BASIC

PRESENTATION
 2

PART I. PRELIMINARY
CONSIDERATIONS
Chapter 1. The Selection of a Research
Approach
Chapter 2. Review of the Literature
Chapter 3. The Use of Theory
THE SELECTION OF A
RESEARCH APPROACH
 THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH AND
QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
words (qualitative)
numbers (quantitative) or
using closed-ended questions and
responses (quantitative
hypotheses)
open-ended questions and
responses
(qualitative interview questions)
A MORE COMPLETE WAY TO 5

VIEW THE GRADATIONS OF

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THEM
• The basic philosophical assumptions
researchers bring to the study, the types of
research strategies used in the research (e.g.,
quantitative experiments or qualitative case
studies)
• The specific methods employed in conducting
these strategies (e.g., collecting data
quantitatively on instruments versus collecting
qualitative data through observing a setting).
 6

HISTORICAL EVOLUTION TO BOTH

APPROACHES
• the quantitative approaches dominating the
forms of research in the social sciences from the
late 19th century up until the mid-20th century.
• latter half of the 20th century, interest in
qualitative research increased and along with it,
the development of mixed methods research.
With this background, it should prove helpful to
view definitions of these three key terms as
used in this book:
 7

QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
• is an approach for testing objective
theories by examining the
relationship among variables.
• These variables, in turn, can be
measured, typically on instruments,
so that numbered data can be
analyzed using statistical procedures.
 8

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
• is an approach for exploring
and understanding the
meaning individuals or
groups ascribe to a social or
human problem.
 9

THREE COMPONENTS INVOLVED IN

AN APPROACH

• philosophy
• research designs
• specific methods
 10
FIGURE 1.1 A FRAMEWORK FOR RESEARCH—
THE INTERCONNECTION OF WORLDVIEWS,
DESIGN, AND RESEARCH METHODS
 11

PHILOSOPHICAL WORLDVIEWS
• Although philosophical ideas remain largely
hidden in research (Slife & Williams, 1995), they
still influence the practice of research and need
to be identified.
• In writing about worldviews, a proposal might
include a section that addresses the following:
The philosophical worldview proposed in the
study
 A definition of basic ideas of that worldview
 How the worldview shaped their approach to
research
 12

WORLDVIEW
• “a basic set of beliefs that guide action”
(Guba, 1990, p. 17).
 13

WORLDVIEW
• “a basic set of beliefs that guide action”
(Guba, 1990, p. 17).
• Others have called them paradigms
(Lincoln, Lynham, & Guba, 2011; Mertens,
2010); epistemologies and ontologies
(Crotty, 1998),
 14

WORLDVIEW
• “a basic set of beliefs that guide action”
(Guba, 1990, p. 17).
• Others have called them paradigms
(Lincoln, Lynham, & Guba, 2011; Mertens,
2010); epistemologies and ontologies
(Crotty, 1998),
• broadly conceived research
methodologies (Neuman, 2009).
FOUR THAT ARE WIDELY DISCUSSED IN
15

THE LITERATURE:

• postpositivism
• constructivism,
• transformative
• pragmatism.
 16

POSTPOSITIVISM
• Assess the causes that influence
outcomes
• It is also reductionistic
• A researcher begins with a theory,
collects data that either supports
or refutes the theory, and then
makes necessary revisions and
conducts additional tests.
 PHILLIPS AND BURBULES (2000) KEY
17
ASSUMPTIONS OF THIS POSITION
(POSITIVISM)
• Knowledge is conjectural (and
antifoundational)—absolute truth can never
be found.
• Research is the process of making claims
and then refining or abandoning some of
them for other claims more strongly
warranted.
• Data, evidence, and rational considerations
shape knowledge.
• Being objective is an essential aspect of
 CROTTY (1998) IDENTIFIED SEVERAL
18

ASSUMPTIONS:
• Human beings construct meanings as they
engage with the world they are interpreting.
Qualitative researchers tend to use open-ended
questions so that the participants can share
their views.
• Humans engage with their world and make
sense of it based on their historical and social
perspectives—we are all born into a world of
meaning bestowed upon us by our culture.
• The basic generation of meaning is always
social, arising in and out of interaction with a
 MERTENS (2010) OF KEY FEATURES OF THE
TRANSFORMATIVE WORLDVIEW OR 19
PARADIGM
• It places central importance on the study of lives and
experiences of diverse groups that have traditionally
been marginalized.
• In studying these diverse groups, the research focuses
on inequities based on gender, race, ethnicity,
disability, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic class
that result in asymmetric power relationships
• The research in the transformative worldview links
political and social action to these inequities.
• Transformative research uses a program theory of
beliefs about how a program works and why the
problems of oppression, domination, and power
relationships exist.
 20
PRAGMATISM PROVIDES A PHILOSOPHICAL BASIS
FOR RESEARCH:
• Pragmatism is not committed to any one system of philosophy and
reality. This applies to mixed methods research in that inquirers draw
liberally from both quantitative and qualitative assumptions when they
engage in their research.
• Individual researchers have a freedom of choice.
• Pragmatists do not see the world as an absolute unity. In a similar way,
mixed methods researchers look to many approaches for collecting and
analyzing data rather than subscribing to only one way (e.g., quantitative
or qualitative).
• Truth is what works at the time.
• The pragmatist researchers look to the what and how to research based
on the intended consequences—where they want to go with it. Mixed
methods researchers need to establish a purpose for their mixing, a
rationale for the reasons why quantitative and qualitative data need to
be mixed in the first place.
• Pragmatists agree that research always occurs in social, historical,
21
 22

