An Overview of Research

Methods and Methodologies

Rupesh Tiwari
 What’s the Difference Between
“Method” and “Methodology”?
Method: Methodology:
• Techniques for • The underlying theory
gathering evidence and analysis of how
• The various ways of research does or
proceeding in should proceed, often
gathering information influenced by
discipline
 Methodology and Method
“A research method is a technique for (or way
of proceeding in) gathering evidence“ while
"methodology is a theory and analysis of
how research does or should proceed“
 Approaches to Research
• Basic Research
• Applied Research
 Basic Research
+ Basic Research refers to a focused, systematic study or
investigation undertaken to discover new knowledge or
interpretation and establish facts or principles in a
particular field.
+ In other words, it is a research aimed primarily at gaining
knowledge rather than solving a pragmatic problem.
+ The underlying motive is to increase knowledge about
particular phenomena by testing, refining, and elaborating
theory without concern for practical application.
 Basic Research
Examples of basic research include:
1. Understanding the consumer buying
process.
2. Examining the consumer learning process.
 Applied Research
+ Applied research refers to investigation
undertaken to discover the application and
uses of theories, knowledge, and principles
in actual work or in solving problem. In
other words , it is any research which is used
to answer any specific question, determine
why something failed or succeeded, solve a
specific problem.
 Applied Research
Examples:
1. Evaluating the impact of a training on
employee performance.
2. Examining consumer response to direct
marketing program.
 Steps in the Research Process
+ Identifying and Defining the Problem/Opportunity
+ Preparing the statement of research objectives
+ Developing the hypothesis
+ Planning the research design
+ Selecting the research method
+ Analyzing research design
+ Selecting the sampling procedure
+ Data Collection
+ Evaluating the data
+ Preparing and presenting the research report
 Identifying and Defining the
Problem/Opportunity
• As business today operate in a highly volatile environment, they need
to constantly assess their relative position and identify the various
problem area or opportunities they need to work upon in order to
sustain themselves competitively in the market.
• Managers need to analyze the changing dynamics of business , and to
evolve a strategy to adopt to changes taking place in the business
environment. Whether these are potential problem areas or
opportunities.
• Problem identification precedes the problem definition phase. For
instance a company producing cell phones wave protector, may realize
that its new product is not selling but it may not be known the reason
for this at the outset. Although it has identified the problem in a
broader perspective, it needs to define the problem in terms of what is
to be researched.
 Identifying and Defining the
Problem/Opportunity
• It is important to define the problem in a precise
manner. A well defined problem gives the
researcher a proper direction for carrying out
investigation.
• It also helps in utilizing the resources provided for
research effectively.
• A researcher can focus his efforts on collecting
information, if the problem is defined properly.
 Exploratory Research
• Exploratory aims at understanding the topic being
researched. Exploratory research is undertaken in
the initial stages of the research process. It is the
process that helps in defining the identified
problem.
• This process involves evaluating the existing
studies on related topics, discussing the problems
with experts. At the end of this process the
researcher should be clear about what type of
information needs to be gathered and how the
research process should proceed.
 Exploratory Research
• Secondary data are the most popular tools used in
exploratory research.
• Secondary data is the data that has already been
collected previously for some other research
purpose. It can be obtained from magazines,
journals, online articles, company literature.
• For our problem of low sales, since it is a new
product in the market, it may be difficult to obtain
information. Pilot studies involve collecting data
from the actual respondent in order to gain insight
into the topic.
Preparing the statement of research objectives

• Once the problem is clearly defined, it becomes absolutely

essential to determine the objectives of the research.
• The objectives of the research should be stated in a formal
research statement.
• The statement of objectives should be as precise as possible.
• Objectives act as a guide lines for various steps in research
process and therefore they have to be developed by analyzing
the purpose of the research thoroughly.
• The objectives of the research must be brief and specific; also, it
is preferable to limit the number of objectives.
Preparing the statement of research objectives

• The research objective comprise the research

questions and the hypothesis.
• If the objective of the research is to study the
perceptions of the customer a typical research
question could be: “Do the customer perceive the
radiation from their cell phones to be hazardous to
health”
• Once the research questions are identified, a
researcher has to develop a hypothesis statement
that reflects research objectives.
