Lytics Seminar - Week 2.1 - Reading Notes

The Research Methods Knowledge Base: 3rd edition by William M.K. Trochim and James P. Donnelly. Chapter 1

  • 1-1 The Language of Research
    • 1-1a Types of Studies (Cumulative)
      • Descriptive
      • Relational: two variables
      • Causal: most demanding
        • Evidence-based practice
    • 1-1b Time in Research
      • Cross-sectional - single point in time
      • Longitudinal studies - over time
        • Repeated measures
          • Two or a few waves of measurement
        • Time series
          • Over 20 waves of measurement
    • 1-1c Type of Relationships
      • Simple correlational relationship - act in synchrony
      • Causal relationship - one explains another
      • Third-Variable problem - something else which affects both variables
      • Patterns
        • No relationship
        • Positive relationship
        • Negative relationship
    • 1-1d Variables
      • Attributes
      • Dependent / Independent
      • Exhaustive: holds all possible values
      • Mutually exclusive: employed, not employed + 2nd job
    • 1-1e Hypotheses
      • Prediction, in concrete terms
      • Not all research has a hypothesis - exploratory
      • Alternative hypothesis
      • Null hypothesis
      • One-tailed hypothesis
    • 1-1f Types of Data
      • Quantitative & Qualitative
        • “All quantitative data is based upon qualitative judgements; and all qualitative data can be described and manipulated numerically.” (Trochim & Donnely, 2006)
    • 1-1f The Unit of Analysis
      • Individuals, Groups, Artifacts, Geo, Social
    • 1-1h Research Fallacies
      • Ecological fallacy - group stereotyping
      • Exception fallacy - one does not represent the group
  • 1-2 Philosophy of Research
    • 1-2a Structure of research
      • Hourglass shape - broad area of interest to measurement and observation to generalize back to question

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  • Components of a study

    • Research problem
    • Research question
    • Program (cause)
    • Units
    • Outcomes (effects)
    • Design

  • 1-2b Deduction and Induction

    • Deductive
      • More general to more specific
      • Top-down approach
    • Inductive
      • From specific to general
      • Bottom-up approach

  • 1-2c Positivism and Post-Positivism

    • Epistemology - philosophy of knowledge
    • Methodology - how
    • Positivism
      • Empiricism - Knowledge as only what could be observed and measured
      • Deterministic
      • Deductive reasoning
    • Post-Positivism
      • Theoretical reasoning & experience-based evidence
      • Probabilistic
      • Critical realism
        • External reality
        • Never accurate (critical)
      • Subjectivist
        • World is solely a creation of your mind
      • Constructivist
        • Reality is a conceptual construction
      • Evolutionary epistemology or natural selection theory of knowledge
        • Ideal have survival value
        • knowledge evolves through a process of variation, selections, and retention (evolution)

  • 1-2d Validity

    • Best available approximation to the truth of a give proposition, inference, or conclusion
    • “Validity of what?”

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  • Four types

    • Conclusion
      • Is there a relationship between cause and effect?
    • Internal
      • Is the relationship causal?
    • Construct
      • Can we generalize to the constructs?
      • Cause Construct
        • Your theory about the cause in a cause-effect relationship
      • Effect Construct
        • Your theory what the outcome is in a cause-effect relationship
    • External
      • Can we generalize to other persons, places, or times?

  • Threat to Validity

    • Reasons why your conclusion or inference might be wrong

  • Conclusion Validity

    • The degree to which your conclusions about relationships in your data are reasonable

  • 1-3 Ethics in Research

    • 1-3a The Language of Ethics
      • Voluntary participation
        • Make sure there is no coercion to participate
      • Informed consent
        • Information about procedures and risks involved
      • Confidentiality
        • Their personal/individual information or identity will not be released beyond the scope of the study
      • Institutional Review Board (IRB)
        • Panel who reviews research proposals with respect to ethical implications

  • 1-4 Conceptualizating

    • Concept Mapping
      • 2D graphs of a group’s ideas - used to develop conceptual framework for a research project
    • 1-4a Problem formulation
      • Comes from practical problems in the field
      • Request for Proposals (RFP)
      • Feasibility
      • Literature Review
    • 1-4b Concept mapping
      • Pictorial representation of ideas
      • Steps:
        • Preparation
        • Generation
        • Structuring
        • Representation
        • Interpretation
        • Utilization
    • 1-4c Logic models

Nathan, M., & Alibali, M. (2010). Learning sciences. WIREs Cognitive Science.  DOI: 10.1002/wcs.54

Engineering Education – Week 2.1 – Reading Notes