A Beginners Guide to Doing Your Education Research Project

You might like to encourage students to look beyond the first few results. Point out the anatomy of a Google search result and ensure students know what all the components mean. This could be as part of a whole class discussion, or students could create their own annotations.

An important habit to get into is looking at the green URL and specifically the domain. Does the URL look like a well-known site? Is it a forum or opinion site? Is it an educational or government institution? When looking through possible sources, you may want to teach students to open sites in new tabs, leaving their search results in a tab for easy access later e. Once you click on a link and land on a site, how do you know if it offers the information you need?

Teach students how to look for the search box on a webpage or use Control F Command F on Mac to bring up a search box that can scan the page.

A Beginner's Guide to Doing Your Education Research Project | Mike Lambert - www.newyorkethnicfood.com

Ensure students understand that you cannot believe everything you read. This might involve checking multiple sources. So your students navigated the obstacles of searching and finding information on quality websites. Many students will instinctively want to copy and paste the information they find for their own work. Give students lots of practice writing information in their own words, and show them how to use quotation marks and cite sources. I had previously recommended EasyBib as a tool to help with citation. Thank you to reader Jenn who let me know that EasyBib now has advertising and is less easy to use.

She found out about CitationGenerator from Chicago Education newsletter. It looks like a great find to me! There are many apps and online tools to curate, annotate, and bookmark information, however, you could just set up a simple system like a Google Doc or Spreadsheet. Using Wakelet, you build collections of content from around the web. Instead, they can focus on the important curation process. Being able to research effectively is an essential skill for everyone. Model your own searches explicitly and talk out loud as you look things up.

This would be a great place to start! Finally, consider investing a little time in brushing up on research skills yourself. You can download it, print it, share with a friend, and read at your leisure. The PDF also includes three posters that you could use in your classroom. Would this resource be useful to you? Fill out the form below to get the PDF link in your inbox or simply click here to enter your details in your browser. How To Evaluate Websites: Kathleen, I like your point about opening up sites in new tabs.

What a fabulous resource, Aaron. Thanks so much for sharing. This is definitely one that others should check out too. This is great information and I found the safe search sites you provided a benefit for my children. I searched for other safe search sites and you may want to know about them. Hi Alice, great finds!

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I like the simple interface. Notify me of followup comments via e-mail.

Last updated November 20, The statement of the problem is the essential basis for the construction of a research proposal research objectives, hypotheses, methodology, work plan and budget etc. It is an integral part of selecting a research topic. It will guide and put into sharper focus the research design being considered for solving the problem.

It allows the investigator to describe the problem systematically, to reflect on its importance, its priority in the country and region and to point out why the proposed research on the problem should be undertaken. It also facilitates peer review of the research proposal by the funding agencies. Then it is necessary to provide the context and set the stage for the research question in such a way as to show its necessity and importance. This step is accomplished by a thorough and critical review of the literature and by personal communication with experts.

It gives due credit to those who have laid the groundwork for your proposed research. The literature selected should be pertinent and relevant. Against this background, you then present the rationale of the proposed study and clearly indicate why it is worth doing. Research objectives are the goals to be achieved by conducting the research. The general objective of the research is what is to be accomplished by the research project, for example, to determine whether or not a new vaccine should be incorporated in a public health program. The specific objectives relate to the specific research questions the investigator wants to answer through the proposed study and may be presented as primary and secondary objectives, for example, primary: To determine the degree of protection that is attributable to the new vaccine in a study population by comparing the vaccinated and unvaccinated groups.

To study the cost-effectiveness of this programme. Young investigators are advised to resist the temptation to put too many objectives or over-ambitious objectives that cannot be adequately achieved by the implementation of the protocol. During the planning stage, it is necessary to identify the key variables of the study and their method of measurement and unit of measurement must be clearly indicated.

Four types of variables are important in research Confounding or intervening variables: For instance, in a study of the effect of measles independent variable on child mortality dependent variable , the nutritional status of the child may play an intervening confounding role. For example sex, age, ethnic origin, education, marital status, social status etc.

The objective of research is usually to determine the effect of changes in one or more independent variables on one or more dependent variables. For example, a study may ask "Will alcohol intake independent variable have an effect on development of gastric ulcer dependent variable? Certain variables may not be easy to identify. The characteristics that define these variables must be clearly identified for the purpose of the study.

