Download - Research Methodology: GE4. Course Overview
Ways of Knowing1. Methods of Tenacity/Tradition/Customs/Superstition/Magic/Mystery
Truth is true because one believes it even in front of contradicting evidence.
2. Method of Authority: Religion
Truth is true because an authority says so.
3. Method of Intuition: PhilosophyTruth is true because it is logical. It derives from reasoning but does not bear empirical support.
4. Method of Science Science is a method of seeking truth. This method only accounts for solvable problems that have empirical solutions based on observable events.
http://researchmethods.imem.nl/survey/index.php/admin/statistics/sa/index/surveyid/293483
4. Method of Science
Proximity and Student Density as Ecological Variables in a College Classroom
Abstract
A study of the relationship between student grades and: (a) proximity (distance from the student to the instructor), (b) centrality (seating in the center of the room compared to seating toward the sides), (c) student density (presence of other students to the front, sides, and back of the student), and (d) aisle seating is reported. Volunteer students (N = 141), who selected their own seats in two Introductory Psychology classes, served as subjects. Students who occupied the front rows received higher grades than those who sat farther back . Centrality, student density, and aisle seating were not related to grades. Although these findings cannot be generalized freely, they indicate the value of studying ecological factors in classrooms.
W. B. Holliman1,2H. N. Anderson1
What is Research Methodology?
Re (again) + Search
defined as a highly intellectual human activity used in the investigation of nature and matter and deals specifically with the manner in which data is collected, analyzed and interpreted
Statistics
Complex
Useless
Theoretical Inquiry
Academic exercise
Out of my life Pay more
Difficult
Calculations
(Sakesan Tongkhambanchong, )
Misconception about Research
Characteristics of Research• Research originates from a question or a problem.• Research requires a clear articulation of a goal.• Research follow a specific plan of procedure.• Research usually divides the principal problem into more
manageable sub-problems.• Research is guided by the specific research problem, question,
or hypothesis• Research accepts certain critical assumptions. These
assumptions are underlying theories or ideas about how the world works.
• Research requires the collection and interpretation of data in attempting to resolve the problem that initiated the research
• Research is circular which originates and summarizes from research
(Paul Leedy, Practical research: Planning and design)
Components of Research• The Question (Is coming from somewhere)
• Do students who are generally sitting in the back of a classroom (lecture hall) have lower study results compared to students who are generally sitting in the front.
• The Research process• Method of research• Measuring tool• The measurements ( how exactly)• Results
• Answer• Conclusions• Discussion/Debate
Quality in Research
-Transparency
-Reliability
-Validity
-Credibility
-Generalizability/ Transferability
-Ethical Practice
Research and its perspectivesOntology
- The way the social world is seen to be and what can be assumed about the nature and reality of social phenomena
Epistemology- The theory of knowledge and how we know things
Objectivism- Social Phenomena have an existence of their own apart from their social actors
Constructivism- Social Phenomena making up our social world and are only real in a sense they are constructed ideas by
those who are involvedRealism
- Social Phenomena has a eality that is separate from its actors involved this can be measured by our sences, but in addition there is a dimension that can not be directly observed
Positivism- Knowledge of social phenomena can is based on what can be observed and recorded rather than
subjective understandingsInterpretivism
- Social Phenomena and understanding derive from the peoples SUBJECTIVE interpretations and understandings
Research and TheoriesTheory
- A set of ideas or related concepts which can be used to explain and understand an event, situation, social phenomena
Theory of relativity and E = mc²
Pure or Basic or Fundamental Research
Pure or basic or fundamental research
Research carried out to increase understanding of fundamental principles
The end results have no direct or immediate commercial benefits: basic research can be thought of as arising out of curiosity. However, in the long term it is the basis for many commercial products and applied research.
Applied Research
research that is applied, accessing and using some part of the research communities' (the academy's) accumulated theories, knowledge, methods, and techniques, for a specific, often state, commercial, or client driven purpose.
