Tertiary sources of information are based on a collection of primary and secondary sources. They  compile, index, or organize information from primary and secondary sources. In a research paper, the author may choose to use tertiary sources in order to provide an overview of information gathered from primary and secondary sources but does not provide original interpretations or analysis.

Not all sources are created equal when it comes to reliability, validity and general usefulness as research. Tertiary sources can be found in many forms outside the library: on the internet, in journals or books, etc. These may not be as readily accessible as physical resources but they are still worth exploring if you are looking for reliable information on a specific topic or topic area. In this article we will look at how tertiary sources are viewed in relation to the other sources of research and if researchers should use them.

Sourcing 

When conducting research, it’s important to use both primary and secondary sources. Primary sources are the original sources of information you’re using, while secondary sources are other sources that have been written about the primary sources.

Primary sources are the best source of information because they’re the original source. They’re also the most accurate, as they’ve been written by the person or group who originally experienced or witnessed the event. Secondary sources can be helpful when you need more information about a particular topic. They’re usually more recent than the primary sources, and they’re usually written by someone who has been trained in research methodology. This means that they’re able to use their knowledge of research to analyze and critique the information they’re reading. Regardless of the type of research you’re doing, always be sure to use critical thinking skills to evaluate the information you’re reading. This will help you make informed decisions about what to believe, and it will help you avoid making mistakes

Finding tertiary sources for your research is basically finding reliable information sources related to your topic. You may already know many of the sources yourself, in which case you can use them as a starting point. You can also use online search engines like Google Scholar, PubMed or Ex Libris or try asking fellow students, professors or research assistants for advice. Tertiary literature consists of a distillation and collection of primary and secondary sources such as textbooks, encyclopedia articles, and guidebooks or handbooks.

Evaluating tertiary sources

Before you start evaluating any source, take a few minutes to think about the information and information sources you have in mind. What are you looking for? What are you hoping to find? What are your goals as a researcher? These questions can help you focus your evaluation and better evaluate the sources you choose.

You can also use online resources, such as a research guide or journal database, to help you with this process. This can help you identify key information sources in advance and then help you evaluate the sources you find.

Once you have identified the sources you’d like to evaluate, you can proceed to the actual evaluation process.

Pro tip: Don’t just jump in head first – Know what you’re looking for first!

Before you start evaluating any source, take a few minutes to think about the information and information sources you have in mind. What are you looking for? What are you hoping to find? What are your goals as a researcher? These questions can help you focus your evaluation and better evaluate the sources you choose.

You can also use online resources, such as a research guide or journal database, to help you with this process. This can help you identify key information sources in advance and then help you evaluate the sources you find.

Once you have identified the sources you’d like to evaluate, you can proceed to the actual evaluation process.

Evaluation Process:

Gather information on each source you’ve chosen.

Evaluate each source.

Select the best sources.

Evaluate the information found in the selected sources.

Make decisions based on the information gathered.

Conclusion

You may find that some tertiary sources are more useful for specific purposes than others. For example, a journal article in a particular area may be of more use to you than a source from a different area of study. There are many different types of tertiary sources and each can be used in different ways depending on your research goals and topics. As a general rule, journal articles are more reliable and valid than online resources and books are usually more useful for reading than for writing papers. However, it’s important to remember that all resources can help you with your research and each has its strengths and weaknesses. It’s important to put in the effort to find the most useful sources possible. 

Tertiary sources like its counterparts are an essential part of your research sources but unlike primary and secondary sources they are not the handiwork of a single author or from an established research organization, meaning there is an evident lack of specialized knowledge and for research, especially when dealing with topics on a micro-front, specialized knowledge sources are quintessential and offer more credibility. It is hence normal for researchers to not cite tertiary sources in their research but they do serve as a database for agreed-upon facts like measurements, dates, and definitions and provide an overview your research topic usually within an amalgamation multiple related topics within your discipline of study and are hence helpful for researchers trying to gain a better understanding or summarize various aspects of the research requirements.

