MODULE: PRACTICAL RESEARCH 2

Chapter 1:
Nature of Research

Objectives:
a) Familiarize with research definition, principles and philosophy.
b) Explains the ethics and integrity of research.
c) Differentiates quantitative from qualitative research.

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Introduction to Research and the Research

Process

What is Research?
Research is a systematic process of solving a
problem or finding answers to an inquiry. It is an organized
method of finding or relatively new ideas from the existing
body of knowledge with the help of useful tool for the purpose of improving the quality of
life.
Research is a systematic and organized process of collecting, organizing,
analyzing and interpreting data to find answers to people’s queries.
Research can be defined as the search for knowledge, or as any systematic
investigation, with an open mind, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems,
prove new ideas, or develop new theories.

The Basic Principles of Research Design

According to one of the most respected management research textbooks, written
by Easterby-Smith, Thorpe and Jackson, there are four main features of research design,
which are distinct, but closely related.
They are:
Ontology. How you, the researcher, view the world and the assumptions that you
make about the nature of the world and of reality.
Epistemology. The assumptions that you make about the best way of
investigating the world and about reality.
Methodology. The way that you group together your research techniques to make
a coherent picture.
Methods and techniques. What you actually do in order to collect your data and
carry out your investigations.

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The Underlying Philosophy
There are four main schools of ontology (how we construct reality), summarized in
this table.

It will hopefully be clear that the underlying philosophy affects the choice of
research methods. For example, a realist will attempt to ‘uncover the truth’, whereas a
relativist will be interested in exploring different people’s ideas of the truth. The two will
require quite different approaches. However, none of these positions are absolutes. They
are on a continuum, with overlaps between them.
Within social sciences, there are also different epistemological approaches, or the
way in which you choose to investigate the world. Your chosen ontology and
epistemology will have implications for your methodology.

1. Positivists - believes that the best way to investigate the world is through objective
methods, such as observations. Positivism fits within a realist ontology.
2. Social Constructionists - believes that reality does not exist by itself. Instead, it
is constructed and given meaning by people. Their focus is therefore on feelings,
beliefs and thoughts, and how people communicate these. Social constructionism
fits better with a relativist ontology.
3. Realists - tend to use a positivist epistemology. They start with hypotheses. They
gather facts through experiments, with a view to proving or disproving their

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hypotheses, and therefore confirming, or not, their theory. Clinical trials for new
drugs or treatments are a good example of realist/positivist research.
4. Relativists - tend to take a social constructionist view. They start with questions.
They use case studies and surveys to gather both words (views) and numbers,
which they use to triangulate and compare. From these, they generate theories.
5. Social constructionist - approaches tend to draw on qualitative sources of data,
and positivist approaches on quantitative data.
 Quantitative data is about quantities, and therefore numbers.
 Qualitative data is about the nature of the thing investigated, and tends to
be words rather than numbers.

Types of Data Sources in Research Methodology

Primary Data - gathered by the researcher themselves, whether through surveys,
interviews, or by counting atoms in a laboratory. Because it is collected for the
purposes of the study, it is intrinsically interesting, although the researcher will also
need to make some comment on it when publishing it.
Secondary Data - is published by someone else, usually a public body or
company, although it may also consist of archive material such as historical
records. A researcher using such data needs to generate new and original insights
into it.

Researchers can either choose to use primary or secondary data for their studies.
Both have their advantages and disadvantages, and most researchers will use a
combination of the two.

The Role of the Researcher

The researcher can be either involved, or external, detached.
These two positions, again, tend to link to the ontology and epistemology, with the
positivist approach leading to a detached view, and the social constructionists tending
towards the researcher being part of the world and therefore influencing, and being
influenced by, events.

What is Research Process?

The process of gathering information for the purpose of initiating, modifying or
terminating a particular investment or group of investments.

A Research process consists of series of actions or steps necessary to effectively

carry out research and the desired sequencing of these steps.

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Steps of Research Process
1. Define research problem
2. Review of literature
3. Formulate hypotheses
4. Preparing the research design
5. Data collection
6. Data analysis
7. Interpretation and report writing

Step 1: Define Research Problem

There are two types of research problem
• Relate to state of nature.
• Relationship between variables.
Essentially two steps are involved in define research problem:
• Understanding the problem thoroughly.
• Rephrasing the same into meaningful terms from a point of view.

