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Respond to the following exercises from Chapter One of The Literature Review in 150 to 200 words each. For the Additional Question, record the research and null hypotheses for your project. Post References if used

· Exercise 1.1: Discovering the Subject of Your Interest or Issue of Inquiry

· Exercise 1.2: Understanding the Personal Viewpoint

· Exercise 1.3: Selecting the Focus of Your Study

· Exercise 1.5: Developing Your Interest Statement

Additional Question: What are your research and null hypotheses?

Chapter One

Step One: Select a Topic

Task 1. Choose a Research Interest

Most applied research begins by selecting an everyday problem,

interest, or concern for further study. Selecting an interest for study

needs great care and forethought. As the opening quote says: “Hoe

in haste, harvest in tears.” Selecting a suitable interest for research is

critical to the success of the project. This search begins with personal

reflection that uncovers an interest.

Research interests come mainly from the researcher’s curiosity.

Various professional and public settings provide the context for theseconcerns and present fruitful opportunities for the discovery of a formal

research topic. If one’s own introspection does not provide an

issue, other avenues are available. Topic suggestions can come from

experts knowledgeable in the academic disciplines or from those who

are skilled practitioners in the field. Perhaps reading various academic

and professional trade journals can uncover areas for further

research. Frequently, journal articles include suggestions for further

research. Tapping into media and professional association reports

about current issues will also uncover research alternatives. Also, the

current national, state, or local debates and initiatives concerning

your professional field can become research interests. Finally, you

can seek issues from your applied field.

Next, identify and use the scientific principles or theories of

your chosen area to address the issue. For example, what theories

in cognitive psychology speak to the developmental learning

abilities of students? What does sociological theory predict about

group behavior? How does cultural anthropological theory provide

an understanding about the culture of the work community?

The theoretical models in the various social sciences can always

provide new insights. In fact, there are many places to find

research interests. The following provides a summary of possible

Exercises

Throughout this text, you will find a series of exercises to help in

the various tasks of developing a literature review. The first four

exercises in this chapter employ free writes. A free write is spontaneous

writing done without reference to notes or outlines. Its purpose is

to explore what you have already internalized about a subject. These

exercises will lead you through the transformations using four free

writes. Each one appears at the end of this chapter’s subsections. The

subject statement for each exercise is followed by guiding questions.

Respond to each question by writing ideas as they occur to you.

Exercise 1.1

Discovering the Subject of Your Interest or Issue of Inquiry

1. What is your personal interest or issue?

2. What are the component parts of this interest?

3. Why did you become curious about this question?

Researcher Bias

Researchers often have personal attachments to, and views about,

their personal interests. Researchers have opinions about the problems

in their field and often have preferred answers to which they are committed.

These preconceptions, personal attachments, and points of

view present both strengths and weaknesses for the research effort.

Personal attachment to an interest provides the passion and dedication

necessary for conducting good research, which is a plus. Unfortunately,

personal attachment can also carry bias and opinion, causing researchers

to jump to premature conclusions. Rather than arriving at a conclusion

after methodical scholarly work, they succumb to bias. While

bias and opinion can never be removed completely, they must be

controlled.

How does a researcher control bias and opinion? First, careful

introspection can bring these personal views forward, where they

can be identified as what they are. By rationally identifying and

confronting these views, the researcher can control personal bias and

opinion, committing to being open-minded, skeptical, and considerate

of research data. If these attachments remain embedded and

unidentified, the research will be severely compromised. A researcher

hobbled by unchecked bias can only produce biased findings.

Exercise 1.2

Understanding the Personal Viewpoint

What previous knowledge do you have about your interest?

2. What personal experience do you have that influences you about this issue or interest?

3. What are your beliefs, biases, and opinions about this interest or issue?

4. What predisposes you to certain conclusions about the issue or concern of study?

5. How will you identify and isolate your personal bias, opinion, feelings, and intuition to preserve your neutral position as a researcher?

This exercise should have uncovered some demons. Demons are unavoidable, but must not be allowed to control or influence the research. They can, however, be a point of entry to the significance, the “why,” of the research. Put them to work when you explore the significance of the research.

Exercise 1.2

Understanding the Personal Viewpoint

Task 2. Refine a Research Interest

From a Personal Interest

Selecting a potential issue for research is just the first task in Step 1

(Select a Topic). Next is narrowing the selected interest down to a

clearly identifiable, significant, and researchable interest. Often

early considerations of a research interest are so broad that subject

specificity, focus, and vantage point are, at best, ill defined. What do

you actually want to study? Is it well defined? What focus will you

use to examine it? Where, from what angle or vantage point, can you

best conduct the research? There are many studies within each broad

interest that can provide important contributions; the trick is to settle

on one interest. Clearly define the potential research interest, its

specific focus, and its vantage point.

