Social research methodology notes
Table of Contents
Social research methodology notes .................................................................................... 1
Week 1............................................................................................................................... 2
Knowledge clips 1 ..........................................................................................................................................2
Lecture 1........................................................................................................................................................4
Knowledge clips 3 ..........................................................................................................................................8
Week 2............................................................................................................................. 11
Knowledge clips 1 ........................................................................................................................................11
Knowledge clips 2 ........................................................................................................................................15
Lecture 2......................................................................................................................................................17
Week 3............................................................................................................................. 19
Lecture 1......................................................................................................................................................19
Knowledge clips week 1 ..............................................................................................................................20
Week 4............................................................................................................................. 27
Knowledge clips ...........................................................................................................................................27
Lecture 2......................................................................................................................................................31
Week 5............................................................................................................................. 35
Lecture 1 ................................................................................................................................... 35
Knowledge clips ........................................................................................................................ 42
Week 6............................................................................................................................. 47
Lecture 2 ................................................................................................................................... 47
Knowledge clips ........................................................................................................................ 53
,Week 1
Knowledge clips 1
Steps/cycle in the research process
1. Research ques6on
2. Literature review & theory
3. Research design
4. Data collec6on
5. Data analysis
6. Evalua6on & write report
Process is oEen repeated
Research ques6ons
- Mo6va6on and relevance
o Scien6fic puzzle or focus on prac6cal implica6ons for society or stakeholders
- Types of ques6ons
o Exploratory
§ Inventory: e.g. which kind of issues are defined as mental health
problem, which concerns exist about students’ wellbeing?
§ When you don’t know much about the topic yet
o Descrip6ve
§ E.g. How many first-year students in the Netherlands suffer from
mental health problems, how do students perceive their own
wellbeing?
§ You have clear defini6on already on mental health e.g.
o Explanatory (‘why’?)
§ E.g. Which factors have a posi6ve or nega6ve impact on students
mental health? Why are some students stressed and other not
o Evalua6ve (‘how effec6ve’?)
§ E.g. How effec6ve are mindfulness courses to improve mental health
among students, What are the advantages and disadvantages of
different interven6ons?
§ Goes further aEer you know the ‘why’ and can design a program to
improve situa6on and then ask the evalua6ve ques6on
- The research ques6on influences all other phases of the research process
o Which literature?
o Type of research?
o Which analyses?
o Conclusions and recommenda6ons
Difference between ‘everyday’ research vs scien6fic research
- Scien6fic research is systema6c, you follow planning and different steps and think
about why you take these steps which contrast a more intui6ve ‘everyday’ approach
as it could lead to confirma6on bias (selec6vely seeking informa6on confirming your
ideas)
, - Scien6fic research is transparent, you write down in detail what you did and how you
arrived to certain evidence. Following from transparency is that you’re open to
cri6cism
- Scien6fic research is all about empirical evidence (the ‘data’), it ul6mately decides vs
specula6on, personal ideas and beliefs. Contrast between empiricism (gathering
knowledge via senses/observa6ons) and ra6onalism (gathering knowledge through
reasoning/thinking
Social research oEen messy, e.g. you analyze data and then you want adjust the design of
your research because of what you saw in the data.
Direc6on of theory-development
- Deduc6on
o Derive concrete hypotheses from general theory
o E.g. the more 6me students spend on studying, the higher the grade they will
achieve. Socrates spends more 6me studying for SRM than Plato, conclusion
Socrates has a higher chance to achieve a high grade for SRM than Plato.
- Induc6on
o Outcomes of observa6on/research guide theory
o E.g. Boris studied for a long 6me and achieve a high grade, Donald did not
study as long as Boris and got a lower grade. Conclusion: the more 6me
students spend on studying the higher the grade they will achieve
, Itera6ve strategy
- Weaving back and forth between data and theory
- Itera6on= repe66on
- Grounded theory
o Start with empirical data (observa6ons) and go to theory (induc6ve process)
and then collect data (deduc6ve) again
Lecture 1
Ontology
- What is the fundamental nature of reality? What characterizes the (social) world?
Does it actually exist? What are the characteris6cs of ‘being’
- Field within philosophy which studies nature of being, the most natural abstract
ques6on, the reality
Two contras6ng views
- ‘whether social en66es can and should be considered objec6ve en66es that exist
separately to social actors -> objec6vism
- ‘whether they can and should be considered social construc6ons built up from the
percep6ons and ac6ons of social actors -> construc6vism
Epistemology (‘the study of knowledge’)
- What is the source and nature of knowledge? How can we (and should we) acquire
acceptable, jus6fied knowledge about the world around us?
