hOW TO DO A SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

1. Scientific Research
Methods
Prof. Dr. Hüseyin PADEM
International Burch University

2. Introduction and Overview
 One. Introduction and Overview:1
 Two. Planning and Designing a research Study: 26
 Three. General Approaches for Controlling Artifact and Bias: 65
 Four. Data Collection, assessment Methods, and Measurements
Strategies: 95
 Five. General Tipes of Research Designs and Approaches: 123
 Six. Validity: 158
 Seven. Data Preparation, Analyses, and Interpretation: 198
 Eight. Ethical Consideration in Research: 233
 Nine. Disemination Research Results and Distilling Principles of
Research Design And Methodology: 261

3. Books
 Marczyk, G., DeMatteo, D., Festinger, G., 2005. Essentials of
Research Design and Methodology. John Wiley & sons, Inc., USA
 Bordens, K.S., Abbott, B.B., 2008. Research Design and Methods.
McGraw Hill Pub. USA
 McBurney, D.H., White, T,L., 2010. Research Methods. Wadsworth
Cengage Learning Pub.USA
 Saunders, M., Lewis, P., Thornhill, A., 2007. Research Methods for
Business Students. Pearson Education. UK.
 Lester, J.D., 1995. Writting Research Papers. Harper Collins College
Pub. USA

4. One. Introduction and Overview
 Progress in almost every field of science depends on the
contributations made by systematic research
 The purpose of the research is to ansver questions and
acquire new knowledge
 Research makes valuable contributions so what we know
and how we think about things and events
 Research can be used for the purposes of description,
explanation, and prediction
 In recent years, the results of various research studies
have taken center stage in the popular media (Cancer,
nutrition, stress … etc).

5.  Science and scientist conjure up a variety of images in our
minds.
 Common image is that of a person in a white lab coat
surrounded by bubbling flasks and test tubes…
 Simply put, science is a set of methods used to collect
information about phenomena in a particular area of
interest and build a reliable base of knowledge about them.
 A scientist is someone who does science. A scientist is a
person who adopts the methods of science in his or her
quest for knowledge. However, the simple definition does
not capture what scientist do.

6.  Science as a way of thinking: science is not just a means
of acquiring knowledge, it is also a way of thinking and of
viewing the world. A scientist approaches a problem by
carefully defining its parameters, seeking out relevant
information, and subjecting proposed solutions to rigorous
testing.
 How do scientists do science: in their quest for knowledge
about a phenomenon, scientists can use a wide variety of
techniques, each suited to a particular purpose.

7. Basic And Applied research
 Basic research, is conducted to investigate issues
relevant to the confirmation of theoretical or
empirical positions. The major goal of basic
research is to acquire general information about
phenomenon. FE, chemistry, physics, botanic.
 Applied research, the focus of applied research is
to investigate a problem based in the real world.
Applied research can be found in the areas of
clinical, environmental, and industrial psychology

8. One.. What Exactly is Research?
 Research studies come in many different forms.
Two of the most common types of research:
 A.Correlational research: The goal is to determine
whether two or more variables are related.
(‘Variable’ is a term with that can take on different
values, such a weight, time, height …). There are
several different types of correlation (Chapter 5)
 B.Experimental research: involves comparing two
group on one outcome measure to test some
hypotesis regarding causation. One group is the
experimental group, other is the control group

9. One.. Overview of Science and The
Scientific Method
 Science can be defined as a methodological and
systematic approach to the acquisition of new knowledge.
Systematic, control and method.
 Scientific knowledge is not based on the opinions, feelings,
or intuition of the scientist. Instead, scientific knowledge is
based on objective data that were reliable obtained in the
context of a cerefully designed research study.
 Scientific methods: is best thought of as an approche to the
acquisition of new knowledge, and this approach effectively
distinguishes science from nonscience. It isn’t a single
method.
 Scientific methods most agree that it is characterized by
the Empirical approach, observation, question, hipotheses,
experiments, analyses, conclusion and replication

10. The Research Process –
a Process Perspective
Figure 3.1 The research process

11. One.. Overview of Science and The
Scientific Method
 Empirical Approach is an evidence-based approach that
relies on direct observation and experimentation in the
acquisition of new knowledge. In this approach, scientific
decision are made based on data derived from direct
observation and experimentation.
 Observation refers to two distinct concepts –being aware of
the world around us and making careful measurements.
- Observation of the world around us can offen provide with
many ideas for research studies.
- Avoid making biased observation.
- An important aspect of measurement is operational
definitiation. What is exercise?

