Inhoudsopgave
Chapter 1: The nature and process of social research.....................................................................................6
1.1 Introduction....................................................................................................................................................6
1.2 Social research: what is it and why do it?......................................................................................................6
What is 'social research’?................................................................................................................................6
Why do social research?..................................................................................................................................6
1.3 The context of social research methods.........................................................................................................6
Theory and its role in research........................................................................................................................6
Existing knowledge: the literature...................................................................................................................7
Epistemological and ontological questions.....................................................................................................7
Values, ethics, and politics...............................................................................................................................7
1.4 The main elements of social research............................................................................................................7
Literature review.............................................................................................................................................7
Concepts and theories.....................................................................................................................................7
Research questions..........................................................................................................................................8
Sampling..........................................................................................................................................................8
Data collection.................................................................................................................................................8
Data analysis....................................................................................................................................................8
Writing up........................................................................................................................................................8
1.5 The messiness of social research....................................................................................................................9
Chapter 2: Social research strategies............................................................................................................ 10
2.2 Theory and research.....................................................................................................................................10
What type of theory......................................................................................................................................10
The deductive approach................................................................................................................................10
The inductive approach.................................................................................................................................10
Considering deduction and induction together............................................................................................10
2.3 Epistemological considerations....................................................................................................................10
Positivism.......................................................................................................................................................11
Interpretivism................................................................................................................................................11
Hermeneutics and ‘Verstehen’......................................................................................................................11
Phenomenology.............................................................................................................................................11
Symbolic interactionism................................................................................................................................11
The process of interpretation........................................................................................................................11
2.4 Ontological considerations...........................................................................................................................11
Objectivism....................................................................................................................................................12
Constructionism.............................................................................................................................................12
Ontology and social research........................................................................................................................12
2.5 Research strategy: quantitative and qualitative research...........................................................................12
2.6 Further influences on how we conduct social research...............................................................................12
Values.............................................................................................................................................................12
The value-free approach................................................................................................................................13
The reflexive approach..................................................................................................................................13
The conscious partiality approach.................................................................................................................13
Practical considerations.................................................................................................................................13
Chapter 3: Research designs......................................................................................................................... 14
3.1 Introduction..................................................................................................................................................14
3.2 Quality criteria in social research.................................................................................................................14
1
, Reliability.......................................................................................................................................................14
Replication.....................................................................................................................................................14
Validity...........................................................................................................................................................14
The relationship between quality criteria and research strategy.................................................................15
3.3 Experimental design.....................................................................................................................................15
Features of the classical experimental design...............................................................................................15
Classical experimental design and validity....................................................................................................15
The laboratory experiment............................................................................................................................15
Quasi-experiments.........................................................................................................................................15
3.4 Cross-sectional design..................................................................................................................................16
Features of the cross-sectional design..........................................................................................................16
Reliability, replicability, and validity..............................................................................................................16
Non-manipulable variables............................................................................................................................16
3.5 Longitudinal designs.....................................................................................................................................16
Features of longitudinal designs....................................................................................................................16
Panel studies..................................................................................................................................................16
Cohort studies................................................................................................................................................16
Comparing panel and cohort studies............................................................................................................16
Reliability, replicability, and validity..............................................................................................................17
Problems associated with longitudinal designs.............................................................................................17
Longitudinal designs and research strategies...............................................................................................17
3.6 Case study design.........................................................................................................................................17
Features of the case study design.................................................................................................................17
Types of case..................................................................................................................................................17
Longitudinal research and the case study.....................................................................................................18
Reliability, replicability, and validity..............................................................................................................18
3.7 Comparative design.....................................................................................................................................18
Features of the comparative design..............................................................................................................18
Reliability, replicability, and validity..............................................................................................................18
The multiple case-study.................................................................................................................................18
3.8 Bringing research strategy and research design together...........................................................................19
