RESEARCH METHODS:

AN INTRODUCTION
Prepared by:
Ian Boots B. Bautista, M.A. Ed.
NATURE OF TOPICS
Questions are open-ended; you can have many possible
right answers (as well as many possible wrong answers!)
Appear to be common sense issues; tempting to rely on
personal (anecdotal) experience
Large volumes of material available about these different
issues
Findings are often conflicting or unclear; also tempting to
look for simple, clear-cut answers
Answers are work-in-progress; many are ongoing debates
DOING WELL IN RESEARCH
Adapted from Cynthia Hardy (2005), University of Melbourne.

Evidence of research
Contents
Organization and structure
Writing style
Evidence of Research
Add value to your research questions: take a trip to the
library, use databases such as Proquest, get on the web
and see what other information is out there and use it.
Collect additional information by visiting the library, or
draw from a variety of sources
Consider multiple sources of additional information.
Incorporated this information into your research.
 Sources should be appropriate in terms of age i.e. some
old pieces are acceptable for certain reasons (they
might be the landmark papers for a theory) but others
(i.e. technology trends and patterns) tend to get outdated
quickly.
Choose robust sources of data (e.g. articles from
academic journals or professional case studies that
clearly show that data was gathered and analysed
methodically) DO NOT draw from anecdotal data from a
purely descriptive source, that you pulled out from a quick
Internet search
 Literature should be relevant and referenced in relation to
the points being made. References should be cited
correctly in the text of the assignment and in a references
section at the end.
Use quotes in a selective and judicious manner. DO NOT
quote excessively (perhaps to avoid the effort of
paraphrasing?)
Contents
Answer the research questions. What is the main point
that are you are trying to make in your research?
Draw on different theories, compare them, critique them.
DO NOT simply restate what other people have said.
Make the points covered in logical order. Relate them to
one another.
 Clearly state the main point of each individual section.
Present multiple ideas and arguments.
Make your arguments strong. Present them in a careful
and reasoned analysis. Give reasons and evidence in
support of the arguments you are making.
 Distinguish between fact and opinion, between an
unsubstantiated statement versus one which is supported
by evidence.
Explain why or how the phenomenon. Read your paper
again and if it doesnt answer why or how questions, you
probably havent done enough analysis. Students often
summarize and describe material instead of analysing it.
Add value. DO NOT be limited to paraphrasing and
piecing bits and pieces together written by others! Use
higher level skills to build on what others are saying. E.g.
are you critiquing, evaluating, comparing, contrasting,
integrating, even coming up with your own insights?
Organization and Structure
Carefully plan what the different sections of the research
would be.
Discussion should be single threaded. Make it easy for
the reader to follow your line of thought.
Use headings as a way of signposting. Different sections
and sub-sections should be in logical order.
 Use transitions between sections. DO NOT jump from one
idea to another.
If you are citing a long list of arguments or examples,
make sure that there is an underlying logic as to how that
list came about, and how these items are arranged.
Writing Style
Research should be written clearly. ? Leave it for a couple
of days and then re-read it does it still make sense?
Language should be clear. (your reader does not have to
ask what do you mean) and appropriate (no slang,
informal contractions).
Proofread your work. Check for spelling, grammatical and
formatting errors.
Examine this statement!
The Internet is a powerful phenomenon that has taken
the world by storm. It has changed, and will continue to
change the lives of people.
Lets look at one aspect: taken the world by storm
Digital Divide
Out of the one billion people who do have access, 98%
come from developed countries.
Ethnic groups: Americans and Asian Americans are 2x
more likely to have access than African Americans.
Income: if you have an annual income of $75,000, you are
10x more like to have access than those $15,000 or less.
Age groups: 85% of those between 16 and 24 have
access; only 13% of those 55 to 74 have access
Education: 77% of college or university graduates have
access. If high school, only 25%
CRITERIA FOR ASSESSMENT
A research proposal that is build on:
Quality of research (includes, but is not limited to, material used in
class)
Ability to add value
Must go beyond paraphrasing
Summarize, compare, contrast, evaluate, apply, integrate
Build a good argument

