitativeapproaches/

In the world of research, there are two general approaches to gathering and reporting
information: qualitative and quantitative approaches. The qualitative approach to research
is focused on understanding a phenomenon from a closer perspective. The quantitative
approach tends to approximate phenomena from a larger number of individuals using
survey methods. In this research corner, I describe methods that are generally used in each
strand of research. Each approach has its benefits and detriments, and is more suitable to
answering certain kinds of questions.

62

Qualitative Approach
The qualitative approach to gathering information focuses on describing a phenomenon in
a deep comprehensive manner. This is generally done in interviews, open-ended questions,
or focus groups. In most cases, a small number of participants participate in this type of
research, because to carry out such a research endeavor requires many resources and much
time. Interviews can vary from being highly structured and guided by open-ended
questions, or be less structured and take the form of a conversational interview. Because of
the investment in this type of research and the relatively few number of participants,
findings from qualitative research cannot be generalized to the whole population.
However, such research serves as a spring board for larger studies and deeper
understanding that can inform theory, practice, and specific situations.
Example from youth mentoring research:
Ahrens, DuBois, Garrison, Spencer, Richardson, & Lozano (2011) used semi-structured
interviews to outline themes of mentor characteristics and factors that youth perceive to
influence mentor relationships. They spoke with participants on the phone and asked them
open-ended questions. In identifying barriers and facilitators for relationship initiation and
maintenance, Ahrens et al. provide important points of inquiry to be used in a larger scale
survey-based research. One of the cautions in using qualitative approaches is that the
findings apply only to this small group of 23 individuals. This research was crucial in
providing evidence that these factors should be examined and further elaborated through
quantitative methods prior to making any wide-range recommendation.
Benefits of the qualitative approach:
Using open-ended questions and interviews allows researchers and practitioners to
understand how individuals are doing, what their experiences are, and recognize important
antecedents and outcomes of interest that might not surface when surveyed with predetermined questions. Although qualitative research can be thought of as anecdotal, when
pooled across a number of participants it provides a conceptual understanding and
evidence that certain phenomena are occurring with particular groups or individuals.

Allows identification of new and untouched phenomena

Can provide a deeper understanding of mechanisms
Gives a one-on-one and anecdotal information
Provides verbal information that may sometimes be converted to numerical form
May reveal information that would not be identified through pre-determined survey
questions

Limitations:

Cannot generalize to the general population

Challenges in applying statistical methods
Difficulty in assessing relations between characteristics

63

Quantitative Approach
The quantitative approach to gathering information focuses on describing a phenomenon
across a larger number of participants thereby providing the possibility of summarizing
characteristics across groups or relationships. This approach surveys a large number of
individuals and applies statistical techniques to recognize overall patterns in the relations
of processes. Importantly, the use of surveys can be done across groups. For example, the
same survey can be used with a group of mentors that is receiving training (often called the
intervention or experimental groups) and a group of mentors who does not receive such a
training (a control group). It is then possible to compare these two groups on outcomes of
interest, and determine what influence the training had. It is also relatively easy to survey
people a number of times, thereby allowing the conclusion that a certain features (like
matching) influence specific outcomes (well-being or achievement later in life).
Example from youth mentoring research:
Grossman and Rhodes (2002) examined duration of matched relationships in over 1,100
Big Brothers Big Sisters mentor-mentee matches. Because the information they used was
survey-based and numerical, they were able to employ statistical techniques examining
how duration of match was related to different outcomes of interest.
In using a variety of statistical techniques, they concluded that youth who were in
[matched mentoring] relationships that lasted a year or longer reported improvements in
academic, psychosocial, and behavioral outcomes (p. 213). If Grossman and Rhodes had
not used survey-based quantitative research, they would not have had such a large sample
of matches and therefore could not generalize to matches in general. In addition, with a
smaller number of participants, it is challenging to apply some statistical techniques to
examine emerging patterns across such a large group of mentored matches. The current
rule of thumb to using complex statistical modeling is that you need a sample of at least
130 participants. However, for more complex modeling that controls for characteristics, a
larger pool of participants is needed.
Benefits of the quantitative approach:
Using survey methods across a large group of individuals enables generalization. For
example, if policy makers wanted to instantiate a policy about mentor training, they would
likely require some evidence that this training actually works. Interviewing a few
individuals, or conducting a focus group with forty matches, might be reflective of specific
cases in which the mentoring training worked, however, it would not provide strong
evidence that such training is beneficial overall. Stronger support for successful training
would be evident if using quantitative methods.

Enables gathering information from a relatively large number of participant

Can conduct in a number of groups, allowing for comparison
Allows generalizing to broader population
Provides numerical or rating information
Informative for instantiating policy or guidelines
Lends to statistical techniques that allow determining relations between variables
(think of better word)

64

Limitations:

Difficulty in recognizing new and untouched phenomena

Caution in interpretation without a control group

In summary, the qualitative and quantitative approaches to research allow a different

perspective of situations or phenomena. These two main approaches to research are highly
informative, especially if used in combination. Each approach has its benefits and
detriments, and being aware of the methods used to gather information can help
practitioners and policy-makers understand the extent to which research findings can be
applied.

Qualitative and Quantitative research

http://www.icoe.org/webfm_send/1936

There are numerous differences between qualitative and quantitative measurement.

Quantitative Research Quantitative Research options have been predetermined and a large
number of respondents are involved. By definition, measurement must be objective,
quantitative and statistically valid. Simply put, its about numbers, objective hard data. The
sample size for a survey is calculated by statisticians using formulas to determine how
large a sample size will be needed from a given population in order to achieve findings
with an acceptable degree of accuracy. Generally, researchers seek sample sizes which
yield findings with at least a 95% confidence interval (which means that if you repeat the
survey 100 times, 95 times out of a hundred, you would get the same response), plus/minus
a margin error of 5 percentage points. Many surveys are designed to produce a smaller
margin of error
Qualitative Research
Qualitative Research is collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data by observing what
people do and say. Whereas, quantitative research refers to counts and measures of things,
qualitative
research refers to the meanings, concepts, definitions, characteristics, metaphors, symbols,
and
descriptions of things. Qualitative research is much more subjective than quantitative
research and uses very different methods of collecting information, mainly individual, indepth interviews and focus groups. The nature of this type of research is exploratory and
open-ended. Small numbers of people are interviewed in-depth and/or a relatively small
number of focus groups are conducted. Participants are asked to respond to general
questions and the interviewer or group moderator probes and explores their responses to
identify and define peoples perceptions, opinions and feelings about the topic or idea
being discussed and to determine the degree of agreement that exists in the group. The
quality of the finding from qualitative research is directly dependent upon the skills,
experience and sensitive of the interviewer or group moderator. This type of research is
often less costly than surveys and is extremely effective in acquiring information about
peoples communications needs and their responses to and views about specific
communications. Quantitative research is objective; qualitative is subjective. Quantitative
research seeks explanatory laws; qualitative research aims at in-depth description.
Qualitative research measures what it assumes to be a static reality in hopes of developing
65

universal laws. Qualitative research is an exploration of what is assumed to be a dynamic

reality. It does not claim that what is discovered in the process is universal, and thus,
replicable. Common differences usually cited between these types of research include.

