Asking Critical Questions about the World

So, you want to change the world? You're the multilingual (or in the process of being), knowledge-addicted, go-getting, continuously curious student who wants to take his or her well-rounded knowledge, talents and skills across borders and cultures to influence others. Naive idealists some might say...can you even get a job with that degree? Touchy subject, I know. Looking at our present situation(s) as global citizens, it might seem that those who have such a lofty goal are completely out of their minds. Prejudice, war, and poverty plague our world. So, to ask an even better question, how in the world should we be changing it?


Immediate action, some might say. Being active is important of course, but I think it's easy for us to forget the significance of learning and conducting research for the benefit of creating change--you are in school, after all, those research papers should count for something! With the internet and heavy influence of social media on our everyday livelihood, it's easy to go along with popular opinion, inflamed rhetoric or misinformation concerning global issues.


However real progress comes from independent minds that do one important thing: look at the data. Data not only tells us about the issues that are relevant but if one truly invests in researching, reading between the lines and understanding the methods of accumulating data, this can convert to a knowledge vital in how we then go out into the world and do our thing--whether that be policy-making, starting innovative programs or learning about and investing in other cultures.


Let's briefly look at the importance of precise research and data within the International Relations field to get a concrete idea of what this means in practice.


Within research, there are traditionally two ways of categorizing the process in which we define data: quantitative or qualitative. With quantitative data being measurable or countable data expressed in numbers and qualitative data being information that gives further explanation and cannot be easily measured. Patton (1990, p.193) has suggested that 'qualitative data can put flesh on the bones of quantitative results, bringing results to life through in-depth case elaboration.'


Specifically, in IR alone, there are three research methods that can be identified: case studies, formal modeling, and quantitative research (Lovett, p.1). To make it fit easily into our traditional model of looking at data, you could say case studies and formal modeling represents methods of qualitative methods, while quantitative represents...quantitative methods(Lovett, p. 2).


Each method has its own strengths or weaknesses and it has often been questioned throughout the history of IR which is the best to use for research purposes. Issues with overgeneralization, biases/personal beliefs and questionable validity can arise when only one method is used (Lovett p. 3). And this is something important to remember when we read an article or hear any type of statistic. How exactly was this information obtained? What does other research on this topic say? Who wrote it and how?


The solution for IR scholars is to propose cross-methods research, which uses all three methods in an attempt to snuff out the weaknesses present in each method and provide a more holistic, well rounded and innovative approach to gathering and interpreting data (Lovett p. 5). This idea of using multiple tools to understand the possible nuances in data is critical in how not only we learn and obtain information, but how we then go out and do our own research and make our own mark on the world.


So back to my initial question, how do we change the world? It can simply start with asking questions, but not just in any way--in an informed, quality data-driven way that makes our actions not just actions, but well purposed and intentioned.


By Jordan Young




Sources

Lovett, Clare. What is the Best Type of Data for International Relations? https://www.academia.edu/10686818/What_is_the_best_type_of_data_for_International_Relations_research


Patton, M. Q. (2001). Qualitative Research & Evaluation Methods. London: SAGE Publications.


Conybeare, J.A., Kilgour, D.M., & Wolinsky, Y. (2002). Cases , Numbers , Models : International Relations Research Methods. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/89c3/34b5c514acb817b8862dcdf675bd7d4863de.pdf?_ga=2.22274685.73892772.1540143525-2084158751.1540143525


Comments