Sunday 2 November 2014

Literature and Discussion...

Last nite a got a furious question.. how can i write the discussion if i got lack of literature???  Ermm.. i think a lot how to answer this... i never thinking to write without literature... but how come she came out with this question???

For me.. the researcher will face a lot of problems if they dont have enough literature for what they have been studied. Why??

1) They need the literature to write the hypothesis

2) The discussion part also based on your literature.

It means ..without literature.. you will face to major problem which are literature review and the discussion... more on that.. you want to do analysis for moderator and mediator..also need a literature.. so..without literature,,i dont think researchers could write a good research paper..

May be ,,becoz lack of understanding in term of literature.. that's why.. they claimed that..there is no literature..

Saturday 1 November 2014

why choose PLS instead of others???

PLS is getting its momentum lately compare the other software in PLS... but still not many of us aware of that... every time i talked about PLS... many of them are asking... Why they have to use PLS instead of others.....

This is the problem of our researcher... they do know what they want to know.. not about they suppose to know..even our supervisor also... I just to share how to write your support your reason why we used PLS over the others...

PLS makes fewer demands regarding sample size than other methods.

 PLS does not require normal-distributed input data.

 PLS can be applied to complex structural equation models with a large number of constructs.

 PLS is able to handle both reflective and formative constructs.

 PLS is better suited for theory development than for theory testing.

 PLS is especially useful for prediction

all of that are based on the articel wrote by Urbach & Ahleman, 2010.

Hopefully this info will clear your mind about the reason why adopted PLS over other softwares...

Happy writing.....

Paper in SEM....

I am in the workshop with prof ramayah now... and he shared a very interesting story... there are researchers are writing the papers in SEM but still not sure how to write it in a proper way... i just wanna to share what should be wrote in the paper if researchers are using SEM either in AMOS and PLS..

1st... must settle the MEASUREMENT MODEL.. which is consist of  CONVERGENT AND DISCRIMINANT VALIDITY.. after you confirmed that those factors are valid .. that you can start the STRUCTURAL MODEL TESTING  which is consist of hypothesis testing... if not.. you paper..is CONFIRM .. will be REJECTED..

Friday 31 October 2014

Anova????

Last night , one of my friend called me to ask about how to test the comparison..... ermmm.. i told him that if there is only two group to be compared.. he can used a T-test if his data is normal.. and if more than 2.. he used apply the anova.... hahahahaa..sound likes the russian.. sharapova... navratilova.. dealova.. and many many lova..hahahhaa until we might be naik loya...

Ok.. since he asked me about anova.. this is an example about how to write the report for anova...

hopefully this will be helpful...

Three or four things to report


You will be reporting three or four things, depending on whether you find a significant result for your 1-Way Betwee Subjects ANOVA

1. Test type and use


You want to tell your reader what type of analysis you conducted. This will help your reader make sense of your results. You also want to tell your reader why this particular analysis was used. What did your analysis test for?

Example


You can report data from your own experiments by using the template below.

“A one-way between subjects ANOVA was conducted to compare the effect of (IV)______________ on (DV)_______________ in _________________,
__________________, and __________________ conditions.”

If we were reporting data for our example, we might write a sentence like this.

“A one-way between subjects ANOVA was conducted to compare the effect of sugar on memory for words in sugar, a little sugar and no sugar conditions.”

2. Significant differences between conditions


You want to tell your reader whether or not there was a significant difference between condition means. You can report data from your own experiments by using the template below.

“There was a significant (not a significant) effect of IV ____________ on DV ______________ at the p<.05 level for the three conditions [F(___, ___) = ___, p = ____].

Just fill in the blanks by using the SPSS output


Let’s fill in the values. You are reporting the degrees of freedom (df), the F value (F) and the Sig. value (often referred to as the p value).


Once the blanks are full…


You have a sentence that looks very scientific but was actually very simple to produce.

“There was a significant effect of amount of sugar on words remembered at the p<.05 level for the three conditions [F(2, 12) = 4.94, p = 0.027].”

3. Only if result of test was significant, report results of post hoc tests


In the previous chapter on interpretation, you learned that the significance value generated in a 1-Way Between Subjects ANOVA doesn’t tell you everything. If you find a significant effect using this type of test, you can conclude that there is a significant difference between some of the conditions in your experiment. However, you will not know where this effect exists. The significant difference could be between any or all of the conditions in your experiment. In the previous chapter, you learned that to determine where significance exists you need to conduct a post hoc test to compare each condition with all other conditions. If you have an IV with 3 levels, like the one in this example, you would need to conduct and report the results of a post hoc test to report which conditions are significantly different from which other conditions.

