a study about research methodology methods
TRANSCRIPT
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AStudyabout
Research&Research
Methods
Preparedby:
Eng.AhmadNouri
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ContentsIntroduction ...................................................................................................................3
Meaningofthewordresearch(5)...................................................................................... 3
WhatisResearch? ..........................................................................................................3
WhyResearch?...............................................................................................................4
ResearchApproaches......................................................................................................5
Typesofbusinessresearch ..............................................................................................5
Thehallmarkofscientificresearch ...................................................................................5
Thebuildingblocksofscience..........................................................................................6
Theresearchprocess ......................................................................................................7
(1)TheBroadProblemArea ............................................................................................7
(2)Preliminary
Data
Collection ........................................................................................7
(3)ProblemDefinition.....................................................................................................9
(4)TheoreticalFramework ............................................................................................10
(5)GenerationofHypotheses........................................................................................12
(6)ScientificResearchDesign ........................................................................................13
(7)DataCollectionMethods...........................................................................................25
(8)ResearchReport ......................................................................................................30
References...................................................................................................................32
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DefinitionsofOriginality(4)
Sayingsomethingnobodyhassaidbefore
Carryingoutempiricalworkthathasnotbeendonebefore
Synthesizingsomethingthathasnotbeenputtogetherbefore
Makinganewinterpretationofsomeoneelsesmaterialorideas
Takinganewtechniqueandapplyingittoanexistingarea
Takinganexistingtechniqueandapplyingittoanewarea
Continuingapreviouslyoriginalpieceofwork
Beingcross
disciplinary
and
using
different
methodologies
Testingexistingknowledgeinanoriginalway"
"Anorganized,systematic,databased,critical,objective,scientific,inquiryor
investigationintoaspecificproblem,undertakenwiththepurposeoffinding
answersorsolutiontoit."(6)
Why
Research?
Researchisawayto:
1. Developtheindependentlearningabilityrequiredforcontinuingprofessional
development.
2. Facechallenges.
3. Findfacts.
4. Solveaproblem.
5. Investigateforabettersolution.
6. Servethesociety.
7. Earnadegree.
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Research
Approaches
Therearetwoapproachesforresearch:
1. QualitativeResearch
a. Aimedatexploringandunderstandingmeaningsandexperience
b. Dataisoftenusedtoverifyanexistingtheory,andthehypothesisis
formulatedatthebeginningoftheresearch.
2. QualitativeResearch
a. Triestomeasurevariables
b. Aninitialhypothesismaybeformulatedatthebeginning
c. Thedatacollectedisoftenusedtoevolveanongoinghypothesis
Typesofbusinessresearch
1. Appliedresearch:Tosolveacurrentproblemfacedbythemanagerinthe
worksetting,demandingatimelysolution.Itisthetypeofresearchdone
withtheintensionofapplyingtheresultsofthefindingstosolvespecific
problemscurrentlybeingexperiencedintheorganization.
2. Basicresearch:Togenerateabodyofknowledgebytryingtocomprehend
howcertainproblemsthatoccurintheorganizationcanbesolved.Itisdone
chieflytoenhancetheunderstandingofcertainproblemsthatcommonly
occurinorganizationalsettings,andseekmethodstosolvethem.Itiscalled
basicorFundamental,orpureresearch.
Thehallmarkofscientificresearch
1. Purposiveness:e.g.
Focusing
on
employee's
commitment
to
the
organization,anincreaseinthecommitmentwilltranslateintoless
turnover,lessabsenteeismandprobablyincreaseinperformancelevels.
2. Rigor:connotescarefulness,scrupulousness,andthedegreeof
exactitudeinresearchinvestigation.
3. Testability.
4. Replicability.
5. PrecisionandConfidence:
a. Precision:referstotheclosenessofthefindingstoreality.
b. Confidence:refers
to
the
probability
that
our
estimations
are
correct.
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6. Objectivity:theconclusionsshouldbebasedonthefactsofthefindings
derivedfromactualdata,andnotonourownsubjectiveoremotional
values.
7. Generalizability:referstothescopeofapplicabilityoftheresearch
findingsin
one
organization
setting
to
other
settings.
8. Parsimony:Simplicityinexplainingthephenomenaorproblemsthat
occur,andingeneratingsolutionsfortheproblem,isalwayspreferredto
complexresearchframeworkthatconsidersanunmanagednumberof
factors.
