Scientific Research 01 04

Introduction to Scientific
Research
About the subject
Lecturer
Attila Kajos Assistant Lecturer
Email: kajos@gamma.ttk.pte.hu
Room: Sport Centre Room no. 10
Form of teaching: Lecture/seminar

Assesment
Activity in class
Prepare of a class paper

About the subject
Evaluation
Class paper 100% (via email till 30.11.2012)
Own research plan according to the research plan sample
discussed during the second class (in Portuguese!!!)
Summary of 2 or 3 secondary litherature in maximum of 3 pages in
English
Brief summary of the research plan in English (min. 1 , max 3
pages)

Marks
Excelllent (5) 86% -
Good (4) 7685%
Satisfactory (3) 66-75%
Pass (2) 51-65%
Fail (1) 0-50%

Course Objectives
1. About scientific research
1. Types of research
2. Basic Definitions
3. Research plan
2. Research procedures
1. Topic selecting
2. Literature review
3. Using of Databases
4. Making Hypothesis(es)
5. Conceptualization
6. Operalization
3. Right before the research
1. Sampling methods

Course Objectives
4. Research Methodology
1. Qualitative methods
2. Quantitative methods
5. How to do an interview
6. How to prepare a survey
7. How to prepare the presentation
Scientific research is
A systematic, controlled, empirical, and critical
investigation of hypothetical propositions about the
presumed relations among observed phenomena.

All research begins with a basic question or
proposition about a specific phenomenon
Why people doing something?
How they think about something?
What will change, if I change something important or
seemly less important?
What are the people thinking about thing?
Etc.
Scientific Research
Main Goal
Determination of a new, generally usable data, cnnection
os casuation
Characteristics (Cseremely-Gergely-Koltay-Tth, 1999)
It can be generalised
Reproducable
Proveable
Coherent (without contradiction)
Analitical
Simple (compact, elegant)
Important (Useful)
Deepness, connectivity (to other subjects)
2014.05.23. Kajos Attila tanrsegd - Testnevels- s Sporttudomnyi Intzet
Traditional science model (Babbie)
1. Theory
Deduction
Induction
Hypothesis
2. Operationalization
The process of developing operational definitions, or
specifying the exact operations involved in measuring a
variable.
Identifying the data collection methods(quantitative or
qualitative, and which)
3. Observation
Looking at aspects and making measurements on what
what is seen
Definitions
Theory: proposition to explain social regularity
Hypothesis: expectation derived from theory
Method: translate into testable hypotheses
Deduction: using theory to derive hypotheses
Induction: reformulating theory
1. Defining the problem:
Any problem related to the society, nature, etc. which recognition is
seems important or necessary. Eg. The social reasons and causes of
alcoholism.

2. Theoretical Hypothesis(es):
Hypothesis is a formal statement regarding the relationship between
variables, and it is tested directly. The predicted relationship between
the variables is either true or false.
In order to create a hypothesis we can use the collected secondary data,
but we can develop new ones as well.
E.g. Alcoholism is more typical around people with poor family
background.

3. Operationalization:
This is simply the specification of the steps, procedures, or operations
that you will go through in actually identifying and measuring the
variables you want to observe.
How we measure alcoholism, how we measure the familiar background?

Step by Step(Popper)
4. Data collection methods
Secondary analysis of statistical data
Document analysis
Observation (from ouside or direct observation)
Case study
Experiment
Personal interview
Mlyinterj, letrajzi mdszer, ktetlen beszlgets
Survey (questionaire)
5. Analysis
Every analysis should be carefully planned and performed according
to guidelines designed for that analysis. Once the computations have
been completed, the researcher must "step back" and consider what
has been discovered. The results must be analyzed with reference to
their external validity and the likelihood of their accuracy.
6. Publishing the results

Types of research
Basic research
Its goal is to collect knowledge, to make theretical research
It is coping with the knowing and lawfulness of a
phenomena
Mainly theoratical, but gives framework or basics of
empirical researches
Applied research
Researching the practical implementation of the findings
of the basic researches
Development research
Their main goal is to develop, improve the current
theories, knowledge, principles, methods, tools, etc.
What kind of logic we can use
Deductive logic (or theory creation)
We are creating assumptions, hypothesises from
knowlidge already available. We are going from general to
factual.

