How To Develop Your Research Project Chapter Two Effectively

 

A literature review is a survey of academic sources on a particular project topic. It gives an overview of the ebb and flows information, permitting you to distinguish significant hypotheses, strategies, and holes in the current research.

A literature review is to show your reader that you have read, and have a good grasp of, the main published work concerning a particular topic or question in your field.

It is very important to note that your review should not be simply a description of what others have published in the form of a set of summaries but should take the form of a critical discussion, showing insight and an awareness of differing arguments, theories, and approaches. It should be a synthesis and analysis of the relevant published work, linked at all times to your own purpose and rationale.

Conducting a literature review involves collecting, evaluating and analyzing publications (such as books and journal articles) that relate to your research question. There are five main steps in the process of writing a literature review:

1. Search for relevant literature
2. Evaluate sources
3. Identify themes, debates, and gaps
4. Outline the structure
5. Write your literature review

A good literature review doesn’t just summarize sources – it analyzes, synthesizes, and critically evaluates to give a clear picture of the state of knowledge on the subject.

According to Caulley (1992) of La Trobe University, the literature review should:

• compare and contrast different authors’ views on an issue
• group authors who draw similar conclusions
• criticize aspects of the methodology
• note areas in which authors are in disagreement
• highlight exemplary studies
• highlight gaps in research
• show how your study relates to previous studies
• show how your study relates to the literature in general
• conclude by summarising what the literature says

 

THE PURPOSES OF THE REVIEW ARE:

 

• To define and limit the problem you are working on
• To place your study in a historical perspective
• To avoid unnecessary duplication
• To evaluate promising research methods
• To relate your findings to previous knowledge and suggest further research

A good literature review, therefore, is critical of what has been written, identifies areas of controversy, raises questions and identifies areas that need further research.

 

STRUCTURE OF THE LITERATURE REVIEW

 

The overall structure of your review will depend largely on your own thesis or research area. What you will need to do is to group together and compare and contrast the varying opinions of different writers on certain topics. What you must not do is just describe what one writer says, and then go on to give a general overview of another writer, and then another, and so on. Your structure should be dictated instead by topic areas, controversial issues or by questions to which there are varying approaches and theories. Within each of these sections, you would then discuss what the different literature argues, remembering to link this to your own purpose.

Linking words are important. If you are grouping together writers with similar opinions, you would use words or phrases such as: Similarly, in addition, also, again

More importantly, if there is disagreement, you need to indicate clearly that you are aware of this by the use of linkers such as: however, on the other hand, conversely, nevertheless

At the end of the review, you should include a summary of what the literature implies, which again links to your hypothesis or main question.

A standard research literature review is expected to follow the format below:

1. Introduction
2. Conceptual framework
3. Theoretical framework
4. Empirical review
5. Knowledge gap (optional)
6. Summary of literature

INTRODUCTION: here undergraduate or final year project students are expected to simply spell out in at least seven (7) what this chapter will contain. As we have it above conceptual framework, theoretical framework, empirical review, etc. a good introduction gives the project supervisor kind confidence in his or her project students.

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK: a good conceptual framework will cover all the research objectives so as to help solve the problem of the research work. This section involves the use of diagrams to explain certain key variables in the research work. The use of diagram is usually high in MBA/MSC thesis research.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK: this section is very important in research work. Undergraduate project students, postgraduate research students are expected to search for theories that are related to their research project topic.

For example, consider the project topic on human resource management: work-life balancing and its effect on employee productivity; the theory that is suited for the above research topic is The Segmentation Theory, Spill-Over Theory, Compensation Theory, Resource Drain Theory, and Border Theory. A project student is expected to get the theories that are related to their research work/ topic.

EMPIRICAL REVIEW

The empirical review is simply talking about the various researches done by other researchers concerning your topic or people's research works that are similar to your research work. The names of various researchers must be attached to their findings or statement.

For example, the use of instructional materials in teaching and learning of geography in senior secondary schools has a significant effect on the level of the academic achievement of students (Androameda, 2017)

SUMMARY OF LITERATURE

Here the research or project students are expected to point out their view concerning all that was discussed in each section of the literature review.

 

WHY WRITE A LITERATURE REVIEW?

 

When you write a thesis, dissertation, or research paper, you will have to conduct a literature review to situate your research within existing knowledge. The literature review gives you a chance to:

• Demonstrate your familiarity with the topic and scholarly context
• Develop a theoretical framework and methodology for your research
• Position yourself in relation to other researchers and theorists
• Show how your research addresses a gap or contributes to a debate

You might also have to write a literature review as a stand-alone assignment. In this case, the purpose is to evaluate the current state of research and demonstrate your knowledge of scholarly debates around a topic.

The content will look slightly different in each case, but the process of conducting a literature review follows the same steps.

 

Step 1: Search for relevant literature

 

Before you begin searching for literature, you need a clearly defined topic.

If you are writing the literature review section of a dissertation or research paper, you will search for literature related to your research problem and questions.

