THE
RESEARCH PAPER
|
Sampling |
|
|
·
The aim |
Constructing the
questionnaire |
|
Conducting successful
observations |
|
|
Data analysis |
|
|
1. The proposal |
|
|
2. Preliminary reading |
|
|
Types of qualitative
studies |
3. Setting up a work
schedule |
|
4. Keeping a research
log book or a journal |
|
|
Finding subjects |
5. Data collection |
|
The interview |
6. Data analysis |
|
Tips on how to conduct
an interview |
7. Writing the research
paper |
|
Analysis of interviews |
|
|
·
Surveys |
The aim of the research paper, which is a requirement in the second term of the
academic year for the advanced students, and sometimes for the intermediate
students too, is to equip our students with precious skills of conducting
research using various sources and then putting up all the data they have
gathered into one meaningful whole and interpreting the results. They also learn
how to format papers, how to present information, how to cite works and write bibliographies. In short, they learn those skills when stakes are not too
high. Starting with their freshman year, the students will have to conduct
research and will be graded on their work. In their prep year they can do that
to practice.
2.1.
Lifting or plagiarism: A common
complaint of all prep school teachers is that students use material available on
the internet, or in library books, copy information from these sources and
without any acknowledgement, modification, analysis or paraphrasing submit the paper to their teachers. In such
cases, many teachers are led to believe that doing research papers is pointless
if not futile.
2.2
What topics lead to lifting: The
most important step to prevent lifting is choosing the research question
carefully. When the research question is not well formulated or when the
student goes for information that can be found in encyclopedias, lifting
becomes inevitable.
e.g.
“ The History of
With a topic like this, our students are bound to come up with
encyclopedic information. A prep school student, who is no expert in history,
cannot interpret the history of
e.g.
“Environmental Pollution in the Mediterranean Region”
Again such a topic is dangerous because 1. It is
too broad as a topic, 2. It requires expert knowledge to interpret, 3. Our
students are not informed enough to put together that kind of information
intelligently. Therefore, the result is going to be quoting one or two writers
without even acknowledging the sources.
e.g.
“The Komodo Monster” (which
is my favorite example.)
What can a student do about such a topic apart from
consulting some encyclopedias or natural history books? A student of mine presented
information in such a way that it looked like he himself had done all the
studies in Malaysia jungles, observing the hunting habits of this monstrous
lizard.
Our
students are novices in every way: They are novices in English language and
they are also novices in academic life. Therefore, when they are assigned the
question “What is X?” they will go to the library and gather information from
whatever source they can find, put it together without putting it through any
analytical process of thinking.
The
correct research question must be formulated so as to produce results that the
students have to find out by themselves, or at least
that they have to interpret intelligently and with sufficient amount of
reasoning.
Given
their level of academic expertise, students must be pursuing research on topics
that they are familiar with, or that they can study safely using their general
knowledge plus some amount of reading. (The golden rule of (i+1) where “i”
represents the student’s level of competence or information.) The reading they
do must be of the kind they can analyze and read critically with their level of
knowledge and English.
e.g.
An oral history project to be done with the residents of one of the
e.g.
Environmental pollution in YADYOK building or on BU campus.
students may come up with data showing the extent of the pollution we are
producing here before our noses.
The
research project can be of two types
There
are also quantitative methods of research; however, since our students do not
possess the required knowledge of statistics that accompany that kind of
research, we should make do with the two types mentioned above.
B.1.
Library research: As discussed above
library research, or in more modern form the Internet sources, usually takes
the form of informative research, that is the student gathers information on a
topic. A library or Internet research project should be carefully monitored by
the teacher to prevent plagiarizing. A library research paper usually
takes the form of the literature review paper.
I. Purpose of the literature review paper The purpose of the literature review paper may be:
e.g. AIDS: What medical knowledge is there?
What
are the current methods of treatment?
What
drugs, medicine are used?
What
is the epidemiology of the disease?
e.g. Theories of second language learning from past to
present
e.g. Theories of second language learning compared and
contrasted
As
discussed above, such a research process needs to be carefully monitored by the
teacher. Starting from the submission of the research proposal, the teacher
should emphasize the importance of student contribution and originality. During
the stage of writing the paper, the importance of paraphrasing, summarizing and
quoting from the original sources needs to be emphasized. Otherwise, students
are bound to produce plagiarized papers.
