Thesis Update
In class this week we discussed problems we have when we are researching. Some people said they procrastinate too much, others said they can’t start until their house is clean and various other statements.
When it came to my turn I could honestly not think of problems I have in my research. OK, lets be honest, sometimes I procrastinate, and sometimes I do like to do other things instead of my research, and sometimes I choose the easiest things to do first because I can’t be bothered writing. But to be honest, I’d love to meet a person who doesn’t, and I am not going to try to find a solution to these insignificant things.
Every morning I get up and go straight to the gym. When I get home I walk through the house to my study, sit down (still in my gym clothes) and start typing. I can work all day. I stop working when my boyfriend gets home. Thats how I write. Thats how I like to write, and there is absolutely no problem with checking my Facebook page every now and then, or going for a short walk. I am exactly where i need to be in my thesis and am happy with how I work.
Perhaps I had a problem with this ‘problem question’ because I don’t like talking about research. I just want to DO the research.
Writing Essays…
I had to have a laugh today as I quite easily finished my comm rev essay. It seems that every time I have an essay that I’m not comfortable with I kick and scream through the whole process and then suddenly…there it is~! A finished document! This is sort of how it goes…
“aaahhh I can’t do this!!!”
“Nations of the extent to which print has affected civilisation …………”
“Ohhhh the humanity it’s all too hard!”
“blah blah blah”
And then I come out the other end having really not struggled that much at all (OK so I struggled…but at least it is done now!)
What is Quantitative Research?
Quantitative research is an investigation that aims to quantify attitudes or behaviours or measure variables. Unlike qualitative research, quantitative research uses measurable data to form facts and patterns. Many argue that both types of research go hand in hand and a thorough investigation of a particular topic will cover both methods of research.
Quantitative research is typically conducted through surveys, telephone interviews, web surveys and intercepts. Questions are highly structured and tend to be closed as opposed to open to allow for measurable data rather than long responses. Quantitative research is performed on a far larger scale compared with qualitative research (in terms of the sample size) and helps to provide accurate statistical data from which conclusions can be drawn.
Quantitative research generates numerical data or data that can be converted into numbers, for example clinical trials or the National Census, which counts people and households. Another example whereby quantitative research has been used to establish a relationship is between smoking tobacco and developing lung cancer. Researchers have been able to identify numerical patterns through statistical methods between the two to make justified hypotheses.
Unlike qualitative research, whereby data often contains the participant’s personal beliefs, concerns and ideas in long responses, quantitative research gains numerical statistics, which can be greatly relied on in giving reliable data. Qualitative research is sometimes not as reliable as opinions are not numerical and do not have the substance. For example:
- Quantitative: 97% of participants were happy with the outcome
- Qualitative: Many participants believed that the success of the event was due to the good media coverage.
According to Wikipedia, approaches to quantitative research were first modeled on quantitative approaches in the physical sciences by Gustav Fechner in his work on psychophysics, which built on the work of Ernst Heinrich Weber.
CLAIM:
“Quantitative research is used to support claims made by qualitative research”
· McBride and Schostak claim that: Quantitative research is not enough on its own as we need to ask, why? When placed alongside qualitative evidence, quantitative evidence is both clear and powerful. Unfortunately it sometimes appears so powerful that it overpowers the opinions of the people involved and this is a danger we have to watch. In addition there are still many researchers, especially the less experienced ones, who are not prepared to ‘go the extra mile’ and add the extra understanding to the figures they have collected.
· Smith argues that researchers sometimes favour one method over the other and their research tends to obfuscate more than it clarifies. Researchers can jump on a band wagon then forget about making their research durable.
· Trochim argues that there has probably been more energy expended on debating the differences between and relative advantages of qualitative and quantitative methods than almost any other methodological topic in social research. The “qualitative-quantitative debate” as it is sometimes called is one of those hot-button issues that almost invariably will trigger an intense debate in the hotel bar at any social research convention.
