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The Research Process (Step 4 & 5)

TOPIC:

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK HYPOTHESIS DEVELOPMENT

GROUP MEMBER

FATIMA TAHIR MS09MBA014

KANWAL AMIN MS09MBA016

ASMA MUNAWAR MS09MBA039

RESOURCE PERSON

DR. FOUZIA NAHEED KHAWAJA

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Table of Contents

TOPICS PAGE #

What is Research? 6

Business Research Defined 6

Why do Research? 7

The Request for Proposal (RFP) 12

Business Methods versus Research Methodology 13

Observation 14

The Scientific Method: An Overview 16

Steps of the Scientific Process 17

What is a Literature Search 19

Purpose of a Literature Search 20

The Literature Review: 28

Finding Sources 29

Kinds of Sources 29

Converting an Idea into a Research Hypothesis 30

A Strategic Approach 31

A Search Plan 32

Synthesizing Information 33

What to look for in relation to the Literature Review 35

Where to look for reference material 37

Types of Questions 44

Types of Relationships 45

Patterns of Relationships 46

Variables 48

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Determine the Relevant Variable 48

Types of Variables 51

Independent and Dependent Variables 52

Moderating Variables 53

Extraneous Variables 53

Intervening Variables 54

Recapitulation 55

Operational Definition of Variable 57

Threats to a Valid Measurement Procedure 64

Controlling Threats to Reliability and Validity 68

Creating a Reliable Manipulation 68

Controlling Confounding Variable 68

Control Demand Characteristics 77

Cause and Effect Relationships 78

Manipulation and Measurement 84

Theory 84

Theory and Research 84

Two Purposes of Theory 86

Concept (or Construct) 86

Theoretical Framework 88

Importance to Research 89

Hypothesis 90

Propositions and Hypotheses 90

Descriptive Hypothesis 91

Relational Hypothesis 92

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Correlational Hypothesis 93

Explanatory(causal) Hypotheses 94

The Role of the Hypothesis 95

What is a good hypothesis? 95

Research Questions 96

Correlational Research 98

Formulating the Research Problem 102

Hypothesis Development and Testing 104

Explanation of Correlation Coefficient 105

Operationalization 107

Conceptual Variables 107

Validity and Reliability 108

Types of Validity 109

Reliability 109

Types of Reliability 110

Generalization 110

Choosing the Research Method 110

Choosing the Measurement 110

Errors in Research 110

Experimental Research 111

Aims of Experimental Research 111

Identifying the Research Problem 111

Constructing the Experiment 111

Sampling Groups to Study 111

Creating the Design 112

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Typical Designs and Features in Experimental Design 112

Pretest-Posttest Design 113

Control Group 113

Randomized Controlled Trials 113

Between Subjects Design 114

Solomon Four-Group Design 114

Within Subject Design 114

Counterbalanced Measures Design 114

Matched Subjects Design 114

Pilot Study 115

Conducting the Experiment 117

Types of Research Designs 119

Quantitative and Qualitative Research 119

Different Research Methods 120

Ethics in Research 120

Research - Cost and Benefits-Analysis 121

Statistics Tutorial 122

Hypothesis Testing - Statistics Tutorial 123

Statistical Tests 124

Testing Hypothesis Statistically 126

Analysis of Variance 126

References 127

What is Research?

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Research is an often-misused term, its usage in everyday language very different

from the strict scientific meaning. In the field of science, it is important to move away

from the looser meaning and use it only in its proper context. Scientific research

adheres to a set of strict protocols and long established structures. Often, we will talk

about conducting internet research or say that we are researching in the library. In

everyday language, it is perfectly correct grammatically, but in science, it gives a

misleading impression. The correct and most common term used in science is that we

are conducting a literature review.

What is Research? - The Guidelines

What is research ? For a successful career in science, you must understand the

methodology behind any research and be aware of the correct protocols.

Science has developed these guidelines over many years as the benchmark for

measuring the validity of the results obtained.

Failure to follow the guidelines will prevent your findings from being accepted

and taken seriously. These protocols can vary slightly between scientific disciplines,

but all follow the same basic structure.

Business Research Defined

Business Research is defined as the systematic and objective process of generating

information for aid in making business decisions.

By William G. Zikmund

Business Research

Research information is neither intuitive nor haphazardly gathered.

Literally, research (re-search) -search again

Business research must be objective

Detached and impersonal rather than biased

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It facilitates the managerial decision process for all aspects of a business.

Information Reduces Uncertainty

It aint the things we dont know that gets us in

trouble. Its the things we know that aint so.

Artemus Ward

Research Process

Research process deals with the ways and strategies used by researchers to

understand the world around us. It involves a dedicated system of scientific

methodology that can be used by researchers to arrive at the right conclusions.

and the researcher concludes and generalizes the findings to the real world.

Aims of Research

The general aims of research are:

Observe and Describe

Predict

Determination of the Causes

Explain

Purpose of Research - Why do we conduct research? Why is it necessary?

Elements of Research

Common scientific research elements are:

Characterization - How to understand a phenomenon

Decide what to observe about a phenomenon

How to define the research problem

How to measure the phenomenon

Hypothesis and Theory

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I dont knowif we should

offer on-sitechild care?
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The research questions before performing research

Often based on earlier research

Prediction

What answers do we expect?

Reasoning and logic on why we expect these results

Observation or Experimentation

Testing characterizations, hypothesis , theory and predictions

Understanding a phenomenon better

Drawing Conclusions

Reasoning and Logic

There is no straight answer to the best reasoning to apply to the research process .

Here are a few articles about different reasoning and logic when conducting the

scientific method.

Hypothetico-Deductive Method

Falsification

Testability

Deductive Reasoning

Inductive Reasoning and the Raven Paradox

Scientific Reasoning

Casual Reasoning

Abductive Reasoning

Post Hoc Reasoning

Defeasible Reasoning

Why do Research? In the beginning

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We all have a great store of wisdom in our heads and rarely ask where it came

from. By and large, the knowledge upon which we base our decisions comes from

what we have been told rather than from direct experience. We usually are not too

careful about the source of our information, even when it is the basis of very

important decision. Doing our own research and experimentation allows us to make

direct examination of the information we already possess as well as providing us with

new information.

