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Education

Research Methodology: A Comprehensive Introduction and Definition

Ravindu Weerasooriya

• 2 min read
Research
Research

Research: A way of thinking

In this framework of thinking you usually question About

  • what to observe
  • Make an attempt to further explore
  • Understand & explain your observations
  • Draw conclusions
  • Inference to enhance your practice skills & knowledge base.

Day to Day life Research

  • Research helps you to critically examine your day-to-day situations.
  • Develops & Test new ways that contributes the advancements of your practice
  • Research is an integral part of your professional practice
  • Research is a habit of questioning what you do.

Research – The Definition


RESEARCH = RE + SEARCH
"Creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge The systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions."

The characteristics & Requirements of Research

• Controlled
• Rigorous
• Systematic
• Valid & Verifiable
• Empirical
• Critical

Types of Research

From the Viewpoint of
• Application

o Applied Research
o Pure Research

• Objectives

o Descriptive Research
o Correlational Research
o Explanatory Research
o Exploratory Research

• Enquiry Mode

o Quantitative Research
o Qualitative Research
o Mixed Method Research

Application Perspective

Pure Research

Developing & testing theories & hypotheses that are intellectually challenging to the researcher but may or may not have practical application at the present time or in the future.

E.g. –
  • Developing a sampling technique that can be applied to a particular situation
  • Developing an instrument

    • Applied Research

    Research Techniques, procedures & methods that from the body of the research methodology are applied to the collection of information about various aspects of situation, issue & problem.

    E.g.:

  • Analysing what type of prompts will inspire people to volunteer their time to charities

    • Objectives Perspective

    Descriptive Research

    A sort of research called descriptive research is used to outline a population's characteristics. It gathers data that are used to resolve a wide variety of what, when, and how questions related to a particular\spopulation or group.

    E.g.:

  • Attempts to describe type of services provided by an organization.
  • An administrative structure of an organization.
  • How a child feels living in a house with domestic violence?

    • Correlational Study

    Discover or establish the existence of a relationship, association or independence between two or more aspects of a situation or phenomenon.

    E.g.

  • What is the impact of an advertising campaign on the sale of the product?
  • What’s the relationship between lifestyle & stress?

    • Explanatory Research

    Attempts to clarify why and how there’s a relationship between two aspects of a situation or phenomenon.

    E.g.:

  • Why stressful living results in heart attacks?
  • How a home environment affects children’s level of academic achievements?

    • Exploratory Research

    The goal of a study is to either explore an area where little is known or to look into the viability of carrying out a specific research project. Exploratory research has a broad scope and rarely offers conclusive solutions to particular research questions. Exploratory research aims to pinpoint important topics and factors.

    Based on the Data involved in research

    Quantitative Methods

    It is a numerical, non-descriptive, mathematical or statistical method that employs numbers and is used to the evaluation of evidence. Tables and graphs are popular ways to convey the results.

  • It is conclusive.
  • It investigates the what, where and when of decision making

    • Qualitative Methods

  • It use words, is descriptive, utilizes logic, and is not numerical.
  • Its goal is to convey the situation's significance, emotion, and description.
  • Graphing qualitative data is not possible.
  • It is investigative.
  • It looks at the what, why, and how of making decisions.

    • Mixed Method Research

    mixed-methods research, or research that combines elements of other paradigms. Data are a blend of variables, words, and pictures.