Developing a Research Question - Term Paper Example

Developing a Research Question To develop a novel research question it is essential that one should see into the research already done in a particular area of interest. The review of literature is important as a researcher will come to know the probable areas in a field that require further investigation. If review of literature is not done properly, duplication of research work will take place which will be wastage of time, energy and resources. “A thorough critical evaluation of existing research often leads to new insights by synthesizing previously unconnected ideas, and can provide methods for the collection of data and suggest solutions. An analytical reading of the literature is essential and is especially important if one is aiming to collect raw data.” (Hart 2001, P.2). Justifying a Research Question: When a research question is selected to be worked on it; it should be supported by four main things. Firstly, it should be seen that the research question under consideration is relevant in the social setup and whether such a research will be advantageous to the society and other social researchers. Secondly, how far the research question is researchable. ”Some problems are simply not amenable to methods of social research. Ethical questions, which are extremely relevant to welfare policies and people working in social welfare, may not be researchable.”(Alston & Bowles 2003). For example, if the research question is ‘Should employers be allowed to select employees based on mental stability?’ Then, it cannot be researched based on tools in social studies as it is a question related to ethical consideration, humanitarian values and legal laws. The question does not offer any form of patterns in the society to be researched on. If the question is like “Does the employer have different attitudes to employees with mental disabilities?” can be researched with the tools of social research as there is presence of evident patterns and available sequence of data. Thirdly, feasibility is a criteria which requires the researcher to ensure that the work can be carried out in the present social setup and whether the sample or source required for generating the data is easily available or not. For example, considering the above second question, if in a particular social setup, the people won’t disclose their mental disabilities in public or in a professional atmosphere. The above research topic will not be feasible. Time and the money involved in carrying out a research project also come under feasibility. Lastly, the ethical considerations should be met in relation to the research question and it should be well framed before carrying out the research. The ethical considerations will depend on the social setup and the legal framework of a country. Confidentiality and privacy of the participants will be a major concern if the research question is related to sensitive issues. The purpose for conducting a research in regard to research topic should be mentioned with a clear idea. The nature of the research should fall into one of the three main criteria as described; 1) Exploratory Research- which investigates a particular social happening which is less known 2) Descriptive Research- Explaining the different factors that defines the social world which the researcher has some prior knowledge provided by a exploratory research 3) Explanatory Research- which determines and defines a social happening. Paradigms: Positivist, Interpretivist and Feminist: Emile Durkheim projected the opinion that the concepts of social research should be defined using scientific techniques and laws that are considered in the area of physics and other scientific fields. This idea by Emile describes the base of positivist sociology. The researcher Auguste Comte expressed that the social nature can be correlated to the theories of natural world and the ultimate wisdom can be derived with the help of senses through concentrated observation and experimentation. Positivism lean on four aspects of assumption described as following. Firstly ‘Determinism’, is put forwards that an incident is generated from the surrounding situation. So, understanding the surrounding is important for knowing future events and to control it. Secondly ‘Empiricism’, describes the requirement of a valid empirical signs to give a base to theories. Thirdly ‘Parsimony’, relates to description of a happening in a suitable and understanding manner. Lastly ‘Generality’, is the method of applying the happening to the globe as a whole. Interpretivism measures the social world from an individual aspect. ” It places the emphasis of explanation in the subjective consciousness of the social participants instead of the objective observer (Burrell &Morgan, 1979). Under Interpretivism, general rules and external structures of the society does not exist and the aim of the social research is to investigate the meaning and interpretations of social actors in specific situations.” (Ching 2008). As Interpretivist research looks from an individual’s angle so the research stay within small dimensions. The importance is given to the quality and core methods of the research. The Social world is a creation of each and every human being. Communication and interpersonal interactions gives way to the development of a social world. One’s own behaviour is self guided. “Feminist research includes research on women and research for women and the aim of research on women is to elucidate bias and inequity in the way women are treated in various social settings and institutions and to fill-in the gaps in our knowledge about women. Feminist empiricists adhere to the standards of current qualitative and quantitative methods, they believe that any method can be feminist and their ontological and epistemological stance is similar to interpretivists or realists.” (Assumption of feminist paradigms, 