Research Methodology

Quantitative Research

The Section covers the following areas

Overview of the Research Process:- Formulating a Research Problem Identifying variables Constructing Hypotheses The Research design Selecting a method of data collection Collecting data using attitudinal scales Establish the validity & reliability of a Research

instrument

Formulating a Research problem • The first step in beginning a research project is to decide “ What

is the Research Question”?• A “Research Question” is a question about the problem to be

addressed , it is therefore focused on the content of the topic of interest.

• First identifying & then specifying a research problem might seem like research tasks that ought to b easy & quality accomplished. However, such is often not the case (Yegidis & Weinback,1991,35)

• It is essential for the problem you formulate to b able to withstand scrutiny in terms of the procedures required to be undertaken.

• Always researcher should send a considerable time in thinking it through

• Researcher should always have a clear idea with regard to what is that want to find out about & not what they think they much find

• This is the most critical step in the Research

Sources of Research Problem

• If the Researcher has already selected the topic or question, next step is to identify the sources of Research Problem.

• Most research in the humanities resolves around four “P”s – People - Study Population

– Problems– Programs– Phenomena

Subject Area

• Every Research study has 2 aspects,1. The Study Population2.The Subject Area

Aspects of a Aspects of a studystudy

AboutAbout Study of Study of

Study Study PopulationPopulation

PeoplePeople Individuals, Individuals, organizations, organizations, groups, groups, communitiescommunities

They provide They provide with rte with rte required required information or information or collect collect information information from or about from or about them them

Subject areaSubject area ProblemProblem Issues, Issues, Situations, Situations, Needs, Needs, Associations, Associations, Profiles etcProfiles etc

ProgramProgram Contents, Contents, Structure, Structure, outcomes, outcomes, attributes, attributes, satisfaction, satisfaction, consumersconsumers

Information that Information that need to collect need to collect to find answers to find answers to the research to the research questionquestion

PhenomenonPhenomenon

Cause and Cause and effect effect relationshipsrelationships

Considering in selecting a Research problem

• Interest – should be the most important consideration in selecting a problem

• Magnitude – Having sufficient knowledge about the research process

• Measurement of process- It the researcher is using a concept in th study should make sure to be very clear about its indicators & measurements

• Level of Expertise – Having adequate level of expertise for the task which is proposed

• Relevance- Select a topic that is of relevance to as a professional

• Availability of data • Ethical Issues- Formulating a research problem is the Ethical

issues involved

Steps in the formulation of a Research Problem

• Step 1 – Identify a broad field or subjects are of interest to you

• Step 2-Dissect the broad are into a sub areas• Step 3 –Select what is of most interest to you• Step 4-Raise research question• Step 5 –Formulate Objectives• Step 6 – Assess your objectives• Step 7- Double –check

The formulation of Objectives• Objectives are the goals Researcher set out to attain in the study

• Objectives should b listed under 2 headings

1.Min objectives – An overall statement of the thrust of the study2. Sub objectives –Specific aspects of the topic should be listed numerically

• Characteristics of Objectives:-

• 1.Clear• 2.Complete• 3.Spcific• 4.Identify the min variables to be correlated• 5.Identify the directions of the relationship

Establishing Operational Definitions• The Researcher needs to develop operational definitions for the major

concepts you are using in the study & develop a framework for the study population enabling the researcher to select appropriate respondents

• Operational definitions give an operational meaning to the study population & the concepts used

• Eg:- The main objective is ,• To measure the effectiveness o a retraining program designed to help Young

People• It is equally important to decide exactly what you mean by “young” up to what

age will you consider a person to be Child, Who would you consider Young?• Operationalisation of concepts & the study population :-

StudStudyy

ConceptConcept IssuesIssues Population Population to be to be studiedstudied

11 EffectivenessEffectiveness What What constitutes constitutes ”Effectiveness””Effectiveness”

The YoungThe Young Who would Who would consider a consider a Young Young personperson

Identifying Variables

The Definition of a Variable • An image , perception or concept that is capable of

measurement , hence capable of taking on different values is called a variable

Or • A concept that can be measured

Eg : 1. This program is effective2.We are providing a Quality service to our clients3.This product is doing well

