Advanced Research Methodology

Unit - 3
Sampling Methods:
Sampling is that part of statistical practice concerned with the process of selecting a
number of individuals for a study in such a way that the individuals represent the larger
group from which they were selected. Sampling is an important aspect of data collection.

Types of Sampling:

Probability Sample:
A probability sampling scheme is one in which every unit in the population has a chance
of being selected in the sample, and this probability can be accurately determined. The
combination of these traits makes it possible to produce unbiased estimates of
population totals, by weighting sampled units according to their probability of selection.
Example: We want to estimate the total income of adults living in a given street. We visit
each household in that street, identify all adults living there, and randomly select one
adult from each household. We then interview the selected person and find their income.
People living on their own are certain to be selected, so we simply add their income to
our estimate of the total. But a person living in a household of two adults has only a one-
in-two chance of selection. To reflect this, when we come to such a household, we would
count the selected person’s income twice towards the total. In the above example, not
everybody has the same probability of selection; what makes it a probability sample is
the fact that each person’s probability is known. When every element in the population
does have the same probability of selection, this is known as an ‘equal probability of
selection’ (EPS) design. Such designs are also referred to as ‘self-weighting’ because all
sampled units are given the same weight.
Types of Probability Samples

1. Simple Random Sampling: A sampling procedure that ensures that each

element in the population will have an equal chance of being included in the
sample.
Advantages:
 Minimal knowledge of population needed
 Easy to analyze data
 Easy to implement with random dialing
Disadvantages:
 Low frequency of use
 Does not use researchers’ expertise
 Larger risk of random error

2. Systematic Sampling: Similar to simple random sample. Order all units in

the sampling frame, and then every nth number on the list is selected.
N= Sampling Interval
Advantages:
 Sample easy to select
 Suitable sampling frame can be identified easily
 Sample evenly spread over entire reference population
 Cost effective
Disadvantages:
 Sample may be biased if hidden periodicity in population coincides with
that of selection.
 Each element does not get equal chance
 Ignorance of all element between two n element

3. Stratified Random Sampling: The population is divided into two or more

groups called strata, according to some criterion, such as geographic location,
grade level, age, or income, and subsamples are randomly selected from each
strata.
Stratified random sampling can be classified in to
 Proportionate stratified sampling
 Disproportionate stratified sampling
Advantages:
 Enhancement of representativeness to each sample
 Higher statistical efficiency
 Easy to carry out
Disadvantages:
  Classification error
 Time consuming and expensive
 Prior knowledge of composition and of distribution of population

4. Clustering Sampling: The process of randomly selecting intact groups,

not individuals, within the defined population sharing similar characteristics.
Clusters are locations within which an intact group of members of the population
can be found. Examples – Neighborhoods, School districts, Schools, Classrooms
Advantages:
 Very useful when populations are large and spread over a large
geographic region
 Convenient and expedient
 Do not need the names of everyone in the population
 Economically more efficient than simple random
 Easy to do without list
Disadvantages:
 Representation is likely to become an issue
 The cost to reach an element to sample is very high
 Each stage in cluster sampling introduces sampling error - the more
stages there are, the more error there tends to be

Non-Probability Sample:
Non Probability sampling is any sampling method where some elements of the
population have no chance of selection, 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 non random, non probability sampling does not
allow the estimation of sampling errors. Information about the relationship between
sample and population is limited, making it difficult to extrapolate from the sample to the
population.
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 non probability
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.

Types of Non Probability Samples

1. Convenience Sampling: Convenience sampling involves choosing
respondents at the convenience of the researcher.
Advantages:
 Very low cost
 Extensively used/understood
Disadvantages:
 Variability and bias cannot be measured or controlled
 Projecting data beyond sample not justified
 Restriction of Generalization.

2. Quota Sampling: The population is first segmented into mutually exclusive

sub-groups, just as in stratified sampling.
Advantages:
 Used when research budget is limited
 Very extensively used/understood
 No need for list of population elements
Disadvantages:
 Variability and bias cannot be measured/controlled
 Time Consuming
 Projecting data beyond sample not justified

3. Judgmental Sampling (Purposive Sampling): Researcher employs his or

her own "expert” judgment about.
Advantages
 There is a assurance of Quality response
 Meet the specific objective.
Disadvantages
 Bias selection of sample may occur
 Time consuming process.

