M.Tech / M.E. (R2021)
Lecture Notes (Unit I)
RM4151 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND IPR
Dr. Shaleesha A.Stanley
Dean (Academics)
M.Tech / M.E. (R2021) Lecture Notes
M.E / M.Tech. DEGREE EXAMINATIONS (REGULATIONS 2021)
RM4151 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND IPR (Credits : 2)
SYLLABUS
UNIT I RESEARCH DESIGN
Overview of research process and design, Use of Secondary and exploratory data to answer the
research question, Qualitative research, Observation studies, Experiments and Surveys.
UNIT II DATA COLLECTION AND SOURCES
Measurements, Measurement Scales, Questionnaires and Instruments, Sampling and methods.
Data - Preparing, Exploring, examining and displaying.
UNIT III DATA ANALYSIS AND REPORTING
Overview of Multivariate analysis, Hypotheses testing and Measures of Association.
Presenting Insights and findings using written reports and oral presentation.
UNIT IV INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
Intellectual Property – The concept of IPR, Evolution and development of concept of IPR, IPR
development process, Trade secrets, utility Models, IPR & Bio diversity, Role of WIPO and
WTO in IPR establishments, Right of Property, Common rules of IPR practices, Types and
Features of IPR Agreement, Trademark, Functions of UNESCO in IPR maintenance.
UNIT V PATENTS
Patents – objectives and benefits of patent, Concept, features of patent, Inventive step,
Specification, Types of patent application, process E-filling, Examination of patent, Grant of
patent, Revocation, Equitable Assignments, Licences, Licensing of related patents, patent
agents, Registration of patent agents.
TOTAL : 30 PERIODS
REFERENCES:
1. Cooper Donald R, Schindler Pamela S and Sharma JK, “Business Research Methods”, Tata McGraw Hill Education,
11e (2012).
2. Catherine J. Holland, “Intellectual property: Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, Trade Secrets”, Entrepreneur Press,
2007.
3. David Hunt, Long Nguyen, Matthew Rodgers, “Patent searching: tools & techniques”, Wiley, 2007.
4. The Institute of Company Secretaries of India, Statutory body under an Act of parliament, “Professional Programme
Intellectual Property Rights, Law and practice”, September 2013.
Shaleesha.stanley@gmail.com
Page 2
UNIT I RESEARCH DESIGN (6)
Overview of research process and design, Use of Secondary and exploratory
data to answer the research question, Qualitative research, Observation studies,
Experiments and Surveys.
Overview of research process and design
Definition of Research
Research is defined as a scientific and systematic search for pertinent information on a specific topic. In fact,
research is an art of scientific investigation. a movement from the known to the unknown. It is actually a
voyage of discovery. According to Clifford Woody research comprises defining and redefining problems,
formulating hypothesis or suggested solutions; collecting, organising and evaluating data; making deductions
and reaching conclusions; and at last carefully testing the conclusions to determine whether they fit the
formulating hypothesis.
Research Process
The following order concerning various steps provides a useful procedural guideline regarding the research
process:
 Formulating the research problem;
 Extensive literature survey;
 Developing the hypothesis;
 preparing the research design;
 Determining sample design;
 Collecting the data;
 Execution of the project;
 Analysis of data;
 Hypothesis testing;
 Generalizations and interpretation, and
 Preparation of the report or presentation of the results,i.e., formal write-up of conclusions
Axioms or Postulate is defined as a statement that is accepted as true and correct, called as a theorem in
mathematics. Axioms present itself as self-evident on which you can base any arguments or inference. These
are universally accepted and general truth. 0 is a natural number, is an example of axiom. An axiom is a
statement that is so evident or well-established, that it is accepted without controversy or question
In research, hypothesis need to be proved and axioms means universal truth.
Shaleesha.stanley@gmail.com
Page 3
Research Design



Research design constitutes the blueprint for the collection, measurement, and analysis of data.

Research design aids the researcher in the allocation of limited resources by posing crucial
choices inmethodology.

Research design is the plan and structure of investigation so conceived as to obtain answers to
research questions. The plan is the overall scheme or program of the research. It includes an
outline of what the investigator will do from writing hypotheses and their operational
implications to the final analysis of data.

