1. Pieter Blignaut according to Hofstee (2006)
The Method
Pieter Blignaut
according to Hofstee (2006)
15 March 2014
Hofstee, E. (2006). Constructing a Good Dissertation. EPE: Sandton

2. Agenda Role of the Method Chapter Layout Designing a Method
Common Research Designs

3. Role of the Method Problem statement Method Results Conclusions
A result can only be accepted / rejected / checked / replicated / understood in the context of how you got there.
Choose a design to be appropriate to your work.
What data? How collected? How analysed?
Isolate the phenomenon that you are studying
Control for external factors that could affect your results
Ronnie

4. Ethical considerations
Chapter Layout
Introduction
Research design
Methodology
Instruments
Data
Analysis
Limitations
Ronnie
Ethical considerations
Conclusion
Hofstee, E. (2006). Constructing a Good Dissertation. EPE: Sandton

5. Introduction Section All chapters need an introduction
Reiterate the purpose of the study
Overview of what will follow in the chapter
How does the content in this chapter link with the content in the previous chapter.
What do you want to achieve with your method?
Make it clear – not a meal.
Match with the content in Chapter 1, but don’t repeat verbatim.
Give the reader an overview.
Ronnie

6. Research Design Overall approach to data capturing and analysis
Provides theoretical background to your methodology
An established research design provides readers with a conceptual framework.
Get detailed information on a research design before you commit yourself
Chosen research design(s) must be appropriate for your problem statement
No details or specific content of your techniques – must go to Methodology chapter
You may use more than one design if they will complement one another, e.g. surveys and experiments
Don’t go overboard
Content
Name the research design(s) you will use
Overview of the theory
Motivate the choice(s)
Also motivate why you did not use some others
Discuss the strengths and weaknesses as it relates to your study
Ronnie

7. Common Research Designs
Extended Literature Reviews
Surveys
Case Studies
Correlation-Based Research
Comparisons
Content Analysis
Critical Theories
Historical Studies
Evaluative Research
Ethnographic Research
Action Research
Experiments
Secondary Data Analysis
Simulations
Interdisciplinary Research
Theory Development
Ronnie

8. Research Design
Example problem statements for which we may need a design:
How does font colour affect reading speed?
Does soft drinks shorten the life span of those who drink them?
Does playing baroque music to cows during milking raise the daily yield?
Does poverty in Africa has a worst effect on life expectation than poverty in Europe?
Ronnie

9. Common Research Designs
1. Extended Literature Reviews
Provide an overview of a field
Takes a lot of reading
Can provide new perspectives on existing knowledge
Show links between subfields
2. Surveys
Elicit information from individuals who
have the knowledge you are seeking
are able and willing to cooperate
are representative of a larger group
Find out people’s opinions, desires and attitudes
Potential minefield
May lead to questionable research
Ronnie

10. Common Research Designs
3. Case Studies
Examine something that happened or an organisation in a structured way
Useful when detailed information is required of any particular case
Difficult to obtain unbiased results
Observational studies
Draw interference about the effect of a treatment or factor on dependent variables
Be aware of ethical issues
Control for external factors
Ronnie

11. Common Research Designs
4. Correlation-Based Research
Compares two or more variables to establish if there is a relationship between them, e.g. smoke and heart attacks
Relationship can be positive or negative
Be careful of outside factors
Difficult to obtain reliable and representative data
Correlation is not necessarily causation
Longitudinal studies
Repeated observations of the same variables over time
Allows distinctions between short-term and long-term phenomena
Cohort studies select a group that shares an event, e.g. birth
Panel studies samples a representative cross-section
Retrospective studies look back in time
Cross-sectional studies
Observations of different individuals from a representative sample with respect to relevant factors while controlling for external factors
Ronnie

12. Common Research Designs
5. Comparative Analysis
Compare two items in a focused and systematic manner
The broader the comparison, the more difficult is the study
Suitable in an experimental setting where most variables are under control of the researcher
Difficult in the social sciences and humanities where it is difficult to control variables
6. Content Analysis
Examine the content of documents, films and videos
Goal is to discover the non-obvious meaning contained in the document
Mostly quantitative
Applicable when an in-depth understanding of text is required.
Ronnie

13. Common Research Designs
7. Critical Theories
Takes a critical perspective on society
Explicitly political
Historical Studies
Looks at an event in the past to
shed light on the event or on a contemporary issue
Likely to be a tool to strengthen other parts of your work
Evaluative research
Evaluates the effect or success level of some intervention
Can be quantitative or qualitative
E.g. cost/benefit analysis
Be careful to establish appropriate measurement criteria
Need sufficient evidence to be convincing
Acknowledge the limitations of interpretation
Ronnie

14. Common Research Designs
10. Ethnographic Research
Observe participants in their natural setting to understand behaviour
Danger of subjectivity
Difficult to write up results
11. Action Research
Participants are actively involved
Learning by doing
Individuals work with others in a team to solve problems
Emphasis on planning, implementation, learning and empowerment of participants
Applicable when there is a small group of participants in a working environment who need to achieve a common set of goals
Ronnie

