Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
Part-A
Historical research is the process of systematically examining past events to give an account of
what has happened in the past. It is not a mere accumulation of facts and dates or even a
description of past events. The history researcher must use various tactics for unearthing
evidence from a time and a world not his or her own.
Theories serve different purposes in the three approaches inquiry. In quantitative research,
they provide a proposed explanation for the relationship among variables being tested by the
investigator. In qualitative research, they may often serve as a lens for the inquiry or they may
be generated during the study. In mixed methods studies, researchers employ them in many
ways, including those associated with quantitative and qualitative approaches.
Structured interviews, use of questionnaires and structured observations are the most common
methods of data collection in quantitative research, whereas in qualitative research
unstructured interviews (oral histories, in-depth interviews and narratives) and participant
observation are the main methods of data collection from primary sources. Structured
interview will have closed questions and unstructured interviews will have open questions.
7- What are all the sources from where data can be collected?
8- What are the steps involved in preparing a report?
Through an Internet search you can identify published material in books, journals and other
sources with immense ease and speed. An Internet search is carried out through search
engines, of which there are many, though the most commonly used are Google and Yahoo. An
Internet search basically identifies all material in the database of a search engine that contains
the keywords you specify, Most search facilities use Boolean logic, which allows three types of
basic search “AND”, “OR” and “NOT”.’
1-Historical Research
2-Qualitative Research
3-Correlational Research
4-Experimental and Quasi experimental Research
5-Simulation Research
6-Logical Argumentation
7-Case studies and combined strategies
Part-B
21 Write about Qualitative, quantitative, mixed type of research?
Qualitative Research
Qualitative research is a type of scientific research. In general terms, scientific research consists
of an investigation that:
• seeks answers to a question
• systematically uses a predefined set of procedures to answer the question
• collects evidence
• produces findings that were not determined in advance
• produces findings that are applicable beyond the immediate boundaries of the study
1-Ethnography
2-Narative
3-Phenomenological
4-Grounded Theory
5-Case study
Quantitative Research
There are several types of quantitative research. For instance, it can be classified as
1) survey research,
2) correlational research,
3) experimental research and
4) causal-comparative research
Variables often measured in studies include gender; age; socioeconomic status (SES); and
attitudes or behaviors such as racism, social control, political power, or leadership.
Variables are distinguished by two characteristics: (a) temporal order and (b) their
measurement (or observation).
Temporal order means that one variable precedes another in time. Because of this time
ordering, it is said that one variable affects or causes another variable; though a more accurate
statement would be that one variable probably causes another. Temporal order means that
quantitative researchers think about variables in an order from “left to right” (Punch, 2005) and
order the variables in purpose statements, research questions, and visual models into left-to-
right, cause-and effect type presentations. Thus, see the following:
Independent variables
Dependent variables
Intervening or mediating variables
Moderating variables
control variables
confounding variables.
In a quantitative research study, variables are related to answer a research question (e.g., “How
does self-esteem influence the formation of friendships among adolescents?”) or to make
predictions about what the researcher expects the results to show. These predictions are called
hypotheses.
in order to set parameters for the search compile a bibliography for this broad area.
There are three sources for preparing a bibliograpgy
a)books;
b) journals;
c)the Internet.
Read the existing literature critically to pull together themes and issues that are of relevance to
study. Form a theoretical framework of themes in mind to start with, use separate sheets of
paper for each theme or issue you identify as you go through selected books and articles.
Once you develop a rough framework, slot the findings from the material so far reviewed into
these themes. While going through the literature you should carefully and critically examine it
with respect to the following aspects:
Note whether the knowledge relevant to your theoretical framework has been confirmed
beyond doubt.
Note the theories put forward, the criticisms of these and their basis, the methodologies
adopted (study design, sample size and its characteristics, measurement procedures, etc.) and
the criticisms of them.
Examine to what extent the findings can be generalized to other situations.
