This document provides an overview of research methodology and the research process. It defines research as a systematic, scientific search for knowledge on a specific topic. The research process involves 8 steps: (1) formulating a research problem, (2) designing the research, (3) developing a data collection instrument, (4) selecting a sample, (5) writing a proposal, (6) collecting data, (7) analyzing data, and (8) reporting findings. Research should be logical, rigorous, systematic, valid, empirical, and critical. The objectives and types of research are also discussed.

1. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: A
REVIEW OF FUNDAMENTALS

2. What is Research?

3. DEFINITIONS OF RESEARCH
 SEARCH FOR KNOWLEDGE
 IT IS A SYSTEMATIC AND SCIENTIFIC
SEARCH FOR PERTINENT/RELEVANT
INFORMATION ON A SPECIFIC TOPIC
 A SYSTEMATISED EFFORT TO GAIN NEW
KNOWLEDGE; A MOVEMENT FROM THE
KNOWN TO THE UNKNOWN

4. DEFINITION ( cont.)
 THE WORD RESEARCH IS COMPOSED OF TWO
SYLLABLES, RE AND SEARCH. THE DICTIONARY DEFINES
THE FORMER AS A PREFIX MEANING AGAIN, A NEW, OR
OVER AGAIN AND THE LATTER AS A VERB MEANING TO
EXAMINE CLOSELY AND CAREFULLY, TO TEST AND TRY,
OR TO PROBE. TOGETHER THEY FORM A NOUN
DESCRIBING A CAREFUL, SYSTEMATIC, PATIENT STUDY
AND INVESTIGATION IN SOME FIELD OF KNOWLEDGE,
UNDERTAKEN TO ESTABLISH FACTS OR PRINCIPLES.
( Grinnel 1993: 4 )

5. 5
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What is Research?

6. 6
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What is Research?
 Research is the process of finding solutions
to a problem after a thorough study and
analysis of the situational factors.

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What is Research?
Research is an academic activity and it
comprises with:
– defining and redefining problems
– formulation of hypothesis
– collecting, organizing and evaluating data
– making deductions and reaching to conclusions
– testing hypothesis

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What is Research?
Research involve a scientific study or experimentation
which may result in
 Developing new concepts
 Modifying existing concepts
 Developing hypothesis and testing it
 Establishing relationship between variables and
decision making for problem solving.
 Discovery of new techniques
 Formulation of new theories
 Criticism of existing theory

9. 9
What is Research?
 Managers in organizations constantly
engage themselves in studying and
analyzing issues and hence are involved in
some form of research activity as they make
decisions at the workplace.

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What is Research?
 Sometimes managers make good decisions
and the problem gets solved.
 Sometimes managers make poor decisions
and the problem persists.
 The difference between making good
decisions and poor decisions, lies in how
managers go about the decision-making
process.

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What is Research?
 Good decision making fetches a “yes”
answer to the following questions:
1. Do managers identify where exactly the
problem lies?
2. Do they correctly recognize the relevant
factors in the situation needing
investigation?
3. Do they know what types of information are
to be gathered and how?

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What is Research?
4. Do they know how to make use of the
information so collected and draw
appropriate conclusions to make the right
decisions.
5. Do they know how to implement the results
of this process to solve the problem?

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What is Research?
 This is the essence of research and to be
successful manager it is important for you to
know how to go about making the right
decisions by being knowledgeable about the
various steps involved in finding solutions to
problematic issues.

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The Excitement of Research
 Modern technology has made research an
exciting and a relatively smooth process.
 Personal computer with any means to an
Internet connection places one within easy
reach of knowledge of what is happening in
the global markets and how the world
economy is impacting on business.

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The Excitement of Research
 Decision making is merely a process of
choosing from among alternative solutions to
resolve a problem and research helps to
generate viable alternatives for effective
decision making.

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Business Research
 Business research can be described as a
systematic and organized effort to investigate
a specific problem encountered in the work
setting, that needs a solution.
 Business research comprises a series of
steps designed and executed, with the goal
of finding answers to the issues that are of
concern to the manager in the work
environment.

