Introduction to Research

Dr. Murtala Aminu Ibrahim

 What is Research?
• Research is defined as “the systematic process of
collecting and analyzing information (data) in order to
increase our understanding of the phenomenon about
which we are concerned or interested” (Leedy &
Ormrod, 2005, p. 4)
• It is a process of finding solutions to a particular
problem.
• The discovery of the solution is undertaken through a
detailed study of the situational factors related or
associated with the problem.
 Purpose of Research
• Reporting

• Description

• Explanation

• Prediction
 Reporting
• An inquiry conducted to provide an
account or summation of data.
• Very little inference or conclusion
drawing.
• Purist claim this is not research,
although carefully gathered data can
have great value.
 Description
• Tries to discover answers to the questions of
who, what, when, where, and sometimes how.
• Researcher attempts to describe or define a
subject, by creating a profile of a group of
problems, people, or events.
• May or may not have the potential of drawing
powerful inferences.
• Does not answer the question why.
 Explanation
• Goes beyond description by
attempting to explain the reasons for a
phenomenon that the descriptive study
only observed.
• Researcher uses theories or at least
hypotheses to account for the forces
that cause a certain phenomenon to
occur.
 Prediction
• Also rooted in theory.
• Having able to explain a phenomena,
researcher wants to be able to predict
the occurrence of the phenomena
 Type of Research

•Applied Research
•Basic Research
• Applied research
• conducted to address a specific problem that
facilitates decision making for a specific firm
or organization or institutions
• Example:

• Should McDonald’s add Italian pasta

dinners to its menu?
• Which health insurance plan should a
business provide for its employees?
• Basic research
• conducted without a specific decision in mind that
usually does not address the needs of a specific
organization.
• Attempts to expand the limits of knowledge in
general.
• Not aimed at solving a pragmatic problem.

• Example:

• Do consumers experience cognitive dissonance

in low-involvement situations?
• Does employee tenure with a company
influence productivity?
Approach or Paradigms of Research

Quantitative or Positivism
Qualitative or Interpretivism
 Quantitative Research

• ‘Explaining phenomena by collecting numerical

data that are analyzed using mathematically
based methods (in particular statistics).’ (Aliaga
& Gunderson, 2002)
• Not all phenomena naturally exist in
quantitative form! E.g. attitude & behavior.
How we go about it?
 Foundations of quantitative research
methods
• ‘Paradigm wars’ or epistemologies or world view
conflict
• Quantitative research described as being ‘realist’ or
‘positivist’. The world works according to fixed laws
of cause and effect
• Realist believe research is to uncover an existing
reality. ‘The truth is out there’ and uncovered using
objective research methods
• ‘Inquiry from outside’
 Qualitative Research
• In-depth study of phenomena by observing
a particular case or one unit of analysis.
• Research that produce descriptive data i.e
people’s own written or spoken words and
observable behavior.
• Phenomenological perspective is central to
qualitative methodology.
 Foundations of qualitative research
methods
• Qualitative viewed as being ‘subjectivist’ or
‘interpretivist’ or ‘relativist’
• Subjectivist believe reality is not ‘out there’ to be
objectively observed. There is no pre-existing objective
reality that can be observed
• All truth is relative and is never definitive. Reality is
socially constructed!
• ‘Inquiry from inside’
• Post-positivist, experiential realism
• Being pragmatist is safe! (Pierce, Dewey & James)
 When to use quantitative methods?
• First, when we want a quantitative answer e.g. how
many students enroll in Ph.D program?
• Second, when we want to study numerical change e.g.
are the numbers of international students enrollment
rising or falling?
• Third, when we want to find out the state of something,
we often want to explain phenomena e.g. what factors
determine talent retention?
• Fourth, when hypothesis testing is required e.g.
whether there is a relationship between employee’s
achievement and their motivation and social
background
 When not to use quantitative
methods?
• First, when we want to explore a problem in depth
e.g. how Arabs view marriage?
• Second, when we need to develop hypotheses and
theories
• Third, when issues to be studied are particularly
complex and we expect unexpected variables to
emerge
• Fourth, when we are interested to derive meaning
of particular events or circumstances
 Types of Quantitative Research

• Exploratory

• Descriptive

• Causal
 Exploratory Research
• Exploratory Research
• Conducted to clarify ambiguous situations or
discover ideas that may be potential business
opportunities.
• Initial research conducted to clarify and define
the nature of a problem.
• Does not provide conclusive evidence

• Subsequent research expected

 Descriptive Research

• Describes characteristics of objects,

people, groups, organizations, or
environments.
• Addresses who, what, when, where, why,
and how questions.
• Considerable understanding of the nature
of the problem exists.
• Does not provide direct evidence of
causality.
 Causal Research
• Research conducted to identify cause and
effect relationships (inferences).
• Evidence of causality:
• Temporal sequence—the appropriate causal order
of events.
• Concomitant variation—two phenomena vary
together.
• Nonspurious association—an absence of
alternative plausible explanations.
 Stages in the Quantitative Research
Process
• Hypothetico-Deductive Research
• Process stages:
1. Defining the research objectives
2. Planning a research design
3. Planning a sample
4. Collecting the data
5. Analyzing the data
6. Formulating the conclusions and preparing the
report
Stages of the Research Process
EXHIBIT 2

Flowchart of

Research Process

Note: Diamond-shaped boxes indicate stages in the research process in which a choice of one or more
techniques must be made. The dotted line indicates an alternative path that skips exploratory research.