Research Process / Steps in Research

Research Process / Steps in Research

Research process consists of series of actions or steps necessary to effectively carry out research and the desired sequencing of these steps

Research process is…

¢Not mutually exclusive

¢Not separate and distinct

¢Not necessarily follow each other in a specific order

   Anticipate each step about the requirements of the subsequent step

èPlanning and conducting Research is not an one time activity;

èIt is a series of Activities and events  which are inter-dependent;

èHas a sequence of operations- some times run parallel ;

èThe first step largely determines the last step

      

1. Selection  of  a Problem

Formulating/defining a research problem is of great importance and significance in the entire research process

 The problem must be defined unambiguously

 Must verify the objectivity and validity of background facts concerning the problem

            ä         Feasible  to  Study;

            ä         Current  Interest  and  Urgency

            ä         Should  Enhance  the  Understanding of  the  Phenomena;

            ä         Availability  &  Accessibility  of Information;

            ä         Genuine  Interest  of  the  Researcher

Two types of problems:

 Problems which related to state of nature

 Problems which relate to relationships between variables

The formulation of a general topic into a specific research problem is the first step in scientific enquiry

Two steps in formulating the research problem:

 Understanding the problem thoroughly

 Rephrasing the same into meaningful terms from an analytical point of view

Manifestation of the Problem

   »       The Phenomena Exists  Unexplained;

            »          Limitations/Gaps in Previous Studies;

            »          Disagreements between previous Studies;

            »          Differences in Performance between two areas.

The Problem is crystallised into Clear, Crisp and Specific   “TOPIC”

2. Review  of  Literature

Must review two types of literature:

 The Conceptual literature concerning concepts and theories

 The Empirical literature consisting of earlier studies, which are similar to the one proposed

Sources of literature

 Abstracting/Indexing journals

 Published/Unpublished bibliographies

 Academic journals

 Conference proceedings

 Govt. Reports

 Books

3. Formulation of Hypothesis

 The researcher should state, in clear terms the working hypothesis

 Working Hypothesis is a tentative assumption made in order to draw out and

test its logical or empirical assumptions

 Hypothesis is the focal point of the research, for ex: “students who receive

counseling will show a greater increase in creativity than students not receiving

counseling” or “car A is performing as well as car B”

Functions of a Hypothesis

 It guides the direction of the study.

 It identifies facts that are relevant and those that are not.

 It suggests which form of research design is likely to be most appropriate.

 It provides a framework for organizing the conclusions that result

4. Research  design

• Need to prepare a research design – a conceptual structure within which the

research would be conducted

• The primary objective of the research design is to collect the relevant data

Research designs may listed as below,

1. Explorative research design

2. Descriptive research design

3. Diagnostic research design

4. Experimental research design

Many research designs exist.

1. Exploratory research design

            The main purpose of these types of studies are:

#  Formulating problem for more precise investigation or developing hypotheses;

#  Increasing Researcher’s understanding of the problem, concept, insight etc.;

#  To discover significant variables;

#  To find out relationship among the variables;

#  To prepare oneself for more systematic, large scale study and to test hypothesis

2. Descriptive research design

Concerned  with  describing   the  characteristics    of communities, population, social structure, behavioural  patterns.  Mainly oriented towards finding out  “What is happening”.

3. Diagnostic research design

            Directly concerned with the casual relationships with implications for action.  Studies of this type are mainly directed towards “Why” it is happening  and “What” can be done about it.

4. Experimental research design

To identify the specific relationship between two  carefully chosen variables by observing what     happens when one is manipulated under specific conditions.

5. Types of data

¢Primary data

¢Secondary data

¢Quantitative data

¢Qualitative data

Tools for primary data collection

¢A. Observation – participant & non-participant

¢B. Interview –

¢C. Inquiry Forms –

lQuestionnaire

lSchedule

lChecklists

lRating scales

lScore card

lOpinionaire

¢D. Sociometry

¢E. Scales and Tests

lAttitude scale

lAchievement test

lAptitude test

lBehavioural Inventories

lCreativity tests

lIntelligence Test

lProjective  techniques

lSES scales

Sources of secondary data

•Information that are readily available from various documents.

Sources of such information are

üCensus Reports;

üNational Sample Survey Reports;

üReport of Commissions and Committees

üPublished/unpublished documents

üAnnual Reports;

üBooks, booklets, diaries,

üJournals;

üReports and Abstracts

6. Analysis of data

• To describe the typical or average in a group and the relationship of two variables
• To compare two or more groups
• To estimate the value of parameter and the level of confidence

Measures of Central Tendency

• Mean – is the arithmetic average of the value of a variable
• Median – is the middle value of a set of numbers arranged in the order of magnitude
• Mode – is the most usual score

Measures of Variability

• Range – is the difference between the highest and the lowest value in a distribution
• Standard Deviation – is the value that shows the scores are spread out around the mean
• Quartile Deviation – is the half of the scale distance between 25^th per cent and 75^th percentile 

Measure of Relationship

• Correlation coefficient is used to examine relationship between two measures of the same group

            ex : Attitude & Achievement, Height & Weight

Two simpler forms of correlation are

• Spearman’s Rank Correlation (for ordinal scale)
• Person’s Correlation technique (for interval scale)

Report writing

• Research report is a narrative but authoritative document on the outcome of  research process
• It presents a highly specific information for a clearly designated audience
• It is a formal informational and or interactive report
• A report is a formal communication written for a specific purpose; It includes description of procedure followed by collection and analysis of data, their significance, the conclusions drawn from them, and recommendation if required.