MSc.

PROGRAMME

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

1. INTRODUCTION
A core component of the MSc programme is the completion and submission of a Treatise. A Treatise is
defined as the:

 research work constituting less than 66 % of the work for a Master’s degree, or
 written work submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements set for postgraduate degrees which are
not Master’s or Doctor’s degrees and for four-year bachelor’s degrees provided that such treatise is
registered as a course.

It is thus a written and properly structured and formatted report on a process of research and the
conclusions and findings thereof, conducted by acknowledged scientific principles and processes, under
supervision of one or more supervisors.

When completed, it is submitted and subjected to internal examination, usually by the supervisor(s), and to
external examination by a person appointed by the Faculty of the Built Environment.

The purpose of the Treatise includes the following:

 It is a requirement for a higher degree that candidates develop the ability and skills to conduct research,
become familiar with the methodology of research in a particular discipline, and to document such
research;
 It allows the candidate to pursue a topic of particular interest, and thus develop a measure of
specialisation, and
 Since the Treatise is an individual effort, it exposes the candidate to a process of independent
endeavour.

A schedule of dates will be submitted to candidates regarding the various stages of the research process.
The date for submission of the Treatise is the first week in January approximately 18 months after
registration. The Treatise is a demanding project, and thus students are advised to commence work thereon
the soonest with vigour. Furthermore, the sooner a topic is decided upon, the sooner a Supervisor can be
appointed, and the study advanced.

2. LITERATURE
There are many texts on research processes available in the Library. There are also different approaches to
the research process, depending on the various disciplines, and on the personal approach and preferences
of those concerned.

The following sources are recommended:

 Fellows, R. and Liu, A. Research Methods for Construction (Generic);

 Henning, E. Finding your way in Qualitative Research (Qualitative study);
 Henning, E., Gravett and van Rensburg. Finding your way in academic writing (Writing);
 Leedy, P.D. and Ormrod, J.E. Practical Research Planning & Design (Generic);
 Mouton, J. How to Succeed in your Masters and Doctoral studies (Generic), and
 Mouton, J. and Marais, H.C. Basic concepts in the methodology of the social sciences (Generic).

The general approach to the research process to be followed for this Programme will be following Leedy and
Ormrod.

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3. SCOPE

It is not the intention to write another textbook or guide to complete scientific assignments but to provide an
overview to refresh students that have undertaken BTech / Honours level Treatise studies, and to assist
students that have completed the subject research methodology and possibly a report at BTech level.

 What is research?
 How is research conducted?
 Who conducts research?
 What is the importance of research?
 When the research has been conducted, what then?
 What can be researched?

These, and many other, questions are subjects for discussion.

4. LEVELS OF RESEARCH

For a higher / postgraduate qualification:

 Honours: Treatise;
 Masters (Coursework): Treatise;
 Masters (Research): Dissertation, and
 Doctoral: Thesis, or

for other purposes such as academic, scientific, or business.

5. TOPIC

Section 1 ‘Introduction’ alluded to the purpose of research which informs relatively to some of the reasons
for selecting a topic. However, the following should assist relative to the selection of a topic:

 Interest and/or purpose (other than having to comply with the degree requirements); accessibility; is it an
ephemeral/transitory topic or a vehicle towards a qualification;
 Discussion on possible topics: if no topic(s) are under consideration, discuss for suggestions;
 Does the topic lend itself to finding research problem(s), or at least pseudo-problems?
 Exercise: write down two topics you have considered for your Treatise and discuss the reasoning about
them;
 Originality, and
 Research begins with an unanswered question in the mind of the researcher.

6. TITLE
This is not so important at this stage. It is more important to address other issues. However, at least a
preliminary title is required by the time the research proposal is to be submitted. The title can be amended
right up to the time of submitting the final draft of the Treatise. The title should usually be as brief as
possible, but still reflect the overall topic of the research. A maximum length of 55 characters is
recommended. A title can usually be formulated once the research problem has been stated, by using the
main words or concepts from the problem statement.

