This document provides an overview of key concepts in research methods. It discusses target groups, definitions of research, general research characteristics, problem selection, literature reviews, conceptual frameworks, setting research objectives, and referencing styles. Research is defined as an exhaustive search for facts and meanings with reference to a given problem. Literature reviews analyze previous work to identify gaps and avoid duplication. Conceptual frameworks illustrate relationships between study variables. Well-formulated objectives focus a study and guide its design and implementation.

1. Research Methods
 Target Group: MSc students
 ZebenayWorkneh (MSc, MPH,Assistant Professor)
SPHMMC, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
March/2022
1

2. 2
Research ---???

3. • The term „Research‟ consists of two words:
• Research = Re + Search
• „Re‟ means again and again and „Search‟ means to find out something, the
following is the process:
• Therefore, research means to observe the phenomena again and again
from different dimensions.
3
3

4. Definition of research:
4
•Different scholars define research; however, P.M. Cook has
given a very comprehensive and functional definition of the
term research.
•“Research is an honest exhaustive, intelligent searching for
facts and their meanings or implications with reference to a
given problem.
•The product or findings of a given piece of research should
be an authentic, verifiable and contribution to knowledge in
the field studied.”
4

5. General characteristics of research:
• The following characteristics may be gathered from the definitions of
„Research‟.
• 1. It gathers new knowledge or data from primary or first-hand
sources.
• 2. It places emphasis upon the discovery of general principles.
• 3. It is an exact of systematic and accurate investigation.
• 4. It uses certain valid data gathering devices.
• 5. It is logical and objective.
• 6.The researcher resists the temptation to seek only the data that
support his hypotheses.
5

6. •7.The researcher eliminates personal feelings and preferences.
•8. It endeavours to organise data in quantitative terms.
•9. Research is patient and unhurried activity.
•10. The researcher is willing to follow his procedures to the
conclusions that may be unpopular and bring social disapproval.
•11. Research is carefully recorded and reported.
•12. Conclusions and generalisations are arrived at
carefully and cautiously.
6

7. Selection of the problem
 The selection and analysis of the problem for research should
involve those who are responsible for the health status of the
community.
• All research is set in motion by the existence of a problem .
• A problem is a perceived difficulty, a feeling of discomfort about
the way things are, or a discrepancy between what someone
believes should be the situation and what the situation is in
reality.
7

8. When problem needs research?
Perceived difference or discrepancy between what it is and
what it should be;
The reason(s) for this difference should be unclear; and
There should be more than one possible and plausible
answer to the question (or solution to the problem).
If the answer to the research question is obvious, we are dealing with a
management problem that may be solved without further research
8

9. Why statement of problem?
 Foundation for the further development of the research
proposal component
 Enables the researcher to systematically point out why the
proposed research on the problem should be undertaken
and what you hope to achieve with the study results.
9

10. Information included in the statement of a problem
 An overview of health status
 brief description of socioeconomic and cultural characteristics its
size, distribution, and severity (who is affected, where, since
when, etc.)
 Major factors that may influence the problem
 Convincing argument that the available knowledge is insufficient
to answer a certain question
10

11. Information included in the statement of a problem…
 A brief description of any solutions that have been tried in
the past, how well they have worked, and why further
research is needed.
 If necessary, a short list of definitions of crucial concepts
used in the statement of the problem.
11

12. Statement of the problem
Effective problem statements answer the question:
 Why does this research need to be conducted?
 What is the main question you want to answer?
12

13. • Approach:
• Describe the problem at global, regional, national and study area's
local levels in terms of;
• Magnitude,
• Severity,
• Associated factors (predictors),
•Efforts that were made to solve it/explain it
(existing theories/ controversies in
explaining it),
•References- all literature including grey literatures,
books, journals policy documents can be used here.
13
13

14. LITERATURE REVIEW
14

15. Literature
 It is the systematic analysis and interpretation of available
information.
 Literature review is the documentation of a comprehensive
review of the published and unpublished work from
secondary sources of data in the areas of specific interest to the
researcher
 The literature review is an integral part of the entire research
process and makes a valuable contribution to almost every
operational step.
 The literature review is the „intellectual ancestor’ of the research
project.
 Specifies which literature makes significant contributions to the
understanding of the topic
15

16. Literature review:
•Critical analysis of published literature on the subject (related
to the objectives of the study).
•Enables to share with the reader the results of other studies
that are closely related to the study being reported.
•Relates a study to the larger, ongoing dialogue in the literature
about a topic, filling in gaps and extending prior studies.
•Shows to the reader that you have a comprehensive grasp of the
field and are aware of important recent substantive and
methodological developments.
•Enables the researcher to identify what is missing (unknown) in
the effort to solve the problem.
16

17. Questions to ask:
•What other studies have been done in the area/subject?
•What was not addressed by others?
•Is there a gap in what has been done so far?
•Where must we search? Or How must we search?
17

