Types of Business Research

Types of Business Research

Written by William G. Zikmund, Barry J. Babin, Jon C. Carr, and Mitch Griffin in Business Research Methods. South-Western Cengage Learning. 2009.


Business research covers a wide range of phenomena. For managers, the purpose of research is to provide knowledge regarding the organization, the market, the economy, or another area of uncertainty. 

I. Definition
Business research is the application of the scientific method in searching for the truth about business phenomena. These activities include defining business opportunities and problems, generating and evaluating alternative courses of action, and monitoring employee and organizational performance. Business research is more than conducting surveys.

This process includes idea and theory development, problem definition, searching for and collecting information, analyzing data, and communicating the findings and their implications. This definition suggests that business research information is not intuitive or haphazardly gathered.

Literally, research (re-search) means “to search again.” The term connotes patient study and scientific investigation wherein the researcher takes another, more careful look at the data to discover all that is known about the subject. Ultimately, all findings are tied back to the underlying theory.

The definition also emphasizes, through reference to the scientific method, that any information generated should be accurate and objective. The nineteenth-century American humorist Artemus Ward claimed, “It ain’t the things we don’t know that gets us in trouble. It’s the things we know that ain’t so.” In other words, research isn’t performed to support preconceived ideasbut to test them. The researcher must be personally detached and free of bias in attempting to find truth. If bias enters into the research process, the value of the research is considerably reduced.

Finally, this definition of business research is limited by one’s definition of business. Certainly, research regarding production, finance, marketing, and management in for-profit corporations like DuPont is business research. However, business research also includes efforts that assist nonprofit organizations such as the American Heart Association, the San Diego Zoo, the Boston Pops Orchestra, or a parochial school. Further, governmental agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) perform many functions that are similar, if not identical, to those of for-profit business organizations. For instance,  the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is an important user of research, employing it to address the way people view and use various food and drugs. One such study commissioned and funded research to address the question of how consumers used the risk summaries that are included with all drugs sold in the United States. 

II. Types of Business Research
Business research is undertaken to reduce uncertainty and focus decision making. In more ambiguous circumstances, management may be totally unaware of a business problem. Alternatively, someone may be scanning the environment for opportunities. For example, an entrepreneur may have a personal interest in softball and baseball. She is interested in converting her hobby into a profitable business venture and hits on the idea of establishing an indoor softball and baseball training facility and instructional center. However, the demand for such a business is unknown. Even if there is sufficient demand, she is not sure of the best location, actual services offered, desired hours of operation, and so forth. Some preliminary research is necessary to gain insights into the nature of such a situation. Without it, the situation may remain too ambiguous to make more than a seat-of-the-pants decision. In this situation, business research is almost certainly needed.

In other situations, researchers know exactly what their problems are and can design careful studies to test specific hypotheses. For example, an organization may face a problem regarding health care benefits for their employees. Awareness of this problem could be based on input from human resource managers, recruiters, and current employees. The problem could be contributing to difficulties in recruiting new employees. How should the organization’s executive team address this problem? They may devise a careful test exploring which of three different health plans are judged the most desirable. This type of research is problem-oriented and seems relatively unambiguous.

This process may culminate with researchers preparing a report suggesting the relative effect of each alternative plan on employee recruitment. The selection of a new health plan should follow relatively directly from the research.

Business research can be classified on the basis of either technique or purpose. Experiments, surveys, and observational studies are just a few common research techniques. Classifying research by its purpose, such as the situations described above, shows how the nature of a decision situation influences the research methodology. The following section introduces the three types of business research: 

1. Exploratory
Exploratory research is conducted to clarify ambiguous situations or discover potential business opportunities. As the name implies, exploratory research is not intended to provide conclusive evidence from which to determine a particular course of action. 

2. Descriptive
As the name implies, the major purpose of descriptive research is to describe characteristics of objects, people, groups, organizations, or environments. In other words, descriptive research tries to “paint a picture” of a given situation by addressing who, what, when, where, and how questions. 

3. Causal
Causal research seeks to identify causeand-effect relationships. When something causes an effect, it means it brings it about or makes it happen. The effect is the outcome. Rain causes grass to get wet. Rain is the cause and wet grass is the effect. 

III. Stages in the Research Process
Business research, like other forms of scientific inquiry, involves a sequence of highly interrelated activities. The stages of the research process overlap continuously, and it is clearly an oversimplification to state that every research project has exactly the same ordered sequence of activities. Nevertheless, business research often follows a general pattern. We offer the following research business stages:
1. Defining the research objectives
2. Planning a research design
3. Planning a sample
4. Collecting the data
5. Analyzing the data
6. Formulating the conclusions and preparing the report

Dimensions of Social Sciences Research

          Dimensions of Social Sciences Research
 

 Written by Johann Mouton in Basic Concepts in the Methodology of the Social Sciences. 1996. Human Sciences Research Council. South Africa. pp. 7-15.



In terms of this model research in the social sciences would be defined as follows:
Social sciences research is a collaborative human activity in which social reality is studied objectively with the aim of gaining a valid understanding of it.

The following dimensions of research in the social sciences are emphasized in this definition
a. the sociological dimension: scientific research is a joint or collaborative activity;

b. the ontological dimension: research in the social sciences is always directed at an aspect or aspects of social reality;

c. the ideological dimension: as a human activity, research in the social sciences is intentional and goal-directed, its main aim being the understanding of phenomena;

d. the epistemological dimension: the aim is not merely to understand phenomena, but rather to provide a valid and reliable understanding of reality;

e. the methodological dimension: research in the social sciences may be regarded as objective by virtue of its being critical, balanced, unbiased,systematic, and controllable.

Research can be discussed from various perspectives.
a. From the sociological perspective, one is interested in highlighting the social nature of research as a typical human activity — as praxis. The sociological dimension of research cannot be ignored in any analysis of the process of research. In this book we shall refer to sociological factors where we consider that they ought to be taken into account because of their effect on methodological considerations.

b. The ontologial dimension emphasizes that research always has an object — be it empirical or non-empirical. The variety of perspectives of man and society,associated with divergent domain assumptions, leads to a situation where one cannot talk about the research domain of the social sciences. The content of the ontological dimension of research in the social sciences must, as is the case in the other dimensions, be regarded as variable.

c. When one looks at research within the ideological perspective, one wants to stress that research is goal-driven and purposive. Research is not a mechanical or merely automatic process, but is directed towards specifically human goals of understanding and gaining insight and explanation.

d. The epistemological dimension focuses on the fact that this goal of understanding or gaining insight should always be further clarified in terms of what would be regarded as “proper” or “good” understanding. Traditionally ideals of truth and wisdom have been pursued by scientists. More recently other ideals — problem solving, verisimilitude, validity, and so on — have been put forward.The primary aim of research in the social sciences is to generate valid findings, i.e. that the findings should approximate reality as closely as possible.

e. Finally, the methodological dimension of research refers to the ways in which these various ideals may be attained. It also refers to such features as the systematic and methodical nature of research and why such a high premium is placed on being critical and balanced in the process of research.

Differences between Master’s and Doctoral Theses

                            Differences between Master’s 
                                   and Doctoral Theses

Written by Brian Paltridge and Sue Starfiel in Thesis and Dissertation Writing in a Second Language, A handbook for supervisors. 2007. Routledge. New York.pp.55-56.

