Research Process/Steps in Research

Dr Hana Arshad
Assistant Professor
RICPP
Research Process

The research process typically involves identifying a problem,

reviewing existing literature, formulating a hypothesis, designing a
study, collecting and analyzing data, and drawing conclusions, often
concluding in a report or publication.
Steps in Research

a) Formulating Problems Statement

b) Introduction (Rationale of the study, Objectives of study)
c) Review of Research Literature (Theoretical Framework, hypothesis/
research questions)
d) Method
e) Results
f) Discussion
g) Conclusion
Formulating the Research Problem

Identify a Research Question or Problem:

Formulate a clear question:

Start with a specific, interesting, and researchable question about

human behavior or mental processes.
Some sources of Research Problems may be identified as follows:
Personal Experiences
Media: Documentation done on various issues, live coverage, panel
discussions etc.
Resources: Literature such as books, journals, news articles, etc. may
facilitate the researcher to identify a relevant problem based on the area of
interest.
Government / Official Records: The orders passed by government. The
decisions given in various cases by courts, the petitions and surveys
conducted.
People: A group of individuals may be studied to understand how
they behave, how tiny respond to a particular situation do or what
responses are generated when they are influenced from within or
outside the group.
Discussions: A researcher may be able to come to a conclusion to
identify a research problem by discussing the perspectives with
peers, colleagues, seniors in the field, guides etc.
Programs: These may be used to evaluate the effectiveness of an
interference, involvement or intrusions.
Introduction

 Why is this topic important?

 What is the history of this topic?

 What are the related theories or findings?

 What is your claim or thesis statement?

The introduction of a research is designed to grab interest. It should present a

compelling look at the research that already exists and explain to readers
what questions you will address.
Clearly Define Terms and Concepts

 Terms and concepts are words or phrases used in the purpose statement of the study or the
description of the study.

 These items need to be specifically defined as they apply to the study.

 Terms or concepts often have different definitions depending on who is reading the study.

To minimize confusion about what the terms and phrases mean, the researcher must specifically
define them for the study. For example, in the obesity study, the concept of “individual's
health” can be defined in hundreds of ways, such as physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual
health. For this study, the individual's health is defined as physical health. The concept of
physical health may also be defined and measured in many ways.
Rationale of the Study
The rationale explains why a study is necessary, providing the justification and context, while
objectives state what the study aims to achieve, outlining specific, measurable goals.
Rationale

Purpose: To establish the importance and need for the research, demonstrating why it is being
conducted.
Content: Includes background information, identifies knowledge gaps, and explains the
significance of the research.
Focus: Justifies the research question and approach, linking the background to the study's
purpose.
Example:

"This study is necessary because existing research on [topic] has shown [gap or issue], and
addressing this gap is important for [reason/impact]".
Objectives of the Study

Purpose:
To define the specific goals and outcomes of the study, providing a
roadmap for the research.
Content:
The objectives should be SMART.
• Specific • Measurable • Achievable • Relevant • Time bound
Focus:
Provides a clear understanding of what the research is trying to
accomplish.
 Characteristics of Objectives

1.Specific: Precisely what you mean to achieve.

2.Important: Indicate the relevance/importance of study.
3.Measurable: What you would do/measure in terms of studying an
issue.
4.Practical: They should offer a solution to a problem.
5.Realistic: Vague objectives should be avoided. Any objective that
is not practically achievable should be ignored.
6.Feasible: Researcher should be able to practice and perform as per
stated objectives.
7. Evaluable: These objectives set forth for study have to be such
that they can be evaluated in different situations and using tools for
research.
Objectives should be listed under two headings:

a) Main objectives (aims): The main objective is an overall statement or

the driving force of a study.

It also states the main associations and relationships that you search for
and to discover or establish the relationships.

b) Sub-objectives: The sub-objectives are the specific aspects of the

problem or the issue that is to be investigated within the main framework
of your study.
The objectives should start with words such as:

To determine

To find out

To ascertain

To measure

To explore etc.

The wording of objectives also helps understand and identify the type of
research (descriptive, co relational and experimental) and the type of
research design you need to adopt to achieve them.
Example

Descriptive studies:

To describe the types of incentives provides by Hotel XYZ to employees in Lahore.

To find out the opinion of the employees about the medical facilities provided by

five-star hotels in Lahore.

Co relational studies:

To ascertain the impact of training on employee retention.

To compare the effectiveness of different loyalty programs on customers.

Review of Research Literature

 Conduct a thorough literature search to understand what is already known

about the topic and identify gaps in knowledge.

 The selected literature has to be critically studied and examines to derive

associations between the problem being studied and themes discussed in
the works done earlier.
 The researcher can write down the findings separately for each of the sub
areas or sub topics that seem relevant to be complied later on. These
findings may then be put into a table format based on these variables or
themes for easier comparison and to ease to analyze them.