4. Snowball Sampling: The research starts with a key person and introduce the
next one to become a chain
Advantages
 Low cost
 Useful in specific circumstances & for locating rare populations
Disadvantages
 Not independent
 Projecting data beyond sample not justified

5. Self Selection Sampling: It occurs when you allow each case usually
individuals, to identify their desire to take part in the research.
 Advantages
 More accurate
 Useful in specific circumstances to serve the purpose.
Disadvantages
 More costly due to Advertizing
 Mass are left

Hypothesis
A hypothesis is an assumption about relations between variables. It is a tentative
explanation of the research problem or a guess about the research outcome. Before
starting the research, the researcher has a rather general, diffused, even confused
notion of the problem. It may take long time for the researcher to say what questions he
had been seeking answers to. Hence, an adequate statement about the research
problem is very important. What is a good problem statement? It is an interrogative
statement that asks: what relationship exists between two or more variables? It then
further asks questions like: Is A related to B or not? How are A and B related to C? Is a
related to B under conditions X and Y? Proposing a statement pertaining to relationship
between A and B is called a hypothesis.

Hypothesis Testing:
Hypothesis testing is about testing to see whether the stated hypothesis is acceptable or
not. During our hypothesis testing, we want to gather as much data as we can so that we
can prove our hypothesis one way or another. There is a proper four-step method in
performing a proper hypothesis test:
1. Write the hypothesis
2. Create an analysis plan
3. Analyze the data
4. Interpret the results

Example: Let's take a look. But first, let's meet Sam. Sam has a hypothesis
that he wants to test. Sam works as a researcher with the National Food
Administration. He is the one that goes out and tests the food that we eat to make
sure that it is safe. Let's see how he follows the four-step method.

Step One: Hypothesis

The first step is that of writing the hypothesis. You actually have two hypotheses to write.
One is called the null hypothesis. This is the hypothesis based on chance. Think of this
as the hypothesis that states how you would expect things to work without any external
factors to change it. The other hypothesis is called the alternative hypothesis. This is the
hypothesis that shows a change from the null hypothesis that is caused by something.
In hypothesis testing, we just test to see if our data fits our alternative hypothesis or if it
fits the null hypothesis. We don't worry about what is causing our data to shift from the
null hypothesis if it does. Keep in mind, when writing your null hypothesis and alternative
hypothesis, they must be written in such a way so that if the null hypothesis is false, then
the alternative hypothesis is true and vice versa.

What does Sam do here? Sam's null hypothesis is that all meat that is sold to
supermarkets is less than 48 hours old. Sam's alternative hypothesis is that all meat that
is sold to supermarkets is more than 48 hours old. As you can see, if the null hypothesis
is false, then the alternative hypothesis is true.

Step Two: Analysis Plan

The second step is to create an analysis plan. This involves deciding how to read your
results to know whether your null hypothesis is true or your alternative hypothesis is true.
Usually, this involves analyzing just one single test statistic.

There are two ways to read your results: P-value method and the region of acceptance
method. The P-value is the probability of observing the desired statistic. If this P-value is
less than the significance level, then the null hypothesis is not valid. The significance
level is the probability of making the mistake of saying that the null hypothesis is not
valid when it actually is true. The region of acceptance is a chosen range of values that
results in the null hypothesis being stated as valid.

For this step, Sam decides to analyze his data using the region of acceptance. The
statistic that Sam decides to use is the number of hours the meat is at that is being sold
to supermarkets. Sam goes to various meat providers and checks to see the age of the
meat that is being sold. He then analyzes this statistic to see how many meat providers
are shipping meats out under 48 hours. The region of acceptance is 99% or higher. This
means that if 99% or more of the meat producers ships out their meat in time, then the
null hypothesis is valid.

Step Three: Data Analysis

The third step is that of analyzing the data. It is the putting step two into action. It is in
this step that the data is analyzed and either a P-value is found, or the data's region is
found.

