Research Methods

When you can´t get the answer in a book…you better get it for

yourself…

Empirical research methods we saw in class

Quantitative

• A quantitative approach is one in which the investigator primarily uses post-positivist claims for developing knowledge (i.e. cause and effect thinking, reduction to specific variables and hypotheses and questions, use of measurement and observation, and the test of theories). (Creswell, 2003, p.19)

Qualitative - Definition

• … qualitative researchers study things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of or interpret phenomenon in terms of the meanings people bring to them. (Denzin & Lincoln, 2000, p.3).

Allow us to construct knwoledge

Methods

Source-analysis as a method

What sources are appropriate for the EE?

• You should use scholarly sources from the very beginning of your research. This means essays, articles, and books written by professionals with advanced academic degrees in the appropriate field of study. Scholarly sources can be found on the Virtual Library, school library or public library (for some subjects), and in college libraries.

What sources are appropriate for the EE?

• You should try, whenever possible, to locate and use primary sources for your EE. Your EE supervisor will help you determine what primary sources would be most useful for your research question. Your EE supervisor is the person you should refer to any time you have questions about the legitimacy of a source.

What sources are NOT appropriate for the EE?

• Your high school textbooks are not appropriate sources for the EE. They contain information that should become your common knowledge about a subject.

• Sources found through internet search engines will probably not be appropriate. Wikipedia and other online “information” sources are not appropriate.

Biography of a playwrightVideotape of a performance

Theatre

Essay on Native American land rights

TreatyPolitical Science

Treatise on a particular genre of poetry

PoemLiterature

Book about the Underground Railroad

Slave diaryHistory

Article critiquing the piece of art

Original artworkArt

Primary Source

Secondary Source

Sources of Historical Study

What is a Primary Source?Primary sources are sources of information—the raw materials of history—created by people who actually participated in or witnessed events of the past.

where, when and why a document was created.

Was it a personal diary intended to be kept private?

Was the document prepared for the public?

The purpose of a source.

Some primary sources may be judged more reliable than others, but every source is biased in some way.

says that every source is biased in some way.

Bias Rule guidelines:

Every piece of evidence and every source must be read or viewed skeptically and critically.

No piece of evidence should be taken at face value.

Each piece of evidence and source must be cross-checked and compared with related sources and pieces of evidence.

Bias Rule

Who created the source and why?

Did the author have firsthand knowledge of the event?

Was the author a neutral party?

Did the author produce the source for personal use or a large audience?

Was the information recorded during the event, immediately after the event, or after a lapse of time?

Did the author wish to inform or persuade?

Questions for Analyzing Primary Sources

Case-study as a method

Qualitative Case Study: Definitions

• Case study is “the study of the particularity and complexity of

a single case, coming to understand its activity within

important circumstances” (Stake, 1995, p. xi).

• Case study research is the in-depth study of instances of a

phenomenon in its natural context and from the perspective of

the participants involved in the phenomenon (Gall, Gall, &

Borg, 2005).

• Case study is “a setting or group that the analyst treats as an

integrated social unit that must be studied holistically and in its

particularity” (Schutt, 2006, p. 293).

Case Study: Advantages

• Gain a holistic understanding of real-life events

• Seek ‘uniqueness’ and ‘commonality’

• Refine and develop theories

• Generate new insights

• Allow for readers’ decision-making

• Reflect on human experience

• Suggest a step to action

Case Study: Limitations

• Concerns about generalizability

• Use of "abnormal" cases

• Issues connected with thick description and triangulation

• Objectivity versus subjectivity

• The data-driven rather than theory-driven approach

• Attrition

• Constraints on quantitative analysis of small-sample data,

• Ethics in protecting the privacy of participants

(Duff, 2008)

Examples: Case Study

TRIANGULATION

• triangulation is often used to indicate that two (or more) methods are used in a study in order to check the results