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Learn the fundamentals of research methodology, including the scientific method, data collection, thesis structures, and the importance of research in problem-solving and knowledge expansion.
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INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCHbyZamri AhmadResearch Methodology WorkshopUniversitas Sumatera Utara26-28 November 2010
PRESENTATION OUTLINE • What is research • Types and classification of research • Topics for a research • Process of research • Structure of a thesis • Conclusion
Talk Outcomes After this talk, you should have a general idea of: • What a research is all about, e.g. definition, concept, types, etc • How to choose a topic for a research • What process involved in a research. • How to prepare a good structure of a thesis
Why do we need a research? • To provide solutions to complex problems • To investigate laws of nature • To make new discoveries • To develop new products • To save costs • To improve our life • Human desires What about you? Are those the reasons? Perhaps, but most probably you want to get a Masters/PhD certificates…..
What is Research? The word research is derived from the French ‘recherche’. Its literal meaning is: A systematic process of collecting, organizing and analyzing information (data) in order to discover new knowledge or expand and verify the existing one (e.g. theory - law) To do so, a research requires a .. • Scientific Method
What is Research? How to collect, organize and analyze data to discover knowledge? • Deductive reasoning (general to specific) • Inductive reasoning (specific to general) The above are essentially what is called Scientific Method
What is Scientific Method? According to Dewey, the logical steps to follow are: • Identify and define the problem • Determine the hypothesis or reason why the problem exists • Collect and analyzed data • Formulate conclusion • Apply conclusion to the original hypothesis
Scientific Method Scientific method is the method involves the concepts of : Objectivity - Acceptability - Inductive Reasoning - Deductive Reasoning objectivity acceptability inductive reasoning deductive reasoning Indicates the attempt to observe things as they are, without falsifying observations to accord with some preconceived world view. Reasoning from specific observations and experiments to more general hypotheses and theories Reasoning from theories to account for specific experimental results Acceptability is judged in terms of the degree to which observations and experimentations can be reproduced.
Concept of Research Which of these can be classified as research? [1] MrSamad prepared a paper on “computer usage in secondary schools” after reviewing literature on the subject available in his university library and called it a piece of research. [2] MrMuthu says that he has researched and completed a document which gives information about the age of his students, their SPM results, their parents income and distance of their schools from the District Office. [3] Mr. Lim participated in a workshop on curriculum development and prepared what he calls, a research report on the curriculum for building technicians. He did this through a literature survey on the subject and by discussing with the participants of the workshop.
Concept of research •None of the above examples can be classified under the name research. • WHY ? • You will know it when you have understood the concept of the term ‘research’.
Concept of Research • Consider the following case which is an example of research: • A general manager of a car manufacturing company was concerned with the complaints received from the car users that the car they produce have some problems with rating sound at the dash board and the rear passenger seat after few thousand kilometers of driving. • He obtained information from the company workers to identify the various factors influencing the problem. • He then formulated the problem and generated guesses (hypotheses). • He constructed a checklist and obtained requisite information from a representative sample of cars. • He analyzed the collected data, interpreted the results in the light of his hypotheses and reached conclusions.
More on Concept of Research • Hunting for facts or truth about a subject. • Organize scientific investigations to solve problems, test hypotheses, develop or invent new products or knowledge
What is Research? Research is systematic, because it follows certain steps that are logical in order. These steps are: 1. Understanding the nature of problem to be studied and identifying the related area of knowledge. 2. Reviewing literature to understand how others have approached or dealt with the problem. 3. Collecting data in an organized and controlled manner so as to arrive at valid decisions. 4. Analyzing data appropriate to the problem. 5. Drawing conclusions and making generalizations.
High Quality Research • It is based on the work of others. • It can be replicated (duplicated). • It is generalizable to other settings. • It is based on some logical rationale and is tied to theory. • It is doable! • It generates new questions or is cyclical in nature. • It is incremental. • It gives an impact to academic and society
Then, what is bad research? • The opposites of what have been discussed. • Looking for something when it simply is not to be found. • Plagiarizing other people’s work. • Falsifying data to prove a point. • Misrepresenting information and misleading participants.
