Facilitator

Gerald Kasigwa
Ph.D., MBA, Bsc, FCCA, CPA(U),
PGDip (Performance Audit),
PGCert (Research & Academic Writing), PGCert (Monitoring &
Evaluation)

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When you start doing academic research you
need to understand some basic concepts of
research philosophy.

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 The Longman dictionary (1995) defines research as “the
studious study of a subject, that is intended to discover new
facts or test new ideas; the activity of finding information
about something that one is interested in or needs to know
about”
 ‘Something that people undertake in order to find things out in
a systematic way, thereby increasing their knowledge’
Saunders et al. (2009)
 The process of finding solutions to a problem after a thorough
study and analysis (Sekaran,2006)
 Systematic inquiry that provides information to guide decision
(Cooper & Schindler, 2001)
 Is research always problem-solving based? Yes.

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 Research is defined as the
systematic collection of data to
answer a question or solve a
problem

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 The goal of the research process is to
produce new knowledge.
 This process takes three main forms

1.Exploratory research which structures and

identifies new problems
2.Descriptive research which describes
phenomena
3.Explanatory/Empirical research which
explains phenomena and relationship
between phenomena.

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 It demands a clear statement of the problem
 It requires a plan in the form of a proposal
 Build on existing data both positive and
negative findings
 Generates new data but may work within
existing data sets.
 It organizes data in such a way as to answer
stated research questions
 It follows procedures that are controlled,
rigorous, systematic valid, verifiable, empirical
and critical.

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 Rigor refers to the procedure of
finding answers that are relevant,
valid, appropriate and justified.
 Empirical means that the conclusions

are based on evidence gathered from

real life experiences or observations

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Applied Research
Is designed with a practical outcome in mind. Applying the result of
research finding to solve specific problem happening in an organization.
The aim is to solve current problem. It is also referred to as operations
research, policy research, decision linked research and action research.

Basic Research
This generates new knowledge to deal with major unresolved problems,
Enhancing the understanding of certain problem that commonly occur in
organization setting and seek method of solving them. The aim is to
generate knowledge, understand phenomena/problem that occur in various
organization setting. It is also referred to as pure research.

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 Application of scientific method to the
investigation of relationships among natural
phenomenon, or to solve a medical or technical
problem.
 The scientific method is the means by which
researchers are able to make conclusive
statements about their studies with a minimum
of bias.

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 Provides scientific information and theories
 Follows a certain structural process though the step order may
vary depending on the subject matter and researcher
 The following steps are usually part of the most formal
research both basic and applied
 Observations and Formation of the topic
 Hypothesis
 Conceptual definitions
 Operational definition
 Gathering of data
 Analysis of data
 Test, reviving of hypothesis
 Conclusion

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 Define your research topic
Literature review
Define your research question(s)
i.e. hypothesis

Deductive Design data collection

Pilot study
Design data analysis

Collect data

Analyse data

Interpret results

Report your findings

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 PhD : Theoretical Gap: Improving the latest
theory on research focus; There is
contribution of new knowledge.

 Master: Empirical gap: Application of tested

theoretical framework to solve current
problems.

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 First step of research is identifying a research
problem
 A research problem is what you want to study

or get answers to
 It shows the intention/purpose or destination

of the research.
 The research problem also influences the

research process i.e study design,

measurement procedures, sampling
strategies, analysis and style of writing the
report
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 Research Problem: A situation or circumstance that
requires a solution to be described, explained, or
predicted. It is an unsatisfactory situation that
wants you to confront.
◦ The research statement should include these
elements:
Information about the research topic that provoked
the study
The scope of the problem (e.g.. how many people are
affected by it).
Why it is important to study the problem
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 Practical problems in the field
◦ Curiosity
◦ Information Gaps
◦ Controversy
◦ Replication
◦ Literature Review
◦ Other People
◦ ...???
 Literature in the field
 Your own thinking

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• Perhaps the most important step in the
research process analysis
 A well-defined study begins with a clearly
defined objective
“The formulation of a problem is often more
essential than its solution” - Albert Einstein
 The problem is rarely clear-cut
 Slight variations in research questions can
lead to substantial changes in the research
process (so be careful)
◦ Drives decisions related to research design,
measurement, sampling, etc.

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 Expertise in the area
 Measurement of concepts
Indicators should be clear
 Interest
◦ Most important
 Significance
◦ Theoretical value
◦ Practical value
◦ Timeliness
◦ External review
 Manageability
◦ Expertise, time, resources
◦ Free from personal bias

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 The process of refining the question or idea
into a problem and making it sufficiently
specific so that it is amenable to investigation
 This process should lead to the development

of a “statement of the problem” that is clear,

concise, and definitive

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 A very specific statement which clearly
identifies the problem being studied; will
usually identify the key variables as well as give
some information about the scope of the study
 May be in either question or declarative form
 May include inherent sub-problems, if
appropriate
 Formulation of problem statement takes place
after an initial review of related literature and
the distillation process

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Hazardous noise is an important occupational
health problem because it leads to hearing loss
and may lead to increased stress and other
deleterious physiological effects… More than 30
million workers are exposed to hazardous noise
on the job…Use of hearing protection devices,
specifically ear plugs is known to reduce noise
exposure and prevent noise – induced hearing
loss… there are, however, relatively few
investigators who have examined factors related
to the low use of hearing protection by workers.

