RESEARCH METHODS

What is Research?
Definition
Research is defined as a careful consideration of study regarding a particular concern or a
problem using scientific methods. According to the American sociologist Earl Robert Babbie,
“Research is a systematic inquiry to describe, explain, predict and control the observed
phenomenon. Research involves inductive and deductive methods.”

Inductive research methods are used to analyze the observed phenomenon whereas, deductive
methods are used to verify the observed phenomenon. Inductive approaches are associated with
qualitative research and deductive methods are more commonly associated with quantitative
research.

What is the purpose of Research?

There are three purposes of research:

1. Exploratory Research: As the name suggests, exploratory research is conducted to explore

the research questions and may or may not offer a final conclusion to the research conducted. It
is conducted to handle new problem areas which haven’t been explored before. Exploratory
research lays the foundation for more conclusive research and data collection. For example, a
research conducted to know the level of customer satisfaction among the patrons of a restaurant.

2. Descriptive Research: Descriptive research focuses on throwing more light on current issues
through a process of data collection. Descriptive studies are used to describe the behavior of a
sample population. In descriptive research, only one variable (anything that has quantity or
quality that varies) is required to conduct a study. The three main purposes of descriptive
research are describing, explaining and validating the findings. For example, a research
conducted to know if top-level management leaders in the 21st century posses the moral right to
receive a huge sum of money from the company profit.

3. Explanatory Research: Explanatory research or causal research is conducted to understand

the impact of certain changes in existing standard procedures. Conducting experiments is the
most popular form of casual research. For example, research conducted to understand the effect
of rebranding on customer loyalty.
Types of Research Methods and Research Example

Research methods are broadly classified as Qualitative Research and Quantitative Research.

Both research methods have distinctive properties and data collection methods.

Qualitative Research Methods

Qualitative research is a research method that collects data using conversational methods, where
participants involved in the research are asked open-ended questions. The responses collected are
essentially non-numerical. This method not only helps a researcher understand “what”
participant thinks but also, “why”they think in a particular way.
Here are the widely used qualitative research methods:

 One-to-one Interview: This interview technique is systematically planned and as the name
suggests is conducted with one participant at a given point in time. One-to-one interviews need
a researcher to prepare questions in advance and to make sure the researcher asks only the
most important questions to the participant. This type of interview lasts anywhere between 20
minutes to half an hour. During this time the researcher collects as many meaningful data as
possible from the participants to draw inferences.
 Focus Groups: Focus groups are small groups comprising of around 6-10 participants who are
usually experts in the subject matter. A moderator is assigned to a focus group that facilitates
the discussion amongst the group members. A moderator’s experience in conducting focus
group plays an important role. An experienced moderator can probe the participants by asking
the correct research questions that will help him/her collect a sizable amount of information
related to the research.
 Ethnographic Research: Ethnographic research is an in-depth form of research where people
are observed in their natural environment without any alterations. This method can prove to be
a bit demanding in terms of a researcher getting adapted to the natural environment of the
target audience which could even be the Amazon rainforest! Geographic locations can be a
constraint in this type of research method. Instead of conducting interviews a researcher needs
to experience the settings in person to collect information.
 Text Analysis: Text analysis is a little different from other qualitative research methods as it used
to analyze the social life by decoding words, texts etc. through any available form of
documentation. The researcher studies and understands the context in which the documents
are furnished with the information and then tries to draw meaningful inferences from it. In
modern times, researchers follow activities on a social media platform and try and understand
the pattern of thoughts.
 Case Study Research: Case study research, as the name suggests is used to study an
organization or an entity. This research method has evolved over the years and is one of the
most valuable qualitative research methods known to researchers. This type of research is used
in fields like education sector, philosophical and psychological studies. This method involves a
deep diving into the ongoing research and collects data.  

Quantitative Research Methods

Quantitative research methods are the methods that deal with numbers and anything that can be
dealt with a measurable form, in a systematic way of investigating the phenomenon. It is used to
answer questions in terms of justifying relationships with measurable variables to explain,
predict or control a phenomenon.

There are three methods that are often used by researchers to conduct this type of research, they
are:

 Survey Research- The ultimate goal of survey research is to learn about a large population by
deploying the survey. Gone are the days where a survey was carried out using a pen and a
paper. Today, online surveys are a popular mode of research as they are convenient and can be
sent in an email or made available on the internet. In this method, a researcher designs a survey
 with most relevant survey questions and deploys the survey. Once the researcher receives the
responses he/she summarizes them to tabulate meaningful findings and data.
 Descriptive Research- Descriptive research is a quantitative research method, which
corresponds to identifying the characteristics of an observed phenomenon and collecting more
information. This research method is designed to depict the participants in a very systematic
and accurate manner. In simple words, descriptive research is all about describing the
phenomenon, observing and drawing conclusions from it.  
 Correlational Research- Correlational research examines the relationship between two or more
variables. Let us take an example to understand correlational research. Let us take an example
to understand correlational research, Consider hypothetically, a researcher is studying a
correlation between cancer and marries women. Let us say married women have a negative
correlation with cancer. In this example, there are two variables: cancer, and married women.
When we say negative correlation it means women who are married are less likely to develop
cancer. However, it doesn’t mean that marriage directly avoids cancer.

What are the types of Research?

Following are the types of research:

Basic Research: Basic research is mostly conducted to enhance knowledge. It covers

fundamental aspects of research. The main motivation of this research is knowledge expansion.
It is a non-commercial research and doesn’t facilitate in creating or inventing anything. For
example, an experiment is a good example of basic research.

Applied Research: Applied research focuses on analyzing and solving real-life problems. This
type of research refers to the study that helps solve practical problems using scientific methods.
This research plays an important role in solving issues that impact the overall well-being of
humans. For example, finding a specific cure for a disease.

Problem Oriented Research: As the name suggests, problem-oriented research is conducted to

understand the exact nature of the problem to find out relevant solutions. The term “problem”
refers to having issues or two thoughts while making any decisions.

For e.g Revenue of a car company has decreased by 12% in the last year. The following could be
the probable causes: There is no optimum production, poor quality of a product, no advertising,
economic conditions etc.

Problem Solving Research: This type of research is conducted by companies to understand and
resolve their own problems. The problem-solving research uses applied research to find solutions
to the existing problems.

Qualitative Research: Qualitative research is a process that is about inquiry, that helps in-depth
understanding of the problems or issues in their natural settings. This is a non- statistical research
method.

Qualitative research is heavily dependent on the experience of the researchers and the questions
used to probe the sample. The sample size is usually restricted to 6-10 people in a sample. Open-
ended questions are asked in a manner that one question leads to another. The purpose of asking
open-ended questions is to gather as much information as possible from the sample.

Following are the methods used for qualitative research:

1. One-to-one interview
2. Focus groups
3. Ethnographic Research
4. Content/ Text Analysis
5. Case study research

Qualitative Research Methods

Quantitative Research: Qualitative research is a structured way of collecting data and analyzing
it to draw conclusions. Unlike qualitative research, this research method uses a computational,
statistical and similar method to collect and analyze data. Quantitative data is all about numbers.

Quantitative research involves a larger population as more number of people means more data.
In this manner, more data can be analyzed to obtain accurate results. This type of research
method uses close-ended questions because, in quantitative research, the researchers are typically
looking at measuring the extent and gathering foolproof statistical data.

Online surveys, questionnaires, and polls are preferable data collection tools used in quantitative
research. There are various methods of deploying surveys or questionnaires. In recent times
online surveys and questionnaires have gained popularity. Survey respondents can receive these
surveys on mobile phones, emails or can simply use the internet to access surveys or
questionnaires.

What is Quantitative Research?

Quantitative Research Definition: Quantitative research, in marketing, is a stimulating and
highly educational technique to gather information from existing and potential customers using
sampling methods and sending out online surveys, online polls, questionnaires etc., the results of
which can be analyzed using statistical methods. Results produced using quantitative research
are usually numerical and after careful understanding of these numbers to predict the future of a
product or service and make changes accordingly.

Usually used in natural and social sciences, mathematical, statistical and computational methods
are adopted to methodically conduct quantitative research. In quantitative research, researchers
and statisticians deploy mathematical frameworks and theories that pertain to the quantity under
question.

Quantitative research templates are objective, elaborate and many a times, investigational in
nature. The results achieved from this research method are logical, statistical and unbiased. Data
collection happens using a structured method and conducted on larger samples which represent
the entire population.  
 Quantitative Market Research

Quantitative Research Methods: Types with Examples

The types of quantitative research are classified on the basis of data collection sources. As
mentioned earlier, this research method is highly numerical and the results are in form of “data”.
The analysis of this data is numerical and so the data collection is also done in form of numbers.
Using statistical analysis, researchers conduct an analysis of data which is why quantitative
research is closely linked with statistics.

There are four different types of quantitative research methods:

1. Survey Research:

Survey Research is a quantitative research method used to ask questions to a sample of

respondents using sources such as online polls, surveys, questionnaires via Email, Social Media
or embedding on a website. Every small and big organization intends to understand what their
customers think about their products and services, how well are new features faring in the market
and other such details.

