Research methodology summary by Shiva Shrestha

Shiva Shrestha
25/03/62 Shiva Shrestha 1

 Research is Search for Knowledge
 It is an Art of Scientific Investigation
 According to Redman and Mory, Research is a
“Systematized effort to gain new knowledge”
 Research is an original addition to the available
knowledge, which contributes to it’s further
advancement
 In sum, Research is the search for knowledge,
using objective and systematic methods to find
solution to a problem

 To gain familiarity with new insights into a
phenomenon
 To accurately portray the characteristics of a
particular individual, group, or a situation
 To analyze the frequency with which
something occurs
 To examine the Hypothesis of a casual
relationship between two variables

 Research Methods are the methods that the
researcher adopts for conducting the
research Studies
 Research Methodology is the way in which
research problems are solved systematically.
 It is the Science of studying how research is
conducted Scientifically

 QuantitativeApproach
(Uses experimental, inferential and simulation
approaches to research)
 QualitativeApproach
(Uses techniques like in-depth interview, focus
group interviews)

 Descriptive
 Analytical
 Applied
 Fundamental
 Quantitative
 Qualitative
 Conceptual
 Empirical
 OtherTypes

 In Descriptive Research, the Researcher has
to only report what is happening or what has
happened.
 In Analytical Research, the Researcher has to
use the already available facts or information,
and analyse them to make a critical
evaluation of the subject

 An attempt to find solution to an immediate
problem encountered by a firm, an Industry, a
business organization, or the Society is
known as Applied Research
 Gathering knowledge for knowledge’s sake is
‘Pure’ or ‘Basic’ or ‘Fundamental’ Research

 Quantitative Research involves the
measurement of quantity or amount. (ex:
Economic & Statistical methods)
 Qualitative Research is concerned with the
aspects related to or involving quality or
Kind.(ex: Motivational Research involving
behavioural Sciences)

 The Research related to some abstract idea
or theory is known as Conceptual Research.
(Ex: Philosophers andThinkers using this to
developing new concepts)
 Empirical Research relies on the observation
or experience with hardly any regard for
theory and system.

 One-time or Longitudinal Research (On the
basis time)
 Laboratory Research or Field-setting or
Simulational Research (On the basis of
environment)
 Historical Research

 Helps Researcher to develop disciplined
thinking
 The Researcher will confidently evaluate and
utilize the Research Findings
 Helps the Research consumer to evaluate
Research and make rational decisions
 The Researcher will be equipped with
knowledge of different tools to conduct
scientific Research

 Desire for accuracy of observation & precision
of statement
 An alert mind.
 Must practice “The art of enduring
intellectual hardships”
 Making statements cautiously

 According to Hudson Maxim “All progress is
born of inquiry. Doubt is often better than
overconfidence, for it leads to inquiry, and
inquiry leads to invention”

 1. Formulating the Research Problem
 2. Extensive Literature Survey
 3. Developing Hypothesis
 4. Preparing the Research Design
 5. Determining Sample Design
 6. Collecting Data
 7. Execution of the Project
 8. Analysis of the Data
 9. HypothesisTesting
 10. Generalization and Interpretation
 11. Preparation of the Report or Presentation of the Results

 Research Problem is an unanswered question
that a researcher might encounter in the
context of either a theoretical or practical
situation

 There should be an individual or a group who
have some difficulty or problem
 There should be some objective to be
pursued (A person or an organization who
wants nothing cannot have a problem)
 There should be more than one alternative
means available to the Researcher.
 There should be some doubt in the mind of
the Researcher about the choice of
alternative means25/03/62 Shiva Shrestha 17

 X- an individual or an organization (to whom
the problem is attributed)
 Y-the environment where X is situated
 Z-the uncontrolled variables which controlY
 A1 &A2 two courses of action
 B1 & B2 two possible outcomes of the said
course (One outcome should be what
ResearcherWants)

It highlights decisions which include
1. The Name of the Study
2. The Purpose of the Study
3. The Location where the study would be conducted
4. The Nature of Data Required
5. From where the required Data can be collected
6. What time period the study would cover
7. TheType of Sample Design
8. TheTechniques of Data Collection
9. The Methods of Data Analysis

 A magnitude that varies is known as a
variable (ex: income, height, weight..)
 When changes in one variable depend upon
the changes in other variable (s), it is known
as dependent variable (ex: If Demand
depends on Price, then Demand is a
dependent variable, price is independent
variable)

