Research Methods PDF

By: Jerelyn B Medalla Assoc Prof, XUCA Topic 4 Research Methodology Subtopic: A. Research Design B. Research environment (Locale or Setting) C. Respondents or Subjects of the Study D. Sampling Procedure E. Data-Gathering Procedure F. Research Instruments G.Statistical Treatment O...

By: Jerelyn B Medalla Assoc Prof, XUCA Topic 4 Research Methodology Subtopic: A. Research Design B. Research environment (Locale or Setting) C. Respondents or Subjects of the Study D. Sampling Procedure E. Data-Gathering Procedure F. Research Instruments G.Statistical Treatment Objectives: At the end of the topic the students are expected to: a) provide examples on situations when a business research should be exploratory, descriptive or causal; b) Discuss the different research strategies: experiment, case studies, action research or mixed research. A. RESEARCH DESIGN The nature of the problem; must be considered the purpose of the researcher; in deciding what the resources available and type of research the alternatives appropriate for its investigation to conduct Thus, a research design is selected with two purposes: 1. to plan an approach that will best answer the research question; and 2. to ensure the rigor and validity of the results. A. RESEARCH DESIGN cont.. Generally, there are three (3) types of research used in education. They are: historical research descriptive research experimental research A. RESEARCH DESIGN cont.. 1. Historical Research focuses on what was. The historical research seeks to test truthfulness of the reports of observation made by others. The subject of the study may be: a person * a movement a group * an institution an idea It often involves a procedure supplementary to observation through the use of primary and secondary sources of data. A. RESEARCH DESIGN cont.. Sources of Data Primary sources are original documents or remains, an eyewitness to the event, with no interpretation coming between the original event and the user of the material. Secondary sources are reports of those who relate what happened as gathered from primary sources. A. RESEARCH DESIGN cont.. 2. Descriptive Research describes and interprets what is. It is concerned with the: conditions or relationships that exist, opinions that are held, processes that are going on, effects that are evident, or trends that are developing. A. RESEARCH DESIGN cont.. Descriptive Research - primary draws attention to the present although it often considers past events and influences as they relate to current conditions (Best & Khan, 1998). - It does not necessarily seek or explain relationships, test hypotheses, make predictions, or get at meanings and implications, although research aimed at these more powerful purposes may include descriptive methods. A. RESEARCH DESIGN cont.. Provides general characteristics and establishes patterns concerning descriptive specific person, groups or communities under study. Ex. Profile studies of child labor in specific work settings) Several types of studies fall under this category of research, namely: assessment studies *ethnography evaluative studies * Case study document or content analysis * ex post facto design. A. RESEARCH DESIGN cont.. a. Action research- provides information for specific action intervention complementary to research. -It can also test out particular strategies or methods. Example: Development of community-based approaches to combat violence against women b. Community/Assessment study describes the status of a phenomenon at a particular time. It merely presents the situation as it exists and does not explain causality nor render value judgment.. Example: a survey conducted on the demographic profile of XU Aggie students A. RESEARCH DESIGN cont.. c. Evaluation research -determines why and how programs or services succeed or fail based in the set objectives. - It also provides basis for continuation, improvement or re- programming of specific project components. - designed to gather information concerning the effectiveness and efficiency of a program, a unit, or an institution. - Its purpose is to improve not to prove. A. RESEARCH DESIGN cont.. Evaluation research can yield 3 types of data: 1. the present situation 2. the goal, and 3. the means to attain the goal d. Content Analysis of a document – primarily concerned with the status of phenomenon at a particular time or its development over a period of time. sources of data are: 1. printed forms 2. tapes 3. films 4. academic work A. RESEARCH DESIGN cont.. e. Case Study presents an opportunity for in-depth analysis. It focuses on an important part of the unit employs data gathering over a long period of time. The subject may be a person, a family, an institution or a community. Ex. 1.a teacher may do a case study of a child with a problem 2.a community extension worker can zero in on the developments in a target community over a specified period. A. RESEARCH DESIGN cont.. f. Ethnographic Study also known as Cultural Anthropology- the branch of anthropology concerned with the study of human societies and cultures and their development. - makes use of participant observation, conversation and information from the groups being studied to generate data mostly on behavior patterns, communication and cultural features. - The study is initiated without a pre-conceived hypothesis. Example. 1. A researcher who reports the influence of overseas employment on the lifestyle of the family based on the first-hand observations made while living with the family. A. RESEARCH DESIGN cont.. g. Ex Post Facto Study refers to a research where the effects of a treatment, situation or event are examined after that effect occurred. Two forms of an ex post facto studies The correctional study - where two or more sets of data are collected from a group of subjects and their relationship determined; and the criterion group design - where comparisons are drawn among groups Ex. of ex post facto research The high school teacher’s investigation of his students’ educational history and academic achievement  A. RESEARCH DESIGN cont.. 3. Experimental Research deals on what can/may be (the effects). -The investigator manipulates one or more independent variables and observes variations in the dependent variable(s) Independent variable is that factor which is measured, manipulated or selected by the experimenter to determine its relationships to an observed phenomenon Dependent Variable is that factor which is observed and measured to determine the effect of the independent