Guidelines for writing a literature review

Guidelines for writing a literature review
Hello friends, since we are preparing our research proposal, here I have something to share with you. Hope it will help us...

Literature Review Format

Literature Review Format
just to share with you...

Qualitative vs Quantitative Data

Qualitative vs Quantitative Data

Here I am sharing something about qualitative and quantitative data.
Source: Created by Donna Roberts
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Oswego City School District Regents Exam Prep Center

Presentation 4: Data Analysis - Qualitative Data

What is qualitative data?

~ Research studies that investigate the quality of relationships,
  activities, situations or materials are frequently referred to as
  Qualitative Research.

General Characteristics of Qualitative Research

1. The natural setting is a direct source of data.
    ~ Qualitative researchers go directly to the particular setting    
       of interest to observe and collect their data. 

2. Data collection is in the form of words or pictures rather than
    numbers. 
    ~ the kind of data collected; interview transcripts, field notes, 
       photographs, audio recordings, videotapes, diaries, personal 
       comments, memos, official records, and anything else that 
       can convey the actual words or actions of people. 

3. Qualitative researchers are concerned with process as well as
    product.
     ~ researchers interested in how things occur.
4. Qualitative researchers tend to analyze their data inductively.
     ~ they decided and set important questions after collecting their data.
5. Major interest in the participants' thought.
     ~ researchers want to know what participants in the study
        are thinking and why they think what they do.


Steps in Qualitative Research

There are several steps can be identified in conducting qualitative research.

1. Identification of the phenomenon to be studied.
    ~ Researchers identify particular phenomenon they are
       interested to investigate.

2. Identification of the participants in the study.
    ~ Researchers identify specific participants (sample of
       individuals) to be observed.

3. Generation of hypotheses.
    ~ hypotheses are typically formulated after the researchers
       have begun the study.

4. Data collection.
    ~ There is an ongoing process  in collecting data.

5. Data analysis.
    ~ Analyzing data essentially involves analyzing, synthesizing,
      and reducing the information obtained from various sources.

6. Interpretations and conclusions.
    ~ Interpretations are made continuously throughout the course
       of a study.

Approaches to Qualitative Research

1. Narrative research
    ~ The study of the life experiences of an individual
    ~ Different forms of narrative research;

       a. Biographical study; a form of narrative study in which the
           researcher writes and records the experiences of another
           person.
       b. Autobiography; written and recorded by the individuals who
           are the subject of the study (Ellis, 2004).
       c. Life History; portrays an individual's entire life
       d. Oral history; consists of personal reflections of events and
           their cause and effects from one individual or several
           individuals (Plummer, 1983).

2. Phenomenological study
    ~ Researcher investigates various reactions to, or perceptions
       of a particular phenomenon.
    ~ It needs a number of tape-recorded interview sessions.
    ~ Researcher must search through each participant's statements.
    ~ Researcher then clusters these statements into themes.

3. Grounded theory
    ~ Researchers intend to generate a theory that is 'grounded' in
       data from participants who have experienced the process.
    ~ Researchers start with the data they have collected and then
       develop generalizations after they look at the data.

4. Case studies
    ~ Researchers focus their research on the study of such cases.
    ~ A case is not just an individual or situation that can easily be
       identified; it may be an event, an activity, or an ongoing
       process.
    ~ Intrinsic case study; researcher is primarily interested in
       understanding a specific individual or situation.
    ~ Instrumental case study; researcher is interested in
       understanding something more than just a particular case.

5. Ethnographic and historical research
    ~ Ethnographis research focuses on the study of culture.
    ~ Historical research concentrates exclusively on the past.

Presentation 3: Instrumentation II - Interviews, Checklists, Observations

Interviews

Interview is a major technique in gatghering information used by qualitative researcher. the main purpose of interview is to find out how participants think or feel about something. another purpose is to provide a check on the researcher's observation.

Four Types of Interview;

* Structured

~ consist of series of questions designed to elicit specific answers from respondents.

* Semistructured

~ the technique and purpose more or less same with structured interview.

* Informal

~ informal interviews tend to resemble causal conversations, pursuing the interests of both researcher and respondent.

~ they do not involve any specific type or sequesnce of questions or any particular form of questioning.

* Retrospective

~ can be structured, semistructured or informal.

~ researchers try to get a respondent to recall and then reconstruct from memory something that has happened in the past.

Observation

Observation is one of favoured approaches ~ where more accurate indication of activities would probably be obtained by observing while discussions take place

There are four roles an observer can play in conducting study;
* ranging from complete participant
* to participant-as-observer
* to observer-as-participant
* to complete observer

Types of Observation Studies

1. Participation Observation
~  Researcher actually participates as an active member of the group in the situation he is observing but his identity is not known to any of the individuals being observed.
~   It can be overt; the researcher is easily can be identified and the subjects know they are being observed.
~   It also can be covert; the researcher disguises his or her identity and acts just like other participants.

2. Nonparticipant Observation
~  Observers are not directly involved in the situation but rather 'sit on the sidelines' and watch.

~   The subjects of researcher's observations may, or may not, realize they are being observed.

3. Naturalistic Observation
~  Involves observing individuals in natural settings.
~  Researcher simply observes and records what happens as things naturally occur.

4. Simulations
~  Researcher actually tells the subjects what to do (but not how to do it).
~  Two main types of role-playing simulations;
    * individual role playing
    * team role playing

Presentation 2: Instrumentation I- Questionnaires

What is questionnaire?
Questionnaire is a set of questions qiven to asample of people, to gather information abaout the people's attitudes, thoughts, behaviours, etc. the answers of the sample will be compiled in order to know how the group as a whole thinks or behaves.

This method involves;
i.   Population ~ the group of all the people the researcher wants to know about.
ii.  Random sample ~ every person in the population equally likely to be choosen as sample. It is to ensure that the sample does represesnt the population

Selection items on questionnaires include multiple-choice, true-false, matching, or interpretive-exercise questions. besides that, there are also supply items include short-answeror essay questions.

Advantages of Questionnaire
* This method involves a large group of people (random sample).
* We can be more confident in generalizing our findings as every person in te population equally likely to be choosen as sample.

Disadvantages of Questionnaire
There are tqo disadvantages of questionnaire, as potential of problem areas;

* Different people in our sample will understand questions given differently and answers or responses might be different. 
* Getting random sample of people from the population can be quite difficult. Sometimes not all sets of questionnaire returned.