Research methodology

Meaning of Research:
TYPE OF RESEARCH
Varios Ty!es of Research
1. "escri!ti#e and Analytical Research
2. A!!lied and Fndamental Research
3. $antitati#e and $alitati#e Research
4. Conce!tal and Em!irical Research
5. Other Ty!es of Research
Descriptive and Analytical Research
"escri!ti#e research incldes sr#eys and fact finding en%iries of different ty!es& The main o'(ecti#e of this ty!e of
research is to descri'e the state of affairs as it e)ists at !resent& *n social sciences research +e se the term ,e)!ort
facto research- for descri!ti#e research stdy& The main characteristic of this method is that the researcher has no
control o#er the #aria'les. he can only re!ort +hat has ha!!ened or +hat is going on& *n this ty!e of research/ all
0inds of sr#ey method are tili1ed inclding com!arati#e and co2 relational method&
On the other hand/ the researcher has to se facts and information +hich are a#aila'le and after collecting these data
the researcher can analyse and ma0e a critical e#alation on the materials in the method of analytical research&
Applied and Fundamental Research
A research can either 'e an a!!lied research or a fndamental one& A!!lied research is 'ased on action and the main
o'(ecti#e of this research is to find a soltion for an immediate !ro'lem facing the society/ media indstry or
'siness organi1ation&
On the other hand/ fndamental research is mainly concerned +ith generali1ation and +ith the formlation of a
theory& Paline V& Yong in his 'oo0 ,Scientific Social Sr#ey and Research- defines that ,gathering 0no+ledge for
0no+ledge3s sa0e is termed 4!re3 and 4'asic3 research&-
As discssed a'o#e/ a!!lied research aims at certain conclsion or soltion of a concrete social or 'siness !ro'lem&
On the contrary/ a research stdy on the hman 'eha#iors and media 'eha#ior is a fndamental research&
Quantitative and Qualitative Research
These t+o ty!es of researches are the most im!ortant ty!es not only for the social science research 't also for some
related disci!lines li0e mass media/ (ornalism etc& These t+o ty!es are also sed in the research of the natral
sciences&
The main o'(ecti#e of the %antitati#e research is to de#elo! and em!loy mathematical models/ theories and
hy!othesis !ertaining to natral !henomena relating to or in#ol#ing %ality or 0ind& 5e +ill discss these ty!es of
researches in the ne)t section in detail as these are the main researches sed in the commnication disci!line
Conceptual and Empirical Research
C& R& 6othari defines that conce!tal research is the one +hich is related to some a'stract idea 7s8 or theory& *t is
generally sed 'y the !hiloso!hers and thin0ers to de#elo! ne+ conce!ts or to reinter!ret the e)isting one& On the
contrary/ em!irical research relies on e)!erience or o'ser#ation alone/ often +ithot de regard for system and
theory& *t is a data2'ased research/ coming ! +ith conclsion +hich is ca!a'le of 'eing #erified 'y o'ser#ation or
e)!eriment& 5e can also call it the e)!erimental ty!e of research& *t is an a!!ro!riate method/ +hen !roof is soght
that certain #aria'les affect other #aria'les in some +ay&
ther types
From the !oint of #ie+ of time/ the research can 'e one time research or may 'e a longitdinal research&
From the !oint of #ie+ of the !lace/ +here the research is done/ +e can categori1e the a!!roaches into t+o
9 field setting research or la'oratory research or simlation research
Historical research is also an im!ortant a!!roach/ +hich tili1es historical sorces li0e docments/ remains
etc& to stdy e#ents or ideas of the !ast/ inclding the !hiloso!hy of !ersons or gro!s at any remote !oint
of time
$antitati#e and $alitati#e Research
Quantitative Research
As +e 0no+ that %antitati#e research is 'ased on the measrement of %antity or amont& *t is a!!lica'le to the
!henomena that can 'e e)!ressed in terms of %antity& So +e can define that %antitati#e research is the systematic
scientific in#estigation of %antitati#e !ro!erties and !henomena +ith their relationshi!s& The !rocess of
measrement is central to %antitati#e research 'ecase it !ro#ides the fndamental connection 'et+een em!irical
o'ser#ation and mathematical e)!ression of %antitati#e relationshi!&
5i0i!edia Encyclo!edia descri'es that %antitati#e research is generally made 'y sing scientific methods +hich
inclde9
The generation of models/ theories and hy!othesis&
The de#elo!ment of instrments and methods for measrement&
E)!erimental control and mani!lation of #aria'les&
Collection of em!irical data&
E#alation of reslts&
$antitati#e research is contrasted +ith the %alitati#e research in the social sciences& :ecase in the social science
