GS 530

Research Methods and

Statistics
Research Methodology –
Introduction
What is Research??
• In the broadest terms, we do research whenever we gather
information to answer a question that solves a problem:
 PROBLEM: Where do I find a new head gasket for my ’65
Mustang?
 RESEARCH: Look in the yellow pages for an auto-parts store,
then call to see if it has one in stock.
 PROBLEM: I’m just curious about a new species of fish.

 RESEARCH: You search the Internet for articles in newspapers

and academic journals.
 PROBLEM: I want to buy a new car.

 RESEARCH: You search the Internet for car reviews.

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Some Terminologies
• Methodology – refers to the methods, techniques, and
procedures that are employed in implementing your research
plan (design)
• Research methods or techniques refer to all the methods the
researchers use in performing research operations
• Research Methodology
 A science of studying how research is carried scientifically

 A way to systematically solve the research problem by

logically adopting various steps

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Definitions of Research
• Search for knowledge
• It is a systematic and scientific search for pertinent/relevant
information on a specific topic
• A systematised effort to gain new knowledge; A movement from
the known to the unknown
• The word research is composed of two syllables, re and search
• The dictionary defines the former as a prefix meaning again, a
new, or over again and the latter as a verb meaning to examine
closely and carefully, to test and try, or to probe
• Together they form a noun describing a careful, systematic,
patient study and investigation in some field of knowledge,
undertaken to establish facts or principles
• Research is a structured inquiry that utilises acceptable scientific
methodology to solve problems and creates new knowledge that
is generally
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– RESEARCH METHODS AND STATITISTICS 4
Scientific Method
Observatio
ns

Ask New
Questions
Questions

Develop
Search
Interventio
Literature
ns

Share
Hypothesis
Results

Conclusions Experiment

Collect
Data

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Objectives of Research
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).

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Motivation of Research
• Desire to get a research degree along with its consequential
benefits;
• Desire to face the challenge in solving the unsolved problems,
i.e., concern over practical problems initiates research;
• Desire to get intellectual joy of doing some creative work;
• Desire to be of service to society;
• Desire to get respectability.

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Features of Good Research
1. Originates with a question or problem.

2. Requires clear articulation of a goal.

3. Follows a specific plan or procedure.

4. Often divides main problem into sub problems.

5. Guided by specific hypothesis.

6. Accepts certain critical assumptions.

7. Requires collection and interpretation of data.

8. Systematic and Logical.

9. Empirical and Replicable.

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The research process: characteristics and
requirements
• To qualify as research, process must have certain characteristics: as far
as possible, be controlled, rigorous, systematic, valid and verifiable,
empirical and critical.
• Controlled
 In real life, there are many factors that affect an outcome.
 One-to-One relationship.
 Cause and effect relationship; -it is important to be able to link the
effect (s) with the cause (s) and vice versa.
• Rigorous
 Must be very careful in ensuring that the procedures followed to
find answers to questions are relevant, appropriate and justified.
Degree of rigor varies.
• Systematic
 Procedures adopted to undertake an investigation follow a certain
GS 530 – logical
RESEARCHsequence. Different
METHODS AND steps cannot be taken in a haphazard9
STATITISTICS
Systematic
• Good research is systematic as it follows certain steps. These
steps are:
• Problem identification.
• Reviewing the literature.
• Collecting data.
• Analysing data.
• Drawing conclusions and making generalisations.

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The research process: characteristics and
requirements
• Valid and verifiable
 Implies that whatever you conclude on the basis of your
findings is correct and can be verified by you and others.
• Empirical
 Any conclusions drawn are based upon hard evidence
gathered from information collected from real-life
experiences or observations.
• Critical
 Investigation process must be foolproof and free from any
drawbacks.
 The process adopted and the procedures used must be able
to withstand critical scrutiny.

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Types of Research
• Types of research can be looked at from three different
perspectives:

1. applications of the findings of the research study;

2. objectives of the study;

3. mode of enquiry used in conducting the study.

• A research project may be classified as pure or applied research
(from the perspective of application), as descriptive,
correlational, explanatory or exploratory (from the perspective of
objectives) and as qualitative or quantitative (from the
perspective of the enquiry mode employed).

