Category: Research

Research topic

1. Reflect on the issue in your area of study which attracts your interest or riddles you

2. Key out some words to make up your topic

3. Now define your topic

4. Finally, articulate your topic

How should a best topic look like? (Introduction in Research)

1. It should be easily explorable: That means it is a subject where the research instruments can be easily formulated and the study population sampled. The objectives that will be formulated based on the topic are measurable.
2. It should be interesting to the researcher: The topic selected should be one that the researcher has an interest in.
3. It should contribute to the body of knowledge: A good research topic is one in which the researcher is aware that the findings of the study will contribute to the body of knowledge.
4. It should be exciting and leave room for debate: It is open to varied views and interpretations.
5. It should be unambiguous: The topic is not vague or alien to the researcher.

What to avoid while choosing a topic

1. Your topic should not be broad

1. Your topic should be somehow simplified and not too requiring

Choose a topic which is time effective

Choose a cost effective research topics, whose data and research materials are easily available.

Research Title

• Impact of Piaget’s theory on curriculum implementation. A case of selected grade 2 and 3 classes in primary schools in Lusaka district.
• Abortion in Livingstone: An examination of its causes and effects on female students in secondary schools.

1. Choose the keywords to include in the title: Before selecting the title, the researcher should identify key issues in the topic the researcher is interested in.
2. Think over the main issues from your topic: The researcher should brainstorm the key issues identified. This includes attempting to find out the independent and dependent variables. For example if the researcher is puzzled over price increase and commodity consumption, questions that the researcher should attempt to answer are:

• Does price increase affect consumption?
• Does price increase influence consumption?
• Does consumption influence price increase?

3. Now phrase your research title: After you are clear about the independent and dependent variables, the title you will also be clear to formulate the title. The formulation of the title involves trying to link the key variables. This can be formulated by using terms such as The effect of…, The impact of…, An assessment of…, for instance, The effect of price increase on consumption or The effect of free primary education on school accessibility.
4. Evaluate you formulated title: After formulating the title, you will have to ensure that it is clear and specific. This means the independent and dependent variables are easily identified (variables will be discussed later). For example, if the title is on the effect of price increase on consumption the researcher may specify it as ‘The effect of price increase on sugar consumption in Zambia’. If the title is on free primary education, the title can be ‘The effect of free primary education on student accessibility, retention and academic performance’.

Characteristics of an effective title

• Briefness and specificity: For example looking at the title, ‘The impact of drug abuse on education’. This brevity makes the title stand out and have a strong impact. It is easier to identify the independent and dependent variables. The title becomes clear and focused.
• Objective-orientedness: The title is a brief summary of what the study is about. It should portray the aims and objectives of the study. The words used in the title should clearly reflect the focus of the study.
• Clarity and unambiguity: The title should not lead to various interpretations of the study.
• Variables-Linking: The title should reflect a relationship between the independent and dependent variables, for example, the effect of price increase on food consumption.
• Portraying a researchable issue: The aspects described in the title should be measurable.

This post discusses the difference parts of Research Methodology; it begins by giving an overview of the research design of the study. It then gives the population of the study and sample size; it then goes on to give the tools and instruments to be used to collect data, , data analysis and research Ethics. A research methodology therefore is a broad term involving all strategies that describe how, when and where data is to be collected and analysed.

Research Design

Patton (1990) explains research design as a plan of scientific research from the first to the last step, meaning that it is a program designed to guide the research in collecting, and analysing data.

EXAMPLE 1

The research design that will be used for this study is a case study, A case study is defined as “…a holistic research method that uses multiple sources of evidence to analyse or evaluate specific phenomenon or instance” (Patton, 1990: 60). The case study will be used because it will enable the researcher to have an in-depth understanding of causes and effects of abortion on secondary school students.

Population

In Research Methodology, population consists of all the numbers of a hypothetical set of people, event or object to which we wish to generalize the results of our research.

EXAMPLE 1

All secondary school female students who have aborted will comprise the study population. Sample

A sample can be described as a group of subjects from who the data will be collected.

EXAMPLE 1

The sample will be comprised of 110 girls who have aborted before.

Sampling procedure

A sampling procedure is a technique that shows how the sample or subjects that are representative of the population will be selected.

Example 1

The study will use purposeful sampling. The purposive sampling is a non-probability sampling technique in which the researcher’s judgment about some appropriate characteristics is required of the sample members. Purposeful sampling will be used because it allows the researcher to only include the respondents that have the desired characteristics that suit the study

Data collection procedure/method

In Research Methodology, data collection refers to the process of finding information for the research problems.

Example 1

The study will use semi structured interviews in data collection. The researcher will conduct interviews in secondary schools. The semi-structured interviews will be used because the instrument is reliable for collecting sensitive information. The instrument also allows the researcher to probe or ask follow up questions to the respondents.

Data Analysis

In research Methodology, data analysis refers to the quantitative or qualitative process that is used to draw meaning and conclusions from: the collected information that relate to the particular area or field of study (McMillan and Schumacher, 2006).

Example

The study will use qualitative data analysis procedures. The data will be qualitatively categorised, compared, synthesized and interpreted in themes to provide an explanation of causes and effects of abortion among secondary school girls.

Ethics in the research Methodology

Ethics refers to moral values or the way people distinguish right from wrong, what is supposed to be done and what not is supposed to be done.

Example 1

The researcher will seek clearance from the University of Zambia ethics committee by way of asking for an introductory letter before going for data collection. The researcher will explain the aim of the research and ask the participants to sign the informed consent form without duress.

The participants will also be assured of confidentiality and privacy of all the information that they will provide. Anonymity of names also be observed by not disclosing respondents’ names. There will be an assurance that the information collected would be kept in privacy and that it would be used for no other purpose than academic research.

The scales of measurement refer to the relationship among the values that are assigned to the attributes for a variable.Scales of Measurementare so important that, first, in the sense that knowing the level of measurement helps you decide how to interpret the data from that variable. When one knows that a measure is nominal, then this indicates that the numerical values could be just short codes for the longer names.

Second, knowing the level of measurement helps the researcher decide what statistical analysis is appropriate on the values that were assigned. If a measure is nominal, then it means there is no need to average the data values or do a t-test on the data.

There are typically four levels of measurement also known as scales of measurement: Nominal, Ordinal, Interval and Ratio that are defined or described in terms of variables.

Nominal Scale

Anominal scaleis one of the scales of measurement, which deals with variables that are non-numeric or where the numbers have no value. In other words, we can put them in any order and it would not matter. Innominalmeasurement the numerical values just “name” the attribute uniquely. No ordering of the cases is implied. For example, jersey numbers in basketball are measures at the nominal level.

A player with number 30 is not more of anything than a player with number 15, and is certainly not twice whatever number 15 is. Jersey numbers have no value as far as telling us anything about the ability of the players; it is just a way to identify them. Other examples of variables measured on a nominal scale include gender, race and the number on pool balls.

