English III

Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, University of Law

Introduction to Research
Teacher: Rizvi Syed Sanober
Introduction To
Research
• Research is a process of systematic
inquiry that entails collection of data;
documentation of critical information; and
analysis and interpretation of that
data/information, in accordance with
suitable methodologies set by specific
professional fields and academic
disciplines.
What is a research
article?
• A research article is a journal article in
which the authors report on the
research they did. Research articles are
always primary sources. Whether or not a
research article is peer reviewed depends
on the journal that publishes it.
Steps to Write a Research
Article
• Step One: Define research problem
• Step Two: Review of literature
• Step Three: Formulate hypotheses
• Step Four: Preparing the research design
• Step Five: Data collection
• Step Six: Data analysis
• Step Seven: Interpretation and report writing
Step 1: Research Problem

• Research problem is a statement that

addresses a gap in knowledge, a challenge
or a contradiction in a particular field.
Scientists use research problems to identify
and define the aim of their study and
analysis. You may decide to conduct
research based on a problem if you're
interested in contributing to social or
scientific change or supplying additional
knowledge to an existing topic. A research
problem may also help identify key concepts
and terms, overarching questions and
variables associated with a study.
Step2: A Literature
Review
• A literature review is a survey of
scholarly sources (such as books,
journal articles, and theses) related to a
specific topic or research question. It is
often written as part of a thesis,
dissertation, or research paper, in order to
situate your work in relation to existing
knowledge.
Step 3: Formulate
Hypothesis
• Formulate hypothesis is a 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.
• Role: delimiting the area of research
• Role: Keep a researcher on the right track
Step Four: Preparing
a Research Design
• Research design is a blueprint of a
scientific study.
• It includes research methodologies, tools,
and techniques to conduct the research.
• It helps to identify and address the problem
that may rise during the process of research
and analysis.
Step Five: Data
Collection
• Data collection is the process of gathering and
measuring information on variables of interest, in an
established systematic fashion that enables one to
answer stated research questions, test hypotheses, and
evaluate outcomes.
Step Six: Interpretation and Report
Writing
• There are four steps to data interpretation:
• 1) assemble the information you'll need
• 2) develop findings
• 3) develop conclusions
• 4) develop recommendations
• The following sections describe each step. The sections on
findings, conclusions, and recommendations suggest questions
you should answer at each step.
Methods: Qualitative

• Qualitative research is defined as a

market research method that focuses
on obtaining data through open-ended
and conversational communication.
• This method is about “what” people think
and “why” they think so. For example,
consider a convenience store looking to
improve its patronage.
• Subjective
• Soft Science
Method 2:
Quantitative
• a method of research that relies on
measuring variables using a numerical
system, analyzing these measurements
using any of a variety of statistical models,
and reporting relationships and
associations among the studied variables.
• Hard Science
• Objective in Nature
• Data should be in numbers
Method 3: Mixed
Method Research
• 'Mixed methods' is a research approach
whereby researchers collect and
analyse both quantitative and
qualitative data within the same study.
 It is a theory that knowledge and
many aspects of the world around us
are not real in and of themselves.
Social constructionism is a theory of
Philosophies: knowledge that holds that characteristics
typically thought to be immutable and

Constructioni
solely biological—such as gender, race,
class, ability, and sexuality—are
products of human definition and
sm interpretation shaped by cultural and
historical contexts.
Main Idea: people actively construct
or make their own knowledge, and
that reality is determined by your
experiences as a learner.
Philosophy: Ontology

Ontology and epistemology are two different ways of viewing the research
philosophy.

Ontology can be defined as “the science or study of being” and it deals with the
nature of reality.

Ontology is a system of belief that reflects an interpretation of an individual about

what constitutes a fact.

In simple terms, ontology is associated with a central question of whether social

entities need to be perceived as objective or subjective.
Objectivism
Objectivism (or Positivism) and Subjectivism (or Interpretivism or
Constructivism) can be specified as two important aspects of
ontology.
Objectivism (Positivism) “portrays the position that social entities
exist in reality external to social actors concerned with their
existence”.
“is an ontological position that asserts that social phenomena and
their meanings have an existence that is independent of social
actors”.
Philosophy: Subjectivism

Subjectivism (also known as

Formally, constructionism can be
constructionism or interpretivism)
defined as “ontological position
perceives that social phenomena is
which asserts that social
created from perceptions and
phenomena and their meanings
consequent actions of those social
are continually being accomplished
actors concerned with their
by social actors”.
existence.
Epistemology

• Epistemology as a branch of philosophy deals with the sources of

knowledge.
• Specifically, epistemology is concerned with possibilities, nature, sources
and limitations of knowledge in the field of study.
• Epistemology can be branded as the study of the criteria by which the
researcher classifies what does and does not constitute the knowledge.
 • Axiology is a branch of philosophy
that studies judgements about the
value.
• Specifically, axiology is engaged
with assessment of the role of
researcher’s own value on all
Philosophy: stages of the research process.

Axiology • Axiology primarily refers to the

‘aims’ of the research.
• This branch of the research
philosophy attempts to clarify if
you are trying to explain or predict
the world or are you only seeking
to understand it.
 Philosophy:
Rationalism
• Rationalism is a method of thinking that is marked by being a deductive
and abstract way of reasoning.
• In ordinary usage rationalism is a basic sense of respect for reason or to refer
to the idea that reason should play a large role in human life (in contrast, say, to
mysticism).
Philosophy:
Empiricism
• Empiricism is a philosophical belief
that states your knowledge of the
world is based on your
experiences, particularly your
sensory experiences.
• According to empiricists, our
learning is based on our
observations and perception;
knowledge is not possible without
experience.