Important From Topic to Question 18 January 2013 (1)

7/29/2019 Important From Topic to Question 18 January 2013 (1)

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Moving from topic to

research question

3105 Plenary Session # 9

18 January 2013

Kees Biekart

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RP process and planning

From topic to question

Asking questions, defining research

problems

Combining argument and evidence

Adding to knowledge?

Overview of this session


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What did we do so far in 3105?

Information literacy workshops

Finding, evaluating, processing information

Making correct references

Using Refworks and Write-and-Cite

Choosing Research Techniques

Courses in Term 2 and 3 (2 x 4 EC; 1 x 8 EC)

Introducing the Research Paper

Student panel & Staff panel in December 2012

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Organization: 3105 logistics

Five plenaries (one a fortnight) and five smallgroup workshops per Major (in the weeksfollowing the plenaries)

The plenaries will cover some of the key topics to

prepare for the Research Paper The workshops will allow for further discussion in

smaller groups and discussions with Major staff

You will write your RP as part of your Major

Moodle 3105 covers the plenaries; the MajorMoodle covers the workshops

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The RP Process 2013 (1)

RP Preparation plenaries (5) and

RP Preparation workshops (5)

With the Staff of your Major

Every Major has different preferences

RP Proposal >> 15 April 2013

Describes initial RP idea: process of moving from topic

to research question drawing on relevant literature Appointments of supervisor and second reader

Some Majors want to assign supervisors already inFebruary, others prefer to do so in April

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RP Design Seminars >> 21-24 May 2013

Develop the RP Design with guidance and supportfrom your supervisor in March-April

Everyone will have his/her own 50 minutes seminar

Formal feedback from colleague students and secondreader on RP Draft Design

RP Design >> 7 June 2013

Submit refined RP Design Will be assessed on pass/re-submission basis for the

3105 course

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RP Draft submission >> 16 September 2013

Summary of data collected and preliminaryprocessing looking towards final conclusions

Any revision of RP research question

RP Draft Seminars >> 23 Sept 2 Oct 2013

Formal (and written) feedback from peers andsecond reader

Basis for writing final RP version (6 weeks)

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Final RP submission >> 13 November 2013

Answering research questions (and reflecting onusefulness of literature and data limitations)

Max 17,500 words; language edited; correctlyreferenced; nicely structured and presented

RP Grade and Comments >> 10 Dec 2013

Written feedback from supervisor and second reader,and a final grade (based on average)

Potentially: nominated for RP Award

MA Graduation >> 13 December 2013

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Sources of Assistance for your RP

All your ISS courses and readings

ISS RP Design and RP Draft seminars

Your RP supervisor

Your second reader (at strategic points)

Your colleagues

Your Major convenor(s) Me

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What is research?

Gathering information to answer a question thatsolves a problem

But not all problem-solving leads to (reliable)

research output Research is demanding: finding a good

question, sound data, a solid argument,supporting clear answer

(!) Be critical and skeptical to research reports:some of it is bad, and even faked

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Who is your audience?

Be aware of the role of writer and reader

Who do you wish your research to inform?

Who do you want to convince you have made acontribution to knowledge?

What do your various readers expect? Are

there conflicting demands needing more than

one document?

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From a (personal) interest to a topic

Read recent articles, recent RPs

Look at conclusions: suggestions for furtherresearch

Look for current points of controversy

Search for review essays in recentdevelopment studies journals

If you have ideas on broad topic, try to narrow itdown by asking questions (to focus it)

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From a focused topic to aresearch question

Dont jump straight from topic to data

Posing questions is essential, as it will guidethe research

Ask how and why, rather than what, when andwho

Ask analytical questions about the composition,history, categorization, and values of your topic

Combine questions


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From an interesting question to asignificant question

Ask yourself: so what?

Phrase the question (I am studying)

Add a question what you want to know aboutyour topic (what, how, where, when, whether)

Add a question why you choose this topic(motivation, significance)

Go beyond I believe and we know to: Ihave found out..


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From an interesting question to asignificant question

The challenge inherent in applied research is

transforming a practitioners problem into a

researchable problem (Ben White, 2009)

Question for discussion: Why is researching

development especially challenging?

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From research question to problem

Three steps in designing the question: topic,question (significance, relevance)

From practical problem to research problem

(the research question) From to research problem to research answer

(finding out)

From research answer to practical problem(solving)

P i l i l


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Practical / socialproblem / issue

Research problem

Researchanswer

Researchquestion

Motivates

DefinesFinds

Helps tosolve

Source: Booth et al.

