Midterm Flashcards
what is the role of philosophy in research?
philosophy influences the use and application of research methods. the different philosophical perspectives shape research designs, data collection, analyzing methods, and outcomes and interpretations
what is ontology
the nature of reality/how we understand reality
what are the two main aspects of ontology
- objectivism (reality exists external to social actors)
- subjectivism (social phenomena are created from the perceptions and actions of social actors, CANNOT be objective)
what is epistemology
beliefs about how we can acquire knowledge about reality. knowledge can be measured (using appropriate tools/methods), reality needs to be interpreted
t/f- epistemology inlfuences how researches conduct their research
true
what is a paradigm
a paradigm is a way of framing what we know (ontology) and how we can know it (epistemology). It is a combination of ontological and epistemological perspectives
what principles is positivism guided by?
positivism is guided by the principles of objectivity, knowability, and deductive logic
what are the 5 assumptions of positivism
- truth can be uncovered and known,
- a single reality exists,
- society and social phenom. can and should be studied empirically,
- knowledge, phenom., and realities are measurable and quantifiable;
- knowledge measurement is objective and unbiased
do positivists prefer quantitative or qualitative data collection methods?
quantitative
what principles is Interpretivism guided by?
guided by the principle that humans are the actors at the heart of the social phenomenon/realities
what are the 3 interpretivist assumptions
- there are multiple realities;
- realities are subjective (and socially constructed);
- to understand those realities, research must employ methods that account for a person’s experience of the investigated phenomenon (and truly account for it in research results)
do interpretivists prefer quantitative or qualitative data collection methods?
qualitative- it is necessary for researchers to understand the differences amongst humans as social actors, emphasis conducting research among people (as opposed to objects)
what principle is social constructivism guided by
guided by the principle that the truth varies, is socially constructed, and ever-changing
what are the 4 assumptions of social constructivism
- individuals’ realities are socially constructed;
- realities are framed through our interpretation of our interactions with the social environment- social context and interaction frame our realities;
- persons with lived experiences play an essential role in the development of knowledge;
- the researcher influences the research process
what is the deductive approach to research
theories, hypotheses, data collection tools, and analytical plan are all developed prior to conducting research. TOP DOWN PROCESS: first identify a theory, then develop hypotheses, then test.
what is the inductive approach to research?
BOTTOM UP PROCESS: gather data, then look for patterns and emerging themes, then develop a theory that could explain those patterns, then develop strategies and hypotheses.
which approach to research posits that the research process may evolve? (inductive or deductive) explain
inductive- recruitment strategies and inclusion criteria, data collection tools, and analytical strategies can change during data collection. some research steps will need to be changed as you go
is the following research question subjectivist or objectivist? what is the role of City of Vancouver managers in the emergency management department in enabling positive community relationships?
objectivist
is the following research question subjectivist or objectivist? what is the effect of the city of Vancouver’s corporate culture in enabling EMD managers to develop a positive relationship with the local community?
subjectivist
what are the two main subsections of epistemology
positivist and interpretivist philosophies
which paradigm uses the analogy of the theatre? and what is the analogy of the theatre?
interps. people interpret their social roles in relationship, and give meaning to those roles, like how actors interpret the parts they play in a specific way.
which research paradigm is interested in how people come to socially agree or disagree about what is real or true?
social constructivists
t/f- the social constructivist paradigm is individualistic- explain
false- the ways that people work to change the meanings we construct is of as much interest as how they were created in the first place. REALITY IS CREATED COLLECTIVELY
which approach to research starts with a set of observations and moves from those particular experiences to a more general set of propositions about those experiences (i.e. move from data to theory or from the specific to the general)?
inductive
what are the 2 aims of basic research?
