Research Methods

• The systematic and objective identification, collection, analysis, dissemination and use of information for the purpose of decision making related to the identification and solution of problems.

Types

Problem Identification

• Research that is undertaken to help identify problems that are not necessarily apparent on the surface and yet exist or are likely to arise in future.

Problem Solving

• Research undertaken to help solve specific problems.

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Basic vs. Applied Research: A Continuum

Basic Research:Development of theory, principles and findings that generalize over a wide range of people, tasks, and settings.

Applied Research:Development of theory, principles and findings that are relatively specific with respect to particular populations, tasks, products, systems and/or environments.

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Characteristics of Basic Research

Advantages• Greater generality• Conducted in controlled lab which prevents intrusion of

potentially confounding variables– third-variable sources of causation

• More confidence when drawing causal inferences between variables (the cause/effect relationship)

Disadvantages• Lab environments can often be simplistic and/or artificial• And they may have little resemblance to the real world.

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Advantages• More likely to resemble real-world conditions• Can be more efficient in identifying design flaws and/or

more effective alternative designs

Disadvantages• Harder to generalize from the specific test group studied

to the larger “population of interest”• Less control over potentially confounding events

Characteristics of Applied Research

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Overview of Research MethodsThe Experimental Method

What is it?– Deliberately producing change in one or more independent

variables (IVs) & measuring the effect of that change on one or more dependent variables (DVs)

– Manipulation performed while keeping all other variables under control

The Goal: Control– Showing that the IVs, and no other variables, are responsible

for any measurable differences in the DVs– Most direct way to ascertain cause/effect relationships– “Quasi-experiment” – when not all other influential variables

can be controlled.

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What is it?The use of procedures used to characterize a population in terms of some relevant set of attributes.

• Criterion variables—Dependent variables including physical characteristics or performance measures

• Stratification variables—Predictors, including age, sex, and education

• Summary statistics include: Mean, median, mode, frequencies, percentiles

Overview of Research MethodsDescriptive Research

Note: Cannot draw causal inferences from descriptive study results.

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What is it?

• Procedures used to assess the performance of people using a product or system.

• Widely used in government and industry.

• Attempts to answer relevant questions in a practical way.

Overview of Research Methods:Evaluation Research

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A Model of the Research Process: Phases of Research

• Idea gathering Phase (Curiosity, interest, and enthusiasm)

• Definition of the Problem (Identify an area of interest, then clarify and refine)

• Design of the Procedures (Research design,subject selection, ethical considerations, type of observations, data analysis)

• Observation (“Doing the research”)

• Data-analysis (Statistical procedures should be appropriate to the question being asked and to the observation procedures being used. Should be specified in advance)

• Interpretation (How do the results help answer the research question; how does the data contribute to knowledge in the field)

• Communication/Publication (Purpose: (1) communication findings to appropriate audience; (2) allow replication of the study to strengthen confidence in the findings)

Significance of Research

• Research inculcates scientific and inductive thinking and it promotes the development of logical habits of thinking and organisation.

• Research provides the basis for nearly all government policies in our economic system.

• It has special significance in solving various operational and planning problems of business and industry.

• It is important for social scientists in studying social relationships and in seeking answers to various social problems.

• For doctoral students, research may mean a careerism or a way to attain high position.

• To professionals in research, research may mean source of livelihood.

• To philosophers and thinkers, it may mean the outlet for new ideas and insights.

• To analysts and intellectuals, research may mean the generalizations of new theories.

• Research Methodology is a way to systematically solve the research problem. It may be understood as a science of studying how research is done scientifically.

Characteristics of Good Research

Scientific methodMultiple methods Interdependence Value and cost of information Systematic Logical

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Scientific Method is Devoid Of:

• Personal beliefs

• Perceptions

• Biases

• Values

• Attitudes

• Emotions

Scientific Method – 5 Steps

Asking the QuestionProblem Identification &Forming Hypothesis(es)

Experimental Design & Methods

CollectingRelevantInformation (data)

Testing theHypothesis -Data analysis

Interpretation &Communication

Basic Assumptions Underlying Science

• Determinism – belief that there are causes or determinants of behaviour.

• Reality – belief that there is an underlying reality or truth in nature.

• Rationality – events can be understood through the use of logical thinking.

• Regularity – events in nature follow same laws.• Discoverability – it is possible to discover the

uniformity or laws in nature.

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1. Empirical. Gather evidence through observation and measurement.

