Integrative project

LINGUISTICS CAREER

THE KEY TO WRITING A RESEARCH PROJECT OUTLINE FOR INTEGRATIVE PROJECTS

2011

INTRODUCTION TO THE SUBJECT Research is one of the very important duties that the University has in this actual world that is why the Applied Linguistics Career of the Army Polytechnic has implemented in its curricula INTEGRATIVE RESEARCH PROJECTS to complement the educational process that ourstudents must have. Since the society is changing and the new necessities of the country demand professionals with a high degree of commitment and knowledge to promote changes The Army Polytechnic School is changing towards a RESEARCH COMMUNITY which will engage knowledge, technology and professionalism to follow a route of development that is really necessary in the actual world. Research is hardwork, but like any challenging job well done, both the process and the results bring immense personal satisfaction. Research and its reporting are also social acts that require students think steadily about how their work relates to their readers and the responsibility they have not just toward the subject and themselves but toward them as well. This document intends to help the students of theApplied Linguistics Career to become familiar with the way to carry out an investigation project, but this is a preliminary work because it leads you towards the basic steps a researcher has to do before developing the complete investigation. We hope to introduce beginning researchers to the nature, uses and objectives of research and its reporting. THE RESEARCH PROJECT OUTLINE In the LinguisticsCareer there is model which our students have to follow, this is a brief document consisting in four parts, it has the basic structure you have to develop. The information in this booklet is a practical summary of what you have to do in order to complete the final requirement which is to present an outline at the end of the term.

Remember that the outline you have to present is not a FORMALRESEARCH WORK, it is only the previous step before doing a formal research, and it is only the plan before it. I know that it is going to be difficult for you to choose a research topic which will lead you through this process, if your concern is that, do not worry , I am going to help you any time you need an advice or something. As I stated before, the outline has four parts well organized, thefirst part has to do everything about the PROBLEM, the second one has to do with the THEORY behind, the third has to do with the DESIGN itself, and finally everything related to resources. STRUCTURE OF THE RESEARCH PROJECT OUTLINE The proposed outline has four parts which are shown in the picture below.

Figure 1.- Outline Structure

To have a better understanding of all the activities you haveto carry out, this booklet has been divided in four parts, each one related to a part of the outline. Part one. - Research problem Part two. - Theoretical framework Part three. - Methodological design Part four. - Administrative frame THE RESEARCH PROCESS.

Figure 2.- The research cycle process

PART ONE RESEARCH PROBLEM WHAT IS A RESEARCH PROBLEM? A research problem is the situation thatcauses the researcher to feel apprehensive, confused and ill at ease. It is the demarcation of a problem area within a certain context involving the WHO or WHAT, the WHERE, the WHEN and the WHY of the problem situation. There are many problem situations that may give rise to research. Three sources usually contribute to problem identification. Own experience or the experience of others may be asource of problem supply. A second source could be scientific literature. You may read about certain findings and notice that a certain field was not covered. This could lead to a research problem. Theories could be a third source. Shortcomings in theories could be researched. Research can thus be aimed at clarifying or substantiating an existing theory, at clarifying contradictory findings, at...