Chapter 1

1.
Why do you need to read research reports?
To add to your professional knowledge
To inform your position in policy debates
To improve your practice
Research may offer new programs or strategies to try
Research may present new ideas to consider
Research can help you learn about and evaluate alternative approaches
The reason that researchers conduct and report research studies is to add to the overall
knowledge base that exists about a topic. In fact, the primary way that new knowledge is
gained about important issues is by scholars conducting research. When researchers create a
strong understanding from many research studies, this understanding also can provide a strong
knowledge base for practitioners. Therefore, you need to read research in order to take
advantage of the new knowledge that is generated for your own knowledge base, position in
policy debates, and practices.

2. The value of some research increases when the results can apply broadly to many people
and places rather than to only the one setting where the initial research occurred. Results of
past studies need to be replicated with new participants or settings especially for quantitative
experiments. Such replications can determine whether positive effects for a treatment are
achieved more than once. In a quantitative study about a program to promote an ethical
climate, for example, past research about a program conducted at a private school in an urban
setting can be tested (or replicated) at other sites, such as a rural high school or an all-boys’
school. Research at such sites would be new to the topic and the information from their study
will provide new knowledge

3. Different types of research practices

Formal research involves collection and analysis of data
• Data are pieces of information researchers systematically gather to answer a
question of interest
– numbers, words, facts, attitudes, actions, etc.

• Analysis involves making sense of the data

Informal research is more like day-to-day problem solving
4. What is the front matter?
Title
May contain information about topic, participants, setting, orapproach
Authors
Abstract of the study
Short summary of the research process
What is the back matter?
Includes a list of references cited within the studyreport
Includes extra supporting materials
End notes
Appendices
Biographical information about the authors

CHAPTER 2
1. Nature of quantitive research studies
Quantitative research studies emphasize numeric data and statistical analyses to
explain variables.
• Ask specific, narrow questions
• Explain different variables or factors (specific concepts)
• Collect quantifiable data from participants
• Analyze these numbers using statistics and graphs (mathematical procedures)
• Conduct the inquiry in an unbiased, objective manner

2. What are qualitative research studies.

Qualitative research studies emphasize text data and thematic analyses to explore a
phenomenon
• Ask broad, general questions
• Explore individuals’ perspectives of a single concept (often called a
phenomenon)
• Collect data consisting largely of words (or text) from participants
• Describe and analyze these words for themes
• Conduct the inquiry in a subjective and reflexive manner
 3. Key difference in selecting and collecting data between quantitative and
qualitative.
Quantitative :
• Large number of individuals, sites, or time points
• Instruments with preset questions and responses
• Gathering quantifiable (numeric) data
Qualitative :

• Small number of individuals or sites

• General, emerging questions to permit the participant to generate responses

• Gathering word (text) or image (picture) data

4. Key differences in analyzing data and reporting results
Quantitative :
• Statistical and graphical analysis procedures
• Compare groups, relate variables, and describe trends
Qualitative :
• Text and image analysis procedures
• Develop description and themes

5. Key difference in drawing conclusion

Quantitative :
• Comparisons of results with prior predictions and past studies
Qualitative :
• Statements about the larger meaning of the findings and personal reflections
about the findings

CHAPTER 3
1) PURPOSE of the problem statement:
a. Generate interest in the study
b. Articulate the importance of the study
c. Argue for the need of the study
d. Suggest why the study has significance
e. Help readers decide if the study is of interest to them

2) IDENTIFYING problem statement:

a. Found in INTRODUCTION SECTION
b. HEADINGS where it CAN APPEAR: (Introduction, Statement of the Problem,
The Research Problem, or have no heading)

3) TOPIC vs PROBLEM vs PURPOSE:

a. TOPIC is general, showing what is the study about
 b. PROBLEM falls under the general topic, addressing the issue, concern, or
controversy
c. PURPOSE follows from the problem, SPECIFIC, what author intends to do

4) WHY RESEARCHERS STUDY RESEARCH PROBLEMS?

