Methods/Ethics/Theory Readings

Connaway & Powell Chapters 3&4

Ch. 3

Operations research involves use of the scientific method in evaluating management operations.  This is done to assist in managerial decision making, and does so by helping to find and identify optimal solutions.  According to Connaway & Powell (2010, p. 79), operations research can take the form of “resource allocation, sequencing, inventory, replacement, queuing theory, and competitive strategies.”

A Delphi study is a process by which a researcher identifies experts in the field in question and seeks their expertise through repeated and sequential questionnaires or evaluations.  For example, a research might identify experts in a subject area when designing a college course in that field.  Proposed characteristics of the course such as textbooks, exercises, breadth and depth of coverage, etc. would be submitted to the identified experts with evaluative questionnaires through which the experts could weigh in on the proposals.  Suggestions from experts would be implemented in a second round and the process would be repeated.  This would continue until satisfactory consensus was reached.

Ch. 4

A trend study is a survey conducted over a long period of time and is used to measure or evaluate trends, patterns, or changes in study results over that period of time.

A panel study is a survey study that collects its data from the same sample set of subjects repeatedly and in many cases over a long time period.  This type of study and the trend study (above), especially in hybrid, can be considered types of longitudinal studies.


Wildemuth Chapter 6

Special theories are theories (see this post for a definition of “theory”) that apply only to very specific phenomena or a very small range of circumstances.

General theories are theories that apply to a broad range of situations or phenomena and are usually very abstract.

Just a note: middle-range theories fall in between the two extremes.


References

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

Wildemuth, B. (2009). Applications of social research methods to questions in information and library science. Westport, CT: ABC-CLIO, Incorporated.