The document outlines the layout for a research proposal chapter 3 Methodology

1. RESEARCH METHODS

2. RESEARCH DESIGN: DATA
COLLECTION
 Research design is a comprehensive plan for
data collection in an empirical research project.
 It is a “blueprint” for empirical research aimed
at answering specific research questions or
testing specific hypotheses, and must specify at
least three processes:
 (1)The data collection process,
 (2)The instrument development process,
 (3)The sampling process.

3. Qualitative vs quantitative research—what’s the difference?
• It’s important to understand the difference between
qualitative and quantitative research, especially if you’re
new to the field.
• There’s a common misconception that one is “better”
than the other,
• however qualitative and quantitative research serve vastly
different purposes.
• Read on to learn about what makes them different, the
different methods for collecting qualitative and
quantitative data, how you can turn one into the other,
when you might use which method, and how to analyze
the data once you have it.

4. Qualitative research
 Qualitative (“qual”) research is often used for exploring.
 It helps researchers gain an understanding of underlying reasons,
opinions, and motivations.
 Qualitative data collection methods vary, and usually rely on
unstructured or semi-structured techniques.
 Focus groups
 Individual interviews
 Observation or immersion. For example, an ethnography
 Diary studies
 Literature reviews
 Open-ended survey questions
 Using qualitative research methods, the sample size is determined
after reaching saturation point.

5. Qualitative research
 Most of the time qualitative data will be
collected from a smaller sample size than
quantitative data because, generally, you’re
not looking for statistical significance with
qualitative research.
 Qualitative data is quite rich, and can give
you directional insights about people’s
thoughts, feelings, emotions, and so on

6. Qualitative research
 Ways to analyze qualitative data:
 Coding your data with tags and conducting a thematic
analysis.
 With a tool like NVIVO or Dovetail you can assign
“tags” to segments of your raw data to “code” it with
a specific meaning.
 After you tag all your data, you can analyze the
frequency of certain types of responses and identify
patterns and themes.
 You can also use coding for a range of other similar
analysis techniques like content analysis

7. Quantitative research
 Quantitative (“quant”) research is used to
quantify the problem by way of generating
numerical data that can be transformed into
useable statistics.
 It is used to quantify attitudes, opinions,
behaviours, and other defined variables, and
generalize results from a larger sample
population.
 Quantitative research uses measurable data to
formulate facts and uncover patterns in research.

8. Quantitative research
 Quantitative data collection methods are much more
structured; they include:
 Surveys. For example: online surveys, paper surveys,
mobile surveys,
 Interviews. For example: face-to-face interviews,
telephone interviews, remote interviews
 Longitudinal studies
 Website interceptors
 Online polls
 Systematic observations
 Experiments

9. Quantitative research
 Analyzing quantitative data
 Because quantitative data is based on numbers, some form
of mathematical analysis will be required.
 The methods range from simple maths like calculating
means and medians, to more advanced statistical analysis
like calculating the statistical significance of your results.
 Tools like Excel, SPSS, or R can be used to calculate:
 The mean scores of your data (also known as the average)
 The frequency of a particular answer
 The correlation or causation between two or more
variables
 The validity or statistical significance of your results

10. RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS
DESIGN
 QUESTIONNAIRES
 The questionnaire is the favoured tool of many
of those engaged in research, and it can often
provide a cheap and effective way of collecting
data in a structured and manageable form.
 While questionnaires can be very detailed,
covering many subjects or issues, they can also
be very simple and focus on one important
area.

11. Why use a questionnaire? Why
might they be useful?
 Questionnaires can be designed and used to collect vast quantities of
data from a variety of respondents.
 They have a number of benefits over other forms of data collection: they
are usually inexpensive to administer; very little training is needed to
develop them; and they can be easily and quickly analyzed once
completed.
 An effective questionnaire is one that enables the transmission of useful
and accurate information or data from the respondent to the researcher.
 This is a complex process which involves presenting questions in a clear
and unambiguous way so that the respondent may interpret them,
articulate his or her response and transmit it effectively to the
researcher.
 Once transmitted, the answers must be recorded, coded and analyzed
fairly so that they accurately reflect the respondents’ views.

