Research Methods

Lecture Two
Dr. Fawaz Jazim
 Selecting a Research Topic
• Instructors and supervisors offer varying degrees of freedom to student to select
topics for their research papers.
• Instructors or supervisors may also supply a list of topics from which students
choose or may require to relate their research to.
• If you are given the first option, you need to review course readings and class notes
to find the topics that particularly interest you.
• If you are given the latter option, your choice is limited to a set of topics. However,
you still need to decide which aspect of a topic to explore or which approach to use.
• If you have complete freedom choose a topic, consider using a personal interest that lends
itself to research (e.g. education, new technologies, politics, sports, business) or an issue that
has recently generated public interest or controversy (e.g. immigration, global warming,
terrorism, etc.).
• In brief, when selecting a topic, consider the following:
• A) personal interest: choose a topic that interests you and sparks your curiosity.
• B) scientific significance: choose a topic that has scientific significance.
• C) practical relevance: choose a topic that has practical applications and benefits society.
• D) feasibility: choose a topic that you can explore effectively within the given constraints
such as time, resources, and research skills.
 Features of a Good Research Topic
• A) Originality: a good research topic should be original and innovative and offers new
insights, perspectives or findings that add value to the existing body of knowledge.
• B) an appropriate focus: a good research topic should not be broad, general or wide. It has
to be focused, narrow and specific.
• The researcher should remember here the time allotted to him and the expected length of
the research paper.
• The researcher may begin with a fairly general topic and then refine it, by thought and
research, into a more specific topic that can be fully explored.
• He might try to narrow the topic by focusing on an aspect of the subject or an approach to
it.
• For example, the researcher may initially be interested in the general subject
of “violence in media” but then after careful thought and reading, he decides
to write on “the effects of cartoons violence on preschool children”.
• Likewise, an interest in Shakespeare’s plays can lead to a focus on “Theme of
love in Shakespeare’s tragedies” which could in turn be narrowed to a focus
on “The portrayal of love in Shakespeare’s tragic heroines” to a more
specific topic like “The role of jealousy in the downfall of Othello’s
relationship with Desdemona”.
• To ensure that your research topic is original and specific, preliminary
reading is essential.
• A researcher needs to consult, in print or electronic form, general reference
works, such as encyclopedias, books and articles, as well as online catalogs
and internet search tools.
 Research Process
• Generally as a process, research is a sequence of activities or steps leading to an end
Product. These activities or steps are determined on the basis of whether the
research is desk research or field research:
• If the research is a desk research (Research is limited to library study and analysis of
documents and/or the analysis of historical records, and literary works and content
analysis) research activities and steps are as follows:
• [Link] the research objectives: a good research will always start with
objectives (what is it that the researcher wants to say?). Objectives are presented into
two ways: a) broad objectives and b) specific objectives
• 2. Extensive Review of the published literature: researcher should review
publications and research works related to his/ her research subject which have
been conducted/ published before. This is done for two purposes:
• A) to understand the already existing knowledge about your topic
• B) to identify gaps in the existing knowledge, including areas that require further
research or investigation and thus ensure that you topic is original.
• 3. Rationale: the researcher indicates here the reasons behind choosing the research
topic. The topic might have been discussed before by previous studies but he/ she
has new issues relevant to the topic. So, he/ she provides justification for
conducting the study
• 4. Scope of research: in this section, the researcher states the limitations of the research. For
example, when conducting a study on a poet’s works, the researcher might be limited to a
number of poems; this is stated in this section. The reason behind such limitations should
be expressed as necessary.
• 5) Collecting the data: in every research there are two types of data (primary and secondary
data).
• In a desk research, primary data can refer to original texts, works or sources that are studied
or analyzed (literary texts, manuscripts, letters, diaries, etc.)
• Secondary data: refer to existing information or knowledge (books, articles, reports or
studies, in print or electronic) that are used to provide background information for a
research or used by a researcher to support their arguments or findings.
• 6. Analysis/ discussion of data: the discussion of the primary data is made in this
section. If a researcher is conducting a study on a novel/ play for example, this
section is intended for the discussion of this novel/ play. Secondary data is used
here by the researcher to support his/ her arguments.
• 7. Findings: having collected data and analyzed them, the researcher draws his/ her
own conclusion. The conclusion is drawn in terms of findings. Findings and
objectives must match here, i.e. the findings represent the researcher’s result of
pursuing the specific objectives.
• 8. Referencing (the use of references): preparing the list of references used/ cited in
the research.
• If the research is a field research (Research that involves collection of
primary data from respondents through interviews and questionnaires)
research activities and steps are as follows: (some of them as the same as
those in desk research)
• 1) formulating research problem: the researcher must single out the problem
he wants to study. It is the statement of the specific issue, concern or
question that a researcher aims to investigate and resolve through a
systematic inquiry. It is the same as the statement of rationale and objectives
in the desk research.
• 2) Review of the published literature: this involves reading and studying and writing
about the materials related to the research subject or problem. Materials can be
found in books, and the articles in magazines, periodicals, seminar papers, and
conference proceedings.