If you are writing a literature review as a stand-alone assignment, you will have to choose a focus and develop a central question to direct your search. Unlike a dissertation research question, this question has to be answerable without collecting original data. You should be able to answer it based only on a review of existing publications.

Search for literature using keywords and citations

Start by creating a list of keywords related to your research topic and question. Some useful databases to search for journals and articles include:

• Your university’s library catalog
• Google Scholar
• JSTOR
• EBSCO
• Project Muse (humanities and social sciences)
• Medline (life sciences and biomedicine)
• EconLit (economics)
• Inspec (physics, engineering, and computer science)

Read the abstract to find out whether an article is relevant to your question. When you find a useful book or article, you can check the bibliography to find other relevant sources.

To identify the most important publications on your topic, take note of recurring citations. If the same authors, books or articles keep appearing in your reading, make sure to seek them out.

You can find out how many times an article has been cited on Google Scholar – a high citation count means the article has been influential in the field, and should certainly be included in your literature review.

What can proofreading do for your paper?

Scribbr editors not only correct grammar and spelling mistakes, but also strengthen your writing by making sure your paper is free of vague language, redundant words, and awkward phrasing.

 

Step 2: Evaluate and select sources

 

You probably won’t be able to read absolutely everything that has been written on the topic – you’ll have to evaluate which sources are most relevant to your questions.

For each publication, ask yourself:

• What question or problem is the author addressing?
• What are the key concepts and how are they defined?
• What are the key theories, models and methods? Does the research use established frameworks or take an innovative approach?
• What are the results and conclusions of the study?
• How does the publication relate to other literature in the field? Does it confirm, add to, or challenge established knowledge?
• How does the publication contribute to your understanding of the topic? What are its key insights and arguments?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of the research?

Make sure the sources you use are credible and make sure you read any landmark studies and major theories in your field of research.

The scope of your review will depend on your topic and discipline: in the sciences, you usually only review recent literature, but in the humanities, you might take a long historical perspective (for example, to trace how a concept has changed in meaning over time).

Take notes and cite your sources

As you read, you should also begin the writing process. Take notes that you can later incorporate into the text of your literature review.

It is important to keep track of your sources with citations to avoid plagiarism. It can be helpful to make an annotated bibliography, where you compile full citation information and write a paragraph of summary and analysis for each source. This helps you remember what you read and saves time later in the process.

You can use our free citation generator to quickly create correct and consistent APA citations or MLA format citations.

 

Step 3: Identify themes, debates, and gaps

 

To begin organizing your literature review’s argument and structure, you need to understand the connections and relationships between the sources you’ve read. Based on your reading and notes, you can look for:

• Trends and patterns (in theory, method or results): do certain approaches become more or less popular over time?
• Themes: what questions or concepts recur across the literature?
• Debates, conflicts, and contradictions: where do sources disagree?
• Pivotal publications: are there any influential theories or studies that changed the direction of the field?
• Gaps: What is missing from the literature? Are there weaknesses that need to be addressed?

This step will help you work out the structure of your literature review and (if applicable) show how your own research will contribute to existing knowledge.

 

Step 4: Outline your literature review’s structure

 

There are various approaches to organizing the body of a literature review. You should have a rough idea of your strategy before you start writing.

Depending on the length of your literature review, you can combine several of these strategies (for example, your overall structure might be thematic, but each theme is discussed chronologically).

Chronological

The simplest approach is to trace the development of the topic over time. However, if you choose this strategy, be careful to avoid simply listing and summarizing sources in order.

Try to analyze patterns, turning points and key debates that have shaped the direction of the field. Give your interpretation of how and why certain developments occurred.

Thematic

If you have found some recurring central themes, you can organize your literature review into subsections that address different aspects of the topic.

For example, if you are reviewing literature about inequalities in migrant health outcomes, key themes might include healthcare policy, language barriers, cultural attitudes, legal status, and economic access.

Methodological

If you draw your sources from different disciplines or fields that use a variety of research methods, you might want to compare the results and conclusions that emerge from different approaches. For example:

• Look at what results have emerged in qualitative versus quantitative research
• Discuss how the topic has been approached by empirical versus theoretical scholarship
• Divide the literature into sociological, historical, and cultural sources

Theoretical

A literature review is often the foundation for a theoretical framework. You can use it to discuss various theories, models, and definitions of key concepts.

You might argue for the relevance of a specific theoretical approach, or combine various theoretical concepts to create a framework for your research.

 

Step 5: Write your literature review

 

Like any other academic text, your literature review should have an introduction, the main body, and a conclusion. What you include in each depends on the objective of your literature review.

Introduction

The introduction should clearly establish the focus and purpose of the literature review.

