What is Research?

• Research is derived from the French word "rechercher," meaning "to search closely."
• Research is a systematic inquiry seeking facts through verifiable methods.
• Research contributes to existing knowledge, finding solutions objectively and systematically.
• Research essentially means "an attempt to discover something."

Research Definitions

• Advanced Learner's Dictionary: Careful investigation for new facts.
• Fred Kerlinger: Organized enquiry to solve problems.
• Clifford Woody: Defining problems, formulating hypotheses, collecting data, and testing conclusions.
• Robert Ross: Investigation and analysis of evidence for gaining knowledge.
• Francis Rummel: Careful inquiry to discover new information and verify existing knowledge.

Characteristics of Research

• Involves a search for new facts and is essentially an investigation.
• Is related to solving a problem and based on observation or experimental evidence.
• Generalizes theories to predict future occurrences.
• Involves data collection and analysis from various sources.
• Seeks answers to unsolved questions.

Characteristics of Good Research Projects

• Good literature review, sound primary research, and logical structure
• Analytical approach with theory consolidated.

Characteristics of Poor Research Projects

• Uncritical literature review, weak primary research, and haphazard structure
• Descriptive approach with theory added.

Need for Research

• Helps in finding immediate solutions to problems
• Arises from complexity of society, business growth, new media technologies, and social changes.
• Provides solutions to social problems through social science research.
• Useful to different sections of society (students, politicians, intellectuals) by providing knowledge.
• Helps industrial concerns in marketing, operations, and motivation.
• Acts as a basis for government policies, informing decisions.

Objectives of Research

• To find answers to problems using the scientific method
• Aims to discover hidden truths and facts.
• To extend and deepen knowledge of a subject.
• To devise new techniques or generalizations using existing theories.
• To find generalizations or conclusions for new theories.
• To arrive at more conclusions from the same data.
• To resolve contradictions in a field of study.
• To gain familiarity with a phenomenon or achieve new insight.
• To determine the frequency with which something occurs.

Research Method vs. Research Methodology

• A research method is a way of conducting and implementing research
• A research method refers to the data collection means
• Research methodology is the science and philosophy behind all research.
• Research methodology is the overall approach to the research process, its description, explanation, and justification of methods.

Basic Research Concepts

• Theory: A set of explanatory concepts with usefulness.
• Hypothesis: A testable proposition with validity.
• Methodology: A general approach to studying research topics with usefulness.
• Method: A specific research technique suitable with theory, hypothesis, and methodology.

Types of Research

• Pure Research: Original, discovering broad principles without immediate problems.
• Applied Research: Applying theories to solve societal problems, testing assumptions.

Differences between Pure and Applied Research

• Pure Research: Concerned with generalizations and theory formulation, studying any problem and aims to establish research theories, explains why things happened
• Applied Research: Related to immediate application of theories for solutions to specific problem, studies problems with social consequences, aims at bringing with actionable points quickly, explains how things can be changed.

Experimental Research

• Concerned with cause and effect relationships
• Helps to know the cause and effect relationships under controlled experiments
• Tests a hypothesis of a casual relationship between variables
• Natural or uncontrolled experiments involve observation (astronomy, geology).
• Laboratory type experiments reproduce situations to observe, manipulating conditions (chemistry, microbiology).
• Field experiments investigate independent variables in a real social setting (social sciences).

Descriptive Research

• Fact-finding research that explains current state of affairs
• Portrays characteristics of individuals or groups.
• Determines the frequency of events using data collection methods like interviews.
• Used in physical, natural, and social sciences.

Historical Research

• Evaluation and synthesis of evidence to establish facts about the past
• Explanations are derived from historic inquiries to examine a current situation and predict future situations.
• Used in Economics, Sociology, Education, and Psychology.
• Historical data sources include books, documents, and statistical materials.

Ex-Post Facto Research

• Investigates after the fact
• The researcher has no control over variables, reporting what has happened.
• Systematic empirical inquiry without direct control of independent variables.

Exploratory Studies

• Requires in-depth analysis to derive solutions
• Aims to gain familiarity or new insight.
• Formulates precise problems or hypotheses and classifies concepts.

