research

1. M.H.R.D. SEM - 1
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
UNIT 1
Foundation of empirical research
Meaning of research : empirical research is defined as any research where
conclusions of the study is strictly drawn from concretely empirical evidence, and
therefore “verifiable” evidence.
Problem of research
A research problem is a specific issue, difficulty, contradiction, or gap in
knowledge that you will aim to address in your research. You might look for
practical problems aimed at contributing to change, or theoretical problems aimed
at expanding knowledge.
Bear in mind that some research will do both of these things, but usually the
research problem focuses on one or the other. The type of research problem you
choose depends on your broad topic of interest and the type of research you want
to do.
Process of research
The seven steps of the research process
Research, as a tool for progress, satisfies mankind’s curiosity to lots of questions.
Whether you are a high school or college student, you have to take research subject
for you to be able to receive your diploma. To ease your burden in doing research,
here are the seven steps in the research process:
1. Identification of a research problem
A good research always starts with a good problem. You can observe people or
things, visit places, read print materials, or consult experts to find the research
problem that is right for you. The research problem guides you in formulating the
hypothesis and interpretation of your findings so that you can formulate the right
conclusion. A good research problem is important because it is the basis of all
subsequent research activities you are going to undertake. Factors like area of
interest, availability of fund, socio-economic significance of the study, and the

2. safety measures to be undertaken should be considered in finding a good research
problem.
2. Formulation of hypothesis
After finding your research problem, the next step is to formulate your own
hypothesis. A hypothesis is a theoretical statement in solving a logical relationship
between variables. Do not be afraid if your hypothesis proves to be incorrect after
the experimentation because it is only considered as an educated guess. Always
remember that when you formulate a hypothesis, it should be based on the research
problem being solved.
3. Review of related literature
A research problem is vague at first. To give you a vivid picture of the whole
research, you shall read various publications or surf the internet to become aware
of the previous works already done. In doing so, it could spur an idea that can be
the subject of your investigation. The review of related literature can be taken from
science books, magazines, journals, newspapers, or even in the internet.
4. Preparation of research design
A research design is the blueprint of the research you are going to undertake. It
serves as the work plan of the whole study not only because it entails the resources
needed in conducting the research but also the ways these resources are utilized.
5. Actual experimentation
Actual experimentation is an implementation of the research design. In actual
experimentation, you have to conduct an experiment to prove the validity of the
hypothesis you have formulated. Actual experimentation includes the methodology
that you have followed in doing your research. The methodology should be
carefully planned prior to the actual experimentation to ensure the validity and
accuracy of the result.
6. Results and discussion

3. This is the heart of the research process because this is part where the findings of
the research can be found. You can use table (not the table in your kitchen) and
graph to interpret the results of your research.
7. Formulation of conclusions and recommendations
Conclusion is a statement where you will present the solution to the proposed
problem based on the findings of the investigation. They are tied up to the
questions investigated. Your conclusion will show whether or not your experiment
worked. It should answer your hypothesis and research problem. In your
concluding statement you can also infer on the possible benefits to society that
your results might present. You can state any plans you might have to continue
working on other aspects related to your area of study. We must remember that
recommendations are based on conclusions and conclusions are based on findings
Conducting research is a tiresome task because it is a year-round activity. You
have to be committed to become successful in making a good research which
would benefit not only you but of everyone. The willingness in you in making
future researches should always be there because doing research without your
‘heart’ and ‘mind’ on it is a burden on your part. Always enjoy doing it. Enjoy the
ride. The more that you enjoy doing the task, the more that you ease the burden in
conducting this difficult endeavor. Never hesitate to ask questions. Asking
questions from other people who is aware of your research topic would help you
arrive at the correct conclusions.
Types of research
Most research can be divided into three different categories: exploratory,
descriptive and causal. Each serves a different end purpose and can only be used in
certain ways.
In the online survey world, mastery of all three can lead to sounder insights and
greater quality information. Let’s do a quick overview of all three types of
research, and how they fit in a research plan.