The difference between a concept & a variable

• Concepts are mental images or perceptions and therefore their meanings vary markedly from individual to individual

Where as ,• Variables are

measurable , of course with varying degrees of accuracy

ConceptsConcepts VariablesVariables

EffectivenessEffectiveness

SatisfactionSatisfaction

RichRich

ExcellentExcellent

Gender Gender (Male/female)(Male/female)

AttitudeAttitude

Weight Weight

Height Height

-Subjective -Subjective impressionimpression

No uniformity as No uniformity as to its to its understanding understanding among different among different peoplepeople

As such cannot As such cannot be measuredbe measured

Measurable Measurable through the through the degree of degree of precision varies precision varies from scale to from scale to scale from scale from variable to variable to variable variable

Concepts , indicators and Variables

• If a concept is used in a study , the researcher need to consider its operationalisation, that is , how it will be measured

• To operationlise a concept , first need to go through the process of identifying indicators, a set of criteria reflective of the concept which can then be converted into variables.

Types of Variable• Independent variable – The cause supposed to be responsible

for bringing about changes in a phenomenon or situation• Dependent variable – The outcome of the changes brought

about by introduction of an independent variable• Extraneous variable- several other factors operating in a real

life situation may affect changes in the dependent variable. These factors , not measured in the study, may increase or decrease the magnitude or strength o the relationship between independent and dependent variables

• Intervening variable – This links the independent and dependent variable.

Types measurement scaleThere are four measurement categories1. Nominal or classificatory scale – Each subgroup has a

characteristic /property which is common to all classified within that subgroupsEg. Tree, House, Taxi, Gender :Male/Female

2. Ordinal or ranking scale – It has the characteristics of a Nominal scaleEg. Income (Above average, Average, low)

3. Interval scale – It has all the characteristics of an ordinal scale Eg: Temperature

4. Ratio – It has all the properties of an interval scale.Eg: Height, income

Constructing HypothesisThe Definition of a Hypothesis,

• The second important consideration in the formulation of a research problem is the construction of hypothesis.

• Hypotheses bring clarity, specify and focus to research problem, but are not essential for a study

• Hypotheses are based on guesses. As researcher, it is not required to know about the phenomena , a situation , the prevalence of a condition in a population or about the outcome of a program , but has to have a hunch to form the basis of certain assumptions or guesses. The verification process should be don based on the information and the verification process will provide one of the three outcomes below,

1.right2.partially right 3.worng

• Without this process o verification, the researcher cannot conclude anything about the validity of the assumption.

• Hence Hypotheses is a hunch, assumption, suspicion, assertion or an idea about a phenomenon, relationship or situation , the reality or truth of which do not know .

The functions of Hypothesis• The formulation of hypotheses provided a study

with focus. It tells what specific aspects of a research problem to investigate

• A hypotheses tells what data to collect and what not to collect, thereby providing focus to the study

• As it provides a focus, the construction of a hypothesis enhances objectivity in a study

• A hypothesis may enable to add to the formulation of theory. It enables to specifically conclude what is true or what is false.

The characteristics of a hypothesis

• A hypothesis should be simple , specific and conceptually clearEg: The average age o the male students in this class is higher than that of the female students

• A Hypotheses should be capable of verifications – Methods and techniques must be available for data collection and analysis

• A hypotheses should be related to the existing body of knowledge – It is important that hypotheses emerges from the existing body of knowledge

• A Hypotheses should be Operationalisble – This mans that it can be expressed in terms that can be measured.

Types of Hypothesis

• Broadly there are two categories of hypothesis1.Research hypotheses2.Alternativc Hypotheses– The formulation of an alternative hypotheses is a

convention in scientific circles. Its main function is to explicitly specify the relationship that will be considered as true in case the research hypotheses proves to be wrong.

– Alternative hypothesis is the opposite of the research hypotheses

– A null hypothesis or hypotheses of no difference is formulated as an alternative hypothesis.

• Null Hypothesis – When constructing hypothesis stipulating that there is no difference between two situations, groups outcomes or the prevalence of condition or phenomenon .

