Main contents:

1. Introduction to research and research methods

2. Identify research issues and literature review
3. Research design
4. Quantitative research methods
5. Qualitative research methods
6. Writing research report and presentation

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH AND SOCIO- ECONOMIC RESEARCH

METHODS

● Introduction to research
● Research methods
● Research ethics
● Common misunderstanding in research
1. Introduction to research
1.1. What is research
Different concepts
● The Advanced Learner’s Dictionary: “a careful investigation or inquiry specially through
search for new facts in any branch of knowledge.”
● Redman and Mory (1923): a “systematized effort to gain new knowledge.”
● Clifford Woody: identify research problems, develop hypotheses or solutions; collect
data;
analyze data and conclude.
-> Simply, research is a process to “observe” phenomena and develop new knowledge ◦ ... to find out the
laws (repeatedly occurs)
1.2. Objectives of research
Why conducting research?
◦ Evaluate and use research with confidence ◦ Enhance your knowledge in the field
◦ Conduct research by yourself

Depending on types of research Common purposes of research

◦ To explore (what, how, where, when...)

◦ To describe things and phenomena (what, how, where when...) ◦ To explain (why)
◦ To predict (what? how?...)

1.3. Characteristics of research

Empirical: based on direct experience or observation

Systematic/Logical: based on valid procedures and principles

Cyclical: starts with a problem and ends with a problem

Analytical: uses analytical and methodical procedures (collecting, processing,

presenting...)

Critical: exhibits careful and precise judgement

Replicability: research design and procedures are repeated to obtain results

Novelty: contribution (theoretical, data, methods, context...)

1.4. Types of research

Fundamental vs. applied research

Qualitative vs. Quantitative research

Conceptual vs. Empirical research

Academic Applied

Objective: develop theories Objective: apply theories

Outcomes: theories, models Outcomes: solutions for businesses
Characteristics: generalizable and long-lived Characteristics: contextual and time-specific
Reviewer: theoretical experts Reviewer: practitioners
Outlet: International peer-reviewed journals Outlet: magazines, organizations/businesses

Any kinds of research required rigorous procedure!

Quantitative Qualitative
Roles of theory Deductive Testing of theory Inductive Generation of
theory

Epistemological Natural science model, in Interpretivism

orientation particular positivism

Ontological orientation Objectivism Constructionism

1.5. Research for Knowledge

Attributes of knowledge

● Objectivity, honesty
● Accuracy, rigor
● Creativity and development
2. Research method

2.1. What are research methods?

> Researchapproaches
> Procedures
> Research tools and techniques

◦ Data collection
◦ Data analysis
◦ Result presentation

2.2 Qualitative and quantitative method

Qualitative methods
◦ Observation
◦ Interviews
◦ Focus group discussion
◦ Case study
Quantitative methods
◦ Survey
◦ Descriptive Statistics analysis
◦ Exploratory Factor Analysis
◦ Correlation Analysis
◦ Regression Analysis

2.3. Research procedures

2.4. Main components of a research

● Rationales
● Literature review
● Research objective and questions
● Theory and theoretical framework
● Data collection and processing/analysis
● Writing and presenting the research report

2.4.1. Identifying the research problems

● Either from practical or theoretical perspective

● From researchers' knowledge of phenomena/problems
● Orientation of researchers/instructors
● From your advisor's orientation and your choice

2.4.2. Literature review

● what is already known about the topic,

● what concepts and theories have been applied to it,
● which research methods have been applied to it,
● what controversies exist about the topic and/or how it has been studied, what clashes of
evidence exist, if any,
● who the key contributors are.

2.4.3. Research objectives and questions

> Importance because they guide:

◦ your literature search,
◦ your decisions about research design,
◦ the type of data you will collect and from whom, ◦ your data analysis,
◦ your final write-up.

> Theywill stop you from going off in unnecessary directions.

> They will give your readers a clearer sense of what your research is about

Types of research questions

- Predicting an outcome (does y happen under circumstances a and b?).

- Explaining causes and consequences of a phenomenon (is y affected by x or
is y a consequence of x?).
 - Evaluating a phenomenon (does y exhibit the benefits that it is claimed to
have?).
- Describing a phenomenon (what is y like or what forms does y assume?).
- Developing good practice (how can we improve y?).
- Empowerment (how can we enhance the lives of those we research?).

2.4.4. Concept, theory, theoretical framework

> Theoretical framework: including concepts and theories

◦ Concepts are a key ingredient of theories;
◦ Almost all theories have at least one embedded concept;
◦ They help us organize our research and make our intentions clear to others.