By conducting survey research, an organization can ask multiple survey questions, collect data
from a pool of customers and analyze this collected data to produce numerical results. It is the
first step towards collecting data for any research.

This type of research can be conducted with a specific target audience group and also can be
conducted across multiple groups along with comparative analysis. A prerequisite for this type of
research is that the sample of respondents must have randomly selected members. This way, a
researcher can easily maintain the accuracy of the obtained results as a huge variety of
respondents will be addressed using random selection. Traditionally, survey research was
conducted face-to-face or via phone calls but with the progress made by online mediums such as
email or social media, survey research has spread to online mediums as well.

Traditionally, survey research was conducted face-to-face or via phone calls but with the
progress made by online mediums such as email or social media, survey research has spread to
online mediums as well.

There are two types of surveys, either of which can be chosen on the basis of the time in-hand
and the type of data required: Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal surveys.

Cross-sectional surveys: Cross-sectional surveys are observational surveys, conducted in

situations where the researcher intends to collect data from a sample of the target population at a
given point in time. Researchers can evaluate various variables at a particular time. Data
gathered using this type of survey is from people who depict similarity in all variables except the
variables which is considered for research. All throughout the survey, this one variable will stay
constant.
  Cross-sectional surveys are popular with retail, SMEs, healthcare industries. Information is
garnered without modifying any parameters in the variable ecosystem.
 Using cross-sectional survey research method, multiple samples can be analyzed and compared.
 Multiple variables can be evaluated using this type of survey research.
 The only disadvantage of cross-sectional surveys is that the cause-effect relationship of variables
cannot be established as it usually evaluates variables at a particular time period and not across
a continuous time frame.

Longitudinal surveys: Longitudinal surveys are also observational surveys but, unlike cross-
sectional surveys, longitudinal surveys are conducted across various time durations in order to
observe a change in respondent behavior and thought-processes. This time period can be days,
months, years or even decades. For instance, a researcher planning to analyze the change in
buying habits of teenagers over a period of 5 years will conduct longitudinal surveys.

 In cross-sectional surveys, the same variables were evaluated at a given point in time and in
longitudinal surveys, different variables can be analyzed at different intervals of time.
 Longitudinal surveys are extensively used in the field of medicine and applied sciences. Apart
from these two fields, they are also used to observe a change in market trend, analyze customer
satisfaction or gain feedback on products/services.
 In situations where the sequence of events is highly important, longitudinal surveys are used.
 Researchers say that when there are research subjects that need to be thoroughly inspected
before drawing conclusions, they rely on longitudinal surveys.

2. Correlational Research:

Comparison between two entities is invariable. Correlation research is conducted to establish a

relationship between two closely knit entities and how one impacts the other and what are the
changes that are eventually observed. This research method is carried out to give value to
naturally occurring relationships and a minimum of two different groups are required to
successfully conduct this quantitative research method. Without assuming different aspects, a
relationship between two groups or entities must be established.

Researchers use this quantitative research method to correlate two or more variables using
mathematical analysis methods. Patterns, relationships, and trends between variables are
concluded as they exist in their natural set up. The impact of one of these variables on the other
is observed along with how it changes the relationship between the two variables. Researchers
tend to manipulate one of the variables to attain the desired results.

Ideally, it is advised to not make conclusions merely on the basis of correlational research. This
is because it is not mandatory that if two variables are in sync that they are interrelated.

Example of Correlational Research Questions:

o The relationship between stress and depression.

o The equation between fame and money.
o The relation between activities in a third-grade class and its students.
3. Causal-Comparative Research:

This research method mainly depends on the factor of comparison. Also called the quasi-
experimental research, this quantitative research method is used by researchers to draw
conclusions about cause-effect equation between two or more variables, where one variable is
dependent on the other independent variable. The independent variable is established but not
manipulated and its impact on the dependent variable is observed. These variables or groups
must be formed as they exist in the natural set up. As the dependent and independent variables
will always exist in a group, it is advised that the conclusions are carefully established by
keeping all the factors in mind.

Causal-comparative research is not restricted to the statistical analysis of two variables but
extends to analyzing how various variables or groups change under the influence of the same
changes. This research is conducted irrespective of the type of relation that exists between two or
more variables. Statistical analysis is used to distinctly present the outcome of obtained using
this quantitative research method.

Example of Causal-Comparative Research Questions:

o The impact of drugs on a teenager.

o The effect of good education on a freshman.
o The effect of substantial food provision in the villages of Africa.

4. Experimental Research: Also known as true experimentation, this research method is reliant
on a theory. Experimental research, as the name suggests, is usually based on one or more
theories. This theory has not be proved in the past and is merely a supposition. In an
experimental research, an analysis is done around proving or disproving the statement. This
research method is used in natural sciences.

There can be multiple theories in experimental research. A theory is a statement which can be
verified or refuted.

After establishing the statement, efforts are made to understand whether it is valid or invalid.
This type of quantitative research method is mainly used in natural or social sciences as there are
various statements which need to be proved right or wrong.  

o Traditional research methods are more effective than modern techniques.

o Systematic teaching schedules help children who find it hard to cope up with the course.
o It is a boon to have responsible nursing staff for ailing parents.

Quantitative Research Characteristics

 Structured tools such as surveys, polls or questionnaires are used to gather quantitative data.
 Research is conducted on a significant sample size that represents the target market.
 The results are highly dependable and can be easily duplicated or repeated.
 Closed-ended questions are created in accordance with the objective of research.
  Various factors related to the research topic are studied before collecting feedback from
respondents.
 Usually, quantitative data are represented by tables, charts, graphs or any other non-numerical
form.
 Results of this research method can be generalized to an entire population to take appropriate
actions for improvement.

Quantitative Data Analysis for Research

 Relate the results to the objective of research and establish the statistical relevance of results.
 Consider aspects of research which were not considered for the data collection process. Report
the difference between what was planned vs. what was actually executed. Discuss whether the
missing data would bring the research down or not.
 Select precise statistical analysis method such as SWOT, Conjoint, Cross-tabulation etc. which
will produce desired results.
o SWOT Analysis: SWOT Analysis stands for the acronym of Strengths, Weakness,
Opportunities and Threat analysis. Organizations use this statistical analysis technique to
evaluate their performance internally and externally to develop effective strategies for
improvement.
o Conjoint Analysis: Conjoint Analysis is a market analysis method to learn how
individuals make complicated purchasing decisions. Trade-offs are involved in the daily
activities of an individual and these reflect their ability to decide from a complex list of
product/service options.
o Cross-tabulation: Cross-tabulation is one of the preliminary statistical market analysis
methods which establishes relationships, patterns, and trends within the various
parameters of the research study.
o TURF Analysis: TURF Analysis, an acronym for Totally Unduplicated Reach and
Frequency Analysis, is executed in situations where the reach of a favorable
communication source is to be analyzed along with the frequency of this
communication. It is used for understanding the potential of a target market.
 Inferential statistics methods such as confidence interval, margin of error etc. should be used to
provide results.
 Data presented in tables will be easier to explain and impactful in conveying numerical results.
 What to expect from the results of quantitative research should be made clear to the readers.

Quantitative Research Sampling Methods

There are two main sampling methods for quantitative research: Probability and Non-probability
sampling.

Probability sampling: A theory of probability is used to filter individuals from a population and
create samples in probability sampling. Participants of a sample are chosen random selection
processes. Each member of the target audience has an equal opportunity to be a selected in the
sample.

There are four main types of probability sampling-

  Simple random sampling: As the name indicates, simple random sampling is nothing but a
random selection of elements for a sample. This sampling technique is implemented where the
target population is considerably large.
 Stratified random sampling: In the stratified random sampling method, a large population is
divided into groups (strata) and members of a sample are chosen randomly from these strata.
The various segregated strata should ideally not overlap one another.
 Cluster sampling: Cluster sampling is a probability sampling method using which the main
segment is divided into clusters, usually using geographic and demographic segmentation
parameters.
 Systematic sampling: Systematic sampling is a technique where the starting point of the sample
is chosen randomly and all the other elements are chosen using a fixed interval. This interval is
calculated by dividing population size by the target sample size.

Non-probability sampling: Non-probability sampling is where the researcher’s knowledge and

experience are used to create samples. Because of the involvement of the researcher, not all the
members of a target population have an equal probability of being selected to be a part of a
sample.

There are five non-probability sampling models:

 Convenience Sampling: In convenience sampling, elements of a sample are chosen only due to
one prime reason: their proximity to the researcher. These samples are quick and easy to
implement as there is no other parameter of selection involved. 
 Consecutive Sampling: Consecutive sampling is quite similar to convenience sampling, except
for the fact that researchers can chose a single element or a group of samples and conduct
research consecutively over a significant time period and then perform the same process with
other samples.
 Quota Sampling: Using quota sampling, researchers can select elements using their knowledge
of target traits and personalities to form strata. Members of various strata can then be chosen
to be a part of the sample as per the researcher’s understanding.
 Snowball Sampling: Snowball sampling is conducted with target audiences which are difficult to
contact and get information. It is popular in cases where the target audience for research is rare
to put together.
 Judgmental Sampling: Judgmental sampling is a non-probability sampling method where
samples are created only on the basis of the researcher’s experience and skill.