12.  Questions: After getting a research idea, next step involves translating
the research idea into an answerable question. ‘answerable’ particulary
important, and it should not be overlooked.
 Hypotheses: is simply an educated and testable guess about the
answer to your research question. A key feature of all hypotheses is
that each must make a prediction
 Experiment -or research study: Research would collect data for
hypotheses
 Analyses: generally calls for statistical techniques.
 Conclusions: After analyzing the data and determining whether to
reject the null hypothesis, the researcher is now in a position to draw
some conclusions about the results of the study. It statistically
significant effect or not
 Replications: essentially means conducting the same research study a
second time with another group .

13.  Null hypothesis always predict that there will be no
difference between the groups. Rejecting the null
hypothesis mean that there is a difference between groups.
*Ho is reject*
 There are 2 types of errors,
 Type 1. researcher concludes There is difference between
groups, in fact there is no difference *falce positive*.
 Type 2. researcher concludes There is not a difference
between groups, in fact there is a difference *falce
negative*

14. One.. Goals of Scientific Research
 Description: refers to the process of defining, classifying,
or categorizing phenomena of interest.
 Quantitative or Qualitative
– Quantitative research: involves studies that make use of
statistical analises to obtain their findings. Key features
include formal and systematic measurement and the
use of statistics
– Qualitative research involves studies that do not attempt
to quantify their results through statistical summary or
analysis. Interviews and observations without formal
measurement.

15. Nomothetic or Idiographic
 The Nomothetic approach uses the study of groups to
identify general laws that apply to large group of people.
 The idiographic approach is the study of an individual.
– The population: is all individual of interest to the
researcher.
– The sample: is a subset of the population
 Positive correlation between two variables means that both
variables change in the same direction (either both
increase or both decrease)
 Negative (inverse) correlation between two variables
means that as one variable increases, the other variable
decreases.

16. The difference in emphasis in qualitative
versus quantitative methods
Table 8.1 The difference in emphasis in qualitative versus quantitative methods
Source: Based on Reichardt and Cook (1979).

17. One.. Goals of Scientific Research
 Prediction:To be able to predict future
events before they occur, then guessing the
answers before the answers.
 Understanding/explanation: true
understanding of a phenomenon is achieved
only when researchers successfully identify
the cause or causes of the phenomenon.

18. Prediction, Understanding/
explanation

19. CHOOSING A RESEARCH TOPIC
 The first step in designing any research study is deciding
what to study.
 Researcher choose the topics that they study in a variety of
vays, and their decisions are necessarily influenced by
several factors. For example, scientific field (management,
biology, physics, medicine…)
 Training and experience, and it typically takes many years
to develop an area of expertice.
 It is highly unlike that a botanist would coose to study
quantum physics or macroeconomics.
 What about I or T. And team work (%50+%50).

21. How researchers choose the topics
‘1.Interest’
 Interest: researchers typically coose
research topics that are of interest to them.
 A reseracher’s basic curiosity about an
observed phenomenon typically provides
sufficient motivation for choosing a research
topic

22. How researchers choose the topics
 2. Problem solving: In each of research studies,
researchers are attempting to solve some specific
problem, such as work-related stress…
 3. Previous research: researchers also choose
research topics based on the results of prior
research, whether conducted by them or by
someone else.
 Password is ‘RESEARCH BEGETS RESEARCH’
 4. Theory: theories often serve as a good source
for research ideas. Research ideas should be
based on some theory. Theory makes a prediction

23. LITERATURE REVIEV
 Once a researcher has chosen
a specific topic, the next step in
planning phase of research
study is reviewing the existing
literature (book, journal
articles…) in that topic area.
 Fortunately, the development of
comrehensive electronic
databases has facilitated the
process of conducting literature
reviews.
 Researcher can change the
focus or methodology of their
studies based on the types that
have already been conducted.

