REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

By Misbah Rehman.
M.Phil. Education
Department of Education
University of Karachi.
 

INTRODUCTION

            For any worthwhile study in any field of knowledge the research worker needs an adequate familiarity with library and its many resources. Only then will an effective search for specialized knowledge be possible. The search for reference material is time consuming but very fruitful phase of a research program. Every investigator must know what sources are available in his field of inquiry, which of them he is likely to use and where and how to find them.

            In the field of education, as in other field too, the research    worker need to acquire up to date information about what has been thought and in particular area from which he intends to take up a problem for research. But it is found that generally the extent of important, up to date information regarding educational research and ideas possessed by educational worker is very limited.

            Availability of adequate information and possession of sufficient familiarity with it, how ever are not one and the same thing. Availability of adequate information about educational thought and research does not by itself result in possession of its knowledge by the researcher. The researcher must apply himself keenly to the task. On the other hand a researcher may be very keen to possess up to date information regarding his field, and may try hard to be posted up to date, and yet fail to get enough information due to the non existence of sources of such information.  

What is a review of the literature?

A literature review is an account of what has been published on a topic by accredited scholars and researchers. Occasionally you will be asked to write one as a separate assignment (sometimes in the form of an annotated bibliography), but more often it is part of the introduction to an essay, research report, or thesis. In writing the literature review, your purpose is to convey to your reader what knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic, and what their strengths and weaknesses are. As a piece of writing, the literature review must be defined by a guiding concept (e.g., your research objective, the problem or issue you are discussing or your argumentative thesis). It is not just a descriptive list of the material available, or a set of summaries

Besides enlarging your knowledge about the topic, writing a literature review lets you gain and demonstrate skills in two areas

1. information seeking: the ability to scan the literature efficiently, using manual or computerized methods, to identify a set of useful articles and books
2. Critical appraisal: the ability to apply principles of analysis to identify unbiased and valid studies.

DEFINITIONS OF LITERATURE REVIEW

According to L.R.Gay,

The review of related literature involves the systematic identification, location, and analysis of document containing information related to the research problem.

According to John W.Creswell

A literature review is a written summary of journal articles, books, and other documents that describes the past and current state of information; organizes the literature into topics; and documents need for a proposed study.

The process of reading, analyzing, evaluating, and summarizing scholarly materials about a specific topic.

 http://grammar.about.com/od/il/g/literaturereviewterm.htm

A literature review is a body of text that aims to review the critical points of current knowledge including substantive findings as well as theoretical and methodological contributions to a particular topic.

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literature_review

Literature Reviews Vary at Different Stages of the Study:

1. Preliminary Literature Review - helps to phrase foreshadowed problem statements and to develop a theoretical frame,

2. Annotated Bibliography - a way to remind oneself of the literature surveyed

3. Extensive Literature Review - a theoretically framed in-depth review of all relevant literature to the study 

PURPOSES:

• It provides a theoretical background to the study.
• It reviews the means by which researcher establishes the link between what he is proposing to examine and what has already been studied. In simple words, it helps to refine research methodology.
• Through the literature review researcher are able to show his finding has contributing to existing body of knowledge in his profession.
• It enables researcher to contextualize his findings
• The literature review demonstrate the under lying assumptions (i.e. proposition) behind the research question that are the central of research proposal.
• The literature review provides the researcher with an opportunity to identify the gaps that may exist in the body of literature and to provide a rationale for how the proposed study may contribute to the existing body of knowledge.
• The literature review helps the researcher to refine the researcher questions and embed them in guiding hypotheses that provide possible directions the researcher may follow.

SOURCES OF LITERATURE:

There are generally two types of sources.

1. Primary sources literature

2. Secondary sources literature

PRIMARY SOURCE LITERATURE:

Primary source literature consists of literature reported by the individual(s) who actually conducted the research or who originated the ideas. Or we can say that direct source of information. Following are the types of direct source.

1. Periodical literature found in journals,
2. Books, monographs, yearbooks and bulletins,
3. Graduate, doctoral and other theses ,and
4. Certain miscellaneous sources-like government publications on education.