Dissertation literature review you are writing the literature review as part of your dissertation or thesis, reiterate your central problem or research question, and give a brief summary of the scholarly context. You can emphasize the timeliness of the topic (“many recent studies have focused on the problem of x”) or highlight a gap in the literature (“while there has been much research on x, few researchers have taken y into consideration”). Stand-alone literature review you are writing a stand-alone paper, give some background on the topic and its importance, discuss the scope of the literature you will review (for example, the time period of your sources), and state your objective. What new insight will you draw from the literature?

Body

Depending on the length of your literature review, you might want to divide the body into subsections. You can use a subheading for each theme, time period, or methodological approach.

As you write, you can follow these tips:

• Summarize and synthesize: give an overview of the main points of each source and combine them into a coherent whole
• Analyze and interpret: don’t just paraphrase other researchers—add your own interpretations where possible, discussing the significance of findings in relation to the literature as a whole
• Critically evaluate: mention the strengths and weaknesses of your sources
• Write in well-structured paragraphs: use transitions and topic sentences to draw connections, comparisons, and contrasts

Literature review paragraph example

The example below is taken from the body of a literature review on the relationship between national identity and nature conservation. This paragraph discusses how humanities scholars have approached the concept of wilderness.

Early work in environmental humanities tended to take a sharply critical approach to the wilderness, focusing on the cultural construction of supposedly ‘natural’ landscapes. The rise of climate change awareness in the 1980s had been framed by narratives about “the end of nature” (McKibben 1989), in which a once-pristine wilderness is degraded by humans to the point of disappearance. In response to this popular discourse, environmental historian William Cronon critiqued the concept of pure, pristine nature to be preserved from human influence, arguing that ideas like “wilderness” are themselves products of particular human cultures and histories. In his influential essay ‘The Trouble with Wilderness’ (1995), Cronon traces how the ideal of untouched wilderness, anxiety over its loss, and the political will to preserve it has been central to American national identity, entwined with religious motifs and colonial frontier mythologies. Following Cronon, the racial and class politics of wilderness preservation was a theme taken up by several scholars in the late 1990s and early 2000s, who researched the material effects of conservation politics on indigenous and rural Americans (Catton 1997; Spence 1999; Jacoby 2001). The US National Park system became the dominant paradigm for analyzing relations between conservation, nationhood, and nationalism. However, this approach has sometimes led to a narrowly US-centric perspective that fails to engage closely with the meanings and materialities of “wilderness” in different contexts. Recent work has begun to challenge this paradigm and argues for more varied approaches to understanding the socio-political relations between nations and nature.

The example combines the thematic and chronological approaches. This section of the literature review focuses on the theme of wilderness, while the paragraph itself is organized chronologically.

Conclusion

In conclusion, you should summarize the key findings you have taken from the literature and emphasize their significance.

Dissertation literature review if the literature review is part of your thesis or dissertation, show how your research addresses gaps and contributes new knowledge, or discuss how you have drawn on existing theories and methods to build a framework for your research. Stand-alone literature review if you are writing a stand-alone paper, you can discuss the overall implications of the literature or make suggestions for future research based on the gaps you have identified.

When you’ve finished writing and revising your literature review, don’t forget to proofread thoroughly before submitting it. Our quick guide to proofreading offers some useful tips and tricks!

 

EDITORS SOURCE: How To Develop Your Research Project Chapter Two Effectively (Literature Review)

 

 

 

How To Develop Effective And Unique Project Topics

 

In each field of endeavor, what makes you stand out from others is the capacity to accomplish something contrastingly and uniquely so that successors will consistently recollect the prints you left on the ways of the world. In the academic segment, the uniqueness of thoughts and considerations is of fundamental significance particularly with regards to writing a project topic. Subsequently, we will inspect how to pick a unique project topic. In the first place, we will take a gander at the significance of having a unique topic

 

Significance Of A Unique Topic

 

• The topic directs the tune and tone of the whole project. In the event that the topic shows to an enormous degree that the student will do a decent project.

 

• The topic makes in the brain of any individual who understands it, an early introduction. Such an impression may impact the general and last judgment of the work.

 

• A unique topic is a wellspring of inspiration for the researcher to continue and complete the research. Similarly, as a dull topic will be a wellspring of debilitation.

 

• A unique and great topic will be a wellspring of delight to the researcher for some future years to such an extent that you can generally flaunt it consistently and places without dread or terrorizing.

 

 

If anyone can investing time, cash, and disregard family, companions, and delight to accomplish a specific objective anytime, ought to be a final year student completing exploration on any project topic to investigate leaving issue and give an answer or suggestion to take care of the pattern issue.

 

Project topics for final year student in Nigeria and each student in African Country doing a logical way to deal with get significant information to back up research must understand WHY research is significant, REASONS for completing the student final year project, WHAT is the project topics investing on and how will it solve the exiting problem with the relevant information.

No research today is new, we are creating thoughts base on leaving information to produce a given points base on personal modification and understanding at that point. As information technology advance so is research moving from one level to high and serious stage to truly demonstrate a point that pertinent thoughts are added a year to year as final year student passes on to the labor market as a graduate of any field of study.

