MMC/MCD 5011/MCS 2311: RESEARCH METHODS IN MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION

COURSE OUTLINE

Pre-requisites: None

1. Rationale

The life of a media practitioner is that of being over whelmed with information which is received and
then disseminated to the public. However, if a media expert believes every information that comes in
as the gospel truth, there is a higher probability of believing in crap which might tarnish the image of
the media house, the media fraternity and the journalist himself or herself. So, this course is designed
to equip students with the knowledge and skills of how to do research so that they are factual, truthful
and objective.

2. Aim

This course aims at equipping students with knowledge, skills and attitudes in research methods in the
media to enable them undertake research.

3. Course Objective

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

a. Identify and specify research problems.

b. Formulate research objectives
c. Do Literature Review
d. Identify the tools to use in order to carry out a research.
e. Do a research proposal.
f. Identify theories to be used in research.
g. Explain the research findings, draw conclusions and make recommendations

4. Course Content

(a) Definition and Philosophical Approaches to Social Research

• Definition of social research?

• Historical Strategies of scientific discovery
• Philosophical grounding of research
• Ontology, epistemology, methodology
• Dominant paradigms in research : positivism; interpretivism; critical; feminism; structuralism;
social constructivism/Subjectivism; functionalism and post modernism

(b) Fundamental Information on Social Research

• Sources of knowledge
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 • characteristics of Social Research
• Objectives of social research
• Purpose of research
• Motives of social research
• Types of social research
• Basic presumptions of social research
• Essential conditions of research
• Utility of social research
• Qualities of a researcher

(c) Five Traditions in media and communication research

• Media Effects
• Political Economy
• Cultural Studies
• Ethnography
• Digital Social Research (Digital Research Process; Digital Ethnography; Mapping and Mining
the Digital Society)

(e) Identifying a research problem

• Research area or topic

• Literature search around topic
• Statement of the problem
(f) Formulating research objectives

• Types of research objectives

• Research questions
• Hypothesis

(d)Theoretical grounding of research

• What is theory?
• Types of theories
• Theory as a conceptual framework
• Theoretical explanations in research findings;
• Relationship between theory and research
• Deductive and Inductive Theory
• Empirical research/non-empirical
• Subjective/objective

(g) Theoretical and conceptual frameworks

• Writing a Theoretical Framework

• Writing a Conceptual Framework

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(h) Reviewing literature

• Concept of literature review

• Rationale of Literature Review (Purpose of Literature Review)
• Types of literature review
• Qualities of Effective literature review
• Steps in Literature Review
• Sources of literature review
• Writing the literature review
• Referencing your Work (The Role of the Bibliography)
• Avoiding Plagiarism
(i) Employing appropriate research methodologies

• Concepts of research methodologies

• Research Design
• Sampling procedures
• Research ethics
(j) Selection and measurement of variables

• What are variables?

• Identification of Research Variables
• Identification of Variable Measurements
• Variable operationalization
(k) Collecting data

• Concept of data collection

• Quantitative data collection methods
• Qualitative data collection methods
(l) Qualitative Research Method

• Narrative
• Phenomenological
• Grounded Theory
• Action Research
• Case Study
• Ethnography
• Historical Research
• Content Analysis
(m) Generating Qualitative Data in media and communication research
• Media Text Analysis (Soaps, Music, Broadcast, Language, etc)
• Content Analysis
• Narrative and Genre Analysis
• Image (Still, Film and Video) Analysis
• Discourse Analysis
• Rhetorical Analysis
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 • Semiotic Analysis
• Music Analysis
• Thematic approach
• Conversational analysis
• Case Study

(n) The nature of qualitative research

• The Main Preoccupations of Quantitative Researchers

• The Main Steps in Qualitative Research
• Theory and Qualitative Research
• Rigor in Qualitative Research
• Criticisms of Qualitative Research
• Qualitative Research Designs
• Sampling Methods in Qualitative Research
• Qualitative Data Collection Methods
• Qualitative data analysis
• Qualitative data analysis techniques
• Practical on the use of computer software used in analysis of qualitative data (Nvivo,
[Link], SPSS, Microsoft Excel)
• Qualitative write-up and interpretation
(o)Discussing research findings

• Thematic approach to discussion of findings

• Content approach to discussion of findings
• Mixed approach to discussion of findings
(p)Drawing conclusions and making recommendations

• Conclusions
• Recommendations
(q) Practical organisation of research

• Problem identification
• Title
• Introduction
• Literature review
• Research Methodology
• Research Findings
• Data interpretation and Discussion of the Research findings
• Conclusion and recommendations
• References

(r) Research projects by students (students start formulating research proposals which are marked at
the end. Lecturer passes on these proposals to the MCS 2312 lecturer so that students proceed to go in
the field and do research and their final product is marked by the MCS 2312 lecturer).
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5. Method of Teaching

Three hours of lecturers per week or as will be applicable in the term/semester system

6. Assessment

(a) Continuous Assessment: 60%

Consisting of:

• 30% Research Proposal

• 30% one test

(b) Final Examination: 40%

7. Required Readings

Babbie, E., & Mouton, J. (2001) The practice of social research, Cape Town: Oxford University
Press.
Babbie, E., & Benaquisto, L. (2010). Fundamentals of social research (2nd Canadian ed.) Toronto,
ON: Nelson Education. (eText)
Bryman, A, 2011, Quantity and quality in social research, London, Routledge.
Bryman, A. (2012). Social Research Methods. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Burns, R, 2000, Introduction to research methods, London, Sage.

Kothari, C. R, 2009, Research methodology: Methods and techniques, 2nd edition, New Delhi, New
age international publishers.

Kothari, C. R and Garg, Gaurav, 2014, Research methodology: Methods and techniques, 3rd edition,
New Delhi, New age international publishers.

8. Recommended Reading

Blaxter, L, Hughes, C and Tight, M (1996) How to Research, Buckingham, Open University Press.

Ghosh, N. B, 1992, Scientific method and social research, New Delhi, Sterling publishers.

Mouton, J, 2001, How to succeed in your Master's and Doctoral studies. Pretoria: Van Schaik.
Neuman, W. L. (2006). Social research methods: qualitative and quantitative approaches. Boston:
Allyn and Bacon.

Neuman, W. L., & Robson, K. (2015). Basics of social research: Qualitative and quantitative
approaches (3rd Canadian ed.). Toronto, ON: Pearson. (eText)

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Nurul M. Lslam, 2003, An Introduction to Research Methods - Basic Concepts and Issues in Research.

SOCIAL RESEARCH

What is Research?
What Research is not

• Research is not an information discovery exercise.

• Research is not a mere transportation of facts from one source to another.
• Research is not a mere rummaging for information.
• Research is not a mere information gathering about a particular subject matter.

Definition of Research

A Research is a careful critical enquiry or examination in seeking facts or principles; diligent

investigation in order to ascertain something. With the discovery of new facts, old conclusions or
theories may either be rejected or modified. Research is necessary to examine the extent of the validity
of the old conclusions or to find out some new facts and generalisations in connection with the existing
ones. Thus, it purports to give a new direction and a new insight into the existing problem. Needless
to say, a research must be based on some problems or some facts. Inquisitiveness and dissatisfaction
are the two main building blocks of any research. In a progressive science, the generalisations may not
hold good beyond a certain time-period. With the passage of time, the facts may change, the problem
itself may undergo change and so also the concept. Thus, a constant search and research become
essential to know the exact truth. The research may establish new empirical generalisations and falsify
the old ones. Thus, new theories are constructed. Therefore, it could be said that:

• Research is a process of arriving at dependable solutions to problems through the planned,

scientific and systematic collection, analysis and interpretation of data.
• Research is a systematic, scientific, process of collection, analysis and interpretation of data in
order to increase our understanding of the area of interest.
• Research is an honest, exhaustive, intelligent, systematic, scientific search of facts and their
meanings or implications with reference to a given problem.
• Research simply means a search for facts – answer to questions and solutions to problems. It is
purposive investigation.

• It is an organised inquiry. It seeks to find explanation to unexplained situations, to clarify

doubtful proposition and to correct misconceived facts.

• Research is a systematic collection, analysis and interpretation of data to answer a certain

question or solve a problem.

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 • Research can be defined as a “careful critical enquiry or examination in seeking facts or
principles diligent investigation in order to ascertain something’’.

• Research is necessary to examine the extent of the validity of the old conclusions or to find out
some new facts and generalization in connection with the existing ones.

What is Social?
The word "Social" derives from the Latin word socii ("allies"), it is particularly derived from the Italian
Sociistates that historically allied with the Roman Republic, though they famously rebelled against
Rome in the Social War of 91-88 BC. Therefore, social always refers to the interaction of organisms
with other organisms and to their collective co-existence, irrespective of whether they are aware of it
or not, and irrespective of whether the interaction is voluntary or involuntary. Hence, it deals with
attitudes, orientations, or behaviors which take the interests, intentions, or needs of other people into
account. Thus, social comes from society and hence it means happenings in society.

A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations,
or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same
political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Human societies are characterized by patterns
of relationships (social relations) between individuals who share a distinctive culture and institutions;
a given society may be described as the sum total of such relationships among its constituent members.
In the social sciences, a larger society often evinces stratification and/or dominance patterns in
subgroups.

Insofar as it is collaborative, a society can enable its members to benefit in ways that would not
otherwise be possible on an individual basis; both individual and social (common) benefits can thus be
distinguished, or in many cases found to overlap.

More broadly, a society may be described as an economic, social, or industrialinfrastructure, made up

of a varied collection of individuals. The word society may also refer to an organizedvoluntary
association of people for religious, benevolent, cultural, scientific, political, patriotic, or other
purposes.

What is Social Research?

❖ A social research encompasses scientific investigations conducted in the field of social sciences
and also in behavioural sciences.
❖ Social research involves the application of scientific methods for the understanding, studying
and analysing of social life in order to modify, correct or verify the existing knowledge as a
system.

The Historical Background of Social Science Research

(i) Philosophical grounding of research

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The origins of what we now think of as empirical scientific research are usually traced back to the 17th
century. 3 people are renowned for being the fathers of modern empirical scientific research. These
are:
• Galileo Galilei
• Francis Bacon
• Isaac Newton

In 1620, in a series of works beginning with ‘Novum Organum’ (New Method), Francis Bacon
outlined the founding principles of his ‘New Philosophy’ based on systematic form of inductive
reasoning developed from Galileo’s earlier work.

The induction method entails the collection of facts about the world to build up a picture based
on past observations which will then allow us to make predictions about what is likely to happen
in the future. For example, Galileo observed and collated observations of the movements of the
planets and stars to verify Copernicus’s theory that the Earth revolves around the Sun, which also
enabled him to predict future events such as the solar eclipse.

However, it was Bacon who formulated a scientific method which allowed the researcher to identify
and to some extent control certain variables while observing and measuring the effects on others. This
empirical method was later adopted so successfully by Newton and other prominent scientists in the
late 17th century that it became the blueprint for experimental research for the next hundred years and
was largely responsible for initiating and driving the industrial revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries.

Although we would now recognise this inductive method of data collection and analysis as the origins
of modern science, the term was not used in this way at the time. Newton, Bacon and Galileo would
have referred to themselves as ‘Natural Philosophers’ and the word ‘Science’, which at the time
simply meant ‘Knowledge’, did not acquire its modern usage until the early years of the 19th century
(Gower, 1997; Okasha, 2002).

(ii) Ontology, epistemology, methodology

Dominant paradigms in research: positivism; interpretivism; critical; feminism; structuralism; social
constructivism; functionalism and post modernism

Sources of Authority in Research

• Myth
• Tradition
• People in Authority
• Authority from Literature

Characteristics / General features of Social Research

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 ❖ It studies human behaviour and social problems
❖ The main idea behind such research is to discover new interrelations, new knowledge, new
facts and also to verify old ones because sometimes if it happens that the technique of analysis
improves, the concept itself changes or new facts or data become available.
❖ It tries to find out the causal connection between various human activities and the natural laws
governing them by means of logical and systematic methods.
❖ Human behaviour may be motivated by certain rules and laws. The main purpose of social
research is to discover those laws which can be the proper guidelines for studying human
conduct and behaviour.
❖ Research gathers new knowledge or data from primary or first-hand sources. It is not research
when: one simply restates or re-organises what is already written. Research endeavour’s to
reach the first data.
❖ Research is expert, scientific, systematic and accurate investigation. Hence, the researcher
plans his/her procedures carefully, gathers data, records and analyses it as accurately as possible
and uses standardised and valid data gathering tools or instruments as could be found or
devised.
❖ Research is logical and objective. It applies every possible test to verify the data collected and
the procedures employed. The researcher should eliminate personal feelings and preferences
from his/her research activity.
❖ Research is patient and unhurried. The researcher is willing to make painstaking efforts. He/she
works patiently towards sound conclusions, knowing that significant findings do not come as
a result of hurried careless efforts.
❖ Research requires courage. The researcher should not be afraid of unpleasant consequences of
his/her findings. The truth should be spoken and recorded even when the procedure reveals
conclusions that may be unpopular and bring social disapproval.
❖ Research is highly purposive. It deals with a significant problem which demands a solution.
❖ Research places emphasis upon discovery of general principle and scientific generalisations
that can be applied to the solution of a wide range of problems
❖ Research maintains rigorous standards. The researcher is expected to be scholarly, imaginative
with integrity who keeps his/her work scrupulously free from loopholes.
❖ Research is a job of great responsibility and its findings may have far reaching implications.
❖ Research usually involves a step by step process.
❖ Research is carefully recorded and reported. Every term is carefully defined, and all procedures
are described in detail, all limiting factors are recognised and all references are carefully
documented and all results are objectively recorded.
❖ All conclusions and generalisations are cautiously arrived at with due consideration for all of
the limitations of methodology, data collected and errors of human interpretation.
❖ Research begins with unanswered questions.
❖ Research defines the goal.
❖ Research subdivides the prob lem into sub problems.
❖ There is a tentative formulation of an explanation through an hypothesis.
❖ After an hypothesis, there is normally sampling, data collection and analysis.

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 ❖ Research proceeds to data interpretation and confirmation of which hypothesis is in form of
dissemination of research findings.
❖ Research is, however, helical. This means that as the researcher explores the area, there would
be additional problems that need solving. In other words, research beget more research ( usually
called further research or future research done at the end of the recommendations).

Objectives of Social Research

❖ Social research aims at understanding the human behaviour and its interaction with the social
institution.
❖ Acquisition of new knowledge in order to gain insights into existing problems.
❖ The collection of new facts which is necessary and essential for the progress of science.
❖ To understand social life thereby gain a greater measure of control over social behaviour. It is
necessary to investigate into the causes of certain social phenomena in order to cure the social
events.
❖ To improve our tools of analysis or to test these against the complex human behaviour and
institutions.

Motives / Purposes of Social Research

❖ Desire to understand the cause-effect relationship of some social phenomena. Due to
inadequate knowledge or obscure facts, causal connections may not be immediately known,
necessitating social research.
❖ Social research may be motivated by the desire to discover new theories, concepts and
techniques in order to gain knowledge efficiently.
❖ Both curiosity and necessity may be the important motivating factors for social research.
Human minds always want to know the unknown and explore unexplored to explain a social
phenomenon.
❖ Understanding, analysis and explanation of social phenomena are the primary motivating
factors behind social research. In that way an operational solution may be found.
❖ Research adds to existing knowledge.
❖ Research addresses gaps in knowledge.
❖ Research expands knowledge.
❖ Research adds voices of individuals to knowledge.
❖ Research helps improve the field of practice e.g, It helps in gaining new ideas, it helps in
gaining new insights into methods and corrects misconceptions. It does this by explanations
beyond common sense.
❖ Research creates data for policy discussions.
❖ Research helps people weigh different perspectives on issues.
❖ Research helps people make informed decisions regarding policy.

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 ❖ Research helps students build skills; organisation skills; analytical skills; writing skills; and
presentation skills.
❖ Research helps business management decisions.
❖ Research helps in making formal, objective measurement and appraisal of the extent to which
a given activity, project or program has achieved its objectives. This is referred to as evaluation
research.
❖ Research regularly provides feedback for evaluation and control.
❖ Research indicates what things are or are not as planned.
❖ Research may be required to explain why something ‘went wrong’.
❖ Research in business management decision-making process is mainly associated with the
development and implementation of strategy.
❖ Research helps in reducing uncertainty and to focus on decision-making.
❖ The purpose of research is to unfold the truth by systematic methods.

❖ Research unravels the mysteries of nature; brings to light hidden information that might never
be discovered fully during ordinary course of life.

❖ The aim of social science research is to discover new facts or verify and test old facts.

❖ To find new generalization with old data.

❖ To know old conclusion with new data.

❖ To attempt to reach more conclusion from the same set of data.

❖ To discover unexplored horizon of knowledge.

❖ To find or resolve contradictions existing in the area of study.

❖ Research verifies and test existing facts.

❖ Research aims to analyse inter-relationship between variables and to drive causal explanations

❖ Another purpose of research is to develop new scientific tools, concepts and theories which
would facilitate reliable and valid study of human behaviour and social life

Essential Conditions for Research

• To generate new knowledge and technologies to deal with major unsolved problems

• To identify priority problems

• To design and evaluate policies and programs that will deliver the greatest health benefits,
making optimal use of variable resources (applicable to applied research).

• Research must be correctly performed and recorded data collected should be accurate.
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 • It must cover representative cases drawn from the universe.

• It must cover adequate number of cases.

• Conclusion must be confined to inferences drawn from the findings.

• Research is a systematic and critical investigation of research problem. It adopts scientific

methods. “The scientific method is a systematic step-by-step procedure following the logical
processes of reasoning.

• Scientific method calls for scientific attitude.

• It demands a clear statement of the problem.

• It is objective and logical, applying possible tests to validate the measuring tools and the
conclusions reached.

• It is based upon observable experience or empirical evidence.

• It requires a plan, i.e. it is not aimlessly “looking’’ for something in the hopes that you will
“come across a solution’’.

• It builds on existing data, using the both positive and negative findings.

• New data should be collected as a required and be organized in such a way that they answer
the original research questions or objectives.

• Variability. The conclusion arrived by a scientific should be variable.

• Objective and unbiased devotion to collection and treatment of facts.

• Overcoming personal preconceptions and value judgements, because they have a distorting
effect in the data.

• Avoid personal and vested interest- the scientist does not tailor his views to fit preconceived
notions or preferences of men power.

• Patience and self-control and ability to overcome wishful thinking.

• Keeping an open mind.

