Introduction to Study Design

VERONICA TERRIQUEZ

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SANTA CRUZ

Introduction to Study DesignCERI 2016

Topics Covered

• Knowing your audience(s)

• Developing your research question(s)

• Specifying your unit of analysis

• Developing a sampling plan

Knowing Your Audience(s)

• Your community partner(s)

• Academic disciplines or field(s)

• Policymakers

• Media

• Foundations/philanthropy

• Other?

Addressing the interests of community partners

• What types of research products might advance their interests? (examples: Reports, academic peer-reviewed publication, interactive website, app, curriculum, etc.)

• What is their time frame for completing the project?

• How much time could they devote to the project?

• What kinds of resources can they commit to the project?

• What kinds of training do community members need?

Addressing the interests of academic disciplines

Advance theory

Address a debate or fill a gap in the literature

Introduce a new methodology

Other

To publish an academic paper drawing on community engaged research you must be familiar with the literature and publications in your field(s).

A. Who are your (potential) audiences for your project?

Developing research questions that serve the interests of multiple audiences

• The community’s research interests do

not always overlap with the interests of

other audiences (i.e. academic audiences).

• Your research projects may need to

address a range of questions that may or

may not overlap.

Case Study: Partnering with CHIRLA’s California Dream Network (CDN)

CDN’s research questions:

-What are the achievements of undocumented activists? What are some of the economic challenges they face?

Academic questions:

-How can social movements build inclusive organizations?

Research Product for the CDN(2012)

Academic Publication:Social Problems (2015)

1. Take into consideration time and resource constraints

2. Make sure that questions are answerable with empirical data

3. Be clear about the unit(s) of analysis needed to answer the research questions

.

Guidelines for developing and refining research questions

-Who or what you are studying:

Examples: Individuals, events, organizations, neighborhoods, cities, states, countries

-You can aggregate up, but you can’t draw conclusions about smaller units of analysis based on larger units.

Unit of Analysis

B. What are your (preliminary) research question(s)?

C. What is/are your (possible) unit(s) of analysis for your project?

Representative sampling

• Census –collect data from all units

• Random sample – draw probability sample

• Other

Non-representative sampling

• Quota - reflect characteristics of the population

• Snowball –obtain referrals from seeds

• Purposive – target key units

• Convenience –accessible units

• Other

Note: Projects may include more than one sampling plan.

Sampling Plans

D. What type of sampling plan(s) might you use in your project (if applicable)?

Break-Out Groups• List your answers to questions A, B, C,

D.

• Identify one question (A, B, C, D, or some other question) that you would like to discuss further with your group.