The
building
blocks
of
science
ObservationIdentification of
Problem areaTheoreticalFramework
ResearchDesign
DataAnalysis
Hypotheses
Interpretation
Concepts
Pure and or Applied Research
DataCollection
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The
research
process
(1)
The
Broad
Problem
Area
1. Thebroadproblemareareferstotheentiresituationwhereoneseesa
possibleneedforresearchandproblemsolving.
2. Thebroadproblemareamaycontain:
1. Currentexistingproblems
2. Asituation
requiring
improvement.
3. Conceptualissuethatneedsto betightened
(2)PreliminaryDataCollectionTherearetwotypesofdata:
1. Secondarydata:Datathatalreadyexistanddonothavetobe
collectedbytheresearcher(Statisticalbulletins,government
publications,information
published
or
unpublished
and
available
fromeitherwithinoroutsidetheorganization)
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2. Primarydata:Datagatheredforresearchfromtheactualsiteof
occurrenceofevents(Observation,questionnairestoindividuals).
1.Backgroundinformation ofthe organization such as :
Theoriginandhistoryofthecompany.
Size
in
terms
of
employees,
assets,
or
both.
Charter:purposeandideology.
Location.
Interdependentrelationshipswiththeexternalenvironment.
Financialpositions.
2.Structuralfactorsandmanagementphilosophysuch as:
Rolesandpositionsintheorganization.
Extentofspecialization.
Communicationchannels.
Controlsystems.
Coordinationandspanofcontrol.
Reward
systems.
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2. Problem:anysituationwhereagapexistsbetweentheactualanddesired
idealstate.
3. Problemisaclearprecisestatementofthequestionorissuethatistobe
investigatedwiththegoaloffindingananswerorsolution.
(4)TheoreticalFrameworkVariables:
Avariableisanythingthatcantakeondifferingorvaryingvalues.
TypesofVariables:
1.Thedependentvariable:itisthevariableofprimaryinteresttothe
researcher.Example:Abasicresearcherisinterestedininvestigatingdebtto
equityratioofmanufacturingcompanies.
2.Theindependentvariable:Itisonethatinfluencesthedependentvariable
ineitherapositiveornegativeway.Thevarianceinthedependentvariableis
accountedforbyindependentvariable.
3.Themoderatingvariable:Itisonethathasastrongcontingenteffecton
theindependentvariabledependentvariablerelationship.
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4.TheInterveningVariable: Itisonethatsurfacesbetweenthetimethe
independentvariablesstartoperatingtoinfluencethedependentvariable
andthetimetheirimpactisfeltonit.
Thetheoreticalframeworkisthefoundationonwhichtheentireresearch
projectisbased.Itisalogicallydeveloped,described,andelaborated
networkofassociationsamongthevariablesdeemedrelevanttotheproblem
situationandidentifiedthroughsuchprocessesasinterviews,observations,
andliteraturesurvey.
Componentsoftheoreticalframework:
Agoodtheoreticalframeworkidentifiesandlabelstheimportantvariablesin
thesituationthatarerelevanttotheproblemdefined.Therearefivebasic
featuresthatshouldbeincorporatedinanytheoreticalframework:
1. Thevariablesconsideredrelevanttothestudyshouldbeclearly
identifiedandlabeledinthediscussions.
2. Thediscussionsshouldstathowtwoormorevariablesarerelatedto
oneanother.Thisshouldbedonefortheimportantrelationships
thataretheorizedtoexistamongthevariables.
3. Ifthe
nature
and
direction
of
the
relationships
can
be
theorized
on
thebasisofthefindingsofpreviousresearch,thenthereshouldbe
anindicationinthediscussionastowhethertherelationshipswould
bepositiveornegative.
4. Thereshouldbeaclearexplanationofwhywewouldexpectthese
relationshipstoexist.Theargumentscouldbedrawnfromthe
previousresearchfindings.
5. Aschematicdiagramofthetheoreticalframeworkshouldbegivenso
thatthereadercanseeandeasilycomprehendthetheorized
relationships.
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(5)GenerationofHypotheses
Hypothesesdefinition:Itcanbedefinedasalogicallyconjecturedrelationship
betweentwoormorevariablesexpressedintheformoftestablestatement.
Statement
of
Hypotheses:
Format
I. PropositionsandIfThenStatements:
a. Proposition:Ex.Employeeswhoaremorehealthywilltakesick
leavelessfrequently
b. IfThen:Ex. Ifemployeesaremorehealthy,Thentheywilltakesick
leavelessfrequently.
