Academic Skills Advice
MA and MSc:
Research Design
This workshop will:
- Help you begin to understand the basics of research
approaches
- Offer hints and tips in getting to grips with quantitative
and qualitative methods
- Discuss basic ethical considerations that may need to be
taken into account
- Provide initial tips for those considering secondary, rather
than primary, dissertations and projects
Teaching points:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
The research design process
Philosophies and theories
Research approaches
Research methods
Sampling
Bias
Ethical considerations
Secondary research
Reflection
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1. The research design process
Research design is a process, including the generation of a plan, with a number of
stages all playing their part enabling you to find an answer to your research
problem.
Your research design involves both the way that you prepare and conduct your
research to find the answer to your research question or test your hypothesis.
Setting up a Master’s research project includes:

Your methodology – the principles that inform the way you make choices and
decisions in designing, undertaking and writing up your research

Your choice of raw material – documents, data or characteristics for
participant selection

Your chosen methods – including any conditions you create for undertaking
your research

Your methods of recording information – at each stage of your research

Analytical methods to employ – e.g. statistical approaches, formulae or
analytical techniques you apply to your raw data or source materials

Data storage and management – the conditions under how you maintain and
store your data
Conducting the research involves additional thought about:

Ethical considerations – e.g. informed consent, confidentiality and anonymity,
and many more aspects

Bias – from sampling to analysis
Although each of these will be discussed separately, many are connected.
2. Philosophies and theories
Before we move onto the individual stages above, we will briefly look at two ideas
that underpin all research: what exists in the world and how we know about what
exists. Ontology and epistemology are terms which make many post-graduate
students shudder, but don’t panic. They can be summed up as:

