Unit Two

Steps in writing Research Paper

1. Writing background of the Study
The introduction is the part of the research
report that provides readers with the
background information for the research. Its
purpose is to establish a framework for the
research, so that readers can understand how it
is related to other research.
 …cont
 The introduction should cite those who had the idea or ideas
first, and should also cite those who have done the most
recent and relevant work.
 The introduction also should address the following points:
 Sufficient background information to allow the reader to
understand the context and significance of the question you
are trying to address.
 Proper acknowledgement of the previous work on which you
are building.
 Sufficient references such that a reader could, by going to
the library, achieve a sophisticated understanding of the
context and significance of the question.
 The introduction should be focused on the research
question(s).
 …cont
 All cited works should be directly relevant
to the goals of the research.
 Explain the scope of your work, what will
and will not be included.
 A verbal "road map" or verbal "table of
contents" guiding the reader to what lies
ahead.
 [Link] Statement of the Problem
 A problem might be defined as the issue that exists
in the literature, theory, or practice that leads to a
need for the study. The prospective researcher
should think on what caused the need to do the
research (problem identification). The question that
he/she should ask him/herself is: Are there
questions about this problem to which answers have
not been found up to the present?
 The problem statement describes the context for the
study and it also identifies the general analysis approach.
It is important in a proposal that the problem stand out
—that the reader can easily recognize it.
 …cont
Effective problem statements answer the question
“Why does this research need to be
conducted.”
[Link] The Objective/Aim Of The Study/
The objectives of a research delineate the ends or
aim which the inquirer seeks to bring about as a
result of completing the research undertaken. An
objective may be thought of as either a solution
to a problem or a step along the way toward
achieving a solution; an end state to be
achieved in relation to the problem.
 …cont
• The objectives of a research project summarize
what is to be achieved by the study. Objectives
should be closely related to the statement of the
problem.
• * Objectives should be:
• simple (not complex),
• specific (not vague),
• stated in advance (not after the research is
done), and stated using “action verbs” that
are specific enough to be measured.
 …cont
• Commonly, research objectives are classified into
general objectives and specific objectives. The
general and specific objectives are logically
connected to each other and the specific objectives
are commonly considered as smaller portions of the
general objectives. It is important to ascertain that
the general objective is closely related to the
statement of the problem.
 General objective
 What exactly will be studied?
 General statements specifying the desired
outcomes of the proposed project
 Specific objectives
 Specific statements summarizing the proposed
activities and including description of the
outcomes and their assessment in measurable
terms
 It identifies in greater detail the specific aims of
the research project, often breaking down what
is to be accomplished into smaller logical
components.
 Specific objectives should systematically address
the various aspects of the problem as defined
under ‘Statement of the Problem’ and the key
factors that are assumed to influence or cause
the problem. They should specify what you will
do in your study, where and for what purpose.
 [Link] The Research Questions /Or Hypotheses

