Research theory

Lecture 2
 Recap: Purpose of a proposal
• Convincing your supervisor/audience that:
– Research is possible
– Research would be concluded in the given
timescale
– Research results will be significant and helpful
– Research will be environmentally friendly
– The depth and breadth warrants attention at the
level expected
– Used as work plan for the study- guides your
activities
 NOTE!!
• Once your proposal is lodged and agreed
between you and CUT you can not unilaterally
amend or significantly divert from the
proposal
• Please consult your supervisor on the form of
adjustment/s that you feel necessary
• You are required to submit only one proposal
copy to your supervisor
General Structure of Proposal
Provisional Title
Cover page (refer to template in your guide)
1. Background of problem
2. Problem Statement
3. Research Objectives
4. Research Questions
5. Research Hypothesis/ proposition
6. Significance of Research
7. Scope of Research
8. Definition of terms
9. Literature Review
10. Research Methodology
11. Limitations
12. Appendix
- Work plan
- Budget
- References
 Expectations of each section of the
proposal
• The cover page
– Use template provided in your guide
– Topic should be a brief phrase (13-23 words)
• Should adequately show the problem, setting,
population

5
 Background to the problem
• Problem identification
– Research themes
• CILT mandate in terms of
– Chain logistics,
– Transport Technology development,
– Innovation and entrepreneurship

6
 Topic
• Should be clear about the problem
• The problem should be inherent in the topic
• Should also throw light on the research design to be used
• Should indicate participants
• Write it as a question or plain prose
• Look to see how it is phrased
• Make sure that it is specific enough and focused (an answerable question)
• Ask yourself, “When I end the study, what question would I like to have
answered?” so ask yourself this

– WHAT DO I WANT TO DO- Appropriate purpose

– ABOUT WHAT - Subject of study-
– ON WHO - Population involved-
– WHERE? – Organisation
• Topic should be short not more than 23 words
– Acceptable range is 11-23 words - Check with your institution
 Background to the study

– Introduces the reader to the research problem

– Should
• reflect context in which the study will be conducted
and indicate:
• Put the problem into perspective so that it can be
clearly understood by the reader
• What is it that led you to do this study?
• Begin with a general overview/global then narrow
down to specific /local context
– No history of the organisation or industry unless it is core to
the problem

8
Statement of the research problem
• State the problem
• Give evidence that it is a problem. E.g. statistics
(magnitude/extend of the problem, literature etc
• Who are the affected population? How they are affected
• What would happen if problem is not solved?
• What efforts have been made to solve the problem?
• What were the limitations? ?hat is the research gap?
• What is the role of your study?
• All this should be in one paragraph
• Warning
– Do not preempt your findings
– No theories about the problem yet

9
Research objectives and Research
Questions
• State the main objective
• State the specific objectives
– These should be 3 to 5 maximum
• Write corresponding research questions
starting with the main research question
• Should not be double barrelled
• Should be f SMART

10
 Research hypothesis
• If you intend to test hypotheses, state them
– Hypotheses should bear relationship with
objectives
– Provide both null and alternate hypothesis using
appropriate symbols
• Example
– H0: Perceived service quality has no significant
effect on customer satisfaction
– H1: Perceived service quality had a significant
positive effect on customer satisfaction
• Qualitative study: State propositions
– Statements of proposed theory.

