CHAPTER 10 – RESEARCH
CHAPTER SYNOPSIS: In this chapter, you will learn how to plan for conducting
different types of research, depending on your research goals. The chapter
starts by giving information on creating a hypothesis and research questions to
guide your research. After, you will learn about conducting both primary and
secondary research and when to choose one or the other. Different kinds of
primary and secondary research are discussed, to help you decide which is best
for your specific project and needs. Information for creating your own survey and
interview questions is included, as well as tips for evaluating secondary sources.
10.1 – INTRODUCTION: With the abundance of research available today, often
the hardest part of research is deciding on the best type of research for a specific
project, and evaluating its validity and effectiveness. What does it mean to be
information literate? Simply stated, information literacy is the ability to locate,
evaluate, and implement information efficiently. In college, you typically find,
evaluate, and use information to satisfy the requirements of an assignment.
Assignments often specify what kind of information you need and what tools you
should use or avoid in your research. For example, your professor may specify
that you need three peer-reviewed academic articles and that you should not cite
Wikipedia in your final paper. However, in life beyond college – especially the
work world – you may not have that kind of specific guidance. You may also be
asked to create your own data using techniques such as interviews, surveys, and
analysis, instead of using published sources. Using research in the portions of
your document that require evidence can strengthen your argument and help
answer your research questions. At other times, even if research is not actually
necessary, it can be persuasive and sharpen the points you want to make.
Research is much more than doing a simple search engine query and reviewing
the first ten results it returns – you need to be information literate in order to plan
and perform your own research efficiently, effectively, and also with the needs of
your audience in mind. You must also be able to incorporate unbiased, reliable
data for your projects.
10.2 – HYPOTHESIS AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS: In the technical field, you
may be asked to complete research for several reasons. Research can be used
to confirm theories (hypotheses), gather information over a topic and necessary
services, describe a population, find a solution to a problem, and/or to provide
background information. You will likely perform research for most, if not all, the
documents you create in class or the workplace. For example, you may do
background research on a group of people to revise a document for that
audience, such as to tailor your résumé for a position at a specific business. Or,
you may research a problem in order to provide a solution and present that
research in a report. Depending on the genre, you may need a specific type of
research, or a combination of several types. The type(s) of research you choose
should be based on your purpose, audience, and, often when completing a
research project, your hypothesis and research questions.
,o HYPOTHESIS: It can be difficult to decide where to start researching for
your task, especially if you are not given specific guidelines. Most specific
or medical research begins with a hypothesis. A hypothesis is a tentative,
tenable answer to a question. It is based on your current knowledge of
the situation or topic; therefore, it is a “guess” of what the outcomes will
be. For example, a pharmaceutical company creates a new prescription
strength sunscreen for people with an elevated risk of melanoma. They
theorize that daily use of the sunscreen, applied every three hours with
normal sun exposure, will lower the risk of skin cancer by 75%. This is a
classic example of a hypothesis. You may or may not be asked to create
a hypothesis for a research topic. It depends on the purpose and topic, or
the type(s) of research you need to produce. When you create a
hypothesis for your problem or topic, it is always written as a statement. It
is predictive in nature and typically used when some knowledge already
exists on the topic. In the sunscreen example above, scientists in the
pharmaceutical industry should have knowledge on how the product and
individual compounds work before it goes to clinical trials. Based on your
hypothesis, you can collect data, analyze it, use it to support or negate the
hypothesis, and (eventually) arrive at a conclusion at the end of the
research. Hypotheses work to limit the scope of your research. A
complete hypothesis should include the variable, the population, and the
predicted relationship between the variables. For example, some limits on
the sunscreen example are the number of applications per day and a
“normal” amount of sun exposure (as opposed to working outside all day
without protective clothing). A hypothesis also applies to a specific
population – in this case, people with elevated melanoma risk. Once
established, a hypothesis will guide your research for credible outcomes.
o RESEARCH QUESTIONS: Whether or not you create a hypothesis, you
will often create research questions to help direct your research. These
questions need to be answered through your research for you to
thoroughly investigate and analyze a topic. What are the major questions
that need to be answered for you to create a solid conclusion about your
topic? For example, imagine you are asking to research the effect of final
exams on student academic success. There are many areas you could
choose to focus on – student mental or physical health, knowledge
attainment and/or recall, effectiveness of timed exams, cumulative exams
versus application of materials, and so on. As there are so many aspects
of this topic, you will most likely not have time to adequately research all of
them. Establishing research questions will help you focus your research
on specific areas of the topic. How do you decide which areas are the
right areas to research? Base your decision on factors such as:
1. What is your area(s) of interest?
2. What will be most likely to persuade the reader? (Did they ask
for a specific type or area of research? What is their main goal for
the research? What do they want to alter, improve, or disprove?
