STA630 ResearchMethod Short Notes

8/11/2019 STA630 ResearchMethod Short Notes

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Short NotesResearch Methods (STA 630)

Lesson No.1

Introduction, Definition, & Value of Research

Q what is research and whats the val e o! research"Sol tion Research is something to do with the laboratory where scientists are apparently doingsome experiments / the process of finding solutions to a problem after through studying andanalyzing the situational factors. It is gathering information needed to answer a uestion, andthereby help in sol!ing a problem.#al e o! Research$ "he nature of research problems could !ary. #roblems may refer to some undesirable situationor these may refer to simply a snooping of the research that may be agitating his or her mind.$or example, in a recent % /%' examination of the #un(ab )ni!ersity *+ percent of the studentsfailed. "hat is a colossal wastage of the resources, hence an undesirable situation that needsresearch to find a solution. "he researchers may come up with a !ariety of reasons that mayrelate with the students, the teachers, the curricula, the a!ailability of boo s, the examinationsystem, the family en!ironment of the student, and many more. 'o a study may be carried outdiagnose the situation, and the recommendations to be applied to o!ercome the undesirablesituation of mass failure of students."he !alue of research for policy ma ers, planners, business managers, and other sta eholders

is that it reduces uncertainty by pro!iding information that impro!es the decision ma ingprocess. Decision ma ing process associated with the de!elopment and implementation of astrategy in!ol!es four interrelated stages,

Identifying problems or opportunitiesDiagnosing and accessing problems or opportunities'electing and implementing a course of action-!aluating the course of action

Lesson No.%'cientific ethod of Research & Its 'pecial $eatures

&hat is Scienti!ic 'ethod and write down its !eat res or characteristics"Sol tion 'cience is a way to produce nowledge, which is based on truth and attempts to be uni!ersal.'cience is a method or procedure to produce nowledge, which could be used for the solution


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of problems as well as for the generation of uni!ersal theories, principles and laws through theprocess of obser!ation and re obser!ation. bser!ation here means that scientists use 0sensoryexperiences1 for the study of phenomenon. "hey not only do the obser!ation of a phenomenonbut also repeat the obser!ation se!eral time because they want to definite and positi!e abouttheir findings, rather the results are organized, systematized, and made part of the existing bodyof nowledge, all this procedure for the creation of nowledge is called 0scientific method1.

' ortant *eat res or +haracteristics o! Scienti!ic Method

,' irical 2 'cientific method is concerned with the realities that are obser!able throughsensory experience and generates nowledge which !erifiable by experience or obser!ation.'ome of the realities could be obser!ed directly but some are not obser!ed directly butresearchers ha!e designed ways to obser!e these indirectly.#eri!ia-le 2 3nowledge obser!es through scientific method again !erified by the sameresearcher or other using senses to confirm, and place more faith and confidence in thosefindings or conclusions, If similar findings emerge on the basis of data collected by other researchers using the same method. "hey will gain confidence in the scientific nature of our research.+ ' lative 2 prior to the start of any study the researchers try to scan through literature andsee that their study is not a repetition in ignorance. Instead of rein!esting the wheel theresearchers ta e stoc of the existing body of nowledge and create a lin age between thepresent and pre!ious body of nowledge has to be established and that is how the nowledgeaccumulates.

eter'inistic 2 'cience is based on the assumption that all e!ents ha!e antecedent causesthat are sub(ect to identification and logical understanding. "he scientific researchers try toexplain the emerging phenomenon by identifying its reasons. "he researcher tries to narrowdown the large number of reasons which implies the explanation with the minimum number of !ariables that are responsible for an undesirable situation in such a way some action couldta en.,thical and deolo/ical - ect i!ity2 "he conclusions drawn though interpretation of the results

of data analysis should be ob(ecti!e that is they should be based on the facts of the findingderi!ed from actual data and not on our emotional !alues. ny interference of their personalli ings and dis li ing in their research can contaminate the purity of data, which ultimately canaffect the predictions made by the researcher.Statistical 2enerali ation 2 4eneralizability refers to the scope of the research findings in oneorganization setting to other settings. $or wider 4eneralizability, the researcher sampling designhas to be logically de!eloped and a number of other details in the data collection methods needto be carefully followed. 5ere the use of statistics becomes !ery helpful in ma inggeneralizations which is one of the goals of scientific method because it is a de!ice for comparing what is obser!ed and what is logically expected.,4 lanation 2 'cience is fundamentally a explanation acti!ity and scientific explanation mustma e sense.

