CHAPTER III: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1. Research Design………………………………………………….………………..13

Research design is the overall strategy or plan for conducting a research study. It outlines the methods
and procedures that will be used to collect and analyse data, as well as the goals and objectives of the
study. A good research design serves as the blueprint for how you, as the researcher, will collect and
analyse data while ensuring consistency, reliability, and validity throughout your study.

A research design is a strategy for answering your research question using empirical data. Creating a
research design means making decisions about:

 Your overall research objectives and approach

 Whether you’ll rely on primary research or secondary research
 Your sampling methods or criteria for selecting subjects
 Your data collection methods
 The procedures you’ll follow to collect data
 Your data analysis methods

A well-planned research design helps ensure that your methods match your research objectives and that
you use the right kind of analysis for your data.

You might have to write up a research design as a standalone assignment, or it might be part of a
larger research proposal or other project. In either case, you should carefully consider which methods
are most appropriate and feasible for answering your question.

3.2. Research Locale…………………………………………………….……………...14

A research locale is simply the place where research takes place, and it is very similar to the word
location. The research locale you select determines the subject and location for conducting
experiments. It is a physical, social, or experimental environment within which research is carried
out. The research locale is discussed in the research design section of a study and describes the place
where the study is conducted.

3.3. Respondents of the Study………………………………………………………...14

3.4. Research Instrumentation…………………………………………………………15

A research instrument is a tool used to collect, measure, and analyze data related to your research
topic. Research instruments can include interviews, tests, surveys, or checklists 2. You need to choose the
appropriate instrument based on the type of study you are conducting: quantitative, qualitative, or
mixed-method1. Research instruments are often used in the fields of social sciences and health sciences

3.5. Validation of Instrument……………………………………………………………15

Validation of an instrument in research refers to the process of assessing the survey questions to
ensure reliability and accuracy.Validity refers to the extent to which an instrument measures what it
was intended to measure. There are three common types of validity for researchers and evaluators to
consider: content, construct, and criterion validities. Empirical evidence that PROs measure the domains
of interest allows strong inferences regarding validity .Instrument validation is a series of processes
performed according to a specified procedure to verify an instrument meets the expected quality
standards. This includes recording the validation results as documentation.

Validity tells you how accurately a method measures something. If a method measures what it claims to
measure, and the results closely correspond to real-world values, then it can be considered valid. There
are four main types of validity:

 Construct validity: Does the test measure the concept that it’s intended to measure?
 Content validity: Is the test fully representative of what it aims to measure?
 Face validity: Does the content of the test appear to be suitable to its aims?
 Criterion validity: Do the results accurately measure the concrete outcome they are designed to
measure?

What is a construct?
A construct refers to a concept or characteristic that can’t be directly observed, but can be measured by
observing other indicators that are associated with it.

Constructs can be characteristics of individuals, such as intelligence, obesity, job satisfaction, or

depression; they can also be broader concepts applied to organizations or social groups, such as gender
equality, corporate social responsibility, or freedom of speech.

What is construct validity?

Construct validity is about ensuring that the method of measurement matches the construct you want
to measure. If you develop a questionnaire to diagnose depression, you need to know: does the
questionnaire really measure the construct of depression? Or is it actually measuring the respondent’s
mood, self-esteem, or some other construct?

To achieve construct validity, you have to ensure that your indicators and measurements are carefully
developed based on relevant existing knowledge. The questionnaire must include only relevant
questions that measure known indicators of depression.

Content validity
Content validity assesses whether a test is representative of all aspects of the construct.

To produce valid results, the content of a test, survey or measurement method must cover all relevant
parts of the subject it aims to measure. If some aspects are missing from the measurement (or if
irrelevant aspects are included), the validity is threatened and the research is likely suffering
from omitted variable bias.

Face validity
Face validity considers how suitable the content of a test seems to be on the surface. It’s similar to
content validity, but face validity is a more informal and subjective assessment.

As face validity is a subjective measure, it’s often considered the weakest form of validity. However, it
can be useful in the initial stages of developing a method.
Criterion validity
Criterion validity evaluates how well a test can predict a concrete outcome, or how well the results of
your test approximate the results of another test.

