Political Research

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Halperin ◽  
Oliver Heath
Keyword(s):  
Participant Observation ◽  
Independent Study ◽  
Bivariate Analysis ◽  
Practical Skills ◽  
Research Topics ◽  
Policy Issues ◽  
Political Research ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Conducting Research

Political Research: Methods and Practical Skills provides a practical and relevant guide to their to this area of studies. It equips readers with the knowledge and skills needed to evaluate research findings and successfully carry out independent study and research. Taking a helpful step-by-step approach, the chapters guide the reader through the process of asking and answering research questions and the different methods used in political research, providing practical advice on how to be critical and rigorous in both evaluating and conducting research. Topics include research design, surveys, interviewing and focus groups, ethnography and participant observation, textual analysis, quantitative analysis, bivariate analysis, and multivariate analysis. With an emphasis throughout on how research can impact important political questions and policy issues, the book equips readers with the skills to formulate significant questions and develop meaningful and persuasive answers.

Political Research

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Halperin ◽  
Oliver Heath
Keyword(s):  
Participant Observation ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Independent Study ◽  
Bivariate Analysis ◽  
Practical Skills ◽  
Research Topics ◽  
Political Research ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Conducting Research

Political Research: Methods and Practical Skills provides a practical and relevant guide to the research process for students. It equips readers with the knowledge and skills needed to evaluate research findings and successfully carry out independent study and research. Taking a helpful step-by-step approach, the chapters guide the reader through the process of asking and answering research questions and the different methods used in political research, providing practical advice on how to be critical and rigorous in both evaluating and conducting research. Topics include research design, surveys, interviewing and focus groups, ethnography and participant observation, textual analysis, quantitative analysis, bivariate analysis, and multivariate analysis. With an emphasis throughout on how research can impact important political questions and policy issues, the book equips readers with the skills to formulate significant questions and develop meaningful and persuasive answers.

1. Political Research

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Sandra Halperin ◽  
Oliver Heath
Keyword(s):  
Research Question ◽  
Political Research ◽  
Quantitative And Qualitative Research ◽  
Data Collection And Analysis ◽  
Need To Evaluate ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Analytic Skills ◽  
Independent Inquiry

This text provides readers with the analytic skills and resources they need to evaluate research findings in political research, as well as the practical skills for conducting their own independent inquiry. It shows that empirical research and normative research are not independent of each other and explains the distinction between positivism and interpretivism, and between quantitative and qualitative research. Part 1 of this edition discusses key issues in the philosophy of social science, while Part 2 presents a ‘nuts and bolts’ or ‘how to’ guide to research design, such as how to find and formulate a research question. Part 3 evaluates different methods of data collection and analysis that can be used to answer research questions, along with the variety of considerations and decisions that researchers must confront when using different methods.

1. Political Research

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Halperin ◽  
Oliver Heath
Keyword(s):  
Research Question ◽  
Political Research ◽  
Quantitative And Qualitative Research ◽  
Data Collection And Analysis ◽  
Need To Evaluate ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Analytic Skills ◽  
Independent Inquiry

This text provides readers with the analytic skills and resources they need to evaluate research findings in political research, as well as the practical skills for conducting their own independent inquiry. It shows that empirical research and normative research are not independent of each other and explains the distinction between positivism and interpretivism, and between quantitative and qualitative research. Part 1 of this edition discusses key issues in the philosophy of social science, while Part 2 presents a ‘nuts and bolts’ or ‘how to’ guide to research design, such as how to find and formulate a research question. Part 3 evaluates different methods of data collection and analysis that can be used to answer research questions, along with the variety of considerations and decisions that researchers must confront when using different methods.

Introduction

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Gatrell ◽  
Esther Dermott
Keyword(s):  
Social Research ◽  
Visual Methods ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
The Social ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Research Relationships ◽  
The Impact

This introductory chapter explains how different research questions and methods can contribute to better understanding of contemporary fathers, fatherhood, and fathering. Given the enhanced methodological diversity and increased sophistication of methods across the social sciences, embracing qualitative and quantitative approaches, traditional (such as interviewing) and contemporary approaches (such as netnography and visual methods), and general ‘handbooks’ offering basic introductions to social research have limited use for advanced researchers and students. The book aims to link detailed concerns about conducting individual projects to wider methodological debates concerning the value of different forms and sources of data, the negotiation of research relationships, and the impact of research findings on participants, policy makers, employers, and a wider public.

Strategic objectives for improving understanding of informant discrepancies in developmental psychopathology research

2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 669-682 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andres De Los Reyes
Keyword(s):  
Best Practices ◽  
Developmental Psychopathology ◽  
Research Priorities ◽  
Informant Discrepancies ◽  
Multiple Informants ◽  
Strategic Objectives ◽  
Behavioral Assessments ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Conducting Research ◽  
Developmental Assessments

AbstractDevelopmental psychopathology researchers and practitioners commonly conduct behavioral assessments using multiple informants' reports (e.g., parents, teachers, practitioners, children, and laboratory observers). These assessments often yield inconsistent conclusions about important questions in developmental psychopathology research, depending on the informant (e.g., psychiatric diagnoses and risk factors of disorder). Researchers have theorized why informant discrepancies exist and advanced methodological models of informant discrepancies. However, over 50 years of empirical data has uncovered little knowledge about these discrepancies beyond that they exist, complicate interpretations of research findings and assessment outcomes in practice, and correlate with some characteristics of the informants providing reports (e.g., demographics and mood levels). Further, recent studies often yield take-home messages about the importance of taking a multi-informant approach to clinical and developmental assessments. Researchers draw these conclusions from their work, despite multi-informant approaches to assessment long being a part of best practices in clinical and developmental assessments. Consequently, developmental psychopathology researchers and practitioners are in dire need of a focused set of research priorities with the key goal of rapidly advancing knowledge about informant discrepancies. In this paper, I discuss these research priorities, review work indicating the feasibility of conducting research addressing these priorities, and specify what researchers and practitioners would gain from studies advancing knowledge about informant discrepancies in developmental psychopathology research.

