the ninth world
Do you need to write a research paper to complete your high school coursework? Do you need help with identifying the different parts of an APA research paper?
Conducting research is a key step in widening your awareness and learning . It follows a scientific process, making it applicable to studies beyond educational institutions. It makes research and studies useful in all fields like business, public knowledge, and more.
Here, we’ll discuss the parts of a research paper, focusing on five key parts and their subparts. We also included some tips on how to write a good research paper. Continue below to learn more:
1. Parts of a Research Paper: The Problem and Its Background
When writing a research paper, the first thing to do is to present the problem you aim to address. Include the background of the study in this part. Discuss what drove you to conduct this research.
The background of the study also often serves as an introduction. After giving the context and purpose of your study, state the problem. Go back to this part of the research paper when writing the title and questionnaire.
The next slice of information to share is the significance of the study. What benefits does the study offer and who will it benefit? Later, when you write your recommendations, review this part.
Give the assumptions of the study. In short, think about the possible outcomes of your research. It’s a good way to communicate to the readers your desired results at the end of the research.
Next, define the scope and limitations of the study. You add more context to the study by determining its coverage. Finally, define the terms used in the study to help readers reach a deeper understanding.
2. Review of Related Literature
Once you have a background, context, and limits, present a review of the literature. It helps to avoid casting doubt on the impartiality of your study.
Among all the parts of a research paper (APA format), this section is one of the most exhausting. During this phase, you and your fellow researchers must read a lot. It’s draining if you’re not the type who likes reading but prefers experimentation.
Your goal is to look for evidence supporting or refuting your study. Provide organized data from related literature. Categorize them under various subheadings.
Keep in mind that this part is a combination of all studies. Avoid putting a simple list of individual summaries. Integrate the supporting data with your goals and expectations.
Other than summarization, paraphrase and write indirect speeches. Doing these practices help avoid plagiarizing others’ content. You must have the skill and good command of language and writing to accomplish this task.
3. Research Method and Procedures
Next in the parts of a research paper is to present the methods and procedures used in the research. Write down how you did the study as well as the research methods. Qualitative research is a good example.
Include the steps of a qualitative research procedure when writing your methods. The section must explain why the method was the best choice for the study.
Follow it with the subjects of the study. Your goal is to describe your respondents. Include important details such as who they are, their demographics, where they’re from, and more. Ensure that these details are relevant to further your study.
Put the details of the instruments used in the study under the right section. In most studies, the instrument is a questionnaire. After that, write your data-gathering procedures.
Once you have these down, discuss your statistical treatment strategy. Include your sampling method, formulas, and other treatments. If you find this part difficult, don’t hesitate to get research paper help from professionals.
4. Presentation, Analysis, and Interpretation of the Gathered Data
Fourth among the essential parts of a research paper is the presentation of all the gathered data. The most common strategy is to tabulate all the data from the questionnaires. Don’t forget to describe the results you found in your study.
If your study used both qualitative and quantitative tools, describe their separate results. Interpretations of the data must accompany the tables and descriptions. If you don’t include the interpretations of the data, your audience won’t know your tables’ meaning.
Before interpreting the gathered data, analyze it well. For example, you’re writing these parts of a historical research paper. Don’t stop at describing the type of procedures and/or software that you used.
You should also try to formulate a conclusion based on the data you gathered. This leads us to the next and final part of a research paper.
5. Summary, Conclusions, and Recommendations
Next, summarize the research paper, especially the data interpretations. Scan and reread the research paper to get a good idea of its contents. Keep the focus of the paper in mind.
In the conclusion, answer the earlier-stated problems. Here, you’ll prove or disprove your hypotheses and assumptions. Finally, include recommendations for further research, like focuses, actions, and other aspects.
Does writing a research paper seem exhausting or taxing? While it may seem that way for people who aren’t fond of writing or documenting their work, it’s essential. Students and even non-students can learn from writing research papers .
You learn how to gather and analyze data before making assumptions. Applying this in real life makes you a person with critical thinking skills. Research also promotes curiosity, the use of multiple sources, and better reading skills.
Create a Conducive and Comprehensive Research Paper Today
Those are the different parts of a research paper and their subparts. Now you know the necessary components of your research paper. Use these to guide your writing process and make informative content.
Are you looking to supplement your writing knowledge? For more educational content on research and related topics, see our other guides now.
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There has been a lot of media coverage recently on the science of reading. But what does the evidence say? In their new paper on the topic, ACER Senior Research Fellow, Greta Rollo, and ACER Research Fellow Dr Kellie Picker, from the Effective Practice in Education team synthesise evidence reviews conducted by ACER researchers that unpack the science of reading.
In this 3-part series, Greta and Kellie will explain each of the components that make up the science of reading and share implications for teaching. This first article provides an overview of the 6 key components of the science of reading.
The science of reading is generally used as a catch all expression for the body of research that helps teachers understand what students need to be taught to become effective readers. It is a multi-disciplinary body of research and knowledge from education, linguistics, cognitive psychology, special education, and neuroscience. This article unpacks the 6 key components that make up the science of reading which include:
For a more detailed discussion please see ACER’s recent paper Unpacking the science of reading research .
