Research Methods

Lecturer:
Ridwan M. Ibrahim
BIU
Introduction
Meaning of a
Scientific
Research
 Meaning of Research

 As per the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, the

word research is derived from the French "recherche",
which means "to go about seeking".
 It is also defined as "a studious inquiry or examination;
especially: investigation or experimentation aimed at
the discovery and interpretation of facts, revision of
accepted theories or laws in the light of new facts.

3
 Objectives of Research:

 To gain familiarity with a phenomenon or achieve new insights into

it (via: exploratory or formative research studies)
 To portray/describe the characteristics of a particular individual,
situation or group (Via: descriptive research studies)
 To determine the frequency with which something occurs or with
which it is associated with something else (Via: diagnostic
research studies)
 To test a hypothesis of a causal relationship between variables
(Via: hypothesis-testing research studies)

4
 Cont…

 Scientific research follows logical reasoning,

which could be deductive or inductive.

5
 Cont…

 Deduction: Goes from general (theories) to

specific (facts)
– Premise * Honest people do not steal
– Premise * John is honest
– Conclusion: John does not steal
– If the premises are true, the conclusion follows
mandatory from the premises

6
 Cont…

 Induction: Goes from facts to generalizations

(theories)
– Facts: Abebe, Ayele, Almaz and Aweke died.
– Facts: Abebe, Ayele, Almaz and Aweke are hman-
beings
– Generalization: Human-beings are mortal.

7
 Characteristics of Scientific Research

 It is empirical: Science is based purely around observation and

measurement, and the vast majority of research involves some type of
practical experimentation.
 It relies upon data: quantitative and qualitative
 It uses experiments to test predictions:
 It is systematic and methodical: Follows certain steps that are
repeatable

8
 Criteria of Good Research

– Good research is systematic: It means that

research is structured with specified steps to be taken
in a specified sequence in accordance with the well
defined set of rules.
– Systematic characteristic of the research does not
rule out creative thinking but it certainly does reject
the use of guessing and intuition in arriving at
conclusions.

9
 Cont…
 Good research is logical: This implies that research
is guided by the rules of logical reasoning and the
logical process of induction and deduction are of great
value in carrying out research.
 In fact, logical reasoning makes research more
meaningful in the context of decision making.

10
 Cont…
 Good research is empirical: It implies that research
is related basically to one or more aspects of a real
situation and deals with concrete data that provides a
basis for external validity to research results.

11
 Cont…
 Good research is replicable: This characteristic
allows research results to be verified by replicating the
study and thereby building a sound basis for decisions.

12
 The Research Process: An Overview

 Find Research Topic and State your problem

 Literature Survey: Theoretical & Conceptual Framework
 Development of Working Hypothesis
 Preparing the Research Design
 Data Collection & Administrating data Collection
 Analysis of Data
 Hypothesis Testing
 Generalization and Interpretation
 Preparation of the Research Project
13
 Unit One: Research Proposal

Find a Research Topic and State Your Problem:

 Decide the general area of interest or aspect of a
subject matter that you would like to enquire into and
consider the feasibility of a particular solution.
 Pick a smaller part of a bigger problem; do not try to
address a big problem in one research
 Understand the problem by discussing with
friends/colleagues or with those that have some
expertise in the matter

14
 Checklist for a good research topic:

 Is the topic something in which you are really

interested?
 Does the topic have a clear link to theory?
 Do you have, or are you able to develop, the
necessary research skills to undertake the
topic?
 Is your topic societal relevant?

15
 Cont…

 Subject which is overdone must not be

selected.
 Controversial subject should not become the
choice of an average researcher.
 Avoid too narrow or too vague problems.
 The subject should be familiar and feasible

16
 When does a research problem
exist

 Research problem exists if the following

conditions are met.
 There must be an individual or a group which
has some difficulty or the problem
 There must be some objective(s) to be attained
at. If one wants nothing, one cannot have a
problem.

17
 Cont…

 There must be alternative means for obtaining

the objective(s) one wishes to attain
 Researcher is required to review two types of
literature:
 Conceptual literature – concerning the
concepts and theories.
 Empirical literature – consist of studies made
earlier which are similar to the one proposed.

18
  

Techniques involved in defining a

problem

1. Define statement of the problem in a general

way
2. Understand the nature of the problem
3. Surveying available literature
4. Developing the ideas through discussion
5. Rephrasing the research problem

19
 When selecting a research problem
put in mind the following:

 The time available to conduct the study

 The money available / which can be raised for
the study
 The availability of equipments and other tools
required for the study
 Availability of subject or respondents for the
study.

20
 How to select/formulate/develop a
research title/topic

 The research process consists of a number of

related steps which are essentially
interdependent. The process begins with
conceptualization of a problem and ends with
report writing and dissemination
 Next step is to identify a specific problem with
in the researcher’s area of interest. This
problem should be important and serious in
that it needs a solution immediately.
21
 Conceptual stage

 This stage involves identifying and stating the

research title/problem.
 The first step in identifying a research title is to
pick an area of interest.
 This area is related to one’s professional
interest and goals
 The following are the steps of formulating a
research title/topic:

22
 Cont…

1. Problem identification: select an area of

interest- must related to area of specialization
e.g. Poor Management
2. Specific problem: Small business failure
3. Define your problem: inability of small
business managers to achieve business
objectives, because of lack of managerial
skills , indicating by low outcome, lack of
sustainability and low profit.
23
 Cont…

4.Identify possible causes:

 Lack of capital
 Lack of managerial skills
 Lack of accountability
 Lack of adequate resources
 Improper problem identification

24
 Cont…

5.Select one cause : lack of managerial skills

6.Link your cause to the problem
 Lack of managerial skills and small business
failure
7. Refine the statement – remove biases,
negatives and waste words.
 Managerial skills and small business

25
 Cont…

 8.Modify your statement further- add the

context and unit of analysis –context is the
area you are going to study unit of analysis –
respondents/units to be studied.

 Title/topic :Managerial skills and small

business owners in Hargeisa, somaliland

26
 Research Proposal/thesis

 Introduction: Introduction helps to highlight

the concept/phenomenon under study. Be sure
to include a hook at the beginning of the
introduction.
 This is a statement of something sufficiently
interesting to motivate your reader to read the
rest of the thesis.

27
 Cont…

 The next paragraphs in the introduction should

cite any previous research in this area.
 It should cite those who had the idea or ideas
first, and should also cite those who have done
the most recent and relevant work.
 You should then go on to explain why your
work was necessary.

28
 Cont…

 State the goal of the research.

 The introduction is in essence, a verbal "road
map" or verbal "table of contents" guiding the
reader to what lies ahead – it should give the
reader a glimpse into your ideas and your
thesis. 

29
 Background of the study:

 Sets the stage for the entire study, providing

the reader with the background information for
placing the study into a context of related
research and justifying to the reader that a
study is needed (Wiersma, 1995).

30
 Cont…

 Typically includes (Creswell, 2009):

– a “hook” to create interest in the study
– description of the problem or issue leading to the
study (should be documented, not just your opinion
that a problem exists)
– brief discussion of the literature about the problem
and/or deficiencies in past literature, placing the
study within the larger context of the research
literature

31
 Cont...

 discussion of the significance of the study for a

specific audience (note: this could be a
separate section at the very end of this
chapter)
 This section could include the conceptual
framework or theoretical base from which your
topic evolved (Pajares, 2007).

32
 Cont…

 At proposal stage, students are required to

provide background of the study in a brief
manner leaving the details for the thesis.
 Better to start prevalence of the problem in a
global context, at regional level and due
emphasize on the local context.

33
 Cont…

 The background information provided should

give the reader some insight into why you have
chosen a particular topic; give its history and
some terminology.
 Background of the study often requires
maximum of two pages.

34
 Problem Statement:

 Problem statement is a clear and precise

statement of the question or issue that is to be
investigated with the goal of finding an answer
or solution.
 Ideally, problem should be stated in a general
way with view of both global and local context.
 After this, problem should be made very
specific and contextualized to create a room for
your research.
35
 Cont…

 Students should keep in mind that problem

statement is required to present concrete
evidence testifying prevalence of a given
problem
 For this, selecting an appropriate problem is
the secret of success in research.

36
 Cont…

 Your problem statement must be specific to the

issue at hand and often ends up with research
questions
 The research questions specifically indicate
what your study is about.

37
 An example of a problem statement

 The Somaliland Water Resources Bureau has

made concerted efforts to facilitate supply of
potable water to the community. One of its
major development goals is to alleviate
shortage of potable water in the region.
Estimates however indicate that currently only
35% of the population has access to potable
water in the region while coverage varies
widely between the districts. Hargeisa District
is considered to have an acute shortage of
38
 Research Questions, Hypotheses,
or Objectives

 Questions, objectives, and hypotheses clarify

the purpose statement. From the broad,
general purpose statement, the researcher
narrows the focus to specific questions to be
answered, objectives to be accomplished, or
predictions to be tested based on the
hypotheses proposed.

39
 Cont…
 Research question: inquire about the relationships
among variables in the form of a question that is
phrased as a question (Krathwohl, 1988 in Creswell,
2009).
 Research Objective: stating the research question in
declarative form (Krathwohl, 1988 in Creswell, 2009);
tend to be used less in social science research, but
more in proposals for funding.

40
 Cont…
 Hypothesis: declarative statement of the predicted or
expected relationship between 2 or more variables
(Mason & Bramble, 1989 in Creswell, 2009)
 As you write your questions, check them using these
criteria: feasible, clear, significant, and ethical.

41
 Objectives of the study:

 Objectives should be closely related to the

statement of the problem. An objective is a
goal, a planned or intended outcome.
 Objectives further specify the issues or area of
knowledge that the researcher wants to
examine or explore.

42
 General Objective:

 The general objective should be in line with

your title/topic. The general objective of a
study states what researchers expect to
achieve by the study in general terms
 It is possible (and advisable) to break down a
general objective into smaller, logically
connected parts. These are normally referred
to as specific objectives.

43
 Cont…

 The general objective usually contains one

sentence which is related to the core problem
and topic of the study.

44
 Examples of General Objective

 This research seeks to assess the availability

of potable water supply in Hargeisa District.
Specific Objectives:
 Specific objectives should systematically
address the various aspects of the problem as
defined under ‘Statement of the Problem’ .
 They should specify what you will do in your
study, where and for what purpose.

45
 Cont…

 Very good specific objectives should be 3-5

and should be SMART:
• S –Specific: Addressing one thing only
• M – Measurable: Can be evaluated: Use
proper action verbs (to determine, to find out,
to identify, to compare, to verify, to describe, to
establish to evaluate, to ascertain, to
investigate , to examine and to explore etc.
Avoid non-action verbs such as; to appreciate,
46 to understand, or to study, to see, to know,etc.
 Cont…

• A – Attainable: Given the resources available

• R – Realistic: Given the local conditions
• T – Time bound: Can be achieved in the given
time
 Specific objectives should be written in future
tense at proposal stage and present tense at
thesis stage.

47
 Examples of Specific Objectives

1. To determine the percentage of population

with access to potable water in Hargeisa
2. To identify the main sources of potable water
in the district.
3. To establish areas of the district with low
access to potable water.
4. To identify the types of water supply
management system in the district.
5. To put forward feasible solutions to improving
48
 Research Questions

 Research questions should begin with one

general focus research question which flows
from your research idea or problem area.
 Avoid asking research questions that will not
generate new insights.

49
 Examples of Research Questions:
 What percentage of the population is affected with lack
of access to potable water?
 What are the main sources of potable water in the
district?
 Which areas of the district are affected with low access
to potable water?
 What are the types of water supply management
system in the district?
 How can the water coverage be improved in Hargeisa
City?
50
 PHRASES NOT SUITBLE FOR
RESEARCH QUESTIONS

 “Does” is not a research question but used in

questionnaire.
 “is” is not a research question.
 “Are “is not a research question?

51
 Significance of Study

 This part indicates the importance or the

necessity of the study. It is also called
justification or importance of the study.
 The critical question is ‘why am I carrying out
this research?’, and/ or ‘who would benefit and
how?’
 E.g. benefits to the organization under
investigation, to academia (filling knowledge
gaps and/or extending existing knowledge) and
52 other stakeholders
 Scope or Delimitation of the Study

 This section specifies the boundaries of their

research. These should include the
geographical scope, which defines the location
of the study;
 the content scope, which defines the factors
and variables and issues to be considered;
 and the time scope which identifies the time
which has been used to collect the data

53
 Description of the study area/organization

 Depending on the sampling unit of the study,

students must give brief description of the
study area or study organizations.
 This section provides information about the
characteristics of the study areas as
population, location, climate, socioeconomic
activities etc.

54
 Cont…

 Completely description of the study

area/organization is stated using present
tense.

55
 Limitation of the study

 This section explains the limitations that may

invalidate the study or make it less than
accurate.
 At proposal stage, students forecast possible
limitation of the research, but at thesis stage,
students must give limitation affecting results of
the thesis that are faced in the course of
conducting the research.

56
 Unit Two: Literature Review
Theoretical and Conceptual Framework :

 Once you have chosen your research topic and

narrowed it down, you have to carry out an
extensive literature survey of the academic
literature (journal articles, conference
proceedings, books, unpublished materials,
etc) to know more about the theories and
debates going on regarding the topic and
understand the specific nature of the problem
in the academic literature
57
 The Theoretical Framework:

 The theoretical framework refers to a summary

of the theories that you will refer to in your
study.
 You will refer to the theories during the
development of the hypotheses and the
conceptual framework.

58
 Cont…

 Conceptual framework will indicate the

important issues to be assessed or the
variables to be measured; their possible
indicators; the type and direction of relationship
that exists among the variables, and so
 What you summarize as part of the theoretical
framework has to be very relevant to the topic
and particularly the research problem and the
research questions.
59
 The Conceptual Framework

 Based on the theoretical framework, you are

expected to develop your conceptual
framework. In this part, you will define the
concepts you will use in your research.
 In the literature, concepts may define in
different ways and you will have to make a
choice here.

60
 Cont…

 In your study, how the concepts defined

operationally?
 What are the variables and indicators that you
will use in your study to measure the
concepts?
 Conceptual frameworks are best done
graphically rather than in text..

61
 Where to find the Research Literature?

 Articles in Scholarly Journals

 Scholarly Books
 Dissertations
 Government Documents
 Policy Reports and Presented Papers

62
 Conducting a systematic literature review

 Define and refine a topic

 Design a search
 Locate research reports

63
 Development of Working Hypothesis

 If you are conducting a deductive type of

research, you will be required to develop
hypotheses based on the theories you have
encountered while doing your literature survey.
 The question is, what does the theory(ies) say
about the phenomenon you are investigating
and the relationship among the various
variables involved?

64
 Some important terms in Tests of
Statistical Hypothesis

 Null hypothesis (Ho) : Usually the null

hypothesis is a statement of “no effect” or “no
difference”.
 Alternative Hypothesis (H1) :The complement
of the null hypothesis or the hypothesis one
accepts if he/she rejects the null hypothesis.

65
 Cont…

 Critical value – the demarcation point

between the acceptance and the rejection
region. If the test statistics value falls in the
acceptance region, the null hypothesis is
accepted if its values fall in the rejection region,
the null hypothesis is rejected.

66
 Unit Three: Research Methods/Methodology

 Introduction: It seems appropriate at this

juncture to explain the difference between
research methods and research methodology.
 Worthy to underline is that research method
and research methodology are completely
different in every aspect.

67
 Research Methods/Techniques

 All those methods which are used by the researcher

during the course of studying his research problem are
termed as research methods.
 Research methods can be put into the following three
groups:-
1. Methods concerning with the collection of data.
2. Methods of statistical techniques used for establishing relationship
between the data and the unknowns.
3. Methods used to evaluate the accuracy of the results obtained.

68
 Research Methodology

 Research methodology is a way to

systematically solve the research problem. It
can also be said as a science of studying how
research is done scientifically.
 Research methodology focuses on the manner
in which the research is planned, structured
and executed in order to comply with scientific
criteria (Mouton and Marais, 1996).

69
 Introduction:

 Introduction helps to highlight the concept

about the different methods this chapter
consists that designs this study. It must be in
short.

70
 Formulating Variables

 Generally, variables may be formulated in to

two groups like numerical which are in the form
of numbers (e.g. age, distance, monthly
income) and categorical that is on the other
hand non-numerical characteristics (e.g. sex,
colour, staple food).

71
 Types of Variables

 Continuous and Discontinuous variables

 Dependent and independent variable
 Intervening Variables
 Extraneous Variables

72
 Research Design

 Guy et al.(1987:92) define research design as

“a plan of procedures for data collection and
analysis that are undertaken to evaluate a
particular theoretical perspective.”
 Thus a research design is a plan that shows
how all the major parts of the research project
come together.

73
 Types of Research Designs

 There are many types of research designs

which include case study, comparative,
exploratory, descriptive and hypothesis-testing.
 The researcher should decide in advance of
the collection and analysis of data as to which
design would be most appropriate for the
study.

74
 Explorative design

 Also known as formulative because the main

purpose is that of formulating a problem for
more precise investigation or of developing a
working hypothesis from an operation point of
view.
 The major emphasis is on discovery of ideas
and insights.
 Characterized by flexibility to allow
consideration of different aspects.
75
 Case study design

 This is a detailed and intensive analysis of a

single case.
 A case is an object of interest to the researcher
and can be a single organization, a single
location, a person or a single event.
 A case study cannot be generalized to a
population.

76
 Comparative design

 A comparative research design study

compares two or more groups on one variable.
 This design entails using identical methods of
contrasting identical cases.
 The contrasts can either be similarity or
difference based.

77
 Descriptive design

 The descriptive research design is concerned

with describing the characteristics of a
particular individual or of a group.
 Involves gathering data that describe events
and then organizes, tabulates, depicts, and
describes the data.
 Uses description as a tool to organize data into
patterns that emerge during analysis.

78
 Research Approaches

 In the research study, either qualitative,

quantitative or both approaches are used.
 Qualitative Approach deals with the
subjective assessment of attitudes, opinion and
behavior of respondents in the field study.
 Quantitative Approach is used to measure
percentages and ratios of situation.

79
 Quantitative and qualitative:Similarities

 Both do researches.
 Both methods use observations as their tools.
 Both use sampling procedures.
 Both use interview guide in their research
instruments.

80
 Quantitative and qualitative: Differences

 Information dealt - quantitative research

involve numerical whereas qualitative are the
opposite.
 Methods of analysis - qualitative researches
use descriptive analysis through words whilst
quantitative researches use statistical analysis

81
 Determining Sample Design

 Sampling design is part of the research design

or the research methodology
 While developing a sampling design, you must
pay attention to the following points:
• Population
• Target Population
• Sampling Frame
• Sampling Unit
• Sample Size
• Parameters of Interest
• Budgetary constraint:
82 • Sampling procedure
 Criteria of selecting a sampling procedure

 While preparing your sampling design, you

must remember that two costs are involved:
• The cost of collecting the data and
• The cost of an incorrect inference resulting
from the data

83
 There are two causes of incorrect
inferences:

1. Systematic bias: A systematic bias results

from errors in the sampling procedures, and it
cannot be reduced or eliminated by increasing
the sample size.
At best the causes responsible for these errors
can be detected and corrected

84
 Causes of systematic bias:
– Inappropriate sampling frame:
– Defective measuring device:
– Non-respondents:
– Indeterminancy principle:
– Natural bias in the reporting of data:

85
 2. Sampling errors

 Are the random variations in the sample

estimates around the true population
parameters (e.g., population mean).
 Sampling error decreases with the increase in
the size of the sample,

86
  
Characteristics of a good sampling design

 (a) Sample design must result in a truly

representative sample.
 (b) Sample design must be such which results
in a small sampling error.
 Sample design must be viable in the context of
funds available for the research study
 Sample design must be such so that
systematic bias can be controlled in a better
way.
87
 Determining a Proportional Sample

Rule of Thumb:
 If the population is less than or equal to 1000
take 30% of the population.
 If more than 1000 but less than or equal to 10
000 take 23% of the population.
 If more than 10 000 but less than or equal to
100 000 take 10% of the population.
 If you have a population of more than 100 000
take 1% of the population
88
 Sloven’s formula:

n= N/1+N(e)2
 You can apply when you know the population
 n= sample size
 N= population size
 e= level of significance
 e= 0.05 or (0.05)2 = 0.0025

89
 Different Types of Sample Designs

 Sample design involves probability or non-

probability sampling. This is necessary if we
are not going for a census.
 A census is a complete enumeration of the
entire population.
 There are several reasons for taking a sample
instead of census:

90
 Cont…

 A census may be very expensive.

 A census may require too much time.
 Greater speed-data can be collected and
summarized more readily especially when
information is required urgently.
 Greater scope-when complete destruction of a
product is involved.

91
 Cont…
• E.g. to ascertain if glass containers can withstand
pressure, we put a sample of containers under
pressure until they break. Therefore we do not break
every item produced.
 A carefully obtained sample may be more accurate than a census.
 Practicability- it is practical to interview a sample than the whole
population.

92
 Types of sampling techniques:

 Random/probability sampling: the elements

to be included in the sample entirely depend on
chance.
 Random sampling techniques often yield
samples that are representative of the
population from which they are drawn.

93
 Cont…

 Sampling techniques of probability sampling:

 Simple Random Sampling
 Systematic Random Sampling
 Stratified Sampling
 Cluster/Area Sampling

94
 Non-random/non-probability sampling

 In non-random sampling, the units in the

sample are chosen by the investigator based
on his/her personal convenience and beliefs.
 Non-probability sampling is a sampling method
where personal knowledge and opinion play
major role in identifying which elements of the
population are to be included in the sample

95
 Quota Sampling

 For example, the researcher decides to select

5 males and 5 females under age 30, 10 males
and 10 females aged 30 to 60, and 5 males
and 5 females over age 60 for a 40 person
sample. This is quota sampling

96
 Convenience/ Accidental Sampling

 This sampling involves choosing the nearest

and most convenient persons for the
researcher as respondents.
 Purposive sampling: In this sampling
technique, a researcher purposively selects
people who she/he believes have the required
characteristics needed for the study.
 Snowball sampling

97
 Data Types and Methods of Data
Collection

 Data sources/types:
1. Primary Data: Data that you collect for the first
time by yourselves for your own purpose. For
example, you may measure the heights of
students in a class using a meter.
2. Secondary data: Data that have been
collected by others for their own purpose or
for a general purpose.

98
 Methods of Collecting Primary Data

 Observation method: In observation method

researchers involves in recording the
behavioural patterns of people, objects and
events in a systematic manner

99
 Advantages of Observation Method:

 It helps in overcoming issues of validity, bias

etc.
 It is useful when the subject can not provide
information.
 It is also useful when the subject is feared to
provide inaccurate information.
 The researcher can have first hand
experiences of their study.

10
 Disadvantage of Observation Method

 Past events being studied

 Frequently measuring attitudes or opinions
 Selecting sample is tricky
 Time and costs are high – can be automated
 Ethical issues
 There may be too few trials/studies/ or objects
observed to make an end conclusion to the
study.
10
 Interview Method

  Interviewing is a technique that is primarily

used to gain an understanding of the
underlying reasons and motivations for
people’s attitudes, preferences or behaviour.
 Interview can be undertaken on a personal
interview one-to one basis and, if possible ,
through telephone

10
 Three types of interview

 Structured interview:
 Semi- Structured Interview:
 Unstructured Interview:

10
 Personal interview:

 Personal interview is the process taking place

between interviewer (person asking question)
and interviewee ( person answering to the
question).
Advantages of Personal Interview:
 Good response rate
 Possible in-depth questions
 Can investigate motives and feelings

10
 Cont…

 Can complete in set time & immediate

 Interviewer in control and can give help if there
is a problem
 Serious approach by respondent resulting in
accurate information
 Characteristics of respondent can be assessed
– tone of voice, facial expression, hesitation,
etc

10
 Disadvantages of personal interview:

 Need to set up interviews

 Time consuming
 Geographic limitation
 Can be expensive
 Normally need a set of questions
 Embarrassment possible if personal questions
 If many interviewees, interviewers training
required,
10
 Steps in conducting personal interview

 List the areas in which you require information

 Decide on type of interview
 Transform ideas into actual questions
 Make an appointment with respondent(s) –
discussing details of why and how long.
 Try and fix a venue and time when you will not
be disturbed.

10
 Telephonic interview:

 This is an alternative form of interview to the

personal, face-to-face interview.
 Telephonic interviews are less time consuming
and less expensive and the researcher has
ready access to anyone on the planet that has
telephone.

10
 Advantages of Telephone Interview:

 Relatively cheap and quick

 Can cover reasonably large numbers of people
or organizations.
 Wide geographic coverage
 No waiting and spontaneous response
 Help can be given to the respondent
 Can tape answers

10
 Disadvantages of Telephone Interview:

 Questionnaire required
 Not everyone has a telephone.
 Repeat calls are inevitable
 Straightforward questions are required to ask
 Respondent has little time to think on an issue
 Good telephone manner is required

11
 Questionnaire Method:

 A questionnaire is a series of written questions

an a topic about which the subjects’ opinions
are sought.
 In this method of data collection questionnaire
will be sent to respondent through either post
or e-mail and asking the respondent to fill up
the questionnaire and send it back to the
researcher.

11
 Cont…

 A questionnaire consists of a number of

questions well formulated, printed or typed in a
definite order to probe and obtain responses
from respondents.
 Therefore there is a variation in the form and
content of questionnaire from situation to
situation.

11
 Advantages of Questionnaire Method:

 Can be used as a method in its own right or as

a basis for interviewing or a telephone survey
 Can be posted, e-mailed or faxed
 Can cover a large number of people or
organizations
 Wide geographic coverage.
 No interviewer bias.

11
 Disadvantage of Questionnaire Method:

 Design problems.
 Questions have to be relatively simple.
 Historically low response rate (although
inducements may help).
 Time delay whilst waiting for responses to be
returned.
 Require a return deadline
 Assumes no literacy problems.
11
 Focus Group Discussion method

 A focus group could be defined as a group of

interacting individuals having some common
interest or characteristics, brought together by
a researcher, who uses the group and its
interaction as a way to gain information about a
specific or focused issue

11
 Advantages of Focus Groups:

 Takes advantage of the fact that people

naturally interact and are influenced by others
 Provide data more quickly and at lower cost
than if individuals interviewed.
 Generally requires less preparation and is
comparatively easy to conduct.

11
 Cont…

 Researcher can interact directly with

respondents (allows clarification, follow-up
questions, probing)
 Data uses respondents’ own words: can obtain
deeper levels of meaning, make important
connections, identify subtle nuances.
 Very flexible; can be used with wide range or
topics, individuals, and settings

11
 Disadvantages of Focus Groups:

 Have less control over group; less able to

control what information will be produced.
 Produces relatively chaotic data making data
analysis more difficult.
 Small numbers and convenience sampling
severely limit ability to generalize to larger
populations.
 Requires carefully trained interviewer who is
knowledgeable about group dynamics.
11
 Cont…

 Researcher may knowingly or unknowingly

bias results by providing cues about what types
of responses are desirable.
 Uncertainty about accuracy of what
participants say. Results may be biased by
presence of a very dominant or opinionated
member; more reserved members may be
hesitant to talk.

11
 Secondary data

 In our modern world there is an unbelievable

mass of data that is routinely collected by
governments, businesses, colleges, and other
national and international organizations. Much
of this information is stored in electronic
databases that can be accessed and analyzed
 Among the data available for secondary
analysis is:

12
 Cont…

 Census bureau data

 Crime records
 Standardized testing data
 Economic data
 Consumer data

12
 Sources of Secondary data:

 Federal/provincial/state governments
 Statistics agencies and Trade association
 General business publications, Annual reports,
Magazine and newspaper articles
 Academic publications, Library sources
 Computerized bibliographies and syndicated
services.
 Internal records and reports
12
 Advantages of Secondary data analysis:

 It makes use of data that were already

collected by someone else.
 It often allows researcher to extend the scope
of your study considerably.
 It saves time that would otherwise be spent
collecting data.
 It provides a larger database (usually) than
what would be possible to collect on ones own.

12
 Cont…

 In many small research projects it is impossible

to consider taking a national sample because
of the costs involved.
 Many archived databases are already national
in scope and, by using them; researcher can
leverage a relatively small budget into a much
broader study than if you collected the data
yourself.

12
 Disadvantage of secondary data:

 You may have less control over how the data

was collected.
 There may be biases in the data that you don’t
know about.
 Its answers may not exactly fit your research
questions.
 It may be obsolete data.

12
 Cont…

 Old secondary data collections can distort the

results of the research.
 Secondary data con also raise issues of
authenticity and copyright.

12
 Guideline for Designing a Questionnaire
and other Instruments

 Guideline for Chioce/Design of Data Collection

Instruments in general:
 In the design of data collection instruments, the
decision about question content, wording and order are
the result of a process that considers the following:
1. What is the research problem?: The problem definition and
objectives of the research.
2. What type(s) of evidence is needed to address it?: Exploratory,
descriptive, causal or explanatory
3. What ideas, concepts, variables are we measuring? Content,
definition and indicators
12
 Cont…
4. What type(s) of data is(are) appropriate? Qualitative, quantitative,
both.
5. From whom should we collect the data? Nature of the target
population or sample (e.g., their education level, cultural
background, etc)
6. What method of data collection is most suitable? Observation,
interviews, questionnaire or schedule, face-to-face or telephone,
e-mail, web or postal.
8. Where will the data be collected? In the street/shopping centre. At
respondents’ office or home.
9. How will responses be captured? Pen and paper, computer, Audi
and/or video recording, photograph.
12
 Cont…
10. What are the constraints? Time and/or budget.
11. How will the response be analyzed? Computer or/and manually.

12
 Designing a Questionnaire

 The way you design the questionnaire has a

big role to play in helping you gather the data
accurately and effectively; and in helping the
respondents provide accurate, complete and
reliable data.

13
 Why worry about the quality of the questionnaire/schedule?

1. A purely designed questionnaire can result in

an unpleasant experience for the respondents
and adversely affect their perception about
research, reducing their willingness to
cooperate in other future researches.
2. A poor introduction and description of the
research (e.g., purpose) can lead to high level
of non-response, adversely affecting the
representativeness of the sample
13
 Cont..

3. Poorly conceived questions not measuring

what they claim to measure mean the data
collected are not valid.
4. Questions that are beyond the knowledge of
the respondent or that require heavy memory
about past events result in inaccurate and
unreliable data

13
 Cont…

5. Poorly worded questions (using ambiguous,

vague, difficult, unusual or technical jargons)
can be misunderstood or misinterpreted or
interpreted differently by different people,
resulting in unreliable and invalid data.
6. A badly structured questionnaire (that begins
with difficult, sensitive or personal questions)
can result in refusal to answer or complete the
questionnaire.
13
 Cont…

7. Poor question order can result in order bias or

contamination of later responses by earlier
questions.
8. Long, boring or repetitive questions may result
in a loss of interest or produce inaccurate
responses.
9. Poor layout can lead to errors in recording,
coding and data processing.

13
  
Guideline to the Questionnaire Design Process:

 Decide on the question content.

 Ensure Proper Wording of the Questions.
 Follow the right question order
 Make good layout and appearance.
 Optimize questionnaire Length.
 Conduct Pilot Study and make necessary changes.

13
 Ethical Issues related to Purpose of Research

 However lofty the stated purposes of research,

the product of research in the public sector
may be to provide tools for manipulation and
control for some segments of society at the
expense of others.
 For example, the tendency to describe some
populations as deviant leads away from
focusing on larger problems of the distribution
of political, economic, and social power.
13
 Cont…

 Social scientist need to be aware of the

possible uses to which their research may be
put.
 Research should not only enhance the
researcher's career, but also benefit the group,
organization, or population studied.
 Those who fund and conduct research also
reap its benefits.

13
 Ethical Issues related to the Subject Matter

 What populations can be studied with little risk

or harm?
 Are there some populations which are routinely
subjects of research, while others are ignored?
 Populations with little social or political power
are often targets of research, while those with
substantial power are not.

13
 Cont…

 Those who "own" or "run" organizations are

usually in charge of the research that goes on
in them.
 The people who are the "subjects" of the
research may have neither the power to shape
the research nor the ability to refuse to
participate.
 Is participation Voluntary?

13
 Ethical issues related to the methods

 Most ethical violations correspond to

illegitimate use of the investigator's power.
 Researchers need to be trained to be
concerned, as social scientists with people as
well as with research design, methodology, etc.

14
 Ethical concerns include:

 Involvement without consent:

 Disguising the true nature or purpose of the
research:
 Deceiving the research participant:
 Physical or mental stress:
 Invasion of privacy:

14
 Data Analysis

 This is a very important part of your study.

Depending on the methods you have selected
during your research design, which in turn
depends on the type of the research
(exploratory, descriptive, etc) and the research
approach (qualitative vs, quantitative, or both),
you need to analyze the data using those
methods.

14
 Cont…

 What is expected as a result of your analysis is

the findings pertinent to the research questions
and objectives.

14
 Data Preparation

 Once all the data that is required to answer the

research questions and meet the research
objectives is collected, you can now start
analyzing the data.
 Data preparation involves establishment of
categories, the application of these categories
to raw data through coding, tabulation, and
then drawing statistical inferences

14
 Cont…

 Editing: is a process of examine the collected

raw data ( especially in survey) to detect error
and omission and to correct these when
possible.
 Coding: is the process of assigning numerals
or other symbols to answer so that responses
can be put into a limited number of categories
or classes and such classes should be
appropriate to the research problem.
14
 Cont…

 Classification: The raw data must be grouped

or classes on the basis of common
characteristic, data having a common
characteristic are placed in one class.
 Tabulation /Compilation: - It is the process of
summarizing and displaying raw data in
compact form (statistical tables) for further
analysis

14
 Basic Concepts of Statistics

 Statistics is a science pertaining to the

collection, presentation, analysis and
interpretation or explanation of data.
 Data can then be subjected to statistical
analysis, serving two related purposes:
description and inference.

14
 Cont…

 Descriptive statistics summarizes the

population data by describing what was
observed in the sample numerically or
graphically.
 Inferential statistics uses patterns revealed
through analysis of sample data to draw
inferences about the population represented.

14
 Limitations of Statistics:

 Although statistics is widely applied and has

shown its merit in planning, policy making,
marketing decisions, quality control, medical
studies, etc., it has some limitations:
1. Statistical laws are not exact. They are
probabilistic in nature.
2. Statistics is liable to be misused.

14
 Some Basic Terms in Statistics

 A population is the set of all elements that

belong to a certain defined group.
 A sample is a part (or a subset) of the
population.
 Numerical characteristic of a population is
called a parameter.
 Numerical characteristic of a sample is called a
statistic.

15
 Graphical presentation of data

 Graphs are effective visual tools because they

present information quickly and easily.
 It is not surprising then, that graphs are
commonly used by print and electronic media.
 Often data are better understood when
presented by a graph than by a table because
the graph can easily reveal a trend (rise or
decline of a variable over time).

15
 Cont…

 If you have decided that using a graph is the

best method to relay your message, then some
of the guidelines to follow are:
1. Define your target audience: Ask yourself the
following questions to help you understand
more about your audience and what their
needs are:

15
 Cont…

 Who is your target audience? What do they

know about the issue? What do they expect to
see? What do they want to know? What will
they do with the information?
2. Determine the message(s) to be transmitted.
 Knowing what type of graph to use with what
type of information is crucial.

15
 Cont…

 Depending on the nature of the data some

graphs might be more appropriate than others.
 There are many different types of graphs that
can be used to convey information. These
include vertical line graphs, bar graphs
(charts), pie charts and histograms, among
others.

15
 Cont…

 The presentation of data in the form of tables,

graphs and charts is an important part of the
process of data analysis and report writing.
 The results can be expressed within the text of
a report, data are usually more digestible if
they are presented in the form of a table or
graphical display.

15
 Some general recommendations to follow when
presenting data:

 The presentation should be as simple as

possible, avoid the trap of adding too much
information.
 A good rule of thumb is to only present one
idea or to have only one purpose for each
graph or chart you create.
 The presentation should be self-explanatory.

15
 Cont…

 The title should be clear, and concise indicating

what?, when?, and where? the data were
obtained.
 Codes, legends and labels should be clear and
concise, following standard formats if possible,
 The use of footnotes is advised to explain
essential features of the data that are critical
for the correct interpretation of the graph or
chart.
15
 Data Presentation Tools

 Several types of statistical/data presentation

tools exist, including:
1. Charts displaying frequencies (bar, pie, and pareto
charts),
2. Charts displaying trends ( run and control charts),
3. Charts displaying distributions ( histograms), and
4. Charts displaying associations ( scatter diagrams).

15
 Cont…

 Different types of data require different kinds of

statistical tools. There are two types of data:
1. Attribute data are countable data or data that
can be put into categories: e.g., the number of
people willing to pay, the number of
complaints,
2. Variable data are measurement data, based
on some continuous scale: e.g., length, time
and cost.
15
 The bar graph (chart)

 Bar graphs are one of the many techniques

used to present data in a visual form so that
the reader may readily recognize patterns or
trends.
 Bar graphs usually present categorical
(qualitative) variables or numeric (discrete)
variables grouped in class intervals.

16
 The Pie chart

 A pie chart is a chart that is used to summarize

a set of categorical data.
 This type of chart is a circle divided into a
series of segments (or sectors) each
representing a particular category.

16
 The Histogram

 The most common form of graphical

presentation of a grouped frequency
distribution is the histogram.
 It is used to summarize variables whose
values are numerical and measured on an
interval scale.
 It divides up the range of possible values in a
data set into classes or groups.

16
 Summary

 After being collected and processed, data need

to be organized to produce useful information
or output.
 Output is usually governed by the need to
communicate specific information to a specific
audience.
 The only limit to the different forms of output
you can produce is the different types of output
devices currently available.
16
 Cont…

 To help determine the best output type for the

information you have produced, you need to
ask yourself these questions:
1. For whom is the output being produced?
2. How will the audience best understand it?
 Generally we have two types of output
devices: tables and graphs.

16
 Cont…

 Grouping variables and presenting them as a

grouped frequency distribution is part of the
process of organizing data so that they
become useful information.
 The other type of output devices are graphs.
 Graphs are effective visual tools because they
present information quickly and easily.

16
 Cont…

 If you have decided that using a graph is the

best method to relay your message, then the
guidelines to remember are:
1. define your target audience (understand more
about your audience and what their needs
are)
2. determine the message to be transmitted
(figure out what your message is and why it is
important)
16
 Cont…

 Note that it not appropriate to use a graph

when there are too few data (one, two or three
data points) or the data show little or no
variations.

16
 Referencing Styles:

 The APA Referencing Style:The American

Psychological Association reference style uses
the Author-Date format.
 When quoting directly or indirectly from a
source, the source must be acknowledged in
the text by author name and year of
publication.

16
 IN-TEXT CITATION

 Direct quotation – use quotation marks around

the quote and include page numbers
 Samovar and Porter (1997) point out that
"language involves attaching meaning to
symbols" (p.188).
 Alternatively, “Language involves attaching
meaning to symbols" (Samovar & Porter, 1997,
p.188).

16
 Citations from a secondary source

 As Hall (1977) asserts, “culture also defines

boundaries of different groups” (as cited in
Samovar and Porter, 1997, p. 14).
 At the end of your assignment, you are
required to provide the full bibliographic
information for each source.
 References must be listed in alphabetical order
by author.

17
 Books. Important Elements:

 Author (last name, initials only for first & middle

names)
 Publication date
 Title (in italics; capitalize only the first word of
title and subtitle, and proper nouns)
 Place of publication
 Publisher

17
 Articles from Print Periodicals:

Important Elements:
 Author (last name, initials only for first & middle
names)
 Date of publication of article
 Title of article (capitalize only the first word of
title and subtitle, and proper nouns)

17
 Cont…

 Title of publication in italics

 Volume and issue number
 Page numbers of article

17
 Articles from the Library’s Online Subscription
Databases

Important Elements:
 Publication information (see Print Periodicals,
above)
 DOI number (if available).
 If the DOI number is not available, APA
recommends giving the URL of the publication.
 Note: DOI = Digital Object Identifier
URL=Uniform Resource Locator 
17
 Articles in Online Journals, Magazines
and Newspapers

Important Elements:
 Author (last name, initials only for first & middle
names)
 Date of publication of article
 Title of article
 Title of publication (in italics)
 Volume and issue number (for scholarly
journals, if given)
 Page numbers, if given
17
 Web Sites:

 Important Elements:
 Author (if known)
 Date of publication, copyright date, or date of
last update
 Title of Web sitei
 Date you accessed the information (APA
recommends including this if the information is
likely to change)
 URL (Web address) of the site
17