Research Methodology

Yes! You CAN Do a

Research Study in
Your Library

Tapas Bala
Assistant Professor
Department of Marketing, BSMRSTU

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 Research

Relationship among
a) Research
b) Thesis
c) Dissertation

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Step – 1: Identifying the Problem Step – 1: Identifying the Problem
The first and foremost task in the entire process of Non-Research Problem
scientific research is to identify a research problem. A non-research problem is one that does not require
any research to arrive at a solution. Intuitively, a non-
A well-identified problem will lead the researcher to researchable problem consists of vague details and
accomplish all-important phases of the research cannot be resolved through research.
process, starting from setting objectives to the selection Example:
of the research methodology. A hospital treated a large number of cholera cases with
penicillin, but the treatment with penicillin was not found
Intuitively, researchable problems are those who have a to be effective. Do we need research to know the
possibility of thorough verification investigation, which reason?
can be effected through the analysis and collection of Here again, there is one single reason that Vibrio cholera
data, while the non-research problems do not need to go is not sensitive to penicillin, and therefore, this is not the
through these processes. drug of choice for this disease.
In this case, too, as the reasons are known, it is unwise
Researcher need to identify both; to undertake any study to find out why penicillin does not
1. Non-research Problem, and improve the condition of cholera patients. This is also a
2. Research Problem non-research problem.

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Step – 1: Identifying the Problem Step – 1: Identifying the Problem
Research Problem: Research Problem
A research problem is a perceived difficulty, a feeling of Example
discomfort, or a discrepancy between the common belief The Government of Bangladesh has been making all-out
and reality. efforts to ensure regular flow of credit in rural areas at a
As noted by Fisher et al. (1993), a problem will qualify as concession rate through liberal lending policy and
establishing a large number of bank branches in rural areas.
a potential research problem when the following three
Knowledgeable sources indicate that expected development
conditions exist:
in rural areas has not yet been achieved mainly because of
1) There should be a perceived discrepancy between improper utilization of the credit.
“what it is” and “what it should have been.” This More than one reason is suspected of such misuse or
implies that there should be a difference between misdirection.
“what exists” and the “ideal or planned situation”; These include, among others:
Diversion of credit money to some unproductive sectors
2) A question about “why” the discrepancy exists. This
Transfer of credit money to other people like money lenders,
implies that the reason(s) for this discrepancy is
who exploit the rural people with this money
unclear to the researcher (so that it makes sense to Lack of knowledge of proper utilization of the credit.
develop a research question); and Here too, reasons for misuse of loans are more than one.
3) There should be at least two possible answers or We thus consider this problem as a researchable problem.
solutions to the questions or problems.

Step – 1: Identifying the Problem Step – 1: Identifying the Problem

Statement of the Problem Justifying the Problem
Once the problem situation has been identified and
A clear and well-defined statement of the problem is clearly stated, it is important to justify the importance of
considered as the foundation for the development of the problem.
the research proposal. In justifying the problems, we ask such questions as to
why the problem of the study is important, how large and
It enables the researcher to systematically point out widespread is the problem, can others be convinced
why the proposed research on the problem should be about the importance of the problem and the like.
undertaken and what he hopes to achieve with the Answers to the above questions should be reviewed and
presented in one or two paragraphs that justify the
findings of the study.
importance of the problem.
A well-defined statement of the problem will lead the
Analyzing the Problem
researcher to formulate the research objectives, to As a first step of analyzing the problem, critical attention
understand the background of the study, and to should be given to accommodate the viewpoints of the
choose a proper research methodology. managers, users, and the researchers to the problem
through threadbare discussions.

Step – 2: Literature Review Step – 3: Setting research questions,

a) It avoids duplication of the work that has been done
objectives, and hypotheses
in the recent past.
After discovering and defining the research
b) It helps the researcher to find out what others have
problem, researchers should make a formal
learned and reported on the problem.
c) It helps the researcher to become familiar with the statement of the problem leading to research
types of methodology followed by others. objectives.
d) It helps the researcher to understand what concepts An objective will precisely say what should be
and theories are relevant to his area of investigation. researched, to delineate the type of information that
e) It helps the researcher to understand if there are any should be collected, and provide a framework for
significant controversies, contradictions, and the scope of the study. The best expression of a
inconsistencies in findings. research objective is a well-formulated, testable
f) It allows the researcher to understand if there are research hypothesis.
any unanswered research questions. A hypothesis is an unproven statement or
g) It might help the researcher to develop an analytical
proposition that can be refuted or supported by
framework.
empirical data. Hypothetical statements assert a
h) It will help the researcher to consider the inclusion of
variables in his research that he might not otherwise possible answer to a research question.
have thought about.

