The document provides an introduction to research, outlining its definition, sources of knowledge, and the research process. It differentiates between scientific and unscientific methods and emphasizes the systematic and empirical nature of scientific research. Additionally, it discusses the criteria for good research and various research methodologies while highlighting the motivations behind conducting research.

1. Chapter one
Introduction to Research
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2. Outline
• 1. Identify sources of knowledge
• 2. Define the concept of research
• 3. The Research Process
• 4. Criteria of Good Research
• 5. Differentiate Research Method and methodology

3. 1. Sources of Knowledge
Two major approaches to acquire knowledge:
• Unscientific knowledge/common sense
• Scientific knowledge/Science

4. 1.1 Types of unscientific Sources of
knowledge
• The method of tenacity - Automatic acceptance of beliefs
without exploring them.
E.g. 1. Black injera has high Fe content.
2. The sun rises in the east.
3. Ethiopians have burned faces.
Problems:
- Knowledge by familiarity alone – no proof of its
truth
- No means for correcting ideas which are proved to
be not true.

5. Cont’d …
• The method of Authority - Accepting information we
have been told by authority figure.
E.g. 1. smoking affects our health
Problem:
- It is only useful and beneficial if the authority
figure is knowledgeable in the area.

6. Cont’d …
• The a prior method/deductive reasoning - Reason and
logic are the basic tools for a priori method.
E.g.1. Ayele’s family are tall.
Alemitu is in Ayele’s family
Therefore, Alemitu is tall. _False
Conclusion from false premises.
E.g. 2. Human being is mortal
Alemu is a human being.
Therefore, Alemu is mortal. _True

7. Cont’d …
• Commonsense - 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.
E.g. The price of teff increases if the rainy season fails

8. 1.2 Scientific method as a Source of knowledge
• Knowledge acquired systematically. i.e. evaluate observation by
our bodily senses or measuring devices.
• It is sometimes seen as a controlled extension of commonsense
knowledge.
• Therefore, science relies on information that is verifiable unlike
commonsense.
• Science differs from commonsense:
 uses conceptual schemes and theoretical structures.
 The notion of control
 gives explanations or reasoning for different observed
phenomena.

9. Scientific Vs. 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
analyze and
draw valid conclusions
Non-scientific research:
Based on experience and intuition/Perception

10. Cont’d …
Science:
• Systematically build theoretical structure
• Test them for internal consistency/Reliability
• Test empirically subject aspects of the phenomenon.
Logical steps in scientific research:
• Problem statement
• Tentative explanations
• Information gathering
• Test of hypothesis
• Make conclusions

11. Cont’d …
Expectations from scientific research:
• General rules drawn
• Objective evidences collected
• Testable statements made
• A skeptical attitude to all claims
• Creative, public and productive

12. Cont’d …
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 delimitations of the research.

13. What is research?
11-20

14. 2. Concept of research
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary: “systematic
investigation towards increasing the sum of
knowledge”
Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English: “a
careful investigation or inquiry specially through
search for new facts in any branch of knowledge”
The Concise Oxford Dictionary “an endeavour to
discover new or collate old facts etc. by the
scientific study of a subject or by a course of
critical investigation.”
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15. What is research?
• It is an investigation of finding solutions to scientific
and engineering problems through objective and
systematic analysis.
• Research is an organized and systematic way of
finding answers to questions.
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16. What is research?
• Research is a systematic, controlled empirical
and critical method consisting of enumerating the
problem, formulating a hypothesis, collecting the
facts or data, analyzing the facts and reaching
certain conclusions either in the form of solutions
toward the concerned problem or in certain
generalizations for some theoretical formulation.
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17. What is research?
– an activity that contributes to the understanding of a
phenomenon [Kuhn, 1962; Lakatos, 1978]
•phenomenon: a set of behaviors of some entity(ies)
that is found interesting by a research community
•understanding: knowledge that allows prediction of
the behavior of some aspect of the phenomenon
•activities considered appropriate to the production of
understanding (knowledge) are the research
methods and techniques of a research community
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18. What Research Is Not
Research isn’t information gathering:
• Gathering information from resources such as
books or magazines isn’t research.
• No contribution to new knowledge.
Research isn’t the transportation of facts:
• Merely transporting facts from one resource to
another doesn’t constitute research.
• No contribution to new knowledge although this
might make existing knowledge more accessible.
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19. In general we learn from the definition:
• Any scientific research is systematic - follows a clear
procedure so that the experiment can be replicated and
the results verified.
• All scientific research has a goal, repeated and refined
experimentation gradually reaching an answer.
• Scientific research is impartial, objective, empirical and
logical
• Scientific research leads to the development of
generalizations, principles or theories, resulting in to
some extent in prediction and control of events.

