You are on page 1of 18

1

B
B
H

3
1
1
0
2
2
0
1
4
M
o
d
u
l
e

3
BBH 31102 RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY
KAEDAH PENYELIDIKAN
*Bahan dalam modul ini telah diambil dari sumber internet dan diubahsuai bagi
tujuan P& P sahaja. Saya mengucapkan terimakasih kepada penyumbang nota ini
dan penggunaan bahan ini bukan tujuan untuk dikomersilkan. Terima kasih.
Prof Madya Dr Razal Ha!!a"
#a$ul% Pe"dd$a" Te$"$al da"
&o$a!o"al' (")er!% Tu"
Hu!!e" O"" Malay!a
*H+, - 013./012 0003
*O45e - 20/.412 40113
*#a$! - 20/.41321013
Module 3: THEORY AND REVIEW OF LITERATURE Module 3: THEORY AND REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Do you agree with the statement by W. Borg and M. Borg? Theory has not been
properly understood by some graduate students. Some students are of the opinion that
theory is not relevant to practice. ftentimes! we hear students remar" that a particular
course is #too theoretical$ or they prefer courses that are #practical oriented and not too
theoretical$. Some go to the e%tent to denounce theory as useless& 'ctually! this reflects a
(

LEARNING OUTCOMES
When you have com!e"e# "h$% mo#u!e you &$!! 'e a'!e "o(
Define what is theory
)%plain the role of theory in educational research
*ustify the need for review of literature
+dentify criteria for good review of literature
,riti-ue a research article
INTRODUCTION
Without some viable theory to serve as a guide, many
studies address trivial questions or contribute nothing to
the slow accumulation of knowledge needed for
advancement of a science of education.
[W. Borg & M. Borg .!"#. $ducational %esearch& 'n (ntroduction. )e*
+ork& ,ongman. -!."/0
Without some viable theory to serve as a guide, many
studies address trivial questions or contribute nothing to
the slow accumulation of knowledge needed for
advancement of a science of education.
[W. Borg & M. Borg .!"#. $ducational %esearch& 'n (ntroduction. )e*
+ork& ,ongman. -!."/0
lac" of understanding on what is theory and what is practice or practical. 'ccording to W.
Borg and M. Borg! theory serves as a guide for research to avoid investigating
phenomena that is irrelevant and does not contribute to our understanding.
' theory is a large body of interconnected propositions about how some portion
of the social world operates ./idder! 10123. +t is statement or set of statements that
e%plain and predict phenomena. +t is a statement of a relationship between two or more
events. The more 4powerful5 a theory is! the more events can be e%plained by it. Theories
consist of generalisations and in the physical sciences some of them are called laws..for
e%ample! 'rchimedes 6rinciple! Boyle5s 7aw3.
'ccording to Social 7earning Theory by 'lbert Bandura8 the observer will imitate
the model9s behaviour if the model possesses characteristics such as talent!
intelligence! power! good loo"s! or popularity! that the observer finds attractive or
desirable.
'ccording to the Theory of Meaningful 7earning by David 'usubel! learning
ta"es place when the learner subsumes new information with old information or
one5s cognitive structure.
'ccording to B.:. S"inner5s Theory of ;einforcement! a learner will repeat
performance of a tas" if he or she is reinforced with a system of rewards or
punishment.
<ote that each of these theories e%plain learning and the variables or factors that
determines learning. 'ssuming that each of these theories are true we can predict that
learning will ta"e place when a student connects ne* in1ormation *ith old in1ormation! is
rein1orced through a system o1 re*ards and reproduce a modelled beha2iour i1 it brings
pleasure. =owever! many areas of education have virtually no theoretical foundation and
have to rely on other behavioural sciences! such as psychology! sociology! anthropology
and social psychology.
,an a theory be 9true9? <ot necessarily. The scientific method ma"es it impossible
to conclude that a theory in the behavioural sciences to be definitely true. +t is possible
only to disconfirm or confirm a hypothesis or theory. We cannot say that we have verified
a theory because there is always the possibility that at some future research will
disconfirm it or that some other theory will account for the same results. Theories!
therefore! are always tentative. They represent the best of our "nowledge for the time
being but they do not represent some absolute truth. They await revision of replacement>
.Borg and Borg! 101?3.
?
WHAT IS THEORY?
ONFIRMING OR DISCONFIRMING A THEORY
Childre !" "he #re$o#er!"io!l %"!&e !re o" !'le "o
#er(or) *o%er+!"io "!%,

