Research Methodology

Research methodology 5 Hrs

Introduction – meaning of research. Types of research, research
methods vs methodology. Scientific method of conducting research.
Review of literature. Selecting and defining a problem. Science
journals. Impact factor, citation and citation index. Indexing
agencies (Scopus, Web of Science), Research proposals.
 What is research ?
Research in simple terms refers to search for knowledge. It is a
scientific and systematic search for information on a particular
topic or issue. It is also known as the art of scientific
investigation.
“Research is the systematic approach to obtain and confirm new
and reliable knowledge”
Systematic and orderly (following a series of steps)
Purpose is new knowledge, which must be reliable
This is a general definition which applies to all disciplines
• Thus, research is an original addition to the available
knowledge, which contributes to its further advancement.
It is an attempt to pursue truth through the methods of
study, observation, comparison and experiment. In sum,
research is the search for knowledge, using objective and
systematic methods to find solution to a problem.

“… truth was not used in the definition of research”

“This concept of truth is outside of the productive realm

of thinking by researchers”
What is Science ?
Attempt to understand, explain and predict the world we live in

Then how about literature, tradition and astrology?

What makes something Scientific?

Subjectivity Objectivity Falsifiability

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 Causation and correlation

Correlation is a relationship between two variables; when one variable changes, the

other variable also changes.

Causation is when there is a real-world explanation for why this is logically happening;

it implies a cause and effect.

So: causation is correlation with a reason.

Falsifiable: Able to be proven false:

All scientific theories are falsifiable: if evidence that contradicts a theory comes

to light, the theory itself is either modified or discarded.

 Research is not
Accidental discovery:
1. Accidental discovery may occur in structured
research process
2. Usually takes the form of a phenomenon not
previously noticed

3. May lead to a structured research process to verify

or understand the observation
 Research is not

Data Collection

an intermediate step to gain reliable

knowledge
collecting reliable data is part of the research
process
 Research is not
Searching out published research results in
libraries (or the internet)
This is an important early step of research
The research process always includes
synthesis and analysis

But, just reviewing of literature is not research

 Objectives of Research

• The objective of research is to find answers to the questions by

applying scientific procedures. In other words, the main aim of
research is to find out the truth which is hidden and has not yet
been discovered. Although every research study has its own
specific objectives, the research objectives may be broadly
grouped as follows:

1. To gain familiarity with new insights into a phenomenon (i.e.,

formulative research studies);
 Objectives of Research

2. To accurately portray the characteristics of a

particular individual, group, or a situation (i.e.,
descriptive research studies);
3. To analyze the frequency with which something
occurs (i.e., diagnostic research studies); and
4. To examine the hypothesis of a causal relationship
between two variables (i.e., hypothesis-testing research
studies).
 Research Methods Versus Methodology
• Research methods include all those techniques/methods that are
adopted for conducting research. Thus, research techniques or methods
are the methods that the researchers adopt for conducting the research
studies.
• Research methodology is the way in which research problems are
solved systematically. It is a science of studying how research is
conducted scientifically. Under it, the researcher acquaints
himself/herself with the various steps generally adopted to study a
research problem, along with the underlying logic behind them. Hence,
it is not only important for the researcher to know the research
techniques/methods, but also the scientific approach called
methodology.
 Research Approaches
• There are two main approaches to research, namely quantitative approach
and qualitative approach.
• The quantitative approach involves the collection of quantitative data,
which are put to rigorous quantitative analysis in a formal and rigid manner.
This approach further includes experimental, inferential, and simulation
approaches to research.
• The qualitative approach uses the method of subjective assessment of
opinions, behavior and attitudes. Research in such a situation is a function
of the researcher’s impressions and insights. The results generated by this
type of research are either in non-quantitative form or in the form which
cannot be put to rigorous quantitative analysis. Usually, this approach uses
techniques like in-depth interviews, focus group interviews, and projective
techniques.
 MOTIVATION IN RESEARCH
• What makes people to undertake research? This is a question of
fundamental importance. The possible motives for doing research
may be either one or more of the following:
1. Desire to get a research degree along with its consequential benefits;
2. Desire to face the challenge in solving the unsolved problems, i.e.,
concern over practical problems initiates research;
3. Desire to get intellectual joy of doing some creative work;
4. Desire to be of service to society;
5. Desire to get respectability.
• However, this is not an exhaustive list of factors motivating

people to undertake research studies. Many more factors such as

directives of government, employment conditions, curiosity

about new things, desire to understand causal relationships,

social thinking and awakening, and the like may as well motivate

(or at times compel) people to perform research operations.

