• Introduction
• What is a problem
• Selecting a topic
• Structure of a problem statement
• How does a problem statement relate to quantitative and qualitative research
• Referencing and reference types

Lesson 2.  The Literature Review Part One

• What is a literature review
• Relating your literature review to the problem statement
• Types of literature
• Collecting information
• Finding literature: text books, journal articles, indexes, abstracts, internet

Lesson 3.  The Literature Review Part Two

• Critical reading
• Literature review structure
• Writing
• Verbs
• Quotations
• Presentation of work

Lesson 4.  The Hypothesis

• What is a hypothesis
• Definitions
• Scientific method
• Structuring a hypothesis
• What is not a hypothesis
• Null hypothesis
• Correlation v. cause and effect
• Occam's razor

Lesson 5.  The Method

• Introduction
• Structuring your research method
• Research strategy
• Data collection
• Quantitative data
• Qualitative data
• Data sampling
• Sampling methods
• Research integrity

Lesson 6.  Data Collection

• Introduction
• Primary and secondary sources of data
• Quantitative data
• Qualitative data
• Data collection
• Literature review
• Key informants
• Experimental
• Correlation
• What is correlation?
• Questionnaires, Surveys and Tests
• Interviews
• Documentation
• Observation
• Focus groups
• Case studies
• Combination and triangulation

Lesson 7.  Research Proposal

• Introduction
• Outline
• Cover Page, abstract, introduction, problem statement, hypothesis, context background, literature survey, research methodology
• Time schedule, budget, terminology, resource list, appendix
• Academic writing

 Lesson 8.  Thesis Writing

• Nature of thesis structure
• Thesis structure guidelines: different types

Lesson 9.  Ethics

• Ethics of collecting data
• Human research
• Non human research
• Ethics committee
• Categories of research

10.  Where To From Here

• Pitfalls
• Finalising a thesis submission

SOURCES OF DATA

Primary data sources are those where you get the information first-hand. This includes information you have collected it yourself through observation, surveys or interviews. It may also include books etc. depending upon the research involved. This is the preferred source of information for research, however they may not always be available for several reasons such as the original language the source was written in or the source is out of print. Collecting data from primary sources is often called field research.

 

Secondary data sources are those where the information is not first-hand. They may include commentaries, reviews, summaries, explanations, other research articles etc. Secondary data is also very useful in that it may point the researcher to many other sources of primary data, it is also easy to obtain, but the researcher must always be careful with the information. Collecting data from secondary sources is referred to as desk research.

Quantitative data includes information that can be directly measured numerically. It uses numbers to measure and describe the subject (quantity = quantitative). For example: trees per hectare: 124 trees/ha, average height: 32.3 m. Quantitative data is:

• precise
• reliable
• structured
• easier to analyse.

You would use quantitative date if:

Qualitative data includes information which can be observed but not measured. It is descriptive and deals with the quality of the subject (quality = qualitative). Eg: types of trees on property: E. maculata, E. pipperita, height: tall. It provides responses which reflect:

• attitudes
• descriptions
• judgement.

You would use Qualitative data if:

• you want anecdotal information or personal information, and/or
• are not entirely sure what you want to measure, and/or
• are not required to quantify your results.

Data Collection

Data collection techniques include:

• Using available information - Literature.
• Using available information - Key informants.
• Surveys.
• Interviews – degrees of flexibility.
• Focus Groups - discussion.
• Observation – of behaviour, of the current state of an object.
• Mapping – important visual representation of geographic relationships.
• Scaling – gain other’s opinion.

The literature review provides a framework within which to investigate the field of interest. The aim is to provide you with sufficient working knowledge of a topic in preparation for studying that topic. It will also help focus you in your proposed area of research.

A key informant is someone who is considered very knowledgeable or has experience in your field of research. They may be a community member, an academic or a survivor who tells their story. They provide an opportunity to access available information.

This method is one in which a researcher manipulates a variable (anything that can vary) under highly controlled conditions to see if this produces (causes) any changes in a second variable.

 

All scientific disciplines use this method because they are interested in understanding the laws (cause-and-effect relationships) of nature. The power of the experimental method derives from the fact that it allows researchers to detect cause-and-effect relationships

 

In order to see cause-and-effect relationships the researcher must be sure that his manipulations (the independent variable) are the only variables having an effect on the dependent variable. He does this by holding all other variables, variables that might also affect the dependent variable, constant (equivalent, the same).

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