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Business Research
 Steps of business research:
 To know where the problem areas exist in
the organization.
 To identify as clearly and specifically as
possible the problems that need to be
studied and resolved.
 Gather information, analyze the data, and
determine the factors that are associated
with the problem and solve it by taking the
necessary corrective measures.

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Managers and Research
 Knowledge of research and problem-solving
process helps managers to identify problem
situations before they get out of control.
 Minor problems can be solved by the
manager, major problems would warrant the
hiring of outside researchers or consultants.

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Managers and Research
 The manager who is knowledgeable about
research can interact effectively with the
researchers.
 Knowledge about research process also
helps managers to become discriminating
recipients of the research findings presented,
and to determine whether or not the
recommended solutions are appropriate for
implementation.

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Managers and Research
 When managers understand the research
reports about their organizations handed to
them by professionals, they will be equipped
to take intelligent, educated, calculated risks
with known probabilities attached to the
success or failure of their decisions.
 Research then becomes a useful decision-
making tool.

21. CHARACTERISTICS OF RESEARCH
1. It gathers new knowledge or data from primary
or first-hand sources.
2. It places emphasis upon the discovery of
general principles.
3. It is an exact systematic and accurate
investigation.
4. It uses certain valid data gathering devices.
5. It is logical and objective.

22. CHARACTERISTICS OF RESEARCH
6. The researcher resists the temptation to
seek only the data that support his
hypotheses.
7. The researcher eliminates personal feelings
and preferences.
8. It endeavours to organise data in quantitative
terms.
9. Research is patient and unhurried activity.

23. CHARACTERISTICS OF RESEARCH
10. The researcher is willing to follow his
procedures to the conclusions that may be
unpopular and bring social disapproval.
11. Research is carefully recorded and
reported.
12. Conclusions and generalisations are
arrived at carefully and cautiously.

24. OBJECTIVES OF RESEARCH
 To gain familiarity or achieve a new insight
towards a certain topic.
 To verify and test important facts.
 To analyze an event, process or phenomenon.
 To identify the cause and effect relationship.
 To find solutions to scientific, non-scientific and
social problems.
 To determine the frequency at which something
occurs

25. Why is research conducted?
 To gain a competitive advantage.
 To test new products and services.
 To solve a management/organizational problem.
 To provide information which may help to avoid future
business problems.
 To forecast future sales.
 To better understand shifts in consumer attitudes and
tastes.
 To enhance profitability
 To reduce operational costs.
 To enable management to prioritise strategic options for
the future

26. Motivation in research
 Desire to get academic degree along with its
consequential benefits.
 Desire to face challenges in solving the
unsolved problem i.e concern over practical
problems initiates research.
 Desire to get intellectual joy of doing some
creative work.
 Desire to be of service to society.
 Desire to get respectability.

27. QUALITIES OF A GOOD RESEARCH
 Research must address an important and
relevant issue.This means that:
-it is undertaken to increase knowledge and
have some beneficial implications
-it will also have relevance to the time, place,
and population of the study.

28. QUALITIES OF A GOOD RESEARCH
 Research is a process of collecting, analyzing
and interpreting information to answer questions.
But to qualify as research, the process must have
certain characteristics: it must, as far as possible, be:
 Logical
 Rigorous
 Systematic
 Valid and verifiable
 Empirical
 Critical

29. QUALITIES OF GOOD RESEARCH ( cont.)
 Good research is logical: this
implies that research is guided by
the rules of logical reasoning ,and
the logical process of induction and
deduction is essential in carrying out
research.

30. QUALITIES OF GOOD RESEARCH ( cont.)
 Rigorous-you must be scrupulous (careful)
in ensuring that the procedures followed to
find answers to questions are relevant,
appropriate and justified. Again, the degree
of rigor (strict) varies markedly between the
physical and social sciences and within the
social sciences.

