RESEARCH BASICS

What is research? 

Research is a diligent (done with careful attention and effort) and systematic (following a system) search or study of a subject.  It is done order to either discover new facts or revise existing facts.

The difference between sample and population

Population

Population : In research, the term ‘population’ refers to the larger population which is of ‘interest’ to the researcher. For example, if a researcher is conducting a research on whether ‘Children in Mumbai watch more TV than Children in Chennai’, the ‘Population’ refers to all the children in Mumbai and Chennai, and not children in other cities, or children in India.

Sample

A sample is a part of the population, which is studied in the research. The sample is studied so that we can make inferences about the entire population to which the research pertains.

The researcher conducts the research on the sample and not the population because he usually does not have the resources in terms of time, money, manpower etc. to conduct the research on the entire population.

For example : If the researcher purports to study the TV viewing habits of all the children in Mumbai and Chennai, the population of TV viewing children in Mumbai and Chennai, may run into several millions. Therefore, he might conduct the research on a sample of 500 children in Chennai, and 500 children in Mumbai.

The three principles of research 

Empiricism

Empiricism is the principle which believes that knowledge can only be based on what is directly seen or heard. In research, only matter which is directly observed is admissible as data. Speculation and subjectivity should be reduced to a minimum.  The researcher must not be influenced by his own personal feelings, or prejudices.

Verifiability

In a research, any matter, which is not directly observed by the researcher is valid only if it has already been published by a reliable source. The researcher is not allowed to use hearsay, or vague information in his research. Also, the researcher must furnish evidence of the field work done by him. If there is a need for, contact details of the subjects on whom the research has been conducted  should be furnished.

Generalization

When a research is conducted on the sample, whatever results holds true for the sample must hold for the population as well. There is no point, in conducting a research on the sample if it cannot be generalized to the population.

One way to ensure this is to construct a representative sample. A representative sample is one which has the same breakdown as that of the population.                                    

Eg 1 :  If a population of 1 million has 80% old people and 20% young people, then the sample should also have 80% old people and 20% young people, and not 50% old people and 50% young people.

Eg. 2 : The population in a research consists of 10,000 people of which 2500 are North Indians, 2500 are South Indians, 2500 are East Indians and 2500 are West Indians.  That means that 25% of the population are North Indians, 25% of the population are South Indians, 25% are East Indians and 25% are West Indians.

A representative sample (say of 100 people), will contain people in the same proportion. i.e. 25% North Indians, 25% South Indians, 25% West Indians and 25% East Indians. So if the sample size (the total number of people in the sample) is 100, then there should be 25 North Indians, 25 South Indians, 25 West Indians and 25 East Indians.

The difference between Quantitative and Qualitative Research

While the difference between Quantitative and Qualitative research is not very clear, there are certain guidelines, which can be used to differentiate these two types of research :

 

Qualitative	Quantitative
Data is in the form of words, pictures or objects.	The data and final result can be expressed in the form of numbers
The aim is to describe : To answer questions such as How, why, what? etc.	The aim more often to count. To answer questions such as How many?
Subjective - individuals’ interpretation of events is importante	Objective – seeks precise measurement & analysis of target concepts, e.g., uses surveys, questionnaires etc.
Gives more details pertaining to the subject. Difficult to generalize.	Gives less in-depth information pertaining to the subject. Easier to generalize.
Researcher tends to become subjectively immersed in the subject.	Researcher tends to remains separated from the subject matter.

 

 

Selection of research problem 

The research problem is the basic question, the researcher is trying to answer through his research.

Eg. Does smoking in films cause teenagers to take up smoking?

Ø  The following guidelines are to be followed while selecting a research problem :

Ø  Your genuine interest in the subject

Ø  The degree to which research on this problem benefits the profession and society

Ø  The degree to which research on this problem will assist your professional goals and career objectives

Ø  The degree to which the research builds on your experience and knowledge

Ø  Ease of access to the population to be studied and the likelihood that they will be cooperative [if human]

Ø  Affordability – Can you afford the costs of the research?

Ø  Degree to which research is unique or fills a notable gap in the existing literature on the subject

Ø  Degree to which the research builds on and extends existing knowledge