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FOR 500 Research Methods . Today’s Pro Tip: As you write your proposal, put it into the university’s final thesis template. It will end up there anyway. Research Is Simply Knowledge Creation. Alternatives to Research. Overgeneralization Selective observation Premature closure Halo effect.
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FOR 500 Research Methods Today’s Pro Tip: As you write your proposal, put it into the university’s final thesis template. It will end up there anyway.
Alternatives to Research • Overgeneralization • Selective observation • Premature closure • Halo effect
Empirical • Empirical (adj.) – data gathered directly by sensory perception • By instrumentation extending sensory input • More generally, data gathered through research
Data • “Data” is plural. • “I gathered these data.”
Methodology vs. Methods After Neuman 2006
Positivist, interpretive, critical, feminist Research Paradigms
Positivist Paradigm • Logical empiricism, postpositivism, naturalism, etc. • Emphasis on exact measures, dispassionate research, determinism • Reductionist: convert phenomena to numbers • Truth is spelled with a capital “T”
Interpretive Paradigm • Study of social phenomena toward empathic understanding • Relative values • Free will, volition, morality • Meaningful social action: the phenomenon affects others
Idiographic Research • Explanation of a case • Complete • Detailed
Nomothetic Research • The Truth Is Out There: logic and reasoning • Causal law governs all into patterns • Covering Law Model • Few big abstract laws permit deduction of cases • Disproof of current factual model
Induction Deduction
Topical Lifecycle • Exploratory research – What • Descriptive research – When Where Who • Explanatory research –Why / How
The Story So Far • Research paradigms • The Scientific Method • Inductive vs. deductive reasoning • Exploratory, descriptive, and explanatory research
Where The Story Goes • Formulation of research question(s) • Literature search and synthesis
Exploratory Research • Useful for emergent phenomena • Less commonly published • “Pilot” “preliminary” studies
Getting To Research Question Drafts • First, identify: descriptive vs. explanatory work
Descriptive Research • Details understanding of phenomenon • Much social research • Early physical sciences research • Examines correlation • Examples?
Descriptive vs. Explanatory Descriptive Explanatory Y = f(x,z) Necessary cause Sufficient cause Contributory cause Dose-response Divines process/mechanism • Central tendency values • Range • Variables’ distributions • Crosstabulation
Sandbox 1 • Campus awareness of sustainability issues • Descriptive statistics? • Summary statistics? • Statistical causality tests? • Qualitative or quantitative
Explanatory Research • Tests mechanisms described in phenomenon • Examines causality • Novel / test competing / extend existing causality • Examples?
Sandbox 2 • Effects of balsam fir on understory & soil • The descriptive phase would deliver what? • Composition changes? • Altered understory vigor? • Altered wildlife utilization? • Altered soil chemistry/structure? • The Explanatory phase would deliver what?
Testing for Causality • Temporal order • Association • Exceptional cases • Necessary vs. sufficient • Disproof of alternatives/fail to disprove cause • Confounding factors • Spurious factors
Causality Examples • Males perform better on standardized math and engineering tests than do females • The rare Saluki Leopard’s home range is upland pine • For undergraduates, more studying results in better grades • The Colorado Rockies score more runs at home • Sugar maples are sap-productive in Februaries
Time in Research • Cross sectional • Longitudinal • Time series / “trend” study • Panel • Cohort
Cross Sectional Studies • Simple, cost-effective • Usually descriptive
Time Series (Longitudinal) • Repeatedly measures the group of interest • Not necessarily the same individuals • Trends through time • U.S. Census • Animal populations
Panel Study (Longitudinal) • Tracks same individuals with repeated measures • Long-term health studies • Forestry and plant research
Cohort Studies (Longitudinal) • Tracks members of specified group, not individuals • Birth cohorts • Graduation cohorts
Examples Studies Study Types Cross sectional Longitudinal Time series Panel Cohort • ACAD hiker study • OZAR river user study • OZAR river user studIES
Large n vs. Small n Studies Large n Small n Case study Intensive scrutiny of small set Meso timescale • Cross-section • Time series • Panel • Cohort