4.3 Research Design and Methods (Onderzoeksontwerp en Methoden) | Master GVB 2022-2023
Colleges
Research Design and Methods
Content
Week 1 ..................................................................................................................................................... 3
Web lecture I – Philosophical worldviews ......................................................................................... 3
Web lecture II – Research questions .................................................................................................. 5
Web lecture III – Research strategies................................................................................................. 6
Lecture 1 – Worldviews, Questions and Strategies ........................................................................... 8
Week 2 ................................................................................................................................................... 11
Web lecture I – Conceptual framework & operationalization ........................................................ 11
Web lecture II – Validity & Reliability .............................................................................................. 12
Web lecture III – Quantitative and qualitative sampling ................................................................ 14
Lecture 2 – Frameworks, Validity/Reliability & Sampling ............................................................... 16
Week 3 ................................................................................................................................................... 21
Web lecture I – Defining case study ................................................................................................. 21
Web lecture II – Case selection ........................................................................................................ 21
Lecture 3 – Introduction to the landscape of case study design ..................................................... 23
Week 4 ................................................................................................................................................... 26
Web lecture I – Research methods in case study design ................................................................ 26
Web lecture II – Data collection methods ....................................................................................... 27
Lecture 4 – Research methods in case study design ....................................................................... 28
Week 5 ................................................................................................................................................... 32
Web lecture I – Qualitative data analysis and writing .................................................................... 32
Lecture 5 – Qualitative data analysis and writing ........................................................................... 34
Week 6 ................................................................................................................................................... 37
Web lecture I – Introduction to ethnographic research .................................................................. 37
Lecture 6 – Introduction to ethnographic research ......................................................................... 38
Week 7 ................................................................................................................................................... 41
1
,4.3 Research Design and Methods (Onderzoeksontwerp en Methoden) | Master GVB 2022-2023
Web lecture I – Ethnographic interviewing ..................................................................................... 41
Lecture 7 – Data generation: ethnographic interviewing ............................................................... 41
Week 8 ................................................................................................................................................... 42
Lecture 8 – Coding & retrieving with Atlas.ti (NOT ON EXAM!) ...................................................... 42
2
,4.3 Research Design and Methods (Onderzoeksontwerp en Methoden) | Master GVB 2022-2023
Week 1
Web lecture I – Philosophical worldviews
Background: Positivism
▪ Augustus Comte (1798-1857). ‘Course de philosophie positive’. Father of positivism and
‘sociology’:
- Social phenomena are the same as natural phenomena.
- The techniques of natural sciences are applicable to sociological investigation.
- Goal: search for causal laws in the social world through empirical observation.
▪ Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) follows the same idea. ‘Rules of Sociological Methods’.
- “The first and the most basic rule is: consider social facts as things.”
- “The determining cause of a social fact should be sought among the social facts
preceding it and not among the states of individual consciousness.”
Background: Idealism
▪ Max Weber (1864-1920). ‘The Methodology of the Social Sciences’.
- “Sociology is a science which attempts the interpretative understanding of social action
in order thereby to arrive at a causal explanation of its course and effects.”
- “Interpretative sociology considers the individual and his action as the basic unit as/of its
atom.”
I. Postpositivism
▪ Comes after positivism.
▪ 19th century writers (e.g. Comte, Mill, Durkheim, Newton, Locke), also Kantian tradition (e.g.
Weber).
▪ Typically quantitative → also called the scientific method.
▪ Cause and effect: drive to assess the causes that influence outcomes.
▪ Begins with theory (deductive) and data is collected that either supports or refutes the
theory.
▪ Research seeks to develop relevant true statements that can explain or describe phenomena.
▪ Objectivity is essential (even though is does not exist): researchers must examine methods
and conclusions for bias and maintain a standard of reliability and validity in quantitative
research.
II. Constructivism
▪ Typically qualitative.
▪ Researches generate theory through induction.
▪ It is about understanding (‘Verstehen’, Weber).
▪ Social constructivists believe that individuals seek understanding of the world in which they
live.
▪ Meaning is constructed through the lens of individual experiences resulting in many varies
and complex views.
▪ Generation of meaning is social arising out of interaction with a human community.
III. Transformative
▪ Answer to criticism that post-positivism does not address issues of power and social justice
(Marx).
▪ Places central importance on the study of lives and experiences of diverse groups.
3
, 4.3 Research Design and Methods (Onderzoeksontwerp en Methoden) | Master GVB 2022-2023
▪ Research focuses on inequities based on gender, race, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation
and socioeconomic status and resulting power inequities.
▪ Links political and social action to the inequities.
IV. Pragmatism
▪ Not tied to any one system of philosophy and reality.
▪ Arises out of actions, situations and consequences rather than antecedent conditions.
▪ More concern with applications and solutions to problems.
▪ Lends itself to mixed methods → draws from both quantitative and qualitative assumptions.
▪ Individual researchers choose methods, techniques and procedures that best fit their needs.
▪ Research occurs in social, historical, political and other contexts which may include a
theoretical lens that is reflective of social justice and political aims.
▪ Charles Sanders Pierce (1839-1914). The founder of American pragmatism.
- “For any statement to be meaningful, it must have practical bearings.”
- Semiology, the study of signs.
Why do we need to know these views?
▪ They affect how we develop and address our research questions.
▪ They are shaped by our training, scholarly community and personal experiences.
▪ Reviewers use them when they evaluate our studies.
▪ They are part of a research approach.