variable. A. RESEARCH DESIGN cont.. Two groups of respondents in the experimental study: a. experimental group – receives the treatment (manipulation of the independent variable) b. control group – no treatment is assigned B. RESEARCH ENVIRONMENT (LOCALE OR SETTING) - the area or place where the researcher chose to conduct her/his study - Describe the location; population, major source of income, etc - Provide a map C. RESPONDENTS OR SUBJECTS OF THE STUDY Respondents of the study – refer to persons who have been invited or selected to participate in a particular study and have actually taken part in the study. These are the people who will be the source of your data Selection of respondents is dependent on the type of research and objective of the study. Ex. College students; vegetable vendors; rice retailers Justify the reason why these persons were chosen D. SAMPLING PROCEDURE Sampling –refers to the processes whereby a subgroup (called sample) is picked out from a larger group (referred to as a population) and then use this sub-group as a basis for making judgments about the larger group. Sample – a set of elements, or a single element, from which data are obtained (McMillan, 1992) D. SAMPLING PROCEDURE cont.. Why do Sampling? Wood and Haber (1998) and Cooper and Emory (1995) cited four purposes of sampling. 1. Reduced cost. 2. Greater speed- the data can be collected and summarized more quickly with a sample than with a complete count 3. Greater scope. 4. Greater accuracy. -personnel of higher quality can be employed and given intensive training and supervision, a sample may actually produce more accurate results than a complete enumeration. D. SAMPLING PROCEDURE cont.. 2 General Types of Sampling Methods A. Probability Sampling – a sampling process where each individual is drawn or selected with known probability. 6 techniques of probability sampling 1. Simple Random sampling- a way of selecting an individual out of N, such that everyone has equal chances of being selected. - a process of selecting a sample from a set of all sampling units, giving each unit in the frame an equal chance of being included in the sample. D. SAMPLING PROCEDURE cont.. Two ways of randomly selecting samples: by lottery or rifa table of random numbers 03 47 43 73 96 36 96 47 36 61 46 98 63 71 62 97 74 24 67 62 42 81 14 57 50 42 53 32 37 32 16 76 62 27 66 56 50 26 71 07 32 90 79 78 53 12 56 85 99 26 96 96 68 27 31 05 03 72 93 15 55 59 56 35 64 38 54 82 46 22 31 62 43 09 90 16 22 77 94 39 49 54 43 54 82 17 37 93 23 78 84 42 17 53 31 57 24 55 06 88 77 04 74 47 77 63 01 63 78 59 16 95 55 67 19 98 10 50 71 75 33 21 12 34 29 78 64 56 07 82 52 42 07 44 38 57 60 86 32 44 09 47 27 96 54 49 17 46 09 62 18 18 07 92 46 44 17 16 58 09 79 83 86 19 62 26 62 38 97 75 84 16 07 44 99 83 11 46 32 24 23 42 40 64 74 82 97 77 77 81 07 45 32 14 08 52 36 28 19 95 50 92 26 11 97 00 56 76 31 38 37 85 97 35 12 83 39 50 38 30 42 34 07 96 88 D. SAMPLING PROCEDURE cont.. 2. Systematic Sampling – this technique starts by numbering consecutively all individuals in the population. the first sample is selected through a simple random process, then the succeeding samples are chosen at pre- established intervals. - refers to the process of selecting every kth sampling unit of the population after the first sampling unit is selected at random from the first k sampling units. Systematic Sampling D. SAMPLING PROCEDURE cont.. How do you select a systematic sample of six houses from total of twenty houses in the community? First, number the houses from 1 to 20. Second, determine your sampling interval (k) by dividing twenty by 6 (k=20/6=3.3), and you obtain k which is 3 (when rounded off). Third, select your first sample at random. Lastly, suppose you selected 2 for your random start (1st sample), you may now add your k = 3 (sampling interval) to 2; (2 +3=5) 5 will be your second respondent in the sample. This process continues until you get six respondents. D. SAMPLING PROCEDURE cont.. Type of sampling used when population is more or less homogenous: simple random sampling systematic sampling Advantage of systematic sampling: 1. the relative ease in selecting samples 2. only one act of randomization is required (i.e. selecting the random starting point). D. SAMPLING PROCEDURE cont.. 3. Stratified Sampling – applicable when the population is not homogeneous wherein the random sample may not be representative of the population. obtain by stratifying the sampling frame and then selecting a fixed number of items from each of the strata by means of simple random sampling. involves dividing the population into two or more strata and then taking either a simple random (stratified random sampling) or a systematic sample (stratified systematic sampling) from each stratum. Stratified Sampling D. SAMPLING PROCEDURE cont.. Sample Sizes for Proportional Allocation (Walpole, 1982) If we divided a population of size N into k strata of sizes N1, N2…, Nk, and select samples of size n1, n2, …nk, respectively, from the k strata, the allocation is proportional if ni = (Ni/N) n, for 1 = 1,2,…k, where n is the total size of the statistical random sample. D. SAMPLING PROCEDURE cont.. Classification Number of Students College of Arts and Sciences 340 College of Business Administration 318 College of Education 425 College of Engineering 296 Total 1,379 Suppose you use proportional allocation to select a stratified of size n = sample 310. To solve for the sample size for each stratum, we have as follows: n1 = (340/1,379) (310) = 76 n2 = (318/1,379) (310) = 71 n3 = (425/1,379) (310) = 96 n4 = (286/1,379) (310) = 67 310 D. SAMPLING PROCEDURE cont.. Stratified random sampling utilizing proportional allocation is often called by many researchers as proportionate stratified sampling. 4. Simple cluster sampling – a one stage sampling technique, where in the population is grouped into clusters or small units composed of population elements. sampling obtained by stratifying the sampling frame and then selecting all of the items from some, but not all, of the strata. A cluster - refers to any intact group of similar characteristics. D. SAMPLING PROCEDURE cont.. 5. Strip Sampling – under this technique, you divide the area to be sampled into narrow strips. Then select a number of strips at a random either by complete randomization or with some degree of stratification. 6. Multi-stage sampling – this technique is commonly used when there is no detailed or accurate listing of individuals. Sampling is done by stages. Thank you for listening!