Basic Guidelines For Research (An Introductory Approach For All Disciplines)

PREFACE All educators including students, teachers, researchers, practitioners or consumers of research from any disciplines even doctors, engineers or all other professionals can be benefited from this book. I have prepared this book from my graduate adn post graduate lecture notes, ten years of teaching experiences in this fields, and different training programs (e.g. Research Methodology for Researcher, BARD, Comilla; Research Methodology, Center for Advanced Research, University of Dhaka; Research Concepts and Issues, ISS, Hague, Netherlands and North South University etc.). It will provide the readers with a basic framework for understanding and evaluating research studies. It will also provide knowledge of the various types of research designs used in research and the procedures for conducting research studies. This book will provide an opportunity for readers to establish or advance their understanding of research through critical exploration of research language, ethics, and approaches. The book introduces the language of research, ethical principles and challenges, and the elements of the research process within quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods approaches. Readers will use these theoretical underpinnings to begin to critically review literature relevant to their field or interests and determine how research findings are useful in informing their understanding of their environment. This book has been written for beginners who are currently involved in research and are interested to apply qualitative and quantitative methods in their area of work. Throughout the book, basic philosophy of applying qualitative and quantitative perspectives along with pertinent issues of qualitative and quantitative research methods and applicability of various instruments of gathering qualitative and quantitative data in systematic, scientific and ethical ways are discussed. Upon completion of this book, readers are expected to obtain a basic understanding of qualitative and quantitative research methods by realizing its importance and relevance to the field of research. It is anticipated that readers would learn to prepare a research concept note by using research methods. This book introduces students to a number of research methods useful for academic and professional investigations of information practices, texts and technologies. By examining the applications, strengths and major criticisms of methodologies drawn from both the qualitative and quantitative traditions, this book permits an understanding of the various decisions and steps involved in crafting (and executing) a research methodology, as well as a critically informed assessment of published research. The book describes an overview of the different approaches, considerations and challenges involved in research. In addition to reviewing core human research methods such as interviews, observations, surveys and experiments, it will explore methods used in critical analysis of texts and technologies. It will also discuss mixed method approaches, case studies, participatory and user-centered research, as well as research involving minors. While this book also touches upon statistics and their importance, it is not required a comprehensive knowledge of the subject. It is concluded with a section on experiment results and the ways in which experimental design and statistics can be used to ensure certain results. After completion of this book, reader should understand why research methodology is important in scientific research, be comfortable reading method and results sections of journal articles, and understand a range of different research methods. After completion of the book, the readers should be able to…  Understand some basic concepts of research and its methodologies;  Identify appropriate research topics;  Select and define appropriate research problem and parameters;  Effectively conduct literature review;  Identify the types of methods best suited for investigating different types of problems and questions;  Select sampling methods and how representative samples are obtained;  Identify the different research designs and their appropriate application to hypothesis testing;  Describe quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods approaches to research;  Explain the strengths and limitations of research designs used in different disciplines;  Describe the principle of statistical significance;  Effectively summarize and present data;  Organize and conduct research in a more appropriate manner;  Design a research proposal;  Write a research report and thesis;  Be aware of the ethical principles of research, ethical challenges and approval processes. The book focuses on the logic, principles and