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PROFESSIONAL PORTFOLIO WHAT IS REEARCH? Surveys Case StudiesExperimentAction researchEthnographyQuestionaires 11 Interviews 13 Observation 16 Documents 17 Quantitative data 18 Qualitative data 19 REFERENCES 20 - 1 - Research can be considered as a structured investigation into a subject, the aim of which is to add knowledge to that subject and / or to illuminate the subject from a different perspective. " Rummaging through books and magazines and journals for tidbits of information and acknowledging where you found these scraps of knowledge must not be confused with the interpretation of the data and the discovery of their meaning. Research originates with a question or a problem. Research requires a clear articulation of a goal. Research follows a specific plan of procedure. Research usually divides the principal problem into more Research is guided by the specific research problem, Research accepts certain critical assumptions.
These assumptions are underlying theories or ideas about how the Research requires the collection and interpretation of data in attempting to resolve the problem that initiated the research. Research - as systematic enquiry or examination, especially a critical and exhaustive experimentation, having for its aim the discovery of new facts, and their correct interpretation, the revision of accepted - 2 - conclusions, theories or laws in the light of newly discovered facts... Re-searching identifying important questions / problems and searching for possible insights / solutions . Functions within a paradigm or world-view The systematic, positivist or scientific approach relies on data-gathering, measurement, experimentation, quantifiable observations [eg experiments, surveys, case study] Ethnographic, naturalistic, interpretative approaches investigate meaning, explore and analyse experiences, rely on interpretation and researcher-participant collaboration [eg grounded-theory, phenomenography, case study] Critical approaches, - explore and analyse social context / culture and experience in relation to that context, researcher as change-agent [eg action research, socio-cultural approach]. (web) My research will be based on color psychology; the use of color in advertising - design and marketing. - That an advertisement or promotion could fail to succeed if colors are not used effectively - Marketing psychologists state thet a lasting impression is made within ninety seconds and that color accounts for 60 % of the acceptance or rejection of an object, person, place or circumstance. Because color impressions are both quick and long lasting, decisions about color are a critical factors in success of any visual appearance. - 3 -SURVEYS In one sense the word survey means to view comprehensively and in detail. In another sense it refers specifically to the act of obtaining data for mapping.
The survey approach is a research strategy, not a method. Researchers who adopt the strategy are able to use a whole range of methods within the strategy: questionaire's, interviews, documents and observation. What is distinctive about the survey approach is its combination of a commitment to a breadth of study, a focus on the snapshot at a given point in time and a dependence on empirical data. Surveys come in wide variety of forms: Postal questionnaire; probably the best known kind of survey is that which involves sending self-completion questionaire's through the post or via e-mail. Face-to-face interviews; involves direct contact between the researcher and the respondent. Documents; all too often in writing about social surveys, the attention is focused solely on surveys of people.
Yet, in practice, the strategy of the survey can be applied to documents as well as living people. The researcher can undertake empirical research based on documents which incorporates as wide and as inclusive data as possible, and which aims to bring things up to date. The literature survey, of course, is a prime example. It is the basis for good research and it involves the use of survey principles applied to documents on the topic of the research. Observations; classic social surveys involved observations of things like poverty and living conditions. Such observation followed the tradition of geographical and ordinance surveys, with their emphasis on looking at the landscape.
Although the - 4 - practice of conducting a survey through observing events and conditions is less common it serves to remind us that the survey strategy can use a range of specific methods to collect data. (Denscombe 1998: 6 - 11) I will use surveys for my thesis with companies and individuals who create and design advertisement. I will analyse the results to find about things like sales statistics and target customer groups of participants related with the use of color on their products in various ways and level-of-knowledge. I believe these will help me to conclude whether if a method or theory is working within the industry about use of color in advertisement. - 5 - Case study research is a matter of research strategy, not research methods. As Hammersley (1992: 184 - 5) makes the point: The concept of case study captures an important aspect of the decisions we face in research.
It highlights, in particular, the choices we have to make about how many cases to investigate and how these are to be selected. The case study tends to opt for studying things as they naturally occur, without introducing artificial changes or controls. Case studies focus on one instance (or few instances) of a particular phenomenon with a view to providing an in-depth account of events, relationships, experiences or processes occuring in that particular instance. Case study research characteristically emphasizes, depth of study rather than breadth of study, the particular rather than the general, relationship / process rather than outcomes and end-products, holistic view rather than isolated factors, natural settings rather than artificial situations, multiple sources rather than one research method. The main benefit of using case study approach is that the focus on one or a few instances allows the researcher to deal with the subtleties and intricate of complex social situations. (Denscombe 1998: 32 - 9) I dont think I am going to use case study as a strategy for my thesis. I will depend on the information collected by the previously finished studies and from people and companies via Surveys and Interviews. - 6 - Experimental design occurs when the subjects (people or social systems) and conditions (events or situations) to be studied are manipulated by the investigator. (Spector 1981: 7) The point of conducting an experiment is to isolate individual factors and observe their effect in detail.
