Brief Lecture Notes

Introduction: The word “Research” perhaps originates from the old French
word recerchier that meant to 'search again'. In practice, the term ‘research’
refers to a scientific process of generating an unexplored horizon of
knowledge, aiming at discovering facts, solving a problem and reaching a
decision.

Definition: Research is a scientific inquiry aimed at learning new facts,

testing ideas, etc. It is the systematic collection, analysis and
interpretation of data to generate new knowledge and answer a certain
question or solve a problem.

Characteristics of research
 It demands a clear statement of the problem
 It requires a plan (it is not aimlessly “looking” for something in the hope
that you will come across a solution)
 It builds on existing data, using both positive and negative findings
 New data should be collected as required and be organized in such a way
that they answer the research question(s)

Therefore, a systematic research in any field of inquiry involves the following

basic operations:
 Preparing a research proposal
 Fieldwork (i.e., data collection)
 Analyzing the data
 Preparing a research report

A research proposal is a document proposing a research project.

Generally in the sciences or academia, it constitutes a request for
sponsorship of that research. Proposals are evaluated on the cost and
1
 potential impact of the proposed research, and on the soundness of the
proposed plan for carrying it out.

Research proposals generally address several key points:

 What research question(s) will be addressed, and how they will be
addressed
 How much time and expense will be required for the research
 What prior research has been done on the topic
 How the results of the research will be evaluated
 How the research will benefit the sponsoring organization and other
parties

The data collection refers to observing, measuring and recording information,

data analysis, on the other hand, refers to arranging and organizing the
collected data so that we may be able to find out what their significance is and
generalize about them, report writing is an inseparable part of a research study.
It is the final outcome of the study. Its purpose is to convey information
contained in it to the readers or audience.

For example, the reading habit of newspapers of a group of residents of a

community that would be the data collection. If you then divide these
residents, say, into three categories, ‘regular’, ‘occasional’ and ‘never’.
You have performed a simple data analysis. Your findings may now be
presented in a report form.

Some examples that demonstrate what research is:

 A farmer planting two varieties of jute side by side to compare yields
 A sociologist examining the social consequence of divorce
 A business enterprise trying to measure the quality of a full service stock
brokerage

2
Types of research
The classical broad divisions of research are: basic and applied research.
The basic research is necessary to generate new knowledge and technologies to
deal with major unresolved problems.
On the other hand, applied research is necessary to identify priority
problems and to design and evaluate policies and programs that will deliver the
greatest benefit, making optimal use of available resources.

Quantitative and Qualitative researches

Early forms of research originated in the natural sciences such as biology,
chemistry, physics, geology etc. and was concerned with investigating things
which we could observe and measure in some way. Such observations and
measurements can be made objectively and repeated by other researchers. This
process is referred to as “quantitative” research.
Much later, along came researchers working in the social sciences: psychology,
sociology, anthropology etc. They were interested in studying human behavior
and the social world inhabited by human beings. They found increasing
difficulty in trying to explain human behavior in simply measurable terms.
Measurements tell us how often or how many people behave in a certain way
but they do not adequately answer the “why” and “how” questions.

Research which attempts to increase our understanding of why things are the
way they are in our social world and why people act the ways they do is
“qualitative” research.

Qualitative research is concerned with developing explanations of social

phenomena. It is concerned with the social aspects of our world and seeks to
answer questions about:
 Why people behave the way they do

3
  How opinions and attitudes are formed
 How people are affected by the events that go on around them
 How and why cultures have developed in the way they have

Qualitative research is concerned with finding the answers to questions which

begin with:
why? how? in what way?
Quantitative research, on the other hand, is more concerned with questions
about: how much? how many? how often? to what extent? etc.

Objectives:
General objectives: aim of the study in general terms
Example: In a study on missed opportunities for EPI in Bangladesh the general
objective was: “to assess missed opportunities for EPI in Bangladesh”.

Specific objectives: measurable statements on the specific questions to be

answered. Unlike the general objectives, the specific objectives are more
specific and are related to the research problem situation. They indicate the
variable to be examined and measured.
Example: In the study of missed opportunity for EPI in Bangladesh the specific
objectives could be:
 To find out the magnitude of missed opportunities for children who
attend OPD, MCH, CDD, etc. in Bangladesh,
 To examine the reasons for children not being immunized while attending
the OPD, MCH, CDD, etc. services.

A statement of research objectives can serve to guide the activities of research.

Consider the following examples.

4
  Objective: To describe what factors farmers take into account in making
such decisions as whether to adopt a new technology or what crops to
grow.
 Objective: To develop a budget for reducing pollution by a particular
enterprise.
 Objective: To describe the habitat of the giant panda in China.

In the above examples the intent of the research is largely descriptive.

 In the case of the first example, the research will end the study by being
able to specify factors which emerged in household decisions.
 In the second, the result will be the specification of a pollution reduction
budget.
 In the third, creating a picture of the habitat of the giant panda in China.

These observations might prompt researchers to formulate hypotheses which

could be tested in another piece of research. So long as the aim of the research is
exploratory, i.e., to describe what is, rather than to test an explanation for what
is, a research objective will provide an adequate guide to the research.

Formulation of the research objectives

The formulation of objectives will help us to:
 Focus the study (narrowing it down to essentials)
 Avoid collection of data that are not strictly necessary for understanding
and solving the identified problem
 Organize the study in clearly defined parts

5
The explicit formulation of study objectives is an essential step in the planning
of a study. It is said that “a question well-stated is a question half-answered”,
but a question that is poorly stated or unstated is unlikely to be answered at all.

How should we state our objectives?

