Unit 2 Initiating Research
Objectives
- Understand what a research is
- Become aware of two language features of academic writing
- Initiate your research
Contents
- Reading and discussion: What is a research?
- Language focus: personal pronoun and nominalization
- Writing practice: topic selection; focus formulating; a working title; outlining
- Research practice: start the research
1.Reading Activity
This unit aims to describe what a research is, bring you an awareness of two language features of academic writing, and finally help you initiate a research of your own.
1.1 Pre-reading Task
Before you learn the detailed steps to initiate a research, please discuss the following questions:
What is the purpose of initiating a research?
How do you select the topic?
What kind of topic can be studied?
Do you often encounter first personal pronoun in academic writing? And why or why not?
1.2 Reading Passage
What is a research?
A research is a systematic investigative process employed to increase or revise current knowledge by discovering new facts. It is divided into two general categories: (1) basic research is inquiry aimed at increasing scientific knowledge, and (2) applied research is effort aimed at using basic research for solving problems or developing new processes, products, or techniques. You may use "PPP" to describe the whole process of researching, which stands for Purpose (questions), Process (a systemic approach) and Product (answers) in the following figure.
Purpose Process Product
(Questions) (Systemic approach) (Answers)
You can initiate a research in the following steps.
Step1: Selecting a Topic
Select a topic that interests you.
Selecting a topic is possibly the most difficult part of doing research. Is it too big? Is it too narrow? Will you be able to find enough on it? Start by choosing a topic that you like or are curious about. You are going to be working on it for quite a while, so try and find one that is interesting and that you can reasonably cover in the time and space available.
Focus on a broad research topic.
If you have a topic in mind, you still have to fine-tune your selection and narrow the focus. For example, by selecting the subject "Medical Care," you will discover reports relating to dozens of more narrow subjects, such as "Managed Care," "Medical Malpractice," and "Medical Mistakes." You will have to limit your topic, so that the research questions can be significant, original and answerable.
Step 2: Formulating a thesis statement
Write your topic as a thesis statement, which may be the answer to your research question and/or a way to clearly state the purpose of your research. Your thesis statement will usually be one or two sentences that state precisely what is to be answered, proven, or what you will promise to your audience about the scope, purpose, and direction of your paper. It i s generally located near the end of the introduction; sometimes, in a long paper, the thesis will be expressed in several sentences or in an entire paragraph. And remember, the development of a thesis assumes that there is sufficient evidence to support the thesis statement.
A thesis statement is supposed to be specific. Here is an example of a too broad statement:
The Catholic Church’s influence on the formation of labor unions in the nineteenth century was extremely significant.
Revision:
The Catholic Church, by means of the pulpit and the purse, greatly influenced the labor movement in the United States during the final decades of the nineteenth century. Step 3: Writing a title
A good title is defined as the fewest possible words that adequately describe the contents of the paper. All words in the title should be chosen with great care, and their association with one another must be carefully managed.
The title of your paper may not be exactly the same as your research question or your thesis statement, but the title should clearly convey the focus, purpose and meaning of your research.
In terms of the structure of a title, it is mainly a noun phrase, gerund phrase, or a prepositional phrase. Sometimes, it can be a complete sentence. But for beginners, sentences are not recommended. The followings are some acceptable titles.
Juvenile delinquency as the result of television
Death penalty – is it beneficial or unfavorable?
The TV impact on the modern society
The controversial character of Napoleon Bonaparte
Frank Lloyd Wright: Key Principles of Design For the Modern Home
Abnormal muscular tension caused by paspertin: report of 12 cases
Step 4: Outlining
Using an outline can help you organize your material and can also help you discover connections between pieces of information.
A Working Outline might be only an informal list of topics and subtopics which you are thinking of covering in your paper. Sometimes, however, an instructor might require that a working outline be submitted at the beginning of your work; then your instructor might suggest ways in which the work needs to be further developed or cut back. The working outline can be revised as you discover new material and get new ideas that ought to go into your paper.
A Final Outline enhances the organization and coherence of your research paper. The outline organization should suit well to your purposes. Are you attempting to show the chronology of some historical development, cause-and-effect relationship, comparison and contrast between one phenomenon and another, the process by which something is accomplished, or the logic of some position?