2. Measurement. The variables of interest are measured—through multiple techniques and perspective, if possible.

3. Replicability. Variables are measured consistently, and in such a way as can be replicated by other researchers.

4. Objectivity. It is important to approach research questions and interpret results without bias.

Approaches to Scientific Research: Essential Requirements

Characteristics of the Scientific Approach

• Control – eliminating the influence of extraneous variables that could affect the observations (confounds).

• Operational definition – defining the steps or operations used to measure the phenomenon (e.g., anxiety).

• Replication – Reproducibility of the results.

• Description– Discover that the phenomenon exists– Demonstrate that the phenomenon exists– Describe its elements

• Explanation– Why does the phenomenon exist– What causes the phenomenon– Causes are the antecedent conditions that

result in the occurrence or manifestation of the phenomenon.

Scientific Theory

• Theory is the explanation for the phenomenon.

• Theories not only describe why or how the phenomenon occurred but also guides the way for further research.

• Theories are often referred to as models for a specific phenomenon.

Transtheoretical Model(Prochaska & DiClemente, 1992)

Precontemplation

Preparation

Contemplation

Maintenance

Action

Relapse

Where do the ideas come from?

• Everyday life

• Practical issues or needs

• Past research

• Theory

Sources of Research Questions

• Everyday life– What are the most effective ways to teach

research methods?– What personal characteristics make a

favorable impression in a job interview?

– What other questions come to mind?

Sources of Research Questions

• Practical Issues– Why do some employees have very high

absenteeism rates.– Why do more car accidents happen on

specific stretches of the road?– Why are most heart attacks on a Monday

morning?

Sources of Research Questions

• Past research– Knowledge develops in small steps. Rarely

does one study answer all the questions to the research topic.

Sources of Research Questions

• Theories– Summarize & integrate existing knowledge– Suggests new relationships between factors– Helps one make new predictions about a

phenomenon based on the theory.

Defining the Research Question

• Caveat – Not all ideas are subject to scientific enquire.

• Research question must be capable of being confirmed.

• The study must be feasible.• Variables in the problem should express a

relationship:– E.g., What relationship exists between two or

more variables?

Defining the Research Question - continued

• Problem should be capable of being stated in a question form. Examples are:– What is the effect of….?– Under what conditions do….?– Does the effect of….?

• A research question defines the area of interest but is not a declarative statement like a hypothesis.

Defining Research Problem and objectives

It is important to define research problem appropriately because it serves as a guideline to the researcher for conducting the rest of research project

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Chain Restaurant Study

One day I received a phone call from a research analyst who introduced himself as one of our alumni.

He was working for a restaurant in Colombo and wanted help analyzing the data he had collected while conducting a marketing research study.

When we met, he presented me with a copy of the questionnaire and asked how he should analyze the data. My first question to him was:

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Chain Restaurant Study

When he looked confused, I explained that data analysis is not an independent exercise.

Rather, the goal of data analysis is to PROVIDE INFORMATION RELATED TO THE PROBLEM COMPONENTS.

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Chain Restaurant Study

I was surprised to learn that he did not have a clear understanding of the marketing research problem and that a written definition did not exist. So before going any further, I had to definedefine the marketing research problem.

Once that was done, I found that much of the data collected was not relevant to the problem. In this sense, the whole study was a waste of resources. A new study had to be designed and implemented to address the problem defined.

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Symptom

A symptom occurs as a result of a problem. It is often a complicated process to distinguish a symptom from a problem

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Symptoms and Causes

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Formulating Hypotheses

• Stated in declarative form.

• Posits a relationship between variables.

• Ideally reflects a theory or body of literature.

• Is brief and to the point.

• Is testable.

Hypotheses

• Scientific hypothesis states the ‘predicted’ relationship amongst the variables.

• Null hypothesis is a statement of no relationship amongst the variables.

Examples of Hypotheses

Research Idea

Question Hypothesis

Drug abuse and child abuse

Is drug abuse related to child abuse?

There is a positive relationship between drug abuse among adults and their physical and psychological abuse as children.

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1.Does eating pizza make you fat?The experimental hypothesis: The more pizza a person eats, the more weight she/he will gain.The null hypothesis: a person’s weight will be the same regardless of how much pizza they eat.

2. Does drinking beer and eating cheese-fries give you nightmares?The experimental hypothesis: People who consume beer and cheese-fries before bedtime will report more nightmares than those who do not.The null hypothesis: People who consume beer and cheese-fries before bedtime will report about the same number of nightmares as those who do not.

How will we operationally define our measures?