UNIT I

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.”
1. Redman and Mory define research as a “systematized effort to gain new knowledge.”
2. Some people consider research as a movement, a movement from the known to the
unknown. It is actually a voyage of discovery. We all possess the vital instinct of
inquisitiveness for, when the unknown confronts us, we wonder and our inquisitiveness
makes us probe and attain full and fuller understanding of the unknown. This
inquisitiveness is the mother of all knowledge and the method, which man employs for
obtaining the knowledge of whatever the unknown, can be termed as research.
Research is an academic activity and as such the term should be used in a technical sense.
According to Clifford Woody research comprises defining and redefining problems,
formulating hypothesis or suggested solutions; collecting, organising and evaluating data;
making deductions and reaching conclusions; and at last, carefully testing the
conclusions to determine whether they fit the formulating hypothesis. D. Slesinger and
M. Stephenson in the Encyclopaedia of Social Sciences define research as “the
manipulation of things, concepts or symbols for the purpose of generalising to extend,
correct or verify knowledge, whether that knowledge aids in construction of theory or in
the practice of an art.”
3. Research is, thus, an original contribution to the existing stock of knowledge making for
its advancement. It is the pursuit of truth with the help of study, observation, comparison
and experiment. In short, the search for knowledge through objective and systematic
method of finding solution to a problem is research. The systematic approach concerning
generalisation and the formulation of a theory is also research. As such the term
‘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.

Definitions
Research is a systematic, formal, rigorous and precise process employed to gain
solutions to problems or to discover and interpret new facts and relationships. (Waltz
and Bausell, 1981).
Research is the process of looking for a specific answer to a specific question in an
organized, objective, reliable way. (Payton, 1979).
Research is systematic, controlled, empirical and critical investigation of hypothetical
propositions about the presumed relations among natural phenomena. (Kerlinger,
1973).
Research is the pursuit of truth with the help of study, observation, comparison and
experiment; the search for knowledge through objective and systematic method of
finding solutions to a problem (Kothari, 2006).
Research may also be defined as the scientific and objective analysis and recording of
controlled observations that may lead to the development of generalizations, principles,
or theories, resulting in prediction and possibly ultimate control of events. (Best, 1970)
When these definitions are consolidated, it can be said that research is the systematic
activity directed towards objectively investigating specific problems in order to
discover the relationships between and among variables. It seeks to answer specific
questions.

Purpose of Research: - Research in whatever field of inquiry has four purposes, i.e.,
describing, explaining and predicting phenomena and ultimately controlling events.
 Describing and explaining: - This is the attempt to understand the world we live in.
Research is concerned with acquiring knowledge, establishing facts and developing
new methods. The way this understanding is shown is through the theories developed
and their efficacy at explaining the world in which we live.
 Prediction: - In research, predictions are usually stated as hypotheses, i.e., clear
unambiguous statements which can be subjected to scientific verification or
refutation. When the hypotheses are accepted or rejected, we are able to make
generalizations or theories concerning various situations. We are able to say that
given these conditions then this is likely to happen.
 Control: - This follows from our knowledge and the successful verification of
hypotheses. Control represents the way in which research can be applied to real
problems and situations, thus helping us to shape our environment. When we
understand the relationship between variables, we are able to control our environment
to suit our interests. This can be exemplified by research to find effective ways to deal
with indiscipline in schools. Once identified, the effective strategies can be employed
to reduce the incidence of indiscipline in schools and thus improve achievement.
People do research for different reasons.

MOTIVATION IN RESEARCH (Further Purpose of Research)

