Bell, J. and Waters, S. (2018) Doing your research project: a guide for first time researchers. 7th edn. London: McGraw Hill

Ch.1: The Researcher and the Research Journey.

‘Research consists of three steps: the posing of a question, the collection of data to answer the question, and presenting an answer to the question.’ p.11

There’s a chance a definitive answer can’t be found and further research now needs to be done. But I need to remain aware that my own opinion should not influence it, or collect data that is biased towards the answer I want. Need to be open minded, and prepared to ‘be surprised’. p.12

RDF: Researcher Development Framework: ‘…articulates the knowledge, behaviours and attributes of successful researchers and encourages them to realise their potential’. p.1, cited in p.13. Four domains of attributes identified:

A. Knowledge and intellectual abilities

B. Personal effectiveness

C. Research governance and organisation – knowledge of the standards, requirements and professionalism to do research

D. Engagement, influence and impact – the knowledge and skills to work with others and ensure that the research process and findings have an impact beyond the confines of the project.

For research completed within HEIs, I can refer to ‘The Concordat to Support Research Integrity‘ (Universities UK, 2012):

This concordat seeks to provide a comprehensive national framework for good research conduct and its governance. As signatories to, and supporters of, the concordat to support research integrity, we are committed to:

• maintaining the highest standards of rigour and integrity in all aspects of research
• ensuring that research is conducted according to appropriate ethical, legal and professional frameworks, obligations and standards
• supporting a research environment that is underpinned by a culture of integrity and based on good governance, best practice and support for the development of researchers
• using transparent, robust and fair processes to deal with allegations of research misconduct should they arise
• working together to strengthen the integrity of research and to review progress regularly and openly.

Ch.2: Approaches to research

• Quantitative researchers collect facts and study the relationship of one set of facts to another. Use structured and pre-determined research questions, conceptual frameworks and designs. They are likely to provide quantified and possibly generalised outputs.
  • +ve: More objective, findings can be generalised to whole populations, statistical tests can be applied to the data in making statements about it and survey responses can be automated.
  • -ve: No account taken of human-ness of subjects, research is dependent on tool chosen, descriptive data meaning it’s difficult to identify reasons for the data or interpreting it, and focus of research can’t change during the process and it will invalidate study.
• Qualitative researchers want to understand individuals perceptions of the world. Generally non-numerical data and usually broader research questions at the outset.
  • +ve: Allows exploration of behaviour; suitable for culturally based or inter-personal topics; allows researcher to reflect on their experience as part of the process; small participant numbers; allows use of ‘insider perspective; can identify constructs which are usually hard to quantify i.e. ‘anxiety’; and focus can be changed in the midst of the study if needed.
  • -ve: Unanticipated results or results contradicting hypothesis are common; ethics can be time-consuming; process is time-consuming; findings cannot be tested for statistical significance; findings can’t be generalised; greater risk of researcher bias.
• Mixed methods: using a combination of the above two.
• Hypotheses: i.e. statements of belief can be qualitative, quantitative, or both.
• Triangulation: by combining qualitative and quantitative data you get a more comprehensive perspective than if you just used one, and you can confirm findings by drawing on different sources of data. (p.26)

Action research is where ‘a problem involving people, tasks and procedures cries out for solution, or where some change of feature results in a more desirable outcome. (Cohen et. al, 2011, p.344).

A key consideration for case studies is the idea of relatability i.e. how easy would this translate to, for example, a lecturer in another institution. If there’s no relatability, it won’t produce good knowledge.

Other generalisations:

Statistical generalisations: claims that there is an x% or y% chance that what was found in the same will also be found through the population.

Fuzzy generation: studies of singularities and claims it is possible/likely/unlikely that what was found i the singularity will be found in similar situations elsewhere.

(Bassey, 1990, p.12)

Survey: usually aims to represent the population proportionally in some way – think about what characteristics of the total population need to be represented to enable you to say with confidence that your sample is representative i.e. age, education, postcode, ethnic group, SEC, political affiliation etc. Dependent on what I choose as my research purpose.

Main purpose of the survey is fact finding. Not good for asking why or demonstrating a causal relationship.

Applied research is scientific study and research that aim to solve practical problems, so it aims for external validity i.e. findings of the research study will apply to people and contexts outside of the research study. Applied research often uses experiments as a principle research method.

