Assignments

Discuss the following areas in social research

i. Sampling and sampling process – 5mks
ii. Probability and non probability sampling techniques – 10mks
iii. Levels of measurement scales and errors of measurement – 10mks
iv. Independent and dependent variables in research – 5mks

THARAKA UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
Course Syllabus
Semester: Septembers – December 2024
Course: BA – SOCIOLOGY
Unit code: SOCI 201 Title: Methods of social Research 1

Lecturers contact: mobile – 0724461225

Email: [email protected]

Course Purpose
This course aims at providing students with an understanding of the principles and skills needed
in order to design and conduct social research. It will encourage students to critically evaluate the
methods, strategies and data that is used by social scientists and provide training in analysis of a
range qualitative and quantitative data. This course is intended to facilitate students’ awareness
of the research process and their ability to conduct research in an ethical and thorough manner
using appropriate research strategies.

Expected Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course students will be able to:
 Describe ethical responsibilities of a social researcher toward research participants.
 Identify and describe the key philosophies of science that underpin social science
research and appreciate their implications for research practice.
 Explain the principles and objectives of social science research.
 Outline the comparative strengths and weaknesses of the main research methods.
 Define a research problem.
 Prepare a research proposal using appropriate research methods in order to meet a
specified brief
 Conduct an independent research project involving the collection of empirical data
 Evaluate, analyse and interpret qualitative data.
 Identify appropriate statistical procedures to perform basic analysis of quantitative data.
 Analyze and report findings from a research project
Course Content
Introduction to key concepts; importance of research; types of research paradigms; sampling;
data collection; analysis; report writing and dissemination of findings; proposal writing art of
empirical
COURSE OUTLINE AND SCHEDULE
Week Lecture Topic Lecture Detailed outline
1  Defining the concept of research and
INTRODUCTION AND related terminologies
DEFINITION OF TERMS
2 UNDERSTANDING THE CONCEPT  Objectives of research
OF RESEARCH  Types of research
 Criteria for good research
 Types of knowing
 Sources of knowledge in research
 Variables in research
3 SIGNIFICANCE OF RESEARCH  Role of research in development work
 Importance of research

4 RESEAERCH AS A SCIENTIFIC  Definition

METHOD  Characteristics of scientific methods
 Criteria for good research
 Factors to Consider in Setting up
Research Standards
 Features of a good research design

5 RESEARCH METHODS FOR  Field observations

ASSESING COMMUNITY  Focused group discussion
SITUATIONS / NEEDS  Key informant interviews
 Social surveys

6 THE PROCESS OF RESEARCH  Defining the research problem

 Literature review
 Formulation of research hypothesis
 Establishing the research design /
methodology
 Collection of data
 Analyzing data
 Interpretation and making conclusions

7 THE PROCESS OF RESEARCH  Defining the research problem

 Literature review
 Formulation of research hypothesis
 Establishing the research design /
methodology
 Collection of data
 Analyzing data
 Interpretation and making conclusions

8 SAMPLING  Definition
  Classifications / types of sampling
techniques

9 CAT 1

10 ETHICS IN RESEARCH  Ethical issues in research Size

11 RESEARCH PROPOSAL  Standard structure of a research proposal

12 PROBLEMS OF  Challenges facing research

RESEARCH

Teaching Methodology
The course will be delivered in form of lectures and classroom discussions.
Course Assessment
CATs and Assignments 30%, Final Examination 70%, Total 100%

References:
Chandran, Emil. (2004) Research Methods: A Quantitative Approach. Nairobi: Daystar
University.

Mcgragaghan, M. (2014) Guidelines On Writing A Research Proposal. USA

Mugenda . O and Mugenda . A(2003) Research Methods – Quantitative & Qualitative

Approaches. Acts press

Williams, R. (2014) Research And The Research Process. Hopkins ENG14 Finnish institutions
research paper

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION AND DEFINITION OF TERMS

Introduction and definition of terms

Social research
Social Research is a method used by social scientists and researchers to learn about people and
societies so that they can design products/services that cater for various needs of the people.

Social research refers to the systematic and organized investigation of a social problem that
requires a solution. It is a kind of research used to investigate individuals, groups of people, and
institutions. It contributes to our general body of knowledge by allowing us to identify new facts
or even verify/test old facts

Various aspects of human behavior need to be addressed to understand their thoughts and
feedback about the social world, which can be done using Social Research. Any topic can trigger
social research – new feature, new market trend or an upgrade in old technology.

Research
 It is a systematic method of creating knowledge using scientific approach.
  It is any sort of careful, systematic, patient study and investigation in some field of
knowledge, undertaken to discover or establish facts and principles
 Researching is a process with a systematic activity with certain actions or activities aimed
at accessing knowledge to solve day to day problems

Hypothesis
 It is a prediction of some sort regarding the possible outcomes of a study
 It is a supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a
starting point for further investigation.
 A hypothesis is an educated prediction that can be tested
 Example: staff trained in change management copes easily with change in their
organizations than those who are not.

Sample
 Refers to a small group selected from the population to collect data from it.

Sampling
 Refers to the process of selecting a sample from the population

Population
 It is the larger group from where the sample is collected. It is also the group to which the
results of the study are intended to apply.
 It is also the entire set of relevant units of analysis or data

Data
 Refers to the kinds of information researchers obtain on the subjects of their research.

Scientific methods
 It is a set of practices which purifies human knowledge from errors or mistakes. It also
involves the testing of ideas in the public arena
 This is a process of systematically collecting and evaluating evidence to test ideas and
answer questions

Characteristics of social science research

Aims to find Solutions:

Social Research is generally used to find the cause-and-effect relationship between a social
problem and its cause. This solution can be used to eliminate or reduce the prevalence of the
social problem and enhance societal welfare in the process. Research is not done in futility
Objective, Logical, and Systematic:

Social research aims to apply various tests to validate the procedures employed, data collected,
and the conclusion reached. It is a process that follows logical actions and it’s systematic in
nature, objective in that it’s based on facts and not assumptions, rumors or superstations

Used to make Predictions:

Social research is used to develop generalizations, principles, and theories that allow us to make
predictions of future occurrences, utilizes hypothesis – Weather focus

Requires Expertise:

When conducting social research, the researcher is already familiar with the topic being studied
and is likely an expert in that area. They are, therefore, well-informed about the research problem
and about the previous investigations conducted on it.

Interdisciplinary:

Social Research is interdisciplinary in nature - Collaboration with colleagues to gather data and
publish research – Requires inputs from other actors – private, public, NGOs etc can’t do it alone

Recorded and Reported:

Social research is carefully recorded and reported. The report outlines every detail including any
procedures used and any limiting factors identified. The results are presented in a manner of
scholarly caution and restraint and are reported in popular forums, and sometimes in popular
media - The end result is a research report that is used to make decisions

Requires Patience:

It is important that social research is conducted in a patient and unhurried fashion. Researchers
are unlikely to obtain reliable or useful results if they try to study social dynamics in a short time
period.

Involves Working with Raw Data:

Although social research can also employ the use of secondary data, it mostly involves working
with raw primary data. This includes interviews, observations, surveys, and statistics. Emphasize
is placed on the utilization of primary data as opposed to secondary data

Major ethical issues in conducting research

Informed consent
Informed consent is the major ethical issue in conducting research. According to Armiger: "it
means that a person knowingly, voluntarily and intelligently, and in a clear and manifest way".

Informed consent seeks to incorporate the rights of autonomous individuals through self-
determination. It also seeks to prevent assaults on the integrity of the patient and protect personal
liberty and veracity. Of course individuals can make informed decisions in order to participate in
research voluntarily only if they have information on the possible risks and benefits of the
research. Free and informed consent needs to incorporate an introduction to the study and its
purpose as well as an explanation about the selection of the research subjects and the procedures
that will be followed. It is essential to describe any physical harm or discomfort, any invasion of
privacy and any threat to dignity as well as how the subjects will be compensated in that case. In
addition the subjects need to know any expected benefits either to the subject or to science by
gaining new knowledge. A disclosure of alternatives is also required as for example in the
Tuskegee study about syphilis. In this study, rural black men were chosen as subjects in a study
of syphilis. Although a cure for syphilis was found after the start of the study, it was decided not
to treat them and they had not been told that penicillin was effective to their disease. The
researcher must inform the subjects about the methods which will be used to protect anonymity
and confidentiality and indicate a person with whom they can discuss the study. He must also
provide a "Noncorrosive Disclaimer" which states that participation is voluntary and no penalties
are involved in refusal to participate. Moreover, the subject must be told that some information
has been deliberately withheld in order to avoid altered behaviors. The researcher must also take
into account that persons with physical, cultural and emotional barriers may require a very
simple language in order to understand him. Finally, the freedom to withdraw must be
explained. This is very important but raises the issue of how difficult the subjects can withdraw
after developing a personal and sometimes friendly relationship with the researcher. With regard
to withdrawal a researcher may be in a dilemma in case many subjects choose to withdraw at an
advanced stage of the study, because this can affect the validity of the results. The Declaration of
Helsinki provide some help as it declares that the interest of the subject must always prevail over
the interests of society and science. According to this, the will of the subject must be respected at
any cost for the research.

Beneficence- Do not harm

The ethical principle of beneficence refers to the Hippocratic "be of benefit, do not harm".
Beauchamp and Childress, suggest that "the principle of beneficence includes the professional
mandate to do effective and significant research so as to better serve and promote the welfare of
our constituents".

According to Burns and Grove "discomfort and harm can be physiological, emotional, social and
economic in nature".

When a researcher tries to learn intimate details of the participants lives he has to deal with
opening old wounds. Nonmalificence dictates both preventing intentional harm and minimising
potential harm. A researcher must consider all possible consequences of the research and balance
the risks with proportionate benefit. Last, debriefing at the end of a study, should be mentioned.
Treece and Treece say that debriefing refers to explaining the exact aim of the study and why the
disclosure was not full. Treece and Treece suggest that subjects should feel as much at ease as
possible and express their feelings. In addition, Burns and Grove suggest that if the subjects
experienced a high level of discomfort, they should be debriefed or referred to appropriate
professional intervention as necessary.

Respect for anonymity

ANA suggests anonymity is protected when the subject's identity cannot be linked with personal
responses. If the researcher is not able to promise anonymity he has to address confidentiality,
which is the management of private information by the researcher in order to protect the subject's
identity. Protection of identity

Respect for privacy

The fifth principle of the entitled "A Patient's Bill of rights" document published in 1975 by the
American Hospital Association (AHA), affirm the patient's right of privacy. According to
Levine : "privacy is the freedom an individual has to determine the time, extent, and general
circumstances under which private information will be shared with or withheld from others ".

Kelman believes that an invasion of privacy happens when private information such as beliefs,
attitudes, opinions and records, is shared with others, without the patients knowledge or consent.

Treece and Treece suggest that whenever subjects refuse to report personal information as they
regard it an invasion of privacy, the researcher ought to respect their views. This may even
apply to report of age, income, marital status, and other details that the subject may regard
intimate. They also imply that privacy can be invaded when researchers study certain groups
without their knowledge and without identifying themselves

Vulnerable groups of people

Nowadays, there is an increased concern about vulnerable groups and whether it is ethical or not
for them to be used as research subjects." Fisher classifies vulnerability as one characteristic of
people unable to protect their own rights and welfare". So, vulnerable groups include captive
populations (prisoners, institutionalized, students etc), mentally ill persons, aged people,
children, critically ill or dying, poor, with learning disabilities, sedated or unconscious.
Participation of vulnerable groups

The different opinions about their participation in research can be attributed to their inability to
give an informed consent and also to their need for further protection and sensitivity from the
researcher as they are in a greater risk of being deceived, threatened or forced to participate.
Many are in favour of the use of such subjects in research whilst others would argue strongly
against it. Most condition their responses according to the seriousness of the research, the level
of potential risk and the availability of alternatives. According to Burns and Grove vulnerability
increases the need for justification for the use of such subjects.

