Introduction to Research Methods Exam Questions
with Expert Solutions
The method of authority - Answer is believing that a proposition is true because someone in a position
of authority says it
Problem:
- authorities can be wrong
When is it reasonable to employ the method of authority? - Answer when the authority appealed to is
an expert
there is general agreement amongst authorities on the issue
it is accepted that the authorities could be wrong
The method of intuition - Answer is accepting unquestioningly your own spontaneous account of an
event
Why should we not follow the method of intuition? - Answer - the fact that we feel absolutely certain
about a proposition is no guarantee against its being false
- Numerous cognitive and motivational biases affect our perceptions, and so we may draw wrong
conclusions
The method of science - Answer involves the application of the best available error-detection
mechanisms
- admits that it is fallible
- the general feature of error-detection mechanisms is critical self monitoring
What is the ontological position held by most scientific researchers? - Answer realism
- most scientific researchers assume that:
there is an objective (mind independent) world
the observable and unobservable features of the objective world can be discovered by the appropriate
use of scientific methods
,The scientific method involves - Answer 2 main steps:
Conceptual (logical) analysis
Observational analysis (empirical) analysis
Conceptual analysis - Answer is conducting theoretical research and applying logical tests
- if the concept, theory or research question fails the logical tests:
it is either not clear enough or could not possibly be true, so it must be adjusted or abandoned
Observational analysis - Answer is when you thoroughly sought to answer the question by:
a) considering existing observations
b) make new observations through
- quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods
Mixed methods - Answer involve both qualitative and quantitative methods
The scientific method - Answer can be applied to any research question
i.e., qualitative phenomena and well as quantitative phenomena, and subjective phenomena
Hypothesis - Answer a contingent statement that serves as the basis for further investigation
How do researchers come up with research questions and hypotheses? - Answer - everyday
observations of behaviour
- practical problems
- applied research
- basic research
- theory
- past research
- extension
,- literature reviews
- experimental reports
- serendipity
- creative thinking
Practical problems - Answer is when research is often stimulated by the need to solve problems that
must be solved in order to realise some practical aim
Applied research - Answer has direct and immediate relevance to the solution of practical problems
Basic research - Answer undertaken with the goal of enhancing the general body of knowledge and are
not intended to solve practical problems
Theory - Answer a systematic body of ideas about a particular phenomenon
1. organises existing knowledge about the phenomenon
2. provides a tentative explanation of the phenomenon
3. generates hypotheses about behaviour
Past research - Answer can stimulate further research by
- replication
- extension
- literature reviews
- experimental reports
Replication - Answer a study that duplicates some or all of the procedures of a prior study
Extension - Answer replicates part of a prior study, but goes further and adds at least one knew feature
- often undertaken when methodological flaws have been detected in the prior study
, Literature reviews - Answer suggest an array of different research examples
- they are articles that summarise research on a particular topic
- conclude by specifying ideas for future research on the topic
Experimental reports - Answer - the discussion section includes specification of ideas for viable future
research on the hypothesis and topic being researched
Serendipity - Answer discovering something while looking for something else
Creative thinking - Answer a process of recognising meaningful connections between apparently
unrelated ideas and seeing those connections as the key to developing the research question and/or
hypothesis
Archival research - Answer refers to research conducted using data that the researcher had no part in
collecting
- existing data is analysed to answer the research question
3 types of archival research data - Answer 1. statistical records (eg: ABS)
2. Survey archives (consist of data from surveys stored on computers)
3. written and mass communication records (historical diaries, letters, ethnographies, books, magazine
articles, movies)
Advantages of archival research - Answer Archival data can enable researchers to address questions that
could not be studied via other forms of observational analysis
- ethical issues could prevent the researcher examining the variables of interest experimentally
- practical considerations may prevent a researcher from conducting surveys of large, randomly selected
samples
- archival data enables researchers to address research questions involving past historical periods
Disadvantages of archival research - Answer Appropriate archival data may be difficult to obtain
- may not be relevant to the research and when relevant research is found, it may be difficult to access
