Research Methodology and Scientific Writing

(Chem 591)
1 Cr. Hr

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 Unit I : Research Methodology

What is Research?
 It is a search for knowledge, that is, a discovery of hidden truths
 It is a systematic inquiry to describe, explain, predict and
control the observed phenomenon.
 It is a systematic inquiry that investigates hypotheses, suggests
new interpretations of data or texts, and poses new questions
for future research to explore.
 It is a scientific and systematic search for appropriate
information on a specific topic.

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 To research is to purposely and methodically search for new
knowledge and practical solutions in the form of answers to
questions formulated beforehand.
Objectives of Research
 The purpose of research is to discover answers to questions
through the application of scientific procedures.
 The main aim of research is to find out the truth which is hidden
and which has not been discovered as yet.

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Research objectives have a number of the following broad
groupings:

1. To gain familiarity with a phenomenon or to achieve new

insights into it (studies with this object in view are termed as
exploratory or formulative research studies);
2. To show accurately the characteristics of a particular
individual, situation or a group (studies with this object in
view are known as descriptive research studies);

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3. To determine the frequency with which something occurs or
with which it is associated with something else (studies
with this object in view are known as diagnostic research
studies);
4. To test a hypothesis of a causal relationship between
variables (such studies are known as hypothesis-testing
research studies).

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 Research Methods versus Methodology
Research methods
 all those methods/techniques that are used for conduction of
research.
 refer to the methods the researchers use in performing
research operations.
 all those methods which are used by the researcher during the
course of studying his research problem are termed as
research methods.

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Research methodology
 is a way to systematically solve the research problem. It may
be understood as a science of studying how research is done
scientifically.
 In it we study the various steps that are generally adopted by a
researcher in studying his research problem along with the
logic behind them.

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Scientific method
 Scientific method is the search of truth as determined by
logical considerations.
 The ideal of science is to achieve a systematic interrelation of
facts.
 Scientific method attempts to achieve this ideal by
experimentation, observation, logical arguments from
accepted postulates and a combination of these three in
varying proportions.

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The scientific method is based on certain basic postulates:
a) It relies on empirical evidence;
b) It utilizes relevant concepts;
c) It is committed to only objective considerations;
d) It presupposes ethical neutrality, i.e., it aims at nothing but making
only adequate and correct statements about population objects;
e) It results into probabilistic predictions;
f) Its methodology is made known to all concerned for critical scrutiny
are for use in testing the conclusions through replication;
g) It aims at formulating most general axioms or what can be termed as
scientific theories.
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 Importance of Research
 Research is important both in scientific and nonscientific fields.
In our life new problems, events, phenomena and processes
occur every day. Practically, implementable solutions and
suggestions are required for tackling new problems that arise.
 Scientists have to undertake research on such new problems and
find their causes, solutions, explanations and applications.
 Research assists us to understand nature and natural phenomena
 Some important avenues(opportunities) of research are:

(1) It solves a research problem a researcher or a scientific

community or an industry or a government organization or a
society experiences.
 It may be a theoretical or a practical situation.

(2) Research on existing theories and concepts help us identify the

range and applications of them.
(3) It is the fountain of knowledge and provide guidelines for
solving problems.
(4) Research provides basis for many government policies. For
example, research on the needs and desires of the people and on
the availability of revenues to meet the needs helps a government
to prepare a budget.

(5) It is important in industry and business for higher gain and

productivity and to improve the quality of products.
(6) Mathematical and logical research on business and industry
optimizes the problems in them.
(7) It leads to the identification and characterization of new
materials, new living things, new stars, etc
(8) Only through research inventions can be made;
 for example, new and novel phenomena and processes such as
superconductivity have been discovered only through research.
(9) Social research helps find answers to social problems. They
explain social phenomena and seek solution to social problems.

(10) Research leads to a new style of life and makes it delightful and
glorious
What makes people to undertake research?

The possible motives for doing research may be either one or

more of the following:

1. Desire to get a research degree along with its consequential

benefits;
2. Desire to face the challenge in solving the unsolved
problems, i.e., concern over practical problems initiates
research;
3. Desire to get intellectual joy of doing some creative work;

4. Desire to be of service to society;

5. Desire to get respectability 14
 Types of Research
The basic types of research are as follows:
a) Descriptive vs. Analytical

Descriptive research Analytical research

 surveys and fact-finding  the researcher has to use
enquiries of different kinds. facts or information already
 description of the state of available, and analyze
affairs as it exists at present. these to make a critical
evaluation of the material.

