Research Methodology

For Midwifery year 4 students

Alem Tadesse (BSc.,MSc.)

Email; Alexkuncho9@gmail.com
Phone no +251914158585
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 U-I
Introduction to research
What is research?
• Research:- is the systematic collection, analysis and
interpretation of data to answer a certain question or
solve a problem.

• Health Research:- likewise, is a research effort to

address health related problems and come up with
better solutions to mitigate the prevailing problem.

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 Purposes of a health research
• Basic Research:- is designed to extend the bases of
knowledge in a discipline, for the sake of understanding
itself. (E.g. cloning, satellite, space researches ).

• Applied Research:- concentrates on finding solutions to

immediate problems of practical nature.

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 Quantitative Vs Qualitative

• Quantitative research:
• Tries to quantify things in terms of numbers
• Has explanatory purpose (positivists paradigm).

• Qualitative research:
• Tries to describe things in terms of contexts
• Has exploratory purpose (Interpretists paradigm).

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 Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches…
Qualitative Quantitative

Usually Non-probability based sample Typically a probability-based sample

Non-generalizable Generalizable
Exploratory Explanatory
Answers Why? How? Answers How many? When? Where?-- In
addition to why & how
Generate hypothesis Tests hypotheses
Process is inductive Process is deductive
Data are “rich” and time-consuming to Data are more efficient, but may miss
analyze contextual detail
Design may emerge as study unfolds Design decided in advance

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Researcher IS the instrument Various tools, instruments employed 6
Mixed method
 Triangulation (Multi-method designs)

 Corroboration (superior evidence if the result from triangulation is the

same)

 Here is a metaphor for thinking about mixed research:

“Construct one fish net out of several fish nets that have holes in
them by laying them on top of one another. The "new" net will
not have any holes in it. The use of multiple methods or
approaches to research works the same way.”

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 Triangulating quantitative and
qualitative methods
QUAN quali

QUALI quant

quan quali

QUAN QUALI

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Basic questions in health system
• What are health needs of people?

• What is the coverage of health interventions?

• How can we use resources cost-effectively?

• How can we control environmental factors?

N.B. Without research answering these questions is unthinkable

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Characteristics of research
 It demands a clear statement of the problem.

 It requires clear objectives and a plan (it is not

aimlessly looking for something in the hope that you
will come across a solution).

 It builds on existing data, using both positive and

negative findings.

 New data should be systematically collected and

analyzed to answer the original research objectives.

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A Research Proposal
 A research proposal is a document that presents a plan for a
project to reviewers for evaluation.

 It can be a supervised project submitted to instructors

 it can present a project proposed to a funding agency.

 Its purpose is to convince reviewers
▪ Can he/she handle the project?
▪ Is it well thought?

 Reviewers have more confidence that planned project will be

successfully completed if the proposal is well written and
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organized, and if you demonstrate careful planning. 11
A Research Proposal…
 A proposal describes the research problems and its
importance, and gives detailed account of the methods
that will be used and why they are appropriate.

 The proposal for quantitative research has most of the

parts of the research report: a title, an abstract, a
problem statement, a literature review, a method or
design section, and a bibliography.

 The proposal has a plan for data collection and analysis.

It frequently includes a schedule of the steps to be
undertaken and estimates of the time and budget
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