- answer some meaningful question, either fundamental or applied;
- builds on previous studies and from an organized body of knowledge
what is a literature review
a research about everything that has been done and written about a particular topic
what are the 3 aims of a lit review
- survey everything that has been done about a particular topic;
- analyze and synthesize info about key themes and issues (what and how has been done and what can and should be done next);
- tells you about knowledge, problems, and methods
what are lit reviews useful for (10)
- advise about the state of knowledge on a topic;
- give context for your research;
- justify your research (show the issue is prevalent);
- ensure novelty in research (make sure it hasn’t been conducted and will significantly contribute);
- show where your research fits into the existing body of knowledge;
- help you learn from previous theories (help guide what variables are important to account for, the relationship btw them, what theories have been applied);
- illustrate how the topic has been studied previously (what paradigms and methods were used and how they help explain it);
- highlight flaws and gaps in previous research;
- show how your research can contribute to current knowledge in a field;
- contribute to move topic in a new direction (identify problems and think about how they can be improved)
what are the 5 steps to conducting a lit review
- identify a topic of interest and the associated key concepts and keywords;
- develop a search strategy that can be used in scientific databases;
- place the search strategy in scientific databases;
- identify the relevant results;
- critically read the relevant research articles (consider biases and limitations)- identify gaps.
what are 6 considerations when critically reading articles
- who the leaders are in this field of study,
- how key concepts are defined,
- which theories have been developed and applied,
- what methods have been used to study the topic,
- note the research design, participants, and results,
- note limitations and gaps
what to do in a lit review once all articles have been critically read
- compare arguments, theories, methods, and findings;
- similarities and dissimilarities;
- contrast the various arguments, theories, methods, etc.;
- critique the lit by identifying limitations, gaps, understand why certain things bring limitations, which approaches and methods seem most reliable, what has been adapted for certain research concepts and why;
- connect the various studies
when is exploratory research useful (4)
you are in the initial steps of a research program, there is little prior research on a topic, you want to study a new issue, a topic has been explored but not in a specific context or population of interest
which kind of research is helpful to learn about the existence of a new issue or understudied issue?
exploratory
which kind of research is helpful to orient future, more precise, and extensive research and inform on recruitment, participants, data collection methods and tools?
exploratory research
what kind of research methods (qualitative or quantitative) is typically used during exploratory research? explain
qualitative- because they allow people to express more openly and tools are more adaptive and open
when is descriptive research useful? (3)
a phenomenon exists, but we don’t know how it expresses itself, the characteristics of a population are unknown, the characteristics of a phenomenon are unknown
which kind of research is helpful to characterize the population or a sample?
descriptive
which kind of research is helpful to characterize an environment of a phenomenon?
descriptive
what kind of research methods (qualitative or quantitative) are best during descriptive research?
both
when is explanatory research useful? (2)
the reason of an event is misunderstood, the relationship between two variables is unclear
which kind of research is helpful to understand the ‘why’ of a phenomenon?
explanatory
which kind of research is helpful to identify causes and effects of variables?
explanatory research
which kind of research is helpful to predict future occurrences?
explanatory
does explanatory research typically use quantitative or qualitative research methods?
quantitative
is “what are the effects of PTSD on firefighters in Ontario?” a good research question?- explain. if not what would a better one be?
no it’s too broad and it would be difficult to develop a research methodology. a better question would be what are the social effects of PTSD on the family of firefighters in Ontario
what are the 3 steps to operationalize a research question?
- identify the main concepts you’re interested in (and tel how you will measure the concepts);
- choose a variable that represents each concept;
- identify specific indicators for each variable (id variables for each concept- must be measurable)
what are the 3 strenghts of operationalization
- facilitates measurement;
- standardized approach
- reliability
what are the 3 limitations of operationalization
different ways of defining, thus different ways of measuring, which causes a lack of universality that makes it hard to compare results
when do you use hypotheses?
when you expect a relationship between variables
if a research gap/limitation is that something is unknown what kind of research question should you use?
exploratory
if a research gap/limitation is that there is a lack of knowledge which type of research question should you use?
descriptive
if a research gap/limitation is that the topic is not understood what kind of research question should you use?