Types of Social Research

❖ Fundamental / Basic research or Pure Research: it aims at primarily obtaining theoretical
knowledge and the logical process involved in the phenomenon. Thus its an intellectual
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 exercise aimed at finding some theoretical conclusion. Such a research may verify an old theory
or establish a new one.
❖ Applied Research: it is empirical and practical. This is why sometimes it is called field research.
It is primarily this type of research work whose results find direct application in the field. It is
more interested in the theories, principles, or laws which work. The results of the basic research
are applied with reference to the social phenomena. The research result is practically applied
to solve the immediate problems. In business research applied research is conducted when a
decision must be made about specific real-life problem. This type of research is one whose
findings have an immediate applicability and the main targeted audience are the practitioners
such as social workers, economists, counsellors, police, programme personnel etc. applied
research has various types including the following 3:
• Action Research: This is a type of research whose focus is on contributing to improved
conditions or changes in a particular scenario or community. It is a research initiated to
solve an immediate problem or a reflective process of progressive problem solving led
by individuals working with others in teams or as part of a community of practice to
improve the way they address issues and solve problems. It is sometimes called
participatory action research. Action research involves the process of actively
participating in an organisation change situation whilst conducting research. Action
research can also be undertaken by larger organisations or institutions, assisted or
guided by professional researchers, with the aim of improving their strategies, practices
and knowledge of the environments within which they practice. As designers and
stakeholders, researchers work with others to propose a new course of action to help
their community improve its work practices.
• Evaluation Research: This is a kind of research that focuses on assessing the Relevance,
Efficiency, Effectiveness, Impact and Sustainability of a particular programme. The
primary purpose of the evaluation, in addition to gaining insight into prior or existing
initiatives, is to enable reflection and assist in the identification of future change.
• Social Impact Assessment: This is a research which documents potential consequences
as a result of some change introduced into a community. Or social impact assessment
(SIA) is a methodology to review the social effects of infrastructure projects and other
development interventions. According to the International Association for Impact
Assessment, “Social impact assessment includes the processes of analysing, monitoring
and managing the intended and unintended social consequences, both positive and
negative, of planned interventions (policies, programmes, plans, projects) and any
social change processes invoked by those interventions. Its primary purpose is to bring
about a more sustainable and equitable biophysical and human environment”.
❖ Quasi-Social Research: some problems in social sciences are not unique problems, belonging
to an exclusive discipline or area of research. E.g. some problems could be economical –
political, some socio – economical or cultural – religious. These problems will come under
quasi – social research.

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Basic Presumptions of Social Research
❖ Possibility of an objective study: it is presumed that the researcher would be able to make a
neutral or unbiased study of a social problem. Although it is difficult in practice, it is not
impossible altogether to attain an impartial judgement. This requires non-interference,
sincerity, honesty and disinterested.
❖ Existence of some social norm or law: it is presumed that in society there is some kind of
natural law or norm and any event is based on it.
❖ In social research, a cause-effect relationship between social behaviour and events is presumed
to exist. Thus it is presumed that similar causes produce similar results under similar
circumstances, for nature is uniform.
❖ Representative Sample: it is difficult to bring everybody on board in a research. So a
representative sample is used which could be generalised.
❖ Existence of similar and Ideal Group: it is presumed that society consists of fairly homogeneous
groups known as Ideal Group, such that the behaviour of this ideal group is the same as that of
other groups.
❖ Social Events: social events are also amenable to scientific study, for human behaviour follows
some definite trend.

Utility of Social Research

❖ Control of social phenomenon: knowledge is power. Social research can equip one with
detailed and sufficient knowledge about the working and organisation of a society and its
institutions. In that way, one gains greater power and leadership over the social phenomena.
❖ Social Planning: any planning depends on knowledge of the resources, problems, desires and
objectives of a society. Social research is able to give us a detailed picture.
❖ Social Understanding and Goodwill: social research pinpoints the need for interdependence
among different social groups. It reveals the truth by dispelling superstitions, ignorance and
taboos. It brings out the unity among diversities and helps to strengthen the social cohesion.
❖ Social Growth: Social research leads to better social control, planning and cohesion thereby
leading to better social order, functioning and growth.
❖ Social Prediction: Social research usually carries out studies on a sampling basis. If the sample
is big enough, a general conclusion can be based on it, hence predicting something for the rest.
❖ Modernisation of Tools and Techniques: With the progress of social research, the tools and
techniques of analysis become modernised and up-to-date. So due to the emergence of new
situations, better tools for social research may be devised and better and more efficient results
may be expected.
❖ Social Welfare: Social research can unfold and identify causes of social evils and hence lead to
eradication of social evils. Social research can bring out the magnitude and the real causes of
social evils, thereby devising ways to eradicate them, thus indirectly maximising social welfare.

Qualities of a Researcher
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 ❖ Scientific Mind: A researcher must have a scientific frame of mind. He/she should not be
influenced and guided by pride and prejudice and by any superficial facts. They should give up
personal likes and dislikes. The enquiry must be performed along scientific lines. They should
be bold enough to discover new things and to discard superstitions and taboos.
❖ Seeker of Truth & Knowledge: A researcher is a seeker of the truth and should have the desire
for knowledge. The lure of discovering the known fact is the starting point of a research. That
is why a researcher has to be prepared to make any type of sacrifice in terms of time, money
and energy to find out the real truth.
❖ Alertness, Insight & Imagination: A scientific mind must always be alert to appreciate minutest
changes in situations, be accurate in observations, quick in perception and high degree of
imaginative power.
❖ Quick Power of Understanding: A researcher should have the ability to grasp things quickly so
that he/she is in a position to make the best of one’s research.
❖ Trained and Educated: Researchers must have sufficient experience and training to understand,
analyse and tackle the problem. They should have an analytical mind.
❖ Patience and Perseverance: Research is a mixture of success and failure. It is an intellectual
exercise requiring endurance and patience. Sometimes, it takes time to see the results.
❖ Objectivity: Researchers should avoid subjective, sentimental and emotional interpretation of
results. They must be objective.
❖ Knowledge of Scope and Limitation: Researchers should know where to begin and where to
end.

Five Traditions of Media Research

i. Media Effects: Media effects is a research paradigm concerned with the consequences
of media use or exposure. Media effects is a research paradigm concerned with the
consequences of media use or exposure. As it is generally used in the study of
communication, media effects refers to the consequences of media use experienced by the
individual message recipient or audience member. These three Media research methods are:
Measuring audiences, reactions, and impact.

ii. Political Economy: The study of international political economy is the study of
interactions between markets and politics; the influence of markets on politics and the
influence of policy on markets. There are three main types of economies: free market,
command, and mixed. The chart below compares free-market and command economies;
mixed economies are a combination of the two. Individuals and businesses make their own
economic decisions. The state's central government makes all of the country's economic
decisions.

iii. Cultural Studies: When teaching students across the humanities, the practical arts and the
social sciences, and from many different countries, we are still sometimes asked, ‘what is
cultural studies?’ In this chapter we respond afresh to this curiosity, by introducing cultural
studies as a particular approach within a wider field of the study of culture. In talking about
cultural studies, we look at Culture and Power: In a narrowly defined version of cultural
studies, the typical questions have been about the production or organization of meaning as
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 a site of power. Cultural processes are important and interesting because they are a medium
through which powerful social relationships are played out and in which possibilities for
social betterment are opened up or closed down. A typical way of posing ‘power questions’
has been in terms of identity, especially where identity is seen as a problematic issue, and
where individual and collective identities are understood as being always created under
social pressures. (For recent debates on identity see Brah and Coombes, 1999; Du Gay and
Hall, 1996). In studying cultural studies, we shall also look at Culture as 'Value'. In this
approach it is the aesthetic or moral value of literature, music or art which is supposed to
make them worth studying not, primarily, their complicity in powerful inclusions and
exclusions. This way of thinking about culture held sway in traditional humanities
disciplines until quite recently, and continues to be powerfully defended outside the
academy. Indeed, conservative academicians still fight for it, often against the canon-
breaking claims of cultural and other interdisciplinary approaches (Bloom, 1987). Then
another area of concern is what is called Culture as Policy. Culture is also conceptualized
narrowly, though in a different way, when the question is about ‘cultural policy’. This
discourse of ‘cultural policy’ is selective in two ways. First, it tends to address the policies
only of large-scale institutions especially of governments. In the versions that have grown
out of cultural studies, by debt and critique, the study of ‘cultural policy’ is structured
around a particular reading of Foucault. The key focus is on ‘governmentality’ or, in Tony
Bennett’s words, ‘the governmental programs through which particular fields of conduct
are organized and regulated’ (Bennett, 1998: 84; see also the Series Introduction in the same
volume: ii- iv). 'Governmentality' is wider than 'government' as the stress on 'conduct'
implies. Although these fields transgress the older high/low divisions, they are limited to
practices in which formal institutions have an interest, typically, sport, art and museums
and ‘heritage’. To promote a primarily ‘policy’ orientation within cultural studies can
therefore recapitulate some older reductions. As Raymond Williams argued, such usages
involve a class or hierarchical appropriation of culture in its more general and positive root
meanings, as cultivation, education, or individual and social improvement (1983: 87--93).
Another area that is addressed is called Culture as cohesion. The policy agenda has often
been associated with another, potentially more inclusive, agendum - culture as source of
social cohesion and belonging. In this framework, consensus, community or ‘core values’
are opposed to individualistic or ‘anomic’ states, typically to the social disorder or
fragmentation sometimes held to characterize modernity. A classic statement of this
framework can be found in Emile Durkheim’s Suicide, itself a response to what Stephen
Lukes calls ‘the theme of social dissolution’ widespread among nineteenth-century French
intellectuals. (Durkheim, 1952; Lukes, 1973) Within this agenda the pressure is to conceive
of cultures as shared, homogeneous and tightly bounded. This may still be the case even
where such unities are viewed as ‘constructed’ or ‘imagined’ (for example Anderson, 1983;
Gellner, 1983) Such conceptualizations do not rule out difference and power, but they are
assigned to the relations between whole cultures not within them. Cultures, in their internal
relations, according to this account, are (or should be) conflict-free zones; difference within
these zones thus become signs of social pathology. This type of cultural agenda is politically
alive today despite extensive intellectual critiques. It is especially associated with the
16
 racialization of politics and of national identity in Western European states and neo-
conservative movements. Stressing the essential unity of the (white) nation goes along with
identifying the (black, immigrant, asylum seeker or auslander) other as the source of social
disorder. Thus, the racialization of street crime as ‘mugging’ was a key theme in one of the
first studies of ‘Thatcherism’ as a law and order politics in the late 1970s (Hall et al, 1978),
while later analysis argued that a particular cultural theory - a ‘new racism’ or ‘ethnic
absolutism’ - was central to New Right politics more generally. (Gilroy, 1987; Smith A.M.,
1994) Another example of conservative cultural theory today can be seen in post-Cold War
international relations, where cultural difference may be understood as the ‘clash of
civilizations’ when whole value systems collide. (Huntingdon, 1993) In liberal multi-
cultural discourse, too, ‘diversity’ is sometimes grasped as the peaceful co-existence of
whole, discretely bounded cultures, not as the living out of power-laden differences, or as
the basis for border crossing and cultural syncreticism (Donald and Rattansi, 1992).
Historically, however, this combination of racism and conservative cultural theory is
neither so ‘new’, nor so exclusively ‘right-wing’. There is a long history in Europe of the
construction of national identities through the idea of a people or a volk with some essential
characteristics. This essence has often been racialized and assigned ‘typical’ cultural
expressions. Culture as standardization: A different question about culture has focused
attention on standardization or convergence. Uniformities can arise from ‘mass culture’
(the capitalist commercialization or commodification of forms of popular culture), or from
‘globalization’, or from bureaucratic or instrumental rationality, work discipline or other
forms of ‘social control’. Standardization or regulation are often seen as accompaniments
of modernity and have been a pervasive preoccupation of sociological theory from Max
Weber onwards. Such concern has a Marxist variant in the cultural and aesthetic critique of
mass culture among some Frankfurt School theorists. (Held, 1980; Horkheimer and
Adorno, 1972) Indeed, some versions of globalization theory and studies of ‘international
communication’ paint this picture large on a world-wide scale, while in many ways,
standardization remains the cultural thesis of sociological theory. This form of abstract and
generalizing social description tends to centre on a single dynamic of change - ‘the risk
society’, ‘MacDonaldization’, ‘Disneyfication’ and some versions of globalization (for
example Beck, 1992; Ritzer, 1993). Though diversity is often an implied and preferred
critical value here, this form of cultural study rarely grasps cultural differences or
investigates particular ways of living. Again, there are points of exchange (and
contestation) between this common sociological agenda and cultural studies, especially in
the conceptualization of ideology or hegemony. (Hall, 1988; Larrain, 1983; Thomas, 1999;
Thomson, 1990) Does cultural power work by securing cultural sameness or by working
on and through the differences? This question will concern us again in Chapter 7 when we
address the analysis of dominance. Culture as language or 'understanding': Not all
agenda of interest in the cultural are so obviously ‘political’ (though they all have political
connections). Neither classical structuralism nor contemporary hermeneutics, which offer
important resources for cultural studies, can be understood (or understand themselves) in
such directly political ways. Structuralism has asked how meaning is constructed through
the conventions and codes of languages in the broadest sense, through signs, myths or
17
 symbols. (Culler, 1981) Hermeneutics has asked how understanding the other is possible,
whether the other is a text, or a different language, or an alien culture, or a different point
in time. Though it contains, as we shall see, a view of the whole circuit of culture, it has
focused on reading or ‘interpretation’. (Gadamer, 1989).
iv. Ethnography: Anthropologists, ethnographers, and other social scientists may engage in
something called ethnography. Ethnography, simply stated, is the study of people in their
own environment through the use of methods such as participant observation and
face-to-face interviewing.
v. Digital Social Media: It is argued that digital social research, particularly the analysis of
new social media, is distinctive in capturing naturally occurring or 'user-generated' data at
the level of populations in real or near-real-time.

Organisation of the stages in the Social Research Process

Social Research Process

The research process usually follows a particular pattern and more often involves standard stages:

❖ Identification and formulation of a research problem or selection of a topic and focusing it into
a research question: select a topic for research and define the problem. Defining a research
problem is the fuel that drives the scientific process and is the foundation of any research
method.

❖ Reviewing the evidence: familiarize yourself with the existing problem by reviewing literature.

❖ Making the problem precise mentally or ideally: formulate a hypothesis to help you know what
you intend to test and also know the relationship between the variables. This calls for the
formulation of sub-problems and hypothesis (subdivision of the main problem into sub
problems).

❖ Working out a design mentally or ideally: select one or more research methods whether it is
experiment, survey, observation, use of existing sources.

❖ Selecting and implementing a course of action whereby the researcher goes into sampling data
collection, data analysis and record information).

❖ Officially now craft your title. Write your title. If you have discussed with your supervisor,
now this is a done deal. It is sealed, this is the title for your dissertation.

❖ Chapter One: Introduction: In this chapter you consider the background information in
accordance with your title and you formulate the research problem. Also establish the
objectives (what you want to achieve) and mirror the research questions against the research
objectives. Furthermore, show the significance of the study, the limitations of your study and
the theoretical and conceptual frameworks. UNZA format requires that the theoretical and
18
 conceptual frameworks are in chapter one. In some other universities, the theoretical and
conceptual frameworks may exist as separate entities or are part of chapter two which is
literature review.

❖ Chapter Two: Literature Review: The literature may be reviewed in two ways. One way is to
review the literature using continental approach. This is a situation whereby you review the
literature from the global perspective whereby you look at the countries at the international
level which have dealt with your issue and how they went about o98its e.g USA, UK, Ireland,
Belgium, China etc. Then from there you move on to consider the African Perspective where
you consider countries which have dealt with your issues e.g South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana,
Kenya etc. Despite considering these countries, the sources of authority to consider in the
citations are authors and not countries. At the end then now write a critique to establish the gap
that is there in the literature to necessitate your research. The other approach is to use
Objectives. Do the literature review in accordance with the specific objectives. At the end of
the literature review then do a critique to establish the gap that is there in the literature to
necessitate your research.

❖ Chapter Three: Research Methodology: This is where the researcher explains how he/she will
carry out the research. So here you establish the research design, the research methods, research
site, the target population, the sample size, the sampling technique, the sampling methods, the
research instruments, the data collection methods, data analysis and the ethical considerations.

❖ Chapter Four: Data analysis and presentation of research findings: The researcher rolls out
information from the field, in other words, the research findings.

❖ Chapter Five: Discussion of the Findings: Writing, dissemination and reporting of the research
findings: what is their significance? How do they relate to previous findings? Present the
findings in line with the objectives and relate to the literature reviewed whether there is any
relationship or coordination or not as well as with the theories used. This is the meeting point
of the research.

❖ Chapter Six: Conclusion and Recommendations: Write the conclusion and then the
recommendations. In every research, the moment that the researcher is coming to the end, there
is a possibility of observing that there is something else which may need some attention but
which certainly cannot be treated in that research. Therefore, the researcher makes a proposal
called Further Research or Future Research. The researcher makes a recommendation that
should there be an attempt for another research in that field, it would be better to consider
researching on the issue that has been suggested.

❖ References

❖ Appendix

i. Selection and formulation of the research problem/research topic

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The selection stage is the identification and formulation of the problem. If the problem is stated in a
clear cut and logical manner, the reader is able to get a sufficiently clear insight into the study from the
very beginning. The problem should be finalized and stated after sufficient study, reflective thinking,
consultation and guidance.

• Start by defining a general area of interest.

• Then identify specific topics.
• If your topic is on current issues, you should find a relative article in journals.
• Once you have identified new possible topics
• Begin reading the scientific literature in these areas.
• Eventually, you will narrow your reading to the topic that is of most interest to you.
• Before you start, choose a research topic that is interesting to you
• Narrow down to some experience or knowledge about,
• Narrow down to issues which are researchable with either empirical or non-empirical data.
• Identification of the problem must go hand in hand with something that is current, very fast and
complex. It is this vastness and complexity that makes us focus or pick out the finite from the
infinite. By doing this, you only get that which has value to you. Stating the problem clearly is
very important because this is a foundation for further development of the research proposal.
There are 2 different ways of stating a problem:
• Posing question/questions: The question form has an advantage in sharpening and focusing the
issue. However, once you are decisive about it, then now change it into a statement.
• Making declarative statement/statements: This is another option to state the problem and it
ought to be clear and within context.

ii. Criteria for selecting a research problem/ research topic

Some of the factors which contribute to a successful selection of the research problem include the
following criteria:

• Relevance and importance: The problem should be significant enough and involve an important
principle or practice. If it is not worthwhile, if it neither adds to knowledge nor lead to any
improvement in the current practices, it would be in vain.
• Feasibility: The research may have a good problem but the researcher may not be able to carry
out to its successful conclusion. The researcher should possess the required competence,
knowledge, skill and understanding. There may be constraints in conducting a research, e.g.
the magnitude of the problem. The size of the problem matters and it is important to make it
feasible so as to handle it better. Also, some resource related problems may arise, e.g. monetary
constraints, the time factor and equipment and cooperation from personnel etc.
• Avoidance of duplicity: The research problem should be sufficiently original so that it does not
involve objectionable duplication. Originality is the basic credit of research. Ignorance of prior
studies may lead a student to spend time on a problem already investigated by some other
worker. Moreover, the research should employ the most recent data.

