Research Method and Presentation
By
Mr. Henok Seifu
Gmail:seifuhenock@gmail.com
2021,Tepi
Chapter One :Introduction to
Research Methodology
Contents:
❑ Meaning of Research
❑Objective of Research
❑Motivation of research
❑Type of Research
❑Research Approaches
❑Significance of Research
❑Research methods Vs Research Methodology
❑Research process
❑Criteria of good Research
1
Meaning of Research:
What is
Research?
2
Meaning of Research:
❑ Is a search for knowledge
❑ A scientific and systematic search for pertinent information on a specific
topic
❑Is the systematic process of collecting and analyzing information (data) in
order to increase our understanding of the phenomenon about which we
are concerned or interested.
3
Meaning of Research:
❑The systematic collection, analysis and interpretation of data to answer a certain
question or solve a problem
❑Must be systematic and follow a series of steps and a rigid standard protocol.
❑In short, the search for knowledge through objective and systematic method of
finding solution to a problem.
❑The systematic approach concerning generalization and the formulation of a
theory is also research
4
What Research is Not:
❑ Isn’t information gathering: – Gathering information from resources such
as books or magazines isn’t research.
▪ No contribution to new knowledge
❑ Isn’t the transportation of facts: – Merely transporting facts from one
resource to another doesn’t constitute research.
▪ No contribution to new knowledge although this might make
existing knowledge more accessible.
5
Objective of the Research:
What is the
purpose of
research ?
6
Objective Of The Research:
❑Is to discover answers to questions through the application of scientific
procedures.
❑Is to find out the truth which is hidden and which has not been discovered
as yet.
❑problem solving and acquiring new knowledge
❑better understanding of …
7
Objective Of The Research:
❑Each research study has its own specific purpose:
▪ To gain familiarity
▪ To determine the frequency with which something occurs
▪ To test a hypothesis of a causal relationship between variables
8
Motivation In Research
❑Is used to answer what makes a people to undertake research
▪ Desire to face the challenge in solving the unsolved
problems
▪ Desire to get intellectual joy of doing some creative work
▪ Desire to be of service to society
▪ Desire to get respectability
9
Types of Research
❑Research can be classified:
▪ Based on purpose , time required to accomplish research , on the
environment in which research is done, etc.
❑Main type of research are as follows:
▪ Basic Vs. Applied
▪ Descriptive Vs. Analytical
▪ Conceptual Vs. Empirical
▪ Quantitative Vs. Qualitative
10
Types of research: Basic vs Applied
❑Research could be undertaken to solve:
▪ Theoretical problems – Basic research.
▪ Practical problems – Applied research.
11
Types of research: Basic vs
Applied
❑Basic/fundamental research:
▪ Objective:
✓Advancement of knowledge(formulating or expanding theory)
✓Understanding of theoretical relationship between variables
12
Types of research: Basic vs
Applied
▪ Basic/fundamental research:
▪ Exploratory in nature (discovery of knowledge)
✓Requires rigorous and structured type of analysis
✓Usually without any practical end in mind
Example:
▪ What is the mind-body connection?
▪ Is computer important in everyday life?
▪ Existence of life on mars
13
Types of research: Basic vs
Applied
❑Applied research:
▪ Purpose:
✓ testing theories and apply it to real situations.
✓Solve specific, practical questions
✓Employs methodology that is not as rigorous as that of basic
research
14
Types of research: Basic vs
Applied
❑Yields findings that can be evaluated in terms of local applicability and not
in terms of universal validity.
• Example:
▪ Improve the energy efficiency of homes, offices, or modes of
transportation.
▪ Improve agricultural crop production
16
Types of research: Descriptive Vs
analytical
❑Descriptive Research: (what ?)
▪ Major purpose:
✓description of the state of affairs as it exists at present
▪ The methods of research utilized :
✓survey methods, including comparative and correlational methods
▪ it is often used: in business and social science research
✓To measure frequency of shopping ,preference people on similar
data etc.
▪ For example, statistics showing the fluctuation of trade deficits
between the United States and the rest of the world during 2015-2018
17
Types of research: Descriptive Vs
analytical
❑Analytical Research:(why or how)
▪ The researcher has to use facts or information already available, and
analyze these to make a critical evaluation of the material
▪ It introduces new ideas about what is happening in your data and
helps prove or disprove hypotheses.
▪ For Example:
✓Exploring why the value of the Japanese Yen has reduced against
major world currencies such as euro, U.S. dollar, and British
pound.