Project topics for final year students in Nigeria and students everywhere throughout the world give better opportunities to act naturally creative and educational investigators to acquire a given distinction as graduate. The sole point of this article is to drop as a primary concern reasons why final year project writing is significant

 

Coming Up Next Are The 10 Reasons Why Student Final Year Project Is Significant

 

Self-confidence: Self-certainty is created dependent on the measure of information about a specific study plainly understood by you.

 

Self-confidence during defense as a final year student, you mostly gain in the event that you were the people who do the educational research project from the start to the completion.

 

Provide job employment: To each student who completes college neglect to understand that full information on research project writing can give nourishment on the table and fill in as a wellspring of pay. The territory where research gives work to students in Nigeria is having decent information on Information Analysis, editing, structural substance improvement, and field information gathering.

 

Make student and supervisor relationship: To each student the most significant part in schools is the point at which you are near a supervisor, to understand why the person responds that path during the address, to know whether your opinion of Him or her is valid or bogus. A decent correspondence among student and supervisor relationships can make work mostly, make 80% consideration, make space for rectifications, advance educational understanding, and empower professional success.

 

Strengthening your center abilities: Research invigorates clear expertise includes in investigate procedure and technique to apply to create an ideal point.

 

Give the upper hand: The exhibition among you and the other student is how highly knowledgeable you present the research structure of your information. There is a contrast between a final year student writing project and a year one student starting college.

 

Give stage to self-articulation: student and numerous individual today in our general public is confronted with dread to stand up what we know and understand. Addressing masses today among students is an issue in college which has gobbled up the better piece of our character. Final year project writing gives space to self-articulation in the open to step up your capacity to address the crowd.

 

Expertise arranging: ability arranging in the research process ensure achievement, project arranging must start based on what is my topic, which zone or area will I research on, what is my exploration about, which populace is better, is case study needed?, where will I get information and who is my supervisor. Then planning will lead to success for Student final year project writing.

Advance group working ability: all expertise during project research in bunch give space to the commitment of thought, initiative attitude, content improvement aptitude, introduction ability, advances bunch perusing, make common understanding among the following specialist in the final year

 

Proficient relational abilities: great correspondence during research is mostly connected with clear image, sign, and verbal sound to unmistakably educate the listener what you mean at that specific point in time.

 

Strength: intensity isn't delaying or frightful notwithstanding real or conceivable peril or rebuke; gallant and brave. The dread of disappointment during resistance is mostly express by students because of the absence of intensity to stand up what they know and understand about the given topic on study.

Research is significant and consistently experience by all final year students in Nigeria and numerous nations. The project topics for final year students in Nigeria and how supervisors include themselves to ensure its quality and substance is up to the worldwide standard of research in today's educational system.

All Student final year projects should esteem research work, give complete consideration, energize collaboration, and learn new thoughts which will make them not the same as others.

 

Wellsprings Of A Unique Project Topic

 

• Personal experience and perception of the researcher: The student's very own perception, information, or experience of certain issues that merit a project consideration could lead such a student to get a topic from such experience

 

• Relevant existing writing: information about some current speculations and project discoveries in a specific territory may uncover a lacuna in the information that should be filled. This is likewise where a researcher can enter into and draw out a unique topic.

 

• Interactions with speakers/associates: a project topic can likewise be borne out through conversations with a potential chief, an instructor or even among cohorts and partners on projectable territories.

 

Pertinent Questions To Ask Yourself Before Choosing A Topic

 

• Is the proposed topic one that truly is limited in the degree to deliver a reasonable research project? On the off chance that the appropriate response is No, at that point don't continue further

 

• Will the proposed topic make a significant commitment to the information? On the off chance that truly, at that point continue. Assuming no, at that point stop.

 

• Has the topic gotten any insignificant inclusion in the diaries and other related scholarly productions? On the off chance that truly, at that point proceed with the investigation

 

• Do I have adequate enthusiasm for the project topic now and can such intrigue be supported all through the investigation? In the event that the response to this is No, at that point end the topic, however in the event that indeed, at that point proceeds.

 

• Can I assemble adequate information to complete this project? On the off chance that truly, proceeds, however assuming no, end.

 

• Can I succinctly and decisively express the targets, points, degree, avocation, and restrictions of the investigation? In the event that truly, proceed, however assuming no, suspend

 

Steps To Choose A Unique Topic

 

• Brainstorming: When you conceptualize, you are searching for thoughts regarding the specific topic. In conceptualizing, you pose some remarkable inquiries: do I have enthusiasm for that specific region? Is there a piece of specific information I need to include?

 

• Read wide: it is fundamental that you read a great deal of related writing from either the library or the web about the topic you need to expound on with the goal that you will have a solid balance to endure the hardships of the whole project.

 

• The title of your project ought to be brief and exact as would be prudent

 

• Look for catchphrases that you can assist you with formulating a decent and enamoring title. Convincingly, with all this information put in the right point of view, you will think of a decent project a topic that will leave a permanent imprint for a long time into the future.