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 • Political and social acceptability: This is a situation whereby a chosen topic is based on a certain
political situation. This may not be acceptable due to sensitivity which may hinder findings.
• Level of research: the nature and scope of a study will be determined in the light of such as
diploma, degree, master’s degree, Ph.D.
• Interesting: The problem must be interesting to the researcher. If the investigator is not
interested in the problem, he/she will not be able to face and overcome obstacles which come
at every step-in research. If the problem statement looks dull and boring to the investigator,
there is little hope that he/she will do justice to it. The investigator must have strong inherent
motivation in the problem. This interest must be purely intellectual and should not be there
only for a reward, material benefit, and advancement in position, increased authority etc.
• Ethical issues responsible: The sensitivity of the subjects should be taken into account. The
investigation should not be harmful to subjects. Subjects should willingly consent to personal
matters.
• Availability of Data: The researcher should ensure the availability of valid data and reliable
data gathering devices and procedures. In case the study demands confidential, sensitive and
classified information, will it be possible for him/her to obtain it?
• Experience and creativity: Good research problems stem from a clear understanding of the
theoretical, empirical and practical aspects of the subject derived from personal experience and
from a thorough review of literature. Conversely, lack of familiarity with the subject is almost
certain to result in poor choice.
• Courage and confidence: The researcher should have courage and confidence to pursue the
study inspite of the difficulties and social hazards that may be involved. Will the researcher be
able to work aggressively when data is difficulty to gather and when others are reluctant to
cooperate? Is the researcher willing to risk criticism, suspicion or controversial study may
arise?

iii. Identification of the area of research

Any research is likely to take a significant amount of your time and energy, so whatever problem you
study, should be worth that time and energy. As one begins the process of identifying a suitable
research problem to tackle, it is wise to keep 3 criteria in mind:

• It should address as important question whose answer should make a difference in some way.
• It should advance the frontiers of knowledge such as leading to new ways of thinking,
suggesting possible applications or paving way for further research in the field.
• As one identifies the research topic of interest, ensure that you are sufficiently knowledgeable
about the same topic so that you aware of what projects might make important contributions to
the field of study.

vi. Some strategies one can employ as novice or expert researcher therefore include:

❖ Reading Literature: Find out what things are already known about your topic of interest and
avoid reinventing the will. The existing literature is also likely to tell one what is not known in

21
 the area, what still needs to be done etc. reading literature is also advantageous in that it gives
one theoretical base to build ones study. It can also help one interpret findings and relate them
to what is already known in the field.
❖ Attending Professional Conferences: One can be lucky to find new research projects at a
national/regional conference in their discipline as they learn what could be “hot” and not in
their field. It can also be an avenue to meet and interact with professionals, experts with whom
ideas can be shared.
❖ Seek the advice of experts: Simply seek advice of an expert as you try to identify a research
problem in a particular field as they will endeavor to answer some questions.
❖ Education agencies: These could be schools, home, community, church, etc which could be
prevailing educational practices which require research evidence.
❖ Social Development: These include NGOs and other technological changes which might bring
about new developments and new opportunities for research.
❖ Record of Previous Research: The researcher should research such works as encyclopedia of
research, research abstracts and recommended future research, research bulletins, research
reports, journals, dissertations and other similar publications.
❖ Discussions: These could be classroom discussions, workshops and exchange of ideas with
fellow scholars and students which would stimulate optional research problems.
❖ Consultations: These could be consultations with experts, research supervisors, research guides
etc. these could be helpful in finding researchable areas or problems.

Suffice to say that problems for research are everywhere. One simply takes a look around them and
there lies your interest. One asks themselves as to which discipline could host their area of interest? Is
it in agriculture, education, medicine, economics, engineering, sociology, language and literature,
communication and media, music etc.

v. Steps to be followed in Research Topic Selection

The term TOPIC refers to subject, issue or area under discussion. The topic one selects to research is
essential in the success of the research project. This is mainly because one’s interest in the topic will
sustain the research. If the researcher is interested in a particular area, they will enjoy reading related
materials and will put more time and effort into the work. The researcher will also be keen to collect
the required data, analyzing it and finding out the results. Below follows the steps in selecting a
research topic:

➢ Identification of what interests or puzzles one in an area of study: There are many issues in life
which may puzzle or interest a researcher. These may be social, economic, health, political,
cultural, environmental, etc. However, it is always important to identify a puzzling aspect in
one’s area of study. This not only enables the researcher to go in-depth in one’s professional
area, but also to defend the researched work with authority. for instance, in the School of
Education, one may be puzzled as to why inspite of adequate teachers in secondary schools,
the grade 9 exam results are still too low, one in the School of Accounting may be puzzled
why, inspite of yearly audit reports by the Auditor General, misappropriation of funds in the
22
 public institutions seem to be increasing, one in the School of Public Health may be puzzled as
to why despite awareness programmes and mosquito net distributions, malaria rates seem to be
on the increase, etc. These may be fertile grounds in which students can identify research topics.
➢ Identification of key words for the topic: The researcher should then zero down to the real
aspect puzzling them and express it in specific words. These are words that represent the issue
that has puzzled them. For instance, the topic POVERTY can be looked at from different angles
by various researchers. Some key words would be … impact, consequences, challenges, causes,
opportunity windows, effects, social factors contributing etc… to poverty. Or to a researcher
from Public Health School, their key words may be “Awareness creation verses malaria
prevalence”. One from Accounting School, their key words would be “Auditor General
Financial Report verses Fund misappropriation etc”. Basically the researcher should think of
what to concentrate on based on these words.
➢ Defining the topic: After identifying the key words the researcher wants to concentrate on, they
need now to define the topic. Defining the topic involves analyzing selected key words keenly.
This is so because out of the key words identified, there are actually a number of topics that
can be extracted from them or that can be studied. For example, a topic on Poverty, and imagine
one of the key words is CAUSES or POVERTY. “CAUSES” is broad in its sense, therefore,
from different perspectives of social, economic, environmental, health, political, etc … what
factors would you as a researcher concentrate on. It may be Economic Factors contributing to
Poverty, Social aspects contributing to Poverty etc. Once one defines the topic according to
what they would like to concentrate on, it enables them to or the study to be focused.
➢ Formulation of the topic: After defining the topic, the researcher should now formulate the
topic into a Research Title. This is the start of having other aspects of the research to fall into
place. Such as the Statement of the Problem, Objectives, etc. However, the researcher ought to
search for articles or material related to the topic so that they develop clarity over the topic
selected before they formulate the Title.

vi. Qualities/characteristics of an effective Research Topic

(a) It is researchable: This means the research instruments can easily be developed and the formulated
objectives measurable.

(b) It captivates the interest of the researcher: Basically the topic selected should be one where the
researcher has sufficient interest.

(c) It makes a contribution to knowledge: Meaning it ought not to be knowledge already existing, but
rather new knowledge contributed.

(d) It is provocative-open to other views and interpretation: This means it is open to varied views and
interpretation.

(e) It is clear and focused: This means the topic is not vague or alien to the researcher

vi. Challenges encountered in research topic selection

23
Selecting a research topic requires a lot of care because the topic selected has a lot of influence on the
success or failure of the research study. Suffice to mention that they are various challenges encountered
in topic selection and these may cause one to abandon the work halfway or the project takes longer to
be completed than anticipated. Some challenges may include the following:

✓ Choosing a topic that is too wide: A researcher may select a topic that is too wide and fails to
limit the scope. For instance, “The effects of high interest rates”. This topic may be problematic
since the issues of interest rates may vary according to sector, such as banks, microfinance
institutions, etc. The scope of the topic is not clearly specified.
✓ Choosing a topic that is too complex: Sometimes one can choose a topic that is too complex
for research at the level of the student. The complexity may be based on the sample size, study
period required, financial requirements, etc.
✓ Poor Timing: Sometimes one may be tempted to select a topic that would require huge amount
of time to undertake, given the duration specified to students. So timing remains key.
✓ Limited accessibility to materials and respondents: A particular topic may prove unsuitable
simply because there is no ready accessibility to the requisite source materials or indeed the
kind of respondents suitable for the study may not be readily available.

vii. Research title selection

The term TITLE refers to heading or label or tag. The title of the proposal thesis describes what the
study is all about. The title is a mini abstract, a summary of key ideas in a proposal or thesis. E.g.
“Gendered inequalities in media reporting phenomena in Zambia: A case study of two public
print media”. The title clearly shows that the study is on gender inequalities in media, and that the
focus is 2 public print media.

viii. Steps in research title selection

• Identify keywords for the title: Before formulating a title, the researcher should identify key
issues in the topic the researcher is interested in.
• Reflect on key issues: The researcher should brainstorm the key issues identified. This includes
attempting to find out the independent and dependent variables. The variables ought to link in
order to form a title.
• Formulate the title: After the researcher is clear about the independent and dependent variables,
the title can be formulated. The formulation of the title involves trying to link the key variables
by using terms such as “The effects of, the impact of “ etc.
• Evaluation: After formulating the title, the researcher ought to ensure that it is clear and
specific. This means the independent and dependent variables are easily identified. E.g. if the
topic is on Free Primary Education, the title can be: The effects of free primary education on
student accessibility retention and academic performance.

ix. Qualities/characteristics of an effective research title

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 ➢ It should be brief and specific. Some guidance state that the minimum number of words could
be around 8 and the maximum around 16. This should be able to bring out the title and easier
to identify the independent and dependent variables.
➢ It should be in line with the set objectives: The title is a brief summary on what is to be studied.
It should therefore portray the aims and objectives of the study. The words used in the title
should clearly reflect the focus of the study.
➢ It should be clear and un ambiguous: the title should not lead to various interpretations of the
study.
➢ It should reflect a relationship between the independent and dependent variables.
➢ It should portray an issue that is researchable. The aspects in question should be measurable.

x. Challenges encountered in research title selection

• Choosing a Title that is not specific: e.g. Poverty in Zambia…. This is too wide. It is open to
various interpretations. This is because poverty can be seen from various perspectives be it
social, political, economic, etc.
• Writing a title that is too wordy: A brief title is more effective than a long one simply because
variables are easily identified. If one part title fails, two part title can be used separated by a
colon. E.g. “Gendered inequalities in media reporting phenomena in Zambia: A case
study of two public print media”.
• Poorly formulated titles: some titles are difficult to comprehend. For instance, “Understanding
poverty in Zambia”. It is difficult to comprehend what the term “understanding” means.
• Lack of consistency: Some titles do not tally with the objectives nor the problem statement.

Chapter One: The title of this chapter is called INTRODUCTION

• 1.1 Introduction: In this subtitle, the researcher introduces the subject matter in a very precise
and succinct manner. The researcher gives a snapshot of the issue and what will be treated in
this chapter. The researcher explains about some of the issues which will be treated here such
as background information, background information about the institution/context under which
the research is being treated, statement of the problem, significance/rationale/justification of
the study, purpose/aim of the study, research study objectives, research study questions, scope
of the study, limitations of the study and the theoretical and conceptual frameworks.
• 1.2 Background Information: Write in general terms about the subject matter. Define and
explain from the authoritative/academic point of view what they say about this issue. What is
the background to this issue? Where did it start from and when? What is the current state of
affairs? Factor in all this kind of information.
• 1.3 Context or institution: Provide information about the site that is under study or being
investigated.
• 1.4 Statement of the problem: In a research proposal, there is a section that deals with the
Statement of the Problem. Apart from formulating a research problem either in the form of a
25
 question or declarative statement, the researcher ought to consider various issues to include
under this section. Basically, one ought to make a description of the social, economic, cultural
and political characteristics. This will help put the problem into context and give an overview
of the solution. Dr Olanike Busari used an analogy of sickness in helping to craft the Statement
of the Problem. If you happen to go to the hospital, if you don't state what your problem is, the
doctor cannot know what to treat. The problem statement is very important in research and
many students lack the basic knowledge of how to present their research problems. Remember,
your problem statement does not necessarily have to be lengthy. If you are telling a medical
doctor about the symptoms of your sickness and you are beating about the bush, the doctor may
get furious with you. That is what often happens with the examiners of research works. One
easiest way of crafting the Statement of the Problem is to look at it from the point of view of
sickness to explain the simple steps in problem statement:
i. State the ideal situation - I am supposed to be healthy to live a fulfilled life. Start with a general
statement of the problem or issue at hand. Cite literature or current articles that note the
importance of the topic and why it is a problem.
ii. State the current situation - however I am not well at all. It is important to consider giving some
statistics to highlight the problem, magnitude of the problem and how severe the problem is
and who is affected the most etc. In describing the nature of the problem, the discrepancy
between the ideal and reality should be given.
iii. State measures that have been put in place over time to solve the problem - I have taken
different medications including......, i have even tried herbal medicines and prayer houses etc.
Give a brief description of any solutions that may have been tried in the past and why they
failed. Hence now justify your research.
iv. State the persistence of the problem - yet, i have not felt any better, instead it is increasing.
There should be an analysis of the major factors contributing to the problem and one should
convince the reader that the available knowledge is not sufficient or adequate in showing the
problem.
v. State the effects of the problem - I can't concentrate, i can't eat very well, i can't sleep very well
(these are effects on the person), effects on other may include: my sickness constrains my
family members etc... Once you identify the pivot work leading up to yours, state explicitly
what scientific questions other scientist have not yet answered about your field.
vi. State the reason for the research - I feel that this sickness may be severe or even kill me if i
don't find a lasting solution to it. And I feel that a way of finding lasting solution it is by
consulting a specialist about my sickness.
vii. State the gap in knowlege - although people have similar cases to my own but they have often
used different methods to treat their own sicknesses, but I feel that using this method will make
a more significant difference from the methods previously used by others. This is what is meant
by “gaps in our understanding’’. Next suggest how your work will be structured to address
these important questions. Finally, make certain that the significance of your proposed work is
clearly shown. It is essential to include a well-documented statement of the need/ problem that
is the basis for your project. What are the pressing problems that you want to address?

26
 viii. Conclude your statement - it is because of all I have said that I came to you for a solution to
my problem. Make the problem is significant. That is, make sure the problem as a theory base
or as some literature related to it.

Simple and short. Please try this simple steps and see if any examiner will complain about your
problem statement. Then as you package the statement of the problem in this way, consider including
the following:

1.5 Significance of the Study/Rationale/Justification

• Explain why this topic is worth considering, or this question or series of questions is worth
answering.
• Answer the following questions: why have you selected this topic?
• What will this new knowledge will add to the field of knowledge that already exist on this
topic?
• What new perspective will you bring to the topic?
• What use might your final research paper have for the others in this field or in the general
public?
• Who might you decide to share your findings with once the project is complete?
• Why is this work important?
• What are the implications of doing it?
• How does it ink to other knowledge?
• How this significant to our body of knowledge.
• Why is it important to our understanding of the world?
• To that end, a proposal needs to show how your work fits into what already known about the
topic and what new contribution your work will make.

1.6 Objectives of the Research Study

Divide the Objectives of the research study I two. The first one is called the Main Objective or General
Objective. The second one is called the Specific Research Objectives. So in essence it is crafted as
follows:

1.6.1 Main Research Objective

Here you state what you want to achieve. This is in line with the title of the research.

1.6.2 Specific Research Objectives

27
Here now you state the specific research objectives which will help attain the main objective. In other
words, state what you want to achieve.

• Based on the literature review will able to set your overall objectives.

• Your objectives should be unambiguous.

• Objectives are operational, tell specific things you will be accomplishing in your
project, and are very measurable. Your objectives must be tangible, specific,
concentrate, measurable and achievable in a specified time period.

• Your objectives will serve as the basis for the activities of your project and you will
also serve as a basis for the evaluations of your project.

1.7 Research Questions

Divide the Research Questions in two. The first one is called the Main Question or General Question.
The second one is called the Specific Research Questions. So in essence it is crafted as follows:

1.7.1 Main Research Question

Here you state what you want to achieve, but in a question format. This is in line with the title of the

research. Basically it means turning the main research objective into a question.

1.7.2 Specific Research Questions

Here now you turn the specific research objectives into questions. In other words, state what you want
to achieve in a question format.

• Based on the literature review will able to set your overall objectives.

• Your questions should be unambiguous.

• Questions are operational, tell specific things you will be accomplishing in your
project, and are very measurable. Your questions must be tangible, specific,
concentrate, measurable and achievable in a specified time period.

• Your questions will serve as the basis for the activities of your project and you will
also serve as a basis for the evaluations of your project.

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1.8 The Theoretical and Conceptual Frameworks
1.8.1 Theoretical Framework (Definition of a Theory)

A systematic review of pertinent literature provides the understanding that a theory is a generalised
statement of abstractions or ideas that asserts, explains or predicts relationships or connections between
or among phenomena, within the limits of critical bounding assumptions that the theory explicitly
makes (Gabriel, 2008). A theory is a conceptual representation or explanation of phenomenon. They are stories
about how and why events occur. Kurt Lewin defines theory as a way of explaining the ordering and occurrence of
various events. It can also be defined as a set of systematic generalizations based on scientific observation and leading to
further empirical observation. (Severin and Tankard (Jnr.) 1982). The generalised statement brings together
ideas, “interrelated concepts, definitions, and propositions that explain or predict events or situations
by specifying relations among variables” (Glanz, 2008, p. 114). The ideas, concepts and themes,
constitute a deep and broad base of knowledge in the discipline – which constitutes the theory. These
ideas, concepts, and themes together comprise the theory, which enables us to explain the meaning,
nature, relationships, and challenges asserted, or predicted to be associated with a phenomenon in an
educational or social sciences context, so that an application of those attributes of the theory, enables
us to understand the phenomenon and to act more appropriately (Asher, 1984), including ability to
predict. In line with this understanding, Kerlinger and Lee (2000, p. 11) define and explain the meaning
of a theory very well, as follows:

• A theory is a set of interrelated constructs (concepts), definitions, and propositions that present
a systematic view of phenomena by specifying relations among variables, with the purpose of
explaining and predicting the phenomena. This definition says three things:
(i) a theory is a set of propositions consisting of defined and interrelated constructs,
(ii) a theory sets out the interrelations among a set of variables (constructs), and in so doing,
presents a systematic view of the phenomena described by the variables, and
(iii) a theory explains phenomena; it does so by specifying which variables are related to
which variables and how they are related, thus enabling the researcher to predict from
certain variables to certain other variables. The propositions and interrelationships of a
theory that are explained very well in this quote of Kerlinger and Lee (2000) can be
simplified by a metaphor. A theory usually emerges from a long process of research
that uses empirical data to make assertions based on deductive and inductive analysis
of the data. Overtime, and on the basis of clearly stated assumptions, the observations
from the research produce results that converge on findings about relationships, and
these enable the researcher to formulate the core propositions from which the abstract
theory is then generalised. The theory that emerges provides an intellectual, research-
grounded basis for understanding, applying, analysing, and designing new ways to
investigate relationships and to solve problems in educational and social sciences
contexts. The assumptions, assertions, and predictions of relationships postulated by a
theory become an intellectual base upon which research data can be grounded to search
for meaning in future studies. The predictions in the theory can provide reason for
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 research into problems that hitherto have not been investigated. They help researchers
to consider what is important and critical in understanding real-life situations, as
postulated by the theory, and how our knowledge and understanding of contexts in
education and the social sciences can be used to explain behaviour and to solve
problems. As explained by Jacard and Jacob (2010), each theory – its assumptions,
tenets, assertions, propositions, predictions – comprises a common frame of reference
that can be used by researchers in a particular discipline as to what is understood to be
true or a basis for searching for meaning and truth in our lived experiences, and a well-
grounded guide for research within the field. As well articulated by Glanz, (2017, p.
10), “Theory, research, and practice are part of a continuum for understanding the
determinants of behaviours, testing strategies for change, and disseminating effective
interventions”. The three are inextricably interlinked.

