research design, philosophy and methods
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Research design, philosophy and methods
Mark Reed
Plan
• Choosing your research topic: where are you?• Research philosophy: what is knowledge? • Research design
1 What is knowledge?
Data• Raw numbers &
facts
Information• Useful data (that
has been analysed/ interpreted)
Knowledge• Information that is
known by an individual/group
Wisdom• “Constructive” use
of knowledge (Matthews, 1997)
• “Use of knowledge ...to achieve a common good” (Sternberg, 2001)
Universal truth generated by reducing the world to its constituent parts to
test hypothesesKnowledge as a social construction leading to multiple realities
Different ways of viewing and constructing knowledge...
Different types of knowledge...
Raymond CM, Fazey I, Reed MS, Stringer LC, Robinson GM, Evely AC (2010) Integrating local and scientific knowledge for environmental management: From products to processes. Journal of Environmental Management 91: 1766-1777
Knowledge Type
Implicit(not yet articulated)
Local
Informal
Novice
Tacit(cannot be articulated)
Traditional
Generalised/Universal
Formal
Expert
Explicit(articulated)
Scientific
Extent to which knowledge is locally generated/relevant versus universal
Extent to which knowledge generated via formal, codified processes
Extent to which those generating knowledge are regarded as experts
Extent to which knowledge is articulated and accessible to others
Extent to which knowledge is embedded in and reflects traditional cultural values/norms, or in the scientific method
Different types of knowledge...
Raymond CM, Fazey I, Reed MS, Stringer LC, Robinson GM, Evely AC (2010) Integrating local and scientific knowledge for environmental management: From products to processes. Journal of Environmental Management 91: 1766-1777
Knowledge Type
Implicit(not yet articulated)
Local
Informal
Novice
Tacit(cannot be articulated)
Traditional
Generalised/Universal
Formal
Expert
Explicit(articulated)
Scientific
Extent to which knowledge is locally generated/relevant versus universal
Extent to which knowledge generated via formal, codified processes
Extent to which those generating knowledge are regarded as experts
Extent to which knowledge is articulated and accessible to others
Extent to which knowledge is embedded in and reflects traditional cultural values/norms, or in the scientific method
Post-modern PositivistEpistemology
Different ways of managing knowledge...
Knowledge Transfer
Producers UsersProducers Users
One-way flow of existing knowledge
Knowledge Exchange
Producers Users
Two-way flow of existing knowledge
Knowledge generation
Producers
Producers generate or co-generate knowledge
together
Knowledge application
Users
Users apply knowledge gained through transfer
or exchange and provide feedback to or become producers of knowledge
Know-ledge
Storage
Reed MS, Fazey I, Stringer LC, Raymond CM, Akhtar-Schuster M, Begni G, Bigas H, Brehm S, Briggs J, Bryce R, Buckmaster S, Chanda R, Davies J, Diez E, Essahli W, Evely A, Geeson N, Hartmann I, Holden J, Hubacek K, Ioris I, Kruger B, Laureano P, Phillipson J, Prell C, Quinn CH, Reeves AD, Seely M, Thomas R, van der Werff Ten Bosch MJ, Vergunst P, Wagner L (2011) Knowledge management for land degradation monitoring and assessment: an analysis of contemporary thinking. Land Degradation & Development
2 Research design
How to choose research design
Choice influenced by:• Research questions you want to answer• Epistemology• Preferences towards qualitative/quantitative
Designing to questions
The questions you can answer will depend on:• Existing data availability• Can you measure/collect relevant new data?
– Skills, equipment, time etc.• The more focused your question, the easier it
will be to design your research
Epistemology
• How do you perceive knowledge, how it is generated and what constitutes valid knowledge?
• Positivists: define hypotheses and quantify, proving beyond doubt
• Post-modernists: more open-ended research questions and qualitative, providing a range of perspectives to build credible arguments
Qualitative versus quantitative
• Examples of reasons to choose qualitative versus quantitative in different contexts?
• Benefits/challenges of mixing both?
Qualitative or quantitative?
• Depending on research question and epistemology, qual/quant may be obvious
• Alternatively, start with a qual/quant preference and select research questions accordingly
• More on choosing qual/quant later
Writing up research design
• Methodology chapter: difference between research design and methods
• Create a sub-section for both• Explain your design and methods in enough
detail for someone else to replicate• Justify your choice – theoretically and/or
empirically
3 Methods
Should I use or collect Primary or secondary Data?
Primary data
• Primary data is collected by you, first-hand
Secondary data
• Secondary data has been collected by someone else, and you are using it “second-hand”
What should I use?