Activity 1. Specifying a Research Interest

Is your original interest clearly defined? The key to clearly defining

the topic depends on your ability to isolate the key ideas in the

statement of interest. These key ideas—those words and phases that

create the meaning of the interest statement—define the subject of

any research. Broad interests tend to be ambiguous and not suitable

for research. A hazy interest statement may also contain many inferences

that need definition. Precise definitions are necessary. The following

example demonstrates the problem.

An example of a research interest used earlier in this chapter was,

“To what degree do standardized test scores predict true student

achievement?” This question needs to be refined before it can produce

a usable topic for study. The broad scope and lack of a clear description

of key ideas demand more consideration to gain the specificity needed.

What are the key ideas? To identify them, look first for the subjects,

verbs, and objects in the sentences. In this interest statement, the subject

is “scores,” the verb is “do predict,” and the object is “achievement.”

These are the key ideas to be examined. When taking apart this first

interest statement, it quickly becomes clear that this subject is too broad.

What does degree mean? How can you measure it? What do these test

scores assess? What measurement is used? How accurate are the yardsticks

of measurement? What does the word predict mean? How can we

measure it? This interest needs to be more precisely defined.

Developing exact definitions for each of the key ideas that make

up the interest statement is any researcher’s first task. Definitions forkey terms must be exact in order to identify the subject of the

research. Without precise definitions, you will not be able to form

your topic. Once you have specified your subject, you need to decide

on a focus for your research.

Activity 2. Focusing the Interest

Focusing the interest means narrowing the study to one clearly

defined subject. If the subject is ambiguous, then the researcher cannot

identify the actual subject of the review. Often, broad interests contain

multiple subjects that could be studied. The previous example is one

such case. This interest could be studied from an individual, group, or

organizational perspective. For instance, the research perspective could

focus on the student, specifically individual student behavior, attitude,

skills, or knowledge. How can a change in student behavior affect performance

on an achievement test? How do student attitudes affect

performance in certain achievement assessments?

Alternatively, the research perspective could focus on group behavior.

How does a certain group respond to certain testing conditions?

What are the effects of this kind of test on group performance? From an

organizational viewpoint, a researcher might ask, “What effect does

providing pretest review time have on student achievement scores?”

After narrowing the focus of the broad interest, we see usable topics

such as, “To what degree are state standardized test scores in language

arts predictive of student success in college placement with regard to

Subject A exams?” or “How does teacher competency in test preparation

of students affect student achievement on a standardized test?”

Exercise 1.3

Selecting the Focus of Your Study

Remember to write out your answers in detail so that you end up with a useful reference page.

1. Clearly identify the focus of the study interest.

2. Are you looking at individuals, groups, or organizations?

3. Specifically name the individuals, groups, or organizations that you plan to study.

22——The Literature Review

The previous exercise probably produced many choices as possible

focuses for research. The next step is to narrow the interest and

choose one subject for study.

Activity 3. Selecting a Perspective

Once you have selected the focus of the subject, you need to

select the perspective or vantage point that is the place from which

you view the subject. What is your vantage point? Vantage point

depends on the choice of an academic discipline, which in turn usually

depends on the subject chosen for study and the particular perspective

from which the researcher has chosen to study it. What is

your unit of analysis? Are you studying individuals, groups, or

organizations/communities? The unit of analysis is important

because the social sciences are divided this way.

To illustrate this point, the researcher might study the tribal behavior

of groups and the effects this has on standardized testing and student

achievement. Perhaps the researcher might address the social interactions

that affect student achievement. Each of these possibilities anticipates

the need for a particular field of knowledge. If the subject is from

the individual student’s perspective, then psychology may provide the

best vantage point. If the subject focuses on a tribal perspective, then

cultural anthropology will provide the best vantage point. If the subject

is achievement from the perspective of group reactions and interactions,

then sociology will provide the best vantage point. Clearly

defined core ideas, and a specific focus and vantage point from which

to study, transform a broad personal interest to a researchable interest.

As with the focus, the researcher must narrow the vantage point.

You can anticipate many possibilities surfacing from the previous

exercise. Select the vantage point that will present the best viewpoint

for accessing data about the research interest.

Activity 4. Reflection: The Key to Interest Selection

The key to developing a successful research topic is the ability

to examine the personal interest, concern, or problem to study. The

more clarity and specificity brought to bear in defining the interest,

the easier it is to connect this interest to a researchable topic of study.

