Research Methods Lecture2 given12March2003 Research Topic Selection: Issues, Approaches

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Research Methods Lecture-2
given_at_12-March-2003Research Topic Selection
Issues, Approaches Examples

• Dr Frantz Clermont (Daryl Essam)

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This Lectures Outline

• The Research Process
• A generic prescription
• A nonlinear an interactive search
• Example of Initial Steps
• Research Topic/Question Search
• An iterative process
• Originality-related issues examples
• Creative Critical Thinking Skills
• Statistics
• Basic Role
• Methodological Duality (Descriptive and
  Inferential)

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The Research Process A generic prescription

• Generic Steps
• 1) Choose a Topic ?? Idea-Generating Phase
• 2) Research Question ?? Narrowing-Down Phase
• 3) Design the Study
• 4) Collect Data
• 5) Analyse Data
• 6) Interpret Data
• 7) Inform Others

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Research Topic Research Question (Pass-1)
example

• Consider
• Hastings P. K. Hodge, D. R. (1986), Religious
  moral attitude trends among college students,
  1948-1984, Social Forces, vol 65 370-377.
• __________________________________________________
  ___________
• Topic Moral attitudes of college students
  periods of conservatism or liberalism
• Research Question (Pass-1)
• Idea students ?? cultural change?
• Evidence How have student attitudes changed from
  1948 to 1984?
• Fact Student attitudes have been found to change
  from 1948 to 1984?
• Question Students are pacesetters of cultural
  change!

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Research Question(Pass-2) example

• Narrowing Down
• Literature Perspectives (Media Reports Past
  Studies)
• 1980s student attitudes return to 1950s
  conservatism
• FURTHER QUESTION THUS RAISED BY LITERATURE
• Were religious moral beliefs also
  shifted?
• Studies on College Students from the 1920s
  through the 1970s
• Shifts observed in strength of student religious
  beliefs
• Parallelled periods of conservatism liberalism
  on socio-political issues
• HYPOTHESIS Religious moral beliefs would
  become more conservative in the 1980s than in the
  1970s!
• DESIGN APPROACH
• 1948 Hastings questionnaire submitted to 205
  students at Williams College
• 1967,1974,1979,1984 Same Questionnaire from 1948
  distributed at same college

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Research Process Communication Style

• Research Topic Problem ? Introduction
• Literature Review ? Research
  Context
• Design, Instrumentation ? Materials
  Methods
• Data Analyses ? Results
  Discussion
• ?
  Abstract
  ? Title

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What Next? That is all very well, but how do I
go about selecting my own research topic which is
to yield original work?

• Questions
• What should I do?
• What skills do I need to develop?

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Topic/Question Search An Iterative Process

• Activity
• Make a list of topics of interest/relevance/import
  ance
• Consider one or two topics about which you know
  something
• Carry out exploratory/skeletal review of
  literature relevant to broad area
• Consult with supervisor others gt perspectives
  on worthiness feasibility

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Topic/Question Search Literature Review-1
(exploratory)

• Aims
• to assess importance/worthiness of topic(s) of
  interest
• to clarify and justify a specific topic
• Involves
• Reading seminal papers, recent review/tutorial
  papers
• Learning about state-of-the-art from papers
  introductions
• Learning of ways forward from papers
  conclusions
• Paying attention to titles, keywords and
  recurrent citations
• Annotating a preliminary bibliography

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Literature databases

• Procite
• EndNote
• Reference Manager
• WriteNote
• BibDesk (free - Mac OS X)
• http//www.researchsoftware.net/index.php?pagemai
  nnew_id6
• http//www.port.ac.uk/departments/studentsupport/l
  ibrary/generalinformation/staffresearchers/bibliog
  raphicandreferencemanagementsoftware/
• http//bibdesk.sourceforge.net/

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Research Topic/Question Search In a nutshell!