Ethical issues in research

  The respondent must be protected from any form of harm, whether physical or
psychological. No process should harm the respond unless if the research findings are of
great importance to humanity eg HIV and giving children alcohol to determine its effects,
but even though respondents must be informed to give consent
 Any data collected must be handled confidentially and the respondents must be handled
confidentially to protect the UN rights to privacy
 When collecting data, researcher should not force the respondent to give what he or she
wants, no forcing the respondent as one should give information freely and willingly,
researching is not a police investigation
 When collecting data, researcher should not cheat the respondent so that they provide
data, ie, promising them that the research outcome will be beneficial to respondents
 The researcher should not bribe the respondent so that they provide data as it introduces
bias in research.
 Researcher should inform the respondent if harm will be compensated
 Researcher should treat respondents with respect and courtesy including children,
disability and aged
 Ensuring that those who bear the risk in research are those who benefit from it.
 The researcher must be competent to conduct the research
 Anonymity – refers to the identity of the individuals being protected either by using
numbers or third parties
 Use of vulnerable or special populations – it is unethical if populations that are
disadvantaged in one way or the other are used without their consent or that of the
guardians bipolar

Principles of social research

 Social science is fundamental to a democratic society and should be inclusive of different

interests, values, funders, methods and perspectives. Democratic and inclusive
 All social science should respect the privacy, autonomy, diversity, values, and dignity of
individuals, groups and communities. Respect to privacy and dignity
 All social science should be conducted with integrity throughout, employing the most
appropriate methods for the research purpose / Honesty
 Professionalism - Should exhibit the highest level of professionalism
 All social scientists should act with regard to their social responsibilities in conducting
and disseminating their research. Should be able to address certain problems in society
and bring about solutions
 All social science should aim to maximise benefit and minimise harm. Should be cost
effective and adds value to society
 Should not misuse privileges by researchers given their professional power especially in
poverty contexts – Should not take advantage of their expertise to intimidate and harass
others

Objectives of social research

Manipulation of Things, Concepts and Symbols:

While, dealing with things the scientist remains at the concrete level. He is able to purposefully
handle things for experimentation. But at this level his results are at best limited to the particular
thing in a specific situation and none else. Therefore the concepts symbolizing the things and
their properties are also dealt with, so as to make much sense to conduct controlled inquiries
through abstract notions. Use of concepts or symbols in the process of manipulation not only
reduces the content and load of the things but also provides the scientist with greater facility and
effect. Through experiments – To change the existing situation from undesirability to desirability

Generalization:

In most of the research projects, though the researcher starts with a particular problem for a
particular situation, at the end of the day, the researcher would have the intent to explore the
possibility of using such outcomes in other relevant fields and would precisely want to generalize
the research outcome. That is, how best the information or solution generated by the present
research work would be applied to a large group, from which the samples have been drawn.
Relating the sample to population and hypothesis

To Improve Social Welfare

Social research allows us to identify the root of a social problem so that we can take appropriate
remedial actions to improve social welfare.

Verification of Old Facts:

Social research allows us to discover new facts about social life, individuals, and institution. It
adds to our current body of knowledge. It can also be used to test or verify old facts. Testing of
hypothesis

A major purpose of social research is verification of conclusions which have already been
accepted as established facts. Since there is no place for complacency in the arena of science, the
established system of knowledge always warrant frequentative scrutiny so as to confirm whether
or not the observations are in accordance with the predictions made on the basis of the
established corpus of knowledge.

In case it is confirmed, the empirical observation strengthens the established system of

knowledge. Otherwise in the light of the research outcome, the system of established corpus of
knowledge calls for revision or even rejection.

Extension of Knowledge:

As a sequel to generalization the seemingly inconsistencies in the existing corpus of knowledge

are brought into light and attempts are made to reconcile these inconsistencies. The new general
proposition, established as an outcome of research also identifies gaps in the established system
of knowledge. A gap in knowledge implies the inadequacy of the theory as well as the failure of
a conceptual scheme to explain and account for certain aspects of a social phenomenon.
The gap is bridged up in the light of the new empirical observations. Thus knowledge gets
expanded. The expansion of systematic knowledge occurs at least in a couple of ways. First in
cognizing certain aspects of phenomena which were not examined in these terms prior to the
advent of the new general proposition.

Secondly in the light of new observation, the phenomena under investigation may be
incorporated in a comparatively large class of phenomena, so as to be governed by a uniform
law. As a result, the new system of knowledge not only accumulates more units under its
conceptual scheme, but also appreciates greater depth of understanding and bettering of
predictions.

Making of critical decisions

From its utilitarian point of view the results of social research provide decision makers with
proper guidelines for policy making, social welfare, amelioration of practical problems,
mitigation or resolution of social conflict and tensions as well as rectification and removal of
social evils

Development planning

After you have the results of your experiment and you have analyzed them and predicted the
future outcomes, it is time to develop your product. Develop the product in such a way that
customers prefer your product over any other option.

Knowledge May be Used for Theory Building or Practical Application:

By seeking to explain the unexplained social phenomena, clarifying the doubtful one and
correcting the misconceived facts relating to it, social research provides the scope to use the
fruits of research in two possible ways

In its basic or pure form social research gathers knowledge for the sake of it, for building a
theory in order to explain human behaviour in its totality, only for the satisfaction of knowing.

For construction of theoretic models, the researcher organizes knowledge into propositions and
then meaningfully articulated those propositions to constitute a more abstract conceptual system
pertaining to a class of phenomena, influenced by a certain class of conditions.

In its practical or applied form, social research gathers information regarding the betterment of
quality of life in social settings. The findings of social research are used as the means to an end,
not construed just as an end in itself.

Importance of research in project management

Improve policy making

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.

Improve decision making

Research facilitates the decisions of the policy maker. Government for instance develops
projects/programmes for dealing with all facets of the country’s existence and most of these will
be related directly or indirectly to economic conditions -

Research as means for determining the relevance of development initiatives

Research helps to ensure that development programmes are appropriate to the needs they aim to
address (Laws et al, 2003). This may be enhanced by the use of participatory research
methods, which enable the target communities to give their own views regarding the issues at
hand, and on how the research is to be carried out.

Solve operational and planning problems

The existence of different new products in the market is the ultimate result of the research carried
out in the development of that product. For example, the researches in sales forecasting, price
forecasting, and quality forecasting may help the business houses to develop effective business
strategies - National exams cheating was solved through research

Seek answers to social problems

Social scientists take up research projects so as to get solutions on different social problems.
These benefits them in two major ways: it provides them with intellectual satisfaction of gaining
knowledge for the sake of enriching knowledge; and also the satisfaction in solving practical
social problems – Alcoholism, drug abuse, teenage pregnancies etc

Social science research provides the inputs in getting the impulse, feeling, likings, disliking,
problems, constraints, etc., faced by the community. This will enable relevant actors such as
county/national governments, development partners, to develop relevant interventions or
development strategy.

As tool for gauging achievements, strengths and weaknesses

Donors, programme/project managers and staff overseeing implementation of
development programmes make great use of research findings in establishing what is
achieved in projects, and in identifying key weaknesses where corrective measures are
needed. Community leaders also use the analyzed information in establishing as to how much
the projects help their households and the community in general – To monitor and evaluate
projects

The scientific Method

 It is a set of practices which purifies human knowledge from errors or mistakes. It also
involves the testing of ideas in the public arena
  This is a process of systematically collecting and evaluating evidence to test ideas and
answer questions.
 It is the most likely of all of the methods to produce valid knowledge. In many cases we
guess or speculate about the world around us. To be sure that our guesses or speculations
are true, we need to rigorously test to see if they hold up under more controlled
conditions. To investigate our speculations, we can observe carefully and systematically
Characteristics of scientific methods
 It is logical – based on rationality and proper reasoning
 Inter- subjective – Its reliable, consistency and dependable
 Deterministic – does not depend on intuitions or superstations – cause effects
relationship, anyone can rely on it
 Parsimonious - does not waste time on irrelevancies, spells out things clearly and
specifically so that you don’t waste time – hit the nail on the end
 Verifiable – what is done is objective and can be tested and retested, cant hind or cheat
 Clear and specific – No blindness, no clouds
 It reduces errors from human knowledge. This means that research follows a defined
process

Criteria for good research – Next

Whatever may be the types of research works and studies, one thing that is important is that they
all meet on the common ground of scientific method employed by them. One expects scientific
research to satisfy the following criteria
 The purpose of the research should be clearly defined and common concepts used.
 The research procedure used should be described in sufficient detail to permit another
researcher to repeat the research for further advancement, keeping the continuity of what
has already been attained.
 The procedural design of the research should be carefully planned to yield results that are
as objective as possible. – Well designed procedure to yield objective findings and to
follow the laid down systematic procedures
 The researcher should report with complete frankness, flaws in procedural design and
estimate their effects upon the findings.
 The analysis of data should be sufficiently adequate to reveal its significance and the
methods of analysis used should be appropriate. The validity and reliability of the data
should be checked carefully.
 Conclusions should be confined to those justified by the data of the research and limited
to those for which the data provide an adequate basis.
 Greater confidence in research is warranted if the researcher is experienced, has a good
reputation in research and is a person of integrity – Good public image
 Professionalism – Skills and competence

Common Mistakes in Research

The research process is fraught with problems and pitfalls, and novice researchers often find,
after investing substantial amounts of time and effort into a research project, that their research
questions were not sufficiently answered, or that the findings were not interesting enough, or that
the research was not of “acceptable” scientific quality. Such problems typically result in research
papers being rejected by journals. Some of the more frequent mistakes are described below.

Insufficiently motivated research questions. Often times, we choose our “pet “problems that
are interesting to us but not to the scientific community at large, i.e., it does not generate new
knowledge or insight about the phenomenon being investigated. Because the research process
involves a significant investment of time and effort on the researcher’s part, the researcher must
be certain (and be able to convince others) that the research questions they seek to answer in fact
deal with real problems (and not hypothetical problems) that affect a substantial portion of a
population and has not been adequately addressed in prior research. Investigate the process of
terrorism

Pursuing research fads (fashion). Another common mistake is pursuing “popular” topics
with limited shelf life. A typical example is studying technologies or practices that are
popular today. Because research takes several years to complete and publish, it is possible
that popular interest in these fads may die down by the time the research is completed and
submitted for publication. A better strategy may be to study “timeless” topics that have
always persisted through the years. Fashion dies very fast and immediately replaced

Unresearchable problems. Some research problems may not be answered adequately based
on observed evidence alone, or using currently accepted methods and procedures. Such
problems are best avoided. However, some unresearchable, ambiguously defined problems
may be modified or fine tuned into well-defined and useful researchable problems – Does
God exist

Favored research methods. Many researchers have a tendency to recast a research problem
so that it is amenable to their favorite research method (e.g., survey research). This is an
unfortunate trend. Research methods should be chosen to best fit a research problem, and not
the other way around. Qualitative and quantitative which is thought to be easier but not
appropriate?

