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Education Standards

Radford university.

Learning Domain: Social Work

Standard: Basic Research Methodology

Lesson 10: Sampling in Qualitative Research

Lesson 11: qualitative measurement & rigor, lesson 12: qualitative design & data gathering, lesson 1: introduction to research, lesson 2: getting started with your research project, lesson 3: critical information literacy, lesson 4: paradigm, theory, and causality, lesson 5: research questions, lesson 6: ethics, lesson 7: measurement in quantitative research, lesson 8: sampling in quantitative research, lesson 9: quantitative research designs, powerpoint slides: sowk 621.01: research i: basic research methodology.

The twelve lessons for SOWK 621.01: Research I: Basic Research Methodology as previously taught by Dr. Matthew DeCarlo at Radford University. Dr. DeCarlo and his team developed a complete package of materials that includes a textbook, ancillary materials, and a student workbook as part of a VIVA Open Course Grant.

The PowerPoint slides associated with the twelve lessons of the course, SOWK 621.01: Research I: Basic Research Methodology, as previously taught by Dr. Matthew DeCarlo at Radford University. 

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Research Problem.

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Presentation on theme: "Research Problem."— Presentation transcript:

CHAPTER 1 WHAT IS RESEARCH?.

Exploring Marketing Research William G. Zikmund

Business Research Methods

Introduction to Research Methodology

Chapter 1 Conducting & Reading Research Baumgartner et al Chapter 1 Nature and Purpose of Research.

Types of Research Design and Exploratory Research Chapter 4.

Sabine Mendes Lima Moura Issues in Research Methodology PUC – November 2014.

Chapter Three Research Design.

Business Research Methods Problem Definition. Problem discovery Problem definition (statement of research objectives) Secondary (historical) data Experience.

Chapter Three Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Problem Definition and the Research Process Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Chapter Three.

Validity Lecture Overview Overview of the concept Different types of validity Threats to validity and strategies for handling them Examples of validity.

Formulating the research design

The Proposal. The Final Product Introduction –Including your Management Question Literature Review Your Model –Research Questions –Hypotheses you plan.

Exploring Marketing Research William G. Zikmund Chapter 5: Problem Definition and the Research Proposal.

The Research Design.

RESEARCH DESIGN.

Chapter 1 Psychology as a Science

Business Research Methods William G. Zikmund

Magister of Electrical Engineering Udayana University September 2011

Selecting a Research Design. Research Design Refers to the outline, plan, or strategy specifying the procedure to be used in answering research questions.

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Research problem

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Edupedia Publications

Research is an investigation or experimentation that is aimed at a discovery and interpretation of facts, revision of theories or laws or practical application of the new or revised theories or laws. Identification of research problem leads in conducting a research. To initiate a research, the necessity for the research, to be carried out should be generated.The ideas and topics are developed while consulting literatures, discussions with experts and continuation of activities related to the subject matter. These ideas/topics generally called research problems and are statements about areas of concern, a condition to be improved, a difficulty to be eliminated, or a troubling question that exists in scholarly literature, in theory, or in practice that points to the need for meaningful understanding and deliberate investigation. A research problem does not state how to do something, offer a vague or broad proposition, or present a value question. The problem must be significant researchable lead to further research and suitable for the researcher. Formulation of the problem should lead to empirical investigation. Formulation of research problem should depict what is to be determined and scope of the study.It also involves key concept definitions questions to be asked. The objective of the present paper highlights the above stated issues.

Princy Jain

Mohamed Aboulfotoh

This chapter presents an introduction about the problem of the study and its variables. It dealswith:Background of

Manu Mathew

Oyungerel Bat-Ochir

Augustine Akhidime

This paper aims at assisting budding researchers, particularly in the social and management sciences to have better approach to handling doable research projects. The paper provides a lucid and practical discussion on the importance and simple strategies involved in the identification and development of researchable problems; processes that are considered to be the cornerstone and precursor for a feasible and successful research effort. The paper relies on extant literature and basic teaching methodology in presenting in very simple form a narrative of the systematic building blocks of research problem development which begins with the explanation of the concept of research, research cycle, sources of research problem, statement of research problem, questions, objectives and hypotheses. The paper concludes that the importance of research problem lies in the fact that the entire research efforts begin with the articulation and formulation of researchable problem from the research top...

