INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH • It forms a basis for the development of
technology for the diagnosis and treatment of the
Research
• Defined as a systematic search for pertinent
information on a specific topic, a careful,
organized and well-planned investigation of a
problem.
Value of Research
• As a scientific investigation to discover new
knowledge, a tool that one can use to test this
new knowledge.
• As an orderly system of solving problems, a tool
for growth of science and a tool for human and
environmental development.
• The methods of research are useful in the
evaluation of health programs, procedures and
systems such as delivery of health services or
program planning.
Purpose of Research
• To establish the truth.
• To develop new knowledge and technology
• To add to the scientific knowledge
• To improve the practice of the profession for the
attainment of better health for the people
Kinds of Research
• Based on broad objectives, research may be
classified as;
A. Basic
B. Epidemiological
C. Clinical
• Basic research uses healthy humans and
experimental animals as subjects.
• It aims to develop better understanding of the
nature, including relationships, of normal events
in the human body.
• It serves as basis for some future action or
application in biomedical sciences
• Epidemiologic research uses populations or
groups of people, healthy and with disease as
subjects.
• Its primary use is in the identification of risk
factors and causes of diseases which serve as
basis for the development of preventive
measures.
• Clinical research is done on patients.
• Its objective is understanding of the disease
process including the identification of
determinants of the outcome of illness.
disease.
The Research Process
• The research process is similar to undertaking a
journey.
• In a research journey there are two important
decisions to make:
o What we want to find out about or
what research questions (problems) we
want to find answers to
o And how to go about finding their
answers
• The path to finding answers to our research
questions constitutes research methodology
Steps in Research Process
1. Formulating the Research Problem
2. Reviewing the Literature
3. Developing the objectives
4. Preparing the Research Design
5. Determining Sampling Methodology
6. Collecting the Data
7. Analyzing Data
8. Generalizing and interpreting results
9. Preparing the Report or Presenting Results-
Formal write ups of conclusions reached
Formulating the Research Problem
• The first and most crucial step in the research
process.
• Its main function is to decide what you want to
find out about.
• The way the problem is formulated determines
almost every step that follows
Reviewing the Literature
• After we have identified our research problem,
reviewing the literature is next essential task in
order to acquaint ourselves with the available
body of knowledge in our area of interest.
• Literature review is an integral part of entire
research process and makes valuable
contribution to every operational step
• Its functions are:
o to bring clarity and focus to our research
problem
 o to improve our methodology
o to broaden our knowledge
o and to contextualize our findings
Developing the objectives
• Objectives are the goals we set out to attain in
our study.
• They inform the reader what we want to attain
through the study.
• It is extremely important to formulate them
clearly and specifically
• Objectives can be listed under two headings, the
General objective and the Specific objectives.
• The General objective is an overall statement of
the thrust of our study.
o It is also a statement of the main
associations and relationships that we
seek to discover or establish.
• The Specific objectives are the specific aspects
of the topic that we want to investigate within the
main framework of our study
Preparing the Research Design
• Research design is the conceptual structure
within which research would be conducted.
• The function of research design is to provide for
the collection of relevant information with
minimal expenditure of effort, time and money
• The preparation of research design, appropriate
for a particular research problem (what research
design to use), involves the consideration of the
following,
1. The objectives of the research study
2. The method of data collection to be adopted
3. The source of information and the sampling
design
4. The tool for data collection
5. The data analysis
Determining Sampling Methodology
• Researchers usually draw conclusions about
large groups by taking a sample.
• A sample is a segment of the population
selected to represent the population as a whole.
• Ideally, the sample should be representative and
allow the researcher to make accurate estimates
of the characteristics and behavior of the larger
population
Collecting the Data
• The construction of a research instrument or tool
for data collection is one of the most important
aspects of a research project.
• Because anything we say by way of findings or
conclusions is based upon the type of
information we collect.
• And the data we collect is entirely dependent
upon the questions that we ask of the
respondents.
Analyzing Data
• Processing and analyzing data involves a number
of closely related operations;
o summarizing the collected data;
o and organizing them in a manner that they
answer the research questions (objectives)
Preparing the Report
• Writing the report is the last, and for many, the
most difficult step of the research process.
• The report informs the world what we have done,
what we have discovered and what conclusions
we have drawn from our findings.
• The report should be written in an academic style.
• Language should be formal and not journalistic