nd ctive Lo/ic 2 ne starts from obser!ed data and de!elops a generalization which explainsthe relationships between the ob(ects obser!ed.

ed ctive Lo/ic 2 ne starts from some general law and applies it to a particular instance.Important features of scientific method say that there are two ower -ases o! scienti!ic5nowled/e 6i7 -mpiricism such as 'ensory -xperience or bser!ation and 6ii7 Rationalism suchas the logic explanations for regularity and then conse uence ional argumentation for ma inggeneralizations.


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,4 eri'ental esi/n 2 study design in which the researcher might create n artificial setting,control some !ariables and manipulates the independent !ariable to establish cause8and8effectrelationship is called -xperimental Design.

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research that presents a picture of specific details of a situation, social setting, or relationship is called 0descripti!e research1."he ma(or purpose of descripti!e research is to describe characteristics of a population or phenomenon, and see s to determine the answers to who, what, when, where, and how

uestion. $or examples labor force sur!eys, population census, and educational census. Itoffers to the researcher a profile or description of rele!ant aspects of the phenomenon.

2oals o! escri tive Research


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,val ation Research 2 it addresses the uestion 0did it wor 1, the process of establishing !alue (udgment based on e!idence about the achie!ement of the goals of aprogram. It measures the effecti!eness of a program or policy and uses se!eral researchtechni ues li e sur!ey, field research. "wo types of e!aluation research are

o $ormati!e -!aluation Research2 It is built in monitoring or continuous feedbacon a program used for program management.

o 'ummati!e -!aluation Research2 9oo s at final program outcomes

+o' ared 8asic Research with A lied Research"

Sol tion

@. %asic Research2 "he scientific community is the primary consumer of basicresearch.

pplied Research2 "he consumers of applied research findings are practitionerssuch as teachers, counselors, and casewor ers etc.

A. %asic Research2 basic researchers emphasize high standards and try to conductnear perfect research.

pplied Research2 pplied researcher ma e more trade offs.;. %asic Research2 5igh standards applied

pplied Research2 Buic and dirty may not meet high standards.C. %asic Research2 9ogic and rigorous research design

pplied Research2 pply to areas of interest of sponsors. %asic Research2 'uccess results published impact on other scientists.

pplied Research2 'uccess results are used by sponsors.

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"heory and Research

Role o! Theor $

Theor as a rientation$ theory plays as a role of orientation because a ma(or function of a theoretical system is that it narrows the range of facts to be studied.'uppose any phenomenon or ob(ect may be studied in many different ways.-ach science and specialization within a broader field abstracts from reality andbroad orientation of each field then focuses upon limited range of things whileignoring or ma ing assumptions about others.Theor as a conce t ali ation and classi!ication 2 each science is organizedby a structure of concepts, which refer to ma(or processes and ob(ects to bestudied. s a conse uence, a ma(or tas in any science is the de!elopment of classification, a structure of concepts, and an increasing precise set of definitionsfor these terms.Theor as a s ''ari in/ role 2 further tas which theory performs is tosummarize concisely what is already nown about the ob(ect of study. "hese


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summaries may be di!ided into two simple categories 6i7 -mpirical 4eneralizationand 6ii7 systems of relationships between propositions.Theor as a redicts !acts 2 If the theory summarizes facts and states a generaluniformity beyond the immediate obser!ations, it also becomes a prediction of facts which ha!e se!eral component.

Theor as a oints /a s in 5nowled/e$ 'ince theory summarizes the nownand predicts facts which ha!e not been obser!ed, it must also point to areaswhich ha!e not yet been explored. "heory also points to gaps of a more basic

ind, while these gaps are being filled, and changes in the conceptual schemeusually occur.