20. Classification/types of Research
Basis of Classification
• Goal of research
1. Basic research
2. Applied research
• Specific Objectives of Research
1. Descriptive
2. Explanatory
3. Exploratory
• Approaches of research
1. Qualitative research
2. Quantitative research
3. Mixed research
• Designs
1. Experimental
2. Quasi-experimental
3. Non-experimental
• The type of data used in
research
1. Primary or field research
2. Secondary or desk research
• Fields of study.
1. natural science research,
2. Engineering research,
3. social science research,
4. educational research,
5. behavioral science research,
6. health science research, etc
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21. Motivations in Doing Research
• What makes people to undertake research?
• The possible motives for doing research may be
either one or more of the following among others:
a. Desire to get a research degree along with its
consequential benefits like better employment,
promotion, increment in salary, etc.
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22. Motivations in Doing Research
b. Desire to face the challenges in solving the
unresolved problems, i.e., concern over
practical problems;
c. Desire to get intellectual joy of doing some
creative work;
d. Desire to be of service to society; and
e. Desire to get respectability.
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23. 3. The Research Process
• Research process consists of series of actions or
steps necessary to effectively carry out research
and the desired sequencing of these steps.
• These activities indeed overlap continuously
rather than following a strictly prescribed
sequence.
• A brief description of these activities is as
follows:
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24. 1. Formulating the Research Problem
• Formulating a research problem is the first and
most important step in the research process.
• Formulation of the problem means defining the
problem precisely.
• Formulation of problem is essential because
when the problem is formulated, an appropriate
technique can easily be applied to generate
alternative solutions.
• In other words, a problem clearly defined is half
solved.
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25. 2. Extensive Literature Review
• Once the problem is formulated, a brief
summery of it should be written down.
• Literature review has three functions:
• Bringing clarity and focus to the research
problem
• Improving the methodology
• Broadening the researcher knowledge in the
research area.
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26. 3. Development of Working Hypothesis
• After extensive literature survey, researcher should
state in clear terms the working hypothesis.
• Working hypotheses is tentative solutions or
assumption made in order to draw out and test its
logical or empirical consequences.
• Hypotheses should be very specific and limited to
the piece of research in hand because it has to be
tested.
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27. 4. Preparing the Research Design
• Research design is defined as a blueprint or
detailed plan for how a research study is to be
completed, operationalizing variables so they can
be measured, selecting a sample of interest to
study, collecting data to be used as a basis for
testing hypothesis and analyzing the results.
• It is the complete scheme or programme of the
research.
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28. 5. Determining Sampling Design
• All the items under consideration in any field of
inquiry constitute a universe or population.
• A complete enumeration of all the items in the
population is known as a census inquiry.
• Because of the difficulty, relative inaccuracy and
biasness related to census study determining sample,
few elements from the population, becomes mandatory.
• In such cases, the researcher must decide the way of
selecting a sample or what is popularly known as the
sample design.
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29. 6. Collecting the Data
• There are several ways of collecting the
appropriate data which differ considerably in
context of money (costs), time and other
resources at the disposal of the researcher.
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30. 7. Analysis of Data
• The analysis of data requires a number of
closely related operations such as:
a) Establishment of categories,
b) Coding,
c) Tabulation ,and
d) Drawing statistical values.
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31. 8. Hypothesis Testing
• After analyzing the data, the researcher is in a
position to test the hypothesis, if any, he/she had
formulated earlier.
• Do the facts support the hypotheses or they
happen to be contrary?
• Various tests, such as Chi square test, t-test, F-
test may be applied.
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32. 9. Preparation of the Research Report
• Finally, the researcher has to prepare the report
of what has been done by him following the
appropriate formats and appropriate language.
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33. 4. Criteria of Good Research
• To qualify as a research, a process must have
certain characteristics as listed below:
 Organized in that 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.
 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.
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34. Criteria of Good Research
• Rigorous- The research procedures followed to
find answers to questions are relevant,
appropriate and justified.
• Critical-The methods employed and procedures
used should be critically scrutinized. The process
of investigation must be foolproof and free from
any drawbacks. The process adopted and the
procedures used must be able to withstand critical
scrutiny.
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35. Criteria of Good Research
• Valid and verifiable- This concept implies that whatever
you conclude on the basis of your findings is correct and
can be verified by you and others
• Controlled- In exploring the causality relation to two
variables, the study must be set in way that minimizes the
effects of other factors affecting relationship. In social
science research, however, since controlling is almost
impossible, the effect of the other variable must be quantified
rather.
• Empirical- This means that any conclusions drawn are
based upon hard evidence gathered from information
collected from real life experiences or observations.
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36. • Research Methods –
• the techniques/ procedures used to collect and analyse data.
E.g. surveys, interviews, observations, etc.
• Research methodology –
• A theory and analysis of how research does or should proceed,
Or
• Discussions of how research is done, or should be done, and
the critical analysis of methods of research
 It involves the researchers assumptions
Assumptions are those things that the researcher is taking for granted.
1.4 Research method and methodology

37. Thank You
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