Experimental style: be careful with saying that experiments will demonstrate cause and effect. They can do, but the research design would need to be brilliant and you’d need to have a massive sample group. Unless you can do the above (which I wouldn’t have time do) you have to ensure that all possible causes have been considered.

Ethnography and the ethnographic style of research

Ethnographic research is about developing an understanding of how a culture works:

Participant observation, interview, mapping and charting, interaction analysis, study of historical records and current public documents, the use of demographic data, etc. But ethnography centres on the participant observation of a society or culture through a complete cycle of events that regularly occur as that society interacts with its environment.

(Lutz, 1993, p.108)

The grounded theory approach: idea is to generate theories from the data gathered. They start with a research question but not a hypothesis, nor do they begin their investigation with a thorough lit review. Instead, analysis takes place as data are collected i.e. ‘the researcher examines the findings of an interview or of participant observation and then proceeds to the analysis of those findings before any other data are collected. As the research proceeds, there will be more data collection and more analysis, and so on until theoretical saturation is reached, or the stage at which the collection of further data will not generate new theories. It is at this point that the researcher can be confident that the research process has been both comprehensive and exhaustive.’ (p.37)

You need to guard against going down ‘just one more data collection path’ or ‘pursuing just one more line of enquiry’: you can get trapped in the maze of research, following different paths but not reaching the exit i.e. actually completing the study (p.37). 

Thematic analysis: if there is a theme that keeps arising, that might then organically become a new area of interest and study. For example, if you had a few interviews where students reported the same specific thing, that becomes an interesting theme to explore further. You might want to go back to all participants and ask them a further questions. 

Narrative inquiry and stories: 

A narrative approach to inquiry is most appropriate when the researcher is interested in portraying intensely personal accounts of human experience. Narratives allow voice – to the researcher, the participants and to cultural groups – and in this sense they can have the ability to develop a decidedly political and powerful edge. (Gray, 1998, p.12) 

Ch.3: Planning the Project 

Don’t choose a topic before you’ve done the groundwork.

After ‘100 hours of study’ I won’t be in a position to make recommendations for fundamental chance to any system. However I might be able to suggest desirable changes in practice.

Process for getting started:

• Begins with a research problem – make a list of all the different areas that interest you
• Talk to colleagues about potential ideas – they may be aware of something that could cause difficulties at some stage, or other people who have done similar work that I could talk to.
• Post on LinkedIn about the research I am doing and if anyone else is researching the same area?
• Try to narrow it down to two research questions which are: realistic and feasible, clear, of sufficient importance, and ethical. ‘Something about first generation students’.
• Consider the purpose of the study: ask questions of your question, pick it apart. This will give you a clear idea of where you are headed.
• Before producing the project outline for discussion with tutor, use the following as a check-list: Purpose clear? Is it valuable? Focus clear? Do you have a rough idea of your key questions i.e. a couple of avenues to go down? Do you have a rough idea of what information might be needed?

Timing:

• Produce a Gantt chart detailing at what stage all data should have been collected, analysed and drafts produced.
• Often the associated research will take longer than expected, at some stage you need to give yourself a hard deadline to end research.
• Keep records of all supervisory meetings

Research diary:

• A document to track the process of your research in your final report PERHAPS I CAN DO THIS ON MURAL?
• Try to add a date to every comment i.e. ‘do this tomorrow’, ‘write this up before Thursday’ so it’s tangible.

Ethics and Integrity in Research

• Check UAL research practices – what are their ethics?
• The research protocol is an essential part of research – a full description of the research that can act as a manual to ensure adherence to the methods outlined. It will likely include: a title, abstract and summary, background or rationale of the study, aims and objectives, experimental design and methods, ethical considerations, benefits of the study, resources and costs.
• You shouldn’t just expect the participant to sign it straight away – give them plenty of time to go over it and give them the opportunity to negotiate any of the elements they are uncomfortable with. Think about using DocuSign for the convenience of the respondent.
• Confidentiality and anonymity: practical distinction – confidentiality is a promise that a participant will not be presented in the research in any way that could identify them, anonymity goes one step further by guaranteeing that even the research is unable to identify the participant. (p.69)
• Think about ways I’ll manage data sets online when I’m gathering them – I must password protect (behind UAL credentials is fine).

