handouts - Department of Information and Computing Sciences

INFOWO 2015:Wetenschappelijke Onderzoeksmethoden

(Scientific Research Methods)

Methods Lecture 1:Introduction & What is Research?

Peter de Waal

Department of Information and Computing SciencesFaculty of Science, Universiteit Utrecht

Lecture 1: 1 / 48

Overview

Introduction to the course

What is research?

Lecture 1: 2 / 48

Part I

Introduction

Lecture 1: Introduction 3 / 48

Business matters

Lecturer: dr.ir. P.R. de Waal (BBL-518, e-mail: [email protected])

Course: Lectures on statistics (Tue)Lectures on methods and methodology (Thu)Research project practicum (Tue)Instruction classes (Thu)

Literature: Anol Bhattacherjee. (B)Social Science Research: Principles, Methods, and Practices.Frederick Gravetter and Larry Wallnau. (G&W)Essentials of Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences.

Exams: Written exams (closed book) with formulas providedFirst intermediate exam on Sept 29


Business matters 2

Theoretical part

Lectures

Two exams (September 29 and November 3)

Practical part: Research project

Carried out in teams of 4 students.

Weekly practicum (mandatory) with deliverables.

Synchronised with theoretical tracks.

Starts Tuesday next week!

Get the instruction manual from website!

Register online to be assigned to teams!!!


Business matters 3

Grading

Theoretical part (60%)I Each exam weighs equally.

I Mean of exams should be at least 5.Practical part (40%)

I Six partial deliverables: “sufficient/insufficient”

I Two main deliverables: graded 1–10 (with penalty for anyinsufficient partial deliverables).

I Grade for practical part is average over the two maindeliverables, must be at least 5.


Practical Matters

Lectures are not mandatory, but attendance is recommended.

Attendance to research practicum is mandatory.

No laptops/tablets/smartphones allowed during lectures.

Regular consulting hour: Tuesdays 11:00–12:45, BBG-518.

If in doubt, ask (me or the assistents)!


Outline of the practical track

P1:I Formulation of research problem and research questions

I Theoretical framework / Literature

I Operationalisation / QuestionnaireP2:

I Data collection and preparation

I Data analysis

I Conclusions


Part II

Methods and methodology

Lecture 1: What is research Introduction 9 / 48

Outline of Methodology track

1 What is research2 Literature search and review / Operationalisation3 Survey research4 Reporting, integrity, fraud5 Reliability / Validity6 Sample design / Experiments7 Case studies / Design research

Lecture 1: What is research Introduction 10 / 48

Question

What are scientific research methods?

How to formulate a research question

How to find supporting literature and theories

How to operationalise your research question

How to gather data

How to analyse the data

How to report on your research

Lecture 1: What is research Research 11 / 48

Today

What is science, what is research?

Scientific method

Research philosophies

Different types of research

Building blocks of theory


Definitions

What is science? What is research?

Science: Systematic body of knowledge:I Laws: Observed patterns of phenomena or behaviors

I Theories: Systematic explanations of the underlyingphenomenon or behavior

Scientific research:I Systematic inquiry to obtain knowledge

Why do research?

Research provides you with the knowledge and skills needed fordecision-making.

Why study research???

Study into research might help you improve the systematics ofdoing research.


Scientific Method

Standardized set of techniques for building scientific knowledge:

How to make valid observations,

How to interpret results,

How to generalize those results.

Important characteristics:

Replicability

Precision

Falsifiability

Parsimony

Lecture 1: What is research Scientific research 14 / 48

Philosophy of Science: Science, Research & Philosophy

Science:

Laws: Observed patterns

Theories: Explanations

Philosophy of science: study of

How science is / should be conductedTopics:

I Categories of scientific theories

I Methodology for acquiring scientific knowledge

Lecture 1: What is research Philosophy of science 15 / 48

A Short History of the Philosophy of Science

300BC - Rationalism: Reason is the source of knowledgeUnderstanding of nature through a process of systematic logicalreasoning,

16th C - Empiricism: Knowledge = Observe — Measure —ExperimentKnowledge acquisition as an empirical activity,

18th C - Positivism: Blend of Rationalism and EmpiricismTheory and observations have circular dependence on each other,

20th C - Postpositivism/PostempiricismIt is impossible to verify the truth although it is possible to rejectfalse beliefs.


