Research Methodology

Kavitha A K
KSPH
Meaning of Research
Itis the pursuit of truth with help of study,
observations, comparison and experiment
OR
Attempt to achieve systematically and
with the support of data the answer to a
question, the resolution to a problem, or
the greater understanding of a
phenomenon
Origin of the Word “Research”

From the French word "recherche" which

means to travel through or survey
Meaning of Research (1/2)
 Research Meaning by
◦ Dictionary – “A careful investigation or inquiry specially through
search for new facts in any branch of knowledge”
◦ Redman & Mory (1923) – “Synthesized effort to gain new
knowledge”
◦ Grinnell further (1993: 4) – “research is a structured inquiry that
utilises acceptable scientific methodology to solve problems and
creates new knowledge that is generally applicable”
◦ Burns (1997: 2) - “defines research as ‘a systematic investigation to
find answers to a problem”
◦ Kerlinger (1986: 10) – “scientific research is a systematic, controlled
empirical and critical investigation of propositions about the
presumed relationships about various phenomena”
Meaning of Research (2/2)
◦ Clifford Woody – “Research comprises defining and
redefining problems, formulating hypothesis or suggested
solutions; collecting, organizing and evaluating data; making
deductions and reaching conclusions; and at last carefully
testing the conclusions to determine whether they fit the
formulating hypothesis”
◦ D. Slesinger and M. Stephension (1930) – “the manipulation
of things, concept or symbols for the purpose of generalizing
to extend, correct or verify knowledge, whether that
knowledge aids in construction of theory or in practice of an
art”
◦ Bulmer (1977: 5) : “Nevertheless sociological research, as
research, is primarily committed to establishing systematic,
reliable and valid knowledge about the social world”
Objective of Research
To discover the truth or answer to the
question which has not yet been discovered
by applying scientific procedures

Research comprises
• Defining and redefining the problems
• Formulated hypothesis or suggested solutions
• Collecting, organizing and evaluating the data
• Making deduction and reading conclusions
• And at last carefully testing the conclusion to
determine whether they fit formulating
hypothesis
 Research Process

Considerations
and steps in
formulating a Methods of data
research Research Methods and Sampling processing Principles of
problem design tools of data strategies and Use of scientific
functions collection design computers writing
band statistics

Literatur
e review

Constructin
g an Wring
Formulatin Conceptuali Selectin Writing a Proces
instrument Collectin a
ga zing a ga research sing
for data g data resear
research research sample proposal data
collection ch
problem design
report

Data
Codin
editin
Field test g
g
of the
research Developi
Study designs
tool ng a
code Operational
book steps
Variables and
Validity and Contents of the Required
hypotheses
reliability of the research theoretical
definition and knowledge
typology research tools proposal
Required
intermediary
knowledge

What How Conducting a study

Research Paradigms: Example 1
Diarrhoea is a leading killer of children,
accounting for approximately 8 per cent of
all deaths among children under age 5
worldwide in 2016. This translates to over
1,300 young children dying each day, or
about 480,000 children a year, despite the
availability of simple effective treatment.

https://data.unicef.org/topic/child-health/diarrhoeal-disease/
Research Paradigms: Example 2

https://www.livemint.com/Science/oWS5VjPoILlK0HG3TK3QSM/India-continues-to-
record-high-child-mortality-rate-due-to-d.html
 Research Paradigms: Example 3
“Unfortunately my child passed away there
at hospital because I tried to take her to the
traditional [traditional practitioner] first. I
took her to the hospital later. It was [too] late
for her.
All these (loose motion) things happen
because of bad spirits. --- maybe there’s
something that you…when you put your foot
on…something like that can happen. it’s a
curse.”
Cunnama, L. & Honda, A. BMC Health Serv Res (2016) 16: 669.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-016-1911-7
 What do these Examples SAY?
How did each of the three slides
describe about?
What made the second and third
examples so different from the first?
Research Paradigms
Three major research patterns
a. Qualitative OR constructivist research
b. Quantitative OR positivistic research
c. Mixed-method research
 These research methods represents different
philosophical perspective regarding
knowledge, the design of research and the
type of data collected.
 Research
Approaches
Quantitative Qualitative
exploration on exploration on
illness illness
How much disease is How is illness
there? recognized and
classified?
What risk factors are What do risk factors
associated with the mean in a context?
disease?
What is the How do people
measurable risk of interpret, respond and
obtaining specific cope with risk and
outcomes?
illness?
Quantitative Research
Quantitative research is an
approach for testing objective
theories by examining the
relationship among variables.
The type of research that
quantifies the observations and
makes predictions about
population based on samples
Quantitative Research
design
Qualitative Research
Definition by John W. Creswell
Qualitative research is an inquiring process of
understanding based on distinct methodological
traditions of inquiry that explore a social or
human problem. The researcher builds a
complex, holistic picture, analyzes words,
reports detailed views of informants, and
conduct the study in a natural setting
Qualitative Research
 Qualitative research emerged from the social sciences,
primarily from anthropology
 Qualitative research can expose layers of meaning and
significance that cannot be detected by quantitative
research
 It allows us to examine increasingly complex questions
and is open to all possible answers to a question, not
simply pre-determined answers
 It is framed in terms of using words or using open-ended
questions
 Collecting qualitative data through observing a setting
Qualitative Research
Qualitative research has an advantage of
its holistic focus, which includes
◦ The individual and social context
◦ Emotions
◦ Perceptions
◦ Actions
◦ Beliefs
◦ Values and
◦ Interactions of patients with their health
Qualitative Research
In qualitative study, the researcher’s goal
is to gain a deep understanding of the
lived experiences of individual or groups
and to develop a rich, thick description of
these experiences.
A qualitative study can be used in
advance of a quantitative study to
establish the questions and choices used
in survey
When to use Qualitative Research
When events are unknown or need to be
explored
When events change quickly
When we lack good ways to measure things
When we need to know what real life is like
When the numbers and statistics do not “add
up”
When not to use Qualitative research
–Is not good when:
• Understanding is already complete
• To test hypotheses that are fully bought into
• To generate measures of statistical significance
and generalization