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Chapter Three: The Research Process, Shaped By, Influenced By, Paradigms…

- - - - functionalism paradigm:
        world consists of social order; best to study the world objectively
        
        majority of social science research
      - radical structuralism paradigm:
        world consists of radical change; best to study objectively
        
        represent a negligible proportion of social science research
      - interpretivism paradigm:
        world consists of social order; best to study subjectively
      - radical humanism paradigm:
        world consists of radical change; best to study subjectively
  - - - Rationalization:
        we try to make sense of the observed phenomenon, event, or behavior by logically connecting the different pieces of the puzzle that we observe, which in some cases, may lead to the construction of a theory
        
        Validation:
        we test our theories using a scientific method through a process of data collection and analysis, and in doing so, possibly modify or extend our initial theory
    - - Phase Two: Research Design
        concerned with creating a blueprint of the actions to take in order to satisfactorily answer the research questions identified in the exploration phase. This includes selecting a research method, operationalizing constructs of interest, and devising an appropriate sampling strategy
        
        Phase Three: Research Execution
        includes pilot testing the measurement instruments, data collection, and data analysis
        
        Phase Four: Research Report
        documenting the entire research process and its findings in the form of a research paper, dissertation, or monograph
        
        research process must be described in sufficient detail so as to allow other researchers to replicate your study, test the findings, or assess whether the inferences derived are scientifically acceptable
        
        Pilot testing
        often overlooked but extremely important; helps detect potential problems in your research design and/or instrumentation, and to ensure that the measurement instruments used in the study are reliable and valid measures of the constructs of interest
        
        data collection
        may be quantitative or qualitative, depending on the research method employed
        
        data analysis
        data is analyzed and interpreted for the purpose of drawing conclusions regarding the research questions of interest
        
        Operationalization
        process of designing precise measures for abstract theoretical constructs
        
        research method
        Simultaneous with operationalization; may include quantitative methods such as experiments or survey research or qualitative methods such as case research or action research, or possibly a combination of both
        
        sampling
        choose the target population from which they wish to collect data; strategy to select a sample from that population
        
        research proposal
        details all of the decisions made in the preceding stages of the research process and the rationale behind each decision
      - research questions
        specific questions about a behavior, event, or phenomena of interest that you wish to seek answers for in your research
        
        literature review
        purpose of a literature review: one, to survey the current state of knowledge in the area of inquiry, two, to identify key authors, articles, theories, and findings in that area, and three, to identify gaps in knowledge in that research area
        
        theories
        can help address the desired research questions: will help identify which of these constructs is logically relevant to the target phenomenon and how
    - - Insufficiently motivated research questions
        Because the research process involves a significant investment of time and effort on the researcher’s part, the researcher must be certain—and be able to convince others—that the research questions they seek to answer deal with real—and not hypothetical—problems that affect a substantial portion of a population and have not been adequately addressed in prior research
      - Pursuing research fads
        Another common mistake is pursuing ‘popular’ topics with limited shelf life
      - Unresearchable problems
        Some research problems may not be answered adequately based on observed evidence alone, or using currently accepted methods and procedures
      - Favored research methods
        Many researchers have a tendency to recast a research problem so that it is amenable to their favorite research method; research methods should be chosen to best fit a research problem, and not the other way around.
      - Blind data mining
        Some researchers have the tendency to collect data first (using instruments that are already available), and then figure out what to do with it