Research Methodology

Getabalew Endazenaw (PhD,

Associate prof.

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 Course objectives
• At the end of the course the students will be able to:

• Explain the types of research

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• Identify the components of research proposal;

• State research questions and objectives;

• Choose appropriate methods based on research questions;

• Develop research work plan and determine resource ;

• Identify researches to be dealt with qualitative methods;

• Explain method of data generation and analysis in qualitative study;

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• Identify and discuss the components of scientific paper
 Course contents
1. Introduction to Research
o Definition
o Types of research
o Characteristics of research
2. Research Proposal
o Definition and purposes
3. Components of research proposal
o Research topic/problem
o Summary
o Introduction(background, statement of problem, significant)
o literature review
o Objective
o Methods and materials
o Work plan and budget
4. Scientific paper writing
5. Introduction to qualitative research
Teach and evaluation methods
• Teaching methods:
• Interactive lecture
• Group and individual reading
• Project work/proposal development
• Evaluation methods
• Attendance and participation………….10%
• Proposal development……………………..30%
• Written exam …………………………………….60%
Introduction to Research
Process and Types of Research
Lesson Objectives
By the end of this session the learners
will be able to:
– Define and classify different types
of research
– Describe the research process

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Introductory questions?

–How do you decide what to do in

your professional practice?

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 Approaches to decide what to do?
Decisions can be guided by a number of
different approaches to reasoning.

• Some decisions are guided by dogma, or an a-

priori set of beliefs (eg, “natural is best.”).

• Some decisions are guided by tradition (eg,

“we‟ve always done it that way”), relying on the
collective wisdom of the ages.
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Approaches to decide…
• Some decisions are guided by convention
(eg, “everyone else does it that way”),
relying on the collective wisdom of
colleagues.

• An evidence-based approach makes decisions

based on critical evaluation and reflection (eg,
“the evidence supports doing it this way”).
What is Evidence-Based Practice ?

• EBP is defined as a problem-solving

and decision making approach in
practice that involves the careful
use of current best (research)
evidence, clinical expertise, &

patient preferences.

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 What is Research?
• Research = Re + Search

• „Re‟ means again and again and

• „Search‟ means to find out

something

– Therefore, research means to

observe the phenomena again
and again from different
dimensions. 10
 What is research? …
• Research is the systematic collection, analysis
and interpretation of data to answer a certain
question or solve a problems, using scientific
methods.
• Scientific method is a body of procedures and
techniques applied in carrying out investigation or
experimentation targeted at obtaining new
knowledge or solve a problems.
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What is Health Research?

• Health Research is a systematic collection,

analysis and interpretation of health related data to

understand/solve a health problem.

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Types of Health Research
o Based on Purposes
– Basic research (also called fundamental or
pure research)
• has its primary objective the advancement
of /building of knowledge and the
theoretical understanding of the relations
among variables
– Applied research
• Is a research that seeks to solve existing
and practical problems
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 Based on approach
• Qualitative research • Quantitative research

explores attitudes, generates statistics

behaviors and experiences through the use of large-

through such methods as scale survey research,

interviews or focus groups. using methods such as

questionnaires or
• It attempts to get an in-depth
structured interviews
opinion from participants.
• Reaches many more
people 14
 Qualitative Vs Quantitative…
• Qualitative… • Quantitative….

• Fewer people take part in • Descriptive/

explanatory or
the research,
analytical
• Exploratory
• Deductive : General
• Inductive : Observation to to specific
theory development • Objective
• Subjective • Generalizable
Driving factors of a research
• Health research may be:
curiosity-driven,
needs-driven,
profit-driven or
opportunity-driven
 Curiosity-driven research
• Science is unpredictable: in fact, chance plays an
important role in scientific discovery.
• Many of the drugs we use today have been discovered in

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research program designed for other purposes;

Dr. Getabalew
Minoxidil (the drug for male baldness) was originally
developed and tested for the treatment of
hypertension.
Sildenafil (Viagra), used for the treatment of erectile
dysfunction, was discovered in a cardiovascular
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research programme
 Needs-driven research
• Governments would like to support research that will
promote the health of their populations or put priorities

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for research.
• Health problem can be put as a priority for research,

Dr. Getabalew
depending on
Magnitude (burden)
Seriousness (killing, disabling)
Feasibility (resources, cost-effectiveness)
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Political commitment
 Profit-driven research

• Private industry is becoming the major actor

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in health research, in terms of funding or

Dr. Getabalew
pursue research for profit.

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 Opportunity-driven research
As far as the individual researcher is concerned,
research may also be opportunity driven such as:
• The availability of funding, which may or may

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not correspond to local priority needs or to the
curiosity of scientists.

Dr. Getabalew
• The opportunity to participate in multi-centre
international research, or

• Opportunities to participate in industry-

sponsored research. 20
Characteristics of Research
• It demands a clear statement/conceptualization
of the topic/ Justification

• It requires a plan (it is not aimlessly “ looking” for

something in the hope that you will come across
a solution)

• Requires collection and interpretation of data.

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Overview of the research process
(Research Cycle)

5-Application –
1-Problem
Turning in to Action
Identification

4-
2-Planning
Disseminating research
Research

3-
Implementing research

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Steps in undertaking a research
I. Problem identification and definition
II. Review relevant literatures
III. Choose the appropriate study design

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IV. Development of proposals
V. Obtain Ethical Clearance
VI. Issues about funding
VII. Data collection
VIII. Data analysis
IX. Interpreting results 23

X. Writing a report and Disseminate Findings

 Research proposal
• Proposal is:
• a document that presents a plan for a

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project/research to reviewers for
evaluation.