 Types of Research
There are different types of research. The basic ones are
as follows.
1. Descriptive Versus Analytical

2. Applied Versus Fundamental

3. Quantitative Versus Qualitative

4. Conceptual Versus Empirical

5. Other Types of Research

 Descriptive Versus Analytical
• Descriptive research consists of surveys and fact-finding enquiries of different
types.
• The main objective of descriptive research is describing the state of affairs as it
prevails at the time of study.
• The term ‘ex post facto research’ (after-the-fact research) is quite often used
for descriptive research studies in social sciences and business research.
• The most distinguishing feature of this method is that the researcher has no
control over the variables here.
• He/she has to only report what is happening or what has happened. Majority of
the ex post facto research projects are used for descriptive studies in which the
researcher attempts to examine phenomena, such as the consumers’
preferences, frequency of purchases, shopping, etc.
• Despite the inability of the researchers to control the variables, ex post
facto studies may also comprise attempts by them to discover the causes of
the selected problem.
• The methods of research adopted in conducting descriptive research are
survey methods of all kinds, including correlational and comparative
methods.
• Meanwhile in the Analytical research, the researcher has to use the already
available facts or information, and analyze them to make a critical
evaluation of the subject.
 Applied Versus Fundamental
• Research can also be applied or fundamental in nature. An
attempt to find a solution to an immediate problem encountered
by a firm, an industry, a business organization, or the society is
known as applied research.
• Researchers engaged in such researches aim at drawing certain
conclusions confronting a concrete social or business problem.
• On the other hand, fundamental research mainly concerns
generalizations and formulation of a theory. In other words,
“Gathering knowledge for knowledge’s sake is termed ‘pure’ or
‘basic’ research” (Young in Kothari, 1988).
• Researches relating to pure mathematics or concerning some
natural phenomenon are instances of Fundamental Research.
Likewise, studies focusing on human behavior also fall under
the category of fundamental research.
• Thus, while the principal objective of applied research is to
find a solution to some pressing practical problem, the
objective of basic research is to find information with a broad
base of application and add to the already existing organized
body of scientific knowledge.
 Quantitative Versus Qualitative
• Quantitative research relates to aspects that can be quantified or can be
expressed in terms of quantity. It involves the measurement of quantity or
amount. Various available statistical and econometric methods are adopted for
analysis in such research. Which includes correlation, regressions and time
series analysis etc.
• On the other hand, Qualitative research is concerned with qualitative
phenomena, or more specifically, the aspects related to or involving quality or
kind. For example, an important type of qualitative research is ‘Motivation
Research’, which investigates into the reasons for certain human behavior. The
main aim of this type of research is discovering the underlying motives and
desires of human beings by using in-depth interviews. The other techniques
employed in such research are story completion tests, sentence completion tests,
word association tests, and other similar projective methods.
• Qualitative research is particularly significant in the context of

behavioral sciences, which aim at discovering the underlying motives

of human behavior. Such research helps to analyze the various factors

that motivate human beings to behave in a certain manner, besides

contributing to an understanding of what makes individuals like or

dislike a particular thing. However, it is worth noting that conducting

qualitative research in practice is considerably a difficult task. Hence,

while undertaking such research, seeking guidance from experienced

expert researchers is important.

 Conceptual Versus Empirical

• The research related to some abstract idea or theory is known as Conceptual

Research. Generally, philosophers and thinkers use it for developing new

concepts or for reinterpreting the existing ones.

• Empirical Research, on the other hand, exclusively relies on the observation or

experience with hardly any regard for theory and system. Such research is data

based, which often comes up with conclusions that can be verified through

experiments or observation.

• Empirical research is also known as experimental type of research, in which it

is important to first collect the facts and their sources, and actively take steps to

stimulate the production of desired information.

• In this type of research, the researcher first formulates a working hypothesis,

and then gathers sufficient facts to prove or disprove the stated hypothesis.

• He/she formulates the experimental design, which according to him/her would

manipulate the variables, so as to obtain the desired information.