Inductive logic
We are starting from an observation, and try to find the
general principles, theories behind that exact phenomena.
Deductive logic
1. Choose a question that you want to understand.
2. Make a list (inventory)
Find out what is known about the relationships among
those variables.
The phase of secondary research.
3. Creating your own theory
1. Specify the topic
2. Specify the range of phenomena your theory addresses
3. Identify and specify your major concepts and variables
4. Find out what is known about the relationships among
those variables
5. Reason logically from those relationships to the specific
topic you are studying
Inductive theory creation
Start with observations and then develop a
generalization the explains the relationships between
the objects observed

Example
Observe, collect data about crime situation
Analyze patterns explain how crime is encouraged or
discouraged.
opportunity blocking methods to reduce gain and increase
cost associated with crime act
Implement the plan
Evaluate the results

Scientific research by its goals
Exploratory research
Determine all the crieria deciding
Descriptive research
Describe the population in order of a statistical variable
Causal research

Exploratory research
Its objective of giving a better understanding of the
research problem
This includes helping to identify the variables which
should be measured within the study.
When we have little understanding of the topic we
find it impossible to formulate hypotheses without
some exploratory research.
The techniques of exploratory research include
reviews of secondary sources of data,
Informal interviews and
focus group interviews.
Descriptive research
Descriptive research is concerned with describing the
characteristics of the chosen group, sample or
population.
We are only watching from outside, we do not
interrupt.
Sometimes is helps the preparation of a latter causal
research.
Important part for the data collection methods
Main methods used
Survey
Observation
Causal research
Causal research attempts to deal with the why
questions.
This type of research is employed when there the
objective is to understand to know why a change in one
variable brings about a change in another variable.
Types of causal relationships
No relationship
Deterministic relationship
The change of a variable determines the change of another variable.
The connection is exlusive, which means no other variable is
determining the movement of the affected (dependent) variable.
Stochastic relationship
Probability connection. The relationship is trend like, but not
obligatory. We can decide weather it is there, but it is not
unequivocally determinable. More independent variables cause the
changes in the moving of the dependent variable.
Researches by time dimesnions
Cross sectional research
involve observation of all of a population, or a representative subset, at
one specific point in time.
Pros: Cheaper, Needs less time
Cons: Obscure, hard to make generalisations from it, results can obsole
Longitudinal research
Research study that involves repeated observations of the same variables
over long periods of time often many decades.
Longitudinal studies make observing changes more accurate, and they are
applied in various other fields.
Types
Non overlaping study
Same questions, but the sample always changes
Overlaping study
Same questions, and the some people is the same in the sample, but not
everybody.
Panel study
Sample a cross-section, and survey it at (usually regular) intervals.
Methods
Secondary reserach
Data what was not collected in order to answer our
question, but somehow related to it.
Pros: Time efficient, easy, cheap, can help to evaluate the
problem, etc.
Cons: In can be out of date, not gives exact answer to our
questions, not collected by our standards, etc.
Primary research
Data collected by the researcher in order to answer his/her
specific question, to fulfil the goal of the study
Pros: More proper, gibes answers to our problem
Cons: Harder, slower, can be expensive, conplex, needs
proper preparation and analysis.
Types of primary research
Qualitative study
Observation
Questioning
Interviews
Focus groups
Experiment
Sociometric
Quantitative research
Questioning
Krdv (survey)
Experiment

The typical empirical research
1. Select a problem.
2. Review existing research and theory (when
relevant).
3. Develop hypotheses or research questions.
4. Determine the appropriate population and sample
5. Determine an appropriate methodology/research
design.
6. Collect relevant data.
7. Analyze and interpret the results.
8. Present the results in appropriate form.
9. Replicate the study (when necessary).

The students scientific research: The thesis
Process
Select a topic
Setting of research goal(s)
Literature search and review (for existing theory, methods
used before, etc.)
Making a scheme (draft or brief)
Secondary research (analyzing and evaluating the
literature)
Primary research (if necessary)
Writing the thesis
CHECKING AND CORRECTING!!!
Thesis Presentation and Defence

The Thesis
Usual build-up
Title page
Table of content
List of Figures / Tables (if needed)
Introduction
Why we choose the topic?
What it can be used for?
Whx is it something new?
Short introduction of the methods used, the logical build-up of the thesis, short
abstract of the chapters, acknowledgement
Literature review
Methods
Empirical research
Results
Discussion
Coclusions
Recommendations
Acknowledgement
References
Appendices

Selecting the research topic
Your own topic of interest
Personal motivation
Environmental factor (where sbody work)
An area well known
An interesting problem
Practical usability
We only choose the topic if
We are interested in the problem/topic/field

