Review list1.Research can be defined as the search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, with anopen mind, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method.2.The major steps in conducting research are:1)Identification of research problem2)Literature review3)Specifying the purpose of research4)Selecting an appropriate research method5)Data collection6)Analyzing and interpreting the data7)Reporting and evaluating research3.Typical Dissertation Structure4.How to choose your research topic?-Based on your previous study-Your personal interest-Communications with your fellow students, friends, lecturers, conference attendants, etc.-Previous research (database, etc.)-Should be interesting-Your research area, field, aspect, topic-Should be feasible-Should be important-Should be innovative-Hot topic-Advance research-Practical application-Based on literature review5.Title Requirements●ABC Principles for Titles (accuracy, brevity, clarity)●Being brief and concise●Being specific●Avoiding question titles●Being unified(grammatically symmetrical)●Being standard●Words‟ number limitation (15words max)●Most important key words●Abbreviations (?) unless generally known, eg. AIDS, DNA, LASER, CT, BCG, SARS, etc.6.Introduction and its aimsIntroduction gives the background to the research. It sets out the aims of the study and describes why there is a need for this research.The aims of introduction are1)To give the reader some background informationabout the context of the research andoutline howthe research fits into a more general area of study.2)To show that the problem addressed by your study merits investigation.3)To give the reader information about the aims and objectives of your research.7.Writing flow of Introduction1)Statement of topic2)Brief historical overview3)Main reading sources4)Statement of the objectives of the paper5)Statement of main hypothesis6)Brief outline of main sections (following sections could be mentioned here, but very briefly) 8.Structure of the introduction1)Establish the context2)Identify the “gap”3)State the aims4)Provide an outline of the dissertation structure9.What are research Aims & Objectives?Research aims and objectives are synonymous in dictionariesIn research terms, the word "objective" is sometimes used to mean more detailed aimsThe aim is what you want to achieve, and the objective describes how you are going to achieve that aimIt is not uncommon to have more than one objective to satisfy your research aim10.What is literature review?1) A literature review is a description of the literature relevant to a particular field or topic.2)It is a “report of primary scholarship” and “an interpretation and synthesis of publishedworks”3)It gives an overview of what has been said, who the key writers are, what questions arebeing asked. As such, it is not in itself primary research, but rather it reports on other findings4)Literature review should never be just a list, or accumulation of other research. You have tocriticize them, look at the relationships between the views, or draw out themes.5)How many sources you include will depend to a large extent on the quantity of relevantmaterials available. Where the body of research is so big that inclusion of all relevant works is not practical, it is important to be selective and focus on key studies and those most relevant to your topic.6)The literature review can help you to discover conceptual traditions and frameworks used toanalyse problems.7)The literature review should discuss problems and controversies in your field.8)The literature review should demonstrate that the findings, theory oranalysis that you present are a contribution to a cumulative process in which your work builds on the work of others.9)The literature review should help you to identify gaps in the existing body of research.10)The literature review should be organised around and directly related to thehypothesis/hypotheses or research question(s).11)The literature review should explain which potential areas for inclusion have been omittedand give reasons for this.11.The aims of the literature review are:1) To give the reader the background information needed to understand your research.2) To demonstrate that you are familiar with the literature relevant to your study.3) To establish a connection between your study and previous research.4) To show that your study will extend and develop knowledge in your field.12.Role of literature review1)literature review is carried out to gain an insight into the theoretical background of the topic2)To show awareness of the present state of knowledge of a particular field3)To identify the 'gap' in the research and to provide a foundation for your research. It shouldhelp you define a research question, and show how answering the question will contribute to knowledge - creating a 'research space' for your work4)To demonstrate your scholarly ability to identify relevant information and to outline existingknowledge5)On-going literature review is to keep in pace with the new development and achievement ofrelated research works13.Contents of LR1)Conceptual definitions of key terms;2)An examination of the research topic in light of the theoretical perspective;3) A description of related empirical studies with evaluating comments;4) A critical review of research designs including instruments related to your study;5) A conceptual framework if there is any14.Literature Evaluation1)Authority: is the author identified? Publisher?2)Content: is it supportive to yours? Primary or secondary?3)Timeliness: when is it published? Is it still valid?4)Accuracy: is it peer-reviewed? What methods are adopted?5)Objectivity: is it biased? Is it a fact or opinion or debate?15.Reasons for including citations1)To acknowledge intellectual property and avoid plagiarism2)To enable the reader to check their interpretation of the sources3)To acknowledge other authors‟ achievements4)To give their statements greater authority. Citations are therefore tools of persuasion5)To create a “research space” for themselves. In oth er words, their account of whathas been done leads to the identification of a gap in existing research.16.Reporting verbs17.Integral Citations and non- integral CitationsIntegral