SUMMARY LECTURE

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RESEARCH
METHODS
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Introduction to research
 ThezHallmarks or main distinguishing characteristics of scientific research may be listed as
follows:

1. Purposiveness(definite aim or purpose)) 2. Rigor (carefulness, and the degree

of exactitude in research investigations) 3. Testability 4. Replicability should be
supported again and again when the same type of research is repeated in other
similar circumstances5. Precision We would like to design the research in a
manner that ensures that our findings are as close to reality as possible, so that
we can place reliance or confidence in the results. 6.. Objectivity The conclusions
should be based on the facts of the findings derived from actual data, and not on
our own subjective or emotional values7. Generalizability. 8. Parsimony
simplicity in explaining the phenomena or problems that occur, and in generating
solutions for the problems
 LITERATURE REVIEW
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1.Purposiveness(definite aim or purpose)
VERY CLEAR WHAT YOU WANT TO DO

PROBLEM STATEMENT
RESEARCH OBJECTIVE
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
HYPOTHESES
2. Rigor (carefulness, and the degree of exactitude in
research investigations)
USE LITERATURE REVIEW AS A REFERENCE …
MAKE SURE STUDY IS EXACT/CORRECT AS PER
EXPERTS - FOLLOW THEM
 METHODS ( FOLLOW LIT REVIEW)
3. Testability
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What we propose actually can be tested

4. Replicability should be supported again and again when the same type of
research is repeated in other similar circumstances METHODS ARE
SCIENTIFICALLY CORRECT FROM COLLECTING DATA TO ANALYSING

5. Precision We would like to design the research in a manner that

ensures that our findings are as close to reality as possible, so that we
can place reliance or confidence in the results. ( RESEARCH DESIGN)

CONCLUSIONS
6. Objectivity The conclusions should be based on the facts of the
findings derived from actual data, and not on our own subjective or
emotional values
7. Generalizability HOW WELL CAN GENERALISE TO POPULATION
8. Parsimony simplicity in explaining the phenomena or problems that occur,
and in generating solutions for the problems
Research process

PROBLEM
STATEMENT
PILOT
TEST
 Literature Review
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1.The research effort is positioned relative to existing knowledge and builds on this knowledge.

2. You can look at a problem from a specific angle; it shapes your thinking and sparks useful
insights on the topic of your research

3.You do not run the risk of “reinventing the wheel”, that is, wasting effort on trying to rediscover
something that is already known.

4. You are able to introduce relevant terminology and to define key terms used in your writing.
This is important because the same term may have different meanings, depending on the context
in which it is used. Definitions will also help you to give structure to your essay, article or report

5.You obtain useful insights of the research methods that others have used to provide an answer
to similar research questions. Knowledge of the research methods used by others allows you to
replicate existing research, which will help you to relate your research findings to the findings of
others.

6. The research effort can be contextualized in a wider academic debate. In other words, it allows
you to relate your findings to the findings of others
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Organising many different research to extract relevant factors

Title/ Objective of Variable of Methodolo Finding of Recomme

No
Author Study Study/Theories gy Study ndation
1.
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:Theoretical framework
A theoretical framework represents your beliefs on how certain phenomena (or variables or
concepts) are related to each other (a model) and an explanation of why you believe that these
variables are associated with each other (a theory).

DV
IV
MODERATOR
INTERVENING

Theoretical framework in a study is based on an existing theory or theories (e.g., a theory of

motivation).

The conceptual framework, on the other hand, is something you can develop yourself based on
this theory. You inevitably would use some --if not all-- concept that this particular theory
operates with
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Hypothesis development

established the relationships among them through logical reasoning in the theoretical framework,
we are in a position to test whether the relationships that have been theorized do, in fact, hold true

If Then

Directional
Non directional

Null and alternate

 z Questionnaire

A drafted questionnaire should always be ready for establishing validity.

