Constraint in Research Reading Levels of Constraint in

Constraint in Research + Reading

Levels of Constraint in Research • • • Naturalistic observation Case-study method Correlational research Differential research Experimental research

Naturalistic observation • Involves observing the natural flow of behavior in a natural setting – No effort to control the behavior – Often no strong hypotheses going into the study • A flexible strategy – Allows the researcher to shift attention to behaviors that seem interesting

Case-study method • Slightly higher constraint • Some intervention by the researcher to structure the setting and observations – Asking questions – Setting up situations or tasks • Typically studying a single individual

Correlational Research • Measuring the direction and strength of a relationship between variables – Must be at least two variables – Variables must be measured consistently (that is, measurement is constrained) • Established relationships can be used to predict future events

Differential Research • Concerned with evaluating differences between existing groups – Groups defined by preexisting variables – Group composition is outside of researcher’s control • Interpreting group differences takes skill, knowledge, and caution

Experimental Research • Comparing two or more conditions – Participants are assigned randomly to the conditions – Therefore, group differences are due to the impact of the conditions • The highest level of constraint

Where is You research work?

HOW TO READ RESEARCH PAPERS ?

How to Read? • Your time is limited • You need to optimize your time to get the maximum information • You need to organize your reading behavior • The main question that you must ask What information do I need from the paper and where can I find this information ? • Before you start, ask yourself • Why am I reading the paper for? • How much do I know about the subject?

General Paper Structure • Abstract • Describes the main idea of the paper in one paragraph • Introduction • Provides more details about the paper idea and its importance • Related Work • Describes and evaluates other research in the area and • System or Model • Describes the system model and assumptions • Results and Evaluation • Displays results from simulation or experiments • Evaluates results and compares to existing work • Conclusions • Summarizes the main findings • References • Bibliography

Highlight as you Read • WHY? • To emphasize important statements • To feel more comfortable when you read it next time • If you read it after many months, it would seem familiar to you

• Do Not try to understand all the work in one readings. • Especially the math! • Pay attention to figures • What data is presented? • How do they perform? • Look for simulation and experiments setups

Read the paper in stages • First reading • Read the abstract only. If it is not interesting to your work. STOP! • Second reading • Read the abstract (again) • Read the Introduction • Scan the math models or algorithm designing methodlogy • Look at figures and tables • Read the conclusion

Read the paper in stages • Third time • Read the Introduction (again) • Study the math in more details (do not need to understand fully) • Read the simulation and experiments setup • Study and analyze the figures and results • Read the literature review • Fourth ++ • Focus on the interesting parts and understand the details

Questions to Ask • What is the problem at hand? • What did other researchers do before? How does it differ? • How is the problem resolved in this paper? • What technique was used to solve the problem? • What results were presented? • How was the solution evaluated?

Evaluating Papers • Component parts of a research article – Introduction – Methods – Results – Discussion – References • Evaluating a research article

Research Paper • Preliminary Information – – • Introduction – – • Background information and literature review Rationale for study Problem statement (purpose statement) Hypotheses or research questions Methods – – • Title Authors and organization affiliation Acknowledgements (if any) Abstract Participants Instrumentation Procedures Statistical Analysis Results – Presentation of data • Discussion – Conclusions – Recommendations • • References Appendix (if appropriate)

Preliminary Information • Title – Usually ~15 words – Important for indexing (NLM) • Authors’ names and affiliations – Contact info for corresponding author • Acknowledgements – Can also be at the very end of the paper – People who helped, funding agencies

Preliminary Information • Abstract – Typically 30 - 90 words long (Four Statements) – Contains very brief summaries of each section of the “full text” article: • • • Introductory Statement (if any) Purpose Statement Abbreviated Methods Abbreviated Results Conclusion and Application Statement

Preliminary Information • Key Words – Important for indexing (NLM)

Introduction • Background Information – Purpose of Intro is to “build a case” – Well-written Intro contains: • • • Definitions of concepts and terms Review of relevant literature Statement of the Research Problem Purpose Statement Hypotheses

How to Identify Purpose Statement • Look near the end of the Intro • Look for phrases like: – “The purpose of this study was…” – “This study was designed to…” – “This investigation sought to…” – “The present study explored…” – “The primary aim of this experiment was…”

How to Identify Hypotheses • Look near the end of the Intro or in a special section designated as “Research Questions” or “Approach to the Problem” • Look for phrases like: – “Based on previous studies, ___ was expected to…” – “We hypothesized that…”

Methods • Required components: – – Subjects or Participants Instrumentation Procedures Statistical Analysis • Optional components: – Research Design – Variables (independent and dependent) – Validity and Reliability • Concept of Methods: – Readers must be able to replicate this study if desired.

Instrumentation • Each piece of equipment used to collect data – Name brand, manufacturer, city, state – User manuals – Specific procedures for using each piece of equipment • Readers must be able to replicate

Procedures • Precise description of any/all interventions (step-by-step) – Exercise testing and/or training – Nutrition consumption – Time of day – …everything necessary for replication

Statistical Analysis • What specific statistical models were used to analyze the data? – – Descriptive T-tests ANOVAs Regression (linear, nonlinear, polynomial) • Effect size and power estimation procedures • A priori type I error rate (alpha) – α=0. 05

Research Design • What design was used to conduct this study? – Cross-sectional or longitudinal – Within-subjects or between-subjects – Cross-over, counterbalanced – Repeated measures or randomized block design (Keppel, 1991) – Double-blind, single-blind

Results • A very brief section • Can often be done in its entirety by a Table or Figure or both • Presentation of the data • Explanation of the decomposition of the statistical models • Reporting the type I error rates • Reporting the mean values, SD, SEM, % change, and effect sizes

Discussion • Purpose is to summarize the results and interpret them relative to the field of study – Each paragraph or subsection of the discussion deals with one or two dependent variables • • • Brief re-statement of what others have found Summary of what the present article found Authors’ interpretation/integration of the findings Hypothesize regarding the findings Recommend or apply Suggest extensions • Discussion usually ends in a Conclusive paragraph

Reference List • Some journals limit references to 30 or 40 – Usually due to page limits • Review articles often have 100 -200 references • Need to be in the format indicated by the “Instructions for Authors”

Instructions for Authors • Every journal must have instructions for potential authors – Some journals are more definitive than others • ECN, JSCR, RQES – 1 page instructions • JAP, MSSE, new JSCR - ~12 -15 page instructions

Definitions of Terms • Manuscript: – Research paper that is being written or has been written and submitted for publication, but is not yet published • Article: – Published research manuscript

Evaluating a Research Article Critique

Criteria for Article Critiques • Some journals provide their criteria for potential authors to review BEFORE they submit • Table 6. 9 (next slide) • Table 6. 10 – Excellent checklist

SYNTHESIZING INFORMATION

What is Synthesis? • Evaluate • Read the collected information • Highlight strengths and weaknesses of collected research • Compare work among various researchers • Identify knowledge gaps • Summarize • Create a summary of previous work • Give a broad perspective that relates to your work • Focus on the essential and relevant research to your work • Organize • Write your summary in an organized manner

Synthesis • Integrate: published ideas and put them in a logical framework • Clarify: concepts that were presented in published work • Introduce: a new look into the subject • Show: a critical perspective • Indicate: how you see the current state of research in the area • Identify: gaps in published research

Organize collected information • Electronic Copies • Create main folder on your Computer • Create sub-folders as needed • Download papers into relevant folders • Name each as its paper title

Organize collected information • Paper Copies • Print abstracts and put in folder • Read & highlight abstracts as soon as you print them • Print ‘interesting’ articles • Read • Highlight • Organize in folder