Academic Research Writing Workshop

Caribbean Nazarene College

Haywood & Associates Consultancy Ltd.

March 2018

1
 Biography - Peter Morgan

Dean of Postgraduate Studies

Caribbean Nazarene College.

Dr. Morgan is a native of Jamaica, a graduate of the University of the West Indies and a
former Senior Education Officer in the Ministry of Education in Jamaica. He was responsible
for implementing Guidance Counselling programmes in all secondary schools in Jamaica in
the 1970s, and for developing ongoing training modules for Counsellors.

His specialized research and field practice in obtaining his Masters Degree from the Southern
Baptist Theological Seminary in Kentucky was in Pastoral Psychology with emphasis on
Psychiatry and juvenile delinquency. His Doctor of Ministries Degree from the Oral Roberts
University in Tulsa was pursued with empirical research in the area of community
transformation within the modern third world context.

He is a Founding Director and former President of the International Third World Leaders
Association (ITWLA) He is currently the President of the newly inaugurated International
Association of Kingdom Churches and Ministries (IAKCM). Along with his wife they
established the Covenant Christian Academy and Children Centre a K-12 Christian school in
Jamaica in 1983.

Up until 2004 he was Senior Pastor of Covenant Community Churches in Jamaica, where he
served as the founding Apostle for just over 20 years. In January 2004, he established a new
work in the heart of the City of Kingston – Community Impact Ministries International, with
Churches and Ministries led by his three sons.

He is the newly appointed Dean of Postgraduate Studies at Caribbean Nazarene College. His
global ministry has taken him to England, Holland, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Canada, South
America, the U.S.A. and throughout the Caribbean.

2
He is married to C Patricia who ministers along with him. Together they have one daughter
and three sons, all of whom are in the ministry. They are the proud grandparents of five
children.

Dr. Morgan is the author of “The Nations: God’s Strategic Purpose for Establishing your
Nation”, and “The City Church – A Personal Pilgrimage.” He also has a number of
unpublished articles and literary works in the areas of Church Government, Guidance
Counselling, Marriage and Family Life.

Biography – Rev. Paul Bunsee.

Rev. Paul, Bunsee completed a B. A. in Theology at Caribbean Nazarene College (C.N.C) in

1999 and also a M.A. in 2004. He is a Minister of the Gospel in the Church of the Nazarene
(C.O.T.N) District of Trinidad & Tobago 20 years (March 2018) and practices professional
counseling – 13 years.

He taught Career Enhancement classes at the Youth Training & Employment Partnership
Programme (YTEPP) for 1 and a half years. He is also a Full-Time Faculty member at C.N.C
in the Department of Psychology & Theology – 13 years (9 of which as Adjunct Faculty).
This is his fourth year serving as Chaplain of the College.

An area of passion is mentoring the youth with experiential training in treating with the male
adolescent and post adolescent. He worked as a School Social Worker for 6 years at Student
Support Services Division, Ministry of Education where he mostly dealt with male teenagers
in the “Out of School Suspension Programme”.

He ministered among young people for the last 26 years in various capacities. He received the
highest Award in the Youth Department of the Church of the Nazarene – the “Timothy
Award” – at the N.Y.I Congress in Nicaragua for outstanding Leadership in Youth Ministry
in 2016.

A Motivational Speaker, he seeks to inspire others toward becoming “World Changers” and
takes ABSOLUTE joy in saying that “Jesus Christ is my Lord, Savior and the One who
sanctifies me; I love Him and remain in His service”.

3
 Biography – Melanie-Marie Haywood

Melanie-Marie is an educator and avid researcher. She specializes in the following areas:
Curriculum development, best practice in Teaching and learning, Research methods, and
Research Writing. She has, conducted research in areas including, but not limited to,
education, social work, communications, psychology and counselling, and business.
Currently, she serves as the Dean of Undergraduate studies at the Caribbean Nazarene
College, in Trinidad and Tobago.

Her first degree is in Religion and Biblical languages, and went on to pursue an MA in
Curriculum and Instruction. Following this achievement, Melanie went on to pursue a Ph.D.
in Education, specializing in Curriculum Evaluation and testing.

4
 Session 1 – Philosophy of Research
PHILOSOPHY OF ACADEMIC RESEARCH
by Dr CB Peter Morgan
Definitions:

 By Philosophy we mean a set of beliefs and pre-suppositions providing a base for systematic
and logical understanding of the subject at hand, and which is the ground for investigative
analysis and its practical problem-solving application.
 By Research we mean a systematic investigation to establish facts, define principles and
collect information within a specific field. It is particularly geared toward verifying truth and
reality in order to solve problems of concern within a given environment.

Ultimately philosophy determines the way in which research is conducted, with its processes and
instruments, in pursuit of the goal and quest for solutions to problems. This Presentation presents an
argument for a Theistic Providential Worldview.
Discussion Points:

 The two perspectives on Reality: the “Positivist” and the “Interpretivist”.

 The implications of “Epistemology” (what is known to be true) and “Doxology” (what is
believed to the true)
 The philosophy of Academic Research while it accommodates the approaches of scientific
research along with their methodologies must make room for the perspectives held by the
doxologies of transcendental and spiritual advocates.
 The Providential Worldview which assumes that convictions and insights based on spiritual
revelation and biblical interpretations are valid means for theorizing and applying knowledge
in both fields of natural and behavioural sciences.

