Qualitative (Content analysis) DRAFT research memo guideline and rubric

Click here to see the template you will use.

Open it and click File -> Copy.

Sample draft research memo

Sample draft research memo here

The goal

The goal of writing a draft research memo is to

• develop a topic with a research question that can be answered with qualitative content analysis methods, and

• explain in detail what literature and methods you use to answer the research question.

Writing is easier as you read

In this stage of your research, you are to write a draft, not a final paper. Everything you write for the draft or other assignments can be used for your final paper.

The draft research memo is fundamentally structured around prior assignments, incorporating a mix of relevant copying and pasting, crafting transition sentences or paragraphs, and ensuring that all criteria outlined in the rubric are met.

Those previous assignments are:

• [DRM] Choosing annual review articles and determining research items

• [DRM] Citation chaining and discovery engine

• [DRM] Basic content analysis

• [DRM] Coding your own data for draft research paper

• [DRM] Coding your own data for draft research paper 2

Note: Submissions without data analysis that is generated in "Coding your own data for draft research memo" will automatically receive zero.

You will need to find the full PDF version of the articles. If you do not have access to them, please email me ([e-mail]) with the title and the link of the articles. Make sure the link does NOT start with https://csu-mb.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/

Sections

1. Introduction and background: Clearly state the topic. What are you investigating? Who is the target group to investigate? (Women of color, second-generation Salvadoran immigrants, etc.)? What is the significance of the topic? Why does it matter? Highlight the significance of the topic. Cite some of your sentences here. End this section with your research question.

2. Theoretical structure and hypotheses: Review the relevant literature and construct relevant associations to your own research topic. Do not summarize others’ works like A claimed this, B asserted that! Analytically use and interpret them as long as they benefit your own research. Define the key concepts here. In your project, for instance, if you are working on return migration, explain and cite what return migration is. Under section 2, you will provide a broader explanation of the literature. You will be more specific under the subsections 2.1., 2.2., and 2.3.

• 2.1. “The relationship between first independent variable and dependent variable” (You will name this subsection, for example Discrimination and Return migration): Review the specific relevant literature about the relationship between your first independent variable and dependent variable. Explain what you expect to find and your reasoning. End this subsection with your first hypothesis.

• 2.2. “The relationship between second independent variable and dependent variable” (You will name this subsection, for example Transnationalism and Return migration): Review the specific relevant literature about the relationship between your second independent variable and dependent variable. Explain what you expect to find and your reasoning. End this subsection with your second hypothesis.

• 2.3. “The relationship between third independent variable and dependent variable” (You will name this subsection, for example Children and Return migration): Review the specific relevant literature about the relationship between your third independent variable and dependent variable. Explain what you expect to find and your reasoning. End this subsection with your third hypothesis.

3. Methodology: Your content analysis should include mainstream or social media posts (NOT peer-reviewed journal articles for data analysis), newspaper article comment sections, any social media platforms, YouTube comment sections, or blogs, etc. Explain from which media platform you got data. What are your data selection criteria? Paste at least 5 links of the data at the end of this section (Newspaper article, Facebook group, TikTok videos, Instagram posts, etc.)

4. Results: The standard approach to this section of a research paper is to present and describe the results in a systematic and detailed way. You will highlight and comment on the themes that emerge from the analysis. More elaborate commentary on the results will be provided in the final paper. Clearly state whether you confirm or reject each of your hypotheses. Discuss your initial, axial, and focused codes here, and organize your results based on the focused codes. Remember not to include all your results. You should present and discuss only those findings that relate to your hypotheses and accordingly your research question. Do not just summarize your content; you should direct the reader to the component or components of it that are especially striking from the point of view of your research aim. Try to ask yourself what story you want the content to convey and try to relay that story to your readers. Provide some quotations from the content you used.

5. References (Bibliography): Cite a minimum of 6 sources (ONLY peer-reviewed journal articles) in APA style. Books, book chapters, or other sources, such as reports found on google or websites, are NOT acceptable.