Lena Bucatariu

Mercy Ndoro

Indian Journal of Medical Specialities

Jugal Kishore

Elder Clair Rudison

What Constitutes a Research Problem? A good research problem must support multiple perspectives. A research problem should be phrased in a way that avoids dichotomies and instead supports the generation and exploration

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Research Methodology

Aug 20, 2014

2.77k likes | 6.03k Views

Research Methodology. Introduction to Research Methodology. Stages of Research Project. Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Literature Review Chapter 3: Methodology Chapter 4: Data Analysis and Interpretation of Findings Chapter 5: Discussion and conclusion. Why do we research?.

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• highest contributor
• human resource managers
• data collection
• better employees job satisfaction
• direct relationship
• adequate solutions

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Research Methodology Introduction to Research Methodology

Stages of Research Project • Chapter 1: Introduction • Chapter 2: Literature Review • Chapter 3: Methodology • Chapter 4: Data Analysis and Interpretation of Findings • Chapter 5: Discussion and conclusion

Why do we research? • To acquire information/knowledge • Research – a particular way of knowing • Emphasis on systematic investigation • Scientific method- collecting observations in a systematic and objective manner • Identify problem • Generate Objectives/hypotheses/RQ • Collect data • Determine whether or not the hypotheses are supported. • Researches that use non-scientific method • Historical, etnography

Types of researches (by purpose) • Basic research (Fundamental Research) • Concerned with fundamental and theoretical questions. • A foundation upon which others can develop applications and solutions • while basic research may not appear to be helpful in the real world, it can direct us toward practical applications in the long run. • E.g. A study on job rotation impact (positive and negative impact) on employees.

Applied research • concerned with finding solutions to practical problems and putting these solutions to work in order to help others • E.g. Action Research on Best Job Rotation practices for Academic Institution

Chap.1: Introduction • Research Introduction and background • Problem statement • Objectives (main & specific objective) • Hypotheses or research questions • Theoretical/conceptual framework (quantitative only) • Variables definition (quantitative only) • Definition of terms (include operational definition) • Contribution/Significance/important of research • Limitation of research

Choosing a research topic • 2 things to be considered • Level of interest • Topic of interest will motivate one to do research on it • Choosing the wrong topic – you might end up or fail to discover some interesting value. • Feasibility • Your capability to complete a research conducted – e.g. data collection and analysis, report writing • Always take a research as you want to unveil a mystery

Getting ideas for researchers • Yourself (observation on a particular phenomena/experiences) • Discussion with expert in the field • Journal articles • Academic books (based on research work) • Proceeding and conference papers • Thesis, dissertation, final year project • Organizational Report (e.g statistic) • Others (Internet, Newspapers/magazines

Preparing a Problem Statement • A problem statement is a clear concise description of the issues (or problems) that need to be addressed by a researcher. • The primary purpose of a problem statement is to focus the attention of the researcher. • A research-worthy problem statement is the description of an active challenge (i.e. problem) faced by a researcher that does not have adequate solutions or theoretical foundation. • Should briefly address the question: What is the problem that the research will address?

More… • Define a problem or a gap that need to be researched to find a solution • Justify the need for a research • These gaps are discovered through journal articles (refer to limitations or suggestions in journal articles) • Sometimes a problem is discovered through: • personal experience of a researcher or a research sponsor • phenomena that happens around us.

Example of a problem statement • No known study that has looked into this specific topic. - exploratory research • There are only few studies that address this issue but most of the studies were done in Western countries especially in the United States(Mueller, 1998; Adruce, 2002; Adam, 2008) – Confirmatory research • There are several research works in this specific area but the findings are not consistent. Therefore, there is a need to do further research in this area – Confirmatory research

Continue … • There are several research works that have looked into a direct relationship between smoking habit and cancer; however, no known research has specifically looked into a mediator/moderator effect of a third variable (types of food consumed) • This incident (eg. Tsunami) has never happened in Malaysia, therefore, there is a need to study the post Tsunami effects in the affected region of Malaysia. • Most of the previous research in this area were done using qualitative method; therefore, there is a need to use quantitative/experimental method to test the preposition/ hypothesis.

Continue • Most of the previous research in this area were done using quantitative method; therefore, there is a need to use qualitative/experimental method to validate the findings.