Example


Because we have found a statistically significant result in this example, we needed to compute a post hoc test. We selected the Tukey post hoc test. This test is designed to compare each of our conditions to every other conditions. This test will compare the Sugar and No Sugar conditions. It will also compare the A little sugar and No Sugar conditions. It will also compare the A Little Sugar and Sugar conditions.  The results of the Tukey post hoc must be reported if you find a significant effect for your overall ANOVA.

You can use the following template to report the results of your Tukey post hoc test. Just fill in the means and standard deviation values for each condition. They are located in your Descriptives box.


If you used this template with our example, you would end up with a sentence that looks something like this.

“Post hoc comparisons using the Tukey HSD test indicated that the mean score for the sugar condition (M = 4.20, SD = 1.30) was significantly different than the no sugar condition (M = 2.20, SD = 0.84). However, the a little sugar condition  (M = 3.60, SD = 0.89) did not significantly differ from the sugar and no sugar conditions.”

4. Report your results in words that people can understand


Since it might be hard for someone to figure out what that sentence means or how it relates to your experiment, you want to briefly recap in words that people can understand. Try to imagine trying to explain your results to someone who is not familiar with science. In one sentence, explain your results in easy to understand language.

Example


You might write something like this for our example.

“Taken together, these results suggest that high levels of sugar really do have an effect on memory for words. Specifically, our results suggest that when humans consume high levels of sugar, they remember more words. However, it should be noted that sugar level must be high in order to see an effect. Medium sugar levels do not appear to significantly increase word memory.”

This sentence is so much easier to understand than the scientific one with all of the numbers in it.

Let’s see how this looks all together


When you put the three main components together, results look something like this.

“A one-way between subjects ANOVA was conducted to compare the effect of sugar on memory for words in sugar, a little sugar and no sugar conditions. There was a significant effect of amount of sugar on words remembered at the p<.05 level for the three conditions [F(2, 12) = 4.94, p = 0.027]. Post hoc comparisons using the Tukey HSD test indicated that the mean score for the sugar condition (M = 4.20, SD = 1.30) was significantly different than the no sugar condition (M = 2.20, SD = 0.84). However, the a little sugar condition  (M = 3.60, SD = 0.89) did not significantly differ from the sugar and no sugar conditions. Taken together, these results suggest that high levels of sugar really do have an effect on memory for words. Specifically, our results suggest that when humans consume high levels of sugar, they remember more words. However, it should be noted that sugar level must be high in order to see an effect. Medium sugar levels do not appear to significantly increase word memory.”

Looks pretty complicated but it is simple when you know how to write each part.

Wednesday 29 October 2014

Results is not significant????

Have you ever counter this kind of situation????? Your results was not significant or even worse the relationship is negative?????? This scenario is the worst case scenario.. if you don't how to handle that... Just imagine... you hardly write your literature mentioned that there must be positively related or negatively related to your DV...   but the end.. the test wont support your hypothesis????

What should you do??? Adjust the literature??? OMG... that is terrible... adjust your data??? NO.. is is unethical... then???? End of your study??? That is disaster....

Don't worry dear... it also happend to me last time.. and i just wanna to cry thinking about that without any explanation....

Actually... that is the beauty of your study.., and believed me.. you will got more citation after this if your study are against from past studies... Am i kidding you ??? It is a bad JOKE?????

Nope.. it is true.. especially nowadays.. most of the students are looking to use a moderator for their study and while they wanna to use a moderating factor... there MUST be inconsistency in the literature.... SEE... now you gave them a great help ... now they can use the moderating factor because of your study..... hahahahahaha...

But.. before that.. when have this kind of results... you must argue and explain it logically base on your understanding the environment of your study according to the real situation.. only you know what is happening in your study.. if you could argue that.. it means you understood what are you studying about...

Foe example.... why a sky juice will cause you RM 5.90 in the 5 star hotel and it is only cost you 20 cents in the mamak stall and cost you nothing in a small stall????

If you understand the sutuation,.,... means that you know what are you study about....

Common Method Variance

It is quite a days that i did not up date my blog even there are few interesting questions have been asked by my colleagues... today i would like to share one of the most rare and interesting question... the explanation is quite long since a took a longer time to convince my friends about that...

It is about a common method variance.. my friend was sent his paper to the journal.. which is well known journal that i cant mention here.. one of the reviewer argued that.. since he used a single source data.. a common method variance (CMV) has not been addressed in his paper... how should this CMV should be address and write in the paper????

Wednesday 22 October 2014

Cronbach Alpha Vs Composire Reliability ( CA vs CR)

Yesterday i got inbox message from a my FB friend asking me about can we still use cronbach alpha (CA) to report the validity is we used SEM PLS as our software ?????...