• This type of research is thus characterized by the researcher’s control over the

variables under study. In simple term, empirical research is most appropriate

when an attempt is made to prove that certain variables influence the other

variables in some way.

• Therefore, the results obtained by using the experimental or empirical studies

are considered to be the most powerful evidences for a given hypothesis.

• Experimentation is done to test hypotheses and to discover new
relationships if any, among variables.
• But the conclusions drawn on the basis of experimental data are
generally criticized for either faulty assumptions, poorly designed
experiments, badly executed experiments or faulty interpretations.
• As such the researcher must pay all possible attention while
developing the experimental design and must state only probable
inferences.
• The purpose of survey investigations may also be to provide
scientifically gathered information to work as a basis for the
researchers for their conclusions.
The scientific method is, thus, based on certain basic postulates
which can be stated as under:
1. It relies on empirical evidence;
2. It utilizes relevant concepts;
3. It is committed to only objective considerations;
4. It presupposes ethical neutrality, i.e., it aims at nothing but making
only adequate and correct statements about population objects;
5. It results into probabilistic predictions;
6. Its methodology is made known to all concerned for critical scrutiny
are for use in testing the conclusions through replication;
7. It aims at formulating most general axioms or what can be termed as
scientific theories.
 Research Process
1. Formulating the research problem
2. Extensive literature survey
3. Development of working hypotheses
4. Preparing the research design
5. Determining sample design
6. Collecting the data
7. Execution of the project
8. Analysis of data
9. Hypothesis-testing
10. Generalisations and interpretation
11. Preparation of the report or the thesis
 NECESSITY OF DEFINING THE PROBLEM

• “A problem clearly stated is a problem half solved”

• What data are to be collected?

• What characteristics of data are relevant and need to be
studied?
• What techniques are to be used for the purpose?
 Good Research Questions
Good questions are:
Clear – They are unambiguous and easily understood.
Specific – They are sufficiently specific for it to be clear what
constitutes an answer.
Answerable – We can see what data are needed to answer
them and how those data will be collected.
Interconnected – The questions are related in some
meaningful way, forming a coherent whole.
Substantively relevant – They are worthwhile, non-trivial
questions worthy of the research effort to be expended.
How does one go about developing working hypotheses? The
answer is by using the following approach:
(a) Discussions with colleagues and experts about the problem, its
origin and the objectives in seeking a solution;
(b) Examination of data and records, if available, concerning the
problem for possible trends, peculiarities and other clues;
(c) Review of similar studies in the area or of the studies on similar
problems; and
(d) Exploratory personal investigation which involves original field
interviews on a limited scale with interested parties and
individuals with a view to secure greater insight into the
practical aspects of the problem.
The preparation of the research design, appropriate for a particular
research problem, involves usually the consideration of the
following:
(i) The means of obtaining the information;
(ii) The availability and skills of the researcher and his staff (if
any);
(iii) Explanation of the way in which selected means of obtaining
information will be organized and the reasoning leading to the
selection;
(iv) The time available for research; and
(v) The cost factor relating to research, i.e., the finance available
for the purpose.
 The Literature Review
The review of the literature is defined as a
broad, comprehensive, in-depth, systematic,
and critical review of scholarly publications,
unpublished scholarly print materials,
audiovisual materials, and personal
communications
 The Literature Review
The review of the literature is traditionally
considered a systematic and critical review of the
most important published scholarly literature on a
particular topic.
Scholarly literature refer to published and
unpublished data based literature and conceptual
literature materials found in print and non print
forms
Data based literature reports of completed
research
Conceptual research reports of theories,
concepts
 Relationship of Review of Literature to
Theory, Research, Education and Practice

Research

Review of
Literature

Education Practice

Theory
 Purpose of Literature Review
The overall purpose of literature review is to discover
knowledge
Research purposes of literature review:
1. Determines an appropriate research design/method
(instruments, data collection and analysis methods)
for answering the research question
2. Determines the need for replication of a well
designed study or refinement of a study
 Purposes of Literature Review
Non Research purposes of literature review:
1. Determines what is known about a subject,
concept or problem
2. Determines gaps, consistencies and
inconsistencies about a subject, concept or
problem
3. Discovers unanswered questions about a
subject, concept or problem
4. Describes strengths & weaknesses of designs,
methods of inquiry and instruments used in
earlier works
 Purposes of Literature Review
Non Research purposes of literature review:
Discovers conceptual traditions used to examine
problems
Generates useful research questions or
projects/activities for the discipline
Promotes development of protocols and policies
related to nursing practice
Uncovers a new practice intervention, or gains
support for changing a practice intervention
 Differences of Research and Non Research
Purposes

