Introduction to research methods

1. Principles and Ethics in
Research
Dr. ahmad al-harahsheh

2. Ontology and epistemology
• Ontology (
‫علم‬
‫الوجود‬
) is “the way the social world is seen to be and what can be
assumed about the nature and reality of the social phenomena that make up the
social world” (Matthews and Ross 2010:23).
• Epistemology (
‫علم‬
‫المعرفة‬
) , which is “the theory of knowledge and how we know
things” (ibid.)
• There are three different ways of seeing the social world – objectivism,
constructivism and realism – and three epistemological positions linked to these
ontological categories: positivism, interpretivism and realism.

3. • Objectivism “asserts that the social phenomena that make up our social world
have an existence of their own […], apart from and independent of the social
actors (humans) who are involved”.
• This position derives from the approach adopted by natural scientists when they
investigate phenomena in nature and assume that the researchers’ relationship to
the phenomena they study is one of objective observation.
• Constructivism asserts that social phenomena “are only real in the sense that they
are constructed ideas which are continually being reviewed by those involved in
them [the social actors]”.
• In other words, the meanings of any social phenomenon are not inherent but are
ascribed to it by social actors.
•

4. • Realism presents an intermediate position between objectivism and
constructivism: it accepts that social phenomena can have a reality that is separate
from the social actors involved in it but also recognizes that there is another
dimension that relates to what we know about the social world as social beings.
• This dimension includes “structures and mechanisms that trigger or affect the
social reality that can be observed.”
• The ontological position of objectivism assumes a positivist epistemology,
which asserts that social phenomena can be objectively researched, data about the
social world can be collected and measured, and the resulting observations must
remain independent of the researchers’ subjective understandings
• That is to say, the researcher remains independent and has no impact on the data.

5. • Positivism is often linked with quantitative approaches to research and to
empiricism, i.e. the collection of observable evidence.
•
• - In postpositivist research, empiricism and objectivism are treated as distinct
positions; just because research is ‘empirical’ in nature does not mean that it is
‘objective’ (Tymoczko 2007:146).
• -In postpositivism it is held that observation and measurement are fallible, and
the participation and influence of the researcher are acknowledged.

6. • As Crisafulli (2002:33) puts it, empirical facts do not exist independently of the
scholar’s viewpoint; indeed, it is the scholar who creates the empirical facts of the
analysis by making observable (raw) data relevant to his/her perspective.
• Interpretivism is linked to the ontological position of constructivism;
• it prioritizes people’s subjective understandings and interpretations of social
phenomena and is often linked with qualitative approaches to research, where
the researchers attempt to explore the social world from the point of view of the
actors and reflect on their own subjective interpretations.

7. • Realism is both an ontological and epistemological position.
• As an epistemological approach it claims that certain social phenomena exist
outside the human mind and can be objectively investigated using approaches
similar to those in the natural sciences.
• In this respect, realism agrees with positivism. However, it also recognizes the
existence of invisible but powerful structures and mechanisms that cannot be
directly observable but whose effects are apparent, and these effects can provide
evidence of the underlying structures and mechanisms (Matthews and Ross
2010:29);

8. • Realist approaches to research might typically adopt both quantitative and
qualitative tools and methods.
• - As Guba and Lincoln state, “there is no single ‘truth’ … all truths are but partial
truths” (2005:212).
• - However, as researchers bring a number of beliefs, prior knowledge and
experience to research, it is helpful to reflect on these prior to commencing
research.

9. Research terminology
• A model is a representation of the ‘reality’ of your research topic or domain.
• A framework is the set of ideas and approaches that can be used to view and
gather knowledge about a particular domain.
• A concept is an idea deriving from a model or a framework.
• A theory organizes sets of concepts to define and explain some phenomenon or,
in Chesterman’s words, a theory is “an instrument of understanding” (2007:1).
• A typology is a typical model of the way items tend to be found in relation to each
other. For example, one might try to construct a typology of translation strategies
used in specific circumstances.

10. • A methodology is a general approach to studying a phenomenon whereas a
method is a specific research technique.
• - In Sealy’s words, “methodology is the science of method” (2010:61).
• - Saukko differentiates between the two concepts in the following way (2003:8; our
emphasis): whereas methods refer to practical ‘tools’ to make sense of empirical
reality, methodology refers to the wider package of both tools and a
philosophical and political commitment that come with a particular research
approach.
• The relation between a theory and a method is expressed by Chesterman as:
“methods are the ways in which one actually uses, develops, applies methods are the
ways in which one actually uses, develops, applies and tests a theory in order to
reach the understanding it offers” (2007:1).

