Summary about

Research Methodology:

Name: ___________________________
ID: ______________________
Number: ______________/ ____________

Author: Abdiraheem Saad Saeed (Garaad)

Lecturer: Abdirahman Essa Nur
 Summary of Research Methodology
Chapter One: Introduction to Research.
Research: is a way of thinking and solving social problems.
Good research is:
- systematic - Organized
- Well planned - Specific goal
Methodology: is a science of studying how to do research.
Research Methods: refers to all those methods and techniques that are used by a
researcher in conduction his research.
Importance of Research:
- Profession for work
- Source of livelihood - Critical thinking
- Creative work - Personal development
- Innovation - Decision making
Procedures for scientific Research:-
 Formulation of the problem Goals of Science and Scientific Method:
 Methods of data collection * to explain occurrence of events in
terms of their causes.
 Classification and interpretation
 Generalization of laws. Criteria:

Motivating factors of Social research: Objectivity

Reliability
Knowing what is unknown Validity
Desire to understand the cause and effect Definiteness
Appearance of novel
Testing old scientific procedures.
Types of Research:

Basic Research:
Applied Research: - is trying to provide answers to
- Immediate practical problem questions of theoretical, hypothetical
solution. or academic.
- Short time - Long time
- Example: hire turnover - Example Books.

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 Source Of Data:

Field Source:
Documentary Source
- Direct Observations
- Books
- Information from Informants
- reports
- Information from witness.
- Memories

Approaches Of Research:

Qualitative Research:
Quantities Research: - type of research whose data is
- Type of research where researcher basically obtained in none numerical
is interested in numbers. terms.
- Large Sample - Small sample
- Less time - Time consuming
- Questionnaire - Interview

Research Variables.
Variable: anything that has two values or more.

* Dichotomous * Trichotomous * Multiple variable

e.g.: Gender e.g.: Residence e.g.: Blood groups.
Attribute: is a specific value of Variables.
Characteristics
 Should be exhaustive
 Should be mutually exclusive
Types of Research Variables:
Independent variable: is the cause variable, or active variable
Dependent variable: is the effect that is affected by independent variable
Extraneous variable: is the uncontrolled variable e.g.: stress
Continuous variable: variable that is continuous e.g.: age, height, weight.

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Chapter Two: Research Problem Formulation.
Research topic: is what a researcher want to answer.

* First step of research process: Selection of research problem.

Selection of Research problem depends:
- Researchers knowledge - Interest
- Skills - Expertise
Problem: is an interrogative statement.
Sources of Research topic:
Personal Experience : day to day personal experience
Practical Experience
Brainstorming: are good techniques to find new questions
Field situation: in field researchers get variety of experience.
Selecting Problem put in mind:
- Time available - Availability equipment
- Money available - Availability of respondents.
Criteria for Selecting good problem:
* Significance to society * Interesting
* Current * Researchable/solvable
* Having available literature * administrative support
Steps in formulating a research topic:
Specify the area of problem
Define the problem
Possible causes
Select on cause
Combine cause to specify the problem
Modify by removing negativity
Modify by adding context
Write the full topic

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Chapter Three: Developing Research Proposal.
Research proposal: is an outline, strategy, guideline for the study.

Characteristics:-
 Is a straight forward document
 Is not literally production
 Is clearly organized
Sections of Research Proposal:
a) Preliminary pages
b) Body
c) Supplementary / Appendices

Preliminary Pages: Supplementary:

Body:
- Title or cover
- Table of contact  Reference
- Introduction
- Abbreviation - Literature  Photos
- Declaration - Methods  List of people
- Acknowledgement  Questionnaire

Introduction:
1.1: Background
= the initial section of a proposal
= introduces the status and the theoretical framework of the study.
Four main dimensions of Background:
Historical Perspective
= traces the history of the problem that is investigated.
Theoretical Perspective
= describes theories on which the study will be based.
Conceptual Perspective
= researcher defines the variables.
Contextual Perspective
= Researcher define the area (context).

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1.2: Statement of the Problem.
= Contains the need for the research project and explain what the problem is all about.
Reasons for why the clarity statement is important:
 Foundation for the development
 Describes the problem practically
Points to be considered in this section:
- Being current and Existing problem
- Being a widely spread problem affecting target population
Information’s include this section:
- Causes of the problem - Consequences
- Indicators - How to solve it.
Characteristics of good problem statement:
Must be specific
Must indicate the scope (coverage)
Must give the purpose of the study.
1.3: Research Objectives.
= are what the researcher expected to achieve at end of the study.
Characteristics:-
- should be SMART - Attainable
- Measurable - Realistic.
Types of Research Objectives:
a) General Objective b) Specific Objective
= provide short general purpose = is the break-down of
for the study general objectives.
1.4: Research Questions:
= are specific objectives turned into question form.
1.5: Hypothesis:
= are prediction’s about something or how things related each other.
Well Hypothesis: - Types Of Hypothesis:
- testable
Null Hypothesis Alternative Hypothesis
- Indicate I.V & D.V Is the absence of relationship Is the presence of
- Clear and Concise. relationship

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1.6: Scope
= indicates the boundary of the study.
Contents:
1.7: Significance of the study:
 Geographical Scope = indicates the Importance of the research.
= describes the area
 Content Scope
= describes the topic
 Theoretical Scope
1.8: Operational definitions of key terms:
= Describes one theory = this section researcher will explain variables in the
 Time Scope study.
= States the duration.

