Introduction to Research Methodology

Acquiring KnowledgeWays of Knowing

• Tenacity• Intuition• Authority• Rationalism• Empiricism• Science

Tenacity

• A willingness to accept ideas as valid because they have been accepted for so long or repeated so often that they seem true

Intuition

• Accepting ideas as valid because the “feel” intuitively true

Authority

• Accepting ideas as valid because some respected authority asserts that ideas are true

Rationalism

• Developing valid ideas using existing ideas and principles of logic

Empiricism

• Gaining knowledge through observation; knowing by experiencing through our senses.

• Pure reason is not enough.

• Naïve versus Sophisticated

Science

• A process that combines the principles of rationalism with the process of empiricism, using rationalism to develop theories and empiricism to test the theories.

Assumptions & Science

• Assumptions are: ideas that are tentatively accepted as being true without further examination.

• In science, we make a few assumptions, preferring to subject our ideas to the rigorous demands of rational and empirical challenges.

Basic Assumptions of Science

• #1. A true, physical universe exists.

Basic Assumptions of Science

• #2. While there may be randomness and thus unpredictability in the universe, it is primarily an orderly system.

Basic Assumptions of Science

• #3. The principles of this orderly universe can be discovered, particularly through scientific research.

Basic Assumptions of Science

• #4. Our knowledge of the universe is always incomplete. New knowledge can, and should, alter current ideas and theories. Therefore, all knowledge and theories are tentative.

Parsimony

• Ockham's Razor

Phases of a Research Study

1. Idea generating phase2. Problem-definition phase3. Procedures-define phase4. Observation phase5. Data-analysis phase6. Interpretation phase7. Communication phase

Idea generating phase

• Identify a topic of interest to study.

Problem-definition phase

• Refine the vague and general idea(s) generated in the Idea Generating Phase step into a precise question to be studied.

• Search the literature – “Lit Review”

Procedures-define phase

• Decide on the specific procedures to be used in the data gathering and statistical analysis of the data.

Observation phase

• Using the defined procedures to collect observations.

Data-analysis phase

• Analyze the data collected using the appropriate statistical procedures.

Interpretation phase

• Compare your results with the results predicted on the basis of your theory. Do your results support the theory?

Communication phase

• Prepare a written or oral report of your study for publication or presentation to colleagues. Your report should include a description of all of the preceding steps.

Levels of Constraint “Types”of Scientific Research

• Naturalistic observation

• Case study

• Correlational research

• Differential research

• Experimental research

Naturalistic observation

• The observation of participants in their natural environment.

• The researcher should do nothing to limit or change the environment or the behavior of the participants.

Case study

• Involves moving the participant into a moderately limiting environment, intervening to a slight degree, and observing the participant’s responses.

Correlational research

• The focus is on quantifying the degree of relationship between two variables.

• The measurement procedures must be carefully defined and precisely followed.

• Causation?

Differential research

• Two or more preexisting groups of participants are compared. The setting is usually highly constrained, and the measurement procedures must be carefully defined and precisely followed.

Experimental research

• Similar to differential research except that the participants are assigned without bias to the various groups or conditions in the study.