What makes people to undertake research? This is a question of fundamental importance. The
possible motives for doing research may be either one or more of the following:
1. Desire to get a research degree along with its consequential benefits;
2. Desire to face the challenge in solving the unsolved problems, i.e., concern over practical
problems initiates research;
3. Desire to get intellectual joy of doing some creative work;
4. Desire to be of service to society;
5. Desire to get respectability.
However, this is not an exhaustive list of factors motivating people to undertake research
studies. Many more factors such as directives of government, employment conditions,
curiosity about new things, desire to understand causal relationships, social thinking and
awakening, and the like may as well motivate (or at times compel) people to perform research
operations.
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. Though each research study has its own specific
purpose, we may think of research objectives as falling into a number of following broad
groupings:
1. 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);
2. 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);
3. 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);
4. To test a hypothesis of a causal relationship between variables (such studies are known as
hypothesis-testing research studies)
Scope/ Application of Research in the field of Hospitality/Hotel Industry:
{Need for Research/Importance of Research/Significance/ Role of Research in
Hospitality Industry}
Research is a process to discover new knowledge to find answers to a question. The word
research has two parts re (again) and search (find) which denote that we are taking up an
activity to look into an aspect once again or we want to look for some new information about
something. E.g., Front Office Executive has to learn about the facilities, timings, key features
of products and services available at the hotel if one wants to become a wonderful sale
professional other than being a host. "All progress is born of inquiry. Doubt is often better
than overconfidence, for it leads to inquiry, and inquiry leads to invention" is a famous
Hudson Maxim in context of which the significance of research can well be understood.
Clifford Woody states that research comprises defining and redefining problems, formulation
of hypothesis; collection, organizing and evaluation of data; and reaching conclusions. Here it
is emphasized that all research has to be systematic and logical to arrive at expected outcome.
E.g., A standard recipe to prepare a particular dish may be modified by an enterprising chef
to introduce the dish in new taste, flavour or aroma by using a different method of cooking,
or by twisting the combination of spices used in the original recipe. At the same time the chef
may create entirely new dish with the use of same ingredients.
The researcher can Generalise the samples by dividing the identified population into smaller
samples depending on the resource availability at the time of research being conducted. Once,
the sample is understood to be the appropriate representative of the identified population, the
findings can also be applicable to and representative of the entire population get a fair idea of
total population of being follower of particular ideology, beliefs, social stigmas, driving
force, etc. E.g., A study to understand the occupancy statistics and patterns of small hotels
and resorts in a given city would involve the researcher studying selected properties after the
city is divided into zones (East, West, North, South and Central). One may also divide the
properties on the basis of number of rooms for categorisation and selection for study purposes
thus ensuring that the findings are representative of entire city.
Descriptive Research attempts to explain a situation, problem, phenomenon, service or
programme, or provides information viz. living condition of a community, or describes
attitudes towards an issue but need to be done systematically. Descriptive research is used to
observe and describe a research subject or problem without influencing or manipulating the
variables in any way. Thus, such studies are usually correlation or observational. This type of
research is conclusive in nature, rather than inquisitive. E.g., explaining details of budget
allocation changes to departmental heads in a meeting to assure clarity and understanding for
reasons to bring in a change.
Explanatory research can be done to explain why events occur, to build, elaborate, extend or
test a theory. It is more concerned with showcasing, explaining and presenting what we
already have and how it can be improved. An exploratory survey posted to a social
networking site may uncover the fact that an organization’s customers are unhappy thus
helping the organization take up necessary corrective measures.
Exploratory Research is done for looking out for new things, new destinations, new food, and
new cultures has been the basis of most tourist and travel journeys. In the subjective terms
exploratory research is conducted to find a solution for a problem that has not been studied
more clearly, intended to establish priorities, develop operational definitions and improve the
final research design. For example: a fast-food outlet owner feels that increasing the variety
of snacks will enable increase in sales, however he is not sure and needs more information.
Thus, the owner starts studying local competition, talks to the existing customers, friends etc
to find out what are their views about the current menu and what else do they wish to be

Characteristics of Research
Keeping this in mind that research in any field of inquiry is undertaken to provide
information to support decision-making in its respective area, we summarize some desirable
characteristics of research:
1. The research should focus on priority problems.
2. The research should be systematic. It emphasizes that a researcher should employ a
structured procedure.
3. The research should be logical. Without manipulating ideas logically, the scientific
researcher cannot make much progress in any investigation.
 4. The research should be reductive. This means that the findings of one researcher
should be made available to other researchers to prevent them from repeating the
same research.
5. The research should be replicable. This asserts that there should be scope to confirm
the findings of previous research in a new environment and different settings with a
new group of subjects or at a different point in time.
6. The research should be generative. This is one of the valuable characteristics of
research because answering one question leads to generating many other new
questions.
7. The research should be action-oriented. In other words, it should be aimed at reaching
a solution leading to the implementation of its findings.
8. The research should follow an integrated multidisciplinary approach, i.e., research
approaches from more than one discipline are needed.
9. The research should be participatory, involving all parties concerned (from
policymakers down to community members) at all stages of the study.
10. The research must be relatively simple, timely, and time-bound, employing a
comparatively simple design.
11. The research must be as much cost-effective as possible.
12. The results of the research should be presented in formats most useful for
administrators, decision-makers, business managers, or the community members.

Basic Types of Research

Classification of research can be based on different considerations. Thus, we can base
our classification on the nature of the dominant data (qualitative or quantitative), the purpose
of the research (applied or basic) or the type of analysis that will be carried out (descriptive or
analytical). The attempt to classify research into these categories is somewhat misleading
since most research has elements of all the categories. It should be said that it is only an aid to
broad understanding of the different types of research rather than distinct categories.