12. Types of question
 When conducting research we are often
interested in collecting data covering a broad
range of subjects.
 Using subtly different questions, and approaches
to questioning, can allow us access to the
information we require.
 Questionnaires usually are comprised of a
number of different approaches to asking
questions –the essential ones being: closed
questions, multiple-choice or ranking questions,
and open-ended questions

13. Closed questions
 Most questionnaires consist of a collection
of closed questions.
 These are questions to which all possible
answers are provided.
 The most often-used form of closed
question is the dichotomous question
requiring a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ response.
 For example,‘Do you wear glasses?’ is a
dichotomous question: the respondent
either does (responding ‘yes’) or doesn’t
(responding ‘no’)wear glasses.

14. Multiple-choice questions
 Many questionnaires include questions which provide a number of
predefined responses.
 This allows the researcher to hold some control over the responses
given.
 However, the construction and piloting of multiple-choice questions
usually require careful thought to ensure that all or most responses
possible are covered.
 A typical multiple-choice question would be:
 Which of the following are important attributes of an employee?
(Please tick all that apply)
 Good time keeping
 Well developed customer relation skills
 Good numerical skills
 Ability to liaise with other staff in other departments.

15. Open-ended questions
 Open-ended questions impose none of the
restrictions of closed and multiple choice questions.
 They allow for the recording of any response to a
question provided by the respondent.
 The answers to open-ended questions are in no way
predetermined – this can make analysis difficult.
 Each response must be recorded and analyzed or
coded to reveal the meaning of the response.
 A typical open-ended question would be:‘Tell us
about the area you live in?

16. Scale items
 usually ranging from a very positive answer to a very negative
answer.
 There are a number ofways to scale responses to questions.
 One of the most popular approaches is the Likert scale .
 This scale, like many others, measures attitudes to set
statements put by the questionnaire.
 The respondent is provided with a scale of possible responses
(usually five) to the question – ranging from the attitude
measure ‘strongly agree’ to the exact opposite measure of
‘strongly
 disagree’.(strongly agree, agree, unsure,disagree,strongly
disagree).Many other scales exist that allow a respondent to
rate a statement or question.

17. Scale items
 How would you judge the quality of the lunch you were served in our restaurant today?
 a) Excellent
 b)Very good
 c) Good
 d) Fair
 e) Poor
 f)Very poor
 Compared to other restaurant meals you have had, how was the food we served you?
 a)The best I have ever had
 b) Better than most other meals
 c) OK
 d)Worse than most other meals
 e) The worst I have ever had
 Did our food meet your expectations?
 a) Much better than expected
 b) Better than expected
 c) Slightly better than expected
 d) About as expected
 e) Slightly worse than expected

18. Routing questions
 To enable respondents to complete questionnaires
as quickly as possible some designers provide
signposts, or routing instructions.
 These guide the respondent to appropriate areas
of the questionnaire.
 When used effectively they can improve response
rate and also ensure the correct elements of the
instrument are completed.
 Do you watch the TV show The West Wing
yes no?

19. Maximizing response rates
 To maximize response rates consider the use of a covering
letter for your questionnaire.
 This should be short and should explain the research in a
clear and understandable way.
 Another popular way of increasing response rate is to
include with the questionnaire a pre-paid return envelope
or organize for responses to be returned through a
‘Freepost’ arrangement.
 Many researchers have identified questionnaire design and
layout as an important influence on response rates

20. Ideal questionnaire length and time
to complete
 How long should a questionnaire be?
 As a general rule of thumb, a questionnaire
should take no more than about twenty minutes
to complete. If a respondent is asked to give up
more time than this, he or she may abandon part
or all of the questionnaire.
 Respondents may be expected to complete a
lengthy questionnaire if there is some identifiable
payback for them – but even here a completion
time of no more than thirty minutes should be
the aim.

21. INTERVIEWS
 Interviews are not an easy option
 They are often likened to a conversation between two people,
though a competent researcher knows that he or she are more
than this: he or she require directing and controlling to varying
degrees.
 Interviews ‘involve a set of assumptions and understandings
about the situation which are not normally associated with a
casual conversation’.
 Interviews are used in research as a way of obtaining detailed
information about a topic or subject.
 Often interviews are used where other research instruments
seem inappropriate: for instance
 They can be used in exploring basic literacy skills among adults

22. INTERVIEWS
 In many situations the use of a research interview rather
than, say, a questionnaire can be an indicator of the
greater importance attached to the research topic.
 The research interview is far more resource-intensive.
 It requires the researcher to elicit information from
respondents on a one-to-one basis. Interviews can last
for longer than an hour and can produce vast amounts of
data.
 It has been said that while other instruments focus on
the surface elements of what is happening, interviews
give the researcher more of an insight into the meaning
and significance of what is happening.

