Transcript Research Basics

Research 101
Developing a plan, primary
research, and secondary
research
Narrow Your Topic
• A focused topic will allow you
greater depth of exploration
• BE SPECIFIC
Too Broad: How can we fix the
parking problem?
Plan Ahead
• Good research considers:
– Audience
• Who are your readers?
• Writers?
– Purpose
• Why are you conducting this research?
– Subject
• What do you already know?
• What do you need to know?
Construct a timeline
• Time is (often) money
• Know your deadlines
• Know your research/writing habits
• Anticipate problems
How to Plan a Research
Strategy
• Work out a schedule and budget
• Visualize the deliverable
• Determine what information will need to be a
part of the deliverable
• Determine what information you will need to
acquire
• Make a list of questions that you need to
answer
• Conduct secondary research
• Conduct primary research
• Evaluate your information
• Do more research
From Markel, M. (2004). Technical Communication. 7th ed. New York: Bedford/St. Martins, pp. 126-127.
Project planning is doubly
important when you have
set deadlines and multiple
associates/collaborators.
Determine your primary
and secondary research
needs early on.
Primary Research
• Research specific and unique to
your study
– Interviews
– Surveys
– Ethnographies
– Case Studies
Secondary Research
• The Literature Review aspect of the
study
• Shows the importance/need for
your research
• Ties your study in to what others
have done
Conducting a Literature
Review
1. Identify key words useful in
locating materials
2. Search library holdings, ERIC,
PsychINFO, Sociofile, EBSCO,
FirstSearch, etc.
– Consider using a specific database,
such as JSTOR, where appropriate
Adapted from Creswell, J.W. (2003). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods
approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 34-35.
3. Choose a set of articles as your
preliminary reading
4. While reading the articles, see who
THEY cite/refer to as important
5. “Map” how these articles relate to each
other and your subject
6. Draft summaries and precise
references
7. Assemble the literature review
Adapted from Creswell, J.W. (2003). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods
approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 34-35.
A note on Internet
Credibility:
• Pay attention to the URL suffix
– Sites that end with ".edu", ".gov", and ".org"
are often associated with education,
government, or organizations
– Avoid using sites that come from public
Internet servers (Angelfire, Geocites, etc.)
because the sites are not reviewed
– Public sites may be credible, but, as with all
sites, you need to look for other credible,
printed sources to back them up.
From Dan Cramer’s Communication Resources: http://cramer.ereunao.com/resources/internet-tips.htm
• Find out who authored the site
– You need the name to:
• Site the source
• Check credentials
• Pay Attention to Site Design
– It is becoming easier for anyone to put
information on the web, but not all people
know how to design a site
– A good site design by itself does not mean
a site is credible, but good design means
the person who created the site most likely
had some form of education
From Dan Cramer’s Communication Resources: http://cramer.ereunao.com/resources/internet-tips.htm
• Aspects of good design include:
– appropriate color scheme
– easy to read with standard writing
and grammar
– easy navigation
– a way to contact the author
– a date last updated
From Dan Cramer’s Communication Resources: http://cramer.ereunao.com/resources/internet-tips.htm
• To test your ability to identify a
credible site, view the sites below
and identify which sites contain
credible—real—information, and
which are purely fake.
Military Corruption
Facts about Dihydrogen Monoxide
Mankato, Minnesota
MAVAV
Baby Bush Toy Company
Pets or Food
NASA and the Apocalypse
XOSX Software
From Dan Cramer’s Communication Resources: http://cramer.ereunao.com/resources/internet-tips.htm
In ANY research…
• … be aware of audience, purpose,
and subject
• Be able to answer that single,
deceptively simple question:
So What?