1 / 30

Research Report Session 1

Research Report Session 1 . Dr Susan C. Ziehl. Purpose of Sessions. Guidance towards Research Article. Questions you need to ask: What? Why? 3. How?. Questions. What? Area? Topic? Question? Why? Practical or Theoretical Problem Fill gap in knowledge

betsy
Download Presentation

Research Report Session 1

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Research Report Session 1 Dr Susan C. Ziehl

  2. Purpose of Sessions • Guidance towards Research Article. • Questions you need to ask: • What? • Why? 3. How?

  3. Questions • What? Area? Topic? Question? • Why? Practical or Theoretical Problem Fill gap in knowledge Lit Review = Other People’s Research • How? Method? Qualitative or Qualitative

  4. Where do Ideas come from? • Three Worlds (Mouton,2001) • Philosophical Ontology = Existence Epistemology = Knowledge/truth • Scientific Generation of truthful knowledge. • Everyday Existence

  5. WORLD 3: WORLD OF METASCIENCE Philosophy of science, research & research methodology The 3-Worlds framework WORLD 2: WORLD OF SCIENCE • Theories, models • Concepts & definitions • Findings, data • Instruments, scales, questionnaires RESEARCH PROCESS PROBLEM-DESIGN-METHODOLGY-CONCLUSION WORLD 1: EVERY DAY LIFE Social world: individual human beings; actions and events; organisations; institutions; interventions; collectives and social/cultural objects. Physical world: plants; animals; atoms etc

  6. Three Worlds World 1 generates ideas that are tested in World 2.

  7. Research problems and real-life problems • Research problems:answered by gathering/analysing data/info and drawing conclusions-supported by evidence • Real-life problems:resolved through development & implementation of interventions and new practices

  8. Examples What can we do to reduce crime? How do we get the criminals of the street? = World 1 (everyday life problems) WE DESIGN NEW PROGRAMMES/POLICIES/ INTERVENTIONS TO ADRESS THESE PROBLEMS

  9. Examples What are the causes of crime? How does the general public view the government’s efforts to reduce crime? = World 2 (research problems) WE STUDY/ INVESTIGATE/ ANALYSE/ EVALUATE/ DECSRIBE ‘OBJECTS’ IN WORLD 1 IN ORDER TO ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS

  10. Objectives

  11. Research objectives World 1 = Action objective World 2 = Epistemic objectives (knowledge generation)

  12. Class Exercise Start thinking about a possible research topic relevant to your field of study or something that interests you within your work environment.

  13. Your Ideas: Which Area? Corruption Service Delivery Governance/Management/ HR/Training Policy Information Technology Development

  14. Funnel Approach • Broad idea Research Problem • Research Question

  15. Funnel Approach to Topic Construction • Field, Sub-Field (gov, dev, policy,) • To explain, describe, increase knowledge of ...... by ..... • What is the impact of ....? What is the nature of ...... What role does .... play in ...... • To determine the level of ...... Area ----------------------- Aims (broad purpose) ---------------------- Research Question ----------------------- Objectives (specific purpose)

  16. After Choosing Area, Define Purpose • Explore? (New areas) • Describe (What is the situation) Eg: Level of competence of managers. • Explain? Causal Relationship. Variables. Eg: Effect of Managerial competence on service delivery. • Evaluate Programme

  17. Examples of project aims • To broaden and deepen our understanding of the extent and shifts in poverty and inequality in post-apartheid SA • To strengthen the policy debate around these issues through rigorous high-quality research • To test a new technique which can be used by analysts in the future to track poverty and inequality changes on a regular basis

  18. Project Objectives • To determine the level of poverty in South Africa in 2011. • To determine changes in the level of poverty from 1996 to 2011. • Level of inequality • Trends in inequality. • To explain poverty trends in SA 96-2011

  19. Funnel Approach to Topic Construction • Governance • To explain transformation • What is the impact of managerial competence on transformation in gov hospitals? • To determine the level of managerial competence. • To determine level of transformation. • Determine the relationship between the two. Area ----------------------- Aims (broad purpose) ---------------------- Research Question ----------------------- Objectives (specific purpose)

  20. Funnel Approach to Topic Construction • Governance • To describe the success of committee system. • Does com system promote accountability? • To determine the workings of com system. • To determine level of accountability. Area ----------------------- Aims (broad purpose) ---------------------- Research Question ----------------------- Objectives (specific purpose)

  21. Non-Researchable Questions • Moral Questions Is abortion right? • Too general Poverty in SA • Not Question Aids and Education • Too vague Do drugs affect delinquency? Does corruption affect efficiency.

  22. Unit of Analysis • What is the ‘subject’? Individual? Household? Provinces?

  23. Exercise “The aim of this study was to investigate possibilities for co-operation in the field of cancer prevention and treatment between traditional medicine and modern Western medicine. Interviews were conducted with about 50 traditional healers in Mamelodi and Atteridgeville to establish their views regarding health culture, health care pluralism, profesionalisation and co-operation with medical doctors.” ( Muller & Steyn, 1999)

  24. Exercise “Playground behaviour of a group of 6 to 7 year old socially isolated children was observed, together with that of a comparison group matched by age, gender and class” (Bonn, 1994).

  25. Exercise “The aim of this study was to study the short- and medium-term effects of an structured achievement motivation course on the achievement motivation of adolescent women. The hypothesis, that the course would lead to a significant increase in the level of achievement motivation of the experimental group, was not supported” (Erwee, 1986).

  26. Answers • Individuals (traditional healers) • Social interactions (playground behaviour) • Interventions (Achievement motivation course)

  27. Article specification • 9 000-12 000 words • 1,5 line spacing 12pt Times New Roman • Abstract no more than 200 words • Harvard referencing system Go to WebCt to see examples of articles submitted to: Journal of Public Administration AdministratioPublica

  28. Main sections of the report • Title page • Abstract • Introduction (the research problem) • Theoretical background & the specific research hypothesis/ question arising from it • Procedures and methods used to investigate the research problem

  29. Main sections of the report • Presenting Results OR Presenting & interpretation of results • Interpretation and discussion of results & conclusion OR summary and conclusion • References

More Related