Research Methodology

Quantitative Research
The Section covers the following
areas
Overview of the Research Process:-
Formulating a Research Problem
Identifying variables
Constructing Hypotheses
The Research design
Selecting a method of data collection
Collecting data using attitudinal scales
Establish the validity & reliability of a Research
instrument

Formulating a Research problem
The first step in beginning a research project is to decide
What is the Research Question?
A Research Question is a question about the problem to
be addressed , it is therefore focused on the content of the
topic of interest.
First identifying & then specifying a research problem might
seem like research tasks that ought to b easy & quality
accomplished. However, such is often not the case (Yegidis
& Weinback,1991,35)
It is essential for the problem you formulate to b able to
withstand scrutiny in terms of the procedures required to be
undertaken.
Always researcher should send a considerable time in
thinking it through
Researcher should always have a clear idea with regard to
what is that want to find out about & not what they think
they much find
This is the most critical step in the Research


Sources of Research Problem
If the Researcher has already selected the
topic or question, next step is to identify
the sources of Research Problem.
Most research in the humanities resolves
around four Ps
People - Study Population
Problems
Programs
Phenomena
Subject Area
Every Research study has 2 aspects,
1. The Study Population 2.The Subject Area

Aspects of a study About Study of
Study Population People Individuals,
organizations,
groups,
communities
They provide with
rte required
information or
collect
information from
or about them
Subject area Problem Issues, Situations,
Needs,
Associations,
Profiles etc
Program

Contents,
Structure,
outcomes,
attributes,
satisfaction,
consumers
Information that
need to collect to
find answers to
the research
question
Phenomenon
Cause and effect
relationships
Considering in selecting a Research
problem
Interest should be the most important consideration in
selecting a problem
Magnitude Having sufficient knowledge about the
research process
Measurement of process- It the researcher is using a
concept in th study should make sure to be very clear
about its indicators & measurements
Level of Expertise Having adequate level of expertise
for the task which is proposed
Relevance- Select a topic that is of relevance to as a
professional
Availability of data
Ethical Issues- Formulating a research problem is the
Ethical issues involved


Steps in the formulation of a
Research Problem
Step 1 Identify a broad field or subjects are of
interest to you
Step 2-Dissect the broad are into a sub areas
Step 3 Select what is of most interest to you
Step 4-Raise research question
Step 5 Formulate Objectives
Step 6 Assess your objectives
Step 7- Double check

The formulation of Objectives
Objectives are the goals Researcher set out to attain in the study

Objectives should b listed under 2 headings

1.Min objectives An overall statement of the thrust of the study
2. Sub objectives Specific aspects of the topic should be listed
numerically

Characteristics of Objectives:-

1.Clear
2.Complete
3.Spcific
4.Identify the min variables to be correlated
5.Identify the directions of the relationship
Establishing Operational Definitions
The Researcher needs to develop operational definitions for the
major concepts you are using in the study & develop a framework
for the study population enabling the researcher to select
appropriate respondents
Operational definitions give an operational meaning to the study
population & the concepts used
Eg:- The main objective is ,
To measure the effectiveness o a retraining program designed to
help Young People
It is equally important to decide exactly what you mean by
young up to what age will you consider a person to be Child,
Who would you consider Young?
Operationalisation of concepts & the study population :-

Study Concept Issues Population to
be studied
1 Effectiveness What constitutes
Effectiveness
The Young Who would
consider a
Young person
Identifying Variables
The Definition of a Variable
An image , perception or concept that is capable
of measurement , hence capable of taking on
different values is called a variable
Or
A concept that can be measured
Eg : 1. This program is effective
2.We are providing a Quality service to
our clients
3.This product is doing well

The difference between a concept
& a variable
Concepts are mental
images or perceptions
and therefore their
meanings vary
markedly from
individual to individual
Where as ,
Variables are
measurable , of
course with varying
degrees of accuracy

Concepts Variables
Effectiveness
Satisfaction
Rich
Excellent


Gender
(Male/female)
Attitude
Weight
Height


-Subjective
impression
No uniformity as to
its understanding
among different
people
As such cannot be
measured
Measurable through
the degree of
precision varies from
scale to scale from
variable to variable
Concepts , indicators and Variables
If a concept is used in a study , the
researcher need to consider its
operationalisation, that is , how it will be
measured
To operationlise a concept , first need to
go through the process of identifying
indicators, a set of criteria reflective of
the concept which can then be converted
into variables.