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 b) Applied vs. Fundamental

Applied (action) research Fundamental (basic or pure)

 aims at finding a solution for an research
immediate problem facing a  mainly concerned with
society or organization. generalizations and with the
 The central aim of applied formulation of a theory.
research is to discover a solution  adds information to the already
for some pressing practical existing organized body of
problem. scientific knowledge

Example: Research aimed at Example: Research concerning

certain conclusions facing a some natural phenomenon or
concrete social or business relating to pure mathematics. 16

problem.
 c) Quantitative vs. Qualitative

Quantitative research Qualitative research

 is based on the measurement of  is concerned with qualitative
quantity or amount. phenomenon, i.e. phenomena
is applicable to phenomena that can relating to or involving quality or
be expressed in terms of quantity. kind.

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 d) Conceptual vs. Empirical

Conceptual research Empirical research

 is related to some abstract idea(s)  relies on experience or
or theory. observation alone.
 It is generally used by philosophers  It is data-based research,
and thinkers to develop new coming up with conclusions
concepts or to reinterpret existing which are capable of being
ones. verified by observation or
experiment.
 is experimental type of research.
 necessary to get at facts
firsthand, at their source. 18
Research Process

Research process consists of series of actions or

steps necessary to effectively carry out research and the desired
sequencing of these steps.

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 Various Stages of a Research
1. Selection of a research topic
2. Extensive Literature survey and assessment of current status
3. Formulation of a research problem (statement of the problem)
4. Formulation of hypotheses, research questions and objectives
5. Choosing a Study or Research design
6 .Deciding on the Sample Design
7. Collecting Data From The Research Sample
8. Process and Analyze the Collected Research Data
9. Writing Research Report – Developing Research Proposal,
Writing Report, Disseminating and Utilizing Results
 1. Selection of Research Topic

 Criteria for prioritizing topics for research

 Significance/ relevance
 Originality
 Urgency of data needed

 Acceptability of the study

 Practicability
 Applicability of results

 Ethical acceptability
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2. Formulating the research problem
 A research problem is some difficulty which a researcher
experiences in the context of either a theoretical or practical
situation and wants to obtain a solution.

We can state the components of a research problem as:

(i) There must be an individual or a group which has some difficulty
or the problem.

(ii) There must be some objective(s) to be attained at. If one wants

nothing, one cannot have a problem.

3.

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Selecting the Research Problem
 The research problem undertaken for study must be carefully
selected.

The following points may be observed by a researcher in

selecting a research problem or a subject for research:
a) Subject which is overdone should not be normally chosen.

b) Controversial subject should not become the choice of an

average researcher.
c) Too narrow or too vague problems should be avoided.

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3. Surveying the available literatures:
 Once the problem is formulated, a brief summary of it should
be written down.
 So, the researcher should undertake extensive literature
survey connected with the problem.
 All available literature concerning the problem at hand must
necessarily be surveyed and examined before a definition of
the research problem is given.
 The researcher must devote sufficient time in reviewing of
research already undertaken on related problems.
 “Knowing what data are available often serves to narrow the
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problem itself as well as the technique that might be used.”

Developing the ideas through discussions:
 Discussion concerning a problem often produces useful
information.
 Various new ideas can be developed through such an exercise.
 Hence, a researcher must discuss his problem with his
colleagues and others who have enough experience in the
same area or in working on similar problems.
 This is quite often known as an experience survey.
 People with rich experience are in a position to enlighten the
researcher on different aspects of his proposed study and their
advice and comments are usually invaluable to the researcher.25
 Related Literatures to be Surveyed Include:
 Published research and review articles or abstracts of papers
on journals related to the chosen topic.
 Advanced level Books on chosen topic
 A. Proceedings of conferences, workshops, etc
 Reprint/preprint collections available with the supervisor and
nearby experts working on the topic chosen and.
 Internet Extracts

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Survey of Related Literature helps:
 To sharpen the problem, reformulate it or even leads to
defining other closely related problems.
 To get proper understanding of the problem chosen.
 To acquire proper theoretical and practical knowledge to
investigate the problem.
 To show how the problem under study relates to the previous
research studies and.
 To know whether the proposed problem had already been
solved.
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Primary and secondary Source
 Primary sources provide a first-hand account of an event or
time period and are considered to be authoritative.
 They represent original thinking, reports on discoveries or
events, or they can share new information.
 Often these sources are created at the time the events
occurred but they can also include sources that are created
later.
 They are usually the first formal appearance of original
research.
 Its validity is greater. 28
Examples of Primary Source Include
 Conference Papers

