Research

• Research : a. the systematic investigation into and study of

materials, sources, etc, in order to establish facts and reach
new conclusions. b. an endeavour to discover new or collate
old facts etc by the scientific study of a subject or by a course
of critical investigation. [Oxford Concise Dictionary]
• Research is what we do when we have a question or a problem
we want to resolve
• We may already think we know the answer to our question
already
• We may think the answer is obvious, common sense even
• But until we have subjected our problem to rigorous scientific
scrutiny, our 'knowledge' remains little more than guesswork
or at best, intuition.
 Purposes of Research
 Exploration
 gaining some familiarity with a topic, discovering some of its
main dimensions, and possibly planning more structured
research

 Description
 Census Bureau’s report on number of Indian
 Political poll predicting who will win an election
 Anthropologist’s ethnographic account of a preliterate tribe

 Explanation
 Take it one step further
 Research ‘Musts’

 Problem must be clearly recognized

 Determine information already available and what

further information is required, as well as the best
approach for obtaining it
 Obtain and assess information objectively to help
inform the decision
 Problem Definition
 Describe broader context (background)
 State the objectives or purposes
 Inform reader about the scope of the study, including defining any
terms, limitations, or restrictions
 Reduces potential criticisms

 State the hypothesis (es)

 Translating a business situation into something that can be researched is

somewhat like translating one language into another.
 It begins by coming to a consensus on a decision statement or question.
 A decision statement is a written expression of the key question(s) that
a research user wishes to answer.
 “12 Steps of Research”
 Identify the research question
 Initial review of literature
 Distilling the question to a researchable problem
 Continued review of literature
 Formulation of hypothesis
 Determining the basic research approach
 Identifying the population and sample
 Designing the data collection plan
 Selecting or developing data collection instruments
 Choosing the method of data analysis
 Implementing the research plan
 Interpreting the results
 The Research Question

 The foundation of the research process

 It all begins with a question
 Finding a Research Question

 From where ???????


Curiosity

Information Gaps

Controversy

Replication

Literature Review

Other People

...???
 Types of Research Questions

 Conceptualize that a research study can ask

three types of questions:

Descriptive question

Relationship question

Difference question
 This general classification scheme helps not
only with the design of the study, but also in
choosing the type of data analysis procedure
 Descriptive Question
 Seeks to describe phenomena or characteristics of a
particular group of subjects being studied

Answers the question “what is”
 Asking questions of the research participants
 Testing or measuring their performance


Survey research
 Example

What are the attitudes of rural parents toward the inclusion
of sexuality education in the school curriculum? (Welshimer &
Harris, 1994)
 Relationship Question

 Investigates the degree to which two or more

variables are associated with each other
 Does not establish “cause-and-effect”
 Only identifies extent of relationship between
variables
 Example
 Is there an association between self-esteem and eating
behaviors among collegiate female swimmers? (Fey,
1998)
 Difference Question
 Seeks to make comparisons between or within groups
of interest
 Often associated with experimental research
 Is there a difference between the control group and the experimental
group?
 Comparison of one group to another on the basis of existing
characteristics

 Example
 Does participation in Special Olympics affect the self-
esteem of adults with mental retardation? (Major, 1998)
 Problem Statements

 “The problem of this study was to …”

 “This study was concerned with …”
 “This study is designed to …”
 “The purpose of this investigation is to …”
 Sample Problem Statements
1. The problem was to investigate the effects of exercise on
blood lipids among college-age females.
2. This study was designed to determine the relationship between
stability performance and physical growth characteristics of
preschool children.
3. The present study was designed to identify those
characteristics which differentiate between students who binge
drink and those that do not.
4. The problem of the study was to determine is there is a
relationship between self-efficacy and self-reported alcohol
usage among middle-aged adult.
 Delimitations

 Delimitations define the scope of the study. That is, they set
the boundaries of the study
 Normally under control of the researcher
 Examples include
 number and kinds of subjects
 treatment conditions
 tests, measures, instruments used
 type of equipment
 location, environmental setting
 type of training (time and duration)
 Limitations

 Limitations are very similar to delimitations, but they

tend to focus on potential weaknesses of the study
 Examples include

sampling problems (representativeness of subjects)

uncontrolled factors and extraneous variables

faulty research design and techniques

reliability and validity of measuring instruments

compromises to internal/external validity
 Limitations continued

 Possible shortcomings of the study . . . usually

cannot be controlled by the researcher
 the researcher will, of course, try to eliminate
extremely serious weaknesses before the study is
commenced
 May be a result of assumptions not being met
 No study is perfect; the researcher recognizes
the weaknesses
 Assumptions

 Assumptions are basic, fundamental conditions that must

exist in order for the research to proceed
 Basic premises required in the study... the researcher does
everything possible to increase the credibility of the
assumptions, but does not have absolute control
 Assumptions could be made about (1) the motivation of the
subjects, (2) whether subjects responded truthfully, (3) the
validity of the measuring instrument, and (4) whether
subjects followed directions correctly
 Concept of Variables
 A variable is a characteristic, trait, or attribute of a
person or thing that can be classified or measured
 Attitude
 Gender
 Heart rate
 Hair color
 Variable - the condition or characteristic which in a
given study may have more than one value
 Classification of Variables

 Quantitative – measured numerically

 Discrete
 Continuous
 Qualitative – categorical in nature
 Independent Variable

 A variable that is presumed to influence

another variable; the variable under study or
the one that the researcher manipulates
 Two types
 Active – variable is actually manipulated
 Attribute – cannot be manipulated because it is
preexisting trait; sometimes called a
“categorical” variable (e.g., race, gender)
 Dependent Variable

 The variable that is expected to change as a

result of the manipulation of the independent
variable; that which is measured in a study
 Extraneous Variable
 A variable that could contribute some type of error in a
research study
 Also referred to as . . .
 Confounding variable
 Intervening variable
 Modifying variable
 Error-producing variable that the researcher should attempt
to eliminate or control
 May affect the relationship between the independent variable
and the dependent variable if not adequately controlled.
 Controlling Extraneous Variables

 Excluding the variable

 Random selection of research participants
 Matching cases according to some criterion