BUSINESS RESEARCH MODULE -

PRESENTATION

by
Prof. Philip AE Serumaga-Zake
UNISA SBL

22 March 2010
 ROLE OF RESEARCH IN THE MBL
PROGRAMME

The module MBL925R prepares you for the research project that you
have to complete during your final year.

The importance of this individual research project is highlighted by the

fact that it contributes 60% towards your final year’s marks.
 ROLE OF RESEARCH IN THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
THIS MO

This module (MBL925-R) prepares you to both conduct and critically

evaluate business or market research in your working environment.

• Zikmund, et al. (2000) defines business research as the application of the

scientific method in searching the truth about business phenomena. These
activities include defining business opportunities and problems, generating and
evaluating alternative courses of action, and monitoring employee and
organizational performance.

•Business research helps to provide managers with the knowledge regarding

their organizations, the market, the economy or any other area of uncertainty,
 THE CONCEPT OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH:
KEY COMPONENTS OF THE RESEARCH
PROCESS
Purpose of science concerns expansion of knowledge and search for
building theories.
Research can be defined as:
•A systematic inquiry that provides information for solving a problem.
•A methodology in an attempt to describe, explain and change (improve)
human behaviour.
•A formal, systematic application of the scientific method to the problem.
 
The research process is built on three key features, namely:
• Clearly stated research questions/objectives to be addressed
• A research context for the questions and a rationale for why it is
important that these questions should be answered or explored
• Research methods for addressing and answering the research
questions.
• Purpose of science concerns expansion of knowledge and search for building
theories.
•Research starts by the selection of a topic, a ‘domain phenomenon’ to be studied.
•You may for e.g., be curious about an interesting phenomenon, a problem or a
concern to be addressed; to test some existing theory or to generate new models or
hypothesis.
Steps of the scientific method:
•Start from general questions or problems
•Narrow down to focus on one specific aspect. A research report generally begins
with an overview of the previous research and real-world observations, the
researcher then states how this led to defining a research problem.
•Design a research study
•Collect data
•Analyze this aspect
•Finally conclude, and
•Generalize to the real world.
 FORMULATING A PROBLEM
STATEMENT/RESEARCH QUESTION
Choosing a topic
•Research starts by the selection of a topic, a ‘domain phenomenon’ to
be studied.
•You may for e.g.,
•be curious about an interesting phenomenon
•a problem to be solved or a concern to be addressed
•you may want to test some existing theory or you may want to
generate new models or hypothesis, for e.g., to come up with new
ideas.
Some points about topics for research:
•Topics should not have yes/no answers.
•Topics should not have obvious answers.
•When choosing a topic, it should not matter to you what you find out
– you must be unbiased and not expect a particular finding – you may
be wrong and will need to explain your results.
•Your topic should be do‐able in the time available, so the scope needs to be carefully
defined – not too big and not too small.
•The title should preferably not be more than 16 words.
•Your topic should add at least some value / new knowledge to what is already known.
•Your topic should have a basis in business or management.
•Your topic should be something you can get excited about, or at least are interested in.
Note: The research should be related to leadership, business or management science

Sources of research topics include:

•Existing Research Reports –e.g. Recommendations for future research.
•Application of an existing theory in a different setting or a different context.
•An investigation into whether a particular early theory regarding say, strategy,
leadership, customer relations, diversity management, the financial markets,
globalisation, economic theory etc still applies today.
•Exploration of a gap or contradiction in existing theory / research.
•An exploration of factors affecting a certain situation, e.g. identification of the factors
promoting the success of small businesses in Gauteng.
•Investigating a business problem or issue
•Any contemporary or emerging issue in your area of interest, e.g. as reported in
journals.
•Ask an academic or lecturer in your area of interest about topics he/she is
researching and perhaps take a portion of that.
•Ask your business colleagues, your manager or someone senior in your
organisation, your customers, suppliers or other stakeholders for ideas or
issues/problems being experienced .
Formulating or Defining the Research Problem
•Researchers organize their research by formulating and
defining a research problem.
•This helps them focus the research process so that they can
draw conclusions reflecting the real world in the best possible way.
•The target population should be defined beforehand.
Dfn: The totality of the units studied is the target population.
•The research problem is the foundation of the research and
specific objectives drive the scientific process.
A research question can be regarded as a statement of an intellectual
puzzle.

Questions:
•What exactly do you want to study?
•What do you want to know?
•Why is it worth studying?
•Significance? For e.g., does it contribute to the body of knowledge?
•According to Black (1993), research questions sometimes are "too vague and do
not provide sufficient direction for the research effort".
•One can attempt to evaluate the quality of a research question by considering three
points (Kerlinger, 1986):
•the research question expresses a relationship between variables
•the question is stated in an unambiguous form and
•the question might be tested empirically
The problem statement seeks to give a more precise description of the domain
phenomenon to be researched on. Research problems are usually expressed in terms
of questions.
E.g.: What is the problem? What happened? Or Why does/did it happen?

There are two popular ways of stating a research problem: as a question and as a
hypothesis.
•A hypothesis is a statement you believe is true.
•Alternatively, a hypothesis represents a probable answer to the research question,
but the probability that the answer is correct would still need to be tested through
further investigation.
•It may be favoured over the question when there is a good reason to believe that a
proposed solution to the research issue is correct, but that belief still needs to be
corroborated or refuted by evidence or when you intend to apply a statistical test to
the data you collect, casting the problem as a hypothesis renders statistical testing
more convenient.
•The vast majority of problems are expressed as questions that involve who, how,
which, why, what, when, where, how much, how frequently, or several of these.

Examples are:
•How do supermarkets set their selling prices for produce and, in particular, how
much does the spoilage of produce affect pricing?

•Which method of teaching (beginning reading) best equips first-graders to infer the
meanings of new words?

•What characteristics are most significant in differentiating people of the upper-

class from those of the lower-class in Johannesburg?

•When (during the day, month, and year) do people most frequently suffer feelings
of depression, and why at those times?
Marx's sources of research questions
Intellectual puzzles and contradictions
•The existing literature
•Replication
•Structures and functions
•Opposition
•Social problems
•The counter-intuitive
•Deviant cases and atypical events
•New methods and theories
•Social and technical developments and trends
•Personal experience
•Sponsors and teachers
Having selected your research topic and questions, the next
stage is to begin designing and planning your research project,
the focus of which is usually expressed in terms of aims and
objectives.
Research design
•A master plan that specifies the methods and procedures for collecting
and analyzing the needed information.
•A framework or plan of action for the research.

It includes:
•Objectives
•Sources of information
•The design technique (a survey or experiment)
•Sampling methodology
•The schedule and
•Costs of the research
Empirical Evidence
The empirical evidence is evidence which serves the purpose of testing a
hypothesis or theory.
Field Experiments (Quasi-experiment)
•A field study is an experiment performed in the 'real' world.
•Unlike case studies and observational studies, a field experiment still
follows all of the steps of the scientific process.
•Pilot studies are often used to test the feasibility of an extensive research
program.
Observational study
This type of research draws a conclusion by comparing subjects against a
control group.
Example 3
A research study comparing the risk of developing lung cancer, between
smokers and non-smokers.

•The main problem: The researcher has no control over the composition of
the control groups, and cannot randomize the allocation of subjects.
•This can create bias, and can also mask cause and effect relationships
or, alternatively, suggest correlations where there are none.
•Randomization is assumed to even out external causal effects, but this is
impossible in an observational study.

Unit of analysis
It is the entity, who or whom is being analysed. E.g. individual people,
groups, organizations, etc.
•Data are facts or recorded measures of certain phenomena (things or
events).
•Information is processed or summarized data to support decision making
or define the relationship between two facts.
 IDENTIFYING THE CONCEPTS TO BE MEASURED AND/OR
OBSERVED THAT WILL ENABLE THEM TO ANSWER A
RESEARCH QUESTION - OPERATIONALISATION

•A concept or construct is a generalized idea about a class of objects, attributes,

occurrences or processes that has been given a name (Zikmund, et al., 2000).
•Operationalization is then used to give some indication of the exact definitions
of the variables, and the type of scientific measurements to be used.
•Literature review also helps with the test to be used, or the methodology, and
helps the researcher to refine the research process.
•Operationalization is to take a concept, such as 'helping behavior', and try to
measure it by specific observations, e.g. how likely are people to help a stranger
with problems.
•Operationalization is the process of strictly defining variables into measurable
factors.
•The process defines fuzzy concepts and allows them to be measured, empirically
and quantitatively. Operationalization sets down exact definitions of each
variable, increasing the quality of the results, and improving the robustness of the
design.
•It determines how the researchers are going to measure an emotion or concept,
such as the level of distress or aggression.
 OPERATIONALIZATION
Operationalization is to take a concept, such as 'helping behavior', and try to
measure it by specific observations, e.g. how likely are people to help a stranger
with problems.
•Operationalization is the process of strictly defining variables into measurable
factors.
•The process defines fuzzy concepts and allows them to be measured, empirically
and quantitatively. Operationalization sets down exact definitions of each variable,
increasing the quality of the results, and improving the robustness of the design.
•It determines how the researchers are going to measure an emotion or concept,
such as the level of distress or aggression.