Consider an example of the students’ math test score as in relation to the type of breakfast they take; while scores on a math test are reported as numbers, eating breakfast is not numeric. A person eats a healthy breakfast, an unhealthy breakfast or no breakfast at all. These are not numbers but categories.

For the statistical analysis, sometimes a researcher will give non-numeric variables numeric values. For example, we might say that students who eat a healthy breakfast are -1, the students who eat an unhealthy breakfast are 0 and the students who do not eat breakfast are +1. These numbers are just a way to mark who is in which group but do not really have value.

Ordinal Scale

Theordinalscalenot only classifies but also introduces an order into the data. These might be rating scales where, for example, ‘strongly agree’ is stronger than ‘agree’, or ‘a very great deal’ is stronger than ‘very little’. It is possible to place items in an order, weakest to strongest, smallest to biggest, lowest to highest, least to most and so on, but there is still an absence of a metric – a measure using calibrated or equal intervals.

Therefore one cannot assume that the distance between each point of the scale is equal, i.e. the distance between ‘very little’ and ‘a little’ may not be the same as the distance between ‘a lot’ and ‘a very great deal’ on a rating scale. One could not say, for example, that, in a 5-point rating scale (1 = strongly disagree; 2 = disagree; 3 = neither agree nor disagree; 4 = agree; 5 = strongly agree) point 4 is in twice as much agreement as point 2, or that point 1 is in five times more disagreement than point 5.

However, one could place them in an order: ‘not at all’, ‘very little’, ‘a little’, ‘quite a lot’, ‘a very great deal’, or ‘strongly disagree’, ‘disagree’, ‘neither agree nor disagree’, ‘agree’, ‘strongly agree’, i.e. it is possible to rank the data according to rules of ‘lesser than’ of ‘greater than’, in relation to whatever the value is included on the rating scale.

An ordinal scale of measurement looks at variables where the order matters but the differences do not matter. When you think of ‘ordinal,’ think of the word ‘order.’ In the case of letter grades, we do not really know how much better an A is than a D. We know that A is better than B, which is better than C, and so on. But is A four times better than D? Is it two times better? In this case, the order is important but not the differences.

Inordinalmeasurement the attributes can be rank-ordered. Here, distances between attributes do not have any meaning. For example, on a survey you might code Educational Attainment as 0 = less than High School.; 1 = some High School.; 2 = high school certificate; 3 = some college; 4 = college degree; 5 = post college. In this measure, higher numbers meanmoreeducation. But is distance from 0 to 1 same as 3 to 4? Of course not. The interval between values is not interpretable in an ordinal measure.

Ordinal data include items such as rating scales and Likert scales, and are frequently used in asking for opinions and attitudes.

Interval Scale

Theintervalscaleintroduces a metric or a regular and equal interval between each data point as well as keeping the features of the previous two scales, classification and order. This lets us know ‘precisely how far apart the individuals, the objects or the events that form the focus of our inquiry are’. As there is an exact and same interval between each data point, interval level data are sometimes calledequal-interval scales(e.g. the distance between 3 degrees Celsius and 4degrees Celsiusis the same as the distance between 98 degrees Celsius and 99 degrees Celsius).

[Examples Interval Scales of measurementHowever, in interval data, there is no true zero. Let us give two examples. In Fahrenheit degrees the freezing point of water is 32 degrees, not zero, so we cannot say, for example, that 100 degrees Fahrenheit is twice as hot as 50 degrees Fahrenheit, because themeasurement of Fahrenheitdid not start at zero. In fact twice as hot as 50 degrees Fahrenheit is 68 degrees Fahrenheit

Let us give another example. Many IQ tests commence their scoring at point 70, i.e. the lowest score possible is 70. We cannot say that a person with an IQ of 150 has twice the measured intelligence as a person with an IQ of 75 because the starting point is 70; a person with an IQ of 150 has twice the measured intelligence as a person with an IQ of 110, as one has to subtract the initial starting point of . In practice, the interval scale is rarely used, and the statistics that one can use with this scale are, to all extents and purposes, the same as for the fourth scale: the ratio scale.

Ratio scale

Scales of measurement – Ratio ScaleFinally, inratiomeasurement there is always an absolute zero that is meaningful. This means that you can construct a meaningful fraction (or ratio) with a ratio variable.Weightis a ratio variable. In applied social research most “count” variables are ratio, for example, the number of clients in past six months. This is because you can have zero clients and because it is meaningful to say that “…we had twice as many clients in the past six months as we did in the previous six months.”

Theratioscaleembraces the main features of the previous three scales of measurement, i.e. classification, order and an equal interval metric. However, it adds a fourth, powerful feature which is atrue zeroorabsolute zero. This enables the researcher to determine proportions easily: ‘twice as manyas’, ‘half as many as’, ‘three times the amount of, and so on. Because there is an absolute zero, all of the arithmetical processes of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division are possible.

Measures of distance, money in the bank, population, time spent on homework, years teaching, income,Kelvin temperature, marks on a test and so on are all ratio measures as they are capable of having a ‘true’ zero quantity. If I have one thousand dollars in the bank then it is twice as much as if I had five hundred dollars in the bank; if I score 90 per cent in an examination then it is twice as many as if I had scored 45 per cent.

The opportunity to use ratios and all four arithmetical processes renders this the most powerful level of data among scales of measurement. Interval and ratio data are continuous variables that can take on any value within a particular, given range.

Interviews aredata collection instrumentsinvolving a face-to-face interaction in which oral questions are posed by an interviewer to draw out responses from the interviewee. An interview of whatever type involves direct personal contact with the participant who is asked to answer questions.

Interviews are basically in two types. These are the face-to-face interview and the telephone interview. You have to note that whether it is face-to-face of telephone interview you are using, they have the same characteristics. The only difference between face-to-face and telephone interview is that in telephone interview no one sees the other. The advantages of the telephone interview are that it is cheaper, especially if therespondentsare very far away, and the interviewee is shielded from the influence of the interviewer. Interviews can also be classified in the following categories:

Unstructured Interviews

In this approach to interviewing, the researcher has some idea in mind of the topics to be covered and may use some sort of topic list as a reminder. There is minimal control over the order in which topics are covered and over respondents’ answers. In unstructured interviewing, neither the specific questions to be asked nor the range or type of possible answers are pre-defined. They are informal and con­versational.

The aim is to get theinformantsto open up, and the researcher should stimulate an informant to produce more information. This approach allows the interviewer to be responsive to individual differences and situational characteristics. This approach builds on observation. It is useful in studying sensitive topics such as sexuality or political topics. To effectively achieve the aims of an open-ended interview, one must ask a whole series of secondary questions such as:

• What do I want to get out of these interviews?
• With whom am I going to conduct these interviews?
• How do I know they will talk to me?
• How many interviews must I do?

