1 CHOOSING YOUR RESEARCH METHODOLOGY WHAT IS AT

1 CHOOSING YOUR RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: WHAT IS AT STAKE? PROFESSOR RACHEL LA TOUCHE – SOCIOLOGY DEPARTMENT

2 OUTLINE • Epistemology • Research Problems Research Questions • Research Methods

3 EPISTEMOLOGY • Tell me something you believe very, very confidently (something that is 100% true)! • How do you know what you know?

4 EPISTEMOLOGY THE STUDY OF THE NATURE OF KNOWLEDGE • Science • Tradition • Experience • Faith • Observation • Authority - Not all ways of knowing are equally valid and/or reliable

5 RESEARCH PROBLEM RESEARCH QUESTION - should meet six criteria 1. a puzzle in social life/behavior that fascinates you 2. a contemporary issue 3. a puzzle that is unanswered, but answerable 4. clear, concise, measurable concepts 5. narrowed scope 6. defined population parameters

6 RESEARCH PROBLEM – WHAT DO YOU WANT TO KNOW? • A research problem is the foundation of any inquiry. It should tackle the following (at least): 1. A puzzle in social life/behavior that fascinates you and other scholars 2. A contemporary issue 3. A puzzle that is unanswered, but answerable

7 TURNING RESEARCH PROBLEMS INTO RESEARCH QUESTIONS A “good” research question should have: 4. clear, concise, measurable concepts 5. narrowed scope 6. defined population parameters

8 EXAMPLE - RESEARCH QUESTION How to spot a good research question! a. Do gated communities improve safety for its residents? b. What risk factors contribute to the incidence of mental illness among Uof. T undergraduate students? c. What time is it? d. How satisfied are Canadian men and women with their pay, work conditions and level of autonomy at their current jobs?

9 RESEARCH QUESTIONS – WHERE STUDENTS GET STUCK! How do you know if a question is answerable? 1. The data, population or subject of study must be available, accessible and/or collectible 2. The timeline, funding, scope and resources must be available, accessible and/or collectible 3. The answer must be unknown (at least mostly unknown)

10 QUESTIONS?

11 WHAT ARE RESEARCH METHODS? • Research methods are the rules and procedures that scientists use to approach a research question. • It is necessary that the rules of practice are standardized because this allows for rigorous and reproducible work.

12 RESEARCH PROCESS Theory Where you start in the research process, depends on the methodological approach you choose – qualitative or quantitative! Empirical Generalizations Analysis I D n e d d u u c Research c t Question t i i v v e e Data Hypotheses Operationalization

13 METHODOLOGICAL APPROACHES Quantitative, Qualitative or Mixed Methods • The research approach you choose – qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods – should be determined by your research question

14 METHODOLOGICAL APPROACHES • Quantitative • A technique in which researchers collect and report data numerically • Usually deductive (theory data) • Usually for answering research questions that start with WHAT, WILL and/or DO/DOES! • E. g. Do lottery winners become isolated after winning prize money? • E. g. Will legalizing marijuana cause mass riots?

15 EXAMPLES - QUANTITATIVE • Surveys • Observations • Experimental Methods

16 METHODOLOGICAL APPROACHES • Qualitative • A technique in which researchers collect and report data using “thick description” • Usually inductive (data theory) • Usually for answering research questions that start with HOW and WHY! • E. g. How does homelessness impact property values in urban neighbourhoods? • E. g. Why do residents in Nordic countries live happier, longer lives than North Americans, on average?

17 EXAMPLES - QUALITATIVE • In-depth Interviews • Focus Groups • Ethnography • Observation • Content and/or Discourse analysis • Archival research

18 QUANTITATIVE VS. QUALITATIVE • Quantitative § Advantage Allows scientists to model relationships and calculate statistics § Disadvantage Requires high volume of responses, and can miss descriptive nuance • Qualitative § Advantage Descriptive, rich and detailed § Disadvantage Costly, often local in focus, time consuming

19 EXAMPLE – ONLINE DATING Do Ok. Cupid users lie about their height and income on online dating profiles, and why? • Which concept(s) in this research question need to be specified/measured?

20 MEASUREMENT – CONCEPTUALIZATION & OPERATIONALIZATION • Conceptualization is the process of describing what we mean when we use particular terms – e. g. justice, work ethic, consciousness • Operationalization is the process of turning a concept into a measure concept = lie dimension = intent (motivation), consequence (extent of harm) indicator = Was accurate information available when the lie occurred? Was a person deceived by the inaccurate information?

21 RQ: DO OKCUPID USERS LIE ABOUT THEIR HEIGHT AND INCOME ON ONLINE DATING PROFILES, AND WHY? • Let’s say we define a LIE for the purposes of our research as the intentional (although not necessarily malicious) fabrication and/or misrepresentation of information regarding height and/or income on online dating profiles, with the express purpose of appearing more attractive to a potential mate. What is the biggest problem we’re going to run into if we try to ask Ok. Cupid users about lying on their online dating profiles?

22 POTENTIAL MEASUREMENT ISSUES – QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE • Social desirability the phenomenon that respondents give socially appropriate answers to questions. This can bias your data! • Questions of a sensitive or personal nature are most likely to yield biased responses

23 POTENTIAL MEASUREMENT ISSUES – QUANTITATIVE & QUALITATIVE Validity & Reliability

24 CAUSALITY AND CORRELATION – QUANTITATIVE • Causality vs. Correlation • Causality is the idea that a change in one variable results in a corresponding change in another variable • To establish causation, you must: • Establish correlation • Establish time sequence (temporal order) • Eliminate alternative explanations

25 QUESTIONS TO HELP YOU DECIDE ON YOUR METHOD 1. Is data already available on your population/question of interest? (secondary data analysis) 2. How many respondents/participants do you need to answer your question? (scope) 3. How easy is it to gain entrée and/or recruit in this population? (access) 4. Will your presence as a researcher interfere with data collection (bias) • If so, is there a way to triangulate your data (reliability) 5. How can you adequately protect your research subjects’ confidentiality? (ethics) 6. How can you fairly compensate research subjects’ for their time/participation? (ethics)

26 WHERE TO START? DATABASES AND RESOURCES • Research Librarian • Literature on your topic/research problem • ICPSR (http: //www. icpsr. umich. edu/icpsrweb/) • Rethinking Social Inquiry: Diverse Tools, Shared Standards – Clifford Geertz • Statistics Canada (including the Census) (http: //www 12. statcan. gc. ca/censusrecensement/index-eng. cfm) • Learning from Strangers: The Arts & Method of Qualitative Interview Studies – Robert S. Weiss • World Health Organization (http: //www. who. int/gho/en/) • Fundamentals of Social Research, 3 rd Canadian Edition - Babbie and Benaquisto • United Nations (http: //data. un. org) • Elementary Statistics: A Step by Step Approach – Allan G. Bluman • PEW Research Center (http: //www. pewresearch. org/)

27 THANK YOU! • You are welcome to contact me if you have other questions as you work through your project: rachel. latouche@utoronto. ca