II. DirectionalandNondirectional:
a. Directional:Ex.Thegreaterthestressexperiencedinthejob,
thelowerthejobsatisfactionofemployees.
b. Nondirectional:
Ex.
There
is
arelationship
between
age
and
jobsatisfaction.
III. NullandAlternativeHypotheses:
a. NullHypotheses:isapropositionthatstatsadefinitive,exact
relationshipbetweentwovariables.Thenullstatementisexpressed
asnosignificantrelationshipbetweentwovariablesornosignificant
differencebetweentwogroups.
b. AlternateHypotheses:istheoppositeofnull,itisastatement
expressingarelationshipbetweentwovariablesorindicating
differencesbetweengroups.
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(6)
Scientific
Research
Design
1)PurposeoftheStudy
1/1:Exploratorystudies
1. ExploratoryStudy:isundertakenwhennotmuchisknownaboutsituationat
hand,orwhennoinformationisavailableonhowsimilarproblemsor
researchissueshavebeensolvedinthepast.
2. Exploratorystudiesareundertakentobettercomprehendthenatureofthe
problem,since
very
few
studies
might
have
been
conducted
in
that
area.
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1/2:DescriptiveStudies
1. Adescriptivestudyinundertakeninordertoascertainandbeableto
describethe
characteristics
of
the
variable
of
interest
in
situation.
2. Thegoalofthedescriptivestudyistoofferaprofileortodescriberelevant
aspectsofthephenomenaofinteresttotheresearcherfromanindividual,
organizational,industryoriented,orotherperspective.
1/3:HypothesisTesting
1. AHypothesistesting:Itexplainsthenatureofcertainrelationships,or
establishesthedifferencesamonggroupsortheindependenceoftwoor
morefactorsinasituation.
2)TheTypesofInvestigation
1. Acausalstudy:Whentheresearcherwantstodelineatethecauseofoneor
moreproblems.
2. Acorelationalstudy:Whentheresearchisinterestedindelineatingthe
importantvariablesthatareassociatedwiththeproblem.
3. Examples:
1. Acausalstudyquestion:Doessmokingcausescancer?
2. Acorelationalstudyquestion:Aresmokingandcancerrelated?
3)Extentofresearcherinfluence.
1. Theextenttowhichtheresearcherinterfereswiththenormalflowofworkat
theworkplacehasadirectbearingonwhetherthestudyundertakeniscausal
orcorelational.
2. Acorelationalstudyisconductedinthenaturalenvironmentofthe
organization.
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3. Inacausalstudy,theresearchertriestomanipulatecertainvariablessoasto
studytheeffectsofsuchmanipulationonthedependentvariables.
4)TheStudySetting
1. FieldStudies:arecorelationalstudiesdoneintheorganization.
2. FieldExperiments:studiesconductedtoestablishcauseandeffect
relationshipsusingthesamenaturalenvironmentinwhichemployees
normallyfunction.
3. Labexperiments:experimentsdonetoestablishcauseeffectrelationships
beyondthepossibilityoftheleastdoubtrequirethecreationofanartificial,
contrivedenvironmentinwhichalltheextraneousfactorsarestrictly
controlled.
5)UnitofAnalysis
1. Itreferstothelevelofaggregationofthedatacollectedduringthe
subsequentdataanalysisstage.
2. Examplesofthedifferentunitsofanalysisare:
1. Individual.
2. Dyads.
3. Groups.
4. Organizations.
5.
Culture.
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6)Timehorizon
1. Crosssectionalstudies:dataaregatheredjustonce,perhapsoveraperiodof
daysorweeksormonths,inordertoansweraresearchquestion.
2. Longitudinalstudies:tostudypeopleorphenomenaatmorethanonepoint
oftimeinordertoanswertheresearchquestion.
MeasurementofVariables
How
Variables
are
measured?
Datarepresentingseveraldemographiccharacteristicsareobtainedby
askingemployeessimplequestion:
Howlonghaveyoubeenworkingintheorganization?
Whatisyourjobtitle?
Otherinformationcouldbecheckedthroughcompanyrecordssuch
asabsenteeism
or
employee
performance.
