Report writing and research methodology

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Report writing and research methodology

• 20 September 2005
• Ulrika Gunnarsson

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Consider the task at hand

• Local, municipal or regional project and strategy
  for the Kymlinge area and/or its surroundings
  that contribute to a sustainable development
• Spatial dimension
• Physical plan or articulated goals
• Suggestions of how to implement the plan or to
  achieve the goals

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Why this topic?

• Current in the urban debate
• Test the validation of spatial gender theories
• Implications for public policies

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• A good topic is important
• A good topic is focused

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How to find information?

• Qualitative interviewing, observations, document
  analysis, literature studies
• Quantitative GIS, mapping, statistical analysis,
  surveys and questionnaires

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• Qualitative case studies are often the preferred
  strategy when how or why questions are being
  posed, when the investigator has little control
  over events, and when the focus is on a
  contemporary phenomenon within some real-life
  context (Yin, 19941).
• Yin R., K. (1994). Case Study Research design
  and methods. Thousand Oaks, London and New Delhi
  Sage Publications.

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Characteristic for qualitative methods

• Theoretical understanding
• Profound, not broad
• One or a few environments are being studied
• Comprehensive approach
• Interpret and understand

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Observations

• To get to know what people really do, Bernard
  (1994310) writes there is no substitute for
  watching them or studying the traces their
  behaviour leaves behind.
• Bernard, H., R. (1994). Research Methods in
  Anthropology Qualitative and Quantitative
  Approaches. Thousand Oaks, London and New Delhi
  Sage Publications.

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Interviewing

• Informal conversational interviews relies on
  spontaneous questions during informal
  conversations where the persons being interviewed
  may not even notice.

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• The weakness of the informal conversational
  interviews is that it requires a great amount of
  time to get systematic information. (Patton,
  1987110)
• Patton, M., Q. (1987). How to use Qualitative
  Methods in Evaluation. Thousand Oaks, London and
  New Delhi Sage Publications.

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• The strength of the informal conversational
  approach to interviewing is that it allows the
  interviewer to be highly responsive to individual
  differences and situational change. (Patton,
  1987110)
• Patton, M., Q. (1987). How to use Qualitative
  Methods in Evaluation. Thousand Oaks, London and
  New Delhi Sage Publications.

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Interview guide

• A more structured, but still open-ended form of
  interview technique is to prepare an interview
  guide with a list of question or issues that are
  to be explored in the interview. You are still
  free to explore, probe, and ask questions that
  will elucidate that particular subject.

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• Experience/behaviour questions (If we followed
  you on a typical weekday typical Sunday,
  favourite places, what do you do there, areas you
  dont like/try to avoid)
• Opinion/belief questions (Advantages with the
  town, disadvantages, thoughts on public places,
  how do men and women meet, equity)
• Feeling questions (How do you feel in different
  places afraid, confident)
• Sensory questions (When you walk through town,
  what do you see, smell)
• Background/demographic questions (Age, job,
  religion, education)

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Remember

• It takes time to process an interview
• A heterogeneous environment often demands more
  interviews than a homogenous environment
• Create a pleasant and professional atmosphere
• Be prepared!
• Inform the respondent about the study you are
  making and why the interview is important

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• Ask whether the respondent wants to be anonymous
• Do not ask leading questions
• Do not pose questions that can be answered with a
  yes or a no
• Do not forget to listen!
• If you do not understand, ask the respondent to
  clarify her/his answer
• After the interview you should take your time to
  write it down

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Completely structured interviews

• All questions and answers are prepared in
  advanced
• Sure to get the information you want
• Good if you want to get knowledge about how some
  variables are distributed among a number of
  people

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Quantitative methods

• Experiments that can be strictly controlled to
  answer these questions
• Questionnaires
• Statistics

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Ystad
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When working in groups

• Open mindedness
• Flexibility
• Creativity
• Compromise
• Effective communication
• Responsibility division of labour
• Strategies for when problems arise?

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• Consider the distribution of different tasks
  within your group and when these should occur. Do
  certain sections need to occur first? Do certain
  group members working on different parts need
  particular communication? When?
• Producing a work-plan is a helpful tool to
  visualising the steps, necessary resources,
  deadlines and persons responsible for different
  tasks in a research project.

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Report writing

• Introduction Which question was studied and why?
  
• Methods How was the problem studied?
• Results What were the findings?
• And
• Discussion What do these findings mean?

? Your results are analysed and put into a
strategy or a physical plan with suggestions of
how to implement the plan or achieve the goals.
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Tips for acknowledging Sources

• Indirect acknowledgement you paraphrase or
  explain in your own words ideas, theory, fact or
  description obtained from additional source.
  Paraphrasing means understanding the original
  source and avoids replacing just a couple of
  words from the original source!!
• The effects of have been extensively reported
  (Lundqvist, 1990)
• There is evidence to suggest that. (Lundqvist,
  1990)

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• Direct acknowledgement here the authors name is
  used as part of the sentence
• Lundqvist (1990) suggests that/ conjectures /
  highlights the central cause as....
• As Lundqvist (1990) noted

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Quotations

• Direct quotations Lundqvist (199024) argued
  that Nothing concrete became of past findings
• When quoting, exact passages must be accurately
  reproduced with page numbers included in the
  citation. An ellipse () can be used to signal
  that past of the original text has been omitted.
  If quotations are short 2-3 lines they can be
  incorporated into the text within inverted
  commas.
• But indent quotations longer than three lines.
  Make sure they have single spacing, although
  inverted commas are not required in this case.

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• If you take information or material from a
  secondary source always note the secondary source
  in your referencing if you dont consult the
  original source, (Smith, 1998 in Lundqvist, 1990)

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DO NOT OVERUSE QUOTATIONS

• You should present your own arguments and
  analysis in your own words.

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Plagiarism? Whats that?

• Plagiarism is the expression of others ideas in
  your work without citing them as the source.
  Sometimes plagiarism is unintentional, for
  example faulty note taking. Always acknowledge a
  source of ideas in your work even if you do not
  directly quote from a source or only if you have
  generally referred to anothers ideas or
  concepts.

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Literature

• KTHB http//www.lib.kth.se/
• KTHB english http//www.lib.kth.se/kthbeng/kthb.h
  tml
• Libris http//www.libris.kb.se/
• Libris english http//www.libris.kb.se/english/in
  dexeng.jsp