• Initial seed(s)
• Supervisor and/or Others
• Personal Background, Experiences, Intuition
• Literature Review-1 exploratory/skeletal
• Consultation with Supervisor and Others
• An Iterative Process
• An Incessant Search for Originality!

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What Next? That is still all very well, but what
is meant by Originality and how will I recognise
it?

• Consider the following analogy
• Research Course ?? An Expedition
• Research Student (U) ?? The Explorer (E)
• E starts with a general idea of an area (e.g., of
  land) to explore
• U starts with a general area of interest

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Originality Tools, Techniques Procedures

• E gathers information to firm up why a particular
  area is to be explored
• U studies the literature, talks to experts and
  sits on relevant seminars.
• E uses collected information to organise
  procedures, tools, equipment personnel
• U must include decisions about procedures, tools
  techniques, and possibly also people to be
  involved.
• --------------------------------------------------
  -------------------------------------------
• Selection, development and testing of
• procedures, tools techniques could be the basis
  of originality!
• --------------------------------------------------
  -------------------------------------------

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Originality Exploring the unknown

• E embarks on a preplanned previously unexplored
  route!
• U embarks on a major investigation of
  something, which has not before been
  investigated!
• --------------------------------------------------
  ----------------------------------
• A research problem defined in an unknown or
  unexplored area
• almost readily bears the stamp of originality!
• --------------------------------------------------
  ----------------------------------

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Originality Use of Data

• E brings back potentially useful or
  ground-breaking data, which were not processed on
  the expedition
• U may be in the same situation and could proceed
  to use fresh (or even) old data in order to gain
  new insights into new or existing theories or
  practices.
• --------------------------------------------------
  ------------------------------------
• Use of Data for the purpose of gaining new or
  further insights
• (theoretical/practical) could also be the basis
  of originality!
• --------------------------------------------------
  ------------------------------------

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Originality Outcomes

• E may bring back range of data from the expected
  to the unexpected
• U may develop outcomes which may or may not
  relate closely to the research problem as it was
  first formulated.
• --------------------------------------------------
  ------------------------------------------------
• Research outcomes do not need to be new in
  absolute terms, but only need to be new to a
  situation!
• Unexpected outcomes can cause a reformulation of
  the initial research problem.
• However, this is likely to add considerable
  strength to the argumentation leading to the
  amended problem, thereby injecting originality to
  such outcomes!
• --------------------------------------------------
  ------------------------------------------------

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Statistics Basic Role

• What is Research? ? Systematic, Objective
  Scholarly
• Research question ? Hypothesis
• Information needed to answer question
• Means of collection information
• Analysing information
• Presenting Results
• What is Statistics? ? End-Product not Process
• Start with hypothesis (e.g., children who learn a
  language using method X will perform differently
  from those using method Y)
• Collect data ( a sample)
• 1 group using method X 1 group using method Y)
• Control age, sex, socio-economic status ? the 2
  groups differ only by the factor being tested)
• Analyse data using Statistical Methods
• To test the differences between the results from
  the instructional method
• To score each of the students in the 2 groups
  using the same tests
• ?differences between the 2 groups are due to
  CHANCE or NOT ?SIGNIFICANCE

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Statistics Basic Role (contd)

• Advantages
• Replicable same test can be repeated with a
  similar group w/ similar results
• Generalisable if sample is appropriate, then
  the factor should have same impact in other
  groups
• Objective results are statistically
  quantifiable and tested before conclusions are
  drawn
• Disadvantages
• Too focussed one factor of interest but other
  useful factors could be missed
• Artificial controlled environment ? idealised
  perspective

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Statistics Methodological Duality

• Descriptive ? Summary Measures
• Inferential ? Parameter Estimation
• ? Hypothesis Testing

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Summary

• The Research Process
• A search for novelty
• A nonlinear an interactive search
• Read literature
• Research Topic/Question Search
• An iterative process
• Originality-related issues examples
• Creative Critical Thinking Skills
• Statistics
• Descriptive
• Inferential