Steps to Generating a Research Study and Writing your Research Paper

Transcription

1 Steps to Generating a Research Study and Writing your Research Paper Step 1: The easiest way to be successful at a Masters level in designing a research study is to select two Communication variables that hadn t been studied before. Start by finding journal articles on a popular variable. Example: Communication Apprehension (CA) Notice there are over 1800 journal articles related to this topic. Tip: Click on the links to these studies and begin perusing the literature reviews of these articles to see what studies have already been done. It is EXTREMELY helpful if you can locate a premier study by a leading researcher. Use your past Communication Studies textbooks to uncover key researchers or popular communication variables. Example: James McCroskey is a leading researcher on Communication Apprehension so I add McCroskey to my search. Page 1/9

2 One very useful journal article that resulted from this last search was called, Communication Apprehension: What Have We Learned in the Last Four Decades. While this article wasn t a research study, it was useful review of the literature paper, which provided a history on CA along with related variables. Besides this article, I notice from the remaining articles that appeared from my search that CA is often observed in relation to English as a Second Language. Let s say I was interested in learning more about CA and English as a Second Language. Thus, I begin to download these articles and read them. When you read the articles you elect to download, pay close attention to citations within these articles. If these authors cite useful studies, then go to their reference lists and locate the complete citation for that study. The Page 2/9

3 Step 2: reference information will help you look up the actual study in the GSU database so you can download, read, and add it to your list of publications. After downloading and perusing at least a dozen articles, look for theories that have been cited and/or key variables. Next, see what variables have NOT been related to the popular variable you are researching. Example: Within my review of CA research, I noticed that CA and Cross-Cultural Communication is a pattern that researchers have already studied rather extensively. However, a contemporary researcher seemed to alter the literature trajectory by adding Religious Identity to the cross-cultural communication and CA research. Since there wasn t a lot of research in this area and since religious and cultural diversity is on the rise throughout Europe and the United States, I thought it would be useful to do my study in this area. Past researchers have shown that religious identification influences CA. Consequently, I thought those folks living within a country they were not born into, and especially those relying on a second language, are often at a disadvantage already, but even more so if the political culture is unwelcoming. This idea leads me to think about the last presidential election in which Muslim immigrants were a topic of focus. After thinking about the U.S. political climate, I strategized about how I could add a new variable to the CA religious identity research by adding Muslims to the mix. To come up with a new religious identity variable to relate to CA, I thought about an interesting nonverbal communication study I recently read that focused on the veils Muslim women wear (also known as the Hijab) and what wearing of the veils meant. I thought it would be interesting then to add this nonverbal communication symbol of dress, via the Muslim veil, to examine the relationship between CA and the Muslim Hijab. Once I narrowed my Communication variables, I returned to the GSU database to complete another to see what additional journal articles I might uncover. Step 3: After narrowing in on a Communication theory and key variables that you want to focus on, then REDO your data base search by searching for research studies that employ the theory and/or key variables. Example: Using my example above, I did three distinct new searches. 1 st I searched CA and nonverbal communication 2 nd I searched CA and Hijab 3 rd - I searched - Hijab Page 3/9

4 The third search on the Hijab yielded over 500 studies. Therefore, I perused those articles to see if any would help me develop the Hijab as the variable I would examine in relationship to CA. Step 4: Step 5: Similar to Step 1, I reviewed these research articles for pertinent information as well as to see if they cited any interesting studies that I may want to use. If so, I did another database search to uncover those studies so I could download and read them as well as add them to my 15 publications. After completing Steps 3 and 4, which are critical to gathering a large group of journal articles related to specific variables, next you MUST thoroughly read each article, especially, its Literature Review, Results, and Discussion sections. Even if you don t understand the Results section, review it anyway because the findings are critical for your literature review. ***You MUST take notes on anything and everything that is important. These notes will help you look for patterns and strategize how to create your study and write your paper.*** Don t forget to read the Discussion sections of these articles because researchers often indicate to readers what gaps still need to be filled by future researchers. Therefore, their suggestions can also give you ideas for your research study. Step 6: After gathering copious notes on a particular line of research, next you are ready to strategize your study and outline your research paper, in particular, your Literature Review and your research questions or hypotheses. Example: The Relationship between CA and Wearing of the Hijab In the example I have been using throughout this handout, I created the topic listed above and on the next page, you will see the outline I created BEFORE writing my research paper. Page 4/9