Organization and flow

Writing style
QUALITY OF
RESEARCH
CHOOSING SOURCES
Authorship (Who wrote the piece? Credentials? Reasons
to be biased?)
Publishing organization (Which organization is
publishing? Is it an authority in the area? Is it selling
something?)
Point of view or bias (Does the author or organization
have an agenda political, commercial, environmental,
even scientific?)
Knowledge of the literature (Does it bring in relevant
writings about the field, or is it largely unsupported?)
 Accuracy and reliability (Are the claims and findings
verifiable because the method of data gathering and
analysis are disclosed?)
Currency (sometimes relevant, sometimes not)
How Shakespeares plays were received
Updates on stem cell research

Source: Reid, 2003. The Prentice Hall Guide for College Writers.
Good sources are:
Written by credible author
Published in a publication that is selective (refereed or
screened) and relatively independent
No blatant bias
Knowledge of the field is demonstrated
Accuracy and reliability can be verified
Methods for data gathering and analysis are disclosed
Piece should be recent, if area is fast changing
RESEARCH: WHAT MAKES JOURNALS
GOOD
Review literature
Frame a specific problem
Data gathering
Data analysis
Usually reviewed or refereed
Did not use arbitrary Internet searches
Risky Sources
Neither written nor reviewed by an expert.
Published in media whose quality and credibility are
debatable.
Spouts opinion, rather than a systematically formulated
response to a problem.
Provides findings, but based on thin or sloppy data
Old and outdated
E.g. Wikipedia, Google Search
What kind of questions will you be dealing
with?
Questions are open-ended and complex.
You will be asked to answer with an ARGUMENT
What kind of dress code should the Mapa implement?
What kind of IT system does Mapa need during enrollment
period?
How should Mapa respond to the issue of educational standard
brought about by Quarterm system?
ARGUING WELL
Analysis: good arguments
What is the impact of TV violence on the youth?
Building an argument
TV violence can have harmful psychological effects on
children.
Building an argument
TV violence can have harmful psychological effects on
children, because those exposed to large amounts of it
tend to adopt the values of what they see.
Building an argument
TV violence can have harmful psychological effects on
children, for two reasons: first, those exposed to large
amounts of it tend to adopt the values of what they see.
Second, their constant exposure to violent images makes
them unable to distinguish fantasy from reality.
Building an argument
TV violence can have harmful psychological effects on
children, for two reasons. First, those exposed to large
amounts of it tend to adopt the values of what they see.
Second, their constant exposure to violent images makes
them unable to distinguish fantasy from reality. Smith
(1997) found that children ages 5-9 who watched more
than three hours of violent television a day were 25%
more likely to say that most of what they saw on television
was really happening.
Building an argument
TV violence can have harmful psychological effects on
children, for two reasons. First, those exposed to large
amounts of it tend to adopt the values of what they see.
Jones (2001) studied primarily school children and found
that those exposed to television daily tend to copy the
value systems of their program heroes. Second, their
constant exposure to violent images makes them unable
to distinguish fantasy from reality. Smith (1997) found that
children ages 5-9 who watched more than three hours of
violent television a day were 25% more likely to say that
most of what they saw on television was really
happening.
A GOOD ARGUMENT
Make a CLAIM
Back up the claim with REASONS
Support the reasons with EVIDENCE
Building an argument
TV violence can have harmful psychological effects on
children [CLAIM].
Building a good argument
Claim
The answer to a question or the response to an issue
May be true or false, and therefore needs support
Cannot take a claim at face value
In its current state, it is simply an unsubstantiated opinion

