Techincal terms

• Technical terms


  Terms used in research
• It is important to recognize the importance of technical terms used in research
• Research is collecting data and information, learning and finding new things
• Research


  • Follows systematic process of collecting and analyzing information
• Parts of a research paper

  • Abstract
  • Introduction
  • Data
  • Theory
  • Conclusion
  • Discussion
  • Literature Review
  • Conceptual Framework
  • Research Design
  • Methodology
  • Sampling
  • References
• Abstract


  A short summary of your completed research, intended to describe your work without going into great detail. Should be self-contained and concise.
• Abstract


  • General Considerations
  • Motivation/problem statement
  • Methods/procedure/approach
  • Results/findings/product
  • Conclusion/implications
• The cell phone is ever-present on college campuses and is frequently used in settings where learning occurs
• Cell phone use


  Negatively related to actual college GPA after controlling for other factors
• More research is needed to identify the underlying mechanisms, findings suggest a need to sensitize potential students and educators about the risks associated with high-frequency cell phone use
• Introduction


  Presents background information, scope, and focus of the research paper
• How to write an introduction


  1. Introduce your topic

  2. Describe the background

  3. Establish your research problem

  4. Specify your objective(s)

  5. Map out your paper
• Data


  Factual information (as measurements or statistics) used as a basis for reasoning, discussion, or calculation. Any information that has been collected, observed, generated or created to validate original research findings.
• Types of research data

  • Documents, spreadsheets
  • Laboratory notebooks, field notebooks, diaries
  • Questionnaires, transcripts, codebooks
  • Audiotapes, videotapes
  • Photographs, films
  • Test responses
  • Slides, artefacts, specimens, samples
  • Data files
  • Database contents (video, audio, text, images)
  • Models, algorithms, scripts
  • Contents of an application (input, output, logfiles for analysis software, simulation software, schemas)
  • Methodologies and workflows
  • Standard operating procedures and protocols
• Theory


  A general explanation about a specific behavior or set of events that is based on known principles and serves to organize related events in a meaningful way
• Theory is usually used to help design a research question, guide the selection of relevant data, interpret the data, and propose explanations of the underlying causes or influences of observed phenomena
• Conclusion


  Provides the summary of the research
• Discussion


  Evaluates the results of the study or research. A researcher describes, analyzes, and interprets their findings.
• Ways to write the discussion section

  • Summary: A brief recap of your key results
  • Interpretations: What do your results mean?
  • Implications: Why do your results matter?
  • Limitations: What can't your results tell us?
  • Recommendations: Avenues for further studies or analyses
• Literature Review


  Provides a review of what others have written or researched on concerning the topic
• Conceptual Framework


  Connected concepts that offer a logical structure to help provide a picture or visual display of how ideas in a study relate to one another within the theoretical framework
• Research Design


  The game plan or method for finding out what you want to know
• Methodology


  A systematic framework used to solve the research problem by using the best and most feasible methods to conduct the research while aligning with the aim and objectives of your research
• Types of Research Methodology

  • Qualitative Research
  • Quantitative Research
  • Mixed-Method
• Sampling


  Selecting the group that you will actually collect data from in your research
• Sampling Methods


  • Probability Sampling
  • Non-Probability Sampling
• Population


  The entire group that you want to draw conclusions about
• Sample


  The specific group of individuals that you will collect data from
• References


  Allows you to acknowledge or give credit to the writers and researchers from whom you have borrowed words and ideas to avoid plagiarism
• Short Recap


  Summarizes all sections and helps readers decide whether or not to read the entire report