Research Methods

Dereje Teferi
[Link]@[Link]
 Meaning of Research
• Research may be defined as
– The systematic investigation into and study of
materials and sources in order to establish facts and
reach new conclusions
– seeking through methodical processes to add to one’s
own body of knowledge and to that of others, by the
discovery of non-trivial facts and insights.
– a scientific, and systematic search for pertinent
information on a specific topic (A systematized effort
to gain new knowledge)
– Most people associate the word ‘research” with
activities substantially removed from day-to-day life
and which are pursued by outstandingly gifted
persons.
Meaning of Research … (cont’d)
• Research is an Organized and Systematic way of Finding
answers to Questions
– Systematic: because there is a definite set of
procedures and steps which you will follow. There
are certain things in the research process which are
always done in order to get the most accurate results.

– Organized : because there is a structure or method in

going about doing research. It is a planned
procedure, not a spontaneous one. It is focused and
limited to a specific scope.
Meaning of Research ..(cont’d)
– Finding Answers : is the end of all research.
Whether it is the answer to a hypothesis or even
a simple question, research is successful when we
find answers. Sometimes the answer is no, but it
is still an answer.

– Questions : are central to research. If there is no

question, then the answer is of no use. Research
is focused on relevant, useful, and important
questions. Without a question, research has no
focus, drive, or purpose.
Meaning of Research … (cont’d)
– Research is an academic activity
• Search for knowledge
• An art of scientific investigation
– Research comprises
• defining and redefining problems.
• formulating hypothesis
• collecting, organizing and evaluating data
• making deductions and reaching conclusions
• Carefully testing the conclusions to determine
whether they fit the formulated hypothesis
 Meaning of Research … (cont’d)
Research often makes use of various
Sources of Knowledge
INTUITIVE
• (when coming up with an initial idea
for research)
AUTHORITATIVE
• (when reviewing professional
literature)
LOGICAL
• (when reasoning from findings to
conclusions)
EMPIRICAL
• (when engaging in procedures that
lead to these findings such as doing experiments)
Scientific Research
• Employs systematic observation and
rational processes to create new
knowledge.

• Based on logical relationships not just

beliefs.

• Involves an explanation of the methods

used to collect and analyze data;
explanation to “why the results are
meaningful?”
Scientific Research
Objectives of Research
• Employs systematic observation and
• To discover
rationalanswers
processes to questions
to create new through
knowledge. of scientific procedures.
the application
• Based on logical relationships not just
beliefs.
• To find out the truth which is hidden
which has notanbeen
• Involves discovered
explanation as yet.
of the methods
used to collect and analyze data;
explanation to “why the results are
meaningful?”
 Objectives of Research
Objectives of Research … cont’d

• To gain familiarity with a phenomenon or to

achieve new insights into it;
• To discover answers to questions through
• To
theportray accurately
application the characteristics
of scientific [Link] a
particular individual, situation or a group;
• To determine the frequency with which something
• To find out the truth which is hidden
occurs or with which it is associated with
which haselse;
something not been discovered as yet.
• To test a hypothesis of a casual relationship
between variables;
 Significance
Significance
Objectives
Motivation ofResearch
research
inofResearch
research
of … cont’d
… cont’d

To
•• Whatgain familiarity
makes
– Increased with
people
amount a phenomenon
undertake
of research or to
research?
make progress possible.
achieve new
– Research
Desire to getinsights
a researchinto it; along with its
Knowledge
degree
– Research inculcates scientific thinking and
consequential
promotes the benefits.
development of logical habitsof of a
• To portray accurately the characteristics
– Desire to and
thinking solve a challenge in solving the unsolved
organization.
particular individual, situation or a group;
problems.
– Complexity in business and government is increasing.
– Desire
• To to design
determine theappropriate
frequencypolicies
with which something
Thereoris with
more information and Information
knowledge
–– Desire
occurs to which
contribute toitthe
is existing
associated ofto
stockwith knowledge.
understand the world than before.
something
– Desire to getelse;
intellectual joy of doing some creative
Multi disciplinary professions have become common
– work
• To test atohypothesis
– Desire be of serviceoftoasociety
casual relationship
between variables;
– Directives of government. Development
– Curiosity about new things, etc....
 Significance
Significance of research
of research … cont’d

