Research Methodology in Short

What is Research?
Research is 1. Finding a black Cat in a dark room when you don't know about her existence. 2. An organized way of answering questions, which are difficult to answer in a straight forward manner. 3. Re + Search Over again + Examine closely and carefully, to test and try, or to probe 4. Original contribution to existing stock of knowledge making for its advancement. 5. Finding new useful idea. Research needs out of Box thinking.

How many different ways I can think?

Levels of Thinking Low Knowing Comprehension Application or Problem solving Evaluation or Critical thinking Creativity High A UG students learning is managed by his teachers. A research scholar, on the other hand, is the manager of his own learning; hence he must be an independent thinker.

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Creativity
Inborn /Gift or Developed/ Skill? Creativity is a skill which can be developed by practice. Conscious application is needed, not the vagaries of inspiration, in order to achieve a creative output. Creativity is a matter of organizing ones basic skills, not regretting that one was not born with a quick or logical mind. High but not the highest intelligence, combined with the greatest degrees of persistence, will achieve greater eminence than the highest degree of intelligence with somewhat less persistence Intelligence and creativity are not the same things. Intelligence in a domain means the ability to function at a high level in that domain, but creativity involves asking new questions and altering the domain. One can be highly intelligent but rigid, noncreative, or lacking in the kind of single-minded passion that drives creators. Ideas strike by chance, but only to a prepared mind.

What is creativity?
Ability to look at the same thing as everyone else and think something different. Ability to take a fresh look at familiar objects and situations, enriched by past experience, but not constrained by it. A creative product is a new and useful combination.

Requirements for Creativity

Above average intelligence Strong motivation Hard work Discipline Organization Open and flexible mind Method Methodology

Methods the researchers use in performing The underlying theory and analysis of how research operations. research should proceed. Techniques for gathering data / Logic behind the methods used. evidence Research methods constitute a part of research Statistical techniques to establish methodology. relationship between data and unknown Methods to evaluate accuracy of results

An epistemology is a theory of knowledge

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Informal Just Know

Thinking Philosophy

Formal Method can be replicated

Experimentation Common observations Valid Conclusions

Research Process
1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) Formulating Research Problem Extensive literature survey Developing the working hypothesis / objective Preparing the research design Determining sample design Collecting the data Execution of project Analysis of Data Hypothesis testing

10) Generalizations and interpretation 11) Preparation of report and presentation of the results i.e. Formal write of conclusion reached. May not be mutually exclusive May be overlapping

Formulating a research problem

What is Research Problem?
Difficulty which researcher experiences in the context of either a theoretical or practical situation and wants to obtain a solution for the same. Subject addressed by the research Topic Question addressed in the research Problem Question and probable solution Hypothesis Problem Vs Research problems

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Sources of research problem

Prior research One problem leads to another Needs New Opportunities Intellectual curiosity Asking Why? And How?

Examples:
1) An electronic engineer wants to find the best way to send TV signals to a remote rural community. 2) A Chemist wants to find a long lasting paint.

Formulating a research problem Steps

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Identify a broad field or subject area of interest Dissect the broad area into sub areas Select what is of most interest to you Perform preliminary literature survey Raise research questions Come up with general problem statement Identify relevant variables Demarcate the research problem 9. Make problem more specific by resolving ambiguities Think and rephrase into operational terms Feasibility of the corresponding solution must be considered Concise, clear and manageable statement

Formulate objectives

10. Assess objectives

(First know Who? What? Where? And Why? Then only you will be able to find How?) Preliminary Literature Survey
Developing ideas through discussion Experience survey Surveying available Literature Conceptual literature: Locate gaps and inconsistencies in the theory stated as the problem.

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Empirical Literature
Similar studies do not follow the same pattern as far as theoretical expectations are concerned Type of difficulties that are encountered in the similar studies.

Identification of variables
Qualitative: Yes/ No Quantitative: numerical values Discrete Limited to a finite number of possible settings Continuous consists of a range of real numbers

Minimizing the effect of other variables

Z Q

y = mx + b

Assume that you are the Mayor of Mumbai and youve got to make a decision based on the information collected from the following research study. The Commissioner of Police wants to experiment with increasing the number of patrol officers (X) to reduce the crime rate (Y). The chief invites all twelve precinct inspectors to participate in the experiment; only the Thane inspectors volunteers. In August, patrol officers in the Thane are increased by 15%. Reported crime drops 5% between September & December. The chief now wants to implement the program citywide.

Demarcation
1. Scoping: Make problem more specific by resolving ambiguities 2. Think and rephrase into operational terms 3. Feasibility of the corresponding solution must be considered Cost, time, resource/ data availability, level of expertise, availability of research methods 4. Concise, clear and manageable statement

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Demarcation Example
General problem statement: Why productivity of Japan is much higher than India? Ambiguities: What sort of productivity? What industry? Time span? Rephrasing the problem statement: What factors were responsible for the higher labor productivity of Japans manufacturing industries during the decade 1971 to 1980 relative to Indias manufacturing industries.

Research Problem components

Individual or group facing the difficulty Objective(s) to attain Alternative means (courses of action) to obtain the objective(s) Relative efficiency of possible alternatives Environment to which the difficulty pertains First know Who? What? Why? And Where? Then only you will be able to find How?

What cannot be a research problem?

Overdone subject Controversial subject Narrow or too vague problems Subjects which are not familiar Subject importance, researchers skill set and his interests Subjects which are not feasible Data availability, costs, time Negative result of preliminary literature survey

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Class Assignment 1
A social psychologist conducts a study to examine whether watching aggressive TV shows causes aggressive behavior. He randomly assigns 10 yr-old boys in a rich, suburban neighborhood to one of two groups: one group watches one hour of a violent TV show, and the other group watchers 1 hour of a non-violent TV show. After the children watch the TV program, they are sent off to the playground. The researcher videotapes the playground interactions and counts the number of hits and kicks from each child. The researcher finds that kids who watched the violent TV show were more aggressive than kids who watched the non-violent TV show. Come up with a generalized research problem with the available information and then narrow the problem by rephrasing it in operational terms and resolving ambiguities.

Class Assignment 2
A social psychologist conducts a study and finds that married people report greater levels of happiness than non-married people. Here is how she conducts her study: She puts an ad in a local newspaper. The ads says that she is seeking volunteers for her study, and that she is looking for married people and non-married people to participate. She pays participants $5 each. She has them answer a series about their happiness. Her data show that married people, on average, had higher happiness scores than nonmarried people. An Austin-American Statesman reporter reads about the study in an academic journal and writes a newspaper article entitled Get married! It will make you happier. Come up with components of the research problem with the available information. Also, come up with a generalized research problem with the available information and Narrow the problem by rephrasing it in operational terms Resolve Ambiguities by considering the feasibilities

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Checklist for testing the feasibility of the research problem:

Yes 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. Is the problem of current interest? Will the research results have social, educational or scientific value? Will it be possible to apply the results in practice? Does the research contribute to the science of education? Will the research opt new problems and lead to further research? Is the research problem important? Will you be proud of the result? Is there enough scope left within the area of reseach (field of research)? Can you find an answer to the problem through research? Will you be able to handle the research problem? Will it be pratically possible to undertake the research? Will it be possible for another researcher to repeat the research? Is the research free of any ethical problems and limitations? Will it have any value? Do you have the necessary knowledge and skills to do the research? Are you qualified to undertake the research? Is the problem important to you and are you motivated to undertake the research? Is the research viable in your situation? Do you have enough time and energy to complete the project? Do you have the necessary funds for the research? Will you be able to complete the project within the time available? Do you have access to the administrative, statistic and computer facilities the research necessitates? No

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Preliminary Literature Survey

Sources of research problem Future work sections in thesis and papers Comparison of different approaches by some objective measures of efficiency or accuracy Harmful simplifications or arbitrary choices in a paper try something different Identify all variables and alternatives of a situation to see which have not been explored. Implement someone else's work yourself and see the many problems out there to work on. Interaction: discussion, answering doubts, teaching, explaining Derivation of simple closed-form solution Combine and reorganize existing knowledge structures

Why Literature Survey? Useful for: Selection of research problem; Formulation of Hypothesis, Research Design, Data Collection.
Preliminary Full Broaden your knowledge To see if the problem has already been approached Drawbacks of the approaches Bring clarity and focus to research problem If the solution to the problem is sufficient Improving the research design Contextualize your findings

Sources of Information
More Reliable Textbooks Articles in scientific journals Conference proceedings Theses and Dissertations

Less Reliable Company Reports People Magazines and Newspapers Internet

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Summary Template
In [REF], the authors have addressed a problem of [problem statement in short]. They have used the methodology of [the approach taken by the paper] to address the problem. They illustrate through experimentation that [In a sentence or two]. The advantages of their approach are [enlist what you think as the benefits of the authors approach]. But, the paper do not address [list the limitations or drawbacks of the paper (which going to be addressed by your approach)]. [Compare on the basis of nonfunctional characteristics such as performance, security, etc].

Survey Paper
Survey Paper Provide reader with a view of existing work that is well organized and comprehensive Not all details must be included, which ones should/shouldnt? Make sure to cover all relevant material completely Logical structure of organization State-of-the-art view

Summarize the research in 5-8 papers on a particular topic Include your own commentary on the significance of the approach and the solutions presented in each paper Provide a critical assessment of the work that has been done Include a discussion on future research directions

REMEMBER
Everything you write in this survey paper has to be in your own words All ideas, paraphrases of other people's words must be correctly attributed in the body of the paper and in the references Any evidence of it in the survey paper will result in a fail grade

Concluding Remarks
Criteria 1 References 1 References 2 . References n Salute to all contributors to create awareness about Research Methodology.
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Criteria 2 .

Criteria n

Gaps