Process of Research

Research process involves execution of a series of phases towards accomplishment of the objectives of research. Each phase in the research process need not be carried out in a sequential process. Some the phases can be carried out simultaneously. One should remember that the various steps involved in research are not mutually exclusive; nor they are separate and distinct.

They do not necessarily follow each other in any specific order and the researcher has to be constantly anticipating at each step in the research process the requirements of the subsequent steps. However, the idea of sequence will be useful for developing and carrying out research study in a systematic manner.

Process of Research

The research process consists of the following distinctive interrelated phases:

• Defining the Research Problem
• Review of Literature
• Formulation of Hypothesis
• Developing the Research Design
• Collection of Data
• Data Analysis and Interpretation
• Research Reporting

Defining the Research Problem

A problem need not necessarily mean that something is wrong in the current situation which needs to be rectified immediately. It simply indicates an issue for which finding a solution could help to improve an existing situation.

Problem can be defined as any situation where a gap exists between the actual and the desired state. Problem statement or problem definition refers to a clear, precise and succinct statement of question or issue that is to be investigated with the goal of finding an answer or solution.

The components of research problem are as suggested by R. L. Ackoff in the “Design of Social Research” is elaborated below:

There must be an individual or a group which has some difficulty with problem:

• There must be some objective(s) to be attained at.
  
  
• There must be alternative means or course of action for obtaining the objectives
  
  
• There must be some doubt in the minds of a researcher with regard to the selection of alternatives.
  
  
• There must be some environment to which the difficulty pertains.

The following criteria can be kept in the minds of researchers in selecting the research problem:

• Subjects on which the research is carried on amply should not be normally chosen as there will not be a new dimension to reveal.
  
  
• Too narrow or too vague problems should be avoided.
  
  
• The researcher should be familiar with the subject chosen for research.
  
  
• The researcher should have enough knowledge, qualification and training in the selected problem area.
  
  
• The resources needed to solve the problem in terms of time, money, efforts, manpower requirement should be taken into account before embarking on a problem.
  
  
• The subject of research should be familiar and feasible so that related research material or sources of research can be obtained easily.
  
  
• The selection of a problem must be preceded by a preliminary study.

Research problems trigger the research process. Defining the research problem is a critical activity. A thorough understanding of research problem is a must for achieving success in the research endeavor. Defining the research problem begins with identifying the basic dilemma that prompts the research. It can be further developed by progressively breaking down the original dilemma into more specific and focus-oriented objectives.

Five steps could be envisaged:

• Identifying the broad problem area
• Literature review
• Identifying the research question
• Refining the research question
• Developing investigative questions.

Review of Literature

Literature survey is the review of published and unpublished work from secondary sources in the area of interest to the researcher.

The purpose of conducting literature survey at this stage is:

• To document the studies relevant to the problem identified for research.
  
  
• To ensure that no variable that has been taken up in the past related studies is ignored.
  
  
• To avoid conducting similar type of study and thereby stopping the researcher from investing his resources in terms of time and effort in a research venture which is already solved.
  
  
• To provide a good frame work and a solid foundation to proceed further in the investigation.
  
  
• To have a comprehensive theoretical framework from which hypothesis can be developed for testing.
  
  
• To enable to develop the problem statement in a precise and clear manner.
  
  
• To enhance the testability and replicability of the findings of the current research.
  
  
• To understand the research gap.
  
  
• To stimulate the researcher to carry out the work.
  
  
• To confirm the appropriateness of procedure by referring to similar studies conducted in the past.
  
  
• To trace inconsistencies, contradictions and consistencies.
  
  
• To clear conceptualization.
  
  
• To familiarize with methodology, research tools and statistical analysis.

The literature review needs to be performed on the variables identified through the interview process.

It comprises of three steps viz.,

• Identifying the Sources: The data can be obtained from the library by going through books, journals, newspapers, magazines, conference proceedings, doctoral dissertation, thesis, government publications and other reports.
  
  The development of information technology has led to many online databases like Prowess, EBSCO etc and the interlinking of libraries has led to a myriad of information in the hands of the researcher with the click of the mouse.
  
  Computerized databases include bibliographies, abstract and full text of articles. Bibliographic databases display only the bibliographic citations i.e., the name of the author, the title of the article / journal, source of publication, year, volume and page numbers. The abstract databases in addition to the above said information provides an abstract or summary of the article. The full-text databases as the name suggests, enables to download the full text of the article.
  
  
• Gathering Relevant Information: The articles gathered either from books, journal or online sources could as such act as a reservoir of information. These sources could lead to further information through the citation and references used. The list of journals and references referred in the articles could lead us further to the source of information. Also, during the course of reading the articles, the researcher can get insight into new variables or new avenues hitherto unexplored.
  