 It also helps identify areas to prevent duplication and give credit to other
researchers and to recognize inconstancies: gaps in research, conflicts in
previous studies, open questions left from other research.
Types of Literature

Primary Literature: Primary sources means original study, based on

direct observation, use of statistical records, interviews, or
experimental methods,

They are authored by researchers, contain original research data, and

are usually published in a peer-reviewed journal. Primary literature
may also include conference papers, pre-prints, or preliminary reports.
 Secondary Literature: Secondary literature consists of interpretations
and evaluations that are derived from or refer to the primary source
literature.
 Examples include review articles (such as meta-analysis and systematic
reviews) and reference works.
 Professionals within each discipline take the primary literature and
synthesize, generalize, and integrate new research.
 A secondary source of information is one that was created by someone
who did not have first-hand experience or did not participate in the events
or conditions being researched. They are generally accounts written after
the fact with the benefit of observation.
 Secondary sources describe, analyze, interpret, evaluate, comment on and
discuss the evidence provided by primary sources.
 Task

What are primary and secondary sources of

Literature?
Writing up the literature reviewed

Develop a theoretical framework: A theoretical framework consists of

concepts and, together with their definitions and reference to relevant
scholarly literature, existing theory that is used for a particular study.

This framework must demonstrate an understanding of theories and

concepts that are relevant to the research study and that relate to the
broader areas of knowledge being considered. Researcher must review
course readings and significant research studies for theories and logical
models that are pertinent to the research problem being investigated.
A strong theoretical framework has the following advantages:

1. The theoretical framework connects the researcher to existing knowledge

2. A clear statement of theoretical assumptions allows the reader to evaluate them

critically.

3. A relevant theory provides a basis for the hypotheses and choice of research
methods.

4. A theoretical framework specifies which key variables influence a

phenomenon of interest.
Therefore, we can conclude that theoretical framework and review
of literature are complementing each other. A theoretical framework
cannot be developed if we do not look into the literature and
inversely if we do not have a good theoretical framework; it is not
possible to do an effective review of the literature.
Method

The method section explains how the study was conducted (or how it
will be conducted). The details the study’s participants, the materials
used in the study, and the procedure the participants followed (or will
follow) in the study. The format for the method section is specified in
the APA style guide.
Steps in Methods
 Research design

 Sample

 Inclusion and exclusion criteria

 Operational definition of variables (An operational definition is a detailed

description of how a variable is going to be observed, measured, or manipulated
in a research study)

 Measurement Scales

 Procedure
How to write Method

 Identify the variable: Clearly state the variable you want to define.
 Provide a clear and concise definition: Write a clear and concise
definition that describes how the variable will be measured or
manipulated.
 Determine the measurement method: Decide how you will measure or
manipulate the variable (e.g., using a questionnaire, observation, or
experiment).
 Specify the procedures: Outline the specific procedures and criteria
used to measure or manipulate the variable.
Example
In the obesity study, the researcher has decided to have the children
participate in a walking program for six months. The group of
participants is called the sample, which is a smaller group selected
from the population specified for the study. The study cannot possibly
include every 10- to 12-year-old child in the community, so a smaller
group is used to represent the population. The researcher develops the
plan for the walking program, indicating what data will be collected,
when and how the data will be collected, who will collect the data,
and how the data will be analyzed.
Difference between concept, Construct and
Variable
Concepts:
General ideas or categories that represent a phenomenon or subject of study.
Constructs:
Abstract or theoretical concepts that are not directly observable, but are created to explain a
phenomenon.
Variables:
Measurable characteristics or attributes that can vary, representing a construct in a measurable form.
Operational Definitions:
Define how a concept, construct, or variable will be measured or manipulated in a specific study,
providing concrete procedures for observation and measurement.
Conceptual Definitions:

Explain the meaning of a concept, construct, or variable in abstract or theoretical terms.

Example
Concept: "Stress" (a general idea)

Construct: "Perceived Stress" (an abstract idea about how someone feels stressed)

Variable: "Score on the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)" (a measurable representation of

perceived stress)

Operational Definition: "The operational definition of stress is the score on the ten-
question PSS"

Conceptual Definition: "Stress is a state of mental or emotional strain resulting from

adverse or demanding circumstances"
Results/Predicted Results

What did the study find or what do you expect it will find?

What statistical analyses have been or will be used in your study?

In this section, the job is to provide the evidence in form of results.

In addition to detailing the results of the study, the researcher will need
to describe any steps you took in cleaning up the data (e.g., removing
outliers, computing composite variables), the analyses used, and the
results of those analyses.
Discussion

In the discussion section, the main job is to synthesize the results and offer
your conclusions.

 What do these results mean?

 How do these findings relate to the research you discussed in the

introduction?

 Do they support your hypothesis and rule out the other alternative
answers to the question you asked?
 How do you explain any discrepancies between your predictions
and your findings?

 What are the implications of your findings?

 How does what you found support or contradict established

theories?

 What are the real-world implications for your findings?

Conclusion
 What is your final conclusion?
 What questions remain?
 What does your conclusion mean for other people’s theories or
explanations?
In the conclusion, the researcher will want to synthesize the findings
described in the body into a concise summary.
The researcher should return to the issues that he/she raised in the
introduction, and close the loop.
The researcher should also discuss the possible implications of the
argument for existing theories and for everyday life.