Chapter 4: Planning a research project and formulating research questions..................................................20
4.1 Introduction..................................................................................................................................................20
4.2 Preparing for your project............................................................................................................................20
What does your institution expect from you?..............................................................................................20
Managing your time.......................................................................................................................................20
Managing your resources..............................................................................................................................20
4.3 Starting your project....................................................................................................................................20
Formulating suitable research questions......................................................................................................20
Sources of research questions.......................................................................................................................20
Types of research questions..........................................................................................................................20
Evaluating research questions.......................................................................................................................20
Writing your research proposal.....................................................................................................................21
Preparing to conduct your research..............................................................................................................21
4.4 Doing your research and analyzing your results..........................................................................................21
Chapter 7: The nature of quantitative research............................................................................................22
7.2 What is quantitative research?....................................................................................................................22
7.3 The main preoccupations of quantitative researchers.................................................................................22
Measurement................................................................................................................................................22
2
, Causality.........................................................................................................................................................22
Generalization................................................................................................................................................22
Replication.....................................................................................................................................................22
7.4 The main steps in quantitative research......................................................................................................23
7.5 Concepts and their measurement................................................................................................................23
What is a concept?........................................................................................................................................23
Why measure?...............................................................................................................................................23
How do we measure?....................................................................................................................................23
Devising indicators.........................................................................................................................................23
Using multiple-indicator measures................................................................................................................24
Dimensions of concepts.................................................................................................................................24
7.6 Reliability and validity of measures.............................................................................................................24
Reliability.......................................................................................................................................................24
Stability..........................................................................................................................................................24
Internal reliability..........................................................................................................................................24
Inter-rater reliability......................................................................................................................................24
Validity...........................................................................................................................................................25
Face validity...................................................................................................................................................25
Criterion validity: concurrent and predictive validity....................................................................................25
Construct validity...........................................................................................................................................25
Convergent validity........................................................................................................................................25
Reflections on reliability and validity.............................................................................................................25
7.7 The critique of quantitative research...........................................................................................................25
7.8 From theory to practice................................................................................................................................26
Reverse operationism....................................................................................................................................26
Reliability and validiy testing.........................................................................................................................26
Sampling........................................................................................................................................................26
Chapter 8: Sampling in quantitative research...............................................................................................27
8.1 Introduction..................................................................................................................................................27
8.2 What is sampling?........................................................................................................................................27
8.3 Sampling error..............................................................................................................................................27
8.4 Probability sampling....................................................................................................................................28
Types of probability sampling........................................................................................................................28
Simple random sample..................................................................................................................................28
Systematic sample.........................................................................................................................................28
Stratified random sampling...........................................................................................................................28
Multi-stage cluster sampling.........................................................................................................................28
8.5 Types of non-probability sampling...............................................................................................................28
Convenience sampling...................................................................................................................................28
Snowball sampling.........................................................................................................................................28
Quota sampling..............................................................................................................................................28
8.6 Sample size...................................................................................................................................................29
Absolute and relative sample size.................................................................................................................29
Time and cost.................................................................................................................................................29
Non-response................................................................................................................................................29
Heterogeneity of the population...................................................................................................................29
8.7 Sampling issues in online surveys.................................................................................................................29
8.8 Limits to generalization................................................................................................................................30
8.9 Error in survey research and the role of sampling.......................................................................................30
3
, Chapter 15: Quantitative data analysis......................................................................................................... 31
15.2 Approaching quantitative data analysis....................................................................................................31
15.4 Types of variable........................................................................................................................................31
15.5 Univariate analysis.....................................................................................................................................31
Frequency tables............................................................................................................................................31
Diagrams........................................................................................................................................................31
Bar charts & Pie charts..................................................................................................................................32
Histograms.....................................................................................................................................................32
Infographics...................................................................................................................................................32
Measures of central tendency.......................................................................................................................32
