Research Methodology specifically for students with no previous experience of research and research methodology, the third edition of Research Methodology: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners integrates various quantitative and qualitative methodologies into eight practice-based steps, providing lots of examples throughout to link theory with practice. The writing style is simple and clear and the author presents this complex subject in a straightforward way that empowers readers to tackle research with confidence. This new edition has taken the bold step of breaking down the wall between quantitative and qualitative methods and provides methodologies for both modes of enquiry side-by- side in the eight-step process. The book has been revised and updated to include extended coverage of qualitative research methods in addition to existing comprehensive coverage of quantitative methods.
There are also brand new learning features such as reflective questions throughout the text to help students consolidate their knowledge. The book contains practical and easy-to-follow guidance on: • Formulating a research problem • Selecting a sample • Reviewing the literature • Ethical considerations in research • Choosing a study design • Displaying analysed data • Writing a research proposal • Writing a research report • Collecting and analysing • Research and practice evaluation. qualitative and quantitative data The book is essential reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students in the social sciences embarking on quantitative or qualitative research projects. Dr Ranjit Kumar taught at Curtin University of Technology and the University of Western Australia for 30 years.
He is currently a freelance researcher and evaluation consultant in Western Australia. Ranjit Kumar Cover iillustration & design by Naomi C Robinson 1 20/10/2010 2:30:09 PM SAGE has been part of the global academic community since 1965, supporting high quality research and learning that transforms society and our understanding of individuals, groups, and cultures. SAGE is the independent, innovative, natural home for authors, editors and societies who share our commitment and passion for the social sciences. Find out more at: www.com 00-Kumar-4061-Prelims.indd 2 20/10/2010 2:30:09 PM 3 20/10/2010 2:30:10 PM © Ranjit Kumar 1999, 2005, 2011 First edition published 1999 Second edition published 2005.
Reprinted 2007, 2008 (twice), 2009 (twice) This third edition published 2011 Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form, or by any means, only with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publishers. SAGE Publications Ltd 1 Oliver’s Yard 55 City Road London EC1Y 1SP SAGE Publications Inc. 2455 Teller Road Thousand Oaks, California 91320 SAGE Publications India Pvt Ltd B 1/I 1 Mohan Cooperative Industrial Area Mathura Road New Delhi 110 044 SAGE Publications Asia-Pacific Pte Ltd 33 Pekin Street #02-01 Far East Square Singapore 048763 Library of Congress Control Number available British Library Cataloguing in Publication data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978-1-84920-300-5 ISBN 978-1-84920-301-2 (pbk) Typeset by C&M Digitals (P) Ltd, Chennai, India Printed and bound in Great Britain by TJ International Ltd, Padstow, Cornwall Printed on paper from sustainable resources SGS 24 82 00-Kumar-4061-Prelims.indd 4 20/10/2010 2:30:10 PM v To my daughter, Parul 00-Kumar-4061-Prelims.indd 5 20/10/2010 2:30:10 PM 00-Kumar-4061-Prelims.indd 6 20/10/2010 2:30:10 PM Contents List of figures xv List of tables xviii Preface xix 1 Research: a way of thinking 1 Research: an integral part of your practice 1 Research: a way to gather evidence for your practice 4 Applications of research 4 Research: what does it mean? 5 The research process: characteristics and requirements 8 Types of research 9 Types of research: application perspective 10 Types of research: objectives perspective 10 Types of research: mode of enquiry perspective 11 Paradigms of research 14 Summary 15 2 The research process: a quick glance 17 The research process: an eight-step model 18 Phase I: deciding what to research 23 Step I: formulating a research problem 23 Phase II : planning a research study 23 Step II: conceptualising a research design 23 Step III: constructing an instrument for data collection 24 Step IV: selecting a sample 25 Step V: writing a research proposal 25 Phase III: conducting a research study 26 Step VI: collecting data 26 Step VII: processing and displaying data 26 Step VIII: writing a research report 27 Summary 27 00-Kumar-4061-Prelims.indd 7 20/10/2010 2:30:11 PM viii R e s e arc h M e t h o d o lo gy STEP I FORMULATING A RESEARCH PROBLEM 29 3 Reviewing the literature 31 The place of the literature review in research 31 Bringing clarity and focus to your research problem 32 Improving your research methodology 32 Broadening your knowledge base in your research area 33 Enabling you to contextualise your findings 33 How to review the literature 33 Searching for the existing literature 34 Reviewing the selected literature 37 Developing a theoretical framework 38 Developing a conceptual framework 40 Writing about the literature reviewed 40 Summary 42 4 Formulating a research problem 43 The research problem 44 The importance of formulating a research problem 44 Sources of research problems 45 Considerations in selecting a research problem 47 Steps in formulating a research problem 48 The formulation of research objectives 50 The study population 55 Establishing operational definitions 55 Formulating a research problem in qualitative research 57 Summary 58 5 Identifying variables 61 What is a variable? 62 The difference between a concept and a variable 63 Converting concepts into variables 64 Types of variable 66 From the viewpoint of causal relationship 66 From the viewpoint of the study design 71 From the viewpoint of the unit of measurement 72 Types of measurement scale 73 The nominal or classificatory scale 76 The ordinal or ranking scale 76 The interval scale 77 The ratio scale 77 Summary 78 00-Kumar-4061-Prelims.indd 8 20/10/2010 2:30:11 PM Co n t e n t s ix 6 Constructing hypotheses 81 The definition of a hypothesis 81 The functions of a hypothesis 83 The testing of a hypothesis 83 The characteristics of a hypothesis 84 Types of hypothesis 85 Errors in testing a hypothesis 87 Hypotheses in qualitative research 88 Summary 89 STEP II╇╇ CONCEPTUALISING A RESEARCH DESIGN 91 7 The research design 93 What is a research design? 