23. INTERVIEWS
 As with other research instruments, there are a number
of stages to developing and effectively using interviews.
 The interview development process begins by broadly
indicating the questions which you’d like to ask.
 The number, type and format of your questions will be
informed by the level of structure to be imposed on the
interview.
 Interviews are traditionally less structured . However,
three models for interviews exist: the unstructured
interview; the semi-structured interview; and the
structured interview.

24. Stages in developing and using interviews
 Draft the interview
 Pilot your questions
 Select your interviewees
 Conduct the interviews
 Analyse the interview data

25. Stages in developing and using interviews
 The interview development process begins by
broadly indicating the questions which you’d like to
ask.
 The number, type and format of your questions will
be informed by the level of structure to be imposed
on the interview.
 Interviews are traditionally less structured than other
research instruments, such as questionnaires.
 However, three models for interviews exist: the
unstructured interview; the semi-structured
interview; and the structured interview.

26. The structured interview
• A structured interview is a type of interview in which the
researcher asks a set of premeditated questions in order
to gather information about the research subjects.
• It is also known as a standardized interview or a
researcher-administered interview, and it aims at
investigating research variables using the same set of
questions.
• A tightly structured schedule of questions is used
and often the intention is to use a quantitative
method of data analysis.
• In many structured interviews, not only will the
questions be set in advance, but the possible choice
of answers also.

27. The structured interview
• Some see the structured interview as no more than a
questionnaire that is completed face-to-face.
• The interviewer has control over the order of questions, all of
which are predetermined.
• There is an element of predictability to the structured interview
which allows the event to be timetabled with some precision
(an interview scheduled to last an hour will usually do so).
• Unlike the other models for interviews, the structured
interview may provide an easier framework for analysis
• Pre-coded responses are important to allow for
comparison across all respondents.
• It is usual for all responses to be noted or written
down on the questionnaire.

28. The structured interview
• Using a structured interview is a way of trying to ensure
comparability across the sample.
• However it is important that respondents are trained to administer
questionnaires and that they are well-briefed on the interview topic.
• The questions in a structured interview may be phrased in such a
way that a limited range of responses is elicited.
• For example: "Do you think that health services in this area are excellent,
good, average or poor?
• This is an example of a closed question where the possible answers are
defined in advance so that the respondent is limited to one of the pre-
coded responses.
• It is not unusual for otherwise structured interviews to contain a
few open-ended
• questions. ‘Catch-all’ final questions are common, for example, ‘Do
you have anything more to add?’ These questions are useful in
helping capture as much information as possible but they increase
the amount of time required for analysing the interview findings.

29. Advantages of Structured
Interview
 A structured interview utilizes standardized
process of inquiry.
 It is a quantitative method of observation.
 A structured interview is easy to replicate.
 This type of interview is sequential in nature.
 Data gathered through a structured interview is
more objective and easier to analyze.
 This is because a structured interview requires
the respondents to provide brief and relevant
answers to the questions.

30. Advantages of Structured
Interview
 Also, a structured interview can be used to
gather information from a large data sample
of the target population.
 Because of the standardization of a
structured interview, the interview process
is easier unlike that of an unstructured
interview.

31. Disadvantages of Structured Interview
 The data gathered via a structured
interview lacks depth and detail unlike the
information gathered through an
unstructured interview.
 This is because a structured interview
restricts the interviewee to a set of
questions and this prevents him or her from
providing additional information that would
prove useful in the research.

32. Disadvantages of Structured
Interview
 A structured interview is a less valid means
of data collection while an unstructured
interview is a more valid means of data
collection.
 In a structured interview, the researcher is
not allowed to deviate from the line of
questioning regardless of any developments
but this is allowed in an unstructured
interview.

