Research
in common parlance refers to a search for knowledge. Once can also define
research as a scientific and systematic search for pertinent information on a
specific topic. In fact, research is an art of scientific investigation. The
Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English lays down the meaning of
research as “a careful investigation or inquiry specially through search for
new facts in any branch of knowledge.”1 Redman and Mory define research as a “systematized
effort to gain new knowledge.”2 Some people consider research as a movement, a
movement from the known to the unknown. It is actually a voyage of discovery.
We all possess the vital instinct of inquisitiveness for, when the unknown
confronts us, we wonder and our inquisitiveness makes us probe and attain full
and fuller understanding of the unknown. This inquisitiveness is the mother of
all knowledge and the method, which man employs for obtaining the knowledge of
whatever the unknown, can be termed as research.
Research
is an academic activity and as such the term should be used in a technical
sense. According to Clifford Woody research comprises defining and redefining
problems, formulating hypothesis or suggested solutions; collecting, organising
and evaluating data; making deductions and reaching conclusions; and at last
carefully testing the conclusions to determine whether they fit the formulating
hypothesis. D. Slesinger and M. Stephenson in the Encyclopaedia of Social
Sciences define research as “the manipulation of things, concepts or symbols
for the purpose of generalising to extend, correct or verify knowledge, whether
that knowledge aids in construction of theory or in the practice of an art.”3 Research
is, thus, an original contribution to the existing stock of knowledge making
for its advancement. It is the persuit of truth with the help of study,
observation, comparison and experiment. In short, the search for knowledge
through objective and systematic method of finding solution to a problem is
research. The systematic approach concerning generalisation and the formulation
of a theory is also research. As such the term ‘research’ refers to the
systematic method
1 The
Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English, Oxford, 1952, p. 1069.
2 L.V.
Redman and A.V.H. Mory, The Romance of Research, 1923, p.10.
3 The
Encyclopaedia of Social Sciences, Vol. IX, MacMillan, 1930.
2 Research Methodology
consisting
of enunciating the problem, formulating a hypothesis, collecting the facts or
data, analyzing the facts and reaching certain conclusions either in the form
of solutions(s) towards the concerned problem or in certain generalisations for
some theoretical formulation.
OBJECTIVES OF RESEARCH
The
purpose of research is to discover answers to questions through the application
of scientific procedures. The main aim of research is to find out the truth
which is hidden and which has not been discovered as yet. Though each research
study has its own specific purpose, we may think of research objectives as
falling into a number of following broad groupings:
1.
To gain familiarity with a phenomenon or to achieve new insights into it
(studies with this object in view are termed as exploratory or formulative
research studies);
2.
To portray accurately the characteristics of a particular individual, situation
or a group (studies with this object in view are known as descriptive research
studies);
3.
To determine the frequency with which something occurs or with which it is
associated with something else (studies with this object in view are known as diagnostic
research studies);
4.
To test a hypothesis of a causal relationship between variables (such studies
are known as hypothesis-testing research studies).
MOTIVATION
IN RESEARCH
What
makes people to undertake research? This is a question of fundamental
importance. The possible motives for doing research may be either one or more
of the following:
1.
Desire to get a research degree along with its consequential benefits;
2.
Desire to face the challenge in solving the unsolved problems, i.e., concern
over practical problems initiates research;
3.
Desire to get intellectual joy of doing some creative work;
4.
Desire to be of service to society;
5.
Desire to get respectability.
However,
this is not an exhaustive list of factors motivating people to undertake
research studies.
Many
more factors such as directives of government, employment conditions, curiosity
about new things, desire to understand causal relationships, social thinking and
awakening, and the like may as well motivate (or at times compel) people to
perform research operations.
TYPES
OF RESEARCH
The
basic types of research are as follows:
(i) Descriptive
vs. Analytical: 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 exists at present. In social science
and business research we quite often use
Research
Methodology: An Introduction 3
the
term Ex post facto research for descriptive research studies. 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. Most ex
post facto research projects are used for descriptive studies in which the
researcher seeks to measure such items as, for example, frequency of shopping,
preferences of people, or similar data. Ex post facto studies also include
attempts by researchers to discover causes even when they cannot control the variables.
