Introduction to Research Methods
3 Understanding Key Research Concepts and Terms
Many terms and concepts are associated with research methods, particularly as it relates to the research planning decisions you must make along the way. Throughout this textbook, you will be exposed to many of these terms and concepts. Figure 1.1 is a general chart that will help you contextualize many of these terms and also understand the research process. As you can see, Figure 1.1 begins with two key concepts: ontology and epistemology, advances through other concepts and concludes with three research methodological approaches: qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods.
However, it is important to note that research does not end with making decisions about the type of methods you will use. In fact, we could argue that the work is just beginning at this point. As such, Figure 1.1 does not represent an all-encompassing list of concepts and terms related to research methods. Keep in mind that each strategy has its own data collection and analysis approaches, which are associated with the various methodological approaches you choose. Figure 1.1 is meant to provide a general overview of the lay of the research land. You may want to keep this figure handy as you read through the various chapters.
Ontology & epistemology
Thinking about what you know and how you know what you know involves questions of ontology and epistemology. Perhaps you have heard these concepts before in a philosophy class? These concepts are relevant to the work of sociologists as well. As sociologists (those who undertake socially-focused research), we want to understand some aspect of our social world. Usually, we are not starting with zero knowledge. In fact, we usually start with some understanding of: 1) what is; 2) what can be known about what is; and, 3) what the best mechanism happens to be for learning about what is (Schmitz, 2012). In the following sections, we will define these terms and provide an example of ontology and epistemology
Ontology
Ontology is a Greek word that means the study, theory, or science of being. Ontology is concerned with the what is or the nature of reality (Saunders, Lewis, & Thornhill, 2009). It can involve some very large and difficult to answer questions, such as: What is the purpose of life? What, if anything, exists beyond our universe? Ontology also asks: What categories does it belong to? Is there such a thing as objective reality? What does the verb “to be” mean?
Ontology is comprised of two aspects: objectivism and subjectivism. Objectivism means that social entities exist externally to the social actors who are concerned with their existence. Subjectivism means that social phenomena are created from the perceptions and actions of the social actors who are concerned with their existence (Saunders, et al., 2009). Figure 1.2 provides an example of a similar research project to be undertaken by two different students. While the projects being proposed by the students are similar, they each have different research questions. Read the scenario and then answer the questions that follow.
Subjectivist and objectivist approaches (adapted from Saunders et al., 2009)
Ana is an Emergency & Security Management Studies (ESMS) student at a local college. She is just beginning her capstone research project and she plans to do research at the City of Vancouver. Her research question is as follows: What is the role of City of Vancouver managers, working in the emergency management department, in enabling positive community relationships? She will be collecting data related to the roles and duties of managers in enabling positive community relationships.
Robert is also an ESMS student at the same college. He too will be undertaking his research at the City of Vancouver. His research question is as follows: What is the effect of the City of Vancouver’s corporate culture in enabling managers, working in the emergency management department, to develop a positive relationship with the local community? He will be collecting data related to perceptions of corporate culture and its effect on enabling positive community-emergency management department relationships.
Before the students begin collecting data, they learn that six months ago, the long-time emergency department manager and assistance manager both retired. They have been replaced by two senior staff managers who have Bachelor’s degrees in Emergency Services Management. These new managers are considered more up-to-date and knowledgeable on emergency services management, give their specialized academic training and practical on-the-job work experience in this department. The new managers have, essentially, the same job duties and operate under the same procedures as the managers they replaced. When Ana and Robert approach the managers to ask them to participate in their separate studies, the new managers state that they are just new on the job and probably cannot answer the research questions and they decline to participate. Ana and Robert are worried that they will need to start all over again with a new research project. They return to their supervisors to get their opinions on what they should do.
Before reading about their supervisors’ responses, answer the following questions:
- Is Ana’s research question indicative of an objectivist or a subjectivist approach?
- Is Robert’s research question indicative of an objectivist or a subjectivist approach?
- Given your answer in question 1, which managers could Ana interview (new, old, or both) for her research study? Why?
- Given your answer in question 2, which managers could Robert interview (new, old, or both) for his research study? Why?
Answers:
Ana’s supervisor tells her that her research question set up for an objectivist approach. Her supervisor tells her that in her study the social entity (the City) exists in reality external to the social actors (the managers). In other words, there is a formal management structure at the City that has largely remained unchanged since the old managers left and the new ones started. The procedures remain the same regardless of whoever occupies those positions. As such, Ana using an objectivist approach, could state that the new managers have job descriptions which describe their duties and that they are a part of a formal structure with a hierarchy of people reporting to them and to whom they report to. She could further state that this hierarchy, which unique to this organization, also resembles hierarchies found in other similar organizations. As such, she can argue that the new managers will be able to speak about the role they play in enabling positive community relationships. Their answers are likely to be no different than the old managers, because the management structure and the procedures remain the same. Therefore, she can go back to the new managers and ask them to participate in her research study.
Robert’s supervisor tells him that his research sets up for a subjectivist approach because in his study the social phenomena (the effect of corporate culture on the relationship with the community) is created from the perceptions and consequent actions of the social actors (the managers). In other words, there is a continual process of social interaction, that is influenced by the corporate culture at the City, and it is these interactions that influence perceptions of the relationship with the community. The relationship is in a constant state of revision. As such, Robert, using a subjectivist approach, could state that the new managers may have had few interactions with the community members to date and therefore may not be fully cognizant of how the corporate culture affects the department’s relationship with the community. While it will be important to get the new mangers’ perceptions, he will also need to speak with the precious managers to get their perceptions from the time they were employed in their positions. This is because the community-department relationship is in a state of constant revision, which is influenced by the various managers perceptions of the corporate culture and its effect on their ability to form positive community relationships. Therefore, he can go back to the current managers and ask them to participate in his study and also ask that the department please contact the previous managers to see if they would be willing to participate in his study.
As you can see from the previous examples, it is the research question of each study that served to guide the decision as to whether the researcher should take a subjective or an objective ontological approach. This decision, in turn, guided their approach to the research study, including to whom they should interview in order to answer their respective interview questions. We will be speaking a lot more about research questions in the upcoming chapters.
Epistemology
Epistemology has to do with knowledge. Rather than dealing with questions about what is, epistemology deals with questions of how we know what is. In sociology, there are many ways to uncover knowledge. We might interview people to understand public opinion about some topic, or perhaps we’ll observe them in their natural environment. We could avoid face-to-face interaction altogether by mailing people surveys for them to complete on their own or by reading what people have to say about their opinions in newspaper editorials. These methods are all ways that sociologists gain knowledge. Each method of data collection comes with its own set of epistemological assumptions about how to find things out (Schmitz, 2012). There are two main subsections of epistemology: positivist and interpretivist philosophies. We will examine these philosophies or paradigms in the following sections.
Long Descriptions
Figure 1.1 long description: The research process.
- Ontology
- Epistemology
- Approach
- Positivism
- Interpretivism
- Post-modernism
- Social constructivism
- Strategy
- Experiment
- Case study
- Non-experiment
- Quasi-experiment
- Method
- Quantitative
- Qualitative
- Mixed methods
- Unobtrusive methods
