QUIZ 1 Flashcards
how do we generate reliable knowledge?
by using the scientific method
observation–> ordering and classifying of facts–> generalizations –> hypothesis making –> testing –> verification –> knowledge
steps to designing research
problem–> question of interest –> specific predictions –> methods and research design –> data collection –> data analysis –> interpretation
research design example
migration and changes on agricultural patterns in Oaxaca, mexico
problem in Oaxaca
Is the arrival of remittances from migrants
changing the agricultural strategies of Zapotec
communities?
Oaxaca specific qs
what kind of changes are being implemented?
Oaxaca context
- place: mountains of Oaxaca
- Socioeconomic context: demographic
and economic collapse - Ecological issues: landscape ecology
oaxaca problem
Socioeconomic context results on
changes pressures over environment
Oaxaca variables
Relevant fields of inquire: agriculture
strategies, population, cash, commodities,
land cover
Oaxaca methods of data collection
1) Aerial picture analysis for land cover change
2) Demographic descriptive statistics and life stories
3) Tax records and mapping
4) Household income analysis
Question of Interest
oaxaca research design
Unit of analysis: individual/ household/
extended family
Timing of the process (1960s onwards), of the
research (seasonality?)
Scale: small community + multilocal
Sample: number of households
Question of Interest
Oaxaca results
- There is a clear process of forest
transition
People left
- Remittances are a fundamental part
of the local household economies
- Cultivar portfolio has changed (less
types of crops, less area devoted to
cultivation)
what is interdisciplinary research ?
Crosses traditional boundaries
between fields
research questions define…
context, scale, timing and history (process)
-variables, sample strategy, methods
classic research question problems
- Concept definition
- Required spatial scale of analysis
- Temporality (of event and of
research) - Goal definition
independent variable
initial variable of
which we know its changes
dependent variable
results on another
variable depending on the changes of the independent
variable
constants
value that doe snot change
either a reality or an assumption
process (diachronic studies)
the idea that things change across time
- time is an accumulation of points
process: consequences of synchronic studies
limits analysis of flows ( trends; predictions; patterns)
- idea of variability cannot be detached from the concept of process
process: questions and time
- temporality (diachronic/ synchronic)
- longitudinal vs cross-sectional
- repetitive relevance (ex: annual, seasonal)
- temporal scale (short to long term)
questions and space = scale of question
- Macro (relative to the question and
context) - Micro (relative to the question and context)
- Networked research (links between relevant
nodes) - Multiscalar research (links between different
scale levels)
breaking down research
variables (dependent/
independent)
Constants
Context
Process in time (history/ change)
Process in space
Evidence (data)
Sampling
what does time and space refer to in research Q?
- Demography across time
- Demography across space and
time - Redefining scale
what is replicability ?
The notion that same methods, same
locale, should generate the same results