Chapter 1 Reading and Analyzing Research.ppt

How to plan applied research project

1. Planning an
Applied Research
Project
Chapter 1 – Reading and Analyzing
Research

2. Learning Objectives
»Explain what a scholarly article is
»Differentiate between CPR and LOAF elements of a
scholarly article
»Analyze the relative merits of various scholarly
articles
»Use various search engines to find scholarly articles
»Identify an area of research interest
»Describe the various types of interviews

3. Key Terms
»Applications
»Blind reviewed
»Context
»Findings
»Limitations
»Mixed methods
»Opportunities
»Purpose
»Qualitative research
»Quantitative research
»Peer review
»Research design
»Scholarly journal
»White paper

4. Industry Articles and Reports
»Professional associations, private firms,
governmental and nongovernmental agencies, and
trade magazines publish useful research
information
˃American Society for Training and Development
˃American Hotel and Lodging Association
˃National Restaurant Association

5. White Papers
»Written to persuade decision makers
»Contain current research
»Published by companies, associations, non
governmental organizations, and institutions
»Created to provide background and rationale for a
new program, proposal, policy, or other change
»Used, sometimes, for marketing purposes

6. Definition of a Scholarly Journal
Article
»Reviewed blindly by peers who do not know who
wrote the article
»Written for scholarly journals
»Focuses on expanding knowledge
»Provides a contribution to scholarship and
understanding of an area or topic

7. Quantitative vs. Qualitative
Research
Quantitative Qualitative
»Large sample size
with few variables
»Tests hypotheses,
models, and
concepts
»Small sample size
with many variables
»Discovers and
explores what might
be happening

8. Quantitative vs. Qualitative
Research (cont’d)
Quantitative Qualitative
»Contrived or
controlled settings to
limit outside
influences
»Statistical tools to
demonstrate
significance of
findings
»Natural setting that
may contribute to the
information gathered
»Analytical tools to
determine the
patterns and
significance of data

9. Structure of Scholarly Articles
»Abstract
»Introduction
»Review of the Literature (often broken up into
sections)
»Research Method or Research Design
»Findings or Discussion (often divided into sections
reporting on various categories of findings)
»Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research
»Conclusions
»Bibliography

10. Structure of Scholarly Articles
(cont’d)
»Introduction – CPR
C Context or common ground – what is the
situation, the environment, background, the
reason for the problem?
P Problem or Purpose – What did
he/she/they set out to investigate? What is its
significance?
R Response, Results, or Research Design
(it can differ depending on the journal) – what is
the solution or what did they do to figure it out?

11. Structure of Scholarly Articles
(cont’d)
»Introduction – L O A F
L Limitations
O Opportunities for more research or next
steps that a researcher could take
A Applications of the findings
F Findings

12. Evaluating Scholarly Articles
»Top three issues:
˃Research purpose
˃Research design
˃Findings

13. Evaluating Scholarly Articles
(cont’d)
»Elements to Examine
˃Introduction
˃Literature review
˃Theoretical or conceptual framework
˃Data collection methods
˃Data analysis
˃Conclusion

14. Evaluating Scholarly Articles
(cont’d)
»Sections of Articles
˃Introduction
˃Purpose statement
˃Literature review
˃Research design
˃Theoretical or conceptual framework
˃Sample
˃Data collection methods
˃Data analysis
˃Findings
˃Limitations, opportunities and applications

15. Evaluating Scholarly Articles
(cont’d)
»Add for Quantitative
˃All of the previous sections plus:
−Hypotheses
−Research variables

16. Evaluating Scholarly Articles
(cont’d)
»Criteria to Use
˃Clarity
˃Coherence
˃Comprehensiveness
˃Cogency
˃Currency
˃Credibility
˃Creativity
˃Contribution

17. Review of the Class Session
»Anything unclear?
»One thing that I learned from this class is …