PURPOSE OF REVIEWING THE LITERATURE To study the history of the problem To delimit the research problem To justify selection of the problem To become familiar with the theoretical background of the problem To seek new approaches To help in selection of procedures To assess the merits of previous studies To avoid unintended duplication

ORGANIZING THE RELATED LITERATURE Begin with the most recent studies in the field and then work backward through earlier volumes Read the abstract or summary sections of a report first to determine whether it is relevant to your questions Before taking notes, skim the report quickly to find those sections that are related to your question Make notes directly on index cards, as they are easier to sort and organize than sheets of paper

Cont. Write out a complete bibliographic reference for each work To facilitate sorting and organizing, do not put more than one reference on each card Be sure to indicate which parts of the notes are direct quotations from the author and which are one’s own paraphrases For on-line database search, keep the search materials in file

Common Mistakes Made In Reviewing Research Literature Carries out a hurried review of the literature to get started on the research project Relies too heavily upon secondary sources Concentrates on research findings when reading research articles, overlooks valuable information on method and measures

Fails to define the topic limits of the review of literature Copies bibliographic data incorrectly, unable to locate the references needed Copies too much material on to note cards or computer files. Cannot separate important from unimportant information Fail to use a number of relevant descriptors when conducting a computer search

HYPOTHESIS A tentative proposition or statement of the researcher’s expectations relative to a relationship between variables within the problem Presented only as a suggested solution to a problem or as an explanation of a phenomenon Tested in a research Most important when causal relationships between variables are investigated

PURPOSE OF HYPOTHESIS Provides a tentative explanation of phenomena and facilitates the extension of knowledge in an area Provides the investigator with a relational statement that is testable in a research Provides direction to the research in terms of data needed and analysis to be conducted.

Provides a framework for reporting the conclusions of the study. -A hypotheses should be consistent with the existing body of knowledge (should not contradict previously well-established theories and laws) Hypotheses should be stated as simply and concisely as possible

TYPES OF HYPOTHESES Research hypotheses Hypotheses developed from observation, the related literature, and/ or a theory. May be stated in a directional or non directional form. Null Hypotheses Where statistical tests are to be performed, the research hypotheses must be translated into the null hypotheses.

EXAMPLES OF HYPOTHESES There is a positive relationship between school organizational climate and teachers job satisfaction. There is a significant difference in job satisfaction of teachers in fully residential and non residential schools.