Week 5 Introduction to Research Methods

Dr Helena VarkkeyAUEA 1105 Research Methodology

Approaches to Research

QUANtitative• research that relies

primarily on the collection of quantitative data.

Mixed Research• research that involves the

mixing of QUANtitative and QUALitative methods or paradigm characteristics.

QUALitative• research that relies

on the collection of qualitative data.

Approaches to Research

• To understand these different approaches, we need to consider three elements: 1. philosophical assumption about what constitute knowledge

claims2. general procedures of research called strategies of inquiry3. detailed procedure of data collection, analysis and writing,

called methods• The researcher should ask him/herself three questions:

1. What knowledge claims are you making (including a theoretical perspective)?

2. What strategies of inquiry will inform the procedures?3. What methods of data collection and analysis will be used?

Question 1: What knowledge claims are you making?

Philosophical assumption

What is knowledge?

Knowledge Claims• Knowledge claims are

philosophical assumptions on what constitute knowledge

• Researchers should start a project being fairly certain about his/her philosophical assumption on knowledge– what is knowledge (ontology)– how we know it (epistemology),– what values go into it (axiology)– how we write about it (rhetoric)– process for studying it

(methodology)

Post positivist Socially Constructed

Advocacyor

ParticipatoryPragmatic

Post Positivist Knowledge• Positivism: only “factual” knowledge gained through observation

(the senses), including measurement, is trustworthy• Post positivists believe that:

– a reality exists (like positivists) but it can only be known imperfectly and probabilistically

– we can not be “positive” about claims of knowledge when studying the behaviors and action of humans

– researchers must challenge the absolute truth – worldviews can occasionally shift in response to evidence

• Problems studied by post positivists is to– examine causes that influence outcomes. – Observe and measure the objective reality (reductionism)– test or refine the existing laws or theories (deductive).

Knowledge as Socially Constructed• Constructivists believe that:

– individuals develop subjective meanings of experiences based on the individual’s historical and social perspective

– these meaning are varied and multiple– the researcher’s own background shapes their interpretation– Therefore there is no ‘objective reality’

• Hence researchers should look for the complexity of views. • Such research relies as much as possible on

– the participants’ views of the situation being studied– the processes of interaction among individuals and on the specific contexts in

which individual live and work– more open-ended the questioning.

• Researchers thus focus on making sense of (or interpreting) the data rather than starting with a theory inductive

Recall..

Social Constructivism Post-Positivism

Knowledge based on Advocacy (Participatory Knowledge)

• All inquiry needs to be related with politics and a political agenda.• Thus, the research should contain an action agenda for reform

that may change the lives of the participants, the institutions where they work or live, or the researcher’s life.

• Research should relate to important current social issues, eg. empowerment, inequality, domination, oppression, suppression, alienation.

• Collaborative approach to research:– Participants as active collaborators: inquiry completed ‘with’ others

rather than ‘on’ or ‘to’ others– participants may help design questions, collect data, analyze

information, or receive rewards for participating

Pragmatic Knowledge

• Pragmatists believe that– understanding the problem is most important. – one can only know what kind of knowledge is out there

after conclusive research of all angles of the problem is made.

• Researchers will use any and all approaches necessary to understand the problem. – In other words, they are “free” to choose the methods,

techniques, and procedures to collecting and analyzing data rather than subscribing to only one method.

– Thus, it open the door for mixed methods.

Exercise: Which philosophical assumptions of knowledge?

•individuals develop subjective meanings of experiences

What is knowledge (ontology)

•based on the individual’s historical and social perspective

What values go into it (axiology)

•the participants’ views

•the processes of interaction in specific contexts

How we know it (epistemology)

•look for the complexity of views

Process for studying it (methodology)

•Open ended-questioning

How we write about it (rhetoric)

Knowledge Claims

• *you do not have to explicitly state the type of knowledge claims you are making in your proposal, but it will be used as a guide for your research strategies and methodology

Question 2: What strategies of inquiry will inform the procedures?

General Procedures

QUANtitative vs QUALitative Tradition

• based on a belief that the study of society is no different than the scientific study of any other element of our world.

