research methodology

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You mean you had to GO to the library to do research?

Understanding Research Types:
Basic: Seeks to create new knowledge and is not directly related to technical or practical problems. Example: analyze the types of information systems used by people with disabilities.

Applied: Seeks to solve problems. Example: A study conducted on how information systems can be used to improve communication with people with disabilities.

Research Terminology:
There are many types of research and each type of research can utilize different methods for collecting information. This glossary can be utilized to clarify the research terms you may come across during your search. In addition, this glossary is a good resource for refining questions you may have of your professor regarding the assignment.

Case Studies: Examines in-depth the practices or trends of a single or limited number of groups. According to the Second Edition of the Dictionary of Sociology edited by Gordon Marshal, case studies include "descriptive reports on typical, illustrative, or deviant examples; descriptions of good practices in policy research; evaluations of policies after implementation in an organization; studies that focus on extreme or strategic cases; the rigorous test of a well-defined hypothesis through the carefully selected contrasting cases; and studies of natural experiments."

Empirical Studies: Research based on critical evaluation through observation or experimentation.

Experimental Research: Examines the relationship between two variables. This type of research conducts experiments on test and control groups to test a hypothesis about the relationship between two variables.

Historical or Interpretive Research Studies: By examining past events and procedures, this type of study attempts to predict future events or make suggestions for future actions. Types of historical or interpretive research studies include: biographical; histories of institutions and organizations; investigation of sources and influences; editing and translating historical documents; studying the history of ideas; or compiling bibliographies.

Qualitative Research: Observes the experiences of a particular group and attempts to understand the actions and reactions of the group. Field studies and ethnographic techniques are examples of this type of research.

Survey Research Studies: Examines small groups of the population in order to learn about the larger population. Observation of the smaller group produces data about the larger population. This data is used to predict future actions or results.

User Studies: Research that evaluates the way in which systems or institutions are utilized and how the needs of users can be addressed.

Identifying Research Articles:
Listed below are some clues to help identify research articles. However, it should be noted that numerous exceptions occur for all of the points listed below. Therefore, the following information should be used as a guideline when looking for research articles

Topic: Research articles tend to be highly specific in nature, relate to a particular field, or specialty within a field, and are written by authors who have done research in the field.

Audience: The target audience is other researchers, colleagues, students and specialists in the same field. Research articles are written for the scholarly community, rather than a general audience.

Language: The language of research articles is formal, generally does not use the first person, and includes jargon used in the field. Research articles are written to contribute to the knowledge base of the discipline.

Length: research articles can vary in length, but are typically five to fifty pages long.

Authors: Research articles may have numerous authors. The organization, institute or professional society the authors belong to will be listed.

Content: Generally the article is written at a sophisticated enough level that the reader will need to read the article more than once in order to understand and evaluate the article.

Identifying Refereed Journals:
Listed below are some clues to help identify refereed journals. However, it should be noted that numerous exceptions occur for any and all of the points listed below. Therefore, the following information should be used as a guideline when looking for refereed journals

Issue identification: Each issue has a publishing date, volume number and issue number. Generally a volume number is consistent throughout the calendar year, with each issue assigned a corresponding number e.g. vol. 55, issue 4.

Length: A refereed journal may have one to fifty articles, with most having eight to eighteen.

Advertising and graphics: Very little, if any, advertising is included in refereed journals. Any advertising that is included will directly relate to the field. Generally journals of this nature do not have photographs and use black print on white paper. The size of the journal may vary in size from a small paperback size to a large magazine format.

Table of contents: In addition to research articles, refereed journals may contain book reviews, literature reviews, and essays. Therefore, just because an article is published in a refereed journal, it does not necessarily mean that it is a research article!

Publishing: Refereed journals are usually published regularly - once a week, once a month, every quarter, or annually. The majority of journals are published four to six times per year and are often published by a professional society, organization or research institution.

Editorial board: Refereed journals have a peer review process. The editorial board is listed (generally at the beginning of the journal) along with the organizations they are affiliated with. Information about what types of papers are chosen for publication, the selection process, the length of papers accepted, and how to submit a paper is also provided.

Indexing: A listing of where the refereed journal is indexed is often provided.

Title: The title of a refereed journal usually has an "academic" sounding name.

Availability: The location, call number, and availability of the journal can be determined by using the online catalog.

Refereed Materials:
Refereed materials are publications reviewed by "expert readers" or referees prior to the publication of the material. After reading and evaluating the material, the referee informs the publisher if the document should be published or if any changes should be made prior to publication. Refereed materials are also referred to as Peer Reviewed. Refereed materials are significant to the research and the literature of library and information science because they assure readers that the information conveyed is reliable and timely.