These ‘Big 6’ components of the science of reading are inter-related and have different roles at different times in the development of early reading skills. Some, such as phonemic awareness and phonics are somewhat constrained skills. They are largely mastered by the time the child starts reading independently for meaning. Others, such as oral language, vocabulary and comprehension, require deep conceptual development and are unconstrained, which means they can continue to develop for the rest of the child’s life (Turner et al., 2018).
Phonemic awareness is ‘ the ability to break down and manipulate the individual sounds in spoken language.’ (Stark et al., 2015) . It is part of phonological awareness, which addresses wider spoken language and larger chunks of speech (for example, syllables) . Phonemic awareness includes segmenting words into sounds. It includes blending sounds into words and articulating sounds sequentially to say a word. At its most sophisticated it refers to manipulation of phonemes – deletion, addition and swapping sounds from words to make new words. Phonemic awareness is important for reading development because it supports understanding of the alphabetic principle and orthographic mapping, critical parts of phonics.
Phonics involves combining knowledge of English phonemes (phonemic awareness) with knowledge of English letters (graphemes) to decode words (Rohl, 2000). There are 2 key parts to phonics – the alphabetic principle and word reading by decoding. The alphabetic principle requires mastery of all letter-sound relationships. Combining these skills to learn to decode allows students to read most words they typically encounter. Decoding skills in turn are critical to orthographic mapping, the process whereby students map decoded words and parts of words like morphemes to their current interpretation of their meaning, which supports their reading of irregular words.
Fluency requires accurate reading aloud with appropriate attention to phrasing, intonation and punctuation. Monitoring the development of fluency requires consideration of accuracy and speed, and prosody. Accuracy means reading words correctly. Speed is simply how quickly words are read. Prosody is the use of expression, intonation and phrasing that enhances meaning when reading and is highly correlated with reading comprehension. A students’ reading accuracy and speed can be recorded together in the number of correct words read per minute (CWPM), or their Oral Reading Fluency Assessment (ORFA).
Oral language proficiency underpins communication and learning. This is especially evident in the early stages of learning to read. Research has demonstrated that children with larger oral vocabularies displayed greater reading and mathematics achievement, increased behavioural self-regulation and fewer externalising and internalising problems at school-entry. There is also a strong reciprocal relationship between oral language development and reading development including the obvious links between oral language development and the next Big 6 skill, vocabulary.
A student’s vocabulary is all the words they understand. A rich vocabulary is essential in developing reading comprehension because students must understand the meaning of almost all words in a text to accurately interpret its meaning. A deep and broad vocabulary can drive the development of reading comprehension. A more abundant vocabulary leads to a more comprehensive understanding of ideas, which may in turn enrich reading experiences. Vocabulary instruction must include morphology – the study of morphemes, the smallest meaningful units of a language. These morphemes can be joined together to create specific meanings. Knowing more about morphemes and having a bigger vocabulary supports the development of reading comprehension.
Reading comprehension involves an active process of making, constructing, or deciphering the meaning of a text. It involves elements of decoding, working out meaning, evaluating and imagining. The process draws upon the learner’s existing background knowledge and understanding, text–processing strategies and capabilities, and relies on the integration of all of the previously mentioned skills from the Big 6. At its most sophisticated, reading comprehension involves making inferences, critical analysis and applying knowledge of text types and social and cultural resources to evaluate or interpret a text.
Stay tuned: In the next article, Greta and Kellie will delve into phonemic awareness, phonics and fluency in greater detail.
Related reading:
Kellie Pickier and Greta Rollo have also published an online visual resource, Unpacking the science of reading , that explains the Big 6 pillars of learning to read. You can read it here .
References:
Rohl, M. (2000). Programs and strategies used by teachers to support primary students with difficulties in learning literacy. Australian Journal of Learning Disabilities, 5(2), 17–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/19404150009546622
Rollo, G., & Picker, K. (2024). Unpacking the science of reading research. Australian Council for Educational Research . https://doi.org/10.37517/978-1-74286-742-7
Stark, H., Snow, P. C., Eadie, P. A., & Goldfeld, S. R. (2015). Language and reading instruction in early years’ classrooms: The knowledge and self-rated ability of Australian teachers. Annals of Dyslexia, 66, 28–54.
Turner, R., Adams, R., Schwantner, U., Cloney, D., Scoular, C., Anderson, P., Daraganov, A., Jackson, J., Knowles, S., O’Connor, G., Munro-Smith, P., Zoumboulis, S., & Rogers, P. (2018). Development of reporting scales for reading and mathematics: A report describing the process for building the UIS Reporting Scales. Australian Council for Educational Research. https://research.acer.edu.au/monitoring_learning/33/
Research shows that 78% of leaders report “collaboration drag” — too many meetings, too much peer feedback, and too much time spent getting buy-in from stakeholders.