Qualitative and quantitative research

Qualitative research deals with designs techniques and measure that do not produce
discrete numerical data. It involves extensive narrative data in order to gains insights into
phenomena. Data analysis includes the coding of the data and production of verbal synthesis
(inductive process). Examples include historical research, ethnographic research, participant
observational research and the case study. Quantitative research includes designs,
techniques and measures that produce discrete numerical or quantifiable data. Data analysis is
mainly statistical (deductive process).
It is characterized by:
 Causal-comparative
 Correlation
 Experimental
 Descriptive research

Basic and applied research

 Basic research (also called fundamental or pure research) is mainly concerned with
generalizations and the formulation of theory. It is driven by curiosity or interest in a subject.
The main motivation is to expand man’s knowledge, not to create or invent something. Basic
or Fundamental research is usually carried out in a laboratory or other sterile environment,
sometimes with the animals. Many scientists believe that basic research lays the
foundation for the applied research that follows: -
 Applied research is designed to solve practical problems of the society. It can be
argued that the goal of applied research is to improve the human condition. An
example of applied research could be a study to find out how the school feeding
programme has affected school enrolment rates in drought-prone districts.

 Applied research is increasingly gaining favour as it is helps to address the problems

facing the world today such as overpopulation, pollution, depletion of natural
resources, drought, floods, declining moral standards and disease. Action research is a
unique form of applied research. It is a reflective process of progressive problem
solving. It is also called "practitioner research" because of the involvement of the
actual practitioner in real life. Action implies that the practitioner is involved in the
collection of data, analysis, and the interpretation of results. He or she is also involved
in implementing results of the research and is thus well placed to judge the
effectiveness of the interventions.

Descriptive and analytical research

Descriptive research attempts to determine, describe, or identify what is. It uses
description, classification, measurement and comparison to describe a situation. The main
characteristic is that the researcher has no control over the variables. He only reports the
situation as it is at the time. The term ex-post facto is usually used for descriptive research
studies in social sciences. The survey method is commonly used in descriptive research.
Analytical research attempts to explain why and how. It usually concerns itself with cause–
effect relationships among variables. The researcher attempts to analyse the situation and
make critical evaluation.

Conceptual and Empirical research

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 first-hand, 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.

Educational research
 According to Gay (1981), the distinction between educational research and other
types of research is the nature of the phenomena they study. Educational research
encompasses many different studies all of which attempt to better understand and improve
the learning and educational process. It is a rigorous and systematic attempt to define and
investigate significant problems involved in teaching and learning in and outside the school
and at various school systems, (Ali, 1990). Educational research concerns itself with both
theoretical and policy and practice issues. It tries to understand these practical concerns,
explain them and recommend best ways of dealing with them to maximize benefits of
education. Nwana (2005), attempted to define the categories into which educational research
can fall. He came up with the following categories:
1. Psychological; e.g., learning theories, factors that affect learning, remembering and
forgetting, motivation, maturation, growth and development etc.
2. Philosophical e.g., worthiness of education, educational aims, moral judgments,
methods of reasoning, meaning, nature and sources of knowledge etc.
3. Evaluation e.g., continuous assessment, test instruments, examinations, item analysis,
students’ report cards, curriculum evaluation etc.
4. Curriculum content e.g., the choice of school subjects, factors affecting choice of
curriculum content, curriculum organization, curriculum implementation etc.
5. Methodological e.g., methods of teaching, teacher effectiveness, instructional
resources, teaching practice, micro-teaching etc.
6. Administrative e.g., school financing, discipline, school records, classroom
management, leadership styles, recruitment and deployment of staff etc.
7. Sociological e.g., school-community relations, teacher-pupil relations, interpersonal
relations within the school, classroom behaviour of students, students’ unrest, cultism
etc.
8. Historical e.g., history of institutions, programmes, places or persons of educational
interest.
Significance/ Purpose/ Importance of educational research
Educational research may be carried out by the scholar, the teacher trainee, practicing
teacher, administrator, curriculum specialist, policy maker, or indeed anyone with a specific
issue to resolve. The paramount significance of educational research is that it leads to
improvement in teaching and learning situations. For instance, when a study is done to
establish the most effective strategies of teaching a given subject, there can be an
improvement in achievement when teachers are encouraged to adopt the methods found to be
effective.
Research requires a high level of alertness in planning, executing, observing,
recording, and reporting. Educational research therefore develops in the researcher scientific
attitudes of objectivity, curiosity and critical outlook. For the teacher trainee and practicing
teacher it provides professional growth through a deeper understanding of pedagogical
(educational) practices and psychology of learning. It also equips them with problem-solving
and leadership skills. This is achieved through the rigors that go with the research process.
For the education planner such as curriculum designers and policy makers,
educational research provides useful baseline data that can be used for planning purposes and
policy decision making. For example, in the development or review of any curriculum, the
content to be included has to be identified through a careful research process. This often
involves a needs assessment survey to allow stakeholders to give their views. Document
analyses have to be done such as on educational psychology books in order understand the
psychology of learning. Current materials also have to be analysed so as to know about
current trends and information.