7. RESEARCH PROBLEM
This is the most important aspect of the early stages of the research project. A question which is not simply
a reflection of the researcher’s ignorance or a personal problem, but which is researchable, i.e., fits the
requirements of the scientific method, needs to be identified. The research problem needs to be clearly and
exactly stated. This often needs several attempts. The problem also needs to be able to be separated into its
components, called sub-problems. Finding answers to the sub-problems will lead to finding an answer to the
main problem. A ‘bricklaying’ problem will be used to provide guidance:

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Statement of the problem: Bricklayers consistently complain of back pain, lay fewer bricks when older, and
retire early.

8. HOW MANY SUB- PROBLEMS /RESEARCH QUESTIONS?

The number of sub-problems (S-Ps) will depend on the scope, depth, nature and level of the problem being
investigated. For a Master’s Treatise, a guide is to investigate a problem which contains no more than 3 to 5
S-Ps. More may create practical and resource difficulties for the student. Relative to the statement of the
problem above the S-Ps could be:

 S-P 1: Older bricklayers complain of back pain;

 S-P 2: Older bricklayers retire early, and
 S-P 3: Older bricklayers struggle to maintain consistent levels of production during the latter part of their
working life.

9. FROM ‘TOPIC’ TO ‘RESEARCH PROBLEM’?

Initially, the following need to be determined:

 What is already known about the topic;

 The extent or scope of the knowledge area in which the topic lies;
 Major influences on the area in which the topic lies, and
 Whether a researchable problem(s) can be identified within the knowledge area of the topic.

To do this, a researcher needs to read widely, conduct searches of what is known using literature searches,
think, talk to people, and conduct such preliminary investigation as is necessary.

Exercise: Discuss what you now know about the area in which the topic(s) lie(s) that you are considering.
Compile a statement of the problem, based on the state of your current knowledge.

10. RESEARCH PROCESS / PROCEDURE

 Research begins in the mind of the researcher. An inquisitive mind is the beginning of research;
 Research requires that the researcher articulate a specific goal for the investigative process – the
statement of the problem for research;
 Research should also identify objectives, i.e. the process should result in measurable outcomes;
 Research requires a clear, practical and specific plan of the procedure – the research method;
 The total research problem is usually too large an area to investigate and manage as a whole – divide
into sub-problems;
 Research is generally guided by constructs called hypotheses - an intuitive feeling, hunch, supposition,
educated guess concerning the outcome of the problem, or conjecture. Note that the singular is
hypothesis, and the plural, hypotheses;
 Hypotheses are not proved, they are supported or rejected. The facts, transposed data in the form of
statistics will enable them to be tested;
 Research requires certain critical assumptions as a foundation on which the entire research structure
rests – self-evident truths, e.g. the rules of geometry;
 The data for research must be specific and measurable. Facts. Data have to be located, collected,
processed, categorised, presented graphically or otherwise, analysed statistically or otherwise, and then
interpreted – what do they mean?
 Research is a circular or cyclical – helical process.

11. HYPOTHESES

Relative to the S-Ps above the hypotheses could be:

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 H1.1: The prevalence and incidence of back pain is higher among older than younger bricklayers;
 H1.2: The prevalence of and incidence of back pain is higher among older bricklayers than other
categories of older workers;
 H2: Bricklayers retire earlier than other categories of production workers, and
 H3: Bricklayers’ production outputs decrease during the latter years of their working life relative to their
earlier years.

12. OBJECTIVES

Relative to the ‘bricklaying’ example, the objectives could be to:

 Mitigate early retirement of bricklayers;

 Evolve interventions to mitigate back pain among bricklayers, and
 Evolve interventions to enhance production outputs among older bricklayers.

13. RESEARCH TOOLS

 Library resources - books, journals, etc. Literature searches, databases.

 Measurement techniques:
 Nominal - by name: one object different from another;
 Ordinal - symbols: greater or lesser order - bigger, better, or more of anything;
 Interval - a scale: one object is so many units more than another, and
 Ratio - comparative: one object is so many times as big, bright tall, heavy, etc. as another;

Exercise: Discuss these in class.

 Validity: concerned with the soundness/effectiveness of the measuring instrument; does it measure what
it is supposed to measure? Types: Face, criterion, content, construct, internal, and external.

Exercise: Read about these.

 Reliability: accuracy of instrument used to make the measurement;

 Statistics – help to organise & manage data:
 Descriptive statistics: the contour of data, and in the case of two or more groups of data, the
proximity or remoteness of relationship, and
 Inferential statistics: suggesting certain inferences as to the nature of the data (seeks to fit
data to the ideal form of a statistical model e.g. relationships;

Exercise: Read about statistics in research.

 The computer and software – it has become almost impossible to research without the use of a
computer and applicable software. It enables presentation, processing and other applications, which
enhance the quality and impact of research enormously;
 Language – research findings have to be communicated in writing. This requires the ability to formulate
ideas, statements, etc., and state them in the right words, correctly assembled into text. The following
are required:

 A comprehensive general and subject-related vocabulary;

 The ability to plan, organise and set out a written task;
 The ability to write proper sentences, which contain all the required grammatical
components, including verbs;
 Knowledge of all the parts of speech;
 Be able to punctuate and spell;
 The ability to arrange text into paragraphs, sections, chapters, etc.
 Distinguish between different meanings for the same word;
 Distinguish between words with similar but different spelling and pronunciation;
 The ability to summarise write abstracts and précis, and
 The ability to read accurately and at a fair speed i.e. scan.

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 Many students lack the above factors in varying degrees. While the supervisor will assist the student as
far as possible with the language aspect, it remains the responsibility of the student to ensure that the
work periodically handed in, especially the draft and final version of the treatise, are of a high literary
standard. If required, the student should obtain independent assistance with language treatment, and
editing.

This is an important factor – please do not overlook it. Many acceptable pieces of work have been
Mediocre, or not accepted, not only because of spelling and grammatical errors but also because of
conveying incorrect meanings through the wrong use of words.

14. THE RESEARCH PROBLEM

Reference to this has been made previously. Thorough knowledge of the statement of the problem and sub-
problems is required, however.

The introductory part of both the research proposal and the Treatise are extremely important. This
introductory part usually forms Part 1 of the proposal and Chapter 1 of the Treatise and contains the
elements briefly mentioned below.

Leedy and other research text authors cover the topic adequately, so please read about the following, do the
exercises that are included in Leedy and put into practice what has been read:

 What are researchable problems and what are not;

 The requirements of verbal precision in formulating the problem;
 Locating and stating the sub-problems contained within the research problem. Each sub-problem should
be a completely researchable unit;
 Pseudo-sub-problems are not researchable sub-problems. Distinguish between sub-problems that are
an integral part of the main problem from what appear to be problems, but are procedural indecisions or
are part of the research process;
 Within each sub-problem, interpretation of the data must be apparent;
 The sub-problems must add up to the totality of the research problem;
 The proliferation of sub-problems is circumspect. The researcher may have confused personal problems
with problems for research, or fragmented the true sub-problems, or both;
 Beware of unrealistic goals;
 Hypotheses - usually one in respect of each sub-problem;
 Delimitations of the research in terms of boundaries, and scope;
 Definitions of terms - the exact meanings that will be attached to certain important terms. Such
definitions should usually be obtained from appropriate sources and should be properly referenced;
 Abbreviations of terms used in the research;
 The assumptions - these are aspects that are so basic that without them the research problem itself
could not exist; aspects that the researcher takes for granted but, while the researcher may take them
for granted, others may not and this could cause confusion and misunderstanding. Even though it may
appear to be stating the obvious, assumptions that are material to the research should be noted;
 The importance of the study. This is the section, which communicates the rationale for the study, and
what benefits or improvements may occur as a result of the study. It should not be merely rattled off but
should contain some substance, especially in the Treatise. In the research proposal, it may be more
briefly stated. This section may be assisted by including an Introduction, before the statement of the
problem, in which the general background within which the problem exists is described. Both the
Importance and the Introduction should contain appropriate references to literature and other relevant
sources.

15. THE SURVEY OF RELATED LITERATURE

Leedy sets out several purposes for the survey of the literature:

 Reveal investigations similar to the one currently being undertaken, and how other researchers
approached their research;
 Demonstrate methods of dealing with specific problem situations that may assist in resolving similar
difficulties in the current research;

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 Reveal sources of data that the current researcher is not aware of;
 Introduce the current researcher to significant research personalities about whose work one may have
been unaware.
 Assist to see the current research in perspective relating to other and previous research conducted in
similar fields;
 Provide new ideas and approaches for the current study, and
 Help to evaluate current research by comparing with similar research conducted by others.

In addition to Leedy’s points:

 Assist in discovering the entire area/realm in which the research problem is situated;
 Assist in delimiting the study by defining relevant related areas;
 Assist in formulating a theoretical base for the current study;
 Assist in formulating criteria against which to evaluate the findings of empirical studies forming part of
the research;
 Assess the current state of knowledge in the general and specific areas of the current field of study, and
 Assist in determining the specific empirical data required.

Types of literature and their respective status and recency:

 Books, reports, and research reports;

 Refereed scientific, technical and professional journals, and conference proceedings;
 Magazines, trade, industry and other ordinary periodicals;
 Newspapers;
 Trade, industry, professional and other reports, brochures, pamphlets, commercial and product
literature, and
 World Wide Web (www).

It is unlikely that specific and sufficient construction-related literature will be found for all topics to be
researched in the general fields of construction management, technology and education. Therefore generic
literature will need to be used as necessary to establish theoretical bases and criteria for measurement of
empirical research.

The Harvard method of referencing is adopted– refer to the Appendix.

Writing the review of the literature:

 Address each sub-problem in addition to providing sufficient background to the study;

 Extract salient points relative to each sub-problem, record them, and record the sources immediately as
it is very difficult to trace or locate sources at a later stage if referencing has been neglected;
 Avoid numerous and lengthy direct quotations;
 Refer to earlier remarks about language proficiency;
 Do not include personal perspectives as research is concerned with facts, not views and opinions –
differentiate, and
 Make sure that all the references recorded are listed in the References section and vice versa.

There is a difference in the purpose of and approach to the review of the literature in the research proposal
as opposed to the Treatise itself:

 Relative to the research proposal: identify the major and significant sources, the existence of sufficient
literature and the main trends and state of knowledge in the general and specific areas of the study, and
 Relative to the Treatise: write a comprehensive review of all / sufficient literature relevant to each sub-
problem and the topic as a whole.

16. PLANNING THE RESEARCH PROJECT

For success, planning is essential, as with everything else. The research proposal is the research plan.
Proposals are also important for gaining admission to post-graduate study, obtaining collaborators, applying
for funding or other research resources, or gaining support or approval for research projects.

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The scientific method: a means whereby insight into an undiscovered truth is sought by:

 Identifying the problem that defines the goal of the quest;

 Gathering data with the hope of resolving the problem;
 Positing a hypothesis both as a logical means of locating the data and as an aid to resolving the
problem, and
 Empirically testing the hypothesis by processing and interpreting the data to determine if the
interpretation of them will resolve the question that initiated the research.

Primary and secondary data can be gathered as follows:

 Observations: directly made at the scene of occurrence, recorded using description - descriptive survey
or normative survey;
 Written records and accounts of past happenings: historical data, and literary productions - literary or
critical data;
 Observations that are quantified and exist in the form of numerical concepts - analytical survey or
statistical data, and
 Observations of certain differences and likenesses that arise from comparison or contrast of one set of
observations with another set of similar observations - experimental data.

These give rise to four principal research methodologies:

 Descriptive or normative survey method – qualitative;

 Historical method – qualitative;
 Analytical survey method – quantitative;
 Experimental method – quantitative, and
 Case study research is a type of descriptive research.

Ethical standards in research:

 Maintain scientific objectivity;

 Researchers should recognise their competence and not attempt to engage in research beyond such
competence;
 Every person is entitled to the right of privacy and the dignity of treatment;
 Avoid causing personal harm to subjects used in the research;
 Confidential information provided by research subjects must be held in strict confidence;
 Research findings should be presented honestly, without distortion;
 The researcher must not use the researcher’s prerogative to obtain information for purposes other than
professional purposes;
 Acknowledge all assistance, collaboration of others or sources from which information was borrowed
from others;
 Acknowledge financial support in the report or any personal relationship with the sponsor that may
conceivably affect the findings, and
 Do not accept any favours, grants or other means of assistance that would violate any of the ethical
principles set out above.

17. FRAMEWORK OF THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL

Leedy suggests the following structure for the research proposal, to which a few items have been added:

1. The problem and it's setting:

The statement of the problem
The statement of the sub-problems
The hypotheses
The delimitations
The definitions of terms
The abbreviations
The assumptions
The importance of the study
2. The review of the related literature

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3. The data, their treatment and their interpretation
The data:
The primary data
The secondary data
The criteria governing the admissibility of the data
The research methodology
The specific projected treatment of each sub-problem
Sub-problem 1:
Data needed
Where the data are located
How the data will be secured
How the data will be interpreted
How the data will be presented
Sub-problem 2:
to 3.4.2.5 similar to 3.4.1.1 to 3.4.1.5 above, and each successive S-P is treated similarly
4. The qualifications of the researcher (and of the researcher’s staff/collaborators, if a partner, partners or a
team will be involved. This is particularly important relative to applications for grants)
5. The outline of the proposed study. The main steps are envisaged. A framework of the report –
treatise/dissertation, etc. should also be given
6. References
7. Appendices
8. Program

Please refer to the relevant chapter in Leedy.

A proposal for a qualitative study may be slightly different:

1. Introduction:
General Background of the study
Purpose of the study
Guiding questions
Delimitations and limitations
Significance of the study
2. Methodology:
Theoretical framework
Type of design – assumptions of the specific qualitative design
Role of the researcher – qualifications and assumptions
Selection and description of site and participants
Data collection strategies:
Primary data
Secondary data
Data analysis strategies
How the results will be presented
Methods of achieving trustworthiness
3. Findings:
Relationship to literature
Relationship to theory
Relationship to practice
4. The management plan, timeline, and feasibility
5. References
6. Appendices

To summarise:

Question → Research problem (statement of the problem) → Researchable or due to ignorance →

Preliminary investigation: read about the problem and the realm in which it resides, ask questions, and find
out what is known about the ‘problem’ and related matters.

If the problem is indeed researchable, or a researchable problem can be found/constructed within the area
of knowledge which has been explored, proceed.

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From the existing knowledge, is there sufficient to: be of use as data? Use as a theoretical base or to
construct a theory or model, which may be tested in practice? Is the problem sub-divisible into smaller units
in the form of sub-problems?

If so, then, potentially, there is an opportunity to conduct a fruitful, and hopefully, useful investigation i.e.
research.

Thereafter, the research needs to be planned.

To do this, a research proposal needs to be developed. This is necessary for, inter alia:

 Obtaining approval for the project for post-graduate study, even if not for a degree i.e. is it worthwhile for
resources to be committed to it?
 Obtaining research funding, and
 Committing to a program and schedule.

A research proposal is a statement of intent – a plan of the intended process, based on what is known at
that stage, i.e. based on the preliminary study which has been undertaken.

As with any plan, the more thoroughly a research proposal has been prepared, the more forethought and
attention to detail during the planning, the more trustworthy the information used, the smoother will be the
process of research. Therefore, the researcher needs to pay particular attention to your proposal.

This does not mean that once the research proposal has been approved, it can be deviated from. Deviations
should not occur for trivial or meaningless reasons, but once the actual research process is underway, the
researcher may or probably will encounter situations/conditions / knowledge which may make it necessary or
desirable for the researcher to deviate - the Supervisor will advise the researcher.

What is the further relationship between the research proposal and the Treatise?

The following refers to the first of the two research proposal frameworks discussed earlier.

Part 1 of the research proposal is usually in the same format as Chapter 1 of the Treatise, and if Part 1 has
been well constructed, it may be used as Chapter 1 after suitable expansion and amendment as required.

If prepared with adequate care, Part 2 of the research proposal serves as a good starting point for the review
of the literature for the Treatise.

If sufficiently investigated, Part 3 of the research proposal will facilitate decisions about the primary data
required, their location, accessibility, collection procedures and instruments and possible analysis
processes.

Part 5 of the research proposal will assist to clarify the main processes to be followed and the outline of the
chapters with the main sections and sub-sections will form the framework of the Treatise. Such a framework
is essential to guide the researcher as to the structure of the document. It indicates a sequence, identifies
activities which may be undertaken concurrently, indicates activities which may require more time than
others and should, therefore, be carried out timeously, etc. The framework is filled in as the process
proceeds, areas still requiring attention are identified and completed sections indicate that progress is being
made. Such a framework or structure can, or probably will be amended/expanded as required during the
research process.

Part 6 of the research proposal serves as a basis for the References in the Treatise and is expanded as
necessary.

The research proposal is, therefore ‘not cast in stone’. It is separate from the actual research process,
precedes it, is related to it, is the plan for it, and requires knowledge about research to prepare.

Writing a research proposal is good practice for writing development and other proposals in the researcher’s
professional capacity.

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17. WRITING THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL

 Margins;
 Spacing;
 Headings and sub-headings: levels (order), size, fonts, numbering;
 Use language functions on software – syntax and spelling;
 Which language? South African English, which is similar, if not alike to East African countries, and the
United Kingdom;
 Use direct quotations sparingly, only when necessary. Why? Paraphrase, and summarise;
 Add references immediately and add full information about sources to the References immediately as
the reference may be elusive at a later stage;
 Your Supervisor should be able to identify the non-referenced text as having originated from some or
other source;
 Do not record personal views, opinions, and preferences. Be objective. Prejudice or being out to prove a
point is quickly identified. This is unscientific and unprofessional. The facts must speak for themselves;
 Do not use the first and second person. Write in the third person, usually in the present tense, the
rationale being that the texts referred to exist;
 Use a dictionary/thesaurus to distinguish between similar words and to select the right word, and
 During the development of the review of the literature, develop a list of required primary data.

18. PRIMARY DATA

Primary data are those that are closest to the truth i.e. those that in most of the studies conducted would be
obtained by observing, recording and analysing what happens in practice.

 Identify the population(s) where the primary data relative to the study resides. Discuss with your
supervisor;
 Populations could display various degrees of similarity - homogeneity. This is important to recognise
because the selection of a sample from the population is affected by the degree of homogeneity. It is
usually impractical, and for that matter, unnecessary to collect data from the entire population – a
sample will usually be sufficient, provided it is representative of the entire population;
 Statistically representative samples may be selected using random selection, using a suitable technique,
if the population is sufficiently homogeneous for the study. If not, then the population should be arranged
into sufficiently homogeneous categories and samples taken from each category;
 It is not always necessary to select samples strictly by statistical means. They can be selected by
inspection. Nevertheless, a thorough knowledge of the population is required to enable the selection of
an appropriate sample. Such selection must be able to be motivated in convincing terms as to its
appropriateness;
 Data must be accessible to the researcher. A study could encounter difficulties if it is not recognised at
an early stage that data requirements may not be accessible e.g., data may be sensitive, or may lead to
the recognition of individual contributors, causing embarrassment or even legal action, or may not be
kept by the source in the format required for the study;
 Access could also be affected by the means/instruments of data collection. The format of the collection
instrument and the amount of time and effort required by contributors to furnish the researcher with the
information need to be carefully considered. Most of the sources of data in studies in the built
environment are persons with a high premium on their time. Lack of response from them or a very low
response rate caused by insufficient understanding of these factors can cause much frustration and
adversely affect the study. Even the timing of a survey could affect its success;
 Do not attempt to send out questionnaires at too an early stage of the study. Such a premature survey,
conducted before sufficient knowledge about the literature has been gained, may make certain gathered
data superfluous or leave gaps elsewhere;
 Depending on the nature of the study and the topic, it may be necessary or effective to conduct several
successive data collection processes i.e. successive surveys or a combination of surveys, observations
and interviews, and
 It is advisable to conduct pilot data collection procedures to test the effectiveness of the collection
process. After such a pilot exercise, amendments can be made to the instrument and the process
before undertaking the primary survey.

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19. INSTRUMENTS

Data collected should be in a format that enables classification, categorisation, analysis, finding relationships
between various sets of data, interpretation, and the drawing of conclusions.

The type(s) of data required should determine the instrument(s) to be used. For example:

 Facts, opinions, views, or ratings – surveys, and

 Facts, or observations - physical observation of events and recording of data:
 Experimental constructs, and
 Case studies.

Surveys may be conducted by several means, depending on the nature and size of the population, the
sample selected and the nature of the data required.

Telephonic surveys:

 Time and cost-effective;

 Should be brief;
 Ideal for uncomplicated data e.g. spontaneous views, etc. as opposed to specific data such as accurate
numerical data, etc.
 Generally result in a good response rate.

Mail surveys:

 Expensive – considerable printing, stationery and mailing costs;

 Doubtful cost-effectiveness, especially in the case of a large sample, and possible low response, and
 Suitable for any type of data.

Fax surveys:

 Cost-effective: savings on stationery; telephone rates are often cheaper than postage; respondents pay
for costs of receiving and returning, in contrast to mail surveys, where SASEs normally have to be
provided: mail versus telephone costs have to be considered in terms of length of a questionnaire and
long-distance or international telephone costs;
 No risk of items getting lost in the mail i.e. more effective communication, and
 Suitable for any type of data

E-mail surveys:

 Can be very effective in terms of cost, and other respects;

 Very dependent on the extent of computer and e-mail literacy - many respondents or potential
respondents, probably the vast majority, are not, hence this aspect has to be pre-determined, and
 Suitable for any type of data

Interviews:

 Some good guidelines for conducting interviews are presented in Leedy;

 Interviews enable a personal rapport to be established with the respondent and are particularly useful
because they enable free responses to be obtained from respondents (in contrast to structured
responses in the case of questionnaires – refer to later comments on questionnaires;
 Nevertheless, interviews need to be structured to a certain extent to enable quantification, and analysis
of responses. Interviews can be very time-consuming and costly, but ensure good response rates and
are very useful in many respects, depending on the type of data required. They are also useful to
augment data or aspects of data that may have been obtained by other means, and
 Interviews can also be conducted telephonically, if appropriate.

Observations:

Include data in the form of physical readings, phenomena, occurrences, interactions, processes,
behaviours, etc., recorded for subsequent analysis and interpretation e.g., experimental or production

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processes, methods for undertaking certain interventions such as productivity studies for performing various
construction operations, interactions between persons or groups during meetings, when conducting
negotiations or when exposed to specific conditions, reactions of persons or groups during specific
conditions, etc.

It should be clear by now that, to facilitate the analysis and interpretation of collected data, its collection
should be so conducted that it is obtained in an organised, uniform format. There is some debate about
whether data obtained from respondents in a structured manner e.g., using a questionnaire or interview
structure, can be considered to be truly objective. One view is that questionnaires channel respondents into
a predetermined series of issues, at least some of which respondents may not have considered or been
aware of, thus their responses may not be entirely the truth. The researcher is thus able to be selective
about such issues as may be expedient for his / her purposes. It is thus preferable to ask open (and general)
questions and allow respondents to express themselves spontaneously, freely and without having been
influenced at all.

Counter-arguments cover several issues:

 The skill and integrity of the researcher will determine the essential issues to cover;
 The manner of formulating statements/questions and the response options provided i.e. the construction
of the questionnaire will overcome ‘putting words into the mouths’ of respondents, so to speak;
 Completely ‘open’ questionnaires not only make analysis and drawing conclusions almost impossible
because of the potentially large and diverse number of responses but the response rate is also likely to
be unacceptably low because it is difficult and time-consuming to complete such questionnaires, hence
many respondents will probably not have the time to do so; the integrity of the research will most likely
thus be compromised in any event due to the lack of data, and
 The matter of free or unsolicited response can be accommodated by incorporating opportunities for free
response to a limited extent in a properly constructed questionnaire e.g. where appropriate, items under
the heading of ‘Other – please specify’ may be inserted in a questionnaire.

20. QUESTIONNAIRES

Leedy provides sound guidance for constructing questionnaires and other aspects of dealing with them.

Specific data gathering instruments or combinations thereof are best determined according to the specific
needs and nature of each research topic, the scope thereof and the availability and location of the data.
During the initial stage of research, these aspects are still indefinite, therefore only some general comments
regarding questionnaires will be made here – your Supervisor will advise and assist you further, as
necessary.

Constructing questionnaires is also affected by the extent and complexity of statistical and analytical
processes that may be required. Assistance relative to the statistical processing of data is available and your
Supervisor will guide you in this respect.

The following should be deliberated relative to questionnaires:

 They should be accompanied by a covering letter giving a brief explanation of the purpose of the
research, the importance of the respondent’s input, an expression of thanks for the time to be spent by
the respondent, an assurance about respecting confidentiality, etc.
 They should be as brief, as easy to read and understand, and as simple to complete as possible. Some
people consider that a single page is the maximum, others that two pages should not be exceeded;
 The amount that respondents are required to write should be kept to a minimum. Response options
should be given, from which respondents can choose and mark their choice using an X or another
symbol. Respondents should be given clear instructions about completing the questionnaire;
 If the data requirements of a study so require, the use of more than one questionnaire should be
considered. If successive questionnaires are to be sent to the same respondent, then include a section
enquiring whether the respondent will be willing to participate in further phases;
 If possible, a pilot survey should be conducted among a small number of respondents to process prove
the questionnaire, which is also a good idea concerning other data collection instruments. This enables
the user-friendliness, structure, clarity, comprehensiveness of the data, etc., to be tested and
adjustments to be made;

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 A questionnaire should contain a section for demographic data relative to the organisation, person
responding, etc., to establish that the data is indeed being collected from an appropriate, authoritative
and credible source i.e. a source which has the necessary data and can provide them;
 The questionnaire, or another instrument, should contain sufficient items to enable each sub-problem to
be adequately addressed. When compiling these items of data and their wording, attention should be
given to the wording of the sub-problems and the wording of the hypotheses. While surveying the
literature, it is a good idea to compile a list of issues that may be possible items to include in the survey;
 Do not be over-hasty to conduct a survey – do so when the survey of the literature is well advanced. A
premature survey may include items that are unnecessary or, due to insufficient knowledge or insight,
may have omitted important items that are difficult to obtain at a later stage;
 Avoid leading questions - questions that prompt the answers wanted. This is unscientific and not
objective;
 Avoid ‘Yes’ / ‘No’ / ‘Do not know’ answers unless they refer to absolute facts or are otherwise necessary
or appropriate. What does the response to the question ‘Do you have sex?’, namely ‘Yes’ mean? Once
a year? Once a month? Fortnightly? Weekly? Daily?
 Unless necessary, avoid open questions in which a factual response is required but which will make
grouping very difficult, e.g., ‘Please state your age ‘, or ‘Please state your turnover during 2001’ may
both elicit a very large number of different responses. In the former case, ‘Please indicate your age
group’ followed by the options ‘18 to 25’, ‘26 to 35’, ‘36 to 45’ etc. or some other intervals, may be
suitable. A box is then provided against each option so that the respondent only has to mark the chosen
option with an X or another symbol. The turnover example may be treated similarly;
 It is often necessary that respondents should rate issues according to some degree of importance,
frequency, agreement, or another parameter. Here a question such as ‘How important is achieving
customer satisfaction in your business strategy?’ may be followed by a scale ranging from ‘Unimportant’
through ‘Neutral’ to ‘Extremely important’. The scale most commonly used is the Likert scale, which can
occur in 5-point or 7-point versions. The 7-point version should be used if it is important to obtain more
than 2 grades of positive or negative responses – it, therefore, provides finer degrees of variation than
the 5-point scale. Instead of asking questions, statements can be made and respondents asked to
agree / disagreement with a series of issues, or to what extent certain issues are present or occur or
how frequently they occur, etc. A further example may be: ‘Absenteeism on Mondays is disruptive to site
production activities’ with response options from ‘Strongly disagree’ to ‘Strongly agree’.

21. TESTING THE HYPOTHESES

The research process includes testing the hypotheses, which were formulated early in the process, using
examining whether the data gathered during the research supports the hypotheses or not. There should thus
be sufficient and significant data to do so. Students need to familiarise themselves thoroughly with the
relevant concepts in this regard, especially concerning statistical hypothesis testing. Your Supervisor will
assist you as required.

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