9ro ositions 2 proposition are statements concerned with the logicalrelationships among concepts. proposition explains the logical lin age amongcertain concepts by asserting a uni!ersal connection between concepts.

Theor evelo 'ent$ is essentially a process of describing phenomena atincreasingly higher le!els of abstraction. "heorist translates their conceptualization of reality into abstract ideas. "hus theory deals withobstruction.

&hat is e4 ansion 2 the expansion is the whole process through which thephenomenon emerges, and we would li e to understand the process to reachprediction.

Theor $ "heory is a coherent set of general propositions, used as principles of explanations of the apparent relationship of certain obser!ed phenomena

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+ontin o s #aria-les$ If the !alue of a !ariable can be di!ided into fractions then it iscalled 0continuous Variable1. 'uch !ariable can ta e infinite numbers of !alues. Income,"emperature, ge, or a test score are the examples of continuous !ariable. "hese!ariables may ta e on !alues within a gi!en range or in some cases an infinite set.

iscontin o s #aria-les$ ny !ariables that has a limited number of distinct !alues

and which cannot be di!ided into fractions is called 0discontinuous !ariables1. It is alsocalled categorical, classificatory, and discrete !ariable. 'ome !ariables ha!e only two!alues, reflecting the presence or absence of a property, li e employed or unemployed,male or female ha!e only two !alues and it referred to as dichotomous.

e endent #aria-le$ "he cause !ariable or the one that identifies forces or conditionsthat act on something else is called 0Dependent Variable1. Dependent !ariables0depends on1 the causes and also referred to as 0


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Relationship is proposed by using a strong logical argumentation and may be part of theoreticalframewor of the study.

T es o! : othesis

escri tive : othesis 2 Descripti!e hypothesis contains only one !ariable thereby it iscalled as uni!ariate hypothesis. It is typically state the existence, size, form, or distribution of some !ariable. *or e4a' le what is the le!el of (ob commitment of theofficers in my organization>

Relational : othesis$ these are the propositions that describe a relationship betweentwo !ariables. "he relationship could be directional or non directional, positi!e or negati!e, and causal or simply


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Re!iew of 9iterature

2oals o! a literat re Review

To de'onstrate a !a'iliarit with a -od o! 5nowled/e and esta-lishcredi-ilit 2 good re!iew increases a reader=s confidence in the researcher=sprofessional competency, ability, and bac ground, also tells that the researcher

nows the research in an area and the ma(or issues.To 5now the ath o! rior research and how a c rrent research ro ect islin5ed to it 2 good re!iew places a research pro(ect in a context anddemonstrates its importance by ma ing connections to a body of nowledge andalso indicates the direction, ability, and bac ground of research.To inte/rate and s ''ari e what is 5nown in an area$ good re!iew pointsout areas where prior studies agree, where they disagree, where ma(or uestionsremain and pulls together and produces different results, and also indicates thedirection for future research. :o wastage of effort.To learn !ro' others and sti' late new ideas$ good re!iew identifies blindalleys and suggest hypotheses for replication and tells procedures, techni ues,and research design. lso tells what others ha!e found so that a researcher canbenefit from the others efforts.

denti!ication o! #aria-les 2 good re!iew identified different important!ariables that are li ely to influence the problem situation are not left out of the

study.:el s in develo in/ theoretical !ra'ewor5$ good re!iew may be pro!ide aready made theoretical model of research.

T es o! Reviews

Sel! St d Review$ It increases the reader=s confidence and demonstratesfamiliarity with an area is rarely published but it often is part of an educationalprogram. It gi!ing to others confidence in a re!iewers command of field, and is aside benefit that building the re!iewers self confidence.+onte4t Review$ It places a specific pro(ect in the big picture and one of thegoals of re!iew is creating a lin to a de!eloping body of nowledge. "his is abac ground or context re!iew. It introduces the rest of a research and establishesthe significance of a research uestion and also tells how a pro(ect fits into thebig picture.:istorical Review$ It traces the de!elopment of an idea or shows how aparticular issue or theory has e!ol!ed o!er time. Researchers conduct historicalre!iew only on the most important ideas in a filed.