In Mark Twains story, Eves Autobiography. (1962), Eve examines the problem

of being newborn in a world in which knowledge in not communicated:

But studying, learning inquiring into the cause and nature and purpose of everything

we came across, were passions with us, and this research filled our days with brilliant

and absorbing interest. Each was ambitious to beat the other in scientific discovery,

and this inventive added a spur to our friendly rivalry, and effectively protected us

against falling into idle unprofitable ways and frivolous pleasure seeking (p.71)

Some of Adam and Eve's experiments bear fruit:

Our tint memorable scientific discovery was the law that water and like fluids run

downhill, not up. It was Adam that found this out. Days and days he conducted his

experiments secretly, saying nothing to me about it; for he wanted to make perfectly

sure before he spoke My astonishment was his triumph, his reward. He took me

from rill to rilldozens of themsaying always, "Thereyou see it runs downhill

in every case it runs downhill, never up. My theory was right; it is proven, it is

established, nothing can controvert it,"

In the present day, no child wonders to see the water run down and not up, but it

was an amazing thing then, and m hard to believe as any fact I have ever encountered.

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Presently he said, "Do you know, you have not made merely one weighty and far-

reaching contribution to science, but two!"

And that was true. By a series of experiments we had long ago arrived at the

conclusion that atmospheric air consisted of water in invisible suspension; also, that

the components of water were hydrogen and oxygen, in the proportion of two parts of

the former to one of the latter, and expressible by the symbol H 20. My discovery

revealed the fact that there was still another ingredientmilk. We enlarged the

symbol to H 20,M.

All the steps of scientific research are shown in Twain's story. Eve asks a question

to which she wants an answer. When systematic observation fails to provide an

answer, she then plans an experiment, devising a methodology and working out a way

to collect data. After analyzing her data (determining that she has two gallons of milk)

and, presumably, checking to see that her methods have not gone astray (namely, that

the cow had not strayed over the fence), she reports the results and her conclusion to

her colleague. Finally, she and Adam attempt to generalize her conclusion more

widely and fit it in with other information they already possess.

Adam and Eve's conclusion may be open to challenge, as are the results and

conclusions of any research. One of the greatest strengths of scientific method as a

way of gaining knowledge is that this knowledge is always subject to further testing.

Eve's experiment should be conducted on other cows, the cow she watched might be

unique. The experiment also should be continued for a longer period of time; there

might be distressing effects on milk production, not to mention the cow, if Eve

continued to withhold fluids. If she thinks hair in important in the process, she might

try shaving the cow. She might also try confining the cow to areas where no grass

grows, which not affect should milk production if her air-suspension theory is correct.

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A single experiment or research project rarely provides final answers; it simply helps

eliminate unlikely explanation. Scientists are not only interested in testing what they

have been told, they also must be able to pinpoint weaknesses in applications of

scientific method and weight the truth of any conclusions accordingly.

What is wrong with believing what we are told?

After all, we're not Adam and Eve. In fact, according to the anthropologist, what

distinguishes us from monkeys is that we have culture which can be handed down

from generation to generation. This culture consists of physical objects and

knowledge communicated both orally and in writing. If we want to know how the

milk gets into the cow, all we need do is ask someone or look it up in a book. Yet if

you were to pursue this question with someone who really knows, you would be

likely to find out that this is an area of current research. The improvement of milk

production through feeding, genetics, and milking practices is still going on. The

answer you get this year may not be the same as the one you would get ten years from

now, and it certainly wont be the same as the answer you would have got in 1900.

Is the solution, then, to believe nothing of what we are told and to discover everything

through direct experience? The problems would be overwhelming there simply isnt

enough time to gather all information firsthand. Besides, a small portion of direct

experience by itself can be misleading, as we saw with Eve's work. What we need is a

means of estimating how much we should trust a particular piece of information. In

addition, we need a process by which we can generate new information when we feel

the need for a firmer base for our decisions.

Scientific method is a set of procedures that allows us to generate information of

high quality and to check the worth of what we have been told by others. Scientific

research does not provide final answers, but it increases the probability that the

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information obtained does reflect reality. One hallmark of scientific method is that it

is self-correcting. Properly applied, scientific procedures will expose weaknesses in

information gathered in earlier research and suggests new research to deal with these

weaknesses. Scientists "believe" something only on a provisional basis. They are

aware that any particular belief may have to be altered because of future research

findings. Behaving like a scientist means fighting a continuing battle against the in-

clination to be dogmatic about what we "know." It is especially important for those of

us hoping to work with other people to ride herd on our beliefs. Whether we are

psychologists, sociologists, educators, anthropologists, health-service practitioners,

politicians, or business managers, we are constantly making decisions that affect our

fellow human beings. Our work often costs other people money, takes up their time,

Research Methodology

Research Methodology In order to meet our objectives, we will need to use a

number of research methods. For instance, when gathering research for our first

objective, we will need to create a questionnaire and come up with questions to ask

the store manager in the interview with him. These are both primary methods of

research, however, we will be using forms of secondary research also. Primary and

secondary research can be split up into two groups, quantitative and qualitative

research. Methods of quantitative secondary research include official statistics, and

controlled experiments. In order to solve the problem of low motivation at the store,

we will need to practice a number of research methods. A particular method of

research we will be using is primary research. Primary research is collecting data that

does not already exist. Another method of research is secondary research, this is using

data that already exists, such as books, newspapers, the internet and the other methods

mentioned earlier. Between these two methods we aim to collect data that is more

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qualitative than quantitative, as we believe a subject such as motivation requires

peoples opinions and much more elaboration than what closed-ended questionnaires

and other quantitative methods of research could possibly offer. To meet our first

objective we will need to collect primary research in the form of questionnaires and

interview. This in turn would help us decide whether the lack of motivation affects the

day to day running of the business, whether it is in the production area or whether

quality is more effected. This will in turn able our to complete our fifth objective of

collecting significant secondary research, which will allow us to analyze and come up

with some quality solutions for the problem of low motivation at Sainsburys Local in

Wylde Green. In order to complete our final objective of offering conclusions to our

research, we will use both primary and secondary research.

The Request for Proposal (RFP)

The request for proposal (RFP) is part of a formal process of competitively

tendering and hiring a research supplier. If the process is undertaken by a public

sector organization or large corporation, the process can be extremely strict with set

rules regarding communication between client and potential suppliers, the exact time

when the proposal must be submitted, the number of copies to be provided, etc.

Proposals that required thousands of hours of preparation have been refused for being

one minute late (see this article)!