Advantages of Quantitative Research

Collect reliable and accurate data: As data is collected, analyzed and presented in numbers,
the results obtained will be extremely reliable. Numbers do not lie. They present an honest
picture of the conducted research without discrepancies and is also extremely accurate. In
situations where a researcher predicts conflict, quantitative research is conducted.

Quick data collection: A quantitative research is carried out with a group of respondents who
represent a population. A survey or any other quantitative research method applied to these
respondents and the involvement of statistics, conducting and analyzing results is quite
straightforward and less time-consuming.
Wider scope of data analysis: Due to the statistics, this research method provides a wide scope
of data collection.

Eliminate bias: This research method offers no scope for personal comments or biasing of
results. The results achieved are numerical and are thus, fair in most cases.

Qualitative Research: Definition

Qualitative research is defined as a market research method that focuses on obtaining data
through open-ended and conversational communication. This method is not only about “what”
people think but also “why” they think so. The qualitative research method allows for in-depth
and further probing and questioning of respondents based on their responses, where the
interviewer/researcher also tries to understand their motivation and feelings.

Qualitative Research Methods with Examples

Qualitative research methods are designed in a manner that they help reveal the behavior and
perception of a target audience with reference to a particular topic. There are different types of
qualitative research methods like an in-depth interview, focus groups, ethnographic research,
content analysis, case study research that are usually used.

The results of qualitative methods are more descriptive and the inferences can be drawn quite
easily from the data that is obtained.
Qualitative research methods originated in the social and behavioral sciences. Today our world is
more complicated and it is difficult to understand what people think and perceive. Qualitative
research methods make it easier to understand that as it is more communicative and descriptive.

The following are the qualitative research methods that are frequently used:

1. One-on-One Interview: Conducting in-depth interviews is one of the

most common qualitative research methods. It is a personal interview that is carried out with one
respondent at a time. This is purely a conversational method and invites opportunities to get
details in depth from the respondent.

One of the advantages of this method provides great opportunity to gather precise data about
what people believe and what their motivations are. If the researcher is well experienced asking
the right questions can help him/her collect meaningful data. If they should need more
information the researchers should ask such follow up questions that will help them collect more
information.

These interviews can be performed face-to-face or on phone and usually can last between half an
hour to two hours or even more. When the in-depth interview is conducted face to face it gives a
better opportunity to read the body language of the respondents and match the responses.

2. Focus groups: A focus group is also one of the commonly used

qualitative research methods, used in data collection. A focus group usually includes a limited
number of respondents (6-10) from within your target market.

The main aim of the focus group is to find answers to the why what and how questions. One
advantage of focus groups is, you don’t necessarily need to interact with the group in person.
Nowadays focus groups can be sent an online survey on various devices and responses can be
collected at the click of a button.
Focus groups are an expensive method as compared to the other qualitative research methods.
Typically they are used to explain complex processes. This method is very useful when it comes
to market research of new products and testing new concepts.

3. Ethnographic research: Ethnographic research is the most in-depth

observational method that studies people in their naturally occurring environment.

This method requires the researchers to adapt to the target audiences’ environments which could
be anywhere from an organization to a city or any remote location. Here geographical constraints
can be an issue while collecting data.

This research design aims to understand the cultures, challenges, motivations, and settings that
occur. Instead of relying on interviews and discussions, you experience the natural settings first
hand.

This type of research method can last from a few days to a few years, as it involves in-depth
observation and collecting data on those grounds. It’s a challenging and a time-consuming
method and solely depends on the expertise of the researcher to be able to analyze, observe and
infer the data.

4. Text Analysis: Text analysis is a  research method that is a bit

different from other qualitative research methods as this method uses researchers to analyze the
social life by decoding the words and images from a piece of the document or other similar
forms like film, music etc.

The researcher looks at the context in which the images are used and then tries to draw
inferences from the same. In the last decade or so, content analysis through what is shared on
social media and other online platforms has become more prominent.

Researchers take into consideration the activities on social media and follow the pattern that
relates to their related topic of study. This is how data is collected in modern times. The aim of
content analysis is to identify important characteristics of the content being researched and
present it in a simplified manner so that it can be easily understood.

5. Case study research: The case study method has evolved over the
past few years and developed as into a valuable qualitative research method. As the name
suggests it is used for explaining an organization or an entity.

This type of research method is used within a number of areas like education, social sciences and
similar. This method may look difficult to operate, however, it is one of the simplest ways of
conducting research as it involves a deep dive and thorough understanding the data collection
methods and inferring the data.

Qualitative Research Methods Vs Quantitative Research Methods

The basic differences of qualitative research methods and quantitative research methods are
simple are straightforward. They differ in:

 Their analytical objectives

 Types of questions asked
 Types of data collection instruments
 Forms of data they produce
 Degree of flexibility

Learn More: Difference between Quantitative Research and Qualitative Research

Attributes Qualitative Research Methods Quantitative Research Methods

Analytical This research method focuses on to describe Quantitative research method focuses on
objectives individual experiences and beliefs. describing the characteristics of a population.

Types of
Open ended questions Closed ended questions
questions asked

Use semi-structured methods such as in-depth Use highly structured methods such as
Data collection
interviews, focus groups, and participant structured observation using questionnaires and
Instrument
observation surveys
Form of data
Descriptive data Numerical data
produced

Participant responses do not influence or

Degree of Participant responses affect how and which
determine how and which questions researchers
flexibility questions researchers ask next
ask next

How to Write Qualitative Research Survey Questions?

Qualitative Research Method- Case Study Example

Taking the example of a bookstore owner who is looking for ways to improve their sales and
customer outreach. An online community of members who were the loyal patrons of the
bookstore were interviewed and related questions were asked and the questions were answered
by them.

At the end of the interview, it was realized that most of the books in the stores were suitable for
adults and there were not enough options for children or teenagers.

By conducting this qualitative research the bookstore owner realized what the shortcomings were
and what the feelings of the readers were. Through this research now the bookstore owner can
now keep books for different age categories and can improve his sales and customer outreach.

Such qualitative research method example can serve as the basis to indulge in further quantitative
research, which provides remedies.

Qualitative Research Data Collection

Whatever method a researcher chooses for collecting qualitative data, one aspect is very clear the
process will generate a large amount of data. In addition to the variety of methods available,
there are also different methods of collecting and recording the data.

For example, if the qualitative data is collected through focus group or one-to-one discussion,
there will be handwritten notes or video recorded tapes. If there are recording they should be
transcribed and before the process of data analysis can begin.

As a rough guide, it can take a seasoned researcher 8-10 hours to transcribe the recordings of an
interview, which can generate roughly 20-30 pages of dialogues. Many researchers also like to
maintain separate folders to maintain the recording collected from the different focus group. This
helps them compartmentalize the data collected.

In case there are running notes taken, which are also known as field notes, they are helpful in
maintaining comments, environmental contexts, nonverbal cues etc. These filed notes are helpful
and can be compared while transcribing audio recorded data. Such notes are usually informal but
should be secured in a similar manner as the video recordings or the audio tapes.
Characteristics of Qualitative Research Methods

1. Qualitative research methods usually collect data at the sight, where the participants are
experiencing issues or problems. These are real-time data and rarely bring the participants out of
the geographic locations to collect information.

2. Qualitative researchers typically gather multiple forms of data, such as interviews,

observations, and documents, rather than rely on a single data source.

3. This type of research method works towards solving complex issues by breaking down into
meaningful inferences that is easily readable and understood by all.

4. Since its a more communicative method, people can build their trust on the researcher and the
information thus obtained is raw and unadulterated.

Basic Steps in the Research Process

The following steps outline a simple and effective strategy for writing a research paper.
Depending on your familiarity with the topic and the challenges you encounter along the way,
you may need to rearrange these steps.

Step 1: Identify and develop your topic

Selecting a topic can be the most challenging part of a research assignment. Since this is the very
first step in writing a paper, it is vital that it be done correctly. Here are some tips for selecting a
topic:

1. Select a topic within the parameters set by the assignment. Many times your instructor will give
you clear guidelines as to what you can and cannot write about. Failure to work within these
guidelines may result in your proposed paper being deemed unacceptable by your instructor.
2. Select a topic of personal interest to you and learn more about it. The research for and writing
of a paper will be more enjoyable if you are writing about something that you find interesting.
3. Select a topic for which you can find a manageable amount of information. Do a preliminary
search of information sources to determine whether existing sources will meet your needs. If
you find too much information, you may need to narrow your topic; if you find too little, you
may need to broaden your topic.
4. Be original. Your instructor reads hundreds of research papers every year, and many of them are
on the same topics (topics in the news at the time, controversial issues, subjects for which there
is ample and easily accessed information). Stand out from your classmates by selecting an
interesting and off-the-beaten-path topic.
5. Still can't come up with a topic to write about? See your instructor for advice.

Once you have identified your topic, it may help to state it as a question. For example, if you are
interested in finding out about the epidemic of obesity in the American population, you might
pose the question "What are the causes of obesity in America?" By posing your subject as a
question you can more easily identify the main concepts or keywords to be used in your research.

