Methods of Research & Intervention period 1 - 2021
Research Methodology
An introduction to scientific thinking and practice
By Jac Vennix
Inhoud
1. The origins of science.........................................................................................................................2
2. The scientific method.........................................................................................................................2
3. A Dominant Paradigm.........................................................................................................................4
4. Quantitative research: background....................................................................................................7
5. Research objective, research question and conceptual model.........................................................10
7. Data collection..................................................................................................................................15
8. Data preparation and scale construction..........................................................................................20
9. Analysis of quantitative data............................................................................................................23
10. The origins of qualitative research.................................................................................................30
11. Qualitative research: data collection and analysis..........................................................................34
12. Dynamic theories and models........................................................................................................37
13. Practice-oriented research and the role of problem structuring....................................................39
14. Logic of inquiry and research design...............................................................................................44
1
,Methods of Research & Intervention period 1 - 2021
1. The origins of science
At first sight, learning seems unproblematic and almost automatic. But some
shortcomings of human inquiry are:
Selective perception (processing what someone wants to hear while
ignoring opposing viewpoints)
Inaccurate observation (not consciously observing, which makes you
miss out on things)
Confirmation bias (tendency to process information by interpreting
information that is consistent with one's existing beliefs)
The role of debate (it is important to discuss issues and questions with
others)
Tradition and authority both assist and hinder human inquiry.
Self-fulfilling prophecies: a situation in which my expectation leads me to
behave in such a way that my expectation becomes reality.
Science is a cumulative effort; scientists/researchers build on each other’s work.
Not only by adding knowledge but also by critically examining what is known and
sometimes outright rejecting the then-current body of knowledge and replacing it
with something better.
2. The scientific method
The two foundations of science are observation and logic.
Science has to do with how things are and why. When scientists in the field of
business administration study variables, they mostly focus on:
Attributes of people, departments, or groups
Groups functioning in organisations
Relations between people
Characteristics of organisations or departments within organisations
Epistemology is the science of knowing.
There are two types of knowledge: what is the case and why is this the case?
To generate knowledge, one can use three strategies:
1. Deduction
There are two aspects of deduction:
Deductive logic (as a form of argument)
Works from general towards specific.
Syllogism consists of two premises and one conclusion.
Example: all humans are mortal (P1) + X is a human (P2) = X is
mortal (C).
However, you have to validate the arguments to make sure the
conclusion is true.
Material implication has the following conditional form: p implies
q (If P then Q)
P holds, therefore Q
Not P, nothing can be said about Q
Q, nothing can be said about P
Not Q, therefore not P
This type of argument is frequently invoked when testing
hypotheses in empirical research.
Deductive science (as a form of science)
2
,Methods of Research & Intervention period 1 - 2021
Aims to test an existing theory.
Axiomatic-deductive science only needs definitions of concepts
and axioms as primitive postulates.
An axiom is a postulate, a statement or proposition which is
regarded as being established, accepted, or self-evidently true.
2. Induction
This also has two aspects:
Inductive logic (as a form of argument)
Works from specific to general.
A complete induction can be performed when having assessed all
possible units of measurement.
Example: after having seen all kinds of cars, I conclude that all cars
have four wheels.
The problem with this theory is that you never know if there are
exceptions.
Inductive science (as a way of conducting science)
Aims to develop a theory. Inductive sciences rely heavily on the
observation of empirical phenomena.
3. Abduction
Creating a hypothesis which can explain an empirical phenomenon.
Abduction differs considerably from both induction and deduction because
of:
o Context of discovery: the situation in which ideas and hypotheses
are generated, which should explain certain phenomena.
o Context of justification: the situation in which ideas, hypotheses,
and theories are tested against logic and/or empirical evidence. The
central issue here is how we can ‘prove’ that a certain explanation
of a phenomenon is true or accurate.
Selecting the most appropriate hypothesis in abduction is led by the rule
of:
o Parsimoniousness: a lack of generosity
o Ockham's razor: when there are two explanations possible, it is
most likely the simpler one is correct.
Both induction and abduction can lead to 'new' knowledge.