The methods of research utilized in descriptive research are survey methods of all
kinds, including comparative and correlational methods. In analytical
research, on the other hand, the researcher has to use facts or information
already available, and analyze these to make a critical evaluation of the
material.
(ii)
Applied vs. Fundamental: Research can either be applied (or action)
research or
fundamental
(to basic or pure) research. Applied research aims at finding a solution
for an immediate problem facing a society or an industrial/business
organisation, whereas fundamental
research
is mainly concerned with generalisations and with the formulation
of a theory.
“Gathering
knowledge for knowledge’s sake is termed ‘pure’ or ‘basic’ research.”4 Research
concerning some natural phenomenon or relating to pure mathematics are examples
of fundamental research. Similarly, research studies, concerning human
behaviour carried on with a view to make generalisations about human behaviour,
are also examples of
fundamental
research, but research aimed at certain conclusions (say, a solution) facing a concrete
social or business problem is an example of applied research. Research to
identify social, economic or political trends that may affect a particular
institution or the copy research (research to find out whether certain
communications will be read and understood) or the marketing research or
evaluation research are examples of applied research. Thus, the central aim of
applied research is to discover a solution for some pressing practical problem,
whereas basic research is directed towards finding information that has a broad
base of applications and thus, adds to the already existing organized body of
scientific knowledge.
(iii)
Quantitative vs. Qualitative: Quantitative research is based on the
measurement of quantity
or
amount. It is applicable to phenomena that can be expressed in terms of
quantity.
Qualitative
research, on the other hand, is concerned with qualitative phenomenon, i.e., phenomena
relating to or involving quality or kind. For instance, when we are interested
in investigating the reasons for human behaviour (i.e., why people think or do
certain things), we quite often talk of ‘Motivation Research’, an important
type of qualitative research.
This
type of research aims at discovering the underlying motives and desires, using
in depth interviews for the purpose. Other techniques of such research are word
association tests, sentence completion tests, story completion tests and
similar other projective techniques. Attitude or opinion research i.e.,
research designed to find out how people feel or what they think about a
particular subject or institution is also qualitative research. Qualitative research
is specially important in the behavioural sciences where the aim is to discover
the underlying motives of human behaviour. Through such research we can analyse
the various factors which motivate people to behave in a particular manner or
which make people like or dislike a particular thing. It may be stated,
however, that to apply qualitative research in
4 Pauline
V. Young, Scientific Social Surveys and Research, p. 30.
4 Research Methodology
practice
is relatively a difficult job and therefore, while doing such research, one
should seek guidance from experimental psychologists.
(iv)
Conceptual vs. Empirical: Conceptual research is that related to some
abstract idea(s) or theory. It is generally used by philosophers and thinkers
to develop new concepts or to reinterpret existing ones. On the other hand,
empirical research relies on experience or observation alone, often without due
regard for system and theory. It is data-based research, coming up with
conclusions which are capable of being verified by observation or experiment. We
can also call it as experimental type of research. In such a research it is
necessary to get at facts firsthand, at their source, and actively to go about
doing certain things to stimulate the production of desired information. In
such a research, the researcher must first provide himself with a working
hypothesis or guess as to the probable results. He then works to get enough
facts (data) to prove or disprove his hypothesis. He then sets up experimental
designs which he thinks will manipulate the persons or the materials concerned so
as to bring forth the desired information. Such research is thus characterised
by the experimenter’s control over the variables under study and his deliberate
manipulation of one of them to study its effects. Empirical research is
appropriate when proof is sought that certain variables affect other variables
in some way. Evidence gathered through experiments or empirical studies is
today considered to be the most powerful support possible for a given
hypothesis.
