Research Paper

1. Research Paper

2. Create and Defend a Research Proposal • Broad Topic • Narrowed Topic • Title of Investigation • Problem • Three Research Questions • Justification • Hypotheses • Null Hypotheses • Research Design • Preliminary Procedure • Population and Sample • Preliminary Ethical Considerations

3. Procedure • Step 1: Choose your partners. • Step 2: Decide if you want to do an observation, an experiment, or a survey. • Step 3: Design your experiment. • Right now: Choose your partners (groups of up to 4 people). • Now, let’s talk about your paper.

4. A BIG TIP! • Work on your review of literature BEFORE OR DURING your research process. DO NOT wait until you finish your investigation to do the review of literature. • Make sure to spell-check and edit your work.

5. Your paper should include the following elements… • Title Page • Abstract • Chapter I – INTRODUCTION • Chapter II – REVIEW OF LITERATURE • Chapter III – METHODOLOGY • Chapter IV - CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMENDATIONS • References – In APA or MLA style • Appendices – Surveys, letters, other related material

6. And follow all ethical guidelines: • Respect for persons (autonomy) • Non-maleficence (do not harm) • Beneficence (do good) • Justice (exclusion) • Informed Consent

7. And address the following: • Scientific Validity (is the investigation scientifically sound?) • Recruitment (how and why were the participants chosen?) • Participation (what does participation in the study involve?) • Harms and Bennefits (what are the potential harms and benefits to the participants?)

8. Cover Page Title of the Investigation This investigation is presented as a partial requirement for the completion of Prof. Quijano’s course By: Your Names 2013

9. Abstract • The Abstract is the first thing that a reader will see past the cover page. In the abstract, you provide a summary of your investigation. • Your abstract should be no longer than one page. • In your abstract, you will include a summary of: • Statement of Problem • Purpose of the Investigation • Procedure • Conclusions

10. Sample Abstract • This article reports the findings of an investigation in which students were exposed to tabletop role playing games as part of the ESL curriculum and compares their performance to those of students who were not exposed to said games. The first section of the article talks about the purpose and justification of the investigation. The review of literature looks at tabletop role playing games as interactive narrative and ties their content to current ESL acquisition theory. The final part of the article talks about the methodology used and presents the findings and conclusions. The findings suggest that using tabletop role playing games in the ESL classroom may enhance student academic performance. These results have implications especially for language teachers and curriculum designers. Suggestions on further studies are to investigate the effects of tabletop role playing games on students.

11. Table of Contents • Create a TOC where you point out the page number of all the major sections in your paper.

12. CHAPTER I - Introduction

13. Chapter 1 • Introduction • Here you will present background and historical information about the problem. This must be sourced. You will also give a quick overview of your research intentions. (1 page) • Statement of Problem • In this section you will identify the problem and present statistics backed up by research and professional commentary. If possible give details on the demographics that describe the setting or context where the problem exists. Your ideas should be backed by direct quotations from experts. (1 – 2 pages)

14. Purpose of the Investigation • In this section you will state, in as direct a language as possible, the purpose of your investigation – what do you intend to find out? (1 paragraph) • Justification • In this section you will answer the following questions: • Why is this investigation important? • What will it attempt find out? • How will it help solve the problem you have identified? • In this section it is helpful to frame your justification from a specific theoretical framework. Remember to use references. (1 page)

15. Research Questions • In this section you should write your main research question and at least two supporting research questions. (Variable length) • Hypothesis and Null Hypothesis • In this section you will write the Hypothesis and the Null hypothesis. • The hypothesis is the outcome you have predicted for your investigation. • Example: H1: Students who listen to rock music have more positive attitudes towards the English language than those who listen to Reggaeton music. • The Null-Hypothesis is the negative of your hypothesis. • Example: NH1: Students who listen to rock music do not have more positive attitudes towards the English language than those who listen to Reggaeton music. • (Variable length)

16. End of the Introduction • Definition of Terms • In this section you will define the specialist terms to be used in the investigation. Terms that are commonly known, like counseling or ESL, do not have to be defined here. However, terms that are more specialist-centered, like behavioral therapy or CALL, should be defined. • (Variable length)

17. Chapter II – Review of Literature

18. Review of Literature • In the introduction to this section, you will give a general introduction to the problem you have identified. It is similar to what you wrote in Chapter I – however, the ideas are more general. Remember to back up your ideas with quotes from experts in your field. (1 – 2 pages)

19. Review of Literature - Body • In this section you will write about what others have done in your field. A common approach is to write a detailed history of the problem or the topic, followed by the theory available and concluding with the research that has been done. For example, someone writing a comparative study to find out the difference in the effectiveness of two teaching approaches should start with a history of teaching approaches. They should then proceed to describe each of the teaching approaches in detail, backed by quotes from experts in the field of education. Applying educational theory to each of the approaches would be a plus. Finally, the chapter should conclude with what other people have found out in similar studies regarding teaching styles. (5 – 10 pages) • What does this mean? You will find 10 peer-reviewed articles about your topic and summarize them objectively.

20. Review of Literature Conclusions • In this section you will wrap up your ideas by summarizing your review of literature. You can also add a preview of what will be coming in the rest of the proposal. [Some institutions don’t require conclusions] • (1 page)

21. CHAPTER III • Methodology

22. Chapter III • Methodology • In this part you will inform your reader of the aspects you will discuss in this chapter. It will also serve as a link for the previous chapter. Make sure to only present background information and not to add too many explicit details. (1 page) • Research Design •  In this part you will discuss the specific design (experimental, correlation, causal comparative, narrative, etc) you chose for your investigation. Make sure to include references from research and statistics experts if necessary. (1 page)

23. Population and Sample • In this section you will discuss the target population of your study, your sample, and how the sample was selected. (1 page) • Ethical Considerations • To protect the rights of the participants, the researcher guaranteed the participants’ privacy. The researcher provided the participants with a formal letter of consent stating the following (Appendix I): • 1) Purpose of the study, • 2) Kind of research design to be implemented, • 3) Request of parents’ authorization for underage participants, • 4) Request for voluntary participation in study, • 5) Statement informing the participant the right to abandon the study at any time, • 6) Assurance of confidentiality, and lastly, • 7) Commitment of the researcher to inform the results and findings of the study. • (1/2 page)

24. Instrument for Collecting Data • In this section you will discuss the instrument you will use for collecting data, including the validity and reliability of said instrument. If you are using an instrument from a previous investigation make sure to cite appropriately. (1/2 page) • Procedure •  In this section you will make a step by step narrative of how you intend to go about your experiment, starting with the selection of the participants and concluding with the steps you will undertake to analyze the data. • (2 pages)

25. Statistical Analysis of Data • If required by your institution, here you put a more detailed step by step guide of how you will analyze the data, including which variables you will put into the equation and the mathematical formulas you will use. • (2 pages)

26. Chapter IV • Analysis of Data • In this section, you explain the data which you have collected. You need to be as objective as possible. • Conclusions • In this section you interpret the data and make conclusions and interpretations based on it. Although purely objective conclusions are better, generalizations can be useful in this section. • Recommendations • In this section, you will state what you recommend people do based on your data. Do you recommend a course of action? Do you recommend further research?

27. References • On your works cited page, you will include a list of the articles you summarized and cited in your review of literature, as well as those that guided your investigation. • Remember to follow MLA or APA format. • Use Citation Machine or a similar service to create accurate citations.

28. Appendix • In this section, you include material that may compliment your investigation. • This material may include: • Images • Photographs • Completed Surveys • Links to videos