RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

BECM 3116

LECTURE 1: INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH

METHODOLOGY

JHUMANA AKTER
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
DEPT. OF BECM, KUET
 INTRODUCTION
RESEARCH IS A SIGN OF INTELLIGENCE.

INTELLIGENCE CAN BE DEFINED AS THE ADAPTATION

OF AN ENVIRONMENT TO SUIT NEEDS.
 WE RESEARCH EVERYDAY

HUMANS ARE INTUITIVE SCIENTISTS ....ALWAYS ASKING QUESTIONS AND

TESTING THEORIES ABOUT THEMSELVES, OTHERS, EVENTS, THE

ENVIRONMENT AND THE WORLD AROUND THEM.

WE ALL POSSESS THE VITAL INSTINCT OF CURIOSITY. THIS KEENNESS IS

THE MOTHER OF ALL KNOWLEDGE AND THE METHOD, WHICH MAN EMPLOYS

FOR OBTAINING THE KNOWLEDGE OF WHATEVER THE UNKNOWN, CAN BE

TERMED AS RESEARCH.
 RESEARCH??
• “………..A CAREFUL INVESTIGATION OR INQUIRY SPECIALLY
THROUGH SEARCH FOR NEW FACTS IN ANY BRANCH OF
KNOWLEDGE”
• “…………SYSTEMATIZED EFFORT TO GAIN NEW KNOWLEDGE”
• “…………A MOVEMENT FROM THE KNOWN TO THE UNKNOWN”
• “…………A VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY”

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 RESEARCH??

 RESEARCH IS A PROCESS OF ENQUIRY AND INVESTIGATION;

 IT IS SYSTEMATIC, METHODICAL AND ETHICAL;

 RESEARCH CAN HELP SOLVE PRACTICAL PROBLEMS AND

INCREASE KNOWLEDGE.
 RESEARCH IS NOT

 ACCIDENTAL DISCOVERY (MAY FORM A PHENOMENON

NOT PREVIOUSLY NOTICED)

 SEARCHING OUT PUBLISHED RESEARCH RESULTS IN

LIBRARIES OR THE WEB

 DATA COLLECTION (AN INTERMEDIATE STEP TO GAIN

RELIABLE KNOWLEDGE; COLLECTING RELIABLE DATA IS A
PART OF RESEARCH PROCESS)
 RESEARCH IS…

 SEARCHING FOR EXPLANATION OF EVENTS, PHENOMENA,

RELATIONSHIPS AND CAUSES
– WHAT, HOW AND WHY THINGS OCCUR
– ARE THERE INTERACTIONS?

 A PROCESS
– PLANNED AND MANAGED – TO MAKE THE INFORMATION
GENERATED CREDIBLE
– THE PROCESS IS CREATIVE
– IT IS CIRCULAR – ALWAYS LEADS TO MORE QUESTIONS
 PURPOSE OF RESEARCH

 REVIEW OR SYNTHESIZE EXISTING KNOWLEDGE

 INVESTIGATE EXISTING SITUATIONS OR PROBLEMS

 PROVIDE SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS

 EXPLORE AND ANALYZE MORE GENERAL ISSUES

 CONSTRUCT OR CREATE NEW PROCEDURES OR SYSTEMS

 EXPLAIN NEW PHENOMENON

 GENERATE NEW KNOWLEDGE

 …OR A COMBINATION OF ANY OF THE ABOVE!

(COLLIS & HUSSEY, 2003)

 MOTIVATION OF RESEARCH
THE POSSIBLE MOTIVES FOR DOING RESEARCH MAY BE:

 DESIRE TO GET A RESEARCH DEGREE ALONG WITH ITS

CONSEQUENTIAL BENEFITS;

 DESIRE TO FACE THE CHALLENGE IN SOLVING THE UNSOLVED

PROBLEMS, I.E., CONCERN OVER PRACTICAL PROBLEMS INITIATES
RESEARCH;

 DESIRE TO GET INTELLECTUAL JOY OF DOING SOME CREATIVE

WORK;

 DESIRE TO BE OF SERVICE TO SOCIETY;

 DESIRE TO GET RESPECTABILITY.

AND MANY MORE FACTORS……………..

 CLASSIFICATION OF RESEARCH

Basic vs Applied Research

• BASIC – TO DETERMINE OR ESTABLISH FUNDAMENTAL
FACTS AND RELATIONSHIPS WITHIN A DISCIPLINE OR
FIELD OF STUDY. DEVELOP THEORIES …..

• APPLIED – UNDERTAKEN SPECIFICALLY FOR THE PURPOSE

OF OBTAINING INFORMATION TO HELP RESOLVE A
PARTICULAR PROBLEM

• THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN THEM IS IN THE

APPLICATION
– BASIC HAS LITTLE APPLICATION TO REAL WORLD POLICY
AND MANAGEMENT BUT COULD BE DONE TO GUIDE APPLIED
RESEARCH
Disciplinary, Subject-matter, and Problem-
solving Research (Johnson, 1986)
 Disciplinary
• DESIGNED TO IMPROVE A DISCIPLINE

• DWELLS ON THEORIES, FUNDAMENTAL RELATIONSHIPS AND

ANALYTICAL PROCEDURES AND TECHNIQUES

• FOR BUILDING ENGINEER AND CONSTRUCTION MANAGER, THE

INTENDED USERS ARE SAME OF OTHERS.

• PROVIDES THE CONCEPTUAL AND ANALYTICAL BASE FOR BECM

RESEARCH

• IT IS SYNERGISTIC AND COMPLEMENTARY WITH SUBJECT MATTER

AND PROBLEM-SOLVING RESEARCH

• PROVIDES THE FOUNDATIONS FOR APPLIED RESEARCH

 SUBJECT-MATTER RESEARCH
• TENDS TO FOLLOW SUBJECT-MATTER BOUNDARIES WITHIN A
DISCIPLINE (EG. CONSTRUCTION SAFETY, BIM, CONSTRUCTION
AUTOMATION ETC.)

• PROVIDES POLICY MAKERS WITH GENERAL KNOWLEDGE TO MAKE

DECISIONS ABOUT VARIOUS PROBLEMS.

• A PRIMARY SOURCE OF POLICY APPLICATIONS FOR BECM SUBJECT-

MATTER RESEARCH IS A KEYSTONE IN BECM – IT INVOLVES DIRECT
APPLICATION OF BECM TO CONTEMPORARY ISSUES.
 PROBLEM-SOLVING RESEARCH
• DESIGNED TO SOLVE A SPECIFIC PROBLEM FOR A SPECIFIC DECISION
MAKER

• OFTEN RESULTS IN RECOMMENDATIONS ON DECISIONS OR

ACTIONS

• PROBLEM-SOLVING RESEARCH IS HOLISTIC – USES ALL

INFORMATION RELEVANT TO THE SPECIFIC PROBLEM

• DISCIPLINARY RESEARCH IS GENERALLY THE MOST “DURABLE” (LONG

LASTING); PROBLEM-SOLVING RESEARCH THE LEAST DURABLE
 ANALYTIC VS DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH

• DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH – THE ATTEMPT TO DETERMINE,

DESCRIBE, OR IDENTIFY SOMETHING
• THE INTENT IS OFTEN SYNTHESIS, WHICH PULLS KNOWLEDGE
OR INFORMATION TOGETHER

• ANALYTIC – THE ATTEMPT TO ESTABLISH WHY SOMETHING

OCCURS OR HOW IT CAME TO BE

ALL DISCIPLINES GENERALLY ENGAGE IN BOTH

 METHODOLOGY??
• METHODOLOGY – THE STUDY OF THE GENERAL APPROACH TO
INQUIRY IN A GIVEN FIELD

• METHOD – THE SPECIFIC TECHNIQUES, TOOLS OR PROCEDURES

APPLIED TO ACHIEVE A GIVEN OBJECTIVE

– EG. RESEARCH METHODS IN BECM INCLUDE EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES,

MODELING, REGRESSION ANALYSIS, MATHEMATICAL ANALYSIS,
SURVEYS, DATA GATHERING, ETC.
WHILE THESE ARE DIFFERENT BUT INTERDEPENDENT (AS SCIENCE
AND RESEARCH ARE RELATED)
RESEARCH METHODS VERSUS
METHODOLOGY

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 The Process of Research

2
5

4 3
RESEARCH PROCESS

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 RESEARCH PROCESS
• HOWEVER, THE FOLLOWING ORDER CONCERNING
VARIOUS STEPS PROVIDES A USEFUL PROCEDURAL
GUIDELINE REGARDING THE RESEARCH PROCESS:

• (1) FORMULATING THE RESEARCH PROBLEM

• (2) EXTENSIVE LITERATURE SURVEY

• (3) DEVELOPING THE QUESTIONNAIRE FOR HYPOTHESIS

• (4) PREPARING THE RESEARCH DESIGN

• (5) DETERMINING SAMPLE DESIGN

• (6) MEASUREMENT AND SCALING TECHNIQUE

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 RESEARCH PROCESS

(7) COLLECTING THE DATA

(8) ANALYSIS OF DATA

(9) TEST: HYPOTHESIS/ CHI-SQUARE

(10) ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE AND CO-VARIANCE

(11) RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY (INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL)

(12) INTERPRETATION, AND PREPARATION OF THE REPORT

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 CRITERIA OF GOOD RESEARCH
 1. THE PURPOSE OF THE RESEARCH SHOULD BE CLEARLY DEFINED AND
COMMON CONCEPTS BE USED.

 2. THE RESEARCH PROCEDURE USED SHOULD BE DESCRIBED IN SUFFICIENT

DETAIL TO PERMIT ANOTHER RESEARCHER TO REPEAT THE RESEARCH FOR
FURTHER ADVANCEMENT, KEEPING THE CONTINUITY OF WHAT HAS ALREADY
BEEN ATTAINED.

 3. THE PROCEDURAL DESIGN OF THE RESEARCH SHOULD BE CAREFULLY

PLANNED TO YIELD RESULTS THAT ARE AS OBJECTIVE AS POSSIBLE.

 4. THE RESEARCHER SHOULD REPORT WITH COMPLETE FRANKNESS, FLAWS IN

PROCEDURAL DESIGN AND ESTIMATE THEIR EFFECTS UPON THE FINDINGS.

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 5. THE ANALYSIS OF DATA SHOULD BE SUFFICIENTLY
ADEQUATE TO REVEAL ITS SIGNIFICANCE AND THE
METHODS OF ANALYSIS USED SHOULD BE APPROPRIATE.
THE VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY OF THE DATA SHOULD BE
CHECKED CAREFULLY.

 6. CONCLUSIONS SHOULD BE CONFINED TO THOSE

JUSTIFIED BY THE DATA OF THE RESEARCH AND LIMITED
TO THOSE FOR WHICH THE DATA PROVIDE AN ADEQUATE
BASIS.

 7. GREATER CONFIDENCE IN RESEARCH IS WARRANTED IF

THE RESEARCHER IS EXPERIENCED, HAS A GOOD
REPUTATION IN RESEARCH AND IS A PERSON OF
INTEGRITY.

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 THE QUALITIES OF A GOOD
RESEARCH…

• 1. GOOD RESEARCH IS SYSTEMATIC

• 2. GOOD RESEARCH IS LOGICAL

• 3. GOOD RESEARCH IS EMPIRICAL

• 4. GOOD RESEARCH IS REPLICABLE

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PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED BY RESEARCHERS
• THE LACK OF A SCIENTIFIC TRAINING IN THE METHODOLOGY OF
RESEARCH

• THERE IS INSUFFICIENT INTERACTION BETWEEN THE UNIVERSITY

RESEARCH DEPARTMENTS AND BUSINESS ESTABLISHMENTS,
GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS.

• MOST OF THE BUSINESS UNITS IN OUR COUNTRY DO NOT HAVE THE

CONFIDENCE AND ARE OFTEN RELUCTANT IN SUPPLYING THE
NEEDED INFORMATION TO RESEARCHERS.

• RESEARCH STUDIES OVERLAPPING ONE ANOTHER ARE UNDERTAKEN

QUITE OFTEN FOR WANT OF ADEQUATE INFORMATION

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 THERE DOES NOT EXIST A CODE OF CONDUCT FOR RESEARCHERS

 MANY RESEARCHERS ALSO FACE THE DIFFICULTY OF ADEQUATE

AND TIMELY SECRETARIAL ASSISTANCE

 LIBRARY MANAGEMENT AND FUNCTIONING IS NOT SATISFACTORY

AT MANY PLACES

 THERE IS ALSO THE PROBLEM THAT MANY OF OUR LIBRARIES ARE

NOT ABLE TO GET COPIES OF OLD AND NEW ACTS/RULES, REPORTS
AND OTHER GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS IN TIME.

 THERE IS ALSO THE DIFFICULTY OF TIMELY AVAILABILITY OF

PUBLISHED DATA FROM VARIOUS GOVERNMENT AND OTHER
AGENCIES DOING THIS JOB.

 THERE MAY, AT TIMES, TAKE PLACE THE PROBLEM OF

CONCEPTUALIZATION AND ALSO PROBLEMS RELATING TO THE
PROCESS OF DATA COLLECTION AND RELATED THINGS.

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