Research Methods Vs Research Methodology

Research methods- All those methods/techniques that are used for conduction of research
i.e., the methods which are used by the researcher during the course of studying his research
problem are termed as research methods, e.g., making observations, recording data,
instruments used, technique of processing data etc.
Research Methodology- It is the blue print of research. It explains how research is done
scientifically or way to finding answers to research questions, the various steps that are
generally adopted by a researcher in studying his research problem along with the logic
behind them. The scope of research methodology is wider than that of research methods, e.g.,
Why hypotheses constructing, testing methods etc.

The Research Process/ Procedure

The research process consists of a number of closely related activities necessary to
effectively carry out research. The activities overlap continuously and are not mutually
exclusive events. They do not necessarily follow each other in any specific order. The order
presented here is only a useful procedural guide of the research process. In the following
section, a brief mention is given of what each stage in the research process entails. Detailed

discussion of each stage will be presented in other sections.

1. Identify and formulating the research problems
2. Extensive literature review
3. Developing the hypothesis, objectives or research questions
4. Preparing the research design
5. Determining the sample
6. Collection of data
7. Analysis and interpretation of data
Research Problem
1. Identifying and Formulating the Research Problem: - This involves the identification
of a general topic and formulating it into a specific research problem. It requires thorough
understanding of the problem and rephrasing it in meaningful terms from an analytical point
of view.
Types of Research Projects (Problems)
 Those that relate to states of nature
 Those which relate to relationships between variables
In understanding the problem, it is helpful to discuss it with colleagues or experts in
the field. It is also necessary to examine conceptual and empirical literature on the subject.
After the literature review, the researcher is able to focus on the problem and phrase it in
analytical or operational terms. The task of defining the research problem is of greatest
importance in the entire research process. Being able to define the problem unambiguously
helps the researcher in discriminating relevant data from irrelevant ones.

2. Extensive literature review: - Review of literature is a systematic process that requires

careful and perceptive reading and attention to detail. In the review of the literature, the
researcher attempts to determine what others have learned about similar research problems. It
is important in the following ways:
 Specifically limiting and identifying the research problem and possible hypothesis or
research questions i.e., sharpening the focus of the research.
 Informing the researcher of what has already been done in the area. This helps to
avoid exact duplication.
“If one had the literature and exercised enough patience and industry in reviewing
available literature, it may well be that his problem has already been solved by
someone somewhere some time ago and he will save himself the trouble.” (Nwana
1982).
 Providing insights into possible research designs and methods of conducting the
research and interpreting the results.
 Providing suggestions for possible modifications in the research to avoid
unanticipated difficulties.
The library is the most likely physical location for the research literature. Within the
library there is access to books, periodicals, technical reports and academic theses. Other
sources are the Education Index and the Educational Resources information centres (ERIC).
Computer-assisted searchers of literature have become very common today. They have the
advantage of comprehensiveness and speed. They are also very cost-effective in terms of time
and effort although access to some of the databases requires payment. Irrespective of the
sources of the literature, ethics of research require that the source is acknowledged through a
clear system of referencing.

3. Developing a working hypothesis: - A hypothesis is a tentative assumption made in order

to draw out and test its logical or empirical consequences. It provides a focal point for the
research. It also affects the manner in which tests must be conducted in the analysis of data.
Hypotheses are based on discussions, examination of records, and review of similar studies or
personal investigations. Occasionally there may not be need to have a working hypothesis.
This is the case especially in exploratory of formulative research which does not aim at
testing a hypothesis. In such cases it is usual to work with specific objectives or research
questions.

4. Preparing a Research Design: - A research design is the conceptual framework within

which the research will be conducted. Some scholars have called it the blue print of the
research. The research design is meant to ensure efficiency of the research project. It ensures
collection of relevant evidence with minimal expenditure of effort, time and money. The
design used is dependent upon the purpose or objectives of the research. Research may be
done for exploration, description, diagnosis or experimentation. Preparation of a research
design is influenced by the following factors:
  Means of obtaining the information
 Skills of the research personnel
 Time available for the research
 Resources available to the researcher
 Size of the sample
The major types of research designs include the randomized or true experiment,
quasi-experiment and non-experiment. A more detailed discussion of designs will be done at
a later stage. For now, it should suffice to say that the design is used to structure the research;
to show how all the major parts of the research project - the samples or groups, measures,
treatments, methods of assignment - work together to address the central research question.

