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 Outline on the  Reporting Methods in the Research Paper
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  -  An Overview of the Methods of the Social Sciences 
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  -  An Introduction to   Methods: How the Social Sciences are Done 
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  -  An Overview of Research Design 
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  -  An Overview of Writing the Research Paper 
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  -  Project:  List the types of sections you will & will not need in your own methods section   
  THE GOAL OF THE METHODS SECTION IS TO DESCRIBE HOW THE RESEARCH WAS CARRIED OUT IN SUFFICIENT DETAIL SO IT COULD BE REPLICATED 
 
  In the term paper, the student should apply what they learned in their methods for the social sciences course   
 
 It is assumed that the researcher is familiar statistics & methods 
It is the task of the researcher to apply these courses in writing his or her research paper 
It is assumed that the researcher still has access to his or her statistics text & methods text 		  
 
 The sections on methods & findings sections is devoted to transmitting the details of the procedures used in the study, its methodological foundations, the reasoning behind the methods used 
 
  It is not necessary to repeat any research purposes unless it helps the reader to follow the methodology   
  The more empirical & quantitative the research, the more this section is devoted to the orderly presentation of hypotheses, the statistical methods employed to test the finding, & table containing the statistical results of the tests of the data   
  Numbering the hypotheses makes it easier to organize the material   
  Because tables should be inserted in the order in which the findings are discussed, you only need to refer to the table number when integrating the relevant data into the text   
  Qualitative research methods can be organized according to their historical development or the concepts explored, depending on the type of methodology employed   
 
 All reporting of methods should include a discussion of: some of all the sections on:   
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 1.  an introduction w/ a simplified discussion of the thesis including the types of analyses, eg the primary & secondary methodologies as appropriate   
      -  Thesis 
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      -  Types of Analysis 
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 2.  participants & how they were selected   
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 3  any data base(s) used   
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 4  any apparatus or equipment used   
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 5.  any research instrument used   
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 6.  the procedures used   
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 7.  a summary of the types of statistical analyses performed   
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 8.  any ethical issues & the report to the Human Investigation Committee (HIC) as appropriate 
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 SOME ISSUES MAY NEED TO BE DEALT W/ IN SEVERAL SECTIONS OR IN A GENERAL MATTER AS INTEGRATED INTO A SPECIFIC SECTION 
 
  The methods section's overall purpose is to describe how the researcher designed the study & collected the data   
  The methods sections may go by any of several names such as Methods, Research Design, Data, & so on   
  Other possible subsections might be on: 
a.  measures 
b.  sampling 
c.  manipulations 		  
  Several sections may explain what the type of study was conducted, eg: 
a.  experiment 
b.  survey 
c.  observation, etc. 
but this should primarily be explained in the introductory section on the thesis / types of analyses / primary & secondary methodologies 		  
  Several sections may explain any ethical issues encountered in or generated by the study, & these should be reported to the HIC   
  Several sections may discuss similar issues encountered in or generated by the study, but the research may wish to limit discussions to one section to avoid repetition   
  1.  THE INTRODUCTORY SECTION ON THE THESIS / TYPES OF ANALYSES / PRIMARY & SECONDARY METHODOLOGIES SHOULD PRESENT A SIMPLIFIED VERSION OF THE OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY & HOW THE METHODS WERE MATCHED TO THAT OBJECTIVE   
  The thesis or introductory section includes a description of 
      any primary methodology utilized 
      or any secondary methodology utilized, or both 		  
  The researcher MUST GET PERMISSION to utilize any primary methodology 
The researcher must get permission from both the Professor & the Human Investigation Committee ( HIC ) 		  
  Any type of primary methodology must, first be reviewed & initialed by the Professor 
Failure to do so will result in a FAILING GRADE for the assignment 
Second, the researcher must get permission from the Human Investigation Committee 		  
  If the researcher has utilized a primary methodology, the major steps in the research design should be described in enough detail so a sophisticated reader could follow what was done 
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  The research may describe any of the research instruments utilized, including 
          - surveys                      - telephone interviews 
          - questionnaires           - observation 
          - experiments               - participant observation 
          - interviews                 - etc 
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  Present a copy of any primary instruments, such as a survey in an Appendix   
  You must cite your primary research in the body of the paper & the bibliography   
  Any research done is to be listed in an Appendix & cited in the body of the paper 
        Examples:  Interview One:  Conducted on Friday, May 18, 2012 
        Surveys 1 - 40:  Taken on Tuesday, May 22, 2012 		  
  Primary research MAY serve as a reference, w/ permission of the Professor   
  For most assignments other than the Sociology Capstone Research Paper, primary research may count as a reference 
For example, two 30 minute interviews may count as one reference 
One survey, one page in length, given to 20 subjects  may count as one to five references, w/ permission of the instructor 
 
  The Sociology Capstone Term Project requires at least two Primary Methodologies, eg two Types of Analyses 
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  THE USE OF SECONDARY METHODOLOGY (LIBRARY OR OTHER DATA BASE RESEARCH) IS APPROPRIATE FOR SOME RESEARCH 
 
  If the writer chooses to use only secondary analysis, simply state this in your methods section 
 
  Secondary methodology is the independent analysis of data originally collected by other researcher 
 
