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UNIT ONE
Introduction to Research and Research Tools

Introduction

Research is one of the fundamental aspects of graduate level course work. Graduate courses typically ask that we look at a subject much deeper than we do at the undergraduate level. In order to get that deeper look, research is the method most commonly used.

Library resources are a great place to start to look for a research topic. In this unit, students will receive instruction on the uses of tools used in research. While most upper-level undergraduate students and graduate students are expected to be competent in the use of an academic library, with libraries moving towards newer technology (electronic resources and digital databases), this unit is designed to enhance and update the students’ knowledge of the libraries resources.

In this unit we will discuss what research is and is not, purposes of research, history of research, research classifications, and the use of library resources.

Objectives

Given a basic overview of the process of knowing and utilizing research tools, the students will demonstrate an understanding of what research is and library resources are, by participating in discussions and demonstrations related to library resources and exploring various research topics in their field. Specifically, they should be able to:

1. Define what is meant by research.
2. List and describe at least three examples of what research is not.
3. List and describe the eight distinct characteristics of research.
4. Trace a brief history of the process of knowing.
5. Describe the four types of research classified according to purpose, scientific, research and development, policy, and action.
6. Identify basic areas of potential research interest and examine various subtopics within that basic area of interest.
7. Compare and contrast different research sources.
8. List and describe the different tools of research available to them.
9. Utilize various library resources to find and evaluate research sources

Assignments

Read pages 1-7 in Leedy & Ormrod and complete written assignments on page 4 of this handout (OTH) re Objectives 1.1 through 1.3.
Participate in class discussion re Objective 1.4.
Read page 3 of this handout (OTH) re Objective 1.5.
Complete assignment on page 5 re Objective 1.6.
Read pages 7-18 in Leedy & Ormrod and complete written assignments on pages 7-9 OTH re Objectives 1.7 through 1.9, after the library tour.
Participate in a library resources demonstration and complete the assignment on pages 7-9 OTH re Objective 1.9 after the library demonstration.
Read pages 18-26 in Leedy & Ormrod and complete class assignments.

Acknowledgements

Bailey, L. (2003). WED*594 Advanced Research Methods course unit. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL.
Leedy, P. D. & Ormrod, J. E. (2016). Practical research: Planning and design (11th Ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall.
Best, J. W. & Kahn, J. V. (2003). Research in education (9th Ed.). Boston, MA: A Pearson Education Company.

I–1 Purposes of Research

Authors of research texts often classify the purposes of research differently. An examination of various texts, however, indicates that the following four purposes are the most widely cited (Bailey, 2003).

Scientific research - also known as “basic” or “fundamental” research. Its purpose is to develop theory. That is, to better understand a particular concept or phenomenon; to contribute to an organized body of literature. Most of the research conducted on university campuses is scientific research. Scientific research seeks to test hypotheses or answer research questions. The doctoral dissertation and master’s thesis should focus on scientific research.

Research and development (R & D) – sometimes called “applied research”. The purpose of R & D is to develop a product. The product may be a publication, test, curriculum, instructional materials, software, hardware, systems, procedures, or the like. A conference, workshop, or “model” (e.g. a curriculum or process model) may also be regarded as products. A great deal of state and federally funded research in vocational/technical education has R & D as its purpose.

Policy research – the newest type of research. Its purpose is to aid in the decision-making by providing information and alternatives. Policy research is used to investigate issues for which there is no single answer, such as: “How public education should be financed?” Most policy research is conducted by government agencies or subcontracted to “think-tanks” like the Brookings Institution, Rand Corporation, Heritage Foundation, Hoover Institution, and similar organizations.

Action Research – sometimes called “classroom” research. The purpose of action research is to improve practice; to solve local problems or address local needs and goals. Its focus is on immediate application, rather than testing hypotheses and publication of findings in research journals. Students in non-thesis master’s programs who write “research papers” generally conduct action research.

I–2 Defining Research

List and briefly describe at least three examples of what research is not.

List and briefly describe the eight distinct characteristics of research.

I–3 Relevant Sources

Relevant Sources

One of the most difficult aspects of research is determining what resources to use. How do you know that a source that you find is relevant? How do you know if the author or sources are credible? Ever since the internet became a tool of research available to graduate students, a variety of new and exciting research sources emerged. Identifying sources that are credible however became even cloudier. Let’s take a look at some of the different types of sources available (both in the library and online) and see if they are credible or not.

Peer-Reviewed or Refereed Journals

Within the academic world, articles and creative works go through a peer review process prior to acceptance and publishing. During this process, other scholars within the field will critically analyze and critique the work to ensure that it meets certain academic and scholarly standards. Peer-reviewed journals (or refereed journals) are scholarly journals that will only publish articles that have gone through a peer review process. Articles and scholarly works published in these journals are generally considered the most reliable and credible because they have gone through the peer review process. Peer-reviewed journals exist for just about every field (most have several) and typically have names starting with “The Journal of …..”. some examples of peer-reviewed journals in technology include: The Journal of Industrial Teacher Education, The Journal of Technology Studies, Performance Improvement Quarterly, Human Resource Quarterly, The Journal of Industrial Technology, and The Journal of Computer Science and Technology to name a few.

Books

Books are the original research sources, but have become somewhat forgotten by graduate students as the internet has become more popular. Published texts found in the library such as books, thesis, and dissertations are all sources that have also gone through an extensive review process. Do not ignore them!!

