Faculty Of Business & Management

SEMESTER JANUARY 2014

BBRC 4103

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

MATRICULATION NO

771205075862001

IDENTITY CARD NO.

771205-07-5862

TELEPHONE NO.

016-4400005

E-MAIL

riffa@oum.edu.my

LEARNING CENTRE

RECSAM

TABLE OF CONTENTS
CONTENTS
Title Page

1.00 Introduction Of Important Concepts in a Research Study

1.01 Defination

1.02 Theory
1.03 Hypothesis
1.04 VARIABLE
2.00 The Two Main Categories In Research
2.01 Research Process
3.00 An Analysis On A Qualitative Research Approach Used in A Research Study
3.01 DEFINITION OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
3.02 Types Of Qualitative Research
3.02( i )Ethnography
3.02 (ii) Case Study
3.02(iii) Action Research
3.02(iv) Grounded Theory

3.02(iiv) Content Analysis

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4.00 QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS

4.01 Steps in Qualitative analysis
5.00 An Analysis On Advantages and Disadvantages Of Using Qualitative Research
5.01 Advantages
5.02 Disadvantage
6.00 Summary

References

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1.00 Introduction Of Important Concepts in a Research Study

Research Methodology is a way to find out the result of a given problem on a specific matter
or problem that is also referred as research problem. In Methodology, researcher uses
different criteria for solving/searching the given research problem. Different sources use
different type of methods for solving the problem.

1.01 Defination

According to Goddard & Melville (2004), answering unanswered questions or exploring

which currently not exist is a research. The Advanced Learners Dictionary of current
English lays down the meaning of research as a careful investigation or inquiry especially
through search for new facts in any branch of knowledge. Redmen & Mory (2009), define
research as a systematized effort to gain new knowledge.

In Research Methodology, researcher always tries to search the given question systematically
in our own way and find out all the answers till conclusion. If research does not work
systematically on problem, there would be less possibility to find out the final result. For
finding or exploring research questions, a researcher faces lot of problems that can be
effectively resolved with using correct research methodology (Industrial Research Institute,
2010).
1.02 Theory
A theory is a well-established principle that has been developed to explain some aspect of the
natural world. A theory arises from repeated observation and testing and incorporates facts,
laws, predictions, and tested hypotheses that are widely accepted.
1.03 Hypothesis
A hypothesis is a tentative statement about the relationship between two or more variable. A
hypothesis is a specific, testable prediction about what you expect to happen in your study.
For example, a study designed to look at the relationship between sleep deprivation and test
performance might have a hypothesis that states, "This study is designed to assess the

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hypothesis that sleep deprived people will perform worse on a test than individuals who are
not sleep deprived."
Unless you are creating a study that is exploratory in nature, your hypothesis should always
explain what you expect to happen during the course of your experiment or research.
A hypothesis does not have to be correct. While the hypothesis predicts what the researchers
expect to see, the goal of research is to determine whether this guess is right or wrong. When
conducting an experiment, researchers might explore a number of different factors to
determine which ones might contribute to the ultimate outcome.
In many cases, researchers may find that the results of an experiment do not support the
original hypothesis. When writing up these results, the researchers might suggest other
options that should be explored in future studies.
1.04 VARIABLE
Research papers will mention a variety of different variables, and, at first, these technical
terms might seem difficult and confusing. But with a little practice, identifying these
variables becomes second nature. Because they are sometimes not explicitly labeled in the
research writeup, it is useful to have a real research paper on hand as you learn these terms,
so you can get some hands-on practice at identifying them.
Very simply, a VARIABLE is a measurable characteristic that varies. It may change from
group to group, person to person, or even within one person over time. There are six common
variable types.
2.00 The Two Main Categories In Research
Research is divided into two main categories, qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative
research is deductive in nature, providing rich information that can be used to generate
hypotheses. Its focus is to reveal the essence and quality of the subject you
study. Quantitative research employs inductive reasoning, centering on hypothesis testing. Its
goal is to quantify the subject of study, making inferences about relationships between
variables.

