Write-up

1800 words

This assignment consists of 1800 word report written in the style of a journal article (see  file attached).

The report is to comprise a half hour interview Procedure

1.    Topic Stress in the workplace.

2.    Do the relevant reading around the topic

3.    Identify an interesting theoretical perspective or point of view

4.    Formulate some relevant questions or hypotheses

5.    Conduct at least one half hour interview with a relevant person, focusing on the issues of interest.

6.    Present the results and discussion in an integrated and coherent fashion following the Guidelines to Writing a Report

6.    Discuss the limitations of the study (and case studies in general), come to some conclusions and point the way for future research.

 

·         Title

·         Abstract

·         Introduction

·         Method

·         Results

·         Discussion

·         References

·         Citations

Title

Give a simple but explanatory title. (eg, "Commonly found habitats for frogs with edible legs".

Abstract

·         150 words maximum.

·         Must communicate the significance of your study so that readers can decide if your study is relevant to their work and to help give them a quick overview of what you did.

·         Write the abstract last.

·         Summary of report abstract includes:

·         Research aim and rationale (1 or 2 sentences).

·         Method (1 to 3 sentences).

·         Main results (1 or 2 sentences).

·         Implications of results (1 or 2 sentences).

·         Avoid references in this section.

Ask yourself:

Can the reader figure out why you did the interview(s), what you did, what you found, and what you conclude?

Introduction

·         Don't label this section "Introduction" (you can use subtitles if useful).

·         Presents the rationale for your interview(s): proceed from general to specific.

·         First paragraph gives a general introduction and context to the study and includes a GENERAL aim (not the specific hypotheses or research questions).

·         Next paragraphs review relevant literature (relevant theories, past research).

·         Relate aims of study to this background literature.

·         Integrate theory and experimental evidence to build rationale.

·         Keep focus clearly on literature directly related to your interview(s).

·         If study focuses on several issues, present in the same order in introduction, results and discussion.

·         State each specific hypothesis or research question directly following the appropriate literature/argument.

Ask yourself:

Can the reader identify why you are doing the interview(s) and what the aims are?

Do your hypotheses and research questions logically "fall out" of your rationale?

Method

·         Reports how you did the interview(s). Provides sufficient information to enable a reader to replicate the study.

·         Major sections:

Respondents/participants

·         Describe basic characteristics of the interviewee(s) (eg, gender, age, ethnicity, occupation).  DO NOT USE THE PERSON'S REAL NAME – REMEMBER CONFIDENTIALITY.

·         How recruited – HOW AND WHERE DID YOU FIND YOUR INTERVIEWEE(S)

Materials/questionnaire

·         Describe overall strategy adopted.

·         Describe the questions used in your interview(s). MAKE SURE AN ADEQUATE SUMMARY OF THE INTERVIEW(S) IS IN THE APPENDIX.

Procedure

·         Describe exactly how the data was collected and how long it took for the participant to answer your questions.

Ask yourself:

Would someone reading this have a fairly accurate picture of what we did without referring to the questionnaire?

Results

·         Reports exactly what your interviewee(s) found with respect to your research questions and hypotheses.

·         Do not discuss or interpret findings in results section.

·         Present and describe basic information.

·         State whether your hypotheses are supported or not (eg, "the hypothesis that most frogs live in the sea was not supported as most of the frogs collected came from inland ponds").

·         Answer any research questions posed (eg, "to answer the research question which asked whether male and female frogs differed in height, it was found that male frogs were taller on average than females").

·         Deal with hypotheses and research questions in the same order as presented in the introduction.

Ask yourself:

Is the information presented clearly enough for the reader to form an accurate picture of the findings?

Discussion

·         Interpretation of findings and statement of conclusions.

·         Move from the specific to the general.

·         First, restate hypotheses/research questions, summarise important findings (don't give every detail again) and whether hypotheses were supported or not.

·         Relate findings back to the previous research and theory reviewed in the introduction. (eg, do the results support other people's findings, fit with existing theories. Make sure this is NOT a rehash of the introduction.)

·         Don't introduce a lot of new literature into the discussion – it should be in the introduction.

·         If relevant, try to explain any discrepancies (why are your results different to other people's findings, or theories?)

