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Research?
➢ A careful investigation for new facts in any
branch of knowledge
➢ Redman and Mory: Research is a systematic
effort to gain new knowledge
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Research?
Clifford Woody: Research-
defining and redefining problems, formulating
hypothesis/objectives;
collecting, organizing and evaluating data;
making deductions and reaching conclusions;
testing the conclusions to determine whether
they fit the formulating hypothesis/objectives
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Why do research?
➢ Desire to get a research degree along with its
consequential benefits
➢ Desire to face the challenge in solving the unsolved
problems
➢ Desire to get intellectual joy of doing some creative
work
➢ Desire to be of service to society
➢ Desire to get respectability
➢ Directives of government, employment conditions
etc.
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The important features of a research
design
➢ A plan
Specify the sources & types of information
relevant to the research problem
➢ A strategy
Which approach will be used for gathering and
analyzing the data
➢ The time and budgets
Most studies are done under these two
constraints
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CHARACTERISTICS OF RESEARCH
➢Systematic- All steps must be inter
related- one to another
➢Logical- Agreeing with the
principles of logic
➢Empirical-Conclusions should be
based on evidences/observations
CHARACTERISTICS OF RESEARCH…
➢Objectivity- It must answer the
research questions
➢Replicable- reproducible
➢Transmittable
➢Quality control- Accurate measurements
➢All well designed and conducted research
has potential application
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Literature search
Check to see if your idea is original
Get articles
Read articles and their references
Most of these will be vital when writing up
reports
Find gap areas
Find absolute measurements and results
Define objectives of the study
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Steps involved in a research
Choose a subject
Literature survey
Defining and formulation of specific
objectives
Prepare Synopsis
Procuring of suitable apparatus/materials
Design of experimental set up
Execution of the project
Accurate measurements/data collection
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Steps involved in a research…
Data analysis
Hypothesis testing and verification
Results and discussion
Generalization, interpretation and drawing
conclusions
Preparation of the project report or writing
thesis
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The Process of Research
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Research article writing
Find suitable/specified Novelty statements
journals Introduction
Get copy of Instructions to Materials and methods
authors Results and discussion
Prepare article as per Conclusions
instructions
Acknowledgements
Select suitable titles
References
Authors and affiliations
Abstract
Highlights
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Authorship/ethics
All authors should directly involved in
entire study
Article is free from plagiarism (using
someone else's work without giving them
proper credit)
Should follow ethics
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A Research Report
A Research Report generally include:
Introduction and Statement of problem
Review of relevant literature
Statement of hypothesis or research objectives
Theoretical resume
Description of research design
Description Experimental design
Description of measurement and data analysis
Error compounding
Presentation of Results
Discussion
Conclusion, limitations, and implications
Suggestions for future work
Acknowledgements
References cited
Appendices
Types of research
1. Application- Pure and Applied Research
Applied- Finding solutions for immediate
problems facing a society/industry
Pure- Concerned with generalization and
formulation of a theory
2. Inquiry Mode- Quantitative and qualitative
Quantitatative- Measurements of quantity or amount
Qualitative- Concerned with qualitative phenomena
(reasons for human behavior)
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Research Studies
Based on research objectives:
❖Exploratory or formulative research- To
gain familiarity with a phenomenon or
to achieve new insights into it
❖descriptive research- To study accurately
the characteristics of a particular
individual, situation or a group-includes
survey
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1. Quantitative Research
As the name suggests, Quantitative data relies on
quantifying a certain amount or quantity of a specific
phenomenon. It focuses on gathering and analyzing
numerical data and can be used to find averages and
patterns or to predict outcomes.
It draws a conclusion using tables, facts, and graphs.
Many scientific and field-based studies primarily use
this form of research.
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2. Qualitative Research
It refers to the non-numerical elements in the
research. Qualitative research comes to the rescue
when the researcher cannot grasp the information or
data regarding numbers. Though not as reliable as
Quantitative research, qualitative research helps to
form a better summary of theories in the data.
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3. Descriptive Research
Descriptive research is a type of analysis that outlines
the features of the population or issues under study.
This type of methodology focuses more on the “what”
of the research problem than the “why.” Since the
researcher cannot influence the variables in this
research design, they can only report the facts
precisely as they occurred or are occurring.
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4. Analytical Research
Analytical research uses proven facts to form the basis
for the research. Researchers frequently research to
find supporting data that strengthens and
authenticates their earlier findings. Also, it helps to
develop new concepts related to the research subject.
Thus, analytical research combines minute details to
produce more tenable hypotheses. The analytical
study thus explains why a claim is valid.
There are various ways to conduct this research,
including meta-analysis, literary or scientific trials,
and learning about public opinion.
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5. Applied Research
Action research that only studies one domain and
usually generalizes the findings is called applied
research. The researcher regards the variables as
constant, and the researcher forecasts, making the
methods easy to find in applied research.
Applied research aims to solve a current issue facing
society or a business/industrial organization. Applied
research is considered non-systematic inquiry; a
business, government body, or individual typically
conducts this research to address a particular issue.
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6. Fundamental Research
Formulating a theory and generalizations are the
primary concerns of fundamental research. It seeks to
discover facts with various applications,
supplementing the ideas already known in a specific
field or industry.
Some examples of fundamental research are research
on generalizing human behavior or research on pure
mathematics.
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7. Exploratory Research
Theories and their explanation are the basis of
Exploratory Research. Its goal is only to investigate the
study questions, not to provide definitive and
conclusive solutions to current problems.
Exploratory research seeks to increase our
understanding of the issue rather than offering
conclusive evidence. The structure is improper, and
the methods offer a flexible and investigative
approach. Therefore, one does not test the hypothesis,
and the results do not help the outside world. The
findings are usually a related topic, which helps
improve
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8. Conclusive Research
Conclusive research has a clear design in the
methodology and intends to answer the research
question. A well-thought-out structure helps
formulate and solve the hypotheses and gives the
results. The results are generic here.
Furthermore, it is essential to establish this study’s
research objectives and data requirements, as
conclusive research findings typically have a specific
purpose. The results of exploratory studies can be
validated and quantified using a conclusive research
design.
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10. Surveys
surveys play a prominent role in the research method. It
helps collect a vast amount of real-time data and helps the
research process. It is done cheaply and is usually faster
than any other method. A researcher can conduct surveys
in both quantitative and qualitative methods. The
researcher usually prefers quantitative surveys over
qualitative ones as they provide numerical outputs and
accurate data.
Surveys are mainly used in the business to know the
demand for a product in the market. It also helps to
forecast the production based on the research results.
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11. Case Studies
A common technique for qualitative analysis is the
case study method, which entails thorough
observation of a social unit and focuses on the in-
depth study. The case study emphasizes the detailed
examination of a smaller set of circumstances and
their interactions. Finding the elements that
collectively account for the behavior patterns of the
provided unit is the goal of the case study method.
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In this method of research methodology, the
researcher considers different cases, and the proper
one for the research is selected. Case studies help to
develop an idea of the research and help in the
foundation of the research.
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