Instead,
such literature review may be integrated into the research paper itself.
Literature review is an integral part of every research paper, and preliminary
reading constitutes the backbone of the research process. From choosing a topic
to what method to use, from the interpretation of data to the interpretation of
results, the researcher has to refer to data and scientific knowledge
accumulated by other researchers in the field.
When
looking for sources about a topic, students should consider the following
issues:
While
doing literature review, students may discover new areas to be studied and they
may modify their initial questions.
For
a sample of a paper based on library research, see “Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings”
Qualitative
research may include such methods as:
Such
techniques are easier to use, do not require exact measurements or
sophisticated statistical methods, and with right amount of guidance our
students can safely conduct research in the fields with which they are
slightly familiar.
Qualitative
research produces descriptive data based on the researcher’s observations or on
the words of the people interviewed. Such data cannot be subjected to
quantitative (statistical) analysis methods, but give in depth information on
the subject studied.
In
order to learn the views, opinions, and evaluations of people, we conduct
interviews. Interviews can be of two types:
In
structured interviews, students prepare a set of questions and try to
obtain answers to these questions. Data analysis is easier, because they have comparable categories for each respondent, and
they can analyze what each
respondent said as an answer to each question and compare and contrast their
answers.
Unstructured
interviews: The researchers only
have the topic of the interview but no set questions to ask the interviewee.
The interview may follow whatever course the interviewee chooses to talk about.
Every subject may dwell on a different aspect of the topic in question, and as
a result, data from individual subjects may not be comparable. On the other
hand, such data provide in depth information in great detail about individual
subjects.
For
our own purposes, structured interviews where the interviewer focuses on a set
of predetermined questions, and tries to obtain answers to these questions are
more feasible since we cannot expect our students to conduct case studies or
personality analyses.
A soon as you get home, write down your impressions, comments, etc.
before you forget them. It is a good idea to keep a research journal in which
you record all your observations, questions, problems, and interpretations.
.
Most people are happy to answer the questions asked by university
students and welcome them, showing a cooperative attitude. However, there are a
few guidelines every wise researcher must be careful about:
The data obtained during the interviews can be analyzed in two ways:
Depending on the topic of research, one of the two methods may be
used.
For a sample paper based on interview technique, see “Problems of the Turkish Theater”
2. Surveys
Surveys
are one of the most frequently used methods of social research, and are used by
the government, academic researchers in universities, campaign organizations,
marketing researchers, opinion pollsters, and many similar groups.
All
surveys aim to describe or explain the characteristics or opinions of a general
population through the use of a representative sample.
Our
students too can conduct surveys of a smaller scale with a set of carefully
designed questions. Examples of topics may be the leisure time activities of BU
students or their attitudes towards current issues or their opinions on certain
topics.
Comparative
studies are also within the scope of such survey studies, e.g. comparison of
the attitudes of BU students and ITU students to current political issues.
The
theory in survey method is that all subjects are asked the same questions in
the same way, therefore a questionnaire must be prepared and a sample of the
target group must be taken.
I. Sampling
The important principle our students at this introductory level should
know is that the sample should be representative of the population. For
instance, if the students want to study the BU students in general, the sample
should not consist of prep students only, but should include students from each
year of the university. Or if they target the students staying at the dorm,
then they should not include those students who do not stay at the dorm. More
advanced principles of representativeness of the
sample can be ignored for our purposes. However, since requirements of representativeness – such as random sampling or quota
sampling, which require some knowledge of statistics - cannot be met in our
case, we should not expect the students to employ any statistical methods,
since these methods are based on such assumptions of representativeness.
II. Constructing the questionnaire
The most important point to be considered when designing a
questionnaire is to construct the questions unambiguously and to be clear in
mind about what the question is for, what it tries to find out or assess.
If the researcher keeps in mind these issues, questions will be well
designed.