• In research studies, the term question implies

an interrogative statement that can be
answered by data, which is logically related to
the same conceptual framework
• the term hypotheses imply a derivation,
within a hypothetic-deductive theoretical
system, of a particular assertion or prediction.
The hypothesis is subject to test, i.e., to
confirmation or rejection on empirical
grounds.
 …cont
Questions are most often used in qualitative
inquiry, although their use in quantitative
inquiry is becoming more prominent.
Hypotheses are relevant to theoretical
research and are typically used only in
quantitative inquiry. A research question
poses a relationship between two or more
variables but phrases the relationship as a
question; a hypothesis represents a
declarative statement of the relations
between two or more variables.
 [Link] of Research
In this section you have to mention the
importance of conducting your research
like:
 to create awareness about certain problem
 to provide solution to a certain problem
 to provide other researchers a beginning
so that they will make in-depth research in
the future.
 6. Limitations during the research
• In conducting research, there would be
some restrictions that would inhibit you
from conducting the study the way you
have already planned. For instance, lack
of time, sufficient budget, reference
materials and cooperation from concerned
bodies etc.
Respondents willingness
 7. Delimitation of the Research
• This is where you show the limit of your study. It
is advisable to select a limited problem and treat
it well than to attempt to study a broad general
problem. For example, “An Investigation on the
Common Sentence Errors Students usually
Commit while Writing Paragraphs; DELL Third
Year Students at Jimma University in
Focus,2010 E.C “.This title has clear conceptual
and geographical delimitation.
 8. Reviewing the Related Literature
• A literature review is a description of the
literature relevant to a particular field or topic. It
gives an overview of what has been said, who
the key writers are, what are the prevailing
theories and hypotheses, what questions are
being asked, and what methods and
methodologies are appropriate and useful. As
such, it is not in itself primary research, but
rather it reports on other findings.
 PURPOSES OF LITERATURE REVIEW
One purpose is summarizing new theories,
findings, research methods, and data analysis
techniques on a topic. For example, Annual
Review of Psychology tries to update the state
of knowledge in every major field of
psychology every four to five years.
A second purpose of literature reviews is
identifying linkages between theories and
developing new theories from the knowledge
provided by existing theories and research
 …cont
 A third purpose of literature reviewing is
evaluating the validity of a theory by
summarizing the research evidence for or
against its propositions. Similarly, the validity of
competing theories on a topic can be compared
by analyzing the results of research conducted
on the topic to see which theory the research
best supports
 A final purpose of literature reviewing is
summarizing the research evidence on a
hypothesis or set of related hypotheses.
 …cont
Relevant materials will probably comprise a range of
media:
 books (monographsies, scholarly article or paper on a
single topic),text books, reference books);
 articles from journals, whether print or electronic (but
make sure electronic journals have been subject to the
peer review process);
 newspaper articles;
 historical records;
 theses and dissertations;
 other types of information which may be relevant to your
particular discipline
 Practical Steps in Reviewing the Literature
 First, read all the available literature in the area.
This helps to understand the problem or the
relationship between the variables from different
perspectives.
 The summary of the literature can be organized
based on the nature of the basic questions. This
is because the whole effort of reviewing the
literature is to find theoretical and research
evidences to answer the basic questions or
hypotheses.
 Collect the literature which you think is related to
your problem and organize them in coherent
form.
 …cont
To paraphrase the ideas of different authors;
 First, identify and write the independent and
the dependent variables
 Second, identify how they are related, cause-
effect or correlation
 Finally, write in your own words using
synonyms( words with nearly the same
meaning)
 Designing Research Methodology
 A research design is strategic plan or the
arrangement of conditions for collection and
analysis of data in a manner that aims to
combine relevance to the research purpose.
 In short, the research design is the conceptual
structure within which research is conducted; it
constitutes the blueprint for the collection,
measurement and analysis of data.
 Cont…
 A research design which is appropriate for a
particular research problem, usually involves the
consideration of the following factors:
 (i) the means of obtaining information
 (ii) the availability and skills of the researcher
 (iii) the objective of the problem to be studied
 (iv) the nature of the problem to be studied;
and
 (v) the availability of time and money for the
research work.
 Population Ofthestudy
• The population of the study means all the subjects of
your study at which the research focused on. For
example, if the subjects of the study ( population) is 2000
you cannot take all of them as a sample rather you may
select the manageable sample size using sampling
techniques.
• Hence, the sample taken could be considered as the
representative of a larger population.
 SAMPLING TECHNIQUES
 Sampling strategies are divided into two main
groups: probability and non-probability
sampling
 A. Probability sampling methods for
quantitative studies
 In quantitative studies, we aim to measure
variables and generalize findings obtained from
a representative sample to the total population
 A representative sample is one that has all the
important characteristics of the population from
which it is drawn.
 Cont..
An important issue influencing the choice of
the most appropriate sampling method is
whether a sampling frame is available, that is,
a listing of all the units that compose the
study population.
If a sampling frame does exist or can be
compiled, probability sampling methods can
be used. With these methods, each study unit
has an equal or at least a known probability of
being selected in the sample.
 Cont…
The following are Four probability sampling
methods :
 Simple random sampling
 Systematic sampling
 Stratified sampling
 Cluster sampling
 [Link] Random Sampling
 This is the simplest form of probability sampling.
A simple random sample is one in which each
element of the population has an equal and
independent chance of being included in the
sample i.e. a sample selected by randomization
method is known a simple-random sample and
this technique is simple random-sampling.
 To select a simple random sample you need to:
 make a numbered list of all the units in the
population from which you want to draw a
sample or use an already existing one (sampling
frame)
 Cont..
decide on the size of the sample
select the required number of sampling units,
using a ‘lottery’ method or a table of random
numbers.
Randomization is a method and is done by using a
number of techniques as:
(a) Tossing a coin.
(b) Throwing a dice.
(c) Lottery method
 A2. Systematic Sampling
• In systematic sampling, individuals or
households are chosen at regular intervals
from the sampling frame. For this method
we randomly select a number to tell us
where to start selecting individuals from
the list.
• For example, a systematic sample is to be
selected from 1,200 students at a school. The
sample size selected is 100. The sampling
fraction is 1200/100. The sampling interval is
therefore 12.
 Cont…
• The number of the first student to be included in
the sample is chosen randomly, for example, by
blindly picking one out of 12 pieces of paper,
numbered 1 to 12. If number 6 is picked, then
every twelfth student will be included in the
sample, starting with student number 6, until 100
students are selected. The numbers selected
would be 6, 18, 30, 42, 54, 66, etc.
•
 [Link] Sampling
• It is utilized sample having specific
characteristics (for example, residents from
urban and rural areas, or different age groups),
then the sampling frame must be divided into
groups, or strata, according to these
characteristics.
• Random or systematic samples of a
predetermined size will then have to be obtained
from each group (stratum). This is called
stratified sampling.
 [Link] Sampling
• It may be difficult or impossible to take a simple random
sample of the units of the study population, either
because a complete sampling frame does not exist or
because of other logistical difficulties (e.g., visiting
people scattered over a large area may be too time-
consuming).
• However, when a list of groupings of study units is
available (for example, villages or schools) or can be
easily compiled, a number of these groupings can be
randomly selected. The selection of groups of study units
(clusters) instead of the selection of study units
individually is called cluster sampling.
 Non Probability Sampling