Step 2: Do a preliminary search for information

Before beginning your research in earnest, do a preliminary search to determine whether there is
enough information out there for your needs and to set the context of your research. Look up
your keywords in the appropriate titles in the library's Reference collection (such as
encyclopedias and dictionaries) and in other sources such as our catalog of books, periodical
databases, and Internet search engines. Additional background information may be found in your
lecture notes, textbooks, and reserve readings. You may find it necessary to adjust the focus of
your topic in light of the resources available to you.

Step 3: Locate materials

With the direction of your research now clear to you, you can begin locating material on your
topic. There are a number of places you can look for information:

If you are looking for books, do a subject search in the Alephcatalog. A Keyword search can be
performed if the subject search doesn't yield enough information. Print or write down the citation
information (author, title,etc.) and the location (call number and collection) of the item(s). Note
the circulation status. When you locate the book on the shelf, look at the books located nearby;
similar items are always shelved in the same area. The Aleph catalog also indexes the library's
audio-visual holdings.

Use the library's electronic periodical databases to find magazine and newspaper articles. Choose
the databases and formats best suited to your particular topic; ask at the librarian at the Reference
Desk if you need help figuring out which database best meets your needs. Many of the articles in
the databases are available in full-text format.

Use search engines (Google, Yahoo, etc.) and subject directories (such as the Librarian's Guide
to the Internet) to locate materials on the Internet. Check the Internet Resources section of the
NHCC Library web site for helpful subject links.

Step 4: Evaluate your sources

See the CARS Checklist for Information Quality for tips on evaluating the authority and quality
of the information you have located. Your instructor expects that you will provide credible,
truthful, and reliable information and you have every right to expect that the sources you use are
providing the same. This step is especially important when using Internet resources, many of
which are regarded as less than reliable.

Step 5: Make notes

Consult the resources you have chosen and note the information that will be useful in your paper.
Be sure to document all the sources you consult, even if you there is a chance you may not use
that particular source. The author, title, publisher, URL, and other information will be needed
later when creating a bibliography.

Step 6: Write your paper

Begin by organizing the information you have collected. The next step is the rough draft,
wherein you get your ideas on paper in an unfinished fashion. This step will help you organize
your ideas and determine the form your final paper will take. After this, you will revise the draft
as many times as you think necessary to create a final product to turn in to your instructor.

Step 7: Cite your sources properly

Give credit where credit is due; cite your sources.

Citing or documenting the sources used in your research serves two purposes: it gives proper
credit to the authors of the materials used, and it allows those who are reading your work to
duplicate your research and locate the sources that you have listed as references. The MLA and
the APA Styles are two popular citation formats.

Failure to cite your sources properly is plagiarism. Plagiarism is avoidable!

Step 8: Proofread

The final step in the process is to proofread the paper you have created. Read through the text
and check for any errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Make sure the sources you used
are cited properly. Make sure the message that you want to get across to the reader has been
thoroughly stated.

Additional research tips:

 Work from the general to the specific -- find background information first, then use more
specific sources.
 Don't forget print sources -- many times print materials are more easily accessed and every bit
as helpful as online resources.
 The library has books on the topic of writing research papers at call number area LB 2369.
 If you have questions about the assignment, ask your instructor.
 If you have any questions about finding information in the library

Step by Step: Details of the Research Process

This flowchart should give you a good idea of the order in which to conduct library research. For more
information on any step refer to the tabs above, or ask a Librarian.  Happy ReSearching.

1. Select Topic
1. Do Background Reading
2. Narrow/Broaden Search
 3. Create Thesis Statement
2. Develop Search Strategy
1. Create list of keywords
2. List questions to be answered
3. Write a draft outline
3. Gather Materials
1. Books
2. Articles
3. Web Sites
4. Evaluate Resources
1. Currency
2. Reliabitliy
3. Authority
4. Accuracy
5. Point of View
5. Read, Write, Edit: Organize Your Thoughts
1. Think about what you've read
2. Synthesize the information
3. Write Your Paper
6. Revise/Rewrite if necessary

Library Research Flowchart

 
Basic Terms used in Research
Population- is the entire pool from which a statistical sample is drawn. In statistics, population may refer
to people, objects, events, hospital visits, measurements, etc. A population can, therefore, be said to be
an aggregate observation of subjects grouped together by a common feature.

Sample-is defined as a section of the population.

Sampling -is the act, process, or technique of selecting a suitable sample, or a representative part of
a population for the purpose of determining parameters or characteristics of the whole population.

Variables- are factors that can be manipulated and measured. Any factor that can take on
different values is a scientific variable and influences the outcome of experimental research

Data- is "the recorded factual material commonly accepted in the scientific community as
necessary to validate research findings
Examples of research data

 Documents (text, Word), spreadsheets

 Laboratory notebooks, field notebooks, diaries
 Questionnaires, transcripts, codebooks
 Audiotapes, videotapes
 Photographs, films
 Protein or genetic sequences
 Spectra
 Test responses
 Slides, artifacts, specimens, samples
 Collection of digital objects acquired and generated during the process of research
 Database contents (video, audio, text, images)
 Models, algorithms, scripts
 Contents of an application (input, output, logfiles for analysis software, simulation software,
schemas)
 Methodologies and workflows
 Standard operating procedures and protocols

Parameter- is any numerical quantity that characterizes a given population or some

aspect of it. This means the parameter tells us something about the whole population.
The most common statistics parameters are the measures of central tendency. These tell us how the

data behaves on an average basis. For example, mean, median and mode are measures of central

tendency that give us an idea about where the data concentrates. Standard deviation tells us how

the data is spread from the central tendency, i.e. whether the distribution is wide or narrow. Such

parameters are often very useful in analysis.

Statistics -is a branch of mathematics dealing with data collection, organization, analysis,

interpretation and presentation.

Descriptive statistics -is the term given to the analysis of data that helps describe, show or
summarize data in a meaningful way such that, for example, patterns might emerge from the
data. Descriptive statistics do not, however, allow us to make conclusions beyond the data we
have analysed or reach conclusions regarding any hypotheses we might have made. They are
simply a way to describe our data.

Descriptive statistics are very important because if we simply presented our raw data it would be
hard to visualize what the data was showing, especially if there was a lot of it. Descriptive
statistics therefore enables us to present the data in a more meaningful way, which allows
simpler interpretation of the data. For example, if we had the results of 100 pieces of students'
coursework, we may be interested in the overall performance of those students. We would also
be interested in the distribution or spread of the marks. Descriptive statistics allow us to do this.
Typically, there are two general types of statistic that are used to describe data:

 Measures of central tendency: these are ways of describing the central position of a frequency
distribution for a group of data. In this case, the frequency distribution is simply the distribution
and pattern of marks scored by the 100 students from the lowest to the highest. We can
describe this central position using a number of statistics, including the mode, median, and
mean. You can read about measures of central tendency here.
 Measures of spread: these are ways of summarizing a group of data by describing how spread
out the scores are. For example, the mean score of our 100 students may be 65 out of 100.
However, not all students will have scored 65 marks. Rather, their scores will be spread out.
Some will be lower and others higher. Measures of spread help us to summarize how spread out
these scores are. To describe this spread, a number of statistics are available to us, including the
range, quartiles, absolute deviation, variance and standard deviation.

Descriptive statistics are used to describe or summarize data in ways that are meaningful and
useful. For example, it would not be useful to know that all of the participants in our example
wore blue shoes. However, it would be useful to know how spread out their anxiety ratings was.
Descriptive statistics is at the heart of all quantitative analysis.

So how do we describe data? There are two ways: measures of central tendency and measures of
variability, or dispersion.

Central tendency describes the central point in a data set. Variability describes the spread of the
data.
Measures of Central Tendency
You are probably somewhat familiar with the mean, but did you know that it is a measure of
central tendency? Measures of central tendency use a single value to describe the center of a
data set. The mean, median, and mode are all the three measures of central tendency.

The mean, or average, is calculated by finding the sum of the study data and dividing it by the
total number of data. The mode is the number that appears most frequently in the set of data.

The median is the middle value in a set of data. It is calculated by first listing the data in
numerical order then locating the value in the middle of the list. When working with an odd set
of data, the median is the middle number. For example, the median in a set of 9 data is the
number in the fifth place. When working with an even set of data, you find the average of the
two middle numbers. For example, in a data set of 10, you would find the average of the
numbers in the fifth and sixth places.

The mean and median can only be used with numerical data. The mode can be used with both
numerical and nominal data, and data in the form of names or labels. Eye color, gender, and
hair color are all examples of nominal data. The mean is the preferred measure of central
tendency since it considers all of the numbers in a data set; however, the mean is extremely
sensitive to outliers, or extreme values that are much higher or lower than the rest of the values
in a data set. The median is preferred in cases where there are outliers, since the median only
considers the middle values.

Knowing what we know, let's calculate the mean, median, and mode using the example from
before. Again, the anxiety ratings of your classmates are 8, 4, 9, 3, 5, 8, 6, 6, 7, 8, and 10.

Mean: (8+ 4 + 9 + 3 + 5 + 8 + 6 + 6 + 7 + 8 + 10) / 11 = 74 / 11 = The mean is 6.73.