Research design expresses both the structure of the research problem—the framework,
organization, or configuration of the relationships among variables of a study—and the plan of
investigation used to obtainempirical evidence on those relationships.
Together, these definitions give the essentials of research design:

An activity- and time-based plan.

A plan always based on a research question.

A guide for selecting sources and types of information.

A framework for specifying the relationships among the study’s variables.

A procedural outline for every research activity.
One of the project management tools used in mapping a research design is critical path method
(CPM).

CPM depicts sequential and simultaneous activities and estimates schedules or timetables for
each activityand phase of the research project.
CLASSIFICATION OF DESIGNS
1- Degree of Research Question Crystallization

A study may be exploratory or formal.

The distinctions between the two are the (a) degree of structure, and (b) the immediate objective of the
study.

Exploratory studies tend toward loose structures, with the objective of discovering future
Shaleesha.stanley@gmail.com
Page 4
research tasks.
The immediate purpose is usually to develop hypotheses or questions for future research.
 The formal study begins where the exploration leaves off—with a hypothesis or research
question.
–
It also involves precise procedures and data source specifications.
– The goal of a formal design is to test the hypotheses or answer the research questions posed.
2- Method of Data Collection
–

The method of data collection distinguishes between monitoring and communication processes.

Monitoring includes studies in which the researcher inspects the activities of a subject or the nature
of somematerial, without attempting to elicit responses from anyone.

Examples of monitoring include:
Traffic counts at intersections
– License plates recorded in a restaurant parking lot
– A search of the library collection
– The State Farm Dangerous Intersection Study
 In each case, the researcher notes and records the information available from observation.
–

In a communication study, the researcher questions the subjects and collects their responses by
personal or impersonal means.

Collected data may result from:
Interview or telephone conversations.
– Self-administered or self-reported instruments through the mail, left in convenient locations,
ortransmitted electronically, or by other means.
– Instruments presented before and/or after a treatment or stimulus condition in an experiment.
–
3- Researcher Control of Variables


In an experiment, the researcher attempts to control and/or manipulate the variables in the study.

Experimental design is appropriate when one wishes to discover whether certain variables
produce effects in other variables.

Experimentation provides the most powerful support possible for a hypothesis of causation.
With an ex post facto design, investigators have no control over the variables in the sense of
being able to manipulate them.

They can only report what has happened, or what is happening.

Researchers using this design must not influence the variables; doing so introduces bias.

The researcher is limited to holding factors constant by judicious selection of subjects,
according to strict sampling procedures and by statistical manipulation of findings.
4- The Purpose of the Study

The essential difference between reporting, descriptive, causal-explanatory and causal-predictive
studies lies in their objectives.

reporting study provides a summation of data, often recasting data to achieve a deeper
understandingor to generate statistics for comparison.

A descriptive study is concerned with finding out who, what, where, when, or how much.
Shaleesha.stanley@gmail.com
Page 5

A causal-explanatory study is concerned with learning why. That is, how one variable produces
changes in another variable.

A causal-predictive study attempts to predict the effect on one variable by manipulating another
variable while holding all other variables constant.
5- The Time Dimension

Cross-sectional studies are carried out once, and represent a snapshot of one point in time.

Longitudinal studies are repeated over an extended period.


The advantage of a longitudinal study is that it can track changes over time.
In longitudinal panel studies, researchers may study people over time.

In marketing, panels are set up to report consumption data.

These data provide information on relative market share, consumer response to new products,
and new promotional methods.

Some types of information cannot be collected a second time from the same person without the risk of
bias.

Some benefits of a longitudinal study can be revealed in a cross-sectional study by adroit
questioning aboutpast attitudes, history, and future expectations.
6- The Topical Scope


Statistical studies are designed for breadth, rather than depth.

They attempt to capture a population’s characteristics by making references from a
sample’s characteristics.

Generalizations about findings are based on the relativity of the sample and the validity of the
design.
Case studies place more emphasis on a full contextual analysis of fewer events or conditions,
and their interrelations.

The reliance on qualitative data makes support or rejection more difficult.