Step 2: Review of Literature

Once the problem is define, a brief summary of it should be written down. It is
compulsory for a research worker writing a thesis for a Ph.D. degree to write a synopsis
of topic and submit it to necessary committee or the research board for approval.

Step 3: Formulate Hypothesis

Formulate hypothesis is tentative assumption made in order to draw out and test
its logical or empirical consequences. Hypothesis should be very specific and limited to
the piece of research in hand because it has to be tested. The role of the hypothesis is to
guide the researcher by delimiting the area of research and to keep him on the right track.

Step 4: Preparing the Research Design

The function of research design is to provide for the collection of relevant evidence
with minimal expenditure of effort, time and money.
Research purpose may be grouped into four categories, (1) Exploration, (2)
Description, (3) Diagnosis, and (4) Experimentation.

Step 5: Data Collection

Primary data can be collected through:
• By Observation
• Through personal interview
• Through telephone interview

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• By mailing of questionnaires
• Through Schedules

Step 6: Data Analysis

The analysis of data requires a number of closely related operations such as
establishment of categories.
This stage mainly include:
1. Coding
2. Editing
3. Tabulation
Step 7: Interpretation and Report Writing
Researcher has to prepare the report of what has been done by him.
Writing of report includes:
1. The preliminary pages
2. The main text
3. The end matter

Research Ethics and Integrity

Ethics
Ethics are standards of moral conduct:
• Standards of right and wrong behavior
• A gauge of personal integrity
• The basis of trust and cooperation in relationships with others

Research Ethics
Rules for distinguishing between right and wrong.
• Avoids Confucius during research.
• Most people learn ethical norms at home, at school, in church, or in other social
settings.
• Moral development occurs throughout life.
• Promote the aims of research, such as knowledge, truth, and avoidance of
error.

Research ethics provides guidelines for the responsible conduct of research. In

addition, it educates and monitors scientists conducting research to ensure a high ethical
standard. The following is a general summary of some ethical principles:

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General Summary of Research Ethical Principles

Honesty Honestly report data, results, methods and procedures, and
publication status. Do not fabricate, falsify, or misrepresent data.
Objectivity Strive to avoid bias in experimental design, data analysis, data
interpretation, peer review, personnel decisions, grant writing,
expert testimony, and other aspects of research.
Integrity Keep your promises and agreements; act with sincerity; strive for
consistency of thought and action.
Carefulness Avoid careless errors and negligence; carefully and critically
examine your own work and the work of your peers. Keep good
records of research activities.
Openness Share data, results, ideas, tools, resources. Be open to criticism
and new ideas.
Respect for Honor patents, copyrights, trade secret and other forms of
Intellectual intellectual property. Do not use unpublished data, methods, or
Property results without permission. Give credit where credit is due. Never
plagiarize.
Important Terms:

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1. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: Intangible creations
protected by law.
2. TRADE SECRET: Intellectual work or products belonging
to a business, not in public domain.
3. COPYRIGHT: Statutory grant protecting intellectual
property from copying by others for 28 years.
4. PATENT: Legal document granting owner exclusive
monopoly on an invention for 17 years.
Confidentiality Protect confidential communications, such as papers or grants
submitted for publication, personnel records, trade or military
secrets, and patient records.
Responsible Publish in order to advance research and scholarship, not to
Publication advance just your own career. Avoid wasteful and duplicative
publication.
Responsible Help to educate, mentor, and advise students. Promote their
Mentoring welfare and allow them to make their own decisions.
Respect for Respect your colleagues and treat them fairly.
Colleague
Social Strive to promote social good and prevent or mitigate social
Responsibility harms through research, public education, and advocacy.
Non- Avoid discrimination against colleagues or students on the basis
Discrimination of sex, race, ethnicity, or other factors that are not related to their
scientific competence and integrity.
Competence Maintain and improve your own professional competence and
expertise through lifelong education and learning; take steps to
promote competence in science as a whole.
Legality Know and obey relevant laws and institutional and governmental
policies.
Animal Care Show proper respect and care for animals when using them in
research. Do not conduct unnecessary or poorly designed animal
experiments.
Human Subjects When conducting research on human subjects, minimize harms
Protection and risks and maximize benefits; respect human dignity, privacy,
and autonomy.