Blind data mining.

The term is used for the researcher process of collecting data first without research planning
and design to explore the research questions. In such a case, the data collected often turns
into unjustifiable data which bears no relevancy in terms of research questions. Collecting
irrelevant data

Some researchers have the tendency to collect data first (using instruments that are already
available), and then figure out what to do with it. Note that data collection is only one step in
a long and elaborate process of planning, designing, and executing research. In fact, a series
of other activities are needed in a research process prior to data collection. If researchers
jump into data collection without such elaborate planning, the data collected will likely be
irrelevant, imperfect, or useless, and their data collection efforts may be entirely wasted. An
abundance of data cannot make up for deficits in research planning and design, and
particularly, for the lack of interesting research questions. Other activities including sampling
must precede data collection
Challenges of research
 The lack of a scientific training in the methodology of research is a great impediment
for researchers. There is paucity / Scarcity of competent researchers. Many researchers
take a leap in the dark without knowing research methods. Most of the work, which goes
in the name of research, is not methodologically sound. Research to many researchers
and even to their guides, is mostly a scissor and paste job without any insight shed on the
collated materials. The consequence is obvious, viz., the research results, quite often, do
not reflect the reality or realities.
 Research studies overlapping one another are undertaken quite often for want of
adequate information. This results in duplication and waste away resources. Due attention
should be given toward identification of research problems in various disciplines of
applied science which are of immediate concern to the industries. Perjury / lying on oath
 Many researchers also face the difficulty of adequate and timely secretarial
assistance, including computerial assistance. This causes unnecessary delays in the
completion of research studies.
 Library management and functioning is not satisfactory at many places and much of
the time and energy of researchers are spent in tracing out the books, journals, reports,
etc., rather than in tracing out relevant material from them.
 There is also the problem that many of our libraries are not able to get copies of old
and new Acts, reports and other government publications in time. This problem
is felt more in libraries which are away in places from the government printer based in
Nairobi.
 There is also the difficulty of timely availability of published data from various
government and other agencies doing this job in our country. Researcher also faces the
problem on account of the fact that the published data vary quite significantly because of
differences in coverage by the concerning agencies.
 There may, at times, take place the problem of conceptualization and also problems
relating to the process of data collection and related things – Measurement errors

CHAPTER TWO: UNDERSTANDING THE CONCEPT OF RESEARCH

Classification of Research

There are various types of research that are classified according to their objective, depth of study,
analyzed data, time required to study the phenomenon and other factors. It’s important to note
that a research project will not be limited to one type of research, but will likely use several.

According to its Purpose

Theoretical Research

Theoretical research also referred to as pure or basic research focuses on generating knowledge,
regardless of its practical application. Here, data collection is used to generate new general
concepts for a better understanding of a particular field or to answer a theoretical research
question.

Results of this kind are usually oriented towards the formulation of theories and are usually
based on documentary analysis, the development of mathematical formulas and the reflection of
high-level researchers.

For example, a philosophical dissertation, since the aim is to generate new approaches from
existing data without considering how its findings can be applied or implemented in practice.

Applied Research

Here, the goal is to find strategies that can be used to address a specific research problem.
Applied research draws on theory to generate practical scientific knowledge, and its use is very
common in STEM fields such as engineering, computer science and medicine.

This type of research is subdivided into two types:

1. Technological applied research: looks towards improving efficiency in a particular

productive sector through the improvement of processes or machinery related to said
productive processes.

2. Scientific applied research: Has predictive purposes. Through this type of research
design, we can measure certain variables to predict behaviours useful to the goods and
services sector, such as consumption patterns and viability of commercial projects.

For example, market research, because by examining consumption patterns, strategies can be
developed for the development of new products and marketing campaigns, etc.
Note: Applied research is usually based on knowledge or results obtained through theoretical
research.

In fact, it is common for research projects to first establish the theoretical framework both to
define the field of study and to identify possible theories that could be tested or applied to solve
the specific problem posed in the project.

According to your Depth of Scope – What need to be covered whether in depth or broadly

Exploratory Research

Exploratory research is used for the preliminary investigation of a subject that is not yet well
understood or sufficiently researched. It serves to establish a frame of reference and a hypothesis
from which an in-depth study can be developed that will enable conclusive results to be
generated - The depth is deeper / structural
Because exploratory research is based on the study of little-studied phenomena, it relies less on
theory and more on the collection of data to identify patterns that explain these phenomena.

For example, an investigation of the role of social media in the perception of self-image.

Descriptive Research / expressive

The primary objective of descriptive research is to define the characteristics of a particular

phenomenon without necessarily investigating the causes that produce it.

Depth is less deep – superficial / surface

It is defined as a research method that describes the characteristics of the population or

phenomenon studied. This descriptive methodology focuses more on the “what” of the research
subject than the “why” of the research subject.

In this type of research, the researcher must take particular care not to intervene in the observed
object or phenomenon, as its behaviour may change if an external factor is involved.

For example, investigating how the public census of influential government officials differs
between urban and non-urban areas.

A fashion study will uncover details on “what is the purchasing pattern of New York buyers,”
but not cover any investigative information about “why” the patterns exits.

Explanatory Research

Explanatory research is the most common type of research method and is responsible for
establishing cause-and-effect relationships that allow generalizations to be extended to similar
realities. It is closely related to descriptive research, although it provides additional information
about the observed object and its interactions with the environment.

A fashion study will uncover details on “what is the purchasing pattern of New York buyers,”
but will also cover any investigative information about “why” the patterns exits.

Correlational Research – What is the connection/ relationship

It is a type of research done to determine relationships among two or more variables and to
explore their implications for cause and effect. It seeks to investigate whether one or more
relationships of some type exists, eg wealth and family background, wealth and education etc

The purpose of this type of scientific research is to identify the relationship between two or more
variables. A correlation study aims to determine whether a variable changes, how much the other
elements of the observed system change.
According to the Type of Data Used

Qualitative Research

Qualitative methods are often used in the social sciences to collect, compare and interpret
information; It is used in techniques such as discourse / discussion / talk analysis, interviews,
surveys, records and participant observations.

Therefore, this type of research design is better suited to extracting meaning from an event or
phenomenon (the ‘why’) than its cause (the ‘how’).

For example, examining the effects of sleep deprivation on mood.

Information

Quantitative Research

Quantitative research study delves into phenomena through quantitative data collection and
using mathematical, statistical and computer-aided tools to measure them. This allows
generalized conclusions to be projected over time. Utilizes software in the research analyzes

For example, conducting a computer simulation on vehicle strike impacts to collect quantitative
data.
According to the Degree of Manipulation / handling of Variables

Experimental Research

It is about designing or replicating a phenomenon whose variables are manipulated under strictly
controlled conditions in order to identify or discover its effect on another independent variable or
object. The phenomenon to be studied is measured through study and control groups, and
according to the guidelines of the scientific method.

In this type the researcher has two groups, the experimental group and the control group. The
researcher establishes different treatments and then studies their effects and results.
In this type, the researcher will administer some treatment to the experimental group while
denying the control and then sees the effects

For example, randomized controlled trial studies for measuring the effectiveness of new
pharmaceutical drugs on human subjects. Efficacy of ARVs on HIV patients

Non-Experimental Research

Also known as an observational study, it focuses on the analysis of a phenomenon in its natural
context. As such, the researcher does not intervene directly, but limits their involvement to
measuring the variables required for the study. Due to its observational nature, it is often used in
descriptive research.
For example, a study on the effects of the use of certain chemical substances in a particular
population group can be considered a non-experimental study.

Quasi-Experimental Research

It controls only some variables of the phenomenon under investigation and is therefore not
entirely experimental. In this case, the study and the focus group cannot be randomly selected,
but are chosen from existing groups or populations. This is to ensure the collected data is
relevant and that the knowledge, perspectives and opinions of the population can be incorporated
into the study.

The researcher often does not have control over the treatment, but instead studies pre-existing
groups that received different treatments after the fact. Control groups are not required

For example, assessing the effectiveness of an intervention measure in reducing the spread of
antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
According to the Type of Inference / conclusion

Deductive Investigation

In this type of research, reality is explained by general laws that point to certain conclusions;
conclusions are expected to be part of the premise of the research problem and considered
correct if the premise is valid and the inductive method is applied correctly. One has pre
determined conclusions

 Low-cost airlines always have delays

 All dogs have fleas
 All biological life depends on water to exist

Inductive Research

In this type of research, knowledge is generated from an observation to achieve a generalization.

It is based on the collection of specific data to develop new theories. The investigation is grey in
nature

Hypothetical-Deductive Investigation

It is based on observing reality to make a hypothesis, and then use deduction to obtain a
conclusion and finally verify or reject it through experience

According to the Time in Which it is Carried Out

Longitudinal Study (also referred to as Diachronic Research)

It is the monitoring of the same event, individual or group over a defined period of time. It aims
to track changes in a number of variables and see how they evolve over time. It is often used
in medical, psychological and social areas - Studies same subjects for a longer time

For example, a cohort study that analyses changes in a particular indigenous population over a
period of 15 years. - Longer time

Cross-sectional research design is used to observe phenomena, an individual or a group of

research subjects at a given time – Shorter time

A cross-sectional study is a type of research design in which you collect data from many
different individuals at a single point in time. In cross-sectional research, you observe variables
without influencing them.

While cross-sectional studies collect data from many subjects at a single point in time,
longitudinal studies collect data repeatedly from the same subjects over time, often focusing on a
smaller group of individuals that are connected by a common trait

According to the Sources of Information

Primary Research

This fundamental research type is defined by the fact that the data is collected directly from the
source, that is, it consists of primary, first-hand information – Field generated data, first hand

Secondary research

Unlike primary research, secondary research is developed with information from secondary
sources, which are generally based on scientific literature and other documents compiled by
another researcher

What has been written by others

Qualitative research Quantitative research

Methods include focus groups, in-depth Surveys, structured interviews &

interviews, and reviews of documents for observations, and reviews of records or
types of themes documents for numeric information

Primarily inductive process used to formulate Primarily deductive process used to test pre-
theory or hypotheses specified concepts, constructs, and hypotheses
that make up a theory

More subjective: describes a problem or More objective: provides observed effects

 condition from the point of view of those (interpreted by researchers) of a program on a
experiencing it problem or condition

Text-based Number-based

More in-depth information on a few cases Less in-depth but more breadth of information
across a large number of cases

Unstructured or semi-structured response Fixed response options

options

No statistical tests Statistical tests are used for analysis

Can be valid and reliable: largely depends on Can be valid and reliable: largely depends on
skill and rigor of the researcher the measurement device or instrument used

Time expenditure lighter on the planning end Time expenditure heavier on the planning
and heavier during the analysis phase phase and lighter on the analysis phase

Less generalizable More generalizable

THINKING LIKE A RESEARCHER

A unit of observation is an object about which information is collected. The unit of observation
is the unit at or for which data is collected. Researchers base conclusions on information that is
collected and analyzed, so using defined units of observation in a survey or other study helps to
clarify the reasonable conclusions that can be drawn from the information collected. An example
of a unit of observation is an individual person. Other examples include a family or a
neighborhood, household, community, or school.

Clearly identifying the unit of observation is important for a logical survey design, organized
data collection, a sound data folder set-up, and an unbiased analysis.

The Unit of Analysis is the entity that frames what is being analyzed in a study, or is the entity
being studied as a whole, within which most factors of causality and change exist.

