● Research is a process of enquiry and investigation; it is systematic, methodical and

ethical; research can help solve practical problems and increase knowledge.
● data is collected and interpreted systematically
● qualitative research - inductive - interpretivism; builds theory
- it emphasizes the importance of subjective experience of individuals;
- meaning and evaluation of evens are personal and subjective;
- focus on individual case rather than general law-making
- aims to produce rounded understandings on basis of rich detailed data
- statistical analysis is not central
- relevant to study of human relations; concerned with social processes
- more difficult to interpret findings, involves examining and reflecting on the
data
● quantitative research - deductive - poisitivism; tests theory
- employed in attempt to establish general laws or principles
- social reality is objective to the individual
- measures data (usually numerically)
● research uses methods of data generation that are flexible
● positivism interpretivism = research paradigms
● positivism : seek out facts and causes of social phenomena in systematic ways
● interpretivism : on the perspective that human behavior is not as easily measured as
phenomena in natural sciences
● social-phenomena are concept-dependent, social world cannot be understood in
terms of causal relationships or by subsuming social events under universal laws
● strengths of qualitative research
- data were collected in close proximity to a specific situation
- providing vivid thick descriptions that are nested in real contexts
- Emphasis on people’s lived experiences
- Suitability for developing hypotheses, but also a strong potential for testing
hypotheses
- Flexibility of data collection
● subjectivity exists in every piece of research, whether qlt or qnt.
● qualitative data must be interpreted, it doesn’t exist waiting to be discovered
● researcher creativity : open to multiple possibilities, making lists of options, multiple
avenues of expression to stimulate thinking (art, metaphors), nonlinear thinking, fresh
perspective
● researcher identity : researchers have their own understandings, convictions, values,
they belong to a certain culture
● a good research paper addresses a specific research question; whatever relates to
the research question belongs in the paper, the rest doesnt
● attributes of good research question : specificity (precise, not general),
originality/novelty (extend previous knowledge in a way), general relevance to a
broad scientific community (should be of interest to ppl who work in the same
scientific area)
● key concepts in research : validity (data is free of bias, findings are about what they
appear to be), reliability (accuracy of methods and results), generalizability (the
extent to which you can make some form of wider claim on the basis of your research
and analysis)
● types of research questions : predicting an outcome, explaining the causes and
consequences of a phenomenon, evaluating a phenomenon, describing a
phenomenon, developing good practice, empowerment, comparison
● a hypothesis is different from a research question
● hypotheses state a relationship between 2 or more concepts - suggests that one has
an impact on the other
● hypotheses are tested through empirical research
● hypotheses are hunches that researchers have about the existence of relationships
between variables
● qualitative research involves an interpretive, naturalistic approach to the world. This
means that qualitative researchers study things in their natural settings, attempting to
make sense of, or interpret, phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to
them
● the researcher is expected to understand the 2 main approaches to research
(positivsm, interpretivism), and select appropriate research methods
● you need to plan your research aim, research questions, data sources, methods to
be used
● steps in selecting research questions: research area > aspect of research area >
research questions > select research questions
● research method 1 : interview
● interview = conversation with structure and purpose
● captures many of subject’s views on smth
● the data consists of meaningful relations to be interpreted
● the interview isnt subjective nor objective, interviews can be free of bias, the
interviewer can be objective in letting the investigated object speak and express the
real nature of the object
● semi-structured interviews are most commonly used in qlt research : list of
themes/questions to be covered, order may vary on the flow of the conversation
● subjects’ viewpoints are more likely to be expressed in an openly designed interview
rather than a questionnaire
● unstructured interviews are informal, there is no list of questions so the researcher
needs to be aware of the issue and aspect they awnt to explore
● they are used to provide enough space to the respondent to articulate their own
perspective or experience, the interviewer interferes for details or clarification
● qlt research interview is most appropriate when a study focuses on the meaning of a
particular phenomena, when individuals perceptions of processes within a social unit
are to be studied, where individual historical accounts are required of how a
particular phenomenon occured
● interviewing : brings out specific elements w a certain meaning (not just general
statements), beware of interviewer bias, questions phrased clearly, appropriate
probing questions, beware of too many theoretical concepts, beware of jargon, the
critical incident technique (describe in detail a critical incident and the effects),
sensitive questions until near end (longer time to build trust)
● speak in modest amounts
● be nondirective (let participants vocalize their priorities as part of their own way of
describing the world as they see it)
● stay neutral
● maintain rapport ( avoid conversations that might do harm to the other person—for
example, using words that lead to hateful thoughts, the divulgence of totally private if
not criminal topics, or undue unhappiness on the part of the participant.)
