HMEMS80_ Research Methodology_ SUMMARIES And Exam Prep.

HMEMS80_ Research Methodology_ SUMMARIES And Exam Prep. What research is and what it isn‛t: Research is an intensive activity that is based on the work of others & generates new ideas to pursue & questions to answer. Research: process where new knowledge is discovered. Theory: helps organise new info into coherent body i.e. set of related ideas that explains events that have occurred & predict events that may happen. High quality research: - is based on the work of others - Can be replicated - Is generalised to other settings - Is based on some logical rationale & tied to theory - Is doable - Generates new questions/ is cyclical in nature - Is incremental - Is an apolitical activity undertaken for betterment of society Broad distinction between 2 general types of research called qualitative & quantitative research.  quantitative approach: in line with typical positivistic view, ie. a single reality that can be measured reliably & validly, using scientific principles. empirical observation, measurement & use of statistical analysis are prominent. results are displayed in terms of objective numbers & statistical results  qualitative approach: in line with interpretive view that aims to reveal the subjectivity involved in any situation. is a study of things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of/interpret aspects in terms of meaning people bring to them. is about gaining a deeper understanding of an experience, a situation, perception etc. view regards realities to be constructed by different meanings that individuals attach to them & interpretation that researcher lends to them. Both investigate a research question, observations are made, data is gathered, analytical techniques are applied to analyse the data & interpretations are made. Data is also verified in both. Difference however, the strategy that each of these types of research employs in order to reach the goal, ie answer research question. This study source was downloaded by from CourseH on :54:23 GMT -05:00 This study resource was shared via CourseH 2) TITLE OF A RESEARCH PROPOSAL Research study/project starts with a problem- something worthwhile knowing more about. A research problem will have variables- variables are important because they are the characteristics/ values/elements/factors that can be changed, observed & measured in research. Variables: Dependent variable: the outcome that may depend on the experimental treatment/ what researcher changes or manipulates. Independent variable: is manipulated or changed to examine its effect upon the dependent variables. Factorial designs- experiments that include more than one independent variable. “ General rule- when researcher is manipulating anything/ assigning participants to groups based on some characteristic, i.e. independent variable. When looking for some outcome to determine whether the grouping had an effect i.e. dependent variable” Nb. When researcher not interested in looking at effects of 1 thing over another, only how variables are related – there are neither in/dependent variables. Relationship between variables: best independent variable is independent of any other variable being used is same study- this way they contribute max understanding beyond what other can offer. When variable compete to explain effects called confounding. Best dependent variable is one that sensitive to changes in different levels of each independent variable, otherwise- not know effect of treatment. Samples and Population since we cannot investigate everybody, we select a few people that we think will give us information that we would have obtained if we had asked everybody. 3) REVIEWING THE LITERATURE continuous process takes place from start to end of research. Every step in research process needs to be motivated &/or explained by information based on literature - improves the scientific credibility. to select a research problem, need to go through available relevant literature to guide in narrowing & clarifying the problem. To discuss background & context from which problem stems, you need literature. Once problem stated, need to use literature to define variables of study & describe what previous research has been done on them. The review of literature provides a framework for the research proposal. - Research is built on foundation of past researchers & productive efforts, results could be found in scholarly journal & books in libraries & online.