RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

LECTURE NOTES

BY: PATRICK KEYA

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 What is research?
- A search for knowledge
- A scientific and systematic search for significant information on a specific topic
- A careful investigation through search for new facts in any branch of knowledge
- A voyage of discovery – and so on

We do research whenever we gather information to answer a question that solves a problem:

For example:
Problem: Where do I find a new head gasket for my ’65 Mustang?
Research: Look in the yellow pages for an auto- parts store, then call to see if it has one in stock.
Problem: To settle a bet, I need to know when Michael Jordan was born.
Research: You Google “Michael Jordan birthday.”
Problem: I’m just curious about a new species of fish.
Research: You search the Internet for articles in newspapers and academic journals.

We all do that kind of research every day, and though we rarely write it up, we rely on those who
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What is research?
Broadly speaking, research refers to the systematic method consisting of enunciating the problem,
formulating a hypothesis, collecting the facts or data, analyzing the facts and reaching certain
conclusions either in the form of solution to the concerned problem or in certain generalizations for
some theoretical formulation.

In research, think about your readers from the start, knowing that you’ll understand them better as
you work through your project. Answer these questions early on, then revisit them when you start
planning and again when you revise.
1. Who will read my report?
2. What do they expect me to do?
3. How much can I expect them to know already?
4. How will readers respond to the solution / answer in my main claim?

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Objectives and Motivations in Research
The purpose of research is to discover answers to questions through the application of scientific
procedures. The main aim of research is to find out the truth which is hidden and which has not been
discovered as yet. Research objectives fall into the following broad groupings:
1. To gain familiarity with a phenomenon or to achieve new insights into it (known as exploratory or
formulative research studies);
2. To determine the frequency with which something occurs or with which it is associated with
something else (known as diagnostic research studies);
3. To test a hypothesis of a causal relationship between variables (known as hypothesis-testing
research studies).

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Why do people aspire for research? What makes them undertake research?
This motivation is of fundamental importance. The possible motives for doing research may be
either one or more of the following:
✓ Aspire to get a research degree along with career benefits;
✓ Aspire to take up the challenge in solving the unsolved problems;
✓ Desire to get intellectual joy of doing a creative work;
✓ Aspire to do research to serve the society;
✓ Seek to get recognition and respect; Many other;

Many more unlisted factors such as directives of government, employment conditions, curiosity
about new things, social thinking and awakening, and the like may as well motivate or compel
people to do research.

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Research ethics
Ethical issues are relevant to research in general. They are especially relevant in medical and nursing
research. Here we find the following definition of research ethics, which can be applicable to other
research areas too:
Research ethics is concerned with the steps taken to protect those who participate in the research, if
this is necessary.
In the context of the social sciences, Murphy and Dingwall (2001, p. 339) have developed an ‘ethical
theory’ that provides a useful framework. Their theory is based on four principles:
1. Non-maleficence – researchers should avoid harming participants.
2. Beneficence – research on human subjects should produce some positive and identifiable benefit
rather than simply be carried out for its own sake.
3. Autonomy or self-determination – research participants’ values and decisions should be respected.
4. Justice – all people should be treated equally.

-> Informed consent as a general principle dictates that studies should generally involve only people
who (a) have been informed about being studied
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Distinct Approaches and Significance of Research
Approaches in doing research should be known to a researcher in any field of study so that he
analyses his problem in proper perspective, understands what methods and tools are needed and
decides to choose the appropriate approaches for his research. They include:

1. Descriptive Research vs. Analytical Research

Descriptive research includes surveys and fact-finding enquiries of different kinds. The major purpose
of descriptive research is description of the state of affairs as it exists at present. This approach is
suitable for social sciences and business and management studies for descriptive research studies.
The main characteristic of this method is that the researcher has no control over the variables; s/he
can only report what has happened or what is happening. Most research projects of this nature are
used for descriptive studies in which the researcher seeks to measure factors like frequency of
shopping, brand preference of people, most popular media programme etc. Survey methods of all
kinds fall under descriptive research, including comparative and correlation techniques.
In analytical research, on the other hand, researcher makes a critical evaluation of the material by
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2. Applied Research vs. Fundamental Research
The main target of Applied Research is to find a solution for an immediate problem facing a society
or an industrial / business organization, whereas Fundamental or Pure Research is mainly
concerned with generalizations and concentrates on the formulation of a theory. "Gathering
knowledge for the sake of knowledge” is termed 'Pure' or 'Basic' or ‘Fundamental’ research.