 SECONDARY SOURCE LITERATURE:

Secondary source literature, however, is literature that summarizes primary sources. It does not represent material published by original researcher or the creator of the idea. These sources also called indirect source of information.

1. Encyclopedia of education.
2. Education indexes.
3. Educational abstracts.
4. Bibliographies and directories.
5. Bibliographical references
6. Quotation sources
7. Miscellaneous other sources.

 Typically researcher will locate both primary and secondary sources. But it is best to report mostly primary sources. Primary sources present the literature in the original state and present the view point of the original author. Primary sources also provide the detail of original research better than secondary sources. Secondary sources are helpful as researcher begin his review, to explore and determine the range of material on a topic.

  How useful are the following sources?

Journal articles: these are good especially for up-to-date information. Bear in mind, though, that it can take up to two years to publish articles. They are frequently used in literature reviews because they offer a relatively concise, up-to-date format for research, and because all reputable journals are refereed (i.e. editors publish only the most relevant and reliable research).

Books: books tend to be less up-to-date as it takes longer for a book to be published than for a journal article. Text books are unlikely to be useful for including in your literature review as they are intended for teaching, not for research, but they do offer a good starting point from which to find more detailed sources.

Conference proceedings: these can be useful in providing the latest research, or research that has not been published. They are also helpful in providing information on which people are currently involved in which research areas, and so can be helpful in tracking down other work by the same researchers.

Government/corporate reports: many government departments and      corporations commission or carry out research. Their published findings can          provide a useful source of information, depending on your field of study.

Newspapers: since newspapers are generally intended for a general (not specialized) audience, the information they provide will be of very limited use for your literature review. Often newspapers are more helpful as providers of information about recent trends, discoveries or changes, e.g. announcing changes in government policy, but you should then search for more detailed information in other sources.

Theses and dissertations: these can be useful sources of information. However there are disadvantages: 1) they can be difficult to obtain since they are not published, but are generally only available from the library shelf or through inter library loan; 2) the student who carried out the research may not be an experienced researcher and therefore you might have to treat their findings with more caution than published research.

Internet: the fastest-growing source of information is on the Internet. It is impossible to characterize the information available but here are some hints about using electronic sources: 1) bear in mind that anyone can post information on the Internet so the quality may not be reliable, 2) the information you find may be intended for a general audience and so not be                 

suitable for inclusion in your literature review (information for a general audience is usually less detailed) and 3) more and more refereed electronic journals (e-journals) are appearing on the Internet - if they are refereed it means that there is an editorial board that evaluates the work before publishing it in their e-journal, so the quality should be more reliable (depending on the reputation of the journal).

CD-ROMS: at the moment, few CR-ROMs provide the kind of specialized, detailed information about academic research that you need for your own research since most are intended for a general audience. However, more and more bibliographies are being put onto CD-ROM for use in academic libraries, so they can be a very valuable tool in searching for the information you need.

Magazines: magazines intended for a general audience (e.g. Time) are unlikely to be useful in providing the sort of information you need. Specialized magazines may be more useful (for example business magazines for management students) but usually magazines are not useful for your research except as a starting point by providing news or general information about new discoveries, policies, etc. that you can further research in more specialized sources.

CONDUCTING A LITERATURE REVIEW:

Conducting a literature review follows a basic set of steps.

1. Identifying and make a list of keywords to guide search.
2. Using keywords, locate primary and secondary sources that pertain to research topic.
3. Evaluate sources for quality
4. Abstracting
5. Analyzing, organizing and reporting the literature.

1. IDENTIFYING AND MAKE LIST OF KEYWORDS TO GUIDE SEARCH:

            Most sources have alphabetical subject indexes to help researcher to locate information on topic. A list of keywords should guide literature search.