An important point for students to consider before they write their research proposal is the degree they are writing it for, and what that degree requires of them. A number of writers have discussed differences in expectations between master’s and doctoral theses, and their characterizing features (e.g. Madsen 1992; Elphinstone and Schweitzer 1998; Tinkler and Jackson 2000).

It is important for students to understand these differences at the outset of their research project, as this will impact on the focus and scale of the project they plan to undertake, and, in turn, the research proposal they  write.As Madsen (1992) points out, generally a doctoral thesis has greater breadth, depth and intention than a master’s thesis.

Below is a summary of the distinction he makes between a master’s dissertation and a doctoral thesis.

A master’s dissertation demonstrates:
● an original investigation or the testing of ideas;
● competence in independent work or experimentation;
● an understanding of appropriate techniques as well as their limitations;
● an expert knowledge of the published literature on the topic under investigation;
● evidence of the ability to make critical use of published work and source materials;
● an appreciation of the relationship between the research topic and the wider field of knowledge;
● the ability to present the work at an appropriate level of literary quality.

A doctoral thesis demonstrates:
● all of the above, plus:
● a distinct contribution to knowledge, as shown by the topic under investigation, the methodology employed, the discovery of new facts, or interpretation of the findings.

In scope, the doctoral thesis differs from a master’s research degree by its deeper, more comprehensive treatment of the subject under investigation (Elphinstone and Schweitzer 1998).

A doctoral thesis is also required to demonstrate authority in the area of research. That is, the student is expected to have an expert and up-to-date knowledge of the area of study and research that is relevant to their particular topic.

The thesis also needs to be written in succinct, clear, error-free English. At the doctoral level, examiners are often asked whether the thesis contains material that is in some way worthy of publication. The issue of a ‘distinct contribution to knowledge’ is an important consideration at the doctoral level.

In short, has the writer carried out a piece of work that demonstrates that a research apprenticeship is complete and that the student ‘should be admitted to the community of scholars in the discipline?’

A study carried out by Tinkler and Jackson (2000) in Great Britain found that while there was a large amount of agreement among the  criteria used by universities for defining doctoral theses, the actual examination of the thesis was often conceptualized, and carried out, in rather different ways. It is therefore important for students to be aware of the criteria their university will use for assessing their thesis.

Example of Students' Needs Questionnaire

          


          Example of Students' Needs Questionnaire

                                                        Suggested by 
                          David Nunan. 1999 in Second Language Teaching & Learning. 
                                               Boston: Heinle & Heinle Publisher.
==================================================================
Name  :
Class:

Instruction
Circle a number on the right on what you like to learn and how you like to learn. The following key is the indication of your attitude and needs in learning English.

Key:
1.I don’t like this at all
2.I don’t like this very much
3.This is OK
4.I quite like this
5.I like this very much

I. Topics
In my English class, I would like to study topics………………………….
1. about me, my feelings, attitudes, beliefs, etc          1     2    3    4    5
2. from my academic subject: social, science etc       1     2    3    4    5
3. from popular culture: music, film etc                    1     2    3    4    5
4. about current affairs and issues                            1     2    3    4    5
5. that are controversial: underage drinking etc          1     2    3    4    5

II. Methods
In my English class, I would like to learn by……………………………
6. small groups discussion and problem solving          1     2    3    4    5
7. formal language study e.g studying from textbook   1     2    3    4    5
8. listening to the teacher                                          1     2    3    4    5
9. watching videos                                                   1     2    3    4    5
10. doing individual work                                          1     2    3    4    5

III. Language Areas
This year, I most want to improve my……………………………
11. listening                                                            1     2    3    4    5
12. speaking                                                           1     2    3    4    5
13. reading                                                             1     2    3    4    5
14. writing                                                              1     2    3    4    5
15. grammar                                                           1     2    3    4    5
16. pronunciation                                                     1     2    3    4    5

IV. Out of Class
Out of class, I like to ……………………………
17. practice in the independent learning center                   1     2    3    4    5
18. have conversations with native speakers of English       1     2    3    4    5
19. practice Engl;ish with my friends                                1     2    3    4    5
20. collect examples of English that I find interesting/         1     2    3    4    5
      Puzzling
21. watch TV / read newspapers in English                       1     2    3    4    5

V. Assessment
I like to find out how much my English is improving by……………………………
22. having the teacher assess my written works                      1     2    3    4    5
23. having my teacher correct my mistakes in class                 1     2    3    4    5
24. checking my own progress / correcting my own mistakes  1     2    3    4    5
25. being corrected by my fellow students                              1     2    3    4    5
26. seeing if I can use the language in real-life situations           1     2    3    4    5

Kinanthi's Social Vulnerability in Tasaro GK's Novel Kinanthi - Terlahir Kembali (2)

Tasaro GK

Kinanthi's Social Vulnerability in Tasaro GK's Novel Kinanthi - Terlahir Kembali (2)

Written by Ari Julianto






III. The Indicators of Kinanthi’s Social Vulnerability
In this study, the word ‘indicator’ means a pointer or an index. Some broad indicators appear repeatedly in social vulnerability analyses, although it is possible to choose different proxies for each indicator. The vulnerability indicators used in this study are gender, race and age.
Rygel (2006: 748) states that in general, poor people living in vulnerability more vulnerable than the wealthy to disasters as well as gender, race and age. Of the various institutional environments that tend to sustain a multitude of economic barriers to different groups, it is discrimination based on race and gender that create the most insidious obstructions.

1. Age
United Nations (2008: 71) describes that children should not be treated merely as small adults: they are uniquely vulnerable in ways that differ from the vulnerability of adults. They are vulnerable to the demands and expectations of those in authority, including their parents, extended family and teachers. Physically, they are not able to protect themselves.

a. Vulnerable at teen’s period
At teenager period, Kinanthi experiences a very difficult life. This is actually the beginning of her social vulnerability. Her real age is fourteen, but it is faked three years older so that it will be easy for her agent to sell Kinanthi to a new employer. This is revealed when she is in KBRI (Embassy of Indonesian Republic).

2. Race
Fothergill (2004: 95) describes that discrimination also plays a major role in increasing the vulnerability of racial and ethnic minorities. In particular, real estate discrimination may confine minorities to certain hazard-prone areas or hinder minorities in obtaining policies with more-reliable insurance companies. When minorities are immigrants from non-English-speaking countries, language difficulties can greatly increase vulnerability to a disaster.

United Nations (2008: 74) describes that the status of an individual within his or her environment, whether that status is defined through formal systems (such as a legal system) or informal systems, creates different levels of vulnerability.

a. Discriminated by Arabian employers
Saudi Arabia is a rich and wealthy country and the condition is contrary to Indonesia. Although Saudi Arabia and Indonesia are Moslems countries, the race between them shows that there is discrimination. Kinanthi feels that she has been discriminated for her status and ethnic.

The discrimination for being an Indonesian maid who works in Saudi Arabia that Kinanthi has either in Saudi, Kuwait or in America makes her vulnerable in social life. This condition becomes worse when she gets torture, evil deeds and even having without payment.