Standard Empirical-analytical research approach

Observations

Theory

InductionDeduction


Empirical-analytical research approach

Induction (Theory building):I Constructs or evaluates propositions that are abstractions of

observationsI Example:

1 All students in this course have a smartphone2 So, all INKU/MBI students have a smartphone

Deduction (Theory testing):I Constructs or evaluates attempts to show that a conclusion

necessarily follows from a set of premises or hypothesesI Example:

1 All students have a smartphone2 For a smartphone you need a mobile subscription3 So all students have a mobile subscription


Different kinds of research

ReportingProvides account or summation of data.

DescriptiveAnswers who, what, when, where and sometimes how questions.

ExplanatoryTheory based answering why and how questions.

ExploratoryExplore new areas of inquiry

PredictiveTheory based attempting to predict future events.


Recap

What is science, what is research?

Scientific method

Research philosophies

Different types of research

Building blocks of theory

Lecture 1: What is research Building blocks of theory 20 / 48

The building blocks of theory

Topics

Unit of analysis

Concepts

Constructs

Operational Definitions

Variables

Theories and Models: Propositions and Hypotheses


Unit of analysis

Person, collective, or object that is the Subject of research.

Example: Behaviour of students on Facebook:

Students

Example: Behaviour of students on social networks:

Students, or

Social networks

Example: Behaviour of shoppers on webshop:

Shopper

Website

Webpage


Unit of analysis

Determines:

What type of data to collect

Where to collect it from


Concept

A generally accepted property or characteristic associated withcertain events, objects, people, conditions, situations orbehaviours.

Concepts have been developed over time through shared usage

Examples:

Weight, height

Distance, velocity, gravity

Status stress

Self esteem


Construct

Abstract concept, or

“Constructed type”

Image or idea specifically invented for a given research and/ortheory-building purpose.

Examples

Intelligence

Job satisfaction

Self esteem

. . .


Construct composed of concepts: Examples



Purpose: to clarify constructs/concepts

Dictionary definition

Use synonyms to clarify a concept.

Operational definition:

Stated in terms of specific testing or measurement criteria.

Specifies characteristics of a concept and how they are observed.

Example: “Trust” ???

Dictionary definition: a persons willingness to be vulnerable inorder to obtain benefits from someone or something.

Operational definition: Answer to the question:“Do you think people keep their promises?”.


Variable

Measurable representation of a concept or an (abstract) construct

Types

Dependent (DV): describes what is investigated, explained

Independent (IV): describes direct influencing factors

Moderating (MV): affects the relationship between IV and DV

Mediating/Intervening (IVV): variables that are measured andsupposed to be between the IV and DV


Independent and dependent variables

Independent DependentPresumed reason Presumed effect

Stimulus Response

Predicted from Predicted to

Antecedent Consequence

Manipulated Measured outcome

Predictor Criterion


Conceptual or Nomological Model

Describes the nature of relationships/associations betweenvariables.

Relationships are depicted by arrows.

Structure may depend on assumptions or hypotheses.

Example

IVParticipation

in trainingDV

ProductivityIV

Motivation


Moderating variable

Affects the relationship between IV and DV

May be interchanged with IV, depending on hypothesis

IVIntelligence

DVAcademic

Achievement

MVE�ort


Mediating/Intervening variable

Mechanism through which IV / MV affect DV

Can be defined as factor that influences/determines DV, butcannot be measured or observed

IVIntelligence

IVVAcademic

Achievement

MVE�ort

DVEarningPotential


Restriction (Important)

In this course we restrict the research problem (for the practicum) to“simple” models with IV and DV variables only.

Example:

IVFacebook

use DVSocial

InteractionIV

Self esteem


Recap: The building blocks of theory

Topics

Unit of analysis

Concepts

Constructs


Variables

Theories and Models: Propositions and Hypotheses


Propositions and hypotheses

PropositionA statement (meaningful sentence) that may be judged to be true orfalse

Example: “An increase in student intelligence causes an increase inacademic achievement.”