The unit of analysis should not be confused with the unit of observation, the observation unit is a
subset of the analysis unit.. The unit of analysis is the major entity that you are analyzing in your study.
For instance, any of the following could be a unit of analysis in a study: individual’s groups artifacts
(books, photos, newspapers) geographical units (town, census tract, state) social interactions (dyadic
relations, divorces, arrests)

For example, if research investigates school learning, the school is the unit of analysis, while the unit of
observation might be the lesson, or the learner, or the teacher, or the curriculum subject. The unit of
observation is a subset of the unit of analysis which is the entirety

Variables in research
A variable is anything that can take on differing or varying values. The values can differ at
various times for the same object or person, or at the same time for different objects or persons.
Examples of variables are production units, absenteeism, and motivation

In literature, variables have been categorized into different types in accordance with its nature,
purpose, use, etc. there are various types of variables which include independent variable,
dependent variable, moderating variable, intervening variable, discrete variable, continuous
variable, among others. At this level, we shall look at two major types of variables which are
independent and dependent variables.
Our interest is in the two

Dependent variable
A dependent variable is a type of variable whose values are dependent on the values taken by the
other variables and their relationship. Generally in relational studies, a variable is influenced/
affected by other related variables. Hence this is the variable that is influenced by other variables

This is the variable of primary interest to the researcher. The researcher’s goal is to understand
and describe the dependent variable, or to explain its variability, or predict it. In other words, it is
the main variable that lends itself for investigation as a viable factor. Through the analysis of the
dependent variable (i.e., finding what variables influence it), it is possible to find answers or
solutions to the problem.

Independent variable
These are the conditions or characteristics that the researcher manipulates or controls in his
attempt to ascertain their relationship to observed phenomena.
An independent variable is one that influences the dependent variable in either a positive or
negative way. In other words, the variance in the dependent variable is accounted for by the
independent variable.

Influence of youth empowerment on performance of youth owned enterprises in Mandera North

Constituency.
Here the more empowered the youths are, the more their enterprises perform better. Therefore,
youth empowerment is the independent variable whereas performance of youth owned enterprise
the dependent variable.

Influence of credit accessibility on performance of small and medium enterprises in Chuka –Igamba
Ng’ombe Constituency.
From the above title, the researcher will be interested in quantifying and measuring the dependent
variable, as well as the other variables that influence this variable.
In this particular case therefore, performance is the dependent variable. Here the researcher wants to
establish how performance of small and medium enterprises is influenced by credit accessibility.
Credit accessibility is the independent variable

Pilot study
  A pilot study is a preliminary small-scale study that researchers conduct in order to help
them decide how best to conduct a large-scale research project. Using a pilot study, a
researcher can identify or refine a research question, figure out what methods are best for
pursuing it, and estimate how much time and resources will be necessary to complete the
larger version, a tool for resource mobilization, among other things.
 This is a preliminary, small-scale “rehearsal” in which you test the methods you plan to
use for your research project. Before running a larger study, researchers can conduct a
pilot study: a small-scale study that helps them refine their research topic and study
methods.
Importance of a pilot study

 Help define the research question

 Test the proposed study design and process. This could alert you to issues which may
negatively affect your project.
 Pilot studies can be useful for determining the best research methods to use – Able to
determine what works and what does not
 Troubleshooting unforeseen issues in the project,
 Educate yourself on different techniques related to your study.
 Test the safety of the medical treatment in preclinical trials on a small number of
participants. This is an essential step in clinical trials.
 Determine the feasibility or viability of your study, so you don’t waste resources and
time.
 Provide preliminary data that you can use to improve your chances for funding and
convince stakeholders that you have the necessary skills and expertise to successfully
carry out the research – Tool for resource mobilization

CHAPTER SIX: THE PROCESS OF RESEARCH

Research process consists of series of actions or steps necessary to effectively carry out research
and the desired sequencing of these steps. This process consists of a number of closely related
activities, which overlap continuously rather than following a strictly prescribed sequence. At
times, the first step determines the nature of the last step to be undertaken.

If subsequent procedures have not been taken into account in the early stages, serious difficulties
may arise which may even prevent the completion of the study. One should remember that the
various steps involved in a research process are not mutually exclusive; nor are they separate and
distinct.
Research process has the following steps:
Formulating the research problem
At the very outset the researcher must single out the problem he wants to study, i.e., he must
decide the general area of interest or aspect of a subject-matter that he would like to inquire into.
The best way of understanding the problem is to discuss it with one’s own colleagues or with
those having some expertise in the matter. In an academic institution the researcher can seek the
help from a guide who is usually an experienced man and has several research problems in mind.
In private business units or in governmental organizations, the problem is usually earmarked by
the administrative agencies with which the researcher can discuss as to how the problem
originally came about and what considerations are involved in its possible solutions.
Sources of research problem
Research problems can arise from the following areas of project planning and management.
 Every day life experiences
 From practical issues of life which require solutions, for example, if I am a manager and
my employees do not seem motivated
 From past researches-every research must have a section of addressed as
recommendation for further study.
 From theories (in your area of study-either project planning and management or
community development), e.g. motivation theory if you are a project manager; Human
capital theory, etc.

Characteristics of a good research problem

 It is clearly and specifically stated for the sake of focus
 Research to be done must have potential significance, i.e. knowledge obtained from the
research will make a difference in peoples’ life
 It must be feasible. This means that it can be done within the set time and within the available
budget
 The research title should be stated in such a manner that data can be collected
 It should be stated in such a manner that the researcher can apply the required research
methodology
 It should be generated in such a manner that the research questions can be generated
 Research title must be ethical. Researching is a human activity which must be guided by
ethical principles

Guidelines for selecting a research problem

While selecting research problems, the following guidelines may be followed; however, these
guidelines are neither exclusive nor exhaustive or ordered.

Researcher Interest
Research is re-search, to know the unknowns. A research problem is the brainchild of a
researcher. As such, a researcher should select a problem area in which he is interested in it and
familiar with and has reasonable level of understanding. Though research organizations both in
private and government have guidelines for the areas of research to be undertaken depending
upon the objective of the organizations, a researcher should try to select such areas in which
his/her interest and the organizational interest coincide.

Usefulness of the Topic

Most of the research problems arise out of the desire to obtain a fruitful solution to the pressing
problems of the society. So a research problem should have directions such that its results are
useful in solving the problem of the society. On the other hand, pure and basic research, though
guided by the “knowledge for the sake of knowledge,” must give rise to a number of application
oriented research problems.

Resources Availability
A researcher should have a clear-cut knowledge about the availability of resources at his
disposal. With the experience and expertise available to the researchers, is he confident in
completing a research project? What are the facilities in the form of clerical and technical
assistance, instrumental facilities, computational facilities/data analysis software such as SPSS,
Stata, and of course monitory and time available for conduction of the research work?

Availability of Data
Availability of data plays a vital role during the formations of a research problem, in a research
based on secondary information. A researcher is required to examine whether the data for the
project are available in plenty or not. For experimental research or survey type of research, these
problems pose little problem, because a researcher generates the information for a specific
purpose. A research problem formulated and to be tested with the help of secondary data is very
susceptible to availability of the data.
Researcher Interest / familiar, availability of resources, data availability, usefulness of the
topic

Extensive literature review

 It is the process of locating, reading, evaluating and organizing that which has been
written by others about the research problem
 Helps to broaden ones perspective on the issue at hand – Deeper understanding of the
issue
 Literature review helps the researcher familiarize with previous studies and thus
facilitates interpretations of the result of study – Familiarize

 This involves undertaking literature connected with the problem. For this purpose, the
abstracting and indexing journals and published or unpublished bibliographies are the
first place to go to. Academic journals, conference proceedings, government reports,
books etc., must be tapped depending on the nature of the problem.

Sources of literature review

Primary sources
 Research reports that have already been done by others, various research work already
done based on what has happened before, data already carried out by others, what has
been done and documented – Kazi kwa vijana, participation of women in miraa and how
it influences education performance
 Account of an eye witness in the field, someone was out there and came with conclusions
Secondary sources
Refers to those documents that are not accounts of eye witness but accounts of authors
expressing their views about their issue at hand, text books, dictionaries, Government
documents, strategic plans, Media documentaries etc

Benefits of literature review

 To determine what has been done already related to the areas of study which increases
knowledge of the researcher – 2
 A review of literature will review what strategies, procedures and measuring instruments
have been found useful in investigating the issue at hand which enables the researcher to
avoid mistakes that have been done by others - 3
 Literature review suggest other procedures and approaches which can be used by a
researcher to improve the research study - 4
 It pulls together, integrates and summarizes what is known in that area
 Literature review helps the researcher familiarize with previous studies and thus
facilitates interpretations of the result of study - 1
 In most cases authors of research articles include specific suggestions and
recommendations for those planning further research which is useful information to a
researcher
 Approaches that have proved unreliable and unproductive are discussed in the literature
review which helps the researcher to avoid them - 5

Hypothesis formulation / Research questions

After extensive literature survey, researcher should state in clear terms the working hypothesis or
hypotheses. Working hypothesis is tentative assumption made in order to draw out and test its
logical or empirical consequences. Hypothesis should be very specific and limited to the piece of
research in hand because it has to be tested. The role of the hypothesis is to guide the researcher
by delimiting the area of research and to keep him on the right track. It sharpens his thinking and
focuses attention on the more important facets of the problem.
Research Questions
A research problem is initially posed as a question which serves as a focus of researcher’s
investigation
Topic: The influence of negative social cultural practices on the realization of children rights
To what extent is the influence of domestic violence on the realization of children rights in
Kangeta?
Characteristics of a good research question
 The question should be feasible, can be investigated without an undue amount of time,
money and energy
 The question should be clear – most people would agree as to what the key words in the
question mean
 The question should be significant – it should be worth investigating because it will
contribute important knowledge to humanity
 Should be ethical – will not involve physical or psychological harm to human beings or
to social environment
  That data can be collected to answer them – Does God exist – it is metaphysical in nature

Set research design – A plan of work

It is the framework of research methods and techniques chosen by a researcher to conduct a
study. The researcher will state the conceptual structure within which research would be
conducted. The preparation of such a design facilitates research to be as efficient as possible
yielding maximal information with minimal expenditure of effort, time and money. Determine
what plan you shall follow, which methods will be used in data collection – observation,
interviews etc

Determine sample design

The researcher must decide the way of selecting a sample or what is popularly known as the
sample design. In other words, a sample design is a definite plan determined before any data are
actually collected for obtaining a sample from a given population.