2. IDENTIFYING THE SOURCES:

A good way to start a review of related literature is with a narrow search of pertinent educational encyclopedias, handbooks and annual reviews found in libraries. These resources provide broad over views of issues in various subject area.                                                                                                                         A. searching for books on related topic in the library.                                              B. consulting computer database: the electronic catalog found in a library is an example of a database. A sort able, analyzable collection of units of information maintained on a computer. ERIC is the world’s largest database on education and is used by more than 500,000 people each year.                                           C. searching the internet and the World Wide Web: the internet links organizations and individuals all over the world. The World Wide Web is on the internet. To access the internet, need a computer with modem or cable line and a browser that connects to the web.

3. EVALUATING SOURCES: It is important to evaluate all literature sources by asking, what was the problem statement of the study? Where was the source published? When was the study conducted? And how was the study conducted?  

4. COMPARISON ACROSS STUDIES: The aim is to extract key points by comparing and contrasting ACROSS studies, instead of reading one paper after another.
Key points for a review may concern areas of similarities and/or differences in:

• Research aim(s) or hypotheses
• Research design and sampling
• Instruments and procedures used
• How data were analyzed
• Results or findings
• Interpretations

5. ABSTRACTING:    Abstracting involves creating summaries by locating, reviewing, summarizing and classifying the references. The main advantage of beginning with the latest reference on topic is that the most recent studies are likely to have profited from previous research. References in recent studies often contain references to previous studies which researcher has not yet identified. For each source work, list the complete bibliographic record; including author’s name, date of publication, title, journal name or book title, volume number ,issue number, page numbers and library call number. Briefly list main ideas. Put quotations marks around quotes taken from the source, and include page numbers. Keep all references in the format required for research report or dissertation.

6. ANALYZING, ORGANIZING AND REPORTING THE RESEARCH: The final step is actually writing review. Writing strategies at this point include using appropriate style manual formats and developing headings for the written literature review. Researcher need to consider the extent or length of the review for different types of research report. For journal articles, dissertations and theses, a thematic literature review summaries the literature by themes.       Researcher conclude a literature review by summarizing major themes and presenting reasons lead to a rationale for a study that builds naturally into the purpose statement and research questions or hypotheses.

How does a literature review differ from other assignments?

The review, like other forms of expository writing, has an introduction, body and conclusion, well-formed paragraphs, and a logical structure. However, in other kinds of expository writing, you use relevant literature to support the discussion of your thesis; in a literature review, the literature itself is the subject of discussion.

 But how is a literature review different from an academic research paper?

The main focus of an academic research paper is to develop a new argument, and a research paper will contain a literature review as one of its parts. In a research paper, you use the literature as a foundation and as support for a new insight that you contribute. The focus of a literature review, however, is to summarize and synthesize the arguments and ideas of others without adding new contributions.

Qualities of a Literature Review:

 A literature review is the effective evaluation of selected documents on a research topic. A review may form an essential part of the research process or may constitute a research project in itself. In the context of a research paper or thesis the literature review is a critical synthesis of previous research. The evaluation of the literature leads logically to the research question.

1. A good literature review is a synthesis of available research.                               2. A good literature review has a critical evaluation.                                               3. A good literature review has appropriate breadth and depth.
4. A good literature review has clarity and conciseness.
5. A good literature review uses rigorous and consistent methods

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. A.I.O.U, Educational Research, course code 837

2. Creswell W. John, Educational Research, third edition, Merrill prentice hall

3. Gay L.R, Educational Research, ninth edition,

4. Kumar Ranjit, Research Methodology, second edition, Dorling Kindersley India pvt ltd

5.http://writingcenter.unc.edu/resources/handouts-demos/specific-writing-assignments/literature-reviews

6. http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/specific-types-of-writing/literature-review

7. http://grammar.about.com/od/il/g/literaturereviewterm.htm

8. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literature_review

9. http://explorations.sva.psu.edu/lapland/LitRev/litrev.htm

Abstract writing

By Sadaf Naz
 M.Phil, Department of Education 
University of Karachi

What is an abstract?

An abstract should be viewed as a mini-version of the paper. The Abstract should provide a brief summary of the paper. Introduction, material and methods, results and discussion are the main sections of the abstract. As Houghton (1975) put it, “An abstract can be defined as a summary of the information in a document.”

