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1st Workshop on Research Methodology 29th -30th November, 2015

Organized by

Department of Community Medicine

BPS Govt. Medical College for Women, Khanpur Kalan

Venue: Dept. of Community Medicine, 3rd Floor,

Medical College Building, BPSGMC, Sonepat

Need for Research &

Research process

Dr. J.P. Majra

Prof & HOD

Community Medicine

BPSGMC(W), Khanpur Kalan

Where does India stand in R&D

Why do I need to research?

Academic requirements

Participating in a scientific meet

Career prospects

Peer pressure

Planning implementing and evaluating health care services

Generating evidence for better/ effective management

Why undertake research

It provides answers for questions like what,

where, when, how and why.

Brings out information that might not be

discovered in ordinary course of life

It contributes to theory and generalizations

Verifies existing theories and facts.

Why undertake research

May enable us to predict events

Helps in establishing inter-relationships and

derive explanations

Helps developing new tools, concepts and

theories to study phenomenon.

Researcher has to see what every one else has seen and to think what

no one else has thought.

Research is a way of thinking

More than a set of skills, research is way of thinking.

Examining critically the various aspects of our day to day professional work

Understanding & formulating guiding principles that govern a particular procedure

Developing & testing new theories for enhancement of our practice.

Research is habit of questioning what we do

Systematic examination of the observed

information to find answers and

Instituting appropriate changes for more

effective professional services.

If we are in the field of health

How many patients do I see every day ?

What are most common conditions the people suffer from?

What are causes of these conditions ?

Why do some people suffer from a particular condition whereas others do not ?

Which is the most effective intervention for a particular condition ?

What causes X and what are the effects of Y ?

What is the relationship between two phenomena?

I keep six honest serving men

They taught me all I know

Their names are What and Why and

When and How and Where and Who

Rudyard Kipling-1903

Research

Research is mainly a process by which we

answer a question, using a set of rules called

scientific methods.

Research essential for

Advancement of scientific knowledge and/or

development of newer technologies and

treatment

Todays research is tomorrow's science

Research methodology: Why ??

A sound knowledge of research methodology is

essential for undertaking a valid study.

The purpose of this program on research

methodology is to provide information about

methods, procedures, and techniques that are

applicable to scientific research.

It may help to overcome psychological barrier

with regard to the subject that some among you

may have.

Importance of Knowing How

Research is done

In this scientific age, all of us are in many

ways consumers of research results and we

can use them intelligently provided we are

able to judge the adequacy of the methods

by which they have been obtained.

The knowledge of methodology helps the

consumer of research results to evaluate

them and enables him to take rational

decisions.

We need to know.

Why a research study has been under taken?

how the research problem has been defined?

in what way and why the hypothesis has been formulated?

what data have been collected and what particular method has been adopted?

why particular technique of analyzing data has been used?

And a host of similar other questions are usually required to be answered concerning a research problem or study.

Research is one of the ways to find

the answers to our questions.

When we are undertaking a research to find out answers to a question, we are implying that :

the process is undertaken within a framework of a set of philosophies;

the process uses procedures, methods and techniques that have been tested for their validity and reliability;

the process is designed to be unbiased and objective.

1. Philosophies:

Our philosophical orientation towards

research may stem from the academic

discipline we have been trained.

2. Validity and reliability:

Validity ensures that the correct procedures

have been applied to find answers to a

research question.

Reliability refers to the quality of a

measurement procedure that provides

repeatability and accuracy.

3. Unbiased and objective:

It means that we have taken each step in an

unbiased manner and drawn each

conclusion to best of our ability and without

introducing our own vested interest.

Adherence to these three criteria enables the process to be called research

The degree to which these criteria are fulfilled may vary from discipline to discipline.

In physical sciences this adherence is expected to be more strict as compared to social sciences.

Types of research

Research can be classified from three perspectives

1. application of the research study;

2. objectives in understanding the research;

3. Inquiry mode employed.

These three classifications are not mutually exclusivethat is, a research study classified from the viewpoint of application can also be classified from the perspectives of objectives and inquiry mode employed.

1. Application

According to Bailey (1978):

In the social science if you examine

research endeavor from the perspective

of its application, there are two broad

categories :

a) pure research

b) applied research

a. Pure research

Pure research involves developing and testing

theories and hypotheses that are intellectually

challenging to the researcher but may or may not

have practical application at the present time or in

the future.

Thus such work often involves the testing of

hypotheses containing very abstract and

specialized concept.

a. Pure research..

is also concerned with the development of examination, verification and refinement of research methods, procedures, techniques and tools that form the body of research methodology.

Examples for pure research include

developing a sampling technique that can be applied to particular situation;

finding the best way of measuring peoples attitudes.

a. Pure research..

The knowledge produced through pure

research is sought in order to add to the

existing body of knowledge of research

methods.

Pure research is also known as fundamental

research or basic research

b. Applied research

Most of the research in social sciences is applied.

In other words the research techniques, procedures and methods that form the body of research methodology are applied to the collection of information about various aspects of a situation, issue, problems or phenomenon

so that information gathered can be used in other wayssuch as for policy formulation, administration and the enhancement of understanding of a phenomenon.

