Primary Research Methods - Week 5 + 6

Methods

Describe methods you will use to conduct Primary research
Explain why you chose these methods.
Describe and justify the choice of demographic/ sample chosen.

Primary Research Methods

Ethics in Research

PRINCIPLE ONE: Minimising the risk of harm. (Be sensitive to both physical and emotional harm)
PRINCIPLE TWO: Obtaining informed consent. (Make sure the participants in the survey, focus grout or interview understand what they are doing and why they are doing it.)
PRINCIPLE THREE: Protecting anonymity and confidentiality.
PRINCIPLE FOUR: Avoiding deceptive practices. (Be honest about the intentions of your research. For example, do not say that you would like to do research looking at how to improve sports facilities, when you will actually use the information to stop sports at school.)
PRINCIPLE FIVE: Providing the right to withdraw.

For more info: Principles of research ethics

SAMPLING: How do I select participants for research?

1. What is a sample?

2. Why should we sample?

What is population (general set)?

General set - the whole set of observation units related to the selected issue;

What is a sample (sample size)?

Sample size - a certain number of elements of the population selected according to a strictly defined rule and reproducing characteristics of the population

A subset, fraction, or part considered to be representative of a whole;

A small part of anything intended to demonstrate the style, quality and character of the whole;

What is representativeness?

The property of sampling to reflect the characteristics of the total population is called representativeness.

What is a representative sample?

A representative sample is one that represents all the subgroups important to the study.

Sample formation methods

PROBABILISTIC SELECTION

Is a sampling method in which a sample from a larger population is selected using a probability theory based method.It is statistically most representative

•Простая случайная (Simple random sampling)

•Систематичная (Systemic sampling)

•Стратифицированная (Stratified sampling)

•Кластерная (Cluster sampling)

NOT PROBABILISTIC SELECTION

Is a sampling method in which a researcher takes samples based on a researcher 's subjective judgment rather than a random one

•Удобная выборка (Convenience Sampling)

•Целенаправленная выборка (Judgmental or Purposive Sampling)

•Квотная выборка (Quota Sampling)

•Снежный ком или цепная выборка (Snowball sampling)

Examples :

Simple random sampling

The general population is very large, and it is difficult to include all the population.
Any member of the general population has the same probability of being sampled;
People with different characteristics will get in proportion to their shares in the total population.
It is something of a reduced copy of the population.
An optimal way to form a representative sample;

Convenience sampling

Easy access, ready to be part of a sample, availability in a given time slot, etc.
Proximity-based choices and do not take into account whether they represent the entire population or not.
Using this technique, they can observe habits, opinions and views in the simplest way possible.
Not possibility of generalization.

Focus Groups

A Focus Group is a form of qualitataive research consisting of interviews in which a group of people are asked about their perceptions, opinions, beliefs, and attitudes.

Questions are asked in an interactive group setting where participants are free to talk with other group members. During this process, the researcher either takes notes or records the vital points he or she is getting from the group. Researchers should select members of the focus group carefully for effective and authoritative responses.

What is a focus group? - Podcast

Focus Groups.mp3

Tips

Make sure the sample is informed on the topic and will have something to add.
Try to have a diverse sample that represent multiple perspectives on the topic.
Guide the discussion through focused questions.
Ensure each participant speaks at the beginning of the Focus Group so they will be more comfortable contributing to the discussion.

Task

Students will make up a “focus group” on extra-curricular activities.

Introduction: Welcome to this focus group, as part of our Global Perspectives coursework, we are conducting research on what students of NIS Petropavl think about extra curricular activities. We would like to collect information about your prior knowledge, preferences and recommendations. Please try to be honest with your responses, be assured that they are completely anonymous.

Question 1. Please introduce yourself and tell us what you understand by the term “Extra-curricular activities”

Question 2. What extra curricular activities you take part in?

Question 3. What do you think the value is of extra curricular activities?

Question 4. How would you encourage students to participate in extra curricular activities?

Observation

Observations: Observation is a way of collecting data through observing.

There are different types of observation.

Naturalistic observation - observing from the outside without the knowledge of the participants

Participant observation - joining in with participants and observing from the inside

Controlled observation - the researcher sets up the observation chosing time, place and activities

The researcher has to immerse herself/himself in the setting where her/his respondents are, while taking notes and/or recording.

Observation as a data collection method can be structured or unstructured.

In structured or systematic observation, data collection is conducted using specific variables and according to a pre-defined schedule.

Unstructured observation, on the other hand, is conducted in an open and free manner in a sense that there would be no pre-determined variables or objectives.

Advantages of observation data collection method include direct access to research phenomena, high levels of flexibility in terms of application and generating a permanent record of phenomena to be referred to later.