practices of modern science and how it is applied to understanding the nature of reality. Successful completion of this book will prepare the reader for graduate work and advanced experimental concepts and also enable at a minimum to become an informed consumer of science. CONTENTS Preface - viii-ix Acknowledgment - x Chapter - 1: Introduction to Research 1 – 23 1.1 Meaning of Research 2 1.2 Objectives /Purposes of Research 3 1.3 Scientific Base of Research 5 1.4 Criteria of A Good Research 5 1.5 Classification of Research 6 1.6 Significance of Research 10 1.7 Scope of Research 11 1.8 Steps in Conducting A Research 15 1.9 Phases of Research 16 1.10 Research Method/Technique Versus Methodology 22 Chapter - 2: Problem Formulation and Objective Determination 24 – 36 2.1 Concept of Research Problem 25 2.2 Needs to Formulate Research Problem 27 2.3 Criteria in the Selection of Research Problem 27 2.4 Sources of Research Problem 28 2.5 Stages in the Selection of Research Problem 30 2.6 Formulation of Problem Statement 32 2.7 Writing of A Research Question 33 2.8 Identification of Research Objectives 34 2.9 Operational Definition of Research Problem 35 2.10 Assumptions about the Problem 36 Chapter - 3: Literature Review 37 – 50 3.1 Concept of Literature Review 38 3.2 Purposes of Literature Review 38 3.3 Sources of Literature 39 3.4 Organization of Literature Review 41 3.5 Literature Search Engine 41 3.6 Literature Management Software 46 Chapter - 4: Formulating and Testing Hypothesis 51 – 71 4.1 Definition of Hypothesis 52 4.2 Assumption, Postulate and Hypothesis 53 4.3 Nature of Hypothesis 54 4.4 Functions/ Roles of Hypothesis 55 4.5 Importance of Hypothesis 56 4.6 Characteristics of A Good Hypothesis 57 4.7 Origins/ Sources of Hypothesis 58 4.8 Types of Research Hypothesis 60 4.9 Uses of Hypotheses in Educational Research 62 4.10 Formulating Hypothesis 63 4.10.1 Level of Significance 63 4.10.2 Critical Region 63 4.10.3 Confidence Interval 63 4.10.4 Critical Values 63 4.10.5 Standard Deviation 63 4.10.6 Standard Error 64 4.10.7 Degree of Freedom 64 4.10.8 One-tailed and Two-tailed Tests 64 4.10.9 Directional and Non-directional Tests 65 4.11 Testing the Hypothesis 66 4.12 Statistical Errors in Hypothesis 68 4.13 Statistical Power of Research 69 4.14 Limitation of the Tests of Hypothesis 70 4.15 Criteria for Evaluating Hypothesis 70 Chapter - 5: Measurement Concept: Variable, Reliability, Validity and Norm 72 - 110 5.1 Measurement 73 5.1.1 Levels of Measurement 73 5.1.2 Scaling of Measurement: Thurstone Scaling; Likert Scaling; and Guttman Scaling 76 5.2 Variable 85 5.2.1 Types of Variable 85 5.2.2 Mediator and Moderator Variables 89 5.2.3 Relationship among Variables 92 5.2.4 Controlling Extraneous Variables 93 5.3 Reliability 96 5.3.1 Types of Reliability 97 5.3.2 Factors Effecting the Reliability of A Research 105 5.4 Validity 105 5.4.1 Types of Validity 106 5.4.2 Factors Effecting the Validity of A Research 108 5.5 Norms 109 5.5.1 Types of Norm 110 Chapter - 6: Research Design 111 – 167 6.1 Concept of Research Design 112 6.2 Features of A Good Design 113 6.3 Need for Research Design 114 6.4 Important Concepts Related to Research Design 114 6.5 Different Types of Research Designs 117 6.5.1 Historical Research Design 118 6.5.2 Philosophical Research Design 119 6.5.3 Sequential Research Design 120 6.5.4 Case Study Design 121 6.5.5 Field Research Design 121 6.5.6 Ethnographic Research Design 122 6.5.7 Descriptive Research Design 124 6.5.8 Correlational or Prospective Research Design: Observational; Cohort; Longitudinal; Cross-Sectional 124 6.5.9 Casual Research Design 130 6.5.10 Experimental Research Design: True Experimental; Double Blind; Independent Measures Design; Repeated Measures Design; Matched Pairs Design 131 6.5.11 Two Matched Groups Design 141 6.5.12 Between Subjects Design 143 6.5.13 Factorial Design 144 6.5.14 Semi-Experimental Research Design: Quasi-Experimental; Identical Twins Study 149 6.5.15 Latin Square Design 157 6.5.16 Exploratory Research Design 158 6.5.17 Reviewing Other Research: Literature Review; Systematic Reviews; Meta Analysis 159 6.5.18 Mixed-Methods Research Design 162 6.6 Others Research Designs: Solomon Four Group Design; Multiple – Baseline Design; A-B-A and A-B-A-B Designs; Bayesian Probability; Changing – Criterion Design 163 Chapter - 7: Sample and Sampling Designs 168 - 180 7.1 Concept of Sampling: Population, Sample, Sampling, Sampling Unit, Sampling Frame, Sampling Survey, Statistic, Parameter, Target Population, Sampled Population, Sampling With and Without Replacement, Sample Design 169 7.2 Purpose of Sampling 170 7.3 Stages of Sampling Process 170 7.4 Types of Sampling 171 7.4.1 Probability Sampling 171 7.4.2 Non-probability Sampling 173 7.5 Sampling Error and Survey Bias 176 7.6 Determination of Sample Size 178 Chapter - 8: Preparing