Overview of Research Methods: Prof. M. Tsvere

Overview of Research methods
Prof. M. Tsvere
OBJECTIVES
• Explore how people acquire knowledge

• Discuss the meaning of research
• Explore research methods key concepts
9/16/2021 mtsvere@cut.ac.zw 2
Rationale
• You do research methods for two reasons
1. You are a student- academic reasons
2. You are a
Minister/Director/Leader/Manager/
development consultant/practitioner etc.
who need to solve problems, make decisions
on real time issues
Importance of research
• Research is relevant at different levels of life
– Different organisations rely on findings to inform decisions, form
judgements and take action that involve people’s lives and
valuable resources.
– We should trust the process through which that knowledge is
generated.
• you cant trust hearsay, gossip, opinions, guesswork
– You must have a clear understanding of RM from policy makers,
researchers and users of researchers’ perspectives.
• We should be aware of
– The various RMs -collect data techniques and approaches to data
analysis Awareness of dos and don’ts for each approach to
collecting and analysing data, and practices followed
– The overall research process - to gain vantage point for
understanding how research is done
– How to plan and think about how RM will connect with research
questions
– critical limitations and limits of research you read
Rationale cont.
• Research methods
– Provides you with a critical appraisal of other fields
of study
– Facilitates the development of transferrable skills-
how to sample, design questionnaires, interview
(FGDs), analyse texts- all which are relevant to
other all fields including public sector organisations
• You should therefore be able to
– read and evaluate research
– Do the research
– Contribute to the functioning of a range of
organisations
– Be confident that you are trying to find a relevant
research question, problem and or be able to
develop one such question or problem
– Be clear of what you consider to be relevant
knowledge
Key terms in research
Truth
• Quality of being/ that which is in accordance

with fact or reality- the real facts about
something
• Truth is
– a consented opinion of several agents, or one
point of view endorsed by most of them.
– is time/space specific that is truth is not fixed
• Truth is always real, reality is not always true
Larry Carlson says
• That 2+3=5 is a priori truth. Arguably, a priori truths

are, as Kant noted, ultimately mental constructions,
not external truths, as we can't really say what
really exists independently of the human mind
• Note that we can approach the content and
structures of external reality as a sort of limit that
can be approached but not reached.
– As more science tries to approaches the truth about
nature, the more it moves further away- the God comes
in
Reality
• Is a set of beliefs about what the world we study
actually is.
• is observable space that we are able to examine in
our life time
• Is objective and independent of our perception of it
• Is constructed by those who experience it
• Einstein said, “reality is merely an illusion…” until it
reveals the truth!
• We can not generate unbiased generalisable
knowledge about the world.
– Law of gravity is difficult to generalise- Kenyan experience
What is knowledge?
 People never really think about what
characteristics of belief or piece of
information they must have in order for
it to be classified as knowledge
For it to be called knowledge,
something must rest upon some
kind of reliable evidence at least and
you must be able to justify it
How do we acquire knowledge?
9/16/2021 maria.tsvere@gmail.com 11
Knowledge generation processes
• Differ according to how we perceive the
world and what we can know about it.
• These are scientific and non scientific
ways of acquiring knowledge
Non scientific sources of knowledge
1.Common sense
 Generally accepted information which is not
necessarily correct or information generally
accepted but needs to be verified empirically
 Common sense is therefore itself not knowledge
unless it rests on a body of evidence
 The need to switch off an electric switch is both
common sense and knowledge
 We expect you to contribute to this knowledge
through research
Revelations
Conveyed from God to His

messengers-
▪Source outside human
experience
▪Can not be tested- Word of God
▪The word “God” is the source of
knowledge
Intuition
–Informed guesses
– Insights
•intuitive beliefs
–Can be misleading though that
can be used to develop
hypotheses
Appeal to authority
 Views supported by authority in business
management
 Good sources- provide a framework on which social
norms and values are built ad help to keep societies
intact
 Accepted and believed without questioning it
 Enhanced by documentation an repetition –
teaching, reading, hearing it often
▪ texts are trusted, identifiable, from people in the
profession, people whose views are not rejected
after the authority dies
▪ unbiased individuals
limitations
• Is based on belief and acceptance

