BASICS OF RESEARCH METHODOLOGY - Dr. Jivraj Mehta ... on Research Methodology.pdf · •Research – comprises defining and redefining problems, formulating hypothesis or suggested

Research Methodology– A N Jejurkar

BASICS OF RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Prof. AVDHOOT JEJURKARREADER

Mechanical Engineering DepartmentDr. Jivraj Mehta Institute of Technology, Anand

([email protected])

Presented at

GUJCOST Sponsored Two - Day State Level

Seminar on Emerging Trends in Engineering (SETE)

“Importance and Relevance of Research Methodology in Engineering”

at Mech. Engg. Dept., DJMIT, Anand

What is Research?

• Research – Search for Knowledge.

• Research – Scientific and systematic search forpertinent information on specific topic.

• Research – Art of Scientific Investigation.

• Research – Dictionary Meaning – A carefulinvestigation or inquiry specially through search fornew facts in any branch of knowledge.


What is Research?

• Research – A movement from the known to theunknown.

• Research – A voyage of discovery.

• Research – Inquisitiveness is mother of all knowledgeand method which one employs for obtaining theknowledge of the unknown.

• Research – Academic activity.


What is Research?

• Research – An original contribution to the existingstock of knowledge for its advancement.

• Research – it is pursuit of truth with the help of study,observation, comparison and experiment.

• Research – search for knowledge through objectiveand systematic method of finding solution to aproblem or generalisation for some theoreticalformulation.


What is Research?

• Research – the manipulation of things or concepts forpurpose of generalising to extend, correct or verifyknowledge whether it aids in constructing theory orpractice.

• Research – comprises defining and redefiningproblems, formulating hypothesis or suggestedsolutions, collecting, organising and evaluating data,making deductions and reaching conclusions, carefullytesting the conclusions to determine to know thefitness with formulated hypothesis (Clifford Woody).


Objective of Research

• Aim of Research – to find out the truth which is hiddenand which has not been discovered yet.

• Purpose or Objective – to discover answers toquestions through the application of scientificprocedures.


Objective of Research

• Research Objective broad grouping:

- To gain familiarity with a phenomenon

- To gain new insight

- To portray accurately the characteristics of

particular individual/group or situation

- To determine the frequency with which things

occurs or association with something else.

- To test a hypothesis of a causal relationship

between variables


Motivation of Research

INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL DRIVERS

• Do you feel excited about your research?

• Are you genuinely interested in finding out the answersto your questions?

• How will completing a doctorate change you, during andafter the process? Are others ready for this change?

• What’s in it for you?

• Do you stand to gain anything by doing a doctorate?

• Are you really doing it for yourself?

• Is there anyone else who wants you to do a doctorate?



• Who cares whether you succeed or fail?

• Do you have to do it?

• Do you have to do it for yourself?

• Or do you feel compelled or forced?

• How much will it cost?

It is important to have both internal and external drivers,to have both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.



• Why people undertake Research?:

- Desire to get a research degree and benefits

- Desire to face the challenge in solving the

unsolved problems

- Desire to get intellectual joy of doing some

creative work

- Desire to service the society and get respectability

- Many other desires – understanding causal

relationship, social thinking and awakening, etc.


Types of Research

The basic types of research are as follows:

(i) Descriptive vs. Analytical

(ii) Applied vs. Fundamental

(iii) Quantitative vs. Qualitative

(iv) Conceptual vs. Empirical


Types of ResearchOther Types of Research:

• One-time research or longitudinal research

• Field-setting research or laboratory research or

• Simulation research (depending upon the environmentin which it is to be carried out)

• Exploratory research objective is development ofhypotheses rather than their testing, whereasformalized research studies include substantialstructure and testing of specific hypotheses.


Types of ResearchOther Types of Research:

• Clinical or diagnostic research (Such research followcase-study methods)

• Historical research is that which utilizes historicalsources like documents, remains, etc. to study events orideas of the past, including the philosophy of personsand groups at any remote point of time.

• Research can also be classified as conclusion-orientedand decision-oriented.


Types of ResearchDescriptive vs. Analytical:

• Descriptive research includes surveys and fact-findingenquiries of different kinds.

• The major purpose of descriptive research is descriptionof the state of affairs as it exists at present.

• In social science and business research we quite often use the term Ex post facto research for descriptive research studies.


Types of Research• The main characteristic of this method is that the

researcher has no control over the variables; he canonly report what has happened or what is happening.

• Most ex post facto research projects are used fordescriptive studies in which the researcher seeks tomeasure such items as, for example, frequency ofshopping, preferences of people, or similar data.

• It also include attempts by researchers to discovercauses even when they cannot control the variables.


Types of Research • The methods of research utilized in descriptive research

are survey methods of all kinds, including comparativeand correlational methods.

• In analytical research, on the other hand, the researcherhas to use facts or information already available, andanalyze these to make a critical evaluation of thematerial.