It is in this step that Sam checks his data to see how many of his meat producers are
shipping out their meats within 48 hours. Sam looks at his data and sees that 99.9% of
the meat producers are shipping out their meats within 48 hours.

Step Four: Interpretation

The fourth step involves interpreting the results. It is in this step that the data is
compared to the region of acceptance or the significance level. If the P-value is less than
the significance level, then the null hypothesis is not valid. If the data is within the region
of acceptance, then the null hypothesis is valid.

Sam looks at this data. His data shows that the data's region is at 99.9%. He compares it
to his acceptable 99%. Is 99.9% higher than 99%? It is. This means that his data is
within the region of acceptance. This tells Sam that he can say that the null hypothesis is
valid. Now, he has the data to prove his null hypothesis statement. This is what he
wanted to happen. He wanted to be able to tell people that his meat producers are
shipping out fresh meat that is less than 48 hours old.

Data Processing
Data processing is concerned with editing, coding, classifying, tabulating and charting
and diagramming research data. The essence of data processing in research is data
reduction. Data reduction involves winnowing out the irrelevant from the relevant data
and establishing order from chaos and giving shape to a mass of data. Data processing
in research consists of five important steps. They are:
1. Editing of Data
2. Coding of Data
3. Classification of Data
4. Tabulation of Data
5. Data Diagrams

Interpretation
Interpretation of research data means drawing inference from the collected facts and
computed statistics or test statistics. The task of interpretation has two major aspects;
1. The effort to establish continuity in research through linking the results of given
study with those of others, and
2. The establishment of some explanatory concepts.
In one sense, interpretation is concerned with relationship within the collected data,
partially overlapping analysis. Interpretation also extends beyond the data of the study to
include the results of other research, theory and hypotheses.

Process of Interpretation of Research Data:

Interpretation refers to the task of drawing inferences from the collected facts after an
analytical and or experimental study.
The interpretation of research data is not an easy job, rather it requires a great skill and
dexterity on the part of researcher. Interpretation is an art that one learns through
practice and experience. The researcher may, at times, seek the guidance from experts
for accomplishing interpretation.
The technique of interpretation often involves the following steps:
1. Researchers must give reasonable explanations of the relations which he has
found and he must interpret the lines of relationship in terms of the underlying
process and must try to find out the thread of uniformity that lies under the
surface layer of his diversified research findings. In fact, this is the technique of
how generalization should be done and concepts be formulated.
2. Extraneous information, if collected during the study, must be considered while
interpreting the final results of research study, for it may prove to be a key factor
in understanding the problem under consideration.
3. It is advisable, before embarking upon final interpretation, to consult someone
having insight into the study and who is frank and honest and will not hesitate to
point out omissions and errors in logical argumentation. Such a consultation will
result in correct interpretation and, thus, will enhance the utility of research
results.
4. Researchers must accomplish the task of interpretation only after considering all
relevant factors affecting the problem to avoid false generalization. He must be in
no hurry while interpreting results, for quite often the conclusions, which appear
to be all right at the beginning, may not at all accurate.

Need for Interpretation

The need for Interpretation of research data can hardly be over-emphasized.
1. It is through interpretation that the researcher can understand the abstract
principle that works beneath his findings. Through this he can link up his findings
with those of other studies, having the same abstract principle, and thereby can
predict about the concrete worlds of events. Fresh enquiries can test these
predictions later on. This way of continuity in research can be maintained.
2. Interpretation leads to the establishment of explanatory concepts that can serve
as a guide for future research studies; it opens new avenues of intellectual
adventure and stimulates the quest for more knowledge.
3. Researchers can better appreciate only through interpretation why his findings
are what they are and can make others to understand the real significance of his
research findings.
4. The interpretation of the findings of exploratory research study often results into
hypotheses for experimental research and as such interpretation is involved in
the transition from exploratory to experimental research. Since an exploratory
study does not have a hypothesis to start with, the findings of such study have to
 be interpreted on a post-factum basis in which case the interpretation is
technically described as ‘post factum’ interpretation.