Gartner research shows 78% of organizational leaders report experiencing “collaboration drag” — too many meetings, too much peer feedback, unclear decision-making authority, and too much time spent getting buy-in from stakeholders. This problem is compounded by the fact that companies are running as many as five types of complex initiatives at the same time — each of which could involve five to eight corporate functions and 20 to 35 team members. The sheer breadth of resource commitments across such a range of initiatives creates a basic, pervasive background complexity. To better equip teams to meet the demands of this complexity, Gartner recommends the following strategies: 1) Extend executive alignment practices down to tactical levels; 2) Develop employee strategic and interpersonal skills; and 3) Look for collaboration drag within functions or teams.
Corporate growth is the ultimate team sport, relying on multiple functions’ data, technology, and expertise. This is especially true as technology innovation and AI introduce new revenue streams and business models, which require significant cross-functional collaboration to get off the ground.
As record numbers of workers quit their jobs, companies are busy trying to figure out how to make working conditions at their organization more attractive and more sustainable. Many companies boast flexible hours, good benefits, and, of course, higher pay. And some go further, looking closely at how roles in the organization can fulfill people’s psychological needs.
Business leaders recognize these emotional needs—whether it is the sense of reward workers have when they accomplish something, the frustration they feel when being micromanaged, the anger they experience after being treated unfairly, the longing they feel to be part of a group, or the desire they have for their work to be interesting and meaningful.
Yet many leaders mistakenly believe that only other professionals who have enjoyed similar success—and the financial rewards that come with it—truly value the nonfinancial aspects of their work. As we show in this article, that is simply not true.
People in lower-paying jobs also want their psychological needs at work to be satisfied. Yet data show that those needs are typically going unmet, far more often than is the case for higher earners.
Some of this may be unavoidable: for example, there is only so much autonomy one can feasibly grant a production line worker, while the job of a truck driver may be inherently lacking in social contact. However, most jobs could be enhanced to provide a much greater degree of psychological satisfaction.
In this article, we share novel data and analysis that illustrate the premium placed by all workers on psychologically satisfying work and how current work practices appear to be exacerbating existing inequalities. We also look at what business leaders can do to address the psychological needs of their lower-earning employees.
The good news is that, for the most part, companies have direct control over actions that can improve matters. Moreover, many of the practices that are needed—while requiring some time and effort—do not typically call for direct cash outlays. In fact, better satisfying workers’ psychological needs tends to correlate with higher revenues and profits.
For thousands of years, philosophers have argued about what constitutes a “good life”—a life with more progress, pleasure, or purpose. Now, modern sciences—neuroscience, endocrinology (hormones), psychology, anthropology, and evolutionary biology, among others—have caught up. All agree: there is much more to being a human than surviving and procreating. 1 Admittedly, the underlying motivators of human behavior—needs, desires, and preferences—may be evolutionary. In other words, they may be serving the goal of survival and procreation. Nevertheless, in modern societies, these needs, desires, and preferences include a large social and psychological component—for example, the need for belonging, friendship, and love. If these needs are not met, people’s reactions can be just as visceral as if their physical safety is threatened.
In a way, Maslow’s famous hierarchy of needs 2 Abraham Maslow, “A theory of human motivation,” Psychological Review , July 1943, Volume 50, Number 4. was both right and wrong at the same time. On the one hand, it recognized that people have many desires in addition to basic bodily needs such as water, food, and shelter. On the other hand, it assumed a fixed hierarchy where psychological needs—such as belonging and self-esteem—became relevant only after basic physical and safety needs were met. However, modern research has shown that these needs exist in parallel and that a person’s well-being can be enhanced—for example, by good social relationships— even if their basic physical and safety needs are not completely fulfilled. 3 Ed Diener and Louis Tay, “Needs and subjective well-being around the world,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , August 2011, Volume 101, Number 2.
It is no longer a surprise that people seek more from their employers than just a paycheck and a safe place to work. A preponderance of evidence suggests that “good work” also means satisfying employees’ psychological needs.
At all levels of income, the most important drivers of people’s job satisfaction were interpersonal relationships and having an interesting job.
One of the most prominent models of human motivation, extensively applied to organizational and employment research, is the self-determination theory by psychologists Richard Ryan and Edward Deci. 6 Delia O’Hara, “The intrinsic motivation of Richard Ryan and Edward Deci,” American Psychological Association, December 18, 2017. According to this theory, as well as a large body of empirical evidence, all employees have three basic psychological needs—competence, autonomy, and relatedness—and satisfying these needs promotes high-quality performance and broader well-being. 7 Edward L. Deci et al., “Self-determination theory in work organizations: The state of a science,” Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior , 2017, Volume 4. Additional studies, including McKinsey’s own research, have also found a link between positive outcomes (for both employer and employee) and employee engagement, 8 Jan-Emmanuel de Neve et al., “Employee well-being, productivity, and firm performance: Evidence and case studies,” in Global Happiness Policy Report , edited by Global Council for Happiness and Wellbeing, New York, NY: Sustainable Development Solutions Network, 2019. often embodied in questions about the degree to which employees consider their work to be interesting, and purposeful .
Drawing on this literature, as well as a large global data set generated by the International Social Survey Programme, 9 ISSP Research Group (2017), “International Social Survey Programme: Work Orientations IV - ISSP 2015.” we looked at how well employees’ psychological needs are satisfied in different types of occupations, ranging from managerial and professional jobs to lower-paid roles, such as those in customer service, cleaning, and waste disposal. Given the data available, we focused on five psychological needs: competence (related to the concept of mastery), autonomy (related to control and agency), relatedness (including positive relationships), meaning (proxied by how interesting individuals find their jobs), and purpose (proxied by how proud individuals are of their organizations).