Sessions 2 & 3 – Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods, and Data Analysis
Primary and Secondary Research
Primary research
• Refers to research that has involved the collection of original data specific to that particular
research project, for example through using research methods such as questionnaires or
interviews.
Secondary research
• Refers to research where no such original data is collected, but the research project uses
existing (or secondary) sources of data, for example census or archive data.
 Applied Research
 Step 1: develop the problem
 identify independent and dependent variables
 Step 2: formulate the hypotheses
 the anticipated outcome

5
  Step 3: gather data
 maximize internal and external validity
 Step 4(5): analyze and interpret results
 Gathering Data
 Data is another word for information
 It is usually used to refer to quantitative information, but could also be used for qualitative
information.
 Quantitative:
 How much?
 How many?
 How often?
 Qualitative:
 What kind?
 Why?
 Perspective
 Sources in data collection
 There are two major sources used in data collection:
 Primary data:
 What a researcher gathers for themselves
 Collected directly by the researcher using research methods i.e. surveys, interviews
 Secondary data:
 Information and ideas generated by other researchers
 Somebody else would have done their own primary data collection in order for you to
have secondary data.
Sampling
Population
 A population is a group of phenomena that have something in common. The population
parameters are defined by the researcher based on the nature and purpose of the study:
 All CNC students
 All CNC faculty
 All people living in Santa Cruz
 All people in Santa Cruz between 8am and 5pm, Monday to Friday.
 Populations can be things such as Temperatures in the month of March, Cars on the Highway
during peak traffic hours, Basal Ganglia cells from a particular primate/monkey.

6
Samples
 It is rarely realistic for a researcher to be able to access the entire population in a study. As
such, a sample is selected to represent the population.
 A sample: a smaller group of the population selected to represent the population.
 For statistical purposes, a sample must be random in order to effectively be able to generalize
the findings to the entire population. However, there are other types of samples….
 Samples not based on probability are often prone to error in their analysis.
Types of Samples - Probability
 Random Sample - A simple random sample (SRS) of size n is produced by a scheme which
ensures that each subgroup of the population of size n has an equal probability of being
chosen as the sample.
 Stratified Random sample - Divide the population into "strata". There can be any number of
these. Then choose a simple random sample from each stratum. Combine those into the
overall sample. That is a stratified random sample. (Example: Church A has 600 women and
400 women as members. One way to get a stratified random sample of size 30 is to take a
SRS of 18 women from the 600 women and another SRS of 12 men from the 400 men.)
 The formulas in almost all statistics books assume simple random sampling. Unless you are
willing to learn the more complex techniques to analyse the data after it is collected, it is
appropriate to use simple random sampling. To learn the appropriate formulas for the more
complex sampling schemes, look for a book or course on sampling.
 Stratified random sampling gives more precise information than simple random sampling for
a given sample size. So, if information on all members of the population is available that
divides them into strata that seem relevant, stratified sampling will usually be used.
Types of samples - Non-probability
 Convenience sampling –this is probably the most common of all sampling techniques. With
convenience sampling, the samples are selected because they are accessible to the researcher.
Subjects are chosen simply because they are easy to recruit. This technique is considered
easiest, cheapest and least time consuming.
 Judgemental/Purposive sampling - Judgmental sampling is more commonly known as
purposive sampling. In this type of sampling, subjects are chosen to be part of the sample
with a specific purpose in mind. With judgmental sampling, the researcher believes that some
subjects are more fit for the research compared to other individuals. This is the reason why
they are purposively chosen as subjects.
 Snowball sampling - is usually done when there is a very small population size. In this type
of sampling, the researcher asks the initial subject to identify another potential subject who
also meets the criteria of the research. The downside of using a snowball sample is that it is
hardly representative of the population.
 How do I know how to sample?
 This type of sampling can be used when demonstrating that a particular trait exists in the
population.
 It can also be used when the researcher aims to do a qualitative, pilot or exploratory study.

7
  It can be used when randomization is impossible like when the population is almost limitless.
 It can be used when the research does not aim to generate results that will be used to create
generalizations pertaining to the entire population.
 It is also useful when the researcher has limited budget, time and workforce.
 This technique can also be used in an initial study which will be carried out again using a
randomized, probability sampling.
Research Methodologies
 Qualitative – descriptions
 Quantitative – facts and figures
 Mixed-Methods – a combination of both
Quantitative vs. Qualitative
 Qualitative, Quantitative, or Mixed Methods?
 Quantitative – holds that there is an objective reality that can be expressed numerically.
Studies are experimental in nature, emphasizing measurement and relationships.
 Measuring variables, and verifying existing theories, hypotheses, or questioning
them.
 Qualitative – holds a phenomenological view that requires the perspective of the
individual/society to determine reality. Studies focus on meaning and understanding processes
or events in their natural habitat.
 wish to understand meanings, look at, describe and understand experience, ideas,
beliefs and values, intangibles such as these.
 Mixed Methods - This is a common approach and helps you to 'triangulate' i.e. to back up one
set of findings from one method of data collection underpinned by one methodology, with
another very different method underpinned by another methodology.
Qualitative Research Methodology
 Qualitative studies focus on the reason why
 Reports are often highly descriptive and lengthy in nature
 Sample size tends to be smaller
 A focus on meanings rather than on quantifiable phenomena
 Collection of many data on a few cases rather than few data on many cases
 Study in depth and detail, without predetermined categories or directions, rather than
emphasis on analyses and categories determined in advance
 Conception of the researcher as an “instrument,” rather than as the designer of objective
instruments to measure particular variables
 Sensitivity to context rather than seeking universal generalizations
 Attention to the impact of the researcher’s and others’ values on the course of the analysis
rather than presuming the possibility of value-free inquiry

