Research Methods & Process

Transcription

1 Research Methods & Process Indigenous Research Methodologies MasterClass 2010 Dr Maggie Walter

2 Methodologies NOT Methodology Indigenous M should be innovative and flexible Need open paradigms. Be wary of methodologies becoming orthodoxies will stifle scholarship In many ways field is wide open this is exciting But Indigenous methodologies not just a methodology undertaken by an Indigenous researcher critical criteria must be met on: Epistemology Axiology Ontology

3 Successful Thesis/Research Criteria for Success Evidence of command of field/s Thorough grasp of methodological techniques Makes distinct contribution to knowledge Contribution is original Professionally communicates research findings Rigorous and sustained piece of work A PhD thesis must demonstrate apprenticeship complete and holder admissible to community of scholars in their discipline

4 Western Paradigms objective subjective positivist post-structuralist interpretivist Paradigms is a category of methodologies Paradigms not true or false. Different ways of seeking explanations but can become orthodoxies Positivism dominant paradigm into 1970s Challenged by feminism & interpretivist frames and more latterly Indigenous paradigms Very few social researchers now frame their methodology within a positivist paradigm

5 Classic Social Science Paradigms Conflict Social relations inherently unequal- based on exploitation and conflict. KQ: who benefits/loses and how is power used and by whom? Functionalist Society as working as interlinked entity and objective social norms needed. KQ how is social order possible and how to maximise social cohesion Feminist challenges male centric core of classic paradigms & invisibility of women. Sees gender as fundamental social division and signifier of life chances. Different feminist paradigms Interpretivist - Seeks meanings and understandings of participants and assumes that they are discernable from the researcher's interpretation Copyright A_Professor of Margaret the data

6 Positivism Comte: scientific approaches used within social sciences. Adopted as THE methodological frame Assumes social/human laws exist in same way as natural laws. Research discovers those laws by: a. Systematic observation b. The collection of data ("facts") c. Development of theories to explain those facts d. Social world can then be predicted/controlled. Uses experiment: prove or disprove a hypothesis Used (past and present) to legitimise/institutionalise Western perception of Aboriginal people as Other

7 Post-structuralist paradigms Emphasises subjectivity of reality. Maintains meanings and conceptual categories shifting and inherently unstable Culture inseparable from meaning No absolute truths so research cannot show Multiple & chosen conception of identity used to essentialise Indigenous peoples Shifting reality mean that issues of power not addressed Inherently unstable conception of categories does not recognise gender or race as social structural constraints Copyright A_Professor on Margaret life chances

8 Western traditional methodological divide

9 Theory and Data in Action Theory and empirical integrally connected theories explain social phenomena empirical data describe them. Empirical 'of the real world' - observable and measurable Theory set of interrelated ideas that seek to explain an external phenomenon Theories are not truths Can/do change over time and can be competing

10 Theory Construction: Inductive & Deductive Deductive Theory Data Data Data Data Data Data Inductive Theory

11 How to Do Research Research is a process Steps sequential and interrelated Different methods and methodologies vary order or intensity but all still vital Skipping or ignoring a step can jeopardise validity of whole project What you want to find out YOUR RESEARCH QUESTION - is the centre of the process

12 The Research Process 1. Decide on a focus/topic 2. Research the topic/evaluate existing theoretical frames and empirical data (literature review) 3. Develop your research question/s 4. Conceptualise and operationalise core concepts 5. Decide your methodological approach 6. Select your method(s) and sampling strategy 7. Collecting the data (in whatever form) 8. Prepare for, and carry out, analysis 9. Interpreting your results 10.Reporting and, possibly, acting on the findings

13 The Question!!! Deciding a Research Question Topic is NOT the research question Research question says precisely, in question form, exactly what you want to find out - Central to validity and rigour A good research question is a lot harder than it seems but vital. Also step most often missed Unless you know exactly what question(s) you want to answer there is no way you can tell at the end whether you actually achieved your research aim or not

14 Conceptualisation Conceptualisation translate research question into clear, precise and measurable terms Must conceptualise before operationalising Conceptualisation = process of specifying key concepts precisely and unambiguously Example: Do Indigenous applicants to WA state housing receive service and housing allocation at the same level as non-indigenous applicants? What are the key concepts here?

15 Operationalisation Use existing accepted conceptualisations if they suit Operationalisation how we measure our concepts Services: Will we measure services received equally i.e. does automatic rent deduction equal home maintenance? Housing Allocation: Proportion of housing allocations per Indigenous applicant/s per annum? Same Level: Measure by 2 dimensions rate of Indigenous to non-indigenous service delivery and housing allocation proportion of two groups in housing on list and by proportion of low income households in WA

16 Looking At Methods

17 Selecting Your Method Research Question Considerations What is the best method for this research question from a: Practical Perspective? Discipline Perspective? Resource Perspective? Research Method

18 Selecting Your Research Method 1. You need a basic working knowledge of a broad range of research methods. All research methods have strengths & weaknesses 2. There is no best method or best category of method 3. Select method to suit project. It must be the best method (or group of methods) to answer your research question 4. The research method is just a tool of the research project

