This file is for Masters degree students

1. Research Methods
BY:Tesfaye Getachew (Ph.D.,Ass. Professor)

2. Outlines
• Introduction to research
• Source of knowledge
• Types of Research
• Research approaches
• Research process
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3. The Concept of Research
Learning Objectives
• Identify sources of knowledge
• Define the concept of research
• Explain the purpose of research
• Understand Philosophy of research
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4. Introduction
• What is Knowledge?
• Knowledge is the sum of man's conception, views and
propositions which have been established as correct
reflections of objective reality
• Why is Knowledge?
• The search for knowledge has been motivated by person’s
desire to understand and control his environment
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5. Sources of Knowledge
Two major approaches to
acquire knowledge:
• Unscientific knowledge/common sense
• Scientific knowledge/Science
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6. 1. Unscientific Sources of Knowledge
• Unscientific methods rely on tradition, tenacity, personal
experience, intuition, logic and authority to arrive at conclusions.
• Most of these are no longer accepted in the scientific community.
The method of tenacity -Automatic acceptance of beliefs without
exploring them.
For instance:The sun rises in the east.
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7. Cont’d
❖The method of Authority - Accepting information we have
been told by authority figure.
For instance:
❖Smoking affects our health.
❖Distancing is one way of Covid-19 prevention.
Problem:
o It is only useful and beneficial if the authority figure is
knowledgeable in the area.
These authorities include parents,the media,doctors,
Priests and other religious authorities,the government,and
professors
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8. Traditional source of knowledge
• It is innovations and practices of indigenous and local
communities.
• Examples: culture, stories, songs, and laws, languages,
songlines, dance, games, designs, visual art and architecture,
etc.
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9. Personal experience
• It is a direct experience of an individual.
• Personal experience can be developed through:
✓Public speaking
✓Interviews
✓Academic works (essay and research)
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10. Cont’d
Common-sense - Knowledge acquired from past experience
or from our perceptions of the world.
 It is good for routines aspects of daily life but hinders to widen
our knowledge.
For instance:
The price of drug was increasing thoroughly due to dollar
exchange rate.
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11. Deductive Reasoning/Logic
• It is the process of deriving specific expectations from
general principles through reasoning.
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12. Inductive Reasoning/Logic
• Is the process of establishing general principles from
specific observations.
• Example
Socrates is mortal
Plato is mortal
Aristotle is mortal
Therefore, all humans are mortal.
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13. 2. Scientific method
▪ Knowledge acquired systematically. i.e. evaluate
observation by our bodily senses or measuring devices.
▪ Therefore, science relies on information that is
verifiable unlike common sense.
▪ Science differs from common sense:
▪ Uses conceptual schemes and theoretical structures.
▪ Gives explanations or reasoning for different observed
phenomena.
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14. ScientificVs. Unscientific Research
Scientific research:
Focuses on solving problems and pursues a step-by-
step logical,
organized,and rigorous method.i.e.
✓ identify the problems
✓ collect data
✓ Analyse and
✓ Draw valid conclusions
Non-scientific research:
Based on experience and intuition
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15. Expectations from scientific research:
➢General rules drawn
➢Objective evidences collected
➢Testable statements made
➢Solution attitude to all claims
➢Creative, public and productive
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16. Limitations of scientific research:
➢Cannot have answer for all questions
➢Results may not be applied everywhere
➢Imperfection in the measurement devices
• The scope and limitations of your work has to be clearly
defined.
• The work that will not be undertaken is described as the
limitations of the research.
• In your research project,when you will use limitation?
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17. Definitions of Research
▪ The word research is composed of two syllables, re and search
re is a prefix to mean again, a new or over again
Search is to mean to examine closely & carefully, to test and try,
or to probe
▪ Together a noun‘research’ it to mean
a careful and systematic investigation undertaken to add knowledge,to
establish facts or principles,or to solve problem
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18. Research…..
• Research is a scientific inquiry aimed at learning new
facts, testing ideas and solving problems
Scientific methods: is the systematic/standard
collection, analysis & interpretation of data to generate
new knowledge & answer a certain question or solve a
problem
• Research is the basis for a development
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19. What is Research? . . .
