Source of problems:

• Experience
• Theories
  • Repeatable
  • Pro and con tests are possible
  • Significant phenomenon
  • Simple
  • Internally consistent

Evaluating the problem

• Significance
• Leads to new problems
• Researchable
• Suitable for research
• Ethical
  • Informed consent
  • Protection form harm
  • Privacy

State the problem as a question: IV/DV/predicted objective observation

Quantitative

• Variables and population

Qualitative

• Focus of inquiry (more general than quantitative)

Researcher to interview – Dede

Theory to test – andragogy

Basics (first two chapters)

• Types of knowledge

1. Experience
2. Authority
3. Deductive (general to specific)
   • can lead from theory (general) to prediction (specific) via the hypothesis
4. Inductive (specific to general)
5. Scientific method
   • moves inductively from observation to hypothesis
   • then moves deductively from hypothesis to consequences/implications of that hypothesis (these implications are then tested)

• Achieve objective observation only via observable phenomenon. What then about memory where we still don’t quite know how it’s encoded?

• Theory produces 3 actions:
  1. Explain
  2. Predict
  3. Control

• Social science theory has 2 limitations:
  1. Many (infinite?) variables in humans
     • Control difficult due to variable complexity
     • Replication difficult due to variable complexity
  2. Observation may be subjective
     • Interaction of observers and subjects
     • Measurement difficult to separate mutual influence (multivariate helps but can’t account for factors in the past–constructivism)

• Three methodological approaches

1. Quantitative approaches originated in positivism (same as behavioral) and is associated with deductive reasoning.
2. Qualitative approaches–associated with deductive reasoning–focuses on the meanings that events have for the people involved (intersection of individuals and the “world) and doesn’t start with an hypothesis
3. Mixed mode approaches may leverage the strengths and ameliorate the weaknesses of the quant/qual approaches

• Method characteristics
  • Quantitative
    • Experimental
      • Manipulate one independent variable and observe effects on a separate dependent variable. Requires random assignment to IV or DV groups–otherwise, the method is quasi-experimental.
    • Non-experimental
      • Identify the variables and look for relationships among them but do not manipulate them
      • Ex post facto research
        • Categorical variables – no simple causal relationship
        • Categorize into at least two groups on one variable then compare on the other variable
      • Correlational research
        • Gather two or more variables and determine if they are related
        • One group measured on at least two continuous variables (positive/negative correlation coefficients)
      • Survey research
        • Measures how variables change together (pre-/post-)
        • Summarize group characteristics or measure attitudes/opinions
  • Qualitative
    • Basic interpretive study
    • Case study
    • Content analysis
    • Ethnography
    • Grounded theory – theory of social phenomena based on field study
    • Historical research
    • Narrative inquiry
    • Phenomenonological study – multiple realities/perspectives

• Stages in research
  1. Select problem
  2. Literature review
  3. Research design
  4. Data collection
  5. Data analysis
  6. Interpretation and conclusion
  7. Reporting

• Language
  • Constitutive definition – formal
  • Operational definition – within context of study
  • Variables
    • Dichotomous (binary)
    • Multi-chotomous (defined range)
    • Continuous (infinite)
  • Constants
  • Earliest variable in non-experimental studies is the IV