Research Methods

Outline

• Research methods

• Research process

• Identifying the problem

• Selection the problem

Research methods

Research methods refer to the methods/

techniques/tools that researchers use in

performing/conducting research operations.

The roles of research methods are data

collection, establishing the relationship

between the data and the unknowns and also

evaluating the reliability, validity and accuracy

of the results obtained.

Research ProcessAll research endeavors share a common goal of

furthering our understanding of the problem and

thus all shares certain basic stages forming a

process called research process. Research process

consists of series of actions or steps necessary to

effectively carry out research and the desired

sequencing of these steps.

Steps of research process

The seven main steps/ stages of research are as follows:

• Identifying the problem • Reviewing literature• Formulating the objectives and Hypothesis • Research design • Sample design• Data collection • Processing and analyzing data • Formulating conclusion and Report writing

Flowchart of research process

Identifying the Problem

The first and foremost task in the entire

process of scientific research is to identify a

problem.. We have countless number of

problems but all are not qualify as research

problems and thus these do not need to be

researched.

Non research problem

Non research problem is one that does not

require any research to arrive at a solution.

The answer to any question raised in a non-

research setting is almost always obvious.

Examples

• Outbreak of cholera following a severe flood is common phenomenon in many countries.

• Reasons for sudden rise in prices of many essential commodities following the announcement of budget by the finance minister need no investigation.

Research problem

A research problem is one which requires a

researcher to find out the best solution for the

given problems.

Or A research problem is a perceived of

difficulty, a feeling of discomfort or a

discrepancy between the common believe

and the reality.

According to fisher et al.(1993), a problem will qualify as a potential research problem when the following three conditions exist:

• There should be a perceived discrepancy between “what it is” and “what it should be”. This implies that there should be a difference between what “actually exists” and the “ideal or planned situation”.

• A question about why the discrepancy exists.

• There should be at least two possible answers or solutions to the questions or problem.

Examples

a) It is found that in a locality the prevalence of Diarrhea disease increased from 15% to 45%.

Now if we do not know the reason exactly, then that is a research problem. But if it is known that, it happened due to last flood, then it id a non-research problem.

Selecting of research problem

The research problem undertaken for study must be

carefully selected. The following points may be observed by a researcher in selecting a research problem or a subject for research:

• Subject which is overdone should not be normally chosen, for it will be a difficult task to throw any new light in such a case.

• Controversial subject should not be come the choice of an average researcher.

Selecting of research problem• Too narrow or too vague problems should be

avoided.

• The subject selected for research should be familiar and feasible, so that the related research materials are within one’s reach.

• The importance of the subject, the qualification and training of a researcher should be considered.

Reviewing of Literature

A review of previous documents to similar or

related phenomena is essential even for beginning

researchers. If the researcher is aware of earlier

studies of his topic or related topics, he will be in

much better position to asses the significance of

his own work.

Reviewing of Literature

Importance / Necessity:

It prevents researcher from duplicating work that

has done before.

It prevents blind search.

It helps to find out what others have learned and

reported on the problem.

Reviewing of Literature

Importance / Necessity:

It should provide with convincing argument for

why the particular research topic is needed.

It helps researcher to become familiar with the

various type of methodology that followed by

others.