24. FORMULATING A RESEARCH PROBLEM
Good research problem must meet three criteria:
 a. The research problem should describe the
relationship between two or more variable
 b. The research problem should take the form of a
question.
 c. The research problem must be capable of being
tested empirically (ie., with data derived from
direct observation and experimentation)

25. ARTICULATING HYPOTHESES
Next step is articulating the hypotheses that will be tested
 Hypotheses attempt to explain, predict, and explore the
phenomenon of interest
 There are two importent points: first, all hypotheses must
be falsifiable; second a hypotheses must make a prediction
(usually one or two variable)
 Null hypotheses (Ho): always predicts that there will be no
differences between the groups being studied.
 By contrast, the alternate hypotheses (H1) always predicts
that there will be a difference between the groups.
 In scientific research, null hypotheses is tested, and then
the null hipotheses is either confirmed or refuged (some
times rejected or not rejected)

26. Control Group
The control group is exposed to
the same conditions as the
experimental group, except for
the variable being tested.
All experiments should have a
control group.

27. Directional Hypotheses and Nondirectional Hypotheses:
 It’s second category of research hypotheses
 Researcher has some idea about how the groups being studied will
differ.
 Researchers use nondirectional hypotheses when they belive that the
groups will differ, but they do not have a belief regarding how the
groups will differ. They don’t know the direction of differences.
Examples: nondirectional hypotheses
1. H:there is a significant differences between night worker (product/h)
and day’s worker (product/h).
By contrast, researchers use directional hypotheses when they belive that
the groups being studied will differ, and they have a belief regarding
how the groups will differ. They know the direction of differences.
Example:Directional Hypotheses: H:night worker produce (product/h)
more than day’s worker (product/h).

28. Do you know the difference
between the independent
and dependent variables?

29. CHOOSING VARIABLES TO STUDY
Independent Variables vs. Dependent Variables:
 The independent variable (independent) is the factor that is
manipulated or controlled by the researcher. Mostly researcher are
interested in the effect of it.
 The dependent variable (dependent) is a measure of the effect (if any)
of the independent variable.
Categorical Variables vs. Continuous Variables
 Categorical variables are variables that can take on specific values
only within a defined range of value. Gender (male/female), hair colour
(blonde/brunette/ redhead) marital status (single/married/divorced).
 Continuous variables are variable that can theoretically take on any
value along a continuum. Age, weight.
Quantitative Variables vs. Qualitative Variables
 Qualitative variables are variable that vary in kind. Attractive/not
attractive, helpful/not helpful, consistent/not consistent
 Quantitative variables are those that vary in amount.

30. Experimental research
Students
Group A
Group B
Two methods
of instruction
Group A
Group B
Assessment Comparation
Which method
is effective? A,
or B
Independent
variable
Dependent
variable

31. RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS
 Number, kind of participants?
 Selecting Study Participants
 Random selection: is a procedure through which a
sample of participants is chosen from the
population of interest in such a way that each
member of the population has an equel probability
of being selected to participate in the study.
 Random assignment: Assigning study participants
to groups within the study (Population:400 male,
100 famile, group must be %75 M, %25 FM)

32. GENERAL APPROACHES FOR
CONTROLLING ARTIFACT AND BIAS
 The primary purpose of
research design is to
eliminate source of bias.
 Confounds are general
names that source of
artifact and bias.
 Reduce the impact of
artifact and bias.
 The strategies should be
considered EARLY in the
design phase.

33. A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO
VALIDITY
 Validity refers to the conceptual an scientific soundness
of research study or investigation, and the primary
purpose of all forms of research is to produce valid
conclusions.
 Validity is related to research methodology
Four Types of Validity
1. Internal validity: refers to the ability of research design to
rule out or make implausible alternative explanations of
the results
2. External validity: refers to the generalizability of the
results of a research study.
3. Construct validity: refers to the basis of the causal
relationship
4. Statistical validity: refers to aspect of quantitative
evaluation that affect the accuracy of the conclusion
drawn from the results of a study

34. Methods for controlling sources of
artifact and bias
 Statistical control
 Control and comparison group
 Random selection
 Random assignment
 Experimental design
For example, research pareticipants bring a wide
variety of phisical, emotional traits into the
research contex. These different characteristics
can directly affect the results of a study.

