Download Empirical cycle according to AD de Groot

em·pir·i·cal
[em-pir-i-kuhl]
Show IPA
adjective
1.
derived from or guided by experience or experiment.
2.
depending upon experience or observation alone, withoutusing sci
entific method or theory, especially as in medicine.
3.
provable or verifiable by experience or experiment.
(Antonyms for empirical are hypothetical, theoretical, speculative,
impractical.)
Empirical research is a way of gaining knowledge by means of
direct and indirect observation or experience. Empirical evidence
(the record of one's direct observations or experiences) can be
analyzed quantitatively or qualitatively. Through quantifying the
evidence or making sense of it in qualitative form, a researcher
can answer empirical questions, which should be clearly defined
and answerable with the evidence collected (usually called data).
Research design varies by field and by the question being
investigated. Many researchers combine qualitative and
quantitative forms of analysis to better answer questions which
cannot be studied in laboratory settings, particularly in the social
sciences and in education.
In some fields, quantitative research may begin with a research
question (e.g., "Does listening to vocal music during learning a
word list have an effect on later memory for these words?") which
is tested through experimentation in a lab. Usually, a researcher
has a certain theory regarding the topic under investigation.
Based on this theory some statements, or hypotheses, will be
proposed (e.g., "Listening to vocal music has a negative effect on
learning a word list."). From these hypotheses predictions about
specific events are derived (e.g., "People who study a word list
while listening to vocal music will remember fewer words on a
later memory test than people who study a word list in silence.").
These predictions can then be tested with a suitable experiment.
Depending on the outcomes of the experiment, the theory on
which the hypotheses and predictions were based will be
supported or not.[1]
The term empirical was originally used to refer to certain
ancient Greek practitioners of medicine who rejected
adherence to the dogmatic doctrines of the day, preferring
instead to rely on the observation of phenomena as
perceived in experience. Later empiricism referred to a
theory of knowledge in philosophy which adheres to the
principle that knowledge arises from experience and
evidence gathered specifically using the senses. In scientific
use the term empirical refers to the gathering of data using
only evidence that is observable by the senses or in some
cases using calibrated scientific instruments. What early
philosophers described as empiricist and empirical research
have in common is the dependence on observable data to
formulate and test theories and come to conclusions.
Empirical cycle
Empirical cycle according to A.D. de Groot
A.D. de Groot's empirical cycle:
Observation: The collecting and organisation of empirical facts;
Forming hypothesis.
Induction: Formulating hypothesis.
Deduction: Deducting consequenses of hypothesis as testable predictions.
Testing: Testing the hypothesis with new empirical material.
Evaluation: Evaluating the outcome of testing.
You might be a student, a healthcare worker, or a policy advisor.
You might not even consider yourself a researcher. But if you're
analyzing documents, surveys, audio, videos or pictures, then
chances are you're involved in qualitative research.
What is qualitative research?
Qualitative research seeks out the ‘why’, not the ‘how’ of its topic
through the analysis of unstructured information – things like
interview transcripts, open ended survey responses, emails,
notes, feedback forms, photos and videos. It doesn’t just rely on
statistics or numbers, which are the domain of quantitative
researchers.
Qualitative research is used to gain insight into people's attitudes,
behaviours, value systems, concerns, motivations, aspirations,
culture or lifestyles. It’s used to inform business decisions, policy
formation, communication and research. Focus groups, in-depth
interviews, content analysis, ethnography, evaluation and
semiotics are among the many formal approaches that are used,
but qualitative research also involves the analysis of any
unstructured material, including customer feedback forms,
reports or media clips.
Collecting and analyzing this unstructured information can be
messy and time consuming using manual methods. When faced
with volumes of materials, finding themes and extracting
meaning can be a daunting task.
What is quantitative research?
Quantitative research — including surveys and customer
questionnaires — can help small firms to improve their
products and services by enabling them to make informed
decisions
Quantitative research is about asking people for their opinions in
a structured way so that you can produce hard facts and statistics
to guide you. To get reliable statistical results, it’s important to
survey people in fairly large numbers and to make sure they are
a representative sample of your target market.
QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE RESEARCH IN
EDUCATION RESEARCH
In simple terms we can think of two approaches to investigations in
educational research: qualitative and quantitative. In the former we
use words to describe the outcomes and in the latter we use
numbers.
Quantitative research methods were originally developed in the
natural sciences to study natural phenomena. However examples of
quantitative methods now well accepted in the social sciences and
education include:
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surveys;
laboratory experiments;
formal methods such as econometrics:
numerical methods such as mathematical modelling.
Qualitative research methods were developed in the social sciences
to enable researchers to study social and cultural phenomenon.
Examples of qualitative methods include:
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action research aims to contribute both to the practical
concerns of people in an immediate problematic situation and
to the goals of social science by joint collaboration within a
mutually acceptable ethical framework;
case study research - a case study is an empirical enquiry that
investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life
context;
ethnography- the ethnographer immerses her/himself in the
life of people s/he studies and seeks to place the phenomena
studied in its social and cultural context.
Other components of this module cover various qualitative research
methods.
Structure of Research Papers
When setting out on educational research you will be (have been)
encouraged by your supervisor to read appropriate publications and
this is a good way of identifying the methods of research that seem
most used in your research area. A typical structure for a research
paper is summarized in the table below:
literature survey
other people’s work
methodology
qualitative or quantitative
results
your work
discussion/conclusions
your discussion and reference to others
Qualitative research a method of inquiry employed in
many different academic disciplines, traditionally in
the social sciences, but also in market research and
further contexts.[1] Qualitative researchers aim to gather
an in-depth understanding of human behavior and
the reasons that govern such behavior. The qualitative
method investigates the why and how of decision
making, not justwhat, where, when. Hence, smaller but
focused samples are more often needed than
large samples.