This program will be conducted as a facilitated discussion. The discussion will be framed by the model of research design presented by Maxwell (2005), which proposes not that research has to follow a linear path, but that design has five major and interrelated components focused around the question being asked. These components are: purpose, question, conceptual framework, methods, and validity. Other design issues are seen as secondary to these.
Although focusing on planning, the content and discussion is designed to be appropriate to participants engaged at any stage of the process, whether that be starting out on a new project, preparing to present a thesis, designing articles to present their work, or somewhere in the middle of all that.
Focusing a topic/ clarifying a thesis/ determining the ‘take home
message’ for a paper.
The goal of this session is to assist participants, by means of discussion and a series of exercises, to clarify just what it is they are setting out to research (question), and what they hope to achieve by doing it (purpose). If the research is already done, the goal will be to focus the thesis or message that participants are wanting to argue, convince others of, have others understand. Researchers should be able to express this in one or two sentences, and achieving this level of clarity and precision will assist them in working out the steps needed to reach their goal (and those which can be omitted on this occasion at least).
Building a conceptual framework
Questions for this session include: What is the study based on in terms of substantive knowledge, underlying philosophy and theoretical perspectives? What can be learned from the literature and other existing sources and documentation? How can this all be put together to build a case for the questions being asked, and the approach being taken? Where does it fit in the write-up of a study? And what can be picked up about methodology on the way?
Choosing/ justifying a methodology
There are three elements to this session: (1) Issues to be considered in choosing a methodology will be canvassed: these issues are also those which will need to be addressed in a write-up of the methodology of a study. (2) Participants will be encouraged to review each aspect of their proposed/existing methodology from the point of view of what knowledge it will generate, and how that supports the aims, objectives and questions they have set for their project. (3) Ways of achieving and presenting validity will be explored, for example, by exploring possible counterarguments to the thesis/conclusion you are wanting to present, as a means of ‘tightening’ the design or argument.
Creswell, John W. (2003). Research design: qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches (Second ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Maxwell, Joseph (2005). Qualitative research design: an interactive approach (Second ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Return to: Training programs