Median : In a data set of 11, the median is the number in the sixth place. 3, 4, 5, 6, 6, 7, 8, 8, 8, 9,
10. The median is 7.

Mode: The number 8 appears more than any other number. The mode is 8.

Measures of Dispersion
We've got some pretty solid numbers on our data now, but let's say that you wanted to look at
how spread out the study data is from a central value, i.e. the mean. In this case, you would look
at measures of dispersion, which include the range, variance, and standard deviation.

The simplest measure of dispersion is the range. This tells us how spread out our data is. In
order to calculate the range, you subtract the smallest number from the largest number. Just like
the mean, the range is very sensitive to outliers.
The variance is a measure of the average distance that a set of data lies from its mean. The
variance is not a stand-alone statistic. It is typically used in order to calculate other statistics,
such as the standard deviation. The higher the variance, the more spread out your data are.

Inferential statistics -allows you to make predictions (“inferences”) from that data. With inferential
statistics, you take data from samples and make generalizations about a population. For example, you
might stand in a mall and ask a sample of 100 people if they like shopping at Sears. You could make a bar
chart of yes or no answers (that would be descriptive statistics) or you could use your research (and
inferential statistics) to reason that around 75-80% of the population (all shoppers in all malls) like
shopping at Sears.

There are two main areas of inferential statistics:

1. Estimating parameters. This means taking a statistic from your sample data (for example the
sample mean) and using it to say something about a population parameter (i.e. the population
mean).
2. Hypothesis tests. This is where you can use sample data to answer research questions. For
example, you might be interested in knowing if a new cancer drug is effective. Or if breakfast
helps children perform better in schools.

Let’s say you have some sample data about a potential new cancer drug. You could use
descriptive statistics to describe your sample, including:

 Sample mean
 Sample standard deviation
 Making a bar chart or boxplot
 Describing the shape of the sample probability distribution

A bar graph is one way to summarize data in descriptive statistics. Source: NIH.GOV.
With inferential statistics you take that sample data from a small number of people and and try to
determine if the data can predict whether the drug will work for everyone (i.e. the population). There
are various ways you can do this, from calculating a z-score (z-scores are a way to show where your data
would lie in a normal distribution to post-hoc (advanced) testing.

A hypothesis test can show where your data is placed on a distribution like this one.

Inferential statistics use statistical models to help you compare your sample data to other samples or to
previous research. Most research uses statistical models called the Generalized Linear model and
include Student’s t-tests, ANOVA (Analysis of Variance), regression analysis and various other models
that result in straight-line (“linear”) probabilities and results.

What are the research objectives?

In general, research objectives describe what we expect to achieve by a project.

A statement of research objectives can serve to guide the activities of research. Consider the
following examples.

 Objective: To describe what factors farmers take into account in making such decisions
as whether to adopt a new technology or what crops to grow.
 Objective: To develop a budget for reducing pollution by a particular enterprise.
 Objective: To describe the habitat of the giant panda in China.

In the above examples the intent of the research is largely descriptive.

  In the case of the first example, the research will end the study by being able to specify
factors which emerged in household decisions.
 In the second, the result will be the specification of a pollution reduction budget.
 In the third, creating a picture of the habitat of the giant panda in China.

A research problem -is a statement about an area of concern, a condition to be improved, a difficulty to be
eliminated, or a troubling question that exists in scholarly literature, in theory, or in practice that points to
the need for meaningful understanding and deliberate investigation. In some social science disciplines the
research problem is typically posed in the form of a question. A research problem does not state how to do
something, offer a vague or broad proposition, or present a value question.

The purpose of a problem statement is to:

1. Introduce the reader to the importance of the topic being studied. The reader is oriented to the
significance of the study and the research questions or hypotheses to follow.
2. Places the problem into a particular context that defines the parameters of what is to be
investigated.
3. Provides the framework for reporting the results and indicates what is probably necessary to
conduct the study and explain how the findings will present this information.

So What!

In the social sciences, the research problem establishes the means by which you must answer the "So What?"
question. The "So What?" question refers to a research problem surviving the relevancy test [the quality of a
measurement procedure that provides repeatability and accuracy]. Note that answering the "So What" question
requires a commitment on your part to not only show that you have researched the material, but that you have
thought about its significance.

To survive the "So What" question, problem statements should possess the following attributes:

 Clarity and precision [a well-written statement does not make sweeping generalizations and
irresponsible statements],
 Identification of what would be studied, while avoiding the use of value-laden words and terms,
 Identification of an overarching question and key factors or variables,
 Identification of key concepts and terms,
 Articulation of the study's boundaries or parameters,
 Some generalizability in regards to applicability and bringing results into general use,
 Conveyance of the study's importance, benefits, and justification [regardless of the type of research, it
is important to address the “so what” question by demonstrating that the research is not trivial],
 Does not have unnecessary jargon; and,
 Conveyance of more than the mere gathering of descriptive data providing only a snapshot of the issue
or phenomenon under investigation.
Types and Content
There are four general conceptualizations of a research problem in the social sciences:

1. Casuist Research Problem -- this type of problem relates to the determination of right and wrong in
questions of conduct or conscience by analyzing moral dilemmas through the application of general
rules and the careful distinction of special cases.
2. Difference Research Problem -- typically asks the question, “Is there a difference between two or
more groups or treatments?” This type of problem statement is used when the researcher compares or
contrasts two or more phenomena.
3. Descriptive Research Problem -- typically asks the question, "what is...?" with the underlying
purpose to describe a situation, state, or existence of a specific phenomenon.
4. Relational Research Problem -- suggests a relationship of some sort between two or more variables
to be investigated. The underlying purpose is to investigate qualities/characteristics that are connected
in some way.

A problem statement in the social sciences should contain:

 A lead-in that helps ensure the reader will maintain interest over the study
 A declaration of originality [e.g., mentioning a knowledge void, which would be supported by the
literature review]
 An indication of the central focus of the study, and
 An explanation of the study's significance or the benefits to be derived from an investigating the
problem.

II. Sources of Problems for Investigation

Identifying a problem to study can be challenging, not because there is a lack of issues that could be
investigated, but due to pursuing a goal of formulating a socially relevant and researchable problem statement
that is unique and does not simply duplicate the work of others. To facilitate how you might select a problem
from which to build a research study, consider these three broad sources of inspiration:

Deductions from Theory

This relates to deductions made from social philosophy or generalizations embodied in life in society that the
researcher is familiar with. These deductions from human behavior are then fitted within an empirical frame of
reference through research. From a theory, the research can formulate a research problem or hypothesis stating
the expected findings in certain empirical situations. The research asks the question: “What relationship
between variables will be observed if theory aptly summarizes the state of affairs?” One can then design and
carry out a systematic investigation to assess whether empirical data confirm or reject the hypothesis and hence
the theory.

Interdisciplinary Perspectives
Identifying a problem that forms the basis for a research study can come from academic movements and
scholarship originating in disciplines outside of your primary area of study. A review of pertinent literature
should include examining research from related disciplines, which can expose you to new avenues of
exploration and analysis. An interdisciplinary approach to selecting a research problem offers an opportunity to
construct a more comprehensive understanding of a very complex issue than any single discipline might
provide.
Interviewing Practitioners
The identification of research problems about particular topics can arise from formal or informal discussions
with practitioners who provide insight into new directions for future research and how to make research
findings increasingly relevant to practice. Discussions with experts in the field, such as, teachers, social
workers, health care providers, etc., offers the chance to identify practical, “real worl” problems that may be
understudied or ignored within academic circles. This approach also provides some practical knowledge which
may help in the process of designing and conducting your study.

Personal Experience
Your everyday experiences can give rise to worthwhile problems for investigation. Think critically about your
own experiences and/or frustrations with an issue facing society, your community, or in your neighborhood.
This can be derived, for example, from deliberate observations of certain relationships for which there is no
clear explanation or witnessing an event that appears harmful to a person or group or that is out of the ordinary.

Relevant Literature
The selection of a research problem can often be derived from an extensive and thorough review of pertinent
research associated with your overall area of interest. This may reveal where gaps remain in our understanding
of a topic. Research may be conducted to: 1) fill such gaps in knowledge; 2) evaluate if the methodologies
employed in prior studies can be adapted to solve other problems; or, 3) determine if a similar study could be
conducted in a different subject area or applied to different study sample [i.e., different groups of people].
Also, authors frequently conclude their studies by noting implications for further research; this can also be a
valuable source of problems to investigate.

III.  What Makes a Good Research Statement?

A good problem statement begins by introducing the broad area in which your research is centered and then
gradually leads the reader to the more narrow questions you are posing. The statement need not be lengthy but
a good research problem should incorporate the following features:

Compelling topic
Simple curiosity is not a good enough reason to pursue a research study. The problem that you choose to
explore must be important to you and to a larger community you share. The problem chosen must be one that
motivates you to address it.

Supports multiple perspectives

The problem most be phrased in a way that avoids dichotomies and instead supports the generation and
exploration of multiple perspectives. A general rule of thumb is that a good research problem is one that would
generate a variety of viewpoints from a composite audience made up of reasonable people.

