Week 2--Research Traditions

Week 2—Research Traditions

Chapter 2—Williamson

Nomothetic—according to Williamson nomothetic literally means ‘pertaining to the search for general laws’ (28).

Idiographic—refers to an in-depth study of a distinct case.

Chapter 2—Connaway & Powell

Scientific method—A method often used by scientists to resolve unanswered questions and solve problems. The method is broken down into four or more steps which include: identifying the problem, idea or interest to be researched; create a theory to guide the research; gather data to help resolve the problem; hypothesize the solution; and finally test the hypothesis.

Validity of Research Design—Connaway and Powell identify three forms of validity in relation to the design of research. Construct validity identifies the variable being investigated as properly identified and labeled. Internal validity refers to correct identification of casual relationships and rules out rival explanations of relationships. External validity also referred to as generalizability occurs when conclusions of a research design are true beyond one particular study.

Eldredge

Cohort design—study of a group of people with common characteristics before exposure to a phenomenon and then changes after the exposure. Study may be prospective (before), retrospective (after), or longitudinal (at multiple intervals during).

Delphi method—a method which seeks to keep the anonymity of participants as to avoid the phenomenon of groupthink. Individuals in these studies are generally experts in the particular interest of the study.

Topic 1—Patten

Empirical Research—is based on the observation of subjects. To avoid misinterpretation of information a study must take care in why they want to observe, whom they observe, how they observe, and when to observe.

Hypothesis—an explanation of the results a researcher expects to find at the conclusion of a study.

Topic 2—Patten

Experimental studies—researchers treat participants and then observe to identify changes in behavior.

Nonexperimental studies—researchers do not treat participants, they only observe participants to identify how they naturally behave without an experimental treatment.

Topic 3—Patten

Causal-comparative study—a nonexperimental sudy that seeks to explain the cause of given condition through the study of data. These studies provide valuable data upon which many decisions are made.

Ex post factor study—same as causal-comparative study. See above definition.

Topic 4—Patten

Field research aka ethnographic research—an intensive case study of a group of people such as all people who work for an agency or an ethnic group. The research may observe from outside the group or be one of the group.

Longitudinal research—a study carried out over a period of time with samples taken at specified intervals.

Topic 5—Patten

Variable—a trait or characteristic that has two or more categories.

Category—all variables must be mutually exclusive categories. A subject can only belong to one category. The categories of variables must be all inclusive which makes them exhaustive.

Topic 6—Patten

Independent variable—is the input or stimulus that causes changes in a nonexperimental study.

Dependent variable—is the effect caused by the independent variable. This is the purpose of experiments to determine the extent to which an independent variable effects changes in a dependent variable.

Topic 7—Patten

Research purpose—a statement explaining why a study is being conducted.

Research question—a question that researchers want answered by conducting a study. Both research purpose statements and questions are considered nondirectional hypothesis where no prediction of outcome is made other than to say that there will be a difference in outcomes among the groups.

Topic 8—Patten

Conceptional definitions of variables—definitions such as one might find in the dictionary that do not adequately describe the steps taken to concretely see the variable.

Operational definition of a variable—redefines a variable in order to make it more concrete by giving the steps necessary to replicate in subsequent studies.

Topic 9—Patten

Deductive approach—planning research by reviewing research literature and developing a hypothesis based on the literature.

Inductive approach—planning research by gathering data and very early on in the process, use the preliminary findings to form a hypothesis.

Topic 10—Patten

When is it best to use a quantitative approach? When things can be measured in numbers, when subjects are not available for interaction or observation, when time and funds are limited, and when hard numbers are needed .

When is it best to use a qualitative approach? When a question focuses on emotional impact, little is known about a topic, and when subjects belong to a closed or secretive culture.

Appendix A—Pyrczak

What are the steps to conducting quantitative research? 1) Narrow your topic to a very specific hypothesis, purpose, or question. A researcher may include more than one hypothesis, topic or question. 2) Select a random sample that is representative of the population. 3) Use a reasonably large sample of participants. 4) Make observations with testing instruments that can be scored accurately. 5) Define the results using statistics and make inferences from the results.

What are the steps to conducting qualitative research? 1) Begin with a general question or problem to research. 2) Select a purposive sample instead of a random sample. 3) The sample used should be relatively small. 4) Observe the participants with unstructured instruments. 5) Intensively observe the participants. 6) Present the results primarily in words concentrated on the purposive sample, avoiding generalizations to the population at large.

Standards for Reporting—American Educational Research Association (AERA)

The seven standards for humanities research in an AERA publication—“1) significance, 2) methods, 3) conceptualization, 4)substantiation, 5)coherence, 6) quality of communication, and 7) ethics” (481). These standards are given to provide researchers and writers a framework of expectations for any humanities related research that they would like to publish.

Humanities-oriented research—seeks to explore and understand human existence, education, relationships, emotions, ethics, and behavior.

References

American Educational Research Association (2009) Standards for Reporting on Humanities-Oriented Research in AERA Publications. Educational Researcher, 38 (6), 481-486. Doi: 10.3102/0013189X09341833

Connaway, L. & Powell, R. (2010). Basic research methods for librarians. 5th ed. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited.

Eldredge, J.D. (2004). Inventory of research methods for librarianship and informatics. Journal of the Medical Library Association, 92 (1), 83-90.

Patten, (2000). Topics in Educational Research. Pyczak Publishing.

Pryczak, F. (2008). Title Unknown. 4th ed. CA: Pyrczak Publishing.

Williamson, K. (2000). Research methods for students and professionals: Information management and systems. Wagga Wagga, NSW.