5. Determining the sample: - An inquiry in which the entire population under study is
considered is referred to as a census inquiry. ‘Population’ here refers to all the members or
items under consideration. Very often it is not possible to study the entire population due to
considerations of cost, time, energy, volume of data etc. In such cases the researcher often
resorts to sampling. A sample is that part of a population that is actually considered in a
study. Effort should be made to ensure that the sample is not biased and is as representative
of the population as possible. Sampling designs are used for this purpose. Samples can either
be probability or non-probability samples.

6. Collecting the data

This is the stage where appropriate information for answering the research question is
collected. The researcher should select the most appropriate methods of collecting data and
the required data collection tools. This calls for consideration of the nature of the
investigation, the respondents, objectives and scope of the inquiry, resources available, time
and the desired degree of accuracy.
7. Analysis and interpretation of data
Analysis of data involves the application of raw data into categories through coding and
tabulation. The unwieldy data is condensed into manageable categories for further analysis.
The researcher attempts to classify the raw data into some purposeful and usable categories.
In coding, the categories of data are transformed into symbols that may be tabulated and
counted. Use of computers is helpful especially when dealing with large amounts of data.
Analysis work after tabulation is usually based on computation of various statistical
measures. Data entry and analysis software such as SPSS, EPI info, Excel and Access are
helpful at this stage. In analysis, relationships or differences that support or conflict the
original hypothesis are subjected to tests of significance to determine the validity with which
conclusions can be made. If there are no hypotheses, the researcher seeks to explain the
findings.
8. Preparation of the report
The scientific method of inquiry requires that the researcher should document all details
about his study. This helps other researchers who might want to repeat similar studies to
confirm the findings. The research report should be detailed enough to communicate all
aspects of the investigation. Aspects to be covered should include a statement of the problem
under investigation, methodology used, scope of the study and the limitations. The report
should also communicate the findings, conclusions and the recommendations arrived at. All
the elements in a research report should be presented in a logical sequence and broken down
into readily identifiable sections.

Problems Encountered by Researchers

1. Lack of Scientific Training: The research methodology is not systematic. Many
researchers undertake research work without having actual knowledge of the research
methods. They just look for similar studies and copy the methodologies listed in it.
Even the research guides do not have a thorough knowledge of the various
methodologies. This scenario warrants the need for some sort of short-term training to
be imparted to researchers prior to undertaking research activities.

2. Insufficient Interaction: There is no proper interaction between researchers and the

business establishments, government institutions, etc. This leads to a great deal of
data going untapped. Interaction programs should be organized between researchers
and other institutions on a regular basis. This will highlight what issues need to be
researched, what data is required for conducting research, and how the study will be
useful.

3. Lack of Confidence: Most of the business establishments are of the opinion that,
researchers can misuse the data provided by them. As such, they are reluctant to
divulge details of their company. This affects the research studies for which that
particular data may be of utmost importance. Thus, confidence-building measures
should be adopted, which will convince the business units that their data will be put to
productive purposes, and will not be misused in any manner by the researcher.

4. Lack of Code of Conduct: No specific code of conduct exists for the researchers,
which leads to inter-departmental and inter-university rivalries.

5. Inadequate Assistance: Researchers in India have to cope with the non-availability

of adequate and timely secretarial assistance, which affects the schedule of their
research study.

6. Improper Library Management: The libraries are not managed systematically.

Much of the precious time of the researchers is spent in looking for books, reports,
newspapers, etc. rather than searching relevant information from them.

7. High Cost of Publishing: Once their research is completed, the researchers have to
look for a means to publish it. Publishing in international journals is highly expensive.
This discourages most of the researchers from taking up research work.
 8. Lack of Availability of Published Data: - There is also the difficulty of timely
availability of published data from various government and other agencies doing this
job in India. Researcher also faces the problem on account of the fact that published
data vary quite significantly because of differences in coverage by the concerning
agencies.

9. Time and Money: The under graduate researchers have to complete their research in
the single session so as to appear their examination in the same session itself. Even,
the under graduate students face the problem due to availability of limited money
which sometimes restrict the scope of research.