 Correspondence,
 Dissertations/Theses

 Diaries ,

 Interviews
 Lab Notebooks

 Notes

 Patents
 Proceedings
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 Studies or Surveys ,Technical repor, etc
Secondary source
 A secondary source is anything that describes, interprets,
evaluates, or analyzes information from primary sources.
 Common examples include literature survey made from a
source that has already been published in any form.
 This includes: Books, Records, Biographies, Newspapers,
Published censuses or other statistical data, Data archives,
Internet articles, Research articles by other researchers
(journals), Databases, etc

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Rephrasing the research problem:
 Finally, the researcher must sit to rephrase the research problem
into a working proposition.
 Once the nature of the problem has been clearly understood, the
environment (within which the problem has got to be studied) has
been defined, discussions over the problem have taken place and
the available literature has been surveyed and examined,
rephrasing the problem into analytical or operational terms is not a
difficult task.
 Through rephrasing, the researcher puts the research problem in
as specific terms as possible so that it may become operationally
viable and may help in the development of working hypotheses. 31
The following points must also be observed while defining a research
problem:
(a) Technical terms and words or phrases, with special meanings used
in the statement of the problem, should be clearly defined.
(b) Basic assumptions or postulates (if any) relating to the research
problem should be clearly stated.
(c) A straight forward statement of the value of the investigation (i.e.,
the criteria for the selection of the problem) should be provided.
(d) The suitability of the time-period and the sources of data available
must also be considered.
(e) The scope of the investigation or the limits within which the problem
is to be studied must be mentioned. 32
The technique of defining a problem outlined above can be illustrated for
better understanding by taking an example as under:
Let us suppose that a research problem in a broad general way is as
follows:
 “Why is productivity in Japan so much higher than in Ethiopia”?
In this form the question has a number of ambiguities such as:
 What sort of productivity is being referred to?
 With what industries the same is related?
 With what period of time the productivity is being talked about?
In view of all such ambiguities the given statement or the question is
much too general to be amenable to analysis.
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Rethinking and discussions about the problem may result in
narrowing down the question to:
 “What factors were responsible for the higher labour
productivity of Japan’s manufacturing industries during the
decade 1971 to 1980 relative to Ethiopia’s manufacturing
industries?”
This latter version of the problem is definitely an improvement
over its earlier version for the various ambiguities have been
removed to the extent possible.

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Further rethinking and rephrasing might place the problem on a
still better operational basis as shown below:
 “To what extent did labour productivity in 1971 to 1980 in Japan
exceed that of Ethiopia in respect of 15 selected manufacturing
industries?
 What factors were responsible for the productivity differentials
between the two countries by industries?”

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4. Development of working hypothesis:
 A hypothesis is a testable explanation of an observed occurrence in
nature, or, more specifically, why something you observed is occurring.
 Working hypothesis is tentative assumption made in order to
draw out and test its logical or empirical consequences.
 Hypotheses relate directly to research questions, written in the
present tense, and can be tested through observation or
experimentation
 Hypothesis is derived from the research problem, literature
review and conceptual framework. Since Hypothesis is to be
tested therefore it should be very specific and limited to the piece
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of research
 Development of working hypothesis:

 Discussions with colleagues and experts

 Assessment of data and records
 Evaluation of similar previous studies in the area similar
problems
 Personal investigation which involves original field survey

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 5. Preparing the research design:
 The researcher should have to state the conceptual structure
within which research would be conducted.

 It helps the researcher to be as efficient as possible yielding

maximal information, to collect relevant evidence with minimal
expenditure of effort, time and money.

 The purpose of research design refers as general procedure that

you choose to combine the various components of the study in a
consistent and logical way.