Non-Refereed Materials:
Non-refereed materials such as Trade Journals or Magazines use less rigorous standards of screening prior to publication. In some publications, each article may be only screened by the publication's editor. While knowledgeable, no editor can be an authority on all the subject matter printed in a journal. Other non-refereed materials accept almost anything submitted in order to have something to print. The term "scholarly materials" is often used to describe refereed materials, but this term is not exclusive to refereed material. Non-refereed materials may not by scrutinized as intensely as refereed materials, but they can still be considered scholarly.

Locating Materials:
Databases are repositories of article information from journals, magazines, conferences, and sometimes books and newspapers. Databases cover a wide range of topics. Some databases offer a full text feature that links you directly to an article, so you can download and print it directly off the Internet. Explore databases that you use regularly to determine if they have this feature (usually denoted by an "FT" next to the article citation).

Evaluating On-line sources:
Online sources can be a valuable tool if you know how to accurately assess the value and validity of the online information source. In trying to determine the validity of a webpage, it is useful to see what type of organization publishes the page. Sites ending in .edu or .gov are generally more accurate and trustworthy than most, since they emanate from academic and governmental organizations. It is important to verify that you are not looking at a student page located on an academic server, which may or may not be as trustworthy as a page produced by the school. Another element to be cautious of when evaluating your potential source is bias. For example, if you are looking at a commercial site, are they accurately portraying information, or bending the truth to fit their needs? The next criterion to evaluate is accuracy. Begin by looking for spelling mistakes, poor grammar, and typos. Next, look at the sources quoted within the page. Are they well-known, trusted sources and people with expertise in the field at hand? If the page is valid, accurate, and published by a trusted source, then it is generally considered acceptable for research purposes.

Search Strategies:
Your search strategy will vary depending upon which database you are using. Research articles' abstracts & include terms that most non-research articles' abstracts do not. Some examples of these terms are methodology, hypothesis, research, experiment, etc. You can search the field "Words Anywhere" for these terms while simultaneously searching for the keywords of your topic. If you retrieve too many or too few hits, narrow or expand your search by adding or dropping search terms.




Reference research: business research and law research and travel research and my social page




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research paper topics

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You might be overwhelmed on how to research information for your book. It may be difficult in the beginning to know where to start at or even how to gather information. How to research information for your book is quite simple when you follow some steps. You need to write down a list of all of certain information that you want to be included in your book. Here are five tips on how to research information for your book.

1.Talk to experts. Make sure to put experts on that list to get information from. You want to be able to quote information and check facts with experts. Experts will add more value to the information in your book and also provide you with additional information. They are also great to get to know since you can learn more information from them. You want to write down their names correctly.

2.Get a tape recorder. You want to get a tape recorder when asking experts questions. The tape recorder will help you later on when you putting the information together in your book. It is also important to take notes while talking to the experts, but the tape recorder will help you pick up any information that you may have missed due to the person talking too fast or not being able to write fast enough.

3.Get a digital camera. You want a digital camera to take pictures for your book. A digital camera with pictures also may be able to help you describe something in your book better depending upon what topic your book is about. They are nice to have a picture to look at in order to put words regarding the picture.

4.Go to the library in your city. The library is the perfect way to get information regarding the topic of your book. You can also check current old and new information this way. Your library might be also to order a book for you if you can't find it in the library. Library is a great source to get allot of information for free without having to buy a ton of books. A library usually offers Internet access for free to find additional information. Make sure to check out the college library in your local area too. One thing that is great about a library is that they usually have old copies of newspapers.

5.Talk to neighbors and other people. Depending upon the topic of your book you can learn quite a bit of information from neighbors and other people. People will be glad to tell you information for free just to be able to see their name in your book. If you any people that are professionals in a certain field that you can use that opportunity to talk to them.

When gathering information then please make sure to keep it organized so you can keep track of it better. It may help to have file folders to keep everything separated so it doesn't get all mixed up. Out of all the information in your book the experts are the most important of it all. The experts makes your book hold more weight as far as being more accurate and also contains more knowledge so it is even more helpful to others.




Reference research: research Dr. and home research and sport research and my social page




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research science fair projects

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When you consider starting a business then you need to do a little bit of research. The research will help you see how successful the business would most likely become. You can also find out the small details within a field regarding a business that we often forget or aren't aware of because the business isn't in operation yet. Here are ten ways to help you research a business opportunity.

1. Talk to experts that you know that are already in the field. You need to speak to people that are already in the type of business that you are interested in. You need to ask them questions. You want to know basically how it works from start to finish and any problems that the person may run into. You want to basically know what it is like on a regular basis to run a business. You need to talk to a few people in order to get a more in depth information. You need to speak to the owners of the business instead of just an employee since the owners does know exactly what goes on from day to day in the business.

