CS 601
Research Methodology
Arbab Wajid Ullah Khan
Introduction
Research in common idiom refers to a search for knowledge
A scientific and systematic search for pertinent information on
a specific topic
In fact, research is an art of scientific investigation
A careful investigation or inquiry specially through search for
new facts in any branch of knowledge
Introduction Cont…
Some people consider research as a movement,
a movement from the known to the unknown
Research comprises defining and redefining problems, formulating
hypothesis or suggested solutions
Collecting, organizing and evaluating data
Making deductions and reaching conclusions
And at last carefully testing the conclusions to determine whether
they fit the formulating hypothesis
Objectives of Research
To gain familiarity with a phenomenon or to achieve
new insights into it (studies with this object in view are
termed as exploratory or formulative research studies)
To portray accurately the characteristics of a particular
individual, situation or a group (studies with this object
in view are known as descriptive research studies)
To determine the frequency with which something
occurs or with which it is associated with something
else (studies with this object in view are known as
diagnostic research studies)
To test a hypothesis of a causal relationship between
variables (such studies are known as hypothesis-testing
research studies).
Motivation in Research
The possible motives for doing research may be either
one or more of the following:
Desire to get a research degree along with its
consequential benefits
Desire to face the challenge in solving the unsolved
problems, i.e. concern over practical problems initiates
research
Desire to get intellectual joy of doing some creative
work
Desire to be of service to society
Desire to get respectability
Types of Research
Descriptive vs. Analytical
Descriptive research includes surveys and fact-finding
enquiries of different kinds
The major purpose of descriptive research is description
of the state of affairs as it exists at present
The methods of research utilized in descriptive research
are survey methods of all kinds, including comparative
and correlational methods.
In analytical research, on the other hand, the researcher
has to use facts or information already available, and
analyze these to make a critical evaluation of the material
Applied vs. Fundamental
Applied research aims at finding a solution for an
immediate problem facing a society or an
industrial/business organization, whereas
Fundamental research is mainly concerned with
generalizations and with the formulation of a theory
Research concerning some natural phenomenon or
relating to pure mathematics are examples of
fundamental research
Similarly, research studies, concerning human
behavior carried on with a view to make
generalizations about human behavior, are also
examples of fundamental research
But research aimed at certain conclusions (say, a
solution) facing a concrete social or business
problem is an example of applied research
Quantitative vs. Qualitative
Quantitative research is based on the
measurement of quantity or amount
It is applicable to phenomena that can be
expressed in terms of quantity
Qualitative research, on the other hand, is
concerned with qualitative phenomenon, i.e.
phenomena relating to or involving quality or
kind
Conceptual vs. Empirical
Conceptual research is that related to some
abstract idea(s) or theory
It is generally used by philosophers and thinkers
to develop new concepts or to reinterpret
existing ones.
On the other hand, empirical research relies on
experience or observation alone, often without
due regard for system and theory.
It is data-based research, coming up with
conclusions which are capable of being verified
by observation or experiment
Research Approaches
Quantitative Approach
Involves the generation of data in quantitative
form
Can be subjected to difficult quantitative
analysis in a formal and rigid fashion
This approach can be further sub-classified into
inferential, experimental and simulation
approaches to research.
The purpose of inferential approach to research
is to form a data base from which to conclude
characteristics or relationships of population.
This usually means survey research where a
sample of population is studied
Quantitative Approach Cont…
Experimental approach is characterized by
much greater control over the research
environment
In this case some variables are manipulated to
observe their effect on other variables.
Simulation approach involves the construction
of an artificial environment within which
relevant information and data can be generated.
Qualitative Approach:
This approach is concerned with subjective
assessment of attitudes, opinions and behavior.
Research in such a situation is a function of
researcher’s insights and impressions.
Such an approach to research generates results
either in non-quantitative form or in the form which
are not subjected to hard quantitative analysis.
Generally, the techniques of focus group
interviews, projective techniques and depth
interviews are used
Significance of Research
Research instructs scientific and inductive
thinking and it promotes the development of
logical habits of thinking and organization.
The role of research in several fields has greatly
increased in modern times
The increasingly complex nature of problems
have focused attention on the use of research in
solving operational problems
To those students who are to write a Master’s or
Ph.D. thesis, research may mean a careerism or a
way to attain a high position in the social structure
Significance of Research Cont…
To professionals in research methodology,
research may mean a source of livelihood
To philosophers and thinkers, research may
mean the outlet for new ideas and insights
To literary men and women, research may mean
the development of new styles and creative
work
To analysts and intellectuals, research may
mean the generalizations of new theories.
Research Methods versus Methodology
Research methods may be understood as all
those methods/techniques that are used for
conduction of research.
The methods the researchers use in performing
research operations
Research methods can be put into the following
three groups
In the first group we include those methods
which are concerned with the collection of data
These methods will be used where the data
already available are not sufficient to arrive at
the required solution
Research Methods versus Methodology Cont…
The second group consists of those statistical
techniques which are used for establishing
relationships between the data and the unknown
The third group consists of those methods
which are used to evaluate the accuracy of the
results obtained.
Research methodology is a way to
systematically solve the research problem.
It may be understood as a science of studying
how research is done scientifically.
In it we study the various steps that are generally
adopted by a researcher in studying his research
problem along with the logic behind them.
It is necessary for the researcher to know not
only the research methods/techniques but also
the methodology.
It is necessary for the researcher to design his
methodology for his problem as the same may
differ from problem to problem
For example, an architect, who designs a
building, has to consciously evaluate the basis of
his decisions
i.e., he has to evaluate why and on what basis
he selects particular size, number and location of
doors, windows and ventilators, uses particular
materials and not the others
In research the scientist has to expose the
research decisions to evaluation before they are
implemented
He has to specify very clearly and precisely
what decisions he selects and why he selects
them so that they can be evaluated by others also
Research and Scientific Method
Research, as we have already stated, can be termed as “an
inquiry into the nature of, the reasons for, and the
consequences of any particular set of circumstances, whether
these circumstances are experimentally controlled or recorded
just as they occur.
The philosophy common to all research methods and
techniques, although they may vary considerably from one
science to another, is usually given the name of scientific
method
The Scientific Method is, thus, based on certain
basic postulates which can be stated as under:
It relies on experimental evidence
It utilizes relevant concepts
It is committed to only objective considerations
It presupposes ethical neutrality, i.e., it aims at
nothing but making only adequate and correct
statements about population objects
It results into probabilistic predictions
Its methodology is made known to all concerned
for critical scrutiny are for use in testing the
conclusions through replication
It aims at formulating most general axioms or
what can be termed as scientific theories.