Characteristics of a Theory

A good number of authors (e.g., Bunge, 1967; Hunt, 1991; Johnson & Christensen, 2017; Popper,
1985; Reynolds, 1971; and Wacker, 1998) outline the essential ingredients of a theory. A review of
their work suggests that for a body of assertions, descriptions or predictions of behaviour or
relationships to qualify as a theory, it must meet the following characteristics:

• It has to be logical and coherent

• It has clear definitions of terms or variables, and has boundary conditions
• It has a domain where it applies
• It has clearly described relationships among variables
• It describes, explains, and makes specific predictions
• It comprises concepts, themes, principles and constructs
• It must have been based on empirical data
• It must have made claims that are subject to testing, been tested and verified
• It must be clear and parsimonious
• Its assertions or predictions must be different and better than those in existing theories
• Its predictions must be general enough to be applicable to and in several contexts
• Its assertions or predictions are applicable, and if applied as predicted, will result in the
predicted outcome
• The assertions and predictions are not set in concrete, but subject to revision and improvement
as social scientists use the theory to make sense of phenomena in their world
• Its concepts and principles explain what is going on and why
• Its concepts and principles are substantive enough to enable us to predict future events

Definition of a Theoretical Framework

A theoretical framework comprises the theories expressed by experts in the field into which you plan
to research, which you draw upon to provide a theoretical coat hanger for your data analysis and
interpretation of results. Put differently, the theoretical framework is a structure that summarizes
concepts and theories, which you develop from previously tested and published knowledge which you
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synthesize to help you have a theoretical background, or basis for your data analysis and interpretation
of the meaning contained in your research data. Swanson (2013, p. 122) explicitly asserts, “The
theoretical framework is the structure that can hold or support a theory of a research study”. The
theoretical framework for your research proposal or thesis is not a summary of your own thoughts
about your research. Rather, it is a synthesis of the thoughts of giants in your field of research, as they
relate to your proposed research or thesis, as you understand those theories, and how you will use those
theories to understand your data. In essence, the theoretical framework comprises what leaders in your
field of research say about your research question, about the problem you plan to investigate, and might
even include suggestions of how to solve that problem, including how to interpret the findings in your
data. What those leaders say, helps you to develop an informed, and specialized lens, through which
you examine your data, conduct the data analysis, interpret the findings, discuss them, and even make
recommendations, and conclusions. Data analysis and interpretation in a HDR is an academic piece of
writing and cannot be written as conversational dialogue. It must reflect academic rigor and skills.
Situating your research findings within your theoretical framework helps you to provide that rigor and
skills. You can look at the theoretical framework as a structure or a data mining lens that uses
knowledge from research done to date in your field, to make sense of the data in your own research
study.

Meaning of Conceptual Framework and Differences between Conceptual Framework and

Theoretical Framework

A conceptual framework is the total, logical orientation and associations of anything and everything
that forms the underlying thinking, structures, plans and practices and implementation of your entire
research project. So, the conceptual framework comprises your thoughts on identification of the
research topic, the problem to be investigated, the questions to be asked, the literature to be reviewed,
the theories to be applied, the methodology you will use, the methods, procedures and instruments, the
data analysis and interpretation of findings, recommendations and conclusions you will make (Ravitch
& Riggan, 2017). Thus, the conceptual framework is the logical conceptualization of your entire
research project. Saying that it is a logical conceptualization means that a conceptual framework is a
metacognitive, reflective and operational element of the entire research process. This in turn means
that the conceptual framework involves high order consideration of the following questions and/or
issues about your research:

(i) What do you want to do in your research? For example, as articulated in your research
topic.
(ii) Why do you want to do it? For example, why is it important to conduct that research? Why
it is significant? What aims will it seek to achieve? Which specific objectives will it pursue?
How much scope will it cover?
(iii) How do you plan to do it? For example, which methodology will you apply? Which
methods will you use? Who will be your participants? How will you gather data? How will
you analyse the data?
(iv) How will you make meaning of the data? For example, which theoretical framework will
you use to analyse the data? Which software will you use? Which skills will you need?

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 (v) Which worldview will you locate your research in? For example, will it be in the positivist
or interpretivist paradigm; critical or pragmatic paradigm?
(vi) How will you report your findings? For example, in a research paper, or a seminar paper,
or a conference paper, a book chapter, or a book or a thesis? Thus, you can look at the
conceptual framework as the logical master plan for your entire research project. It is
noteworthy, as you can see from the above, that a theoretical framework is only a little sub-
set of the conceptual framework. A helpful analogy might be, that while the conceptual
framework is the house, the theoretical framework is but a room that serves a particular
purpose in that house. The purpose of the room could, for example, be the kitchen, or living
room, or bathroom or bedroom, or garage. While each room has a unique purpose, no single
room can serve all the functions that a house serves. This analogy should help you to
appreciate better, why these two terms should never be used interchangeably. Only in a
one-room ‘house’, would the house and room be one and the same thing. Most houses are
not built like that. The conceptual framework is thus the umbrella term relating to all the
concepts and ideas that occupy your mind as you contemplate, plan, implement and
conclude your research project. Thus, whereas the conceptual framework could be the
product of your own thinking about your research study, the theoretical framework
comprises other people’s theoretical perspectives that you interpret as relevant to your
research, and in particular, helpful in your data analysis and interpretation. That is why the
term conceptual framework is so all-inclusive, that trying to unpack it in your research
proposal could be messy. And since most of the constituent parts of the conceptual
framework have sections of their own which need to be addressed in the research process,
there is no need of taking the risk of trying to unravel this complex set of concepts. For all
your practical purposes, there is no need to explain your conceptual framework. It is too
diverse, too big a task for you to explain in a research proposal or a thesis. The advice I
give my students is to avoid using this term. You need to design and explain the theoretical
framework for your PhD thesis. However, you are not required to explicitly discuss your
conceptual framework.

The Purpose and Importance of a Theoretical Framework in a Research

The main reason you should develop a theoretical framework for your research is so as to have a
scholarly foundation for all your sense making of the meaning contained in your data (Neuman, 1997).
The theoretical framework provides a structure for what to look for in the data, for how you think of
how what you see in the data fits together, and helps you to discuss your findings more clearly, in light
of what existing theories say. It helps you to make connections between the abstract and concrete
elements you observe in your data. For example, the theoretical framework helps you to raise questions
such as, what do leaders in this field theorise about my research question? What existing theoretical
ideas can I use to investigate and to understand my research problem? According to the theories, what
should I be looking for in the data to answer my research question? Thus, the theoretical
[Link] International Journal of Higher Education Vol. 7, No. 6; 2018 Published
by Sciedu Press 48 ISSN 1927-6044 E-ISSN 1927-6052 framework helps you to substantiate your
argumentation. It helps you to justify what you say about the findings and recommendations. As I said

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earlier, the theoretical framework serves as a coat hanger for all your data analysis, interpretation of
results and discussion of findings. I use the metaphor of the coat hanger to emphasise that it is the
structure that you use to make the bits and pieces of your data hang together as one body of knowledge.
Another helpful metaphor I could give you is that your research data are bricks lying haphazardly in
the backyard, and your theoretical framework organises them into a particular structure – a wall of a
house, a wall across territorial borders, a pier of a cathedral, an arcade into a shopping mall. In each of
these four structures, the bricks are given a different meaning by the structure in which they hang. I
invoke this metaphor here to emphasize that the theoretical framework is the structure which helps you
to interpret the meaning contained in your data. For this reason, and to invoke another metaphor, the
theoretical framework serves a very important purpose as a lens through which you focus upon your
data and see the meaning embedded within the data. This lens can magnify the contents in the data,
and reveal interconnections which make meaning in answer to your research question, and in
addressing your research problem. Without this lens, chances are you could miss some of such
interconnections. The theoretical framework enables you to add depth to your data analysis by
supporting what you say with reference to the theories advanced by people whose knowledge on your
topic is much deeper than yours, and in many cases proven or unquestionable. It enables you to report
your findings in an analytical, evaluative and creative way. This adds to the depth of your analysis and
discussion of findings. It demonstrates your deep rather than surface understanding (Kivunja, 2015),
of the meaning contained in your data. It helps you to frame your arguments in light of what can be
normally expected and in consideration of what is most likely to be true. It deepens the academic and
scholastic flavor of your arguments. To invoke Guba’s (1981) criteria for good research, we can say
that a theoretical framework helps the achievement of these criteria:

➢ It increases the credibility of qualitative data or the internal validity of your quantitative data.
➢ It may enhance the transferability of the findings from your qualitative data or external validity
and generalizability of quantitative data analysis.
➢ It increases the confirmability of your findings in qualitative data or objectivity of your findings
in quantitative data.
➢ It improves the dependability of your findings in qualitative data or reliability of findings in
quantitative data.

An important purpose of the theoretical framework is that it gives you the opportunity to state your
theoretical assumptions very clearly, so that your supervisors and thesis examiners will know what
guided your data analysis and interpretation. Furthermore, in addition to spelling out the assumptions,
you also articulate which variables you will analyze. This helps you to make your data analysis and
interpretation more focused. Additionally, because, as I have said above, a good theoretical framework
should be seen to emerge from your literature review, your development of the theoretical framework
demonstrates to your supervisors and thesis examiners that you have mastery of the relevant literature,
from which the theoretical framework emerged. Again, as I have said above, because your thesis is a
piece of academic, scholarly writing, the theoretical framework gives you the opportunity to
demonstrate your capability, as an emerging researcher, to intellectually transition from simply
describing your data to engaging in higher-order cognitive analysis, evaluation and synthesis of your
data, enabling you to abstract and to generalize your findings. Use of the theoretical framework enables

33
you, not only to interpret the meaning found in your data, but to also evaluate the solutions you propose
for solving your research problem, as well as the recommendations you make for solving the problem
and for future research. Assertions made by your theoretical framework enable you to sort your data
into those that are relevant and important for analysis to understand your research problem, and which
ones are not. This enables you to demonstrate your contribution to knowledge and scholarship, and
because this is what you get awarded a PhD for, that is why I said at the start of this paper, that a
theoretical framework is a must for a PhD thesis.

Developing a Theoretical Framework

An existing theory is not likely to provide plausible explanations of the meaning contained in your
data, without modification. This is because, by definition, a theory, as we saw earlier, is an abstraction,
a generalization, and therefore, it is not content, or topic specific. In contrast, by definition, your
theoretical framework is an analytical structure you put together or develop to suit your research
purposes, which as you know, are to answer your particular research question and address your stated
problem. Therefore, the best way to develop your theoretical framework is to conduct a thorough
literature review so that your theoretical framework can emerge from that [Link]
International Journal of Higher Education Vol. 7, No. 6; 2018 Published by Sciedu Press 49 ISSN
1927-6044 E-ISSN 1927-6052 literature, as represented in the theoretical views expressed by leaders
in the field in which your thesis is located (Scott & Usher, 2004). Whereas you might be able to identify
a theory in the literature and borrow that for your data analysis, the preferred approach which
demonstrates the critical mind and creativity capacity of a PhD graduate is to synthesise the contents
of existing theories into one that is custom-tailored to your own problem statement and research
question. This is a challenging task, but so are all the tasks expected of a PhD candidate. To accomplish
this task, you review the theories that are relevant to your topic, research question and problem, and
use the contents, that is the concepts, assumptions, assertions, models and predictions, to come up with
a theoretical framework purposely tailored to the needs of your research study so that it helps you to
explain the findings in your study. Asking yourself the following questions, should help you to develop
an effective theoretical framework, tailored to your own data analysis needs:

(i) Is there a theory that can help me to make sense of the meaning of the data that I will gather
to answer the research question/s?
(ii) Are there theories that have been developed in the field of my research topic, or in similar
topics that might inform an understanding of my research question, my research problem
and data analysis?
(iii) What do experts in the field of my proposed research say about the problem I want to
investigate?
(iv) What do they say about the research questions I want to investigate, from theoretical
perspectives?
(v) What do they say are the key variables to be investigated?
(vi) Which assumptions, definitions, and propositions are in these leading scholars’ theories,
and how can I make them explicitly relevant to my research question, research problem,
and data analysis?

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 (vii) How can I modify what they have said, so as to come up with my own theorization about
the meanings contained in my research data?
(viii) Have I defined the key concepts in my theoretical framework?
(ix) Does the theoretical framework I am developing address the research questions and
hypotheses of my research? (i.e. If you have developed hypotheses).
(x) Does the theoretical framework I am developing address my research problem?
(xi) Have I included in my theoretical framework all the key theories and analytic models in
literature that relate to my study?
(xii) Will the use of this theoretical framework enable me to analyze and discuss the findings in
my data?
(xiii) Does the theoretical framework have a logical structure and make academic sense?
(xiv) Is my theoretical framework easily applicable to my data analysis?
(xv) Does my theoretical framework encompass all the key variables or factors in my data?
(xvi) Does my theoretical framework enable me to explain the meaning contained in my data?
(xvii) Have I used the latest data available on the theoretical aspects of my planned research?
(xviii) Given my theoretical framework, which data shall I include in the analysis, and which data
shall I exclude, and why?

What does a Theoretical Framework Look Like?

I think that a good way to facilitate your understanding of what a theoretical framework looks like is
to outline an example. The example I have chosen is designed to help you understand how you can
take an existing theoretical model, and re-frame it so that it serves as the theoretical framework for
your own research. Here the example chosen is Kivunja’s (2015) Constructivist Teaching Model, and
an explanation is given on how it was developed into the theoretical framework to be used in a study
that sought to investigate how teachers in 15 selected schools applied constructivist teaching principles
and strategies in their teaching. In Teaching, learning and assessment, Kivunja (2015), presents a
model that represents what teaching and learning should look like in a constructivist classroom. As my
overarching research question is: How do teachers in selected primary schools in New South Wales
(NSW) apply constructivist principles and practices in their teaching, this model appears to provide a
perfect fit for developing the theoretical framework that I will use to analyze data in this research. The
model is illustrated in Figure 1. As illustrated in Figure 1, Kivunja (2015) proposes that in a
constructivist classroom, active learning takes place and a highly dynamic teaching and learning
environment is created. For example, students are busy, and actively engaged in constructing their own
understanding. They are [Link] International Journal of Higher Education Vol. 7,
No. 6; 2018 Published by Sciedu Press 50 ISSN 1927-6044 E-ISSN 1927-6052 given opportunity to
plan, do and review activities and concepts they learn. Students participate in learning activities as
partners in knowledge construction, in a self-regulated learning way. Learning strategies are student-
centered, providing scaffolding. They comprise rich learning tasks and involve cooperative learning
teams. The strategies used by the teacher are challenging and try to extend the children’s understanding
of what they learn. The strategies are not only interesting but motivational. The strategies encourage
cooperative rather than individualistic learning. The teacher is less important than the students, and is
a multi-talented, facilitating, self-reflecting practitioner. Their role is to motivate the children, and help

35
them to engage in social construction of knowledge. The teacher tries to become a reflective
practitioner. S/he sets high expectations for all the children in their class and challenges each one to
work towards achieving their personal best. S/he uses cooperative learning strategies to develop team
spirit and social skills among the children. The classroom environment and behavior are goal-oriented
and on-task, with high expectations of every student by the teacher. Activities in the classroom are
learner-focused and the instructions are democratically given. Classroom tasks are goal-oriented,
motivational, tolerant, diverse inclusive, orderly and encourage social interdependence. Assessment is
for learning and is authentic, targeting higher-order learning. It allows for self-assessment, peer
assessment and provides a lot of feedback to the children to help them realize the progress they are
making. Assessments give children a variety of tasks to choose from and freedom to complete them in
different ways. Reporting is designed not only for student improvement, but also teacher improvement.
The report cards consist of grades that make sense to the children, parents, the school and other
stakeholders. Empathy is reflected in the comments provided in the report card. Reporting targets the
learning outcomes that the children are expected to achieve as per their learning stage. The reports are
accurate and comprehensive. These processes are all interrelated in a dynamic quality-learning
environment that plans and facilitates intellectual quality learning in which children are engaged in the
construction of deep knowledge and understanding of ideas, concepts, issues and skills that have
significance in their lives at school and beyond school. These practices are consistent with the three
dimensions of the NSW Quality Teaching Model (NSW DET, 2013). These practices are also
supported by Carnes (2011, p. 72), who says that in a classroom in which constructivist active learning
is taking place, children ‘attend classes that set their minds on fire’. In agreement with Kivunja (2015)
and Carnes (2011), Boyd (2013) asserts that the role of a teacher in a classroom where constructivist
active learning is taking place: “is like a great artist. Someone who is able, through their chosen
profession to inspire both students and peers to learn lifelong. Someone who is able to achieve the right
balance in the choices they make in the learning opportunities and challenges they create. Is able to
put together a sometimes eclectic group of tools and strategies to achieve the ‘light bulb flash’ learning
moment as well as sustained interest in learning individually, in small groups or whole classes, for one
student or an entire class” (p. 3). [Link] International Journal of Higher Education
Vol. 7, No. 6; 2018 Published by Sciedu Press 51 ISSN 1927-6044 E-ISSN 1927-6052 Figure 1.
Theoretical Framework For Investigating Constructivist Teaching This example shows, that you can
develop a theoretical framework for your research, by taking an existing theoretical model, and
showing that you have good mastery of what the model says, and that what it says can help you to
analyse your own data. As illustrated in this example, you need to engage with the model you have
chosen so as to unpack it and to demonstrate your deep understanding of the model. In this example,
this means that you explain how each of the elements of the model is theorised to influence learning
and teaching. Furthermore, you then Source: Kivunja, C. (2015). P. 38. [Link]
International Journal of Higher Education Vol. 7, No. 6; 2018 Published by Sciedu Press 52 ISSN
1927-6044 E-ISSN 1927-6052 explain how you will use each of these elements to analyze and make
sense of your own research data. A good approach in this process is for you to try to link your
explanation to your research question/s and problem to be solved. In other words, how does an
application of what the different elements of this model theorize, help you to make meaning of your
research data?