Quantitative and Qualitative Research

• Quantitative: Measurement of quantity or amount with objective nature.
• Qualitative: Phenomena related to quality with subjective nature.
• Quantitative involves data analysis using statistical tests on numerical data vs. Qualitative involves examining perceptions for an understanding of social and human activities.

Conceptual Research

• Develops or interprets new concepts
• Related to abstract ideas or theories.
• Used by philosophers and thinkers.

Empirical Research

• Data-based, depending on experience or observation
• The conclusions are verified by observation or experience with gathered supporting experiment

Classification of Main Types of Research

• Exploratory or Descriptive research is based on the purpose of the research
• Qualitative or Quantitative research is based on the process of the research
• Applied or basic research is based on the outcome of the research

Social Research

• Scientific investigation in the field of social and behavioural sciences.
• Pauline V. Young: Systematic method of discovering or verifying old facts, their sequences, interrelationships, casual explanations and natural laws which govern them
• Herring: Social Science research aims to extend, correct or verify knowledge, aids in the construction of a theory or in the practice of an art.
• Scientific research is a cumulative and rejective process in social sciences.

Motives of Social Research

• To understand cause-effect relationships of social phenomena.
• To discover new theories and techniques, more efficiently gaining knowledge.
• Motivated by curiosity and necessity.
• Explanation, analysis, and understanding on Social phenomena factors

Objectives of Social Research

• Gain new knowledge for insight into existing problems.
• Acquire scientific knowledge about social facts.
• Understand human behaviour and its ties to social institutions.
• Develop tools for analysis and test against human behaviour.
• Promote social welfare and diagnose problems.
• Guide social policies and planning.

Importance of Social Research

• It acts as a quick for social planning to have knowledge and information about the problems and resources of the people.
• Provides first-hand information, to control society.
• Suggests suitable remedial measures to counter social issues.
• Acts as a sound base for prediction of social facts.
• Identification of social evils, disclosed to eradicate.

Method of Knowing

• Tenacity: Belief based on long-held tradition.
• Intuition: Assumption of truth based on self-evidence.
• Authority: Belief based on trusted sources.
• Scientific method: Approaches learning as a series of small steps for objective analysis.
• The scientific method can be self-correcting in that, changes in thought or theory are appropriate when errors in previous research are uncovered

Scientific Research

• Organised, objective, controlled, qualitative or quantitative empirical analysis of variables.
• Relies on the scientific method.

Factors of the Scientific Method

• Depends on experimental facts and utilizes relevant concepts.
• Objective and accurate about concerned objects.
• Results in probabilistic predictions.
• Methodologies are accessible and open to critical scrutiny.
• Aims at formulating scientific theories and it implies logical and systematic method.

Principles of the Scientific Method

• Scientific research is public, one researcher can reach other
• Any statement verifiable by other scientists such independently verifiable by other scientists
• Science is objective and excludes judgments, to ensure objectivity is the guiding principle
• It requires scientific research deal with facts rather than interpretation of facts: Science rejects its own authorities if their statements conflict with direct observation
• Willingness and ability to examine evidence without any bias or prejudice.
• Science is empirical, the term empiricism is derived from the Greek word for "experience."
• They want the experimental evidence to prove the facts.
• Scientific researchers reject knowledge that cannot be perceived, classified or measured.
• Science is systematic and cumulative, the available literature on the topic, problem areas found.
• It cumulates more knowledge to the current study, all the researches are dependent to other ones
• Scientists try to maintain order and consistency. scientific begin with a single event and progress to the theories developed
• Theorist form relationships among variables which are the same in the given conditions
• theories and laws can help research explaining and find consistency in behaviour, situations and phenomena.
• Science is predictive and it is concerned with relating present and future
• Theory successfully to predict a phenomenon or event
• Properly discarted data analysis theory

Ethnography

• Focuses on sociology of meaning through field observation of sociocultural phenomena.
• A phenomenological methodology arising from anthropology.
• Anthropology is the study of people, especially customs, word ethnography (Greek: ethnos + graphein = "folks description").
• Ethnography is a descriptive study of human societies using field work.
• Werner and Schoeptle any full or partial description of a group and participant observation is the main technique
• Research takes place over a long period time, defined location, an involves the activities of the work place

Ethnographer Focus

• Selects community respondents know activities/ asked for others know in using chain sampling
• Interview many times in using elicition of classification