Template

Click here to see the template you will use.

Open it and click File -> Copy.

Grading

As no two draft research memos are the same, grading will be a somewhat subjective business. However, below I provide a list of things I expect to find in all draft research memos. These are the things on which I will assess the research memos and assign grades. The draft research memo is worth 100 points, and there are items below, which are worth 5 to 15 points each.

I will rate your draft research memos from these items and the sum will represent your draft research memo grade. The grading of each item will be based on how clearly and completely you address each question posed.

I place no strict limits on the length of each section. Your goal is to specifically discuss and justify your proposed content analysis, which generally takes 1,000 words of text (12-point Times New Roman font with 1” margins, (single spaced typed), excluding bibliography references. If you do not meet the minimum word count (1,000 words), your grade will be adjusted proportionally.

Rubric

Introduction and background

1. Did you clearly show what you are investigating? (2 points)

2. Did you show why the topic is significant and matters? (2 points)

3. Did you mention the target group that you are investigating and why this group? (Women of color, second-generation Salvadoran immigrants, etc.) (2 points)

4. Did you clearly state your research question with its reasoning? (5 points)

Theoretical structure and hypotheses

5. Did you broadly review the literature to articulate a theoretical basis for your hypotheses and a justification for your research question in Section 2? (4 points)

6. Did you clearly define your key concepts in section 2? (3 points)

7. Did you review the specific literature (at least one citation for each subsection) based on your first independent variable and dependent variable, second independent variable and dependent variable, and third independent variable and dependent variable under the subsections 2.1., 2.2., and 2.3., respectively? (9 points)

8. Did you clearly state your three hypotheses and their reasoning under three subsections? (6 points)

Methodology

9. Did you discuss what content you analyze? (3 points)

10. Did you discuss your method of selecting (which keywords you will search, which criteria you follow to find content) media sources? (5 points)

11. Did you paste the links of your data sources? (5 points)

Results

12. Did you discuss your axial and focused codes? (5 points)

13. Did you present and describe the results in a systematic and detailed way based on the focused codes? (5 points)

14. Did you create tables and/or provide some quotations from the content you used? (6 points)

15. Did you clearly state whether you confirm or reject each of your hypotheses? (6 points)

Bibliography

16. Did you cite at least 6 peer-reviewed journal articles (both in-text and end-text)? (12 points)

17. Consistent use of citation and reference format. (5 points)

Writing and Template

18. Clarity of writing style. (5 points)

19. Use of template, the logic of research memo organization, consistent font and font size, title, and clear use of headings. All instructions and sample sentences are deleted. (5 points)

Self-grade Sheet

20. Self-grade sheet is completed. (5 points)

If you do not meet the minimum word count (1,000 words), your grade will be adjusted proportionally

Reminders

Reminder 1: Submissions without data analysis that is generated in "Coding your own data for draft research memo" will automatically receive zero.

Reminder 2: Do not use direct quotes from the peer-reviewed articles (-10 points for each):

Reminder 3: When citing peer-reviewed articles, only provide the in-text citation within the text and the end-text citation under the references (bibliography), do not write the title of the article in the text.

Should be:

“Szinovacz (1998) argued that grandparenthood has a multifaceted nature which lacks clear perceived and ascribed roles, and may embody different meanings, expectations and experiences in distinct cultural settings.”

“Family unity across generations is vital for family survival (Nesteruk and Marks, 2009).”

NOT acceptable (-10 points for each):

• “In his work entitled ‘Research on grandparenting: needed refinements in concepts, theories, and methods’ Szinovacz (1998) argued that grandparenthood has a multifaceted nature which lacks clear perceived and ascribed roles, and may embody different meanings, expectations and experiences in distinct cultural settings.

• “The study titled ‘Grandparents across the ocean: Eastern European immigrants struggle to maintain intergenerational relationships’ argues that family unity across generations is vital for family survival (Nesteruk and Marks, 2009).”