We have to make sure that our objectives:
 Cover the different aspects of the problem and its contributing factors in a
coherent way and in a logical sequence
 Are clearly expressed in measurable terms
 Are realistic considering local conditions
 Meet the purpose of the study
 Use action verbs that are specific enough to be measured

Examples of action verbs are: Avoid the use of vague non-

- to determine action verbs such as:
- to compare - to appreciate
- to verify - to understand
- to calculate - to study
- to describe - to believe
- to find out
- to establish

Research objectives can be stated as:

 Questions - the objectives of this study are to answer the following
questions ….
 Positive sentence - the objectives of this study are to find out, to
establish, to determine, …
 Hypothesis - the objective of this study is to verify the following
hypothesis (examples are given below)

6
Hypothesis: A hypothesis is a prediction of a relationship between one or more
variables and the problem under study.
That is, it specifies the relationship among variables. These variables are to be
statistically tested at a later stage. In order to measure the relationship among
variables to be studied the dependent and independent variables need to be
identified. A few examples are given below:
 To examine whether there is any significant difference between
district “A” and district “B” with respect to their malaria
prevalence rates
 An increase in the frequency of face washing is followed by a
reduction in trachoma prevalence

Research Method
By research method we simply mean the research techniques or tools used for
conducting research irrespective of whether the research belongs to physical or
social sciences or to any other disciplines. The techniques include three broad
groups.
 The first group includes methods dealing with collecting and describing
data.
 The second group consists of techniques used for establishing statistical
relationship between variables.
 The third group deals with methods used to evaluate the reliability,
validity and accuracy of the results discerned by the data.
A physical scientist employs, for example, an electronic microscope or a
radio telescope to obtain his data, while a social scientist or a manager employs
an opinion poll or sample survey with a mail questionnaire or conduct a
personal interview to obtain his data. He or she might conduct telephone
interview, group discussion, case study approach to gather data.

7
Research Methodology
Research Methodology refers to the various sequential steps (along with a
rationale, of each such step) to be adopted by a researcher in studying a
problem with certain object/objects in view.
However, the following steps provide a useful procedural guideline so far as
research methodology is concerned:

 Tentative selection of the problem: At the very outset the researcher must
single out the problem he wants to study. Selecting the appropriate problem
is the secret of success in research.
 Initial survey of literature: Two types of literature may be reviewed-
 the conceptual literature concerning the concepts and theories
 the research literature consisting of studies made earlier which are
similar to the one proposed

The basic outcome of this initial survey of literature is what is known as a

‘Frame of Reference’ for the research. If this frame of reference is successfully
developed then the research is able to satisfy his own research problem in
meaningful context.

Proposition:
A proposition is simply a statement about one or more variable. For example,
‘Crime rate in the city has gone up by 10% recently is a proposition.
In philosophy, a proposition is a tentative and hypothetical relationship
between constructs that is stated in a declarative form. An example of a
proposition is: “An increase in student intelligence causes an increase in their
academic achievement.”
This declarative statement does not have to be true, but must be empirically
testable using data, so that we can judge whether it is true or false. Propositions

8
are generally derived based on deductive logic or empirical observation
(induction). Because propositions are associations between abstract constructs,
they cannot be tested directly. Instead, they are tested indirectly by examining
the relationship between corresponding measures (variables) of those constructs.
The empirical formulation of propositions, stated as relationships between
variables, is called hypotheses. The term proposition has a broad use in
contemporary analytic philosophy.

Theory Building
Theory: A logical set of general propositions used as principles of explanation
of the apparent relationships of certain observed phenomena.

Two purposes of theory

• Prediction
• Understanding

Concept (or construct)

• A generalized idea about a class of objects, attributes, occurrences, or
processes that has been given a name
• Building blocks that abstract reality
• “leadership,” “productivity,” and “morale”
• “gross national product,” “asset,” and “inflation”

 Theoretical Frameworks
 Conceptual Frameworks

9
 A Ladder Of Abstraction
For Concepts

Increasingly more abstract

Vegetation

Fruit

Banana

Reality

Scientific researchers operate at two levels

• Abstract level
– concepts
– propositions
• Empirical level
– variables
– hypotheses

• Abstract level: In theory development, the level of knowledge expressing

a concept that exists only as an idea or a quality apart from an object.
• Empirical level: Level of knowledge reflecting that which is verifiable
by experience or observation.

10
 Theory Building A Process Of
Increasing Abstraction

Increasingly more abstract

Theories

Propositions

Concepts

Observation of objects
and events (reality )

Concepts are Abstractions of

Reality
Abstract CONCEPTS
Level

Empirical OBSERVATION OF OBJECTS

Level AND EVENTS (REALITY)

11
Scientific Method
The use of a set of prescribed procedures for establishing and connecting
theoretical statements about events and for predicting events yet unknown.

Proposition at Abstract Level

Concept A Concept B
(Reinforcement) (Habits)

Hypothesis at Empirical Level

Dollar bonus for

sales volume Always makes
over quota four sales calls
a day

Theory and Song

A fact without a theory
Is like a ship without a sail,
Is like a boat without a rudder,
Is like a kite without a tail.
A fact without a figure is a tragic final act,
But one thing worse in this universe
Is a theory without a fact.

12
Deductive Reasoning
• The logical process of deriving a conclusion from a known premise or
something known to be true.
– we know that all managers are human beings.
– if we also know that John Smith is a manager,
– then we can infer that John Smith is a human being.
Inductive Reasoning
• The logical process of establishing a general proposition on the basis of
observation of particular facts.
– all managers that have ever been seen are human beings;
– therefore all managers are human beings.

The Scientific Method:

An Overview

Assess Formulate Statement

Design
relevant concepts & of
research
existing Propositions Hypotheses
knowledge

Acquire Analyze & Provide

empirical evaluate explanation-
data data state new
problem

13