Magazines and Newspapers

These are different than a peer-reviewed journal. Magazines such as Time, Newsweek, and Sport Illustrated may be written well and in respected periodicals, but they are not considered on the same level as peer-reviewed journals or even books. Why? This is generally because the purpose of the article is not academic in nature. This doesn’t mean that it cannot be used or is not valuable from a research perspective, it just isn’t held to the same level as a peer-reviewed journal or book. These are still very valuable research for you to use depending on your area of study.

Along the same lines, newspapers can be valuable resources. Much like magazines, they are not considered as credible as peer-reviewed journals. They can be very helpful however if you are researching a problem that is new or recent.

The Internet

Ok, this discussion will probably be much more useful if we discuss internet resources that are not relevant, but we will get there. While internet resources and their credibility are probably the most dynamic aspect of research today (because they are constantly changing), the internet resources that are generally considered the most relevant include university websites, association/organizational websites, and other educational/informational related websites. Understand that there are a lot of grey areas when it comes to internet sources for a research project. Therefore, let’s take a look at the sources that are generally considered less credible or that should be avoided.

Internet sources to be avoided (?)

Wikipedia – According to Wikipedia itself: Wikipedia can be a great tool for learning and researching information. However, as with all sources, not everything in Wikipedia is accurate, comprehensive, or unbiased. Many of the general rules of thumb for conducting research apply to Wikipedia, including:

Always be wary of any one single source (in any medium — web, print, television or radio), or of multiple works that derive from a single source.
Where articles have references to external sources (whether online or not) read the references and check whether they really do support what the article says.
In most academic institutions, Wikipedia, along with most encyclopedias, is unacceptable as a major source for a research paper. Other encyclopedias, such as Encyclopædia Britannica, have notable authors working for them and may be cited as a secondary source in most cases. For example, Cornell University has a guide on how to cite encyclopedias.

Unchecked website or general website
Websites like ask.com or websites that just happen to exist are typically not considered credible resources. Many of these sources allow for no way of knowing how credible they really are and we simply cannot afford to take their word for it. Like we’ve already mentioned, there are some grey areas here. It greatly depends on the publisher of the website and the author of the information. There are times where a known author will have information on their personal website. Is this credible or should you get the same information from the book or journal article that they had published?

I–4 Tools of Research

There are many different resources available to you for writing academic papers. The purpose of this assignment is to have you demonstrate your ability to use each of the resources available to retrieve information. You will participate in a demonstration of some of the resources available to you, and then will complete the assignments below. Follow the instructor’s directions below to complete the assignment.

Subject area:______________________________________________

Text and Reference Books

Step 1 – Connect to EIU Library Catalog and search the catalog.
Step 2 – Select one book from the list that is relevant to your topic and print out a copy of the book abstract.
Step 3 – Connect to WorldCat and search the catalog.
Step 4 – Select one book from the list that is relevant to your topic and print out a copy of the book abstract.
Step 5 – Connect to the University of Illinois Library and search the catalog.
Step 6 – Select one book from the list that is relevant to your topic and print out a copy of the book abstract.

Electronic Databases

Step 1 – Connect to one of the electronic databases available to you at EIU (Academic Search Premier, ERIC, Wilson Select, or Lexus-Nexis).
Step 2 – Using your subject area as a key word, select one peer-reviewed journal article from the list and print out a copy of the abstract.
Step 3 – Connect to a different electronic databases available to you at EIU (Academic Search Premier, ERIC, Wilson Select, or Lexus-Nexis).
Step 4 – Using your subject area as a key word, select one peer-reviewed journal article from the list and print out a copy of the abstract.

World Wide Web

Step 1 – Connect to Google, enter your subject and search. To search, place your subject in quotations marks followed by the word research as shown in parentheses (“subject area” + research).
Step 2 – Identify one credible website regarding your subject areas. Select one of the titles of interest and print out the first page of the website or article, or the website’s homepage.
Step 3 – Connect to Google, enter your subject and search. To search, place your subject in quotations marks followed by the word research as shown in parentheses (“subject area” + research).
Step 4 – Identify one peer-reviewed journal article of the titles of interest regarding your subject areas and print out the first page of the website or article, or the website’s homepage.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations at Virginia Tech

Step 1 – Connect to ETD (http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/) and browse the 12,000 theses and dissertations available.
Step 2 – Select one of the titles of interest and print the entire manuscript.

Reviewing a Peer Reviewed Article

Select one of the peer reviewed article that you printed and read it. In a word processing program, answer the following questions (BE SPECIFIC!):

What is the problem the author is addressing?
What reason or reason does the author give for addressing the problem?
What questions does the author seek to answer regarding the problem?
What method does the author use in order to answer those questions?
What did the author find or what conclusions did the author draw?
What suggestions for further research does the author make?

Submit your answers to these questions and your printed abstracts, articles, and websites to the instructor.

I–5 Research Interests

After the Booth Library tour the second week of class list below at least three general areas of research interest in your area of study.

Select one of the three general areas above and list five subcategories for that area.

Select one of the five subcategories and find at least one journal article that relates to that subcategory. What is the problem that the author was addressing? What is the purpose of the research? How did the author attempt to address the problem?

Problem?

Purpose?

Method?

TEC 5143 – Unit 1 Spring 2017