Chapter Four: Literature Review.

Literature review: is the systematic identification and analysis of documents that are
related to the research problem.
# Integral part of doing research ------- process of undertaking literature.
Purpose/Importance of Literature:
Source of new idea
Help reviewing existing theories
Give researcher self-knowledge
Update readers
Help method using
Identify gaps left by earlier
Gives you confidence
Source Of Data source:

Secondary Source:
Primary Source
= found secondary data
= found primary data
e.g.: Interview e.g.: book, report

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Steps in Doing Literature Review:
1. Select a review topic
= determining how much literature is available
2. Searching the literature
= is the search of the related information about your topic
3. Gathering, reading and Analyzing
= researcher will read literature and extract relevant information.
4. Writing the literature / Summary
= making summary the literature found
5. Reference
= the researcher will referencing.

Sections in literature Review.

Concepts
= Explain I.V and D.V in detail.
Theoretical Review
= Explains what theory says both / D.V / I.V.
= Also you state Author and Date
Empirical Review
= This Explains and Summarize past studies findings.

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 Chapter Five: Research Methods.
Research methods: are the procedures used in doing research project.
: is a plan for carrying out a research project.
Types of Research Design:
Experimental design:
Experimental design situation in which researcher
Non-experimental design measures the effect of manipulation.

Categories of experimental design

i. True experimental design
= is a study design that gives the most reliable proof for causation
ii. Quasi experimental design
= is a study design that includes the manipulation of an independent variable.
Characteristics of true experimental design:
Manipulation / treatment group
Control group
Randomization
Categories of non-experimental design
Descriptive correlation
= is the significant relationship between the dependent and independent variable.
Comparative design
= is the comparison of two things
Retrospective design / (ex post facto)
= when the researcher intends to gather facts that already exist in the field.
Cross-sectional design
= provides information concerning the situation at a given time.
Longitudinal design
= provides the required data more than one point over a long period.
Population
= is the totality of entities being study
Sample Sample Size:
= is representative of the population = is the subset of the population.
Target population: 𝑁
n=
= is the population of your study context area. 1+𝑁(𝑒 2 )

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Sampling Procedures
= are method used in selected sample size from target population.
Types of sampling procedures:
Probability sampling
= is a fair sampling in which all units have equal chance of being included in the
sample.
Non-probability sampling
= is a unfair sampling in which respondents have not equal chance of being
included in the sample.
Categories of probability sampling:
Simple random sampling:
= is the simplest method in which respondents has equal chance to select.
Stratified sampling:
= subjects are arranged according to their sub groups.
Systematic sampling:
= individuals are chosen at regular intervals.
Cluster sampling:
= is when the researcher selects a particular group as case sample.
Multi-stage sampling:
= is used when the population is large and widely scattered.
Primary Sampling unit (PSU): is the sampling unit in the first sampling stage.
Secondary Sampling Unit (SSU): is the sampling unit in the second sampling stage.
Categories of non-probability sampling:
Purposive sampling:
= when the researcher focusing on a limited number of informants, who have
required information.
Quota sampling:
= is a method where the researcher selected a different portions in different
groups.
Convenient sampling:
= this is when the researcher uses the most available participants
Snow ball sampling:
= this method is used when the population of interest is not readily available.

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Ethical principles.
Autonomy
= free choice whether or not to participate
Non-maleficence
= not to inflict evil or harm
Beneficence
= help other pursue their interests ( legitimate)
Justice
= people will be treated equally.
Chapter Six: Tools for data Collection.
Research instrument: is a tool used for data collection.
Classification of tools:
- Questionnaire - focus group discussion
- Interview - Observations
- Key informants interview - Document review
- checklist - Case study.
Interview
= the respondent has freedom to give his/her opinion in a given issue or situation.
Questionnaire:
= set of questions presented to a respondent for answers.
Types of Questionnaire:
a) Closed ended questions
= all possible question answers are written to the respondent.
b) Open ended questions
= answers of the respondents is allowed to write in their own words.
c) Combination of both
= the researcher uses both close/open ended questions.
Two-way questions: when questions have only two alternatives. E.g.: yes/no
Likert Scale: provide respondent with statement and ask them to agree or disagree
Checklist: respondent has a set of items and asked to tick each relevant one.
Ranking: set of items is provided to the respondent and asked to list them in order of
importance/merits.

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Components of Questionnaire:
Cover latter
Instruction
Biographical information
The main body
Validity: refers to the extent to which a given instrument can accurately measure the
questions.
Methods of validy:
 Expert judgment
 Content validity index (CVI).
Reliability: refers to the extent to which an instrument is consistent in measuring what is
used to measure.
Key informant interviews: are qualitative interviews with people who know what is
going on in the community.
Case study: is a description of a process, structure at one organization.
Document review: it includes checking of reports, financial records and minutes of a
meeting.
Observations: is a data collection technique that is performed by monitoring or viewing
the subject.
Chapter Seven: Data analysis.
Data analysis: is defined whole process which starts after data collection.
Types of data analysis:
a) Descriptive analysis
= measure level. E.g.: freq, charts, tables, mean, percentage and etc.
b) Inferential analysis
= measure for testing hypothesis. E.g.: correlation, regression, ANOVA.

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