Research Methods and Methodologies

Research Methods and Methodologies in social science studies

1. BikashChandra Taly
PhD Researcher In English language
UniversitiPutra Malaysia
[email protected]

2. Agenda
What is Research
Overview of the final Research Project Process
What is the difference between research methodologies and methods?
Quantitative and qualitative –what do they mean?
Choosing a methodology
Sample research questions
Common pitfalls
Ethical considerations of research design
common pitfalls
summery, top tips, and Q&A

3. What is Research
•Research is “creative” and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge.
Contribute to knowledge, learn more about the world
•Collection, organization, and analysis of information to increase understanding of a topic or
issue
•Skills often taught ( Smart, analytic, critical communication, organized)
•Skills not often said ( patience and discipline, emotional maturity to deal with frustration and
rejection)
•Knowledge (subject matter area of research, (theoretical/ practical), information literacy and
numeracy
•Intellectual ability (critical thinking, analyzing synthesizing, problem solving)
•Creativity(inquiring mind intellectual insight, innovation, open mindedness
Types of research:
•Basic research: Discovery, interpretation, content analyzing and development of methods and
systems for the advancement of human knowledge
•Applied research: the use of existing scientific knowledge to practical goals, like technology or
inventions

4. •Identify a gap in the literature; select topic of interest
•Choose methodology and method
•The proposal and ethical approval
•Research and analysis of findings
•Write up result
•Editing and revising
•Final touches and submit the project
•A Thesis is a written record of the work that has been undertaken by a candidate
guided by supervisors
•A long piece of writing based on your own ideas and research that you do as
part of a university degree, especially for a higher degree; Master & PhD

5. Methodology and method-what’s the difference?
Methodology is the rational behind your research and the lens through which you will analysis your results. Some
examples include:
Phenomenology: describes the “ lived experience” of a phenomenon
Ethnography: looks at culture and the social norms and behaviors of a grope
Action research: research systematically looks at a problem and tries various solutions to see how effective they are
Methods: are the tools you will use to carry out your research, Example:
A survey or questionnaire
A focus group
A case study
Structural interviews
A controlled experiment
In summary, the methodologyis How you will answer your research question and the method is WHAT you do
to collect your data

6. Qualitative research questions usually aim to explore a question with no set hypothesis beforehand.
A qualitative approach is more about gaining in-depth insight than it is about empirical generalization that can be
applied to a population.
The design of qualitative studies is:
Naturalistic:looks at real-world situations as they unfold naturally and there is a lack of pre-set limitations on
findings
Emergent: the research is open to adjusting her research question and methods to pursue new lines of inquiry as they
emerge.
Quantitativeresearch questions usually contain a hypothesis and/ or try to predict something.
Descriptive: How much? How often?
Comparative: what is the difference between?
Relationship-based: what is the relationship between?
Quantitative studies are characterized by tools that are carefully designed before data is collected, larger sample
sizes, and the ability to be replicated
Qualitative and Quantitative-what do you mean?

7. Which approach is right for me?
Beforeyoudecidewhichparadigmwillbestfityourresearchquestion,thinkaboutwhatyouwant
toknowandthenatureofyourresearchquestion,howyouwanttocollectyourdata,andwho
youareasaresearcher.
Morequantitativeinnature……………………… .Morequalitativeinnature
Positivistparadigm……………………………… .Interpretivistparadigm
Focusonfacts………………………………………… ..focusonmeanings
Lookforcausalityandfundamentallaws…………… ..Trytounderstandwhatishapping
Reducephenomenatosimplestelements…………… ..lookatthetotalityofeachsituation
Formulatehypothesesandtestthem........................Developideasthroughinductionfromthedata
Operationalizeconceptsothattheycanbemeasured…..usemultiplemethodstoestablishdifferent
viewsofphenomena
Takelargesamples….……………… ..Smallsamplesinvestigatedindepthovertime
Drawn from Maclntosh& O’Gorman(2015)

8. Choosing a methodology: start with the
research question
Think about your research question and what information you need to address it.
Consider the following:
•What kinds of data would help you answer this question
•How would you want to present your results?
If it is a more exploratoryapproach you are after, such as working to understand a phenomenon
or the behaviors and experiences of a group of people, a qualitativeparadigm might give the best
results.
If you want to look for correlations, comparisons, relationships, or trends, a quantitative
paradigm might work better.

