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mmemo
RMsession22.pptIntroduction
- Philosophical worldview - a basic set of beliefs that guide action - Beliefs about the world and nature of research
- Research approaches – plans and the procedures for research that span the steps
- Research designs – procedures for inquiry
- Research methods – specific data collection, analysis, and interpretation methods
- Research problem – issue being addressed
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Creswell, Research Design 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018
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The book uses three key terms throughout: Research approaches, research designs, and research methods. They represent the perspective about research from broad constructions of research to the narrow procedures of methods.
The post-positivist worldview
- Typically quantitative
- Cause and effect – drive to assess the causes that influence outcomes
- Begins with theory and data is collected that either supports or refutes the theory
- Knowledge is conjectural and anti-foundational. Absolute truth can never be found. Evidence is always refutable
- Data, evidence and rational considerations shape knowledge
- Research seeks to develop relevant true statements that can explain or describe phenomena
- Objectivity is essential – researchers must examine methods and conclusions for bias and maintain a standard of reliability and validity in quantitative research
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The constructivist worldview
- Typically qualitative with open ended questions
- Social constructivists believe that individuals seek understanding of the world in which they live
- Researchers generate theory through induction
- Meaning is constructed through the lens of individual experiences resulting in many varied and complex views
- Generation of meaning is social arising out of interaction with a human community
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The transformative worldview
- Answer to criticism that postpositivism does not address issues of power and social justice
- Places central importance on the study of lives and experiences of diverse groups
- Research focuses on inequities based on gender, race, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation and socioeconomic status and the resulting power inequities
- Links political and social action to these inequities
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The pragmatic worldview
- Not tied to any one system of philosophy and reality
- Arises out of actions, situations and consequences rather than antecedent conditions
- More concern with applications and solutions to problems
- Lends itself to mixed methods
- Draws from both quantitative and qualitative assumptions
- Individual researchers choose methods, techniques and procedures that best fit their needs
- Researchers look at the what and how to research based on the intended consequences
- Research occurs in social, historical, political and other contexts which may include a theoretical lens that is reflective of social justice and political aims
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| Positivism | Social Constructionism | |
| The observer | Must be independent | Is part of what is being observed |
| Human interests | Should be irrelevant | Are the main drivers of science |
| Explanations | Must demonstrate causality | Aim to increase general understanding of the situation |
| Research progresses through | Hypotheses and deductions | Gather rich data from which ideas are induced |
| Concepts | Need to be operationalised so that they can be measured | Should incorporate stakeholder perspectives |
| Units of analysis | Should be reduced to simplest terms | May include the complexity of ‘whole’ situations |
| Generalisation through | Statistical probability | Theoretical abstraction |
| Sampling requires | Large numbers selected randomly | Small numbers of cases chosen for specific reasons |
| Positivist Paradigm | Phenomenology paradigm | |
| Basic notions | The world is perceived as external and objective Independency of the observer Value-free approach to science | The world is perceived to be socially constructed and subjective Observer is considered a part of the object of observation Human interests drives science |
| Responsibilities of researcher | Focusing on facts Causalities and fundamental laws are searched Phenomenon are reduced to the simplest elements Hypotheses formulation and testing them | To be focusing on meanings Aiming to understand the meaning of events Exploring the totality of each individual case Ideas are developed by induction from data |
| Most suitable research methods | Concepts have to be operationalized | Using several methods in order to different aspects of phenomena |
| Sampling | Samples have to be large | Small samples are analyzed in a greater depth or over longer period of time |
The Three Approaches to Research
- Qualitative
- Quantitative
- Mixed methods
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Creswell, Research Design 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018
Qualitative research:
- Focuses on understanding meaning
- Uses emerging questions
- Collects data in participant’s setting
- Uses the an inductive approach to analysis
- Has a written report that is flexible in structure
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Creswell, Research Design 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
The Three Approaches to Research
Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018
Quantitative research:
- Tests objective theories
- Examines relationships among measurable variables
- Uses survey instruments that produce numbered data
- Uses statistical analysis of data generated
- Tests theories deductively
- Uses a set structure for the final report
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Creswell, Research Design 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
The Three Approaches to Research
Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018
Mixed methods research:
- Collects both quantitative and qualitative data
- Integrates the two forms of data
- Uses distinct designs that may involve philosophy or theory
- Yields additional insight to a research problem
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Creswell, Research Design 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
The Three Approaches to Research
Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018
Research Design
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Quantitative designs
- Research strategies associated with quantitative research came out of a mainly postpositivist worldview. Amongst the experimental methods employed are the true experiments, quasi-experiments and single subject experiments. Non-experimental methods include causal comparative in which the investigator compares two or more groups in terms of a cause that has already happened and correlational in which investigators used statistics to describe and measure the association between two or more variables.
