This document contains the lecture notes including all the information out of the powerpoint presentations. This was used at the course Research Design and Research Methods from the Wageningen University. Also see my summary for the book of David da Vaus, required for this course!
Research design and research methods – YRM20806
Book: Research Design in Social Research by David de Vaus
Tutorial 1: Introduction
What is special about scientific research?
Finding answers to scientific research questions
General research question (GRQ): What are the weather characteristics in the Netherlands?
Research process: design data collection from object having features data analysis
What is special about scientific research?
Scientific research is …
Objective
- Unbiased (i.e., not prejudiced when collecting scientific data)
- Non-normative (i.e., should present facts not norms)
Systematic
- Measurement should be reliable (i.e., instrument measurers consistently)
= random error
- Measurement should be valid (i.e. instrument measures what it supposes to measure)
= systematic error
Theoretical
- Make use of existing and sometimes competing theories (cf. research proposal)
- Cumulative (i.e., research results)
Distinctions in scientific research
Descriptive (exploratory): describes something in the world
- What is the average income in the Netherlands? (income)
Correlational: investigates the relation between constructs
- Is income in the Netherlands related to gender? (gender income)
Explanatory: investigates causality between constructs
- Does network determines income? (network income)
Distinctions in scientific research
Data can be collected through:
Primary data: self-collected data
- Through scientific research (laboratory experiment)
- GRQ: is playing violent videogames related to aggressive behavior in public?
Secondary data: other researchers’ primary data
- Desk research
- GRQ: is snowfall related to traffic jams?
Distinctions in scientific research
Empirical vs. Non-empirical
- Empirical: knowledge acquired through observation (synthetic)
- Non-empirical: knowledge based on logic or definition (analytic)
Hypotheses suited for empirical research?
- The Dutch population has increased over the last decade (empirical)
- Parallel roads do not cross (not empirical)
- European countries are more wealthy than African countries (empirical)
Distinctions in scientific research
Quantitative research
- Measurement in terms of numbers (measurement by assigning numbers to a limited set of variables (likert scale)
- Identifying general patterns that apply to many objects
- Attitude-Behavior link
- Measured with a few variables (reductionist approach)
Qualitative research
1
, - Measurement in terms of words
- Identifying unique patterns in only a few objects
- What is your opinion about Fair Trade coffee?
- Measured with many variables (holistic approach)
Distinctions in scientific research
Scientific research can be divided in:
Beta – natural and technical sciences (biology, chemistry, physics)
Gamma – social sciences (psychology, anthropology)
Alpha – humanities (languages, history, philosophy)
Distinctions in scientific research
Scientific research can be:
Applied research or practice-oriented research
- Gain knowledge to help solve a practical problem (E.g., fuel-wood use and deforestation in Africa)
Fundamental research or theory-oriented research
- Gain knowledge to improve or expand existing knowledge about a specific phenomenon
(E.g., Houston and Mumbai floods) (E.g., identification of dimensions constituting disaster experiences)
Exercise
Identify for each research project whether it concerns theory-oriented or practice-oriented research
Investigate problems of small cocoa farmers in Ghana to help improve their economic position
Investigate the DNA of apples
Investigate the effectiveness of a campaign collecting empty batteries to help avoid environmental
pollution in the Netherlands
The empirical cycle
Goal: generation and verification of theories
Start: existing knowledge problem
Consist of five phases:
Theory building
1. Observation
2. Induction
Theory testing
3. Deduction
4. Testing of hypotheses
5. Evaluation
Example of a knowledge problem
What causes the extraordinary increase over the last 30 years (1918 -1945) in the mortality attributed
to lung cancer? (R. Doll and B. Hill)
Example of theory building
1. Observation
- Lung cancer has become progressively more common after World War I
- Lung cancer more common in large towns compared to the countryside
- Cities grew
- Increased used of cars and tarmac or asphalt roads
- Increase smoking of tobacco instead of chewing
2. Induction
- It could be caused by the tar produced by the combustion of coal
- The cause is motor transport (exhaust of cars and particles from the new tarred road surfaces)
- The cause is smoking of cigarettes (tar inhalation)
3. Deduction
2
, - Hypothesis 1: Lung cancer occurs more in people who by their occupation are exposed to
exhaust of cars and/or tarmac roads than in other people
- Hypothesis 2: Lung cancer occurs more among smokers compared to non-smokers
- Hypothesis 2 extended: The more people smoke, the higher the probability they will die from
lung cancer
4. Testing
- History of lung-cancer patients compared to history of patients with stomach or large bowel
cancer. Data collected at 20 hospitals in London (Doll, 1947)
- Longitudinal study; a group of British physicians were categorized according to their smoking
histories/habits. Death causes were analyzed to see whether heavy cigarette smokers had the
highest incidence of lung cancer (Hill, 1951)
5. Evaluation of study results
- Senior clinicians and cancer research workers did not trust the dataset, and were therefore not
convinced of a causal relationship
- Smoking not only causes lung cancer but other diseases (such as asthma) as well
Example exam question
1. A researcher discovers that Belgian people are slightly heavier than Dutch people on average. He
suspects that this is because Belgians eat more chocolate. He draws a sample from the Dutch and
Belgian population, and measures the weight and chocolate consumption from the people in his
sample. In which phase of the empirical cycle is his research?
A. Observation
B. Induction
C. Deduction
D. Testing
2. A researcher visits a foreign country to study the local agriculture. After having seen three farms that
cultivate rice, she says to herself: ‘This must be a rice cultivating country’. Her reasoning is best
described as:
A. Observation
B. Induction
C. Deduction
D. Testing
3. Two statements:
I. Research that assesses the crime rate in a country can be called descriptive research
II. Research to compare Gross National Products in democratic and in non-democratic countries can
be called explanatory research
A. Only statement I is correct
B. Only statement II is correct
C. Both statements are correct
D. Both statements are incorrect
Research proposal
Conceptual design: why do you want to perform your research project and what is needed? (see
also tutorial 2)
- Why? (solve problem, either practical or fundamental)
- What? (need knowledge to solve problem)
Technical design: detailed description of all the decisions involved to successfully realize your
research project
- Where? (research units or objects, location)
- When? (time frame)
- How? (study design, data-collection method)
Tutorial 2: Regulative cycle of problem solving (applied research)
3
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