18. 18
• Framework for critical analysis of relevant literature;
Author
year
Place Study
design
Populati
on
Sample
size
Samplin
g
metho
d
Major
findings
Commen
ts
18

19. Uses of literature Review
 It prevents you from duplicating work that has been done before.
 It increases your knowledge on the problem you want to study
 It gives you confidence why your particular research project is
needed.
 To be familiar with different research methods
19

20. Sources of Literature Review
1. Individuals, groups, and organization
 Opinion, observation, experience, routine reports, etc
2. Unpublished information
 Raw data, annual reports, documentation
 Local surveys, etc
3. Published information
• Books, Journals, abstracts, indexes
4. Computer-based searches/databases
• Google, Google scholar, PUBMED (MEDLINE),
Hinary Library
20

21. 21

22. 22

23. 23

24. 24

25. 25

26. Characteristics of
Effective Literature Reviews
 Outlining important research trends
 Assessing the strengths and weaknesses of existing
research
 Identifying potential gaps in knowledge
 Establishing a need for current and/or future research
projects
26

27. Steps for Writing a Literature Review
1. Planning
2. Searching
3. Analyzing
4. Drafting
5. Revising
27

28. Managing Literature review
Identified literatures
o Should first be read
o Summarization of important information recorded on
card or computer
 Summary of contents, brief analysis and references
o Finally included in proposal
 Discuss in topics from global to local level
28

29. How can search literatures
Steps of literature searching
There are five integrated steps in research reviews:
1. Identifying the topic
2. Preparing a coding sheet
3. Searching for research publications
4. Synthesizing research publication
5. Reporting previous research on the selected topic.
29

30. Coding sheet …
Literature review coding sheet for items of general interest
Background Information
 Source __________________________________________________________________
 Author(s) ________________________________________________________________
 Title ____________________________________________________________________
 Journal __________________________________________________________________
 Year _____________________ Volume ______________Pages ____________
Design Information
 Primary/Secondary study ___________________________________________________
 Random/Nonrandom _______________________________________________________
 Control/No control ________________________________________________________
 Matching/Statistical control _________________________________________________
 Pretest/No pretest _________________________________________________________
 Type(s) of intervention _____________________________________________________
 Population _______________________________________________________________
 Sample size ______________________________________________________________
 Response rate ____________________________________________________________
 Sample characteristics _____________________________________________________
 Sample representativeness __________________________________________________
 Sampling biases __________________________________________________________
 Other ___________________________________________________________________
30

31. Coding sheet …
Measurement Information
 Research question or hypothesis
______________________________________________
 Dependent variable(s)
______________________________________________________
 Independent variable(s)
_____________________________________________________
 Validity of measures
_______________________________________________________
 Reliability of measures
_____________________________________________________
 Statistical measures
________________________________________________________
Outcome Information
 Hypothesis supported or refuted
____________________________________________
31

32. Organization
Five common approaches to organizing the body of your paper
include:
 Topical
 Distant to close
 Debate
 Chronological
 Seminal Study
32

33. Topical: Characteristics
 Most common approach
 Breaks the field into a number of subfields, subject areas, or
approaches
 Discusses each subsection individually, sometimes with critiques of
each
 Most useful for organizing a large body of literature that does not have
one or two studies that stand out as most important or a clear
chronological development
33

34. Distant to Close: Characteristics
 A type of topical organization, with studies grouped by their
relevance to current research.
 Starts by describing studies with general similarities to current
research and ends with studies most relevant to the specific topic.
 Most useful for studies of methods or models.
34

35. Debate: Characteristics
 Another type of topical approach, with a chronological component.
 Emphasizes various strands of research in which proponents of
various models openly criticize one another.
 Most useful when clear opposing positions are present in the
literature.
35

36. Chronological: Characteristics
 Lists studies in terms of chronological development
 Useful when the field displays clear development over a
period of time
 Linear progression
 Paradigm shift
36

37. Seminal Study: Characteristics
 Begins with detailed description of extremely important
study.
 Later work is organized using another pattern.
 Most useful when one study is clearly most important or
central in laying the groundwork for future research.
37

38. Structure of literature writing
Introductions
 Indicate scope of the literature review.
 Provide some background to the topic.
 Demonstrate the importance or need for research.
 Make a claim.
 Offer an overview/map of the ensuing discussion.
38

39. Body
• Contains your discussion of sources.
Conclusions
 Summarize the main findings of your review.
 Provide closure.
 Explain “so what?”
 Implications for future research.
OR
 Connections to the current study.
39

