Having an idea of one project should lead us to know three things, how to start with our topic, how to start finding more data, how to present the research to our audience, and how to develop a strategy to find the most valuable information. We need to have control over the information that we find, and we need to deliver the right message.

Design Presentation by Alan Andres Haro

However, this is always the expectation of what we try to accomplish, but my question here is:

Do we always know how to do research? Do we know where to find the right information? Do we find what we want? Are we sharing both points of the story or we only presenting one point of view? Are you thinking about your audience?

Introduction to research methods:

• Qualitative vs Quantitative Research:

There are two types of research that we are going to discuss; Qualitative and Quantitative. The first is Qualitative Research. This uses sensory methods such as listening or observing to gather and organize data into patterns or themes. The second type of research is Quantitative Research, this is when research uses numbers to measure variables such as characteristics, concepts, or things.

Goals: Setting goals is “one of the most effective ways to drive research in a positive, successful direction” Goals should be based on the scientific method: meaning they can be observed and proven true or false.

Research Questions: Once a goal is set, we can begin asking research questions & Research questions help narrow down the scope of the goal

Methods: Observation, Interviews & Photos

Sources: Industry, Academia, Professional societies & Government

• Reporting Results:

Abstract, which is a summary of your research and interesting observations

An Introduction that includes why you chose your topic, a brief explanation of your work, an introduction to your research and findings, and your thesis statement

A Literature Review which is a discussion of the sources you used for your research and how you applied them to your own project.

Methods Used, where you discuss your methods and how you gathered data

Results and Findings, a section where you present and analyze your findings or confirm a hypothesis

A Conclusion- a brief recap in which you restate your main ideas and thesis

A Works Cited Page- in which you give credit by citing the sources you used for your research. And Finally, Graphs, Tables, Charts, or Appendices are placed at the end of the research report.

Introduction to Qualitative Research:

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

Definition of QR: This is a type of social science research that collects and works with non-numerical data and that seeks to interpret meaning from these data that help understand social life through the study of targeted populations or places.

What components make QR: A popular and helpful categorization separates qualitative methods into five groups: ethnography, narrative, phenomenological, grounded theory, and case study. John Creswell outlines these five methods in Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design.

The Value of Ethics: At its simplest, ethics is a system of moral principles. Ethics is concerned with what is good for individuals and society and is also described as moral philosophy.

What Happens if there is no ethics? There is no condition in human society where there are no ethics. At this point, any such society would collapse.

Explanation of ethics:

Legality: The quality or state of being in accordance with the law.Honesty: It is not just about telling the truth. It’s about being real with yourself and others about who you are, what you want, and what you need to live your most authentic life.

Confidentiality: the state of keeping or being kept secret or private.

Quality: The standard of something as measured against other things of a similar kind; the degree of excellence of something.Fairness: Impartial and just treatment or behavior without favoritism or discrimination.

What are the things that a QR Research needs to risk through the process?

Believing in science will be one of the first problems since not all people believe in this topic. Researchers will need to know how to express these concerns without using complicated words to prevent political issues.

One of the innovative ways to prevent complicated situations is creating good research that will explain the bad and the good with not targeting any specific candidates or people that could affect our society. In this way, you will be able to communicate directly without having arguments about why are you doing this type of comment on your research.

Why does trust matter with ethics?

Nowadays, ethics has become a staple for PR practitioners. Ethics are important to help gain public trust, retain employees, and can lead to greater innovation in the industry.

How could trust affect your research?

In qualitative research, trustworthiness has become an important concept because it allows researchers to describe the virtues of qualitative terms outside of the parameters that are typically applied in quantitative research.

Protection. Protection requires informed consent. This consent is necessary for:

• Privacy

• Confidentiality

• Control over participation

• Control overtime

Photo by Jo Szczepanska on Unsplash

You can gather qualitative research through these modes:

Field research

Ethnographic research: is a qualitative method where researchers observe and/or interact with a study’s participants in their real-life environment. Ethnography was popularised by anthropology but is used across a wide range of social sciences.