2. See how profitable it is. You want to make sure that that the type of business that you want to start will make you enough money. The important thing is to consider if it is worth it depending upon how much time and energy you have to put into it. If the other businesses in the area are struggling to keep their doors open each day then it probably isn't a good idea since those other businesses don't generate enough sales or services rendered.

3. Can your company be better than the competition? You need to ask yourself that question. If every person in town always want to go a certain company for a certain item or even service then you need to become better than the competition. You want your customers to think that your company is better than your competition even with excellent customer service and cheap prices.

4. Does the type of business that you are interested in starting require a lot of funding in the beginning? Some companies are cheaper than others to start in the beginning. You need to figure out if you will have enough money for advertising and all the other expenses. You want to have enough money saved in the bank for your personal use too besides money for business. It is important to able to support yourself for basic living expenses along with being able to have enough money for your business too.

5. Will you be able to generate enough sales? Is their enough people in the city or town to offer services or items to the customers? You need to think about it. If your competition doesn't have a website then make sure that you have a business website. You always want to offer the next best thing or something else that they don't offer. If your competition doesn't offer credit accounts then you probably should offer credit accounts to business owners and individuals. You want to be different than your competition. If your competition doesn't advertise on radio then you need to advertise on radio.

You need to go to the city to look all the new companies that have been started recently within the last few years. Make sure to see how many of them ever renewed their business license. Look to see how many companies haven't been successful in the same field that you want to start a business in. You want to see many companies have been successful offering the same type of products or items. The records will give you a general idea of how well your company should succeed.




Reference research: research Dr. and home research and sport research and recent update




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research and development

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Shwachman-Diamond America awards grants up to $10,000 for Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome Research. Some larger grants are also available through this 501 (c) 3 non-profit group. Shwachman-Diamond America not only supports Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome research, but it also supports Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome Education.

Shwachman-Diamond America's Mission:
  • Fund and promote research in all aspects of SDS.
  • Disseminate current medical literature to families and physicians.
  • Help fund the biennial International Congress on SDS.
  • Facilitate the development of a medical management plan.
  • Promote parent education through a family support network.


If you are a researcher and are interested in submitting a grant proposal for an Alex Turnquist Memorial Research Grant, the following are the guidelines:

Shwachman-Diamond America awards Alex Turnquist Memorial Research grants up to $10,000. Grant proposals are accepted throughout the year. SDA does not have a grant request form.

Shwachman-Diamond America requires that the grant proposal be in writing and include the following:
  1. Name of Applicant, Principal investigator, project title and summary of proposed investigation (include specific aims, significance and background, any preliminary studies...)
  2. A detailed description of your hypothesis/hypotheses and proposed methodologies
  3. Relevance of the research to Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome
  4. Biographical information on the principal investigator and co-principal investigator, if relevant
  5. A detailed budget sheet (grants are available up to $10,000)
  6. Statement of facilities available
  7. A starting date for the project


General Conditions for the Awarding of Alex Turnquist Memorial Research Grants:
  1. The board wishes to receive periodic progress reports. They need not be lengthy. These reports will help Shwachman-Diamond America give updates to our donors, allow evaluation of progress by our medical advisor and assist SDA in future fundraising efforts.
  2. Any publications distributed as a result of your research should give proper reference to Shwachman-Diamond America.


You can submit a grant proposal by emailing the Word or PDF file to: shwachmandiamondamerica@embarqmail.com or via regular mail:

Shwachman-Diamond America

931-B South Main Street #332

Kernersville, NC 27284

If you need more information, you can visit the Shwachman-Diamond America website or contact Pattie Curran at 336-423-8158.

What is Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome?

Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome (SDS), first described in 1964, is a rare, genetic (autosomal recessive), multi-systemic disorder affecting the pancreas, bone marrow, and skeleton. The most common symptoms are pancreatic dysfunction (malabsorption), low neutrophil count and short stature. Other organs may also be involved in some SDS patients. Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome affects people differently and not all people with SDS have all of these symptoms. In Infancy, the first symptoms are usually loose, foul smelling, greasy stools and failure to gain weight and grow normally. The pancreas fails to produce the enzymes essential to digest food properly. Because of the exocrine pancreatic dysfunction (malabsorption), the child does not absorb enough nutrients, most commonly the fat-soluble vitamins, to grow and develop normally. Oral enzyme replacement therapy helps these children to digest their food, but many still need to take special vitamin supplements. Improving nutritional status does not necessarily improve the growth of children with Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome.

The bone marrow, where blood cells are produced, is also affected in Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome. White blood cells, which fight infection, are most commonly affected. Neutropenia is the most common hematological abnormality in SDS, though all blood cell lines may be affected. Anemia and blood clotting problems are also common in SDS patients. Because of the bone marrow dysfunction, these children are at a greater risk of developing life-threatening infections. Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome is considered to be a bone marrow failure syndrome, because up to 30% of these children will develop leukemia or aplastic anemia.





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