Ontology relates to our perception of the world. It is whether we believe the
world is knowable and measurable and that everyone shares in the same
sense of reality OR the belief that the world is perceived differently by
individuals. It is about what we are looking at.
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
Epistemology explores ways of knowing and the difficulty of knowing. It
asks questions, such as do we learn by being ‘told’ passively or do we come
to know things through experience? This leads to further questions about
how we might go about finding things out. It is about how we look and find
out about something/s.
These two concepts lead us to understand that nothing is certain, so it is wise not to
be over-confident with your research conclusions.
Coming to a decision about how we see the world and how we learn will lead you to
down one of two paradigm paths. There’s another word post-graduates don’t like –
paradigm. It is simply a word that describes the ways we think about and research
the world. At one time, the two central paradigms, positivism and interpretivism,
were dealt with as separate and competing explanations of how we see the world
and learn about it, but philosophers and researchers accept they now happily coexist.
Positivists believe that knowledge can be obtained objectively, i.e. what we see
and hear is straightforwardly perceived and recordable; that we are able to observe,
measure and study the world ‘scientifically’. This means the researcher is
‘distanced’ from the research subject to maintain objectivity. This forms the basis
of the scientific methods, among others.
Interpretivism reveals the world as a construct we perceive as individuals because
we attach different meanings to everything. Therefore, we cannot use the same
‘scientific’ method of measurement, but need to consider people and how they
interrelate, by looking at what they say and their behaviour to discover meaning.
This means the researcher is ‘closer’ to the participants and may be subjective in
their interpretation.
So you can see how decisions relating to ontology and epistemology lead to different
paradigms being adopted.
Let’s sum up what we have covered in the research design process.
Ontology: Perception of the world
Epistemology: Ways of knowing
Paradigm:
PositivistStudy world in a detached and objective way
Paradigm:
InterpretivistStudy world close up and subjectively
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This will help you to make a decision about which research approach to take, and
therefore which methods and tools to use, i.e. qualitative or quantitative. In
short,
 qualitative methods aim to develop understandings of meanings, and
usually work with ‘soft’ data such as words, images, sounds, etc.
 quantitative methods identify and make sense of patterns in ‘hard’
data in the form of numbers, such as measurements.
So, in a very basic way, you could describe quantitative methods as following a
positivistic paradigm and qualitative coming from interpretivism. (More on
quantitative and qualitative approaches and methods later).
Before we finish, a quick word about the ‘ologies’, paradigms, and the two ‘Qs’: they
should not be your starting point when deciding on a research question or
hypothesis, and it makes sense for them not to be. The focus should be on what you
want to find out and the best way to obtain that information, and not the following
scenario:
‘I believe we all see the world in the same way and learn through information being
provided directly, so I will study from a detached and objective point using a method
involving statistical data. Right, what research project could I choose to do that?’
So the model actually looks a bit more like this…
Practical
top
down:
What you
want to
find out
and how
Research question
Methodology/
methods
Methodology/
methods
Quantitative
approach
Qualitative
approach
Paradigm
Epistemology
Ontology
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Philosophical
bottom up:
The world,
knowledge
and
approaches
to research
Academic Skills Advice
On top of all this, is the use of theory, either to suggest or support your choices for
your research project and activity, or to suggest explanations for your findings. It
can be difficult for post-graduate students to know how to use theory, with many
trying to ‘shoe horn’ it into their assignments and dissertations as they know their
tutors/supervisors will expect to see it.
A couple of examples of how theory could help are:
 My research project centred on why some students do not engage with the
Academic Skills Advice Service, and their reasons for not using us, so that we
can then improve our methods of publicity to raise awareness and hopefully
attendance.
 I have no idea what the outcomes would be but my research of the literature
presented some possible explanations of why students do not engage. One of
these was a theory of practice by Bourdieu, which suggests people are unable
to escape the status they have from birth. This is linked to another theory on
how people’s actions are influenced by both the language and behaviour of
others. Therefore, one possible reason for students not engaging is because
their peers don’t, or their lecturers’ may not have suggested the Service, or
they have low expectations of themselves due to their social background. So,
theory could help me after my research activity.
 Alternatively, I could be unsure what research project to undertake within the
field of student access and success. If I read Marx’s theory relating to the
oppression of the working classes by the elite, this could lead to a research
project regarding how Bradford University encourages students from nontraditional backgrounds to consider the institution as an option. So theory
could help me before my research activity.
Theory
Research
Question
Insert theory here
Data
collection
& analysis
OR
Findings
Theory
Insert theory here
Above section adapted from Thomas (2013)
3. Research approaches
Let’s get back to qualitative and quantitative approaches. To recap, qualitative
methods are about interpretation of meaning from people using words, pictures, etc.
and quantitative methods find patterns in numerical data.
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Activity 1: Q v Q
Read the following statements and decide which are advantages or disadvantages
for quantitative or qualitative approaches. Each is allocated a letter; please jot down
the letter of the statement in the box under the appropriate heading.
Quantitative
Advantages
Disadvantages
Qualitative
Advantages
Disadvantages
A. They are useful for in-depth analysis of individual people, businesses, events
and occurrences.
B. Projects that use quantitative approaches are generally easier to plan and to
contain in size, making them ideal for student projects.
C. They enable study on a broader scale, such as through online surveys,
generating large amounts of data which can be analysed relatively easily
using relevant software.
D. The results can lack ecological validity (ie that methods, materials and setting
must approximate the real-world that is being examined rather than external
validity which relates to ability to generalise the research’s findings).
E. They can be unpredictable, making them harder to manage and contain.
F. They help establish patterns such as trends in behaviour, or in science,
‘universal laws’.
G. The research questions or hypotheses tend to be very precisely articulated,
allowing the possibility of precise answers.
H. They tend to more open-ended, allowing a greater set of responses to
emerge.
I. Findings may be useful to the particular case but not more generally
applicable.
J. They have greater ecological validity.
K. There is a risk of gaining rather banal results.
L. The scale of the research makes it easier to draw reasonably valid
generalisations in a relatively short timeframe.
M. Not everything is easily measured. There is a risk of gaining skewed
understanding of a phenomenon as a result of omitting those aspects that
can’t be measured.
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4. Research methods
You may already be aware of the many data collection methods available to you as
researchers, and you may have researched which could be most useful to you in
your project. There are two different types of methods – primary and secondary with
the first involving you undertaking empirical research, i.e. direct experience or
observation to generate findings. The latter entails using previous research from
others to find links, gaps and/or consensus between them to generate something
new (Punch 2010).
Activity 2: Data collection methods
In pairs or small groups, identify appropriate methods of data collection based on
the answers within the table above.
Use of primary or/and
secondary sources
Quantitative methods
Qualitative methods
You do not have to stick to quantitative OR qualitative methods as it is acceptable to
mix them to obtain fuller and richer detail. This is called a mixed methods approach.
There are some frameworks where it is often expected methods will be combined,
such as a case study.
Don’t forget to…