The Operational Definitions

•The operational definition is the determining of the scalar properties of the variables
.
•If a researcher is measuring abstract concepts, such as intelligence, emotions, and
subjective responses, then a system of measuring numerically needs to be
established, allowing statistical analysis and replication.

For e.g., Human responses could be measured with a questionnaire from ‘1-
strongly disagree’, to ‘5 – strongly agree’.
•These measurements are always subjective, but statistics can be used in analysis.
•Such measurements are arbitrary, but allow others to replicate the research.
Fuzzy concepts
•Fuzzy concepts are vague ideas, concepts that lack clarity or are only
partially true.
•It is important to define the variables to facilitate accurate replication of the
research process.

Example 5
A scientist might propose the hypothesis:
“Children grow quicker if they eat vegetables.”

What does the statement mean by ‘children’?

•Are they from America or Africa?
•What age are they? Are the children boys or girls?
•There are billions of children in the world, so how do you define the sample
groups?

How is ‘growth’ defined?

•Is it weight, height, mental growth or strength? The statement does not
strictly define the measurable, dependent variable.
What does the term ‘quicker’ mean?
•What units, and what timescale, will be used to measure this?
•A short-term experiment, lasting one month, may give wildly different
results than a longer-term study.
•The frequency of sampling is important for operationalization, too.
•If you were conducting the experiment over one year, it would not be
practical to test the weight every 5 minutes, or even every month.
•The first is impractical, and the latter will not generate enough analyzable
data points.

What are ‘vegetables’?

•There are hundreds of different types of vegetable, each containing
different levels of vitamins and minerals.
•Are the children fed raw vegetables, or are they cooked?
•How does the researcher standardize diets, and ensure that the children
eat their greens?
The above hypothesis is not a bad statement, but it needs clarifying and
strengthening, a process called operationalization.

•The researcher could narrow down the range of children, by specifying age, sex,
nationality, or a combination of attributes.
•As long as the sample group is representative of the wider group, then the
statement is more clearly defined.
•Growth may be defined as height or weight.
•The researcher must select a definable and measurable variable, which will form
part of the research problem and hypothesis.

•Quicker would be redefined as a period of time, and stipulate the frequency of

sampling.
•The initial research design could specify three months or one year, giving a
reasonable time scale and taking into account time and budget restraints.
•Each sample group could be fed the same diet, or different combinations of
vegetables.
•The researcher might decide that the hypothesis could revolve around vitamin C
intake, so the vegetables could be analyzed for the average vitamin content.
•Alternatively, a researcher might decide to use an ordinal scale of measurement,
asking subjects to fill in a questionnaire about their dietary habits.
In this way, the fuzzy concept has undergone a period of operationalization, and the
hypothesis takes on a testable format.
 CHOOSING AN APPROPRIATE RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY: QUANTITATIVE APPROACH VERSUS
QUALITATIVE APPROACH:

Which Research Method to choose?

What design you choose depends on different factors.
•What information do you want?
•Feasibility
•How reliable should the information be?
•Is it ethical to conduct the study?
•The cost of the design
•The selection of the research method is crucial for what conclusions you can make
about a phenomenon.
•It affects what you can say about the cause and factors influencing the
phenomenon.
•It is also important to choose a research method which is within the limits of what
the researcher can do.
•Time, money, feasibility, ethics and availability to measure the phenomenon
correctly are examples of issues constraining the research.
•Qualitative researchers aim to gather an in-depth understanding of
human behavior and the reasons that govern such behavior.
•In qualitative research;
•Smaller but focused samples are more often needed, rather than
large random samples.
•Purposive sampling is normally used to have key informants in the
sample.
•Data analysis use nonstatistical methods and approaches to analysis
are holistic and contextual.
•In quantitative research, statistical methods are used to test
hypotheses.
Examples 4
•Some methods are better suited to the study of certain questions than others.
•Some methods might be clearly inappropriate to your research question.

Example i
Consider for example the case of a researcher interested in studying the influence
of Nazism and neo-Nazism on racial attacks in the UK.
•This research problem might be studied by sending a questionnaire or doing
interviews to researchers and historians of Nazism on the roots of neo-Nazism.
•This would be an empirical approach to the research problem/question.
•Alternatively one could read and analyse the writings of historians and come-
up with some new or innovative interpretation on the roots of neo-Nazism.
•This would not be an empirically-based approach because one is not generating
data, one is analysing and studying data produced by others and based on that data
one produces a theory or a model.

These methods will allow us to trace the influence of Nazism on neo-Nazism

but they will not allow us to investigate the second part of the question i.e.
racial attacks in the U.K.
•Field research through either participant or non-participant observation might be a
more appropriate method to answer this angle of the research question.

Example ii
Let us assume that you are interested in studying the effect of prolonged exposure
in battle-trenches on the health of survivors of battles during WWI.
•Although in theory you could study this research question by interviewing
survivors, in practical terms this method is hardly possible because most
survivors are now too old to remember, or most survivors of particular battles are
now dead.
•If you had studied that question 50 years ago, you could have in fact interviewed
people, now however, that method is hardly appropriate.
•An alternative method to interviews in this particular case would be the analysis of
other sources of data, like diaries of survivors, letters of survivors, letters and
records of medical personnel that treated wounded soldiers etc.

Something that must be realized when choosing a research method is that your
chosen method is also your way of generating data.
 Quantitative Versus Qualitative Research (see Lee)

Ser. Quantitative – Assumptions Qualitative - Assumptions

No.

Creswell
1 Ontological: a single objective world Multiple subjectively derived realities can
exist
2 Epistemological: independence from Researchers must interact with their studied
variables under study phenomena

3 Axiological: act in a value-free and Overtly act in a value-laden and biased

unbiased manner fashion

4 Rhetorical: Most often use impersonal, Use personalized, informal and context-
formal and rule-based text based language

5 Tends to apply deduction, limited cause- Tends to apply induction, multivariate and
effect relationships and context free multiprocess interaction and context
methods specific methods
Cassell and Symon
Numbers or quantification – bias towards counting No numbers or interpretation
-Endeavor to describe organizational phenomena
-Counting only if necessary

Often seeks objective (or less biased) and freely Researchers explicitly and overtly apply their own
calibrated descriptions subjective interpretation
-Researchers favor a more detached, impersonal -Personal investment in the data
orientation to data

More rule driven Maximally responsive to the constraints imposed by

-Enter with relatively clear mental models to follow their immediate situation and empirical data
-Usually want to anticipate and eliminate problems -Prefer to have the maximal degree of flexibility
before they occur, say thru research design

Focus more on predicting outcomes and less on

process variables Focus more on understanding organizational processes
and less on predicting outcomes
A more context-free
-More generalizable
Heavily grounded within local context in which the
phenomena of interest occur
Less explicit about participants’ reaction -Generalization is problematic

More explicit about participants’ reaction

-Recognize and integrate the effects of the research
process itself into the study’s results
Kvale
Involve more intensive calibration of Most often focus on the identification of
organizational parts and its analysis meaningful categories (or parts) of
include at least equal interval scaling organizational phenomena
-Often involve content analysis and
nominal or ordinal calibration

Better suited to questions of Best suited to questions concerning

differences in degree within and across differences in categorical states
these categorical states
Other differences:
•Quantitative research is better suited to theory testing and qualitative research is better suited
to theory creation
Note: there are exceptions. E.g. factor analysis can be used to generate theories