Collect data
Whatever may be the research type, qualitative or quantitative, information are required to be
collected or collated in a most scientific manner to fulfill the objective of a study. Data can be
broadly classified into either primary data or secondary data. Primary data are those data
collected by the user from the field of investigations with specific objectives in mind. Secondary
data, on the other hand, are collated from different sources by the user for his/her purpose.
Data Classification
Depending upon the sources of information, data may be
 Primary data
 Secondary data

Primary Data
Primary data are those data which are collected by a researcher afresh and for the first time with
specific research objectives in mind. Thus, primary data are original in nature. An advantage of
using primary data is that researchers are collecting information for the specific purposes of their
study. In essence, the questions the researchers ask are tailored to elicit the data that will help
them with their study. Researchers collect the data themselves, using surveys, interviews and
direct observations.
Secondary Data
Secondary data are those data which are collected by someone, an agency, an organization,etc.,
but are being used by some other users. So secondary data are not collected by a user
himself/herself; rather the user is using the information generated by some other users.
Compared to primary data, secondary data tends to be readily available and inexpensive to
obtain. Some of the sources of secondary data are company records or archives, government
publications, industry analyses offered by the media, web sites, the Internet, and so on.
We can thus summarize the difference between primary data and secondary data as follows:
Primary data Secondary data
Collected by the researcher him/herself Data collected by other persons
 Sourced from questionnaires, observations, Sourced from government publications;
interview, etc journals; books; etc
In terms of cost effectiveness it is costly to It is economical
collect
It is more accurate and reliable It may be less accurate and reliable
More time consuming Less time consuming
Always specific to the researcher’s needs May or may not be specific to the
researcher’s needs

Choice of Methods of Data Collection

Which of the above methods of data collection should be selected for a proposed research
project? This is one of the questions to be considered while designing the research plan. One or
more methods has/have to be chosen. No method is universal. Each method has unique features
should be compared with the needs and conditions of the study and thus the choice of the
methods should be decided
Methods of Data Collection
Establishing the research design / Methods of data collection
Research designs are used in the investigation of the issue at hand. These are the techniques and
instruments for data collection.
1. Observation

Observation data collection method may involve watching, listening, reading, touching, and
recording behavior and characteristics of phenomena
Participant observation is when you, as a researcher, participate in the activities of the group
being observed in the same manner as its members, with or without their knowing that they are
being observed. For example, you might want to examine the reactions of the general population
towards people in wheelchairs. You can study their reactions by sitting in a wheelchair yourself.
Or you might want to study the life of prisoners and pretend to be a prisoner in order to do this.

Non-participant observation is when you, as a researcher, do not get involved in the activities
of the group but remain a passive observer, watching and listening to its activities and drawing
conclusions from this. For example, you might want to study the functions carried out by nurses
in a hospital. As an observer, you could watch, follow and record the activities as they are
performed. After making a number of observations, conclusions could be drawn about the
functions nurses carry out in the hospital. Any occupational group in any setting can be observed
in the same manner.
Two types
Naturalistic / unstructured
Unstructured observation is conducted in an open and free manner in a sense that there would be
no pre-determined variables or objectives
This is where a researcher at the scene of behavior or scene of action takes note of what is
happening as a participant observer. The researcher can take note by using paper and pencil to
end up with what is known as field notes or the researcher can make use of video recording
equipments to capture all that which is taking place. It is recommended that a researcher should
record several observations before making a conclusion about what one has observed
It is also recommended when making observations by use of pen and a paper, one uses more than
one observer then the observations from the two persons are compared for consistency

Structured observation
This is where the researcher observes the scene of behavior guided by a checklist. The researcher
gets to the scene of observations with a guideline of what to observe.
Advantages
 It is the only method to gather certain types of information like records in mechanical
processes
 It enables the researcher to collect the original data at the time they occur
 Captures the whole event as it occurs in its natural environment

Disadvantages
 The observer must be at the scene of the event when it takes place
 It is slow and expensive process that requires either human observers or expensive
surveillance equipments – CCTV cameras
 Observation is limited as a way to learn of the past and also what is going on at present at
some distant place

2. Interviews
It is defined as a process whereby a researcher obtains data from an individual or from a group
face to face. It has an advantage in that it promotes social interactions between interviewee and
interviewer, one is also able to penetrate the feelings and thinking of interviewee and interviewer
You may either use FGD of individual interviews. The only difference between a focus group
interview and an in-depth interview is that the former is undertaken with a group and the latter
with an individual.

Two types
Unstructured interview – this is where the interviewer in a conversation form, collects data from
the interviewee by letting them freely express themselves

Structured – interviewer prepares questions in advance and interviewee responds to the questions
put to them
The researcher may also use tape recording machine but should inform the respondent and play
back the tape immediately after the interview

Characteristics of an interviewer
 Must be an active listener
 Open minded to allow the interviewee to express themselves freely
 Should be able to paraphrase the responses given by the interviewee – be able to say what
the interviewee has said, did you say that …ensures connectivity between the two
 The interviewer should be able to summarize the whole content of the interview to the
interviewee
  Interviewer should be able to analyze the interview data immediately it is done

Advantages of the interview –

The interview is more appropriate for complex situations. It is the most appropriate
approach for studying complex and sensitive areas as the interviewer has the opportunity to
prepare a respondent before asking sensitive questions and to explain complex ones to
respondents in person - able to prepare the interviewee in advance
It is useful for collecting in-depth information. In an interview situation it is
possible for an investigator to obtain in-depth information by probing – being
inquisitive. Hence, in situations where in-depth information is required, interviewing
is the preferred method of data collection.
Information can be supplemented. An interviewer is able to supplement information
obtained from responses with those gained from observation of non-verbal reactions.

 Questions can be explained. It is less likely that a question will be misunderstood

as the interviewer can either repeat a question or put it in a form that is understood
by the respondent.
Interviewing has a wider application. An interview can be used with almost any
type of population: children, the handicapped, illiterate or very old.

 Promotes social interaction between the interviewer and the interviewee – Can discuss
other pertinent issues affecting society

Disadvantages of the interview

Interviewing is time consuming and expensive. This is especially so when potential

respondents are scattered over a wide geographical area. However, if you have a situation
such as an office, a hospital or an agency where potential respondents come to obtain a
service, interviewing them in that setting may be less expensive and less time consuming.
The quality of data depends upon the quality of the interaction. In an interview the
quality of interaction between an interviewer and interviewee is likely to affect the
quality of the information obtained. Also, because the interaction in each interview is
unique, the quality of the responses obtained from different interviews may vary
significantly.

The quality of data depends upon the quality of the interviewer. In an interview
situation the quality of the data generated is affected by the experience, skills and
commitment of the interviewer.
The quality of data may vary when many interviewers are used. Use of multiple
interviewers may magnify the problems identified in the two previous points.
The researcher may introduce his/her bias. Researcher bias in the framing of
questions and the interpretation of responses is always possible. If the interviews are
conducted by a person or persons, paid or voluntary, other than the researcher, it is
also possible that they may exhibit bias in the way they interpret responses, select
 response categories or choose words to summarize respondents’ expressed opinions –
Some may have personal interests others are influenced due to various reasons eg
corruption

3. Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a research instrument that consists of a set of questions or other types of

prompts that aims to collect information from a respondent. A research questionnaire is typically
a mix of close-ended questions and open-ended questions. Open-ended, long-form questions
offer the respondent the ability to elaborate on their thoughts. Research questionnaires were
developed in 1838 by the Statistical Society of London.

The data collected from a data collection questionnaire can be both qualitative as well
as quantitative in nature. A questionnaire may or may not be delivered in the form of a survey,
but a survey always consists of a questionnaire.

Structured questionnaire – closed ended

This is where the researcher sets questions and responses of the questions are provided. The
responsibility of the participants is to select what he or she thinks – Causes of alcoholism,
suggestions given
What are the effects of drug and substance abuse
I. School drop outs
II. Increased crime rate
III. Violence

Advantages
 It is easy to administer
 Responses are easy to analyze
 It’s financially economical
 Saves time for the respondents

Disadvantages
 Difficult to construct
 Controls the freedom of respondents

Unstructured / open ended

The researcher poses questions and leaves the respondent to respond freely
Advantages
 Easy to construct
 Respondents express themselves freely
 One can get a variety of responses

Disadvantages
 Takes much of respondents time
  Data may be difficult to analyze
 Sometimes respondents provides irrelevant responses

Characteristics of good questions

 Clear and unambiguous – Not to contain jargons or difficult words
 Questions should fit the level of respondents
 To avoid negative oriented questions because the respondents may misunderstand the
questions – How did you get infected with HIV
 Avoid biased questions -
 Should have questions which focuses on not more than one concern – how and why
 It is recommended to have questionnaires that are blended - both open and closed

Rules a researcher considers when constructing a questionnaire

 List the objectives and areas that you want the questionnaire to accomplish – This ensures
that all the themes of your research are covered
 Construct questionnaires that are blended – Both open and closed
 Ensure there is clarity of terms
 Construct questions that are short for the convenience of the respondent
 Avoid leading or biased questions
 Include enough information in each question
 Avoid psychologically threatening questions – What made you get a baby at this age

Documentary analysis
This is where the researcher accesses relevant documents as sources of data through use of a
documentary analysis form. Here the researcher does not get to the field
In this type the researcher has to identify those documents of great concern to the research
problems like
 Minute’s book,
 Diaries
 Progress records
 Class list, visitor’s book

If you are investigating on class attendance and performance among students one uses the class
list and progress records
Advantages
 Documents not limited to time and space – Can be either past or present
 They are readily available

Disadvantages
 Documents keep on changing
 Validity / legitimacy is low – May not present a reliable source
 Can be lost
Data analysis
After the data have been collected, the researcher turns to the task of analyzing
them. The 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. Making sense of the data collected
The major steps a researcher needs to follow while analyzing qualitative data are:
 Editing the data. This involves penetrating the data to be familiar with it, as well as to
check for completeness, accuracy and uniformity.
 Assigning the collected data to relevant research questions or research objectives.
 Identifying the emerging themes from the various responses pertaining to the various
research questions / research objectives.
 Coming up with a description of each of the theme. You can refer to frequencies and
percentages or even direct quotations.
 Interpreting the findings. This is where the findings are given meaning.

Test of hypothesis
After analyzing the data as stated above, the researcher is in a position to
test the hypotheses, if any, he had formulated earlier. Do the facts support the hypotheses or they
happen to be contrary? This is the usual question which should be answered while testing
hypotheses. Various tests, such as Chi square test, t-test, F-test, have been developed by
statisticians for the purpose. Hypothesis-testing will result in either accepting the hypothesis or in
rejecting it

Generalizations and interpretation

If a hypothesis is tested and upheld several times, it may be possible for the researcher to arrive
at generalization, i.e., to build a theory. As a matter of fact, the real value of research lies in its
ability to arrive at certain generalizations. 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 researches. Statistical tables, frequency in percentages

Report writing
Finally, the researcher has to prepare the report of what has been done by him. Writing of report
must be done with great care keeping in view the key aspects such as introduction; summary of
the findings, recommendations and conclusion.
Sampling
Introduction
Sampling procedures are used every day. For example, market researchers use them to find out
what the general population thinks about a new product or new advertisement. When they report
that 87% of the population like the smell of a new brand of washing powder, they haven’t spoken
to the whole population, but instead have contacted only a sample of people which they believe
are able to represent the whole population.
When we hear that 42% of Kenyans intend to vote for Jubilee for example, at the next General
Election, only a sample of people has been asked about their voting intentions. If the sample has
not been chosen very carefully, the results of such surveys can be misleading.

Definitions
Population - Population refers to the entire group of people, events, or things of interest that the
researcher wishes to investigate. It is the entire group of individuals about which we want
information. For example if a researcher wants to investigate factors influencing performance of
Community development students at TUC, then all CDEV students will form the population.
Element - An element is a single member of the population. If 800 project planning and
management students from Chuka University happen to be the population of interest to a
researcher, each project planning and management student therein is an element.
Census – This is a count of all the elements in a population. If 800 project planning and
management students from Chuka University define the population, a census would obtain
information from every one of them.
Sample - A sample is a subset of the population. It comprises some members selected from it. In
other words, some, but not all, elements of the population would form the sample. If 200 students
are drawn from a population of 800 project planning and management students, then these 200
students form the sample of the study.
Sampling - Sampling is the process of selecting a sufficient number of elements from the
population, so that a study of the sample and an understanding of its properties or characteristics
would make it possible for us to generalize such properties or characteristics to the population
elements.