• It premises scientific method, hypothesis testing, deductive logic, objectivity and quantification.

QUANtitative Tradition

QUANtitative vs QUALitative Tradition

• critiques quantitative assumptions and premises inductive logic, subjectivity, multiple truths, the political nature of research, and the value of depth over quantity.

• Qualitative research strategies for achieving credibility include • thoroughness, i.e. saturation, crystallization,

prolonged engagement, persistent observation, broad representation and peer review

• confirmation, i.e. triangulation, member checking, and full explanation of method.

QUALitative Tradition

Strategies of Inquiry

• What strategies of inquiry will inform the procedures?

• There should be a good match between research problem and approach

• Certain types of social research problems call for specific approaches.

QUANtitative Approach

• Useful for research in which the problem is: – explaining factors that influence an outcome– explaining the utility (effectiveness) of an

intervention– explaining the best predictors of outcomes– testing theory or explanation (deductive)

Strategies of Inquiry: QUANtitative

• Experiment: – Random assignment of subject to treatment conditions – Explore cause and effect by manipulating independent

variables to see if there is a corresponding effect on a dependent variable

– Pure experimentation requires controlled environments and randomly assigned control groups (not always possible in social science experiments often conducted in the field)

• Surveys: – Studying by using questionnaires or structured interviews

with the intent of generalizing from sample to a population.

QUALitative Approach

• Useful for research in which the problem is:– exploring a concept or phenomenon– exploring an important unknown factor (new

topic)– exploring a particular sample or studied group

that does not fit within existing theories (inductive)

– in a natural setting

Strategies of Inquiry: QUALitative

• Ethnography: – The researcher studies an intact cultural group in a

natural setting over a long period by collecting primary and observational data.

– Involves “immersion”: discovering, understanding, describing and interpreting a way of life from the point of view of its participants.

– Ethnographers need to carefully manage their own subjectivities and their relationship with the ‘researched’.

Strategies of Inquiry: QUALitative

• Phenomenological research: – the researcher identifies the “essence” of human

experiences concerning a phenomenon, as described by participants in a study.

– involves generating descriptions of lived phenomena as they present themselves in direct experience, which are then synthesized to offer a range of distinct possibilities for the experience

– the researcher ‘brackets’ (sets aside) his or her own experiences in order to understand those of the participants in the study.

Strategies of Inquiry: QUALitative

• Narrative research: – the researcher studies the lives of individuals and asks one or

more individuals to provide stories about their lives. At the end, the narrative combines views of the participant’s life with those of the researcher’s life in a collaborative narrative.

• Case studies: – the researcher explores in depth a program, an event, an activity,

a process, or one or more individuals.• Grounded theory:

– The researcher attempts to derive a general, abstract theory of a process, action, or interaction grounded in the views of participants in a study (reverse of theory testing)

Mixed Methods Approach

• Necessitates the use of both quantitative and qualitative approach because:– There is a need of both generalization and a

detailed view of the meaning of the phenomenon or concept for individuals

Strategies of Enquiry: Mixed Research

• Mixed method research– the researcher uses QUALitative research for one phase of a

research and QUANtitative research for another. – Eg. a researcher might conduct an experiment (QUAN) and then an

interview with the participants (QUAL) to see if they agreed with the results.

• Mixed model research – the researcher mixes both QUALitative and QUANtitative

approaches within one or more stages of the study. – Eg: a researcher might use a questionnaire that is composed of

closed-ended (QUAN) items as well as several open-ended (QUAL) type items.

– Eg: researcher collects QUALitative data then QUANtifies it

Strategies of Enquiry

QUALitative

• Ethnography• Grounded

Theory• Case Studies• Phenomenology• Narrative

Research

QUANtiative

• Experimental• Survey

Mixed Research

• Mixed Method• Mixed Model

Question 3: What methods of data collection and analysis will be used?

Detailed procedures

Research Methods

• The specific methods of data collection and analysis.

• It is useful to consider the full range of possibilities for data collection in any study.