(v) Some
Other Types of Research: All other types of research are variations of one
or more of the above stated approaches, based on either the purpose of
research, or the time required to accomplish research, on the environment in
which research is done, or on the basis of some other similar factor. Form the
point of view of time, we can think of research either as one-time research
or longitudinal research. In the former case the research is confined to a
single time-period, whereas in the latter case the research is carried on over several
time-periods. Research can be field-setting research or laboratory research
or
simulation
research, depending upon the environment in
which it is to be carried out.
Research
can as well be understood as clinical or diagnostic research. Such
research follow case-study methods or indepth approaches to reach the basic
causal relations. Such studies usually go deep into the causes of things or
events that interest us, using very small samples and very deep probing data
gathering devices. The research may be exploratory or it may be
formalized. The objective of exploratory research is the development of hypotheses
rather than their testing, whereas formalized research studies are those with substantial
structure and with specific hypotheses to be tested. Historical research is
that which utilizes historical sources like documents, remains, etc. to study
events or ideas of the past, including the philosophy of persons and groups at
any remote point of time. Research
can
also be classified as conclusion-oriented and decision-oriented. While
doing conclusionoriented research, a researcher is free to pick up a problem,
redesign the enquiry as he proceeds and is prepared to conceptualize as he wishes.
Decision-oriented research is always for the need of a decision maker and the
researcher in this case is not free to embark upon research according to his
own inclination. Operations research is an example of decision oriented
research since it is a scientific method of providing executive departments with
a quantitative basis for decisions regarding operations under their control.
Research
Methodology: An Introduction 5
Research Approaches
The
above description of the types of research brings to light the fact that there
are two basic approaches to research, viz., quantitative approach and
the qualitative approach. The former involves the generation of data in
quantitative form which can be subjected to rigorous quantitative analysis in a
formal and rigid fashion. This approach can be further sub-classified into inferential,
experimental and simulation approaches to research. The purpose
of inferential approach to
research
is to form a data base from which to infer characteristics or relationships of
population. This usually means survey research where a sample of population is
studied (questioned or observed) to determine its characteristics, and it is
then inferred that the population has the same characteristics.
Experimental
approach is characterised by much greater control
over the research environment and in this case some variables are manipulated
to observe their effect on other variables.
Simulation
approach involves the construction of an
artificial environment within which relevant information
and
data can be generated. This permits an observation of the dynamic behaviour of
a system (or its sub-system) under controlled conditions. The term ‘simulation’
in the context of business and social sciences applications refers to “the
operation of a numerical model that represents the structure of a dynamic
process. Given the values of initial conditions, parameters and exogenous
variables, a simulation is run to represent the behaviour of the process over
time.”5 Simulation approach can also be useful in building models for
understanding future conditions.
Qualitative
approach to research is concerned with subjective
assessment of attitudes, opinions and behaviour. Research in such a situation
is a function of researcher’s insights and impressions. Such an approach to
research generates results either in non-quantitative form or in the form which
are not subjected to rigorous quantitative analysis. Generally, the techniques
of focus group interviews, projective techniques and depth interviews are used.
All these are explained at length in chapters that follow.
Significance
of Research
“All
progress is born of inquiry. Doubt is often better than overconfidence, for it
leads to inquiry, and inquiry leads to invention” is a famous Hudson Maxim in
context of which the significance of research can well be understood. Increased
amounts of research make progress possible.
Research
inculcates
scientific
and inductive thinking and it promotes the development of logical habits of
thinking and organisation.
The
role of research in several fields of applied economics, whether related to
business or to the economy as a whole, has greatly increased in modern times. The increasingly complex nature of business and
government has focused attention on the use of research in solving operational
problems. Research, as an aid to economic policy, has gained added
importance, both for government
and
business.
Research
provides the basis for nearly all government policies in our economic system.
For
instance, government’s budgets rest in part on an analysis of the needs and
desires of the people and on the availability of revenues to meet these needs.
