Introduction to Research Methodology

Instructor: Faisal Jahangeer

PhD English Literature (Sch.)
 Introduction
• “Research” originated from the old French word “recerchier” meaning to
search and search again.
• Research in common parlance refers to a search for knowledge.
• A scientific and systematic search for pertinent information on a specific
topic/area.
• Research is an art of scientific investigation.
• The Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English lays down the meaning of
research as “a careful investigation or inquiry especially through search for new
facts in any branch of knowledge”. Redman and Mory define research as “a
systematized effort to gain new knowledge”. Some people consider research as
a movement, a movement from known to unknown. It is actually a voyage of
discovery.
 Introduction
• The Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current
English defines it,
• “a careful investigation or inquiry especially through
search for new facts in any branch of knowledge”.
• Redman and Mory define research as
• “a systematized effort to gain new knowledge”.
• It is actually a voyage of discovery.
Research is a scientific approach of answering a research question, solving a problem or
generating new knowledge through a systematic and orderly collection, organization, and
analysis of information with an ultimate goal of making the research useful in decision-
making.
• Systematic research in any field of inquiry involves three basic
operations-
• Data collection: It refers to observing, measuring, and recording
information.
• Data analysis: It refers to arranging and organizing the collected
data so that we may be able to find out what their significance is
and generalize about them.
• Report writing: It is an inseparable part and a final outcome of a
research study. Its purpose is to convey information contained in
it to the readers or audience.
 Research is systematic
• An approach becomes systematic when a researcher follows scientific
method. Research is systematic, because it follows certain steps that are
logical in order. These steps are-
• Understanding the nature of problem to be studied and identifying the
related area of knowledge.
• Reviewing literature to understand how others have approached or dealt
with the problem.
• Collecting data in an organized and controlled manner so as to arrive at
valid decisions.
• Analyzing data appropriate to the problem.
• Drawing conclusions and making generalizations.
 Characteristics of Research
• Research is a process through which we attempt to achieve systematically and
with the support of data the answer to a question, the resolution of a problem,
or a greater understanding of a phenomenon. eight distinct characteristics of
research.
– Originates with a question or problem.
– Requires a clear articulation of a goal.
– Follows a specific plan of procedure.
– Usually divides the principal problem into more manageable sub-problems.
– Is guided by the specific research problem, question, or hypothesis.
– Accepts certain critical assumptions.
– Requires the collection and interpretation of data in attempting to resolve the problem that
initiated the research

– Is by its nature, cyclical; or more exactly, helical.

OBJECTIVES/ PURPOSES OF RESEARCH
• The principal objective or purpose of research
in any field of inquiry is to add to what is
known about the phenomenon under the
investigation through the application of
scientific methods.
 Exploration:
• Exploration is finding out about some previously unexamined
phenomenon. It is particularly useful when researchers lack a
clear idea of the problems they will meet during the course of the
study. Through exploration, researchers -
• Develop concepts more clearly
• Establish priorities
• Develop operational definitions
• Formulate research hypotheses, and
• Improve the final research design.
 Exploration:
• Explorative studies tend toward loose structures with the objective
of discovering future research tasks. One might think, for example,
of initiating an exploratory research in the following situations
• -
• Crime is increasing in the city at an alarming rate, the reasons for
which remain unknown. The problem is ambiguous and what is
actually happening is to be cleared.
• A new product is to be marketed, the manufacturer remains in
worry if the product will be accepted by the people or not.
 Description:
• Description refers to the data based information-gathering activities.
The situations and events which are described through studies are
referred to as descriptive studies. Descriptive studies try to discover
answers to the questions who, what, when, where and sometimes
how. A descriptive study may be feasible in the following cases -
• What are the characteristics of the people who are involved in city
crime? Are they young? Middle aged? Poor?
• Who are the potential buyers of the new product? Men or women?
Urban people or rural people?
 Causal Exploration:
• An explanatory study goes beyond description and attempts to establish cause-
and-effect relationship between variables. It explains the reason for the
phenomenon that describes study observed. Thus, if a researcher finds that
communities having higher family size have higher child death, s/he is performing
a descriptive study. If researcher is explaining why it is so and tries to establish
cause-and-effect relationship, s/he is performing an explanatory study. Such
studies are also called causal studies. Following examples fit to causal studies -
• Why people are involved in crime? Can we explain this as a consequence of
present crisis in the job market? Or for lack of parental care?
• Will buyers be motivated to purchase the new product in a new container? Can
attractive advertisement motivate them?
 Prediction:
• Prediction seeks to answer when and in what situations the event will occur, if it can be
provided plausible explanation for the vent in question. In addition to being able to
explain an event after it has occurred, it will be able to predict when the event will occur.
• Hence, research objective of a given research study may fall under either of the
following broad categories.
• To…
• Gain familiarity with a phenomenon or to achieve new insights into it.
• Portray accurately the characteristics of a particular individual, situation or a group.
• Determine the frequency with which something occurs or with which it is associated.
• Test causal relationship between two or more than two facts or situations.
• Know and understand a phenomenon with a view to formulating the problem precisely.
Some others objectives of research may be spell out as
follows. To…
– Provide solutions to complex problems;
– Investigate laws of nature;
– Make new discoveries;
– Develop new products;
– Save costs;
– Improve our life, and
– Human desires.
 CRITERIA OF A GOOD RESEARCH
• Purpose of the research should be clearly defined and
common concepts be used.
• Research procedure used should be described in
sufficient detail to permit another researcher to repeat
the research for further advancement.
• Procedural design of the research should be carefully
planned to yield results that are as objective as
possible.
 CRITERIA OF A GOOD RESEARCH
• Researcher should report with complete frankness, flaws in
procedural design and estimate their effects upon the
findings.
• Analysis of data should be sufficiently adequate to reveal its
significance and the methods of analysis used should be
appropriate. The validity and reliability of the data should be
checked carefully.
• Conclusions should be confined to those justified by the data
of the research.
 CRITERIA OF A GOOD RESEARCH
• It is systematic:
• Research is structured with specified steps to be
taken in a specified sequence in accordance with
the well defined set of rules. Systematic
characteristic of the research does not rule out
creative thinking but it certainly does reject the use
of guessing and intuition in arriving at conclusions.
 CRITERIA OF A GOOD RESEARCH
• It is logical:
• Research is guided by the rules of logical reasoning and the
logical process of
• induction and deduction are of great value in carrying out
research. Induction is the process of reasoning from a part to
the whole whereas deduction is the process of reasoning from
some premise to a conclusion which follows from that very
premise. In fact, logical reasoning makes research more
meaningful in the context of decision making.
 CRITERIA OF A GOOD RESEARCH
• Good research is empirical:
• Research is related basically to one or more aspects of a
real situation and deals with concrete data that provides
a basis for external validity to research results.
• Good research is replicable:
• Research results to be verified by replicating the study
and thereby building a sound basis for decisions.
 CLASSIFICATION OF RESEARCH
• There are two ways of classifying research –
• One way is to classify research on the basis of
its purpose, and
• The other is to classify research on the basis of
the method employed in research.
Taking purpose as the basis of classification, research is
considered to be three types –
Basic, Applied (including Developmental research) and
Evaluative.
The other basis for classifying research is by the
method it employs.
Research method is characterized by the techniques
employed in collecting and analyzing data.
On the basis of method, research can be classified as
historical, descriptive, correlational, ex-post facto and
experimental.