Ethical Principles
Ethical principles are tools which are used to think in difficult situations.
1. Useful ethical principles:
• Minimizing harm
• Respecting autonomy
• Protecting privacy

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• Treating people equitably
• Offering reciprocity
2. Promote the aims of research.
3. Prohibitions against falsifying, or misrepresenting research data promote the truth
and avoid error.
4. Ethical standards promote the values that are essential to collaborative work, such
as trust, accountability, mutual respect, and fairness.

Research Integrity
 May be defined as “active adherence to the ethical principles and professional
standards essential for the responsible practice of research”.
 NAS report definition: "For individuals research integrity is an aspect of moral
character and experience”.

Types of Research Methods

Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methods

Research methods are split broadly into
quantitative and qualitative methods.

Quantitative Research
Quantitative research is perhaps the
simpler to define and identify. The data
produced are always numerical, and they
are analyzed using mathematical and
statistical methods. If there are no numbers
involved, then it’s not quantitative research.
Quantitative research is “explaining
phenomena by collecting numerical data that are analyzed using mathematically based
methods (in particular statistics).”

Sources of Quantitative Data

The most common sources of quantitative data include:
Surveys, whether conducted online, by phone or in person. These rely on the
same questions being asked in the same way to a large number of people;
Observations, which may either involve counting the number of times that a
particular phenomenon occurs, such as how often a particular word is used in
interviews, or coding observational data to translate it into numbers; and
Secondary data, such as company accounts.

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Analyzing Quantitative Data

There are a wide range of statistical techniques available to analyses quantitative
data, from simple graphs to show the data through tests of correlations between two or
more items, to statistical significance. Other techniques include cluster analysis, useful
for identifying relationships between groups of subjects where there is no obvious
hypothesis, and hypothesis testing, to identify whether there are genuine differences
between groups.

Qualitative Research
Qualitative research is any which
does not involve numbers or numerical
data. It often involves words or language,
but may also use pictures or photographs
and observations.
Qualitative research seeks to
answer questions about why and how
people behave in the way that they do. It
provides in-depth information about human
behavior.
Qualitative analysis results in rich data that gives an in-depth picture and it is
particularly useful for exploring how and why things have happened.

Sources of Qualitative Data

Although qualitative data is much more general than quantitative, there are still a
number of common techniques for gathering it. These include:
Interviews, which may be structured, semi-structured or unstructured;
Focus groups, which involve multiple participants discussing an issue;
‘Postcards’, or small-scale written questionnaires that ask, for example, three or
four focused questions of participants but allow them space to write in their own
words;
Secondary data, including diaries, written accounts of past events, and company
reports; and
Observations, which may be on site, or under ‘laboratory conditions’, for example,
where participants are asked to role-play a situation to show what they might do.

Analyzing Qualitative Data

Because qualitative data are drawn from a wide variety of sources, they can be
radically different in scope.
There are, therefore, a wide variety of methods for analyzing them, many of which
involve structuring and coding the data into groups and themes. There are also a variety
of computer packages to support qualitative data analysis. The best way to work out which

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ones are right for your research is to discuss it with academic colleagues and your
supervisor.

EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE

For further reading please refer to the link provided:
Definition of Research
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1YkD91Ikfc
Research Ethics
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jD-YCDE_5yw
Research Writing Process
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAoxB8y1WoY

• https://courses.lumenlearning.com/healthcarecommunication/chapter/text
-the-research-process/
• https://www.etu.org.za/toolbox/docs/development/research.html
• https://www.skillsyouneed.com/learn/research-methods-intro.html
• https://theintactone.com/2019/03/03/brm-u1-topic-6-steps-in-research-
process/
• https://revisesociology.com/2017/11/26/the-steps-of-quantitative-
research/
• https://libguides.library.cityu.edu.hk/researchmethods/ethics

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