• 3) Development of hypotheses: A research hypothesis is a specific, testable
prediction or statement that proposes a possible answer to a research question or
problem. It is a crucial component of the research process, guiding the investigation
and providing a framework for data collection and analysis. It provides direction and
focus for the research study.
• Example of a research hypothesis:
• Research Question: Does exercise reduce symptoms of anxiety in adults?
• Research Hypothesis: Adults who engage in regular exercise will experience a
significant reduction in symptoms of anxiety compared to those who do not
exercise regularly.
• 4) Determining the sample design: A sample design is a definite plan determined
before any data is actually collected for obtaining a sample from a given population.
• For some research projects, there will be only a small number of people within your
research population, in which case it might be possible to contact everyone. This is
called a census. However, for most projects, unless you have a huge budget, limitless
timescale and large team of interviewers, it will be difficult to speak to every person
within your research population.
• Researchers overcome this problem by choosing a smaller, more manageable
number of people to take part in their research. This is called sampling.
• Thus, the sample design is the plan for selecting the representative group from the
population of study.
• Research population is the study individuals or participants (students, teachers,
housewives etc.), communities, societies, companies, universities, etc.
• The researcher must decide the way of selecting a sample from a given population.

• There several ways or techniques for selecting the representative group from the
population of study as follows:
• A) Probability sampling: all people within the research population have a known and
specifiable chance of being selected. These types of sample are used if the researcher
wishes to explain, predict or generalize to the whole research population. This approach
ensures that the sample is representative of the population, allowing for unbiased estimates
and inferences.
• Example 1: A researcher selects a random sample of 100 students from a university's
student body of 10,000 using a random number generator. Every student has an equal
chance of being selected.
• Example 2: A researcher divides a population of employees into subgroups based on job
type (e.g., management, administrative, technical) and then randomly selects a sample from
each subgroup. This ensures that each subgroup is represented in the sample.
• B) Non-probability sampling: this is a sampling method where the selection
of participants is not based on random selection, and some members of the
population may have no chance of being selected. This is used if description
rather than generalisation is the goal.
• Participants are selected based on ease of access or convenience.
• Participants are selected to meet specific quotas or criteria.
• Example 1: A researcher conducts a survey of people walking in a mall to
gather opinions on a new product. This sample is convenient but may not
represent the broader population.
• Example 2: A researcher selects a group of experts in a particular field to
gather insights on a specific topic. This sample is chosen based on their
expertise, but may not represent the views of others.
• Sample Size:
• In a quantitative research, the general rule is that the larger the sample the more accurate
your results. However, you have to remember that you are probably restricted by time and
money – you have to make sure that you construct a sample which will be manageable.
• Here, Krejcie and Morgan Sample Size Table can be very helpful to decide on the sample
size of your research (this table has been shared with you via WhatsApp).
• In a qualitative research: usually the researcher can apply the rule of “saturation point”. This
was a term used by Glaser and Strauss (1967) to describe that time of your research when
you really do think that everything is complete and that you’re not obtaining any new
information by continuing.
• 5) Data Collection: this is another important stage in a research. After determining
the research sample, the researcher begins to collect his/ her research data from his
research sample. There are several ways of collecting the appropriate data:
• Questionnaires
• Interviews
• Focus groups (group interviews): A number of people are asked to come together
in a group to discuss a certain issue.
• Participant observation
• 6) Analysis of Data: After the data have been collected, the researcher turns
to the task of analyzing them using several tools and software depending on
the type of research:
• In quantitative research: Statistical Software: Such as R, Python, SPSS, and
SAS are used.
• In qualitative research: Qualitative Analysis Software: Such as NVivo, [Link],
and MAXQDA are used.
• 7) Hypothesis Testing: in the light of the results obtained from data analysis, the research here will answer
the question: Do the facts obtained from data analysis support the hypothesis about the population or not?
Hypothesis -testing will result in either accepting the hypothesis or in rejecting it. Here is an example:
• - Research hypothesis: The average score on a grammar test is the same for students who use a new teaching
method and those who use the traditional method.
• - Sample Data: Two samples of students, one using the new method (n = 50) and one using the traditional
method (n = 50), have mean scores of 85 and 80, respectively.
• - Test Statistic: Calculate the t-statistic to determine whether the difference between the two sample means is
statistically significant.
• .- Conclusion: as the difference is significant, the hypothesis is rejected and the conclusion is that the new
teaching method results in a higher average score.
• If the difference had been less than (0.05), the hypothesis would have been accepted.
• 8) Results and findings: here the researcher will make his interpretations and
generalizations. For example, If a hypothesis is tested and upheld several
times, it may be possible for the researcher to arrive at generalization, i.e., to
build a theory. As a matter of fact, the real value of research lies in its ability
to arrive at certain generalizations. OR he might seek to explain his findings
on the basis of some theory. It is known as interpretation.
• 9) References: the researcher here prepares the list of references used in the
research.