Selection bias is a general term describing situations where bias is introduced into the research from factors affecting the study population. Selection bias occurs when individuals or groups in a study differ systematically from the population of interest leading to a systematic error in an association or outcome.

 Common types of selection bias in research

Researchers may unintentionally introduce selection bias into a study if participants differ from the target population in ways that affect the results. For example, if a survey is conducted solely on males, then any associations observed will be due to the gender differences between participants and target population, rather than to any inherent differences between men and women. There are two main types of selection bias in research: sampling bias and non-sampling bias. – Sampling bias happens when the study sample does not represent the population of interest. For example, a survey of all university students will very likely be skewed towards students who are more likely to participate in any survey, and so may not represent the people who would have their opinion changed by the results of the survey. This can be reduced by using a stratified sample of participants, or by using a sample that is representative of the target population. – Non-sampling bias happens when the research environment affects the results of the study, either inadvertently or intentionally. For example, a researcher may use a particular method or analyze a dataset in a way that leads to an association that is not necessarily representative of the population of interest. This type of bias can be particularly difficult to identify, as different researchers can often produce different results when using the same dataset.

Identifying Selection Bias in Research

There are many ways to identify selection bias in research, but the most straightforward is to look carefully at the methods and results of a study and see if they describe the target population. This is often done by comparing the results of a study to the demographics of the participants. If a study of university students shows that the participants are disproportionately more likely to be female, or have a lower socioeconomic status, there is a strong possibility that selection bias is occurring. Another way to identify selection bias is to examine the process that led to the study being conducted. If a survey was requested by a particular organization or with a particular goal in mind, then it is likely that the sample was chosen to support the chosen outcome. Selecting a sample in this way may introduce selection bias, although this is often more difficult to identify than sampling bias due to the subtle nature of the process.

Confusion about Confounding and Bias

While these two terms are often used interchangeably, selection bias is different from confounding bias. Selection bias occurs as a result of factors that affect the selection of participants, while confounding occurs as a result of factors that affect the results of the study itself. For example, a study that shows that males are less likely to support a certain policy than females may have a confounding variable, such as the fact that males are often less likely to support certain policies in the first place. However, this is not a case of selection bias, as the factors affecting the study sample (sex, age, socioeconomic status, etc.) are not the factors that affect the participants of the study.

Ways to avoid selection bias in research?

These methods can be used to reduce the risk of selection bias in research, although they are not foolproof. – When conducting a survey, attempt to make the sample as representative as possible of the target population. This can be difficult, as many people in a population are not likely to participate in a survey. To improve the likelihood of a representative sample, try to include people from as many demographic groups as possible, including people who are underrepresented in other surveys. – When reviewing datasets, try to identify when variables were chosen (or when they were not) to create the study dataset. This could help identify when non-representative variables may have been used unintentionally. – When designing a study, try to identify all the potential sources of selection bias. This will help to identify ways to reduce the risk of selection bias.

Conclusion

Selection bias occurs when researchers intentionally or unintentionally select participants who differ systematically from the target population, leading to incorrect conclusions. This bias can be reduced by careful selection of participants, careful data analysis, and careful design of a study. It can also be reduced by careful consideration of the factors that affect the way that participants are selected to participate in a study. Se selection bias in research happens when researchers unintentionally or intentionally select participants who differ systematically from the target population, leading to incorrect conclusions. This bias can be reduced by careful selection of participants, careful data analysis, and careful design of a study. It can also be reduced by careful consideration of the factors that affect the way that participants are selected to participate in a study.

Research questions and hypotheses are two distinct approaches to understanding a particular phenomenon. Research questions are the empirical questions that can be answered by collecting data through observation or experimentation. Hypothesis, on the other hand, is an educated guess about how something works or what it is like.