RESEARCH DESIGNS
• Research designs are types of inquiry within
qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods
approaches that provide specific direction for
procedures in a research study. Others have called
them strategies of inquiry (Denzin & Lincoln,
2011).
• The designs available to the researcher have
grown over the years as computer technology has
advanced our data analysis and ability to analyze
complex models, and as individuals have
articulated new procedures for conducting social
science research. Select types will be emphasized
 23

QUANTITATIVE DESIGNS
• true experiments and the less rigorous experiments called
quasi experiments (see, an original, early treatise on this,
Campbell & Stanley, 1963).
• An additional experimental design is applied behavioral
analysis or single-subject experiments in which an
experimental treatment is administered over time to a single
individual or a small number of individuals (Cooper, Heron, &
Heward, 2007; Neuman & McCormick, 1995).
• causal-comparative research in which the investigator
compares two or more groups in terms of a cause (or
independent variable) that has already happened.
• correlational design in which investigators use the correlational
statistic to describe and measure the degree or association (or
relationship) between two or more variables or sets of scores
(Creswell, 2012).
 24

QUANTITATIVE DESIGNS
• Survey research provides a quantitative or numeric
description of trends, attitudes, or opinions of a population
by studying a sample of that population. It includes cross-
sectional and longitudinal studies using questionnaires or
structured interviews for data collection—with the intent of
generalizing from a sample to a population (Fowler, 2008)
• Experimental research seeks to determine if a specific
treatment influences an outcome. The researcher assesses
this by providing a specific treatment to one group and
withholding it from another and then determining how both
groups scored on an outcome. Experiments include true
experiments, with the random assignment of subjects to
treatment conditions, and quasi experiments that use
nonrandomized assignments (Keppel, 1991). Included within
quasi experiments are single-subject designs.
 25

QUALITATIVE DESIGNS
• In qualitative research, the numbers and types of
approaches have also become more clearly visible
during the 1990s and into the 21st century. The historic
origin for qualitative research comes from anthropology,
sociology, the humanities, and evaluation.
• Narrative research is a design of inquiry from the
humanities in which the researcher studies the lives of
individuals and asks one or more individuals to provide
stories about their lives (Riessman, 2008).
• Phenomenological research is a design of inquiry
coming from philosophy and psychology in which the
researcher describes the lived experiences of
individuals about a phenomenon as described by
 26

QUALITATIVE DESIGNS
• Grounded theory is a design of inquiry from
sociology in which the researcher derives a
general, abstract theory of a process, action, or
interaction grounded in the views of
participants.
• Ethnography is a design of inquiry coming from
anthropology and sociology in which the
researcher studies the shared patterns of
behaviors, language, and actions of an intact
cultural group in a natural setting over a
prolonged period of time. Data collection often
involves observations and interviews.
 27

QUALITATIVE DESIGNS
• Case studies are a design of inquiry found in
many fields, especially evaluation, in which the
researcher develops an in-depth analysis of a
case, often a program, event, activity, process,
or one or more individuals.
 28

MIXED METHODS DESIGNS

Mixed methods involves combining or integration
of qualitative and quantitative research and data
in a research study.
 29

MIXED METHODS DESIGNS

Mixed methods involves combining or integration
of qualitative and quantitative research and data
in a research study.
Triangulating data sources—a means for seeking
convergence across qualitative and quantitative
methods—was born (Jick, 1979).
 THREE PRIMARY DESIGNS FOUND IN THE30
SOCIAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES TODAY:
Convergent mixed methods is a form of mixed
methods design in which the researcher converges
or merges quantitative and qualitative data in order
to provide a comprehensive analysis of the research
problem.
Explanatory sequential mixed methods is one in
which the researcher first conducts quantitative
research, analyzes the results and then builds on the
results to explain them in more detail with
qualitative research.
Exploratory sequential mixed methods is the reverse
sequence from the explanatory sequential design.
 THREE PRIMARY DESIGNS FOUND IN THE31
SOCIAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES TODAY:
Convergent mixed methods is a form of mixed methods
design in which the researcher converges or merges
quantitative and qualitative data in order to provide a
comprehensive analysis of the research problem.
Explanatory sequential mixed methods is one in which
the researcher first conducts quantitative research,
analyzes the results and then builds on the results to
explain them in more detail with qualitative research.
Exploratory sequential mixed methods is the reverse
sequence from the explanatory sequential design.
These basic or core designs then can be used in more
complex mixed methods strategies.
 32