Experience with students choosing interests tells us that beginning

researchers sometimes neglect to take the time necessary for

reflecting on what they will actually study. Capturing an interest of

study haphazardly without considering intent, perspective, or vantage

point can produce awkward and unsatisfactory results. Therefore,

taking time to choose an interest for study carefully is critical for all

researchers. All of us wish to find a topic quickly, but haste will

produce awkward and unsatisfactory results.

Taking a personal interest and transforming it into a usable

researchable interest is much like the work of setting up a photograph.

Compare selecting a subject for research to photographing a

scene. Imagine yourself standing at Big Rock Campground in

Joshua Tree National Park. Around you are miles of desert with

shifting light and shadow. Perhaps there are also people, reptiles,

plants, or insects in your scene. Do you want a photo of an ancient

juniper tree, or do you want a picture of a family around a campfire?

What is the purpose of the photograph, and what is your goal? If

your goal is to record the entire park in seasons over time, you would

set yourself up for a lifetime’s work. Usually, though, your intent is

not to photograph the entire park or to study everything about your

subject from all perspectives. Rather, it is to select one worthy subject

of interest and to do it justice using your chosen perspective.

For both the photographer and the researcher, an initial interest

in the subject sparks the task. In both cases, we have a specific image

of the outcome that we expect to see. Also, in both cases, that early

expectation will, in all likelihood, be different from what actually

results. The selection of the subject of a photograph is just a starting

point. A satisfactory end product will appear only after much exploration

into focus, intent, and perspective, all of which will change as

you delve deeper into your subject. Perhaps the final photo will be substantially different from what you originally conceived it to be.

In both photography and research, it is necessary to be willing to see

what actually works and to continue down productive paths, while

being willing to abandon those paths that meander aimlessly without

leading you to satisfactory results. The first photograph may be of a

jagged rock. The photo you keep may be a close-up of the quartz

fragments in one section of metamorphic stone in that jagged rock.

Like the photographer, a researcher must have a subject of interest

that launches the inquiry, and must also craft and mold the

research. The researcher follows a path that works to define the

research interest rather than simply adhering to the original intent.

Evidence, whether of the eye or the mind, must lead the way.

EXERCISE 1.5

Developing Your Interest Statement

This exercise combines and patterns the information gathered from your free writes. Reflect on and analyze the written information produced by the earlier exercises, and develop a specific statement of interest.

Initially, this statement could be a single question or a declarative sentence.

Make it clear and concise. Develop a second statement that defines the significance of the research. Finally, write a statement that clearly defines beliefs, values, biases, and opinions, noting how you will neutralize them when following your research.

Using the information you have developed through your introspective work produced in Exercises 1.1 through 1.4, answer the following three questions.

1. What is your specific research interest?

a. The interest, issue, or concern of my research is (answer in seven sentences).

b. Cross out the two least important sentences without changing the key idea.

c. Cross out any words or phrases that can be removed without changing the meaning.

d. Reduce your remaining draft to three sentences.

e. Be sure your final three sentences identify the subject (What are you studying?), perspective (How are you looking at it?), and vantage point (What academic field will you use?).

What contributions to the field make this research important?

3. What are your beliefs, values, biases, and opinions?

a. How will these beliefs, values, biases, and opinions help you in conducting your research?

b. How will you prevent the tendencies contained in your personal viewpoint from affecting the necessary neutral stance of a researcher?

Now, using your answers for Questions 1 through 3, write a statement that clearly defines the interest for your research work, a statement that defines the significance of your research, and a statement that defines your personal tendencies and how you will control them. When completed, you will have a researchable interest.

Task 3. Use the Research Interest to

Identify a Preliminary Research Topic

do you translate a defined personal interest of study into a suitable

topic for formal research? Begin by reviewing your progress so

far.

Figure 1.1, introduced earlier in the chapter, shows the three

stages for refining a personal interest into a usable topic for research.

Reading from left to right, notice that in Task 1 you selected an interest

that you have identified as an important everyday problem needing

attention. If the interest definition is vague, you must clarify it

through specific definition. Next, continue to Task 2.

Introspection narrows the interest through the choice of a particular

subject, perspective, and vantage point. Choosing a vantage

point allows access to a defined academic field of study. Now,

address the final stage for selecting the preliminary topic of study,

which is the last concern of this chapter.

When addressing Task 3 of Figure 1.1, you leave personal

understanding, and focus on the shared knowledge of the academic

community. To accomplish this transition, the researcher needs to

translate the research interest into a preliminary topic for formal

research. As stated earlier in this chapter, the research interest

must align with the external concern and work of that academicinterest to a topic of study the academic community addresses, there

is no avenue by which to gain access and entry to the relevant academic

body of knowledge.

