important from topic to question 18 january 2013 (1)
TRANSCRIPT
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Moving from topic to
research question
3105 Plenary Session # 9
18 January 2013
Kees Biekart
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RP process and planning
From topic to question
Asking questions, defining research
problems
Combining argument and evidence
Adding to knowledge?
Overview of this session
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What did we do so far in 3105?
Information literacy workshops
Finding, evaluating, processing information
Making correct references
Using Refworks and Write-and-Cite
Choosing Research Techniques
Courses in Term 2 and 3 (2 x 4 EC; 1 x 8 EC)
Introducing the Research Paper
Student panel & Staff panel in December 2012
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Organization: 3105 logistics
Five plenaries (one a fortnight) and five smallgroup workshops per Major (in the weeksfollowing the plenaries)
The plenaries will cover some of the key topics to
prepare for the Research Paper The workshops will allow for further discussion in
smaller groups and discussions with Major staff
You will write your RP as part of your Major
Moodle 3105 covers the plenaries; the MajorMoodle covers the workshops
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The RP Process 2013 (1)
RP Preparation plenaries (5) and
RP Preparation workshops (5)
With the Staff of your Major
Every Major has different preferences
RP Proposal >> 15 April 2013
Describes initial RP idea: process of moving from topic
to research question drawing on relevant literature Appointments of supervisor and second reader
Some Majors want to assign supervisors already inFebruary, others prefer to do so in April
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The RP Process 2013 (2)
RP Design Seminars >> 21-24 May 2013
Develop the RP Design with guidance and supportfrom your supervisor in March-April
Everyone will have his/her own 50 minutes seminar
Formal feedback from colleague students and secondreader on RP Draft Design
RP Design >> 7 June 2013
Submit refined RP Design Will be assessed on pass/re-submission basis for the
3105 course
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The RP Process 2013 (3)
RP Draft submission >> 16 September 2013
Summary of data collected and preliminaryprocessing looking towards final conclusions
Any revision of RP research question
RP Draft Seminars >> 23 Sept 2 Oct 2013
Formal (and written) feedback from peers andsecond reader
Basis for writing final RP version (6 weeks)
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The RP Process 2013 (4)
Final RP submission >> 13 November 2013
Answering research questions (and reflecting onusefulness of literature and data limitations)
Max 17,500 words; language edited; correctlyreferenced; nicely structured and presented
RP Grade and Comments >> 10 Dec 2013
Written feedback from supervisor and second reader,and a final grade (based on average)
Potentially: nominated for RP Award
MA Graduation >> 13 December 2013
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Sources of Assistance for your RP
All your ISS courses and readings
ISS RP Design and RP Draft seminars
Your RP supervisor
Your second reader (at strategic points)
Your colleagues
Your Major convenor(s) Me
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What is research?
Gathering information to answer a question thatsolves a problem
But not all problem-solving leads to (reliable)
research output Research is demanding: finding a good
question, sound data, a solid argument,supporting clear answer
(!) Be critical and skeptical to research reports:some of it is bad, and even faked
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Who is your audience?
Be aware of the role of writer and reader
Who do you wish your research to inform?
Who do you want to convince you have made acontribution to knowledge?
What do your various readers expect? Are
there conflicting demands needing more than
one document?
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From a (personal) interest to a topic
Read recent articles, recent RPs
Look at conclusions: suggestions for furtherresearch
Look for current points of controversy
Search for review essays in recentdevelopment studies journals
If you have ideas on broad topic, try to narrow itdown by asking questions (to focus it)
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From a focused topic to aresearch question
Dont jump straight from topic to data
Posing questions is essential, as it will guidethe research
Ask how and why, rather than what, when andwho
Ask analytical questions about the composition,history, categorization, and values of your topic
Combine questions
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From an interesting question to asignificant question
Ask yourself: so what?
Phrase the question (I am studying)
Add a question what you want to know aboutyour topic (what, how, where, when, whether)
Add a question why you choose this topic(motivation, significance)
Go beyond I believe and we know to: Ihave found out..
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From an interesting question to asignificant question
The challenge inherent in applied research is
transforming a practitioners problem into a
researchable problem (Ben White, 2009)
Question for discussion: Why is researching
development especially challenging?
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From research question to problem
Three steps in designing the question: topic,question (significance, relevance)
From practical problem to research problem
(the research question) From to research problem to research answer
(finding out)
From research answer to practical problem(solving)
P i l i l
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Practical / socialproblem / issue
Research problem
Researchanswer
Researchquestion
Motivates
DefinesFinds
Helps tosolve
Source: Booth et al.