A final outline can be written as a topic outline, in which you use only short phrases to suggest ideas, or as a sentence outline, in which you use full sentences (even very brief paragraphs) to show the development of ideas more fully. The following is a template outline of research, which may not reflect all of the research you will be including in your final paper, but it should show that you have done enough research that you know the main topics and subtopics that you will be using.
?Title
?Complete the sentence "The Purpose of this Paper is . . ."
Introduction
o Describe the problem
o Why is this analysis appropriate?
o Importance of the problem
o The scope of the review
o Gaps in the previous study
o How the results of the review will be applied.
o Identify the research questions you hope to answer
Methodology
o Identify the method used to identify and locate sources;
o Explain the rationale used for selecting the sources to analyze;
o Explain the procedures to be used for analyzing the sources;
o Identify the criteria for evaluating the information found.
Analysis and Discussion (General points to consider)
o Evidence and ideas are presented from sources
o Concepts are organized by sub-topics
o Sources are grouped by concepts instead of individual entities
o Grouping may be related to research questions.
o Validity of sources is stated to support your ultimate answers to your
questions.
o Each of your statements is cited by placing the number(s) identifying
the reference(s) which support your statement.
Conclusions and Recommendations
o Identify and synthesize findings
o Systematically answer your research questions
o Provide recommendations for
?Future research
?Classroom applications
?Educational policies and procedures,
?Program revisions, or
?Other warranted situations
References
o L ist each of your references using APA format (or as close to it as you
can get.)
o N umber each of your references so you can cite your evidence in the
Analysis and Discussion section
1.3 Reading Comprehension
1.3.1 Summarize the procedure of initiating a research based on the text in a few key words and fill in the following table.
1.3.2 Read the following topics and please decide what the theme is and in what way the topic is limited for each proposal based on Step 1.
nguage Focus
2.1Person Pronouns
First person pronouns
You can usually strengthen your impersonal tone by removing first person pronouns.
Second person pronouns
When considering an audience, you establish credibility by avoiding second
person pronouns to decrease closeness and informality.
2.1.1 Turn the following sentences into academic ones by avoiding first and second personal pronouns.
1. I think that doctors should be required to complete communication skill courses.
2. When you read Hamlet, you should notice clear foreshadowing of events to transpire.
3. I chose this method because it was less complex.
4. My reading has shown that there are several reasons why plants are dispersed by ants.
5. The one I have found the most agreement for is that ant nests are nutrient enriched sites and therefore it may be advantageous for seeds to germinate from within ant nests .
6. I also found that the results of this study concurred with Berg's (1975) hypothesis that seeds are protected from fire through their burial in ants nests.
2.1.2 Check for the appropriate person for the following text. First and second person pronouns are sometimes applicable to the consultative voice, but not in the formal one. Be sure that you are consistent with your usage throughout the paper.
For our project we decided to check out the impact of two simple actions aimed at getting more female employees to use the stairs at a five floor worksite. The first thing we did was that we put up a health sign that linked stair use to health and fitness. And the second thing was an E-mail which we asked the worksite doctor to send out. We asked him to point out how regular stair use could be really good for general fitness. We did the research by checking things out in four states: a baseline week, the week after the sign, the week after the E-mail and then 3 weeks after that.
We were really pleased that stair use went up a lot in the week after the sign, from a baseline of 69% to 77%, and then up again to 89% after the E-mail. Unfortunately, 4 weeks after the E-mail was sent out, stair use had gone down to 67% and we were very disappointed about that, we had expected these simple actions to lead to more stair use but we didn’t think the positive effect would’ve vanished after a
month. So it’s really difficult to make any recommendations based on our evidence. 2.2 Nominalization
In the text, we read:
“A Final Outline enhances the organization and coherence of your research paper. The outline organization should suit well to your purposes.”
Do you find anything particular about structural features of these two sentences above? If yes, why do we use the structure?
Nominalization: The word nominalization defines itself, since it is itself an example of a nominalization. When you turn a verb into a noun, you nominalize it, creating a nominalization. Nominalization types differ according to the level of organization at which the nominalization takes place Three types of nominalizations can be distinguished: nominalizations at the level of word (e.g. reject, rejection), nominalizations which nominalize a structure that lies in between a verb and a full clause (e.g. Sa m’s rejection of the budget) and, finally, nominalizations consisting of full clauses (e.g. Failure could result in rejection of the budget.)