 It comprises the outline for the collection, measurement, and 38

analysis of data
 5.Preparing the research design:
 It should indicate the various approaches to be used in solving
the research problem, sources and information related to the
problem and, time frame and the cost budget.
 Essentially, it creates the foundation of the entire research work.
 The design will help perform the chosen task easily and in a
systematic way. Once the research design is completed the
actual work can be initiated.
 The first step in the actual work is to learn the facts pertaining to
the problem. Particularly, theoretical methods, numerical
techniques, experimental techniques and other relevant data
and tools necessary for the present study have to be collected
and learnt


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 In summary, your research design should include:
 Your research questions or hypothesis.
 Your Overall approaches( e.g. Qualitative or Quantitative)
 The type of design you are using (e.g. A survey, experiment or
Case study).
 Your sampling methods or criteria for selecting subjects
 Your data collections and analysis methods

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6. Determining sample design:
 All the items under consideration in any field of inquiry constitute
a ‘universe’ or ‘population’.
 A complete enumeration of all the items in the ‘population’ is
known as a census inquiry.
 In census inquiry all the items are covered no element of chance
is left and highest accuracy is obtained.
 Census inquiry is not possible in practice under many
circumstances.
 The researcher must decide the way of selecting a sample or
what is popularly known as the sample design.
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 A sample design is a definite plan determined before any data

are actually collected for obtaining a sample from a given

population.
 Samples can be either probability samples or non-probability

samples.
 With probability samples each element has a known probability

of being included in the sample but the non-probability samples

do not allow the researcher to determine this probability.

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Important sample designs is as follows:
① Deliberate sampling:
 Deliberate sampling is also known as purposive or non-
probability sampling.
 This sampling method involves purposive or deliberate selection
of particular units of the universe for constituting a sample which
represents the universe.
 When population elements are selected for inclusion in the
sample based on the ease of access, it can be called
convenience sampling.

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 In judgement sampling the researcher’s judgement is used

for selecting items which he considers as representative of

the population.
② Simple random sampling:

 This is a sampling method where each and every item in the

population has an equal chance of inclusion in the sample.

③ Systematic sampling:

 In some instances the most practical way of sampling is to

select every 15th name on a list, every 10th house on one side
of a street and so on.

 Sampling of this type is known as systematic sampling.45

④ Stratified sampling:

 If the population from which a sample is to be drawn does not

constitute a homogeneous group, then stratified sampling

technique is applied so as to obtain a representative sample.
 In this technique, the population is stratified into a number of

non-overlapping subpopulations or strata and sample items are

selected from each stratum.
 If the items selected from each stratum is based on simple

random sampling the entire procedure, first stratification and

then simple random sampling, is known as stratified random
sampling.
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7. Collecting and analyzing data:
 In dealing with any real life problem it is often found that data at
hand are inadequate
 Hence, it becomes necessary to collect data that are
appropriate.
 Primary data can be collected either through experiment or
through survey.
8. Reporting
 Obtained result will be reported in scientific writing

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Good Research
One expects scientific research to satisfy the following criteria:

I. The purpose of the research should be clearly defined and

common concepts be used.
II. The research procedure used should be described in sufficient
detail to permit another researcher to repeat the research for
further advancement, keeping the continuity of what
has already been attained.
III. The procedural design of the research should be carefully
planned to yield results that are as objective as possible

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IV. The researcher should report with complete frankness, flaws in
procedural design and estimate their effects upon the findings.

V. The analysis of data should be sufficiently adequate to reveal

its significance and the methods of analysis used should be
appropriate. The validity and reliability of the data should be
checked carefully.
VI. Conclusions should be confined to those justified by the data of
the research and limited to those for which the data provide an
adequate basis.
VII. Greater confidence in research is warranted if the researcher is
experienced, has a good reputation in research and is a person
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of integrity.
Good research is systematic
 Research is structured with specified steps to be taken in a
specified sequence in accordance with the well defined set of
rules.
 Systematic characteristic of the research does not rule out
creative thinking but it certainly does reject the use of guessing
and intuition in arriving at conclusions.

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Good research is logical
 This implies that research is guided by the rules of logical
reasoning and the logical process of induction and deduction
are of great value in carrying out research.
 Induction is the process of reasoning from a part to the
whole.
 Deduction is the process of reasoning from some
premise to a conclusion which follows from that very
premise.
 In fact, logical reasoning makes research more meaningful in
the context of decision making. 51
Good research is empirical
 Research is related basically to one or more aspects of a real
situation and deals with concrete data that provides a basis for
external validity to research results.

Good research is replicable

 Research results to be verified by replicating the study and
thereby building a sound basis for decisions.