The RFP usually sets out the objectives or client's information requirements and

requests that the proposal submitted by the potential supplier include:

1. A detailed research methodology with justification for the approach or approaches

proposed;

2. Phasing or realistic timelines for carrying out the research;

3. A detailed quotation by phase or task as well as per diem rates and time spent for

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each researcher participating in the execution of the work;

4. The qualifications of each participating researcher and a summary of other projects

each person has been involved in to demonstrate past experience and expertise

The client should provide the potential suppliers with the criteria for selection and the

relative weight assigned to each one, to assist suppliers in understanding where trade-

offs might need to be made between available budget and importance. These criteria

also allow the supplier to ensure that all areas deemed important by the client have

been addressed as part of the proposal.

At times, clients ask a short-listed number of suppliers to present their proposed

methodology during an interview, which allows for probing by the client but also

discussion as to the advantages and disadvantages associated with the research design

that is proposed.

Business Methods versus Research Methodology

Many authors use these terms interchangeably, but there is a correct way of using

them. As students of Research Methods, we must know the difference. What is it?

Textbooks treat this differently but research methods usually refers to specific

activities designed to generate data (e.g questionnaires, interviews, focus groups,

observation) and research methodology is more about your attitude to and your

understanding of research and the strategy you choose to answer research questions.

This idea is based on the views of author Dr. Sue Greener (2003 Pg 10)

Observation

Observation is a primary method of collecting data by human, mechanical,

electrical or electronic means. The researcher may or may not...

Deductive Reasoning

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Steps of the scientific method are shaped like an hourglass - starting from general

questions, narrowing down to focus on one specific aspect and designing research

where we can observe and analyze this aspect. At last, we conclude and generalize to

the real world.

Steps of the Scientific Process

1) Setting a Goal

Research in all disciplines and subjects, not just science, must begin with a clearly

defined goal . This usually, but not always, takes the form of a hypothesis .

For example, an anthropological study may not have a specific hypothesis or

principle, but does have a specific goal, in studying the culture of a certain people and

trying to understand and interpret their behavior.

The whole study is designed around this clearly defined goal, and it should

address a unique issue, building upon previous research and scientifically accepted

fundamentals. Whilst nothing in science can be regarded as truth, basic assumptions

are made at all stages of the research, building upon widely accepted knowledge.

2) Interpretation of the Results

Research does require some interpretation and extrapolation of results.

In scientific research, there is always some kind of connection between data

(information gathered) and why the scientist think that the data looks as it does. Often

the researcher looks at the data gathered, and then comes to a conclusion of why the

data looks like it does.

A history paper, for example, which just reorganizes facts and makes no

commentary on the results, is not research but a review .

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If you think of it this way, somebody writing a school textbook is not performing

research and is offering no new insights. They are merely documenting pre-existing

data into a new format.

If the same writer interjects their personal opinion and tries to prove or disprove a

hypothesis , then they are moving into the area of genuine research. Science tends to

use experimentation to study and interpret a specific hypothesis or question, allowing

a gradual accumulation of knowledge that slowly becomes a basic assumption.

3) Replication and Gradual Accumulation

For any study, there must be a clear procedure so that the experiment can be

replicated and the results verified. Again, there is a bit of a grey area for observation-

based research, as is found in anthropology, behavioral biology and social science, but

they still fit most of the other criteria.

Planning and designing the experimental method , is an important part of the

project and should revolve around answering specific predictions and questions . This

will allow an exact duplication and verification by independent researchers, ensuring

that the results are accepted as real.

Most scientific research looks at an area and breaks it down into easily tested

pieces. The gradual experimentation upon these individual pieces will allow the larger

questions to be approached and answered, breaking down a large and seemingly

insurmountable problem, into manageable chunks.

True research never gives a definitive answer but encourages more research in

another direction. Even if a hypothesis is disproved, that will give an answer and

generate new ideas, as it is refined and developed.

Research is cyclical, with the results generated leading to new areas or a

refinement of the original process.

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that a sequential checklist of the process is too simplistic. Reference 1 explains ...

how researchers must work at different stages of their project simultaneously

[1]. The authors describe how overlapping the stages can help you understand the

problem, manage complexity, and motivate changes in both earlier and later stages.

The important concept to grasp is that the literature search is not just one distinct step

in a research task. It is both a step and an iterative feedback loop. Defining an

unsolved problem determines what kind of literature search is appropriate, and

performing a literature search helps define an unsolved problem. Because of this

complexity, it is not surprising that many beginning researchers have difficulty.

Figure 1 depicts the research process and some of the complex inter-relationships,

including those of the literature search and documentation efforts.

FIGURE 1. Flow Diagram of Research Process.

Purpose of a Literature Search

An introduction chapter in a research paper generally includes information

gleaned from a thorough literature search. A literature search serves three important

functions [2]. Reference 2 states that the literature review gives your reader

background information regarding your own research, demonstrates your familiarity

with research in your field, and shows how your work contributes one more piece in

the puzzle of expanding the knowledge base in your field. The important idea to

convey is that you really understand what others in your field have accomplished and

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how your work differs from the works of others [3]. In a literature review, you

demonstrate your understanding of the relevant works of others and your ability to

summarize this information for the convenience of your readers. This sets the stage

for you to describe what your research contribution is going to be.

Research does not exist in isolation. Each research study is part of existing body

of knowledge, building on the foundation of past research and expanding that

foundation for future research. This topic explains how current knowledge grows,

with each new piece of information growing out of existing body of previous

knowledge. As we discussed the literature and develop an idea for a research study,

keep in mind that your study should be a logical extension of past research.

Ultimately, your goal in conducting a literature search is to find set of published

research reports that define the current state of knowledge in an area , and to identify

a gap in that knowledge base that your study will attempt to fill. Eventually, you will

complete your research study and write your own research report. The research report

begins with an introduction that summarizes past research (from your literature

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search) and provides a logical justification for your study. Although we discuss the

task of writing a research report later (in Chapter 15), the topic is introduced now as a

means of focusing your literature search. Figure 2.2 presents the first paragraph of a

journal article (Schwartz, Dodge, & Coie, 1993) as an example of the use of a

literature review to introduce a topic area and provide a logical justification for a new

study. The paragraph can be condensed into a simple, logical argument:

1. A small minority of children consistently seem to be victimized of bullied by their

peers,

2. Although other research has looked at the characteristics of the victim children,

little has been done to examine their social behaviors prior to becoming victims. (Are

these kids doing something that actually helps them to become victims?)