Notice where there are significant differences of opinion among researchers and give your
opinion about the validity of these differences.
Ascertain the areas in which little or nothing is known – the gaps that exist in the body of
knowledge.
The information obtained from different books and journals needs to be sorted under the main
themes and theories, highlighting agreements and disagreements among the authors and
identifying the unanswered questions or gaps. You will also realise that the literature deals with
a number of aspects that have a direct or indirect bearing on your research topic. Use these
aspects as a basis for developing your theoretical framework. Until you go through the
literature you cannot develop a theoretical framework, and until you have developed a
theoretical framework you cannot effectively review the literature. As you read more about the
area, you are likely to change the framework. However, without it, you will get bogged down in
a great deal of unnecessary reading and note-taking that may not be relevant to your study.
Literature pertinent to your study may deal with two types of information:
1. universal;
2. more specific (i.e. local trends or a specific programme).
In writing about such information you should start with the general information,
graduallgradually narrowing it down to the specific.
The conceptual framework is the basis of your research problem. It stems from the theoretical
framework and usually focuses on the section(s) which become the basis of your study.
Whereas the theoretical framework consists of the theories or issues in which your study is
embedded, the conceptual framework describes the aspects you selected from the theoretical
framework to become the basis of your enquiry. The conceptual framework grows out of the
theoretical framework and relates to the specific research problem.
The ability to develop a good research topic is an important skill. An instructor may assign you
or he askes you to select your own topic of interest. When deciding on a topic, there are a few
following steps that you will need to do:
Read a general encyclopedia article on the top two or three topics you are considering.
Reading a broad summary enables you to get an overview of the topic and see how your idea
relates to broader, narrower, and related issues. Keywords may be very useful to your
research.
Use periodical indexes to scan current magazine, journal or newspaper articles on your
topic.
Use Web search engines.
A topic will be very difficult to research if it is too broad or narrow. One way to narrow a broad
topic such as "the environment" is to limit your topic. Some common ways to limit a topic are:
by geographical area
by culture
by time frame:
by discipline
by population group
Step 5: Be Flexible
It is common to modify your topic during the research process. You may find too much and
need to narrow your focus, or too little and need to broaden your focus. This is a normal part of
the research process. When researching, you may not wish to change your topic, but you may
decide that some other aspect of the topic is more interesting or manageable.
For example:
Through an Internet search you can identify published material in books, journals and other
sources with immense ease and speed. An Internet search is carried out through search
engines, of which there are many, though the most commonly used are Google and Yahoo. An
Internet search basically identifies all material in the database of a search engine that contains
the keywords you specify, Most search facilities use Boolean logic, which allows three types of
basic search “AND”, “OR” and “NOT”.’
Judging the reliability of sources found on the Internet is crucial because there is no regulating
body that monitors the reliability of what is on the Internet. Although there is so much
information on the Internet that it can seem like a university library, it is actually more like a
huge open-air market. In one corner there might be reliable sources from whom you can obtain
valuable information. But over in another corner there might be weirdos, whackos, and
eccentrics, from whom anything you obtain is, at best, questionable. The problem is that on the
Internet there is no way to tell the difference.
On the other hand, there are some situations in which you can use the information you find on
Internet sources reliably:
It is provided by a reliable journal or online publisher.
It is in precisely the same form you would find in a library. Many government, civic, and
business reports are released simultaneously on the Internet and in print.
It supplements print sources. Some journals use the Internet to archive data not included in
articles, to disseminate illustrations too expensive to print, or to host discussions between
authors and readers.
It is too recent to be found in libraries.
It is available only on the Internet. Many government and academic databases are now
available only online.
It is your primary source. What is posted on the Internet is primary data about what people are
thinking, the views of specific groups, and so on.
