RESEARCH BASICS

What is Research?

 Can be diverse

 General definition is “finding answers to

questions in an organized and logical
and systematic fashion”
 What is research?
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 research. 1.a. the systematic

investigation into and study of materials,
sources, etc, in order to establish facts
and reach new conclusions. b. an
endeavour to discover new or collate old
facts etc by the scientific study of a
subject or by a course of critical
investigation. [Oxford Concise Dictionary]
 What is research?
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 Research is what we do when we have a

question or a problem we want to resolve
 We may already think we know the
answer to our question already
 We may think the answer is obvious,
common sense even
 But until we have subjected our problem
to rigorous scientific scrutiny, our
'knowledge' remains little more than
guesswork or at best, intuition.
 What is research?
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 First priority is to formulate your

question
 Then figure out how you are going to
answer it
 How have others answered it?
 How does your proposal fit in with what
others have done?
 How will you know when you have
answered it?
 Then you can present your answer
 Hypothesis
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 Probability of research
 Nothing is certain
 The exception that “proves” the rule
 Scientific “truth” is actually usually a statement
of what is most probable given the currently
known data ...
 ... within the given framework
 Statistical techniques try to help us show
extent to which our results really do
support the hypothesis
 Hypothesis
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 A hypothesis makes a prediction of the

expected outcome in a given situation
 Usually: how the manipulation of the
independent variable will influence the
behaviour of a dependent variable
 The hypothesis is tested in an experiment
 Experimental design ensures that what you
are doing is genuinely (and solely)
responsible for the results
 Extraneous variables have to be
controlled
 Experiment
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 If the experiment works, the hypothesis

is shown to be probably correct
 Can’t prove 100% truth
 If it fails, it could be because
 The hypothesis is wrong
 The experimental design is faulty
 Null hypothesis
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 Experiments are generally set up to

demonstrate or support (rarely “prove” ,
note) a hypothesis
 The null hypothesis H0 is that any observed
changes in behaviour are due to chance
 The alternate hypothesis H1 is the
hypothesis you are trying to demonstrate
 Usually, the best you can do is refute H0 thus
showing that H1 is probably correct (with a
measruable degree of likelihood: statistical
significance)
 Where do hypotheses come
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from?
 Not usually thin air
 From within a framework
 Some phenomenon is not well explained by
current thinking
 “New” hypothesis is often just an
adaptation of an existing hypothesis
 thesis ~ antithesis ~ synthesis
 thesis ~ antithesis ~
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synthesis
 Thesis
 the original statement of an idea
 Antithesis
 an argument to challenge a previous thesis
 often draws on new data
 Synthesis
 a new argument from existing sources
 typically, resolves the apparent
contradiction between a thesis and an
antithesis
 Testability
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 A good hypothesis is testable

 Not provable, in the sense of “shown to be
true” (true = certain)
 Refutation of a thesis by proving that it is
false is a cornerstone of modern science
 Simply refuting a hypothesis is OK but
better science will explain why hypothesis
is wrong, and (better still) offer an
alternative hypothesis
13

By the way, have you ever wondered

why we do experiments at school, the
result of which is known beforehand?
 One-/two-tailed hypotheses
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 Our experimental design may make either

 a strong prediction about the behaviour we expect
to observe:
 our manipulation of the independent variable will cause a
specific change in the dependent variable
 a prediction about a range of behaviours we
expect to observe, typically perhaps two
 One-tailed hypothesis: statistical significance
means expected result was found
 Two-tailed hypothesis: only need to show
that the different results are statistically
significant
 Variables
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 The experiment measures the

“behaviour” of the dependent variable
 DV must be operationalised
 Some aspect of the DV must be measurable
 What to measure?
 How to measure it?
 Are you really measuring what you think you
are measuring?
 Quantitative vs qualitative
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 Quantitative research
 systematically observe changes in the
phenomena of interest while manipulating
what are believed to be causal influences
 Qualitative research
 may be more concerned with the
individual’s personal experiences of the
problem under study
 “Proof” by demonstration
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 Intuitive alternative to the classical

scientific method:
 Build something specific and then claim that it
can be seen as an example of a more general
class of solutions
 High risk
 difficult to demonstrate generalisability
 in fact doing so entails making an a posteriori
hypothesis
 What can you say if it goes wrong ?
 So you still need a theoretical basis
 Planning
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 Statement of the problem

 Literature review
 Choice of research method
 Design of study
 Data collection
 Analysis of data
 Write-up
How Have We Searched for
Truth?
 1) tradition or custom

 2) authority

 3) personal experience

 4) deductive reasoning

 5) scientific inquiry (research)

 Nature of Research
 Systematic – ordered structure of inquiry

 Logical – process to evaluate conclusions drawn

 Empirical -collection of data (facts, experience, etc.) on

which to base decisions

 Reductive – individual events (data) are used to establish

general relationships

 Replicable – process is recorded so findings and procedures

can be tested again
 Deduction and Induction

 Deductive
 using logic from general to specific
 often used for generating our hypotheses in
research
 Inductive
 from specific to general
 general conclusions based on many specific
observations
 Integration of these forms the scientific method
Deductive Reasoning
Inductive Reasoning
 Basic Scientific Method

 Identify the problem – central to beginning the

method of actually solving the problem
 Formulate the hypothesis – outcome statement
to test
 Develop the plan of research – what do you need
to do to test this hypothesis? (Methodology,
participants, data gathering, analysis)
 Collecting and analyzing the data
 Interpreting the results and forming conclusions-
does the evidence support the hypothesis
Basic Research Plan
 Types of Research
Questions
 1) descriptive

 2) difference questions

 3) relationships
 Theory
 Theories provide order to facts and a
framework of generalization

 Theory – belief or assumption about how

things relate to each other – often used
for cause and effect statements

 Often have not relied on theory and

instead used empiricism
 Basic Research Concepts
 Variables -any characteristic that varies
(i.e., more than one value)

 Can be:

 Categorical or numerical

 Discrete or continuous
 Types of Variables in
Research

 Independent (IV)

 Dependent (DV)

 Extraneous (EV)
Types of Research Problems
 Basic Research
 essential for the development of theory
 motivated by intellectual curiosity
 no immediate practical utility

 Applied Research
 answer an immediate practical problem
 often apply the findings of basic research
 Types of Research

 Quantitative – THE truth is out there

 Qualitative – multiple truths