RESEARCH

WRITING RESEARCH INTRODUCTION FOR QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH

By Norman Tabios

Lesson Recap ​

​In quantitative studies, one uses theory deductively and places it toward the beginning of the proposal for a study. With the objective of testing or verifying a theory rather than developing it, the researcher advances a theory, collects data to test it, and reflects on its confirmation or disconfirmation by the results.

Multiple Choice

It is a good idea to...

• to use your thesis title as the basis to construct your theoretical framework

• Discuss the main aspects of the theory that others have used to explain a similar problem

• Identify the variables of your topic by answering the question: what factors contribute to the presumed effect

• List all the variables that are related to your study

​Theoretical Framework

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• The theory becomes a framework for the entire study, an organizing model for the research questions or hypotheses and for the data collection procedure.

• These hypotheses or questions contain variables (or constructs) that the researcher needs to define. Alternatively, an acceptable definition might be found in the literature.

• The investigator locates an instrument to use in measuring or observing attitudes or behaviors of participants in a study. Then the investigator collects scores on these instruments to confirm or disconfirm the theory.

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Multiple Choice

Which of the following is not a function of the theoretical framework?

• It reviews key social science theories

• It defines a specific viewpoint

• It helps the researcher to comprehend key notions

• It generates new knoledge

Multiple Choice

Theories are developed by researchers to explain phenomena, draw connections and make predictions.

• True

• False

Difference Between Conceptual and Theoretical Framework.

Subject | Subject

Some text here about the topic of discussion

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is not a function of Theoretical Framework in a Quantitative Study ?

• To serve as a basis for explaining the topic

• To give ideas to the researcher as to the possible variables/ construct that may be investigated

• helps predict explain a phenomena that happens in the world

• researchers own model that specify the problem and gives direction to the study

Conceptual Framework

​The conceptual framework serves as a guide and ballast to research (Ravitch & Riggan, 2016), functioning as an integrating ecosystem that helps researchers intentionally bring all aspects of a study together through a process that explicates their connections, disjunctures, overlaps, tensions, and the contexts shaping a research setting and the study of phenomena in that setting.

Subject | Subject

Multiple Choice

This framework is considered to be the logical masterplan of your reseach.

• Conceptual Framework

• Theoretical Framework

• Hypothetical Framework

• Research Framework

Conceptual Framework

​A conceptual framework makes the case for why a study is significant and relevant and for how the study design (including data collection and analysis methods) appropriately and rigorously answers the research question.

Subject | Subject

A Model For Introduction​

​The deficiencies model of an introduction is a general template for writing a good introduction. It is a popular approach used in the social sciences, and once its structure is elucidated, the reader will find it appearing repeatedly in many published research studies. It consists of five parts, and a separate paragraph can be devoted to each part, for an introduction of about two pages in length:​

Multiple Select

Which of the following parts is not included in the deficiency model of introduction?

• The research problem

• Studies that have addressed the problem

• Deficiencies in the studies

• The significance of the study for particular audiences

• The conclusion statement

A Model For Introduction​

• ​1. The research problem

• 2. Studies that have addressed the problem

• 3. Deficiencies in the studies

• 4. The significance of the study for particular audiences

• 5. The purpose statement

The Research Problem​

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In the Terenzini et al. (2001) article, the first sentence accomplishes both primary objectives for an introduction: piquing interest in the study and conveying a distinct research problem or issue. What effect did this sentence have? Would it entice a reader to read on? Was it pitched at a level so that a wide audience could understand it?

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Tips in Writing the Introduction

• ​Write an opening sentence that will stimulate reader interest as well as convey an issue to which a broad audience can relate

• As a general rule, refrain from using quotations, especially long ones, in the lead sentence. Quotations raise many possibilities for interpretation and thus create unclear beginnings. However, as is evident in some qualitative studies, quotations can create reader interest.

• Stay away from idiomatic expressions or trite phrases (e.g., “The lecture method remains a ‘sacred cow’ among most college and university instructors.”).

Multiple Choice

The introduction should answer the question:

• ‘How:’ how did you choose that topic for research; how you adopted/selected a particular method or approach; and so on...

• ‘Why:’ why you choose that topic for research; why it is important; why you adopted a particular method or approach; and so on...

Tips in Writing the Introduction

• Consider numeric information for impact (e.g., “Every year, an estimated 5 million Americans experience the death of an immediate family member.”).

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• Clearly identify the research problem (i.e., dilemma, issue) leading to the study. Ask yourself, “Is there a specific sentence (or sentences) in which I convey the research problem?”

Multiple Choice

Which step approach to writing the Introduction section is NOT correct?

• Provide background information and set the context.

• Introduce the specific topic of your research and explain why it is important.

• Data presented in tables, charts, graphs, and other figures

• Mention past attempts to solve the research problem or to answer the research question.

Tips in Writing the Introduction

• ​Indicate why the problem is important by citing numerous references that justify the need to study the problem. In perhaps a not so joking manner, I say to my students that if they do not have a dozen references cited on the first page of their proposal, they do not have a scholarly study.

• Make sure that the problem is framed in a manner consistent with the approach to research in the study (e.g., exploratory in qualitative, examining relationships or predictors in quantitative, and either approach in mixed methods inquiry).

Tips in Writing the Introduction

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Consider and write about whether there is a single problem involved in the proposed study or multiple problems that lead to a need for the study. Often, multiple research problems are addressed in research studies.

Multiple Choice

In the first paragraph of your research, how will you describe the topic to your particular focus?

• Start broadly and then narrow down

• Narrow it down first, then explain it broadly

Open Ended

Writing Exercises

Draft several examples of narrative hooks for the introduction to a study and share these with colleagues to determine if the hooks draw readers in, create interest in the study, and are presented at a level to which readers can relate.