“A well prepared abstract enables readers to identify the basic content of a document quickly and accurately, to determine its relevance to their interests and thus to decide whether they need to read the document in it’s entirely.” (American national standards institute, 1979)

An abstract should not exceed 250 words and should be designed to define clearly what is dealt with in the paper. The abstract should be typed in a single paragraph.

Most of the abstracts should be written in the past tense, because it refers to that work which is done. Abstract is complete but concise description of your work therefore it should be brief overview of: introduction, methods & results, discussion, conclusion. References to the literature must not be cited in the Abstract. (Robert A. Day, 1996)

Format of Research Abstract

As per APA style manuscript, Abstract should cover following parts.

n      Introduction

1.      Topic

2.      Purpose/objectives

3.      Scope

4.      Literature view

n      Methodology

n      Results

n      Conclusions

In Introduction, Title of research work with 10-12 words in length should be included. Aims, Scope and significance should also be included but it should not exceed more then two lines.

While describing the Methodology, population, tools for data collection and type of applied test should be written clearly. But remember! It should only be of one or two sentences, which describes that how did you go about solving the problem?

Results should be summarized in one or two sentences, which describe the answers of questions without providing the details.

Last 1 or 2 lines should describe the Conclusion. Is should focus on the findings and implication as well as the recommendation by the researcher.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

When writing the Abstract, examine every word carefully. Of you can tell whole story just in 100 words, don not use 200. Scientifically, it doesn’t make sense to waste words.  It gives more importance to your abstract, to use clear words and easy to understand terms, whereas the use of abstruse and typical and technical terms likely to provoke to send in the box.

Intel ISEF Sample Research Project Prospectus

Title:  Name:  Institution:

Purpose of research  In a sentence of 25 words or fewer, explain the reason for your research project or a    hypothesis you have selected to test.

Methods of research  Explain in a sentence or two how you plan to research your topic.  What methods will you use?  What resources will you need?

Data/Observations  Determine what data you need to collect and what difficulties you may encounter as you research.

Conclusions/Applications  Explain in a sentence or two what results you anticipate your research will produce.   What conclusions or applications do you hope to be able to explain?

Sample Abstract

Purpose – This study is one in a series which aims to examine the theories of actions developed and internalized by school principals that help them serve as successful leaders in the tumultuous accountability climate. The dearth of recent empirical research focusing on best practices of successful school principals in a post-NCLB nation sets the tone for and drives the study.

Methodology – An inductive exploratory study was designed to provide insight into how successful elementary school principals facilitate high levels of student achievement. The research was grounded by allowing principals to talk about what their actual practices as leaders.

Results – The principals provided a wealth of information that helped to identify common themes of practice across all 12 participants. The following categories represent the central themes: leadership with data; honesty and relationships; fostering ownership and collaboration; recognizing and developing leadership; and instructional awareness and involvement.

Conclusion – This study identified vital practices of successful elementary leaders that enabled them to facilitate high levels of student achievement and to dispel any notions that success is not possible in a high stakes environment. Interviews with the principals identified common themes of practice that, when collectively utilized, have led to high student achievement.

Qualities of a Good Abstract

Ø      It uses one or more well developed paragraphs. These paragraphs are unified, coherent, concise, and able to stand alone.

Ø      It uses an introduction, body and conclusion, which presents the article or report's purpose, results, conclusions and recommendations in that order.

Ø      It follows strictly the chronology of the article, paper, or report.

Ø      It provides logical connections between the information included.

Ø      It adds no new information, but simply summarizes the report.

Ø      It is understandable to a wide audience.

Ø      It often uses passive verbs to downplay the author but to emphasize the information.

Steps for Writing Effective Abstracts

To write an effective abstract, follow these steps:

1. Reread the article, paper, or report with the goal of abstracting in mind.
2. Look specifically for these main parts of the article, paper, or report:

Ø     Purpose

Ø     Methods

Ø     Scope

Ø     Results

Ø     Conclusions

Ø     Recommendation.