 Developing the hypothesis
• A hypothesis is a statement based on some presumption about
the existence of a relationship between two or more variables
that can be tested. For instance the exploratory research for the
problem may have resulted in a hypothesis that consumers
perceive that the radiations emanating from the cell phones are
harmful.
• When a researcher is developing hypothesis , he will try to
assume an answer for a particular research question and then
test it for its validity.
• A hypothesis normally makes the research question clearer to
the researcher. For instance, if the research question is- “Why
are the sells of refrigerator going up in winter” In this case
hypothesis could be- ‘The sales of refrigerator are going up
due to off-season discount.
 Planning the research design
• A research design is the actual framework of research that
provides specific details regarding the process to be
followed in conducting the research.
• The research design is based on the objectives formulated
during the initial phases of research. The research design
includes all the details regarding the research such as where
the information should be obtained from, the time and
budget allotted for conducting the research, the appropriate
measurement techniques and sampling process.
• Research design is essential because it facilitates the
smooth flow of various research processes.
• A good design means that good results can be obtained
with minimum utilization of time, money and effort.
 Research Design Concepts
• Dependent Variable
• Independent Variable
• Extraneous Variable
• Control
 Dependent /Independent Variable
• A variable is a concept that can take on different
quantitative values like height, weight, age and so on.
• If the variable is dependent on the result of some other
variable, it is then called dependent variable.
• An independent variable is one that is not dependent on
any other variable with reference to particular study.
• For instance, height and weight are dependent on age but
age is not dependent on height and weight. Therefore, age
is an independent variable while weight height are
dependent variable.
 Extraneous Variable
• Extraneous Variables are independent variables those are
not directly linked with the study but may influence the
dependent variable.
• For instance, assume that a hypothesis was framed which
stated a relationship between children’s age and weight
existed. Here weight is a dependent variable and age is an
independent variable.
• Apart from age, height may also affect weight. But height
is not related to the study’s purpose or objective. Therefore
we can say that height is an extraneous variable.
• If there is an effect on the dependent variable from the
extraneous variable, it is called an experimental error.
 Control
• Control is essentially devised to minimize
the effect of extraneous variable.
 Characteristics of Research
• Systematic Approach
Each step must of your investigation be so planned
that it leads to the next step. Planning and
organization are part of this approach. A planned
and organized research saves your time and
money.
• Objectivity
It implies that True Research should attempt to
find an unbiased answer to the decision-making
problem.
 Characteristics of Research
• Reproducible
A reproducible research procedure is one, which an equally competent
researcher could duplicate, and from it deduces approximately the
same results.
• Relevancy
It furnishes three important tasks:
· It avoids collection of irrelevant information and saves time and money
· It compares the information to be collected with
researcher’s criteria for action
· It enables to see whether the research is proceeding in the
right direction
 Characteristics of Research
• Control:
Research is not only affected by the factors, which one is
investigating but some other extraneous factors also. It is impossible to
control all the factors. All the factors that we think may affect the
study have to be controlled and accounted for.
For Example
Suppose we are studying the relationship between incomes and
shopping behaviour, without controlling for education and age, it will
be a height of folly, since our findings may reflect the effect of
education and age rather than income.
Control Must Consider
All the factors, which are under control, must be varied as per the study
demands
All those variables beyond the control should be recorded
 What Makes Research Good?
• Validity
• Reliability
• Replicability
• “Trustworthiness”
 Validity in Research
• Refers to whether the research actually measures what it
says it’ll measure. Validity is the strength of our
conclusions, inferences or propositions.
– Internal Validity: the difference in the dependent variable is
actually a result of the independent variable
– External Validity: the results of the study are generalizable to
other groups and environments outside the experimental setting
– Conclusion Validity: we can identify a relationship between
treatment and observed outcome
– Construct Validity: we can generalize our conceptualized
treatment and outcomes to broader constructs of the same concepts
 Reliability in Research
The consistency of a measurement, or the
degree to which an instrument measures the
same way each time it is used under the
same condition with the same subjects. In
short, it is the repeatability of your
measurement.
 Validity and Reliability
The relationship between reliability and validity is a
fairly simple one to understand: a measurement can be
reliable, but not valid. However, a measurement must
first be reliable before it can be valid. Thus reliability
is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition of validity.
In other words, a measurement may consistently
assess a phenomena (or outcome), but unless that
measurement tests what you want it to, it is not valid.
