Research Methodology

    Using existing data
    Why might secondary analysis be a particularly useful method for students?
    Since secondary analysis involves the use of data that have already been collected by others, the researcher does not need to spend time and money on data collection. This can make the method attractive to those with limited resources, such as students. This does not imply that this is the only method that can be used by students – far from it. It may be the case that some students will see it as an “easy way out” of doing their own research. Done properly, this requires a lot of time and statistical knowledge. The point is that it may not be possible for students to compile such an elaborate data-set as they may find in secondary sources.
    Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 309
    Author: rikazzz Comment
    Sampling in qualitative research
    Which of the following is not a type of purposive sampling?
    Bryman draws from the work of Patton (1990) and Palys (2008) to produce a list of prominent types of purposive sampling, including answers (b), (c) and (d). The whole point of purposive sampling is that it is not probability sampling. The aim is to recruit people to the sample because of particular characteristics they have, rather than for their (possibly unlikely) ability to represent the entire population.
    Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 409, Key concept 18.2
    Author: rikazzz Comment
    Sampling in quantitative research
    It is helpful to use a multi-stage cluster sample when:
    The primary reason for using a multi-stage cluster sample is geographic dispersion of the population. This automatically involves considerably extra time and money spent on travelling to conduct the interviews or surveys. However, if you select a sample on a more local basis you will not be able to extrapolate your results to the entire population. The solution is to select regions at random, for example, in the first stage, followed by cities, perhaps, as a second stage and local council areas as a third stage. In other words, by using this ‘multi-stage’ approach, we select ‘clusters’ of the national population at random, which can produce samples more easily studied.
    Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 179, 180
    Author: rikazzz Comment
    Language in qualitative research
    The anti-realist inclination of many DA researchers is controversial because it leads them to assert that:
    Discourse analysts vary in the extent to which they bracket out the influence of external factors or “ethnographic particulars” upon individual action. Some practitioners take an anti-realist approach and deny that these structures exist beyond the level of discourse, while others who adhere to critical realism suggest that we can study the way power relationships and other structural forces operate through instances of talk and interaction. ‘Critical’ discourse analysis tries to discover why some meanings are ‘privileged’ while others are ‘marginalised’, indicating that social ‘reality’ is what it is declared to be by some and accepted by others.
    Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 542
    Author: rikazzz Comment
    Sampling in qualitative research
    What is meant by the term “theoretical saturation”?
    This term relates to Glaser & Strauss’s (1967, cited on page 410) grounded theory, in which the aim is to allow concepts to emerge gradually from the data. Theoretical sampling involves collecting more and more data to refine one’s theory until no more new ideas emerge; this is called the theoretical saturation point. Strauss & Corbin (1998, cited in Key concept 18.3 on page 411) show how saturation can be reached at the levels of concept, category and relationships between categories.
    Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 410-412, Key concept 18.4
    Author: rikazzz Comment
    Using IBM SPSS statistics
    Why might you tell SPSS to represent the “slices” of a pie chart in different patterns?
    If you only have access to a monochrome printer, this can make it difficult to see where the different coloured “slices” of a pie chart begin and end. A practical solution is to represent groups of cases in terms of patterns rather than colours. Even if you have access to a colour printer, it is usually much more expensive to print in colour than in ‘black and white’. This might be the time to find out what facilities are available to you in your institution and how the printing credits are calculated.
    Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 361
    Author: rikazzz Comment
    Using existing data
    The term “secondary analysis” refers to the technique of:
    Large amounts of data are collected by researchers and published regularly. Government departments and agencies are obliged to collect and publish statistics relevant to their areas of responsibility. Bryman asks, (p309) would it not make sense to analyse this data instead of gathering new material? “Secondary analysis” is the term we give to this kind of activity, “coming second” to the data that someone else gathered first. The most important data for quantitative research strategies is, fairly obviously, reported statistics. Secondary analysis does not involve going over the same ground but, rather, developing new insights into the data previously gathered.
    Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 309
    Author: rikazzz Comment
    Self-administered questionnaires
    In order to identify response sets in a Likert scale, you could:
    A Likert scale shows degrees of agreement or disagreement with statements and usually calls for responses along the range. When setting out the questions we might always have “strong agreement” appearing on the extreme left, with “strong disagreement” appearing on the extreme right. Some respondents develop a method of response such that they always show agreement, for example, labelled a ‘response set’. This forces us to phrase some questions negatively, so that “strong agreement” actually means “strong disagreement” and to code the questions accordingly, which we call ‘reverse scoring’. This means we must not do what answer (a) suggests and “undesirable” social behaviours can be included as freely as those more “desirable”. Explicit instructions must be given to respondents to help them provide the data we seek. We might use phrases like “there are no right or wrong answers, we are simply looking for your opinion” but exhortations about moral behaviour are best left out.
    Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 228
    Author: rikazzz Comment
    Interviewing in qualitative research
    Which of the following is an advantage of qualitative interviewing relative to participant observation?
    Qualitative interviewing can be a more appealing alternative to participant observation for a number of reasons. These include the fact that it is less intrusive, allows people to account for their actions in their own words, and allows the researcher to discover ideas that might not have emerged through participant observation. Not all social phenomena lend themselves to observation, which reveal themselves at certain times only. Even with participant observation, qualitative interviewing may be required to discover the participant’s interpretation of events.
    Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 494-497
    Author: rikazzz Comment
    Content analysis
    The purpose of a coding manual is to:
    The coding manual is a set of instructions that helps coders decide how to assign codes to the textual data. It includes a list of all the possible categories and their corresponding code numbers. A good manual will include all the dimensions of the coding process and give guidance to coders to remove possible ambiguous inferences. We can understand how important it is when we consider some of the things that might go wrong in the coding process, like low inter-coder reliability, which would render an elaborate study fairly useless.
    Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 293,294
    Author: rikazzz Comment