Session 2 : Research Methods

Nic Spaull

Economic and Development Problems in Sub-Saharan Africa

Session 2 : Research Methods

(AKA Academic skills)

2

Outline for today

Referencing• Tutorial

Annotated bibliography• Essay• Practice

Presentations• Allocate groups for weekly presentations

3

Referencing

• What is referencing?• Referencing is the acknowledgement of books, articles,

websites and any other material used in the writing of an academic paper, essay, project or thesis

• Why do we reference?• To give credit for work that is not our own.• To enable the reader to find the sources we are referring to.• To substantiate claims we are making and demonstrate

that we are aware of the existing research (credibility)

4

Referencing

• How do we reference?• In-text

• This is supported by the notion that “nations are defined by a combination of cultural and political factors” (Heywood, 2002: 123).

• Florin (2003: 375) illustrates the importance of social capital to all modern corporations, particularly high growth ventures.

• End-text• Heywood, A. 2002. Politics. 2nd edn. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.• Florin, RB. 2003. A social capital model of high-growth ventures.

Academy of Management Journal, 46(3): 374-384.

• When do we need to reference?

{Using the DVD}Cite-it-Right

Practicality!

5

Annotated bibliography

“An annotated bibliography provides a brief account of the available research on a given topic. It is a list of research sources that includes concise descriptions and evaluations of each source.” (UNSW, 2010)

Annotations vs. Abstracts ?“Abstracts are the purely descriptive summaries often found at the beginning of scholarly journal articles or in periodical indexes. Annotations are descriptive and critical; they expose the author's point of view, clarity and appropriateness of expression, and authority.” (Cornell, 2010)

Why do we need to do this?• Summarising + evaluating is essential to many professions• It will help with your essay (first stage for feedback)• Not all information is of equal value

10%

A side note on reading…

6

Your assignment…

• 6 sources relevant to your topic ( therefore 6 annotations ) Summarise (80%) Evaluate (20%)

• MAX 250 words per annotation penalised 5% for every 10 words over)

• Marking criteria: Relevance/choice of source

(30%) Summary (50%) Evaluation (20%)

10%

7

8

Practice makes perfect

• What is the point of summarising?• Do we need to try and represent everything that

was said/written?• How do you summarise?

• Read with a pen/highlighter

• Not all information is of equal value

• Summarising is NOT the same as evaluating!• Value judgements

9

Practice makes perfect…

• Foreign aid (Sess 3) articles (2)

1) 40 words2) 12 words

“Helping Africa Help Itself”

“$25 Billion question”

10

Your essay

• You WILL draft your essay.• It WILL be interesting.

Due dates (!)• Annotated bibliography: 31 August• First draft: 21 September• Final due date: 12 October

25%

11

12

Topics to choose from:

1) “The HIV/AIDS epidemic in Sub-Saharan Africa – Past, Present and Future”

2) “The HIV/AIDS epidemic in South Africa – Past, Present and Future”

3) “The state of poverty in Africa – reason for hope or despair?”

4) “The state of education in South Africa – reason for hope or despair?”

5) “Weighing the case of aid in Africa: Do the positives outweigh the negatives?”

6) Alternate topic related to your research interests (check it with me first)

Length? 6 pages-quality not quantity-succinctness is a valuable skill- mild variations in topic are acceptable

25%

13

Writing is more of a skill than a talent

14

George Orwell

“Objective consideration of contemporary phenomenon compels the conclusion that success or failure in competitive activities exhibits no tendency to be commensurate with innate capacity, but that a considerable element of the unpredictable must inevitably be taken into account.”

“I returned and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all” (Ecclesiastes 9:11)

15

• Font size 11 ( Arial or Gill Sans MT)• 1.5 line spacing• Deadlines are deadlines (-10% per day

late)• Proper referencing • Spelling mistakes are unforgiveable

(given spell-check!)

Miscellaneous

16

Miscellaneous

• Just because you’re at university doesn’t mean you can’t be

CREATIVE /

INNOVATIVE /

PROVOCATIVE /

17

Just some things to think about...

18

Some things to think about

• Ask questions• Think critically

1) Post hoc ergo propter hoc• “Bowls is the most dangerous sport on the planet

because more people die playing bowls than any other sport”

• “…[E]vidence shows that even state and local handgun control laws work. For example, in 1974 Massachusetts passed the Bartley-Fox Law, which requires a special license to carry a handgun outside the home or business. The law is supported by a mandatory prison sentence. Studies by Glenn Pierce and William Bowers of Northeastern University documented that after the law was passed handgun homicides in Massachusetts fell 50% and the number of armed robberies dropped 35%. “

19

Some things to think about

• Sample selection• A recent voluntary survey has found that pregnant

women drink less and smoke less than non-pregnant women

• If I administered an anonymous feedback form to this class on the last day of the semester, would that be a valid way to determine if this course met it’s objectives?

