Research Methods in

Geography & Environmental

Studies

Addis Ababa University

March, 2021
 1. Introduction
• The philosophy of scientific inquiry
– Scientific inquiry:
• investigating answers to questions
• assumptions:
– positivism
– empiricism
– objectivity

Positivism
• defined pattern of phenomena
• sources of knowledge
– logical reasoning
– empirical experience.
 1. Introduction
Empiricism
• empirical evidence of phenomena
• proof through valid observation

Objectivity
• free from any source of bias

– Paradigms
• three basic research paradigms
– Positivism
– Interpretivism
– Critical science
 1. Introduction
• Conceptual foundations of research
– two distinct but interrelated levels in research
• Conceptual/theoretical and
observational/empirical
Concepts
• abstraction/symbol/representation of an object
or its properties
• constitute a professional language
• foundations of communication
• introduce a perspective
• allow scientists to classify and generalize
• are components of theories – define a theorys’
contents and attributes
 1. Introduction
– Concepts have both conceptual and operational
components – definition is important
• Conceptual definition
– describing concepts by using other concepts
– used to enhance communication
– should include all cases covered in what is
defined
– should use clear and unambiguous terms

• Operational definition
– bridges the conceptual/theoretical and
observational/empirical levels
– describes the procedures to be followed
– provides the meaning of a concept
– used when a phenomenon cannot be
observed directly
 1. Introduction

Theory
• conceptual foundation for reliable knowledge
• help to explain and predict phenomena and
make intelligent decisions
• understood and defined differently
– any sort of conceptualization
– the history of ideas
– logical deduction of interrelated concepts
• no one simple definition – there are many
different kinds of theories
 1. Introduction
• theories can be classified considering different
criteria
• For example, classification according to:
– scope – macro or micro theories
– functions – static or dynamic phenomena,
structure or process
– structure – logical systems of thoughts or
loosely defined set of propositions
– level – hierarchical level, scale
 1. Introduction

Models:
• a model is representation of the reality
• used to delineate aspects of the real world that
can be investigated to problem solving
• provide a more systematic basis for problem
investigation
 1. Introduction

Theory, Models, and Empirical Research

• two major components in research
– theory and empirical research
• connection between the two??
– Theory-before-Research
– Research-before-Theory
• any of these can be followed depending on the
nature of the problem and research question
 1. Introduction
Theory-before-Research
• Theory-then-research strategy
• Involves certain steps
– constructing explicit theory or model
– selecting a proposition for empirical
investigation
– designing a project to test the proposition
– if proposition rejected, change the theory
– if proposition accepted, select other
proposition or improve the theory
 1. Introduction
Research-before-Theory
• Research-then-theory strategy
• Consists of the following steps
– investigating a phenomenon and delineating
its attributes
– measuring the attributes
– analyzing the data and looking for
systematic patterns
– constructing a theory once a systematic
pattern is discovered
 1. Introduction
• Basic elements of research
– Research problems
– Variables
– Relations
– Hypotheses

Research Problems:
– intellectual stimulus calling for a response
• E.g. What incentives promote energy conservation
• How can inflation be reduced?
• Does socio-economic status influence land
management?
 1. Introduction
– Unit of analysis:
• elementary part of the phenomenon to be studied
• influences the research design, data collection, and
data analysis
• no limitations of the selection of the unit of
analysis
• failure to define the unit of analysis may lead to
fallacies
– Ecological fallacy
» inferences made about individuals based on
data collected about groups
– Individualistic fallacy
» drawing of inferences about groups based on
evidence gathered about individuals
 1. Introduction
Variables
– an empirical property that can take on two or
more values
– Different types:
• dichotomous variable
• dependent and independent
• continuous and discrete variables

Relations
– relation between two or more variables, change in
a systematic way
 1. Introduction
– kinds of relations
• direction – positive or negative relation
• magnitude – extent to which variables covary
positively or negatively

