 Why do Research?
Chapter 1
 On What Basis Do You Make Decisions?
 Research can help you to:
 Make better decisions about daily life
 Understand events in the larger world around you
 Decide professional issues
 See how public policy and judicial decisions are made
 Assist in developing and assessing the effectiveness of goal-oriented programs
 Evaluate research reported in the media
 Conduct research
 Research is
 a process using specific principles and techniques to create knowledge
 a body of knowledge
 Looking at the Word Research
 Answer each of the following statements with A = yes, B = no
 It is fun and exciting.
 It is difficult and mysterious.
 It is practical and relevant.
 It is valuable and rewarding.
 It is a waste of time and effort.
 It is always correct.
 How Do We Know What We Know?
 Research is
 a process using specific principles and techniques to create knowledge
 a body of knowledge
 Ways of Knowing
 Tenacity
 Intuition
 Authority
 Skepticism, science and the empirical approach
 How Do We Know What We Know?
 Ways of Knowing Without Research
 Prone to misjudgment, bias and distortion
 Media can distort research or social issues and make them confusing
 Understanding Research
 Research is an on-going process of search and working towards truth
 Research is a (slow) process that results in a product
 Research is not 100% foolproof.
 How Do We Know What We Know?
 Developing Critical Thinking Skills
 Critical thinking = a highly aware perspective that tries to
 avoid fallacies
 reveal assumptions
 adopt multiple viewpoints
 keep an open mind while questioning simple solutions
 How Do We Know What We Know?
 Developing Critical Thinking Skills
 Critical thinking uses a special type of argument called empirical evidence
 Argument = set of logically connected statements that start simple and end in a clear
conclusion.
 Empirical evidence = evidence of actual events occurring in the world, that come from
direct or indirect observations.
 How Do We Know What We Know?
 Characteristics of pseudoscience
 Hypotheses generated are not typically testable
 If scientific tests are reported, methodology is not scientific and validity of data is
questionable
 Supportive evidence is anecdotal and does not cite scientific references
 Claims ignore conflicting evidence
 Claims tend to be vague, and appeal to pre-conceived ideas
 Claims are never revised
Is it a duck? Does it quack
http://quasar.as.utexas.edu/BillInfo/Quack.html
 How Do We Know What We Know?
Characteristics of Pseudoscience (Lilienfeld, Lynn and Lohr, 2003)
 Overuse of ad hoc hypotheses to escape refutation
 Emphasis on confirmation rather than refutation
 Absence of self correction
 Reversed burden of proof
 Overreliance on testimonials and anecdotal evidence
 Use of obscurantist language
 Absence of connectivity with other disciplines
 What is Empirical Research?
 “Research” versus Empirical Research
 Research:
 Closely reading and studying specific documents
 Gathering preexisting information from academic journals or official
government sources and making sense of it
 A process of applying accepted techniques and principles
 Applying critical thinking and adopting an orientation
 What is Empirical Research?
 “Research” versus Empirical Social Research
 Empirical Social Research:
 All of the above, plus
 Results stated in terms of probabilities or likelihoods
 Evidence based
 Constantly changing
 What is Empirical Research?
 What is Evidence?
 Quantitative Data = evidence in the form of numbers.
 Qualitative Data = evidence in the form of visual images, words or sounds.
 What is Empirical Research?
 Research is a Process that Results in a Product
 The product is knowledge or information.
 Research results are answers to questions.
 Good research raises new questions.
 What is Empirical Research?
 Varieties of Research
 Quantitative data collection techniques: Evidence in the form of numbers
 Experiments
 Surveys
 Content analysis
 Existing statistical sources
 What is Empirical Research?
 Varieties of Social Research
 Qualitative data collection techniques: Evidence in the form of visual images, words or
sounds
 Ethnographic Field Research
 Historical-Comparative Research
 Fit the Question You Want to Answer With a Type of Research
 Exploratory Research = research into a new topic to develop a general understanding and
refining ideas for future research
 Descriptive Research = research that presents a quantitative or qualitative picture of an event,
activity or group
 Fit the Question You Want to Answer With a Type of Research
 Explanatory Research = research that attempts to test theory or develop a new accounting of
why activities, events or relations occur as they do
 Evaluation Research = applied research that is designed to learn whether a program, product or
policy does what it claims to do
 Fit the Question You Want to Answer With a Type of Research
 How to Use Research
 Basic Research = research to extend basic understanding and fundamental knowledge about the
world by creating and testing theories
 Applied Research = research to answer a specific practical question and give usable answers in
the short term
 How to Use Research
 Comparing Basic and Applied Research
 Neither is considered superior to the other
 Applied research is often guided by theories and findings of basic research
 Findings in applied settings often require modification of existing theories and spur more
basic research
 Basic research is crucial to public policy
 Steps in the Research Process