540 Discussion With Classmates

/in /by

250 words and 2 scholarly resources

1) Courtney Glicken

Topic 7 DQ 1 (Obj. 7.1 and 7.2)

Most research reports include the following sections: title page, abstract, introduction, review of the literature, methods, results, a discussion, and references (Sheperis, Young, & Daniels, 2017). The title page should be a reflection of the work, and needs to be as precise as possible since it is limited wording (Sheperis, Young, & Daniels, 2017). The abstract is a summary of what the article is about and should include important information from the study. I always read the abstract of an article first, because it will give me an idea if the article has information that is useful to my own research. The introduction of a research report includes “a statement of the problem, a brief overview of related research and theoretical underpinnings, and a list of the research questions and hypotheses” (Sheperis, Young, & Daniels, 2017, p346). The introduction should tell the reader what their research is about. An overview of the literature is explaining to the readers any other relevant research that pertains to the current research report. This can help validate the current research report. Next, is the methods section. This is the section that explains to the reader all the necessary steps that were taken in the research study, and would allow the reader to replicate it, if desired (Sheperis, Young, & Daniels, 2017). This section includes participants, instruments, research design, and procedures (Sheperis, Young, & Daniels, 2017). The results section is the results of the study; this includes the outcome of the surveys, the tests, and any statistical results. Then a discussion of the study should take place. The discussion is the section where conclusions can be drawn, connecting the results to other research can be discussed, a discussion of the strengths and limitations of the study, and the implications of the results and what should happen in the future (Sheperis, Young, & Daniels, 2017). Last should include a reference list, to give credit to any work that was used in the report.

Writing for graduate level courses is similar to research reports because they follow a similar format, but the purpose for both are different.

References:

Sheperis, C. J., Young, J. S., & Daniels, M. H. (2017). Counseling research: quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.

2) Danielle Coleman

Topic 7 DQ 1 (Obj. 7.1 and 7.2)

You should find these components in research reports for counseling psychology: title page, abstract, introduction, review of literature, methods, results, discussion or conclusions, and references (Sheperis, Young, & Daniels, 2017). In the research reports, they are used by scientist-practitioners to study what current experiments, studies, and reports are out there in the counseling communities. The title page is useful because it helps the readers and researchers find what they need quickly when they are doing research; a title that includes independent or dependent variables would be best instead of a vague title that does not include these things. The abstract section includes the thorough but brief summary of the article that is needed for students so they know whether they will require that article for the research they are currently looking for. The introduction is brief as well, but it is a well-organized explanation for how the rest of the paper will go. The review of literature section is where the scientist-practitioner is making a literature review of the problem they are presenting and using what research they’ve found as supporting evidence, and the methods section includes what the researchers used as tools to reach their outcome results. The discussion and conclusion sections are parts of the report that the author writes to report their findings, and the resolutions they have found that were significant or not significant to their subject and ends the report.

The difference between writing for research purposes versus standard graduate writing level is that the former is used later on in the counseling community for others in journals and you could be paid for the articles you write if you are part of a publisher like the American Psychological Association, and the latter is for graduate school or your dissertation. The similarities are organization and the amount of research the writer puts into both types of writing since they both are for the counseling community.

Reference

Sheperis, C.J., Young, J.S., & Daniels, M.H. (2017). Counseling research: Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.

3) Casey Gibbs

Topic 7 DQ 1 (Obj. 7.1 and 7.2)

The purpose and requirements for writing gradually become more advanced as we progress through academic thresholds. The first 2 years are simply learning how to write, i.e: syntax, grammar, punctuation, structure, scholarly sources and readability. In undergraduate school, the emphasis was the same, the information processing became more complete. But the main difference between undergrad and graduate is idea synthesis, being given subject matter then being asked questions that require more than just the simple retrieval and documentation of facts but the development of critical thinking and idea development skills. This in turn is getting us ready for postgraduate research work where we are actually taking known information and expanding its boundaries with “what if ?” questions. This is the basic premise of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives (Armstrong, n.d.) and has the following hierarchy starting from 100 level classes (knowledge) progressing to postgraduate research (synthesis and evaluation):

  • Knowledge “involves the recall of specifics and universals, the recall of methods and processes, or the recall of a pattern, structure, or setting.”
  • Comprehension “refers to a type of understanding or apprehension such that the individual knows what is being communicated and can make use of the material or idea being communicated without necessarily relating it to other material or seeing its fullest implications.”
  • Application refers to the “use of abstractions in particular and concrete situations.”
  • Analysis represents the “breakdown of a communication into its constituent elements or parts such that the relative hierarchy of ideas is made clear and/or the relations between ideas expressed are made explicit.”
  • Synthesis involves the “putting together of elements and parts so as to form a whole.”
  • Evaluation engenders “judgments about the value of material and methods for given purposes.”

While both research and graduate level writing are both governed by the same writing guidelines, APA, they are stylistically different. It’s the difference between creative writing and technical writing. Research papers are designed to deliver and delineate information in a very precise way to the intended audience. Standard graduate level writing while having the same guidelines, can vary depending on the subject material being discussed and other writing requirements specific to a given course. I found this definition from the University of Maryland (Graduate-level Writing, n.d.) that I believe capture the similarities of both, “Graduate level writing is about conversation. When you write at the graduate level, you contribute to the conversation about a specific issue. In other words, you add to the body of knowledge. To contribute, you must first learn what has already been said about a given topic. This usually takes the form of a literature review. As you review, take note of important figures, theories, and controversies. Most importantly, note what is still unknown—what has not been said. Next, add to the conversation by addressing an unknown aspect of the issue. By focusing on filling a gap or hole in the conversation, you will help advance the frontier of knowledge. Finally, leave the conversation open. Like all scholarly work, your writing and research will have limitations.”

The major sections of a research paper (Sherpis, Young & Daniels, 2017, pp. 346-348 ):

  • Introduction: provides the framework for the paper
  • Statement of the problem: Description of the current state of knowledge related to the research topic
  • Overview of relevant research
  • Research question and hypothesis: think of it as the papers mission statement
  • Methods: Be precise and clear
  • Participants: The who, where, why and what of the participants
  • Instruments: Not violins or pianos but the specific assessment tools and the rationale for their use
  • Research design: how are the variables organized
  • Procedures: How the assessments were carried out
  • Results: What are the findings?
  • Discussion: Discussion of the findings and how accurately they address the research question and hypothesis

Armstrong, P. (n.d.). Blooms’ Taxonomy. In Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching. Retrieved June 28, 2019, from https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/blooms-taxonomy/

Graduate-level Writing. (n.d.). In University of Maryland. Retrieved from https://www.umaryland.edu/media/umb/oaa/campus-life/writing-center/documents/Graduate-level-Writing.pdf

Sheperis, C. J., Young, J., & Daniels, M. (2017). Counseling Research-Quantitative, Qualitative and Mixed Methods (2nd ed.). N.p.: Pearson.

4)