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Lecture – Introduction to research methodology What is research? • The systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions • Searching it again and again means Re-search Research is defined as human activity based on intellectual application in the investigation of matter • The primary purpose for applied research is discovering, interpreting, and the development of methods and systems for the advancement of human knowledge on a wide variety of scientific matters of our world and the universe Elements of good research? Clearly defined Purpose •The problem to be studied should be stated clearly and unambiguously •The statement of the problem (usually 1-2 pages) should include its scope, and the precise meanings of all words and terms significant to the research Elements of good research? Elements of good research? Elements of good research? Elements of good research? Elements of good research? Elements of good research? Elements of good research? Formulate your research design Sampling Design: Examples Formulate your research design Variable Measurement: These questions are actually asked to respondents and appear in the questionnaire or interview guide Example: Under career management strategy Provision of learning opportunities Job rotation for young employees Challenging assignments Fair and equal opportunities to grow Awareness of career paths/prospects Data Collection What should you care about collecting data? – Negotiate access – Observe ethical considerations – Aim for data completeness Data Collection Pilot testing • Pilot testing is conducted to detect weaknesses in design and instrumentation and to provide proxy data for selection of an appropriate sampling design • It should draw subjects from the target population and simulate procedures and protocols that have been designed for data collection Data Collection Pilot testing • Where the target population is small, pretesting may be conducted using colleagues or surrogate respondents (similar in profile but different from actual respondents) to help refine the measuring instrument Data Collection Data Collection: •Data = the facts presented to the researcher from the study environment •In collecting data, consider the following: – Data can be abstract: e.g., “Our staff productivity is higher than industry average because our employees are highly motivated.” – What these terms mean? How are they different from what is done by other companies? Data Collection Data Collection: – Data should be verifiable: The research questions should consistently produce similar results – Data capturing can be elusive due to the speed with which events occur, the ability of respondents to remember facts and the reality that opinions, preferences and attitudes vary with the passage of time Data Collection Data Collection: – If possible, the research study should draw from recent occurrences, to minimize compromising the reliability of the data due to inability to recall information Analyse and interpret the data What should you do? – Prepare data for analysis – Apply appropriate analytical techniques – Use suitable data presentation formats Analyse and interpret the data Analysis and Discussion: • Data analysis involves reducing accumulated data to a manageable size, developing summaries and applying statistical techniques • The Discussion involves: – answering the research questions – explaining any variations in the findings – comparing research findings to previous studies Analyse and interpret the data and Interpretation: Generalization • If there appears to be patterns and trends in the results/findings, then generalizations can be made, which is the value of research – In Quantitative research, we refer to statistical generalizations: extrapolating results from a sample to the population – In Qualitative research, analytical generalizations apply: transferring concepts to other study populations or settings Analyse and interpret the data Generalization and Interpretation: • The researcher may seek to explain the findings on the basis of some theory This is known as interpretation The process of interpretation often triggers off new questions which lead to further research Report-writing and presentation What should you focus on? – Address your research questions – Relate your results/findings to the literature (theories and previous studies) – Provide management recommendations Report-writing and presentation Front Matter: An abstract, table of contents, declaration, acknowledgements, lists of figures, list of tables Body of the report – Background, research problem, objectives and questions, literature review, research methodology, findings, discussions, conclusions and recommendations Report-writing and presentation End matter – list of references, Appendices (such as introduction letter, research instrument(s), permission to undertake the research, raw data) ... researcher to clarify the overall research question or research purpose • In one sentence the researcher should be able to say what is to be achieved by conducting the study 1 Defining the research. .. significant to the research Elements of good research? Elements of good research? Elements of good research? Elements of good research? Elements of good research? Elements of good research? Elements... successful evaluation of your research project => Research questions follow directly from research objectives 1 Defining the research problem Examples: ? ?Research Objective 1: To establish the retention