 Conclusive Research
• Exploratory research gives rise to several
hypotheses, which you will have to tested for
drawing definite conclusions. These conclusions
when tested for validity lay the structure for your
decision-making. Conclusive research is used for
this purpose of testing the hypotheses generated
by exploratory research. Conclusive research can
further be classified as:
A· Descriptive
B· Experimental.
 Descriptive Research
• Descriptive research as the name suggests is
designed to describe something- for example, the
characteristics of users of a given product; the
degree to which product use varies with income,
age, sex or other characteristics; or the number
who saw a specific television commercial.
• To be of maximum benefit, a descriptive study
must only collect, data for a definite purpose.
Your objective and understanding should be clear
and specific.
 Descriptive Research
• For Example:
A cereal company may find its sales
declining. On the basis of market feedback
the company may hypothesise that teenage
children do not eat its cereal for breakfast.
A descriptive study can then be designed to
test this hypothesis.
 Experimental Research
• Experimentation will refer to that process of
research in which one or more variables are
manipulated under conditions, which permit the
collection of data, which show the effects.
• Experiments will create situation so that you as a
researcher can obtain the particular data needed
and can measure the data accurately. Experiments
are artificial in the sense that the situations are
usually created for testing purposes.
 Experimental Research
• This artificiality is the essence of the
experimental method, since it gives you more
control over the factors you are studying. If you
can control the factors, which are present in a
given situation, you can obtain more conclusive
evidence of cause and effect relationships
between any two of them.
 Experimental Research
• Thus, the ability to set up a situation for the purpose of
observing and recording accurately the effect on one
factor when another is deliberately changed permits you
to accept or reject hypothesis beyond reasonable doubt.
• If the objective is to validate in a resounding manner the
cause and effect relationship among variables, then
undoubtedly experiments are much more effective than
descriptive technique.
 Experimental Research
• In experimental research, the researcher
manipulates or varies an Independent
variable and measures its effects on one or
more dependent variable.
 Measurement Concepts
• Once the research problem has been clearly
established, the most important part of the
research, namely data collection begins.
• A proper measurement system has to be developed
before actually venture into data collection.
Different measurement scales that have to be used
for measuring the characteristics that are relevant
to the research study.
• Measurement thus can be understood as a means
to denote the amount of particular attribute that a
particular object possesses
 Measurement Scale
• The design of measurement scale depends upon
the objective of the research study, and
mathematical or statistical calculations that a
researcher expects to perform on the data
collected using the scales. Different types of
measurement scale are given below:
1. Nominal Scale
2. Ordinal Scale
3. Interval Scale
4. Ratio Scale
 Nominal Scale
• The scale helps segregate data into
categories that are mutually exhaustive.
This scale assigns numbers to each of these
categories and these numbers do not stand
for any quantitative value, and hence they
cannot be added, subtracted or divided.
 Nominal Scale
• For Example, a nominal scale designed to measure
the nature of occupation (Employment status) may
be given as below:
[1] Public sector [2] Private sector [3] Self
employed [4] Unemployed [5] Others.
In the above example, the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
only serve as labels to the various categories of
employment status, and hence a researcher cannot
use those number to perform any type of
mathematical operation on those numbers.
 Ordinal Scale
• An ordinal scale is used to arrange objects
according to some particular order. Thus,
the variable in the ordinal scale can be
ranked.
• For example, an ordinal scale used to
measure the preference of customers (In
C.G) for various mobile telephone service
provider would ask a question like --
 Ordinal Scale
• Please rank the following mobile phone service
provider from 1 to 5 with 1 representing the most
preferred and 5 the least preferred.
Airtel [1]
Hutch [2]
Idea [3]
BSNL [4]
Reliance [5]
 Ordinal Scale
• A respondent may rank these players
depending on his experience/perception of
them.
• If a respondent rank Airtel as 1 and Idea as
2, a researcher can know that respondent
prefers Airtel. However, the limitation is
that the researcher cannot be sure as to how
strong the respondent’s liking is for Airtel.
 Interval Scale
• Interval scales are similar to ordinal scales to the extent
that they also arranged objects in particular order.
However, in an interval scale the intervals between the
points on the scale are equal. This is the scale where there
is equal distance between the two points on the scale.
• Ask the respondent to place the mobile service provider on
the scale of 10 to 1. If the idea is assigned 8 and BSNL 4
we can say that the value of difference I preference is 4.
