UNDERSTANDING RESEARCH METHODS
by Mildred Patten
WHY STUDY RESEARCH METHODS?
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Leaders rely on research to make decisions
Must be able to sort/evaluate info
Often conduct research in job
Lifestyle decisions based on research
Need to read/report research for classes
Empirical Research
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Simple observations can be misleading
Plan systematic observation (so not misled)
 Why observe - need for study (purpose/significance)
 Who observe - population or a sample of one, not biased against any
subgroup (subjects)
 How observe - tests, interviews, surveys, direct observation (measurement
in numbers or words)
 When observe - existing groups or experimental ones (descriptive or cause
and effect research design)
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Process is to describe existing situation (literature),
produce new data (empirical data collection), draw
conclusions
Experimental Versus Non-Experimental
Studies
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Experiments – treat then observe changes in behavior – to
establish cause and effect
Two groups assigned at random (equal chance to be in either
group)
Treatment group (experimental group) behavior observed versus
control group behavior
Quasi-experimental (causal-comparative) has no randomization
Randomization essential in TRUE experiments!!!
Non-Experimental Research
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No treatments given
Observe and describe
Often called descriptive research
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The type of measurement used does not indicate whether
or not research is experimental
Cause and effect determined by true experiments, only
suggested by quasi
Experimental Versus Causal Comparative
Studies
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Experiments establish cause and effect
Often unable to experiment due to legal, ethical, physical,
financial reasons
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Alternatives ► Quasi-Experimental
See an effect that has occurred
Look at past to determine cause
(ex post facto research)
Use controls such as matching
Dangers in Quasi-Experimental Studies (aka
Causal-Comparative)
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Common cause for both the cause and the effect being
investigated
stress causes smoking and cancer
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Difficult to establish that experimental and control groups
are equivalent
Essentially observational or descriptive, BUT goes a step
further to explore causality
Types Of Non-Experimental Research
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Causal Comparative (quasi-experimental) – describe existing
differences, try to identify cause
Survey/poll (descriptive) – observe and describe attitudes, opinions,
behaviors (can be self-observation)
Case study – in depth study of one case (individ/group)
Longitudinal research – observe same subjects over a long time period
Correlational – observe relationships, make predictions
Historical – examine existing data to test hypotheses
Topics 1-4
REVIEW QUESTIONS
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What does empirical research mean?
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What is the purpose of experimental research?
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What is the difference in experimental and causal comparative (or quasi-experimental)
research?
What is the difference between experimental and non-experimental research?
If I conduct a study of students to determine their attitudes toward tuition rates, what type of
study is this?
Variables In Non-Experimental Research
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Variable – A trait that can vary/change
Categorical variables (gender)
 Mutually exclusive (no overlapping categories)
 Exhaustive (all possible choices provided)
Quantitative (grade point average)
 Measure in real numbers
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Independent versus dependent (in causal investigations)
Cause is independent
Variables In Experimental Studies
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Experiments have AT LEAST one independent variable (IV) and one
dependent variable (DV)
Experiments investigate how a change in the IV affects the DV
 IV is manipulated and change in the DV is measured
 Non-experimental studies have no manipulation
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Simple experiment = one IV and one DV
 Complex = more than one IV or DV
Topics 5-6
REVIEW QUESTIONS
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What type of variable (Categorical or Quantitative) is gender? test score?
race? times logged on to the library site?
 Gender
test score
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What is an independent variable (IV)?
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What is a dependent variable (DV)?
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race
times logged
If I want to examine whether incentives affect productivity, what variable is
the IV (and DV)?
Research Hypotheses, Purposes, And
Questions
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Research hypothesis predicts the outcome of a study
Directional (one group will score higher)
 Direction is based on previous research
 Null hypothesis tested statistically
Non-directional (a difference will be found)
 Research purpose or research question often used here
 Research questions should be interesting
(how groups differ, not simply do they differ)
Operational Definitions
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Conceptual or constitutive – dictionary meaning
Operational – specific steps used to measure the variable
A matter of degree
Strive to allow replication of the study
Replication by other researchers enhances confidence in results
Topics 7-8
REVIEW QUESTIONS
What is a research hypothesis?
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It is hypothesized that athletes will have higher GPAs than non-athletes. Is
this a research question or a hypothesis?
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Explain the difference between operational and conceptual or constitutive
definitions.
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If I define intelligence as the number of minutes it takes a person to solve a
puzzle, is this a conceptual or operational definition?
