Data collection, analysis and ethics in research Dr. Syed Rifaat Hussain August

What is data collection? Data collection refers to a wide range of methods, including observation, participant observation, intensive interviews, large scale sample surveys, history recorded from secondary sources, randomized experiments, ethnography, content analyses and any other method of collecting reliable evidence.

Data collection…. The most important rule for all data collection is to report how the data were created and how we came to possess them. We model data with variables, units and observations.

Data collection…. Income of each of four people: Four numbers: $9,000, $22,000, $21,000. Four people numbered as 1, 2, 3, 4 and income labeled as Y1, Y2, Y3, Y4. The variable is Y Units are the individual people Observations are the values of the variable for each unit (income for dollars).

Data Collection N/V problem: N: number of cases V: number of variables Small n and a large V A large N and a small v

What are we after: causation Correlation: A strong association between two variables Consistency: The association between cause and effect must be consistent Time order: The cause precedes the effect and not vice versa Contiguity: Cause and effect must be contiguous, that is close together in time and space Exclusion of spuriousness. The relationship must not be spurious; the effect is not the result of extraneous intervening variables but of the causal variable alone Rationale: there must be a rationale that explains and justifies causality

Techniques for generating data Experiments – exclusively used within a quantitative model. Quasi Experiment Correlational study Longitudinal study Cross sectional Survey Interview Case study

Strengths and Weaknesses of Experiments Replication Prediction Causality Precision Convenience

Weaknesses Control. Representativeness Process. Ethics

Ethical issues:Dickinson “….power seekers recognize that knowledge is an important source of power….regardless of how knowledge is used, competitors for power occasionally attempt to suppress, control, or support knowledge when it serves their interests. Consequently, pressures are applied directly and indirectly to social scientists because they are perceived as the gatekeepers of social scientific information.”

Deception Covert observation-investigators using another identity as they gather data and participate in the daily lives of their subjects Deception experiments –letting a person believe that he is acting as the experimenter or accomplice of the experimenter when he is in fact serving as the subject Deception surveys –concealment of the true purpose of the researcher Professional misrepresentation –claiming false qualifications, affiliations and objectives

Ethics Confidentiality Invasion of privacy Governmental Intervention Advocacy

The purpose of social research 1. Explore social reality for its own sake 2. Explain social life by providing reliable, valid and well-documented information 3. Make predictions 4. Develop or test theories 5. Understand human behavior and action 6. Offer a basis for a critique of social reality 7. Empower and Emancipate people 8. Offer policy solutions to social problems

Areas of bias in research The Research Topic Choosing topics that produce favorable data and consciously ignoring others Review of literature Focusing on supportive sources and ignoring others The research purpose Aiming to prove personal convictions The formulation of research topic Choosing indicators that bias the research process to a certain direction The research design Choosing sampling procedures and methods of data collection that favor the production of certain data Fabrication of data Presenting data that have never been collected Falsification of data Changing the contents of the answers Data AnalysisChoosing a type of analysis that would favor personal views InterpretationInterpreting the findings according to personal beliefs and convictions Presentation of the findings Presenting the findings in a manner that does not reflect the real theme of the study

Common ethical practices Ethical standards are an integral part of any research design Researcher records must be securely kept for future reference and evidence Multiple authorship should be clearly explained, recorded and evidenced Publication of multiple papers from the same data is improper Potential conflicts of interests should be disclosed Respondents must be fully informed about research details that may affect them Informed consent must be ensured and documented in all cases Full justification must be given where ethical standards are thought not to be required Research proposals must obtain approval from relevant ethics committees Problems arising from the research are to be communicated to the ethics committee

The Ten commandments on ethics Thou shalt NOT Include in the study or continue working with a person who demonstrates resistance or discomfort relating to the study or to the research topic. Attempt to convince a person to take part in the study, when this person is not in a position to respond adequately to the research question. Fail to explain all relevant aspects of the study to the respondents before they agree to participate Promise anonymity and confidentiality if it is likely that this promise will not be honoured

Ten Commandments…. Fail to respect the respondent’s privacy Deceive the respondent in any way Subject respondents to procedures that may entail physical or mental stress Include in the study techniques whose degree of safety is questionable Violate the professional research standards, for example by fabricating, falsifying, or concealing data Accept a contracted research project that violates ethical and/or professional standards

Plagiarism Researchers should abstain from using other people’s work without appropriate acknowledgement. Including the work of others in one’s publication without due acknowledgment, hence presenting it as one’s own

Plagiarism: APSA “ A faculty member must not expropriate the academic work of this students. As a dissertation advisor, he is not entitled to claim joint authorship with a student of a thesis or dissertation. The teacher cannot represent himself as the author of independent student research; and research assistance, paid or unpaid, requires full acknowledgement.”