3. Therefore, we need to examine childrens behaviors before they are identified as

victims. The goal is to determine whether some children are destined to become

victims because they exhibit behaviors that may cause their peers to view them as

easy targets for bullying.

Although we have not described the research study, you should be able to predict

the purpose of the study and should have some idea of what was done. Notice that the

background literature is used to construct a logical argument that This study is an

investigation of the social behavior processes by which children come to be

chronically victimized by their peers. There is substantial evidence that a small

minority of children are consistently targeted for victimization by their peers (for a

review, see Smith, 1991). Researchers have suggested that these chronic victims are at

high risk for later maladjustment (e.g., Olweus, in press). Accordingly, investigators

have devoted considerable effort to identifying the correlates of peer victimization

(e.g., Bjorkqvisf, Ekman, & Lagerspetz, 1982; Lagerspetz Bjorkqvist, Berts, & King,

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1982; Olweus, 1978) and designing effective prevention programs (e.g., Elliot, 1991;

Olweus, 1991; Smith & Thompson 1991). Researchers have not, however,

systematically identified the behavioral antecedents of chronic victimization. As a

result, little is known about the social behaviors that precede and potentially

contribute to the emergence of chronic peer victimization. Our limited understanding

of these behavioral processes is unfortunate because detailed data on the behavior

patterns that precede the emergence of chronic peer victimization would facilitate the

development of appropriate interventions and greatly enhance current understanding

of the mechanisms underlying bully/victim problems in childhood leads the reader

directly into the proposed study. The purpose of your literature review is to provide

the elements needed for an introduction to your own research study. Specifically, you

need to find a set of research articles that can be organized into a logical argument

supporting and justifying the research you propose to do.

The Growth of Research

Throughout this chapter we repeat the notion that each research study builds on

previous knowledge and attempts to expand that knowledge base. With this thought in

mind, it is possible to represent the existing knowledge base (the literature) as a tree-

like structure that is continuously growing over time. When you begin a literature

search, you will enter this tree and find your way along the branches. Your goal in

conducting the search is twofold. First, you must work your way to the very tips of

the highest branches and find a cluster of the most recent research studies. Your study

will form a new branch coming out of this cluster. Second, you must search

backward, down the tree, to identify the historically significant foundations of your

work. You probably will find that most of the current research studies in an area will

cite the same "classic" studies as their foundations. These classics usually will provide

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a broader perspective for your work and will help you understand and explain the

significance of your study as it relates to the more general tree of knowledge.

The tree metaphor is only a conceptual guide to help you visualize the process

and the goals of a literature search-the concept of a tree greatly oversimplifies the

process. For example many good research studies involve establishment a connection

between two previously unrelated branches of research. Nonetheless, the tree

metaphor should help direct your literature search activities. You may, for example,

find yourself with a cluster of recent articles that seem to be a dead end, offering no

prospect for developing new research. If this happens, you can simply work back

down the tree to an earlier branching point and branch off in a new direction without

completely abandoning your original research topic.

Conducting a Literature Search

Starting Points

Lets assume that youre starting your literature search with only a general idea

for a research topic. Your purpose, therefore, is to narrow down your general idea to a

specific research question and to find all the published information necessary to

document and support that question. As you will see, there are many different ways to

begin a search of the literature, in this section we identify several different starting

points and provide some suggestions to help you find one.

One of the best places to start is with a recently published secondary source for

example, a textbook in a content area appropriate for your idea (perhaps a

developmental psychology or social psychology textbook). Use the chapter headings

and subheadings in the text to help focus your search on a more narrowly defined

area, in addition, make notes of the following item, each of which can serve as an

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excellent starting point when you begin to search for primary sources (journal articles)

relevant to your topic:

Key words: Make a list of the correct terms of key words used to identify and

describe the variables in the study and the characteristics of the subjects. Researchers

often develop a specific set of terms to describe a topic area. It is much easier to

locate related research articles if you use the correct terms. For example, you may

have trouble finding articles on duration of memory unless you use the accepted

term, retention interval.

Author Names: Commonly a small group of individual researchers is responsible

for much of the work being done in a specific area. If you repeatedly encounter the

same names, make a note of these individuals as the current leading researchers in the

area.

As you develop your list of key word terms and author names, keep in mind that

any single secondary source is necessarily incomplete and probably selective. Thus, it

is wise to repeat the list-making process with two or three different sources, and then

combine your lists. When you finish, you should have an excellent set of leads to help

you move into the primary source literature.

Using Online Databases

Although there are thousands of research articles published every year, many

tools are available to help you search through the publications to find the few that are

directly relevant to your research topic. In the recent past, the primary tool was a

publication called Abstracts , which consisted of bound volumes containing:

A brief summary of every article, chapter, or book published during the year and

information about where to find the original publication . These summaries are the

actual abstracts .

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A subject index that cross-referenced every publication according to key words or

subjects relevant to the publication.

An author index that cross-referenced every publication according to author.

Thus, one could use Abstracts to look up everything that was listed on a particular

topic and/or everything that was published by a particular author in any year. The

same principle of cross-referencing publications by subject and by author is still used

today, but now most of the cross-referencing tools exist as computer databases. There

are many different databases , with each one focusing on an individual topic area (like

psychology, chemistry, or criminal justice) The databases provide the same basic

information that was available in the bound volumes of Abstracts , but the computer

provides much faster and easier access to the information.

Finding and using background Literature

Once you have settled on a general idea for a research study, the next step is to go

to the library to gather background information on the topic you have identified. In

addition to gaining general knowledge about your topic area, your goals are to

determine the current state of knowledge and to become familiar with current research

in particular, to find a specific research question. Notice that we said "find" a

question rather than "make up" or "create" one. Once you are familiar with what is

currently known and what is currently being done in a research area, your task is

simply to extend the current research one more step. Sometimes this requires a bit of

logic, in which you combine two or more established facts to reach a new conclusion

or prediction. Often the authors of a research report literally will give you ideas for

new research. It is very common for researchers to conclude a discussion of their

results with suggestions for future research. You are welcome to turn one of these

suggestions into a research question. In Section 2.5 we provide additional hints for

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finding research idea For now, do not try to impose your own preconceived idea onto

the literature Instead, let the literature lead you to a new idea.

In most college or university libraries, the books devoted to research will occupy at

least 100 feet of shelves. The research journals probably will, fill even more space.