Researchable
It seems a bit obvious, but you don't want to find yourself in the midst of investigating a complex  research
project and realize that you don't have much to draw on for your research. Choose research problems that can
be supported by the resources available to you. Not sure? Seek out help  from a librarian!

NOTE:  Do not confuse a research problem with a research topic. A topic is something to read and obtain
information about whereas a problem is something to solve or framed as a question that must be answered.
IV. Mistakes to Avoid
Beware of circular reasoning. Don’t state that the research problem as simply the absence of the thing you
are suggesting. For example, if you propose, "The problem in this community is that it has no hospital."

This only leads to a research problem where:

 The need is for a hospital

 The objective is to create a hospital
 The method is to plan for building a hospital, and
 The evaluation is to measure if there is a hospital or not.

This is an example of a research problem that fails the "so what?" test because it does not reveal the
relevance of why you are investigating the problem of having no hospital in the community [e.g., there's a
hospital in the community ten miles away] and because the research problem does not elucidate the
significance of why one should study the fact that no hospital exists in the community [e.g., that hospital in the
community ten miles away has no emergency room].

A hypothesis- is a specific, testable prediction. It describes in concrete terms what you expect
will happen in a certain circumstance. Your hypothesis may have been, 'If not studying lowers
test performance and I do not study, then I will get a low grade on the test.'

The Purpose of a Hypothesis

A hypothesis is used in an experiment to define the relationship between two variables. The
purpose of a hypothesis is to find the answer to a question. A formalized hypothesis will force us
to think about what results we should look for in an experiment.

The first variable is called the independent variable. This is the part of the experiment that can
be changed and tested. The independent variable happens first and can be considered the cause of
any changes in the outcome. The outcome is called the dependent variable. The independent
variable in our previous example is not studying for a test. The dependent variable that you are
using to measure outcome is your test score.

Let's use the previous example again to illustrate these ideas. The hypothesis is testable because
you will receive a score on your test performance. It is measurable because you can compare test
scores received from when you did study and test scores received from when you did not study.

A hypothesis should always:

 Explain what you expect to happen

 Be clear and understandable
 Be testable
 Be measurable
 And contain an independent and dependent variable
How to Develop a Hypothesis
Another important aspect of a hypothesis is that it should be based on research. Remember that
the purpose of a hypothesis is to find the answer to a question. The first thing you should do if
you want to answer a question is to find as much information on the topic as you can. Before you
come up with a specific hypothesis, spend some time doing research. Then, start thinking of
questions you still have. After thoroughly researching your question, you should have an
educated guess about how things work. This guess about the answer to your question is where
your hypothesis comes from.

Let's imagine that you want to know why the leaves on the tree in your front yard change color in
the fall. First, you would research this phenomenon. You observe what you see happen and read
about the subject. You discover that the color change happens when the temperature cools. What
question does this information make you ask?

You come up with the following question: 'Does temperature cause the leaves to change color on
the tree in my front yard?' Next, you ask yourself if this can be tested. If it can be tested, you'll
write a hypothesis that states what you expect to find. Your hypothesis could be 'If lower
temperatures cause leaves to change color and the temperature surrounding a tree is decreased,
then the leaves will change color.'

Theory
As such theory is a systematic and general attempt to explain something like: Why do people commit
crimes? How do the media affect us? Why do some people believe in God? Why do people get
married? Why do kids play truant from school? How is our identity shaped by culture? Each of these
questions contains a reference to some observed phenomenon. A suggested explanation for the observed
phenomenon is theory. More formally, a theory is a coherent set of general propositions, used as
principles of explanations of the apparent relationship of certain observed phenomena.

A theory is a set of interrelated concepts, definitions, and propositions that explains or predicts events
or situations by specifying relations among variables.

How to Identify an Appropriate Research Problem

The research problem is the heart of a study. It is a clear, definite statement of the area of
concern or investigation and is backed by evidence (Bryman, 2007).  It drives the research
questions and processes and provides the framework for understanding the research findings. To
begin, you will need to know where to look for your research problem and how to evaluate when
a research problem for success.

Where to Find a Research Problem

Ideas for a research problems tend to come from two sources: real life and the scholarly arena. 
First, identifying a research problem can be as simple as observing the complications and issues
in your local workplace. You may encounter ongoing issues on a daily basis in your workplace
or observe your colleagues struggle with major issues or questions in your field. These ongoing
obstacles and issues in the workplace can be the catalyst for developing a research problem.  

Alternatively, research problems can be identified by reviewing recent literature, reports, or

databases in your field. Often the section of “recommendations for the future studies” provided
at the end of journal articles or doctoral dissertations suggest potential research problems. In
addition, major reports and databases in the field may reveal findings or data-based facts that call
for additional investigation or suggest potential issues to be addressed. Looking at what theories
need to be tested is another opportunity to develop a research problem.

How to Evaluate a Research Problem 

Once you find your potential research problem, you will need to evaluate the problem and ensure
that it is appropriate for research. A research problem is deemed appropriate when it is supported
by the literature, and considered significant, timely, novel, specific, and researchable.  Stronger
research problems are more likely to succeed in publication, presentation, and application.

Supported by the Literature

Your research problem should be relevant to the field and supported by a number of recent peer-
reviewed studies in the field. Even if you identify the problem based on the recommendation of
one journal article or dissertation, you will still need to conduct a literature search and ensure
that other researchers support the problem and need for conducting research to further address
the problem.

Significant

Your research problem should have a positive impact on the field. The impact can be practical, in
the form of direct application of the results in the field, or conceptual, where the work advances
the field by filling a knowledge gap.  

Timely

Your research problem should be related to the current needs in the field and well-suited for the
present status of the issues in your field. Explore what topics are being covered in current
journals in the field. Look at calls from relevant disciplinary organizations. Review your research
center agenda and focused topics. For example, the topics of the Research Labs at Center for
Educational and Instructional Technology Research including critical thinking, social media and
cultural competency, diversity, and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
(STEM) in higher education are representative of the current timely topics in the field of
education.  Identifying a current question in the field and supporting the problem with the recent
literature can justify the problem timeliness.
Novel

Your research problem should be original and unique. It should seek to address a gap in our
knowledge or application. An exhaustive review of literature can help you identify whether the
problem has already been addressed with your particular sample and/or context. Talking to
experts in the research area can illuminate a problem.  Replication of an existing study warrants
discussion of value elsewhere, but novelty can be found in determining if an already-resolved
problem holds in a new sample and/or context.

Specific and Clear

Your research problem should be specific enough to set the direction of the study, raise research
question(s), and determine an appropriate research method and design. Vague research problems
may not be useful to specify the direction of the study or develop research questions.  

Researchable

Research problems are solved through the scientific method. This means research-ability, or
feasibility of the problem, is more important than all of the above characteristics. You as the
researcher should be able to solve the problem with your abilities and available research
methods, designs, research sites, resources, and timeframe. If a research problem retains all of
aforementioned characteristics but it is not researchable, it may not be an appropriate research
problem.

A hypothesis is a prediction of what will be found at the outcome of a research project and is

typically focused on the relationship between two different variables studied in the research. It is
usually based on both theoretical expectations about how things work, and already existing
scientific evidence.

Within social science, a hypothesis can take two forms. It can predict that there is no relationship
between two variables, in which case it is a null hypothesis. Or, it can predict the existence of a
relationship between variables, which is known as an alternative hypothesis.

In either case, the variable that is thought to either affect or not affect the outcome is known as
the independent variable, and the variable that is thought to either be affected or not is the
dependent variable.

Researchers seek to determine whether or not their hypothesis, or hypotheses if they have more
than one, will prove true. Sometimes they do, and sometimes they do not. Either way, the
research is considered successful if one can conclude whether or not a hypothesis is true.  

Null Hypothesis

A researcher has a null hypothesis when she or he believes, based on theory and existing
scientific evidence, that there will not be a relationship between two variables. For example,
when examining what factors influence a person's highest level of education within the U.S., a
researcher might expect that place of birth, number of siblings, and religion would not have an
impact on level of education. This would mean the researcher has stated three null hypotheses.

Alternative Hypothesis

Taking the same example, a researcher might expect that the economic class and educational
attainment of one's parents, and the race of the person in question are likely to have an effect on
one's educational attainment. Existing evidence and social theories that recognize the
connections between wealth and cultural resources, and how race affects access to rights and
resources in the U.S., would suggest that both economic class and educational attainment of the
one's parents would have a positive effect on educational attainment. In this case, economic class
and educational attainment of one's parents are independent variables, and one's educational
attainment is the dependent variable--it is hypothesized to be dependent on the other two.

Conversely, an informed researcher would expect that being a race other than white in the U.S. is
likely to have a negative impact on a person's educational attainment. This would be
characterized as a negative relationship, wherein being a person of color has a negative effect on
one's educational attainment. In reality, this hypothesis proves true, with the exception of Asian
Americans, who go to college at a higher rate than whites do. However, Blacks and Hispanics
and Latinos are far less likely than whites and Asian Americans to go to college.