- How to obtain knowledge
Thomas Kuhn vs. Karl Popper
- Popper
o In line with objec6vism, we are able to compare different theories with each
other. We can test them against ‘the facts’ and eliminate theories that are
wrong
Table of Contents
Social research methodology notes .................................................................................... 1
Week 1............................................................................................................................... 2
Knowledge clips 1 ..........................................................................................................................................2
Lecture 1........................................................................................................................................................4
Knowledge clips 3 ..........................................................................................................................................8
Week 2............................................................................................................................. 11
Knowledge clips 1 ........................................................................................................................................11
Knowledge clips 2 ........................................................................................................................................15
Lecture 2......................................................................................................................................................17
Week 3............................................................................................................................. 19
Lecture 1......................................................................................................................................................19
Knowledge clips week 1 ..............................................................................................................................20
Week 4............................................................................................................................. 27
Knowledge clips ...........................................................................................................................................27
Lecture 2......................................................................................................................................................31
Week 5............................................................................................................................. 35
Lecture 1 ................................................................................................................................... 35
Knowledge clips ........................................................................................................................ 42
Week 6............................................................................................................................. 47
Lecture 2 ................................................................................................................................... 47
Knowledge clips ........................................................................................................................ 53
,Week 1
Knowledge clips 1
Steps/cycle in the research process
1. Research ques6on
2. Literature review & theory
3. Research design
4. Data collec6on
5. Data analysis
6. Evalua6on & write report
Process is oEen repeated
Research ques6ons
- Mo6va6on and relevance
o Scien6fic puzzle or focus on prac6cal implica6ons for society or stakeholders
- Types of ques6ons
o Exploratory
§ Inventory: e.g. which kind of issues are defined as mental health
problem, which concerns exist about students’ wellbeing?
§ When you don’t know much about the topic yet
o Descrip6ve
§ E.g. How many first-year students in the Netherlands suffer from
mental health problems, how do students perceive their own
wellbeing?
§ You have clear defini6on already on mental health e.g.
o Explanatory (‘why’?)
§ E.g. Which factors have a posi6ve or nega6ve impact on students
mental health? Why are some students stressed and other not
o Evalua6ve (‘how effec6ve’?)
§ E.g. How effec6ve are mindfulness courses to improve mental health
among students, What are the advantages and disadvantages of
different interven6ons?
§ Goes further aEer you know the ‘why’ and can design a program to
improve situa6on and then ask the evalua6ve ques6on
- The research ques6on influences all other phases of the research process
o Which literature?
o Type of research?
o Which analyses?
o Conclusions and recommenda6ons
Difference between ‘everyday’ research vs scien6fic research
- Scien6fic research is systema6c, you follow planning and different steps and think
about why you take these steps which contrast a more intui6ve ‘everyday’ approach
as it could lead to confirma6on bias (selec6vely seeking informa6on confirming your
ideas)
, - Scien6fic research is transparent, you write down in detail what you did and how you
arrived to certain evidence. Following from transparency is that you’re open to
cri6cism
- Scien6fic research is all about empirical evidence (the ‘data’), it ul6mately decides vs
specula6on, personal ideas and beliefs. Contrast between empiricism (gathering
knowledge via senses/observa6ons) and ra6onalism (gathering knowledge through
reasoning/thinking
Social research oEen messy, e.g. you analyze data and then you want adjust the design of
your research because of what you saw in the data.
Direc6on of theory-development
- Deduc6on
o Derive concrete hypotheses from general theory
o E.g. the more 6me students spend on studying, the higher the grade they will
achieve. Socrates spends more 6me studying for SRM than Plato, conclusion
Socrates has a higher chance to achieve a high grade for SRM than Plato.
- Induc6on
o Outcomes of observa6on/research guide theory
o E.g. Boris studied for a long 6me and achieve a high grade, Donald did not
study as long as Boris and got a lower grade. Conclusion: the more 6me
students spend on studying the higher the grade they will achieve
, Itera6ve strategy
- Weaving back and forth between data and theory
- Itera6on= repe66on
- Grounded theory
o Start with empirical data (observa6ons) and go to theory (induc6ve process)
and then collect data (deduc6ve) again
Lecture 1
Ontology
- What is the fundamental nature of reality? What characterizes the (social) world?
Does it actually exist? What are the characteris6cs of ‘being’
- Field within philosophy which studies nature of being, the most natural abstract
ques6on, the reality
Two contras6ng views
- ‘whether social en66es can and should be considered objec6ve en66es that exist
separately to social actors -> objec6vism
- ‘whether they can and should be considered social construc6ons built up from the
percep6ons and ac6ons of social actors -> construc6vism
Epistemology (‘the study of knowledge’)
- What is the source and nature of knowledge? How can we (and should we) acquire
acceptable, jus6fied knowledge about the world around us?
- How to obtain knowledge
Thomas Kuhn vs. Karl Popper
- Popper
o In line with objec6vism, we are able to compare different theories with each
other. We can test them against ‘the facts’ and eliminate theories that are
wrong
