Research methodology
Lecture 2
Part 1
Learning objectives:
1. Understand positivism (objectivist) – part 1
2. Understand interpretavism (constructivist) - part 1
3. Inductive and deductive research – part 2
4. get acquainted with different research methodologies – part 3
Literature: Chapter 1 and 2, Gray, Doing Research in the Real World
The purpose of health science/research is finding an objective, generalizable, ‘truth’.
We focus on two pespectives:
Positivism (objectivism)
- Reality can be observed
- Observes facts of one single reality
- Value-free
- Measures and predict
- Generalizable
- Bijv. Noteren hoe veel dagen iemand heeft gewacht op een afspraak
Interpretavism (constructivism)
- Truth and meaning are constructed by the person/researcher (subjects)
- Researchers are inherently view through their frame of reference
- Multiple realities (are experienced), and meaning is not stable
- Constructs reality
- Observations are value-bound
- To deeply understand
- Time and context bound hypothesis/generalization
- Bijv. Aan de persoon vragen hoe diegene de wachtlijst heeft ervaren
(Critical realism)
Covid19
Different perspectives, different types of knowledge. We need to integrate them.
Why are some people changing their behavior, and why some are not?
What barriers in socio-cultural systems outbreak control in this community?
RESEARCH PERSPECTIVES PART 2: INDUCTIVE AND DEDUCTIVE RESEARCH
Inductive & Deductive research
All health sciences students are smart (theory). Marie is a health science student, so she is
smart. (Deductive)
I assess the intelligence of all health science students, all appear to be smart. Therefore health
sciences students are smart. (Inductive)
Deductive
- Begins with hypothesis and theories
- Manipulation and control
- Uses formal instruments
- Experimentation/survey/structured interviews
- Seeks for confirmation/rejection
1
, - Ex. Theory of planned behavior 🡪 hypothesis: exposure to fastfood> consumption 🡪
Oberservation: do the test 🡪 confirmation/rejection
Inductive
- Thick description
- End with hypotheses and grounded theory
- Emergence and portrayal
- Researches as instrument
- Seeks for (contextual) theory
- Ex. Observation: views of fastfood junkies 🡪 pattern> absence of lifegoals 🡪 hypothesis>
no lifegoals > fastfood 🡪 theory >lifegoal
Theory (conceptual framework)
Deductive: Look at your data with clear units of analysis structured
Empirical data ‘reality’
Theory
Inductive: Analyze dara for emerging patterns 🡪 theory unstructured
In sum..
Deductive: confirm/reject theory. Look at your data with clear units of analyses. Is structured.
Inductive: open and develop theory. Analyze data for emerging patterns. Theory unstructured.
Research perspectives part 3 methodologies (chapter 2, grey)
(Quasi)Experimental
- Determine causality
- Manipulate the independent variable to determine effect on the dependent variable;
control over variables
- Not randomly, use existing groups 🡪 Quasi
- Randomly assign participants to groups (RCT)
- Clear indicators to determine outcome
- Aim to generalize from experiment
- Associated with positivism/deductive approach
Analytical survey
- To explosure and test proportions/associations/predictors between variables
- Observational studies
- Structured questions/units and limited options for respondents
- Generalization from sample
- Highly deductive 🡪 je weet waar je naar op zoek bent!
Phenomological studies
- Aims for contextual description and analyses of ‘phenomena’
- Holds that any attempt to understand social reality had to be grounded in people’s
experiences of that social reality
- Emphasize inductive logic
- Seeks the opinions and subjective accounts and interpretations of participants
- Relies on qualitative analyses of data
- Is not so much concerned with generalization to larger populations
2
,(Participatory) action research
- Research that aims to change practice in real life
- Collaborations between researches and practitioners and users (e.g. patients,
community members)
- Iterative designs (herhaling)
- Mixed methods
Understanding of perspectives in order to determine change and (often) measuring the
change.
- Deductive and inductive reasoning
Powerpoint 1: Priority setting & Research agenda’s in the world of Evidence Based Medicine
What is research priority setting?
• Organizations conducting or funding public health research have to select research
priorities while often facing competing demands and scare resources.
• Therefore a collective activity for deciding which uncertainties are most worth trying to
resolve through research is warranted.
Uncertainties considered may be problems to be understood or solutions to be developed or
tested; across broad or narrow areas.
3
, Method
• Two surveys and a workshop
• A range of stakeholders participated, including:
• members of the public (smokers and ex-smokers)
• Clinicians
• Researchers
• research funders
• health-care commissioners
• public health organizations.
Method
• A total of 304 stakeholders identified 183 unanswered research questions.
