Research Methodology

    The nature of qualitative research
    Which of the following is not a criticism of qualitative research?
    The discussion in question 7 should help us to realise that, whatever other criticisms may be levelled at qualitative research; being too rigid and inflexible cannot be one of them! This must be regarded, in fact, as its greatest strength. Qualitative research can be accused of not offering opportunities for replication studies. Here again, it is difficult to see how a particular study, which has adjusted to the emerging data, should be replicated, because any study should have the same flexibility in-built. Qualitative studies are subjective, of necessity. This is a feature of this kind of research so the criticism may not be as valid as “lack of transparency”. There is no excuse for not describing the basis on which participants were selected for a study nor for not reporting the precise process of analysis.
    Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 398-400
    Author: rikazzz Comment
    Quantitative data analysis
    What is the difference between interval/ratio and ordinal variables?
    The data that we gather varies from person to person. People are of different ages, have different income levels and prefer to do some things more than other people. We call these things variables just because their values vary from person to person. Analysis of quantitative data starts by trying to understand what kinds of variables we are dealing with. A person’s age is an example of an interval/ratio variable, because ages are measured in years. We can do a lot of statistical analysis on this kind of variable because the interval (one year) is the same for everybody in our data-set. Some variables are called ‘dichotomous’, meaning all possible answers are of one of two types (male/female, for example). We call those variables ‘nominal’, which we can, literally, only “name”, like many types of job occupation, for example. Finally, we refer to some variables as ‘ordinal’, which means we can only place the values in an order of first, second, third and so on, without considering the gap between the first and second, or whether it was the same as between second and third. Apart from dichotomous variables, all others can be rank-ordered.
    Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 334,335
    Author: rikazzz Comment
    Computer-assisted qualitative data analysis: using NVivo
    Which of the following is not an advantage of using CAQDAS in social research?
    There are numerous advantages to using CAQDAS, most of which centre on its speed and efficiency and the way in which mapping out “coding trees” of related ideas helps you to develop a grounded theory. While each CAQDAS program is unique and involves slightly different screens, functions and ways of representing the data, the basic techniques of importing, coding, retrieving and searching will be common to all of the programs and so provide you with a useful transferable skill. Obviously, new computer programmes have to be learnt and this takes time but the reward in this case is not just of skill acquisition but of helping to make the data processing and analysis transparent.
    Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 603
    Author: rikazzz Comment
    Quantitative data analysis
    If there were a perfect positive correlation between two interval/ratio variables, the Pearson’s r test would give a correlation coefficient of:
    A coefficient is a measure of the degree to which two sets of numbers co-relate. If the variables always move in ‘lock-step’ with each other, we call that a ‘perfect’ correlation. Sometimes the variables move in the same direction as each other, a ‘positive’ correlation and sometimes in the opposite direction, a ‘negative’ correlation. Pearson’s r test gives an answer of +1 when there is a perfect positive correlation between interval/ratio variables and -1 when there is a perfect negative correlation between them.
    Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 341
    Author: rikazzz Comment
    Asking questions
    Which of the following is not an advantage of using closed questions in a survey?
    Closed questions are, indeed, quicker and easier for respondents to complete, making this a real advantage for this type of question over open-ended questions. If the questions have been pre-coded, the responses are easier to process and analyse, making this another advantage. Furthermore, since interviewers may record what they think the respondent means by a particular answer, closed questions tend to reduce the possibility of variability of what is actually recorded. The clear disadvantage of closed questions lies in their very nature – they do not permit spontaneity.
    Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 247-250
    Author: rikazzz Comment
    Quantitative data analysis
    A test of statistical significance indicates how confident the researcher is about:
    Tests of statistical significance allow the researcher to estimate how confident they can be that there is a real relationship between the variables they are studying and thus that their results can be generalized from the sample to the target population.
    Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 346, Key concept 15.1
    Author: rikazzz Comment
    Asking questions
    Informant factual questions are those that:
    A factual question is designed to gather factual data, rather than data about opinions or beliefs. There are three types: (a) concerning the respondent personally; (b) concerning people known to the respondent; (c) concerning entities known to the respondent. Answer (a) to this question actually relates to the first type “personal factual questions”; answer (c) is close to type two, “factual questions about others”; answer (d) does not relate to factual questions at all. We call the third type “informant factual questions” to indicate the “informant” or “informer” role we ask the respondent to play, wherein we ask questions concerning their factual knowledge of, for example, their place of work in terms of its size or ownership and so on. It is true that the respondent may not know the “facts” for certain, so we are then really gathering impressions of facts, rather than the facts themselves.
    Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 250
    Author: rikazzz Comment
    Quantitative data analysis
    When might it be appropriate to conduct a multivariate analysis test?
    Multivariate analysis involves the analysis of three or more variables, and tends to be used when we have reason to suspect the nature of the relationship between two variables. Bryman discusses the three main reasons for doing this analysis on pages 345 and 346. Two variables can, indeed, be related to each other but perhaps in a more complex way than appears at first sight. Perhaps when a number of factors co-exist the relationship between any two of them is strong. Multivariate analysis enables us to test for many types of cross-relationships between a number of variables at once.
    Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 344,345
    Author: rikazzz Comment
    Planning a research project and formulating research questions
    You can manage your time and resources best, by:
    Resources are scarce, whether of time, money, or institutional facilities. At the outset of your research planning, it is advisable to work out a timetable. This is not just an allocation of so many days or weeks to particular aspects of your study but a calculation of feasibility of finishing within the stipulated time. You may need to scale down the scope of your research accordingly. Similarly with money. Some research projects are more expensive than others because they involve more travel, for example. Can you undertake this cost? Is it really worthwhile? As far as institutional facilities are concerned, the first question concerns physical availability, of tape recorders, computer software for data analysis, for example. But the second question concerns the number of others who might also need those facilities at the same time as you, don’t be last in the queue!
    Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 75-78
    Author: rikazzz Comment
    Qualitative data analysis
    Which of the following is not a tool of grounded theory?
    The main tools of grounded theory are theoretical sampling, coding, theoretical saturation and constant comparisons between concepts and their indicators. Theoretical sampling is a process of gathering data from people (or texts) who are thought more likely to have data relevant to the general hypothesis and continuing until redundancy (theoretical saturation) sets in. The objective is to establish a general theory grounded in the empirical data, although, in practice, concepts are generalized more often than theory. External validity is concerned with the question of whether research results can be generalized to other groups who were not the focus of the research and is closely associated with quantitative research. Grounded theory attempts to develop a ‘substantive’ theory, which is then tested in settings other than that in which it was generated, so the concept of external validity is not relevant.
    Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 573
    Author: rikazzz Comment