Chapter -1 Introduction of Research Methodology

Definition of research
Research is defined as the creation of new knowledge and/or the use of existing
knowledge in a new and creative way so as to generate new concepts, methodologies
and understandings. This could include synthesis and analysis of previous research to
the extent that it leads to new and creative outcomes.

Definition of research methodology

The systematic way to solve the research problems.
Research methodology is the specific procedures or techniques used to identify, select,
process, and analyze information about a topic.

Types of research
1) On the basis of application
a) Basic or Fundamental research
b) Applied Research

a) Basic Research: Basic research is original or main research. Basic research also
called pure research or fundamental research, has the scientific research aim to
improve scientific theories for improved understanding or predication of other
phenomena.
b) Applied Research: Applied research aims at finding solution for an immediate
problem facing a society or an industrial business organizations
Example: To identify social, economic, political trends that may affect particular
research, evolution research

2) Types of research based on the type of data:

According to type of data, types of research methods can be divided into two groups

a) primary research and

b) secondary research

a) Primary research: Primary research involves the collection of primary data, i.e. the
data which is new, through primary data collection methods such as surveys,
interviews, observation etc.
b) Secondary research: Secondary research, also called desk-based research, is based
solely on the secondary data i.e. previously conducted studies. Data sources in
secondary researches are books, magazines, industry journals etc. In this type of
studies the researcher does not engage in primary data collection.
3) Types of research based on information
a) Qualitative research
b) Quantitative research

a) Qualitative research: Qualitative research is concerned with interpretation and

understanding of phenomenon or issues or things. It is concerned with the subjective
assessment of the social or ligal problem, situation and attitude. It specially important
in the behavioral sciences where the aim is to human behavior is related to analysis of
some abstract idea, doctrine theory,

b) Quantitative research: It is based on the measurement of quantity or amount. It

consists of the counting of how frequently things happen. It applicable to phenomena
that can be expressed in term of quantity

4) On the basis of objective

a) Descriptive
b) Exploratory

a) Descriptive research: Descriptive research attempts to describe systematically a

situation, problem, phenomenon or behavior. It concerned with making complicated
things understandable and simple.

b) Exploratory research: Exploratory research is undertaken to explore areas about

which researcher has title or no knowledge

Besides above research there are some others types and these are

5) Longitudinal Research: Research carried out longitudinally involves data collection

at multiple points in time.
6) Cross section: One-Shot or cross-section studies are those in which data is gathered
once during a period of days, weeks months.

What is a research objective?

Research objectives describe what your research project intends to accomplish. They
should guide every step of the research process, including how you collect data, build
your argument, and develop your conclusions.
The purpose of the research is to discover answers to questions the application of
scientific procedures. The main aim of research is to find out the fourth which this
hidden and which has not been discovered yet. Objectives as We study may falling has
think into a number of following board groupings.
1) To gain familiarity with a phenomenon or to achieve new insights into it.
2) To mark accurately the characteristics of a particular individual, situation or a
group
3) To determine the frequency with which something occurs or with which it is
associated with something else
4) To test hypothesis of a causal relationship between variables (such studies are
known as hypothesis- testing research studies)

Criteria of good research

1) The purpose of the research should be clearly defined

2) The research procedure used should be described in sufficient detail to permit
another researcher to repeat the research for further advancement, keeping the
continuity of what has already been attained.
3) The procedural design of the research should be carefully planned to yield results
that are as objective as possible.
4) The researcher should report with complete frankness
5) The analysis of data should be sufficiently adequate to reveal its significance and
the methods of analysis used should be appropriate.
6) The validity and reliability of the data should be checked carefully.
7) Conclusions should be confined to those justified by the data of the research

Meaning of research:
Research is defined as the creation of new knowledge and/or the use of existing
knowledge in a new and creative way so as to generate new concepts, methodologies
and understanding

R: Relation way of thinking

E: Expert and executive treatment
S: Search for solution
E: Exactness
A: Analytical analysis of adequate data
R: Relationship of facts
C: Careful recording
H: Hard work/ Honesty

CHARACTERISTICS OF RESEARCH
1) It is a systematic & critical investigation into a phenomenon.
2) It adopts scientific method.
3) It is objective & logical.
4) It is based on empirical evidence.
5) It is directed towards finding answers to question & solution to problems.
6) It is not mere compilation of facts.
7) It emphasis the generalization theories and principles.

Research Process Steps

Step 1: Identify the Problem: The first step in the process is to identify a problem or
develop a research question

Step 2: Evaluate the Literature: Now that the problem has been identified, the
researcher must learn more about the topic under investigation. To do this, the
researcher must review the literature related to the research problem. This step
provides foundational knowledge about the problem area. The review of literature
also educates the researcher about what studies have been conducted in the past, how
these studies were conducted, and the conclusions in the problem area
Step 3: Create Hypotheses: Formulating an original hypothesis is the next logical step
after narrowing down the research topic and defining it. A belief solves logical
relationships between variables. In order to establish a hypothesis, a researcher must
have a certain amount of expertise in the field.

It is important for researchers to keep in mind while formulating a hypothesis that it

must be based on the research topic. Researchers are able to concentrate their efforts
and stay committed to their objectives when they develop theories to guide their
work.

