Methodology

Methodology

It comprises of • Sample size

• Research purpose • Statistical techniques
• Research approach • Measurement instrument
• Research design • Ethical consideration
• Sampling technique
• Target audience
 Purpose of research
There are three types:
• Exploratory
• Descriptive.
• Explanatory
 Exploratory Research
• Exploratory research is defined as the initial research into a hypothetical or
theoretical idea.
• This is where a researcher has an idea or has observed something and seeks to
understand more about it.
• An exploratory research project is an attempt to lay the groundwork that will
lead to future studies or to determine if what is being observed might be
explained by a currently existing theory.
• Most often, exploratory research lays the initial groundwork for future
research.
• Exploratory research can come in two big forms: either a new topic or a new
angle.
 Descriptive Research
• Once the groundwork is established, the newly explored field needs more
information. The next step is descriptive research.
• It is defined as attempts to explore and explain while providing additional
information about a topic.
• This is where research is trying to describe what is happening in more detail,
filling in the missing parts and expanding our understanding.
• This is also where as much information is collected as possible instead of
making guesses or elaborate models to predict the future .
 Explanatory Research
• It is defined as an attempt to connect ideas, to understand cause and
effect, meaning researchers want to explain what is going on.
• We began exploring something new with exploratory research. Then,
we conducted descriptive research to  increase our knowledge of it.
Lastly, we need to explain it.
• Explanatory research looks at how things come together and interact.
• This research does not occur until there is enough understanding to
begin to predict what will come next with some accuracy.
 Research Approach
The three main approaches
• Quantitative research
• Qualitative research
• Pragmatic approach to research (mixed methods)
 Quantitative Research
• It usually involves collecting and converting data into numerical form so
that statistical calculations can be made and conclusions drawn.
• The Process
• Researchers will have one or more hypotheses. 
• Data is collected by various means following a strict procedure and
prepared for statistical analysis
 Quantitative Research

• Principles
• Objectivity is very important in quantitative research.
• Researchers take great care to avoid their own presence, behavior or attitude
affecting the results--- This avoids biasness.
• Researchers go to great lengths to ensure that they are really measuring what
they claim to be measuring.
• The main emphasis of quantitative research is on logical reasoning which tends
to move from the general to the specific.
 Quantitative Research
• Researchers rarely have access to all the members of a particular group (e.G. All
people with dementia, or healthcare professionals).
• However, they are usually interested in being able to make inferences from their
study about these larger groups.
• For this reason, it is important that the people involved in the study are a
representative sample of the wider population/group.
• However, the extent to which generalizations are possible depends whether they are
representative of the wider group.
 Qualitative Research

• It is about recording, analyzing and attempting to uncover the deeper meaning

and significance of human behavior and experience, including contradictory
beliefs, behaviors and emotions.
• Researchers are interested in gaining a rich and complex understanding of
people’s experience.
 Qualitative Research
• The process
• The approach adopted by qualitative researchers tends to be inductive.
• Qualitative researchers do not base their research on pre-determined hypotheses.
• They clearly identify a problem or topic that they want to explore.
• The approach to data collection and analysis is methodical but allows for greater
flexibility than in quantitative research.
• Data is collected in textual form on the basis of observation and interaction with
the participants.
 Qualitative Research
• Principles
• Researchers will tend to use methods which give participants a certain
degree of freedom rather than forcing them to select from a set of pre-
determined responses
• They try to create the right atmosphere to enable people to express
themselves.
• This may mean adopting a less formal and less rigid approach than that
used in quantitative research.
 Qualitative Research
• The methods used may be more open-ended, less narrow and more
exploratory.
• Qualitative research often involves a smaller number of participants.
• This may be because the methods used such as in-depth interviews
are time and labor intensive.
 Pragmatic approach to research (mixed methods)
• The pragmatic approach to science involves using the method which appears
best suited to the research problem and not getting caught up in philosophical
debates about which is the best approach.
• Pragmatic researchers, therefore, grant themselves the freedom to use any of
the methods, techniques and procedures typically associated with quantitative
or qualitative research.
• They recognize that every method has its limitations and that the different
approaches can be complementary.
• They may also use different techniques at the same time or one after the other.
 Pragmatic approach to research (mixed methods)
• They might start with face-to-face interviews with several people
• Have a focus group
• Then use the findings to construct a questionnaire with the aim of carrying
out statistical analysis.
• In some studies, qualitative and quantitative methods are used
simultaneously.
• In others, first one approach is used and then the next, with the second part of
the study perhaps expanding on the results of the first
 RESEARCH DESIGN
• The research design refers to the overall strategy that you choose to
integrate the different components of the study in a coherent and
logical way.
• It defines the study type, research question, hypotheses, variables,
and data collection methods.
• They can be divided in terms of quantitative and qualitative methods.
 Quantitative Designs
Design Focus
Correlational Explore the relationship between two or more variables through a
correlational analysis. The intent is to determine if and to what
degree the variables are related.  It does not imply one causes the
other.

Causal Comparative Compare two groups with the intent of understanding the reasons
or causes for the two groups being different.
Experimental Test an idea, treatment, program to see if it makes a difference. There is
a control group and a test group. Individuals are randomly assigned to
the two groups.  One group gets the treatment (test group) and the other
group (control group) does not get the treatment. There is a pre and
post-test for both groups in a traditional experimental design.
Quasi-experimental It is the same as experiment in that there is a control and test group.
However, current groups are used as is rather than randomly assigning
people to the two groups. Both groups receive the pre and post- test in a
traditional design.
 
 Qualitative Designs
Design Focus
Intent is to study and understand a single situation, which could
be a leader, a classroom, a process, program, activity. Collect a
Case Study variety of material in a specific and bounded time period.  This is
also used for historical studies, when collecting historical data to
understand and learn from the past.
Describe the lives of individual(s) to get meaning from
Narrative them.

The focus is to develop an understanding of a phenomenon

Grounded Theory or situation in order to be able to develop a theory/model
for items such as factors, a form of interaction, or a process.

Studies a human experience at an experiential level such as

Phenomenology understanding what it means for a man to lose a job. It is about
understanding the essence or meaning of the experience.