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 research process consists of a number of closely related activities.
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.
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.

Steps in Research

However, the following order concerning various steps provides a useful

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procedural guideline regarding the research process:

Formulating the research problem
Extensive literature survey
Developing the hypothesis
Preparing the research design
Determining sample design
Collecting the data
Execution of the project
Analysis of data
Hypothesis testing
Generalizations and interpretation
Preparation of the report or presentation of the results ,i.e., Formal
write-up of conclusions reached.

Research Problem
The first step of a research process is to identify a problem. The

selection of a problem is governed by reflective thinking.

The normal human mind thinking may be classified into four
categories: convergent, divergent reflective and scientific thinking. In
reflective thinking individual conceived for a new solution for an old
problem, but scientific thinking is in terms of carefully organized
reflection.
A research problem, in general, refers to some difficulty which a
researcher experiences in the context of either a theoretical or practical
situation and wants to obtain a solution for the same. A research
problem does exist if the following conditions are met with:
There must be an individual (or a group or an organization), let us call
it I, to whom the problem can be attributed. The individual or the
organization, as the case may be, occupies an environment, say N,
which is defined by values of the uncontrolled variables.

Research Problem
There must be at least two courses of action, to be pursued. A course o

faction is defined by one or more values of the controlled variables. For

example, the number of items purchased at a specified time is said to
be one course of action.
There must be at least two possible outcomes, of action, of which one
should be preferable to the other. In other words, this means that there
must beat least one outcome that the researcher wants, i.e., an
objective.
The courses of action available must provides some chance of obtaining
the objective, but they cannot provide the same chance, otherwise the
choice would not matter.
Components of a Research Problem:
There must be an individual or a group which has some difficulty or the
problem.
There must be some objective(s) to be attained at. If one wants
nothing, one cannot have a problem.

Research Problem
There must be alternative means (or the courses of action) for obtaining

the objective(s)one wishes to attain. This means that there must be at least
two means available to a researcher for if he has no choice of means, he
cannot have a problem.
There must remain some doubt in the mind of a researcher with regard to
the selection of alternatives. This means that research must answer the
question concerning the relative efficiency of the possible alternatives.
There must be some environment(s) to which the difficulty pertains.
Thus, a research problem is one which requires a researcher to find out the
best solution for the given problem, i.e., to find out by which course of action
the objective can be attained optimally in the context of a given environment.

Research Design
The formidable problem that follows the task of defining the research

problem is the preparation of the design of the research project,

popularly known as the research design.
Decisions regarding what, where, when, how much, by what means
concerning an inquiry or a research study constitute a research design.
A research design is the arrangement of conditions for collection and
analysis of data in a manner that aims to combine relevance to the
research purpose with economy in procedure.
The research design is the conceptual structure within which research
is conducted; it constitutes the blueprint for the collection,
measurement and analysis of data.
As such the design includes an outline of what the researcher will do
from writing the hypothesis and its operational implications to the
final analysis of data.

Research Design
The designing decisions happen to be in respect of:
What is the study about?
Why is the study being made?
Where will the study be carried out?
What type of data is required?
Where can the required data be found?
What periods of time will the study include?
What will be the sample design?
What techniques of data collection will be used?
How will the data be analyzed?
In what style will the report be prepared?

Research Design
Keeping in view the above stated design decisions, one may split the
overall
research design into the following parts:
The Sampling Design: Deals with the method of selecting items to be
observed for the given study
The Observational Design: Relates to the conditions under which
the observations are to be made
The Statistical Design: Concerns with the question of how many
items are to be observed and how the information and data gathered
are to be analyzed;
The Operational Design: Deals with the techniques by which the
procedures specified in the sampling, statistical and observational
designs can be carried out.

Research Design
The important features of a research design are as under:
It is a plan that specifies the sources and types of information relevant
to the research problem.
It is a strategy specifying which approach will be used for gathering and
analyzing the data.
It also includes the time and cost budgets since most studies are done
under these two constraints.
In brief, research design must, at least, contain:
A clear statement of the research problem
Procedures and techniques to be used for gathering information
The population to be studied
Methods to be used in processing and analyzing data.

Types of Research Design

Research design refers to the framework or structure of an experiment

which can be classified into two broad categories: i) informal

experimental designs and ii) formal experimental designs.
Informal Experimental Designs are those designs that normally use a
less sophisticated form of analysis based on differences in magnitudes:
Before-and-after without control design
After-only with control design.
Before-and-after with control design.
Formal Experimental Designs offer relatively more control and use
precise statistical procedures for analysis:
Completely randomized design (C.R. Design).
Randomized block design (R.B. Design).
Latin square design (L.S. Design).
Factorial designs.

