Access course: Designing your research project Suay M. Ozkula Luke Shoveller David Dobraszczyk Ben Silvester 12.12.2016 Medway campus

Today… DAY I Introductions (20 min) Your research project (1 hour) General structure Developing a research question Small group exercise: Develop a research question Literature (20 min) Finding literature How to conduct a literature review Methodology overview (10 min)

Suay: #digital_disruption @amnesty international: from digital to networked to hybrid activism -A case study of the meaning and adoption of digital activism in changing 20th century civil society organisations- Suay

Luke: The Lived Experience of Industrial Closure in Kent

Ben: Determining which refugees the UK offers sanctuary

David: Youth transitions and participation in vocational education

Your research project Vero

Possible Structure for your research project: Introduction Research question / aims Literature review Methodology Results Discussion Conclusion Bibliography Vero

Choosing your research question Ben

Research Questions RQ are very important – they are the vehicles which you will rely on to move you from your broad research interest to your specific research focus and project RQ should be: Clearly formulated Intellectually worthwhile Researchable Ben

Research Questions continued Types of RQ: What questions (objective: description) e.g.: what types of people are involved?; what characteristic knowledge, beliefs, values, attitudes do they hold?; what is their characteristic behaviour?; what are the consequences of their activities? Etc. Why questions (objective: explanation/understanding) e.g. why do people think and act this way?; why did these patterns come to be this way?; why do the characteristics or social process change, or remain stable?; why does this activity have these particular consequences? Etc. How questions (objective: change) e.g. how can these characteristics, social processes or patterns be changed?; how can they be made to stop changing, or to slow down or speed up their rate of change? Ben What q. require a descriptive answer; directed towards discovering and describing the characteristics of and patterns in some social phenomenon, e.g. categories of individuals, social groups, social processes. Why questions ask for either the causes of, or the reasons for, the existence of characteristics or regularities in a particular phenomenon. They are directed towards understanding or explaining the relationships between events, or within social activities and social processes. How questions are concerned with bringing about change, with practical outcomes and intervention.

Some “not so good” research questions Bad: Racism in the UK Better: Do Muslim people in London perceive higher levels of racism since the Paris attacks of 13th Nov 2015? Bad: Are females smarter than males? Better : Do females aged 18-35 score higher than adult males aged 18-35 on the WAIS-III? (The WAIS-III is a standardized intelligence test.) Bad: Why are social networking sites harmful? Better: How are online users experiencing or addressing privacy issues on Facebook and Twitter? Ben

Small group exercise Develop a research question within one of the following topics: Teenage pregnancy Veterinary practices Syria refugee crisis Media bias Institutionalized racism Perception of faces Psychology of addictions Or any other topic you already have in mind ! Ben

Using literature in your research David

Beginning the literature review David Beginning the literature review

Literature review What is it? Why do it? When conduct it? An insight into your research topic. Allows you to know what has been written on your topic. Why do it? Demonstrates your knowledge, sets up the story, informs and refines your research, stops you from doing what someone else has already done. When conduct it? At the beginning and throughout. David Keep a bibliography!

The sources List of possible sources Where to find the sources Books: readers, edited books, introductions Journal articles Sector knowledge: reports, organisational / institutional data (websites) News articles Where to find the sources Browse the relevant section Look up sources in the library catalogue http://www.kent.ac.uk/library/ Use Google Scholar https://scholar.google.co.uk/ Use search engines David

Finding materials at UKC David

Finding materials at UKC David

Finding materials http://www.kent.ac.uk/library/resources/index.html David

Harvard referencing Why do you need to reference? David

Referencing – Harvard System (in-text) According to Rojek (2007) media are an important influence on modern culture. Some scholars distinguish between a cultural elite and the masses (Rojek 2007; Althusser 1936). Marx’s base-superstructure model shows that distinction (Marx 1846: 42). Rojek calls Tillman an ‘all American hero’ (Rojek 2007: 9). Luke

Referencing – Harvard System (bibliography) Author(s) Year of publication Title Book: Cohen, S., and Young, J. (1973). The Manufacture of News: Social Problems, Deviance and the Mass Media. London: Constable. Luke Place of publishing Publisher

Referencing – Harvard System (in-text) Individual work: Using the referencing style guide, pick out the correct information to create a Harvard style reference. Luke

Overview of methods Suay

What is methodology? Methodology is how you will carry out your research — how you will answer your research question. All research projects have a methodology. When you narrow down your topic, it is best to look at the various methods used in that field of research. You learn about different methods through your literature review. How have other scholars researched your topic? Which elements do they focus on? What are the key arguments? Suay

Possible methods (details next week) Quantitative methods Surveys Interviews (structured) Experiments Qualitative methods Interviews (informal, unstructured, semi-structured) Ethnography / participant observation Focus groups Document analysis Suay

Quantitative vs. Qualitative Methods Quantitative methods: Concerned with counting and measuring aspects of social life Data is numerical Involves statistical analysis of data Qualitative methods: Concerned with producing rich descriptions and exploring social actors’ meanings and interpretations Data is subjective, not numerical Involves interpretive analysis of data Suay

Small group exercise Based on your previously chosen research question, what method(s) would you use? Quantitative methods Surveys Interviews (structured) Experiments Qualitative methods Interviews (informal, unstructured, semi-structured) Ethnography / participant observation Focus groups Document analysis Suay

Prep for next week Develop a research question Do some reading Prepare an elevator pitch Suay

Next week… How to select and use methods ! DAY II Selecting a method Individual methods Quantitative methods Qualitative methods Things to consider Suay