3.Gender
United Nations (2008: 72) describes that women are vulnerable because they are frequently excluded from mainstream economic and social systems, such as employment, higher education, and legal as well as political parity. They are often the hidden victims of war and conflict, and this vulnerability extends to their status as displaced persons or refugees. It is also arguably exacerbated by their “relatively unequal” (secondary) status in the family and society more generally. Women are vulnerable to rape, domestic violence, harmful traditional practices, trafficking and lack of or limited access to resources. Many of these gender-based conditions of vulnerability are linked to social and cultural conditions.

a. Vulnerable as a young girl
Being a young girl is a vulnerable condition for Kinanthi especially supported by her poverty, background and ethnics. She experiences many painful life that ends in America. Miranda, a volunteer who works in America many years sees that Kinanthi as a young girl feels a deeply social vulnerability aAs a young girl, Kinanthi also feels vulnerable and she has to follow her destiny after losing her only best friend in Bandung, Euis. This condition brings vulnerability for Kinanthi.

IV. Reference
Aysan, Y. F. 1993. Keynote Paper: Vulnerability Assessment. In: P. Merriman and C. Browitt, eds., Natural Disasters: Protecting Vulnerable Communities, pp. 1-14.

Adger, W. Neil. 1998. Indicators Of Social And Economic Vulnerability To Climate Change In Vietnam. Working Paper. Centre for Social and Economic Research on the Global Environment University of East Anglia and University College London.

Blaikie, P. et al.1994. At Risk: Natural Hazards, People’s Vulnerability, and Disasters. New York: Routledge.

Editorial Team. 1992. The American Heritage Dictionary of The English Language. Third Edition. Boston: Houghton Miffin.

Fothergill, A. and Peek, L.A. 2004. Poverty And Disasters In The United States: A review of recent sociological findings, Natural Hazards 32, 89–110.

Luthar, S. S., and Zigler, E. 1991. Vulnerability and Competence: A review of research on resilience in childhood. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 61, 6–22.

Roecklenein, J.E. 2006. Elsevier's Dictionary of Psychological Theories. Netherland: Elsevier B.V.

Rygel, Lisa et al. 2006. A Method For Constructing A Social Vulnerability Index: an application to hurricane storm surges in a developed country. Mitigation and adaptation strategies for global change.741–764. Springer.

Tasaro, GK. 2012. Kinanthi - Terlahir Kembali.Bentang Pustaka: Yogyakarta.

United Nations. 2008. An Introduction to Human Trafficking: Vulnerability, Impact and Action. New York: UNODC.

I hope today's posting will be useful for all of us. Amien.

Kinanthi's Social Vulnerability in Tasaro GK's Novel Kinanthi - Terlahir Kembali (1)

Tasaro GK's Kinanthi - Terlahir Kembali

Kinanthi's Social Vulnerability in Tasaro GK's Novel Kinanthi - Terlahir Kembali (1)

Written by Ari Julianto







I. Preface
The first time I saw the cover of Kinanthi - Terlahir Kembali novel written by Tasaro GK, I had no idea what the interesting side I could find in it since the illustration of the cover which is dominated in red colour, is just like a novel for kids.

There are a boy on the left and a girl on the right with different backgrounds beside them. Both are looking at the sky.  My interest came after I read the moment when Kinanthi's parents exchanged or I can say it 'sold' Kinanthi to one of her father's friends just for 50 kg of rice because of their poverty. Then, I tried to finish reading this novel which is written by a successful writer that (honestly) none of his works I have read before.

When I finish reading this novel, I thought to myself that this is a potrait of an Indonesia woman whose childhood grabbed by the poverty of the family. Indeed, Tasaro GK is a successful writer. This I could see from the beautiful words he chose in expressing certain situation and condition.

I tried to analyze the content of this novel and finally I could draw that Kinanthi's social vulnerability can be used as the topic of a literature research. In analyzing this novel I tried to reveal the causes and the indicators of Kinanthi's social vulnerability. I did not analyze the sadness aspect because since the beginning until the end of this novel, I found the sadness aspect covers Kinanthi's life.Here are the findings that I could draw from this novel.

II. The Causes of Kinanthi’s Social Vulnerability
Aysan (1993: 10) describes that the causes of social vulnerability include rapid population growth, poverty and hunger, poor health, low levels of education, fragile and hazardous location, and lack of access to resources and services, including knowledge and technological means, disintegration of social patterns (social vulnerability). Other causes include; stress, depressions, hazards and loss.

1.Poverty
Adger (1998: 7) and Blaikie et al. (1994: 48) describe that poverty is an important aspect of vulnerability because of its direct association with access to resources which affects both baseline vulnerability and coping from the impacts of extreme events. It is argued here that the incidence of poverty, as observed through the quantifiable indicator of income, is a relevant proxy for access to resources, in its multi-faceted forms.

a. Kinanthi is sold for 50 Kg of rice
Having a father who is a jobless and only likes gambling, the life of Kinanthi’s family is difficult to fight against the poverty. Kinanthi has only one sibling, a younger brother to take care of whose name is Hasto. Although there are only two of them, fighting against poverty is very difficult for her parents. The difficult life in a village where Kinanthis’ family live in and supported by the unemployment of her father brings to a poverty life. The poverty itself made her parents to sell her only for fifty kilogram of rice.

The decision to sell Kinanthi to Mas Edi, a friend of Kinanthi’s father in Bandung is the main reason for this family as the form of social vulnerability.  Kinanthi realizes and still remembers how her parents sold her to her father’s friend just for fifty kilogram of rice because of their poverty. She told about her poverty when she is in American Court.

b. Kinanthi becomes a maid for Arabian families
After the accident of Gesit suicide (Kinanthi’s senior in school), Mr. Edi and his wife judged her that she cannot be relied on for their difficult life. Mr. Edi and his wife had a difficult life where they cannot support Kinanthi for her daily needs. For that reason, they have a plan to sell Kinanthi to be a maid in Saudi Arabia.

Selling Kiannthi to other side of her life happens again. This time because of the difficult life or poverty in Mr. Edi's family, he and his wife sold her to an illegal agent for maids who recruit women working as maids  in Saudi Arabia. For this reason, the writer concludes that sending Kinanthi to Arab Saudi as a maid is another trigger from poverty.

2. Stress
Luthar and Zigler (1991: 20) state that socioeconomic factors have also been implicated in stress, in those variables such as low maternal educational status or membership in an ethnic minority group may reflect stressful living circumstances.

a. Stressed after nearly raped
Gesit is Kinanthi’s senior friend in school. Kinanthi never thinks that this young boy has a desire to rape her one day. Kinanthi is very young to understand anything that adults usually do. Gesit’s effort to rape her makes Kinanthi in a very stress condition. She has been silent for many weeks.

Kinanthi tries to express her stressful feeling by writing a letter to Ajuj, her boyfriend in Gunung Kidul. Kinanthi always sent letters to express her feeeling after being sold by her parents. Although she never get any reply from Ajuz, Kinanthi keeps on writing and sending letters to Ajuz every time she feels in trouble and stress.

b. Stressed after being tortured
Having some bad Arabian employers has made Kinanthi becomes vulnerable. A lady employer even tortured her badly. This woman even has an evil wish to make Kinanthi’s life worse and stress by having taking a revenge for her.

Torture by torture and even being abused and raped by evil Arabian employers many times is very difficult for Kinanthi to remember those stressful events. In American court, Kinanthi tried hard to retell what has happened to her to the people who attend in the court.