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Types of Research
From the viewpoint
of

Application Objective Enquiry Mode

Applied Descriptive Quantitative

Research Research Research

Correlational Qualitative
Pure Research
Research Research

Explanatory
Research

Exploratory
Research

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Types of Research: Application
Perspective
• Pure research
• Also known as basic or fundamental research. Undertaken out
of intellectual curiosity or inquisitiveness.
• Involves developing, testing theories and hypothesis. -but
may or may not have practical application at the present time
or in the future.-testing of hypothesis containing very abstract
and specialized concepts.
• May lead to either discovery of a new theory of refinement of
an existing theory.
• For Example; pure research formed the basis for innumerable
scientific and technological inventions like stream engine,
machines, telecommunication, etc. Newton’s contributions,
Einstein’s Theory of Relativity.
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Types of Research: Application
Perspective
• Applied Research
• Carried on to find solution to a real-life problems requiring an
action or policy decision.
• Problem oriented and action directed and has immediate
practical results and solutions.
• Generally, in the field of Technology, Management,
commerce, economics, etc.
• Applied research can contribute now facts:
• It may help in conceptual clarification.
• Design structure and integrate previously existing
theories.
• For Example; Market research carried on for developing a new
GS 530 – market.
RESEARCH METHODS AND STATITISTICS 15
Types of Research: Objectives
Perspective
• Descriptive research
• One in which information is collected without changing the
environment (i.e., nothing is manipulated).
• Attempts to describe systematically a situation, problem,
phenomenon, service or program.
• For example; describe the types of service provided by an
organization or administrative structure of an organization.
• In human research, a descriptive research can provide
information about the naturally occurring health status,
behavior, attitudes or other characteristics of a particular
group.
• Descriptive research are also conducted to demonstrate
associations or relationships between things in the world
around you.
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Types of Research: Objectives
Perspective
• Descriptive research
• Cross-sectional study – Involves a one-time interaction with
groups of people.
Group 1

Group 2 Compared at Same time

Group 3

• For example, Census.

• Samples in the study could be heterogeneous or
homogeneous.

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Types of Research: Objectives
Perspective
• Descriptive research
• Longitudinal study – Study might follow individuals over time.

• Descriptive studies, in which the researcher interacts with the

participant, may involve surveys or interviews to collect the
necessary information.
• Descriptive studies in which the researcher does not interact
with the participant include observational studies of people in
an environment (e.g., "fly on the wall") and studies involving
data collection using existing records (e.g., medical record
review).
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Cross-sectional vs. Longitudinal
Study
Cross-sectional Study Longitudinal Study
Cross-sectional studies are quick to
Longitudinal studies may vary from a
conduct as compared to longitudinal
few years to even decades.
studies.
A longitudinal study requires a
A cross-sectional study is conducted at
researcher to revisit participants of the
a given point in time.
study at proper intervals.
Cross-sectional study is conducted with Longitudinal study is conducted with
different samples. the same sample over the years.
Cross-sectional studies cannot pin Longitudinal study can justify cause-
down cause-and-effect relationship. and-effect relationship.
Multiple variables can be studied at a Only one variable is considered to
single point in time. conduct the study.
Since the study goes on for years
Cross-sectional study is comparatively
longitudinal study tends to get
cheaper.
GS 530 – RESEARCH METHODS AND STATITISTICSexpensive. 19
Cross-Sectional Study Examples
• Online Learning and Student Engagement
• Education researchers wanted to examine if online learning makes
student engagement difficult. Therefore, the researchers
administered a survey to 100 students during the month of
December that asks questions about how motivated they feel
during online classes.
• Motivation and Academic Performance
• Students in a primary school were administered a questionnaire
designed to assess their level of motivation to study. The scores
on this measure were then correlated with students’ grades.
• Sleep and Grades
• Teachers at a secondary school were concerned about their
students not getting enough sleep. So, they sent questionnaires
home with students that asked parents to estimate the number of
hours their child slept each night. The teachers then correlated
GS 530 – RESEARCH METHODS AND STATITISTICS 20
that data with the students’ grades.
Longitudinal Study Examples
• National Food Survey (1940 to 2000 – 60 years)
• National Food Survey was a British study that ran from 1940
to 2000. It attempted to study food consumption, dietary
patterns, and household expenditures on food by British
citizens.
• Initially commenced to measure the effects of wartime
rationing on the health of British citizens in 1940, the survey
was extended and expanded after the end of the war to
become a comprehensive study of British dietary
consumption and expenditure patterns.
• After 2000, the survey was replaced by the Expenditure and
Food Survey, which lasted till 2008. It was further replaced by
the Living Costs and Food Survey post-2008.

