Balochistan University Of Information Technology Engineering & Management

Sciences (BUITEMS), Quetta

Research Methods &

Techniques

By

Dr. Azmatullah Khan Sherani

Assistant Professor
 Course Content 2
• INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH

• ETHICAL ISSUES IN RESEARCH

• RESEARCH PROBLEM

• RESEARCH DESIGN

• COLLECTION, PROCESSING AND ANALYSIS OF DATA

• RESEARCH PROPOSAL

• RESEARCH REPORT
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Introduction to Research
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WHAT IS RESEARCH ?
 In the broadest terms, we do research whenever we gather information to
answer a question that solves a problem.

For example:

problem: To settle a bet, I need to know when Michael Jordan was born.
research: You Google “Michael Jordan birthday.”

problem: I’m just curious about a new species of fish.

research: You search the Internet for articles in newspapers and academic
journals.
WHAT IS RESEARCH ? 5

 Research is an essential and powerful tool in leading man

towards progress. Without systematic research there would
have been very little progress.

 Scientific research leads to progress in some field of life.

New products, new facts, new concepts and new ways of
doing things are being found due to ever-increasing
significant research in the physical, the biological, the social
and the psychological fields.

Research today is no longer confined to the science

laboratory.
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WHAT IS RESEARCH ?
 Word ‘Research’ is comprises of two words = Re + Search. It
means to search again. So research means a systematic
investigation or activity to gain new knowledge of the
already existing facts.

 Research is an intellectual activity.

 responsible for bringing to light new knowledge.

 is also responsible for correcting the present mistakes,

removing existing misconceptions and adding new
learning to the existing fund of knowledge.
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WHAT IS RESEARCH ?
Definitions of Research:

“Research is an endeavor / attempt to discover, develop and verify

knowledge. It is an intellectual process that has developed over
hundreds of years ever changing in purpose and form and always
researching to truth.”
J. Francis Rummel

“Research is an honest, exhaustive, intelligent searching for facts and

their meanings or implications with reference to a given problem. The
product or findings of a given piece of research should be an
authentic, verifiable contribution to knowledge in the field studied.”
P.M. Cook
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WHAT IS RESEARCH ?
Definitions of Research:

“Research may be defined as a method of studying problems whose

solutions are to be derived partly or wholly from facts.”
W.S. Monroes

“Research is considered to be the more formal, systematic intensive process

of carrying on the scientific method of analysis. It involves a more systematic
structure of investigation, usually resulting in some sort of formal record of
procedures and a report of results or conclusion.”
John W. Best
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WHAT IS RESEARCH ?
Definitions of Research:

“Research comprises defining and redefining problems, formulating hypothesis

or suggested solutions, collecting, organizing and evaluating data, making
deductions and reaching conclusions and at last careful testing the
conclusions to determine whether they fit the formulated hypothesis.”
Clifford Woody

“Research is a systematic effort to gain new knowledge.”

Redman & Mori
 WHAT IS RESEARCH ?
 a. the systematic investigation into and study of materials,
sources, etc, in order to establish facts and reach new
conclusions b. an endeavour to discover new or collate old facts
etc by the scientific study of a subject or by a course of critical
investigation.
Oxford Concise Dictionary
 General definition is “finding answers to questions in an
organized and logical and systematic way”
 WHAT IS RESEARCH ?
 First priority is to formulate your question
 Then figure out how you are going to answer it
 How have others answered it?
 How does your proposal fit in with what others have done?
 How will you know when you have answered it?
 Then you can present your answer
Objective of RESEARCH 12

The purpose of research is to discover answers to questions

through the application of scientific
procedures.

 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);

 To portray 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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Objective of RESEARCH
 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);

 To test a hypothesis of a causal relationship between

variables (such studies are known as hypothesis-testing
research studies).
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Motivation in RESEARCH
What makes people to undertake research?
The possible motives for doing research may be either one or
more of the following:

 Desire to get a research degree along with its consequential

benefits
 Desire to face the challenge in solving the unsolved
problems, i.e., concern over practical problems initiates
research
 Desire to get intellectual joy of doing some creative work
 Desire to be of service to society
 Desire to get respectability
Motivation in RESEARCH 15

Many more factors such as:

 directives of government
 employment conditions
 curiosity about new things
 desire to understand causal relationships
 social thinking and awakening
 and the like may as well motivate (or at times compel)
people to perform research operations.
Characteristics of RESEARCH 16

Following are the characteristics of research;

 Research is directed toward the solution of a problem.