Types of Variable
Independent variable The cause supposed to be
responsible for bringing about changes in a phenomenon
or situation
Dependent variable The outcome of the changes
brought about by introduction of an independent
variable
Extraneous variable- several other factors operating in a
real life situation may affect changes in the dependent
variable. These factors , not measured in the study, may
increase or decrease the magnitude or strength o the
relationship between independent and dependent
variables
Intervening variable This links the independent and
dependent variable.
Types measurement scale
There are four measurement categories
1. Nominal or classificatory scale Each subgroup has a
characteristic /property which is common to all
classified within that subgroups
Eg. Tree, House, Taxi, Gender :Male/Female
2. Ordinal or ranking scale It has the characteristics of a
Nominal scale
Eg. Income (Above average, Average, low)
3. Interval scale It has all the characteristics of an ordinal
scale
Eg: Temperature
4. Ratio It has all the properties of an interval scale.
Eg: Height, income
Constructing Hypothesis
The Definition of a Hypothesis,

The second important consideration in the formulation of a
research problem is the construction of hypothesis.
Hypotheses bring clarity, specify and focus to research problem,
but are not essential for a study
Hypotheses are based on guesses. As researcher, it is not required
to know about the phenomena , a situation , the prevalence of a
condition in a population or about the outcome of a program , but
has to have a hunch to form the basis of certain assumptions or
guesses. The verification process should be don based on the
information and the verification process will provide one of the
three outcomes below,
1.right
2.partially right
3.worng
Without this process o verification, the researcher cannot conclude
anything about the validity of the assumption.
Hence Hypotheses is a hunch, assumption, suspicion, assertion or
an idea about a phenomenon, relationship or situation , the reality
or truth of which do not know .

The functions of Hypothesis
The formulation of hypotheses provided a study
with focus. It tells what specific aspects of a
research problem to investigate
A hypotheses tells what data to collect and what
not to collect, thereby providing focus to the
study
As it provides a focus, the construction of a
hypothesis enhances objectivity in a study
A hypothesis may enable to add to the
formulation of theory. It enables to specifically
conclude what is true or what is false.

The characteristics of a hypothesis
A hypothesis should be simple , specific and conceptually
clear
Eg: The average age o the male students in this class is higher than
that of the female students
A Hypotheses should be capable of verifications
Methods and techniques must be available for data
collection and analysis
A hypotheses should be related to the existing body of
knowledge It is important that hypotheses emerges
from the existing body of knowledge
A Hypotheses should be Operationalisble This mans
that it can be expressed in terms that can be measured.

Types of Hypothesis
Broadly there are two categories of hypothesis
1.Research hypotheses
2.Alternativc Hypotheses
The formulation of an alternative hypotheses is a
convention in scientific circles. Its main function is to
explicitly specify the relationship that will be
considered as true in case the research hypotheses
proves to be wrong.
Alternative hypothesis is the opposite of the
research hypotheses
A null hypothesis or hypotheses of no difference is
formulated as an alternative hypothesis.




