In this lab, you will begin the process of developing a research report by identifying some research questions. Think about topics that interest you and ask yourself questions about the relationships you observe or imagine. What questions come to mind? Do they lead to hypotheses that could be tested in some way?
Use the resources that you identified in the previous labs to locate and explore journal articles related to your chosen topic area.
Here is a review of the typical structure of journal articles:
• _The Abstract is a short, paragraph-long section that provides a brief overview of the article.
• _The Introduction introduces the research question and reviews relevant research and literature on the topic. This helps the reader understand the background of the research and the question being investigated.
• _The Method Section details how the research was conducted. Information about the participants, the procedures, the instruments, and the variables that were measured are all described here.
• _The Results Section summarizes the results of the study and details what the researchers found. Tables and figures are frequently included here.
• _The Discussion Section interprets the results and discusses the implications that may lead to further research in the area.
• _The References Section lists all articles and other sources cited within the article.
A good strategy is to scan the abstracts of articles to see how they might relate to your topic, and what research questions were investigated. This will help you decide whether the article is relevant to your topic or area of interest.
You should skim over each section before doing an in-depth reading of an article. Attempting a thorough read-through before you’ve skimmed the contents is not only difficult, but it may also be a waste of valuable time. Skimming is a great way to become familiar with the topic and the information included in the paper. In some cases, you may find that the article or resource is not well suited to your needs. Skimming can save time and allow you to move on to another more relevant article.
Assignment
In two to three double-spaced pages of text describe the area of interest you would like to focus on, and specify at least five related questions. Your research questions should derive from, or be related somehow, to research topics you’ve read about while researching the literature. Discuss the relevance of these questions and provide a rationale for why they might be candidates for further research. Include citations where Lab Paper Guidelines
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appropriate. This is preliminary to actually beginning to write your research proposal, so you still have time to change your topic or the specific questions you want to include in your proposal. Try to be as specific as possible, though, so you can begin to narrow down your choices.
Tips for Success
1. Describe the area of interest you intend (at least, for now) to focus on.
2. State or describe research question 1.
a. What is this question relevant to, and why?
b. Why is this an appropriate question for further research? What is the rationale here?
c. Support the above with citations from the literature.
3. Repeat for research questions 2 through 5.
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