11
 Significance of Study
• Demonstrate beyond doubt that the study
findings will benefit stakeholders in a unique way.
Identify these stakeholders
• The value of research results such as
– Value to the organisation under investigation
– Benefit of extended knowledge to academia
– Filling specific gaps in knowledge
– Self worth and contentment of researcher
– New insights as opposed to tired clichés
– Innovative thoughts, distinctive ideas/ something else
• The dissertation deserving a CILT Diploma 12
 Scope of Research
• Delineation or demarcation of research
– Geographical- where the study will be conducted
– Target population,
– Time (period the study will be concluded)
• Coverage of research field
– Conceptually; theoretically defined boundary
• Stick to your scope
13
 Literature review
• Should be specific to the subject of interest,
showing
– What strides have been made regarding the research
area, and hence the knowledge gaps.
– The major theories underpinning the study should be
outlined.
• The review should be current and backed by
recent and traceable references (most references
shall be within the last five years, unless it is
seminal work).
• The literature shall be understandable to
colleagues from a broad range of disciplines.
• Use scholarly sources/references
• 1-2 pages. Reflecting what the actual literature
review chapter will contain 14
 Research Methodology
• State, describe and justify (Discuss)
– Research philosophy and paradigm/ strategy/
approach
– Research design: - Theories of the design chosen/
justify choices
– Indication of research methods to be used
– Target population and sampling methods
– Types of data to be used to address key areas
– Development of research instruments
– Explain and justify all approaches used
– Valid data (reliable cause and effect connection)
– Replicable data (reproducible results)
– Ethical considerations- before, during and after data
collection
 Data Presentation, Analysis,
• Quantitative data
– Data are normally presented in tables, cross tabulations, bar graphs, pie
charts, stem and leaf diagrams, figures etc. including summary statements

• Qualitative data
– Data are normally presented as themes and in tables, cross tabulations,
figures and verbatim.

– Excel produces very good diagrams

2021/09/16 Research Methods-Gp1 16

 Data Analysis
• For quantitative research, data analysis methods include descriptive
statistics (e.g. frequencies, percentages, mean and standard
deviation), Chi-Square test, T-test, ANOVA, F-test, regression
analysis, structural equation modelling.
– Software packages that can be used to execute such quantitative
analyses include Excel, Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS),
also with Amos for multi- variate analyses
– Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS), such as Linear Structural
Relations (LISREL). R and STARTA

• For qualitative research, data analysis is usually done at three

levels, namely thematic, content and discourse.
– Nvivo, CSPro are examples of software packages that can be used to
analyse qualitative data.

17
 NOTE
• A method selected should provide optimum
results / complete answer to your problem/
address all your objectives
• If selected then be sure that
– You know how to analyse the results using these
software packages
• do not start learning these now
– Resources will be available to implement it
• Financial- attempts to backtrack will add on to
confusion and frustration!
 Work plan
• Show in the form of a Gantt chart, table or any
other suitable format the sequence of
research activities and when they will be
executed.

19
 BUDGETS
Be realistic
Financial Budgets
COST (Amount in Z$RTGS
ITEM Bond)

Stationery 20 000

Typing (questionnaire and report) 25 000

Binding (executive) 45 000

Transport 10 000

Food 10 000
2021/09/16 Research Methods-Gp1 20
TOTAL AMOUNT 110 000
 Characteristics of research
• Is an organized and deliberate effort to collect
new information or utilize existing knowledge
for a new purpose;
• Seeks to answer worthwhile and fundamental
questions by utilizing valid and reliable
techniques; Is logical and objective, using the
most appropriate test/s to justify the methods
employed, data collected and conclusions
drawn

9/16/2021 maria.tsvere@gmail.com 21
 Criteria of good research
• Clearly defined purpose of research
• Research procedure is described in sufficient detail to permit
another researcher to repeat the research for further
advancement
• Procedural design should be carefully planned to yield results
that are as objective as possible
• Data analysis should be sufficiently adequate to reveal
significance
– methods of analysis used should be appropriate- validity and
reliability of data should be carefully checked
– Empirically verifiable (researchable)
• Report should be done with complete frankness
• Conclusions should be confined to those justified by data of
the research and limited to those for which data provide an
adequate basis
• Shared and made pubic
22
 Qualities of a good research Checklist
• Empirical
– Is your research related to 1 or 2 aspects of a real
situation and deal with concrete data?
• Empirically verifiable /researchable / Replicable
– With verifiable results e.g. by replicating the study-
providing sound basis for decisions?
• Logical
– Is your research guided by rules of logical reasoning and
processes?
• Systematic
– Is your research structured with specific steps and
sequence?
– Ethically neutral (should not harm, put respondents at
risk- confidentiality , privacy issues) 23
• Final outcome of research contributes to the
gaining of knew knowledge and a better
appreciation of issues involved;
• If it is of an applied nature, then it provides
sound information for making decisions.

