ECEg4342 Research

Methods & Presentation

Chapter 1: Research Methods

By
H. A. Suud
Man coming to grips with his environment and to
understand the nature through experience,
reasoning and research.
1. Experience (includes a number of sources of
information)
personal experience, i.e. body of knowledge and
skills derived from encounters and acquaintance
with facts and events in his/her environment
Experience of others

2. Reasoning
Deductive (Aristotle) - From whole to part
Inductive (Francis bacon) From number of
observations
Combined
3. Research
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Systematic,
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 Systematic and controlled
Empirical
Self-correcting
Research is a combination of both experience and
reasoning and must be regarded as the most
successful approach to the discovery of truth
( particularly in natural science)
What is Research?
Research as a scientific and systematic search for
pertinent information on a specific topic. i.e.
research is an art of scientific investigation.
Research comprises
Defining and redefining problems
Formulating hypothesis or suggested solutions
Collecting, organizing and evaluating data
Making deductions and reaching
H. A. Suud conclusions.
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Objectives of Research:
The purpose of research is to discover answers to
questions through the application of scientific
procedures.
Motivation of Research:
To solve a problem
To get intellectual joy
To serve society
To face a challenge
To get degree
To get respectability
Purpose of Research:
To increase standard of living in case of Science and
technology
To show the right path of the society in case of Social
and behavioral sciences
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Research Techniques:
Behavior and instruments used in research operations
Example: Scales, recording techniques, content analysis,
moving average, longitudinal/cross sectional collection of
data, etc
Research Method:
Behavior and instruments used in selecting and
consulting techniques (a range of approaches used to
gather data)
Examples: Observation, questionnaire, interview, analysis of
records, case study ,etc
Methods are more general than techniques.
Methods & techniques are used in performing research
operations i.e.
Collection of data
Statistical processing and analysis (test)
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To evaluate the accuracy of the results obtained
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 Research Methodology
A science of study how research is done scientifically
A way to systematically solve the research problem by
logically adopting various steps
Methodology helps to understand not only the products
of scientific inquiry but the process itself
Aims to describe and analyze methods, throw light on
their limitations and resources, clarify their
presuppositions and consequences, relating their
potentials to the twilight zone at the frontier of the
knowledge.
Benefits of research Methodology
1. Advancement of wealth of human knowledge
2. Provides tools to look at the things in life objectively
3. Develops a critical and scientific attitude, disciplined
thinking or a bent of mind ECEg4342
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4. Provides chance to study subject in depth: Enable us
to make intellectual decisions
5. As consumer of research output helps to include the
ability to evaluate and use results of carrier research
with reasonable confidence and take rational
decisions .
6. Doing research is the best way of to learn and think
critically.
7. Other benefits of research includes:
Enables critical evaluation of literature

Develops special interest and skills

Helps to understand attitude of others

Creates awareness of special needs of research
process.
Facilitates reference and information service

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 Types of Research
1. Basic Vs. Applied research
.The distinction between basic and applied research
is largely by the focus of their applications.
.This distinction comes from basic science vs. applied
science. Example: physics and engineering.
.Basic research focuses on determining or
establishing the basic or fundamental
relationships within a discipline without paying
attention to any practical applications to the real
world.
.In contrast, applied research is usually conducted to
solve a particular and concrete problem.
2. Descriptive Vs. Analytical
.Descriptive research includes surveys and fact-
finding enquiries of different kinds.
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Major purpose is description and It is widely used in
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 Main characteristic: The researcher has no control over
the variables; i.e. He/she can only report what has
happened or what is happening. For example, frequency
of shopping, preferences of people, or similar data.
Research methodology: Survey type of all kinds,
including comparative and correlation methods.
In analytical research, on the other hand, the
researcher has to use facts or information already
available, and analyze these to make a critical
evaluation of the material.
Descriptive research attempts to determine, describe,
or identify what is, while analytical research attempts
to establish why it is that way or how it came to be.
3. Quantitative Vs. Qualitative
.Quantitative research is based on the measurement of
quantity or amount.
It is applicable to phenomena that can be expressed in
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terms of quantity.
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 Qualitative research, on the other hand, is concerned
with qualitative phenomenon, i.e., phenomena
relating to or involving quality or kind.
Why people think or do certain things
Attitude or opinion research
Note: Qualitative research is specially important in the
behavioral sciences where the aim is to discover the
underlying motives of human behavior.
4. Conceptual Vs. Empirical
.Conceptual research is that related to some abstract
idea(s) or theory.
It is generally used by philosophers and thinkers to
develop new concepts or to reinterpret existing
ones.
.Empirical (experimental) research relies on
experience or observation alone, often without
due regard for system and theory.
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 Hypothesis Facts/data Prove/disprove
Such research is thus characterized by the
experimenters control over the variables under
study and his deliberate manipulation of one of
them to study its effects.
Evidence gathered through experiments or empirical
studies is today considered to be the most powerful
support possible for a given hypothesis.

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 Research Approaches
Two basic approaches.
1. Quantitative approach
.It involves the generation of data in quantitative
form which can be subjected to rigorous quantitative
analysis in a formal and rigid fashion and has two
part.
Inferential: The purpose of inferential approach to research is
to form a database from which to infer characteristics or
relationships of population.
This usually means survey research where a sample of
population is studied (questioned or observed) to
determine its characteristics, and it is then inferred that
the population has the same characteristics.
Experimental approach: in this case some variables are
manipulated to observe their effect on other variables.
Simulation approach involves the construction of an
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2. Qualitative approach
.It is concerned with subjective assessment of
attitudes, opinions and behavior.
.Research in such a situation is a function of
researchers insights and impressions.
.Such an approach to research generates results either
in non-quantitative form or in the form which are not
subjected to rigorous quantitative analysis.

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 The Research Process
The research process is similar to undertaking a
journey. For a research journey there are two
important decisions to make:
1. What you want to find out about or what research
questions (problems) you want to find answers to;
2. How to go about finding their answers.
The path to finding answers to your research
questions constitutes research methodology.
Research Methodology: is a way to systematically
solve the
research problem.
.It may be understood as a science of studying how
research is done scientifically.
.The scope of research methodology is wider than that
of research methods.
InSuudresearch methodology we ECEg4342
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 The logic behind the methods we use in the context
of our research study
Explain why we are using a particular method or
technique
Why we are not using others so that research
results are capable of being evaluated either by the
researcher himself or by others.
Steps in Research Process:
1. Formulating the Research Problem
2. Extensive Literature Review
3. Developing the objectives
4. Preparing the Research Design including Sample
Design
5. Collecting the Data
6. Analysis of Data
7. Generalization and Interpretation
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8. Preparation
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Step 1: Formulating the research problem
It is the first and most crucial step in the research
process
Main function is to decide what you want to find out
about.
The way you formulate a problem determines
almost every step that follows.
Every Research study has two aspects:
1. Study population:- People: individuals, organizations,
groups, communities (they provide you with the
information or you collect information about them)
2. Subject area:- Problems: issues, situations, associations,
needs, profiles
Program: content, structure,
outcomes, attributes, satisfactions, consumers,
Service providers, etc. Phenomenon: cause-and-effect
relationships, the study of a phenomenon itself
(Information
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Considerations in selecting a research problem:
These help to ensure that your study will remain
manageable and that you will remain motivated:

1. Interest: a research endeavor is usually time

consuming, and involves hard work and possibly
unforeseen problems. One should select topic of great
interest to sustain the required motivation.
2. Magnitude: It is extremely important to select a topic
that you can manage within the time and resources
at your disposal. Narrow the topic down to
something manageable, specific and clear.
3. Measurement of concepts: Make sure that you are
clear about the indicators and measurement of
concepts (if used) in your study.
4. Level of expertise: Make sure that you have adequate
level of expertise for the task you are proposing since
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6. Availability of data: Before finalizing the topic, make
sure that data are available.
7. Ethical issues: How ethical issues can affect the study
population and how ethical problems can be overcome
should be thoroughly examined at the problem
formulating stage.
Steps in formulation of a research problem:
.Working through these steps presupposes a
reasonable level of knowledge in the broad
subject area within which the study is to be
undertaken. Without such knowledge it is difficult to
clearly and adequately dissect a subject area:
Step 1 Identify a broad field or subject area of
interest to you.
Step 2 Dissect the broad area into sub areas.
Step 3 Select what is of most interest to you.
Step 4 Raise research questions.
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Step 2: Reviewing the literature
Essential preliminary task in order to acquaint
yourself with the available body of knowledge in your
area of interest.
Literature review is integral part of entire research
process and makes valuable contribution to every
operational step.
Reviewing literature can be time-consuming,
daunting and frustrating, but is also rewarding.
Its functions are:
1. Bring clarity and focus to your research problem
.The process of reviewing the literature helps you to
understand the subject area better and thus helps you to
conceptualize your research problem clearly and
precisely
2. Improve your methodology
.A literature review tells you if others have used procedures
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and
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3. Broaden your knowledge base in your research area
.It ensures you to read widely around the subject area in
which you intend to conduct your research study.
.As you are expected to be an expert in your area of study,
it helps fulfill this expectation.
.It also helps you to understand how the findings of your
study fit into the existing body of knowledge.
4. Contextualize your findings
.How do answers to your research questions compare with
what others have found?
.What contribution have you been able to make in to the
existing body of knowledge?
.How are your findings different from those of others?
.For you to be able to answer these questions, you need
to go back to your literature review.
.It is important to place your findings in the context of what
is already known in your field of enquiry.
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Procedure for reviewing the literature:
These help to ensure that your study will remain
manageable and that you will remain motivated:

i. Search for existing literature in your area of study:

Sources are:
Books
Journals

ii. Review the literature selected: After identifying

books and articles as useful, the next step is to start
reading them critically to pull together themes and
issues that are associated.
iii. Develop a theoretical framework: Set parameters by
reviewing the literature in relation to some main themes
pertinent to your research topic.
H. A. Develop
iv. Suud a conceptual framework:
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Step 3: The formulation of objectives
Objectives are the goals you set out to attain in your
study.
They inform a reader what you want to attain through
the study.
It is extremely important to word them clearly and
specifically.
Objectives should be listed under two headings:
a) Main objectives ( aims)
.The main objective is an overall statement of the thrust
of your study.
.It is also a statement of the main associations and
relationships that you seek to discover or establish.
b) Sub-objectives
.The sub-objectives are the specific aspects of the topic
that you want to investigate within the main framework of
your
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 The objectives should start with words such as
to determine,
to find out,
to ascertain,
to measure,
to minimize
to explore etc. example
To minimize the effect of noise in mobile
communication.
To design noise resistive amplifier.

Characteristics of Objectives:
Clear
Complete
Specific
Identify main variables to be correlated
Identify the direction of relationship
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Step 4: Preparing the Research Design
Research design is the conceptual structure within which
research would be conducted.
The function of research design is to provide for the
collection of relevant information with minimal
expenditure of effort, time and money.
The preparation of research design, appropriate for a
particular research problem, involves the consideration of the
following:
1. Objectives of the research study.
2. Method of Data Collection to be adopted
3. Source of information
4. Tool for Data collection
5. Data Analysis: qualitative and quantitative
Step 5: Collecting Data
Having formulated the research problem, developed a
study design, constructed a research instrument and
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a sample, you then collect the data from which24
Step 6 & 7: Processing and Analyzing Data
Processing and analyzing data involves a number of closely
related operations which are performed with the purpose
of summarizing the collected data and organizing
these in a manner that they answer the research questions
(objectives).
Step 8: Reporting the Findings
Writing the report is the last, and for many, the most
difficult step of the research process.
The report informs the world what you have done, what
you have discovered and what conclusions you have
drawn from your findings.
The report should be written in an academic style.
Language should be formal and not journalistic.

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 The Research Design
The first task in research is defining the research
problem.
The next is preparation of the design of the research
project, popularly known as the research design.
Decisions regarding what, where, when, how much,
by what means will be included in the research
design.
The research design is the conceptual structure
within which research is conducted; it constitutes the
blueprint for the collection, measurement and
analysis of data.
The overall research design may be split into the
following:
The sampling design which deals with the method of
selecting items to be observed for the given study.
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The
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 The statistical design which concerns with the
question of how many items are to be observed and
how the information and data gathered are to be
analyzed
The operational design which deals with the
techniques by which the procedures specified in
the sampling, statistical and observational
designs can be carried out.
Important features of a research design:
It is a plan that specifies the sources and types of
information relevant to the research problem.
It is a strategy specifying which approach will be used
for gathering and analyzing the data.
It also includes the time and cost budgets since
most studies are done under these two constraints.
Research design must, at least, contain
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Clear statement of the research
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problem
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 Population to be studied
Methods to be used in processing and analyzing
data.
Need of research design:
It facilitates the smooth usage of the various research
operations, thereby making research as efficient as
possible yielding maximal information with minimal
expenditure of effort, time and money
We need a research design or a plan in advance of
data collection and analysis for our research project
Research design stands for advance planning of the
methods to be adopted for collecting the relevant
data and the techniques to be used in their
analysis, keeping in view the objective of the
research and the availability of staff, time and
money.
Features
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A research design appropriate for a particular
research problem, usually involves the consideration
of the following factors:
The means of obtaining information;
The availability and skills of the researcher and his/her
staff, if any;
The objective of the problem to be studied;
The nature of the problem to be studied; and
The availability of time and money for the research
work.
Data Sampling: Sources of Data
The task of data collection begins after a research
problem has been defined and research design
Primary data are those which are collected afresh
and for the first time, and thus happen to be original
in character.
Secondary
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 Measurement
Process of assigning numbers to objects or
observations
Measurements can be Nominal, Ordinal or Interval
Nominal Data:
Are numerical in name only, because they do not share
any of the properties of the numbers we deal in ordinary
arithmetic.
For instance if we record marital status as 1, 2, 3, or 4, we
cannot write 4 > 2 or 3 < 4 and we cannot write 3 1 = 4
2, 1 + 3 = 4
Ordinal Data:
The data are numeric data however we cannot do anything
except set up inequalities
Consider conductivity of 10 materials and assume we assign
10 to the best conductor and 1 to the worst
It is possible to put 9>5 or 1<6 to compare their
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conductivity,
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Interval Data:
With this type of measurement, we can use differences in
addition to inequalities
Consider temperatures, Angles
We can put 750C > 650C to say warmer
We can put 750C - 650C = 1050C - 950C

90
0

45
0

450- 00 = 900-
450
00

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Measurement Scale:
Properties of Measurement Scales:
Each scale of measurement satisfies one or more of
the following properties of measurement.
1. Identity: Each value on the measurement scale has
a unique meaning.
2. Magnitude: Values on the measurement scale have
an ordered relationship to one another. That is,
some values are larger and some are smaller.
3. Equal intervals: Scale units along the scale are
equal to one another. This means, for example, that
the difference between 1 and 2 would be equal to
the difference between 19 and 20.
4. A minimum value of zero: The scale has a true
zero point, below which no values exist.

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Nominal Scale:
The nominal scale of measurement only satisfies the
identity property of measurement. Values assigned to
variables represent a descriptive category, but have no
inherent numerical value with respect magnitude.
Gender is an example of a variable that is measured on a
nominal scale. Individuals may be classified as "male" or
"female", but neither value represents more or less
"gender" than the other. Religion and political affiliation
are other examples of variables that are normally measured
on a nominal scale.
Ordinal Scale:
The ordinal scale has the property of both identity and
magnitude. Each value on the ordinal scale has a unique
meaning, and it has an ordered relationship to every
other value on the scale.
An example of an ordinal scale in action would be the results
of a horse race, reported as "win", "place", and "show".
We know
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the rank order in which horses finished the race.33
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 However, we cannot tell from this ordinal scale whether it
was a close race or whether the winning horse won by a
mile.
Interval Scale:
The interval scale of measurement has the properties of
identity, magnitude, and equal intervals.
A perfect example of an interval scale is the Fahrenheit
scale to measure temperature. The scale is made up of
equal temperature units, so that the difference between
40 and 50 degrees Fahrenheit is equal to the difference
between 50 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
With an interval scale, you know not only whether different
values are bigger or smaller, you also know how much
bigger or smaller they are. For example, suppose it is 60
degrees Fahrenheit on Monday and 70 degrees on Tuesday.
You know not only that it was hotter on Tuesday, you also
know that it was 10 degrees hotter.
Ratio Scale:
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 The weight of an object would be an example of a ratio
scale. Each value on the weight scale has a unique
meaning, weights can be rank ordered, units along the
weight scale are equal to one another, and the scale has
a minimum value of zero.
Weight scales have a minimum value of zero because
objects at rest can be weightless, but they cannot have
negative weight.

What is the difference between nominal, ordinal,

OK to compute.... Nominal Ordinal Interval Ratio
interval and ratio variables?
frequency distribution. Yes Yes Yes Yes
median and percentiles. No Yes Yes Yes
add or subtract. No No Yes Yes
mean, standard deviation,
No No Yes Yes
standard error of the mean.
ratio, or coefficient of
No No No Yes
variation.

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