Research Traditions Readings

Williamson Chapter 2

     Epistemological work is work associated with questions about what constitutes knowledge and how knowledge is formed.

     Deductive reasoning is reasoning that moves from general principles or rules to specific instances or occurrences.  That is, conclusions about specific instances are “deduced” via the application of general principles.



Connaway & Powell, Chapter 2

     Inductive reasoning is reasoning that proceeds from instances to principles, or, in other words, from empirical facts or evidence to theories.
 
     Theory is a set of related propositions that put forth an explanation as to why and how events occur the way that they do.


Eldredge

     Gap analysis uses surveys to identify and examine distinctions, discrepancies, or gaps between what patrons of an organization expect and what the organization itself is in fact able to deliver to them.  Analyzing these gaps can help organizations find ways to better serve customer or patron populations.

     Unobtrusive observation is a technique of observing subjects that does not cause the mere fact that subjects are being observed to change their behavior.  It is based on the likelihood that being watched or researched will have an effect on subject behavior.


Patten (Topics 1-10)

     A conceptual definition—the kind given in a dictionary—is useful for communicating a general topic or for referring to a concept in a more general, widely-understood manner.   When a term is used as a variable in research, the conceptual definition is often lacking.

     An operational definition, on the other hand, is created by redefining a term or variable in terms of the precise physical steps taken to see the variable in a research study.  The process of creating an operational definition is called operationalizing.


Pyrczak (Appendix A)

     A random sample is a sample chosen without any particular interest in its qualities (an example is choosing a number from a basket) or characteristics with regard to a research problem.  This is done so that the sample is statistically representative of the population as a whole from which it derives.  Random sampling is encouraged in quantitative research.

     A purposive sample is a sample with which a research has a special interest.  It may not necessarily be representative of a larger population of samples, but it is selected as appropriate to a research problem rather than with attention to completely random selection.  It is encouraged that one choose a purposive sample when doing qualitative research.


Standards for Reporting...

     A problem formulation is a clear statement that includes the purpose and scope of a study and which should include a description of the question, problem, or issue that the study addresses, give a context, describe the method by which the study will address the issue, and explain its importance.


     Units of study are "sites, groups participants, events, or other units" (AERA, 2006, p. 35).  These are the basic subjects on which a specific study is intended to focus, and they are sources of evidence for the researcher in gathering data.

     Humanities-oriented research is a set of research fields or genres that do not easily identify with traditional humanities disciplines and for which the Standards for Reporting on Empirical Social Science Research in AERA Publications is clearly not suited.

     Reflexive education research is education research that takes itself as an object of study.  More generally, this could be applied to mean that any research taking itself as an object is reflexive.


Sources for this entry's key concepts:

American Educational Research Association (2006). Standards for reporting on empirical social science research in AERA publications.  Educational Researcher 35(6), 33-40.

American Educational Research Association (2009). Standards for reporting on humanities-oriented research in AERA publications.  Educational Researcher 38, 481-486.

Connaway, L. & Powell, R. (2010). Basic research methods for librarians. 5th ed. Santa
Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited.   

Eldredge, J. (2004).  Inventory of research methods for librarianship and informatics.  Journal of the Medical Library Association, 92, 83-90.

Patten, M. (2000). Understanding research methods: Overview of the essentials. 2nd ed.
Glendale, CA: Pyrczak Publishing.

Pyrczak, F. (2008). Evaluating research in academic journals: A practical guide to realistic
evaluation. Glendale, CA: Pyrczak Publishing.

Williamson, K. (2000). Research methods for students and professionals: Information
management and systems. Wagga Wagga, NSW.