Factors to consider when
Evaluating
Research
Is the research hypothesis...
 sufficiently specific?
 clearly stated?
Inspect for deliberate bias / distortion when
 investigator has vested interest in results supporting a
particular viewpoint
 highly emotional issues are involved
 states "this study was conducted to prove”
 number of cases upon which percentages are based is
either not indicated or is low
Inspect for deliberate bias / distortion when
 figures are calculated to several decimal places
 surprising or newsworthy findings reward the researcher with
career-making publicity
 objective findings are distorted by mass media to make them
"more newsworthy"
 only a few key studies are cited
Inspect for non-deliberate bias
Inspect for sampling bias when
 the research is based on volunteers
 there is high subject mortality
 group selection criteria may be inappropriate
Inspect for sampling bias
 in causal-comparative studies
 experimental vs. control group
 when subjects may not be representative of the
population
Check for omission of
 important variables
Undertake critical evaluation of
measurement techniques
 reliability
 validity
 appropriateness of the test norms
Inspect for observer bias
Developing the Research Proposal
 Introduction & research problem statement
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Literature review
Identify problems
State significance of problems
Research ideas
Contribution to knowledge and practice
 Formulating hypothesis
 Selecting possible measures
 Selecting research sources
 Specifying research design
 Selecting analysis procedures
 Specifying research activities