33. The unstructured interview
 Unstructured or in-depth interviews (also
sometimes referred to as qualitative
interviews) are so called because they have
very little structure at all.
 The interviewer approaches the interview
with the aim of discussing a limited
number of topics, sometimes as few as one or
two, and frames successive questions according
to the interviewee's previous response.
 Although only one or two topics are
discussed, they are covered in great detail.

34. The unstructured interview
 The unstructured interview is a very flexible
approach.
 Areas of interest are established by the researcher
but the discussion of issues is guided by the
interviewee.
 This allows some control over the interview for both
interviewer and interviewee.
 However, unstructured interviews can be difficult to
plan (in terms of the time to be given to the event),
they are difficult to ‘steer’ if the discussion gets away
from the key subject matter, and they can prove
extremely difficult to analyse.

35. The semi-structured interview
 There is less flexibility with the semi-
structured interview.
 The interviewer directs the interview more
closely.
 More questions are predetermined than with
the unstructured interview, though there is
sufficient flexibility to allow the interviewee
an opportunity to shape the flow of
information.

36. Focus-group Discussion
 Focus-group research is a form of
qualitative method used to gather rich,
descriptive data in a small group format
from participants who have agreed to ‘focus’
on a topic of mutual interest.
 The emphasis is on understanding
participants’ experiences, interests,
attitudes, perspectives and assumptions.

37. Focus-group Discussion
 A focus group is a carefully planned and moderated
informal discussion where one person’s ideas bounce off
another’s creating a chain reaction of informative
dialogue.
 Its purpose is to address a specific topic, in depth, in a
comfortable environment to elicit a wide range of
opinions, attitudes, feelings or perceptions from a group
of individuals who share some common experience
relative to the dimension under study.
 The product of a focus group is a unique form of
qualitative information which brings understanding about
how people react to an experience or product.

38. Focus-group Discussion
 Focus groups rely for their success on the ways
in which groups of people naturally engage in
conversations.
 For example, all participants have equal access
to the discussion; there are no restrictions on
who may speak, how often and for how long;
participants do not have to wait for their turn
to speak or be given permission; and, when
they do speak, what they say is not specifiedin
advance.

39. Focus-group Discussion
 Why should this kind of interaction be encouraged? It is
generally agreed that individuals have their own
thoughts, feelings or opinions about a certain issue
which are either ‘brought to the table’ or formed and
developed during a discussion.
 As at least one aim of your research project is to gain
access to those opinions, then it is also generally
accepted that a relatively informal meeting, with an
atmosphere conducive to self-expression, held between
people who share common interests and overseen by a
non-judgmental moderator, provides a most effective
research tool.

40. Focus-group Discussion
 Why should this kind of interaction be encouraged?
 It is generally agreed that individuals have their own
thoughts, feelings or opinions about a certain issue which
are either ‘brought to the table’ or formed and developed
during a discussion.
 As at least one aim of your research project is to gain
access to those opinions, then it is also generally
accepted that a relatively informal meeting, with an
atmosphere conducive to self-expression, held between
people who share common interests and overseen by a
non-judgmental moderator, provides a most effective
research tool.

41. The five ‘S’s of group
interaction
 Hess (1968:) summarizes the benefits from the
participant interactions which focus-group
interviews encourage as the five ‘S’s
 Synergism is a cumulative process in which
individual participants react to ,and build upon,
the responses of other group members.
 The resulting combined group effort may
produce a wider range of information, insight
and ideas than that likely to be revealed by any
single member of the group in a one-to-one
interview.

42. The five ‘S’s of group
interaction
 Snowballing is a situation in which a
comment by one participant triggers a chain
of responses from others which in turn
generates new ideas and topics for
discussion.

43. OBSERVATION
 Merely asking about or reporting the activities
people carry out in different social settings and
situations will no doubt give you a flavour of
what is involved, but in order to understand
fully what these activities mean to people, how
they themselves perceive them and what their
perspective is on them, it is necessary to see
those people in action, to experience what it is
they do, even to wade in and have a go yourself.

44. OBSERVATION
 This is the research method called observation, and one of
the clearest basic definitions we have found of observation
as a research method tells us that it is ‘research
characterised by a prolonged period of intense social
interaction between the researcher and the subjects,.
 The social scientific research of this kind throughout this
chapter as ‘observation’, although we make no real
distinction between observation and ‘ethnography’ –
literally ‘writing about people’.
 You may come across the term ethnography frequently. It
describes essentially the same practice but one which has
its roots more in anthropology than in social science.