The results are fascinating (Exhibit 2). First, the good news: on a net basis (deducting those who “disagree” or “strongly disagree” from those who “agree” or “strongly agree”) across all occupations, a greater proportion of workers feel that their psychological needs are satisfied. Even for those with the worst net score—plant and machine operators and assemblers who were asked about feelings of competence—around 48 percent said that they could use “almost all” or “a lot” of their past experience and skills, versus 23 percent who said that they could use “almost none” of their skills on the job. Similarly, while 23 percent of workers in elementary occupations (such as cleaners, couriers, and waiters) didn’t find their jobs to be interesting, more than half did.
In absolute terms, more global workers—whatever their role—feel more positive than negative about the degree to which their psychological needs are met.
The bad news, however, is that this is far less true for individuals employed in lower-paying, and often lower-skilled, jobs. The differences between, say, managers and people in elementary occupations are particularly large in terms of competence (the ability to use experience and skills) and meaning (how interesting the job is). In this sense, current work practices globally seem to be exacerbating inequalities rather than ameliorating them.
The data indicate that not all of this is inherent to, or directly determined by, the characteristics of each role. After all, some people in even the most manual, routine, repetitive, or poorly paid jobs still indicate that their work is meaningful, that they are proud of the organization they work for, and that their role enables them to express and satisfy their needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness.
Indeed, the potential for any job to inspire is illustrated powerfully by the classic story of the three bricklayers working at St Paul’s Cathedral in London. Christopher Wren, one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history, had been commissioned in the late 17th century to rebuild the cathedral. One day, he noticed three bricklayers on a scaffold, each of whom appeared to have very different levels of motivation and speed. He asked each of them the same question: “What are you doing?”
The first bricklayer, seemingly the least satisfied with his position, said, “I’m a bricklayer. I’m working hard laying bricks to feed my family.” The second bricklayer, slightly more engaged, replied, “I’m a builder. I’m building a wall.” The third bricklayer, who seemed to be working with the greatest amount of purpose, said, “I’m a cathedral builder. I’m building a great cathedral to The Almighty.” 10 Jim Baker, “The story of three bricklayers—a parable about the power of purpose,” Sacred Structures, April 9, 2019. In the modern workplace, great managers and leaders can elicit a sense of meaning by emphasizing, and reflecting with employees on, the ultimate contribution that their organization is making to society.
McKinsey research suggests that society is a key source of meaning for employees, along with company, customer, team, and individual. Together, they make up a collective, integrated whole that leaders can address. If average job satisfaction is weaker for lower-earning roles despite the many lower-paid individuals who do have their psychological needs met, organizations must be overlooking opportunities to do better. Luckily, they have many ways to refocus and improve their efforts.
Any organization claiming to be a good employer would want to address the imbalances highlighted above, as much as is operationally feasible. As we have written previously , positive and negative experiences at work—beyond pay and rations—have significant spillover consequences for people’s personal lives. 11 Diego Cortez et al., “Revisiting the link between job satisfaction and life satisfaction: The role of basic psychological needs,” Frontiers in Psychology , May 9, 2017, Volume 8, Article 680. For example, one study showed that a mother’s dissatisfaction with her job can contribute to her children’s behavioral problems. 12 Julian Barling and Karyl E. MacEwen, “Effects of maternal employment experiences on children’s behavior via mood, cognitive difficulties, and parenting behavior,” Journal of Marriage and Family , August 1991, Volume 53, Number 3.
However, in addition to the moral case for equalizing the scales on psychological well-being, there is also a strong business case. A comprehensive evidence base shows that higher employee satisfaction is associated with higher profitability 13 James K. Harter et al., “Business-unit-level relationship between employee satisfaction, employee engagement, and business outcomes: A meta-analysis,” Journal of Applied Psychology , April 2002, Volume 87, Number 2. and that this phenomenon is not confined to a company’s higher-earning roles. Consider the case of frontline customer service staff: one experiment showed that weekly sales for call center operators increased by 13 percent when the operators’ happiness increased by one point on a scale of one to five. 14 Clement Bellet et al., “Does employee happiness have an impact on productivity?,” Saïd Business School working paper 2019-13, October 17, 2019. Worker satisfaction and customer satisfaction tend to go hand in hand. 15 “Business-unit-level relationship between employee satisfaction, employee engagement, and business outcomes,” April 2002.
Another direct link from employee satisfaction to the business bottom line is through employee turnover. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, more people than ever are leaving their jobs voluntarily , both in the United States and in other developed economies .
And while the competition for talent is heated among professionals such as software engineers and medics, vacancy rates in many low-paying jobs are also sky-high. Across the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union, unfilled roles abound in the hospitality, entertainment, and logistics sectors, among others. 16 McKinsey analysis based on data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Eurostat, and the UK Office for National Statistics, accessed on May 11, 2022. For businesses, losing personnel means costly and time-consuming recruitment and retraining , not to mention lost output and productivity.