3. Use the headings, outline heads and table of contents as a guide to writing your abstract.

4. If you're writing an abstract about another person's article, paper, or report, the introduction and the summary are good places to begin.

5. After finished rereading the article, paper, or report, write a rough draft without looking back at the material (what you're abstracting).

6. Don't merely copy key sentences from the article, paper, or report: you'll put in too much or too little information.

7. Don't rely on the way material was phrased in the article, paper, or report: summarize information in a new way.

 Reference

• Robert A. Day, How to write and publish a scientific paper, Fourth edition, 1996, Cambridge University Press
• Creswell Johan W., Educational Research, Third Edition, New Jercy
• Adams John, Khan Hafiz, Raeside Robert, White David, Research Methods for social science students, 2007, Response books, New Delhi
• Barry W. Hamilton, Tips for writing a good Abstract  http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/bizwrite/abstracts.html
• LEO: Literacy Education Online, Writing Abstracts

       http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/bizwrite/abstracts.html

Reliability & Validity

We often think of reliability and validity as separate ideas but, in fact, they're related to each other. Here, I want to show you two ways you can think about their relationship.
One of my favorite metaphors for the relationship between reliability is that of the target. Think of the center of the target as the concept that you are trying to measure. Imagine that for each person you are measuring, you are taking a shot at the target. If you measure the concept perfectly for a person, you are hitting the center of the target. If you don't, you are missing the center. The more you are off for that person, the further you are from the center.

The figure above shows four possible situations. In the first one, you are hitting the target consistently, but you are missing the center of the target. That is, you are consistently and systematically measuring the wrong value for all respondents. This measure is reliable, but no valid (that is, it's consistent but wrong). The second, shows hits that are randomly spread across the target. You seldom hit the center of the target but, on average, you are getting the right answer for the group (but not very well for individuals). In this case, you get a valid group estimate, but you are inconsistent. Here, you can clearly see that reliability is directly related to the variability of your measure. The third scenario shows a case where your hits are spread across the target and you are consistently missing the center. Your measure in this case is neither reliable nor valid. Finally, we see the "Robin Hood" scenario -- you consistently hit the center of the target. Your measure is both reliable and valid (I bet you never thought of Robin Hood in those terms before).
Another way we can think about the relationship between reliability and validity is shown in the figure below. Here, we set up a 2x2 table. The columns of the table indicate whether you are trying to measure the same or different concepts. The rows show whether you are using the same or different methods of measurement. Imagine that we have two concepts we would like to measure, student verbal and math ability. Furthermore, imagine that we can measure each of these in two ways. First, we can use a written, paper-and-pencil exam (very much like the SAT or GRE exams). Second, we can ask the student's classroom teacher to give us a rating of the student's ability based on their own classroom observation.

 

The first cell on the upper left shows the comparison of the verbal written test score with the verbal written test score. But how can we compare the same measure with itself? We could do this by estimating the reliability of the written test through a test-retest correlation, parallel forms, or an internal consistency measure. What we are estimating in this cell is the reliability of the measure.
The cell on the lower left shows a comparison of the verbal written measure with the verbal teacher observation rating. Because we are trying to measure the same concept, we are looking at convergent validity.
The cell on the upper right shows the comparison of the verbal written exam with the math written exam. Here, we are comparing two different concepts (verbal versus math) and so we would expect the relationship to be lower than a comparison of the same concept with itself (e.g., verbal versus verbal or math versus math). Thus, we are trying to discriminate between two concepts and we would consider this discriminant validity.
Finally, we have the cell on the lower right. Here, we are comparing the verbal written exam with the math teacher observation rating. Like the cell on the upper right, we are also trying to compare two different concepts (verbal versus math) and so this is a discriminant validity estimate. But here, we are also trying to compare two different methods of measurement (written exam versus teacher observation rating). So, we'll call this very discriminant to indicate that we would expect the relationship in this cell to be even lower than in the one above it.
The four cells incorporate the different values that we examine in the multitrait-multimethod approach to estimating construct validity.
When we look at reliability and validity in this way, we see that, rather than being distinct, they actually form a continuum. On one end is the situation where the concepts and methods of measurement are the same (reliability) and on the other is the situation where concepts and methods of measurement are different (very discriminant validity).

