Academic Work Flashcards
Three Project Management constraints
- Scope: tasks based on topic and academic work
- Time: based on deadlines, available time per day/week
- Cost: e.g. fees for literature, communication, travel, printing
Science and Research
Science pursues the goal of producing new knowledge and deepening, extending, confirming or refuting existing knowledge.
Research consists of systematic investigations through which facts or principles are established or information about a subject is gathered.
Academic work seeks to conduct methodical studies with the goal of testing a hypotheses or answering a specific questions in a highly structured manner.
Scientificity
Scientificity A fundamental principle for scientific statements is: “(…) that the statements made are verifiable by anyone, that the process through which they emerged can be reconstructed from start to finish and that thereby, anyone who follows the same process in the same manner, will arrive at the same results.” (Peterßen, 1994, S. 25)
Forms of knowledge
Circles: everyday - knowledge - scientific
Success Factors of Academic Work
Applying scientific principles and approaches
Good time management
Concrete focus
Precise Research Question(s) (RQ)
Optimal methodology for answering RQ
Clear and comprehensive structure („red ribbon“)
Correct citation
Adequate number of sources (quality of sources)
Appropriate language (vocabulary, spelling, grammar, etc.)
Fulfilled formal criteria
Scientific Principles and Standards:
Pyramid
Scientific Principles - Scientific Practice - Academic Work
Everyday knowledge vs. Scientific knowledge
EK:
- based on observation of concrete
(individual) situations and actions
- guided by “everyday theories”
- individual, less precise, ambiguous, uncertain knowledge
SK:
- based on the generalization of similar observations
- systematically generated, precisely defined, intersubjectively verifiable knowledge
- use of scientific theories and methods
Fundamental scientific principles
- Honesty
- Accountability
- Respect/Fairness
Honesty
- Truthful representation of the observed facts and the gained knowledge
- Correct and complete citation of sources
- Naming of other persons who were involved in the finding of results
- Pointing out unexpected and also undesired results
- No plagiarism, deception, or data manipulation
Respect/Fairness
- Respectful, appreciative interaction
- Open communication
- Mutual assistance
- Honest recognition of the performance of others
- Accurate representation of the contributions of others
Accountability
Dimensions:
* Self-control
* Towards the work team, also in the context of cooperation
* To science as a system
* Accountability to the environment, to life, and to the global society
- Critical attitude towards and reflection on the consequences of new processes and products
- Honest risk assessments and willingness to set limits in a timely manner
Questions & Principles:
- Are the expected future effects of the findings or new solution pointed out?
- Are the achievements and contributions of others being appreciated enough?
- Did you consider the consequences of the proposed practices and new solutions?
- Are the data and statistics used credible?
- Are the statements sufficiently substantiated and the sources correctly and completely reproduced?
- Are the facts described and presented truthfully?
- Is there open communication?
- Are the expected future effects of the findings or new solution pointed out? - A
- Are the achievements and contributions of others being appreciated enough? - R
- Did you consider the consequences of the proposed practices and new solutions? - A
- Are the data and statistics used credible? - H
- Are the statements sufficiently substantiated and the sources correctly and completely reproduced? - H
- Are the facts described and presented truthfully? - H
- Is there open communication? - R
Principles of Good Scientific Practice
- Objectivity: research can be tested independently from the individual scientist
- Reliability: consistency of measurement
- Validity: extent to which evidence and theory support interpretations of results
Objectivity
The degree of independence of the results obtained:
* By the observer/interviewer and author of a scientific paper
* By the evaluator/reviewer Objectivity requires:
* Unbiased scientific procedure
* Self-inspection
* Factual argumentation and neutral, unprejudiced presentation of the results obtained
Reliability
The degree of reliability achieved shows:
* How reliably the measuring instruments measure: accuracy of measurement.
* How consistent the results are.
* Whether other people can arrive at the same results when they replicate your research using the same instruments and methods.
Validity
- Whether the results are valid: addressing the correct content areas (content validity).
- Matching questions
- How accurately a characteristic that is being examined is actually examined.
- Adequately large, representative samples.
Other principles
- Comprehensibility: Through the inclusion of all important aspects of your research process and/or results. Your work should be complete.
- Clarity: by using precise language, e.g., short sentences, and definition of terms.
- Transparency: by keeping primary results, providing a clear account of all of the steps that you have made and explain in detail how you proceeded and what influenced your decisions.
- Originality: measures the ability to produce uncommon ideas or ideas that are totally new or unique.
- Relevance: your research should fill a gap in existing scientific knowledge, something that has not been extensively studied before.
Scientific Approaches
- Deduction
- Induction
Deduction
- From general to specific.
- Drawing conclusions about particulars from general premises e.g., deriving hypothesis from theories and models.
