In our previous post on Project Guide for B.Sc. students, we talked about some key aspects of project writing, how to achieve a good project that can fetch you a good grade. Do well to check it out here.
Issues to be discussed on this post include:
- What is a variable in a research work?
- How to discover both variables in a research topic and in the research question?
- How to conduct the statement of problem?
- How to draft out a perfect research question?
- What is expected in the Significance of the study?
In project writing political science to be precise, variable is a measurable characteristic or phenomena that can vary among subjects or over time.
Variables are important in a research because they enable a researcher to analyze and understand political relationships and trends. It also helps the project work have s begining and an end. A variable helps a researcher to arrive at a closure on a topic.
In order to properly analyze and research this topic, the researcher is expected to understand the variable in this topic and in understanding, make empirical research on each of them, identify case studies which will help in building up the Logical data framework and the verification of hypothesis as the case may be.
There are 5 types of variable in a research study. I'll state them but it's important for everybody to understand that in political science B.sc project, we make use of two out of this majorly. The variables include
1. Dependent Variable:
This is the outcome or the variable that researchers aim to explain or predict. It depends on other variables. For instance, in the topic I stated above, Economic development in Nigeria could be a dependent variable.
2. Independent Variable:
This variable is presumed to influence the dependent variable. For example, Nigeria-Indonesia Relationship is an independent variable upon which economic development in Nigeria draws it's relevance. It is more like saying that the trade or bilateral relationship that existed between Nigeria and Indonesia led the economic development or underdevelopment in Nigeria
The other three types of variable include:
3. Control Variable:
These are variables that researchers hold constant or account for in order to isolate the relationship between the independent and dependent variables. For instance, controlling for age and income when studying the effect of education on voter turnout.
4. Intervening Variable:
Also known as a mediator, this variable helps to explain the relationship between the independent and dependent variables. For example, political interest could be an intervening variable between education level and voter turnout.
5. Moderating Variable:
This variable influences the strength or direction of the relationship between the independent and dependent variables. For example, the effect of education on voter turnout might be moderated by the level of political campaign activity.
It's important to state that variables must be clearly defined and measured accurately to ensure the reliability and validity of the research findings. For a research work to be reliable and valid, the variables measured or analyzed in the research must be clearly and empirically verified.
You cannot say Nigeria-Indonesia Relationship and you don't state what the relationship is all about, how it started, bilateral agreements between both countries and if there are trade agreements between them. These indices are what makes up the relationship Nigeria has with Indonesia and the researcher needs to empirically state all this while making the analysis.
Also for the dependent variable, the researcher cannot make note of economic development in Nigeria without making a clear case of if the economy is developed or underdeveloped, if the trade relationship between Nigeria and Indonesia has caused economic growth in Nigeria or if it didn't bring any growth
In highlighting this, the researcher measured GDP growth, inflation rate, trade volume between Nigeria and Indonesia before arriving at the finding.
We are using Nigeria-Indonesia Relationship and Economic development in Nigeria as an example but mind you that, for ANY POLITICAL SCIENCE project to be valid and approved, you must be able to identify which is the independent (X variable) and which is the dependent (Y variable) in the research. Without proper identification of these two, the topic won't be approved.
There are some topics that might sound nice and interesting but they won't be approved in political science (B.sc) project writing.
These topics:
1. Nigeria Judicial System, Problem And The Way Out
2. Assessment Of The 2014 Ekiti Gubernatorial Election
3. Africa’s Reaction Towards Globalization.
So in most cases, it's important to research and create a link between variables before choosing it as a topic.
How to conduct the statement of the problem in your research work.
The statement of problem is the next item in the chapter one after background to the study. It contains a brief review of the opinions various scholars or state actors who have written about the subject or topic you're researching on. When you start a research work, you get to see lots of journals, books or articles that is related to your work. The purpose of statement of problem is to get a gap in literature which is the foundation upon which a project research question is formed.
That is why immediately after the statement of problem, you introduce the research question. Note that the research question is expected to be set questions which is expected to guide the process of a research and also give a solution to an identified problem.
For instance using the topic: Nigeria-Indonesia Relationship and Economic development in Nigeria, 2015 to 2023
The research question given as: Does the trade agreements between Nigeria and Indonesia account for an increase in Nigeria's GDP growth rate.
This research question stemmed out of a statement of problem which involves the opinions of various scholars concerning the subject matter above.
How to draft out a perfect research question.
In order to draft out a good research question, it is important for a researcher to read about the two variables of his or her project topic. You cannot get an empirical research question by just saying it or just writing what you think. It has to be verifiable and empirical, which is why statement of problem comes before introduction of a research question. This goes to show that you've read about the work, identified a gap in the literature before choosing the question to close the gap.
Another way to draft out a good research question is to draw a table highlighting the two variables
That's independent on one side, dependent variable on the other side.
Now when reading, you note down indices of the both variables, then link them up in order to form a research question.
For example: Trade agreement between Nigeria and Indonesia is an indices of Nigeria and Indonesia relationship
While on the other side, increase in GDP is an indices of dependent variable, inflation rate is also an indices. When you note this down, you link it up to form a research question and in political science, we make use of: Do, Does, Did to introduce the research question.
We use account, undermine, exacerbated, increased or decreased, undermine to indicate the level of the variable we're researching. A good research question must be one that is verifiable, empirical and can constructively provide solution to a research finding.
Significance of the study.
This part of the chapter one is the concluding session. In this section, you're expected to state people who the research work is important and of utmost significance to. It's mostly divided into two
- Theoretical significance and
- Practical significance.
You're expected as the researcher to state how the topic can affect government policies, scholars and international bodies. And also, how it can add to the body of knowledge concerning that particular topic that you researched on. This section mostly takes half of 1 page.
In summary, the chapter one of a project work takes up between 7-10 pages and it's expected to house all this that we've stated.
Please go through all of this and also remember what we discussed our previous post, i.e the introduction and what you're expected to have in your chapter one.
If there's any confusion, please make use of the comment section and we will be glad to attend to you.
Thank you
#AdminSalv
0 Comments