Guidelines for Making Valid Interpretations

The following guidelines are useful in making good interpretations,
 Don’t interpret from a single or limited number of instances.
 Don’t over-stress both positive and negative points.
 Don’t omit evidences contrary to one’s opinion.
 Don’t have any pre-dispositions and pre-conceived notions.
 Don’t attribute results to a single factor when other factors are equally important.
 Don’t base your judgment on inaccurate instruments of measurement.
 Don’t forget to distinguish between material and less-significant issues.
 Don’t make any false analogy.
 Don’t generalize from insufficient data.
 Try to see the problem in right perspective.
 Make provision for unstudied factors.
 Try to see the differences between cause and effect.
 Recognize the limitations of evidences.
 Base judgments on complete and accurate data.
 Ensure consistency of information and inferences.
 Trust statistical evidences more than verbal evidences.
 Make appropriate use of deductive technique of interpretation.

Report: “A report is a statement of the result of an investigation or of any matter on

which definite information is required”
An effective report can be written by going through the following steps -
 Determine the objective of the report, i.e., identify the problem
 Collect the required material (facts) for the report
 Study and examine the facts gathered
 Plan the facts for the report
 Prepare an outline for the report, i.e., draft the report
 Edit the drafted report
 Distribute the draft report to the advisory team and ask for feedback and
recommendations

Layout and Structure of report:

1. Title page
The title of the report should be presented on a separate cover page and contain:
 The title: this must be brief, but must also convey something of the subject of
the report to the reader
  The University/Company's/Organization's name
 The date of issue
 The name of the author(s)
2. Table of Contents
A table of contents is essential for any report that is longer than about ten pages.
The table of contents must be on a page of its own and the page references must
match those in the text.
3. List of Illustrations/figures/tables
All illustrations, that is, figures, photos, diagrams, graphs, charts and tables etc.,
will be listed in separate pages after the Table of Contents. They will be listed
according to their number and title, and the page references must match those in
the text.
4. Foreword
A foreword is only needed if a statement is to be made by some person other
than the author. This is sometimes done to give more authority to the report.
5. Acknowledgements
This section allows the people who were indispensable in writing the report to be
thanked or mentioned.
6. Summary/Abstract
This part of the report summarizes the ground covered in the body of the report
so that anyone wanting a quick review of what the report is about can quickly get
the gist of the findings. The summary must state:
 The aims of the report
 The depth of study that went into the research
 Whether the objective was achieved.
The summary must be no more than 10% of the length of the report and mustn't
introduce any information that isn't contained in the report body. The summary
should be created once the rest of the report has been written.
7. Introduction
The introduction gives a broad, general overview of the subject. Its length
depends upon the target reader's existing knowledge. Try to condense the
information to:
 What is the problem?
 What is the cause?
 What will you be doing to address these two points?
However long the introduction, it must clearly state the purpose (Objective) of the
report. This will help the readers to judge the document's success. Outline the
scope of the report.
8. Body of the Report
 This is where the issues outlined in the introduction are expanded. The
development of the arguments must be logical, the evidence relevant and the
reasoning clear. The sections include:
 Literature Review
 Method and Materials
 Results [Discussion of Results]
The information in the body of a report can be organised in one of several ways,
for example:
 Sequential
 Hierarchical
 Comparative
9. Conclusion
The conclusion summarizes the findings and inferences in the body of the report.
The conclusion must not contain any new idea that has not been previously
mentioned in the report.
10. References
Throughout the text, it will be necessary to refer to other documents. Readers
can then turn to them for confirmation and further study. Indicate a reference by
placing an appropriate mark in the text. (See the section on Literature Review.)
11. Appendices
Sometimes the author may want to include supporting information in the report.
This kind of information should be placed in an appendix.
If there is more than one appendix they should be designated A, B and so on.
12. Bibliography
This is the list of books, periodicals and other reference sources from which the
author has drawn. A bibliography helps to show the readers how widely the
author has researched the subject and gives authority to the findings of the
report.