Arithmetic mean............................................................................................................................................32
Median...........................................................................................................................................................32
Mode..............................................................................................................................................................32
Measures of dispersion.................................................................................................................................32
Range.............................................................................................................................................................32
Standard deviation.........................................................................................................................................32
Boxplots: displaying both central tendency and dispersion..........................................................................33
15.6 Bivariate analysis.......................................................................................................................................33
Relationships, not causality...........................................................................................................................33
Contingency tables........................................................................................................................................33
Line graphs.....................................................................................................................................................33
Pearson’s r.....................................................................................................................................................33
Spearman’s rho..............................................................................................................................................33
Phi and Cramér’s V.........................................................................................................................................33
Comparing means and eta.............................................................................................................................33
Chapter 16: The nature of qualitative research............................................................................................. 34
16.2 What is qualitative research?....................................................................................................................34
Traditions and perspectives in qualitative research......................................................................................34
Data-collection methods in qualitative research..........................................................................................34
16.3 The main preoccupations of qualitative researchers.................................................................................34
Seeing through the eyes of the people being studied..................................................................................34
The importance of context............................................................................................................................34
Emphasis on process......................................................................................................................................35
Flexibilty.........................................................................................................................................................35
Concepts and theory that are grounded in data...........................................................................................35
16.4 The main steps in qualitative research......................................................................................................35
16.5 Theory and concepts in qualitative research.............................................................................................35
16.6 Research quality and qualitative research.................................................................................................35
The use of reliability and validity in qualitative research..............................................................................35
Alternative criteria for evaluating qualitative research................................................................................36
Trustworthiness.............................................................................................................................................36
Authenticity...................................................................................................................................................36
Tracy’s criteria................................................................................................................................................36
Hammersley...................................................................................................................................................36
16.7 The critique of qualitative research...........................................................................................................36
16.8 From theory to practice..............................................................................................................................37
16.9 Comparing quantitative and qualitative research.....................................................................................37
Differences between quantitative and qualitative research.........................................................................37
Similarities between quantitative and qualitative research.........................................................................37
4
Chapter 1: The nature and process of social research.....................................................................................6
1.1 Introduction....................................................................................................................................................6
1.2 Social research: what is it and why do it?......................................................................................................6
What is 'social research’?................................................................................................................................6
Why do social research?..................................................................................................................................6
1.3 The context of social research methods.........................................................................................................6
Theory and its role in research........................................................................................................................6
Existing knowledge: the literature...................................................................................................................7
Epistemological and ontological questions.....................................................................................................7
Values, ethics, and politics...............................................................................................................................7
1.4 The main elements of social research............................................................................................................7
Literature review.............................................................................................................................................7
Concepts and theories.....................................................................................................................................7
Research questions..........................................................................................................................................8
Sampling..........................................................................................................................................................8
Data collection.................................................................................................................................................8
Data analysis....................................................................................................................................................8
Writing up........................................................................................................................................................8
1.5 The messiness of social research....................................................................................................................9
Chapter 2: Social research strategies............................................................................................................ 10
2.2 Theory and research.....................................................................................................................................10
What type of theory......................................................................................................................................10
The deductive approach................................................................................................................................10
The inductive approach.................................................................................................................................10
Considering deduction and induction together............................................................................................10
2.3 Epistemological considerations....................................................................................................................10
Positivism.......................................................................................................................................................11
Interpretivism................................................................................................................................................11
Hermeneutics and ‘Verstehen’......................................................................................................................11
Phenomenology.............................................................................................................................................11
Symbolic interactionism................................................................................................................................11
The process of interpretation........................................................................................................................11
2.4 Ontological considerations...........................................................................................................................11
Objectivism....................................................................................................................................................12
Constructionism.............................................................................................................................................12
Ontology and social research........................................................................................................................12
2.5 Research strategy: quantitative and qualitative research...........................................................................12
2.6 Further influences on how we conduct social research...............................................................................12