4. Exploratory research
Exploratory research is an important part of any marketing or business strategy. Its
focus is on the discovery of ideas and insights as opposed to collecting statistically
accurate data. That is why exploratory research is best suited as the beginning of
your total research plan. It is most commonly used for further defining company
issues, areas for potential growth, alternative courses of action, and prioritizing
areas that require statistical research.
When it comes to online surveys, the most common example of exploratory
research takes place in the form of open-ended questions. Think of the exploratory
questions in your survey as expanding your understanding of the people you are
surveying. Text responses may not be statistically measureable, but they will give
you richer quality information that can lead to the discovery of new initiatives or
problems that should be addressed.
Descriptive research
descriptive research takes up the bulk of online surveying and is considered
conclusive in nature due to its quantitative nature. Unlike exploratory research,
descriptive research is preplanned and structured in design so the information
collected can be statistically inferred on a population.
The main idea behind using this type of research is to better define an opinion,
attitude, or behaviour held by a group of people on a given subject. Consider your
everyday multiple choice question. Since there are predefined categories a
respondent must choose from, it is considered descriptive research. These
questions will not give the unique insights on the issues like exploratory research
would. Instead, grouping the responses into predetermined choices will provide
statistically inferable data. This allows you to measure the significance of your

5. results on the overall population you are studying, as well as the changes of your
respondent’s opinions, attitudes, and behaviours over time.
Causal research
Like descriptive research, causal research is quantitative in nature as well as
preplanned and structured in design. For this reason, it is also considered
conclusive research. Causal research differs in its attempt to explain the cause and
effect relationship between variables. This is opposed to the observational style of
descriptive research, because it attempts to decipher whether a relationship is
causal through experimentation. In the end, causal research will have two
objectives:
• To understand which variables are the cause and which variables are the effect.
• To determine the nature of the relationship between the causal variables and the
effect to be predicted.
For example, a cereal brand owner wants to learn if they will receive more sales
with their new cereal box design. Instead of conducting descriptive research by
asking people whether they would be more likely to buy their cereal in its new box,
they would set up an experiment in two separate stores. One will sell the cereal in
only its original box and the other with the new box. Taking care to avoid any
outside sources of bias, they would then measure the difference between sales
based on the cereal packaging. Did the new packaging have any effect on the
cereal sales? What was that effect?
Scientific approach

6. Scientific research
Given that theories and observations are the two pillars of science, scientific
research operates at two levels: a theoretical level and an empirical level. The
theoretical level is concerned with developing abstract concepts about a natural or
social phenomenon and relationships between those concepts (i.e., build
“theories”), while the empirical level is concerned with testing the theoretical
concepts and relationships to see how well they reflect our observations of reality,
with the goal of ultimately building better theories. Over time, a theory becomes
more and more refined (i.e., fits the observed reality better), and the science gains
maturity. Scientific research involves continually moving back and forth between
theory and observations. Both theory and observations are essential components of
scientific research. For instance, relying solely on observations for making
inferences and ignoring theory is not considered valid scientific research.
Depending on a researcher’s training and interest, scientific inquiry may take one
of two possible forms: inductive or deductive. In inductive research , the goal of a
researcher is to infer theoretical concepts and patterns from observed data. In
deductive research , the goal of the researcher is to test concepts and patterns
known from theory using new empirical data. Hence, inductive research is also
called theory-building research, and deductive research is theory-testing research.
Note here that the goal of theory-testing is not just to test a theory, but possibly to
refine, improve, and extend it. Figure 1.1 depicts the complementary nature of
inductive and deductive research. Note that inductive and deductive research are
two halves of the research cycle that constantly iterates between theory and
observations. You cannot do inductive or deductive research if you are not familiar
with both the theory and data components of research. Naturally, a complete
researcher is one who can traverse the entire research cycle and can handle both
inductive and deductive research.
It is important to understand that theory-building (inductive research) and theory-
testing (deductive research) are both critical for the advancement of science.
Elegant theories are not valuable if they do not match with reality. Likewise,
mountains of data are also useless until they can contribute to the construction to
meaningful theories. Rather than viewing these two processes in a circular
relationship, as shown in figure 1.1, perhaps they can be better viewed as a helix,
with each iteration between theory and data contributing to better explanations of
the phenomenon of interest and better theories. Though both inductive and
deductive research are important for the advancement of science, it appears that
inductive (theory-building) research is more valuable when there are few prior