use the appropriate method to gain the type of data you want
ensure it is ‘fit for purpose’, i.e. it is suitable for the intended purpose
(questions are clear and understandable, or scales use appropriate
measurements)
Extract adapted from Dixon and Pearce (2010)
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Next, we will look at issues you should concern yourself with depending on whether
you are carrying out primary or secondary research. We will start with those relating
to primary research.
5. Sampling
Whether you chose to undertake quantitative or qualitative research, you will have
to make a decision about what or who you will be studying. However, how
representative your sample is does depend on which approach you take. For
quantitative research, you will want to generalise your results from your (relatively)
small sample to a wider population. So, you could say that because research
performed on 1000’s of cancer cells reveals feeding them custard inhibits growth, all
cancer cells will be similarly affected. Whereas in qualitative research, it is less about
broadening results outwards than looking at what individuals say or how they
behave, etc., so fewer numbers are required. As you can see, each approach has
sample group/s selected differently, and with different numbers of participants
required.
Remember, that the claims you can make from your data will be very different in
each case – avoid making generalisations on the basis of a small, unrepresentative
sample (Eve 2008).
Another consideration is how you can access whatever makes up your sample:
children, silver nitrate, students, false legs, etc. Who would you have to contact,
how would you obtain permission, what is the financial cost of access, what are the
ethical implications, and many other questions need to be answered and various
procedures gone through before you can start.
A final word on sampling and samples: if your research project has a qualitative
approach, you may come across other terms for ‘sample’. These could include
‘respondent group’ or ‘participatory cohort.’
6. Bias
Bias is anything which stops an impartial and balanced research process from taking
place. It can occur at any phase of research, from study design or data collection, to
data analysis and publication. As a post-graduate student, you must consider the
degree to which you can prevent bias, through proper study design and
implementation, or consider how it might influence your study’s conclusions.
In extreme cases, bias can cause readers to think one thing when the opposite is
true. For example, before 1988, many studies showed that hormone replacement
therapy (HRT) decreased the risk of heart disease among women who had gone
through the menopause. However, more recent studies, rigorously designed to
minimise bias, found the opposite, i.e. an increased risk of heart disease with HRT.
(Pannucci and Wilkins 2010)
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In quantitative research, the researcher tries to eliminate bias completely: in
qualitative research, it is all about understanding what will happen, acknowledging
the bias and trying to compensate for it.
There are many different ways in which bias can creep into research…
Design bias happens when the researcher does not take into account the inherent
or fundamental biases found in most experiments, and does not either try to lessen
their impact or take them into account when analysing results. For example, ignoring
or not compensating for the effect fluctuating Spring temperatures may have on the
decomposition of a body.
Selection or sampling bias: there are two types– omission and inclusive. In the
first, certain groups are omitted from the sample, e.g. ethnic minorities are excluded
or only ethnic minorities are studied. Of course, this can be a deliberate decision on
the researcher’s part, but you are expected to explain why you have made your
sampling choice (see below). The other occurs when samples are selected for
convenience, e.g. enlisting students outside a bar for a psychological study. In both
cases, the researcher must not generalise their results to a broader population.
The following are all forms of data collection bias:

Procedural bias: occurs when participants have pressure applied to them to
complete their responses quickly, e.g. employees being asked to complete
questionnaires during their break time.

Measurement bias: arises from an error in data collection and the process of
measurement. In quantitative research, this could be that an instrument has
not been properly calibrated or set (a faulty scale). Or more generally, any
research will have an unavoidable effect on a participant so the researcher
must assess the extent to which this happens, such as, respondents providing
more socially acceptable answers due to a fear of being judged, which could
then skew the results.