 The independent variables which are not
directly related to the purpose of the study
but affect the dependent variable are known
as Extraneous Variables. (ex: Relationship
between children’s school performance
(dependent variable) and their Parent’s Income
(Independent Variable). In this case Intelligence may
also influence the school performance
(ExtraneousVariable)

 Exploratory Research Design
 Descriptive and Diagnostic Research Design
 Hypothesis-testing Research Design

 To formulate a Research Problem for an in-
depth or more precise investigation
 To discover new ideas and insights
 Three methods considered for such Research
Design
a) a Survey of related Literature
b) experience survey
c) analysis of insight-stimulating instances

 Descriptive Research Design is Concerned
with describing the characteristics of a
particular individual or a group.
 Diagnostic Research Design is determines the
frequency with which a variable occurs or it’s
relationship with other.
 Both Descriptive & Diagnostic Research
design have common requirements

 The Researcher tests the Hypothesis of casual
relationship between two or more variables
 These studies require unbiased attitude of
the Researcher

 It facilitates smooth conduct of the various
stages of Research.
 Makes Research Efficient to yield maximum
information with minimum effort, time,
expenditure
 Plays a crucial role in attaining the reliability
of the results obtained.

 Flexible, Suitable, Efficient and Economical
 Minimizes bias and Maximizes Reliability
 No Experimental Error
 Yields Maximum Information

 The method of exploring and analyzing the
life or functioning of a social or economic
unit, such as a person, a family, a community,
an institution, a firm or an industry is called
Case Study Research
 Through this research the Researcher
understands the complex behaviour and
situations in specific detail

 It is a Predictive statement
 Must be tested by scientific methods
 A hypothesis is a proposed explanation for
an observable phenomenon
 Example:
“Students who take tuitions perform better
than the others who do not receive tuitions”

 Precise and clear
 Capable of being put to test
 Must be stated in simple language
 Researcher must be able to test it within a
stipulated period
 A Hypothesis should explain what it actually
wants to explain.
 A Hypothesis must be derived from known
facts

 The statistical hypothesis that states that
there are no differences between observed
and expected data.
 For example, imagine flipping a coin three
times
 The null Hypothesis is expresses as H0

 The alternative hypothesis is the hypothesis used in
hypothesis testing that is contrary to the null hypothesis. It is
usually taken to be that the observations are the result of a
real effect (with some amount of chance variation
superposed).
 An example might be where water quality in a stream has
been observed over many years and a test is made of the null
hypothesis that there is no change in quality between the
first and second halves of the data against the alternative
hypothesis that the quality is poorer in the second half of the
record.

 Very important concept
 If for example, the significance level is taken 5
percent, then it means that 5 % level of
significance implies that the researcher is
willing to take a risk of 5 % of rejecting the
null hypothesis, when (H0) is actually true.

 Type I Error
Researcher rejects H0 when it is true
( Rejection of the Hypothesis when it must
have been accepted)
 Type II Error
Researcher accepts H0 when it is not true
(Acceptance of the Hypothesis which must
have been rejected)

 The two-tailed test is a statistical test used in
inference, in which a given statistical
hypothesis , H0 (null hypothesis)will be
rejected when the value of the statistic is
either sufficiently small or sufficiently large.

 Making a formal Statement
 Selecting a Significance Level
 Deciding the distribution to Use
 Selection of a Random Sample & Computing
an AppropriateValue
 Calculation of the Probability
 Comparing the Probability

 To begin with a formal Statement of Null
Hypothesis (H0) and Alternative Hypothesis (Ha) is
 Usually 5% or 1 % Significance level is chosen for the
HypothesisTesting
 The divergence of the Result from expectation
(Probability) when Null Hypothesis is True is
calculated
 Probability is compared with Significance Level later
on

State H0 as Well as Ha
 Specify the Level of Significance
Decide the Correct Sampling Distribution
Sample a random Sample and workout an appropriate
Value
Calculate the Probability that Sample Result would
diverge as widely as it has from expectations, if H0
were true

 Sample is a certain portion of the population
 A Researcher adopts aTechnique to select
the items of the Sample from the Population
and that is called as Sampling Design.
 Sample design must be done before Data
Collection.