● use interview protocol (he protocol again represents your mental
● framework and is not a list of the actual questions to be verbalized to a participant.)
● use probes and prompts
● analyze when interviewing (decide when to probe, when to shift topics)
● successful interviewer is : knowledgeable, clear, gentle, structuring, steering, critical,
open, sensitive, remembering, balanced
● group discussions : interaction as a source of data, horizontal slices (each group
participants have similar status and work experiences), avoid domination by one or
few respondents, asking other participants to clarify the meaning of a particular
contribution
● focus groups : group interview that focus clearly on a particular issue, topic, service,
product + encompasses the need for interactive discussion
● focus groups are useful for exploring ppl’s experiences, opinions, allowing
participants to generate their own questions, study of attitudes and experiences
around specific topic, corresponds to the way in which opinions are expressed in
every day life, the study of peer communication and group norms
● narrative interview - a form of unstructured, in-depth interview
● goes beyond the question-response type of interview, uses a specific type of
everyday communicative interaction : story-telling and listening
● open ended question > perspective of the interviewee is revealed in stories where
theyre using their own spontaneous language
● further questions, only related to the events mentioned in the story, to be noted down
and asked after the story is over, do not interrupt the narration
● probe for anything else at the end of the storry, do not point to contradictions in the
story, do not ask directly for opinions, attitudes, or causes, ask questions concerning
events
● questionnaire : meticulous planning for questions to make them as clear as possible
so that you get the information you want, plan the question types:
- verbal/open : the expected response is a word, phrase or extended comment;
may cause issues when analyzing
- list : basically abcd grila
- category : for example age categories
- ranking : place something in rank ordr
- quantity : the response is a number of smth
- grid : provided to record answers to 2 ore more questions at the same time
- scale : scaling devices, require careful handling
● question wording
- ambiguity/imprecision : a word that has a meaning to u may mean something
different to other ppl, be as clear and concise as possible (for example,
answers like “a great deal, not a lot, very little”, how much do they mean, or
concepts such as “how satisfied are you with..”)
- assumption (a question shch as “how old is your child” > assuming every
respondent has a child)
- memory
- knowledge
 - double questions (do yo uattend research methods and statistics courses?
what if they only attend one)
- likert scales (the 5 point chestie gen 1 very good 2 good 3 neutral etc)
- leading questions : questions that make respondents answer in one way
- presuming questions : when the interviewer has strong views on smth and
overlooks the fact that everyone may not feel the same way
- hypothetical questions : provide useless responses
- offensive questions/questions that cover sensitive issues
- appearance and layout
- drawing a sample
- piloting the questionnaire (trial run)
- distribution and return of questionnaires
- respondents’ and ur rights and responsibilities (tell ur respondents what will
be done w the answers, who will see them, confidentiality, anonymity, etc)
- non-response : the people who dont return the questionnaires
- analysis of data : after you covered all essential tasks
● essential tasks : approval from respondents, ethics; decide what you need to know; is
a questionnaire the best way to obtain info?; begin to word questions; check wording;
decide on question type (verbal, list, category, ranking, scale, quantity, grid); sort
questions into order; write out instructions for respondents; layout and appearance;
word-process your questionnaire; decide on your sample; pilot your questionnaire; try
out your methods of analysis; make adjustments to questionnaire; decide how the qst
will be distributed; state questionnaire deadline; decide what to do about
non-respondents; record responses; do not get involved in complicated statistics
● case study :a specific instance frequently designed to illustrate a more general
principle; provides examples of real people in real situations, portray what it’s like to
be in a particular situation
● observes effects in real contexts
● valuable when the researcher has little control over the events
● a case study is concerned with rich and vivid description of events, provides
chronological narrative of events relevant to the case, blends a description of events
with the analysis of them, focuses on individual actors seeking to understand their
perceptions of events, highlights specific events that are relevant to the case, the
researcher is integrally involved in the case, an attempt is made to portray the
richness of the case in writing it
● strengths :
- results are more easily understood
- immediately intelligible, they speak fro themselves
- unique features that might be lost in a larger scale data
- strong on reality
- provide insights into similar situations
- can be undertaken by a single researcher
- can embrace unanticipated events and uncontrolled variables
● weaknesses:
- results may not be generalizable
- not easily open to cross-checking, may be selective, biased, subjective
- prone to problems of observes bias
● ethnography : collecting data through observation, the researcher attempts to
participate fully in lives and activities of subjects
● participant observer : complete participant; complete observer; participant
