Goals of research Exploratory: new topic Descriptive: gathering information Explanatory: explain patterns, answer why Evaluation: assess outcomes Types of research: Basic, Applied, Evaluation
Research Designs Experimental designs Quantitative designs Qualitative designs Mixed method designs
Experimental Design Control group and experimental group Random assignment Pre-test and post-test
Quantitative Methods Quantitative methods: Analysis is primarily numeric/statistical Self-administered surveys (mail/computer) Structured interview (telephone/in-person) Secondary data analysis
Qualitative Methods Qualitative methods: Analysis is interpretive Ethnography/field work Participant observation Unstructured/semi-structured interviews Life histories/oral histories Focus groups
Choosing the right method Generalizability Sensitivity of topic Previous knowledge of categories Goals of research (exploratory, descriptive, explanatory, evaluation) Resources and timeline
Time dimension Cross-sectional Longitudinal –Panel –Cohort –Trend