General Comments fr. last assign.

1. General Comments fr. last assign. • What is a problem? • Not stating a question indicating what you would like to do • Not a question • Not how a problem fits to a theory/perspectice (the other way round) • But it is an open ended research question that has some in-built tension.

2. Project Work Seminar, 3 Outline • Feed-back on the problem formulation • An exercise on formulating problems • The linkage between problem and method • Feed-back on method. • Corrie on method • Next seminar – sign up for a meeting + mail us some questions.

3. What is Method • Not we are going to: • use theory x – and full stop. • make a comparative analysis – and full stop • make an empirical analysis of country x – and full stop • Use opinion polls – and full stop.

4. What is Method then? • Explaining how you are going to investigate the problem: • To argue how and why you are going to use theory ’x’ • How and why you are going to make an comparative analysis • Use opinion polls/an analysis of a country • Consider to which extent your problem is operational (how far can you come using to studies of others; do you need to make your own empirical work; is your problem researchable?)

5. Problems with Problems • Why the EU environmental policies will be challenged from the Eastward Enlargement? • Why hasn’t there been a spillover of pro-EMU attitudes into UK public opinion? • Is there a correlation between the of GDP % invested in Social Capital building institutions in developing countries and development? • Considering the lack of development in CEEC civil society, how is it possible for the NGO(s) in the region/country to implement sustainable development policy within the EU implementation model? • Why are Norway and Iceland not already members in the European Union? • What are the diffuculties of making Turkey the member of European Union, both from the European Union and Turkish perspectives? • To what extent can the European Union be said to show signs of ‘actorness’ in trade and political matters?

6. Problems with Problems • What are the impacts of HIV/AIDS stigimitization on human development in Botswana? • Can GIS technology increase revenue through urban property taxation in Ethiopia? • Are the concepts of Global Compact, Global Reporting Initiative and Corporate Social Responsability? • Are the health conditions for Afghani IDPs different from the health condition of members of the general population in Afghanistan? • To what extent are the criteria for a viable state entity met by the Palestinian Authority and what are the internal obstacles to the practability of such an appartus in the Occupied Territories? • Why is Western medicine not being acknowledged and/or utilized in developing countries? • How should the security policies be reformulated to preserve peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula?

7. METHODOLOGY Project Work Seminar II

8. Method is… • A specific technique for data collection under certain philosophical assumptions. • The practical work that lies between the theoretical framework and the analysis

9. Methodology is… The study of methods, it deals with the philosophical assumptions underlying the research process. • It is the philosophical basis for method: • Positivism • Interpretative approaches • An explicit argument for your choice of theoretical framework - Epistemology • A reflection of your view of an academic problem - Ontology

10. Academic Research Problem Prob Form Methodology Theory Empirical (Method) Analysis

11. Ontology is.. • branch of philosophy concerned with the ultimate nature of existence • Structuralism • Agency / Individualism

12. Agency: • The actions and motives of human actors in the practice of social conduct • Individualism – the only reality we can grasp is actions of individuals, not classes • Analyze: by looking at what the individual tells us, being able to account for and be aware of the reasons and implications of their actions

13. Structuralism: • In opposition to the ‘free will’ position, behaviour is produced • Explaining the action according to the structure/context in which it takes place • Predict life chances according to class, race and gender • Ex: Dependency, World Systems

14. Epistemology is.. • the branch of philosophy that is directed toward theories of the sources, nature, and limits of knowledge. • Positivism • Explaining Facts • Hermeneutics • Interpretation/Understanding

15. Positivism.. • Realist or determinist -Hard sciences traditionally relied on the positivistic approach. Cause and effect laws describing the outside reality.   • Objective - observer remains distant and does not interact with the observation or experiment. Values and any other factors that might lead to bias are removed.   • Experimental - begins with hypothesis, gather data and test data against hypothesis. Question is initially is tested against empirical data gathered in the experiment under carefully controlled conditions.

16. Interpretive/Hermenutic.. • Relativism- knowledge is relative to the observer. • Subjective - The inquirer becomes part of an interaction with the subject of the inquiry. The findings are the result of the interaction between the inquirer and the subject.   • Hermeneutic or dialectic - Raw data consists of description. Interpretive theory is tested by referring back to human practice within the society.

17. Positivist vs. Interpretive • Positivist: • strong for examining exterior data that can be utilized in an objective fashion • strong philosophy for viewing societal trends and changes limited in its perceptions and can best be used for determining when and to what extent groups in the society interact • Positivist ooks at the exterior of society • Interpretivist/Hermenutic: • Strong in how and why things are happening in a particular situation • Subjective approach allows communication with the cultural background of a situation and an understanding of why things operate • Interpretivist looks at the interior

18. Positivist:% child brides compared to time parents are in church Hypothesis: higher % of female children become child brides if their parents were more active in the religion Data: gathered and tested against hypothesisConclusion: data confirmed hypothesis, therefore the more active the parents, the more likely that the child would participate in the ritual. Positivist vs. Interpretive:Mormon Child Brides

19. Positivist vs. Interpretive:Mormon Child Brides Interpretivist: Survey and examine why the girl-child was considered suitable to be a bride and what the union meant to the participants Data: Qualitative Interviews Conclusion: would be that the unions were carried out under the guise of being blessed by God in their after life and acted as a right of passage for a girl-child.

20. Qualitative vs. Quantitative • Quantitative methods are associated with empirical, positivist research • Statistical analysis, describing pop. samples • Qualitative research is associated with ‘anti-positivist’ philosophies, such as interpretivism, ethnography, etc. • Textual records

21. The Fundamental Method • All research depends upon observation • Observation may be direct • Researcher as observer, recording info • Observation may be indirect • Researcher must rely on reported observations

22. Choice of Method • Researcher must choose a philosophical approach (positivistic or hermeneutic) within which to work, and must then determine which method is most appropriate for the kind of data collected

23. Methodology Section must include.. • Explicit argument for your choice of theory • Explanation of your Empirical Data • Secondary/Electronic Resources/Statistical data • Primary resources (collection) • Questionnaires • Surveys