Research Methodology

• Perspectives on scientific research

  • Empirical cycle of knowledge generation
  • Regulative cycle of problem solving
• Scientific research

  • Systematic, using procedures and measurement instruments that are reliable and valid
  • Objective, unbiased, non-normative, transparent about choices and trade-offs
  • Theory-dependent, adding to existing knowledge/theory
• Distinctions in scientific research

  • Descriptive
  • Correlational
  • Explanatory
• Primary data

  Data you collected yourself, aimed at answering your specific research question
• Secondary data

  Primary data that were collected by others, not specifically aimed at answering your research question
• Empirical research

  Knowledge acquired through measurements in the real world
• Non-empirical research

  Knowledge based on logic, definition or authority
• Types of scientific research

  • Beta (natural and technical sciences)
  • Gamma (social sciences)
  • Alpha (arts, humanities)
• Quantitative research


  Measure characteristics (variables) of the world in the form of numbers, identifying regularities that apply to many cases
• Qualitative research

  Describe the world in terms of words, identifying specifics in purposively selected cases
• Applied or practice-oriented research

  Gain knowledge for the purpose of helping to solve a practical problem
• Fundamental, pure or theory-oriented research

  Gain knowledge for the purpose of improving or expanding the existing knowledge about a specific topic
• Any good scientific research project has both theoretical and (indirect) practical relevance
• Empirical cycle

  1. Observation (thing that is investigated)

  2. Induction (general assumption, from specific to general-> bottom-up reasoning)

  3. Deduction (hypothesis for specific example, general to specific -> top-down reasoning)

  4. Testing (data collection)

  5. Evaluation (results are compared to induction phase)
• Regulative cycle

  1. Problem identification (what is the problem?)

  2. Diagnosis (what is the cause?)

  3. Design (what can we do to solve the problem?)

  4. Implementation (intervention is implemented and monitored)

  5. Evaluation (has the problem been solved?)
• A single research project can go through multiple phases of the empirical cycle
• A single research project usually takes place in only one phase of the regulative cycle
• conceptual design


  what do you wish to achieve through and in your research project?
• Technical design 


  How to realize the conceptual design in the course of your research project?
• Research objective

  Describes your motivation to do the research (use the regulative cycle)
• Components of research objective

  1. External objective (states the problem you want to help solve) 2. Internal objective (states the knowledge to be produced)
• Practice oriented research


  objective of the research is to help solve problem A by finding out B
• Theory oriented research


  the objective of this research is to investigate/examine/find out B
• General research question (GRQ)

  Needs to be answered during the research project. 1. The internal objective in question format
• Specific research questions (SRQs)

  1. Are about segments/parts of the GRQ.
  2. focus on something specific within the GRQ
  3. answers to all the SRQs make up answer to GRQ
• How to arrive at your SRQs

  1. Identify concepts (Descriptive GRQ= 1 concept)(correlational/explanatory GRQ = 2 concepts)
  2. what do i need to collect data about (tree diagram and path diagram)
• Operationalization

  From concept to variable

  1. simple concept: one variable
  2. complex concept: more variables
• steps of operationalization

  1. identify the concepts
  2. decompose into indicators (often produced by tree diagram)
  3. translate indicators into variables
  4. think about instruments to measure variables
• quality of measurement instrument

  • reliability: will the instrument give me the same result on another occasion (random error)
  • measurement validity: does the instrument measure what it is supposed to measure without bias/systematic error
  • observed score = true score + measurement error
• Study design

  Can be seen as a strategy regarding how a research project is to be completed.

  1. experimental study design (intervene in the system, manipulate)
  2. cross-sectional study design (measure or watch what happens, collect data once)
  3. Longitudinal study design (what happens over time, measure multiple times)
  4. case study design

  1,2&3 are quantitative research designs
• Variable

  • A concept in measurable terms (it has a measurement scale)
  • A characteristic of a research unit that can have different values
• Research units

  • the units (persons, animals or objects) you want to say something about
  • it is where the variables belong to
  • often, but not always also the population you sample from to then perform the measurements on them
• Values

  • the (potential) outcomes belonging to a variable (the categories a respondent can choose or chooses in a closed questionnaire item)
• Measurement scales of variables

  1. Nominal
  2. ordinal
  3. interval
  4. ratio
• Nominal

  values represent distinct categories, no order

  • gender (male, female)
  • type of species (mammal, insect, fish)
• Ordinal


  Values have a meaningful order, no equal distance between values

  • one value is higher than the other
  • scores on 5-point Likert scale items, educational level
• Interval


  equal distance between values, no natural zero

  • difference between two values is the same
  • temperature in degrees Celcius, years from a calendar
• Ratio


  values have order with equal distances between them and a natural zero (0 means absence of variable)

  • income in euros
  • number of children
• Hypothesis


  State expectations about reality

  • non-relational hypothesis
  • correlational hypothesis
  • developmental Hypothesis
  • causal hypothesis
• Non-relational hypothesis


  expectation about the level or distribution of one or multiple variables

  • <30% of the car drivers on the A12 is speeding
  • cross-sectional design