Reading and Analyzing Research

Planning an Applied Research ProjectChapter 1 – Reading and Analyzing Research© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Learning ObjectivesExplain what a scholarly article isDifferentiate between CPR and LOAF elements of a scholarly articleAnalyze the relative merits of various scholarly articlesUse various search engines to find scholarly articlesIdentify an area of research interestDescribe the various types of interviews© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Key TermsApplicationsBlind reviewedContextFindingsLimitationsMixed methodsOpportunitiesPurposeQualitative researchQuantitative researchPeer reviewResearch designScholarly journalWhite paper© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Industry Articles and ReportsProfessional associations, private firms, governmental and nongovernmental agencies, and trade magazines publish useful research informationAmerican Society for Training and DevelopmentAmerican Hotel and Lodging AssociationNational Restaurant Association© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.White PapersWritten to persuade decision makersContain current researchPublished by companies, associations, non governmental organizations, and institutionsCreated to provide background and rationale for a new program, proposal, policy, or other changeUsed, sometimes, for marketing purposes© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Definition of a Scholarly Journal ArticleReviewed blindly by peers who do not know who wrote the articleWritten for scholarly journalsFocuses on expanding knowledgeProvides a contribution to scholarship and understanding of an area or topic© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Quantitative vs. Qualitative ResearchQuantitativeQualitativeLarge sample size with few variablesTests hypotheses, models, and conceptsSmall sample size with many variablesDiscovers and explores what might be happening© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Quantitative vs. Qualitative Research (cont’d)QuantitativeQualitativeContrived or controlled settings to limit outside influencesStatistical tools to demonstrate significance of findingsNatural setting that may contribute to the information gatheredAnalytical tools to determine the patterns and significance of data© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Structure of Scholarly ArticlesAbstractIntroductionReview of the Literature (often broken up into sections)Research Method or Research DesignFindings or Discussion (often divided into sections reporting on various categories of findings)Limitations and Suggestions for Future ResearchConclusionsBibliography© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Structure of Scholarly Articles (cont’d)Introduction – CPRC Context or common ground – what is the situation, the environment, background, the reason for the problem?P Problem or Purpose – What did he/she/they set out to investigate? What is its significance?R Response, Results, or Research Design (it can differ depending on the journal) – what is the solution or what did they do to figure it out?© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Structure of Scholarly Articles (cont’d)Introduction – L O A F L LimitationsO Opportunities for more research or next steps that a researcher could takeA Applications of the findingsF Findings© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Evaluating Scholarly ArticlesTop three issues:Research purposeResearch designFindings© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Evaluating Scholarly Articles (cont’d)Elements to Examine IntroductionLiterature reviewTheoretical or conceptual frameworkData collection methodsData analysisConclusion© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Evaluating Scholarly Articles (cont’d)Sections of ArticlesIntroductionPurpose statementLiterature reviewResearch designTheoretical or conceptual frameworkSampleData collection methodsData analysisFindingsLimitations, opportunities and applications© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Evaluating Scholarly Articles (cont’d)Add for QuantitativeAll of the previous sections plus:HypothesesResearch variables© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Evaluating Scholarly Articles (cont’d)Criteria to UseClarityCoherenceComprehensivenessCogencyCurrencyCredibilityCreativityContribution© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.Review of the Class SessionAnything unclear?One thing that I learned from this class is © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.