Interviewer or response bias (sometimes called researcher bias or participant
bias): derives from the researcher giving subconscious clues in questionnaire
or interview questions to attain the answer they hope for from the subjects.
Researchers may make assumptions about how questions or key words will
be interpreted or defined. Or the opposite – respondents provide the answers
they think researchers want to receive (Shuttleworth 2014).
7. Ethical considerations
You will find that many of your ethical considerations are connected, but let’s start
with a basic principle:
“Ethical practice requires the investigator to respect the individual’s freedom to
decline to participate in research.”
Faber and Beauchamp (1985: 185)
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It may seem odd to start with a statement about people not getting involved with
research but it is important to remember that people participate on a voluntary
basis. This places the burden on you to ensure they and their rights are respected,
and they are provided with all the relevant information about your research project.
Whilst obtaining consent is about people agreeing to be involved in a study,
informed consent covers a much broader range of associated elements.
Participants need to have some detail about the research project and how you
intend to collect the data (will you be drawing blood or interviewing them?). They
need to know if any harm may come to them whether physical, mental, emotional or
even just by making them feel a little uncomfortable. For example…
you may want to ask students why they do not attend tutorial
sessions they have requested. The answer may be of a personal
nature so embarrassment may be caused.
Other information to provide participants includes how confidentiality will be
maintained; what data storage solutions you have found, how long you will be
holding the data for and how you intend to dispose of it; and your contact details.
Most importantly, respondents must be made fully aware that they can withdraw or
“discontinue participation AT ANY TIME” (my emphasis) (Faber and Beauchamp,
1986: 185). In turn, this may affect the level of anonymity you can employ: if you
do not know who has supplied what, how can you withdraw their data? (Thomas
2013).
We will look at some of these in more detail starting with anonymity and
confidentiality. Many post-graduate students are unsure of the difference between
the two, so let’s clear this up.

Anonymity refers to concealing the identities of participants in all documents
resulting from the research

Confidentiality is concerned with who has the right of access to the data
provided by the participants
Extract adapted from Research Development Initiative (2014)
Therefore, you need to consider the ‘level’ of anonymity. In effect, if you will be able
to identify participants in the final dissertation and report, you cannot promise
anonymity. Regarding confidentiality, it may be that someone will help you to
analyse the data (e.g., if there are transcriptions of interviews or focus groups to
perform, or many questionnaires to look at) or, as in my case, my colleagues will be
reading a report on the findings. Your consent form and participation brief needs to
reflect this to ensure participants can make an informed choice about whether or not
to take part.
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Another aspect already mentioned, and relating to confidentiality, concerns data
storage which is relevant to all forms of primary research. Consider where any raw
data will be kept, the length of time you keep the raw data and how you intend to
dispose of it. Is a locked filing cabinet sufficient to keep hard copies of observations,
questionnaires, etc. at work? What if you work from home? Electronic data needs to
be appropriately protected by encryption and/or passwords. You must also take into
consideration that “personal data processed for any purpose…shall not be kept for
longer than is necessary for that purpose” (Information Commissioner’s Office,
2014).
Speak to your tutor/supervisor for advice on these and also methods of safely and
thoroughly destroying data.
It is possible that participants may be misled or not informed in full (i.e. they are
victims of ‘deception’) as part of a research project, notably in psychology.
However, this is unusual and generally any deception should be avoided as this
affects the integrity of informed consent.
What to avoid is…