research or in the commnication research/ some im!ortant #aria'les can not 'e measred +ith the hel! of
%antitati#e methods or mathematical models& For e)am!le/ the e)amination/ analysis and inter!retation of
o'ser#ations for the !r!ose of disco#ering delaying meaning and !atterns of relationshi!s/ inclding classification
of ty!es of !henomena and ratites/ in a manner that does not in#ol#e the %antitati#e method&
:asically it is often an iterati#e research !rocess +here'y e#idence is e#ol#es/ theories and hy!otheses are refined/
technical ad#ances are made and so on& *t is +idely sed in the natral sciences rather than in social sciences& The
%antitati#e methods are research techni%es that are sed to gather %antitati#e disinformation dealing +ith
nm'ers and anything that is measra'le& Statistics/ ta'les and gra!hs are often sed to !resent the reslts of these
methods& They are therefore to 'e distingished from %alitati#e methods& :y no+ it mst 'e clear a'ot the
%antitati#e research& ;et s discss +hat %alitati#e research means&
Qualitative research is one of the oldest forms of social science research& :t in the <=>?3s and <=@?3s
%antitati#e research gained !o!larity among the researchers& Ho+e#er/ in the <=A?3s the %alitati#e research again
came into the !latform and 'ecame !o!lar among the researchers& *n the last three decades the !'lishers and
editors of the research (ornals ha#e 'een laying more stress on the %alitati#e research&
As +e ha#e mentioned/ %alitati#e research is concerned +ith the %alitati#e !henomenon/ i&e& !henomena relating
to or in#ol#ing %ality or 0ind& $alitati#e researchers aim to gather an in2de!th nderstanding of hman 'eha#ior
and the reason that go#ern sch 'eha#ior& 5hile discssing on the in#estigation of hman 'eha#ior +e can se the
times ,moti#ation research-/ +hich is an im!ortant ty!e of %alitati#e research& This ty!e of research aims at
disco#ering the nder lying moti#es and desires/ sing in de!th indicators for the !r!ose& $antitati#e research is
es!ecially im!ortant in the 'eha#ioral sciences +here the aim is to disco#er the nderlying moti#es of hman
'eha#ior& Throgh sch research +e can analy1e the #arios factors +hich moti#ate !eo!le to 'eha#e in a
!articlar manner or +hich ma0e !eo!le li0e or disli0e a !articlar thing&
*t is also sefl in !olicy and e#alation research/ +here an nderstanding of +hy and ho+ certain otcomes +ere
achie#ed is as im!ortant as esta'lishing +hat those otcomes +ere& $alitati#e research is also sefl in !rogramme
im!lementation and in the commnication 'eha#ioral analysis&
"ifference 'et+een $ali and $an
Quantitative Research Qualitative Research
$antitati#e Research is 'ased on the measrement of
%antity or amont&
$alitati#e Research is most often sed in the social
sciences&
This methods are sefl for descri'ing social !henomena
es!ecially on a larger scale
This allo+s social scientists to !ro#ide richer
e)!lanations and descri!tion on social !henomena
fre%ently on smaller scale&
$alitati#e methods can 'e sed in order to de#elo!
%antitati#e tools&
$antitati#e research is more focsed and aims to test
hy!othesis&
$alitati#e research is 'asically e)!loratory 2 means
hy!othesis generating
:t %antitati#e data are of the 0ind that may lead to
measrement or other 0inds of analysis in#ol#ing
a!!lied mathematics&
$alitati#e research s!ea0s to content #alidity
Research methods
<& Sr#ey method: Sr#ey is a #ery !o!lar 'ranch of social science research& *t can 'e defined as ,s!ecification of
!rocedres for gathering information a'ot a larger nm'er of !eo!le 'y collecting information from a fe+ of
them-& 7:lac0 and cham!ion8
B& O'ser#ation methods: *t means seeing or #ie+ing& *t is not a casal 't systematic #ie+ing& *t may 'e defined as
,a systematic #ie+ing of a s!ecific !henomenon in its !ro!er setting for the !r!ose of gathering information for the
s!ecific stdy-& *t is a method of scientific en%iry&
C& Case method: *t is 'orro+ed from medical sciences& Dst li0e a !atient/ the case is intensi#ely stdied/ so/ as to
diagnose and then !rescri'e a remedy& According to PV Yong/ ,a com!rehensi#e stdy of a social nit/ 'e that nit
a !erson/ a gro!/ a social instittion/ a district/ 7a media organi1ation8 or commnity/ is called a case stdy-& *t is
one of the !o!lar research methods in social sciences&
E& E)!erimental method: E)!erimentation is the 'asic tool of !re and !hysical sciences& Ho+e#er/ it is no+ also
sed in social sciences& E)!erimentation is a research !rocess sed to o'ser#ing the case and effect relationshi!
