ENGLISH 365

Chapter 6. Researching Your Subject © 2015 by Bedford/St. Martin's

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Chapter 6 Overview:
Researching Your Subject

• Understanding the differences between academic and workplace research
• Understanding the research process
• Choosing appropriate research methods
• Conducting secondary research
• Conducting primary research

Chapter 6. Researching Your Subject © 2015 by Bedford/St. Martin's

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Understand the differences between academic and workplace research:

• In academic research, your goal is to find information that will help you answer a scholarly question.
• In workplace research, your goal is to find information that will help you answer a practical question, usually one that involves the organization for which you work.

Chapter 6. Researching Your Subject © 2015 by Bedford/St. Martin's

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The research process
consists of 12 tasks:

• Analyze your audience.
• Analyze your purpose.
• Analyze your subject.
• Visualize the deliverable.
• Work out a schedule and a budget.

Chapter 6. Researching Your Subject © 2015 by Bedford/St. Martin's

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The research process
consists of 12 tasks (cont.):

• Determine what information will need to be part of that deliverable.
• Determine what information you still need to acquire.
• Create questions you need to answer in your deliverable.

Chapter 6. Researching Your Subject © 2015 by Bedford/St. Martin's

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The research process
consists of 12 tasks (cont.):

• Conduct secondary research.
• Conduct primary research.
• Evaluate your information.
• Do more research.

Chapter 6. Researching Your Subject © 2015 by Bedford/St. Martin's

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Ask questions to help choose appropriate research methods:

• What is the theory behind this process or technique?
• What is the history of this phenomenon?
• What techniques are being used now to solve this problem?
• How is a current situation expected to change?

Chapter 6. Researching Your Subject © 2015 by Bedford/St. Martin's

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Ask questions to help choose appropriate research methods (cont.):

• What products are available to perform a task or provide a service?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of competing products and services?
• Which product or service do experts recommend?
• What do our stakeholders think about a current or proposed product or service?

Chapter 6. Researching Your Subject © 2015 by Bedford/St. Martin's

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Ask questions to help choose appropriate research methods (cont.):

• What are the facts about how we do our jobs at this company?
• What can we learn about what caused a problem in our organization?
• What do our personnel think we should do about a situation?
• How well would this product or service work in our organization?

Chapter 6. Researching Your Subject © 2015 by Bedford/St. Martin's

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Follow three guidelines
when researching a topic:

• Be persistent.
• Record your data carefully.
• Triangulate your research methods.

Chapter 6. Researching Your Subject © 2015 by Bedford/St. Martin's

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Know the four types of information media:

• print
• online databases
• websites
• social media

Chapter 6. Researching Your Subject © 2015 by Bedford/St. Martin's

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Know how to use six basic research tools:

• online catalogs
• reference works
• periodical indexes
• newspaper indexes
• abstract services
• government information

Chapter 6. Researching Your Subject © 2015 by Bedford/St. Martin's

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Understand these five forms of social media:

• discussion boards
• wikis
• blogs
• tagged content
• RSS feeds

Chapter 6. Researching Your Subject © 2015 by Bedford/St. Martin's

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Look for information that is . . .

• accurate
• unbiased
• comprehensive
• appropriately technical
• current
• clear

Chapter 6. Researching Your Subject © 2015 by Bedford/St. Martin's

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When evaluating print and online
sources, examine these five factors:

• authorship
• publisher
• knowledge of the literature
• accuracy and verifiability of the information
• timeliness

Chapter 6. Researching Your Subject © 2015 by Bedford/St. Martin's

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Understand the seven techniques
of primary research:

• analysis of social-media data
• observations and demonstrations
• inspections
• experiments
• field research
• interviews
• inquiries
• questionnaires

Chapter 6. Researching Your Subject © 2015 by Bedford/St. Martin's

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Conducting an experiment
consists of four phases:

• establishing a hypothesis
• testing the hypothesis
• analyzing the data
• reporting the data

Chapter 6. Researching Your Subject © 2015 by Bedford/St. Martin's

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Field research is vulnerable
to two common problems:

• the effect of the experiment on the behavior you are studying
• bias in the recording and analysis of the data

Chapter 6. Researching Your Subject © 2015 by Bedford/St. Martin's

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Consider three factors
when choosing a person to interview:

• What questions do you want to answer?
• Who could provide the information you need?
• Is the person willing to be interviewed?

Chapter 6. Researching Your Subject © 2015 by Bedford/St. Martin's

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Prepare for the interview:

• Do your homework.
• Prepare good questions.
• Check your equipment.

Chapter 6. Researching Your Subject © 2015 by Bedford/St. Martin's

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You should go through four phases when conducting an interview:

• preparing for the interview
• beginning the interview
• conducting the interview
• concluding the interview

Chapter 6. Researching Your Subject © 2015 by Bedford/St. Martin's

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Begin the interview:

• Arrive on time.
• Thank the respondent.
• State the subject and purpose of the interview.
• State what you plan to do with the information.
• If you want to record the interview, ask permission.

Chapter 6. Researching Your Subject © 2015 by Bedford/St. Martin's

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Conduct the interview:

• Take notes.
• Start with prepared questions.
• Be prepared to ask follow-up questions.
• Be prepared to get the interview back on track.

Chapter 6. Researching Your Subject © 2015 by Bedford/St. Martin's

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Conclude the interview:

• Thank the respondent.
• Ask for a follow-up interview, if appropriate.
• Ask for permission to quote the respondent.

Chapter 6. Researching Your Subject © 2015 by Bedford/St. Martin's

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After the interview, do two tasks:

• Write down the important information while the interview is fresh in your mind.
• Send a brief thank-you note.

Chapter 6. Researching Your Subject © 2015 by Bedford/St. Martin's

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Questionnaires are
vulnerable to three problems:

• Some of the questions will misfire.
• You won’t obtain as many responses as you want.
• You cannot be sure the respondents are representative.

Chapter 6. Researching Your Subject © 2015 by Bedford/St. Martin's

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Using questionnaires
effectively involves four tasks:

• Ask effective questions.
• Test the questionnaire.
• Administer the questionnaire.
• Present questionnaire data in your document.

Chapter 6. Researching Your Subject © 2015 by Bedford/St. Martin's

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Use these two suggestions for creating effective questions:

• Use unbiased language.
• Be specific.

Chapter 6. Researching Your Subject © 2015 by Bedford/St. Martin's

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Understand the six common types of questions in questionnaires:

• multiple choice
• Likert scale
• semantic differentials
• ranking
• short answer
• short essay