Research Methods and

Proposal Writing

Introduction to Research

Presented by: James Akuku

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2 Introduction
Talk about research is now common
both in and outside academic
institutions.
..Universities and organizations alike
A realization that knowledge cannot be
advanced without research.

Research has been used to cover all

processes for looking for information
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Cont’d
 Research simply means a search for facts
or answers to the questions we ask.
 It means seeking solutions to the problems.
 It is an organized inquiry.
 It seeks to find explanations to unexplained
phenomenon.

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Cont’d
 Research is the world’s biggest industry
 Source of what we believe
 Sound ideas are based on good information
 We do research whenever we gather
information that answers a question that
solves a problem

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What’s Research?
1. The scientific and systematic search for
pertinent information on a specific topic
2. the manner in which to solve naughty
problems in our attempt to push back the
frontiers of human ignorance
3. a systematic, controlled, empirical and
critical investigation of relationships among
natural phenomena, intended to produce
verifiable and generalizable knowledge.

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Note!
 Research is not information gathering
 Gathering information from sources
such as books is not research-has no
contribution to new ideas
 Research is not transportation of
facts-It has no contribution

It comprises the creation of ideas and the generation of new

knowledge that leads to new and improved insights and the
development of new materials, devices, products, and processes.

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 We can conclude that research is:
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1. The means by which we unravel the

mystery surrounding issues we may
not easily comprehend or explain
2. Usually directed towards a solution
to a problem.
3. Aimed at developing generalizations,
principles or theories.
4. Based upon observable experiences
or empirical evidence

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Characteristics Of
Research…
1. Research is Systematic; it starts with a
question that needs an answer or a
problem to be solved.
2. Research is Logical; it needs a plan and
a specific procedure to follow.
3. Research is Empirical; its findings must
be based on or supported by carefully
collected and analyzed data.
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4. Research is Reductive i.e. main research
problem is broken down into more specific
and manageable sub-problems.
5. Research is Replicable; it can be done
again or repeated.
6. Research is Transmittable; study findings
can be applied in new settings.
7. Research is Cyclical; it does not end with
finding solutions to an identified problem

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10 Why Do Research?
 Gain familiarity with a phenomenon;
–Research provides information to guide
decisions
–The primary purpose of research is to reduce
the level of risk of a decision
–Helps focus attention on objectives
–Aids forecasting and planning
–A Tool for building knowledge and efficient
learning
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–Means to understand various issues

11 Why Research Cont’d
 An aid to business success
 A way to prove lies and to support truths
 Means to find, gauge, and seize
opportunities
 Form of employment
Research is the most preferred means of
gaining new knowledge because of the
limitations of the other ways of gaining
knowledge.
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12 Other forms of gaining
Knowledge

1.Sensory experience
2.Agreeing with others
3.Consulting others

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Sensory experience
Gaining knowledge from the environment
through our 5 senses.
• This method is limited:
 sensory experiences accumulate in a
haphazard and unsystematic way.
• sensory experience acquired in a particular
circumstance may not be directly applicable
to other circumstances

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2. Agreement with others…
Knowledge gained through consensus.
• slightly more advanced than sensory
experience because it allows for cross-
checking of information;
• But it is erratic since consensus does not
necessarily result in truth.

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3. Consulting experts
Knowledge gained by consulting those with
expert knowledge and skills
• slightly better than the other two methods but,
 Knowledge obtained from experts may be
affected by competencies.
 The information obtained may be biased
 Decisions based on views of experts may not
always be correct
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 Other methods
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1.By reason and logic (perhaps in cooperation

with others, using logical arguments).
2.By mathematical proof.
3.By the trial and error method
4.By learning from experience
5.Observing
6.By divine illumination, prayer or revelation
from a divine agency

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What research is not
 Research is not information gathering
Gathering information from sources
such as books is not research
has no contribution to new ideas
 Research is not transportation of facts
It has no contribution

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Types Of Research (BY
Purpose)…
1. Basic Research (Fundamental)
 Common in pure sciences.
 Seeks solutions to intellectually challenging
questions.
 Generally not concerned with the immediate
application of study results.
 Good for advancing the frontier of
knowledge.
 The main motivation is to expand man's
knowledge, not to create or invent
something
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Basic Research cont’d
 There is no obvious commercial value to the
discoveries that result from basic research.
 Basic science investigations probe for answers to
questions such as:
 How did the universe begin?
 What are protons, neutrons, and electrons
composed of?
 Why are men not women?
 What is the specific genetic code of the fruit fly?
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Note!