Whether a nurse is developing a research study,

a curriculum, or a patient protocol, she/he should
base that project on a critical review of the
literature.
The difference lies in the type of outcome
produced
 The Use of Literature Review in
Quantitative Research
Theoretical framework
The literature defines concepts and terms in relation to the study

Problem statement and hypotheses

The literature review helps to determine what is known and not

known; to uncover gaps, consistencies, or inconsistencies, and/or
to reveal unanswered questions about a subject, concept or
problem

The literature review allows for refinement of research problems

and questions and/or hypotheses
The Use of Literature Review in Quantitative
Research
Design and method

The literature review reveals strengths and weaknesses

of designs and methods of previous research studies
Outcome of the analysis (findings, implications, and
recommendations)

The literature review is used to discuss the results or

findings of a study. The discussion relates the study’s
findings to what was or was not found in the review of
literature
 The Literature Review

Critically evaluate a review of the

literature (the entire compilation of
conceptual and data based literature) based
on accepted reviewing criteria
 Literature Review Synonymous
Conceptual literature Data based literature
Theoretical literature Empirical literature
Scholarly non research Scientific literature
literature Research literature
Scholarly work Scholarly research literature
Soft versus hard science Research study
literature study
Review of the literature
article
Concept analysis article
 Differences between Research articles and Review articles

Research articles Review articles

• A research article is a primary • A review article is a secondary
source...that is, it reports the source...it is written about other
methods and results of an articles, and does not report
original study performed by the original research of its own.
authors.
• Authors have new original • Discusses what is already known
research data and discusses their and be used to identify the gap in
results. the field.
• Written at an advanced level • Written for more a more general
usually contains lots of jargon audience and easier to read.
 Steps of Searching the Literature
Determine concept/issue/topic/problem

Conduct computer (and/or hand) search

Weed out irrelevant sources before printing

Organize sources from printout for retrieval

Retrieve relevant sources

Conduct preliminary reading and weed out irrelevant sources

Critically read each source (summarize & critique each source)

Synthesize critical summaries

 Popular Magazines versus Scholarly Journals

Popular magazines and scholarly journals are types of periodicals. A

periodical is any publication produced periodically, that is, in regularly
recurring intervals. Examples include journals, magazines, and
newspapers. Periodicals are often also referred to as serials.
 Popular Magazines Scholarly Journals

Authors are experts or specialists in their given

field
Articles written by journalists or staff
As a result, the articles are viewed as
writers
having more credibility
As a result, the articles are viewed as
Written using the technical terms and jargon
having less credibility
that are associated with the author’s expertise
Written in non-technical language that a
An issue usually has articles on a narrower
broad audience will understand
range of topics
An issue may contain articles on a wide
Articles usually (but not always) follow a set
variety of topics
format, starting with an abstract and ending with
Articles do not follow any format
a bibliography
Contain commercial ads
Sometimes (but not always) contain highly
specialized ads that relate to the field
Publication process
 Impact Factor
The impact factor (IF) is the average number of citations received for each published
article in that particular year. Impact factor determines the ranking of a journal in that
specific category, which can be found in the Journal Citation Reports (JCR). Impact factor
of a research paper is calculated based on a two-year period divide the frequency of
articles being cited by the number of articles that are citable. Example of 2018 IF of a
journal is shown below:
C/D = 2018 Impact Factor
where: C = frequency of articles published in 2016 and 2017 were cited by the indexed
journals during 2018.
D = total number of citable research articles published in 2016 and 2018.
The impact factor was devised by Eugene Garfield, the founder of the
Institute for Scientific Information (ISI). Impact factors are calculated yearly
starting from 1975 for journals listed in the Journal Citation Reports (JCR).

