Introduction to Research

Methods
What is research?

Process of enquiry and investigation

It is: Systematic
 Methodical
 Ethical
The purpose of Research is to:

Review or synthesize existing knowledge

Investigate existing situation or problems
Provide solutions to problems
Explain new phenomenon
Generate new knowledge
Types of Research 1
 Exploratory  Descriptive
 This type of research is  Used to identify and
undertaken when few or classify the
no previous studies exist elements/characteristics
 Aim: look for patterns, of a specific subject
hypotheses or ideas that
can be tested  Quantitative techniques
 Research techniques: are often used to collect
case studies/observation and analyse data
and review of previous
related studies
Types of Research 2
 Analytical  Predictive
 Often extends the  Aim: to speculate on
Descriptive approach future possibilities
to suggest and based on close
explain why or how analysis of available
something is evidence of cause
happening and effect
 Important to locate
and identify the
different factors or
variables involved
Research Approaches

There are three main approaches:

Quantitative/Qualitative
Applied/Basic
Deductive/Inductive
Quantitative/Qualitative research
 Quantitative  Qualitative
 Emphasis: on  More subjective in
collecting and nature
analysing numerical  Involves examining
data and reflecting on less
 Concentrates on tangible aspects of
measuring the research such as:
scale/range/frequency values, attitudes,
etc. of phenomena perceptions
Inductive/Deductive research
 Deductive  Inductive

 It moves from general  Moves from particular

ideas/theories to situations to make or
specific & particular infer broad general
situations: he ideas/theories
particular is deduced
from the general
Basic/Applied

Basic research: aim is to improve

knowledge generally, wothout any
particular applied purpose in mind

Applied: is designed to apply its findings to

a particular situation
 The Research Process

1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6)
Formulating Critical Research Research Data Data
& Clarifying Literature Objective Design Collection Analysis
Research Review /s
Topic

Writing
Up
Research philosophies
 Positivistic
 Used in science
 Seeks out the facts or causes of
any social phenomena in a
systematic way
 Founded on the belief that the
study of human behaviour should
be conducted in the same way as
studies conducted in the natural
science
 Seek to identify/measure/evaluate
phenomena + provide rational
explanation for it
 Phenomenological
 Perspective that human behaviour
is not easily measured as
phenomena in the natural
sciences
 Human motivation: shaped by
factors we cannot always measure
such as inner thought processes
 Concerned with understanding
behaviour from the participants’
own subjective frames of
reference
 Methods: try to explain and
describe, translate and interpret
events from the perspective of the
people who are the subject of
research
Research methodologies
 Positivistic:  Phenomenological

 Surveys  Case studies

 Experimental studies  Participative Enquiry
 Cross-sectional  Ethnography
studies (participant
observation)
Difference between methodology and
method 1
 Methodology: Refers to the overall approaches
and perspectives to research process as a
whole
 Concerned with the following issues:
1. Why you collect certain data
2. What data you collected
3. Where you collected it
4. How you collected it
5. How you analysed it
Difference between methodology and
method 2
A research method refers only to the
various specific tools or ways data can be
collected and analysed
For example; a questionnaire; interview;
data analysis software etc.