Research development

Unit 7
Process in Conducting
Research
Lesson 1. The research process
• Stages in the research process:

 Conceptualization – idea on the research process
 Contextualization – putting your research in the

context of others –
 Data collection and analysis – (this unit addresses)
 Reporting – writing up of your research

Research methods – Data collection and Analysis
• Choose the most suitable research method for your

study according to the approaches used.
 Quantitative research – involving numerical and
statistical data. Emphasis on quantitative
observations.
 Qualitative research – gathering non-numerical data.
Emphasis on qualitative results.
Research methods – Common Types
• Observation studies
• Questionnaires
• Interviews
• Focus groups
• Document analysis
• Mathematical modeling
• The experimental method
• 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.
Data collection:
no perfect example; varies with the type of problem
 often through writing up of notes
 may also involve taping or filming
• 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
• 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
• 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.

• 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 where in original data is

not generated.
 It is a non-reactive method.
 Reliability and validity are the central concerns

• Mathematical modeling – used to analyze relationships between

different variables and to predict possible outcomes, or causal
effects.
E.g. Universal Soil Loss Equation(USLE)

USLE = RKLSCP
Where,
R = rainfall factor
K = soil factor
L = slope length factor
S = degree of slope factor
C =crop factor
P = conservation factor
• 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. Nano-technology, chemistry, etc
 field experiments – research conducted outside the

laboratory and researcher control of the env’t is reduced.
E.g. soil related studies

Analyzing and Interpreting Quantitative
Data
Steps in quantitative analysis and interpretation:
How do you prepare the data for analysis?

How do you analyze the data?
How do you report the results?
How do you discuss the results?
Data
Preparing the data for analysis?

 Score data by assigning numeric codes to responses
 Create codebook
Create data file in data grid
Create variable, value labels

Data
Identify types of Scores to

analyze:
Single item
Summed scores
Difference scores
Data
Select a statistical program for quantitative studies:
Statistical Package for Social Sciences- SPSS is most

popular
Other programs: Mini-tab, Statview, SAS, StatPac
Use mainframe, PC or Mac platforms

Data
How do you analyze the data?

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
Data
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

Data
Parametric inferential analysis:
Correlation coefficient and regression coefficient
T-test, analysis of variance, analysis of covariance
Chi-square analysis, etc.

Sampling Terms and Procedures
•Population - inclusive group defined by researcher
•Sample - representative subset of population

•should contain essential elements of population
•Random Sampling-process of sampling which assures that any

subject in the population has an equal probability of being in the
sample
•Systematic counting-uses list to choose every nth person from

the population
•Stratified Random-used when researcher believes the population

has distinct subgroups.
E.g.: if population has 45% men, then we make sure sample is
45% men
Thank you

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Unit 7

• Stages in the research process:

 Contextualization – putting your research in the

 Reporting – writing up of your research

• Choose the most suitable research method for your

• Observation studies- the process of observing and recording

E.g. Study on weight gain of selected sheep breeds which

• Questionnaires – a tool where respondents answers to

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

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

• Focus groups – a type of interview but targeting only

 It is useful in providing qualitative data.

E.g. Study on identification of corrupted politicians.

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

 It is an indirect form of research where in original data is

 Reliability and validity are the central concerns

• Mathematical modeling – used to analyze relationships between

E.g. Universal Soil Loss Equation(USLE)

• The experimental method – involves setting up an experiment

 laboratory experiments – small scale study and subjects are

E.g. Nano-technology, chemistry, etc

 field experiments – research conducted outside the

E.g. soil related studies

Steps in quantitative analysis and interpretation:

How do you prepare the data for analysis?

Preparing the data for analysis?

Create data file in data grid

Create variable, value labels

Identify types of Scores to

Select a statistical program for quantitative studies:

Statistical Package for Social Sciences- SPSS is most

Other programs: Mini-tab, Statview, SAS, StatPac

Use mainframe, PC or Mac platforms

How do you analyze the data?

Central Tendency Variability Relative standing

Conduct inferential analysis:

Identify a null and alternative hypothesis

Set the level of significance (alpha level) for rejecting

Compute the sample statistic

Make a decision about rejecting/failing to reject

Parametric inferential analysis:

Correlation coefficient and regression coefficient

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

Chi-square analysis, etc.

•Population - inclusive group defined by researcher

•Sample - representative subset of population

•Random Sampling-process of sampling which assures that any

•Systematic counting-uses list to choose every nth person from

•Stratified Random-used when researcher believes the population

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