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Knowledge of Whether You Have Developed a Good Theoretical Framework or not

These points should help you to answer this question:

❖ Is my theoretical framework clearly seen as emerging from my literature review?

❖ Is it the result of my analysis of the main theories advanced by leaders in the field in which my
research is located?
❖ Does it represent or is it relevant to the most current state of theoretical knowledge on my topic?
❖ Have I explained the meaning embedded in the different parts of the theoretical framework?
❖ Does the theoretical framework present a logical, coherent, analytical structure that will be a
good coat hanger for my data analysis?
❖ Do the different parts of the theory constitute a coherent, and comprehensive model that is
capable of helping me to analyse the relationships among the variables I plan to investigate?
❖ Does the theoretical framework target how I will answer my research questions or test the
hypotheses?
❖ Have I documented every source I have used in developing this theoretical framework?
❖ Is my theoretical framework a Model, a Table, a Figure or a description?
❖ Have I explained and justified why this is the appropriate theoretical framework for my data
analysis?

Conclusion

Let me conclude this paper by highlighting the fact that this paper has tried to make a contribution to
knowledge by addressing a trifecta of problematic concepts that HDR students and early career
researchers often find confusing. As discussed in the paper, the trifecta entails the differences between
a theory, a theoretical framework and a conceptual framework. The paper has made it very clear that
whereas the theoretical framework is drawn from the existing theoretical literature that you review
about your research topic, a conceptual framework is a much broader concept that encompasses,
practically all aspects of your research. The latter refers to the entire conceptualisation of your research
project. It is the big picture, or vision, comprising the totality of your HDR project. So, it represents
all your thinking that goes into the cognitive processing about your research topic, developing interest
in it and defining it accurately; finding who will be your supervisors, followed by every step of the
entire research process, all the way to completing and submitting your dissertation, and might even
include who will be your external examiners. In universities where a thesis requires an oral defence,
(often called a viva voce, Latin meaning by live voice), conceptualisation of the respective HDR
project includes consideration of and designing the strategies that will be used to defend the thesis. In
conclusion, every good thesis should contain a theoretical framework for the analysis of the data.
However, there is no requirement for an articulation of the conceptual framework. Ideally, your
theoretical framework should emerge from your literature review. This contrasts significantly with
your conceptual framework, which, in the main, comprises your own thinking, about all the different
components of your research (including the theoretical framework), as explained above. Thus, whereas
every dissertation should contain a section titled theoretical framework; and if a doctoral thesis a
chapter of this title, there is no requirement that you have a section or chapter discussing the conceptual
framework for your research project. It is the expectation that a graduate from a good university, will

37
have a good understanding of the three concepts discussed in this paper, and be able to use them in
their research, publications, teaching and discourse, without confusion. I hope that this paper has
helped in enabling the reader to meet these expectations.

1.8.2 Conceptual Framework (Variables)

In defining the conceptual framework, we shall by looking at the variables. Objects have values. In
Zambia and countries where they practice lobola, for example, the bride price for an educated young
lady may not be the same as a young lady who is not educated. That means an educated young lady
has accumulated more value. If she works, that is an additional value. Therefore, a variable is a
concept that is adding value to the research study.

• Concepts are converted into variables by mapping them into a set of values

• A variable is a characteristic of a person- Numerical variables, or

• Values can be expressed in categories- Categorical variables

• Examples of numerical variables:

➢ Age –expressed in numbers

➢ Weight –expressed in Kilograms

➢ Distance –expressed in kilometres/miles

➢ Income –expressed in kwachas, pounds or dollars

• Examples of Categorical variables:

➢ Outcome of diseases: > recovery

• > Chronic illness

• > Death

➢ Main types of staple food eaten:

• > Maize

• > Millet

• > Cassava

• Types of Variables:

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 1. Background Variables: These are concepts which are curtain raisers. They are added as an
entry point to soften the ground and give value to the research. Background variables appear
as age, sex, educational level, socio-economic status, material status, ethnicity, and religion.
2. Dependent variables: A Dependent variable – is a variable that is used to describe or measure
the problem (core problem) under study.
3. Independent variables: - is a variable that is assumed to cause or at least influences the
problem. These measures the factors.

4. Confounding Variables: A Confounding – is variable that is associated with the problem and
with a possible cause of the problem. For example: In determining the relationship between
level of mother’s education and malnutrition, family income may be related to mother’s
education and occurrence of malnutrition in children. Family income is a potential confounding
variable. To give a true picture of the relationship between mother’s education and
malnutrition, family income should be considered and measured. Background variables are
notorious confounders

Operationalizing Variables by choosing Appropriate Indicators:

• Operationalizing variables –means making the measurable

1.9 Limitations of the Research Study

The limitations of the study are those characteristics of design or methodology that impacted or
influenced the interpretation of the findings from your research. Study limitations are the
constraints placed on the ability to generalize from the results, to further describe applications
to practice, and/or related to the utility of findings that are the result of the ways in which you
initially chose to design the study or the method used to establish internal and external validity
or the result of unanticipated challenges that emerged during the study. Logically speaking, the
descriptions of limitations should be stated in the past tense because they were discovered after
you completed your research. However, the practice is that they are stated early, sometimes in
the first chapter, because it is important to pre-empty the reader to be aware of the weaknesses
or limitations in the dissertation so that you prepare them in advance before they condemn you.
Like that you also show your maturity and honest.

Possible Limitations of the Researcher

• Access: If your study depends on having access to people, organizations, data, or documents
and, for whatever reason, access is denied or limited in some way, the reasons for this needs
to be described. Also, include an explanation why being denied or limited acces s did not
prevent you from following through on your study.

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• Longitudinal effects: Unlike your professor, who can literally devote years [even a lifetime]
to studying a single topic, the time available to investigate a research problem and to measure
change or stability over time is constrained by the due date of your assignment. Be sure to
choose a research problem that does not require an excessive amount of time to complete the
literature review, apply the methodology, and gather and interpret the results. If you're unsure
whether you can complete your research within the confines of the assignment's due date, talk
to your professor.
• Cultural and other type of bias: We all have biases, whether we are conscience of them or
not. Bias is when a person, place, event, or thing is viewed or shown in a consistently
inaccurate way. Bias is usually negative, though one can have a positive bias as well,
especially if that bias reflects your reliance on research that only support your hypothesis.
When proof-reading your paper, be especially critical in reviewing how you have stated a
problem, selected the data to be studied, what may have been omitted, the manner in which
you have ordered events, people, or places, how you have chosen to represent a person, place,
or thing, to name a phenomenon, or to use possible words with a positive or negative
connotation. NOTE: If you detect bias in prior research, it must be acknowledged and you
should explain what measures were taken to avoid perpetuating that bias. For example, if a
previous study only used boys to examine how music education supports effective math skills,
describe how your research expands the study to include girls.
• Fluency in a language: If your research focuses, for example, on measuring the perceived
value of after-school tutoring among Mexican-American ESL [English as a Second Language]
students and you are not fluent in Spanish, you are limited in being able to read and interpret
Spanish language research studies on the topic or to speak with these students in their primary
language. This deficiency should be acknowledged.

Importance of Limitations of the Study

Always acknowledge a study's limitations: It is far better that you identify and acknowledge
your study’s limitations than to have them pointed out by your professor and have your grade
lowered because you appeared to have ignored them.

Keep in mind that acknowledgment of a study's limitations is an opportunity to make

suggestions for further research: If you do connect your study's limitations to suggestions for
further research, be sure to explain the ways in which these unanswered questions may become
more focused because of your study.

Acknowledgment of a study's limitations also provides you with opportunities: to

demonstrate that you have thought critically about the research problem, understood the relevant
literature published about it, and correctly assessed the methods chosen for studying the problem.
A key objective of the research process is not only discovering new knowledge but also to
confront assumptions and explore what we don't know.

40
Claiming limitations is a subjective process because you must evaluate the impact of those
limitations: Don't just list key weaknesses and the magnitude of a study's limitations. To do so
diminishes the validity of your research because it leaves the reader wondering whether, or in
what ways, limitation(s) in your study may have impacted the results and con clusions.
Limitations require a critical, overall appraisal and interpretation of their impact. You should
answer the question: do these problems with errors, methods, validity, etc. eventually matter and,
if so, to what extent?

Possible Methodological Limitations

All studies have limitations. However, it is important that you restrict your discussion to
limitations related to the research problem under investigation. Do not apologize for not
addressing issues that you did not promise to investigate in the introduction of your paper.

• Sample size: The number of the units of analysis you use in your study is dictated by the type
of research problem you are investigating. Note that, if your sample size is too small, it will
be difficult to find significant relationships from the data, as statistical tests normally require
a larger sample size to ensure a representative distribution of the population and to be
considered representative of groups of people to whom results will be generalized or
transferred. Note that sample size is generally less relevant in qualitative research if explained
in the context of the research problem.
• Lack of available and/or reliable data: A lack of data or of reliable data will likely require
you to limit the scope of your analysis, the size of your sample, or it can be a significant
obstacle in finding a trend and a meaningful relationship. You need to not only describe these
limitations but provide cogent reasons why you believe data is missing or is unreliable.
However, don’t just throw up your hands in frustration; use this as an opportunity to describe
a need for future research based on designing a different method for gathering data.
• Lack of prior research studies on the topic: Citing prior research studies forms the basis of
your literature review and helps lay a foundation for understanding the research problem you
are investigating. Depending on the currency or scope of your research topic, there may be
little, if any, prior research on your topic. Before assuming this to be true, though, consult
with a librarian! In cases when a librarian has confirmed that there is little or no prior
research, you may be required to develop an entirely new research typology [for example,
using an exploratory rather than an explanatory research design]. Note again that discovering
a limitation can serve as an important opportunity to identify new gaps in the literature and to
describe the need for further research.
• Measure used to collect the data: Sometimes it is the case that, after completing your
interpretation of the findings, you discover that the way in which you gathered data inhibited
your ability to conduct a thorough analysis of the results. For example, you regret not
including a specific question in a survey that, in retrospect, could have helped address a
particular issue that emerged later in the study. Acknowledge the deficiency by stating a need
for future researchers to revise the specific method for gathering data.
• Self-reported data: Whether you are relying on pre-existing data or you are conducting a
qualitative research study and gathering the data yourself, self-reported data is limited by the
41
 fact that it rarely can be independently verified. In other words, you have to the accuracy of
what people say, whether in interviews, focus groups, or on questionnaires, at face value.
However, self-reported data can contain several potential sources of bias that you should be
alert to and note as limitations. These biases become apparent if they are incongruent with
data from other sources. These are: (1) selective memory [remembering or not remembering
experiences or events that occurred at some point in the past]; (2) telescoping [recalling
events that occurred at one time as if they occurred at another time]; (3) attribution [the act
of attributing positive events and outcomes to one's own agency, but attributing negative
events and outcomes to external forces]; and, (4) exaggeration [the act of representing
outcomes or embellishing events as more significant than is actually suggested from other
data].

1.11 Conclusion of the Chapter

Chapter Two: The title of this chapter is called LITERATURE REVIEW

• 2.1 Introduction: The second critical stage in the process is reading Literature that relates to
your topic of interest and this can help one formulate a specific research problem. Literature
Review can be said to be a systematic analysis and interpretation of available information about
a topic of study. It should be known that research proposals and reports typically have a section
that reviews related literature. Basically, the review describes previous research findings related
to the problem. Literature Review is conducted in two ways. In this subtitle, the researcher
introduces the subject matter by talking about the essence of literature review in a very precise
and succinct manner. The researcher gives advantages of doing literature review and how one
has organized the literature review. Explain whether its in a funnel format from the international
global perspective to the African perspective and eventually to the local perspective. Or could
it be in accordance with the specific objectives.

i. Divide the literature like a funnel by using the title of the research study to find out whether that
issue has been treated at global level. From the global perspective then move on to the African
perspective and from there move on to the local context.

ii. The second way of treating literature review is by using objectives. Use objectives and google to
find out whether there is any information in accordance with the objectives. This means keying in all
the 3 specific objectives; one after another.

• 2.2 The International Global Perspective:

• 2.2.1 …… in the USA
• 2.2.2 ……. In China
• 2.2.3 …………. In the United Kingdom
• 2.2.4 ……. In Belgium
• 2.3 The African Perspective
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 • 2.3.1 ….. in South Africa
• 2.3.2 …. In Kenya
• 2.3.3 ….. in Nigeria
• 2.4 The Local Perspective: Zambia
• 2.4.1 …. In Lusaka
• 2.4.2 … in Mongu
• 2.5 Knowledge Gap
Establish the material or the knowledge which has been contributed by the scholars here and
then show where the knowledge gap is which your research will fill in. this is the value of your
research and why it is necessary that you undertake this research.
• Conclusion of the Chapter

In case you are using objectives to do literature review then you go as follows:

• 2.2 sign in the first specific objective

Gather all the information that has to do with this specific objective.
• 2.3 sign in the second specific objective
Gather all the information that has to do with this specific objective.
• 2.4 sign in the third specific objective
Gather all the information that has to do with this specific objective.
• 2.5 Knowledge Gap
Establish the material or the knowledge which has been contributed by the scholars here and
then show where the knowledge gap is which your research will fill in. this is the value of your
research and why it is necessary that you undertake this research.
• Conclusion of the Chapter

Some of the benefits of Literature Review include the following:

• It gives one an opportunity to look at what others have done in similar areas of interest and
learn more about the gaps which exist.
• It increases one’s confidence in the topic of interest after discovering that others have invested
time and energy in the similar area.
• To demonstrate a familiarity with a body of knowledge and establish credibility.
• To learn from others and stimulate new ideas.
• It can provide one with new ideas and approaches that might not have occurred to one’s mind.
• It can inform about other researchers conducting work in the area for possible contact for
advise and feedback.
• It can reveal sources of data one may not know existed.
• It can introduce you to methods used by other researchers for possible learning and emulation.
• It can help one interpret and make sense of findings and be helped to tie ones results to the
work of those who have gone before. Once literature has been reviewed accordingly, a
researcher is now ready to go through the process of formulating some hypotheses.
• To avoid duplication.
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Chapter Three: Research Methodology
3.1 Introduction: This is the chapter that deals with the specific procedures or techniques used to
identify, select, process, and analyze information about a topic. The research methodology discusses
and explains the data collection and analysis methods you are going to use in your research. This
chapter explains what you will do and how you will do it, allowing readers to evaluate the reliability
and validity of your research and your dissertation topic. So in the introductory remarks you explain
the steps that you are going to take such as the research design, research methods, scope of the study,
target population, sample size, sampling techniques, data collection methods, data analysis, ethical
considerations.

3.2 Research Design: A Research design – is a strategy used by the researcher. It varies according to
the research problem identified and research questions developed.

Types of design chosen depends on:

- Type of problem

- Knowledge already available about the problem.

- Resources available for the study

What are the different types of Research Designs:

There are basically two broad/general types of research designs:

(a) Non-intervention study design: Involve descriptions and analysis of researchable objects or
situations, but no intervention required.
(b) Intervention studies: Involve manipulations of objects or situations and measures the outcome
of the manipulations.
3.2.1 Non-intervention Studies:

These are:

• Exploratory Studies

• Descriptive Studies

• Comparative (analytical) Studies

i. Exploratory Studies:

• An Exploratory study is a small-scale study of relatively short duration, which is carried out
when little is known about a situation or a problem.

• To explore these needs, a number of in-depth interviews are held with various categories of
patients (male, female, married, single etc) and some counsellors in the program underway.
44
 • Exploratory studies describe the needs for various categories of patients and the possibilities
for action.

• You may need to compare groups (e.g males and females)

Comparison -is a fundamental research strategy to identify variables that help explain why one
group of persons or objects differs from another

• Small-scale studies that compare extreme groups are very useful for detecting management
problems.
Purpose of Exploratory studies:

• To find what is happening

• To seek new insights

• To ask questions

• To assess phenomena in new situation

• Necessary for qualitative data

ii. Descriptive Studies:

Descriptive studies - can be carried out on either a small-scale study or large scale study as a cross-
section study. Descriptive case studies- are small scale study designs- describe in depth the
characteristics of one or a limited number of cases.

A case may be, for example- a patient, a health centre, or a village.

• A descriptive study is a study that includes as subjects, all persons in the population
including those who have the diseases, and objectives limited to describing the
population at that time, e.g. prevalence of disease.

• The characteristics of unrecognized illness may be documented as a case study- as first

step towards building up a clinical picture of that illness.
Cross-Section Studies or surveys (large scale descriptive study design):

• Cross-Section Studies- arm at quantifying the distribution of certain variables in a study

population at one point of time.

• They cover:
Physical characteristics of people, materials or environments, e.g prevalence surveys of malaria or
leprosy, or evaluation of courage like immunization, latrines, etc.

• Social-economic characteristics of people, such as age, education, material status, number of

children and income.

45
The behaviour of people and the knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and opinions that may help to explain
the behaviour (KAP studies).

• Cross-sectional surveys cover a sample of population e.g Health surveillance, population

surveillance and so on.

• If a cross-sectional study covers the total population it is called census.

• Can portray an accurate profile of persons, event or situation.

• Requires extensive previous knowledge of situation to be searched or described, so that you

know appropriate aspects on which to gather information.
Can be qualitative or Quantitative in nature

iii. Comparative or Analytical Studies:

• An analytical study attempts to establish causes or risk factors for certain problems

• It is done by comparing two or more groups-some of which have or developed the problem and
some of which have not.

• They seek an explanation of a situation or problem, usually in the form of causal relationships.

• May be qualitative or/ and Quantitative studies.

Types of analytical Studies:

• Cross-section comparative studies

• Case-control studies

• Cohort studies
(a) Cross-sectional comparative studies:
• Many cross-sectional comparative surveys focus on comparative as well as describing groups.

• For example- a survey on malnutrition may wish to establish:

- The percentage of malnourished children in a particular population

- Social-economic, physical, political variables that influence the availability of food

- Feeding practices, and

- Knowledge, beliefs, and opinions that influence practices.

(b) Case-Control Studies:

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 • In case-control study- the investigator compares one group among whom a problem is present
(e.g malnutrition)- a case, with another group-called a control or comparative group where the
problem is absent to find out what factors have contributed to the problem.

• Case-control studies focus as retrospective studies- looking backwards from the past events to
the present time.

• Examples of good cases-control studies are mortality studies e.g HIV/AIDS prevention studies
(c) Cohort Studies:

• In a cohort study, a group of individuals that is exposed to a risk factor (study group) is
compared with a group of individuals not exposed to the risk factor (control group).