• For your dissertation it is safest to focus on primary data collection– Easier to demonstrate originality– Harder to fall into trap of writing extended lit
review• Supplement your primary data with secondary
data to check/deepen your analysis– Handy if you don’t think you’ve got enough
primary data
Qualitative or quantitative?
What is qualitative?
• Understanding the quality or nature of things, rather than their quantity– Good for asking “why” questions and gaining an in-
depth understanding of many different perspectives on an issue (i.e. often subjective)
– Not so suited to statistical analysis and clear-cut, “objective” answers
– Typically use quite small sample sizes (e.g. 20 interviews and a focus group)
– Can be flexible – adapt your methods as you go
Examples of qualitative
–Examples of qualitative data collection methods:• Open-ended questions in questionnaires• Semi-structured interviews• Focus groups• Participant observation• In-depth case studies
–Examples of qualitative data:• Transcripts, audio, interview notes, documents
–Examples of qualitative analysis:• Content analysis e.g. Grounded Theory Analysis
What is quantitative?
• Understanding the quantity of things – being able to quantify relationships and describe them mathematically or in terms of their statistical significance– Good when you need to be able to answer a research question
with precision, determine if there is a relationship between two things (x varies with y) or you need to determine something is statistically significant
– Harder to determine causality (x causes y to vary) and answer “why” questions
– Typically large data sets (min 50 data points, ideally >100)– Inflexible – have to stick to and replicate your method
Examples or quantitative
• Examples of quantitative data collection methods:– Ecological and soil-based survey techniques e.g.
counting plants in quadrats or along transects– Experiments– Closed questions in questionnaires e.g. Likert scale and
categorical or numerical questions• Examples of quantitative analysis
– Calculating percentages, means & standard deviations– Statistical analyses
Qualitative or quantitative?
– I need to ask mainly what, where and when questions
– I need to understand exactly how something has changed or might change in future
– I need to understand if something influences something else
– I need to know of something is significantly greater or lesser than something else
– The people reading my research want a precise or “objective” answer to my research questions
– PROBABLY QUANTITATIVE
Qualitative or quantitative?
– I need to ask why questions– I want an in-depth understanding of the issue– I want to understand what happens in one
particular area in-depth– I want to interview people– I want to consider differing perspectives– I don’t like numbers– PROBABLY QUALITATIVE
Qualitative or quantitative?
– All of the above!– MIXES METHODS APPROACH
Quantitative Methods
Quantitative research design
• Representing reality– Systematic e.g. transects– Random and random stratified (i.e. random within
different groups such as socio-economic classes or habitats)
Quantitative data collection
• Counting things…• Closed ended question surveys with large
samples e.g. via internet• Ecological and soil-based techniques e.g.
chemical analysis or counting plants in quadrats
Quantitative data analysis
– Descriptive statistics e.g. mean, median, standard deviation, percentages
– Parametric statistics (sample size >50, not too much variation)
• Significant differences e.g. T-Test• Correlations e.g. regression• Multi-variate e.g. multiple-regression, ordination
– Non-parametric (sample size <50, lots of variation)• Significant differences e.g. Mann Whitney U• Correlations e.g. Pearson Product Moment Correlation
Qualitative Methods
Qualitative research design
• Purposive sampling– Selecting respondents on the basis of pre-defined categories that
cover key aspects of your research question• Snowball sampling
– Keep interviewing within a category till no new ideas– Get respondents to recommend others for you to interview
• Case studies– Common in qualitative research– In-depth understanding of a particular case from which you may be
able to generalise more widely– Multiple cases representing different perspectives, locations or
components of your issue
Qualitative data collection
• Understanding the quality/nature of things…• Open ended question surveys with large
samples e.g. via internet• Semi-structured interviews with small samples
(e.g. 12-20 people)• Participant observation – transcripts and
behaviour• Make sure you get informed consent from
respondents
Qualitative data analysis
– Different types of content analysis and ways of summarising large bodies of text
• Key word counts (aggregating synonyms)• Coding for themes – preset or emergent (Grounded Theory
Analysis)• Discourse analysis to capture context and power relations• Recursive abstraction – summarising and summarising
summaries and so on, to reach core themes
Triangulation
• Simply “checking” your data and interpretation of results
• Commonly used to increase the reliability of qualitative studies
• Is there another way of collecting data to answer the same question a different way?– Follow your interviews with a focus group– Follow up historical documents to check an oral
history
Summary
• Primary or secondary?• Qualitative or quantitative?
– Research design– Data collection methods– Analysis methods– Triangulation
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