Are the “Randomistas” Evaluators?

2020 ◽  
pp. 256-279
Author(s):  
Robert Picciotto
Keyword(s):  
Social Research ◽  
The Public ◽  
Ethical Concerns ◽  
Vested Interests ◽  
Research Questions

In an article published in 2012 the author concluded that the surge of enthusiasm in randomization was bound to be short lived. But he had underestimated the public appeal of RCTs and their alignment with the evolving demands of a contemporary evaluation market dominated by vested interests. By now, it has become clear that the randomization bubble will not burst any time soon. Grounded in deep historical roots, favored by power-holders and considered uniquely rigorous by an ill-informed public, RCTs will continue to be commissioned even though they are severely constrained by statistical imperatives and ethical concerns, can only tackle narrow social research questions and are ineffective as tools of organization accountability and learning.

scholarly journals Researching Personal Information on the Public Web

2010 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 387-401 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Wilkinson ◽  
Mike Thelwall
Keyword(s):  
Social Issues ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Personal Information ◽  
Social Network Sites ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Ethical Considerations ◽  
The Public ◽  
Academic Publications ◽  
Research Questions

There are many personal and social issues that are rarely discussed in public and hence are difficult to study. Recently, however, the huge uptake of blogs, forums, and social network sites has created spaces in which previously private topics are publicly discussed, giving a new opportunity for researchers investigating such topics. This article describes a range of simple techniques to access personal information relevant to social research questions and illustrates them with small case studies. It also discusses ethical considerations, concluding that the default position is almost the reverse of that for traditional social science research: the text authors should not be asked for consent nor informed of the participation of their texts. Normally, however, steps should be taken to ensure that text authors are anonymous in academic publications even when their texts and identities are already public.

The Public and Social Research

1970 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-48
Author(s):  
HERBERT E. KRUGMAN
Keyword(s):  
Social Research ◽  
The Public

Perceived Influence of Students’ Demographic Variables on Their Access to Financial Aids in Public Universities in Rivers State, Nigeria

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 32-50
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Olorunleke Eseyin
Keyword(s):  
Sample Size ◽  
Public Universities ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Demographic Variables ◽  
Sample Size Determination ◽  
Interview Schedule ◽  
The Public ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Level Of Significance ◽  
Rivers State

The paper investigated the perceived influence of students’ demographic variables on their access to financial aids in public Universities in Rivers State, Nigeria. Six questions were formulated to guide the study and five hypotheses tested at 0.05 level of significance. The design adopted for the study was an analytical survey. The population of the study included 78, 216 students (34,997 male and 43,219 female) in the three public Universities in Rivers State. The sample of the study covered 791 students (Male= 395 and Female= 396) selected through the random sampling technique while Taro Yamane method of sample size determination was used for determining the sample size. The instruments used for collecting responses from students were questionnaire and a ten items interview schedule. The research questions were answered using frequency, percentage and cumulative percentage. Findings of the study revealed that students’ demographic variables have an influence on their access to financial aids in public Universities in Rivers State, Nigeria. The implication of this is that the government’s expenditure on education will continue to increase in the absence of these alternative financial aids in the public Universities in Rivers State, Nigeria.

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.

Rooting Evaluation Guidelines in Relational Ethics: Lessons From Africa

2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 404-419
Author(s):  
Caitlin Blaser Mapitsa ◽  
Tara Polzer Ngwato
Keyword(s):  
Culturally Responsive ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Relational Ethics ◽  
Developed Country ◽  
Evaluation Standards ◽  
The Public ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Context Specific ◽  
Ethical Clearance ◽  
Made In

As global discussions of evaluation standards become more contextually nuanced, culturally responsive conceptions of ethics have not been sufficiently discussed. In academic social research, ethical clearance processes have been designed to protect vulnerable people from harm related to participation in a research project. This article expands the ambit of ethical protection thinking and proposes a relational ethics approach for evaluation practitioners. This centers an analysis of power relations among and within all the different stakeholder groups in order to establish, in a context-specific manner, which stakeholders are vulnerable and in need of protection. The approach also contextualizes the nature of “the public good,” as part of an ethical consideration of interest trade-offs during evaluations. The discussion is informed by our experiences in African contexts and speaks to the “Made in Africa” research agenda but is also relevant to other global contexts where alternatives to “developed country” ontological assumptions about the roles of researchers and participations and the nature of vulnerability are being reconsidered.

scholarly journals Design public spaces to enable all 0-5 year children flourish

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Rubczak ◽  
Keyword(s):  
City Planning ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Numerous Investigation ◽  
Healthy Development ◽  
The Public ◽  
University Of Technology ◽  
New Public ◽  
Research Questions