9/16/2021 maria.tsvere@gmail.com 24
 Key characteristics of research
1. Logical – induction/deduction
2. Empirical – evidence based
3. Reductive – generalisation
4. Replicable – methodology.
5. Purposeful e.g. for generating new
knowledge, which must be reliable
6. Systematic – research process- orderly
(following a series of steps)
 Research is not
Accidental discovery :
1. Accidental discovery may occur in structured
research process
2. Usually takes the form of a phenomenon not
previously noticed
3. May lead to a structured research process to
verify or understand the observation

26
 Research is not … cont.
Data Collection
• an intermediate step to gain reliable
knowledge
• collecting reliable data is part of the research
process

27
 Research is not … cont.
Searching out published research results in
libraries (or the internet)
• This is an important early step of research
• The research process always includes
synthesis and analysis
• But, just reviewing of literature is not research

28
 Research is…
1. Searching for explanation of events,
phenomena, relationships and causes
– What, how and why things occur
– Are there interactions?
2. A process
– Planned and managed – to make the information
generated credible
– The process is creative
– It is circular – always leads to more questions

29
 TOOLS OF RESEARCH

• The library and its resources

• The computer and its software
• Techniques of measurement
• we don’t just observe, we measure. Nominal, ordinal, interval, binary and discrete
(scales of measurement).
• Statistics
• Facility with language

MTSVERE@CUT.AC.ZW 30
Tools are not research methods – e.g. library research and statistical research are
meaningless terms.
Tools help your research methods.
You should be familiar are you with these tools.

MTSVERE@CUT.AC.ZW 31
CLASSIFICATION OF STUDENT RESEARCHERS
 Those who know precisely what they want to do and have a well conceived
problem
 Those who have many interest areas and are having difficulty deciding
exactly what they want to study
 Those who do not have any idea about a worthwhile research problem
Types of research

M Tsvere
 Why classify researches
• Study design depends greatly on the nature of
the research question.
– knowing what kind of information the study
should collect is a first step in determining how
the study will be carried out
 Descriptive vs. Analytical Research
• Descriptive research also known as Ex post facto research
– Done to describe state of affairs as they exists at present
– to provide an accurate portrayal of characteristics of a particular individual, situations or group
– Researcher has no control over variables
– Researcher just reports what is happening or what happened
– Used to measure frequency of ,.. Preferences of... Etc
– Or to discover causes usually use methods such as
• Surveys
• Fact finding enquires
• Comparative methods
• Correlation methods
• Descriptive research- To discover new meaning, describe what exists, determine
frequency with which something occurs categorising information
– Uses many respondents, and questionnaires- survey research design