Psychological well-being at work is one of the most important factors in employees’ decisions to stay or to go . Regardless of income level, workers who “strongly agreed” that they were proud of the organization they worked for were significantly more likely also to say that they would turn down a job at another organization, even if it offered higher pay. Granted, people in higher-earning roles tended to be more loyal, but the difference in loyalty between staff who felt proud and staff who did not was dramatic across all income categories.
Whether motivated by equity considerations or bottom-line benefits, employers would do well to consider ways they can improve the working experience for lower earners.
To get started, leaders can think of this as a journey with six steps:
The best suggestions for how to redesign jobs or processes, or how to make the workplace more psychologically satisfying, will almost certainly come from workers themselves. Indeed, the process of discussing issues and opportunities and listening to employees’ daily experiences is itself a core part of creating positive change. Many businesses already routinely talk to their workers about employee engagement and satisfaction.
The best suggestions for how exactly to redesign jobs or processes, or make the workplace more psychologically satisfying, will almost certainly come from staff themselves.
However, it is vitally important to base these discussions on more than workers’ fundamental needs, such as physical safety and pay. The style of conversation should focus on both what people think about work and how they feel about work. Such discussions are likely to unleash a range of responses—both positive and negative—which leaders will need to harness both respectfully and skillfully.
In addition to intensive employee engagement processes, there are a number of practical behaviors that leaders can encourage through mindsets, communication, role modeling, training, and performance-management processes. For lower-earning employees, the actions and behaviors of immediate line managers can make an enormous difference. Some of the practices that have positive returns in almost every situation include the following:
Recognize competence: Frequently review a day’s work (with no judgment or blame) and ask what you as the manager or leader can do to make the next day easier. Thank and praise people for a job (well) done. Make the most of individuals’ skills through delegation. Provide regular, strength-based feedback oriented toward problem-solving.
For example, the plant and machine operators in Exhibit 2 who said that they were able to utilize their skills may still have had production line tasks that were fairly prescribed. But their factory organized short two-way briefings at every shift change, allowing workers to help make decisions about how operations are carried out.
Grant autonomy: Focus on the end goal of what is to be achieved and why and let employees decide—or at least give them a voice in—how to get there. Give frontline workers discretion over appropriate decisions. Ask employees how they feel about work and really listen to their answers.
For example, retail assistants who are given the discretion to accept customer returns or hand out vouchers in specific situations are more likely not only to make customers happier and more confident but also to feel better themselves.
Build connections: Set up regular (for example, daily) meetings at the beginning of each day (or shift) and allow time for socializing. Create regular breaks or events that help build social connections. Act decisively to eradicate any bullying or harassment. Praise and promote compassionate leaders .
For example, one skin care company whose sales agents work exclusively from home managed to maintain high levels of staff satisfaction by orchestrating regular one-on-one catch-ups, as well as virtual group get-togethers, throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, which allowed people to feel more connected to their colleagues. 17 Tera Allas et al., “Lessons on resilience for small and midsize businesses,” Harvard Business Review , June 3, 2021.
Instill meaning: Always explain the “why” behind tasks and link the reason to goals that go beyond making money (for example, being proud of the organization’s product or service). Help make work more interesting by upskilling people to be able to perform more complex or varied tasks. Simply ask people what would make their jobs more interesting.
For example, the workers in elementary occupations in Exhibit 2 who said that they still found their jobs meaningful may well have benefited from the same attitude that met President John F. Kennedy when he visited NASA in 1962. When the president came across a janitor in the hallway and asked him what his role was, the janitor replied, “I’m helping put a man on the moon.”
Discuss purpose: Set aside time for teams to reflect on the impact the company has on the world. Use one-on-one conversations to better understand workers’ individual sense of purpose and discuss how they can act on it in their work setting.
For example, for a worker at a clothing manufacturer, a manager can make the role more fulfilling by regularly sharing positive messages, photos, or videos from smiling customers wearing the company’s garments.
This advice may sound basic. We all know how to meet the psychological needs of the people in our lives—our children, our partners, our friends. We might even compliment, thank, and empathize with strangers.
We need to take these positive behaviors and apply them in the workplace as well—not only with peers but with employees at all levels of the organization. However routine their tasks, we can stop treating workers as cogs in a machine and start treating them as the wonderful human beings they are.
The authors wish to thank Jacqueline Brassey and Marino MB for their contributions to this article.
This article was edited by Rick Tetzeli, an executive editor in the New York office.
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A new initiative at Alabama A&M University invites first-generation parents to be part of their students’ academic experience through monthly webinars led by student affairs staff.
By Ashley Mowreader
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Regular webinars help parents stay connected to their children’s college and stay informed about the college experience.
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Family members can play a pivotal role in a student’s college experience. A January survey from Pew Research Center found one-third of young adults (ages 18 to 34) say they rely on their parents for emotional support a great deal or a fair amount, and a similar number said they ask their parents for career or job advice (35 percent) or financial guidance (31 percent) extremely or very often.
However, many families feel like they don’t hear often enough from their child’s college. CampusESP surveyed over 20,000 parents of current college students and found 70 percent expect weekly communication from their student’s institution, with first-generation parents more likely to want regular communication.