Hypotheses
– a hypothesis – tentative answer a research problem
– derived deductively or inductively
– a hypothesis should be:
• clear
• specific
• testable with available methods
• value-free
 1. Introduction
• Ethical consideration
– Why research ethics?
• Research – knowledge production
• Challenges:
– Kind of research problem
– Setting
– Procedures required
– Methods of data collection
– Kind of participants
– Type of data
 1. Introduction
• Ethical issues
- Considering costs and benefits
• Right of the researcher to conduct research
• Right of participants
• Costs against the participants

a) Informed consent of the participant

• Choice of individuals to participate or not in the
research
– depends on:
» Competence
» Voluntarism
» Full information
» Comprehension
 1. Introduction

• Researcher responsibility
– No need to get consent for all research types
– More risk to participants, more responsibility
on the researcher to get informed consent

b) Privacy
• Sharing individual information
• Depends on:
– Sensitivity of information
– Research setting
– Dissemination of information
» Relating research results to individuals
 1. Introduction
c) Anonymity and confidentiality
• Separating individuals identity from the
information they provide – anonymity
• Not to acquire names in the survey
• Keeping participants information confidential
requires strict moral and professional obligation
 2. Research Design
• Research design
– connects research questions to data
– a guide to collect, analyze and interpret data
• Whom to study? Participants
• What to observe? Variables
• When to observe? Appropriate time
• How to observe? Framework and data
– Various types of research design
• Range from quantitative to qualitative
• Involve several procedures
– Experimental, quasi-experimental, non-
experimental
– Case study, ethnography, grounded theory,
etc …
 2. Research Design
• Quantitative research design
– Typical questions in empirical research design
• Strategy/approach
• Framework
• Data source – who or what will be studied
• Data collection and analysis
– Empirical research – 150yrs ago
• Mainly experiment and measurement
– Lately 1950s and 60s – quasi- and non-
experimental designs
– Focus:
• on comparison between or among variables
based on experiment
• relationships between variables based on non-
experimental reasoning
 2. Research Design
– Experimental design:
• Comparison between groups based on variables
• Designed treatment groups
• Full control over the outcome variable
• Manipulation of independent variables
• Not applicable for all kinds of research problems

– Quasi-experimental design
• Naturally occurring treatment groups
• Partial control over the outcome variable
 2. Research Design
– Non-experimental design:
• Naturally occurring variation instead of groups
• Little control over the outcome variable
 2. Research Design
• Qualitative research design
– Types include:
• Case study
• Ethnography
• Grounded theory

Case study
– studying in-depth a single case
– the case can be an individual person, an event, a
group, or an institution
– could be distinguished into types:
• Intrinsic case study
• Instrumental case study
• Collective case study
 2. Research Design

Ethnography
– description of a group/community or culture
– requires commitment and care while interpreting
cultures

Grounded theory
– a distinctive strategy in qualitative research
– a strategy to generate theory from data
– the theory should be grounded in data – inductive
process
 2. Research Design
• Research proposal
– Research – systematic collection, analysis and
interpretation of data
– Proposal – details the procedures to be followed in
conducting research

Identifying research area

– first step in the research process and proposal
preparation
• interest
• background knowledge
• review of literature – concepts and methods
 2. Research Design
– identify a workable/doable topic
• research gaps – what’s done, what’s not???
• relevance to knowledge and problem solving
• manageability – practical constraints such as
time, finance and supervision

Research questions
– Downsize and focus the topic
– Importance:
• organize the project - direction and coherence
• Delimit the project indicating the boundaries
• Keep the researcher focused
• Provide framework for writing up the project
• Guide the kind of data needed
 2. Research Design
• Components of a research proposal
– formats may vary across disciplines
– Main components include:
• Overview of the study
• Statement of the research problem
• Research objectives
• Research questions/hypotheses
• Rational/significance of the study
• Scope of the study
• Literature review
• Conceptual framework
• Methodology
• Timetable
• Budget
 2. Research Design
Overview of the study
– Provides information about the problem under
study
– Could be presented in two ways:
• Introduction
– Introducing the research problem
• Background to the study
– Information detailing the problems
– Putting the problem within a particular
context
 2. Research Design
Statement of the problem
– Sets the direction of the research
– Provides specific detail on the purpose of the study
– Statement of the key problem to be addressed
– Formulation of the problem statement may vary
for:
• Qualitative approach
– focus on expression of assumptions and
related methodology
• Quantitative approach
– focus on explaining the influencing
factors/variables
 2. Research Design
Research objectives
– derived from the problem statement
– reworking of the statement of the problem
– uses statements such as:
• To examine……
• To explore …….
• To determine…….
• To establish……..
• To compare…., etc
 2. Research Design
Research questions/hypotheses
– research is driven by research questions
– questions form the basis of the scientific inquiry
– usually worked from general to specific