• Authorities sometimes change their positions-
the structure of the universe is about to
chance explanations regarding number of
planets
• Authorities differ and disagree - lawyers
Experience
Is the evaluation and conclusion that

an individual or group of individuals
get about a particular situation as a
result of exposure and involvement.
Key aspect is involvement and
exposure
Helps in doing Participant
observation/inferences
Limitations of using experience
• Experiences can be
– manipulated to make people believe and accept
distorted information as real knowledge
• Can not be generalized – subject to individual past
experience/perception of reality
• Some experiences are dangerous for replication-
lightening story
• Discuss
Therefore
• It is difficult to transfer experience or evaluate
it because people react differently to the same
experience
• The same indicator can have different
meanings to different people
Testimonies
• Based on what other people say
• Testimonies , stories told, give individuals
appropriate outlets through which their
experiences and thoughts can be shared with
others in meaningful interactions
• Testimonies may not be accurate
representations of reality or truth
Tenacity
• Knowledge as information passed on by
continuous repetition until it is believed and
internalised as truth
– Politicians
– religious people
– Preachers
– musicians and
– marketing strategists
• All these make people believe what they want
Limitations of tenacity
• Knowledge from tenacity is prejudism
• Tenacity has no guarantee of accuracy
• There is no mechanism for error correction
Logic/Reasoning/Rationalism
• Assuming that knowledge is correct if correct
reasoning process is used.
• In logic, we often refer to the two
broad methods of reasoning
– Deductive reasoning
– Inductive reasoning
Inductive reasoning
• Sometimes called a “bottom up” approach because it starts with specific
cases on the ground – one makes observations then discern a pattern, make
generalisation and infer an explanation or theory
• inductive reasoning is primarily concerned with making generalizations that
are broad and these are based on specific observations. Data is availed first
where observations are made and these are used to draw conclusions from
the data.
• Inductive reasoning is where the premise supports the conclusion. In other
words, the premise is the actual hypothesis/hunch and the conclusion is
seen as part of the reasoning of which inductive reasoning is trying to
support.
• Is concerned with the generalisation of new theory emerging from data
• If I pull out a 2RTGs note from my bag, and the second time I also pull out a
2RTGs note. The third time I pull out a piece of paper, it is a 2RTGs note
• This cat is black. That cat is black A third cat is black. Therefore all cats are black
Example of Inductive Reasoning
• Even if all premises are true, there is room for a conclusion to
be false
•Tafadzwa is a grandfather, Tafadzwa has bald, therefore all
grandfathers are bald- the conclusion does not follow logically
from the statements
This form of reasoning is used in research to form hypotheses and
generate theories
•Here’s the sequence again 6, 13, 20, 27,…
• Look at the difference of each term. 13 – 6 = 7, 20 – 13 = 7,
27 – 20 = 7
• Thus the next term is 34, because 34 – 27 = 7.
• However what if the sequence represents the dates. Then
the next number could be 3 (31 days in a month).
• The next number could be 4 (30 day month) Or it could be
5 (29 day month – Feb. Leap year)
• Or even 6 (28 day month – Feb.)
• Inductive reasoning
involves going from a
series of specific cases to a
general statement.
• The conclusion in an
inductive argument is
never guaranteed
Assumption of inductive reasoning
• you are essentially generalizing that all future
instances of something will comply with the
observations that you have seen so far.
• Naturally, it is not possible to witness every
instance of a particular environmental
occurrence, so there are undoubtedly going to
be instances wherein your reasoning is not
accurate
Deductive reasoning
• A type of logic in
which one goes
from a general
statement to a
specific instance.
Deductive reasoning
• Deductive is valid reasoning
– reasoning from the general to specific, logical conclusions- as is with
scientific methods
• It starts with a true generalized premise that is later explained in detail to give a
true and valid conclusion- is also referred to as a top down reasoning.
• A deductive approach is concerned with developing a hypothesis (or ... It has
been stated that.
– the premise on top is general and in order for people to understand it, it has to be explained
such that a true conclusion becomes understandable to many people. So first you have a
premise, then another premise, then an inference.
• E.g. in syllogism
Every A = B and C i=A then we conclude that C = B
Uses facts, rules, definitions, properties to arrive at conclusions
• DR aim at testing theory
– The researcher then conducts research in order to test whether the theories and hypotheses
can be proven true with specific cases. As such, this form of research begins at a general,
abstract level, and then works its way down to a more specific and concrete level
e.g.
• All men are mortal. Joe is a man. Therefore Joe is mortal. If
the first two statements are true, then the conclusion must be
true
• Since all humans are mortal, and I am a human, then I am
mortal
• Development executives at a college believe professionals
working in the financial sector make the best donors. So, they
deduce that they should target alumni working in finance
when it comes time to plan their next fundraising strategy
• A food products company identifies a trend that shows
consumers to favour organic products. Its marketing
department deduces it can boost sales by increasing the size
of the lettering for the word "organic" when redesigning their
packaging
e.g. cont.
• To earn a master’s degree, a student must
have 32 credits. Jane has 40 credits, so Jane
will earn a master’s degree.
• If Dennis misses work and at work there is a
party, then Dennis will miss the party.
• All numbers ending in 5 are divisible by 5. The
number 35 ends with a 5, so it is divisible by 5
Abductive reasoning
• A scientific reasoning that does not fit to be called
inductive or deductive
• Entails making an educated guess after incomplete
observation of a phenomena whish there is no clear
explanation
• Starts with an incomplete set of observations and makes
and tests hypotheses based on these
• You walk in a room and find the room in a mess, kids
have been in the room all day- you conclude they are
responsible for the mess- this is the most likely scenario
– Doctors use this with test results
Read the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
plato.stanford.edu/entries/abduction/
Depending on a researcher’s training and interest, scientific inquiry may take one of two
possible forms: inductive or deductive
Inductive Deductive
Goal the goal of a researcher is to the goal of the researcher is to test
infer theoretical concepts and concepts and patterns known from
patterns from observed data theory using new empirical data
Alternative is also called theory-building theory-testing research- to refine,