  Secondary methodology is often called library research or secondary research 
 
  Statistical analysis often accompanies both primary & secondary Research 
 
  For example, with primary research, if a survey is used, 
-  the research may give the average age of the respondents, 
-  the ranges of ages, and the standard deviations 		  
  With secondary research, the researcher may look up the average incomes of people in several states & then perform the calculations to determine the average of all those states   
  2.  THE SECTION ON THE PARTICIPANTS DESCRIBES THEIR DEMOGRAPHICS & HOW THE WERE SELECTED  
  Pertinent demographics include, but are not limited to age, education, income, sex., religion, etc   
  The location or setting from where the participants were obtain, such as a college course, psychiatric hospital, shopping mall, church, etc, should be disclosed   
  Any inducements to obtain the cooperation, such as money, experimental credit, food, free time, etc, should be disclosed   
  The selection process, random number, snowball, random approach, self selection, etc. should be disclosed   
  In a differential research study, the procedures used to classify participants for group assignments should be described   
  If participants drop out or decline to participate, the number of such participants & the groups they were in should be disclosed   
  There should be enough info to allow a researcher to compare the sample w/ samples from similar research projects   
  The number of participants should be disclosed   
  3.  THE SECTION ON THE DATA BASES DESCRIBES WHICH WERE USED, & HOW THEY WERE USED   
  If the data base is well known, a brief discussion of the name & make up is sufficient but if the data base is new or not well know, more discussion may be appropriate   
  The type of statistical analyses used to analyze the data base(s) should be disclosed   
  If variables or other constructs were created from the data base, these & the procedures for constructing them should be discussed   
  If variables or other constructs were created from the data base, the reliability & validity should be discussed   
  4.  THE SECTION ON THE APPARATUS OR EQUIPMENT DESCRIBES THE NATURE OF THESE DEVICES & HOW THEY WERE USED   
  The goal of the apparatus or equipment subsection is to provide readers w/ sufficient info to allow them to replicate the study   
  All apparati, equipment, materials, instruments should be discussed   
  Research instruments such as surveys or questionnaires can be discussed in this section or, as appropriate, may be discussed in their own section   
  All physical aspects of the research study are described   
  If the study involves equipment, the type of equipment used & the settings of the equipment should be reported   
  If proprietary surveys, tests, procedures, scales, etc are used, they should be described w/ info on how to obtain them   
  If the tests are unique or custom made for the study, they should either be included as an appendix or made available to any reader on request   
  5.  THE SECTION ON THE RESEARCH INSTRUMENT DESCRIBES THEIR NATURE & CONSTRUCTION   
  Any surveys, questionnaires, scales, measures, etc, whether developed by the researcher or proprietary, should be discussed here, w/ the full instrument presented in an appendix   
  The method of construction of research instruments should be discussed, from brain storming, to analyses of the instrument   
  The procedures used to give out, prepare the participant, implement, & return the instrument should be discussed   
  Whether participants were totally anonymous, partially anonymous, or not anonymous should be discussed   
  Procedures to protect confidentiality should be discussed here on in the ethics section of the methods section   
  Any problems w/ confidentiality should be discussed here   
  Any special issues or concerns w/ the research instruments should be discussed   
  6.  THE SECTION ON THE PROCEDURES DESCRIBES HOW THE STUDY WAS CARRIED OUT   
  The procedure section should tell the reader everything that the participants & the researcher did during the course of the study   
  If additional manipulation of data was carried out, it should be described in the procedure section   
  For example, if particular scoring procedures were used, they should be described   
  If specific instructions were given to participants, they should be included   
  Any special procedures, not discussed in other sections, should be discussed here, ie selection of participants, procedures for manipulating participants, overt or covert observation techniques, selection of the setting, etc   
  7.  THE SECTION ON THE SUMMARY OF THE STATISTICAL ANALYSES USED DESCRIBES WHICH STATISTICAL PROCEDURES WERE USED   
  This section is merely a summary of statistical procedures used since a fuller discussion would be presented in the main data analysis section of the paper   
  A summary of statistical procedures used is necessary here merely to allow a description of the methods to be complete here   
  Any unusual, unique, new, or innovative statistical procedures used should be described & discussed here   
  A full discussion of typical statistical procedures used need be only mentioned here, because a full discussion is present in the main data analysis section of the paper   
  8.  THE SECTION ON THE ETHICAL ISSUES DESCRIBES THE ETHICAL FRAMEWORK USED IN THE STUDY & ANY ETHICAL ISSUES ENCOUNTERED   
  The impacts of any study procedures or equipment on participants, the responses of participants to the experience of participants, usually inferred by the researcher(s), should be disclosed & discussed   
  Any procedures to mitigate or eliminate the impacts of any study procedures or equipment on participants should be disclosed & discussed   
  The reporting of any ethical issues to the Human Investigation Committee should be disclosed & discussed   
  Whether participants were totally anonymous, partially anonymous, or not anonymous should be discussed   
  Procedures to protect confidentiality should be discussed here or in the research instruments section of the methods section   
  Any problems w/ confidentiality should be discussed here   
  Several sections may explain any ethical issues encountered in or generated by the study, & these should be reported to the HIC   

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