5 Example Outline Literature Review Communication Apprehension Summarize the main findings from CA research overall. Transitional Statement: Besides the extensive body of inquiry into Communication Apprehension, researchers have also spent a lot of time investigating Communication Apprehension as it relates to various cultures and intercultural communication. Cross Cultural Research on Communication Apprehension Summarize the findings from Cross-Cultural CA research. Summarize the cross cultural findings and build rationale for your study by saying something like: Typical cross-cultural findings often show that subjects born in a country possess lower CA than those who have migrated into a country. For example, Croucher (2013) found French Catholics born in France had lower CA than French Muslims not born in France. While researchers have begun to study how religious identity influences CA, there is still a large gap in this area that needs to be closed, especially as it relates to Muslims because the news media has elevated the focus of this particular religious affiliation due to a small minority of extremists and the negative impact they have had on the world. Prominent Symbols of Islam While most Americans would be hard press to communicate anything about Islam, one symbol that is likely to come to mind is the Islamic veil. According to Hochel (2013), Over the last few decades, a piece of fabric has become a powerful and divisive symbol worldwide. The veil as worn by some Muslim women has assumed iconic proportions around the globe. To some it symbolizes piety; to others, oppression. To some it is a rejection of Western morality; to others, a rejection of modernity. To some, it is a religious statement supporting Islam as a way of living; to others, a political statement supporting violent Islamists (p.40). Continue summarizing the findings from the two Veil studies. Page 5/9

6 Example Outline continued The Relationship between the Hijab and Communication Apprehension Given that past researchers have found religious identity of immigrants played a role in higher Communication Apprehension and since researchers found that immigrants are more likely to have higher Communication Apprehension than those born in a country, this study expands on these findings to examine the relationship between the Hijab, specifically, how a woman who wears a Hijab views its symbolism, and how that variable correlates with Communication Apprehension. It is speculated that those women who view the Hijab in a traditional religious manner are more likely to have higher Communication Apprehension than those who view the Hijab in more contemporary terms or as an act of rebellion against French laws. Those Muslim women who don t veil at all are predicted to have the lowest Communication Apprehension. Therefore, the following hypotheses are proposed. Hypotheses 1. Malaysian Muslim women who veil have lower CA than French Muslim women. 2. Traditional Muslim women, regardless of what country they reside, will have higher CA than contemporary Hijab wearers. 3. Muslim women who don t veil, regardless of what country they reside, will have lower CA than Muslim women who do veil. Step 7: Once you have created this overall outline, you are ready to go back to your notes and begin writing your Literature Review. (Side Note: Make sure you review the Research Paper criteria sheet for this class to help you incorporate critical points within your paper.) Your outline helps you to keep focus on each part of your review. Example: Notice within the outline above, the first section of my Literature Review will address the past research findings on CA. After doing that, I will then write a transitional statement that moves me from the general CA research to a more specific CA sub-group of research on Cross Cultural Communication and CA. Page 6/9

