Thesis and Dissertation Writing in a Second Language: a handbook for Supervisors

Application: summarizing research methods
Ask your student to re-read the study they examined in the previous
task and answer the following questions:
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What research design was used in the study?
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What were the main variables in the study?
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What data were collected for the study?
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Describe the population, sample, and selection procedures for the
sample.
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Describe the data collection procedures used in the study.
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How were the data collection procedures developed?
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Were issues of reliability and validity considered?
Ask your student to bring their answers to you for discussion.
It is also important for students to be able to identify the key findings of a
research study. They also need to be able to identity the relationship between
these findings and other research on the topic. The next task asks students to
read a study to identify its key findings as well as how these findings relate to
previous research on the topic. This is something students need to do, espe-
cially when they write the Discussion section to their thesis (see Chapter 10).