CODES AND POLICIES FOR RESEARCH ETHICS/ (Can be used as Qualities of

good Researcher)
Given the importance of ethics for the conduct of research, it should come as no surprise that
many different professional associations, government agencies, and universities have adopted
specific codes, rules, and policies relating to research ethics. Many government agencies,
such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the
Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the
Department of Agriculture (USDA) have ethics rules for funded researchers. Other influential
research ethics policies include the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to
Biomedical Journals (International Committee of Medical Journal Editors), the Chemist's
Code of Conduct (American Chemical Society), Code of Ethics (American Society for
Clinical Laboratory Science) Ethical Principles of Psychologists (American Psychological
Association), Statements on Ethics and Professional Responsibility (American
Anthropological Association), Statement on Professional Ethics (American Association of
University Professors), the Nuremberg Code and the Declaration of Helsinki (World Medical
Association).
The following is a rough and general summary of some ethical principles that various codes
address*:
1. Honesty: Strive for honesty in all scientific communications. Honestly report data,
results, methods and procedures, and publication status. Do not fabricate, falsify, or
misrepresent data. Do not deceive colleagues, granting agencies, or the public.
2. Objectivity: Strive to avoid bias in experimental design, data analysis, data
interpretation, peer review, personnel decisions, grant writing, expert testimony, and
other aspects of research where objectivity is expected or required. Avoid or minimize
bias or self-deception. Disclose personal or financial interests that may affect research.
3. Integrity: Keep your promises and agreements; act with sincerity; strive for consistency
of thought and action.
4. Carefulness: Avoid careless errors and negligence; carefully and critically examine your
own work and the work of your peers. Keep good records of research activities, such as
data collection, research design, and correspondence with agencies or journals.
5. Openness: Share data, results, ideas, tools, resources. Be open to criticism and new
ideas.
6. Respect for Intellectual Property: Honour patents, copyrights, and other forms of
intellectual property. Do not use unpublished data, methods, or results without
permission. Give credit where credit is due. Give proper acknowledgement or credit for
all contributions to research. Never plagiarize.
7. Confidentiality: Protect confidential communications, such as papers or grants
submitted for publication, personnel records, trade or military secrets, and patient
records.
8. Responsible Publication: Publish in order to advance research and scholarship, not to
advance just your own career. Avoid wasteful and duplicative publication.
9. Responsible Mentoring: Help to educate, mentor, and advise students. Promote their
welfare and allow them to make their own decisions.
10. Respect for colleagues: Respect your colleagues and treat them fairly.
11. Social Responsibility: Strive to promote social good and prevent or mitigate social
harms through research, public education, and advocacy.
12. Non-Discrimination: Avoid discrimination against colleagues or students on the basis of
sex, race, ethnicity, or other factors that are not related to their scientific competence and
integrity.
13. Competence: Maintain and improve your own professional competence and expertise
through lifelong education and learning; take steps to promote competence in science as
a whole.
14. Legality: Know and obey relevant laws and institutional and governmental policies.
15. Animal Care: Show proper respect and care for animals when using them in research. Do not
conduct unnecessary or poorly designed animal experiments.
16. Human Subjects Protection: When conducting research on human subjects minimize harms and
risks and maximize benefits; respect human dignity, privacy, and autonomy; take special
precautions with vulnerable populations; and strive to distribute the benefits and burdens of
research fairly.
17. There are many other activities that do not define as "misconduct" but which are still regarded
by most researchers as unethical. These are called "other deviations" from acceptable research
practices and include:
 Publishing the same paper in two different journals without telling the editors
 Submitting the same paper to different journals without telling the editors
 Not informing a collaborator of your intent to file a patent in order to make sure that you
are the sole inventor
 Including a colleague as an author on a paper in return for a favour even though the
colleague did not make a serious contribution to the paper
 Discussing with your colleague confidential data from a paper that you are reviewing for a
journal
 Trimming outliers from a data set without discussing your reasons in paper
 Using an inappropriate statistical technique in order to enhance the significance of your
research
 Bypassing the peer review process and announcing your results through a press conference
without giving peers adequate information to review your work
 Conducting a review of the literature that fails to acknowledge the contributions of other
people in the field or relevant prior work
  Stretching the truth on a grant application in order to convince reviewers that your project
will make a significant contribution to the field
 Stretching the truth on a job application or curriculum vita
 Giving the same research project to two graduate students in order to see who can do it the
fastest
 Overworking, neglecting, or exploiting graduate or post-doctoral students
 Failing to keep good research records
 Failing to maintain research data for a reasonable period of time
 Making derogatory comments and personal attacks in your review of author's submission
 Promising a student, a better grade for sexual favours.
 Using a racist epithet in the laboratory
 Making significant deviations from the research protocol approved by your institution's
Animal Care and Use Committee or Institutional Review Board for Human Subjects Research
without telling the committee or the board
 Not reporting an adverse event in a human research experiment
 Wasting animals in research
 Exposing students and staff to biological risks in violation of your institution's biosafety rules
 Rejecting a manuscript for publication without even reading it
 Sabotaging someone's work
 Stealing supplies, books, or data
 Rigging an experiment so you know how it will turn out
 Making unauthorized copies of data, papers, or computer programs
 Deliberately overestimating the clinical significance of a new drug in order to obtain
economic benefits

These actions would be regarded as unethical by most scientists and some might even be illegal.
Most of these would also violate different professional ethics codes or institutional policies.

