© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind. Chapter 3A Selecting a Problem and Reviewing the Research

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind. CHAPTER OBJECTIVES - STUDENTS SHOULD BE ABLE TO: Discuss how to find a topic for a research process. Discuss how to develop an idea into a research question, then a hypothesis. Develop a research hypothesis. Define the three types of sources for a literature review. Discuss how to use general, primary, and secondary sources.

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind. CHAPTER OBJECTIVES, CONTINUED - STUDENTS SHOULD BE ABLE TO: Define terms related to a literature review. Summarize how to use sources such as reviews, indices, and journals to conduct a literature review. Describe how scholarly journals work. Define electronic tools available via the WWW. Discuss how to use a bibliographic database program. Demonstrate how to write a literature review.

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind. CHAPTER OVERVIEW Selecting a Problem Reviewing the Literature Writing the Literature Review

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind. SELECTING A PROBLEM

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind. From idea and literature review to hypothesis. From idea to literature review, with the research hypothesis on the way. Idea→Research Question →Research Hypothesis →Literature Review Idea Literature Review Research QuestionResearch Hypothesis

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind. SOME PITFALLS TO AVOID!! Don’t fall in love with your idea You may need to change your first idea Don’t pick a trivial project Don’t try to do more than is possible Try to do something (somewhat) new

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind. DEFINING YOUR INTERESTS WHERE DO IDEAS COME FROM? Personal experiences or first-hand knowledge Ask your professors Think about what has not yet been asked Last resorts?  Perhaps you can think of a question related to one of the topics listed in the text

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind. FROM IDEA TO RESEARCH QUESTION TO HYPOTHESIS You’ve identified an area of interest Now formulate a research question that:  Is a clearly stated expression of interest and intent, and  That implies a relationship between variables

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind. HYPOTHESES—A QUICK REVIEW Stated in declarative form Posits a relationship between variables Reflects theory or literature Brief and to the point Testable

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind. FOR EXAMPLE Research Interest or Ideas Research Problem or Questions Research Hypothesis Open Classroom and Academic Success What is the effect of open versus traditional classrooms on reading level? Children who are taught reading in open classroom settings will read at a higher grade level than children who are taught reading in a traditional setting. Test-Taking Skills and Grades Will students who know how to “take” a test improve their scores? Students who receive training in the “Here Today, Gone Tomorrow” method will score higher on the SAT than students who do not receive such training. Television and Consumer Behavior How does watching television commercials affect the buying behavior of adolescents? Adolescent boys buy more of the products advertised on television than do adolescent girls. Drug Abuse and Child Abuse Is drug abuse related to child abuse? There is a positive relationship between drug abuse among adults and the physical and psychological abuse they experienced as children. Adult Care How have many adults adjusted to the responsibility of caring for their aged parents? The number of children who are caring for their parents in the child’s own home has increased over the past 10 years.

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind. REVIEWING THE LITERATURE

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind. REVIEWING THE LITERATURE Define your idea in as general terms as possible by using general sources. Search through the secondary sources. Search through the primary sources. Organize your notes. Write your proposal.

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind. DIFFERENT SOURCES OF INFORMATION Information Source What it DoesExample General SourcesProvides an overview of a topic and provides leads to where more information can be found. Daily newspapers, news weeklies, popular periodicals and magazines, trade books, Reader’s Digest Guide to Periodical Literature, New York Times Index Secondary Sources Provides a level of information “once removed” from the original work. Books on specific subjects and reviews of research Primary SourcesThe original reports of the original work or experience. Journals, abstracts and scholarly books, Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC), movies

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind. USING GENERAL SOURCES General sources provide:  A general introduction to topic areas  Some clues to help search for more information

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind. A FEW GENERAL SOURCES The Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature Facts on File The New York Times Index Time Newsweek U.S. News and World Report Lexis/Nexis Expanded Academic Index Google Scholar Listing of Newspapers Government Printing Office The Statistical Abstract of the United States

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind. BE CAUTIOUS USING INTERNET SOURCES!!! Currently, the Internet is unregulated (unlike Secondary and Primary sources) The Internet is good for fun and ideas:  But be cautious!!

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind. USING SECONDARY SOURCES Secondary sources provide:  Scholarly summaries of research  More sources of references

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind. A FEW REVIEWS AND SYNTHESES OF LITERATURE Annual Reviews The National Society for the Study of Education The National Society for the Study of Education The Condition of Education The Encyclopedia of Educational Research Handbook of Child Psychology Encyclopedia of Psychology

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind. USING PRIMARY SOURCES Primary sources provide reports of original research Ulrich’s Periodicals Directory lists thousands of periodicals, including journals Ulrich’s Periodicals Directory

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind. WHY ARE JOURNALS THE BEST SOURCE? Articles are written in a specific, uniform format Peer review:  Experts review the article and make recommendations  Many submitted articles never get published

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind. USING ABSTRACTS An abstract is a one- or two-paragraph summary of a journal article You can use abstracts to help decide whether a particular article will be useful

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind. USING ABSTRACTING SOURCES PsychAbstracts and PsychInfo  Subject area search  Keyword search Other abstracting sources  Current Index to Journals in Education  Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC)  Child Development Abstracts & Bibliography

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind. USING INDEXES Who’s done research in this area? What abstracts are available?  Comprehensive Dissertation Index Comprehensive Dissertation Index Who’s done research in an area?  Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI)  Science Citation Index  Bibliographic Index Bibliographic Index

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind. CRITERIA FOR JUDGING A RESEARCH STUDY Is the review of previous research complete and recent? Are the problem and purpose clearly stated? Are the research hypotheses clearly stated? Is it clear how the study was conducted? Was the sample representative of the population? Are the results and discussion relevant to the statement of problem and purpose? Are the references complete and current? Do you have any criticisms of either the content or style?

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind. USING ELECTRONIC TOOLS IN YOUR RESEARCH ACTIVITIES Searching online Advantages of online searches  Convenient, saves time  Can be thorough  It’s the future

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind. SEARCHING ON THE WEB: GREAT SEARCH ENGINES Search engines help find information on the Internet Some of the more popular search engines:  Google  Yahoo!  Microsoft Live Search  ASK

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind. USING BIBLIOGRAPHIC DATABASE PROGRAMS Database programs are software that help  Enter reference information using a standard format  Change reference format to suit different manuscript requirements  Search references for keywords  Add notes to reference entries  Generate a reference list for the manuscript

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind. INTRODUCTION TO THE INTERNET & WORLD WIDE WEB Research activities on the Internet An Introduction to An Introduction to News Groups Using Mailing Lists or a Listserve

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind. EXPLORING THE WWW A home page is a collection of information  For example, the Library of Congress home page at

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind. WRITING THE LITERATURE REVIEW

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind. WRITING THE LITERATURE REVIEW Read other literature reviews—take advantage of what others have done Create a unified theme—tell a coherent story Organize your background materials Work from an outline—it will help you stay organized Relate different areas that you are working with to each other—tell a coherent story Practice—practice—practice!

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind. HAVE WE MET OUR OBJECTIVES? CAN YOU: Discuss how to find a topic for a research process? Discuss how to develop an idea into a research question, then a hypothesis? Develop a research hypothesis? Define the three types of sources for a literature review? Discuss how to use general, primary and secondary sources?

© 2009 Pearson Prentice Hall, Salkind. HAVE WE MET OUR OBJECTIVES? CAN YOU: Define terms related to a literature review? Summarize how to use sources such as reviews, indices and journals to conduct a literature review? Describe how scholarly journals work? Define electronic tools available via the WWW? Discuss how to use a bibliographic database program? Demonstrate how to write a literature review?