Descriptive Research
Attempt to describe systematically a situation, problem, phenomenon, service or program, or provide information about, say, the living conditions of a community, or describes attitude towards anissues
Examples Aim Main Theme Type of Research
Socioeconomic characteristics of residents of a community
To describe what is prevalent regarding:- A group of people- A community- A phenomeon- A situation- A program- An outcome
To describe what is prevalent
Descriptive research
Attitudes of students towards quality of teaching
Types of service provided by an agency
Needs of community
Sales of a product
Attitudes of nurses towards death and dying
Attitudes of workers towards management
Number of people living in a community
Problems faced by new immigrants
Extent of occupational mobility among immirants
Consumers’ likes and dislikes with regrard to a product
Effects of living in a house with domestic violoence
Strategies put in place by a company to increase productivity of workers
Correlational Research
To discover or establish the existence of a relationship/association/interdependence between 2 or more aspects of situation
Examples Aim Main Theme Type of Research
Impact of a program
To establish or explore:- A relationship- An association- An interdependence
To ascertain if there is a relationship
Correlational research
Relationship between stressful living and incidence of heart attacks
Impact of technology on employment
Impact of material and child health services on infant mortality
Effectiveness of marriage counselling service on extent of marital problem
Impact of an advertising campaign on sale of a product
Impact of incentives on productivities of workers
Effectiveness of an immunisation program in controlling infectious disease
Explanatory Research
To clarify why and how there is a relationship between 2 aspects of situation or phenomenon
Examples Aim Main Theme Type of Research
Why does stressful living result in heart attacks?
To explain:- why a relationship, association or interdependence exists- why a particular event occurs
To explain why the relationship
is formed
Explanatory research
How does technology create unemployment/employment?
How do maternal and child health services affect infant mortality?
Why do some people have a positive attitude towards an issue while others do not?
Why does a particular intervention work for some people and not for others?
Why do some people use a product while others do not?
Why do some people migrate to another country while others do not
Why do some people adopt a program while others do not?
Exploratory Research
To explore an area where little is known
To investigate the possibilities of undertaking a particular research study
Types of Research
From the viewpoint of
Application Objectives Inquiry mode
Pure research
Applied research
Descriptive research
Exploratory research
Correlational research
Explanatory research
Quantitative research
Qualitative research
Qualitative Research: Research Methodology that emphasize on depth of understanding and the deeper meanings of human experiencehuman experience, and that aim to generate theoretically richer observations.
Methods: Participant Observation, Direct Observation, Unstructured or Intensive Interviewing (In-dept Interview), Focus Groups.
Quantitative Research: Research Methodology that emphasize on precise, objectivity, and Generalizability .
Methods: Measurement Design, Sampling Design and Statistical Analysis Design
Qualitative & Quantitative Research
(Sakesan Tongkhambanchong,)
Research
Trochim’s Classifications…descriptive
e.g., percentage of regular exercisersrelational
e.g., link between age and exercisecausal
e.g., effect of behavior change intervention on exercise participation
Designing Research
A plan , structure, and strategy of investigation to obtain answers to research questions or problems
Needs for Research Results
For a measurement to be useful, it must be reliable and valid.
• Reliability refers to consistency in measurement.
• Validity means precision in measuring exactly what one intends to measure.
Research
Classified from other perspectives such as
Interpretive Research
Naturalistic Research
Field Research
Participant Research
Cross-sectional Research
Functional Research
Experimental Research
Laboratory Research
Nonparticipant Research
Longitudinal Research
Ways to get Research results
- Experiments- Cross Sectional- Longitudinal- Case Study- Comparative- Ethnography
Needs for ResearchConcepts, variables, and measurement.
1. Concepts are mental constructs that represent some part of the world, inevitably in a simplified form.
2. Variables are concepts whose value changes from case to case, Constants do not change value.
3. Measurement is the process of determining the value of a variable in a specific case.
4. Statistical measures are frequently used to describe populations as a whole.
a) This requires that researchers operationalize variables, which mean specifying exactly what one is to measure in assigning a value to a variable
Examples
Variable Attributesatisfaction 1 = very satisfied
2 = satisfied
3= somewhat satisfied
4 = not satisfied
5 = not satisfied at all
The Research Question
Research Question Is there a relation between the proximity of the students towards the teacher in study results of that student
The Hypotheses
hypothesis There is a relationship between proximity of the student and the study results of the student
HA there is a relationship
Structure of Research
begin with broad questions
narrow down, focus in
operationalize
OBSERVE
analyze data
reach conclusions
generalize back to questions
The "hourglass" notion of researchThe "hourglass" notion of research
Writing a research proposal
Research design 48
Item1. A title
2. An abstract
3. An introduction
4. A literature review
5. A topic
6. A theoretical framework
7. A research method
8. A qualitative data analysis approach
9. A timeline to completion
10. A list of references