ALMOND INSTITUTE

QCF Level 7: BTEC Professional

Tutor: Phidelis Ebledzi

0240999639/0267300177
lifeide76@gmail.com
July, 2014

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 THE RESEARCH
PROBLEM

What is a Research questions

research often investigate
problem? relationships

Research
questions Characteristics of good
research questions

Source: Fraenkel & Wallen, 2003)

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 Research problem is the focus of a research investigation.

A problem that someone would like to research.

A problem can be anything the researcher finds unsatisfactory or

unsettling , a difficulty of some sort, a state of affairs, conditions
that is not working well for which the research seek answers.
Chap 3 - Mr. OA.docx

The process of initiating a research consist of three elements:

The selection of the topic;
The selection of the methodology; and the theoretical and
the methodological preparation of the research topic
(Sarantakos,1993).

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 Choosing a research question is methodological necessity.

Research questions are interrogative statements or questions that

the researcher seeks to answer

Formulating a research question represents facets of an empirical domain

that the researcher wants to explore (Miles &Huberman,1984)

Many research problems are stated as research questions and serve as the
focus of the researchers investigation. E.g.
Does client-centred therapy produce more satisfaction in clients
than traditional therapy? (traditional experimental research).
What factors account for payroll fraud and ghost names in the
Ghana Health Service? (case study).
How can we predict which students might have trouble
learning certain kinds of subject matter? (correlation research)
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Is God good?
How do parents feel about the school counselling programme?
How can Vice chancellor improve faculty morale?

Should I put my girl-child in pre-school?

Do children enrolled in pre-school develop better than children not
enrolled?
What is the meaning of life?
Should philosophy be included in the Senior High School curriculum
in Ghana?
Do people think philosophy should be included in the High School
curriculum in Ghana? 23/10/2017 5
 Who chooses the research topic and research question?
The following factors influence the decision of the researcher to
choose a certain research question:

Financial restrictions.

Methodology The theoretical paradigm that the researcher

supports. Each methodology is appropriate for studying certain
issues but some are more particularly suitable.

Politics and personality beliefs and standards to avoid topics

that are against their ideology and values. Personal preferences
and academic specialties
.
The need for data.
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 Good research questions possess FOUR essential characteristics.

The question is feasible can be instigate with available resources, e.

g. How would giving each student his/her own lap top computer to use for a
semester affect achievement?

Clear and unambiguous people can easily agree on what the key
words in the question mean.

Significant worth investigating because it contribute important

knowledge about the human condition.

Ethical will not cause physical or psychological harm or damage to

human beings, or to the natural or social environment of which they
are part
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Research Questions often Investigate Relationships
The term relationship in research implies a connection or association
between two or more characteristics or qualities, e. g.
Motivation and learning;
Age and attractiveness;
Speed and weight
Vice chancellors administrative policies and staff morale.
NOTE: Research question often but NOT always suggest a
relationship to be investigated.

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 Writing the Literature Review
What is Literature Review?

A literature review is a survey and discussion of the literature in a given

area of study. It is a concise overview of what has been studied, argued, and
established about a topic.
NOTE: it did not say about a course!

The literature review is a critical look at the existing research that is

significant to the work that you are carrying out

The selection of available documents (both published and unpublished)

on the topic, which contain information, ideas, data and evidence. This
selection is written from a particular standpoint to fulfill certain aims or
express certain views on the nature of the topic and how it is to be
investigated, and the effective evaluation of these documents in relation to
the research being proposed (Hart 1998).
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 Why do a Literature Review?
LR is written to highlight specific arguments and ideas in a field of
study. LR is used to highlight what has been studied in the field, and
also where the weaknesses, gaps, or areas needing further study are.
The review should therefore demonstrate to the reader why the
writers research is useful, necessary, important, and valid. LR also
fine tunes the idea and the methodology.

Define your research problem: find a gap, ask a question,

continue previous research, explore counter-claims read every
source relevant to your research problem.
offer an overview of significant literature published on a topic
A LR is a necessity.
Without this step, you will not know if your problem has been
solved or what related research is already underway

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Literature Review helps you to:

Expands your knowledge about the topic

Improves Information Seeking skills

Improves Critical Thinking skills

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 An overview of the subject, issue or theory under consideration,
along with the objectives of the literature review

Division of works under review into categories (e.g. those in support

of a particular position, those against, and those offering
alternative theses entirely)

Explanation of how each work is similar to and how it varies from

the others.