While applied research concentrates on discovering a solution for some pressing practical problem,
fundamental research is focused towards formulation of theories that may have a broad base of
applications either at present or for future which adds more materials to the already existing
organized body of scientific knowledge.

Examples of fundamental research are: research concerning some natural phenomenon or related to
pure mathematics; research studies aimed at studying and making generalizations about human
behaviour.

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3. Quantitative vs. Qualitative
While Quantitative research is applicable to phenomena that can be expressed in terms of quantity,
Qualitative research is concerned with qualitative phenomenon.
For instance, when we are interested in investigating the reasons for human behaviour (i.e., why
people think or do certain things), we quite often talk of 'Motivation Research', an important type of
qualitative research.
Qualitative research is especially important in the behavioural sciences where the aim is to discover
the underlying motives of human behaviour.

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4 Conceptual vs. Experimental (or Empirical)
Conceptual research is that related to some abstract idea(s) or theory. It is generally used by
philosophers and thinkers to develop new concepts or to reinterpret existing ones. On the other hand,
experimental (empirical) research relies on experiment or observation alone, often without due regard
for system and theory. It is data-based research, coming up with conclusions which are capable of
being verified by observation or experiment. In such a research it is necessary to get at facts
firsthand, at their source, and actively to go about doing certain things to stimulate the production of
desired information. In such a research, the researcher must first provide himself with a working
hypothesis or guess as to the probable results. He then works to get enough facts (data) to prove or
disprove his hypothesis. He then sets up experimental designs which he thinks will manipulate the
persons or the materials concerned so as to bring forth the desired information leading to the
hypothesis. Such research is thus characterized by the experimenter's control over the variables
under study and his deliberate manipulation of one of them to study its effects. Empirical research is
appropriate when proof is sought that certain variables affect other variables in some way. Evidence
gathered through experiments or empirical studies is today considered to be the most powerful
support possible for a given hypothesis.COMPILED BY PATRICK KEYA - 0729 070 829 10
Research Methodology versus Research Methods
Research methods may be understood as all those methods/techniques that are used for conducting
research. Research methods or techniques, thus, refer to the methods the researchers adopt to carry
out their research. Research methods can be put into the following three groups:
1. Methods which are concerned with the collection/ acquisition of data;
2. The mathematical/statistical techniques which are used for establishing relationships between the
data and the unknowns;
3. The methods which are used to evaluate the accuracy of the results obtained.

Research methodology is a way to systematically solve the research problem; it may be understood
as a science of studying how research is done scientifically. In it we formulate the various steps that
are to be adopted by a researcher in studying his research problem along with the logic behind them.
It is necessary for the researcher to know not only the research methods/techniques but also the
methodology.
- It is clear from the above discussions that research methodology has many dimensions and
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Stages in Research Execution Process
The research process consists of a number of closely related activities, which may overlap
continuously rather than following a strictly prescribed sequence. At times, the first step determines
the nature of the last step to be undertaken. If subsequent procedures have not been taken into
account in the early stages, serious difficulties may arise which may even prevent the completion of
the study. One should remember that the various steps involved in a research process are not
mutually exclusive; nor they are separate and distinct; they do not necessarily follow each other in
any specific order and the researcher has to be constantly anticipating at each step in the research
process the requirements of the subsequent sets. However, the following order concerning various
steps provides a useful procedural guideline regarding the research execution process:

