Research Methodology Basics

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Questions and Answers

What are the three sources of research problems?

Own experience, scientific literature, and theories.

A research problem is always the same as a social problem.

False

What are the two research paradigms discussed in the text?

Experimental and Theoretical

Quantitative and Qualitative

Positivist and Naturalist (correct)

Deductive and Inductive

Which of these is NOT a characteristic of research?

Subjective Signup and view all the answers

What are the two approaches to the theory-research cycle?

Deductive and Inductive Signup and view all the answers

What are the steps of the research process?

Problem identification, literature review, making the research problem precise, designing the research and defining terms and concepts, defining the population and collecting data, analyzing the data, interpreting the results, and reporting the findings. Signup and view all the answers

Which research approach is more appropriate for determining the extent of a problem, issue, or phenomenon?

Structured Signup and view all the answers

Which type of research is concerned with increasing knowledge of how societies work, for knowledge sake?

Pure Research Signup and view all the answers

Which type of research is often conducted before the formulation of a policy?

Applied Research Signup and view all the answers

Which type of research aims to describe systematically a situation, problem, phenomenon, service, or program?

Descriptive Signup and view all the answers

Which type of research aims to discover or establish the existence of a relationship/association/interdependence between two or more aspects of a situation?

Correlational Signup and view all the answers

Which type of research aims to clarify why and how there is a relationship between two aspects of a situation or phenomenon?

Explanatory Signup and view all the answers

Which type of research aims to explore an area where little or none is known or to investigate the possibilities of undertaking a particular research study?

Exploratory Signup and view all the answers

The classification of research types based on application, objectives, and enquiry mode is mutually exclusive.

False Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Research Methods and Techniques for Urban Land Development and Management

Module Code: UIPM6023
Instructor: Dr. Degu Bekele, College of Urban Development and Engineering, ECSU
Date: October 2024

Module Outline

By the end of the module, participants will be able to:
- Understand the basics of research.
- Design a smart research proposal and conduct research independently and in teams on urban development and management issues.
- Write and present research findings attractively and understandably to an audience.
- Critically review relevant literature pertinent to proposed research projects.
- Evaluate the methodology of other research reports.

Module Outline (Continued)

Portions and Topics:
- Portion 1: Introduction and Types of Research
- Portion 2: Data Collection and Measuring
- Portion 3: Sample, Sampling Design, and Sampling Distribution
- Portion 4: Variables & Scale of Measurements
- Portion 5: Research Proposal Development
- Portion 6: Research Ethics
- Portion 7: Referencing Styles
- Portion 8: Qualitative Research methods and Approaches to Data Analysis
- Portion 9: Quantitative Data Analysis (Descriptive Statistics)
- Portion 10: Quantitative Data Analysis (Inferential Statistics)
- Portion 11-14: Practical Sessions on the Application of SPSS

Assessment

Test: 20%
Individual Assignment (Research Proposal Development): 20%
Group Assignment (SPSS Practical Application): 20%
Final Examination: 40%

Grading System

Different score ranges correspond to letter grades (A+, A, A-, B+, etc.)

Module Policy

Attendance: Mandatory
Classroom Behavior: Contribute in class discussions, meet assignment deadlines, maintain discipline, be punctual, turn off cell phones.
Late Submissions: Not acceptable
Missing Exams/Tests: Allowed only in exceptional cases (medical/emergency) and require supporting documentation

Introduction to Research

Learning Objectives:
- Recognize the concepts and essence of research.
- Appreciate the objectives of research.
- Identify the characteristics of research.
- Compare research paradigms.
- Familiarize with the research process.
- Identify various research types.

Meaning of Research

A scientific and systematic search for pertinent information on a specific topic.
A systematic process of enunciating the problem, collecting facts, analyzing facts, and reaching conclusions.

Objectives of Research

Move beyond guesswork and test commonsense.
Understand what really is happening.
Gain familiarity with a phenomenon.
Portray accurately the characteristics of individuals, situations, or groups.
Determine the frequency of occurrences or associations.
Test hypotheses about causal relationships between variables.

Motivation in Research

Desire for a research degree.
Challenge of solving unsolved problems.
Intellectual joy from creative work.
Service to society.
Gaining respectability.
Government directives, employment conditions, curiosity about new things, desire to understand causal relationships.

Significance of Research

Progress is born from inquiry and doubt, not overconfidence.
Research makes progress possible.
Research develops logical thinking and organizational skills.
Research provides a basis for nearly all government policies.
Research allows for alternative policy development and examination of consequences.

Characteristics of Research

Controlled: Minimizing the effects of other factors affecting a relationship.
Rigorous: Procedures followed are relevant, appropriate, and justified.
Systematic: The procedure follows a logical sequence.
Valid and Verifiable: Conclusions are correct and can be verified.
Empirical: Conclusions are based on hard evidence from real-life experiences or observations.
Critical: The investigation process is foolproof and free from drawbacks.