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Theoretical Review$ It presents different theories that assert to explain thesame thing, then how well each accounts for findings. Researcher=s also use it tointegrate two theories. It sometimes forms a hybrid or the historical theoreticalre!iew.Methodolo/ical Review$ In it researcher=s e!aluates the methodological

strength of past studies. It describes conflicting results and shows how differentresearch designs, samples, measures and so on account for different results.

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set of uestions read to the respondent by an inter!iewer, who also records theresponses. "o simplify the discussion, we will use only the term uestionnaires.9lan how to record data$ ?hen preparing the uestionnaire, the researcher thin sahead to how will record and organize data for analysis.

ecide on tar/et o lation= /et sa' lin/ !ra'e= decide on sa' le si e= and

select the sa' le.Locate Res ondents$ "he researcher locates sampled respondents in person, bytelephone, or by mail who gi!en information and instructions on completing the

uestionnaire or inter!iew.escri-e 'ethods and !indin/s in research re ort= resent !indin/s to others !or

anal sis and eval ation.

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'ur!ey Research

9ersonal nterview$ personal inter!iew is a two way con!ersation initiated by aninter!iewer to obtain information from a respondent and differences in the role of theinter!iewer and the respondent are pronounced. #ersonal may ta e place in a factory, ina homeowner=s doorway, in an executi!e=s office, in a shopping mall or in other settings.

Advanta/es o! 9ersonal nterviewThe o ort nities !or !eed-ac5$ #ersonal inter!iews allow for feedbac . "heinter!iewer pro!ides feedbac in clarifying any uestions an employee. t theconclusion of the inter!iew, respondent gi!en additional information concerningthe purpose of the study.

9ro-in/ +o' le4 Q estion$ n important characteristic of personal inter!iewis the opportunity to follow up by probing. #robing becomes the more importantwhen the uestions don=t ha!e structured response categories. "he complex

uestion that cannot easily be as ed in telephone or mail sur!eys can behandled by s illful inter!iewers.Len/th o! nterview$ If the researcher ob(ecti!e re uires an extremely lengthy

uestionnaire, personal inter!iews may be the only alternati!e.9ro osed and #is al Aids$ Inter!iewing respondents face to face allows anin!estigator to show them a new product sample, a s etch of proposed office, or some other !isual aid. "he respondents can e!en taste samples of differentproducts and can gi!e their e!aluations.

:i/h 9artici ation Rate$ In personal inter!iews there is a higher rate of participation rate of the respondents compared with mail sur!eys and telephoneinter!iews. ?hile some people are reluctant to participate in a sur!ey, thepresence of an inter!iewer generally increases the percentages of people willingto complete the inter!iew. ost people en(oy sharing information and insightswith friendly and sympathetic inter!iewers.:on 9iterates can #articipate in 'tudy2 :ice the respondent has neither to readnor to write, therefore, an illiterate person can also ta e part in the sur!ey study.


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+o' ter Assistant 9ersonal nterviewin/ 2 ?ith the use of moderntechnology the responses of the respondent can be entered into a portablemicrocomputer to reduce error and cost.Disad!antages of #ersonal Inter!iew

:i/h +ost 2 #ersonal inter!iews are generally more expensi!e than mail,internet, and telephone sur!eys because the training of the field inter!iewers,super!ision, and other logistical support cost may add up the total cost of thestudy. #eople usually estimate the cost of personal inter!iews is usually @ timeshigher than the mail sur!ey.Lac5 o! Secrec o! Res ondent 2 %ecause the respondent in a personalinter!iew is not un nown therefore he or she may be reluctant to pro!ideconfidential information to another person.+all-ac5s$ ?hen the person selected to be in the sample cannot be contactedon the first !isit, a systematic procedure is normally initiated to callbac atanother time which is a labor intensi!e wor and definitely increases the cost.

nterviewer n!l ence 2 "here is some e!idence that the demographiccharacteristics of the inter!iewer influence respondents= answers.No ort nit to +ons lt$ "he inter!iew may ta e place anywhere, place of wor , in the shopping mall, and at home the respondent may be unable toconsult record, in case he or she has to do so for any specific uestion.So'e Nei/h-orhoods are i!!ic lt to #isit$ Due to security reasons someneighborhoods may not allow outsiders to enter the permission.