Very good question and very bad understanding... as what malay always mentioned that... Water can not be mixed with oil..... ha hah ha.. what happend to the water when we mixed with oil??? Does it will mixed??? Well.. as all noticeed about that.. the answer is can not...

Now i will explain why we can not report CA idf we use SEM PLS... and why we need to report the Composire reliability (CR)... jeng ... jeng ..jeng..

CA is to check our internal consistency when we used SPSS as a software for analysis our data... AND... WE MUST USE THE CR IF WE USE SEM either AMOS or PLS.. coz AMOS and PLS are the second generation of analysis and using CR to test it internal consistency... SO...

if use SPSS = use CA for validty and if use PLS  or AMOS = CR for its validity.... ha ha as simple as that.. everything is created for certain approach ... but not for all....

Have a nive day....

Tuesday 14 October 2014

Research GAP????

Today someone ask me... how to find research GAP??? Do we need that in our study????/
Hahahahahhaa.. i was like that before.. struggling when profesor asked me... have you found the GAP for your research???? ermmm.... i was thinking.. what the hell is that.... ????

I will make your life easier.. simplify it for you.. reserach GAP is the missing element in the existing research literature that you can fill with your reserach findings... or something that has not yet been fully reserach and there is something that you can adding in to make it better or deeper...

Yeah... so... now?? How to get that??? When i mentioned above as a missing element in the existing literature.. means.. you have to find it from your reading... so.. now.. you must read..read..read., and read to find the GAP in your area....

Tired of reading????? ermm.. so... dont make a reserach...hahahhaha..
During reading.. please look at this 5 factors that could help you to find the GAP

1) Population..

May be.. last reserach only done in a small area.. such as Pahang.. but not for the entire Malaysia since Pahang is not representing Malaysia...

2) Intervention.

The last research did not use the proper intervention.. such as using phone call to make an interview.. so..may be we can use face to face since an interview via phone may be lead to another aspects of error..such as.. the person who talk to you is not the right person

3)  Theory

When you found that the theory or theories used is not comprehensive and there is still relevant variables that could explained the dependant variable. Or may be.. you could combine.. individual theory such as TAM, TPB, TRA, UTAUT with an organizational theories such as TOE, RBV, DOI, MOI and etc...

4. Methodology

  The last research adopted single method..and you can see.. it will be better if we used mixed method... or..the last research using qualitative..now.. you proposed to do it qualitatively..

5.Analysis

Currently.. the softwares used in the analysis are keep on changing.. last time.. may be we rely on the SPSS.. known as 1st generation... but the SPSS has their own limitation such as only can run the analysis which is reflective..but not in reflective mode.. so.. PLS and AMOS as a second generation could offer better results for your quantitaive study...

Now.. hopefully all of my readers are not looking at the title of the reserach..but looking for the GAP first.. the title will come later after you found the GAP...

ALL THE BEST GUYS.....

Thursday 9 October 2014

Sentence Starters ..Part 2..



Continue from my past post.. it was incomplete.. sorry... now we focus on another good starters for another aspects of writing....

To present uncommon or rare ideas
Seldom ...
Few ...
Not many ...
A few ...
... is uncommon
... is scarce ...
Rarely ...
... is rare ...
... is unusual ...


To present common or widespread ideas
Numerous ...
Many ...
More than ...
Several ...
Almost all ...
The majority ...
Most ...
Commonly ...
Significant ...
... is prevalent ...
... is usual ...
Usually ...

To present inconclusive ideas
Perhaps ...
... may be ...
... might be ...
There is limited evidence for ...
... is debated ...
... is possibly ...
... could ...
... may include ...


To show relationships or outcome
Therefore ...
As a result ...
For that reason ...
Hence, ...
Otherwise, ...
Consequently, ...
The evidence suggests/shows ...
It can be seen that ...
With regard to ...
After examining ....
These factors contribute to ...
It is apparent that ...
Considering ... it can be concluded that ...
Subsequently, ....
The effect is ...
The outcome is ...
The result ...
The correlation ...
The relationship ...
The link ...
The convergence ...
The connection ...
... interacts with ...
Both ....
... affects ...
Thus it is ...
... causes ...
... influences ...
... predicts ...
... leads to ...
... informs ...
... presupposes
... emphasises
... demonstrates ...
... impacts on ...
... supports ...

To present prior or background ideas
In the past, ...
Historically, ...
Traditionally, ...
Customarily, ...
Beforehand, ...
Originally, ...
Prior to this, ...
Earlier, ...
Formerly, ...
Previously, ...
Over time, ...
At the time of ...
Conventionally, ...
Foundational to this is ...
In earlier ...
Initially, ...
At first, ...
Recently ...
Until now, ...
The traditional interpretation ...