45. Why choose observation
 Social researchers are interested in people and, in particular, the
ways in which people act in, interpret and understand the complex
world around them, whether that is the world of the classroom,
the hospital, the factory floor, the head office, the local
government department or wherever.
 How people see and understand their surroundings will no doubt
play a part in the ways in which they behave, they act and interact
with others, and in the ways their actions are perceived by others.
 Observation is an extremely handy tool for researchers in this
regard. It can allow researchers to understand much more about
what goes on in complex real world situations than they can evern
discover simply by asking questions of those who experience
them.

46. More than just looking?
 Despite the term’s connotations, there is much more
to observation than just looking.
 Of course looking is at the heart of all observation,
but the best observational researchers are skilled in a
technique of looking in a focused and systematic way.
In fact, observation involves a range of skills, of which
observing is just one.
 Others include listening, participating, contributing,
pursuing, questioning, communicating, interacting,
sharing, refraining, retreating, negotiating,
timing,recording, describing, and so on.

47. More than just looking?
 If you plan to conduct observational studies you
should be prepared to engage in some or all of
these activities, sometimes simultaneously, which
can be at best challenging and at worst exhausting.
 Any thoughts you might have had that, when it
comes to choosing your research instrument,
observation is the easy option, dispense with
them now!
 The observation process can be more demanding
and taxing than any other research method

48. Planning and conducting your
observation
 Before embarking on the planning stages of your observation you will
find it helpful to be reasonably confident of two things: the focus of your
study, i.e. the topic of your research, what it is you wish to explore and
learn more about; and the research questions you intend to address.
 Of course, both your research focus and your research questions may
change over the course of your inquiries in light of your experiences.
 Although they may well be provisional in the beginning they are still vital.
 Without them you will struggle to provide some initial shape and
structure to your research.
 It is only when you are reasonably sure of the purpose of your study and
of the questions to which you seek answers that you will be able to
begin thinking about the array of issues associated with observational
research.

49. Planning and conducting your
observation
 These include what you will observe, how to gain
access and how you will observe it, how you will
conduct yourself, how you will record what you
see, what additional information you will collect,
and how you will process and analyse your data.
 We hope that by addressing each element of the
observation process in a clear and structured
way we will help you to feel confident enough to
try observation for yourself in your own
research projects

50. Choosing what to observe: the
social situation
 One of the most difficult decisions you will have to make concerns
exactly what will comprise the social situation(s) which will be the
observational focus of your research.
 This will inevitably (and obviously) come down to what it is that you
intend to research.
 All social situations possess three components: a location; the people
(sometimes called actors); and the activity or activities taking place.
 One example of a social situation might be a consultation (activity)
between a doctor and a patient (actors) held in the local surgery
(location).
 A contrasting example would be a confrontation (activity) between
striking workers, management and police (actors) at a picket line
(location); and a third, the use of a new computer program (activity) by
a class of pupils and their teacher (actors) in their school’s ICT suite
(location)

51. How to observe: telling the
story
 So just how should you undertake this complex
research exercise called observation? We have
always found it helpful to set ourselves six questions
– who, what, when, where, why and how – .
 These are all the elements needed to tell the story
of what you see going on around you.
 It may also be useful to bear in mind the
terminology commonly used in telling your story:
acts are the single actions people do; activities are
sets of related acts; and events are sets of related
activities

52. How to observe: telling the
story
 So, by way of an example, a doctor might
perform the act of writing a prescription, during
the activity of holding a consultation with a
patient, which takes place during his diabetes
clinic – the event.
 Let us take each of these six questions in turn.
 In order to help develop the habit and skill of
(successfully) recording your observations,
there are two tricks of the trade which we
recommend you try out.

53. Our first is the fieldwork
diary.
 We have found fieldwork diaries to be indispensable, and
cannot recommend them highly enough.
 They can be used to plan the dates of all your observation
sessions, to record the amount of time you have spent in the
setting you are researching, to log when major events take
place to review who has and has not been interviewed, to
book appointments to conduct further interviews, and to
see which locations you have observed the most and the
least.
 In fact, a research diary is a complete historical record of the
data-collection phase of your observational research project;
something which will prove invaluable when you eventually
come to write up your research.

