1. Dr Mike Sheaff, Jonathan Smart Module: SAR 1002

2. PresentationContents Research Skills 1 Argument, evidence and reasoning Deduction and induction Epistemology and knowledge Research Skills 2 Methodology The research process Methods Research Skills 3 Sources and referencing Ethics and research Module Outline

3. Research Process Research Problem Research Design Methods employed Collecting and Analysing data Selecting a Sample Report on findings Research Process  This chart illustrates some key steps in a research process  The following slides take you through these steps in more detail

4.  We may often want to know more about an issue but effective research requires a clear focus  This means identifying a ‘problem’ which will form this focus – and which may then be described or explained further  Research problems are often constructed in the form of questions, and sometimes a hypothesis ◦ A hypothesis is normally expressed in the form of If.... then

5.  Rather than simply trying to find out all we can about a particular topic, research should be guided by clear questions. Questions help: ◦ Organise the project ◦ Establish limits for the project ◦ Keeps the research focused ◦ Provide a framework for writing up ◦ Focus on data that will be needed  Punch, K. 2005 Introduction to Social Research Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches, 2 nd ed. Sage Publications

6.  Most research will start with some form of literature to establish what has been written and researched before?  This will often help shape and guide the research? For example:  What are the major concepts or theories?  What is currently happening?  What are the main issues and debates?  This is an important preliminary task but also needs to continue throughout the research project

7. The approach you take will be determined by whether your research is seeking to be: Explanatory Descriptive Exploratory  Your research questions determine how your research will be designed. Are you asking: i) What is happening here? (exploring/inductive) OR ii) Is X causing Y? (testing/deductive)  Your choice of approach will determine your research design, and the methods used – this is illustrated in the following two slides

8. THEORY ↓ HYPOTHESIS ↓ OBSERVATION ↓ EVIDENCE 1.Deductive observation Experiments 2. Deductive questioning Survey questionnaire 3. Deductive textual study quantitative newspaper content analysis

9. Inductive observation ethnographic study Inductive questioning In-depth interviews Inductive textual study qualitative discourse analysis OBSERVATION ↓ PATTERN ↓ PROVISIONAL HYPOTHESIS ↓ THEORY

10.  Research can be QUANTITATIVE – numerical data, claims for greater objectivity, focus on causality and sometimes prediction.  Research can also be QUALITATIVE – focus on the understanding of social actors, meanings of language and action.  For more information about these approaches, and methods associated with them see: ◦ http://cpdoer.net/collections/research-methods/ http://cpdoer.net/collections/research-methods/

11. Methods are techniques for collecting data  Quantitative ◦ Structured interviews ◦ Self-completed questionnaires  Qualitative ◦ Focus groups/unstructured interviews ◦ Observation  Mixed methods

12.  To ‘operationalise’ is to define concepts in ways that can be researched: for example, if we are investigating ‘binge drinking’, how would we operationalise this?  e.g. A commonly used definition is the consumption of twice the daily benchmark given in the Government’s guidelines – this would be 6 – 8 units for men and 4 – 6 units for women. 4 units could be two large glasses of wine. If you asked a sample of people to give a definition of ‘binge drinking’, do you think this would differ?  Think back to the slide on crime statistics in the first set: how might you operationalise “crime”?

13.  Social surveys are based on censuses or samples. They use standardised instruments to measure attributes, beliefs and attitudes. These are then analysed through univariate, bivariate or multivariate methods.  Experiments control for one group (holding characteristics the same) and then administer a ‘treatment’ to an experimental group.

14.  A sample is drawn from a defined population  Sample should accurately reflect the population  Types of sample: 1.Probability e.g. Random sample 2.Non-probability e.g. Convenience sample

15.  Distribution: the set of all values from a series of observations  Range: difference between highest and lowest values in a distribution  Mean: all values added together and divided by number of observations (can be affected by extreme values)  Median: scores are ranked (lowest to highest) and the middle point is the median  Mode: the most frequently occurring value in a distribution ◦ the mean, median and mode are measures of central tendency Have a look at the next slide where the mean and the median are shown. Can you identify the mode?