· Trochim also argues that fundamentally, qualitative and quantitative research produce similar results for the following reasons: All qualitative data can be coded quantitatively, All quantitative data is based on qualitative judgment
REFERENCES:
· McBride, R and Schostak, J (1995) Qualitative Versus Quantitative Research. Enquiry Learning Unit. Accessed 18 March 2008, Available at:
http://www.enquirylearning.net/ELU/Issues/Research/Res1Cont.html
· Smith, J (1983) Qualitative Versus Quantitative Research: An Attempt to Clarify the Issue. American Educational Researcher, Vol. 12, No. 3 (Mar., 1983), pp. 6-13. Accessed 18 March 2008, Available at: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0013-189X(198303)12%3A3%3C6%3AQVQRAA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-L
· Trochim, W. M.K. (2006) The Qualitative – Quantitative Debate. Social Research Methods. Accessed 20 March 2008. Available at: http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/qualdeb.php LINKS WITH THESIS
While it will be essential to use some form of quantitative research in my thesis, it will not be the focus of my research and will only be used to support claims made by my qualitative research. Areas where it may be used include: · Discussing the volume of people who use media such as radio or internet during a bushfire
· When analyzing data from my online survey I will discuss measurable responses
· I may do some kind of content analysis of newspaper articles focusing on bushfires. In this situation I will be using quantitative research to investigate patterns of language and topics in the newspapers.
The main methodologies I intend to use during my research include focus groups, interviews and surveys. While surveys usually include closed questions, which help to form quantitative responses, interviews and focus groups stem from the qualitative family. This means very open ended questions, discussions and responses that require discussion rather than a production of a table or graph.
Goals of Honours
Honours reminds me of being in Year 12 all over again. There is this sort of anxiousness and seriousness buzzing around. This year is a crucial stepping stone in my career; it is where I make or break what I will be doing in the future, where I sink or swim.
While I study away doing my thesis I will also be working at Channel 31 as a news reporter…if time allows. For the last six months I have practised over and over the art of news reading with Channel 31 in the hopes of becoming a reporter and one day anchor of a commercial station. My number one goal by doing this honours year is to gain enough experience to be able to get some kind of job in television, whether it be as a reporter in regional Victoria or interstate. This is my first goal for both my studies and my life.
My second goal of the year is to write a thesis, which not only displays creativity, understanding and depth, but which gains me first class honours. Being on a scholarship certainly brings the pressure up a few notches to fulfill this goal, but I believe it is well within reach.
My third goal of the year is to have my thesis published. This goes hand in hand with my second goal and I believe this too is achievable. As the project I am undertaking is part of a wider study I think there will be a lot of support to enable me to achieve this goal.
All three of my goals are realistic and achievable. I work hard enough and I manage my time. That is all that matters.
What is Research?
In a nutshell, research is the development of original thought through the analysis and investigation of people, places, texts, communities, or any other form that may hold information.
Research can be exploring previously held theories and cultures to determine changes or arguments surrounding them, or it can be original investigation to develop knowledge of a certain topic.
Research allows us to continually understand changing societies. The outcomes of research add to the world body of knowledge and can change the course of business, economies or even just a single person.
Research can mean nothing to one person and everything to another.
Honours So Far…
After just one week of being an Honours student, life seems to have become a whole lot harder. We’re already being fed words like thesis and research and long hours, knowing that the year ahead is going to involve more reading and writing than we probably did in our entire undergrad degree.
I’m not sure why I am suddenly so worried about the amount of work we will be doing; I had actually known that’s what Honours involves, it has just become such as reality in such a short space. I knew this would be hard work, but I also know that at the end of week 14 in second semester, I will be able to hand in an actual academic paper that may just be worthy of publication. This to me makes this year worth all the hard work.
I believe that everything in life comes down to two things, organisational skills and time management skills. These are two things no one could argue I’m not good at, which is why I am confident that I can achieve all my goals this year and come out knowing I have achieved something immensely worthwhile.
I love the fact that we have a studio to ourselves, even if there aren’t enough computers for even half the class, it makes me relax to know we have access to extra computers and a space to think and breathe.
So yes, Honours is what I expected it to be, but it doesn’t mean I’m not scared about it.
