Research Designs (Strategies)Based on:

Denscombe (2014), chapters 1-10

HEST 5001: Lecture 3

Philosophies / Paradigms / Dilemmas

Methodological Criteria

Research Strategies / Designs

Research Methods

Data Analysis

(Dyson & Brown, 2006:3)

Which Level of Research?

• Action Research• Case Study• Conceptual Mapping• Content Analysis• Discourse Analysis• Documents• Ethnography• Experiment• Focus Group• Interview• Grounded Theory

• Multivariate Analysis• Observation• Phenomenology• Positivism• Post Modernism• Questionnaire• (Scientific) Realism• Survey• Symbolic Interactionism• Thematic Analysis• Unobtrusive Measures

SurveysCase studies Experiments EthnographyPhenomenologyGrounded theory Mixed methodsAction research(Denscombe, 2007)

Philosophies / Paradigms / DilemmasPositivism / Subjectivism / Critical realism / Postmodernism

Methodological CriteriaInternal validity / External validity / Reliability

Research Strategies / Designs Experiments / Surveys / Action research / case studies / ethnography / grounded

theory / phenomenology / mixed methods

Research MethodsQuestionnaires / interviews / observations / documents

Data AnalysisInferential statistics / descriptive statistics / content analysis / thematic analysis /

discourse analysis / interpretive phenomenological analysis

(Dyson & Brown, 2006:3)

Features of a survey:

Wide and inclusive coverage – taking all in

At a specific point in time – to bring things up to date

Empirical research - measuring and recording

• Sampling– Probability: random / systematic / stratified / quota /

cluster / multi-stage– Non-probability: purposive / snowball / theoretical /

convenience • Observation, questionnaire, documents• Response rates • Case-variables matrix• Descriptive stats (inferential stats)• Missing cases

A design NOT a method – postal / internet / telephone / face-to-face surveys/ documents / observations

Advantages Disadvantages

Empirical data Tendency to empiricismWide and inclusive coverage

Detail and depth of the data

Lend themselves to quantitative data

Accuracy and honesty of responses

Costs and time Sample bias with internet surveys Easily ignored

Variable 1

Variable 2

Variable 3

Variable 4

Person/Case

Female/Male

Ethnic Origin

Smoker Cigarettes

0001 F White Yes 25

0002 M Black Caribbean

No 0

0003 Missing Asian (Indian)

No 0

0004 M White No Missing

Example of a case-variables matrix (SPSS)

Variable 1

Variable 2

Variable 3

Variable 4

Person/Case

Female/Male

Ethnic Origin

Smoker Cigarettes

0001 1 9 1 25

0002 2 5 2 0

0003 0 1 2 0

0004 2 9 2 -1

Examples of surveys

Census (ONS)

General Household survey

Geological surveys

National Student survey

Opinion polls

Satisfaction surveys (e.g. in hospitals)

What surveys have been undertaken, or could be in your area of practice?

Features of a Case studies

• Spotlight on one instance of the thing

• In depth study

• Focus on relationships and processes

• Natural setting

• Multi-method and sources

Use of case studies

• EXPLORATORY - develop propositions for further study

• DESCRIPTIVE - describes phenomenon rarely before subject of study and discovers key phenomena

• EXPLANATORY - test competing theories against same events

Selection of cases

How the case will be usedTypical instance Extreme instanceTest-site for theoryLeast likely instance

Practical considerationsConvenience Interesting

No ChoiceCommissioned researchUnique opportunities

Advantages Disadvantages

Allows researchers to deal with subtleties and intricacies of complex situations

Credibility of generalizations

Multiple method approach Perceived as producing “soft” data

Multiple sources of data: triangulation

Boundaries of case can be difficult to define

No pressure on the researcher to impose control

Negotiating access

Concentrating efforts on one site

Observer effect

Theory building and theory testing can use case study approach

Survey versus Case Study

↑← B R E A D T H →

EPTH↓↓↓↓

Examples of case studies

Alder Hey Hospital, Liverpool / Bristol Royal Infirmary

Shipman Inquiry / Beverley Allitt

Victoria Climbie / Baby P

What case studies have been undertaken, or could be in your area of practice?