In general, qualitative research generates rich, detailed and valid (process) data that
contribute to in-depth understanding of the context. Quantitative research generates
reliable population based and generalizable data and is well suited to establishing causeand-effect relationships. The decision of whether to choose a quantitative or a qualitative
design is a philosophical question. Which methods to choose will depend on the nature of
the project, the type of information needed the context of the study and the availability of
recourses (time, money, and human). It is important to keep in mind that these are two

66

different philosophers, not necessarily polar opposites. In fact, elements of both designs
can be used together in mixed-methods studies. Combining of qualitative and quantitative
research is becoming more and more common. Every method is different line of sight
directed toward the same point, observing social and symbolic reality. The use of multiple
lines of sight is called triangulation.
It is a combination of two types of research. It is also called pluralistic research.
Advantages of combining both types of research include: research development (one
approach is used to inform the other, such as using qualitative research to develop an
instrument to be used in quantitative research) Increased validity (confirmation of results
by means of different data sources) Complementarities (adding information, i.e. words to
numbers and vice versa) Creating new lines of thinking by the emergence of fresh
perspectives and contradictions. Barriers to integration include philosophical differences,
cost, inadequate training and publication bias.

67

QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
Basic Inquiry of Quantitative Research
http://ksumail.kennesaw.edu/~rouyang/ED-research/details.htm

Quantitative vs. Qualitative

Qualitative approach:
It includes historical research and qualitative research;
It collects narrative data to gain insights into phenomena of interest;
Data analysis includes the coding of the data and production of a verbal synthesis.
Quantitative approach:
It is categorized with descriptive research, Correlational research, causal-comparative
research and experimental research;
It collects numerical data in order to explain, predict and or control phenomena of
interest;
Data analysis is mainly statistical.
Types of Quantitative Researches
v Descriptive: Descriptive research involves collecting data in order to test hypotheses
or answer questions concerning the current status of the subjects of the study. It
determines and reports the way things are.
v Correlational: Correlational research attempts to determine whether and to what
degree a relationship exists between two or more quantifiable variables. However, it never
establishes a cause-effect relationship. The relationship is expressed by correlation
coefficient, which is a number between .00 and 1.00.
v Cause-comparative: Causal-comparative research: establishes the cause-effect
relationship, compares the relationship, but the cause is not manipulated, such as "gender."
v Experimental: Experimental research establishes the cause-effect relationship and
does the comparison, but the cause is manipulated. The cause, independent variable makes
the difference. The effect, dependent variable is dependent on the independent variable.
What are the main types of quantitative approaches to research?
http://www.bcps.org/offices/lis/researchcourse/develop_quantitative.html
Types of Quantitative Design
Descriptive
research
seeks to describe the
current status of an
identified variable. These
research projects are
designed to provide
systematic information

Correlational research
attempts to determine the
extent of a relationship
between two or more
variables using statistical
data. In this type of
design,
relationships

Causalcomparative/quasiexperimental
research
attempts to establish causeeffect relationships among
the variables. These types
of design are very similar

Experimental
research,
often
called
true
experimentation, uses the
scientific
method
to
establish the cause-effect
relationship among a group
of variables that make up a

68

between and among a

number of facts are
sought and interpreted.
This type of research will
recognize trends and
patterns in data, but it
does not go so far in its
analysis to prove causes
for
these
observed
patterns. Cause and effect
is not the basis of this
type of observational
research.
The
data,
relationships,
and
distributions of variables
are
studied
only.
are
not
Examples of Descriptive Variables
manipulated; they are
Research:
only identified and are
A description of studied as they occur in a
how
second- natural setting.
grade
students
spend their time *Sometimes
during summer Correlational research is
considered a type of
vacation
A description of descriptive research, and
the tobacco use not as its own type of
habits
of research, as no variables
are manipulated in the
teenagers
A description of study.
how parents feel
of
about the twelve- Examples
month
school Correlational Research:
year
A description of
The relationship
the attitudes of
between
scientists
intelligence and
regarding global
self-esteem
warming
The relationship
A description of
between diet and
the
kinds
of
anxiety
physical activities
The relationship
that
typically
between
an
occur in nursing
aptitude test and
homes, and how
success in an
frequently each
algebra course
occurs
The relationship
A description of
between
ACT
about a phenomenon.
The researcher does not
usually begin with an
hypothesis, but is likely
to develop one after
collecting data.
The
analysis and synthesis of
the data provide the test
of
the
hypothesis.
Systematic collection of
information
requires
careful selection of the
units studied and careful
measurement of each
variable.

to true experiments, but

with some key differences.
An independent variable is
identified
but
not
manipulated
by
the
experimenter, and effects
of the independent variable
on the dependent variable
are
measured.
The
researcher
does
not
randomly assign groups
and must use ones that are
naturally formed or preexisting groups. Identified
control groups exposed to
the treatment variable are
studied and compared to
groups who are not.

study. The true experiment

is often thought of as a
laboratory study, but this is
not always the case; a
laboratory
setting
has
nothing to do with it. A true
experiment is any study
where an effort is made to
identify and impose control
over all other variables
except one. An independent
variable is manipulated to
determine the effects on the
dependent
variables.
Subjects
are randomly
assigned to experimental
treatments
rather
than
identified
in
naturally
occurring groups

When
analyses
and
conclusions are made, Examples of Experimental
determining causes must be Research:
done carefully, as other
variables, both known and
The effect of a new
unknown, could still affect
treatment plan on
the outcome. A causalbreast cancer
comparative
designed
The
effect
of
study, described in a New
positive
York Times article, "The
reinforcement
on
Case
for
$320,00
attitude
toward
Kindergarten Teachers,"
school
illustrates how causation
The
effect
of
must
be
thoroughly
teaching with a
assessed
before
firm
cooperative group
relationships
amongst
strategy
or
a
variables can be made.
traditional
lecture
approach
on
Examples of Correlational
students
Research:
achievement
The effect of a
systematic
The
effect
of
preparation
and
preschool
support system on
attendance on social
children who were
maturity at the end
scheduled
for
of the first grade
surgery
on
the
The effect of taking
amount
of
multivitamins on a
psychological upset
students
school

69

the extent to
which elementary
teachers use math
manipulatives

scores and the

freshman grades
The relationships
between the types
of activities used
in
math
classrooms and
student
achievement
The covariance of
smoking and lung
disease

absenteeism
The effect of gender
on
algebra
achievement
The effect of parttime employment
on the achievement
of high school
students
The
effect
of
magnet
school
participation
on
student attitude
The effect of age on
lung capacity

and cooperation
A comparison of
the effect
of
personalized
instruction
vs.
traditional
instruction
on
computational skill

What is the basic methodology for a quantitative research design?