This mass of published information is referred to as the literature." Your job is to

search the literature to find a handful of items that are directly relevant to your

research idea. This may at first appear to be an overwhelming task; fortunately,

however, the literature is filled with useful aids to guide your search. Specifically, all

the individual publications are interconnected by cross-referencing, and there are

many summary guides providing overviews that can send you directly to specific

topic areas. By following the guides and tracing the interconnections, it is possible to

conduct a successful literature search without undue pain and suffering.

Primary and Secondary Sources

Before we discuss the actual process of a literature search, there are a few terms

you should know. Individual items in the literature can be classified into two broad

categories: primary sources and secondary sources. A primary source is a first-hand

report in which the authors describe their own observations. Typically, a primary

source is a research report, published in a scientific journal or periodical, in which the

authors describe their own research study, including why the research was done, how

the study was conducted, what results were found, and how those results were

interpreted. In contrast, a secondary source is a secondhand report in which the

authors discuss someone else's observations. Some examples of secondary sources

include: (1) books and textbooks in which the author describes and summarizes past

research; (2) the introductory section of research reports, in which previous research

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is presented as a foundation for the current study; and (3) newspaper and magazine

articles that report on previous research.

A Primary Source is a firsthand report of observations or research results that is

written b the individual(s) who actually conducted the research and made the

observations.

A Secondary Source is a description or summary of another persons work. A

secondary source is written by someone who did not participate in the research or

observations being discussed.

Notice that the principal distinction between a primary source and secondary one is

firsthand versus secondhand reporting of research results. Students often confuse this

distinction with the notion that anything published in a journal or periodical is

automatically a primary source and that all other kinds of publications are secondary

sources. This assumption is incorrect on several levels. The following are also

possible:

The journal article is not a primary source. Instead, the article may be a review

of other work, a theoretical article that attempts to explain or establish relationships

between several previous studies, or a historical summary of none is a firsthand report

of research results.

A book or book chapter is primary sources. Occasionally an individual or a

group of researchers will publish an edited volume that presents a series of

interrelated research studies. Each chapter is written by the individual(s) who actually

conducted the research and is therefore a primary source.

A journal article is firsthand report of research results, yet sections of the

article are actually secondary sources. Specifically, most research reports begin with

an introductory section that reviews current research in the area and forms the

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foundation of the study that is being reported. This review of current research is

secondary because the authors describe research conducted by others. Remember, to

qualify as primary source, the authors must describe their own research studies and

results.

Both primary and secondary sources play important roles in the literature search

process. Secondary sources can provide concise summaries of past research. A

textbook, for example, will often summarize 10 years of research, citing several

important studies, in a few paragraphs. Individual research reports that fill 10 to 15

pages in journals are often summarized in one or two sentences, thus, secondary

sources can save your hours of library research. However, you should be constantly

aware that secondary sources are always incomplete and can be biased or simply

inaccurate. In secondary sources, the author has selected only bits and pieces of the

original study; the selected parts may have been taken out of context and reshaped to

fit a theme quite different from what the original authors intended. In general,

secondary sources tell only part of the truth and may, in fact, distort the truth. To

obtain complete and accurate information, it is essential to consult primary sources.

Reading primary sources, however, can be a tedious process, as primary sources are

typically long, detailed reports focusing on a narrowly defined topic. Therefore, plan

to use secondary sources to gain an overview and identify a few specific primary

sources.

The Literature Review:

The literature review is where you will present others writings in a systematic and

thorough way. This allows you as an author to build your conceptual analysis. As the

literature review is a description and critical analysis of what others have written on

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your chosen subject matter before you, it allows you to narrow other authors work and

make it relevant and concise in relation to your subject.

It would be prudent to present other authors work in a systematic way i.e. present

each critical subject area in a defined chapter, this makes it easier and more

manageable to handle various subject themes and modalities.

The literature review will be referred to many times in a dissertation or project.

When we draw conclusions and make recommendations, often we will make them

based on work done before us by other authors and we will frame their work in our

overall recommendations.

Counseling research by its nature can be wordy and literature reviews can be quite

significant in the overall compilation of the project document. Organization and the

eloquent stitching together of themes and subject areas is vital if a literature review

is to have substance and if it is to present a literate/theoretical framework to your

research topic and ultimately to the end user: your reader or academic professionals.

Barker et al, (1994) defines four predominant reasons for a Literature Review

1. To assess how well developed the literature is, what kinds of gaps there are in it

and whether there has been sufficient preliminary descriptive research to define the

phenomena of interest.

2. To see and establish how far the available literature answers your research

questions. How can your proposed study add to the current study?

3. To help you to formulate your research questions in the light of theory or previous

research done.

4. To assist with measurement and design issues, to develop measurement methods, to

assess strengths and weaknesses of those used previously.

Finding Sources

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Libraries are one obvious resource for a student performing a literature search, but

there are many others as well, including the internet. Regardless of the sources you

use, keep a bibliographic trail [1]. Track titles, authors, publication information, page

numbers, and possibly library call numbers (LCN), International Standard Book

Numbers (ISBN), or International Standard Serial Numbers (ISSN). When searching

through cyberspace, also note on-line addresses and other pertinent information so

that a search can be duplicated if necessary. Also be aware that some online

information changes daily one day it is there, the next day it is gone. You should

print it out immediately, if possible, and note the source, the navigation route, and

the search engine you used to get to that source. These tracking habits can help you

avoid duplication of effort and speed the process of obtaining permission (to use

the work of others) when needed. The time required to relocate and require a source is

also reduced. You will also be constructing your reference chapter as you work.

Retracing these efforts by memory is very risky, so it is better if you take notes at

every step.

Kinds of Sources

Sources are generally described as primary, secondary, or tertiary. Primary.

Primary sources are materials that you are directly writing about, the raw

materials of your own research.

Secondary . Secondary sources are books and articles in which other researchers

report the results of their research based on (their) primary data or sources .

Tertiary . Tertiary sources are books and articles based on secondary sources, on

the research of others [1]. Tertiary sources synthesize and explain the work of others

and might be useful early in your research, but they are generally weak support for

your own arguments [1].

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Primary . Examples of primary sources are data sets, computer runs, computer

programs, scale models, drawings, and engineering notebooks. A well-kept

engineering notebook can provide valuable information for later documentation of test

conditions and assumptions, materials used, observations as well as measurements,

and unusual occurrences that prompted further testing.