The purpose is to discover new relationships or properties associated with the materials being investigated, or to test existing theories. There are three things that lie at the heart of conducting an experiment: Controls. Experiments involve the manipulation of circumstances. The researcher needs to identify factors which are significant and then introduce them to or exclude them from the situation so that their effect can be observed. The identification of casual factors. The introduction or exclusion of factors to or from the situation enables the researcher to pinpoint which factor actually causes the observed outcome to occur.
Observation and measurement. Experiments rely on precise and detailed observation of outcomes and changes that occur following the introduction or exclusion of potentially relevant factors. They also involve close attention to the measurement of what is observed. (Denscombe 1998: 43) I am not going to conduct an experiment but I will depend on some previously done experiments for explaining and proving various aspects of my project. - 7 - Action research [rejects] the concept of a two stage process in which research is carried out first by researchers and then in a separate second stage the knowledge generated from the research is applied by practitioners. Instead, the two process of research and action are integrated. (Somekh 1995: 34) Action research is aimed at dealing with real-world problems and issues, typically at work and in organizational settings.
Both as a way of dealing with practical problems and as a means of discovering more about phenomena, change is regarded as an integral part of research. Research involves a feedback loop in which initial findings generate possibilities for change which are then implemented and evaluated as a prelude to further investigation. Practitioners are crucial people in the research process, their participation is active not passive. Action research quite clearly is a strategy for social research rather than a specific method. It is concerned with the aims of research and the design of the research, but does not specify any constrains when it comes to the means of data collection that might be adopted by the action researcher. (Denscombe 1998: 58) Action research can use different techniques for data collection... Action researchers with a background in psychology tend to prefer questionaire's for such purposes...
while action researchers with a background in applied anthropology, psychoanalysis or socio-technical systems tend to prefer direct observation and / or in-depth interviewing... Action researchers with any of these backgrounds may also retrieve data from the records, memos and reports that the client system routinely produces. (Susan and Every 1978: 589) Action research directly addresses the knotty problem of the persistent failure of research in the social sciences to make a difference in terms of bringing - 8 - about actual improvements in practice. (Somekh 1995: 340) I am not going to use action research for my thesis. I dont have the budget nor the experience to apply this type of research within Color Psychology and Marketing. - 9 - One of the first conditions of acceptable Ethnographic work certainly is that it should deal with the totality af all social, cultural and psychological aspects of the community, for they are so interwoven that not one can be understood without taking into consideration all the others. (Mallinowski 1922: xvi) The term ethnography literally means a description of peoples or culture. As a research strategy it is based on direct observation via fieldwork, rather than relying on second hand data or statements made by research subjects.
It is essential grounded in empirical research involving direct contact with relevant people and places. It can be used as a means for developing theory, and also for testing theories. It provides data which are relatively rich in depth and detail. Potentially, it can deal with intricate and subtle realities. Ethnography aspires to holistic explanations which focus on process and relationships that lie behind the surface events. Potentially, it puts things in context rather than abstracting specific aspects in isolation.
There is an element of contrast and comparison built into ethnographic research in the way the distinct culture of events being studied are anthropologically strange - different from other cultures or events which the researcher and his or her audience to some degree share. Ethnographic research is particularly well suited to dealing with the way members of a culture see events - as seen through their eyes. It describes and explores the actors perceptions. It has an open an exploit awareness of the role of the researchers self in the choice of topic, process of research and construction of the findings / conclusions .
It acknowledges the inherent reflexivity of social knowledge. It is strong in terms of ecological validity, to the extent that the act of researching should have relatively - 10 - little impact on the setting - retaining things in their natural form. I wont personally put an ethnographic study. I will deal with them as I go on with my research because colors and their effects on people can purely be understood by previously done ethnographic studies. - 11 - Questionaires rely on written information supplied directly by people in response to questions asked by the researcher.
In this respect, the kind of data is distinct from that which could be obtained from interviews, observations or documents. The information from question...
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Research essay sample on Case Study Action Research
