Lecture 1

Question 1

What is research?

Answer 1

-Systematic and organised effort to investigate a
specific problem that needs a solution
(Sekaran and Bougie, 2013: 4)
-Research is often about (process) ways to solve
real problems (content) with an emphasis on
achieving measurable outputs specific to a
society/organisation
Or…
-Research may be concerned with clarifying, validating or building knowledge with purpose of advancing knowledge
(Bentley, 2015)

Question 2

What is a theory?

Answer 2

-A set of interrelated constructs (concepts), definitions, and propositions that present a systematic view of phenomena by specifying relations among variables, with the
purpose of explaining and predicting phenomena (Kerlinger and Lee, 2000)
-Predictive/Explanatory

Question 3

Explain inductive and deductive reasoning and when they occur

Answer 3

• Dewey (1933) described Inductive and Deductive Reasoning as a general paradigm of enquiry to underpin the scientific approach
• Theories are usually engaged with during the research process
• Before the data collection takes place (hypothesis testing): Deductive
• After the data collection (theory building): Inductive

Question 4

Explain the differences between inductive and deductive reasoning

Answer 4

• Start with data VS Start with a theory
• Infer conclusions from data VS Confirm a hypothesis
• Tend to do qualitative research vs Tend to do quantitative research

Question 5

Explain the ontological debate

Answer 5

-Ontology is the nature of being/reality
-It is concerned with 2 questions:
Is there such thing as a (social) reality?
Is this reality external to social actors?
-There are 2 sides of the debate: Objectivism and Constructivism
-Objectivists believe social reality is out there without any influence of individuals whereas Constructivists believe social actors have a crucial and influential role in the construction of reality

Question 6

Explain the epistemological debate

Answer 6

-Epistemology is the nature of knowledge (how can you address reality?)
-It is concerned with 2 questions:
What should be considered acceptable knowledge in a discipline?
Can the social world be studied by the same principles as the natural sciences?
-There are two sides of the debate: Positivism and Interpretivism

Question 7

Explain positivism

Answer 7

-The goal of research is to produce objective knowledge (impartial/unbiased)
-Human are natural objects that behave due to the external factors imposed on them
(e.g., social norms, class, gender)
-Knowledge reflects reality (there is a right and a wrong)
-Positivist research involves “… precise empirical observations of individual behaviour in
order to discover … probabilistic causal laws that can be used to predict general patterns
of human activity” (Neuman, 1997: 63)

Question 8

Explain interpretivism

Answer 8

-Meanings exist in our interpretations of the world
-Knowledge is interpretation (a right or a wrong is not confirmable)
-Social and Natural Sciences differ:
The study of social life involves skills that “are more like the skills of literary or dramatic criticism
and of poetics than the skills of physical scientists.” (Harre, 987, p105)
Understand human behaviour in an empathetic way (understand their point of view of the reality in
which they live)
-Importance of the researcher’s perspective and the interpretative nature of social reality. Researcher
will influence and be influenced by the research

Question 9

Ontology + epistemology = …

Answer 9

Methodology

Question 10

Explain methodology

Answer 10

-A general approach to studying research topics
-A scientific method is used
-Qualitative researchers tend to be concerned with meaning. They are interested in how people make sense of the world and how they experience
events.

Question 11

Characteristics of qualitative research

Answer 11

• Highly contextual, collected in real world settings (observation rather than experiment)
• The analysis of words and images rather than numbers
• Used when little is known about a phenomena, or gain new perspectives
• A preference for meanings rather than behaviour - explain why people act and account for their actions
• Goes beyond giving a snapshot or cross-section of events
• A preference for inductive, hypothesis-generating research rather than hypothesis testing

Question 12

Qualitative VS Quantitative

Answer 12

-Words, understanding/ Numbers, explanation
-Purposive sampling/ Statistical sampling
-Social sciences, soft, subjective/ Physical sciences, hard, objective
-Inquiry from the inside/ Inquiry from the outside
-Meaning of behaviours, broad focus/ Cause and effect relationships
-Discovery, gaining knowledge, understanding
actions/ Theory/explanation testing and development
-Practitioner as human instrument to gather
data, prescriptive, personal/ Researcher descriptive, impersonal

Question 13

How does predictive power differ from explanatory and descriptive power?

Answer 13

Predictive power differs from explanatory and descriptive power (where phenomena that are retrospectively explained or described by a given theory) in that it allows a prospective test or theoretical understanding. If a theory has no predictive power, it cannot be used for applications. One example of the predictive power of a theory is the discovery of Neptune as a result of the predictions made by mathematicians Adams and Le Verrier, based on Newton’s theory of gravity.

Question 14

Describe explanatory power

Answer 14

Explanatory power is the ability of a hypothesis or theory to effectively explain the subject matter it pertains to. Some theories may be considered to have more explanatory power than another about the same subject matter due to meeting the various criteria and measures proposed. Some of which include; making fewer assumptions, more facts and observations are accounted for, offers greater predictive power (i.e. details on what we should expect to see and what we should not). The opposite of explanatory power is explanatory impotence.

Question 15

Explain descriptive power

Answer 15

Descriptive research is used to describe characteristics of a population or phenomenon being studied. It does not answer questions about how/when/why the characteristics occurred. Rather it addresses the “what” question (what are the characteristics of the population or situation being studied?). The characteristics used to describe the situation or population are usually some kind of categorical scheme also known as descriptive categories. For example, the periodic table categorises the elements. Scientists use knowledge about the nature of electrons, protons and neutrons to devise this categorical scheme. We now take for granted the periodic table, yet it took descriptive research to devise it. Descriptive research generally precedes explanatory research.