Types of Reports:
Research reports vary greatly in length and type. In each individual case, both the length
and the form are largely dictated by the problems at hand. For instance, business firms
prefer reports in the letter form, just one or two pages in length. Students of literature
usually write long reports presenting the critical analysis of some writer or period or the
like with a liberal use of quotations from the works of the author under discussion. In the
field of education and psychology, the favourite form is the report on the results of
experimentation accompanied by the detailed statistical tabulations.
News items in the daily papers are also forms of report writing. In such reports the first
paragraph usually contains the important information in detail and the succeeding
paragraphs contain material which is progressively less and less important.
The Ph.D. theses and dissertations are also a form of report-writing, usually completed
by students in academic institutions.
The above narration throws light on the fact that the results of a research investigation
can be presented in a number of ways viz., a technical report, a popular report, an
article, a monograph or at times even in the form of oral presentation.
A technical report is used whenever a full written report of the study is required whether
for recordkeeping or for public dissemination.
A popular report is used if the research results have policy implications. We give below a
few details about the said two types of reports:

Technical Report:
In the technical report the main emphasis is on
i. The methods employed,
ii. Assumptions made in the course of the study,
iii. The detailed presentation of the findings including their limitations and supporting
data.
A general outline of a technical report can be as follows:
1. Summary of results: A brief review of the main findings just in two or three
pages.
2. Nature of the study: Description of the general objectives of study, formulation
of the problem in operational terms, the working hypothesis, the type of analysis
and data required, etc.
3. Methods employed: Specific methods used in the study and their limitations.
For instance, in sampling studies we should give details of sample design viz.,
sample size, sample selection, etc.
4. Data: Discussion of data collected, their sources, characteristics and limitations.
If secondary data are used, their suitability to the problem at hand be fully
assessed. In case of a survey, the manner in which data were collected should
be fully described.
5. Analysis of data and presentation of findings: The analysis of data and
presentation of the findings of the study with supporting data in the form of tables
and charts be fully narrated. This, in fact, happens to be the main body of the
report usually extending over several chapters.
 6. Conclusions: A detailed summary of the findings and the policy implications
drawn from the results be explained.
7. Bibliography: Bibliography of various sources consulted be prepared and
attached.
8. Technical appendices: Appendices be given for all technical matters relating to
questionnaire, mathematical derivations, elaboration on particular technique of
analysis and the like ones.
9. Index: Index must be prepared and be given invariably in the report at the end.

The order presented above only gives a general idea of the nature of a technical report;
the order of presentation may not necessarily be the same in all the technical reports.
This, in other words, means that the presentation may vary in different reports.

Popular Report:
The popular report is one which gives emphasis on simplicity and attractiveness. The
simplification should be sought through clear writing, minimization of technical,
particularly mathematical, details and liberal use of charts and diagrams.
1. The findings and their implications: Emphasis in the report is given on the
findings of most practical interest and on the implications of these findings.
2. Recommendations for action: Recommendations for action on the basis of the
findings of the study is made in this section of the report.
3. Objective of the study: A general review of how the problem arise is presented
along with the specific objectives of the project under study.
4. Methods employed: A brief and non-technical description of the methods and
techniques used, including a short review of the data on which the study is
based, is given in this part of the report.
5. Results: This section constitutes the main body of the report wherein the results
of the study are presented in clear and non-technical terms with liberal use of all
sorts of illustrations such as charts, diagrams and the like ones.
6. Technical appendices: More detailed information on methods used, forms, etc. is
presented in the form of appendices. But the appendices are often not detailed if
the report is entirely meant for general public.

The only important thing about such a report is that it gives emphasis on simplicity and
policy implications from the operational point of view, avoiding the technical details of all
sorts to the extent possible.