3. Depression
Roecklenein (2006: 154) describes that in general, depression is a mood state characterized by a sense of inadequacy, feelings of despondency, sadness, pessimism, and decrease in activity or reactivity. Depressive disorders involve a spectrum of psychological dysfunctions that vary in frequency, duration, and severity. At one end of the continuum is the experience of normal depression (a transient period, usually lasting no longer than two weeks), consisting of fatigue and sadness, and precipitated by identifiable stressors.

a. Depressed after being abused
After being tortured and abused by her evil Arabian employers either in Saudi, Kuwait or in America, Kinanthi has a very deep depression. It is hard for her to face the real life living abroad. The city where she lives in even can open her old bad memory.

4.Hazard
Blaikie et al. (1994: 61) states that vulnerability is a relative and specific term, always implying vulnerability to a particular hazard. A person may be vulnerable to loss of property or life from floods but not to drought. The first research theme examines the source (or potential exposure or risk) of biophysical or technological hazards.

a.Earthquake in Bantul
Gunung Kidul is located near Bantul in Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta province. When Kinanthi is in Gunung Kidul after being a successful woman, Bantul hits a hazrd in the form of a big earthquake. The earthquake affects the place where Kinanthis’ parents and even her boyfriend Ajuj’s live.

The hazard occurs in Gunung Kidul affects the life of Kinanthi’s boyfriend, Ajuj. Ajuj’s life is in danger. He is one of the several victims in that hazard or earthquake. Kiannthi feels worries so much after knowing that her boyfriend has become one of the victims in the hazard or earthquake.

5. Loss   
Based on Editorial Team (1992: 4280) in The American Heritage Dictionary of The English Language, the word of Loss is defined as ‘the act or an instance of losing, the condition of being deprived or bereaved of something or someone, the amount of something lost, the harm or suffering and caused by losing or being lost’.

a. Losing her best friend, Euis
After being sold by her parents to Mr. Edi, Kinanthi lives peacefully in Bandung. But the terrible thing happens after her only best friend in school, Euis found died because of robbery. Her dead body was found near a merket in Bandung. Losing her only best friend surely has made Kinanthi becomes vulnerable.

b. Losing her boyfriend for 20 years
Ajuz is the only person who always in Kinanthi’s mind. She will never forget him. Ajuz has becomes a soul mate for her. But since she was sold by her parents and moved to Bandung, she lost contact with Ajuz. Twenty years losing her boyfriend has made Kinanthi vulnerable. This feeling is shown when Kinanthi meets Ajuz for the first time after twenty years.

to be continued

The Study of Written Text and Writing

The Study of Written Text and Writing

 
Written by
Charles Bazerman and Paul Prior in What Writing Does and How It Does It An Introduction to Analyzing Texts and Textual Practices. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.2004.pp 1-3.




Discourse analysis has grown in popularity as a major analytical method in social science research fields such as communications studies, sociology, and anthropology. As well, it has been an increasingly popular method for research, practical applications, and pedagogical assessment in composition, education, and applied linguistics/ESL. Most discourse analysis has, however, been focused on spoken language. Yet a number of critical social domains involve significant written text. Think, for example, of schooling, scientific and disciplinary knowledge, cultural production in the arts, the everyday life of government and corporate institutions, the public spaces of news, the diverse worlds of electronic text on the World Wide Web, and other forms of widespread cultural self-representation.

Looking at only the spoken interchanges in such educational, institutional, professional, and social settings gives a limited and potentially misleading picture of the ways that language enters into the dynamic unfolding of situations and events. In extending the reach of discourse analysis to engage with written text, we would do well, however, to remember some of the lessons learned in analysis of spoken language: that language is emergent, multiform, negotiated in the process, meaningful in the uptake, accomplishing social acts.Analysis of writing must go beyond considering the written text as an inert object, complete in itself as a bearer of abstract meanings.

Traditional forms of text analysis developed within school and in such academic disciplines as literary studies, rhetoric, and philosophy have told us much about what texts can mean. These modes of analysis, developed mainly for purposes of interpretation and criticism, by and large have not been brought into dialogue with discourse analysis as currently conceived and practiced within the social sciences. Yet they form the basic way most of us approach texts and represent what we are likely to think of as textual analysis. In order to understand how textual analysis can address issues beyond interpretation and criticism, we must be able to see the relationship between traditional forms of text analysis and the newer methods considered part of discourse analysis.

To understand writing, we need to explore the practices that people engage in to produce texts as well as the ways that writing practices gain their meanings and functions as dynamic elements of specific cultural settings. The absence of attention to writing as a social and productive practice has come about for reasons we discuss below. The effect, however, has been to severely limit the analysis of written text, closing off many lines of inquiry into how and why texts come to be as they are and what effects they have on the world.

Why Analyze Written Texts and Writing?
Traditionally the motivation for analyzing texts has been to understand them more deeply and/or to examine the limitations of their meanings. Text analysis was earliest developed within scriptural religions, where people were highly motivated to find all the meaning they could out of holy books such as the Bible, Talmud, Koran, or Baghavad Gita. The emergence of philosophy and other intellectual endeavors involved criticizing claims of opponents, which motivated analysis of texts to find flaws in reasoning, confusions, or other limitations. Similarly as law became a matter of written law, written court precedents, and written legal briefs, it became important to determine what the law really said, what the loopholes were, how precedents could be used to argue one side or another, what the weaknesses and strengths were of opposing arguments.

Rhetoric was first a productive discipline, concerned about how to make civic texts that would persuade others of an argument, establish the ethos (credibility and status) of the rhetor, or create a climate of feeling that would incline others toward certain views and actions. Rhetoric, however, also fostered a critical reading practice, reading civic texts for the means of rhetorical action, for the presence of tropes and topics, the signs of audience and authorial construction.

Literary studies was premised on the importance of certain cultural texts, which may be difficult to understand because of their historical distance,cultural difference, profound meaning, or complex literary technique. Thus,it required ways of analyzing those texts in order to understand their meaning.

Students, consequently, needed to be introduced to the techniques of analytical reading so as to have access to the culture of these texts. Cultural and historical criticism then served to characterize the particularity of the views and experiences in the texts. In all of these modes of analysis, the primary focus has been on uncovering or criticizing the meaning of the text.

This concern for meaning is natural enough in reading and responding to other people’s thought expressed in the writing. It is the natural stance, as it were, of the reader to be looking for meaning. However, there are many other questions that can be asked about texts and we can learn many other things about texts beyond what they mean and whether we approve of the meanings. We can consider - how texts direct people’s attention to various objects and concerns;

- how different linguistic, rhetorical, and graphic resources make possible the creation of meaning;

- how texts depend on and use other texts; how texts influence people’s beliefs and actions;

- how people learn to recognize, read, and produce genres (texts of certain types);

- how people actually go about producing texts; and

- how social systems of activity depend on and promote particular kinds of texts.


I hope today's posting will be useful for all of us. Amien.

Kata 'Skripsi' atau 'Thesis'

Kata 'Skripsi' atau 'Thesis'
(Tinjauan pada Sampul Skripsi FKIP Bahasa Inggris)


Written by Ari Julianto

Ketika melihat sejumlah sampul (cover) skripsi FKIP Bahasa Inggris di berbagai perguruan tinggi, mata saya tertuju pada kata THESIS untuk menyatakan karya tulis sarjana strata 1. Namun, di lain cover saya menemukan kata SKRIPSI pada sampul skripsi para mahasiswa.