Subject - A subject is a single member of the sample, just as an element is a single member of
the population. If 200 students from the population of 800 project planning and management
students from Chuka University formed the sample of the study, then each project planning and
management student in the sample is a subject.
Sample size - This is simply the number of units/subjects in sample.
Sampling frame - this refers to the list of individuals from which a sample is actually selected.
Ideally, the frame should list every individual in the population, but in practice this is often
difficult.
Sample design: A sample design is a definite plan for obtaining a sample from a given
population. It refers to the technique or the procedure the researcher would adopt in selecting
items for the sample. It is determined before data is collected.
Reasons for Sampling
There are several compelling reasons for sampling. Some of the reasons include:
 Lower cost,
 Greater accuracy of results,
 Greater speed of data collection, and
 Availability of population elements

Sampling Procedure
There are two types of sampling procedure:
 Probability sampling
  Non probability sampling

Probability sampling
In this technique, the elements in the population have some known chance or probability of being
selected as sample subjects. Probability samples are selected in such a way as to be
representative of the population. They provide the most valid or credible results because they
reflect the characteristics of the population from which they are selected.

It is a technique in which every unit in the population has a chance(non-zero probability) of

being selected in the sample, and this chance can be accurately determined. Sample statistics thus
produced, such as sample mean or standard deviation, are unbiased estimates of population
parameters, as long as the sampled units are weighted according to their probability of selection.
All probability sampling have two attributes in common: (1) every unit in the population has a
known non-zero probability of being sampled, and (2) the sampling procedure involves random
selection at some point. The different types of probability sampling techniques include:

Simple random sampling. In this technique, all possible subsets of a population

(moreaccurately, of a sampling frame) are given an equal probability of being selected. The
probability of selecting any set of n units out of a total of N units in a sampling frame is NCn.
Hence, sample statistics are unbiased estimates of population parameters, without any weighting.
Simple random sampling involves randomly selecting respondents from a sampling frame, but
with large sampling frames, usually a table of random numbers or a computerized random
number generator is used. For instance, if you wish to select 200 firms to survey from a list of
1000 firms, if this list is entered into a spreadsheet like Excel, you can use Excel’s RAND()
function to generate random numbers for each of the 1000 clients on that list. Next, you sort the
list in increasing order of their corresponding random number, and select the first 200 clients on
that sorted list. This is the simplest of all probability sampling techniques; however, the
simplicity is also the strength of this technique. Because the sampling frame is not subdivided or
partitioned, the sample is unbiased and the inferences are most generalizable amongst all
probability sampling techniques.

Systematic sampling. In this technique, the sampling frame is ordered according to somecriteria
and elements are selected at regular intervals through that ordered list. Systematic sampling
involves a random start and then proceeds with the selection of every kth element from that point
onwards, where k = N/n, where k is the ratio of sampling frame size N and the desired sample
size n, and is formally called the sampling ratio. It is important that the starting point is not
automatically the first in the list, but is instead randomly chosen from within the first k elements
on the list. In our previous example of selecting 200 firms from a list of 1000 firms, you can sort
the 1000 firms in increasing (or decreasing) order of their size (i.e., employee count or annual
revenues), randomly select one of the first five firms on the sorted list, and then select every fifth
firm on the list. This process will ensure that there is no overrepresentation of large or small
firms in your sample, but rather that firms of all sizes are generally uniformly represented, as it is
in your sampling frame. In other words, the sample is representative of the population, at least on
the basis of the sorting criterion.
Stratified sampling. In stratified sampling, the sampling frame is divided intohomogeneous and
non-overlapping subgroups (called “strata”), and a simple random sample is drawn within each
subgroup. In the previous example of selecting 200 firms from a list of 1000 firms, you can start
by categorizing the firms based on their size as large (more than 500 employees), medium
(between 50 and 500 employees), and small (less than 50 employees). You can then randomly
select 67 firms from each subgroup to make up your sample of 200 firms. However, since there
are many more small firms in a sampling frame than large firms, having an equal number of
small, medium, and large firms will make the sample lessrepresentative of the population (i.e.,
biased in favor of large firms that are fewer in number in the target population). This is called
non-proportional stratified sampling because the proportion of sample within each subgroup
does not reflect the proportions in the sampling frame (or the population of interest), and the
smaller subgroup (large-sized firms) is over-sampled. An alternative technique will be to select
subgroup samples in proportion to their sizein the population. For instance, if there are 100 large
firms, 300 mid-sized firms, and 600 small firms, you can sample 20 firms from the “large”
group, 60 from the “medium” group and 120 from the “small” group. In this case, the
proportional distribution of firms in the population is retained in the sample, and hence this
technique is called proportional stratified sampling. Note that the non-proportional approach is
particularly effective in representing small subgroups, such as large-sized firms, and is not
necessarily less representative of the population compared to the proportional approach, as long
as the findings of the non-proportional approach is weighted in accordance to a subgroup’s
proportion in the overall population.

Cluster sampling. If you have a population dispersed over a wide geographic region, itmay
not be feasible to conduct a simple random sampling of the entire population. In such case, it
may be reasonable to divide the population into “clusters” (usually along geographic
boundaries), randomly sample a few clusters, and measure all units within that cluster. For
instance, if you wish to sample city governments in the state of New York, rather than travel
all over the state to interview key city officials (as you may have to do with a simple random
sample), you can cluster these governments based on their counties, randomly select a set of
three counties, and then interview officials from every official in those counties. However,
depending on between- cluster differences, the variability of sample estimates in a cluster
sample will generally be higher than that of a simple random sample, and hence the results
are less generalizable to the population than those obtained from simple random samples.

Matched-pairs sampling. Sometimes, researchers may want to compare twosubgroups

within one population based on a specific criterion. For instance, why are some firms
consistently more profitable than other firms? To conduct such a study, you would have to
categorize a sampling frame of firms into “high profitable” firms and “low profitable firms”
based on gross margins, earnings per share, or some other measure of profitability. You
would then select a simple random sample of firms in one subgroup, and match each firm in
this group with a firm in the second subgroup, based on its size, industry segment, and/or
other matching criteria. Now, you have two matched samples of high-profitability and low-
profitability firms that you can study in greater detail. Such matched-pairs sampling
technique is often an ideal way of understanding bipolar differences between different
subgroups within a given population.
Multi-stage sampling. The probability sampling techniques described previously areall
examples of single-stage sampling techniques. Depending on your sampling needs, you may
combine these single-stage techniques to conduct multi-stage sampling. For instance, you can
stratify a list of businesses based on firm size, and then conduct systematic sampling within
each stratum. This is a two-stage combination of stratified and systematic sampling.
Likewise, you can start with a cluster of school districts in the state of New York, and within
each cluster, select a simple random sample of schools; within each school, select a simple
random sample of grade levels; and within each grade level, select a simple random sample
of students for study. In this case, you have a four-stage sampling process consisting of
cluster and simple random sampling.

Non-Probability Sampling

Nonprobability sampling is a sampling technique in which some units of thepopulation have

zero chance of selection or where the probability of selection cannot be accurately determined.
Typically, units are selected based on certain non-random criteria, such as quota or convenience.
Because selection is non-random, nonprobability sampling does not allow the estimation of
sampling errors, and may be subjected to a sampling bias. Therefore, information from a sample
cannot be generalized back to the population. Types of non-probability sampling techniques
include:

Convenience sampling. Also called accidental or opportunity sampling, this is a technique

inwhich a sample is drawn from that part of the population that is close to hand, readily
available, or convenient. For instance, if you stand outside a shopping center and hand out
questionnaire surveys to people or interview them as they walk in, the sample of respondents you
will obtain will be a convenience sample. This is a non-probability sample because you are
systematically excluding all people who shop at other shopping centers. The opinions that you
would get from your chosen sample may reflect the unique characteristics of this shopping center
such as the nature of its stores (e.g., high end-stores will attract a more affluent demographic),
the demographic profile of its patrons, or its location (e.g., a shopping center close to a university
will attract primarily university students with unique purchase habits), and therefore may not be
representative of the opinions of the shopper population at large. Hence, the scientific
generalizability of such observations will be very limited. Other examples of convenience
sampling are sampling students registered in a certain class or sampling patients arriving at a
certain medical clinic. This type of sampling is most useful for pilot testing, where the goal is
instrument testing or measurement validation rather than obtaining generalizable inferences.

Quota sampling. In this technique, the population is segmented into mutually-exclusive

subgroups (just as in stratified sampling), and then a non-random set of observations is chosen
from each subgroup to meet a predefined quota. In proportional quota sampling, the proportion
of respondents in each subgroup should match that of the population. For instance, if the
American population consists of 70% Caucasians, 15% Hispanic-Americans, and 13% African-
Americans, and you wish to understand their voting preferences in an sample of 98 people, you
can stand outside a shopping center and ask people their voting preferences. But you will have to
stop asking Hispanic-looking people when you have 15 responses from that subgroup (or
African-Americans when you have 13 responses) even as you continue sampling other ethnic
groups, so that the ethnic composition of your sample matches that of the general American
population. Non-proportional quota sampling is less restrictive in that you don’t have to
achieve a proportional representation, but perhaps meet a minimum size in each subgroup. In this
case, you may decide to have 50 respondents from each of the three ethnic subgroups
(Caucasians, Hispanic-Americans, and African- Americans), and stop when your quota for each
subgroup is reached. Neither type of quota sampling will be representative of the American
population, since depending on whether your study was conducted in a shopping center in New
York or Kansas, your results may be entirely different. The non-proportional technique is even
less representative of the population but may be useful in that it allows capturing the opinions of
small and underrepresented groups through oversampling.

Expert sampling. This is a technique where respondents are chosen in a non-randommanner

based on their expertise on the phenomenon being studied. For instance, in order to understand
the impacts of a new governmental policy such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, you can sample an
group of corporate accountants who are familiar with this act. The advantage of this approach is
that since experts tend to be more familiar with the subject matter than non-experts, opinions
from a sample of experts are more credible than a sample that includes both experts and non-
experts, although the findings are still not generalizable to the overall population at large.

Snowball sampling. In snowball sampling, you start by identifying a few respondentsthat

match the criteria for inclusion in your study, and then ask them to recommend others they
know who also meet your selection criteria. For instance, if you wish to survey computer
network administrators and you know of only one or two such people, you can start with
them and ask them to recommend others who also do network administration. Although this
method hardly leads to representative samples, it may sometimes be the only way to reach
hard-to-reach populations or when no sampling frame is available.

Measurement Scales
Levels of Measurement
Nominal scales, also called categorical scales, measure categorical data. These scalesare
used for variables or indicators that have mutually exclusive attributes. Examples include
gender (two values: male or female), industry type (manufacturing, financial, agriculture,
etc.), and religious affiliation (Christian, Muslim, Jew, etc.). Even if we assign unique
numbers to each value, for instance 1 for male and 2 for female, the numbers don’t really
mean anything (i.e., 1 is not less than or half of 2) and could have been easily been
represented non-numerically, such as M for male and F for female. Nominal scales merely
offer names or labels for different attribute values. The appropriate measure of central
tendency of a nominal scale is mode, and neither the mean nor the median can be defined.
Permissible statistics are chi-square and frequency distribution, and only a one-to-one
(equality) transformation is allowed (e.g., 1=Male, 2=Female).