Source: Booth, Colomb and Williams (2003), The Craft of Research

Building a good argument
TV violence can have harmful psychological effects on
children [CLAIM], because those exposed to large
amounts of it tend to adopt the values of what they see
[REASON 1].
BUILDING A GOOD ARGUMENT
Reasons
A statement supporting a claim
Often can be connected by the word because
You can stop at reasons if reasons are common knowledge or self
evident propositions
These are EXTREMELY RARE in a subject like this. I doubt that
you can use them
Building a good argument
Reasons
Example 1: Prince William is heir to the throne because
____________________________________________.
Example 2: Beach resorts in the Philippines are mostly costly in
March to May, because
____________________________________________.
Building a good argument
Reasons backed by common knowledge
Example 1: Prince Williams is heir to the throne because he is the
son of Prince Charles, who in turn is the son of the reigning
monarch, Queen Elizabeth II.
Example 2: Beach resorts in the Philippines are most costly in
March to May, because these are the summer months in the
Philippines.
What about this:
Universities and colleges in developing countries should be fully
wired because everyone knows that IT is beneficial for educational
development.
Building a good argument
TV violence can have harmful psychological effects on
children [CLAIM], for two reasons. First, those exposed to
large amounts of it tend to adopt the values of what they
see [REASON 1]. Second, their constant exposure to
violent images makes them unable to distinguish fantasy
from reality [REASON 2].
Building a good argument
Most of the time, reasons require EVIDENCE
Something that we or our readers can hear, see, smell, taste,
touch, or accept as fact
Can be verified by empirical data
E.g. The highest temperature recorded as of yesterday was 34
degrees celsius
Writers should be able to answer the question where can I go to
see your evidence
Building a good argument
TV violence can have harmful psychological effects on
children [CLAIM], for two reasons. First, those expose to
large amounts of it tend to adopt the values of what they
see [REASON 1]. Jones (2001) studies primary school
children and found that those exposed to television daily
tend to copy the value systems of their program heroes
[EVIDENCE FOR REASON 1]. Second, their constant
exposure to violent images makes them unable to
distinguish fantasy from reality [REASON 2]. Smith (1997)
found that children ages 5-9 who watched more than
three hours of violent television a day were 25% more
likely to say that most of what they saw on television was
really happening. [EVIDENCE FOR REASON 2]
Multiple sides to an argument
Consider multiple and conflicting viewpoints in your
argument
Open your essay with a restatement of opposing points of
view
When appropriate, acknowledge the validity of some of
the arguments raised
Point out areas of common ground
Present evidence for your position
Conflicting viewpoints
There is also a body of work that suggest that TV does
not make children violent. This view largely suggests that
children who tend to watch greater amounts of violent
entertainment are already born with violent values
(Johnson, 1998; Caldwell, 2002). The theory of genetic
predisposition appears logical; however, such conclusions
have since then discredited by findings in the study of
Jones (2004), who found that children with no
predisposition to violence were just as attracted to violent
entertainment as those with a history of violence.
CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD
RESEARCH
CONTENT IN A GOOD
PAPER
Claims are supported by
reasons and evidence
There are links to important
theories and concepts
Real life examples are
given when necessary
High level skills (analyse,
critique, compare)
New and novel insights are
introduced
CONTENT IN A BAD PAPER
Biased!
Claims are largely
unsupported
No theoretical or conceptual
links
Examples are anecdotal,
spotty or weak
Quoting, paraphrasing,
plagiarizing
No new insights are
introduced
Characteristics of a good paper
RESEARCH IN A GOOD
PAPER
Multiple sources
Good sources
Appropriate time frame
Woven together in a narrative RESEARCH IN A BAD
PAPER
Few sources
Questionable sources
Extremely old and
outdated
Cut, pasted, and not
woven together
Characteristics of a good paper
ORGANIZATION/STRUCTURE
OF A GOOD PAPER
Logical, easy to follow
Seamless transitions between
sections
Appropriate signposting
+/- 10% of prescribed length
ORGANIZATION/STRUCTURE
OF A BAD PAPER
Arbitrary sub-topics
No transitions
No signposting
Too long or too short
CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD
PAPER
WRITING STYLE OF A
GOOD PAPER
Language is clear and
appropriate
No grammatical errors
No spelling errors WRITING STYLE OF A BAD
PAPER
No formatting errors
Inappropriate language
(slang, rhetorical questions,
contractions)
Errors in grammar, spelling,
format
REMEMBER! A good argument
Make a CLAIM
Back up the claim with REASONS
Support the reasons with EVIDENCE