 Research requires expertise.
 Research emphasizes the development of generalizations, principles, or
theories that will be helpful in predicting future occurrences.
 Research is based upon observable experience or empirical evidences.
 Research demands accurate observation and description.
 Research involves gathering new data from primary or first-hand sources
or using existing data for a new purpose.
Characteristics of RESEARCH 17

 Research is characterized by carefully designed procedures that

apply rigorous analysis.
 Research involves the questions for answers to un-solved problems.
 Research strives to be objective and logical, applying every possible
test to validate the procedures employed the data collected and
the conclusions reached.
 Research is characterized by patient and unhurried activity.
 Research is carefully recorded and collected.
 Research sometimes requires courage.
Types of RESEARCH 18

The basic types of research are as follows:

 Descriptive vs. Analytical
 Applied vs. Fundamental
 Quantitative vs. Qualitative
 Conceptual vs. Empirical
 Some Other Types of Research
Types of RESEARCH
Descriptive vs. Analytical

Descriptive Research Analytical Research

Case Study Survey

Reviews
Cross-Sectional
Philosophical
Longitudinal
Historical
Correlational
Meta-Analyses
Analytical Research
 Reviews
 A critical account of present understanding
 A meta-analysis is a quantitative method of review
“a set of techniques used “to combine the results of a
number of different reports into one report to create a
single, more precise estimate of an effect” (Ferrer, 1998).
 Historical Research
 Accessing both primary (e.g. witnesses) or secondary (e.g.
literature) sources to document past events
 Philosophical Research
 Organising existing evidence into a comprehensive
theoretical model
Descriptive Research
 Case Study
 Accrual of detailed information from an individual

 Survey
Refutable?
 Cross-sectional: Status of a various groups at a given point in
time
 Longitudinal: Status of a given group at various points in time
 Correlational: Relationships between variables
Case Study

 Useful in several instances:

 Rare or unusual situations

 To demonstrate possibilities

 To demonstrate a treatment

 As disconfirming evidence
Correlational Design

 a study that assesses the extent to which two variables are related
 Defines the relationship in quantitative terms
 Correlational (“co-related”)

When one variable changes in value, what happens to the other

variable?
Direction of Correlation

 Scatterplot showed a positive correlation

 As one variable increased, the second variable also increased
 As self-esteem goes up, academic achievement also goes up
 Think of some examples of positively correlated variables

 Negative (inverse) correlation

 As on variable increases, the second variable decreases (i.e. one
gets bigger, the other gets smaller)
 As amount of alcohol intake increases, motor control decreases
 Think of examples of negatively correlated variables
Strength of Correlation

 How strongly related are the two variables of interest?

 the “sloppiness” of association
 Degree of accuracy with which you can make a prediction about 2nd
variable given value of the first variable
 Ranges from -1 to 1
 -1 and 1 are very strong (perfect) correlations
 0 is no correlation; no relationship
Correlation – strength and direction
Correlational research

 Strengths
 Can study a broad range of variables
 Can look at multiple variables at one time
 Large samples are easily obtained
 Weaknesses
 Relationships established are associational, not causal
 Individuals not studies in-depth
 Potential problems with reliability and validity of self-report measures
Applied and Fundamental research

 Applied Research
aims at finding a solution for an immediate problem facing a society or an
industrial/business organization
 Fundamental Research
mainly concerned with generalizations and with the formulation of a theory
Research Continuum
Basic Applied
Theoretical Quick Answers
Laboratory Based Field Based
Tightly Controlled Loosely Controlled
Internal Validity?
Lacks External Validity > Externally Valid
Focus on Mechanism Focus on Effect
More Reductionist Less Reductionist
External and Internal Validity
 Validity is degree of support for an inference “
the extent to which relevant evidence supports
that inference as being true or correct” (Shadish
et al. 2002, p. 34)
 External validity refers to the generalizability of
results (in this case, experimental results); are
results applicable to other settings and persons
(i.e., to people and places outside the
laboratory)?
 Internal validity refers to the validity with which
one can conclude that the observed
relationship (covariation) between an
independent and dependent variable reflects a
causal relationship (as opposed to spurious).
Quantitative and Qualitative research

 Quantitative Research
phenomena that can be expressed in terms of quantity
 Qualitative Research
phenomena relating to or involving quality or kind
 Quasi-
Experimental
experimental

Correlational

Single
Quantitative
subject

Descriptive

Meta-
analysis
 Phenomenological

Interpretive
Understanding a situation Ethnographic
from the participant
perspective

Grounded Theory
Qualitative

Action Research
Critical
Understanding and
critiquing power within
society
Dialectics
Conceptual and Empirical research
 Conceptual Research
is that related to some abstract idea(s) or theory. It is generally
used to develop new concepts or to reinterpret existing ones.
 Empirical Research
relies on experience or observation alone, often without due
regard for system and theory. It is data-based research, coming
up with conclusions which are capable of being verified by
observation or experiment