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2.01 Research Process

Research usually involves a multi-stage process. Although the actual number of stages may
vary, research must include formulating and identifying a topic, reviewing literature, planning
a strategy, collecting data, analysing data and writing a report. In discussing the research
process, the presentation depicts a stage by stage and straightforward rational discussion,
although in real working conditions of doing a research project, this is unlikely to be the case.
The researcher may have to revisit each stage more than once because each stage is
interrelated and may influence or be influenced by other stages. Each time a researcher
revisits a stage, he may have to reflect on the associated issues and refine his ideas; in
addition, he has to consider ethical and access issues during the process.The steps in the
research process are as below :-

Figure 2: Overview of research process.(copyright OUM BBRC4103)

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3.00 An Analysis On A Qualitative Research Approach Used in A Research Study

The qualitative research method involves the use of qualitative data such as interviews,
documents and observation, in order to understand and explain a social phenomenon.
Qualitative research methods originates from social sciences to enable researchers to study
social and cultural-oriented phenomena. Today, the use of qualitative method and analysis is
extended to almost every research field. The method generally includes respondent
observation, interviews and questionnaires and the researchers impression and perception.
3.01 DEFINITION OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
A good definition is given by Denzin and Lincoln (1994): A qualitative research focuses
on interpretation of phenomena in their natural settings to make sense in terms of the
meanings people bring to these settings.
The qualitative research method involves data collection of personal experiences,
introspection, stories about life, interviews, observations, interactions and visual texts which
are significant in peoples life.
3.02 Types Of Qualitative Research
Types of qualitative research are shown in Figure 3(copyright OUM BBRC4103)

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A Qualitative method is a method used to measure data collected during the research and/or
experimentation of specific theories and hypotheses. There are several types of qualitative
methods and each serve a specific purpose. Depending upon the researcher's field of study
and theory, the researcher may need to use more than one qualitative method to successfully
measure collected data.

3.02( i)Ethnography
Ethnography is a qualitative research method which involves description of people and nature
of phenomena. Atkinson and Hammersley (1994) suggested that ethnography involves
exploring the nature of phenomena, working with unstructured data and analysing data
through interpretation of the meanings attributed by research respondents. This method
involves primary observations conducted by a researcher during a stipulated period.
The ethnographic method needs considerable time and fieldwork commitment from the
researcher. It can be extremely time consuming as the researcher need to spend a long time in
the observation period and jot down field notes.

3.02 (ii)Case Study

Case study is a method used in both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. Yin
(1994) suggested that a case study is an empirical investigation of phenomenon within its
environmental context, where the relationship between the phenomenon and the environment
is not clear. Therefore, a case is examined to understand an issue or provide input to an
existing theory or contribute new thoughts to a new concept. A case studys unit of
measurement is associated with the entity concept.
Case studies can be in single or multiple designs. Single case design is ideal for studying
extreme cases in order to confirm or challenge a theory. Additionally it is also used in that
cases a researcher did not have access previously. However, it is important for a researcher to
be careful in interpreting what is being observed. A multiple case design is appropriate when
a researcher is keen to use more than one case to gather data and draw upon a conclusion

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based on the facts. The multiple case design confirms the evidence which enhance the
reliability and validity of a research work.
3.02(iii) Action Research
Action research is associated with investigation on changes. Cunningham (1993) suggested
that action research comprises a continuous process of research and learning in the
researchers long-term relationship with a problem. The intention of action research is to
institute a process of change and then draw a conclusion based on this process.
3.02(iv) Grounded Theory
Grounded theory uses a prescribed set of procedures for analysing data and constructing
theoretical model from them. A good definition given by Glaser and Strauss, (1967) states:
The discovery of theory from data systematically obtained from social research.
Although it originates from social research, the method is now widely used in other fields as
well.They also defined that a category emerges from the data and may stand by itself as a
conceptual element. The term grounded refers to the idea whereby a theory emerged from
the study is derived from and grounded in data collected in the field rather than taken from
research literature.
Grounded theory is very useful when current theories about a phenomenon are either inadequate or non-existent (Creswell, 1998). Data collection for this method is field-based and
is likely to change over the course of the study. Interviews play a major role in this method
but some other techniques like observation, multimedia resources and documents may also be
used.