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Longitudinal Study Examples
• Baltimore Longitudinal Study Of Aging (1958 to Present)
• The Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA) was initiated
in 1958 to study the effects of aging, making it the longest-
running study on human aging in America.
• With a sample size of over 3200 volunteer subjects, the study
has revealed crucial information about the process of human
aging.
• For instance, the study has shown that:
• The most common ailments associated with the elderly
such as diabetes, hypertension, and dementia are not an
inevitable outcome of growing old, but rather result from
genetic and lifestyle factors.
• Aging does not proceed uniformly in humans, and all
GS 530 – RESEARCH 22
humans age AND
METHODS differently.
STATITISTICS
Types of Research: Objectives
Perspective
• Correlational study
• Carried out to discover or establish the existence of a
relationship / association / interdependence between two or
more aspects of a situation.
• e.g., What is the impact of an advertising campaign on the
sale of a product? What is the relationship between stressful
living and the incidence of heart attack? What is the
relationship between technology and unemployment?
• For example, researchers could be interested in finding out if
there is a relationship between the amount of time spent on
homework (variable one) and academic performance
(variable two). If students who spend more time on homework
tend to have better academic performance, then there is a
positive correlation between these two variables.
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Types of Research: Objectives
Perspective
• Explanatory research
• Attempts to clarify why and how there is a relationship between
two aspects of a situation or phenomenon.
• Generally structured and seeks to find a cause-effect relationship.
• Attempts to explain, for example, why stressful living results in
heart attacks;
• or how the home environment affects children’s level of academic
achievement.
• Exploratory research
• Undertaken with the objective either to explore an area where
little is known or to investigate the possibilities of undertaking a
particular research study.
• First step in a research project to try to gain information.
• Exploring the Impact of Social Media on Mental Health –
Researchers delved into the realm of social media to understand
GS 530 – its effects
RESEARCH on mental
METHODS well-being. Through interviews, surveys, and
AND STATITISTICS 24
Types of research: mode of enquiry
perspective
• Structured approach
• Everything that forms the research process – objectives,
design, sample, and the questions that you plan to ask of
respondents – is predetermined.
• Structured approach to enquiry is usually classified as
quantitative research.
• Study is classified as quantitative if you want to quantify the
variation in a phenomenon, situation, problem or issue; if
information is gathered using predominantly quantitative
variables; and if the analysis is geared to ascertain the
magnitude of the variation.
• e.g., How many people have a particular problem? How many
people hold a particular attitude?
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Types of research: mode of enquiry
perspective
• Unstructured approach
• Allows flexibility in all these aspects of the process (objectives,
design, sample, and the questions that you plan to ask the
respondents).
• Unstructured approach as qualitative research.
• A study is classified as qualitative if the purpose of the study is
primarily to describe a situation, phenomenon, problem or
event.
• e.g., when we are interested in investigating the reasons for
human behaviour (i.e., why people think or do certain things),
we quite often talk of ‘Motivation Research’, an important type
of qualitative research.
• Qualitative research is especially important in the behavioural
sciences where the aim is to discover the underlying motives of
GS 530 – human
RESEARCHbehaviour.
METHODS AND STATITISTICS 26
Type of Research: Experimental
• An experiment is a study in which a treatment, procedure, or
program is intentionally introduced, and a result or outcome is
observed.
• A test under controlled conditions that is made to demonstrate a
known truth, to examine the validity of a hypothesis, or to
determine the efficacy of something previously untried.

Manipulation* Control*

Random Random
Assignment Selection

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Case Example for Experimental
Study
• An investigator wants to evaluate whether a new technique to teach
math to elementary school students is more effective than the
standard teaching method.
• Using an experimental design, the investigator divides the class
randomly (by chance) into two groups and calls them "Group A" and
"Group B“.
• The students cannot choose their own group. The random
assignment process results in two groups that should share equal
characteristics at the beginning of the experiment.
• In Group A, the teacher uses a new teaching method to teach the
math lesson.
• In Group B, the teacher uses a standard teaching method to teach
the math lesson.
• The investigator compares test scores at the end of the semester to
evaluate the success of the new teaching method compared to the
GS 530 – RESEARCH METHODS AND STATITISTICS 28
standard teaching method.
Case Example for Experimental
Study
• A fitness instructor wants to test the effectiveness of a
performance-enhancing herbal supplement on students in his
exercise class.
• To create experimental groups that are similar at the beginning
of the study, the students are assigned into two groups at
random (they can not choose which group they are in).
• Students in both groups are given a pill to take every day, but
they do not know whether the pill is a placebo (sugar pill) or the
herbal supplement.
• The instructor gives Group A the herbal supplement and Group B
receives the placebo (sugar pill).
• The students' fitness level is compared before and after six
weeks of consuming the supplement or the sugar pill.
• No differences in performance ability were found between the
GS 530 – RESEARCH METHODS AND STATITISTICS 29
Other Types of Research
• One-time or Longitudinal Research (On the basis of time)
• Laboratory Research or Field-setting or Simulational Research
(On the basis of environment)
• Historical Research

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Home Assignment
• Draw a comparison table and finding our major differences in-
between;
• Quantitative research.
• Qualitative research.
• Find-out suitable examples w.r.t specific research area, by
considering;
• Quantitative research.
• Qualitative research.

GS 530 – RESEARCH METHODS AND STATITISTICS 31

THANK YOU