1. chapter 20 Completing the Research Process

2. Chapter Outline Research proposal Developing a good introduction Describing the method The proposal process Preparing and presenting qualitative research proposals Writing proposals for granting agencies (continued)

3. Chapter Outline (continued) Submitting internal proposals Completing your thesis or dissertation Results and discussion How to handle multiple experiments in single report How to use tables and figures

4. Contents of the Proposal Introduction Review of literature Statement of problem

5. Contents of the Proposal Method Participants Instruments and measurements Procedures Design and analysis Figures and tables References

6. The Proposal Process Order of events Proposal and your advisor Proposal to committee Proposal meeting What you do What your committee will do The outcome

7. Other Types of Proposals Granting agencies Format Timelines Review process Internal proposals

8. How to Write the Results Section This is what you found, your unique contribution to knowledge. Organization –By hypotheses –Validating outcomes first –Important characteristics –Most important first –Incorporating tables and figures –Reporting statistics

9. What to Include in the Discussion Section Rules –Discuss results, not what you wish they were. –Relate results to hypotheses. –Relate results to introduction and literature. –Relate results to theory. –Recommend applications. –Summarize and state conclusions.

10. Five Commandments for Writing the Discussion 1.Thou shalt not say “more research is needed.” 2.Thou shalt not resort to methodological cop- outs. 3.Thou shalt not try to solve humanity’s problems. 4.Thou shalt not swallow a thesaurus. 5.Thou shalt not become Calvin (from Calvin and Hobbes): “I used to hate writing assignments, but now I enjoy them. I realized that the purpose of writing is to inflate weak ideas, obscure poor reasoning, and inhibit clarity.”

11. How to Handle Multiple Experiments Considerations –How connected the experiments are –Whether you plan to publish them; if so, how Organization –Common introduction and method –Short introduction, additional methods, results, and discussion for each –Overall discussion

12. Tables and Figures Do you need a table or figure? What do tables and figures do? –Basic: store data –Intermediate: show trends –Advanced: deep structure (e.g., trends by groups)

13. Preparing Tables Getting information from a table is like extracting sunlight from a cucumber (Farquhar & Farquhar, 1891) Basic rules –Like characteristics should read vertically. –Heading should be clear. –Reader should understand without referring to the text.

14. Improving Tables Order columns and rows so they make sense (e.g., seldom alphabetically). Round off multiple decimal places (only to the level measured). Use summary rows and columns. Do not duplicate the text.

15. Preparing Figures Do not duplicate the text or tables. Consider which type of figure to use. Should shows trends. Do not make figures visually distracting. Make figures easy to understand.