– General research questions:

• guide our thinking
• help to organize the research project

– Specific research questions:

• ideally follow from the general questions
• direct the empirical procedures
• directly answered in the research
 2. Research Design

– Hypotheses:
• statement stating the relationship between
variables
• describes the center of the scientific inquiry
• could be presented as:
– null hypothesis
– alternative hypothesis
 2. Research Design
Rational/significance/purpose of the study
– Describes ‘why’ the research is carried out?
– Justifies the reasons for conducting the research
– This section should sate relevance of the research
• Scientific relevance
– Theoretical or methodological importance
• Practical/applied relevance
– In solving real world problems
 2. Research Design
Scope of the study
– Limit of the study in terms of:
• Content/topic
• Area coverage
• Participants, etc..

Literature review
– Review of relevant/related literature
– Should be comprehensive and focused
– Helps to:
• identify research gaps
• refine research question and variables
• contextualize the study
 2. Research Design
Conceptual framework
– Details the theoretical foundations of the research
and nature of the arguments, i.e. line of argument
– Concepts are the basis of arguments
– Used to select and restrict the number of variables
included in the study
– Shows the interaction and interrelationships among
the variables
– Provides a good ground for analyzing the variables
 2. Research Design
Methodology
– Methodology vs methods
– Explicit indication of:
• Study area and its features ….?
• Data sources
• Methods of data collection
• Methods of data analysis and presentation

Timetable and budget

 3. Data collection techniques
• Data sources
– Data is collected to test hypotheses or answer
research questions
– Primary and secondary sources

Primary sources:
– Originally generated data
– Data that has not been used before by earlier
studies
– Obtained through direct observation, survey,
experiment, etc…
– Qualitative or quantitative
 3. Data collection techniques
Secondary sources:
– Data used previously, but still useful
– Obtained from published and unpublished materials
– Requires acknowledgement of the generators of
the information
 3. Data collection techniques
• Sampling and sample design
– Why sampling?
• Difficulty to collect data from all
observations/respondents – finance, time, and
other resources
• Problem of handling, analyzing and interpreting
huge data

– Definition of terms:
• sample - a subset of a population
• population - the entire set of relevant units of
analysis or data
• Parameter – particular value of the population
• Statistic – particular value of the sample
 3. Data collection techniques
– Objective of sampling:
• To estimate unknown parameter of a population
from know statistic of a sample
• Important steps to achieve this:
– Definition of the population
– Sample design
– The size of the sample

Population
– Also know as the sampling population/frame ??
– Definition the population depends on the research
problem
– Could be finite (countable) or infinite (endless
number of sampling units)
 3. Data collection techniques
– Sampling unit
• Single member of a sampling population
• Could be an individual, event, organization, etc

Sample designs
– Appropriate design - a representative sample
– Various types of designs:
• Non-probability
• Probability
 3. Data collection techniques

1) Non-probability sampling
– all the sampling units are not given equal chance to
be included in the sample
– Used for description of results, not generalization
about the whole population
– Includes:
• Convenience sampling
• Purposive sampling – also judgment sampling
• Quota sampling
 3. Data collection techniques

2) Probability sampling
– Giving equal change for all units of a population to
be included in the sample
– Used to explain, predict or generalize results to the
population
– Include:
• Simple random sampling
• Systematic sampling
• Stratified sampling
• Cluster sampling
 3. Data collection techniques
– Simple random sampling
• Use of random tables
• Probability of inclusion is n/N