name research, improve, and extend theory
Place in research more valuable when there are is more productive when there are many
cycle few prior theories or competing theories of the same
explanations, phenomenon and researchers are
interested in knowing which theory works
best and under what circumstances.
Depending on a researcher’s training and interest, scientific inquiry may take one of two
possible forms: inductive or deductive
Inductive Deductive
Method of Uses patterns to arrive at Uses facts, rules, definitions or properties
arriving at a cocnlusions to arrive at a conclusion
conclusion
Premises Is premises are true, the If the premise is true the conclusion must
conditions conclusion is probably true be true
Qualitative Quantitative
Exploratory data
Inductive Grounded theory
analysis
Qualitative
Structural equation
Deductive comparative
modelling
analysis
The research cycle
Theory testing
Deduction
Theory Observations
Induction
Generalise from observations
Scientific methods of acquiring
knowledge
• Experiments
• Quasi experiemnts
Disadvantage of non scientific
methods of knowing
• are not efficient

• Give no opportunity for proving - no empirical
evidence or experiment
• Depend on authority and tradition
– We accept statements from authority
• Doctor’s words accepted without further verification
• Actions based on hunches/ intuition
• Behaviour depends on what appears to be right
• Intuitive approach h leads to trial and error behaviour
• Require use of many trials before satisfactory answer is found
Non-scientific Analysis
– Personal human enquiries
– Ego Involvement
– Personal preconceived ideas
– Biased perception of phenomena
– Belief in own values regardless of evidence from data
– Overgeneralization
– Conclusions from scant observations and information
– Conclusions based on own limited experiences
– Introduces errors
Advantages of scientific methods of
knowing
• Depends on empirical evidence
• Is objective
• Limits range of alternatives before taking
action
• Permits verification of alternatives
key concepts
• Research: Open Google and share
– Research is the systematic process of collecting
and analysing information (data) in order to
increase our understanding of the phenomenon
with which we are concerned or interested.
Components of Research
Kind of
knowledge that
you are Consider methods
producing and techniques
Theory and Research
• Theory is important to social research methods as
firstly, methods of social research are linked to the
different visions of how social reality should be studied
• Research is produced to address a burning question or
theory.
• Theories can be categorized by:
– Direction of reasoning (deductive/inductive)
– Whether it is formal (general) or substantive (specific).
– Level of social reality that it is explaining
(macro/meso/micro)
Social Scientific theory
• Social Scientific theory and research are linked
through the ‘direction of reasoning’ of
theories. Generally, induction and deduction
are distinct processes but can overlap or be
used simultaneous in a project.
• Another form of theory construction is
falsification – pointing out where previous
theories failed.
Levels of discussion
• Macro level -deals with large, aggregate entities of
society or even whole societies. So theorist are
focusing their attention on society at large or at
least on large portions of it. Eg: international
relations among countries, interrelations among
major institutions in society, such as government,
religion, and family.
• Micro level – deals with issues of social life at the
level of individuals and small groups. Eg: dating
behaviour. Focus on social interactions – how
people relate to each other on an individual level.
• Meso level – relatively rare – links macro and
micro levels or to operate on an intermediate level
e.g.: theories of communities, social movements.
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;
• 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.
What is research methods
• Specific activities designed to generate data using
such instruments as questionnaires, focus group
discussions, observations etc
• Research methodology – is more about your
attitude to and your understanding of research and
the strategy you chose to answer research
questions.
• You can not say …research says… in an assignment-
this requires valid sources- based on reliable
verifiable data that was analysed fairly and
systematically.
Methodological concepts
Philosophy
• After considering the theoretical issues surrounding
your particular area of enquiry, you need to consider
different methods and techniques for data collection
and analysis
• But first, you need to be very clear about the way you
view the world, or what your study is being guided by-
a Philosophy
– the systematic inquiry into the principles and
presuppositions of any field of study
– an attitude, an approach, or a calling to answer or to ask,
or even to comment upon certain peculiar problems
• There are three important branches of Philosophy
1.Axiology
• value theory
• attempts to clarify if you are trying to explain or predict the
world, or are you only seeking to understand it.
• Axiology primarily refers to the ‘aims’ of the research.
• Asks such questions as : is value a fulfilment of desire, a
pleasure, a preference, a behavioural disposition, or simply
a human interest of some kind? how are values related to
(scientific) facts? What ultimate worth, if any, do human
values have?
• Is divided into
– ethics and
– aesthetics
Application to research
• When discussing axiology aspect of the
research philosophy in your qualitative
research you need to make your values known
in the study and reports your values and
biases as well as the value-laden nature of
information gathered from the field
Ethics
• The study of values in human behavior or the