2008). “Feminist research makes great use of the semi-structured and unstructured interview. Feminist perspective sees traditional interviewing as a masculine paradigm, embedded in masculine culture, stressing masculine traits and excluding sensitivity, emotionality and other traits culturally viewed as feminine.” (Punch & Punch 2005, p.172). The differences among these three paradigms are many. Positivism asserts that no relation exist between person and real life circumstances. Observed and objective reality occur out of the limits of subject’s. Though Interpretivism points out that person and real life situations are closely connected and reality of the world is measured by a person based on his/her own experience in life. Feminist paradigm relates to circumstances of women in an Interpretivist manner. Quantitative and Qualitative Research: Qualitative Research is based on the description of a source of information and does not involve any mathematical models. In social research it helps in the determination and explanation of the human behaviour and the facts that lead to the behaviour. Qualitative method investigates the reasons like ‘how’ and ‘why’. A conclusion was made regarding a situation rather than looking only for the place and time of the decision making situation. Qualitative research is used in different areas like feminist studies, disability studies and psychology. Quantitative Method in regard to social research employs a well sequenced empirical analysis of personality traits, capabilities and happening and the connection between the above factors. Quantitative Methods helps in growth and use of mathematical models, theories and conjecture. Statistics is an inseparable component of Quantitative Research. In social research, the repetition of a particular observation is numerically recorded and the product of an observation is correlated to quantitative properties like personal traits and capabilities. “The functional or positivist paradigm that guides the quantitative mode of inquiry is based on the assumption that social reality has an objective ontological structure and that individuals are responding agents to this objective environment. The assumption behind the positivist paradigm is that there is an objective truth existing in the world that can be measured and explained scientifically.” (Matveev 2002). “Qualitative research shares the theoretical assumptions of the interpretative paradigm and so three characteristics of qualitative inquiry can be suggested based on fundamentals of interpretative paradigm. Firstly qualitative research is the study of symbolic discourse that consist of study text and conversation, secondly qualitative research is the study of the interpretive principles that people use to make sense of their symbolic activities and lastly qualitative research is the study is the study of contextual principles.” (Matveev 2002). As Qualitative research looks in for a detailed investigation into an event. Small samples are considered for such research study and it provides information from a single case study. Generalizing such case studies is considered as an hypothesis. The role of Quantitative Research is applied here to validate the hypothesis generated from a qualitative method. In relation to the analysis, the employer’s attitude towards employees with mental disabilities is considered. Qualitative methods can be employed to find the main factors that lead to the incidents. Analyzing the incident in detail with interpretative paradigm as the background will help in a clear understanding of the situation. Probability and non-probability sampling: “In probability sampling all elements in the population have some opportunity of being included in the sample, and mathematical probability that any one of them can be selected can be calculated. While non-probability population elements are selected on the basis of their availability or because of the researcher’s personal judgment that that they are representative.” (Herek 2009). In relation to the research question, when selection of the samples takes place; they are selected randomly by probability sampling. Most of the individual who faces discrimination due to mental illness comes forward and they may be from different organizations with different environmental setting. The environment, type of employment and the abilities required in an environment can also play a vital role in discrimination against people with mental illness by the employer. Using a probability sampling can recruit subjects from different sections of the society and from different areas of employment. This helps in studying in a wide range. In a non-probability sampling, the researcher considers only the available sample .The subjects from different employment areas and different sections of the society will be excluded. Data Collection Using Quantitative and Qualitative Methods: “Qualitative research methodologies are designed to provide the researcher with the perspective of target audience members through immersion in a culture or situation and direct interaction with the people under study. Qualitative methods used in social research include observations, interviews and these methods are designed to help researchers understand the meanings people assign to social phenomena and to elucidate the mental processes underlying behaviours.” (Weinreich 2006). The build up of hypothesis take place by evaluating the acquired data and there will be a subjective connection linked to the outcome of such methods. Qualitative research employs multiple ways for acquiring data as follows. Firstly, participant observation which is a technique of self referent learning is considered. “In participant observation the researcher is required to spend considerable time in the field, and study the phenomena within its social and cultural context. Researchers try to immerse themselves in a setting and become