Ethical research in practice, the problems of ‘inside’ research and personal codes of practice:

• In case study of research in an education institution, researcher found that objectivity was difficult to attain and he felt that gaining ‘confidential knowledge’ had the potential for affecting his relationships with colleagues. This is such an important part, it probably has to be focused outside of AS primarily.
• Relate your research report to the pragmatic concerns of the institution (so first generation KPIs?)
• I will be required to publish my research, so must keep that in mind.

Ch.5: Reading, Referencing and the Management of Information

Reading:

• Need to accept that I can’t read everything – I need to set a deadline for finishing my reading.
• Look out for recurring themes, categories and keywords that will become increasingly important in my search for a structure or framework for your own research.
• Consider using Bibliographic software i.e. EndNote, ProCite or Reference Manager. EndNote works with a lot of export functions on online texts, so – preferable?
• Read critically – examine how authors classify their findings, how they explore relationships between facts and how key issues emerge – may give me ideas on how to manage my own data.
• Consider making a note of key words or categories when writing up my notes so I find it easier to find later.

Ch.6: Literature Searching

• Online search facilities beneficial to finding sources: Web of Knowledge and COPAC.
• Define the parameters of your search (search limiters) and key words. Ask myself: am I only interested in materials in English? Do I want contemporary sources? Do I want a single country focus? More specific – London (very specific demands of HEI study in an expensive metropolis). Include the location of your study i.e. university/school. What is the relevant discipline area? Does it matter whether members of my sample are in education?
• Ensure you have SCONUL access for your research.
• Check out resources available at:
  • The British Library
  • Bielefield Academic Search Engine (BASE)
  • Harvard’s Open Collections Program (OCP)
  • Interdisciplinary source of research from university digital repositories (OAISTER)
• Evaluating sources:
  • Have you only drawn on source material that supports your argument? Make the effort to consult a wide range of sources.
  • Critically examine the evidence.
  • Consider whether the research is well designed and whether the data collection instruments suitable for purpose.
  • Review the source for any partisanship or bias.

PART 2: Selecting Methods of Data Collection

Constraints:

• Even if you are short on time, you should make the effort to cross-check findings and use more than one method of data collection. This multi-method approach is known as triangulation.

Reliability and validity:

• Reliability of the method of data collection. E.g. a question that may provide one type of answer on one occassion but a different answer on another is unreliable. Respondent may have just watched a show that altered their opinion on something, or they might be stressed out, tired, jovial – all these things could affect their responses. Best idea is to make a note of this in the limitations as don’t have time for double testing.
• Validity of your data collection method would be does thing thing measure the thing that it is supposed to…or not? Like epistemological concerns. Good to get a second opinion from a peer or tutor.
• My aim is go gain as REPRESENTATIVE A SAMPLE GROUP AS POSSIBLE. So, reflecting on the demographics of UAL/LCC as a whole, what does my sample group have to look like?

Documentary evidence:

Its approach is derived from historical methods, which are concerned with the problems of selection and evaluation of evidence.

Content analysis:

Content analysis is a ‘systematic, replicable technique for compressing many words of text into fewer content categories based on explicit rules of coding’ (Stemler, 2001).

It is a research tool to analyse the frequency and use of words or terms or concepts in a document with the aim of assessing the meaning and significance of a source.

• Start with a research question and then choose a ‘sampling strategy after the coding or recording units have been defined (i.e.) units (…) are sampling units like health policy statements or leaflets in GP surgeries, which will then be analysed in sentences or paragraphs, using categories such as the purpose of the policies or advice given to patients.’ (p. 152)
• ‘After analysing word frequency, it is valuable to assess the context of the key words to test for consistency. Stemler (2001) gives advice about valuable software used for content analysis, much of which allows the researcher to see how the word was used in context. Content analysis of documents using simple word counts can be arid in its approach if the nature of the documents is not analysed in the way suggested below and this may not be appropriate for many small-scale studies.’ (pp. 153-154).

Critical analysis of documents:

External and internal criticism.

External criticism: is a document genuine (not forged) and authentic (it is what it purports to be and truthfully reports the subject).