8
  A goal of rich descriptions of the world rather than measurement of specific variables
Qualitative Research Methodologies
 Some of the most popular qualitative research methodologies are as follows:
 Ethnography
 Narrative
 Phenomenological
 Grounded Theory
 Case study (Multiple case)
Ethnography
 immerse yourself in the target participants’ environment to understand the goals, cultures,
challenges, motivations, and themes that emerge.
 roots in cultural anthropology where researchers immerse themselves within a culture, often
for years!
 Rather than relying on interviews or surveys, you experience the environment first hand, and
sometimes as a “participant observer.”
 Has its limits - ethics
Narrative
 narrative approach weaves together a sequence of events, usually from just one or two
individuals to form a cohesive story.
 You conduct in-depth interviews, read documents, and look for themes; in other words, how
does an individual story illustrate the larger life influences that created it.
 Has its limits – reliability and validity
Phenomenology
 Used to describe an event, activity, or phenomenon.
 use a combination of methods, such as conducting interviews, reading documents, watching
videos, or visiting places and events, to understand the meaning participants place on
whatever’s being examined.
 you don’t start with a well-formed hypothesis.
 you often conduct a lot of interviews, usually between 5 and 25 for common themes, to build
a sufficient dataset to look for emerging themes and to use other participants to validate your
findings
Case Study
 the case study is used in explaining an organization, entity, company, or event.
 A case study involves a deep understanding through multiple types of data sources.
 Case studies can be explanatory, exploratory, or describing an event

9
  The multiple case study is the same as above, but where multiple cases are considered e.g.
accredited institutions in TnT.
Research Questions
 In qualitative studies, researchers state a central question, and then go on to add sub-questions
that elaborate on the central question – Qualitative methods do not use hypotheses.
 The best amount of questions to have is 3-4. Any more than this, and one tends to step outside
of the measurable content area. – 1 central question, and 2-3 sub-questions.
 Qualitative questions are open ended – as such, phrasing like “what” or “how” are the best
ways to begin research questions. Avoid using the word “why” because it is almost
impossible to answer this in research that is not using statistical methods, and also it makes
the research not generalizable.
 Research questions can change based on the information found in the literature, as well as in
the study. They are not set in stone – however, changes should not be so drastic as to change
the nature and methodology of the study.
 Specify participants and research site of study in research questions.
Data Collection Methods
Primary Data
 Survey
 Open ended questions
 Interviews
 Semi- structured
 Unstructured
 Focus Group
 Participant/Non-participant Observation
Secondary Data
 Content Analysis
 Data Analysis
 Thematic analysis – categorize the data into themes and describe and analysis under each
theme.
 Grounded theory – develop a theory from the research collected and report it.
Quantitative Research Methods
 Experimental research – uses experimental methods. A sample of subjects is randomly
selected, they are randomly assigned to control and experimental control groups, the test is
administered to the control group only. Evaluation is done on the basis of the dependant
variable, and the independent variable is considered the cause of the dependant variable.

10
  Quasi-Experimental research – follows the general principle of experimental research without
the requirement of random assignment or the control group. In this kind of research, a
researcher may administer a pre-test and post-test instead of using control groups.
 Causal-Comparative Research – designed to determine the possible causes of phenomenon.
Usually studied after the effect has already occurred on a particular variable.
 Correlational Research – used to analyse the relationships between two or more variables.
E.g. principals leadership styles, and teacher morale. Correlation is NOT causation, but the
relationship between two variables can be the foundation of determining causation.
 Evaluation Research – makes judgements about the merit or worth of an educational process,
program, or product.
 Formative studies – study conducted during the development of the product or
process.
 Summative – study conducted after the completion of the product or process.
 Null and Alternate Hypotheses
 There are 2 types of hypothesis: null and alternate
 Null (H0 )Hypothesis
 This is the traditional expression of hypothesis testing – It makes a prediction that there is no
significant relationship in the population between the variables being tested.
 Alternate Hypothesis (H1) a.k.a directional
 Researcher makes a statement about the expected outcome based on literature review and
prior knowledge – this statement is directional in that it clarifies the expected prediction as
opposed to a non directional hypothesis that does not state the expected predication (basically
its much more generic).
 Example of Hypotheses
 Null: There is no statistically significant difference between the variation of student scores
and frequency of passing scores in the National High School Tech-Voc examination in St.
Croix.
 Directional Alternate: The frequency and variation of passing scores will be significantly less
than the variation of all student scores in the National High School Tech-Voc examination in
St. Croix.
 Non-directional Alternate: There is a statistically significant difference between the variation
of student scores and frequency of passing scores in the National High School Tech-Voc
examination in St. Croix
 Bear in Mind….
 The use of both research questions and hypotheses tend to cause redundancy – choose one.
 Use the same pattern of word order in the questions or hypotheses for easier reading –position
variable from left to right with independent variable followed by the dependent variable.
Data Analysis
 Statistical. :/