If you as a researcher know enough to make prediction concerning what you are studying, then the hypothesis may be formulated. A hypothesis can be defined as a tentative prediction or explanation of the relationship between two or more variables. In other words, the hypothesis translates the problem statement into a precise, unambiguous prediction of expected outcomes. Hypotheses are not meant to be haphazard guesses, but should reflect the depth of knowledge, imagination and experience of the investigator. Here the independent variable is types of health education and the dependent variable is changes in child feeding.

A research question poses a relationship between two or more variables but phrases the relationship as a question; a hypothesis represents a declarative statement of the relations between two or more variables. For exploratory or phenomenological research, you may not have any hypothesis please do not confuse the hypothesis with the statistical null hypothesis. Is there a relationship between them? Deciding whether to use questions or hypotheses depends on factors such as the purpose of the study, the nature of the design and methodology, and the audience of the research at times even the outlook and preference of the committee members, particularly the Chair.

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The method section is very important because it tells your research Committee how you plan to tackle your research problem. The guiding principle for writing the Methods section is that it should contain sufficient information for the reader to determine whether the methodology is sound. Some even argue that a good proposal should contain sufficient details for another qualified researcher to implement the study.

The selection of the research strategy is the core of research design and is probably the single most important decision the investigator has to make. The choice of the strategy, whether descriptive, analytical, experimental, operational or a combination of these depend on a number of considerations, 5 but this choice must be explained in relation to the study objectives. Research subjects or participants: Depending on the type of your study, the following questions should be answered 3 , 5.

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The proposal should provide information and justification basis on which the sample size is calculated about sample size in the methodology section. A smaller sample size than needed can also be unethical as it exposes human subjects to risk with no benefit to scientific knowledge. Calculation of sample size has been made easy by computer software programmes, but the principles underlying the estimation should be well understood. If an intervention is introduced, a description must be given of the drugs or devices proprietary names, manufacturer, chemical composition, dose, frequency of administration if they are already commercially available.

Ethical considerations apply to all types of health research. Before the proposal is submitted to the Ethics Committee for approval, two important documents mentioned below where appropriate must be appended to the proposal. In additions, there is another vital issue of Conflict of Interest, wherein the researchers should furnish a statement regarding the same. The Informed consent form informed decision-making: A consent form, where appropriate, must be developed and attached to the proposal.

The use of medical terminology should be avoided as far as possible. Special care is needed when subjects are illiterate. It should explain why the study is being done and why the subject has been asked to participate. It should describe, in sequence, what will happen in the course of the study, giving enough detail for the subject to gain a clear idea of what to expect. It should clarify whether or not the study procedures offer any benefits to the subject or to others, and explain the nature, likelihood and treatment of anticipated discomfort or adverse effects, including psychological and social risks, if any.

Where relevant, a comparison with risks posed by standard drugs or treatment must be included.

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If the risks are unknown or a comparative risk cannot be given it should be so stated. It should assure the participant of confidentiality of the findings. The proposal must describe the measures that will be undertaken to ensure that the proposed research is carried out in accordance with the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki on Ethical Principles for Medical research involving Human Subjects.

The research setting includes all the pertinent facets of the study, such as the population to be studied sampling frame , the place and time of study.

Study instruments 3 , 5: Instruments are the tools by which the data are collected. For new a questionnaire which is being designed specifically for your study the details about preparing, precoding and pretesting of questionnaire should be furnished and the document appended to the proposal.

Descriptions of other methods of observations like medical examination, laboratory tests and screening procedures is necessary- for established procedures, reference of published work cited but for new or modified procedure, an adequate description is necessary with justification for the same. A short description of the protocol of data collection.

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For example, in a study on blood pressure measurement: This minimizes the possibility of confusion, delays and errors. The description should include the design of the analysis form, plans for processing and coding the data and the choice of the statistical method to be applied to each data. What will be the procedures for accounting for missing, unused or spurious data? Monitoring, supervision and quality control: Detailed statement about the all logistical issues to satisfy the requirements of Good Clinical Practices GCP , protocol procedures, responsibilities of each member of the research team, training of study investigators, steps taken to assure quality control laboratory procedures, equipment calibration etc.