Secondary . Examples of secondary sources include conferences, proceedings,

journals, and books. Journal articles are often the most current source of information

on a topic of study that is new or subject to rapid change. Lists of references at the

end of each journal article can provide leads to further sources. Engineering journals

are typically field-specific. For a selected list of current journals in agricultural,

chemical, civil, computer, electrical, environmental, industrial, and mechanical

engineering, ask at your facility or university library for specific guides.

Tertiary . Examples of tertiary sources include dictionaries, encyclopedias, guides,

and handbooks. Dictionaries and encyclopedias are excellent starting points

for research. They can provide general background information to help narrow or

broaden the focus of a topic, define unfamiliar terms, and offer bibliographies of other

sources. Some works include an index, which will provide excellent access to a

subject [4]. Guides and handbooks cover topics such as tables, formulas, engineering

fundamentals, measures and units of conversion, mathematics, statistics, and

numerical calculations; these sources are especially useful during the writing phase of

your research [4].

Finding an Idea for a New Research Study

Once you have located a set of recent and relevant articles, the final step is to use

these research reports as the foundation for your research idea (see Chapter 1, Step 1

of the research process). Earlier we called this task "finding a research idea." When

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you are familiar with the current research in an area, the idea for the next study

involves simply extending the current research one more step. However, discovering

this next step may not be as simple as we have implied, and so we list here a few

suggestions:

Describe the tree ways identified in the text to find a new research idea.

Converting an idea into a Research Hypothesis

Typically, a research idea involves a general statement about the relationship

between two variables, For example:

If people use visual images while studying new material, it will improve their

memory for the material. (Memory if related to using images.)

Although providing motivation to people generally improves their performance,

too much motivation may create stress and actually lower performance. (Performance

is related to motivation.)

To evaluate these ideas in an empirical research study, the idea must be

transformed into a specific, concrete research hypothesis that can be tested by direct

observation. This transformation usually involves specifying how each of the

individual variables will be measured and what individuals will be needed to

participate in the study (men, women, children, laboratory rats). Selecting participants

and measuring variables are discussed in the following chapters, but for now we

provide a brief example of what we mean by a specific, concrete hypothesis.

The first of the two research ideas we have proposed states that memory it related

to using visual images. Although this idea could be examined with nearly any group

of human beings, it is probably most convenient to use college students as participants

in the study. Similarly, the concept of memory can be defined in a variety of different

ways, but for this study we choose to measure the number of words correctly recalled

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from a list of 40 nouns that each participant studies for a period of exactly 2 minutes.

Finally, we can define the idea of "using Imagery as forming a mental image of the

object represented by a word. (For example, forming a mental image of a horse when

you see the word horse.) With these definitions in place, our research hypothesis

becomes:

College students who are instructed to form mental images while studying a list of

40 words for 2 minutes will recall more words (on average) than college students who

study the same words for 2 minutes but are not given instructions to form mental

images.

Notice that the research hypothesis provides a very specific procedure for testing

the research idea. Also note that the same research idea (that memory is related to

using images) could produce a variety of different research hypotheses. For example,

we could have tested 10-years-old children instead of college student; we could have

used a set of 20 items( instead of 40; and we could have presented on a screen and

another group a series of words presented on a screen and another group a series of

pictures of the same items, the research hypothesis then becomes:

Ten-year-old children who view pictures of 20 items (for example, a table, a

horse, a tree) will recall more items, on average , than 10-year-old children who view

a series of word resenting the same 20 items for example , TABLE, HORSE, TREE)

In general, there are many different ways to convert a research idea into a specific

research hypothesis, the method you select depends on a variety of factors, including

the set of individuals you want to study and the measurement techniques that are

available. However, each of the many possible hypotheses should provide a direct test

of the basic research idea.

Convert your Research Idea into a specific Research Hypothesis

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Before a research idea can be evaluated, it must be transformed into a research

hypothesis. A hypothesis is a statement about the relationship between two (or more)

variables.

A hypothesis is a statement describing the relationship between two variables.

Although it is possible to form a hypothesis from logic of from pure speculation, a

good hypothesis usually is founded on established theories or develop[ed from the

results of previous research. Specifically, a good hypothesis should be the logical

conclusion of a logical argument. Consider the following example:

Premise 1 : Academic success is highly valued and respected in society (at least by

parents and teachers).

Premise 2 : Being valued and respected by others contributes to high self-esteem.

Conclusion or hypothesis : Higher levels of academic success are related to higher

levels of self-esteem.

In this argument, we will assume that the two premise statements are "facts" or

research results that have been demonstrated and reported in the scientific literature.

Typically, these facts would be obtained from extensive library research. Library

research will acquaint you with the relevant knowledge that already existswhat

other researchers have done and found. By knowing the basic facts, theories,

predictions, and methods that make up the knowledge base for a specific topic area,

you gain a clearer picture of the variables being studied and their relationships. The

logical argument provides a rationale or justification for your research hypothesis and

establishes a connection between your research and the research results obtained by

others.

In addition to being logical, a good hypothesis must be testable ; that is, it must be

possible to make observations that will either support the hypothesis or refute it. In

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particular, the hypothesis must involve real situations, real events, and real

individuals. You cannot test a hypothesis that refers to imaginary events or make-

believe situations. For example, you might speculate about what might happen if the

heat from the sun were gradually to increase over the next 25 years, or you could

debate what might have happened if JFK had not been assassinated. However, neither

of these two propositions leads to a testable hypothesis. The propositions cannot be

observed and therefore are inappropriate as scientific hypotheses.

A second characteristic of a testable hypothesis is that it must make a positive

statement about the existence of something, usually the existence of a relationship, a

difference, or a treatment effect.

A Strategic Approach

As a beginning researcher, two of the most common problems you might

encounter are: i) not knowing where to find sources, and ii) once sources are located,

not knowing how to sift or sort through an excess of information to determine what is

useful to you. The following paragraphs elaborate on these two problems and describe

a general plan that can help you overcome these difficulties during your

literature review process.

Getting Started

A lot of time and frustration can be saved by understanding the process and the

system. Doing research consists of two basic tasks: brainstorming and researching

itself. You need to know what information you will need, and you need to know

where to get your hands on it [5]. Developing the working bibliography requires

knowledge of library resources, both printed and electronic, and the use of

reference systems to locate sources. During early phases of research, developing a

tracking method to maintain a complete record of all of the bibliographic information

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from your sources is advised, since you do not yet know whether it will be cited in

your thesis [6]. It is also advisable for you to construct a list of experts in your field.