Mengingat FKIP Bahasa Inggris harus menggunakan Bahasa Inggris untuk setiap karya tulisnya, maka kebingungan muncul apakah kata SKRIPSI harus diterjemahkan menjadi THESIS atau tidak. Jika tugas akhir S1 menggunakan istilah THESIS, lalu bagaimana dengan S2 ? Jika S1 dan S2 sama-sama menggunakan istilah THESIS, maka akan ada kerancuan ketika seorang mahasiswa S1 menyatakan kalimat seperti "I am preparing my Thesis". Asumsi orang yang mendengarnya si mahasiswa tersebut sedang di akhir perkuliahan S2 padahal sebenarnya tidak.

Umumnya, ketika kata THESIS digunakan oleh mahasiswa di cover skripsinya, diperjelas dengan kalimat seperti "Submitted in partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Pendidikan (S.Pd.) in English Education Program".

Menurut padangannya saya, hanya Indonesia saja yang menggunakan kata SKRIPSI untuk merujuk karya tulis ilmiah berupa tugas akhir S1. Kata SKRIPSI didefenisikan KBBI sebagai "Karangan ilmiah yang wajib ditulis oleh mahasiswa sebagai bagian dari persyaratan akhir pendidikan akademisnya untuk meraih gelar sarjana".

Sedangkan KBBI mendefinisikan TESIS (Ing. THESIS) sebagai "1. pernyataan atau teori yang didukung oleh argumen yg dikemukakan dalam karangan; untuk mendapatkan gelar kesarjanaan pada perguruan tinggi; 2. karangan ilmiah yang ditulis untuk mendapatkan gelar kesarjanaan pd suatu universitas (perguruan tinggi)".

Sistim pendidikan di Indonesia mengenal istilah SARJANA. Sarjana (dari bahasa Sanskerta, dalam bahasa Inggris: Undergraduate) adalah gelar akademik yang diberikan kepada lulusan program pendidikan sarjana (S-1). Untuk mendapatkan gelar sarjana. Secara normatif dibutuhkan waktu selama 4 (empat) sampai 6 (enam) tahun, tapi ada juga yang menyelesaikannya dalam 3,5 (tiga setengah) tahun ataupun lebih dari 6 (enam) tahun. Hal tersebut tergantung dari kebijakan dari perguruan tinggi yang ditetapkan.

Gelar akademik atau gelar akademis adalah gelar yang diberikan kepada lulusan pendidikan akademik bidang studi tertentu dari suatu perguruan tinggi. Gelar akademik kadangkala disebut dengan istilahnya dalam bahasa Belanda yaitu titel (dari bahasa Latin titulus). Gelar akademik terdiri dari sarjana (bachelor), magister (master), dan doktor (doctor).

Sebelum tahun 1993, gelar sarjana yang ada di Indonesia antara lain Doktorandus (Drs.), Doktoranda (Dra.), dan Insinyur (Ir.). Di beberapa negara lain, lulusan beberapa program pendidikan magister (S-2) dan doktor (S-3) juga masih dianugerahi dengan gelar sarjana. Contohnya di Universitas Oxford yang memberikan gelar Sarjana Hukum Sipil, Sarjana Filsafat, Sarjana Seni Musik.

Kembali pada penggunaan SKRIPSI dan THESIS untuk FKIP Bahasa Inggris. Sebenarnya, permasalahan utama adalah "What is the English word for SKRIPSI?" Ada beberapa jawaban dari para profesor dan pakar yang diberikan kepada saya dan akhirnya saya mengambil kesimpulan sebagai berikut.

1. Kata SKRIPSI tetap diterjemahkan menjadi SKRIPSI guna menghindari salah penafsiran untuk karya S2 THESIS,

2. Boleh diterjemahkan menjadi THESIS asalkan dengan syarat diberi penegasan "Submitted in partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Pendidikan (S.Pd.) in English Education Program".

3. Untuk yang ketiga ini, saya mendapatkan masukan dari sejumlah rekan yang mengusulkan agar kata SKRIPSI diterjemahkan ke Bahasa Inggris menjadi RESEARCH PAPER. Sejauh ini, saya belum mengaminkan penggunaan istilah tersebut mengingat kata RESEARCH PAPER cukup luas dan sudah mencakup tugas akhir penulisan S1 serta S2.


Demikianlah pembahasan kali ini. Semoga bermanfaat. Amin.

Four Ebooks for Academic Writing Guide

   Four Ebooks for Academic Writing Guide
                                       Written by Ari Julianto

We are both experienced in the process of academic writing within our own disciplines and have worked with academic writers for many years. During this time, we have identified a range of common fears and problems that people bring to the academic writing process.

Today's posting (my 123rd posting) I would like to share four of my ebook collections to you in the hope that these books will be used as your research writing reference and also as your input materials in understanding academic writing.

1. Academic Writing, A Handbook for International Students by Stephen Bailey

This handbook has been fully revised to help students reach this goal. This book is Clearly organised and the course explains the writing process from start to finish. Each stage is demonstrated and practised, from selecting suitable sources, reading, notemaking and planning through to re-writing and proof-reading.The four main parts of this handbook allow teachers and students to easily find the help they need. Each part is divided into short sections,which contain examples, explanations and exercises, for use in the classroom or self-study. Cross-references allow easy access to relevant sections, and a full answer key is featured on the companion website.The book includes sections on crucial areas such as argument, cause and effect, comparison, definitions and academic style. Working in groups,dealing with graphs, charts and numbers and giving examples are explained in detail.

If you are interested you can download it (size 2.4MB) HERE
If you find the link error, you may contact me personally via email: mr.ari69@gmail.com
(Jika link ini tidak berlaku, silakan hubungi saya via email: mr.ari69@gmail.com)



2. The Handbook of Academic Writing, A Fresh Approach by Rowena Murray and Sarah Moore

This 191 pages book engages in that analysis in order to provide an empowering framework for academic writers. It aims to help you to develop effective approaches to your own writing challenges. It offers insights and lessons that we think will be Particularly useful for those who are new to the academic environment, but will also help with the re-conceptualization of writing-related issues for those who have been operating in academic environments for some time.

If you are interested you can download it (size 875KB) HERE
If you find the link error, you may contact me personally via email: mr.ari69@gmail.com
(Jika link ini tidak berlaku, silakan hubungi saya via email: mr.ari69@gmail.com)



3. English Academic Writing for Students and Researchers by Yakhontova T.V

Although this handbook is intended to Ukrainian students, this handbook is written in English and useful for those who need writing research guide. There are 12 units in this book that discuss about English as the World Language of Research and Education, Thinking about Writing, English Academic Style and Language, Important Features and Elements of Academic Texts, Summaries, Research Papers, Research Paper abstracts, Conference Abstracts, Reviews, Research Projects, CVs and Bio-data and Letters.

If you are interested you can download it (size 1.1MB) HERE 
If you find the link error, you may contact me personally via email: mr.ari69@gmail.com
(Jika link ini tidak berlaku, silakan hubungi saya via email: mr.ari69@gmail.com)



4. Teaching and Researching Writing by Ken Hyland

This book seeks to identify and survey the frameworks, setting out the dominant paradigms, exploring their key concepts, elaborating some applications of writing research, raising some important researchable issues, and providing a compendium of resources on writing.The intention behind the book also remains the same: to introduce readers to current thinking about writing: what we know of it,how we study it and how we teach it.
The aim of the author is to provide a clear and critical introduction to the field of writing research and teaching.