(2003: 58)
ResearchquestionResearchanswer
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Forms of questions
What?Empirical description of experiencesbeing researched
Who? People having those experiences
Where? Spatial extent of applicability ofresearch When? Time horizon of the research; duration of
experiences
How?More immediate causal linkagesdetermining the experiences Why? Underlying structural/meta-narrative
reasons for the experiences20
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From a topic to possible theoreticalexplanations?
Converting a belief into non-evaluative, conditional,causal questions explaining the experiences thatconcern you
Useful concepts and potential causal relationships can
be obtained from:the experiences of yourself and others (colleagues,
faculty)
the academic literature
mass media, the internet, popular opinion
your imagination
Tip: scope as long a list as you can, includingreasons you do not like. Stop reading the
literature when the list stops growing21
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Bringing empirical and theoreticalfactors into research questions
Challenge: keep the main research question manageable
Keep sub-questions conceptually and empirically close toyour main question.
While keeping all the possible causal relationships alive, itis worth focusing on one or two key relationships in yourmain research question other relationships can go intosub-questions.
When reviewing your potential data sources, you may addsub-questions on the conceptual appropriateness andlikely accuracy of the data.
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E l f h ti
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Examples of research questionsand sub questions
Which successful measures have been implementedby local human rights organizations in country A toencourage teenagers to step out of criminal gangs?
What has been the role of international
development NGOs?
How far did parental concerns about harassment inschool or on journeys to and from school influence
girls enrolment and attendance in village B in the lastyear?
What are the implications for the Education for Allglobal agenda?
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F h ti t
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From research questions tohypotheses
Not a necessary journey, but may be useful:
Origins in the physical sciences
A hypothesis is your best guess empirical answer to
the research question theoretical relationship and isusually compared with the absence of a relationship(null hypothesis)
Dichotomous testing confirmation/ falsification
But often expressed as a stochastic/probabilisticprediction of a relationship to take account of samplingerror (represented population much larger than casesinvestigated)
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E l f h h
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Examples of hypotheses
Erasing visible tattoos by members of criminal gangsis a key condition for them to step out of the group.Null hypothesis: no statistically significant relationshipwhen other possible causal variables are included inthe test.
Parental concerns with harassment in schoolsignificantly determine their daughters schoolenrolments. Null hypothesis: little evidence of suchconcerns expressed by parents in focus groups whencompared with other concerns.
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W k h ti
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Workshop suggestion
Look at a ISS Research Papers from previousyears:
How is the topic introduced (significance, relevance)?
How do you assess the research question and anysub-questions?
Do you think the research problem was correctlyexplained?
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C bi i t d id
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Combining argument and evidenceto producing quality research(1)
Eight Steps
(1) Developing research question in the light ofexisting theories
(2a) Identifying key variables and their logicallycausal relationships >> linking variables toindicators, OR
(2b) Identifying population for generalisation>> selecting case study/sample data sets forinvestigation
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C bi i t d id
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Combining argument and evidenceto producing quality research(2)
(3) Assessing quality of observation tools andrepresentativeness of data
(4) Ethics and risk assessment
(5) Data collection / quality assurance
(6) Data processing
(7) Analysis and answering research question
(8) Presenting and reflecting on evidence
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From theory to empirical observation
KEY RELATIONSHIP INDICATOR(S) AND DATA
COLLECTION TOOLS
AVAILABLE DATA AND
FIELDWORK DATA
Internal gang
discipline offers
more personal
security, even in
prisons, than outside
the prison
Gang members responses to
questionnaire on reasons for not
stepping out of criminal gangs
Recent unanalysed survey
data available from an NGO
in the area; will need to talk
to people who conducted
the survey about challenges
they faced
Parental views on
harassment inschools as a reason
for not sending girls
to school
Parental responses to sensitive,
visual prompts depicting girls in theschool environment
Local education authority
statistics. Fieldwork datafeasible through village level
focus groups with parents
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Adding to knowledge ?
Development studies research often makesepistemological claims to adding to knowledgeby providing a high quality mix of four elements:
New concepts/theory
New observations and/or new ways ofcombining existing observations
New evaluative criteria
New predictions/prescriptions
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Bottom line
Your research is a journey into a terrain wherethe previous maps are not totally accurate
Your RP job is to improve some details andrelate your map to pre-existing maps
Your role is NOT to map the whole world oronly to explore your own backyard
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