As much as possible, test your methods in advance. Because there is no set format for conducting these interviews, each interview is unique. This makes it difficult to systematise and analyse data.

Advantages

Unstructured interviews have the following advantages:

• They are flexible. This is because there are no pre-defined questions. This allows the respondents to freely respond to an issue. The researcher can therefore gather a lot of information.
• The respondent feels part of the team since no rigidity is displayed. He/she can therefore freely participate in the research.
• Since it is a free response in a relaxed atmosphere situation, the answer given are more reliable.
• It allows the interviewer to be responsive to individual differences and situational characteristics.
• This instrument is useful for studying sensitive topics such as sexuality and abortion.

Disadvantages

Unstructured interviews have the following disadvantages:

• They are time consuming since a respondent can dwell on one issue.
• They are not systematic as a respondent can comment on issues in a haphazard way. A respondent can comment on issues already discussed.
• If the researcher is not careful, it can get out of control, with the respondent getting too emotional or personal.
• Irrelevancies can be displayed by the respondent.
• Since there is no set format for conducting these interviews, it is difficult to systematise and analyse data.

Semi-structured Interviews

These interviews are based on the use of an interview guide. This is a written list of questions or topics that need to be covered by the interview. There are several types of semi-structured interviews.

1. Focused interviews– This intensively investigates a particular topic. They aim at gaining a complete and detailed understanding of the topic.
2. Case studies– The purpose of case studies is to collect comprehensive, systematic and in-depth information about particular cases of interest.

Advantages

Semi-structured interviews have the following advantages:

• They are flexible. This is because they consist of both open and closed-ended questions.
• In-depth information is gathered by closed ended questions.
• By using both the open and closed-ended approach, the researcher gets a complete and detailed understanding of the issue under research.

Disadvantages

Semi-structured interviews have the following disadvantages:

• They can be time consuming due to the open-ended questions.
• Analysis of data may be problematic.
• The respondent may be cautious of the answers given in close- ended questions.

Structured Interviews

These involve subjecting every informant in a sample to the same stimuli, for instance, asking each informant similar questions, as in the case of a survey.

Advantages

Structured interviews have the following advantages:

• The reliability of the information gathered is high. This is because each informant is subjected to similar questions with the others.
• It gives in-depth information about particular cases of interest to the researcher. This is because the researcher seeks information on specific issues.
• It is systematic. Researchers intensively investigate a particular issue before moving to the next.
• It is time-saving since the respondents simply answer what has been asked by the researcher.
• The researcher gets a complete and detailed understanding of the issue from the respondent.
• It is comprehensive and systematic since questions are formulated before the interview.
• The data collected is quantifiable.

Disadvantages

Structured interviews portray the following disadvantages:

• The rigidity displayed by the researcher can affect the responses given. The respondent may feel as if he/she is under investigation and is being probed. This may affect the response. Some of the respondents may become hostile.
• It is too formal. Since the researcher does the questioning and the respondent simply answers, the respondent may be too cautious in the answer given. The respondent may give answers he/she thinks are acceptable or will impress the researcher.
• The researcher may miss out on some important points that are not included in the questions formulated.

Data collection Research instruments include the following: questionnaires,interview schedules, observation and focus group discussions.

In formulating research instruments the researcher should ensure the following:

1. The objectives of the study are clear. This will assist the researcher to anticipate the type of information needed.
2. The population sample. The researcher should be aware that some types of instruments are unsuitable to some groups of people due to factors such as the literacy level, profession and culture. A researcher should determine the literacy level of the study population in advance. For the illiterate, interview and focus group discussions should be used. The type of language that will be used (either English or Chinyanja) will depend on the literacy level of respondents.
3. Geographical distribution. The span of the study dictates the type of instrument to be used. A countrywide study may require the use of postal questionnaires and telephone interviews.
4. A researcher should be careful about the questions he/she asks. A researcher should do the following:

• Begin with a few interesting but non-threatening questions.
• Avoid vague questions, for instance, “What do you like?”
• Keep the language simple.
• Limit each question to a single idea. Ensure each item included has a specific purpose.
• Only include questions that are directly relevant to the study.
• Have a logical sequence.
• Do not put the key questions at the end of the questionnaire. It is best to have them in the middle.
• Avoid emotionally charged words.
• Avoid leading questions, for example, “Do you think students riot because they are unfairly treated?”
• Avoid acronyms and abbreviations.
• Consider the order of questions related to each topic.
• A researcher should vary closed and open ended questions. Closed questions give the respondent a set of choice or options. Open-ended questions are free response type questions. They allow the respondent to answer in their own words.

5. Check the consistency of answers. It may be beneficial to ask the same question again using different wording. This ensures validity.

Questionnaires

In a research situation, a questionnaire can be said to be a carefully designed Data collection instrument in relation to the specifications of the research questions and hypotheses. This instrument is used to elicit written responses from the subjects of the research through a series of questions or statements put together with some specific objectives in mind. It can be used to ascertain facts, opinions, beliefs, attitudes, practices, etc.

Questionnaire is the most common Data collection instrument used in research, it is used like a test and is constructed for specific purposes. It is also used for the assessment of students’ personal-social adjustment and interest with regards to different issues. You need to think of a specific study and design before you determine whether it will be appropriate for you to use a questionnaire.

For instance, when you require to obtain data on the distribution of a group of subjects in relation to such factors as gender, state of origin, state of residence, qualification, experience on a job, age, socio-economic status or to provide information for assessing certain situations such as the availability of workshop equipment, laboratory facilities, facilities in a state, school, or the extent of implementation of a certain school programme etc. It can be used to obtain information on the feelings and perceptions of a group of people towards certain issues such as the ODL system of education, or the perception of the problems or their attitude towards the problems associated with the use of information and communication technologies in our educational system.

Questionnaires can be used without direct personal contact with the respondents i.e. without the help of an interviewer. They are self- administered and should be filled in by respondents themselves. This can be done either by distributing the questionnaire and collecting after it has been filled out, or by mailing it and asking the respondent to send it back. The latter is called a mail questionnaire which is definitely a non- personal method of gathering data.

The ultimate power of the questionnaire as a research instrument is in that it can be used to gather data over a large sample. The various advantages questionnaires include the following:

• Information can be collected from a large sample and diverse regions.
• Confidentiality is upheld.
• Saves on time.
• Since they are presented in paper format there is no opportunity for interviewer bias.

However they have their disadvantages in that:

• Response rates can be quite low.
• There is no direct contact so the researcher cannot deal with any misunderstanding.
• There is no opportunity to ask for further information related to answers given.
• No clear reason can be given for incomplete responses.