a. To fill a gap in the existing literature

b. To replicate past results by examining different participants/sites
c. To extend past results
d. To examine the problem more thoroughly
e. To learn from people whose voices have not been heard
f. To improve current practices

5) Research problems in QUANTITATIVE vs QUALITATIVE study

a. QUANTITATIVE (The effect of a treatment, the extent that groups differ, the
trends in a large group)
b. QUALITATIVE (How a process unfolds, the meaning of a phenomenon, the
complexity of a case, the stories of individuals’ lives)
6) ELEMENTS of problem statement
a. Topic
b. Research problem
c. Evidence for the importance of the problem
d. Knowledge about the problem that is missing
e. Audiences that may benefit from the new knowledge
f.
7) HOW TO FIND TOPIC
a. It’s in the FIRST SENTENCES of introduction
b. BROAD SUBJECT matter of study
c. Answering the question “What is the study about”
d. Generating interest including: Statistical data, Provocative question, Clear
need for research, Powerful quote, Key definition

8) HOW TO FIND PROBLEM

a. In the first or second paragraph of an article
b. STRONG SENSE of IMPORTANCE
c. An issue, controversy or problem that needs to be solved (A major concern,
Affects the lives of many individuals, has serious consequences, A current
issue for practitioners, A problem about what is known about a topic,
Conflicting evidence in the literature)

9) Recognizing JUSTIFICATION for the PROBLEM

a. Scholarly evidence previously reported in the literature
b. Justification based on the impact on professional settings*
c. Personal experiences which support the importance
 10) Recognizing KNOWLEDGE about THE PROBLEM that is MISSING
a. A gap/deficiency in knowledge that needs to be filled
b. Past results which need to be replicated
c. Previous results which need to be extended
d. The voices of marginalized people need to be heard
e. Practice needs to be improved

11) Identifying the AUDIENCES that will BENEFIT from the study
a. Usually near the end of the Introduction section
b. Mentions individuals and/or groups who will potentially benefit
c. May mention how the specific audiences will be able to use the new
knowledge

12) EVALUATION of PROBLEM STATEMENT

CHAPTER 5
RESEARCH QUESTIONS ARE:
• Statements used to narrow the purpose statement to specific
questions
• Look for passages in which authors identify the questions they are
addressing
• Frequently stated as questions
• Sometimes phrased as statements or referred to as objectives
• Study may include multiple research questions

WHAT ARE HYPOTESIS?

• Predictions about the relationship among variables
 • Based on prior research
• A testable statement

HOW TO IDENTIFY PURPOSE STATEMENT:

• At the end of the Introduction section
• Immediately following the statement of the problem
• At the end of the literature review

How do you identify variables in quantitative research?

• Variables are the measurement of constructs

• Constructs are complex ideas
• Variables are indicators of characteristics and attributes
• Variables can be measured
• The scores measured for a variable are expected to vary (hence the
name variable)

A variable is an indicator of a characteristic or attribute of individuals or organizations that researchers measure

and that varies among the individuals or organizations studied.

The scores measured for a variable vary for the participants in the study.
When researchers measure variables, they expect the scores to vary (hence the name variable )—that is, they can
assign different scores to different participants in the study. For example, gender would be a variable in a study
that includes both girls (gender = 1) and boys (gender = 2). However, if a study only included girls, then gender
would not be a variable because the participants’ gender would not vary in the study.
When researchers measure their variables, they assign the scores in two ways: in categories and along a
continuum. Categorical variables are a type of variable that occurs when researchers measure the variable by
grouping the scores into a limited number of groups (or categories). Researchers may also refer to their
categorical variables as nominal variables (variables measured in categories with names) or ordinal variables
(variables measured in categories that are ranked in order).

KEY DECISIONS:
The researchers make several key decisions about
the study, including:
■ The study’s focus— the specific topic(s) of interest in the study
■ The overall intent— what the researchers want to learn about the specific topic
■ The framework— the theory or conceptual framework that guides the researchers’
perspectives
■ The participants— the people or organizations to be examined in the study
■ The setting— where the study takes place