35. Experimental Bias
 Ironically, the researchers themselves are
the first common source of artifact and bias.
 These biases are particularly pravalent in
studies in which a single researcher is
responsible for generating the hypotheses,
disigning the study and collecting and
analizing the data.

36. Factors influencing research
Figure 2.3 Factors influencing research
Source: Forcese, Dennis P.; Richer, Stephen, Social Research Methods, 1st edition  1973. Electronically reproduced by
permission of Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.

37. Strategies for minimizing
experimenter effects
 Carefully control or standardize all experimental
procedures.
 Provide training and education to all the researchers
involved in this study
 Minimize dual or multiple roles within the study
 Checks, and balances and quality control procedures,
whenever possible.
 Automate procedures, whenever possible
 Conduct data collection
 Choice of statistical analyses.
 Limit the knowledge that researchers and participants are
not receiving experimental manipulation.

38. Approaches for limiting researcher’
knowledge of participant assignment
Each of the procedures seeks to reduce or minimize the
researcher’s knowledge about the participants and about
which experimental conditions they are assigned to.
 Double-blind technique: neither the participants nor the
researchers know which experimental or control condition
research participants are assigned to.
 Blind technique: only the researcher be kept ‘blind’
regarding which treatment or control conditions the
participants are in.
 Partial-blind technique: this is similar to the blind technique,
except that the researcher is kept blind regarding
participant selection for only a portion of the study.

39. Participant effects
 “Participant effects” are a source of artifact and bias
stemming from a variety of factors related to the unique
motives, attitudes, and behaviors that participants bring to
any research study.
 The “good” participant might attempt to provide information
and responses that might be helpful to the study,
 The “negative” participant might try to provide information
that might confound or undermine it,
 The “faithful” participant might try to act without bias,
 while the “apprehensive” participant might try to distors his
or her responses in a way that portrays him or her in an
overly positive or fovorable light

40. Controlling participants effects
 Double-blind technicque
 Deception technicque: when researchers use
deception, it usually takes the form of providing
participants with misinformation about the true
hypotheses of interest or the focus of the study.
 Inquiry: The researcher can simply ask the
participants about any number of issues related to
participant effects and the overall purpose and
hypotheses of the study.

41. Random assignment
 Potential artifact_experimenter; bias_participant effects
 The basic purpose of random assignment is to obtain
equivalence among groups.
 RA is a control technique in which all participants have an
equal likelihood of being assigned to any of the
experimental or control groups.
 RA increases internal validity because it distrubutes or
equalizes potential confounds across experimental and
control groups.
 Studies that use random assignment are referred to as true
experiments, while studies that do not use random
assignment are referred to as quasi experiments.

42. Holding variables constant
 Common method for holding the influence of a
specific variable or variables constant in a study is
refered to as matching.
 For exam: we have two group; experimental and
control
 Blocking: unlike matching, is an approach that
allows the researchers to determine what specific
impact the variable in question is having on the
depent variable. There are two independent
variables: experimental (impaired and adequate)
and control (impaired and adequate).

43. Statistical approaches
 Final method
 One statistical approach for determining
equivalence between groups is to use simple
analyses of means and standard deviations for the
variables of interest for each group in the study
 A means is simply an average score
 A standard deviation is a measure of variability
indicating the average amount that scores vary
from the mean.

44. Research Never Stops
Figure 2.2 The wheel of research

45. Four. Data Collection, Assesment Methods,
And Measurement Strategies-Measurement
 Measurement is a critical juncture between
scientific theory and application and describe,
explain and predict the phenomena.
 Measurement is important in research design in
two critical areas. First, measurement allows
researchers to quantify abstract construct and
variables. Second, the level of statistical
sophistication used to analyze data derived from a
study is directly dependent on the scala of
mesaurement used to quantify the variables of
interest.

46. Scales of Measurements
 There are four main scales of measurement subsumed
under the broader categories of nonmetric (nonmetric data,
cannot be quantified and used to describe and categorize)
and metric (metric data are used to examine amounts and
magnitudes) measurement, 1.nominal scales, 2. ordinal
scales, 3. interval scales, and 4. ratio scales. Nominal and
ordinal scales are nonmetric measurement scales.
 Nominal scales, gender, religious and political affiliation,
marital status.
 Ordinal scales, built on nominal measurement. Examples
would be finishing position of runners in race (greater than
or less than)

47.  Interval scales of measurements are quantitative
in nature, built on ordinal measurement, numbers
scaled at equal distances, no absolute zero point,
examples include temperature measured in
Fahrenheit and Celsius.
 Ratio scales include height, weight, and time.
Numerous examples of ratio scale data exist in our
daily lives. It is possible to have to zero point.