Fi+e -e!r old *hildre !re u!'le "o #er(or)
"r!%(or)!"io o( li.uid .u!"i"- "!%,%
/re%e" %u'0e*"% 1i"h 2 ide"i*!l
&l!%%e% 3A456 1i"h e.u!l !)ou"%
o( 1!"er7 /our 1!"er (ro) &l!%% A
i"o ! !rro1 &l!%% 3C67 I% A8C?
A**e#" or Re0e*" "he
h-#o"he%i%7 I( !**e#" "he
h-#o"he%i% "he "he "heor- i%
*o(ir)ed7
)$*u+e 1( Con,$+m$n* o+ -$%con,$+m$n* a Theo+y
7et us ta"e an e%ample of a theory and e%amine how we go about confirming or
disconfirming it. 'ccording to *ean 6iaget9s theory of cognitive development! >,hildren
at the pre@operational stage .age 2@A3 are not able to perform conservation tas"s>.
,onservation is defined as the ability to recognise that an obBect remains unchanged
when its volume or length has undergone a transformation with nothing added or ta"en
away. :rom this broad theory a hypothesis is derived which is small version of the theory
.see :igure below3. Then! an e%periment is set up in which young children are shown two
identical containers .' and B3 with the same amount of water. Than! the water from
container B is poured into a flat container , .see :igure (.(3. ,hildren are as"ed whether
the amount of water in container ' is the same as container , .+s ' C ,?3. Based on these
observations! the researcher concludes whether to confirm or disconfirm the theory. +f the
theory is confirmed! children are unable to perform conservation tas". +n other words!
children replied that container , had more water. +f the theory is disconfirmed! than the
maBority of children answered that the amount of water in container ' and , is the same.
D
Theo+y
Hyo"he%$%
O'%e+va"$on
Con,$+ma"$on

A B C
7et us e%amine another well "nown theory in psychology which has been used
widely in education. David ,larence Mc,lelland developed a theory of motivation in
1011 which states that a person is motivated to do something because of a desire or need
for achievement! authority or affiliation or a combination of the three characteristics .see
:igure below3.
A
'chievement
Motivation .n@ach3
'uthorityE 6ower
Motivation .n@pow3
'ffiliation Motivation
.n@affil3
LEARNING ACTIVITY
What is a theory?
Why are there few laws in the field of education?
What do you mean by confirming of disconfirming a theory?
+dentify some theories in your field of interest.
What are the implications 6iaget5s theory of children5s cognition in
the classroom?
LEARNING ACTIVITY
What is a theory?
Why are there few laws in the field of education?
What do you mean by confirming of disconfirming a theory?
+dentify some theories in your field of interest.
What are the implications 6iaget5s theory of children5s cognition in
the classroom?
'chievement Motivation .represented by 4n@ach53 includes persons who are driven
by the need or desire to achieve! attain realistic but challenging goals! and advance
in their Bob.
'uthority E 6ower Motivation .represented by 4n@pow53 includes persons who are
driven by the need or desire to be influential! effective and to ma"e an impact.
'ffiliation Motivation .represented by 4n@affil53 includes persons who are driven by
the need or desire for friendly relationships and are motivated towards interaction
with other people..
's +esearch is focused in testing behavioural science theory! we gain a better
understanding of the theory! which in turn leads to modification in the theory and
eventually to its acceptance or reBection. +t is hoped that this better understanding of
human behaviour will inform practice in terms of what teachers do in the classroom! how
administrators manage and lead their organisations! and most importantly how students
learn and conduct themselves. Theory can provide a rational basis for e%plaining or
interpreting the results of research. Studies without a theoretical foundation often produce
results that the researcher is at a loss to e%plain. 'lso! studies based on theory enable the
researcher to ma"e predictions about a wide range of situations. :or e%ample!
Mc,lelland5s theory of motivation could be employed to determine what motivates
teachers! students and school administrators.
F
WHAT IS THE REVIEW OF LITERATURE?
LEARNING ACTIVITY
To what e%tent does Mc,lelland5s Motivation Theory describe your
motivation to do something in your daily life?
Briefly e%plain how you would attempt to confirm or disconfirm
Mc,lelland5s Theory.
G+ou can 1ind more in1ormation about this theory at this site&
'lan 3hapman4 !!5. 6a2id Mc3lleland7s Moti2ational )eeds
Theory. ***.businessballs.com8da2idmcclleland.htmH
?. +dentify some maBor theories in your area of interest.

