The document summarizes key aspects of conducting research, including: 1. Expected learning outcomes include being able to conduct research for senior project papers. 2. It distinguishes between basic and applied research, describing their different purposes, outcomes, contexts, and origins of topic choices. 3. Research methods are systematically investigating and studying materials to establish new facts and conclusions. Quantitative and qualitative approaches are outlined.

1. RESEARCH SEMINAR
3 SEP 2012
Adjunct Prof Dr Ahmad Faisal
UPPER IOWA UNIVERSITY (MALAYSIA)

2. Expected Learning Outcome
Able to conduct research for the
Senior Project Papers

3. re-search / rē, sərCH/
Noun: The systematic investigation into and study of
materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach
new conclusions.
Verb: Investigate systematically.
Synonyms:
noun. investigation - exploration - search - study – inquiry
verb. explore - investigate - search - study - inquire

4. TYPE
BASIC APPLIED
PURPOSE
Expand knowledge Improve understanding of a particular Business &
[business & management Processes] management problem
Outcomes are universal Principles Outcomes are solutions to problems
Findings create values to society in general Findings are only relevant to organisations
CONTEXT
Undertaken by people based in an organisation
Undertaken by people based in universities
[normally Commercial concerns]
Researcher determines Choice of topics & Originator or Department determines choice of
objectives topics & objectives
Flexible time scale Tight time scale

5. why we go through
this?
want to make sense of a particular
situation

6. Theory
Hypothesis
Deductive
Observations
Confirmation
making sense Cavana, Delahaye & Sekaran, 2001; Sekaran, 2003; Wellman & Kruger 1999
Theory
Tentative
Hypothesis
Inductive Patterns
Observations

7. Research METHOD
"Research methods are the particular strategies
researchers use to collect the evidence necessary for
building and testing theories" Frey, Botan, Friedman, & Kreps (1991)

8. Precise quantitative data and value
rigorous, exact measures, statistical
analysis and verifiable truth.
QUANTITATIVE Hypothesis are tested by carefully
analysing the data using statistics.
Usually deductive logical reasoning.
Approaches
Cavana, Delahaye & Sekaran, 2001
to Research
Method of inquiry appropriated in
many different academic disciplines,
traditionally in the social sciences
QUALITATIVE studies and market research. The aim
is to gather an in-depth understanding
of human behaviour and the reasons
that govern such behaviour.

9. REALITY | NOT LINEAR

10. Begin with a BROAD question
HOURGLASS | notion of research
NARROW down | FOCUS in
OPERATIONALISE
OBSERVE
COLLECT data
ANALYZE data
Reach CONCLUSION
GENERALISE back to question

11. You must choose your research topic
with care!
You must choose one area that is best understood by you and that you are
capable to handle and gain access to any data that you want to collect
CHOOSING TOPIC
LETS REVIEW YOUR TOPICS

12. PRIMARY SECONDARY TERTIARY
LITERATURE REVIEWS
Reports, Theses Indexes, Abstracts,
Newspapers, Books,
e-mails, Conference Catalogues,
Journals, Internet
reports, Company Encyclopaedias,
Postings, White
reports, Government Dictionaries,
Papers, Published
publications, Bibliographies,
Works
Manuscripts Citation References
increasing level of details

13. UPDATE & WRITE CRITICAL
REVISE
DRAFT
REVIEW OF
LITERATURE
CONDUCT
LITERATURE REVIEW LOOP
RE-DEFINE
SEARCH
START PARAMETERS
DRAFTING
PROFILING
OBTAIN
CONDUCT LITERATURE
EVALUATE
RE-DEFINE SEARCH
PARAMETERS LITERATURE
PROFILING
OBTAIN
EVALUATE LITERATURE
LITERATURE
DEFINE
PARAMETERS
[WHAT COVERAGE &
SCOPE YOU WANTED DEVELOP RESEARCH QUESTIONS
TO REVIEW] & RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

14. YOUR LITERATURES

15. • Constructs
– General ideas created for theory-building
– Used to build conceptual/causal model
•
RESEARCH MODEL
Variables
– Types
• Independent
• Dependent
• Moderating
• Intervening
• Extraneous
– That have some type of relationship

16. VARIABLE RELATIONSHIPS
• Is there an association between two variables (correlation
and prediction).
• Is there a causal relationship between two variables (does
X cause Y).
• Under what conditions are X and Y associated or X causes
Y (moderation).
• Why is X associated with Y or why does X cause Y
(mediation).

