God fearing speaker By Prof Dr Sohail Ansari

 “Whoever is asked about some knowledge that he knows, and then he conceals it, he will be bridled with bridle of fire.” (Tirmidhi)   The reformer is always right about what is wrong. He is generally wrong about what is right. G.K. Chesterton

Absorption into others but oblivious to oneself

·       God fearing speaker sees in every habit the potential of attracting the wrath of God except in any of his own.

Quotes:

Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self- John Wooden

Art is a step from what is obvious and well-known toward what is arcane and concealed. Khalil Gibran

The more original a discovery, the more obvious it seems afterwards.

—Arthur Koestler

One of the most obvious facts about grownups to a child is that they have forgotten what it is like to be a child.

—Randall Jarrell

The research problem

In the social sciences, the research problem establishes the means by which you must answer the "So What" question. The "So What" question refers to a research problem surviving the relevancy test [the quality of a measurement procedure that provides repeatability and accuracy]. Note that answering the "So What" question requires a commitment on your part to not only show that you have researched the material, but that you have thoroughly considered its significance.

To survive the "So What" question, problem statements should possess the following attributes:

• Clarity and precision [a well-written statement does not make sweeping generalizations and irresponsible pronouncements],
• Demonstrate a researchable topic or issue [i.e., feasibility of conducting the study is based upon access to information that can be effectively acquired, gathered, interpreted, synthesized, and understood],
• Identification of what would be studied, while avoiding the use of value-laden words and terms,
• Identification of an overarching question or small set of questions accompanied by key factors or variables,
• Identification of key concepts and terms,
• Articulation of the study's boundaries or parameters or limitations,
• Some generalizability in regards to applicability and bringing results into general use,
• Conveyance of the study's importance, benefits, and justification [i.e., regardless of the type of research, it is important to demonstrate that the research is not trivial],
• Does not have unnecessary jargon or overly complex sentence constructions; and,
• Conveyance of more than the mere gathering of descriptive data providing only a snapshot of the issue or phenomenon under investigation.

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. The driver for all research is the question being asked. ... Without a well-defined specific research question, findings from the research are unlikely to tell us very much. Developing a carefully focused research question defines how and what data is collected and analysed and provides a context for the results.

forming an arch overhead 

·      an overarching bower

·      an overarchingbridge

dominating or embracing all else 

·      overarching goals

·      overarching ambition

·      projects of overarching public benefit

·       —

What is an overarching question?

Historians pose questions about the past. ... The questions should be intriguing or provocative, avoid single or simplistic answers, and be linked with relevant historical evidence. When students are captivated by an overarching question, they will delve into their exploration of the historical topic.

 An effective overarching question is accompanied by relevant historical evidence. Evidence may be textual or in the form of visual, audio, or physical artifacts. Evidence should be both complementary and contradictory. By analyzing the evidence, students draw out the relevant information and consider how authorship, intention, and context affect its meaning. Significant evidence also sheds light on the historical question, helping students to develop their responses.

 Generalizing or Generalizability is another way of saying "ecological validity". Essentially this is the extent to which findings (from a study) can be generalized (or extended) to the those in natural settings (i.e., outside the lab). Ecological validity refers to the extent to which the findings of a research study are able to be generalized to real-life settings. 

External validity is the validity of generalized (causal) inferences in scientific research, usually based on experiments as experimental validity. In other words, it is the extent to which the results of a study can be generalized to other situations and to other people.

relating to or acting as a cause.

"the causal factors associated with illness"

Descriptive Research: This describes phenomena as they exist. It is used to identify and obtain information on the characteristics of a particular issue

Analytical Research: Analytical research aims to understand phenomena by discovering and measuring causal relations among them

1.  Works within the constraints variablesØExplains existing state of affairs from available data ØBeyond merely describing the characteristics ØCollected data is analyzed and explained Ø

2.  No control over the variables ØDescribes of the state of affairs as it exists at present ØAscertains and describes the characteristics of the issue ØFact-finding enquires and survey methods Ø

Differences between Descriptive Research & Analytical Research

3.  Why is the introduction of empowerment seen as a threat by departmental managers?ØHow can the absentee rate among employees be reduced? ØHow can the number of complaints made by customers be reduced? ØWhat are the feelings of workers faced with redundancy? ØWhat is the absentee rate amongst a particular group of workers? Ø

Descriptive statistics are numbers that are used to summarize and describe data. The word "data" refers to the information that has been collected from an experiment, a survey, a historical record, etc. (By the way, "data" is plural.

Quantitative data are measures of values or counts and are expressed as numbers. Quantitative data are data about numeric variables (e.g. how many; how much; or how often). Qualitative data are measures of 'types' and may be represented by a name, symbol, or a number code.J

Descriptive Research Used to obtain information concerning the current status of a phenomena. Purpose of these methods is to describe “what exists” with respect to situational variables.

Analytical research means carrying out analysis on a phenomenon – Mostly involves secondary data – ex-ante research- before contemplated change Accessing both primary (e.g. witnesses) or secondary (e.g. literature) sources to document past events

Philosophical Research Organising existing evidence into a comprehensive theoretical modelØ

The term ex-ante (sometimes written ex ante or exante) is a phrase meaning "before the event". Ex-ante is used most commonly in the commercial world, where results of a particular action, or series of actions, are forecast in advance (or intended). The opposite of ex-ante is ex-post (actual) (or ex post).

Reliability, validity and generalizability

Reliability: this is about the replicability of your reseach and the accuracy of the procedures and research techniques. Will the same results be repeated if the research is repeated? Are the measurements of the research methods accurate and consistent? Could they be used in other similar contexts with equivalent results? Would the same results be achieved by another researcher using the same instruments? Is the research free from error or bias on the part of the researcher, or the participants? (E.g. do the participants say what they believe the management, or the researcher, wants? For example, in a survey done on some course material, that on a mathematical module received glowing reports - which led the researcher to wonder whether this was anything to do with the author being the Head of Department!)
Validity: how successfully has the research actually achieved what it set out to achieve? Can the results of the study be transferred to other situations? Does x really cause y, in other words is the researcher correct in maintaining a causal link between these two variables? Is the research design sufficiently rigorous, have alternative explanations been considered? Have the findings really be accurately interpreted? Have other events intervened which might impact on the study, e.g. a large scale redundancy programme? (For example, in an evaluation of the use of CDs for self study with a world-wide group of students, it was established that some groups had not had sufficient explanation from the tutors as to how to use the CD. This could have affected their rather negative views.)
Generalizability: Are the findings applicable in other research settings? Can a theory be developed that can apply to other populations? For example, can a particular study about dissatisfaction amongst lecturers in a particular university be applied generally? This is particularly applicable to research which has a relatively wide sample, as in a questionnaire, or which adopts a scientific technique, as with the experiment.

Transferability: Can the research be applied to other situations? Particularly relevant when applied to case studies.