Module Three (part 1)

Course Title: Research Methods
Course Credit Hrs.: 6 per week
Level: A+B+C
Program: Joint Supervision -Graduate Partnerships Program
Term: Spring 2014/2015
Module 3
Part 1
Instructor: Dr. Noora Al-Malki
Credits of images and online content are to their original owners
Copyright (a) noora malki 2014

Presentation Content
- Learning Outcomes
- Components of a proposal
- Review of Literature
- Quantitative Methods
- Qualitative Methods
- Questionnaire Design (e-
Questionnaires)
- Components of a Research Paper
- Research Web Apps (Diigo, etc)
- NEXT Week
11/04/14 Dr. Noora Malki, al (c) all rights reserved 2

Learning Outcomes
Upon completing this part of the module, students will be able to:
a.Identify the components of a proposal
b.locate and critically evaluate relevant literature.
c.engage in highly collaborative and communicative guided discussions and brain
storming sessions about research activities (offline & online).

Components of a Proposal
A proposal is a an outline of your proposed research project
that is designed to:
1.Define a clear research question and a specific approach to
addressing it.
2.Highlight your research project’s originality and/or significance
3.Explain how it adds to, develops (or challenges) existing literature in
the field.
4.Convince supervisors of the importance of your research.

1) a clear working title for your research project
a. what will you call your project?
b. what key words would describe your proposal?

2) a clear statement about what you want to work on and why it is
important, interesting, relevant and realistic.
a.what are your main research objectives? – these could be articulated as
hypotheses, propositions, research questions, or problems to solve.
b.what difference do you think your research will make?
c.why does this research excite you?
d.what research ‘gaps’ will you be filling by undertaking your project?
e.how might your research ‘add value’ to the subject?
f.is your research achievable in the time allocated? (e.g. 3 years full-time)

3) some background knowledge and context of the area in which you
wish to work, including key literature, key people, key research
findings.
a.how does your work link to the work of others in the same or related
fields?
b.would your work support or contest the work of others?
c.how does your work relate to the expertise within the department
you are applying to?

4) some consideration of the methods/approach you might use
a.how will you conduct your research?
b.will you use existing theories, new methods/approaches or develop
new methods/approaches?
c.how might you design your project to get the best results/findings?

5) some indication of the strategy and timetable for your research
project and any research challenges you may face
a.what would be the main stages of your project?
b.what would you be expecting to do in each year of your PhD?
c.what challenges might you encounter and how might you overcome
these?

6. a list of the key references which support your research proposal
a.references should be listed in the appropriate convention for your
subject area (e.g. APA). Such references should be used throughout
your research proposal to demonstrate that you have read and
understood the work of others.
With a few modifications from Exeter Guide for Writing PhD Proposals

Sometimes, PhD candidates fail to be accepted because of weaknesses
in their research proposal. To avoid this, keep the following points in
mind:
1. Make sure that your research idea, question or problem is very
clearly stated, persuasive and addresses a demonstrable gap in the
existing literature. Put time into formulating the questions- in the early
stages of a project, they can be as important as the projected results.

2. Make sure that you have researched the departments to which you
are applying to ensure that there are staff interested in your subject
area and available to supervise your project. As mentioned above it is
strongly advised that you contact potential supervisors in advance, and
provide them with a polished version of your proposal for comment.
3. Make sure that your proposal is well structured. Poorly formed or
rambling proposals indicate that the proposed project may suffer the
same fate.

4. Ensure that the scope of your project is reasonable, and remember
that there are significant limits to the size and complexity of a project
that can be completed and written up in three years. We will be
assessing proposals not only for their intellectual ambition and
significance, but also for the likelihood that the candidate can complete
this project.
5. Make sure that your passion for the subject matter shines through in
the structure and arguments presented within your proposal.
Remember that we may not be experts in your field – it is up to you to
make your project and subject matter engaging to your readers!

Review of Literature
The aim of a literature review is to show your reader that you
have read, and have a good grasp of, the main published work
concerning a particular topic or question in your field. This
work may be in any format, including online sources. In
research writing, the review will be guided by your research
objective or by the issue or thesis you are arguing and will
provide the framework for your further work.

The purpose of a review is to analyze critically a segment of a
published body of knowledge through summary, classification,
and comparison of prior research studies, reviews of
literature, and theoretical articles.

Why we do literature reviews?
• to define and limit the problem you are working on
• to place your study in an historical perspective
• to avoid unnecessary duplication
• to evaluate promising research methods
• to relate your findings to previous knowledge and suggest
further research

According to Caulley (1992) of La Trobe University, the literature
review should:
1.compare and contrast different authors' views on an issue
2.group authors who draw similar conclusions
3.criticise aspects of methodology
4.note areas in which authors are in disagreement
5.highlight exemplary studies
6.highlight gaps in research
7.show how your study relates to previous studies
8.show how your study relates to the literature in general
9.conclude by summarising what the literature says

Components of a Research Paper
A research paper is the culmination and final product
of an involved process of research, critical thinking,
source evaluation, organization, and composition.
From Online Writing Lab at Purdue University

a research paper is more than the sum of your sources, more
than a collection of different pieces of information about a
topic, and more than a review of the literature in a field. A
research paper analyzes a perspective or argues a point.
Regardless of the type of research paper you are writing, your
finished research paper should present your own thinking
backed up by others' ideas and information.
State University of New York Website

Title. The title of the dissertation, like the title of the proposal, should
summarize the project, should not generally exceed 15 words, and
should not include unnecessary words such as “A Study of....”. It may
be appropriate for the title to change from the proposal to the
dissertation draft to account for major changes that occurred prior to
the completion of the research or for other reasons suggested by the
committee. A title change requires the consent of the committee. The
title should include key terms that readily identify the scope and nature
of the study.

