1. Lecture 1 - Introduction to Research Method

phương pháp nghiên cứu khoa học

Lecture 1 – Introduction to

research methodology

What is research?

• The systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions.

• Searching it again and again means Re-search Research is

defined as human activity based on intellectual application in the investigation of matter.

• The primary purpose for applied research is discovering,

interpreting, and the development of methods and systems

for the advancement of human knowledge on a wide variety

of scientific matters of our world and the universe

Elements of good research?

1 Clearly defined Purpose

•The problem to be studied should be stated

clearly and unambiguously.

•The statement of the problem (usually 1-2

pages) should include its scope, and the precise

meanings of all words and terms significant to the research

Elements of good research?

The Research Process?

1 Define the research problem

– Formulate and clarify the research topic.

– Develop research objectives & questions.

– Identify scope and significance of the study.

2 Critically review the literature

– Review concepts and theories.

– Review previous study findings.

– Develop a theoretical/conceptual framework.

The Research Process?

3 Formulate your research design

– Understand your philosophy and approach – Develop data collection and sampling design – Develop instrument and pilot-test it.

4 Collect data

– Negotiate access.

– Observe ethical considerations.

– Aim for data completeness.

The Research Process?

5 Analyse and interpret the data

– Prepare data for analysis.

– Apply appropriate analytical techniques.

– Use suitable data presentation formats.

6 Report-writing and presentation

– Address your research questions.

– Relate your results/findings to the literature

(theories and previous studies).

– Provide management recommendations.

1 Defining the research

problem

• A research problem can be defined as any situation where a

gap exists between the actual and desired ideal states.

• It could be a management dilemma or difficulty which a

researcher identifies in the context of either a theoretical or practical situation and wants to obtain a solution or

explanation for the same.

• A research problem is often triggered by a question, curiosity

or uncertainty in the mind of the researcher regarding some aspect of the business/organizational environment.

1 Defining the research

problem

• This is followed by exploration of relevant published sources

on the subject.

• An analytical review of existing literature helps the

researcher to clarify the overall research question or

research purpose

• In one sentence the researcher should be able to say what is

to be achieved by conducting the study.

1 Defining the research

problem

Examples

1 The purpose of the study is to identify and analyze the

factors that affect the performance of women entrepreneurs

in Mekong delta.

2 The objective of the study was to establish the talent

retention strategies of Generation Z employees in the Viettel company.

3

1 Defining the research

problem

The problem statement:

•The problem statement introduces the key problem that is addressed in the research study It is a clear, precise and

succinct statement of the specific issue that a researcher

wishes to investigate.

•In addition, is it relevant, feasible and interesting?

E.g:

• Climate change seriously affect farmers’ income;

• Shirmp mortality rate is increasing

1 Defining the research

problem

Research objectives and questions:

•The objectives constitute the subcomponents which together constitute the overall research question/research purpose.

•In developing research questions, consider:

– Internal environment (organization).

– External environment (industry).

1 Defining the research

problem

Research objectives and questions:

Example:

Research Purpose: The objective of the study is to determine talent

retention strategies of Generation Z employees in the Viettel company.

1 Defining the research

problem

Research objectives:

The formulation of objectives will help you to:

– Focus the study

– Avoid the collection of unnecessary data

– Organise the study into clearly defined phases (process) and sections (structure).

1 Defining the research

problem

Research objectives:

Note:

•In the examination of your research project, the results will

be evaluated by the objectives Clear objectives therefore greatly enhance the successful evaluation of your research project.

=> Research questions follow directly from research

objectives

1 Defining the research

1 Defining the research

2 Critically review the literature

Why doing the literature review?

– Review concepts and theories.

– Review previous study findings.

– Develop a theoretical/conceptual

framework.

2 Critically review the literature

Why is theory important?

•Theory informs practice It may also inform your

research question (Why questions)

•Theory provides a set of variables or concepts that you can test to determine whether, how and why they are related in the context of your own research

2 Critically review the literature

Why is theory important?

• If you adopt a clear theoretical position that you will test through the formulation of hypotheses, your

research project will be theory-driven and you will be using a deductive (diễn dịch/suy diễn) approach

• If you wish to explore the data collected and develop

a theoretical explanation, you will be adopting an

inductive (quy nạp) approach

2 Critically review the literature

Why is theory important?

• It is crucial to be able to explain how variables or

concepts are related and why they are related (This

distinguishes research reports from consultancy

reports)

• Research questions that encourage the production of

theoretical explanations are favoured over descriptive

outcomes (Inferential vs descriptive statistics)

2 Critically review the literature

Conceptual Framework

2 Critically review the literature

Conceptual Framework

•A conceptual framework is an analytical tool with several variables

and contexts It can be applied in different categories of work where an overall picture is needed It is used to make conceptual distinctions and organize ideas Strong conceptual frameworks capture something real and do this in a way that is easy to remember and apply.

