Research MethodologyAn Introduction

Research Methodology:

An Introduction

Meaning of Research

Research in common parlance refers to a search for knowledge. Once can also define research as a scientific and systematic search for pertinent information on a specific topic. In fact, research is an art of scientific investigation.

The Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English lays down the meaning of research as “a careful investigation or inquiry specially through search for new facts in any branch of knowledge.”

 Redman and Mory define research as a “systematized effort to gain new knowledge.”

Research is, thus, an original contribution to the existing stock of knowledge making for its advancement. It is the persuit of truth with the help of study, observation, comparison and experiment.

‘Research’ refers to the systematic method consisting of enunciating the problem, formulating a hypothesis, collecting the facts or data, analysing the facts and reaching certain conclusions either in the form of solutions(s) towards the concerned problem or in certain generalisations for some theoretical formulation.

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.

   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);

   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).

Types of Research

The basic types of research are as follows:

(i) Descriptive vs. Analytical:

      Descriptive research includes surveys and fact-finding enquiries of different kinds.

      The major purpose of descriptive research is description of the state of affairs as it exists at present.

      In social science and business research we quite often use the term Ex post facto research for descriptive research studies.

      The main characteristic of this method is that the researcher has no control over the variables; he can only report what has happened or what is happening.

      Most ex post facto research projects are used for descriptive studies in which the researcher seeks to measure such items as, for example, frequency of shopping, preferences of people, or similar data.

      Ex post facto studies also include attempts by researchers to discover causes even when they cannot control the variables.

      The methods of research utilized in descriptive research are survey methods of all kinds, including comparative and correlational methods.

      In analytical research, on the other hand, the researcher has to use facts or information already available, and analyze these to make a critical evaluation of the material.

(ii) Applied vs. Fundamental:

      Research can either be applied (or action) research or fundamental (to basic or pure) research.

      Applied research aims at finding a solution for an immediate problem facing a society or an industrial/business organisation, whereas fundamental research is mainly concerned with generalisations and with the formulation of a theory.

      “Gathering knowledge for knowledge’s sake is termed ‘pure’ or ‘basic’ research.”4 Research concerning some natural phenomenon or relating to pure mathematics are examples of fundamental research.

      Similarly, research studies, concerning human behaviour carried on with a view to make generalisations about human behaviour, are also examples of fundamental research, but research aimed at certain conclusions (say, a solution) facing a concrete social or business problem is an example of applied research.

      Research to identify social, economic or political trends that may affect a particular institution or the copy research (research to find out whether certain communications will be read and understood) or the marketing research or evaluation research are examples of applied research.

      Thus, the central aim of applied research is to discover a solution for some pressing practical problem, whereas basic research is directed towards finding information that has a broad base of applications and thus, adds to the already existing organized body of scientific knowledge.

(iii) Quantitative vs. Qualitative:

      Quantitative research is based on the measurement of quantity or amount.

      It is applicable to phenomena that can be expressed in terms of quantity.

      Qualitative research, on the other hand, is concerned with qualitative phenomenon, i.e., phenomena relating to or involving quality or kind. For instance, when we are interested in investigating the reasons for human behaviour (i.e., why people think or do certain things), we quite often talk of ‘Motivation Research’, an important type of qualitative research.

      This type of research aims at discovering the underlying motives and desires, using in depth interviews for the purpose.

      Other techniques of such research are word association tests, sentence completion tests, story completion tests and similar other projective techniques.

      Attitude or opinion research i.e., research designed to find out how people feel or what they think about a particular subject or institution is also qualitative research.

      Qualitative research is especially important in the behavioural sciences where the aim is to discover the underlying motives of human behaviour.

      Through such research we can analyse the various factors which motivate people to behave in a particular manner or which make people like or dislike a particular thing.

      It may be stated, however, that to apply qualitative research in 4 Pauline V. Young, Scientific Social Surveys and Research, p. 30. 4 Research Methodology practice is relatively a difficult job and therefore, while doing such research, one should seek guidance from experimental psychologists.

(iv)  Conceptual vs. Empirical:

      Conceptual research is that related to some abstract idea(s) or theory.

      It is generally used by philosophers and thinkers to develop new concepts or to reinterpret existing ones.

      On the other hand, 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.