Questionnaire 181 - 200 8.1 Questionnaire in Research Methodology 182 8.2 Questionnaire and Schedule 182 8.3 Qualities of A Good Questionnaire 184 8.4 Types of Questions 186 8.5 Development of A Questionnaire 191 8.6 Preparing and Administering Questionnaire 196 8.7 Questionnaire Wording 197 Chapter - 9: Methods of Data Collection 201 – 275 9.1 Concept of Data Collection 202 9.2 Types of Data 202 9.3 Issues to be Considered for Data Collection 206 9.4 Methods of Primary Data Collection 208 9.4.1 Questionnaire Method 208 9.4.2 Interviews Method 211 9.4.3 Focus Group Discussions (FGD) 221 9.4.4 Participatory Rural Appraisal/Assessment (PRA) 226 9.4.5 Rapid Rural Appraisal/Assessment (RRA) 235 9.4.6 Observation Method 240 9.4.7 Survey Method 244 9.4.8 Case Study Method 253 9.4.9 Diaries Method 258 9.4.10 Principal Component Analysis (PCA) 262 9.4.11 Activity Sampling Technique 263 9.4.12 Memo Motion Study 265 9.4.13 Process Analysis 265 9.4.14 Link Analysis 268 9.4.15 Time and Motion Study 269 9.4.16 Experimental Method 271 9.4.17 Statistical Method 273 9.5 Methods of Secondary Data Collection 273 9.6 Methods of Legal Research 274 Chapter - 10: Analysis and Interpretation of Data 276 - 467 10.1 Analysis of Data 277 10.1.1 Data Analysis Basics: Editing, Coding, Data Entry, Data Mining 277 10.1.2 Data Analytical Procedure: Univariate, Bivariate, Tri-variate, Multivariate 285 10.1.3 SWOT Analysis 290 10.2 Basic Statistics 294 10.2.1 Definition, Nature, Scope, Uses 294 10.2.2 Classification of Statistics 298 10.2.3 Abuses of Statistics 300 10.2.4 Probability 304 10.2.5 Moments: Skewness, Kurtosis 321 10.2.6 Measures of Central Tendency: Mean, Median, Mode 324 10.2.7 Measures of Dispersion or Variation: Range, Quartile Deviation (QD), Mean Deviation (MD), Variance, Standard Deviation (SD), Relative Measures of Standard Deviation/Variation, Percentiles, Deciles, Quartiles 333 10.2.8 Major Demographic Indicators: Sex Ratio, Crude Birth Rate, Crude Death Rate, Infant Mortality Rate, Population Growth Rate, Doubling Time, Total Fertility Rate 348 10.2.9 Statistical Relationship: Correlation, Regression 350 10.3 Hypothesis Testing 389 10.3.1 Parametric Test 389 10.3.2 Non-parametric Test 390 10.3.3 Parametric Test Vs. Non-parametric Test 391 10.4 Selecting Statistical Test 392 10.4.1 z-Test 394 10.4.2 t-Test 397 10.4.3 F-Test 406 10.4.4 ANOVA 410 10.4.5 Factor Analysis 427 10.4.6 ROC Curve Analysis 428 10.4.7 Meta Analysis 429 10.4.8 Chi-square (χ2) Test 430 10.4.9 Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel Test 440 10.4.10 McNemar’s Test 440 10.4.11 Mann Whitney U-Test 444 10.4.12 Sign Test 447 10.4.13 Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test 450 10.4.14 Kruskal-Wallis Test 453 10.4.15 Runs Test 456 10.4.16 Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test 456 10.4.17 Cohen’s Kappa Test 457 10.4.18 Friedman Test 458 10.5 Interpretation of Data 458 10.6 Why Interpretation 459 10.7 Techniques of Interpretation 459 10.8 Doctrinal Legal Research 460 10.8.1 General Approach to Legal Research 460 10.8.2 Doing the Legal Research 462 Chapter - 11: Research Proposal 468 - 488 11.1 Define Research Proposal 469 11.2 Necessity to Write A Research Proposals 469 11.3 Types of Research Proposal 469 11.4 Techniques of Preparing Research Proposal 470 11.5 Considerations for Good Research Proposals 473 11.6 Assessment of Research Proposal 475 11.7 Techniques for Proposal Defense 478 11.8 Criteria for A Good Grant Proposal 479 11.9 Samples of Proposal 482 Chapter - 12: Data Presentation: Table and Figure Design 489 - 499 12.1 Definition of Tabulation 490 12.2 Purpose of the Tabulation 490 12.3 Steps in Tabulation 490 12.4 Basic Structure of Table 493 12.5 Consideration in Construction of a Table 494 12.6 Deciding to Use Figure 495 12.7 Types of Figure 496 12.8 Preparation of Figure 497 12.9 Creating Graphs 498 12.10 Figure Legends and Captions 498 12.11 Figure Checklist 499 Chapter - 13: Writing Research Report 500 – 518 13.1 Definition of Research Report 501 13.2 Types of Report 501 13.3 Components of a Research Report 502 13.4 Common Sections of a Research Report 508 13.5 APA Style Essentials 509 13.6 Citing and Referencing Sources 514 13.7 Footnotes 516 13.8 Suggestions for Writing Report 516 Chapter - 14: Ethical Approaches in Research 519 - 529 14.1 Define Research Ethics 520 14.2 Importance of Research Ethics 520 14.3 General Ethical Issues 520 14.4 Ethical Decision Making in Research 522 14.5 Ethical Standards for Human Research 523 14.6 Ethical Conduct in Care and Use of Animals 525 Chapter - 15: Evaluation of Development Project 530 – 535 15.1 Concept of Evaluation 531 15.2 Necessity of Evaluation 531 15.3 Formative and Summative Evaluation 531 15.4 Methods of Evaluation 531 15.5 Steps in Evaluation 533 Bibliography 536 – 545 Subject Index 546 – 557