Types of ResearchApplied vs. Fundamental:

• Research can either be applied (or action) research orfundamental (to basic or pure) research.

• Applied research aims at finding a solution for animmediate problem facing a society or anindustrial/business organisation,

• whereas fundamental research is mainly concernedwith generalisations and with the formulation of atheory.


Types of Research• Research concerning some natural phenomenon or

relating to pure mathematics are examples offundamental research.

• Similarly, research studies, concerning humanbehaviour carried on with a view to makegeneralisations about human behaviour, are alsoexamples of fundamental research, but research aimedat certain conclusions (say, a solution) facing a concretesocial or business problem is an example of appliedresearch.


Types of Research• Research to identify social, economic or political trends

that may affect a particular institution or the copyresearch (research to find out whether certaincommunications will be read and understood) or themarketing research or evaluation research are examplesof applied research.

• Thus, the central aim of applied research is to discover asolution for some pressing practical problem, whereasbasic research is directed towards finding informationthat has a broad base of applications and thus, adds tothe already existing organized body of scientificknowledge.


Types of ResearchQuantitative vs. Qualitative:

• Quantitative research is based on the measurement ofquantity or amount.

• It is applicable to phenomena that can be expressed interms of quantity.

• Qualitative research, on the other hand, is concernedwith qualitative phenomenon, i.e., phenomena relatingto or involving quality or kind.


Types of Research• For instance, when we are interested in investigating

the reasons for human behaviour (i.e., why people thinkor do certain things), we quite often talk of ‘MotivationResearch’, an important type of qualitative research.

• This type of research aims at discovering the underlyingmotives and desires, using in depth interviews for thepurpose.

• Other techniques of such research are word associationtests, sentence completion tests, story completion testsand similar other projective techniques.


Types of Research• Attitude or opinion research i.e., research designed to

find out how people feel or what they think about aparticular subject or institution is also qualitativeresearch.

• Qualitative research is specially important in thebehavioural sciences where the aim is to discover theunderlying motives of human behaviour.

• Through such research we can analyse the variousfactors which motivate people to behave in a particularmanner or which make people like or dislike a particularthing.


Types of Research• It may be stated, however, that to apply qualitative

research in practice is relatively a difficult job andtherefore, while doing such research, one should seekguidance from experimental psychologists.


Types of Research


Quanttiative Qualitative

Numbers Words

Point of View of Researcher Point of View of Participants

Researcher distant Researcher close

Theory testing Theory emergent

Static Process

Structured Unstructured

Generalization Contextual understanding

Hard reliable data Rich deep data

Macro Micro

Behaviour Meaning

Types of ResearchConceptual vs. Empirical:

• Conceptual research is that related to some abstractidea(s) or theory.

• It is generally used by philosophers and thinkers todevelop new concepts or to reinterpret existing ones.

• On the other hand, empirical research relies onexperience or observation alone, often without dueregard for system and theory.

• It is data-based research, coming up with conclusionswhich are capable of being verified by observation orexperiment.


Types of Research• We can also call it as experimental type of research. In

such a research it is necessary to get at facts first hand,at their source, and actively to go about doing certainthings to stimulate the production of desiredinformation.

• In such a research, the researcher must first providehimself with a working hypothesis or guess as to theprobable results.

• He then works to get enough facts (data) to prove ordisprove his hypothesis.


Types of Research• He then sets up experimental designs which he thinks

will manipulate the persons or the materials concernedso as to bring forth the desired information.

• Such research is thus characterised by theexperimenter’s control over the variables under studyand his deliberate manipulation of one of them to studyits effects. Empirical research is appropriate when proofis sought that certain variables affect other variables insome way.

• Evidence gathered through experiments or empiricalstudies is today considered to be the most powerfulsupport possible for a given hypothesis.


Significance of Research• Significance of research can be understood keeping in

view the following points:

(a) For Students - to write a master’s or Ph.D. thesis, forcareer or to attain a high position;

(b) For Professionals - a source of livelihood;

(c) For Philosophers and thinkers - the outlet for new ideasand insights;

(d) For Literary persons - development of new styles andcreative work;

(e) For Analysts - generalizations of new theories.


Research Methods versus Methodology• Research methods may be understood as all those

methods/techniques that are used for conduction ofresearch. Research methods or techniques*, thus, referto the methods the researchers

1. Library Research.

2. Field Research

3. Laboratory Research

• Research methodology is a way to systematically solvethe research problem. It may be understood as ascience of studying how research is done scientifically.


Research Methods versus MethodologyThe study of research methodology gives the student thenecessary training in

• gathering material and arranging or card-indexing them,

• participation in the field work when required,

• and also training in techniques for the collection of dataappropriate to particular problems,

• in the use of statistics, questionnaires and controlledexperimentation

• and in recording evidence, sorting it out andinterpreting it.