 

To choose a good research topic and make the procedure less frustrating, we recommend the accompanying method for the determination of the research project works:

1. Decide on a useful area or areas of essential interest, for example, accounting, banking, and finance, business administration, computer science, economics, education, marketing,  mass communication et cetera.

2. Next, pick a sub-region from the practical territory. For example, a student who has an interest in human resources may pick a research topic on the hospital working environment or organizational behavior

3. Look for the possible research topic in that sub-region.

4. Familiarize yourself with the subject matter relating to the proposed project topic idea.

5. Evaluate any provisional topic you pick precisely and fundamentally. A student ought to have not less than three speculative topics. He ought to pick the topic which is most alluring to him or her among alternate topics having analyzed the upsides and downsides of every one of the case study.

6. Finally, present the chosen topics to the supervisor for facilitating discourse, clarifications, and elaborations if it requires.

Criteria For Choosing A Research Project Topic

It is plainly making no sense to embark on a case study you know almost nothing or nothing about. Though, it can obviously be contended that the student can acquaint himself with the project topic idea over the span of the investigation or study. But there are somewhere around two issues with this: firstly, he/she might not be able to defend it before the supervisor. Secondly, he/she may discover later that the research topic is more troublesome than foreseen or that the required research project materials are not accessible. He could even lose interest in the research work because of any of these unexpected challenges. The accompanying criteria should along these lines be borne in the mind of the students:

1. Interest In The Research Topic    

Numerous students have amidst their research, surrendered, or abandon their research project topic for another one since they didn't have enough managing interest for it, in the first instance. For a few, they may have chosen it since it was proposed by the supervisor or some different people they couldn't state too. They may have felt that dismissing the project topic at that point would have added up to being ungrateful on their part which could be viewed as an affront to the supervisor. Whichever way, it is perilous to take a research title you are not so much inspired by in light of the fact that when it gets extreme, your interest in the research title is the thing that will support you more than some other things.

2. Researchable Research Topic

What makes a research topic researchable is the point at which you can research solid information to answer the research questions. A project work that is researchable can be known to utilize available and scientific tools and techniques. Likewise, a research work might be un-researchable not on the grounds that the pertinent information doesn't exist, but rather in light of the fact that the student doesn't approach them.

3. Attainability Of The Final Year Project

The possibility of the final year project alludes to what it will take the student to finish the research topic as far as the expense of the final year project, the monetary use, and the time allotment for the final year research. Thusly, it is vital that the student from the beginning, gauge that he has everything necessary to finish the research project regarding the fund and research materials, and furthermore that he will have the capacity to finish the final year research inside the time period allotted for it. In the event that the response to this is negative, at that point he should forsake the project topic before setting out on it.

EDITORS SOURCE: How To Develop Effective And Unique Project Topics

How To Write Chapter Three Of Your Research Project

 

Chapter three of the research project or the research methodology is another significant part of the research project writing. In developing the chapter three of the research project, you state the research method you wish to adopt, the instruments to be used, where you will collect your data and how you collected it.

This chapter explains the different methods to be used in the research project. Here you mention the procedures and strategies you will employ in the study such as research design, research area (area of the study), the population of the study, etc.

You also tell the reader why you chose a particular method, how you planned to analyze your data. Your methodology should be written in a simple language such that other researchers can follow the method and arrive at the same conclusion or findings.

You can choose a survey design when you want to survey a particular location or behavior by administering instruments such as structured questionnaires, interviews, or experimental; if you intend manipulating some variables.

The purpose of chapter three (research methodology) is to give an experienced investigator enough information to replicate the study. Some supervisors do not understand this and require students to write what is, in effect, a textbook.

A research design is used to structure the research and to show how all of the major parts of the research project, including the sample, measures, and methods of assignment, work together to address the central research questions in the study. The chapter should begin with a paragraph reiterating the purpose of the study.

It is very important that before choosing a method, try and ask yourself the following questions:

Will I generate enough information that will help me to solve the research problem by adopting this method?

For instance, you are attempting to identify the influence of personality on a road accident, you may wish to look at different personality types, you may also look at accident records from the FRSC, you may also wish to look at the personality of drivers that are accident victims, once you adopt this method, you are already doing a survey, and that becomes your methodology.

Your methodology should aim to provide you with the information to allow you to come to some conclusions about the personalities that are susceptible to a road accident or those personality types that are likely to have a road accident.
The following subjects may or may not be in the order required by a particular institution of higher education, but all of the subjects constitute a defensible methodology chapter.

HOW TO WRITE CHAPTER THREE OF YOUR RESEARCH PROJECT - WRITING A RESEARCH DESIGN

A qualitative study does not have variables. A scientific study has variables, which are sometimes mentioned in Chapter 1 and defined in more depth in Chapter 3. Spell out the independent and dependent, variables. An unfortunate trend in some institutions is to repeat the research questions and/or hypotheses in both Chapter 1 and Chapter 3. Sometimes an operational statement of the research hypotheses in the null form is given to set the stage for later statistical inferences. In a quantitative study, state the level of significance that will be used to accept or reject the hypotheses.