LEARNING ACTIVITY
To what e%tent does Mc,lelland5s Motivation Theory describe your
motivation to do something in your daily life?
Briefly e%plain how you would attempt to confirm or disconfirm
Mc,lelland5s Theory.
G+ou can 1ind more in1ormation about this theory at this site&
'lan 3hapman4 !!5. 6a2id Mc3lleland7s Moti2ational )eeds
Theory. ***.businessballs.com8da2idmcclleland.htmH
?. +dentify some maBor theories in your area of interest.

The review of literature is usually the a standard chapter of the research report!
thesis of dissertation. +t is an account of the research done in the field of study. The
review forms an important chapter in a thesis or dissertation where its purpose is to
provide the bac"ground to and Bustification for the research underta"en. +t is usual that
the review consists of empirical studies done in the area that is being investigated. +t also
includes theoretical positions or proposals related to the study which are not necessarily
empirical in nature.
The aim of the literature review is to show what has been done in the field and
how your study relates to earlier research. +t also indicate the approaches! the samples
used! the variables e%amined! the statistical procedures used and most important of all!
the findings obtained. The review gives an overview of the findings of various previous
studies. The review traces the general patterns of the findings and the conclusions that
can be made based on the findings. +t also provides an insight into how your study is
similar or different from previous studies. :or e%ample8 +s your study an e%tension of
what others have done? 're you e%amining variables that have not been attended to in
earlier studies? 're you attempting to replicate earlier studies in a different cultural
conte%t? 're you applying statistical procedures that have not been attempted by others?
The review of literature re-uires you to locate! read and evaluate reports of
research as well as reports of opinions and proposals. The review must be e%tensive and
thorough because you are aiming to obtain a detailed account of the topic being studied.
The review of literature is an important part of the research process becauseI
o it forms the basis of any research and puts your wor" into perspective
J
Until you know what others have done in your area
and what has not been done, you cannot convincingly
carry out research that will contribute to furthering
knowledge in your field. Thus, the literature in any
field forms the foundation upon which all future work
must be built. If you fail to build this foundation
of knowledge provided by the review of literature, you
work is likely to be shallow and naive, and will often
duplicate that has already been done better by
someone else.
(W. Borg & M. Borg (1983). Educational Research: An Introduction.
ong!an: "e# $or%. &.1'()
THE IM/ORTANCE OF THE REVIEW OF LITERATURE
o it gives an understanding of previous wor" that has been done .seminal
wor"s in the field3.
o familiarises you with the personalities doing research in the field and to
demonstrate that you can access such wor"s