Research Process


Research Process


Procedural guideline regarding the research process:

• (1) formulating the research problem;

• (2) extensive literature survey;

• (3) developing the hypothesis;

• (4) preparing the research design;

• (5) determining sample design;

• (6) collecting the data;

Research Process


• (7) execution of the project;

• (8) analysis of data;

• (9) hypothesis testing;

• (10) generalizations and interpretation, and

• (11) preparation of the report or presentation of theresults, i.e., formal write-up of conclusions reached.

Criteria of Good Research


• Good research is systematic:

• Structured research with specified steps and welldefined set of rules.

• Systematic but with creative thinking and guessing andintuition in arriving at conclusions.

• Good research is logical:

• It has rules of logical reasoning and the logical processof induction (reasoning from part to the whole) anddeduction (reasoning from some premise toconclusion). This is useful in decision making.

Research Problem


WHAT IS A RESEARCH PROBLEM?

• A research problem, in general, refers to some difficultywhich a researcher experiences in the context of eithera theoretical or practical situation and wants to obtain asolution for the same.

Research Problem


• Selecting the research problem is a difficult task - needscareful selection.

• Following points may be observed by a researcher inselecting a research problem or a subject for research:

(i) Subject which is overdone should not be normallychosen, for it will be a difficult task to throw any newlight in such a case.

(ii) Controversial subject should not become the choice ofan average researcher.

(iii) Too narrow or too vague problems should be avoided.

Research Problem


(iv) The subject selected for research should be familiarand feasible so that the related research material orsources of research are within one’s reach.

(v) The importance of the subject, the qualifications andthe training of a researcher, the costs involved, thetime factor are few other criteria that must also beconsidered in selecting a problem

(vi) The selection of a problem must be preceded by apreliminary study.

Techniques Involved in Defining a Problem


• Defining a research problem properly and clearly is acrucial part of a research study.

• In practice this a frequently overlooked which causes alot of problems later on.

• Hence, the research problem should be defined in asystematic manner, giving due weightage to all relatingpoints.

Techniques Involved in Defining a Problem


• The technique for the purpose involves the undertakingof the following steps generally one after the other:

• (i) statement of the problem in a general way;

• (ii) understanding the nature of the problem;

• (iii) surveying the available literature

• (iv) developing the ideas through discussions; and

• (v) rephrasing the research problem into a workingproposition.

Importance of Originality in Research


• You say something no one has said before.

• You do empirical work that has not been done before.

• You synthesize things that have not been put togetherbefore.

• You make a new interpretation of someone else’smaterial/ideas.

• You do something in this country that has only beendone elsewhere.

• You take an existing technique and apply it to a newarea.

Importance of Originality in Research


• You work across disciplines, using differentmethodologies.

• You look at topics that people in your discipline havenot looked at.

• You test existing knowledge in an original way.

Common Problems for Research Students


• 1 Poor planning and management of project

• 2 Methodological difficulties in the research

• 3 Writing up

• 4 Isolation

• 5 Personal problems outside the research

• 6 Inadequate or negligent supervision

Conceptualization of Topic


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1.Researcher’s

knowledge &

wisdom

2. Logic derived from

Science, culture,

Politics of contemporary

society

3. Past research

literature

4. Conceptualization of the topic



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4. Conceptualization of the topic

5. Rationale of the study 6. Research questions 7. Objectives 8. Hypotheses

9. Data collection/ and

analysis



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9. Data collection/ and

analysis

10. Realizing

objectives 11. Hypotheses verification

13. Findings12. Modification of

Objectives

Research process

Discussion of findings

Reflect on 1,2,3,4. 9

Tips during Research


• Develop a plan of action:

• Take the time to lay out what you have to accomplish and when in order to make your course successful.

• Don't reinvent the wheel:

• Borrow and adapt good ideas and resources from others.

• Don't be afraid to start small:



• Take out Time daily/weekly

• Selection of Topic: Common Research Topic/Rare Topic

• Too many things to download

• Horizontal and Vertical Literature Review: Strike the balance

• Proper Research Design: clear method of analysing data



• Understanding the variables: independent (selected), dependent (observed), control (constant), intervening (hypothetical)

• Learning appropriate tools/softwares

• Experiment selection : field/ laboratory (documentation)

• Funding: different agencies



• Interpretation of Data

• Drawing the Results and Conclusion

• Judging work completion

• Report Writing and Publishing the work

• Originality of Report/Plagiarism



• Be realistic, and know yourself:

• Don't set yourself up for failure by planning something that is unrealistic in terms of your own time and resources.

• Consider involving students in your design/redesign project:

• PLAN YOUR WORK, WORK YOUR PLAN


• REFERENCES:

• Researh Methodology - Methods and Techniques by C R Kothari

• RM Presentations – various workshops.

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BASICS OF RESEARCH METHODOLOGY - Dr. Jivraj Mehta ... on Research Methodology.pdf · •Research – comprises defining and redefining problems, formulating hypothesis or suggested