1. Attributes

2. Behavior

3. Preferences

4. Feelings

5. Attitudes

6. Opinions

7. Knowledge

Interviews are most effective for qualitative research:

They help you explain, better understand, and explore research subjects’ opinions, behavior, experiences, phenomenon, etc.

1. Interview questions are usually open-ended questions so that in-depth information will be collected.

What are the important steps involved in interviews?

1. Design interview questions

2. Think about who you will interview

3. Think about what kind of information you want to obtain from interviews

4. Think about why you want to pursue in-depth information around your research topic

Develop an interview guide:

1. Introduce yourself and explain the aim of the interview

2. Devise your questions so interviewees can help answer your research question

3. Have a sequence to your questions/topics by grouping them in themes

4. Make sure you can easily move back and forth between questions/topics

5. Make sure your questions are clear and easy to understand

6. Do not ask leading questions

7. Plan and manage logistics

8. Do you want to bring a second interviewer with you?

9. Do you want to bring a notetaker?

10. Do you want to record interviews? If so, do you have time to transcribe interview recordings?

11. Where will you interview people? Where is the setting with the least distraction?

12. How long will each interview take?

13. Do you need to address terms of confidentiality?

End definition of Interviews: Are designed to collect a richer source of information from a small number of people about:

First, we’ll go through what does field research comprise of?

1. Observing and analyzing the natural processes and functioning of an organization

2. Utilizing inductive reasoning

3. Making a generalized and detailed analysis of an organization

4. Following standardized methods of observation

5. Collect verifiable data

Define ethnographic research:

Identify Research Question: Determine what problem you are seeking to better understand. Develop a problem statement that raises questions you seek to know more about.

Determine Location(s) for Research

Identify the best place to conduct participatory research. You may choose more than one location if the research question/problem warrants it.

Formulate Presentation Method

Consider the most effective way(s) to obtain objective information. Will you be adopting the role of a person in the community or organization you are observing? Will you be covert or will others know you are conducting research?

Acquire Permissions and Access

Because ethnographic research can be a bit intrusive, it’s usually necessary to obtain permission for access to the location you plan to research.

Observe and Participate

Ethnography requires more than just observation. To research effectively, you will want to participate in the organization you are researching in some capacity.

Interview

To increase your understanding of behaviors and actions, interviews may be necessary.

Collect Archival Data

Many organizations, communities, and cultures have other artifacts and information that you can use to assist in your data collection.

Code and Analyze Data

Code your data in a way that makes the most sense for your observations.

Standards of rigor:

Standards of rigor, and how to enhance them in the social sciences.

First and foremost, it is necessary to avoid confusing research rigor with concepts such as measurement precision, quantification, and generalizability.

This also includes attempts to link specific techniques to specific research goals: As tools, methods merely are a means to an end. It is surprising how such means can be adapted to serve many different goals. For example, one can easily imagine scenarios where paired comparisons could be used to explore, describe, compare, or test hypotheses.

Photo by Luke Chesser on Unsplash

Quantitative Method of Collecting Data:

• The population and Sample- Find the population to begin the frame of the research. Explain whether to use single or multistage for sampling design. Explain the different stages of sampling from Random, systematic, convenience, cluster, or stratification. Decide sample size and what margin of error would fit study best.

• Instrumentation- Explain the importance of naming and describing the qualities of the instrument used for research. Describe how to establish validity in quantitative research by comparing results to past measurements from the instrument. Explain the different types of scales in research questions used.

• Variables in the Study (217)- Survey the instrument so that a reader can easily determine how the data collection connects to the variables and questions/hypotheses.

• Observations- Explain how to conduct and which types of observations exist.

• Interviews- Set up Interview Protocol: Disclose the purpose of the study. Do not pressure participants into signing consent forms. Respect norms and charters of indigenous cultures.