11
  Relationships between 2 variables – Correlation
 Descriptive statistics - Mean, mode, Median, Standard Deviation, Frequencies.
 Relationship between two or more variables – T-Test, ANOVA, ANCOVA
 Causal relationships - Regression
Qualitative vs. Quantitative
 Qualitative research tends to be more “rigid” when it comes to the scientific process.
 The quantifying of data allows for very little bias, and therefore much more control in
Quantitative research is emphasized a lot more than in qualitative – although, it should be
exceptional in both.
 Quantitative research tends to require researchers to pay much closer attention to:
 The generation of models, theories and hypotheses
 The development of instruments and methods for measurement
 Experimental control and manipulation of variables
 Collection of empirical data
 Modelling and analysis of data
 Both methodologies are scientific and important – it just depends on the nature of your study
which one would fit best.
Mixed Methods
 It is wiser to use Research questions, as Hypotheses rarely lend themselves toward qualitative
research
 One Research Question could require both quantitative and qualitative methodologies
 Some choose to have 1 quantitative and one qualitative research question in order to maintain
clarity.
 A mixed methods study tends to carry more weight on a particular method than on the other
i.e. A study may be more quantitative than qualitative. If so, the questions should be phrased
according to the weight of the study – the question that leads to the quantitative method first,
followed by the qualitative method.
 The Mixed Method Question
 This questions should be formatted in one of the following ways:
 1. Written to convey the procedure of the study – the qualitative question explains the
phenomena found in the quantitative aspect of the study.
 2. Written to convey the content of the study – the quantitative question explains the
phenomena found in the qualitative aspect of the study
 3. Written to convey both content and procedure – extent of relationship between quantitative
and qualitative (causality).
 Example of Mixed Methods Question

12
  To what extent do interviews with students and faculty serve to contribute to an
understanding of the predictability of the relationship between CEEPT scores and student
academic performance?
Reliability and Validity
 What is it?
 The terms are often used together because they are related, however, they do have different
meanings.
 Reliability – the consistency of study: If I do it again, will I get the same result?
 Validity - the accuracy of the study: did the study measure what it said it would? If you are
shy, but my test shows you are outgoing….is it valid?
 Bathroom scale
 Just as there is a difference between Qualitative and Quantitative research philosophy,
methodology, and data collection methods, there is also a difference between finding validity
and reliability in the two studies.
Qualitative Methods
 In qualitative research, reliability and validity are extremely intertwined because of the style
of the methodology.
 The following processes can be pursued in order to achieve best practice in reliability and
validity in qualitative research:
 Documentation of the data and the process of data collection
 Organization/categorization of the data into concepts
 Connection of the data to show how one concept may influence another
 Corroboration/legitimization, by evaluating alternative explanations, disconfirming evidence,
and searching for negative cases
 Representing the account (reporting the findings)
 Fact checking
Quantitative Reliability Methods
 Internal reliability, or internal consistency, is a measure of how well your test is actually
measuring what you want it to measure.
 External reliability means that your test or measure can be generalized beyond what you’re
using it for.
 For example, a claim that individual tutoring improves test scores should apply to more than
one subject (e.g. to English as well as math). A test for depression should be able to detect
depression in different age groups, for people in different socio-economic statuses, or
introverts.
 One specific type is parallel forms reliability, where two equivalent tests are given to
students a short time apart. If the forms are parallel, then the tests produce the same observed
results.

13
 Quantitative Validity Methods
1. Concurrent Validity.
2. Content Validity.
3. Convergent Validity.
4. Consequential Validity.
5. Criterion Validity.
6. Curricular Validity and Instructional Validity.
7. Ecological Validity.
8. External Validity.
9. Face Validity.
10. Formative validity & Summative Validity.
11. Internal Validity.
12. Predictive Validity.
13. Sampling Validity.
14. Statistical Conclusion Validity.
15. Internal Validity
 Confounders
 Internal validity is a way to measure if research is sound (i.e. was the research done right?).
It is related to how many confounding variables you have in your experiment. If you run an
experiment and avoid confounding variables, your internal validity is high; the more
confounding variables you have, the lower your internal validity. In a perfect world, your
experiment would have a high internal validity. This would allow you to have high
confidence that the results of your experiment are caused by only one independent variable.
 Content Validity: When you create a test or questionnaire for a particular subject, you want
the questions to actually measure what you want them to. This matching between test
questions and the content the questions are supposed to measure is called content validity. If
some of the test questions are measuring something else, this can create bias.
 More formally, that “something” you are trying to measure is called a construct. A construct
can be (almost) anything. Simple constructs include height, weight and IQ. More complicated
constructs include: ability to perform well at a certain job; competency with wide-ranging
subject areas like physics or U.S. history, and ability to evaluate other people’s psychiatric
condition.
Examples that are valid:
 Height (construct) measured in centimetres (measurement).
 AP Physics knowledge (construct) measured by the AP exam (measurement).
Examples of measurements that have debatable content validity:
 The Bar Exam is not a good measure of ability to practice law (see here).

14
  IQ tests are not a good way to measure intelligence (see here and here).
 Criterion Validity: Criterion validity (or criterion-related validity) measures how well one
measure predicts an outcome for another measure. A test has this type of validity if it is useful
for predicting performance or behaviour in another situation (past, present, or future). For
example:
 A job applicant takes a performance test during the interview process. If this test accurately
predicts how well the employee will perform on the job, the test is said to have criterion
validity.
 A graduate student takes the GRE. The GRE has been shown as an effective tool (i.e. it has
criterion validity) for predicting how well a student will perform in graduate studies.
 The first measure (in the above examples, the job performance test and the GRE) is
sometimes called the predictor variable or the estimator. The second measure is called
the criterion variable as long as the measure is known to be a valid tool for predicting
outcomes.
 External Validity: External validity helps to answer the question: can the research be applied
to the “real world”? If your research is applicable to other experiments, settings, people, and
times, then external validity is high.
 If the research cannot be replicated in other situations, external validity is low. It’s important
to know that your research is effective (internal validity) and that it is effective in other
situations.
 External validity is one of the most difficult types of validity to achieve. One reason for this is
that steps to make external validity high often result in a lowering of internal validity.
 Another reason is the multitudes of hidden and confounding variables that can affect your
experimental outcome.
 Face Validity: Face validity, also called logical validity, is a simple form of validity where
you apply a superficial and subjective assessment of whether or not your study or test
measures what it is supposed to measure.
 It is the easiest form of validity to apply to research. However, it doesn’t general include
much (if any at all) in the way of objective measurements. Therefore, it is often criticized as
the weakest form of validity.
 For example, IQ tests are supposed to measure intelligence. The test would be valid if it
accurately measured intelligence. Very early IQ tests would often have pictures of missing
items, like a missing tennis ball from a court, or a missing chimney from a house. At face
value, the test was thought to be valid and fair to speakers of languages other than English,
because pictures are a universal language. However, the test was actually biased against the
poor, who may not have ever seen a tennis court. It was also biased against people from some
Christian countries who thought a cross was missing from the roof, not a chimney.