18
Types of research: Conceptual
vs. Empirical
❑Conceptual Research:
▪ Is related to some abstract idea(s) or theory
▪ Used by philosophers and thinkers to develop new concepts or to
reinterpret existing ones.
▪ Doesn’t involve conducting any practical experiments but may
make use of observation by others
▪ For examples:
▪ How can we describe the motions of the planets?
▪ What are the building blocks of matter?
19
Types of research: Conceptual
vs. Empirical
❑Empirical Research
▪ It finds a solution empirically (based on observation and
experience more than upon theory and abstraction)
▪ Statistical formulas are fundamental to forming logical, valid
conclusions
▪ It is data-based research, coming up with conclusions
▪ Evidence gathered through experiments
20
Types of research: Qualitative
research vs. Quantitative
❑Quantitative research:(how much ?,how often?,…)
▪ Is research concerned with the measurement of attitudes, behaviors
and perceptions and includes interviewing methods such as telephone,
personal interviews ,web surveys (100-200) and hybrid (any of the two
methods)
▪ Relies on strict experimental control
▪ Uses numerical information to describe behavior
▪ Numerical in nature
21
Types of research: Qualitative
research vs. Quantitative
▪ Primary tool of collection is tests
▪ Procedures are examined for reliability, validity, and objectivity
▪ presented in the form of tables, charts ,graphs etc.
Example :
▪ Research that carried out to know the sales of various toothpaste brands in
in certain area, by different companies of an industry.
22
Types of research: Qualitative
research vs. Quantitative
❑Qualitative research :(what? and how?)
▪ Is research undertaken to gain understandings concerning:
✓attitudes,
✓ beliefs,
✓ motivations and others
23
Types of research: Qualitative
research vs. Quantitative
▪ goal - describe what is happening & qualify the description with language
that clearly illustrates what happened
▪ Not measurements, but WORDS!
▪ Typically the samples are small, and not "random
▪ Working with human subjects
Example: What is the health professional attitude toward medical equipment
utilization?
24
Other Type of Research:
❑Experimental Research
• An experiment is a research situation where at least one independent
variable, called the experimental variable, is deliberately manipulated or
varied by the researcher.
• Explores cause and effect relationships.
• It is common in medical and agricultural sciences
25
Research approaches
❑Research approaches:
▪ It is the way of dealing problem
▪ Plan and procedure that consists of steps detailed method of data
collection and interpretation based on the problem being addressed
Research
approach
26
Research Approaches:
Quantitative
❑Quantitative approach
▪ Involves the generation of data in quantitative form
▪ This approach can be further sub-classified into:
✓ inferential: form data base from the r/ship of population
✓Experimental: cause and effect r/ship b/n variables
✓ simulation: involves the construction of an artificial
environment within which relevant information and data can be
generated
27
Research Approaches:
Quantitative
❑Qualitative approach
▪ is concerned with subjective assessment of attitudes, opinions and
behavior
▪ generates results either in non-quantitative form or in the form which
are not subjected to rigorous quantitative analysis
▪ The techniques used are : focus group interviews, projective techniques
and depth interviews
28
Significance of Research
❑Used to solve operational and planning problems of business and industry
❑Is a tool to Economic policy (government and business) with three distinct
phases:
▪ investigation of economic structure through continual compilation of facts
▪ diagnosis of events that are taking place and the analysis of the forces
underlying them;
▪ the prediction, i.e., the prediction of future developments
29
significance of research: contd..
❑Facilitates the decisions of the policy maker
❑An important source of providing guidelines for solving different business,
governmental and social problems
❑It is a sort of formal training which enables one to understand the new
developments in one's field in a better way
30
Research Methods Versus
Methodology
❑Research Methodology:
▪ the way to systematically solve research problem
▪ It deals with:
✓ How to develop certain tests
✓Which method and techniques are relevant and which are not
✓Why we are using a particular methods
✓How to apply a particular research techniques
✓what would they mean and indicate and why
31
Research Methods Versus
Methodology
❑Research Methods :
▪ All methods/techniques that are used by the researcher to conduct the
research.
✓Techniques: instruments performing research operation such as
making observation ,recording data ,data extraction from
experiment/simulation ,data processing
✓Method: the behavior of the instruments used in selecting and
constructing the research technique
32
RESEARCH PROCESS
❑It consists of series of actions or steps necessary to effectively carry
out research and the desired sequencing of these steps.
33
Characteristics of good Research
❑
❑
❑
❑
The purpose of the research should be clearly defined and common concepts be
used.