If you are interested you can download it (size 2.4MB) HERE
If you find the link error, you may contact me personally via email: mr.ari69@gmail.com
(Jika link ini tidak berlaku, silakan hubungi saya via email: mr.ari69@gmail.com)

I hope today's posting will be useful for all of us. Amien.

Testing Language Skills for Educational Research

Testing Language Skills for Educational Research

Written by Ari Julianto



In conducting educational research, one of the instruments mostly used by researchers is a test. The test in educational research usually is an achievement test. It means that a test where the individual's grade is a measure of how  well he or she did on comparison with a large group of test takers.

In educational research based on the problem of the research, the researcher commonly use a test as the instrument of the research. Creswell (2012: 151) states that instrument is a tool for measuring, observing, or documenting quantitative data.

I. Definition of Test
According to Richards and Scmidt (2002: 546) a test is defines as any procedure for measuring ability, knowledge, or performance. They add that test item is a question or element in a test that requires an answer or response.

Meanwhile OOsterhof (2003: 7) defines a test as any vehicle used to obser that attribute, and includes writtemn tests, performance assessment, portfolio systems, and casual observations and questions. A test score is an indication of what is observed through the test and can be quantitative or qualitative i nature.

II. Four Language Skills
In many situations where English is taught for general purposes, the four skills should be carefully integrated and used to perform as many genuinely  communicative tasks as possible. Where this is the case, it is important for the test writer to concentrate on those types of test items which appear directly relevant to the ability to use language for real-life communication, especially in oral interaction.

Thus, questions which test the ability to understand and respond appropriately to polite requests, advice, instructions, etc. would be preferred to tests of reading aloud or telling stories.
In the written section of a test, questions requiring students to write letters, memos, reports and messages would be used in place of many of the more traditional compositions used in the past.

The Four major skills in communicating through language are often broadly defined as listening, speaking, reading and writing. In listening and reading test, questions in which students show their ability to extract specific information of a practical nature would be preferred to questions testing the comprehension of unimportant and irrelevant details. A test of reading now being used to provide the basis for a related test of writing or speaking.

Heaton (1990: 8) describes that ways of assessing performance in the four major skills may take the form of tests of:

1. Listening
Listening (auditory) comprehension, in which short utterances, dialogues, talks and lectures are given to the testees. Listening comprehension is the receptive skill in the oral mode. When we speak of listening what we really mean is listening and understanding what we hear. In our first language, we have all the skills and background knowledge we need to understand what we hear, so we probably aren't even aware of how complex a process it is. Here we will briefly describe some of what is involved in learning to understand what we hear in a second language.

Richards (1983, cited in Omaggio, 1986, p. 126) proposes that the following are the micro-skills involved in understanding what someone says to us. The listener has to:
- retain chunks of language in short-term memory
- discriminate among the distinctive sounds in the new language
- recognize stress and rhythm patterns, tone patterns,intonational contours.
- recognize reduced forms of words
- distinguish word boundaries
- recognize typical word-order patterns
- recognize vocabulary
- detect key words, such as those identifying topics and ideas
- guess meaning from context
- recognize grammatical word classes
- recognize basic syntactic patterns
- recognize cohesive devices
- detect sentence constituents, such as subject, verb, object, -prepositions, and the like.

2. Speaking
Speaking ability,usually in the form of an interview, a picture description, role play- and a problem-solving task involving pair work or group work. Speaking is the productive skill in the oral mode. It, like the other skills, is more complicated than it seems at first and involves more than just pronouncing words.
Here are some of the micro-skills involved in speaking. The speaker has to:
     
- pronounce the distinctive sounds of a language clearly enough so that people can distinguish them. This includes making tonal distinctions.
- use stress and rhythmic patterns, and intonation patterns of the language clearly enough so that people can understand what is said.
- use the correct forms of words. This may mean, for example, changes in the tense, case, or gender.
- put words together in correct word order.
- use vocabulary appropriately.
- use the register or language variety that is appropriate to the situation and the relationship to the conversation partner.
- make clear to the listener the main sentence constituents, such as subject, verb, object, by whatever means the language uses.
- make the main ideas stand out from supporting ideas or information.
- make the discourse hang together so that people can follow what you are saying.

3. Reading
Reading comprehension, in which questions are set to test the students' ability to understand the gist of a text and to extract key information on specific points in the text. Reading is the receptive skill in the written mode. It can develop independently of listening and speaking skills, but often develops along with them, especially in societies with a highly-developed literary tradition. Reading can help build vocabulary that helps listening comprehension at the later stages, particularly.
Here are some of the micro-skills involved in reading. The reader has to:
     
- decipher the script. In an alphabetic system or a syllabary, this means establishing a relationship between sounds and symbols. In a pictograph system, it means associating the meaning of the words with written symbols.
- recognize vocabulary.
- pick out key words, such as those identifying topics and main ideas.
- figure out the meaning of the words, including unfamiliar vocabulary, from the (written) context.
- recognize grammatical word classes: noun, adjective, etc.
- detect sentence constituents, such as subject, verb, object, prepositions, etc.
- recognize basic syntactic patterns.
- reconstruct and infer situations, goals and participants.
- use both knowledge of the world and lexical and grammatical cohesive devices to make the foregoing inferences, predict outcomes, and infer links and connections among the parts of the text.
- get the main point or the most important information.
- distinguish the main idea from supporting details.
- adjust reading strategies to different reading purposes, such as skimming for main ideas or studying in-depth.

4. Writing
Writing ability, usually in the form of letters, reports, memos, messages, instructions, and accounts of past events, etc. It is the test constructor's task to assess the relative importance of these skills at the various levels and to devise an accurate means of measuring the student's success in developing these skills. Writing is the productive skill in the written mode. It, too, is more complicated than it seems at first, and often seems to be the hardest of the skills, even for native speakers of a language, since it involves not just a graphic representation of speech, but the development and presentation of thoughts in a structured way.

Here are some of the micro-skills involved in writing. The writer needs to:
 - use the orthography correctly, including the script, and spelling and punctuation conventions.
- use the correct forms of words. This may mean using forms that express the right tense, or case or gender.
- put words together in correct word order.
- use vocabulary correctly.
- use the style appropriate to the genre and audience.
- make the main sentence constituents, such as subject, verb, and object, clear to the reader.
- make the main ideas distinct from supporting ideas or information.
- make the text coherent, so that other people can follow the development of the ideas.
- judge how much background knowledge the audience has on the subject and make clear what it is assumed they don't know.

Tests often play a significant role in the overall assessment of students’ learning. Therefore, as instructors, it essential that we pay particular attention to the manner in which we construct these instruments. Remember to always keep our course goals and learning objectives at the forefront of our mind as we begin to determine what kind of test is the best measure of our students’ learning as the object of the research.

I hope today's posting will be useful for all of us. Amien.

Reference
Richards, Jack C. and Richard Schmidt. 2002. Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics. London. Pearson Education Limited.

OOsterhof, Albert. 2003. Developing and Using Classroom Assessments. New Jersey:Pearson Education Limited.

