Tuesday 28 August 2018

How do I start writing research papers independently?




The research design refers to the overall strategy that you choose to integrate the different components of the study in a coherent and logical way, thereby, ensuring you will effectively address the research problem; it constitutes the blueprint for the collection, measurement, and analysis of data.
Note that your research problem determines the type of design you should use, not the other way around!
The function of a research design is to ensure that the evidence obtained enables you to effectively address the research problem logically and as unambiguously as possible. In social sciences research, obtaining information relevant to the research problem generally entails specifying the type of evidence needed to test a theory, to evaluate a program, or to accurately describe and assess meaning related to an observable phenomenon.
With this in mind, a common mistake made by researchers is that they begin their investigations far too early, before they have thought critically about what information is required to address the research problem. Without attending to these design issues beforehand, the overall research problem will not be adequately addressed and any conclusions drawn will run the risk of being weak and unconvincing. As a consequence, the overall validity of the study will be undermined.
The length and complexity of describing research designs in your paper can vary considerably, but any well-developed design will achieve the following:
1.       Identify the research problem clearly and justify its selection, particularly in relation to any valid alternative designs that could have been used,
2.      Review and synthesize previously published literature associated with the research problem,
3.      Clearly and explicitly specify hypotheses [i.e., research questions] central to the problem,
4.      Effectively describe the data which will be necessary for an adequate testing of the hypotheses and explain how such data will be obtained, and
5.      Describe the methods of analysis to be applied to the data in determining whether or not the hypotheses are true or false.
The organization and structure of the section of your paper devoted to describing the research design will vary depending on the type of design you are using. However, you can get a sense of what to do by reviewing the literature of studies that have utilized the same research design. This can provide an outline to follow for your own paper.
Definition and Purpose
The essentials of action research design follow a characteristic cycle whereby initially an exploratory stance is adopted, where an understanding of a problem is developed and plans are made for some form of interventionary strategy. Then the intervention is carried out (the "action" in Action Research) during which time, pertinent observations are collected in various forms. The new interventional strategies are carried out, and this cyclic process repeats, continuing until a sufficient understanding of (or a valid implementation solution for) the problem is achieved. The protocol is iterative or cyclical in nature and is intended to foster deeper understanding of a given situation, starting with conceptualizing and particularizing the problem and moving through several interventions and evaluations.
What do these studies tell you?
This is a collaborative and adaptive research design that lends itself to use in work or community situations.
Design focuses on pragmatic and solution-driven research outcomes rather than testing theories.
When practitioners use action research, it has the potential to increase the amount they learn consciously from their experience; the action research cycle can be regarded as a learning cycle.
Action research studies often have direct and obvious relevance to improving practice and advocating for change.
There are no hidden controls or preemption of direction by the researcher.
What these studies don't tell you?
It is harder to do than conducting conventional research because the researcher takes on responsibilities of advocating for change as well as for researching the topic.
Action research is much harder to write up because it is less likely that you can use a standard format to report your findings effectively [i.e., data is often in the form of stories or observation].
Personal over-involvement of the researcher may bias research results.
The cyclic nature of action research to achieve its twin outcomes of action (e.g. change) and research (e.g. understanding) is time-consuming and complex to conduct.
Advocating for change requires buy-in from participants.
A single or small number of cases offers little basis for establishing reliability or to generalize the findings to a wider population of people, places, or things.
Intense exposure to the study of a case may bias a researcher's interpretation of the findings.
Design does not facilitate assessment of cause and effect relationships.
Vital information may be missing, making the case hard to interpret.
The case may not be representative or typical of the larger problem being investigated.
If the criteria for selecting a case is because it represents a very unusual or unique phenomenon or problem for study, then your intepretation of the findings can only apply to that particular case.
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