Ordinal scales are those that measure rank-ordered data, such as the ranking ofstudents in a
class as first, second, third, and so forth, based on their grade point average or test scores.
However, the actual or relative values of attributes or difference in attribute values cannot be
assessed. For instance, ranking of students in class says nothing about the actual GPA or test
scores of the students, or how they well performed relative to one another. A classic example
in the natural sciences is Moh’s scale of mineral hardness, which characterizes the hardness
of various minerals by their ability to scratch other minerals. For instance, diamonds can
scratch all other naturally occurring minerals on earth, and hence diamond is the “hardest”
mineral. However, the scale does not indicate the actual hardness of these minerals or even
provides a relative assessment of their hardness. Ordinal scales can also use attribute labels
(anchors) such as “bad”, “medium”, and “good”, or "strongly dissatisfied", "somewhat
dissatisfied", "neutral", or "somewhat satisfied", and "strongly satisfied”. In the latter case,
we can say that respondents who are “somewhat satisfied” are less satisfied than those who
are “strongly satisfied”, but we cannot quantify their satisfaction levels. The central tendency
measure of an ordinal scale can be its median or mode, and means are uninterpretable.
Hence, statistical analyses may involve percentiles and non-parametric analysis, but more
sophisticated techniques such as correlation, regression, and analysis of variance, are not
appropriate. Monotonically increasing transformation (which retains the ranking) is allowed.

Interval scales are those where the values measured are not only rank-ordered, but arealso
equidistant from adjacent attributes. For example, the temperature scale (in Fahrenheit or
Celsius), where the difference between 30 and 40 degree Fahrenheit is the same as that
between 80 and 90 degree Fahrenheit. Likewise, if you have a scale that asks respondents’
annual income using the following attributes (ranges): $0 to 10,000, $10,000 to 20,000,
$20,000 to 30,000, and so forth, this is also an interval scale, because the mid-point of each
range (i.e., $5,000, $15,000, $25,000, etc.) are equidistant from each other. The intelligence
quotient (IQ) scale is also an interval scale, because the scale is designed such that the
difference between IQ scores 100 and 110 is supposed to be the same as between 110 and
120 (although we do not really know whether that is truly the case). Interval scale allows us
to examine “how much more” is one attribute when compared to another, which is not
possible with nominal or ordinal scales. Allowed central tendency measures include mean,
median, or mode, as are measures of dispersion, such as range and standard deviation.
Permissible statistical analyses include all of those allowed for nominal and ordinal scales,
plus correlation, regression, analysis of variance, and so on. Allowed scale transformation are
positive linear. Note that the satisfaction scale discussed earlier is not strictly an interval
scale, because we cannot say whether the difference between “strongly satisfied” and
“somewhat satisfied” is the same as that between “neutral” and “somewhat satisfied” or
between “somewhat dissatisfied” and “strongly dissatisfied”. However, social science
researchers often “pretend” (incorrectly) that these differences are equal so that we can use
statistical techniques for analyzing ordinal scaled data.

Ratio scales are those that have all the qualities of nominal, ordinal, and interval scales,and in
addition, also have a “true zero” point (where the value zero implies lack or non-availability of
the underlying construct). Most measurement in the natural sciences and engineering, such as
mass, incline of a plane, and electric charge, employ ratio scales, as are some social science
variables such as age, tenure in an organization, and firm size (measured as employee count or
gross revenues). For example, a firm of size zero means that it has no employees or revenues.
The Kelvin temperature scale is also a ratio scale, in contrast to the Fahrenheit or Celsius scales,
because the zero point on this scale (equaling -273.15 degree Celsius) is not an arbitrary value
but represents a state where the particles of matter at this temperature have zero kinetic energy.
These scales are called “ratio” scales because the ratios of two points on these measures are
meaningful and interpretable. For example, a firm of size 10 employees is double that of a firm
of size 5, and the same can be said for a firm of 10,000 employees relative to a different firm of
5,000 employees. All measures of central tendencies, including geometric and harmonic means,
are allowed for ratio scales, as are ratio measures, such as studentized range or coefficient of
variation. All statistical methods are allowed. Sophisticated transformation such as positive
similar (e.g., multiplicative or logarithmic) are also allowed.

Based on the four generic types of scales discussed above, we can create specific rating scales
for social science research. Common rating scales include binary, Likert, semantic differential,
or Guttman scales. Other less common scales are not discussed here.

Binary scales. Binary scales are nominal scales consisting of binary items that assume one of
two possible values, such as yes or no, true or false, and so on. For example, a typical binary
scale for the “political activism” construct may consist of the six binary items shown in Table
6.2. Each item in this scale is a binary item, and the total number of “yes” indicated by a
respondent (a value from 0 to 6) can be used as an overall measure of that person’s political
activism. To understand how these items were derived, refer to the “Scaling” section later on in
this chapter. Binary scales can also employ other values, such as male or female for gender, full-
time or part-time for employment status, and so forth. If an employment status item is modified
to allow for more than two possible values (e.g., unemployed, full-time, part-time, and retired), it
is no longer binary, but still remains a nominal scaled item.

Likert scale. Designed by Rensis Likert, this is a very popular rating scale formeasuring ordinal
data in social science research. This scale includes Likert items that are simply-worded
statements to which respondents can indicate their extent of agreement or disagreement on a five
or seven-point scale ranging from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree”. A typical example of
a six-item Likert scale for the “employment self-esteem” construct is shown in Table 6.3. Likert
scales are summated scales, that is, the overall scale score may be a summation of the attribute
values of each item as selected by a respondent.

Sources of Error in Measurement

Measurement should be precise and unambiguous in an ideal research study. This objective
however is often not met with in entirety. As such the researcher must be aware about the
sources of error in measurement. The following are the possible sources of error in measurement.

Respondent
At times the respondent may be reluctant to express strong negative feelings or it is just possible
that he may have very little knowledge but may not admit his ignorance. All this reluctance is
likely to result in an interview of ‘guesses.’ Transient / temporary factors like fatigue, boredom,
anxiety, etc. may limit the ability of the respondent to respond accurately and fully.

Situation
Situational factors may also come in the way of correct measurement. Any condition
which places a strain on interview can have serious effects on the interviewer-respondent
rapport. For instance, if someone else is present, he can distort responses by joining in or merely
by being present. If the respondent feels that anonymity is not assured, he may be reluctant to
express certain feelings – If privacy and confidentiality is compromised

Measurer
The interviewer can distort responses by rewording or reordering questions. His behavior, style
and looks may encourage or discourage certain replies from respondents. Careless mechanical
processing may distort the findings. Errors may also creep in because of incorrect coding, faulty
tabulation and/or statistical calculations, particularly in the data-analysis stage.

Instrument
Error may arise because of the defective measuring instrument. The use of complex words,
beyond the comprehension of the respondent, ambiguous meanings, poor printing, inadequate
space for replies, response choice omissions, etc. are a few things that make the measuring
instrument defective and may result in measurement errors. Another type of instrument
deficiency is the poor sampling of the universe of items of concern.

Researcher must know that correct measurement depends on successfully meeting all of the
problems listed above. He must, to the extent possible, try to eliminate, neutralize or otherwise
deal with all the possible sources of error so that the final results may not be contaminated.

RESEARCH PROPOSAL AND RESEARCH REPORT

Definition of Research Proposal

 Research Proposal can be defined as the document prepared by the researcher so as to

give a description of the research program in detail.
 It is typically a request for research funding, for the subject under study.
 In other words, a research proposal is a summary of the research process, with which the
reader can get quick information regarding the research project.
 The research proposal seeks final approval, for which it is submitted to the relevant
authority. After the research proposal is submitted, it is being evaluated, considering a
number of factors like the cost involved, potential impact, soundness of the plan to
undertake the project.
 It aims at presenting and justifying the need and importance to carry out the study, as
well as to present the practical ways, of conducting the research. And for this, persuasive
evidence should be provided in the research proposal, to highlight the necessity of the
research.
 Further, it must discuss the main issues and questions, which the researcher will address
in the study. Along with that, it must highlight the fundamental area of the research study.
 A research proposal can be prepared in a number of formats, which differs on the basis of
their length.
 It contains an introduction, problem hypothesis, objectives, assumptions, methodology,
justification and implication of the research project.

Definition of Research Report

Research Report can be defined as the document in which the researched and analyzed data is
organized and presented by the researcher in a systematic manner. It is a publication, comprising
of the purpose, scope, hypothesis, methodology, findings, limitations, recommendations and
conclusion of the research project – It is an account on the major research processes

Simply put, a research report is the record of the research process. It is one of the most important
segments of the research, as the research work is said to be incomplete if the report is not
prepared.

A research report is a document containing collected and considered facts, taken to provide
succinct and comprehensible information to people.

Once the research process is over, the entire work is produced in a written material, which is
called a research report. It covers the description of the research activities, in an elaborated
manner. It contains Introduction, Literature Review, Methodology, Data Collection, Data
Analysis, Discussion of Results and Findings, Bibliography and Appendices.

Differences between Research Proposal and Research Report

 A research proposal signifies a theoretical framework within which the research is carried
out. In finer terms, a research proposal is a sketch / plan for the collection, measurement
and analysis of data. A research report implies a scientific write-up on the research
findings, which is prepared in a specific format.
 While the preparation of a research proposal is considered as the first step to research
work, preparation of a research report is the final step to the research work.
 A research proposal is prepared at the beginning of the project. In contrast, the research
report is prepared after the completion of the project
 A research proposal is written in the future tense, whereas the tense used in the research
report is past tense
 The length of a research proposal is about 4-10 pages. On the contrary, the length of the
research report is about 100 to 300 pages.
 The research proposal is concerned with the problem or topic to be investigated.
Conversely, the research report focuses on the results of the completed research work.
 The research proposal determines what will be researched, the relevance of the research
and the ways to conduct the research. As against, the research report determines what is
researched, sources of data collection, ways of data collection (i.e. survey, interview, or
questionnaire), result and findings, recommendations for future research, etc.
 Research Proposal includes three chapters i.e. Introduction, Literature Review, Research
Methodology. Contrastingly, Research Report covers the following chapters –
Introduction, Literature Review, Research Methodology, Results, Interpretation and
Analysis, Conclusion and Recommendation – Proposal covers few topics while report
covers many topics
CONTENT OF A PROPOSAL
i. An introduction including a brief literature review
ii. Theoretical framework that underpins your study
iii. Conceptual framework which constitutes the basis of your study
iv. Objectives or research questions of your study
v. Hypothesis to be tested if any
vi. Study design that you proposing to adopt
vii. Setting for your study
viii. Research instruments you are planning to use
ix. Sampling design and sample size
x. Ethical issues involved and how to deal with them
xi. Data processing procedure
xii. Proposed chapters of report
xiii. Problems and limitation of study
xiv. Proposed time frame
xv. Budget - A budget provides the actual activities and their estimated costs

RESEARCH REPORT
Preliminaries
 Cover page
 Declaration acknowledgement
 Dedication
 Table of contents list of figures
 Acronyms

Chapter one
 Background to the study
 Statement of the problem
 Purpose of the study
 Objectives of the study
 Research questions/ hypothesis
 Justification significance scope
 Assumptions
 Limitations / delimitation

Chapter two
 Literature review
 Introduction
 Review of literature according to the study themes / variables
 Knowledge gaps
 Conceptual framework
 Summary of the literature reviewed
  Definition of key terms
 Operational definition