Internal criticism: contents of a document is subject to ;rigorous analysis’ (p. 154)

• What kind of document is it?
• What does it actually say? Certain types of document use specialised language which must be mastered, and private correspondence may use language in an idiosyncratic way.
• Who produced it and what is known about them?
• What was its purpose?
• When and in what circumstances what is produced?
• It is typical or atypical of its type?
• Is it complete? Has it been altered or edited?
• What is known about the author’s social background, political views, aims and past experience?
• Did the author experience or observe what is being described? If so, were they an expert on what was being witnessed and a trained observer of the events described?
• Did the author habitually tell the truth or exaggerate, distort or omit?
• How long after the event did the author produce the document?

‘Gaps in the evidence can sometimes be very significant, as they may indicate a prejudice or a determination to ignore a proposed change. Decide whether a particular political affiliation might possible influence the tone of emphasis of a paper and try to come to a conclusion based on all the available evidence’. (pp. 155 – 156)

Considerations for online research:

• ‘People behave differently online and offline and so only research could not reflect the ‘real world’.
• Exaggerated views were a result of the anonymity the internet afforded and therefore research findings using views from online sources would lead to inaccurate conclusions about something or someone.
• Impulsive comments posted online may result in researchers using a view that does not accurately reflect someone’s ‘normal’ viewpoint but instead only something they held for a moment in time.
• Inaccurate profiles taken without further context would lead to inaccurate information and findings’ (ALL ABOVE: Beninger et al. 2014:2)

If you are using social media posts to support your research, you should try to reach out to them to explain what you are doing and so that they have a contact detail. They may wish to view your research eventually. If you are using online content from under-18s or vulnerable adults then you must have DBS clearance.

‘On the other hand, the advantage of the researcher of gathering data from social media is that, if the particulants are not aware of the researcher’s study in advance, their social media interactions will not be influenced by it and will therefore be authentic.’ (p.169)

Approaches to online research:

• Boolean Search: ‘George Boole was a British mathematician whose work on logic is the foundation of our digital world. hE ESTABLISHES boolean logic, a theory of mathematics in which all variables are either ‘true’ or ‘false’ or ‘on’ or ‘off’. Boolean Search is a way to organise your search by using a combination of keywords and the three main Boolean operations: And, Or, Not, (…).
  • Using ‘and’ between words means results will be shown which include both of the keywords i.e. not treated as separate keywords
  • Using ‘or’ between words means results are shown which contain the keywords together or separately
  • Using ‘not’ between keywords means results are shown which contain the first key word but results that also include the second keyword or only include the second keyword are excluded
• Set up Google Alerts
• Pocket: Pocket is a tool that enables you to save anything that is of interest that you don’t have time to read so that you can access it later. Pocket is a browser extension that adds an icon to your toolbar. When you come across an article or website or vide, you click on the Pocket icon and it saves the URL. It works across devices so you can read the content on your phone later.

Ch.10: Designing and Administering Surveys

Difference between surveys and questionnaires:

A questionnaire is a set of written questions used for collecting information that is not then aggregated for statistical purposes. A survey … gathers information that is used to come to a conclusion about what a group of people think or how they behave, or a combination of the two: ‘an example of a questionnaire would be a teacher asking students questions sbout how well they have understood a topic, with the aim of identifying those pupils experiencing difficulties. There is no intention here to quantify or analyse the data of the class as a group. On the other hand, if the teacher wanted to find our how many students were having difficulty understanding the topic across 10 classes, this would be a survey, as some method of quantifying the data would be involved.’ (p.188)

• You must specify in your questions exactly what information you wish the respondents to provide
• ‘Operationalizable’: ‘the rules we use to link the language or theory (concepts) to the language of research (indicators)’ p.194. I.e. if we want to understand something about class (a concept and therefore not observable), what can we observe in the world which manifests class? That is, what indicators can be used for class so that we can obtain data about class.’ (Rose and Sullivan, 1996, pp.12-13)
• Don’t assume, don’t use double questions i.e. ‘did you do this and this’, don’t use leading questions.

Drawing a sample:

• A random sample will give each of the individuals concerns and equal chance of taking part i.e. you go through an alphabetical list and list every other name.
• You may want representative subgroups i.e. an appropriate proportion of men and women, individuals in different age categories or some other sub-group.
• ‘Opportunity samples’ are when you are forced to interview anyone from the total population who is available and willing at the time. Efforts should still be made to select as representative a sample as possible.