, Which of the audience’s needs, wants, or values might help guide
your research?)
3. What areas can you feasibly research within the time frame or
any other limitations you have?
4. Are there any areas where research seems to be missing or
underdeveloped on this topic?
o Once you decide on a few areas of focus, you can construct research
questions to help guide you. Normally, three or more questions are
standard for a topic. They should be written in the form of a question and
must be inquisitive in nature. A properly written question will be clear and
concise, and contain the topic being studied (purpose), the variable(s),
and the population. If you were doing research on the final exam example
above for a university’s Student Affairs office, your research questions
might be:
What is the current system for final exams, and what are the
reason(s) for its structure and schedule?
How does the current system compare to other similar universities,
including scheduling, exam grades, GPA, and overall graduation
rates?
Have any connections been proven between the final exam system
and student academic success or failure?
o The type of question you choose depends on the best way you can study
your topic and your hypothesis. The following list includes the six main
types of research questions:
Comparative questions look for the similarities and differences
between multiple variables.
Causal questions look for relationships between two or more
occurrences.
Descriptive questions seek out a description and explanation for
a specific situation.
Exploratory questions help try to better understand something
through observation.
Predictive questions determine what will happen in the future or if
a change happens.
Interpretive questions gather feedback on a topic or perception
without altering the outcome.
o After creating your questions, you will need to decide the best type(s) of
research to help you answer them.
10.3 – RESEARCH TYPES: There are numerous types of research and source
types available to complete your research. The type of research you choose
should be based on the rhetorical situation of the document, as well as the
assumptions you make about the main audience. For example, for a basic
argumentative essay, you generally use secondary research from published,
peer-reviewed sources. However, with technical documents, the type of research
will often vary. For instance, if you are creating a proposal on a community
CHAPTER SYNOPSIS: In this chapter, you will learn how to plan for conducting
different types of research, depending on your research goals. The chapter
starts by giving information on creating a hypothesis and research questions to
guide your research. After, you will learn about conducting both primary and
secondary research and when to choose one or the other. Different kinds of
primary and secondary research are discussed, to help you decide which is best
for your specific project and needs. Information for creating your own survey and
interview questions is included, as well as tips for evaluating secondary sources.
10.1 – INTRODUCTION: With the abundance of research available today, often
the hardest part of research is deciding on the best type of research for a specific
project, and evaluating its validity and effectiveness. What does it mean to be
information literate? Simply stated, information literacy is the ability to locate,
evaluate, and implement information efficiently. In college, you typically find,
evaluate, and use information to satisfy the requirements of an assignment.
Assignments often specify what kind of information you need and what tools you
should use or avoid in your research. For example, your professor may specify
that you need three peer-reviewed academic articles and that you should not cite
Wikipedia in your final paper. However, in life beyond college – especially the
work world – you may not have that kind of specific guidance. You may also be
asked to create your own data using techniques such as interviews, surveys, and
analysis, instead of using published sources. Using research in the portions of
your document that require evidence can strengthen your argument and help
answer your research questions. At other times, even if research is not actually
necessary, it can be persuasive and sharpen the points you want to make.
Research is much more than doing a simple search engine query and reviewing
the first ten results it returns – you need to be information literate in order to plan
and perform your own research efficiently, effectively, and also with the needs of
your audience in mind. You must also be able to incorporate unbiased, reliable
data for your projects.
10.2 – HYPOTHESIS AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS: In the technical field, you
may be asked to complete research for several reasons. Research can be used
to confirm theories (hypotheses), gather information over a topic and necessary
services, describe a population, find a solution to a problem, and/or to provide
background information. You will likely perform research for most, if not all, the
documents you create in class or the workplace. For example, you may do
background research on a group of people to revise a document for that
audience, such as to tailor your résumé for a position at a specific business. Or,
you may research a problem in order to provide a solution and present that
research in a report. Depending on the genre, you may need a specific type of
research, or a combination of several types. The type(s) of research you choose
should be based on your purpose, audience, and, often when completing a
research project, your hypothesis and research questions.
