Key concepts summary Research Skills (Qualitative)

Summary Research Skills – Fall Semester 2015
Lecture 1




How will the research proposal be assessed?
1. Definition of the problem/research questions.
2. The extent to which the components of the proposal fit together.
3. The absence of preconceived ideas
4. The validity of the proposal.

Lecture 2
Types of research:
 Conceptual (no data; little concern about sampling/choice of cases, etc.)
 Empirical (use data: quantitative, qualitative, or both. An empirical article must make
theoretical contribution)
 Meta-analysis (analysis of analyses). (Method to synthesize a domain of published studies and
to quantitatively determine the degree to which particular findings have been successfully
replicated. Each individual study is a single data point)
 Simulation (data generated by computer programming. Key strengths: deal with multiple
feedback loops and nonlinearity & in a short time you can get many firm-year observations)

Theory is a way of imposing conceptual order to the empirical complexity of the phenomenal
world.  a theory is a statement of relations among concepts/constructs within a set of
boundary assumptions and constraints.
A good theory explains, predicts, and delights.
Additional criterions: parsimony & generality

Theoretical contribution by an empirical study
 Develop and test a whole new theory (too ambitious)
 Extend or refine an existing theory (add sophistication, nuance, or qualification to it)
 Be it quantitative or qualitative, you discuss
o How your findings can revise or deepen our understanding of the theory (theoretical
implications)
o How your findings may change the way researchers approach the phenomenon
(future research directions)
o How your findings may change they way practitioners approach the phenomenon
(managerial implications)



Summary Research Skills (2015-2016) G. Timmermans 1

, Quantitative research
 Data are in numerical form
 Analyses are some inferential statistics
 Main purpose: obtain evidence to support/reject hypotheses derived from theory
 Large sample size is a strength
o “Outliers” should be avoided or somehow dealt with
o Keep in mind: what you get from statistical procedures is some kind of average
 Define a priori a set of core concepts/constructs and find ways to measure them

Qualitative research
 Data are not in numerical form (text, audio, picture…)
 Analyses are very much verbal
 Main purpose:
o Build a whole new theory (not recommended for your thesis)
o Elaborate an existing theory: theory exists, but there are important gaps or
oversights
 Very small sample size
 Concept/constructs may emerge from data rather than a priori defined

Primary data: Data collected by the researcher
 Survey, interview, experiment, observation
 Can be quantitative or qualitative
Secondary data: the researcher uses existing data collected/made available by another person
 Key advantage: non-obtrusive
 Key disadvantage: not collected for the purpose of your particular study
 Can also be quantitative and qualitative

2 typical ways of thinking or reasoning
1.
A-B-C framework (antecedent-
behaviour-consequence)
- This will give you a good overview of the
literature
- This will help you clarify the position of
your study relative to the literature

2.
Trade-offs and countervailing forces
- Consider both benefits and costs involved
in a choice or decision and identify
situations in which benefits overwhelm
costs.




Summary Research Skills (2015-2016) G. Timmermans 2