- Survey research provides a numeric description of trends, attitudes or opinions of a population by studying a sample.
- Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies using questionnaires or structured interview for data collection
- Experimental research seeks to determine if a specific treatment influences an outcome
- True experiments utilize random assignment of participants to treatment conditions
- Quasi-experiments (including single subject designs) do not use random assignment
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Qualitative designs
- Qualitative research approaches have historic origins in anthropology, sociology, the humanities and evaluation
- Narrative research
- The researcher studies the lives of individuals by asking for stories about their lives. These stories are often retold by the researcher in a narrative chronology
- Phenomenological research
- The researcher describes the lived experiences of individuals about a phenomenon as described by the participants. This culminates in a work that describes the essence of several individuals who have experienced the phenomenon
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Qualitative
- Grounded theory
- The researcher derives an abstract theory of a process, action or interaction grounded in the views of the participants
- Ethnography
- This is a design coming from anthropology and sociology in which the researcher studies shared patterns of behaviors, language and actions of an existing cultural group in the natural setting over time
- Case studies
- The researcher develops an in depth analysis of a case involving one or more individuals. Detailed information is collected using a number of methods
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Mixed methods designs
- Combines quantitative and qualitative methods to build on the strengths of each method
- Convergent parallel mixed methods
- The researcher collects both quantitative and qualitative data at about the same time and integrates the information when interpreting the results
- Explanatory sequential mixed methods
- The researcher conducts quantitative research, analyzes the results and explains the results in more detail with qualitative research. The initial quantitative phase is followed by the qualitative phase
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Mixed
- Exploratory sequential mixed methods
- Reverse of the explanatory sequential design. The researcher begins with qualitative research to explore the views of the participants. The data is then analyzed with the information used to then build an instrument, develop an intervention for an experiment, design an app or Website, or to specify variables that need to go into a follow-up quantitative study
- Complex mixed methods strategies
- Case study to deductively document cases or to generate cases for further analysis
- Social justice or power perspective
- Evaluation that spans from a needs assessment to a test of program or intervention
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Creswell, Research Design 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Three Components Involved in an Approach
Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018
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Research Methods
- Includes forms of data collection, analysis and interpretation
- Instruments or tests or behavioral observation checklists may be used to collect data
- Observation without predetermined questions or conducting an interview in which the participant is allowed to speak freely may be some of the other less structured methods for collecting data
- Data to be analyzed may be numerical or text (e.g., statistical analysis, interpret themes)
- interpretation
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Creswell, Research Design 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Three Components Involved in an Approach
Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018
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Research Approaches as Worldviews, Designs, and Methods
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The worldviews, the designs and the methods all contribute to a research approach that can be quantitative, qualitative or mixed.
- Scenarios that can illustrate how the three elements can combine into a research design
- Quantitative approach: Postpositivist worldview, experimental design, pretest and posttest measures of attitudes
- Qualitative approach – constructivist worldview, ethnographic design, and observation of behavior
- Qualitative approach – transformative worldview, narrative design, and open-ended interviewing
- Mixed methods approach – pragmatic worldview, collection of quantitative and qualitative data sequentially
Criteria for Selecting a Research Approach
The research problem and questions:
- Quantitative approach is best when
Identifying factors that influence a particular outcome
Evaluating the utility of an intervention
Understanding best predictors of an outcome
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Creswell, Research Design 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018
Chapter 5 power point provides more details on this topic
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The research problem and questions:
- Qualitative approach is best when
The topic is new
The subject has not been addressed with a certain sample
Existing theories do not apply
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Creswell, Research Design 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Criteria for Selecting a Research Approach
Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018
Chapter 5 power point provides more details on this topic
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The research problem and questions:
- Mixed methods approach is best when:
Neither quantitative nor qualitative approaches are adequate to understand a research problem
The strength of qualitative and quantitative approaches provides the best understanding
E.g., generalize findings and develop detailed view
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Creswell, Research Design 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Criteria for Selecting a Research Approach
Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018
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Personal experiences:
- Training
- Preferences
- Time
- Resources
- Experiences
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Creswell, Research Design 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Criteria for Selecting a Research Approach
Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018
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Audience:
- Journal editors
- Journal readers
- Faculty committees
- Conference attendees
- Colleagues in the field
- Advisers
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Creswell, Research Design 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Criteria for Selecting a Research Approach
Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018
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Creswell, Research Design 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018
Summary
- Identify approach as qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods
- Approach includes worldview, research design, and research methods
- Choice of approach
Research problem
Personal experiences
Audience
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Creswell, Research Design 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Creswell, Research Design 5e SAGE Publishing, 2018
*
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The book uses three key terms throughout: Research approaches, research designs, and research methods. They represent the perspective about research from broad constructions of research to the narrow procedures of methods.
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Chapter 5 power point provides more details on this topic
*
Chapter 5 power point provides more details on this topic
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