Introduction of Research

Research

The word research is composed of two words `re` and `search` which means to
search again, or to search for new facts or to modify older ones in any branch of
knowledge.

Research is a scientific and systematic search for pertinent information on a

specific topic. It is an art of scientific investigation.

According to J.F.Rummel, “Research is an endeavour to discover, develop and

verify knowledge. It is an intellectual process that has developed over hundred of years,
ever changing in purpose and form and always searching for truth”.

Motivation factors of research

1. Curiosity about unknown

2. To get a research degree
3. To solve the unsolved problem
4. Desire to get intellectual joy of doing some creative work
5. Desire to serve the society
6. Desire to get respectability
7. Employment condition
8. Desire to discover new and test old theories/scientific procedures
9. Desire to understand causal relationship
10. Desire to new invention
Classification of research

There are two broad classification of research-

a) Research in physical or natural sciences or physical research

b) Research in social or human sciences or social research

Physical research

Physical sciences deal with things, which can be put to laboratory tests under
guided conditions. These researches deal with physical phenomena upon which man has
complete control.

Social research

Researches on social sciences are based on human behaviour which is influenced by

so many factors such as physical, social, temperamental, psychological and economical.
These factors can never put to laboratory tests. In short, social research is that part of
research which studies human behaviour on a part of society.

There are also some other types of researches-

Pure or basic or fundamental research

Basic research is that research which is engaged in developing or deriving scientific

theories or principles. Thus basic research can take shape in two different ways-

i) Discovery of a new theory

ii) Development or improvement of the existing theory
Applied research

Applied research aims at finding a solution for an immediate problem facing a

society or an industrial or business organization. Thus the central aim of applied research
is to discover a solution for some pressing practical problem.

Policy research

Policy research is basically the research with policy implications. Researches which
are conducted for the specific purpose of application or researches with policy
implications may be treated as policy researches. The results of such studies are used as
indices for policy formulations and implementation.

Descriptive research

Descriptive research includes surveys and fact finding enquiries of different kinds.
The major purpose of descriptive research is description of the state of affairs as it exits at
present. The main characteristic of this method is that the researcher has no control over
the variables; he can only report what has happened or what is happening.

The case study

A case study is deep and intensive study of a particular social unit, confined to a very
small number of cases. Thus the field of study in the case study method is limited but it
aims at studying all aspects of a social unit. It also seeks to determine social process; it
reveals the complexity factors and indicates their sequences and their relationships. It is
also a diagnostic study oriented towards finding out what is happening and why it
happening and what can be done about it.
Research process

Research process consists of series of actions or steps necessary to effectively carry out
research and the desired sequencing of these steps. The following order concerning
various steps provides a useful procedural guideline regarding the research process-

1. Defining the research problem

2. Review of literature
3. Preparing the research design
4. Sampling design
5. Collecting the data
6. Processing and analyzing the data
7. Preparation of the report or presentation of the results

A brief description of the above stated steps is presented below-

1. Defining the research problem

A problem well defined is a problem half solved. Problem definition allows a

researcher to set the proper research objectives. If the purpose of research is clear, the
chances of colleting the necessary and relevant information and not collecting the surplus
information will be much greater.

At the very outset the researcher must single out the problems he wants to study,
i.e., he must decide the general area of interest or aspect of a subject –matter that he
would like to inquire into. Initially the problem may be stated in a broad general way and
then the ambiguities, if any, relating to the problem be resolved. Then, the feasibility of a
particular solution has to be considered before a working formulation of the problem can
be set up. The formulation of a general topic into a specific research problem, thus,
constitutes the first step in a scientific enquiry.
2. Review of literature

Once the problem is formulated, a brief summary of it should be written down. It is

essential for a research worker to write a synopsis of the topic and submit it to the
necessary committee or research board for approval. At this juncture the researcher
should undertake extensive literature survey connected to the problem. For this purpose
the abstracting and indexing journals and published and unpublished bibliographies are
the first place to go to. Academic journals, conference proceedings, government reports,
books etc., must be tapped depending on the nature of the problem. In this process, it
should be remembered that one source will lead to another. The earlier studies, if any,
which are similar to the study in hand, should be carefully studied. A good library will be
a great help to the researcher at this stage.

3. Preparing the research design

The research problem having been formulated in clear cut terms, the researcher will
be required to prepare a research design, i.e., he will have to state the conceptual structure
within which research would be conducted. The preparation of such a design facilitates
research to be as efficient as possible yielding maximal information. In other words, the
function of research design is to provide for the collection of relevant evidence with
minimal expenditure of effort, time and money.

The preparation of research design, appropriate for a particular research problem,

involves usually the consideration of the following-
i) The means of obtaining the information
ii) The availability and skills of the researcher and his staff (if any)
iii) Explanation of the way in which selected means of obtaining information will be
organized and the reasoning leading to the selection
iv) The time available for research
v) The cost factor relating to the research, i.e., the finance available for research purpose.
4. Sampling design

All the items under consideration in any field of enquiry constitute a `universe` or
`population`. A complete enumeration of all the items in the population is known as a
census enquiry. This type of enquiry involves a great deal of time, money and energy.
Not only this, census inquiry is not possible in practice under many circumstances.
Hence, quite often researchers select only a few items from the universe for study
purposes. The items so selected constitute what is technically called a sample.

The first step of sampling design is to identify the target population. Next step is to
determine the sample size. The final step is to choose a method to select the
representative sampling unit. There are two basic sampling techniques-

1) Probability sampling
a) Simple random sampling
b) Stratified random sampling
c) Cluster sampling
d) Systematic sampling
e) Multistage sampling

2) Non probability sampling

a) Purposive sampling
b) Convenience sampling
c) Quota sampling
d) Snow ball sampling

5. Collecting the data

In dealing with any real life problem it is often found that data at hand are
inadequate, and hence, it becomes necessary to collect data that are appropriate. There are
several ways of collecting the appropriate data which differ considerably in context of
money costs, time and other resources at the disposal of the researcher.

Primary data can be collected either through experiment or through survey. If the
researcher conducts an experiment, he observes some quantitative measurements, or the
data, with the help of which he examines the truth contained in this hypothesis. But in the
case of a survey, data can be collected by any one or more of the following ways-
a) By observation
b) Through personal interview
c) Through telephone interview
d) By mailing of questionnaire
e) Through schedule

The researcher should select one of these methods of collecting the data taking into
consideration the nature of investigation, objective and scope of the enquiry, financial
resources, available time and the desired degree of accuracy.

6. Process and analyzing the data

After the data have been collected, the researcher turns to the task of processing and
analyzing them. It requires a number of closely related operations such as
a) Establishments of categories
b) The application of these categories to raw data through coding
c) Tabulation
d) Drawing statistical inferences.

Analysis work after tabulation is generally based on the computation of various

percentages, coefficients, etc., by applying various well defined statistical formulae.
7. Preparation of the report or presentation of the results

Finally the researcher has to prepare the report of what has been done by him.
Writing of report must be done with great care. The layout of the report should be as
follows-
i) The preliminary pages
ii) The main text
iii) The end matter
In its preliminary pages the report should carry title and date followed by
acknowledgements and foreword. Then there should be a table of contents followed by a
list of tables and a list of graphs and charts, if any given in the report.

The main text of the report should have the following parts-
i) Introduction
ii) Review of literature
iii) Methodology of the study
iv) Main report
v) Summery of findings
vi) Conclusion

At the end of the report references should be given in respect of all technical data.