explanatory
what is the differene between normative and empirical statements in a research question
normative statements are judgemental whereas empirical statements are informative and facts-based
t/f- normative statements and empirical statements should never be together
false- normative statements can underlie empirical statements
what kind of research would you use if the problem was “the quality of service is declining and we don’t know why”
exploratory
what kind of research would you use if the problem was “what have been the trends in organizational downsizing over the past 10 years”
descriptive
what kind of research would you use if the problem was “which of two training programs is more effective for reducing labour turnover”
explanatory
what kind of research would you use if the problem was “would ppl be interested in our new product idea”
exploratory
what kind of research would you use if the problem was “did last year’s product recall have an impact on our company’s share price”
descriptive
what kind of research would you use if the problem was “can I predict the value of energy stocks if I know the current dividends and growth rates of dividends”
explanatory
what kind of research would you use if the problem was “how important is business process reengineering as a strategy”
exploratory
what kind of research would you use if the problem was “has the average merger rate for financial institutions increased in the past decade”
descriptive
what kind of research would you use if the problem was “do buyers prefer our product in a new package”
explanatory
is “how many paramedics were registered in the province of BC in 2017?” a good research question. if not explain why and propose a better one
no it’s too narrow because it can be answered with a simple statistic. a better one would be “what factors lead individuals to choose paramedics as professions in BC?” this question demonstrates that the correct amount of specificity and the results would provide the opportunity for an argument to be formed
is “how much money does the average downtown Vancouver store spend on security guards?” a good research question. if not explain why and propose a better one
too objective- it may allow the researcher to collect data but doesn’t lend itself to collecting data that can be used to create a valid argument because the data is just factual information. a better one would be “what is the relationship between security spending and product loss through theft at downtown Vancouver stores?” this is a more subjective question that may lead to the formation of an argument based on the results and analysis of the data
is “what are municipal govs. doing to address the problem of sexism?” a good research question. if not explain why and propose a better one
it’s too simple- the info can be found without the need to collect unique data. the question could probs be answered with an online search and doesn’t give an opportunity for analysis. a better question would be “what is the relationship between the 2017-2018 publicized incidents of sexism in the RCMP and the number of females applying for entry to police departments in St. John’s Newfoundland?” which is more complex and requires both investigation and evaluation of sexism and females applying to police departments in that place, which will lead the researcher to produce more valuable and specific research
def. of hypothesis
a statement, sometimes but not always casual, describing a researcher’s expectations regarding anticipated finding
t/f- researchers following a deductive approach to their research will hypothesize about what they expect to find based on the theory or theories that frame their study
true
what is a null hypothesis
one that predicts no relationship between the variables being studied
what is the goal with the hypotheses in quantitative research
to empirically test hypotheses generated from theory
what is the goal with the hypotheses in qualitative research
researcher may begin with some vague expectations about what he/she will find but THEORY DEVELOPMENT OR CONSTRUCTION IS THE GOAL
when is reflexivity primarily used
in qualitative and participatory research approaches
t/f- subjectivity influences the research process, research results, and knowledge development- explain
true, the perspective and experiences of the researcher may have benefits
what problems may arise when a researcher fails to account for subjectivity
it can lead to unrepresentative results and harm
what is reflexivity
a way to account or the researchers’ subjectivity- “a set of continuous, collaborative, and multifaceted practices through which researchers self-consciously critique, appraise, and evaluate how their subjectivity and context influence the research processes”
what are the aims of reflexivity (3 different perspectives)
- neutralize the impact of researcher’s subjectivity (be more objective)
- acknowledging subjectivity and be conscious about how it influences the research process (explicitly showing how the researchers subjectivity does influence each step of the research process)
- benefit from our past experiences/knowledge to improve the research (explain the impact and demonstrate how personal past experiences, values, etc. can be mobilized to improve the research process)
what does the researcher reflect on in personal reflexivity (7)
- personal interests and passions,
- personal values and beliefs,
- motivations (for conducting particular research),
- perceptions about the research topic and popultion,
- prejudices and stereotypes,
- significant past experiences,
- ## expectations regarding the research results
t/f- during reflexivity you just disclose the points- explain
false- you have to talk about how they influence you process, results, etc. and any positive or negative influences
what does the researcher reflect on during interpersonal reflexivity (3)
- their relationship with the target pop. (ex. social proximity, contact, etc.)
- importance given to scientific vs. experiential expertise,
- power dynamics
what does the researcher reflect on in methodological reflexivity
the impacts of methodological decisions- understand what they allow you to do/not do, and understand their strenghts and limitations
what kind of reflexivity influences the selection of a research topic and selection of a target pop?
personal, and then personal and interpersonal
what kind of reflexivity should be considered in developing a research question and then a research design?
personal, personal and interpersonal
what kind of reflexivity should be considered during data collection and analysis
personal, interpersonal, and methodological
