Mmtk Basic Research Methods

7/28/2019 Mmtk Basic Research Methods

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22/04/2013 Multimedia Training Kitwww.itrainonline.org

Multimedia Training Kit

Basic Research Methods


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What is research? We ask questions all the time

Research is a formal way of going aboutasking questions

Uses methodologies Many different kinds (e.g. market research,

media research and social research)

Basic research methods can be learnedeasily


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Basic research methods

Quantitative research (e.g. survey)

Qualitative research (e.g. face-to-face

interviews; focus groups; site visits)

Case studies

Participatory research


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Quantitative research

Involves information or data in the form ofnumbers

Allows us to measure or to quantifythings

Respondents dont necessarily give numbersas answers - answers are analysed as

numbers

Good example of quantitative research is the

survey


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Surveys Think clearly about questions (need to

constrain answers as much as possible)

Make sure results will answer your research

question Can use Internet for conducting surveys if

need to cover wide geographic reach


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Qualitative research

Helps us flesh out the story and develop a

deeper understanding of a topic

Often contrasted to quantitative research Together they give us the bigger picture

Good examples of qualitative research are

face-to-face interviews, focus groups and sitevisits


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Face-to-face interviews

Must prepare questions

Good idea to record your interviews

Interviews take up time, so plan for an hour orless (roughly 10 questions)

Stick to your questions, but be flexible ifrelevant or interesting issues arise during the

interview


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Focus groups

Take time to arrange, so prepare in advance(use an intermediary to help you if you can)

Who will be in your focus group? (e.g. age,gender)

Size of focus group (8-10 is typical)

Consider whether or not to have separate

focus groups for different ages or genders(e.g. discussing sex and sexuality)


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Site visits and observation

Site visits involve visiting an organization,community project etc

Consider using a guide Observation is when you visit a location and

observe what is going on, drawing your ownconclusions

Both facilitate making your research morerelevant and concrete


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Case studies

Method of capturing and presenting

concrete details of real or fictional

situations in a structured way Good for comparative analysis


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Participatory research

Allows participation of community beingresearched in research process (e.g.developing research question; choosingmethodology; analysing results)

Good way to ensure research does notsimply reinforce prejudices and presumptionsof researcher

Good for raising awareness in communityand developing appropriate action plans


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Planning your research:

Key questions What do you want to know?

How do you find out what you want to

know? Where can you get the information?

Who do you need to ask?

When does your research need to bedone?

Why? (Getting the answer)


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Step 1: What?

What do I want to know?

When developing your research question,

keep in mind:Who your research is for;What decisions your research will inform;

What kind of information is needed to inform those

decisions.

Conduct a local information scan Take another look at your research question


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Step 2: How? Where? Who?

How do I find out what I want to know?

Where can I get the information I need?

Who do I need to ask? Choose your methodology

quantitative or numbers information

qualitative in-depth explanatory information

case studies

site visits or observation

participatory research


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Step 3: When?

When do all the different parts of the

research need to be done?

List all your research work areas

Map them against a timeline

Develop a work plan


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Step 4: Why?

Getting the answer Collect your data

Keep returning to your research question

Organize your research results to answer thequestion

Keep in mind who you are doing the researchfor

Focus on what research results do tell you Be creative, methodical and meticulous


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Multimedia Training Kit

Basic Research Methods

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Mmtk Basic Research Methods