scholarly journals International business research challenges in Africa

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (2/3) ◽  
pp. 188-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdoulkadre Ado ◽  
Roseline Wanjiru
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Creation ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Culturally Sensitive ◽  
Government Support ◽  
Business Research ◽  
Global Knowledge ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Research Challenges ◽  
Conducting Research ◽  
Observation Method

Purpose This paper aims to explore the challenges researchers in/on Africa face when conducting research on the continent. It examines the reasons behind Africans’ relatively limited contribution to the business literature in the global sphere and why not culturally sensitive and nuanced research on Africa is spreading unchallenged. Design/methodology/approach The study combines knowledge creation and institutional theories to explain why African business scholars struggle in researching the continent and in contributing significantly to global knowledge creation. It also explores the debate about why Africa’s narratives in business seem dominated by not culturally sensitive and nuanced voices and approaches. It uses a participant observation method. Findings The study found that African scholars have not yet contributed significantly to global knowledge creation because of Africa’s institutional weaknesses and lack of government support for research, coupled with challenges at the interviewing, organizational and scholars’ levels. The study points to the specificities of the continent as well as to African interviewees’ particularities and the type of interactions with the researchers. The paper proposes new avenues to address those multilevel challenges and offers key lessons for future studies. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to systematically investigate the fundamental reasons behind business research challenges in/on Africa from knowledge creation and institutional standpoints. This study also contributes to the growing debate on Africans’ meager contribution to business literature as well as the controversy regarding culturally sensitive vs not culturally sensitive knowledge creation on Africa. Finally, it proposes avenues to understanding and overcoming those challenges.

scholarly journals A Qualitative Investigation on Work in NGOs: The Case of Songkhla Province of Thailand

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 79
Author(s):  
Phathara-on Wesarat ◽  
Mohmad Yazam Sharif ◽  
Abdul Halim Abdul Majid
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Method ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
University Graduates ◽  
Meaning Of Work ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Depth Study ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Depth Interviews

The concept of work in Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) specifically in Songkhla province of Thailand is highlighted in this paper. The study assumed that the meaning of work in NGOs is different from other types of organizations such as business and governmental organizations. NGO operations are seen to be different in terms of their goals when compared to those organizations. Even though research on work had been widely conducted in the business as well as the governmental sectors worldwide, few studies on this issue had been done in the NGO or non-profit sector. The concept of work in NGOs needs to be explored further in order for interested parties to get a true understanding of the nature of work in NGO sector. The research questions posed in this paper relate to how and why the work in NGOs influences the NGO professionals. The objective of this paper is to present some findings based on an in-depth study on the meaning of work in NGOs. This study consists of two core aspects of work: subjective and objective aspects. The respondents in this paper were 16 professionals (i.e. university graduates) selected from five local NGOs in Songkhla province of Thailand. This study used a mixed method within qualitative approach comprising in-depth interviews, non-participant observation, and secondary documents. This study showed that the NGO professionals had given high values on the subjective aspects of work because they were seeking fulfillment from work, while the objective aspects of work were seen to be less important to them.

scholarly journals “Through the Looking Glass”: The Emotional Journey of the Volunteer Ethnographer when Researching Sensitive Topics with Vulnerable Populations

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fábio Augusto ◽  
Ana Hilário
Keyword(s):  
Vulnerable Populations ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Dual Role ◽  
Observation Study ◽  
Emotional Challenges ◽  
Sensitive Topics ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Conducting Research ◽  
Reflective Strategies ◽  
Looking Glass

This paper extends further research on being both a volunteer and ethnographic researcher and intends to offer some insights on the emotional challenges of adopting this dual role when conducting research on sensitive topics and with vulnerable populations. The discussion presented here draws upon an ethnographic participant observation study of a food redistribution organization (Re-food) held in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. The paper builds awareness on the emotional challenges in the field and discusses potential self-reflective strategies for researchers to cope with the extraordinary demands posed on them by specific circumstances and subjects. The volunteer ethnographer, when developing their work, is subject to a wide range of emotional challenges that are related to the functions that they had to develop in the research context itself due to their dual role, as well as to the vulnerability of participants and the sensitivity of the topic addressed.

scholarly journals The Preregistration Revolution

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian A. Nosek ◽  
Charles R. Ebersole ◽  
Alexander Carl DeHaven ◽  
David Thomas Mellor
Keyword(s):  
Hypothesis Testing ◽  
Hindsight Bias ◽  
Hypothesis Generation ◽  
Human Reasoning ◽  
Effective Solution ◽  
Testing Hypotheses ◽  
Research Outcomes ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
The Ideal

Progress in science relies on generating hypotheses with existing observations and testing hypotheses with new observations. This distinction between postdiction and prediction is appreciated conceptually, but is not respected in practice. Mistaking generation of postdictions with testing of predictions reduces the credibility of research findings. However, ordinary biases in human reasoning such as hindsight bias make it hard to avoid this mistake. An effective solution is to define the research questions and analysis plan prior to observing the research outcomes--a process called preregistration. A variety of practical strategies are available to make the best possible use of preregistration in circumstances that fall short of the ideal application, such as when the data are pre-existing. Services are now available for preregistration across all disciplines facilitating a rapid increase in the practice. Widespread adoption of preregistration will increase distinctiveness between hypothesis generation and hypothesis testing and will improve the credibility of research findings.

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