Key concepts summary Research Skills (Qualitative)
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Course
Research Skills
Institution
Tilburg University (UVT)
This summary is made by the use of the lectures and is only 7 pages long. I speak from experience when I say that solely studying this summary (very well), will get you a good grade for the exam.
Summary Research Skills – Fall Semester 2015
Lecture 1
How will the research proposal be assessed?
1. Definition of the problem/research questions.
2. The extent to which the components of the proposal fit together.
3. The absence of preconceived ideas
4. The validity of the proposal.
Lecture 2
Types of research:
Conceptual (no data; little concern about sampling/choice of cases, etc.)
Empirical (use data: quantitative, qualitative, or both. An empirical article must make
theoretical contribution)
Meta-analysis (analysis of analyses). (Method to synthesize a domain of published studies and
to quantitatively determine the degree to which particular findings have been successfully
replicated. Each individual study is a single data point)
Simulation (data generated by computer programming. Key strengths: deal with multiple
feedback loops and nonlinearity & in a short time you can get many firm-year observations)
Theory is a way of imposing conceptual order to the empirical complexity of the phenomenal
world. a theory is a statement of relations among concepts/constructs within a set of
boundary assumptions and constraints.
A good theory explains, predicts, and delights.
Additional criterions: parsimony & generality
Theoretical contribution by an empirical study
Develop and test a whole new theory (too ambitious)
Extend or refine an existing theory (add sophistication, nuance, or qualification to it)
Be it quantitative or qualitative, you discuss
o How your findings can revise or deepen our understanding of the theory (theoretical
implications)
o How your findings may change the way researchers approach the phenomenon
(future research directions)
o How your findings may change they way practitioners approach the phenomenon
(managerial implications)
Summary Research Skills (2015-2016) G. Timmermans 1
, Quantitative research
Data are in numerical form
Analyses are some inferential statistics
Main purpose: obtain evidence to support/reject hypotheses derived from theory
Large sample size is a strength
o “Outliers” should be avoided or somehow dealt with
o Keep in mind: what you get from statistical procedures is some kind of average
Define a priori a set of core concepts/constructs and find ways to measure them
Qualitative research
Data are not in numerical form (text, audio, picture…)
Analyses are very much verbal
Main purpose:
o Build a whole new theory (not recommended for your thesis)
o Elaborate an existing theory: theory exists, but there are important gaps or
oversights
Very small sample size
Concept/constructs may emerge from data rather than a priori defined
Primary data: Data collected by the researcher
Survey, interview, experiment, observation
Can be quantitative or qualitative
Secondary data: the researcher uses existing data collected/made available by another person
Key advantage: non-obtrusive
Key disadvantage: not collected for the purpose of your particular study
Can also be quantitative and qualitative
2 typical ways of thinking or reasoning
1.
A-B-C framework (antecedent-
behaviour-consequence)
- This will give you a good overview of the
literature
- This will help you clarify the position of
your study relative to the literature
2.
Trade-offs and countervailing forces
- Consider both benefits and costs involved
in a choice or decision and identify
situations in which benefits overwhelm
costs.
Summary Research Skills (2015-2016) G. Timmermans 2
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