Such a list can be invaluable. An oral interview with an expert can produce valuable

insight and possibly save you a lot of time and effort. You might try sending e-mail

messages to well-known authors or lecturers. If you notice that several recent

dissertations are written by students at a particular university, you might contact the

authors or the authors advisors. Given the opportunity to ask, one important question

is: If I were to pick up where you (or your student) left off, what advice would you

give?

A Search Plan

A recommended search strategy is to consider how a topic progresses through the

research documentation life-cycle. One approach is to look for books that are

currently accepted reference texts in your research area and find out who has

cited them in recent years. Another approach is to look for original (seminal) reports,

papers, or theses written by known experts and see who has cited them in recent

years. For these two approaches, Science Citations Index (often available on CD-

ROM) becomes a very important source. Implementing this strategy can help you

develop a tree-like diagram or network showing not only relevant research, but

possibly even how the works of others are interrelated. By locating and reading at

least the abstracts of these papers, you can begin to categorize the available papers by

topic and by the authors technical interests in a topic. Then look at the reference lists

for the newer papers. This approach is especially useful because some databases

might categorize differently or use different descriptors as key words. This approach

should at least get you started on a good literature search. The above advice sounds

easier than it really is. Even experienced researchers often feel overwhelmed by

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information overload. As technological electronic storage and retrieval capabilities

continue to advance, we will all struggle with this problem. That is why it becomes

very important to have a plan in mind when conducting a literature review, and to

have a conceptual blueprint understanding of the resources available. Otherwise,

you can easily become lost in your search or feel as if you are going around in circles.

What To Do If You Have Too Few Sources

If you find little or no information, your topic might be too narrow. If this is the

case, it is a good idea to see what topic headings or terms any newly found

information was cataloged under, so that you can use those key words in other

database searches. If your search still yields little information, get help from library

personnel and experts in your field of research. In particular, ask for advice about

ways to expand your topic so that searches will produce some useful information.

What To Do If You Have Too Many Sources

If, on the other hand, you find volumes of information, then you need a plan to

scale your search down to a manageable amount. Specific aspects of a field of study

are often listed in annotated bibliographies. Journals specific to a field are good

sources. Experts in your field of interest can suggest where many of your important

sources can be found. It also helps to understand and categorize your sources so that

you know what kind of information you have. Then you can draw on what you need

without being overwhelmed by material that is interesting and related, but not

necessarily critical to your own research.

Synthesizing Information

Once information is located, the next step is to summarize it into a coherent

literature review section for your document. You must analyze accurately and

critically. It takes a lot of skimming of books and articles to identify which sources

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are useful to you and in what context they are useful. Your goal at this point is to

present an overview of what your source offers; its topic, research problem,

resolution, and the outlines of its argument [1]. The abstract, introduction, and

conclusion sections of each source document should contain the necessary

information for you to write a good summary paragraph. It can be very

counterproductive to try to read everything in detail. At first, it is more important to

categorize and understand what sources you have and what might still be missing.

Summarizing and Note-Taking

Both references [7] and [1] have good advice about notetaking. Reference [7]

states that the challenge is to condense others work without distorting it. Their seven-

step process includes: i) do not write everything down, ii) create your own shortcuts

and shorthand, iii) use numbers for numerical terms, iv) leave out vowels when you

can, v) record all vital names, dates, and definitions, vi) mark items that need further

examination, and vii) check accuracy before returning or filing the source.

Reference [1] recommends writing and summarizing as you find sources and has a

three-page section called Quick Tip: Speedy Reading. It recommends a five-step

process:

i) become familiar with the geography of the source,

ii) locate the point of the argument,

iii) identify key subpoints,

iv) identify key themes, and

v) skim paragraphs. The book suggests that not all five steps are needed all the time.

The main point is speed and efficiency, and focusing on material relevant to your

own research without spending time on material that is at best only marginally related.

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While taking notes and preparing condensed summaries of the work of others, you

must be ever mindful of the requirement to eventually cite all borrowed work in

your final paper. All of the sources mentioned contain discussions about direct

quotations, summarizing, and plagiarism. Readers and researchers are advised to

locate and carefully read about these topics from any available source in order to

avoid trouble while writing.

A recommended beginning search plan has been described, especially for

engineering researchers. Understanding how the literature search dovetails with other

steps in the research process helps form a good plan. Guidance has been given for

finding sources, for determining if your topic is too narrow, and for scaling your

search to a manageable amount. Useful tips have been given to help you track and

summarize information so that it becomes useful for your research purposes.

Hopefully, this report will help you get a jump-start on a good literature review and

contribute to the successful conclusion of your research project.

What to look for in relation to the Literature Review

Knowing what to look for is one of the chief problems when building you

literature review. Knowing what to look for, who are the authors?, What is the

relevance of published research to your research questions? - Are all questions posed

at this stage.

Jankowicz (1999) outlines two distinct approaches at this stage and they are,

1. Identifying subject matter relevant to your topic

2. Finding references to authors who have published and getting the documents

themselves.

1. Identifying subject matter relevant to your topic.

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Discuss with your tutors and assess the relevance of lecture notes in the particular

area that you want to research. Look up text books for the keynote theorists and

authors and establish, who are the experts in your chosen area of research.

As you develop your reference list in relation to the different subjects, methodologies,

modalities and referenced authors, you begin to see that for this area to be effective it

has to be systematic. You need to organize your data by Area, field and aspect: this

will keep it ordered and thus easier to write up and interpret.

2. Finding references to authors who have published and getting the documents

themselves.

Similar to 1. above, references to authors will be contained in the various texts you

will source and it is important to note the important authors. Access to reading

materials which will be discussed later in this report will include use of libraries,

journals, internet sources and text books.

Where to look for reference material

In established research areas there will exist an enormous amount of literature.

This can seem daunting at the outset, but there are key sources and it is important to

keep the search within the frame of reference you have established through your

specific research questions.

Library catalogs contain a referenced list of books by author and it is possible to

extract key texts all related to the one prominent author.

Journals of interest in your area would be especially useful for insights and

abstracts from current research. The American Counselling Association would have a

journal on a monthly basis for example.

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Current editions of handbooks and core text books would be most useful and also

contain detailed bibliographies and references to authors concerning each modality

and theory.

On line repositories such as www.questia.com, which is a subscription based

services provide access to thousands of book, articles and referenced materials

concerning all areas with counseling.