31. QUALITIES OF GOOD RESEARCH ( cont.)
 Good research is systematic: this implies
that the procedure adopted to undertake an
investigation follow a certain logical sequence.
The different steps cannot be taken in a
haphazard way. Some procedures must follow
others. The systematic characteristic of
research rejects the use of guessing and
intuition in arriving at conclusions.

32. SYSTEMATIC
 Good research is systematic as it follows
certain steps. These steps are:
 Problem identification
 Reviewing the literature
 Collecting data
 Analysing data
 Drawing conclusions and making
generalisations

33. QUALITIES OF GOOD RESEARCH ( cont.)
 -Valid and verifiable-this concept implies
that whatever you conclude on the basis of
your findings is correct and can be verified by
you and others.
 -Empirical-this means that any conclusion
drawn are based upon hard evidence
gathered from information collected from real
life experiences or observations.

34. QUALITIES OF GOOD RESEARCH(cont.)
 Critical-critical scrutiny ( examination) of the
procedures used and the methods employed
is crucial to a research enquiry. The process
of investigation must be foolproof and free
from drawbacks. The process adopted and
the procedures used must be able to
withstand critical scrutiny.

35. THE RESEARCH PROCESS:
AN EIGHT – STEP MODEL
A) 5 STEPS IN PLANNING A RESEARCH STUDY
 Step 1: Formulating a research problem
 Step 2: Conceptualising a research design
 Step 3: Constructing an instrument for data collection
 Step 4: Selecting a sample
 Step 5: Writing a research proposal

36. THE RESEARCH PROCESS:
B) 3 STEPS IN CONDUCTING A STUDY
 Step 6: Collecting data
 Step 7: Processing data
 Step 8: Writing a research report

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46. The formulation of objectives:
Objectives are the goals you set out to attain in
your study.
 -They inform a reader what you want to attain
through the study.
 -It is extremely important to word them clearly
and specifically.
 Objectives should be listed under two headings:
a) main objectives ( aims);
b) sub-objectives.

47.  The main objective is an overall statement of
the thrust of your study.
 It is also a statement of the main associations
and relationships that you seek to discover or
establish.
 The sub-objectives are the specific aspects of
the topic that you want to investigate within the
main framework of your study.

48. The research objectives
 -They should be numerically listed.
 -Wording should clearly, completely and
specifically communicate to your readers
your intention.
 -Each objective should contain only one
aspect of the Study.
 -Use action oriented words or verbs when
writing objectives.

49. The objectives should start with words such as:
 ‘to determine’, ‘to find out’,‘to ascertain’,
‘to measure’,‘to explore’ etc.
 The wording of objectives determines the
type of research (descriptive, correlational
and experimental) and the type of research
design you need to adopt to achieve them.

50. Examples
Descriptive studies:
 -To describe the types of incentives provides by Hotel XYZ
to employees in Algeria.
 -To find out the opinion of the employees about the
medical facilities provided by five star hotels in Algeria.
Correlatinal studies:
 -To ascertain the impact of training on employee retention.
 -To compare the effectivenesss of different loyalty
programmes on repeat clientele.

51. Hypothesis –testing studies:
 -To ascertain if an increase in working hours
will increase the incidence of drug/alchohol
abuse.
 -To demonstrate that the provision of
company accommodation to employees in
Algiers hotels will reduce staff turnover.

52. Research objectives in SMART format

53. Research objectives in SMART format
 Specific: Be specific about your desired
outcomes. Your objectives should be clearly
written and leave no room for confusion. This
can help you keep them narrow and focused.
 Measurable: Making your objectives
measurable is essential to achieving them.
You can create metrics to measure your
progress toward achieving your objectives

54. Research objectives in SMART format
 Achievable: Be sure to create objectives that you can
realistically achieve to help you avoid getting overwhelmed by
unrealistic expectations. Make sure you have the resources and
budget to accomplish your objectives.
 Relevant: Make your objectives relevant to your research and
your overall goals. This can help you stay motivated and on
track throughout your research project.
 Time-based: You can establish deadlines to help you keep
your research process on track. You can set a major deadline
for your entire project as well as smaller deadlines for each
objective.