Validity in Research Design

by Tariq on January 2, 2009

Conclusions drawn from analyzing survey data are only acceptable to the degree to which they are determined valid.  Validity is used to determine whether research measures what it intended to measure and to approximate the truthfulness of the results. Researchers often use their own definition when it comes to what is considered valid.  In quantitative research testing for validity and reliability is a given.  However some qualitative researchers have gone so far as to suggest that validity does not apply to their research even as they acknowledge the need for some qualifying checks or measures in their work.  This is wrong.   To disregard validity is to put the trustworthiness of your work in question and to call into question others confidence in its results.   Even when qualitative measures are used in research they need to be looked at using measures of reliability and validity in order to sustain the trustworthiness of the results.  Validity and reliability make the difference between “good” and “bad” research reports. Quality research depends on a commitment to testing and increasing the validity as well as the reliability of your research results.

Any research worth its weight is concerned with whether what is being measured is what is intended to be measured and considers the ways in which observations are influenced by the circumstances in which they are made.   The basis of how our conclusions are made play an important role in addressing the broader substantive issues of any given study. For this reason we are going to look at various validity types that have been formulated as a part of legitimate research methodology.

Face Validity
This is the least scientific method of validity as it is not quantified using statistical methods.  This is not validity in a technical sense of the term.  It is concerned with whether it seems like we measure what we claim.  Here we look at how valid a measure appears on the surface and make subjective judgments based off of that.  For example,  if you give a survey that appears to be valid to the respondent and the questions are selected because they look valid to the administer.   The administer asks a group of random people, untrained observers,  if the questions appear valid to them.  In research its never sufficient to rely on face judgments alone and more quantifiable methods of validity are necessary in order to draw acceptable conclusions.  There are many instruments of measurement to consider so face validity is useful in cases where you need to distinguish one approach over another.  Face validity should never be trusted on its own merits.

Content Validity
This is also a subjective measure but unlike face validity we ask whether the content of a measure covers the full domain of the content. If a researcher wanted to measure introversion they would have to first decide what constitutes a relevant domain of content for that trait.  This is considered a subjective form of measurement because it still relies on people’s perception for measuring constructs that would otherwise be difficult to measure.   Where it distinguishes itself is through its use of experts in the field or individuals belonging to a target population.  This study can be made more objective through the use of rigorous statistical tests.  For example you could have a content validity study that informs researchers how items used in a survey represent their content domain, how clear they are, and the extent to which they maintain the theoretical factor structure assessed by the factor analysis.

Construct Validity
A construct represents a collection of behaviors that are associated in a meaningful way to create an image or an idea invented for a research purpose.  Depression is a construct that represents a personality trait which manifests itself in behaviors such as over sleeping, loss of appetite, difficulty concentrating, etc.  The existence of a construct is manifest by observing the collection of related indicators.  Any one sign may be associated with several constructs.  A person with difficulty concentrating may have A.D.D. but not depression.  Construct validity is the degree to which inferences can be made from operationalizations(connecting concepts to observations) in your study to the constructs on which those operationalizations are based.  To establish construct validity you must first provide evidence that your data supports the theoretical structure.  You must also show that you control the operationalization of the construct, in other words, show that your theory has some correspondence with reality.

• Convergent Validity - the degree to which an operation is similar to other operations it should theoretically be similar to.
• Discriminative Validity - if a scale adequately differentiates itself or does not differentiate between groups that should differ or not differ based on theoretical reasons or previous research.
• Nomological Network - representation of the constructs of interest in a study, their observable manifestations, and the interrelationships among and between these.  According to Cronbach and Meehl,  a nomological network has to be developed for a measure in order for it to have construct validity
• Multitrait-Multimethod Matrix - six major considerations when examining Construct Validity according to Campbell and Fiske.  This includes evaluations of the convergent validity and discriminative validity.  The others are trait method unit, multi-method/trait, truley different methodology, and trait characteristics.

