Chapter 2

The Research Process : A Quick

Glance
 What is Research?

• A close and careful study to find out

(new) facts and information.
• Systematic investigation to establish
facts
• It’s a structured inquiry to explore and
uncover truth.
 What is Process?

• A series of actions and steps taken in

order to achieve a particular end.
• Organized set of actions that lead to an
outcome.
• Sequence of activities aimed at
accomplishing a task or goal.
 Research Process

• Steps which are involving in research

• A series of steps and actions taken to
conduct a Research.
• Series of systematic procedure that
researcher must go through in order to
generate knowledge.
 Three Phases Of Research
Process
Phase A Phase B Phase C

Deciding Planning Conductin

g
⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️

What/Why How Collecting

(Research question to (To gather evidence to (The required
answer) answer the Research information)
question)
 The Eight step model For
carrying out Research
Phase I Deciding what to Research:
• Step 1 : Formulating a Research Process

1. What is to be Researched?
2. Why is to be Researched?
 The Eight step model For
carrying out Research
Phase II Planning A Research Process:
• Step 2 : Conceptualizing a Research design
• Step 3 : Constructing an instrument for data
collection
• Step 4 : Selecting A Sample
• Step 5 : Writing a Research Proposal
 The Eight step model For
carrying out Research
Phase III Conducting A Research Study
• Step 6 : Collecting Data
• Step 7 : Processing and Displaying Data
• Step 8 : Writing a Research Report
Step 1 : Formulating a Research
problem
• Formulating a Research problem is the first
and most important step in research process.
• It should tell you ,your supervisor and your
readers what you intend to research.
• Selecting the Research topic area of study,or
an issue a company or society is facing.
Examples
:
1. Finding out the effects of smoking.
2. Why sales of company is declined?
Sources of Research problem:
• People
• Problem
• Programmes
• Phenomenon
 Development of
Hypothesis
• Hypothesis is the tentative assumption.
• A statement of expectation or prediction that
will be tested by Research.
• Example: Hard work leads to better CGPA.
• Hypothesis propose relationship between two
or more variables (dependent and
independent)
Variable:-Any characteristic, number or quantity
that can be measured or manipulated in
Research.
Independent Dependent
Variable: Variable:
• The factor that is • The outcome being
manipulated (the measured (the student’s
test score)
amount of study 1
hour vs 3 hour)
 Step 2 : Conceptualizing a
Research design
• The main function of a research design is to describe,
decide, justify and explain “How” you will get answers to
your research question.
• Develop a detailed plan outlining how the research will
be conducted including methods
(Qualitative/Quantitative).
• The selection of appropriate research design is enabling
you to arrive at valid findings, comparison and
conclusions.
 Study Design and Research
Design
• Both terms relate to planning on study but
Study Design often focuses more on the
practical steps, while Research Design
includes the overall strategy and theoretical
framework.
• The design maybe exploratory, descriptive and
experimental.
 • A research design should include
following:
• Study Design
• Logistical arrangements that you propose to
undertake
• The measure procedure
• The sampling strategy
• The frame of analysis
• The time frame
 Step 3 : Constructing an
instrument for Data collection
Instrument:-
Anything that becomes a mean of collecting information for
your study is called research tool or Research Instrument.
• The construction of a research instrument is the first
“Practical” step in carrying out a study.
• You will need to decide how you are going to collect data
to proposed study and construct a research instrument
for data collection
 Example:- Observations, interviews, surveys, test,
theories, previous research findings, reports,
articles and experiments

Primary Data: Secondary Data:

• Data collected • Data that has already
firsthand by the been collected by
researcher someone else and is
specifically for the used by the researcher
research project. for their study.
• Establishing the validity and reliability of
research Instrument
 Step 4 : Selecting a Sample

• Population:-
The complete group of individuals or elements that
share common characteristics and are the focus of
a study.
• Sample:-
A subset of a population selected to represent the
larger group in the study.
• The researcher must design a Sample. Its a plan
for taking its respondents from specific areas and
universe.

• When selection a Sample, you should attempt to

achieve two key aim of Sampling.
1. The avoidance of Bias in selecting sample.
2. The attainment of maximum precision for a given outlay
of resources.

• The Sample maybe two types:

1. Probability Sampling
2. Non-Probability Sampling
• Probability sampling ensures every unit has a
known Nonzero probability of selection within the
target population. If there is no feasible
alternative, a non-probability method maybe
employed.

• The basic objective of any sampling design is to

minimize within the limitation of cost, the gap
between the values obtained from your sample
and those prevalent in the study population.
 Step 5 : Writing a Research
Proposal
• Research Proposal tells the readers about
your research problem and how you are
planning to investigate it
• A research proposal outlines the project’s
objectives, methods, and significance,
serving as a blueprint that facilitates
funding, approval, and ethical review.
 Therefore, it should contain the following
information about your study:

Introduction and a statement of its objectives.

• The study design you are proposing to use.
• A list of Hypothesis, if you are testing any
• The setting for a Study
• The research Instrument you are planning to use.
• The Sample size and sample design.
• The data processing procedures
• An outline of the proposed chapters for the report.
• Study’s problems and limitations and the proposed time
frame.
 Step 6 : Collecting Data
• Data is the integral part of research, without
data you cannot conclude results.
• In this phase you actually collect the Data.
• Many techniques are used for data collection
• e.g. questionnaire, experiments, surveys,
interviews etc.
• Data can be taken from secondary sources
• e.g. journals, libraries, newspaper, magazines etc.

• Collecting through anyone of the methods may

involve some ethical issues (informed consent,
confidentiality and privacy, vulnerable population,
Bias and objectivity and misinterpretation)
 Step 7 : Processing and
Displaying Data
• When data is collected, it is forwarded for
analysis which is the most technical job.
• Different statistical and mathematical tools
are applied on data.(correlation, regression,
factor analysis, mean, median, mode etc)
• Test the hypothesis (if any)
 • Data analysis maybe divided into two main
categories

Data processing Data displaying

• Editing, coding, • Text, table, graph,
analyzing chart
• The way you analyze the information you
collected largely depends upon two things.

• The type of information (Qualitative/Quantitative)

• The way you want to communicate your findings to
your readers.
 Step 8 : Writing a Research
Report
• Writing the report is the last and for many the
most difficult step of the research process.
• This report tells the world, what you have done,
what you have discovered and what conclusions
you have drawn from your findings.
• Make sure that your conclusions are decisive
and backup by strong evidence.
 While writing the report Researcher must
keep in his mind the following points:

• Report should carry a title and brief introduction

• Main text contain objectives, hypothesis,
explanation and methodology of the research.
• The last section would clearly of conclusion.
• After the preparation of report, the last step
in research process contains a bibliography,
references, appendices an index and maps.
 Conclusion

This chapter has provided an

overview of the research process
which has been broken down into
eight steps. At each step the research
model provided a smorgasbord of
methods, models, techniques and
procedures. It covered the total
spectrum of a research endeavor.