94 The functions of a research design 94 The theory of causality and the research design 95 Summary 101 8 Selecting a study design 103 Differences between quantitative and qualitative study designs 103 Study designs in quantitative research 105 Study designs based on the number of contacts 105 Study designs based on the reference period 111 Study designs based on the nature of the investigation 113 Other designs commonly used in quantitative research 122 The cross-over comparative experimental design 123 The replicated cross-sectional design 124 Trend studies 124 Cohort studies 125 Panel studies 125 Blind studies 126 Double-blind studies 126 Study designs in qualitative research 126 Case study 126 Oral history 127 Focus groups/group interviews 127 Participant observation 128 Holistic research 129 Community discussion forums 129 Reflective journal log 130 Other commonly used philosophy-guided designs 130 Action research 131 00-Kumar-4061-Prelims.indd 9 20/10/2010 2:30:11 PM x R e s e arc h M e t h o d o lo gy Feminist research 132 Participatory and collaborative research enquiry 132 Summary 133 STEP III╇╇CONSTRUCTING AN INSTRUMENT FOR DATA COLLECTION 135 9 Selecting a method of data collection 137 Differences in the methods of data collection in quantitative and ╇╇ qualitative research 138 Major approaches to information gathering 138 Collecting data using primary sources 140 Observation 140 The interview 144 The questionnaire 145 Constructing a research instrument in quantitative research 156 Asking personal and sensitive questions 156 The order of questions 158 Pre-testing a research instrument 158 Prerequisites for data collection 159 Methods of data collection in qualitative research 159 Constructing a research instrument in qualitative research 162 Collecting data using secondary sources 163 Problems with using data from secondary sources 163 Summary 164 10 Collecting data using attitudinal scales 167 Measurement of attitudes in quantitative and qualitative research 167 Attitudinal scales in quantitative research 168 Functions of attitudinal scales 168 Difficulties in developing an attitudinal scale 169 Types of attitudinal scale 170 The summated rating or Likert scale 170 The equal-appearing interval or Thurstone scale 174 The cumulative or Guttman scale 175 Attitudinal scales and measurement scales 175 Attitudes and qualitative research 175 Summary 175 11 Establishing the validity and reliability of a research instrument 177 The concept of validity 178 Types of validity in quantitative research 179 Face and content validity 179 Concurrent and predictive validity 180 Construct validity 180 00-Kumar-4061-Prelims.indd 10 20/10/2010 2:30:11 PM CONTENTS xi The concept of reliability 181 Factors affecting the reliability of a research instrument 182 Methods of determining the reliability of an instrument in quantitative research 182 External consistency procedures 182 Internal consistency procedures 183 Validity and reliability in qualitative research 184 Summary 186 STEP IV╇╇ SELECTING A SAMPLE 189 12 Selecting a sample 191 The differences between sampling in quantitative and qualitative research 192 Sampling in quantitative research 193 The concept of sampling 193 Sampling terminology 194 Principles of sampling 194 Factors affecting the inferences drawn from a sample 197 Aims in selecting a sample 197 Types of sampling 197 Non-random/non-probability sampling designs in ╇╇ quantitative research 206 Systematic sampling design: a ‘mixed’ design 208 The calculation of sample size 209 Sampling in qualitative research 212 The concept of saturation point in qualitative research 213 Summary 213 STEP V╇╇ WRITING A RESEARCH PROPOSAL 215 13 How to write a research proposal 217 The research proposal in quantitative and qualitative research 217 Contents of a research proposal 218 Preamble/introduction 220 The problem 222 Objectives of the study 224 Hypotheses to be tested 226 Study design 227 The setting 230 Measurement procedures 230 Ethical issues 231 Sampling 231 Analysis of data 232 Structure of the report 235 Problems and limitations 236 00-Kumar-4061-Prelims.indd 11 20/10/2010 2:30:11 PM xii R e s e arc h M e t h o d o lo gy Appendix 237 Work schedule 237 Summary 237 STEP VI╇╇ COLLECTING DATA 239 14 Considering ethical issues in data collection 241 Ethics: the concept 241 Stakeholders in research 243 Ethical issues to consider concerning research participants 244 Collecting information 244 Seeking consent 244 Providing incentives 245 Seeking sensitive information 245 The possibility of causing harm to participants 245 Maintaining confidentiality 246 Ethical issues to consider relating to the researcher 246 Avoiding bias 246 Provision or deprivation of a treatment 246 Using inappropriate research methodology 247 Incorrect reporting 247 Inappropriate use of the information 247 Ethical issues regarding the sponsoring organisation 247 Restrictions imposed by the sponsoring organisation 247 The misuse of information 248 Summary 248 STEP VII╇╇ PROCESSING and displaying DATA 251 15 Processing data 253 Part one: Data processing in quantitative studies 255 Editing 255 Coding 256 Part two: Data processing in qualitative studies 277 Content analysis in qualitative research – an example 279 The role of statistics in research 288 Summary 288 16 Displaying data 291 Methods of communicating and displaying analysed data 291 Text 292 Tables 292 Graphs 297 Summary 308 00-Kumar-4061-Prelims.indd 12 20/10/2010 2:30:11 PM CONTENTS xiii STEP VIII╇╇ WRITING A RESEARCH REPORT 311 17 Writing a research report 313 Writing a research report 313 Developing an outline 314 Writing about a variable 319 Referencing 320 Writing a bibliography 321 Summary 321 18 Research methodology and practice evaluation 323 What is evaluation? 324 Why evaluation?