At the same time, observation method is disadvantaged with longer time requirements, high levels of observer bias, and impact of observer on primary data, in a way that presence of observer may influence the behaviour of sample group elements.

Observations example.pdf

Task:

Structured observation

Task: Build a tower using: 3 pieces of A4 sheet, tape, 12 spaghetti, ruler, scissors, pencil, 3-4 pair of hands and ___minutes

Remember:

1. You have limited sources to create a “tower”.

2. Your tower have to be strong (can stand against natural disasters)

3. You can make exchange of the resources with the opposite group.

Handout 1

For observers only!!

Observers can divide the duties to be able to observe both groups.

Surveys

Surveys are an instrument for collecting data, which almost always involves asking a given subject to respond to a set of oral or written questions. Each survey should include certain elements:

1. Introduction - Tell the respondent what your research paper is about and why you are doing it.

2. Passport Questions - Basic facts that will help you understand the demographic, these change according to the research you are doing (age, location, gender, job, grade, etc)

3. General Questions - Closed questions about the topic to measure their understanding and collect statistics that can be used.

4. Specific Questions - One or two open ended questions that will require deeper thinking and understanding from the respondent.

What is a Survey? - Podcast

Survey podcast.mp3

How to use MS Forms - Video

SURVEY EXAMPLE

Positives

It’s quick and easy to collect results with online and mobile tools. This means that you can gain insights in as little as 24 hours.

Online, you can literally distribute your questions to anyone, anywhere in the world (provided they have an internet connection). All you have to do is send them a link to your survey page.

Most survey and questionnaire providers are quantitative in nature and allow easy analysis of results. With built-in tools, it’s easy to analyze your results without a background in statistics or scientific research

Negatives

People can be dishonest (not truthful) when responding, especially when they are anonymous.

An online survey or questionnaire cannot fully capture emotional responses or feelings of respondents. Without administering the questionnaire face-to-face, there is no way to observe facial expression, reactions or body language.

There’s no way to know if the respondent has really understood the question or read it thoroughly before answering.

Tips

Plan a lot more questions than you may ask.
Practice asking your questions with a friend so they have a logical flow.
Listen to the interviewee, ask follow up questions.
Do not be afraid to change your questions or leave some out.
NB. make sure you remain focused on your research question. Do not drift from the aim of your study.

Interviews

Interviews (telephonic or face-to-face): Conducting interviews is a qualitative research method to collect data and is one of the most popular methods of primary research. These interviews can be conducted in person (face-to-face) or over the telephone. Interviews are an open-ended method which involves dialogues or interaction between interviewer (researcher) and interviewee (respondent).

Conducting face-to-face interview is said to generate a better response from respondents as it is a more personal approach.

The types of questions that are used in this type of research are mostly open ended questions.

What is an interview? - Podcast

Interviews.mp3

Task 1

One student is an interviewer and the other one is interviewee. The thing is that interviewer don’t know who is he.

Conducting a primary study about people’s impressions of their professions using the interviewing method.

For each interviewee, interviewer prepared a list of possible questions, which he can change during the conversation.

Handout 2

Only for the interviewer !!!

Writing our methods section

The methods section describes what method you used and sample you chose as well as your reasoning for both.

The estimated word count is 300 words, so you need to fit as much information as you can into as few sentences as possible.

Task

In groups you will watch a video of a research method. You will need to identify the research question, methods used and the sample. You will need to create a poster which you will then present to the class showing your findings.

Group 1

Group 2

Group 3

Structure of the poster:

Group 4

Group 5

Group 6

Example

Method

The aim of the study is to collect and analyze student perspectives on the challenges facing the organisation of extracurricular activities at NIS. A focus group was chosen as the method in order to gather both individual perspectives on the issue and foster a discussion about possible solutions to the challenges.

A group of 12 students made up the focus group panel, a series of questions were asked by the focus group moderator and answers were recorded both on video and audio. The questions started off asking about general challenges that participants felt hinder the development of extracurricular activities. General discussion was encouraged by the moderator, who then guided the participants to suggesting possible improvements and solutions to the research question.

Sample Selection

The sample was carefully selected and made up of 12 students from NIS, with two students representing each grade level (7-12). This non-random sample also had a varying experience of the school’s extracurricular activities, with three students actively involved in school sports (basketball, table tennis and football), three in the arts (music, pottery and dance), three in academic pursuits (astronomy, MUN club and robotics) and three that do not participate in any extracurricular activities.

The sample was chosen to reflect a wide range of perspectives on the topic. Each participant brought their own experience to the conversation, A range of grade levels were used to understand the point of view of different age groups as well as there being a significant difference between the involvement in extracurricular activities between the grades.

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