A research,
▪ Should be undertaken with a framework of a set of philosophies
- Philosophies are approaches/techniques in research process
▪ Have to use procedures, methods and techniques that have been
tested for their validity and reliability;
▪ Designed to be unbiased, objective, empirical and logical
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20. Health research
• Health research is the application of research principles on
health system
• It is the generation of new knowledge using scientific method
or to identify and deal with health problems
✓ It is a scientific inquiry leading to the discovery of fact or
information which increases our understanding of human
health, disease and health care delivery system
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21. Research methodology
• It is a way to systematically solve the research problem
• It is a science of studying how research is done
scientifically
• Which methods or techniques, are relevant and which are
not
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22. • It is the integration of best research evidence with clinical
expertise and patient values/preference applied to the
management of individual patients. Sackett et al., 1996
• EBM is the judicious use of the best current evidence in
making decisions about the care of the individual patient.
Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM)
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23. Assumptions of evidence-based practices
• Not all evidence is equivalent
• There is a hierarchy of study design
• External evidence can inform but can never replace individual
clinical expertise (Sackett et al.,1996)
• Starting from the best external evidence and work from there.
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24. EBM Components
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25. Research Requirements
1.A research should be undertaken with a framework of a set of
philosophies
▪ Philosophies means approaches
e.g. qualitative, quantitative and the academic discipline in
which you have been trained
▪ It request standard methods/techniques (theories, principles,
approaches & strategies) on how to proceed to answer research
problem
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26. Requirements . . .
2.A research should be designed to be unbiased
✓Each step should be done in unbiased manner or without
introducing your own vested interest
✓Bias is either system related or deliberate attempt to
either conceal or highlight something
✓Unbiased . . . . be objective
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27. Research Requirements…
3.Accuracy of Measurement (Validity & Reliability)
• Validity (Accuracy) – ability to detect the true value
• Precision (Reliability) – the degree of closeness (consistence)
between repeated measurement of the same value
• Minimizes the effects of third factors/confounding factors
Exposure outcome
Confounder
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28. Errors in measurement
1. Systematic error (bias)
• Selection bias, Information bias
• Lacks validity (true value)
• It is possible to reduce (in design stage and analysis
stage):
• During design stage
• Specification (restriction) study participants
• Matching similar condition of case & controls
• Randomization & Blinding
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29. Errors in measurement…
• During analysis stage
• Stratification ( separate) analysis
• Use multivariate analysis
2. Random error (chance)
• Lacks reliability (no consistency)
• can be minimized by increasing the size of the sample
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30. Purpose of a research
• The purpose of research is problem solving and acquiring new
knowledge.
• It also reduces the complexity of problems.
• In short, research is used for the purposes of:
• Describing phenomena
• Explaining phenomena
• Predicting phenomena
• Controlling phenomena
• Comparing phenomena
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31. Con’t…
Description - pictorial account of the phenomenon being studied.
• It is the first step to do in scientific research.
• It find answers to the questions (PPT) who, where and
when.
Example: Study on the prevalence of Covid-19 in Ethiopia.
Explanation - exploring the causes of the occurrence of certain
event.
• It find answers to the questions“why”.
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32. Con’t …
Prediction-generalizing about what will happen in the future.
Example: Predication on the consequences of Covid-19 in the
social welfare and economic of the country.
• Control - intervene and subsequently observe an expected result.
• Comparison - explore whether two or more groups are similar
or different on a certain behavior or vice versa
Example: Is there gender difference in terms of Covid-19 infection in
Ethiopia?
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33. Types of Research
• There are different ways of classifying research
• It is really difficult to propose a single classification method
that fits different disciplines and purpose
• It should also be noted that there is no clear line that divide
b/n one category and the others
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34. Types of research…
• Based on:
• Goal: Basic & applied
• Specific objectives: Descriptive & explanatory,
• Approaches: Qualitative & quantitative
• Designs: experimental & non-experimental
• Type of data used: Primary & secondary
• Fields of study: natural science, social science, educational,
behavioral science, health science, etc
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35. Basic vs Applied Research
Basic / Fundamental /Pure
research
• Purpose: discovery of new
knowledge and technology
• Research done within
laboratories
Applied / Action Research
• Central purpose to solve an
immediate problem
• To evaluate policies and programs
• It is problem-oriented
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36. BasicVs Applied . . .
Basic Research
Example
▪ How malaria disease affects human
body?
▪ What are the main adverse effects
reported for patients receiving
initialARV treatment at district
level?
Applied Research
Example
▪ What method is a proper to control
and reduce the impacts of malaria
disease?
▪ Does early identification of adverse
effects improve treatment
adherence amongARV treatment
recipients at district level?
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37. what type of a research is this?
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38. Quantitative vs. Qualitative
Quantitative Research
• Uses numerical measurable data
• Require large sample
• Main approach: statistical
analysis
• Mostly uses structured
approach (closed
questionnaires)
• It is seeks to answer questions
about: how much? How many?