Validity is the amount of systematic or built-in error in questionnaire. Validity
of a questionnaire can be established using a panel of experts which
explore theoretical construct

The development of a content valid instrument is typically achieved by a rational

analysis of the instrument by raters (experts) familiar with the construct of
interest or experts on the research subject. Specifically, raters will review all of
the questionnaire items for readability, clarity and comprehensiveness and come
to some level of agreement as to which items should be included in the final
questionnaire.

https://www.npmj.org/article.asp?issn=1117-
1936;year=2015;volume=22;issue=4;spage=195;epage=201;aulast=bolarin
wa#:~:text=A%20drafted%20questionnaire%20should%20always,built
%2Din%20error%20in%20questionnaire.&text=Validity%20of%20a
%20questionnaire%20can,shown%20in%20%5BFigure%202%5D.
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Reliability
Internal consistency concerns the extent to which items on the test or instrument are
measuring the same thing. The appeal of an internal consistency index of reliability is that
it is estimated after only one test administration and therefore avoids the problems
associated with testing over multiple time periods. Internal consistency is estimated via
the split-half reliability index and coefficient alpha index which is the most common
used form of internal consistency reliability. Sometimes, Kuder-Richardson formula 20
(KR-20) index was used.

The general convention in research has been prescribed by Nunnally and

Bernstein, [52] which states that one should strive for reliability values of 0.70 or
higher.
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STATISTICAL TEST FOR PILOT STUDY

RELIABILITY TEST
Must be done for pilot testing only
NOT the whole sample as all of you have done
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PILOT STUDY VS ACTUAL STUDY

Due to several adaptations made in the questionnaire,

a pilot study was conducted on 15 learners randomly
taken from the population of this study. The students
who had taken part in the pilot study were then
excluded from the actual study. The reliability was
calculated using Cronbach alpha through Statistical
Package for Social Science (SPSS) software. The
reliability index was obtained at 0.90 which is
considered highly reliable.

Then do the actual study…sample size above 30….

 z RESEARCH DESIGN

Type of research: The present study is a descriptive research.

Period of study: The study was conducted for a period of 3 months (December 2016 to February 2017).
Area of the study: The study was conducted regarding the analysis of factors influencing student absenteeism in schools.
Sample size: A sample size of 159 respondents is selected using stratified random sampling technique.
Sampling techniques:Stratified random sampling. It is a type of probability sampling which is a random sample of a population in which
the population is first divided into distinct sub- populations, or strata, and random sample are then taken separately from each stratum.
Tools used for analysis: Percentage analysis, descriptive statistics and correlation have been used to analyze and draw conclusion.
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POPULATION whole group UNITAR students Selangor population

SAMPLING FRAME list of all the people in your population ( prob/non prob)
TYPE OF SAMPING METHOD/STRATEGY simple random /
convenience
ACTUAL SAMPLE greater than 30 …
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PRE DATA ANALYSIS

before starting your actual analysis must check your data

z STATISTICAL TEST AFTERPILOT STUDY BEFORE
ACTUAL DATA ANALYSIS

NORMALITY TEST
 z TESTING NORMALITY

For the continuous data, test of the normality is an important step for deciding the
measures of central tendency and statistical methods for data analysis. When our
data follow normal distribution, parametric tests otherwise nonparametric methods
are used to compare the groups.

An assessment of the normality of data is a prerequisite for many statistical tests

because normal data is an underlying assumption in parametric testing
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STATISTICAL TEST FOR ACTUAL ANALYSIS

Objective of study
DESCRIPTIVE
CORRELATION
ETC
 z CORRELATION ANALYSIS

Correlation analysis is used to quantify the degree to which two variables are
related. Through the correlation analysis, you evaluate correlation coefficient
that tells you how much one variable changes when the other one does.
Correlation analysis provides you with a linear relationship between two
variables.
 Interpretation Correlation Analysis
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Pearson’s r
The first is the value of Pearson’ r – i.e., the correlation coefficient. That’s the
Pearson Correlation figure (inside the square red box, above), which in this
case is .094.

Pearson’s r varies between +1 and -1, where +1 is a perfect positive

correlation, and -1 is a perfect negative correlation. 0 means there is no linear
correlation at all.
Our figure
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that people spend doing the test, the better they’re likely to do, but the effect
is very small.

Significance
We’re also interested in the 2-tailed significance value – which in this case
is < .000 (inside the red oval, above). The standard alpha value is .05,here
0.01 is used which means that our correlation is highly significant, not just a
function of random sampling error, etc.

This seems counterintuitive. How can a very weak correlation be highly

significant? How is it possible to be so confident that such a weak
correlation is real?

The answer has to do with our sample size (see the figure for N, above).
We have 16033 cases in our data set. This means that our study has
enough statistical power to identify even very weak effects.
WHAT TEST WHEN
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 Pilot study ( 15)
1.Reliability test

Actual study >30 ( cannot use data from pilot study)

1. Normality
2. Descriptive – mean std dev not normal – mode median
3. Correlation – Pearson not normal – spearman
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