research design Flashcards
what is research design?
the plan, structure and strategy of conducting a research project
what is the research process?
- lit review/theoretical framework
- research question
- data collection prep (ethical etc)
- data collection
- data analysis
- dissemination and discussion of findings
what do all academic studies do?
start with a review of existing literature
what is theory?
a group of ideas that aims to explain something (Clark)
what is deductive research?
tests existing theory (theory, hypothesis, observation, confirmation)
what is inductive research?
generates new theory emerging from the data (observation, pattern, tentative hypothesis, theory)
what is data collection?
gathering data from the sample with the aim of providing answers to the research question (Clark)
what is data analysis?
the management, analysis and interpretation of the data (Clark)
what are the different research design types?
- experimental
- longitudinal (collecting data more than once)
- cross-sectional (collecting data on a sample of cases and at a single point in time e.g. surveys)
- case study
- comparative
what is the difference between primary and secondary research?
primary research: the researchers responsible for collecting data
secondary research: data is already collected and available (Clark)
what does empirical studies mean?
involves fieldwork e.g. collecting data rather than looking purely at theory
(in contrast to theoretical work which mainly builds ideas from prior work)
when does a secondary source become a primary source?
if the person, context or technique that produced the source is the main focus of your research
what is a research question?
question providing an explicit statement of what the researcher wants to know about
where can a research question be found?
usually in the title, abstract or just before the methodological section
