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199.1 Notes For Quiz 2

The document discusses important considerations for choosing a good research topic, including that the topic should be appropriately defined with a clear research question, aim, and objectives. It should be something the researcher is capable of undertaking and has a genuine interest in. The document also provides methods for generating and refining research topic ideas, such as brainstorming, reviewing media, and consulting others. It emphasizes that the research question will guide many aspects of the research project.

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65 views4 pages

199.1 Notes For Quiz 2

The document discusses important considerations for choosing a good research topic, including that the topic should be appropriately defined with a clear research question, aim, and objectives. It should be something the researcher is capable of undertaking and has a genuine interest in. The document also provides methods for generating and refining research topic ideas, such as brainstorming, reviewing media, and consulting others. It emphasizes that the research question will guide many aspects of the research project.

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aku sexc
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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● Research should never be based on partial interpretations, personal assertions or

prejudged conclusions. Recognizing this will be important in choosing a research topic


and developing your research proposal.
● Whether you start with such a research topic or formulate one for yourself, it is also
essential to work on something that will sustain your interest throughout the months you
need to complete it.
● reflexivity as ‘the process of reflecting critically on the self as researcher’.
● Being reflexive will ensure you reflect on why you choose a research topic, why you
prefer one research strategy over another, how you engage with those whom you wish to
take part in your research, how you use the data they reveal to you, how you deal with
any problems that confront you during your project, and so on.
● Reflexivity allows u to surface any preconceived ideas that you may have about ur topic

CHARACTERISTIC OF A GOOD RESEARCH TOPIC


1. Appropriateness- This means that you must choose a research topic and develop your
research proposal with care. Some may ask you to find a topic within a subject matter of
your course.
- one of the characteristics of a good topic is a clearly defined research
question(s), aim and set of objectives (Section 2.4). These will, along with a good
knowledge of the literature, , enable you to assess the extent to which your
research is likely to provide new insights into the topic.
- symmetry of potential outcomes: that is, your results will be of similar value
whatever you find out (Gill and Johnson 2010). Without this symmetry you may
spend a considerable amount of time researching your topic, only to find an
answer of little importance.

2. Capability- ur topic must be something u are capable of undertaking.


- At the personal level you need to feel comfortable that you have, or can develop,
the skills that will be required to research the topic. We hope that you will develop
your research skills as part of undertaking your project, such as those related to
data analysis
- Your ability to find the financial and time resources to undertake research on the
topic will also affect your capability.
- Capability also means you must be reasonably certain of gaining access to any
data you might need to collect.

3. Fulfillment- Your research topic needs to be one that excites your imagination and in
which you have or will develop a genuine interest.
GENERATING AND REFINING RESEARCH TOPIC IDEAS
Research idea can be divided into two rational thinking and creative thinking.

● Alvesson and Sandberg (2011) report that articles published in academic management
journals are predominantly based on research that finds new ways to investigate existing
theoretical perspectives. They call this approach ‘gap spotting’, suggesting it results in
incremental changes in theory. CHALLENGES ASSUMPTIONS UNDERPINNING
EXISTING THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES

SCANNING THE MEDIA


Keeping up with the news can be a very rich source of idea

BRAINSTORMING involves a number of stages:


1 Defining the problem. This will focus on the sorts of ideas you are interested in – as
precisely as possible. In the early stages of formulating a topic this may be as vague as, ‘I am
interested in marketing but don’t know what to do for my research topic’.

2 Asking for suggestions. These will relate to the problem.

3 Recording suggestions. As you record these you will need to observe the following rules:
• No suggestion should be criticised or evaluated in any way before all ideas have been
considered.
• All suggestions, however wild, should be recorded and considered.
• As many suggestions as possible should be recorded.

4 Reviewing suggestions. You will seek to explore what is meant by each as you review
these.
5 Analysing suggestions. Work through the list of ideas and decide which appeal to you
most as research ideas and why.

One use of this technique, known as ‘Policy Delphi’, draws on these characteristics albeit in an
informal and face-to-face way. Its intention is to encourage the identification of refinements or
alternatives to an initial research idea. You use a small purposive sample ( Section 7.3 ) of your
classmates or colleagues who have some subject knowledge about and interest in your initial
research idea, to generate related ideas, evaluate these and perhaps to arrive at a consensus
around a specific research idea

- This research question will be at the centre of your research project. It will influence your
choice of literature to review, your research design, the access you need to negotiate, your
approach to sampling, your choice of data collection and analysis methods, and help to shape
the way in which you write your project report.

-Clough and Nutbrown (2012) use what they call the ‘Goldilocks test’ to decide if research
questions are either ‘too big’, ‘too small’, ‘too hot’ or ‘just right’. Those that are too big probably
need significant research funding because they demand too many resources. Questions that
are too small are likely to be of insufficient substance, while those that are too ‘hot’ may be so
because of sensitivities that might be aroused as a result of doing the research.

-the clearly defined research question (the smallest doll) that you reveal should provide you with
an appropriately focused starting point for your research project.

-A research aim is a brief statement of the purpose of the research project. It is often written as
a sentence stating what you intend to achieve through your research.

-f research objectives. Objectives are more generally acceptable to the research community
as evidence of the researcher’s clear sense of purpose and direction. IT ALLOWS U TO
OPERATIONALISE your question

The term theory is used to refer to ‘a systematic body of knowledge grounded in empirical
evidence which can be used for explanatory or predictive purposes’

-Where you wish to adopt a clear theoretical position that you will test through the collection of
data, your research project will be theory driven and you will be using a deductive approach .

-Where you wish to explore a topic and develop a theoretical explanation as the data are
collected and analysed, your research project will be data driven and you will be adopting an
inductive approach .

‘Grand theories’ are usually thought to be the province of the natural scientists
‘middle-range theories’, which lack the capacity to change the way in which we think about the
world but are nonetheless of significance.
The research proposal , occasionally referred to as a protocol or outline, is a structured plan of
your proposed research project.

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