But we cannot say that the liking for idea is twice that for
BSNL because we did not define a point of no liking i.e. 0.
 Ratio Scale
• Ratio scale have a fixed zero point and also have
equal intervals.
• Unlike the ordinal scale the ratio scale allows for
the comparison of two variables measured on the
scale.
• A very good example of ratio scale is distance; for
instance the difference between four miles and six
miles is the same as the difference between six
miles and eight miles but we can also say that
eight miles is twice as long as four miles.
 Reliability and Validity
• Reliability
Research means that the findings would be
consistently the same if the study were done
over again. It is considered than, when the
outcome of a research process is
reproducible.
 Focus Groups
+ Aid in understanding audience, group, users
+ Small group interaction more than individual
response
+ Helps identify and fill gaps in current knowledge
re: perceptions, attitudes, feelings, etc.
- Does not give statistics
- Marketing tools seen as “suspect”
- Analysis subjective
 What is Research?
“Research comprises of defining and redefining problems, formulating
hypothesis or suggested solutions; making deductions and reaching
conclusions; and at last carefully testing the conclusions to determine
whether they fit the formulating hypothesis”
• On evaluating these definitions we can conclude that Research refers
to the systematic method consisting of
• Enunciating the problem,
• Formulating a hypothesis,
• Collecting the fact or data,
• Analyzing the facts and
• Reaching certain conclusions either in the form of solutions towards
the concerned problem or in certain generals for some theoretical
formulation.
 Discourse/Text Analysis
+ Examines actual discourse produced for a
particular purpose (job, school)
+ Helps in understanding of context, production,
audience, and text
+ Schedule for analysis not demanding
- Labor intensive
- Categories often fluid, making analysis difficult
Quantitative Descriptive Studies
+ Isolates systematically the most important
variables (often from case studies) and to
quantify and interrelate them (often via
survey or questionnaire)
+ Possible to collect large amounts of data
+ Not as disruptive
+ Biases not as likely
- Data restricted to information available
 Prediction and Classification
Studies
Goal is to predict behaviors:
• Prediction forecasts and interval variable (Diagnostic/TAAS
scores)
• Classification forecasts a nominal variable (Major selection after
taking 2311)
+ Important in industry, education to predict behaviors
- Need substantial population
- Restricted range of variables can cause misinterpretation
- Variables cannot be added together; must be weighted and looked
at in context of other variables
 Positive Aspects of
Descriptive/Qualitative Research
• Naturalistic; allows for subjects to interact with
environment
• Can use statistical analysis
• Seeks to further develop theory (not to influence
action); Prescientific
• Coding schemes often arise from interplay between
data and researcher’s knowledge of theory
 Problems with
Descriptive/Qualitative Research
• Impossible to overlay structure
• Impossible to impose control
• Subject pool often limited, not
representative
• Seen as more “subjective,” less rigorous
• Beneficial only in terms of initial
investigation to form hypothesis
 Experimental Research: True
Experiment
+ Random sampling, or selection, of subjects (which are
also stratified)
+ Introduction of a treatment
+ Use of a control group for comparing subjects who
don’t receive treatment with those who do
- Adherence to scientific method (seen as positive, too)
- Must have both internal and external validity
- Treatment and control might seem artificial
 Experimental Research: Quasi-
Experiment
+ Similar to Experiment, except that the subjects are
not randomized. Intact groups are often used (for
example, students in a classroom).
+ To draw more fully on the power of the
experimental method, a pretest may be employed.
+ Employ treatment, control, and scientific method
- Act of control and treatment makes situation
artificial
- Small subject pools
 Meta-Analysis
+ Takes the results of true and quasi-experiments
and identifies interrelationships of conclusions
+ Systematic
+ Replicable
+ Summarizes overall results
- C/C apples and oranges?
- Quality of studies used?
Positive Aspects of Experimental
Research
• Tests the validity of generalizations
• Seen as rigorous
• Identifies a cause-and-effect relationship
• Seen as more objective, less subjective
• Can be predictive
 Problems with Experimental
Research
• Generalizations need to be qualified
according to limitation of research methods
employed
• Controlled settings don’t mirror actual
conditions; unnatural
• Difficult to isolate a single variable
• Doesn’t allow for self-reflection (built-in)
 Testing the Waters
• How do you come up with a good research
question?
