Managing a Successful

Computing Project
Fall Semester (2022)
By: Eng. Lina Hammad
Topic 3: Research Methodologies
 Outline
• What is research
• Why do research
• What is research methodology
• Types of research methodologies
• Defining quantitative and qualitative research methods
• Closed and open-ended questions
• Different techniques used for conducting research e.g., interviews and questionnaires (data collection
methods)
• Sources of primary and secondary research
• What is empirical study
• The value of empirical study
• Steps of empirical study
• Ethical considerations
• How to produce and analyse a questionnaire and interviews (Practical session).
What is Research?

• Definition 1: research is defined as careful consideration of study regarding a

particular concern or problem using scientific methods.

• Definition 2: research is a systematic inquiry to describe, explain, predict, and

control the observed phenomenon. It involves inductive and deductive
methods.”
 To discover new facts

To verify or test important facts

To analyze an event, process or phenomenon

Why Do
To identify a cause/effect relationship
Research?
To develop new scientific tools, concepts and theories to solve
and understand scientific and nonscientific problems

To find solutions to scientific, nonscientific, and social problems

To overcome or solve problems occurring in our everyday lives

 What is Research Methodology?

• Research methodology is the specific procedures or techniques used to

identify, select, process, and analyze information about a topic
(systematic way to solve a research problem using various logical
steps).

• How did the researcher go about deciding:

• What data to collect (and what data to ignore)
• Who to collect it from (in research, this is called “sampling
design”)
• How to collect it (this is called “data collection methods”)
• How to analyze it (this is called “data analysis methods”)
 Types of Research
Methodologies

▪ Qualitative, quantitative and mixed-

methods are different types of methodologies,
distinguished by whether they focus on words,
numbers or both.

▪ Tools used in situations to gather information

(Differently).
Qualitative Research Methodology

• Qualitative research refers to research which focuses on collecting and analyzing

words (written or spoken) and textual data.
• Qualitative analysis can also focus on other “softer” data points, such as body
language or visual elements.
• It is quite common for a qualitative methodology to be used when the research aims,
and objectives are exploratory in nature. For example, a qualitative methodology
might be used to understand peoples’ perceptions about an event that took place, or
a candidate running for president.
• It is an Open-ended and have less structured protocols.
Quantitative Research Methodology

• Quantitative research focuses on measurement and testing using numerical data.

• A quantitative methodology is typically used when the research aims, and objectives
are confirmatory in nature. For example, a quantitative methodology might be used
to measure the relationship between two variables or to test a set of hypotheses.

• It is a set of planned surveys, observations, interviews with closed-ended questions.

Mixed Research Methodology

• The mixed-method methodology attempts to combine the best of both

qualitative and quantitative methodologies to integrate perspectives and
create a rich picture.
Closed and
Open-
Ended
Questions
What are The Main Data Collection Methods?

• Interviews (which can be unstructured, semi-structured or structured)

• Focus groups and group interviews
• Surveys (online or physical surveys)
• Observations
• Documents and records
• Case studies
• Tests
What are The Main Data Collection Methods?

• The choice of which data collection method to use depends on your overall research
aims and objectives, as well as practicalities and resource constraints.

• Example:
• If the research is exploratory in nature, qualitative methods such as interviews and focus groups
would likely be a good fit.
• If the research aims to measure specific variables or test hypotheses, large-scale surveys that
produce large volumes of numerical data would likely be a better fit.
Quality of Data

The quality and validity of your analysis and the findings are dependent
on the quality of your input data

Invest enough time when preparing or selecting your data!!!

 Qualitative Methods Quantitative Methods
Methods include focus groups, in-depth Surveys, structured interviews & observations,
interviews, observations, and reviews of and reviews of records or documents for
documents for types of themes numeric information
Inductive -derived from specific examples Deductive (based on logical analysis of available
facts)
Text-based (words, pictures or objects) Number-based

More in-depth information on a few cases Less in-depth but more breadth of information
across a large number of cases
Qualitative
Unstructured or semi-structured response Fixed response options
VS
options Quantitative
No statistical tests Statistical tests are used for analysis Research
Can be valid and reliable: largely depends on Can be valid and reliable: largely depends on
skill and rigor of the researcher the measurement device or instrument used
Methodology
Time expenditure lighter on the planning Time expenditure heavier on the planning
end and heavier during the analysis phase phase and lighter on the analysis phase

Less generalizable More generalizable

What? Why? How many?

 Inductive Research Approach
When there is little to no existing literature on a topic, it is common to perform inductive research because
there is no theory to test.
The inductive approach consists of three stages:
1. Observation
A. A low-cost airline flight is delayed
B. Dogs A and B have fleas
C. Elephants depend on water to exist
2. Observe a pattern
A. Another 20 flights from low-cost airlines are delayed
B. All observed dogs have fleas
C. All observed animals depend on water to exist
3. Develop a theory or general (preliminary) conclusion
A. Low cost airlines always have delays
B. All dogs have fleas
C. All biological life depends on water to exist
Limitations of an inductive approach
A conclusion drawn on the basis of an inductive method can never be proven, but it can be invalidated.
 Inductive Research Approach

Limitations of an inductive approach

A conclusion drawn on the basis of an inductive method can never be proven, but it can be invalidated.