17. Operational level: An empirical relationship between two
variables that are made operational by the measures used to
obtain scores from cases or subjects studied.
OPERATIONALISATION
Example:
• Education is related to job performance.
• How do you operationalise (i.e., measure)
education?

18. Independent Hypothesis Dependent
(Predictor) (Outcome)
CAUSAL MODEL
Variables Variables
Smoking …………….. Causes ………………… Cancer

19. INDEPENDENT Hypothesis DEPENDENT
(Predictor) (Outcome)
Variables Variables
CAUSAL MODEL
MODERATING
(Conditional)
(Interaction)
Variables
Smoking …………….. Causes ………………… Cancer
by people with special gene

20. INDEPENDENT Hypothesis MEDIATING DEPENDENT
(Predictor) (Intervening) (Outcome)
Variables Variables Variables
CAUSAL MODEL
MODERATING
(Conditional)
(Interaction)
Variables
cells to mutate that causes
Smoking …………….. Causes ………………… Cancer
by people with special gene
NOTE |Some variables can be manipulated, some cannot be manipulated

21. Variable: Any observation that can take different
values [example: Sex; gender]
VARIABLES | Language
Attribute: A specific value on a variable
[Male; Female]

22. Variable: Agreement [How much do you agree or
disagree to the idea?]
VARIABLES | Language
Attribute: 1 = strongly disagree
2 = disagree
3 = neutral [no opinion]
4 = agree
5 = strongly agree

23. YOUR MODELS

24. YOU CAN’T SURVEY EVERYTHING OR TALK TO EVERYONE
So SAMPLING is necessary
Sampling is the process of selecting units (e.g., people, organisations)
from a population of interest so that by studying the sample we may
fairly generalise our results back to the population from which they
were chosen.
SAMPLING
In social research we usually want to generalise about our findings

25. POPULATION
SAMPLING
CASE / ELEMENT SAMPLE

26. CENSUS SAMPLING
DEFINE CONDUCT ANALYZE
COVERAGE SURVEYS RESULTS
RANDOMLY RESPONDENTS
SELECTED [ACTUAL
SAMPLES SAMPLES]
SAMPLING
FRAME SAMPLE
SIZE
SAMPLING
POPULATION
SAMPLING RANDOM NON-RESPONSE
FRAME SAMPLING ERROR
ERROR ERROR

27. YOUR SAMPLE

28. WHAT METHODS SHOULD I USE TO GET INFORMATION FROM MY
SAMPLE?
DATA COLLECTION
Do I need a little information from many organisations, people?
SURVEY: QUESTIONNAIRES
OR
Do I need a lot of information from a few
organisations/systems/individuals?
CASE STUDY: INTERVIEWS

29. • Excellent for collecting quantitative data
• Can yield an elementary level of qualitative data
• Allows you to reach a large sample
• Economical | Allows you to collect a lot of data.
• Flexible | Respondent's can complete questionnaire in their own time
QUESTIONNAIRES
• distortion caused by ambiguous wording or question order (with no
opportunity to clarify).
• difficulty of clarifying ambiguous responses. Can’t ask ‘What do you
mean?’
• absence of non-verbal cues, The longer the questionnaire the lower
the response rate.
• Expense of photocopying.

30. 1. Closed Questions
Do you use the Internet? Yes/No
2. Options
Do you use the internet?
A lot Sometimes Not at all
QUESTIONNAIRES
3. Likert Scale
Do you use the internet ?
Never All the time
1 2 3 4 5

31. SEMI-STRUCTURED QUESTIONNAIRE
Semi-structured: Includes open-ended answers, e.g.:
Do you use the Internet? Yes/No
QUESTIONNAIRES
If No, please say what prevents you from using the Internet

32. Structured | The structured interview is often little more than verbal and
personally administered questionnaire. But: clarification of questions and
responses is possible.
Semi-structured | Open ended as well as structured questions. Most
freedom = Interview Guide.
Interview guide | ‘list of issues to be explored' that can be reviewed and
expanded 'as more is learned about the research topic.
INTERVIEWS
WHY USE INTERVIEWS?
• Greater depth and involvement of responses.
• Opportunity to clarify any ambiguities.
• Responses can be queried and clarified
• Availability of non-verbal cues i.e. body language.

33. YOUR INSTRUMENTS