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UNIT TWO
Research Topics, Problems, Academic Writing, and APA

Introduction

Identifying a research problem or topic can be a very difficult task. Many times it requires a great deal of time and effort to sort through many different ideas before a suitable topic is determined. In this unit we will address areas to identify research topics, methods for making a workable research project, problem statements, and the role of the review of literature. We will also begin to discuss the conventional patterns of academic writing. This discussion will include such topics as writing style, style manuals, quoting and paraphrasing, proper citations, and specific APA styling techniques.

Objectives

After participating in discussions related to research questions and problems, the student will demonstrate an understanding of library resources, reviews of literature, and sources of research problems by identifying and describing a research problem to be addressed.
1. Identify different areas in which you can find a research project
2. List several topics for a possible research project
3. Divide your research problem into sub-problems and list methods to address sub-

problems

1. Narrow your problem area and develop a proper research problem statement
2. Create a short outline of how you plan to address the problem (what are you going to do

& how are you going to do it)

1. Develop a statement of purpose for your research problem
2. Describe the role of the review of literature in the research process
3. Create an outline of review of literature topic areas to be covered in addressing your

research problem

1. Describe academic writing and list different styling manuals
2. Quote, paraphrase and summarize an author’s work utilizing proper APA format and

styling

1. Utilize proper APA format to cite resources in text and in a reference list

Assignments

Building on Unit I, page 6 we will further define your research problem. Read page 3 (attached) and pages 27-35 in Leedy & Ormrod, and complete the assignments on pages 3 & 4 re Objective 2.1.
Read pages 36-50 in Leedy & Ormrod, complete the assignments on pages 5, 6 & 7, and complete the Research Problem Assignment re Objective 2.2 through 2.5.
Read pages 51-73 in Leedy & Ormrod and complete the assignments on page 8 re Objective 2.6 through 2.7.
Read page 9 and pages 317-328 in Leedy & Ormrod, participate in class discussions, and complete quizzes 1, 2 & 3 re Objective 2.8 through 2.10.

Acknowledgements

Material on page 3 provided from Dr. Larry Bailey, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (WED 594 course – Spring 2003)
Leedy, P. D. & Ormrod, J. E. (2010). Practical research: Planning and design (9th 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.

II–2 Research Problems and Sources

Research Problems

Many authors define the term research “problem” differently. When some talk about sources of problems, such as Best and Kahn (2003), they are using the term to mean problem area or topic. They are using the term as a broad term of places in which may be suitable to find a research problem. Others have used the term in a more narrow and specific way, such as a statement of the problem or problem statement. In this way, the research problem denotes a major question that a research seeks to answer. Therefore the term research problem can be used in reference to both a topic and problem statement.

Sources of Problems

There are many places that one might begin to look for a research problem. Most research textbooks identify three main sources of research problems:

Experience
Deductions from theory
Related literature

After closely examining these three sources, several researchers have further narrowed this to (1) having a problem or (2 & 3) developing a problem (Bailey, 2003).

Having a Problem
A quality research topic or problem might very well be right in front of us. Many graduate students are current or former teachers, trainers, managers, technicians, or professionals of some kind. Think of what you do, or have done in your job. What are some of the problems, issues, needs, or goals that confront you on a day-to-day basis? Many of these can evolve into a graduate research project. Many different issues, needs, goal, and problems are possible here.

Try to identify at least three “real” problems. Don’t be concerned about trying to phrase them as a formal problem statement. Simply put down some different ideas based on your current or past work experiences.

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Developing a Problem

Not all graduate students have, or can identify an acceptable research problem based on their past or current work experience. Some graduate students need to, or choose to, make up a problem. This is a very acceptable approach to selecting a graduate research problem.

One way to begin is to simply think about topics in which you have an interest. For example, graduate students in Training and Development might have an interest in “training transfer”, or a graduate student in CTE might have an interest in “learning styles”. Ideas such as this tend to come from taking courses related to certain areas, or might even stem from conversations with professors, other students, or industry professionals. Below, write down a few potential research topics that come from your own thoughts and ideas about your field of interest.

