research report session 1

Adéle Burger: Research Report

Research Report Session 1 Dr Susan C. Ziehl


Purpose of Sessions

• Guidance towards Research Article.• Questions you need to ask:

1. What?2. Why? 3. How?


Questions

What? Area? Topic? Question?

Why?Practical or Theoretical ProblemFill gap in knowledgeLit Review = Other People’s Research

How?Method? Qualitative or Qualitative


Where do Ideas come from?

Three Worlds (Mouton,2001)1. Philosophical

Ontology = ExistenceEpistemology = Knowledge/truth

2. Scientific Generation of truthful knowledge.

3. Everyday Existence


The

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• WORLD 3: WORLD OF METASCIENCE• Philosophy of science, research & research methodology

WORLD 2: WORLD OF SCIENCE•Theories, models•Concepts & definitions•Findings, data•Instruments, scales, questionnaires

RESEARCH PROCESS

PROBLEM-DESIGN-METHODOLGY-CONCLUSION

WORLD 1: EVERY DAY LIFESocial world: individual human beings; actions and events; organisations; institutions; interventions; collectives and social/cultural objects.

Physical world: plants; animals; atoms etc


Three Worlds

World 1 generates ideas that are tested

in World 2.


Research problems and real-life problems

• Research problems: answered by gathering/analysing data/info and drawing conclusions-supported by evidence• Real-life problems: resolved through

development & implementation of interventions and new practices


ExamplesWhat can we do to reduce crime?

How do we get the criminals of the street?= World 1 (everyday life problems)

WE DESIGN NEW PROGRAMMES/POLICIES/

INTERVENTIONS TO ADRESS THESE PROBLEMS


ExamplesWhat are the causes of crime?

How does the general public view the government’s efforts to reduce crime?

= World 2 (research problems)

WE STUDY/ INVESTIGATE/ ANALYSE/ EVALUATE/ DECSRIBE

‘OBJECTS’ IN WORLD 1 IN ORDER TO ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS


Objectives

WORLD 1(everyday life)

•To improve the quality of life•To empower the community•To strengthen partnerships•To improve the efficiency of local government•To improve governance of local municipalities•To prevent violence•To resolve conflict

WORLD 2 (science)

•To find out what happened•To explain what happened•To analyse and explain relationships between variables•To describe/reconstruct events•To evaluate the implementation and outcomes of interventions•To develop casual models


Research objectives

World 1 = Action objectiveWorld 2 = Epistemic objectives

(knowledge generation)


Class Exercise

Start thinking about a possible research topic relevant to your field of study or something that interests you within your work environment.


Your Ideas: Which Area?

Corruption Service DeliveryGovernance/Management/ HR/TrainingPolicyInformation TechnologyDevelopment


Funnel Approach

• Broad idea Research Problem• Research Question


Funnel Approach to Topic Construction

• Field, Sub-Field (gov, dev, policy,)

• To explain, describe, increase knowledge of ...... by .....

• What is the impact of ....? What is the nature of ...... What role does .... play in ......

• To determine the level of ......

Area -----------------------

Aims(broad purpose)----------------------

Research Question-----------------------

Objectives(specific purpose)


After Choosing Area, Define Purpose

• Explore? (New areas)• Describe (What is the situation)

Eg: Level of competence of managers.• Explain? Causal Relationship. Variables. Eg: Effect of Managerial competence on

service delivery.• Evaluate Programme


Examples of project aims

• To broaden and deepen our understanding of the extent and shifts in poverty and inequality in post-apartheid SA

• To strengthen the policy debate around these issues through rigorous high-quality research

• To test a new technique which can be used by analysts in the future to track poverty and inequality changes on a regular basis


Project Objectives

• To determine the level of poverty in South Africa in 2011.

• To determine changes in the level of poverty from 1996 to 2011.

• Level of inequality• Trends in inequality.• To explain poverty trends in SA 96-2011



• Governance

• To explain transformation

• What is the impact of managerial competence on transformation in gov hospitals?

• To determine the level of managerial competence.

• To determine level of transformation.

• Determine the relationship between the two.

Area -----------------------


Research Question

-----------------------Objectives

(specific purpose)



• Governance• To describe the

success of committee system.

• Does com system promote accountability?

• To determine the workings of com system.

• To determine level of accountability.

Area -----------------------


Research Question-----------------------

Objectives(specific purpose)


Non-Researchable Questions

• Moral Questions Is abortion right?• Too general Poverty in SA• Not Question Aids and Education• Too vague Do drugs affect

delinquency? Does corruption affect efficiency.


Unit of Analysis

• What is the ‘subject’?Individual?Household? Provinces?


Exercise“The aim of this study was to investigate possibilities for co-operation in the field of cancer prevention and treatment between traditional medicine and modern Western medicine. Interviews were conducted with about 50 traditional healers in Mamelodi and Atteridgeville to establish their views regarding health culture, health care pluralism, profesionalisation and co-operation with medical doctors.” ( Muller & Steyn, 1999)


Exercise

“Playground behaviour of a group of 6 to 7 year old socially isolated children was observed, together with that of a comparison group matched by age, gender and class” (Bonn, 1994).


Exercise“The aim of this study was to study the short- and medium-term effects of an structured achievement motivation course on the achievement motivation of adolescent women. The hypothesis, that the course would lead to a significant increase in the level of achievement motivation of the experimental group, was not supported” (Erwee, 1986).


Answers

• Individuals (traditional healers)• Social interactions (playground

behaviour)• Interventions (Achievement motivation

course)


Article specification• 9 000-12 000 words• 1,5 line spacing 12pt Times New Roman• Abstract no more than 200 words• Harvard referencing systemGo to WebCt to see examples of articles submitted to:Journal of Public AdministrationAdministratio Publica


Main sections of the report

1. Title page2. Abstract3. Introduction (the research problem)4. Theoretical background & the specific

research hypothesis/ question arising from it

5. Procedures and methods used to investigate the research problem


Main sections of the report

6. Presenting Results OR Presenting & interpretation of results

7. Interpretation and discussion of results & conclusion OR summary and conclusion

8. References

research report session 1

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