An emphasis on detail provides valuable insight for problem solving, evaluation, and strategy.
This detail is secured from multiple sources of information.
– It allows evidence to be verified and avoids missing data.
 Although they have a significant scientific role, case studies have been maligned as
“scientificallyworthless” because they do not meet the minimum requirements for comparison.
–
Important scientific propositions have the form the universals, which can be falsified by
a singlecounter-instance.
– A single, well-designed case study can provide a major challenge to a theory, and provide a
source of new hypotheses and constructs simultaneously.
–
7- The Research Environment

Designs differ as to whether they occur under actual environmental conditions (field conditions)
or understaged/manipulated conditions (laboratory conditions).

Simulations, which replicate the essence of a system or process, are increasingly used in research,
especiallyin operations research.

Conditions and relationships in actual situations are often represented in mathematical models.

Role-playing and other behavioral activities may also be viewed as simulation.
Shaleesha.stanley@gmail.com
Page 6
8. Participants’ Perceptual Awareness

Participant’s perceptual awareness refers to when people in a disguised study
perceive that research is beingconducted.

Participant’s perceptual awareness may reduce the usefulness of a research design.

Participants’ perceptual awareness influence the outcomes of the research.

When participants believe that something out of the ordinary is happening, they may
behave less naturally.

There are three levels of perceptional awareness:
a- Participants perceive no deviations from everyday routines (non-aware,
unaffected).
b- Participants perceive deviations, but as unrelated to the researcher (aware,
consciously unaffected).
c- Participants perceive deviations as researcher-induced (aware, consciously
affected).
Use of Secondary and exploratory data to answer the research question
I- EXPLORATORY STUDIES
Exploration is particularly useful when researchers lack a clear idea of the
problems they will meet during the study.


Exploration allows researchers to:
Develop clearer concepts
– Establish priorities
– Develop operational definitions
– Improve the final research design
– Possibly save time and money
 If exploration reveals that a problem is not as important as first thought,
more formal studies can be cancelled.
–
Exploration serves other purposes as well:

The area of investigation may be so new or vague that the researcher needs to
do an exploration just to learn something about the dilemma.

Important variables may not be known or well defined.

A hypothesis for the research may be needed.

The researcher may need to determine if it is feasible to do a formal study.
Researchers and managers alike give exploration less attention than it deserves.




There is often pressure for a quick answer.
There may be a bias about qualitative research.
 Subjectiveness
 Non-representation
 Non-systematic design.
 Exploration can save time and money, so it should not be slighted.
Shaleesha.stanley@gmail.com
Page 7
Secondary Data Analysis



The first step in an exploratory study is a search of the secondary literature.

Studies made by others, for their own purposes, represent secondary data.

It is inefficient to discover anew through the collection of primary data or
original research what hasalready been done and reported.

Start with an organization’s own archives.
By reviewing prior studies, you can identify methodologies that proved successful
and unsuccessful.

Solutions that didn’t receive attention in the past may reveal subjects for further
study.

Avoid duplication in instances where prior data can help resolve the current
dilemma.
The second source of secondary data is published documents prepared by authors
outside the sponsororganization.

Data from secondary sources help us decide what needs to be done, and can
be a rich source ofhypotheses.

In many cases, you can conduct a secondary search in libraries, or via your
computer and an online service or an Internet gateway.

If we confine an investigation to obvious subjects in bibliographic sources,
some of the best informationmay be missed.

