This document provides an introduction to a course on research. It discusses the purpose of the course and today's session, which is to start learning the new language and process of research by focusing on the relationship between research and science and the role of research questions. It then defines research as the generation of knowledge and emphasizes that research follows set methods and processes and must always be guided by a question. The document goes on to define science and its goals of measuring, understanding, predicting and controlling. It outlines the assumptions of science around order, determinism and empiricism. Finally, it discusses the scientific method, different types of research, and provides a 10 step overview of the research process.

1. AS6230:
Introduction to
Research

2. hello!
Fiona Beals (Dr Phi) (Course Leader)
Samantha White (Auckland Tutor)
Bruce Robinson (Wellington Tutor

3. 1.
Whakawhangatanga
We are in this together

4. 2.
Why are we here?
Today has a Purpose
This course has a Purpose

5. The Course and Today
This course:
✘A journey into the space of research
✘Learning a new language and a new
process
Today:
✘Making a start into this new language
✘A focus on the relationship between
research and science and the role of the
question (part 1 – more to come)
Moodle: Your one stop shop

6. Reverse Jenga
Building a tower with gaps:
✘What are the research words you know?
✘What activities do you know happen in
research (you don’t need to know the
words)?

7. 3.
What is research

8. We are not going to go too deep yet
✘Research is the generation of knowledge
✘We are all born researchers
✘There are two major paradigms of research – empirical and
relativistic
✘We are focusing on the empirical
✘Empirical is more than numbers, it is anything that can be observed
✘Researchers follow set methods and processes
✘All research has to be guided by a question
✘Research can be applied to practice

9. Common sense vs. academic knowledge

10. 4.
Time for a Break

11. 5.
Science and Research

12. TPS:
What is science?
Who makes a scientist?
How do scientists work?
How does a researcher work?

13. What is science
✘Science is a particular way of studying the world
✘THE GOALS OF SCIENCE ARE TO:
• Measure and Describe
• Understand
• Predict
• Control
E.g. To what extent can we measure, understand, predict & control postnatal
depression?

14. THE ASSUMPTIONS OF SCIENCE
AKA Ontology & Epistemology
1) ORDER
✘The world is lawful (ontological belief)
2) DETERMINISM
✘Events are determined by prior events – causality (ontological belief)
3) EMPIRICISM
✘The causes of events are to be found in the material, observable, world
(epistemological approach)
A belief in order, determinism and empiricism motivates people to search for causes
Empirical Research agrees with all of the above

15. Research and science
✘Research derived 'facts' are only as good as the methodology that
produces them
✘Science, and therefore research, is an ongoing process
✘No result can 'prove' a theory is correct
✘As we build up more support for a theory we come to have more
confidence in it
✘Be cautious about the results of a single study (which may be flawed)

16. Your Turn
1) First look at the article’s headings, what do these headings tell you
about research and science
2) Why would researchers have literature reviews; what is the purpose
of it in an article?
3) What do the methodology sections share?
4) How are the findings sections similar and different?
5) What is the purpose of the analysis section?
6) How does research overflow into our professional practice?

17. The Scientific method/Research Process
Theory Building
Theory Testing

18. The Scientific method
✘Replicability
✘Precision
✘Falsibility
✘Parsimony
✘Exploratory Research – wide, big picture
(what’s happening)
✘Descriptive Research – deep (what,
where, when)
✘Explanatory Research – deep (how, why)

19. 10 Easy Steps in the Research Process
1
• Applied Research starts with a NEED, ISSUE or PROBLEM
2
• Research then defines their TOPIC
3
• From which a RESEARCH QUESTION is developed
4
• Existing LITERATURE is explored
5
• Then the most suitable METHODOLOGY & METHODS are defined
6
• Decisions are made regarding PARTICIPANTS & SAMPLING
7
•Further work is done to develop INSTRUMENTS & TECHNIQUES for Data Collection
8
• Researcher outlines the ETHICAL IMPLICATIONS of the proposed project
9
• Once DATA is COLLECTED the Researcher conducts their ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION…
• All of which is presented in a RESEARCH REPORTs

20. Questions and Reflections

21. 6.
Lunch

22. 7.
Research Questions

23. Applying One Method to Another
✘ Observation methods
✘ Qualitative Analysis Coding

24. Phase One: Scoping
✘Brainstorming every possible question you would like answered on
your topic through reflecting on:
Personal experiences
Personal ambitions
Scoping observations in the field
Reviewing current literature
Reviewing programme plans and objectives

25. Phase Two: Refining
✘Grouping scoping questions
Locate central themes
Put aside outliners
Organise each question along the
development lines
Open to closed
Broad to detailed

26. Phase Three: Generating the Question/s
✘Locate the aim of your research through finding an encompassing
theme for your scoping questions
This may be simply a hypothesis or
a specific aim (e.g. to develop …)
✘Turn this aim into one, two, or
three overarching questions

27. Where to next….
✘Locating your questions within a paradigm of research
✘Outlining the constraints of your research
Time, money, contextual etc
✘Selecting an appropriate methodology
✘Make sure there is fusion between the questions, paradigm (theory),
constraints, and methodology
✘InAS6230, we will return to this slide later in the course

28. Your Turn

29. Time for a Game

30. Bringing it Back to Research

31. Reverse Jenga
Fill the gaps:
✘What are the research words you know
now?
✘What new learnings have you had today
about the process of research?

32. thanks!
Any questions?

33. Credits
Special thanks to all the people who made and released
these awesome resources for free:
✘ Presentation template by SlidesCarnival
✘ Photographs by Unsplash