• The researcher follows both groups over time, and compares the occurrence of the problem that
he or she expects to be related to the risk factor in the two groups.
Purpose is to determine whether a greater proportion of those with the risk factor are affected

• Example of cohort study- is the study of smokers and non-smokers that can determine
importance of smoking as a risk factor for developing lung cancer.

• The control group should be selected at the same time as the study group, and both should be
followed with the same intensity.

• Cohort studies are the only sure way to establish causal relationships.
Limitations of different types of Analytical Studies:

• Cross-sectional comparative studies and case-control studies are relatively quick and
inexpensive to undertake.

• With cross-section comparative studies one can make is limited to the size of the study.

• The matching of cases and controls has to be done with care.

• Cohort studies take longer than case-control studies, labour intensive and expensive.

• Major problems are usually related to the identification of all cases in a study population,
especially if the problem as a low incidence, and inability to follow up all persons included in
the study over a number of years that can result from mobility.

3.2.2 Intervention Studies

• In the intervention studies, the researcher manipulates a situation and measures the effects of
the manipulations.

47
 • Usually two groups are compared, one in which the intervention takes place ( e.g treatment
with a certain drug) and the other without or with a false treatment.

• There are two categories in intervention studies:

(a) Experimental studies/ clinical trial studies

(b) Quasi-Experimental studies

i. Experimental Studies:

• In an experimental study, individuals are randomly allocated to at least two groups.

• One group is subjected to an intervention or experiment.

• The other group is not.

• The outcome of the intervention- i.e effect of the intervention of the dependent
variable/problem) is obtained by comparing the two groups.

• Classical experimental study design has three characteristics:

- Manipulation- the researcher does something to one group of the subjects in the study.

- Control- The researcher introduces one or more control (s) to compare with the
experimental group.

- Randomization- the researcher takes care to randomly assign subjects to the control and
experimental groups.

Each subject is given an equal chance of being assigned to either group, e.g. by assigning them
numbers and “blindly’’ selecting the numbers of each group.

• The strength of experimental studies is that by randomization the researcher eliminates the
effect of confounding variables.

• Experimental studies are used in laboratory settings and clinical settings.

Randomised control trials of new drugs are common and testing efficiency of other interventions.

ii. Quasi-experimental Studies

• In a Quasi-experimental study- there is manipulation of an independent variable that serves

as the intervention- no randomization involved.

• A true experiment missing- it is regarded as a half experiment.

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 Validity and Reliability conclusions

Whatever research design is selected, a primary concern is that conclusion of the study must be
valid and reliable.

What are validity and reliability of research findings?

• Validity means that the conclusions are true.

• Reliability- means that someone else using the same method in the same circumstances
should be able to obtain the same findings.

• The concepts of validity and reliability are that the aim of finding is at the centre of the
target.

• If repeated attempts achieve similar results, they are reliable.

Selection of study Design: Eliminating threats to validity:

• Researchers should try to eliminate threats to validity through the selection of

appropriate study design.

• In descriptive studies, information is collected from a sample and the finding are often used
to make conclusions about the population.

Threats to validity may cause untrue conclusions

Threats to validity:

• Appropriate selection of study design

• Control group

• Random assignment of subjects to the group.

• Before and after measurements.

• Careful design and pre-testing research instruments for data collection.

3.3 Research Methods

The two major research methods:

❖ Quantitative
❖ Qualitative
❖ Mixed research methods
49
However there are some other social research methods such as:

❖ Evolutionary / Comparative
❖ Experimental & Field Study

3.3.1 Quantitative
Quantitative Method is a research method that relies less on interviews, observations, small numbers
of questionnaires, focus groups, subjective reports and case studies but is much more focused on the
collection and analysis of numerical data and statistics. The researcher begins with selecting a topic of
personal or professional interest. Then the researcher narrows it down to a specific research question
that can be addressed, since the topic is too broad. Often this requires a careful review of related
literature, developing of sub problems and hypothesis etc. the next step which is designing of the study
involves making decisions about the type of sample to select, data collection techniques to be deployed
etc. after designing the study, the researcher then proceeds to actual collection of data where
information would be recorded and verified accordingly. The data is then coded in the form of numbers
and transferred in a computer readable format in readiness for data analysis.

Once data has been collected and transferred in numerical or statistics, the next step is that of data
analysis. The step involves manipulation of data or numbers using computer software to create charts,
tables, graphs and statistics. Often this leads to condensed picture of the data.

Thereafter, now the researcher gives meaning to or interprets data accordingly. Basically, by looking
at the analysed data, using background knowledge on the research topic and question, and drawing on
the theory, a researcher answers the original research question.

After this, now a researcher will be ready for a final step of informing others. This basically means
writing a research report about the study in a specific format as well as presenting it to the professional
audiences. Basically Quantitative research is as follows:

• It relies on the principle of verifiability, confirmation, proof, corroboration or substantiation.

• Knowledge emerges from what can be proven by direct observation and researchers values.

• More structured and controlled in nature

• The scope is more universal in nature and be defined accurately.

• Data- collection techniques using structured questionnaires and schedules.

• Researcher’s values, interpretation and feelings are not considered in this research.

[Link] Advantages of Quantitative

• Quantitative research design is an excellent way of finalizing results and proving or disproving
an hypothesis. The structure has not changed for centuries, so is standard across many scientific
fields and disciplines.

50
 • After statistical analysis of the results, a comprehensive answer is reached, and the results can
be legitimately discussed and published. Quantitative experiments also filter out external
factors, if properly designed, and so the results gained can be seen as real and unbiased.

• Quantitative experiments are useful for testing the results gained by a series of qualitative
experiments, leading to a final answer, and a narrowing down of possible directions for follow
up research to take.

[Link] Disadvantages of Quantitative

• Its mechanistic ethos tends to exclude notions of freedom, choice and moral responsibility.

• It fails to take account of people's unique ability to interpret their experiences, construct their
own meanings and act on these.

• It leads to the assumption that facts are true and the same for all people all the time.

• It is not totally objective because the researcher is subjectively involved in the very choice of
a problem as worthy of investigation and in the interpretation of the results.

• Quantitative experiments can be difficult and expensive and require a lot of time to perform.
They must be carefully planned to ensure that there is complete randomization and correct
designation of control groups.

• Quantitative studies usually require extensive statistical analysis, which can be difficult, due to
most scientists not being statisticians. The field of statistical study is a whole scientific
discipline and can be difficult for non-mathematicians.

3.3.2 Qualitative
Qualitative methods produce information only on the particular cases studied, and any more general
conclusions are only hypotheses. Quantitative methods can be used to verify which of such hypotheses
are true. Qualitative research often examines, analyses and interprets observations for the purpose of
discovering underlying meanings and patterns of relationships, including classifications of types of
phenomena and entities, in a manner that does not involve mathematical models. The researcher begins
with selecting a topic of personal or professional interest. Then the researcher narrows it down to a
specific research question that can be addressed, since the topic is too broad. Often this requires a
careful review of related literature, developing of sub problems and hypothesis etc. the next step which
is designing of the study involves making decisions about the type of sample to select, data collection
techniques to be deployed etc. after designing the study, the researcher then proceeds to actual
collection of data where information would be recorded and verified accordingly. The data is recorded
in statements in readiness for data analysis.

Once data has been collected and transferred, the next step is that of data analysis. The step involves
understanding the statements, context, relationships etc. Often this leads to condensed picture of the
data.

51
Thereafter, now the researcher gives meaning to or interprets data accordingly. Basically, by looking
at the analysed data, using background knowledge on the research topic and question, and drawing on
the theory, a researcher answers the original research question.

After this, now a researcher will be ready for a final step of informing others. This basically means
writing a research report about the study in a specific format as well as presenting it to the professional
audiences.

[Link] Strengths of Qualitative

• Because of close researcher involvement, the researcher gains an insider's view of the field.
This allows the researcher to find issues that are often missed (such as subtleties and
complexities) by the scientific, more positivistic enquiries.

• Qualitative descriptions can play the important role of suggesting possible relationships,
causes, effects and dynamic processes.

• Because statistics are not used, but rather qualitative research uses a more descriptive, narrative
style, this research might be of particular benefit to the practitioner as she or he could turn to
qualitative reports in order to examine forms of knowledge that might otherwise be unavailable,
thereby gaining new insight.

• Qualitative research adds flesh and blood to social analysis.

[Link] Limitations of Qualitative

• Contexts, situations, events, conditions and interactions cannot be replicated to any extent nor
can generalisations be made to a wider context than the one studied with any confidence.

• The time required for data collection, analysis and interpretation is lengthy.

• Researcher's presence has a profound effect on the subjects of study.

• Issues of anonymity and confidentiality present problems when selecting findings.

• The viewpoints of both researcher and participants have to be identified and elucidated because
of issues of bias.

[Link] Factors for either quantitative or qualitative approaches in a research

• Research Questions: What exactly are you trying to find out? Focus on the `exactly' as this
can lead you either into quantitative or qualitative direction.

• Are we interested in making standardized and systematic comparisons or do we really

want to study this phenomenon or situation in detail?

• The Literature: How have other researchers dealt with this topic? To what extent do you wish
to align your own research with standard approaches to the topic?
52
 • Practical Considerations: Issues of time, money, availability of samples and data, familiarity
with the subject under study, access to situations, gaining co-operation.

• Knowledge payoff: Will we learn more about this topic using quantitative or qualitative
approaches? Which approach will produce more useful knowledge? Which will do more good?

• Style: Some people prefer one to the other. This may involve paradigm and philosophical issues
or different images about what a good piece of research looks like.

[Link] Types of Qualitative Research Methods

There are at least eight (8) types of qualitative research and these are: phenomenological model, the
ethnographic model, grounded theory, case study, historical model and the narrative model.

i. Phenomenological or Descriptive Method

Describing how any one participant experiences a specific event is the goal of the phenomenological
method of research. This method utilizes interviews, observation and surveys to gather information
from subjects. The Phenomenology qualitative research method is used to study an event or activity
as it happens, from various angles. Using interviews, videos, on-site visits etc., one can add on to
existing information using perspectives and insights from the participants themselves about the
activity or event. It is primarily an experience or perception based research method. Phenomenology
is highly concerned with how participants feel about things during an event or activity. It studies a
particular phenomenon, in its many angles and facets, adding to knowledge about the phenomenon.
Businesses use this method to develop processes to help sales representatives effectively close sales
using styles that fit their personality.

ii. Ethnographic Model

The ethnographic model is one of the most popular and widely recognized methods of qualitative
research; it immerses subjects in a culture that is unfamiliar to them. The goal is to learn and describe
the culture's characteristics much the same way anthropologists observe the cultural challenges and
motivations that drive a group. This method often immerses the researcher as a subject for extended
periods of time. Ethnography is one of the most popular methods of qualitative research, involves
the researcher embedding himself or herself into the daily life and routine of the subject or subjects.
Either as an active participant or an observer, the researcher experiences their customs, traditions,
mannerisms, reactions to situations etc. first hand, sometimes for years. Geographical constraints
could be a hindrance for the researcher. This anthropological approach to conducting qualitative
research is one that allows the researcher to embed himself or herself in the natural setting of the subject
he or she tries to study. The researcher is immersed in the living the lives just like the subject being
studied, experiencing and interfacing with them. Some classical anthropological studies have seen
researchers embedding themselves in a village or tribal hamlet, living and researching the people
inhabiting them, their customs and traditions, etc. In a business model, ethnography is central to
understanding customers. Testing products personally or in beta groups before releasing them to the
public is an example of ethnographic research.

iii. Grounded Theory Method

53
The grounded theory method tries to explain why a course of action evolved the way it did. Grounded
theory looks at large subject numbers. Grounded theory starts with a question or collection of data.
Through systematic data collection and analysis, repetitive ideas or elements are coded, and codes
are grouped or categorised. New theories may be formed based on these categories. This approach
to qualitative research makes use of the research data to the tee. Instead of drawing on theory at the
beginning of the research, this approach derives theory from the data collected through research. The
theory is grounded in the data. For instance, your data would allow you to code and classify it, leading
to the development of theory. Theoretical models are developed based on existing data in existing
modes of genetic, biological or psychological science. Businesses use grounded theory when
conducting user or satisfaction surveys that target why consumers use company products or services.
This data helps companies maintain customer satisfaction and loyalty.

iv. Case Study Model

Unlike grounded theory, the case study model provides an in-depth look at one test subject. The
subject can be a person or family, business or organization, or a town or city. Data is collected from
various sources and compiled using the details to create a bigger conclusion. The case study method
is used to gather in-depth and detailed information about a subject, which could be any entity,
organisation, event or something larger like a country. The nature of this qualitative research
method can be explanatory or exploratory. The case study approach tries to study unit of any subject.
It tries to bring together all aspects and information about the unit under study, contributing to
explaining or describing something. This could be a country or a company. Businesses often use case
studies when marketing to new clients to show how their business solutions solve a problem for the
subject.

v. Historical Model

The historical method of qualitative research describes past events in order to understand present
patterns and anticipate future choices. This model answers questions based on a hypothetical idea
and then uses resources to test the idea for any potential deviations. Businesses can use historical
data of previous ad campaigns and the targeted demographic and split-test it with new campaigns to
determine the most effective campaign.

vi. Narrative Model

The narrative model occurs over extended periods of time and compiles information as it happens.
Like a story narrative, it takes subjects at a starting point and reviews situations as obstacles or
opportunities occur, although the final narrative doesn't always remain in chronological order. In the
Narrative method of qualitative research, the researcher gathers data or facts from one or two
subjects through interviews, documents etc. over a period of time. Based on a theme, these are then
pieced together (not necessarily in the same sequence) to derive answers and suggestions.
Businesses use the narrative method to define buyer personas and use them to identify innovations
that appeal to a target market.

vii. Content Analysis

Qualitative content analysis is one of numerous research methods used to analyze text data. Qualitative
content analysis is defined as a research method for the subjective interpretation of the content of text
data through the systematic classification process of coding and identifying themes or patterns. Content
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analysis is a widely used qualitative research technique. Research using qualitative content analysis
focuses on the characteristics of language as communication with attention to the content or contextual
meaning of the text (Budd, Thorp, & Donohew, 1967; Lindkvist, 1981; McTavish & Pirro, 1990;
Tesch, 1990). Text data might be in verbal, print, or electronic form and might have been obtained
from narrative responses, open-ended survey questions, interviews, focus groups, observations, or print
media such as articles, books, or manuals (Kondracki & Wellman, 2002). Qualitative content analysis
goes beyond merely counting words to examining language intensely for the purpose of classifying
large amounts of text into an efficient number of categories that represent similar meanings (Weber,
1990). These categories can represent either explicit communication or inferred communication. The
goal of content analysis is “to provide knowledge and understanding of the phenomenon under study”
(Downe-Wamboldt, 1992, p. 314). Rather than being a single method, current applications of content
analysis show three distinct approaches: conventional, directed, or summative. All three approaches
are used to interpret meaning from the content of text data and, hence, adhere to the naturalistic
paradigm. The major differences among the approaches are coding schemes, origins of codes, and
threats to trustworthiness. In conventional content analysis, coding categories are derived directly from
the text data. With a directed approach, analysis starts with a theory or relevant research findings as
guidance for initial codes. A summative content analysis involves counting and comparisons, usually
of keywords or content, followed by the interpretation of the underlying context.
• Conventional content analysis: This is generally used with a study design whose aim is to
describe a phenomenon. This type of design is usually appropriate when existing theory or
research literature on a phenomenon is limited. Researchers avoid using preconceived
categories (Kondracki & Wellman, 2002), instead allowing the categories and names for
categories to flow from the data. Researchers immerse themselves in the data to allow new
insights to emerge (Kondracki & Wellman, 2002), also described as inductive category
development (Mayring, 2000). Many qualitative methods share this initial approach to study
design and analysis. If data are collected primarily through interviews, open-ended questions
will be used. Probes also tend to be open-ended or specific to the participant’s comments rather
than to a preexisting theory, such as “Can you tell me more about that?” Data analysis starts
with reading all data repeatedly to achieve immersion and obtain a sense of the whole (Tesch,
1990) as one would read a novel. Then, data are read word by word to derive codes (Miles &
Huberman, 1994; Morgan, 1993; Morse & Field, 1995) by first highlighting the exact words
from the text that appear to capture key thoughts or concepts. Next, the researcher approaches
the text by making notes of his or her first impressions, thoughts, and initial analysis. As this
process continues, labels for codes emerge that are reflective of more than one key thought.
These often come directly from the text and are then become the initial coding scheme. Codes
then are sorted into categories based on how different codes are related and linked. These
emergent categories are used to organize and group codes into meaningful clusters (Coffey &
Atkinson, 1996; Patton, 2002). Ideally, the numbers of clusters are between 10 and 15 to keep
clusters broad enough to sort a large number of codes (Morse & Field, 1995).
• Directed Content Analysis: Sometimes, existing theory or prior research exists about a
phenomenon that is incomplete or would benefit from further description. The qualitative
researcher might choose to use a directed approach to content analysis. This as a deductive use
of theory based on distinctions of the role of theory. The goal of a directed approach to content
analysis is to validate or extend conceptually a theoretical framework or theory. Existing theory
or research can help focus the research question. It can provide predictions about the variables
of interest or about the relationships among variables, thus helping to determine the initial
coding scheme or relationships between codes. This has been referred to as deductive category
application (Mayring, 2000). Content analysis using a directed approach is guided by a more
structured process than in a conventional approach (Hickey & Kipping, 1996). Using existing
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 theory or prior research, researchers begin by identifying key concepts or variables as initial
coding categories (Potter & Levine-Donnerstein, 1999).
• Summative Content Analysis: Typically, a study using a summative approach to qualitative
content analysis starts with identifying and quantifying certain words or content in text with
the purpose of understanding the contextual use of the words or content (Table 3). This
quantification is an attempt not to infer meaning but, rather, to explore usage. Analyzing for
the appearance of a particular word or content in textual material is referred to as manifest
content analysis (Potter & Levine-Donnerstein, 1999). If the analysis stopped at this point, the
analysis would be quantitative, focusing on counting the frequency of specific words or content
(Kondracki & Wellman, 2002). A summative approach to qualitative content analysis goes
beyond mere word counts to include latent content analysis. Latent content analysis refers to
the process of interpretation of content (Holsti, 1969). In this analysis, the focus is on
discovering underlying meanings of the words or the content (Babbie, 1992; Catanzaro, 1988;
Morse & Field, 1995). Researchers report using content analysis from this approach in studies
that analyze manuscript types in a particular journal or specific content in textbooks.

viii. Participatory Action Research

Action research, or participatory action research, is a reflective process of progressive problem solving
led by individuals working with others in teams or as part of a "community of practice" to improve the
way they address issues and solve problems. Action research – which is also known as Participatory
Action Research (PAR), community-based study, co-operative enquiry, action science and action
learning – is an approach commonly used for improving conditions and practices in a range healthcare
environments (Lingard et al., 2008; Whitehead et al., 2003). It involves healthcare practitioners
conducting systematic enquiries in order to help them improve their own practices, which in turn can
enhance their working environment and the working environments of those who are part of it – clients,
patients, and users. The purpose of undertaking action research is to bring about change in specific
contexts, as Parkin (2009) describes it. Through their observations and communications with other
people, healthcare workers are continually making informal evaluations and judgements about what it
is they do. The difference between this and carrying out an action research project is that during the
process researchers will need to develop and use a range of skills 01-Koshy et al.-[Link] 1
03/09/2010 5:08:45 to achieve their aims, such as careful planning, sharpened observation and
listening, evaluation, and critical reflection. Participatory Action Research (PAR) is a qualitative
research methodology option that requires further understanding and consideration. PAR is considered
democratic, equitable, liberating, and life-enhancing qualitative inquiry that remains distinct from
other qualitative methodologies (Kach & Kralik, 2006). Using PAR, qualitative features of an
individual’s feelings, views, and patterns are revealed without control or manipulation from the
researcher. The participant is active in making informed decisions throughout all aspects of the
research process for the primary purpose of imparting social change; a specific action (or actions) is
the ultimate goal.

