Research statement

Last updated

A research statement is a summary of research achievements and a proposal for upcoming research. It often includes both current aims and findings, and future goals. Research statements are usually requested as part of a relevant job application process, and often assist in the identification of appropriate applicants. [1]

Contents

A typical research statement follows a typical pattern in regard to layout, and often includes features of other research documents including an abstract, research background and goals. Often these reports are tailored towards specific audiences, and may be used to showcase job proficiency or underline particular areas of research within a program. [2]

Purpose of a Research Statement

The purpose of a research statement is to let the viewers (e.g. an academic student or a research committee) know the essence of the research document, the main points of the research and where the research will lead to later on. The later paragraphs of a statement might highlight the benefits that the research report will provide to its relevant subject field. A research statement if done properly can be successful in answering the questions below:

  1. What is your interest in the research study? [3]
  2. What were the unsolved questions that compelled a student to undertake the study?
  3. What are the major accomplishments that resulted from the study? [4]
  4. What methodologies were used in collection and analysis of data for the research project?
  5. What were the factors that limited the scope of the research?
  6. What other challenges were encountered during the research and how were they overcome?
  7. What is the application of your research in society?
  8. What is the importance of the research project within its relevant field?
  9. Does your research pave the way for further studies in the field?

Academic researchers stress the point that a research statement cannot simply be answered by saying yes or no [5] but is supported by valid evidences.

Content of the Research Statement

The content of a research statement is concerned with 3 main elements:

Research Statement Considerations for Recent Research

The research statement of college students or recent graduates discusses the thesis required in college or university.

Research Statement Considerations for Future Research

Research Statement Considerations for Details

Research Statements for Quantitative Research

Some of the main research statements for quantitative researches are

Quantitative research statements are based on the logic of deduction and reasoning and are formed by identifying the variables of a general theory and observing a few selected variables. [7]

Research Statements for Qualitative Research

Some of the main research statements for qualitative researches are

Qualitative research statements are based on inductive reasoning and are restated several times during the collection of data. They explain what influence qualitative statements or variables have in decision making under uncertain conditions.

Types of Research Statements

Usually two types of research statements are formed for a research paper.

Bad Practices of Research Statements

Below are some of the reasons many research proposals are turned down by research committees.

See also

Related Research Articles

Research Systematic study undertaken to increase knowledge

Research is "creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of information to increase understanding of a topic or issue. A research project may be an expansion on past work in the field. To test the validity of instruments, procedures, or experiments, research may replicate elements of prior projects or the project as a whole.

Marketing research is the systematic gathering, recording, and analysis of qualitative and quantitative data about issues relating to marketing products and services. The goal is to identify and assess how changing elements of the marketing mix impacts customer behavior.

A case study is an in-depth, detailed examination of a particular case within a real-world context. For example, case studies in medicine may focus on an individual patient or ailment; case studies in business might cover a particular firm's strategy or a broader market; similarly, case studies in politics can range from a narrow happening over time to an enormous undertaking.

Participant observation is one type of data collection method by practitioner-scholars typically used in qualitative research and ethnography. This type of methodology is employed in many disciplines, particularly anthropology, sociology, communication studies, human geography, and social psychology. Its aim is to gain a close and intimate familiarity with a given group of individuals and their practices through an intensive involvement with people in their cultural environment, usually over an extended period of time.

Social research Research conducted by social scientists following a systematic plan

Social research is a research conducted by social scientists following a systematic plan. Social research methodologies can be classified as quantitative and qualitative.

Quantitative research All procedures for the numerical representation of empirical facts

Quantitative research is a research strategy that focuses on quantifying the collection and analysis of data. It is formed from a deductive approach where emphasis is placed on the testing of theory, shaped by empiricist and positivist philosophies.

Educational research refers to the systematic collection and analysis of data related to the field of education. Research may involve a variety of methods and various aspects of education including student learning, teaching methods, teacher training, and classroom dynamics.

Autoethnography is a form of qualitative research in which an author uses self-reflection and writing to explore anecdotal and personal experience and connect this autobiographical story to wider cultural, political, and social meanings and understandings. Autoethnography is a self-reflective form of writing used across various disciplines such as communication studies, performance studies, education, English literature, anthropology, social work, sociology, history, psychology, theology and religious studies, marketing, organizational behavior, gender studies, human resource development, adult education, educational administration, arts education, nursing and physiotherapy.

Academic writing

Academic writing or scholarly writing is nonfiction produced as part of academic work, including reports on empirical fieldwork or research in facilities for the natural sciences or social sciences, monographs in which scholars analyze culture, propose new theories, or develop interpretations from archives, as well as undergraduate versions of all of these.

