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Chapter 7 Design and Causality

Chapter 7 discusses different types of research methodologies, focusing on exploratory, descriptive, and explanatory research. It contrasts idiographic and nomothetic approaches, highlighting their respective qualitative and quantitative methods, and emphasizes the importance of causal relationships and hypothesis testing. The chapter also covers mixed methods research, which combines both qualitative and quantitative approaches to enhance study findings.

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0 views13 pages

Chapter 7 Design and Causality

Chapter 7 discusses different types of research methodologies, focusing on exploratory, descriptive, and explanatory research. It contrasts idiographic and nomothetic approaches, highlighting their respective qualitative and quantitative methods, and emphasizes the importance of causal relationships and hypothesis testing. The chapter also covers mixed methods research, which combines both qualitative and quantitative approaches to enhance study findings.

Uploaded by

camilenash7
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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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Chapter 7: Design &

Causality
Typically done in the early
stages of studying a topic/new
phenomenon
Types of
Figuring out what the topic is
Research: about – the lay of the land
Exploratory Little prior research & to satisfy
curiosity
To describe or define a
Types of particular phenomenon

Research:
Descriptive Basic data that describes a
topic – size, extent, number
(example: US Census)
Types of Research: Explanatory

Why a
Focus on
phenomena
cause and
works the
effect
way it does
Causal Relationships: One
event/behavior causes another

Idiographic Nomothetic
 Explain the topic based on the  Broad explanations that are
subjective understandings of true to all people
participants  Allow for prediction
 Explanation is bound to  Allow for generalization –
individual experience &
determine the truth for a large
embedded in cultural, historic,
population based on a smaller
and environmental context
sample
 Depth  Breadth
 Used to build theory  Used to test theory
Nomothetic Causal Relationships

 Quantitative Methods – Reduce phenomena to numbers to allow for


measurement & generalization

 Variables
 Independent – the variable that causes a change
 Dependent – the variable that is changed; the effect

 Strength of relationship – the statistical significance; the more


statistical significance the stronger the relationship between the two
variables; strength of relationship is measured with a p-value
Nomothetic Causal Relationship:
Hypothesis
 Hypothesis – what you think will happen; describes the relationship
between the independent and dependent variables.

 Can take a specific direction


 Positive: Two variables that move in the same direction
 Negative: Two variables that move in the opposite direction

 Null Hypothesis: A hypothesis that predicts no relationship


Nomothetic Causal Relationship:
Criteria for Correlation

Variables Relationship
must vary must be
together plausible

The
The cause relationship
must must not be
precede the due to a
effect in third
time variable
(spurious)
 Qualitative – Focus on words
 Want to understand meaning and context
 Causal relationships are tied to people’s stories
and interpretations
 Focus on patterns Idiographic
 Typically no hypothesis or only a tentative
hypothesis
Causal
 Research will shift as participants share their
stories
Relationship
 Web of factors that emerge to deeply understand
how variable x influenced variable y
Summary of Idiographic and
Nomothetic Causal Relationships

Idiographic Nomothetic
 Social Constructionist Paradigm  Positivist Paradigm

 Exploratory or Descriptive  Explanatory Research


Research

 Quantitative Methods:
 Qualitative Methods: Influences
Influences sample, type of data
sample, type of data collection,
and analysis
collection, and analysis

  Deductive Reasoning
Inductive Reasoning
Unit of Analysis and Unit of
Observation
 Unit of Analysis is the entity  Ecological Fallacy – making
that you wish to say something claims about a lower unit of
about in your study analysis (social work student)
 This is determined by your
based on a higher unit of
research question analysis (Social Work Program)

 Unit of Observation is the


what/who you measure,  Reductionism – making claims
observe, or collect about a higher unit of analysis
 This is determined by your data (Bemidji State University)
collection method based on a lower level of
analysis (Social Work Program)
Mixed Methods

Utilizing both qualitative and


quantitative methods

Sequence – the order in which the


methods are employed

Emphasis – which method is most


important

Capitalizes on the strengths of both


methods
 Triangulation – more that one
approach yielded the same/similar
findings


Mixed Complementarity – get at related
but different facets

Methods:
 Utilization of findings from one
Reasons to phase to develop another phase

Use
 Use of inconsistent findings to
develop new insights

 Extend the scope of the study

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