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Intercept Inter!iews in all and other 5igh "raffic reas

Tele hone nterviewin/ $ "elephone inter!iewing has been a main stay of commercialsur!ey research and the uality of data obtained by telephone may be comparable tothat collected in personal inter!iew. "elephone sur!ey pro!ides representati!e samplesof general population in most industrialized countries.

Stren/ths o! Tele hone nterviewin/ :i/h S eed 2 "he speed of data collection is a ma(or ad!antage of telephone

inter!iewing, whereas data collection with mail or personal inter!iew can ta e se!eralwee s. ?hen the inter!iewer enters the respondents= answers directly into a computer system, data processing can be done e!en faster.

Save +ost 2 s the cost of personal inter!iew continues to increase, telephoneinter!iews are becoming relati!ely inexpensi!e, estimated A K less than personalinter!iew.

+all-ac5s$ n unanswered call a respondent who is not at home re uires a callbac ."elephone callbac s are substantially easier and less expensi!e than personal inter!iewcallbac s.


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8etter Access too hard to Reach Res ondents 2 'ome people don=t want to go for person to person inter!iewing and may be reluctant to !isit certain neighborhoods,especially in the e!ening, so, telephone inter!iewing o!ercomes such problems.

+o' ter Assisted Tele hone nterviewin/$ Responses can be directly entered intocomputer file to reduce error and cost.

&ea5nesses o! Tele hone nterviewin/ A-sences o! *ace to *ace +ontact$ "elephone inter!iews are more impersonal than

face to face inter!iews. bsence of face to face contact can be a liability. "he inter!iewer and the respondents don=t see each other what they are doing.

Res onse Rate is lower than ersonal interviews$ 'ome indi!iduals refuse toparticipate in telephone inter!iews. 'o, response rate in telephone inter!iews is lower than personal inter!iews.

Lac5 o! #is al Medi '$ Researcher re uiring !isual material cannot be conducted byphone.

Li'ited ration$ 9ength of inter!iew limited. Respondents may hang up when theyfeel spent up.

istractin/ 9h sical ,nviron'ent$ ultiple phones distract the inter!iew situationwhich may affect the uality of the data.

Mali Q estionnaire 2 mail sur!ey is a self administered uestionnaire sent to respondentsthrough the mail. "his paper and pencil method has se!eral ad!antages and disad!antages.Advanta/es o! Mail Q estionnaire

2eo/ra hic *le4i-ilit 2 ail uestionnaires can reach a geographically dispersedsample separately and at a reasonably low cost because inter!iewers are not re uired.Respondent=s those who are difficult to reach can be contacted more easily by mail.

Sa' le Accessi-ilit $ Researchers can contact participants who may otherwise beinaccessible. %ut researchers can often access these special participants by mail or computer.

Sel! Ad'inistrated Q estionnaires Save +ost$ ail uestionnaires are relati!ely economical compared to personal

inter!iews and telephone sur!eys. 5owe!er, these may not be so cheap. Standard Q estions$ ail uestionnaires are highly standardized, and the uestions

are uite structured.

isadvanta/es o! Mail Q estionnaires Low Res onse Rate 2 ail Buestionnaire has !ery low rate of return of the filled

uestionnaires. Low +o' letion Rate 2 "here are chances that respondents lea!e many uestions as

unanswered, either because they did not understand the uestion. ncreases +ost$ "he researcher eeps on waiting for the return. ?hen enough

response is not there, then the reminders are sent. ?ith the reminders copies of theuestionnaires are sent then all this adds to the cost of the study.


