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NUST Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies (NIPCONS)

MAS Dept

Defining Futures

7th Semester
Research Methodology
RM – 3
Literature Review & Research Design

Sponsor: Brig Aslam Rana (Retd)

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LITERATURE REVIEW AND RESEARCH DESIGN

Literature Survey
1. After defining a problem, the researcher has to do literature survey connected with
theproblem. Literature survey is a collection of research publications, books and other
documentsrelated to the defined problem. It is very essential to know whether the defined
problem hasalready been solved, status of the problem, techniques that are useful to
investigate theproblem and other related details. One can survey:-
a. The journals which publish abstracts of papers published in various journals,
b. Review articles related to the topic chosen.
c. Journals which publish research articles.
d. Advanced level books on the chosen topic.
e. Proceedings of conferences, workshops, etc.
f. Reprint/Preprint collections available with the supervisor and nearby experts
workingon the topic chosen andInternet.
2. A free e-print service provider for physics, mathematics, nonlinear science,
computer scienceand biology is[Link] research shall be complete
unless we make use of the knowledge available in books, journals and internet. Review
of the literature in the area of research is a preliminary stepbefore attempting to plan the
study. Literature survey helps us:-
a. Sharpen the problem, reformulate it or even leads to defining other closely
relatedproblems.
b. Get proper understanding of the problem chosen.
c. Acquire proper theoretical and practical knowledge to investigate the problem.
d. Show how the problem under study relates to the previous research studies
andknow whether the proposed problem had already been solved.
3. Through survey one can collect relevant information about the problem. Clarity of
idea scanbe acquired through study of literature. Apart from literature directly
connected with the problem, the literature that is connected with similar problems
is also useful. It helps formulate the problem in a clear-cut way. A review on past work
helps us know the outcome of those investigations where similarproblems were solved. It
can help us design methodology for the present work. We can alsoexplore the vital links
with the various trends and phases in the chosen topic and familiarizewith characteristic
precepts, concepts and interpretations. Further, it can help us formulatea satisfactory
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structure of the research [Link] a Ph.D. thesis or [Link]. Dissertation is a

study in depth aiming contributionto knowledge, a careful check should be made to
ensure that the proposed study has notpreviously been performed and reported. The
earlier studies which are relevant to the problemchosen should be carefully studied.
Ignorance of prior studies may lead to a researcherduplicating a work already carried out
by another researcher. A good library will be of greathelp to a researcher at this stage.
One can visit nearby research institutions and avail thelibrary facility. Review the latest
research papers and Ph.D. theses to acquire recent trends.
The Internet as a Medium for Research
4. From past one decade or so the internet became an important source of knowledge
and aneffective medium for research. For researchers, it is providing a range of new
opportunities forcollecting information, networking, conducting research, collecting data
and disseminatingresearch [Link] mail, e-journal, on-line submission of
articles to journals, online focus groups,online video conferencing and online
questionnaire are some of the latest tools opened-upby the internet. We note that
thousands of books and other print publications have beenmade available online that
would be extremely difficult to locate otherwise, including out of print books, and classic
literature and textbooks that would be much less accessible intheir printed [Link] of
the scientific research information available on the internet are:-
a. Details about various scientific and nonscientific topics.
b. Titles and other relevant information of article published in various journals,
possibly, from past one decade or so (full article will not be available).
c. Preprint of papers submitted by researchers in certain websites.
d. Information about scientific meetings to be held.
e. Contact details for other researchers.
f. Databases of reference material.
g. Places where one can discuss topics and ask for help.
5. In general, academic research that has been commercially published is not freely
available on the internet. Some of the features of conducting research through internet
are:-
a. Short time for collecting and recording data.
b. Data unknown to us can be identified and downloaded.
c. The possibility of conducting interviews and focus groups by e-mail, which
results inenormous saving in costs and time.
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d. New communities to act as the object of social scientific enquiry.

6. While the internet contains a virtually-unlimited wealth of information not found in
traditionalresources, this abundance also may hinder academic research. The following
are someof the new challenges for the researcher:-
a. Problems of sampling.
b. Reliability and accuracy of the obtained data information.
c. The ethics of conducting research into online communities.
d. Physical access and skills required to use the technologies involved.
e. The changed chronology of interaction resulting from asynchronous
communication.
The Credibility Factor
7. A major way to find whether an online source is credible is to determine how
popular and authoritative the source is. If the site has a well-respected offline counterpart
such as theNew York Times the site will be as credible as the original. For websites and
authors whichhave little popularity, one must consider the credentials of the source–if
those are availableand valid. Even though a website may be written in a professional or
academic manner,the lack of central body to determine its credibility may be a prohibitive
factor for [Link] example of an online research in which researchers have
used the internet as a medium for performing research is National Geographic Survey
2000. In this survey, interactivesurvey instruments were used to study and analyse the
effects of location and mobilityon values and cultural tastes. Extensive use was made of
public relations and community outreach to publicize the survey. In about two months’
time 80,000 self-selected participants from 178 countries started the questionnaire and
55,000 of them completed it. Questionswere in some measure dynamically generated,
with respondents automatically redirected toappropriate section based on their answers.
The main survey site is[Link] of the potential
advantages of online questionnaire are:
a. Low-cost delivery and return.
b. Wide potential coverage.
c. Ease of completion.
d. Submission and data capture.
e. Appropriateness to particular populations.
f. High respondent acceptance for some groups.
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8. Potential difficulties include:

a. The paucity of methodological literature.
b. Appropriateness to research aims.
c. Target population.
d. Technical difficulties.
e. Sampling and response rates.
Reference Collection
9. As soon as the survey of available source begins, the preparation and collection of
referencespreferably with annotations should be undertaken. Keeping records
systematicallyduring research helps a researcher achieve various objectives. It preserves
data for futureuse. The researcher may stumble upon something that may not be of
immediate use, butwould help him later. Details have to be kept in [Link] important
source of reference collection is the journal called Current Contents. This comes once in
a week. It is available in hard copy and also in floppy diskette. Almost all theuniversities
and research institutions buy this document. It contains the table of content ofresearch
journals and magazines in various subjects. It provides title of articles, names ofthe
authors, date of publication, volume number, starting page number of the articles
andaddress of the author from whom one can get the reprint of the article. If the title of
thearticle indicates that the paper is in the topic of one’s interest then he can take a copy
ofthe article if the journal is available in the local library. Otherwise, he can get it from
adocument delivery service centre. For details visit the following web sites:
a. [Link]
b. [Link]
c. [Link]
Research Design
(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia).
10. A research design is the set of methods and procedures used in collecting and
analyzing measures of the variables specified in the problem research. The design of a
study defines the study type (descriptive, correlational, semi-experimental, experimental,
review, meta-analytic) and sub-type (e.g., descriptive-longitudinal case study), research
problem, hypotheses, independent and dependent variables, experimental design, and, if
applicable, data collection methods and a statistical analysis plan. A research design is a
framework that has been created to find answers to research questions.
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Design Types
11. There are many ways to classify research designs. Nonetheless, the list below
offers a number of useful distinctions between possible research designs. A research
design is an arrangement of conditions or collection:-
(a) Descriptive (e.g., case-study, naturalistic observation, survey).
(b) Correlational (e.g., case-control study, observational study).
(c) Experimental (e.g., field experiment, controlled experiment, quasi- experiment).
(d) Review (literature review, systematic review).
(e) Meta-analytic (meta-analysis).

12. Sometimes a distinction is made between "fixed" and "flexible" designs. In some
cases, these types coincide with quantitative and qualitative research designs
respectively, though this need not be the case. In fixed designs, the design of the study is
fixed before the main stage of data collection takes place. Fixed designs are normally
theory-driven; otherwise, it is impossible to know in advance which variables need to be
controlled and measured. Often, these variables are measured quantitatively. Flexible
designs allow for more freedom during the data collection process. One reason for using
a flexible research design can be that the variable of interest is not quantitatively
measurable, such as culture. In other cases, the theory might not be available before one
starts the research.

QUESTIONNAIRE TD RM-3

Q – 1. Discuss the need and purpose of literature review.

Q – 2. What are various techniques of literature review? How does the literature
survey help in investigating the status of research problem selected by the
researcher?

Q – 3. What is the use of internet in research? Discuss its advantages and

disadvantages .Explain its credibility factor.

Q – 4. What is research design? Discuss its types and sub types.

Q–5 Write layout of a research design.

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REFRENCES FOR FURTHER STUDY

1. Creswell, John W. (2014). Research design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed

methods approach (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications. ISBN 978-1-
4522-2609-5
2. Muaz, Jalil Mohammad (2013), Practical Guidelines for conducting research.
Summarizing good research practice in line with the DCED Standard
3. Robson, C. (1993). Real-world research: A resource for social scientists and
practitioner-researchers. Malden: Blackwell Publishing.
4. Diekmann, Andreas (2011). "Are Most Published Research Findings
False?". JahrbücherfürNationalökonomie und Statistik. 231 (5–
6). doi:10.1515/jbnst-2011-5-606. ISSN 2366-049X.
5. Adèr, H. J., Mellenbergh, G. J., & Hand, D. J. (2008). Advising on research
methods: a consultant's companion. Huizen: Johannes van Kessel
Publishing. ISBN 978-90-79418-01-5
6. Bell, J. (1999). Doing your research project. Buckingham: OUP.
7. Creswell, J.W. (2012). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating
quantitative and qualitative research. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall

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