      We can also call it as experimental type of research. In such a research it is necessary to get at facts firsthand, at their source, and actively to go about doing certain things to stimulate the production of desired information.

      In such a research, the researcher must first provide himself with a working hypothesis or guess as to the probable results.

      He then works to get enough facts (data) to prove or disprove his hypothesis. He then sets up experimental designs which he thinks will manipulate the persons or the materials concerned so as to bring forth the desired information.

      Such research is thus characterised by the experimenter’s control over the variables under study and his deliberate manipulation of one of them to study its effects

.

      Empirical research is appropriate when proof is sought that certain variables affect other variables in some way. Evidence gathered through experiments or empirical studies is today considered to be the most powerful support possible for a given hypothesis.

(v) Some Other Types of Research:

      All other types of research are variations of one or more of the above stated approaches, based on either the purpose of research, or the time required to accomplish research, on the environment in which research is done, or on the basis of some other similar factor.

      Form the point of view of time, we can think of research either as one-time research or longitudinal research.

      In the former case the research is confined to a single time-period, whereas in the latter case the research is carried on over several time-periods.

      Research can be field-setting research or laboratory research or simulation research, depending upon the environment in which it is to be carried out.

      Research can as well be understood as clinical or diagnostic research. Such research follow case-study methods or indepth approaches to reach the basic causal relations. Such studies usually go deep into the causes of things or events that interest us, using very small samples and very deep probing data gathering devices.

      The research may be exploratory or it may be formalized. The objective of exploratory research is the development of hypotheses rather than their testing, whereas formalized research studies are those with substantial structure and with specific hypotheses to be tested.

      Historical research is that which utilizes historical sources like documents, remains, etc. to study events or ideas of the past, including the philosophy of persons and groups at any remote point of time. Research can also be classified as conclusion-oriented and decision-oriented.

      While doing conclusionoriented research, a researcher is free to pick up a problem, redesign the enquiry as he proceeds and is prepared to conceptualize as he wishes.

      Decision-oriented research is always for the need of a decision maker and the researcher in this case is not free to embark upon research according to his own inclination.

      Operations research is an example of decision oriented research since it is a scientific method of providing executive departments with a quantitative basis for decisions regarding operations under their control.

Research Approaches

The above description of the types of research brings to light the fact that there are two basic approaches to research, viz.,

(a) Quantitative approach and

(b) Qualitative approach.

The former involves the generation of data in quantitative form which can be subjected to rigorous quantitative analysis in a formal and rigid fashion. This approach can be further sub-classified into

                                 i.            Inferential,

                               ii.            experimental and

                              iii.            simulation approaches to research.

(a) Quantitative approach

i. Inferential:

      The purpose of inferential approach to research is to form a data base from which to infer characteristics or relationships of population.

      This usually means survey research where a sample of population is studied (questioned or observed) to determine its characteristics, and it is then inferred that the population has the same characteristics.

ii. Experimental approach:

      It is characterised by much greater control over the research environment and in this case some variables are manipulated to observe their effect on other variables.

iii. Simulation approach

      It involves the construction of an artificial environment within which relevant information and data can be generated.

      This permits an observation of the dynamic behaviour of a system (or its sub-system) under controlled conditions.

      The term ‘simulation’ in the context of business and social sciences applications refers to “the operation of a numerical model that represents the structure of a dynamic process.

      Given the values of initial conditions, parameters and exogenous variables, a simulation is run to represent the behaviour of the process over time.”

       Simulation approach can also be useful in building models for understanding future conditions.

(b)  Qualitative approach

      Qualitative approach  to research is concerned with subjective assessment of attitudes, opinions and behaviour.

      Research in such a situation is a function of researcher’s insights and impressions. Such an approach to research generates results either in non-quantitative form or in the form which are not subjected to rigorous quantitative analysis.

      Generally, the techniques of focus group interviews, projective techniques and depth interviews are used. All these are explained at length in chapters that follow.

Significance of Research

      Research provides the basis for nearly all government policies in our economic system. For instance, government’s budgets rest in part on an analysis of the needs and desires of the people and on the availability of revenues to meet these needs. The cost of needs has to be equated to probable revenues and this is a field where research is most needed. Through research we can devise alternative policies and can as well examine the consequences of each of these alternatives.