Piloting the survey:

• Data gathering instruments should be piloted to test how long it takes recipients to complete them, to check that all questions and instructions are clear, and to enable you to remove any items that do not yield usable data.
• Allows you to do a preliminary analysis to determine whether your survey ‘works’ as expected.
• Sample questions to ask the pilots of the survey:
  • How long did the survey take you to complete?
  • Were the instructions clear?
  • Were any of the questions unclear or ambiguous? If so, please say which and why.
  • Did you object to answering any of the questions?
  • In your opinion, has any major topic been omitted?
  • Was the layout of the survey clear/attractive?
  • Any comments?

Distribution of surveys:

Under no circumstance can you distribute your surveys until you have obtained clearance to proceed from your supervisor, your institution’s research committee, ethics committee and any other body that has responsibility for scrutinizing students’ topics, project plans and proposed methods of collecting data.

• The rights of respondents and your rights and responsibilities: Respondents should be provided with a written statement about their rights and your responsibilities and the purpose of the research. Make it clear that official approval has been given and say what will be done with the completed surveys.
• Make sure to put a data of submission in the letter and the survey: give respondents a deadline to respond within.

Ch. 11: Planning and conducting interviews

Think this chapter was all common sense, but if I need to look back on this for notes or for a class, the checklist from pp. 221-224 are helpful.

Ch. 12: Diaries, Logs, Critical Incident, Blogs and Vlogs

Critical Incident Technique (CIT): any specificable human activity that is sufficiently complete in itself to permit inferences and predictions to be made about the person performing the act. To be critical the incident must occur in a situation where the purpose or intent of the act seems fairly clear to the observer and where its consequences are sufficiently definite to leave little doubt concerning its effects.’ (Flanagan, 1954, p.327)

• Essentially nothing dramatic, just a task or an event that makes the difference between success and failure in carrying out important parts of the job i.e. a nurse doing handovers on shifts.

Diaries: can be a good way of recording data but expects the participants to contribute a lot of their time. Furthermore, they may record an atypical week, or they may record differently because they are conscious that their responses are being analysed. But, every research instrument can succumb to bias.

Ch. 13: Observation

Solo observers are always in danger of accusations of bias or misinterpretation. If you are researching in your own professional area, try to persuade a friend, colleague or fellow student to join you for as many observation sessions as possible. (p.243)

• Observation can be: structured, unstructured, participant or non-participant.
• Unstructured observation: as in grounded theory, the researcher will postpone definitions and structures until a pattern has been observed…and then continues with the fieldwork in order to elaborate these while the data are still available for access.’
• Participant observation: the researcher involved in the daily life of an individual, group or community and listening, observing, questioning and understanding (or trying to understand) the life of the individual(s) concerned. Downside – probably biased and idiosyncratic.
• Structured observation and keeping records: you will have already formulated a hypothesis or identified the objectives of your study and the importance of observing some aspect of behaviour will have become apparent.
• Your goal is always to record and observe in as objective a way as possible. Observation schedules can be a good solution to this concern. They can take the form of a checklist, diary, chart, time or critical incidents log.
• Think about what you want to find out and what would be important events to happen during observation, so that you know in advance what would be important and not important to your records.

PART 3: INTERPRETING THE EVIDENCE AND REPORTING THE FINDINGS

Ch. 14: Interpreting the evidence and reporting the findings

• Think about the type of average you would want to use i.e. the mean, the median or the mode.
  • The mean is adding all the values together then dividing by the number of values,
  • The median enables us to find the middle value (useful where then are extremes at one or both end of the range that might affect the mean average). To find the median, the values must be listed in order and then the middle value used.
  • The mode is the most frequency recurring value
• If responses aren’t clustered around the mean value, then it’s helpful to consider the range, interquartile range and standard deviation.
  • The interquartile range: removes the importance of extreme highs and lows in the range. The highest and lowest quarter of percentages are omitted and the interquartile range of the middle 50 percent of the values are counted.
  • Standard deviation: uses values for the group as a whole rather than a section. It is a measure of how dispersed the data is in relation to the mean. Low standard deviation means data are clustered around the mean, and how standard deviation indicates data are more spread out. This can’t be done ‘by hand’ and must be done on a computer, but loads of programmes work it out for you.