The Public Spaces of Tomorrow are places that enable young children 0-5 to flourish. Contemporary places support healthy child development. The early years are the foundation for lifelong physical and mental health, wellbeing, and social skills. Designing, planning, and building new public spaces for our babies and toddlers should take into consideration the wellbeing of their caregivers. Engage parents, grandparents, siblings, or pregnant women in the design process provides for the ability to create new types of public spaces. Knowledge of how to do it for wellbeing in specific circumstances, places, social or natural environment is the purpose of the work (for ex. the Covid-19 pandemic is still unfolding but the principle of healthy development or caregiver isn`t changing). Responsibility of local authorities, urban planners, architects, park managers, all people engaged in city planning and functioning, have their role to play. During the collaborative workshop Mentor and Student Research Lab 3 in Poland (Gdańsk University of Technology) numerous investigation and methods were tried to answer research questions on how to resolve problems of designing public spaces of tomorrow.

scholarly journals The story is that there is no story: media framing of synthetic biology and its ethical implications in the New York Times (2005–2015)

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (03) ◽  
pp. A02 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Giordano ◽  
Yi-Lin Chung
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Synthetic Biology ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
New York Times ◽  
Media Framing ◽  
Public Knowledge ◽  
Academic Ethics ◽  
The Public ◽  
Ethical Concerns ◽  
Ethical Implications

Despite low public knowledge of synthetic biology, it is the focus of prominent government and academic ethics debates. We examine the “NY Times” media coverage of synthetic biology. Our results suggest that the story about synthetic biology remains ambiguous. We found this in four areas — 1) on the question of whether the field raises ethical concerns, 2) on its relationship to genetic engineering, 3) on whether or not it threatens ‘nature’, and 4) on the temporality of these concerns. We suggest that this ambiguity creates conditions in which there becomes no reason for the public at large to become involved.

scholarly journals WebGIS sebagai media diseminasi kemas ulang informasi

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 224-238
Author(s):  
Nurida Maulidia Rahma
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Scientific Work ◽  
Survey Analysis ◽  
The Public ◽  
Digital Maps ◽  
Information Packaging ◽  
Research Questions

Introduction. Not all scientific work can be easily utilized directly by the public (society). Pusat Data dan Dokumentasi Informasi Ilmiah (PDDI)  has not optimally disseminated knowledge products. The knowledge products should be assembled, visualized and informed - through digital media. This paper aims to examine whether WebGIS can be used as a medium for disseminating information. Data Collection Method. The method used was descriptive qualitative. Data collection was conducted by means of a survey. Data Analysis. This research use descriptive analysis. The results of the survey analysis were reviewed with the results of literature studies so that conclusions could be drawn to answer the research questions. Results and Discussions. The survey shows that the Banyuwangi community expect that  an interactive industrial tree to be attached in the WebGIS (BAGEOS) of the Banyuwangi Regency Government. The survey shows that installing industrial trees on BAGEOS is not only beneficial for BAGEOS, but also for the community. Conclusions. Combination between industrial trees with WebGIS or digital maps is a good combination. All respondents agreed to pair industrial trees on digital maps. GIS is capable as  a medium for disseminating information packaging.

Imperatives for Theories in Social Science: The North-South Divide Notwithstanding

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 195-217
Author(s):  
Aaron Ola Ogundiwin, ◽  
Joel N. Nwachukwu
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Conceptual Analysis ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Science Data ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
The North ◽  
Common Mistake ◽  
History Of ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Social Science Data

Abstract The paper underscores the place of theories in organizing social science data and experience. It holds that theories are indispensable to social research (The North-South divide notwithstanding), in view of the fact that the framework of knowledge and experience within which theories are established make a meaningful explanation of the world phenomenon reasonably possible. It delineates political philosophy and history of ideas from theory and thus, takes care of common mistake social scientists make differentiating between them. Furthermore, the paper on one hand, takes on the scientific requisites of theory such as assumption, concepts (and their functions), hypothesis (and its characteristics typology), law, models, paradigm and provides lucid conceptual analysis of each with a view to showing their relatedness to theory but not as synonyms to it. On the other hand, we singled out dependency theory in its emanation from knowledge and experience of underdevelopment of Third World countries, as the first and perhaps most relevant theoretic explanation of Africa’s underdevelopment. The paper posits that a good theory that will serve as a rudder for formulation of research questions, problem statement, as well as sustain the data analysis, and findings must parade some, if not all of the following qualities: precision and testability, empirical validity, parsimony, stimulation, and practicability.

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