The review of literature helps the student in delimiting the research problem by
setting the parameters. By setting the limits of your study! you avoid being
-uestioned >why didn9t you do this or do that?>. Kou can confidently reply that your
study is confined to studying what you had set out to study. Delimiting the research
problem can be achieved if you read e%tensively and intensively the problem you
plan to investigate and from the literature specify clearly what is it you want to
study.
The literature also provides insight into the approaches and methodologies adopted
by different researchers. ' common mista"e made by students is to pay attention to
only the findings of studies. Besides findings! students should also e%amine the
methodologies used to study the phenomenon you are interested in. There could be
uni-ue approaches adopted which you might want to replicate in the Malaysian
conte%t. :or e%ample! in most studies reviewed the sample used tended to be
university students and your study is an attempt to use secondary school students
which could be a uni-ue contribution to the field because you are different.
Some of the research studies include a section on %ecommendations 1or 1urther
research which indicates whether you are on the right trac" in studying something
that has not been e%plored before. These suggestions are significant because they
e%press the insight of the researcher after having studied the phenomenon.
1
LEARNING ACTIVITY
What is the %e2ie* o1 ,iterature?
What is the purpose of the %e2ie* o1 ,iterature?
LEARNING ACTIVITY
What is the %e2ie* o1 ,iterature?
What is the purpose of the %e2ie* o1 ,iterature?
S"e 1( Se!ec" a Re%ea+ch To$c
,hoose a topic of current interest L your goal is to summarise and evaluate
findings of a line of research. 6ic" a research topic about which articles are
continuing to be published.
,hoose a well@researched area L an area that is well@defined and well studied will
give you more lines of research to choose from. ' line of research is a series of
studies by the same individual. 'n area of maBor research interest will have
several lines of research.
<arrow your topic L +t is far more satisfying! to both the writer and the reader! to
restrict your topic and cover it in depth. ,omprehensiveness and narrowness of
topic go hand in hand.
Write about what interests you L +f you are interested in the topic! you are li"ely
to already "now something about it! which will ma"e it easier to gather
information.
S"e 2( Co!!ec" an# Rea# "he Re!evan" A+"$c!e%
Do a preliminary search L visit the library or do an online literature search before
you even decide on a topic.
Search for helpful activities L Some articles will contribute more than others to
your understanding of a topic. Sometimes you can find a pivotal article that can
serve as a foundation for your study .the %e1erences will lead you to other similar
studies3.
:ind readable articles L some areas of research will be harder to understand than
others. Scan the research articles in the topic areas you are considering to decide
on the readability of research in those areas.
4;ead! ;ead! ;ead5 That is the bottom line of doing a review. 6eople have
different ways of doing a literature review. ' common techni-ue used by many
graduate students is to use a 4<ote ,ard5 .see below3. +t may be a rather old@
fashioned techni-ue! but has proven to be most effective. Many graduate students
will testify to this! despite advancements in computer technology.
o ;ead the easier articles first
0
STE/S IN DEVELO/ING A LITERATURE REVIEW
o +dentify .13 the problem statement! .(3 the research -uestions or
hypotheses! .?3 method used! .D3 the findings! and .A3 how the findings
were interpreted.
o *ot down the contents of the article using the following <ote ,ard.
No"e
ca+#
S"e 3( W+$"e "he Rev$e&
+ntroduce your research -uestions .what it is! why it is worth e%amining3. Begin
your review with some theme .or point3 that you want to emphasise.
G;)M)MB); KM ';) W;+T+<N :; T=) ;)'D); and not for yourselfH.
Briefly outline the organisation of the paper. rganisation is of utmost importance
and ma"e the structure "nown to your reader. :or e%ample! tell the reader that you
will present research supporting first one side! then the other. r if your are
addressing three methodologies! briefly describe them and state that you will
compare the results from the three methods.
Describe! compare and evaluate studies in terms of theI
o research assumptions
o theories
o hypotheses stated
o research designs used
o variables selected .independent and dependent3
12
T%le-
666666666666666666666666667
Au%8or+!-
66666666666666666666666677
Sour5e-
666666666666666666666666677
Pro9le: S%a%e:e"%-
666666666666666666666
Me%8odolo;y-
666666666666666666666667
o researcher speculations about future studies
Discuss implications of studies .your Budgement or what the studies show! and
where to go from here3.
Most important of all avoid plagiarism. Nive due recognition to the wor"s of other
people. +t does not cost anything to ac"nowledge sources. +n fact! it shows the
breadth and depth of your review! and the thoroughness of your wor".
+n writing the review of literature! beginning researchers ma"e the following common
errorsI
The presentation is a mere description of various studies without ma"ing an effort
to show how the studies are related to the main aim of your study and the research
-uestions of your study.
The presentation is a mere listing of the studies without an attempt to show how
each study is similar or different. Mse connectives such asI ho*e2er! on the other
hand4 similarly! but and so forth.
6oor citations. +n education it is normal practice to adopt the format proposed in the
manual published by the 'merican 6sychological 'ssociation .commonly "nown as
the 4'6' style53.
=urriedly reviews the literature and relies too heavily upon secondary sources.