Example
You observe 1000 flights from low-cost airlines. All of them experience a delay, which is in line with your
theory. However, you can never prove that flight 1001 will also be delayed. Still, the larger your dataset,
the more reliable the conclusion.
 Deductive Research Approach

When conducting deductive research, you always start with a theory (the result of inductive research).
Reasoning deductively means testing these theories. If there is no theory yet, you cannot conduct
deductive research.
The deductive research approach consists of four stages:
1. Start with an existing theory (and create a problem statement)
A. Low cost airlines always have delays
B. All dogs have fleas
C. All biological life depends on water to exist
2. Formulate a falsifiable hypothesis based on existing theory
A. If passengers fly with a low cost airline, then they will always experience delays
B. All pet dogs in my apartment building have fleas
C. All land mammals depend on water to exist
 Deductive Research Approach
3. Collect data to test the hypothesis
A. Collect flight data of low-cost airlines
B. Test all dogs in the building for fleas
C. Study all land mammal species to see if they depend on water

4. Analyze and test the data

A. 5 out of 100 flights of low-cost airlines are not delayed
B. 10 out of 20 dogs didn’t have fleas
C. All land mammal species depend on water

5. Decide whether you can reject the null hypothesis

A. 5 out of 100 flights of low-cost airlines are not delayed = reject hypothesis
B. 10 out of 20 dogs didn’t have fleas = reject hypothesis
C. All land mammal species depend on water = support hypothesis
 Example: Deductive research approach

You predict that going from a five-day work week to a four-day work week (without any reduction in
pay) will help reduce or prevent burnout by improving employee well-being.

You formulate your main hypothesis: Switching to a four-day work week will improve employee well-
being.

Your null hypothesis states that there’ll be no difference in employee well-being before and after the
change.

You collect data on employee well-being through quantitative surveys on a monthly basis before and
after the change. When analyzing the data, you note a 25% increase in employee well-being after the
change in work week.

Using a statistical test, you find that your results show statistical significance. You reject your null
hypothesis and conclude that your results support your main hypothesis.
Sources of Primary and Secondary Research

• Primary Data: Data that has been generated by the researcher himself/herself, surveys, interviews,
experiments, specially designed for understanding and solving the research problem at hand.
• Secondary Data: Using existing data generated by large government Institutions, healthcare facilities etc. as
part of organizational record keeping. The data is then extracted from more varied datafiles.

• If you are planning to collect data specifically for your study → Primary data
• Information already collected for other purposes → Secondary data
• Need to identify what information is needed and then develop a form to extract the required data.
• Note: you should use the secondary research to inform a primary empirical study.
Empirical research: Definition

Empirical research is defined as any research where conclusions of the study is

strictly drawn from concretely empirical evidence, and therefore “verifiable”
evidence.

This empirical evidence can be gathered using quantitative market

research and qualitative market research methods.

Example: A research is being conducted to find out if listening to happy music while
working may promote creativity? An experiment is conducted by using a music website
survey on a set of audience who are exposed to happy music and another set who are not
listening to music at all, and the subjects are then observed. The results derived from such
a research will give empirical evidence if it does promote creativity or not.
The Value of Empirical Study

• The benefits of the empirical studies:

1. Empirical research is used to validate previous research findings and frameworks.
2. It assumes a critical role in enhancing internal validity.
3. The degree of control is high, which enables the researcher to manage numerous variables.
4. It allows a researcher to comprehend the progressive changes that can occur, and thus enables
him to modify an approach when needed.
5. Being based on facts and experience makes a research project more authentic and competent.
 Step 1: Define the purpose of the research

Steps for Step 2: Supporting theories and relevant literature

Conducting Step 3: Creation of Hypothesis and measurement

Empirical Step 4: Methodology, research design and data

collection

Research Step 5: Data Analysis and result

Step 6: Conclusion
Ethical Consideration in Research

• Ethical considerations in research are a set of principles that guide your research designs and practices.
Scientists and researchers must always adhere to a certain code of conduct when collecting data from people.

• These considerations work to

1. Protect the rights of research participants.
2. Respect for the dignity of research participants should be prioritized.
3. Enhance research validity.
4. Maintain scientific integrity.
Ethical Consideration in Research

5. Any type of communication in relation to the research should be done with honesty and transparency.
6. Any type of misleading information, as well as representation of primary data findings in a biased way must be
avoided.
7. Full consent should be obtained from the participants prior to the study.
8. The protection of the privacy of research participants has to be ensured.
9. Adequate level of confidentiality of the research data should be ensured.
10. Research should also be reliable (similar results achieved from a similar sample) and valid (the research should
measure what it aimed to measure).
 Ethical Consideration in Research

11. Ensure validity and reliability of secondary data and information used, including consideration of who
wrote or collected the information or data, age of data collected, original purpose of the data collection,
potential errors or variability in the data, potential bias, e.g., sample size, sample participants, questions
used, interpretation of results.
 Reference
• https://lwzimmerman.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/wk
1-intro1.pptx

• Kathy Schwalbe, “Information technology project

management”, 7th edition.