Week 4 - Research Design Continued

Start with the literature and write the introduction last because the intro is setting the scene for what is to come and this can only be done when you are finished. 

Good qualitative research has a conceptual framework

A good thesis has a problem, if you don’t have a problem, you don’t have a thesis. 

Is there are a gap between the actual and the expected? If we don’t know what we expected, how do we know if there is a gap.

I have noticed that there are certain ways of writing and that you need to be subtle when conveying an idea.  For instance,

1.      You write in a way that conveys the message that there is a gap, without actually saying that there is a gap;

2.      Write in a way so that you don’t criticise the literature of prior academics but create a space for your research, showing how you study extends upon their study.  For example, Professor X examined xxx and has made a significant and fundamental contribution to furthering our understanding about xxx.  However, there are some aspects that could be more fully explored in order to explain xxx.  For example,…We contend that the issue surrounding xxx would shed light on xxx and further extend the extant literature and contribute to knowledge. 

In this way you are not criticising existing literature; instead you are using their work as motivation for your studying and you are paying them a compliment as well as also showing how your study is the next building block on the extension of knowledge.

A noteworthy issue that was raised in this class is that there seems to be a backlog of about 5 years worth of work.  So the research I'm reading in the published journal for 2011 is old!  There is work in progress that is waiting to be published.  Therefore, it is important to access forthcoming papers and work in progress by looking SSRN, conference papers, google scholar and speak to academics and students in your field to see what is going on around you.  It is important to make sure that no one else is doing what you are doing.

Citing certain authors is like setting your exam question.  Your work will be compared against their work - this is benchmark.  Well that is a pretty high bar.

Kerry said that a good research question/issue is a relationship not a statement.

e.g. examining how banning bottled water affects consumer behaviour. (Good research)

Not, bottled water and consumer behaviour (Bad research)

I found this really useful because it is not something I had thought about consciously before, however now that I have noticed this I can see how titles of papers and theses reflect a relationship rather than a statement.  I am sure that this will help me in selecting a title for my research.

Finally, the use of projective techniques come up in this class and this just goes to show how important it is to talk and listen to other people and read literature from other fields (paper on projective techniques in marketing research from 1950). This technique may reduce potential response bias.