If it is not very important for our consulent, but not
for us

We are knowing or willing to get know the topic or

We are working on that field or

We know the theoretical/literature background
What to do, when we are enable to choose
Speak with
Experts of the selected topics (people we know, our
teachers, etc.)
Friends, other students

Read
Academic journals
Periodicals
Newsweeklies
Everyday encounters

Literature review, methods,
database
Kajos Attila tanrsegd - Testnevels- s
Sporttudomnyi Intzet
Literature search
The review
provides information about
what was done,
how it was done, and
what results were generated.
the literature review as one of the most important steps in the
research process because it not only
allows them to learn from (and eventually add to) previous research
data
but also saves time, effort, and money.
Questions
1. What type of research has been done in the area?
2. What has been found in previous studies?
3. What suggestions do other researchers make for further study?
4. What has not been investigated?
5. How can the proposed study add to our knowledge of the area?
6. What research methods were used in previous studies?
Literature revies
Criterions
The source must be the exact standard
Adequate for the purpose (other sources are appropriate for a
BSc(BA) or MSc(MA) thesis, an academic journals article or a PhD
thesis
Academic standard
Reliability of the source
The author and/or publisher
Academic journals
Date of the publication (how fresh)
Literature research
Every organized data collection activities in order of
the given goal.
Places of research
Historical archives
Library research (books, journals not online form)
Online database research (online database of books and
journals)
Statistic databases (e.g. Eurostat)
How to search for literature
Keywords
Important to find the proper keywords
Keywords in the relevant articles
Keywords defined by us.
First always go through the abstracts
Always look through the References (snowball
method)

Online sources
Pros
Always reachable
Many free content (e.g. through university network)
Cons
Not always verified
Everybody can upload information
The selection of the available literature is sometimes very
hard.


Source: OLeary, 2004
Science Direct

Springer Link


Google Scholar

PuBMed
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entr
ez?db=pubmed
Other important statistical databases
Eurostat
http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/euro
stat/home
Other EU databases
http://europa.eu/documentation/statistics-
polls/index_hu.htm
Eurobarometer
http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/index_en.htm
References
Provides information about the author
It gives a hint
About the quality and understanding of the researched
topic
Professional authenticity
The freshness of the processed literature
Referencing is important, because
Every view has history
Every statement and opinions must be proven
The original sources must be retrievable

Plagiarism
"wrongful appropriation," "close imitation," or
"purloining and publication"

of another author's "language, thoughts, ideas, or
expressions," and the representation of them as
one's own original work

Every form of plagiarism is forbiden.

That is why we must avoid it by using proper
bibliographic data and exact references to the
original information source.

Types of references
Inset reference
Word by word referencing
In these cases we put the sentence(s) between quotation marks
and after it we name the author(s) and the year of the document
(Eusebio, 1966)
It must not be more than few sentences.
We mainly use it for definitions, important statements.
Content reference
We take the essence of a document, text or larger section.
We write the author into the sentence. E.g. In Luis Figo (2001)
opinion
We write down the author and the year of publication e.g. (Vitor
Baia, 1996)

How we reference inset
Individual works
(Liedson, 2010)
Co-author works
(Tiago Viana, 2000)
With more than three authors
(Ronaldo et al. 1996)
Edited book
(Velsos ed., 2002), (Abel Xavier-Nani, 2010)
More publications from one author
Nuno Gomes (2005a), Nuno Gomes (2005b)
Publication by an organization
(WTO, 1999)
References after the text
Only those references which was also used in the
text.