Increased
– amount of research make progress possible
Research Knowledge
–Research inculcates
scientific thinkingand
promotes the development oflogicalhabits of
thinking and organization.
It–helps in managing the complexity in business
and government that is increasing. Information
There
– is more information and knowledge to
understand the world than before.
Multi
– disciplinary professions have become common

Development
 Significance of research … cont’d
–A means of livelihood
The
– outlet for new ideas and insights;
The
– development of new styles and
creative work;
The
– generalizations of new theories;
–Fountain of knowledge;
Important
– source of providing guidelines
for solving different problems; etc.
 Requirements
Research requires resources, such as the
following:
• Money;
• People;
• Time and space;
• Experimental Subjects, in some cases;
• Data
Research
• is both enjoyable and frustrating.
Enjoyment
• comes from considering a specific
problem or subject field.
Frustration
• comes from discovering that it may not b
possible to do all that is intended to at the start of
the investigation.
The
– Research topic may be imposed on the
student
The
– Research must be completed within a given
time period.
Funds
– for Experiments, travel, postage and so on
may be limited or even non -existent.
The
– results of the research must be presented in
a specified manner.
The
– student may possibly have to relate to an
academic supervisor who is not interested
 Ethical Issues in Research

• Ethical concerns
– Moral issues: honesty, integrity
– Legal implications: confidentiality/privacy,
– Neutrality
– Protecting Human Subjects
 Categories of research
Generally there are two categories of research: Applied
and Basic/fundamental research.

Applied Research
aims
: at finding a solution for an
immediate problem facing a society or any
industrial/business organization.
Fundamental research:
is mainly concerned with
generalizations and with formulation of a theory.
–Research concerning some natural phenomeno
or relating to pure mathematics. (Deriving
formulas)
–Research carried to make generalizations abou
human behaviour
 Types of Research
The types of research can be different
depending on perspective.
The perspective could be time, purpose,
data used, or analysis method etc

The basic types of research are

–Exploratory
–Descriptive
–Explanatory
 Types of Research …cont’d
Exploratory Research
The
• result of an exploratory study may indicate that
further research can be reduced and/or certain
aspects of the larger study can be eliminated
Exploratory
• study is conducted in the following
situation:
To
– design a problem for investigation and to
formulate hypotheses;
To
– determine priorities for further research;
To– gather data about the practical problems of
carrying out research on particular conjectural
Statements (not adequately based on evidence);
To– increase the researcher’s interest in the problem;
–To explain basic concepts;
 Types of Research …cont’d

Descriptive Research
includes surveys and fact finding enquiries of
different kinds.
Major purpose:
Could be the description of the state of affairs as
it exists at present
Main characteristic:
Researcher has no control over the variables
The researcher can only report what has
happened and what is happening.
 Types of Research …cont’d

Descriptive Research
Example
• Measuring the following
– Frequency of shopping
– Preferences of people
– Income profile of customers
– Pattern of expenditure
– Frequency of sales by income levels
 Types of Research …cont’d

Descriptive Research … cont’d

• Is conducted in the following situations:

• To analyze characterization of certain groups
(eg. age, sex, education, …)
• To identify the proportion of people in a
population who behave in a certain way (e.g.
customers who use a particular technology
service)
• To forecast future trends (e.g sales in the next
five years)
• To study whether certain variables are
associated or not (e.g. income and telephone
expense)
 Types of Research …cont’d

Explanatory/Causal Research
Main purpose: finding the ‘reasons why’
desire
• to know how the causal factors relate to the
effects under predictions
Usually
• referred as hypothesis
testing
- research
Such
• studies require procedures that
–Reduce bias and increase reliability
Permit
– drawing inferences about causality
• Research design in such kind of studies may
require
Experiments
 Types of Research …cont’d

• Quantitative Research:- based on the

measurement of quantity or amount- applicable to
phenomena that can be expressed in terms of quantity.

• Qualitative Research :- Concerned with

qualitative phenomena (relating to quality or kind)
 Types of Research …cont’d

• Conceptual Research
• related to some abstract idea or theory - Generally
used by philosophers and thinkers to develop new
concepts or to reinterpret existing ones.
• Empirical Research –
• relies on experience or observation. It is a data-
based research, coming up with conclusions which
are capable of being verified - Appropriate when
proof is sought.
• Evidence gathered through Empirical Studies is
considered to be the most powerful support
possible for a given hypothesis.
 Types of Research …cont’d
• Experimental research
– is commonly used in sciences such as sociology and
psychology, physics, chemistry, biology and
medicine etc.

