Unit 4

Process in Conducting
Research
 Lesson 1. The research process

• Stages in the research process:

✓ Conceptualization – idea on the research process
➢ Identifying a Problem
➢ Literature review
➢ Specifying a purpose

✓ Contextualization – putting your research in the context of

others –(unit 3)

✓ Data collection and analysis – (this unit addresses)

✓ Reporting – writing up of your research and presentation

(unit 5)
 Research methods – Data collection and Analysis

• To collect data, choose the most suitable research method for

your study according to the type of research/approaches used.

✓ Quantitative research – involving numerical and statistical

data. The emphasis is on quantitative observations.

✓ Qualitative research – gathering non-numerical data. The

emphasis is on qualitative results.

Example:
Effect of 1mg/day folic acid to pregnant women on the
birth weight of their babies.– qualitative or quantitative?
 Research methods – Common Types

• Observation studies
• Questionnaires
• Interviews Survey
• Focus groups
• Document analysis
• Mathematical modeling Correlational study
• The experimental method
 Research methods – Common Types

• Observation studies- the process of observing and recording

events.
✓ Especially useful for studying human or animal behavior
✓ Two types – participant (observer as participant) and non-
participant
E.g. Study on weight gain of selected sheep breeds which are
exposed to the same environment.
Study on social norms of Awera Amba community.
Morphological processes of lower Awash river channel

Data collection:
no perfect example; varies with the type of problem
❖ often through writing up of notes
❖ may also involve taping or filming
❖ graphs, charts
 Research methods – Common Types

• Questionnaires – a tool where respondents answers to

questions.
✓ It could be open or closed/fixed.
✓ It is flexible and can be applied on almost any topic of
research.

Data collection:
Questionnaire forms (hard copies), web based questionnaires.

E.g. Why do you apply for graduate program? – closed

1 – to expand my knowledge
2 - to earn a better salary after graduation
3 – to get promotion
4 – no specific reason
 Research methods – Common Types

• Interviews – tools where questions are delivered in a face to face

encounter.
✓ It is limited to cases where the subjects of study are human.
✓ It can be approached in pure quantitative (structured) and
pure qualitative (not structured) angle as of questionnaire.
✓ Mainly interviews are semi-structured

Data collection:
Structured one – ticking/writing on a form
Less structured data – taping and taking notes
 Research methods – Common Types

• Focus groups – a type of interview but targeting only carefully

selected individuals usually who do not know each other.

✓ It is useful in providing qualitative data.

E.g. Study on identification of corrupted politicians.

 Research methods – Common Types

• Document analysis/content analysis – the process of using any

kind of document, films, photographs, books, etc, for analysis
for a particular research interest.

✓ It is an indirect form of research wherein original data is

not generated.

✓ It is a non-reactive method.

✓ Reliability and validity are the central concerns

Typical example: The Da Vinci Code

 Research methods – Common Types

• Mathematical modeling – used to analyze relationships

between different variables and to predict possible outcomes,
or causal effects.
- is the process of describing a real world problem in
mathematical terms, usually in the form of equations, and then
using these equations both to help understand the original
problem, and also to discover new features about the problem.
• Can be developed analytically or through conducting
experiment.
E.g.
✓ Development of a modified universal Soil Loss
Equation for Andit Tsed woreda, North Shewa,
Ethiopia.
✓ Development of Intensity-Duration-frequency curves
for Southern Ethiopia.
 Research methods – Common Types

• The experimental method – involves setting up an experiment

in order to test a particular theory or hypothesis.

✓ laboratory experiments – small scale study and subjects

are studied in a controlled environment.

E.g. bio-technology, chemistry, medical studies

✓ field experiments – research conducted outside the

laboratory and researcher control of the env’t is reduced.