      Research has its special significance in solving various operational and planning problems of business and industry. Operations research and market research, along with motivational research, are considered crucial and their results assist, in more than one way, in taking business decisions. Market research is the investigation of the structure and development of a market for the purpose of formulating efficient policies for purchasing, production and sales.

      Research is equally important for social scientists in studying social relationships and in seeking answers to various social problems. It provides the intellectual satisfaction of knowing a few things just for the sake of knowledge and also has practical utility for the social scientist to know for the sake of being able to do something better or in a more efficient manner.

In addition to what has been stated above, the significance of research can also be understood keeping in view the following points:

·         To those students who are to write a master’s or Ph.D. thesis, research may mean a careerism or a way to attain a high position in the social structure;

·         To professionals in research methodology, research may mean a source of livelihood;

·         To philosophers and thinkers, research may mean the outlet for new ideas and insights;

·         To literary men and women, research may mean the development of new styles and creative work;

·         To analysts and intellectuals, research may mean the generalisations of new theories.

Thus, research is the fountain of knowledge for the sake of knowledge and an important source of providing guidelines for solving different business, governmental and social problems. It is a sort of formal training which enables one to understand the new developments in one’s field in a better way.

Research and Scientific Method

For a clear perception of the term research, one should know the meaning of scientific method. The two terms, research and scientific method, are closely related.

      Research, as we have already stated, can be termed as “an inquiry into the nature of, the reasons for, and the consequences of any particular set of circumstances, whether these circumstances are experimentally controlled or recorded just as they occur.

      Further, research implies the researcher is interested in more than particular results; he is interested in the repeatability of the results and in their extension to more complicated and general situations.”

       Karl Pearson writes, “The scientific method is one and same in the branches (of science) and that method is the method of all logically trained minds … the unity of all sciences consists alone in its methods, not its material; the man who classifies facts of any kind whatever, who sees their mutual relation and describes their sequences, is applying the Scientific Method and is a man of science.”

      Scientific method is the pursuit 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.”

      In scientific method, logic aids in formulating propositions explicitly and accurately so that their possible alternatives become clear. Further, logic develops the consequences of such alternatives, and when these are compared with observable phenomena, it becomes possible for the researcher or the scientist to state which alternative is most in harmony with the observed facts

The scientific method is, thus, based on certain basic postulates which can be stated as under:

·      It relies on empirical evidence;

·      It utilizes relevant concepts;

·      It is committed to only objective considerations;

·      It presupposes ethical neutrality, i.e., it aims at nothing but making only adequate and correct statements about population objects;

·      It results into probabilistic predictions;

·      Its methodology is made known to all concerned for critical scrutiny are for use in testing the conclusions through replication;

·      It aims at formulating most general axioms or what can be termed as scientific theories.

Research Process

Before embarking on the details of research methodology and techniques, it seems appropriate to present a brief overview of the research process. Research process consists of series of actions or steps necessary to effectively carry out research and the desired sequencing of these steps.

1. Formulating the research problem:

The formulation of a general topic into a specific research problem, thus, constitutes the first step in a scientific enquiry. Essentially two steps are involved in formulating the research problem, viz., understanding the problem thoroughly, and rephrasing the same into meaningful terms from an analytical point of view.

b.      Extensive literature survey:

 Once the problem is formulated, a brief summary of it should be written down. It is compulsory for a research worker writing a thesis for a Ph.D. degree to write a synopsis of the topic and submit it to the necessary Committee or the Research Board for approval. In this process, it should be remembered that one source will lead to another. The earlier studies, if any, which are similar to the study in hand should be carefully studied. A good library will be a great help to the researcher at this stage.

c.       Development of working hypotheses:

After extensive literature survey, researcher should state in clear terms the working hypothesis or hypotheses. Working hypothesis is tentative assumption made in order to draw out and test its logical or empirical consequences. As such the manner in which research hypotheses are developed is particularly important since they provide the focal point for research.

d.      Preparing the research design:

The research problem having been formulated in clear cut terms, the researcher will be required to prepare a research design, i.e., he will have to state the conceptual structure within which research would be conducted. The preparation of such a design facilitates research to be as efficient as possible yielding maximal information.