,o HYPOTHESIS: It can be difficult to decide where to start researching for
your task, especially if you are not given specific guidelines. Most specific
or medical research begins with a hypothesis. A hypothesis is a tentative,
tenable answer to a question. It is based on your current knowledge of
the situation or topic; therefore, it is a “guess” of what the outcomes will
be. For example, a pharmaceutical company creates a new prescription
strength sunscreen for people with an elevated risk of melanoma. They
theorize that daily use of the sunscreen, applied every three hours with
normal sun exposure, will lower the risk of skin cancer by 75%. This is a
classic example of a hypothesis. You may or may not be asked to create
a hypothesis for a research topic. It depends on the purpose and topic, or
the type(s) of research you need to produce. When you create a
hypothesis for your problem or topic, it is always written as a statement. It
is predictive in nature and typically used when some knowledge already
exists on the topic. In the sunscreen example above, scientists in the
pharmaceutical industry should have knowledge on how the product and
individual compounds work before it goes to clinical trials. Based on your
hypothesis, you can collect data, analyze it, use it to support or negate the
hypothesis, and (eventually) arrive at a conclusion at the end of the
research. Hypotheses work to limit the scope of your research. A
complete hypothesis should include the variable, the population, and the
predicted relationship between the variables. For example, some limits on
the sunscreen example are the number of applications per day and a
“normal” amount of sun exposure (as opposed to working outside all day
without protective clothing). A hypothesis also applies to a specific
population – in this case, people with elevated melanoma risk. Once
established, a hypothesis will guide your research for credible outcomes.
o RESEARCH QUESTIONS: Whether or not you create a hypothesis, you
will often create research questions to help direct your research. These
questions need to be answered through your research for you to
thoroughly investigate and analyze a topic. What are the major questions
that need to be answered for you to create a solid conclusion about your
topic? For example, imagine you are asking to research the effect of final
exams on student academic success. There are many areas you could
choose to focus on – student mental or physical health, knowledge
attainment and/or recall, effectiveness of timed exams, cumulative exams
versus application of materials, and so on. As there are so many aspects
of this topic, you will most likely not have time to adequately research all of
them. Establishing research questions will help you focus your research
on specific areas of the topic. How do you decide which areas are the
right areas to research? Base your decision on factors such as:
1. What is your area(s) of interest?
2. What will be most likely to persuade the reader? (Did they ask
for a specific type or area of research? What is their main goal for
the research? What do they want to alter, improve, or disprove?
, Which of the audience’s needs, wants, or values might help guide
your research?)
3. What areas can you feasibly research within the time frame or
any other limitations you have?
4. Are there any areas where research seems to be missing or
underdeveloped on this topic?
o Once you decide on a few areas of focus, you can construct research
questions to help guide you. Normally, three or more questions are
standard for a topic. They should be written in the form of a question and
must be inquisitive in nature. A properly written question will be clear and
concise, and contain the topic being studied (purpose), the variable(s),
and the population. If you were doing research on the final exam example
above for a university’s Student Affairs office, your research questions
might be:
What is the current system for final exams, and what are the
reason(s) for its structure and schedule?
How does the current system compare to other similar universities,
including scheduling, exam grades, GPA, and overall graduation
rates?
Have any connections been proven between the final exam system
and student academic success or failure?
o The type of question you choose depends on the best way you can study
your topic and your hypothesis. The following list includes the six main
types of research questions:
Comparative questions look for the similarities and differences
between multiple variables.
Causal questions look for relationships between two or more
occurrences.
Descriptive questions seek out a description and explanation for
a specific situation.
Exploratory questions help try to better understand something
through observation.
Predictive questions determine what will happen in the future or if
a change happens.
Interpretive questions gather feedback on a topic or perception
without altering the outcome.
o After creating your questions, you will need to decide the best type(s) of
research to help you answer them.
10.3 – RESEARCH TYPES: There are numerous types of research and source
types available to complete your research. The type of research you choose
should be based on the rhetorical situation of the document, as well as the
assumptions you make about the main audience. For example, for a basic
argumentative essay, you generally use secondary research from published,
peer-reviewed sources. However, with technical documents, the type of research
will often vary. For instance, if you are creating a proposal on a community