  
• Presenting the Literature Review: The literature should be presented in a clear and logical manner citing the author, year of study, objectives of the research, major findings and implications. The researcher should present the literature in a chronological order and in a coherent manner. There are several methods of citing references in the literature.

What is Hypothesis?

Ordinarily, when one talks about hyppthesis, one simply means assumption or some supposition to be proved or disproved. But for a researcher hypothesis is a formal question that he intends to resolve.

Thus, a hypothesis may be defined as a proposition or a set forth as an explation for the occurance of some specified group of phenomena either asserted merely as a provisional conjencture to guide some investigation or accepted as highly probable in the light of established facts. Quite often a research hypothesis is a predective statement, capable of being tested by scientific methods, that related an independent variable to some dependent variables.

For example, consider statements like the following ones. “Students who receive counselling will show a greater increase in creativity than students not receiving Counselling “Or” The automobile A is performing as well as automobile B”

Formulation of Hypothesis

A proposition that can be verified to determine its reality is a hypothesis. Therefore one can say that a hypothesis is a verifiable counterpart of a proposition. A hypothesis may be defined as a logically conjectured relationship between two or more variables, expressed in the form of a testable statement. Relationship is proposed by using a strong logical argumentation. This logical relationship may be part of theoretical framework of the study.

Developing the Research Design

A Research design is the specification of methods and procedures for acquiring the information needed to structure or to solve problems. It is an overall operational pattern or framework of the project that stipulates the information to be collected, the sources from which information can be collected the procedures for collection of information.

In other words the researcher should consider: (i) the design technique (ii) the type of data (iii) the sampling methodology and procedures (iv) the schedule and the budget.

A good research design ensures that the information obtained is relevant to the research problem in an objective and economical manner. The research design can be described as a master plan or model or blueprint for the conduct of investigation.

Collection of Data

The data gathering phase begins with the pilot testing. It is done to detect the weakness in the research design, questionnaire/interview schedule and provides proxy data for selection of probability sample. The pilot testing should stimulate the procedure and protocols designed for data collection.

If the study is to be conducted by email then the pilot questionnaire should be email. The size of the pilot group may range normally from 25 to 100 respondents who need not be statistically selected. There are a number of variations of pilot testing. Some of them may be restricted to data collection only.

One form is ‘pretesting’ where the responses are collected from colleagues, respondents surrogates or actual respondents for the main purpose of refining the questionnaire. Based on the pilot testing the questionnaire may be redesigned, rephrased and improved. Pretesting may be repeated many times to refine questions or procedures.

Data is the facts presented to the researcher from the study environment. Data can be gathered from a singe location or from all over the world based on the research objectives and the resource allocation. The data collection method ranges from observation, questionnaires, laboratory notes and other modern instruments and devices.

Data can be characterized by their abstractness, verifiability, elusiveness and closeness to the phenomenon. As abstractions, data are more metaphorical than real. When sensory experiences consistently produce the same result then the data is said to be trustworthy as they are verified. Data capturing is elusive, complicated by the speed at which events occur and the time-bound nature of observation. Data reflect their truthfulness measured by the degree of closeness to the phenomena.

Secondary data has at least one level of interpretation inserted between the event and its recording. Primary data are close to the truth. Data collected need to be edited for ensuring consistency and to locate omissions.

In case of survey method editing reduces errors in the recording, improves legibility and clarifies unclear and inappropriate responses. Edited data are then converted into analyzable form. Computers can be used to find missing data, validate data, edit and code so that further analysis can be carried out in a valid manner.

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 his hypothesis.

But in the case of a survey, data can be collected by any one or more of the following ways:

• By observation: This method implies the collection of information by way of investigator’s own observations, without interviewing the respondents. The information obtained relates to what is currently happening and is not complicated by either the past behaviour or future intentions or attitudes of respondents. This method is no doubt an expensive method and the information provided by this method is also very limited. As such this method is not suitable in inquiries where large samples are concerned.
  
  
• Through personal interview: The investigator follows a rigid procedure and seeks answers to a set of pre-conceived questions through personal interviews. This method of collecting data is usually carried out in a structured way where output depends upon the ability of the interviewer to a large extent.
  
  
• Through Telephone Interviews: This method of collecting information involves contacting the respondents on telephone itself. This is not a very widely used method but it plays an important role in industrial surveys in developed regions, particularly, when the survey has to be accomplished in a very limited time.
  
  
• By mailing of questionnaires: The researcher and the respondents do come in contact with each other if this method of survey is adopted. Questionnaires are mailed to the respondents with a request to return after completing the same. It is the most extensively used method in various economic and business surveys. Before applying this method, usually a Pilot Study for testing the questionnaire is conduced which reveals the weaknesses, if any, of the questionnaire. Questionnaire to be used must be prepared very carefully so that it may prove to be effective in collecting the relevant information.
  