Unstructured Interviews
The strength of unstructured interviews is the almost complete freedom they provide in terms
of content and structure. You are free to order these in whatever sequence you wish. You also
have complete freedom in terms of the wording you use and the way you explain questions to
your respondents. You may formulate questions and raise issues on the spur of the moment,
depending upon what occurs to you in the context of the discussion. Unstructured interviews
are prevalent in both quantitative and qualitative research. The difference is in how information
obtained through them in response to your questions is likely to be used. In
quantitative research you develop response categorisations from responses which are then
coded and quantified. In qualitative research the responses are used as descriptors, often in
verbatim form, and can be integrated with your arguments, flow of writing and sequence of
logic. As unstructured interviews are dominantly used in qualitative research.
27 Discuss about report writing?
The last step in the research process is writing the research report. Each step of the process is
important for a valid study, as negligence at any stage will affect the quality of not just that part
but the whole study. In a way, this last step is the most crucial as it is through the report that
the findings of the study and their implications are communicated to your supervisor and
readers. Most people will not be aware of the amount and quality of work that has gone into
your study. While much hard work and care may have been put into every stage of the
research, all readers see is the report. Therefore, the whole enterprise can be spoiled if the
report is not well written. As Burns writes, ‘extremely valuable and interesting practical work
may be spoiled at the last minute by a student who is not able to communicate the results
easily’ . In addition to your understanding of research methodology, the quality of the report
depends upon such things as your written communication skills and clarity of thought, your
ability to express thoughts in a logical and sequential manner, and your knowledge base of the
subject area. Another important determinant is your experience in research writing: the more
experience you acquire, the more effective you will become in writing a research report. The
use of statistical procedures will reinforce the validity of your conclusions and arguments as
they enable you to establish if an observed association is due to chance or otherwise (i.e.
whether a relationship is spurious or non-spurious) and indicate the strength of an association
so readers can place confidence in your findings. The use of graphs to present the findings,
though not essential, will make the information more easily understood by readers.
The main difference between research and other writing is in the degree of control,
rigorousness and caution required. Research writing is controlled in the sense that you need to
be extremely careful about what you write, the words you choose, the way ideas are expressed,
and the validity and verifiability of the bases for the conclusions you draw. What most
distinguishes research writing from other writing is the high degree of intellectual rigour
required. Research writing must be absolutely accurate, clear, free of ambiguity, logical and
concise. Your writing should not be based upon assumptions about knowledge
of your readers about the study. Bear in mind that you must be able to defend whatever you
write should anyone challenge it. Do not use ornamental and superficial language. Even the
best researchers make a number of drafts before writing up their final one, so be prepared to
undertake this task. The way findings are communicated differs in quantitative and qualitative
research. As mentioned earlier, in qualitative research the findings are mostly communicated in
descriptive or narrative format written around the major themes, events or discourses that
emerge from your findings. The main purpose is to describe the variation in a phenomenon,
situation, event or episode without making an attempt to quantify the variation.
28 Write about the characteristics of good presentation of assignments?
The case study, though dominantly a qualitative study design, is also prevalent in quantitative
research. A case could be an individual, a group, a community, an instance, an episode, an
event, a subgroup of a population, a town or a city. To be called a case study it is important to
treat the total study population as one entity.
In a case study design the ‘case’ you select becomes the basis of a thorough, holistic and in-
depth exploration of the aspect(s) that you want to find out about. It is an approach ‘in which a
particular instance or a few carefully selected cases are studied intensively’ (Gilbert 2008: 36).
According to Burns (1997: 364), ‘to qualify as a case study, it must be a bounded system, an
entity in itself. A case study should focus on a bounded subject/unit that is either very
representative or extremely atypical.’ A case study according to Grinnell (1981: 302), ‘is
characterized by a very flexible and open-ended technique of data collection and analysis’.
The case study design is based upon the assumption that the case being studied is atypical of
cases of a certain type and therefore a single case can provide insight into the events and
situations prevalent in a group from where the case has been drawn. According to Burns (1997:
365), ‘In a case study the focus of attention is the case in its idiosyncratic complexity, not on the
whole population of cases.’ In selecting a case therefore you usually use purposive,
judgemental or information-oriented sampling techniques.
