Lecture no: 9 Date: 07/11/22

Research Methodology

Common Types of Research:

i. Descriptive Research: If we want to describe something. It provides detailed

description of something. Suppose, we want to know the description of the lifestyle of
a group of people and detailed description of products of an industry. Descriptive
research answers “what questions”.
ii. Explanatory Research: If we are not satisfied with the description of something
and we want to know the causes behind it. For example, we would like to know why
they do have this kind of research and ceremonies, what is the history and
background of it, why a company is looking for this kind of profit and not other kind
of profit, why they are producing this product and why it is more needed in the
society. I would like to know the causes behind it as well as I would like to know how
this is happening. Detailed explanation of an situation, context of an incident. This
kind of research provides three kinds of questions as follows: “What, Why and How”
questions.
iii. Exploratory Research: It will try to explore something absolutely new.
Suppose, there is a social problem and we want to explore a new technique to solve
that social problem or we want to explore a new method of teaching that will benefit
the students more and we want to explore a new way of living and that will change
the cultural context of a group of people. Exploratory research always looks for
something new and will try to invent something new to be applied.

iv. Diagnostic Research: If our research topic itself is a problem. We have chosen a
research topic which is a problem. The problem-oriented research topic is there.
Suppose we have taken a social problem as your research topic; suppose corruption is
our research topic, and a disease like the coronavirus is impacting the lifestyles of
people, depression. When we target taking a problem as our research topic, we go for
diagnostic research because, through diagnostic research, people diagnose the entire
problem. We look into its cause and consequences of it, and the solution you will
 look for the solution to it. Cause, consequences, and solutions will be carried out
through this research.

Steps of a Research:

i. Selecting a topic: We have to identify our topic. Mostly, people identify a topic
based on their common interests. While selecting a topic, we need to consider a few
things as follows:
i. Aspect of the topic: We have to fix what we are going to focus on. We need
to find out or specify our aspect of the topic. For example, people’s
perceptions of depression. Fixing the perspective first.
ii. Identifying the variable of the topic: The major issues for which we are
going to collect data. For example, in the case of traffic jams, the causes of
traffic jams can be one variable if we look for all the causes which are
causing a traffic jam, the consequences of traffic jams, and how we are being
impacted. Cause, consequence, and solution can be variables; similarly, what
causes depression can be a variable as to how people are impacted by it.
Variables can be of two types, independent and dependent. The dependent
variable will heavily depend on the independent variable; how the
independent is occurring based on that dependent variable will get changed.
In between cause and consequence, consequences are the dependent variable,
and independent are all the causes. For example, the causes of depression are
independent variables and how it is impacting my mental health is the
dependent variable.
iii. Identifying the pattern of the variable: Variables can be of two patterns.
Variables can be concrete, Abstract, or both. Concrete variables: answers to
concrete variables would be very much straightforward. For example,
counting the number of private cars enters in Basundhara between 8 AM to 9
AM. Abstract variable: related to the emotions of the people and varies from
person to person, and the preferences would be different. For example, the
happiness and satisfaction levels of the employees.
ii. Reviewing some literature: Something that is already been written, we will try
to review that to gain more knowledge about our topic. When choosing any topic
based on our interests, reading more and more from the online and printed versions
will enrich our knowledge more about the topic that how people have thought about
it, whether other research is done on this or not. The second function is that we need
to read all other previous research done on the same topic or similar topic so that we
do not repeat the same thing.

iii. Developing Hypothesis/Research questions: It is an assumption of the

researcher about the result of the research. Through research, a hypothesis would be
proven right or wrong. A hypothesis develops in the form of a statement, not in the
form of a question. It is a statement about the result, and in a hypothesis, we will
show how our independent and dependent variables are related to each other. For
example, population increases(dependent variable) then traffic jam(independent
variable) increases if number of private car decreases then traffic jam will decrease
too, if the monitoring system(independent variable) increases then the traffic
jam(dependent variable) will decreases. Related to depression- independent decreases
and dependent increases: Relation with your close friends’ circle decreases, then
depression increases. If we do not want to develop a hypothesis or do not want to
state our assumption, you can have a research question for your research as well and
that will act as a guide as well. For example, in the case of depression or traffic jams,
if we have written the question, what are the factors that cause a traffic jam.
iv. Research Methodology: Entire plan for the research for primary research. It is
the preparation for what we are going to do in the field. We have to have four
components in it as follows:
i. Identifying research strategy: i. Quantitative: number, percentages, and ratios,
ii. Qualitative: detailed description and explanations and iii. Mixed
ii. Sampling strategy: Population: a finite or infinite collection of items under
consideration. Sample: a portion of the population.
iii. Research method to be applied: tools for data collection by which you are
going to collect data. For example, interviews, giving questionnaires, group
interviews, observation,
iv. Identifying theoretical framework:

v. Going to the field and collecting data and analyzing the data in a scientific
manner: For example, if you have gone for a quantitative strategy, your
analysis will be fully quantitative, like applying numbers and ratios and
applying statistical methods. If you go for the qualitative one, then you
develop different themes, and under different themes, you summarize your
result.
V. Discussion and conclusion: Discussion is the part where you can claim
that we have brought up something completely different from what others
have brought up. We have to compare our results with the literature review.
The discussion part will include a comparison between our results and the
literature review to show how unique your results are and how different your
results are from others so that people get interested in your result. Secondly,
in this discussion, you can say how your hypotheses are proven right or
wrong. The discussion will be included: I. your result and literature review. ii.
The hypothesis is right or wrong or partially right or wrong. iii. Interpreting
answers to a research question and how it comes.
Conclusion part: we can make our comments and suggestions about the
research result or the research process etc., before the conclusion; we cannot
say what we think; we can talk about the limitations of our result; if there is a
policy implication in our result, we can mention it here. Lastly, we can give
suggestions and recommendations for further result.