19 Using Methods Method = technique for gathering research information or data. Method =1 aspect of methodology. This understanding allows the following flows: Different methods associated with different methodologies but this is convention not fixed Methods can be unmoored from traditional frames and adopted/adapted to suit Indigenous research Methods are tools. We select the most appropriate to use within our Indigenous methodology

20 Overview of Methods The following provide an varied range of common research methods In depth interviewing Content analysis Action research Surveys Discourse analysis

21 In-Depth Interviewing What is the Research Purpose? Unearths subjective meanings and understandings respondents bring to their interpretation of world What does it look like? An informal process. Each interview has different socio-political and cultural context. Uses themes not set questions to probe interviewees ideas What skills are needed? Good listening skills and strong reflexivity Coding analysis skills and interpretive abilities

22 How to Conduct an IDI All stages, pre-interview, Beginning, Middle and closing, require different considerations. No. of interviews can vary from 1 to 100. But purpose is meanings not to be representative. Unstructured does not mean unprepared. Built on solid literature review and thematic framing Reflection to self and to interviewee important in making sure you understand the nuances Record the interview in some way

23 Strengths/Weaknesses of IDI Strengths Allows research to address meaning in depth with attention to complexity Appropriate for a wide range of topics/research questions Allows respondents to speak for themselves Weaknesses Assumption that interview is more true than other data collection not always valid Addresses only the meanings of those interviewed. Cannot be generalised

24 IM Amenability

25 Content Analysis Content = study of communications i.e. written texts, spoken communications, speeches and audiovisual communications like film and TV programs Content Analysis identifies and interprets basic structure of the communication. Major research purposes: Identify intentions, focus or communication trends of an individual, group or institution

26 How to Do Content Analysis Select form of communication based on question Select a sample if too many to examine all Decide what concepts will be coded for Operationalise how these will be determined: Develop rules of coding Code choose explicit only or also implicit Analyse results Interpret in light of R. question and theoretical frame/standpoint

27 Strengths/Weaknesses of CA Strengths Economical and sample usually easy to access Unobtrusive and allows time-related study Reduced risk of ethical concerns Communication provides unique insights Weaknesses Limited to recorded communications cannot access communication not recorded in some way. Hard to establish representativeness of sample Is inherently reductive - can just be a word count

28 CA Amenability

29 Action Research a.k.a. participatory action research sees that research should be more than just finding out Action research has a problem solving focus. Change not explanation are the objective Action research popular method in Indigenous research Term Action Research coined by Kurt Lewin (1946) to describe spiral action of problem solving research working thru iterations of planning, acting, observing and reflecting

30 Action Research Iterative Process

31 Action Research Situational Collaborative Participatory Self-evaluative Expert role rescinded for active instigation/ownership by those with the problem. Researcher is only the tool Strengths Practical; Uses on-ground knowledge and memory; develops expertise and capabilities and ownership means greater likelihood of problem solving Weaknesses What is a community? Presumption community has same agenda and problem definition; prone to political plays; when is a problem solved?

32 IRM Amenability?

33 Surveys Survey research common but conducting a good survey is not easy. Surveys an abused method with research and survey questions confused. Purpose Collect a lot of information on a large sample in a short time across a wide range of topic; allow us to generalize our findings (if sampled approp) Underlying Principles Standardisation of questions and how asked allows valid and rigorous statistical comparison

34 What type of survey? Two Basic Choices - Self Administered or Researcher Administered. Self administered: Mail Internet - cheap - easily distributed to large group anonymous But also Low return rates, respondents likely to be more literate or with particular interest in topic can bias the sample - Can t tell if interpreting questions correctly -- Limited responses to more detailed questions-- Often much missed data not suitable for all topics or all groups

35 Researcher Administered Telephone/ Face to Face Interviewer Lots of ways phone, in the street, homes Researcher present so can clarify Higher response rate Can ask more detailed questions But also Takes time only one survey at a time Expensive in people hours and money Not anonymous Interviewer bias might also be a problem

36 Using a Survey in IRM

37 Discourse Analysis All discourse not equal- uncovering discursive strategies. For social science discourse analysis is the: study of talk and text in context Purpose: Identifies implicit/explicit discourses in spoken and written word and ideological underpinnings Makes no claims to objectivity. Is concerned with power and tends to be highly political Important because communication and text a defining feature of the contemporary world

38 Doing Critical Discourse Analysis Fairclough sets out a 3 dimensional framework: Text Analysis - vocabulary, grammar cohesion, and text structure (e.g. how phrases like Working Families enter political language) Discursive Practice: strategic devices used to reinforce argument (e.g. rhetoric, exaggeration) Social Practice analyses the discourse in terms of hegemony and power particularly ideological components of language

39 Critical Discourse Analysis Figure 1. A conceptual framework for discourse analysis (adapted from Fairclough, 1992)

40 Critical Discourse Analysis in IRM