2. Objectives

If you examine research study from the

perspective of its objectives, broadly a

research endeavor can be classified as

a) Descriptive,

b) Co-relational,

c) Explanatory

d) Exploratory.

a. Descriptive research

A study classified as descriptive research attempts to describe systematically a situation, problem, phenomenon, service and program, or provides information about, say, the living conditions of a community, or describes attitudes towards an issue.

For example, it may attempt to describe

the types of service provided by an organization,

the living conditions of people in the outbreak,

a. Descriptive research.

the needs of a community,

the attitudes of the employees towards

management.

The main purpose of such studies is to

describe what is prevalent with respect to

the issue/problem under study.

b. Co-relational research

The main emphasis in a co-relational

research study is to

discover or establish the existence of

relationship/association/interdependence

between two or more aspects of a situation.

What is the relationship between stressful

living and the incidence of heart attack?

b. Co-relational research

What is the relationship between fertility and mortality?

What is the effect of a health service on the control of the disease

These studies examine whether there is a relationship between two or more aspects of a situation or phenomenon and, therefore, are called co-relational studies.

c. Explanatory research

Explanatory research attempts to clarify why and how there is a relationship between two aspects of a situation or phenomenon.

This type of research attempt to explain, for example,

why stressful living result in heart attacks;

why a decline in morality is followed by fertility decline;

d. Exploratory research

This is when a study undertaken with the objective either to explore an area where little is known or to investigate the possibilities of undertaking a particular research studies.

When a study is carried out to determine its feasibility it is also called a feasibility study or a pilot study.

It is usually carried out when a researcher wants to explore area about which she/he has little or no knowledge.

A small-scale study is undertaken to decide if it is worth carrying out a detailed investigation.

Note:

Although, theoretically, a research study

can be classified in one of the above

perspective, in practice most studies are a

combination of the first three categories;

that is, they contain elements of descriptive,

co-relational and explanatory research.

3. Inquiry mode

The third perspective in our typology of

research concerns the process you adopt to

find answers to your research questions.

Broadly, there are two approach to inquiry:

1. The structured approach;

2. The unstructured approach;

Structured approach

The structured approach to inquiry is usually as quantitative research.

In the structured approach everything that forms the research processobjectives, design, sample, and the questions that we plan to ask from respondentsis predetermined.

The structured approach is more appropriate to determine the extent of a problem, issue or phenomenon;

Unstructured approach

Unstructured approach to inquiry is usually a qualitative research.

The unstructured approach, by contrast, allows flexibility in all these aspect of the process.

The unstructured approach is more appropriate to explore the nature of a problem, issue or phenomenon;

Characteristics of a good research

1. Controlled

2. Rigorous

3. Systematic

4. Valid and verifiable,

5. Empirical and

6. Critical

1. Controlled

The concept of control implies that, in exploring causality in relation to two variables, you set of your study in a way that minimizes the effects if the other factors affecting the relationship.

This can be achieved to a large extent in the physical sciences, as most of the research is done in a laboratory.

However, in the social sciences it is extremely difficult as research is carried out on issue relating to human beings living in society, where such controls are impossible.

Therefore in the social sciences, as you cannot control external factors, you attempt to quantify their impact.

2. Rigorous

You are ensuring that the procedures

followed to find answers to questions are

relevant, appropriate and justified.

Again, the degree of rigor varies markedly

between the physical and social sciences

and within the social science.

3. Systematic

This implies that the procedure adopted to

undertake an investigation follow a certain

logical sequence.

The different steps cannot be taken in a

haphazard way.

Some procedures must follow others.

5. Valid and verifiable

This concept implies that whatever you

conclude on a basis if your findings is

correct and can be verified by you and

others.

6. Empirical

This means that any conclusions drawn are

based upon hard evidence gathered from

information collected from real-life

experiences or observations.

7.Critical

Critical scrutiny of the procedures used and

the methods employed is crucial to a

research inquiry.

The process of investigation must be

foolproof and free from any drawbacks.

The process adopted and the procedures

used must be able to withstand critical

scrutiny.

The strength of what you find

largely rests on how it was found.

Research Process

Research Process

Research process consists of series of actions or

steps necessary to effectively carry out research

and the desired sequencing of these steps.

Many a times the first step determines the nature

of the last step to be undertaken.

If subsequent procedures have not been taken into

account in the early stages, serious difficulties

may arise which may even prevent the completion

of the study.

Research Process

One should remember that the various steps

involved in a research process are not

mutually exclusive; nor they are separate

and distinct.

Research process consist of a number of

closely related activities, but at times, such

activities overlap continuously rather than

following a strictly prescribed sequence.

Research Process

Stage 1

Deciding

What

Stage 2

Planning

How

Stage 3

Actually doing

Research journey

Formulating a research problem

Conceptualizing a research design

Constructing an instrument for data collection

Selecting a sample

Writing a research proposal

Collecting data

Processing data

Report

writing

1

2

3

4

5

8

7

6

Research journey

Formulating a research problem

Conceptualizing a research design

Constructing an instrument for data collection

Selecting a sample

Writing a research proposal

Collecting data

Processing data

Report

writing

1

2

3

4

5

8

7

6

Stage 1

Deciding

What

Stage 2

Planning

How

Stage 3

Actually

doing

Remember

Doing research is imperative

Doing good research is a choice

Doing beneficial research with sound

methods is a possibility

Generating evidence for improving

clinical and public health outcomes is

to be the goal.

All that lives,

lives neither by itself

nor for itself .