What is a criterion variable?

A criterion variable is an established and effective measurement that is widely considered valid,
sometimes referred to as a “gold standard” measurement. Criterion variables can be very difficult to
find.

What is criterion validity?

To evaluate criterion validity, you calculate the correlation between the results of your measurement
and the results of the criterion measurement. If there is a high correlation, this gives a good indication
that your test is measuring what it intends to measure.

What is data validation?

Data validation is the process of examining the quality and accuracy of the collected data before
processing and analysing it. It not only ensures the accuracy but also confirms the completeness of your
data. However, data validation is time-consuming and can delay analysis significantly. So, is this step
really important?

Importance of data validation

Data validation is important for several aspects of a well-conducted study:

1. To ensure a robust dataset: The primary aim of data validation is to ensure an error-free
dataset for further analysis. This is especially important if you or other researchers plan to use
the dataset for future studies or to train machine learning models.
2. To get a clearer picture of the data: Data validation also includes ‘cleaning-up’ of data, i.e.,
removing inputs that are incomplete, not standardized, or not within the range specified for
your study. This process could also shed light on previously unknown patterns in the data and
provide additional insights regarding the findings.
3. To get accurate results: If your dataset has discrepancies, it will impact the final results and lead
to inaccurate interpretations. Data validation can help identify errors, thus increasing the
accuracy of your results.
4. To mitigate the risk of forming incorrect hypotheses: Only those inferences and hypotheses
that are backed by solid data are considered valid. Thus, data validation can help you
form logical and reasonable speculations.
5. To ensure the legitimacy of your findings: The integrity of your study is often determined by
how reproducible it is. Data validation can enhance the reproducibility of your findings.

Data validation in research

Data validation is necessary for all types of research. For quantitative research, which utilizes
measurable data points, the quality of data can be enhanced by selecting the correct methodology,
avoiding biases in the study design, choosing an appropriate sample size and type, and conducting
suitable statistical analyses.
In contrast, qualitative research, which includes surveys or behavioural studies, is prone to the use of
incomplete and/or poor-quality data. This is because of the likelihood that the responses provided by
survey participants are inaccurate and due to the subjective nature of observational studies. Thus, it is
extremely important to validate data by incorporating a range of clear and objective questions in
surveys, bullet-proofing multiple-choice questions, and setting standard parameters for data collection.

Importantly, for studies that utilize machine learning approaches or mathematical models, validating the
data model is as important as validating the data inputs. Thus, for the generation of automated data
validation protocols, one must rely on appropriate data structures, content, and file types to avoid
errors due to automation.

3.6. Data Gathering Procedure…………………………………………………………16

What is data collection?

Data collection is the process of gathering information from various sources via different research

methods and consolidating it into a single database or repository so researchers can use it for further

analysis. Data collection aims to provide information that individuals, businesses, and organizations can

use to solve problems, track progress, and make decisions.

There are two specific data collection techniques: primary and secondary data collection. Primary data

collection is the process of gathering data directly from sources. It's often considered the most reliable

data collection method, as researchers can collect information directly from respondents.

Secondary data collection is data that has already been collected by someone else and is readily

available. This data is usually less expensive and quicker to obtain than primary data.

“What are the methods of data?”- Surveys, interviews, direct observation, etc.

Data gathering procedure is the process of collecting data for research or analysis1. It involves four
main steps:
 Define the aim of your research
 Choose your data collection method
 Plan your data collection procedures
 Collect the data. The data collection method depends on the type of data you want to collect and the
research question you want to answer.

3.7. Statistical Treatment of Data………………………………………………………17

 Statistical treatment of data involves the use of statistical methods such as 1:
 Meanc
 Mode
 Median
 Regression
 Conditional probability
Statistical treatment of data is a crucial step in the research process 2. It involves various statistical
techniques to analyze and interpret data so that meaningful conclusions can be drawn 2. Treatments are
divided into two groups: descriptive statistics, which summarize your data as a graph or summary
statistic, and inferential statistics, which make predictions and test hypotheses about your data.