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 Data Collection and Analysis
 The task of data collection begins after a research problem has
been defined and research design/plan chalked out.
 Two types of data:
 Primary and

 Secondary

Primary data
 is the kind of data that is collected directly from the data source
without going through any existing sources.
 It is mostly collected specially for a research project and may
be shared publicly to be used for other research 53
 Primary data is often reliable, authentic, and objective in as
much as it was collected with the purpose of addressing a
particular research problem.

Advantages
 Primary data is specific to the needs of the researcher at the
moment of data collection (The researcher is able to control
the kind of data that is being collected).
 It is accurate compared to secondary data. The data is not
subjected to personal bias and as such the authenticity can be
trusted.

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 The researcher exhibit ownership of the data collected
through primary research (He or she may choose to make it
available publicly, patent it, or even sell it).
 Primary data is usually up to date because it collects data in
real-time and does not collect data from old sources. 
 The researcher has full control over the data collected
through primary research.

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Limitation
 Primary data is very expensive compared to secondary data.
Therefore, it might be difficult to collect primary data.
 It is time-consuming.
 It may not be feasible to collect primary data in some cases
due to its complexity and required commitment.

Secondary Data 
 is the data that has been collected in the past by someone else
but made available for others to use.
 They are usually once primary data but become secondary
when used by a third party. 56
 Secondary data are usually easily accessible to researchers
and individuals because they are mostly shared publicly.
Advantages
 Secondary data is easily accessible compared to primary data.
Secondary data is available on different platforms that can be
accessed by the researcher.
 Secondary data is very affordable. It requires little to no cost to
acquire them because they are sometimes given out for free.
 The time spent on collecting secondary data is usually very
little compared to that of primary data. 
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 Secondary data makes it possible to carry out longitudinal studies
without having to wait for a long time to draw conclusions. 
 It helps to generate new insights into existing primary data.

Cons 
 Secondary data may not be authentic and reliable. A researcher
may need to further verify the data collected from the available
sources.
 Some of the data is exaggerated due to the personal bias of the
data source.
 Secondary data sources are sometimes outdated with no new
data to replace the old ones. 
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Collection of primary data

 Primary data collected during the course of doing experiments

in an experimental research
 For descriptive type obtain primary data can be collected
through observation or through direct communication with
respondents in one form or another or through personal
interviews.
Observation Method
 The observation method is the most commonly used method in
studies relating to behavioural sciences.
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 Under the observation method, the information is sought by
way of investigator’s own direct observation without asking
from the respondent.
Advantages
 Subjective bias is eliminated, if observation is done accurately.
 The information obtained under this method relates to what is
currently happening; it is not complicated by either the past
behaviour or future intentions or attitudes.
 Independent of respondents’ willingness to respond.

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Limitation
 It is an expensive method.
 The information provided by this method is very limited.
 Sometimes unforeseen factors may interfere with the
observational task.
Interview Method
 The interview method of collecting data involves presentation
of oral-verbal stimuli and reply in terms of oral-verbal
responses.
 This method can be used through personal interviews and, if
possible, through telephone interviews. 61
Collection of data through questionnaires
 This method of data collection is quite popular, particularly in
case of big enquiries.
 It is being adopted by private individuals, research workers,
private and public organizations and even by governments.
 A questionnaire consists of a number of questions printed or
typed in a definite order on a form or set of forms.

Merits:
 Low cost
 It is free from the bias of the interviewer; answers are in
respondents’ own words 62
 Respondents have adequate time to give well thought out
answers.
 Respondents, who are not easily approachable, can also be
reached conveniently.
 Large samples can be made use of and thus the results can
be made more dependable and reliable.

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The main demerits:
 Low rate of return of the duly filled in questionnaires; bias due to no-
response is often indeterminate.
 It can be used only when respondents are educated and cooperating.

 The control over questionnaire may be lost once it is sent.

 There is inbuilt inflexibility because of the difficulty of amending the
approach once questionnaires have been dispatched.
 There is also the possibility of ambiguous replies or omission of
replies altogether to certain questions; interpretation of omissions is
difficult.
 It is difficult to know whether willing respondents are truly
representative. 64

 This method is likely to be the slowest of all.

