Research Methodology

An Overview
Dr. Saravanan Muthaiyah

Lecture – 1
 Topics of Discussion
 Overview of Research
 Identification and Formulation of Research
Problem
 Sources of Research Problem
 Formulation of Research Problem
• Problem Statement
• Purpose Statement
• Research Questions
• Objectives
• Method of Research
 Scientific Research
 It is concerned with observed facts
systematically classified and included
trustworthy methods to discover truths.
 Two Categories of Research
 Basic
 Applied
 What Research Is Not
 Research isn’t information gathering:
 Gathering information from resources such 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.
 What Research Is
 Research is:

“…the systematic process of collecting and

analyzing information (data) in order to increase
our understanding of the phenomenon about
which we are concerned or interested.”
Cycle of Research

Choose
Choose
Topic
Topic
Inform
Inform Design
Design
Others
Others Study
Study
(Research
(Research Plan
Planand
and
Report)
Report) strategy
strategy

Theory
Theory
Collection
Collection
Interpret
Interpret ofof
Data
Data Data
Data

Analyse
Analyse
Data
Data
Some starting points for a good
research

•Provides a realistic plan for investigation of

your research question
•Provides justification of a methodological
perspective, & methods of investigation
•Provides data which has the capacity to
answer your research question
•Adequately considers relevant ethical issues
 Method or Methodology?
 Methods are the techniques/ procedures used to collect
and analyse data
 Methodology refers to discussions of how research is
done, or should be done, and the critical analysis of
methods of research. The underlying theory and analysis of
how research does or should proceed, often influenced by
discipline
 "It is the theory that decides what can be observed."
 Albert Einstein

 Methodology deals with: How can we go about acquiring

knowledge?
 Method Deals with : Which precise procedures can we
use to acquire the knowledge?
 Research Terminology
 'research methodology'
The study of research methods

 'research technique'
A specific means, approach or tool-and-its-use, whereby data is
gathered and analysed, and inferences are drawn

 'research method'
The manner in which a particular research project is
undertaken
It comprises one or more research techniques
 Some questions you may be
pondering
 What’s my research question?
 What theories, concepts, models inform my research?
 What kind of data will I need to answer my question?
 How will I collect this data?
 What ethical issues are relevant to my research?
 What are the strengths and limitations of my research?
 How much can I reasonably achieve in my research?
 How will my work be judged?
 “a question well asked is a question
half answered”: the way the question
(or hypothesis) is stated shows what
data will be necessary to answer (or
test) it, and probably suggests also
how and from where or from whom the
data will be obtained

 Punch, K. (1998). Introduction to Social Research:

Quantitative & Qualitative Approaches. London: Sage.
Types of research questions
These three types of questions usually
form a sequence …
Why  What  Who  How
 The “why” explains what makes this general topic
interesting to the researcher.
 Answering the “why” question leads naturally to:
“what” is it that will be the focus of the research
project?
 Now that we know “what” is to be studied, the
“who” of the research should be determined.
Developing a research question
 Having come up with some prototype
questions now refine.
 Examine the scope of your question/s
 Separate major and subsidiary questions
 Is each question necessary?
 Refine the wording of your question/s
Identification and Formulation of
Research Problem
 Research Problem:
 Any question that you want answered or any
assumption you want to challenge or investigate
can become a research problem. However, not all
questions can be transformed into research
problem some may be extremely difficult to study.
Potential research question may occur to us
regularly, but formulating them in a meaningful
way is not a easy task. It is essential for the
problem you formulate to be able to withstand
scientific scrutiny in terms of the procedures
required to be undertaken.
 Conceptualizing Research Idea
 How professional researchers typically
generate research ideas?
 Problem Formulation
 Concept Mapping
 Brainstorming
 Brain writing
 Focus Group
 Formulation of A Research
Problem
 It is like the identification of a destination
before undertaking a journey. The
research problem serves as the foundation
of a research study, if it is well formulated,
you can expect a good study to follow. A
research problem may take a number of
forms, from the very simple to the very
complex. The way you formulate a
problem determines almost every stem
that follows.
Where does a research problem
come from?
 Practical Problems in your daily life
 Literature review in your specific field
 Request for proposal
 Secondary Data Analysis
 Pilot study
 Brainstorming
 It is a lateral thinking process. It asks that
people should come up with ideas and
thoughts that seems at first to be a bit
shocking or crazy.
 Individual Brainstorming
 Group Brainstorming
 Define the problem
 Ensure that no one criticizes or evaluates
ideas during the session
 Brain Writing
 It is useful when group of people who are
somewhat reticent and would be unlikely
to offer many ideas in and open group
such as brainstorming.
 Focus Group
 Focus groups are a powerful means to
test new ideas. Basically, focus groups are
interviews, but of 6-10 people at the same
time in the same group. One can get a
great deal of information during a focus
group session.
 Concept Mapping
 Concept mapping is a technique for representing
knowledge in graphs.
 Structured process focused on a topic or construct of interest,
involving input from one or more participations that produces
and interpretable pictorial view of their ideas and concepts and
how these are interrelated.
 Concept mapping can be done for several purposes:
 to generate ideas (brain storming, etc.);
 to design a complex structure (long texts, hypermedia, large web
sites, etc.);
 to communicate complex ideas;
 to aid learning by explicitly integrating new and old knowledge;
 to assess understanding or diagnose misunderstanding.
 Process of Identification
 Rational Thinking
 Examine own strength and interest
 Looking at past research reports
 Discussion
 Searching the literature on the subject
 Creative Thinking (Lateral Thinking)
 Keeping note book of ideas
 Exploring personal preferences using past
research projects
 Brainstorming
 Criteria of Selection
 Internal Criteria
 Researcher’s Interest
 Researcher’s Competence
 Researcher’s own resources
 External Factors:
 Research ability
 Importance and Urgency
 Novelty or originality
 Feasibility
 Facilities
 Useful and social relevance
 Factors to be Consider for
Feasibility
 Are suitable research techniques available?
 Data available?
 Willingness of the respondent?
 Above three relates to “Tradeoffs between rigor and
practicality”.

 Cooperation from the organization?

 Time?
 Cost?
 Ethical Constraints?
 Purpose Statement
 The purpose statement establishes the
direction for the research. It indicates “why
you want do the study and what you intend
to accomplish?
 It is differ from research problem, research
problem will not lead the study, your
purpose will lead the study.
 The purpose sets the objectives.
 Research Idea to Research
Question (General Focus)
Research idea General Focus Research Question

The sponsorship of country food What benefit do commercial

clubs by commercial organizations organizations derive from their
sponsorship of country cricket
clubs?
The adoption of Flexible workforce Why do manufacturing companies
by manufacturing company divide their workforces into core
and peripheral workers?
The future of trade unions What strategies should trade
unions adopt to ensure their
viability in the future?
 Formulation of Objectives
 Objectives should be listed under two
headings;
 Main objective's
 Sub-objectives
 Research Question to Research
Objectives
Research Question Research Objectives

How can the effectiveness of To establish suitable effectiveness

team- briefing schemes be criteria for team-briefing schemes.
measures?
How can the team briefing To determine the factors
effectiveness be explained? associated with the effectiveness
of the team briefing.
Has team briefing been effective? To describe the extent to which
the effectiveness criteria for team
briefing have been met.
 Consider carefully the verbs you
use in your question
 Explore (initial description)
 Describe (detailed account)
 Explain (establish the factors responsible)
 Understand (establish reasons)
 Predict (using an explanation to postulate future
outcomes)
 Change (to actively intervene)
 Evaluate (assess if desired outcomes are
achieved)
After finalising the research
question - two questions ...
 WHAT research
strategy will be
used?