Creswell, John W. 2012. Educational Research Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research. Boston: Pearson Education Limited.

Omaggio, A. C. 1986. Teaching Language in Context. Proficiency-oriented Instruction.Boston: Heinle and Heinle.

Heaton, JB. 1990.  Classroom Testing. New York: Longman.

Some other related sources

Useful Phrases in Writing A Skripsi/Thesis

Useful Phrases in Writing A Skripsi/Thesis

Collected by Ari Julianto


We are supposed to use technical and professional language in writing our skripsi/thesis, but there are certain words and phrases that can add up to the overall positive effect of our paper and make it look like a uniform piece of writing rather than just a pile of fancy words and technical phrases. Below I have collected some useful phrases that will help you to unify your paper.

1. The Purpose
- Part of the aim of this research is to develop software that is compatible with X operating system.
- The main purpose of this study is to develop an understanding of ....
- There are two primary aims of this study: 1. To investigate .... 2. To ascertain ....
- The aim of this research has therefore been to try and establish what ....
- The aim of this study is to investigate the differences between .....
- The main aim of this investigation is to assess the doses and risks associated with ....
- This thesis intends to determine the extent to which .... and whether ....
- This thesis will examine the way in which the ....
- This research examines the emerging role of X in the context of....
- This research seeks to explain the development of ....
- This case study seeks to examine the changing nature of .....
- Drawing upon two stands of research into X, this study attempts to ....
- The aim of this study is to shine new light on these debates through an examination of ....
- The major objective of this study was to investigate .....
- One purpose of this study was to assess the extent to which these factors were ....
- The objectives of this research are to determine ....
- This study therefore set out to assess the effect of management by ...., and the effect of ....
- This study systematically reviews the data for...., aiming to provide clarity surrounding the role of …..

2. The Issue
- This study is an attempt to address the issue of ....
- In the present study, the issue under scrutiny is ....
- The issue of whether ....is clouded by the fact that ....
- To portray the issue in (X)‘s terms, ....
- Given the centrality of this issue to (my claim), I will now ....
- This research is concerned with the issue of (how/whether/what) ....

3.The Evidence
- The available evidence seems to suggest that ..../point to ....
- On the basis of the evidence currently available, it seems fair to suggest that ....
- There is overwhelming evidence corroborating the notion that ....
- Further evidence supporting/against (X) may lie in the findings of (Y), who ....
- These results provide confirmatory evidence that ....

4. Problem of Study
- However, these rapid changes are having a serious effect ....
- However, a major problem with this kind of application is ....
- Lack of X has existed as a health problem for many years.
- Despite its safety and efficacy, X suffers from several major drawbacks:
- However, research has consistently shown that first year students have not attained an adequate understanding of ....
- There is increasing concern that some Xs are being disadvantaged ....
- Despite its long clinical success, X has a number of problems in use.
- Questions have been raised about the safety of prolonged use of....
- However, the main issue with this solution is....
- Despite the positive aspects, it has some major issues.
- There are some grave concerns that....

5. Scope and Limitations
- Due to practical constraints, this paper cannot provide a comprehensive review of ....
- It is beyond the scope of this study to examine the ....
- The reader should bear in mind that the study is based on ....
- Another potential problem is that the scope of my thesis may be too broad.
- A full discussion of X lies beyond the scope of this study.

6. Significance of the Study
- We develop theory to explain how...
- Our most important contribution is...
- This study advances our understanding of...
- To date, no systematic investigation has considered...
- We examine how organizations use [insert text] to overcome...
- Recent developments in X have heightened the need for ....
- In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in ....
- In the arena of X , there has been a recent surge in interest and research.
- Recent developments in the field of X have led to a renewed interest in ....
- Recently, researchers have shown an increased interest in ....
- Since 1949 the submarine area off X has undergone intensive investigation ....
- The past decade has seen the rapid development and diffusion of X in many ....
- The past thirty years have seen increasingly rapid advances in the field of.....
- Over the past century there has been a dramatic increase in ....
- In the past two decades a number of researchers have sought to determine .....
- X proved an important literary genre in the early Y community.
- One of the most important events of the 1970s was ....
- Traditionally, Xs have subscribed to the belief that ....

7. Research Questions (Hypotheses)
- The central question in this dissertation asks how ....
- In particular, this dissertation will examine six main research questions:
- The hypothesis that will be tested is that ....
- The key research question of this study was thus whether or not....
- This study aimed to address the following research questions:Another question is whether ....

 8. Review of Literature
- Recently investigators have examined the effects of X on Y.
- In the past two decades a number of researchers have sought to determine ....
- Previous studies have reported ....
- A considerable amount of literature has been published on X. - These studies ....
- Smith (1984: 217) shows how, in the past, research into X was mainly concerned with ....
- Surveys such as that conducted by Smith (1988) showed that ....
- The first serious discussions and analyses of X emerged during the 1970s with ....
- Recent evidence suggests that ....
- Several attempts have been made to ....
- A number of researchers have reported ....
- Xs were reported in the first models of Y (e.g., Smith, 1977; Smith, & Patel, 1977).
- What we know about X is largely based upon empirical studies that investigate how ....
- Studies of X show the importance of ....

9. Previous (Related) Studies
- Most studies in the field of X have only focused on ....
- Most studies in X have only been carried out in a small number of areas.
- The generalisability of much published research on this issue is problematic.
- The experimental data are rather controversial, and there is no general agreement about ....
- Such expositions are unsatisfactory because they ....
- However, few writers have been able to draw on any structured research into the opinions of .....
- The research to date has tended to focus on X rather than Y.
- The existing accounts fail to resolve the contradiction between X and Y.
- Researchers have not treated X in much detail.
- Previous studies of X have not dealt with ....
- Half of the studies evaluated failed to specify whether ....
- However, much of the research up to now has been descriptive in nature ….
- Although extensive research has been carried out on X, no single  study exists which adequately covers ....
- However, these results were based upon data from over 30 years ago and it is unclear if these differences still persist.
- X's analysis does not take account of .... nor does he examine ....

10. Method of Research/Sources of Data
- This study follows a case-study design, with in-depth analysis of ....
- This study was exploratory and interpretative in nature.
- The approach to empirical research adopted for this study was one of a qualitative, semi-structured interview methodology.
- By employing qualitative modes of inquiry, I attempt to illuminate the ....
- This work takes the form of a case-study of the ....
- Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used in this investigation.
- Qualitative and quantitative research designs were adopted to provide both descriptive, interpretive and  empirical data.
- A holistic approach is utilized, integrating literary, humanistic and archaeological material to establish ....
- The research data in this thesis is drawn from four main sources: ....
- The study was conducted in the form of a survey, with data being  gathered via ....

(Taken from any sources)

I hope today's posting will be useful for all of us. Amien.

Topics to Avoid In Writing the Research Paper

Topics to Avoid In Writing the Research Paper

Written by
Anthony C. Winkler and Jo Ray McCuen-Metherell in Writing the Research Paper A Handbook. 2008. Wadsworth.

Some topics present unusual diffi culties; others are simply a waste of time. What follows is a summary of topics to avoid.
 