54. Our first is the fieldwork
diary.
 Our second tip is to use a framework or checklist
based on the questions in the ‘Telling the story’
section above.
 You should carry your checklist with you
throughout each observation session to remind
you of what it is you should be attending to.
 Depending on your approach, the checklist should
help you either to organize your more descriptive
written notes, or to inform the design of a
systematically structured observation schedule.

55. POTENTIAL ERRORS AFFECTING
RESEARCH DESIGNS
 The Research design must attempt to reduce the
potential sources of error in research information.
 These potential sources include the following:
1. Surrogate information error
2. Measurement error
3. Experimental error
4. Population specification error
5. Frame error
6. Sampling error
7. Selection error; and
8. Non-response error

56. POTENTIAL ERRORS AFFECTING
RESEARCH DESIGNS
1. Surrogate Information Error
 It is an error that emerges due to the
information to be obtained is different
from information searched, i.e., the
researcher seeks the wrong type of
information.
 – E.g., where researcher uses price of a
food brand to representits quality since
price does not always reflect quality level.

57. POTENTIAL ERRORS AFFECTING
RESEARCH DESIGNS
 Measurement Error
 The error that arises due to use of inappropriate
measurement and scale i.e., errors provided by the
measurement process.
 Population specification Error
 Caused by selecting an inappropriate universe or
population from which to collect data,
 i.e., the researcher is using the wrong population
so that there is variation between the population
required to provide the needed information and
the population selected by the researcher .

58. POTENTIAL ERRORS AFFECTING
RESEARCH DESIGNS
 Sampling Error
 Caused by the generation of a non representative
sample via a probability sampling method; i.e. variation
between a representative sample and the sample
obtained by using a probability sampling method.
 Selection Error
 • Occurs when a non-representative sample is
obtained by non-probability sampling methods; i.e.
variation between a representative sample and the
sample obtained by using a non-probability sampling
method

59. POTENTIAL ERRORS AFFECTING
RESEARCH DESIGNS
 Non-response Error
 Caused by
 a. failure to contact all members of sample,
and/or
 b. failure of some contacted members of the
sample to response to all specific parts of the
sample to respond to all specific parts of the
measuring instruments; i.e. variation between
the selected sample and the sample that
actually participants in the study .

60. EstimateTime and Financial
Requirements
 Time requirement (work plan) - time period
needed to complete the project.
 In the work plan, you
(a) specify the activities and when those
activities will be carried out normally in a
chart form
(b) specify the Person days required for the
different activities.

61. 2. Financial Requirement
(Budget)
 Tips on preparing good proposal budget
 Proposal budget is one of the most important sections; many
potential sponsors only look at the summary, the objectives and the
budget and may base their accept-or –reject decision on only those
sections.
 Use a consistent budget format in all proposals, except for those
where the donor has a preferred format.
 Prepare budget guidelines to ensure that everyone in your
organization is preparing budgets under the same financial
assumptions, and that the same costs are offered to donors in all
proposals.
 Budgets should be clear, transparent and easy to read.
 Anyone should pick up your budget and understand it without
having you to be there to explain your costs assumptions.

62. Tips on good proposal budget
(cont’d)
 In general, budgets should be shown in figures
rounded up.
 Budgets should be realistic, but not greedy.
 Avoid under-budgeting (an under-budgeted project
is frustrating).
 Indirect costs (overhead costs) are legitimate
costs and should be included in all budgets, e.g.
administrative costs, taxes, etc.
 Every proposal, no matter how small, should have a
summary budget; larger projects may require
additional budgets, by partner, by site or by activity.

63. Main items on a budget
 Travel
 – Local transport: vehicle hire (number of days hired & rate),
distance (kilometers to be covered & rate), insurance (number of
days &rate), fuel (liters to be used and price),
 VAT etc.
 International transport: air tickets, airport tax etc.
 Per diems (accommodation and meals).
 Materials & equipment: stationery (paper, pencils, erasers,
notebooks), scales etc.
 Computer time.
 Salaries/honoraria/fees.
 Overhead costs (indirect costs).
 Budgets can be presented by activity especially for large projects