Introduction
Welcome to Module 3 – Choosing your research strategy.
According to Robson (2002) if you are to carry out an enquiry
or investigation then there are many things you need to consider
but the main ones are
- Deciding on the focus
- Developing the research questions
- Choosing the research strategy (or design)
- Selecting the method (or tactics)
- Arranging the practicalities
- Collecting the data and
- Reporting what you have found
In Module 1 you decided on the focus and in Module
2 you investigated developing research questions. It
is now time for you to consider the research strategy.
It is useful to distinguish between the strategy and
the tactics in carrying out an enquiry.
- Strategy refers to the general broad orientation
taken in addressing the research questions, that is, am
I going to use a flexible (sometimes referred to
as qualitative) or fixed (sometimes referred to as
quantitative) design.
- Tactics are specific methods of investigation,
for example surveys, questionnaires, interviews, tests and
observation techniques and most commonly in theology documentary
analysis (Robson, Chpt 12.).
Design is concerned with turning research
questions into projects.
The general principle in choosing a research strategy or
design is that the methods and techniques employed must be
appropriate for the questions you want to answer.
Robson (2002) recommends keeping these points in mind when
considering the research design and when carrying out the
investigation. He refers to it as a framework for research
design:
- The purpose - What is this study trying to achieve?
Why is it being done? Are you seeking to describe something,
or to explain or understand something? Are you trying to
assess the effectiveness of something? Is it in response
to some problem or issue for which solutions are sought?
Is it hoped to change something as a result of the study?
- Theory - What theory will guide or inform your
study? How will you understand the findings? What conceptual
framework links the phenomena you are studying?
- Research Questions - To what questions is the
research geared to providing answers? What do you need to
know to achieve the purpose of the study? What is it feasible
to ask given the time and resources that you have available?
- Sampling strategy - From whom will you seek data?
Where and when? How do you balance the need to be selective
with the need to collect all the data required?
For a diagrammatic view of how these points are interrelated
you can look at Robson’s Figure 4.1 on page 82.
Choosing an appropriate research design can sometimes be
controversial. As Patton (1990) points out philosophers and
methodologists have been engaged in a long standing debate
about how to best conduct research. Essentially the debate
has centered on the merits of two fundamentally different
and competing paradigms. On the one hand: conventional research
- logical positivism, using quantitative and experimental
methods to test hypothetical -deductive generalizations; and
on the other hand, phenomenological inquiry, based on the
use of qualitative and naturalistic approaches to inductively
and holistically understand human experience.
Both paradigms have various tactics for generating
and analyzing data and it is not unusual for researchers to
align themselves to one or the other. Such an alignment would
then determine the choice of research strategy. Patton argues
that hitching your wagon to one particular paradigm or the
other may not be the most appropriate way of choosing a research
strategy. He is not an advocate of one paradigm versus the
other, both have something to offer and one should not be
rejected in favour of the other because of habit or loyalty.
What is important is selecting a research strategy that is
appropriate for a specific inquiry situation. Patton refers
to this as "situational responsiveness". Responding to the
situation involves reflection on the purpose of the inquiry,
the questions being investigated and the resources available
(Patton 1990).
Robson’s advice is similar to Patton’s. He uses a flexible
- fixed dichotomy to help us understand Patton’s fundamentally
different and competing paradigms. For Robson a fixed
design strategy "…calls for a tight pre-specification
before you reach the main data collection stage. Data are
almost always in the form of numbers hence this strategy is
commonly referred to as a quantitative strategy."
A flexible design strategy "… evolves during
data collection. Data are typically non- numerical, usually
in the form of words, hence this strategy is often referred
to as a qualitative strategy."
Robson points out:
While a design cannot be fixed and flexible at the same
time, it could have a flexible phase followed by a fixed phase
(or more rarely, the reverse sequence). Or there could be
a separate flexible element within an otherwise to fixed design...
Further:
The flexible designs can include the collection of quantitative
data. Fixed designs rarely include qualitative data (but could
do). (Robson 2002:87)
To help you to decide which strategy you should choose Robson’s
suggests trying to answer these questions
- Is a fixed or flexible design strategy appropriate?
For examples of a range of fixed, flexible and multiple
design studies look at Robson’s Box 4.1 on pages 84-5.
- Is your proposed study an evaluation? Trying to
establish the worthwhile value of something such as an intervention,
innovation or service could be approached using a fixed
or flexible strategy. If the focus is on outcomes a fixed
design is probably indicated: if it is on processes then
a flexible design is probably more desirable.
- Do you wish to carry out action research? If action
is central to your concerns and direct participation in
the research by yourself and/or others is likely, coupled
with any intention to initiate change, then a flexible design
is probably indicated.
- If you opt for a fixed design strategy which type is
most appropriate? Two broad traditions are widely recognized:
experimental and non-experimental designs.
- If you opt for a flexible design strategy which type
is most appropriate? Flexible designs have developed
from a wide range of different traditions and disciplines
however three of these are particularly relevant to real
world research - case studies, ethnographic studies,
and grounded theories studies.
Preparatory tasks
- To help prepare you for the assessment activity and to
increase your understanding of the different options that
are available in fixed and flexible designs you now need
to read the following chapters in your textbook (Robson)
- Chapter 4 – General Design Issues
- Chapter 5 – Fixed Designs
- Chapter 6 – Flexible Designs
- Chapter 7 – Designs for Particular Purposes: Evaluation,
Action and Change
Assessment activities
Activity 3.1 – Choosing a fixed or flexible design strategy
Please note: This activity is individual, assessable
and should take you about 1 hour. It has a word limit of 200
words and is part of your folio of activities, which is worth
40% of your total mark. It should be emailed to your teacher
on or before week 10 of semester.
You now need to
- Decide whether your research questions are best answered
by a fixed (e.g. experimental or non experimental)
or flexible (e.g. case study, ethnographic study, grounded
theory, action research) research design/strategy and
explain the reasons for your choice.
- View a summary of Robson's
Chapters 4, 5, 6 and 7 to assist you in making your choice.
References
- Robson, C., 2002, Real World Research, 2nd Ed,
Blackwell, Oxford
- Patton, M.Q., 1990, Qualitative Evaluation and Research
Methods, Sage Publications, London
Further resources
If you are interested to find about more about this area
then you can
1. Read the following books
- Gay, L.R. and Airasion, P., 2000, Educational Research:
Competencies for Analysis and Application, 6th Ed, Merrill
Columbus, Ohio
- Marshall, C. & Gretchen, B., 1989, Designing Qualitative
Research, Sage Publications, London
- Mat, T., 1997, Social Research: Issues, Methods and
Process, 2nd Edition, Open University Press, Buckingham,
United Kingdom
- Neuman, W.L., 2000, Social Research Methods: Qualitative
and Quantitative Approaches, Allyn and Bacon, Boston
- Punch, K.F., 1998, Introduction to Social Research:
Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches, Sage Publications,
London
- Wadsworth, Y., 1997, Do It Yourself Social Research,
2nd Ed, Allen and Unwin, St Leonards, NSW
You can also look at the extensive "Further Reading"
sections at the end of each chapter in your textbook.
2. Visit the following websites
|