  
• Through schedules: Under this method the enumerators are appointed and given training. They are provided with schedules containing relevant questions. These enumerators go to respondents with these schedules. Data are collected by filling up the schedules by enumerators on the basis of replies given by respondents. Much depends upon the capability of enumerators so far as this method is concerned. Some occasional field checks on the work of the enumerators may ensure sincere work.

The researcher should select one of these methods of collecting the data taking into consideration the nature of investigation, objective and scope of the inquiry, financial resources, available time and the desired degree of accuracy. Though he should pay attention to all these factors but much depends upon the ability and experience of the researcher. In this context Dr A.L. Bowley very aptly remarks that “In collection of statistical data ,commonsense is the chief requisite and experience the chief teacher”.

Data Analysis and Interpretation

Research is conducted for the purpose of acquiring information. Raw data as such does not provide information. Further analysis needs to be done to obtain information out of data. Data analysis involves application of statistical techniques for reducing accumulated data to a manageable size leading to summaries.

Responses acquired by way of administering questionnaires should be subjected to analysis so as to ascertain the behaviour of variables, the relationship between variables etc. Analysis should be focused to find answers to research questions/hypothesis. Various statistical softwares are available to make the job of data analysis easier,. However, interpretation needs to be made with expertise as the recommendations are based on them.

Analysis of data requires a number of closely related operations such as establishment of categories, the application of these categories to raw data through coding, tabulation and then drawing statistical inferences. The unwieldy data should necessarily be condensed into a few manageable groups and tables for further analysis. Thus, researcher should classify the raw data into some purposeful and usable categories.

Coding operation is usually done at this stage through which the categories of data are transformed into symbols that may be tabulated and counted. Editing is the procedure that improves the quality of data for coding. With coding the stage is ready for tabulation. Tabulation is a part of the technical procedure wherein the classified data are put in the form of tables. The mechanical devices can be made use of at this juncture. A great deal of data, specially in large inquiries, is tabulated by computers.

Computers not only save time but also make it possible to study large number of variables affecting a problem simultaneously. Analysis work after tabulation is generally based on the computation of various percentages, coefficients, etc., by applying various well defined statistical formulae.

In the process of analysis, relationships or differences supporting or conflicting with original or new hypotheses should be subjected to tests of significance to determine with what validity data can be said to indicate any conclusion(s). If a hypothesis is tested and upheld several times, it may be possible for the researcher to arrive at generalisation, i.e., to build a theory.

The real value of research lies in its ability to arrive at certain generalisations. If the researcher had no hypothesis to start with, he might seek to explain his findings on the basis of some theory. It is known as interpretation. The process of interpretation may quite often trigger off new questions which in turn may lead to further research.

Research Reporting

It is only through reports the researcher communicates about the research work, findings and recommendations to the outside world. The report has to be prepared in the style that will be understood by the target audience. The reports may be communicated by way of written documents or in an oral manner, through letters or through telephone calls or a combination of all.

The type of report varies depending on the type of research, length of report and the purpose. The researcher should take care to see that the report addresses all the objectives of research in a lucid manner. The report should be adapted to the needs of the target audience and care must be taken to use appropriate words in projecting the interpretation, recommendations and conclusion.

A report should contain an executive summary consisting of synopsis of problem, findings and recommendations. It should speak about the background of the study, the statement of the problem, literature summary, methods and procedures, findings, recommendations and conclusion

The layout of the report should be as follows:

• The preliminary pages;
• The main text and
• The end matter.

In its preliminary pages the report should carry title and date followed by acknowledgment and foreword. Then there should be a table of contents followed by a list of tables and list of graphs and charts, if any, given in the report.

The main text of the report should have the following parts:

• Introduction: It should contain a clear statement of the objective of the research and an explanation of the methodology adopted in accomplishing the research. The scope of the study along with various limitations should as well be stated in this part.
  
  
• Summary of findings: After introduction there would appear a statement of findings and recommendations in non-technical language. If the findings are extensive, they should be summarised.
  
  
• Main report: The main body of the report should be presented in logical sequence and broken- down into readily identifiable sections. (d) Conclusion: Towards the end of the main text, researcher should again put down the results of his research clearly and precisely. In fact, it is the final summing up.

At the end of the report, appendices should be enlisted in respect of all technical data. Bibliography, i.e., list of books, journals, reports etc., consulted, should also be given in the end. Index should also be given specially in a published research report.

Report should be written in a concise and objective style in simple language avoiding vague expressions such as ‘it seems,’ ‘there may be’ and the like. Charts and illustrations in the main report should be used only if they present the information more clearly and forcibly. Calculated ‘confidence limits’ must be mentioned and the various constraints experienced in conducting research operations may as well be stated.