Characteristics of the Good Research

1. Characteristics of the Good Research

2. Handling real problems • An important first quality of any good thesis is that it should stem from real problems in the field. Therefore, a researcher should emphasize the reasons underlying conducting his/her research to show how urgent the suggested solution (program – strategy – method..etc) is, in an attempt to justify the effort, time and money that were exerted to accomplish the study.

3. Providing evidence • Ideas and judgments made by the researcher should be supported by evidence; represented in figures, statistics, facts, expert views..etc. Research cannot be based on impressions.

4. 3. providing feasible and realistic solutions; • A good research should suggest applicable solutions that suit circumstances of the local community.

5. 4. having cooperative nature • A good research shouldn't be totally based on individual views and efforts. A researcher should always consult others; experts, stakeholders, staff members, parents…etc

6. 5. originality of thought • The study should be original; not merely replication of previous work. It should add and share in theory development and practical application in the filed; in other words; it should be of real contribution to the field.

7. 6. organization and clarity of presentation; • A good researcher should consider important rhetorical aspects in presenting information. In order for the researcher to help readers follow the progression of thoughts easily, s/he should take special care of the sequence of ideas; each sentence should lead smoothly to the next and each paragraph should lead smoothly to the following one. This requires proper ordering and linking ideas with transitional words and phrases.

8. A common problem among researchers however, is that most of them of them fail to achieve unity and coherence in what they write. They fail to achieve oneness of thought in every paragraph by including more than one main idea in one paragraph. In addition, they confuse ideas by inappropriate sequencing. This causes problems for readers to understand their points.

9. Rationale • 7. Supporting Choices by a strong rationale (attaching concern to reasoning). Every time the researcher decides to choose a specific method, technique, theory, etc…s/he should logically justify his/ her choice.

10. Line of thought • 8. at the beginning of a good thesis, a road map is to be provided for readers which successfully gives them a clear description of the problem addressed.

11. expressions • 9. in a good thesis, the chapter dealing with review of literature and previous studies should include a discussion that is selective, analytical, and thematic (i.e., pertain to the main idea). The researcher must display a deep mature and independent thinking, and should have a point of view, and a strong, confident, authorized voice. For instance, when displaying the previous studies it is often expected of the researcher to write a commentary in his/ her words that summarizes the major issues in these studies; the similarities and differences between the studies and his / her own; how the researcher would benefit from the methodologies and figures…etc. • In addition, the literature review should be comprehensive and up to date, and the theory that is applied must be appropriate and aligns with the questions at hand.

12. Procedures • 10. a good thesis applied suitable methods and procedures which are described in sufficient details and are relevant to the questions addressed and the theory used.

13. Results • 11.Results in a good thesis are displayed clearly and supported by graphic representation through figures, tables, diagrams, graphs…etc; that sum up the content.

14. Analysis • 12. the analysis should be complete, comprehensive and should be aligned with the questions and the hypotheses raised. Also, the researcher should cogently express the insights gained from the study.

15. Conclusions • 13. the conclusion should appropriately summarize the findings, provides perspective on them, discusses implications, and applications for the discipline, and discusses future directions for research. It might be better sometimes to support the recommendations by a feasible plan for application with some typical examples.

16. Documentation • 14. in a good thesis, proper documentation is required; commitment to ethics and maintaining academic principles are of vital importance. Direct quotes should be indicated by writing words in italics or by using parentheses. A researcher should never use author's words as if they were his / her own. This is very dangerous and is looked at as plagiarism.

17. Sources • 15. information in a good thesis is often derived from varied sources, systems, and levels, (e.g., electronic vs. non electronic , English references vs. non English , correspondences.. ) This adds variety and exposes readers to varied ideas and schools of thought.