Which type of research has a purpose to find out how reasonable or possible it is to conduct a research study on a certain topic?
This chapter provides a general introduction to research design by examining several issues: Show
Three Purposes of Research Social research can serve a variety of purposes. Three of the most influential and common purposes of research are exploration, description and explanation. Exploration involves familiarizing a researcher with a topic. Exploration satisfies the researcher's curiosity and desire for improved understanding. Exploration tests the feasibility of undertaking a more extensive study. Exploration helps develop the methods that will be used in a study. Description involves describing situations and events through scientific observation. Scientific descriptions are typically more accurate and precise than causal ones. For example, the U. S. Census uses descriptive social research in its examination of characteristics of the U. S. population. Explanation involves answering the questions of what, where, when, and how. Explanatory studies answer questions of why. For example, an explanatory analysis of the 2002 General Social Survey (GSS) data indicates that 38 percent of men and 30 percent of women said marijuana should be legalized, while 55 percent of liberals and 27 percent of conservatives said the same. Given these statistics, you could start to develop an explanation for attitudes toward marijuana legalization. In addition, further study of gender and political orientation could lead to a deeper explanation of this issue. The Logic of Idiographic vs. Nomothetic Explanation
1) the variables must be
correlated
Units of Analysis A unit of analysis is used to classify what or whom is being studied. The classifications include individuals, aggregates, and social artifacts.
Example: If we found that suicide rates are higher in Protestant countries than in Catholic ones, we could not draw the conclusion that more Protestants commit suicide than Catholics; this would be an ecological fallacy.
Example: For many social scientists, the field of sociobiology (social behavior can be explained solely in terms of genetic characteristics and behavior) is too limited and is an example of reductionism. The Time Dimension Cross Sectional Study: a study based on observations representing a single point in time; a cross section of a population. Example-The amount of people who registered to vote Longitudinal Study: a study based on data that is collected at several different times. Example- The Tuskegee Experiment
-to imply processes over time on the basis of simple logic How to Design a Research Project Steps for designing a research project: The problem with a simple definition: The problem with an advanced definition: Conceptualization
Operationalization
Choice of Research Method Population and
Sampling Observations Data Processing Analysis Application The Research Proposal:
The Ethics of Research Design Measurement Measurement: careful, deliberate observations of the real world for the purpose of describing objects and events in terms of the attributes composing the variable. Social scientists
measure:
Levels of Measurement - all measurements in science are conducted using 4 different types of scales:
Measurement Quality:
Problem: Validity and reliability can interfere with one another. Repeated measures should be taken to ensure the highest levels of both. What type of research aims to increase your knowledge about something and apply your chosen research?Types of research aims
Basic research aims to develop knowledge, theories and predictions, while applied research aims to develop techniques, products and procedures.
What type of research talks about the societal problems or issues finding ways to make positive changes in the society?Social Research is conducted by following a systematic plan of action which includes qualitative and quantitative observation methods. Qualitative methods rely on direct communication with members of a market, observation, text analysis.
What type of research aims to apply the chosen research to social problems?The major types of research on social problems include surveys, experiments, observational studies, and the use of existing data. Surveys are the most common method, and the results of surveys of random samples may be generalized to the populations from which the samples come.
What are the 4 main purposes of research?Research purposes. Information gathering and/or. Exploratory: e.g., discovering, uncovering, exploring. Descriptive: e.g., gathering info, describing, summarizing.. Theory testing. Explanatory: e.g., testing and understanding causal relations. Predictive: e.g., predicting what might happen in various scenarios.. |