MSS 905 Methods of MSS 905 Methods of Missiological ResearchMissiological Research

Introduction to Missiological Research

Types of Research

1. Basic research: adding to our fundamental understanding and knowledge (regardless of practical or immediate implications)

2. Applied research: program evaluation, or action-oriented research

3. Descriptive research: describe groups, activities, situations or events; normally using quantitative data analysis

Types of Research

4. Explanatory research: – looking for causes and reasons; – normally based on existing theories– ground-breaking; normally using qualitative

data analysis

The Research Process

1. Define a research problem

2. Formulate research questions

3. Undertake a literature review

4. Building a hypothesis (or question)

5. Determine the data needed

6. Systematically collect data

7. Present results and make recommendations

The Research Process

1. Define a research problem

2. Formulate research questions

3. Undertake a literature review

4. Building a hypothesis (or question)

5. Determine the data needed

6. Systematically collect data

7. Present results and make recommendations

1. Research Problem

• Something that is happening and should NOT be happening

• Something that is NOT happening and should be• Something that is happening but is not at the level it

should be • Something is happening (or NOT happening) but it is not

understood why or how• Something is done differently, and we don’t know if it’s

better or not• It’s something like identifying a mystery that needs to be

solved

Selecting a Topic for Research

1. Personal experience (SA and racism, cross-cultural issues)

2. Curiosity from a media story3. Looking at the state of knowledge in a field (Dr.

Jim Harris)4. Solving a practical problem in society

(Pentecostals’ perception of war and pacifism)5. Social premiums (hot opportunities)6. Personal values (Glossalalia and emotional

maturity)7. Everyday life

Narrowing a Topic for Research

1. Examine the literature

2. Talk over ideas with others

3. Apply existing research to a specific context

Neuman (2006 p. 156, Box 6.4): Bad and Good Research Questions

The Research Process

1. Define a research problem

2. Formulate research questions

3. Undertake a literature review

4. Building a hypothesis (or question)

5. Determine the data needed

6. Systematically collect data

7. Present results and make recommendations

The Research Process

1. Define a research problem

2. Formulate research questions

3. Undertake a literature review

4. Building a hypothesis (or question)

5. Determine the data needed

6. Systematically collect data

7. Present results and make recommendations

2. Research Questions

• Definition (Adler & Clark, 2003): a question about one or more topics or concepts that can be answered through research

• See – Adler & Clark (2003) pp 67-96– Galvan (2006) chapter 3 on identifying data

sources and tips on electronic searches– Vyymeister (2001) chapters 2 and 3 on finding

sources and narrowing the scope of your topic

2. Research Questions

• What are the variable that appear to be involved?

• What appears to be driving, impeding, altering, deviating what is happening?

• Which method works better?

• At this stage simple conjecture and educated guesses are appropriate

The Research Process

1. Define a research problem

2. Formulate research questions

3. Undertake a literature review

4. Building a hypothesis (or question)

5. Determine the data needed

6. Systematically collect data

7. Present results and make recommendations

The Research Process

1. Define a research problem

2. Formulate research questions

3. Undertake a literature review

4. Building a hypothesis (or question)

5. Determine the data needed

6. Systematically collect data

7. Present results and make recommendations

3. Literature Review• Finding out everything there is to know

about this problem in the literature• There may already be an answer • To uncover the variables, develop

explanations and predictions about variables

• To determine the level of knowledge that exists (low knowledge = exploratory methods; high = descriptive/develop hypotheses)

3. Literature Review

Stages

1. Consider from different angles: develop search terms, key words, concepts, terms

2. Search the databases: article titles, to abstracts, to articles

3. Begin categorization

4. Continue till you exhaust the field: identified the variables, the theories, instruments, techniques used

Tip: Check the references at the end of

all the articles!!!

Tip: Use the Citation “key

word” function

The Research Process

1. Define a research problem

2. Formulate research questions

3. Undertake a literature review

4. Building a hypothesis (or question)

5. Determine the data needed

6. Systematically collect data

7. Present results and make recommendations

The Research Process

1. Define a research problem

2. Formulate research questions

3. Undertake a literature review

4. Building a hypothesis (or question)

5. Determine the data needed

6. Systematically collect data

7. Present results and make recommendations

Hypothesis Creation• Only after sufficient knowledge already exists in

a field• Relationship between variables can be tested• Missiological examples:

– Do LACC schools produce better academics than nationals schools?

– Are local evangelists better than foreign missionaries?– Will Facebook increase “connectedness” between

missionaries and their sponsors?

Hypothesis Creation

• Hypothesis is always first stated as a null hypothesis: “no relationship exists between these variables”

• Example (LACC schools)– H0: There is no relationship between academic scores

of students from LACC and national schools

– H1: Students from LACC schools achieve higher academic scores than students from national schools

The Research Process

1. Define a research problem

2. Formulate research questions

3. Undertake a literature review

4. Building a hypothesis (or question)

5. Determine the data needed

6. Systematically collect data

7. Present results and make recommendations

The Research Process

1. Define a research problem

2. Formulate research questions

3. Undertake a literature review

4. Building a hypothesis (or question)

5. Determine the data needed

6. Systematically collect data

7. Present results and make recommendations

Hypothesis Testing

• After the data is collected from the variables they are analyzed to determine if there is a statistically significant difference (p<.05; .01; .001)

• If the difference is significant the null hypothesis is rejected and the alternate is considered

The Research Process

1. Define a research problem

2. Formulate research questions

3. Undertake a literature review

4. Building a hypothesis (or question)

5. Determine the data needed

6. Systematically collect data

7. Present results and make recommendations

The Research Process

1. Define a research problem

2. Formulate research questions

3. Undertake a literature review

4. Building a hypothesis (or question)

5. Determine the data needed

6. Systematically collect data

7. Present results and make recommendations

Project vs. DissertationD.Miss. Project• A professional program with an emphasis on

practical theology, practical Christian wisdom• Addresses both the nature and the practice of

missions• ATS requires research model to be informed by

social sciences and some form of “evaluation of results”

• A practice (the “what?”) based on some theory (the “why”?). Theory includes theological basis.

Project vs. DissertationD.Miss. Project: Examples (from Vyhmeister)

• Program development and evaluation (#15)• Case study (#16)• History or biography• See also “Asbury dissertations”

Project vs. DissertationProject Dissertation

Scope Limited Expanded

Length Maximum 150 pages 250 plus pages

Aim Solve a missions problem

Enlarge the fund of missions knowledge

Audience Practitioners Academy and practitioners

Type of research Applied or possibly explanatory

Basic, descriptive or explanatory

Statistical sophistication Normally descriptive in nature if at all

Probably advanced (unless it’s basic research or theory development)