Internal Validity
This refers to the extent to which the independent variable can accurately be stated to produce the observed effect.  If the effect of the dependent variable is only due to the independent variable(s) then internal validity is achieved. This is the degree to which a result can be manipulated.

Statistical Conclusion Validity
A determination of whether a relationship or co-variation exists between cause and effect variables.   Requires ensuring adequate sampling procedures,  appropriate statistical tests, and reliable measurement procedures. This is the degree to which a conclusion is credible or believable.

External Validity
This refers to the extent to which the results of a study can be generalized beyond the sample. Which is to say that you can apply your findings to other people and settings.   Think of this as the degree to which a result can be generalized.

Criterion-Related Validity
Can alternately be referred to as Instrumental Validity. The accuracy of a measure is demonstrated by comparing it with a measure that has been demonstrated to be valid.  In other words, correlations with other measures that have known validity. For this to work you must know that the criterion has been measured well.  And be aware that appropriate criteria do not always exist.  What you are doing is checking the performance of your operationalization against a criteria.  The criteria you use as a standard of judgment accounts for the different approaches you would use:

• Predictive Validity - operationalization’s ability to predict what it is theoretically able to predict.  The extent to which a measure predicts expected outcomes.
• Concurrent Validity - operationalization’s ability to distinguish between groups it theoretically should be able to.  This is where a test correlates well with a measure that has been previously validated.

When we look at validity in survey data we are asking whether the data represents what we think it should represent.  We depend on the respondent’s mind set and attitude in order to give us valid data.  In other words we depend on them to answer all questions honestly and conscientiously.  We also depend on whether they are able to answer the questions that we ask.  When questions are asked that the respondent can not comprehend or understand then the data does not tell us what we think it does.

How to write a Synopsis/Research Proposal By Sadaf Naz

 

For the students of M.S and P.H.D and B.S/Masters (occasionally), it’s necessary to submit a research plan or synopsis.

Students’ usually get tired to write it down with a proper manner. Here are discussing some general guideline and basic structure to write down the Synopsis.

Basic headings:

1)     Research Problem

2)     Introduction

3)     Purpose of the study

4)     Research Question

5)     Justification

6)     Methodology

7)      Bibliography

1)     Research Problem

Research problem is a statement, which describes relationships between two variables. Variables can be one, two or more.

Remember! When u write down the problem, u must be very clear that what actually you want to do. If are not clear about your task, you would not be able to do a satisfied research.

Some words usually used, while describing the problem, be careful about choosing these words.

Analysis:

Problem:

 “An analytical study of the problems of genius child in Secondary classed.”

Here the word analytical shows that you want to study all problems of genius separately.

Evaluation:

Problem:

 “An evaluation of the system of Primary education of Pakistan, with special reference to the reforms by UNESCO.”

Here the word evaluation shows that you will study all variables and aspects of primary education.

Comparative:

“A comparative study of the system of Higher education of Pakistan, with the Higher education of India.”

Here the word comparative shows that u will study these systems and then compare them with each other.

There are many other words, which are chosen to define your research problem but these are the most common words.

 

2) Introduction

Introduction is actually a brief view towards your topic. It should cover basics of your topic and give an idea that what you are going to do.

NOTE: you have to be very concise, while giving the introduction.

3) Purpose of study

Purpose is an important part of the Synopsis. Purpose could be written in paragraph form and in points, but it is more likely to write them in points. It gives a clear way to the supervisor or analysis committee about your Research. It should not more then five.

4) Research question/Hypothesis

For qualitative research, research question is designed. This is an overview about what you want to do.

Example

Problem:  “An evaluation of the system of Primary education of Pakistan, with special reference to the reforms by UNESCO”

Research question: Does primary education system of Pakistan meet the standards of international primary education?