• Analytic research
– Research uses facts and information already available
– Used to analyse, evaluate etc
 Type of research
• According to the purpose research can be
• Fundamental/Pure/basic
– Generating new knowledge
– Making generalisations to many policy areas, problems or areas of study
– Makes use of theories, ideas, methods
• Applied: seek to solve practical/everyday problems to e.g. develop
innovative technologies to improve efficiency in the logistics and transport
industry
– Evaluation
– Action
– Social impact
• Action:
– Advances aims of pure and applied research to point of utilization
– Producing results for immediate application/ utilization
– Improving practice, methods, generating technologies/innovations for use in
specific scientific situations
– Emphasis is ‘here’ and ‘now’
36
Applied vs. Fundamental Research
• Applied or Action research
– to find a solution for an immediate problem facing
society or industry or organisation
– Applied research, evaluation research – to discover a
solution for pressing practical problem
• Fundamental
– Basic or pure research
• Concerned with generalisations and formation of theory-
finding information that has abroad bas of applications
adding to what scientific knowledge that already exists
• Gathering knowledge for knowledge sake is pure or basic
research e.g. research concerning phenomena, relating pure
mathematics, researching on human behaviour
 Quantitative vs. Qualitative Research
• Quantitative Research
– Based on the measurement of quantity or amount
– Use to phenomena that can be expressed in terms of
quantity
• Qualitative Research
– Concerned with qualitative phenomena involving
quality or kind- why people think like, behave like, do
certain things- reasons for human behaviour attitudes,
perceptions, discovering underlying motives, desires
– Uses methods like interviews, analyse, identify factors
that motivate people to behave in certain ways
Cross sectional vs. longitudinal studies
• Let’s say we want to investigate the relationship
between daily walking and cholesterol levels in the
body.
• One of the first things we’d have to determine is the
type of study that will tell us the most about that
relationship.
• Do we want to compare cholesterol levels among
different populations of walkers and non-walkers at the
same point in time?
• Or, do we want to measure cholesterol levels in a
single population of daily walkers over an extended
period of time?
 Cross sectional vs. longitudinal studies
• Classification based on time required to complete the
study
• Also known as cross-sectional analyses, transversal
studies, prevalence study, censuses
– Cross sectional research- one off
• Researcher is confined to one single time period in which the
research is done, or on one environment in which the research is
done
• The defining feature of a cross-sectional study is that it can compare
different population groups at a single point in time. Think of it in
terms of taking a snapshot.
• Findings are drawn from whatever fits into the frame.
• used to describe, for example
– absolute risk, relative risks from prevalence,
– some feature of the population, such as prevalence of an illness,
– a support of inferences of cause and effect.
• The first approach is typical of a cross-
sectional study.
• The second requires a longitudinal study.
• To make our choice, we need to know more
about the benefits and purpose of each study
type.
 Cross sectional studies
• To return to our example,
– we might choose to measure cholesterol levels in daily
walkers across two age groups, over 40 and under 40,
and compare these to cholesterol levels among non-
walkers in the same age groups.
– We might even create subgroups for gender. However,
we would not consider past or future cholesterol
levels, for these would fall outside the frame.
– We would look only at cholesterol levels at one point
in time.
 Advantages of Cross sectional studies
• allows researchers to compare many different
variables at the same time.
• We could, for example, look at age, gender,
income and educational level in relation to
walking and cholesterol levels, with little or no
additional cost.
• The use of routinely collected data allows
large cross-sectional studies to be made at
little or no expense
 Disadvantages of cross sectional studies
• may not provide definite information about cause-and-
effect relationships.
• This is because such studies offer a snapshot of a single
moment in time;
– they do not consider what happens before or after the snapshot
is taken.
• Therefore, we can’t know for sure if our daily walkers had
low cholesterol levels before taking up their exercise
regimes, or if the behaviour of daily walking helped to
reduce cholesterol levels that previously were high.
• are moderately expensive, and are not suitable for the
study of rare diseases.
• Difficulty in recalling past events may also contribute bias.
 Longitudinal study
• Like a cross-sectional one, is observational.
• So, once again, researchers do not interfere with
their subjects.
• However, in a longitudinal study, researchers
conduct several observations of the same subjects
• over a long period of time,
• over several time periods
– sometimes lasting many years or consisting of records
 Longitudinal study
• The benefit of a longitudinal study is that researchers are
able to detect developments or changes in the
characteristics of the target population at both the group
and the individual level.
• The key here is that longitudinal studies extend beyond a
single moment in time. As a result, they can establish
sequences of events.
• To return to our example, we might choose to look at the
change in cholesterol levels among women over 40 who
walk daily for a period of 20 years.
• The longitudinal study design would account for
cholesterol levels at the onset of a walking regime and as
the walking behaviour continued over time.
• Therefore, a longitudinal study is more likely to suggest
cause-and-effect relationships than a cross-sectional study
by virtue of its scope.
 Correlational research
• Refers to the systematic investigation or
statistical study of relationships among two or
more variables without necessarily determining
cause and effect but simple establish the
relationship/Association /correlation
– Not lending themselves to experimental manipulation

47