It is a very useful design when exploring an area where little is known or where you want to
have a holistic understanding of the situation, phenomenon, episode, site, group or community.
This design is of immense relevance when the focus of a study is on extensively exploring and
understanding rather than confirming and quantifying. It provides an overview and in-depth
understanding of a case(s), process and interactional dynamics within a unit of study but cannot
claim to make any generalizations to a population beyond cases similar to the one studied.
In this design your attempt is not to select a random sample but a case that can provide you
with as much information as possible to understand the case in its totality. When studying an
episode or an instance, you attempt to gather information from all available sources so as to
understand it in its entirety. If the focus of your study is a group or community you should
spend sufficient time building a trustworthy rapport with its members before collecting any
information about them.
Though you can use a single method, the use of multiple methods to collect data is an
important aspect of a case study, namely in-depth interviewing, obtaining information from
secondary records, gathering data through observations, collecting information through focus
groups and group interviews, etc. However, it is important that at the time of analysis you
continue to consider the case as a single entity.
30 Write about the ethics to be followed in research?
All professions are guided by a code of ethics that has evolved over the years to accommodate
the changing ethos, values, needs and expectations of those who hold a stake in the
professions. Some professions are more advanced than others in terms of the level of
development of their code of ethics. Some have very strict guidelines, monitor conduct
effectively and take appropriate steps against those who do not abide by the guidelines.
Most professions have an overall code of conduct that also governs the way they carry out
research. In addition, many research bodies have evolved a code of ethics separately for
research. Medicine, epidemiology, business, law, education, psychology and other social
sciences have well-established codes of ethics for research.
Stakeholders in research
The various stakeholders in a research activity are:
1. the research participants or subjects;
2. the researcher;
3. the funding body.
Each category of stakeholders in a research activity may have different interests, perspectives,
purposes, aims and motivations that could affect the way in which the research activity is
carried out and the way results are communicated and used. Because of this, it is important to
ensure that research is not affected by the self-interest of any party and is not carried out in a
way that harms any party. It is therefore important to examine ethical conduct in research
concerning different stakeholders under separate categories.
Part C
OMA’s theory of “Bigness”a exemplifies design‐polemical theory. Rem Koolhaas posits that we
live in such a diverse, multicultural, and cybernetically powerful global reality that architecture
simply limited to localized physical sites is no longer adequate as an expression for the times.
Instead, design must somehow respond to the Bigness of a global culture enabled by the
instant and limitless connectivity of the Internet. This is why Koolhaas’s buildings tend not to
relate very obviously to their immediate physical surroundings. Consider the Seattle Public
Library, or the CCTV Tower in Beijing (Figure 4.7). These edifices are “world buildings” in the
sense that they can “fit” or not “fit” into any localized site. They are responding to larger—
BIGGER—cultural realities than the limitations of acity block. (Refer to Box 12.2 for challenges
that arose in community involvement vis‐a‐vis this project.) It is instructive to place this OMA
theory,which accommodates the technology of the computer (cyber technology), with theories
at the dawn of the 20th century, which sought to accommodate the machine. Coming to mind
is Wright’s “Art and Craft of
Figure 4.7 Rem Koolhaas OMA: Seattle Public Library (a); CCTV Tower, Beijing
(b). OMA’s theory of “Bigness” conceives of a global cyber‐contextual siting of
buildings rather than simply responding to localized physical sites. This results in
buildings that are essentially interchangeable with regard to locale: the form in
(a) can be in Beijing, and vice versa. Photographs courtesy of David Wang.