(2003: 58)

ResearchquestionResearchanswer

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Forms of questions

What?Empirical description of experiencesbeing researched

Who? People having those experiences

Where? Spatial extent of applicability ofresearch When? Time horizon of the research; duration of

experiences

How?More immediate causal linkagesdetermining the experiences Why? Underlying structural/meta-narrative

reasons for the experiences20


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From a topic to possible theoreticalexplanations?

Converting a belief into non-evaluative, conditional,causal questions explaining the experiences thatconcern you

Useful concepts and potential causal relationships can

be obtained from:the experiences of yourself and others (colleagues,

faculty)

the academic literature

mass media, the internet, popular opinion

your imagination

Tip: scope as long a list as you can, includingreasons you do not like. Stop reading the

literature when the list stops growing21


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Bringing empirical and theoreticalfactors into research questions

Challenge: keep the main research question manageable

Keep sub-questions conceptually and empirically close toyour main question.

While keeping all the possible causal relationships alive, itis worth focusing on one or two key relationships in yourmain research question other relationships can go intosub-questions.

When reviewing your potential data sources, you may addsub-questions on the conceptual appropriateness andlikely accuracy of the data.

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E l f h ti


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Examples of research questionsand sub questions

Which successful measures have been implementedby local human rights organizations in country A toencourage teenagers to step out of criminal gangs?

What has been the role of international

development NGOs?

How far did parental concerns about harassment inschool or on journeys to and from school influence

girls enrolment and attendance in village B in the lastyear?

What are the implications for the Education for Allglobal agenda?

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F h ti t


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From research questions tohypotheses

Not a necessary journey, but may be useful:

Origins in the physical sciences

A hypothesis is your best guess empirical answer to

the research question theoretical relationship and isusually compared with the absence of a relationship(null hypothesis)

Dichotomous testing confirmation/ falsification

But often expressed as a stochastic/probabilisticprediction of a relationship to take account of samplingerror (represented population much larger than casesinvestigated)

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E l f h h


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Examples of hypotheses

Erasing visible tattoos by members of criminal gangsis a key condition for them to step out of the group.Null hypothesis: no statistically significant relationshipwhen other possible causal variables are included inthe test.

Parental concerns with harassment in schoolsignificantly determine their daughters schoolenrolments. Null hypothesis: little evidence of suchconcerns expressed by parents in focus groups whencompared with other concerns.

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W k h ti


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Workshop suggestion

Look at a ISS Research Papers from previousyears:

How is the topic introduced (significance, relevance)?

How do you assess the research question and anysub-questions?

Do you think the research problem was correctlyexplained?

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C bi i t d id


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Combining argument and evidenceto producing quality research(1)

Eight Steps

(1) Developing research question in the light ofexisting theories

(2a) Identifying key variables and their logicallycausal relationships >> linking variables toindicators, OR

(2b) Identifying population for generalisation>> selecting case study/sample data sets forinvestigation

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C bi i t d id


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Combining argument and evidenceto producing quality research(2)

(3) Assessing quality of observation tools andrepresentativeness of data

(4) Ethics and risk assessment

(5) Data collection / quality assurance

(6) Data processing

(7) Analysis and answering research question

(8) Presenting and reflecting on evidence

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From theory to empirical observation

KEY RELATIONSHIP INDICATOR(S) AND DATA

COLLECTION TOOLS

AVAILABLE DATA AND

FIELDWORK DATA

Internal gang

discipline offers

more personal

security, even in

prisons, than outside

the prison

Gang members responses to

questionnaire on reasons for not

stepping out of criminal gangs

Recent unanalysed survey

data available from an NGO

in the area; will need to talk

to people who conducted

the survey about challenges

they faced

Parental views on

harassment inschools as a reason

for not sending girls

to school

Parental responses to sensitive,

visual prompts depicting girls in theschool environment

Local education authority

statistics. Fieldwork datafeasible through village level

focus groups with parents

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Adding to knowledge ?

Development studies research often makesepistemological claims to adding to knowledgeby providing a high quality mix of four elements:

New concepts/theory

New observations and/or new ways ofcombining existing observations

New evaluative criteria

New predictions/prescriptions

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Bottom line

Your research is a journey into a terrain wherethe previous maps are not totally accurate

Your RP job is to improve some details andrelate your map to pre-existing maps

Your role is NOT to map the whole world oronly to explore your own backyard

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Important From Topic to Question 18 January 2013 (1)

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