• How do you determine if the method you
plan to use will answer your question?
• What epistemology should you use to
analyze data?
 Case Scenario
• Test your research savvy with the following
case. Assume that you are the Mayor of
Greenwood, a small town in Illinois, and
you’ve got to make a decision based on the
information collected from the following
research study.
Crime Reduction Program,
City of Greenwood
• The chief of police wants to
experiment with increasing the
number of patrol officers (X) to
reduce the crime rate (Y).
• The chief invites all twelve-
precinct captains to participate in
the experiment; only the 103rd
volunteers.
• In October, patrol officers in the
103rd
103rd are increased by 15%.
• Reported crime drops 5%
between September &
December. The chief now wants
to implement the program
citywide.
 You are the mayor. Would you
support this request based upon
the results of this study?

Could severe weather in November and

December have caused the crime rate to
decline?
 Is crime seasonal, peaking in the summer and
declining in the winter?
 More Problems
Since the captain of the 103rd volunteered for the
program, could he have already implemented other
programs that account for the decline in crime?
Since the officers in the 103rd knew they were
involved in a priority program, is it possible that
they recorded reported crime differently?
 More Problems
Will the crime reduction impact last very long?
Could random error in the measurement of the
crime rate account for the difference?
Was the crime rate in the entire city going down
anyway?
 What Makes Research Good?
• Validity
• Reliability
• Replicability
• Consistent application/analysis
• “Trustworthiness”
• Rigor
 Validity in Research
• Refers to whether the research actually measures what it
says it’ll measure. Validity is the strength of our
conclusions, inferences or propositions.
– Internal Validity: the difference in the dependent variable is
actually a result of the independent variable
– External Validity: the results of the study are generalizable to
other groups and environments outside the experimental setting
– Conclusion Validity: we can identify a relationship between
treatment and observed outcome
– Construct Validity: we can generalize our conceptualized
treatment and outcomes to broader constructs of the same concepts
 Reliability in Research
The consistency of a measurement, or the degree to
which an instrument measures the same way each
time it is used under the same condition with the
same subjects. In short, it is the repeatability of
your measurement. A measure is considered
reliable if a person's score on the same test given
twice is similar. It is important to remember that
reliability is not measured, it is estimated.
Measured by test/retest and internal consistency.
 Validity and Reliability
The relationship between reliability and validity is a
fairly simple one to understand: a measurement can be
reliable, but not valid. However, a measurement must
first be reliable before it can be valid. Thus reliability
is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition of validity.
In other words, a measurement may consistently
assess a phenomena (or outcome), but unless that
measurement tests what you want it to, it is not valid.
 Rigor in Research
• Validity and Reliability in conducting
research
• Adequate presentation of findings:
consistency, trustworthiness
• Appropriate representation of study for a
particular field: disciplinary rigor
• Rhetorical Rigor: how you represent your
research for a particular audience
 Key Considerations to Design
Your Research Approach
• What question do you want to answer?
• For what purposes is the research being done? i.e., what
do you want to be able to do or decide as a result of the
research?
• Who are the audiences for the information from the
research, e.g., teachers, students, other researchers,
members of a disciplinary community, corporate entities,
etc.?
• From what sources should the information be collected,
e.g., students, teachers, targeted groups, certain
documentation, etc.?
 Key Considerations to Design
Your Research Approach
• What kinds of information are needed to make the
decisions you need to make and/or to enlighten your
intended audiences, e.g., do you need information to
really understand a process, the students who engage in
a process, strengths and weaknesses of a curriculum or
program, benefits to students or institution or agency,
how aspect of a program are problematic, etc.?
 Key Considerations to Design
Your Research Approach
• How can that information be collected in a reasonable fashion,
e.g., questionnaires, interviews, examining documentation,
observing staff and/or clients in the program, conducting focus
groups among staff and/or students, etc?
• How accurate will this information be?
• When is the information needed (so, by when must it be
collected)?
• What resources are available to collect the information?
• How will this information be analyzed?
The Importance of Methods and
Methodology
“The most common error made in reading
[and conducting] research is overlooking
the methodology, and concentrating on the
conclusions. Yet if the methodology isn’t
sound, the conclusions and subsequent
recommendations won’t be sound.”
– Patricia Goubil-Gambrell, additions mine
Thank you for your kind
attention
Go forth and research….
….but be careful out there.