55. TYPES OF RESEARCH
 Research can be classified from three
perspectives:
I. Application of the research study
II. Objectives
III. Inquiry mode employed

56. I. APPLICATION
 If you examine a research from the
perspective of its application, there are two
broad categories:
 A). Pure research
 B). Applied research

57. A) PURE RESEARCH
According to Bailey ( 1978:17):
Pure research involves developing and
testing theories and hypotheses that are
intellectually challenging to the researcher
but may or may not have practical application
at the present time or in the future. Thus
such work often involves the testing of
hypotheses containing very abstract and
specialised concepts.

58. B) APPLIED
 Most of the research undertaken in the social
sciences is applied, the findings being
designed either for use in understanding a
phenomena/issue or to bring a change in a
program/situation.

59. II. OBJECTIVES
A research study can be carried out with four
objectives:
 1. Descriptive
 2. Correlational
 3. Explanatory
 4. Exploratory

60. TYPES OF RESEARCH
 1. Descriptive:
The main purpose of such studies is to describe
what is prevalent with respect to the issue/ problem
under study. The main characteristic of descriptive
research is that the researcher has no control over
the variables; he can only report what has happened
or what is happening.
The term Ex post facto ( after the fact ) research for
descriptive research is used mainly in social science
and business research

61. DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH
 Some examples:
 Attitudes of students towards quality
teaching
 Strategies put in place by a company to
increase workers’ productivity
 Effects of living in a house with domestic
violence

62. TYPES OF RESEARCH ( cont.)
 2. Correlational
Aims at discovering or establishing the
existence of a relationship/ association/
interdependence between two or more
aspects of a situation
For instance, the effect of the home
environment on education

63. CORRELATIONAL RESEARCH
 Some examples
 Relationship between stressful living and
incidence of heart attacks
 Impact of technology on the language
classroom
 Impact of domestic violence on adolescents

64. TYPES OF RESEARCH
 3. Explanatory:
Attempts to clarify why and how there is a
relationship between two aspects of a
situation or phenomenon. This type of
research will try to explain, for example, how
the home environment affects children level
of academic achievement.

65. EXPLANATORY RESEARCH
 Some examples:
 How does domestic violence impact
adolescents learners ?
 Why do some schools adopt a program while
others do not?
 How does technology facilitate learning?

66. TYPES OF RESEARCH
 4. Exploratory:
This is when a study is undertaken with
the objective either to explore an area where
little is known or to investigate the
possibilities of undertaking a particular
research study. When a study is carried out
to determine its feasibility it is also called a
feasibility study or a pilot study

67. 3. INQUIRY MODE
 From the point of view of inquiry , there are
two types of research:
 1. The structured approach
 2. The unstructured approach

68. 1.THE STRUCTURED APPROACH
 This is usually classified as quantitative research
 quantitative studies often use standardized
measures, numerical values, have larger sample
sizes, and analyze data using statistical programs. A
study is classified as quantitative if the researcher
seeks to quantify the variation in a phenomenon and
if information is gathered using quantitative
variables.

69. 2. THE UNSTRUCTURED APPROACH
 The unstructured approach to inquiry is usually
classified as qualitative
 A study is classified as qualitative if the purpose is
primarily to describe a situation, phenomenon,
problem or event; the information is gathered
through the use of variables or measured on
qualitative measurement scales, and if analysis is
done to establish the variation in the situation or
problem without quantifying it. Qualitative studies
tend to be more “in-depth”, focusing on a smaller
population but probing deeper into a given problem.

71. TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION
 Engineering is concerned with problems whose
solution is needed and / or desired by the
society.
 The capacity to innovate, manage information,
and nourish knowledge as a resource will
dominate the economic domain as natural
resources, capital and labour ones did.
 This places high premium on development of
technology and delivery systems.

72. TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION
The advancement of technology has three
phases.
 Invention : The creative act whereby an idea is
conceived
 Innovation :The process by which an invention
or idea is translated into successful practice
and is utilized by the economy.
 Diffusion : The successive and widespread
initiation of successful innovation.