Chapter 3
Chapter 3: Strategies for Designing Research
Introduction
The perspective we bring to our work partially dictates the kinds of questions we will ask
Sociological Imagination: capacity to recognize the connection between individuals and their social context.
It distinguishes between private troubles and public issues and is used to understand the connection between biography and history. C.W. Mills (1959) called it the “promise of sociology.”
He thought that we could use the sociological imagination to explain why people are tied to certain parts in history
Sociological imagination can help us differentiate between private problems (within our character) and public problems (matters that transcend the environment of the self)
E.g. if one person is unemployed in the city, it’s private and personal; if many people are unemployed in the city, it’s a public issue and sociologists should investigate the situation
Troubles occur within the character of the individual – have to do with limited areas of social life
Issues have to do with matters that transcend the local environment
Undermining the Hierarchy of Credibility
Hierarchy of Credibility: The common situation in which those in superordinate positions and “experts” are seen as more credible than those in subordinate or marginal social positions.
In qualitative research, aim to give individuals in less influential positions the opportunity to explain, in their own terms, how they experience and understand their everyday lives
Participatory Action Research (PAR)
PAR: A form of community-based research that often aims to identify the needs and priorities of the group and translate findings into a form that can influence social policy or effect interventions to improve the situation of the group.
Researcher and participants collaborate in all stages of the research
Use PAR to influence social policy and improve the group’s situation
Characteristics:
Involves collaboration between researchers and participants in all phases of research
Progresses through active involvement
Reflects and mobilizes participants’ desires and needs
Emphasizes co-construction of knowledge
Promotes self- and critical awareness leading to individual, collective, and/or social change
Addresses issues of oppression
Focuses on social change, producing advocacy reports, policy documents, and legal materials.
Emphasizes co-ownership of data, using diverse formats like documentaries, poetry, and blogs to engage the public and inspire grassroots and policy-level action.
Where to Find Ideas for Research Topics
Through Personal Experience
Ideas can originate in childhood or adulthood, tied to personal life or occupation – does not matter
Through Serendipity
Serendipity: In general, a lucky coincidence. Researchers often experience an unexpected, spontaneous moment of inspiration that leads them to discover a social setting, research area, or theoretical insight while not actively looking for one.
E.g. researcher went to a museum of tattoos, spontaneously got a tattoo, then began to research it
By “Hanging Around”
Potential researcher spends time in a setting that looks as though it might be a fruitful site for research
E.g. sitting in a hair salon to get a haircut, then was inspired to do a study on beauty salons
Because It Is Convenient
Parents study involve their children in a study on children’s social worlds
By Combining Personal with Theoretical Questions
Start with an idea or concept, then conduct a study around it
How to Begin Your Own Study
Start Where You Are and Acknowledge Limitations
Start with something you have familiarity with – something you have an interest in/care for
But if you are too emotionally invested in a topic, might be hard to produce good, scientific work
Writing a “researcher identity memo” will allow you to see if there are any concerns about the viability of you and your topic
Background in certain topics might give you access to communities and topics that others cannot penetrate for research
E.g. being a certain background allows one to reduce barriers such as language, culture and cultural legitimacy
Understanding the empathy needed for Indigenous researchwill allow researchers to avoid the trap of conducting “parachute research” whereby participants feel as though their only purpose was to advance the career of researchers
Need to build relationships with Indig communities
$$$ = limitation → always make sure the project is doable within budget
Remember you want to start where you are but do not want to end in the same position
Avoid “me-search”: doing the same topic in every class
By Developing Research Questions
Qualitative research is analytical and descriptive rather than prescriptive.
First, brainstorm a list of questions that are interesting and will hold your attention for the duration of the study
Think of generic social processes
Consider the process of:
Acquiring perspectives: refers to how we learn to define objects in certain ways/have particular attitudes toward those
Achieving identity: relates to how one becomes an object to oneself
By Determining a Theoretical Stance
Do not need to be wedded to a particular theoretical stance but should have an initial standpoint
E.g. feminist stance would likely develop questions related to issues of gender
By Choosing a Method
Once topic and research interests are determined, need to pick a method
Observational
Qualitative Interviews
Think about who will answer your questions, hierarchy of credibility and getting close to those who have lived experience in this
Focus-group
Bring together a small group of participants and ask them to discuss their views on topic
Gather data from unobtrusive methods: readings news, following blogs, Twitter, TV
By Consulting the Literature
In quantitative studies, the researcher reads literature related to his or her topic to develop hypotheses to test in the process of research