3.02(iiv) Content Analysis

Content analysis is a detailed and systematic examination of the contents of a particular
material to identify patterns or themes. It is typically performed on forms of human
communication including journals, books, printed media and recorded human interactions.
Out of the five designs explained in this topic, content analysis requires thorough planning

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from the very beginning. Research problem or research questions need to be specified from
the beginning.
4.00 QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS

Researchers use qualitative research design to investigate data and describe it. It is a
subjective type of research that gives meaning to life experiences. In qualitative research
design, experiences are studied as well as environmental variables. It collects information
about relationships and experiences by looking for correlations and making predictions based
on the data. Qualitative research design uses information that includes people's
interpretations, perceptions, viewpoints, values and conditions.
Qualitative data is a pool of data obtained from interviews, field notes of observations and
analysis of documents. This information must be organised and interpreted properly to extract
the key findings for your research work. As a rule of thumb, there is no single right way for
qualitative data analysis. Different researchers have proposed different methods for
qualitative data analysis. However, there are some common procedures in the analysis of
qualitative data. A researcher begins with a large body of knowledge and information and
deploys inductive reasoning, sorting and categorisation and make it precise with key themes.
For example, in the content analysis method, it might seem very straightforward but you need
to be careful in extracting information that has meaningful characteristics to your research
theme. Creswell (1998) came up with data analysis spiral that is applicable to most
qualitative methods. There are several steps for this analysis.
4.01 Steps in Qualitative analysis
Figure 4: Stages in qualitative data analysis

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These steps are:

i.

Organise data into several forms (i.e. database, sentences or individual words);

ii.

Peruse the data sets several times to gain a complete picture or overview of what it
contains as a whole. During the process, a researcher should jot down short notes or
summarise of the key points that suggest possible categories or interpretations;

iii.

Identify general categories or themes and classify them accordingly. This will help a
researcher to see a pattern or meaning of the data obtained; and

iv.

Finally, integrate and summarise the data for the audience. This step also may include
hypotheses that state the relationships among those categories defined by the researcher.
The data summary could be represented by table, figure or matrix diagram.

The stages in the analysis of qualitative data are shown in Figure 4. It usually begins with
familiarisation of the data, transcription, organisation, coding, analysis (grounded theory or
framework analysis) and reporting (though the order may vary).

5.00 An Analysis On Advantages and Disadvantages Of Using Qualitative Research

Researchers use qualitative research design to investigate data and describe it. It is a
subjective type of research that gives meaning to life experiences. In qualitative research
design, experiences are studied as well as environmental variables. It collects information
about relationships and experiences by looking for correlations and making predictions based
on the data. Qualitative research design uses information that includes people's
interpretations, perceptions, viewpoints, values and conditions. There are advantages and
disadvantages to both methods of research

5.01 Advantages
Subjectivity

Qualitative research design focuses on subjectivity. This allows personal thoughts, ideas and
concepts to be incorporated into the findings. This type of research is not based solely on

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quantitative information and therefore investigates data to find a wide understanding of the
situation being observed.
Theories

This type of research offers rich explanations of things that cannot be easily quantified.
Quantitative research is an objective type of study that focuses on facts, calculations and
concrete findings. Researchers cannot always explain complex phenomena this way and
therefore qualitative research offers some advantages.

