Understanding and Enjoying Research IAFC Conference Report: Reading and Interpreting Research Show By Len Kravitz, Ph.D. An important goal of the research scientist is the publication of the results of a completed study. Scientific journals do not
allow for literary embellishments and expressions, often seen in other journals, as the purpose is to communicate the scientific findings as clear as possible, in a highly stylized, distinctive fashion. This often makes it difficult for the applied professional to grasp all that the article has to offer. The purpose of this article is to help bridge much of that communication breach in scientific writing. In almost every research article you read you will see a definite methodology
develop that will help you understand the study. Fortunately, most research journals begin each article with an Abstract that summarizes the study for you. In the Introduction the researchers will define their problem or question that was studied, briefly review related research, and perhaps even hypothesize (make a tentative assumption) possible outcomes of their study. Important to the authenticity and
replicability of any scientific finding is how it is studied. This is referred to as the Methods and Procedures section in which the researchers will painstakingly explain how they studied their problem: who the subjects were, how and why they were selected, how many subjects were there, how they were tested, what type of equipment was used, what type of research and statistical design was employed, and how they controlled for all
extraneous factors that might effect the study results. Of great interest to all readers are the findings. These are presented in a most direct manner in the Results section. This section is invariably the most difficult to understand because it is a straight forward recounting of the statistical results. The Discussion and Conclusions section explains, discusses and concludes the meaning of the study findings and often parallels these
findings to similar studies for comparison. Some journals now have a Practical Applications section which synthesizes the applied usefulness to be gained from the study. If not apparently defined in the article, usually the practical application will be addressed in the last couple of paragraphs by the researchers. The challenge to the reader is to evaluate the methodology of the researchers in order to best ascertain the credibility of the study. Fortunately, most
primary research journals (a journal where research is first disclosed) have a very strict peer-review process where two or more specialists in the field of study related to the article critically review the article and recommend whether the article should be accepted or rejected for publication. The next sections of this article will delineate the different types of research and define common terminology presented in studies. Classification of Research Historical Research: Descriptive Research: Correlational Research: Causal-Comparative Research: Experimental Research: Definition of Common Research Terms Dependent variable: Independent variable: Internal
validity: External validity: Level of Significance: Reading Research—A Basis for Professional Development. What are the similarities between causalUnlike correlational research, both experimental research and causal-comparative research typically compare two or more groups of subjects. Research subjects are generally split into groups on the basis of the independent variable that is the focus of the study.
What similarity between causalBoth causal-comparative and correlational research designs attempt to determine relationships among variables, but neither allows for the actual manip- ulation of these variables.
What are the similarities and differences between correlational and causalcompare two or more groups of subjects, while correla- tional studies require a score on each variable for each subject. Correlational studies investigate two (or more) quantitative variables, whereas causal-comparative studies typically involve at least one categorical vari- able (group membership).
Is causalThe lack of experimental manipulation makes causal-comparative research similar to correlational studies; it is often presented in methods textbooks in the same chapter with correlational designs.
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