Describes research problems and its

importance

Gives details of the methods that will be used

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and why they are appropriate
Purpose of a research proposal
To convince reviewers that the researcher is
capable of successfully conducting the proposed

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research project.

To provide clear indication of the topic in which the

researcher is interested

To give indication of researcher's ability to develop

an interesting research question

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Main components of research proposal
Topic/title
Executive Summary
Introduction (background, Statement of the

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problem, significant of the study)
Literature Review
Objectives
Methods and materials
Work plan
Budget
References
Annexes 26
 Problem Identification/topic setting

Objective: By the end of this session

the learners will be able to:
• List the criteria for selecting a research topic

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 What is a research problem?

• A research problem is a specific issue,

difficulty, contradiction, or gap in
knowledge that you will aim to address
in your research.

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 Research problem…
A problem requires research depends on three
conditions:

I. There should be a perceived difference or discrepancy

between what it is and what it should be;

II. The reason(s) for this difference should be unclear (so

that it makes sense to develop a research question); and

III. There should be more than one possible and plausible

answer to the question (or solution to the problem).

e.g: low contraceptive utilization Vs Religion?

 The Research Idea/sources of a
research problem

• Professional experience
• Observation
• Literature reviews
• Professional
meetings/conferences
• Discussions with Experts
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When you‟re thinking about your research, ask
yourself the five „Ws‟:

– What is my research?
– Who are my research
participants?
– Where am I going to do the
research?
– When am I going to do the research?
– Why do I want to do the research? 31
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 Example 2
• Problem situation: In district “Z” there are 2
health centers, 1 hospital and 15 health
stations and all of them function smoothly and

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plan to immunized 80% of children.
• However, at the end of the year it was found
that the EPI coverage was only 25%.

• Discrepancy: Although district “Z” had 100%

availability of health services and at least 80%
of the children should have had full
vaccinations the EPI coverage was only 25%
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as seen above
 Examples….
• Problem question: What factors influence the low
EPI coverage in district “Z”?
• Possible answers:

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Mothers might have problems for not attending in the
EPI sessions.
The MCH, EPI, OPD, etc… programs might not have
been integrated;
The follow up of defaulting children might not be
effective and other reasons.
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• Thus, the above problem situation is researchable
Good research question is:
• Feasible

• Interesting

• Novel

• Ethical

• Relevant
Topic/Title selection…

• The research topic is the focus of your research

• The title is a concise identification of the main
topic of the paper
• A good title is usually a compromise between
conciseness and explicitness.

• It should be specific and clear. The title should

indicate the five „Ws clearly; What?,, Who?,
How ?, Where? and When?
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How do we choose a research topic/problem?
Criteria for prioritizing problems for
research
1. Relevance
2. Avoidance of duplication
3. Feasibility
4. Political acceptability
5. Applicability
6. Urgency of data needed 37

7. Ethical acceptability
 Relevance:
• Scales for rating
• The topic should be a
Relevance of research
priority problem
topics
• Questions to be asked 1 = Not relevant
include:
2 = Relevant
o How large or widespread
3 = very relevant
is the problem?

o Who is affected?

o How severe is the

problem? 38
 Avoidance of duplication:
Scales for rating
• Investigate whether the topic
Avoidance of
has been researched. duplication

• If the topic has been o 1 = Sufficient information

researched, the results already available

should be reviewed to explore o 2 = Some information

whether major questions that available but major issues
deserve further investigation not covered
remain unanswered. o 3 = No sound information
available on which to base
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• If not, another topic should problem-solving
be chosen.
 Feasibility:
• Scales for rating
• Consider the complexity Feasibility
of the problem and the 1 = Study not feasible

resources you will require considering available

to carry out the study. resources

2 = Study feasible
• Attention should be given
considering available
first to personnel, time,
resources
equipment and money
3 = Study very feasible
that are locally available. considering available 40

resources
 Political acceptability:
• It is advisable to research a • Scales for rating
Political acceptability
topic that has the interest
1 = Topic not acceptable
and support of the
2 = Topic somewhat
authorities.
acceptable
• This will facilitate the smooth 3 = Topic fully acceptable
conduct of the research and
increases the chance that the
results of the study will be 41

implemented
 Applicability of possible results and
recommendations
• Is it likely the • Scales for rating
that
recommendations from the Applicability
1=No chance of
study will be applied? recommendations being
• This will depend not only implemented
2 = Some chance of
on the blessing of the recommendations being
authorities but also on the implemented
3 = Good chance of
availability of resources for recommendations being
implementing the implemented
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recommendations.
 Urgency of data needed
• Scales for rating
• How urgently are the Urgency
results needed for • 1 = Information not
urgently needed
making a decision?
• 2 = Information could be
• Which research should used but a delay of some
months would be
be done first and which acceptable
can be done late? • 3 = Data very urgently
needed for decision-
making
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 Ethical acceptability
• We should always • Scales for rating
Ethical acceptability
consider the possibility
1 = Major ethical
that we may inflict harm problems
on others while carrying 2 = Minor ethical
problems
out research.
3 = No ethical problems
• Therefore, it will be
useful to review the
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proposed study.
N.B. The above rating should be based
on the existing data and not on mere
assumptions.

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 Rating Sheet
Criteria for selecting research topic
a
Proposed topic Health problem I Health problem II Health problem III

Relevance

Avoidance of duplication

Feasibility
Political acceptability
Applicability

Urgency of data needed

Ethical acceptability
Total 46
Learner tasks 1:
• Identify research question that potentially is used in
your thesis work.

• Select your priority question based on the criteria