Social Research

Sarantakos, S. (2005). Social Research, Palgrave Macmillan: Hampshire, UK

p.29 The foundations of research

• Ontology
• Epistemology
• Methodology
• Designs
• Instruments

p. 30 Ontology - the nature of reality ; What is the nature of reality? Is it objective (out there) constructed, subjective? What does research focus on?

Epistemology - The nature of knowledge. How do we know what we know? What is the way in which reality is known to us? What kind of knowledge is research looking for?

Methodology - the nature of research design and methods. How do we gain knowledge about the world? How is research constructed and conducted?

Research - the execution of research designs.

p. 31 Methodology - quantitative qualitative

Steps of the research design p. 105

• Topic and methodology
• Methodological construction of the topic
• sampling procedures
• data collection
• data analysis and interpretation
• reporting

Flexible qualitative designs p. 113

Uses the six steps above but allows freedom of unlimited movement between the steps of data collection and data analysis in both directions, using new information to fine-tune concepts, sampling and analysis. Qualitative inquiry does not employ a one-way research process. Is not based on objectivity; it follows strictly professional standards.

p. 117-119 Grounded theory is sued as an example of flexible qualitative design

PART IV DATA ANALYSIS

15 Qualitative Analysis

p. 346 the main types of qualitative analysis:

• iterative qualitative analysis (Grounded Theory and Analytic Induction)
• Fixed qualitative analysis
• Subjectivist qualitative analysis

Resarch Design in Social Research

de Vaus, D. (2001). Research Design in Social Research, Sage Publication's: London, UK.

p. 1 Social researchers ask two fundamental types of research questions:

1. What is going on (descriptive research)?
2. Why its is going on (explanatory research)?

Theory building

p. 5 attempts to answer the 'why' questions in social science are theories. Theory building is a process in which research begins with observations and uses inductive reasoning to derive a theory from these observations.

Theory testing

p.6 theory testing begins with a theory and uses theory to guide which observations to make

Research design

p.10 looks at four research design types:

• experiment
• case study
• longitudinal study
• cross-sectional design

Methods of data collection (p.10)

• questionnaire
• interview (structured or loose)
• observation
• analysis of documents
• unobtrusive methods

p.10 case studies (qualitative research) adopt an interpretive approach to data, studies 'things' within their context and considers the subjective meanings that people bring to their situation.

PART V - CASE STUDY DESIGNS

Case studies and theory: explanatory or descriptive

p. 220 holistic and embedded units of analysis

e.g school = holistic. The school comprises a range of constituent elements ( embedded units) such as executive, teachers, students, parents etc.

p. 221 explanatory case studies

p. 223 Theory building case studies

using a theory building approach to case studies we select cases to help develop and refine the propositions and develop a theory that fists the cases we study.

In the theory building approaches we begin only with a question and perhaps a basic proposition, look at real cases, and end up with a more specific theory or set of propositions as a result of examining actual cases.

p. 226 Single or multiple cases?

a single case design will normally be less compelling than multiple case designs.

p. 227 Parallel or sequential?

parallel - case studies done at once

p. 227 retrospective or prospective

p. 228 Types of case study designs

The elements are:

• descriptive or explanatory
• theory testing or theory building
• single or multiple case
• holistic or embedded units of analysis
• parallel or sequential case studies
• retrospective or prospective

15 CASE STUDY ANALYSIS (pp. 249-266)

p. 249 Methods for analysing case studies are less systematically developed (than for) other types of research design.

Statistical analysis

Meaning and context p. 250

Build subjective data about subjective meaning if behaviour for participants into the analysis of the case.

Analysis in descriptive case studies

Explanatory case studies p. 253

Theory testing analysis

• pattern matching
• time series analysis

Analysis for theory building: analytic induction p. 263

A strategy of analysis that directs the investigator to formulate generalisations that apply to all instances of the problem (generalisations that apply to all cases)

The Research Process

Bouma, G.D and Ling, R. (2004). The Research Process (5th Ed.), Oxford University Press: Oxford, UK

p.5 discusses research as 'a way of knowing'

p.8 Outlines the research process in three steps:

1. Essential first steps
2. Data collection
3. Analysis and interpretation

Phase 1: essential first steps p.9

1. Select, narrow, and formulate the question to be studied
2. Select research design
3. Design and devise measures for variables
4. Set up tables for analysis
5. Select a sample

Theory and Data p.18

Theory - a guess about the way things are (p.19)

Data - facts produced by research (p. 20)

(NOTE: I find the presentation quite 'quantitative' in nature (even though a qualitative example is used).

Selecting a research design (Ch 6 pp. 86-111)

Describes:

• Case study
• longitudinal study
• comparison study
• longitudinal comparison study
• experiment

Case study (p.89)

Can answer the question "what is going on"? (or "what is happening"? P. 109). Focus on a single case or entity (such as a group).

Chapter 10: Doing Qualitative Research pp. 165-187)

p. 167 "provides impressions and feelings about a particular situation".

Data collection (pp. 172 - 181)

• observation
• Data recording
• In-depth interviewing
• Life narratives
• Focus groups
• Textual material