citations include the name of the author and the date of publication as a grammatical part of the sentence.There are four main patterns1) Researcher as subject of the sentence2) Researcher as agent of a passive sentence3) Researcher as part of a reporting phrase4) Researcher as part of a possessive noun phraseIn non-integral citations, the name of the author appears in parenthesis, normally after the citing sentence, or is referred to elsewhere, usually by a number.Integral citation gives more prominence to the author(s) whereas non-integral citation gives more emphasis to the ideas themselves.Integral Citation has the advantage of allowing the writer to comment (in terms of expressing agreement / disagreement / doubt) on the finding of others through the use of reporting verbs such as …claim‟ or …suggest‟.Non-integral citation is also useful when citing a number of sources in a single sentence due to the fact that this method avoids interrupting the sentence with a long list of names.18.Order of citationsThere are three main ways to sequence the citations…1) Distant to Close –Work is cited in an order which becomes more specific to the study.2) Chronologically –Often used when following the development of an area of research over time3) Various Approaches –Different approaches to a field of research are grouped together. Within each group, the citations can then be ordered by distant to close or chronologically.19.Aims of the method section1) To show you are able to choose an appropriate procedure.2) To show you understand the procedure and its limitations3) To show the procedure has no flaws which will lead toincorrect results.4) To record what you did in the order you did it in.5) To enable other researchers to replicate the work if necessary20.Research philosophy: positivism, interpretevism, criticism21.Research approach is defined as the path of conscious scientific reasoning. It connects thephilosophy and methods. There are generally two approaches: Inductive approach and deductive approach22.Research strategy: qualitative, quantitativeResearch methods: survey (interview, questionnaire), case study, action research, observation, experiment23.Moves in the method section24.Interview is a purposeful conversation between two people where questions are asked bythe interviewer to obtain information from the interviewee and the purpose is to find out what is on someone's mind.25.Types of interviewStructured interview, semi-structured interview, unstructured interview26.A survey is a very commonly used method in business research (both academic and commercial)which gathers data mainly from people using an instrument like questionnaire. It can elicit people's views of what they think, believe, or feel. It is particularly useful for collecting a large amount of data, but it must be based on a sample which has been scientifically chosen to represent the larger population27.Types of case studyExploratoryDescriptiveExplanatory28.Sources of information used in case study:Direct observation, interviews, documents (letters, newspaper articles, administrative records, Archival records: Census records, survey records, name lists), physical artifacts, participant observation29.Aims of the results section1) To present the findings of your study in both figures and written text.2) To comment briefly on the most important/interesting findings.3) To show your reader that you understand the significance of the results you obtained.30.Data coding is a systematic way to condense extensive data sets into smaller analyzable unitsthrough the creation of categories and concepts derived from the data31.Moves in the results section1) Location of findings2) Statement of findings3)Comments32.The functions of comments1) Discuss the implications of the findings.2) Explain possible reasons for the findings.3) Compare the findings with the results of other studies4) Evaluate the findings in relation to the hypothesis.33.Aims of the discussion section1) To demonstrate that you are aware of the significance ofthe results.2) To show that you are aware of any limitations or gaps inthe results.3) To explain or speculate about the results.4) To show how the findings relate to the original aims orhypotheses of the study.5) To give advice on further research34.Moves in the discussion section1) A restatement of the main hypotheses or aims.2) An overview of the main findings.3) A consideration of the findings in relation to existing research.4) An explanation of the findings, particularly those that do notsupport or only partially support the hypothesis.5) Limitations of the study.6) Implications or practical applications of the study.7) Recommendations for future research.35.Aims of the conclusions section1) Summarise your research2) Relate your findings to your hypothesis3) State the limitations of your research4) State the implications of your research5) Identify applications of the findings6) Highlight the importance of your research7) Give recommendations for further research36.References tell the reader where an idea, prior results and data have come from. It is importantthat you refer all such sources. It is a conventional courtesy to reference the originators of key ideas or theories or models, even if you modify them37.Research ethics is about how the researcher advances human knowledge without doing harm toothers. The harm includes various aspects of academic scandal, including scientific misconduct(such as fraud, fabrication of data and plagiarism), whistle blowing, etc.38.Plagiarism refers to using the work of others without acknowledgment (e.g. words, concepts,ideas, data, designs, images, computer programmes, music).Plagiarism includes reproducing someone else‟s work, whether it is published article, chapter of a book, a paper from a friend or some file, or whatever. Plagiarism also includes the practice of employing another person to alter or revise the work which a student submits as his/her own, whoever that other person may be.39.An abstract tells the readers the key points of the paper. The research motives, purposes, method,key results and conclusions are presented precisely and concisely in either structured or unstructured formats as per different journals.。