Characteristics of a formal research • Starts with a question or problem • Requires a clear articulation of a goal • Follows a specific plan or procedure • Often divides the principal problem into more manageable subproblems
What topic for the research? Ideally a Masters or PhD research topic should… • Fascinate the candidate sufficiently for him or her to endure years of hard and solitary work; • build on the candidate's previous studies, for example, his or her course work in a Master's degree; • be in an area of `warm' research activity rather than in a `cold', overworked area or in a `hot', too-competitive, soon-to-be extinguished area; • be in an area near the main streams of a discipline and not at the margins of a discipline or straddling two disciplines - being near the main streams makes it easier to find thesis examiners, to gain academic positions, and to get acceptance of journal articles about the research; • be manageable, producing interesting results and a thesis in the shortest time possible; • have accessible sources of data; • open into a program of research projects after the PhD is completed
Research Classification • Historical • Descriptive • Correlational • Experimental
Types of Research • Quantitative: answer questions about data that can be measured in order to explain and predict • Qualitative: answer questions about nature of phenomena in order to describe phenomena and understand it from the participant’s point of view
Requirements for Masters/PhD Thesis Whatever types or classification your research is, key requirements of a Masters or PhD theses are: • a distinct contribution to a body of knowledge through an original investigation or testing of ideas, worthy of publication (this is becoming more and more important criterion for a PhD); • competence in research processes, including an understanding of, and competence in, appropriate research techniques and an ability to report research; and • mastery of a body of knowledge , including an ability to make critical use of published work and source materials with an appreciation of the relationship of the special theme to the wider field of knowledge .
Common Research Process Chapter 1 - Introduction FORMULATION PHASE Chapter 2 - Literature review Chapter 3 – Methodology DESIGN AND EXCUTING PHASE Chapter 4 - Data analysis ANALYTICAL PHASE Chapter 5- Discussion Chapter 6- Conclusion References Appendix
Confirm need – Review literature - Define the problem – Develop questions and objectives – specify hypotheses – Develop theoretical model Formulation Phase Chapter 2 literature review 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Definition of the terms and identification of variables 2.3 Logical flow of ideas 2.4 Unbiased and comprehensive view of the previous research on the topic. 2.5 Identify areas of controversy in the literature 2.6 Identify gaps in the literature 2.7 Development of the theoretical framework 2.8 Summarize the literature review Chapter 1 introduction 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Problem background 1.3 Problem statement 1.4 Research questions 1.5 Objective 1.6 Scope 1.7 Significance of the study To guiding
The Relationship between Problem statement Research Question, and Hypotheses lead to formulate research question/s A problem statementis: a clear concise description of the issues that need to be created addressed and presented by the researcher. A research question is: a statement that identifies the phenomenon to be studied. It must define the domain , the variables, and its relationship lead To formulate Hypotheses A hypotheses is: a specific statement of prediction. It is a testable theory with operationally defined variables
Variables A variable is a term ascribed to the characteristic being investigated, and can take any value in a reasonable range. For example, blood group, sales, net profit, age of patients being studied, etc. Independent variable The variable which is assumed to determine the values of the dependent (response) variable. For example, increase sales figure could lead to increase firm value Dependent variable The variable which is assumed to respond to the values of the independent (explanatory) variable. For example, firm value could be deemed to respond to increase in sales
Unit of Analysis Units of analysis are the persons, things, or events under study--the entities that we want to say something about. If this is clearly defined, then choosing samples/respondents would be easy to do.
Test of hypotheses Ind. Var. 1 Dep. Var Ind. Var. 2 Ind. Var 3 An example of a hypothesis (as stated in its alternative term) “An increase of Ind. Var 1 will increase the Dep. Var”
Research design concerns with: How the results will be achieved - How data will be collect - How data will be analyzed Design and Execution Phase 1. Research Design 1.1 Research Approach (i.e. type of the research) 1.2 Research Method (qualitative/ quantitative / mix-method) 3. Data collection 3.1 Quantitative data collection 3.1.1 Survey (questionnaire) 3.1.1.1 Instrumentation 3.1.1.2 Pilot test 3.1.1.3 Sample size 3.1.2 Experimental apparatuses 3.2 Qualitative Data Collection 3.2.1 Interview / Documents / Observation 4. Data analysis 4.1 Quantitative data analysis (objective ) 4.1 Qualitative data analysis (subjective ) 5. External validity 6. Reliability
Analytical Phase • Quantitative data analysis • (Interpretation of numerical data) • Quantitative data analysis often contain descriptive statistics and inferential statistics • 1) Descriptive statistics include measures of central tendency • 2) Inferential statistics is a set of measurements can be regarded as measurements on a sample of items from a population Thus, it make inferences about the population from the sample. • Qualitative data analysis • (Interpretation of words and text) • Qualitative data analysis describes and summarizes the mass of words generated by interviews or observational data. It allows researchers to seek relationships between various themes that have been identified • Qualitative data analysis often contain content analysis that leads to emerge of themes and patterns. Data analysis is concerned with reporting, interpreting and discussing the findings. It helps researchers to confirm the hypotheses and answer the research questions., before the conclusions are made.
Analytical Phase Discussion of findings Discussion in relation to literature Discussion in relation to research objectives Discussion in relation to research questions
Analytical Phase Conclusion Conclusions are often the most difficult part to write. They are often what a reader remembers best Elements of conclusion Answer the question "So what?" (importance of your thesis) Synthesize, don't summarize (Don't simply repeat things that were in your thesis) Create a new meaning (Create a new picture ) Some suggestions for future research would also normally given, so that future researchers would relook at the issue and expand the knowledge.
