Introduction to Research Methodology

Course Description

• The research methodology course is designed to assist students in developing

their thesis research, which they are required to undertake as part of the
Programme.

• Students are expected to take the lead in identifying and perusing the research
area of their choice.

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Session Objectives

At the end of this chapter, students will be able to:

• Define the term research
• Describe the characteristics of research
• Explain the different types of research
• Describe the purpose of doing health research

3
 Outline

• Introduction/Definition

• Characteristics of research

• Types of research

• Health Research
• Types of health research

• Steps involved in research

4
Brainstorming

1. What do you know about research?

2. What is research?
3. Why do researchers do research?
4. How do we do research?

5
 Introduction
• Definitions
✓Research is a scientific inquiry aimed at learning new facts,
testing ideas, etc.

✓It is the systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of

data to generate new knowledge and answer a certain question
or solve a problem.

✓It covers topics in every field of science and perceptions of its

scope and activities are unlimited.

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 Cont’d
• Scientific research plays a very important role in our efforts to
maintain health and combat diseases.

• Research helps us create new knowledge and develop proper tools

for the use of existing knowledge.

• Not only does it enable healthcare providers to diagnose and treat

diseases, but research also provides evidence for policies and
decisions on health and development.

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 Cont’d
• It refers to a search for knowledge.
• A scientific and systematic search for pertinent
information on a specific topic.
• An art of scientific investigation.
• A “systematized effort to gain new knowledge.”
• A movement from the known to the unknown.
• A voyage of discovery

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 Cont’d
✓ Therefore, research is the systematic collection, analysis, and
interpretation of data to answer a certain question or solve a
problem.

✓ In science, research refers to exploration, discovery, and careful

study of unexplained phenomena.
• It is a diligent systematic inquiry to validate and refine existing
knowledge and generate new knowledge (Burns & Grove 2005)

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10
 Cont’d

• Knowledge is defined as human faculty resulting

from interpreted information; understanding that
germinates from combination of data, information,
experience, and individual interpretation.

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 Methods of acquiring knowledge
• Tenacity: non-scientific ways of acquiring knowledge by which what we
have known to be true in the past

• Intuition: knowledge of something without being consciously aware of where the

knowledge came from.

• Authority (the method of faith): It accepts an idea as valid knowledge because

some respected source claims it is valid.

• Rationalism: a priori concept and principle certified by reasoning

• Empiricism: gaining knowledge through objective observation and the experiences

of your senses.

• Science: It is the process of formulating specific questions and finding answers to

better understand the world. 12
Cont’d

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Cont’d

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 Characteristics of Research

• It demands a clear statement of the problem

• It requires a plan (it is not aimlessly “looking” for something
in the hope that you will come across a solution)
• It builds on existing data, using both positive and negative
findings
• New data should be collected as required and be organized in
such a way that they answer the research question(s)

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 Cont’d

• Research must be
• Purposeful: What do you want to be able to contribute?
• Targeted: Who are the audiences?
• Credible: Consider sources of information, method of data
collection, personnel involved…
• Timely: Is the information needed?
❖ Research is done to find solution to health problems.

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 Types of Research

• Research is classified in different ways based on different

criteria.

• Some classify research as

• theoretical (basic) and applied research,
• descriptive and analytic research,
• quantitative and qualitative research,
• conceptual and empirical research.

• There is no clear dividing (overlap) line between one method

and the other

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 Cont’d

• The classical broad division of research is:

• Basic and Applied research
• Basic research (also called fundamental or pure research)
• It is necessary to generate new knowledge and
technologies to deal with major unresolved health
problems.
• Primary objective: Advancement of knowledge and the
theoretical understanding of the relations among
variables

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 Cont’d

➢Basic research is usually considered to involve a search for

knowledge without a defined goal of utility or specific
purpose.

➢Basic research is conducted to address fundamental

questions about the biological, behavioral, and social
mechanisms which underlie wellness and disease

➢Basic research provides the foundation for further,

sometimes applied research.

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 Cont’d

Applied research (Operational Research)

• Is original work undertaken in order to acquire new
knowledge with a specific application in view.

• Is a research that seeks to solve practical problems.

• Primary objective: solving practical problems.

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 Cont’d

• Applied research is necessary:

• To identify priority problems and
• To design and evaluate policies and programs that will
deliver the greatest health benefit, making optimal use of
available resources.

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 Cont’d

• Based on data type utilized:

• Quantitative: phenomena that can be expressed in terms of
quantity
• e.g. The prevalence of Diarrhea among under five children
• The proportion of intestinal parasitic infection among patients who
visited MCM comprehensive specialized hospital
• Utilization of modern contraceptive methods among currently married
women
• Qualitative: Qualitative phenomena (those relating to
involving quality or kind)
• Qualitative research is concerned with developing
explanations of social phenomena.
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 Cont’d

• Attempts to increase our understanding of why things are the

way they are in our social world and why people act the ways
they do.

• It is concerned with the social aspects of our world and seeks

to answer questions about:
Why people behave the way they do?
How opinions and attitudes are formed?

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 Cont’d

• How are people affected by the events that go on around

them?
• How and why cultures have developed in the way they have?
• E.g.
• Perception of people towards HIV/AIDS
• Attitude of students towards language diversity

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 Cont’d

• Based on study design used and results obtained in the study,

research is classified as:
• Descriptive research
• It is concerned with describing the problem with respect to time place and
person

• Analytic research
• It is focused on identifying the cause of the problem

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 Health Research
• Health??
• Health research is the application of principles of research on
health.