The purpose of research is to understand a phenomenon, process or outcome. It is not an end in itself. The purpose of research is to answer a question or solve a problem. Research questions are statements that describe the problem you want to investigate. The question should be specific enough so that it can be answered by the method used in the research study.The hypothesis is the main point of interest that guides your research. It is what you think will happen (example: if your research participants respond as you expect them to respond), which makes it important to consider carefully in your choice of study design and methods.

A research question is a statement about what you want to find out. It describes the purpose of the research. For example, “What factors influence the success of a new product?” or “How does a video game affect players’ cognitive abilities?” A hypothesis is an idea that might be true but has not yet been proven. It is based on observations and previous knowledge. If a researcher wants to find out whether playing violent video games increases aggression, they might develop a hypothesis like this: “Violent video games increase aggression”. This can be tested by measuring aggression in people who have played violent video games and comparing it with aggression in people who have not.

The role of research questions in research study is to provide a focus for the researcher’s efforts, which may be used to develop and guide the research. The researcher may use a variety of approaches such as qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods in order to answer questions that he/she believes will lead to significant findings. This will help the researcher in developing an appropriate research design for answering his/her research question(s).

Hypothesis is an educated guess about how something works or what it is like. It provides a framework for conducting research by providing a testable prediction about the outcome of interest. A hypothesis can be either specific or general; however general hypotheses are more useful because they give researchers a way to organize their thoughts and outline their ideas more clearly before conducting tests on specific cases.

Hypothesis v/s Research Question

• A hypothesis is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. In research, we usually frame a hypothesis around a research question. A hypothesis, however, is more broad and abstract. A hypothesis is an educated guess about what might happen. The hypothesis is not concrete; it’s just a theory. A hypothesis does not have an “if/then” format like an observation does. 
• A hypothesis may be stated as “if X happens then Y will happen,” where X and Y are variables whose values can fit into one of two categories (e.g., “If participant A responds positively when asked how his job performance has improved, then he will also respond positively when asked whether he has improved his job performance”). A null hypothesis states that there is no difference between two variables (X1 and X2). A directional hypothesis specifies that there is an effect behind one variable but not behind another variable (X1 vs. X2 vs. Y).
• A research question is the question that you want to answer through your research. It’s the topic that you choose to investigate, not the method you choose to investigate it. 
• A research question is what you investigate and why you want to investigate it. Your research question can be phrased in many ways. 
• For example, if you want to study how people use social media, your question could be: “What are the key trends that people are using social media for?”, “What social media platforms are being used most often?”, “How are people using social media?”, “What are the benefits of using social media?”, and so on. 
• Your research question guides the type of research that you do. For example, if you want to know what social media platforms people are using most often, then your research question guides the method that you use, such as an online survey. Your research question determines what questions you ask, what answers you look for, and how you present your findings.
• There are many ways to formulate a research question, and it can be hard to figure out what kind of question will yield the best results. When you’re conducting research, it can be easy to fall into the trap of thinking that a research question is a hypothesis. In some cases, though, a research question is not a hypothesis at all; instead, it’s more of an observation. For example, when you read journal articles, you may come across research that simply looks at data. This type of research does not have a hypothesis; instead, it’s an observation about the data. All that’s being examined is the data itself, not why it happened, what it means, or how it can help solve a problem.
• A hypothesis is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. A research question is what you want to investigate and why you want to investigate it.

Your research question and hypothesis should be stated in the introduction and addressed again in the conclusion to demonstrate that you have completed what you set out to do and that you have not lost sight of your objective throughout your research process.

Preparing a research document is a time-consuming, tedious process and includes various stages. One has to consider several aspects like availability and access to sources, contents to be included in the research document, etc while writing down a research document. Chapters in research document often demand undivided attention from the research scholar, one such being, the ‘methodology’ chapter. 

Methodology section provides a clear idea of your research and its validity & reliability. Since methodology chapter can make an everlasting impression on readers, it has to be crafted in an effective manner. Typically, a research methodology chapter should be written by following a model to make it comprehensible for readers. Today, most of the Universities are demanding scholars to follow ‘research onion’ model while writing down this section. Has your University asked you to follow this model? Sounds like a complex process?