Steps in Formulating a Questionnaire

The following are essential in the formulation of a questionnaire:

1. Reflection– Before formulating a questionnaire it is important for the researcher to reflect on the aim and objective of the study. The researcher should reflect on the type of response expected.
2. Formulation of questions– The researcher should write down questions related to each stated objective. While constructing the questions the researcher should begin with a few interesting but non­threatening questions. The researcher should only include questions that are relevant to his/her study. The researcher should keep the key questions in the middle.
3. Pilot– After constructing the questionnaire, the researcher should try it out on a small sample of the population. While piloting the researcher should address the following questions:

• Are the questions measuring what they are supposed to measure – the researcher should analyse each answer and see if it is supplying the appropriate information.
• Is the wording clear? The researcher should analyse the responses to find out if there was any confusion in the way questions were interpreted by all the respondents.
• Do the questions provoke a response? If some questions have been omitted, the researcher should find out why.
• Is there researcher bias? The researcher will analyse whether the questions asked were skewed towards certain issues more than others.

1. d) Evaluation – After piloting and making the necessary amendment the researcher should carry out an evaluation of the revised questions. This includes finding out if the questions are clear and specific, where the key questions are placed and if the balance of questions is correct.

Qualities of an Effective Questionnaire

You have seen that the questionnaire is a very popular method of data collection in education and behavioural sciences. The reason can be attributed to the relative ease and cost-effectiveness with which it is constructed and administered to large samples when compared to other methods. To serve its purposes very effectively, the questionnaire you construct must be characterised by the following features:

• Relevance: The instrument should be relevant to the purpose of the research. It should elicit all the information necessary for answering the research questions and testing the hypotheses. It should also consider the background and experience of the respondents.
• Consistency:The instrument should be able to yield responses that are consistent. The responses of a group of people to the instrument on two different occasions should be as close as possible on these occasions.
• Usability: The instrument should as much as possible be usable. It should not be too long or so bulky. The conditions for the administration and the method for interpreting the data elicited should be fairly simple and easy.
• Clarity: Both the instructions and the items should be clear enough to avoid possible misinterpretations. You should note once again that a good questionnaire should not contain ambiguous items or instructions.
• Quantifiability: The responses from a good questionnaire must be easily quantifiable. It should be easy to assign numerical values or figures to such responses in a manner that is systematic.
• Legibility: All the items should be legible without tiny characters. The words should be properly spaced with appropriate side margins. Always use the computer to type your questionnaire so as to produce very neat and legible instrument.

Advantages and Disadvantages

You have noticed that in every section of this unit, one or more advantages or disadvantages may have been mentioned. Let us now summarise them briefly.

Advantages

• It is economical in terms of time and cost;
• It can be administered to variety of people;
• It is easy to administer and even to distant respondents;
• It can be used to get information on non-cognitive constructs such as kindness, stress, anxiety etc.;
• Great percentage of students or respondents can be reached at a time.

Disadvantages

• There may be low percentage return which may lead to the distortion of the findings;
• There may be misunderstanding or wrong responses if the item s are not clear or the instructions are misleading;
• Wrong or negative or faked answers may be given if the instrument is too lengthy or if it is intruding on the respondents’ private life;
• It is not suitable for the illiterates, semi-illiterates, and children.

Interviews

Interview can be regarded as a face-to-face interaction in which oral questions are posed by an interviewer to draw out responses from the interviewee. An interview ofwhatever typeinvolves direct personal contact with the participant who is asked to answer questions during data collection. A method of getting people to express their views broadly on a certain issue is the non -scheduled interview which consists of asking respondents to comment on widely defined issues, those interviewed are free to expand on atopic to focuses on some aspects, to relate to their own experiences, etc. The interviewer will only intervene to ask for clarification or further explanation, but not to give directives or to confront the interviewee with probing questions. Usually no time limit is fixed for completing interviewing.

The interview as a method of data collection passes through four major phases. These phases overlap and interact. They are preparation, establishment of rapport, the question- answer and the recording phases.

1. Preparation Phase

The degree of success in an interview is dependent on how well you have prepared for it. Thepreparation stageis when you take decisions on the mode of recording the responses. You need to check the recording instruments for validity and reliability. You need to trial-test this Data collection instruments to ensure that they are in good working conditions.

For instance, if you are going to use a tape recorder, you have to see that the batteries are good and tested. If you need to use gifts to express gratitude or to establish rapport, you need to make the correct selection.

Again, during this stage, you will ascertain the cultural background of your subjects, so that appropriate salutations may be used, appreciate wears may be selected in advance. You also need to ascertain the biographical data of your subjects so as to address them appropriately. Your questions should be derived from well-defined hypotheses or research questions.

They have to be edited in terms of such issues as appropriateness, length, relevance, palatability, clarity, simplicity, precision, language and the conceptual levels. You have to validate the questions through expert validation and trial-testing. After the validation, you would review the questions thoroughly, memorise them, if possible and rehearse it to mastery level in the sequence in which they will be asked.

2. Rapport Phase

For you to collect valid data, you need to establish a cordial atmosphere for the interview. There is no rule for doing this, but as a mature investigator, you have to survey the situation and evolve appropriate strategies. You may follow any of these suggestions:

• Courteously seek permission from the appropriate authority. In doing this, you should provide information about the objectives of the study and the nature of the interview.
• Give notice to the interviewee and book appointment for date, time and venue.The venue should be comfortable in terms of sitting, ventilation, lighting and decoration. The venue should be noise-proof.
• Take note of your appearance. It should be appropriate, neat, and inoffensive. Consider your dental and body deodorisation and any other aspect likely to irritate your subject.
• Your first contact with the interviewee must be friendly, pleasant and courteous.Use appropriate salutation and address them with the correct title. Pay some compliments, but not flatter. This will make them more relaxed.
• You need to be relaxed too.Introduce yourself briefly and modestly and also introduce the problems which are the focus of the interview. You may need to start by asking the first few minutes for a short conversation to enable you and your subject to relax. You also need to assure them that their responses will be treated confidentially and only for the research purposes.

Otherwise, they might be suspicious and unwilling to respond to the questions freely.

3. Question-Answer Phase

This is where you have to make use of your skills and expertise to make the session more permissive, flexible and interactive. You have to keep the interviewee, interested and responsive till the end of the interview.

In doing this, you have to devise appropriate strategies, but you have to be pointed and business-like and not to wonder aimlessly. When you ask a starter question, follow it up with prodding and probing questions to get comprehensive information. Where you need to use pictures or related objects, drafts, drawings etc. use them for probing to elicit further explanations and reasons for earlier statements. But you should try to avoid interviewer bias by being as non-directive as possible. In all, you have to be relaxed, not tensed up or nervous throughout the duration of the interview.

4. Recording Phase

Recording is a very important aspect of interview. You must try to comprehensively record information from an interview as unobtrusively as possible. Recording may be done in any of the three methods.

• Mental Note

If you want to commit the responses into memory, you can be sure; it removes apprehension on the part of the respondent and therefore increases the rapport. But you have to appropriately assess yourself in terms of memory retention before using mental notes. This is because any information forgotten is as good as missing and may not be easily reconstructed.