• Health research is a systematic collection, analysis and

interpretation of data to solve a health problem.

• It is the generation of new knowledge using scientific method

to identify and deal with health problems.

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 Cont’d

• Health research is the process of obtaining systematic

knowledge and technology which can be used for the
improvement of the health of individuals/groups.

• It provides the basic information on the state of health and

diseases of the population

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• Health and health care research are needed
• in order to reduce the uncertainty associated with the diagnosis,
treatment and delivery of health care

• There is a massive spectrum of such research, ranging from

• laboratory investigations on single molecules in tightly-controlled
conditions, to
• observations on the complex behaviors within populations or
systems of health care delivery.

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 Cont’d

• In most cases, health research has been divided into three

overlapping groups.
• Essential health research
• Clinical research
• Biomedical research

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 Essential health research

• Consists of activities to define the health problems of a given

country or community, to measure their importance and to
assure the quality of activities to deal with them.
• Much of this research comes within the category of health
service research but there will be elements of clinical
research and development of technology, depending on the
situation.
• The information, is essential and specific to each country for
planning and monitoring health services.
• Some of the research conclusions, however, may be
generalized and applicable to other areas.

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 Clinical research

• ranges from studies of the prevention and diagnosis of diseases

• through new methods of treatment to problems of care and rehabilitation.
• there will be overlap with the fields of essential and biomedical
research.
• Some of the research will be mainly of local importance;

• much will be useful for other individuals in other countries.

• Examples include clinical trials of disease prevention and the design of
new chemotherapeutic agents.

• Wherever clinical facilities exist, there is a potential for clinical

research.

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 Biomedical research

• It is the most basic part of health research which demands

more resources, facilities and skilled investigators.

• The results of biomedical research are more often of

universal importance and thus of general significance.

• Biomedical Research Leads Science’s 2021

Breakthroughs
• https://directorsblog.nih.gov/2022/01/04/biomedical
-research-leads-sciences-2021-breakthroughs/

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 Cont’d
• Research in the context of public health
• aims to provide all aspects of information necessary for planning
and the effective implementation of a health system.

• For all communities, whether affluent or poor, health

research is the top priority.

• The research questions are formidable:

• how to join with policy makers and communities in
• assessing priority needs,
• planning, financing and implementing programs, and
• evaluating them in terms of coverage, efficiency and effectiveness.

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34
 Cont’d

• Health research may be:

–curiosity-driven,
–needs-driven,
–profit-driven or
–opportunity-driven

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 Curiosity-driven research
• Science is unpredictable: in fact, chance plays an important
role in scientific discovery.
• Many of the drugs we use today have been discovered in
research programmes designed for other purposes;
• Minoxidil (the drug for male baldness) was originally
developed and tested for the treatment of hypertension.
• Sildenafil (Viagra), used for the treatment of erectile
dysfunction, was discovered in a cardiovascular research
program.

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 Needs-driven Research

• Governments would like to support research that will

promote the health of their populations or put priorities for
research.
• Health problem can be put as a priority for research,
depending on:
–Magnitude (burden)
–Seriousness (killing, disabling)
–Feasibility (recourses, cost-effectiveness)

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 Profit-driven Research

• Private industry is becoming the major actor in health

research, in terms of funding or pursue research for profit.
–E.g. Pharmaceutical industry investments in research and
development surpassed public investments in four of the
countries (France, Japan, Switzerland and United
Kingdom).
• Only a very small share of the large research investment by
industry is addressed to the health problems of developing
countries.

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 Opportunity-driven research

• As far as the individual researcher is concerned, research

may also be opportunity driven such as:
• the availability of funding, which may or may not
correspond to local priority needs or to the curiosity of
scientists.
• the opportunity to participate in multi-center international
research, or
• opportunities to participate in industry-sponsored research.

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 Purpose of Health Research

• The ultimate goal of research in health is

• Generating knowledge essential for effectively
promoting the health of the population

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 Types of Health research
Level of Analysis Object of Analysis

Conditions Responses

Biomedical Research Clinical Research

Individual (Basic biological processes, (Efficacy of preventive,
structure and function of the diagnostic, and therapeutic
human body, pathological procedures, natural history of
mechanisms) diseases)

Epidemiologic Research Health Systems research

Population (Frequency, distribution, and (Effectiveness, quality, and
determinants of health) costs of services: development
and distribution of resources for
care )

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 Health Systems Research

• It is a component of health research.

• Research that supports health development
• It is ultimately concerned with improving the health of a
community,
• by enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of the health system
as an integral part of the overall process of socio-economic
development.

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 Cont’d
• Essential Features for Successful Health Systems Research
• Focus on priority problems
• Action oriented- aimed at developing solutions
• Multidisciplinary approach (from many disciplines)
• Participatory in nature (from policy makers to community
members)
• Must be timely.
• Simple, short-term designs
• Cost-effectiveness
• Results presented in formats most useful for
administrators, decision-makers and the community.

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 Research Process

• Steps Involved in the Research Process

• Identifying a problem
• Preparing a research proposal
• Fieldwork (i.e., data collection)
• Analyzing data and preparing a research report
• Dissemination and application of results

• Research process is cyclical

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 Problem Planning
identification research

Implementing
Application research

Disseminating
findings

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47
 Cont’d

• Research Design/Study design

• Refers to the overall structure or plan of the research
• Research Methods
• The practices and techniques used to collect, process and analyze the
data
• Which one is broad? Research design or research
methods?

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 Main Components of Any Research Work

• Preparing a research proposal

• Filed work (i.e. data collection)
• Analyzing data and preparing a research report

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