Research Design
(by John W. Creswell)
Use of Theory
a good theory includes convincing and plausible explanation
an interrelated set of variables
into propositions or hypotheses
variable
(1) temporal order and (2)observation
one variable precedes another in time
independent variables, dependent variables, intervening, moderating, control and confounding
affects or causes another variable
a characteristic or attribute of an individual that can be measured or observed
variables are related to answer a research question
to make predictions (hypotheses)
Literature review
it's the hardest part to write
structure and content are mutually dependent
Abstracting studies
a brief review of the literature
reader to understand the basic features of the article
Literature map
build a visual picture of existing research about topic.
a visual summary of the research that has been conducted by others
Computer databases
ERIC, PubMed, ProQuest, Sociological Abstract, PsycINFO and SSCI
provide access to thousands of journels, conference paper, etc.
Quantitative research
Cooper (1984)
theoretical review
existing theory
problem under study
that literature reviews can be integrative
quantitative researcher
literature deductively
a substantial amount of literature
direction for the research questions or hypotheses
results of other studies
can contain 20 pages
Topic principal
to pose the topic as a brief question
focus on the key topic
central idea of the research
in a short phrase
