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Introduction to Research (INRS7311) Summary
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A summary of all chapters, except for Chapter 13, covered in the exam.
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LEARNING UNIT ONEChapter 1: What is research?
How does research matter to you?
Research:
Helps us to think of groups of people as systems
Helps us to understand how things relate to each other
Helps us gain knowledge of things
Helps people to gather proper information needed, e.g. for writing books
Helps people ask relevant questions
The knowledge you gained in your early years was probably based on:
Tenacity → believing things to be true or false based on your experiences
Authority → things taught to you by your parents, teachers or other experts
Reasonableness → what made sense to you
Research as a process of inquiry:
Information
Curiosity Existing knowledge
Interest Beliefs
Uncertainty Values
Questions Attitudes
Research
Problems Expectations
Decisions Assumptions
,How does research matter to us all?
Bullying as a research problem:
Information:
record of
incidents
Existing
Research: is it knowledge:
happening? Bullying in experience
and previous
schools
research
Decision(s):
implement actions to Assumptions: bullying is
start addressing the a problem that has
problem consequences
In this case we can identify several purposes of research, including:
Identifying problems Generating further research
Addressing uncertainties Improving the lives of people
Identifying relationships between Resolving conflicts
variables Generating awareness and
Finding solutions sensitivity
Developing theories Adding value/comfort to people’s
Changing stereotypes lives
Planning for the future Overcoming obstacles
Preventing undesired
consequences
Defining research
One may have many questions of their own and may come up with different answers to the same
questions. The reason for this difficulty is that we work with concepts in research.
Concepts: abstract ideas that are associated with other ideas and that are created
through language.
o Concepts related to research:
Observation Relationships
Facts Relevance
Evidence Objectivity
Reality Implications
Truth
, o Abstract concepts are referred to as constructs.
o Most concepts and constructs are not objects we can see, touch, smell, hear
or taste – most concepts and constructs are open to interpretation.
Our assumptions range from broad assumptions (beliefs) to narrow assumptions (actions):
Philosophical assumptions
(Epistemology, ontology and axiology)
Theoretical assumptions
(Metatheory)
Methodological assumptions
(Qualitative and quantitative methods)
Philosophical assumptions: revolve around epistemology, ontology and axiology.
o These kind of assumptions often relate to the ethical considerations in a
study; that is, whether anybody may be affected negatively in any way
through the research that is being conducted.
Epistemology: refers to your beliefs about knowledge, e.g. do you
believe knowledge is discovered or created?
Ontology: refers to reality, i.e. ‘what is.’
Axiology: refers to our values, i.e. whether we believe inquiry is value
free (objective) or value bound (subjective).
Theoretical assumptions: related to the theoretical frameworks to which you
subscribe as well as what is known as metatheory, or theories about the role of
theory in research.
We can make the following statements about research:
Research begins with a question or problem.
It involves process of inquiry – every answer leads to more questions.
It requires a plan.
You need to collect information that can be used as evidence to support your
arguments.
Research should be based on sound theoretical foundations.
It should arrive at valid conclusions.
It should serve a specific purpose.
It should lead to further research.
,We can therefore define research: process of gathering data, analysing it and processing it
with a view to find solutions to a stated problem.
The research process
Research as a cyclical process:
1. Identifying and analysing the question or problem
Basic or pure research: a topic one is interested in learning more about to
gain more of an understanding, e.g. learning about stereotyping in the media.
Applied research: wanting to find a practical solution to a problem, e.g.
finding a way to improve a particular system.
Research topics are usually grouped in 3 categories:
1. Exploratory research: aim is to gather new information about a topic
that has not been researched before, e.g. “to what extent does the
South African media represent the interests of the majority group
within South Africa?”
2. Explanatory research: aim is to find an explanation for a specific
phenomenon, e.g. “why is there such an alarming increase in child
abuse in South Africa?”
3. Descriptive research: aim is to describe a phenomenon that is
identified through the research conducted (typically guided by a
question), e.g. ‘what are the living conditions of South African women
who have little or no access to education?”
2. Conducting a literature review
During this step, you have to search for relevant literature that has been
published before.
The literature review process:
1. Stage 1: research databases. Find published articles that contain key
words that relate to your topic.
2. Stage 2: focus on articles that contain key words and information
relevant to your inquiry.
3. Stage 3: focus on articles that will enable you to formulate your
research question or problem.
3. Formulating research questions or hypotheses
Hypothesis: statement one will attempt to accept or reject at the end of their
research.
4. Choosing an approach
Main consideration during this step will be whether you use a qualitative or
quantitative approach.
o Quantitative methods: present numerical or statistical data
o Qualitative research: presents interpretive data
, 5. Writing your research proposal
How are you going to answer your research question and solve the research
problem that you have identified?
6. Pre-testing your research data collection methods
Pilot test or trial run: pre-testing data collection methods or instruments.
o Purpose: eliminates problems that you may have not foreseen when
you designed the instrument.
E.g. questionnaires, interviews, etc.
7. Analysing and interpreting your information
During this step, you will utilise your theoretical framework to interpret your
findings.
8. Writing your research report
Research report: presents your findings, conclusions and recommendations.
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