The overall structure for a quantitative design is based in the scientific method. It uses deductive reasoning, where
the researcher forms an hypothesis, collects data in an investigation of the problem, and then uses the data from the
investigation, after analysis is made and conclusions are shared, to prove the hypotheses not false or false. The
basic procedure of a quantitative design is:
1. Make your observations about something that is unknown, unexplained, or new. Investigate current theory
surrounding your problem or issue.
2. Hypothesize an explanation for those observations.
3. Make a prediction of outcomes based on your hypotheses. Formulate a plan to test your prediction.
4. Collect and process your data. If your prediction was correct, go to step 5. If not, the hypothesis has been
proven false. Return to step 2 to form a new hypothesis based on your new knowledge.
5. Verify your findings. Make your final conclusions. Present your findings in an appropriate form for your
audience.

70

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH (I)

Case Studies
http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=qualitative&pageid=icb.page340344

A case study is an approach to research that focuses on gaining an in-depth understanding

of a particular entity or event at a specific time. Therefore, as Carla Willig (2008) asserts,
case studies are not characterized by the methods used to collect and analyze data, but
rather its focus on a particular unit of analysis: a case (p. 74). However, what constitutes a
"case" is not so easily laid out. Case studies tend to be bounded in some discrete way by
examining a specific or a set of individual(s), organization(s), school(s), department(s), or
event(s). The nuances of what makes for a good "case" and what does not are contested
and sometimes subtle. For example, Robert E. Stake (2005) argues that the topic of the
case can be an individual, but not the means by which the individual engages in a
particular practice. He writes, A doctor may be a case. But his or her doctoring probably
lacks the specificity, the boundedness to be a case (p. 444).
Case studies present data that is usually gathered through a variety of means including, but
not limited to interviews, observations, audio and video data and document collection. The
goal of collecting data through a variety of means is both to enhance the theory generating
capabilities of the case, and to provide additional validity to assertions made by either the
researcher or the participants in the case itself. There is also discussion in the field about
how much a researcher is part of any particular presentation of a case study, an effort to
manage researcher subjectivity as well as to let the case speak for itself (Stake, 2005).
Below we have listed some of the more pervasive typologies of case study as outlined by
Carla Willig (2008, pg. 77-78) and the respective scholars themselves (Chamberlain et. al,
2004; Stake, 1995, 2005; Yin, 2009). These binaries offer a sense of the breadth of the
method as it is used in the field.
Single case vs. multiple case:
A single (or singular) case, is a case of one particular entity or event at a specific time. A
multiple case, also known as a collective case, is a case which focuses on more than one
particular entity or event sometimes over different time periods
Intrinsic vs. instrumental:
An intrinsic case focuses on the particulars of one specific phenomenon rather than seeking
generalizations, with the interest arising from the particulars and potentially rare or unique
aspects of the case. Instrumental cases usually describe a specific case of a more general
phenomenon.
Naturalist vs. pragmatic:
Naturalist case studies seek to describe a case from the ground-up, embedded in its
particular context. Pragmatic cases are designed with a more focused question and
approach, which is refined iteratively through engagement with the case.
While authors have largely distinguished case studies by their units of analysis, some
researchers have proposed guidelines for designing and conducting case study research that

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resemble, if not entirely become, methods in their own right. Both Robert E. Stake and
Robert K. Yin are good resources for such methods, with Stakes work being more
humanistic in nature. Case studies in the field of education abound. One particular type of
case study you may find at HGSE is the "teaching case," which is a study specifically
designed to elicit discussion, and to be taught in (usually) higher education classrooms.
Other fields such as business and law engage in case study research using their own
specific approaches not outlined here. It is important to note that case study methods can at
times resemble ethnographic methods in both their purposes and scope though their
disciplinary histories are different.
Designing a Case Study
http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/page.cfm?pageid=1292

After considering the different sub categories of case study and identifying a theoretical
perspective, researchers can begin to design their study. Research design is the string of
logic that ultimately links the data to be collected and the conclusions to be drawn to the
initial questions of the study. Typically, research designs deal with at least four problems:

What questions to study

What data are relevant
What data to collect
How to analyze that data

In other words, a research design is basically a blueprint for getting from the beginning to
the end of a study. The beginning is an initial set of questions to be answered, and the end
is some set of conclusions about those questions.
Because case studies are conducted on topics as diverse as Anglo-Saxon Literature (Thrane
1986) and AIDS prevention (Van Vugt 1994), it is virtually impossible to outline any strict
or universal method or design for conducting the case study. However, Robert K. Yin
(1993) does offer five basic components of a research design:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

A study's questions.
A study's propositions (if any).
A study's units of analysis.
The logic linking of the data to the propositions.
The criteria for interpreting the findings.

In addition to these five basic components, Yin also stresses the importance of clearly
articulating one's theoretical perspective, determining the goals of the study, selecting one's
subject(s), selecting the appropriate method(s) of collecting data, and providing some
considerations to the composition of the final report.
Method: Single or Multi-modal?
To obtain as complete a picture of the participant as possible, case study researchers can
employ a variety of methods. Some common methods include interviews, protocol
analyses, field studies, and participant-observations. Emig (1971) chose to use several
methods of data collection. Her sources included conversations with the students, protocol

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analysis, discrete observations of actual composition, writing samples from each student,
and school records (Lauer and Asher 1988).
Berkenkotter, Huckin, and Ackerman (1988) collected data by observing classrooms,
conducting faculty and student interviews, collecting self reports from the subject, and by
looking at the subject's written work.
A study that was criticized for using a single method model was done by Flower and Hayes
(1984). In this study that explores the ways in which writers use different forms of
knowing to create space, the authors used only protocol analysis to gather data. The study
came under heavy fire because of their decision to use only one method, and it was, at least
according to some researchers, an unreliable method at that.

What is Ethnography?
http://www.brianhoey.com/General%20Site/general_defn-ethnography.htm