• Documents- This Public or private documents. Public documents being things like newspapers or official reports. Private documents being things like journals, letters, and or emails.

• Audio-Visual Materials- This data can be in the form of photographs, art objects, video types, emails, text messages, or any forms of sound.

Photo by Campaign Creators on Unsplash

Collecting Data with Mixed Methods:

• Convergent Parallel Mixed Methods- Qualitative and Quantitative data collection, compare or relate, interpretation

• Explanatory Sequential Mixed Methods- Quantitative data collection, follow up with Qualitative data collection, interpretation.

• Exploratory Sequential Mixed Methods-Qualitative data collection, follow up with Quantitative data collection, interpretation.

Photo by NASA on Unsplash

Now let’s walk through the process of Data Collection concerning this example research situation.

Research Questions:

What kinds of team-building exercises help globalized teams work more productively together? Do these exercises contribute to employee satisfaction?

In order to have a more reliable research process, you will most likely use both qualitative and quantitative methods of collecting data for this specific question.

First:

Keep in mind which research method you would want to use first in data gathering (qualitative, quantitative). Since this is a more qualitative based question that could be supported by quantitative data, we would try to use the Exploratory Sequential Mixed Method.

To begin with the qualitative side of research- you are wanting to know how to build effective team exercises. What would best allow you to understand team interactions in the workplace? Interviewing. You should interview multiple teams, as collecting a variety of teams and responses would give you more validity in your data collection and analysis. So, how do you conduct an interview?

Second:

Follow the interview protocols: Receive consent from the companies and people you are interested in researching. Identify possible biases you may have about team-building exercises and others’ biases, and make a list. With these biases in mind, try to create interview questions that would clearly gather data about experiences with teams’ working one with another in the company. We covered the other do and don’ts of interviewing previously in our unit, so I would go back and check the “collecting data” table and make sure you check off all of the requirements. It is also important to note where you interview. Is it private? Is it safe? Participants need to feel comfortable and that they can trust you. Privacy in the location would provide more accuracy in the answers you receive about team members’ experiences.

Third:

After you have collected your interviews, you can use your findings to provide the framework for your quantitative research. Choose a sample size to derive a statistical analysis from your population. According to the different stages of sampling, clustering would best fit. A cluster refers to a group of people with a common characteristic (being in the same team for a company) and when you choose to sample them, you sample all involved in that same team/group, or in other words, cluster. This would work best for your data, as randomly selecting individuals or doing a systematic sample would not encompass all the subjects that would make a team.

Fourth:

Next, you need to identify how you will measure your data and what instruments could be used. If you were sampling with statistics, most likely you will use some sort of a calculator. This needs to be verified as viable by comparing this calculator’s results to other calculators to make sure it is similar and correct. Now from collecting your statistical data, you need to identify your variables. What is the Independent Variable? Dependent Variable? Constants? What could affect these variables? For example, let’s say you took a cluster sample from your data (a group of people in a team) and compared each of their satisfaction results. The group of people would be the independent variable(x), and the satisfaction results would be the dependent variable (y). Identifying these variables can help guide you in your process of interpreting and gathering data for your research. This is only the basic base of your research design, hopefully, unit three has given you a framework to perform and collect data.

Finish:

After gathering all your data, you’re ready to go to the next step of analyzing and concluding your results. We hope you succeed in the process of your research!

End..!

This project was created by our entire class for our final project for our English Course at Digital Media UVU. The resources that we used in this project are: Considering the Purpose of Your Sources, STC India, Helping Write Your Research Paper, Research Population — The Focus Group of a Scientific Query, Simple Random Sampling: Definition and Examples, A qualitative study of the perceptions of first-year college students regarding technology and college readiness.

If you have questions, you will need to email me at hvaandres@icloud.com. Please take a look at my website, repl, twitter, Github, Spanish Medium Account, and LinkedIn.

Please don’t forget to have a wonderful day and don’t forget to enjoy everything that you do — Coders_forlife.