Experimental Strategy 1

“An empirical investigation under controlled conditions”

Identification of causal factors Control - manipulation of variables Empirical observation and measurement

Null hypothesisOperationalization of variablesInferential stats (descriptive stats)

Experimental Strategy 2

• Measure Dependent Variable

• Manipulate Independent Variable

• Control for Confounding Variables

• “Relationship between smoking and lung cancer ” [DV]

Experimental Strategy 3

• A change in level of smoking will alter incidence of lung cancer [Two-tailed or bi-directional]

• A decrease in the level of smoking will decrease incidence of lung cancer [One-tailed or unidirectional]

One-tailed or two-tailed hypothesis

Experimental Strategy 4

• Participant (expectancy) effects (Hawthorne) (‘blind’)

• Experimenter (expectancy) effects (‘double blind’)

Experimental Strategy 4

• Subject (expectancy) effects (‘blind’)

• Experimenter (expectancy) effects (‘double blind’)

Advantages Disadvantages

Repeatable Deception and ethics

Precision Artificial settings

Convenience Representativeness of the research subjects

Credibility Control of relevant variables

Group work 1: Design an experiment

• To test if there is a relationship between drinking alcohol and reaction time

• What is your independent variable? How will you operationalize it?

• How many levels of the independent variable will you use?

• Will you use a control group?

• How will you operationalize the dependent variable?

• Who will be your participants?

• How will you avoid participant effects?

• How will you avoid experimenter effects?

• How will you allocate participants to groups?

Examples of experimental studies

Laboratory experiments

Clinical trials

Four-layer bandaging for leg ulcers

What experimental studies have been undertaken, or could be in your area of practice?

Qualitative designs

Ethnography

Phenomenology

Grounded theory

Meanings, perspectives, emotions, motives Exploratory, definitive, explanatory Rigour Narrative data Quantity and quality

Qualitative designs

Useful for investigating:

Ethnography Whyte [1943] (1981)

Requires considerable time in the field

Ordinary aspects of everyday life are important

How people in the group studied view the world (meanings etc) are important to ethnographers

The inter-linkages between aspects of the culture

Final account is a construction rather than a description

Direct ObservationEmpirical (direct contact with people)Detailed dataHolisticActor’s perceptionsContrast and ComparisonSelf-awarenessEcological validity

Advantages Disadvantages

Direct observation Tensions within the approach

Empirical Stand-alone descriptions Links with theory Story-tellingDetailed data Reliability Holistic EthicsContrast and comparison AccessActors’ perceptions Insider knowledgeSelf awarenessEcological validity

Examples of ethnography studies

Poltorak et al. (2005) MMR talk in Brighton

Porter (1993)

See module guide – ethnography special issue of Social Science & Medicine (Nov 2004)

What ethnographic studies have been undertaken, or could be in your area of practice?

PhenomenologyIn contrast to positivism, phenomenology is seen as an approach that emphasizes:

Subjectivity (as opposed to objectivity)

Description (as opposed to analysis)

Interpretation (as opposed to measurement)

Agency (as opposed to structure) (Denscombe, 2007: 75)

Experience

Everyday world

Seeing things through the eyes of others

The social construction of reality

Multiple realities

Description

Suspension of common-sense beliefs

Members accounts

Advantages DisadvantagesOffers the prospect of authentic accounts of complex phenomena

Lacks scientific rigour

A humanistic style of research

Associated with description and no analysis

Suited to small-scale research

Generalizations from phenomenological studies

The description of experiences can tell an interesting story

Attention to the mundane features of life

Feasibility of suspending common sense

Examples of phenomenology studies

Mackey S (2004) Phenomenological research: methodological insights derived from Heidegger’s interpretive phenomenologyInternational Journal of Nursing Studies 42, 1: 179-186

What phenomenological studies have been undertaken, or could be in your area of practice?

