Chapter 4

Research Methodology

Introduction To Research Methodology

The quest for knowledge is a never ending process and in its simplest form this
process has been called as research. The world has evolved as a result of consistent efforts
to discover new things. In current times research has become an organized and specialized
field. Newer methods to conduct research have comes up. However be the field in which
research being carried out, the research methodology parameters remain the same, even if the
objectives and the population to which the problem is being addressed is different. Certain
basic rules, often referred to as standard operating procedures, are common to all fields,
although they can be easily developed for scientific research and are fuzzy for social science
research. Understanding research concept and the methods used in it is important before any
researcher picks up the initiative of undertaking research.

Definition And Meaning

Research can be defined as an organized and systematic study of materials and
source in order to discover new things and establish facts and reach new conclusion.
Essentially speaking research involves a well developed plan, a systematic approach to
developing new theories or finding solutions to various problems.
Zina O Leary has defined research as a creative and strategic thinking process
that involves constantly assessing, reassessing and making decisions about the best possible
means for obtaining trustworthy information, carrying out appropriate analyse and tracing
credible solution.
According to Clifford Woody has very comprehensively defined research as
A method for the discovery of truth which is really a method of critical thinking. It
comprises of defining and redefining problems, formulating hypothesis or suggested solution
; collecting and organising and evaluating data ; making deduction and reaching conclusion;
and at last, carefully testing the conclusion to determine whether they fit the formulating
hypothesis. It can be concluded that research involves
A clear definition of the problem.
Formulation of hypothesis
Collecting and analysing of data
Relating the findings to existing theories and earlier formulated hypothesis.

Research Design

Once the research proposal is accepted by the sponsor, the researcher now face
the important task of working out the details. He has to elucidate on the method of drawing a
sample, the method of collecting and arranging data and develop an instrument for collecting
data. All these task which are concerned with working out the condition of conducting a
research are detailed in research design. Through this design, a research is able to test the
veracity of the hypothesis on the basis of resulting data.

Meaning And Definition Of Research Design

A research design is a map developed to guide the research. It is a part of
planning stage of research, a blue print for the collection, measurement and analysis of data.
William Zikmund has described research design as a master plan specifying the
methods and procedures for collecting and analysing the needed information . A good
research design has the following characteristics :
Objectivity
Reliability
Validity
Generalization

TYPES OF RESEARCH DESIGN

Research design can be broadly classified as exploratory design
and conclusive design. Whereas the primary purpose of an exploratory design is to provide
insight in to unexplored areas, conclusive design is prepared with a specific problem in mind.
Hence conclusive research design would be more specific than an exploratory design and the
results are more conclusive. Conclusive research design is further classified into descriptive
studies diagnostic studies and experimental studies.

 Exploratory research design

As the name suggest an, exploratory research is conducted with the
purpose of gaining a better insight into a problem. Its objective could be to :
Evaluate the feasibility of a research project.
formulate a problem statement.
provide theoretical basis to a hypothesis.
Provide alternative option to a problem.
Establish priorities or possibilities for further research.
Exploratory research is of great use when a researcher has only a
vague idea of the problems he would encounter during a study. It may also helps in saving
time and money cause if a problem is not as significant as it was first through, then the
project can be cancelled. An exploratory research design employs three different techniques:

a) Secondary data Analysis

b) Expert Surveys
c) Case Studies

Thus exploratory design may use any or all of the

above discussed three methods. These methods are flexible enough to help explore new
things, develop new insight or hypothesis.

DESCRIPTIVE AND DIAGNOSTIC RESEARCH DESIGN

The descriptive research design is used when the purpose of

study is to learn who, what, when, where and how of a topic. Descriptive research is
conducted with the following intention :

To describe the characteristics of relevant groups like a tribal community, consumers

etc
To study or estimate the proportion of people in a particular population who hold
certain specific attitudes, option etc.. e.g ., the number of people who are in favour of
reservation for women.
To make predictions related to a particular phenomena e.g what will be the growth of
retail sector in the suburbs of a metropolitan city.
Generally, social research may be adopt a descriptive or diagnostic
research design. Both descriptive and diagnostic studies share common requirements with
respect to the research design. Hence a discussion on these two design has been done
collectively.
Descriptive research differs from the exploratory research in that
descriptive research is characterised by prior formulation of the problem/specific hypothesis
whereas exploratory research is generally used for problem formulation. Hence the design for
former type of research is more clearly defined, observation and operational design are
rigidly defined. Descriptive research design makes use of Six Ws of research they are :
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)

WHO is a part of the study?