7 Step 8: After writing the entire draft of the Literature Review, next I would write a draft of the Introduction. By writing a draft of your Literature Review first, you should have an easier time writing the Introduction. Example: Introduction for my study on: The Relationship between CA and Wearing of the Hijab Communication Apprehension has been studied extensively for decades, especially as it relates to cross-cultural communication and how cultural backgrounds influence CA and its related variables of Communication Competence and Willing to Communicate (Dilbeck, McCroskey, Richmond, & McCroskey, 2009; Mansson & Myers, 2009; Richmond, McCroskey, McCroskey, & Fayer, 2008). Croucher (2013) recently added religious identity to the mix and found that religious affiliation and migrant standing produces a significant effect on CA (p. 310). Given that religious and cultural diversity are on the rise throughout Europe and the United States, it is critical to continue to study how religious identification influences CA because those living within a country they were not born into, and especially those relying on a second language, are often at a disadvantage already, but even more so if the political culture is unwelcoming. One such group, especially of focus in today s climate, is Muslin immigrants. While most Americans possess little knowledge about Islam, one image that is likely to come to mind is the Islamic veil. According to Hochel (2013), the Hijab has become an influential and contentious emblem worldwide (p.40). Depending on the country a woman resides in, along with her own personal feelings about the Hijab influences if, how, and why she wears it. While researchers have studied the significance of veiling and the reasons for making those decisions, they haven t investigated the relationship between Communication Apprehension and veiling. Therefore, this study looks at how women wearing Hijabs view its symbolism and how that variable correlates with Communication Apprehension. The theoretical implication of this study will help expand upon cross-cultural research that already confirms immigrants are more likely to experience Communication Apprehension than non-immigrants; however, this study adds a new dimension of a particular nonverbal artifact that communicates both religious and political views. Moreover, the practical implication of this study is to increase cultural understanding in order to promote greater empathy towards those who may identify in a minority category but are human beings like everyone else in the majority. Page 7/9

8 Step 9: Once you have your first draft of your paper, then continue to edit your paper for greater clarity. Most papers require at least a dozen, if not more, edits. In other words, you edit the complete paper and you put it down. You come back later and edit the complete paper again. You keep following this process until the paper is refined. It is also helpful to read the paper out loud when you edit so you can listen to what your audience will be hearing when they read your paper. Look for the following problems that typically manifest within papers. Gaps between thoughts: Often students begin a sentence addressing one thought and by the next sentence they are talking about something else. When this happens, the reader has no idea what the writer is talking about because he/she didn t elaborate on the first idea to give the reader a complete understanding of the topic AND the writer didn t create a transition that moves the reader from the first idea to the next. Students who did not thoroughly read the past research articles and/or did not thoroughly understand the work of past researchers, often write papers that lack both clarity and logic. In other words, you have to understand what past researchers have done in order for you to write a logical literature review for your own paper. Missing transitional statements. You have to connect the dots for your readers. To achieve that goal, you need to make sure that ideas within paragraphs are connected and between paragraphs as well as between overall sections within the literature review. Poor Writing or Paragraph Development. Check out these websites on how to write a quality paragraph: Step 10: After you have refined your paper at least a dozen times, next you want to write your Reference List. Make sure your Reference List follows APA guidelines. Page 8/9

9 Step 11: After you are 100% sure your Reference List is correctly written using APA, next print out your Reference List. Return to your paper and highlight each citation within the Introduction and Literature Review. Compare each highlighted paper citation with the corresponding citation within the Reference List. Ask yourself these questions: 1. Does the paper citation MATCH the Reference List citation? EXAMPLE: Paper citation reads (Smith, Jones, and Shepard, 2014) Reference citation reads: Smith, A., Jones, B., & Shepard, G. (2014). Communication citations: All you need to know. Communication Quarterly, 43(1), NON-EXAMPLE: Paper citation reads (Smith, 2014) Reference citation reads: Smith, A., Jones, B., & Shepard, G. (2014). Communication citations: All you need to know. Communication Quarterly, 43(1), NOTICE: The paper citation is incorrect. If there are three authors listed in the Reference List, then it is NOT correct to simply cite the first author within the text of the paper. 2. Are all the paper citations listed on the Reference List? If you cite Applegate (2011) within your paper, for example, then it needs to be listed within your Reference List. 3. Did you swipe a citation from another researcher and placed it into your text? If yes, then you REALLY need to locate the ORIGINAL article. However, if you are unable to locate the original article, then at the very least, cite the article appropriately which is: Jackson argued that...(as cited in Applegate, 2011, p. 102) In your reference list then, you should list Applegate (2011) not Jackson. Final Step: Review the Research Paper criteria (found on our class website) one more time to make sure you followed all guidelines before submitting. REMEMBER: Don t staple your paper; instead, paper clip it. Page 9/9