I.

CONCEPT OF RESEARCH

1.1 NATURE OF RESEARCH

Research is a careful consideration of the study regarding a particular concern or

problem using scientific methods. According to the American sociologist Earl Robert Babbie,
“Research is a systematic inquiry to describe, explain, predict, and control the observed
phenomenon. Research involves inductive and deductive methods.”

Inductive research methods are used to analyze an observed event. Deductive

methods are used to verify the observed event. Inductive approaches are associated
with qualitative research and deductive methods are more commonly associated
with quantitative research.

Research is conducted with the purpose to understand:

 What do organizations or businesses want to find out?

 What are the processes that need to be followed to chase the idea?
 What are the arguments that need to be built around a concept?
 What is the evidence that will be required for people to believe in the idea or concept?

Characteristics of research

1. A systematic approach must be followed for accurate data. Rules and procedures are
an integral part of the process that sets the objective. Researchers need to practice ethics
and a code of conduct while making observations or drawing conclusions.
2. Research is based on logical reasoning and involves both inductive and deductive
methods.
3. The data or knowledge that is derived is in real-time from actual observations in
natural settings.
4. There is an in-depth analysis of all data collected so that there are no anomalies
associated with it.
5. Research creates a path for generating new questions. Existing data helps create
more research opportunities.
6. Research is analytical. It makes use of all the available data so that there is no
ambiguity in inference.
7. Accuracy is one of the most important aspects of research. The information that is
obtained should be accurate and true to its nature. For example, laboratories provide a
controlled environment to collect data. Accuracy is measured in the instruments used, the
calibrations of instruments or tools, and the final result of the experiment.

1.2 IMPORTANCE OF RESEARCH

The main purpose of the research is to inform action, to prove a theory, and contribute
to developing knowledge in a field of study. This article will highlight the significance of
research with the following points:

1. A Tool for Building Knowledge and for Facilitating Learning

2. Means to Understand Various Issues and Increase Public Awareness
3. An Aid to Business Success
4. A Way to Prove Lies and to Support Truths
5. Means to Find, Gauge, and Seize Opportunities
6. A Seed to Love Reading, Writing, Analyzing, and Sharing Valuable Information
7. Nourishment and Exercise for the Mind
 1. A Tool for Building Knowledge and for Facilitating Learning

Research is required not just for students and academics, but for all professionals and
nonprofessionals alike. It is also important for budding and veteran writers, both offline and
online.

For nonprofessionals who value learning, doing research equips them with knowledge
about the world, and skills to survive and improve their lives. Among professionals and
scribes, on the other hand, finding an interesting topic to discuss and/or to write about should
go beyond personal experience. Determining either what the general public may want to
know or what researchers want others to realize or to think about can serve as a reason to do
research. Thus, research is an essential component in generating knowledge and vice-versa.

2. Means to Understand Various Issues and Increase Public Awareness

Television shows and movies ooze with research - both on the part of the writer(s) and the
actors. Though there are hosts who rely on their researchers, there are also those who exert
effort to do their research. This step helps them:

 get information that hired researchers missed,

 build a good rapport with the interviewee, and
 conduct a good interview in the process

For instance, Oprah Winfrey would have not achieved remarkable success as a news anchor
and television show host had she eschewed doing her research about certain topics and public
figures. According to entrepreneur and lifestyle coach Paul C. Brunson, in his interview with emotional
intelligence expert and author Justin Bariso (2017), "Oprah spends a disproportionate amount of her
time gathering information from communities of people outside of her core (different age groups,
social classes, ethnicities, education levels, careers, etc.) and then she shares that information within
her community." This kind of effort shows the necessary role of research in helping others and in
raising social consciousness.

3. An Aid to Business Success

Research benefits business. Many successful companies, such as those producing

consumer goods or mass-market items, invest in research and development or R&D.
Different business industries with science and engineering processes like agriculture, food
and beverage, manufacturing, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, computer software,
semiconductor, information and communication technology, construction, robotics,
aerospace, aviation, and energy have high R&D expenditure because it is critical to product
innovation and to improving services.

4. A Way to Prove Lies and to Support Truths

Ever experienced a feeling that your mate is having an affair behind your back? Some
people would overlook that and say that it's better not to know; others thought would take
discreet action, hiring detectives to do the work. What does research have to do with that
situation? A lot.

Researching to reveal lies or truths involving personal affairs contributes to either

making a relationship work or in breaking away from a dysfunctional one. For the
monogamous lot, doing research to disprove or prove infidelity is not simply a trust issue, but
a right to find out the truth - unless one's intimate partner has already admitted
being polyamorous even before the relationship started. When a person dislikes answering
relationship-related questions, including her or his whereabouts, it is better to see that as a
red flag and take baby steps to save yourself from what could become a more serious
emotional mess later.

5. Means to Find, Gauge, and Seize Opportunities

Research helps people nurture their potential and achieve goals through various
opportunities. These can be in the form of securing employment, scholarships, training
grants, project funding, business collaboration, and budget traveling, among others.

For those looking for a job or greener pastures, research is necessary. Through this
process, not only will the unemployed increase their chances of finding potential employers
either through job posting sites or employment agencies, but it can inform them if work
opportunities are legitimate. Without research, the gullible, yet hopeful jobseeker or migrant
worker may fall prey to unscrupulous headhunters who might be involved in illegal
recruitment and/or human trafficking.

6. A Seed to Love Reading, Writing, Analyzing, and Sharing Valuable Information

The research entails both reading and writing. These two literacy functions help enable
computation and comprehension. Without these skills, it is less likely for anyone to appreciate
and get involved in the research. Reading opens the mind to a vast horizon of knowledge,
while writing helps a reader use her/his perspective and transform this into a more concrete
idea that s/he understands.

Apart from reading and writing, listening and speaking are also integral in conducting
research. Interviews, attending knowledge-generating events, and casual talks with anyone
certainly aid in formulating research topics. They can also facilitate the critical thinking
process. Listening to experts discuss the merits of their studies helps the listener to analyze a
certain issue and write about such analysis.

7. Nourishment and Exercise for the Mind

Curiosity may kill not just the cat, but the human as well. Yet, it is the same curiosity
that fuels the mind to seek answers. The College Admissions Partners (n.d.) notes how
scientific research in particular "helps students develop critical reasoning skills...helpful for
any field of higher education..." Such a search or the thinking process is food for the brain,
allowing creativity and logic to remain active. It also helps prevent mental illnesses like
Alzheimer's.

Several studies have shown that mentally stimulating activities like doing research can
contribute to brain health. In "Educating the Brain to Avoid Dementia: Can Mental Exercise
Prevent Alzheimer Disease?", Margaret Gatz (2005) enumerated research findings that
support such a position. However, she also noted that there may be other factors involved in
averting said mental problem. One of these is intelligence. A study involving 11-year-old
pupils in Scotland in 2000, for instance, pointed to intelligence quotient (IQ) scores as
"predictive of future dementia risk". Gatz opined that clinical trials are needed and that
"conclusions must be based on large samples, followed over a long time." She further
posited:

1.3 TYPES OF RESEARCH

Research is a logical and systematic search for new and useful information on a
particular topic. Research is important both in scientific and nonscientific fields. In our life,
new problems, events, phenomena, and processes occur every day. Practically,
implementable solutions and suggestions are required for tackling new problems that arise.
Scientists have to undertake research on them and find their causes, solutions, explanations,
and applications.
The research is broadly classified into two main classes: 1. Fundamental or basic
research and 2. Applied research. Basic and applied researches are generally of two kinds:
normal research and revolutionary research. In any particular field, normal research is
performed following a set of rules, concepts and procedures called a paradigm, which is well
accepted by the scientists working in that field. Besides, the basic and applied researches
can be quantitative or qualitative, or even both (mixed research).

1.Fundamental or basic research:

Basic research is an investigation of basic principles and reasons for the occurrence of a
particular event or process or phenomenon. It is also called theoretical research. Study or
investigation of some natural phenomenon or relating to pure science are termed as basic
research. Basic researches sometimes may not lead to immediate use or application. It is not
concerned with solving any practical problems of immediate interest. But it is original or basic.
It provides a systematic and deep insight into a problem and facilitates the extraction of
scientific and logical explanations and conclusions on it. It helps build new frontiers of
knowledge. The outcomes of basic research form the basis for much-applied research.
Basic research

 Seeks generalization
 Aims at basic processes
 Attempts to explain why things happen
 Tries to get all the facts
 Reports in the technical language of the topic

2. Applied research:

In an applied research one solves certain problems employing well-known and accepted
theories and principles. Most of the experimental research, case studies, and inter-
disciplinary research are essentially applied research. Applied research is helpful for basic
research. Research, the outcome of which has immediate application is also termed as
applied research. Such research is of practical use to current activity.
Applied research

 Studies individual or specific cases without the objective to generalize

 Aims at any variable which makes the desired difference
 Tries to say how things can be changed
 Tries to correct the problematic facts
 Reports in common language

Basic and applied research, further divided into three types of research bearing some
characteristics feature as follows:
Quantitative research

 It is numerical, non-descriptive, applies statistics or mathematics, and uses numbers.

 It is an iterative process whereby evidence is evaluated.
 The results are often presented in tables and graphs.
 It is conclusive.
 It investigates what, where, and when of decision making.
Qualitative research

 It is non-numerical, descriptive, applies to reason, and uses words.

 It aims to get the meaning, feeling, and describe the situation.
 Qualitative data cannot be graphed.
 It is exploratory.
 It investigates the why and how of decision making.

Mixed research
Mixed research- research that involves the mixing of quantitative and qualitative methods or
paradigm characteristics. The nature of data is a mixture of variables, words, and images.
Other types of research
Exploratory Research
Exploratory research might involve a literature search or conducting focus group interviews.
The exploration of new phenomena in this way may help the researcher’s need for better
understanding, may test the feasibility of a more extensive study, or determine the best
methods to be used in a subsequent study. For these reasons, exploratory research is broad
in focus and rarely provides definite answers to specific research issues.
The objective of exploratory research is to identify key issues and key variables.
Descriptive research
The descriptive research is directed toward studying “what” and how many of this “what”.
Thus, it is directed toward answering questions such as, “What is this?”.
Explanatory research

 Its primary goal is to understand or to explain relationships.

 It uses correlations to study relationships between dimensions or characteristics of
individuals, groups, situations, or events.
 Explanatory research explains (How the parts of a phenomenon are related to each
other).
 Explanatory research asks the “Why” question.

Longitudinal Research
Research carried out longitudinally involves data collection at multiple points in time.
Longitudinal studies may take the form of:

 Trend study- looks at population characteristics over time, e.g. organizational

absenteeism rates during a year
 Cohort study- traces a sub-population over time, e.g. absenteeism rates for the sales
department;
 Panel study- traces the same sample over time, e.g. graduate career tracks over the
period 1990 – 2000 for the same starting cohort.

While longitudinal studies will often be more time consuming and expensive than cross-
sectional studies, they are more likely to identify causal relationships between variables.
Cross-sectional Research
One-shot or cross-sectional studies are those in which data is gathered once, during days,
weeks, or months. Many cross-sectional studies are exploratory or descriptive in purpose.
They are designed to look at how things are now, without any sense of whether there is a
history or trend at work.
Action research

 Fact findings to improve the quality of action in the social world

Policy-Oriented Research

 Reports employing this type of research focus on the question ‘How can problem ‘X’
be solved or prevented ?’

Comparative research

 To identify similarities and differences between units at all levels

Causal research

 It aims at establishing cause and effect relationship among variable

Theory-testing research

 It aims at testing the validity of a unit

Theory-building research

 To establish and formulate the theory

1.4 CLASSIFICATION OF RESEARCH

By Purpose:

Basic research is conducted solely for theory development and refinement. For
example, much basic research has been conducted with animals to determine the principles
of reinforcement and their effect on learning. Like the experiment of skinner on cats gave the
principle of conditioning and reinforcement.

Applied research is conducted to apply or test theory and evaluating its usefulness in
educational problems. For example, applied research tests the principle of reinforcement to
determine their effectiveness in improving learning (e.g. programmed instruction) and
behavior (e.g. behavior modification).

Research and development

Research Brings new information to light. Focuses on the interaction between
research and the production and evaluation of a new product. This type of research can be
‘formative’ (by collecting evaluative information about the product while it is being developed
to use such information to modify and improve the development process).
For example, an investigation of teachers’ reactions to the various drafts and redrafts
of a new mathematics teaching kit, with the information gathered at each stage being used to
improve each stage of the drafting process.
It can be ‘summative’ (by evaluating the worth of the final product, especially in
comparison to some other competing product).
For example, a comparison of the mathematics achievement of students exposed to a
new mathematics teaching kit in comparison with students exposed to the established
mathematics curriculum.

Evaluation Research. The purpose of evaluation research is to facilitate decision

making regarding the relative worth of two or more alternative actions

By Method:
 Historical research generates descriptions, and sometimes attempted explanations,
of conditions, situations, and events that have occurred in the past. For example, a study that
documents the evolution of teacher training programs since the turn of the century, to explain
the historical origins of the content and processes of the current program
Descriptive research provides information about conditions, situations, and events
that occur in the present. It is also called statistical research. The main goal of this type of
research is to describe the data and characteristics of what is being studied. The idea behind
this type of research is to study frequencies, averages, and other statistical calculations.
Although this research is highly accurate, it does not gather the causes behind a situation.

Experimental research is used in settings where variables defining one or more

‘causes’ can be manipulated systematically to discern ‘effects’ on other variables. For
example, an investigation of the effectiveness of two new textbooks using random
assignment of teachers and students to three groups – two groups for each of the new
textbooks, and one group as a ‘control’ group to use the existing textbook.

1.4.1 Synthesis

A dozen schemes proposing to classify research questions are surveyed, analyzed and
applied to the understanding and practice of inquiry. The extent to which the various schemes account
for questions found in educational journals is estimated. Some principles and issues are identified to
stimulate work on the classification of research questions in education and other enterprises of
inquiry. On the whole, little is known about the kinds of questions that may be posed for research.

1.5 Research Techniques

Surveys often involve questions to which the respondents respond. These questions may be
open-ended, semi open-ended, and closed-ended questions.

1. Open-ended questions
Examples:
 What is your opinion on this?
 Why do you think it should not be done or it should be done?
 Describe your experience with a particular incident.

2. Close-ended questions
Examples:
 Do you agree with the hypothesis? answer in yes or no.
 On a scale of 1 to 5 how would you rate the restaurant 1 being the best and 5 being
the worst.
 Which of the following would be your color of choice? Red, yellow, green, or blue.
 Which city did you grow up in?
 What is your age?

3. Semi open-ended questions

Example:
 How was your experience? Options – Good, Bad, Neutral, Other
(explain in detail)

4. Focus Groups
 Questionnaires are designed for focus group interviews also but there may not be any
questionnaires for focus group discussions. Although in such cases follow up
questions may also be presented to the participants after completing the discussions.
focus group interviews are used by many companies before the launch of their product
to understand the views of the customers.

5. Interviews | Research Techniques

  Usually conducted interview requires a detailed plan about the process of conducting
an interview and the flow in which the interview is to be conducted.

6. Brainstorming
Examples:
 Quantity first
 No criticism
 Out of the box ideas
 Improvement by combination

7. Gamestorming | Research Techniques

Example:
If the ultimate goal of the business is to find the primary feature of the product then the
gamestorming game may involve each of the participants accompanying a limited set
of features or specifications which will allow them to bite or buy on different features
and see which one is on top.

8. Web Analytics
 Web analytics can also be combined with gamification where buy bye we can come to
know about the impact on their behavior and we can adjust and optimize the strategy
as required.
5 ways:
 Set Goals. As we covered last week, people attach a great deal of importance to
metrics such as bounce rate, time on site, and page views. ...
 Check for Problem Pages. People will leave your site – that is a foregone conclusion.
 Consider Your Target Audience. ...
 Leverage Top Traffic Sources. ...
 Curb Your Addiction.

9. A/B testing | Research Techniques

 The goal of AB testing is not to improve the single point but to improve the overall
experience.
Small and one-by-one changes can be introduced in a b testing so that over time the
entire collection of changes can result in a drastic change.
Example of A/B Testing in the Travel Industry:
Increase the number of successful bookings on your website or mobile app, your
revenue from ancillary purchases, and much more through A/B testing. You may try
testing your home page search modals, search results page, ancillary product
presentation, your checkout progress bar, and so on.

10. Playtesting
 A non-disclosure agreement may be signed for all of the forms of playtesting by the
participants.
Examples:
 How many collision errors are there in my game?
 Where are the collision errors in my game?

1.5 TYPES OF RESEARCH

Quantitative Research

When we speak of research in public relations, we are normally referring to primary research,
such as public opinion studies based on surveys and polling. (The following lists quantitative
research methods commonly employed in public relations.) Surveys are synonymous with
public opinion polls and are one example of quantitative research. Quantitative research is
based on statistical generalization. It allows us to make numerical observations such as “85%
of Infiniti owners say that they would purchase an Infiniti again.” Statistical observations allow
us to know exactly where we need to improve relationships with certain publics, and we can
then measure how much those relationships have ultimately improved (or degraded) at the
end of a public relations initiative. For example, a strategic report in public relations
management for the automobile maker Infiniti might include a statement such as “11% of new
car buyers were familiar with the G35 all-wheel-drive option 3 months ago, and after our
campaign 28% of new car buyers were familiar with this option, meaning that we created a
17% increase in awareness among the new car buying public.” Other data gathered might
report on purchasing intentions, important features of a new vehicle to that public, brand
reputation variables, and so on. Quantitative research allows us to have a before and after
snapshot to compare the numbers in each group, therefore allowing us to say how much
change was evidenced as a result of public relations’ efforts.

Methods of Quantitative Data Collection

Internet-based surveys

Telephone surveys

Mail surveys

Content analysis (usually of media coverage)

Comment cards and feedback forms

Warranty cards (usually demographic information on buyers)

Frequent shopper program tracking (purchasing data)

In quantitative research, the entire public you wish to understand or make statements about is
called the population. The population might be women over 40, Democrats, Republicans,
purchasers of a competitor’s product, or any other group that you would like to study. From
that population, you would select a sample to contact with questions. Probability samples can
be randomly drawn from a list of the population, which gives you the strongest statistical
measures of generalizability. A random sample means that participants are drawn randomly
and have an equal chance of being selected. You know some variants in your population
exists, but a random sample should account for all opinions in that population. The larger the
sample size (number of respondents), the smaller the margin of error and the more confident
the researcher can be that the sample is an accurate reflection of the entire population.

There are also other sampling methods, known as nonprobability samples, that do not allow
for generalization but meet the requirement of the problem or project. A convenience sample,
for instance, is drawn from those who are convenient to study, such as having visitors to a
shopping mall fill out a survey. Another approach is a snowball sample in which the
researcher asks someone to complete a survey to recommend the next potential respondent
to complete the survey. A purposive sample is when you seek out a certain group of people.
These methods allow no generalizability to the larger population, but they are often less
expensive than random sample methods and still may generate the type of data that answers
your research question.

Quantitative research has the major strength of allowing you to understand who your publics
are, where they get their information, how many believe certain viewpoints, and which
communications create the strongest resonance with their beliefs. Demographic variables are
used to very specifically segment publics. Demographics are generally gender, education,
race, profession, geographic location, annual household income, political affiliation, religious
affiliation, and size of family or household. Once these data are collected, it is easy to spot
trends by cross-tabulating the data with opinion and attitude variables. Such cross-tabulations
result in very specific publics who can be targeted with future messages in the channels and
the language that they prefer. For example, in conducting public relations research for a
health insurance company, cross-tabulating data with survey demographics might yield a
public who are White males, are highly educated and professional, live in the southeastern
United States, have an annual household income above $125,000, usually vote
conservatively and have some religious beliefs, have an average household size of 3.8
people, and strongly agree with the following message: “Health insurance should be an
individual choice, not the responsibility of government.” In that example, you would have
identified a voting public to whom you could reach out for support of individualized health
insurance.

Segmenting the public in this manner is an everyday occurrence in public relations

management. Through their segmentation, public relations managers have an idea of who
will support their organization, who will oppose the organization, and what communications—
messages and values—resonate with each public. After using research to identify these
groups, public relations professionals can then build relationships with them to conduct
informal research, better understand their positions, and help to represent the values and
desires of those publics in organizational decision making and policy formation.

Qualitative Research

The second major kind of research method normally used in the public relations industry is
qualitative research. Qualitative research generates in-depth, “quality” information that allows
us to truly understand public opinion, but it is not statistically generalizable. (The following
lists qualitative research methods commonly employed in public relations.) Qualitative
research is enormously valuable because it allows us to truly learn the experience, values,
and viewpoints of our publics. It also provides ample quotes to use as evidence or illustration
in our strategy documents, and sometimes even results in slogans or fodder for use in public
relations’ messages.