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The problem in any research study is the Dependent Variable
(DV).
1. What is the ideal state of affairs/situation/condition for
any organisation regarding your overall DV?
2. However = what is the situation in your study
organisation(s) regarding the DV and in terms of its sub-
factors as appears in your conceptual framework? = Provide
evidence of this.
3. This means that there is a gap to address.
4. What interventions has(have) your study organisation(s)
put in place to bridge the gap between the ideal DV situation
and what is happening in this(these) organisation(s),
including the IV and its sub-factors as appears in your
conceptual framework? Provide evidence of this.

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 Despite these interventions, the problem (gap
between the ideal DV situation and what obtains in
your organisation(s) still persists.
 6. However, there may be other factors that are not
the IV (for example = list the intervening or
moderating variables as they appear in your
conceptual framework) that affect the attainment of
the ideal DV situation (list these in the problem
statement if your study involves them as one of the
objectives of your study).
 7. What are the consequences of not addressing this
gap?

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 So, your study comes in to explore the
possibility of the IV being the cause of this
gap, and therefore undertaking it will assist
the organisation(s) better understand and
address this problem and hence enable the
organisation(s) to achieve its(their) goals.

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 Failure of intervention
efforts, solutions or
promises to yield the
promised results
Resultant
frustration,
anger,
bitterness,
disillusion,
Interventions,
solutions, put in
realization of
place by agency realty
and resultant hopes
or inspirations

Original condition of The intention of the

the problem/situation study therefore:
before the intervention State the final position
that you have resolved
to take
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 Decentralization was put in place in order to
improve service delivery. Despite these good
intentions service delivery remains poor.
Newspapers show that there is high
corruption frustrating good intentions. This
study therefore aims at finding out if there is
a relationship between corruption and service
delivery.

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 Research that is not theoretically informed,
not grounded in the existing body of
knowledge, or of the ‘shotgun’ variety that
fails to raise and investigate conceptually
grounded questions, is likely to generate
findings of a narrow and ungeneralisable
value.
 (Yiannakis 1992, p.8)

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The conceptual framework describes and explains the
concepts to be used in the study, their relationships
with each other, and how they are to be measured.
Developing your conceptual framework requires five

main steps:
1. Identifying the relevant concepts.
2. Defining those concepts.
3. Operationalising the concepts.
4. Identifying any moderating or intervening variables.
5. Identifying the relationship between variables.

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 It is critical to survey research to understand
how to go from ideas to concepts to variables
– operationalization.

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 Concept (p.35): an idea, a general mental
formulation summarizing specific occurrences
 A label we put on a phenomenon, a matter, a
“thing” that enables us to link separate
observations, make generalizations, communicate
and inherit ideas.
 Concepts can be concrete, abstract, tangible or
intangible. 
◦ Concrete: Height, Major
◦ Abstract: Happiness, Love

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 Variable:
◦ A representation of concept in its variation of
degree, varieties or occurrence.

◦ A characteristic of a thing that can assume varying

degrees or values.
 Fixed meaning = constant
 Most variables are truly variable = multiple
categories or variables

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 Concept:
Political participation
 Variables:
◦ Voted or not
◦ How many times a person has voted
◦ What party a person votes for

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 Conceptualization: The process of
conceptualization includes coming to some
agreement about the meaning of the concept
 In practice, you often move back and forth between
loose ideas of what you are trying to study and
searching for a word that best describes it.
 Sometimes you have to “make up” a name to
encompass your concept.

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 As you flush out the pieces or aspects of a
concept, you begin to see the dimensions;
the terms that define subgroups of a
concept.
 With each dimension, you must decide on
indicators – signs of the presence or
absence of that dimension.
◦ Dimensions are usually concepts themselves.

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 You must operationalize: process of
converting concepts into measurable terms
◦ The process of creating a definition(s) for a concept
that can be observed and measured
 The development of specific research procedures
that will result in empirical observations
◦ SES is defined as a combination of income and
education and I will measure each by…
◦ The development of questions (or characteristics of
data in qualitative work) that will indicate a concept

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 A variable is a quantity or characteristic of interest that
is allowed to change within a particular problem
(students’ mathematics mark, travel time)
 Variables are properties or characteristics of people or
things that vary in quality or magnitude from person to
person or object to object (Miller & Nicholson, 1976)
◦ Demographic characteristics
◦ Personality traits
◦ Communication styles or competencies
◦ Constructs
 in order to be a variable, a variable must vary (e.g., not
be a constant), that is, it must take on different values,
levels, intensities, or states
 A parameter is fixed for a particular problem.
 An assumption is something we accept to be true for
the model we are working on.
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 The dependent variable is the variable that
the researcher measures; it is called a
dependent variable because it depends upon
(is caused by) the independent variable.
 The independent variable is the one that the
researcher manipulates.
 Example: If you are studying the effects of a new
educational program on student achievement, the
program is the independent variable and your
measures of achievement are the dependent ones.

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 Moderating and mediating variables
 May also be a MODERATING variable:

 Social class affects attitudes

 past experience (MOD VAR)

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 May also be a INTERVENING variable:

 Social class  education  attitudes

 (IND VAR) (INT VAR) (DEP VAR)

 NO link between social class and attitudes.

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