Two key points to note:

Primary Data: Primary data is data that you have collected yourself whereas

Secondary Data: Secondary data is everything else, other people primary research.

Five Big Words

Research involves an eclectic blending of an enormous range of skills and

activities. To be a good researcher, you have to be able to work well with a wide

variety of people, understand the specific methods used to conduct research,

understand the subject that you are studying, be able to convince someone to give you

the funds to study it, stay on track and on schedule, speak and write persuasively, and

on and on.

Here, we want to introduce you to five terms that we think help to describe some

of the key aspects of contemporary research. (This list is not exhaustive. It's really just

the first five terms that came into our mind when we were thinking about this and

thinking about how we might be able to impress someone with really big/complex

words to describe fairly straightforward concepts).

We present the first two terms -- theoretical and empirical -- together because

they are often contrasted with each other. Research is theoretical, meaning that much

of it is concerned with developing, exploring or testing the theories or ideas that social

researchers have about how the world operates. But it is also empirical, meaning that

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it is based on observations and measurements of reality -- on what we perceive of the

world around us. You can even think of most research as a blending of these two

terms -- a comparison of our theories about how the world operates with our

observations of its operation.

The next term -- nomothetic -- comes (We think) from the writings of the

psychologist Gordon Allport. Nomothetic refers to laws or rules that pertain to the

general case (nomos in Greek) and is contrasted with the term "idiographic" which

refers to laws or rules that relate to individuals (idios means 'self' or 'characteristic of

an individual ' in Greek). In any event, the point here is that most social research is

concerned with the nomothetic -- the general case -- rather than the individual. We

often study individuals, but usually we are interested in generalizing to more than just

the individual.

In our post-positivist view of science, we no longer regard certainty as attainable.

Thus, the fourth big word that describes much contemporary research is

probabilistic , or based on probabilities. The inferences that we make in research have

probabilities associated with them -- they are seldom meant to be considered covering

laws that pertain to all cases. Part of the reason we have seen statistics become so

dominant in social research is that it allows us to estimate probabilities for the

situations we study.

The last term we want to introduce is causal . You've got to be very careful with

this term. Note that it is spelled causal not casual. You'll really be embarrassed if you

write about the "casual hypothesis" in your study! The term causal means that most

research is interested (at some point) in looking at cause-effect relationships. This

doesn't mean that most studies actually study cause-effect relationships. There are

some studies that simply observe -- for instance, surveys that seek to describe the

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When a study is designed to determine whether one or more variables (e.g., a

program or treatment variable) causes or affects one or more outcome variables. If we

did a public opinion poll to try to determine whether a recent political advertising

campaign changed voter preferences, we would essentially be studying whether the

campaign (cause) changed the proportion of voters who would vote Democratic or

Republican (effect).

The three question types can be viewed as cumulative. That is, a relational study

assumes that you can first describe (by measuring or observing) each of the variables

you are trying to relate. And, a causal study assumes that you can describe both the

cause and effect variables and that you can show that they are related to each other.

Causal studies are probably the most demanding of the three.

Types of Relationships

A relationship refers to the correspondence between two variables. When we talk

about types of relationships, we can mean that in at least two ways: the nature of the

relationship or the pattern of it.

The Nature of a Relationship

While all relationships tell about the

correspondence between two variables, there is

a special type of relationship that holds that the

two variables are not only in correspondence,

but that one causes the other. This is the key distinction between a simple

correlational relationship and a causal relationship . A correlational relationship

simply says that two things perform in a synchronized manner. For instance, we often

talk of a correlation between inflation and unemployment. When inflation is high,

unemployment also tends to be high. When inflation is low, unemployment also tends

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to be low. The two variables are correlated. But knowing that two variables are

correlated does not tell us whether one causes the other. We know, for instance, that

there is a correlation between the number of roads built in Europe and the number of

children born in the United States. Does that

mean that is we want fewer children in the U.S.,

we should stop building so many roads in

Europe? Or, does it mean that if we don't have

enough roads in Europe, we should encourage

U.S. citizens to have more babies? Of course

not. (At least, I hope not). While there is a relationship between the number of roads

built and the number of babies, we don't believe that the relationship is a causal one.

This leads to consideration of what is often termed the third variable problem . In

this example, it may be that there is a third variable that is causing both the building

of roads and the birthrate, that is causing the correlation we observe. For instance,

perhaps the general world economy is responsible for both. When the economy is

good more roads are built in Europe and more children are born in the U.S. The key

lesson here is that you have to be careful when you interpret correlations. If you

observe a correlation between the number of hours students use the computer to study

and their grade point averages (with high computer users getting higher grades), you

cannot assume that the relationship is causal: that computer use improves grades. In

this case, the third variable might be socioeconomic status -- richer students who have

greater resources at their disposal tend to both use computers and do better in their

grades. It's the resources that drives both use and grades, not computer use that causes

the change in the grade point average.

Patterns of Relationships

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We have several terms to describe the major different types of patterns one might find

in a relationship. First, there is the case of no relationship at all. If you know the

values on one variable, you don't know anything

about the values on the other. For instance, I

suspect that there is no relationship between the

length of the lifeline on your hand and your grade

point average. If I know your GPA, I don't have any

idea how long your lifeline is.

Then, we have the positive relationship . In a positive relationship, high values on

one variable are associated with high values on the other and low values on one are

associated with low values on the other. In this example, we assume an idealized

positive relationship between years of education and the salary one might expect to be

making.

On the other hand a negative relationship implies that high values on one variable are

associated with low values on the other. This is also sometimes termed an inverse

relationship. Here, we show an idealized negative relationship between a measure of

self esteem and a measure of paranoia in psychiatric patients.

These are the simplest types of relationships we might typically estimate in research.

But the pattern of a relationship can be more complex than this. For instance, the

figure on the left shows a relationship that changes over the range of both variables, a

curvilinear relationship. In this example, the horizontal axis represents dosage of a

drug for an illness and the vertical axis represents a severity of illness measure. As

dosage rises, severity of illness goes down. But at some point, the patient begins to

experience negative side effects associated with too high a dosage, and the severity of

illness begins to increase again.

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Variables

Experiments and research studies are designed around variables. Variables are

measured; variables are manipulated by the experimenter to see how they affect other

variables; two or more variables are measured at the same time to see if there is any

relationship among them. So what then is a variable? It is anything that can vary along

some dimension, or, in other words, it is anything that can be measured.

Distinguishing Between a Variable

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