CENTRE FOR RESEARCH AND TRAINING COLLEGE (CRTC)
Samuel Kamanga. B, Soc.Sc. Dip Law.
Contact details: +265 991 916 291
Email Address:
[email protected] RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
LESSON: 3 RESEARCH PROCESS
Research process consists of series of actions or steps necessary to effectively carry out research
and the desired sequencing of these steps. The chart shown in Figure 1.1 well illustrates a
research process.
The chart indicates that the research process consists of a number of closely related activities,
as shown through I to VII. But such activities 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 they are separate and
distinct. They do not necessarily follow each other in any specific order and the researcher has to
be constantly anticipating at each step in the research process the requirements of the subsequent
steps.
Formulating the research problem
The formulation of a general topic into a specific research problem, thus, constitutes the first step
in a scientific enquiry. Essentially two steps are involved in formulating the research problem;
understanding the problem thoroughly, and rephrasing the same into meaningful terms from an
analytical point of view.
This task of formulating, or defining, a research problem is a step of greatest importance in the
entire research process. The problem to be investigated must be defined unambiguously for that
will help discriminating relevant data from irrelevant ones. Care must, however, be taken to verify
the objectivity and validity of the background facts concerning the problem.
Extensive literature survey
The researcher must at the same time examine all available literature to get himself acquainted
with the selected problem. He may review two types of literature
the conceptual literature concerning the concepts and theories,
the empirical literature consisting of studies made earlier which are similar to the one
proposed
The basic outcome of this review will be the knowledge as to what data and other materials are
available for operational purposes which will enable the researcher to specify his own research
problem in a meaningful context.
At this juncture the researcher should undertake extensive literature survey 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. In this process, it
should be remembered that one source will lead to another. The earlier studies, if any, which are
similar to the study in hand should be carefully studied.
Development of working hypotheses
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.
Preparing the research design
The research problem having been formulated in clear cut terms, the researcher will be required to
prepare a research design, i.e., he will have to 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. In other words, the function of research design is to
provide for the collection of relevant evidence with minimal expenditure of effort, time and money.
The preparation of the research design, appropriate for a particular research problem, involves
usually the consideration of the following:
the means of obtaining the information;
the availability and skills of the researcher and his staff (if any);
explanation of the way in which selected means of obtaining information will be organized
and the reasoning leading to the selection; the time available for research; and
the cost factor relating to research, i.e., the finance available for the purpose.
Determining sample design
All the items under consideration in any field of inquiry constitute a ‘universe’ or ‘population’.
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. Thus, the plan to select 12 of a
city’s 200 drugstores in a certain way constitutes a sample design. Samples can be either
probability samples or non-probability samples. With probability samples each element has a
known probability of being included in the sample but the non-probability samples do not allow
the researcher to determine this probability.
1. Probability sampling
Simple random sampling
This type of sampling is also known as chance sampling or probability sampling where each and
every item in the population has an equal chance of inclusion in the sample and each one of the
possible samples, in case of finite universe, has the same probability of being selected.
Systematic sampling
A method of selecting sample members from a larger population according to a random starting
point and a fixed, periodic interval. Typically, every "nth" member is selected from the total
population for inclusion in the sample population.
Stratified sampling
It is a sampling technique in which the researcher divides the entire target population into different
subgroups, or strata, and then randomly selects the final subjects proportionally from the different
strata. This type of sampling is used when the researcher wants to highlight specific subgroups
within the population
Cluster sampling
In cluster sampling the total population is divided into a number of relatively small sub-divisions
or groups which are themselves clusters and then some of these cluster is randomly selected for
inclusion in the sample.
2. Non probability sampling
To be continued in the next lesson………………………………………………………..