Some students believe that they have a well-defined study

interest topic and proceed directly into research. These students

complain that they have used the Internet and been to the library.

They are working hard at gathering information about their topic,

but can find nothing written on it. Rarely does a researcher stumble

onto a unique and previously unidentified topic of study. Previous

work has been done on almost all the interests we consider. So

what is the difficulty? Usually the difficulty is a lack of appropriate

academic terms. Students often try to use their everyday vocabulary

to access the specific language, vocabulary, and discourse of a

specialized field.

Word usage and meaning are particular to context. All academic

fields have an esoteric language to describe their subjects of study.

At its worst, the language deteriorates into jargon. The chances are

remote that a researcher’s use of everyday language conforms to the

technical language an academic field uses. The following example

shows the differences in the meaning of a term as used by different

academic disciplines.

Consider the word conflict. Informally, conflict is defined as a

disagreement or argument, or as an incompatibility of goals between

parties. As used in the discipline of history, conflict could mean a

war, as in an armed conflict. As used in organizational psychology,

conflict is an organizational breakdown of the standard mechanisms

of decision making. As used in social psychology, conflict is behavior

that occurs when two or more parties are in disagreement. As

used in personal psychology, conflict may refer to a person’s internal

struggle. As used in literature, conflict is whatever keeps a character

from achieving a goal. As you can see, each academic discipline

defines terms to meet its specific needs.

You must gain language skill in the academic field chosen and

become familiar with the phrasing that identifies the potential subject

of study. Once functionally skillful in the language used, you

will be able to navigate for subject definition and topic identification.

The researcher can then easily translate the key ideas that provide

definition for the subject of study. Three activities must be accomplished in order to complete Task 3

of Figure 1.1. They are (1) becoming familiar with the academic terminology,

(2) gaining entry into the discourse about the intended subject

of study, and (3) revising the initial interest statement (Figure 1.2).

The reference section of the library provides the necessary tools

to easily complete the jobs of Task 3. As you begin, refer to Figure 1.2.

For Activity 1, begin by consulting the subject area thesauri and dictionaries

to become familiar with the academic terminology that fits

your interest statement. Each of these references has a particular

purpose. The subject area thesaurus lists the various synonyms that

align to the keywords of your interest statement. When using this

reference, you may also find particular words that better define and

narrow your topic of study. The subject dictionary provides a different

reference point. Using the results of your thesaurus search, consult

the dictionary to determine if the definition of the terms you

selected fits your needs. It is important to note here that by querying

subject area dictionaries and thesauri, you access the language used

in the specific academic discipline of your topic. These referencesthe terms of the interest statement into a viable preliminary topic

statement, a statement aligned to your chosen academic field. Once

you have identified the correct terms that correspond to your interest,

you have completed Activity 1.

You are now ready to complete Activity 2. Using your newly

found terminology, consult the subject handbooks and encyclopedias

to access the academic discourse about your topic. Subject handbooks

discuss the theories relating to the topics of the academic field

and give you a great head start in determining the boundaries for your

literature search and creating an overview of the academic discourse

about your subject.

Handbooks can be organized in three ways. First, handbooks can

discuss theory as it evolves. This is done chronologically. A theory

is first discussed, and as it changes, the commentary evolves.

Second, theories can be organized topically. In this case, you would

find the research topic that aligns to your needs and review the section

for the appropriate discussion about that theory. Third, handbooks

are organized around current discussions in the field. This

type of handbook deals with the hot topics in the academic area and

emerging theoretical considerations.

Encyclopedias also provide great access to the academic discourse

on your subject. Because encyclopedias are organized in

alphabetical order, it is a simple task to find the theory and discussion

relating to your topic. Using the keywords and terms selected from

Activity 1, simply page to the reference point in the encyclopedia and

read on. The encyclopedic entry will begin with an overview of your

subject followed by a detailed discussion of relevant theory, and

finally will list the relevant contributors and authors for further study.

After consulting the appropriate encyclopedias and handbooks,

you now have translated the everyday language of your interest statement

into the terminology of your academic field. You also have an

overview of the topic and the relevant theory and discourse about your

topic. Finally, you have built a beginning list of the theories and contributing

authors to begin your literature search. Activity 2 is complete.

Just a word about where to find these important reference tools

in the library: when going to your university library, find the reference

section or reference stacks. They will be catalogued by academic

discipline. Knowing your vantage point, seek out the appropriate discipline and find the references that address your topic. Here are two basic options you can use when consulting the

library’s virtual portal. Go to the library website and do one of the following.