Chapter three
 Introduction
 Research design
 Target population
 Sampling design
 Data collection methods and procedures

Chapter four: data presentation, interpretation and analysis

 Introduction
 Data analysis methods and justification
 Reliability and validity, test of research instruments
 Descriptive data presentation as per research questions / objectives
 Summary

Chapter five: Findings and conclusion

 Introduction
 Findings as per research objectives / research questions
 Hypothesis testing
 Summary of findings
 Recommendations
 Suggestions for further research

References
 APA format
 Should be done alphabetically

Appendices
 The research instruments
 Letters to research participants
 Any supporting documents

WRITING A RESEARCH PROPOSAL/ PAPER/ PROJECT PAPER

The purpose of a research proposal in quantitative and qualitative research

 i. How to structure a research proposal
ii. How to write a research proposal

All research endeavors, in both qualitative and quantitative research, in every academic and
professional field are preceded by a research proposal. It informs your academic supervisor or
potential research contract provider about your conceptualization of the total research process
that you propose to undertake so that they can examine its validity and appropriateness. In any
academic field, your research proposal will go through a number of committees for approval.
Unless it is approved by all of them, you will not be able to start your research. Hence, it is
important for you to study closely what constitutes a research proposal.
You need to write a research proposal whether your research study is quantitative or
qualitative and in both cases you use a similar structure. The main difference is in the proposed
procedures and methodologies for undertaking the research endeavor. When providing details for
different parts of the research proposal, for quantitative studies, you will detail quantitative
methods, procedures and models and, for qualitative studies, your proposed process will be based
upon methods and procedures that form the qualitative research methodology.
Certain requirements for a research proposal may vary from university to university, and from
discipline to discipline within a university. What is outlined here will satisfy most requirements
but you should be selective regarding what is needed in your situation.
A research proposal is an overall plan, scheme, structure and strategy designed to obtain
answers to the research questions or problems that constitute your research project. A research
proposal should
outline the various tasks you plan to undertake to fulfil your research objectives, test hypotheses
(if any) or obtain answers to your research questions. It should also state your reasons for
undertaking the study. Broadly, a research proposal’s main function is to detail the operational
plan for obtaining answers toyour research questions. In doing so it ensures and reassures the
reader of the validity of the methodology for obtaining answers to your research questions
accurately and objectively.
In order to achieve this function, a research proposal must tell you, your research supervisor
and reviewers the following information about your study:
What you are proposing to do
How you plan to find answers to what you are you are proposing
Why you proposed the strategies for investigation

Your literature review should also raise issues relating to the methodology you are proposing.
For example, it may examine how other studies operationalised the major variables of relevance
to your study and may include a critique of methodology relevant to your study. The critiques of
methods and procedures should be included under their respective headings. For example, a
critique of the sampling design you adopt should be included under ‘sampling’ or a critique to
the study design should be discussed under ‘study design’.
Note that the suggested research proposal structure does not contain a section entitled ‘survey
of the literature’ or ‘literature review’. This is because references to the literature should be
integrated with your arguments conceptually rather than chronologically and should become a
part of all the aspects of your research report from problem conceptualisation to conclusions. The
literature should be reviewed under main themes that emerge from your reading of the literature
and should be included in the ‘introduction’ and ‘the problem’. Issues identified in the literature
to do with research methodology and problems pertinent to the various aspects of research
procedures should be discussed under their respective headings. For example, issues pertaining
to the study design under ‘study design’, issues relating to sampling under ‘sampling’ and the
literature pertaining to the research instrument under the ‘measurement procedure’.
In suggesting this format it is assumed that you are reasonably well acquainted with research
methodology and an academic style of writing. That is, you know how to write a set of
objectives or construct a hypothesis, you are familiar with the various study designs and you can
construct a research instrument and cite a reference.
The pages that follow outline a framework for a research proposal. The contents under each
heading may vary markedly from discipline to discipline, according to the academic level of the
student (BA Hons, MA, PhD) and whether your study is predominantly quantitative or
qualitative. For quantitative proposals you need to be very specific in proposing how you are
going to undertake each step of the research journey, whereas for qualitative research proposals
such details are not expected as your methodology is flexible and unstructured to accommodate
in-depth search. However, you need to provide a broad approach to your enquiry as a part of
your research proposal.
Each section of the proposed outline for a research proposal is divided into two parts:
1. a suggested title for the section and an outline of its contents;
2. examples outlining contents for the section – the same four examples of research projects,
each taken from a different discipline, are used as illustrations in each sections

Preamble/introduction
The proposal should start with an introduction to include some of the information listed below.
Remember that some of the contents suggested in this section may not be relevant to certain
studies, so use your discretion in selecting only what is pertinent to your study. In writing this
section, the literature review (see Chapter 3 on reviewing the literature) is of central importance
as it serves two main functions:
1. It acquaints you with the available literature in the area of your study, thereby
broadening your knowledge base.
2. It provides you with information on the methods and procedures other people have used
in similar situations and tells you what works and what does not.

The type, extent and quality of a literature review are mostly dependent upon the academic
level for which you are writing the proposal. The contents of this section may also vary greatly
according to the subject area under study.
Start with a very broad perspective of the main subject area, before gradually narrowing the
focus to the central problem under investigation. In doing so, cover the following aspects of your
study area:
an overview of the main area under study;
a historical perspective (development, growth, etc.) pertinent to
the study area; philosophical or ideological issues relating to the
topic; trends in terms of prevalence, if appropriate;
major theories, if any;
 the main issues, problems and advances in the subject area under study;
important theoretical and practical issues relating to the central problem
under study; the main findings relating to the core issue(s).

The problem
Having provided a broad introduction to the area under study, now focus on issues relating to its
central theme, identifying some of the gaps in the existing body of knowledge. Identify some of
the main unanswered questions. Here some of the main research questions that you would like to
answer through your study should also be raised, and a rationale and relevance for each should
be provided. Knowledge gained from other studies and the literature about the issues you are
proposing to investigate should be an integral part of this section. Specifically, this section
should:
identify the issues that are the basis of your study;
specify the various aspects of/perspectives
on these issues; identify the main gaps in
the existing body of knowledge;
raise some of the main research questions that you want to answer through your
study; identify what knowledge is available concerning your questions, specifying
the differences of opinion in the literature regarding these questions if differences
exist;
develop a rationale for your study with particular reference to how your study
will fill the identified gaps.

Objectives of the study

In this section include a statement of both your study’s main and sub-objectives. Your main
objective indicates the central thrust of your study whereas the sub-objectives identify the
specific issues you propose to examine.
The objectives of the study should be clearly stated and specific in nature. Each sub-objective
should delineate only one issue. Use action-oriented verbs such as ‘to determine’, ‘to find out’
and ‘to ascertain’ in formulating sub-objectives, which should be numerically listed. If the
objective is to test a hypothesis, you must follow the convention of hypothesis formulation in
wording the specific objectives.
In qualitative studies the statement of objectives is not as precise as in quantitative studies. In
qualitative studies you should simply mention an overall objective of the study as your aim is to
explore as much as possible as you go along. As you know, the strength of qualitative research is
in flexibility of approach and the ability to incorporate new ideas while collecting data. Having
structured statements that bind you to a predetermined framework of exploration is not a
preferred convention in qualitative research. Statements like to explore ‘what does it mean to
have a child with ADHD in the family?’, ‘how does it feel to be a victim of domestic violence?’,
‘how do people cope with racial discrimination?’, ‘the relationship between resilience and yoga’
or ‘reconstructing life after bushfire’, are sufficient to communicate your intent of objectives in
qualitative research. More detailed objectives, if need be, can be developed after a study is
complete
Hypotheses to be tested
A hypothesis is a statement of your assumptions about the prevalence of a phenomenon or about
a relationship between two variables that you plan to test within the framework of the study. If
you are going to test hypotheses, list them in this section.
When formulating a hypothesis you have an obligation to draw conclusions about it in the text of
the report. Hypotheses have a particular style of formulation. You must be acquainted with the
correct way of wording them. In a study you may have as many hypotheses as you want to test.
However, it is not essential to have a hypothesis in order to undertake a study – you can conduct
a perfectly satisfactory study without formulating a hypothesis.

The setting
Briefly describe the organisation, agency or community in which you will conduct your study. If
the study is about a group of people, highlight some of the salient characteristics of the group
(e.g. its history, size, composition and structure) and draw attention to any available relevant
information.
If your research concerns an agency, office or organisation, include the following in your
description:
the main services provided by the agency, office or organisation;
its administrative structure;
the type of clients served;
information about the issues that are central to your research.

If you are studying a community, briefly describe some of the main characteristics, such as:

the size of the community;

a brief social profile of the community (i.e. the composition of the various groups
within it); issues of relevance to the central theme of your study.

Note that, due to the nature of the content, it would be difficult to provide examples

Measurement procedures
To start with, justify your choice of research tool, highlighting its strengths and pointing out
its weaknesses. Then outline the major segments of your research tool and their relevance to the
main objectives of the study. If you are using a standard instrument, briefly discuss the
availability of evidence on its reliability and validity. If you adapt or modify it in any way,
describe and explain the changes you have made.
You should also discuss how you are going to operationalise the major concepts. For
example, if measuring effectiveness, specify how it will be measured. If you plan to measure the
self-esteem of a group of people, mention the main indicators of self-esteem and the procedures
for its measurement (e.g. the Likert or Thurstone scale, or any other procedure).
Ideally, for quantitative studies you should attach a copy of the research instrument to your
proposal.
Note that, due to the nature of the content, it would be difficult to provide examples for this
section.

Analysis of data
Specify whether the data will be analysed manually or by computer. For computer analysis,
identify the program and where appropriate the statistical procedures you plan to perform on the
data. For quantitative studies also identify the main variables for cross-tabulation.
For qualitative studies, describe how you plan to analyse your interviews or observation notes to
draw meanings from what your respondents have said about issues discussed or observation
notes made. One of the common techniques is to identify main themes, through analysing the
contents of the information gathered by you in the field. You first need to decide whether you
want to analyse this information manually or use a computer program for the purpose
Problems and limitations
This section should list any problems you think you might encounter concerning, for example,
the availability of data, securing permission from the agency/organisation to carry out the study,
obtaining the sample, or any other aspect of the study.
You will not have unlimited resources and as this may be primarily an academic exercise, you
might have to do less than an ideal job. However, it is important to be aware of – and
communicate – any limitations that could affect the validity of your conclusions and
generalizations.
Here, problems refer to difficulties relating to logistical details, whereas limitations designate
structural problems relating to methodological aspects of the study. In your opinion the study
design you chose may not be the best but you might have had to adopt it for a number of reasons.
This is classified as a limitation of the study. This is also true for sampling or measurement
procedures. Such limitations should be communicated to readers.
References
Mostly APA style of referencing is used. Familiarise yourself with APA referencing and citation.
Reading assignment
Appendix
All information which you find bulky to be kept on the body of the research proposal/ project is
appenixed
Note
i. An academic research proposal covers chapter 1 to 3 ie. Introduction, Literature and
theoretical framework and research methodology. This is written in future tense because
a proposal is a write up of what you intend to do.
ii. When you get to writing a full report that is chapter 1 to 5 ie. Introduction, Literature and
theoretical framework, research methodology, data analysis and conclusions and
recommendations. The chapter 1 to 5 is now written in past tense because you have done
what you were intending to do in your proposal and are now reporting.
Activity
Look at various proposals that have been done and full research projects