WHAT information is to be collected?
WHEN- is the information to be collected?
WHERE- should the respondent be contacted?
WHY- are we obtaining the information ?
WAY- of obtaining information?

It can be said a descriptive research design should clearly state the

subject of study, objectives of study, content of study, time and place of conducting the study
and the method adopted to conduct the study. In other words, descriptive/diagnostic research
design is characterised by a clear statement of the problem, specific hypothesis and detailed
information needs.

EXPIRIMENTAL RESEARCH DESIGN

Experimental research is conducted to study the cause and effect

relationship between variables under study. An attempt is made by the researcher to maintain
control and manipulate the variables that effect his study. Following steps are involved in
conducting an experimental study:
1. Identification and definition of problems.

2. Formulation of hypothesis.
3. Developing an experimental design. The design should discuss the following :
select the sample subject

Group or pair subjects

Identify and control non-experimental factors

Construct and validate an instrument to measure

Determine place, time and duration of experiment

4. Conduct the experiment

5. Analyse the data and test the hypothesis
6. Report the findings
Experimental design pay specific attention to controlling
extraneous variables because if left unchecked they have the power of altering the result. The
extraneous variables are also called as confounding variables.

RESEARCH PROCESS

Research process includes steps or series of action and logical

sequence of those steps to carry out research effectively. The various steps in a research
process are not mutually separate, exclusive or discrete, but they at the same time need not
always follow each other. The researcher, at each step, anticipates subsequent steps and the
requirement. The tentative order of the steps and the procedural guidelines of the research
process are as given below:

1) Formulating the research problem :

At the very beginning of research, the researcher must clearly defined
the research problem, i.e., the area of interest, the matter to be inquired into, etc. The
problem, before being solved, is initially stated in a boarder perspective and then the
researcher arrives at the specific questions by gradually reducing the ambiguities, if any.
2) Extensive literature survey :
After formulating the research problem a brief summery of it should
be prepared this is an essential step. While writing a ph.D. these is the researcher has to

prepare a synopsis of the topic and submit in to the appropriate committee or research board
for approval.
3) Development of a working hypothesis :
After surveying the literature, the researcher should clearly state the
working hypothesis, which is a tentative assumption made before testing it in logical or
empirical sequence.
4) Preparing the research design :
The next step, after clearly defining the research problem, is preparing
the suitable research design . The research design includes the conceptual frame work within
which research would be carried out.
5) Determining sample design :
A universe or population includes all the items under injury. If all the
items in the population are injured then such an injury is called census injury. In a census
survey, all the items are covered and so the highest accuracy is obtained. But this not be
practicable in surveys involving a big population.
7) Collecting the data :
In most cases, the data at hand is insufficient and there is always a
need of fresh data. There are different ways of collecting the appropriate data which differ
considerable in terms of relevance, expenditure, time and other resources.
8) Execution of the project :
This is an important step in the research process because if the
execution proceeds on the correct lines, the collected data would be dependable, adequate and
accurate.

9) Analysis of data :
After collecting the data, the next step is analysing the data. The
data analysis include a number of closely-related operation like specifying different
categories of data, differentiating and tabulating the data into different categories applying,
the statistical techniques and formulate the data, doing the right calculation and then drawing
statistical inferences.
10) Hypothesis-testing :
After analyzing the data, the researcher should test the working
hypothesis against the statistical inferences obtained after analyzing the data.
11) Generalization and interpretation :

If a hypothesis is tested and upheld sufficient number of times, the

researcher can arrive at a generalization. The degree of success of a research is calculated on
the basis of how much the arrived generalization are close to the accebility.
12) Preparation of the report or the thesis :
Finally, the researcher has to prepare the report of what has been
studied. Report must be written with great care keeping the following lay out in mind :
The preliminary stage.
The main text
The closure