E.g. agricultural studies, hydrological studies

 Data analysis

• is a process of inspecting, cleansing, transforming,

and modelling data with the goal of discovering useful
information, informing conclusions, and supporting decision-
making.
• the process of systematically applying statistical and/or
logical techniques to describe and illustrate, condense and
recap, and evaluate data.
• the practice of working with data to glean useful information,
which can then be used to make informed decisions.
 Data analysis
• research data analysis is a process used by researchers for
reducing data to a story and interpreting it to derive insights.
• The term analysis refers to the computation of certain
measures along with searching for patterns of relationship that
exist among data-groups.
• Three essential things take place during the data analysis process
• data organization. Summarization and categorization together
• data reduction. It helps in finding patterns and themes in the
data for easy identification and linking.
• data analysis.
 Data analysis Process
• The Data Analysis Process is nothing but gathering information
by using a proper application or tool which allows you to
explore the data and find a pattern in it. Based on that
information and data, you can make decisions, or you can get
ultimate conclusions.
• Data Analysis consists of the following phases:
• Data Requirement Gathering
• Data Collection
• Data Cleaning
• Data Analysis
• Data Interpretation
• Data Visualization
 Data analysis Process
• Data Requirement Gathering
• First of all, you have to think about why do you want to do
this data analysis?
• All you need to find out the purpose or aim of doing the
Analysis of data. You have to decide which type of data
analysis you wanted to do!
• In this phase, you have to decide
• what to analyze and
• how to measure it,
• you have to understand why you are investigating and what
measures you have to use to do this Analysis.
 Data analysis Process

• Data Collection
• Now it’s time to collect your data based on requirements.
• Once you collect your data, remember that the collected data
must be processed or organized for Analysis.
• As you collected data from various sources, you must have to
keep a log with a collection date and source of the data.
 Data analysis Process

• Data Cleaning
• whatever data is collected may not be useful or irrelevant to
your aim of Analysis, hence it should be cleaned.
• The data which is collected may contain duplicate records,
white spaces or errors.
• The data should be cleaned and error free. This phase must be
done before Analysis because based on data cleaning, your
output of Analysis will be closer to your expected outcome.
 Data analysis Process

• Data Analysis
• During this phase, you can use data analysis tools and
software which will help you to understand, interpret, and
derive conclusions based on the requirements.
 Data analysis Process

• Data Interpretation
• the way to express or communicate your data analysis either
you can use simply in words or maybe a table or chart.
• Then use the results of your data analysis process to decide
your best course of action.
 Data analysis Process

• Data Visualization
• data shown graphically so that it will be easier for the human
brain to understand and process it.
• Data visualization often used to discover unknown facts and
trends. By observing relationships and comparing datasets,
you can find a way to find out meaningful information.
 STATISTICS IN RESEARCH

• Statistics is the science concerned with developing and

studying methods for collecting, analyzing, interpreting and
presenting empirical data.

• The role of statistics in research is to function as a tool in

designing research, analyzing its data and drawing conclusions
therefrom.
• Most research studies result in a large volume of raw data
which must be suitably reduced so that the same can be read
easily and can be used for further analysis.
 Types of Statistics

• Statistics can be categorized into 2 types:

1. Descriptive Statistics: It is used for summarizing

observations etc.
• the goal is to describe. Numerical measures are used to tell
about features of a set of data.
• 2. Inferential Statistics: It is used for interpreting the
meaning of the descriptive stats.
• are produced through complex mathematical calculations that
allow scientists to infer trends about a larger population
based on a study of a sample taken from it.
 ELEMENTS/TYPES OF ANALYSIS

• analysis we mean the computation of certain indices or

measures along with
searching for patterns of relationship that exist among the
data groups.
• Analysis may, therefore, be categorized as
❖descriptive analysis and
❖ inferential analysis (Inferential analysis is often
known as statistical analysis).
 A. Descriptive analysis

• the type of analysis of data that helps describe, show or

summarize data points in a constructive way such that
patterns might emerge that fulfill every condition of the
data.
• is largely the study of distributions of one variable. This study
provides us with profiles of companies, work groups, persons
and other subjects on any of a multiple of characteristics such
as size. Composition, efficiency, preferences, etc.
 Descriptive analysis

• this sort of analysis may be in respect of

❑One variable (described as unidimensional analysis),
❑two variables (described as bivariate analysis)
❑more than two variables (described as multivariate analysis).
 Types of Descriptive Analysis

• Descriptive analysis can be categorized into four types which

are
• measures of frequency,
• central tendency,
• dispersion or variation, and
• position.
• These methods are optimal for a single variable at a time.
1.Measures of Frequency

