School of Public Administration

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• School of Public Administration Policy
• Dr. Kaifeng Yang

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Issues

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• A topic (??)is what the essay or research paper
  is about. ???????????
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• --?????issue (??)
• An issue is a concept upon which you can take a
  stand. ??????????????????????????????
• While "nuclear waste" is a topic, "safe and
  economic disposal of nuclear waste" is an issue,
  or a "point of discussion, debate, or dispute"

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• Identify its parts and wholes
• Components and their relationships
• Larger systems
• Trace its history and changes
• Historical dynamics (micro)
• Historical context (macro)
• Identify its categories and characteristics
• Range of variation
• Bigger categories
• Determine its value
• Its use
• Relative value of its parts

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• Identify its parts and wholes
• Components and their relationships
• Larger systems
• Trace its history and changes
• Historical dynamics (micro)
• Historical context (macro)
• Identify its categories and characteristics
• Range of variation
• Bigger categories
• Determine its value
• Its use
• Relative value of its parts

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????who, what, when, where, how and why
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?????????(Problem)?????????????????
Pure research problem
Applied research problem
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• CHOOSE A QUESTION THAT IS NEITHER TOO BROAD NOR
  TOO NARROW
• For example, if you choose juvenile delinquency
  (a topic that can be researched), you might ask
  the following questions
• a. What is the 1994 rate of juvenile delinquency
  in the U.S.?
• b. What can we do to reduce juvenile delinquency
  in the U.S.?
• c. Does education play a role in reducing
  juvenile delinquents'
• return to crime?

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EXERCISE 2 IS THE QUESTION TOO BROAD OR TOO
NARROW QUESTION A What impact has deregulation
had on the airline industry? QUESTION B What
percentage of commercial airline crashes were
traced to negligent maintenance during the 10
years immediately preceding and following
deregulation? QUESTION C What impact has
deregulation had on commercial airline safety?
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• 1. Look around you.
• 2. Read the literature. Your research project
  might
• Address the suggestions for future research by
  another researcher
• Replicate a project in a different setting or
  with a different population
• Consider how various subpopulations might behave
  differently
• Applying an existing perspective or explanation
  to a new situation
• Explore unexpected or contradictory findings in
  previous studies

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• 3. Attend professional conferences.
• 4. Seek the advice of experts.
• 5. Choose a topic that intrigues and motivates
  you.
• 6. Choose a topic that others will find
  interesting and
• worthy of attention.

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• After identifying a research problem, you must
  articulate it in such a way that it is carefully
  phrased and represents the single goal of the
  total research effort. Here is the general
  guideline
• 1. State the problem clearly and completely.
• 2. Think through the feasibility of the project
• 3. Say precisely what you mean.
• 4. Edit your work.

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Every Problem Needs Further Delineation

• eliminate any possibility of misunderstanding by
• Stating the hypotheses and/or research questions
  Describing the specific hypotheses being tested
  or questions being asked.
• Delimiting the research Fully disclosing what
  the researcher intends to do and, conversely,
  does not intend to do.
• Defining the terms Giving the meanings of all
  terms in the statements of the problem and
  subproblems that have any possibility of being
  understood.
• 4. Stating the assumption Presenting a clear
  statement of all assumptions on which the
  research will rest.

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Fine-Tuning Your Research Problem

1. Conduct a thorough literature review.
2. Try to see the problem from all sides.
3. Think through the process.
4. Use all available tools and resources at your
   disposal.
5. Discuss your research problem with others.
6. Hold up your project for others to examine and
   critique.
7. Remember that your project will take time.

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1. To see what has and has not been investigated
2. To develop general explanations for observed
   variations in a behavior or phenomenon
3. To identify potential relationships between
   concepts and to identify researchable hypotheses
4. To learn how others have defined and measured key
   concepts
5. To identify data sources that other researchers
   have used
6. To develop alternative research designs and
7. To discover how a research project is related to
   the work of others.

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• Databases
• Journals and dissertations
• Government sources
• Internet
• Conference proceedings

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C2
A
B
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C1
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• Overview of articles
• Group into categories
• Take notes
• Key terms key statistics key quotes
• Summarize
• Emphasis strength weakness
• Synthesize
• Relationships trends patterns
• Gaps

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• Overview of articles
• Group into categories
• Take notes
• Key terms key statistics key quotes
• Summarize
• Emphasis strength weakness
• Synthesize
• Relationships trends patterns Gaps
• Table/concept maps

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• Identify the broad problem area, but avoid global
  statements
• Early in the review, indicate why the topic being
  reviewed is important
• Distinguish between research finding, opinion and
  other information
• Be selective and Indicate why certain studies are
  important
• If you are commenting on the timeliness of a
  topic, be specific in describing the time frame
• If citing a classic or landmark study, identify
  it as such

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• If a landmark study was replicated, mention that
  and indicate the results of the replication
• Refer the reader to other reviews on issues that
  you will not be discussing in details
• Justify comments such as, no studies were
  found.
• Avoid long lists of nonspecific references
• If the results of previous studies are
  inconsistent or widely varying, cite them
  separately

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• If your review is long, provide an overview near
  the beginning of the review
• Near the beginning of a review, state explicitly
  what will and will not be covered
• Specify your point of view early in the review
• Aim for a clear and cohesive essay (a literature
  is not a series of annotated articles).
• Use subheadings, especially in long reviews
• If your topic teaches across disciplines,
  consider reviewing studies from each discipline
  separately

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• Write a conclusion for the end of the review
  Provide closure so that the path of the argument
  ends with a conclusion of some kind.
• If the review was written to stand alone, as is
  the case of a review article, the conclusion
  needs to make clear how the material in the body
  of the review has supported the assertion or
  proposition presented in the introduction.
• On the other hand, a review in a thesis,
  dissertation, or journal article presenting
  original research usually leads to the research
  questions that will be addressed.
• Be updated
• Avoid overuse of direct quotations

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