• In considering this, think of the: – degree of predetermined nature of the data– practicality of the use of closed-ended vs open-

ended questioning– Practicality of numeric vs non-numeric data analysis

Research Methods

QUALitative (wk 6 & 7)

• Emerging methods• Open-ended questions• Interview, observation,

document, and audio-visual data

• Text and image analysis

QUANtitiative (wk 8)

• Predetermined• Instrument-based

questions• Performance, attitude,

and census data• Statistical analysis

Mixed Research (wk 8)

• Both open- and close-ended questions

• Multiple forms of data drawing on all possibilities

• Statistical and text analysis

Overview

Overview: QUALitative

Q1: Knowledge Claims

• Constructivist assumptions

Q2: Strategy of Inquiry

• Ethnographic design

Q3: Method

• Emerging methods

• Open-ended questions

• Field observation, document data

• Text and Image analysis

Approach: The researcher will..

• Collect participant’s meanings

• Study the context or setting

• Make interpretations of the data

Overview: QUALitativeQ1: Knowledge

Claims

• Advocacy or participatory assumptions

Q2: Strategy of Inquiry

• Narrative design• Phenomenology• Case study• Grounded theory

Q3: Method

• Open-ended interview and audio-visual data

• Text and image analysis

Approach: The researcher will..

• Focus on a single phenomenon

• Collect participant’s meanings

• Bring personal values to a study

• Study the context or setting

• Make interpretations of the data

• Create an agenda for change or reform

Overview: QUANtitativeQ1: Knowledge

Claims

• Postpositivist assumptions

Q2: Strategy of Inquiry

• Experimental design

• Survey design

Q3: Method

• Predetermined• Close-ended

questions• Performance,

attitude, and census data

• Statistical analysis

Approach: The researcher will..

• Test or verify theories

• Identify variables• Relate variables

in RQs• Measure data

numerically• Use unbiased

approaches• Employ statistical

procedures

QUANtitative vs QUALitative

Overview: Mixed Research

Q1: Knowledge Claims

• Pragmatic approach

Q2: Strategy of Inquiry

• Mixed methods

Q3: Method

• Both predetermined and emerging methods

• Both open- and close-ended questions

• Drawing on multiple forms of data

• Statistical and text analysis

Approach: The researcher will..

• Collect both qualitative and quantitative data

• Develop a rationale for mixing

• Employ the practices of both qualitative and quantitative methods to analyze data

Additional Criteria for Selecting an Approach

personal training and experiences

of the researcher

audience for whom the report

will be written

Personal Experience

• An individual trained in technical, scientific writing, statistics, and computer statistical programs who is also familiar with quantitative journals would most likely choose the QUANtitative design.

• The QUALitative approach incorporates much more of a literary form of writing, computer text analysis programs, and experience in conducting open-ended interviews and observations.

• The mixed methods researcher needs to be familiar with both quantitative and qualitative research. This person also needs an understanding of the rationales for combining both forms of data so that they can be articulated in a proposal.

Audience

• Researchers should be sensitive to audiences to whom they report their research.

• These audiences may be journal editors, journal readers, graduate committees, conference attendees, or colleagues, or colleagues in the field.

• The experiences of these audiences with qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods studies will shape the decision made about this choice.

• Students should consider the approaches typically supported and used by their advisers.

Broad Summary

Broad Summary (Cont’d)

Sources/Further Reading

• http://community.csusm.edu/pluginfile.php/21139/mod_resource/content/1/ResearchDesignOverview.doc

• http://www.southalabama.edu/coe/bset/johnson/lectures/lec2.pdf

• http://lgdata.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/docs/797/853726/Ch01-PPT-Research_Design__2_.ppt

• http://www.uk.sagepub.com/resources/oleary/Chapter%2008_Understanding%20Methodologies%20Quantitative,%20Qualitative%20and%20Mixed%20Approaches.ppt

Homework

• Do step 7-9 of your literature review– You should already have your themes, and have

designed your mindmap around these themes– Now, write it all up!– Follow the INTRO BODY CONCLUSION guide in

the last class– And remember, show me your voice!

Pop! Quiz

• A researcher should start a project being fairly certain about his/her philosophical assumption on knowledge. What is yours, and why?

Postpositivist Socially Constructed

Advocacyor

ParticipatoryPragmatic