15. Common Research Designs
12. Experiments
Test a hypothesis or theory or observe the effect of a given intervention
Record and explain outcomes
This is the classic design because of replicability
Can be done in lab or field
Lab experiments allow control of the environment and can easier be replicated
Cause and consequence
“If you do the same thing in the same environment you will get the same results”
Control for outside variables
Measurements must be accurate
Not always possible to set up reliable experiments for real-world scenarios
Easier to prove an expectation than to explain why it happened
Don’t try to be innovative – stick with the traditional way of doing things.
Ronnie

16. Common Research Designs
13. Secondary Data Analysis
Study data that was collected previously to
check
answer questions
Can be quantitative or qualitative
Huge amount of data available, e.g. collected by government agencies, financial data, weather data, web sites, etc.
Important to know that the data is reliable
14. Simulations / Modelling
Capture essence and key variables of a process and create representation
Statistical model describes a process
Simulation runs similar scenarios, mostly on computer
A successful model can explain much about a particular phenomenon
Large practical an theoretical implications
Limited: No model is reality
Can be complicated
Ronnie

17. Common Research Designs
15. Interdisciplinary Research
Takes methods, concepts, ideas from one discipline and applies them to a problem in another discipline
Difficult: Expects mastery of two disciplines
Creativity and common sense needed
Can have theoretical and practical significance
Important to limit the scope and build on previous work
16. Theory Development
Test an aspect of existing theory
Use various models and data to achieve, e.g. mathematical modelling and philosophical reasoning
Rewarding to develop a new theory that contributes to human understanding of nature
Ronnie

18. Select a Design Brainstorm Get a list of possible designs
Get ideas from others
Ask:
Is it appropriate for your problem statement?
Are you familiar with the design?
Will it be possible to obtain data?
Will the data be reliable?
Will you be able to analyse the data?
Will you be able to keep to your time frame?
Ronnie

19. Ethical considerations
Chapter Layout
Introduction
Research design
Methodology
Instruments
Data
Analysis
Limitations
Ronnie
Ethical considerations
Conclusion
Hofstee, E. (2006). Constructing a Good Dissertation. EPE: Sandton

20. Methodology Details of the research design
How are you going to implement the selected design?
Instruments
Anything that you will use to capture data
E.g. Questionnaires, Lab equipment, Software tools
Self development or use of existing materials?
Purpose of the instruments. What were they originally intended for and what do you hope to achieve with them?
Reliability and validity of the instruments
Ronnie
If your instruments are questionable, so is your data. If your data is questionable, so are your results. If your results are questionable, so are your conclusions. If your conclusions are questionable, so is your PhD / M.

21. Methodology
Data
Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the data that will be captured with your method
Convince the reader that the data will be of sufficient quality to allow analysis and obtain valid results.
What are the possibilities that your data will be flawed, incomplete or biased?
Describe the characteristics of the population and sample.
How representative will your data be?
How did you arrive at the sample?
Analysis
You need to turn data into evidence. How?
Statistical techniques to be used.
You must make a case that what you do will lead to the knowledge that you are after.
Ronnie

22. Ethical considerations
Chapter Layout
Introduction
Research design
Methodology
Instruments
Data
Analysis
Limitations
Ronnie
Ethical considerations
Conclusion
Hofstee, E. (2006). Constructing a Good Dissertation. EPE: Sandton

23. Limitations and Challenges
All methods have limitations
Name the limitations that will
affect the reliability of your findings
limit the extent to which you can generalise
What are the consequences of the limitations and why will your findings still be worthwhile?
Challenges
E.g. only 15% of respondents completed answered a specific question in the survey form. How are you going to deal with it?
Limited access to critical documentation / information.
Ronnie

24. Ethical Considerations
Inform the reader about the ethical issues that had to be considered, e.g.
health and safety of participants
anonymity of participants
sensitive information
environmental issues, e.g. disposal of electronic equipment
Did you get ethical clearance from the university?
How did you address the challenges?
Ronnie

25. Ethical considerations
Chapter Layout
Introduction
Research design
Methodology
Instruments
Data
Analysis
Limitations
Ronnie
Ethical considerations
Conclusion
Hofstee, E. (2006). Constructing a Good Dissertation. EPE: Sandton

26. Conclusion Section Overview of what was covered in the chapter
Chosen research design
What is next? This chapter should lead into data capture, results and analysis.
Only one or two paragraphs to round off the chapter.
Ronnie

27. Concluding Remarks Put yourself in the shoes of the reader
Don’t write from the perspective of somebody who knows what’s going on (you).
Make sure that you covered all details.
This is a thesis/dissertation – you have enough space.
Return to the chapter if you made changes to the design along the way.
PILOT!!
Ronnie

28. Thank you