• In descriptive analysis, it’s essential to know how frequently a

certain event or response is likely to occur. This is the prime
purpose of measures of frequency to make like a count or
percent.
• count the number of times that each variable occurs,
• For example, consider a survey where 500 participants are
asked about their favorite EPL team. A list of 500 responses
would be difficult to consume and accommodate, but the data
can be made much more accessible by measuring how many
times a certain EPL team was selected.
2.Measures of Central Tendency
• The central tendency is stated as the statistical measure that
represents the single value of the entire distribution or a
dataset. It aims to provide an accurate description of the
entire data in the distribution.
• to find out the Central (or average) Tendency or response.
Central tendency is measured with the use of three averages.

• mean, the average value of the dataset

• median, 50th percentile, center point
• Mode, the most frequent class interval
3.Measures of Dispersion

• to know how data is divided across a range.

• dispersion (also called variability, scatter, or spread) is the
extent to which a distribution is stretched or squeezed.
• Range, (maximum value - minimum value)
• interquartile range, (75th percentile - 25th percentile) (i.e.,
width of the box in a boxplot), (also called the first and third
quartile).
• standard deviation measures the dispersion of a dataset
relative to its mean and is calculated as the square root of
the variance.
4.Measures of Position

• determines the position of a single value in relation to other

values in a sample or a population data set.
• identifying the position of a single value or its response in
relation to others.
• Measures like percentiles and quartiles become very useful in
this area of expertise.
 B. Inferential analysis

• makes inferences and predictions about extensive data by

considering a sample data from the original data.
• is concerned with the various tests of significance for testing
hypotheses in order to determine with what validity data can
be said to indicate some conclusion or conclusions.
types of inferential analysis
 Hypothesis Testing
• is a type of inferential statistics that is used to test
assumptions and draw conclusions about the population from
the available sample data.
• Z Test: is used to check if the means of two populations are
different or not provided the data follows a normal
distribution.
• A z test is used on data that follows a normal distribution and
has a sample size greater than or equal to 30. It is used to
test if the means of the sample and population are equal
when the population variance is known.
 Hypothesis Testing

• F Test: is used in hypothesis testing to check whether the

variances of two populations or two samples are equal or not.
• An f test is used to check if there is a difference between
the variances of two samples or populations.
• Confidence Interval: A confidence interval helps in estimating
the parameters of a population. For example, a 95%
confidence interval indicates that if a test is conducted 100
times with new samples under the same conditions then the
estimate can be expected to lie within the given interval 95
times.
 Hypothesis Testing

• ANOVA F Test
• ANOVA stands for analysis of variance. It is used to check the
variability of group means and the associated variability in
observations within that group.
Regression Analysis

• Regression analysis is used to quantify how one variable will

change with respect to another variable. There are many
types of regressions available such as simple linear, multiple
linear, nominal, logistic, and ordinal regression.
• The most commonly used regression in inferential statistics is
linear regression. Linear regression checks the effect of a unit
change of the independent variable in the dependent
variable.
• Nominal logistic regression, also known as multinomial logistic
regression, models the relationship between a set of
independent variables and a nominal dependent variable.
Regression Analysis

• Ordinal regression is a statistical technique that is used to

predict behavior of ordinal level dependent variables with a
set of independent variables.
• Logistic regression is one of the types of regression analysis
technique, which gets used when the dependent variable is
discrete. Example: 0 or 1, true or false, etc. This means the
target variable can have only two values, and a sigmoid curve
denotes the relation between the target variable and the
independent variable.
Data analysis in qualitative research

• Data analysis and research in qualitative data work a little

differently than the numerical data as the quality data is
made up of words, descriptions, images, objects, and
sometimes symbols.
• Getting insight from such complicated information is a
complicated process, hence is typically used for exploratory
research and data analysis.
 Analyzing and Interpreting Quantitative Data

Steps in quantitative analysis and interpretation:

✓ data preparation

✓ Data analysis

✓ Reporting the results

✓ Discussion of the results

 Analyzing and Interpreting Quantitative Data

Preparing the data for analysis:

✓ Arrange the data according to your need
✓ If need be, score data first by assigning numeric code
✓ Create data file in data grid
✓ Clean database, missing values

• Then, Select a statistical program as a tool for analysis:

✓ Statistical Package for Social Sciences-SPSS is most
popular
✓ Other programs: Mini-tab, Stat view, SAS(Statistical
analysis system)
✓ Use mainframe, PC or other platforms
 Analyzing and Interpreting Quantitative Data

How do you analyze the data?