How to prepare the Objective for the study • Based on the Problem Statement mentioned earlier • It is a statement that explains what the study will focus on • There are two types of objective • Main (This study is interested in studying the employees behavior related to job rotation amongst support staff) • Specific (to study the relation ship between job rotation and job satisfaction)

Hypothesis or research question • The purpose is to refine the objective of the study and make it easier to understand what we want to study • When to use Hypothesis or research question • Phenomena has been studied before and to test the findings we use hypotheses testing (e.g There is a relationship between job rotation and job satisfaction) • If no known study has been done in that specific area we should use research question instead (e.g Is there any relationship between job rotation and job satisfaction? • When can we use hypothesis even if there is no know research done in a specific area? • Experimental research

Theoretical/conceptual framework • Only to be used in quantitative study. • There is no need for theoretical/conceptual framework in a Qualitative study

Employees Satisfaction Based on Maslow Hierarchy of Needs Thory Basic Needs (Salary, Benefits) Job Satisfaction Job Security Peer Support

Hypothesis • There is a relationship between Basic Needs and Employees Job Satisfaction • Better Job Security will result in Better Employees Job Satisfaction • There is a relationship between work environment and employees job Satisfaction • RQ if there is no hypothesis • Which of the above factors rank the highest contributor to job satisfaction?

Successful Organization Based on Systems Theory Employees Performance External Environment Management Capability Organization Performance Services Provided

Definition of Terms used in your study • Dictionary definition • Defined by dictionary • Operational definition • An operational definition defines something (e.g. a variable, term, or object) in terms of the specific process or set of validation tests used to determine its presence and quantity.

Continue… • Theoretical Definition • A theoretical definition relies on the acceptance of theories and so it does not simply reduce to a set of observationsLike the theories that build them, theoretical definitions also improve as scientific understanding grows

Research Contribution • Contributions • theory/concept/model/hypothesis/proposition or knowledge in the field • Methodology • Research Framework (statement of problem, objective, hypothesis, research question) • Instrument (questionnaire, interview guide, observation guide etc.) • Data Collected • Data Analysis Framework • Practitioner and community

Contribution toward theory and knowledge • This study is expected to contribute toward a theory (e.g. diffusion of innovation) related to the use of technology in organization because findings from previous studies implicate lack of consistencies either in supporting or refuting the theory. • Use of ICT in organization is a developing area and not many studies have really studied Malaysian organizations pertaining to their employees usage of ICT

Contribution toward Methodology • Since not many research were done in this area before, the Research Framework (statement of problem, objective, Hypothesis and Research Questions) use in this study could be use by future researcher who wanted to replicate this study. • The Instrument (questionnaire, interview guide, observation guide etc.) used in this research could be used for future research in the same area.

Contribution toward Practitioner and community • Findings from this research especially on the office and environmental factors that ensure success in job rotation should be a good guide to Human Resource Managers. • Finding from this research should also inform the community of employees in the organization on the important of office and environmental factors to ensure success in job rotation practices.

Limitation of the Study • Topical/subject/field limitation (limited to study of HRD and not on Psychology or management aspect of human resource) • Methodological limitation (Data collection method) • Population and Sample • Time Frame • Area/place of research • Resources Limitation (for example Literature Review is limited to Emerald online database)

Chap. 2:Literature Review • Gather all related and relevant findings from previous studies. • Introduction to the Chapter • Discussion on Theories, models, concepts and philosophy related to the research • Discussion on previous studies related to the topics. Guided by the specific objectives in the study. • Summary of the chapter

What is a Lit Review • What it is not • Not an essay • Not just a mere summary or annotated bibliography or abstract • What it is • Reflection of previous studies • Improve understanding on topic of interest • Status of works done in similar area • Updating you on what have been done in the past

How to do a Literature Review • Locate all related Previous Works on same topic to update you on what have been done. • Highlight the status of Previous research and finding Gaps or opportunities (availability, strength, weaknesses) • Uncertainties and doubts in previous findings • Limitations of previous studies that need to be dealt with • Methodological limitation • Geographical location • Time factor

Chap. 3:Methodology • Research Framework (Qualitative, Quantitative or Experimental) • Place and time of study • Population under study • Unit of analysis • Sample/respondent/informant (qualitative) • Sampling method and sampling framework • Method of Data Collection • Survey using Questionnaire (quantitative) • Interview (qualitative) • Document Analysis • Observation Technique • Determining method of data collection for each objective/research question/hypothesis