The term ethnography has come to be equated with virtually any qualitative research
project where the intent is to provide a detailed, in-depth description of everyday life and
practice. This is sometimes referred to as "thick description" -- a term attributed to the
anthropologist Clifford Geertz writing on the idea of an interpretive theory of culture in the
early 1970s (e.g., see The Interpretation of Cultures, first published as a collection in
1973). The use of the term "qualitative" is meant to distinguish this kind of social science
research from more "quantitative" or statistically oriented research. The two approaches,
i.e., quantitative and qualitative, while often complementary, ultimately have different
aims.
While an ethnographic approach to social research is no longer purely that of the cultural
anthropologist, a more precise definition must be rooted in ethnography's disciplinary
home of anthropology. Thus, ethnography may be defined as both a qualitative research
process or method (one conducts an ethnography) and product (the outcome of this process
is an ethnography) whose aim is cultural interpretation. The ethnographer goes beyond
reporting events and details of experience. Specifically, he or see attempts to explain how
these represent what we might call "webs of meaning" (Geertz again), the cultural
constructions, in which we live.
Ethnographers generate understandings of culture through representation of what we call
an emic perspective, or what might be described as the "'insider's point of view." The
emphasis in this representation is thus on allowing critical categories and meanings to
emerge from the ethnographic encounter rather than imposing these from existing models.
An etic perspective, by contrast, refers to a more distant, analytical orientation to
experience.
An ethnographic understanding is developed through close exploration of several sources
of data. Using these data sources as a foundation, the ethnographer relies on a cultural
frame of analysis.
Long-term engagement in the field setting or place where the ethnography takes place, is
called participant observation. This is perhaps the primary source of ethnographic data.
The term represents the dual role of the ethnographer. To develop an understanding of
what it is like to live in a setting, the researcher must both become a participant in the life
of the setting while also maintaining the stance of an observer, someone who can describes
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the experience with a measure of what we might call "detachment." Note that this does not
mean that ethnographers cannot also become advocates for the people they study.
Typically ethnographers spend many months or even years in the places where they
conduct their research often forming lasting bonds with people. Due to historical
development and disciplinary biases, in the past most ethnographers conducted their
research in foreign countries while largely ignoring the potential for work right here at
home. This has meant that much of the ethnography done in the United States today is now
being done outside of its disciplinary home. Increasing numbers of cultural
anthropologists, however, have begun doing fieldwork in the communities where they
themselves live and work.
Interviews provide for what might be called "targeted" data collection by asking specific
but open-ended questions. There is a great variety of interview styles. Each ethnographer
brings his or her own unique approach to the process. Regardless, the emphasis is on
allowing the person or persons being interviewed to answer without being limited by predefined choices -- something which clearly differentiates qualitative from more
quantitative or demographic approaches. In most cases, an ethnographic interview looks
and feels little different than an everyday conversation and indeed in the course of longterm participant-observation, most conversations are in fact purely spontaneous and
without any specific agenda.
Researchers collect other sources of data which depend on the specific nature of the field
setting. This may take the form of representative artifacts that embody characteristics of
the topic of interest, government reports, and newspaper and magazine articles. Although
often not tied to the site of study, secondary academic sources are utilized to "locate" the
specific study within an existing body of literature.
Over the past twenty years, interest has grown within anthropology for considering the
close relationship between personal history, motivation, and the particulars of ethnographic
fieldwork. It is undeniably important to question and understand how these factors have
bearing on the construction of theory and conduct of a scholarly life. Personal and
professional experiences, together with historical context, lead individual researchers to
their own particular methodological and theoretical approaches. This too is an important,
even if unacknowledged, source.
Ethnographic fieldwork is shaped by personal and professional identities just as these
identities are inevitably shaped by individual experiences while in the field. Unfortunately,
the autobiographical dimension of ethnographic research has been downplayed historically
if not discounted altogether. This is mostly understandable given a perceived threat to the
objectivity expected of legitimate science, to reliability of data, and to integrity of our
methodology, if we appear to permit subjectivity to intervene by allowing the
ethnographers encumbered persona to appear instead of adhering to the prescribed role of
wholly dispassionate observer.
Most anthropologists today point to Bronislaw Malinowski, author of such landmark
ethnographies as Argonauts of the Western Pacific (first published in 1922), as a kind of
founding father to ethnographic fieldwork, the practice of participant-observation.
Malinowskis early twentieth century ethnographies were written in a voice removed and
utterly unrevealing about the nature of the ethnographer and his relationship to people
studied. Since Malinowskis time, the personal account of fieldwork has been hidden away

74

in notes and diaries. These off the record writings document the tacit impressions and
emotional experiences without which we cannot, as ethnographers, fully appreciate and
understand the project of our research itself. Malinowskis diaries were published after his
death in a revealing autobiographical account of his inner life while in the field (A Diary in
the Strict Sense of the Term, first published in 1967). We learn in his diaries that, among
other details, Malinowski longed to write great novels even as his scientific writing
effectively defined the practice of cultural anthropology for much of the twentieth century.
Of many important lessons for anthropologists, Malinowskis diaries hold two especially
relevant ones here. First of these is that, at its heart, ethnographic writing is a means of
expressing a shared interest among cultural anthropologists for telling stories stories
about what it means to be human. The other is that the explicit professional project of
observing, imagining and describing other people need not be incompatible with the
implicit personal project of learning about the self. It is the honest truth of fieldwork that
these two projects are always implicated in each other. Good ethnography recognizes the
transformative nature of fieldwork where as we search for answers to questions about
people we may find ourselves in the stories of others. Ethnography should be
acknowledged as a mutual product born of the intertwining of the lives of the ethnographer
and his or her subjects
Finding Connections & Insight
Whether implicit or explicit in nature, one of the basic characteristics of an anthropological
approach is that it is comparative. My research interests are varied and based on two
primary fieldwork experiences conducted during my doctoral training. One is located on
the other side of the globe and deals with issues in the relocation of mostly landless poor,
culture and identity politics, and post-colonial nationalism and nation building. The other is
located here in the United States among middle-class working families and addresses the
impact of post-industrial economic and social changes on the cultural meanings of person
and place. Although different, these projects share important traits which express enduring
intellectual interests including my desire to conduct community or organizational based
research and a focus on issues of migration and relocation, community building and
participation, personhood and place, narrative constructions and identity, and the personal
negotiations between work, family, and self in different social and historical contexts.
My first major research project involved a year of fieldwork in Sulawesi, Indonesia in
1998. This research was conducted in four government-sponsored relocation settlements
all part of the program known as transmigration that originally began during the Dutch
colonial period. In this community-based work, I employed both qualitative and more
quantitative approaches. I concentrated my participant-observation, in-depth interviewing
and social-surveys in a single village as a primary field site. In order to test my early
findings against other cases while comparing ethnographically interesting differences and
similarities with other locations, I extended data collection into three other nearby
settlements each with a unique set of circumstances for their establishment and continued
development as communities.
My dissertation fieldwork entailed two years of community-based fieldwork in the rapidly
growing lakeside communities of Northwest Lower Michigan centered in Traverse City.
The project was concerned with exploring the phenomenon of life-style migration a form
of non-economic, urban to rural migration that has led to the sudden, often unexpected
growth of formerly declining non-metropolitan areas.