• The difference between non probability and

probability sampling is that non probability
sampling does not involve random selection
and probability sampling does
• it does mean that non probability samples
cannot depend upon the rationale of
probability theory.
• We can divide non-probability sampling
methods into two broad types:
 [Link] Sampling
It would include in this category the
traditional "man on the street" (of course,
now it's probably the "person on the
street") interviews conducted frequently by
television news programs to get a quick
(although non representative) reading of
public opinion. In clinical practice, we
might use clients who are available to us
as our sample.
 [Link] Sampling
• In purposive sampling, we sample with a
purpose in mind. We usually would have
one or more specific predefined groups we
are seeking.
• Purposive sampling can be very useful for
situations where you need to reach a targeted
sample quickly and where sampling for
proportionality is not the primary concern. With a
purposive sample, you are likely to get the
opinions of your target population, but you are
also likely to overweight subgroups in your
population that are more readily accessible.
 TOOLS OF DATA GATHERING
Questionnaires are a very popular form of data
collection, especially when gathering information
from large groups, where standardization is
important. Surveys can be constructed in many
ways, but they always consist of two
components: “open ended,” i.e., allow respondents
to answer in a free flowing narrative form; most often
the “close-ended” approach in which respondents
are asked to select from a range of predetermined
answers is adopted. Open-ended responses may be
difficult to code and require more time and resources
to handle than close-ended choices.
 INTERVIEWS
• Two types of interviews are used in evaluation
research: structured interviews, in which a
carefully worded questionnaire is administered,
and in depth interviews, in which the interviewer
does not follow a rigid form. In the former, the
emphasis is on obtaining answers to carefully
phrased questions.
• Advantages/ disadvantages please list them
 Focus Group Discussion
 Focus groups are a gathering of 8 to 12 people
who share some characteristics relevant to the
evaluation
 Focus groups combine elements of both
interviewing and participant observation. The
focus group session is, indeed, an interview—
not a discussion group, problem-solving session,
or decision-making group. Initially, focus groups
took place in a special facility that included
recording apparatus (audio and/or visual) and an
attached room with a one-way mirror for
observation.
 Observations
• Observational techniques are methods by which
an individual or individuals gather firsthand data
on programs, processes, or behaviors being
studied. They provide evaluators with an
opportunity to collect data on a wide range of
behaviors, to capture a great variety of
interactions, and to openly explore the
evaluation topic.
• By directly observing operations and activities, the
evaluator can develop a holistic perspective, i.e., an
understanding of the context within which the
project (research)operates.
 TESTS
• Tests provide a way to assess subjects’
knowledge and capacity to apply this knowledge
to new situations. Tests take many forms. They
may require respondents to choose among
alternatives (select a correct answer, select an
incorrect answer, select the best answer), to
cluster choices into like groups, to produce short
answers, or to write extended responses. A
question may address a single outcome of
interest or lead to questions involving a number
of outcome areas.
 Document Analysis
• A document is defined as “any written or
recorded material” not prepared for the purposes
of the evaluation or at the request of the inquirer.
Documents can be divided into two major
categories: public records, and personal
documents.
• Existing records often provide insights into a
setting and/or group of people that cannot be
observed or noted in another way. This
information can be found in document form
 DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURES

• In your methodology part you have to clearly indicate the

step by step procedure applied to collect data for the
study. The points to be addressed are:
• Who collected the data? The researcher or somebody
else
• Where was the data collected? In the school, at home
etc.
• Were the respondents informed the purpose of the
study? Why?
• What were the problems faced and how were they
challenged?
• How long did the data collection take? How was the
timing arranged?