Calculation:
In any given year, the impact factor of a journal is the number of citations,
received in that year, of articles published in that journal during the two
preceding years, divided by the total number of "citable items" published in
that journal during the two preceding years

For example, Nature had an impact factor of 41.577 in 2017:

This means that, on average, its papers published in 2015 and 2016 received roughly 41
citations each in 2017. Note that 2017 impact factors are reported in 2018; they cannot
be calculated until all of the 2017 publications have been processed by the indexing
agency.
The value of impact factor depends on how to define "citations" and "publications";
the latter are often referred to as "citable items". In current practice, both "citations"
and "publications" are defined exclusively by ISI (Institute of Scientific Information as
follows.
"Publications" are items that are classed as "Article", "Review" or "Proceedings Paper"
in the Web of Science (WoS) database; other items like Editorials, Corrections, Notes,
Retractions and Discussions are excluded. WoS is accessible to all registered users, who
can independently verify the number of citable items for a given journal. On the
contrary, the number of citations is extracted not from the WoS database, but from a
dedicated JCR database, which is not accessible to general readers. Hence the
commonly used "JCR Impact Factor" is a proprietary value, which is defined and
calculated by ISI and can not be verified by external users.
Impact Factor is not a perfect tool to measure the quality of
articles but there is nothing better and it has the advantage of
already being in existence and is, therefore, a good technique for
scientific evaluation.
Experience has shown that in each specialty the best journals are
those in which it is most difficult to have an article accepted, and
these are the journals that have a high impact factor.
Most of these journals existed long before the impact factor was
devised. The use of impact factor as a measure of quality is
widespread because it fits well with the opinion we have in each
field of the best journals in our specialty.
Citation symbolizes the conceptual association of scientific ideas as
recognized by publishing research authors.
By the references they cite in their papers, authors make explicit linkages
between their current research and prior work in the archive of scientific
literature.
Citation indexing makes links between books and articles that were
written in the past and articles that make reference to ("cite") these older
publications. In other words, it is a technique that allows us to trace the
use of an idea (an earlier document) forward to others who have used
("cited") it. The evidence that we take as indicating this "relationship"
between earlier research and subsequent research are the references or
footnotes or endnotes (citations) in the more recent work.
Indexing and abstracting service
An abstracting service is a service that provides abstracts of publications,
often on a subject or group of related subjects, usually on a subscription
basis.
An indexing service is a service that assigns descriptors and other kinds of
access points to documents. The word indexing service is today mostly used
for computer programs, but may also cover services providing
back-of-the-book indexes, journal indexes, and related kinds of indexes.
An indexing and abstracting service is a service that provides shortening
or summarizing of documents and assigning of descriptors for referencing
documents.
Finding the literature (types of information Sources)
Encyclopedias & Dictionaries - to get an overview and
definitions for a topic,
Books and E-Books - Library, Bibliographies
Articles from journals - covers the scholarly interpretation,
most up-to-date information,
Electronic Databases – SciFinder, Reaxys, Web of Science,
Medline/Pubmed, ScienceDirect, etc
Theses & Dissertations
Websites (Internet!) - require careful evaluation of their
quality.
Google Scholar
 Best resources for finding research articles
Web of Science: This collection contains over 18,000+ journals and includes:
Science Citation Index, from 1965; Social Sciences Citation Index, from 1965;
and Arts and Humanities Citation Index, from 1991. Search by subject, author, or
cited reference. An excellent current awareness and bibliography-building tool.
SciFinder: A research and substance discovery tool of the Chemical Abstracts
databases containing literature from many scientific disciplines and the CAS
registry database.
Royal Society of Chemistry: Current and archival content from RSC journals,
covering the fields of biology, biophysics, chemical science, materials, medicinal
drug discovery and physics. The Journals Archives includes all 238,000 articles
published by the RSC and its forerunner societies, from 1841 to 2004.
DataWorks: Data analysis, visualization software, and applications.
 h-Index

• h-index is an author-level metric that measures both the productivity and citation

impact of the publications, initially used for an individual scientist or scholar.

• The h-index is defined as the maximum value of h such that the given

author/journal has published at least h papers that have each been cited at

least h times.

• For example, h index of 10 means that among all publications by one author, 10 of

these publications have received at least 10 citations each.

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Online search Engines / databases

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Scope/Purpose of Journals
Types of Articles
Letters or Communications
Reviews
Impact factors are crucial in the following context:
For promotion purpose
To select outstanding candidates for a position as
academic staff in this competitive era
To select receivers of the research grants
To select reviewers and editors for journals or
speakers on conferences
Thank you