Step 4: The Research Design: It is the plan for achieving objectives and answering
research questions. It outlines how to get the relevant information. Its goal is to design
research to test hypotheses, address the research questions, and provide decision-
making insights. The research design aims to minimize the time, money, and effort
required to acquire meaningful evidence

Step 5: Describe population: Research projects usually look at a specific group of

people, facilities. In research, the term population refers to this study group. The
research topic and purpose help determine the study group.

Suppose a researcher wishes to investigate a certain group of people in the

community. In that case, the research could target a specific age group, males or
females, a geographic location, or an ethnic group. A final step in a study’s design is to
specify its sample or population so that the results may be generalized.
Step 6: Data Collection: Data collection is important in obtaining the knowledge or
information required to answer the research issue. Every research collected data,
either from the literature or the people being studied. Data must be collected from the
two categories of researchers. These sources may provide primary data.

 Experiment
 Questionnaire
 Observation
 Interview

Secondary data categories are:

 Literature survey
 Official,
unofficial reports
 An approach based on library resources

Step 7: Data Analysis: During research design, the researcher plans data analysis. After
collecting data, the researcher analyzes it. The data is examined based on the approach
in this step. The research findings are reviewed and reported.

Data analysis involves a number of closely related stages, such as setting up categories,
applying these categories to raw data through coding and tabulation, and then
drawing statistical conclusions. The researcher can examine the acquired data using a
variety of statistical methods.

Step 8: The Report-writing: After completing these steps, the researcher must prepare
a report detailing his findings. The report must be carefully composed.

Significance of Research
"All progress is born of inquiry. Doubt is often better than overconfidence, for it leads
to inquiry, and inquiry leads to invention" is a famous Hudson Maxim in context of
which the significance of research can well be understood. Increased amounts of
research make progress possible.

(i)Research inculcates scientific and inductive thinking and it promotes the

development of logical habits of thinking and organization.

(ii)The role of research in several fields of applied economics, whether related to

business or to the economy as a whole, has greatly increased in modern times.

(iii) Research provides the basis for nearly all government policies in our economic
system.

(iv)Decision-making may not be a part of research, but research certainly facilitates

the decisions of the policy maker. Research has its special significance in solving
various operational and planning problems of business and industry. Research is
equally important for social scientists in studying social relationships and in seeking
answers to various social problems.

(vi)In addition to what has been stated above, the significance of research can also
beunderstood keeping in view the following points:

(a) To those students who are to write a master's or Ph.D. thesis, research may mean
a careerism or a way to attain a high position in the social structure;
(b) To professionals in research methodology, research may mean a source of
livelihood.
(c) To philosophers and thinkers, research may mean the outlet for new ideas and
insights;
(d) To literary men and women, research may mean the development of new styles
and creative work.
(e) To analysts and intellectuals, research may mean the generalizations of new
theories. Thus, research is the fountain of knowledge for the sake of knowledge and
providing guidelines for solving different business, governmental and social
problems. It is a sort of formal training which enables one to understand the new
developments in one's field in a better way.

MOTIVATION IN RESEARCH
What makes people to undertake research? This is a question of fundamental
importance.
The possible motives for doing research may be either one or more of the following:

1. Desire to get a research degree along with its consequential benefits;

2. Desire to face the challenge in solving the unsolved problems, i.e., concern over
practical problems initiates research;
3. Desire to get intellectual joy of doing some creative work;
4. Desire to be of service to society:
5. Desire to get respectability.
However, this is not an exhaustive list of factors motivating people to undertake
research studies. Many more factors such as directives of government, employment
conditions, curiosity about new things, desire to understand causal relationships,
social thinking and awakening, and the like may as well motivate (or at times compel)
people to perform research operations.
Validity of research
In general terms, validity is “the quality of being true or correct”, it refers to the
strength of results and how accurately they reflect the real world.
 Two types of validity are considered in research studies:

1. Internal validity.

2. External validity.

INTERNAL VALIDITY

Internal validity examines whether the study design, conduct and analysis
answer the research question without bias. In shortly, internal validity is a
framework which involve in prior of exposing the result of research.

EXTERNAL VALIDITY

External validity is the extent to which the result of a study can be generalized
people, times and other situations.

It is exposed on real world after completing the internal validity of a research.

• Also called “generalizability or “applicability”

Research findings cannot have external validity without being internally

valid.

Basic concept of experiment:

An experiment is a procedure designed to test a hypothesis as part of the
scientific method.
Experimentation is the key step in the Scientific Method because it provides
tangible proof that a hypothesis is (probably) true or false.
The two key variables in any experiment are the independent and dependent
variables. The independent variable is controlled or changed to test its effects
on the dependent variable.
Three key types of experiments are controlled experiments, field experiments,
andnatural experiments.
Types of Experiments:

Natural Experiments: A natural experiment involves making a prediction or

forming a hypothesis and then gathering data by observing a system. The
variables are not controlled in a natural experiment.

Controlled Experiments: Lab experiments are controlled experiments,

although you can perform a controlled experiment outside of a lab setting. In a
controlled experiment, you compare an experimental group with a control
group.

Field Experiments: A field experiment may be either a natural experimentor a

controlled experiment. It takes place in a real-world setting, rather thanunder
lab conditions. For example, an experiment involving an animal in its natural
habitat would be a field experiment.

What is Experimental Research?

Experimental research is a study conducted with a scientific approach using two

sets of variables. The first set acts as a constant, which you use to measure the
differences of the second set. Quantitative research methods, for example, are
experimental.
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