't times there is evidence to suggest that students have not read the original wor"s
but instead have ta"en someone9s wor" and cited it as though they had read the
primary source.
There is also evidence of 9cut and paste9 which S=M7D <T be encouraged. Kou
must have read the original wor"s and "now in detail every study that you cite.
'rticles or reports that are included are not critically evaluated. ,ritically evaluate
the research -uestions! the methodology used! the statistics used! the conclusion
arrived at and recommendations made by the researcher G6etails about e2aluation
o1 articles is discussed laterH
11
COMMON WEA9NESSES
LEARNING ACTIVITY
4;ead! ;ead! ;ead5. ,omment.
What are some wea"nesses of graduate students when writing the
%e2ie* o1 ,iterature?
LEARNING ACTIVITY
4;ead! ;ead! ;ead5. ,omment.
What are some wea"nesses of graduate students when writing the
%e2ie* o1 ,iterature?
' good literature review re-uires "nowledge of the use of inde%es and abstracts!
and the ability to conduct e%haustive bibliographic searches. Kou should be able to
organise the material meaningfully! describe! criti-ue and relate each source to the subBect
of the in-uiry! and present the organised review logically! and most importantly to
correctly cite all sources mentioned .'folabi! 100(3. Nenerally! there are two main
sources of materialsI
Secon#a+y Sou+ce%I This includes materials written by an authorEs who was not a
direct observer or participant in the events described. +f you read a te%tboo" on
4)ducational 6sychology5! it would be a compilation of the views and empirical
wor"s of other authors rearranged into a te%tboo". The te%tboo" is a review of
research done by others and interpreted by the author. This interpretation by the
author of the te%tboo" would be classified as a secondary source .Be aware that
the interpretation may be biased3. Secondary sources are useful because they
provide a -uic" and relatively easy method of getting an overview of current
thin"ing in the field.
.+$ma+y Sou+ce%I This includes material that is a direct description of events by
a person who actually conducted the investigation. Most primary sources are
found in research Bournals. =owever! there are also abundant reports of research
conducted by individuals! groups of individuals and organisations.
=ow do + search for research articles! research reports! etc.? Kou can start by referring to
preliminary sources which are references such as inde%es and abstracts! that are intended
to help you identify and locate research articles and other primary sources of information.
The following are well@"nown inde%es and abstract in educationI
1(
SOURCES
Edu*!"io Ide: ) &ro*ides a list o+ articles &u,lished in
education -ournals and ,oo%s a,out education.
,) .%-*holo&i*!l A'%"r!*"% ) contains a,stracts o+ articles a&&earing in o*er 9//
-ournals and other sources in &s0cholog0 and related issues.
)du*!"io!l Re%our*e% I(or)!"io Ce"er (ERI1) ) trans!its the +indings o+ current
educational research to teachers2 ad!inistrators2 researchers and the &u,lic.
Re%our*e% i Edu*!"io (RIE) ) &ro*ides a,stracts o+ &a&ers &resented at
education con+erences2 &rogress re&orts and +inal re&orts o+ &ro-ects #hich !a0 not
a&&ear in education -ournals
,urre" Ide: "o ;our!l% i Edu*!"io (1IE) ) inde3es o*er 8// education -ournals and
includes !ore than 1/// articles each !onth
'nother way to obtain information about research done is to e%amine Bournals!
handboo"s and encyclopaedias that locate and re2ie* research for particular topics. The
following are the more well@"nown materials in education.
'
further source of information are theses and dissertations that have never been published.
The following are important sources which provide abstracts of masters theses and
doctoral dissertations in education.I
1?
Sec$a!$%e# A+ea%
1hild 4e*elo&!ent A,stracts and
Bi,liogra&h0
E3ce&tional 1hild Education Resources
(E1ER)
Education Ad!inistration A,stracts
.h0sical Education Inde3
Re+ie1 o( Edu*!"io!l Re%e!r*h ) -ournal &u,lished ,0 the A!erican
Educational Research Association (AERA) co*ering critical issues and
re*ie#s o+ research literature on i!&ortant to&ics and issues
Re+ie1 o( Re%e!r*h i Edu*!"io ) &resents critical essa0s that sur*e0
and s0nthesi5e educational research in i!&ortant &ro,le! areas
E*-*lo#edi! o( Edu*!"io!l Re%e!*h 6 ,est single source o+ in+or!ation
on educational research #ith contri,utions +ro! a!ong leading educational
researchers.
H!d'oo, o( Re%e!r*h o Te!*hi& 6 contains re*ie#s o+ *arious
as&ects o+ research on teaching such as !ethod and techni7ues o+
teaching2 teaching s&eci+ic school su,-ects2 and &ro,le!s o+ teaching.
Di%%er"!"io A'%"r!*"% I"er!"io!l 6 co!&ilation o+ a,stracts o+
doctoral dissertations. 8nder the education section are su,to&ics such
as adult education2 art education2 &reschool2 teacher training and so
+orth.
M!%"er<% The%e% i Edu*!"io 6 this is a listing o+ !aster9s theses in
a,out '/ !a-or educational to&ics. It includes na!e o+ author2 title and
institution.
's mentioned earlier! in writing your %e2ie* o1 ,iterature it is essential that you
be able to interpret the wor"s of others. =ow do you go about evaluating research
articles? The procedure for evaluating research articles is shown in :igure ( below. Kou
should "eep in mind! that in educational research the findings of previous research tends
to be inconclusive as results are often contradictory. This may leave you at a loss to
decide which! if any! to accept. =owever! this problem can resolved through a critical
evaluation of previous wor" in which the strengths and wea"nesses of each study are
carefully weighed .Borg and Borg! 101?3. The procedure proposed below consists of two
partsI the first relates to D)S,;+B+<N the research article and the second part relates to
,;+T+OM+<N the article or doing a criti-ue of the article.
)$*u+e 2( The )$ve S"e .+oce#u+e o, Eva!ua"$n* an A+"$c!e
1D
EVALUATING RESEARCH ARTICLES
LEARNING ACTIVITY

