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Purposes of Research
Exploration
gaining some familiarity with a topic,
discovering some of its main dimensions, and possibly planning
more structured research
Description
Census Bureau’s report on number of Americans
Political poll predicting who will win an election
Anthropologist’s ethnographic account of a preliterate tribe
Explanation
Take it one step further
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Research ‘Musts’
Problem must be clearly recognized
Determine information already
available and what further information is required, as well
as the best approach for obtaining it
Obtain and assess information objectively to help inform the decision
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‘Six’ Phases of Research
Problem definition
Literature review
Selection of research
design, subjects, and data collection techniques
Data gathering
Data processing and
analysis
Implications, Conclusions, and Recommendations
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Problem Definition
Describe broader context (background)
State the objectives or
purposes
Inform reader about the scope of the study, including
defining any terms, limitations, or restrictions
Reduces potential criticisms
State the hypothesis (es)
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Literature Review
Gives theoretical rationale of problem being studied,
what research has been done and how it relates
to the problem
Helpful to divide the literature into sub-topics for ease of reading
Quality of literature should be assessed
Be sure to include well respected ‘individuals’ in the research area (if they exist)
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Selection of Research Design
The research design indicates the
steps that will need to be take and the
sequence they will occur
Each design can rely on one ore more data collection technique
Assess reliability and validity
Critical consideration in determining methodology is the selection of subjects
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Data Gathering
Must pretest
Design the sampling scheme
Questionnaires must be
coded
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Data processing and analysis
Describe demographics of the data
Compare
behavior (if applicable)
Choose appropriate statistical technique (if applicable)
Look for
patterns in data (if applicable)
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Interpreting the Results
Make sure to consider the audience
Discuss
implications for the population of interest and future research
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Operational Definitions
Variables first defined by conceptual definitions that
explain the concept the variable is trying to capture
Variables
then defined by operational definitions which are definitions for how variable will be measured
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Language of Sampling
Population: entire collection of people/things
Parameter: #
that results from measuring all units in population
Sampling frame:
specific data from which sample is drawn
Unit of analysis: type of object of interest
Sample: a subset of some of the units in the population
Statistic: # that results from measuring all units in the sample
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Unit of Analysis
Major entity you are analyzing in
your study
It is the type of object that makes
up each data point
Individuals
Artifacts (books, photos, newspapers)
Geographical units
Social interactions
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Unit of Analysis Error
In some studies people are
allocated in groups, rather than individually. When this is
done, the unit of allocation is different from the unit of analysis (usually).
This is sometimes called a unit of analysis error.
It can result in studies having narrower confidence intervals and receiving more weight than is appropriate.
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Independent and Dependent Variables
independent variable is what is
manipulated
a treatment or program or cause
‘Factor’
dependent variable is what
is affected by the independent variable
effects or outcomes
‘Measure’
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Research Design and Methodology
In general, a research design
is like a blueprint for the research.
Research Methodology concerns
how the design is implemented, how the research is carried out.
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A few designs
Cross-Sectional Design
Longitudinal Design
Time Series Design
Panel Design
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Cross-Sectional Design
A cross-sectional design is used for
research that collects data on relevant variables one time
only from a variety of people, subjects, or phenomena.
A cross-sectional designs provides a snapshot of the variables included in the study, at one particular point in time.
Cross-sectional designs generally use survey techniques to gather data, for example, the U.S. Census.
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Advantages: data on many variables, data from a
large number of subjects, data from dispersed subjects, data
on attitudes and behaviors, good for exploratory research, generates hypotheses for future research, data useful to many different researchers
Disadvantages: increased chances of error, increased cost with more subjects and each location, cannot measure change, cannot establish cause and effect, no control of independent variable, difficult to rule out rival hypotheses, static
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Longitudinal Designs
A longitudinal design collects data over long
periods of time.
Measurements are taken on each variable
over two or more distinct time periods.
This allows the researcher to measure change in variables over time.
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Time Series Design
A Time Series Design collects data
on the same variable at regular intervals in the
form of aggregate measures of a population.
Time series designs are useful for:
establishing a baseline measure
describing changes over time
keeping track of trends
forecasting future (short term) trends
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Advantages: data easy to collect, easy to present
in graphs, easy to interpret, can forecast short term
trends
Disadvantages: data collection method may change over time, difficult to show more than one variable at a time, needs qualitative research to explain fluctuations, assumes present trends will continue unchanged
