Research Methods in Social Sciences

1. Research Methods in Social Sciences LECTURE 2

2. What is a research problem? A problem is a set of conditions needing discussion, a solution, and information. implies the possibility of empirical investigation, that is, of data collection and analysis The problem statement is more specific than a topic and it limits the scope of the research problem.

3. A Problem Statement: 1. Introduces the reader to the importance of the problem. The reader is oriented to the significance of the study and the research questions or hypotheses to follow. 2. Places the problem in a context 3. Provides the framework for reporting the results. Indicate what is probably necessary to conduct the study and explain how the findings will present this information. You could relate the findings to prior research, or it could be presented as a comparison, or you could draw implications from the findings to generalize to other related conditions.

4. Statements of Research Purpose • The purpose of this study is to . . . (it should imply the question, define the variables for the purpose of the study, and define the population of the study) • To clarify the focus and logic of the problem decide on: • major construct • variables • population • & then the logic to use for the problem

5. Example The purpose of this study is to find out if there are any purchasing power differences between different regions or cities of Turkey. I will basically look to see if the differences in wages around the cities are offset by the differences in prices. For this purpose I will choose one city from each region of Turkey and check the average price of a week's groceries in each city with the average income.Then I will check if they are proportional or not.

6. Developing an effective research question • Three questions must be answered • What is the research topic • General area (unemployment, pollution, poverty) • What is the research question • One-sentence question • What is the research hypothesis • Proposed answer to your question

7. What is the research topic • Unemployment and growth relationship • What is the research question • Is there a negative relationship between growth and unemployment? • What is the research hypothesis • There is not a negative relationship between growth and unemployment

8. Research Topic Advertising and Share Prices Research Question How does the running of a TV advertising campaign designed to boost the image of a company affect its share price?

9. Research Topic Job recruitment with internet Research Question How effective is recruiting for new staff with the internet in comparison with traditional methods?

10. Developing an effective research question – How to begin • Choose a general topic • Journal of Economic Literature Classification • http://www.aeaweb.org/journal/jel_class_system.html • Start reading the literature • What has been done • What questions remain • Are there contradictions in the literature • Select a research question from the gaps in the literature

11. Developing an effective research question - How to find the gaps in the literature • Introduction to articles • Every article will identify the research question and how it differs from other research in the introduction • Conclusion of articles • Every article should list its weaknesses and areas for further study in the conclusion

12. Organization of your final paper • Introduction • Define general topic • What research has been done on this already • What are gaps in literature • Define your specific research question • How will you answer your question (method) • Order of remaining paper

13. Organization of your final paper • Literature review and hypothesis • What does previous research say about topic • Each paragraph represents one study • Each paragraph represents one theme • Summarize gaps in literature • What is your own hypothesis

14. Organization of your final paper • Empirical Analysis • Descriptive statistics • Regression analysis • Before and after • Case studies • Forecasting

15. Organization of your final paper • Conclusions • Restate the hypothesis or research question • Summarize your results • Did you confirm your hypothesis • Weaknesses of your study • Areas for further study • No new citations, tables, or footnotes

16. Types of researchin economics • Propose a new theory • Evaluate an existing theory with data • Evaluate existing literature • Evaluate current or future policies • Using theory to explain historical situation • Evaluate historical policies and their consequences in the past • Predict a future situation based on historical trends