WHAT IS A HYPOTHESIS?
Ordinarily, when one talks about hypothesis, one simply means a mere assumption or some
supposition to be proved or disproved. But for a researcher, hypothesis is a formal question that he
intends to resolve. Thus, a hypothesis may be defined as a proposition or a set of propositions set
forth as an explanation for the occurrence of some specified group of phenomena either asserted
merely as a provisional conjecture to guide some investigation or accepted as highly probable in
the light of established facts.

Quite often a research hypothesis is a predictive statement, capable of being tested by scientific
methods, that relates an independent variable to some dependent variable. For example, consider
statements like the following ones:

“Students who receive counselling will show a greater increase in creativity than students not
receiving counselling” Or

“The automobile A is performing as well as automobile B.”

These are hypotheses capable of being objectively verified and tested. Thus, we may
conclude that a hypothesis states what we are looking for and it is a proposition which can be
put to a test to determine its validity.
Characteristics of hypothesis: Hypothesis must possess the following characteristics:
(i) Hypothesis should be clear and precise. If the hypothesis is not clear and precise, the
inferences drawn on its basis cannot be taken as reliable.
(ii) Hypothesis should be capable of being tested.
(iii) Hypothesis should state relationship between variables, if it happens to be a relational
hypothesis.
(iv) Hypothesis should be limited in scope and must be specific. A researcher must remember
that narrower hypotheses are generally more testable and he should develop such hypotheses.
(v) Hypothesis should be stated as far as possible in most simple terms so that the same is
easily understandable by all concerned. But one must remember that simplicity of hypothesis
has nothing to do with its significance.
(vi) Hypothesis should be consistent with most known facts.
(vii) Hypothesis should be amenable to testing within a reasonable time.

Types of hypothesis
Hypotheses are of two types,
 Null hypothesis
 Alternative hypothesis

18. Null Hypothesis: These are used when the researcher believes there is no relationship
between two variables or when there is inadequate theoretical or empirical information to
state a research hypothesis. The null hypothesis represents a theory that has been put
forward, either because it is believed to be true or because it is to be used as a basis for
argument, but has not been proved. Has serious outcome if incorrect decision is made.
Designated by: Ho or Hn.
Null hypotheses can be:
 simple or complex
 associative or causal
19. The Alternative Hypothesis: The alternative hypothesis is a statement of what a
hypothesis test is set up to establish. Designated by: H1 or Ha. It is opposite of Null
Hypothesis. Ho is only reached if H1 is rejected. Frequently “alternative” is actual desired
conclusion of the researcher.
We give special consideration to the null hypothesis. This is due to the fact that the null
hypothesis relates to the statement being tested, whereas the alternative hypothesis
relates to the statement to be accepted if when the null is rejected. The final conclusion,
once the test has been carried out, is always given in terms of the null hypothesis. We
either 'reject Ho in favour of H1' or 'do not reject Ho'; we never conclude 'reject H1', or
even 'accept H1'. If we conclude ‘do not reject Ho’, this does not necessarily mean that the
 null hypothesis is true, it only suggests that there is not sufficient evidence against Ho in
favour of H1; rejecting the null hypothesis then, suggests that the alternative hypothesis
may be true. For example:
H1= the males visited cinema more than females.
Ho= the males and females do not differ in respect of the frequency of seeing cinema. So,
Alternative hypothesis is usually the one which one wishes to prove and the Null hypothesis
is the one which one wishes to disapprove.
Key Differences Between Null and Alternative Hypothesis
The important points of differences between null and alternative hypothesis are explained as
under:
Sr. Null Hypothesis Alternative Hypothesis
No.
1 A null hypothesis is a statement, in An alternative hypothesis is a statement;
which there is no relationship between that is simply the inverse of the null
two variables. hypothesis, i.e., there is some statistical
significance between two measured
phenomena.
2 A null hypothesis is what, the An alternative hypothesis is what the
researcher tries to disprove researcher wants to prove.
3 A null hypothesis represents, no An alternative hypothesis reflects, some
observed effect. observed effect.
4 If the null hypothesis is accepted, no If the alternative hypothesis is accepted, it
changes will be made in the opinions will result in the changes in the opinions
or actions. or actions.
5 A null hypothesis is labelled as H0 (H- An alternative hypothesis is represented
zero) by H1 (H-one).
6 The mathematical formulation of a The mathematical formulation of
null hypothesis is an equal sign. alternative hypothesis is not equal to sign.
7 In null hypothesis, the observations In the case of the alternative hypothesis,
are the outcome of chance. the observations are an outcome of real
effect.

