Ethiopian Institute of Technology-Me

Department of garment engineerin

1. INTRODUCTION TO
RESEARCH METHODS
For: 3rd Year Garment
engineering students
By: NEGASI T.

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 What is research?
 systematic investigation and study of materials and
resources in order to establish and reach at new
conclusions.
 Seeking through systematic processes to add one’s
own body of knowledge and to that of others, by
discovery of non minor facts and insights.
 A scientific and systematic search for relevant
information on a specific topic.( a systematic effort
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to gain new knowledge.)
 A research is an organized and systematic way of
finding answers to questions.
Organized: it is a planned procedure, not a
spontaneous one.
Systematic- Because there is a definite set of
procedures and steps which you will follow.
• It is focused and limited to a specific scope.
Finding answers :-

• It is the end of all questions.

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 • Whether it is the answer to the hypothesis or
even a simple question, research is successful
when we find answers.
• Some times the answer may be no, but Still this
is the answer
Questions: Are essential to a research.
 If no question, then the answer is of no use.
 Research is focused on relevant, useful and
important questions.
 Without a question, research has no focus, drive
or purpose. NTT 2016
 Objectives of Research
 To discover answers to questions through the
application of scientific procedures.
 To find out the truth which is hidden/has not been
discovered as yet.
 To gain familiarity with the phenomenon or to achieve
new insights in to it.
 To determine the frequency of something occurs

 To test the hypothesis of casual relationships between

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variables.
 Significance of Research
A means of income
An outlet for new ideas & insights
The development of new styles & creative work
The generalizations of new theories
Fountain of knowledge
Important source of providing guidelines for
solving for solving different problems.
There is more information and knowledge to
understand the world than before.
Necessary in allocation of recourses or for
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optimum resource allocation
 Motivations in Research
What makes people undertake research
– Desire to get research degree along with its
consequential benefits.
– Desire to solve a challenge in solving the unsolved
problems.
– Desire to design appropriate policies.
– Desire to contribute to the existing stock of
knowledge
– Desire to get intellectual joy of doing some creative
work
– Desire to be of service to the society
– Directives of government
– Interest about new things … etc
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 Types of Research

• Can be grouped in to:

– Exploratory Research

– Descriptive Research

– Explanatory/Causal Research
• Can also be categorized as:
– Quantitative Vs Qualitative Research

– Conceptual Vs Empirical Research

– Cross-Sectional Vs Longitudinal Research

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1. Exploratory Research:
– undertaken with the aim of clarifying
ambiguous problems
– general problems are usually known but not
sufficiently understood
– the purpose is to get more information, not to
uncover specific courses of action
(subsequent research)
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– Determining a specific course of action to
follow is not a purpose of exploratory
research!
– Example: Child-Care support programme for
employees

– Major emphasis:- Discovery of ideas &

insights

– Research Design: must be flexible enough to

provide opportunity for considering different
aspects of a problem under study.

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2. Descriptive Research:
– Include surveys & fact finding enquiries of different kinds

– undertaken with the aim of determining the

characteristics of a population or phenomenon
– Previous knowledge of problem exists

– High degree of precision or accuracy required

– Major Purpose:- description of the state of affairs as it

exists at present.
– Main Characterstics: research has no control over the
variables, can only repot what has happened & what is
happening. NTT 2016
Examples:
– Who are the main consumers of organic foods?

– How many students read the prescribed course

literature?
– Where do most holiday-makers travelling overseas
go?
– When do petrol stations tend to raise their prices?

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3. Casual/Explanatory Research:
– undertaken with the aim of identifying cause and
effect relationships amongst variables
– Often difficult to determine because of the
influence of other variables (concommitant
hidden variables)
– Purpose: fnding the Reasons why?
• Desire to know how the cusal factors relate to the
effects under predictions.
• Usually refered as hypothesis-testing
• Such studies require procedures that:
– Reduce bias & increase reliability
– Permit drawing inference about causality
– Design of research in such kind of studies
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means Design of Experments
• Example: slow connection speed
cauases underutilization of
internet (indicative of a causal
relationship (?))