2.2.1 Try to write the nominal forms of the following words.
Verb Nominalization
Discover
Impair
Allow
Refuse
Study
Propose
Indicate
Remove
Assume
Intend
Liable
Negligent
Extensive
Legal
Careless
Proficient
2.2.2 The following sentences do not sound academic. Rewrite them with nominalization.
1. We walked for charity. We raised money for the Leukemia Foundation.
2. Crime was increasing rapidly and the police were becoming concerned.
3. Germany invaded Poland in 1939. This was the immediate cause of the Second World War breaking out.
4. We need to know which parts of our library are being used most extensively so that we can project what resources are most needed.
5. I know English well. I worked for three years in a factory in Shanghai. I think I am good enough for your job.
2.2.3 The following text sounds colloquial. Rewrite it into an academic passage with nominalization.
Because only a few people have most of the money and power in Australia, I conclude that it is not an equal society. Society has an Upper, Middle and Lower class and I think that most people, when they are born into one class, end up staying in that class for their whole lives. When all three classes are looked at more closely, other things such as the differences between the sexes and people's racial backgrounds also add to the unequal nature of Australian society. Women earn less than men and own less than men. Why is this so?
3. Writing Practice
3.1 Topic Selection
The following is a list of topics that you may be interested in. Choose three topics and discuss their possibilities as subjects for research with your teammates. If you find none of the following interesting, you can propose your own.
3.2 Focus Formulation
Please formulate focus for the three topics that you are most interested in chosen
from 3.1 by limiting them to some aspects, e.g., a certain population, theory, or methodology.
1.___________________________________________________________________.
2.___________________________________________________________________.
3.___________________________________________________________________.
3.3 Establishing a Working Title
A working title is a title which you initially think of in order to establish a focus for your research and writing. As you read and become more involved in the subject of your project, your viewpoint may change. This is
a part
of the process of developing your ideas, and thus a part of fine-tuning your research skills. You may decide to go back and change your plan, and your final title may differ somewhat from your working title.
The following are James' working title, and the process of refinement.
Please write down three acceptable titles for the three topics that you have narrowed down in the previous task 3.2.
1._______________________________________________________________
2._______________________________________________________________
3._______________________________________________________________
3.4 Outlining
The following passage is an abstract of a research paper. Please write an outline and a title for this passage.
ABSTRACT: Hunger during school may prevent children in developing countries from benefiting from education. Although many countries have implemented school feeding programs, few programs have been rigorously evaluated. We conducted a randomized, controlled trial of giving breakfast to undernourished and adequately nourished children. The undernourished group comprised 407 children in grades 2–5 in 16 rural Jamaican schools (weights-for-age 21 SD of the National Center for Health Statistics references) and the adequately nourished group comprised 407 children matched for school and class (weights-for-age >21 SD). Both groups were stratified by class and school, and then randomly assigned to breakfast or control groups. After the initial measurements, breakfast was provided every school day for 1 school year. Children in the control group were given one-quarter of an orange and the same amount of attention as children in the breakfast group. All children had their heights and weights measured and were given the Wide Range Achievement Test before and after the intervention. School attendance was taken from the schools’ registers. Compared with the control group, height, weight, and attendance improved significantly in the breakfast group. Both groups made poor progress in Wide Range Achievement Test scores. Younger children in the breakfast group improved in arithmetic. There was no effect of the nutritional group on the response to breakfast. In conclusion, the provision of a school breakfast produced small benefits in children’s nutritional status, school
attendance, and achievement. Greater improvements may occur in more undernourished populations; however, the massive problem of poor achievement levels requires integrated programs including health and educational inputs as well as school meals. （Am J Clin Nutr 1998;68:873–9.）
4. Writing Project
4.1 You have decided on a topic for research in this semester. Please write it down.
4.2 Please narrow down your topic to one or more research questions.
4.3 Please write down your thesis statement and list the key words that best describe your topic.
4.4 Please make an outline of your research, and exchange your outlines within your team for peer correction mainly in inner logic and coherence.
5. Final Checklist
Here is a checklist for you to initiate a research. Please make sure that your potential project meets the criteria for a good research.