Parents also say they are unable to find important information from their child’s institution. Survey respondents indicate knowing that certain information—including student job placement, career services, mental health support resources and financial aid and scholarships—is important to student success, but they don’t know where to find it. First-generation parents are less likely to say they know where to find information on costs, financial aid, payment plans and the academic calendar, as well.
To better connect families to the institution, staff at Alabama A&M University created a new program to provide insight, helpful resources and guidance to parents.
The Bulldog Parent University program launched in fall 2023 with a webinar series to provide timely and relevant support for parents throughout the year and will scale for more frequent engagement in the future, AAMU staff shared at NASPA’s Student Success in Higher Education conference last month in Anaheim, Calif.
What’s the need: AAMU is the largest historically Black institution in the state, serving over 6,000 students, 30 percent of whom are first generation, explained Pamela H. Little, executive director of the office of multicultural affairs. To better support first-generation success, the university created F1rst Bulldogs, which covers the transition to college, building a social network and connecting with essential resources and is housed in the multicultural affairs office.
Within this program, staff also developed Bulldog Parent University, hoping to connect parents of first-generation students with the institution to help them guide and support their children throughout their college experience, promoting retention and engagement on all levels.
First-generation parents often want to engage with their students, but they can be unaware of the questions to ask, Little shared. This initiative empowers parents with accurate information, helping them be better advisers for their students.
Pew’s research found two in 10 young adults send their parents text messages at least daily, and an additional 38 percent text with their parents a few times a week. Just under half of young people also stay connected through phone and video calls to their parents at least a few times a week.
CampusESP’s report, similarly, found 44 percent of families communicate with their students at least once a day, and an additional 35 percent talk several times a week.
How it works: Bulldog Parent University is geared toward the family members of first-year students who may need additional guidance around the higher education system, academic calendar and support resources.
Each webinar is hosted live from 6 to 7 p.m. Central time, and parents can register two weeks in advance. The registration form asks for the parent’s contact information, as well as their student’s name and ID number, and it includes a box for parents to share topics they want more information on.
The first webinar took in October, titled “No Time to Fall Back!,” covered academic deadlines at the midterm point as well as residential life and housing, student accounts, financial aid, and academic resources. Each month following (with the exception of December), parents could tune in to a presentation from the Office of Multicultural Affairs or a partner department as relevant, such as academic affairs or business finance. After, parents could ask questions and engage with staff in real time.
The impact: The webinars proved to be a valuable resource to parents, with high levels of attendance and engagement across sessions. Postwebinar feedback, collected through a survey, found parents learned more about higher education processes such as work-study and housing, but also how to “let your baby grow up,” shared Atari Steele, assistant director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs, during the conference.
Most webinars lasted 60 minutes, but depending on the topics, parents sometimes had more questions and concerns, so staff are considering extending the length to an hour and a half as needed. The housing session was the most tense, Steele said, with heightened emotions around the process.
In the future, staff plan to build out additional resources such as a parent engagement tool kit or parent orientation to promote communication, engagement and sustainability of the program. Staff also hope to understand parents’ needs beyond their student’s first year at AAMU.
If your student success program has a unique feature or twist, we’d like to know about it. Click here to submit.
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An Australian-first study into the prevalence of strangulation during sex among young people has prompted concerns over the serious health risks.
Researchers found women were more likely to have been strangled than men during sex.
Experts say more conversations need to be happening in schools and at home to raise awareness around the risks, and the factors contributing to its normalisation.
Susie Dodds has had several sexual partners who wanted to choke her during sex.
While the 25-year-old had been able to rebuff their attempts, she says the experiences left her feeling panicked.
"That's definitely not something I am into," Ms Dodds told 7.30.
"If there's someone that you don't know that well, or it's the first experience you have with somebody, that's quite shocking to experience.
"I've had, you know, a few men ask if they can choke me. A couple of them, their hands kind of [wandered] up that way, but I know a lot of people have experienced much worse."
Ms Dodds said she did not want to shame the men who asked her if they could choke her, nor does she think they are bad people — but she was surprised by how frequently the question came up.
Susie isn't alone — a study by the University of Melbourne and the University of Queensland which surveyed 5,000 people aged between 18 and 35 found 59 per cent of men and 40 per cent of women admitted to having choked a sexual partner.
The figure was even higher among trans and gender-diverse people, at 74 per cent.
More women (61 per cent) than men (43 per cent) reported ever being strangled, while the numbers were higher again for trans and gender-diverse people (78 per cent).
"This group of people that we're looking at now is a context where the people engaging in sexual strangulation are largely saying that they're consenting to the practice," said Heather Douglas, a professor at Melbourne University Law School and co-author of the study.
The numbers don't surprise violence prevention educator Maree Crabbe.
"About three years ago, I started to hear much more frequently that strangulation was part of what was happening in young people's sexual lives," Ms Crabbe told 7.30.
"It had come up only marginally every now and then in the years before that.
"Young women have talked about [how] they have felt like they're genuinely being murdered ... they're really uncomfortable and feeling very, very unsafe."