 Type of Interview
 Sampling Unit
 Source List
 Size of Sample
 Parameters of Interest
 Budgetary Constraint
 Sampling Procedure

 Define the Universe to be studied
(Finite Universe: Population of a City, No. of
Workers in a factory)
(Infinite Universe: Stars in the Sky)
 Sampling Unit:
(GeographicalArea: State, District,Village)
(Social Unit: Family, School, Religious
Community)

 Source List is nothing but Sample Frame
from which the Sample is to be selected.
(For example, in an opinion poll, possible
sampling frames include:
Electoral register
Telephone directory)
 No. of Units to be chosen from the Universe
to form a Sample is Size of the Sample

 Two Costs control the Selection of a Sampling
Procedure
1. Cost of Data Collection
2. Cost of drawing incorrect inference from the
selected Data

 Small Sampling Error
 Sample Design must fit into the Budget
 Controllable Bias
 Results of the Sample Study must be
applicable to the Universe, with confidence

 Non-probability Sampling
No probability sampling techniques cannot
be used to infer from the sample to the
general population.
Examples :
To sample friends, co-workers, or shoppers at
a single mall, are all examples of convenience
sampling.The first respondent refers a friend.
The friend also refers a friend, etc

 In quota sampling, the population is first
segmented into mutually exclusive sub-
groups.Then judgment is used to select the
subjects or units from each segment based
on a specified proportion. For example, an
interviewer may be told to sample 200
females and 300 males between the age of 45
and 60.

 A probability sampling scheme is one in
which every unit in the population has a
chance (greater than zero) of being selected
in the sample, and this probability can be
accurately determined.
 Example: We want to estimate the total
income of adults living in a given street. We
visit each household in that street, identify all
adults living there, and randomly select one
adult from each household.25/03/62 Shiva Shrestha 47

 Primary Data
Primary Data is a term for data collected on
source which has not been subjected to
processing or any other manipulation.
When Primary Data is Processed it becomes
Information
Primary Data is the data collected for the first
time

 Secondary Data is the Data that has already
been collected and used earlier by somebody
or some agency.
 Example: Statistics about the Population of
the country collected for the first time by
Govt. of India is Primary Data, but when a
researcher uses it for his study the same data
becomes Secondary Data

 Published Sources
Examples: Official Publications of State and
Central Governments, Research Institutions,
Committees and Commissions
 Unpublished Sources
Examples: Records maintained by different
offices, Scholars in the Universities

 Purpose and Scope of Enquiry
 Availability ofTime
 Availability of Resources
 The degree of accuracy desired
 StatisticalTools to be used
 Method of Data Collection

 For example if the researcher interested in
knowing the nature of price change over a
period of time, it would be necessary to to
collect data of commodity prices(wholesale
or retail prices)
 The purpose and scope of data collection
should be clearly set out at the very
beginning

 Direct Personal Interview
 Indirect oral interviews
 Information from correspondents
 MailedQuestionnaire methods
 Schedule sent through interviewers

 Under Indirect Oral Interview method of data
collection, the investigator contacts third
parties generally called “witnesses” who are
capable of supplying necessary information.
 Schedule is the name usually applied to a set
of questions which are asked in a face to face
situation with another person.

 Primary Data is more accurate and authentic.
 Time, Money and labour is more involved in
Primary data Collection
 But in Statistical enquiries secondary data is
used.
 Primary Data is are collected only if there
exists no secondary data.

 According to Bogardus, a questionnaire is a list of
questions sent to a number of persons for their
answers and which obtains standardised results that
can be tabulated and treated statistically
 Example1 of Sampling: A housewife testing small
quantity of rice to see whether it has beenWell
cooked
 Example2 of Sampling: A pathologist testing blood
sample of the patient.

 Number of questions as small as possible.
 Questions should be clear
 Questions should be arranged in a logical
order
 Questions should be simple to understand
 Questions should be easily answerable
 No personal questions

 Shut Questions:
SimpleAlternateQuestions..Yes or No
Multiple Choice questions…a)..b)...c)…d)…
 The questionnaire must be pre-tested on a
small scale before using it for the enquiry
 A covering letter from the organizers of the
enquiry should be enclosed along with the
questionnaire

 Absolute Experiment: Example:The impact
of fertilizer on the yield of a crop
 Comparative Experiments: Example: Impact
of one fertilizer as compared to the impact of
some other fertilizer

 The Principle of Replication
Experiment should be repeated more than
once to increase the statistical accuracy
 The Principle of Randomization
 The Principle of Local Control

 It is accurate watching and noting of
phenomena as they occur with regard to the
cause and effect or mutual relations.
 Example1:Watching bonded labour’s life
 Example2:Treatment of widows at home

Research methodology summary by Shiva Shrestha

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Research methodology summary by Shiva Shrestha