RESEARCH

METHODOLOGY
AN OVERVIEW
 INTRODUCTION

• A research proposal is a detailed plan/ a serious

statement of intent/ a roadmap that guides the
research project by indicating the strategy one has to
follow in doing the research project.
 Research Methodology

• The research is a systematic process which will yield evidence-based results

• Methodology is the framework for doing the study in way that gives credence to
the results

• Methodology should be traceable and replicable

• Methodology is driven by the nature of study/objectives; not the whims or sills of

the researcher. Once you define a problem, you have to know and use the right
method to address it, or else change the problem
Choosing the methodology

• You cannot know the appropriate methodology unless you know what alternative
methods exist and what guides the choice of the method

• You must show that you are aware of the alternatives and you are making an
informed choice and actually justify ALL your choices in the methodology section
The methodology part must:

• Specify type of data/evidence will you use

• Explain how will you obtain/collect them and why

• Show in detail how you will analyse your data and why. NB: you have to specifically
know and state how you will analyse relevant data for each research objective

• critically discuss how others have done related research (data used, ways collected,
analysed) and what you learn from it for your study

• Design data collection firms/guidelines/checklists well

Qualitative or quantitative?

• Whether you use quantitative/statistical data or qualitative data depends very

much on the nature of the research

• None of the two is easier or weaker; they are just different and suitable for
different kinds of problems
 Study Area
• Study area defines your target segment.
• It involves description and justification of the geographical area or the
location(s) where the proposed research will be carried out
• It can be location specific, SEC wise specific quota, Can be
occupation wise, etc. For an ideal research work the target
segment should be very well defined.
• This is the place where you chose to do your research,
where you will collect your data or the specific knowledge
area like Motivation at workplace etc.
 Research Design

• Describes the nature and pattern the research intends to

follow e.g. whether it is exploratory, descriptive,
explanatory, experimental, longitudinal or cross sectional.
• The research design also refers to the overall strategy that
you choose to integrate the different components of the
study in a coherent and logical way, thereby, ensuring you
will effectively address the research problem.
• It constitutes the blueprint for the approach, population,
sampling, data collection, data sources and measurement
procedure as well as analytical method.
 Types of research designs

• Exploratory – research on a concept, people, or situation that the

researcher knows little about.
• Designed to generate basic knowledge, clarify relevant issues uncover
variables associated with a problem, uncover information needs,
and/or define alternatives for addressing research objectives.
• A very flexible, open-ended process.
• It involves qualitative studies (observation, interviews, and content
analysis)
• Used for a problem which was not well researched before, demands
priorities, generates operational definitions and provides a better-
researched model.
• It is actually a type of research design which focuses on explaining the
aspects of your study in a detailed manner.
Types of research designs cont..
• Descriptive design (who, what, where, how)
• research on a concept, people, or situation that the
researcher knows something about, but just wants to
describe what he/she has found or observed.
• Designed to provide further insight into the research
problem by describing the variables of interest.
• Can be used for profiling, defining, segmentation, estimating,
predicting and examining associative relationships.
Types of research designs cont..
• Explanatory – involves testing a hypothesis and deriving that
hypothesis from available theories. Involves quantitative studies and
hypothesis testing.
Types of research designs cont..

• Causal Research (If-then)

• Designed to provide information on potential cause-and-
effect relationships.
• Most practical in marketing to talk about associations or
impact of one variable on another.
Types of research designs cont.. Based on time Horizon
• Cross-Sectional Study
• Easily the most common type of research project.
• Typically involves conducting a survey of a sample of population elements at
one point in time.
• Useful because it provides a quick snapshot of what’s going on with the
variables of interest for our research problem.
• Longitudinal Study
• An investigation that involves taking repeated measures over time.
• Useful for conducting trend analysis, tracking changes in behavior over time
(e.g., brand switching, levels of awareness, turnover) and monitoring long-
term effects of marketing activities (e.g., market share, pricing effects)
 Types of research designs cont..
• Experimental research design: Is a scientific approach to research, where one
or more independent variables are manipulated and applied to one or more
dependent variables to measure their effect on the latter.
• The effect of the independent variables on the dependent variables is usually
observed and recorded over some time, to aid researchers in drawing a
reasonable conclusion regarding the relationship between these 2 variable
types.
• The experimental research method is widely used in physical and social
sciences, psychology, and education.
• Mostly related to a laboratory test procedure, experimental research designs
involve collecting quantitative data and performing statistical analysis on
them during research.
Specifically research design covers:
• Research Approach: Qualitative / quantitative/ mixed approaches.
• Targeted Population: A researcher should describe the population from
which samples will be selected.
• Sampling Strategies: A researcher will explain procedures for selecting
representative elements / subjects from the population if data are to be
collected through sampling.
• Data types, sources and collection methods: A researcher will explain
instruments and procedures to obtain data.
• Levels of measurement and Analytical methods
 PILOT TESTING
• This is pre-testing done prior to main study. Researcher tries out tools
before actual data collection
• It is a small scale preliminary study conducted in order to evaluate
feasibility, duration, cost, adverse events, and improve upon the study
design prior to performance of a full-scale research project.
 Ethical Consideration
• Ethics of the research here refers to the morals of
• Six (6) broad ethical areas need to be considered in your research. These
are
1. Voluntary participation
2. Informed consent
3. Confidentiality
4. Anonymity
5. The potential for harm
6. Communicating the results
Please read more the attached pdf handout
 Study Limitations

• This refers to anticipated constraints imposed by methods, strategies and

procedures
• These are those characteristics of design or methodology that impact or
influence the interpretation of the findings from your research.

• Read Further from the attached notes on “study Limitations”