Research Design and Research ProblemsDr. David Piggott

Today1. What are the important concepts in research

design in different research traditions?2. Is there a single logic of research design?3. How do we develop research problems?

“Ask a scientist what he conceives his scientific method to be, and he will adopt an expression that is at once solemn and shifty-eyed: solemn, because he feels he ought to declare an opinion; shifty-eyed, because he is wondering how to conceal the fact that he has no opinion to declare.”

Sir Peter Medawar

1. Research conceptsa. Arrange yourselves into five or six groups

based on disciplinary commonalities.b. Distribute the post-it notes and try to offer a

single-sentence definition of a research design concept (see next). Write the concept with a definition underneath the heading. You may use the tablets to help.

c. Discuss the definitions in your group before presenting them to the others.

ConceptsTheory InductionSamplingPracticeValidityDeductionProblemConcepts

ReliabilityDataAbductionParadigmHypothesisTrustworthinessEthics

2. Logic of designa. In your group, discuss common ways of

designing research in your discipline.b. Place your post-it notes on the poster paper in an

order that you think represents common logic in your discipline (you may not want to use all the concepts as some may not be relevant).

c. Once you’ve finalised a logical design process and agreed, present your ideas to the class drawing on an ideal type example. Note similarities and differences between disciplines.

Horses for courses?Natural/physical

Object Exist without usVariables

ObservableCan be isolated

Logic Experimental(conditions + theory = hypothesis > test)

Quality Validity (accuracy)Reliability (repeatability)

Writing Third personObjectiveSanitised retrospect

Social/HumanitiesObject Created by usVariables

Observer interactionCannot be isolated

Logic Various(see next)

Quality AuthenticityTrustworthinessTransparency

Writing First personSubjective‘Confessional’

Abst

ract

C

oncr

ete

S1 S2 S3 S4 Structures

M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 Mechanisms

E1 E2 E3 E3 E4 E6 E7 Events

Types of research in social science (adapted from Sayer 2010: p.237)

IntensiveExtensiveAbstract

Synthesis

3. Research problemsYour main guidance will come from your research supervisor here, however…

Where do problems come from?Problems or ‘problem situations’?How do problems change as your study

evolves?

Your research problems…Write down your research problem and share it

with someone in the group. Is your problem novel? If yes, how do you know?Who else would be interested in the solution to the

problem?How long have you spent formulating the

problem?

“…when we are not sure what needs to be taken into account, or even which questions to pose – or when the issue is too subtle to be

captured by the familiar categories of conscious thought – we need recourse to the tortoise mind.”

Claxton, G. (1998) Hare brain tortoise mind. London: Fourth Estate.

“A young scientist… is well advised if his teacher tells him [sic]: ‘try to learn what what people are discussing nowadays in science. Find out where the difficulties arise, and take an interest in disagreements. These are the questions you should take up’… In other words, you should study the problem situation of the day.” (Popper, 1972: p. 129)

P1 TS EE P2, 3, 4…

Problem is likely to change after a literature review, in light of better understanding of theory, its weaknesses and/or applications in a given field.

“you also have to deal with formulating the research question at several stages of the process: when you conceptualise the design, when you enter the field [or lab], when you select the cases, and when you collect the data” (Flick, 2006: p. 105)

Popper’s theory of critical rationalism (or science as ‘conjecture and refutation’)

Further reading Chalmers, A. F. (1999) What is this thing called science?

Bucks: Open University Press. Sayer, A. (2010) Method in social science. London:

Routledge. Popper, K. R. (1972) Conjectures and refutations: the

growth of scientific knowledge. London: Routledge (chapter 1).