Methodology… continue • Research Instrument • Pre-Test and pilot test (quantitative) • Validity and reliability issues • Equipments (video, audio recorder etc.) to be used during data collections • Consent Form • Research Schedules and Timelines

Research Framework • Quantitative (mostly using Deductive Reasoning) - Confirmatory • to research questions that are best answered by collecting and analyzing numerical data (using statistical) • Qualitative (mostly using inductive Reasoning) – Exploratory • Mixed Method – Qualitative and Quantitative • To research questions that are best answered by giving descriptions on how one understand and interpret various aspects in their surroundings • Experimental (mostly using Deductive Reasoning) – Looking at Cause & Effect

Place and Time of Study • To be determined – provide justification • Determined also time to conduct the study because both place and time could determine the outcome of the study

Population and Sample • Determine the population where the study will be conducted • Identify the unit of analysis (individual or group) • Determine the sampling method (simple random method, cluster, stratified, systematic, purposeful/convenient, snow balling etc.) to be used and design the sampling framework

Main types of research methodologies • Survey - Quantitative • Experimental – Quantitative, Qualitative • Correlation - Quantitative • Case study – Quantitative, Qualitative • Historical - Qualitative • Ethnography – Qualitative

Chap. 4 Data Analysis and Interpretation • Present your analysis of data – summarize the relevant findings that are crucial to your study.

Chap. 5 Discussion • Interpret your data to meaningful information that is understandable. • Discussion and comparison with previous studies (focusing on similarities or differences in term of result)

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Research Problem – Meaning,Components,Selection,Formulation,Techniques

Research problem.

A research problem can be simply defined as a statement that identifies the problem or situation to be studied.

Components of research problem

• An individual or a group with some difficulty or problem
• Objectives of research that are to be attained
• The environment in which the problem exists
• Two or more course of action or Alternative means for obtaining the objective
• Two or more possible Outcomes
• Objective of the study

Characteristics of a good topic ?

♦ Interest – The topic must be able to keep the researcher interested in it throughout the research process

♦ Data Availability– It must be ensured that the topic can be investigated through the collection and analysis of data

♦ Significant – The topic must contribute towards improvement and understanding of an educational theory or practice

♦ Adequate – The topic must be according to the skills of the researcher, available resources and time restrictions

♦ Ethical – The topic must not embarrass or harm the society

Selecting a Problem

Guidelines for selecting a research problem:-

• Subject which is overdone should not be chosen
• An average researcher must not choose Controversial topics
• Too narrow or too vague problems should be avoided
• The chosen subject should be familiar and feasible
• Significance and Importance of subject must be given attention
• Cost and time factor must be kept in mind
• Experience, Qualification and Training of the researcher must be according to the    problem in hand

Formulating a Research Problem

The steps involved in formulating a research problem are as follows:-

• Develop a Suitable Title
• Build a conceptual model of the problem
• Define the objectives of the study
• Set up investigative questions
• Formulate hypothesis
• State the operational definition of concepts
• Determine the scope of the study

Necessity of defining a problem

The problem to be investigated must be clearly defined in order to –

• Discriminate relevant data from the irrelevant one
• To keep a track and make a strategy
• Formulate objectives
• Choose an appropriate Research Design
• Lay down boundaries or limits

Technique involved in defining a research problem

A researcher may define a research problem by:-

• Defining the statement of the problem in a general way.
• Understanding the nature of the problem.
• Surveying the available literature.
• Developing ideas through discussions an brain storming
• Rephrasing the research problems

There are few rules that must be kept in mind while defining a research problem. They are –

• Technical terms should be clearly defined.
• Basic assumptions should be stated.
• The criteria for the selection should be provided.
• Suitability of the time period and sources of data available must be considered.
• The scope of the investigation or the limits must be mentioned.

14 Comments

i wana to get more data

i want to be a member of this group to exchange new things

Hi, please mention the topics you want and we will try to upload notes on the same as soon as possible. To become a member, you must mail us at [email protected] or [email protected] , so we can directly interact with you.

develop for me a research topic on the poor supplier relationship in public procurement in Uganda . then the research problem

CAN u upload the notes on sample design n collection of data

Hi Ashwani, Notes on Sampling Design and Collection of Data can be found at: Sampling – https://www.bbamantra.com/sampling-theory/ , Methods of Data Collection – https://www.bbamantra.com/methods-of-data-collection-primary-and-secondary-data/

Send me samples of different final year research projects in civil and environmental engineering

What is different between research methods and resarch methodology?

u r amazing……………………mindblowing

Errors in selecting a research problem

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• Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering >
• Master's Programs >
• MS in Industrial Engineering >

Operations Research

Degree concentration for ms, industrial engineering.