Session 4 – Ethics in Research

Definitions:
Research is a systematic investigation to establish facts, define principles and collect information

15
within a specific field. It is particularly geared toward verifying truth and reality in order to solve
problems of concern within a given environment.

Ethics describes principles and codes of behaviour, the frame of reference by which values and
morals are defined; the rationale by which decisions and judgments are made and from which
accountability is held.

Discussion: The source of one’s ethics is important in its application whether it be humanistic, based
on social convention; or pantheistic, based on natural scientific phenomena; or theistic, grounded in
the providence of a Divine Potentate.

Recommended Perspective: This Presentation advances a Providentially Theistic Perspective of

Ethics which provides the universal rationale for decision making, practical action and judicial
accountability when applied to Academic Research. This is illustrated in the following diagram:

Ethical Approach: The practice of Aspirational Ethics takes Ethical conduct to a new level inspired by
ideals and virtues which are internally driven and which are defined by integrity, professional
competence, social responsibility, respect and honour for all men equally, and preserve a sense of
the fear of God.

Session 5 - What Is Research Writing

Choosing & Narrowing your topic
• Read everything you can get your hands on in relation to the field of study you intend to
embark on.
• Course material, newspapers, journals, current discussions/conferences, unpublished
documents, books, blogs.

16
• In my experience, journal articles tend to break topics down into different subcategories – it
may be easy for you to choose one of these subcategories to be the topic of your research
study.
Strategies
The following strategies can be employed for selection of a research topic:
• Directed free writing
• Listing
• Outlining
• Cluster & branch – Brainstorming
DRAFTING
• Constructing the Thesis
• What is a thesis statement?
• The thesis is a one or two sentence summary of the papers content or intended content –
Usually at the end of the Problem Statement.
• It presents the controlling idea of the paper
• It is usually an assertion or claim made that a research study can build on.
• It is only possible with prior knowledge of the subject matter
• Do not claim something that has already been proven
• A thesis can be either exploratory – explain how a process is done, or argumentative
– explore why a process occurred.
The Introduction
• Although placed at the beginning of the paper, they can be better written upon completion of
the study.
• It is the connection between the familiar world of the reader and unfamiliar world of your
study – so be clear and to the point
• You should use citations.
• Remember not to go into too much detail in the introduction
• No conclusions should be drawn in the introduction
• Should include a background or context of the study
• Should discuss the problem that your study seeks to eliminate or explain
• Should most definitely include the thesis statement
The Conclusion
• A conclusion includes a summary of your paper, but that is not all.
• More important than the summary are the discussions and recommendations that come out of
the study.

17
 • Discuss the larger significance of the study
• Call for further research
• A conclusion should always present a solution to the problem stated in the introduction
• May even raise a question…
Ways to find a topic
• The following are the ways to find a research topic –
• You could have one, or a selection of the following methods used to find your research
topic…
• 1) A Flash of Brilliance
• You wake up one day with a new insight/idea
• New approach to solve an important open problem
• 2) The Term Project
• You take a project or course that gives you a new perspective
• The project/paper combines your research project with the course project
• 3) Re-do & Re-invent
• You work on some projects
• Re-implement or re-do
• Identify an improvement, algorithm, proof
• You have now discovered a topic
• 4) The Apprentice
• Your advisor may have a list of topics
• Suggests one (or more!) that you can work on
• Can save you a lot of time/anxiety
• 5) Many papers = Thesis
• You work on a number of small topics that turn into a series of conference papers
Topic vs. Problem
• Research Topic: The broad general area expected to investigate. It is a broad idea or concept
from which many problems may be delineated.
• Research Problem: A situation or circumstance that requires a solution to be described,
explained, or predicted. It is an unsatisfactory situation that wants you to confront.
If there is a knowledge gap in an area that needs to be investigated, the research problem identifies
this gap. Whereas the research topic is simply a broad area of interest, the research problem
identifies what is problematic about that topic.
Thesis Statement: A statement specifies exactly what is being studied.