75

I value the depth and breadth of my research interests and experience. Although at first
glance the "distance" between these two projects and their sites appears too great to offer
much in the way of comparative insight, this is not the case. My work with Indonesian
transmigrants offered insight into how I might interpret experiences of relocating
professionals as life-style migrants. Specifically, transmigrants spoke of how they used the
relocation to selectively edit out or enhance certain personal characteristics and even
cultural elements of their ethnic group. I was able to reveal a similar process among lifestyle migrants who relocated in order to bring about what they felt was a necessary break
from established routine. They used relocation to redefine priorities and, in many cases, to
get in touch with what they describe as a more authentic self.
The value of ethnographic research conducted in a variety of social, cultural, and physical
contexts is that it can encourage us as social scientists to be open to possibilities and to
imagine new ways of thinking about what might appear too familiar to be worthy of indepth consideration. This is another reason why I value the ethnography of everyday life. It
is in neglected details of day-to-day life that real insight into the meaning of social and
cultural change is most powerfully and relevantly expressed.
New Ethnography
"Do you get told what the good life is, or do you figure it out for yourself"?
Posed by a middle-aged lifestyle migrant who left a corporate career, this question invokes
the theme of Opting for Elsewhere that emerges from stories of people who chose
relocation as a way of redefining themselves and reordering work, family, and personal
priorities. This is a book about the impulse to start over. The accounts presented involve
new expressions of old dreams, understandings, and ideals. Whether downshifting from
stressful careers or the victims of downsizing from jobs lost in a surge of economic
restructuring, lifestyle migrants seek refuge in places that seem to resonate with an
idealized, potential self. Choosing the option of elsewhere and moving as a means of
remaking self through sheer force of will are basic facets of American character forged in
its history as a developing nation of immigrants with a seemingly ever-expanding frontier.
Stories told here are parts of a larger moral story about what constitutes the good life at a
time of economic uncertainty coupled with shifting social categories and cultural
meanings. Brian Hoey provides an evocative illustration of the ways these sweeping
changes impact people and the places that they live and work as well as how both react
devising strategies for either coping with or challenging the status quo. This stirring
portrait of starting over in the heartland of America will initiate fruitful discussion about
where we are going next as an emerging postindustrial society.

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QUALITATIVE RESEARCH (II)

Narrative Approaches to Education Research
http://www.edu.plymouth.ac.uk/resined/narrative/narrativehome.htm

Introduction
Human beings are storying creatures. We make sense of the world and the things that
happen to us by constructing narratives to explain and interpret events both to ourselves
and to other people. The narrative structures and the vocabularies that we use when we
craft and tell our tales of our perceptions and experiences are also, in themselves,
significant, providing information about our social and cultural positioning: to paraphrase
Wittgenstein (1953), the limits of my language are the limits of my world.
In recent times, there has been what has been described as a narrative and
auto/biographical turn within the social sciences. This turn is associated with postmodernism and the concomitant lack of faith in grand, master or Meta narratives. For
researchers this has opened up the possibility of explicitly framing and realizing their
research in terms of it both being, and using, narrative.
What do we mean by narrative in a research context?
The Oxford Mini Dictionary defines narrative as a spoken or written account of
something (Hawker, 2002: 406). Chambers Twentieth Century Dictionary is not specific
about the written or spoken, with its an account of any occurrence (Macdonald, 1972:
876) thereby including the possibility of other types of account visual, aural, tactile and
so on. This broader, inclusive definition is important because it acknowledges and allows
the use of signing, Braille, and other communications systems/languages.
Put as simply as an account of something, it is clear that narrative is unavoidable, its
everywhere, and is fundamental to human understanding, communication and social
interaction. Roland Barthes commented, the history of narrative begins with the history of
(hu)mankind; there does not exist, and has never existed, a people without narratives
(1966: 14). Indeed, somewhat playfully, it has been suggested that there is a case for
revising the term homo sapiens to homo fabulans the tellers and interpreters of
narrative (Currie, 1998: 2). For narrative is what we do. We use it to make sense of the
world as we perceive and experience it and we use it to tell other people what we have
discovered and about how the world, or more specifically aspects of it, are for us. This
component, for example, is a narrative account of our understandings of narrative
approaches to educational research. Within the social sciences though, narrative and,
specifically in the context of this component, narrative research has come to have
particular meanings; meanings that carry or are attributed with, particular value, ethical,
ontological and epistemological positions. We should note that, as is the case with most
research approaches, there has been much disagreement and debate about definitions,
meanings and practices (see for example, Riessmann, 1993). Narrative is a contested,
complex, transitional and developing field (see Chase, 2005) and readers should be aware
that this component makes no claims to be definitive (see Rudrum, 2005, and Porter
Abbott, 2002 for contrasting, yet complementary examples of discussion).

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Essentially, narrative meaning is created by noting that something is a part of a whole,

and that something is a cause of something else (Polkinghorne, 1988: 6). Narratives
provide links, connections, coherence, meaning, sense. Narrative descriptions exhibit
human activity as purposeful engagement in the world. Narrative is the type of discourse
that draws together diverse events, happenings and actions of human lives (Polkinghorne,
1995: 5). So far, so general. Donald Polkinghornes definitions could be taken to apply to
many different types of communicative accounts that are used in all spheres of life.
Consequently, accounts of research that describe controlled experiments and report
statistical data and findings could well be considered to be narratives within these
parameters. However, in terms of research activity, narrative research is usually (always?)
associated with qualitative methodologies and methods, both in terms of the sorts of data
qualitative research collects and works from, and with regard to how that data is
analysed/interpreted and then re-presented.
Narrative research is research that is concerned with stories. These can be stories as told
and they can be stories that we enquire into: narratives as data, data as narratives. Referring
specifically to sociologists, although, we would argue, with application to any of the social
disciplines, David Silverman observes:
All we sociologists have are stories. Some come from other people, some from us. What
matters is to understand how and where the stories are produced, which sort of stories they
are, and how we can put them to intelligent use in theorizing about social life (1998: 111).
Similarly, Paul Atkinson talks about the way in which ethnographers write down stories in
the field and then go home to their studies and write those stories up; writing down and
writing up. In the first instance he describes how what was written down is treated as
data by the ethnographer within the imagery of transcription uninterrupted by selfconscious intervention or reflection. What is written up is more clearly located within a
constructivist context of writing but, as Atkinson points out, both phases of the work
involve the creation of textual materials; both are equally matters of textual construction
(1990: 61)
It is clear from Atkinsons claims regarding the textual constructions that take place in
educational and social research, that narrative inquiry, in all its different forms, can be
firmly located within the so-called linguistic turn in education and the social sciences.
We say so-called because, as MacLure points out in an important endnote, the turn in
question has been referred to in a number of different ways:
Or perhaps it is a textual turn, a postmodern turn, a reflexive turn, a poststructuralist
turn, a narrative turn, or a literary turn. All of these terms are in circulation and
they share the work of registering a new space for research and theorizing across the
disciplines (2003: 4, endnote 2)
Indeed, as Denzin (2000) argues, The study of narrative forces the social sciences to
develop new theories, new methods and new ways of talking about self and society.
Narrative approaches to education and social research, therefore, are having a destabilizing effect on the foundational epistemologies and methodologies of established
research practices, whilst at the same time making connections with other domains of
practice, theoretical areas and epistemological concerns. The following list does not
represent itself in any way as complete, comprehensive or immutable; it is designed to
offer a valuable range of connections with the kind of narrative approaches to educational
research being examined here. What can be referred to as the narrative turn is therefore
linked to these other turns in multiple and connected ways. As Squire has suggested,