– Systematic sampling
• More convenient than simple random sampling
• Requires a sampling list – list of population
• Sampling interval is determined as: K=N/n
• Probability of inclusion is: 1/K
• Helpful to deal with large population size
 3. Data collection techniques

– Stratified sampling
• Dividing the population into homogenous
groups/strata
• Sample selection could be proportion or not

– Cluster sampling
• Creating clusters
• Select the sampling units using other sampling
techniques
• Commonly used in large-scale studies in the
absence of lists or records
 3. Data collection techniques
Sample size
– Sample size could range from one sampling unit to
all less one sampling units
– Depends on research type
– Quantitative research needs fair representation
– The larger the sample, the more accurate the
results
– But the size should be manageable
– Standard sample size – statistical consideration
 3. Data collection techniques
• Data collection techniques
– Data:
• refers to information that answers questions
• Could be quantitative or qualitative
• the type of data in use depends on the research
question attempted to be answered

Quantitative data
• consist of numbers and percentages
• tend to be concise and numeric
• reflect incidents or occurrences
• conclusions drawn are limited by parameters of
the data.
 3. Data collection techniques
Qualitative data
• consist of narrative description
• include information about personal experiences,
beliefs, perspectives, or situations, etc…
• rich in both depth and detail
• reflect personal experience
• provides a high level of information to assist in
decision-making
• data collection and analysis can be time-
consuming and costly
 3. Data collection techniques
I) Qualitative data collection:
• Main techniques include:
– Interview
– Observation
– Participant observation
– Documents
1) Interview:
• Most powerful way of understanding others
• Is more than asking questions and receiving
answers
• Flexible method that can be adapted to suite a
variety of research situations
• Type of interview influences its practical aspect
 3. Data collection techniques
• Types of interviews:
– Structured interviews
– Semi-structured interviews
– Unstructured interviews

Structured interviews
• Standardized interviews
• Use pre-established/structured questions
• Minimized flexibility and variation
• Neutral role of the interviewer
 3. Data collection techniques
Semi-structured interviews
• Partially standardized interviews
• Use of check-lists for interviewing
• Minimized flexibility and variation
• The interviewer directs the interview following
the guiding questions – moderator or facilitator
• Include:
– Personal interviews
– Group interviews/focus group
 3. Data collection techniques
Unstructured interviews
• No structure questions posed
• non-standardized also known as ethnographic
interview
• high degree of flexibility
• things to consider while planning to conduct
unstructured interview:
– accessing the setting
– language and culture
– how to present oneself
– locating an informant
– gaining trust
– establishing rapport
– collecting the empirical materials
 3. Data collection techniques
Some practical aspects of interviewing
 Selection of respondents
 Managing the interview
 Recording

2) Observation:
• long history of use in the social sciences
• Different approaches and types
– Naturalistic approach
– Quantitative Vs qualitative approach
– Structured Vs unstructured approach
 3. Data collection techniques
Structured observation
• based on predetermined categories
• specific/smaller themes or units – microscopic
view
• easy to record and analyze the data

Unstructured observation
• holistic observation – macroscopic view
• displays the hole picture
• difficult in recording and analyzing
 3. Data collection techniques
Some practical issues in observation
 approach
 What to observe and why?
 Gaining access

 recording
 How to store the information for later retrieval
 Which devices to use
 Range from audiovisual equipments to field
notes
3. Data collection techniques
3) Participant Observation:
• main data collection method in ethnographic
studies
• The researcher – both participant in and
observer of the situation
• Critics on the role of the researcher
– i.e. on whether the research influences the
situation or not