Significance of Report Writing

 It is considered a major component of the research study as the research
remains incomplete without report.
  A report should be properly dated & signed by the concerned authority or by the
chairman of the committee or by all committee members. This has a legal
significance and needs special attention in report writing.
 A lengthy report is not necessary, In fact, report should be brief and compact
document, it should give complete picture of problem under investigation.
 Writing reports needs skills and this task should be accomplished by the
researcher with the utmost care.
 Reports communicate the planning, policies, and other matters regarding an
organization.
 A report discloses unknown information.
 A good report is one which is drafted in a simple and clear language. It should
not be difficult and a reader should be able to understand the entire report easily,
exactly & quickly.
 All the skills and the knowledge of the professionals are communicated through
reports.
 Reports help the top line in decision making.
 A true and balanced report also helps in problem solving.
 A report should be in a proper format. The report should have all the essentials
components such as title, introduction, findings & recommendations.
 Reports present adequate information on various aspects of the business.
 In a report writing attention should be given to certain essential technical details.
For eg: the pages and paragraphs of the report should be numbered properly.
Marginal heading and titles should be given. This gives convenience to the
readers.
 The data collection, analysis and interpretation of the data conclusions drawn
and the recommendations made in report should be made accurate so as to
make the whole report reliable and dependable for future reference and also for
policy decisions.

Different steps in writing report

Research reports are the product of slow, painstaking, accurate inductive work. The
usual steps involved in writing report are:

1. Logical analysis of the subject matter

 Primarily concerned with the development of a subject.
 There are two ways in which to develop a subject:
a) Logically:
 b) Chronologically:
2. Preparation of the final outline
 Outlines are the framework upon which long written works are
constructed.
 They are an aid to the logical organization of the material and a reminder
of the points to be stressed in the report.
3. Preparation of the rough draft
 This follows the logical analysis of the subject and the preparation of the
final outline.
 Such a step is of utmost importance for the researcher now sits to write
down what he has done in the context of he is research study.
 He will write down the procedure adopted by him in collecting the material
for his study along with various limitation faced by him.
 The various suggestions he wants to offer regarding the problem
concerned.
4. Rewriting and polishing of the rough draft
 This step happens to be most difficult part of all formal writing.
 In addition the researcher should give due attention to fact that in his
rough draft he has been consistent or not. He should the mechanics of
writing grammar, spelling and usage.
5. Preparation of the final bibliography
 Next in order comes the task of the preparation of the final bibliography.
The bibliography, which is generally appended to the research report.
 The bibliography should be arranged alphabetically.
 Generally this pattern of bibliography is considered convenient and
satisfactory from the point of view of reader.
6. Writing the final draft
 The final draft should be written in a concise and objectives style and in
simple language.
 Avoiding vague expression such as “it seems”, “there may be “, and the
like once.
 It must be remembered that every report should be an attempt to solve
some intellectual problem and must contribute to the solution of a problem
and must add to the knowledge of both the researcher and the reader.

Bibliography:
A bibliography is a list of all of the sources you have used (whether referenced or not) in
the process of researching your work. In general, a bibliography should include:
 The authors' names
  The titles of the works
 The names and locations of the companies that published your copies of the
sources
 The dates your copies were published
 The page numbers of your sources (if they are part of multi-source volumes)

Referencing
Referencing is one of the most important aspects of any academic research and poor or
lack of referencing will not only diminish your marks, but such practices may also be
perceived as plagiarism by your university and disciplinary actions may follow that may
even result in expulsion from the course.
The most popular referencing systems used in academic works include Havard, APA
and Vancouver Referencing Systems.

Footnotes
A footnote is a reference, explanation, or comment 1 placed below the main text on a
printed page. Footnotes are identified in the text by a numeral or a symbol. In research
papers and reports, footnotes commonly acknowledge the sources of facts and
quotations that appear in the text.

Oral Presentation
Research report is a written document or oral presentation based on a written document.
Oral Presentation means presentation of one’s research work in seminar, conference,
workshop etc. The main demerit of this sort of presentation is the lack of any permanent
record concerning the research details and it may be just possible that the findings may
fade away from people’s memory even before an action is taken. Oral presentation is
effective when supplemented by various visual devices.
Importance of Oral Presentation
 Save time and energy.
 To assess/evaluate experienced, knowledge, skill etc. of a learner.
 Learner can request opinions, suggestions from the audience.
 For effective feedback from facilitators.
 For a better relationship between learner and facilitator.
 Improvement for future oral report.