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looking at the narrative turn is to view a snapshot of what these turns have yielded
(2005: 91)

The Historical Approach to Research

https://www.ischool.utexas.edu/~palmquis/courses/historical.htm

The process of learning and understanding the background and growth of a chosen field of
study or profession can offer insight into organizational culture, current trends, and future
possibilities. The historical method of research applies to all fields of study because it
encompasses their: origins, growth, theories, personalities, crisis, etc. Both quantitative and
qualitative variables can be used in the collection of historical information. Once the
decision is made to conduct historical research, there are steps that should be followed to
achieve a reliable result. Charles Busha and Stephen Harter detail six steps for conducting
historical research (91):
the recognition of a historical problem or the identification of a need for certain
historical knowledge.
the gathering of as much relevant information about the problem or topic as possible.
if appropriate, the forming of hypothesis that tentatively explain relationships between
historical factors.
The rigorous collection and organization of evidence, and the verification of the
authenticity and veracity of information and its sources.
The selection, organization, and analysis of the most pertinent collected evidence, and
the drawing of conclusions; and
the recording of conclusions in a meaningful narrative.
In the field of library and information science, there are a vast array of topics that may be
considered for conducting historical research. For example, a researcher may chose to
answer questions about the development of school, academic or public libraries, the rise of
technology and the benefits/ problems it brings, the development of preservation methods,
famous personalities in the field, library statistics, or geographical demographics and how
they effect library distribution. Harter and Busha define library history as the systematic
recounting of past events pertaining to the establishment, maintenance, and utilization of
systematically arranged collections of recorded information or knowledge.A biography
of a person who has in some way affected the development of libraries, library science, or
librarianship is also considered to be library history. (93)
There are a variety of places to obtain historical information. Primary Sources are the most
sought after in historical research. Primary resources are first hand accounts of
information. Finding and assessing primary historical data is an exercise in detective
work. It involves logic, intuition, persistence, and common sense(Tuchman, Gaye in
Strategies of Qualitative Inquiry, 252). Some examples of primary documents are:
personal diaries, eyewitness accounts of events, and oral histories. Secondary sources of
information are records or accounts prepared by someone other than the person, or persons,

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who participated in or observed an event. Secondary resources can be very useful in

giving a researcher a grasp on a subject and may provided extensive bibliographic
information for delving further into a research topic.
In any type of historical research, there are issues to consider. Harter and Busha list three
principles to consider when conducting historical research (99-100):
Consider the slant or biases of the information you are working with and the ones
possessed by the historians themselves.
This is particularly true of qualitative research. Consider an example provided by Gaye
Tuchman:
Let us assume that womens letters and diaries are pertinent to ones research question and
that one can locate pertinent examples. One cannot simply read them.one must read
enough examples to infer the norms of what could be written and how it could be
expressed. For instance, in the early nineteenth century, some (primarily female)
schoolteachers instructed girls in journal writing and read their journals to do so. How
would such instruction have influenced the journals kept by these girls as adults?it is
useful to view the nineteenth-century journal writer as an informant. Just as one tries to
understand how a contemporary informant speaks from specific social location, so too one
would want to establish the social location of the historical figure. One might ask of these
and other diaries: What is the characteristic of middle-class female diary writers? What is
the characteristic of this informant? How should one view what this informant writes?
Quantitative facts may also be biased in the types of statistical data collected or in how that
information was interpreted by the researcher.
There are many factors that can contribute to historical episodes.
Evidence should not be examined from a singular point of view.
The resources that follow this brief introduction to the historical method in research
provide resources for further in-depth explanations about this research method in various
fields of study, and abstracts of studies conducted using this method.

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DATA COLLECTION TECHNIQUES

Quantitative and Qualitative Data collection methods

http://people.uwec.edu/piercech/researchmethods/data%20collection%20methods/data%20collection%20me
thods.htm

The Quantitative data collection methods rely on random sampling and structured data
collection instruments that fit diverse experiences into predetermined response categories.
They produce results that are easy to summarize, compare, and generalize.
Quantitative research is concerned with testing hypotheses derived from theory and/or
being able to estimate the size of a phenomenon of interest. Depending on the research
question, participants may be randomly assigned to different treatments. If this is not
feasible, the researcher may collect data on participant and situational characteristics in
order to statistically control for their influence on the dependent, or outcome, variable. If
the intent is to generalize from the research participants to a larger population, the
researcher will employ probability sampling to select participants.
Typical quantitative data gathering strategies include:

Experiments/clinical trials.
Observing and recording well-defined events (e.g., counting the number of patients
waiting in emergency at specified times of the day).
Obtaining relevant data from management information systems.
Administering surveys with closed-ended questions (e.g., face-to face and
telephone interviews, questionnaires etc).

Interviews
In Quantitative research (survey research), interviews are more structured than in
Qualitative research.
In a structured interview, the researcher asks a standard set of questions and nothing more
.(Leedy and Ormrod, 2001)
Face -to -face interviews have a distinct advantage of enabling the researcher to establish
rapport with potential participants and therefore gain their cooperation. These interviews
yield highest response rates in survey research. They also allow the researcher to clarify
ambiguous answers and when appropriate, seek follow-up information. Disadvantages
include impractical when large samples are involved time consuming and
expensive.(Leedy and Ormrod, 2001)
Telephone interviews are less time consuming and less expensive and the researcher has
ready access to anyone on the planet that has a telephone. Disadvantages are that the
response rate is not as high as the face-to- face interview as but considerably higher than
the mailed questionnaire. The sample may be biased to the extent that people without
phones are part of the population about whom the researcher wants to draw inferences.

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Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI): is a form of personal interviewing,

but instead of completing a questionnaire, the interviewer brings along a laptop or handheld computer to enter the information directly into the database. This method saves time
involved in processing the data, as well as saving the interviewer from carrying around
hundreds of questionnaires. However, this type of data collection method can be expensive
to set up and requires that interviewers have computer and typing skills.
Questionnaires
Paper-pencil-questionnaires can be sent to a large number of people and saves the
researcher time and money. People are more truthful while responding to the
questionnaires regarding controversial issues in particular due to the fact that their
responses are anonymous. However, they also have drawbacks. Majority of the people who
receive questionnaires don't return them and those who do might not be representative of
the originally selected sample.(Leedy and Ormrod, 2001)
Web based questionnaires: A new and inevitably growing methodology is the use of
Internet based research. This would mean receiving an e-mail on which you would click on
an address that would take you to a secure web site to fill in a questionnaire. This type of
research is often quicker and less detailed. Some disadvantages of this method include the
exclusion of people who do not have a computer or are unable to access a computer. In
addition, the validity of such surveys is in question as people might be in a hurry to
complete it and so might not give accurate responses.
Questionnaires often make use of Checklist and rating scales. These devices help simplify
and quantify people's behaviors and attitudes. A checklist is a list of behaviors,
characteristics, or other entities that te researcher is looking for. Either the researcher or
survey participant simply checks whether each item on the list is observed, present or true
or vice versa. A rating scale is more useful when a behavior needs to be evaluated on a
continuum. They are also known as Likert scales. (Leedy and Ormrod, 2001)
Qualitative data collection methods play an important role in impact evaluation by
providing information useful to understand the processes behind observed results and
assess changes in peoples perceptions of their well-being. Furthermore, qualitative
methods can be used to improve the quality of survey-based quantitative evaluations by
helping generate evaluation hypothesis; strengthening the design of survey questionnaires
and expanding or clarifying quantitative evaluation findings. These methods are
characterized by the following attributes:

they tend to be open-ended and have less structured protocols (i.e., researchers may
change the data collection strategy by adding, refining, or dropping techniques or
informants)
they rely more heavily on interactive interviews; respondents may be interviewed
several times to follow up on a particular issue, clarify concepts or check the
reliability of data
they use triangulation to increase the credibility of their findings (i.e., researchers
rely on multiple data collection methods to check the authenticity of their results)
generally their findings are not generalizable to any specific population, rather each
case study produces a single piece of evidence that can be used to seek general
patterns among different studies of the same issue

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Regardless of the kinds of data involved, data collection in a qualitative study takes a great
deal of time. The researcher needs to record any potentially useful data thoroughly,
accurately, and systematically, using field notes, sketches, audiotapes, photographs and
other suitable means. The data collection methods must observe the ethical principles of
research. The qualitative methods most commonly used in evaluation can be classified in
three broad categories: in depth interview, observation methods, document review.
Data Collection Techniques
http://cyfernetsearch.org/ilm_4_4

Information you gather can come from a range of sources. Likewise, there are a variety of
techniques to use when gathering primary data. Listed below are some of the most
common data collection techniques used for collecting data.
Overview of Different Data Collection Techniques
Technique

Interviews

Questionnaires
and Surveys

Observations

Key Facts
Example
Interviews can be
conducted in person or over
the telephone
Interviews can be done
One-on-one conversation with
formally (structured), semiparent of at-risk youth who
structured, or informally
can help you understand the
Questions should be
issue
focused, clear, and
encourage open-ended
responses
Interviews are mainly
qualitative in nature
Responses can be analyzed
with quantitative methods
by assigning numerical
values to Likert-type scales Results of a satisfaction
Results are generally easier survey or opinion survey
(than qualitative
techniques) to analyze
Pre-test/Post-test can be
compared and analyzed
Allows for the study of the
dynamics of a situation,
frequency counts of target
behaviors, or other
behaviors as indicated by
needs of the evaluation
Good source for providing
additional information
about a particular group,
can use video to provide

Site visits to an after-school

program to document the
interaction between youth and
staff within the program

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Focus Groups

Ethnographies,
Oral History, and
Case Studies

Documents and
Records

documentation
Can produce qualitative
(e.g., narrative data) and
quantitative data (e.g.,
frequency counts, mean
length of interactions, and
instructional time)

A facilitated group
interview with individuals
that have something in
common
Gathers information about
combined perspectives and
opinions
Responses are often coded
into categories and
analyzed thematically
Involves studying a single
phenomenon
Examines people in their
natural settings
Uses a combination of
techniques such as
observation, interviews,
and surveys
Ethnography is a more
holistic approach to
evaluation
Researcher can become a
confounding variable

A group of parents of
teenagers in an after-school
program are invited to
informally discuss programs
that might benefit and help
their children succeed

Shadowing a family while

recording extensive field
notes to study the experience
and issues associated with
youth who have a parent or
guardian that has been
deployed

Consists of examining
existing data in the form of
databases, meeting minutes,
To understand the primary
reports, attendance logs,
reasons students miss school,
financial records,
records on student absences
newsletters, etc.
are collected and analyzed
This can be an inexpensive
way to gather information,
but may be an incomplete
data source

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CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION

Writing a Conclusion
http://www.crlsresearchguide.org/18_Writing_Conclusion.asp

Ask these questions:

What is it?
A conclusion is the last paragraph in your research paper, or the last part in any other type
of presentation.
Why do it?
A conclusion is like the final chord in a song. It makes the listener feel that the piece is
complete and well done. The same is true for your audience. You want them to feel that
you supported what you stated in your thesis. You then become a reliable author for them
and they are impressed by that and will be more likely to read your work in the future.
They may also have learned something and maybe have had their opinion changed by what
you have written or created!
How do I do it?
A conclusion is, in some ways, like your introduction. You restate your thesis and
summarize your main points of evidence for the reader. You can usually do this in one
paragraph. In the following example, the thesis statement is in bold. Notice that it is
written in 2 sentences. This is a stylistic choice for impact.
Example:
The problem of teen gang violence can be eliminated. It will, however, take time,
money, and a combined effort on the part of many people. Organized, free, after-school
programs such as: sports teams and games; art, music, and drama activities; internships in
local area businesses and professional organizations; and interesting volunteer activities in
the community would help engage teens in worthwhile pursuits outside of school hours.
More job opportunities for teens, especially those funded by state and local programs,
would offer income for teens as well as productive work for the community. Outreach to
families through schools, community organizations, and places of worship would help
promote inter-generational activities that could improve family closeness, helping teens to
work on their problems at the family level, instead of taking them to the streets. If these
programs can be implemented, we will surely see a decrease in teen gang activity and safer
streets and neighborhoods for us all.
The Purpose of a Conclusion
http://www.canberra.edu.au/studyskills/writing/conclusions
The purpose of a conclusion is to tie together, or integrate the various issues, research, etc.,
covered in the body of the paper, and to make comments upon the meaning of all of it. This

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includes noting any implications resulting from your discussion of the topic, as well as
recommendations, forecasting future trends, and the need for further research.
The conclusion should:

be a logical ending to what has been previously been discussed. It must pull
together all of the parts of your argument and refer the reader back to the focus you
have outlined in your introduction and to the central topic. This gives your essay a
sense of unity.
never contain any new information.
usually be only a paragraph in length, but in an extended essay (3000+ words) it
may be better to have two or three paragraphs to pull together the different parts of
the essay.
add to the overall quality and impact of the essay. This is your final statement about
this topic; thus it can make a great impact on the reader.

The conclusion should not:

just sum up
end with a long quotation
focus merely on a minor point in your argument
introduce new material

The content of the conclusion

The conclusion may include:

a summary of the arguments presented in the body and how these relate to the essay
question
a restatement of the main point of view presented in the introduction in response to
the topic
the implications of this view or what might happen as a result.