Grounded theory

Developed by Glaser & Strauss – The Discovery of Grounded Theory(1967)

Theories should be grounded in empirical research

Theories should be generated by a systematic analysis of the data

Researchers should start with an “open-mind”

Theories should be useful to those on the ground

Advantages DisadvantagesRecognized rationale for qualitative research

Does not lend itself to precise planning

Fairly adaptable Tendency to divorce explanation from broader context

Focus on practice “Open-minded” approach can operate at a variety of levels

Systematic way of analysing qualitative data

Daunting complexity of process

Analysis can draw on computer software

Interpretivists unhappy at suggestion that theories provide the one explanation

Developing theories from qualitative data

May be criticized as being “empiricist”

Explanations are grounded in reality Well suited to the exploration of new topics and new ideas

Examples of grounded theory studies

Sun et al. (2008) Family care of Taiwanese patients who had attempted suicide: a grounded theory study. Journal of Advanced Nursing 62, (1): 53-61

What grounded theory studies have been undertaken, or could be in your area of practice?

Mixed methods

• Use of qualitative and quantitative approaches within a single research project

• Explicit focus on the link between approaches (Triangulation)

• Emphasis on practical, problem driven approach to research (Pragmatism)

Types of mixed method design

• Sequential – Qual Quan – Quan Qual

• Simultaneous

• Multilevel

Advantages DisadvantagesA more comprehensive account of the thing being researched

Time and costs of the research project can increase

Clearer links between different methods and the different kinds of data

Researcher needs to develop skills with more than one method

Good use of triangulation QUAL / QUAN distinction tends to oversimplify matters

A practical, problem-driven approach to research

Mixed methods designs that are generally recommended do not allow for emergent research designs Pragmatism – is open to misinterpretation Findings from different methods might not corroborate one another

Examples of mixed method studies

Dyson, S.M. et al. (2010) Disclosure and sickle cell disorder: a mixed methods study of the young person with sickle cell at school. Social Science and Medicine, 70, (12): 2036-2044.

See: Alicia O’Cathain’s work from Sheffield

What mixed method studies have been undertaken, or could be in your area of practice?

Action research“Research that produces nothing but books will not suffice” (Lewin, 1946: 35)

Practical – deals with real world problems

Change – to deal with the problem and part of the research process

Cyclical process

Participation

Baseline Assessment

Observing & Recording

Reflecting & Learning

Planned Intervention

• Educative

• Deals with individuals as members of social groups

• Is problem-focused, context-specific and future-orientated

• Involves a change intervention

• Involves a cyclical process in which research, action and evaluation are interlinked

• Is founded on a research relationship in which those involved are participants in the change process

Source: Hart and Bond (1995)

Action research

Advantages Disadvantages

Addresses practical problems in a positive way

The necessary involvement of practitioners limits scope

Benefits for the practitioner:PDP

Integration of research with practice limits the feasibility

Should entail a continuous cycle of development and change workplace

The nature of the research is constrained by what is permissible and ethical

Involves participation in the research for practitioners

Ownership of the research process becomes contestableTends to involve an extra burden of work for the practitioners, The researcher is unlikely to be detached and impartial

Examples of action research studies

What action research studies have been undertaken, or could be in your area of practice?

• Role of tutors in clinical areas (Owen, 1993)

• Facilitate change in a psychiatric hospital (Towell and Harries, 1979)

• Evaluation of developmental project for Ward sisters (Lathlean and Farnish, 1984)

• Introduction of self-medication for elderly patients (Webb, 1990)

• Changes in service provision for people with disabilities (Hart and Bond, 1995)

Groupwork 2: selecting appropriate strategies