This is an example for qualitative research; you can design hypothesis instead of them, according to your need.

5) Justification

In this section, you have to write down the importance of your research. You have to answer the following question precisely.

A.   Why researcher want to conduct this study?

B.    What are the benefits, if this study will be conducted?

C.   How this research will be useful?

NOTE: you have to be very concise, while giving the justifications.

 

6) Methodology

In this section, you have to write that what nature of research of research you are using, Qualitative or Quantitative or mixture of them. You have to describe as well that what resources you will use to collect the data, and how will you do the Sampling, what methods will you use for sampling and what tools will be used to collect the data.

It means u have to mention clearly:

1- Nature of research

2- Sampling method/ sources of data collection

3- Tools for collect the data

7) Bibliography

All books, websites, journals, articles, newspaper, you have consulted, mention there references in detail with alphabetical order.

Guideline for cover sheet

The first page, which is called coversheet will be consists on following headings.

Sample coversheet:

 Coversheet

for student

Subject:                          Research Proposal

Submitted to:                  Board of research studies, Department of ...………

Submitted by:                  Sadaf Naz

Submission date:             16^th May, 2011

Disclaimer

I certify that attached proposal is my own work. Material drawn from other resources has been acknowledged.

For Boards of research studies, Department of ………..

Remarks: ______________________________________________

Date:            16^th May, 2011

Signature:    

Font size

Font size of headings should be 14 and bold. The text size should be 12. Bold the introduction and research problem. And write bibliography in italic.

For more questions, use FAQ or comments.

 

The Mean and the Median

The two most common measures of central tendency are the median and the mean, which can be illustrated with an example. Suppose we draw a sample of five women and measure their weights. They weigh 100 pounds, 100 pounds, 130 pounds, 140 pounds, and 150 pounds.

* To find the median, we arrange the observations in order from smallest to largest value. If there is an odd number of observations, the median is the middle value. If there is an even number of observations, the median is the average of the two middle values. Thus, in the sample of five women, the median value would be 130 pounds; since 130 pounds is the middle weight.


* The mean of a sample or a population is computed by adding all of the observations and dividing by the number of observations. Returning to the example of the five women, the mean weight would equal (100 + 100 + 130 + 140 + 150)/5 = 620/5 = 124 pounds. In the general case, the mean can be calculated, using one of the following equations:

Population mean = μ = ΣX / N OR Sample mean = x = Σx / n
where ΣX is the sum of all the population observations, N is the number of population observations, Σx is the sum of all the sample observations, and n is the number of sample observations.

When statisticians talk about the mean of a population, they use the Greek letter μ to refer to the mean score. When they talk about the mean of a sample, statisticians use the symbol x to refer to the mean score.

The Mean vs. the Median

As measures of central tendency, the mean and the median each have advantages and disadvantages. Some pros and cons of each measure are summarized below.

* The median may be a better indicator of the most typical value if a set of scores has an outlier. An outlier is an extreme value that differs greatly from other values.

* However, when the sample size is large and does not include outliers, the mean score usually provides a better measure of central tendency.

To illustrate these points, consider the following example. Suppose we examine a sample of 10 households to estimate the typical family income. Nine of the households have incomes between $20,000 and $100,000; but the tenth household has an annual income of $1,000,000,000. That tenth household is an outlier. If we choose a measure to estimate the income of a typical household, the mean will greatly over-estimate the income of a typical family (because of the outlier); while the median will not.
Test Your Understanding of This Lesson


Problem 1

Four friends take an IQ test. Their scores are 96, 100, 106, 114. Which of the following statements is true?


I. The mean is 103.
II. The mean is 104.
III. The median is 100.
IV. The median is 106.


(A) I only
(B) II only
(C) III only
(D) IV only
(E) None is true


Solution

The correct answer is (B). The mean score is computed from the equation:


Mean score = Σx / n = (96 + 100 + 106 + 114) / 4 = 104


Since there are an even number of scores (4 scores), the median is the average of the two middle scores. Thus, the median is (100 + 106) / 2 = 103.