ABSTRACT
This nal chapter was written to help readers plan research studies, avoid mistakes in the control of intervening variables, conduct experiments, and prepare research reports. For some this may involve thesis or dissertation research while for others it may involve development of guidelines for completing a term project to demonstrate the capability of completing a larger document. This chapter is about research communication. The topics presented are
Planning and Conducting Study Techniques for Controlling Extraneous Variables Conducting Experiment Writing Research Report Summary Key Word Denitions References Exercises Exercise Answers
Abscissa Informed Consent Randomization Abstract Section Intervening Variable Reference Section Apparatus Introduction Section Results Section Balancing Latin Square Design Seriation Confounding Variable Main Heading Side Heading Control Group Method Section Subjects Counterbalancing Nuisance Variable Summary Section Design Ordinate Survey of Literature Discussion Section Paragraph Heading Table Extraneous Variable Problem Treatment of Data Figure Procedure
Beginning with a general idea of the problem or area you wish to investigate, the rst step you, as a researcher, should undertake is to survey all the previous work that is relevant to your planned study. Undertaking a literature survey early in your planning will allow you to
Clearly identify and formulate the speciƒc problem to be studied — By reviewing the research of others (literature) you may gain knowledge of past discoveries, present posi-
studies already have been conducted and the information you need is readily available in the literature.