References
Individual works
Author (Year): Title of the Book. Publisher, Place published.
Works with two authors
Author Author (Year): Title of the Book. Publisher, Place
published.
Edited book
Editor(s) (ed(s).) (Year): Title of the Book. Publisher, Place
published.
Part of work
Author(s) (Year): Title of the article. In: Editor(s) (ed(s).) (Year):
Title of the Book. Publisher, Place published. pages
Book without authos
Title of the Book. Publisher, Place published
References
Journal article
Author(s) (Year): Title of the article. Name of the Journal,
edition, number, pages (pp. From-to)
Online Source
Author(s) (Year): Title of the article. Name of the
homepage, URL address, time of download
Figures and Tables
The source always must be indicated
Every Figure and Table must have a Title, and the
original author and publications date with page
number must stated below the figure or article
Source: Hilrio, 1999
If it is your own work, then
Source: Own construction/calculation/design/etc.
You must reference every Figure or Table used in the
text!
E.g. As Figure no.3 suggests
The population of Hungary droped in the last ten years
(Table no.3)
Right before data
collection
Kajos Attila Egytemi tanrsegd
Course Objectives
Hypothesis
Conceptualization
Operationalization
Sampling
Hypothesis
Based on
Experience
Literature research
Observing the research problem
A hypothesis is an idea or proposition that can be
tested by observations or experiments, about the
natural world.
In order to be considered scientific, hypotheses are
subject to scientific evaluation and must be
falsifiable, which means that they are worded in such
a way that they can be proven to be incorrect.
The hypothesis
A good hypothesis is based on sound reasoning.
Your hypothesis should be based on previous research.
The hypothesis should follow the most likely outcome, not the exceptional
outcome.
A good hypothesis provides a reasonable explanation for the
predicted outcome.
Do not look for unrealistic explanations.
A good hypothesis clearly states the relationship between the
defined variables.
Clear, simply written hypothesis is easier to test.
Do not be vague. (unsure)
A good hypothesis defines the variables in easy to measure terms.
Who are the participants?
What is different or will be different in your test?
What is the effect?
A good hypothesis is testable in a reasonable amount of time.
Do not plan a test that will take longer than your class project.
Conceptualization
Conceptualization
In conducting a study according to the scientific
method, researchers need to have a clear
understanding of what they are investigating, how
the phenomenon can be measured or observed, and
what procedures are required to test the
observations or measurements.

Conceptualization of the research problem in
question and a logical development of procedural
steps are necessary to have any hope of answering a
research question or hypothesis.
Conceptualization
How to do it?
First define and then operationalize (which is one way of
defining concepts).
1. Definition by synonym or linguistic definition (What is democracy?),
2. Definition by classification, (example: classification of political
cultures)
3. Definition by enumeration (What is OPEC?),
4. Definition by example, Ex. Consolidated democracy such as Britain
5. Definition by exclusion, Ex. By 'research' I do not mean going to the
drugstore, picking up a magazine, and copying the ideas and words
of the first article you see that looks like it might acceptable enough
to make into a speech." This statement obviously means that such
practice is forbidden.
6. Definition by measurable indicators (operationalization). Ex.
"intelligence" is often defined as the score one gets on an
intelligence test.

Conceptualization
Second step
Creating dimensions
The dimensions means the main factors of our concept.
It is important, that these divisions should have no
overlaps.
The dimensions of the society
Place of work
Economic cicumstances
Education
Place of living

Conceptualization
Third step
Creating indicators (variables)
Dimensions can be interpret through indicators
The higher the nuber, the better
The indicators of a persons economic circumstances
Level of income
Standard of living
Owned property
Etc.

Other example

Social Status

Power Privilege Prestige
Indicators
O E I G R E A B R
Income
Possessions, Fashion, Teeth, Self-Report,
Jewelry, etc.
Operationalization
Operationalization
The process of specifying the operations that will
indicate the value of cases on a variable
The Measure (Or observation scheme)
The Application
Self administered questionnaire
Male
E-Mail
Interview
Face-to-face
Phone
Scoring/ Coding/ Scaling
Exapmle
Operationalize the effects of Sending Flowers and
Get well cards to a Patient, as a method of
Increasing Health.
How will we measure Increasing
Healthof Patients ?
Shorter hospital stays Operationalized
as Days spent in the hospital
Normal heart rates and blood pressures
Operationalized in Beats per minute and Diastolic
and systolic pressures.
Increased morale Operationalized by asking
patients a series of questions about their attitude,
current outlook, emotions
Another example
Economic circumstance (dimension)
Income (indicator)
Q: How much is your monthly wage?
A: .. EUR

Sampling
Definitions
Population
a group or class of subjects, variables, concepts, or
phenomena(pl. Population of Portugal, The students of
University of Coimbra, the players of a sport club, etc.)
Sample
is a subset of the population that is taken fromthe entire
population
Parameter
A decisive characteristic of the population(pl. Partition of
sex, age, educational, etc. In the population)
Estimate
The opinion developed in virtue of the sample.