Null Hypothesis When constructing hypothesis
stipulating that there is no difference between two
situations, groups outcomes or the prevalence of
condition or phenomenon .
Hypothesis difference A hypothesis in which
researcher stipulates that there will be difference but
does not specify it magnitude.
Hypotheses of point prevalence Outcomes is
known in quantitative units eg. The proportion of mal &
female smokers is 60 and 30 per cent respectively.
Hypothesis of association The relationship between
the impact of different combinations on the dependent
variable or relationship between the prevalence of a
phenomenon among different populations .
Errors in testing a hypothesis
Incorrect conclusions about the validity of a hypothesis
may be drawn if,
The study design selected is faulty
The sampling procedure adopted is faulty
The method of data collection is inaccurate
The analysis is wrong
The statistical procedures applied are inappropriate
The conclusions drawn are incorrect

Rejection of a null hypotheses when it is true. This is know
as a Type I error.
Acceptance of a null hypothesis when it is false. This is
know s a Type II error.
The Research Design
The Definition of a Research Design

A Research design is a procedural plan that
is adopted by the researcher to answer
questions validity, objectively, accurately
and economically.

Functions of a Research Design

Conceptualize an operational plan to
undertake the various procedures and
tasks required to complete the study

Ensure that procedures are adequate to
obtain valid, objective and accurate
answers to the research questions.
Selecting a method of data
collection
There are two major approaches to gather
information about a situation, person,
problem or phenomenon.
1. Secondary data Information gathered using
the first approach is said to be collected from
secondary sources
2. Primary data - the sources used in the
second approach
Method of data collection
Method of data collection
Secondary sources Primary sources
Documents
-Govmt publications
-Earlier research
-Census
-Personal records
-Client histories
-Service records
Observation Interviewing Questionnaire
Participant
Non-
Participant
Structured
Unstructured
Mailed
Questionnaire
Collective
Questionnaire
Collecting data using attitudinal scales
Functions of attitudinal scale
Respondents usually have different attitudes towards different
aspects.
If the researcher want to find out the attitude of respondents
towards an issue, either a closed ended or an open ended question
can be asked.

Difficulties in developing an attitudinal scale

1.Wic aspects of a situation or issue should be included when seeking
to measure an attitude?
Eg. What is your attitude towards youre your lecturer?, In this what
aspects of teaching should be included in a scale to find out the
attitude of students towards their lecturer?
2. What procedure should be adopted for combining the different
aspects to obtain an overall picture ?
3.How can one ensure that a scale rally is measuring what it is
supposed to measure?

Types of Attitudinal scale
There are three major types of attitudinal
scale,
1. The summated rating scale, also know as
the Linkert scale
2. The equal appearing interval scale or
different scale, also know as the
Thurstone scale
3. The cumulative scale , also know as the
Guttman scale
Establishing the validity and
reliability of a research instrument
There are two perspectives on validity:
1. Is the research investigations providing answers to the research
questions for which it was undertaken?
2. If so, is it providing these answers using appropriate methods and
procedures?

The concept of Validity
It is important to remember that the concept
of validity is pertinent only to a particular
instrument and it is an ideal state that you as
a researcher to achieve.
Types of Validity

There are three types of validity

1. Face and content validity Each question or item on
the scale must have a logical link with an objective.
Establishment of this link is called Face validity
2. Concurrent and predictive validity Predictive validity
is judged by the degree to which an instrument can
forecast an outcome. Concurrent validity is judged by
Howell an instrument compares with a second
assessment concurrently done.
3. Construct validity Construct validity is a more
sophisticated technique for establishing the validity of
n instrument. It is I based upon statistical procedures.
It is determined by ascertaining the contribution of
each construct to the total variance observed in a
phenomenon.



The Concept of Reliability

Reliability is the degree of accuracy or precision in the
measurement made by a research instrument.

The concept of reliability in relation to research can be
looked at from two sides,
1. How reliable is an instrument ?
2. How unreliable is it ?

The first question focus on the ability of an
instrument to produce consistent measurement
The second question focuses on the degree of
inconsistency in the measurement made by an
instrument.

Factors affecting the reliability of a research
instrument
The wording of question
The physical setting
The respondents mood
The nature of interaction
The regression effect of an instrument

Method of determining the reliability of an
instrument
1. External consistency procedures
2. Internal consistency procedures


Thank You