• Hypothesis difference – A hypothesis in which researcher stipulates that there will be difference but does not specify it magnitude.

• Hypotheses of point –prevalence – Outcomes is known in quantitative units eg. The proportion of mal & female smokers is 60 and 30 per cent respectively.

• Hypothesis of association – The relationship between the impact of different combinations on the dependent variable or relationship between the prevalence of a phenomenon among different populations .

Errors in testing a hypothesis

• Incorrect conclusions about the validity of a hypothesis may be drawn if,

• The study design selected is faulty• The sampling procedure adopted is faulty• The method of data collection is inaccurate• The analysis is wrong• The statistical procedures applied are inappropriate• The conclusions drawn are incorrect

Rejection of a null hypotheses when it is true. This is know as a Type I error.

Acceptance of a null hypothesis when it is false. This is know s a Type II error.

The Research Design

The Definition of a Research Design

A Research design is a procedural plan that is adopted by the researcher to answer questions validity, objectively, accurately and economically.

Functions of a Research Design

• Conceptualize an operational plan to undertake the various procedures and tasks required to complete the study

• Ensure that procedures are adequate to obtain valid, objective and accurate answers to the research questions.

Selecting a method of data collection

• There are two major approaches to gather information about a situation, person, problem or phenomenon.1. Secondary data – Information gathered using the

first approach is said to be collected from secondary sources

2. Primary data - the sources used in the second approach

Method of data collection

Method of data collection

Secondary sources Primary sources

Documents

-Govmt publications-Earlier research-Census-Personal records-Client histories-Service records

Observation Interviewing Questionnaire

Participant

Non-Participant

Structured

Unstructured

Mailed Questionnaire

CollectiveQuestionnaire

Collecting data using attitudinal scales

Functions of attitudinal scale• Respondents usually have different attitudes towards different aspects. • If the researcher want to find out the attitude of respondents towards an

issue, either a closed ended or an open ended question can be asked.

Difficulties in developing an attitudinal scale

1.Wic aspects of a situation or issue should be included when seeking to measure an attitude?

Eg. What is your attitude towards you’re your lecturer?, In this what aspects of teaching should be included in a scale to find out the attitude of students towards their lecturer?

2. What procedure should be adopted for combining the different aspects to obtain an overall picture ?

3.How can one ensure that a scale rally is measuring what it is supposed to measure?

Types of Attitudinal scaleThere are three major types of attitudinal scale,1. The summated rating scale, also know as the

Linkert scale 2. The equal appearing interval scale or

different scale, also know as the Thurstone scale

3. The cumulative scale , also know as the Guttman scale

Establishing the validity and reliability of a research instrument

There are two perspectives on validity:1. Is the research investigations providing answers to the research

questions for which it was undertaken?2. If so, is it providing these answers using appropriate methods and

procedures?

The concept of ValidityIt is important to remember that the concept of validity is pertinent only to a particular instrument and it is an ideal state that you as a researcher to achieve.

Types of Validity

There are three types of validity

1. Face and content validity – Each question or item on the scale must have a logical link with an objective. Establishment of this link is called “Face validity”

2. Concurrent and predictive validity – Predictive validity is judged by the degree to which an instrument can forecast an outcome. Concurrent validity is judged by Howell an instrument compares with a second assessment concurrently done.

3. Construct validity – Construct validity is a more sophisticated technique for establishing the validity of n instrument. It is I based upon statistical procedures. It is determined by ascertaining the contribution of each construct to the total variance observed in a phenomenon.

The Concept of Reliability

Reliability is the degree of accuracy or precision in the measurement made by a research instrument.

The concept of reliability in relation to research can be looked at from two sides,

1. How reliable is an instrument ?2. How unreliable is it ?

• The first question focus on the ability of an instrument to produce consistent measurement

• The second question focuses on the degree of inconsistency in the measurement made by an instrument.

Factors affecting the reliability of a research instrument

• The wording of question• The physical setting• The respondent’s mood• The nature of interaction• The regression effect of an instrument

Method of determining the reliability of an instrument

1. External consistency procedures2. Internal consistency procedures

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