Initiating Research,Academic Writing Course,Contents,What is a research,Research is a process of steps used to collect and analyze information to increase our understanding of a topic or issue. It consists of three steps: pose a question, collect data to answer the question, and present an answer to the question. (John W. Creswell, 2008). Research is the systematic activity directed towards objectively investigating specific problems in order to discover the relationships between and among variables. It seeks to answer specific questions. (Nyanjui, 2010,Research is a systematic, formal, rigorous and precise process employed to gain solutions to problems or to discover and interpret new facts and relationships. (Waltz and Bausell, 1981,Purpose,Process,Product,Three Ps to describe the whole process of research,P12,Questions/Problems,Systematic Approach,Answers/Solutions,qualitative research quantitative research,theoretical/basic research applied research,descriptive research analytical research,primary research secondary research,Discussion,Types of research,increasing scientific knowledge,using basic research to solve problems or develop new processes, products, or techniques,survey- or experiment-based research,library- or Internet-based research,field research,desk research,Steps to initiate a research,Selecting a topic,Formulating a thesis statement,Constructing a title,Creating an outline,interesting specific, unique and significant,answer to the research question the purpose of research specific,the fewest possible words focus and purpose of research phrase, incomplete sentence,enhance organization and coherence of research paper serve the purpose well topic or sentence outline,P12-14,Identifying a research question,Specifying the research objective,Principles of topic selection,interesting a topic that interests you and your readers important a topic that has practical or theoretical value manageable a topic that you are able to reasonably conduct a topic that is not too specific or too general adequate a topic that has adequate source materials available,Methods for selecting a topic,Discussion,Consult your professor or an expert Participate in academic conference and academic lectures Select from puzzling problems Read books and newspapers Choose from your own interests Do literature reviews,How to formulate a thesis statement,Brainstorm and Settle on a topic Narrow down the topic Take a position on the topic by asking a question about the topic and answering the question Conduct more research and tinker with your thesis statement until you are satisfied with it,The class focuses on the problems posed by the changes in the dietary habits of Americans,You find that youre interested in the amount of sugar Americans consume,Sugar consumption,Reducing sugar consumption by elementary school children,More attention should be paid to the food and beverage choices available to elementary school children,Because half of all American elementary school children consume nine times the recommended daily allowance of sugar, schools should be required to replace the beverages in soda machines with healthy alternatives,Example,Features of a good title,It should be concise and specific. It arouses the readers interest. It facilitates online information retrieval as it contains keywords. It predicts content,The degeneration of neurons in the CA3 and DG following OA administration: involvement of a MAPK-dependent pathway in regional-specific neuronal degeneration,Region-specific neuronal degeneration after okadaic acid administration,MAP kinase-dependent neuronal degeneration after okadaic acid administration,Format of a typical title,a title,Type of paper,method content,comparison analysis contrast discussion evaluation study,causes effects advantages benefits effectiveness etc,a typical title: key words of the method + key words of the content + subject matter,An analysis of Psychological Motivation of Computer Hackers The Comparison of the Effectiveness of Two Approaches to Lung Cancer The Analysis of Environmental Effects of Nuclear Power Plants,influence,City Development,Sustainable Development of Cities,Sustainable Development of Big Cities,Sustainable Development of Chinese Big Cities,Sustainable Development of Chinese Big Cities from the Biological Perspective,general,specific,How to formulate a Title,Types of title,Declarative titles state the main findings or conclusions e.g. A three-month weight loss program increases self-esteem in adolescent girls Descriptive titles describe the subject of the article but do not reveal the main conclusions e.g. The effects of family support on patients with dementia Interrogative titles introduce the subject in the form of a question e.g. Does cognitive training improve performance on pattern recognition tasks,Use more nouns, noun phrases and gerunds The words or phrases used in a title are very often nouns, noun phrases or gerunds. Nominalization has the ability to sum u