18
Example of a Problem Statement
• “With the concept of education for all, there are students now entering the Secondary Schools
with a very low performance on their proficiency of reading and comprehension. This poses a
serious setback not only in the subject of English and Literature, but in subjects throughout
the curriculum.
• Some of the students entering the Secondary School, although they may be able to read or
decode words, are forced to go through the system of promotion whether or not they have
successfully completed one form or mastered a level of reading efficiency to be promoted.
This, may in the long run, result in Secondary School graduates not having a number of
passes attached to their names.”
• E. Deonat (2015)
Research Purpose
• It is the specific aim or goal hope to be accomplished. It reflects “ why the problem is being
studied”
• Example of a purpose statement:
• The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between nurse’s job satisfaction and
tendency to leave.
• Developing the problem – Step 1
Step 1: Selection of the research topic:
At this stage, it doesn’t matter if the terms used are broad or specific, abstract or concrete. The
important point is to put ideas on papers.
• Developing the problem – Step 2
Step 2: Contemplating the ideas, then explore the phenomena by examining the following areas:
1. The topic’s/situation’s problems/precipitating factors.
2. How it is exactly viewed or perceived by the researcher.
3. What are the responses of others who are involved in the situation?
4. The personal involvement in the situation.
5. Emotions felt.
6. Values and biases inherent in or related to the topic/situation.
7. Risk factors associated with searching this topic/situation/problem.
8. What contribution the research would offer.
• Developing the problem – Step 3
Step 3: Narrowing the topic
Once a research topic has been specified, the researcher must then narrow it down in order to develop
a research problem.
This is done through generating questions from the research topic.

19
List of questions can be developed from the research topic, and then investigated in relation to its
feasibility to research.
• Bear in Mind….
• Reviewing the related literature at this stage may throw light on:
 Theoretical framework.
 Methodology.
 Data collection methods.
 Data collection tools
• Developing the problem – Step 4
Step 4: Writing the statement of the research problem
• Expressed in a statement – not a page or essay, a statement that could be 1 or 2 paragraphs
long.
• This statement serves as a guide to the researcher in the course of designing the study.
• Bear in mind…
• In any research undertaking, one must always bear in mind:
• Availability of research participants:
• Ethical consideration
• Facilities and equipment
• Co operation of the others
• Operationalization/Access
• Qualifications and experience of the researcher
• Significance of the problem
• Exercise
• Lets come up with a problem!
Research Questions & Hypotheses
Qualitative Methods
• Research Questions
• In qualitative studies, researchers state a central question, and then go on to add sub-questions
that elaborate on the central question – Qualitative methods do not use hypotheses.
• The best amount of questions to have is 3-4. Any more than this, and one tends to step outside
of the measurable content area. – 1 central question, and 2-3 sub-questions.
• Qualitative questions are open ended – as such, phrasing like “what” or “how” are the best
ways to begin research questions. Avoid using the word “why” because it is almost
impossible to answer this in research that is not using statistical methods, and also it makes
the research not generalizable.

20
• Research questions can change based on the information found in the literature, as well as in
the study. They are not set in stone – however, changes should not be so drastic as to change
the nature and methodology of the study.
• Specify participants and research site of study in research questions.
Example of Research Questions
• 1. How can Principals and Staff work together to implement pedagogies conducive to slow
learners at the Marabella South Secondary school?
• 2. Does ability grouping work for the benefit of all students at the Marabella South Secondary
school?
• 3. How can slow learners be paced by teachers to successfully complete the syllabus in the
prescribed time at the Marabella South Secondary school?
Quantitative Methods
• Research Questions
• Inquire about the extent, and nature of relationship between, or among variables.
• Although this is quantitative research methods, the research questions are still highly
descriptive or inferential.
• Research questions tend to focus on the independent (Question 1), then the dependent
(Question 2), then the relationship between 2 variables, or the moderator variable (Question
3).
• Example of Research Questions
• 1. What is the variation of all student scores the National High School Tech-Voc examination
in St. Croix? (Descriptive question on independent variable)
• 2. What is the frequency of passing scores on the National High School Tech-Voc
examination in St. Croix? (Descriptive question on dependent variable)
• 3. What is the relationship between variation of student scores and frequency of passing
scores in the National High School Tech-Voc examination in St. Croix? (inferential question
relating the 2 variables)
Hypotheses
• A hypothesis is a prediction the researcher makes about the expected outcome of relationships
among the variables.
• Numerical estimates of the population based on data collected from a sample.
• Testing a hypothesis involves using statistical inferences to draw conclusions about the
population from the sample.
• There are 2 types of hypothesis: null and alternate
• Similarly to a thesis statement, a hypothesis is, essentially, the linguistic expression of a
testable theory.
• It is expressed as an “if-blank-then-blank “situation.

21
• The purpose of a hypothesis is to help create testable parameters through which information
can be gained.
• The hypothesis is a much more quantitative root.
Writing the Hypothesis
• Step one is to think of a general hypothesis, including everything that you have observed and
reviewed during the information gathering stage of any research design. This stage is often
called developing the research problem
• Step 1: Water levels affect the amount of lice suffered by rainbow trout
• Step 2: Rainbow trout suffer more lice when water levels are low.
• Step 3: Rainbow trout suffer more lice in low water conditions because there is less oxygen
in the water.
• This is a testable hypothesis – the researcher has established variables, and by measuring the
amount of oxygen in the water, eliminating other controlled variables, such as temperature, he
can see if there is a correlation between the number of lice and the fish.
• Null and Alternate Hypotheses
• There are 2 types of hypothesis: null and alternate
• Null (H0 )Hypothesis
• This is the traditional expression of hypothesis testing – It makes a prediction that there is no
significant relationship in the population between the variables being tested.
• Alternate Hypothesis (H1) a.k.a directional
• Researcher makes a statement about the expected outcome based on literature review and
prior knowledge – this statement is directional in that it clarifies the expected prediction as
opposed to a non directional hypothesis that does not state the expected predication (basically
its much more generic).
• Example of Hypotheses
• Null: There is no statistically significant difference between the variation of student scores
and frequency of passing scores in the National High School Tech-Voc examination in St.
Croix.
• Directional Alternate: The frequency and variation of passing scores will be significantly less
than the variation of all student scores in the National High School Tech-Voc examination in
St. Croix.
• Non-directional Alternate: There is a statistically significant difference between the variation
of student scores and frequency of passing scores in the National High School Tech-Voc
examination in St. Croix
• Bear in Mind….
• The use of both research questions and hypotheses tend to cause redundancy – choose one.
• Use the same pattern of word order in the questions or hypotheses for easier reading –position
variable from left to right with independent variable followed by the dependent variable.