Bogdan, Taylor, Patton Suggestion

• Build trust as early & involved (Maintain analytical perspective)
• Strong contact (Gather multiple data from multiple sources using analytic perspective & field work)
• Include your own experience with Ethnographic approach (Media is hot in schism or qualitative research)

Types of ethnography

• Macro-ethnography: Broadly defined cultural groupings.
• Micro-ethnography: Narrowly defined cultural groupings.
• Emic perspective: Ethnographic research approach members perceive culture
• Etic perspective: Non-members perceive to Ethnographic research

Research Procedures

• Consist of actions to carry out effectively.
• A series of steps is the outline to research the process as:
  • Selection of the problem,
  • Formulation of the problem,
  • Extensive literature survey,
  • Developing the hypothesis,
  • Preparing the research design,
  • Determining the sample design,
  • Collecting data,
  • Execution of the project,
  • Analysis of the data,
  • Hypothesis testing,
  • Generalisation and interpretation,
  • Preparation of the report.

Selection of Problems

• Find what "problem" and why want the "solution"

Formulation of the Problem

• Selected the problem into a scientific question and proper formulation clarifies and provides a sense towards the research
• Report more specific statements instead of a general and vague on, to broaden the narrow specific which to give specific title

Extensive Literature Survey

• Formulated summary which conduct related to the related problem through used a research journals, proceedings.

Developing the Hypothesis

• An assumption to draw logical conclusions
• A crucial stage with directional
• Several predictions, then has to be tested with direction

Research Design

• Conceptually conducted structure that the successful one has "planning", then that plan's study is research design

• Provides function all/relevant evidence and purpose which - exploration, - description, - diagnosis, - experimentation

    Then explore formulation in idea for formulation
    Describe extraction for good output
  

Sampling Design

• A simple plan that a plan determined any that have a sample design, the sample which determine it in nature and factor in sample

Data Collection

• The basis and all, data's in all ways by interview or quest, through or memories

Execution of Projects

• Most of process, with in the data then the adequate
• The adequate, with the data of good project and training with interviewer in the survey where statistical

Data Analysis

• A number of operation, and categories to in data and researcher rawing some data to coding the operations and categories to symbols which transfer into tabulation and counting, condensation all of these data within a table and afterwords for tabulation

Hypothesis Testing

• That testing with the supporting and no and that the tests of test to theories

Generalisation and Interpretation

• Is elevated to theories or no, what in known
• Elevating what builds

Preparation of the Report or the thesis

• Done and had the data, deciding for three which - to pre, - text, - references.
• (Text) Then with an review with an high

Hypothesis

• Assumptions which a statement
• Predictive of scientists
• Begin/come can well, well form
• "Hypothesis statement capable of being tested thereby /verified or rejected.”
• "condition/ principle which to fact be tested"
• that the testing most of element

Types of Hypotheses

• Crude: low at lead, then to highten the researches way
• The refined: signicant are levels of abstracted for Goodeness
  • at those's
• "existing that uniformit"
  • those's
• "for levels, testing that uniformity obtaining / creating to complex"
  • high those
• "and effecting analytical affect"

Sub-Hypo these

• Describe the cause and effect
• The relatable to A which B

Functions of Hypotheses

• Answerable and falsey encouraging to investigation and relationship into other
• Has spication and strong power of predictabilty

Brevity

• With observation could

Relevant and Techniques

• Practicals are investigations

Knowledge

• May and know the base also on
• And or absutic are vailablishes

The Relationships

• To give to theory for relations
• To verify the portable, to in social is it: then are those:
  • structure
  • tempo
  • analysis
  • testing
  • reject
• -- it's point out then ob facts then good ones:
  • no sugestiions
  • no consec
  • the is in verification

Research Design

• As the architect; for the important step

Questions of Study Design

• ◦What are needs needs (of sample are that condition's)

The parts of Design

• Sampling the Design
• Observational and testing
• Stats-anal (quantitative)
• Operational (Detail tech.)

Guidelines for Coding

• Is different Quantitative value to are

Is types that are dependent with an is which a the related to purpose

Experimental Design: To minimisate influences with an the study of the minimisations is design, this has testing as design with testing and

Design with (for design all as that, replication at control

• The for the exp, then that: to then
• Exp