The research procedure used should be described in sufficient detail to permit
another researcher to repeat the research for further advancement, keeping the
continuity of what has already been attained.
The procedural design of the research should be carefully planned to yield results
that are as objective as possible.
The researcher should report with complete frankness, flaws in procedural design
and estimate their effects upon the findings.
34
Characteristics of good Research
❑
❑
❑
The analysis of data should be sufficiently adequate to reveal its significance and
the methods of analysis used should be appropriate. The validity and reliability of
the data should be checked carefully.
Conclusions should be confined to those justified by the data of the research and
limited to those for which the data provide an adequate basis.
Greater confidence in research is warranted if the researcher is experienced, has a
good reputation in research and is a person of integrity.
35
Quality of good research
Systematic
Logical
Empirical
Replicable
36
Chapter Two: Defining Research Problem
Contents:
❑ Research problem
❑Ways of defining Research problem
❑Necessity of defining Research problem
❑Techniques involved In defining research problem
❑Establishment of research objective
1
Research problem:
What is
Research
problem ?
2
Meaning of Research problem:
❑ The term ‘problem’ means a question or issue to be examined.
❑ Research Problem refers: to some difficulty/need which a
researcher experiences in the context of either theoretical or
practical situation and wants to obtain a solution for the same.
4
How do we know we have a research
problem?
❑Customer complaints
❑Conversation with company employees
❑Observation of inappropriate behavior or conditions in the firm
❑Relevant reading of published material (trends, regulations)
❑Company records and reports.
5
how to define research problem?
❑ Definition of the problem involves two activities
▪ Identification and Selection of the Problem
▪ Formulation of the Problem
6
Definition of the research problem:
Identification & selection of problem.
❑ This step involves identification of a few problems and selection of one out of
them, after evaluating the alternatives against certain selection criteria.
❑ The following points may be observed by a researcher in selecting a research
problem or a subject for research
▪
the qualifications and the training of a researcher
▪
Subject which is overdone should not be normally chosen
▪
Controversial subject should not become the choice of an average
researcher
▪
Too narrow or too vague problems should be avoided
❑ The selection of a problem must be preceded by a preliminary study
7
Definition of the research problem:
Formulation of the research problem.
❑ Formulation is the process of refining the research ideas into research questions
and objectives.
❑ Formulation means translating and transforming the selected research
problem/topic/idea into a scientifically researchable question.
❑ It is concerned with specifying exactly what the research problem is.
❑ Problem definition or Problem statement is a clear, precise and brief statement of
the question or issue that is to be investigated with the goal of finding an answer
or solution
8
Necessity of Defining a Problem
❑ A proper definition of research problem will enable the researcher to be on
the track whereas an ill-defined problem may create hurdles. Questions like:
▪ What data are to be collected?
▪
What characteristics of data are relevant and need to be studied?
▪ What relations are to be explored?
▪ What techniques are to be used for the purpose?
❑ Formulation of a problem is often more essential than its solution
9
Definition of the research problem:
Formulation of the research problem.
❑ Ways of stating a problem:
• Posting question / questions
• Making declarative statement / statements
10
Techniques Involved in Defining the
Problem:
1. Statement of the problem in a general way.
▪ Study related subject
▪ Do preliminary survey
2. Understanding the nature of problem.
▪ Researcher need to discuss the problem with those related to subject
matter in order to clearly understand the origin of the problem ,its
nature ,objective, and the environment which the problem is to be
studied.
11
Techniques Involved in Defining the
Problem:
3. Surveying the available literature.
▪ Survey all the research literature which are already undertaken in related
problem .This will helps to: narrow down the problem ,identify
research gaps, gives new idea in related area, helps in research
design
4. Developing ideas through discussions.
5. Rephrasing the research problem
12
Good Research problem:
❑Clear and Unambiguous
❑Empirical
❑ Verifiable
❑ Interesting
❑ Original
48
Establishment of Research Objectives:
❑Research Objectives are the specific components of the research problem,
which you’ll be working to answer or complete, in order to answer the
overall research problem
❑They should directly address the problem mentioned in the problem
statement.
❑Should be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable,
Relevant and Time-bound.
14
50
Literature Review:
What is
Literature
review ?
2
Literature Review:
Don’t re
invent the
wheel use
what is
out there!!
2
Literature Review
❑Is the documentation of a comprehensive review of the published and unpublished
work from secondary sources of data in the areas of specific interest to the
researcher
❑It is an extensive survey of all available past studies relevant to the field of
investigation.