To ease your life, we, with the help of writers providing PhD synopsis writing service have figured out and have explained each layer of this model. 

Research onion model, based on the philosophies of ontology, epistemology, and axiology is segregated into research philosophy, approaches, strategy, time horizons and data collection approaches.

• Research philosophy –  This determines the approach used to collect infer and utilise a certain set of data for your research work and to do so, you can select philosophies like  realism, positivism, and interpretivism. No matter which philosophy use have chosen, it must perfectly align your research objective and your choice of philosophy must be justified.

• Research approach – Research approach includes inductive and deductive methods and determines the logical reasoning. Choose one among the approaches as per your needs. The inductive approach lets you form a novel theory based on the data collected, whereas the deductive approach lets you ensure if the collected data holds good with the existing theories.

• Research strategy –  Research strategy consists of the source and nature of the data which has been collected to meet the objectives of your research. Based on nature, the data can be qualitative or quantitative. Whereas, based on the source, the data can either be primary or secondary. 

• Time horizon –  Time horizon is of two types cross-sectional and longitudinal study. These  give an idea of the exact timeline in which the research work has been conducted. 

• Data collection –  Data collection highlights the underlying techniques used by you to collect the necessary data for conducting your research. You should specify the statistical tools/software that you have exploited and approaches that you have followed while gathering the required data. This section of the research onion, lets you decide the content of the questionnaire sample groups. It is a must for you to ensure that all the tools and decisions you have used syncs with the philosophies.

Writing a methodology section is definitely a tough nut to crack. If you are facing tough time in writing this section, then seek professional help from writers offering PhD synopsis writing service. 

A research paper is the most important aspect for the completion of the doctoral degree. As a doctoral student, you are expected to choose a potential problem, find possible solutions and pen down the key results of the results. But before proceeding with the research paper writing process, you need to prepare a catchy summary of your research and explain how it contributes to your field of study. This summary is known as a concept paper.

A concept paper is a document that summarizes what the research is about, how you intended to conduct it, and why is it essential. It includes topic under study, hypothesis, research questions, data collection & analysis approaches. The concept paper developed prior to the research paper lays a solid foundation for the research paper. It also provides an opportunity for doctoral students to define their study focus and obtain early feedback. 

A concept paper is of two types: implicit and explicit paper

1. Implicit concept paper – This type of concept includes casual information which otherwise is excluded in traditional prototype theory. 
2. Explicit concept paper – It includes definitional and syntactic information. Besides, it may also consist of statistical and causal information. 

How to pen down a concept paper?

Crafting a concept paper goes beyond possessing an idea about it. A winning concept paper caters as a development tool and summarizes the planned research paper precisely. 

Some of the elements to include in the concept paper are:

• Title page 

Provide a title to your research paper that acts as a standalone statement. The title should describe the central idea of the research paper and summarize the whole study. It should also determine the variables under study and the relationship between the variables. However, avoid using jargons or words that are misleading.

• Purpose/rationale of study 

This section of the concept paper should introduce the research problem that you wish to investigate, the reasons behind choosing the specific problem and describe why your results are valuable. Statistical data or any other supporting document can be added in this section to emphasize the need of your study. 

Tip: Prior to including the research problem, consider why do you think the problem is important, how it relates to the previous studies, how a link between the study objectives and hypotheses is established and what are the theoretical & practical implications of your study. 

• Preliminary literature review  

Literature review section identifies the critical materials that support and validate your study. This section should focus on the aspects that support new research and provides a provision to synthesize and analyze the information from previous studies. The literature should connect the present research with theoretical models of the existing studies. Remember, a great concept is developed on the basis of range of literature review which is condensed into key points. 

• Goals  

This section should include goals and objectives of your study. It should describe ‘what’, ‘when’ and ‘who’ regarding your study goal. For example, an objective might be to offer high-quality training to students and a goal may be improving the academic performance of students. 

