chapter 18 the research report winston jackson and norine verberg methods: doing social research, 4e

Chapter 18The Research Report

Winston Jackson and Norine VerbergMethods: Doing Social Research, 4e

18-2 © 2007 Pearson Education Canada

General Orientation

1. Audience Journal, general audience, technical audience

2. Style Journals have set format; for other audiences,

use appropriate level of writing and headings3. Avoiding Plagiarism

“Unacknowledged borrowing of other authors’ ideas or words”

Use proper referencing style (e.g., APA)


General Orientation (cont’d)

4. Avoiding Sexist Language Use pronouns that do not gender stereotype

using he implies the person is male; better to use he or she, or they

Use neutralizing gender terms e.g., mailman/letter carrier; salesman/sales

agent (other examples on page 473, Table 18.1) Use parallel gender references

e.g., change man and wife to husband and wife (other examples on page 474, Table 18.2)


Organization A paper should be organized into sections

with headings, such as the following: Introduction Review of Literature Hypotheses and Research Design Data Collection Procedures Description of the Sample Description of Indexes, Measurements Results (or Findings) Discussion and Conclusion


Organization (cont’d)

1. Introduction Inform reader about what the project is about

Indicate general approach + focus of project

2. Review of Literature Provides an overview of the state of the

scientific knowledge on your subject Review the theoretical approaches and empirical

findings, noting consistencies and inconsistencies Refer to instructions in Chapter 12 on how to

present the summary of previous research



3. Hypotheses and Research Design State the hypotheses after the literature review

State them precisely and say how they relate to the literature

Draw the causal model (see Figure 18.1, next slide)

State rationale for the design Note advantages over alternative designs Say which designs have been used by others


Figure 18.1 Causal Model For Unwanted Intimacy Study



4. Data-Collection Procedures Describe the measurement, sample selection,

and data collection procedures Note any problems encountered Document key aspects of survey or interview

schedule (note if material is in an appendix)5. Description of the Sample

Report sample size and description of sample (e.g., distribution of age, gender, etc.)

Note the representativeness of sample



6. Description of the Indexes, Measurement Procedures Describe and evaluate the indexes; report

means7. Results (or Findings)

Report variations in the dependent variable Use summary tables, graphs, and charts If using tests of significance, report whether

findings are statistically significant or not Says whether findings are consistent or

inconsistent with past research



8. Organizing Summary Tables Provide well-designed summary The next series of slides provides examples of

how one might go about summarizing:A. Univariate statistics (nominal or ratio variables)B. Contingency tablesC. Mean values for a dependent variableD. Correlations

Note that all tables have a number, a title, and clearly labelled column and row headings


Summary Tables: Table 18.3 Summarizing Univariate Statistics

A. NOMINAL/ORDINAL VARIABLES NUMBER PERCENTAGE

Gender

Male 82 48.0

Female 89 52.0

Status

Student 26 15.2

Retired 2 1.2

Unemployed, looking for work 13 7.6

Unemployed, not looking for work 4 2.3

Employed part-time 19 11.1

Employed full-time 107 62.6

Size of home community

Under 5,000 17 9.0

5,000 – 19,999 24 12.7

20,000 – 99,999 16 8.5

100,000 – 999,999 108 57.1

1,000,000 or more 24 12.7


Summary Tables: Table 18.3 Summarizing Univariate Statistics (cont’d)

B. RATIO VARIABLES

MEANSTANDARD DEVIATION

NUMBER OF CASES

Age 29.60 14.70 183

Income $43,257.00 16,419.00 77

Seniority 8.87 3.76 104

Number of children 1.37 1.06 78


Summary Tables:Summarizing Contingency Tables

TABLE 18.4 SMOKING BEHAVIOUR BY SELECTED INDEPENDENT VARIABLESINDEPENDENT VARIABLES

PERCENTAGE OF SMOKERS

NUMBER OF CASES: COLUMN TOTAL

PROBABILITY (CHI-SQUARE)

TREND

Residence

On campus 19.8 101 .98283 ?

Off campus 20.4 54

SES of Father

Low SES 22.2 54 .61304 +

Mid to high SES 18.8 101

Respondent’s Age

19 or younger 19.7 76 .93597 +

20 or older 20.3 79

Level of Self-Esteem

Low 19.5 77 .87237 –

High 20.5 78Source: Adapted from Michelle Lee (1992). “Smoking Behaviours.” Antigonish: St. Francis Xavier University, Research Methods Paper. Cited with permission.


Summary Tables:Summarizing Mean Values

TABLE 18.5 GRADE PERFORMANCE OF GRADE 12 STUDENTS

INDEPENDENT VARIABLES MEAN STANDARD DEVIATION

NUMBER OF CASES

TEST OF SIGNIFICANCE

TREND

Eats breakfast No 68.9 12.7 46 .0003 +

Yes 76.3 10.0 95

Breakfast eaten in last 7 days No 69.5 9.9 39 .0049 +

Yes 75.4 11.5 106

Breakfast maker Others 72.7 14.4 42 .2731 –

Self 75.1 10.0 85

Lunch maker Others 73.8 11.7 105 .8412 *

Self 74.3 11.6 29

Supper maker Others 74.1 11.6 117 .6416 *

Self 72.9 10.6 27

+ Trend predicted correctly – Trend predicted incorrectly * Trend not predicted

Source: Adapted from Annette Fougere (1992). “Effects of Eating Breakfast on Grade Performance.” Antigonish: St. Francis Xavier University, Research Methods Paper. Cited with permission.


Summary Tables:Summarizing Correlations

TABLE 18.6 CORRELATIONS BETWEEN FIRST-YEAR UNIVERSITY AVERAGE, AVERAGE HIGH-SCHOOL GRADE, AND ENGLISH HIGH-SCHOOL GRADE (N = 3617)

CORRELATIONS

FIRST-YEAR UNIVERSITY

AVERAGE

AVERAGE HIGH-SCHOOL

GRADE

ENGLISH HIGH-SCHOOL

GRADE

First-year university average

1.000

Average high-school grade

.573 1.000

English high-school grade .464 .662 1.000

Source: Winston Jackson


Organization (cont’d)9. Using Graphs, Charts (examples on following

slides) Bar chart – Figure 18.2 – suitable when

independent variable is nominal/ordinal Graph – Figure 18.3 – suitable for ratio variable

10. Evaluating Hypotheses, Models Interpret findings in light of hypotheses/ model

11. Discussion: tie project together; note relevance to theory and empirical literature

12. Conclusion: review problem + conclusions


Using Graphs, Charts: Bar Chart


Using Graphs, Charts: Plot

chapter 18 the research report winston jackson and norine verberg methods: doing social research, 4e

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