Formulating a Hypothesis

Formulating a hypothesis can take place at the very beginning of a research project, or after a bit
of research has already been done. Sometimes a researcher knows right from the start which
variables she is interested in studying, and she may already have a hunch about their
relationships. Other times, a researcher may have an interest in a particular topic, trend, or
phenomenon, but he may not know enough about it to identify variables or formulate a
hypothesis.

Whenever a hypothesis is formulated, the most important thing is to be precise about what one's
variables are, what the nature of the relationship between them might be, and how one can go
about conducting a study of th

Characteristics of Hypotheses 
1. A hypothesis should be conceptually clear :
A clear definition of concepts should‘be used in a hypothesis and should be done free from secret words
and words instead of shapes should be used, these should further be analyzable into indicators and
consist of concepts being used in previous researches.

2. A hypothesis should have on empirical reference :

The concepts used in a hypothesis should be scientific instead of based on moral judgment like bad
parents, irreligious or'dirty children but measurable concepts, capable to be turned into indicators.

3. A hypothesis must be specific :

A useful hypothesis should be testable for the foretelling described with limits. Sometimes hypotheses
are made of general words having grandeur but there are not simply testable. Therefore,
i. It should be specific for its topic with no irrelevant matters.
ii. It should not be vast enough to be investigated.

4. A hypothesis should be related to available techniques :

A hypothesis should be related to the available techniques of research to be tested easily for the
verification, otherwise it will be devoid of meaning with no service to the scientific knowledge.

5. A hypothesis should be related to a body of theory :

A hypothesis should be related to present scientific theory. Knowledge can only progress when already
present theories and facts are further researched. If every research is individualistic and is isolated, it
will have no meaning with no progress of the scientific knowledge.

Definition of Conceptual Framework

A theoretical structure of assumptions, principles, and rules that holds together the ideas
comprising a broad concept.

Read more: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/conceptual-framework.html

A conceptual framework represents the researcher’s synthesis of literature on how to explain a

phenomenon. It maps out the actions required in the course of the study given his previous
knowledge of other researchers’ point of view and his observations on the subject of research.

In other words, the conceptual framework is the researcher’s understanding of how the particular
variables in his study connect with each other. Thus, it identifies the variables required in the
research investigation. It is the researcher’s “map” in pursuing the investigation.

As McGaghie et al. (2001) put it: The conceptual framework “sets the stage” for the presentation
of the particular research question that drives the investigation being reported based on the
problem statement. The problem statement of a thesis presents the context and the issues that
caused the researcher to conduct the study.

The conceptual framework lies within a much broader framework called theoretical framework.
The latter draws support from time-tested theories that embody the findings of many researchers
on why and how a particular phenomenon occurs.

Step by Step Guide on How to Make the Conceptual Framework

Before you prepare your conceptual framework, you need to do the following things:

1. Choose your topic. Decide on what will be your research topic. The topic should be within your
field of specialization.
 2. Do a literature review. Review relevant and updated research on the theme that you decide to
work on after scrutiny of the issue at hand. Preferably use peer-reviewed and well-known
scientific journals as these are reliable sources of information.
3. Isolate the important variables. Identify the specific variables described in the literature and
figure out how these are related. Some abstracts contain the variables and the salient findings
thus may serve the purpose. If these are not available, find the research paper’s summary. If the
variables are not explicit in the summary, get back to the methodology or the results and
discussion section and quickly identify the variables of the study and the significant findings.
Read the TSPU Technique on how to skim efficiently articles and get to the important points
without much fuss.
4. Generate the conceptual framework. Build your conceptual framework using your mix of the
variables from the scientific articles you have read. Your problem statement serves as a
reference in constructing the conceptual framework. In effect, your study will attempt to answer
a question that other researchers have not explained yet. Your research should address a
knowledge gap.

Literature Review

Definition
A literature review is both a summary and explanation of the complete and current state of
knowledge on a limited topic as found in academic books and journal articles.

Purpose of the Literature Review

 It gives readers easy access to research on a particular topic by selecting high quality
articles or studies that are relevant, meaningful, important and valid and summarizing
them into one complete report
 It provides an excellent starting point for researchers beginning to do research in a new
area by forcing them to summarize, evaluate, and compare original research in that
specific area
 It ensures that researchers do not duplicate work that has already been done
 It can provide clues as to where future research is heading or recommend areas on which
to focus
 It highlights key findings
 It identifies inconsistencies, gaps and contradictions in the literature
 It provides a constructive analysis of the methodologies and approaches of other
researchers

Content of the Review

Introduction
The introduction explains the focus and establishes the importance of the subject. It discusses
what kind of work has been done on the topic and identifies any controversies within the field or
any recent research which has raised questions about earlier assumptions. It may provide
background or history. It concludes with a purpose or thesis statement. In a stand-alone literature
review, this statement will sum up and evaluate the state of the art in this field of research; in a
review that is an introduction or preparatory to a thesis or research report, it will suggest how the
review findings will lead to the research the writer proposes to undertake.

Body

Often divided by headings/subheadings, the body summarizes and evaluates the current state of
knowledge in the field. It notes major themes or topics, the most important trends, and any
findings about which researchers agree or disagree. If the review is preliminary to your own
thesis or research project, its purpose is to make an argument that will justify your proposed
research. Therefore, it will discuss only that research which leads directly to your own project.

Conclusion

The conclusion summarizes all the evidence presented and shows its significance. If the review is
an introduction to your own research, it highlights gaps and indicates how previous research
leads to your own research project and chosen methodology. If the review is a stand-alone
assignment for a course, it should suggest any practical applications of the research as well as the
implications and possibilities for future research.

Nine Steps to Writing a Literature Review

1. Find a Working Topic

Look at your specific area of study. Think about what interests you, and what fertile ground for
study is. Talk to your professor, brainstorm, and read lecture notes and recent issues of
periodicals in the field.

2. Review the Literature

 Using keywords search a computer database. It is best to use at least two databases
relevant to your discipline
 Remember that the reference lists of recent articles and reviews can lead to valuable
papers
 Make certain that you also include any studies contrary to your point of view

3. Focus Your Topic Narrowly and Select Papers Accordingly

Consider the following:

  What interests you?
 What interests others?
 What time span of research will you consider?

Choose an area of research that is due for a review.

4. Read the Selected Articles Thoroughly and Evaluate Them

 What assumptions do most/some researchers seem to be making?

 What methodologies do they use? what testing procedures, subjects, material tested?
 Evaluate and synthesize the research findings and conclusions drawn
 Note experts in the field: names/labs that are frequently referenced
 Note conflicting theories, results, methodologies
 Watch for popularity of theories and how this has/has not changed over time

5. Organize the Selected Papers by Looking For Patterns and By Developing

Subtopics

Note things such as:

 Findings that are common/contested

 Two or three important trends in the research
 The most influential theories

6. Develop a Working Thesis

Write a one or two sentence statement summarizing the conclusion you have reached about the
major trends and developments you see in the research that has been done on your subject.

7. Organize Your Own Paper Based on the Findings from Steps 4 & 5

Develop headings/subheadings. If your literature review is extensive, find a large table surface,
and on it place post-it notes or filing cards to organize all your findings into categories. Move
them around if you decide that (a) they fit better under different headings, or (b) you need to
establish new topic headings.

8. Write the Body of the Paper

Follow the plan you have developed above, making certain that each section links logically to the
one before and after and that you have divided your sections by themes or subtopics, not by
reporting the work of individual theorists or researchers.

9. Look at What You Have Written; Focus On Analysis, Not Description

Look at the topic sentences of each paragraph. If you were to read only these sentences, would
you find that your paper presented a clear position, logically developed, from beginning to end?
If, for example, you find that each paragraph begins with a researcher's name, it might indicate
that, instead of evaluating and comparing the research literature from an analytical point of view,
you have simply described what research has been done. This is one of the most common
problems with student literature reviews. So if your paper still does not appear to be defined by a
central, guiding concept, or if it does not critically analyse the literature selected, then you should
make a new outline based on what you have said in each section and paragraph of the paper, and
decide whether you need to add information, to delete off-topic information, or to restructure the
paper entirely.

For example, look at the following two passages and note that Student A is merely describing the
literature and Student B takes a more analytical and evaluative approach, by comparing and
contrasting. You can also see that this evaluative approach is well signalled by linguistic markers
indicating logical connections (words such as "however," "moreover") and phrases such as
"substantiates the claim that," which indicate supporting evidence and Student B's ability to
synthesize knowledge.

Student A:
Smith (2000) concludes that personal privacy in their living quarters is the most important factor
in nursing home residents' perception of their autonomy. He suggests that the physical
environment in the more public spaces of the building did not have much impact on their
perceptions. Neither the layout of the building, nor the activities available seem to make much
difference. Jones and Johnstone make the claim that the need to control one's environment is a
fundamental need of life (2001), and suggest that the approach of most institutions, which is to
provide total care, may be as bad as no care at all. If people have no choices or think that they
have none, they become depressed.