RESEARCH METHODS
The third major element in the framework is the
specific research methods that involve the forms
of data collection, analysis, and interpretation that
researchers propose for their studies.
 33

RESEARCH METHODS
The third major element in the framework is the
specific research methods that involve the forms
of data collection, analysis, and interpretation that
researchers propose for their studies.
 CRITERIA FOR SELECTING A RESEARCH 34
APPROACH
Typical scenarios of research can illustrate how these
three elements combine into a research design.
• Quantitative approach: Postpositivist worldview,
experimental design, and pretest and posttest
measures of attitudes
• Qualitative approach: Constructivist worldview,
ethnographic design, and observation of behavior
• Qualitative approach: Transformative worldview,
narrative design, and open-ended interviewing
• Mixed methods approach: Pragmatic worldview,
collection of both quantitative and qualitative data
sequentially in the design
 35

THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND QUESTIONS

A research problem, is an issue or concern that needs
to be addressed (e.g., the issue of racial
discrimination).
• Certain types of social research problems call for
specific approaches. For example, if the problem
calls for
• (a) the identification of factors that influence an
outcome,
• (b) the utility of an intervention, or
• (c) understanding the best predictors of outcomes,
then a quantitative approach is best. It is also the
best approach to use to test a theory or explanation.
 36

PERSONAL EXPERIENCES

Researchers’ own personal training

and experiences also influence their
choice of approach.
 37

AUDIENCE

Finally, researchers write for audiences

that will accept their research.
 38

SUMMARY
In planning a research project, researchers
need to identify whether they will employ a
qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods
approach. This approach is based on bringing
together a worldview or assumptions about
research, a specific design, and research
methods. Decisions about choice of an
approach are further influenced by the
research problem or issue being studied, the
personal experiences of the researcher, and
the audience for whom the researcher writes.
 CHAPTER 2: 39

REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

This literature review helps to
determine whether the topic is
worth studying, and it provides
insight into ways in which the
researcher can limit the scope
to a needed area of inquiry.
 40

THE RESEARCH TOPIC

• The topic is the subject or subject
matter of a proposed study, such as
“faculty teaching,” “organizational
creativity,” or “psychological
stress.”
• Describe the topic in a few words
or in a short phrase.
• The topic becomes the central idea
 41

THE RESEARCH TOPIC

• Wilkinson (1991) provided useful advice for
creating a title: Be brief and avoid wasting words.
• Eliminate unnecessary words, such as “An
Approach to . . . ,” “A Study of . . . ,” and so forth.
Use a single title or a double title. An example of
a double title would be “An Ethnography:
Understanding
• a Child’s Perception of War.” In addition to
Wilkinson’s thoughts, consider a title no longer
than 12 words, eliminate most articles and
prepositions, and make sure that it includes the
focus or topic of the study
 42

THE LITERATURE REVIEW

• It relates a study to the larger, ongoing
dialogue in the literature, filling in gaps
and extending prior studies (Cooper,
2010; Marshall & Rossman, 2016).
• In this model, the literature review is
shorter—say 20 to 30 pages in length
—and tells the reader that the student
is aware of the literature on the topic
and the latest writings.
 43

THE LITERATURE REVIEW

• Cooper (2010) discussed four types:
(a)integrate what others have done
and said,
(b)criticize previous scholarly works,
(c)build bridges between related
topics, and
(d)identify the central issues in a field.
 44

A LITERATURE MAP OF THE RESEARCH

• This map is a visual summary

of the research that has been
conducted by others, and it is
typically represented in a
figure.
 45

A LITERATURE MAP OF THE RESEARCH

• This map is a visual summary

of the research that has been
conducted by others, and it is
typically represented in a
figure.
 46

ABSTRACTING STUDIES

• An abstract is a brief review of

the literature (typically a short
paragraph) that summarizes
major elements to enable a
reader to understand the basic
features of the article (see
Example 2.1 ).
 47

THE DEFINITION OF TERMS

• Define terms that individuals

outside the field of study may
not understand and that go
beyond common language
(Locke, Spirduso, & Silverman,
2013).
 48

A LITERATURE MAP OF THE RESEARCH

• This map is a visual summary

of the research that has been
conducted by others, and it is
typically represented in a
figure.
 49

ABSTRACTING STUDIES

• An abstract is a brief review of

the literature (typically a short
paragraph) that summarizes
major elements to enable a
reader to understand the basic
features of the article (see
Example 2.1 ).
 50

CHAPTER 3 THE USE OF THEORY

• In quantitative research,
researchers often test hypotheses
stemming from theories. In a
quantitative dissertation, an
entire section of a research
proposal might be devoted to
presenting the broader theory
guiding the study hypotheses.
 51

CHAPTER 3 THE USE OF THEORY

• In qualitative research, the use of
• theory is much more varied.
• In mixed methods research, researchers may
both test theories and generate them.
Moreover, mixed methods research may
contain a theoretical framework within which
both quantitative and qualitative data are
collected. These frameworks can be drawn
from feminist, racial, class, or other
perspectives and they flow through different
parts of a mixed methods study