Induction
- From specific to general.
- Applying inferences from specific observations to a theoretical population.
Deduction: top-down approach
Theory -> Hypothesis -> Observation -> Confirmation
Induction: Bottom-Up Approach
Observation -> Pattern -> Tentative Hypothesis -> Theory
Types of research
Theoretical Research
- Develops and verifies hypotheses on the basis of literature and theoretical findings.
Empirical Research
- Research is performed in direct relation to an empirical subject.
Types of research (2)
Explorative study
- Explore an unfamiliar area in order to learn about it; preliminary studies, pretests; goal: hypothesis generation; qualitative methods (e.g., expert interviews)
Descriptive Study
- Gives a detailed account in words; obtaining information about the actual state of an issue of interest; social reporting, official statistics; objective: description and diagnosis; quantitative methods.
General Format Of Academic Work
● Introduction 10%: Presenting the research problem in a general form
● Main body 80%: Theoretical framework, testing hypotheses, interpreting results
● Conclusion 10%: Focused presentation of overall results (and connection with existing studies and further recommendations for research)
Elements of a Written Academic Paper
● Title page
● Abstract ( before introduction; add key words)
● Table of contents
● List of Figures
● List of tables
● List of abbreviations
● Text (introduction-research questions, objectives, methodology, conclusion and discussion)
● List of Literature
● Appendix- Register of the appendix- Appendix 1- 2- 3
● Affidavit
Arrangement of material
1.) Preliminaries: title page, abstract (dedication), preface, table of contents, list of tables, list of figures or illustrations, list of abbreviations
2.) Reference material: bibliography, appendices (e.g. interview guideline, category system, content analysis, tables).
Research typologies
Qualitative
- Research Objectives:
- Discovery of new ideas, insights, and feelings
- Example: Social media used by political parties in Egypt (how, why)
- Type Of Research:
- Usually exploratory
- Type Of Questions:
- Open-ended, semi-structured, unstructured
- Sample Size:
- Small
- Type Of Analyses:
- Subjective, Interpretive
- Representativeness:
- Limited
Quantitative
- Research Objectives:
- Validation of facts, estimates, relationships
- Example: Media usage of refugees (which, time spent)
- Type Of Research:
- Descriptive and causal
- Type Of Questions:
- Mostly structured
- Sample Size:
- Large
- Type Of Analyses:
- Statistical, Descriptive, causal
- Representativeness:
- Good
Qualitative research data types
- Data in qualitative research is not characterized by numbers.
- Instead, it is:
- Textual
- Visual
- Oral
Quantitative vs. Qualitative: Quantitative
● classifies features, counts them, and constructs statistical models in an attempt to explain what is observed.
● Determines the relationship between one thing (an independent variable) and another (a dependent or outcome variable) in a population.
Most common quantitative research tools
● Surveys/ Questionnaires: ask questions (face-to-face interview, telephone, mail, internet)
● Text-Analysis: application of one or more methods for drawing statistical inferences or patterns from text populations.
● Experiment: apply a treatment and measure results (before and/or after) - this is the only method that can demonstrate causal relationships between variables
Strengths of Quantitative Studies
- Broader study: Involves a greater number of subjects, enhancing the generalization of the results.
- Greater objectivity and accuracy: Results are more objective and accurate.
- Replication and comparison: Allows for replication and comparison with similar studies.
- Summarizing information: Capable of summarizing vast sources of information and making comparisons across categories and over time.
- Reduced personal bias: Easier to avoid personal bias of the researcher.
Limitations of Quantitative Studies
- Less detail on behavior: Results provide fewer details on behavior, attitudes, and motivation.
- Lack of contextual detail: Missing the contextual nuances of the subject matter.
- Inflexible discovery process: The static and rigid approach leads to an inflexible process of discovery.
- Structural bias: Potential for structural bias and false representation due to standard questions matching preconceived hypotheses.
- Narrow dataset: Often results in a narrow and sometimes superficial dataset.
- Numerical descriptions: Provides numerical descriptions rather than detailed narratives, generally offering less elaborate accounts of human perception.
Strengths of Qualitative Studies
- Interaction with participants: Provides insights into participants’ perceptions through direct interaction.
- Description of phenomena: Effective in describing existing phenomena and current situations.
- Flexible data collection: Offers flexible methods for data collection, subsequent analysis, and interpretation of collected information.
- Holistic view: Provides a holistic view of the phenomena under investigation.
- Research in participants’ terms: Engages with research subjects in their own language and on their own terms.
Social Desirability
- is the tendency of individuals to present themselves favourably
with respect to current social norms and standards. - refers to the tendency of research subjects to give socially desirable
responses instead of choosing responses that are reflective of their true feelings.