observer - identity revealed
● primary observation : keep field notes with what happed or what was said at a time
● secondary observation : statements by observers of what happened, involves
observants’ interpretation
● experiential data: perceptions and feelings as you experience the process you are
researching
● descriptive observation : concentrate on observing the physical setting
● structured observation : systematic
● advantages of ethnography : good at explaining what is going on in particular social
situations, heightens the researcher’s awareness of social processes, useful for
researchers working within their own organizations, all data collected is useful
● disadvantages : very time-consuming, ethical dillemmas, role conflict for researcher,
significant observer bias, data recording is often difficult
● coding is a primarily interpretive act
● when coding : initial codes, look for patterns, differences, sequences, group
categories into themes, elaborate theoretical propositions, link theoretical
propositions to body of knowledge to construct theory
● description : providing an account of the case or cases considered
● conceptualisation : generation of general, abstract categories from data
● both description and conceptualisation are very important to data analysis
● writing theory : sorting memos, outlining theory, role of examples
● problems with data analysis : reliance on first impressions, ignoring conflicting info,
emphasis on data that confirms, ignoring the unusual information, over or under
reaction to new data, co-occurence interpreted as correlation, too much data
● Analysis of data collected through an interpretivist approach therefore needs to be
sensitive to their variability and complexity to be meaningful.
● thematic analysis involves a researcher coding the qlt data to identify themes and
patterns
● a theme is a category identified by the analyst, smth that relates to the research
focus
● data analysis as a process of data reduction, of ‘selecting, focusing, simplifying,
abstracting and transforming the data that appear in written-up field notes or
transcriptions.’
● coding process involves finding patterns and relationships in data and then interpret
them in relation to the whole set of data and against the context in which the data
were generated
● open coding > clustering by comparison (repetition) > concept formation (axial
coding)
● CARS model of introductions :
Move 1: Establish a research territory
- By showing that the general research area is important, interesting,
problematic, or relevant (optional)
- By introducing and reviewing items of previous research in the area
(obligatory)
Move 2: Establish a niche
 - By indicating a gap in the previous research, raising a question about it or
- extending previous knowledge in some way (obligatory)
Move 3: Occupy the niche
- By outlining purposes or stating the nature of the present research
(obligatory)
- By listing research questions or hypotheses (probable in some fields)
- By stating the value of the present research (obligatory)
- By announcing principal findings (optional, PISF)
- By indicating the structure of the RP (optional)
● stages to compelling introduction : statements abt field of research to claim centrality
and importance; specific statements about aspects of the problem already studied,
laying foundation of already known information; statements that indicate the need for
more inverstagion, statements giving the purpose of study; statements that give a
positive value or justification for study
● in the literature review we refer to other research to show the significance of our
own and how our topic fits into the wider picture of discipline, to show the intended
contribution of the study
● citation patterns :
- author prominent citation (As Smith (2020) pointed out…)
- information prominent citation (The demand has been falling recently (Smith
2020))
- investigation prominent citation (a study conducted by Smith (2020) points
out..)
● too much of author prominent citation can make the text sound like a list rather than a
coherent argument
● main communicative function of methodology section : establsih credibility of results
● elements included in methods section :
- Restatement of study aim – related to aim in the introduction
- Methods used and appropriacy of methods
- Review of methodology literature
- Details of Population/Sample
- Ethics - Access
- Restrictions/Limiting Conditions
- Sampling Technique
- Justifying the chosen data collection methods
- Description of data analysis procedures (in the Methodology or Results
section)
● elements included in results section :
- introduction to results
- statements showing where results can be found
- statements presenting the most important findings and claims
- may also include : summary of results, reorganisation of results to show
trends and tendencies, relating the results to key themes in the conceptual
framework
● elements included in discussion section :
- reference to main purpose of study, restating main contribution
- review of most important findings/summary of results
 - relevance and possible explanations for the findings relating to literature or
other studies
- discuss significance and implications of these results, make claims based on
findings
- provide possible explanations for unexpected findings
- limitations of overall study that restrict the extent to which the findings can be
generalised
- insightful directions for future research on topic
● conclusions: structured as to show that the main purpose of the piece of writing has
been achieved
- should recall the issues raised in the introduction
- draw together the points made in the main body of the piece of writing by
showing implications of findings
- come to a clear conclusion