Preparation of Oral Presentation

 Duration for report: An outline can be drawn based on duration of the report.
Time management is the main important part in oral report.
 The audience: Basic questions to ask about an audience are:
 Why should the audience listen to your report?
Is the report match with the standard of the audience?
Planning of Oral Presentation
1. Content
 Audience may lose interest if your report contains too much information.
 Key Points; examples and illustrations for key point.
2. Structure
 Most report consists of an introduction, the body and conclusion.
3. Introduction
 A good introduction attracts and focuses the attention of the audience.
 Begin a talk with question, a short story, an interesting facts about your topic.
4. Body
 Body of a report must be presented in a logical order.
5. Conclusions
 Good conclusion reminds the audience key-points
 Reinforces message
6. Questions
 Questions are important to judge the interesting and understanding level of
audience.

Use of Visual Aids

Use visual aids to add interest, to help simplify the message and to increase audience
understanding. Visual aids need to be large, clear, simple and relevant. Make any
handouts available before the speech begins. Refer directly to the visual aid in the
speech. Know how to use the technology and ensure that equipment works before the
presentation begins. When it is helpful to use PowerPoint or other visual aids, follow
these tips:
 Plan your presentation before creating visual aids.
 Use visual aids sparingly.
 Make your visual aids visible to the entire audience.
 Talk to the audience, not to your visual aids.
 Avoid laser pointers.
 Explain the content of the visual aid when you first show it.
 When you finish with the visual aid, remove it, cover it, or turn it off.
 Limit the amount of material on any one visual aid.
 Avoid clip art from well-known sources.
 Be prepared to give your presentation without your visual aids.

Importance of Effective Communication in an Organization

The importance of effective communication is discussed below in points.
  Creating a good impression
 Easy Management of organization policies
 Promotes working toward the same goal
 Maintaining a good relationship with employees
 Organizational growth and profit
 Promotes sharing
 Promotes unity
 Promotes learning
 Effective leadership & motivation
 Dealing with higher authorities
 Increases efficiency and productivity
 Improved personal attitude
 Informal contexts
 Promotes accountability and responsibility
 Helps in decision-making
 Makes it easy to control the organization
 Teamwork and Understandability
 Being successful in formal contexts
 Increases transparency in the organization
 Prevents time-wasting
 Increase preparedness
 Promotes innovation
 Reduces fear of the unknown
 Expands the market
 Consumer Protection and Engagement

Unit – 4
Ethics:

Defining way of 'ethics' focuses on the disciplines that study standards of conduct, such
as philosophy, theology, law, psychology, or sociology. For example, a "medical ethicist"
who studies ethical standards in medicine.

Research ethics are the set of ethics that govern how scientific and other research is
performed at research institutions such as universities, and how it is disseminated.
While these issues are indeed a key part of research ethics, there are also wider issues
about standards of conduct. These include the importance of publishing findings in a
transparent way, not plagiarising others’ work, and not falsifying work.

The Importance of Research Ethics

Research ethics are important for a number of reasons.

 They promote the aims of research, such as expanding knowledge.

 They support the values required for collaborative work, such as mutual respect
and fairness. This is essential because scientific research depends on
collaboration between researchers and groups.

 They mean that researchers can be held accountable for their actions. Many
researchers are supported by public money, and regulations on conflicts of
interest, misconduct, and research involving humans or animals are necessary to
ensure that money is spent appropriately.

 They ensure that the public can trust research. For people to support and fund
research, they have to be confident in it.

 They support important social and moral values, such as the principle of doing no
harm to others.

Ethics Committee

The Role of the Ethics Committee:

 Most universities have an ethics committee. This is required to scrutinize all

research proposals, to ensure that they do not raise any ethical issues. This will
generally include research for master’s and undergraduate degrees, although
undergraduate research may be covered by a broader research proposal from
your supervisor.

 There is likely to be a standard form to complete for ethical approval, which will
cover who will be involved, how you will recruit your participants, and what steps
you will take to ensure that they have provided informed consent.

Why It Is Important In Research?

There are several reasons why it is important to adhere to ethical norms in research.

 First, norms promote the aims of research, such as knowledge, truth, and
avoidance of error. For example, prohibitions against fabricating, falsifying, or
misrepresenting research data promote the truth and avoid error.
  Second, since research often involves a great deal of cooperation and
coordination among many different people in different disciplines and institutions,
ethical standards promote the values that are essential to collaborative work,
such as trust, accountability, mutual respect.