• Methodology  

Also, known as project activities or action plan, methodology section suggests the best approach and technique to perform research and data analysis. The methods must be selected on the basis of empirical evidence and must be reasonable & cost-effective. Also, the objectives and goals must align with the chosen research methods. 

• Timeline & budget 

Highlight the critical elements of each stage and outline the time required to complete your research. Also, mention the central budget category, amount required to perform the research and how the amount will be used during the research process. 

• References 

Include the references used to develop the concept paper. Cite them in the formatting style demanded by your University or institute. 

Example 

In response to ‘studies to improve the texture of butter’, a randomized controlled trial was proposed to determine the type of butter prefered by the middle-age individuals. The study addressed the goal of identifying the consumer preferences and why those preferences have withstand in the market. 

Approximately 11 million middle-age (25-40) individuals consume butter everyday. The butter consumption declined gradually with the increase in the age. It was hypothesized that age-related issues reduced the butter consumption. 

The goal of the project was to understand the butter texture & taste preferences and to analyze the hypotheses on age related issues and changes. 

In the first year, 2 groups of individuals of different ages (25-40) will be subjected to the experiment. The participants of group 1 will be served butter from brand 1 in sandwich form twice per week. Similarly, participants in group 2 will be served butter from brand 2 twice per week. After a month, the groups were switched and the study will be continued in a similar manner. 

The time required to complete the experiment would be three years and the budget required is estimated to $ 180,000. 

Depending on the field of study, a concept paper can range between 2-3 pages to 10-20 pages. Determine the requirements of your field of study and craft a niche concept paper.

Experimental research design is widely used by the research community to manipulate one or more variables (independent) and determine their effect on the other variables (dependent). This type of research design is often used in two cases: (1) When time priority exists in a causal relationship and (2) there exists a consistency in a causal relationship. 

Experimental research design is classified into a pre-experimental, true experimental and quasi-experimental research design. Although true experimental design is regarded as the most accurate design, it is a quasi-experimental design that is widely used in the research in social science, psychology, etc. as it doesn’t involve random assignment of participants to orders of condition. 

A quasi-experimental research design, also known as ex-post-facto design involves the selection of groups without a random pre-selection process. This type of research design doesn’t allow the research scholar to control the assignment of participants to groups or conditions. It identifies a comparison group that is similar to the intervention group in terms of baseline features. 

Types of quasi-experimental research designs 

Quasi-experimental research designs are of various types and have a variety of applications in a specific framework. 

• Non-equivalent group, posttest only design – This type of research design includes administration of outcomes measures to treatment group or two groups and a comparison. For instance,  a group of students might receive coding instruction using the latest programming language whereas another group of students might receive writing instruction using standard programming language. After a week, a writing comprehension test is administered to determine which programming language is more effective. However, the major setback of this design is that the two selected groups may differ in important ways that impact the writing process. For example, if a group of students who code using standard programming language, then we cannot determine if the students are well-prepared or if it’s the result of utilization of standard programming language.

• Non-equivalent control group design – Here we compare the control group and the experimental group. The groups are selected & assigned through convenience rather than choosing via randomization. But the problem arises when the results of the control and experimental group are to be compared. For instance, a researcher wants to determine the impact of online training on the average grade point of class 11 students. Here the researcher cannot randomly collect the participants as the institution will not permit to regroup the classes. Therefore, the researcher chose two sections of class11 from the same institution. Since the participants were not randomly allocated, the researcher cannot conclude that two groups were equivalent before the manipulation. Also, it cannot be determined if the difference in the grade point is only due to the impact of online training as other variables such as intelligence, motivation, etc. can bring about the difference in learning.

• Separate pretest-posttest sample design – The main idea of this research design is that the individual selected for the pretest is not the same as that of the posttest. For example, assume that the two companies are similar. You can use one company to implement your study and second company as a control. A customer satisfaction program is developed. Initially, the customer satisfaction is measured without implementing the program. This is followed by the implementation of program and measuring the client satisfaction. Here the clients for each company will be different for pretest and posttest. The response of the client from the pretest and posttest cannot be compared. As a result, nonequivalence exists not just between companies but also between the pre and post groups.

