Introduction to Research Methods

Study Notes

Significant advancements in society, such as mobile phones, are attributed to research efforts.
Understanding research is essential for gaining insights and solving problems.

Research combines two elements: "Re" indicating repetition, and "Search," meaning to find out something.
Research is systematically investigating problems and finding answers.
Various definitions highlight research as a structured inquiry, an organized approach, and an intellectual endeavor to discover new knowledge:
- Burns describes it as systematic investigation.
- Grinnell emphasizes structured inquiry and scientific methodology.
- Redman and Mory refer to it as systematized effort for knowledge.
- C.F. Rummel notes that research aims to discover and verify knowledge through an intellectual process.

Systematic: Follows specific scientific procedures to ensure reliable results.
Organized: Involves a structured methodology with steps to guide the research process.
Questions: Central to research; without questions, research lacks focus and purpose.
Finding Answers: Research seeks to answer questions; receiving "no" is also considered an answer.

The primary goal is to uncover hidden truths and new insights.
Research objectives can be categorized as follows:
- Formulative studies for familiarity with new phenomena.
- Descriptive studies to portray situational characteristics.
- Diagnostic studies for analyzing frequency of occurrences.
- Hypothesis-testing studies for examining causal relationships between variables.

Descriptive vs. Analytical:
- Descriptive research describes current states without controlling variables, merely reporting observations.
- Analytical research evaluates existing information critically.
Applied vs. Fundamental:
- Applied research aims to solve immediate societal or organizational problems.
- Fundamental research focuses on generalizations and theory formulation, contributing to the broader scientific knowledge base.
Quantitative vs. Qualitative:
- Quantitative research involves measuring quantities and is suitable for data that can be numerically expressed.
- Qualitative research explores non-numeric data, focusing on understanding phenomena in-depth.