Conducting Educational Research

CHAPTER 2
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Table 2.2. Components of chapter one
Chapter One typically includes the follow pieces:
− History of the problem
− Description of the context
− Theoretical constructs
− Why the problem is important
− Problem statement
− List of terms
Let’s look at this in more detail. Readers of research reports expect to find
certain information in the introduction in addition to support for the need for the
study. They would expect to find a description of the history of what prompted you
to study the problem. In our example above, the opening paragraph might include
talk of how the results of on the tests you have been giving do not seem to match
your predictions of how well you expected some students would do. Or, that you
have noticed a high rate of absenteeism on test days. The introduction would
include some narrative that helps the reader understand how you became aware of
the problem.
Readers will expect to find information about the context in which the study is
being done. A sense of the setting/context of your problem is necessary to understand
why the problem exists and why it is important to research. For this next part of
your introduction, you would briefly describe the type of school in which you are
working and the students in your class. Provide demographics of the community if
they are relevant. Do not include identifying information in your description. For
example, when discussing a specific high school in Portland, Oregon, you would
say a large, public, urban high school in the Pacific Northwest. Do not use actual
names of schools or subjects. You may assign pseudonyms as needed. Perhaps
the most confusing thing to beginning writers of research reports is the idea of
a theoretical construct (ways in which the research community views the problem).
See section III of the outline above. This includes some set of studies or the work
of a specific author that defines the space in which your study fits into the larger
body of educational research. This prior work helps define the way you will
proceed with your study.
Readers will look for the reason your question is an important problem.
Discussion of this would include number IV above. And, finally, they will want to
have some idea of what you intend to do in the study. In our case, that would be
a short description of why you chose a specific strategy (say playing soft music) to
try with your students to reduce their test anxiety. If the progression of the
argument makes sense, the introduction would end with the problem statement.
Also included in Chapter One are definitions for terms that either have
multiple meanings or whose definitions may not be understood by all readers.
These words are either defined within the Chapter as they appear in the text or
under a separate heading at the end of Chapter One in a list format. Note that this