We provide a detailed list of Business Reference Sources on the website.
Qualitative research
Qualitative research is defined as a market research method that focuses on obtaining data
through open-ended and conversational communication.
This method is not only about “what” people think but also “why” they think so. For
example, consider a convenience store looking to improve its patronage. A systematic
observation concludes that the number of men visiting this store is more. One good method to
determine why women were not visiting the store is to conduct an in-depth interview of
potential customers in the category.
For example, on successfully interviewing female customers, visiting the nearby stores and
malls, and selecting them through random sampling, it was known that the store doesn’t have
enough items for women and so there were fewer women visiting the store, which was
understood only by personally interacting with them and understanding why they didn’t visit
the store, because there were more male products than female ones.
Qualitative research is based on the disciplines of social sciences like psychology, sociology,
and anthropology. Therefore, the qualitative research methods allow for in-depth and further
probing and questioning of respondents based on their responses, where the
interviewer/researcher also tries to understand their motivation and feelings. Understanding
how your audience takes decisions can help derive conclusions in market research.
Shaleesha.stanley@gmail.com
Page 8
Qualitative research involves collecting and analyzing non-numerical data (e.g., text,
video, or audio) to understand concepts, opinions, or experiences. It can be used to gather
in-depth insights into a problem or generate new ideas for research.
Quantitative methods allow you to systematically measure variables and test hypotheses
whereas Qualitative methods allow you to explore concepts and experiences in more detail.
Five types of qualitative research methods
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Ethnography,
Narrative
Phenomenological
Grounded Theory and
Case Study
The results of qualitative methods are more descriptive and the inferences can be drawn quite
easily from the data that is obtained.
Qualitative research methods originated in the social and behavioral sciences. The world is
more complicated and it is difficult to understand what people think and perceive. Online
qualitative research methods make it easier to understand that as it is more communicative
and descriptive.
1.Ethnographic Research
Ethnographic research is the most in-depth observational method that studies people in their
naturally occurring environment.
This method requires the researchers to adapt to the target audiences’ environments which
could be anywhere from an organization to a city or any remote location. Here geographical
constraints can be an issue while collecting data.
This research design aims to understand the cultures, challenges, motivations, and settings
that occur. Instead of relying on interviews and discussions, you experience the natural
settings first hand.
This type of research method can last from a few days to a few years, as it involves in-depth
observation and collecting data on those grounds. It’s a challenging and a time-consuming
method and solely depends on the expertise of the researcher to be able to analyze, observe
and infer the data.
2. Narrative Research:


Researchers write narratives about experiences of individuals, describe a life
experience, and discuss the meaning of the experience with the individual.
Narrative research can be defined as collecting and analyzing the accounts people
tell to describe experiences and offer interpretation. For example, oncology
clinicians use narrative methods to investigate issues such as clinical outcomes,
coping, and quality of life.
Shaleesha.stanley@gmail.com
Page 9

Examples of narrative inquiry in qualitative research include for instance: stories,
interviews, life histories, journals, photographs and other artifacts.
 There are the four types of narrative analysis used in concert with one another in a
given study: structural, functional, thematic, and dialogic/performance.
3. Phenomenological Research
Phenomenological research is the common method in qualitative research within
the social and health sciences. This is used to describe how human beings experience
a certain phenomenon.






Now called Descriptive Phenomenology, this study design is one of the most
commonly used methodologies in qualitative research within the social and health
sciences.
Used to describe how human beings experience a certain phenomenon. The researcher
asks, “What is this experience like?’, ‘What does this experience mean?’ or ‘How
does this ‘lived experience’ present itself to the participant?’
Attempts to set aside biases and preconceived assumptions about human experiences,
feelings, and responses to a particular situation.
Experience may involve perception, thought, memory, imagination, and emotion or
feeling.
Usually (but not always) involves a small sample of participants (approx. 10-15).
Analysis includes an attempt to identify themes or, if possible, make generalizations
in relation to how a particular phenomenon is perceived or experienced.
Methods used include:



participant observation
in-depth interviews with open-ended questions
conversations and focus workshops.
Researchers may also examine written records of experiences such as diaries, journals, art,
poetry and music.
Strengths
Descriptive phenomenology is a powerful way to understand subjective experience and to
gain insights around people’s actions and motivations, cutting through long-held assumptions
and challenging conventional wisdom. It may contribute to the development of new theories,
changes in policies, or changes in responses.
Limitations



Does not suit all health research questions. For example, an evaluation of a health
service may be better carried out by means of a descriptive qualitative design, where
highly structured questions aim to garner participant’s views, rather than their lived
experience.
Participants may not be able to express themselves articulately enough due to
language barriers, cognition, age, or other factors.
Gathering data and data analysis may be time consuming and laborious.
Shaleesha.stanley@gmail.com
Page 10


Results require interpretation without researcher bias.
Does not produce easily generalisable data.
Example questions




How do cancer patients cope with a terminal diagnosis?
What is it like to survive a plane crash?
What are the experiences of long-term carers of family members with a serious illness
or disability?
What is it like to be trapped in a natural disaster, such as a flood or earthquake?
4. Grounded Theory
Grounded theory proposes that careful observation of the social world can lead to the
construction of theory. It aims to construct new theory from collected data that accounts for
those data and is also known as the “grounded theory method”, although the terms have
become interchangeable.
Grounded theory characteristics include:



Data collection and analysis occurring simultaneously, with one informing the other.
Data grouped into concepts, categories and themes.
A data collection process influenced by the simultaneous development of those
concepts, categories and themes.
Notably, data collection is cyclical and reflective. This is different from the more linear
processes occurring in other methodologies.
Researchers’ developing understanding of the concepts, categories and relationships informs
their actions at each step. These elements result in a theoretical framework explaining the
data.
This cycle reflects two crucial components of grounded theory:


The process of coding, sorting and organising data. This aims to increasingly move
towards more abstract terms in order to develop a related theory for the data
The principle of constant comparison. This refers to the process of noting issues of
interest in data and comparing them to other examples to identify similarities and
differences.
Strengths

Widely used across a wide range of disciplines (Bryant & Charmaz, 2007).
Shaleesha.stanley@gmail.com
Page 11


Facilitates theory construction and the construction of fresh concepts. It also avoids
assuming structures are stable (Charmaz, 2017).
Useful for when researchers wish to explain a process, not to test an existing theory.
Limitations



Inherently not useful for the application of received theory.
Not useful for testing hypotheses.
Analysis of data involves elements of researcher’s own subjective judgement.
Example questions



How do perioperative nurses foster a culture of safety and risk aversion?
What is the impact of hand nerve disorders on a person’s function, activity and
participation?
What are the barriers to health care access for a refugee population?
5. Case study research:
The case study method has evolved over the past few years and developed into a valuable
qual research method. As the name suggests it is used for explaining an organization or an
entity.
This type of research method is used within a number of areas like education, social sciences
and similar. This method may look difficult to operate, however, it is one of the simplest
ways of conducting research as it involves a deep dive and thorough understanding of the
data collection methods and inferring the data.
Methods




Observation
Interview
Oral recording
Documents
Strengths

Ability to explore and describe, in depth, an issue or event.

Develop an understanding of health, illness and health care in context.

Single case can be used to develop or disprove a theory.

Can be used as a model or prototype.
Limitations

Labour intensive and generates large diverse data sets which can be hard to manage.

Case studies are seen by many as a weak methodology because they only look at one
person or one specific group and aren’t as broad in their participant selection as other
methodologies.
Shaleesha.stanley@gmail.com
Page 12
Example questions
This methodology can be used to ask questions about a specific drug or treatment and its
effects on an individual.


Does thalidomide cause birth defects?
Does exposure to a pesticide lead to cancer?
Observation studies
Definition
A way to gather data by watching people, events, or noting physical characteristics in their
natural setting. Seeks to answer the question: “What is going on here?”. While rooted in
ethnographic research it can be applied to other methodologies. Observations may often be
supplemented with interviews.
Methods
There are three main categories:
Participant observation


Researcher becomes a participant in the culture or context being observed.
Requires researcher to be accepted as part of culture being observed in order for
success
Direct Observation


Researcher strives to be as unobtrusive as possible so as not to bias the
observations; must remain detached.
Technology can be useful (i.e. video, audio recording).
Indirect Observation

Results of an interaction, process or behaviour are observed (for example,
measuring the amount of plate waste left by students in a school cafeteria to determine
whether a new food is acceptable to them).
Observations may be unstructured, semi-structured or structured. The latter two involve the
use of an observation template that includes prompting questions such as: “What are people
doing?”; “What are they trying to accomplish?”; How are they doing this?” etc.
What form does observation take?
Field notes; audio and video recordings.
Strengths


Allows for insight into contexts, relationships, and behaviours;
Can provide information previously unknown to researchers that is crucial for project
design, data collection, and interpretation of other data.
Shaleesha.stanley@gmail.com
Page 13
Limitations





Not suited to all research inquiries since not all phenomena can be observed.
Time-consuming.
Documentation relies on memory, personal discipline, and diligence of researcher.
Requires conscious effort at objectivity because method is inherently subjective.
Critics maintain that different observers will make different observations of the same
phenomena so that no single account can be held up as the source of truth.
Example questions