Student B:
After studying residents and staff from two intermediate care facilities in Calgary, Alberta, Smith
(2000) came to the conclusion that except for the amount of personal privacy available to
residents, the physical environment of these institutions had minimal if any effect on their
perceptions of control (autonomy). However, French (1998) and Haroon (2000) found that
availability of private areas is not the only aspect of the physical environment that determines
residents' autonomy. Haroon interviewed 115 residents from 32 different nursing homes known
to have different levels of autonomy (2000). It was found that physical structures, such as
standardized furniture, heating that could not be individually regulated, and no possession of a
house key for residents limited their feelings of independence. Moreover, Hope (2002), who
interviewed 225 residents from various nursing homes, substantiates the claim that
characteristics of the institutional environment such as the extent of resources in the facility, as
well as its location, are features which residents have indicated as being of great importance to
their independence.

Finishing Touches: Revising and Editing Your Work

  Read your work out loud. That way you will be better able to identify where you need
punctuation marks to signal pauses or divisions within sentences, where you have made
grammatical errors, or where your sentences are unclear
 Since the purpose of a literature review is to demonstrate that the writer is familiar with
the important professional literature on the chosen subject, check to make certain that you
have covered all of the important, up-to-date, and pertinent texts. In the sciences and
some of the social sciences it is important that your literature be quite recent; this is not
so important in the humanities
 Make certain that all of the citations and references are correct and that you are
referencing in the appropriate style for your discipline. If you are uncertain which style to
use, ask your professor
 Check to make sure that you have not plagiarized either by failing to cite a source of
information or by using words quoted directly from a source. (Usually if you take three or
more words directly from another source, you should put those words within quotation
marks, and cite the page.)
 Text should be written in a clear and concise academic style; it should not be descriptive
in nature or use the language of everyday speech
 There should be no grammatical or spelling errors
 Sentences should flow smoothly and logically
 In a paper in the sciences, or in some of the social sciences, the use of subheadings to
organize the review is recommended

Selecting a Topic

The ability to develop a good research topic is an important skill. An instructor may assign you a
specific topic, but most often instructors require you to select your own topic of interest. When
deciding on a topic, there are a few things that you will need to do:

 brainstorm for ideas

 choose a topic that will enable you to read and understand the literature
 ensure that the topic is manageable and that material is available
 make a list of key words
 be flexible
 define your topic as a focused research question
 research and read more about your topic
 formulate a thesis statement

Be aware that selecting a good topic may not be easy. It must be narrow and focused enough to
be interesting, yet broad enough to find adequate information. Before selecting your topic, make
sure you know what your final project should look like. Each class or instructor will likely
require a different format or style of research project.

Use the steps below to guide you through the process of selecting a research topic.
Step 1: Brainstorm for ideas
Choose a topic that interests you. Use the following questions to help generate topic ideas.

 Do you have a strong opinion on a current social or political controversy

 Did you read or see a news story recently that has piqued your interest or made you angry or
anxious?
 Do you have a personal issue, problem or interest that you would like to know more about?
 Do you have a research paper due for a class this semester?
 Is there an aspect of a class that you are interested in learning more about?

Look at some of the following topically oriented Web sites and research sites for ideas.
 

 Are you interested in current events, government, politics or the social sciences?
o Try Washington File
 Are you interested in health or medicine?
o Look in Healthfinder.gov, Health & Wellness Resource Center or the National Library of
Medicine
 Are you interested in the Humanities; art, literature, music?
o Browse links from the National Endowment for the Humanities
 For other subject areas try:
o the Scout Report or the New York Times/ College Web site

Write down any key words or concepts that may be of interest to you. Could these terms help be
used to form a more focused research topic?

Be aware of overused ideas when deciding a topic. You may wish to avoid topics such as,
abortion, gun control, teen pregnancy, or suicide unless you feel you have a unique approach to
the topic. Ask the instructor for ideas if you feel you are stuck or need additional guidance.

Step 2: Read General Background Information

 Read a general encyclopedia article on the top two or three topics you are considering. Reading
a broad summary enables you to get an overview of the topic and see how your idea relates to
broader, narrower, and related issues. It also provides a great source for finding words
commonly used to describe the topic. These keywords may be very useful to your later research.
If you cant find an article on your topic, try using broader terms and ask for help from a librarian.

For example, the Encyclopedia Britannica Online (or the printed version of this

encyclopedia, in Thompson Library's Reference Collection on Reference Table 1) may not
have an article on Social and Political Implications of Jackie Robinsons Breaking of the
Color Barrier in Major League Baseball but there will be articles on baseball history and
on Jackie Robinson.
 Browse the Encyclopedia Americana for information on your topic ideas. Notice that both
online encyclopedias provide links to magazine articles and Web sites. These are listed in
the left or the right margins.

 Use periodical indexes to scan current magazine, journal or newspaper articles on your topic.
Ask a librarian if they can help you to browse articles on your topics of interest.
 Use Web search engines. Google and Bing are currently considered to be two of the best search
engines to find web sites on the topic.

Step 3: Focus on Your Topic

Keep it manageable

A topic will be very difficult to research if it is too broad or narrow. One way to narrow a broad
topic such as "the environment" is to limit your topic. Some common ways to limit a topic are:

 by geographical area

Example: What environmental issues are most important in the Southwestern United
States

 by culture

Example: How does the environment fit into the Navajo world view?

 by time frame:

Example: What are the most prominent environmental issues of the last 10 years?

 by discipline

Example: How does environmental awareness effect business practices today?

 by population group

Example: What are the effects of air pollution on senior citizens?

Remember that a topic may be too difficult to research if it is too:

 

 locally confined - Topics this specific may only be covered in these (local) newspapers, if at all.

Example: What sources of pollution affect the Genesee County water supply?

 recent - If a topic is quite recent, books or journal articles may not be available, but newspaper
or magazine articles may. Also, Web sites related to the topic may or may not be available.
  broadly interdisciplinary - You could be overwhelmed with superficial information.

Example: How can the environment contribute to the culture, politics and society of the
Western states?

 popular - You will only find very popular articles about some topics such as sports figures and
high-profile celebrities and musicians.

If you have any difficulties or questions with focusing your topic,discuss the topic with your
instructor, or with a librarian

Step 4: Make a List of Useful Keywords

Keep track of the words that are used to describe your topic.

 Look for words that best describe your topic

 Look for them in when reading encyclopedia articles and background and general information
 Find broader and narrower terms, synonyms, key concepts for key words to widen your search
capabilities
 Make note of these words and use them later when searching databases and catalogs

Step 5: Be Flexible
It is common to modify your topic during the research process. You can never be sure of what
you may find. You may find too much and need to narrow your focus, or too little and need to
broaden your focus. This is a normal part of the research process. When researching, you may
not wish to change your topic, but you may decide that some other aspect of the topic is more
interesting or manageable. 

Keep in mind the assigned length of the research paper, project, bibliography or other research
assignment. Be aware of the depth of coverage needed and the due date. These important factors
may help you decide how much and when you will modify your topic. You instructor will
probably provide specific requirements, if not the table below may provide a rough guide:

Ten Steps to Design a Questionnaire

Designing a questionnaire involves 10 main steps:

1.    Write a study protocol

This involves getting acquainted with the subject, making a literature review, decide on
objectives, formulate a hypothesis, and define the main information needed to test the
hypothesis.
2.    Draw a plan of analysis
This steps determines how the information defined in step 1 should be analysed. The plan of
analysis should contain the measures of association and the statistical tests that you intend to use.
In addition, you should draw dummy tables with the information of interest. The plan of analysis
will help you to determine which type of results you want to obtain. An example of a dummy
table is shown below.

Exposure nr Cases (%) Total Attack Rate RR (CI95%)

Tomato salad  

Chicken breast

3.    Draw a list of the information needed

From the plan of analysis you can draw a list of the information you need to collect from
participants. In this step you should determine the type and format of variables needed.

4.    Design different parts of the questionnaire

You can start now designing different parts of the questionnaire using this list of needed
information.

5.    Write the questions

Knowing the education and occupation level of the study population, ethnic or migration
background, language knowledge and special sensitivities at this step is crucial at this stage.
Please keep in mind that the questionnaire needs to be adapted to your study population. Please
see "Format of Questions" section for more details.

6.    Decide on the order of the questions asked

You should start from easy, general and factual to difficult, particular or abstract questions.
Please consider carefully where to place the most sensitive questions. They should be rather
placed in the middle or towards the end of the questionnaire. Make sure, however, not to put the
most important item last, since some people might not complete the interview.

7.    Complete the questionnaire

Add instructions for the interviewers and definitions of key words for participants. Insure a
smooth flow from one topic to the next one (ex. "and now I will ask you some questions about
your own health..."). Insert jumps between questions if some questions are only targeted at a
subgroup of the respondents.

8.    Verify the content and style of the questions

Verify that each question answers to one of the objectives and all your objectives are covered by
the questions asked. Delete questions that are not directly related to your objectives. Make sure
that each question is clear, unambiguous, simple and short. Check the logical order and flow of
the questions. Make sure the questionnaire is easy to read and has an clear layout. Please see the
Hints to Design a good Questionnaire section for more details.

9.    Conduct a pilot study

You should always conduct a pilot study among the intended population before starting the
study.  Please see the Piloting Questionnaires section for more details.

10. Refine your questionnaire

Depending on the results of the pilot study, you will need to amend the questionnaire before the
main survey starts.