•  Double pretest design – This type of quasi-experimental research design is regarded as the strongest design with respect to internal validity. This is because, in the pre-post nonequivalent research design, the nonequivalent groups may differ from one another. Pretest does not tell us if the changing at the same rates prior to the program. But with a double pretest design, we can determine the rate of change through pretest1 and pretest2. Therefore, this research is explicitly used to control the selection of maturation threat. 

• Repeated treatment design – Here the treatment is withdrawn and then presented for the second time. Simply said, treatment is presented more than once. The response of the participant is measured prior to and after the implementation of treatment. The treatment program is withdrawn and then the process is performed again. Consider an example where the government has banned the consumption of alcohol. To analyze the impact of this policy, problems pertaining to alcohol consumption were assessed. The outcome of the policy was the health of individuals improved as a result of the ban. 

A quasi-experimental design is widely used to produce results for general trends. The added advantage of this design is that it doesn’t require randomization, prescreening and minimizes the threat to internal validity. 

Although this type of research design is easy to implement, one should take care to address the internal validity threat and utilization of additional data.

Qualitative research involves an interpretive, naturalistic approach which is conducted through critical, self-reflexive enquiry where the researcher should be constantly asking questions about his role in the research process. Qualitative research design includes interviews, case studies, participant observation, action research, historical research, philosophical research, of which phenomenological research, an approach to collect qualitative data. 

This research method distinguishes itself from other research designs as it aims to provide a live experience despite quantifying the research. Phenomenology study inherits the experience from the participant’s perspective, as a result, no formulation of the hypothesis is required to carry on the process of data collection. The phenomenological method used in epistemology, where data and information can be obtained only by emphasising personal experiences and comprehension. 

Phenomenology uses multi-methods such as focus group meetings, participant observation, interviews, conversations, analysis of diaries and other personal texts. To solve the purpose, the questionnaire used is more unstructured and open-ended to explore the experiences of the respondents. Simply put, phenomenology emphasises subjectivity aiming to collect the data in detail using more unstructured questions.

Generally, such research methodology is used in finding out an individual’s experiences, perceptions from their perspectives and in the research studies related to psychology & medical. 

Few research examples employing phenomenological research are as follows:

• Experiences of Higher Education Students with Disabilities
• Studying the green flash that sometimes happens just after sunset or just before sunrise
• Experiences of parents of young children suffering from autism receiving special education services
• A phenomenological study on the resilience of  old age people from chronic disease

Phenomenology does not focus on measurements or explanations but searches for the meaning or essence of an experience. Phenomenology research is different in that the researcher is often participatory and the other participants are co-researchers in many cases. This research emphasises the study as a holistic approach rather than considering into parts.

Typically, a phenomenological research study follows the four steps, of which includes: 

1. Bracketing – It is the process to keep a check on any preconceived beliefs or opinions about the phenomenon being researched.  
2. Intuition – In this step the researcher gets fully involved in the study but simultaneously considers the phenomenon conceived by others.
3. Analysis – Here the researcher uses processes such as coding and categorising to organise the data.  
4. Description – This process involves utilisation of cognition regarding data collection and after understanding the phenomenon communicates it to others.

Talking about the strengths of phenomenological research, it provides an in-depth understanding of the themes and meanings of experience that emerge from the data and provides sensible meaning to lived experience. Such type of study contributes to the development of changes in policies or development of new theories. But many a time, researcher may not be able to express the experiences to its full context due to different barriers such as age, language, cognition, motivation, embarrassment and other factors. 

Sometimes the researcher may be biased which is difficult to determine. Also, the results may not be statistically reliable even if the large sample size is taken and may not produce results which may be generalised over the whole population. 

The darker side of this research is that the policymakers do not provide much credibility to it as the subjectivity of the data may lead to difficulty in establishing reliability and validity.