FIGURE 2.

Flow of Ideas in a “Statement of the Problem” Section

Flow of Ideas

Topic Research Justification Deficiencies in Relating the

Problem for the Evidence Discussion to
Research Audiences
Problem

Subject area A concern or issue, Evidence from Evidence that is Audiences that will
a “problem” the literature missing profit from the study
or practical
experience
Example: Example: Example:
Example: Example:
Need for better We need to evaluate Parents can better
Parents’ role in Past literature
access for students how parents can access their role
promoting has
of color promote access
access to college documented Counselors can better
for poor attendance involve parents
underrepresente
Colleges can better
d students
work with parents

TABLE 9.2
Quantitative Criteria for Evaluating Quantitative Research

Research Problem:
 Is it stated?
 Is it clear?
 Is it complete and accurate?
 Does it offer theoretical and practical value?
The Literature Review:
 Is it clear, relevant, recent, based on studies reporting numbers?
 Are the citations and references accurate?
Hypotheses and Variables:
 What are the hypotheses and what types are they?
 Does the story indicate the independent, dependent, intervening moderator, and control
variables?
 Were operational definitions given for the variables?
 Were extraneous effects controlled in the study so that bias did not have an effect on the
participants, their experiences, or the generalization of the results?
 Were certain variables manipulated?
Design:
 Was the study design identified?
 Were the scores from the measures valid and reliable?
 Were the statistics the right choice?
Findings and Discussion:
 Did the findings fit the problem?
 How significant and important were the findings?
Did the discussion section report conclusions and were they consistent with the study’s
results?
 Did the discussion section offer reasonable interpretations of why results did and did not
match expectations?
 Did the discussion section suggest reasonable implications about what readers should do
with the results?

USEFUL INFORMATION FOR PRODUCERS OF RESEARCH

 Write in a way that meets the needs of your audiences.
 Design and write your research report following the appropriate structure for the type
of report advanced in this chapter.
 Write quantitative research to include an introduction, a review of the literature, a
method, results, and discussion.
 Write qualitative research using either a scientific or storytelling structure. Also
consider the other structural variations presented in this chapter.
 When you design a proposal for a doctoral dissertation or thesis, consider that the
structure will vary depending on whether the proposal is for quantitative or qualitative
research.
 If you plan a paper for a scholarly conference, follow the guidelines provided by the
professional association sponsoring the conference.
 Write your report sensitively, following the guidelines for reducing bias advanced by
the APA (2010)
 To make your research scholarly and easy to read, write your report using research
words, advancing a consistent standpoint, and employing consistent style for
referencing and headings.
 Write your report ethically and share it with participants in your study.
 Interrelate sections of a study. Consider how words can provide linking devices for all
parts of a study.
 After writing your project, evaluate it using the standards for quantitative and
qualitative research advanced in this chapter.