CHAPTER
TWO..
RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY:
An
Introduction
A. Meaning Of Research
Research in common parlance refers to a search for knowledge. Once
can also define research as a scientific and systematic search for pertinent
information on a specific topic. In fact, research is an art of scientific
investigation. The Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English lays down
the meaning of research as “a careful investigation or inquiry specially through
search for new facts in any branch of knowledge.”[1]
Redman and Mory define research as a “systematized effort to gain new
knowledge.”[2]
Some people consider research as a movement, a movement from the known to the
unknown. It is actually a voyage of discovery. We all possess the vital
instinct of inquisitiveness for, when the unknown confronts us, we wonder and
our inquisitiveness makes us probe and attain full and fuller understanding of
the unknown. This inquisitiveness is the mother of all knowledge and the
method, which man employs for obtaining the knowledge of whatever the unknown,
can be termed as research.
Research is an academic activity and as such the term should be
used in a technical sense. According to Clifford Woody research comprises
defining and redefining problems, formulating hypothesis or suggested
solutions; collecting, organising and evaluating data; making deductions and reaching
conclusions; and at last carefully testing the conclusions to determine whether
they fit the formulating hypothesis. D. Slesinger and M. Stephenson in the Encyclopaedia
of Social Sciences define research as “the manipulation of things, concepts or
symbols for the purpose of generalising to extend, correct or verify knowledge,
whether that knowledge aids in construction of theory or in the practice of an
art.”[3]
Research is, thus, an original contribution to the existing stock of knowledge making
for its advancement. It is the persuit of truth with the help of study, observation,
comparison and experiment. In short, the search for knowledge through objective
and systematic method of finding solution to a problem is research. The
systematic approach concerning generalisation and the formulation of a theory
is also research. As such the term ‘research’ refers to the systematic method consisting
of enunciating the problem, formulating a hypothesis, collecting the facts or
data, analyzing the facts and reaching certain conclusions either in the form
of solutions(s) towards the concerned problem or in certain generalisations for
some theoretical formulation
B. ..OBJECTIVES OF RESEARCH
The purpose of research is to discover answers to questions
through the application of scientific procedures. The main aim of research is
to find out the truth which is hidden and which has not been discovered as yet.
Though each research study has its own specific purpose, we may think of research
objectives as falling into a number of following broad groupings:
1.
To gain familiarity with a
phenomenon or to achieve new insights into it (studies with this object in view
are termed as exploratory or formulative research studies);
2.
To portray accurately the
characteristics of a particular individual, situation or a group (studies with
this object in view are known as descriptive research studies);
3.
To determine the frequency
with which something occurs or with which it is associated with something else
(studies with this object in view are known as diagnostic research
studies)
4.
To test a hypothesis of a
causal relationship between variables (such studies are known ashypothesis-testing
research studies).
C.
MOTIVATION IN RESEARCH..
What makes people to undertake research? This is a question of
fundamental importance. The possible motives for doing research may be either one
or more of the following:
1.
Desire to get a research
degree along with its consequential benefits;
2.
Desire to face the
challenge in solving the unsolved problems, i.e., concern over practical problems
initiates research;
3.
Desire to get intellectual
joy of doing some creative work;
4.
Desire to be of service to
society;
5.
Desire to get
respectability.
However, this is not an exhaustive list of factors motivating
people to undertake research studies. Many more factors such as directives of
government, employment conditions, curiosity about new things, desire to
understand causal relationships, social thinking and awakening, and the like
may as well motivate (or at times compel) people to perform research operations.
D.
TYPES OF RESEARCH
The basic types of research are as follows:
1.
Descriptive vs. Analytical: Descriptive research includes
surveys and fact-finding enquiries of different kinds. The major purpose of
descriptive research is description of the state of affairs as it exists at
present. In social science and business research we quite often usethe term Ex
post facto research for descriptive research studies. The main
characteristic of this method is that the researcher has no control over the
variables; he can only report what has happened or what is happening. Most ex
post facto research projects are used for descriptive studies in which the
researcher seeks to measure such items as, for example, frequency of shopping,
preferences of people, or similar data. Ex post facto studies also include
attempts by researchers to discover causes even when they cannot control the variables.
The methods of research utilized in descriptive research are survey methods of all
kinds, including comparative and correlational methods. In analytical
research, on the other hand, the researcher has to use facts or information
already available, and analyze these to make a critical evaluation of the
material.
2.
Applied vs. Fundamental: Research can either be applied (or action) research or fundamental
(to basic or pure) research. Applied research aims at finding a solution
for an immediate problem facing a society or an industrial/business
organisation, whereasfundamental research is mainly concerned
with generalisations and with the formulation of a theory. “Gathering knowledge
for knowledge’s sake is termed ‘pure’ or ‘basic’ research.”[4]
Research concerning some natural phenomenon or relating to pure mathematics are
examples of fundamental research. Similarly, research studies, concerning human
behaviour carried on with a view to make generalisations about human behaviour,
are also examples of fundamental research, but research aimed at certain
conclusions (say, a solution) facing a concrete social or business problem is
an example of applied research. Research to identify social, economic or
political trends that may affect a particular institution or the copy research (research
to find out whether certain communications will be read and understood) or the marketing
research or evaluation research are examples of applied research. Thus, the central
aim of applied research is to discover a solution for some pressing practical
problem, whereas basic research is directed towards finding information that
has a broad base of applications and thus, adds to the already existing
organized body of scientific knowledge.
3.
Quantitative vs. Qualitative: Quantitative research is
based on the measurement of quantity or amount. It is applicable to phenomena
that can be expressed in terms of quantity. Qualitative research, on the other
hand, is concerned with qualitative phenomenon, i.e., phenomena relating to or
involving quality or kind. For instance, when we are interested in investigating
the reasons for human behaviour (i.e., why people think or do certain things), we
quite often talk of ‘Motivation Research’, an important type of qualitative
research. This type of research aims at discovering the underlying motives and
desires, using in depth interviews for the purpose. Other techniques of such
research are word association tests, sentence completion tests, story
completion tests and similar other projective techniques. Attitude or opinion
research i.e., research designed to find out how people feel or what they think
about a particular subject or institution is also qualitative research.
Qualitative research is specially important in the behavioural sciences where
the aim is to discover the underlying motives of human behaviour. Through such
research we can analyse the various factors which motivate people to behave in
a particular manner or which make people like or dislike a particular thing. It
may be stated, however, that to apply qualitative research in practice is
relatively a difficult job and therefore, while doing such research, one should
seek guidance from experimental psychologists.
4.
Conceptual vs. Empirical: Conceptual research is
that related to some abstract idea(s) or theory. It is generally used by
philosophers and thinkers to develop new concepts or to reinterpret existing
ones. On the other hand, empirical research relies on experience or observation
alone, often without due regard for system and theory. It is data-based
research, coming up with conclusions which are capable of being verified by
observation or experiment. We can also call it as experimental type of
research... In such a research it is necessary to get at facts firsthand, at
their source, and actively to go about doing certain things to stimulate the
production of desired information. In such a research, the researcher must first
provide himself with a working hypothesis or guess as to the probable results.
He then works to get enough facts (data) to prove or disprove his hypothesis.
He then sets up experimental designs which he thinks will manipulate the persons
or the materials concerned so as to bring forth the desired information. Such
research is thus characterised by the experimenter’s control over the variables
under study and his deliberate manipulation of one of them to study its
effects. Empirical research is appropriate when proof is sought that certain
variables affect other variables in some way. Evidence gathered through
experiments or empirical studies is today considered to be the most powerful
support possible for a given hypothesis.
5.
Some Other Types of Research: All other types of research
are variations of one or more of the above stated approaches, based on either
the purpose of research, or the time required to accomplish research, on the
environment in which research is done, or on the basis of some other similar
factor. Form the point of view of time, we can think of research either as one-time
research or longitudinal research. In the former case the research is confined
to a single time-period, whereas in the latter case the research is carried on
over several time-periods. Research can be field-setting research or
laboratory research or simulation research, depending upon the
environment in which it is to be carried out. Research can as well be
understood as clinical or diagnostic research. Such research follow
case-study methods or indepth approaches to reach the basic causal relations.
Such studies usually go deep into the causes of things or events that interest
us, using very small samples and very deep probing data gathering devices. The
research may be exploratory or it may be formalized... The objective of
exploratory research is the development of hypotheses rather than their
testing, whereas formalized research studies are those with substantial
structure and with specific hypotheses to be tested. Historical research is
that which utilizes historical sources like documents, remains, etc. to study
events or ideas of the past, including the philosophy of persons and groups at
any remote point of time. Research can also be classified as conclusion-oriented
and decision-oriented. While doing conclusionoriented research, a
researcher is free to pick up a problem, redesign the enquiry as he proceeds
and is prepared to conceptualize as he wishes. Decision-oriented research is always
for the need of a decision maker and the researcher in this case is not free to
embark upon research according to his own inclination. Operations research is
an example of decision oriented research since it is a scientific method of providing
executive departments with a quantitative basis for decisions regarding
operations under their control.
E.
SIGNIFICANCE OF RESEARCH..
“All progress is born of inquiry. Doubt is often better than
overconfidence, for it leads to inquiry, and inquiry leads to invention” is a
famous Hudson Maxim in context of which the significance of research can well
be understood. Increased amounts of research make progress possible. Research
inculcates scientific and inductive thinking and it promotes the
development of logical habits of thinking and organisation. The
role of research in several fields of applied economics, whether related to
business or to the economy as a whole, has greatly increased in modern
times. The increasingly complex nature of business and government has
focused attention on the use of research in solving operational problems.
Research, as an aid to economic policy, has gained added importance, both for
government and business.
Research provides the basis for nearly all government policies
in our economic system. For instance,
government’s budgets rest in part on an analysis of the needs and desires of
the people and on the availability of revenues to meet these needs. The cost of
needs has to be equated to probable revenues and this is a field where research
is most needed. Through research we can devise alternative policies and can as
well examine the consequences of each of these alternatives.
Research has its special significance in solving various
operational and planning problems of
business and industry. Operations research and market research, along with
motivational research, are considered crucial and their results assist, in more
than one way, in taking business decisions.
Research is equally important for social scientists in studying
social relationships and in seeking answers
to various social problems. It provides the intellectual satisfaction of
knowing a few things just for the sake of knowledge and also has practical
utility for the social scientist to know for the sake of being able to do
something better or in a more efficient manner.[5]
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