1) formulating the research problem 6) collecting the data

2) extensive literature survey 7) analysis of data
3) developing the hypothesis 8) hypothesis testing
4) preparing the research design 9) generalizations and interpretation
5) determining sample design 10) preparation of the research report
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TOPICS TO QUESTIONS
If you are free to research any topic that interests you, that freedom might seem frustrating—so
many choices, so little time. At some point, you have to settle on a topic. But you can’t jump from
picking a topic to collecting data: your readers want more than a mound of random facts. You have to
find a reason better than a class assignment not only for you to devote weeks or months to your
research, but for your readers to spend any time reading about it.

You’ll find that better reason when you can ask a question whose answer solves a problem that you
can convince readers to care about. That question and problem are what will make readers think your
report is worth their time. They also focus your research and save you from collecting irrelevant data.
In all research communities, some questions are “in the air,” widely debated and researched, such as
whether traits like shyness or an attraction to risk are learned or genetically inherited. But other
questions may intrigue only the researcher: Why do cats rub their faces against us? Why does a
coffee spill dry up in the shape of a ring? That’s how a lot of research begins—not with a big ques-
tion that attracts everyone in a field, but with a mental itch about a small one that only a single
researcher wants to scratch. COMPILED BY PATRICK KEYA - 0729 070 829 14
If you feel that itch, start scratching. But at some point, you must decide whether the answer to your
question solves a problem significant to a teacher, to other researchers, or even to a public whose
lives your research could change.

Most of us have more than enough interests, but beginners often find it hard to locate among theirs a
topic focused enough to support a substantial research project. A research topic is an interest stated
specifically enough for you to imagine becoming a local expert on it.

If you can work on any topic, we offer only a cliché: start with what most interests you. Nothing
contributes to the quality of your work more than your commitment to it.

To Find a Topic in a General Writing Course - Start by listing as many interests as you can that
you’d like to explore. Don’t limit yourself to what you think might interest a teacher or make him
think you’re a serious student. Let your ideas flow.

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Step 1: Name Your Topic
If you are beginning a project with only a topic and maybe the glimmerings of a good question or two,
start by naming your project: I am trying to learn about (working on, studying) ____________.
Fill in the blank with your topic, using some of those nouns derived from verbs:
1. I am studying the causes of the disappearance of large North American mammals . . .
2. I am working on Lincoln’s beliefs about predestination and their influence on his reasoning . . .
Step 2: Add an Indirect Question
Add an indirect question that indicates what you do not know or understand about your topic: 1. I am
studying / working on ____________ 2. because I want to find out who / what / when / where /
whether / why / how ____________.
1. I am studying the causes of the disappearance of large North American mammals. Because I want
to find out whether they were hunted to extinction . . .
2. I am working on Lincoln’s beliefs about predestination and its influence on his reasoning Because I
want to find out how his belief in destiny influenced his understanding of the causes of Civil War…
When you add that because I want to find out how / why / whether clause, you state why you are
pursuing your topic: to answer a question important
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Step 3: Answer So What?
by Motivating Your Question This step tells you whether your question might interest not just you but
others. To do that, add a second indirect question that explains why you asked your first question.
Introduce this second implied question with in order to help my reader understand how, why, or
whether:
❖ I am studying the causes of the disappearance of large North American mammals
because I want to find out whether the earliest peoples hunted them to extinction
in order to help my reader understand whether native peoples lived in harmony with nature or helped
destroy it.
❖ I am working on Lincoln’s beliefs about predestination and their influence on his reasoning
because I want to find out how his belief in destiny and God’s will influenced his understanding of the
causes of the Civil War,
in order to help my reader understand how his religious beliefs may have influenced his military
decisions.
✓ It is the indirect question in step 3 that you hope will seize your readers’ interest. If it touches on
issues important to your field, even indirectly, then
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VARIABLES
Topic:

Factors affecting Performance of Public Secondary Schools in Kenya

A Case of Juja Secondary School

FACTORS PERFORMANCE

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RESEARCH PROBLEM CONT’D
A research problem, in general, refers to some difficulty which a researcher experiences in the
context of either a theoretical or practical situation and wants to obtain a solution for the same.
Usually we say that a research problem does exist if the following conditions are met with:
(i) There must be an individual (or a group or an organisation), let us call it ‘I,’ to whom the problem
can be attributed. The individual or the organisation, as the case may be, occupies an
environment, say ‘N’, which is defined by values of the uncontrolled variables, Yj .
(ii) There must be at least two courses of action, say C1 and C2 , to be pursued. A course of action is
defined by one or more values of the controlled variables.
(iii) There must be at least two possible outcomes, say O1 and O2. In other words, this means that
there must be at least one outcome that the researcher wants, i.e., an objective.
(iv) The courses of action available must provides some chance of obtaining the objective, but they
cannot provide the same chance, otherwise the choice would not matter. In simple words, we can
say that the choices must have unequal efficiencies for the desired outcomes.

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FOR INSTANCE,
“Why is productivity in Japan so much higher than in India”? - In this form the question has a number
of ambiguities such as: What sort of productivity is being referred to? With what industries the same is
related? With what period of time the productivity is being talked about? In view of all such
ambiguities the given statement or the question is much too general to be amenable to analysis.

Rethinking the problem may result in narrowing down the question to: “What factors were responsible
for the higher labour productivity of Japan’s manufacturing industries during the decade 1971 to 1980
relative to India’s manufacturing industries?” - This latter version of the problem is definitely an
improvement over its earlier version for the various ambiguities have been removed to the extent
possible.

Further rethinking and rephrasing might place the problem on a still better operational basis as shown
below: “To what extent did labour productivity in 1971 to 1980 in Japan exceed that of India in respect
of 15 selected manufacturing industries? What factors were responsible for the productivity
differentials between the two countries by industries?”
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4. RESEARCH DESIGN

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 SAMPLING
A sample is “a smaller (but hopefully representative) collection of units from a population used to determine truths about that population” (Field,
2005)
Why sample?
Resources (time, money) and workload
Gives results with known accuracy that can be calculated mathematically
The sampling frame is the list from which the potential respondents are drawn
Registrar’s office
Class rosters
Must assess sampling frame errors

What is your population of interest?

To whom do you want to generalize your results?
All doctors
School children
Indians
Women aged 15-45 years
Other

3 factors that influence sample representative-ness

Sampling procedure
Sample size
Participation (response)
When might you sample the entire population?
When your population is very small
When you have extensive resources
When you don’t expect a very high response
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Types of Samples
A probability sampling scheme is one in which every unit in the
Probability (Random) Samples population has a chance (greater than zero) of being selected in the
Simple random sample sample, and this probability can be accurately determined.
Systematic random sample
Stratified random sample . When every element in the population does have the same probability
Multistage sample of selection, this is known as an 'equal probability of selection' (EPS)
Multiphase sample design. Such designs are also referred to as 'self-weighting' because all
Cluster sample sampled units are given the same weight.
Non-Probability Samples
Convenience sample NON PROBABILITY SAMPLING
Purposive sample Any sampling method where some elements of population have no
chance of selection (these are sometimes referred to as 'out of
Quota coverage'/'undercovered'), or where the probability of selection can't be
accurately determined. It involves the selection of elements based on
assumptions regarding the population of interest, which forms the
criteria for selection. Hence, because the selection of elements is
nonrandom, nonprobability sampling not allows the estimation of
sampling errors..
Example: We visit every household in a given street, and interview the
first person to answer the door. In any household with more than one
occupant, this is a nonprobability sample, because some people are more
likely to answer the door (e.g. an unemployed person who spends most
of their time at home is more likely to answer than an employed
housemate who might be at work when the interviewer calls) and it's not
practical to calculate these probabilities.

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