1. Topics that are too big
Check the OPAC or card catalog at your library. If you find that lots of books have been written about your topic, then it is probably too big. Reference sources that multiply like flies; a bibliography that grows like a weed; opinions, data, and information that come pouring in from hundreds of sources—all indicate a topic that is too big. The solution is to narrow the topic without making it trivial. Examples:

India in the Age of the Moguls could be narrowed to
Royal Monuments of India during the Age of the Moguls

2. Topics based on a single source
The research paper is intended to expose you to the opinions of different authorities,to a variety of books, articles, and other references. If a topic is so skimpy that all the data on it come from a single source, you’re defeating the purpose of the paper.Choose only topics that are broad enough to be researched from multiple sources. A paper on the life of a person is one example of a topic that can lead to relying too heavily on a single source.

If the person is famous enough, the danger is not a lack of information; rather, you may become so charmed by a  compelling biography of your subject that you overquote from it. Or, if your chosen person is a marginal figure whose fame barely fills the fifteen minute span in the spotlight said to be awaiting all of us, you might rely too heavily on a single biographical source. As a general rule, if you choose to write about a person, it is better to come up with an approach that naturally allows the use of a variety of sources.

For instance, if you were writing about James Monroe, you might narrow your focus to the Monroe Doctrine, a topic that would require research into multiple sources.

3. Topics that are too technical
Writing about things that are technical often requires technical jargon that your instructor might not understand and might even dismiss as a “snow job.” Also, the skills that a research paper should teach are better learned in a paper on a general topic. Naturally, whether your paper is too technical depends on the class for which it is written. Ask your instructor. A topic like Heisenberg’s Principle of Indeterminacy as It Applies to Subparticle Research is fine for a physics class but a dubious choice for an English class. Stick to topics that don’t demand special knowledge of a particular subject and that are broad enough to be understood by any educated reader.

4. Topics that are trivial
Your judgment must steer you away from trivial topics. The safest bet is also the most sensible one: Again, ask your instructor. Here are some topics that might strike some instructors as too trivial. For exampleFictional Detectives on Foreign Postage Stamps might strike some instructors, including us, as an insignifi cant topic.Sometimes a topic is trivial because it is obvious. For instance, everyone agrees that walking is good aerobic exercise, but the subject is so tame that unless you’re a really good writer, a whole paper on the subject will likely fall flat.Likewise a paper on growing carrots in your backyard as a hedge against the possibility of a worldwide carrot shortage is not likely to inspire you to do your best writing.

5. Topics that are overused
Opinions on topics that have been the subject of heated public debate tend to harden into familiar postures, making them difficult to write about in a temperate tone. Numbered among those topics are abortion, teenage marriage, the legalization of drugs, euthanasia, capital punishment, substance abuse, global warming, and cruelty to animals. We do not mean to say that these topics are unimportant; indeed their overuse is partly a measure of their importance in the public consciousness.But writers who tackle overused topics often parrot well-known prejudices as if they were unique.

If you cannot help yourself and must write about an overused topic, at least try to approach it from a new angle. For instance, if you intend to write about abortion, comparing the effects of the RU-486 pill with that of surgical abortions would be different enough to save you from a whirlpool of clichés. Or if you feel compelled to write your paper on euthanasia, you might avoid the emotional hot spots by dispassionately analyzing the laws of your state that govern medically assisted suicide.

6. Topics that are contemporary
Students often are tempted to choose a contemporary topic, one that is being hotly debated at the moment. The topic may be loaded with scandal, making it fascinating to the press and the general public. But contemporary topics are best avoided fortwo reasons: First, it often is diffi cult to fi nd unbiased sources; second, the information that is available usually comes from newspapers and magazines whose speculative reporting can make your documentation seem flimsy. Intellectually solid
papers should refl ect opinions taken from a variety of sources—books, periodicals, reference volumes, specialized indexes, and various electronic sources—which requires a topic that has weathered both time and scholarly commentary.

If you find yourself drawn to a too-contemporary topic, our advice is that you try to locate an equivalent in the past and write about that instead. So, for example, instead of writing about a revolutionary war that broke out yesterday in some Baltic state, in the Middle East, or in Africa, you might turn your attention to a well-documented equivalent, say the Castro revolution in Cuba, or the revolution for independence under Bernardo O’Higgins in Chile.


I hope this article in today's posting will be useful for all ofus. Amien.

Four Ebooks About Writing Thesis Guide

         Four Ebooks About Writing Thesis Guide
                                             Written by Ari Julianto

There are many ebooks of writing thesis guide available in google engine search. And as a beginner or student who will start in writing skripsi or thesis, any kind of reference is useful to support you in writing skripsi or thesis.

Today's posting I would like to share four ebooks about writing thesis guide. I would not say that these four ebooks are the best ones but these are very useful. At least these references might help you in preparing your skripsi or thesis.
 
1. Writing A Thesis In education by Academic Language and Literacy Development Faculty of Education. 2012. Monash University.
Actually this is a booklet to help the students of Monash University but this will help you in writing a thesis in education. This is used only for teacher training and education students but can be used as well for other departments.In this booklet, we can find the description of Thesis Writing, Components of a Thesis and Issues in Writing.

If you are interested, you can download it HERE. 
If you find the link error, you may contact me personally via email: mr.ari69@gmail.com
(Jika link ini tidak berlaku, silakan hubungi saya via email: mr.ari69@gmail.com)


2. How to Write a Thesis by Rowena Murray. 2006.
This is a good book that can be used for general departments. There are 10 chapters that discuss about
- Thinking about writing a thesis
- Starting to write
- Seeking structure
- The first milestone
- Becoming a serial writer
- Creating closure
- Fear and loathing: revising
- It is never too late to start
- The last 385 yards and
- After the thesis examination: more writing?

 
If you are interested, you can download it HERE. 
If you find the link error, you may contact me personally via email: mr.ari69@gmail.com
(Jika link ini tidak berlaku, silakan hubungi saya via email: mr.ari69@gmail.com)


3. Thesis and Dissertation Writing in a Second Language A handbook for supervisors by Brian Paltridge and Sue Starfield.2007. 
This handbook is intended to not only for thesis but also dissertation that is specialized in a second language. In this handbook, we can find the issues about
- Working with second-language speakers of English
- Thesis writing in English as a second language
- Writing a research proposal
- The overall shape of theses and dissertations
- Writing the background chapters
- Writing the Methodology chapter
- Writing the Results chapter
- Writing Discussions and Conclusions
- Writing the Abstract and Acknowledgements and
- Resources for thesis and dissertation writing

If you are interested, you can download it HERE. 
If you find the link error, you may contact me personally via email: mr.ari69@gmail.com
(Jika link ini tidak berlaku, silakan hubungi saya via email: mr.ari69@gmail.com)


4. How to Write a BA Thesis a practical guide from your first ideas to your finished paper by Charles Lipson. 2005. The University of Chicago Press
 This is a practical guidebook, designed to help you through every stage of your thesis project, beginning with your earliest ideas about writing one. It helps you turn those tentative ideas into a workable project, then a draft paper, and ultimately a polished final version.In this guidebook, you can find framing your topic, conducting your research, writing and working your best, scheduling and completing your thesis, dealing with special requirements, citing your sources and getting more
advice.




If you are interested, you can download it HERE.
If you find the link error, you may contact me personally via email: mr.ari69@gmail.com
(Jika link ini tidak berlaku, silakan hubungi saya via email: mr.ari69@gmail.com)



I hope these four guide ebooks for writing a thesis will be helpful for all of us. Amien.