• Written Note

It is advisable to use written records when there are too many questions and responses. But extensive writing is likely to excite or offend respondents. If this happens the rapport and validity of the responses will be reduced. If you are versed in shorthand, it can be an advantage in written notes. You can also use structure interview schedule where alternative responses are provided. Here, there is minimum writing, but you have to make allowance for unanticipated responses.

(c) Taped Records

In order to solve all the problems of memory loss and that of extensive writing, tape recording of interview is the answer. It removes strain from the interviewer. It can be replayed and transcribed at leisure. But you have to bear at the back of your mind that audio and video recording instruments can go faulty in the process. You must take care of this at the planning stage. Other problems like instrument reactivity should also be taken care of. Recording can also frighten or excite the subject. This may channel away his/her attention and bring about distortion in his/her behaviour. As far as possible, conceal your recorders. You can use micro recorders, remote censors or pick up buttons when available.

Focus group discussions

This is a special type of group in terms of its purpose, size, composition and procedures. A focus group is usually composed of 6-8 individuals who share certain characteristics, which are relevant for the study. The discussion is carefully planned and designed to obtain information on the participants’ beliefs and perceptions on a defined area of interest. Special predetermined criteria are used in selecting focus group participants. This includes the following:

1. The topics to be discussed are decided beforehand.
2. There is a predetermined list of open ended questions.
3. Focus relies on discussion among participants about the topics presented.

This method requires thorough planning and training of group moderators. Focus groups should usually be composed of homogeneous members of the target population, for instance, similar in age, education level, gender, profession. Focus group discussions can produce a lot of information quickly and are good for identifying and exploring beliefs, ideas or opinions in a community. However, the researcher has less control over the flow of the discussion and results are hard to analyse. Focus group discussions are used to assess needs, develop intervention, test new ideas or programmes or improve existing programmes.

Observation

Although a seemingly straight forward technique, observation must be pursued in a system way, following scientific rules, if usable and quantifiable data are to be obtained. It is a tool that provides information about actual behaviour. Direct observation is useful because some behaviour involves habitual routines of which people are hardly aware. Direct observation allows the researcher to put behaviour in context and thereby understand it better. Observation can be made of actual behaviour patterns. Forms of observation include the following:

Simple observation/non-participant observation

This is the recording of events as observed by an outsider e.g. an observer placed at a road junction can observe traffic and record numbers of cars passing or pedestrians crossing the road, the speed of the cars, number and cause of accidents. But this method has some weakness. People who feel they are being observed might change their behaviour, become uneasy or stop activities altogether.

Participant observation

To avoid this indirect interference with participant observation can be used. In this case the observers hide the real purpose of their presence by themselves becoming participants. They join the community or group under investigation as one of its members, sharing in all activities. Becoming an insider allows deeper insight into the research problem since one enjoys the confidence of the participants and shares their experiences without disturbing their behaviour.

The weakness of this method is that researches risk losing their objectivity. Being directly involved with people and their daily concerns for an extended period of time may predispose one to be effectively engaged and thus lose detachment from people and events. Also because notes might have to be taken down secretly or form recall, inaccurate information may be recorded. Participant observation is clearly a very demanding method of gathering data and might involve extended periods of residence among respondents. For this reason a modified participant observation methods restricted to participation in only major events, such as village meetings or ceremonies are often preferred.

• The third typeof observation is that done under laboratory conditions, mainly used in psychology. It is hidden observation of the behaviour of one or more persons in a room with one -way windows or false mirrors. In this case, although the negative aspects of a laboratory experiments are present, the distorting factors associated with simple or participant observation are removed.

The following points are to be noted about observation:

1. Observations serve clearly formulated research purposes thus observations must be planned systematically, specifying what and how to observe.
2. Observations should be recorded in a systematic, objective and standardised way
3. Observation should be subjected to control in order to maintain a high level of objectivity i.e. many observers should be able to record the same phenomena or events.
4. Observation as a method of data collection has some major limitations that need to be noted; not only is it costly and time consuming, but it cannot be applied to many aspects of social life. One cannot observe attitudes or beliefs for example; neither can one easily observe phenomena spread over a long period of time (like career of a politician).

Standardised tests

Standardised tests of one sort or another are used in most educational research studies. A researcher will frequently use standardised tests to measure one or more of the variables in a study. It is important that one gets as much information as possible about the tests to be used in the study. In some cases no suitable instrument exists to measure the variables of the study. In that case, the researcher will have to design their own instrument. One can look at the instruments (such as questionnaire forms), which have been used in similar studies and modify these for use in his/her own study. There are many different types of tests that one might consider for use in their study. Some of the most commonly used types of tests for educational research are:

• Achievement tests.
• Personality tests.
• Aptitude tests, including tests of academic aptitude (intelligence tests).

Characteristics of standardised tests are:

Validity– the validity of a test is a measure of how well a test measures what it is supposed to measure. The examiner’s manual or technical manual for most tests will have information on the validity of the test.

Reliability– reliability is a measure of how consistent the results from a test are. If you administer a test to a subject twice do you get the same score on the second administration as you did on the first? The reliability of the test is the answer to this question.

Experimental techniques.

Laboratory experiment is the most controlled method of data collection. It stimulates certain characteristics a natural environment but, only as much as it does not affect the control and the manipulation of independent and other variables at stake. The main distinction between this Data collection method and all the others is that only the laboratory experiment allows the manipulation of one variable at a time. In order to study its effects on other variables all conditions are standardised: the presentation of the experiment and the testing situation, the environment, the laboratory, are the same for all participants in a study.

The instructions are rigorously the same given to the participants by an experimenter who avoids any personal interference with them. The instruments are strictly the same, they are produced under copyright to avoid the slightest modification. The recording and the evaluation of the results are systematically done and usually quantitative measurements are obtained.

Research introduction is the first part, which includes a statement and analysis of the nature of the problem and the development of the foundation for the intended investigation. It generally comprises a statement of the factors leading up to the choice of the problem, the purposes of the study, the value and significance attached to the problem by the investigator as a contribution to education and any information to express the sincerity of the investigator in his/her selection. The divisions of the introductory part of research are discussed in this article.

Background to the study

This the first part of research introduction and the general introductory part of the research which serves as an orientation to the investigation. The background presents the setting or position of the study. It is there to give a brief overview of the problem the researcher seeks to tackle.

The importance of the background cannot be overemphasised because without it, one may not know what has motivated a researcher to embark on a particular study or the challenges faced which have necessitated the study. Furthermore, without the background, it would not be easy to establish the originality of the problem and ways in which improvement may be made. In the background is like a house in which the statement of the actual problem resides.

Example of a background to the study:

Abortion is on the increase in urban secondary schools in Livingstone. Although some people in society think the problem is not that important and is being overemphasised; it (abortion) is not only exposing students to the danger of acquiring HIV/AIDS but also threatening their academic performance.