> Details will be discussed latter

2.4.5. Sample

> Why needs a sample?

◦ Because a wide variety of objects can be researched or large population ◦ Time and money
availability will constrain
◦ Some units cannot be touched/accessed

> Samples can be selected for

◦ their ability to represent the entire population (representativeness) ◦ their appropriateness to
research questions
2.4.6. Data collection
>Data collected depend on research objectives and collection methods/instruments

>Data sources: ◦ Primary

◦ Secondary
>Basically, primary source serves better for your research but more costly
2.4.7. Data analysis
First, the data collected needs to be managed by a statistic software;
Second, it must be coded;
Third, relationships can be discovered between various categories or groups of
data, possibly by applying statistical techniques;
Fourth, links can be made with the research questions, the literature review and
the concepts and theories used.
2.4.8. The core ingredients in writing up a research
 ● Introduction: An outline of the research area and its significance; the
research questions and hypotheses.
● Literature review: A critical examination of what is currently known about
the topic.
● Research methods: A presentation of how the sampling was done and how
the data was collected and analysed.
● Results: A presentation of the findings.
● Discussion: Findings are discussed in relation to their implications for the
literature and the research questions.
● Conclusion: The significance of the research.

2.5. Research methods and results

● The results depend primarily on the research methods

● The acceptance of research results depends on the acceptance of the research
method
● Research methods should be described clearly and detail so that readers can assess the
relevance and reliability
3. Ethics in Research

Why ethics?

● Promote the standards of research

● Necessary value in research collaboration
● Necessary for public accountability
● Strengthen the community's trust with researchers Enhance the ethical and social value
of research

What is “ethical” research?

◦ No harm should come to research participants,
◦ They should agree to participate and know what the research is about,
◦ Their privacy should not be invaded,
◦ They should not be lied to or cheated

Example of ethic violations in research

● Vinastas announced “fish sauce contains arsenic that exceeds the standard”
● Change the results of experiments, surveys, ....
● Take other people's work as your own
● Disclosure of names of interviewers/surveys
 ● Torturing animals, destroying the environment when doing experiments ......

Plagiarism
● Take other people's research as your own
● Copy someone else's words or ideas without proper quoting
● Provide citations from the wrong sources
● Change the wording but don't change the sentence structure and don't quote
appropriately
● Copy too many words, ideas (although there are still quotes)

Avoid plagiarism
>Follow the rules and standards on research ethics
>Consult with the instructor and write a summary of what is known/understood

>During your writing

◦ When in doubt, quote is needed

◦ Make it clear who said or did what
◦ Rewrite in your own words
◦ Need to analyze and evaluate the source you cite

4. Some misunderstandings about research

4.1. Research is messy

● Research is full of false starts, blind alleys, mistakes, and enforced changes to research
plans
● Books can only deal with generalities, so individual pieces of research may seem
difficult to reconcile with the broader picture
● There are plenty of things that can go wrong with a research plan
● Nonetheless, the methodological principles and techniques outlined in this
book provide a road map for the research journey
4.2. Misunderstandings in research

> Research is to solve practical/managerial problems

◦ How thoroughly you understand practical problems; Researcher is not a manager ◦ Practical
issue is time-important
◦ Research cannot cover all aspects of practical problem

> Value of research

◦ new knowledge
◦ not level, size, facilities...

>Not respecting research methods

◦ Consider the method of thinking "dialectical and historical materialism method“ ◦ Unclearly
describe research methods

> Treat research process as report-writing process

CHAPTER 2: DEVELOPING RESEARCH TOPIC AND LITERATURE

REVIEW
Contents:
● Developing research topic
● Literature review

Research theme vs. research topic

Managerial issues vs. research issues

1. Developing research topic

1.1. Sources of research topic
● From practical or theoretical perspectives
● From researchers' knowledge of phenomena/problems
● From suggestion of researchers/instructors
● From your advisor's orientation/suggestion and your choice

For students, three important sources:

◦ Lecturers assign a topic
◦ Students choose a topic in a provided list
◦ Students independently propose a research topic and get approvals

1.2. Characteristics of research topic:

RELEVANCE

● Meeting research standards and requirements

● Matching with research competency and resources Having theories as foundation
● Matching with research context
● Matching to your career development goals

COMPETENCE

● Interesting
● Can make specific research objectives and questions Can access research resources
Can help develop research skills
● Can potentially provide new knowledge

1.3. Formulation of s research topic

1.3. From research topic to objectives and questions: example

Solutions for multidimensional poverty reduction of district A, province B Research objectives

-> general research objectives
Research questions -> Specific research objectives
 General research objectives
◦ Study multidimensional poverty reduction; From the research results, propose solutions to
reduce multidimensional poverty in district A, province B Research questions

○ What is multidimensional poverty? What criteria is used to measure multidimensional

poverty?
○ What factors affect multidimensional poverty?
○ What is the real situation of multidimensional poverty in district A, province B?