 Third norms ensure that researchers can be held accountable to the public. For
instance, federal policies on research misconduct, conflicts of interest, the human
subjects protections, and animal care and use are necessary in order to make
sure that researchers who are funded by public money can be held accountable
to the public.

 Fourth ethical norms in research also help to build public support for research.
People more likely to fund research project if they can trust the quality and
integrity of research.

 Finally, many of the norms of research promote a variety of other important moral
and social values, such as social responsibility, human rights, animal welfare,
compliance with the law, and health and safety.

 Research ethics in a medical context is dominated by principlism.

Copy Right:

Copyright is a federal law that provides the copyright holder with exclusive rights to
control use of his/her original works of authorship for a limited period of time. The
copyright holder also has the ability to benefit, monetarily and otherwise, from the use of
his/her works. The copyright holder’s exclusive rights include the right to reproduce the
work, distribute the work, create derivative works, publicly perform the work, and publicly
display the work.

Copyright protects both published and unpublished works. Literary, musical, dramatic,
choreographic, pictorial, graphic, sculptural, architectural, and cartographic works are
copyright protected along with motion pictures and other audiovisual works, sound
recordings. Thus, books, magazines, journals, newspapers, reports, maps, charts,
photographs, graphic materials, computer programs, computer software, video files,
sound recordings, motion pictures, sculptures, and other artistic works are covered.

Under U.S. law, works created on or after January 1, 1978, have different time periods of
protection.

Individual author - Length of the author’s life plus 70 years after the author’s death.

Work-for-hire - protected for 95 years from the year of its first publication or a term of 120
years from the year of its creation, whichever expires first.
Plagiarism:

Plagiarism is to use the words or ideas of another person as if they were your own words
or ideas.
 When creating your own works remember to acknowledge (cite) work that it not
your own.
 The Logan Library has resources to help you correctly cite the sources you use.
 Your professors have access to tools to help detect and identify plagiarism.
Tips to prevent unintentional Plagiarism:
 Don’t copy from books, newspapers, journals, presentations, databases,
websites, speeches, pamphlets, poster projects, dissertations, personal
interview, blogs, email, etc. and not cite it.
 Don’t borrow someone else’s text, words, statistics, charts, tables, graphs,
spreadsheets, images, photos, graphics, computer code, experimental data files,
etc. and not cite it.
 Don’t borrow someone else’s ideas, arguments, opinion, theories, or conclusions
and not cite it.
 Don’t summarize or paraphrase someone else’s work without citing it.
 Don’t use your previously shared / published work and not cite it.
 Make it clear what is your original work and what is borrowed.
 Don’t buy someone else’s work and submit it as your own.
Citation:

A "citation" is the way you tell your readers that certain material in your work came from
another source. It also gives your readers the information necessary to find that source
again, including:
 Information about the author
 The title of the work
 The name and location of the company that published your copy of the source
 The date your copy was published
 The page numbers of the material you are borrowing
Why should I cite sources?
Giving credit to the original author by citing sources is the only way to use other people's
work without plagiarizing. But there are a number of other reasons to cite sources:
 Citations are extremely helpful to anyone who wants to find out more about your
ideas and where they came from
 Not all sources are good or right - your own ideas may often be more accurate or
interesting than those of your sources. Proper citation will keep you from taking
the rap for someone else's bad ideas
 Citing sources shows the amount of research you've done
  Citing sources strengthens your work by lending outside support to your ideas
When do I need to cite?
Whenever you borrow words or ideas, you need to acknowledge their source. The
following situations almost always require citation:
 Whenever you use quotes
 Whenever you paraphrase
 Whenever you use an idea that someone else has already expressed
 Whenever you make specific reference to the work of another
 Whenever someone else's work has been critical in developing your own ideas.
Acknowledgement:

A statement of gratitude for assistance in producing a work. A polite gesture allows you
to thank all of the people who helped you with the project, without falling under the
category of citations.
It is always nice to give them a thank you in a special section, inserted after the
appendices and marked as 'acknowledgements.'
There is no standard format for writing acknowledgements, only that the format should
match the rest of your paper.