After formulating the questions, it is a good idea to test them on a
few people. Other people may interpret the questions differently from the
questionnaire writer. Therefore, if the questions are piloted before they are
given to the target population, possible misunderstandings and ambiguities in
the questions may be remedied before they are actually used.
Language of the questions: Questions should be
·
In the
language of the target population
·
Clear enough
to be understood by the respondents
·
Clear enough
to bring out the information the researcher is looking for
·
Worded as
simply as possible
A good question does not lead the respondents or lead to ambiguity.
e.g. “How many newspapers a day do you buy?”
This question assumes that the respondents buy newspapers everyday. A
better way to ask would be:
“Do you buy newspapers?”
If yes, “Do you buy newspapers every day?”
If yes, “How many newspapers a day do you buy?”
Our
students can use observation technique to gather data on a topic of their
choice. One simple example would be observing classroom behavior. Things to be
observed could be “Are girls more active than boys?” or “How do teachers
respond to disruptive behavior in class?”
I. Conducting successful observations
When making observations the important point is knowing what to observe. A lot of people look around in a
classroom and see nothing unusual or nothing worth recording. However, to a
trained eye there are patterns of behavior emerging, responses being given and
themes forming. In order to make successful observations:
1.
Decide what
behavior to observe
2. Decide
how you will make the observation: with the help of a checklist or unstructured observation.
In either way, the researcher starts with a set of questions.
3.
Choose a
setting: decide where you will observe the group you have selected
4.
Look carefully
5.
Make notes
while you are observing the target group
6.
Evaluate your
notes immediately after you finish your observation
7.
Analyze your
data
If we go back to the initial example of “How do
teachers respond to disruptive behavior in class?”
1. You decide
what constitutes disruptive behavior, e.g. students talking among themselves,
not responding to the teacher, doing other things in class, coming to class
late, etc.
2.
Decide how you
will do the observation: In class, from beginning to the end of the lesson, how
many hours
3.
Decide where
the observation will take place: In which school, in which class, etc.
4.
Decide whether
to make notes or use a check list
II. Data analysis
v
Data can be
analyzed in terms of the frequency of occurrence of the behavior or the
emergence of themes and patterns.
e.g. Disruptive behavior study
·
How many times
each type of behavior occurred
·
How the
teachers responded and with what frequency
v
Another
approach may be just going to the class, watching carefully what is going on
during the lesson between the teacher and the students, seeing what the teacher
considers as disruptive behavior and recording the behavior and how it is
treated by the teacher.
Data analysis of such an observation will be more in a case study or narrative format.
e.g. Study on disruptive behavior in class
“In a class a student who had a leading role among his class mates was
hostile towards the class teacher. He tried to make all the jokes himself and
wanted to get a good laugh from the class. When the teacher tried to make a
joke, the student tried to stop his class mates from laughing at the teacher’s
jokes, thus preventing them from forming an alliance with the teacher.”
Observation, be it structured or unstructured, may
produce many interesting results and can also teach our students to really look
at things happening in their surroundings and see patterns, themes and order in
what seems to be chaotic. Observation can also produce further research
questions and is conducive to formulating further research projects.
4. Oral
History
Different from
written history, which records global events and changes of historical
importance, oral history concerns itself with the experiences, memories, and
evaluations of individuals. These individual recollections also constitute
a part of history and are of significant importance because they bear
witness to events from the viewpoint of the individual members of the society.
With the spread of recording machines and the Internet, oral history studies
which focus on the experiences and personal accounts of individuals gained
themselves a niche in keeping records of the present and the past for the
future generations.
“We all have stories to
tell, stories we have lived from the inside out. We give our experiences an
order. We organize the memories of our lives into stories.
Oral history listens to these stories. Oral history is the systematic
collection of living people’s testimony about their own experiences. Historians
have finally recognized that the everyday memories of everyday people, not just
the rich and famous, have historical importance. If we do not collect and
preserve those memories, those stories, then one day they will disappear
forever.
Your stories and the stories of the people around you are unique,
valuable treasures for your family and your community. You and your family members
can preserve unwritten family history using oral history techniques. Likewise
you and your community can discover and preserve unwritten history large and
small. Oral history is so flexible that people of all ages can adapt the
techniques of asking and listening to create and learn about history and
historical narratives.”
