Research Methodology

Types of research (increased emphasis on practical action)

Applied (potential for practical application, without a way in mind of implementing the results)

Policy (Practical issues where decision-makers must take decisions - Did a given policy have the intended effect or not?)

Pure (Researcher's scientific curiosity)

Action (Working on particular activities to make direct improvements)

Exploratory (Situations in which we do not know much about the research object)

Descriptive (We already know what to look for but need more infos - Establishing the explanandum)

Explanatory (Goal to single out the conditions that made something happen)

Research Proposal

Research Process (circular process, as there may be potential back-loops down the road)

Data Collection

Data Analysis

Problem

Action

  1. Narrow it down and define the problem
  1. Review the existing literature
  1. Hypothesis Foundation (expectations)
  1. Choose the area of study
  1. Methodology (data we will use)
  1. Sampling (when the universe is too large, we just collect data about a subset of its population)
  1. Actual collection of data via different techniques (questionnaire etc)
  1. Definition of the universe (entirety of different units)
  1. Organize the data
  1. Examine the data
  1. Distribute the information
  1. Implement the changes that follow from your findings
  1. Write a research report

Research Accuracy (there will always be limitations that must be addressed)

Generalisability

Validity

Relevance

Reliability

Should be beneficial to those who commissioned it or the ones that may benefit from its results - can mean different things

Can the research results from the sample be extended to the whole population?

Necessity for measurable indicators when dealing with abstract topics. Correctness of collected data!

Can it be replicated / reproduced? Would another researcher get the same results in 2 weeks?

Conceptualisation

  1. Test-retest method: Same test, same units
  1. Multiple Coders: Different researcher for example, maybe different units
  1. Split-half method: Perform two versions of the same test, on two different groups

Validity (Which are the right indicators?)

Operationalization (How will we measure the chosen indicators?)

Conceptualisation (giving the abstract concept a conceptual definition)

Measurement

Research Ethics

In Principle:

In Practice:

Non-maleficence: Should avoid any harm

Beneficence: Should bring some benefit rather than being just interesting

Autonomy and self-determination for all participants

Justice: Equal treatment

Privacy: Right of p. to choose what to disclose about themselves

Confidentiality: Informations of participants will not be shared, notes under lock & key and no gossip

Avoidance of harm: harm must be avoided

Anonymity: Process by which individuals are protected from identification. Prevent identification.

Informed consent: Voluntary participation

Different sources

Secondary: Interpreate, analyse or evaluate primary ones

Primary: First-hand narratives, original documents / objects or factual accounts (original)

Aims (general scope) and Objectives (precise goals)

Outline

Scope of the study

Structure

  1. Literature Review (Analysing, Evaluating and creating = Critical part!) - Branching for example, where we place a seed in one book or article, and find others cited in it. Problems 1) Not narrowing it down, 2) Getting lost
  1. Research Questions & Hypotheses
  1. Research Problem (Purpose of the study, aims and objectives)
  1. Methods (techniques to collect data, sampling or not)
  1. Introduction (boundaries of what we'll do)
  1. Assumptions (statements that cannot be proven empirically) & Limitations
  1. Title, Abstract, Keywords
  1. Schedule & Budget

Research Strategies

Qualitative: wants to find regularities, and it processes data in form of numbers and codes, focused on a macro level

Mixed - Both quantitative & qualitative - E.g. Triangulation, aims at finding same findings through different sources.

Quantitative: wants to understand things via text, focuses on a micro level, and wants a thorough understanding of the cases - Informal, systematic sampling, no generalisation.

Philosophical approach

Constructivism: It maintains that social actors attach subjective meanings to their experiences. According to them, social reality is not objective or fixed but shaped through an individuals experiences. (qualitative & inductive)

Positivism: Puts science at its core rather than rationality

Interpretivism: Finding an exhaustive understanding of the causes producing events and situations in a single case or limited number of cases. Gives a thorough and full explanation (idiographic) on a microlevel. (qualitative and inductive)

Positivism: Puts science at its core rather than rationality. Research should be objective to examine social reality, which is also objective (Quantitative, and based on deduction)

Its criticism: Objectivity can never fully be reached. Knowledge is subjective, and data depends on the relation between knower and known. Scientific method is also a social construct and not objective.

Pragmatism: Emphasis on the research prob.