9. Qualitative and quantitative research questions
Qualitative
What are ukuniversity students experiences trying to eat healthy on campus?
How can expressive writing improve the mental health of incarcerated women in the
US?
What are uksecondary school students perceptions about gender differences in
mathematics intelligence?
Quantitative
Descriptive: How regularly do UK online postgraduate students use optical
academic support services?
Comparative:what is the difference in daily calorie intake between men and women
in London?
Relationship-based: What is the relationship between job satisfaction and salary
amongst expatriate workers?

10. Qualitative Research
•"producesfindingsnotarrivedatbymeansofstatisticalproceduresorothermeansof
quantification"(StraussandCorbin,1990,p.17)andinstead,thekindofresearchthatproduces
findingsarrivedfromreal-worldsettingswherethe"phenomenonofinterestunfoldnaturally"
(Patton,2001,p.39).
•Thedataisexpressedindetaileddescriptions,wordsorimagesandisconcernedwiththequality
ofbehaviorofanpracticalexperience.Dataisdrawnfromopenquestions,casestudies,real
worldsittings
•Participants give their response in words with no formal measure or quantification.
•Researcheristhoughtthemaininstrument.
•Theresearcherobserves,takesnotes,andtalkstopeople.CreswellandPoth(2017),agood
interviewerneedsthefollowingskills:technicalability,goodcommunication,abilitytoprovide
attentionandsteering,abilitytounderstandinnerfeelingsofrespondents,andabilitytoavoid
personalbias.

11. Qualitative Methods
•Naturisticobservationswherebehavioriswatchedandrecordedbutnotmanipulated
•Casestudy:Thisisan-depthinvestigationofasingleperson,evenfromgroups(organization,
school,college)
•DiaryStudy:participantsrecordtheirbehaviororfeelingsoveraperiodoftime
•Discourseanalysis:Thisassessesthemeaningofspeech(written/verbal)inthesocialcontext
whereitoccurs
•Experiments:Itmainlyproducequantitativedata,qualitativedataisoftencollectedtoo(how
participantsbehaved/feltduringthetesting)
•Focusgroup:includesfewrespondentsfromwithinthetargetedgroups.Thesesgroupsfindout
answerstowhat,whyandhowquestions.Observationmethodisprimarilyusedtoequate
qualitydifferences(sight,taste,hearingthesesdonotinvolvemeasurementsornumbersbut
insteadcharacteristics)
•Ethnographicresearch:peopleintheirownnaturalenvironmentandisconsideredasin-depth
observationalmethod.Aimstounderstandthecultures,challenges,motivations.Insteadof
relyingoninterviewsanddiscussions,firstpriorityshouldgiveownnaturalsittingsexperience
•Contentanalysis:existingreliabledocumentsandsimilarsourcesofinformation(Library)

12. Qualitative methods
Individual face-to-face interviews of participants:
Moderate: 30 minutes
In-depth: 45 minutes each
Structured, semi-structured, or unstructured
Focus group discussions of 60-120 minutes
A Case study
Observation
Textual analysis
Note: In literary criticism, the work that you are directly analyzing is called the primary
source, and any other books or articles about that work are called secondary sources.
Open-ended questions: allow someone to give a free-form answerwith sentences, giving
deeper and new insights. Closed-ended questionsanswered with “Yes” or “No,” or they
have a limited set of possible answers.

13. Qualitative, sample techniques, analysis
Sampling:
•Randomselectiontechniquesarenotneededforpurequalitativeresearchsinceitisnotbasedon
inferentialstatistics
•Samplenumberstendtobesmallerinqualitativeresearchcomparedtoquantitativeresearch
Analysisqualitativedata
•Putdataintocategories
•Contentanalysis:researcherswouldreadthetranscriptseveraltimestoidentifyrawdatawords
orphrasesthatappeartobeimportanttotherespondent(articles,theses,advertisement,
speechesbypoliticians)
Triangulation:
•Allowparticipantsinaresearchtoassisttheresearcherintheresearchquestionaswellaswith
thedatacollection.
•Engagingmultiplemethods,observation,interviewsandrecordingswillleadtomorevalid,
reliableanddiverseconstructionofrealities.
•Toimprovetheanalysisandunderstandingofconstructionofothers.Toinvolveseveral
investigatorsorpeerresearchers’interpretationofthedataatdifferenttimeorlocation.

14. Qualitative research questions
Ask a broad, encompassing question.
•central questions
•associated sub-questions.
•The typical research question for a qualitative study “How do….” is typical of qualitative
questions. “How does….” “What is the experience of …..” “Why does……”. In the practice
of conducting qualitative research, the researcher will be investigating a phenomenon.
•use exploratory verbs and convey the research design. Common verb used (a)discover (e.g.
grounded theory), (b) seek to understand (e.g. ethnography); (c) explore a process (e.g. case
study); (d) describe the experiences (e.g. phenomenology); and (e) report the stories (e.g.
narrative research).

15. Qualitative research questions
How do freshmen students describe the experiences of living in a residence hall learning
environment?
How does the 911 tragedy survivor describe their experiences and health issues in a post-
terrorist state in the U.S.?
What is the experience of nursing staff during the interrogation following Chief Nursing
Officer separation turnover?
Why does domestic violence often occur with victims that are financially dependent on the
perpetrators for shelter?

16. Planning to take a qualitative approach? Consider:
Doyoufeelconfidentconductinginterviewsorfocusgroups?Althoughthereareotherpossibilities,these
toolsareanimportantpartofaqualitativeapproach
Doyourecognizeyourroleasaresearcher?Withaqualitativeapproach,theresearcheracceptsthatdata-
gatheringandanalysisisavalue-ladenprocess
Common pitfalls:
For students planning to use interviews and /or focus groups , be aware of the following:
Equipment failure
Things can go wrong with recording equipment, so always try it out beforehand.
Environment hazards
Make the environment as distraction-free as possible, as distractions can make interpreting your data
difficult and affect your responds
Transcription errors
Be careful when transcribing material, as a misinterpretation can change the essence of what’s been said.
Also be aware of any colloquialisms, jargon, or slang.
Drawn from Kristen L.Easton,KL, mcComish,J.F, and Greenbeng,R(2000)

17. Reliability and Validity in Qualitative Research
•Patton(2001)validityandreliabilityshouldbeconcernedaboutwhiledesigningastudy,analyzing
resultsandjudgingthequalityofthestudy.
•“Howcananinquirerpersuadehisorheraudiencesthattheresearchfindingsofaninquiryare
worthpayingattentionto?"(Lincoln&Guba,1985,p.290).Toanswertothequestion,Healyand
Perry(2000)assertthatthequalityofastudyineachparadigmshouldbejudgedbyitsown
paradigm'sterms.
•Seale(1999),“trustworthinessofaresearchreportliesattheheartofissuesconventionallydiscussed
asvalidityandreliability”(p.266)
•Creswell&Miller(2000)thevalidityisaffectedbytheresearcher’sperceptionofvalidityinthestudy
andhis/herchoiceofparadigmassumption.
•Theideaofdiscoveringtruththroughmeasuresofreliabilityandvalidityisreplacedbytheideaof
trustworthiness(Mishler,2000),whichis“defensible”(Johnson1997,p.282)andestablishing
confidenceinthefindings(Lincoln&Guba,1985).

18. Quantitative research
•Logicalpositivismoremployexperimentalmethodsandmeasurementtotesthypothetical
generalizations(Hoepfl,1997),analysisofcausalrelationshipsbetweenvariables(Denzinand
Lincoln,1998).
•Scientificparadigmleadsustoregardtheworldasmadeupofobservable,measurablefacts”(Glesne
&Peshkin,1992,p.6)thoughtheirassumptionthat“socialfactshaveanobjectivereality”and
“variablescanbeidentifiedandrelationshipsmeasured”(p.7)isproblematic.
•Themathematicalprocessisthenormforanalyzingthenumericdataandthefinalresultisexpressed
instatisticalterminologies(Charles,1995).
•Researchermaypreparealistofbehaviortobecheckedorratedbyanobserverusingapredetermined
scheduleornumbers(scales)asaninstrumentinhis/hermethodofresearch.
•Researchersseekcausaldetermination,prediction,andgeneralizationoffindings
•Thecredibilitydependsoninstrumentconstruction

19. Quantitative research questions
•Investigators use research questions and hypotheses to shape and focus on the purpose of the study.
Descriptive Research Questions:
•How do the students rate on critical thinking skills (independent variable)?
•What are the students’ achievement levels in science classes (dependent variable)?
Inferential Research Questions:
•Does critical thinking ability relate to student achievement (relating the independent variable and the
dependent variable)?
•The typical research question for a quantitative study for example, "Towhat degree….” is typical of
quantitative questions. “How much….” is another. “Is there a relationship between….“What is the
relationship between….” “What is the difference……”
•The researcher will be measuring the relationship between the independent variable and dependent
variables (ibid)

20. Quantitative research questions
To what degree do first-year department managers subscribe to Theory X management beliefs as
measured by the Myers-Brigg Scale?
Does the rise in bad management behavior lead to employee turnover in an organization?
Do first-year department managers report adhering to an authoritative leadership style as measured by
the Myers-Brigg Scale?
Is there a relationship between autocratic management style and narcissism behaviors of first-year
department managers department as measured by the Myers-Brigg Scale?
What is the relationship between autocratic management style and narcissism behaviors of first-year
department managers department as measured by the Myers-Brigg Scale?
How much do time do first-year department managers spend mentoring and coaching during their first
year?
What is the difference between autocratic management style and narcissism behaviors of first-year
department managers department as measured by the Myers-Brigg Scale?

21. Quantitative research hypotheses
Assumption,suspicionthatresearcherputtofindtherelationshipbetweentwoormorevariables
andresearcherworkstoproveordisprovebyvalidandreliabledata.
Forbetterhypotheses,researchersneedtobecriticaloftheirownstudiesandtheyhavetobeopen
andtransparent;theyhavetoacceptcritiqueandletgooftheirhypothesesifothersprovidebetter
explanations.
Hypothesesare:
•empiricallytestable:Itcanbesupportedorcontradictedbyobservations
•replicable: the hypothesis can be tested repeatedly
•objective: the hypothesis can be tested independently by others
•transparent: the hypothesis and results are publicly shared so they can be tested by anyone
•falsifiable: finding contradictory evidence is a possibility
•logically consistent: the hypothesis is internally consistent and the conclusion to support or
reject the hypothesis, based on the observations, is logically sound.

22. Quantitative Sampling
Samplingistoestimateavalueinthepopulationasaccuratelyaspossible.
Probabilitysampling
•Probabilitysamplingminimizestheselectionthreattoofasystematicbiasinourselectionof
participants
•Allowsustoassesstheaccuracyofoursampleestimate.
•Todetermine,thatwithrepeatedsampling,inacertainpercentofthesamples,thesamplevaluewill
differfromthereal,populationvaluebynomorethanacertainmarginoferror
•Non-probabilitysampling:
•Conveniencesampling:themosteasilyaccessibleforexample,ifI'minterestedininvestigatingthe
effectivenessofonlinelecturesonstudyperformance,IcouldrecruitstudentsincoursesthatIteach.
•Snowballsampling:Thesampleisextendedbyaskingtheinitialparticipantstoprovidecontact
informationforpossiblenewparticipants.Thus,theinitiallysmallsamplecangrowlargevery
quickly.

23. Quantitative Sampling
purposivesampling
•Consist of people who are judged to be experts, for example when research concerns opinions on
matters that require special knowledge
Quota sampling
•Quota sampling is superficially similar to stratified random sampling.
•Participants in the sample are distinguished according to characteristics, such as gender, age,
ethnicity or educational level. The relative size of each category in the population is obtained to
calculate how many participants are needed in each category
Sampling bias: is a systematic form of error.
•Occurs when some elements have a much smaller or larger chance to be selected than was intended.
•Occur when certain elements have no chance to be selected at all.

24. Quantitative methods
A survey involving analysis of primary data collected using a structured questionnaire
•Statistical analysis of people’s health data
•Comparison between two datasets
•Analysis of population trends
However, even responses given in words can be turned into numbers and analyzed, like:
•Response on a Likert scale
•Numerical responses to surveys

25. Data analysis plan for quantitative analysis
Datamustbecollectedfromonofthefollowingmanners
•Questionnaires
Researchquestionsorhypothesiscreated.
Whatisourobjectiveofthestudy?
Basedontheobjective,wecancreateresearchquestionsandstatistical
hypotheses
Statisticalsoftware’ssoftware(SPSS,STATA,SYSTAT)
Statisticaltools
•Frequency
•FactorAnalysis
•ReliabilityAnalysis
•Descriptivestatistics
•HypothesisTesting
•AdvancedTools

26. Planning to take a quantitative approach? Consider:
•How many responses will you need to your survey/ questionnaire to produce statistically
significant findings ?
•Do you feel confident carrying out statistically analysis?
•Will you have access to and be able to use some kinds of statistical software ( such as
SPSS)?
Common Pitfalls:
Not asking enough people: too few participants makes it difficult to produce statistically
significant findings.
Treating raw data like validated statistics: numerical data needs to be interpreted and
verified to be meaningful.
Using open-ended questions: these are difficulty to quantify.
A poor-designed survey: be sure that your questions are clear, free of biased or confusing
language, and account for all possible answers.

27. Reliability and Validity in quantitative research
Reliability
•Resultsareconsistentovertimeandanaccuraterepresentationofthetotalpopulationunderstudy
isreferredtoasreliabilityandiftheresultsofastudycanbereproducedunderasimilar
methodology,thentheresearchinstrumentisconsideredtobereliable(Joppe2000,p.1)
•Charles(1995)consistencywithwhichquestionnaire[test]itemsareansweredorindividual’s
scoresremainrelativelythesamecanbedeterminedthroughthetest-retestmethodattwodifferent
times.
•Ahighdegreeofstabilityindicatesahighdegreeofreliability,whichmeanstheresultsare
repeatable.
Validity
•Determineswhethertheresearchtrulymeasureswhichintendstomeasureorhowtruthfulthe
researchresultsare.Inaword,doestheresearchinstrumentallowyoutohit"thebull’seye"of
yourresearchobject?Researchersgenerallydeterminevaliditybyaskingaseriesofquestions,and
willoftenlookfortheanswersintheresearchofothers(Joppe2000,p.1).
•Themeasurementareaccurateandwhethertheyareactuallymeasuringwhattheyareintendedto
measure.

28. Ethical considerations of your research design
•Forresearchdesigningkeeppotentialethicalconcernsorconflictsofinterestinmind.
•Advisorcanhelpabouttheresearchdesignandguidethroughtheethicalapprovalprocess.
•Aconsentformshouldbewell-informedandsignedbeforehand,informingparticipantsaboutthe
natureofthestudy.
•Revealingthepurposeofthestudyconflictswiththefindingthatparticipantscanreact
differentlytotheexperimentiftheyareawareofthepurposeofthestudy.
•Formofdeceptionisnecessaryoftentocontrolforreactivityanddemandcharacteristics.
•Areviewboarddecideswhetherthisdeceptionisnecessaryanddoesnotcrossethical
boundaries.
1.Participant vulnerability
2.The nature of the topic
3.Consent
4.Confidentiality and anonymity
5.Method for collecting data
6.Researcher vulnerability

29. Summary and top tips
The goal is to make sense of your data and to relate it back to your research question and how it
address a gap in the literature.
Be flexible in how you gather information and in how you understand and interpret the data
Check that you will be able to obtain permission to access the data and to use the findings freely
Check that the analysis hasn’t already been done and reported elsewhere .
Remember that you can not collect any data until after you have ethical approval
You will likely end up with more data than you know what to do with. Avoid the temptation to
just write it all down-your analysis is crucial
Your advisor is there to help you throughout the research process

30. References
Creswell, J. W. & Miller, D. L. (2000). Determining validity in qualitative inquiry. Theory into
Practice, 39(3), 124-131.
Joppe, M. (2000). The Research Process. Retrieved February 25, 1998, from
http://www.ryerson.ca/~mjoppe/rp.htm
Kirk, J., & Miller, M. L. (1986). Reliability and validity in qualitative research. Beverly Hills: Sage
Publications.
Golafshani, N. (2003). Understanding reliability and validity in qualitative research.
The Qualitative Report, 8(4), 597-606. Retrieved [Insert date], from
http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR84/golafshani.pdf
Creswell, J. (1999). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches.
Jacobs, R. L. (2011). "Developing a Research Problem and Purpose Statement", in The Handbook
of Scholarly Writing and Publishing, T. S. Rocco and T. Hatcher (eds.), San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Miles, D.A. (2017). Research Methods and Strategies: Developing Research Questions, Doctoral
Student Workshop; Dallas, Texas, 2017.
Sam Newington (2018) Introduction to research methods and methodologies. University of
Liverpool. https://youtu.be/nv7MOoHMM2k