The study, published in the academic journal Archives in Sexual Behaviour, defined strangulation or choking as placing pressure on the neck by using hands or other body parts or ligatures to hinder, restrict or obstruct breathing.
On average, those surveyed had been strangled six times by three partners – and the first time someone experienced strangulation was usually between the ages of 19 and 21.
Ms Crabbe said representations of strangulation in pornography and popular culture were influencing sexual practice, adding that sometimes, consent to sex was also seen as consent to choking.
The study found pornography is the most common way young people are finding out about strangulation (61 per cent), then movies (41 per cent), friends (32 per cent), social media (31 per cent), and current or potential partners (29 per cent).
"A lot of the people in our study said that they'd seen pornography in their teens, some quite young. So obviously this is an issue for parents as well in terms of engaging with the effects of pornography, the dangers of strangulation, how to broach those kinds of topics with their kids," Ms Douglas said.
Some young men Ms Crabbe has interviewed also describe feeling pressured to strangle their partners.
"Some of them talk about not really being into it, there being an expectation, sometimes being asked by their partners to do it," Ms Crabbe said.
"But I think also it can be really difficult for young men to reject that as a sexual practice when it's become normalised."
Medical professionals warn compression of the neck can cause miscarriage of pregnancy, stroke, and within minutes, death.
"[Death] is rare, but it can occur. But perhaps most concerning is the issue that we're very aware of, which is brain injury," said Heather Douglas, a professor at Melbourne University Law School and co-author of the study.
Ms Douglas said studies had found people could be injured quickly with about 10 seconds to being rendered unconscious, 17 seconds to having a fit from a lack of oxygen, 30 seconds to loss of bowel control and 150 seconds to death.
Jo Ann Parkin from the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine says choking during sex can cause brain injuries like concussion, even if it's not apparent, and signs of non-fatal strangulation can also evolve.
"Absence of oxygen being supplied to the brain will affect things such as concentration, memory, decision-making, and we're waiting for more research in that particular area," Dr Parkin said.
"The issue with non-fatal strangulation is the fact that it has very serious outcomes that can arise from instances of short to long-term compression, so repeated episodes as well are an issue that we get quite concerned about."
Dr Parkin said other symptoms of injury could include a hoarse voice, and difficulty breathing and swallowing.
"The thing I would like to convey to the community is there is a perception that they can have a safe word, there is a perception that they can tap out effectively that they can give a signal," she said.
"And what we are hearing from our victims when they present in these settings is they were unable to indicate that in that situation.
"There is a very large misconception that this can be operated as an act very safely and it just is not a safe act, at any time."
In response to what she had heard from young people, Ms Crabbe is launching a campaign called Breathless to raise awareness about the prevalence of health risks of non-fatal strangulation and to encourage critical thinking about the kinds of influences that are contributing to its normalisation.
"I think we need to be having conversations as a society, but also, in schools and homes. Parents need to be speaking with their children about this practice," Ms Crabbe said.
"Unless there is stronger awareness of the risks, and also, some critical thinking about the gendered nature of it … it's going to be something that continues."
Ms Dodds shared her own experience with the campaign and said young people, particularly women, often felt pressured to conform with so-called rough or kinky sex, including strangulation.
"If someone says they're not interested in doing that, in a sexual context, now that's labelled as boring, or vanilla," she said.
"If you're going to do that, you do need to know the risk and you need to know that there is no way you can really do it safely.
"If you're comfortable with that, I guess, you know, it's your life, but it is your life."
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A complete research paper in APA style that is reporting on experimental research will typically contain a Title page, Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, and References sections. 1 Many will also contain Figures and Tables and some will have an Appendix or Appendices. These sections are detailed as follows (for a more in ...
The figure below shows the sequence of the different parts of a typical research paper. Depending on the scientific journal, some sections might be merged or nonexistent, but the general outline of a research paper will remain very similar. Here is the problem: Most people make the mistake of writing in this same sequence. ...
Learn how to write a research paper with this comprehensive guide that covers the definition, structure, examples, and writing tips. A research paper is a written document that presents the author's original research, analysis, and interpretation of a specific topic or issue.
Learn what a research report is, what it contains, and how to write one. Find out the different types of research reports and see an example of a thesis report on social media and academic performance.
There are five MAJOR parts of a Research Report: 1. Introduction 2. Review of Literature 3. Methods 4. Results 5. Discussion. As a general guide, the Introduction, Review of Literature, and Methods should be about 1/3 of your paper, Discussion 1/3, then Results 1/3. Section 1: Cover Sheet (APA format cover sheet) optional, if required.
Writing Your Paper. Parts of the Research Paper. Papers should have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Your introductory paragraph should grab the reader's attention, state your main idea, and indicate how you will support it. The body of the paper should expand on what you have stated in the introduction. Finally, the conclusion restates the ...
An outline of the research questions and hypotheses; the assumptions or propositions that your research will test. Literature Review. Not all research reports have a separate literature review section. In shorter research reports, the review is usually part of the Introduction. A literature review is a critical survey of recent relevant ...
A research report is a reliable source to recount details about a conducted research. It is most often considered to be a true testimony of all the work done to garner specificities of research. The various sections of a research report are: Summary. Background/Introduction.