 WHERE will the

data come from?
 Induction
 Form of reasoning – bottom up

Theory

Tentative
Hypothesis or
proposition

Identifying
Patterns

Observations
Measures
 Deduction
 Top down reasoning

Theory

Hypothesis
To test

Observations to address
the hypothesis
Test the hypothesis with specific data

Confirm/or disconfirm
the original hypothesis
 Strategies for Answering
research questions
A Research Design needs to answer
3 basic questions:

WHAT will be studied?

WHY will it be studied?
HOW will it be studied?
Where does your method sit?

Field Research
Unstructured Structured

Literature
 Relevant Situation for Different
Strategies

Strategy Form of Research Requires Control Focus on

Question of Behavioral Contemporary
Events? Events?
Experiment How, why? Yes Yes

Survey Who, what, where, No Yes

how many, how
much?
Archival Who, what, where, No Yes/No
Analysis how much, how
many?
History How, why? No No

Case Study How, why? No Yes

 Types of Research
(Basic)
 Basic Research
 Generating scientific knowledge for future use
(Common use).
 It also known as pure or fundamental research.
Basic research is undertaken for the sake of
knowledge without any intention to apply it in
practice.
 It is undertaken out of intellectual curiosity. It may
lead to discovery of new theory or refinement of an
existing theory.
 The findings or basic research enrich the storehouse
of knowledge that can be drawn upon in future to
formulate significant practical research.
 Types of Research
(Applied)
 Applied Research:
 Applied research is carried on to find
solution to a real life problem oriented and
action directed. It seeks an immediate and
practical results.
 However, it may indirectly contribute to the
development of theoretical knowledge by
leading to a discovery of new facts or
testing of a theory or to conceptual clarity.
 Basic Research
 Attempts to expand the limits of
knowledge.
 Not directly involved in the solution to
a practical problem.
 Basic Research Example

 Capital structure planning

 Online purchase behavior
 Factors determining adoption of
internet banking
 Applied Research
 Conducted when a decision must be made
about a specific real-life problem
 Most of the research in the social sciences
is applied. The research make use of the
knowledge developed through basic
research to resolve a issue, aims to develop
policy formulation, administration and the
enhancement of understanding of a the
issue/ phenomenon.
 Applied Research
Examples
 How do improve the productivity of
Malaysian semi-conductor industry
workers?
 Control of staff Turnover in HSBC
 Basic Differences Between
Basic and Applied Research
 Applied Research  Basic Research
 “what is the problem” is  Problem based on the
an important step in researcher interest to
resolving that problem. explain and
 What problems to understanding of the
analysis may be outside subject
the individual researcher  Selection of the problem
domain is totally the choice of
 Researcher role is the researcher
examine analytically and  Some value judgment
a course of action may be made, action is
recommended not recommended
 Exploratory Research
 It is undertaken to find out ‘what is
happening, to seek insights, to ask
question and to assess phenomena in a
new light. It is useful if you wish to clarify
your understanding of a problem. This is
carried out to investigate the possibilities
of undertaking a particular research study.
 Descriptive Research
 Attempts to describe systematically a
situation, problem, phenomenon,
progamme or provide information about
living conditions, or describes attitudes
towards an issue.
 Correlation Research
 Discover the relationship/
association /
interdependence between two or more
variables or situations.
 Explanatory Research
 Study and explain the exact relationship
between two or more variables.
 Quantitative Research
 Quantitative researchers attempt to be objective,
meaning that they wish to develop an understanding
of the world as it is ‘out there’, independent of their
personal biases, values and idiosyncratic notions.
 Quantitative research involves numbers.
 Usually large volume of participants/ records
 Eg. Survey Research, Analysis of existing
quantitative data sets
 Strength: Representatives
 Weakness: No depth of Understanding
 Qualitative Research
 Qualitative researchers view themselves as
primary instrument for collecting data. They rely
partly or entirely on their feelings, impressions,
and judgments in collecting data.
 Qualitative research involves words
 Usually smaller volume of participants/records
 Eg. Ethnographic research, life history interviews,
discourse analysis
 Strength: Depth of understanding
 Limitation: Representatives