discussion

The Value of Research

Based on your readings this week, find a primary research article from a peer-reviewed journal that is in your area of interest (see the examples of peer-reviewed journals in the studies for assistance). This article will be the starting point for establishing a literature base for your potential research proposal topic. Throughout this course, you will be finding appropriate journal articles to support your study.

After reading the journal article, specifically describe how this research advanced scientific knowledge in the specialization area by answering all of these three questions:

1. Does the study address something that is not known or has not been studied before? Ask, "How is this study new or different from other studies?"

2. If your research questions are studied, how could your findings impact your field of interest? ("So What?")

3. What possible practical implications do you predict the results of your research will have? For instance, what will be the impact of these results on your sample, your site location, or your workplace? ("Who Cares?")

Readings

Use your Understanding Research text to complete the following:

• Read Part 1, "An Introduction to Understanding Research," page 1.
• Read Chapter 1, "Process of Research: Learning How Research Is Done," pages 3-36.

Use the Internet to complete the following:

• Read Kohut, Morin, and Keeter's 2007 article, "Public Knowledge of Current Affairs Little Changed by News and Information Revolutions," from Pew Research Center's Web site.

• Read two articles of your choice from the Pew research Center's Pew Internet Web site to familiarize yourself with how research is needed to answer simple questions about the work.