Summary
•Qualitative research is often taken to mean inductive, theory generating, subjective and
nonpositivist.
•Quantitative research is often taken to mean deductive, theory testing, objective and
positivist.
•Both approaches can be used in a study. E.g. Quantitative study followed by a qualitative
 DATA COLLECTION
•For Qualitative researchers: E.g., Approaches in collecting data:
grounded theory, ethnography and phenomenology.
•Methods: e.g., Observation, and interviewing and focus group
discussion.
•Forms of the data collected: interviews and group discussions,
observation and reflection field notes, various texts, pictures, and
other materials.
•Qualitative research often categorizes data into patterns as the
primary basis for organizing, interpreting and reporting results.
Quantitative research: scientific experiments or surveys to collect
primary data or use already collected (and processed) data called
secondary data in their studies.
Methods of Data Collection
Data Collection
Methods include interviews and focus group discussions, observation
(Participant Observation, Non-participant Observation), field notes, various
texts, pictures, and other materials, Structured Interview, Unstructured
Interview, Analysis of documents and materials.
•Observations (Key, 1997)
•In qualitative research, observations are intentionally unstructured and
free-flowing.
•Very flexible.
•Draw backs are:
•Observation can be time wasting for a novice researcher – recording even
irrelevant information.
•The presence of an interviewer may bias the data collected
•Written notes are always insufficient to capture the richness of the
phenomenon, yet audiotapes and videotapes are not always completely
dependable either because their presence may make participants
uncomfortable.
Participant Observation
 

 Systematically seeks out and organizes data concerning what is being

studied based on a social science theory and methodology rather than
focusing on achieving a situationally defined goal.

 Keeps detailed records of what occurs, including those things

characteristically taken for granted.

 Periodically detaches self from the situation to review records from the
neutral position of a social scientist.

 Constantly monitors observations and records for evidence of personal bias

or prejudice.
 •Interviewing

 The researcher should control his reactions or emotions. The purpose of the
interview is to find out what views people hold; their views should be
unbiased by evaluative responses on the researcher’s part.
 The researcher should choose an interview environment and conditions in
which the participants feel comfortable, secure, and at ease enough to speak
openly about their point of view.
 The researcher should avoid presenting "yes" or "no" questions which tend
to stifle detail.
 The researcher should be flexible in his or her approach to the informants.
 Group interviews can be useful, particularly in initial interviews.
 The researcher should consider to what degree the interview questioning is
"recursive." As applied to interviewing, what has been said in an interview
is used to determine or define further questioning.
Interview
•To ask about events, the interviewer must be aware that participants rely
on their memories, which may bring in distortions.
•Interviews are either open-ended or semi structured – revolving around a
few central questions.
•To conduct a focus group, researchers gather several people less that 10
or 12 to discuss a particular issue for 1 or 2 hours.
•When conducting a focus group discussion, make sure that no one
dominates the discussion and keep people focused.
•Focus groups are useful when:
•Time is limited
•People feel more comfortable talking in a group than alone
•Interaction among participants may be more informative than individually
conducted interview.
•Researcher is having difficult interpreting what he/she observes.
When interviewing, both parties, the interviewer and the interviewee must be on
equal footing and there must be mutual trust between them.
Structured interviews

•Limited time and financial resources may lead some qualitative

researchers to pursue other data collection techniques, such as a
structured interview schedule with open-ended questions.
•Drawing on the theoretical and research literature, such questions may be
formulated and organized in advance to address a specific research topic.
•Interviewers are expected to take field notes or to keep a field diary of
observations made during the interview.
•For focus groups, key informants are interviewed. It involves a moderator
to facilitate a small group discussion between selected individuals on a
particular topic.
•This is a popular method in market research and testing new initiatives
with users/workers.
 Quantitative Research Design

Experiments, sometimes referred to as true science) are normally used in

studies. They use traditional mathematical and statistical means to measure
results conclusively.
•They are most commonly used by physical scientists, although social
sciences, education and economics have been known to use this type of
research.
•Quantitative studies use a standard format, with a few minor inter-
disciplinary differences, of generating a hypothesis to be proved or
disproved.
•This hypothesis must be provable by mathematical and statistical means,
and is the basis around which the whole experiment is designed.
•Randomization of any study groups is essential, and a control group
should be included, wherever possible.
•A sound quantitative design should only manipulate one variable at a time,
or statistical analysis becomes cumbersome and open to question.
•Ideally, the research should be constructed in a manner that allows others
to repeat the experiment and obtain similar results.
Advantages
•Quantitative research design is an excellent way of finalizing results and
proving or disproving a hypothesis.
•The structure is standard across many scientific fields and disciplines.
•After statistical analysis of the results, a comprehensive answer is reached,
and the results can be legitimately discussed and published.
•Quantitative studies try to filter out external factors, if properly designed,
and so the results gained can be seen as real and unbiased.
•Quantitative experiments are useful for testing the results gained by a
series of qualitative experiments, leading to a final answer, and a narrowing
down of possible directions for follow up research to take.

Disadvantages
•Quantitative studies must be carefully planned to ensure that there is
complete randomization and correct designation of control groups.
•Quantitative studies usually require extensive statistical analysis.
 Survey Research Design
A Survey
•A survey in which every element of the population is studied is referred to as a
census survey.
•A survey in which only a sub-set or a few elements of the population (i.e. sample)
are used to study the whole population is known as a sample survey.
•Every effort should be made to minimize the difference between the sampled
population and the target population.
•A sample survey is often more accurate and in most cases better than a census for
the following reasons:

•Using an interview in an enormous project such as a census survey would require

the service of a great number of field workers some of whom may not be well-
trained.
•Census survey takes much longer
•The cost of a census is considerably greater, and supervision, the capturing and
processing of data, training require much more effort.
Five preliminary steps that should be taken when embarking on a research project. They are:
1.choose a topic
2.review the literature
3.determine the research question or objectives
4.develop a hypothesis, and
5.operationalise, that is, find the suitable research methodology and use it to implement the
research plan to answer the research question or to achieve pre-determined objectives of the
study.
Two additional considerations that are very crucial, namely:
1.designing a representative sample, and
2.a questionnaire to be used to collect data.
3.By a representative sample, we mean an accurate proportional representation of the
population under study.
4.In this sample, every characteristic in the population should be well or fairly represented.
5.In other words, to obtain reliable results on the characteristics of interest of the population,
a sample, through the process of generalization, should in all relevant respects be a true
image or reflection of the population.
The survey research design is often used because of the low cost and easy
accessible information.

•Before you start the planning, it is important that you consult a statistician about the
survey research design.
•This helps you to know the right sample size and obtain a representative sample to
make it a valid survey and prevent inaccurate results.
Types of surveys
•There are two basic types of surveys: cross-sectional surveys and longitudinal
surveys.
•Cross-sectional surveys are used to gather data on a population at one point in
time.
•An example of a cross –sectional survey is using a questionnaire to collect data on
annual household expenditure in a country at a given time of the year.
•Longitudinal surveys gather data over a period of time.
•The researcher may then analyse the data to study changes in the population and
attempt, for e.g., to explain them.
•The three main longitudinal surveys are trend studies, cohort studies and panel
studies.

Longitudinal Study
A longitudinal study is observational research performed over a period of years or even
decades, and allows social scientists and economists to study long-term effects in a human
population.
A cohort study is a subset of the longitudinal study because it observes the effect on a
specific group of people over time.
There are two main sub-types of cohort study, the retrospective and the prospective cohort
study.
The major difference between the two is that the retrospective looks at phenomena that have
already happened, whilst the prospective type starts from the present.
Examples 7
Trend studies focus on a particular population, which is sampled and scrutinized
repeatedly.
E.g. A trend study is an annual survey of the average hourly earnings of workers in
the manufacturing industry in South Africa over a long period of time.
•A trend line is then fitted to the data.
•While samples are of the same population, they are typically not composed of the
same people.
•Several data from several studies of the same population (not necessarily done by
the same researcher) may be combined to investigate the trend of the characteristic
(or variable) of interest.