Exploratory research is "the preliminary research to clarify the exact nature of the problem to be solved." It is used to ensure additional research is taken into consideration during an experiment as well as determining research priorities, collecting data and honing in on certain subjects which may be difficult to take note of without exploratory research. It can include techniques, such as:

A lesson plan is a teacher's detailed description of the course of instruction or "learning trajectory" for a lesson. A daily lesson plan is developed by a teacher to guide class learning. Details will vary depending on the preference of the teacher, subject being covered, and the needs of the students. There may be requirements mandated by the school system regarding the plan. A lesson plan is the teacher's guide for running a particular lesson, and it includes the goal, how the goal will be reached and a way of measuring how well the goal was reached.

Research design Overall strategy utilized to carry out research

Research design refers to the overall strategy utilized to carry out research that defines a succinct and logical plan to tackle established research question(s) through the collection, interpretation, analysis, and discussion of data.

Fieldnotes Notes recorded by researchers in the course of field research

Fieldnotes refer to qualitative notes recorded by scientists or researchers in the course of field research, during or after their observation of a specific organism or phenomenon they are studying. The notes are intended to be read as evidence that gives meaning and aids in the understanding of the phenomenon. Fieldnotes allow the researcher to access the subject and record what they observe in an unobtrusive manner.

Designing Social Inquiry: Scientific Inference in Qualitative Research is an influential 1994 book written by Gary King, Robert Keohane, and Sidney Verba that lays out guidelines for conducting qualitative research. The central thesis of the book is that qualitative and quantitative research share the same "logic of inference." The book primarily applies lessons from regression-oriented analysis to qualitative research, arguing that the same logics of causal inference can be used in both types of research.

Grantsmanship is the art of acquiring financial grants through the process of grant writing. This term is typically used when referring to the skills necessary to secure peer-reviewed research funding, but it can also apply more broadly to overall field of fundraising from private foundations, community foundations, corporate foundations, governments, and other grant-makers.

Research question Question that a research project sets out to answer

A research question is 'a question that a research project sets out to answer'. Choosing a research question is an essential element of both quantitative and qualitative research. Investigation will require data collection and analysis, and the methodology for this will vary widely. Good research questions seek to improve knowledge on an important topic, and are usually narrow and specific.

The term Marketing research mix was created in 2004 and published in 2007. It was designed as a framework to assist researchers to design or evaluate marketing research studies. The name was deliberately chosen to be similar to the Marketing Mix - it also has four Ps. Unlike the marketing mix these elements are sequential and they match the main phases that need to be followed. These four Ps are: Purpose; Population; Procedure and Publication.

National Center for Assessment in Higher Education

Measurement is derived from the verb 'to measure' which means to assess something; in Arabic 'yaqees' 'measure' has the meaning of comparing something to something else. In this sense, measurement is a daily practice that manifests itself in all our assessment activities, whether we assess concrete things in terms of size and color, or abstract things such as human relations. The ultimate goal of 'measuring' something is to assess ourselves in comparison to everything else in the world.

Master in Development Administration or Master of Science in Development Administration (MSDEA) is a post graduate academic degree in Community Development. It is intended to train professionals for careers in public and private development administrations. It aims to provide the scholars with the procedural and specialized skills and capability in translating national development plans and policies into precise programs and projects, planning, implementing, coordinating and managing the same for public equity. The course of education focused on the political as well as the economic scope of development.

Writing center assessment refers to a set of practices used to evaluate writing center spaces. Writing center assessment builds on the larger theories of writing assessment methods and applications by focusing on how those processes can be applied to writing center contexts. In many cases, writing center assessment and any assessment of academic support structures in university settings builds on programmatic assessment principles as well. As a result, writing center assessment can be considered a branch of programmatic assessment, and the methods and approaches used here can be applied to a range of academic support structures, such as digital studio spaces.

References

  1. ↑ "Writing a Research Plan - Science Careers - Biotech, Pharmaceutical, Faculty, Postdoc jobs on Science Careers". Sciencecareers.sciencemag.org. 2002-07-26. Retrieved 2010-07-10.
  2. ↑ "Tips On Structuring The Research Statement". Columbia.edu. 2010-04-05. Retrieved 2013-01-30.
  3. ↑ "Career Services | University of Pennsylvania".
  4. ↑ "Developing your Research Statement".
  5. ↑ http://libguides.marquette.edu/content.php?pid=197124&sid=1651941 [ dead link ]
  6. ↑ http://careers.uw.edu/ifiles/all/files/docs/gradstudents/pdfs/AcademicCareers-Research_Statements_07-08.pdf [ dead link ]
  7. ↑ http://www.upei.ca/~xliu/ed611/day3.htm [ dead link ]
  8. ↑ http://www.sbcc.edu/clrc/files/wl/downloads/DevelopingaThesisStatement.pdf [ dead link ]
  9. ↑ http://grantscourse.columbia.edu/CUMC-JSR_Funding_for_Graduate_Students_Research_Statement.pdf [ dead link ]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.