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Another good resource to use in identifying potential research topics is other or existing research. There are many researchers who feel that this is one of the best ways to identify a research topic. By replicating someone else’s study, much of the work of justifying the study is already done for you. You are simply building off what that other researcher has done and not “reinventing the wheel” so to speak. Additionally, most thesis and dissertation work have a section called “suggestions for further research”, where the author provides suggestions for building onto or adding to the work they completed.

Explore the listing in one of the many databases available to you and find a research article that interests you. You might also explore the Dissertations Abstracts Database on the University of Illinois website for research ideas. Based on your review of this existing research, list a few topics below that interest you.

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Selecting a Research Problem

Now that you have several promising research problem prospects, it is time to narrow it down to the topic or problem you feel most comfortable researching. Note here that your problem statement may change as you start your exploratory reading and researching. Below, write a problem statement in the form of a question to be answered.

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II–3 Sub-problems and Purpose

Each research textbook and profession might tackle the research process in a different way. For instance, some feel that you should start with a broad problem and then conduct a thorough review of the literature to narrow down your problem. Others believe that you should break your research project into chapters and simply start with chapter one, followed by chapter two, and so on. The instructor for this course however, feels that most beginning researchers benefit from starting with a description of what they are going to do and how they are going to do it (usually chapter three or methodology). Most researchers have a better idea of the literature they need to review or the issues they will need to address if they have a solid understanding of what they are trying to accomplish and how they might go about accomplishing it.

Sub-problems

One of the natural tendencies for any beginning researcher is to try to solve all of the world’s problems, or to take on too large a research project. In order to make a more feasible research project or one that is attainable in a relatively short period of time, some suggest further narrowing your topic into sub-problems. For example, say that for instance our research topic is “How can we increase the Technological Literacy level of K-12 students in the United States". Some of the sub-problems might be: (a) a test for technological literacy, (b) current level of technological literacy of k-12, (c) current level of technological literacy of 1st year college students, (d) methods for increasing the technological literacy of elementary school students, (e) etc. Below, see if you can develop at least three sub-problems for your research problem stated earlier.

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What if I am having trouble finding a topic or narrowing it?

Here is the issue with the Methodology idea. While starting with the who, what, and when is considered by many ideal for thesis and dissertation work, discovering and narrowing down a topic is not easy. If you have limited experience in a certain field of study or are just starting in your graduate studies, an initial problem can be difficult to determine. In this case, you will probably need to spend the extra time reading and disseminating literature before you will be able to nail down an idea. Other methods might include talking to professors or classmates that have similar interests. Unfortunately, this part is time consuming and ideas usually do not appear in one’s sleep (though it has been known to happen).

Who, What, When, Why, How

Now that you have broken your topic down further, it is time to decide what you are going to do and how you are going to do it. On a separate sheet of paper, briefly outline how you plan on answering the question in your problem statement. Who or what are you going to ask, test, observe, record. What are you going to use to do this (test, survey, historical data, index)? Keep in mind, “how is this going to answer my research question or problem?” Something to remember here is that there are many things to consider when selecting the methodology of a study. We are only taking the first step here and will ask many more questions and will likely add to and change your initial outline.

So what if I am not developing a Methodology yet?

If you are not writing a methodology or collecting your own data, is this method still helpful? The answer here is yes, but in a different way. It is always beneficial to think about different ways to answer research questions, narrow down topics, and contemplate the important subjects impacted by the issue or problem. The suggestion here however is to focus first and foremost on the problem. Gain a full understanding of the problem and its impact. Determine how you know it is a problem and why it is important to address the problem. By fully understanding the problem, we have a much easier time conducting research, whether data collection is needed or not.

Once you have this full understanding of the problem, start to look at others who have addressed the same or similar issues before you. For example, if you determine that it is important to implement Lean Manufacturing techniques into the Food Production industry, but companies are having a difficult time with it, you could:

The most obvious is to find if this specific research or similar research has been conducted. If it has, what specifically did they look at? What did they find? What did they leave out? What could you discover that would add to their work?
If there are no studies specifically looking at Lean Manufacturing techniques in the Food Production industry, then what? The next thing to do is to start looking for similar studies in “like” industries or areas. While you might not be able to find it in “Food Production”, there might be similarities between this and “Medical Technology Production”. Both require FDA standards and approval, etc. These studies could then be used for your study.