Pilot Study

In a quantitative study, a survey instrument that the researcher designed needs a pilot study to validate the effectiveness of the instrument, and the value of the questions to elicit the right information to answer the primary research questions in. In a scientific study, a pilot study may precede the main observation to correct any problems with the instrumentation or other elements in the data collection technique. Describe the pilot study as it relates to the research design, development of the instrument, data collection procedures, or characteristics of the sample.

Instruments

In a research study, the instrument used to collect data may be created by the researcher or based on an existing instrument. If the instrument is the researcher created, the process used to select the questions should be described and justified. If an existing instrument is used, the background of the instrument is described including who originated it, and what measures were used to validate it.

If a Likert scale is used, the scale should be described. If the study involves interviews, an interview protocol should be developed that will result in a consistent process of data collection across all interviews. Two types of questions are found in an interview protocol: the primary research questions, which are not asked of the participants, and the interview questions that are based on the primary research questions and are asked of the participants.

Procedure

In a qualitative study, this is the section where most of the appendices are itemized, starting with letters of permission to conduct the study and letters of invitation to participate with the attached consent forms.
Sample: this has to do with the number of your participants or subjects as the case may be.
Analysis (how are you planning to analyze the results?)

EFFECTIVE GUIDE AND METHODOLOGY SAMPLES

This chapter deals effectively with the research methods to be adopted in conducting the research, and it is organized under the following sub-headings:

1. Research Design
2. Area of Study
3. The population of the Study
4. Sample and Sampling Techniques
5. Instruments for Data Collection
6. The validity of the Instrument
7. Reliability of the Instrument
8. Administration of the instruments
9. Scoring the instruments
10. Method of Data Collection
11. Method of Data Analysis

 

Research Design:

This has to do with the structure of the research instrument to be used in collecting data. It could be in sections depending on different variables that form the construct for the entire topic of the research problems. A reliable instrument with a wrong research design will adversely affect the reliability and generalization of the research. The choice of design suitable for each research is determined by many factors among which are: kind of research, research hypothesis, the scope of the research, and the sensitive nature of the research.

Area of Study:

Research Area; this has to do with the geographical environment of the study area where the places are located, the historical background when necessary and commercial activities of that geographical area. For example, the area of the study is Ebonyi State University. At the creation of Ebonyi State in 1996, the Abakaliki campus of the then ESUT was upgraded to Ebonyi State University College by Edict no. 5 of Ebonyi State, 1998 still affiliated to ESUT with Prof. Fidelis Ogah, former ESUT Deputy Vice-Chancellor as the first Rector. In 1997, the Faculty of Applied and Natural Sciences with 8 departments was added to the fledging University, and later in 1998 when the ESUT Pre-Science Programme was relocated to Nsukka, the EBSUC Pre-Degree School commenced lectures in both Science and Arts in replacement of the former. This study focused on the students of the Business Education department in Ebonyi state university.

 

The population of the Study

The population is regarded in research work as the type of people and the group of people under investigation. It has to be specific or specified. For example educational study teachers in Lagos state. Once the population is chosen, the next thing is to choose the samples from the population.

According to Uma (2007), the population is referred to as the totality of items or object which the researcher is interested in. It can also be the total number of people in an area of study. Hence, the population of this study comprised of all the students in the department of Business Education, Ebonyi State University which is made up of year one to four totaling 482. The actual number for the study was ascertained using Yaro-Yamane's formula which stated thus:

n   =        N

1-N (e)²

Where;

N is the Population

1 is constant

e is the error margin

Then, n   =         482

1+482(0.05)²

482

1+1.16

=  482

2.16

= 214.35 approximately 214

 

Sample and sampling technique:

It may not be possible to reach out to the number of people that form the entire population for the study to either interview, observe, or serve them with copies of the questionnaire. To be realistic, the sample should be up to 20% of the total population. Two sampling techniques are popular among all the sampling techniques. These are random and stratified random sampling techniques. (A). in Random Sampling, the writers select any specific number from a place like a school, village, etc. (B). In Stratified Random Sampling, one has to indicate a specific number from a stratum which could be a group of people according to age, qualification, etc. or different groups from different locations and different considerations attached.

 

Instruments for Data Collection:

This is a device or different devices used in collecting data. Example: interview, questionnaire, checklist, etc. instrument is prepared in sets or subsections, each set should be an entity thus asking questions about a particular variable to be tested after collecting data. The type of instrument used will determine the responses expected. All questions should be well set so as to determine the reliability of the instrument.

 

The validity of the Instrument

This has to do with different measures in order to determine the validity and reliability of the research instrument. For example, presenting the drafted questionnaire to the supervisor for scrutiny. Giving the questionnaire to the supervisor for useful comments and corrections would help to validate the instrument.

