A note on explanation Andrew Chesterman October 1, 2006 Descriptive Translation Studies aims at more than description. It also looks for explanations which add to our understanding. Some explanations are interpretive, or metaphorical ones. An unfamiliar phenomenon may be made more understandable if it is compared to, or seen as, a more familiar one. […]
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Sampling 3: The effect of bias in samples Daniel Gile September 8, 2006 Samples are selected to be representative of populations. However, natural variability within the population makes it likely that with respect to the feature(s) in which investigators are interested, any sample will deviate to some extent from the population. If the sample is chosen at
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How to choose the most relevant parameters to be controlled in an empirical study Daniel Gile 12 August 2006 In a previous text (Sampling 2: Generalizing from case studies), it was explained that in order to make findings of studies as generalizable as possible, researchers, who cannot attend to all relevant aspects of the phenomenon
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Sampling 2: generalizing from case studies Daniel Gile 18 July, 2006 In a previous text (Sampling-based studies as case studies), it was pointed out that generally, one or more dimensions of a phenomenon are controlled in a study but other relevant dimensions are not, and in that respect, even studies with relatively large
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Sampling 1: Sampling-based studies as case studies Daniel Gile 12 July 2006 The concept of sampling implies the idea that what is sampled is representative of a larger entity with similar characteristics. Thus, the most fundamental property sought in a sample is its representativeness with respect to the larger entity. In statistics, samples are subsets of populations (of people, light
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Where to get the questions from? The importance of preliminary qualitative research. Delia Chiaro, University of Bologna at Forlì In questionnaire based survey research wording is all important because the way in which a question is couched affects respondents’ understanding of what is being asked of them (see “Reasons for piloting questionnaires”). However, not only is careful wording essential, but the type of
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