The goal of multiple case study research was to explore the nature of the public realm in
everyday urban experience, specifically in terms of how public places are physically manifested,
how they are understood, and how they are actually used. It is to go beyond the formulations
of contemporary theories and practices of urban design that conceive of publicness as “an
undifferentiated and universally accessible place.” Yet college towns face many of the same
challenges in sustaining a viable public realm in the face of economic downturns,privatization,
and competition from exurban developments. Since there are no hard and fast rules about the
number of cases to select, each researcher must assess the degree of depth
versus comparative breadth that best suits the research question(s) he or she has
posed. Example select two smaller university towns with campuses developed initially in the
19th century, and two state capital cities with campuses developed
In sum, this is an exceedingly robust study yielding many complementary and interrelated
conclusions about the comparative experience of the public realm across the four cities. As it
turns out, the initial categorization of the two literal and replication pairs was only partially
confirmed. Although Ann Arbor and Athens are experienced in relatively similar ways (as are
Tallahassee and Lansing), the four cities form more of a continuum of urban experience. This
result was confirmed through multiple measures and analyses.
The proliferation of electronic resources has made access to sources easier.But digesting what
the sources say requires the same hard work—or hand work—as in the days of the card catalog.
We are referring to note taking, and having a system of organization and retrieval (see
Figure5.3). Annotated bibliographies and literature reviews are made much easier when the
researcher has a systematic way of noting point made in references. Jacques Barzun and Henry
Graff make the point that a researcher’s notes are (or ought to be) his/her thoughts about the
literature being read. In this way, Barzun and Graff elevate note taking from simply copying
down references from texts; whether too much or too little makes little difference. “Am I simply
doing clerk’s work or am I assimilating new knowledge and putting down my own thoughts? To
put down your own thoughts, you must use your own words, not the author’s.”a From these
thoughts come the purpose of the study, or, in Maxwell’s terms, from these thoughts emerge
research questions.b Additionally, thoughts often occur when the books are not around; they
need to be jotted down quickly, or many of them are forgotten. There are many different ways
to take notes and file them.
Figure 5.3 Shown here is a page of notes from Wang’s dissertation research in
1997. For that work, daily notes jotted down were placed into an accordion
folder with many divisions, each marked with the projected chapters of the
dissertation.
The notes were placed in the appropriate sections.
In a qualitative study, inquirers state research questions, not objectives (i.e., specific goals for
the research) or hypotheses (i.e., predictions that involve variables and statistical tests). These
research questions assume two forms: (a) a central question and (b) associated subquestions.
• Ask one or two central research questions. The central question is a broad question that asks
for an exploration of the central phenomenon or concept in a study. The inquirer poses this
question, consistent with the emerging methodology of qualitative research, as a general issue
so as to not limit the views of participants. To arrive at this question, ask, “What is the broadest
question that I can ask in the study?” Beginning researchers trained in quantitative research
might struggle with this approach because they are accustomed to reverse thinking. They
narrow the quantitative study to specific, narrow questions or hypotheses based on a few
variables. In qualitative research, the intent is to explore the general, complex set of factors
surrounding the central phenomenon and present the broad, varied perspectives or meanings
that participants hold. The following are guidelines for writing qualitative research questions:
• Ask no more than five to seven subquestions in addition to your central questions. Several
subquestions follow each general central question; they narrow the focus of the study but leave
open the questioning. This approach is well within the limits set by Miles and Huberman (1994),
who recommended that researchers write no more than a dozen qualitative research questions
in all (central and subquestions). The subquestions, in turn, become specific questions used
during interviews (or in observing or when looking at documents). In developing an interview
protocol or guide, the researcher might ask an icebreaker question at the beginning, for
example, followed by five or so subquestions in the study (see Chapter 9). The interview would
then end with an additional wrap-up or summary question or ask, as I did in one of my
qualitative case studies, “Who should I turn to, to learn more about this topic?” (Asmussen &
Creswell, 1995).
• Relate the central question to the specific qualitative strategy of inquiry. For example, the
specificity of the questions in ethnography at this stage of the design differs from that in other
qualitative strategies. In ethnographic research, Spradley (1980) advanced a taxonomy of
ethnographic questions that included a mini-tour of the culture-sharing group, their
experiences, use of native language, contrasts with other cultural groups, and questions to
verify the accuracy of the data.