16. Note that the mean is £86.00 per week more than the median (23% higher) This is due to the high values at this end of the range Lansley, S. (2009) Life in the Middle: the Untold Story of Britain’s Average Earners. London: Trades Union Congress.

17.  These include in-depth interviews, focus groups, participant observations which explore the meanings of agents in (often natural) settings. They aim to understand why someone does x, or believes y, or has attitude Z.  This can involve hermeneutics – the study of interpretation

18.  “ Quantitative research is associated with a belief in the objectivity of the social world” (David & Sutton, 2004: 36).  Measurement is fundamental to quantitative methods – but how might we measure more subjective experiences, such as happiness, for example?  This often favours and emphasis on qualitative methods to explore people’s own meanings  This suggests that ‘happiness’ needs to be understood in terms of what people say makes them happy

19.  The sociologist Max Weber maintained that a good explanation should be valid at the level of cause and meaning. That is, we should aim for meaningful explanation.  Most researchers now reject an either / or approach to social research and favour methodological pluralism.  This often means using mixed methods.

20.  The terms reliability and validity have specific meanings in research:  Reliability ◦ Will the method produce consistent results over time? (e.g. will the question you ask be interpreted in the same way? – a pilot survey may help with this)  Validity ◦ Are you accurately measuring what you are seeking to? i.Internal validity – are we confident no other factor is causing variation in the dependent variable? ii.External validity – are we confident that we can generalise findings to a larger population?

21. David, M. & Sutton, C. (2004) Social Research: The Basics. London: Sage. Grayling, A.C. (2004) What is Good? The Search for the Best Way to Live. London: Phoenix. Homan, R. (1991) The Ethics of Social Research. Harlow: Longman. Lansley, S. (2009) Life in the Middle: the Untold Story of Britain’s Average Earners. London: Trades Union Congress. Royal Society (1995) Peer Review: An Assessment of Recent Developments. London: The Royal Society. Shapiro, J., & Hughes, S (1996). Information Literacy as a Liberal Art: Enlightenment proposals for a new curriculum. Educom Review o (http://www.educause.edu/pub/er/review/reviewarticles/31231.html).http://www.educause.edu/pub/er/review/reviewarticles/31231.html The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (2002) Peer Review. Postnote No. 182, September 2002. London: Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology. o http://www.parliament.uk/documents/post/pn182.pdf http://www.parliament.uk/documents/post/pn182.pdf Zeleny, M. (2002). Knowledge of enterprise: knowledge management or knowledge technology? International Journal of Information Technology & Decision Making, 1, 181– 207.

22. This resource was created by the University of Plymouth, Learning from WOeRK project. This project is funded by HEFCE as part of the HEA/JISC OER release programme.Learning from WOeRK This resource is licensed under the terms of the Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/).http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/ The resource, where specified below, contains other 3 rd party materials under their own licenses. The licenses and attributions are outlined below: 1. Slide 16, M Brewer et al, Poverty and Inequality in the UK: 2008, IFS, 2008, p 6 http://www.ifs.org.uk/comms/comm105.pdfhttp://www.ifs.org.uk/comms/comm105.pdf 2. The name of the University of Plymouth and its logos are unregistered trade marks of the University. The University reserves all rights to these items beyond their inclusion in these CC resources. The Higher Education Academy and JISC logos are licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution -non-commercial- No Derivative Works 2.0 UK England & Wales license. All reproductions must comply with the terms of that license. Author Dr Mike Sheaff, Jonathan Smart Title Research Skills 2 Description Presentation Date Created 15 th September 2011 Educational Level 4 Keywords UKOER, LFWOER, UOPCPDRM, Learning from Woerk, Methodology The research process, Methods. Back page originally developed by the OER phase 1 C-Change project ©University of Plymouth, 2011, some rights reserved