UIPM6023 Research Methods in Urban Development

Research Methods and Techniques for Urban Land Development and Management

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

Module Outline

• Learning Outcomes:

  • Understand the basics of research.
  • Design a smart research proposal and conduct research on urban development and management issues independently and in teams.
  • Write and present research findings attractively and understandably to an audience.
  • Conduct a critical or analytical review of relevant literature related to proposed research projects.
  • Evaluate the methodology of other research reports.

• Module Content Outline:

  • Portion 1: Introduction and Types of Research.
  • Portion 2: Data Collecting and Measuring.
  • Portion 3: Sample, Sampling Design, and Sampling Distribution.
  • Portion 4: Variables and 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

• Letter Grades corresponding to numerical scores. Values range from 0.00 (F) to 4.00 (A+). Specific ranges are detailed in the document.

Module Policy

• Attendance: Mandatory.
• Classroom Behavior:
  • Participate in class discussions.
  • Meet assignment deadlines.
  • Maintain discipline (punctuality and cell phone policies).
• Submission Policy: Late submissions are not accepted.
• Exemption from exams: Medical or emergency cases only, with supporting documentation required.

Introduction to Research

• Session Contents:

  • Meaning of Research
  • Objectives of Research
  • Motivation in Research
  • Significance of Research
  • Characteristics of Research
  • Research Paradigms
  • The Research Process
  • Units of Analysis
  • Types of Research

• Learning Objectives: To recognize research concepts, appreciate research objectives, and identify research characteristics; compare research paradigms; familiarize with the research process; and identify research types.

Meaning of Research

• Scientific and systematic search for information on a specific topic.
• Systematic method involving problem identification, data collection, analysis, and reaching conclusions.

Objectives of Research

• Moving beyond guesswork and commonsense for accurate answers.
• Gaining familiarity with a phenomenon and achieving new insights.
• Portraying characteristics of individuals, situations, or groups.
• Determining the frequency of events or their association.
• Testing causal relationships between variables.

Motivation in Research

• Possible Motives:
  • Pursuit of a research degree.
  • Addressing unsolved problems.
  • Gaining intellectual satisfaction from creative work.
  • Contributing to societal betterment.
  • Achieving recognition/respectability.

Significance of Research

• Progress and invention are driven by inquiry.
• Research enhances logical thinking and organizational skills.
• Research is vital for informed economic policy decisions.
• Research underpins most government policies.
• Research allows policymakers to consider alternative policies and their implications.

Characteristics of Research

• Controlled: Minimize the influence of extraneous factors.
• Rigorous: Employ relevant, appropriate, and well-justified procedures.
• Systematic: Follow a logical sequence of steps.
• Valid and Verifiable: Conclusions drawn must be correct and testable.
• Empirical: Conclusions based on verifiable evidence.
• Critical: Process must be foolproof and free from flaws.

Research Paradigms

• Two main paradigms: Positivist and Naturalistic.

Positivism

• Associated with questionnaires, surveys, and experimental design.
• Generates 'hard' data (numerate and statistical).
• Assumes a real world independent of human perception.
• Rejects interference in the relation to be discovered.

Naturalism

• Favors ethnography, unstructured interviews, and qualitative techniques.
• Assumes human reality is constructed and that there are no external laws governing human interaction.
• No fixed distinction between social knowledge of the study and social reality.

Theory and Research

• Theory and research are inseparable aspects of a single process.
• Theory is a set of interconnected propositions that describe, explain, and predict events.
• Theory guides research, and research informs theory. -Two approaches exist for the theory-research cycle: Inductive and deductive.

Inductive Approach

• Proceeds from specific observation to general theory.
• Begins with empirical observation and data analysis.
• Generalizations formulated based upon observation and further developed into theory.

Deductive Approach

• Proceeds from general theory to specific observation.
• Begins with existing theory to generate hypotheses.
• Tested through observation, leading to generalizations supporting or refuting the theory.

The Research Process

• Steps:
  • Problem identification.
  • Literature review.
  • Refining the research problem.
  • Defining the population and collecting data.
  • Analyzing the data.
  • Interpreting the results.
  • Reporting the findings.

Problem/Topic Identification

• Research problems can stem from factual gaps, but are not necessarily social problems in themselves.
• Existing research or knowledge gaps motivate research problems.
• The identification can stem own experience, scientific literature, and theories.

Literature Review

• Purpose to check if existing research has addressed the problem; gain insight into how other research handles similar issues; highlight gaps in previous work; define theoretical and conceptual framework; and refine the research problem.
  • Use publications that are less than ten years old unless the publication is a fundamental theoretical text.

Refining the Research Problem

• Identifying general and specific research objectives.
• Employing the 5 Ws to clarify what, why, who, where and when the study will be conducted.

Working out the Research Design

• Selecting the research method based on reliability, validity, and representativeness.

Data Collection

• Be prepared for practical difficulties.
• Be creative in addressing challenges in data collection.

Analyzing Data

• Process of conceptualizing raw data into a manageable form.
• Summarization of both numerical (quantitative) and non-numerical (qualitative) data.

Interpreting the Results

• Relating findings to research objectives.
• Listing any identified flaws in relevant policies if applicable.

Reporting the Findings

• Final stage; but research may lead to new opportunities for examination or understanding.

Units of Analysis

• Units of observations used for summary and differentiation among subjects.

Types of Research

• Application Perspective: Pure research (for knowledge sake) and applied research (practical application).
• Objectives Perspective: Descriptive (describing a phenomenon), correlational (exploring relationships), explanatory (exploring reasons behind phenomenon), and exploratory (exploring an area little understood).
• Mode of Enquiry: Structured (predetermined approach) and unstructured (flexible approach).