It has been discovered that 48% of adolescents who get pregnant while in school brave an abortion even though the government introduced the Re -entry policy. If this dangerous practice remains uncurbed, Livingstone will be at a high risk of having the majority of its secondary school students ejected from the school system because of subsequent health complications or even premature death. Mulyokela (2010) observes that the increase in the cases of abortion among students could be as a result of the gap in information about sexuality and contraceptives.

Commenting on the methods implored in aborting, Muwowo (2008) laments that the most common is where a reed is taken and sharpened and then used to pock the amniotic sack thereby destabilising the innocent foetus. In a study conducted by Lungu et al (2014), it was established that the main reason for abortion was the fact that the baby was unwanted and unplanned for. This study will as such endeavour to investigate the causes and effects of abortion on secondary school students in Livingstone from students who have themselves been engaged in the practice.

Statement of the problem

An issue or concern that puzzles the researcher and compels him or her to embark on a particular study is what is referred as the research problem. A statement and elucidation of the problem usually forms a part of the introduction. In this part of research introduction, the problem as already highlighted in the background to the study is stated in simple, clear and unambiguous terms.

It is a vital part of the research proposal because it acts as road map in the entire process. If the problem is stated in a clear-cut and logical manner, the reader is able to get a sufficiently clear insight into the study from the very beginning. As such, care must be taken in order to have a well stated problem. To that effect, the problem should be finalised and stated after a sufficient study, reflective thinking, consultation, discussion and , guidance.

Examples

1. Effective implementation of the curriculum is a key to classroom learning. This may be influenced by different factors which may include theories of cognitive development. However, little is known about the impact of Piaget’s theory on curriculum implementation, hence the study.
2. Research has shown that abortion is prevalent and on the rise among secondary school students in Livingstone. However, the causes and effects of abortion on education are not known, hence the study.
3. The increase in the prevalence of problem behaviours during adolescence is a national concern. The study by Kapasa (2011) revealed that there was rapid erosion of discipline and lack of respect among children, especially those pursuing secondary education. Truancy and bullying, theft and vandalism are every day experiences in our schools. There is a contagious youth culture of academic negativism and misconduct that can thwart learning and disrupt school routine if not checked.
4. Carrell (1993) argues that, if society is not to be plagued by a group of disgruntled, frustrated and unrealistic individuals, it is desirable that adequate guidance and counselling and career information be provided so that we do not have pupils who graduate from secondary schools without knowing their career path as the case is in most secondary schools in Zambia.

In the face of these problems, the school guidance and counselling sections in secondary schools are supposed to offer a solution in terms of educational, personal, social and career counselling. Very little is known about how teachers and pupils perceive the guidance and counselling services offered in secondary schools? There is, therefore, need to examine teachers’ and pupils’ perception of the effectiveness of guidance and counselling services in Zambian secondary schools

Aim/purpose of the study

The aim or purpose of the study is what the researcher wants to achieve at the end of the study. It highlights the importance of the investigation further by projecting or explicating the intentions and goals of the research.

Purpose or aim of the study could be formulated as in the following examples:

• The aim of the study is to establish the impact of Piaget‘s theory on curriculum implementation and guide the practice in theeducationsystem.
• The purpose of the study is to determine the causes and effects of abortion oneducationand seek possible preventive measures.

Objectives of the study

Objectives are the intentions or purposes of the research, stated in specific and measurable terms. They are important because they give direction to the study and help the researcher understand the puzzle that makes him /her embark on the research. Objectives also help the researcher to decide on the appropriate research design and the method to be used to analyse the data in addition to limiting the extent to whichliteratureshould reviewed.

Examples of research objectives

Title 1

• To determine the impact of Piaget theory on curriculum implementation in lower primary schools.
• To assess teacher’s perception towards Piaget’s theory of cognitive development.

Title 2

• To determine the causes of abortion among secondary school students in Livingstone.
• To establish the effects of abortion on secondary school students in Livingstone.

Research questions

Research questions are of paramount importance in research in that they guide the whole process of research as well as provoke the interest of the reviewer. Research questions should among other things be clear, focused, concise, complex and arguable and the entire research should be centred on them.

Title1

• What is theimpact of Piaget theoryon curriculum implementation in lower primary schools?
• What are teachers ‘perceptions of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development?

Title2

• What are the causes of abortion among secondary school students in Livingstone?
• What are the effects of abortion on secondary school students in Livingstone?

It is important to note that most of the times, the research questions are formulated on basis of the research objectives, they are equal in number and seek to find out the same as what the objective seeks to achieve.

Hypothesis (in research introduction)

A hypothesis is an educated guess about the possible differences, relationships or causes of research questions. It tries to pre-empt what the researcher thinks the outcome of the study will be. The hypothesis/hypotheses are formulated only after some experience andevidence.

Any assumptions underlying the same or restrictions placed on the same are also stated in order to build essential justification of the same. Then the investigator gives the hypotheses s/he has formulated for the purpose of collecting further evidence for the verification of the same.

A research hypothesis may or may not be true. In a situation where it is true, it still cannot be taken for granted that it applies to all situations. Among the different types of hypotheses are conceptual, research and statistical. As such, researches can have more than one hypothesis.

Example

Ho 1: There are no causes of abortion among secondary school students.

Ho 2: Abortion has no effects on secondary school students.

Ho 3: There is no relationship between abortion and academic performance.

Ho 4: There is no statistically significant difference in the number of secondary students having abortions.

Hypotheses can be used in both qualitative and quantitative researches.

Significance of the study

In this segment of the research introduction, the reason for conducting the research is given in a clear statement. It is under this same section where the importance and implications of the study on the researchers, practitioners and policy makers and implementers is elaborated. You will therefore need to justify the usefulness of your research in clear but brief terms in this section.

Examples

1. It is hoped that the studywillgenerate information on the impact of Piaget‘s theory on curriculum implementation and guide practice in the education system.(In research proposal)

2. The studyis hopedto generate information on the causes and effects of abortion on secondary school students in Livingstone andsoughtpossible preventive measures.(In final report)

3. It is hopeful that the findings of this study might help counsellors, law and policy makers to come up effective and efficiency ways of handling people who are grieved due to the loss of the spouse.

Furthermore the study could contribute to the body of knowledge on the better understanding of widowhood transition period. Basing on the stories gathered through interviews on their experiences described by surviving spouses and other information, widows/widowers are likely to be in the better position of dealing with their loss effectively.

Furthermore, the researchers believe that the study will be a source of strength, support and hope that, given time, all will be well; it will create a feeling of having others in the same situation to look up to, and will assist them to accept a situation that cannot be changed.

