Practical Research 1 - Scientifc Inquiry & Research Paradigms

science

a systematic and organized body of knowledge in any area of inquiry that is acquired using the scientific methhod

natural sciences

-the science of naturally occuring objects or phenomena

- classified into physical sciences, life sciences, etc.

social science

a field that studies people and the relationships among them

basic sciences

-pure sciences

-explains basic objects and forces, their relationships, and the laws governing them

applied sciences

-practical sciences

-sciences that apply scientific knowledge in a physical environment

scientific knowlegde

a generalized body of laws and theories to explain a phenomenon or behavior of interest, acquired using the scientific method

research paradigm

-A cluster of beliefs and rules that guide scientists in a discipline, influencing what and how it should be studied, and how results should be interpreted.

-same as research method

qualitative and quanitiative studies

2 types of research paradigms

qualitative study

-theory-emergent using inductive reasoning/approach

-data uses words that are analyzed through coding

-sample size is small

-instruments are interviews and FDGs

-question type is open-ended and semi-structured

quantitative study

-theory-testing using deductive reasoning/approach

-data uses numbers that are analyzed through statistical treatment

-sample size is large

-instruments are survey questionnaires or forms

-question type is closed-ended and structured

data

information that has been obeserved and collected

FDG

-focus group discussion

-a group of participants with the same perceptions

-used to confirm info

primary sources

firsthand information

observation, interviews, and questionnaires

primary sources include...

observation

an action of observing a group of people or a phenomenon to understand it/them

participant observation

the researcher engages in the activities the participants are involved in

non-participant observation

researcher is a passive observer, not involved or engaged in the activities the participants are involved in

secondary sources

records that explain or interpret primary sources

literature and studies from other researchers and authors

secondary sources include...

hawthorne effect

A change in a subject's behavior caused simply by the awareness of being studied

interview

conversations used to collect in-depth qualitative data by asking questions to gather information about an individual's experiences, perspectives, and meanings

structured interview

has predetermined questions

unstructured interview

no set of predetermined questions

semi-structured interview

there is a list of predetermined questions, but the researcher can ask different questions

DOI

data object identifier

-where references are found

participants

people in a descriptive qualitative research

respondents

individuals who answer a survey in a descriptive quantitative research

subjects

people or objects in a experimental qualitative research

population

collection of people with a common characteristic & the main focus of the study

sample size

a portion of the population chosen to represent the population

sampling technique

the method used to obtain the participants for a study from the population

probability sampling

-everyone has an equal chance of participating

-not biased

simple random sampling

-everyone having an equal chance of inclusion in the sample

-draw lots or spin the wheel

stratified sampling

-chosen by group

-must be fairly represented

systematic sampling

-chosing participants based on a system (e.g. every 10th person)

cluster sampling

-choosing clusters within the researchers' reach

-for a large population

Non-Probability Sampling

-involves the researchers' judgement

-acceptible, but might be scrutinized due to possible bias

Convenience Sampling

choosing individuals who are easiest to reach

Quota Sampling

based on a predetermined number of participants

Purposive Sampling

researchers rely on their own judgement to select participants

Snowball/chain-referral Sampling

participants recruit other participants