HypothesisEmpirical formulation of proposition, stated as relationship betweenvariables

Example: “An increase in students IQ score causes an increase in theirgrade point average.”


What is a good hypothesis?

A good hypothesis must:

Be adequate for its purpose

Be testable (verifiable and/or falsifiable)

Be informative (better than its rivals)

Hypotheses:

May be weak or strong, or in between

Should clearly specify independent and dependent variables


Testable

Verifiable vs. falsifiableI All swans are white

I We have tested this computer program and it works correctly

Induction problem: universal statements can never be proved

Examples:

All students have a smartphone

All UU students have a smartphone


Testable in practice

In practice the world is not black, nor white. . .

Hypothesis: “95% of all swans are white”

Verifiable??

Sort of. . .

Observations may improve our belief in the correctness of ahypothesis

Falsifiable??

Observation may contradict our belief in the correctness

If they are very unlikely to occur under the hypothesis


Informative

Which hypothesis is more informative:

1 Justin will pass the INFOWO course in this period2 Justin will receive a grade of at least 7.0 for the INFOWO course in

this period

More informativeHypothesis A is more informative than hypothesis B if any observationthat contradicts hypothesis B also contradicts hypothesis A.

More informative = more easily falsified = more potential outcomes forfalsification


Which is more informative?

Less restricted domain

Every student in the Netherlands has a smartphone JJJ

Every student in Utrecht has a smartphone

More specific statement

Every student has a smartphone or a tablet computer

Every student has a smartphone JJJ

Not comparable

Every student in the Netherlands has a smartphone or a tablet

Every student in Utrecht has a smartphone


Research in Practice: where do we start?

Problem statement:I Why?

I What?Research design

I Where?

I When?

I Who, what?

I How?

Lecture 1: What is research Research plan 41 / 48

Problem statement: Why and what?

Observation:We see a lot of social activities, between individuals and betweenindividuals and groups, shifting from offline to online.

Question:We are wondering how this affects interpersonal communicationpatterns, and the involvement of people in their community.

Why:We are concerned about the well-being of individuals and thedecline in civic and social participation.What do you want to know:

I Are there concepts to measure and describe and test theseobservations?

I Often: main question with subquestions.


Why?

What is the research motive?I Why do you want to do this research?

I Short, concise formulation of the motiveTypical:

I There is something unknown

I There are conflicting results

I There is a specific problem that needs a solutionGoal requirements:

I Goals of the client or the target audience

I Goals of the researcher

I Scientific relevance

I Social relevance


What?

What is the research objective?I What is it that you are going to research?

Questions on different levels:I Main research questions

I SubquestionsRequirements for questions

I One or more questions related to the research motive

I Expected results


FME: Frequently Made Errors

Research motive/objective: missing/incomplete/vague/toobroadResearch question:

I Contains false or unjustified assumptions:E.g. a SWOT analysis of two frameworks that areincomparable (dishwasher vs. washing machine)

I Is more like a survey question

No relationship between motive and objective


Research design

Where?I Existing situation or created?

When?I Point of time: once, multiple moments of measurementI Once or repetitive (longitudinal)I Questions present / past (retrospective) / future (prospective)

Who/what? is being researched?I Units: individuals, groups, organisations, but also relations, events,

processesI Features: behaviour, opinion, attitude, possessions

How?I Which research strategy?I Which methods for data collection and analysis


Lessons learnt

What is research?I Different types of research

I Research philosophies

I Theory, concepts, constructs, propositions and hypotheses

Research plan


What’s next?

Next Tuesday: First Statistics lecture

Next Thursday: Second Methods LectureNext Tuesday: First practicum

I You have to register online for the practical track

I You may form your own team

I Check the website on Monday after noon for assignment togroups and teams.

I Follow assignment to groups on website to find room forpracticum

Also:

Fill in the INFOWO questionnaire on the website:http://www.cs.uu.nl/docs/vakken/wo


Documents

handouts - Department of Information and Computing Sciences