•The theoretical and conceptual framework explains the path of a

research and grounds it firmly in theoretical constructs The overall aim

of the two frameworks is to make research findings more meaningful, acceptable to the theoretical constructs in the research field and

ensures generalizability

2 Critically review the literature

Conceptual Framework

3 Formulate your research design

Why do you need to formulate the research design?

– Understand your philosophy and approach

– Develop data collection and sampling design

– Develop instrument and pilot-test it

3 Formulate your research

design

• The Research Design is the blueprint for fulfilling

objectives and answering questions.

• It involves asking questions such as:

– What type of data will be collected: Numerical figures or Words and images?

– What design is most appropriate: Experiment, Survey,

Narrative Inquiry or Case Study?

– What methods will be used in the research: questionnaires

or interviews?

3 Formulate your research

design

Other relevant questions:

– Should all relevant data be collected at one time

(cross-sectional) or at regular intervals over a period of time (longitudinal)?

– How will the data be analyzed?

– How will reliability and validity be achieved?

– What ethical considerations should apply?

3 Formulate your research

design

Operationalizing variables:

• The conceptual framework identifies the variables for measurement

• These variables need to be operationalized i.e

identifying the observable and measurable aspects

• The design of the instrument should ensure that all

the measurable aspects of the variables have been

captured

3 Formulate your research design

Operationalizing variables:

3 Formulate your research

design

Sampling Design:

A sample is a part of the target population, carefully

selected to represent that population

– Who will be interviewed/ complete the

questionnaire?

– How many people/ institutions will be involved?

– If using published information, how many records will

be inspected? For what period of time?

3 Formulate your research design

Sampling Design: Examples

3 Formulate your research

design

Variable Measurement:

These questions are actually asked to respondents and appear in the questionnaire or interview guide.

Example: Under career management strategy

1 Provision of learning opportunities

2 Job rotation for young employees

3 Challenging assignments

4 Fair and equal opportunities to grow

5 Awareness of career paths/prospects

4 Data Collection

What should you care about collecting data?

– Negotiate access

– Observe ethical considerations

– Aim for data completeness

4 Data Collection

Pilot testing

• Pilot testing is conducted to detect weaknesses in design and instrumentation and to provide proxy

data for selection of an appropriate sampling design

• It should draw subjects from the target population

and simulate procedures and protocols that have

been designed for data collection

4 Data Collection

Pilot testing

• Where the target population is small, pretesting may be conducted using colleagues or surrogate respondents (similar in profile but different from

actual respondents) to help refine the measuring

instrument.

4 Data Collection

Data Collection:

•Data = the facts presented to the researcher from

the study environment

•In collecting data, consider the following:

– Data can be abstract: e.g., “Our staff productivity is

higher than industry average because our employees are highly motivated.”

– What do these terms mean? How are they different from what is done by other companies?

4 Data Collection

Data Collection:

– Data should be verifiable: The research questions

should consistently produce similar results

– Data capturing can be elusive due to the speed with

which events occur, the ability of respondents to

remember facts and the reality that opinions,

preferences and attitudes vary with the passage of

time

4 Data Collection

Data Collection:

– If possible, the research study should draw from

recent occurrences, to minimize compromising

the reliability of the data due to inability to recall

information.

5 Analyse and interpret the data

What should you do?

– Prepare data for analysis.

– Apply appropriate analytical techniques.

– Use suitable data presentation formats.

5 Analyse and interpret the data

Analysis and Discussion:

• Data analysis involves reducing accumulated data

to a manageable size, developing summaries and

applying statistical techniques.

• The Discussion involves:

– answering the research questions

– explaining any variations in the findings

– comparing research findings to previous studies

5 Analyse and interpret the

data

Generalization and Interpretation:

• If there appears to be patterns and trends in the

results/findings, then generalizations can be made, which is the value of research

– In Quantitative research, we refer to statistical generalizations: extrapolating results from a sample to the population.

– In Qualitative research, analytical generalizations apply:

transferring concepts to other study populations or settings

5 Analyse and interpret the data

Generalization and Interpretation:

• The researcher may seek to explain the

findings on the basis of some theory This is

known as interpretation The process of

interpretation often triggers off new

questions which lead to further research

6 Report-writing and

presentation

What should you focus on?

– Address your research questions.

– Relate your results/findings to the literature (theories and previous studies).

– Provide management recommendations.

6 Report-writing and

presentation

1 Front Matter: An abstract, table of contents, declaration, acknowledgements, lists of

figures, list of tables

2 Body of the report – Background, research problem, objectives and questions, literature review, research methodology, findings,

discussions, conclusions and

recommendations

6 Report-writing and

presentation

(such as introduction letter, research

instrument(s), permission to undertake the

research, raw data).