In critical ethnography, the research questions may build on a body of existing literature. These
questions become working guidelines rather than proven truths (Thomas, 1993, p. 35).
Alternatively,in phenomenology, the questions might be broadly stated without specific
reference to the existing literature or a typology of questions. Moustakas (1994) talked about
asking what the participants experienced and what contexts or situations in which they
experienced it. A phenomenological example is “What is it like for a mother to live with a
teenage child who is dying of cancer?”(Nieswiadomy, 1993, p. 151). In grounded theory, the
questions may be directed toward generating a theory of some process, such as the exploration
of a process as to how caregivers and patients
interact in a hospital setting. In a qualitative case study, the questions may address a
description of the case and the themes that emerge from studying it.
• Begin the research questions with the words what or how to convey an open and emerging
design. The word why often implies that the researcher is trying to explain why something
occurs, and this suggests to me probable cause-and-effect thinking that I associate with
quantitative research and that limits the explanations rather than opening them up for
participant views.
• Focus on a single phenomenon or concept. As a study develops over time, factors will emerge
that may influence this single phenomenon, but begin a study with a single focus to explore in
great detail. I often ask, “What is the one, single concept that you want to explore?”
• Use exploratory verbs that convey the language of emerging design. These verbs tell the
reader that the study will do the following: Report (or reflect) the stories (e.g., narrative
research) Describe the essence of the experience (e.g., phenomenology)
Discover (e.g., grounded theory)
Seek to understand (e.g., ethnography)
Explore a process (e.g., case study)
• Use these more exploratory verbs as nondirectional rather than directional words that suggest
quantitative research, such as affect, influence, impact, determine, cause, and relate.
• Expect the research questions to evolve and change during the study in a manner consistent
with the assumptions of an emerging design. Often in qualitative studies, the questions are
under continual review and reformulation (as in a grounded theory study). This approach may
be problematic for individuals accustomed to quantitative designs in which the research
questions remain fixed and never change throughout the study.
• Use open-ended questions without reference to the literature or theory unless otherwise
indicated by a qualitative strategy of inquiry.
• Specify the participants and the research site for the study if the information has not yet been
given.
Here is a typical script for a qualitative central question:
_________ (How or what?) is the _________ (“story for” for narrative research; “meaning of”
the phenomenon for phenomenology; “theory that explains the process of” for grounded
theory; “culture-sharing pattern” for ethnography; “issue” in the “case” for case study) of
_________
(central phenomenon) for _________ (participants) at _________ (research site).
The following are examples of qualitative research questions drawn from several types of
strategies.
34 Example 7.1 A Qualitative Central Question From an Ethnography
Finders (1996) used ethnographic procedures to document the reading of teen magazines by
middleclass European American seventh-grade girls. By examining the reading of teen zines
(magazines),
the researcher explored how the girls perceive and construct their social roles and relationships
as they enter junior high school. She asked one guiding central question in her study:
How do early adolescent females read literature that falls outside the realm of fiction? (p. 72)
Finders’s (1996) central question began with how; it used an open-ended verb, read; it focused
on a single concept—the literature or teen magazines; and it mentioned the participants,
adolescent females, as the culture-sharing group. Notice how the author crafted a concise,
single question that needed to be answered in the study. It was a broad question to permit
participants to share diverse perspectives about reading the literature.
35 Example 7.2 Qualitative Central Questions From a Case Study
Padula and Miller (1999) conducted a multiple case study that described the experiences of
women who went back to school, after a time away, in a psychology doctoral program at a
major midwestern research university. The intent was to document the women’s experiences,
providing a gendered and feminist perspective for women in the literature. The authors asked
three central questions that guided the inquiry:
(a) How do women in a psychology doctoral program describe their decision to return to
school? (b) How do women in a psychology doctoral program describe their re-entry
experiences? And (c) How does returning to graduate school change these women’s lives? (p.