The cost of needs has to be equated to probable revenues and this is a field
where research is most needed. Through research we can devise alternative
policies and can as well examine the consequences of each of these
alternatives. 5 Robert C. Meir, William T. Newell and Harold L. Dazier, Simulation
in Business and Economics, p. 1.
6 Research Methodology
Decision-making
may not be a part of research, but research certainly facilitates the decisions
of the policy maker. Government has also to chalk out programmes for dealing
with all facets of the country’s existence and most of these will be related
directly or indirectly to economic conditions. The plight of
cultivators,
the problems of big and small business and industry, working conditions, trade
union activities, the problems of distribution, even the size and nature of defence
services are matters requiring research. Thus, research is considered necessary
with regard to the allocation of nation’s resources. Another area in
government, where research is necessary, is collecting information on the
economic
and social structure of the nation. Such information indicates what is
happening in the economy and what changes are taking place. Collecting such
statistical information is by no means a routine task, but it involves a
variety of research problems. These day nearly all governments maintain large
staff of research technicians or experts to carry on this work. Thus, in the
context of government, research as a tool to economic policy has three distinct
phases of operation, viz., (i) investigation of economic structure through
continual compilation of facts; (ii) diagnosis of events that are taking place
and the analysis of the forces underlying them; and (iii) the prognosis, i.e.,
the prediction of
future
developments.
Research
has its special significance in solving various operational and planning
problems
of
business and industry. Operations research and
market research, along with motivational research, are considered crucial and
their results assist, in more than one way, in taking business decisions. Market
research is the investigation of the structure and development of a market for
the purpose of formulating efficient policies for purchasing, production and
sales. Operations research refers to the
application
of mathematical, logical and analytical techniques to the solution of business
problems of cost minimisation or of profit maximisation or what can be termed
as optimisation problems. Motivational research of determining why people
behave as they do is mainly concerned with market characteristics.
In
other words, it is concerned with the determination of motivations underlying
the consumer (market) behaviour. All these are of great help to people in
business and industry who are responsible for taking business decisions.
Research with regard to demand and market factors has great utility in business.
Given knowledge of future demand, it is generally not difficult for a firm, or
for an industry
to
adjust its supply schedule within the limits of its projected capacity. Market
analysis has become an integral tool of business policy these days. Business
budgeting, which ultimately results in a projected profit and loss account, is
based mainly on sales estimates which in turn depends on business research.
Once sales forecasting is done, efficient production and investment programmes
can
be set up around which are grouped the purchasing and financing plans.
Research, thus, replaces intuitive business decisions by more logical and
scientific decisions.
Research
is equally important for social scientists in studying social relationships and
in seeking answers to various social problems. It
provides the intellectual satisfaction of knowing a few things just for the
sake of knowledge and also has practical utility for the social scientist to
know for the sake of being able to do something practical concerns. “This double emphasis is
perhaps especially appropriate in the case of social science. On the one hand,
its responsibility as a science is to develop a body of principles that make
possible the understanding and prediction of the whole range of human
interactions. On the other hand, because of its social orientation, it is
increasingly being looked to for practical guidance
in
solving immediate problems of human relations.”6
6 Marie
Jahoda, Morton Deutsch and Stuart W. Cook, Research Methods in Social
Relations, p. 4.
Research
Methodology: An Introduction 7
In
addition to what has been stated above, the significance of research can also
be understood keeping in view the following points:
(a)
To those students who are to write a master’s or Ph.D. thesis, research may
mean acareerism or a way to attain a high position in the social structure;
(b)
To professionals in research methodology, research may mean a source of
livelihood;
(c)
To philosophers and thinkers, research may mean the outlet for new ideas and
insights;
(d)
To literary men and women, research may mean the development of new styles and
creative work;
(e) To analysts and intellectuals, research
may mean the generalisations of new theories.
Thus,
research is the fountain of knowledge for the sake of knowledge and an
important source of providing guidelines for solving different business,
governmental and social problems. It is a sort of formal training which enables one to understand the new developments in one’s field in a better way.
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