Cohort studies also focus on a particular population sampled and studied more than
once.
E.g. A sample of the 2010 first-year students at the SBL could be questioned
regarding their attitude toward the library staff.
•Two years later, the researcher could question another sample of the same 2010
first-year students and study any changes in attitude.
Note: If after the two years, the 2012 first-year students were studied, the study
would be a trend study instead.
Retrospective Cohort Study
The retrospective case study is historical in nature. Whilst still beginning
with the division into cohorts, the researcher looks at historical data to judge
the effects of the variable.
•It is a lot easier than the prospective, but there is no control, and
confounding variables can be a problem, as the researcher cannot easily
assess the lifestyle of the subject.
•A retrospective study is a very cheap and effective way of studying health
risks or the effects of exposure to pollutants and toxins.
•It gives results quickly, at the cost of validity, because it is impossible to
eliminate all of the potentially confounding variables from historical records
and interviews alone.

Prospective Cohort Study

In a prospective cohort study, the effects of a certain variable are plotted
over time, and the study becomes an ongoing process.
•To maintain validity, all of the subjects must be initially free of the condition
tested for.
E.g. An investigation, over time, into the effects of smoking upon lung cancer must
ensure that all of the subjects are free of the disease.
•It is also possible to subgroup and try to control variables, such as weight,
occupation type or social status.
•They are preferable to a retrospective study, but are expensive and usually require
a long period of time to generate useful results, so are very expensive and difficult.
•The prospective cohort study is a great way to study long-term trends, allowing the
researcher to measure any potential confounding variables, but the potential cost of
error is high, so pilot studies are often used to ensure that the study runs smoothly.

Ambidirectional Cohort Study

•The ambidirectional cohort study is the ultimate method, combining retrospective
and prospective aspects.
•The researcher studies and analyzes the previous history of the cohorts and then
continues the research in a prospective manner.
This gives the most accurate results, but is an extremely arduous undertaking,
costing time and a great deal of money.
•The ambidirectional study shares one major drawback with the prospective study, in
that it is impossible to guarantee that any data can be followed up, as participants
may decline to participate or die prematurely.
•These studies need to look at very large samples to ensure that any attributional
losses can be absorbed by the statistics
Panel studies allow the researcher to find out why changes in the population are
occurring since they use the same sample of people every time.
•That sample is referred to as a panel.

•A researcher could for example, select a sample of the SBL students and ask them
questions on their future work expectations.
•Every year thereafter, the researcher would contact the same people and ask them
similar questions and ask them the reasons for any changes in their expectations.
•Panel studies suffer from attrition, that is, people drop out of the study for various
reasons, for example, moving away from the area of study, dying, deciding not to
participate in the subsequent surveys, etc.
Observation
This involves observing and recording the results of the research, gathering
the findings into raw data.
•The observation stage involves looking at what effect the
manipulated variables have upon the subject, and recording the results.
•A social scientist has to ensure that they intervene as little as possible

Data Collection Methods

Unstructured data collection methods
When a survey is carried out without a fixed interview schedule or questionnaire,
the method used is referred to as unstructured data collection method.
•This is normally the case for, for e.g. free interviews or in-depth discussions.
•Emphasis is on individual basis.
•The purpose of the study is normally to explain individual behaviour rather than to
generalize the results to a population, and comparability is not important.
•Observation is also an unstructured data collection technique (but it is not a
survey).
Structured data Collection Methods
Face to face
This is probably the most traditional method of the survey research design.
It can be very accurate.
•It allows you to be selective about to whom you ask questions and you can
explain anything that they do not understand.
•In addition, you can make a judgment about who you think is wasting your
time or giving stupid answers.
•There are a few things to be careful of with this approach; firstly, people
can be reluctant to give up their time without some form of incentive.
•Another factor to bear in mind is that is difficult to ask personal questions
face to face without embarrassing people.
•It is also very time consuming and difficult to obtain a representative
sample.
•If you are going to be asking questions door-to-door, it is essential to
ensure that you have some official identification to prove who you are.
Mail
This does not necessarily mean using the postal service; this includes
delivering it physically.
•This is a good way of targeting a certain section of people and is excellent
if you need to ask personal or potentially embarrassing questions.
•The problems with this method are that you cannot be sure of how many
Structuring and Designing the Questionnaire
•The design of your questionnaire depends very much upon the type of
survey and the target audience.
•If you are asking questions face to face it is easy to explain if people are
unsure of a question.
•If your questionnaire is going to include many personal questions then
mailing methods are preferable.
•Keep your questionnaire as short as possible; people will either refuse to fill
in a long questionnaire or get bored halfway through.
•If you do have lots of information then it may be preferable to offer multiple-
choice or rating questions to make life easier.

Cover Note
•It is also polite, especially with mailed questionnaires, to send a short cover
note explaining what you are doing and how the subject should return the
surveys to you.
•You should introduce yourself; explain why you are doing the research,
what will happen with the results and who to contact if the subject has any
queries.
Type of Question
•Multiple choice questions allow many different answers, including don’t
know, to be assessed.
•The main strength of this type of question is that the form is easy to fill in
and the answers can be checked easily and quantitatively; this is useful for
large sample groups.
•Rating, on some scale, is a tried and tested form of question structure.
•This way is very useful when you are seeking to be a little more open-ended
than is possible with multiple choice questions.
•It is a little harder to analyze responses.
•It is important to make sure that the scale allows extreme views.
•Questions asking for opinions must be open-ended and allow the subject to
give their own response; you should appear to be as neutral as possible
during the procedure.
•The major problem is that you have to devise a numerical way of analyzing
and statistically evaluating the responses which can lead to a biased view, if
care is not taken.
•The order in which you ask the questions can be important. Try to start off
with the most relevant questions first.
•Also friendly and non-threatening questions put the interviewee at ease.
•Questions should be simple and straightforward using everyday
language rather than perfect grammar.
•Try and group questions about similar topics together; this makes it a lot
quicker for people to answer questions more quickly and easily.
•Some researchers advocate mixing up and randomizing questions for
accuracy but this approach tends to be more appropriate for advanced
market research.
•For this type of survey the researcher is trying to disguise the nature of
the research and filter out preconceptions.
•It is also a good idea to try out a test survey; ask a small group to give
genuine and honest feedback so that you can make adjustments.
 SAMPLING
Selection of a sample
•In a bona fide survey, the sample is not selected haphazardly or only from
persons who volunteer to participate.
•If it is scientifically chosen so that each person has a measurable chance of
selection, the results can be reliably projected to the larger population.
•Information must be collected by means of a standardized procedure so that
every individual is asked the same question in more or less the same way.
•Ethically, confidentiality concerns must be observed, for e.g., using only number
codes to link the respondent to a questionnaire and storing the name –to- code
linkage information separately from the questionnaire, and refusing to give the
names of respondents to anyone outside the research project.
•Individual respondents should never be identified in reporting survey findings;
completely anonymous summaries, for example, in terms of tables and charts
should be given.
•Respondents must be asked for their consent to participate in the survey.
Their privacy and rights must be observed.
Sampling Methods
i. Two classes of sampling methods
1. Probability Sampling: This is a concept of probability that a
certain event will occur if the experiment is to be executed once. Each
element of the population has a known positive probability of being
selected as an element of the sample.
2.Non-probability sampling: This includes all methods of sampling in which
the probability of selection of population elements is unknown or
undeterminable.
These samples are faster, more convenient and cheaper to apply in
practice. They are popular in (1) market research and (2) opinion
surveys where speed is of utmost importance.
•With these methods, no indication of possible bias and of the error bounds of
estimates in respect of population characteristics can be done.
•But this does not imply that good results cannot be obtained. –The problem is
that the user is unable to give any indication of the reliability of the results that
have been obtained. They can somehow also, though rarely, be generalized to the
population.
•Social science is often conducted in situations where you cannot
select the kind of probability samples used in large scale surveys.

•For e.g., if you wanted to study street children in Mafikeng. There is

no list of these children. It is almost impossible to create such a list.

• In addition to that, there are times when probability sampling would

not be appropriate even if it were possible. Examples of non
probability sampling are; Judgmental non probability sampling or
purposive, snowball and quota.

ii. Randomness
This concept is applied in probability sampling in the process of
obtaining a representative sample. E.g. a coin tossing – random
selection process or use of random numbers.
a. Probability sampling procedures
i. Simple random sampling (SRS)
For SRS, each element or unit has the same probability of being selected,
with or without replacement. (i) every element in the population should be
clearly and unambiguously identifiable, and (ii) a list of all the elements of
the population (sampling frame) should be available. E.g. list of university
students.

Caution/comment
i. In some cases, it is difficult if not impossible to compile a list of all the
elements of the population.
ii. A SRS is not necessarily a representative sample of the population. E.g.
in a study on the spending pattern of households in a community, a
sample consisting of households in for e.g., the highest socio-economic
class has the same probability of being drawn as any other specific
sample of the same number of households.
ii. Systematic sampling
Systematic random sampling can be understood as a method of a sample taken
from a list prepared on a systematic arrangement either on the basis of alphabetic
order or on house number or any other method. Drawing a SRS can be tedious and
time consuming. Systematic sampling is generally quick and easy, and often a
much more convenient method of sampling.

•The basic principle is that elements are drawn systematically from a

complete list of the elements. E.g., if N=nk, where n = sample size and k =
an integer.
•The first element to be chosen comes from the first k elements, then every
kth element will be included in the sample of size n. The selection interval
or length will be equal to k.
Remarks
1. A systematic sample works if there is no relationship between the
variable (or characteristic associated with the elements of the population)
being studied and the order of the elements in the population.
2. The use of systematic sampling becomes problematic if there is a
periodicity in the values of a relevant variable. E.g. A list of soldiers in the
Second World War.
iii. Stratified sampling
This method is used when:
1. the population is heterogeneous (or has different elements) in respect of
the variable or characteristic being studied, and
2. the population can be divided into so-called sub populations or strata
that are each more homogeneous (or with similar elements) in respect of
the relevant variable than the population as a whole.

•The sub-populations or strata should not overlap and should jointly

constitute the entire population.
•A random sample is drawn from each stratum so that subsamples jointly
constitute the total sample.
•Estimates become more precise as sampling variation decreases
Reasons for stratification are:
•To improve precision
• administrative convenience
• to ensure that every important part of a population is adequately
represented in the sample.
Factors that play a role in minimizing costs or standard error:
1. The size of the strata
2. The survey cost per unit within the different strata
3. The variation in the relevant variable within the different strata.
Proportional Stratified Sampling
•The size of the subsample is proportional to the size of the stratum.
•It can lead to unnecessarily large sub-samples from the larger strata and to
subsamples from the smaller strata that are too small resulting in wasted
money and smaller strata not being adequately represented in the total
sample.
Example: Stratifying population in terms of urban areas and rural areas
since spending patterns are likely to be different.
iv. Cluster sampling
This sampling method is used in a situation where it is difficult or
impractical or even impossible to compile a list for purposes of sampling.
E.g. Population of a city.

•Cluster sampling involves the initial drawing of groups of population

elements, called clusters.
•Then drawing elements from each selected cluster. E.g. Draw a sample of
schools first, then pupils from these schools.
•One-stage sampling: all elements in the selected clusters are selected.
•Multistage sampling: a sub-sample can be drawn from each of the
selected clusters.
Reasons for cluster sampling
1. When no sampling frame is available.
2.Economic and practical reason, avoiding for e.g. traveling long distances
to reach one or two persons. Cost in terms of money and time.
•Like in the case stratified sampling cluster sampling requires prior
knowledge of the composition of the population.
•The more heterogeneous (in terms of the relevant variable) the
composition of the clusters from the elements of the population, i.e. is the
greater the variation between the values of the variable associated with the
elements within the same cluster, the smaller the standard error and
consequently the higher or better the precision of the estimates.
•The smaller the cluster size, the more expensive the survey but the better
the precision. Then the compromise will have to be found between these
two aspects.
Complex sampling (combination of stratified and cluster sampling)
Sampling procedure:
•Stratification: to draw a representative sample and to improve the
precision of estimates by forming strata as homogeneous as possible.
•Cluster: No complete list – sampling frame
•Multistage sampling: Clusters drawn first from each stratum. Then smaller
clusters are drawn from the selected clusters etc. Until population
elements are eventually drawn from the last clusters. It is a step-by-step
design
Non-probability sampling - normally for qualitative research
•Estimation of standard error serves no purpose because the estimate
cannot be interpreted.
•Non-probability samples do not permit generalization outside the group of
sample elements and can be assessed fully by subjective evaluation.
Examples: Convenient, Haphazard, judgment or purposive and quota
sampling (combination of convenient and judgment sampling).
Convenient Sampling
•Obtaining people or units that are conveniently available
•E.g. it would be more convenient and economical to set up an interviewing booth
from which to intercept consumers at a shopping mall.
•A lecturer using his/her students for a research study
•Note: Projecting or generalizing to the results beyond the specific sample is
inappropriate.
Judgment or Purposive sampling
•A non probability sampling procedure when an experienced researcher selects the
sample based on his/her judgment about some appropriate characteristic required
of the sample member.
•Researchers select samples that satisfy their specific purpose even if they are not
fully representative
•E.g., CPI is based on a judgment sample of market basket items
•A fashion manufacturer selects a sample of key accounts that it believes are
capable of providing information needed to predict sales
•Can be used to predict election results
Quota Sampling
•Probability sampling may underrepresent or overrepresent certain subgroups in
the population
•The researcher may wish to ensure that certain subgroups are included
proportionately to the sample
•The purpose is to ensure that the various subgroups in a population are
represented on pertinent sample characteristics to the exact extent that the
investigator desires
•He/she has a quota to achieve
Advantages:
•Speed of data collection, lower costs and convenience
•Carefully selected data collections may provide a representative sample of the
various subgroups within a population
•May be appropriate if the researcher knows that certain demographic group is
more likely to refuse to cooperate with a survey
Snowball Sampling
•Involve using a probability sampling for an initial selection of respondents and
then obtaining additional respondents through information provided by the initial
respondents
•Used to locate members of rare population by referrals
•Bias is likely to occur because the person suggested by someone also in the
sample has a higher probability of being similar to the first person
 QUALITATIVE APPROACH

When to choose Qualitative Research

Qualitative research serves the following purposes:
•Descriptive – reveal nature of certain situations, settings, processes,
relationships, system or people.
•Interpretation – to gain new insights about a phenomenon, develop new
concepts and theoretical perspectives, etc and discover the problem that
exists within the phenomenon.
•Verification – it allows the researcher to test the validity of certain
assumptions, claims, theories or generalizations within the real world
•Evaluation – a means through which a researcher can judge the
effectiveness of a particular policy, practice or innovation.

Qualitative Research Designs (Leedy & Ormrod, 2005)

•Case study, Ethnography, Phenomenological, Grounded theory, and
Content analysis
•We dig deep to get a complete understanding of the phenomenon.
•We collect different forms of data and examine them from various angles to
construct a rich and meaningful picture of a complex, multifaceted situation.

There are several different approaches but they:

• all focus on a phenomenon in its natural setting in the real world.
•involve studying the phenomenon in all its complexity in a multifaceted and all
its dimensions.
The researcher must keep his/her perceptions, impressions and biases to
him/herself. What matters is to get the truth.

Brief notes on the Research Designs

Case Study
A particular event, programme or individual studied in depth.
e.g., a medical researcher studying the nature, course and treatment of
a rare illness.
 
Focuses on a single case - can be generalized to similar situations.
May focus on 2 or 3 cases to make comparisons, build a theory or
propose generalization.
Case studies are detailed investigations of individuals, groups, institutions
or other social units. The researcher conducting a case study attempts to
analyze the variables relevant to the subject under study (Hungler & Polit,
1983).

The principle difference between case studies and other research studies
is that the focus of attention is the individual case and not the whole
population of cases.

Most studies search for what is common and pervasive. However, in the
case study, the focus may not be on generalization but on understanding
the particulars of that case in its complexity. A case study focuses on a
bounded system, usually under natural conditions, so that the system can
be understood in its own habitat (Stake, 1995; 1988).

Method
•Extensive data, Observation, Interviews, Documents, etc, Past records
•Audiovisual materials (photographs, video tapes, audio tapes)
The researcher may spend extended period of time on the site and interact
with the participants.
Data analysis
•Organizing of details about the case
•Categorizing of data – cluster into meaningful groups
•Interpretation of single instances – specific documents, occurrences
•Identification of patterns – underlying themes characterizing the case
more broadly
•Synthesis and generalization – an overall portrait of the case is
constructed. Conclusion and implication beyond the case.
•The researcher must look for convergence from a triangulated study, that
is, separate pieces of data must point to the same conclusion.

Writing the Report

In report writing, the researcher records details about the context surrounding the
case, that is, information about the physical environment and historical, economic
and social factors that have a bearing on the situation.

This helps other researchers who read the report draw conclusions about the
extent of generalization to other situations.
•Rationale – worthiness of in-depth study and contribution about the real
world.
•Detailed description of the facts related to the case
•Description of data collected, i.e., What observations, whom interviewed,
what documents examined, etc.
•Discussion of the patterns found – any trends, themes, personality
characteristics, etc. You have to convince the reader by also describing
contradictory information as well.

•Must be as complete and unbiased as possible

•A connection to the larger scheme of things. In what way does the case
study contribute to the knowledge about some aspects of the human
experience?
•Compare to previous studies, etc.
 ETHNOGRAPHY
•The researcher looks at the entire group that shares a common culture in
depth.
•Natural setting
•Length of time period – even up to several years.
•Focus is on everyday behaviours (e.g. interactions, language, rituals) with
an intent to identify:
•Cultural norms
•Beliefs
•Social structures
•Other cultural patterns.
Mainly done in sociology, psychology and education.

Method
•Site – based field work
•Prolonged engagement with people to observe and record processes..
•Better when the researcher is a stranger to avoid bias
To gain entry the researcher often go through a gatekeeper such as a tribal
chief, the person who can provide a smooth entrance into the site.
•The researcher must be open about why he/she is there.
•Initially, the researcher uses a big net approach, intermingling with
everyone and getting an overall sense of the cultural context.

•Gradually he identifies key informants to provide relevant information.

•Participant observation can do; the disadvantage however is that the
researcher can become emotionally involved and lose the ability to assess
the situation accurately.

•Throughout the field work he/she must be a careful observer, interviewer

and listener while taking extensive field notes.
•Lengthy conversations and significant events can be recorded using
audiotapes or videotapes.
•Can also collect artifacts and records e.g. accounting ledgers.
•Great patience and tolerance and being sociable are necessary.
Data Analysis
•Descriptive – Data organized into logical structures
•Describing events in chronological order
•Describing a typical day in the life of the group or an individual

•Focusing on a critical event

•Developing a story, with plots and characters.
•Analysis – data categorized according to their meanings, patterns,
regularities and critical events identified.

•Interpretation – The general nature of the culture is inferred from the

categories of meanings and patterns identified in 2.
•Existing theoretical frameworks may help
Note: Total objectivity is impossible.
Report writing
•Often personal, literary narrative designed to engage the reader’s
attention and interest.
It Includes:
•Introduction – rationale and context.
•Present your research question
•Describe the nature of the study
•Importance of the study
•A description of the setting and methods used
•Describe the group and systems and rituals, the name of the place, etc.
•An analysis of the culture studied
•Describe the patterns and themes observed, norms and conventions for
behaviour, the social hierarchy, belief system.
•Present evidence to support your claim
Use the participants’ actual words
Conclusion
•Relate findings to the research question and concepts and theories in the
discipline
•Avoid making judgments, (even small changes in the wording can make a
significant difference in this regard).
•Should be sufficiently detailed.
 PHENOMENOLOGY
•Refers to a person’s perception of the meaning of an event.
•Attempts to understand people’s perceptions, perspectives and
understandings of a particular situation. E.g. experiences of people caring
for a dying relative, living in abusive relationship.
•By looking at multiple perspectives, on the same situation the researcher
can make some generalization.

Method
•Carefully selected sample of participants
•Lengthy interview e.g., 1 or 2 hrs.
•Often very unstructured

•The researcher listens closely as participants describe their daily

experiences related to the phenomenon.
•Typically an interview tool like informal conversation - as participants do
most of the talking.
Data analysis
To identify common themes:

Steps:
•identify statements that relate to the topic
•The researcher breaks information into small segments (e.g., phrases or
sentences) that each reflects a single, specific thought.
•Group statements into ‘meaning units’ – categories.
•Seek divergent perspectives
•Construct a composite
•Develop overall description of the phenomenon or people’s experience.
•The focus is on common themes.

Research report
•No specific structure
•Present your research problem or question
•Describe the methods used for data collection and analysis
•Draw conclusions
•Relate your findings to an existing body of theory and research.
•Discuss any practical implications of the findings.
 GROUNDED THEORY
•Least likely to start from a particular theoretical framework
•Major purpose of this approach is to begin with the data and use them to
develop a theory.
•Term ‘grounded’ gives an idea that the theory is derived from and
grounded in data collected in the field rather than taken from literature.
•Focuses on a process related to a particular topic, with ultimate goal of
developing a theory about that process.

Method
•Field based
•Interviewing, observations, documents, etc are used
•Data collected must include the perspectives and voices of the people
being investigated.

•Cases are selected by a sampling process in which the researcher

identifies new cases that are similar to previous cases.
•When these cases generate no new insights, the process is repeated with
newly selected cases that yield different insights again until no new
insights are noted.
Data analysis
•Categorize to classify the data
•Identify interrelationships
•Data analyzed may lead to later data collection for revision.
•Theory developed includes numerous concepts and interrelationships.
•The theory is written in the form of a verbal statement, visual model or
series of hypotheses explaining the phenomenon.

The research report

•A description of the research question
•A review of the related literature
•A description of the methodology and data analysis done
•A presentation of your theory
•A discussion of implications
•Show how your theory is similar or dissimilar to existing theory
•Explain how it is related to existing body of knowledge
•Give implications
 CONTENT ANALYSIS
•A detailed and systematic examination of the contents of a particular body
of material for the purpose of identifying patterns, themes or biases.
•Used in a wide range of disciplines.
•Can be used with another approach

Method
•identify the specific body of material to be studied
•a random sample may be used
•Define the characteristics or qualities to be examined in precise, concrete
terms.
•You may break down items of a complex material into small, manageable
segments to be analyzed separately.
•Scrutinize the material
•When the material is entirely objective, one single judgment is enough,
but if subjective, more judgments, may be, 2 or 3 are required, and then a
composite of the judgments is used.
Data analysis
•Tabulate the frequencies of each characteristic found – implying the use
of both quantitative and qualitative approaches.
•Appropriate statistical analysis can then be done on the frequencies to
interpret the data as they reflect on the research problem.

Research reporting
•Describe the body of the material and sampling procedure used
•Give a precise definition and description of the characteristics you looked
for.
•Describe the coding or rating procedure used
•Tabulation and graphing – report the frequencies and percentages
obtained.
•Give a description of the patterns and trends that the data reflected.
How to analyse qualitative data
•It depends upon the type of questions used.
•Analyzing results for a case study tends to be more opinion based than
statistical methods.
•The usual idea is to try and collate your data into a manageable form and
construct a narrative around it.
•Use examples in your narrative whilst keeping things concise and
interesting.
•It is always a good idea to assume that a person reading your research
may not possess a lot of knowledge of the subject so try to write
accordingly.
•Unlike a scientific study which deals with facts, a case study is based on
opinion and is very much designed to provoke reasoned debate.
•There really is no right or wrong answer in a case study.
•For multiple choice questions it is a matter of counting up the answers to
each question and using statistics for analysis.
•Rating type question require a little more work but the follow broadly the
same principle.
•For opinion questions, you can devise some way of judging the responses
numerically.
•The next step is to devise which statistical test you are going to use.
Data analysis for quantitative data

•Use of statistical methods

For e.g.:
•Chi-square test is used to test relationships or dependency
between variables,
•t-test is used to compare two groups by comparing their mean
values,
•ANOVA is used to compare more than two groups,
•Correlation and Regression analysis is used to test relationships,
•Factor analysis is used to study or identify factors of phenomena,
etc.
Significance Test
•To test a hypothesis, quantitative research uses significance tests to
determine whether the hypothesis is right.
•The significance test can show whether the null hypothesis is more likely
correct than the alternative hypothesis or vice versa.

•The t-test is one of many statistical significance tests, which compares two
supposedly equal sets of data to see if they really are alike or not.
•The t-test helps the researcher conclude whether a hypothesis is supported
or not.
•The significance test is the process used, by researchers, to determine
whether the null hypothesis is rejected, in favor of the alternative or not.
•The test involves comparing the observed values with theorized values.
•The tests establish whether there is a relationship between the variables, or
whether pure chance could produce the observed results.
Statistically Significant Results
Statistically significant results are those that are interpreted not likely to
have occurred purely by chance and thereby have other underlying
causes for their occurrence.

- Whenever a statistical analysis is performed and

results interpreted, there is always a finite chance that the results are
purely by chance.
•Mistakes such as measurement errors may cause the researcher to
misinterpret the results.
•However, the probability that the process was simply a chance encounter
can be calculated, and a minimum threshold of statistical significance can
be set.
•If the results are obtained such that the probability that they are simply a
chance process is less than this threshold of significance, then we can say
the results are not due to chance.
•Common statistically significant levels are 5%, 1%, etc.
•In terms of null hypothesis, the concept of statistical significance can be
understood to be the minimum level at which the null hypothesis can be
rejected.
•This means if the researcher sets his statistical significance level at 5%
and the probability that the results are a chance process is 3%, then the
experimenter can claim that the null hypothesis can be rejected.
•In this case, the experimenter will call his results to be statistically
significant. Lower the significance level, higher the confidence.
•While determining significant results statistically, it is important to note that
it is impossible to use statistics to prove that the difference in levels of two
parameters is zero.

•This means that the results of a significant analysis should not be

interpreted as meaning there was no difference.
•The only thing that the statistical analysis can state is that the study failed
to find any difference.
 Interpretation
•Drawing a conclusion is based on several factors of the research process,
not just because the researcher got the expected result.
•It has to be based on the validity and reliability of the measurement, how
good the measurement was to reflect the real world and what more could
have affected the results.
•The observations are often referred to as 'empirical evidence' and the
logic/thinking leads to the conclusions.
•Anyone should be able to check the observation and logic, to see if they
also reach the same conclusions.
•Errors of the observations may stem from measurement-problems,
misinterpretations, unlikely random events etc.
•A common logical error for beginners, is to think that
correlation implies a causal relationship, which is not necessarily true.
Errors in Research
•Logically, it is possible to make two types of errors when drawing
conclusions in research:
•Type 1 error is when we reject the null hypothesis when the it in fact
correct.
•Type 2 error is when we accept it when it is in fact wrong

Evaluation
•After analysing the data, the researcher then evaluates the study.
•This involves critically evaluating any weaknesses and errors in the design,
which may have influenced the results.

Generalization
•Generalization is to which extent the research and the conclusions of the
research apply to the real world.
•Good research will reflect the real world, since we can only measure a
small portion of the population at a time.
Conclusions
This stage is where, technically, the hypothesis is stated as proved or disproved.
•For any research project, drawing conclusions is the final, and most important part
of the process.
•Whichever reasoning processes and research methods were used, the final
conclusion is critical, determining success or failure.
•Success or failure is not a measure of whether a hypothesis is accepted or refuted,
because both results still advance scientific knowledge.
•Failure is poor research design, or flaws in the reasoning processes, which
invalidate the results.

•As long as the research process is robust and well designed, then the findings are
sound.
•The key is to establish what the results mean. How are they applied to the world?
•Be self critical whether your results showed what you expected or not.
•Any survey has flaws in its method so it is always a good idea to show that you are
aware of these.
•If your survey gave unexpected results explain the possible reasons for why this
happened and suggestions for refining the techniques and structure of your survey
next time.
•As long as you have justified yourself and pointed out your own shortcomings then
your results will be relevant and you should receive a good result.
Research Implications or Recommendations
•The final stage is the researcher’s recommendations based upon the
results.
•This area of the research process can be based around the researcher’s
personal opinion, and will integrate previous studies.
•It is critical in determining the direction taken by the scientific community,
but the researcher will have to justify their findings.

Summary
•The key to drawing a valid conclusion is to ensure that the deductive and
inductive processes are correctly used, and that all
steps of the scientific method were followed.
•If your research had a robust design, questioning and scrutiny will be
devoted to the conclusion, rather than the methods.
What has been learnt?
•Generally, a researcher will summarize what they believe has been learned from the
research, and will try to assess the strength of the hypothesis.
•Even if the null hypothesis is accepted, a strong conclusion will analyze why the
results were not as predicted.
•In observational research, with no hypothesis, the researcher will analyze the
findings, and establish if any valuable new information has been uncovered.

Future Research
•Very few studies give clear-cut results, and most research uncovers more questions
than answers.
•The researcher can use these to suggest interesting directions for further study.
•If, for e.g., the null hypothesis was accepted, there may still have been trends
apparent within the results.
•These could form the basis of further study, or study refinement and redesign.
DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH DESIGNS
•A descriptive research design is a scientific method which involves observing and
describing the behavior of a subject without influencing it in any way.
•Many scientific disciplines, especially social science and psychology, use this
method to obtain a general overview of the subject.

•Some subjects cannot be observed in any other way; for example, a social
case study of an individual subject is a descriptive research design and allows
observation without affecting normal behavior.

•It is also useful where it is not possible to test and measure the large number of
samples needed for more quantitative types of study.
•It is also used by market researchers to judge the habits of customers, or by
companies wishing to judge the morale of staff.
•The results from a descriptive research can in no way be used as a definitive
answer or to disprove a hypothesis.
Advantages
•The subject is being observed in a completely natural and unchanged natural
environment.
•A good example of this would be an anthropologist who wanted to study a tribe
without affecting their normal behavior in any way.

•Descriptive research is often used as an exploratory study to more quantitatively

research designs, the general overview giving some valuable pointers as to what
variables are worth testing quantitatively.

Disadvantages
•Because there are no variables manipulated, there is no way to statistically analyze
the results.
•Many scientists regard this type of study as very unreliable and ‘unscientific’.
 QUALITATIVE RESEARCH DESIGN
•Qualitative research design is a research method used extensively by researchers
studying human behavior and habits.

•Qualitative research is often regarded as a precursor to quantitative research, in

that it is often used to generate possible leads and ideas which can be used to
formulate a realistic and testable hypothesis.

•This hypothesis can then be comprehensively tested and mathematically

analyzed, with standard quantitative research methods.

Design
•The design of qualitative research is probably the most flexible of the various
research techniques.
•There is no standardized structure.
•Case studies and survey designs are the most commonly used methods.
Advantages
•Qualitative techniques are extremely useful when a subject is too complex
to be answered by a simple yes or no hypothesis.
•These types of designs are much easier to plan and carry out.
•Qualitative research methods are not as dependent upon sample sizes as
quantitative methods. Normally, small sample sizes are used.

Disadvantages
•Whilst not as time or resource consuming as quantitative experiments,
qualitative methods require a lot of careful thought and planning, to ensure
that the results obtained are as accurate as possible.
•Qualitative data cannot be mathematically analyzed in the same
comprehensive way as quantitative results, so can only give a guide to
general trends.

•It is a lot more open to personal opinion and judgment.

•Any qualitative research design is usually unique and cannot be exactly
recreated, meaning that they do lack the ability to be peer reviewed.
 DATA ANALYSIS OF QUALITATIVE DATA
IN GENERAL
•Interview questions and responses are typically tape-recorded and then
transcribed verbatim before analysis is begun.
•Qualitative researchers often categorize data into patterns as the
primary basis for organizing and reporting results.

Transcription is extremely time-consuming (Marlow, 1993). Due to the

large amount of data that can be generated in qualitative research, a data
reduction process must be used to aid analysis.

This procedure includes: organizing the data; identifying emerging

themes, categories, and patterns; and testing hypotheses against the
data.
Either “indigenous” or “analyst-constructed” typologies may be
constructed.
•In indigenous categories, the language of respondents is used to label
types of processes (Marshall & Rossman, 1989; Patton, 1990).
•In analyst-constructed categories, the researcher attaches a label to
observed recurring events.
Narrative descriptions of data collected through interviews, observations,
and case records are also used in qualitative analysis.
Content analysis is often used in qualitative and quantitative research
methods.

Some researchers view content analysis as a technique to quantify

manifest (surface-level) descriptive data (Allen-Meares, 1985), in which
categories are developed, content is coded, and category counts are
conducted.

Qualitative content analysis typically does not transform the content into
numeric patterns; instead, recurrent themes, and typologies and
illustrations of particular issues, are used.
The following are interpretive techniques:
Observer impression
The most common analysis of qualitative data is observer impression.
Expert or bystander observers examine the data, interpret it via forming an
impression and report their impression in a structured and sometimes
quantitative form.
Coding
•Helps to interpret the data by organizing the data and providing a means
to introduce the interpretations of it into certain quantitative methods.
•In most cases, coding requires the analyst to read the data and
demarcate segments within it.

Each segment is labeled with a “code” – usually a word or short phrase

that suggests how the associated data segments inform the research
objectives.
•When coding is complete, the analyst prepares reports via a mix of:
summarizing the prevalence of codes, discussing similarities and
differences in related codes across distinct original sources/contexts, or
comparing the relationship between one or more codes.
•Computer programmes can assist in this regard.

•The criticism of the coding method is that coding seeks to transform

qualitative data into quantitative data, thereby reducing the detail (i.e. its
variety, richness and individual character).
•Careful definition of the codes and linking them to the underlying data can
address this concern.

Recursive abstraction
Some qualitative datasets are analyzed without coding.

Datasets are summarized, those summaries are then further summarized,

and so on.

The end result is a more compact summary that would have been difficult
to accurately portray. 
•The common criticism of this method is that the final conclusions are
several times removed from the underlying data such that poor initial
summaries will yield an inaccurate final report.

•What researchers do is to document the reasoning behind each

summary step and cite examples from the data where statements were
included and where statements were excluded from the intermediate
summary.

Mechanical techniques
The researcher uses a computer to scan and sort large sets of qualitative
data by counting the same words or phrases within the data.

•This technique is particularly suitable for datasets that are too large for a
human to effectively analyze, or where analysis would be cost prohibitive
relative to the value of information they contain.
•The criticism of the technique is the absence of a human interpreter.
 MIXED METHOD APPROACH
When the phenomenon being investigated is not well understood, a qualitative
research can be used first to generate preliminary hypotheses, and then quantitative
research is used to test specific hypotheses.
For comprehensive studies, it is better to use both approaches (i.e. qualitative and
quantitative), a situation where, the quantitative method helps to test hypotheses
and to make the study more objective and the qualitative method helps to give a
complete understanding or in-depth information on the phenomenon being studied –
in all its dimensions.
•Complex studies, having many different research questions may use both
approaches to answer particular questions or to address particular research
problems.
•E.g., poverty is multidimensional in nature, i.e., it has social, political and economic
dimensions.
•So, a poverty study may need both approaches to be studied – a situation where
the qualitative research methods are used to investigate the social and political
issues and help the voice of the poor to be heard and quantitative methods are used
to study the economic issues.
According to Lee (1999), within a single study multiple qualitative and
quantitative techniques that involve complementary data-gathering
activities can be applied that compensate for the weaknesses of individual
tactics.

The data becomes more comprehensive and quite informative.

E.g. The factors affecting an organizational phenomenon can be

quantitatively investigated – using a field experiment and regression
analysis and qualitative techniques used to inform about additional, little
known variables, processes and conditions that might surround the effects
investigated by the quantitative techniques.
•Normally a semi-structured questionnaire is used to include both closed
and open-ended questions.
Note:
Social experiences and the realities of the world are multidimensional and so if
phenomena are viewed only along a single dimension we cannot have a complete
picture of what is going on around us.
•Qualitative empirical research tends to expose the complexity of real life experience.
•The use of mixed methods and a multidimensional approach allows the researcher to
frame questions which precisely focus on how different dimensions and scales of social
existence are related.
•The particular strength of qualitative research lies in the knowledge provided regarding
the dynamics of social processes, change and social context, and in its ability to answer
‘how’ and ‘why’ questions in those domains.
•There are two core elements to the logic of qualitative explanation: one relates to a
qualitative logic of comparison, e.g., between cases, situations, contexts, over time, etc
and the second relates to the significance of context.
•Understanding how social processes and phenomena are embedded within specific
contexts makes possible the development of cross-contextual generalizations.
This entails the use of contextual explanation, where emphasis is on explaining how
different dimensions of context together link up together with the processes or questions
driving the study.

Using mixed methods to ‘triangulate’ or to corroborate each other suggests an integrated

framework, where each method and form of data is used to highlight a specific part of the
picture.

There might however be tensions arising from differences in approaches to data collection
because of using different sets of assumptions.
To overcome any such potential difficulty the solution is in how explanations are done.
Explanations do not have to be internally consistent to have a meaning and capacity to
explain.
If indeed the realities of the world are multidimensional – political, social, cultural,
economic, etc, then explanations arising from mixed data-collection methods would be
likewise (see Cho and Trent, 2006; Dixon-Woods, et. al. 2006, Moran-Ellis, 2006; Mason,
2006 in Kimani, 2009).
Remember:
•Using a quantitative research design is an excellent way of finalizing
results and proving or disproving a hypothesis, and

•Scientific experiments are useful for testing the data gained by a series of
qualitative experiments, leading to a final answer, and a narrowing down
of possible directions for follow up research to take.
Research Bias
•Research bias is a process where the scientists performing the research
influence the results, in order to portray a certain outcome.
•Some bias in research arises from experimental error and failure to take
into accounts all of the possible variables.

•Other research bias arises when researchers select subjects that are more
likely to generate the desired results.
•Research bias is the one factor that makes qualitative research much more
dependent upon experience and judgment than quantitative research.
•Any design process involves understanding the inherent biases and
minimizing the effects.

•In quantitative research, the researcher tries to eliminate bias completely

whereas, in qualitative research, it is all about understanding that it will
happen.
Design bias
•Design bias is introduced when the researcher fails to take into account the
inherent biases liable in most types of experiment.
•Some research bias is inevitable, and the researcher must show that they
understand this, and have tried their best to lessen the impact, or take it into
account in the statistics analysis.

Selection Bias
•This is sampling bias that occurs when the process of sampling actually introduces
an inherent bias into the study.
•There are two types of sampling bias, based around those samples that you omit,
and those that you include:

Omission Bias
•This research bias occurs when certain groups are omitted from the sample.
•Omission bias is often unavoidable, so the researchers have to incorporate and
account for this research bias in the research design.

Inclusive Bias
•Inclusive bias occurs when samples are selected for convenience.
•This type of bias is often a result of convenience where, for e.g., volunteers are the
only group available, and they tend to fit a narrow demographic range.
•There is no problem with it, as long as the researchers are aware that they cannot
extrapolate the results to fit the entire population.
Procedural Bias
•Procedural bias is where an unfair amount of pressure is applied to the subjects,
forcing them to complete their responses quickly.
•For e.g., employees asked to fill out a questionnaire during their break period are
likely to rush, rather than reading the questions properly.

Measurement Bias
•Measurement bias arises from an error in the data collection and the process of
measuring.
•In quantitative studies, a faulty scale would cause an instrument bias and invalidate
the entire experiment.
•In qualitative research, the scope for bias is wider and much more subtle, and the
researcher must be constantly aware of the problems.
•Subjects are often extremely reluctant to give socially unacceptable answers, for fear
of being judged.
•For e.g., a subject may strive to avoid appearing homophobic or racist in an interview.
•This can skew the results, and is one reason why researchers often use a
combination of interviews, with an anonymous questionnaire, in order to minimize
measurement bias.
•Particularly in participant studies, performing the research will actually have an effect
upon the behavior of the sample groups.
•This is unavoidable, and the researcher must attempt to assess the potential effect.
•Instrument bias is one of the most common sources of measurement bias in
quantitative experiments.
•This is the reason why instruments should be properly calibrated, and multiple
samples taken to eliminate any obviously flawed or aberrant results.

Interviewer Bias
•This is one of the most difficult research biases to avoid in many
quantitative experiments, which rely upon interviews.
•The interviewer may subconsciously give subtle clues in with body
language, or tone of voice, that subtly influence the subject into giving
answers skewed towards the interviewer’s own opinions, prejudices and
values.
•The use of some form of anonymous process can eliminate the worst
effects.
Response Bias
•Conversely, response bias is a type of research bias where the subject
consciously, or subconsciously, gives response that they think that the
interviewer wants to hear.
•The subjects may also believe that they understand the study and are
aware of the expected findings, so adapt their responses.
•The amount of information given to the subject must be restricted, to
prevent them from understanding the full extent of the research.
Reporting Bias
•Reporting Bias is where an error is made in the way that the results are
disseminated in the literature.
•With the growth of the internet, this type of research bias is becoming a greater
source of concern.
•The main source of this type of bias arises because positive research tends to be
reported much more often than research where the null hypothesis is upheld.
•Increasingly, research companies bury some research, trying to publicize favorable
findings.