Presentation during the Zeetarz Publishing sponsored 4th International Conference on Education for Sustainable Development held at Abakaliki Nigeria, from 28-29 March, 2018 https://www.zeetarz.com

1. RESHAPING THE QUALITY OF
ACADEMIC RESEARCH IN AFRICA
Chizoba “Dr. Zee” Madueke, Ph.D.
Professor of Research
March 28, 2018

2. WELCOME
Scholars
Faculty
Colleagues
Researchers
Attendees

3. FUNDAMENTALS OF
RESEARCH
Goal: Develop an understanding of fundamental
ideas that underlie research as a scholarly
activity
1.Ways of acquiring knowledge
a.Appeals to authority
b.Personal hunches and intuition
c.Applying reasoning
d.Empirical investigation
2. Research for knowledge acquisition
a.Systematic inquiry
b.What is and what is not research
3. Basic elements of research
a.Assumptions
b.Objectives
c.Characteristics

5. FOUNDATIONS OF RESEARCH
1. Quantitative research
• a. Philosophical basis
• b. Data collection techniques
• c. Data analysis techniques
• d. Interpreting and discussing findings
2. Qualitative research
• a. Philosophical basis
• b. Data collection techniques
• c. Data analysis techniques
• d. Interpreting and discussing findings
3. Mixed methods research
• a. Philosophical basis
• b. Data collection techniques
• c. Data analysis techniques
• d. Interpreting and discussing findings

6. THE RESEARCH
PROCESS
1. Steps in the research process
a. Common to all methods
b. Unique to each method
2. First steps in the research process
a. Identifying a broad topic or area of inquiry
b. Reviewing the literature
c. Identifying and describing a problem
d. Describing the study purpose
e. Determining the population and sample
f. Selecting the sample
g. Determining data collection approach and instrumentation
h. Collecting data
3. Implementing final steps
•a. Addressing research questions and hypotheses,
where appropriate
•b. Data analysis
•c. Findings
•d. Interpreting and discussing findings
4. Validity issues
•a. Instrument validity
•b. Study validity – internal
•c. Study validity – external
•d. Differences in concepts of validity as they apply to
qualitative and quantitative studies
5. Writing a research report

7. REVIEWING LITERATURE
1. Role of a literature review
a. Identifying the problem
b. Discussion of study context
c. Context for discussing and synthesizing findings
2. Sources of research study literature
• a. Peer-reviewed journal articles
• b. Scholarly books
• c. Factual data from government agencies and nongovernment organizations
3. Locating research study literature
a. a. Personal, public, and institutional libraries
b. b. Electronic searches of databases
4. Critiquing literature
• Using evaluation criteria
• Preparing an annotated bibliography

8. OVERVIEW OF QUANTITATIVE
RESEARCH
1. Quantitative design types
• a. Experimental
• b. Quasi-experimental
• c. Ex post facto
• d. Descriptive correlational
2. Samples and sampling techniques
a. Rationale for using samples versus a census
b. Sampling techniques

9. OVERVIEW OF QUANTITATIVE
RESEARCH, CONT.
4. Levels of measurement
•a. Nominal
•b. Ordinal
•c. Interval
•d. Ratio
5. Data collection techniques
•a. Existing instruments
•b. Researcher-developed instruments
•c. Surveys and questionnaires
•Historical data
6. Statistical methods
•a. Descriptive – frequency distributions, cross tabulations, measures of central tendency
•b. Inferential – parametric and nonparametric

10. OVERVIEW OF QUALITATIVE
RESEARCH
1. Qualitative design types
• a. Case study
• b. Ethnography
• c. Phenomenology
• d. Grounded theory
2. Selecting study participants
• a. Purposeful sampling
• b. Selection criteria

11. OVERVIEW OF QUALITATIVE
RESEARCH, CONT.
3. Data collection techniques
•a. Interviews
•b. Observations
•c. Document review
4. Data collection features
a.Concept of saturation
b.Researcher as instrument
c.Bracketing or epoché
5. Data analysis
•a. Reviewing raw data
•b. Identifying themes
•c. Developing thick, rich descriptions of cases, cultures, phenomena, or theories

13. ETHICAL BEHAVIOR IN RESEARCH
1. Ethical behavior in research
a. With human subjects
b. With professional colleagues
c. When other cultures are involved
d. Deception
2. Certifications
• a. Applying for required certification
• b. Periodic recertification
3. Universities Institutional Review Board (IRB)
a. a. Function
b. b. Applying for and receiving study approval
c. c. Research with protected classes and full IRB review

14. CONCLUSIONS
This presentation provided attendees with an overview of the foundations and nature of
research, the research process, the role of literature, fundamentals of quantitative and
qualitative research, and critical behaviors for any researcher. The provided should answer
the following questions relevant to the conducting research and to subsequent research
efforts:
•What is research? What is the scientific method?
•What are paradigms?
•What are the epistemological foundations of qualitative and quantitative research?
•What is the importance of reviewing literature critically?
•What are the major elements in the research process?
•How do qualitative and quantitative research methods differ?
•What are the major quantitative and qualitative research designs?
•What are important considerations in conducting responsible research?

15. INSPIRE A RESEARCHER
Someone Inspired Us,
Now Go and Inspire the Next Generation
of Researchers

16. •QUESTIONS

17. REFERENCE
• Christensen, L. B., Johnson, R. B., & Turner, L. A. (2010). Research methods, design, and analysis
• (11 ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
• Kuhn, T. (2012). The structure of scientific revolutions. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago
Press.
• Leedy, P. D., & Ormrod, J. E. (2010). Practical research: Planning and design (9th ed.). Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
• Neuman, W. L. (2005). Social research methods: Qualitative and quantitative approaches (6th ed.).
Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
• Willis, J. W. (2007). Foundations of qualitative research: Interpretive and critical approaches.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.