What do you thin" are some problems graduate students face when
doing the %e2ie* o1 ,iterature for their theses or research proBect?
LEARNING ACTIVITY

What do you thin" are some problems graduate students face when
doing the %e2ie* o1 ,iterature for their theses or research proBect?
Re!d "he A'%"r!*" Re!d "he
I"rodu*"io
Re!d "he Me"hod%
Se*"io
Re!d "he A!l-%i%
or
Re%ul"% Se*"io
Re!d "he Di%*u%%io
Se*"io
S"e 1( Rea# "he A'%"+ac"
What is the research about? Was the purpose or obBectives of the study specified?
Was the design used described?
;ationale or reasons for the research
-e%c+$'eI
/eep in mind that the writer is assuming that the reader is an e%pert in the field or
at least has some bac"ground "nowledge about the field.
;eferences made may be brief because it is assumed you "now the people in the
field .e.g. if you are reading about 4intelligence5 then names li"e Sternberg!
Nardner! Thurstone! Spearman! should be "nown to you3.
Writer assumes you "now the concepts in the field .e.g. burnout! metacognition!
inductive reasoning! organisational climate3.
The rationale given for the study and why the research -uestions or hypotheses
were put forward
C+$"$/ue(
o +s the reason for answering the research -uestion or testing the hypotheses
convincing or Bust attempting to appeal to your emotion or merely see"ing
endorsement from well@"now authorities in the field?
o Do the research -uestions or hypotheses follow logically from theory?
o +s there a tendency to oversimplify theories or studies reviewed?