How often?To what extent?
Qualitative Research
• Uses non-numerical data
• Uses small samples
• Main approach: In-depth
descriptions of situations
• Unstructured approach (open
ended questionnaires
• Seek to answers to the questions
that begin with:Why? How? In
what way?
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39. Descriptive vs.Analytical:
Descriptive research
• Purpose: Describe the
characteristics of units under
study by time, place and
person
• Research methods:
descriptive study designs
• Used to generates hypothesis
Analytical research
• Purpose:Test hypothesis, answer
cause-effect r/ship
• Describe reason for the occurrence
of events
• Research methods: analytical study
designs
• Uses comparison groups
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40. QualitativeVs Quantitative
Qualitative
• Deals with phenomena that are difficult
or impossible to quantify
• Example
• Beliefs, values, morals, feelings
• Aim to gather an in-depth
understanding of human behaviour &
the reasons that govern such behaviour
Quantitative
• Deals with phenomena which
could observe & measure
• Such observations &
measurements can be made
objectively & repeated by other
researchers
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41. QualitativeVs Quantitative
Qualitative
• It attempts to increase our
understanding of
• Why things are the way they are
in our social world?
• Why people act the ways they
do
• Seek to answers to the questions
that begin with:Why? How? In
what way?
Quantitative
• It is seeks to answer questions
about: how much? How many?
How often?To what extent?
• They do not adequately answer the
“why” and “how” questions
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42. QualitativeVs Quantitative
Qualitative
Examples
• Why people behave the way they
do?
• How opinions and attitudes are
formed?
• How people are affected by the
events that go on around them?
• How and why cultures have
developed in the way they have?
Quantitative
Examples
• How many people are affected
by the event?
• How often a person do exercise
in a week?
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43. 43
what type of a research is this?Why?

44. ObservationalVs Experimental
Observational
• Investigator can only observe the
occurrence of d/se in people who are
already segregated into groups on the
basis of exposure or outcome
• Allocation of groups on the basis of
exposure to a risk factor or outcome is
not under the control of the
investigator
• More common
• Relatively less quality data
Experimental
• Investigator manipulate or
allocate exposure & observe
the result of exposure
• Not common
• Provides high quality data
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45. Which one is obsn and experimental study
1.Occurrence of cancer was identified betweenApril 1991 and July
2002 for 50,000 troops who served in the first GulfWar (ended
April 1991) and 50,000 troops who served elsewhere during the
same period.
2. Subjects were children enrolled in a health maintenance
organization.At 2 months, each child was randomly given one of
two types of a new vaccine against rotavirus infection. Parents were
called by a nurse two weeks later and asked whether the children
had experienced any of a list of side-effects.
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46. Reading assignment
• Research type based on:
• Type of data used: Primary & secondary
• Fields of study: natural science, social science,
educational, behavioral science, health science, clinical
research, etc
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47. Rationale for health research
• Limited resource need proper evidence based decision
• To identify efficient options for priority problems
• Inequities in health care
• To explore reasons
• The use of inappropriate care
• To replace them with new ones
• Huge expansion of technological advances
• To assess options
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48. Importance of health research
• Improve quality of care
• Improve the health of our patients
• Enhance efficiency of system
• To avoid unnecessary wastage of resources
• To enhance capacity development
• Professional (skill) advancement
• Guide health policy / intervention
• Identifying determinants of health
• To design appropriate interventions
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49. Who should be involved in research work?
▪Multidisciplinary
✓ Researchers from variety of disciplines/departments within
disciplines
e.g. physician, nurse and pharmacist to solve problems related to
drug use
▪Trans-disciplinary
✓ Working together as a team throughout all phases/cross sector
e.g. health and education sector on personal hygiene issues
▪Participatory
✓ Stakeholders: policy makers, managers, practitioners, community
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50. Research Process
▪ The research process is similar to undertaking a journey
▪ For a research journey there are two important decisions to
make
✓ What you want to find out about or what research
questions (problems) you want to answers to
✓ How to go about finding their answers
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51. Research Process . . .
▪ There are practical steps through which you must pass in your
research journey in order to find answers to your research
questions
▪ The path to finding answers to your research questions
constitutes research methods
▪ At each step you are required to choose from a multiplicity of
methods, procedures & models which will help you to best
achieve your objectives
▪ This is where your knowledge base of research methodology
plays a crucial role
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52. Thank you
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