3.4 Data Collection Methods for Social Research

❖ Primary sources: questionnaires, information, direct survey/observation, data from field

❖ Secondary sources: books, published official data, survey reports, magazines/newspapers,
internet, unpublished documents

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3.5 Beneficence

The principle of beneficence holds that (a) the subjects of research should be protected from harm, and
(b) the research should bring tangible benefits to society. By this definition, research with no scientific
merit is automatically considered unethical.

3.6 Target Population/Study Population

Before research can begin the target population must be identified and agreed upon. The target
population is the entire population, or group, that a researcher is interested in researching and
analysing. A sampling frame/size is then drawn from this target population.
For example, if the research was to identify approximately how many UNZA students listen to UNZA
Radio, the target population would be all the students at UNZA. It is from the target population that a
sample size would be worked out from.

3.7 Sample Size

What is sampling?

By sample size, we understand a group of subjects that are selected from the general population and is
considered a representative of the real population for that specific study.

For example, if we want to predict how the population in a specific age group will react to a new
product, we can first test it on a sample size that is representative of the targeted population. Therefore,
Sampling is the selection of a number of study units from a defined study population or target
population. Study population can be people, objects, animal species etc. Some studies may involve a
small number of people and others all them can be included. To draw a sample from the total
population, it is necessary to focus on a large population for the inclusion of some of its members in
the investigation.

There are lots of ideas especially concerning Qualitative Research Methods. A lot of scholars simply
say its fine to choose between 30 and 100 objects as sample size. Some they refer to this as saturation
point. In some discipline like Psychology, this could be fine because a researcher might just concentrate
on one person/object as the sample size. However, this sometimes renders qualitative research method
as not applying rigorous scientific methods. It appears like it borders on personal volition. Whether it
is Qualitative research method, the starting point to choose the sample size involves numbers and hence
mathematical. Therefore, it requires a formula. If not, at least reasons. For example, a quarter of the
target population is an acceptable sample size even without calculating. Otherwise, without reasons
for selecting the sample size, it renders the research weak and un scientific. That is why a formula is
needed. One of the easiest formulas is that of Yamane which is used to come up with a sample size:
The formula is as follows:

n = ________N________

1 + N (e)2
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Whereas: N = Target Population; n = Total Sample Size; e = Desired margin error

The desired margin error is given to be between (0.05 – 0.9).

Let us work with an example. Assuming that the target population/total population for our research is
422. Let us calculate the sample size.

n = ________N________

1 + N (e)2

n = ________422________

1 + 422 (0.05)2

n = ________422________

1 + 422 (0.05 x 0.05)

n = ________422________

1 + 422 x 0.0025

n = ________422________

1 + 1.055

n = ________422________

2.055

n = 205 In this research study, the sample size is 205.

What is involved in sampling?

• Sampling involves:

- Sample size determination

- Sampling methods

• Four main aspects are considered:

- Study population- what is the group from which we want to draw a sample?

- Sample size- How many people do we need in our sample?

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 - Sampling method (s) - How will these people be selected?

- Representative/ generalizing- is a sample drawn be representative to the population? - To

draw conclusions that are valid for the whole population.

Study population:

• Study population has to be clearly defined

• For example, if has to be defined according to age, gender, residence, economic status,
education status or ethnicity.

• Apart from human population, a study population can be a village, house hold, institutions,
records, etc.

• Each study population consists of study units.

• How study population and units are defined depend on the problem.
3.7.1 Sampling Methods
The sample is the group of individuals who will actually participate in the research. To draw valid
conclusions from your results, you have to carefully decide how you will select a sample that is
representative of the group as a whole. This is called a sampling method. When you conduct research
about a group of people, it’s rarely possible to collect data from every person in that group. Instead,
you select a sample. The sample is the group of individuals who will actually participate in the
research.

To draw valid conclusions from your results, you have to carefully decide how you will select a sample
that is representative of the group as a whole. This is called a sampling method. There are two primary
types of sampling methods that you can use in your research:

Types of sampling methods:

There are Two general types of sampling methods are used:

Probability sampling methods

Non-probability sampling methods

• Probability sampling involves random selection, allowing you to make strong statistical
inferences about the whole group.
• Non-probability sampling involves non-random selection based on convenience or other
criteria, allowing you to easily collect data.

i. Probability Sampling methods:

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 These comprise:

• Simple random sampling

• Systematic sampling

• Stratified sampling

• Cluster Sampling

• Multistage sampling

ii. What is Probability Sampling?

• A probability sampling is a random selection procedure to insure that each unit of the
sample is chosen on the basis of chance.

• All units of the study population should have an equal or at least a known chance of being
included in the sample.

• Probability sampling requires that a listing of all study units (sampling frame) exists or be
compiled.
(a) Simple Random Sampling:
• Simplest method of probability sampling.

• Involves:

- Making a numbered list of all the units in the population from which you want to draw a
sample.

- Deciding on the size of the sample

- Selecting the required number of sampling units- Using a lottery method or table of random
numbers.

- For example: A simple random sample of 50 students is to be selected from a school of 250
students. Using a list of all 250 students, each student is given a number (1 to 250), and
these numbers are written on small pieces of paper. All the 250 papers are in a box, after
which the box is shaken vigorously to insure randomization. Then, 50 papers are shaken
out of the box and the numbers are recorded. The students belonging to these numbers will
constitute a sample.
(b) Systematic Sampling:
• In systematic sampling, individuals are chosen at regular intervals (for example every 5 th
person) from the sampling frame.
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 • We randomly select a number to tell us where to start selecting individuals from the list.

• For example- a systematic sample is to be selected from 1200 students of a school. The
sample size selected is 100.

The sampling fraction is:

100 (sample size) 1

………………………… = ……..

1200 (study population) 12

Sampling interval is, 12

• Systematic is usually less time consuming and easier to perform than simple random
sampling.
(c) Stratified sampling:
• Stratified sampling is the division of sampling frame into groups or strata, according to
characteristics, such as residents from urban and rural areas; or different age groups, or high
cost areas and low cost areas, or distance. Random or systematic samples of predetermined
size will then have to be obtained from each group (stratum).

• Stratified sampling is only applied when proportion of the study population belonging to
each group is known.
(d) Cluster Sampling:
• Cluster sampling is a selection of groups of study units.

• Cluster are often geographic units (e.g. provinces, districts, villages) or Organisation units
(e.g. clinics, hospitals, training institutions).
(e) Multistage sampling:
• Multistage sampling procedure is carried out in stages or phases, and usually involves more
than one sampling methods.

• For example, you may decide by selecting a province, then district, households, up to your
respondents- all these may require different sampling methods.

Advantages of cluster and multistage sampling:

• A sampling frame of cluster is sufficient.

• It is within the cluster that you need to list and sample the individual units.
3.7.2 13 Types of Non-Probability Sampling:
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 i. Proportion Quota Sampling- The “Proportional’’ in the name is because the population of
interest is represented almost exactly by the percentage of each cell (major demographic
group) in the final survey results. So if the population is 52% female, then 520 of 1,000
respondent would be female. “Strata may be joint or interlocking’’ – so might have quotas
of younger women, women, young men, and older men, sometimes known as “hard
quotas’’.
ii. Non-Proportion Quota sampling – Also known as “Soft quotas’’, non-proportional quota
sampling captures a minimum number of respondent in a specific group. For hard-to-reach
populations, it might be an under sample (less than in a proportion sample), and for
population of especial interest in and of themselves it might be an oversample (more than
in a proportion sample).”Here, weighting [of final results] is important because the sample
doesn’t look like the population of interest,’’ John said.
iii. Convenience Sampling- Respondent are simply those “who are easily available or
convenient to interview’’: fellow employees, people intercepted on the street, Facebook
fans of a brand, members of mailing lists, and online panellists. While an online panel can
use a stratified random sample of panel members, it is still a convenience sample.
iv. Snowball Sampling- Snowball sampling asks respondent to recommend other respondents
who might subsequently be invited to take the survey. This is useful for every hard-to- reach
audiences, such as AIDS suffers or others with the rare diseases. “It’s hard to get a
representative view of such a population, because of the clustering effect and the
representativeness effect and because you often won’t know what the population looks like,
so it is what is – but with unknown biases.’’

v. Self-selection sampling – The respondent decides whether or not to participate, typically

in one request without the chance for follow up. Classic psychology experiments are self-
selection sampling, as are “survey wall’’ – style intercept surveys.

vi. Purposive Sampling – The interview or study designer chooses sampled units who, by
their judgement, will meet the specific purpose of the survey.
vii. Maximum variance Sampling (Heterogeneous Sampling) – For such a study, which may
be more qualitative in nature, the goal is not to be representative of views on an issue but
“to look at it from all angles’’. Understanding the typical view point.
viii. Homogenous sampling – The opposite of heterogeneous sampling is to deeply explore the
views of a group of respondents with the same characteristics.

ix. Typical sampling - Rather than understand all point of view, including the extremes, typical
case sampling is interested in an in-depth assessment of the typical viewpoint while not
developing.

x. Exreme case sampling – [in the interests of time, John skipped these final four examples
of purposive sampling]. Extreme case sampling is interested in understanding unusual case
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 such as successes or failures. For instance, a review of “unicorn’’ CEOs (start-ups for $1
billion or more) or a study of millionaires.

xi. Critical case sampling – Studying those cases that have the most to offer in terms of
understanding the population.

xii. Expert sampling – surveying experts on a particular topic, with their expertise left to the
judgment of the interviewer or study designer.

xiii. Total population sampling – Surveying every single member of a qualifying subgroup –
for instance, employees at specific branch of a firm. Failure to survey even a few respondent
can make it difficult to generalize, if non-respondents share certain characteristics that
differ from the wider population.

3.8 Measurement as a tool of Social Research

There are 4 scales of measurement:

❖ Nominal Scale of Measurement: This means measuring data by assigning names to them. E.g.
we can measure a group of children by dividing them in 2 groups: boys and girls.
❖ Interval Scale of Measurement: This is a situation whereby when the researcher is collecting
data, he/she is picking an object after skipping exactly the same number. For example, one
could decide to pick every fifth student in the lecture theatre. E.g this means picking numbers
1,5, 10, 15, 20 ….
❖ Ration Scale of Measurement: These express values in terms of multiples and factional parts,
3:36, 1:12 etc
❖ Ordinal Scale of Measurement: One can compare various pieces of data in terms of greater or
higher than another. We can measure the level of education using ordinal scale of measurement
by classifying people as being unschooled, or as having an elementary, high school or college.
Or we can say never available, seldom available, generally available etc.

3.10 Instruments to use in conducting Qualitative Research Methods

While these are some approaches to conduct qualitative research, the methodology for such research

varies as well. Some of the more prominent methods are described here:

3.10.1 Interviews: Interviews are one of the most common qualitative methods used, to allow access

to individual and personal narratives and responses. Interviews serve as the conduit to rich data, which

is often then transcribed to capture in-depth personal reflections. An interview is a structured

conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers. In common

parlance, the word "interview" refers to a one-on-one conversation between an interviewer and an
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interviewee. There are 4 types of interviews: in-depth interviews, structured interviews, unstructured

interviews and self-administered interviews.

• In-depth interviewing (Administered interviews) is a qualitative research technique that

involves conducting intensive individual interviews with a small number of respondents,

usually one on one to explore their perspectives on a particular idea, program, or situation.

These interviews are used for qualitative research methods.

• A structured interview is a systematic approach to interviewing where you ask the same

predetermined questions to all candidates in the same order and you rate them with a

standardized scoring system. This method is almost twice as effective as the traditional

interview, reducing the likelihood of a bad hire. Structured interviews are used for quantitative

research methods.

• Semi- Structured interview, sometimes called a non-directive interview, is a data collection

method in which the questions or the order they are asked are quasi predetermined. They

are applicable for quantitative research methods.

• A self-administered interview is a questionnaire (SAQ) that has been designed specifically to

be completed by a respondent without intervention. A self-administered survey is a

questionnaire that is designed explicitly to be completed by a respondent without an

interviewer's assistance (or bias). Self-administered surveys are widely used for collecting

quantitative research data.

Quantitative data collection Techniques are:

➢ Interview structured schedule or questionnaires.

➢ Self-administered or written questionnaire

➢ Record Review/secondary data sources

➢ Interviewing – a face to face interaction between the interviewer and the

interviewee (respondent) by using a structured or semi-structured questionnaire.

➢ It structured it is called interview schedule for quantitative data.

➢ If semi-structured, it is applicable for quantitative data.

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 ➢ Interviewing is suitable for use with illiterates- common method for developing
countries especially Africa.

➢ It permits clarifications of questions.

➢ Interviewing has a higher response rate than written questionnaires.

Disadvantages:

➢ Presence of the interviewer can influence responses.

➢ Reports of events may be less complete than information gained through

observations.

➢ Small scale flexible (semi-structured) interview – permits collection of in-depth

information and exploration of spontaneous remarks by respondents.

➢ Disadvantage- open-ended data are difficult to analyse.

➢ Large- scale fixed interview (structured interview schedule) – easy to analyse.

➢ Disadvantage – important may be missed – because spontaneous remarks by

respondents are usually not recorded or explored.

3.10.2 Focus group discussions: Focus group discussions are a great way to indulge a group of

interviewees and respondents, by posing questions that are then subject to discussion by the group.

The dynamics in the group, debates, opinions, and responses allow for “networked” answers to the

questions posed, allowing the researcher to map them. A focus group discussion involves gathering

people from similar backgrounds or experiences together to discuss a specific topic of interest. It

is a form of qualitative research where questions are asked about their perceptions attitudes, beliefs,

opinion or ideas. The group could be between 5 and 10 while some say between 6 and 12. The

discussion takes not more than I hour. A focus group is a research method that brings together a

small group of people to answer questions in a moderated setting. The group is chosen due to

predefined demographic traits, and the questions are designed to shed light on a topic of interest. Focus

groups are a type of qualitative research.

3.10.3 Participant observation: This method for qualitative research entails the researcher embedding
himself or herself in a group setting and observing intently to note down nuanced descriptions of the

65
setting under study. This could be inclusive of the larger contextual settings, descriptions of

individuals, the dynamics in a group, individual opinions, and the like.

3.10.4 Content analysis: Content analysis of documents or videos provides for a close reading of such

articles. It allows the examination of how words, figures, pictures, and texts deliver meaning, and offer

explications of cultures. Content analysis yields codes and categories, upon being subject to rigorous

analysis.

This list of qualitative research methods is not exhaustive, but is a compilation of the most popular

ones used. In today’s world of technological advancement, technology aids such as cameras, audio

recording devices, and other tools help the process of qualitative data collection, emerging as additional
elements in each of the above methods. Further, digital spaces offer new avenues for analysis and

curation of research.

3.11Bias Data collection

Bias in data collection is a distortion that results in the information not being representative of the true
situation. Possible sources of bias during data collection can result in:

i. Defective instruments: Questionnaires with fixed questions when little is known about the topic, or
vaguely phrased questions placed in a illogical order. Weighing scales that are not standardized.

ii. Observer bias: A risk of seeing things that interest the data collector or miss information critical to
the research.

iii. Effects of interview on the informant: Informant may mistrust the intention of the interview and
dodges certain questions or gives misleading answers. Overcoming such biases is by maintaining
confidentiality. Such biases are overcome by carefully planning pre-testing tools.

iv. Failing to observe or respect certain cultural values, traditions, or taboos.

3.12 Methods for over-coming Biases

i. Obtaining informed consents before study or interview begins.

ii. Not exploring sensitive issues before establishing good relationship with the respondent or
informant.

iii. Ensuring the confidentiality of the data obtained.

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iv. Ethical issues are important in the proposal and to facilitate approval by the research Ethical
committee.

v. Research topic should be relevant to the researcher’s field of expertise or discipline.

3.13 Data Analysis

Qualitative data analysis is the process of using written data findings. Unlike quantitative data,
qualitative data don’t need any formulas, recipes, or rules for this process, instead, the researcher
will do a case study approach, theory-based approaches, and collaborative and participatory
forms of analysis. This analysis aims to always produce good quality findings.

3.13.1 How to Analyze Qualitative Data

i. Gather and Organize your Data

The first step in analyzing your qualitative data is to gather all of the comments and feedback
from your respondents that you want to analyze. So if your data is input in different formats such
as on paper or in online forums and surveys, print them out including your transcripts from
interviews, your notes that you took during your gathering, and then organize all of these to pick
the important contents and put them in one single document and chuck away the unimportant
ones.

ii. Review the Data

The next step is to read the important details of your data several times to get a sense of their
contents. Take note of your initial understanding, comments or ideas, or questions you have
regarding them. You will use these for the next step.

iii. Create Initial Codes

The next step in the analysis process is to code the comments and questions you wrote and decide
how each one should be organized. You can look for a pre-defined set or list of issues and themes
or unpack themes from the data without expecting about they are about. You can use highlighters,
post-it notes, or concept maps to aid you in connecting with your data.

iv. Review the Initial Codes and Combine Them Into Themes

The next step is where you will identify the recurring themes, language, opinions, and beliefs
related to your research topic. To guide you in formulating your final analysis of your data that
you will then present in your report, you can follow these guide questions:

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 ➢ Which are the most used codes or themes? When you identified these, you need to visually
present them well to identify the most important areas.
➢ How did your respondents react to your data gathering formats? Were there any differences
in their views and opinions based on the submission type?
➢ Which issues are common to the different demographics of your respondents? And are
there any relationships between issues?

v. Present Your Findings Cohesively

This step is where you finally report your findings and your learnings based on your analysis.
Include the purpose of your research and other supporting content when you report your findings.
Make sure to organize the data well and be clear and concise to make it easy for your readers to
understand them. Make sure to avoid putting in any fabricated findings or else your study will
be invalid.

