HEHD 891-892 First Day

Masters Project Research

HEHD 891-892First Day


Nuts and Bolts Physical Office: 414 Edwards Hall Virtual Office & Classroom – Adobe Connect

Classroom (http://connect.clemson.edu/hehd892) Wiki (http://hehd804.wikispaces.com) - see HEHD 891-892

Peer Feedback Groups – assignments listed on front page of HEHD 804 wiki. Each group has their own Connect classroom for meetings, etc.

E-mail: [email protected] Phone: (864) 656-1891 In-person, by phone, or Adobe Connect office hours:

Tuesdays, 5:30-6:30pm By appointment at other times

http://connect.clemson.edu/hehd892

http://hehd804.wikispaces.com/

mailto:[email protected]


Our Goals: Demonstrate principles of graduate level writing, written

presentation of research, peer review, and the use of appropriate style and citation format (APA).

Apply the use of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methodologies in a graduate level Masters project.

Demonstrate an ethical approach to graduate level evaluation research and understand the IRB’s procedures involving the protection of human subjects at Clemson University.

Demonstrate the ability to implement graduate level evaluation research within the scope and limitations of the students’ project timeline.


HEHD 891 Timeline


HEHD 891 Timeline (Adam)


HEHD 892 Timeline


Manuscript Structure Divide your Masters Project manuscript into sections and

chapters: Title Page Abstract Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Literature Review Chapter 3: Methods Chapter 4: Data Analysis / Presentation of Results Chapter 5: Conclusion Reference List Appendix

Title Page Table of Contents Abstract Chapter 1: Introduction

General Introduction to the Project Statement of the Problem Purpose of the study Research Questions or Hypotheses Definition of Terms Delimitations and Limitations

Chapter 2: Review of the Literature General Overview Review of Literature/Studies (analysis, critique, integration – literature arranged by key themes/variables) Program Description (if necessary/applicable) Summary

Chapter 3: Methods Type of Research Design Sample, Population, and Participants Data Collection Instruments, Variables, and Materials Data Analysis Procedures

Chapter 4: Data Analysis/Presentation of Results Chapter 5: Conclusion

Discussion of Findings – Putting Results in Context Implications/Recommendations for Professional Practice, Program

Design, etc. Implications/Recommendations for Research in the Topic Area/Potential

Future Research Project Summary

Reference List Appendix (Examples below)

Survey Instrument, Interview Scripts, etc. Contact Letters/E-mail to Participants IRB Letter of Approval (if applicable)


Basic Format

Margins = 1.25 inches, everything must fit within the margins

Double space the entire manuscript Indent the first line of every paragraph one-half inch Align text on left margin and use “ragged” right margin Page numbers on all pages except title page Use common fonts (Times, Arial, Helvetica,

Garamond, etc.) between sizes 10 and 12


Basic Format - Headings

Most of you will use headings to help organize your thoughts

APA uses 5 levels of headings

Format for Five Levels of Headings

Level of Heading Format

1 Centered, Bold, Upper and Lowercase Headings

2 Flush left, Bold, Upper and Lowercase Headings

3 Indented, bold, lowercase paragraph heading w/ .

4 Indented, bold, italics, lowercase paragraph heading w/ .

5 Indented, lowercase paragraph heading w/ .


Writing Clarity(Dr. B’s Pet Peeves) Use punctuation to support meaning – don’t overuse punctuation like commas, dashes,

and “scare quotes” Don’t overuse direct quotations – paraphrase where you can (and cite) Keep tenses consistent – make sure you change your methodology tense from the future

(proposal) to the past (final draft)! You aren’t going to prove anything (you will support, show evidence for, demonstrate, etc.) Don’t overstate your case (there has been no research done on… vs. an exhaustive

literature review revealed no known research on...) Avoid wordiness (based on the fact that vs. because, at the present time vs. now, there

were several youth who completed vs. several youth completed) Avoid redundancy (they were both alike vs. they were alike, they were one and the same

vs. they were the same, the study was absolutely essential vs. the study was essential) Avoid colloqualisms (like the plague…) Spell out contractions (don’t, can’t, wouldn’t…) Don’t use weasel-y expressions of quantity (a lot)


Some Writing Tips To become a good writer, practice, practice, practice Take criticism constructively and learn from mistakes Think about the audience and write as if you are addressing a particular

person Use simple clear language with sufficient detail (being an intellectual

does not mean you need to be out of touch with the real world) Avoid long complicated sentences (aim for sentence lengths of about 15-

25 words) Try “free writing” Start anywhere in your paper. There is no rule that says you have to start

at the beginning If you are having trouble writing make yourself sit at your desk/computer

for a minimum time (15 minutes, 30 minutes, 60 minutes…). Do not leave until that time has passed. Do the same thing again the next day until you get something going.

Courtesy of Dr. Karla Henderson, NC State Univ.


Some More Writing Tips

Everyone has peak times each day. Choose your best time to do writing. Some people “write to think” and other people “think to write”.

Determine your most effective style and approach. Most successful writers will go through AT LEAST 5 or 6 drafts of a paper. Most readers will see the title, read the abstract, and/or read the first few

lines to decide whether or not they want to read your work. Capture them with the ideas as early as possible

Avoid long paragraphs. The topic sentence of each paragraph should summarize what the paper is about.

Have someone (a colleague, family member) read over your paper. This is always a good idea.

Reading the paper aloud to yourself or to someone else is often useful.

Courtesy of Dr. Karla Henderson, NC State Univ.


No Passive Voice! How would you change these to ACTIVE VOICE?

Research will be presented by Hilton at the conference.

Experiments have been conducted to test the hypothesis.

I am reminded of watching a movie or TV by watching a framed, mobile world through a car’s windshield.

The entrance exam was failed by over half of the people in the school.

The brakes were slammed on by her as she sped down the hill.

Action on the bill is being considered by the committee


Let’s Chat How have things progressed with your projects since the

end of HEHD 804? Has anything changed dramatically? What are your next big benchmarks? What questions do you have for your classmates? NEXT WEEK:

Guest Speaker: Dr. Jon Casper, NC State University – troubleshooting quantitative methods

Presenting data – basically, knowing how to write Chapter 4

HEHD 891-892 First Day

Documents

Transcript of HEHD 891-892 First Day