• Could we survey this class and ask about your perceptions of South Africa and then generalise those results to:

• All exchange students around the world?

• Sample Population (?)

• Representivity

20

Think…

• “The matric pass-rate in SA improved from 1999-2003 therefore the education system improved”

• “More and more young people are attending high schools and colleges today than ever before. Yet there is more juvenile delinquency and more alienation among the young. This makes it clear that these young people are being corrupted by their education.”

21

Statistics vs distributions

Primary school: Gr.6 reading test scores by SES quintile

22 Poverty estimates (Rich and poor?) Stock and flow (Matric pass rate “improvements”)

23

24

• Keep it visually interesting!

• Looks matter! (Brain wiring)

• Valuable skills…

DO:• Use font sizes effectively• Use appropriate visual

aids• Use the space on the

slide

DON’T:• Read your

key-cards/slides• Cram your slides

Presentations 7.5%

25

A picture is worth a thousand words…

26

Some GOOD examples…

27

• Economy demand-constrained – role for active government involvement

Keynesian Stabilization Policy

1) Monetary Policyi. Stimulate AD through Msii. IS-LM Liquidity trap?iii. Lower-bound interest rate?

2) Fiscal Policyi. Taxes and Gov expendituresii. Multipliers, crowding-out, politics

and lags

28

Poverty - SA

• Impact of social grants on poverty?• Labour market – focus for solving

inequality? (SVDB)

29

So where are we in 2011?

UNAIDS 2010 Global Report

30

• Lectures• Readings• Podcasts (interviews and

videos)• Documentaries/movies• Class discussion (!)

Instructional method?

31

Some BAD examples…

• Improve road conditions at border crossings

• Broaden road that connects Dar-Es-Salaam Port inland• Increase export and import of goods• Fluidity of regional trade

• Increase reliability of power• Raise national GDP by 1.3%

• Stop undercharging for water/power supplies• save government $235 million per year

• Submarine cable for internet• cheaper; attract foreign investors and

improve communication

• 95% of foreign exchange earnings and about 80% of budgetary revenues are from the oil industry of Nigeria. Too dependant on raw materials

• Oil production has done serious harm to the environment, e. g. in the Niger Delta. Therefore has affected animal life, agriculture and overall

sustainability in rural communities. E. g. May 2010: leakage in an oil pipeline for 7 days, causing the

destruction of one of the biggest mangrove forests of the world.• The focus on oil production in combination with the corrupt

system causes other fields of industry to be neglected.

4. Effects of the oil-based economyProblems

Introduction to Statistical Reasoning"Statistical thinking will one day be as necessary for efficient citizenship as the ability to read and write." H. G. Wells (1866 - 1946)

Is this true and if so, has that day arrived? • Unless we start teaching it at a much earlier age, the general public will not develop their

statistical reasoning beyond what it is right now.

• We live in a data-centric world. It is necessary that we are aware of all the types of possible error contained in data (from research studies, surveys etc.) and in the statistics derived from the data.

• Scientific journalists need to go beyond simply reporting the findings of research scientists and clinical investigators that impact the health, life-styles and well-being of their readers.

This class aims to teach you how to tell good statistical methodology from bad and in the process, how to tell good scientific journalism from bad.

Last Paragraph of Bad Science - Quacks, Hacks and Big Pharma Flacks by Ben Goldacre, 2010

“Unmediated access to niche expertise is the future, and you know, science isn’t hard – academics around the world explain hugely complicated ideas to ignorant eighteen-year-olds every September – it just requires motivation.……….There’s no money in it, but you knew that when you started on this path. You will do it because you know that knowledge is beautiful, and because if only a hundred people share your passion, that is enough.”

- 7.5% of FINAL mark (1/2 group-work mark)- 20 minutesThings to discussi. Brief history/backgroundii. Political environmentiii. Economyiv. Social + cultural contextv. 3 main problems (+Solutions?)

Countries1. Nigeria (3rd Aug)2. Zimbabwe (10 Aug)3. Angola (17 Aug)4. South Africa (24 Aug)5. Uganda* (31 Aug)6. Ghana (14 Sept)7. Rwanda* (21 Sept)8. Algeria (28 Sept)

Marking criteria: Presentation (20%), Content (50%), Interesting (30%)3

5

Group assignment 1 - presentations 7.5%