RESEARCH
METHODS
PROFESSOR SARAH COHN
HEAD OF REFERENCE, EDUCATION LIBRARIAN
February 7 & 9, 2023
INTRODUCTION TO
Today's Agenda
-
Guiding questions
-
What is research?
-
Methods
-
Creating your study
-
Theoretical framework
-
Getting help
Goal
The purpose of this workshop is to introduce research methods, and to give you a base understanding of concepts and language that you can use to explore further.
What method(s) will you use?
What population do you have access to?
How much data do you need?
What is the purpose of your research?
How much time do you have to conduct your research?
Is there a relevant or suitable theoretical approach?
All your choices should be focused on ensuring you can answer your research question in the time you have.
What is your research question or questions?
What is Research?
Field
Creating and conducting a study or experiment.
Library
Literature review.
Deductive
Aims to test an existing theory.
Inductive
Aims to develop a theory.
Applied
Goal is to find a solution for an immediate problem facing a particular community or a particular organization.
Fundamental
Goal is to formulate theories using the collected
data.
Qualitative
Gathers data about lived experiences, emotions or behaviors, and the meanings individuals attach to them.
Useful in the exploration of how or why things have occurred, interpreting events, and describing actions.
Quantitative
Gathers numerical data which can be ranked, measured, or categorized through statistical analysis.
Useful for uncovering patterns or relationships, finding out how many, how much, how often, or to what extent.
Methods
Qualitative
- Interview
- Semi-structured
- Unstructured
- Open-ended survey
- Focus group
- Observation
- Direct
- Participant
- Document, content, or textual analysis
- Oral history
Quantitative
- Closed-ended survey
- Structured interview
- Observation
- Document, content, or textual analysis
- Experiment
Mixed Methods
- Using both qualitative and quantitative instruments
Creating Your Study
Survey
- Who will you ask to complete the survey?
- How will you administer it?
- How many questions will you ask?
- What type of questions?
- Closed or open-ended
- How will you be coding open-ended questions?
- Write clear survey questions.
- Have someone outside the field proof read them.
- Don't ask extraneous questions.
- Use even-numbered Likert Scale questions.
Observation
- Who will you be observing?
- Will you interact with participants or not?
- How will you record your observations?
- How will you code your observations?
- Do you have specific behaviors or patterns you're looking for?
Interview
- Who will you be interviewing?
- What type of interview format?
- Unstructured, semi-structured, structured
- How many questions will you ask?
- How much time do you expect each interview will take?
- How will you record the interview?
- How will you code responses?
Theoretical Framework
- Behavioral theory
- Change theory
- Cognitive theory
- Content analysis
- Critical ethnography
- Critical race theory
- Cross-sectional analysis
- Developmental theory
- Feminist theory
- Gender theory
- Marxist theory
- Queer theory
- Symbolic interactionism
- Systems theory
- Transformational theory
Getting Help
Professor Sarah Cohn
Head of Reference, Education Librarian
scohn@ccny.cuny.edu
tinyurl.com/librarianfollowup
ccny.libcal.com/appointments/scohn
Reference Desk: Cohen Library
Monday-Thursday 10am-6pm
Friday 10am-2pm
Works Cited
Mligo, Elia Shabani. Introduction to Research Methods and Report Writing : a Practical Guide for Students and Researchers in Social Sciences and the Humanities. Eugene, Oregon: Resource Publications, 2016.
Punch, Keith, and Alis Oancea. Introduction to Research Methods in Education. 2nd edition. London ;: SAGE Publications Ltd, 2014.
Taylor, Steven J., Robert. Bogdan, and Marjorie. DeVault. Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods : A Guidebook and Resource. 4th ed. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2015.