the data
with Expert Solutions
The method of authority - Answer is believing that a proposition is true because someone in a position
of authority says it
Problem:
- authorities can be wrong
When is it reasonable to employ the method of authority? - Answer when the authority appealed to is
an expert
there is general agreement amongst authorities on the issue
it is accepted that the authorities could be wrong
The method of intuition - Answer is accepting unquestioningly your own spontaneous account of an
event
Why should we not follow the method of intuition? - Answer - the fact that we feel absolutely certain
about a proposition is no guarantee against its being false
- Numerous cognitive and motivational biases affect our perceptions, and so we may draw wrong
conclusions
The method of science - Answer involves the application of the best available error-detection
mechanisms
- admits that it is fallible
- the general feature of error-detection mechanisms is critical self monitoring
What is the ontological position held by most scientific researchers? - Answer realism
- most scientific researchers assume that:
there is an objective (mind independent) world
the observable and unobservable features of the objective world can be discovered by the appropriate
use of scientific methods
,The scientific method involves - Answer 2 main steps:
Conceptual (logical) analysis
Observational analysis (empirical) analysis
Conceptual analysis - Answer is conducting theoretical research and applying logical tests
- if the concept, theory or research question fails the logical tests:
it is either not clear enough or could not possibly be true, so it must be adjusted or abandoned
Observational analysis - Answer is when you thoroughly sought to answer the question by:
a) considering existing observations
b) make new observations through
- quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods
Mixed methods - Answer involve both qualitative and quantitative methods
The scientific method - Answer can be applied to any research question
i.e., qualitative phenomena and well as quantitative phenomena, and subjective phenomena
Hypothesis - Answer a contingent statement that serves as the basis for further investigation
How do researchers come up with research questions and hypotheses? - Answer - everyday
observations of behaviour
- practical problems
- applied research
- basic research
- theory
- past research
- extension
,- literature reviews
- experimental reports
- serendipity
- creative thinking
Practical problems - Answer is when research is often stimulated by the need to solve problems that
must be solved in order to realise some practical aim
Applied research - Answer has direct and immediate relevance to the solution of practical problems
Basic research - Answer undertaken with the goal of enhancing the general body of knowledge and are
not intended to solve practical problems
Theory - Answer a systematic body of ideas about a particular phenomenon
1. organises existing knowledge about the phenomenon
2. provides a tentative explanation of the phenomenon
3. generates hypotheses about behaviour
Past research - Answer can stimulate further research by
- replication
- extension
- literature reviews
- experimental reports
Replication - Answer a study that duplicates some or all of the procedures of a prior study
Extension - Answer replicates part of a prior study, but goes further and adds at least one knew feature
- often undertaken when methodological flaws have been detected in the prior study
, Literature reviews - Answer suggest an array of different research examples
- they are articles that summarise research on a particular topic
- conclude by specifying ideas for future research on the topic
Experimental reports - Answer - the discussion section includes specification of ideas for viable future
research on the hypothesis and topic being researched
Serendipity - Answer discovering something while looking for something else
Creative thinking - Answer a process of recognising meaningful connections between apparently
unrelated ideas and seeing those connections as the key to developing the research question and/or
hypothesis
Archival research - Answer refers to research conducted using data that the researcher had no part in
collecting
- existing data is analysed to answer the research question
3 types of archival research data - Answer 1. statistical records (eg: ABS)
2. Survey archives (consist of data from surveys stored on computers)
3. written and mass communication records (historical diaries, letters, ethnographies, books, magazine
articles, movies)
Advantages of archival research - Answer Archival data can enable researchers to address questions that
could not be studied via other forms of observational analysis
- ethical issues could prevent the researcher examining the variables of interest experimentally
- practical considerations may prevent a researcher from conducting surveys of large, randomly selected
samples
- archival data enables researchers to address research questions involving past historical periods
Disadvantages of archival research - Answer Appropriate archival data may be difficult to obtain
- may not be relevant to the research and when relevant research is found, it may be difficult to access
the data