The structure of the conclusion

Like introductions, it is best to keep to a simple structure.
Begin with a sentence that refers to the main subject that was discussed in the body in the
essay. Make sure that this sentence also links to the preceding paragraph, or uses words
such as In conclusion to signal that these are your final words on the subject.
Then, you may give a brief summary of your argument and identify the main
reasons/causes/factors that relate to the question you have been asked to address. If there
are two or more parts to the question, be sure to include responses to each part in your
conclusion.
Finally, it is a good idea to add a sentence or two to reinforce the thesis statement which
was used in your introduction. This shows the reader that you have done what you said you
would do and gives a sense of unity the essay.

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Additional elements that may be added include recommendations for future action and
speculations on future trends. Generally, although a short pithy quote can sometimes be
used to spice up your conclusion, the conclusion should be in your own words. Try to
avoid direct quotations, or references to other sources.
Summary of structure

Link to previous paragraph: In conclusion

Brief summary
Identify main reasons/causes/factors
Reinforce the thesis statement
Recommendations/speculation on future action

A Typical Conclusion
Question: Workplace diversity is now recognized as an important feature in organizations,
especially in multicultural nations like Australia. What communication problems might
arise in a culturally diverse workplace, and how can managers best deal with them? (2000
word essay)

For Further Research

http://dissertation.laerd.com/types-of-future-research-suggestion.php

Types of future research suggestion

The Future Research section of your dissertation is often combined with the Research
Limitations section of your final, Conclusions chapter. This is because your future research
suggestions generally arise out of the research limitations you have identified in your own
dissertation. In this article, we discuss six types of future research suggestion. These
include: (1) building on a particular finding in your research; (2) addressing a flaw in your
research; examining (or testing) a theory (framework or model) either (3) for the first time
or (4) in a new context, location and/or culture; (5) re-evaluating and (6) expanding a
theory (framework or model). The goal of the article is to help you think about the
potential types of future research suggestion that you may want to include in your
dissertation.
Before we discuss each of these types of future research suggestion, we should explain
why we use the word examining and then put or testing in brackets. This is simply because
the word examining may be considered more appropriate when students use a qualitative
research design; whereas the word testing fits better with dissertations drawing on a
quantitative research design. We also put the words framework or model in brackets after
the word theory. We do this because a theory, framework and model are not the same
things. In the sections that follow, we discuss six types of future research suggestion.
Addressing research limitations in your dissertation
In the Research Limitations section of your Conclusions chapter, you will have inevitably
detailed the potential flaws (i.e., research limitations) of your dissertation. These may
include:

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An inability to answer your research questions

Theoretical and conceptual problems
Limitations of your research strategy
Problems of research quality

Identifying what these research limitations were and proposing future research suggestions
that address them is arguably the easiest and quickest ways to complete the Future
Research section of your Conclusions chapter.
Building on a particular finding or aspect of your research
Often, the findings from your dissertation research will highlight a number of new avenues
that could be explored in future studies. These can be grouped into two categories:

Findings that you did not anticipate

Your dissertation will inevitably lead to findings that you did not anticipate from
the start. These are useful when making future research suggestions because they
can lead to entirely new avenues to explore in future studies. If this was the case, it
is worth (a) briefly describing what these unanticipated findings were and (b)
suggesting a research strategy that could be used to explore such findings in future.

Factors that address unanswered aspects of your research questions

Sometimes, dissertations manage to address all aspects of the research questions
that were set. However, this is seldom the case. Typically, there will be aspects of
your research questions that could not be answered. This is not necessarily a flaw in
your research strategy, but may simply reflect that fact that the findings did not
provide all the answers you hoped for. If this was the case, it is worth (a) briefly
describing what aspects of your research questions were not answered and (b)
suggesting a research strategy that could be used to explore such aspects in future.

Examining a conceptual framework (or testing a theoretical model)

for the first time
You may want to recommend that future research examine the conceptual framework (or
tests the theoretical model) that you developed. This is based on the assumption that the
primary goal of your dissertation was to set out a conceptual framework (or build a
theoretical model). It is also based on the assumption that whilst such a conceptual
framework (or theoretical model) was presented, your dissertation did not attempt to
examine (or test) it in the field. The focus of your dissertations was most likely a review of
the literature rather than something that involved you conducting primary research.
Whilst it is quite rare for dissertations at the undergraduate and master's level to be
primarily theoretical in nature like this, it is not unknown. If this was the case, you should
think about how the conceptual framework (or theoretical model) that you have presented
could be best examined (or tested) in the field. In understanding the how, you should think
about two factors in particular:

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1. What is the context, location and/or culture that would best lend itself to my
conceptual framework (or theoretical model) if it were to be examined (or tested) in
the field?
2. What research strategy is most appropriate to examine my conceptual framework
(or test my theoretical model)?
If the future research suggestion that you want to make is based on examining your
conceptual framework (or testing your theoretical model) in the field, you need to suggest
the best scenario for doing so.
Examining a conceptual framework (or testing a theoretical model)
in a new context, location and/or culture
More often than not, you will not only have set out a conceptual framework (or theoretical
model), as described in the previous section, but you will also have examined (or tested) it
in the field. When you do this, focus is typically placed on a specific context, location
and/or culture.
If this is the case, the obvious future research suggestion that you could propose would be
to examine your conceptual framework (or test the theoretical model) in a new context,
location and/or culture. For example, perhaps you focused on consumers (rather than
businesses), or Canada (rather than the United Kingdom), or a more individualistic culture
like the United States (rather than a more collectivist culture like China).
When you propose a new context, location and/or culture as your future research
suggestion, make sure you justify the choice that you make. For example, there may be
little value in future studies looking at different cultures if culture is not an important
component underlying your conceptual framework (or theoretical model). If you are not
sure whether a new context, location or culture is more appropriate, or what new context,
location or culture you should select, a review the literature will often help clarify where
you focus should be.
Expanding a conceptual framework (or theoretical model)
Assuming that you have set out a conceptual framework (or theoretical model) and
examined (or tested) it in the field, another series of future research suggestions comes out
of expanding that conceptual framework (or theoretical model).
We talk about a series of future research suggestions because there are so many ways that
you can expand on your conceptual framework (or theoretical model). For example, you
can do this by:

Examining constructs (or variables) that were included in your conceptual

framework (or theoretical model) but were not focused.
Looking at a particular relationship aspect of your conceptual framework (or
theoretical model) further.
Adding new constructs (or variables) to the conceptual framework (or theoretical
model) you set out (if justified by the literature).

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It would be possible to include one or a number of these as future research suggestions.

Again, make sure that any suggestions you make have are justified, either by your findings
or by the literature.
Re-evaluating a conceptual framework (or theoretical model)
With the dissertation process at the undergraduate and master's level lasting between 3 and
9 months, a lot a can happen in between. For example, a specific event (e.g., 9/11, the
economic crisis) or some new theory or evidence that undermines (or questions) the
literature (theory) and assumptions underpinning your conceptual framework (or
theoretical model). Clearly, there is little you can do about this. However, if this happens,
reflecting on it and re-evaluating your conceptual framework (or theoretical model), as
well as your findings, is an obvious source of future research suggestions.

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