How do members of operating theatres communicate with each other?
How do nurses interact with their patients when administering medication?
How do parents deal with their adolescent children who suffer chronic pain?
Experiments
Research methods are procedures that span the steps from nonspecific assumptions to detailed
approaches of data collection, analysis, and interpretation. These are essentially well-planned,
value-neutral and scientific.
Generally, the research method includes experimental study, focus groups, survey method,
numerical schemes, theoretical procedures, etc. However, each study domain demands a
specific type of research method.
For instance, for research that requires investigation of characteristics, opinions or
behaviours of a group of people, survey method can be used.
Whereas, research that demands explanation based on observations, collected facts, and
measurements, the experiment research method is used.
Know more about experiment and survey method
 Experiment method
Experiment is a systematic approach that tests the hypothesis by performing a procedure
under highly controlled conditions. This approach is based on a comparison between two or
more variables and is ideal for studying the primary data. Experiment involves manipulating a
certain independent variable and determining its effect on a dependent variable.
For example, you can measure the impact of how water intake on people’s metabolism by
letting the experimental group drink 6 glasses of water per day while letting the controlled
group to drink only 3 glasses of water. Their metabolism rates can then be compared after a
couple of weeks, and statistical tests such as T-test can be used to validate the results.
Typically, an experimental research method consists of three types of designs: preexperimental, true- experimental, and quasi-experimental design.

Pre-experimental design – In this approach, a group(s), is kept under observation
after factors for cause & effect are considered.
Shaleesha.stanley@gmail.com
Page 14

True-experimental design – Being the most accurate design, this method is used to
establish a cause-effect relationship within a group(s).

Quasi-experimental design – Here, the independent variable will be manipulated, but
the members of a population are not randomly assigned.
Experimental research design includes key characteristics such as:




Manipulating the independent variable
Determining the factors that cause effects
Comparison of two or more groups
Deciding the extent and nature of the treatment
Experiment research method offers several advantages such as – accurate results, control over
variables, determination of cause & effect of a study hypothesis, and can be used in
collaboration with other research designs.
 Survey method
Survey method, best suited for
descriptive research, studies the opinion, behaviours,
attributes and feelings of an individual or a group of people. This process collection of
numbered data and statistically analysing responses to the questions in order to test the
hypothesis about the nature of relationships within a group.
For instance, if you are intended to study the happiness levels among employees’ working in
a specific organisation. Here the data will be collected through questionnaires, phone calls,
Emails, etc. Upon collecting the data regarding the individuals’ perceived emotional states,
statistical tests such as getting the weighted mean can be utilised to assess the responses.
Based on the design, survey research method can be divided into three types of studies: crosssectional, longitudinal and correlational study.

Cross-sectional study – Defined as observational research type, this study evaluates
data of variables gathered at a given point of time across a sample population.

Longitudinal study – This method uses repeated or continuous measures to follow
certain individuals over an extended period of time ( more often years or decades).

Correlational study – This non-experimental design studies two different variables
and runs a statistical analysis to determine the relation between the variables without
the interference of external variables.
The significant features of the survey research method include:




Involvement in the process of sampling from a population
Developing instrument for data collection process
Collecting data via interviews or questionnaires
Acquiring greater response rate
Shaleesha.stanley@gmail.com
Page 15
Survey method offers several benefits of which include – primary data collected is easy to
analyse, data can be collected at a faster rate and easily, offers precise information, and is
flexible.
Key differences between experiment and survey method
Features
Experiment method
Source
information
Survey method
of Information is obtained due to change in Data is acquired
behaviour of independent variable
informants
from
with
Data handled
Deals with primary data
More often deals
secondary data
Sample studied
Studies smaller sample
Studies larger sample
Commonly
employed in
(research type)
Utilised in experimental research
Utilised
research
Field of
focused
Used in physical & natural science
Used
in
social
behavioural science
Experiment
performed in
Conducted in lab or field study
Conducted in field research
Challenges faced
Hardship faced in verifying if the effect
Difficulty in identifying the
is actually caused by the independent
responses are genuine
variable
Equipment
Uses software/tool
Doesn’t use any tool
Cost of experiment
High
low
Manipulation
Involves manipulation of independent Does not involve
variable
manipulation
Randomisation
Follows randomisation mandatorily
study
in
descriptive
&
any
May or may not follow
randomisation
Choosing the right research method is vital for any research. Hence make sure you
understand the requirements of your study and choose the research method accordingly.
Surveys
Definition
Qualitative surveys use open-ended questions to produce long-form written/typed answers.
Questions will aim to reveal opinions, experiences, narratives or accounts. Often a useful
precursor to interviews or focus groups as they help identify initial themes or issues to then
explore further in the research. Surveys can be used iteratively, being changed and modified
over the course of the research to elicit new information.
Shaleesha.stanley@gmail.com
Page 16

Structured Interviews may follow a similar form of open questioning.

