CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH

OBJECTIVES

By the end of this chapter, students should be able to;

 Explain what research is and what it is not.

 Explain the criteria for research.
 Outline and explain the different types of research approach.
 Identify the purpose and motivation for research
 To present some aspects of the debate about the nature of knowledge and the value of
scientific method.
 Identify and explain scientific and non-scientific methods of acquiring knowledge
 Classify and explain the various types of research

RESEARCH

Man’s quest to be in tune with his environment and also understand nature brought out the
process of research. To produce a credible research, researchers use the tools of experience
and reasoning available to them.
Researchers also make use of experience and authoritative sources beyond their immediate
environment. The major sources of hypothesis which are based mainly on common sense
knowledge and haphazard events are experience and authority, therefore this combination
can be unjustified for drawing conclusions on events and is judged to be unscientific.

Research anchors on scientific reasoning; which could be inductive and deductive or both. It
is a combination of both experience and reasoning and can be said to be the most
appropriate way of discovering the truth, precisely in the natural Sciences.
NB: Research is not ‘neutral’, but reflects a range of the researcher’s personal
interests, values, abilities, assumptions, aims and ambitions.

What is it?

According to Leedy, research is a procedure by which we attempt to find systematically, and

with the support of demonstrable fact, the answer to a question or the resolution of a problem.
(1989, p). It’s an objective formal process of systematically collecting, analysing and
interpretation of data for the purpose of providing functional information to managers for
decision making.
What is it not?
The following are ways in which the term ‘research’ is used in common language (abused)
and basically do not constitute a research.
(i) As a mere gathering of facts or information- This is quickly reading a few books
or magazines so that you are better informed about something.
(ii) Moving facts from one situation to another- Mere assembling of information i.e.
collecting information and reassemble it in a report or paper, duly annotated and
referenced, and think of it as research.
(iii) As an esoteric activity, far removed from practical life. We have to understand
that research is an activity which is prompted by our need to satisfy our natural
curiosity and our wish to make sense of the world around us not a mere adventure
into some mysterious process e.g. laboratory experiments.
(iv) As a word to get your product noticed. Very often the term ‘research’ is used in an
emotive fashion in order to impress and build confidence yet if you would ask for
evidence of the research from people who market their products, you would get
none.

PURPOSE(S) OF RESEARCH
-The primary purpose of a research is to seek and provide answers or solutions to problems
that communities face.
NB If it does not benefit communities, it’s not fit to be called a research.

analyse more general issues

Generate new knowledge

(Collis & Hussey, 2003)

Summary
Three of the most common and useful purposes are therefore;
-exploration,
-description,
-explanation.
OBJECTIVES OF RESEARCH
The main, overriding objective must be that of gaining useful or interesting knowledge.
Reynolds (1977, pp. 4–11) listed five things which he believed most people expected
scientific knowledge to provide. These can conveniently be used as the basis for a list of the
possible objectives of research:
• categorization
• explanation
• prediction
• creating understanding
• providing potential for control
• evaluation

Categorization involves forming a typology of objects, events or concepts. This can be

useful in explaining what ‘things’ belong together and how. For example we could have
categories single, married, divorced, and widowed women.

Explanation
There are many events and issues which we do not fully, or even partly understand. The
objective of providing an explanation of particular phenomena has been a common one in
many forms of research.

Prediction
On the basis of an explanation of a phenomenon it is often possible to make a prediction of
future events related to it. In the natural sciences these predictions are often made in the form
of abstract statements, for example, given C1, C2, ……., Cn: if X, then Y. More readily
understood are predictions made in text form, for example: if a person disagrees with a friend
about his attitude toward an object, then a state of psychological tension is produced.

Creating Understanding
A complete explanation of a phenomenon will require a wider study of the processes which
surround the phenomenon and influence it or cause it to happen.

Providing potential for control

A good level of understanding of a phenomenon might lead to the possibility of finding a way
to control it. Even in society there are many attempts, often based on scientific principles, to
control events such as crime, poverty, the economy etc, though the record of success is more
limited than in the natural sciences, and perhaps there are cases of attempting the impossible.

Evaluation is making judgements about the quality of objects or events. Quality can be
measured either in an absolute sense or on a comparative basis. To be useful, the methods of
evaluation must be relevant to the context and intentions of the research. For example, level
of income is a relevant variable in the evaluation of wealth, while degree of marital fidelity is
not.

WHAT PUSHES (MOTIVATES) RESEARCH?

a) Government directive – Research can be directed by the government to try and get a
solution for the nation or society
b) Organizational problems may motivate research e.g. a company may have high rate
of staff turnover
c) Desire to get a research qualification or in some cases it may be a course requirement
being studied e.g. HND, PHD
d) Desire to offer service to the society
e) To fill the gap in knowledge
f) Desire to face challenges in solving the unsolved problems
g) Employment conditions – There are some established research stations that
specializes in research. In such research stations people are employed to carry out
research e.g. Grasslands Research Station which specializes in Agricultural Research

CLASSFICATION OF RESEARCH
Research can be classified as;
A- Basic research or fundamental research (pure research)
This is research done to provide broad and general principles, theories, results or information.
It’s not focused on specific information or problem but on providing basic information in
general e.g. educational research on aims of education, motivation, environment and its
results are public.
Pure research is a source of most new scientific ideas, methods and theories used in applied
research. It asks questions that seem impractical such as causes of cancer in chickens and
acts like an exploratory research aimed at gaining ideas and insights about a research
problem.
-Basic research can takes two forms:
i) Discovery of new theories
ii) Development of the existing theory

B Applied research or field research (Decision Making Research)

This is research designed to offer practical solutions to a current problem or address the
immediate and specific needs of practitioners. Its results find direct application in the field of
work. Applied research is used to answer a policy question and to test theories and laws
discovered through basic research and applying them into practice i.e. application of known
theories.
It relies on quick, small scale study that provides practical results usable in the short term.
Primary consumers of this research are teachers, counsellors, practitioners, decision makers
(managers) etc. Its results may generate conflicts if the desired outcome is not the expected

C Action research
-Is similar to applied research in many ways, hence regarded as another form of applied
research with the primary goal of facilitating social change or bring about a value oriented
social change. The difference is that applied research is carried out on a larger sample
resulting in more universally applicable findings while action research is conducted on an
immediately available small sample in order to solve the immediate problem for the same
group.
.
D) Evaluation research
-Is an applied research in which one tries to determine how well a program, theory or policy
is working. -Ethical and political conflicts may arise in this research because people may
have opposing interests in findings of a program or theory. There are two types of evaluation
researches;
-Formative evaluation is built- in monitoring or continuous feedback on a theory or
program.
-Summative evaluation is one that looks at the final program or theory or end result
E) Social impact research
Is an applied research that documents social response to major changes introduced into a
community. It estimates the consequences of a planned change. *It is therefore concluded
that Action, Evaluation and Social impact researches are types of applied research.

Activity 1
1. Define the following terms commonly used in research
a. Hypothesis
b. Assumption
c. Inductive reasoning
d. Deductive reasoning

2. Research is classified according to purpose. List the five major classifications of

research
3. List and explain any three objectives of research.
4. State and explain in your own words the various ways in which the term
research is “misused” or “abused”.
5. List any two classes of research.
6. In which ways are is the term “research” abused?