Mensur Boydaş: Vahdi Boydaş
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Transcript of Mensur Boydaş: Vahdi Boydaş
What is research? Why do we undertake it?
Research is the means by which we find answers to questions which we have set ourselves or which have been set for us by others
Why? Personal experience unresolved problems arising from academic
literature guiding action the need to monitor the effects of action already
taken the desire to assess the level of satisfaction with a
service
High quality of research?
It is based on the work of others It can be replicated It is generalizable to other settings It is based on some logical rationale It is doable It generates new questions or is cyclical in nature It is incremental It is an apolitical activity that should be
undertaken for the betterment of society
Language of Research
Theoretical and empirical Social research is theoretical, meaning that much
of it is concerned with developing, exploring or testing the theories or ideas that social researchers have about how the world operates.
But it is also empirical, meaning that it is based on observations and measurements of reality
Language of Research
Probabilistic Statistics become so dominant in social research is
that it allows us to estimate probabilities for the situations we study.
Causal Most social research is interested in looking at
cause-effect relationships. This doesn't mean that most studies actually study cause-effect relationships.
There are some studies that simply observe and some others that explore relationships. If we want to change the world, we are automatically interested in causal relationships - ones that tell us how our causes affect the outcomes of interest.
Types of questions
Descriptive A study designed primarily to describe what is going on
or what exists. Relational
A study designed to look at the relationships between two or more variables.
Causal A study designed to determine whether one or more
variables causes or affects one or more outcome variables.
If we did a public opinion poll to try to determine whether a recent political advertising campaign changed voter preferences, we would essentially be studying whether the campaign (cause) changed the proportion of voters who would vote left or right (effect).
Time in Research
Time is an important element of any research design. Introduce one of the most fundamental distinctions in research design:
Cross-sectional: A study that takes place at a single point in time. In effect, we are taking a 'slice' or cross-section of whatever it is we're observing or measuring.
Time series: A study that takes place over time.
Types of Relationships
A relationship refers to the correspondence between two variables.
The nature of the relationship A correlational relationship simply says that two
things perform in a synchronized manner (third variable prob.).
A causal relationship if the two variables are not only in correspondence, but that one causes the other.
Patterns of Relationships No relationship Positive relationship Inverse relationship
Types of Relationships: Variables
A variable is any entity that can take on different values. Anything that can vary can be considered a variable. Variables aren't always 'quantitative' or numerical. Another important distinction having to do with the
term 'variable' is the distinction between an independent and dependent variable. This distinction is particularly relevant when you are investigating cause-effect relationships.
the independent variable is what you (or nature) manipulates -- a treatment or program or cause.
The dependent variable is what is affected by the independent variable -- your effects or outcomes.
Hypotheses
An hypothesis is a specific statement of prediction. It describes in concrete (rather than theoretical) terms what you expect will happen in your study.
A single study may have one or many hypotheses. Actually, whenever we talk about an hypothesis,
we are really thinking simultaneously about two hypotheses.
Usually, we call the hypothesis that you support (your prediction) the alternative hypothesis, and we call the hypothesis that describes the remaining possible outcomes the null hypothesis.
Criteria for “good” hypothesis
Should be stated as a declaration not as a question
should explicitly state the expected relationship among variables
should reflect the theory or literature it is based on
should be brief and to the point
should be testable
Types and Sources of Data
Types of Data
Quantitative Qualitative
Sources of Data
Primary Secondary
Notion of Research
Structure of Research
Process usually start with a broad area of interest should be narrowed down formulate a hypothesis or a focus question now, it is possible to get engaged in
measurement or observation collection of the basic data enables the
researcher to understand the problem Even preliminary analysis of data might point out
some of the conclusions attempt to address the original broad question
Research Process