Qualitative surveys frequently include quantitative questions to establish elements
such as age, nationality etc.
Methods
Qualitative surveys aim to elicit a detailed response to an open-ended topic question in the
participant’s own words. Like quantitative surveys, there are three main methods for using
qualitative surveys including face to face surveys, phone surveys, and online surveys. Each
method of surveying has strengths and limitations.
Face to face surveys


Researcher asks participants one or more open-ended questions about a topic,
typically while in view of the participant’s facial expressions and other behaviours
while answering. Being able to view the respondent’s reactions enables the researcher
to ask follow-up questions to elicit a more detailed response, and to follow up on any
facial or behavioural cues that seem at odds with what the participants is explicitly
saying.
Face to face qualitative survey responses are likely to be audio recorded and
transcribed into text to ensure all detail is captured; however, some surveys may
include both quantitative and qualitative questions using a structured or semistructured format of questioning, and in this case the researcher may simply write
down key points from the participant’s response.
Telephone surveys

Similar to the face to face method, but without researcher being able to see
participant’s facial or behavioural responses to questions asked. This means the
researcher may miss key cues that would help them ask further questions to clarify or
extend participant responses to their questions, and instead relies on vocal cues.
Online surveys




Open-ended questions are presented to participants in written format via email or
within an online survey tool, often alongside quantitative survey questions on the
same topic.
Participants are requested to responses to questions in text ‘in some detail’ to explain
their perspective or experience to researchers; this can result in diversity of responses
(brief to detailed).
Researchers can not always probe or clarify participant responses to online qualitative
survey questions which can result in data from these responses being cryptic or vague
to the researcher.
Online surveys can collect a greater number of responses in a set period of time
compared to face to face and phone survey approaches, so while data may be less
detailed, there is more of it overall to compensate.
Strengths

Qualitative surveys can help a study early on, in finding out
issues/needs/experiences to be explored further in an interview or focus group.
Shaleesha.stanley@gmail.com
the
Page 17

Surveys can be amended and re-run based on responses providing an evolving and
responsive method of research.

Online surveys will receive typed responses reducing translation by the researcher

Online surveys can be delivered broadly across a wide population with asynchronous
delivery/response.
Limitations

Hand-written notes will need to be transcribed (time-consuming) for digital study and
kept physically for reference.

Distance (or online) communication can be open to misinterpretations that cannot be
corrected at the time.

Questions can be leading/misleading, eliciting answers that are not core to the
research subject. Researchers must aim to write a neutral question which does not give
away the researchers expectations.

Even with transcribed/digital responses analysis can be long and detailed, though not
as much as in an interview.

Surveys may be left incomplete if performed online or taken by research assistants not
well trained in giving the survey/structured interview.

Narrow sampling may skew the results of the survey.
Example questions
Here are some example survey questions which are open ended and require a long form
written response:
 Tell us why you became a doctor?
 What do you expect from this health service?
 How do you explain the low levels of financial investment in mental health services?
Important Questions for Anna Univ. Exams
PART – A
1. Give two differences between observation and experimentation:2. What is axiom theory? Give one example.
3. What is meant by CPM in research design?
4. What do you understand by ex post facto design?
5. What are the five types of qualitative research methods
6. Define exploratory research:7. What is grounded theory? Explain
8. What is true and quasi experimental design?
9. What are the limitations of survey method?
10. What is Correlational study? Give an example:-
Shaleesha.stanley@gmail.com
Page 18
PART – B
1. Discuss the different types of Research in detail with examples:2. Describe in detail the use of Secondary and exploratory data to answer the research
question:3. Explain qualitative research in detail:PART – C
1. Identify a research problem. Highlight from the initial research process with the
design you would adopt with the means of collecting data till conclusion. Use flow
charts to illustrate your answer.
“Research is seeing what everybody else has seen and
thinking what nobody else has thought.”
- Albert Szent-Györgyi – A Hungarian pharmacologist - awarded with the
Nobel Prize in Physiology - Medicine in 1937.
Shaleesha.stanley@gmail.com
Page 19