Moyer (1999, Step by Step Guide to Oral History)
A useful link where you can find all basic information on how to conduct
oral history studies is:
http://dohistory.org/on_your_own/toolkit/oralHistory.html
With knowledge
of simple techniques of asking questions and recording the data, our students
too can employ oral history methods to record the recollections of people.
e.g. Oral history project in Arnavutkoy:
"Arnavutkoy past and present, neighborly
relations in the past and the present."
A group of
advanced students in spring 2004 conducted such a study in Arnavutkoy.
The steps were as follows:
·
They started to
read about the past of the neighborhood, and as they read on they came up with
more questions
·
They contacted
the neighborhood NGO (Arnavutkoy Semt
Girisimi), and started talking with them about the
looming danger of the third bridge across the Bosphorus.
·
They contacted
the local residents
·
They started
to gather information about which local residents are knowledgeable about the
past of the neighborhood
·
They conducted
interviews with these old residents and video recorded the interviews
·
They took
pictures of the neighborhood residents and the key architectural spots
As can be seen,
such a project involves the following steps:
·
Background
reading
·
Setting up the
research topic
·
Setting up the
interview questions to focus on
·
Finding people
·
Conducting
interviews
·
Recording the
interviews
·
Evaluation of
the data
For
sample research papers based on oral history technique, see “Arnavutkoy: Past and Present”
and
The teachers must ask their students to formulate a
research question and write a proposal in which the students state
After
the teachers approve the research proposal, the students can then start to
collect data.
Qualitative research does not preclude reading and
consulting resources in the library or on the Internet because in order to
·
formulate
their research proposal,
·
construct
their observational tools,
·
develop their
interview questions,
·
interpret the
data they have gathered,
the students will need some background information.
This information they can only acquire by doing some reading. Therefore, as a second step after the submission of the proposals
teachers can ask their students to submit a bibliography of related reading.
From the very start, it is a good idea to set up a work
schedule, announce the deadlines to the students and keep a copy of
this on the class bulletin board.
·
Working
towards deadlines,
·
Planning ahead
·
Keeping the
deadlines
must be some of the basic skills the students must
learn while doing these projects.
4.
Keeping
a research log book or a journal
One way of making sure that the students are
carrying out the research work themselves and also going in the right direction
is to ask them to keep a research journal. In this journal, which may be
checked by the teacher at regular intervals, the students can write
·
The stages of
research they are in
·
The problems
they encounter
·
Their
observations, interpretations, evaluations regarding the data collection and
reading process
·
The hints and
new ideas that occur to them as they move along
Such a journal has a twofold function:
·
It helps the teacher
to regularly check what stage the student is currently in
·
It helps the
student to formulate his ideas better, and functions as a real log book which
prevents them from getting lost
5.
Data
collection
At the beginning of this stage, the students may need
some help with locating target groups, contacting them, gaining permission and
admission to those groups. If necessary the teacher must provide a letter of
introduction to the students specifying the scope and the nature of the study
they have undertaken.
6. Data analysis
As we discussed before, the methods suggested here
do not require any knowledge of statistics. However, teacher-student
conferences about the nature of the data collected and how the data can be
analyzed and presented may be useful. Most of the time, the students will have
to decide in which form they will present their data and how they will
interpret it. Microsoft Word chart maker or Excel programs may come handy in
converting data into tabular or graphic form, and with only a little
encouragement, our students become adept users of such programs. Actually they
enjoy preparing charts and other graphic presentations, especially if for their
presentations they are given assistance with data show and overhead projectors.
7. Writing the research paper
Every teacher will have her own specifications for
the format and the length of the paper to be submitted to her; however, with
the help of the handouts provided by the curriculum office, the aim must be
approximating a formal research paper as much as possible. The CC handouts on
how to write research papers must be adequate, if not, there are other
resources available on the Internet. Consulting the APA, MLA and Chicago style
manuals would be a good idea.
1. Purdue University OWL has excellent handouts for
Research
Skills and Resources and Writing Research Papers
Evaluating Sources of
Information
2.
and Documentation
APA, MLA and other style manuals
Written by Zeliha Gulcat, May 2004