First, do a keyword search. This query will request three

pieces of information: (1) keyword; (2) the particular reference text

category; and (3) library location, which, in this case, is online. For

instance, if you are looking for dictionaries, you would type in keyword,

dictionaries, virtual online. This query will display all of the

reference dictionaries available online. Simply select the academic

discipline dictionaries appropriate to your vantage point, and you are

on your way. The second option can usually be found on the main

page of the virtual library portal. It is a subject “hot button” called

Library A–Z. When clicking this hot button, a new screen will appear

providing an alphabetical listing of all the resources in the virtual

library. Simply scroll down to the reference category you need, and

click it. All of those references will be displayed. Say you are looking

for handbooks. You would click Library A–Z on the main page of the

library portal. An alphabetical listing of the library resources will

appear. Scroll down to the H section of the listing, find Handbooks,

and click that entry. All of the handbooks available will appear, and

you can sort through them to determine the appropriate entries for

your review.

Using the new language and definitions you found when completing

Activities 1 and 2, refine your interest statement. Now it is

time to seek advice. Make an appointment with your university’s

research librarian. Your consultation can be done at your university

library or online as available. Discuss the details of the research

interest; be clear about your topic, your perspective, and your vantage

point (academic field). Describe your progress with your literature

review, and ask for tips and advice

Rules for Library Use

Before your first trip to the library, whether you are consulting

online resources (a virtual library) or an actual library, stop for a

minute, and review some important rules on library use. Heeding

these rules will save time and produce better results.

Rule 1. Know Your Librarian

The research librarian, whether online or in person, is a

friend, a guide, and a coach. When using a library for the firsttime, consult first with a research librarian. Make sure that

you have formed a positive relationship and can rely on the

librarian as coach, mentor, and confidant.

Rule 2. Be Purposeful

Have a clear purpose and plan when researching. Wandering

the stacks, exploring the subject catalog, or surfing websites

is entertaining, but it is not productive.

Every time you conduct research, know what you are looking

for and where to get it.

Have a strategy for research. Planning saves time. Know

what you want to do before you take your first step. What

types of information do you need, and where can it be found?

Are you scanning the subject catalogs to refine your topic?

Are you consulting the specific subject dictionaries to define

terms?

Have a schedule of work and specific outcomes for the outing.

Set goals and stick to them. Bricks and mortar and online

libraries present many temptations and distractions—a provocative

title that catches the eye, a new book from a favorite

author, an enticing reference link. You must be disciplined.

Honor your time, schedule your breaks, and focus on the task.

Finally, before you end a session, plan your next tasks. What

work must be done next? What is the time line? What new

resources do you need? Address these questions as part of a

debriefing with your written notes. Remember, we have short

memories. If you save writing notes for later, you invite ambiguity

and misdirection.

Rule 3. Remember That Preparation Equals Efficiency

Be prepared. Develop and organize your cataloging and documenting

tools before beginning a research session.

Use cataloging to codify the library materials you have

accessed in such a way that you can easily refer back to them,

and can properly identify them by the library indexing system

for further reference. Cataloging tools range from simple

three-by-five cards to research software tools. RefWorks is

available on most university websites, or you can purchase

software such as EndNote or Citation. Know that documentation tools are stores of notable information.

They can store notes about a subject, quotes and

abstracts, further references to explore, subject maps, or a list

of tasks to be completed next. Documentation tools contain

library data collected for study. These tools also have various

levels of sophistication, the simplest being a notebook or

notepad. The more complex and integrated ones are software

such as EndNote, Citation, Microsoft OneNote, ISO

Researchsoft Reference Manager, or RefWorks.

Take the time before you begin researching to build an organizational

system that fits your learning style and will aid you

through the entire literature review. Organizing now will save

much time and heartache later.

Task 4. Write the Preliminary

Research Topic Statement

Now you have the necessary information to complete Task 4—writing

the preliminary research topic statement. Using the new language and

definitions you found when completing Activities 1 and 2, rewrite

your interest statement. Review the reframed statement to determine

if it adequately addresses the intent of your interest. If so, you have

now constructed a preliminary topic statement for your study. If not,

rework and revise the study’s focus and vantage point, or search the

reference works further for other terms that would better suit your

interest. Use these options until you are satisfied that your preliminary

topic statement aligns with your original interest statement. Once

completed, Task 4 has been accomplished. You are now ready to begin

your search of the literature.

The following exercise will guide you through the task of transforming

the formal interest statement, written in Exercise 1.1, into a

preliminary topic of research. It has the following requirements:

Conducting a first conversation with a research librarian

Defining the key terms of the interest statement

Translating the key terms and core ideas of the interest

statement

Rewriting the interest statement into a preliminary topic

statement