torsdag 5 december 2013

What I've learned - Theme 4. Quantitative research

Sadly I missed the lecture last Wednesday but I read that it was about the structure of a quantitative method and how to build a good questionnaire. What I’ve been kind of missing in this course is actual “how you do it in practice” tips that I would have great use for in my final thesis. I therefore decided to read up a bit about what to think about when using a quantitative method.

First thing I learned is the three factors that impact the quality of a research paper. The factors are reliability, validity and reproducibility. 


Reliability means how well the information that you want to measure is measured, how accurate it is and how trustworthy it is.

What affect the reliability?

The quality of the technical equipment


The quality of the researcher
- Description of prior understanding/competence
- The ability to make good observations
- Adherence to the data (flexibility)
- The quality of the supervisor

The objectivity

- Beeing neutral
- Not “color” the data with your own prior understanding



Validity is how much the result of the study represents the reality.


What affect the validity?

The communicated validity

- Description of the author’s prior understanding
- Description of the data collecting process
- Description of selection of people or data
- Description of the analyse process

Respondent control

If the people in the study themselves can correct misunderstandings that might have come up

Triangulation

People with different relation to the object is heard in the study

Then why is this important for us to think about? My thought was that if you clearly see the factors impacting on the quality of your study, then it is easier to take them in consideration during the study, giving it a higher quality. I will probably look at these when using a quantitive method and writing the discussion part in my final thesis. I will try to process them all to show the reader that I have thought about them and the different choices regarding them.


References

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