Operations research is the application of scientific and especially mathematical methods to the study and analysis of problems involving complex systems. 

MS students interested in operations research apply methods such as mathematical programming, stochastic modeling, and discrete-event simulation to the solution of problems in complex systems such as logistics, supply chain optimization, long-range planning, energy and environmental systems, urban and health systems, and manufacturing.

ISE faculty and students conduct operations research funded by such agencies as the National Science Foundation, the Office of Naval Research, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Transportation and the National Institute of Justice, as well as national and local corporations and foundations such as United Airlines, Praxair, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and the Fire Protection Research Foundation.

We often work in teams with faculty and students with research interests in manufacturing, production systems and human factors to solve problems beyond the expertise of any single discipline.

We have an active student body - in fact, UB hosts one of the founding chapters of Omega Rho, the National Operations Research Honor Society. Students are also active participants in the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS).

Graduating students regularly take positions in national and international corporations, academic institutions and research laboratories. 

OR Courses for the Qualifying (B) Exam

The Operations Research core qualifying exam questions are the following:

• IE 5xx or 6xx Operations Research/IE Elective 

Course Required for OR MS Research

• IE 572 Linear Programming
• IE 573 Discrete Optimization
• IE 575 Stochastic Methods
• IE 576 Applied Stochastic Processes.
• In addition, students are required to take two additional IE courses in Operations Research, as approved by the faculty. 

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April 26, 2024

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Recovering phosphorus from sewage sludge ash to address problem of diminishing supplies of phosphorus ores

by Hokkaido University

Valuable supplies of phosphorus could be recovered from sewage sludge ash, which remains after the sludge has been burned for electric power generation. The method has been developed by chemical engineers Yuuki Mochizuki and Naoto Tsubouchi at Hokkaido University's Center for Advanced Research of Energy and Materials. Their work is published in the journal Resources, Conservation and Recycling .

Phosphorus-containing compounds are widely manufactured for applications including fertilizers, medicines and many everyday consumer products. At present, supplies of phosphorus are mainly extracted from phosphorus ores. In recent years, however, the depletion and rising price of high-grade phosphorus ores have become a problem, putting pressure on industries that rely on these supplies.

"Exploiting new phosphorus resources to replace the fast-depleting reserves, and establishing methods to recover phosphorus from waste streams, is becoming increasingly important," says Tsubouchi.

Sewage sludge, available in plentiful amounts, is currently burned in large quantities for power generation and also to reduce its volume. The remaining ash is relatively rich in phosphorus, leading to increasing efforts to find efficient ways to recover the phosphorus.

Existing methods encounter several significant problems, however, including chemical contamination requiring further purification and complicated expensive chemical processing.

The Hokkaido researchers have previously investigated methods for recovering phosphorus and other elements, including calcium, magnesium and iron by heat treatment of sewage sludge .

These previous investigations suggested that the process of volatilization, in which different elements are selectively converted into gaseous forms, allowing them to be separated from the rest of the treated ash, could be a promising approach for recovering phosphorus in the form of heat-stable compounds.

They therefore explored the volatilization behavior of the different elements in sewage sludge ash under different chemical conditions, especially with and without carbon being added during a sludge treatment process involving chlorine. This allowed them to develop an effective method for separating useful phosphorus-containing compounds using a combination of chlorination steps with and without the presence of carbon.

Mochizuki says, "The method we developed can be implemented with lower energy requirements, lower CO 2 emissions, and lower cost than conventional phosphorus recovery technologies from phosphate ores. In our method, phosphorus is recovered in the valuable phosphorus chloride forms, which can also be converted to phosphoric acid by dissolution in water."

"In Japan, the total amount of phosphorus contained in secondary phosphorus resources such as steel slag, livestock manure, and sewage sludge is equivalent to about half of the total amount of phosphorus brought into the country. Our next step is to study if our technique could be used to reduce the need for phosphorus imports," Tsubouchi concludes.

Provided by Hokkaido University

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