Objectivevs .Subjective Nature
Therearevariablesthatlenditselftoobjectiveandprecise
measurementandtheotherismorenebulousbecauseofitssubjective
nature.suchasmotivation,satisfaction,involvement,buyersbehavior.
Abstractnotionsarebrokentoobservablecharacteristicsbehaviorsso
thattheycanbemeasuredinatangibleway
`Operationalizingtheconcepts
OperationalDefinition
Operationalizing,oroperationallydefiningtheconcept,torenderit
measurable,isdonebylookingatthebehavioraldimensions,facets,or
propertiesdenotedbytheconcept.Thesearethentranslatedinto
observableandmeasurableelementssoastoformanindexof
measurementoftheconcept.Operationallydefiningaconceptinvolvesa
seriesof
steps.
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Operationalizing theConceptofAchievementMotivation
WeexpectthatpeoplewithhighAchievementMotivationwouldhave
thefollowingcharacteristicswhichwewillcalldimensions
1. Drivenbyworkandconstantlyworkingtodrivethesatisfactionof
havingAchievedandaccomplished
2. Findithardtorelaxordevotetheirattentiontootherthanwork
relatedactivity.
3. Prefertoworkontheirownratherthanwithothers(becauseof
wantingtoachieve)
4. Engageinchallengingjobsratherthaneasyroutineonesbutatthe
sametimenotexcessivelychallengingjobsbecausetheirprobabilityof
theiraccomplishmentisnotveryhigh.
5.Theywouldliketogetfrequentfeedbackfromtheirsuperiorsand
colleaguesastheygoalongtoknowhowtheyareperforming.
ElementsofDimension1
Beconstantlyworking(countthenumberofworkinghours)
Reluctanttotaketimeofffromwork(countofdaysoffworked)
Preserveeveniftherearesomesetbacks(keeptrackforhow
frequentlypeoplecontinuetopreservedoingtheirjobsdespitefailures.
ElementsofDimension2
Howoftendoyouthinkofworkwhileyouareawayfromthe
workplace?
Whatareyourhobbies?
Howdoyouspendyourtimewhenyouarenotattheworkplace?
ElementsofDimension3
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Impatientwithineffectivenessandreluctanttoworkwithothers.
ElementsofDimension4
Ameasureofhoweagerpeoplearetoseekchallengingjobscanbe
foundbyaskingemployeeswhatkindsofjobstheyprefer.
Employeespreferencescouldvaryfromfairlyroutinejobstojobswith
progressiveincreaseinchallenge
ElementsofDimension5
Wantto
know
others
opinion
on
how
well
they
are
performing
both
positiveandnegative.
Constantlyseekingfeedbackfromdifferentsources(trackinghow
oftenindividualsseekfeedback)
ScaleDefinition
Ascaleisatoolormechanismbywhichindividualsaredistinguishedon
howtheydifferfromoneanotheronthevariablesofinteresttoourstudy.
Thescalecouldbeagrossone(Broadlycategorizeindividualson
certainvariables),oritcouldbefinetunes(differentiateindividualsonthe
variablewithvaryingdegreeofsophistication).
Scales
Nominal Scale Ordinal Scale Interval Scale Ratio Scale
NominalScale
Anominal
scale
is
one
that
allows
the
researcher
to
assign
subjects
to
certaincategoriesorgroups(suchasmale&femaleforexample).
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Nominalscalescategorizeindividualsorobjectsintomutually
exclusiveandcollectivelyexhaustivegroups.
Theinformationthatcanbegeneratedfromnominalscalingisto
calculatethepercentage(orfrequency).
ExampleofNominalScale:
Nationality:
American Japanese
Chinese Russian
Australian Polish
German
Swiss
Indian Zambian
Others.
OrdinalScale
Anordinalscalerankordersthecategoriesinsomemeaningfulway(not
onlycategorizesthevariablestodenotedifferencesamongthevarious
categories).
InanordinalScale,thecategoriesaretobeorderedaccordingtosome
preference.
ExampleofOrdinalScale:
JobCharacteristic Rankingofimportance
Theopportunityprovidedbythejobto:
1
Interact
with
others
____
2 Useanumberofdifferentskills ____
3 Completeawholetaskfrombeginningtoend ____
4 Serveothers ____
5 Workindependently ____
IntervalScale
Aninterval
scale
allows
us
to
perform
certain
arithmetical
operations
onthedatacollectedfromtherespondents.
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Intervalscaleallowsustomeasurethedistancebetweenanytwo
pointsonthescale.Thishelpsustocomputethemeans&thestandard
deviationsoftheresponsesonthevariables.
Exampleofintervalscale:
Indicatetheextenttowhichyouagreewiththefollowingstatementsas
theyrelatetoyourjob,bycirclingtheappropriatenumberagainsteach,
usingthescalegivenbelow.
Strongly Disagree NeitherAgree Agree Strongly
Disagree NorDisagree Agree_
1
2
3
4
5__
Thefollowingopportunitiesofferedbythejobareveryimportanttome:
a Interactingwithothers 1 2 3 4 5
b Usinganumberofdifferentskills 1 2 3 4 5
c Completingataskfrombeginning 1 2 3 4 5
toend
d Servingothers 1 2 3 4 5
e Workingindependently 1 2 3 4 5
RatioScale
Theratioscaleovercomesthedeficiencyofthearbitraryoriginpoint
oftheintervalscale,inthatithasanabsolute(incontrasttoanarbitrary)
zeropoint
which
is
ameaningful
measurement
point.
Theratioscalenotonlymeasuresthemagnitudeofthedifferences
betweenpointsinthescalebutalsotapstheproportionsinthedifferences.
Itisthemostpowerfulofthefourscalesbecauseithasauniquezero
origin&subsumesallpropertiesoftheotherthreescalestocalculatethe
ratiooftheweightsoftwoindividuals.
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ExampleofRatioScale
Howmanyotherorganizationsdidyouworkforbeforejoiningthissystem?
Howmanystoresdoyouoperate?
Propertiesofthefourscales
Scale Differences Order Distance Unique
origin
Nominal Yes No No No
Ordinal Yes Yes No No
Interval Yes Yes Yes No
Ratio Yes Yes Yes Yes
RatingScale
Thefollowingratingscalesareoftenusedinorganizationalresearch:
Dichotomousscale:
The
dichotomous
scale
is
used
to
elicit
a
yes
or
no
answer.
Note
that
a
nominalscaleisusedtoelicittheresponse:
Doyouownacar? ( )Yes ()No
Doyousmoke? ( )Yes ()No
Doyouplayfootball? ( )Yes ()No
Categoryscale:
Thecategory
scale
uses
multiple
items
to
elicit
asingle
response
as
per
thefollowingexample.Thisalsousesthenominalscale.
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eachitem,orcirclestherelevantnumberagainsteachitem.The
responsestotheitemsaresummated.Thisusesanintervalscale.
Example:Respondtoeachitemusingthescalebelow,andindicateyour
responsenumberonthelinebyeachitem:
5
Very Likely
4
Likely
3
Neither Unlikely norLikely
2
Unlikely
1
Very Unlikely
Fixedorconstantsumscale:
Therespondentsareaskedtodistributeagivennumberofpointsacross
variousitems.Thisismoreinnatureofanordinalscale.
Example:Inchoosingtoiletsoap,indicatetheimportanceyouattachto
eachoffollowingfiveaspectsbydistributingatotalof100pointsamong
them.
Fragrance
Color
Shape
Size
Texture of lather
100Total points
Graphicratingscale:
Agraphicrepresentationhelpstherespondentstoindicatetheiranswers
toaparticularquestionbyplacingamarkattheappropriatepointonthe
line.This
is
ordinal
scale.
_____________1. I will be changing my job within the next 12 months.
_____________2. I will take on new assignments in the near future.
_____________3. It is possible that I will be out of this organization with the next 12months.
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Example:Onascaleof1to10,howwouldyourateyoursupervisor?
10987654321
Excellent
Very
bad
Consensusscale:
Scalesarealsodevelopedbyconsensus,wherepanelofjudgesselect
certainitemtheyfeelmeasuretheconceptdesiredtobemeasured.The
itemsarechosenparticularlybasedontheirrelevancetotheconcept.
Suchaconsensusscaleisdevelopedaftertheselecteditemsare
examinedandtestedfortheirvalidityandreliability.
Goodnessofthemeasures
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(7)Data
Collection
Methods
DataCollectiondefinedas:
Theyareanintegralpartofresearchdesignasthereareseveraldata
collection
methods
each
with
its
own
advantages
&
disadvantages.
Sourcesofdata:
PrimaryData:
Datagatheredforresearchfromactualsiteofoccurrenceofevents.
SecondaryData:
Dataalreadyexistsascompanyrecordsorarchives ,government
publications,
industry
analysis
offered
by
the
media,
web
sites.
Data Collection MethodsIncludes :-
Interviews
1. Face To Face2. Telephone
3. Computer Assisted
Questionnaires
1. Personally Administered2. Through Mail
Observations
1. Individuals
2. EventsWithout videotaping Or
Audio Recording
1. Interviews
Un StructuredInterviews
StructuredInterviews
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UnstructuredInterviews
Theyaresolabeledbecausetheinterviewerdoesntentertheinterview
withaplannedsequenceofquestionsthatwillbeaskedtothe
respondent.
ItsObjectiveistobringsomePreliminaryIssuestosurface&
understandthesituationinitstotallysothattheresearchercandecide
whatvariablesneedindepthinvestigations.
TheType&thenatureofthequestionsaskedtotheindividualsvary
accordingtotheirjoblevel&typeofworkdone,SoManagersattop&
middlelevelmightbeaskedmoredirectquestionsabouttheir
Perceptionsofproblems&situations,whileEmployeesatlowerlevel
maybe
asked
broad,
open
end
questions.
Example:
Tellmesomethingaboutyourunit&department&perhapseven
theorganizationasawhole,intermsofwork,employees&whateverelse
youthinkitsimportant.
Suchrequestmightelicitanelaborateresponsefromsome
respondentswhileothersmightjustgiveaonewordreplywhichisnot
informative.ex
(good,
boring
,).
StructuredInterviews-:
Theinterviewerhasalistofpredeterminedquestionstobeposedto
therespondenteitherpersonallyorthroughthetelephoneormediumof
pc.
Thequestionsconsideredrelevanttotheproblemsthathassurfaced
duringtheunstructuredinterview&theresearcherwillnotethemdown.
Thesequestions
will
be
asked
to
everybody
in
the
same
manner
&
the
interviewermustcomprehendthepurpose&thegoalofeachquestion.
VisualAids:
Aretoolsthatusedinconductinginterviewssuchas(Pictures,line
drawings,cards&othermaterials)&thesetechniquesareusefulin
marketingresearch,advertisinginordertocapturelikes&dislikesofthe
customertodifferenttypesofpackaging.
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FaceToFace&Telephoneinterviews
MostUnstructuredinterviewsinorganizationalresearchareconducted
facetoface.whileStructuredinterviewscouldbeeitherfacetofaceor
throughtelephone.
FaceToFaceAdvantages:
Researchercanadaptthequestionsasnecessary,clarifydoubts,&
ensurethattherespondentunderstandbyrepeatingorrephrasingthe
questions.
Researchercanalsopickuphowtherespondentisnervousorunder
pressurethroughhisbodylanguage&itsobviouslybeimpossibletodetect
thisinatelephoneinterview.
FaceToFacedisadvantages:
Geographicallimitation&Highcostoftraininginterviewers.
TelephoneInterviewadvantages:
Differentnumberofpeoplecanbereached(acrossthecountryoreven
internationally)inashortperiodoftime.
Peoplefeelmorecomfortablewhileintroducingthemselvesthrough
phonethanfacetoface.
TelephoneInterviewDisadvantages:
Therespondentscallcouldbeterminatedwithoutwarningbefore
finishingtheinterview.
ComputerAssistedinterviewing:
Thereare2typesofCAI:
ComputerAssistedtelephoneinterviewingCATI:
Usedinresearchorganizationassurveyscanbeobtainedfrom
peopleallovertheworldsincepcisnetworkedinthetelephonesystem.
ComputerAssistedPersonalInterviewingCAPI:
Respondentcanuseintheirowncomputerstorunprogramsby
themselvesonce
they
receive
the
software
&
enter
their
response.
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Questionnaires
Aquestionnaireisapreformulatedwrittensetofquestionstowhich
respondentrecordtheiranswersusuallywithinrathercloselydefined
alternatives.
Questionnairesareanefficientdatacollectionmethodswhenthe
researcherknowsexactlywhatisrequiredandhowtomeasurethe
variablesofinterest
Questionnairescanbeadministeredpersonally,mailedtothe
respondentsorelectronicallydistributed.
Personallyadministeredquestionnaires
Whenthe
survey
is
confined
to
alocal
area
and
the
organization
is
willingandabletoassemblegroupsofemployeestorespondtothe
questionnairesattheworkplacepersonallyadministeringthequestionnaires
isagoodwaytocollectdata.
Mailquestionnaires
Themainadvantageofmailquestionnairesisthatawidegeographical
areacanbecoveredinthesurveytheyaremailedtotherespondentswho
cancompletethemattheirownconvenience,intheirhomes,andattheir
ownpace.
Thereturnratesofmailquestionnairearetypicallylow.
Guidelinesforquestionnairedesign
Questionnairedesignershouldfocusonthreeareas
1. Thewordingofthequestions.
2. Planningofcategorizingtheissues.
3. Thegeneralappearanceofthequestionnaire.
Othermethodsofdatacollection
Observationalsurveys
Ismadebygatheringdatawithoutaskingquestionsofrespondents.
Peoplecanbeobservedintheirnaturalworkenvironmentsorinthelab
setting,andtheiractivitiesandbehaviorsorotheritemscanberecorded
Theresearchercanplayoneoftworoles:
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1. Nonparticipantobserver
Hecancollecttheneededdatawithouttryingtobecomeanintegralpart
oftheorganizationalsystem.
2. participantobserver
Theresearcherenterstheorganizationortheresearchsettingactually
becomingapartoftheworkteam.
Structuredobservationalstudies
Wheretheobserverhasapredeterminedsetofcategoriesof
activatestobestudied
Unstructuredobservationalstudies
Iftheresearcherhasnodefiniteideasoftheparticularaspectsthat
needsfocustheobserverwillrecordalmosteverythingthatisobserved.
(8)
Research
Report
Researchproposal
Theresearchproposaldrawnupbytheinvestigatoristheresultofaplanned,
organized,andcarfuleffort,andbasicallycontainsthefollowing:
1. Thebroadgoalsofthestudy.
2. Thespecificproblemtobeinvestigated.
3. Detailsoftheprocedurestobefollowed.
4. Theresearchdesignofferingdetailson:
a. Thesamplingdesign.
b. Datacollection
methods.
c. Dataanalysis.
5.Timeframeofthestudy,includinginformationonwhenthewritten
reportwillbehandedovertothesponsors.
6.Thebudget,detailingthecostswithreferencetospecificitemsof
expenditure.
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Thereport
Itisimportantthattheresultofthestudytherecommendationstosolvethe
problemareeffectivelycommunicatedtothesponsor,sothatthesuggestions
madeareacceptedandimplemented.
Thewrittenreport
Thewrittenreportenablesthemanagertoweightthefactsandarguments
presentedtherein,andimplementtheacceptablerecommendations.
Integralpartsofthereport
TheTitlePage:Thetitleofthereportshouldsuccinctlyindicatewhatthe
studyisallabout.
TableofContent:Thetableofcontentwithpagereferenceusuallyliststhe
importantheadingsandsubheadingsinthereport.
TheResearchProposalandtheAuthorizationLetter:Acopyofboth.
TheExecutiveSummaryorSynopsis:Theexecutivesummary(orsynopsis)isa
briefaccount
of
the
research
study
that
provides
an
overview.
TheIntroductorySection:theintroductorysectionstartswithastatementof
theproblemunderinvestigation.
TheBodyoftheReport:Inthispart,thedetailsoftheinterviewsconducted,
theliteraturesurvey,thetheoreticalframework,andthehypothesesare
furnished.
TheFinalPart:Thefinalpartofthereportwillcontaintheconclusionsdrawn
fromthe
findings.
In
most
cases,
alist
of
recommendations
for
implementationwillfollow.
Acknowledgments:helpreceivedothersincludingthepeopleparticipatedin
thestudy.
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References
(1)Oxfordpaperbackdictionary,3rdedition
(2)Research
Methodology
by
Dr.
M
SSridhar,
Head,
Library
&
Documentation,
ISRO
SatelliteCentre,Bangalore560017
(3)THEPRINCIPLESOFSCIENTIFICRESEARCH,ByPAULFREEDMAN,B.Sc.,M.I.E.E.,
F.I.E.S.,HeadofLampResearch,Messrs.CromptonParkinson,Ltd.
(4) ApresentationbyDr.AdelM.Zayed,oneofmyinstructorsinmyMBA.
(5)Website:http://www.thefreedictionary.com/research
(6)ResearchmethodsforBusiness,ForthEdition,byUmaSekaran,SouthIllinois
UniversityatCarbondale.
Arab British Academy for Higher Education.