Research Papers
Review of the Literature
Besides selecting a quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods approach, the proposal designer also needs to review the literature about a topic. This literature review helps to determine whether the topic is worth studying, and it provides insight into ways in which the researcher can limit the scope to a needed area of inquiry.
This chapter continues the discussion about preliminary considerations before launching into a proposal. It begins with a discussion about selecting a topic and writing this topic down so that the researcher can continually reflect on it. At this point, researchers also need to consider whether the topic can and should be researched. Then the discussion moves into the actual process of reviewing the literature, addressing the general purpose for using literature in a study and then turning to principles helpful in designing literature into qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods studies.
THE RESEARCH TOPIC
Before considering what literature to use in a project, first identify a topic to study and reflect on whether it is practical and useful to undertake the study. The topic is the subject or subject matter of a proposed study, such as “faculty teaching,” “organizational creativity,” or “psychological stress.”
Describe the topic in a few words or in a short phrase. The topic becomes the central idea to learn about or to explore.
There are several ways that researchers gain some insight into their topics when they are initially planning their research (my assumption is that the topic is chosen by the researcher and not by an adviser or committee member): One way is to draft a brief title to the study. I am surprised at how often researchers fail to draft a title early in the development of their proj - ects. In my opinion, the working or draft title becomes a major road sign in research—a tangible idea that the researcher can keep refocusing on and changing as the project goes on
Besides selecting a quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods approach, the proposal designer also needs to review the literature about a topic. This literature review helps to determine whether the topic is worth studying, and it provides insight into ways in which the researcher can limit the scope to a needed area of inquiry.
This chapter continues the discussion about preliminary considerations before launching into a proposal. It begins with a discussion about selecting a topic and writing this topic down so that the researcher can continually reflect on it. At this point, researchers also need to consider whether the topic can and should be researched. Then the discussion moves into the actual process of reviewing the literature, addressing the general purpose for using literature in a study and then turning to principles helpful in designing literature into qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods studies.
THE RESEARCH TOPIC
Before considering what literature to use in a project, first identify a topic to study and reflect on whether it is practical and useful to undertake the study. The topic is the subject or subject matter of a proposed study, such as “faculty teaching,” “organizational creativity,” or “psychological stress.”
Describe the topic in a few words or in a short phrase. The topic becomes the central idea to learn about or to explore.
There are several ways that researchers gain some insight into their topics when they are initially planning their research (my assumption is that the topic is chosen by the researcher and not by an adviser or committee member): One way is to draft a brief title to the study. I am surprised at how often researchers fail to draft a title early in the development of their proj - ects. In my opinion, the working or draft title becomes a major road sign in research—a tangible idea that the researcher can keep refocusing on and changing as the project goes on