With this information, you can then begin the process of analyzing the data. If you are not collecting your own data (survey, experiment, etc.), how can you answer the research question by looking at what others have found? Based on several different studies looking at implementing Lean Manufacturing in the Medical Technology Production Industry, what conclusions can we draw about possible implementation of Lean Manufacturing in the Food Production Industry? This technique will also allow us to discover gaps in the current research and justify our own study, should we choose to conduct one.

Purpose Statement

All research projects contain a statement of the purpose. The statement of the purpose describes in one sentence or a series of sentences what your research project seeks to accomplish. This statement combines the problem statement with your Who, What, When, Why, and How. Two sample purpose statements are below.

The purpose of this study was to examine factors that influence technology education teachers to accept and to stay in teaching positions. The study focused on perceptions of technology education teachers and administrators who are leaders in their respective state technology education associations.
The purpose of this study was to assess the perceptions of adult educators about the primary barriers that inhibit adults from participating in the learning process. Further, the study assessed adult educator’s perceptions of the most effective methods to employ to overcome barriers that inhibit adults from participating in the learning process. More specifically, the study assessed the perceptions of adult education coordinators and instructors within the Wisconsin Technical College System.

Based on your outline, write below a statement of purpose for your research project.

II–4 Review of Literature

Once you have settled on a topic, narrowed the topic, determined what and how, and have written a purpose, it is time to start reviewing and exploring the literature (usually chapter two). The literature review does several things for our research project including: (a) thoroughly explains our problem; (b) justifies the need for our study, (c) looks at similar or related studies, (d) suggests tools, methods, or instruments to use to address the problem, (e) explains theories related to your study, (f) aids in your interpretation and evaluation of your research, (g) provides you with a greater understanding of your field of interest, (h) etc.

In order to begin your review of literature, you will utilize the knowledge of the tools of research to begin gathering materials. This process generally is the most time consuming. One of the best ways to tackle the review of literature is to break you research project down into an outline. An outline might look like the one below:

Purpose & Overview

Defining the Problem

Need for the Study

Studies Addressing Similar or Related Problems (related Theories, Instruments)

What Your Research Adds to or Builds On

Summary

Depending on the type of research project you are conducting, your outline might look different. The review however should for all research projects contain a summary of the state-of-the-art (most recent) with respect to the primary concept contained in the purpose, and should review research related to the problem (focusing specifically on the variables contained in the problem or research questions). So focus your review on the key words and concepts in the problem and the purpose. It is important to note here that as you read and explore the literature, you might find a need to change your purpose or problem. This is a common occurrence and should be done when necessary.

Before you begin your literature review, create an outline for your own research project (on a separate sheet of paper). As you continue your review, you may want to create a more detailed outline to guide your work.

II–5 Academic Writing and APA

As graduate students, I have no doubt that you are somewhat familiar with academic writing. While you might not be an expert on writing academically, you should have read several documents that utilize this writing style. Throughout your undergraduate education, you have read textbooks, articles, and academic papers that are examples of this.

Academic Writing Basics

Some would consider academic writing to be boring, but the reality is that academic writing is a creative, clear, and concise writing style. What separates academic writing from other forms or writing is generally its professional style (no slang, etc.), its objective nature (very few opinions), and lack of personal pronouns and gender language (I, me, he, & she).

Style Manuals

For the most part, the style and rules used for academic writing are determined by specific organizations and followed by certain institutions. The three most recognizable organizations are APA (American Psychological Association), MLA (Modern Language Association) and Chicago Style. Each style is typically used by certain fields of study and lets a writer know the general layout and format for a manuscript, how to say word certain items, and how to quote another author and give them credit.

APA Style

APA style is the styling manual that the School of Technology at EIU uses. As we work through each of our projects, you will be referring to the APA style manual for guidance on how to format your paper, cite authors, quote, summarize, paraphrase, create tables, and items specified by the manual. While some of the items might seem trivial, it is important that you try to follow APA style as closely as you can. Making mistakes in your styling could result in hours of rework or at the very worse your paper being rejected.

As we work throughout the semester, we will continuously work through examples and problems with APA styling and academic writing.

TEC 5143 – Unit 2 Spring 2015