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'elf dministered Buestionnaires

+over Letter 2 "he co!er letter that con!oys the uestionnaire or is printed on the firstpage of the uestionnaires is an important means of inducing a reader to complete andreturn the uestionnaire. personalized co!er letter addressed to a specific indi!idualshow the respondent that he or she is important and indi!idually typed letter on letter head !ersus printed form is an important element in increasing the response rate in mailsur!eys.$ ollow < $ *ollow up implies the communication of the message to respondentsthrough different means of the return of uestionnaire. follow up may include aduplicate uestionnaire or may merely reminder to return the original uestionnaire.

ultiple contacts almost always increase response rates.Mone :el s 2 "he respondent=s moti!ation for returning a uestionnaire may beincreased by offering monetary incenti!es or premiums, such as pens, lottery tic ets,and !ariety of premiums. oney incenti!e wor s for all income categories.S rve S onsorshi 2 'ponsorship of the study ma es a difference for moti!ation therespondents to return the uestionnaires. It depends up the goodwill of the sponsoringagency that can acti!ate or deacti!ate the respondent to fill the uestionnaire and returnit. 'ponsorship by well nown and prestigious organization such as uni!ersities or go!ernment agencies may significantly influence response rates.

nterestin/ Q estions 2 In the topic of research certain interesting uestion can beadded to the uestionnaire, perhaps in the beginning to stimulate the respondent=s

interest and to induce cooperation.8ene!its o! ,'ail S rve s 2 include speed of distribution, lower distribution, processingcost, faster turnaround time, more flexibility, and less handling of paper uestionnaires.

nternet S rve s 2 n internet sur!ey is a self administrated uestionnaires posted on aweb site. Respondents pro!ide answers to uestion displayed on screen by highlightinga phrase, clic ing an icon, or eying in an answer.

Advanta/es o! nternet S rve s S eed and +ost ,!!ective 2 Internet sur!ey allow the mar eters to reach a large

audience, to personalize the indi!idual messages, and to secure confidential

answers uic ly and cost effecti!e because computer to computer self administrateduestionnaires eliminated the cost of paper, postage, data entry, and other

administrati!e costs. #is al A eal and nteractivit 2 Internet sur!eys can be interacti!e because the

researcher can use more sophisticated lines of uestioning based on therespondents prior answers and excellent medium fort li e presentation of !isualmaterials, such as photographs, ad!ertisements, and mo!ie trailers.


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+all-ac5s$ ?hen the sample for internet sur!ey is drawn from a consumer panel, itis easy to recontact those who ha!e not yet completed the uestionnaire.

Acc rate Real Ti'e ata +a t re$ ccurate real time data capture allows for realtime data analysis. researcher can re!iew up to the minute sample size counts andtabulation data from an internet sur!ey in real time.

Res onse Rate$ Response rate can be increased by sending email friendlyreminders.

isadvanta/es o! nternet S rve s

All 9eo le +annot 9artici ate 2 any people in the general public cannot access tointernet and all people with internet access don=t ha!e the same le!el of technology.

any lac powerful computer or software that is compatible with ad!anced featuresprogrammed into many internet uestionnaires. 'ome indi!iduals ha!e minimumcomputer s ills and may not now how to na!igate through and pro!ide answers tointernet uestionnaires.

No 9h sical ncentive 2 )nli e mail or internet sur!eys don=t offer the opportunity tosend a physical incenti!e to the respondent.

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"ools for Data


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Q estionnaire Relevanc 2 uestionnaire is rele!ant if the information that is neededto sol!e the problem is obtained. s ing the wrong or irrele!ant uestion is a pitfall to bea!oided. If the tas is to pinpoint compensation.

Q estionnaire Acc rac $ ccuracy means that the information is reliable and !alid.btaining accurate information from respondents is strongly influenced by the

researcher=s ability to design a uestionnaire that facilities recall and that will moti!atethe respondent to cooperate. "herefore a!oid (argon, slang, and abbre!iations andwords used in the uestionnaire should be readily understandable to all respondent.

Avoid o -le 8arreled Q estion$ a e each uestion about one and only one. double barreled uestion consists of two or more uestions (oined together and ma esthe respondent=s answer unclear.

Avoid Leadin/ Q estions$ a e respondent=s feel that all responses are legitimate.Don=t le them aware of an answer that the researcher wants. leading uestion is theone that leads the respondent=s to choose one response o!er another by its wording.

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STA630 ResearchMethod Short Notes