Introductions

I also never took a class in research methods. I have a background in History and English, so most of my research experiences were on the textual side. When I see the word “research paper” in my undergrad, I automatically thought journal articles and primary texts. Similar to Claire, I did not really do any "original research". I did do an advanced English seminar class in my fourth year where the main assignment was a research paper. The professor did encourage us to develop original ideas on the novels or short stories that we have chosen to write about. However, I didn’t really collect quantitative data or statistics.

Even though I don’t have a social science background, I can relate to some of the ideas that Luker presents in these opening chapters. Whenever I started a research paper, I’m always uncertain whether I should formulate my thesis first or do some readings on my topic before I developed a thesis. I tend to do the latter since I never know what I will find on my topic (and I had a disastrous experience with the former). Using Luker’s own words, I think I prefer to go on a journey of “discovery” rather than “prediction”; I have an idea of what I want to research but I do not want to make conclusions too early in the process. I want to learn more about my topic before I make an argument.

I agree with Colin in that there is no need to choose between qualitative and quantitative, because there are times when just using one type of approach may not be enough. I feel that qualitative information can really supplement quantitative data, especially when answering the “why” questions or figuring out the reasons behind certain results.