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Contents

Acknowledgments ix List of Boxes x List of Figures and Tables xi About the Website xiii Chapter 1: Introduction: Start Your Research Journey 1 What Is Research? 1 What Type of Research Project Do You Have? 3 What Are the Procedures for Scientific Research? 6 Will There Be Bends and Detours in the Research Process? 6 How to Embark on Your Research Journey 7 How Will This Book Help You? 11 How Is This Book Organized? 12 Chapter 2: Topic Selection: Getting Started 15 Where Can You Start to Find a Good Topic? 15 How Can You Narrow Down Your Topic? 18 What Topic Is Appropriate for Your Research? 20 How Do You Know the Topic You Selected Is a "Good Topic"? 24 Can You Change Your Topic? 25 Exercises for Chapter 2 26 Your Project Outcome after Chapter 2 30 Chapter 3: Searching for Information 31 What Is Valid and Reliable Information? 31 What Do You Need to Prepare Before Searching for Information? 32 Should You Search in Libraries or on the Internet? 34 What Different Sources Are Available? 35 How Do You Go about Doing Library Research? 38 How Do You Conduct a Search Using Journal Article Databases? 43 How Do You Keep Organized Records of the Information Found? 50 How Do You Use the Information You Found? 53 Exercises for Chapter 3 54 Your Project Outcome after Chapter 3 57 Chapter 4: Reviewing the Literature 58 What Is a Literature Review? 59 Why Do You Need a Literature Review? 59 What Does the Literature Review Entail? 60 How to Sort Your Literature 61 How Do You Read Your Literature and Take Notes? 63 How Do You Evaluate and Synthesize Your Reviewed Literature? 64 How Do You Write Your Literature Review? 67 Exercises for Chapter 4 72 Your Project Outcome after Chapter 4 80 Chapter 5: Research Questions and Methods 81 What Are Your Research Questions? 81 What Are the Goals of Your Research? 84 What Method Should You Use in Your Research? 86 How Do You Use Theory in Your Research? 94 Are Ethical Matters Important in Your Research? 96 What Ethical Issues Should You Pay Attention To? 97 Exercises for Chapter 5 100 Your Project Outcome after Chapter 5 104 Chapter 6: Steps of Quantitative and Qualitative Research Designs 105 What Are Your Independent and Dependent Variables? 106 How Do You Select a Sample to Study from Your Target Population? 107 What Is an Acceptable Sample Size for Surveys? 108 How Do You Turn Your Concepts into Variables in Surveys? 110 What Are Levels of Measurement and Why Do They Matter? 111 What Do You Need to Know about Qualitative Research Designs? 116 How Do You Construct Your Interview Questions? 116 How Do You Select People for Interviews? 119 What Should You Do to Have Productive Interviews? 121 What Other Qualitative Data Collection Methods Can You Consider? 123 Exercises for Chapter 6 126 Your Project Outcome after Chapter 6 132 Chapter 7: Writing a Research Proposal 133 What Should You Include in Your Research Proposal? 134 Do You Need a Title for Your Proposal? 134 What Should You Write in Your Introduction? 135 What Should You Write in Your Literature Reviews? 136 What Should You Write about Your Research Methods? 139 What Else Do You Include in Your Proposal? 140 What Format Should You Use to List the References? 142 What Writing Styles Are Appropriate for Research Proposals? 143 Incorporating Feedback from Faculty Supervisors 143 Exercises for Chapter 7 145 Your Project Outcome after Chapter 7 149 Chapter 8: Practical Issues While Carrying Out Research 150 Do You Have to Get Your Research Project Approved by Your University? 151 How Can You Carry Out Your Data Collection Effectively? 152 What Are Common Practical Problems in Qualitative Research? 157 What Ethical Dilemmas Will You Encounter in the Field Research Process? 160 What Should You Do When You Face Ethical Dilemmas? 162 What Problems Are Common in Questionnaire Surveys? 162 How Can You Conduct Your Questionnaire Surveys Effectively? 164 Maintaining Good Communications with Your Supervisor 165 How to Complete Your Research Project on Time 166 Exercises for Chapter 8 168 Your Project Outcome after Chapter 8 172 Chapter 9: Quantitative Data Analysis 173 How Do You Start Entering Data From Your Survey or Interview Questionnaire? 174 Why Do You Need to Know the Levels of Your Measurement? 181 What Computer Data Analysis Procedure Should You Use for Your Research? 182 To Provide Descriptive Information about Your Respondents, Use Frequency, or Descriptive Analysis 182 To Determine If Two Variables Are Related to Each Other, Use Cross Tabulations and Chi-square Analysis 186 To Calculate Correlations between Two Variables That Are Measured at Interval or Ratio Level, Use Pearson's r 189 To Know Whether an Independent Variable Predicts or Explains an Effect on a Dependent Variable, Use Regression Analysis 192 To Predict or Explain the Effects of Several Independent Variables on a Dependent Variable, Use Multiple Regression Analysis 195 To Test If Two Means Are Significantly Different, Use the t-test 198 To Determine Whether More Than Two Means Are Significantly Different, Use Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) 203 Exercises for Chapter 9 207 Your Project Outcome after Chapter 9 210 Chapter 10: Qualitative Data Analysis 211 What Is the Purpose of Qualitative Data Analysis? 211 Do You Need to Transcribe All Your Interviews? 213 Where Do You Start? 214 What Is the Process of Inductive Analysis? Steps of Grounded Theory 219 What Is the Process of Deductive Coding in Content Analysis? 224 What Tools Can You Use to Organize and Summarize Codes? 226 How Do You Write about Findings from a Qualitative Analysis? 227 Exercises for Chapter 10 231 Your Project Outcome after Chapter 10 235 Chapter 11: Writing the Final Report 236 What Should You Include in Your Final Report? 236 How Is Your Final Report Different from Your Proposal? 237 What Should You Consider before You Start Writing Your Final Report? 239 Title of Your Final Report or Thesis 240 An Abstract of Your Final Report 241 Introduction 242 Literature Reviews 242 Research Methods 245 Findings 247 Discussions 249 Conclusions 250 References 250 How to Write a Report for Qualitative Research 251 Papers Based on Qualitative Field Research 251 Historical Research 253 Comparative Research 254 A Final Check 254 Exercises for Chapter 11 256 Your Project Outcome after Chapter 11 259 Index 261

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