Chap 2 AND 3 Prob Formulation Research Method and Technical Writing.ppt

Introduces problem formulation

1. Chapter 2……
Problem formulation

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 Problem formulation: Choosing (research area, topic)

2. 2.4. Selecting a topic
Its selection tempts you, b/se you select it
before you have the ground work
Your discussions and inquiries will help
you to select a topic
The topic should be
Your interest
You have a good chance of completing
Worth the effort and have some practical
application later on.
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3. Points to be considered BEFORE you start to choose a topic
INTEREST
 
If possible; choose a topic that interests you.
You'll have to spend a lot of time and energy on it, and there's more
chance you'll do a good job if it's something you want to know more
about.
SCOPE 
Your topic must be manageable.
Avoid choosing a topic that is too broad or too narrow.
 TIME 
Choose a project that can be finished in the time you have.
It is better to do a smaller project well than to do a sloppy job on a
more elaborate project.
 
CLARITY 
Be clear about what topic you are researching.
Not having a clear idea of what you're looking for is dangerous
because you are likely to get off track and waste time you can't afford
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4. 2.5. Getting Started – Formulating research question
Three cases of getting topic
you may be given a topic to research,
 you will be asked to select a topic from a list or
 decide on a topic yourself**.
Try to bring the list down to a possible two
one likely to be of main interest and
the second to fall back on if your preliminary investigations throw up problems.
Start with your first choice and begin to write down your ideas on a sheet of
A4 paper.
 Write ‘topic’ in the middle of the paper and link to it all the questions,
doubts, theories and ideas you can think of.
Brainstorm it.
Insert arrows, if necessary, to link one idea or query with another.
Write quickly and write as you think. If you decide to wait until your thoughts
are in better order, you may (and probably will) have forgotten what you
thought of first. It doesn’t matter how illegible and disorganized your chart is as
long as you can read your own writing. This first shot is for you, not other people.
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5. Getting Started – Formulating research question …….
The purpose of this exercise is to help you to clarify your thoughts
and to try to decide what you actually mean by each statement and
each question.
It will give you ideas about refining the topic so that you will not be
attempting to do research into everything there is to know about ‘title’ ,
but into one precise aspect of the topic.
It will give you clues as to whether this topic is likely to be too complex for
you to complete in your timescale, or whether it might prove to be
impossible because you would need access to confidential information
which in all probability would be refused.
Your first shot will be a mess but that doesn’t matter. Your second
attempt will be far more focused and you will be on the way to making a
fairly firm decision about which aspect of your topic you wish to investigate.
Start with the purpose of the study. It might be difficult at this stage to
provide the exact wording but it’s rather important to know why you
want to carry out this research.
Has any research been done already on this topic?
researchable questions which will take you a major step forward in the
planning of your project.
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6. 2.6. Summary of Topic and problem formulation
Draw up a shortlist of topics.
Talk to colleagues, fellow students – anyone who
will listen. Consult library catalogues, but briefly.
Decide on a shortlist of two
Select your first choice and keep the second in
mind in case your first choice proves to be too
difficult or too uninteresting.
Make a list of first- and second-thoughts
questions or produce a chart of ideas, thoughts,
possible problems anything you can think of.
The purpose is to help you to clarify your thoughts
about which aspects of the topic are of particular
interest or importance.
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7. Topic and problem formulation…..
Select the precise focus of your study.
You can’t do everything, so you need to be clear
about which aspect of the general topic you wish to
investigate.
Make sure you are clear about the purpose of the
study.
 
Give some thought to your sample. You need to
consult your supervisor about which individuals or
groups might be included.
Go back to your charts and lists of questions, delete
any items which do not relate to your selected topic,
add others which do, eliminate overlap and produce
a revised list of key questions.
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8. Chapter 3
Research and Experimental Design

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Research Design:
Experimental Design

9. 3.1. Research Design
The research design is the master plan specifying the
methods and procedures for collecting and analyzing
the needed information.
the arrangement of conditions for collection and
analysis of data in a manner that aims to combine
relevance to the research purpose with economy in
procedure
Need of Research Design: Research design acts as a firm
foundation for the entire research. It is needed because it facilitates
the smooth functioning of the various research operations. It makes
the research as efficient as possible by giving maximum information
with minimal expenditure of effort, time and money.
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10. Research design must, at least, contain—
(a) a clear statement of the research
problem;
(b) procedures and techniques to be used
for gathering information(data);
(c) the population to be studied;
(d) methods to be used in processing and
analyzing data
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11. Parts of research design
(a) sampling design
the method of selecting items to be observed;
(b) observational design
the conditions under which the observations are to be
made;
(c) statistical design
the question of how many items are to be observed and
how the information and data gathered are to be
analyzed;
(d) operational design
the techniques by which the procedures specified in the
sampling, statistical and observational designs can be
carried out.
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12. Types of Sampling
A. Probability (Random) Sampling
Simple random sampling
Systematic random sampling - selection of elements from an
ordered
 
sampling frame
Stratified random sampling- Stratification 
is the process of
dividing members of the population into homogeneous subgroups
before sampling( Male, female etc). a random sample is drawn
from all the strata
Multistage sampling- sampling is carried out in stages using smaller
and smaller sampling units at each stage
Multiphase sample- A sampling procedure in which some
information is collected from the whole sample and additional
information is collected, at the same time or later, from sub samples of
the entire sample
 
Cluster sample-
 in cluster sampling only the selected clusters are
studied.
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13. B. Non-Probability Samples
Convenience sample
Purposive sample
Quota- researcher deliberately sets the
proportions of levels or strata within the
sample to insure the inclusion of a particular
segment of the population.
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14. Three basic principles of experimental designs
(1) the Principle of Replication;
(2) the Principle of Randomization;
(3) Principle of Local Control.
An experiment is valid if:
the observed change in the dependent
variable is, in fact, due to the independent
variable (internal validity)
if the results of the experiment apply to the
“real world” outside the experimental
setting (external validity)
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15. Two Types of Experimental Designs
(a) Informal experimental designs
(i) Before-and-after without control design.
(ii) After-only with control design. (information
on baseline is usually known before the
intervention)
(iii) Before-and-after with control design.
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16. 1. Before-and-after without control design
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2. After-only with control design
3. Before-and-after with control design

17. (b) Formal experimental designs
(i) Completely randomized design (C.R.
Design).
(ii) Randomized block design (R.B. Design).
Experimental subjects are first divided into
homogeneous blocks before they are randomly
assigned to a treatment group.
(iii) Latin square design (L.S. Design).
(iv) Factorial designs.
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