○ What solutions are recommended to reduce multidimensional poverty for district A,

province B?

> Transforming research topic into general research objectives ◦ General research
objectives associated with the topic title
◦ Include both theory and practice

> Converting general objectives into specific research questions ◦ Research questions
express specific objectives
◦ Include both theory and practice/context

> Characteristics of good research questions:

◦ Target orientation (towards the content in the research topic); ◦ Have a theoretical or practical
basis;
◦ Clear scope and meaning; and
◦ Can be answered

>Characteristics of good research objectives: SMART ◦ Specific

◦ Measurable
◦ Achievable
◦ Relevance
◦ Timely (time-bound)
Some misunderstandings when asking research questions
>Confusing research questions with managerial questions
>Use universal questions
◦ This type of question is unspecific and does not help guide the research
◦ Based on the assumption that the cause can be analyzed
>Lack foundations for research question
◦ Not based on literature review -> possible duplicates
◦ Not based on theory -> hard to define/test
◦ Not based on context -> not feasible
Research objectives: 3 bullet points “universal”

● Systematize the basic theoretical foundations of…

● Analyze the current situation of... (indicate limitations and causes)...
● Propose solutions for...

Common mistakes in determining research questions

● Too many and trivial research questions

● Missing key research questions
● Nonlogic research questions with required knowledge
● Unclear research questions lead to unclear objectives Duplicative research questions

Summary

A good research topic

○ CONTENT + ANALYTICAL UNIT/CONTEXT + SCOPE

○ Ex: Develop VietGAP standard vegetable production in Bac Kan province

Characteristics of a good research topic

○ Relevant and feasible

○ Application of theories to solve for practical problems

 ○ Have clear research objective and questions
- General objectives
- Specific objectives/questions

2. Literature review

> Literature review is like forming a meaningful word:

◦ So, you arrange the “character” in an order to form a “meaningful word” ◦ Also like you play a
puzzle

> Remember, do not “List” the previous research!

2.1. How it helps

● Help uncover research gaps (something that hasn't been studied);

● Help propose research topic (from the shortcomings of previous research);
● Help avoid monotonous repetition of studies;
● Help to formulate and refine research objectives and questions;
● Enhance the meaning for the selection of research topics;
● Help learn about research design for your research.
● Help develop the research framework;
● Discover the methods to solve the research question used in previous studies

2.2. Common contents to review research

● What is known in the research topic

● What concepts and theories have been applied?
● What research methods are used?
● There are arguments/disagreements in the research issue
● What evidence is there in the research problem?
● Who are the main contributors in that field of research?
● Any further research suggestions related to the issue
....

2.3. Procedures of literature review

Step 1: Determine the needed information

◦ Based on research objectives, concepts, theories, etc. What, who? where? When? How?....
Step 2: Locate the sources of documents ◦ Primary Or Secondary Sources
Step 3: Conduct a document search
◦ Online and offline: pay attention to online search features....
 Step 4: Read, comment, and evaluate documents ◦ Quick review (title, origin, author, summary);
◦ Overall assessment (reliability, suitability), document storage
Step 5: Synthesize and analyze documents
◦ Terms, concepts, measures, theoretical arguments, methods, results, proposals, etc. related to
research
● Clarify research questions and objectives
● Locate and evaluate sources of information
● Start collecting the documents
● Review and make a record of the information
● Start writing the initial literature review
● Identify gaps in the literature
● Re-examine research questions and objectives
● Collect additional document/information to fill gaps
● Prepare final literature review

2.4. Where to find relevant documents

​ Magazine and newspapers

◦ BusinessWeek, Forbes, the Financial Times, and the Wall Street Journal...
​ Peer-reviewed journals
◦ American Economic Review, Journal of Political Economy, Review of Economic
Studies, Journal of Economic Literature, Journal of Management, Economic Business
Review, Journal of Economics and Development,...
​ Databases
◦ Web of science, ScienceDirect, Proquest, JSTOR, Google scholar...
​ DO NOT review documents from unreliable sources (Wikipedia, thesis,...), unclear
sources