 Experimental method
The prime method of inquiry in science is the experiment. The
key features are control over variables, careful measurement,
and establishing cause and effect relationships.
An experiment is an investigation in which a hypothesis is
scientifically tested.
In an experiment, an independent variable

(the cause) is manipulated and the dependent variable (the

effect) is measured; any extraneous variables are controlled.
An advantage is that experiments should be objective

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 Types of Experiments
1) Laboratory / Controlled Experiments: This type of experiment
is conducted in a well controlled environment, not necessarily a
laboratory and therefore accurate measurements are possible.
The researcher decides where the experiment will take place, at
what time, with which participants, in what circumstances and
using a standardized procedure.
Participants are randomly allocated to each independent
variable group

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 Types of Experiments

2. Field Experiments: Field experiments are done in the everyday

(i.e. real life) environment of the participants. The experimenter still
manipulates the independent variable, but in a real-life setting (so
cannot really control extraneous variables).

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 Sampling methods In Field Experiments
I. Simple random: Locations are randomly selected, and may not capture
the variation structure of the attributes of interest

ii.Stratified random: The field is divided into several areas according to its
characteristics (e.g. topography), and sampling locations are selected randomly
and then composite, reducing the influence of local heterogeneity

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 Sampling methods
iii. Systematic (grid sampling): The field is divided in grids and samples are
collected randomly within each cell and then composite

Another approach is to position the center point on grid intersections, where

samples are collected randomly within a 3 m radius (10 feet) and then composite

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 Sampling methods
iv. Stratified-systematic: Each cell is further divided into smaller cells to try to
overcome the bias introduced by systematic sampling

iv. Judgmental: Sampling locations are decided based on observation of a

specific problem (e.g., low yield) and is not statistically accurate

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 Data processing and analyzing

 The processing of data/information is an essential dimension of

stream lining the facts and writing of a field report.
Processing of primary data:
 The primary data collected from the field remains in the raw form
of statements, digits and qualitative terms.
 The raw data contains error, omissions and inconsistencies. It
requires corrections after careful scrutinizing the completed
questionnaires 71
 Data processing

Steps involved in the processing

(i) Editing of data: The editing of data can be done at two stages:
field and post-field editing.
 The field editing is a review of reporting by the investigator for
completing what has been written in an abbreviated form
during interviewing the respondent.
 The post-field editing is carried out when field survey is
completed
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 Data processing and analyzing
ii. The coding of data: To keep the response with in limited
alternatives, we need to assign some alphabetical or numerical
symbols or both to the answers.
 The alternatives must be mutually exclusive i.e. defined in one
concept or term only
 For example in a question of educational qualifications
alternative choices given are: Uneducated; Below Matriculation;
Matriculation & above but below Graduate; Graduate & above;
Technical Diploma 73
 Data processing
iii. Entering the Data
 There are several options for data entry. One can enter information
from paper and-pencil surveys into a computer file using data-entry
software programmed to detect some kinds of erroneous entries,
called computer-assisted data entry
iv. Cleaning
 After the data have been entered into a computer file, the researcher
should check them over thoroughly for errors. Detecting and resolving
errors in coding and in transmitting the data to the computer is referred
to as data cleaning. This is an essential process that may also identify
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respondent-related errors.
 Data Analysis
 Is process of cleaning, transforming, and modeling data to
discover useful information for business decision-making
 The purpose of Data Analysis is to extract useful information
from data and taking the decision based upon the data analysis
Types of Data Analysis: Techniques and Methods
 the major types of data analysis are:
 Text Analysis
 Statistical Analysis
 Diagnostic Analysis
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 Predictive Analysis
 Data Analysis
Text Analysis
 Text Analysis is also referred to as Data Mining.
 It is a method to discover a pattern in large data sets using databases or data
mining tools.
 It used to transform raw data into business information
Statistical Analysis
 Statistical Analysis includes collection, Analysis, interpretation, presentation,
and modeling of data.
 It analyses a set of data or a sample of data. There are two categories of this
type of Analysis 76

 Descriptive Analysis and Inferential Analysis.

 Data Analysis
Descriptive Analysis
 analyses complete data or a sample of summarized numerical
data. It shows mean and deviation for continuous data whereas
percentage and frequency for categorical data.
Inferential Analysis
 analyses sample from complete data. In this type of Analysis,
you can find different conclusions from the same data by
selecting different samples.
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 Precision And Accuracy
 In the fields of science, the accuracy of a measurement system is
the degree of closeness of measurements of a quantity to that
quantity’s true value
 indicates the closeness of the measurement to its true or accepted
value and is expressed by the error.
 Accuracy measures agreement between a result and its true
value.