7. theories or explanations, while deductive (theory-testing) research is more
productive when there are many competing theories of the same phenomenon and
researchers are interested in knowing which theory works best and under what
circumstances.
Figure 1.1. The cycle of research
Theory building and theory testing are particularly difficult in the social sciences,
given the imprecise nature of the theoretical concepts, inadequate tools to measure
them, and the presence of many unaccounted factors that can also influence the
phenomenon of interest. It is also very difficult to refute theories that do not work.
For instance, karl marx’s theory of communism as an effective means of economic
production withstood for decades, before it was finally discredited as being inferior
to capitalism in promoting economic growth and social welfare. Erstwhile
communist economies like the soviet union and china eventually moved toward
more capitalistic economies characterized by profit-maximizing private
enterprises. However, the recent collapse of the mortgage and financial industries
in the united states demonstrates that capitalism also has its flaws and is not as
effective in fostering economic growth and social welfare as previously presumed.
Unlike theories in the natural sciences, social science theories are rarely perfect,
which provides numerous opportunities for researchers to improve those theories
or build their own alternative theories.
Conducting scientific research, therefore, requires two sets of skills – theoretical
and methodological – needed to operate in the theoretical and empirical levels
respectively. Methodological skills (“know-how”) are relatively standard, invariant
across disciplines, and easily acquired through doctoral programs. However,
theoretical skills (“know-what”) is considerably harder to master, requires years of
observation and reflection, and are tacit skills that cannot be “taught” but rather
learned though experience. All of the greatest scientists in the history of mankind,

8. such as galileo, newton, einstein, neils bohr, adam smith, charles darwin, and
herbert simon, were master theoreticians, and they are remembered for the theories
they postulated that transformed the course of science. Methodological skills are
needed to be an ordinary researcher, but theoretical skills are needed to be an
extraordinary researcher!
Key elements of a research
Every academic paper has its own structure, but certain parts of the research paper
are common to most papers. These are:
1. Abstract
2. Introduction and thesis statement
3. Literature review
4. Strategy
5. Body
6. Result and discussion
7. Conclusion
8. Citation or references
Now let’s discuss each section in detail.
Abstract
To write a research paper abstract, you need to give a broad overview of your
paper in not more than 300 words. It is like a synopsis of your research. The
abstract is written after completing your paper to give a summary that identifies the
primary purpose, issues, strategies, and results of your work. It helps other
researchers to decide before whether the content will serve their intention or not.
Introduction and thesis statement
The research paper introduction is the first most component of a research paper. It
gives a general overview of your academic work. You can also explain your thesis
statement in the introductory section. Never try to mess with this part of your paper
by setting a question mark.
Make sure that you are firm about what you are saying in your thesis statement,
and going to prove it in the next coming parts of your academic paper through

9. relevant examples. This is how you can give an excellent start to your academic
paper.
Review of literature
The literature review in research paper is written to give an overview of the
sources and significant writings on your selected topic. Websites, books, journals,
manuscripts of other researchers, etc. Are some of the sources that can be covered
in the review.
Strategy
In this section, you have to define the research methodology you used in your
research. Strategies that can be used to collect information are either you have
prepared a questionnaire, or conduct an interview. Any kind of field academic
could also be undertaken. Either you have received your data by using
the qualitative or quantitative research method.
You can also use other libraries, books, or anything that can help you in gathering
accurate information for your research papers.
Body
It is the longest and most important part of an academic paper. It must be divided
into various sub-sections according to the need. The content is written in
paragraphs and each paragraph must define a fundamental idea of your work. This
component must focus on solid arguments and clear reasoning to rationally
develop your thesis. Either with the help of tables, graphs, figures, or something
that could be easily understandable by the readers.
Result and discussion
A research paper is not complete without a section detailing the results of an
experiment or study and the discussion that arises from those results. The result
section should include tables, figures, and graphs to back up your claims while
addressing any limitations in your data set. The discussion section is where you
expand on your research with arguments and analysis. You should always connect
this to the introduction, thesis statement, and literature review of your paper but it
cannot be a straight repeat or rearrangement of these sections.

10. Conclusion
The research paper conclusion is that part of your academic paper is going to
trouble you the most. It is because you cannot afford to write a conclusion for your
writing that is not complimenting the rest of the paper. The conclusion should be
informative and stimulating that could satisfy the readers with enough information.
There must be a complete synchronization of things in-between the different
elements of a research paper to give it the best conclusion.
Citations or references
In the final step, you cannot forget about writing a research paper citation for your
college assignment. Here you need to cite each and every resource that you
referred to for the research purpose in your paper. This is how you can save
yourself from writing a plagiarized research paper, which is an offense.
After reading all the above-defined components for writing a good academic paper
with the essential tips that help in enhancing its readability, you will be feeling
confident. But in case you are still finding it problematic to start with your
academic paper thesis statement, then you can take the help of experts.
Conclusion
To write a good research paper, it is important to first understand the elements that
go into making one. You should always make sure that your introduction, body
paragraphs, and conclusion are as strong as possible in order to have a well-
structured research paper. My research topics professionals are giving all types of
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