328) These three central questions all began with the word how; they included open-ended
verbs, such a s describe, and they focused on three aspects of the doctoral experience—
returning to school, reentering, and changing. They also mentioned the participants as women
in a doctoral program at a midwestern research university.
Figure 6.12 This image from Protzen shows the pitmarks he observed diminishing
in size as they get nearer the joint. Courtesy of Jean‐Pierre Protzen.
Tactic 7: Reenactment/testimonial. Probably the most persuasive of
Protzen’s
tactics are his reenactments of the work the Inca stonemasons performed
(see Figure 6.13). Based on his visual observations, Protzen reenacted both the
dressing of the stones and the erection of a large masonry wall. In the first instance,
he tested his theory that systematic pounding was the method of dressing by using
a hammer of metamorphosed sandstone on a raw block of andesite. He learned the
efficacy of different angles of pounding, as well as the utility of gravity as an aid in
maneuvering a 4‐kg hammer. In the second instance, Protzen tested his idea of how
large stones were fitted together in a wall of irregular jointure. He found that the
Figure 6.12 This image from Protzen shows the pitmarks he observed diminishing
in size as they get nearer the joint. Courtesy of Jean‐Pierre Protzen.
Figure 6.13 A Protzen drawing showing wall construction. Protzen enacted construction
procedures to demonstrate his hypothesis that each new course can be
cut to fit the profile of the course below it. Courtesy of Jean‐Pierre Protzen.
dust produced from the pounding of a bedding joint got compressed when an
upper stone was placed on the bed, indicating where further pounding was required.
“Through repeated fitting and pounding, one can achieve as close a fit as
one wishes” (p. 179).
The outcome of these reenactments is reported with the strength of a testimonial.
With respect to the dressing of the andesite block, “the work from rough block
to the stage with one face dressed took me only 20 minutes” (p. 173). This persuades
the reader that pounding alone by a crew of trained persons can produce,
without sophisticated tools, large amounts of dressed stone in a reasonable amount
of time.
Tactic 8: Identification of remaining questions. Clearly stating what one
does not know in the face of present evidence can actually make a narrative more
robust; this applies in general to any kind of research report. Here, after summarizing
the local lore on an area designated as “quarrymen’s quarters,” as well as critiquing
the view of another analyst (Harth‐terre) on this subject, Protzen simply says
that “the significance . . . of these structures remains to be established” (p. 164). And
against his theory that the Inca did not use many tools in their stonemasonry,
Figure 6.13 A Protzen drawing showing wall construction. Protzen enacted construction
procedures to demonstrate his hypothesis that each new course can be
cut to fit the profile of the course below it. Courtesy of Jean‐Pierre Protzen.
Historical Research 207
Protzen
acknowledges examples “throughout the territory that I explored” where
there appear to be clear cases of saw cutting and/or stone polishing. “What tools
they used for this I do not yet know” (p. 178). Far from negating the validity of his
ideas, Protzen’s admission of ignorance on these matters underscores his credibility.
Future theories explaining the presence of sawed stone at certain locations may fit in
as a corollary to his larger theory of pounding, as opposed to anything that would
negate his ideas.
Conclusion
History research accesses evidence from the past, and this chapter provided an
overview of what is entailed. At the strategic level, schools of thought affect
how past conditions are interpreted. Tactically, history research entails fact
finding, fact evaluation, fact organization, and fact analysis. It requires an interpretive
imagination that nevertheless does not spill over into fiction, but is
rather guided by a mind that Barzun and Graff describe as having a love for
order. It entails being aware of different kinds of judgments that can be made
once enough evidence has been garnered. It entails the imaginative identification
and use of specific tactics to access the object under study, as illustrated by
Protzen’s efforts. Above all, again at the strategic level, history research requires
the framing of a narrative that is at once holistic, in the sense that a story is
holistic.