 Basic knowledge is needed for progress to take

place.
 That basic research lays down the foundation
for the applied inquiry.

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21 2. Applied Research

 Designed to solve practical problems of the

modern world, rather than to acquire knowledge
for knowledge's sake
 Designed to improve a process or progress of
something real.
 It’s employed for solving an existing problem.
 It includes most features of basic research but
differ in terms of goals.
 It may occur in terms of Action research or R & D

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Applied Research cont’d
 Applied researchers may investigate ways
to:
 improve agricultural crop production
 Relate customer care to organizational
performance
 improve the market share
 Increase the completion rates for graduate
studies in IUEA

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Applied Research
Cont’d
 Applied research is useful in that:
It provides information that can
help solve specific problems.
It can suggest new or different
lines of basic research
It can also lead to the
development of theory.

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Steps in the Research
Process

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26 Nature of research (by
methodology)
Research can be Qualitative or
Quantitative

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27 1. Qualitative Research
 Qualitative Research is primarily exploratory research
 A type of research in which phenomena are described
in words instead of numbers.
 used to gain an understanding of underlying reasons,
 used to uncover trends in thought and opinions, and
dive deeper into the problem
 Such data may not be represented and analyzed
statistically.
 provides insights into the problem or helps to develop
ideas or hypotheses for potential quantitative
research
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 Qualitative Example
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‘Exploring the reasons that people choose not
to have health insurance’.
 Researcher wants to know the various reasons why
people make that choice, and
 What the possible barriers may be when people
choose not to get insurance.
 This is an open-ended question that will not provide
results that will lend themselves to statistical
analysis
 This is an example where qualitative methods
should be applied.
 Qualitative methods are used to explore the
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meaning of the peoples’ behavior
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2. Quantitative Research
 A type of research that describes phenomena in
numbers and measures instead of using words.
 used to quantify attitudes, opinions, behaviors,
and other defined variables
 Concerned with producing hard facts and
statistics
 data is expressed in numbers and analyzed using
statistical methods
 Enables generalizing results from a small sample
to larger population
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 Quantitative Example
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‘Determine the link between incomes and health

insurance’.
 It’s a question that asks “how many” and seeks to
confirm a hypothesis.
 The methods will be highly structured and consistent
during data collection, most likely using a
questionnaire with closed-ended questions.
 The results will provide numerical data that can be
analyzed statistically to looks for a correlation
between income and health insurance.
 Quantitative methodology would best apply to this
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Example Cont’d
 A quantitative approach allows the
researcher to examine the relationship
between the two variables of income and
health insurance.
 The data can be used to look for cause and
effect relationships and therefore, can be
used to make predictions.

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 Qualitative Quantitative
• Seeks to explore, explain and • Seeks to confirm a hypothesis
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understand phenomena- what? Why? about a phenomenon- How
many?
• Data provided as a narrative, pictures, • Data is in form of numbers and
or objects statistical results
• Methods less structured – Data • Highly structured methods –
gathered through interviews, data gathered through the use
observations, content analysis etc. of tools, equipment,
questionnaires etc.
• Asks open ended questions in an effort • Asks close ended questions that
to explore give quantifiable answers
• Research design has flexibility – can • Research design is highly
emerge and evolve as study develops structured and laid out in
advance of the study
• Results may be presented subjectively- • Results are documented using
may reveal biases, values or objective language
experiences that impact how the
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results are interpreted
 Summary to note (Qual vs Quant)..!
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Aspect Quantitative Research Qualitative Research
Mode of Statistical Interpretive
Analysis
View of Reality Objective, singular & Subjective & multiple as
independent of the seen by the researcher
researcher
Relationship of Withdrawn and independent Interacts with that
the Researcher of that being researched. being researched.
Role of Value Free of bias Biased
Role of • Deductive: cause-effect • Inductive: mutual,
Research • Generalizations leading to simultaneous
explanations/understandin studying of factors.
g • Transferability
• Generalizability
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Note!
 To determine nature of study, researchers
should begin by asking themselves the
following questions:
What type of question am I asking?
What type of data will I need to collect to
answer the question?
What type of results will I report?

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Conclusion

 The research process therefore should

be understood as one of ongoing
planning, searching, discovery,
reflection, synthesis, revision, and
learning

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END

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