Qualitative research is particularly adept at answering questions from public relations

practitioners that began “How?” or “Why?”Yin (1994). This form of research allows the
researcher to ask the participants to explain their rationale for decision making, belief
systems, values, thought processes, and so on. It allows researchers to explore complicated
topics to understand the meaning behind them and the meanings that participants ascribe to
certain concepts. For example, a researcher might ask a participant, “What does the concept
of liberty mean to you?” and get a detailed explanation. However, we would expect that
explanation to vary among participants, and different concepts might be associated with
liberty when asking an American versus a citizen of Iran or China. Such complex
understandings are extremely helpful in integrating the values and ideals of the public into
organizational strategy, as well as in crafting messages that resonate with those specific
publics of different nationalities.

Methods of Qualitative Data Collection

In-depth interviews

Focus groups

Case studies

Participant observation

Monitoring toll-free (1-800 #) call transcripts

Monitoring complaints by e-mail and letter

Public relations managers often use qualitative research to support quantitative findings.
Qualitative research can be designed to understand the views of specific publics and to have
them elaborate on beliefs or values that stood out in quantitative analyses. For example, if
quantitative research showed a strong agreement with the particular statement, that
statement could be read to focus group participants and ask them to agree or disagree with
this statement and explain their rationale and thought process behind that choice. In this
manner, qualitative researchers can understand complex reasoning and dilemmas in much
greater detail than only through results yielded by a survey. Miles and Huberman (1994).

Another reason to use qualitative research is that it can provide data that researchers did not
know they needed. For instance, a focus group may take an unexpected turn and the
discussion may yield statements that the researcher had not thought to include on a survey
questionnaire. Sometimes unknown information or unfamiliar perspectives arise through
qualitative studies that are ultimately extremely valuable to public relations’ understanding of
the issues impacting the public.

Qualitative research also allows for participants to speak for themselves rather than to use
the terminology provided by researchers. This benefit can often yield a greater understanding
that results in far more effective messages than when public relations practitioners attempt to
construct views of the public based on quantitative research alone. Using the representative
language of members of a certain public often allows public relations to build a more
respectful relationship with that public. For instance, animal rights activists often use the term
“companion animal” instead of the term “pet”—that information could be extremely important
to organizations such as Purina or the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Mixed Methods/Triangulation

Both quantitative and qualitative research have complementary and unique strengths. These
two research methodologies should be used in conjunction whenever possible in public
relations management so that both publics and issues can be fully understood. Using both of
these research methods together is called mixed method research, and scholars generally
agree that mixing methods yields the most reliable research results. Tashakkori and Teddlie
(1998). It is best to combine as many methods as is feasible to understand important issues.
Combining multiple focus groups from various cities with interviews of important leaders and
a quantitative survey of the public is an example of mixed-method research because it
includes both quantitative and qualitative methodology. Using two or more methods of study
is sometimes called triangulation, meaning using multiple research methods to triangulate
upon the underlying truth of how the public views an issue.

1.6 RESEARCH TECHNIQUES

We introduce a curated list of user research and market research techniques pertinent to

gamification in an enterprise context. Each of these techniques could be used individually or
in combination, based on your objectives.

1.Observation

This technique focuses on seeing what the users do as opposed to what they say they do.

This refers to research conducted outside a traditional lab setting, in a user's natural work
environment. It involves visiting the site where the product is used and observing the usage in
action. It can reveal interesting insights on environmental circumstances affecting the usage
of the product, and supplementary tools and work-arounds used along with the product.

 Contextual inquiry

The contextual inquiry research technique combines observation with interview-style question
and response. Participants get to explain their actions or "think aloud" as they work through a
task or activity.
2. Surveys / Questionnaires

Surveys or questionnaires are useful to gather information on the profile of the user, his or
her job responsibilities and opinion of the current version of product (if available) or similar
product (if this is a new release). It is easy to collect both quantitative and qualitative
information using surveys. Surveys may be online or face-to-face. Online surveys may be
conducted using tools such as SurveyMonkey (footnote 1). Face-to-face surveys may be
conducted in combination with observational techniques such as site visits or a usability lab.

It is important to know how to ask the right questions the right way to get quality input for
design. This means not asking leading or confusing questions.

3. Focus Groups

A focus group is a qualitative research technique where a group of individuals is asked their

opinions, perceptions, beliefs, attitudes, or practices regarding a product, service, or concept.
It is important to pay attention to group dynamics when conducting a focus group since the
loudest voice may dominate the conversation and drown out other opinions.

4. Interviews

Interviews are a "guided conversation where one person seeks information from the other."
An interview may be conducted in conjunction with other requirements-gathering activity such
as a site visit, or as a solo activity.

There are various types of interviews you can choose from based on your project needs and
constraints. Interviews may be conducted remotely (via the phone), or face to face. A
structured interview is one where the list of questions is prepared in advance and the
researcher tries to solicit answers from all participants. A non-directed interview is one where
the interviewer primarily listens to the subject and provides minimal input or direction.

5. Diary studies

A diary study involves asking the test participants to record and report their experiences
related to a particular subject over a while. Depending on the type of study, participants may
use paper diaries, emails, Twitter, or a combination. Such studies can be flexible and easy to
execute. They are particularly appropriate for understanding mobile device usage since it
allows the user to provide their input on-the-go.

Like most research methods, diary studies need to be well designed and have a focus to be
effective. A poorly designed study may yield a lot of data that may be difficult to sift through to
create meaning.

6.  Brainstorming

Brainstorming is a tool for creative problem solving, wherein a group of people comes
together to contribute ideas spontaneously. It is particularly useful when you want to break
out of stale, established patterns of thinking so that you can develop new ways of looking at
things. When an interdisciplinary product team brainstorms to come to a common vision of
the solution, it helps get buy-in for the chosen solution.

7. Gamestorming
Gamestorming, as the name suggests, refers to the use of games for brainstorming. The term
Innovation Games also refers to this technique. Presenting the problem in a game format
suspends some of the normal protocols of life and frees the participants to think creatively to
solve problems. For example, if the goal is to prioritize a list of features in a product,
gamestorming may involve giving each participant a limited set of resources and allowing
them to buy/bet on features to see which ones come out on top.

8. Web Analytics

Web analytics refers to gathering and analyzing usage data to gain insights into consumer
actions and attitudes. Tools such as Google Web Analytics and Omniture have made it
possible for companies to adopt a real data driven approach to understanding usage patterns
to optimize the experience for the user. In the case of gamification, it is very useful to know
the impact on player behavior to adjust and optimize the strategy as needed.

9. Playtesting

A playtest is a type of usability testing, in which a game designer tests a new game for bugs
and design flaws before release. The target player types are recruited via various methods,
and are given the game to play. The designers observe the participants and study usage
statistics to collect qualitative and quantitative data on the product. They then iterate to make
the product better. This practice is beneficial to gamification as well.

10. A/B Testing

A/B testing is an experimental approach to user experience design. It presents two versions
of a website (Option A and Option B) to the user, and analyzes users' behavior. Typically, it
tries to track the effect of the differences of the two options against a desired goal. For
example, if a website is trying to increase click through rate, they may present a version to
one set of online users, and a different version to another. They could analyze if these
differences have any impact on the metric they care about.

11.  Other research methods

When designing enterprise products, it is helpful to know the domain via online research.
Researching competitors is an important part of the initial 360- degree research for any
product. Analyst and market research reports usually provide good insight into industry trends
and business practices.

Professional communities like LinkedIn offer groups for specialized categories of users.
Browsing such communities can provide a way to build empathy for your target users by
getting a glimpse of their view of the world.

SYNTHESIS

Research is a very important part of our daily lives and for our social development.
Everything that we are using or enjoying are products of research. Finding reasons why
research is important seems like a no-brainer. However, many people are not indulging their
selves in researching, many people avoid getting involved in the research. Some reluctant
students student is probably thinking - "Oh, no. Not again," while a disinterested academic
could just be doing it to secure job tenure and/or a promotion. Yet, for those who like to learn,
whether they are members of a learning institution or not, doing research is not just an
imperative, but a need.
 Research and doing research encourage people to explore possibilities, to understand
existing issues, and to disclose truths and fabricated ones. Without research, technological
advancement and other developments could have remained a fantasy. Reading, writing,
observing, analyzing, and social interaction facilitate an inquisitive mind's quest for
knowledge, learning, and wisdom. Research serves as a bridge to achieve that goal.

The human quest to seek knowledge, satisfy one's sense of wonder, develop more
abilities, connect with others, and understand society is integral to research. Perpetuating
truths, as well as debunking lies and myths require inquisitive minds and priceless integrity.
As the world continues to evolve, doing research becomes more important as a skill with
enduring rewards.

Depending on the purpose of research, scientific research projects can be grouped

into three types: exploratory, descriptive, and explanatory. Exploratory research is often
conducted in new areas of inquiry, where the goals of the research are: (1) to scope out the
magnitude or extent of a particular phenomenon, problem, or behavior, (2) to generate some
initial ideas (or “hunches”) about that phenomenon, or (3) to test the feasibility of undertaking
a more extensive study regarding that phenomenon.

The research comes in many shapes and sizes. Before a researcher begins to conduct

a study, he or she must decide on a specific type of research.  Good researchers understand
the advantages and disadvantages of each type, although most end up specializing in one.
Research is a logical and systematic search for new and useful information on a particular
topic. Research is important both in scientific and nonscientific fields. In our life new
problems, events, phenomena and processes occur every day. Practically, implementable
solutions and suggestions are required for tackling new problems that arise. Scientists have
to undertake research on them and find their causes, solutions, explanations and
applications.
The research is broadly classified into two main classes: 1. Fundamental or basic
research and 2. Applied research. Basic and applied researches are generally of two kinds:
normal research and revolutionary research. In any particular field, normal research is
performed in accordance with a set of rules, concepts and procedures called a paradigm,
which is well accepted by the scientists working in that field. In addition, the basic and applied
researches can be quantitative or qualitative or even both (mixed research).
Research methods are generalised and established ways of approaching research
questions. Research methods are divided into qualitative and quantitative approaches and
involve the specific study activities of collecting and analyzing research data in order to
answer the particular research question. Not all methods can be applied to all research
questions: a. Qualitative methods should be deployed when the research aim is an in-depth,
contextual analysis of a phenomenon; b. Quantitative methods should be deployed when the
research aim is to produce generalizable results that show prevalence, incidence, statistical
relationships between variables and causation. Data collection methods can be used in
various study types, including: a. Empirical studies, these are field based studies during
which the research collects primary data. b. Desk Reviews, these are non-filed based studies
during which the researcher analyses and synthesises secondary data to articulate new
findings. c. Research Analysis and Evaluation, these can be either field studies or desk
reviews during which the researcher aims to recommend the best policy or program option
before implementation or aims to articulate the impact of a policy or program after
implementation.
 II. RESEARCH DESIGN

2. 1 RESEARCH DESIGN

Research Design is the framework of research methods and techniques chosen by a

researcher. The design allows researchers to hone in on research methods that are suitable
for the subject matter and set up their studies up for success.

The design of a research topic explains the type of research

(experimental, survey, correlational, semi-experimental, review) and also its sub-type
(experimental design, research problem, descriptive case-study). 

There are three main types of research design: Data collection, measurement, and analysis.

The type of research problem an organization is facing will determine the research design
and not vice-versa. The design phase of a study determines which tools to use and how they
are used.

An impactful research design usually creates a minimum bias in data and increases trust in
the accuracy of collected data. A design that produces the least margin of error in
experimental research is generally considered the desired outcome. The essential elements
of the research design are:

1. Accurate purpose statement

2. Techniques to be implemented for collecting and analyzing research
3. The method applied for analyzing collected details
4. Type of research methodology
5. Probable objections for research
6. Settings for the research study
7. Timeline
8. Measurement of analysis

Proper research design sets your study up for success. Successful research studies provide
insights that are accurate and unbiased. You’ll need to create a survey that meets all of the
main characteristics of a design. There are four key characteristics of research design:

Neutrality: When you set up your study, you may have to make assumptions about the data
you expect to collect. The results projected in the research design should be free from bias
and neutral. Understand opinions about the final evaluated scores and conclusion from
multiple individuals and consider those who agree with the derived results.

Reliability: With regularly conducted research, the researcher involved expects similar

results every time. Your design should indicate how to form research questions to ensure the
standard of results. You’ll only be able to reach the expected results if your design is reliable.

Validity: There are multiple measuring tools available. However, the only correct measuring
tools are those which help a researcher in gauging results according to the objective of the
research. The questionnaire developed from this design will then be valid.

Generalization: The outcome of your design should apply to a population and not just a
restricted sample. A generalized design implies that your survey can be conducted on any
part of a population with similar accuracy.
The above factors affect the way respondents answer the research questions and so all the
above characteristics should be balanced in a good design.

A researcher must have a clear understanding of the various types of research design to
select which model to implement for a study. Like research itself, the design of your study can
be broadly classified into quantitative and qualitative.

Qualitative research design: Qualitative research determines relationships between

collected data and observations based on mathematical calculations. Theories related to a
naturally existing phenomenon can be proved or disproved using statistical methods.
Researchers rely on qualitative research design methods that conclude “why” a particular
theory exists along with “what” respondents have to say about it.

Quantitative research design: Quantitative research is for cases where statistical

conclusions to collect actionable insights are essential. Numbers provide a better perspective
to make critical business decisions. Quantitative research design methods are necessary for
the growth of any organization. Insights drawn from hard numerical data and analysis prove
to be highly effective when making decisions related to the future of the business.

You can further break down the types of research design into five categories:

1. Descriptive research design: In a descriptive design, a researcher is solely interested in

describing the situation or case under their research study. It is a theory-based design
method which is created by gathering, analyzing, and presenting collected data. This allows a
researcher to provide insights into the why and how of research. Descriptive design helps
others better understand the need for the research. If the problem statement is not clear, you
can conduct exploratory research. 

2. Experimental research design: Experimental research design establishes a relationship

between the cause and effect of a situation. It is a causal design where one observes the
impact caused by the independent variable on the dependent variable. For example, one
monitors the influence of an independent variable such as a price on a dependent variable
such as customer satisfaction or brand loyalty. It is a highly practical research design method
as it contributes to solving a problem at hand. The independent variables are manipulated to
monitor the change it has on the dependent variable. It is often used in social sciences to
observe human behavior by analyzing two groups. Researchers can have participants
change their actions and study how the people around them react to gain a better
understanding of social psychology.

3. Correlational research design: Correlational research is a non-experimental research

design technique that helps researchers establish a relationship between two closely
connected variables. This type of research requires two different groups. There is no
assumption while evaluating a relationship between two different variables, and statistical
analysis techniques calculate the relationship between them.

A correlation coefficient determines the correlation between two variables, whose value
ranges between -1 and +1. If the correlation coefficient is towards +1, it indicates a positive
relationship between the variables and -1 means a negative relationship between the two
variables. 

4. Diagnostic research design: In diagnostic design, the researcher is looking to evaluate

the underlying cause of a specific topic or phenomenon. This method helps one learn more
about the factors that create troublesome situations. 
This design has three parts of the research:

· Inception of the issue

· Diagnosis of the issue

· Solution for the issue

5. Explanatory research design: Explanatory design uses a researcher’s ideas and

thoughts on a subject to further explore their theories. The research explains unexplored
aspects of a subject and details about what, how, and why of research questions.

2.2 THE RESEARCH PROCESS

The following seven steps outline a simple and effective strategy for finding information for a
research paper and documenting the sources you find. Depending on your topic and your
familiarity with the library, you may need to rearrange or recycle these steps. Adapt this
outline to your needs. We are ready to help you at every step in your research.

Step 1: Identify and Develop Your Topic

State your topic as a question. For example, if you are interested in finding out about use of
alcoholic beverages by college students, you might pose the question, "What effect does use
of alcoholic beverages have on the health of college students?" Identify the main concepts or
keywords in your question.

Step 2: Find Background Information

 Look up your keywords in the indexes to subject encyclopedias. Read articles in these
encyclopedias to set the context for your research. Note any relevant items in the
bibliographies at the end of the encyclopedia articles. Additional background information may
be found in your lecture notes, textbooks, and reserve readings.

Step 3: Use Catalogs to Find Books And Media

Use guided keyword searching to find materials by topic or subject. Print or write down the
citation (author, title,etc.) and the location information (call number and library). Note the
circulation status. When you pull the book from the shelf, scan the bibliography for additional
sources. Watch for book-length bibliographies and annual reviews on your subject; they list
citations to hundreds of books and articles in one subject area. Check the standard subject
subheading "--BIBLIOGRAPHIES," or titles beginning with Annual Review of... in the Cornell
Library Classic Catalog.

 
Step 4: Use Indexes to Find Periodical Articles

Use periodical indexes and abstracts to find citations to articles. The indexes and abstracts
may be in print or computer-based formats or both. Choose the indexes and format best
suited to your particular topic; ask at the reference desk if you need help figuring out which
index and format will be best. You can find periodical articles by the article author, title, or
keyword by using the periodical indexes in the Library home page. If the full text is not linked
in the index you are using, write down the citation from the index and search for the title of the
periodical in the Cornell Library Classic Catalog. The catalog lists the print, microform, and
electronic versions of periodicals at Cornell.

Step 5: Find Additional Internet Resources

 Nearly everyone is aware of and uses Google and its branches, Google Scholar, Google

Books, Google News, YouTube, etc., to search and find information on the open Internet (as
opposed to the subscription-only resources you will encounter in steps 2 through 4 above).

Step 6: Evaluate What You Find

See How to Critically Analyze Information Sources and Distinguishing Scholarly from Non-

Scholarly Periodicals: A Checklist of Criteria for suggestions on evaluating the authority and
quality of the books and articles you located.  Identifying scholarly journalsIdentifying
substantive news sources

If you have found too many or too few sources, you may need to narrow or broaden your
topic. Check with a reference librarian or your instructor.

Step 7: Cite What You Find Using A Standard Format

Give credit where credit is due; cite your sources.

Citing or documenting the sources used in your research serves two purposes, it gives proper
credit to the authors of the materials used, and it allows those who are reading your work to
duplicate your research and locate the sources that you have listed as references.

Knowingly representing the work of others as your own is plagarism. (See Cornell's Code of
Academic Integrity). Use one of the styles listed below or another style approved by your
instructor. Handouts summarizing the APA and MLA styles are available at Uris and Oline
Reference.

RefWorks is a web-based program that allows you to easily collect, manage, and organize
bibliographic references by interfacing with databases. RefWorks also interfaces directly with
Word, making it easy to import references and incorporate them into your writing, properly
formatted according to the style of your choice.
 Modern Language Association (MLA) examples and American Psychological
Association (APA) examples.

 Style guides in print (book) format:

 MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 7th ed. New York: MLA, 2009.
(Olin Reference LB 2369 .G53 2009 [shelved at the reference desk]; also Uris
Reference, others)

This handbook is based on the MLA Style Manual (Olin and Uris Ref PN 147 .G444x
1998) and is intended as an aid for college students writing research papers. Included
here is information on selecting a topic, researching the topic, note taking, the writing
of footnotes and bibliographies, as well as sample pages of a research paper. Useful
for the beginning researcher.

 Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. 6th ed.

Washington: APA, 2010. (Olin Reference BF 76.7 .P83 2010 [shelved at the
reference desk]; also Uris Reference, Mann Reference, others)

The authoritative style manual for anyone writing in the field of psychology. Useful for
the social sciences generally. Chapters discuss the content and organization of a
manuscript, writing style, the American Psychological Association citation style, and
typing, mailing and proofreading.

2.3 RESEARCH PROBLEM

A research problem is a definite or clear expression [statement] about an area of
concern, a condition to be improved upon, a difficulty to be eliminated, or a troubling
question that exists in scholarly literature, in theory, or within existing practice that points
to a need for meaningful understanding and deliberate investigation. A research problem
does not state how to do something, offer a vague or broad proposition, or present a
value question.

The purpose of a problem statement is to:

1. Introduce the reader to the importance of the topic being studied . The reader
is oriented to the significance of the study.
2. Anchors the research questions, hypotheses, or assumptions to follow .
It offers a concise statement about the purpose of your paper.
3. Place the topic into a particular context that defines the parameters of what is
to be investigated.
4. Provide the framework for reporting the results and indicates what is probably
necessary to conduct the study and explain how the findings will present this
information.

In the social sciences, the research problem establishes the means by which you must
answer the "So What?" question. This question refers to a research problem surviving
the relevancy test [the quality of a measurement procedure that provides repeatability
and accuracy]. Note that answering the "So What?" question requires a commitment on
your part to not only show that you have reviewed the literature, but that you have
thoroughly considered the significance of the research problem and its implications
applied to creating new knowledge and understanding.
To survive the "So What" question, problem statements should possess the
following attributes:

 Clarity and precision [a well-written statement does not make sweeping

generalizations and irresponsible pronouncements; it also does include unspecific
determinates like "very" or "giant"],
 Demonstrate a researchable topic or issue [i.e., feasibility of conducting the study
is based upon access to information that can be effectively acquired, gathered,
interpreted, synthesized, and understood],
 Identification of what would be studied, while avoiding the use of value-laden
words and terms,
 Identification of an overarching question or small set of questions accompanied by
key factors or variables,
 Identification of key concepts and terms,
 Articulation of the study's conceptual boundaries or parameters or limitations,
 Some generalizability in regards to applicability and bringing results into general
use,
 Conveyance of the study's importance, benefits, and justification [i.e., regardless
of the type of research, it is important to demonstrate that the research is not trivial],
 Does not have unnecessary jargon or overly complex sentence constructions;
and,
 Conveyance of more than the mere gathering of descriptive data providing only a
snapshot of the issue or phenomenon under investigation.

2.3 PREPARING BIBLIOGRAPHY

A bibliography is a list of all of the sources you have used in the process of researching your
work. In general, a bibliography should include:

 the authors' names

 the titles of the works
 the names and locations of the companies that published your copies of the sources

 the dates your copies were published

 the page numbers of your sources (if they are part of multi-source volumes)

OK, So What's an Annotated Bibliography?

An annotated bibliography is the same as a bibliography with one important difference: in an

annotated bibliography, the bibliographic information is followed by a brief description of the
content, quality, and usefulness of the source.

What Are Footnotes?

Footnotes are notes placed at the bottom of a page. They cite references or comment on a
designated part of the text above it. For example, say you want to add an interesting
comment to a sentence you have written, but the comment is not directly related to the
argument of your paragraph. In this case, you could add the symbol for a footnote. Then, at
the bottom of the page you could reprint the symbol and insert your comment. Here is an
example:

This is an illustration of a footnote.1 The number “1” at the end of the previous sentence
corresponds with the note below. See how it fits in the body of the text?

1 At the bottom of the page you can insert your comments about the sentence preceding the
footnote.
When your reader comes across the footnote in the main text of your paper, he or she could
look down at your comments right away, or else continue reading the paragraph and read
your comments at the end. Because this makes it convenient for your reader, most citation
styles require that you use either footnotes or endnotes in your paper. Some, however, allow
you to make parenthetical references (author, date) in the body of your work. See our section
on citation styles for more information.

Footnotes are not just for interesting comments, however. Sometimes they simply refer to
relevant sources -- they let your reader know where certain material came from or where they
can look for other sources on the subject. To decide whether you should cite your sources in
footnotes or in the body of your paper, you should ask your instructor or see our section on
citation styles.

Where Does the Little Footnote Mark Go?

Whenever possible, put the footnote at the end of a sentence, immediately following the
period or whatever punctuation mark completes that sentence. Skip two spaces after the
footnote before you begin the next sentence. If you must include the footnote in the middle of
a sentence for the sake of clarity, or because the sentence has more than one footnote (try to
avoid this!), try to put it at the end of the most relevant phrase, after a comma or other
punctuation mark. Otherwise, put it right at the end of the most relevant word. If the footnote
is not at the end of a sentence, skip only one space after it.

What's the Difference between Footnotes and Endnotes?

The only real difference is placement -- footnotes appear at the bottom of the relevant page,
while endnotes all appear at the end of your document. If you want your reader to read your
notes right away, footnotes are more likely to get your reader's attention. Endnotes, on the
other hand, are less intrusive and will not interrupt the flow of your paper.

If I Cite Sources in the Footnotes (or Endnotes), How's that Different from a Bibliography?

Sometimes you may be asked to include these -- especially if you have used
a parenthetical style of citation. A "works cited" page is a list of all the works
from which you have borrowed material. Your reader may find this more
convenient than footnotes or endnotes because he

or she will not have to wade through all of the comments and other information in order to see
the sources from which you drew your material. A "works consulted" page is a complement to
a "works cited" page, listing all of the works you used, whether they were useful or not.

Isn't a "Works Consulted" Page the Same as a "Bibliography," Then?

Well, yes. The title is different because "works consulted" pages are meant to complement
"works cited" pages, and bibliographies may list other relevant sources in addition to those
mentioned in footnotes or endnotes. Choosing to title your bibliography "Works Consulted" or
"Selected Bibliography" may help specify the relevance of the sources listed.

2.5 HOW TO CITE SOURCES

This depends on what type of work you are writing, how you are using the borrowed material,
and the expectations of your instructor.

First, you have to think about how you want to identify your sources. If your sources are very
important to your ideas, you should mention the author and work in a sentence that
introduces your citation. If, however, you are only citing the source to make a minor point, you
may consider using parenthetical references, footnotes, or endnotes.

There are also different forms of citation for different disciplines. For example, when you cite
sources in a psychology paper you would probably use a different form of citation than you
might in a paper for an English class.

Finally, you should always consult your instructor to determine the form of citation appropriate
for your paper. You can save a lot of time and energy simply by asking "How should I cite my
sources," or "What style of citation should I use?" before you begin writing.

In the following sections, we will take you step-by-step through some general guidelines for
citing sources.

Identifying Sources in the Body of Your Paper

The first time you cite a source, it is almost always a good idea to mention its author(s), title,
and genre (book, article, or web page, etc.). If the source is central to your work, you may
want to introduce it in a separate sentence or two, summarizing its importance and main
ideas. But often you can just tag this information onto the beginning or end of a sentence. For
example, the following sentence puts information about the author and work before the
quotation:

Milan Kundera, in his book The Art of the Novel, suggests that “if the novel should really
disappear, it will do so not because it has exhausted its powers but because it exists in a
world grown alien to it.”

You may also want to describe the author(s) if they are not famous, or if you have reason to
believe your reader does not know them. You should say whether they are economic
analysts, artists, physicists, etc. If you do not know anything about the author, and cannot find
any information, it is best to say where you found the source and why you believe it is
credible and worth citing. For example,

In an essay presented at an Asian Studies conference held at Duke University, Sheldon

Geron analyzes the relation of state, labor-unions, and small businesses in Japan between
1950s and 1980s.

If you have already introduced the author and work from which you are citing, and you are
obviously referring to the same work, you probably don't need to mention them again.
However, if you have cited other sources and then go back to one you had cited earlier, it is a
good idea to mention at least the author's name again (and the work if you have referred to
more than one by this author) to avoid confusion.

Quoting Material

What is Quoting?

Taking the exact words from an original source is called quoting. You should quote material
when you believe the way the original author expresses an idea is the most effective means
of communicating the point you want to make. If you want to borrow an idea from an author,
but do not need his or her exact words, you should try paraphrasing instead of quoting.

How Often Should I Quote?

Most of the time, paraphrasing and summarizing your sources is sufficient (but remember that
you still have to cite them!). If you think it’s important to quote something, an excellent rule of
thumb is that for every line you quote, you should have at least two lines analyzing it.
How Do I Incorporate Quotations in My Paper?

Most of the time, you can just identify a source and quote from it, as in the first example
above. Sometimes, however, you will need to modify the words or format of the quotation in
order to fit in your paper. Whenever you change the original words of your source, you must
indicate that you have done so. Otherwise, you would be claiming the original author used
words that he or she did not use. But be careful not to change too many words! You could
accidentally change the meaning of the quotation and falsely claim the author said something
they did not.

For example, let's say you want to quote from the following passage in an essay called
"United Shareholders of America," by Jacob Weisberg:

The citizen-investor serves his fellow citizens badly by his inclination to withdraw from the
community. He tends to serve himself badly as well. He does so by focusing his pursuit of
happiness on something that very seldom makes people happy in the way they expect it to.

When you quote, you generally want to be as concise as possible. Keep only the material that
is strictly relevant to your own ideas. So here you would not want to quote the middle
sentence, since it is repeated again in the more informative last sentence. However, just
skipping it would not work -- the final sentence would not make sense without it. So, you have
to change the wording a little bit. In order to do so, you will need to use some editing symbols.
Your quotation might end up looking like this:

In his essay, “United Shareholders of America,” Jacob Weisberg insists that “The citizen-
investor serves his fellow citizens badly by his inclination to withdraw from the community. He
tends to serve himself badly... by focusing his pursuit of happiness on something that very
seldom makes people happy in the way they expect it to.”
“He tends to serve himself badly...by focusing his pursuit of happiness on [money].”

The brackets around the word [money] indicate that you have substituted that word for other
words the author used. To make a substitution this important, however, you had better be
sure that [money] is what the final phrase meant -- if the author intentionally left it ambiguous,
you would be significantly altering his meaning. That would make you guilty of fraudulent
attribution. In this case, however, the paragraph following the one quoted explains that the
author is referring to money, so it is okay.

As a general rule, it is okay to make minor grammatical and stylistic changes to make the
quoted material fit in your paper, but it is not okay to significantly alter the structure of the
material or its content.

Quoting within Quote

When you have "embedded quotes," or quotations within quotations, you should switch from
the normal quotation marks ("") to single quotation marks ('') to show the difference. For
example, if an original passage by John Archer reads:

The Mountain Coyote has been described as a “wily” and “single-minded” predator by
zoologist Lma Warner.

As John Archer explains, “The Mountain Coyote has been described as a 'wily' and 'single-
minded' predator by zoologist Lma Warner.”
How Do I Include Long Quotes in My Paper?

The exact formatting requirements for long quotations differ depending on the citation style. In
general, however, if you are quoting more than 3 lines of material, you should do the
following:

 change the font to one noticeably smaller (in a document that is mostly 12 point font,
you should use a 10 point font, for example)
 double indent the quotation -- that means adjusting the left and right margins so that
they are about one inch smaller than the main body of your paper
 if you have this option in your word-processor, "left-justify" the text. That means make
it so that each line begins in the same place, creating a straight line on the left side of
the quotation, while the right side is jagged
 do NOT use quotation marks for the entire quotation -- the graphic changes you have
made already (changing the font, double indenting, etc.) are enough to indicate that
the material is quoted. For quotations within that quotation, use normal quotation
marks, not single ones
 you might want to skip 1.5 times the line-spacing you are using in the document before
you begin the quotation and after it. This is optional and depends on the style preferred
by your instructor

For example, a properly-formatted long quotation in a document might look like this:

Akutagawa complicates the picture of picture of himself as mere “reader on the verge of
writing his own text,” by having his narrated persona actually finish authoring the work in wich
he appears. In the forty-ninth segment of the text, entitled “A Stuffed Swan,” he writes:Using
all of his remaining strength, he tried to write his autobiography. Yet it was not an easy task
for him. This was due to his still lingering sense of pride and skepticism... After finishing “A
Fool's Life,” he accidentally discovered a suffered swan in a used goods store. Although it
stood with its head raised, even its yellowed wings had been eaten by insects. He thought of
his entire life and felt tears and cruel laughter welling up inside. All that remained for him was
madness or suicide.With this gesture Akutagawa ironizes the impossibility of truly writing the
self by emphasizing the inevitable split that must occur between writing and written “self,” the
Akutagawa still writing “A Fool's Life” cannot possibly be identical with the narrated persona
which has finished the work.

II. SYNTHESIS

All research designs attempt to minimize potential threats to the validity of

any scientific conclusions. Unfortunately, all research designs contain one or more
threats to validity. As early methodologists such as Campbell argued. Some threats
to validity are plausible, while others are so unlikely that attempts to control for
them are not warranted. Threats to validity can be dealt with in two ways. One way
is to measure the plausible threats and statistically control for their potential
influence on the focal outcome analysis of interest (e.g., propensity scores). The
second way is to incorporate explicit design features that attempt to control the
plausible threats to validity (e.g., randomized control group design). Both the
design and the statistical approaches can be merged to provide even further
controls for validity threats. Finally, all research designs are only as valid and
generalizable as the population that a given sample represents. Too often,
conclusions about a study are stated as if they apply to a much larger universe of
generalization than is warranted by the weaknesses in the sampling of units. Here,
sampling units include the sampled individuals as well as the sampled contexts,
occasions, and measured variables, for example

In terms of iimitating the author’s language structure in the summary or paraphrase is

a form of plagiarism, even if we provide a citation, because it gives the false impression that
the words are your own when they are not. This includes rearranging the author’s sentences
but using mostly the same wording, or simply inserting synonyms into the author’s sentence
arrangement. To avoid doing this, make sure to process the author’s ideas and then present
them in a way that is uniquely yours. Too closely mirroring the author’s syntax and word
choice not only shows disregard for properly crediting the author, but does not give your own
voice a chance to shine. 
III. Parts of an Advanced Research Paper

3.1 The Problem

A research problem is a statement about an area of concern, a condition to be improved, a

difficulty to be eliminated, or a troubling question that exists in scholarly literature, in theory,
or in practice that points to the need for meaningful understanding and deliberate
investigation. In some social science disciplines the research problem is typically posed in the
form of a question. A research problem does not state how to do something, offer a vague or
broad proposition, or present a value question.

3.1.1 How to Write a Research Introduction

The introduction to a research paper can be the most challenging part of the paper to write.
The length of the introduction will vary depending on the type of research paper you are
writing. An introduction should announce your topic, provide context and a rationale for your
work, before stating your research questions and hypothesis. Well-written introductions set
the tone for the paper, catch the reader's interest, and communicate the hypothesis or thesis
statement.

Introducing the Topic of the Paper

1.

1. Announce your research topic. You can start your introduction with a few sentences

which announce the topic of your paper and give an indication of the kind of research
questions you will be asking. This is a good way to introduce your readers to your topic and
pique their interest. The first few sentences should act as an indication of a broader problem
which you will then focus in on more closely in the rest of your introduction, leading to your
specific research questions.

 In scientific papers this is sometimes known as an "inverted triangle", where you

start with the broadest material at the start, before zooming in on the specifics.[1]

 The sentence "Throughout the 20th century, our views of life on other planets
have drastically changed" introduces a topic, but does so in broad terms.

 It provides the reader with an indication of the content of the essay and
encourages them to read on.

2.

2.Consider referring to key words. When you write a research paper for publication you will
be required to submit it along with a series of key words which give a quick indication of the
areas of research you are addressing.You may also have certain key words in your title which
you want to establish and emphasise in your introduction.[2]
  For example, if you were writing a paper about the behaviour of mice when
exposed to a particular substance, you would include the word "mice", and the
scientific name of the relevant compound in the first sentences.[3]

 If you were writing a history paper about the impact of the First World War on
gender relations in Britain, you should mention those key words in your first few lines.

3.

3.Define any key terms or concepts. It may be necessary for you to clarify any key terms or
concepts early on in your introduction. You need to express yourself clearly throughout your
paper so if you leave an unfamiliar term or concept unexplained you risk your readers not
having a clear understanding of your argument.[4]

 This is especially important if you are attempting to develop a new

conceptualization that uses language and terminology your readers may be unfamiliar
with.

4.

4.Introduce the topic through an anecdote or quotation. If you are writing a humanities or
social science essay you can find more literary ways to begin your introduction and announce
the topic of your paper. It is common for humanities essays in particular to begin with an
illustrative anecdote or quotation that points to the topic of the research. This is a variation of
the "inverted triangle" technique and can generate interest in your paper in a more
imaginative way and demonstrate an engaging writing style.

 If you use an anecdote ensure that is short and highly relevant for your
research. It has to function in the same way as an alternative opening, namely to
announce the topic of your research paper to your reader.

 For example, if you were writing a sociology paper about re-offending rates
among young offenders, you could include a brief story of one person whose story
reflects and introduces your topic.

 This kind of approach is generally not appropriate for the introduction to a

natural or physical sciences research paper where the writing conventi

Establishing the Context for Your Paper

1.

1.Include a brief literature review. Depending on the overall length of your paper, it will be
necessary to include a review of the existing literature already published in the field. This is
an important element of your paper which demonstrates that you have a strong knowledge
and understanding of the debates and scholarship in your area. You should aim to indicate
that you have a broad knowledge, but that you are engaging in the specific debates most
relevant to your own research.

 It is important to be concise in the introduction, so provide an overview on

recent developments in the primary research rather than a lengthy discussion.[5]

 You can follow the "inverted triangle" principle to focus in from the broader
themes to those to which you are making a direct contribution with your paper.

 A strong literature review presents important background information to your

own research and indicates the importance of the field.[6]

2.

2.Use the literature to focus in on your contribution. A concise but comprehensive

literature review can be a very effective way to frame your own research paper. As you
develop your introduction, you can move from the literature to focus in on your own work and
its position relevant to the broader scholarship.

 By making clear reference to existing work you can demonstrate explicitly the
specific contribution you are making to move the field forward.

 You can identify a gap in the existing scholarship and explain how you are
addressing it and moving understanding forward.

3.

3.Elaborate on the rationale of your paper. Once you have framed your work within a
broader context you can elaborate more fully on the rationale of your research and its
particular strengths and importance. The rationale should clearly and concisely indicate the
value of your paper and its contribution to the field.[7] Try to go beyond saying that you are
filling a gap in the scholarship and emphasise the positive contribution of your work.

 For example, if you are writing a scientific paper you could stress the merits of
the experimental approach or models you have used.

 Stress what is novel in your research and the significance of your new
approach, but don't give too much detail in the introduction.[8]

 A stated rationale could be something like: "the study evaluates the previously
unknown anti-inflammatory effects of a topical compound in order to evaluate its
potential clinical uses".

Specifying Your Research Questions and Hypothesis

1.
1.State your research questions. Once you have indicated where your research sits in the
field and the general rationale for your paper, you can specify the research questions the
paper addresses. The literature review and rationale frames your research and introduces
your research question. This question should be developed fluently from the earlier parts of
the introduction and shouldn't come as a surprise to the reader.[9]

 The research question or questions generally come towards the end of the
introduction, and should be concise and closely focused.[10]

 The research question might recall some of the key words established in the
first few sentences and the title of your paper.

 An example of a research question could be "what were the consequences of

the North American Free Trade Agreement on the Mexican export economy?"

 This could be honed further to be specific by referring to a particular element of

the Free Trade Agreement and the impact on a particular industry in Mexico, such as
clothing manufacture.

 A good research question should shape a problem into a testable hypothesis.

2.

2.Indicate your hypothesis. After you have specified your research questions you need to
give a clear and concise articulation of your hypothesis, or your thesis statement. This is a
statement which indicates your essay will make a specific contribution and have a clear result
rather than just covering a broader topic. You should make it clear briefly how you came to
this hypothesis in a way which references your discussion of the existing literature.

 If possible try to avoid using the word "hypothesis" and rather make this implicit
in your writing.[11] This can make your writing appear less formulaic.

 In a scientific paper, giving a clear one-sentence overview of your results and

their relation to your hypothesis makes the information clear and accessible.[12]

 An example of a hypothesis could be "mice deprived of food for the duration of

the study were expected to become more lethargic than those fed normally".

3.

3.Outline the structure of your paper. In some cases the final part of an introduction to a
research paper will be a few lines that provide an overview of the structure of the body of the
paper.[13] This could simply give an outline of how you have organised the paper and how it
is broken down into sections.
  This is not always necessary and you should pay attention to the writing
conventions in your discipline.

 In a natural sciences paper, for example, there is a fairly rigid structure which
you will be following.[14]

 A humanities or social science paper will most likely present more opportunities
to deviate in how you structure your paper.

3.1 How to Write a Problem Statement

A problem statement is a short, succinct explanation of a problem a business is facing and a
proposed solution to the problem. Problem statements can be effective ways to define an
issue and communicate a solution within a short span of time. Before you write your problem
statement, think about the problem and your proposed solution, and be prepared to back it up
with facts!

Writing Your Own Problem Statement

1. Describe the "ideal" state of affairs. There are lots of different ways to write a problem
statement — some sources will recommend jumping right to the problem itself, while
others recommend providing background context first so that problem (and its solution)
are easier to understand for the reader. If you're ever unsure of how to begin, opt for
the latter option. While conciseness is something every piece of practical writing
should aim for, it's even more important to be well-understood. Start by describing how
things should work. Before you even mention your problem, explain in a few sentences
how things would be if the problem didn't exist.

2. For instance, let's say that you work at a major airline and that you've noticed that the
way passengers board your planes is an inefficient use of time and resources. In this
case, you might begin your problem statement by describing an ideal situation where
the boarding system isn't inefficient that the company should shoot for, like this: "The
boarding protocols used by ABC Airlines should aim to get each flight's passengers
aboard the plane quickly and efficiently so that the plane can take off as soon as
possible . The process of boarding should be optimized for time-efficiency but also
should be straightforward enough that it can be easily understood by all passengers."

3.

3.Explain your problem. In the words of the inventor Charles Kettering, "A problem
well-stated is a problem half-solved." One of the most important goals (if not the most
important goal) of any problem statement is to articulate the problem being addressed
to the reader in a way that's clear, straightforward, and easy to understand. Succinctly
summarize the problem you intend to solve — this cuts to the heart of the issue
immediately and positions the most important information in the problem statement
near the top, where it's most visible. If you've just started an "ideal" state of affairs as
suggested above, you may want to start your sentence with phrasing like
"However, ..." or "Unfortunately, ..." to show that the problem you've identified is what
is preventing the ideal vision from being a reality.
 4. Let's say that you think you've developed a quicker, more efficient system for getting
passengers aboard our planes than the typical "back to front" seating system. In this
case, you might continue with a few sentences like, "However, ABC Airline's current
passenger boarding system is an inefficient use of the company's time and resources.
By wasting employee man-hours, the current boarding protocols make the company
less competitive, and by contributing to a slow boarding process, they create an
unfavorable brand image."

5.

Explain your problem's financial costs. Soon after you state your problem, you'll want to
explain why it's a big deal — after all, no one has the time or resources to try to solve every
single minor problem. In the business world, money is almost always the bottom line, so you'll
want to try to highlight the financial impact of your problem on the company or organization
you're writing for. For instance, is the problem you're discussing keeping your business from
making more money? Is it actively costing your business money? Is it damaging your brand
image and thus indirectly costing your business money? Be as exact and specific about the
financial burden of your problem — try to specify an exact dollar amount (or a well-supported
estimate) for your problem's cost.

 For our airline example, you might proceed to explain the problem's financial
cost like this: "The inefficiency of the current boarding system represents a significant
financial burden for the company. On average, the current boarding system wastes
roughly four minutes per boarding session, resulting in a total of 20 wasted man-
hours per day across all ABC flights. This represents a waste of roughly $400 per day
or $146,000 per year."

6.

Back up your assertions. No matter how much money you claim your problem is costing
your company, if you can't back up your claims with reasonable evidence, you may not be
taken seriously. As soon as you start making specific claims about how serious your problem
is, you'll need to start supporting your statements with evidence. In some cases, this may be
from your own research, from data from a related study or project, or even from reputable
third-party sources.

 In some corporate and academic situations, you may need to explicitly

reference your evidence in the text of your problem statement, while in other
 situations, it may be enough to simply use a footnote or another form of shorthand for
your citations. If you're unsure, ask your boss or teacher for advice.

 Let's reexamine the sentences used in the previous step. They describe the
cost of the problem but don't explain how this cost was found. A more thorough
explanation might include this: "...Based on internal performance tracking data, [1] on
average, the current boarding system wastes roughly four minutes per boarding
session, resulting in a total of 20 wasted man-hours per day across all ABC flights.
Terminal personal are paid an average of $20 per hour, so this represents a waste of
roughly $400 per day or $146,000 per year." Note the footnote — in an actual
problem statement, this would correspond to a reference or appendix containing the
data mentioned.

7.

Propose a solution. When you've explained what the problem is and why it's so important,

proceed to explain how you propose to deal with it. As with the initial statement of your
problem, your explanation of your solution should be written to be as clear and concise as
possible. Stick to big, important, concrete concepts and leave any minor details for later —
you'll have plenty of opportunities to get into every minor aspect of your proposed solution in
the body of your proposal.

 In our airline example, our solution to the problem of inefficient boarding

practices is this new system you've discovered, so you should briefly explain the
broad strokes of this new system without getting into the minor details. You might say
something like, "Using a modified boarding system proposed by Dr. Edward Right of
the Kowlard Business Efficiency Institute which has passengers board the plane from
the sides in rather than from the back to the front, ABC Airlines can eliminate these
four minutes of waste." You might then go on to explain the basic gist of the new
system, but you wouldn't use more than a sentence or two to do this, as the "meat" of
our analysis will be in the body of the proposal.

8.

Explain the benefits of the solution. Again, now that you've told your readers what should
be done about the problem, it's a very good idea to explain why this solution is a good idea.
Since businesses are always trying to increase their efficiency and earn more money, you'll
want to focus primarily on the financial impact of your solution — which expenses it will
reduce, which new forms of revenue it will generate, and so on. You can also explain non-
tangible benefits, like improved customer satisfaction, but your total explanation shouldn't be
too much longer than a few sentences to a paragraph.

 In our example, you might briefly describe how our company could conceivably
benefit from the money saved with our solution. A few sentences along these lines
might work: "ABC Airlines stands to benefit substantially from the adoption of this new
boarding program. For instance, the $146,000 in estimated yearly savings can be re-
directed to new sources of revenue, such as expanding its selection of flights to high-
demand markets. In addition, by being the first American airline to adopt this solution,
ABC stands to gain considerable recognition as an industry trendsetter in the areas of
value and convenience."

9.

Conclude by summarizing the problem and solution. After you've presented the ideal
vision for your company, identified the problem keeping you from achieving this ideal, and
suggested a solution, you're almost done. All that's left to do is to conclude with a summary of
your main arguments that allows you to transition easily into the main body of your proposal.
There's no need to make this conclusion any longer than it needs to be — try to state, in just
a few sentences, the basic gist of what you've described in your problem statement and the
approach you intend to take in the body of the article.

 In our airline example, you might conclude like this: "Optimization of current
boarding protocols or adoption of new, more-effective protocols is crucial for the
continued competitiveness of the company. In this proposal, the alternative boarding
protocols developed by Dr. Right are analyzed for their feasibility and steps for
effective implementation are suggested." This sums up the main point of the problem
statement — that the current boarding procedure isn't very good and that this new
one is better — and tells the audience what to expect if they continue reading.

10.

For academic work, don't forget a thesis statement. When you have to write a problem
statement for school, rather than for work, the process will be largely the same, but there may
be extra items you'll need to take into account to assure a good grade. For instance, many
composition classes will require you to include a thesis statement in your problem statement.
The thesis statement (sometimes just called the "thesis") is a single sentence that
summarizes your entire argument, boiling it down to its bare essentials. A good thesis
statement identifies both the problem and the solution as succinctly and clearly as possible.
  For instance, let's say you're writing a paper on the problem of academic essay
mills — companies that sell pre-written and/or custom works for students to purchase
and turn in as their own work. As our thesis statement, you might use this sentence,
which acknowledges the problem and the solution we're about to propose: "The
practice of buying academic essays, which undermines the learning process and
gives an advantage to rich students, can be combated by providing professors with
stronger digital analysis tools."

 Some classes explicitly require you to put your thesis sentence at a certain
place in your problem statement (for instance, as the very first or very last sentence).
Other times, you'll have more freedom — check with your teacher if you're not sure.

11.

Follow the same process for conceptual problems. Not all problem statements are going
to be for documents dealing with practical, tangible problems. Some, especially in academics
(and especially in the humanities), are going to deal with conceptual problems — problems
that have to do with the way you think about abstract ideas. In these cases, you can still use
the same basic problem statement framework to present the problem at hand (while
obviously shifting away from a business focus). In other words, you'll want to identify the
problem (often, for conceptual problems, this will be that some idea is not well-understood),
explain why the problem matters, explain how you plan to solve it, and sum up all of this in a
conclusion.

 For instance, let's say that we're asked to write a problem statement for a report
on the importance of religious symbolism in The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor
Dostoevsky. In this case, our problem statement should identify some poorly-
understood aspect of the religious symbolism in the novel, explain why this matters
(for instance, you might say that by better understanding the religious symbolism in
the novel, it's possible to draw new insights from the book), and layout how you plan
to support our argument.
Part2
Polishing Your Problem Statement

1.

Be concise. If there's one thing to keep in mind when writing problem statements, it's this.
Problem statements shouldn't be any longer than they need to be to accomplish their task of
laying out the problem and its solution for the reader. No sentence should be wasted. Any
sentence that doesn't directly contribute to the problem statement's goals should be removed.
Use clear, direct language. Don't get bogged down in minor details — problem statements
should deal only with the essentials of your problem and solution. In general, keep your
problem statement as short as possible without sacrificing its informativeness.

 A problem statement is no place to add your own personal commentary or

"flavor", as this makes the problem statement longer for no practical purpose. You
may or may not have the opportunity to be more long-winded in the body of your
document, depending on the seriousness of your topic and audience.

2.

Write to your audience. When making a problem statement, it's important to remember that
you're writing for someone else, not for yourself. Different audiences will have different sets of
knowledge, different reasons for reading, and different attitudes toward your problem, so try
to keep your intended audience in mind as you write. You want your problem statement to be
as clear and easy for your audience to understand as possible, which means you may need
to change your tone, style, and diction from one audience to another. As you write, try to ask
yourself questions like:

 "Who, specifically, am I writing for?"

 "Why am I addressing this audience?"

 "Does this audience know all of the same terms and concepts as I do?"

 "Does this audience share the same attitude as I do towards this problem?"

 "Why should my audience care about this problem?"

3.

Don't use jargon without defining it. As noted above, your problem statement should be
written so that it's as easy for your audience to understand as possible. This means that,
unless you're writing for a technical audience that is likely to be knowledgeable in the
terminology of the field you're writing about, you'll want to avoid using technical jargon too
heavily and to make sure that you define any pieces of jargon that you do use. Never make
the assumption that your audience automatically has all of the technical knowledge that you
do or you risk alienating them and losing readers as soon as they encounter terms and
information they're not familiar with.
  For instance, if we're writing for a board of highly-educated physicians, it may
be OK to assume that they'll know what the term "metacarpal" means. However, if
we're writing to an audience made up of both physicians and wealthy hospital
investors who may or may not be medically trained, it's a good idea to introduce the
word "metacarpal" with its definition- the bone between the first two joints of the
finger.

4.

Stick to a narrow, defined problem. The best problem statements aren't sprawling,

rambling pieces of writing. Instead, they're focused on a single, easily-identified problem and
its solution. Generally, narrow, defined topics are easier to write convincingly about than
large, vague ones, so whenever possible, you'll want to keep the scope of your problem
statement (and thus the body of your document) well-focused. If this makes your problem
statement (or the body of your document) short, this is usually a good thing (except in
academic situations where you have minimum page limits for your assignment).

 A good rule of thumb is to only address problems that you can definitively solve
beyond a shadow of a doubt. If you're not sure of a definitive solution that can solve
your entire problem, you may want to narrow the scope of your project and change
your problem statement to reflect this new focus.

 To keep the scope of a problem statement under control, it can be helpful to

wait until after completing the body of the document or proposal to write the problem
statement. In this case, when you write your problem statement, you can use our
actual document as a guideline so that you don't have to guess about the ground
you may cover when you write it.

5.

Remember the "five Ws". Problem statements should be as informative as possible in as

few words as possible, but shouldn't delve into minute details. If you're ever in doubt of what
to include in your problem statement, a smart idea is to try to answer the five Ws (who, what,
where, when, and why), plus how. Addressing the five Ws gives your reader a good baseline
level of knowledge to understand the problem and solution without treading into unnecessary
levels of detail.

 For instance, if you're writing a problem statement to propose a new building

development to your local city council, you might address the five Ws by
 explaining who the development would benefit, what the development would
require, where the development should be, when construction should begin,
and why the development is ultimately a smart idea for the city.

6.

Use a formal voice. Problem statements are almost always used for serious proposals and
projects. Because of this, you'll want to use a formal, dignified writing style (the same as the
style hopefully used for the body of the document) in the problem statement. Keep your
writing clear, plain, and direct. Don't attempt to win your reader over by taking a friendly or
casual tone in your problem statement. Don't use humor or jokes. Don't include pointless
asides or anecdotes. Don't use slang or colloquialisms. Good problem statements know that
they have a job to accomplish and don't waste any time or ink on unnecessary content.

 The closest you can usually get to including purely "entertaining" content in
academic writing in the humanities. Here, occasionally, it's possible to encounter
problem statements that begin with a quote or epigraph. Even in these cases,
however, the quote has some bearing on the problem being discussed and the rest of
the problem statement is written in a formal voice.
7.

7
Always proofread for errors. This is a must for all forms of serious writing — no first draft
has ever existed that couldn't have benefited from the careful eye of a good proofreader.
When you finish your problem statement, give it a quick read. Does it seem to "flow"
properly? Does it present its ideas coherently? Does it seem to be logically organized? If not,
make these changes now. When you're finally satisfied with the structure of your problem
statement, double-check it for spelling, grammar, and formatting errors.
 You'll never regret re-reading your problem statement before you turn it in.
Since, by its very nature, the problem statement is usually the first part of a proposal
or report that someone will read, any errors here will be especially embarrassing for
you and can even reflect negatively on your entire document.

Part2
Explaining Your Study's Significance

1.
1

Discuss the previous work that your study will build on. No study occurs in a vacuum.
Research previous studies that tackled the same research question and distinguish your
study from those. Typically, you'll provide a brief summary of this previous work in your
rationale.[8]

 Going into extensive detail usually isn't necessary. Instead, highlight the
findings of the most significant work in the field that addressed a similar question.

 Provide references so that your readers can examine the previous studies for
themselves and compare them to your proposed study.

2.

Describe the shortcomings of the previous work. Distinguish your proposed study from
the work that has come before it by identifying problems with the previous studies and
explaining how your study will correct those issues. Previous studies are best distinguished
along 3 different lines:[9]

 Methodological limitations: Previous studies failed to measure the variables

appropriately or used a research design that had problems or biases

 Contextual limitations: Previous studies aren't relevant because circumstances

have changed regarding the variables measured

 Conceptual limitations: Previous studies are too tied up in a specific ideology or

framework

3.

Identify the ways your study will correct those shortcomings. Carefully explain the ways
in which your study will answer the research question in a way that the previous studies failed
to do so. Be persuasive to convince your readers that your study will contribute something
both useful and necessary to the field.[10]

 For example, if a previous study had been conducted to support a university's

policy that full-time students were not permitted to work, you might argue that it was
too tied up in that specific ideology and that this biased the results. You could then
point out that your study is not intended to advance any particular policy.
Tip: If you have to defend or present your rationale to an advisor or team, try to anticipate the
questions they might ask you and include the answers to as many of those questions as
possible.
Part3
Including Academic Proposal Information

1.

Provide your credentials or experience as a student or researcher. Use your credentials

or experience to convince your readers that not only is your study necessary, but you're the
right person to conduct it. If you're a student, you would use this part of your rationale to
highlight the topics you've concentrated on as a student and how your proposed study would
help you achieve your academic goals.[11]

 As a student, you might emphasize your major and specific classes you've
taken that give you particular knowledge about the subject of your study. If you've
served as a research assistant on a study with a similar methodology or covering a
similar research question, you might mention that as well.

 If you're a professional researcher, focus on the experience you have in a

particular field as well as the studies you've done in the past. If you have done studies
with a similar methodology that were important in your field, you might mention those
as well.
Tip: If you don't have any particular credentials or experience that are relevant to your study,
tell the readers of your rationale what drew you to this particular topic and how you became
interested in it.

2.

State any guidelines required by your degree program or field. If you're proposing your
study as fulfillment for an academic requirement, list the requirements for your program and
describe how your study will fulfill those requirements. Include specifics such as approval by
an advisor or instructor, intermediary reports, and oversight.[12]

 For example, if you are planning to conduct the study as fulfillment of the
research requirement for your degree program, you might discuss any specific
guidelines for that research requirement and list how your study meets those criteria.
3.
3
List the credits you intend your study to fulfill. If you are proposing the study be worth a
certain number of credits, include that information so your readers can evaluate whether the
proposal is suitable. Provide the name of your major or minor and department along with the
number of credits and the name of the class for which you're planning to submit your final
research.[13]
 In most programs, there will be specific wording for you to include in your
rationale if you're submitting it for a certain number of credits. Your instructor or
advisor can help make sure you've worded this appropriately.

How to Write a Project Scope

STEPS

Steps

OTHER SECTIONS

Tips and Warnings

Related Articles
Author Info
Last Updated: July 2, 2018
Project scope starts as a "wishlist". You may be tasked with writing project scope for your
client's business process enhancements or a state of the art large scale software application
system. Regardless of the intended output, there are certain guidelines that one must follow
to ensure specificity of the scope. This article will take a strategic approach defining scope by
answering what, why, who, how, where and finally, when.
Steps

1.

Begin with an end in mind (the "what"). Out of the seven habits as Stephen Covey
described in his all time classic book "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People", this habit is
absolutely key to success of any project. As you work with your stakeholders, ask very
pointed questions about "what their product or service is expected to bring to the market or
the organization?". Know the outcome and its planned benefits. This is the critical milestone
your project will aim to achieve.

 For example: Let's assume that in response to your "what" question, your client
told you that they are looking to roll out a web-based software to sell widgets online,
with potential customer base in North America and Europe. Through out this article
we will continue with this example.
 2.

Know why a particular product or service is important for your client and may be for
your client's clients (the "why"). "Why" you might ask... well, if you know the answer to this
question, then you can draft the scope in a way that will ultimately influence the design of the
product.

 Continuing with the example taken above, in your discovery session you figured
out that the customers of your client are multi-national organizations with foot-prints
spanning across two continents. Your client is a major supplier of those widgets for
them. In order to streamline their supply chain management and reducing cost while
enhancing the customer satisfaction, it is important for your client to move their
business online. Order acquisition, order processing and payment collection all these
aspects will drive their cost reduction strategy. Once you know this level of detail, you
gained additional understanding of the scope that the end product should have a user
interface for order capture and receipt of the payments, it will also become clearer
that since user base is spread across continents, you may need to care for additional
language on the front-end tool and currency conversion when processing payments.
Do you see how important it is to capture these facts in your scope to ultimately
influence the design?

3.

Know who are other key stakeholders in the project (the "who"). Stakeholder by
definition, is an individual or an organization who has a vested interest in the project; in other
words, the existence of the project will have an impact on their day-to-day business and
potentially profitability. A few examples of stakeholders in the example we have taken may be
end users, back office order processing unit, a shipping company who will deliver the widgets,
a third party payment processor, the finance unit of your client organization who may look for
very clear metrics and reporting of orders etc. How does it impact scope? As you assess
different user bases of the application your client is looking to build, you will realize that the
application is going to touch a lot more areas of your client's organization over and above the
primary customers. You will also note that there are back office processing requirements.
Since there are external payment processors involved you will need to include connectivity,
networking and payment gateway requirements in your scope. Missing one of the key
stakeholders can have a significant impact on the success of the project.

4.
4

Take a deep breath - it's time for the "how". How you are going to approach the project is
the question you will end up spending most of your time during discovery session. Answering
"How" will bring you closest to the design and might make you feel like you are stepping
outside of your "comfort zone", but that's not the case. It is important to know about "how" of
the product delivery at a high level because when you gathered information on the "what",
"why" and "who", you documented part of scope. however, say one of the customers is in a
country where credit cards processing is not widely accepted or have substantial amount of
chargeback if paid thru credit cards. Obviously this may not make financial sense for your
client.

 At this point, your role is not to identify what the alternative payment processing
solution may be, rather it will be important for you to note that an alternative payment
processing method will be essential for the success of the project and that is the
direct impact on the scope of the project.

5.

Consider the "where" next. One of the key success factors for any project is its location
strategy. Where is the project going to be developed? Where are the supporting systems
going to be held? Where will the back office operations such as order processing, packaging,
accounting etc. located? What about any customer service center? From a scope
perspective, it is important to know the "where"  because it could impact strategic
partnerships your client may need to establish to hire talent and management staff for an
ongoing business. Your project plan is not complete until a capacity plan is complete and
human capital pool is identified. Inclusion of "where" in scope is the foundation for a project
plan that will likely have a successful impact.
6.

6
Consider the "when" of your project. If there is one question your client is very eager
about is "when" will this project be delivered. The scope you define based on your discovery
has a direct impact on when can it come to fruition. Alternatively, you can ask your client
"when" do they want it delivered. Sounds contradictory however, if you know with what level
of urgency your client is pursuing the delivery of the project, you will be better positioned to
negotiate the scope itself.
 Going back to the example, during answering "what" your client mentioned
customers will be in North America and Europe. one of the things you are asked to
include is multi language support in the front-end tool. Then the client turns around
 and demands the project be delivered in six months. You might say that it is possible
however, you recommend reducing "project scope" to English only in the first cut and
in subsequent rollout you will introduce other language support. Answering to "when"
is the key to adjusting project scope either to include more or less than what client is
asking for. It is also a great way to manage your clientele expectations and positively
impact their bottom line.

A literature review surveys scholarly articles, books and other sources relevant to a
particular issue, area of research, or theory, and by so doing, providing a description,
summary, and critical evaluation of these works. Literature reviews are designed to
provide an overview of sources you have explored while researching a particular topic
and to demonstrate to your readers how your research fits into the larger field of study.

All contect is from a Literature Review please refer to the sub-tab under The Literature
Review created by Dr. Robert Larabee.

Importance of a Good Literature Review

A literature review may consist of simple a summary of key sources, but  it usually has
an organizational pattern and combines both summary and synthesis, often within
specific conceptual categories. A summary is a recap of the important information of
the source, but a synthesis is a re-organization, or a reshuffling, of that information in a
way that informs how you are planning to investigate a research problem. The analytical
features of a literature review might:

 give a new interpretation of old material or combine new with old interpretations,

 trace the intellectual progression of the field, including major debates,

 depending on the situation, evaluate the sources and advise the reader on the
most pertinent or relevant, or

 usually in the conclusion of a literature review, identify where gaps exist in how a
problem has been researched to date.

The purpose of a literature review is to:

 Place each work in the context of its contribution to the understanding of the
research problem being studied,

 Describe the relationship of each work to the others under consideration,

 Identify new ways to interpret, and shed light on any gaps in previous research,

 Resolve conflicts amongst seemingly contradictory previous studies,

 Identify areas of prior scholarship to prevent duplication of effort,

 Point the way in fulfilling a need for additional research, and

 Locate your own research within the context of existing literature.

All contect is from The Literature Review created by Dr. Robert Larabee.
Types of Literature Reviews

As Kennedy (2007) notes*, it is important to think of knowledge in a given field as

consisting of three layers. First, there are the primary studies that researchers conduct
and publish. Second are the reviews of those studies that summarize and offer new
interpretations built from and often extending beyond the original studies. Third, there
are the perceptions, conclusions, opinion, and interpretations that are shared informally
that become part of the lore of field. In composing a literature review, it is important to
note that it is often this third layer of knowledge that is cited as "true" even though it
often has only a loose relationship to the primary studies and secondary literature
reviews.

Given this, while literature reviews are designed to provide an overview and synthesis of
pertinent sources you have explored, there are several approaches to how they can be
done, depending upon the type of analysis underpinning your study. Listed below are
definitions of types of literature reviews:

Argumentative Review
     This form examines literature selectively in order to support or refute an argument,
deeply imbedded assumption, or philosophical problem already established in the
literature. The purpose is to develop a body of literature that establishes a contrarian
viewpoint. Given the value-laden nature of some social science research [e.g.,
educational reform; immigration control], argumentative approaches to analyzing the
literature can be a legitimate and important form of discourse. However, note that they
can also introduce problems of bias when they are used to to make summary claims of
the sort found in systematic reviews.

Integrative Review
     Considered a form of research that reviews, critiques, and synthesizes representative
literature on a topic in an integrated way such that new frameworks and perspectives on
the topic are generated. The body of literature includes all studies that address related
or identical hypotheses. A well-done integrative review meets the same standards as
primary research in regard to clarity, rigor, and replication.

Historical Review
     Few things rest in isolation from historical precedent. Historical reviews are focused
on examining research throughout a period of time, often starting with the first time an
issue, concept, theory, phenomena emerged in the literature, then tracing its evolution
within the scholarship of a discipline. The purpose is to place research in a historical
context to show familiarity with state-of-the-art developments and to identify the likely
directions for future research.

Methodological Review
     A review does not always focus on what someone said [content], but how they said it
[method of analysis]. This approach provides a framework of understanding at different
levels (i.e. those of theory, substantive fields, research approaches and data collection
and analysis techniques), enables researchers to draw on a wide variety of knowledge
ranging from the conceptual level to practical documents for use in fieldwork in the areas
of ontological and epistemological consideration, quantitative and qualitative integration,
sampling, interviewing, data collection and data analysis, and helps highlight many
ethical issues which we should be aware of and consider as we go through our study.

Systematic Review
     This form consists of an overview of existing evidence pertinent to a clearly
formulated research question, which uses pre-specified and standardized methods to
identify and critically appraise relevant research, and to collect, report, and analyse data
from the studies that are included in the review. Typically it focuses on a very specific
empirical question, often posed in a cause-and-effect form, such as "To what extent
does A contribute to B?"
Theoretical Review
     The purpose of this form is to concretely examine the corpus of theory that has
accumulated in regard to an issue, concept, theory, phenomena. The theoretical
literature review help establish what theories already exist, the relationships between
them, to what degree the existing theories have been investigated, and to develop new
hypotheses to be tested. Often this form is used to help establish a lack of appropriate
theories or reveal that current theories are inadequate for explaining new or emerging
research problems. The unit of analysis can focus on a theoretical concept or a whole
theory or framework.

* Kennedy, Mary M. "Defining a Literature." Educational Researcher 36 (April 2007):

139-147.

All contect is from The Literature Review created by Dr. Robert Larabee.

Structure and Writing Style

I.  Thinking About Your Literature Review

The structure of a literature review should include the following :

 An overview of the subject, issue or theory under consideration, along with the
objectives of the literature review,

 Division of works under review into themes or categories (e.g. works that support
of a particular position, those against, and those offering alternative approaches
entirely),

 An explanation of how each work is similar to and how it varies from the others,

 Conclusions as to which pieces are best considered in their argument, are most
convincing of their opinions, and make the greatest contribution to the understanding
and development of their area of research

The critical evaluation of each work should consider:

 Provenance -- what are the author's credentials? Are the author's arguments
supported by evidence (e.g. primary historical material, case studies, narratives,
statistics, recent scientific findings)?

 Objectivity -- is the author's perspective even-handed or prejudicial? Is contrary

data considered or is certain pertinent information ignored to prove the author's point?

 Persuasiveness -- which of the author's theses are most/least convincing?

 Value -- are the author's arguments and conclusions convincing? Does the work
ultimately contribute in any significant way to an understanding of the subject?

II.  The Development of the Literature Review

Four stages:

1.  Problem formulation -- which topic or field is being examined and what are its
component issues?
2.  Literature search -- finding materials relevant to the subject being explored.
3.  Data evaluation -- determining which literature makes a significant contribution to the
understanding of the topic.
4.  Analysis and interpretation -- discussing the findings and conclusions of pertinent
literature.

Consider the following issues before writing the literature review:

Clarify

If your assignment is not very specific about what form your literature review should
take, seek clarification from your professor by asking these questions:

1.  Roughly how many sources should I include?

2.  What types of sources should I review (books, journal articles, websites)?
3.  Should I summarize, synthesize, or critique your sources by discussing a common
theme or issue?
4.  Should I evaluate the sources?
5.  Should I provide subheadings and other background information, such as definitions
and/or a history?

Find Models

Use the exercise of reviewing the literature to examine how authors in your discipline or
area of interest have composed their literature reviews. Read them to get a sense of the
types of themes you might want to look for in your own research or ways to organize
your final review. The bibliography or reference section of sources you've already read
are also excellent entry points into your own research.

Narrow the Topic

The narrower your topic, the easier it will be to limit the number of sources you need to
read in order to obtain a good survey of relevant resources. Your professor will probably
not expect you to read everything that's available about the topic, but you'll make your
job easier if you first limit scope of the research problem. A good strategy is to begin by
searching the HOMER catalog for books about the topic and review their contents for
chapters that focus on more specific issues. You can also review the subject indexes of
books to find references to specific issues that can serve as the focus of your research.
For example, a book surveying the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict may include
a chapter on the role Egypt has played in mediating the conflict.

Consider Whether Your Sources are Current

Some disciplines require that you use information that is as current as possible. This is
very common in the sciences where research conducted only two years ago could be
obsolete. However, when writing a review in the social sciences, a survey of the history
of the literature may be what is needed because what is important is how perspectives
have changed over the years or within a certain time period. Try sorting through some
other current bibliographies or literature reviews in the field to get a sense of what your
discipline expects. You can also use this method to consider what is consider by
scholars to be a "hot topic" and what is not.

III.  Ways to Organize Your Literature Review

Chronological of Events
If your review follows the chronological method, you could write about the materials
according to when they were published. This approach should only be followed if a clear
path of research building on previous research can be identified and that these trends
follow a clear chronological order of development. For example, a literature review that
focuses on continuing research about the emergence of German economic power after
the fall of the Soviet Union.

By Publication
Order your sources by publication chronology, then, only if the order demonstrates a
more important trend. For instance, you could order a review of literature on
environmental studies of brown fields if the progression of revealed a change in the soil
collection practices of the researchers who wrote and/or conducted the studies.

Thematic (“conceptual categories”)

Thematic reviews of literature are organized around a topic or issue, rather than the
progression of time. However, progression of time may still be an important factor in a
thematic review. For example, a review of the Internet’s impact on American presidential
politics could focus on the development of online political satire. While the study focuses
on one topic, the Internet’s impact on American presidential politics, it will still be
organized chronologically reflecting technological developments in media. The only
difference here between a "chronological" and a "thematic" approach is what is
emphasized the most: the role of the Internet in presidential politics. Note however that
more authentic thematic reviews tend to break away from chronological order. A review
organized in this manner would shift between time periods within each section according
to the point made.

Methodological
A methodological approach focuses on the methods utilized by the researcher. For the
Interbnet in American presidential politics project, one methodological approach would
be to look at cultural differences between the portrayal of American presidents on
American, British, and French websites. Or the review might focus on the fundraising
impact of the Internet on a particular political party. A methodological scope will
influence either the types of documents in the review or the way in which these
documents are discussed.

Other Sections of Your Literature Review

Once you've decided on the organizational method for your literature review, the
sections you need to include in the paper should be easy to figure out because they
arise from your organizational strategy. In other words, a chronological review would
have subsections for each vital time period; a thematic review would have subtopics
based upon factors that relate to the theme or issue. However, sometimes you may need
to add additional sections that are necessary for your study, but do not fit in the
organizational strategy of the body. What other sections you include in the body is up to
you but include only what is necessary for the reader to locate your study within the
larger scholarship framework.

Here are examples of other sections you may need to include depending on the type of
review you write:

 Current Situation: information necessary to understand the topic or focus of the

literature review.

 History: the chronological progression of the field, the literature, or an idea that is
necessary to understand the literature review, if the body of the literature review is not
already a chronology.
 Selection Methods: the criteria you used to select (and perhaps exclude) sources
in your literature review. For instance, you might explain that your review includes
only peer-reviewed articles and journals.

 Standards: the way in which you present your information.

 Questions for Further Research: What questions about the field has the review
sparked? How will you further your research as a result of the review?

IV.  Writing Your Literature Review

Once you've settled on how to organize your literature review, you're ready to write each
section. When writing your review, keep in mind these issues.

Use Evidence
A literature review in this sense is just like any other academic research paper. Your
interpretation of the available sources must be backed up with evidence to show that
what you are saying is valid.

Be Selective
Select only the most important points in each source to highlight in the review. The type
of information you choose to mention should relate directly to the research problem,
whether it is thematic, methodological, or chronological.

Use Quotes Sparingly

Some short quotes are okay if you want to emphasize a point, or if what the author said
just cannot be rewritten in your own words. Sometimes you may need to quote certain
terms that were coined by the author, not common knowledge, or taken directly from the
study. Do not use extensive quotes as a substitute your own summary and interpretation
of the literature.

Summarize and Synthesize

Remember to summarize and synthesize your sources within each paragraph as well as
throughout the review. Recapitulate important features of a research study, but then
synthesize it by rephrasing the study's significance and relating it to their own work.

Keep Your Own Voice

While the literature review presents others' ideas, your voice (the writer's) should remain
front and center. For example, weave references to other sources into what you are
writing but maintain your own voice by starting and ending the paragraph with your own
ideas and wording.

Use Caution When Paraphrasing

When paraphrasing a source that is not your own, be sure to represent the author's
information or opinions accurately and in your own words. Even when paraphrasing an
author’s work, you still must provide a citation to that work.

V.  Common Mistakes to Avoid

The most common mistakes made in reviewing social science research literature
are that the researcher:

 does not clearly relate the findings of the literature review to the research
problem;

 does not take sufficient time to define and identify the most relevent sources to
use in the literature review related to the research problem;

 relies exclusively on secondary analytical sources rather than including primary

research studies or data;

 uncritically accepts another researcher's findings and interpretations as valid,

rather than examining critically all aspects of the research design and analysis;

 does not describe the search procedures that were used in the literature review;

 reports isolated statistical results rather than sythesizing them in chi-squared or

meta-analytic methods; and,
 only includes research that validates assumptions and does not consider contrary
findings and alternative interpretations found in the literature.

How to Write Research Methodology

PARTS

1Describing Your Methods

2Justifying Your Choice of Methods

3Connecting Your Methods to Your Research Goals

OTHER SECTIONS

Questions & Answers

Video

Related Articles

References

Article Summary
Co-authored by wikiHow Staff
Last Updated: November 1, 2020 References Approved
The research methodology section of any academic research paper gives you the opportunity
to convince your readers that your research is useful and will contribute to your field of study.
An effective research methodology is grounded in your overall approach – whether qualitative
or quantitative – and adequately describes the methods you used. Justify why you chose
those methods over others, then explain how those methods will provide answers to your
research questions.[1]
Part1
Describing Your Methods
 1.

Restate your research problem. Begin your research methodology section by listing the
problems or questions you intend to study. Include your hypotheses, if applicable, or what
you are setting out to prove through your research.[2]

 In your restatement, include any underlying assumptions that you're making or

conditions that you're taking for granted. These assumptions will also inform the
research methods you've chosen.

 Generally, state the variables you'll test and the other conditions you're
controlling or assuming are equal.

2.

Establish your overall methodological approach. Your overall approach will be either

qualitative or quantitative. Occasionally, you may also use a mix of both approaches. Briefly
explain why you chose your approach.[3]

 If you want to research and document measurable social trends, or evaluate the
impact of a particular policy on various variables, use a quantitative approach focused
on data collection and statistical analysis.

 If you want to evaluate people's views or understanding of a particular issue,

choose a more qualitative approach.

 You can also combine the two. For example, you might look primarily at a
measurable social trend, but also interview people and get their opinions on how that
trend is affecting their lives.

3.

Define how you collected or generated data. This portion of your methodology section tells
your readers when and where you conducted your research, and what basic parameters were
put into place to ensure the relative objectivity of your results.[4]
  For example, if you conducted a survey, you would describe the questions
included in the survey, where and how the survey was conducted (such as in person,
online, over the phone), how many surveys were distributed, and how long your
respondents had to complete the survey.

 Include enough detail that your study can be replicated by others in your field,
even if they may not get the same results you did. [5]

4.

Provide background for uncommon methods. Particularly in the social sciences, you may
be using methods that aren't typically used, or that don't seem to fit with your research
problem. These methods may require additional explanation.[6]

 Qualitative research methods typically require more detailed explanation than

quantitative methods.

 Basic investigative procedures don't need to be explained in detail. Generally,

you can assume that your readers have a general understanding of common
research methods that social scientists use, such as surveys or focus groups.

5.

Cite any sources that contributed to your choice of methodology. If you used anyone
else's work to help you craft or apply your methodology, discuss those works and how they
contributed to your own work, or how your work is building on theirs.[7]

 For example, suppose you conducted a survey and used a couple of other
research papers to help construct the questions on your survey. You would mention
those as contributing sources.
Part2
Justifying Your Choice of Methods

1.

1
Explain your selection criteria for data collection. If you're collecting primary data, you
likely set eligibility parameters. State those parameters clearly and let your readers know why
you set those parameters and how they are important to your research.[8]

 Describe study participants specifically, and list any inclusion or exclusion

criteria you used when forming your group of participants.

 Justify the size of your sample, if applicable, and describe how this affects
whether your study can be generalized to larger populations. For example, if you
conducted a survey of 30 percent of the student population of a university, you could
potentially apply those results to the student body as a whole, but maybe not to
students at other universities.

2.

Distinguish your research from any weaknesses in your methods. Every research

method has strengths and weaknesses. Briefly discuss the weaknesses or criticisms of the
methods you've chosen, then explain how those are irrelevant or inapplicable to your
particular research.[9]

 Reading other research papers is a good way to identify potential problems that
commonly arise with various methods. State whether you actually encountered any of
these common problems during your research.

3.

Describe how you overcame obstacles. Overcoming obstacles in your research can be

one of the most important parts of your methodology. Your problem-solving abilities can
enhance your readers' confidence in the results of your study.[10]

 If you encountered any problems as you collected data, explain clearly the
steps you took to minimize the effect that problem would have on your results.

4.

4
Evaluate other methods you could have used. Particularly if you're using a method that
seems unusual for your particular subject matter, include a discussion of other methods that
are more typically used for your type of research. Explain why you chose not to use them.[11]

 In some cases, this may be as simple as stating that while there were numerous
studies using one method, there weren't any using your method, which caused a gap
in understanding of the issue.

 For example, there may be multiple papers providing quantitative analysis of a

particular social trend. However, none of these papers looked closely at how this
trend was affecting the lives of people.
Part3
Connecting Your Methods to Your Research Goals

1.

Describe how you analyzed your results. Your analysis generally depends on whether
your approach is qualitative, quantitative, or a mixture of the two. If you're using a quantitative
approach, you may be using statistical analysis. With a qualitative approach, state what
theoretical perspective or philosophy you're using.[12]

 Depending on your research questions, you may be mixing quantitative and

qualitative analysis – just as you could potentially use both approaches. For example,
you might do a statistical analysis, and then interpret those statistics through a
particular theoretical lens.

2.

Explain how your analysis suits your research goals. Ultimately, your overall
methodology should be capable of producing answers to your research questions. If it isn't
well-suited, you need to either adjust your methodology or reframe your research question.
[13]

 For example, suppose you're researching the effect of college education on

family farms in rural America. While you could do interviews of college-educated
people who grew up on a family farm, that would not give you a picture of the overall
effect. A quantitative approach and statistical analysis would give you a bigger
picture.

3.
3

Identify how your analysis answers your research questions. Relate your methodology
back to your original research questions and present a proposed outcome based on your
analysis. Describe specifically what your findings will reveal about your research questions.
[14]

 If in answering your research questions, your findings have raised other

questions that may require further research, state these briefly.

 You can also include here any limitations to your methods, or questions that
weren't answered through your research.
4.

4
Assess whether your findings can be transferred or generalized. You may be able to
transfer your findings to other contexts, or generalize them to broader populations.
Transferability can be difficult in social science research, particularly if you used a qualitative
approach.[15]
 Generalization is more typically used in quantitative research. If you have a
well-designed sample, you can statistically apply your results to the larger population
your sample belongs to.

5. Research methodology is the path through which researchers need to conduct their
research. It shows the path through which these researchers formulate their problem
and objective and present their result from the data obtained during the study period.
This research design and methodology chapter also shows how the research outcome
at the end will be obtained in line with meeting the objective of the study. This chapter
hence discusses the research methods that were used during the research process. It
includes the research methodology of the study from the research strategy to the result
dissemination. For emphasis, in this chapter, the author outlines the research strategy,
research design, research methodology, the study area, data sources such as primary
data sources and secondary data, population consideration and sample size
determination such as questionnaires sample size determination and workplace site
exposure measurement sample determination, data collection methods like primary
data collection methods including workplace site observation data collection and data
collection through desk review, data collection through questionnaires, data obtained
from experts opinion, workplace site exposure measurement, data collection tools
pretest, secondary data collection methods, methods of data analysis used such as
quantitative data analysis and qualitative data analysis, data analysis software, the
reliability and validity analysis of the quantitative data, reliability of data, reliability
analysis, validity, data quality management, inclusion criteria, ethical consideration and
dissemination of result and its utilization approaches. In order to satisfy the objectives
of the study, a qualitative and quantitative research method is apprehended in general.
The study used these mixed strategies because the data were obtained from all
aspects of the data source during the study time. Therefore, the purpose of this
methodology is to satisfy the research plan and target devised by the researcher.
6. 2. Research design
7. The research design is intended to provide an appropriate framework for a study. A
very significant decision in research design process is the choice to be made regarding
research approach since it determines how relevant information for a study will be
obtained; however, the research design process involves many interrelated decisions
[1].

8. This study employed a mixed type of methods. The first part of the study consisted of a
series of well-structured questionnaires (for management, employee’s representatives,
and technician of industries) and semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders
(government bodies, ministries, and industries) in participating organizations. The
other design used is an interview of employees to know how they feel about safety and
health of their workplace, and field observation at the selected industrial sites was
undertaken.

9. Hence, this study employs a descriptive research design to agree on the effects of
occupational safety and health management system on employee health, safety, and
property damage for selected manufacturing industries. Saunders et al. [2] and Miller
[3] say that descriptive research portrays an accurate profile of persons, events, or
situations. This design offers to the researchers a profile of described relevant aspects
of the phenomena of interest from an individual, organizational, and industry-oriented
perspective. Therefore, this research design enabled the researchers to gather data
from a wide range of respondents on the impact of safety and health on manufacturing
industries in Ethiopia. And this helped in analyzing the response obtained on how it
affects the manufacturing industries’ workplace safety and health. The research overall
design and flow process are depicted in Figure 1.
10.

11. Figure 1.

12. Research methods and processes (author design).

13. 3. Research methodology

14. To address the key research objectives, this research used both qualitative and
quantitative methods and combination of primary and secondary sources. The
qualitative data supports the quantitative data analysis and results. The result obtained
is triangulated since the researcher utilized the qualitative and quantitative data types
in the data analysis. The study area, data sources, and sampling techniques were
discussed under this section.

15. 3.1 The study area

16. According to Fraenkel and Warren [4] studies, population refers to the complete set of
individuals (subjects or events) having common characteristics in which the researcher
is interested. The population of the study was determined based on random sampling
system. This data collection was conducted from March 07, 2015 to December 10,
2016, from selected manufacturing industries found in Addis Ababa city and around.
The manufacturing companies were selected based on their employee number,
established year, and the potential accidents prevailing and the manufacturing industry
type even though all criterions were difficult to satisfy.

17. 3.2 Data sources

18. 3.2.1 Primary data sources

19. It was obtained from the original source of information. The primary data were more
reliable and have more confidence level of decision-making with the trusted analysis
having direct intact with occurrence of the events. The primary data sources are
industries’ working environment (through observation, pictures, and photograph) and
industry employees (management and bottom workers) (interview, questionnaires and
discussions).

20. 3.2.2 Secondary data

21. Desk review has been conducted to collect data from various secondary sources. This
includes reports and project documents at each manufacturing sectors (more on
medium and large level). Secondary data sources have been obtained from literatures
regarding OSH, and the remaining data were from the companies’ manuals, reports,
and some management documents which were included under the desk review.
Reputable journals, books, different articles, periodicals, proceedings, magazines,
newsletters, newspapers, websites, and other sources were considered on the
manufacturing industrial sectors. The data also obtained from the existing working
documents, manuals, procedures, reports, statistical data, policies, regulations, and
standards were taken into account for the review.

22. In general, for this research study, the desk review has been completed to this end,
and it had been polished and modified upon manuals and documents obtained from
the selected companies.

23. 4. Population and sample size

24. 4.1 Population

25. The study population consisted of manufacturing industries’ employees in Addis Ababa
city and around as there are more representative manufacturing industrial clusters
found. To select representative manufacturing industrial sector population, the types of
the industries expected were more potential to accidents based on random and
purposive sampling considered. The population of data was from textile, leather, metal,
chemicals, and food manufacturing industries. A total of 189 sample sizes of industries
responded to the questionnaire survey from the priority areas of the government.
Random sample sizes and disproportionate methods were used, and 80 from wood,
metal, and iron works; 30 from food, beverage, and tobacco products; 50 from leather,
 textile, and garments; 20 from chemical and chemical products; and 9 from other
remaining 9 clusters of manufacturing industries responded.

26. 4.2 Questionnaire sample size determination

27. A simple random sampling and purposive sampling methods were used to select the
representative manufacturing industries and respondents for the study. The simple
random sampling ensures that each member of the population has an equal chance
for the selection or the chance of getting a response which can be more than equal to
the chance depending on the data analysis justification. Sample size determination
procedure was used to get optimum and reasonable information. In this study, both
probability (simple random sampling) and nonprobability (convenience, quota,
purposive, and judgmental) sampling methods were used as the nature of the
industries are varied. This is because of the characteristics of data sources which
permitted the researchers to follow the multi-methods. This helps the analysis to
triangulate the data obtained and increase the reliability of the research outcome and
its decision. The companies’ establishment time and its engagement in operation, the
number of employees and the proportion it has, the owner types (government and
private), type of manufacturing industry/production, types of resource used at work,
and the location it is found in the city and around were some of the criteria for the
selections.

28. The determination of the sample size was adopted from Daniel [5] and Cochran [6]
formula. The formula used was for unknown population size Eq. (1) and is given as
29. E1

30. where n = sample size, Z = statistic for a level of confidence, P = expected prevalence

or proportion (in proportion of one; if 50%, P = 0.5), and d = precision (in proportion of
one; if 6%, d = 0.06). Z statistic (Z): for the level of confidence of 95%, which is
conventional, Z value is 1.96. In this study, investigators present their results with 95%
confidence intervals (CI).

31. The expected sample number was 267 at the marginal error of 6% for 95% confidence
interval of manufacturing industries. However, the collected data indicated that only
189 populations were used for the analysis after rejecting some data having more
missing values in the responses from the industries. Hence, the actual data collection
resulted in 71% response rate. The 267 population were assumed to be satisfactory
and representative for the data analysis.

32. 4.3 Workplace site exposure measurement sample determination

33. The sample size for the experimental exposure measurements of physical work
environment has been considered based on the physical data prepared for
questionnaires and respondents. The response of positive were considered for
exposure measurement factors to be considered for the physical environment health
and disease causing such as noise intensity, light intensity, pressure/stress, vibration,
temperature/coldness, or hotness and dust particles on 20 workplace sites. The
selection method was using random sampling in line with purposive method. The
measurement of the exposure factors was done in collaboration with Addis Ababa city
Administration and Oromia Bureau of Labour and Social Affair (AACBOLSA). Some
measuring instruments were obtained from the Addis Ababa city and Oromia Bureau
of Labour and Social Affair.

34. 5. Data collection methods

35. Data collection methods were focused on the followings basic techniques. These
included secondary and primary data collections focusing on both qualitative and
quantitative data as defined in the previous section. The data collection mechanisms
are devised and prepared with their proper procedures.
36. 5.1 Primary data collection methods

37. Primary data sources are qualitative and quantitative. The qualitative sources are field
observation, interview, and informal discussions, while that of quantitative data
sources are survey questionnaires and interview questions. The next sections
elaborate how the data were obtained from the primary sources.

38. 5.1.1 Workplace site observation data collection

39. Observation is an important aspect of science. Observation is tightly connected to data

collection, and there are different sources for this: documentation, archival records,
interviews, direct observations, and participant observations. Observational research
findings are considered strong in validity because the researcher is able to collect a
depth of information about a particular behavior. In this dissertation, the researchers
used observation method as one tool for collecting information and data before
questionnaire design and after the start of research too. The researcher made more
than 20 specific observations of manufacturing industries in the study areas. During
the observations, it found a deeper understanding of the working environment and the
different sections in the production system and OSH practices.

40. 5.1.2 Data collection through interview

41. Interview is a loosely structured qualitative in-depth interview with people who are
considered to be particularly knowledgeable about the topic of interest. The semi-
structured interview is usually conducted in a face-to-face setting which permits the
researcher to seek new insights, ask questions, and assess phenomena in different
perspectives. It let the researcher to know the in-depth of the present working
environment influential factors and consequences. It has provided opportunities for
refining data collection efforts and examining specialized systems or processes. It was
used when the researcher faces written records or published document limitation or
wanted to triangulate the data obtained from other primary and secondary data
sources.

42. This dissertation is also conducted with a qualitative approach and conducting
interviews. The advantage of using interviews as a method is that it allows
respondents to raise issues that the interviewer may not have expected. All interviews
with employees, management, and technicians were conducted by the corresponding
researcher, on a face-to-face basis at workplace. All interviews were recorded and
transcribed.

43. 5.1.3 Data collection through questionnaires

44. The main tool for gaining primary information in practical research is questionnaires,
due to the fact that the researcher can decide on the sample and the types of
questions to be asked [2].

45. In this dissertation, each respondent is requested to reply to an identical list of

questions mixed so that biasness was prevented. Initially the questionnaire design was
coded and mixed up from specific topic based on uniform structures. Consequently,
the questionnaire produced valuable data which was required to achieve the
dissertation objectives.

46. The questionnaires developed were based on a five-item Likert scale. Responses
were given to each statement using a five-point Likert-type scale, for which
1 = “strongly disagree” to 5 = “strongly agree.” The responses were summed up to
produce a score for the measures.

47. 5.1.4 Data obtained from experts’ opinion

48. The data was also obtained from the expert’s opinion related to the comparison of the
knowledge, management, collaboration, and technology utilization including their sub-
 factors. The data obtained in this way was used for prioritization and decision-making
of OSH, improving factor priority. The prioritization of the factors was using Saaty
scales (1–9) and then converting to Fuzzy set values obtained from previous
researches using triangular fuzzy set [7].
49. 5.1.5 Workplace site exposure measurement
50. The researcher has measured the workplace environment for dust, vibration, heat,
pressure, light, and noise to know how much is the level of each variable. The primary
data sources planned and an actual coverage has been compared as shown in Table
1.
51.

52. Table 1.
53. Planned versus actual coverage of the survey.

54. The response rate for the proposed data source was good, and the pilot test also
proved the reliability of questionnaires. Interview/discussion resulted in 87% of
responses among the respondents; the survey questionnaire response rate obtained
was 71%, and the field observation response rate was 90% for the whole data analysis
process. Hence, the data organization quality level has not been compromised.

55. This response rate is considered to be representative of studies of organizations. As

the study agrees on the response rate to be 30%, it is considered acceptable [8].
Saunders et al. [2] argued that the questionnaire with a scale response of 20%
response rate is acceptable. Low response rate should not discourage the
researchers, because a great deal of published research work also achieves low
response rate. Hence, the response rate of this study is acceptable and very good for
the purpose of meeting the study objectives.
56. 5.1.6 Data collection tool pretest

57. The pretest for questionnaires, interviews, and tools were conducted to validate that
the tool content is valid or not in the sense of the respondents’ understanding. Hence,
content validity (in which the questions are answered to the target without excluding
important points), internal validity (in which the questions raised answer the outcomes
of researchers’ target), and external validity (in which the result can generalize to all
the population from the survey sample population) were reflected. It has been proved
with this pilot test prior to the start of the basic data collections. Following feedback
process, a few minor changes were made to the originally designed data collect tools.
The pilot test made for the questionnaire test was on 10 sample sizes selected
randomly from the target sectors and experts.

58. 5.2 Secondary data collection methods

59. The secondary data refers to data that was collected by someone other than the user.
This data source gives insights of the research area of the current state-of-the-art
method. It also makes some sort of research gap that needs to be filled by the
researcher. This secondary data sources could be internal and external data sources
of information that may cover a wide range of areas.
60. Literature/desk review and industry documents and reports: To achieve the
dissertation’s objectives, the researcher has conducted excessive document review
and reports of the companies in both online and offline modes. From a methodological
point of view, literature reviews can be comprehended as content analysis, where
quantitative and qualitative aspects are mixed to assess structural (descriptive) as well
as content criteria.

61. A literature search was conducted using the database sources like MEDLINE;
Emerald; Taylor and Francis publications; EMBASE (medical literature); PsycINFO
(psychological literature); Sociological Abstracts (sociological literature); accident
prevention journals; US Statistics of Labor, European Safety and Health database; ABI
Inform; Business Source Premier (business/management literature); EconLit
(economic literature); Social Service Abstracts (social work and social service
literature); and other related materials. The search strategy was focused on articles or
reports that measure one or more of the dimensions within the research OSH model
framework. This search strategy was based on a framework and measurement filter
strategy developed by the Consensus-Based Standards for the Selection of Health
Measurement Instruments (COSMIN) group. Based on screening, unrelated articles to
the research model and objectives were excluded. Prior to screening, researcher
(principal investigator) reviewed a sample of more than 2000 articles, websites,
reports, and guidelines to determine whether they should be included for further review
or reject. Discrepancies were thoroughly identified and resolved before the review of
the main group of more than 300 articles commenced. After excluding the articles
based on the title, keywords, and abstract, the remaining articles were reviewed in
detail, and the information was extracted on the instrument that was used to assess
the dimension of research interest. A complete list of items was then collated within
each research targets or objectives and reviewed to identify any missing elements.

62. 6. Methods of data analysis

63. Data analysis method follows the procedures listed under the following sections. The
data analysis part answered the basic questions raised in the problem statement. The
detailed analysis of the developed and developing countries’ experiences on OSH
regarding manufacturing industries was analyzed, discussed, compared and
contrasted, and synthesized.

64. 6.1 Quantitative data analysis

65. Quantitative data were obtained from primary and secondary data discussed above in
this chapter. This data analysis was based on their data type using Excel, SPSS 20.0,
Office Word format, and other tools. This data analysis focuses on
numerical/quantitative data analysis.

66. Before analysis, data coding of responses and analysis were made. In order to
analyze the data obtained easily, the data were coded to SPSS 20.0 software as the
data obtained from questionnaires. This task involved identifying, classifying, and
assigning a numeric or character symbol to data, which was done in only one way pre-
coded [9, 10]. In this study, all of the responses were pre-coded. They were taken from
the list of responses, a number of corresponding to a particular selection was given.
This process was applied to every earlier question that needed this treatment. Upon
completion, the data were then entered to a statistical analysis software package,
SPSS version 20.0 on Windows 10 for the next steps.

67. Under the data analysis, exploration of data has been made with descriptive statistics
and graphical analysis. The analysis included exploring the relationship between
variables and comparing groups how they affect each other. This has been done using
cross tabulation/chi square, correlation, and factor analysis and using nonparametric
statistic.
68. 6.2 Qualitative data analysis

69. Qualitative data analysis used for triangulation of the quantitative data analysis. The
interview, observation, and report records were used to support the findings. The
analysis has been incorporated with the quantitative discussion results in the data
analysis parts.

70. 6.3 Data analysis software

71. The data were entered using SPSS 20.0 on Windows 10 and analyzed. The analysis
supported with SPSS software much contributed to the finding. It had contributed to
the data validation and correctness of the SPSS results. The software analyzed and
compared the results of different variables used in the research questionnaires. Excel
is also used to draw the pictures and calculate some analytical solutions.

72. 7. The reliability and validity analysis of the quantitative data

73. 7.1 Reliability of data

74. The reliability of measurements specifies the amount to which it is without bias (error
free) and hence ensures consistent measurement across time and across the various
items in the instrument [8]. In reliability analysis, it has been checked for the stability
and consistency of the data. In the case of reliability analysis, the researcher checked
the accuracy and precision of the procedure of measurement. Reliability has numerous
definitions and approaches, but in several environments, the concept comes to be
consistent [8]. The measurement fulfills the requirements of reliability when it produces
consistent results during data analysis procedure. The reliability is determined through
Cranach’s alpha as shown in Table 2.
75.

76. Table 2.
77. Internal consistency and reliability test of questionnaires items.
78. K stands for knowledge; M, management; T, technology; C, collaboration; P, policy,
standards, and regulation; H, hazards and accident conditions; PPE, personal
protective equipment.

79. 7.2 Reliability analysis

80. Cronbach’s alpha is a measure of internal consistency, i.e., how closely related a set
of items are as a group [11]. It is considered to be a measure of scale reliability. The
reliability of internal consistency most of the time is measured based on the
Cronbach’s alpha value. Reliability coefficient of 0.70 and above is considered
“acceptable” in most research situations [12]. In this study, reliability analysis for
internal consistency of Likert-scale measurement after deleting 13 items was found
 similar; the reliability coefficients were found for 76 items were 0.964 and for the
individual groupings made shown in Table 2. It was also found internally consistent
using the Cronbach’s alpha test. Table 2 shows the internal consistency of the seven
major instruments in which their reliability falls in the acceptable range for this
research.

81. 7.3 Validity

82. Face validity used as defined by Babbie [13] is an indicator that makes it seem a
reasonable measure of some variables, and it is the subjective judgment that the
instrument measures what it intends to measure in terms of relevance [14]. Thus, the
researcher ensured, in this study, when developing the instruments that uncertainties
were eliminated by using appropriate words and concepts in order to enhance clarity
and general suitability [14]. Furthermore, the researcher submitted the instruments to
the research supervisor and the joint supervisor who are both occupational health
experts, to ensure validity of the measuring instruments and determine whether the
instruments could be considered valid on face value.

83. In this study, the researcher was guided by reviewed literature related to compliance
with the occupational health and safety conditions and data collection methods before
he could develop the measuring instruments. In addition, the pretest study that was
conducted prior to the main study assisted the researcher to avoid uncertainties of the
contents in the data collection measuring instruments. A thorough inspection of the
measuring instruments by the statistician and the researcher’s supervisor and joint
experts, to ensure that all concepts pertaining to the study were included, ensured that
the instruments were enriched.

84. 8. Data quality management

85. Insight has been given to the data collectors on how to approach companies, and
many of the questionnaires were distributed through MSc students at Addis Ababa
Institute of Technology (AAiT) and manufacturing industries’ experience experts. This
made the data quality reliable as it has been continually discussed with them.
Pretesting for questionnaire was done on 10 workers to assure the quality of the data
and for improvement of data collection tools. Supervision during data collection was
done to understand how the data collectors are handling the questionnaire, and each
filled questionnaires was checked for its completeness, accuracy, clarity, and
consistency on a daily basis either face-to-face or by phone/email. The data expected
in poor quality were rejected out of the acting during the screening time. Among
planned 267 questionnaires, 189 were responded back. Finally, it was analyzed by the
principal investigator.

86. 9. Inclusion criteria

87. The data were collected from the company representative with the knowledge of
OSH. Articles written in English and Amharic were included in this study. Database
information obtained in relation to articles and those who have OSH area such as
interventions method, method of accident identification, impact of occupational
accidents, types of occupational injuries/disease, and impact of occupational
accidents, and disease on productivity and costs of company and have used at least
one form of feedback mechanism. No specific time period was chosen in order to
access all available published papers. The questionnaire statements which are similar
in the questionnaire have been rejected from the data analysis.

88. 10. Ethical consideration

89. Ethical clearance was obtained from the School of Mechanical and Industrial
Engineering, Institute of Technology, Addis Ababa University. Official letters were
written from the School of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering to the respective
 manufacturing industries. The purpose of the study was explained to the study
subjects. The study subjects were told that the information they provided was kept
confidential and that their identities would not be revealed in association with the
information they provided. Informed consent was secured from each participant. For
bad working environment assessment findings, feedback will be given to all
manufacturing industries involved in the study. There is a plan to give a copy of the
result to the respective study manufacturing industries’ and ministries’ offices. The
respondents’ privacy and their responses were not individually analyzed and included
in the report.

90. 11. Dissemination and utilization of the result

91. The result of this study will be presented to the Addis Ababa University, AAiT, School
of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering. It will also be communicated to the Ethiopian
manufacturing industries, Ministry of Labor and Social Affair, Ministry of Industry, and
Ministry of Health from where the data was collected. The result will also be availed by
publication and online presentation in Google Scholars. To this end, about five articles
were published and disseminated to the whole world.

92. 12. Conclusion

93. The research methodology and design indicated overall process of the flow of the
research for the given study. The data sources and data collection methods were
used. The overall research strategies and framework are indicated in this research
process from problem formulation to problem validation including all the parameters. It
has laid some foundation and how research methodology is devised and framed for
researchers. This means, it helps researchers to consider it as one of the samples and
models for the research data collection and process from the beginning of the problem
statement to the research finding. Especially, this research flow helps new researchers
to the research environment and methodology in particular.

Stages of analysis and interpretation of findings

There are four main stages in the analysis and interpretation of qualitative information. These
are discussed in more detail in several text books including Patton (1986, 1990), Miles and
Huberman (1994), and Silverman (1994). Here, we shall concentrate more on the practical
tasks, rather than on theoretical issues.

Descriptive Analysis

Description and analysis of qualitative information are closely linked, hence the phrase
descriptive analysis. This includes some description of the purpose of the study, the study
site, and people involved which is normally presented in the introductory sections of a report.
However, descriptive analysis focuses on the information gathered in relation to how it was
gathered, where, and by whom. This involves reviewing the information, identifying links,
patterns, and common themes, arranging the facts in order, and presenting them as they are,
without adding any comments on their significance. This is usually presented in the Results
section of a study report. The order in which the results are presented may be chronological,
following the order in which the facts were obtained; or hierarchical, in order of their relative
importance to the heart of the investigation. The introductory description and the descriptive
analysis (results) sections of a study report should enable you to answer basic questions. For
example:

Introductory Sections
• Where was the study conducted? What are the physical and climatic conditions in which
people live?

• When was the study conducted? Why?

• What were the study aims, objectives, and intended outputs?

• Who conducted the study? Which methods/tools were used? Why?

• How did people participate in the study? Which ethnic, language or other groups were
involved? How does the level of participation achieved in your study compare with your
project's general ethos concerning (community) participation?

Results Section

What does the information gathered consist of:

• by method/tool of investigation used;

• by cluster of hygiene practices;
• by any other relevant order?

Answers to these questions require rigorous analysis and description, but not interpretation
(see Box 24 for an example of how results are distinguished from discussion of
findings or interpretation).

BOX 24. An Example to Demonstrate How Reporting Results Differs from

Interpretation

In a hygiene evaluation study conducted in rural western Kenya, several methods and tools
were used including mapping, Three-pile sorting, Spot-check Observations, and Semi-
structured (Informal) Interviews. With regard to latrine use, the findings were as follows:

Mapping

Maps created by study participants in both villages revealed that most latrines (seventeen
out of twenty-one in Village 1, and twenty-five out of twenty-six in Village 2) were located
outside the courtyards.

Three-Pile Sorting

The picture of a VIP latrine with a curtain which did not reach the floor (so that the feet of the
person using the latrine could be seen) was categorized as bad in both villages.

Observations

Children's faeces were noticed in the compound only if the mother was absent. In both
villages, very little faecal contamination was observed in both the domestic and the public
environment.

Informal Interviews

Others reported that they normally train their young children to defecate in a specially
designated place within the compound... after defecation, the child would let the mother know
and she would dispose of the faeces either by taking it to the latrine (with a hoe), or by
digging and burying it in the ground.

These and other findings were then put together, crosschecked and interpreted, and
presented 'In the Discussion section of the report as follows:

"In the Luo culture, it Is generally held that contact with human faeces is defiling and thus to
be avoided at all costs... Firstly, there are clear gender-specific rules about latrine
construction and maintenance ... Secondly, if a latrine is to be used, and used by everyone,
then it should be located appropriately... If a latrine is located within the compound, it cannot
be shared by in-laws... the use of a latrine inside the compound of one's in-laws is seen by
the Luo a, tantamount to undressing or being naked in front of one's in-laws even though
nobody actually sees the act of undressing or the state of being naked. Such notions of
nakedness relate to privacy which is a very important and well recognized requirement for
latrine acceptance and use...The results of the three-pile sorting activities certainly support
the privacy argument."

Sufficient detail should be included in the descriptive analysis to enable the reader to see the
investigative steps you have followed, how you made methodological decisions, or changes
of direction. and why. Remember that the facts have to be presented clearly, coherently, and
fully before they can be interpreted. A very important feature of the descriptive analysis is the
checking and crosschecking of information in order to establish the quality or trustworthiness
of the findings. We shall deal with this separately in detail in "Establishing the Trustworthiness
of Information.''

Interpretation

The second stage is to determine what the results mean and how significant they are in the
specific context to which they belong. The reasons behind certain hygiene practices and to
what extent they are influenced by sociocultural factors can be teased out when the study
team's multiple perspectives are brought to bear on the results. Wider issues concerning our
understanding of the links between hygiene practices and health can also be explored in the
light of the findings.

The following are some of the questions for the study team to answer when interpreting the
study results:

• What do the results mean?

• Why did the results turn out the way they did?
• What are possible explanations of the results?
• Have all the why questions been answered? Do some of them require further investigation?

The interpretation of findings should ideally reflect the comments and suggestions made by
members of the study population(s) during the feedback sessions that are built into the use of
investigative and analytical methods/tools, such as those described in Chapters 5 and G. This
will help minimize the biases that can creep into the interpretation of results, making sure that
they are not separated from the context in which information was gathered (see Box 24).

Judgement

Descriptive analysis and interpretation of results ultimately lead to judging the findings as
positive or negative or both, and stating the reasons why. The values of the study team and
other stakeholders are brought to bear on the study findings. For example, the findings may
show what is good, bad, desirable, or undesirable in the way the project has promoted
improved water supply, sanitation, and hygiene/health, in the way people have responded to
external interventions. and why. The question to be answered here is:

• What is the significance of the findings to the various stakeholders in this particular setting?

• to your project?
• to the study population?
• to applied researchers interested in the links between particular hygiene practices and
health?

The interpretation and judgment of results are usually presented in the Discussion section of

a report. It is important to strike a fair balance between the positive and negative aspects of
the findings. For example, positive findings should be emphasized without brushing over
negative ones. Similarly, negative findings should not only be listed, but discussed in a way
that explores possible practical solutions or feasible remedies. The discussion section should
be followed by the conclusions which may be presented in the same section or separately
under Conclusions.

Recommendations

The fourth stage is to draw some recommendations for action to be taken on the basis of the
analysis, interpretation, and judgement of study findings. The Recommendations section of a
report normally follows the discussion and conclusions and should address the following
questions.

• What are the implications of the findings, based on your analysis, interpretation, and
judgements? What are the implications:

• for your particular project?

• for other projects that may be interested to learn from your findings?
• for any other interested parties, such as researchers?

• What should be done by your project and other stakeholders on the basis of the analysis,
interpretation, and judgement of your study results?

The more the different concerned parties or stakeholders are involved in the interpretation
and judgement of the study results, the easier it will be for you to reflect their interests in the
recommendations. Practical and feasible suggestions should be clearly included in the
recommendations.

Establishing the trustworthiness of information

As discussed in "Putting in Place Data Quality Checks" in Chapter 4, the criteria for
establishing trustworthiness of qualitative data are essential components of the study design
and conduct which enhance the trustworthiness (or goodness) of the information gathered.
Unlike the statistical significance or goodness-of-fit tests applied to quantitative data, the
criteria for trustworthiness of qualitative data are not a set of tests to be applied to the
information after it has been collected, but in-built checks that are put in place before
information gathering begins, and monitored throughout the conduct of investigation (see
Chapter 4).

You should be able to judge the trustworthiness of the information you have gathered by
applying all the criteria you put in place when designing the study while conducting it. The
number of criteria applied may vary from one study to another, depending on the resources
(human, material, time). and other constraints on the study design and execution. However,
the following key criteria constitute the minimum requirements that should be met in order to
establish the trustworthiness or the quality of qualitative information.

• Prolonged or intense engagement of the study team with the study population. The duration
of the study will be determined by resources available and the study team's familiarity with the
study population. A lot can be done in a couple of weeks, especially if field workers know their
study population very well. If not, a longer time will be required for the team to establish
rapport with the population and minimize biases introduced by unusual manners and the
unnecessary separation of the study team from the community. Be clear and honest in
reporting your estimate of biases that might have crept into the study due to the type of
engagement between the study team and the population(s).

• Triangulation of sources. methods, and investigators. As discussed in Chapter 4, it is often

not feasible or practical to design a study in which means of triangulation of sources,
methods, and investigators can all be put in place and applied. For example, one study may
be conducted by using focus group discussions with caretakers of young children, semi-
structured interviews with the same category of respondents and spot-check observations of
selected households, and the study team may consist of very few individuals with similar
disciplinary backgrounds. Another study may employ a larger study team with diverse
backgrounds and skills and sufficient resources to enable them to use participatory
investigative and analytical tools as well. Crosschecking information can be done in both
cases through triangulation of sources and methods, or triangulation of methods and
investigators. The most important thing is that trustworthiness of the results is checked and
crosschecked by triangulation. Your report should include a clear account of the triangulation
carried out.

• Feedback and discussion with the population. This will help in finding possible paths for the
interpretation of findings and should be documented in the report.

• Peer review/checking. When peers, independent reviewers, including perhaps some of your

colleagues who were not directly involved in the investigation processes, check your results,
they may identify areas where you may need to provide more information or justification for
the conclusions drawn. This means that your study report has to include rigorous description
and analysis, with an attached diary of activities containing sufficient detail on when and how
the study was carried out, for reference.

Peer reviews are most productive when criticisms are put to the study team clearly and
constructively. However, you should be prepared to respond to difficult questions and/or not-
so-constructive criticisms as well. You may need to review and, if necessary, clarify major
decisions and changes of direction made during the conduct of the study. To help in
preparation for such eventualities, self criticism during the processes of investigation and
analysis should be encouraged among members of the study team, in an atmosphere of trust
and openness.

Study reports that include very little or no detail on how the study was conducted, when, and
why methodological and other decisions were made may arouse suspicion in the reviewer's
mind about the trustworthiness of the findings, and may even jeopardize the investigators'
credibility and status.

Presentation of findings

The results of your hygiene evaluation study may be reported in different ways depending on
the target audience or readership. To begin with, you will have a written report which will
contain a complete record of the study processes and findings. Once you have completed the
report, you may decide to extract parts of it, and prepare short summaries for dissemination
among the various stakeholders who will expect to learn about your results. In this section,
we will deal with the complete report first and then suggest additional ways in which it may be
disseminated among specific audiences or readerships.

Writing a Complete Study Report

At the end of the investigation and analysis processes, you will find yourself with considerable
amounts of fieldnotes, charts, and other written records of what you have done. These will all
need to be systematically organized, kept in notebooks, and files compiled by hand or on a
computer, if available. You can then start putting them together following a report outline, as
shown in "Stages of Analysis and Interpretation of Findings" in this chapter. Box 25 provides
an example of a report outline.

Writing Separate Summaries for Specific Readers or Interest Groups

You may need to send short summaries such as an executive summary to your project
funders, the study population, local community groups, governmental, and/or non-
governmental counterparts. It is important to balance well the positive and negative findings
when reporting in short, executive summary format. By definition, an executive summary
does not allow the reader the benefit of seeing the findings in the context. Evaluation study
results are seldom entirely positive or entirely negative, but a combination of the two.
Whether they are interpreted as positive or negative depends on who is interpreting and
using them.

You may also want to prepare short articles summarizing your findings for dissemination in
local and/or regional networks of practitioners working in the fields of health/hygiene
education, water supply, and sanitation; research network such as the global applied
research net work (GARNET) ) which has a topic network on Hygiene Behaviour, the working
group on Promotion of Sanitation, and so on. You will need to bear in mind the interests of
each of these groups when deciding what to include, and what language and style to use.

Making Verbal Presentations to Selected Groups and Inviting Their Comments and
Suggestions

You may find it beneficial to present partial or full results of your investigation to some of the
most important stakeholders in the study in order to elicit their responses to the analysis and
interpretation of your findings. For example, in Chapters 5 and 6, we looked at a number of
participatory tools for information gathering (mapping, historyline, seasonal calendars, pocket
chart) which included the presentation of information gathered to the study participants there
and then. Charts, graphs, and other visual displays can be used to present the findings in
ways that will interest and stimulate participants. However, only overall results should be
given and not details of individual interviews or households.

BOX 25. Outline of a Report

• Title page: Authors' Names Institutions, and Date

• Executive Summary (this is written last-after the report has been completed)
• Acknowledgments
• Table of Contents
• Lists of Tables and Figures
• List of People consulted/List of Abbreviations/Glossary (as appropriate)
• Introduction (Including background to study and organization of the report)
• Study Design and Organization

• Study aims, objectives, and intended outputs

• Description of study team
• Study schedule
• Training

• Study Site(s) and Population(s)

• Background (including maps of study sites)

• Sampling strategies

• Methods and Tools Used for Investigation and Analysis

• Results (Including descriptive analysis but no interpretation)
• Discussion (including 'Interpretation and judgement of findings)
• Appraisal of Methods/Tools Used
• Conclusions and Recommendations
• References (a list of any documentary materials used and referred to in the report)

• Appendices/Annexes (these may include details of the study schedule; complete diary of
activities; observation and interview schedules used; fieldnotes such as transcriptions of
interviews, and anything else judged to be relevant to the contents of the report but 'is too
bulky to be included in the main body of the report.)

Your project may already have trained personnel (e.g., trainer or project spokesperson) who
can present the study findings at workshops, meetings and conferences where various
audiences may be interested in hearing about your findings.

The type of visual and other materials you can use to present your results will depend on the
resources available. Often, summaries of findings written on flip-charts using thick marker
pens and big letters (including diagrams, charts, and graphs where appropriate) are the most
effective ways to present findings to large groups in both rural and urban areas. These
require less financial resources to prepare and can be more creative and fun to do.

Organizing a Discussion or Debate the Findings in Which Opposing Points of View

Can Be Aired

This is a particularly good idea if the level of participation of the different stakeholders is high
and if your findings are likely to be interpreted significantly different by groups according to
their opposing interests. In the final analysis, comparisons must be made carefully and
appropriately to avoid the drawing of wrong conclusions.

Implementation of findings

Many of the methods and tools described in this handbook lead naturally from collecting and
analysing data (i.e., establishing what the problem is) to planning what needs to be done to
address the issues raised. For example, a healthwalk may reveal that part of a community is
using a water source particularly vulnerable to pollution for its drinking water. Indeed, we
have seen in Chapter 5 the impact of information gathered during a healthwalk on project
design and implementation. Similarly, information from focus group discussions and semi-
structured interviews may reveal a higher incidence of diarrhoea among this group.
Presentation of these findings to the community will almost inevitably lead to a discussion of
what needs to be done to remedy the situation, moving the emphasis from data collection to
implementation. Thus a hygiene evaluation study does not end with the presentation of
findings. It should lead to follow-up action on the basis of the findings.

Whether or not participatory approaches are given importance in the evaluation, the end
result of the study will be the identification of high risk hygiene practices which currently exist,
embedded in a context of local physical conditions, beliefs, and ideas. You will almost
inevitably advocate that follow up action should include hygiene promotion activities. The goal
of any hygiene promotion project must be to influence people to abandon the high risk
practices identified in favour of low risk, safe practices. But, what influences people's
decisions to change their normal practice? Many studies have shown that the answer to this
question is "not received knowledge alone." Commonly, four factors influencing behavioural
change are identified:

• Facilitation. The new practice makes life easier for the person adopting it.
• Understanding. The new practice makes sense in the context of existing local
knowledge/ideas.
• Approval. Important and respected people in the community approve of and have adopted
the practice.
• Ability to make change. It is physically possible for the person concerned to make the
necessary changes.

Below are some examples of how information gathered using this handbook may be fed into
an implementation process that takes these four factors into account:

Facilitation. In order to get people to use safe water for drinking purposes, it may be
necessary to ensure that there are sufficient protected water sources throughout the
community to make it easier and more convenient to use as opposed to traditional,
unprotected ones. In planning terms, this may mean continuing a mapping exercise that
identified existing sources instead of using the map, with the community, to plan the location
of new water points.

Understanding. Hygiene promotion messages and activities are not received by people in a
vacuum. Rather they are assessed, accepted, modified, or rejected by people within the
context of their existing health concerns and beliefs about illness. A number of similar
evaluations have, for example, elicited the local concepts of hot and cold illnesses that need
to be treated by controlling diet and reducing intake of some foods. In a number of cases, the
promotion of ORS has run into difficulties because diarrhoea is classified as a hot illness
requiring treatment with cooling substances, while sugar, a major constituent of ORS, is
categorized as hot, therefore rendering ORS an unsuitable treatment. Project implementers
have found various ways to overcome such problems including substituting honey
(considered a cooling substance) for sugar in one case, and in another, encouraging people
to use ORS in conjunction with herbal teas made from guava leaves - a traditional remedy
considered cooling and seen to overcome the perceived heating effect of the sugar in ORS.

Approval. In order to enhance the desirability of change, it may be necessary to target

hygiene promotion at certain groups of trend setters, such as traditional healers, local
leaders, or young mothers who are likely to be copied by their peers. Often this would best be
done through a continued use of the group discussion techniques used earlier in the
evaluation.

Ability. If behavioural change requires resources, it may be beyond some people's abilities to
make the change. Promotion of latrines, for example, may need careful planning with
communities, using many of the techniques discussed earlier to enable targeted
assistance/subsidies to be allocated to those who would otherwise be unable to make the
change.

In projects where the promotion of low risk hygiene practices has been achieved, the follow-
up action to evaluations may involve tackling other issues that are next in the list of priorities.
Whatever the outcomes of your study are, we shall be interested to learn about your
experiences of using this handbook (see Evaluation Sheet at the back of the book).

Conclusions and recommendations

The Conclusions and Recommendations may be combined or, in long reports, presented in
separate sections. If there are no recommendations to be made as a result of the project, just
call this section Conclusions.

The Conclusions section sums up the key points of your discussion, the essential features of
your design, or the significant outcomes of your investigation. As its function is to round off
the story of your project, it should:

 be written to relate directly to the aims of the project as stated in the Introduction
 indicate the extent to which the aims have been achieved
 summarise the key findings, outcomes or information in your report
  acknowledge limitations and make recommendations for future work (where
applicable)
 highlight the significance or usefulness of your work.

The conclusions should relate to the aims of the work:

Example 1:

Aim

The aim of this project is to design a mobile phone tower for a suburban location..

Conclusions

The mobile phone tower presented here can be erected safely in a suburban street.

It requires a total  area of no more than 2m2 l, and has the following safety features:...

Example 2:

Aim

This investigation will review the volume of passengers using the Monash University Clayton-
Caulfield inter-campus bus in order to recommend adjustments to the service if needed.

Conclusions

Analysis of the survey data obtained in this project shows that use of the Clayton-Caulfield
inter-campus bus has increased by 24% in the past five years. It is recommended that
frequency be increased during peak usage...

The Conclusions section below is from a level 2 Civil Engineering Alternative Designs report
presenting two designs for a an overpass bridge. Click on the coloured buttons to see the
comments.

Conclusions

Show/hide lecturer's comment 26Show/hide lecturer's comment 27Show/hide lecturer's

comment 28Show/hide lecturer's comment 29

Each of the two bridge designs presented in this report fulfil the criteria specified in the project
brief. Both designs incorporate round piers on piled foundations, which are used because the
soil conditions are unknown and possibly unstable. Design 1, a simple composite I-girder
bridge, has the advantage of being made of steel and thus has longer spans and fewer piers.

Design 2, a super-T beam bridge, requires minimal formwork in the construction of its
concrete deck, is relatively easy to erect and will maintain stability during transportation and
construction. In addition, it is more economical to build and maintain. Design 2 is therefore
recommended. It offers an affordable overpass with superior durability, and fully meets the
requirements of the design brief.

Recommendations

Always address limitations and suggest how they might be overcome in future work. The
excerpt below is from the Conclusions of a report on a project investigating the effect of
pulsation on heat transfer in horizontal pipe flow.
Show/hide lecturer's comment 30Show/hide lecturer's comment 31Show/hide lecturer's
comment 32Show/hide lecturer's comment 33

Experimental results showed that pulsed flow without flow reversal had no significant effect
compared with steady flow. Preliminary experiments with reversed flow, however, clearly
indicated increased heat transfer. This is likely due to the large disturbances in the
hydrodynamic boundary layer when the flow changes direction. Further research is
recommended to determine the maximum achievable enhancement.

It should be noted that the experimental results do not agree with the theoretical equations.
This may be due to the deposits which developed inside the pipe, or to inconsistent
thermocouple temperature. Therefore, regular inspection of the test rig is recommended.

For a very long report, it is acceptable to present the conclusions and recommendations in
point form:

The prototype robot courier presented here has been shown to be capable of delivering
documents autonomously in an office environment. It has demonstrated the following
components of mobile robotics:

1. Localisation: The Kalman filter-based localisation algorithm achieved sub-centimeter

accuracy under normal operating conditions.
2. Environment modelling: The occupancy map was updated dynamically to include
obstacles not included in the original map.
3. Path planning: A distance transform-based path planner using obstacle transforms
produced a globally optimal local entrapment-free path to the goal.

Abstract
Go to:

INTRODUCTION
Statistics is a branch of science that deals with the collection, organisation, analysis of data
and drawing of inferences from the samples to the whole population.[1] This requires a proper
design of the study, an appropriate selection of the study sample and choice of a suitable
statistical test. An adequate knowledge of statistics is necessary for proper designing of an
epidemiological study or a clinical trial. Improper statistical methods may result in erroneous
conclusions which may lead to unethical practice.[2]
Go to:

VARIABLES
Variable is a characteristic that varies from one individual member of population to another
individual.[3] Variables such as height and weight are measured by some type of scale,
convey quantitative information and are called as quantitative variables. Sex and eye colour
give qualitative information and are called as qualitative variables[3] [Figure 1].
Figure 1
Classification of variables

Quantitative variables
Quantitative or numerical data are subdivided into discrete and continuous measurements.
Discrete numerical data are recorded as a whole number such as 0, 1, 2, 3,… (integer),
whereas continuous data can assume any value. Observations that can be counted constitute
the discrete data and observations that can be measured constitute the continuous data.
Examples of discrete data are number of episodes of respiratory arrests or the number of re-
intubations in an intensive care unit. Similarly, examples of continuous data are the serial
serum glucose levels, partial pressure of oxygen in arterial blood and the oesophageal
temperature.
A hierarchical scale of increasing precision can be used for observing and recording the data
which is based on categorical, ordinal, interval and ratio scales [Figure 1].
Categorical or nominal variables are unordered. The data are merely classified into
categories and cannot be arranged in any particular order. If only two categories exist (as in
gender male and female), it is called as a dichotomous (or binary) data. The various causes
of re-intubation in an intensive care unit due to upper airway obstruction, impaired clearance
of secretions, hypoxemia, hypercapnia, pulmonary oedema and neurological impairment are
examples of categorical variables.
Ordinal variables have a clear ordering between the variables. However, the ordered data
may not have equal intervals. Examples are the American Society of Anesthesiologists status
or Richmond agitation-sedation scale.
Interval variables are similar to an ordinal variable, except that the intervals between the
values of the interval variable are equally spaced. A good example of an interval scale is the
Fahrenheit degree scale used to measure temperature. With the Fahrenheit scale, the
difference between 70° and 75° is equal to the difference between 80° and 85°: The units of
measurement are equal throughout the full range of the scale.
Ratio scales are similar to interval scales, in that equal differences between scale values
have equal quantitative meaning. However, ratio scales also have a true zero point, which
gives them an additional property. For example, the system of centimetres is an example of a
ratio scale. There is a true zero point and the value of 0 cm means a complete absence of
length. The thyromental distance of 6 cm in an adult may be twice that of a child in whom it
may be 3 cm.
Go to:

STATISTICS: DESCRIPTIVE AND INFERENTIAL STATISTICS

Descriptive statistics[4] try to describe the relationship between variables in a sample or
population. Descriptive statistics provide a summary of data in the form of mean, median and
mode. Inferential statistics[4] use a random sample of data taken from a population to
describe and make inferences about the whole population. It is valuable when it is not
possible to examine each member of an entire population. The examples if descriptive and
inferential statistics are illustrated in Table 1.

Table 1
Example of descriptive and inferential statistics
Descriptive statistics
The extent to which the observations cluster around a central location is described by the
central tendency and the spread towards the extremes is described by the degree of
dispersion.

Measures of central tendency

The measures of central tendency are mean, median and mode.[6] Mean (or the arithmetic
average) is the sum of all the scores divided by the number of scores. Mean may be
influenced profoundly by the extreme variables. For example, the average stay of
organophosphorus poisoning patients in ICU may be influenced by a single patient who stays
in ICU for around 5 months because of septicaemia. The extreme values are called outliers.
The formula for the mean is

Mean, 
where x = each observation and n = number of observations. Median[6] is defined as the
middle of a distribution in a ranked data (with half of the variables in the sample above and
half below the median value) while mode is the most frequently occurring variable in a
distribution. Range defines the spread, or variability, of a sample.[7] It is described by the
minimum and maximum values of the variables. If we rank the data and after ranking, group
the observations into percentiles, we can get better information of the pattern of spread of the
variables. In percentiles, we rank the observations into 100 equal parts. We can then
describe 25%, 50%, 75% or any other percentile amount. The median is the 50 th percentile.
The interquartile range will be the observations in the middle 50% of the observations about
the median (25th -75th percentile). Variance[7] is a measure of how spread out is the
distribution. It gives an indication of how close an individual observation clusters about the
mean value. The variance of a population is defined by the following formula:

where σ2 is the population variance, X is the population mean, Xi is the ith element from the
population and N is the number of elements in the population. The variance of a sample is
defined by slightly different formula:

where s2 is the sample variance, x is the sample mean, xi is the ith element from the sample
and n is the number of elements in the sample. The formula for the variance of a population
has the value ‘n’ as the denominator. The expression ‘n−1’ is known as the degrees of
freedom and is one less than the number of parameters. Each observation is free to vary,
except the last one which must be a defined value. The variance is measured in squared
units. To make the interpretation of the data simple and to retain the basic unit of observation,
the square root of variance is used. The square root of the variance is the standard deviation
(SD).[8] The SD of a population is defined by the following formula:

where σ is the population SD, X is the population mean, Xi is the ith element from the
population and N is the number of elements in the population. The SD of a sample is defined
by slightly different formula:
where s is the sample SD, x is the sample mean, xi is the ith element from the sample and n is
the number of elements in the sample. An example for calculation of variation and SD is
illustrated in Table 2.

Table 2
Example of mean, variance, standard deviation

Normal distribution or Gaussian distribution

Most of the biological variables usually cluster around a central value, with symmetrical
positive and negative deviations about this point.[1] The standard normal distribution curve is
a symmetrical bell-shaped. In a normal distribution curve, about 68% of the scores are within
1 SD of the mean. Around 95% of the scores are within 2 SDs of the mean and 99% within 3
SDs of the mean [Figure 2].

Figure 2
Normal distribution curve
Skewed distribution
It is a distribution with an asymmetry of the variables about its mean. In a negatively skewed
distribution [Figure 3], the mass of the distribution is concentrated on the right of Figure 1. In
a positively skewed distribution [Figure 3], the mass of the distribution is concentrated on the
left of the figure leading to a longer right tail.

Figure 3
Curves showing negatively skewed and positively skewed distribution

Inferential statistics
In inferential statistics, data are analysed from a sample to make inferences in the larger
collection of the population. The purpose is to answer or test the hypotheses. A hypothesis
(plural hypotheses) is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. Hypothesis tests are thus
procedures for making rational decisions about the reality of observed effects.
Probability is the measure of the likelihood that an event will occur. Probability is quantified as
a number between 0 and 1 (where 0 indicates impossibility and 1 indicates certainty).
In inferential statistics, the term ‘null hypothesis’ (H0 ‘H-naught,’ ‘H-null’) denotes that there is
no relationship (difference) between the population variables in question.[9]
Alternative hypothesis (H1 and Ha) denotes that a statement between the variables is
expected to be true.[9]
The P value (or the calculated probability) is the probability of the event occurring by chance
if the null hypothesis is true. The P value is a numerical between 0 and 1 and is interpreted by
researchers in deciding whether to reject or retain the null hypothesis [Table 3].

Table 3
P values with interpretation

If P value is less than the arbitrarily chosen value (known as α or the significance level), the
null hypothesis (H0) is rejected [Table 4]. However, if null hypotheses (H0) is incorrectly
rejected, this is known as a Type I error.[11] Further details regarding alpha error, beta error
and sample size calculation and factors influencing them are dealt with in another section of
this issue by Das S et al.[12]

Table 4
Illustration for null hypothesis

PARAMETRIC AND NON-PARAMETRIC TESTS

Numerical data (quantitative variables) that are normally distributed are analysed with
parametric tests.[13]
Two most basic prerequisites for parametric statistical analysis are:
 The assumption of normality which specifies that the means of the sample group are
normally distributed
 The assumption of equal variance which specifies that the variances of the samples
and of their corresponding population are equal.
However, if the distribution of the sample is skewed towards one side or the distribution is
unknown due to the small sample size, non-parametric[14] statistical techniques are used.
Non-parametric tests are used to analyse ordinal and categorical data.

Parametric tests
The parametric tests assume that the data are on a quantitative (numerical) scale, with a
normal distribution of the underlying population. The samples have the same variance
(homogeneity of variances). The samples are randomly drawn from the population, and the
observations within a group are independent of each other. The commonly used parametric
tests are the Student's t-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and repeated measures ANOVA.
Student's t-test
Student's t-test is used to test the null hypothesis that there is no difference between the
means of the two groups. It is used in three circumstances:
1. To test if a sample mean (as an estimate of a population mean) differs significantly
from a given population mean (this is a one-sample t-test)

The formula for one sample t-test is 

where X = sample mean, u = population mean and SE = standard error of mean
2. To test if the population means estimated by two independent samples differ
significantly (the unpaired t-test). The formula for unpaired t-test is:

where X1 − X2 is the difference between the means of the two groups and SE denotes
the standard error of the difference.
3. To test if the population means estimated by two dependent samples differ significantly
(the paired t-test). A usual setting for paired t-test is when measurements are made on
the same subjects before and after a treatment.
The formula for paired t-test is:

where d is the mean difference and SE denotes the standard error of this difference.
The group variances can be compared using the F-test. The F-test is the ratio of variances
(var l/var 2). If F differs significantly from 1.0, then it is concluded that the group variances
differ significantly.
Analysis of variance
The Student's t-test cannot be used for comparison of three or more groups. The purpose of
ANOVA is to test if there is any significant difference between the means of two or more
groups.
In ANOVA, we study two variances – (a) between-group variability and (b) within-group
variability. The within-group variability (error variance) is the variation that cannot be
accounted for in the study design. It is based on random differences present in our samples.
However, the between-group (or effect variance) is the result of our treatment. These two
estimates of variances are compared using the F-test.
A simplified formula for the F statistic is:

where MSb is the mean squares between the groups and MSw is the mean squares within
groups.
Repeated measures analysis of variance
As with ANOVA, repeated measures ANOVA analyses the equality of means of three or more
groups. However, a repeated measure ANOVA is used when all variables of a sample are
measured under different conditions or at different points in time.
As the variables are measured from a sample at different points of time, the measurement of
the dependent variable is repeated. Using a standard ANOVA in this case is not appropriate
because it fails to model the correlation between the repeated measures: The data violate the
ANOVA assumption of independence. Hence, in the measurement of repeated dependent
variables, repeated measures ANOVA should be used.

Non-parametric tests
When the assumptions of normality are not met, and the sample means are not normally,
distributed parametric tests can lead to erroneous results. Non-parametric tests (distribution-
free test) are used in such situation as they do not require the normality assumption.[15] Non-
parametric tests may fail to detect a significant difference when compared with a parametric
test. That is, they usually have less power.
As is done for the parametric tests, the test statistic is compared with known values for the
sampling distribution of that statistic and the null hypothesis is accepted or rejected. The
types of non-parametric analysis techniques and the corresponding parametric analysis
techniques are delineated in Table 5.

Table 5
Analogue of parametric and non-parametric tests

Median test for one sample: The sign test and Wilcoxon's signed rank test
The sign test and Wilcoxon's signed rank test are used for median tests of one sample.
These tests examine whether one instance of sample data is greater or smaller than the
median reference value.
Sign test
This test examines the hypothesis about the median θ0 of a population. It tests the null
hypothesis H0 = θ0. When the observed value (Xi) is greater than the reference value (θ0), it
is marked as+. If the observed value is smaller than the reference value, it is marked as −
sign. If the observed value is equal to the reference value (θ0), it is eliminated from the
sample.
If the null hypothesis is true, there will be an equal number of + signs and − signs.
The sign test ignores the actual values of the data and only uses + or − signs. Therefore, it is
useful when it is difficult to measure the values.
Wilcoxon's signed rank test
There is a major limitation of sign test as we lose the quantitative information of the given
data and merely use the + or – signs. Wilcoxon's signed rank test not only examines the
observed values in comparison with θ0 but also takes into consideration the relative sizes,
adding more statistical power to the test. As in the sign test, if there is an observed value that
is equal to the reference value θ0, this observed value is eliminated from the sample.
Wilcoxon's rank sum test ranks all data points in order, calculates the rank sum of each
sample and compares the difference in the rank sums.
Mann-Whitney test
It is used to test the null hypothesis that two samples have the same median or, alternatively,
whether observations in one sample tend to be larger than observations in the other.
Mann–Whitney test compares all data (xi) belonging to the X group and all data (yi) belonging
to the Y group and calculates the probability of xi being greater than yi: P (xi > yi). The null
hypothesis states that P (xi > yi) = P (xi < yi) =1/2 while the alternative hypothesis states
that P (xi > yi) ≠1/2.
Kolmogorov-Smirnov test
The two-sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov (KS) test was designed as a generic method to test
whether two random samples are drawn from the same distribution. The null hypothesis of
the KS test is that both distributions are identical. The statistic of the KS test is a distance
between the two empirical distributions, computed as the maximum absolute difference
between their cumulative curves.
Kruskal-Wallis test
The Kruskal–Wallis test is a non-parametric test to analyse the variance.[14] It analyses if
there is any difference in the median values of three or more independent samples. The data
values are ranked in an increasing order, and the rank sums calculated followed by
calculation of the test statistic.
Jonckheere test
In contrast to Kruskal–Wallis test, in Jonckheere test, there is an a priori ordering that gives it
a more statistical power than the Kruskal–Wallis test.[14]
Friedman test
The Friedman test is a non-parametric test for testing the difference between several related
samples. The Friedman test is an alternative for repeated measures ANOVAs which is used
when the same parameter has been measured under different conditions on the same
subjects.[13]

Tests to analyse the categorical data

Chi-square test, Fischer's exact test and McNemar's test are used to analyse the categorical
or nominal variables. The Chi-square test compares the frequencies and tests whether the
observed data differ significantly from that of the expected data if there were no differences
between groups (i.e., the null hypothesis). It is calculated by the sum of the squared
difference between observed (O) and the expected (E) data (or the deviation, d) divided by
the expected data by the following formula:

A Yates correction factor is used when the sample size is small. Fischer's exact test is used
to determine if there are non-random associations between two categorical variables. It does
not assume random sampling, and instead of referring a calculated statistic to a sampling
distribution, it calculates an exact probability. McNemar's test is used for paired nominal data.
It is applied to 2 × 2 table with paired-dependent samples. It is used to determine whether the
row and column frequencies are equal (that is, whether there is ‘marginal homogeneity’). The
null hypothesis is that the paired proportions are equal. The Mantel-Haenszel Chi-square test
is a multivariate test as it analyses multiple grouping variables. It stratifies according to the
nominated confounding variables and identifies any that affects the primary outcome variable.
If the outcome variable is dichotomous, then logistic regression is used.
Go to:

SOFTWARES AVAILABLE FOR STATISTICS, SAMPLE SIZE CALCULATION AND POWER

ANALYSIS
Numerous statistical software systems are available currently. The commonly used software
systems are Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS – manufactured by IBM
corporation), Statistical Analysis System ((SAS – developed by SAS Institute North Carolina,
United States of America), R (designed by Ross Ihaka and Robert Gentleman from R core
team), Minitab (developed by Minitab Inc), Stata (developed by StataCorp) and the MS Excel
(developed by Microsoft).
There are a number of web resources which are related to statistical power analyses. A few
are:
 StatPages.net – provides links to a number of online power calculators
 G-Power – provides a downloadable power analysis program that runs under DOS
 Power analysis for ANOVA designs an interactive site that calculates power or sample
size needed to attain a given power for one effect in a factorial ANOVA design
 SPSS makes a program called SamplePower. It gives an output of a complete report
on the computer screen which can be cut and paste into another document.
Go to:

SUMMARY
It is important that a researcher knows the concepts of the basic statistical methods used for
conduct of a research study. This will help to conduct an appropriately well-designed study
leading to valid and reliable results. Inappropriate use of statistical techniques may lead to
faulty conclusions, inducing errors and undermining the significance of the article. Bad
statistics may lead to bad research, and bad research may lead to unethical practice. Hence,
an adequate knowledge of statistics and the appropriate use of statistical tests are important.
An appropriate knowledge about the basic statistical methods will go a long way in improving
the research designs and producing quality medical research which can be utilised for
formulating the evidence-based guidelines.

Overview of statistical software packages

Introduction to Statistical Software

Background
For many students, the thought of having to undertake statistical analyses is uncomfortable. 
This is because mathematics and statistics are often poorly taught at school, and barely
covered during undergraduate training.  Further – let’s face it, mathematics and statistics are
conceptually difficult. However, there really is no need to panic. There is lots of support
available to make you more comfortable with undertaking statistical analyses, including this
online course, biostatistical consultants, websites, Youtube tutorials, and even MOOC
courses.
If you would like face-to-face assistance, then information about biostatistical support can be
found here:
http://www.unisa.edu.au/Health-Sciences/Research/Biostatistical-and-epidemiological-
support/
In addition, there are a multitude of statistical software packages available that can do a lot of
the work for you – and these are the focus of this current module. However, before we start
looking at these, a question that often arises is “How do I get my data into a statistical
package?”. The good news is that most statistical software can read data directly from an
Excel spreadsheet, so using Excel is often the easiest solution.  Secondly, you can always
enter data directly into a statistical package, since they nearly all have some form of inbuilt
spreadsheet.  Another solution is to use software like SurveyMonkey
(https://www.surveymonkey.com/) to collect the data. SurveyMonkey has the facility to
convert the data into an Excel spreadsheet or SPSS format.  A final solution is to use
specialised data entry software. This has the advantage of being able to put things like range
checks on data entry fields, so for example, if a data entry field should only have a 0 or 1
entered, if you try and put anything else, it won’t let you. A really good and free data entry
program is EpiData Entry provided by CDC Atlanta. It is available from
here:  http://www.epidata.dk/download.php
 There are many commercial statistical packages available, some of which UniSA has
licenses for. In addition, there are several free statistical packages available from the internet.
For example, PSPP is a clone of SPSS, and can be downloaded here:
https://www.gnu.org/software/pspp/get.html.
There are also many websites where you can undertake online statistical analyses.  A good
starting place is:
 http://statpages.info/
There are also many specialised software programs for things like graphs, sample size
calculations, and genetic analyses.  Again, some are commercial, but others can be freely
downloaded. A good example is the sample size software G*Power, which can be
downloaded here: http://www.gpower.hhu.de/en.html
In fact the diversity and number of software packages and available websites is so large, that
reviewing all of them would be a full-time job! 
 However, there are some software packages that are readily available and often used at
UniSA, including Microsoft Excel, SPSS, SAS, Stata and R, which will briefly overviewed
here. Then further details are provided in subsequent modules about each of these
packages.
Microsoft Excel
History
This is part of the Microsoft Office suite of programs. Excel version 1.0 was first released in
1985, with the latest version Excel 2016.
 Good points

 Extremely easy to use and interchanges nicely with other Microsoft products
 Excel spreadsheets can be read by many other statistical packages
 Add on module which is part of Excel for undertaking basic statistical analyses
 Can produce very nice graphs

 Bad points

 Excel is designed for financial calculations, although it is possible to use it for many
other things
 Cannot undertake more sophisticated statistical analyses without purchase of
expensive commercial add ons.

 Availability
Most computers come with Microsoft software already installed. For blue-plated (UniSA)
computers, contact the IT Help Desk to install the latest Microsoft office software. For your
own computer, you can always purchase Microsoft Office from a retail store.
 
SPSS
SPSS stands for Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. It was one of the earliest
statistical packages with Version 1 being released in 1968, well before the advent of desktop
computers.  It is now on Version 23.
 Good points

 Very easy to learn and use

 Can use either with menus or syntax files
 Quite good graphics
 Excels at descriptive statistics, basic regression analysis, analysis of variance, and
some newer techniques such as Classification and Regression Trees (CART)
 Has its own structural equation modelling software AMOS, that dovetails with SPSS

 Bad points

 Focus is on statistical methods mainly used in the social sciences, market research 
and psychology
 Has advanced regression modelling procedures such as LMM and GEE, but they are
awful to use with very obscure syntax
 Has few of the more powerful techniques required in epidemiological analysis, such as
competing risk analysis or standardised rates

 Availability
SPSS is available on blue-plated (UniSA) computers. If it is not on the one that you use, then
contact the IT Help Desk to install it. Staff are allowed to use SPSS at home for a cost of $10.
Unfortunately, students have no home use rights, but can purchase a pretty much full version
called a Premium Grad-pack with a 2-year license for approximately $250 from Hearne
software.
 
SAS
SAS stands for Statistical Analysis System. It was developed at the North Carolina State
University in 1966, so is contemporary with SPSS. 
 Good points

 Can use either with menus or syntax files

 Much more powerful than SPSS
 Commonly used for data management in clinical trials

Bad points

 Harder to learn and use than SPSS

 Availability
Health Sciences has a Division licence for SAS 9.4M3 which is available for the Division’s
staff and students. To organise installation contact the IT Help Desk. SAS also has a free
version SAS University, details are available here:
http://www.sas.com/en_us/software/university-edition.html
 
Stata
Stata is a more recent statistical package with Version 1 being released in 1985. Since then,
it has become increasingly popular in the areas of epidemiology and economics, and
probably now rivals SPSS and SAS in it user base. We are now on Version 14.
 Good points

 Can use either with menus or syntax files

 Much more powerful than SPSS – probably equivalent to SAS
 Excels at advanced regression modelling
 Has its own in-built structural equation modelling
 Has a good suite of epidemiological procedures
 Researchers around the world write their own procedures in Stata, which are then
available to all users

 Bad points

 Harder to learn and use than SPSS

 Does not yet have some specialised techniques such as CART or Partial Least
squares regression

 Availability
Stata can be downloaded onto blue-plated computers by contacting the IT Help Desk.
Students can purchase a full copy with a perpetual license from the Australian distributors
(Survey Design and Analysis) for about $200. The Division is currently examining licensing
arrangements.
 
R
S-plus is a statistical programming language developed in Seattle in 1988. R is a free version
of S-plus developed in 1996. Since  then  the  original  team  has  expanded  to  include 
dozens  of individuals from all over the globe. Because it is a programming language and
environment, it is used by giving the software  a  series  of  commands, often saved  in  text 
documents  called  syntax  files  or scripts, rather  than having  a  menu-based  system. 
Because of this, it is probably best used by people already reasonably expert at statistical
analaysis, or who have an affinity for computers. 
  Good points

 Very powerful – easily matches or even surpasses many of the models found in SAS
or Statas
 Researchers around the world write their own procedures in R, which are then
available to all users
 Free!

 Bad points

 Much harder to learn and use than SAS or Stata 

Availability
R can be downloaded from here: