Research Methods

Introduction

09/28/23 Ali Yassin Sheikh, PhD 1

 Outline
• Introduction

– Nature and Meaning of Research

– Objectives of Research
– Motivation of Research
– Characteristics and Criteria of Good
Research

09/28/23 Ali Yassin Sheikh, PhD 2

Introduction

• What is research and what is not?

– Walliman (2005) argues that research could
not have the following characteristics:
• Just collecting facts or information with
no clear purpose
• Reassembling and reordering facts or
information without interpretation.

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Cont..

– Research should have the following

characteristics:
• Data are collected systematically.
• Data are interpreted systematically.
• There is a clear purpose: to find things
out.

09/28/23 Ali Yassin Sheikh, PhD 4

Nature & Meaning of Research
• Research – refers to a search of knowledge
• Research as a systematic search – for information on
a specific topic.
• Research is an art of scientific investigation.
• It is actually a journey of discovery.
• Research is considered an original contribution to the
existing stock of knowledge.

(Kothari, 2004)

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Objectives of Research

• The purpose is to discover solutions to

problems through the application of scientific
procedures:
– To gain familiarity with a fact or to achieve new
insights into it (exploratory study)
– To describe the characteristics of a particular
individual, situation or a group (descriptive study)

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cont..
– To determine the frequency with which something
occurs or with which it is associated with
something else (Correlation study)
– To test a hypotheses of a causal relationship
between variable (hypothesis testing study)

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Motivation in Research
• What makes people to undertake research?
– Desire to get a research degree along with its
consequential benefits
– Desire to face the challenge in solving the
unsolved problem
– Desire to get intellectual joy of doing some
creative work.

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cont..

– Desire to be of service to society.

– Desire to get respectability.
– Employment conditions and requirements.

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Characteristics & Criteria of Good Research

• One may expect that scientific research to satisfy the

following characteristics:
– The purpose of the research should be clearly defined.
– The research procedures used should be described in
sufficient detail to permit another researcher to replicate for
further advancement.
– The procedural design of the research should be clearly
planned.
– The researcher should report with complete frankness.

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Cont..
– The analysis of data should be sufficiently
adequate to reveal it significance and the method
of analysis used should be appropriate
– Conclusions should be confined to those of
justified by the data of the research
– Greater confidence in research is warranted
(experienced, good reputation and integrity in
research)

09/28/23 Ali Yassin Sheikh, PhD 11

 Discussions

Q&A

09/28/23 Ali Yassin Sheikh, PhD 12