4) Documentary data:
• Obtained from previous documentation
• Include diaries, letters, essays, personal notes,
biographies, government proclamations,
proceedings, etc…
• Could be use alone or in combination with other
data types
 3. Data collection techniques
II) Quantitative data collection:
• Quantitative data collection involves
– Identifying variables
» Discrete or continuous
– Specifying variables – observable and
measurable/quantifiable variables
– Developing a questionnaire
» Developing new
» Using existing one
» Clear conceptual map – from general to
specific variables
» Developed in line with the research questions
 3. Data collection techniques
III) Mixed method
• Combining quantitative and qualitative methods
• Compensates for the weaknesses of each other
• The combination could be used to:
– triangulate to enhance the validity of findings
– facilitate either of the methods
– Provide a general picture – completeness
– complement structure and process
– account for researchers’ and subjects’
concerns
– facilitate generalization
– bridge scale differences – micro vs macro
scale studies
 4. Data Analysis
• Analysis of quantitative data
– involves three major steps
• Data Preparation - Cleaning and organizing the
data for analysis
• Describing the data - Descriptive Statistics
• Testing Hypotheses/analyzing relationships -
Inferential Statistics

1) Data preparation
– involves
• checking or logging/sorting the data in
• checking the data for accuracy
 4. Data Analysis
• entering the data into the computer
• transforming the data
• developing and documenting a database
structure that integrates the various measures

2) Data description
– using descriptive statistics
– describing what is or what the data shows
– presents quantitative descriptions in a manageable
form
– provides summary that helps to make comparisons
across people or units
 4. Data Analysis
– descriptive statistical methods
• Frequency distributions
• Central tendency: mean, mode, median
• Dispersion/variation:
– Standard deviation
– Variance

3) Inferential statistics
– trying to reach conclusions that extend beyond
data description
– Statistical methods
• Relationship between variables
– Cross-tabulations and contingency tables
– Correlations and regressions
 4. Data Analysis

• Comparison between groups

– Analysis of variance
– Interaction
 4. Data Analysis
• Analysis of qualitative data
– Qualitative data may take different forms
– Continuous analysis
– Choice of methods of analysis – study approach
– three concurrent flows of activities
• Data reduction
– condensing data
– looking for patterns, links and relationships
 4. Data Analysis

• Data management
– Organizing the data
– Data coding
– Data display – presentation
• Conclusion drawing/verification
 5. Writing research reports
• Write-up
– Writing is an art in itself
– Considerations when generating a report
• The audience
– Who is going to read it?
– Academic requirement?

• The story
– The central theme of the report – the major
findings
 5. Writing research reports
• Formatting
– Conventional format for various kinds of
reports such as:
» Journal articles
» Theses
» Simple reports

– Writing the report

• Drafting the report
– Should be done continuously
• Editing
• Length
• Tone and language
• Plagiarism
 5. Writing research reports
• Structure
– Sections of a paper
• The sections of a scientific paper should reflect the
research process
– Thesis format:
• Title/cover page
• Acknowledgments
• Table of contents
• Abstract (on a separate single page)
• Introduction
• Literature review
• Methods (optional as a separate section)
• Description of the study area
• Results and discussion (alternative use)
• Conclusions and recommendations
• References
• Appendices
 5. Writing research reports
– Title/cover page
– Table of Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Foreword
• List of Tables
• List of Figures
• List of Abbreviations
• Headings of Sections
• References
• Appendices
– Data
– Questionnaire, etc
 5. Writing research reports
– Introduction
• Background
• Problem Statement
• Objectives (general and specific objectives)
• Hypotheses/research questions
• Methodology
– Data sources
– Methods of analysis
• Significance of the study
• Scope and limitations of the study
• Organization of work/thesis
 5. Writing research reports
– Literature review
• Conceptual literature
• Empirical literature

– Description of the study area

• Characterizing the study area

– Sections on results

– Summary, conclusions and recommendations

 5. Writing research reports
• References:
– Citation in the text
• Single author ……. (Tessema, 2001)
• Multiple authors ….. (Lakew et al., 1998)
• Rogers (1994) compared reaction times...
– Listing references
• List all the references used in the text
• List of References should NOT contain
references that are not mentioned in text
• List all the authors in case of multiple authors
• Alphabetical listing
• Names – Ethiopian and foreign
– Tariku Yadeta, 2006. The influence of…….
– Young, A., 2004. The impact of …………