PhD Research Seminar Series: Writing the Introduction

1. PhD Research Seminar Series:Writing the Introduction Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos

2. Outline • Research: Process of identifying something unknown and collecting data to make it known. • Writing the Introduction • Background • Statement of Problem • Purpose, Research Questions, and Hypotheses • Significance • Theoretical Framework • Operational Definitions • Writing Tips Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos

3. Review • Choose a research focus. • Basic: Test a theory • Applied: Improve practice • Extension: Repeat a previously conducted study with a different sample • Write the conclusion you want to make. • Turn the conclusion into your general research question. • Identify IV and DVs • IV (Independent Variable): Cause • DV (Dependent Variable): Effect Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos

4. Introductory Advice • Tell a story. • Be exhaustive, but don’t be extensive. • Go into great detail on your key variables, but do not include distally related topics. Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos

5. Example Study • The Effect of Goal Setting on Academic Achievement at the University of Jos • DV (Effect) • Academic Achievement • IV (Cause) • Goal Setting Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos

6. Background • Purpose: Provide the rationale for your study. • Include: • Construct definition of your DV • Build a case for why your DV is important • Description of why your DV needs to be somehow changed • Basic: Why is the theory not quite accurate? • Applied: Why does your DV need to improve? • Extension: Why do you think your sample will be different? Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos

7. Background: Example • Construct definition of your DV • Many diverse definitions of academic achievement • Definition in this paper: Knowledge and skills developed primarily by formal schooling (Lohman, 2005). • Build a case for why your DV is important • Academic Achievement is related to many future variables: university performance, job performance, etc. • Description of why your DV needs to be somehow changed • Applied: Why should the DV improve? • Want to improve our society, and academic achievement is related to many positive variables. Should continue to find ways to improve academic achievement. Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos

8. Statement of Problem • Purpose: State the problem you hope to fix. • Include: • How do you think you can fix the problem? • Why do you think your solution will work? • Briefly explain the methods you will use to try to fix the problem. Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos

9. Statement of Problem: Example • How do you think you can fix the problem? • Why do you think your solution will work? • Goal setting theory states that setting goals improves performance. Think can improve academic achievement by providing a short seminar on how to set goals and providing time for students to set goals. Will work because previous studies have established relationship between goal setting and performance in many other domains. • Explain methods you will use to fix the problem. • Have treatment and control groups. Treatment will take a seminar on goal setting, during which will set goals for the ed psych class. Then compare final grades of treatment and control groups. Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos

10. Purpose, Research Questions, and Hypotheses • Purpose: Describe the answers you hope to ascertain from your study • Include: • Direct relationship between each Purpose, Research Question, and Hypothesis. • Purpose: Statement of the problem • Research Question: Only for descriptive questions • Null Hypothesis: No significant difference between IV groups on DV • Correlational: No significant relationship between variables Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos

11. Purpose, Research Questions, and Hypotheses: Example Research Question Purpose Hypothesis There is no significant difference between students who set goals and those who do not on academic performance. Do students have higher academic achievement when they set goals or when they do not set goals? Determine whether goal setting improves academic achievement. There is no significant difference between students who do and do not attend a goal setting seminar on the quality of their goals. Do students who have a goal setting seminar set better goals before or after the seminar? Determine whether a seminar on goal setting improves the quality of goals that students set. Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos

12. Significance • Purpose: Describe how your study will influence theory and practice • Include: • Summary from your Background of why the DV is important • How practice or theory will change based on the results of your study Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos

13. Significance: Example • Summary from Background of why the DV is important • A good way to improve society is to improve academic achievement • How practice or theory will change based on the results of your study • Practically: Since academic achievement is related to job performance, if improve academic achievement, also likely improve future job performance • Theoretically: Test goal-setting theory to determine whether the theory generalizes to a Nigerian context Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos

14. Theoretical Framework • Purpose: Connect your research study to the already-existing body of knowledge • Include: • The theory that you think best describes the behavior of your DV • Basic: The theory you want to refute • Applied: The theory that says that your treatment will improve your DV • Extension: The theory that says that your sample will be different than the original sample Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos

15. Theoretical Framework: Example • The theory that you think best describes the behavior of your DV • Applied: The theory that says that your treatment will improve your DV • Theory of Goal-setting by Locke and Latham (2002)  Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation • Describes how goal setting works and what makes a good goal Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos

16. Construct vs. Operational Definitions • Construct Definition: Explanation of your construct by relating it to other constructs • Operational Definition: Statement of specifically how the construct will be measured or implemented in your study Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos

17. Construct vs. Operational Definitions WAEC Scores Final Course Exam AcademicAchievement NECO Scores State Exams Self-Report on IM Questionnaire Intrinsic Motivation Behavioral Observations Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos

18. Construct vs. Operational Definitions Weekly one-hour lessons on number sense for four months Teaching Intervention Bi-weekly one-hour meetings with other bereaved adults focused on discussing loneliness Group Counseling Two morning seminars that introduce key principles of PowerPoint Technology Workshop Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos

19. Construct vs. Operational Definitions Self-Report of Parents’ Yearly Income Economic Status Free/Reduced Lunch Eligibility Performance on Literacy Test Illiteracy Self-Report of Reading Ability Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos

20. Construct vs. Operational Definitions Any person who attends school Student Secondary school and above Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos

21. Operational Definitions: Example • Dependent Variables • Academic Achievement: Final course grade in Educational Psychology course • Quality of Goal: Rating from 1 (Low) to 5 (High) by an independent judge on two dimensions: difficulty and specificity • Independent Variables • Goal: The outcome that the student hopes to accomplish for their course grade in Educational Psychology. • Goal-setting seminar: A two hour PowerPoint presentation on setting quality goals. Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos

22. Writing Tips • Give a construct definition for every psychological term you use. • Explicitly state how each theory or concept you write about directly relates to your study. • Be specific! • Avoid vague words like it, this Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos

23. Writing Tips • Be generous with providing examples • Examples make an abstract concept more concrete. • Examples help examiners know that you understand what you are writing. Even though preschoolers successfully solve quantitative tasks that require either the exclusive use of verbal counting or nonnumerical quantitative skills, they appear incapable of solving tasks that require both of these abilities at the same time (Resnick, 1989; Siegler & Robinson, 1982). For example, preschoolers have difficulty answering the question “Which is bigger, 9 or 5?” Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos

24. Writing Tips • Re-read and Revise • Re-re-read and Revise • Re-re-re-read and Revise • Re-re-re-re-read and Revise • Re-re-re-re-re-read and Revise • Re-re-re-re-re-re-read and Revise • Re-re-re-re-re-re-re-read and Revise • Re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-read and Revise Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos

25. Technical Writing Tips: APA Style • Acronyms: University of Jos (UJ) • Only give the acronym if you will repeat the phrase many times throughout your paper. • If you only use the phrase once, do not give the acronym • If you use the phrase multiple times, explain the acronym once. Thereafter, always use the acronym. • The University of Jos (UJ) is located in Jos, Plateau State. Prof. Andzayi is the dean of the Faculty of Education at UJ. Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos

26. Technical Writing Tips: APA Style • Numbers • NEVER spell out and give the numeral for a number. • There were ten (10) students. • Always spell the first number in a sentence. • Fifteen chickens crossed the road. • If the sentence contains only numbers below ten, spell out all numbers. • There were nine plates of jollof rice and five pieces of chicken. • If the sentence contains a number greater than ten, write the numeral for every number in the sentence (except when the first word is a number, in which case spell it out). • Eleven students attended the retreat, as well as 15 workers and 5 retirees. Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos