Research methodology: a step-by-step guide for beginners

The book of Research Methodology: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners integrates various quantitative and qualitative methodologies into eight practice-based-steps, providing lots of examples throughout to link theory with practice. Written specifically for students with no previous experience of research and research methodology, the writing style is simple and clear and the author presents this complex

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Research: an integral part of your practice

Research is undertaken within most professions. More than a set of skills, research is a way of thinking: examining critically the various aspects of your day-to-day professional work; understanding and formulating guiding principles that govern a particular procedure; and developing and testing new theories that contribute to the advancement of your practice and profession. It

Research: a way to gather evidence for your practice

Evidence-based practice (EBP) is the delivery of services based upon research evidence about their effectiveness; the service provider’s clinical judgement as to the suitability and appropriateness of the service for a client; and the client’s own preference as to the acceptance of the service. EBP is fast becoming a service delivery norm among many professions.

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Applications of research

Very little research in the field is pure in nature. That is, very few people do research in research methodology per se. Most research is applied research, which has wide application in many disciplines. Every profession uses research methods in varying amounts in many areas. They use the methods and procedures developed by research methodologists

Research: what does it mean?

There are several ways of obtaining answers to your professional questions. These methods range from the fairly informal, based upon clinical impressions, to the strictly scientific, adhering to the conventional expectations of scientific procedures. Research is one of the ways to find answers to your questions. When you say that you are undertaking a research

The research process: characteristics and requirements

From these definitions it is clear that research is a process for collecting, analysing and inter­preting information to answer questions. But to qualify as research, the process must have certain characteristics: it must, as far as possible, be controlled, rigorous, systematic, valid and verifiable, empirical and critical. Let us briefly examine these characteristics to understand

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Types of research

Types of research can be looked at from three different perspectives (Figure 1.2): applications of the findings of the research study; objectives of the study; mode of enquiry used in conducting the study. The classification of the types of a study on the basis of these perspectives is not mutually exclusive: that is, a research

Paradigms of research

There are two main paradigms that form the basis of research in the social sciences. It is beyond the scope of this book to go into any detail about these. The crucial question that divides the two is whether the methodology of the physical sciences can be applied to the study of social phenomena. The

The research process: an eight-step model

Research methodology is taught as a supporting subject in several ways in many academic disciplines at various levels by people committed to a variety of research paradigms. Though paradigms vary in their contents and substance, their broad approach to enquiry, in the author’s opinion, is similar. Such ideas have also been expressed by Festinger and

Research Phase I: deciding what to research

Step I: formulating a research problem Formulating a research problem is the first and most important step in the research process. A research problem identifies your destination: it should tell you, your research supervisor and your readers what you intend to research. The more specific and clearer you are the better, as everything that follows

Research Phase II : planning a research study

Step II: conceptualising a research design An extremely important feature of research is the use of appropriate methods. Research involves systematic, controlled, valid and rigorous exploration and description of what is not known and establishment of associations and causation that permit the accurate prediction of outcomes under a given set of conditions. It also involves

Research Phase III: conducting a research study

Step VI: collecting data Having formulated a research problem, developed a study design, constructed a research instrument and selected a sample, you then collect the data from which you will draw infer­ences and conclusions for your study. Many methods could be used to gather the required information. As a part of the research design, you

The place of the literature review in research

One of the essential preliminary tasks when you undertake a research study is to go through the existing literature in order to acquaint yourself with the available body of knowledge in your area of interest. Reviewing the literature can be time consuming, daunting and frustrat­ing, but it is also rewarding. The literature review is an

How to review the literature

If you do not have a specific research problem, you should review the literature in your broad area of interest with the aim of gradually narrowing it down to what you want to find out about. After that the literature review should be focused around your research problem. There is a danger in reviewing the

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Writing about the literature reviewed

Now, all that remains to be done is to write about the literature you have reviewed. As men­tioned in the beginning of this chapter, two of the broad functions of a literature review are (1) to provide a theoretical background to your study and (2) to enable you to contextualise your findings in relation to

The research problem in management research

Broadly speaking, any question that you want answered and any assumption or assertion that you want to challenge or investigate can become a research problem or a research topic for your study. However, it is important to remember that not all questions can be transformed into research problems and some may prove to be extremely

The importance of formulating a research problem

The formulation of a research problem is the first and most important step of the research pro­cess. It is like the identification of a destination before undertaking a journey. In the absence of a destination, it is impossible to identify the shortest — or indeed any — route. Similarly, in the absence of a clear

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Sources of research problems

This section is of particular relevance if you have not yet selected a research topic and do not know where to start. If you have already selected your topic or question, go to the next section. Most research in the humanities revolves around four Ps: people; problems; programmes; phenomena. In fact, a closer look at

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Considerations in selecting a research problem

When selecting a research problem/topic there are a number of considerations to keep in mind which will help to ensure that your study will be manageable and that you remain motivated. These considerations are: Interest – Interest should be the most important consideration in selecting a research problem. A research endeavour is usually time consuming,

Steps in formulating a research problem

The formulation of a research problem is the most crucial part of the research journey as the quality and relevance of your research project entirely depends upon it. As mentioned earlier, every step that constitutes the how part of the research journey (Figure 2.1) depends upon the way you formulated your research problem. Despite the