2.5. Misunderstandings about research review

>Literature review is an independent section of a research report/article

◦ So, you can say whatever you find in the literature review
>Literature review is to list out all the previous related research and results
○ So, you cannot compare, synthesize or criticize difficult to find the knowledge gap
○ There can be “millions” of research related to the issue readers cannot read them all
> There is no criticism
> Quality of literature review is about the number of the reviewed research
◦ What more important is what you get from the literature review, what’s your research’s
contribution
Chapter 3 RESEARCH DESIGN

● Overview on research design in social economic research

● Common contents of a research design
● Factors determining feasibility of a research design

Example:

● Preventing deforestation in the Central Highlands

● Improve the competitiveness of ABC company
● Mobilizing capital for New Rural Development in district A, province B
● The impacts of education on labor participation of individuals in Vietnam
● A study on the relationship of electricity consumption with economic growth
............................
There should be relevant research designs for the above research problems
1. Overview of a research design

It is an overall plan of how to answer the research question. ....provide a framework for data
collection and analysis

● The choice of research design represents a preference

● The initial step of research that describes how the research is carried out

The role of research design

● Help guide the research and complete the research plan

● Provide the foundation of the whole study
● Makes research easy: oriented and systematic

Note: NOT all techniques, methods and theories must be included in a research design, but only
the most useful tools and methods are selected

Types of basic research design

● Research design with time series data

● Research design with cross-sectional data Descriptive research (case)
● Cause and effect research design

Selection of research design

● Consistence with research objectives/hypothesis testing

● The use for similar studies
● The effectiveness of research design in problem solving
Some notes on research design

● Research context (resources, capacities, capabilities, etc.)

● Research sample
● Data sources

Contents of a research design

● Rationales
● Literature review
● Research objectives and questions
● Research objects and scope
● Theoretical framework
Data (data source, research sample, ...)
● Research Methods

Research proposal

● Research design
● Outlines of the research
● Workplan
● References
2. Contents of research design

2.1. Rationales
Practical problem dose not have not enough information to decide, research is needed to provide
new information to support the resolution;
Identify a practical "problem" and prove the "problem" need to be solved;
Focus on why research content, context, and scope are important
2.2 Literature review
2.3 Research objectives and questions

​ General and specific research objectives

​ Specific research objectives can be transformed into research
questions
​ Do not have many trivial research questions; Should have from 2 to 4 main research
questions

2.4 Research object and scope

​ Research object - the central factor throughout this entire research,
Research objects vs. research context/unit of analysis
 ​ Research scope: in terms of space, time, or content related to the
research questions
​ Note
Avoid confusing research objects with units of analysis or sources of information
(informants)

2.5 Theory and theoretical framework

Theory
Includes concepts and rules that explain observed phenomena; Expresses essential, recurring
relationships (regularity
Is obtained from specialized majors

The role of theory

● Determine the foundation for research

● Have a systematic view, through which to understand the current situation;
● Identify factors that need to collect data;
● Determine the research content through the relationships that need to be analyzed

Form of expression

Narrative form;
Drawings;
Mathematical formula

Theoretical framework:
◦ It concretizes the theory;
◦ May include one or more theories

Steps to build a theoretical framework

◦ Select right theory for the research;
◦ Identify research questions based on theory as a basis; ◦ Identify and clearly define
parts/elements;
◦ Determine the hypothesized relationship of the factors

2.6 Data (types, sources,...)

is obtained when observing or measuring the attributes or descriptions of phenomenon/variables

◦ Numeric: time series, cross-sectional and panel data
◦ Other forms: audio, images, language, etc. Types of numeric data
◦ Time series: chronological order dynamic
◦ Cross-sectional data: collected from equivalent objects at a certain time static ◦ Panel data:
combines cross-sectional data and time series

Requirements of data

● Accuracy And Reliability

● Completion
● Relevance
● Consistency/comparability Update

Secondary data Collect secondary data

​ Collected, processed and published Clearly determine whether the necessary

from other parties
​ Less time and resource-consuming
​ Suitable for quantitative research
​ Sometimes not suitable for your
research: missing variables, little
information, hard-to-understand data,
low relevance, unknown quality
control
​ Example: Statistical indicators from
the GSO, enterprise survey, VHLSS
secondary data exist
Based on research goals and questions Based
on research design
Clearly identify where that data is located
Search (internet or library, etc.) Search by
keywords, Websitesofeconomicdata
Collect data

24

Primary data

First-hand data, serves in research for the first time very flexible, meeting research needs
Costly collection

Primary data collection

Observation
Interview
Focus groups discussion Case-study
Survey

2.7 Research methods

​
3. Factors affecting feasibility of a research design
● Requirements/standards
● Time for research
● Resources for research
● Risks and assumptions in research