Developing a Methodology

Today… Research methods & ethics Developing a methodology Research time (continuing with your literature review)

Research methods Some key terms: Primary data Secondary data Reliability Validity Quantitative Qualitative

Primary Data Collecting data / information yourself Some examples: Surveys / questionnaires Focus groups Interviews Experiments

Secondary data Data / information collected by somebody else. Make use of information which is already out there Your literature review will be based on secondary data. What is a “good” source for secondary data? (Remember, your research question may change as you review the existing literature).

Reliability Reliability: Consistency of data collection, analysis and interpretation Could independent researchers reproduce the study and obtain the same (or similar) results?

Validity Validity: Are you measuring what you think you are measuring ?!

Qualitative vs. Quantitative Detailed Fewer participants More subjective Less reliable Lower external validity Measurable data More participants More objective More representative More reliable Higher internal validity Think of any examples?

Methods More Qualitative More Quantitative Participant observation Informal interviews Unstructured interviews Semi-structured interviews Structured interviews Focus groups / workshops Increasing control over responses Increasing flexibility / openness to the unexpected Open questions Closed questions

What question(s) are you asking ? What, who, when : descriptive / exploratory : information gathering Why : explanatory / understanding How : informing processes of change YOUR QUESTION(s) WILL DETERMINE YOUR METHOD(s) & METHODOLOGY

Interviews Openness Unstructured Semi-structured Structured Control

Interview Tips Practice beforehand Organise the meeting around the interviewee Pay attention to the venue Introduce yourself and your research (ethics) Use open questions Start broad, narrow down, end broad Use prompts, encouraging noises Take notes / record Manage the time / group dynamics Thank them !

Semi-structured interview guides

Structured Interviews (Questionnaires) Interview guide with fixed, usually short questions Explanation (short) of the research (ethics) Various methods of administration (https://www.surveymonkey.com/) Q&A – not a conversation Tend to use “closed” questions Each question should get you information on a specific variable that you have defined in advance

Questionnaire tips List the topic of interest Develop question(s) for each topic Check – are questions understandable; relevant; leading; composite...?? Question order / grouping – think about flow Use a range (but not too many) question types (e.g. closed checklist; ranking; scales) Clear layout – font size, paper colour, single- sided Pilot

Document analysis (1) Finding and interpreting patterns in data Can include….Written documents (public records, private papers, biography); Photographs, Posters, Maps, Films…. Why do it ? - Documents reveal what people do or did and what they value - Behaviour occurred in a natural setting - Data has strong validity When to do it ? - When documents exist that are relevant to your question !! - If you don’t do it you have a hole in your research - If you can’t observe or do interviews with your population

Document Analysis (2) Types of Document Analysis: Quantitative Content Analysis (formal, systematic; lends structure to research; topics are categorized in a precise manner so you can count them; ignores context and multiple meanings) Qualitative Discourse Analysis (concerned with production of meaning through talk and texts; how people use language) Thematic Analysis (concerned with finding the frequent themes)

Sampling… Who / what is to be included in your study? Is your sample representative? Where do you get your sample from? Who can you speak to? What media could you look at? Will you need to look at official documents? Will you be able to get access?

Ethics “Ethics serve to identify good, desirable or acceptable conduct and provide reasons for those considerations (National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Research Involving Humans (1999).” Physical and psychological welfare of participants Respect for privacy Use of deception Informed consent Debrief Examples of research that might be considered unethical?

Task 1 – Thinking about a methodology Identify the different methods that you could use to complete your Project Under each method, write one reason (justification) for using that particular method Under each method, write one justification for not using that particular method.

Task 2 - Selecting a method From the list of methods that you could use, select the method(s) that you feel is most appropriate In pairs, question your partner on their choice of method: Why have they chosen it? How are they going to “execute” their project? (How much detail can they give you?) Why didn’t they go with another method? Can you spot any problems with their method?