Basic Principles of Experimental Design

Professor Fisher has enumerated three principles of experimental

designs: (1) the Principle of Replication; (2) the Principle of

Randomization; and the (3) Principle of Local Control.
Replication
A treatment is repeated a number of times in order to obtain a more
reliable estimate than is possible from a single observation.
The function of replication is two-fold: (1) along with randomization, it
provides an estimate of the error to which comparisons are subjected, and
(2) along with local control it reduces the experimental error. The most
effective way to increase the precision of an experiment is to repeat the
experiment.
But replication beyond the limit may be impractical because it also
depends on experimental unit, time, cost, experimenter's ability, etc.
Replication broadens the scope of experiment.

Basic Principles of Experimental Design

Conceptually

replication does not present any difficulty, but

computationally it does, e.g., If an experiment requiring a two-way
analysis of variance is replicated, it will then require a three-way analysis
of variance since replication itself may be a source of variation in the data.
Randomization
The principle of randomization is essential for a valid estimate of the
experimental error and also to minimize bias in results. Cochran and cox
stated:randomization is analogous to insurance in that it is a precaution
against disturbances that mayor may not occur, and that may or may not
be serious if they do occur.
Analysis of variance holds the assumption of independence of variances,
which can be achieved by randomization, a device to achieve this
independence of errors. Randomization by itself is not sufficient for the
validity of the experiment. It only forms the basis for validity.
Randomization may be done by any technique by lottery or fisher bowl
technique or random number tables.

Basic Principles of Experimental Design

Through the application of the principle of randomization, we can have

a better estimate of the experimental error.

Local Control
Under it the extraneous factor, the known source of variability, is made
to vary deliberately over as wide a range as necessary and this needs to
be done in such a way that the variability it causes can be measured and
hence eliminated from the experimental error.
According to the principle of local control, the field is divided into
several homogeneous parts, known as blocks, and then each such block
is divided into parts equal to the number of treatments. Then the
treatments are randomly assigned to these parts of a block.
Dividing the field into several homogenous parts is known as blocking.
In general, blocks are the levels at which we hold an extraneous factor
fixed, so that its contribution to the total variability of the data can be
measured by means of a two-way analysis of variance.
The choice of size & shape of experimental units, environmental
conditions etc. have also some effect on experiment, causing errors,
which may be controlled by using analysis of co-variance also.

Importance of Research Design

Without a design, research study is just like the building construction

without any plan or map. The design enables us to answer research

questions as validly, objectively, precisely and economically as possible.
An experimental design sets up a framework for adequate tests of the
relations among variables and tells us in a sense what observations to
make, how to make them, and how to analyze the quantitative
representations of the observations.
Strictly speaking, design does not tell us precisely what to do, but
rather suggests the directions of observations making and analysis. A
design suggests which variables are active and which are assigned. We
can then act to manipulate the active variables and to control the
assigned variables.
A design also suggests, what type of statistical analysis to use and what
may be the inferences by a particular technique applied.
A design tells us how far we have been able to control the
experimental errors. Most technical function of an experimental
design is to control the error variances.

Characteristics of a Good Experimental Design

The essential characteristics of a good experimental design may be summarized

as follows
It will ensure that the observed treatment effects are unbiased estimates of
the true effects.
It will permit a quantitative description of the observed treatment effects
regarded as estimates of the true effects. It will ensure that the observed
treatment effects will have whatever degree of precision is required by the
broader purpose of the experiment
It will make possible an objective test of a specified hypothesis concerning the
true effects, that is, it will permit the computation of the relative frequency
with which the observed discrepancy between observation and hypothesis
would be exceeded if the hypotheses were true
It will be efficient, that is, it will satisfy these requirements at the minimum
cost broadly conceived.

Characteristics of a Good Experimental Design

The usefulness of an experimental is primarily depend upon many other

Factors too. The important decisions to be made in planning the experiment
are considered with:
The definition of the treatments.
The selection or exact definition of the population to be investigated
The selection of a criterion
The identification of the factors to be controlled and the level or levels at
which each is to be controlled
The final restatement of the problem
The selection of a specific experimental design.
These decisions are independent. A decision made a particular stage may
require modifications in previous tentative decisions, which may in turn
affect
other previous decisions etc. The selection of the design is usually the last
step taken, even it may suggest desirable modifications in other decisions.