We conclude with one more example (see Box 6.5) to illustrate how advancing
computer technology helps history research.
Observation
Observation is a purposeful, systematic and selective way of watching and listening to an
interaction or phenomenon as it takes place.
Types of observation
There are two types of observation:
1. participant observation;
2. non-participant observation.
Participant observation is when you, as a researcher, participate in the activities of the group
being observed in the same manner as its members, with or without their knowing that they
are being observed.
Non-participant observation, on the other hand, is when you, as a researcher, do not get
involved in the activities of the group but remain a passive observer, watching and listening to
its activities and drawing conclusions from this.
Situations in which observations can be made
Observations can be made under two conditions:
1. natural;
2. controlled.
Observing a group in its natural operation rather than intervening in its activities is classified as
observation under natural conditions. Introducing a stimulus to the group for it to react to and
observing the reaction is called controlled observation.
Recording observations
There are many ways of recording observations. The selection of a method of recording
depends upon the purpose of the observation. The way an observation is recorded also
determines whether it is a quantitative or qualitative study.
Narrative recording – In this form of recording the researcher records a description of the
interaction in his/her own words. Such a type of recording clearly falls in the domain of
qualitative research. Usually, a researcher makes brief notes while observing the interaction
and then soon after completing the observation makes detailed notes in narrative form.
Recording on electronic devices – Observation can also be recorded on videotape or other
electronic devices and then analysed. The advantage of recording an interaction in this way is
that the observer can see it a number of times before interpreting an interaction or drawing
any conclusions from it and can also invite other professionals to view the interaction in order
to arrive at more objective conclusions.
The interview
Interviewing is a commonly used method of collecting information from people. In many walks
of life we collect information through different forms of interaction with others. There are
many definitions of interviews. According to Monette et al. (1986: 156), ‘an interview involves
an interviewer reading questions to respondents and recording their answers’
Unstructured Interviews
The strength of unstructured interviews is the almost complete freedom they provide in terms
of content and structure. You are free to order these in whatever sequence you wish. You also
have complete freedom in terms of the wording you use and the way you explain questions to
your respondents. You may formulate questions and raise issues on the spur of the moment,
depending upon what occurs to you in the context of the discussion.
Structured interviews
In a structured interview the researcher asks a predetermined set of questions, using the same
wording and order of questions as specified in the interview schedule. An interview schedule is
a written list of questions, open ended or closed, prepared for use by an interviewer in a
person-to-person interaction (this may be face to face, by telephone or by other electronic
media). One of the main advantages of the structured interview is that it provides uniform
information, which assures the comparability of data. Structured interviewing requires fewer
interviewing skills than does unstructured interviewing.
The questionnaire
A questionnaire is a written list of questions, the answers to which are recorded by
respondents. In a questionnaire respondents read the questions, interpret what is expected
and then write down the answers. The only difference between an interview schedule and a
questionnaire is that in the former it is the interviewer who asks the questions (and if
necessary, explains them) and records the respondent’s replies on an interview schedule, and
in the latter replies are recorded by the respondents themselves.
A research problem identifies its destination: it should tell the researcher, research supervisor
and the readers what the researcher intend to research. The researcher to be more specific and
clearer is better, as everything that follows in the research process – study design,
measurement procedures, sampling strategy, frame of analysis and the style of writing the
dissertation or report – is greatly influenced by the way in which the researcher formulate the
research problem. Hence, it should be examined thoroughly, carefully and critically. The main
function of formulating a research problem is to decide what the researcher want to find out
about. It is extremely important to evaluate the research problem in the light of the financial
resources at the researchers disposal, the time available, and the researchers own and
research supervisor’s expertise and knowledge in the field of study. It is equally important to
identify any gaps in ones knowledge of relevant disciplines, such as statistics required for
analysis. Also, one should have sufficient knowledge about computers and software if he plans
to use them.