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• Quantitative Research
– Based on the measurement or amount
– Applicable to phenomenon that can be expressed in terms
of quantity.
• Qualitative Research:- Concerned with qualitative
Phenomenon/ related to quality or kind
• Applied Research:- aims at finding a solution for an
immediate problem facing a society/a business
organization.
• Fundamental Research:- concerned with
generalizations & with the formulations of a theory
– Examples:- research relating to pure mathematics like
Driving Formulas
– Research carried out to make generalization about human
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behavior.
• Conceptual Research
– Related to some abstract idea/theory
– Generally used by philosophers & thinker to
develop new concepts or to re-interpret
existing once.
• Empirical Research:-
– Relies on experience or observation
– It is data based research, coming up with
conclusions which are capable of being
verified.
– Tried to prove a given hypothesis with new
data
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• From the point of view of TIME, we may
have:-
– Cross Sectional Research:- where the
research is confined to a single time period.
• Also called one time research
– Longitudinal Research:- where the research
is carried out several time periods

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The Scientific Approach
• The Scientific
Method involves a
series of steps that
are used to
investigate a
natural occurrence.
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Steps of a Scientific method

1. Problem description /Question

2. Observation/Research

3. Formulate a Hypothesis

4. Experiment

5. Collect and Analyze Results

6. Conclusion

7. Communicate the NTT

Results
2016
1. Problem/Question:
Problem/Question Develop a
question or problem that can be
solved through experimentation
2. Observation/Research:
Observation/Research Make
observations and research your
topic of interest.

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3. Formulate a Hypothesis:
Hypothesis Predict a
possible answer to the problem or
question.
• Example: If no. of garment Eng. Increase,
then quality of garment products will
increase
4. Experiment:
Experiment Develop and follow a
procedure.
• Include a detailed materials list.
The outcome must be measurable
(quantifiable).
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 5. Collect and Analyze Results:
Results
• Modify the procedure if needed.

• Confirm the results by retesting.

• Include tables, graphs, and

photographs.
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6. Conclusion:
Conclusion Include a statement that
accepts or rejects the hypothesis.
– Make recommendations for further study
and possible improvements to the
procedure.

7. Communicate the Results:

Results Be
prepared to present the research
findings to an audience.
– Expect questions from the audience.
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 Stages in the Research
Process
Define
Problem

Conclusions
and Report
Planning a
Research Design

Planning Processing and

a Sample Analysing the Data

Gathering
the Data
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Stages of the Research Process
• Problem identification and its justification
– State of the Art/ Literature Review
– Context definition
– Questions/Hypothesis
• Planning the Research Design/ Methodology
• Data Collection
• Data Analysis
• Hypothesis Testing
• Report Writing
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Components of a Research Proposal
– The Research Topic or Title
– Introduction and background of the study
– Statement of the problem & its justification
– Objectives of the study
– Hypothesis/research Question
– Scope/delimitation of the Study
– Methodology of the study
– Significance/benefits of the study
– Budget Schedule
– Time Schedule NTT 2016
• The Research Topic or Title
– The topic should be explanatory of the research
problem/ the study
– Clear and understandable
• Introduction and background of the study
– Brief overview of the general area
– Introduce readers about the topic area

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• Statement of the problem & its justification
– Describe the problem & Explain the severity
of the problem at hand
– Describe the problem & suggest possible
solutions
– Explain opportunities behind the problem
– Justify the reasons why you study selected it
• Objective of the study- goals
– General- broad objective/high level
– Specific – list of objectives to achieve the general
objective

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• Research Question/ Hypothesis
– Question- research focus to be answered
– Hypothesis- potential answer for the study
• Scope/delimitation of the Study
– Defining the research focus/concern
– Limiting the research boundary:
• physical & Logical boundaries
• Methodology of the Research
– Defining the ways/procedures to be followed
– Research type
– Data collection tools to be used
– Sample design/ methods
– Data collection procedure
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– Data analysis tools & techniques
• Benefits/ significance of the Research
– What are importance of the study
– Potential beneficiaries at different levels
• Individual level
• Organizational level
• National level
• Budget schedule
– Resources needed
– Money required for each activity
• Time Schedule
– Beginning time for each activity and/or study
– Ending time for each activity and/or study
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 Writing a Research Proposal
and Research Report
• Research Proposal: Where you express
your intentions and plans (Future)
– It should be Written in future tenses

• Research Report: Where you present what

you have done (past).
– It should be Written in past tenses.

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 Evaluating a Research Proposal
Any proposal should
• offer a plan to fill a need, - your reader will
evaluate your plan according to how well
your written presentation answers questions
about
– WHAT you are proposing,
– HOW you plan to do it,
– How long it is going to take, and
– HOW MUCH it is going to cost.

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