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 Precision And Accuracy
 The precision of a measurement system is the degree to which
repeated measurements under unchanged conditions show the
same results
 In numerical analysis, accuracy is also the nearness of a
calculation to the true value; while
 precision is the resolution of the representation, typically defined
by the number of decimal or binary digits

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 Precision And Accuracy
 Ideally a measurement device is both accurate and precise, with
measurements all close to and tightly clustered around the true
value.
 The accuracy and precision of a measurement process is
usually established by repeatedly measuring some traceable
reference standard.
 Such standards are defined in the International System of Units

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 Measurement of Errors
 Measurement errors can be divided into two components:
 random error and systematic error.
 A random error is related to the precision of the instrument.
 These are inherent errors that are dependent on the instrument and
can not be eliminated without changing the instrument.
 Systematic errors refers to definite values that can, in principle, be
measured and corrected.
 Systematic errors are sometimes called determinate errors. The most
common types error are instrumental error, operator error, and method
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error.
 Measurement of Errors
 A systematic error is human error. These are errors related to imperfect
experimental technique.
 Some examples include errors in experimental readings and imperfect
instrument calibration. may be controlled by careful adjustment of the
experimental procedure
 The accuracy of an experimental value is best determined by the average
value of multiple measurements where xi represents a measurement and n is
the number of measurements

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 Measurement of Errors
 Systematic errors refers to definite values that can, in principle,
be measured and corrected.
 Systematic errors are sometimes called determinate errors. The
most common types error are instrumental error, operator error,
and method error.

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 Measurement of Errors
 Systematic errors are unidirectional, slanting the result of the measurement
thereby resulting a bias. Bias is the difference between the expectation of the
test results and an accepted reference value
 Systematic errors can be corrected only after the nature of the bias is
identified.
 A common determinate error is an incorrectly calibrated instrument that
systematically gives results that are either too high or too low.
 Recalibration of the apparatus should correct this kind of error. In this
laboratory, many of the instruments are calibrated before one makes a
determination of the value of some unknown parameter

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 Measurement of Errors
Three types of systematic errors
(1) Instrument errors are caused by imperfections in measuring
devices and instabilities in their components

(2) Method errors arise from non-ideal chemical or physical

behavior of analytical systems.
(3) Personal errors result from the carelessness, inattention, or
personal limitations of the experimenter

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 Determination of Precision of Measurement
The precision of a set of measurements can be determined by calculating the
standard deviation for a set of data where n-1 is the degrees of freedom of the
system.

Example, if a 25.00 mL buret was used to deliver 18.45 mL of a solution. If

the precision of the buret was reported to be ± 0.03 mL, then the reported
value is 18.45 ± 0.03 mL.

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 Determination of Accuracy of Measurement
 In experiment, a metal tag will be weighed on three different balances
 The accuracy of each balance will be determined by calculated the percent
error. In other this experiment, a digital balance (±0.2 mg) and a 25 mL
volumetric pipet (±0.03 mL) and a 25 mL graduated cylinder (±0.3 mL) will
be used

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 Reliability of Measurement
 Reliability refers to how consistently a method measures something
 If the same result can be consistently achieved by using the same methods
under the same circumstances, the measurement is considered reliable.
 you measure the temperature of a liquid sample several times under identical
conditions. The thermometer displays the same temperature every time, so the
results are reliable.
 A doctor uses a symptom questionnaire to diagnose a patient with a long-term
medical condition. Several different doctors use the same questionnaire with
the same patient but give different diagnoses. This indicates that the
questionnaire has low reliability as a measure of the condition

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 Validity of Measurement
 Validity refers to how accurately a method measures what it is intended to
measure.
 If research has high validity, that means it produces results that correspond to
real properties, characteristics, and variations in the physical or social world
 High reliability is one indicator that a measurement is valid. If a method is not
reliable, it probably isn’t valid.

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 Reliability and Validity of Measurement
 Reliability and validity are concepts used to evaluate the quality of research.
They indicate how well a method, technique or test measures something.
Reliability is about the consistency of a measure, and validity is about the
accuracy of a measure
 It is important to consider reliability and validity when you are creating your
research design, planning your methods, and writing up your results,
especially in quantitative research.
 A measurement can be reliable without being valid. However, if a
measurement is valid, it is usually also reliable

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