To present others' ideas
According to …
Based on the findings of ... it can be argued...
… proposed that …
As explained by …
… states that …
… claims that …
However, ... stated that …
... suggested …
… concluded that …
Similarly, … stated that ….
… for example, …
… agreed that …
Based on the ideas of …
… defined …. as ….
… relates …
As identified by …
… disputed that …
… contrasts …
With regard to … argued that …
… concluded that …
… confirmed that …
... argues ….
… highlights …
… demonstrates …
… found that …
… identifies …
... wrote that …
… demonstrated …
… also …
… reported ….
… pointed out that …
… maintained that …
… hypothesised that …
… expressed the opinion that …
... also mentioned ….
... asserts that ….
… identified …
… goes on to state/suggest/say
… emphasises
… challenges the idea ….
… showed that …
… explored the idea …


To give examples
For example, ...
... as can be seen in ...
... supports ...
An illustration of ...
... as demonstrated by ...
... is observed ...
Specifically, ...
... is shown ...
... exemplifies ...
Such as ...
As an example ...
To illustrate, ...
For instance, ...


Adapted from the following source
Manalo. E., Wont_Toi, G., & Bartlett-Trafford, J. (2009). The business of writing: Written communication skills for business students (3rd ed.). Auckland: Pearson Education New Zealand.


Good sentence starters

Ermmmm.. sometimes we dont know how to start our sentences.. to express our intentions.. either to introduce, to conclude, to compare or construst....

It can sometimes be difficult to start a sentence to express ideas, or find words to show the relationship between ideas. Below is a list of possible sentence starters, transitional and other words that may be useful.


To introduce
This essay discusses …
… is explored …
… is defined …
The definition of … will be given
… is briefly outlined …
… is explored …
The issue focused on ….
… is demonstrated ...
… is included …
In this essay …..
… is explained …
… are identified …
The key aspect discussed …
… are presented …
… is justified …
Views on …. range from ….
… is evaluated …
… is examined …
The central theme …
… is described …
… is analysed …
Emphasised are …
… is explained and illustrated with examples …


To conclude
In summary, …
To review, …
In conclusion, …
In brief, …
To summarise, …
To sum up, …
To conclude, …
Thus, …
Hence, …
It has been shown that, …
In short, …


To compare and contrast
Similarly, …
In the same way …
Likewise, …
In comparison …
Complementary to this …
Then again, …
However, …
This is in contrast to …
In contrast, …
And yet …
Nevertheless, …
Conversely, …
On the contrary, …
On the other hand, …
Notwithstanding …
Whereas …
In contrast to …
That aside, ...
While this is the case …
... disputes …
Despite this, ...

To add ideas
Also, …
Equally important ...
Subsequently, …
Futhermore, …
Moreover, …
As well as ....
Next…
Another essential point…
Additionally, ...
More importantly, …
In the same way …
Another ...
Then, …
In addition, …
Besides, ...
Then again, …
Firstly, ... secondly, ... thirdly, ... finally, ...
To elaborate, ...

Friday 3 October 2014

Introduction???? Reserach background???

Ermmm..... mostly .. new researchers will confuse and ask me ..how to write an introduction???/ How to write reserach background. Before answering those questions... researchers must notice the purpose of writing both of it... so.. let us go through this statement..

Goals of the Introduction

If someone reads only one section of your dissertation, it’ll be the introduction, so the introduction’s primary goal is to demonstrate the importance, interest and originality of your research project. Above all, it should include a statement of the research question that your project investigates. This statement should give readers a broad sense of the current research on your topic, what’s at stake in learning more about the topic and how your specific project changes what people know about the topic. The introduction’s tone should be confident without being arrogant or dismissive. Finally, the introduction should define key terms you’ll use throughout the study, as well as map out the rest of the dissertation.
Goals of the Background
The background section is often called the literature review. “The literature” refers to other research on your topic. The background synthesizes current knowledge on your research question in far greater detail than your introductory section does. Its goal is to articulate patterns within the literature and to describe unresolved issues or questions, then to show how your study fits into the larger body of work in your field. You can organize your overview of other research in several ways, including in chronological order, by significant issues, or from broad information about your field to specific studies on your topic.

Separate Introduction and Background
Some disciplines organize the introduction and background as separate sections of the dissertation. Dissertations in the social sciences, for instance, frequently have an introduction followed by a literature review. The hard sciences also tend to follow this format, with each subsequent chapter representing a published article related to the broad research question.

Background Within the Introduction
In many humanities disciplines, the introduction will include a section called “Background” or “Literature Review,” which provides a history of criticism on your topic. Individual dissertation chapters then contain further discussion of the criticism related to specific texts that the chapter investigates. It’s crucial to consult your adviser to find out how you’re expected to organize the introduction and background.

ha ha.. now we know the different between an introduction and research background.... Happy writing....