 

Reliability of the Instrument

The test-retest reliability method is one of the simplest ways of testing the stability and reliability of an instrument over time. The test-retest approach was adopted by the researcher in establishing the reliability of the instrument. In doing this 25 copies of the questionnaire were administered on twenty-five selected respondents. After two weeks another 25 copies of the same questionnaire were re-administered on the same group. Their responses on the two occasions were correlated using Pearsons Product Moment Correlation. A co-efficient of 0.81 was gotten and this was high enough to consider the instrument reliable.

 

Administration of the instruments:

Here, the writer states whether he or she administers the test personally or through an assistant. He also indicates the rate of return of the copies of the questionnaire administered.

 

Scoring the instruments:

Here items on the questionnaire or any other device used must be assigned numerical values. For example, 4 points to strongly agree, 3 points to agree, 2 points to disagree, and 1 point to strongly disagree.

Table of Analysis

S/N	Item	SA	A	D	SD

 

 

ONCE	TWICE	THRICE

 

 

Method of Data Collection

The researcher collected data using the questionnaire. Copies of the questionnaire were administered by the researcher on the respondents. All the respondents were expected to give maximum co-operation, as the information on the questionnaire is all on things that revolve around their study. Hence, enough time was taken to explain how to tick or indicate their opinion on the items stated in the research questionnaire.

Method of Data Analysis

In this study, the mean was used to analyze the data collected. A four (4) point Likert scale was used to analyze each of the questionnaire items.

The weighing was as follows:

VGE—————- Very Great Extent (4 points)

GE—————– Great Extent (3 points)

LE—————– Little Extent (2 points)

VLE—————- Very Little Extent (1 point)

And;

SA—————– Strongly Agree (4 points)

A——————- Agree (3 points)

D—————— Disagree (2 points)

SD—————- Strongly Disagree (1 point)

The mean of the scale will then be determined by summing up the points and dividing their number as follows with the formula:

x = ∑fx

N

= = 2.5

Where; x= mean

f= frequency

X= Nominal value of the option

∑= summation

N= Total Number

Therefore, the mean of the scale is 2.5.

This means that any item statement with a mean of 2.50 and above is considered agreed by the respondents and any item statement below 2.5 is considered disagreed.

EDITORS SOURCE: How To Write Chapter Three Of Your Research Project (Research Methodology)

How To Write Effective Research Project Abstract

 

 

A research project is much more than just a summary of a topic with credible or valid sources, but it is an extended

article that presents a writer's understanding and assessment or argument. The purpose of writing this project is to analyze a perspective or argue a point, consequently exhibiting your knowledge, writing and vocabulary skills, and ability to do great research on a given project topic.

At times, your supervisor may request an abstract along with your research project and in spite of the fact that abstracts are moderately short, numerous students still find it confusing. You also need to write abstracts if your work revolves around carrying out research or other investigative processes. Don’t worry, the writing process is simpler than you might think; keep reading to see how to complete this task.

What then is an abstract?

So as to write one perfectly, you have to know exactly what an abstract is

All things considered, an abstract is characterized as a brief summary of a larger project; it describes the content and scope of the project while identifying the objective, methodology, findings, and conclusion.

The motivation behind an abstract is to summarize the significant parts of a research project, but it is important to bear in mind that it is descriptions of your project and not the topic in general.

Basically, you use abstract to describe what specifically you are doing, not the topic your project is based upon. For example, if your research project is about the bribe, the abstract is about survey or investigation you carry out about the prevalence of bribe, how people are likely to offer it to someone, do people take a bribe, etc. In this case, the abstract is not about the bribe itself, its definition, why people do it, and other related things. If you don’t` know, what the research work should look like – look at the example of a research project.

Types of abstracts

• Critical abstract – describes the main information and findings while providing a comment or judgment about the study’s reliability, validity, and completeness. Here, the researcher evaluates some paper and compares it to other works and papers on the same topic
• Descriptive abstract – only describes the work being summarized without comparing it to other papers on the given subject
• An informative abstract – most common type of abstracts, the researcher explains and presents the main arguments and the most important results. While it doesn’t compare one work to others on the same subject, an informative abstract includes conclusions of the research and recommendations of the author
• Highlight abstract – written to catch the reader’s attention, rarely used in academic writing

Components the abstract has to contain

Despite the fact that there are various types of abstracts, one thing is certainly common in all, it contains the same elements or components i.e. four types of information presented to the reader. Before you learn how to write an abstract for a research project, make sure your abstract should comprise of the following:

Objective

Objective or the principle method of the reasoning of the project acquaints readers with the research that you just completed. This section accounts for the first few sentences of the abstract and announces the problem you set out to solve or the issue you have explored. The objective can likewise clarify a writer's inspiration for the project.