·         Discuss implications of the findings in terms of theory, research, and real-world situations. (eg, Blogg's theory that frogs are found mainly in the sea will have to be either expanded to include frogs living in ponds or re-examined to see if future studies need to concentrate on ponds rather than the sea. French cooks might need to hunt frogs in ponds in preference to the sea.)

·         Highlight any methodological limitations (briefly and in a positive light). How far can your findings be generalised (eg, to the which population? Workers in certain occupations? etc).  Remember that one way to turn limitations around is to include suggested improvements as "the next study". DON'T PUT YOUR STUDY DOWN – YOU WANT TO PUBLISH IT!

·         Provide explicit directions for future research.

Ask yourself:

Have you adequately presented the key findings and addressed them in the light of the aims and rationale for this piece of research?

References

·         You must give a list of all references cited in the report.

·         This is not a bibliography, so it only includes those references you actually cite. Do not use footnotes.

·         The list is alphabetical by the author's family (sur) name.

·         Remember that it is okay to use the work of as many authors as you want, but you must cite where you found your source, otherwise you will be guilty of plagiarism.

·         Listing references – some examples:

Journal article

Leung, K. & Bond, M. (1989). On the empirical identification of dimensions of cross-cultural comparisons. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 20(2), 133-151.

Book

Ting-Toomey, S. (1999). Communicating across cultures. New York: The Guildford Press.

Book Chapter

Chang, H. & Holt, G. R. (1994). A Chinese perspective on face as inter-relational concern. In S. Ting-Toomey (Ed.), The challenge of facework. State University New York Press.

Citations

Some examples of citing in the text are:

·         Paraphrasing or giving a summary of someone's work or theory you might say:

Bloggs (1992) made the point that...

Bloggs and Smith (1996) also found that...

·         Another way to do this is not to include the author/s name/s as part of the sentence but place them in parentheses:

Ancient sea beds have shown traces of frog fossils (Bloggs & Brainy, 1986).

·         Using a secondary source from someone else's work or using someone else's summary of an author's work you might say:

Bloggs' extensive work in the area of frogs' habitats has been summarised by Rockman (1998) who reports......

Bloggs, (cited by Rockman, 1998) found......

·         If there are two or more authors, use 'et al.' after the first complete citing:

Bloggs et al. (1991) showed that...

·         Use quotations as sparingly as possible. Too much quoting will lose you marks as the marker will think you don't understand what you are reading. Only quote when the phrase is well-known, witty, uses jargon specific to that author, or you want to emphasise something which you have already explained. When quoting you must include the page number:

Bloggs said, "The simian mode is the terser of the two" (1984: 234).

OR

Bloggs said, "The simian mode is the terser of the two" (1984, p.234).

OR

Bloggs (1984) said, "The simian mode is the terser of the two" (p.234)

 IMPORTANT:

Remember, it is impossible to generalize from a case study. Consequently, although a single case study can provide evidence in support of a theory, it cannot confirm the theory. On the other hand, it can be a useful tool for disconfirming theories. If our observations and results do not support a particular theoretical position, think about some possible reasons for the discrepancy.

The approach you choose to take is entirely up to you. The important points to remember are:

Do your reading FIRST. You cannot know what questions to ask your subject(s) until you have decided what it is, exactly, that you want to know.

Select some kind of theoretical approach or perspective to guide your enquiry and to keep you focused. Don't try to cover too many theories or approaches – keep it simple and well structured.

Draw up an interview schedule (list of questions you want to ask) and include in the appendix. Be prepared to go beyond your listed questions if your subject has plenty to say, but use your list to remind you of those essential questions which you'll need to ask if your report is to make sense.

To encourage your subject to talk freely, you should be sure to ask open-ended questions (without being too vague). For example, don't ask questions like 'Is is the boredom that gets you down?" but rather 'What is the most stressful aspect of your job". Remember your goal is to explore your subject's experiences and perceptions, not to confirm your hunches or hypotheses.

Do remember to be warm, friendly and encouraging; make the interview an enjoyable experience for your subject(s). Use plenty of nonverbal communication (nods, 'uh-huhs' etc); do not push for a response when the respondent is clearly uncomfortable or unwilling to answer a question.

In all cases, make sure your respondents know their responses are completely confidential and anonymous (and keep them that way). Even when the interview is put in the appendix of your report, the name(s) should not be included.

 

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Warm regards,

 

mailurhomework team

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