Research purposes may be grouped into four categories, viz.,

(i) Exploration,

(ii) Description,

(iii) Diagnosis, and

(iv) Experimentation.

A flexible research design which provides opportunity for considering many different aspects of a problem is considered appropriate if the purpose of the research study is that of exploration. But when the purpose happens to be an accurate description of a situation or of an association between variables, the suitable design will be one that minimises bias and maximises the reliability of the data collected and analysed.

e.      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. It can be presumed that in such an inquiry when all the items are covered no element of chance is left and highest accuracy is obtained. But in practice this may not be true.

f.        Collecting the data:

In dealing with any real life problem it is often found that data at hand are inadequate, and hence, it becomes necessary to collect data that are appropriate. There are several ways of collecting the appropriate data which differ considerably in context of money costs, time and other resources at the disposal of the researcher.

Primary data can be collected either through experiment or through survey. If the researcher conducts an experiment, he observes some quantitative measurements, or the data, with the help of which he examines the truth contained in his hypothesis.

g.      Execution of the project:

Execution of the project is a very important step in the research process. If the execution of the project proceeds on correct lines, the data to be collected would be adequate and dependable. The researcher should see that the project is executed in a systematic manner and in time. If the survey is to be conducted by means of structured questionnaires, data can be readily machine-processed. In such a situation, questions as well as the possible answers may be coded.

h.      Analysis of data:

After the data have been collected, the researcher turns to the task of analysing them. The analysis of data requires a number of closely related operations such as establishment of categories, the application of these categories to raw data through coding, tabulation and then drawing statistical inferences.

i.        Hypothesis-testing:

After analysing the data as stated above, the researcher is in a position to test the hypotheses, if any, he had formulated earlier. Do the facts support the hypotheses or they happen to be contrary? This is the usual question which should be answered while testing hypotheses. Various tests, such as Chi square test, t-test, F-test, have been developed by statisticians for the purpose. The hypotheses may be tested through the use of one or more of such tests, depending upon the nature and object of research inquiry. Hypothesis-testing will result in either accepting the hypothesis or in rejecting it. If the researcher had no hypotheses to start with, generalisations established on the basis of data may be stated as hypotheses to be tested by subsequent researches in times to come.

j.        Generalisations and interpretation:

If a hypothesis is tested and upheld several times, it may be possible for the researcher to arrive at generalisation, i.e., to build a theory. As a matter of fact, the real value of research lies in its ability to arrive at certain generalisations. If the researcher had no hypothesis to start with, he might seek to explain his findings on the basis of some theory. It is known as interpretation. The process of interpretation may quite often trigger off new questions which in turn may lead to further researches.

k.      Preparation of the report or the thesis:

Finally, the researcher has to prepare the report of what has been done by him. Writing of report must be done with great care keeping in view the following:

The layout of the report should be as follows:

(i) the preliminary pages;

(ii) the main text, and

(iii) the end matter.

1. In its preliminary pages the report should carry title and date followed by acknowledgements and foreword. Then there should be a table of contents followed by a list of tables and list of graphs and charts, if any, given in the report.

2. The main text of the report should have the following parts:

              

a)      Introduction: It should contain a clear statement of the objective of the research and an explanation of the methodology adopted in accomplishing the research. The scope of the study along with various limitations should as well be stated in this part.

b)      Summary of findings: After introduction there would appear a statement of findings and recommendations in non-technical language. If the findings are extensive, they should be summarised.

c)      Main report: The main body of the report should be presented in logical sequence and broken-down into readily identifiable sections.

d)      Conclusion: Towards the end of the main text, researcher should again put down the results of his research clearly and precisely. In fact, it is the final summing up.

At the end of the report, appendices should be enlisted in respect of all technical data. Bibliography, i.e., list of books, journals, reports, etc., consulted, should also be given in the end. Index should also be given specially in a published research report.

Criteria of Good Research

      The purpose of the research should be clearly defined and common concepts be used.

      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.

      The procedural design of the research should be carefully planned to yield results that are as objective as possible.

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

      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.

      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.

      Greater confidence in research is warranted if the researcher is experienced, has a good reputation in research and is a person of integrity.

In other words, we can state the qualities of a good research as under:

a)      Good research is systematic: It means that 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.

b)      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 whereas 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.