If statistics is involved, either conduct descriptive analysis:

✓Measures of central tendency
✓Measures of relative standing
Descriptive Statistics

Central Tendency Variability Relative standing

Mean Variance
Z-Score
Median Standard Deviation
Percentile Ranks
Mode Range
central tendency:-describing the central position of a
frequency distribution for a group of data.
Variability :- lack of consistency or fixed pattern; liability to
vary or change
Relative standing : - defined as measures that can be used to
compare values from different data sets, or to compare
values within the same data set.
 Analyzing and Interpreting Quantitative Data

Or, Conduct inferential analysis:

✓Hypothesis testing
✓Confidence interval

Identify a null and alternative hypothesis

Set the level of significance (alpha level) for rejecting the

null hypothesis

Compute the sample statistic

Make a decision about rejecting/failing to reject

 Analyzing and Interpreting Quantitative Data

Parametric inferential analysis:

✓Correlation coefficient and regression coefficient

✓T-test, analysis of variance, analysis of covariance

✓Chi-square analysis, etc.

Analyzing and Interpreting Qualitative Data

Codes the Text for Codes the Text for

Description to be Used Themes to be Used
in the Research Report in the Research Report

The Researcher Codes the Data (i.e., locates text

segments and assigns a code to label them)

The Researcher Reads Through Data

( i.e., obtains general sense of material)

The Researcher Prepares Data for analysis

( e.g., transcribes field notes)

The Researcher Collects Data (i.e., a text file, such as

fieldnotes, transcriptions, optically scanned material)
 The coding process for qualitative data

Divide text Reduce

Initially read
into segments Overlap and
through data
of information redundancy
of codes

Many Many Codes

Pages Segments 30-40 reduced
codes Reduce Codes to
of Text of Text to 20 5-7 Themes
 Interpreting Qualitative Data

✓ Interpretation is not neutral

✓ Reflect about the personal meaning of the data

✓ Compare and contrast personal viewpoints with the literature

✓ Address limitations of the study

✓ Make suggestions for future research

Thank you
 Example 1.

- Individual/group work:

➢ Choose appropriate research method and methodology for

the research title you have already identified

➢ Develop a mini-proposal. Follow the recommended

proposal writing format

➢ Prepare a power point and present your plan.

 Example 1.

Title : Accounting policies of all industries in the U.S.

Research question : Will it be practical if all industries in the U.S are

required to have standardized account policies, subject to one set of
rules and conditions?

Objectives : To examine the effect of standardized account policies on the

activities of industries in the US
Proposed research design :
• Visit several companies and industries to get those companies’ accounting
officers views on this subject (50% of research)
• Visit a few banks to get opinions from one of their management staff
on this subject (30%)
• Browse through accounting journals, financial newspapers and the net
for articles related to the subject in question (20%)
• Browse through recent FASB and SEC publications (20%)
 Example 2.

Title : Domestic oil launch in the UK

Research question :

Objectives : To examine attitudes to the use of Olive oil in the home

Proposed research design :

• The research has both quantitative and qualitative research components.
In the qualitative research, focused research will be used to explore and
understand the attitudes of potential customers towards a new brand.
In case of the quantitative research, carry out a telephone study using
questionnaire to measure how widespread these attitudes are.
 Example 2.

Research Method:
Qualitative:
1. Population and sampling – four groups are proposed with the following
profiles……

Quantitative: we have made to carry out 200 interviews in housholdes of

different sizes….. We have set interlocking qoutas as follows ….
Analysis : …

Timing/ work plan: The table below shows the time frame to conduct the
research …
Week Activity
1-4 Desk research
4-6 Qualitative field work
 Example 2.

Budget: The cost break down of the budget required to carry out the
research is shown as below.

Phase Description Budget

Desk research $1000 to purchase relevant reports $3250
$..... Net browsing
$.....
Quantitative interviews $10000
Qualitative Four focus groups $8000
research
Total $20,250