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Step -4: Choosing the study design Step -5: Deciding on the sample design
The research design is the blueprint or framework for Sampling is an important and separate step in the
fulfilling objectives and answering research questions. research process. The basic idea of sampling is that it
It is a master plan specifying the methods and procedures involves any procedure that uses a relatively small
for collecting, processing, and analyzing the collected data. number of items or portions (called a sample) of a
There are four basic research designs that a researcher universe (called population) to conclude the whole
can use to conduct his or her study; population.
a) survey,
b) experiment, A sample is a part of the population, carefully selected
c) secondary data study, and to represent that population. If certain statistical
d) observational study. procedures are followed in selecting the sample, it
should have the same characteristics as the population
The type of research design to be chosen from among the as a whole. These procedures are embedded in the
above four designs depends primarily on four factors: sample design.
a) The type of problem
b) The objectives of the study, Sample design refers to the methods to be followed in
c) The existing state of knowledge about the problem that selecting a sample from the population and the
is being studied, and estimating technique, vis-a-vis formula for computing the
d) The resources are available for the study. sample statistics.

Step – 6: Collecting data Step-7: Processing and Analyzing Data

The gathering of data may range from simple Data processing generally begins with the editing
observation to a large-scale survey in any defined and coding of data. Data are edited to ensure
population. There are many ways to collect data. consistency across respondents and to locate
omissions, if any.
The approach selected depends on the objectives
In survey data, editing reduces errors in the
of the study, the research design, and the
recording, improves legibility, and clarifies unclear
availability of time, money, and personnel.
and inappropriate responses. In addition to editing,
the data also need coding.
With the variation in the type of data (qualitative or
quantitative) to be collected, the method of data Data analysis usually involves reducing
collection also varies. accumulated data to a manageable size, developing
summaries, searching for patterns, and applying
statistical techniques for understanding and
interpreting the findings in the light of the research
questions.

Step-8: Writing the report – Developing Research Proposal,

Hall Marks of Research
Writing Report, Disseminating and Utilizing Results
a) Purposiveness
The entire task of a research study is accumulated in a
document called a proposal. b)Rigor
A research proposal is a work plan, prospectus, outline,
an offer, a statement of intent or commitment from an c)Testability
individual researcher or an organization to produce a
product or render a service to a potential client or d)Replicability
sponsor.
The proposal will be prepared to keep in view the e)Precision and Confidence
sequence presented in the research process. The
proposal tells us what, how, where, and to whom it will f) Objectivity
be done.
It must also show the benefit of doing it. It always g)Genelizability
includes an explanation of the purpose of the study (the
research objectives) or a definition of the problem. h)Parsimony

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 Problems of Research
a) The lack of scientific training in the
methodology of research is a great
impediment of researchers in our country.
b) There is insufficient interaction between the
university research departments in one side
and business establishments, government
departments and research institutions on the
other side.
c) Most of the business units in our country do
not have the confidence that the material
supplied by them to researchers will not be
misused and as such they are often
reluctant in supplying the needed
information to researchers.

Problems of Research Problems of Research

d) Research Studies overlapping on another are g) Library management and functioning is not
undertaken quite often or want of adequate satisfactory at many places and much of the time
information. and energy of researchers is spent in tracing out
the books, journals, reports etc. rather than in
e) There does not exist a code of conduct for tracing out relevant material from them.
researchers and inter-university and inter- h) There is also the problem that many of our libraries
departmental rivalries are also quite are not able to get copies of old and new
common. Acts/Rules, reports and other governmental
publications in time.
f) Many researchers in our country also face the
difficulty of adequate and timely secretarial i) There is also the difficulty of timely availability of
published data from various government and other
assistance, including computerial
agencies doing this job in our country.
assistance.
j) The problem of conceptualization and also problems
relating to the process of data collection and
related things.

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