nder controlled conditions&
>& Historical methods: 5hen research is condcted on the 'asis of historical data/ the researcher is said to follo+ the
historical a!!roach& *t is a critical in#estigation of e#ents/ de#elo!ment/ e)!eriences of the !ast/ the carefl +eighing
of e#ident of the #alidity of the sorces of information of the !ast and the inter!retation of the +eighed e#idence&
@& Com!arati#e method: *t is also 0no+n as e#oltionary or genetic methods& Thogh it is a !o!lar research method
sed in !re sciences/ it is no+ also sed in the social sciences as +ell& *t is 'ased on com!arison
RE!EARC" #RCE!!
:efore going to discs in detail the methods of commnication research let s ha#e a 'rief o#er#ie+ on the research
!rocess& Research !rocess consists of series of actions or ste!s necessary to effecti#ely carry ot a research and the
desired se%encing of this ste!& Fo+/ +e are going to discss 'riefly the #arios ste!s in a research !rocess&
<& Formlating the research !ro'lem: At the #ery otset the researcher mst select a !ro'lem that he +ants to stdy
i&e/ he mst decide the general area of interest or as!ects of a s'(ect matter that he +old li0e to in%ire into& There
are t+o ty!es of research !ro'lems& One is related to states of natre and other is related to the relationshi!s 'et+een
#aria'les& After selecting the research !ro'lem/ the formlation of a general to!ic into a s!ecific research !ro'lem is
re%ired and it constittes the first ste! in a scientific in#estigation& To formlate the research !ro'lem a researcher
has to follo+ t+o ste!s& One/ nderstanding the !ro'lem thoroghly and t+o/ re!hrasing the same into meaningfl
terms from an analytical !oint of #ie+&
B& ;iteratre re#ie+: Once the !ro'lems is formlated a 'rief smmary of the !ro'lem shold 'e +ritten do+n& *n
this second stage the researcher shold nderta0e e)tensi#e literatre sr#ey connected +ith the !ro'lem& A good
li'rary +ill 'e a great hel! to the researcher at this stage&
C& "e#elo!ment of +or0ing hy!othesis: *n the second stage the researcher mst collect all the necessary information
regarding the research !ro'lem from the literatre sr#ey& After this stage/ the research shold state in clear terms of
the +or0ing hy!othesis& 5or0ing hy!othesis is a tentati#e assm!tion made in order to dra+ ot and test its logical
or em!irical conse%ences& *t shar!ens his thin0ing and focses attention on the more im!ortant facets of the
!ro'lem&
E& Pre!aring the research design: *n this stage the researcher has to !re!are a research design& *t is conce!tal
strctre +ithin +hich the research shold 'e condcted& The !re!aration of sch a design facilitates the researcher
'y !ro#iding the rele#ant e#idence +ith minimal e)!enditre of effort/ time and money&
>& "etermining sam!le design: The research mst decide the +ay of selecting a sam!le or +hat is !o!larly 0no+n
as the sam!le design& *t is a !lan determined 'efore any data are actally collected or 'efore o'taining a sam!le from
a gi#en !o!lation& The researcher can ado!t any ty!e of sam!le design from the follo+ingG
7i8 "eli'erate sam!ling&
7ii8 Random sam!ling&
7iii8 Systematic sam!ling&
7i#8 Stratified sam!ling&
7#8 $ota sam!ling&
7#i8 Clster sam!ling and area sam!ling&
7#ii8 Mlti stage sam!ling&
7#iii8 Se%ential sam!ling&
@& Collection of data: "ata collection is an im!ortant stage of a research !rocess& A researcher has to collect !rimary
data as +ell as secondary data tili1ing #arios tools of data collection& 5e +ill discss the methods of data
collection in a se!arate nit in detail&
A& Analysis of data: After the data ha#e 'een collected/ the researcher trns to the tas0 of analy1ing them& The
analysis of data re%ires a nm'er of closely related o!erations sch as esta'lishment of categories& The a!!lication
of this category is to dra+ data throgh coding/ ta'lation and then dra+ing statistical inferences&
H& Hy!othesis testing: After analy1ing the data +ith the hel! of #arios data analy1ing techni%es the researcher is in
a !osition to test the hy!othesis/ if any/ he had formlated earlier&
=& Ienerali1ations and inter!retations: After the hy!othesis testing the researcher can come to the end and he can
generali1e the in#estigated findings to 'ild theory&
<?& Pre!aration of the re!ort: Finally/ the researcher has to !re!are the re!ort or the thesis on +hat has 'een done
'y him& *n this stage/ the se of te)t/ font/ layot are some im!ortant as!ects&
Qualities of a Good Research:
1. Good research is systematic.
2. Good research is logical.
3. Good research is empirical.
4. Good research is replicable.
Sampling types
(! "ethods of Random Sampling:
#hen a sample is dra$n from a population% it is necessary to decide $hich method should
be applicable. &he 'arious methods of sampling
can be grouped under the heads as random sampling and non random sampling.