Acknowledgments. Acknowledgments give credit for external support
received throughout the dissertation process and recognize generally
the contributions of committee members and others who made
important contributions. Acknowledgments also express gratitude for
the use of copyrighted or otherwise restricted materials, as
appropriate. A doctoral candidate may choose to dedicate the
dissertation to a person or persons who have had significant impact on
the author’s work. This dedication, when included, should be brief and
is best placed at the end of the acknowledgments section or on a
separate page preceding the acknowledgments.

Abstract. The abstract, which must not exceed 350 words (or 2450
characters) for the final dissertation, is a brief, comprehensive
summary of the contents of the dissertation. Generally written after
the dissertation is complete but building on the framework set forth in
the proposal abstract, the dissertation abstract provides a summary of
the dissertation's research question, methods, results, and conclusions.

Table of Contents. The table of contents should list in order of
appearance all components of the dissertation, including all headings
and subheadings, with the correct corresponding page numbers at the
right margin, following a row of dots (a “dot leader”). Subheads should
be indented below the inclusive heading above them to clarify how
they fit into the organization of the document. The table of contents
should be double-spaced between entries; entries longer than one line
should be single-spaced. The page numbers for materials preceding
Chapter I (Introduction) should be in lower-case roman numerals, while
all subsequent materials should be listed with standard Arabic
numerals.

List of tables and list of illustrations. Separate lists should be created
for tables and illustrations that appear in the text of the document.
Illustrations appropriate for use in dissertations include figures, maps,
diagrams, photos, and plates. These lists should include the number
and full name of each table or illustration, listed in order of appearance
in the text, followed by the number of the page on which the table or
illustration appears. Tables and illustrations are usually numbered
sequentially in Arabic numerals, the first digit representing the chapter,
followed by a decimal and the table or illustration’s number within that
chapter, e.g. 4.12 (the twelfth table or illustration in chapter 4). The list
of tables and the list of illustrations should be double-spaced.

Chapter I. Introduction, or Statement of the Problem. As in the proposal, the
dissertation introduction presents the problem addressed by the research. The
subject of the dissertation is described in such a way that readers will know in a
general way the current status of research conclusions on the topic, as well as
some theoretical implications associated with the results of previous research on
the subject. As in the proposal, the introduction should describe the nature and
purpose of the study and explain the significance of and justification for conducting
the study. Terms likely to be used throughout the dissertation should be defined in
this chapter. As an option, a brief summary of the introduction may appear at the
end of the chapter. Summaries may also optionally be used to conclude the
subsequent chapters.

Chapter II. Review of the Literature and Research Questions. The
review of the literature in the dissertation places the present study in
the context of previous research. The review should be similar to the
review of literature in the proposal but should reflect any change of
focus or direction that resulted from the research process. Again, this
chapter should present the hypothesis or research questions and the
relationship of these to previous findings.

Chapter III. Methodology. The methodology section of the dissertation
should build on the description of methods outlined in the proposal.
Labeled subsections similar to those in the proposal should be
included. These may include a section describing participants or
subjects, a section describing testing or other measurement
procedures undertaken with the participants, and a section discussing
limitations of the methodology.

Chapter IV. Results. The results section summarizes the data collected
and details the statistical treatment of that data. After a brief
statement of the main results or findings of the study, the data are
reported in sufficient detail to justify the conclusions. Tables and
illustrations (e.g., figures et al.) may be used to report data when these
methods are seen to present the data more clearly and economically.
All tables and illustrations used should be mentioned in the text, with
appropriate titles or captions and enough explanation to make them
readily identifiable.

Chapter V. Discussion. In the discussion section, the results are
summarized, evaluated, and interpreted with respect to the original
research questions and hypotheses. In this section, the investigator is
free to examine, interpret, and qualify the results, as well as to draw
inferences from them. Theoretical and practical consequences of the
results and the validity of conclusions may appropriately be discussed
in this section. The limitations of the study and suggestions for future
work may also be included.

References. The reference list at the end of the dissertation should list
all works cited in the dissertation, and all items listed as references
must have been cited in the dissertation text. Special attention should
be given to ensure appropriate citations of less common sources, such
as unpublished manuscripts. Again, the APA Manual can provide
guidance for ensuring accuracy in these details.

Appendices. Materials that document important components of the
dissertation research process that would be too lengthy, awkward, or
distracting to include within the text should be included as appendices
in the final document. These materials may include pertinent raw data,
consent forms, letters of introduction to subjects, questionnaires,
survey forms, and the like. The word “APPENDIX” should appear in all
capital letters.

Module Three Essential Readings
For this Module, you are supposed to read the following:
Chapter 3 "Structuring the Research Project" from Walliman's Research Methods (pgs. 29-41) (checklists)
Purdue University writing Lab. “In-Text Citations APA Style”
How to write a Review of Literature (web checklist)

NEXT Module
Topic
Research Methods (quantitative and qualitative), Questionnaire Design, web
apps in research.

Have a super day….

Module Three (part 1)

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Module Three (part 1)