▪ They are interconnected with research designs and methods.
4
Colleges
Research Design and Methods
Content
Week 1 ..................................................................................................................................................... 3
Web lecture I – Philosophical worldviews ......................................................................................... 3
Web lecture II – Research questions .................................................................................................. 5
Web lecture III – Research strategies................................................................................................. 6
Lecture 1 – Worldviews, Questions and Strategies ........................................................................... 8
Week 2 ................................................................................................................................................... 11
Web lecture I – Conceptual framework & operationalization ........................................................ 11
Web lecture II – Validity & Reliability .............................................................................................. 12
Web lecture III – Quantitative and qualitative sampling ................................................................ 14
Lecture 2 – Frameworks, Validity/Reliability & Sampling ............................................................... 16
Week 3 ................................................................................................................................................... 21
Web lecture I – Defining case study ................................................................................................. 21
Web lecture II – Case selection ........................................................................................................ 21
Lecture 3 – Introduction to the landscape of case study design ..................................................... 23
Week 4 ................................................................................................................................................... 26
Web lecture I – Research methods in case study design ................................................................ 26
Web lecture II – Data collection methods ....................................................................................... 27
Lecture 4 – Research methods in case study design ....................................................................... 28
Week 5 ................................................................................................................................................... 32
Web lecture I – Qualitative data analysis and writing .................................................................... 32
Lecture 5 – Qualitative data analysis and writing ........................................................................... 34
Week 6 ................................................................................................................................................... 37
Web lecture I – Introduction to ethnographic research .................................................................. 37
Lecture 6 – Introduction to ethnographic research ......................................................................... 38
Week 7 ................................................................................................................................................... 41
1
,4.3 Research Design and Methods (Onderzoeksontwerp en Methoden) | Master GVB 2022-2023
Web lecture I – Ethnographic interviewing ..................................................................................... 41
Lecture 7 – Data generation: ethnographic interviewing ............................................................... 41
Week 8 ................................................................................................................................................... 42
Lecture 8 – Coding & retrieving with Atlas.ti (NOT ON EXAM!) ...................................................... 42
2
,4.3 Research Design and Methods (Onderzoeksontwerp en Methoden) | Master GVB 2022-2023
Week 1
Web lecture I – Philosophical worldviews
Background: Positivism
▪ Augustus Comte (1798-1857). ‘Course de philosophie positive’. Father of positivism and
‘sociology’:
- Social phenomena are the same as natural phenomena.
- The techniques of natural sciences are applicable to sociological investigation.
- Goal: search for causal laws in the social world through empirical observation.
▪ Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) follows the same idea. ‘Rules of Sociological Methods’.
- “The first and the most basic rule is: consider social facts as things.”
- “The determining cause of a social fact should be sought among the social facts
preceding it and not among the states of individual consciousness.”
Background: Idealism
▪ Max Weber (1864-1920). ‘The Methodology of the Social Sciences’.
- “Sociology is a science which attempts the interpretative understanding of social action
in order thereby to arrive at a causal explanation of its course and effects.”
- “Interpretative sociology considers the individual and his action as the basic unit as/of its
atom.”
I. Postpositivism
▪ Comes after positivism.
▪ 19th century writers (e.g. Comte, Mill, Durkheim, Newton, Locke), also Kantian tradition (e.g.
Weber).
▪ Typically quantitative → also called the scientific method.
▪ Cause and effect: drive to assess the causes that influence outcomes.
▪ Begins with theory (deductive) and data is collected that either supports or refutes the
theory.
▪ Research seeks to develop relevant true statements that can explain or describe phenomena.
▪ Objectivity is essential (even though is does not exist): researchers must examine methods
and conclusions for bias and maintain a standard of reliability and validity in quantitative
research.
II. Constructivism
▪ Typically qualitative.
▪ Researches generate theory through induction.
▪ It is about understanding (‘Verstehen’, Weber).
▪ Social constructivists believe that individuals seek understanding of the world in which they
live.
▪ Meaning is constructed through the lens of individual experiences resulting in many varies
and complex views.
▪ Generation of meaning is social arising out of interaction with a human community.
III. Transformative
▪ Answer to criticism that post-positivism does not address issues of power and social justice
(Marx).
▪ Places central importance on the study of lives and experiences of diverse groups.
3
, 4.3 Research Design and Methods (Onderzoeksontwerp en Methoden) | Master GVB 2022-2023
▪ Research focuses on inequities based on gender, race, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation
and socioeconomic status and resulting power inequities.
▪ Links political and social action to the inequities.
IV. Pragmatism
▪ Not tied to any one system of philosophy and reality.
▪ Arises out of actions, situations and consequences rather than antecedent conditions.
▪ More concern with applications and solutions to problems.
▪ Lends itself to mixed methods → draws from both quantitative and qualitative assumptions.
▪ Individual researchers choose methods, techniques and procedures that best fit their needs.
▪ Research occurs in social, historical, political and other contexts which may include a
theoretical lens that is reflective of social justice and political aims.
▪ Charles Sanders Pierce (1839-1914). The founder of American pragmatism.
- “For any statement to be meaningful, it must have practical bearings.”
- Semiology, the study of signs.
Why do we need to know these views?
▪ They affect how we develop and address our research questions.
▪ They are shaped by our training, scholarly community and personal experiences.
▪ Reviewers use them when they evaluate our studies.
▪ They are part of a research approach.
▪ They are interconnected with research designs and methods.
4