part of the group being investigated to understand the meaning that subjects put upon events or situations” (Lacono, Brown & Holtham 2009, pp.39-46). This technique is unique as researcher moves into the atmosphere of the subject study rather than calling the subject to the researcher’s place. Secondly, un-structured observation is described as follows “ In unstructured observation the researcher does not use predetermined categories and classifications but make observations in a more natural open ended way. Whatever the recoding techniques, the behaviour is observed as the stream of actions and events as they naturally unfold.” (Punch & Punch 2005, p.172). Thirdly “Semi-structured interview is used to collect qualitative data by setting up a situation (the interview) that allows a respondent the time and scope to talk about participants opinions on a particular subject. The objective is to understand the respondents point of view rather than make generalizations about behaviour uses open-ended questions.” (Social research skill, n.d, p.1). Here the researcher tries to make a psychological connection with the study subject. “Quantitative research uses methods adopted from the physical sciences that are designed to ensure objectivity, generalizability and reliability. These techniques cover the ways research participants are selected randomly from the study population in an unbiased manner, the standardized questionnaire or intervention they receive and the statistical methods used to test predetermined hypotheses regarding the relationships between specific variables.” (Weinreich 2006). The importance of Quantitative Methods is that, its product outcome can be related to a large population. Structured interview is a common example. “In its simplest form, a structured interview involves one person asking another person a list of predetermined questions about a carefully-selected topic. It can be used as a powerful form of formative assessment. That is, it can be used to explore how a respondent feels about a particular topic before using a second method (such as observation or indepth interviewing) to gather a greater depth of .information.” (Social research skill, n.d, p.1). A structured interview is not feasible in obtaining information regarding complex issues. Quantitative and Qualitative Data Analysis: In most social research the data analysis involves three major steps; firstly the cleaning and organizing the data which involves checking for accuracy of data, developing database structures. Secondly describing the data which can be done by using descriptive statistics or other qualitative methods and finally testing the hypothesis and models” (Analysis, 2006). In case of Qualitative research, data evaluation starts from the time of acquiring the information regarding the research question. Qualitative data analysis involves three main criteria which are noticing, accumulating information and information based analyzing. “The process is iterative and progressive because it is a cycle that keeps repeating. For example, when you are thinking about things you also start noticing new things in the data and then collect and think about these new things. The process is recursive because one part can call you back to a previous part. For example, while you are busy collecting things you might simultaneously start noticing new things to collect. The process is holographic in that each step in the process contains the entire process. For example, when you first notice things you are already mentally collecting and thinking about those things.” (Seidel 1998). In relation to Quantitative data analysis statistics play a vital role. The commonly used methods of data analysis are chi-square test, cluster analysis, regression analysis and spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. Descriptive statistics and methods of hypothesis analysis like t-test play a vital role in analyzing the data of social research in the quantitative context. Optical Matching Analysis (OMA) is widely used in Quantitative data analysis. “OMA is a family of procedures that takes into account the full complexity of sequence data. The technique was introduced into sociology by Andrew Abbott, who has applied OMA to a range of sociological issues, such as the development of the welfare state and musicians’ careers.” (Chan 1999). Ethical and Political Considerations in Social Research: “The literature has shown some ethical principles of research, which involve humans that social scientists have to establish with the research respondents in all social research. The first of these is respect for persons, that is, that individuals or specific groups should be treated as autonomous agents and that persons with diminished autonomy are entitled to protection.” (Sobrinho 2003). The next principle that should be considered in beneficence states that, a person involved in any kind of research should have benefits and any kind of side effects should be reduced to the smallest. The last factor is justice and no research should contain matters that can consider the state or federal legal rights of the subject under consideration. According to the Australian association of social workers “In carrying out their professional tasks and duties, social workers strive to act in ways that give equal priority to respect for human dignity and worth and the pursuit of social justice. This commitment is demonstrated through service to humanity, integrity and competence, which characterize professional social work practice.” (Code of Ethics: Values and principles, 2002). “The protection of the subjects’ rights to informed consent and freedom from coercion to participate in research, and constraints upon the undue use of deception and concealment, are ethical requirements likely to present the social researcher with important methodological questions. In turn the methodological requirements of