11. • Methods and tools are also frequently confused.
• Perhaps the best way to demonstrate how these terms might be applied to a domain
within translation studies would be to take the example of translation process
research.
• In this example, our model might be a particular model of cognitive
processing, i.e. a representation of the phenomenon whereby the brain perceives
signals, processes them and converts them into meaning and instructions.
• Our framework might be cognitive load, i.e. a set of ideas about brain processing
capacity during a specific task, where we expect that there is a limit to the amount
of information (signals) that can be processed by the human brain at any moment
in time.

12. • Concepts within that framework might include the translation process, i.e. an
activity the brain engages in when a human is translating from one language to
another, short-term memory, long-term memory, limitations on the capacity of the
brain, to name just a few.
• Our theory might be the MiniMax theory (otherwise known as the ‘principle of
least effort’ (Krings 1986a, Séguinot 1989, Lörscher 1991), which posits that
humans (translators in this case) opt for a strategy whereby they employ the highest
level of cognitive processing possible and do not proceed to a deeper level of
processing, which entails a greater cognitive load, unless the first level proves to be
unsuccessful or unsatisfactory.

13. • Our methodology for studying this might be empirical (we will gather evidence
from translators at work) and might combine both qualitative and quantitative
methods such as think-aloud protocol and keystroke logging.
•
• -We propose a typology of the translation strategies used to achieve the
principle of least effort. Finally, the tools we might use are a voice recording device,
screen recording software and a keystroke logging tool. We summarize this example
in Figure 2.1.

15. Types of research
• There are many questions to be answered before conducting research, such as:
• What is the research question?
• Which method or methods are most appropriate?
• What kind of data will be collected?
• How will the data be analyzed?
• It is worthwhile thinking about one’s epistemological framework before diving into such
details.
• It is important to consider what type of research we are engaging in.
• An initial question pertaining to type of research is what logical system it subscribes to, i.e.
whether it is being conducted from an inductive or a deductive positioning.

16. • Induction involves the development of theories and hypotheses from the data
collected (it moves from particular instances to general statements).
• Deduction involves the testing of existing theories or hypotheses through data (it
moves from general statements to specific instances).
• Abduction proposes to isolate the most convincing reasons (hypotheses) from a
research result and to research these hypotheses further.
• Johnson and Onwuegbuzie (2004:17) helpfully characterize the three as discovery
of patterns (induction), testing of hypotheses (deduction) and seeking
understanding by uncovering and relying on “the best of a set of explanations for
understanding one’s results”.

17. • Williams and Chesterman (2002:58) explain that empirical research “seeks new
data, new information derived from the observation of data and from experimental
work; it seeks evidence which supports or disconfirms hypotheses, or generates
new ones”.
• This type of research is generally seen in opposition to conceptual research,
which “aims to define and clarify concepts, to interpret or reinterpret new ideas, to
relate concepts into larger systems, to introduce new concepts or metaphors or
frameworks that allow a better understanding of the object of research” (ibid.).
• The distinction is not always clear-cut and these two types of research are not
mutually exclusive

18. • Empirical researchers can engage in either basic or applied research.
• Although the distinction between these two types is not clear-cut either, basic research is
generally understood to mean fundamental research, the primary aim of which is to
acquire new knowledge.
• Applied research is generally understood to mean research on practical problems,
research that has an application in life.
• experimental, in which case the researcher seeks to establish cause and effect relations (if
X happens, then what is the effect on Y?).
• Such research might be carried out in a controlled environment, although this is not
always practical in humanities and social science research, and is often comparative;
• it compares two groups and their properties of behaviour when certain variables are
manipulated.

19. • It may be designed in such a way that there is an ‘experimental group’ (also
known as a ‘treatment group’) and a ‘control group’
• Members of the former group are exposed to some sort of ‘treatment’, or
manipulation, while the latter are not.
• Note that the groups are not necessarily populated by humans, but can also be
composed of texts, for example.
• The creation of control groups in translation studies research is not without
challenges, however.
• Comparable groups of translators or translations may simply not exist.

20. • To compensate for this, Tymoczko (2002:21) suggests the use of other translations
of the translated text that is under investigation or even other passages from the
translated text that ‘are neutral with respect to the issues being investigated’, or the
use of a corpus of parallel texts .
• Basic or applied research does not necessarily have to be experimental, though,
and might also be explorative.
• An example of explorative research is phenomenology, where rather than asking
what is the effect on Y if X happens, or what X is, the lived experience or
appearance of a particular phenomenon is explored.
• Phenomenology ‫الخبرة‬
‫الحدسية‬ is an interpretive, subjective approach to research,
which is interested in gaining insights from personal experiences.

21. • Research can also be evaluative, attempting to establish the value of a
particular initiative once it has been implemented.
• Action research tackles “real-world problems in participatory and
collaborative ways in order to produce action and knowledge in an integrated
fashion through a cyclical process” (O’Leary 2010:146).
• Research might also be ethnographic, when it explores cultural groups “in a
bid to understand, describe, and interpret a way of life from the point of
view of its participants” (ibid.:116).