Research Paradigms

Two main paradigms in social sciences: Positivist and Naturalistic.

Positivism

Associated with questionnaires, social surveys, and experimental design.
Results in "hard", numerate, statistical data, contrasting with the "soft" data of the naturalistic approach.
Believes in a real world independent of human perception.

Naturalism

Favors ethnography, unstructured interviews, and qualitative techniques.
People construct their own realities.
Believes there are no universal laws external to human interaction.
Seeks to understand sociological knowledge and social reality.

Comparing Positivist and Naturalist Approaches

Positivist: Aims to discover the truth, knower and known are separate entities; emphasis on observable facts and control; data is often quantified; goal is generalization.
Naturalist: Realities are multiple, constructed, interconnected; knower and known are interactive; emphasis is on describing situations using the perspectives of individuals involved; rich qualitative data; goal is to understand local contexts.

Theory and Research

Two inseparable aspects of knowledge production and continuous improvement.
Theory is a systematically and logically interrelated set of propositions that describe, explain, and predict events.
Theory guides research and research contributes to theory development, verification, and refutation.
Two approaches to the theory-research cycle: inductive and deductive.

Inductive Approach

Moves from specific to general, starting with empirical observations and analysis, creating generalizations that formulate the theory.
Often referred to as theory-building or theory-generation research.
Qualitative research is associated with it.

Deductive Approach

Moves from general to specific, starting with theory and assumptions to derive hypotheses, leading to observations, and finally generalizations which either support, modify, or reject existing theories.
Quantitative research is associated with it.

The Research Process

1. Problem Identification:
- Recognition of factual ignorance.
- Not equivalent to a social problem.
- Sources: Personal experience, literature and/or existing theories.
- Factors influencing topic choice: Research interest, current debate, funding, and power of research subjects.
2. Literature Review:
- Checking for existing research studies addressing the problem/topic.
- Gaining insight into how similar problems have been approached.
- Identifying theoretical and conceptual frameworks relevant to the problem.
- Refining the research problem.
3. Refining the Research Problem:
- Identifying specific objectives of the research.
- Define the research using the five "Ws": What, Why, Who, Where, When.
4. Designing the Research:
- Deciding on appropriate research design and method based on reliability, validity, and representativeness.
5. Defining the Population & Data Collection:
- Defining parameters of the target population and data collection methods.
6. Analyzing the Data:
- Conceptualization: organize and reduce large amount of raw data into workable bits to analyze.
7. Interpreting the Results:
- Relating findings to the objectives and goals of the study.
8. Reporting the Findings:
- Final step of the research.

Units of Analysis

Units of observation that researchers examine; create summary descriptions, explaining differences amongst them.
- Common Units of Analysis:
  - Individuals
  - Groups
  - Organizations
  - Social Interactions
  - Social Artifacts

Types of Research

Application Perspective:
- Pure/Basic/Fundamental Research: Seeks intellectually challenging knowledge, not necessarily immediately applicable. Extensive, often conducted in a laboratory; may later inform applied research and social policy.
  - Example: Increasing knowledge of how societies work.
- Applied Research: Aims for immediate application; focus on solving specific problems, improves techniques or processes, and/or enhances theories. Often focused on an area of practice and concerned with achieving practical solutions, and improving specific outcomes
Objective Perspective:
- Descriptive Research: Describes a situation, problem, phenomenon, service, or program. Often involves surveys of community attitudes and conditions.
  - Example: Service provision, organization structure, living conditions.
- Correlational Research: Aims to identify relationships and associations between aspects of a situation.
  - Example: Impact of advertising, relationship between stress and heart attacks.
- Explanatory Research: Seeks to clarify causes and effects between aspects of a phenomenon.
  - Example: Examining why certain behaviors are linked to specific outcomes.
- Exploratory Research: Explore an area where little information is understood; identify possibilities for conducting further studies; develop and refine measurement tools.
  - Example: Exploring strategies for improving product flavors.
Mode of Inquiry Perspective:
- Structured (Quantitative): Predetermined research elements.
  - Pros: Data easier to analyze, compare. Cons: might miss important factors or nuanced responses.
- Unstructured (Qualitative): Flexible research design; explores variation and diversity within a phenomenon, issue, or attitude.
  - Pros: Deep understanding of an issue, cons: might be time-consuming, more challenging to analyze data
The classification of research types ("application", "objective", and "mode") is not mutually exclusive. A single research can often fit into multiple categories.

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Description

This quiz covers fundamental concepts of research methodology, including sources of research problems, research paradigms, and various research approaches. Test your understanding of the research process and the different types of research conducted in social sciences.