Type I Error and Type II Error

Type 1 Error
 Type 1 error, in statistical hypothesis testing, is the error caused by rejecting a null
hypothesis when it is true.
 Type 1 error is caused when the hypothesis that should have been accepted is rejected.
 Type I error is denoted by α (alpha) known as an error, also called the level of
significance of the test.
 This type of error is a false negative error where the null hypothesis is rejected based
on some error during the testing.
  The null hypothesis is set to state that there is no relationship between two variables
and the cause-effect relationship between two variables, if present, is caused by
chance.
 Type 1 error occurs when the null hypothesis is rejected even when there is no
relationship between the variables.
 As a result of this error, the researcher might end up believing that the hypothesis
works even when it doesn’t.

Type II Error
 Type II error is the error that occurs when the null hypothesis is accepted when it is
not true.
 In simple words, Type II error means accepting the hypothesis when it should not
have been accepted.
 The type II error results in a false negative result.
 In other words, type II is the error of failing to accept an alternative hypothesis when
the researcher doesn’t have adequate power.
 The Type II error is denoted by β (beta) and is also termed as the beta error.
 The null hypothesis is set to state that there is no relationship between two variables
and the cause-effect relationship between two variables, if present, is caused by
chance.
 Type II error occurs when the null hypothesis is acceptable considering that the
relationship between the variables is because of chance or luck, and even when there
is a relationship between the variables.
 As a result of this error, the researcher might end up believing that the hypothesis
doesn’t work even when it should.
Null Hypothesis Null Hypothesis
is True is False
Reject Null Type I Error Correct Outcome
Hypothesis (False Positive) (True Positive)
Fail to Reject Correct Outcome Type II Error
Null Hypothesis (True Negative) (False Negative)

Examples of Type I Errors (Just to Understand)

For example, let's look at the trail of an accused criminal. The null hypothesis is that the
person is innocent, while the alternative is guilty. A Type I error in this case would mean that
the person is not found innocent and is sent to jail, despite actually being innocent.
In medical testing, a type I error would cause the appearance that a treatment for a disease has
the effect of reducing the severity of the disease when, in fact, it does not. When a new
medicine is being tested, the null hypothesis will be that the medicine does not affect the
progression of the disease. Let's say a lab is researching a new cancer drug. Their null
hypothesis might be that the drug does not affect the growth rate of cancer cells.
After applying the drug to the cancer cells, the cancer cells stop growing. This would cause
the researchers to reject their null hypothesis that the drug would have no effect. If the drug
caused the growth stoppage, the conclusion to reject the null, in this case, would be correct.
However, if something else during the test caused the growth stoppage instead of the
administered drug, this would be an example of an incorrect rejection of the null hypothesis,
i.e., a type I error.
Difference between Type I error and Type II error
Basis for comparison Type I error Type II error
Definition Type 1 error, in statistical Type II error is the error that
hypothesis testing, is the occurs when the null
error caused by rejecting a hypothesis is accepted when
null hypothesis when it is it is not true.
true.
Also termed Type I error is equivalent to Type II error is equivalent to
false positive. a false negative.
Meaning It is a false rejection of a It is the false acceptance of
true hypothesis. an incorrect hypothesis.
Symbol Type I error is denoted by α. Type II error is denoted by
β.
Probability The probability of type I The probability of type II
error is equal to the level of error is equal to one minus
significance. the power of the test.
Reduced It can be reduced by It can be reduced by
decreasing the level of increasing the level of
significance. significance.
Cause It is caused by luck or It is caused by a smaller
chance. sample size or a less
powerful test.
What is it? Type I error is similar to a Type II error is similar to a
false hit. miss
Hypothesis Type I error is associated Type II error is associated
with rejecting the null with rejecting the alternative
hypothesis. hypothesis.
When does it happen? It happens when the It happens when the
acceptance levels are set too acceptance levels are set too
lenient. stringent.

Assignment:
1. Explain the term ex-post facto in research.
2. What is the meaning of SPSS, EPI info, Excel and Access? What is its use in
Research?
3. Write at least 5 examples of Null Hypothesis and alternative Hypothesis.