Values.............................................................................................................................................................12
The value-free approach................................................................................................................................13
The reflexive approach..................................................................................................................................13
The conscious partiality approach.................................................................................................................13
Practical considerations.................................................................................................................................13
Chapter 3: Research designs......................................................................................................................... 14
3.1 Introduction..................................................................................................................................................14
3.2 Quality criteria in social research.................................................................................................................14
1
, Reliability.......................................................................................................................................................14
Replication.....................................................................................................................................................14
Validity...........................................................................................................................................................14
The relationship between quality criteria and research strategy.................................................................15
3.3 Experimental design.....................................................................................................................................15
Features of the classical experimental design...............................................................................................15
Classical experimental design and validity....................................................................................................15
The laboratory experiment............................................................................................................................15
Quasi-experiments.........................................................................................................................................15
3.4 Cross-sectional design..................................................................................................................................16
Features of the cross-sectional design..........................................................................................................16
Reliability, replicability, and validity..............................................................................................................16
Non-manipulable variables............................................................................................................................16
3.5 Longitudinal designs.....................................................................................................................................16
Features of longitudinal designs....................................................................................................................16
Panel studies..................................................................................................................................................16
Cohort studies................................................................................................................................................16
Comparing panel and cohort studies............................................................................................................16
Reliability, replicability, and validity..............................................................................................................17
Problems associated with longitudinal designs.............................................................................................17
Longitudinal designs and research strategies...............................................................................................17
3.6 Case study design.........................................................................................................................................17
Features of the case study design.................................................................................................................17
Types of case..................................................................................................................................................17
Longitudinal research and the case study.....................................................................................................18
Reliability, replicability, and validity..............................................................................................................18
3.7 Comparative design.....................................................................................................................................18
Features of the comparative design..............................................................................................................18
Reliability, replicability, and validity..............................................................................................................18
The multiple case-study.................................................................................................................................18
3.8 Bringing research strategy and research design together...........................................................................19
Chapter 4: Planning a research project and formulating research questions..................................................20
4.1 Introduction..................................................................................................................................................20
4.2 Preparing for your project............................................................................................................................20
What does your institution expect from you?..............................................................................................20
Managing your time.......................................................................................................................................20
Managing your resources..............................................................................................................................20
4.3 Starting your project....................................................................................................................................20
Formulating suitable research questions......................................................................................................20
Sources of research questions.......................................................................................................................20
Types of research questions..........................................................................................................................20
Evaluating research questions.......................................................................................................................20
Writing your research proposal.....................................................................................................................21
Preparing to conduct your research..............................................................................................................21
4.4 Doing your research and analyzing your results..........................................................................................21
Chapter 7: The nature of quantitative research............................................................................................22
7.2 What is quantitative research?....................................................................................................................22
7.3 The main preoccupations of quantitative researchers.................................................................................22
Measurement................................................................................................................................................22
2
, Causality.........................................................................................................................................................22
Generalization................................................................................................................................................22
Replication.....................................................................................................................................................22
7.4 The main steps in quantitative research......................................................................................................23
7.5 Concepts and their measurement................................................................................................................23
What is a concept?........................................................................................................................................23
Why measure?...............................................................................................................................................23
How do we measure?....................................................................................................................................23
Devising indicators.........................................................................................................................................23
Using multiple-indicator measures................................................................................................................24
Dimensions of concepts.................................................................................................................................24
7.6 Reliability and validity of measures.............................................................................................................24
Reliability.......................................................................................................................................................24
Stability..........................................................................................................................................................24
Internal reliability..........................................................................................................................................24
Inter-rater reliability......................................................................................................................................24
Validity...........................................................................................................................................................25
Face validity...................................................................................................................................................25
Criterion validity: concurrent and predictive validity....................................................................................25
Construct validity...........................................................................................................................................25
Convergent validity........................................................................................................................................25
