IT research methods for any individual.pdf

research work

1. IT Research Methods
By
Felix N. Koranteng
ASDASS

2. Introduction to Research
Session One

3. Introduction: Acquiring Knowledge and the
Scientific Method

4. •What is Research? Is conducting a SEARCHthe same as RESEARCH?DISCUSSION

5. What is Research?
It is an activity that contributes…
•... to the understandingof a phenomenon[Kuhn, 1962; Lakatos, 1978]
•Understanding
oknowledge that allows predictionof the behaviour of some aspect of the phenomenon
•Phenomenon
oa set of behaviours of some entity(ies) that is found interestingby a research community
•an artefact(artificial system) desired by individuals, groups or
organisations
•activities considered appropriate to the production of understanding
(knowledge) and artefacts are the research methods and techniques

6. Discussions
•Students in AIT Evening session are more committed to their studies
than those in the Regular session
•Christian marriages are more stable than those of other religions
•Ghana is the best place to live
•Ants can cause malaria
•The probability of one dying of a motor accident is higher than being
infected with HIV/AIDS

7. Methods of Knowing and
Acquiring Knowledge
•There are various ways in which a person can
acquire knowledge or discover answers to
questions and they include:
oTenacity
oIntuition
oAuthority
oRational
oEmpirical
oScientific

9. The Method of Tenacity
•It involves the holding of ideas and beliefs simply because they have
been accepted as facts over a period of time
•It is based on habits or superstition
•Examples:
oOpposite attracts
oYou cannot teach an old dog new tricks
oWitches kill more people during festive occasions
oYour mum will die if you sing in your bathroom
•These statements have been accepted because they have been
presented over and over again

10. Method of Tenacity (cont.)
•Information is accepted as true because it has always be believed or
superstition supports it
•People may be comfortable with a belief and are unwilling to
abandon it in the face of contrary evidence
owhat day should we worship God?
oWho was the first woman on earth?
oIs Satan male or female?
•Different people can hold contradictory views about the same thing
and they can’t all be right
•Mostly information acquired through this method may not be
accurate
oWill your mum die when you in the bath house?

11. The Method of Intuition
•Information is accepted on the basis of a hunch or “gut feeling”
•It is right “because it feels right”
•It is mostly helpful when we have no information at all, cannot refer to
supporting data or there is no rational justification.
•Yet it is sometimes based on subtle cues that we pick form our
surroundings
•Belief is unsupported by objective evidence

12. The Method of Authority
•Relies on information or answers from an expert in the subject area
•It is minimally superior to the method of tenacity
•One accepts words of authority figures without scepticism
oFamous person
oRespected person
•Example:
oLinus Pauling (Noble Prize winner) claimed vitamin C could cure common cold

13. The Method of Authority (cont.)
•Advantages
oTrue authorities are often correct
oWe can obtain knowledge with less time
oWe can evaluate knowledge sceptically
•Disadvantages
oAuthorities can be biased
oAuthority can be granted without justification
oCelebrity endorsement
•The method of faith is a variant of the method of authority in which
people have unquestioning trust in the authority figure and therefore
accept information from the authority without doubt or challenge

14. Possible Conflicts
•The Earth is the centre of the universe (theology)
•The Earth revolve around the Sun (Galileo and Copernicus)
•God created Human (theology)
•The theory of Evolution (Science)
•God created heaven and Earth (theology)
•Creation started with a god particle (science)

15. The Rational Method
•Rationalism: seeking answers through logics
•Premise statements describes facts or assumptions that are presumed
to be true
•Conclusions are drawn from a set of premises combined
•Example:
oAll psychologists are humans
oSome humans are women
oTherefore some psychologist are women
•All apples are fruits
•Some fruits are oranges
•Therefore some apples are oranges

16. The Rational Method
•Logic is a way of establishing the truth in the absence of evidence

17. The Empirical Method
•It uses observations or direct sensory experience to obtain knowledge
•Many facts are available through observation
•Examples:
oChildren are shorter than adults
oThe sky is blue
•However, in some cases what we observe may not be the fact
•It can be an illusion

18. The Scientific Method
•The scientific method is an approach of acquiring knowledge that
involves formulating specific questions and then systematically finding
answers
•It is composed of:
oObservation : observing behavior or other phenomena
oForming tentative answers or explanations (hypothesis)
oUsing Hypothesis to generate a testable prediction
oEvaluating the prediction by making systematic, planned observations
oUse the observations to support, refute or refine the original hypothesis

19. Assignment
1.Submit your project proposal topic and a short synopsis for Course Project 1 via the link below for
review.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1s-QytLhEh_VTkFBSJESLFCVDd7Wq3E-i?usp=sharing
Note: Use your AIT email to access shared folder.
Deadline: Monday, 18th September, 2023

20. End of Session One