When you want to create a new theory, the correct order of reasoning is:
induction - abduction - deduction.
In science, there are five core concepts which are frequently used: model, law,
experiment, hypothesis and theory.
A model is a (simplified) representation of a certain phenomenon. Models
are always visible.
3
, Methods of Research & Intervention period 1 - 2021
(Implicit: indirectly state/implied. Explicit: directly
stated/spelled out)
Laws in science have everything to do with patterns and regularities,
which are the result of systematic observation in the inductive sciences.
There are two broad categories:
o The normative concept of laws describes what should and
shouldn't be done.
o The establishing concept of laws is an empirical concept of law:
based on observation one establishes a certain pattern or regularity
in empirical data.
An experiment refers to an artificial research setting, created for testing
hypotheses.
Two types of hypotheses:
o Hypothesis in the context of abduction, which can explain the
observed phenomena. Frequently starts as a working assumption
(this was once the case, what can we deduce from it and does that
fit within the known facts?)
o Hypothesis as a consequence of a theory. Can be directly tested
against empirical reality.
A theory is ordering facts and statements in a logical, consistent whole. It
should be as parsimonious as possible.
Parsimonious means that it should use as little concepts as possible, and
it should have a large scope.
Scientific method: first you have to observe a pattern (induction). Next, you
have to come up with hypotheses, which can explain the observed phenomenon
(abduction). Then you have to test these hypotheses systematically, one by one.
This happens by deduction. Through deductive reasoning, you derive the test
implication from the hypothesis. Experimenting will produce the test outcome
and then a conclusion can be drawn.
3. A Dominant Paradigm
A criterion of demarcation is what kind of statements/propositions an
empirical science should engage with.
Metaphysical statements are beyond that which can be observed in empirical
reality, and it's closely linked to ontology. Rejection of metaphysics was related
to the fact that positivists held as their point of departure that one should stick to
what is positively given: that which can be established unequivocally by
perception with the senses.
Logical positivism focuses on statements with an empirical claim (=synthetic
statements) and their truth depends on logical structure. Statements without an
4
Research Methodology
An introduction to scientific thinking and practice
By Jac Vennix
Inhoud
1. The origins of science.........................................................................................................................2
2. The scientific method.........................................................................................................................2
3. A Dominant Paradigm.........................................................................................................................4
4. Quantitative research: background....................................................................................................7
5. Research objective, research question and conceptual model.........................................................10
7. Data collection..................................................................................................................................15
8. Data preparation and scale construction..........................................................................................20
9. Analysis of quantitative data............................................................................................................23
10. The origins of qualitative research.................................................................................................30
11. Qualitative research: data collection and analysis..........................................................................34
12. Dynamic theories and models........................................................................................................37
13. Practice-oriented research and the role of problem structuring....................................................39
14. Logic of inquiry and research design...............................................................................................44
1
,Methods of Research & Intervention period 1 - 2021
1. The origins of science
At first sight, learning seems unproblematic and almost automatic. But some
shortcomings of human inquiry are:
Selective perception (processing what someone wants to hear while
ignoring opposing viewpoints)
Inaccurate observation (not consciously observing, which makes you
miss out on things)
Confirmation bias (tendency to process information by interpreting
information that is consistent with one's existing beliefs)
The role of debate (it is important to discuss issues and questions with
others)
Tradition and authority both assist and hinder human inquiry.
Self-fulfilling prophecies: a situation in which my expectation leads me to
behave in such a way that my expectation becomes reality.
Science is a cumulative effort; scientists/researchers build on each other’s work.
Not only by adding knowledge but also by critically examining what is known and
sometimes outright rejecting the then-current body of knowledge and replacing it
with something better.
2. The scientific method
The two foundations of science are observation and logic.
Science has to do with how things are and why. When scientists in the field of
business administration study variables, they mostly focus on:
Attributes of people, departments, or groups
Groups functioning in organisations
Relations between people
Characteristics of organisations or departments within organisations
Epistemology is the science of knowing.
There are two types of knowledge: what is the case and why is this the case?