-e%c+$'eI
1A
S"e 2( Rea# "he In"+o#uc"$on
S"e 3( Rea# "he Me"ho#% Sec"$on
The writerEs should tell about the bac"ground of the subBects used! the number of
subBects and the method used to collect data
The design of the study is described in sufficient detail. *ustification for the study
was given.
Development of the instrumentEs is described .or use of someone5s instrument3
and there is mention about pilot@testing the instrumentEs and reliability and
validity figures are given.
C+$"$/ue(
o =ow the subBects were selected is clear?
o =ow the instrument or treatment was administered is ade-uately
e%plained?
o +ssued of validity and reliability are discussed
o +s the design of the study appropriate? =ow was it designed to reduce
different types of biases?
o What is the independent variable and dependent variable?
o Were the statistical procedures used appropriate?
o Were the variables operationally defined?
o +f the study is an e%periment! was the treatment e%plained in sufficient
detail? ,ould it have been done in another way?

-e%c+$'eI
,onnection between the results and the research -uestions or hypotheses
;eport results relating to the research
-uestions or hypotheses .whether results
are statistically significant3
;eport other statistically significant
results
C+$"$/ue(
o Were the results clearly reported?
.eg. tables! graphs3
o Do the statistics test the predictions made in the 9+ntroduction9?

1F
S"e 0( Rea# "he Re%u!"% o+ Ana!y%$% Sec"$on
S"e 1( Rea# "he -$%cu%%$on %ec"$on
-e%c+$'eI
7ists the main findings
;elate findings to what was mentioned in the >+ntroduction>
Speculate about the reasons for the results
C+$"$/ue(
o +s the author9s way the only way to interpret the predicted results?
o ,an you e%plain any of the findings the authorE9s did not e%plain or were
unable to e%plain?
o What are the wea"nesses or limitations identified by the author or which
you found but was not mentioned?
Re,e+ence%(
1J
-ISCUSSION 2UESTIONS(
Select a research topic in which you are interested and locate a primary and
secondary source related to it. )%plain why each is a primary or secondary
source.
7ocate full@te%t Bournals in your areas of interest that are available free
on the internet. ,hec" to see if they are referred Bournals. Share what you
have found with your coursemates.
?. =ow will you define plagiarism? What constitutes plagiarism?

#Who am + to criti-ue the research of e%perts in the field! + am only a
student$. Discuss.
-ISCUSSION 2UESTIONS(
Select a research topic in which you are interested and locate a primary and
secondary source related to it. )%plain why each is a primary or secondary
source.
7ocate full@te%t Bournals in your areas of interest that are available free
on the internet. ,hec" to see if they are referred Bournals. Share what you
have found with your coursemates.
?. =ow will you define plagiarism? What constitutes plagiarism?

#Who am + to criti-ue the research of e%perts in the field! + am only a
student$. Discuss.
LEARNING ACTIVITY
What are the maBor aspects of a study will you e%amine when
describing a research article?
When you criti-ue the Methods section and the %esults section! what
are you loo"ing for?
LEARNING ACTIVITY
What are the maBor aspects of a study will you e%amine when
describing a research article?
When you criti-ue the Methods section and the %esults section! what
are you loo"ing for?
a3 W. Borg P M. Borg! .10113! )ducational ;esearchI 'n +ntroduction. <ew Kor"I
7ongman. 3hapter 5&%e2ie*ing the literature. 1D(@101.
b3 *ac"son! N. .10123. Methods of integrative review. %e2ie* o1 $ducational %esearch.
vol. A2. D?1@DF2.

11

You might also like