– It is a collection of research designs which use

manipulation and controlled testing to understand
causal processes.

– Generally one or more variables are manipulated to

determine their effect on a dependent variable.
 Types of Research …cont’d
• From the point of view of time, we may
have
– One-time research:-where the research is
confined to a single time-period.
– Longitudinal research :w
- here the research is
carried on over several time periods.
• From the point of view of environment, we
have
– Field-
setting research
– Laboratory research
• Research can also be
– Conclusion oriented
• While doing a conclusion oriented research, the
researcher is free to pick up a problem, redesign the
enquiry and is prepared to conclude as he wishes.

– Decision oriented
• Decision - oriented research: is always for the need
of a decision maker and the researcher is not free to
embark upon research according to his own
inclination.
• All other types of research are variations of one
or more of the above stated approaches, based
on.
– the purpose of the research
– the time required to accomplish the research
– the environment in which the research is conducted.
 Research Questions
•A research question
is–a methodological point of departure of scholarly
research.
w
– hat a research aims to answer
–problem
a or statement in need of a solution or
answer
elps
– h you to identify the things you need to find out;
helps
– you to know what you have to pay attention to

2
 Research Questions … cont’d
•General research questions
–Guide our thinking
Are
– of great value in organizing the research project
Are
– not specific enough to be answered
•Specific questions
D
– irect empirical procedures
Are
– the questions actually answered in theresearch
Guide
– the type of data we need to collect

It• is useful to identify and separate the general

and the specific questions.

3
 Research Questions … cont’d
A• research area is different from a topic
Research
– area is the broader subject of your topi
A
• topic is different from a question
Topic
– is the broad subject of your work
A
– question is what you want to know about a
topic
Example of Research area
–
•Gender issues
•Telecommunication
• Education
–Example of Topic
Protests
• against gender inequality
•Telecom Security
•Educational Technology
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 Research Questions … cont’d

The following are all questions

Ex:
How
• can we get our customers satisfied?
What
• is the level of Fraud detection in mobile
telephones?
•
How can we get SMS in local languages?
How
• can we determine the students’ learning style
in eLearning systems?
How
• can we evaluate student satisfaction in use of
ICT in education?

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 Research Questions… cont’d
Another Example
:
Area:
– Performance Evaluation
Topic:
• Effectiveness/Efficiency Measures
•Research question:
Is– there any performance difference
between systems A, B or C?
–Specific question:
Is» system A better than system?B

6
 Research Questions… cont’d
• CriticalIssue:
Questions
– must be in principle answerable;
• Specific;
Refer
• to something you can look at or find an
answer for;
•Hierarchy of the concepts
–Research Area
•Research topic
–research questions

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 Research Questions … cont’d
Developing research questions
• Knowing the knowledge gap is crucial
• What are we trying to find out? Why?
[Link] possibilities
[Link] of questions
•General question into component parts;
• Disentagling
the different questions from each
other;
[Link] and developing focus
Categorizing
• and grouping of questions together
4. Bringing the project down to a workable problem

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 Research Questions … cont’d

Developing research questions … cont’d

– Question development stage is pre -empirical

– Not yet focusing on methods
–“How will I do this?” or “Should I use this method
or that method?” should not come too early

•Questions are refined gradually to make them

specific and answerable

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 Research Questions … cont’d

Hypothesis:
• A predicted answer to a
research question
A–specific research question states what a
researcher is trying to find out
–A hypothesis predicts,
apriori
, the answer to a
question

10
 Research Questions … cont’d
• Important
Questions in Hypothesis:
What
• is the basis for prediction?
Why
• do we expect what we predict?
•Possible answers:
Because
– another researcher did some
research;
Existence of theory;
–

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 Research Questions … cont’d

The Role of Research Questions

1.
Organize the research and give it
direction and coherence
[Link] the research project – show the
boundaries
[Link] the researcher focused
[Link] the data that will be needed
5.
Provide a framework for the write up

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 Research Questions … cont’d

Good research questions need to be:

– Clear
–Specific
–Answerable
–Interconnected
Substantively relevant
–

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