Learn what a research report is, its features, types, and importance. Follow the guide to write a research report with sections such as title, abstract, introduction, literature review, account of investigation, and conclusion.
Use the section headings (outlined above) to assist with your rough plan. Write a thesis statement that clarifies the overall purpose of your report. Jot down anything you already know about the topic in the relevant sections. 3 Do the Research. Steps 1 and 2 will guide your research for this report.
Write up a state-of-the-art research report. Understand how to use scientific language in research reports. Develop a structure for your research report that comprises all relevant sections. Assess the consistency of your research design. Avoid dumbfounding your reader with surprising information.
Abstract: "Structured abstract" has become the standard for research papers (introduction, objective, methods, results and conclusions), while reviews, case reports and other articles have non-structured abstracts. The abstract should be a summary/synopsis of the paper. III. Introduction: The "why did you do the study"; setting the ...
Learn how to write a research report with four main sections: introduction, methods, results, and discussion. Find out what each section should contain and how to organize them for evidence-based practice.
It describes the essence, the main theme of the paper. It includes the research question posed, its significance, the methodology, and the main results or findings. Footnotes or cited works are never listed in an abstract. Remember to take great care in composing the abstract. It's the first part of the paper the instructor reads.
Here's a breakdown of some common types of research papers: Analytical Papers. Focus: Dissect a complex subject, text, or phenomenon to understand its parts, implications, or underlying meanings. Structure: Emphasizes a clear thesis statement, systematic analysis, and in-depth exploration of different perspectives.
Method. This should be the easiest part of the paper to write, as it is a run-down of the exact design and methodology used to perform the research. Obviously, the exact methodology varies depending upon the exact field and type of experiment.. There is a big methodological difference between the apparatus based research of the physical sciences and the methods and observation methods of ...
• Suggest what the reader should take away from your paper. • Pose questions for future study, actions to take, policy interventions, or other implications of your ideas. Take care not to repeat your words exactly in the conclusion. At the same time, you should not introduce any major new concepts or parts of your argument in this section.
Abstract. This guide for writers of research reports consists of practical suggestions for writing a report that is clear, concise, readable, and understandable. It includes suggestions for terminology and notation and for writing each section of the report—introduction, method, results, and discussion. Much of the guide consists of ...
Formal Research Structure. These are the primary purposes for formal research: enter the discourse, or conversation, of other writers and scholars in your field. learn how others in your field use primary and secondary resources. find and understand raw data and information. For the formal academic research assignment, consider an ...
Table of contents. Step 1: Introduce your topic. Step 2: Describe the background. Step 3: Establish your research problem. Step 4: Specify your objective (s) Step 5: Map out your paper. Research paper introduction examples. Frequently asked questions about the research paper introduction.
This part of a research paper is supposed to provide the theoretical framework that you elaborated during your research. You will be expected to present the sources you have studied while preparing for the work ahead, and these sources should be credible from an academic standpoint (including educational books, peer-reviewed journals, and other relevant publications).
A research report is an end product of research. As earlier said that report writing provides useful information in arriving at rational decisions that may reform the business and society. The findings, conclusions, suggestions and recommendations are useful to academicians, scholars and policymakers.
Each part of an article serves a purpose, and if you know the purpose, you can become more efficient at reading and understanding articles. Instead of reading from beginning ... knowledge about the paper topic • Poses research question • Justifies significance of study Method • Provides step-by-step directions ("map" of the study)
4. Presentation, Analysis, and Interpretation of the Gathered Data. Fourth among the essential parts of a research paper is the presentation of all the gathered data. The most common strategy is to tabulate all the data from the questionnaires. Don't forget to describe the results you found in your study.
Phonemic awareness (part of phonological awareness) Phonics ; Fluency ; For a more detailed discussion please see ACER's recent paper Unpacking the science of reading research. These 'Big 6' components of the science of reading are inter-related and have different roles at different times in the development of early reading skills.
Research shows that 78% of leaders report "collaboration drag" — too many meetings, too much peer feedback, and too much time spent getting buy-in from stakeholders. Gartner research shows ...
Yet companies do a better job of addressing the psychological needs of higher-earning employees than lower-earning colleagues. One of the most prominent models of human motivation, extensively applied to organizational and employment research, is the self-determination theory by psychologists Richard Ryan and Edward Deci. 6 Delia O'Hara, "The intrinsic motivation of Richard Ryan and Edward ...
A new initiative at Alabama A&M University invites first-generation parents to be part of their students' academic experience through monthly webinars led by student affairs staff. Family members can play a pivotal role in a student's college experience. A January survey from Pew Research Center found one-third of young adults (ages 18 to 34) say they rely on their parents for emotional ...
To facilitate future research on mHealth app adherence, researchers should clearly outline and justify the app's intended use; report objective data on actual use relative to the intended use; and, ideally, provide long-term use and retention data. ... were included as part of the inclusion criteria. A total of 4 intervention-related factors ...
The study, published in the academic journal Archives in Sexual Behaviour, defined strangulation or choking as placing pressure on the neck by using hands or other body parts or ligatures to ...