Misleading participants about the purpose or procedures of the research
Providing incorrect information about the study
Leaving information out about the research
Observing participants when they do not know they are being watched
Extract adapted from Thomas (2015)
If you are unsure as to whether your research process could in any way deceive
participants, discuss this with your dissertation or project supervisor.
If you are asking someone to participate in research, you must consider the relative
positions you hold and the influence you may exert over them both to initially be
involved as well as during the data collection phase. This is the notion of power
and authority. For example…
you are a social worker on a lengthy work placement and want to
interview regular clients about the other services they use. Even if
you don’t, they may perceive that you hold a position of power and
that not participating may adversely affect the level of service they
receive from you and your colleagues in the future. This perception
may also lead them to provide answers they think you want rather
than honest replies, so there will be a negative effect on your
research.
This notion of power and authority can be difficult to negotiate. All participants must
be treated with respect and provided with all relevant information but there are
some that are particularly vulnerable: obvious categories include children and those
with disabilities or mental health issues, but there are others, such as the example
above, that also need to be treated with special care and thought.
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A quick mention of some of the documents you require if you are studying people: a
participation briefing is (usually) written information that provides participants
with all the information they need about the research from its aims and intentions to
what they need to do and all the above relating to ethics. Your consent form will
reiterate this information in such a way that participants can confirm their
understanding (e.g. tick boxes at the end of statements) and sign to represent their
willingness to be involved.
Make sure you follow all the necessary guidelines and requirements of your course
and the University as outlined in your handbooks and by your tutor/supervisor.
Activity 3: Assessing sampling, bias and ethical considerations
Below is an extract from an article:
Undergraduate students perceptions of the role and utility of written assessment
feedback. (Bailey, 2009)
Read the extract and, in pairs or small groups, decide if sampling, bias and ethical
considerations are adequately covered in the text. If so, explain how the author has
done so; if not, state what is missing and what the author should have included to
reveal the appropriate actions had been taken. Space is available overleaf.
Abstract:
Student dissatisfaction in higher education with written feedback
on their assessed work is a topical issue given the publicised
findings of the National Student Survey. This paper presents
excerpts from interviews with students about their experience with
written feedback together with analytical and interpretive
commentary. The context of the research was a post-92 university
with a wide range of higher education provision and a commitment
to widening participation and student retention. The paper begins
with an overview of feedback studies in higher education and a
summary of current agendas. The data and analysis are presented
in three sections. A final discussion section outlines some salient
findings from the research.
The research comprised semi-structured interviews with student
respondents who came from a cross-section of disciplinary areas.
Interviews were conducted with individuals and small groups of up
to three students. Some students were approached directly
through contact with their subject teachers while others were
approached through the study skills centres. Participants were
traditional and non-traditional (the latter often being mature-age
and returnees to education in applied and vocational subject
areas). All student participants were undergraduates and some
studying one or two year diploma (represented by teaching staff in
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those curricular areas as equivalent to at least advanced degree
level) courses in nursing and social work. Many of the sample were
students following joint degrees or on modularised courses in
applied and vocational areas. The departmental and disciplinary
background of students is given in parenthesis following each of
the data excerpts. Additional information is also included in some
instances using square ([ ]) brackets. Questions asked by the
interviewer are italicised in the excerpts. Initially the following
questions were asked:
What
do
you
like/dislike
about
written
feedback?
What do find useful/less useful about written feedback?
The emphasis was on open and exploratory talk to allow
respondents to consider their experience and perceptions more
reflectively and in depth. In the course of the interviews reference
was made to the form and delivery of feedback. In some cases
students were able to produce documentation in the form of
structured feedback sheets and assessment guides.
In disciplines that usually adopt quantitative research approaches, other ethical
considerations come into play. For natural and human sciences, the health and
safety of the researcher and others needs to be taken into account. This could relate
to potential cross-contamination or infection from handling tissue samples. Within
the computing sector, what is the ethical position regarding the use of people’s
likenesses in 3D modelling? Whilst consent is normally pre-negotiated, these issues
need to be mentioned within your final year project report or dissertation.
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For both quantitative and qualitative research, the ethical watchword is honesty:
honesty in how you approach the problem or question, and honesty when you report
your results. An open and objective attitude is vital when preparing and undertaking
research coupled with a lack of ego or fear about changing a hypothesis when the
evidence merits it. Also, your results must be accurately reported with no
‘massaging’ to achieve the desired outcome – do not succumb to pressure of time,
or your own or others’ expectations and therefore provide untrue results
(Fleddermann 1999).
So, you have completed your data collection activity but before analysing your data,
you need to manage it so it is ready to analyse. Sometimes, your data management
drives the format a tool will take, e.g. you intend to undertake a large questionnairebased survey with potentially hundreds of responses. One way to speed up collation
and analysis would be to enter your data automatically via a specific software
programme. Therefore, you would have to structure your questionnaire in such a
way that it can be read by the software. Depending on your research tool, you may
have a lot of information that is not relevant to your research question. Therefore,
the first thing you need to do is to ‘mine for the gold’. Whether reading through your
