Linear Models

The Six Steps

To help keep you on track to successfully complete the research paper for this course, there are six graded steps. This section looks at each step and what shouldbe included in them.

1. Research Question

The starting point for any research is the research question. This is the question that your research will attempt to answer. There are some general requirements for a good research question.

• The first is that it is a question. Statements will not work. Statements about reality are the research hypothesis (a.k.a., the thesis statement).
• The second is that it is answerable using data. This requires that you operationalize the important terms in the question. This operationalization needs to be concrete and measureable.
• The third is that the research question should be related to your major. This makes it more useful to you.

To help, here is a LaTeX file (and its pdf result) example for how I want you to format this. I encourage you to download the LaTeX file and just fill in the sections appropriately. Make sure the fHomework.sty stylefile is in the same folder as the template.

• LaTeX template
• What it looks like
• Here is the fHomework.sty style file.

2. Thesis Statement

Now that you have the research question, the next step is to do research into what has already been written about this particular question (literature review). The purpose of the literature review is twofold: first, to show that you have a handle on the important extant research into the topic; second, to determine a proposed answer to your question. This proposed answer is also called the “thesis statement” and the “research hypothesis.”

As a note, I recommend starting your BibTeX file, references.bib now. As you read an article or book, add it to your BibTeX file. Keeping up with that file will make things much easier in the future.

To help, here is a LaTeX file (and its pdf result) example for how I want you to format this. I encourage you to download the LaTeX file and just fill in the sections appropriately. Make sure the fHomework.sty stylefile is in the same folder as the template.

• LaTeX template
• What it looks like
• Here is the references.bib bibliography file.

3. Data Collected

Continue reading the literature. However, the next step is to collect the data in a single spreadsheet. Each column corresponds to a variable and its values. Each row corresponds to a unit of analysis and its values for each variable.

The submission here will be two-fold. The first is the data file emailed to the professor by the start of the class. The second is a document on the sources of the data you are using.

• LaTeX template
• What it looks like

4. Paper Outline

Write a full-sentence outline of your paper. While the major sections will be the same for all, the particulars will differ. A full-sentence outline provides greater detail for what you plan to do in each section. Citations are provided, if available.

To help, here is a LaTeX file (and its pdf result) example for how I want you to format this. I encourage you to download the LaTeX file and just fill in the sections appropriately. Make sure the fHomework.sty stylefile is in the same folder as the template.

• LaTeX template
• What it looks like

5. Research Presentation

Present your research. The presentation should tell the story of your research project. It is graded on its quality (what is says) as well as its quality (how professional it looks).

If you would like to use LaTeX for this, I encourage you. There is a package called “Beamer” that handles presentations quite nicely. In fact, the presentations I do are all done using Beamer. Like LaTeX, it makes typesetting mathematics much simpler.

However, Beamer is not required for the presentation. Feel free to use PowerPoint or Google Present. Just make it look professional. Here is a presentation you can use as an example.

• Example presentation: Testing Turkish Democracy.

6. Final Paper

This is the final version of your paper. Now that you have the data and a plan for the analysis, do the analysis. Contemplate what the analysis tells you about the research question. You have completed the outline already. Now, all you have to do, is fill it in.

Make sure you use the fPaper.sty stylefile and that it is in the same folder as the tex file of your paper. Also, as a reminder, have your sources in the BibTeX file, references.bib in the same folder.

• Here is the fPaper.stystyle file.

Research Paper

The research paper needs to be as long as it needs to be. However, I expect it to be somewhere around 10 pages, including graphics. Here are the sections that I expect in the paper (and their purposes).

Introduction

The final version of the introduction should be written last… after the conclusion. When I write, I start with a very sketchy introduction that lays out what I want to cover in the paper. Then, when I finish the conclusion, I delete the first introduction and rewrite it correctly.

The final introduction should be two paragraphs long. The first paragraph builds interest in the topic. Its last sentence is the research question. The second paragraph summarizes the rest of the paper. The introduction should be able to stand alone. I should be able to read the introduction and know what you did and what you found out (the answer to your research question).

Literature Review

The purpose of this section is to convey the story of the question. What other people have researched this question? What were their answers? Have those answers changed over time.

Ultimately, there are two goals of the literature review. The first is to show that you have done the necessary research to understand the topic. The second is to motivate your proposed answer to your research question. This answer is called the “research hypothesis.”

Data

How did you collect the data? What are the characteristics of the data? These characteristics include such things as sample size, mean, and standard deviation (usually given in a table and explained in the prose). A graphic of the data would not be out of place here.

When you gathered the data, were there any problems? How confident are you that the data are representative of the population? This last question is one of external validity… the ability to draw conclusions about the target population based on this sample.

Methods

In the methods section, explain the methods you will utilize in your analysis. Make sure you explain the methods and the requirements. Prove that you are using an appropriate method.

Results and Discussion

What are the results from your analysis? What do these mean about your research question? Remember to tie these results to the literature review. What did others discover? Did you discover anything different? What accounts for these differences?

Conclusion

This section introduces NOTHING new to the paper. Its sole purpose is to summarize what you discovered. It should be a few paragraphs long. The first for the literature review. The second for the data, analysis, and results.

Finally, the very last paragraph examines the entire research process and evaluates it in terms of weaknesses, strengths, and future endeavors.

Appendix

Include all of your R in this appendix. Make sure you have things properly commented.

Reference List

The last part of your paper is your reference list. Use BibTeX and LaTeX to typeset this correctly.

Please Remember

Remember that your paper needs to be done in LaTeX. Cite your sources of information. Include a bibliography. Use BibTeX for this. Include a title page. Use the stylesheet I designed for this project.

Presentation

The purpose of the presentation is to convey your research to the audience in a meaningful manner. I thoroughly expect you to have professional-looking slides (PowerPoint or Google Slides or whatever). Part of this grade covers the quality of the slides. A part of this grade covers the logic of the presentation. A part of this grade covers your poise in front of the class.

The presentation should tell the story of your research project.