You've collected and analyzed your data. Now it's time to answer your research question(s) -- remember, they are at the heart of the research process -- what it's all about!!!

Report your Findings -- e.g., the answer(s) to your research question(s)! Remind us of the question and tell us the answer that you've arrived at for your sample subjects!

But remember -- if you didn't study the whole population to whom you wish to 'project' or 'generalize' your findings and results ... now's the time to take the "leap of faith" and guess what may or may not be true for the population at large!

A discussion about drawing conclusions in research

State your Conclusions -- these are the projections beyond your sample. They would be sentences that sound like (whether you use this phrase or not), "Therefore, it can be concluded that ... "

Example:
Finding: "There was an average difference in science aptitude of 10.7 points between 6th-grade boys and girls for the 100 sample subjects who took the X test. Based on a t-test value of [value] [and other stats jargon we'll learn shortly, so stay tuned!], this difference is statistically significant."

Related Conclusion: "Therefore, it can be concluded that sixth grade boys and girls will differ, on average, in science aptitude."

Do you see, above, how one is very 'factual' and 'tied to YOUR SPECIFIC SAMPLE (finding)?' and how the related conclusion is 'what you assume to hold true in the population at large (from which your sample was drawn) based on these findings?'

Conclusions are the stuff of practitioners! For while you carefully select a sample and do your study, usually you -- and others who read and wish to apply -- your research are interested in going beyond your particular, individual sample and generalizing to the population at large. So -- the "leap of faith" is necessary to make your study widely applicable (beyond your specific sample!)!

We'll be talking in this course, as well as the related Intro to Statistics, about some specific ways that you can "tighten up the credibility" of your conclusions, so as to make them less "guesstimates" and "more certain!"

We've already briefly talked about one way: to use multiple sources of evidence or data -- e.g., to do a multimethod research study and collect data in several forms (numbers AND words) and then see if they "converge," or lead to the same direction of conclusions!

State Your Recommendations:

Based on these broad generalizations, or conclusions, what should the world do with your study findings?

List these as specifically as possible!

Recommendations for Practice (what will/should practitioners -- whoever is of interest in your study -- e.g., teachers of the gifted & talented; corporate chief financial officers; school superintendents in urban districts -- do with your findings?)

Recommendations for Future Research (as we'll see in this course, no single research design is flawless, all-inclusive and complete! You couldn't possibly have studied everything and everybody affected by the topic of your problem statement! How could you, or someone else, redo the study a bit differently to include some things/places/people that you left out? Redo in an urban district? Include a measure of satisfaction as well as motivation? Include individual as well as group interviews and compare the results? etc., etc.!)

State Your Implications:

Implications are your "detailed best guesses" as to "who will be better off and how" as a result of your doing this research study!

These can be listed and should be as thoroughly brainstormed as possible!

Examples:

1. Teachers will [understand, know, do .... ];
2. Administrators will [understand, know, do ... ];
3. Parents will [understand, know, do ... ].

This way, you are truly ending your research report on a 'positive bang!' You are standing, looking out at the horizon, and closing the report by indicating "how the world will be a better place" as a result of your study!

Let's close for now by debunking one myth as to what research is NOT:

*Research is not simply a "massive term paper!"

A major literature review, where you state in detail everything that everyone else has ever found, or studied, about your subject, would NOT be considered "research" according to our definition and the preceding steps of the research process!

This is because of Step # 2 -- a massive lit review has no 'actual data collection' intended to address a defined research question or problem statement.

Now -- it IS OK to use such a massive lit review to help you in identifying a question or problem statement of interest! (Please look back at the diagram & beginning of notes to see that this is one common source of researchable questions.) BUT -- to make this "real research," you THEN have to DO SOMETHING -- e.g, collect and analyze some data of your own, be those data quant, qual, or both -- be they live and in person, or archival -- to answer your question!

This quality (of collecting and analyzing some data, in whatever form(s) to address/answer your problem statement/question -- is known as "empiricism." This quality of empiricism is the hallmark of "real research."

And -- the research process you have applied via the above steps is also known as the "scientific method." That is -- you are objectively collecting and analyzing evidence, information or data and letting THAT objective evidence 'drive' the answer to your research question -- as opposed to "hunches," "because someone else said so," and so forth!!!

Next time, we'll look at that critical "heart and soul" of research designs: the problem statement. Specifically, we'll identify some "families" of problem statements, as well as "keywords" that help you to identify which "family" your problem statement might belong to, etc.!

Go on to Practice with the Research Process
or
Go back to What's It All About?

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