transcripts or looking at your spreadsheets or databases, relevance is the key
(Cohen et al. 2010)
Once you have your reduced any relevant information, ask yourself the following
analysis questions :
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Are there any clear themes?
Can you claim any generalisations?
Do you have any chunks of data to underpin your interpretations?
Are there any quotations or vignettes representing an overarching theme?
Is there any patterned data? What does not fit this/these pattern/s? Does
that tell you anything?
f) How does this/these case study/ies relate to others?
g) What gaps or puzzles remain?
Extract adapted from Cousin (2009)
8. Secondary research
The secondary research methodology involves the summary, collation and synthesis
of existing research rather than conducting your own primary research. Existing
research could include use of conference papers, reports, censuses, patents,
interview transcripts, etc. If this sounds like a literature review, then you are right there are many similarities between them.
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One of those is the process of reviewing the literature you will include in your
research:
Appraisal
Quality of literature and findings/outcomes
Analysing to identify details
Evaluating the literature and how written up
Comparison
To find patterns or themes
Selecting most useful literature
Also, you need to employ different reading and note-taking skills at each of the
above preliminary phases and for more focused in-depth work. What is different at
post-graduate level is the sheer volume of literature you will be using, so it may be
useful to update or learn new indexing and cross-referencing methods to help you to
keep track of all the documents. Ensuring your notes are organised as you go along
will also save time later when you come to the writing stages.
Primary and secondary research do have commonalities including many of the
elements discussed earlier in the booklet, such as the philosophies and
theory/theories underpinning your project; bias in your choice of literature to use in
your study and potential bias of the original researchers; and gaining any required
permission to use the papers.
We run a workshop for taught postgraduate students on appraising and choosing
sources; please visit our website for further details.
9. Reflection
You may be asked to keep reflective logs or journals during your research process,
either as an assignment or as a tool to consider emotions, events and other
experiences. These could simply be records of in lab books (scientific procedures) to
refer to if you decide to repeat an experiment, or they could be basic descriptive
diaries, or they may be full journals. Even if you are not required to do so, it can be
a worthwhile exercise and increase the rigour of your research.
Reflection is a valuable transferable skill to take into your professional life. It is seen
as the method by which a professional grows, changes and adapts – by constantly
thinking about the impact of their expertise and predispositions, its strengths and
the areas that can be developed further given what they know about theory, method
and practice in their field.
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The skills associated with stepping back and pausing to look, listen and reflect, are
closely related to those concerned with critical thinking which also requires you to
‘unpack’ whatever you are focusing on, not simply accept what you read or hear at
face value. Through this process you will probably identify things you would not
otherwise notice.
The key to reflecting is spotting the patterns and links which emerge as a result of
your experiences. Sometimes this is difficult for students because the focus is on you
and this might not feel comfortable – especially when you are usually encouraged to
depersonalise your work in essays and reports. Remember, you try to avoid saying
‘I’ in essays? So, when writing reflectively, you need to find a way to be both
academic and personal, and that is not always easy. You may be both referencing
academic theory and, in the same piece of writing, describing an exciting learning
experience you had during a tutorial. Becoming reflective is, in part, about feeling
comfortable with this dual process – to do this takes practice (Learning Development
2010).
It can help you to be reflective about your research process whilst you do it, rather
than making notes and then reflecting at the end of your project. For example, when
starting your review of the literature, you should keep notes and records on what
key search terms you have used, what articles may be of interest and why. You can
then reflect on how you have selected and critically analysed these sources to be
more efficient and effective in the future by identifying what skills you need to
improve on, whether you have a broad enough variety of sources, etc. Your Subject
Librarian will be able to help you with most issues relating to accessing texts of all
sorts, and there are many hard copy and internet sources available on research and
planning (Charlesworth 2015).
References
Bailey, R. (2009) Undergraduate students perceptions of the role and utility of
written assessment feedback. Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education.
http://www.aldinhe.ac.uk/ojs/index.php?journal=jldhe&page=article&op=view&path
%5B%5D=29&path%5B%5D=26 Accessed 9 January 2015.
California State University. (2014) Use of deception in research. Hayward: California
State University.
http://www20.csueastbay.edu/orsp/forms-policies-procedures/irb/deception.html
Accessed 4 December 2014.
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Answers
Activity 1: Q v Q
Quantitative
Advantages
Disadvantages
B,C,F,G,L
D,K,M
Qualitative
Advantages
Disadvantages
A,H,J
E,I
Activity 2: Data collection methods
Use of primary or/and
secondary sources
Primary
Primary
Primary
Primary
Secondary
Primary
Secondary
Primary
Quantitative methods
Qualitative methods
Structured detachedobserver non-participant
involved observation
Questionnaire: structured
closed questions
Experiment
Structured interview closed
questions
Use of statistical data
Involved observer and participant
observation (ethnography)
Questionnaire: less-structured
open questions
Less-structured interview openquestions
Focus group
Use of reports
Close measurement
Activity 3: Assessing sampling, bias and ethical considerations





Informed consent – no mention of this in the extract so do not know if
information about the research was given to students. Also, no mention of
participation briefing and consent forms being understood and completed.
Anonymity – again, no discussion about the level of this especially as have
used tutors and student support centre to find students.
Confidentiality – do tutors and support staff have access as helped to source
students, and as the results could be of interest to the former.
Deception – n/a although not properly explaining what the research is about
could be deemed so.
Power and authority – we have no information on who the researcher is so
we cannot access the relationship. Location is also undisclosed which can
affect the power dynamic.
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