48. Scales of Measurement
Table 6.1 Scales of measurement

49. Presentation:Writing the Final Report
Guidelines
1.Audience
2.Good communication
3.Language and flow
4.Form and style
5.Headings

50. 1. Title page
2. Table of contents
3. Executive summary
4. Introduction and problem statement
5. Theoretical background
6. Methodology
7. Findings of empirical study
8. Conclusions and recommendations
9. Footnotes
10. Bibliography or references
11. Appendix
Presentation:Structure of the report

51. Presentation:An Example of
a Table of Contents
Figure 13.1 An example of a table of contents

52. Getting started with writing
Practical hints
 Create time for your writing
 Write when your mind is fresh
 Find a regular writing place
 Set goals and achieve them
 Use word processing
 Generate a plan for the report
 Finish each writing session on a high point
 Get friends to read and comment on your work

54. Writing for different audiences
Key differences between an ‘Academic’ report
and a ‘Consultancy’ or ‘Management’ report
The academic report:
 Tends to be longer
 Will be marked and graded
 Will contain contextual descriptions
The consultancy report:
 Has less focus on the development of theory
 Contains recommendations relating to the organisation’s
business

56. Report structure (1)
The abstract
Four short paragraphs that answer the questions:
1. What were my research questions and why were they
important?
2. How did I go about answering the research questions?
3. What did I find out in response to these questions?
4. What conclusions can be drawn?
Adapted from Saunders et al. (2009)

57. Report structure (2)
Introduction - include
 The research questions(s) and a clear statement of
research objectives
 Brief background and a guide to the storyline
Literature review - purpose
 To set your study in the wider context
 To show how your study supplements existing work

58. Report structure (3)
Checklist
Complete the Checklist
for points to include in your method chapter
Developed from Robson (2002)

59. Report structure (4)
Results chapter(s) - purpose
 To report the facts your research discovered
 To support the facts with quotes from participants
Discussion chapter- purpose
 To interpret results and relate the findings to the
original research goals and objectives
 To indicate implications of the research

60. Report structure (5)
Using a matrix in the planning of the content for
the results and conclusions chapters
Saunders et al. (2009)
Figure 14.1 Using a matrix in the planning of the content for the results and
conclusions chapters

61. Report structure (6)
Conclusion chapter – purpose
 To answer the research question(s)
 To meet the research objectives
 To consider the findings
 To present any contributions to the topic displayed
in the literature
 To reflect on any implications for future research

62. Report structure (7)
References
 Use a convention that is accepted by your university
(e.g. Harvard, APA)
 Cite all sources referred to in the text
 Check all citations to prevent plagiarism
Appendices
 Include only essential supporting material
 Include copies of interview schedules
 Keep appendices to a minimum

63. Organising the report content (2)
Main points to consider
 Choosing the title
 Telling a clear story
 Helping the reader by-
Dividing your work
Previewing and summarising chapters
Using suitable tables and graphics
Writing in a suitable style

64. Writing style
Key points:
 Clarity and simplicity – avoid jargon
 Checking grammar and spelling
 Preserving anonymity
 Regularly revising each draft

65. Evaluating the first draft
Checklist
Complete the Checklist
to help you evaluate the first draft
Saunders et al. (2009)

66. Oral presentation
Three key stages:
 Planning and preparation
 Use of visual aids
 Presenting

67. Summary: Chapter
 Writing is a creative process and a powerful way to
clarifying your thinking
 A project report needs a clear structure that helps to
develop the storyline
 All the information should be readily accessible to
the reader

68. Summary: Chapter
 Use a clear writing style free and check for spelling
and grammatical errors
 Be prepared to rewrite the first draft several times
 Remember to check the assessment criteria

69. Summary: Chapter
 Failing to prepare for your presentation is preparing
to fail
 Visual aids help the audience understand your
presentation
Remember to –
 Tell them what you're going to say
 Say it
 Tell them what you said