3.13.2 Ways of Analyzing Qualitative Data

i. Nvivo text analysis

In analysing data collected from the field, there are many different computer software systems. One of
them is Nvivo text Analysis. This is a Qualitative Data Analysis software management by
coding, analysis & visualisation of qualitative data.

ii. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS)

SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences), also known as IBM SPSS Statistics, is a software
package used for the analysis of statistical data. Although the name of SPSS reflects its original use in
the field of social sciences, its use has since expanded into other data markets.

iii. Excel

Microsoft Excel is the industry leading spreadsheet software program, a powerful data visualization
and analysis tool.

iv. Media Text Analysis (Soaps, Music, Broadcast, Language, etc)

Textual analysis is a qualitative method used to examine content in media and popular culture, such as
newspaper articles, television shows, websites, games, videos, and advertising. The method is linked
closely to cultural studies. Text analysis is really the process of distilling information and meaning
from text. For example, this can be analyzing text written in reviews by customers on a retailer's
website or analysing documentation to understand its purpose.

v. Content Analysis

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Content analysis is a research tool used to determine the presence of certain words, themes, or concepts
within some given qualitative data (i.e. text). Using content analysis, researchers can quantify and
analyze the presence, meanings, and relationships of such certain words, themes, or concepts.

vi. Narrative and Genre Analysis

Narrative analysis is a genre of analytic frames whereby researchers interpret stories that are told
within the context of research and/or are shared in everyday life.

vii. Image (Still, Film and Video) Analysis

There are five elements of film which is narrative, cinematography, sound, mise-en-scene, and editing.
These five elements help determine the film and a way to judge a film.

viii. Discourse Analysis

Definition of discourse analysis. The Oxford English Dictionary defines discourse analysis as:
"Linguistics, a method of analysing the structure of texts or utterances longer than one sentence, taking
into account both their linguistic content and their sociolinguistic context; analysis performed using
this method.

ix. Rhetorical Analysis

A rhetorical analysis considers all elements of the rhetorical situation--the audience, purpose, medium,
and context--within which a communication was generated and delivered in order to make an argument
about that communication. The rhetorical situation can be described in five parts: purpose, audience,
topic, writer, and context. These parts work together to better describe the circumstances and contexts
of a piece of writing, which if understood properly, can help you make smart writing choices in your
work.

x. Semiotic Analysis

Semiotic analysis is the study of signs and their meaning relating to the social world and social
processes. Semiotic analysis is an example of a case-centric approach. Case-centric approaches start
with a case. They are an approach to research in which there are few cases and very many variables.

xi. Music Analysis

Musical analysis is the study of musical structure in either compositions or performances. According
to music theorist Ian Bent, music analysis "is the means of answering directly the question 'How does
it work?

xii. Thematic Analysis

Thematic analysis is a method for analyzing qualitative data that involves reading through a set of data
and looking for patterns in the meaning of the data to find themes. It is an active process of reflexivity
in which the researcher's subjective experience is at the center of making sense of the data.

xiii. Conversational Analysis

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Conversation Analysis (CA) is an approach to the study of social interaction and language. Despite its
name, the scope of CA is not limited to conversation as a genre of discourse (small talk, gossip) but
encompasses any human activity that involves an exchange of turns at talk and other meaningful
conduct.

xiv. Cases study Analysis

A case study analysis requires you to investigate a business problem, examine the alternative solutions,
and propose the most effective solution using supporting evidence.

3.14 Ethical issues in Social Research

Codes of Ethics provide guidance, but being ethical is a moral and professional obligation of any
individual researcher, even when the respondents are not aware of the same ethics. According to Rioba
and Karashani (2002, p.12), ethics can be defined as, “rules of conduct or principles of morality that
point us towards the right or best way to act in a situation”. With this in mind, the researcher will
adhere and follow the ethical standard practice in a scientific research. As long as a research endeavour
involves dealing with human beings, ethical issues are inevitable. Ethics are simply moral principles
which guide our behaviour and based on shared values and beliefs about what is good or bad. Ethical
principles actually help ensure that research is directed towards achieving worthwhile goals. The
following are some of the ethical considerations in research:

❖ Protection from Harm: The researcher should not expose respondents to undue physical or
psychological harm. Respondents should not be subjected to unusual stress, embarrassment,
loss of self-esteem, legal risks etc.
❖ Informed Consent: Respondents should be informed of the nature of the study to be conducted
and be given the choice of either participating or not. They should also be told that should they
want to change their mind later, they are free to withdraw at any time. Thus any participation
in a research study should be strictly voluntary.
❖ Right to Privacy: A researcher should respect the respondent’s right to privacy. Under no
circumstance should a researcher record orally or written about a respondent in such a way that
they are aware of which respondent behaved or respondent in a particular manner.
❖ Principle of Anonymity and Confidentiality: This is where a participant’s identity is not
disclosed and is done by anonymity and confidentiality. For that reason, the respondent’s name
is not collected or a researcher gives a fictitious name and location etc. In case of a research
report where one finds a need to provide a social picture in the report. This also means that data
collection tools such as questionnaires do not contain traceable details of the respondents such
as names and physical address etc.
❖ Honesty with professional colleagues: This is where a researcher is expected to report their
findings in a complex and honest fashion without misrepresenting what they have done or the
nature of their findings.
❖ Values-Neutrality: Researchers should not attempt to impose their values on others or alter
their respondent’s behaviour, and on one hand they should guard against letting their values
influence interpretation of their findings.
❖ Non Guarantee to Respondents: Researchers should not make any guarantees to respondents,
groups or organisations unless there are intentions to honour such commitments.

3.15 Conclusion of the Chapter

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4. CHAPTER FOUR

RESEARCH FINDINGS

The Research Findings are the outcome gotten from data analysis and represent the factual link or
association between or amongst the variables being interrogated by the researcher. It is any results
arrived at and portrays the true position of how two or more variables relate with one another. In the
presentation of the research findings, the researcher establishes a synopsis of the results followed by
an explanation of key findings. This approach can be used to highlight important findings. The
researcher presents the results and then explains. At every stage, the researcher presents the result and
explains before presenting the next result, and so on, until the end with an overall synopsis.

4.1 Introduction

5. CHAPTER FIVE

DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

5.1 Introduction

5.2 You arrange your data presentation, analysis and interpretation in accordance with the specific
objectives. On top of that make sure as you do your presentation, analysis and interpretation, this is
done by way of uniting the collected data with the literature review and the theory. They should have
a meeting point where either they agree or disagree. Therefore, this chapter is the meeting point of all
the chapters. Analyse and Examine each component of the data in order to draw conclusions. Do you
notice any patterns or trends? Can you see any errors or inconsistencies?

6. CHAPTER SIX

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

6.1 Introduction

6.2 Conclusion

6.3 Recommendations

6.4 Further Research Study

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ORGANIZING RESEARCH

Title

➢ The title should precisely state the subject of the research. The title is very important to capture
the interest of the reader. A title makes general statement about the issue to be studied is
excellent.

➢ The title should be clear and unambiguous. A good title should paint a quick picture for the
reader of the key ideas of your project.

➢ The words you use in your title should clearly reflect the focus of your proposal.

➢ Try and use only a single sentence for your life. Do not attempt use the title as an abstract of
your entire proposal.

➢ Once the topic is established, come right to the point. What you are going to do? What specific
issue or question will your work? What will we learn from your work?

➢ Identify a key person (researcher or decision maker) who is knowledgeable on the topic asking
if he/she can give you a few good references or the names of other people who you could
contact for further information.

➢ Looking up for names of speakers on your topic at conferences/seminars who may be useful to
contact.

➢ Contacting librarians in universities or research institutions

➢ Examining bibliographies and reference list in key papers and books to identify relative
references.

➢ Looking for references in index (e.g. index and abstract journals)

➢ Requesting a computerizing literature search (e.g. website- internet search).

Process of Literature Review

➢ It involves extensive for source of information (individual, groups, organisation, published

and unpublished information).

➢ Examining the bibliography and reference list in key papers, journals and books to identify
relative references

➢ References that are identified should be first be skimmed or read, summarizing important
information, record on an index card and finally writing a literature review.

What to do with References that are Identified?

72
 ➢ Then summaries of the important in each of the references should be recorded on separate index
or as computer entries. These should be classified so that the information can be easily be
reviewed.

➢ Finally, a literature review should be written.

➢ Information on an index card should be organized in such a way that you can easily find all
data you will need for your report (e.g. factors or variable or objects, methodology, major
findings and so on or use key letters).

➢ For articles, note:

➢ Authors (surname followed by initials. Year. Title of Article. Name of journal, volume number:
page numbers of article ‘’. For example:

➢ Gwebu ET, Banda S. 1985. Assessment of Nutritional Status in Pregnancy. Central Africa
journal of Medicine, 31(3): 193- 196

➢ For a book note:

➢ “Author(s) (surname followed by initials. Year. Title of book, Edition. Place: Publisher: page
number of the book. For example:

➢ Abramson JH.1977. Survey methods in community Medicine, 2nd ed. Edinburgh: Churchill
Livingstone: 229.

➢ Citation for references can be organised as numbers and does not require alphabetical order of
reference at the back of text.

➢ Numbers only apply if they are used in the text to represent authors cited.

➢ If authors are cited all the way through in the text, the references should be organized in
alphabetical order.

CITATATION AND QUOTATION:

CITATION

Citation – refers to reference of other theories/ scholar to support the argument under investigation.

For example: citation of author(s) in the text include:

➢ Identify a key person ( researcher or decision maker) who is knowledgeable on the topic
and asking if he/she can give a few good references or the names of other people whom
you could contact for further information’

73
 ➢ Looking up for names of speakers on you topic at conferences/ seminars who may be useful
to contact.

➢ Contacting Librarians in universities or research institutions.

➢ Examining bibliographies and references list in key papers and books to identify relevant
references.

➢ Looking for references in indexes (e.g. index and abstract journals)

➢ Requesting a computerized literature search (e.g. website- internet search).

Process of Literature Review

➢ It involves intensive search for sources of information (individuals, groups, organisations,

published and unpublished information).

➢ References that identified should first skimmed or read, summarizing important

information, recoded on an index card and finally writing a literature review.

What to do with references that are identified?

➢Then Summaries of important information in each of the references should be recorded

on separate index or as computer entries. These should be classified so that the
information can be easily reviewed’

➢Finally a literature review should be written.

➢Information on an index card should be organised in such a way that you can easily find
all data you will need for a report (e.g. by factors or variables or objectives,
methodology, major finding and so on or use key letters).

➢ For articles, note:

➢“Author(s) (surname followed by initials. Year. Title of book, edition. Place: publisher:
page number of the book. For example:

➢ Abramson JH, 1977, survey methods in community medicine, 2nd ed. Edinburgh:
Churchill Livingston: 229.

➢Citation for references can be organised as number and does not require alphabetical
order of references at the back of the text.

➢Numbers only apply if they are used in the text to represent authors cited.

➢If authors are cited all the way through in the text, then the reference should be organised
in alphabetical order.
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 CITATION AND QUOTATION:

CITATION

➢ Citation –refers to other theories/ schoolers to support the argument under investigation.

➢For example: citation of authors(s) in the text included:

➢Likwa (2003) shows differentiated culture practices of reproductive behaviour and their
effects on child survival between groups of rural ethnic groups.

➢Or group of authors in the text can be:

➢There are differential culture practices of productive behaviour and their effects on child
survival between ethnic groups of rural Zambia (Richards ET al.1999; Luke 2001;
Likwa 2003).

➢Citation should flow with the arguments of your thoughts about your proposed research
topic.

➢Only cite surname of authors followed by year of republication, if it is in the text.

Quotation:

➢ Quotation – isrepeating or writing the words used by another author.

➢ Example: “malaria is a threat to human soul in Africa ‘’ (komesha 1990:16)-indicates

authors surname, year and page number in brackets from the book or article to
acknowledge the proof of the idea that is not yours. Quoting authors ideas should flow
with the statement of your argument, and it can include a sentence or a paragraph.

➢ Citation and Quotation consolidate support for the justification of your research
question or statement of problem. Literature review should follow immediately after
statement of problems.

REFERENCENG:

REFERENCE IS USUALLY IN TWO FORMS:

• Vancouver referencing- Citing or quoting actual authors in the text, and the references
should be listed in alphabetical order, starting with a surname followed by initials.

• -Harvard referencing – citation is in numbers within the text, the reference is listed
by numbers and authors are not organized in alphabetical order form.

• It is important for the researcher to decide on the type of referencing to be used in

planning stage or during the report writing, before writing the literature.
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 Introduction/Background

• Use the introduction to briefly present an overview of the project and why it is
scientifically interesting or important.

• The introduction provides a brief overview that tells a fairly well informed perhaps
non-specialist reader what a study is about.

• It might be a short but it should be clearly written, and it should less one assess whether
the research is relevant to their own.

• The background should demonstrate your experience, knowledge, and passion.

• Use the background section as an occasion to show the depths of your knowledge of
the topic by demonstrating your fluency in accepted understanding and literature as
well as your fresh insight and approaches.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

• Deciding whether to use questions or hypotheses depends on the factors such as the
purpose of the study, the nature of the design and methodology, and the audience of
the research (at time even the taste and preference of supervisor).

• Research question is the most critical part of the research proposal- it defines the
proposal, it guides your arguments and inquiry, and it provokes the interest of the
supervisor.

• The research question should be evocated

• Evocative questions are ones that catch the interest of the supervisor and draw him/her
into the proposal.

• Questions turned to be evocated because of the ways they engage with challenging
topics: they pose innovative approaches to explorations of problems, and because of
this the answer found are far from obvious.

• The research questions should be relevant

• Questions that clearly demonstrate their relevant to society, socio group.

The research question should be clear
• Clear questions tend to be short, conceptually straightforward, and jargon- free. Work
to keep your questions as lucid and simple as possible.

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 The research question should be researchable

• Research questions need to be clearly “doable’’.

• There are many questions that u will need to ask your to avoid this pitfall.

• Above all these, consider your limitation. Many very practical questions need to be

considered when choosing your research question. First among them is: how long will

the research take to carry out?

• Next, do you have the appropriate background to carry out the research? Are there

ethical constraints? Is the project likely to be approved by a supervisor for the

protection of human subjects? Can u obtain the core operation from the all necessary

individuals, communities and constitutions you need the questions you have asked?

2.1 Methodology:

• The purpose of the research design and method sections to explain how you will carry out

a specific aims. Therefore, a particularly effective way of organising this section is by aim;

that is, begin this section with a brief description of your overall approach, then describe

the experiment to be conducted to achieve each aim in consecutive fashion.

• Explain how u will conduct your research as in much detail as possible.

• The research design and methods should include a data analysis section. This section should

not simply consist of the name of the statistical tests to be formed, but should be convey

what types of data will be recorded, how they will be analysed and what they will mean in

terms of your hypothesis.

What is research design?

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 • It can be understood as a planning of any scientific research from the first to the last step.

In this sense it to guide the researcher in collection analysis and interpreting observed facts.

• It can also be thought of the structure of the researcher and its glue that holds all the

elements in the researcher projects together.

Purpose of the research design

• To explain one will carry out the specific aims of the research.

• To provide a plan of study that permits accurate assessment of cause and effect relationship

between independent and dependent variables.

Types of research design

• There are basically two general types of research designs which include the following.

• Non – interventional study design: this type of design involves description and analysis

of researchable objects or situations and no intervention or manipulation is required

Exploration studies:

• This a small scale study of relatively short duration, which is when little is known about

situation or problem. Exploratory studies are often done order to satisfy the researcher

curiosity as well as to determine the feasibility of much larger scale study.

• The purpose of this study is to;

• Find out is out what is happening.

• To seek new insight.

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 • To ask question

Descriptive studies

• It is a scientific method which involves observing and describing the behaviour of the

subject without influencing it in any way.

• According to kerlinger (1969) he points out that descriptive studies are formulation of

important principal’s knowledge and solutions to significant problems.

• They are more than a collection of data. They involve measurement, classification,

analysis, comparison and interpretation of data.

Comparative or Analytical studies

• Cross – sectional comparative studies: it forces on comparative as well as describing groups.

Data is collected at the same time.

• For example a medical study looking at the at the incident of breast in a population. The

researcher can look at a wide range of ages, ethynsist and social back ground. If significant

number of women from certain social background are found to have a disease, then the

researcher can investigate further.

• The immediate nature of this design as well as the relative ease of data collection make these

designs the most common for social scientist.

Case control studies

• It is a study were the investigator compares one group were there is a problem and another

group were the problem is absent to find what factors contributed to the problem. The group

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 were the problem is present is called the experimental and the group where the problem is

absent the control group.

Qualitative research

• This kind of research gives detailed description and explanation of phenomena studied rather

than providing and analysing statistics.

• In this search, the point of departure is to study the object, namely man within unique and

meaningful human situation

• Use of unstructured (open-end questionnaires.

• Feelings and insights are considered important

Explorative Research

• It is a type of research conduct for a problem that has not been clearly defined or not done on

a particular field or topic in social sciences on which no research has been or which mention

has been done, but not addressed in a scientific manner as allowed by, Collins et al (2000:93).

• Developing various ideas, tentative theories and postulations.

• Formulation questions and refining phenomena with review to more systematic investigation.

• Developing techniques and determine the direction of further investigations (Neuman 1997

:20)

Descriptive Research

• In this research, the aim is to give specific details of a situation, social environment or a

situation and also to describe data and characteristics about the population or phenomenal

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 being studded. In descriptive research one tries to determine “how” or “why” the phenomena

comes or came into being, and also everybody that is or was involved

• It aims at ;

• Giving accurate profile of the research group describing the process, mechanism or

relationship.

• Giving a verbal or numeric picture, (e.g. percentage) generating information that will stimulate

new possible explanations

• Providing basic background information or context

• Compiling a series of categories or to classifies types.

• Explaining specific sequences, phases or steps.

• Documenting information disproving previous findings about a particular topic

CROSS SECTION RESEARCH

• Cross- sectional research is non recurrent

• Investigation into a particular topic, where

• As two types of research constitute an

• Investigation into specific topic or case

• Over a period or course of time.

LONGITUDEDINAL RESEARCH

• In this search two more studies are done on a specific point in time meaning, that its samples

• Panel studies- where the group or organisation is investigated again over various periods
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 • Time series research- studies what happened to people over a period of time. Information is

collected at specific point in time.

Feminist Research

• This is an approach avocation gender

• Sensitivity in research, and uses feminist

• Principals throughout all stages of research differs from

• Methodologically firmest research differs

• Actively seeks to remove the power imbalances between researcher and subjects.

• Politically motivated and has a major role in changing social inequality.

• Begins with standpoints and experience of women

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