study of moral problems:
– e.g., the rightness and wrongness of actions,
– the kinds of things which are good or desirable,
– whether actions are blameworthy or praiseworthy.
Aesthetics
• the study of value in the arts or the inquiry
into feelings, judgments, or standards of
beauty and related concepts. Philosophy of art
is concerned with judgments of sense, taste,
and emotion.
• E.g. Is there a clear distinction between art
and reality?
2. Epistemology
• Another branch of philosophy that deals with
the theory of knowledge
• Is about the kind of knowledge you are
producing,
• is the study of the nature, scope, and limits of
human knowledge.
– In research we are concerned with’ that does and
does not ‘count as acceptable knowledge.
Epistemology
• Ask question about the origin of knowledge, place of
experience in generating knowledge, and place of reason in
doing so, the relationship between knowledge and
certainty, and between knowledge and the impossibility or
error, possibility of universal scepticism, and the changing
forms of knowledge that arise from conceptualisations of
the world ( Simon Blackburn- the Oxford Dictionary of
Philosophy. London: Oxford University Press, 1994, p123
Epistemological perspectives
Popular data collection
Axiology
techniques
Research is undertaken in a
Highly structured, large
value-free way, the researcher
samples, measurement,
Positivism is independent from the data
quantitative can also use
and maintains an objective
qualitative
stance
Research is value laden; the

researcher is biased by world Methods chosen must fit the
Realism views, cultural experiences subject matter, quantitative or
and upbringings. These effect qualitative
research findings
Research is value bound,
Small samples,
the researcher is part of
in-depth
Interpretivism what is being researched,
investigations,
cannot be separated and
qualitative
so will be subjective
Values play a large role in

Mixed or multiple
interpreting results, the
method designs,
Pragmatism researcher adopting both
quantitative and
objective and subjective
qualitative
points of view
More ideas
• Positivism is mainly used in natural sciences

– Interested in causes and predicting likelihood
of incidences, seeks to explain, creates social
‘facts’.
– Answers the question “What?” questions
3. Ontology/ Metaphysics
• Third branch of philosophy
• A study of what exists, becoming existance or reality
– the study of what is really real.
• A set of concepts and categories in a subject area or
domain that shows their properties and the relations
between them
• Ontology seeks to identify and establish the
relationships between the categories, if any, of the
types of existent things
– Metaphysics dealing with the first principles of the natural
order and "the ultimate generalizations available to the
human intellect."
Ontology Cont.
• What kinds of things exist? Do only particular
things exist or do general things also exist? How
is existence possible?
• Questions as to identity and change of objects—
are you the same person you were as a baby? as
of yesterday? as of a moment ago? What is
space? What is time? What is spirit? or soul? or
matter? space? Are they made up of the same
sort of "stuff"?
• There are ontological considerations
– Objectivism and constructivism
Ontological Considerations
• Objectivism
– Considers phenomena as being independent of social actors.
– Organisations and culture are said to exist as a tangible object,
external to the social actor.
– Culture consists of widely shared values, beliefs and
customs into which people are socialized.
– Culture can constrain business because business people
internalise their beliefs and values.
– So social actors have no role in fashioning these external
realities.
Constructionism
– Opposite of objectivism
– Social phenomena and their meanings are continually being
accomplished by social actors.
– Social phenomena are not only produced through social
interaction but they are in a constant state of revision.

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Overview of Research methods

• Explore how people acquire knowledge

• Quality of being/ that which is in accordance

• That 2+3=5 is a priori truth. Arguably, a priori truths

Conveyed from God to His

• Is based on belief and acceptance

Is the evaluation and conclusion that

Alternative is also called theory-building theory-testing research- to refine,

Generalise from observations

• are not efficient

• Is an organized and deliberate effort to collect

• The study of values in human behavior or the

Research is value laden; the

Values play a large role in

• Positivism is mainly used in natural sciences

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