22
• Lets come up with 3 research questions based on the topic!!!
Mixed Methods
• Research Questions
• It is wiser to use Research questions, as Hypotheses rarely lend themselves toward qualitative
research
• One Research Question could require both quantitative and qualitative methodologies
• Some choose to have 1 quantitative and one qualitative research question in order to maintain
clarity.
• A mixed methods study tends to carry more weight on a particular method than on the other
i.e. A study may be more quantitative than qualitative. If so, the questions should be phrased
according to the weight of the study – the question that leads to the quantitative method first,
followed by the qualitative method.
• This questions should be formatted in one of the following ways:
• 1. Written to convey the procedure of the study – the qualitative question explains the
phenomena found in the quantitative aspect of the study.
• 2. Written to convey the content of the study – the quantitative question explains the
phenomena found in the qualitative aspect of the study
• 3. Written to convey both content and procedure – extent of relationship between quantitative
and qualitative (causality).
• Example of Mixed Methods Question
• To what extent do interviews with students and faculty serve to contribute to an
understanding of the predictability of the relationship between CEEPT scores and student
academic performance?

Session 6 - Literature Review

• What is a Synthesis?
• A Synthesis is a written discussion that draws on two or more sources.
• The purpose of synthesis is often to explain or prove a particular point of process.
• The way your sources relate in your written discussion is all dependant on the purpose of your
paper.
• Just like a news paper article should do, an explanatory synthesis is to convey information.
• It defines and explains the key concepts in a particular phenomenon or study
• It does so without taking a particular positions or providing commentary on the implications
discovered.
Writing the Explanatory synthesis
• Divide the subject into parts and explain, and present the various components to the reader.
• Facts are presented in a clear and objective manner.

23
• An explanatory thesis statement has to be broad enough to encompass the main points of all
the relevant reading done in the literature review.
Evaluating the literature
• First things first…
• Decipher whether the article/chapter you are reviewing is a scholarly piece.
• Who is the author?
• Is it peer reviewed?
• Is it up-to-date?
• Is it relevant
• Is it published in a well established journal/book?
• Does it have all the required referencing components?
Referencing components of a Journal Article
• Title of the work
• Name of the Author
• Name of the Journal
• Date of Publication
• Publisher
• Location of publisher
• Volume number
• Issue number
• Page numbers
• DOI number (in most cases for e-journals)
READING!!!
• This is the most important part of the critique process – actually – of any academic work.
• Begin by forming the summary of the work in your mind.
• Try to eliminate bias of your own.
• In reading what the writer says, you will automatically form your own opinions. Try
to prevent these opinions from influencing the scientific discourse of critical review.
• Check other experts concerning the subject matter.
• It is impossible to critically review a work without knowing what others say about the
subject.
• It is also impossible to scientifically critique a work if you don’t know enough (not
everything but enough) about the subject matter.
• How well and accurately did the author evaluate the facts presented?

24
• To what extent does the author achieve their purpose?
• Is the purpose of the author achieved through scientific discourse? Or theoretical
perspective?
• Is there a logical progression of the argument from beginning to end?
Bias
• Bias is something that cannot be avoided. It has to exist, although we wish it didn’t.
• The purpose of scientific research is to eliminate bias as much as possible, and get results that
are as valid and reliable as they can be.
• However, Bias at the beginning of a paper, regardless of whether scientific research was
conducted or not, will most definitely result in a biased result.
• It is your job as the reader to analyse whether or not the author was able to eliminate bias as
much as possible and conduct a truly scientific study.
• Bias can be easily identified by looking at the following areas:
• The biography of the author
• Demographic of the study
• Age of the study
• The experts cited in the study
What is a Summary?
• A summary is a brief restatement of what you hear or read, but in your own words
• It highlights the central idea of the passage, while giving a brief explanation.
• How is a Summary done?
• Firstly, a summary is done in your head:
• As soon as you begin to read a passage or hear a speech, your mind automatically
translates it to a language you would understand and use if you were to repeat it.
• Pay attention to the thoughts you have when hearing and reading as this informs your
summary.
• In order for your thought to be reflective you have to understand and internalize what
you read – this ay require you read the same sentence, paragraph, or document more
than once. That’s fine. As long as you can pin point the central idea of the passage
you can summarize it.
• Secondly, a summary must follow the logical progression that the author used in their original
passage. When you are re-stating, ensure that you reflect the ideas in the manner in which
they were presented
• In ensuring you present the ideas in the correct order, it is also important to reflect the
ideas with the same emphasis as the author. Remember, it is a summary, not a
critique or an opinion paper. Your bias has no place therein.