random selection and assignment of participants to experimental conditions in more controlled studies raise additional ethical issues.” (Kimmel 1988, p.67). Keeping the confidentiality and privacy of subjects involved in a social research is important when subjects with mental illness or other diseases of concern are considered. Human Ethical committees evaluate that; in a social or any other kind of researches the safety, right and security of human subject is ensured. Social research also had its taste of political issues. The guidelines given by declaration of Helsinki , World Health Organization (WHO) and other regulatory authorities like Food and Drug administration (FDA) of United States give the essential requirements and ethics that should be followed in taking human subjects in research. “In the 1896 when the U.S Supreme Court established the guarantee of equality to African –Americans within the norms of segregation. It was widely believed that the court was influenced by the writings of William Graham Summer, a social scientist.”(Babbie 2009, p.78). Reference List Alston, M & Bowles, W., 2003. Research for social workers: An introduction to methods. [Online] Routledge. Available at: http://books.google.co.in/books?id=c70ifrLqsFIC&printsec=frontcover&dq=sources+of+data+in+social+work&source=gbs_similarbooks_s&cad=1#v=onepage&q=sources%20of%20data%20in%20social%20work&f=false [Accessed 26 May 2010]. Analysis, 2006. [Online] Knowledge Base. Available at: http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/analysis.php [Accessed 4 June 2010]. Assumption of feminist paradigms, 2008. [Online] RWJF Qualitative Research Guideline Project. Available at: http://www.qualres.org/HomeFemi-3519.html [Accessed 26 May 2010]. Babbie, E R., 2009. The practice of social research. [Online] Cengage Learning, p.78. Available at: http://books.google.co.in/books?id=QySynvetGQIC&pg=PA77&lpg=PA77&dq=ethics+and+politics+in+social+research&source=bl&ots=y3oeybalTH&sig=DnedgWnNi_jPT8b9YjAoGqZhC_U&hl=en&ei=_zj8S8O7KsWHcamDgIQC&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CB4Q6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=ethics%20and%20politics%20in%20social%20research&f=false [Accessed 26 May 2010]. Chan, T W., 1999. Social research update: Optimal matching analysis. [Online] University of survey. Available at: http://sru.soc.surrey.ac.uk/SRU24.html [Accessed 26 May 2010]. Ching, B., 2008. PAF 602 –The interpretivist paradigm and intellectual identity. [Online] Restrained Freedom. Available at: http://www.restrainedfreedom.com/2008/10/paf-602-the-interpretivist-paradigm-and-intellectual-identity/ [Accessed 26 May 2010]. Code of Ethics: Values and principles, 2002. [Online] AASW, p.8. Available at: http://www.aasw.asn.au/document/item/92 [Accessed 26 May 2010]. Hart, C., 2001. Doing a literature search: A comprehensive guide for the social sciences. [Online] SAGE, p.2. Available at: http://books.google.co.in/books?id=1WYZ51Ljh1wC&dq=literature+review+in+social+research&printsec=frontcover&source=in&hl=en&ei=8zcHTIzEFMq4rAff3KCXAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=12&ved=0CD8Q6AEwCw#v=onepage&q=literature%20review%20in%20social%20research&f=false [Accessed 4 June 2010]. Herek, G. M., 2009. A brief introduction to sampling. [Online] A Brief Introduction to Sampling. Available at: http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/rainbow/html/fact_sample.html [Accessed 26 May 2010]. Kimmel, A.J., 1988. Ethics and values in applied social research. [Online] SAGE, p.67. Available at: http://books.google.co.in/books?id=B04s1Eeo2QUC&pg=PA67&lpg=PA67&dq=informed+consent+social+research&source=bl&ots=dkuSAPBh4w&sig=xv2d5gg-GWk18o8gVEuIuI5O8o8&hl=en&ei=alkHTLHxLIuwrAeV6vx6&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10&ved=0CE0Q6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=informed%20consent%20social%20research&f=false [Accessed 4 June 2010]. Lacono, J. Brown, A. & Holtham, C., 2009. Electronic journal of business research methods: A case example of participant observation. [Online] Academic Conference Ltd, 7(1). Pp.39-46. Available at: http://www.ejbrm.com/vol7/v7-i1/Iacono_et_al.pdf [Accessed 4 June 2010]. Matvee, A. V., 2002. The advantages of employing quantitative and qualitative method in intercultural research: Practical implications from the study of the perceptions of intercultural communication competence by American and Russian managers. [Online] RCA. Available at: http://www.russcomm.ru/eng/rca_biblio/m/matveev01_eng.shtml [Accessed 26 May 2010]. Punch, K.F & Punch, K., 2005. Introduction to social research: quantitative and qualitative approaches. [Online] SAGE, p.172. Available at: http://books.google.co.in/books?id=OvzPabc83HoC&pg=PA172&lpg=PA172&dq=feminist+perspectives+on+social+research&source=bl&ots=qNVK3P-Ep1&sig=J6ctYjYuU6v5GHUIP3ecGM9S6II&hl=en&ei=eHAHTOWfF9SyrAex0Jh1&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CDsQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=feminist%20perspectives%20on%20social%20research&f=false [Accessed 4 June 2010]. Seidel, J V., 1998. Qualitative data analysis. [Online] Quails Research. Available at: ftp://ftp.qualisresearch.com/pub/qda.pdf [Accessed 26 May 2010]. Sobrinho, M V., 2003. Ethics in social research: Social researchers and their responsibilities in establishing ethical relationship with research respondents, research sponsors and co-researches. [Online] Movendo Ideias Artigos. Available at: http://www.nead.unama.br/site/bibdigital/pdf/artigos_revistas/217.pdf [Accessed 26 May 2010]. Social research skill, n.d. [Online] Research Methods. Available at: http://www.sociology.org.uk/methfi.pdf Accessed 26 May 2010]. Weinreich, N. K., 2006. Integrating quantitative & qualitative methods in social marketing research. [Online] Weinreich Communications. Available at: http://www.social-marketing.com/research.html [Accessed 26 May 2010]. Read More