Some of the 'arious sampling methods are as follo$s:
(. Random Sampling "ethod:
(i! Simple Random Sampling
(ii! Systematic Sampling
(iii! Stratified Sampling
(i'! )luster Sampling
*. +on Random Sampling "ethods:
(i! ,udgment "ethod
(ii! Quota Sampling
(iii! )on'enience Sampling
&echni-ue of simple random sampling:
&he easiest $ay to select a sample randomly is to use random numbers. &hese numbers can
be ta.en from a table of random digits or can be generated by a computer programming.
2. Systematic sampling: n these sampling elements are selected from the population at a
uniform inter'al that is measured in time% space% order or any others. /ere% each element in the
population has the same chance of being selected from the sample. 0or e1ample% suppose $e
$ant to inter'ie$ 22th students on a college campus. #e choose a random starting point in the
first 22 names in the student register boo. and then pic. e'ery 22th name thereafter. n this
sampling also each element has an e-ual chance of being selected3 but each sample does not
ha'e an e-ual chance of being selected. n this point this sampling differs from simple random
sampling. n this sampling there is problem of introducing error into the sample process. &he
only ad'antage of this sampling is that it ta.es less time and lo$er cost.
3. Stratified Sampling: n this sampling% population is di'ided into homogeneous groups. &hese
groups are called strata. &here are t$o approaches: i! 0rom each strata% select specified
number of elements at random. ii! 4ra$ e-ual number of elements from each strata and gi'e
$eight to the result according to the Stratum5s proportion in the population. n Stratified
sampling% e'ery element in the population has a chance of being selected. n this sampling each
group has small 'ariation $ithin itself. &here are $ide 'ariations bet$een the groups.
4. )luster Sampling: n this sampling also population is di'ided into groups and the groups are
called )lusters. &he assumption is that indi'idual clusters are representati'e of population. &hen
random samples are selected from the clusters. n case of cluster sample there is considerable
'ariation $ithin each group% but the groups are essentially similar to each other. n cluster%
stratified and systematic samples attempts are made to appro1imate simple random sample.
&hese three methods are de'eloped for economical and physical considerations. Simple
random sampling is basis of all the samplings and it is fundamental one. 6rinciples of simple
random sampling are the foundations of statistical inferences.
(! +on Random Sampling "ethods
,udgment "ethod: n this method the choice of sample items depends e1clusi'ely on the
7udgment of the in'estigator. 0or e1ample% if a sample of 12 artist is to be selected from a group
of 82 artists% then the in'estigator $ould select 12 artists $ho% in his opinion% represent the
group.
&hough this method is simple% it is not scientific because the result may be considerably
affected by the personal biasness of the in'estigator. &his method is generally applicable $hen
the si9e of the sample is small. n general% for sol'ing business problems% ma.ing public policy
decisions% pilot studies etc. $e use this method.
(i! Quota Sampling: t is a type of 7udgment sampling $here -uotas are set up according to
gi'en criteria but $ithin the -uotas the selection of sample items depends on personal
7udgment. 0or e1ample% if you $ant to ta.e inter'ie$ of 122 people% out of $hich there should be
82 /indu% 82 "uslim% 82 Si.hs and 82 )hristian. #ithin these -uotas% the inter'ie$er is free to
select the people inter'ie$ed.
(ii! )on'enience Sampling: n this method the sample is obtained from readily a'ailable lists%
such as telephone directories% or automobile registration are e1ample of con'enience sampling.
"erits of Sampling "ethod:
1. t is less time consuming compared to census.
2. t is less costly either in terms of money or in terms of man po$er because only a small
portion of the total population is studied.
3. "ore detailed information can be gathered as the si9e of the sample is small compared to
total population.
4. ( sample sur'ey generally gi'es data of better -uality than a complete census% because in a
sample sur'ey it may be possible to employ better trained personnel% effect better super'ision or
use better e-uipment than is possible or feasible in a complete census.
8. 0or infinite population% sampling is the only solution.
:imitations of Sampling:
1. #ithout proper planning% the samples result may be inaccurate and misleading.
2. n absence of -ualified persons% the information obtained from samples sur'eys can not be
relied upon.
3. f the information is re-uired from $hole population then sampling is meaningless.