❑It gives us knowledge about what others have found out in the related field of
study and how they have done.
❑It should be critical.
3
Why Literature Review?
❑Purpose of review
▪ To convey to your reader what knowledge and ideas have been established
on the topic, and what their strengths and weaknesses are.
▪ To Prevent duplication of what has already been done
▪ To Develop questions for further study
4
Literature Review:
❑How to review literatures?
▪ Identify the relevant sources.
▪ Extract and Record relevant information.
▪ Write-up the Literature Review.
N.B. The reviewing of literature is the continuous process
▪ A researcher begins the review of literature even before selecting his
problem of research
5
Literature Review
❑Sources of literature
▪ Books and professional journals
▪ Electronic Databases
▪ Internet: https://www.sciencedirect.com/ , https://www.IEEE.org/ ,
https://arxiv.org/
▪ Interview
▪ Formal research reports. etc.
▪ Popular publications should not be included e.g. Newspapers, news
magazines etc.
6
Literature Review
❑Strategies to be followed:
▪ Electronic search-requires use of keywords
▪ Manual searching: contents, lists catalogue ,the table of contents and
keywords.
▪ Recording your search- cards, pieces of papers, bibliographic software,
etc.
▪ Referencing published works-acknowledgement, plagiarism, vary
among journals, etc.
7
Literature Review
❑Strategies to be followed:
2.Record
R.no
Authors
name
and year
Title
Methods
1.Sear
3.Write
up
Finding Resear
ch Gap
8
References & Citations:
What are
References
and
citations?
9
References and Citations:
❑Citation
▪ A reference to a source
❑Reference:
▪ usually refers to the full bibliographic information at the end
▪ A numbered list of references must be provided at the end of the paper
Note: When you quote from, or refer to, another source of information in your
assignment, you must provide a citation to it, which then leads to a reference giving the
full details of the resource. You will end up with:
✓ a citation within the text
✓A reference in the bibliography
10
References and Citations:
❑Purpose of citations:
▪ To locate the materials you used
▪ To give evidence for your ideas
▪ To show the source of your information for the reader
▪ To refer to the work of other authors within the text.(avoiding
plagiarism)
11
References and Citations:
❑Methods of Citations: text
1. IEEE: Consecutive numbers are used in the text to indicate the
references. Example[1]
2. APA: Author's last name and the year of publication for the source should
appear in the text, like, for example, (seifu, 2021)
Others:
Vancouver, Harvard ,etc.
12
References and Citations:
❑References:
1.IEEE:
13
References and Citations:
❑References :
1.APA:
14
References and Citation:
❑References and citations : Example(IEEE)
❑
15
References and Citation:
❑References and citations : Example(APA)
❑
16
References and citations:
References and citations: “et al”.
▪ is a scholarly abbreviation of the Latin phrase et alia, which means “and
others”.
▪ It is commonly used when you don‘t want to name all the people or things
in a list, and works in roughly the same way as etc.
17
References and Citations:
❑Free software packages
▪ For simplifying and improving the quality of references and citations as well
as text processing the following software packages can be utilize in write-up:
✓EndNote
✓ Mendeley
✓Zotero
✓LaTeX
18
Avoiding Plagiarism
❑Scholarship entails researching, understanding, and building upon the work of
others, but also requires that proper credit be given for any borrowed material.
19
Avoiding Plagiarism
❑Plagiarism means using another‘s work without giving credit.
❑Work includes the words and ideas of others, as well as art, graphics, computer
programs, music, and other creative expression.
▪ The work may consist of writing, charts, data, graphs, pictures,
diagrams, websites, movies, TV broadcasts, computer code
or other communication media.
20
Avoiding Plagiarism
❑One citation method Is to identify the source in the text
▪ putting the author‘s last name and publication year in parenthesis and giving
the page number where the cited information appears. (seifu, 2021).
21
Why be concerned about Plagiarism?
▪ If you plagiarize, you are cheating yourself.
▪ Plagiarism is dishonest and/or misleading,
▪ Plagiarism violates the Code of Academic Conduct and can lead to Suspension or
Dismissal
▪ Plagiarism devalues others‟ original work.
▪ It is wrong to take or use property
22
Guidelines for Avoiding Plagiarism:
❑Use your own words and ideas
❑Give credit for copied, adapted, or paraphrased material
❑Avoid using others work with miner “cosmetic” changes.
23
Plagiarism detection software
24
Plagiarism detection software
For Example: Grammarly
25
26