Morehead state university iet 698 Research Methods Technology

Session 11

a. What were the main reasons for this research (significance)?

To attempt to present the issues of gender equity in the workforce from several points of view and to provide clues to identify causes for the continued inequities. Also to present some of the problems for industry and society as a whole if the inequities continue.

b. What Methodology was used for this research? e. Elaborate on the participants (subjects) of this research (who?).

Quantitative research method was used. The article discussed the amount of money women earn and the percentage women in the workforce and their earnings in cents compared men’s dollar.

c. Explain the instrument used.

The author referenced several graphical representations.

f. What is your understanding of the literature?

This was a rather informative article regarding equity among men and women. Some major reasons discussed in the article as to why equity is so important are that it is fair and morally correct to give equal pay for equal performance. Second, it is an important waste of talent when women are diverted from jobs because of their gender. The third reason is that it is the law that we must comply with nondiscrimination on the basis of gender.

g. What do the authors mean by referring to "The actors" in this paper.

Women in the workforce.

h. If you were to conduct this research, how different would you do?

I like the way the research was performed. The ideas are clearly articulated and are represented with graphs. If I were to add anything it would be a questionnaire.

Using your Text, Discuss the following Topics.

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  Selecting a problem - What are the characteristics of a reseachable problem? Give example.
  

The commonality that links these two types of research is the process and criteria to be met in the problem selection and the execution of research. When selecting a problem to research, whether it is a replication or an original work, the researchable problem should be of passionate interest to the researcher, and also build upon what was commonly known to be true about that particular subject. Also, during the research process these two would share common techniques and criteria that would apply to all research.

These five strategies are useful in articulating the research problem:

1. State the problem clearly and completely.

2. Think through the feasibility of the project that the problem implies.

3. Say precisely what one means.

4. State the problem in a way that reflects an open mind about its solution.

5. Edit one’s work (Leedy & Ormrod 2010).

Above all, the development of a reasonable theoretical framework for the study begins with identifying a good research question and addressing every loose end. Although there are strategies and criteria that are useful in developing a good study, some of the greatest researchers are those who present questions that stray our minds to think outside the box, similarly there methods may have been rather unorthodox. Just as the importance of good research is to improve what was previously known about a certain subject matter, just maybe the way research is conducted can also be improved.

Give an Example of a problem statement

Recently, some anti-environmentalists have claimed that the earth is actually in fine shape: global warming is a myth, the earth and sea are cleaner than ever, the forests are full of trees. But the EPA's data disproves this: the emissions of greenhouse gases, for example, have increased significantly even in the last fifteen years. As long as we ignore that, we are living with a false sense of security, and not taking any of the action we need to take. The earth is in trouble; any efforts to distract the public from that are made by corporate interests that earn bigger profits by polluting.

http://faculty.virginia.edu/schoolhouse/WP/sampleprobstat.html

What are the reasons for conducting a literature review

There are several reasons why you may conduct a literature review:

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  to ensure you have a thorough understanding of the topic
  
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  to identify potential areas for research
  
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  to identify similar work done within the area
  
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  identifying knowledge gaps that demand further investigation
  
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  to compare previous findings
  
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  to critique existing findings and suggest further studies.
  

An example of a formalized research hypothesis is "If skin cancer is related to ultraviolet light , then people with a high exposure to uv light will have a higher frequency of skin cancer".

A hypothesis is important because it guides the research. An investigator may refer to the hypothesis to direct his or her thought process toward the solution of the research problem or subproblems. The hypothesis helps an investigator to collect the right kinds of data needed for the investigation. Hypotheses are also important because they help an investigator to locate information needed to resolve the research problem or subproblems (Leedy and Ormrod, 2001).

Often times, an investigator will formulate a hypothesis based on the problem or subproblems of the research. The hypothesis is driven by the research question.

Most commonly, hypotheses take three formats:
1.) a question, "Does temperature affect fermentation?"
2.) a conditional statement, "Temperature may affect fermentation."
3.) an If, then statement, "If fermentation rate is related to temperature, then increasing the temperature will increase gas production." http://people.uwec.edu/piercech/researchmethods/generating%20a%20research%20hypothesis/generating%20a%20research%20hypothesis%20index.htm