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Lecture 4 - Research Methods

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Lecture 4 - Research Methods

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Aiman
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Review of the literature

Week 2
Formulating And Clarifying The Research Topic

• Formulating the Research Topic:

• This involves identifying a general area of interest or a broad research


problem that you want to explore. For example, if you're interested in
studying the impact of social media on mental health, your research
topic might be:

"The Impact of Social Media on Mental Health."


• Clarifying the Research Topic:

• Once you have a general research topic, you need to clarify and
narrow it down to a specific focus. This involves defining the scope of
your study, specifying the research objectives, and identifying the key
concepts or variables that you will be studying. For example, you
might clarify your research topic to focus on

"The Relationship Between Social Media Use and Depression


Among College Students."
Research Questions
• Defining Research Questions:
• Research questions are specific questions that you want to answer through your
research. They should be clear, focused, and relevant to your research topic. For
example, if your research topic is "The Relationship Between Social Media Use
and Depression Among College Students," your research questions might
include: "What is the prevalence of depression among college students who use
social media?“

• "Is there a correlation between the frequency of social media use and the
severity of depression symptoms?"
• "What are the perceived benefits and drawbacks of social media use among
college students?“
• Does students who experience social media experience depression?
Reviewing the Literature
• Purpose of Literature Review:
• The purpose of reviewing the literature is to identify existing research and
knowledge related to your research topic.
• This involves searching for and reading relevant scholarly articles, books, and
other sources to gain an understanding of what has already been studied and what
gaps exist in the literature.
• Identifying Gaps in the Literature:

• As you review the literature, you should pay attention to any gaps or
unanswered questions in the existing research. This can help you
identify areas where your research can contribute new knowledge or
insights.
• Synthesizing the Literature:

• Once you have reviewed the literature, you should synthesize the
information you have gathered to provide a comprehensive overview
of the current state of knowledge on your research topic. This can
involve summarizing key findings, identifying common themes or
trends, and discussing any controversies or disagreements in the
literature.
Reasons for reviewing the literature
• To conduct a ‘preliminary’ search of existing material
• To organise valuable ideas and findings
• To identify other research that may be in progress
• To generate research ideas
• To develop a critical perspective
The most important skills are
• The capacity to evaluate what you read
• The capacity to relate what you read to other information
• Why am I reading this?
• What is the author trying to do in writing this?
• How convincing is this?
• What use can I make of this reading?
You will need to
• Include key academic theories
• Demonstrate current knowledge of the area
• Use clear referencing for the reader to find the original cited
publications
• Acknowledge the research of others
The key to a critical literature review
• Demonstrate that you have read, understood and evaluated your
material
• Link the different ideas to form a cohesive and coherent argument
• Make clear connections to your research objectives and the
subsequent empirical material
Defining The Parameters of Your Search
• For most research questions and objectives you will have a good idea of which
subject matter is going to be relevant. You will, however, be less clear about the
parameters within which you need to search. In particular, you need to be clear
about the following (Bell 2005):
• Language of publication (e.g. English);
• Subject area (e.g. accountancy);
• Business sector (e.g. manufacturing);
• Geographical area (e.g. Europe);
• Publication period (e.g. the last 10 years);
• Literature type (e.g. refereed journals and books).
Generating your keywords
After re-reading your lecture notes and textbooks and undertaking this limited
reading you will have a list of subjects that appear relevant to your research
project. You now need to define precisely what is relevant to your research in
terms of key words.

The identification of keywords or ‘research 'terms is the most important part of


planning your search for relevant literature (Bell 2005). Key words are the basic
terms that describe your research questions(s) and objectives, and will be used to
search the literature.
Evaluating The Literature
• Define the scope of your review
• Assess relevance and value
• Assess sufficiency
Record –
• Biographical details
• Supplementary information
Hypotheses Development
Once we have identified the important variables in a situation and
established the relationships among them through logical reasoning
in the theoretical framework, we are in a position to test whether the
relationships hold true.
By testing these relationships scientifically through appropriate
statistical analysis, or through negative case analysis in qualitative
research. Formulating such testable statements is called hypotheses
development.
Definition of Hypothesis
A hypothesis can be defined as a logically assumed relationship
between two or more variables expressed in the form of a testable
statement.
Relationships are assumed on the basis of the network of associations
established in the theoretical framework formulated for the research
study.
Types of Hypotheses
• Non directional(two tailed hypothesis)
• A non directional hypothesis states that there will be a difference
between two groups /conditions but does not say which will be
greater/smaller, quicker/slower
• For example: There will be a difference regarding how many numbers
are memorized by children and adults.
Directional Hypotheses(1 Tailed hypothesis)
If, in stating the relationship between two variables or comparing two
groups, terms such as positive, negative, more than, less than, and
the like are used, then these hypotheses are directional because the
direction of the relationship between the variables is indicated.

Example: Stress is significantly and positively associated with job


satisfaction
Theoretical Framework
• A theoretical framework is a conceptual model of how one theorizes or
makes logical sense of the relationships among the several factors that have
been identified as important to the problem.
• The Theoretical framework discusses the interrelationships among the
variables that are deemed to be integral to the dynamics of the situation
being investigated. Developing such a conceptual framework helps us
postulate or hypothesizes and test certain relationships and thus to improve
our understanding of the dynamics of the situation.
• From the theoretical framework, then, testable hypotheses can be developed
to examine whether the theory formulated is valid or not. The hypothesized
relationships can thereafter be tested through appropriate statistical analysis.
Theoretical Framework
The theoretical framework is the foundation on which the entire research project is based. It is a
logically developed, described, and elaborated network of associations among the variables
deemed relevant to the problem situation and identified through such processes as interviews,
observation, and literature survey. Experience and intuition also guide in developing the
theoretical framework.
There are five basic features that should be incorporated in any theoretical framework:
1. The variables considered relevant to the study should be clearly identified and labeled in
the discussions.
2. The discussions should state how two or more variables are related to one another.
3. If the nature and direction of the relationships can be theorized on the basis of the
findings of previous research, then there should be an indication in the discussions.
4. There should be a clear explanation of why we would expect these relationships to exist.
5. A diagram of the of the theoretical framework should be given so that the reader can see
and easily comprehend the theorized relationships.

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