• These were categorized into 15 research categories
Research priorities:
4
Lecture 2
Part 1
Learning objectives:
1. Understand positivism (objectivist) – part 1
2. Understand interpretavism (constructivist) - part 1
3. Inductive and deductive research – part 2
4. get acquainted with different research methodologies – part 3
Literature: Chapter 1 and 2, Gray, Doing Research in the Real World
The purpose of health science/research is finding an objective, generalizable, ‘truth’.
We focus on two pespectives:
Positivism (objectivism)
- Reality can be observed
- Observes facts of one single reality
- Value-free
- Measures and predict
- Generalizable
- Bijv. Noteren hoe veel dagen iemand heeft gewacht op een afspraak
Interpretavism (constructivism)
- Truth and meaning are constructed by the person/researcher (subjects)
- Researchers are inherently view through their frame of reference
- Multiple realities (are experienced), and meaning is not stable
- Constructs reality
- Observations are value-bound
- To deeply understand
- Time and context bound hypothesis/generalization
- Bijv. Aan de persoon vragen hoe diegene de wachtlijst heeft ervaren
(Critical realism)
Covid19
Different perspectives, different types of knowledge. We need to integrate them.
Why are some people changing their behavior, and why some are not?
What barriers in socio-cultural systems outbreak control in this community?
RESEARCH PERSPECTIVES PART 2: INDUCTIVE AND DEDUCTIVE RESEARCH
Inductive & Deductive research
All health sciences students are smart (theory). Marie is a health science student, so she is
smart. (Deductive)
I assess the intelligence of all health science students, all appear to be smart. Therefore health
sciences students are smart. (Inductive)
Deductive
- Begins with hypothesis and theories
- Manipulation and control
- Uses formal instruments
- Experimentation/survey/structured interviews
- Seeks for confirmation/rejection
1
, - Ex. Theory of planned behavior 🡪 hypothesis: exposure to fastfood> consumption 🡪
Oberservation: do the test 🡪 confirmation/rejection
Inductive
- Thick description
- End with hypotheses and grounded theory
- Emergence and portrayal
- Researches as instrument
- Seeks for (contextual) theory
- Ex. Observation: views of fastfood junkies 🡪 pattern> absence of lifegoals 🡪 hypothesis>
no lifegoals > fastfood 🡪 theory >lifegoal
Theory (conceptual framework)
Deductive: Look at your data with clear units of analysis structured
Empirical data ‘reality’
Theory
Inductive: Analyze dara for emerging patterns 🡪 theory unstructured
In sum..
Deductive: confirm/reject theory. Look at your data with clear units of analyses. Is structured.
Inductive: open and develop theory. Analyze data for emerging patterns. Theory unstructured.
Research perspectives part 3 methodologies (chapter 2, grey)
(Quasi)Experimental
- Determine causality
- Manipulate the independent variable to determine effect on the dependent variable;
control over variables
- Not randomly, use existing groups 🡪 Quasi
- Randomly assign participants to groups (RCT)
- Clear indicators to determine outcome
- Aim to generalize from experiment
- Associated with positivism/deductive approach
Analytical survey
- To explosure and test proportions/associations/predictors between variables
- Observational studies
- Structured questions/units and limited options for respondents
- Generalization from sample
- Highly deductive 🡪 je weet waar je naar op zoek bent!
Phenomological studies
- Aims for contextual description and analyses of ‘phenomena’
- Holds that any attempt to understand social reality had to be grounded in people’s
experiences of that social reality
- Emphasize inductive logic
- Seeks the opinions and subjective accounts and interpretations of participants
- Relies on qualitative analyses of data
- Is not so much concerned with generalization to larger populations
2
,(Participatory) action research
- Research that aims to change practice in real life
- Collaborations between researches and practitioners and users (e.g. patients,
community members)
- Iterative designs (herhaling)
- Mixed methods
Understanding of perspectives in order to determine change and (often) measuring the
change.
- Deductive and inductive reasoning
Powerpoint 1: Priority setting & Research agenda’s in the world of Evidence Based Medicine
What is research priority setting?
• Organizations conducting or funding public health research have to select research
priorities while often facing competing demands and scare resources.
• Therefore a collective activity for deciding which uncertainties are most worth trying to
resolve through research is warranted.
Uncertainties considered may be problems to be understood or solutions to be developed or
tested; across broad or narrow areas.
3
, Method
• Two surveys and a workshop
• A range of stakeholders participated, including:
• members of the public (smokers and ex-smokers)
• Clinicians
• Researchers
• research funders
• health-care commissioners
• public health organizations.
Method
• A total of 304 stakeholders identified 183 unanswered research questions.
• These were categorized into 15 research categories
Research priorities:
4