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Quantitative v. Qualitative Research (Part I)
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Quantitative
 Deductive (read literature, deduce hypothesis, test)
 Structured measures (surveys use numbers)
 Large sample (subjects); generalize to population
 Researcher removed from process
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Qualitative
 Inductive (observe local situation, propose theory)
 Unstructured data collection (words/themes)
 Small sample; limit conclusions to group studied
 Researcher involved (participants); individual quotes
Quantitative v. Qualitative Research (Pt. II)
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Research Questions (RQ) dictate type
If RQ unclear or little is known in literature, may need qualitative
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Time/Money/Subject availability
Limited subject availability means quantitative
Qualitative takes more time and money
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Often combine both
Initial qualitative investigation leads to quantitative
Topics 9-10
REVIEW QUESTIONS
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If I want to determine how much people tend to pay for new cars, is this likely
to be quantitative or qualitative research?
If I want to see why police officers fail to give DUI tickets to drivers who are
obviously impaired, is this better suited to qualitative or quantitative?
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Surveys tend to what kind of research?
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What type of research has the greatest potential for researcher bias?
Program Evaluation
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Evaluation Research (not usually experimental)
Applied (not basic) research
Includes needs assessment (of those served)
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Formative – evaluate (modify) during program
Process is evaluated (how implementing)
Progress is evaluated (goal attainment)
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Summative – end of program goal attainment (may have
comparison group)
Ethical Considerations in Research
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Standards followed in research community
 Protect subjects from physical/psychological harm
 Review committees used for legal protection
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Subjects have rights (privacy, confidentiality, knowledge of
purpose)
 Informed consent required (tell general purpose/benefits; procedures
used; potential harm; right to withdraw/refuse without penalty)
 Debriefing needed after study (review purpose; offer to share results;
assure confidentiality)
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Hidden purpose often needed (ethical dilemmas)
Role of Theory in Research
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Theory – unified explanation for discrete observations
Researchers test theories
Deduce hypotheses from theories and test with observations
(confirm/reject hypothesis – quantitative mainly)
Induce theory from observations (called grounded theory – used
in qualitative)
Topics 11-13
REVIEW QUESTIONS
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What is the difference between formative and summative evaluation?
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What are the rights of subjects in research?
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Explain the concept of informed consent:
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Deducing hypotheses to test theories is done in quantitative or qualitative
research?
PART B- REVIEWING LITERATURE
(first step in planning research)
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Start with broad problem area
Review both theoretical and research literature
Helps narrow scope and develop research questions or hypotheses
to test
Can replicate other studies (mimic original)
 Modified replication (new/modified population/instrument)
 Focus on conflict identified in literature
Benefits to Reviewing Literature
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Identify measurement instruments to use
 Avoid dead-ends and wasted efforts
 Learn how to write research reports
Cite relevant literature in the Introduction
 provides context for reader and justifies doing study
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Reviewing literature demonstrates your expertise (located it, used
it in planning, cited it correctly)
Locating Literature Electronically
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Articles are more up-to-date than books
ERIC, PsychLit, SocioFile (discussed in textbook)
Infotrac I (OneFile), ABI-Inform (our library)
Each article is a record, made of fields (title, author, date,
descriptors)
Best searching requires good descriptors (use a thesaurus to find
them)
Use of Boolean Operators (AND, OR, NOT) helps to narrow
searches
Organizing a Literature Review
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Describe broad problem area and define major terms
Establish importance of topic by
 Citing other research that shows it is important enough to study
 Citing statistics showing broad application of topic
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Write topic-by-topic description (w/ headings/subhds)
 Group references together when about a common topic
 Include both methods used and results found in previous studies
 Sometimes need to trace the history of topic
 Summarize the topic at the end and indicate relevance to your study
 Move from least related to most related topics
Preparing to Write a Critical Review
(Note that this is NOT a series of reports on articles/books)
 The lit. review is a CRITICAL assessment of literature
on a topic
 Your assessment of the studies reviewed should show
through in your discussion of them
 Discuss both weak and strong points of studies reviewed (incl.
sampling/instrument/limitations)
 See Examples in textbook
Creating a Synthesis (in writing Lit. Review)
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Provide a whole picture of what is known about the topic
An outline of subtopics is useful
Move from subtopic to subtopic…each paragraph should be organized around a topic (first
sentence of each paragraph is the topic sentence!)
Cite together numerous authors making the same point
Might devote a whole paragraph to important and central sources
Give limited details on research methods to explain differences in findings, but criticize such
things as small or biased samples
Provide specific definitions for technical terms
Use quotations sparingly
Use transitional terms/phrases (As a consequence…; therefore…)
Follow style manual for citing references carefully and consistently (APA)
Citing References
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Harvard method (using author, date referencing) is the most
common
APA uses it and gives guidelines in APA manual
Key characteristics (see text Examples 1-5)
Last name can be subject of sentence (emphasizes authorship)
Content can be subject (authors not emphasized)
Use authors as subject when compare/contrast
Reference list includes only those cited in text!
Topics 14-18 REVIEW QUESTIONS
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What’s the first step in reviewing the literature?
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What are the benefits of reviewing the literature
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What purpose do citations serve?
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Why are refereed articles so important in reviewing the literature?
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Explain the difference between an annotated bibliography and a written literature review: