Transcript Social Research Methods, 4 th edition

Type Bryman
Alan
author names here
Social Research Methods
Chapter 29: Writing up social
research
Slides authored by Tom Owens
Issues in writing up social research
• Do quantitative and qualitative research reveal divergent
approaches?
– The similarities are frequently more striking and
apparent than the differences
• Many people find writing up research more difficult than
carrying it out
– You must convince your readers about the credibility
of the knowledge claims you make
– Good writing is to do with developing your style so
that it is persuasive and convincing
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What is rhetoric?
The study of rhetoric is fundamentally concerned with the
ways in which attempts to convince or persuade an
audience are formulated.
Rhetoric is an essential ingredient of writing, because
when we write our aim is to convince others about
the credibility of our knowledge claims.
The examination of rhetorical strategies in written texts
based on business research is concerned with the
identification of the techniques in those texts that
are designed to convince and persuade.
Key concept 29.1
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Tips for writing up your research
Start early!
Be persuasive.
Get feedback.
Avoid sexist, racist, and disablist language.
Structure your writing:
Title page – acknowledgements – list of
contents – abstract – introduction - literature
review - research methods – results –
discussion – conclusion – appendices references.
Bryman: Social Research Methods, 4th edition
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Typical ways of constructing an argument
Figure 29.1
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Structure of the Kelley and De Graaf (1997)
article (quantitative research)
The article is a secondary analysis of survey data on
religion in fifteen nations and was published in the
American Sociological Review, with the following
structure:
1.Introduction;
2.Theory;
3.Data;
4.Measurement;
5.Methods and models;
6.Results;
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7.Conclusion.
Bryman: Social Research Methods, 4th edition
1. Introduction
• The first sentence locates the article’s focus as addressing an
important aspect of modern society that touches on many
people’s lives.
• The second sentence notes that there is variety among Western
nations in the importance of religion and that this is an area of
interest to sociologists.
• The third sentence suggests that there is a problem with the
issue of secularization, a research focus for many sociologists.
• The fourth sentence outlines the authors specific contribution to
this area.
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2. Theory
In this section, existing ideas and research on the topic are
presented, leading to the formulation of their hypotheses:
• Hypothesis 1. Contextual factors have an impact on religious
beliefs.
• Hypothesis 2a. Family background will have a greater impact on
a person’s religious beliefs in predominantly secular societies.
• Hypothesis 2b. In predominantly secular societies parents and
other family members are more likely to try to isolate children
from secular influences.
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3. Data
A general outline is given:
– of the data sets
– of the sampling procedures
– of sample sizes
– of response rates
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4. Measurement
This section explains how the main
concepts in their research were
measured, including scoring
procedures for indicating a nation’s
religious or secular orientation on a
five-point scale.
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5. Methods and models
This is a very technical section:
– outlining the different ways in which
the relationships between the
variables might be conceptualized
– Tracing the implications of using
different multivariate analysis
approaches for the findings
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6. Results
Here the authors provide a general
description of their findings.
Then they consider whether their
hypotheses are supported and explore the
significance of other contextual
characteristics.
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7. Conclusion
• This final section begins with a strong statement of the
findings.
• Then they reflect upon the implications of having their
hypotheses confirmed:
–for our understanding of the process of religious
socialization and religious beliefs;
–and in terms of the impact on certain theories about
religions beliefs in modern society.
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Lessons to be learned from the article
• Strong opening statements grab the reader’s attention and
act as signposts to what the article is about
• The rationale of the research is spelled out clearly
• Research questions are spelled out very specifically
• The research methods, nature of data, measurement of
concepts, sampling and data analysis are clearly and
explicitly summarized
• The presentation of findings is oriented specifically to the
research questions
• The conclusion spells out the implications of the findings
for the research questions and the theories examined
earlier in the paper
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Structure of the Jones et al (2010) article
(qualitative research)
This study of retired senior managers is based on semistructured interviews and was published in Sociology,
with the following structure:
1. Introduction;
2. Background;
3. Methods;
4. Findings;
5. Discussion;
6. Conclusion.
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1. Introduction
• The first two sentences show that the research is
concerned with the study of modernity in relation to
the life course,
• The third sentence provides a specific research
focus - the study of retirement and later life,
• The fourth sentence relates the theoretical issues
raised to what the authors take to be an important
social trend,
• The fifth sentence grabs our attention by showing a
contrast between increasing fitness and health in
later life couple with growing inequalities.
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2. Background
• Reviews existing theory and research on
retirement.
• The literature is reviewed in the two topic
areas outlined in the fifth sentence of the
introduction.
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3. Methods
•
•
•
•
An outline of who was to be studied and why;
How respondents were selected;
The semi-structured interviewing approach;
The number of people interviewed and the interview
context;
• The approach to analysing the data - involving thematic
analysis and using CAQDAS.
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4. Findings
The chief findings are outlined according to the
three main themes emerging from the analysis,
each of which is supported by verbatim
quotations from interviews.
The authors point out that interviewees varied in
their responses according to their acceptance
or rejection of their new situation in life.
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5. Discussion
• Here the authors discuss the findings in the light of
the study’s research questions.
• The results are also related to many of the ideas
introduced in the previous sections of the article.
• The limitations of the study are highlighted, including
the purposive sampling method used.
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6. Conclusions
• This final section returns to many of the ideas and
themes that had driven their research, including an
assessment of the implications of their findings for
some of the main research concepts.
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Lessons to be learned from the article
• Strong opening sentences attract our attention and give a clear
indication of the nature and content of the article.
• The rationale of the research is clearly identified.
• Research questions are specified but are somewhat more openended than in Kelley and De Graaf’s article.
• The research methods are outlined and an indication is given of
the approach to analysis.
• The presentation of main themes is geared to the broad research
questions that motivated the researcher’s interest.
• The discussion and conclusion elucidate in a more specific way
the significance of the results for the research questions.
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Advice on writing up mixed methods research
Creswell and Plano Clark’s (2011) suggested structure:
1. Introduction (in which the choice of a mixed methods
approach is shown to be beneficial);
2. Methods (including the rationale for the mixed
methods choice);
3. Results (quantitative and qualitative findings are best
presented together – if shown sequentially, they will
need to be merged in the Discussion section);
4. Discussion (a summary and explanation of the
results, emphasizing the mixed methods nature of
the research.
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Key points
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Checklist for writing up your research: 1.
• Have you clearly specified your research
questions?
• Have you clearly indicated how the literature
you have read relates to your research
questions?
• Is your discussion of the literature critical and
organized so that it is not just a summary of
what you have read?
• Have you clearly outlined your research
design and your research methods?
Bryman: Social Research Methods, 4th edition
Checklist for writing up your research: 2.
• Have you presented your data in a manner
that relates to your research questions?
• Does your discussion of your findings show
how they relate to your research questions?
• and on how they shed light on the literature
that you presented?
• Are the interpretations of the data that you
offer fully supported with tables, figures, or
segments from transcripts?
Bryman: Social Research Methods, 4th edition
Checklist for writing up your research: 3.
• Does your writing avoid sexist, racist, and
disablist language?
• Have you included all appendices that you
need (interview schedule, communications
with research participants)?
• Have you checked that your list of references
includes all the items referred to in your text?
• and that it follows precisely the style that
your institution requires?
Bryman: Social Research Methods, 4th edition
Checklist for writing up your research: 4.
• Have you ensured that your institution’s
requirements for submitting projects are fully
met in terms of word length (neither too long
nor too short) and whether an abstract and
table of contents are required?
• Have you ensured that you do not quote
excessively when presenting the literature?
• Have you fully acknowledged the work of
others so that you cannot be accused of
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plagiarism?
Bryman: Social Research Methods, 4th edition