Putting the pieces together

The introductionPurpose statementLiterature ReviewResearch DesignData CollectionMethodology

Introduction/Purpose• The introduction & Purpose

statement are critical• Some readers might only read that

part (lazy professors; editor; grants)• You better clearly identify your

purpose and its importance on the first page.

Three Purposes of Research

1. Exploration2. Description3. Explanation

Identify Units of Analysis

What or whom to study:• Individuals• Groups• Organizations• Institutions• Social artifacts

Units of Analysis and Faulty Reasoning• Ecological fallacy – assuming

something learned about an ecological unit says something about the individuals in the unit.

• Reductionism – Reducing something to a simple explanation when in reality it is complex.

Identify Time Dimension• Cross-Sectional Studies• Longitudinal Studies

Trend Cohort Panel

How to Design a Research Project

1. Define the purpose of your project.2. Specify exact meanings for the

concepts you want to study.3. Choose a research method.4. Decide how to measure the results.

How to Design a Research Project

5. Decide whom or what to study.6. Collect empirical data.7. Process the data.8. Analyze the data.9. Report your findings.

Elements of a Research Proposal• Problem or objective• Literature review• Subjects for study• Measurements

Elements of a Research Proposal• Data-collection methods• Analysis• Schedule• Budget (maybe)

Why these need to be clear?

• To get your prospectus approved• To get funding (grants)• To get approval from IRB

So you are still clueless

Look to the literatureFind Empirical Research Find Empirical Research Examples and Map themExamples and Map themFind Empirical Research Find Empirical Research Examples and Map themExamples and Map them

QualitativeQualitativeQualitativeQualitative Quant.Quant.Quant.Quant. OtherOtherOtherOther MixedMixedMixedMixed

Focus GroupsFocus Groups SurveySurvey Q-MethodologyQ-Methodology TriangulationTriangulation

InterviewsInterviews Random samplesRandom samplesAdvocacy Research

Advocacy Research

Sequential Sequential

EthnographyEthnography StatisticsStatistics Content Analysis Content Analysis

EthnomethodologyEthnomethodology

Secondary Data analysis

Secondary Data analysis

ConcurrentConcurrent

MiscMisc

Remember• You are writing developing two

research designs• 1 broader one for your thesis• 1 narrower one for your paper• They are obviously related but not

interchangeable.

Advice

Be as clear and specific as possible• What is “crime policy”?• What is “assessment”?• What is “privacy”?• What is “identity”?• What do you mean by “immigration”

(legal, illegal, both)?

Advice

In the research design/methodology section, use the lingo but define the lingo. Case study, ethnography, in-depth interviews (what does that mean?); focus group (elaborate).

Include a justification section for your design that includes references.

Drafting and redrafting • Moving from first to final draft is a

multistage process that sees you working systematically through the development of:

logic and argument coherence and consistency fluency and readability and finally, copy editing

APSA Citation Style

Erskine, Hazel. 1974. “The Polls: Fear of Violence and Crime.” Public Opinion Quarterly 38 (1): 131-15.

Ferraro, Kenneth and Randy LaGrange. 1987. “The Measurement of Fear of Crime.” Sociological Inquiry 57 (1): 70-101.

Garofalo, James. 1981. “The Fear of crime: Causes and Consequence.” Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 82 (2): 839-857.

Warr, Mark. 1990. “Dangerous Situations: Social Context and Fear of Victimization.” Social Forces 68, 3: 891-907.

Example: Pape (2003)