Questions of sampling
The size of the population
In small populations the questioning of the entire
population is available
Time, human resource and money available for the
research
If the entire population is diffused or not available, than it
could be impossible or expensive.
Purpose and method of the research
Survey asking as many individual as possible
Interview Trying to ask the most significat ones
Concept
Representative sample
A subset of a statistical population that accurately reflects
the members of the entire population. A representative
sample should be an unbiased indication of what the
population is like.
For this, we must know
The characteristics of the population
The exact composition of the population
Do we have these information?
If yes, we use probability samples
If no, we use non-probability samples
Research errors

Sampling error
Too small sample
We do not inspecting the original population, but only a
fraction of it (Martian)

Non sampling error
Errors in the data entry

Probability sampling
Simple Random Sample
Each subject or unit in the population has an equal chance
of being selected. If a subject or unit is drawn from the
population and removed from subsequent selections, the
procedure is known as random sampling without
replacement the most widely used random sampling
method.
Advantages
1. Detailed knowledge of the population is not required.
2. External validity may be statistically inferred.
3. A representative group is easily obtainable.
4. The possibility of classification error is eliminated.
Disadvantages
1. A list of the population must be compiled.
2. A representative sample may not result in all cases.
3. The procedure can be more expensive than other methods.
Probability sampling
Systematic Sample
We are providing the equal chances by selecting every e.g. 10th element
of the population.
But if we are sorting the sample in some criteria, then representativity is
not fulfiled.
Advantages
1. Selection is easy.
2. Selection can be more accurate than in a simple random sample.
3. The procedure is generally inexpensive
Disadvantages
1. A complete list of the population must be obtained.
2. Periodicity may bias the process
Stratified sample
A stratified sample is the approach used when adequate representation
from a sub sample is desired.
The characteristics of the sub sample (strata or segment) may include
almost any variable: age, sex, religion, income level, or even individuals
who listen to specific radio stations or read certain magazines.
The strata may be defined by an almost unlimited number of
characteristics; however, each additional variable or characteristic makes
the sub sample more difficult to find.
Probability sample
Cluster Sample
Select the sample in groups or categories.
With cluster sampling, one can divide the state into
districts, counties, or zip code areas and select groups of
people from these areas.

Nonprobability sample
Not representative sample method
Available sample (also known as convenience sample)
Is a collection of readily accessible subjects for study, such as a group
of students enrolled in an introductory mass mediacourse, or shoppers
in a mall.
Although available samples can be helpful in collecting exploratory
information and may produce useful data in some instances, the
samples are problematic because they contain unknown quantities of
error.
Researchers need to consider the positive and negative qualities of
available samples before using them in a research study.
Quota Sampling
a non-probability sampling technique wherein the researcher ensures
equal or proportionate representation of subjects depending on which
trait is considered as basis of the quota.
For example, if basis of the quota is college year level and the
researcher needs equal representation, with a sample size of 100, he
must select 25 1st year students, another 25 2nd year students, 25 3rd
year and 25 4th year students. The bases of the quota are usually age,
gender, education, race, religion and socioeconomic status.

Nonprobability sample
Judgmental (purposive) sampling
In this type of sampling, subjects are chosen to be part of the sample
with a specific purpose in mind.
With judgmental sampling, the researcher believes that some subjects
are more fit for the research compared to other individuals. This is the
reason why they are purposively chosen as subjects
Consecutive sampling
Very similar to convenience sampling except that it seeks to include
ALL accessible subjects as part of the sample.
This non-probability sampling technique can be considered as the best
of all non-probability samples because it includes all subjects that are
available that makes the sample a better representation of the entire
population.
Snowball sampling
Snowball Sampling is a method used to obtain research and
knowledge, from extended associations, through previous
acquaintances,
Snowball sampling uses recommendations to find people with the
specific range of skills that has been determined as being useful.
When to use non-probability sampling
This type of sampling can be used when demonstrating
that a particular trait exists in the population.
It can also be used when the researcher aims to do a
qualitative, pilot or exploratory study.
It can be used when randomization is impossible like
when the population is almost limitless.
It can be used when the research does not aim to
generate results that will be used to create
generalizations pertaining to the entire population.
It is also useful when the researcher has limited budget,
time and workforce.
This technique can also be used in an initial study which
will be carried out again using a randomized, probability
sampling.

Sample size
Always depends on the data collection method used

Qualitative
In case of depth interview
Few. Important that every group should be involved.
Professional interview
We should ask as many professionals as we can, in order to have
the most adequate results.
Not more than 100 individuals
Sample size
Quantitative

A sample under 30-40 is not statistically significant.

More than 100 (a sample of 400 is satisfactory).
Sample size
The size of the sample required for a study depends
on at least one or more of the following seven
points:
(1) project type,
(2) project purpose,
(3) project complexity,
(4) amount of error willing to be tolerated,
(5) time constraints,
(6) financial constraints, and
(7) previous research in the area.

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Introduction to Scientific

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