From Choosing a Topic to Writing a Scholarly Research Report

Steps followed in doing a research project and reporting its findings:

i) Select and narrow the topicii) Conduct the literature reviewiii) Develop the research design / planIv) Choose suitable methodologies and data

collection methodsv) Collect the data and analyse themvi) Write the research report on the findings (or

proposal)  

Select an issue / problem /phenomenon

Look at newspapers, other journal articles

Focus by making the topic area narrow enough and the project manageable within time available

Rationale (Why is it important? What is its purpose?

Comprehensive examination of existing research of your topic area.

Primary Sources- Journal articles, books. Authors had done the research study they are reporting

Secondary sources (commentaries, analysis, opinion, literature reviews)

(Note: Not the same as in journalism.) Non-scholarly sources (magazines,

newspaper, trade journals, websites)

Search via Cloud Deakin -‘Student Support Links’, then ‘Library Resources Guide’ . Look under ‘Communication’ and then ‘Journalism and media’

Click ‘Get Started’ then search under ‘Books’, Multimedia Resources’, Databases Containing scholarly Articles’ and ‘News’ (papers)

Click ‘…scholarly articles’ - select ‘Communication & Mass Media Complete’. Search from EBSCOHost using up to three keywords.

Abstracts (Communication / Sociological / Psychological)

Indexes

Google Scholar (Regular Google alone not enough)

Reference lists of articles already found/reviewed provide good leads to other sources.

Examines how your topic area had been studied in the past

Not just a summary of who said what…

Look for similar areas examining same variables as your study. eg. Demographic differences in adopting a new communication technology

Critique exiting literature

Examine commonly used epistemologies, paradigms, covering laws

Strengths and limitations of those studies

Alternative explanations

Cite sources in body of essay as (Author, year) if paraphrased

Provide page number as well, if ‘directly quoted’(Author, year page number/s)

Reference list at end

Use Harvard Style - See Cloud site for document www.deakin.edu.au/referencing Look for ‘Author-date (Harvard) Style’

Purpose of research- Explore, describe, explain (causal-functional) or understand

Exploration – inductive or deductive Preliminary only. Does not answer research questions

well enough

Description: of systematic observations

Causal (Why?) Explain the ‘Why?’ of the phenomenon- Strange man in a new society

Functional (How? -to improve)

Understanding- Reason -based

The ‘Who and what’ under study

Provides a focus to the study

Composite picture or Aggregate e.g. X% of men prefer Product A

Individuals

Groups

Organisations

Social Artifacts (Non-reactive or unobtrusive research) – Physical Traces

A) Erosion B) Accretion traces C) Archival records D) Messages

Ecological fallacy- Making conclusions about individuals based on observations of groups.

e.g. Profiling, stereotypes etc e.g. teens as selfish

Individual fallacy- Taking an exception to a general rule as cancelling the rule.

e.g. The ‘Short’ basket ball player.

Time Dimension- Considering how time effects a phenomenon. Study it on off or at different times.

Cross-sectional study- One off only Longitudinal- Repeated at different times.

More useful but more expensive - Trend Studies- Phenomenon re-studied at

different times using different groups of people- Cohort Studies- Different samples taken from

same population to study at different times- -Panel Studies- Same set of people studied at

different times. ( Affected by panel attrition)

If the physical setting of study matters to the project.

Field Dependent Research- Has to be conducted at a specific location e.g. Field studies.

Evaluation Research- used often in PR. Examine the issues at different times to see if a campaign has been effective.

Field Independent Research- Data collection can be done anywhere. Eg. Surveys, focus groups, interviews etc.

Quantitative: Title- 10-25 words Byline- name, affiliation and contact details of

author/s Abstract- 100-150 words or as specified. Introduction- research problem, significance,

rationale, purpose of study and how it will be studied, Literature review, research questions / hypotheses

Method- Population studied, sampling method/sample size used; how recruited, demographic profile of sample; ethics clearance, operational definitions, data collection instruments used (eg. Questionnaires); procedures followed in collecting, storing, analysing data;

Answers to research questions / Hypotheses

Rationalise types of analyses used

Include tables, graphs, charts , figures etc.

Discussion -Draw conclusions, List limitations of study, Directions for future research, Shortcoming of study

References- List of all sources cited in body of report

Bibliography- Sources consulted but not necessarily cited.

Different to quantitative because it combines data gathering, analysis and interpretation sections.

Similar to Quantitative as it has an introduction, methods, results and a discussion.

Qualitative uses inductive reasoning- i.e. Research questions are used.

Researcher is the primary data collection instrument.

1. The Realist Tale

2. The Confessional Tale

3. The Impressionist Tale

Van Maanen (1988)

The most common style.

Observations narrated in the third person. Of phenomenon observed.

Findings organised as emergent themes found in the data.

Takes research subjects’ point of view

Researcher’s point of view presented in the first person narrative e.g. Travel stories ‘Around the world in 80 dates’

Tells what they saw, experienced etc.

‘Mystery Shoppers’; Undercover law enforcement officers / journalists

Derived from impressionist art Narrative captures the world in a special

instant or moment of time Dramatic recall of an event, told

chronologically. Characters constructed, given names, lives

and feelings are told in first person Research presented as a case history, short

story, drama, noel, movie etc. Eg. The 2006 Movie The Queen

Qualitative part written as a Realist tale.

Writing A Research Proposal Same as a report but ends with the method

section. Also includes a proposed schedule and a

Budget of estimated costs

Writing a non-Scholarly Research Report

Follows the style of a standard Business report

Any Questions?