Methods

Once the objective is described, it’s time to move to the next section – methods. Here, a writer explains how he/she decided to solve a problem or explore some issue i.e. methods or steps they used to get the answers. Of course, your approach or methods depend on the topic, your field of expertise, subject, etc. For example:

• Hard science or social science – a concise description of the processes used to conduct a research
• Service project – to outline types of services performed and the processes followed
• Humanities project – to identify methodological assumptions or theoretical framework
• Visual or performing arts project – to outline media and processes used to develop the project

In other words, regardless of the field or subject, the methods section serves to identify any process you used to reach the results and conclusions.

Results

This section is self-explanatory; your goal is to list the outcomes or results of the research. If the research isn’t complete yet, you can include preliminary results or theory about the potential outcome.

Conclusion

Just like in every other work, the conclusion is the sentence or two wherein you summarize everything you’ve written above. In the abstract, a writer concludes or summarizes the results. When writing the conclusion, think of the question “what do these results mean”, and try to answer it in this section.

NOTE: More extensive research papers can also include a brief introduction before the objective section. The introduction features one-two sentences that act as a basis or foundation for the objective. A vast majority of abstracts simply skip this section.

Don’t include these in Abstract

A common mistake regarding abstracts is writing them the same way you would write the rest of a research paper. Besides some elements that your abstract has to contain, there are some things you should avoid. They are:

•        Abbreviations

•        Fluff, abstracts should be relatively short, no need to pump up the word volume

•        Images, illustration figures, tables

•        Incomplete sentences

•        Jargon

•        Lengthy background information, that’s what research paper is for, abstracts should be concise

•        New information that is not present in the research paper

•        Phrases like “current research shows” or “studies confirm”

•        References

•        Slang

•        Terms that the reader might find confusing

•        Unnecessary details that do not contribute to the overall intention of the abstract

Writing the abstract

Now that you know what the abstract is, elements it should contain and what to avoid, you are ready to start writing. The first thing to bear in mind is that your abstract doesn’t need a certain “flow”. Keep in mind that abstract should be precise and concise; you don’t need to worry about making it seem bigger. Ideally, you should focus on introducing facts and making sure a reader will get a clear picture of the topic presented through your research paper. Follow these steps to create a strong, high-quality abstract.

Step 1

Start writing the abstract only when you complete the research paper. By the time you finish the essay writing process, you will know what to use in the abstract to perfectly describe your work. Choosing to write an abstract first is highly impractical, takes ages, and it doesn’t represent the research paper adequately.

Step 2

For your objective and conclusion sections, you can use the most important information from the introduction and conclusion section of the research paper. Rather than wasting your time on trying to figure out what to include, just use the important premises and summarize them into one-two sentences in the abstract.

Step 3

While researching or carrying out surveys for your paper, write down everything you do. Use these notes to create methods sections for the abstract. This particular section just has to inform a reader about the process you implemented to find the answers from the objective. No need to introduce unnecessary information.

Step 4

Make sure the abstract answers these questions:  What is the purpose of this research? How was the research conducted? How did I get my answers?  What answers did I get?

What do these results mean?

Step 5

When the abstract is complete, read everything you have written from top to bottom. Then, eliminate all extra information in order to keep it as concise as possible.

Step 6

Read the abstract thoroughly again. Make sure there is the consistency of information presented in the abstract and in the research paper. Basically, information included in both abstract and research papers shouldn’t be different. After all, the abstract is a summary or a short description of the research paper itself. This is why you shouldn’t introduce new details into the abstract as well.

Step 7

Once you ensure the abstract contains only relevant information and describes the research paper concisely, read it again. This time, you should look for grammar and spelling mistakes, punctuation, sentence structures, and tense consistency. Never submit the abstract (and research paper or any other type of work) without proofreading and editing first.

Step 8

At this point, your research paper and abstract are error-free, complete, and ready for you to send them to your professor or client.

Don’t forget:

•        Vary sentence structures to avoid choppiness. Don’t include too many long sentences one after another and avoid doing the same with short sentences as well. A mixture of longer and shorter sentences work the best

•        To avoid adding too many long sentences, just break them up into shorter structures

•        Use active voice whenever possible. Also, ask your professor if it is okay to use passive voice when necessary. Every professor has his/her criteria, asking is a great way to avoid mistakes

•        Use past tense to describe the work you have already done

•        Read the abstract aloud or to someone else in order to make sure the content is readable and easy to understand

Most Importantly

The final year project is a common assignment in college education, and beyond. Writing these papers usually involves creating an abstract, a brief summary or description of the subject or argument you discussed throughout the paper. Abstracts are a major source of concern for many students, but they are incredibly easy to write when you’re familiar with the steps. As seen throughout this post, the ideal way to write an abstract is to keep it concise without pumping up word count with unnecessary information. If you don’t know what about you can write – look at different research paper topics! Now you’re ready to start writing the abstracts for research papers, good luck. Don’t forget to see another guide about abstract research paper!

 

Editors Source: How To Write Effective Research Project Abstract