25
• In your summary, the first thing you should talk about is the central idea of the passage, better
known as the thesis. A summary is usually inductive – that is – you start with the specific idea
of the author, and then elaborate on it with the rest of information presented in the passage.
Length of the Summary
• The word summary means:
• a brief statement or account of the main points of something
• not including needless details or formalities; brief.
• The repeated word here is “brief”
• Ensure that your summary is not a long winded detailed recollection of the authors thoughts.
It should be brief.
• I tend to recommend a 1:10 page ratio.
• However, it is important to note that the audience of your summary would determine the
length of the summary. Some circumstances call for a 3:10 ratio, some call for less. Use your
discretion.
• Anything can be summarized.
• I referred to passages, but you may have to summarize line graphs, charts, tables, and other
items that are non-verbal.
• A summary in this case remains the same – a brief restatement of what you seen.
The Paraphrase
• What is a paraphrase?
• Paraphrasing, unlike summarizing, is approximately the same length as the original passage.
• Paraphrasing is usually done for 2 main reasons:
• 1. To make the information understandable to a particular audience
• 2. To include in text as a reference, without directly quoting the source in an attempt
to keep the flow of the passage.
• Similarly to the summary, once you begin to read a passage, you should begin to internalize
it.
• However, in this case, you do not need to think about cutting down, or omitting details, as the
paraphrase should include the details.
• THE PARAPHRASE IS ROUGHLY THE SAME LENGTH AS THE ORINIGAL
PASSAGE.
• Eliminating bias is also very important.
When to use a Summary or to Paraphrase
• Choosing between summarizing and paraphrasing is a combination of your discretion and the
purpose for which you are including the material in your work.
• Summaries are usually done for simpler articles or chapters in a book. Paraphrases are usually
for more difficult or important paragraphs of sentences.

26
• Summaries are usually to help save your readers time, whereas paraphrases are usually used
to help clarify an unclear or ambiguous passage.
• Choosing whether to summarise or paraphrase is also based on how important the message of
the material is.

Session 7 - How to Write the Research Paper

• Based on what we have learnt so far, how would you write your paper?
• What section would you start researching first
• What section would you being writing first?
• Would you edit as you go along or wait until the end?
• How will you gather your sources?
Preliminary pages
• There are a few preliminary pages for the research proposal/Thesis at most tertiary
institutions, or according to your style manual.
• The preliminary pages in your document should/may include:
• 1. Cover Page
• 2. Approval Page
• 3. Table of Contents
• 4. Abstract/Executive Summary
• 5. List of Tables (if applicable)
• 6. List of Figures (if applicable)
• 7. List of Acronyms (if applicable)
Chapter 1 - Introduction
• Headings in this chapter should include:
• Background of the study – this is the connection of the authors work to real world in which
the reader lives. Give the reader an idea about the history/context of the research area.
• Statement of the Problem – this is exactly what it says – a statement of the problem that you
are going to research. In order to conduct a research study, there has to be a problem or issue
that your are looking at. Break it down clearly so the reader understand where you are coming
from.
• Purpose of the Study – this section need not be more than 4/5 lines where you simply say
what your study is going to do. It is quite probably an elaboration of your thesis statement.
E.g. This study is going to…
• Research Questions – These are 2-5 questions that show exactly what you are going to
explore throughout the course of this study. There is usually a Primary research question, and
then the remaining questions bare a breakdown of the primary question.

27
• Hypothesis (if applicable) – This is the proposed explanation for the issue/problem that your
study seeks to address. It is a brief statement.
• Significance of the Study – This speaks to the rationale of the study, as well as who will
benefit from the findings of the study, and why.
• Theoretical Framework (some advisers prefer this to be in the Lit. Review) – This is the
theory that guides your research study. It could be a theoretical construct from any discipline,
as long as it can cushion the study. For example, if you are doing a study on behaviour in
adolescents, you could take a social theory on deviant behaviour as your theoretical
framework as it will help to structure the angle that the study is understood from.
Chapter 2 – Review of the Literature
• What the Literature Review is
• The literature review is exactly that – a review of the literature
• By the time write-up comes around, you should have interacted with, and critically reviewed
so many sources that writing a literature review should be a breeze.
• In reviewing your literature, you want to categorize the literature into themes that relate to
your study through your Research Questions/hypothesis.
• The literature review is not a critical review, therefore, your opinions of the literature are not
required. You are simply restating/summarizing what was said by other researchers or experts
on the subject matter.
• The headings in the Literature review will vary dependant on the themes brought out in the
literature concerning your study, and also the angle from which you are conducting your
study.

• Based on the research questions formulated in your group, come up with some headings
for the literature review
• Chapter 3 - Methodology
• What the Methodology is
• This chapter is a combination of the methodology and method.
• Yes…these are two different things.
• The methodology is the Philosophy and theoretical discussion of how the study is conducted.
• The Method is the exact manner in which it will be done.
• Done – this means data collection and data analysis methods
• Headings include
• Research design
• Sample
• Instrument
• Data collection methods
• Data analysis methods

28
• Ethical considerations
Chapter 4 – Presentation of Findings
• Data Analysis and Facts
• This chapter is simply a presentation of the Findings.
• In quantitative studies, this is analysis post statistical data analysis using programs and
software to interpret the figures collected into meaningful categories ready for explanation.
• In qualitative methods this is simply re-stating what was said, or done, also in categories
ready for explanation.
• Use of charts and graphs are possible, and welcomed in both quantitative and qualitative
studies.
Chapter 5 – Conclusion
• In a conclusion, you summarize everything that was intended, done, and found in your
research process. Here you discuss the research process.
• Within your conclusion, there are two very important sections that determine the validity of
your contribution to the body of knowledge:
• The recommendations for solving the problem
• The recommendations for further research
• Make sure to state what you have contributed to the body of knowledge!
• Review and Final Comments
• Please fill out your evaluation forms!

29