MSS 905 Methods of Missiological Research

1. MSS 905 Methods of Missiological Research Introduction to Missiological Research

2. Types of Research • Basic research: adding to our fundamental understanding and knowledge (regardless of practical or immediate implications) • Applied research: program evaluation, or action-oriented research • Descriptive research: describe groups, activities, situations or events; normally using quantitative data analysis

3. Types of Research • Explanatory research: • looking for causes and reasons; • normally based on existing theories • ground-breaking; normally using qualitative data analysis

4. The Research Process • Define a research problem • Formulate research questions • Undertake a literature review • Building a hypothesis (or question) • Determine the data needed • Systematically collect data • Present results and make recommendations

5. The Research Process • Define a research problem • Formulate research questions • Undertake a literature review • Building a hypothesis (or question) • Determine the data needed • Systematically collect data • Present results and make recommendations

6. 1. Research Problem • Something that is happening and should NOT be happening • Something that is NOT happening and should be • Something that is happening but is not at the level it should be • Something is happening (or NOT happening) but it is not understood why or how • Something is done differently, and we don’t know if it’s better or not • It’s something like identifying a mystery that needs to be solved

7. Selecting a Topic for Research • Personal experience (SA and racism, cross-cultural issues) • Curiosity from a media story • Looking at the state of knowledge in a field (Dr. Jim Harris) • Solving a practical problem in society (Pentecostals’ perception of war and pacifism) • Social premiums (hot opportunities) • Personal values (Glossalalia and emotional maturity) • Everyday life

8. Narrowing a Topic for Research • Examine the literature • Talk over ideas with others • Apply existing research to a specific context Neuman (2006 p. 156, Box 6.4): Bad and Good Research Questions

9. The Research Process • Define a research problem • Formulate research questions • Undertake a literature review • Building a hypothesis (or question) • Determine the data needed • Systematically collect data • Present results and make recommendations

10. The Research Process • Define a research problem • Formulate research questions • Undertake a literature review • Building a hypothesis (or question) • Determine the data needed • Systematically collect data • Present results and make recommendations

11. 2. Research Questions • Definition (Adler & Clark, 2003): a question about one or more topics or concepts that can be answered through research • See • Adler & Clark (2003) pp 67-96 • Galvan (2006) chapter 3 on identifying data sources and tips on electronic searches • Vyymeister (2001) chapters 2 and 3 on finding sources and narrowing the scope of your topic

12. 2. Research Questions • What are the variable that appear to be involved? • What appears to be driving, impeding, altering, deviating what is happening? • Which method works better? • At this stage simple conjecture and educated guesses are appropriate

13. The Research Process • Define a research problem • Formulate research questions • Undertake a literature review • Building a hypothesis (or question) • Determine the data needed • Systematically collect data • Present results and make recommendations

14. The Research Process • Define a research problem • Formulate research questions • Undertake a literature review • Building a hypothesis (or question) • Determine the data needed • Systematically collect data • Present results and make recommendations

15. 3. Literature Review • Finding out everything there is to know about this problem in the literature • There may already be an answer • To uncover the variables, develop explanations and predictions about variables • To determine the level of knowledge that exists (low knowledge = exploratory methods; high = descriptive/develop hypotheses)

16. 3. Literature Review Tip: Check the references at the end of all the articles!!! Tip: Use the Citation “key word” function Stages • Consider from different angles: develop search terms, key words, concepts, terms • Search the databases: article titles, to abstracts, to articles • Begin categorization • Continue till you exhaust the field: identified the variables, the theories, instruments, techniques used

17. The Research Process • Define a research problem • Formulate research questions • Undertake a literature review • Building a hypothesis (or question) • Determine the data needed • Systematically collect data • Present results and make recommendations

18. The Research Process • Define a research problem • Formulate research questions • Undertake a literature review • Building a hypothesis (or question) • Determine the data needed • Systematically collect data • Present results and make recommendations

19. Hypothesis Creation • Only after sufficient knowledge already exists in a field • Relationship between variables can be tested • Missiological examples: • Do LACC schools produce better academics than nationals schools? • Are local evangelists better than foreign missionaries? • Will Facebook increase “connectedness” between missionaries and their sponsors?

20. Hypothesis Creation • Hypothesis is always first stated as a null hypothesis: “no relationship exists between these variables” • Example (LACC schools) • H0: There is no relationship between academic scores of students from LACC and national schools • H1: Students from LACC schools achieve higher academic scores than students from national schools

21. The Research Process • Define a research problem • Formulate research questions • Undertake a literature review • Building a hypothesis (or question) • Determine the data needed • Systematically collect data • Present results and make recommendations

22. The Research Process • Define a research problem • Formulate research questions • Undertake a literature review • Building a hypothesis (or question) • Determine the data needed • Systematically collect data • Present results and make recommendations

23. Hypothesis Testing • After the data is collected from the variables they are analyzed to determine if there is a statistically significant difference (p<.05; .01; .001) • If the difference is significant the null hypothesis is rejected and the alternate is considered

24. The Research Process • Define a research problem • Formulate research questions • Undertake a literature review • Building a hypothesis (or question) • Determine the data needed • Systematically collect data • Present results and make recommendations

25. The Research Process • Define a research problem • Formulate research questions • Undertake a literature review • Building a hypothesis (or question) • Determine the data needed • Systematically collect data • Present results and make recommendations

26. Project vs. Dissertation D.Miss. Project • A professional program with an emphasis on practical theology, practical Christian wisdom • Addresses both the nature and the practice of missions • ATS requires research model to be informed by social sciences and some form of “evaluation of results” • A practice (the “what?”) based on some theory (the “why”?). Theory includes theological basis.

27. Project vs. Dissertation D.Miss. Project: Examples (from Vyhmeister) • Program development and evaluation (#15) • Case study (#16) • History or biography • See also “Asbury dissertations”

28. Project vs. Dissertation