Theoretical framework

A theory is a supposition or speculation about a phenomenon. A theoretical framework is a group of interrelated ideas based on theories. What a theoretical framework attempts to do, therefore, is to clarify why things are the way they are based on theories. The theories contained in a theoretical framework have to be those that are recognised and should be testable and are subject to rejection or revision. There is therefore a strong relationship between a theory and research.

research introduction – Theoretical framework

Example of theoretical framework

For title 1

Piaget’s theory of cognitive development will be/was used in the study. The theory views cognitive development in stages. Piaget posits that children undergo the same stages of development. These, stages are sensory motor stage, pre-operation stage, operational stage and concrete operational stage.

These stages of development are characterised with different abilities. Piaget noted that children below the age of seven have not developed abstract thought. However, when children reach the age of seven, they develop what Piaget called object permanence and understand the principal of conservation at this age.

They also have the ability to decentre .Despite the developments , Piaget noted that children are not fully developed mentally such that reasoning is still enhanced by what they see (Munsaka and Matafwali 2013). Therefore, the researcher hopes/endeavoured to ascertain the extent to which this theory influences curriculum implementation in lower grades in primary schools.

For title 2.

The theoretical framework that will be/was used in this study is the Psychoanalysis theory by Sigmund Freud. The theory has been chosen to ascertain whether abortion is caused by the id, ego and superego. According to the theory, the self is divided into these three parts that make a balanced human being. The id works on the pleasure or immediate satisfaction principle, the ego works on the reality principle, and superego is the societal internalised values that guide what is good and what is wrong, (Munsaka and Matafwali 2013).Therefore, the study- attempts to establish to what extent Psychoanalysis is applicable in explaining the causes and effects of abortion on secondary school students.

It should be noted that in an event where a researcher does not find a suitable theory, a conceptual framework can be the best alternative. A conceptual framework as defined by Smyth (2004) is an abstract or general idea which is inferred or arrived at from specific instances. Unlike the theoretical framework, a conceptual framework cannot be refuted or tested through research.

Limitations of the study

Limitations refers to the challenges that will be/ were encountered by the researcher such as the inappropriate use of research instruments or choosing a research design that does not suit the study and picking a study that is complex at the level of the researcher when he or she has no time.

Example

1. The study will be/was limited to selected primary schools in Lusaka district. Therefore, generalisation should be done with caution as the classroom environment may be different from other areas. The study will use/used semi structured interviews and this may limit generalisation of results. However, the results of the research will still be valid/ are still valid.

Delimitations of the study

This refers to the place where the study will be done/ was conducted. Any technical assumptions behind the investigation will also be clearly stated in this subdivision of introduction. It refers to the parameters or the scope of the study. Therefore, the exact area the investigation is supposed to cover must be well demarcated here. The sources of information selected and their nature and delimitations should also be mentioned and justified.

Example

The study will be/ was conducted in Livingstone because that is where there is a high prevalence of abortion.

Operational definitions of terms and paradigm

Also called, Definition of Important Terms; this refers to a list of words and their meaning as used in the study. In this part of research introduction, where you define the terms that are essential to the study or are used in a restricted or unusual manner so the reader may understand the concepts employed. It gives the reader a clear concept of the scope of the study and the precise explanation offered for the problem.

Example

Abortion– this refers to using unhealthy and unlawful ways of expelling a foetus before gestation period is complete

The preliminary pages of research are the first page of your dissertation or thesis or any research project. Their content or order may differ from research house to another, but their key standard remain unchanged. In this article, we shall look at the main pages in Social sciences and Education

The title page

Thetitle pageis the first page of research report, which contains the title of the research. Thetitleshould be typed in capital letters, single-spaced, and centred between the right and left margins of the page.

Also, on the title page are usually included:

• the name of the topic or the title of the study,
• full name of the candidate and his/her previous academic background,
• name of the faculty and institution to which the report is submitted,
• the qualification or purpose for which the report is presented,
• the date of presentation.

These items are centred between the margins of the page and no terminal punctuation is used. The title is presented in capital letters, but only the initial letters of principal words are capitalised in other items. If the title extends beyond one line, it is double-spaced and placed in an inverted pyramid style. The qualification or purpose the report is presented for is described using the statement similar to the following:

“A dissertation submitted to the (your institution) in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the (your pursued qualification/certificate)”.

This statement is usually followed by the name of the institution where it is presented and the year of presentation, on separate lines, both centred.

Name of institution

Year presented

Certification/ declaration page:

This contains the attestation of originality of the research project. You have to attest that the research you have just conducted is your own work, that nobody else has presented the same title before you at any level. It may also include the name and signature of the external examiner.

Example:

I (your name) solemnly declare that this dissertation is my own work and that it has never been previously submitted for a degree, Diploma or other qualifications at this or any other University.

Signed………………………………………………………..

Date……………………………………………………….

Approval/Acceptance page:

In case your institution requires an approval page, the dissertation allots space for the necessary certificate and the signatures of the supervisor or the members of the dissertation committee. This page contains information indicating that your research has been approved for the award of the qualification you are pursuing.

The specifications vary from institution to institution. It contains some of the following information: the names, signatures of the head of department, the dean, the supervisor(s) and dates, the names(s) of the examiners, depending on the institution’s requirement.

Example of approval statement:

This dissertation of………… (Your name) has been approved as fulfilling part of the requirements of the award of the……….. (Pursued qualification) by the………… (Your learning institution).

Signed: …………………………………………………………………………………………

Copyright in Preliminary Pages of Research

This is the page where you confirm that the absolute copyright for the research work is reserved just for you, as the work is your own property. In this you also indicate that whatever right of reproduction or use of any part of your work should be granted by you or your learning institution.

Example copyright declaration:

All copyright reserved. No part of this dissertation may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, transmitted in any form or any means, electronic recording, mechanical photocopying or otherwise, without prior permission in writing, from the author or the…. (your learning institution).

Abstract:

This is a succinctly summarised form of the report with 600 words or less. The abstract serves as a synopsis, enabling a scholar to judge whether he/she should read the complete work. A brief restatement of problem, the procedures used, the design of the study,methods of researchemployed, the techniques and tools used for data collection, treatment of data, the methods of analysis and interpretation of data and all other steps are briefly highlighted in order to enlighten any reader in this respect. It also presents the principal findings and conclusions as well as the recommendations of the study.

Dedication

This is one of Preliminary Pages of Research in Social sciences. Here, emotionally-laden words may be permitted in order to pay tribute to persons who are dear to the author or those who contributed in one way or the other to the success of the project and those who would particularly be interested in the research findings. Anyone can be included as there is no restriction at all, but this should be done as briefly as possible.

Acknowledgement page

The acknowledgement page is largely a matter of courtesy. This is used to convey indebtedness to those who helped in the process of conducting the research and preparing the report. These people may include your supervisor(s), research assistants and sponsor(s), etc.

It should be simple and restraining; unlike in dedication part, some examiners require avoiding to include the name of God, for God’s contribution in everything goes without saying. The same applies to the recognition for routine participation by members of the writer’s family, faculty advisors, librarians and clerical helpers.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents occupies a separate page or pages among the Preliminary Pages of Research and serves an important purpose of providing the outline of the contents of the report and enables the readers of the report to locate quickly each section of it. It lays out in a tabular form, the chapters, headings and sub-headings of the report.