Conclusions as to which pieces are best considered in their argument,

are most convincing of their opinions, and make the greatest
contribution to the understanding and development of their area
of research.

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When in the research process do you do LR?
The literature review is a continuing process from early background
reading right up to just before you submit

A good place to start is to look at other theses, but make sure that
you are looking at a good example of a thesis (go to dissertation.com
to get one). When examining these pieces of work, try to identify the
structure and see how they have linked their ideas together

Criteria for selection material:

The relevance to the topic/research question
Credibility, thus authority.
Materials should be current/up-to-date.
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When performing the review:

Start searching professional journals.

Begin with the most recent articles you can find.

Keep track of relevant articles in a bibliography.

Dont be discouraged if work on the topic is already

underway.

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 Critical Analysis
Credibility:
What are the author's credentials? Are the author's arguments supported by
evidence (e.g. primary historical material, case studies, narratives,
statistics, recent scientific findings)?

Objectivity:
Is the author's perspective even-handed or prejudicial? Is contrary data
considered or is certain pertinent information ignored to prove the author's
point? Persuasiveness:
Which of the author's theses are most/least convincing?

Persuasiveness:
Which of the author's theses are most/least convincing?
Value:
Are the author's arguments and conclusions convincing? Does the work
ultimately contribute in any significant way to an understanding of the
subject?
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 Sources of Resources for LR
Look for current books

Use Research Databases to find articles, dissertations,

conference proceedings, etc.

Search the World Wide Web for government sites,

publishers, technical reports, etc.

Stay informed, get Alerts

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 ORGANISING THE LR

CHRONOLOGICAL:
In a chronological review, you will group and discuss your sources
based on time of appearance in the literature. This method is
useful for papers focusing on research methodology and other
writing where time becomes an important element. For example, a
literature review on theories, concept evolution, technological
evolutions, etc.

THEMATIC:
In a thematic review, sources are grouped and discussed in terms of
topics they cover. This method is often a stronger one
organizationally. By grouping themes or topics of research
together, you will be able to demonstrate the types of topics that
are important to your research. For example, if your work deals
with challenges, then each challenge in the literature may be
discussed and evaluated in more detail as a theme.
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 Where is your voice in this?

Your voce is your analytical evaluation of the Literature. Your ability

to critique, examine, comment, on the work of others and how they tie

in to yours is your voice

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 CONCLUSION

summarize the literature maintaining the focus presented in

the introduction.

evaluate the current "state of the art", pointing out gaps in the

literature, inconsistencies and issues that are important

for future study.

conclude by giving some insight into the relationship between

your topic and a larger area of study.

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 Literature Review Pitfalls
Be very careful to check your sources when doing your
literature review.

Many trade magazines are not peer reviewed.

Professional conferences and journals often have each article

reviewed by multiple people before it is even recommended for
publication.

The IEEE and other digital libraries are good places to start
looking for legitimate research.

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 Literature Review Pitfalls
The Internet can be a good source of information. It is also

full of pseudo-science and poor research.

Make sure you verify the claims of any documentation that

has not been peer reviewed by other professionals in the

computing industry

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 SUGGESTED BOOKS

Sarantakos, S. (1993). Social research. Sydney: Macmillan Education Australia

Pty. Ltd.

Saunders, M. N. K., Lewis, P. & Thornhill, A. (1997). Research methods for

business students. London: Financial Times-Pitman Publishing.

Fraenkel, J. R. & Wallen, N. E. (2003). How to design and evaluate

research in education (5th edn.). New York: McGraw-Hill Company.

Berg, B. L. (2001). Qualitative research methods for the social sciences (4th
Ed.). Pearson Education Company. Boston, USA.
Babbie, E. (1998). The Practice of social research (8th ed.). Belmont, CA:
Wadsworth Publishing 23/10/2017 23
 REFERENCING

Know which citation style you are meant to follow:

Harvard

American Psychological Association (APA)

Modern Language Association (MLA)

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PLAGIARISM!

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SAMPLE LR

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Thank you

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