Reflections on reliability and validity.............................................................................................................25
7.7 The critique of quantitative research...........................................................................................................25
7.8 From theory to practice................................................................................................................................26
Reverse operationism....................................................................................................................................26
Reliability and validiy testing.........................................................................................................................26
Sampling........................................................................................................................................................26
Chapter 8: Sampling in quantitative research...............................................................................................27
8.1 Introduction..................................................................................................................................................27
8.2 What is sampling?........................................................................................................................................27
8.3 Sampling error..............................................................................................................................................27
8.4 Probability sampling....................................................................................................................................28
Types of probability sampling........................................................................................................................28
Simple random sample..................................................................................................................................28
Systematic sample.........................................................................................................................................28
Stratified random sampling...........................................................................................................................28
Multi-stage cluster sampling.........................................................................................................................28
8.5 Types of non-probability sampling...............................................................................................................28
Convenience sampling...................................................................................................................................28
Snowball sampling.........................................................................................................................................28
Quota sampling..............................................................................................................................................28
8.6 Sample size...................................................................................................................................................29
Absolute and relative sample size.................................................................................................................29
Time and cost.................................................................................................................................................29
Non-response................................................................................................................................................29
Heterogeneity of the population...................................................................................................................29
8.7 Sampling issues in online surveys.................................................................................................................29
8.8 Limits to generalization................................................................................................................................30
8.9 Error in survey research and the role of sampling.......................................................................................30
3
, Chapter 15: Quantitative data analysis......................................................................................................... 31
15.2 Approaching quantitative data analysis....................................................................................................31
15.4 Types of variable........................................................................................................................................31
15.5 Univariate analysis.....................................................................................................................................31
Frequency tables............................................................................................................................................31
Diagrams........................................................................................................................................................31
Bar charts & Pie charts..................................................................................................................................32
Histograms.....................................................................................................................................................32
Infographics...................................................................................................................................................32
Measures of central tendency.......................................................................................................................32
Arithmetic mean............................................................................................................................................32
Median...........................................................................................................................................................32
Mode..............................................................................................................................................................32
Measures of dispersion.................................................................................................................................32
Range.............................................................................................................................................................32
Standard deviation.........................................................................................................................................32
Boxplots: displaying both central tendency and dispersion..........................................................................33
15.6 Bivariate analysis.......................................................................................................................................33
Relationships, not causality...........................................................................................................................33
Contingency tables........................................................................................................................................33
Line graphs.....................................................................................................................................................33
Pearson’s r.....................................................................................................................................................33
Spearman’s rho..............................................................................................................................................33
Phi and Cramér’s V.........................................................................................................................................33
Comparing means and eta.............................................................................................................................33
Chapter 16: The nature of qualitative research............................................................................................. 34
16.2 What is qualitative research?....................................................................................................................34
Traditions and perspectives in qualitative research......................................................................................34
Data-collection methods in qualitative research..........................................................................................34
16.3 The main preoccupations of qualitative researchers.................................................................................34
Seeing through the eyes of the people being studied..................................................................................34
The importance of context............................................................................................................................34
Emphasis on process......................................................................................................................................35
Flexibilty.........................................................................................................................................................35
Concepts and theory that are grounded in data...........................................................................................35
16.4 The main steps in qualitative research......................................................................................................35
16.5 Theory and concepts in qualitative research.............................................................................................35
16.6 Research quality and qualitative research.................................................................................................35
The use of reliability and validity in qualitative research..............................................................................35
Alternative criteria for evaluating qualitative research................................................................................36
Trustworthiness.............................................................................................................................................36
Authenticity...................................................................................................................................................36
Tracy’s criteria................................................................................................................................................36
Hammersley...................................................................................................................................................36
16.7 The critique of qualitative research...........................................................................................................36
16.8 From theory to practice..............................................................................................................................37
16.9 Comparing quantitative and qualitative research.....................................................................................37
Differences between quantitative and qualitative research.........................................................................37
Similarities between quantitative and qualitative research.........................................................................37
4