The chapter titles are usually typed in capital letters and the subdivision headings in small letters with the initial letter of the principal words capitalised. All titles and headings appear in the exact words and order as they do in the report, and each is followed by the correct page citation. It is sequentially arranged and numbered from the preliminary to the supplementary pages. The table can be typed manually, but the easiest way is to run it automatically with your software application using the formal format.

Figures and appendices:

In research reports, all figures and appendices must be captioned and given a numerical index. Captions should appear below the figure or appendix, and should be sufficiently descriptive without being too long. Simply state what the illustration is showing and do any explaining in the main text. Captions for figures and diagrams have the format: Chapter number. Figure number.

The word “Figure” is used generically to cover all illustrations, such as drawings, flow charts, sketches, and so on. Spell out the word in full. Note too, the positions of the full-stops. The numerical index is composed of the chapter number, a full stop, and followed by the figure number, terminated with another full stop. Thus, the third illustration appearing in Chapter 4 would have the caption:

Figure 4.3. Pupils’ responses on whether secondary schools had guidance and counselling section.

You may use the abbreviated form, “Fig.”, when referring to illustrations if the reference appears in the middle of a sentence. For example:

“The response frequencies, shown in Fig. 4.3, is quite common.”

Otherwise, write the word “Figure” in full, for instance, “Figure 4.3 shows pupils’ responses on whether secondary schools had guidance and counselling section.” This should appear the same way in the Preliminary Pages of Research

List of tables

If tables are used in the report, a separate page is included for their list. In Preliminary Pages of Research, all tables must be captioned and given a numerical index, and the numbering style is identical to that used for figures and diagrams. The captions should be placed below each table and list. So, for example, the second table in Chapter 3 would have the caption:

“Table 3.2. Performance measures obtained using the proposed procedure.” Abbreviations should not be used when referring to tables and lists – write out the word “Table” in full, with a capital “T.”

To end this unit, important to note is that all the Preliminary Pages of Research are numbered with lower-case Roman numerals (i, ii, iii, iv, v, etc).

Importance of the literature review

Importance of the literature Review

• Identify, select and list the key words or concepts which are associated with the topic of investigation.
• Use the selected key words or concepts to access relevant references from such preliminary sources of information as the catalogue, the index and dissertation abstracts or computerized referencing services.
• When you have obtained the list of useful references you can now consult libraries and other information depositories in order to access references materials. You can also make use of the internet to access the materials.
• Before you start reading, you should be able to get index cards on which to record the information, prepare a note card or index card for each reference material consulted, such that at the end you arrange them sequentially according to subheadings in the literature review.
• Read the reference materials and as you read make brief notes and pay attention to the problem, procedure, design, result or just the summary for theoretical opinions.
• For quick identification, each entry on an index card should be clearly coded at the top using the key words for the broad topic. After this, the author’s names and date of publication come next, followed by the title of the work and the full citation of the work and the ideas which you find useful.
• In writing out the references in the index cards, you have to choose a referencing style and be consistent with it.
• Ensure that you review or dwell more on the primary sources of information than the secondary sources. This will enhance the authenticity of your work, and provide you with comprehensive, unadulterated and un-mutilated first-hand information.
• Consult the most recent references first. This will help you to save time, get the most recent materials and avoid redundant and unnecessary materials.
• You will save a lot of time by first reading through the abstract and/or summary of any referenced material. This will enable you to quickly ascertain the relevance of the materials.
• Lastly, organise and write-up all the insights you received while reading. This should be a critical appraisal of the state of the art in the area of investigation. You have to ensure that you understand all the related issues. The ideas must flow in accordance with the trend of thought.

• Causes of abortion among secondary school students.
• Effects of abortion on secondary school students.
• Methods used in abortion

Citation in Literature Review

1. Paraphrasing

Example of Paraphrasing

Examples of Direct Quotes in Literature Review

• Benton’s (2011) chapter, “Diet, Behaviour and Cognition in Children”

• In their book, Key-Concepts in Social Gerontology

• Miele (1993) found that “the ‘placebo effect,’ which has been verified” (p. 276).

Quotation of online material without page numbers

• Basu and Jones (2007) went so far as to suggest the need for a new “intellectual framework in which we consider the nature and form of regulation in cyberspace” (para. 4).

• The World Health Organisation (2014) states that “Pneumonia is the ‘leading infectious cause of death in children worldwide, accounting for 15% of all deaths of children under 5 years old (Key Facts section, para. 1).

• “Surprisingly little evidence is available on the effectiveness of psychiatric interventions for people with dementia in general hospital settings” (Sheehan, Stinton, & Mitchell, 2009, “Do psychiatric interventions work,” para. 1).

Changes when quoting that require explanation

Specific in-text citations in Literature Review

• Bee and Boyd (2010) state that … or …(Bee & Boyd, 2010)

1. Three authors

• (Rolfe, Jasper, & Freshwater, 2010) – First cite
• (Rolfe et al., 2010) = subsequent cites

• 4. Six or more authors

• ….Yamada et al. (2003) or … (Yamada et al., 2003)

More than one work cited

• ….(Phillips, Ajrouch, & Hillcoat-Nalletamby, 2010; Rolfe, Jasper, & Freshwater, 2010).

Author with two or more cited works in same year

• …Banda (2010a) states that… this was supported by Banda (2010b) …

Authors with the same last name

Secondary referencing

• Kleinman (1996) cited in Cunningham-Burley (1998) has argued…

Websites

Abbreviations (readily identified through abbreviation) as authors

• First citation in text: British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC, 2013)
• Subsequent citations in text: BBC (2013)

• the book Dictionary of Food Science and Nutrition (2006)
• the website (“AWMGS (All Wales Genetics Medical Service),” 2013)

• (Anonymous, 2012)

Ethical Considerations in Research Literature Review

• Openness:- especially in the areas of data collection, treatment of findings and literature review.
• Honesty:- especially in the areas of data collection, treatment and interpretation.
• Humility:- especially in the areas of validation of instrument.
• Objectivity:- especially in drawing conclusions from the research findings.

1. Plagiarism

SOURCES OF EDUCATIONAL INFORMATION CONTENTS

Traditional Sources of Information

The modern sources of information

Some Common Sources of Information

• Education Index
• Educational Resources Information Centre (ERIC) – a free bibliographic database of more than 1m citations on education topics since 1966
• Dissertation Abstracts International
• Psychological Abstracts
• Review of Educational Research
• Encyclopaedia of Educational Research
• American Education Research Association (AERA)
• British Education Research Association (BERA)
• National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER)
• International Education Research Foundation (IERF)
• Museums
• National Archives
• Special Collections in Libraries