40. Revising
SomeTips on Revising LR
 Title: Is my title consistent with the content of my paper?
 Introduction: Do I appropriately introduce my review?
 Thesis: Does my review have a clear claim?
 Body: Is the organization clear? Have I provided headings?
 Topic sentences: Have I clearly indicated the major idea(s) of each
paragraph?
 Transitions: Does my writing flow?
 Conclusion: Do I provide sufficient closure?
 Spelling and Grammar: Are there any major spelling or grammatical
mistakes?
40

41. 41

42. Conceptual framework
• It is a pictorial presentation of the theoretical fames of the
study,
• It shows how the different variables are related,
• It guides data analysis and discussion of the results,
• Usually, developed based on literature review,
• Sometimes it can be adapted/ adopted,
• Shows the direct and theoretical indirect effect of predictor
variables on the outcome.
We need to make sure that;
• All the variable is in the conceptual framework are
measurable.
• All the variables are used in the analysis.
42

43. Importance of conceptual
framework
 Conceptual frameworks provide researchers with:
– The ability to move beyond descriptions of„what‟ to
explanations of„why‟ and„how‟.
– A means of setting out an explanation set that might be
used to define and make sense of the data that flow from
the research question.
– A filtering tool for selecting appropriate research questions
and related data collection methods.
– A reference point/structure for the discussion of the
literature, methodology and results.
– The boundaries of the work.
43

44. How to develop conceptual
framework?
 Conceptual frameworks are always constructed by
researchers.
 Mostly, diagrams are created to clearly define the
constructs or variables of the research topic and their
relationships are shown using arrows.
 the entire methodology must agree with the variables, as
well as their relationships and context.
 Researchers are at liberty to adopt existing frameworks,
but have to modify it to suit the nature of the context of
their research as well as the nature of their research
questions.
44

45. The following steps may be useful in developing the
conceptual model:
1) Study the research literature related to your problem. How have
others conceptualized problems similar to yours? Are
their conceptual analyses adaptable to your framework?
2) Reduce the problem to the simplest set of conditions. Sometimes
you can “assume away” parts of a complex problem to gain
an initial understanding.
3) Identify applicable theory. Consider a wide range of theories
in selecting the most appropriate.
45
Developing the conceptual model

46. 4) Start with a“base model”analysis. Based on your
literature review and basic assumptions, start with a
simple model (statistical, graphical, mathematical …)
5) Expand the base model to other relevant dimensions of the
problem. Alter and relax assumptions, then reanalyze
the problem. This will likely make the model more
complex, but remember, the goal is not complexity,
but rather, accurately addressing the problem.
6) Assemble relevant,testable hypotheses from the conceptual
analysis.
46
Developing the conceptual model …

47. Referencing
 A number of referencing systems are in common
use today including:
 Harvard - (author, date).
 Vancouver (number) .
 APA (American PsychologicalAssociation)
 MLA (Modern LinguisticsAssociation) –
 … many others
47

48. Conceptual framework: Look at the conceptual frame for a study on “Nutrition
education and hemoglobin level in pregnant women” in the following figure.

49. Setting research objective
 Having decided what to study, and knowing why s/he
wants to study it, the investigator can now formulate his
study objectives
 Objectives should be closely related to the statement of
the problem.
49

50. Importance of developing objectives
 Focus the study
 Avoid the collection of data which are not strictly necessary
 Properly formulated specific objectives facilitate the
development of research methodology and help to orient the
collection, analysis, interpretation and utilization of data.
 Helps for evaluating the project
50

51. Objectives
 General objective:
 summarizes what is to be achieved by the study
 should be clearly related to the statement of the problem.
 Specific objectives:
 logically connected parts of the general objective
 focus the study on the essentials
 direct the design of the investigation
 orient collection, analysis and interpretation of the data
 They indicate the variable to be examined and
measured
Eg.Assessment of low vaccination coverage and asscociated factors in
Dessie town,North east Ethiopia,2019.
General objective:
Specific objectives:
51

52. formats used for stating research objectives?
Research objectives can be stated as:
A) Questions:“The objectives of this study are to answer the
following questions …”
B) Positive sentence:“The objectives of this study are to
determine …”
C) Hypothesis:“The objective of this study is to verify the
following hypothesis...”
52

53. Formulating Objectives:
research questions vs hypotheses
 The format chosen depends on the type of study that will be
undertaken.
 A hypothesis requires sufficient knowledge of the problem to be
able to predict relationships among factors which then can be
explicitly tested.
53

54. formats used for stating research objectives?
 Research questions are formulated when the
investigators do not have enough insight into the
problem being studied.
Eg of research question. Does post-menopausal hormone
replacement therapy predispose women to develop
endometrial cancer?
 If the study is descriptive or exploratory in nature, then
objectives are stated in the form of questions or positive
sentences.
54

55. Criteria for setting research objectives
 Focused: each covering a single point
 Ordered in a logical sequence
 Realistic and feasible to answer
 Operational: using action verbs such as
 determine
 describe
 calculate
 Measurable outcomes at the end of the research
55

56. 56