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Quantitive Research: background - Logic of inquiry in the empirical-analytical tradition

5 important questions on Quantitive Research: background - Logic of inquiry in the empirical-analytical tradition

What is a conceptual model?

A model that provides a summary of the causal relationships between variables that are important to explain the phenomenon. The conceptual model the first step to translate the theory into a plan to eventually make empirical observations to verify or falsify the theoretical statements.

What is the operationalization of the theoretical concepts?

An operationalization of the theoretical concepts is the development of a measuring instrument for a theoretical concept specifically for your research. You need to develop this if there is not a measuring instrument already available to measure the definition.

What are the most important key quality aspects to take into account during your whole research process?

Validity --> does I measure what I want to measure?
Reliability --> would it give the same results every time we do the research, or use the instrument?

What are the steps of a research design? (Empirical research cycle 3)

1. Theory from which we derive: conceptual model, including implicit definition of units of analysis, characteristics and assumed relationship

2. Conversion of conceptual model into empirical research, including operational definition of units of analysis, concepts and an analytical model of relations

3. Empirical reality in which reality is researched, observations.

4. Empirical results are drawn and the data is being analyzed

5. Results are interprete.

What is an analytical model (conceptual model) and what are the three options for the model?

An analytical model is used to analyse the data collected and to check whether the assumed relationships are confirmed by emperical data.

3 options the research refers to:
- Causal relationship
- Relationship between phenomena
- Differences between groups or situations