Name of Course:
Research Methodology
Course Code:
Credit Hour:
FEM 3002
3 (2+1)
This course comprises 2 hours of lecture and 3
hours of laboratory work per week. To fulfill
the requirement for the laboratory work will
complete 2 assignments, which are: 1)
Research proposal, and 2) Managing and
analyzing data using the Statistical Package for
the Social Sciences (SPSS).
Professor Dr. Rozumah Baharudin
Professor in Family and Parenting Ecology
Tel:
03-89467082
Faks:
03-89467093
email:
rozumah@yahoo.com
Alamat:
Department of Human
Development & Family Studies
Fakulti Ekologi Manusia, UPM
43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor
Course synopsis
Introduction to research design and analysis in
Human Development. Meaning of science,
scientific research and its application in Human
Development. Research planning process, data
analysis and interpretation, report writing and
presentation of research findings.
(Pengenalan kepada rekabentuk dan analisis
penyelidikan di dalam Pembangunan Manusia.
Pengertian Sains, penyelidikan saintifik dan
penggunaannya di dalam Pembangunan
Manusia. Perancangan dan proses
penyelidikan, analisis dan interpretasi data,
penulisan dan penyampaian hasil
penyelidikan).
Module Objectives
FEM 3002 is a compulsory course for the Bachelor Science
(Human Development) program. At the end of this module
students will be able to:
• discuss the philosophy of research, and the concepts of
science and the scientific methods.
• describe the research design in human development
• describe the steps in preparing and conducting a research
project
• analyze and interpret research data and prepare a research
report.
This course will require 28 hours of lecture ( 2 x 14 weeks) and at least
42 hours of laboratory work (3 x 14 weeks). Given that this is a long
distance education course students will not have the opportunity to
attend a hands-on laboratory work; however, the assignments and
exercises in the module will allow students to apply the “learn by
doing” approach on their own.
This module is divided into 9 units that cover the various main topics.
Table 1 presents the weekly division of topics that students should
follow closely in order to study the materials in this module. Table 2
provides a detail content of each unit in the module.
Unit
Title
Week
1.
Philosophy of Research
1
2.
Research Process
2
3.
Research Design
3-4
4.
Writing Research Proposal
5-6
5.
Measurement
6.
Sampling
7.
Data Collection
10-11
8.
Data Analysis:
12-13
7
8-9
Descriptive and Inferential Statistics
9.
Writing Research Report
14
Unit
1.
Title
Philosophy of Research
Research Concept
Research Objective
Research and the Scientific Method
Types of Research
1.
Summary
Research Processes
Identifying Problems
Developing Hypothesis
Data Collection
Data Analysis
Writing Report
1.
Summary
Research Design
Meaning and Objective of Research Design
Non-Experimental
Experimental dan Experimental Quasi
1.
Summary
Preparing Research Proposal
Proposal Format
Proposal Checklist
f. Lab Work/Assignment
To fulfill 42 hours of lab work, students need to complete the following
assignments:
•Lab/Assignment I:
Write a research proposal
•Lab/Assignment II:
SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social
Sciences) on-line tutorial report)
The lab work will be explained further during the class meeting at UPM.
Please take note that the laboratory contents and exercises may change
from one semester to another, and students will be informed of the
changes during each class meeting.
Assignment I: Research Proposal (10 pages)
For this assignment you will write a research
proposal on a topic that is related to your
interest and program of study. Before writing,
you need to understand the whole topics
related to research methodology. Please use
the proposal outline/guideline given to you in
Unit 4. Failing to abide by the guidelines given
will have negative influence on your marks.
Assignment II: On-line SPSS Tutorial
Exercise (30 pages)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
For this assignment you are required to study and work through the online SPSS
(Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) tutorial at the following sites:
http://www.psych.utoronto.ca/courses/c1/spss/page5.htm.
http://www.mhhe.com/socscience/psychology/runyon/spss/spss.html
http://www.asu.edu/spss/v12/index.html
From the above online tutorials, learned everything about the basics of SPSS for
use in data analyses. Write a report on what you have learned and provide
examples where necessary. In the report be sure you include aspects related to
the following topics:
Data entry
Descriptive statistics
Inferential statistics (such as Chi-square, T-tests, Correlations, Regression, ·
Oneway ANOVA and Factorial ANOVA)
Your marks will be determined by well you can explained what SPSS is, how we can
utilized it for data analyses, and the steps and meaning of descriptive and
inferential statistics.
Course Evaluation
• The course evaluation is conducted in 2 ways: 1)
Course work comprising the lab-work/assignments (2
reports = 35%), and Mid-semester test (which covers
Unit 1 to 4 = 15%), and 2) Final examination (which
covers all topics - Unit 1-9 = 40%).
• Assignment 1
(15%)
• Assignment 2
(20%)
• Mid-semester Test
(25%)
• Final examination
(40%)
•
100%
Mid-semester Test
Students are required to sit for the midsemester test. Questions in the test will be in
both objective and subjective formats. The test
will cover Unit 1 to 4, and aspects related to
Assignment 1. This test carries 35% of the total
marks.
Final Examination
• The final exam is comprehensive. This means
that questions will be developed based on all
the units in this module. Students need to
prepare to be tested on materials learned
from Unit 1 to 9 and aspects related to
Assignments 1 and 2. The questions will be in
the objective and subjective format.
UNIT I
PHILOSOPHY OF RESEARCH
PHILOSOPHY OF RESEARCH
The term philosophy derives from a combination
of the Greek words
philos = love
sophia = wisdom
 Nature of knowledge and belief.
 In research the concerned is on the investigation of what
distinguishes mere belief from knowledge.
Research often makes use of all four of these ways of knowing:
1. INTUITIVE (when coming up with an initial idea for
research)
2. AUTHORITATIVE (when reviewing the professional
literature)
3. LOGICAL (when reasoning from findings to conclusions)
4. EMPIRICAL (when engaging in procedures that lead to
these findings)
The empirical knowledge, is what most modern research
acquisition aims at establishing, which is known as empirical
research.
• Research is an activity that search answers for
questions and/or finding solutions to problem(s).
• Research must be done systematically and
scientifically.
• In the inductive reasoning, research is designed
to identify components that eventually lead to a
conclusion or generalization.
• In the deductive reasoning, the conclusion is
stated first before the research is done.
• Research can be divided based on its purpose,
design and approach.
• Research can be divided according to types
and categories based on its objective,
application and design.
• Research must be conducted according a
certain processes.
• Five research processes have been described
in this Unit, beginning from identifying
problem, developing hypothesis, data
collection, data analysis and report writing.
• Research design refers to the detail plan of a
research.
• Research design can be categorized into nonexperimental and experimental
• Non-experiemental research can be divided into 4
types, which are historical research, descriptive,
developmental and correlation.
• Experimental research can be classified according
to two types, which are true experiment and
quasi experiment.
• Preparing a research proposal is an important step in research as an
effort to gain approval from your research assessor or committee. It
is also an important document for you to submit in applying for
research funding.
• There are several important elements in a research proposal
including the title, introduction, and statement of problem,
significance of study, objective of study, hypothesis, and
methodology (location, sampling, data collection, & data analysis).
Students must follow the research proposal guideline provided by
their academic discipline or faculty underwhich they pursue their
degree.
• A well-prepared proposal is important in guiding to complete a
successful research.
Please see detail notes of Unit 1
to 4 in the FEM3002 Module