To generate knowledge, one can use three strategies:
1. Deduction
There are two aspects of deduction:
Deductive logic (as a form of argument)
Works from general towards specific.
Syllogism consists of two premises and one conclusion.
Example: all humans are mortal (P1) + X is a human (P2) = X is
mortal (C).
However, you have to validate the arguments to make sure the
conclusion is true.
Material implication has the following conditional form: p implies
q (If P then Q)
P holds, therefore Q
Not P, nothing can be said about Q
Q, nothing can be said about P
Not Q, therefore not P
This type of argument is frequently invoked when testing
hypotheses in empirical research.
Deductive science (as a form of science)
2
,Methods of Research & Intervention period 1 - 2021
Aims to test an existing theory.
Axiomatic-deductive science only needs definitions of concepts
and axioms as primitive postulates.
An axiom is a postulate, a statement or proposition which is
regarded as being established, accepted, or self-evidently true.
2. Induction
This also has two aspects:
Inductive logic (as a form of argument)
Works from specific to general.
A complete induction can be performed when having assessed all
possible units of measurement.
Example: after having seen all kinds of cars, I conclude that all cars
have four wheels.
The problem with this theory is that you never know if there are
exceptions.
Inductive science (as a way of conducting science)
Aims to develop a theory. Inductive sciences rely heavily on the
observation of empirical phenomena.
3. Abduction
Creating a hypothesis which can explain an empirical phenomenon.
Abduction differs considerably from both induction and deduction because
of:
o Context of discovery: the situation in which ideas and hypotheses
are generated, which should explain certain phenomena.
o Context of justification: the situation in which ideas, hypotheses,
and theories are tested against logic and/or empirical evidence. The
central issue here is how we can ‘prove’ that a certain explanation
of a phenomenon is true or accurate.
Selecting the most appropriate hypothesis in abduction is led by the rule
of:
o Parsimoniousness: a lack of generosity
o Ockham's razor: when there are two explanations possible, it is
most likely the simpler one is correct.
Both induction and abduction can lead to 'new' knowledge.
When you want to create a new theory, the correct order of reasoning is:
induction - abduction - deduction.
In science, there are five core concepts which are frequently used: model, law,
experiment, hypothesis and theory.
A model is a (simplified) representation of a certain phenomenon. Models
are always visible.
3
, Methods of Research & Intervention period 1 - 2021
(Implicit: indirectly state/implied. Explicit: directly
stated/spelled out)
Laws in science have everything to do with patterns and regularities,
which are the result of systematic observation in the inductive sciences.
There are two broad categories:
o The normative concept of laws describes what should and
shouldn't be done.
o The establishing concept of laws is an empirical concept of law:
based on observation one establishes a certain pattern or regularity
in empirical data.
An experiment refers to an artificial research setting, created for testing
hypotheses.
Two types of hypotheses:
o Hypothesis in the context of abduction, which can explain the
observed phenomena. Frequently starts as a working assumption
(this was once the case, what can we deduce from it and does that
fit within the known facts?)
o Hypothesis as a consequence of a theory. Can be directly tested
against empirical reality.
A theory is ordering facts and statements in a logical, consistent whole. It
should be as parsimonious as possible.
Parsimonious means that it should use as little concepts as possible, and
it should have a large scope.
Scientific method: first you have to observe a pattern (induction). Next, you
have to come up with hypotheses, which can explain the observed phenomenon
(abduction). Then you have to test these hypotheses systematically, one by one.
This happens by deduction. Through deductive reasoning, you derive the test
implication from the hypothesis. Experimenting will produce the test outcome
and then a conclusion can be drawn.
3. A Dominant Paradigm
A criterion of demarcation is what kind of statements/propositions an
empirical science should engage with.
Metaphysical statements are beyond that which can be observed in empirical
reality, and it's closely linked to ontology. Rejection of metaphysics was related
to the fact that positivists held as their point of departure that one should stick to
what is positively given: that which can be established unequivocally by
perception with the senses.
Logical positivism focuses on statements with an empirical claim (=synthetic
statements) and their truth depends on logical structure. Statements without an
4
