Research Design – planning your thesis.pdf

Slides for research design

1. Research
Design –
planning
your thesis
22/05/2024

2. Activity #1
Take turns introducing yourself and writing
your proposed title on the whiteboard

3. Lifting the Curtain on Research Process
•Actual process was messy and iterative:
Hypothesis Methods Results Conclusion
•The finished product is ex post facto account
Written to look like:
Hypothesis -> Methods -> Results -> Conclusion

4. Stages in the Development Process
1. Finding a broad topic
area that interests me
3. Formulating (answerable)
questions
2. Reviewing literature: for
inspiration, to find ‘gaps’ and identify
questions, choose methods
4. identifying data/methods
to answer my question
Reformulating my question
because: it wasn’t answerable; no data;
somebody did it already; can’t get access to
appropriate sources; too narrow/broad or boring
Refocusing my topic area
because: it was too boring, big/narrow, lit
review opened up new questions, formulating
questions/data point to new areas
5. (Re-)Writing my proposal

5. Step 1
Define your research question
Pitfalls to avoid:

•Poor focus– topic too big,
too “woolly”, too familiar
•No conceptual
framework (i.e. lacking
the bigger picture and a
means of engaging with it)
•Disconnect between
overall aims and analysis
presented
•Potential topic areas
•What has already been done is this area?
•seminal works in the literature
•Extent and limitations of existing
research
•Areas of debate and uncertainty
•Research questions worth asking
•Concepts, methods and data for
answering them
•Ways your study ‘fits in’ to and advances
wider literature
Literature review #1

6. Step 2
Define your conceptual approach
Interpretive social science
Naturalist social science Critical/Realist social science
Research to
(i) know truly
(empiricism)
or (ii) predict
(positivism
Research to
critique and right
wrongs
Research to
understand
Qual. methods
interviews, focus groups
participant observation
Statistics,
surveys,
Quant. methods
Ideology critique,
Participatory Action
research, Abstraction &
theorizing
Ontology: reality is
intersubjective
Epistemology: truth is
fiction, something made up
Ontology: reality is stratified,
discerned through abstraction
Epistemology: objectivity is a
myth: truth is a function of power
Ontology: reality is objective
Epistemology: truth is
correspondence

7. Step 2
Define your conceptual approach

8. Step 2
Define your conceptual approach
•Introduction
•Methods
•Results– facts and findings without
interpretation
(and)
•Discussion– interpretation but no new
data introduced

9. Activity #2
On the whiteboard, add your conceptual
approach, or a set of questions to help
define your conceptual approach.

10. Step 3
Define your scope of analysis
•Over what time period and spatial area?
•Broad (but shallow) v. deep (but narrow)?
•What data are available?
•What can you realistically hope to achieve in the time available to you?

11. Step 4
Identify your method
Before you can start designing your research, you should already have a clear idea of the research
question you want to investigate.
Qualitative approach Quantitative approach
•Understand subjective experiences, beliefs, and
concepts
•Gain in-depth knowledge of a specific context or
culture
•Explore under-researched problems and
generate new ideas
•Measure variables and describe frequencies,
averages, and correlations
•Test hypotheses about relationships between
variables
•Test the effectiveness of a new treatment,
program, or product

12. Step 4
Identify your method
•Within both qualitative and quantitative approaches, there are a multitude of methods. It is essential
that your chosen method is suitable for your research question! In your literature search you should
have identified specific methods that have been used previously to address similar topics.
•Typical quantitative approaches include correlation analysis, descriptive statistics, GIS and remote
sensing, computational modelling, experimental tests, supply chain analyticsetc.
•Typical qualitative approaches include developing inductive theory, ethnography, discourse analysis,
interviews, case studies, causal loop mapping, gap analysis, stakeholder analysis etc.
•It’s also possible to use a mixed methods design that integrates aspects of both approaches. By
combining qualitative and quantitative insights, you can gain a more complete picture of the
problem you’re studying and strengthen the credibility of your conclusions.

13. Activity #3
On the whiteboard, add your scope of
analysis and your chosen method, or a set
of questions to help define your method

14. Step 5
Choose your data collection methods
1. Survey methods -Surveysallow you to collect data about opinions, behaviours, experiences, and
characteristics by asking people directly. There are two main survey methods to choose from:questionnairesand
interviews.
Questionnaires Interviews
•More common in quantitative research
•May be distributed online, by phone, by
mail, or in person
•Usually offer closed questions with
limited options
•Consistent data can be collected from
many people
•More common in qualitative research
•Conducted by researcher in person, by
phone, or online
•Usually allow participants to answer in
their own words
•Ideas can be explored in depth with a
smaller group

15. Step 5
Choose your data collection methods
2. Observation methods- Observations allow you to collect data unobtrusively, observing characteristics,
behaviours, or social interactions without relying on self-reporting.
Observations may be conducted in real time, taking notes as you observe, or you might make audiovisual
recordings for later analysis. They can be qualitative or quantitative
Quantitative observation Qualitative observation
•Systematically counting or
measuring
•Categories and criteria
determined in advance
•Taking detailed notes and
writing rich descriptions
•All relevant observations
can be recorded

16. Step 5
Choose your data collection methods
2. Other methods-There are many other ways you might collect data depending on your field and topic.
Approach Examples of data collection methods
•Discourse analysis •Collecting a sample of texts (e.g.,
speeches, articles, social media posts,
music) for data on cultural norms and
narratives
•Remote sensing •Radar sensing, Lidar, Spectrometer,
Landsat images, Unmanned Aerial
Vehicle images
•Correlation analysis •Secondary data e.g. published
empirical datasets on emission rates
and hospitalisations, or biodiversity
trends and public spending on nature.

17. Activity #4
On the whiteboard, add your data
collection method, or a set of questions to
help define your data collection.

18. Abstract –
Summarise the research gap, your
objectives, methods and results
Methods
Succinct description of your data
collection and analytical techniques
Literature review
Critically evaluate the background literature. What are the different
arguments, what are their strengths and weaknesses
Results
Present your results in a clear, visually
appealing way (do not discuss your inferences)
Discussion
Discuss your results in the context of your literature review and aims/objectives. This is
where you need to demonstrate your critical thinking and reflexive skills.
Conclusion
Summarise findings
Aims/objectives
What is the research gap and consequently what are your
aims/objectives
Your conclusion needs to address your aims/objectives
–
were these
met and what was the result
Structure your discussion around your objectives
Your discussion need to reflect on the literature review
–
how do your
results add to the literature
Discuss any limitations of your methods
Dissertation structure