Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches

WRITING THE RESEARCH REPORT AND THE POLITICS OF SOCIAL RESEARCH

sequence, group them together, or separate the gen-

eral from the specific. For most writers, new ideas de-

velop or become clearer during the process of writing.

A beginning outline may differ from the final

outline by more than degree of completeness. The

process of writing may not only reveal or clarify

ideas for the writer but also stimulate new ideas,

new connections between ideas, a different se-

quence, or new relations between the general and

the specific. In addition, the process of writing may

stimulate a reanalysis or reexamination of the liter-

ature or findings. This does not mean that beginning

all over is necessary. Rather, it means the writer

needs to keep an open mind to new insights and be

candid about all aspects of the research project.

Back to the Library. You should be familiar with
the literature before beginning a project, but most
likely, you will need to return to the literature after
completing data collection and analysis. This hap-
pens for several reasons. First, time has passed be-
tween the beginning and the end of a research project,
and new studies may have been published. Second,
after completing a research project, you will know
better what is or is not central to the study and may
have new questions in mind when rereading studies
in the literature. Finally, when writing the report, you
may find that your notes are not complete enough or
a detail is missing in the citation of a reference

source. The visit to the library after data collection is

less extensive and more selective or focused than the

one you conducted at the beginning of research.

When writing a research report, most of us dis-

card some of the notes and sources that we gathered

prior to completing the research project. This does

not mean that the initial library work and literature

review were a waste of time and effort. We can ex-

pect that some of the notes (e.g., 25 percent) we took

before completing the project will become irrele-

vant as the project gains focus. We do not include

notes on the literature or references that are no

longer relevant because they distract from the flow

of ideas and reduce clarity.

Returning to the library to verify and expand

references can focus your ideas. It also helps avoid

plagiarism. Plagiarism, a serious form of cheating,

is the use of another person’s exact words without

properly citing the original source. Many universi-

ties expel students who are caught engaging in it. If

a professional ever plagiarizes in a scholarly jour-

nal, the entire scholarly scientific peer community

treats the person as if he or she had committed a very

serious offense.^1 Take careful notes and identify the

FIGURE 1 Form of Outline

I. First major topic One of the most important

A. Subtopic of topic I Second level of importance

1. Subtopic of A Third level of importance
   a. Subtopic of 1 Fourth level of importance
   b. Subtopic of 1 ‘’
   (1) Subtopic of b Fifth level of importance
   (2) Subtopic of b ‘’
   (a) Subtopic of (2) Sixth level of importance
   (b) Subtopic of (2) ‘’
   i. Subtopic of (b) Seventh level of importance
   ii. Subtopic of (b) ‘’


2. Subtopic of A Third level of importance
   B. Subtopic of topic I Second level of importance
   II. Second major topic One of the most important

Plagiarism Theft of another person’s ideas by using

his or her exact words and the ideas without properly

documenting the original source.