Research Methods. The systematic and objective identification, collection, analysis, dissemination...
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Transcript of Research Methods. The systematic and objective identification, collection, analysis, dissemination...
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Research Methods
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• 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.
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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)
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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.
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• 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.
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• 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.
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• 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.
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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
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Scientific Method – 5 Steps
Asking the QuestionProblem Identification &Forming Hypothesis(es)
Experimental Design & Methods
CollectingRelevantInformation (data)
Testing theHypothesis -Data analysis
Interpretation &Communication
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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
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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.
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• Description– Discover that the phenomenon exists– Demonstrate that the phenomenon exists– Describe its elements
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• 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.
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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.
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Transtheoretical Model(Prochaska & DiClemente, 1992)
Precontemplation
Preparation
Contemplation
Maintenance
Action
Relapse
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Where do the ideas come from?
• Everyday life
• Practical issues or needs
• Past research
• Theory
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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?
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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?
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Sources of Research Questions
• Past research– Knowledge develops in small steps. Rarely
does one study answer all the questions to the research topic.
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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.
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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?
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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.
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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.
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Hypotheses
• Scientific hypothesis states the ‘predicted’ relationship amongst the variables.
• Null hypothesis is a statement of no relationship amongst the variables.
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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?