Phenomenology

Qualitative research design uses several different methods for analyzing data. The common
one is phenomenology; which studies the purpose and goal of people's experiences. This
method offers advantages because it accepts that each person is unique and has his own
reality. It also studies the nature of human beings and their unique feelings and interpretations
of life experiences.
Concreteness

Qualitative research accepts that hypotheses are not always answered with a simple yes or no.
This allows researchers a wider horizon to study and explain through interpretation.
Qualitative research asks open-ended questions that solicit widely different answers from
different people. Answers and conclusions vary depending on multiple factors.
Assessments

Qualitative research offers advantages to designers when they are looking for new product
ideas. Performing qualitative research helps determine what customers are looking for in new
products. It helps understand customer needs, habits and preferences. Researchers use the
responses from qualitative research to take the study a step further. After the assessments are
complete, researchers might turn to quantitative research which helps assess whether the final
design product will work or not. With the hypothesis found through the assessments, they
conduct quantitative testing using mathematical analyses and other standard methods
quantitative research use

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5.02 Disadvantage
There has always been a back-and-forth debate among scientists as to how much value should
be placed in qualitative research. Qualitative research involves describing what is observed
during an experiment. Being more subjective than quantitative research , it is often used
during the early stages of a study to explore the problem at hand. There are disadvantages too
in qualitative research.
Hard to Reproduce
o

A disadvantage of qualitative data is that it is difficult for another person to interpret

and reproduce the results. For example, a mixture can be turned "blue" by a chemical, but
it is impossible to know if the exact shade of blue has been duplicated from a qualitative
description. This type of measurement is not always as precise as quantitative data.

As an Exploratory Tool

When a researcher may not necessarily know what is going to happen during an

experiment, she may make qualitative observations. This is useful because it will allow the
experimenter to recognize what elements to focus on and measure during the study. In
some ways, qualitative measurement shapes research. Because we can observe something
happening, we know what to quantify and try to explain.

"Richness" of Data

Qualitative data is useful because it can provide a deeper and more complex

understanding of what is going on in an experiment. It takes into account things like

context, quality and meaning. For example, numbers can quantify factual data about a
painting, but qualitative data can better describe how well done the piece is or how it
makes people feel.

Hard to Reproduce

A disadvantage of qualitative data is that it is difficult for another person to interpret

and reproduce the results. For example, a mixture can be turned "blue" by a chemical, but
it is impossible to know if the exact shade of blue has been duplicated from a qualitative
description. This type of measurement is not always as precise as quantitative data.

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Subjectivity

A major criticism of qualitative data is that it uses the researcher as the measuring tool

, and a human for the most part will always have bias in his judgment. For example, one
person might describe a brand of salsa as "hot," but another person may like spicy food
and only classify it as "mild." Subjectivity prevents researchers from drawing the general
conclusions that are needed to expand scientific knowledge, and it is one reason why
qualitative measurement alone cannot hold up to scrutiny.

6.00 Summary
Qualitative research emphasizes linguistic data, as opposed to numerical data . Research of
this type tends to be less objective than numerical data, yet it has the ability to describe
phenomena in real-world language. Qualitative research methods have the additional
advantage of gathering subjective data that can come directly from the source being
investigated. There are a handful of methods of qualitative research commonly used in many
fields of research. Form of the data collected can include interviews and group discussion
,observation and reflection field notes,various texts,pictures and other materials . Each type of
qualitative research is

suitable for

different

situations

and research

questions.

Qualitative methods are more flexible, informal and allow participants to give in-depth,
detailed answers. The researcher also has the opportunity to explore a participant's answers
and clear up any ambiguity before analyzing and publishing the collected data.In the
conventional view, qualitative methods produce information only on the particular cases
studied,and any more general conclusions are only propositions(informed assertions).

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References
http://www.ccs.neu.edu/course/is4800sp12/resources/qualmethods.pdf(acess 20Feb 2014)
http://www.ehow.com/info_8688755_qualitative-method.html#ixzz2vU4Ulkqy(acess 20 Feb
2014)
http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/qualmeth.php(acess 20 Feb 2014)
Creswell,J.W.(1994).Research design.Qualitative and Quantitave approaches.Thousand
Oaks,California:Sage
Bernard HR.Research Method in Anthropology,Second Edition.London:Sage
publication,1995
Denzim NK,Linconln Ys(eds),Handbook Of Qualititave Research.london.SagePublication
,2000
Pope C,Mays N,Qualitative Research.London:BMJ Books,2000

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