research problem Flashcards
refers to the way that people and their behavior are studied. It aims to build and test theory about empirical data
science
the scientific study of people, their interactions, and their contexts. It aims to build theories about data on people, their behavior and their contexts.
Social science
using social science research approaches to study educational
processes, relations and settings
Education and the social sciences
Theoretical underpinnings in educational research
the belief that objective accounts of the world can be given, and that function of
science is to develop explanations in the form of universal laws, that is, to develop nomothetic
knowledge
Positivism
– concentrates on the meanings people
bring to situations and behavior, and which they use to
understand their world
Interpretivism
realities are local, specific and constructed; they are socially and
experientially based, and depend on the individuals or groups holding them
Constructivism
2 ways to plan a research project
Paradigm-driven approach
Question-driven approach
– one way is to begin with a paradigm, understand and articulate it, and develop research questions and methods from it.
Paradigm-driven approach
the other
way is to begin with a research questions
that need answers and then to choose
methods for answering them
Question-driven approach
the questions may come from any
source – the literature, existing from
phenomenon, the media, personal experience
and so on.
- empirical research
Question-driven approach
Researching in your own classroom, school or college
Advantages
- Convenience
- Access and consent
- Relevance
- Insider knowledge and understanding
Researching in your own classroom, school or college
Disadvantages
- Bias and Subjectivity
- Vested interest in the results
- Generalizability
- Ethics
provide the backbone of the empirical
procedures and the organizing principle for the report.
Research questions
5 Hierarchy of Concepts
- Statement or research area
- Definition of research topic
- General research questions
- Specific research questions
- Data collection questions
❑ Usually stated in a few words or sometimes
just one word
RESEARCH AREA
❑ Example: Absenteeism from school
❑ youth culture in high schools
❑ living with HIV-AIDS academic success and
failure at university
❑ Youth suicide
few words but usually describe more
about the research area.
❑ It falls within the area. It is an aspect or
part of an area but not the only topic
within the area.
RESEARCH TOPIC
-More abstract
-usually not answerable
-too broad
-requires ‘unpacking’ into specific questions using “indicators”
-answered indirectly
GENERAL QUESTIONS
-specific
-detailed
-concrete
-directly answerable
-direct empirical procedures
specific questions
The role of research questions
- organize project and give direction and coherence
- delimits project
- keep focused
- framework for writing
- point to the needed data
The Role of the literature
- the literature itself becomes an input to
the analysis and planning - can be a fruitful source of
concepts, theories and evidence about a
topic but it can also influence how we
look at the topic
they can be easily understood and are not ambiguous
clear
– their concepts are at a specific enough level to connect
to data indicators
specific
– in the sense that they are answerable with data – we can see what data are required to answer them, and how the data
will be obtained
empirical
they are related to each other in some
meaningful way, rather than being unconnected
interconnected
they are interesting and worthwhile
questions for the investment of research effort
Substantively relevant
It is a representation, either graphically or in narrative form of the main concepts or
variables, and their presumed relationship
with each other.
conceptual frameworks
❑ It is often shown as a diagram
❑ Development of research questions and
conceptual framework goes hand in hand
conceptual framework
benefits of conceptual framework
- clarity of research questions with focus
- make explicit what we know and think about research area andtopic
- make research proposal simple and convincing
- encourages selection,
Characteristics of Related Literature Material
- articles must be recent as possible
- objective and unbiased
- relevant
- based on original and true facts or data
