BOOK REVIEW: FUNDAMENTALS OF RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND STATISTICS PDF

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BOOK REVIEW FUNDAMENTALS OF RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND STATISTICS DR. YOGESH KUMAR SINGH AWAIS SIDDIQUE MPHIL-I RESEARCH METHODOLGY COURSE CONVENER: MR. QANDEEL SCHOOL OF POLITICS AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, QAU Contents FUNDAMENTAL OF RESEARCH METODOLOGY AND STATISTICS .................................

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BOOK REVIEW FUNDAMENTALS OF RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND STATISTICS DR. YOGESH KUMAR SINGH

AWAIS SIDDIQUE MPHIL-I RESEARCH METHODOLGY COURSE CONVENER: MR. QANDEEL SCHOOL OF POLITICS AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, QAU

Contents FUNDAMENTAL OF RESEARCH METODOLOGY AND STATISTICS .................................................................. 2 REVIEW: ........................................................................................................................................................ 2 Chapter–1: Perception of Research .......................................................................................................... 2 Chapter–2: Assortment of a Problem ....................................................................................................... 6 Chapter–3: Appraise of Related Literature ............................................................................................... 8 Chapter–4: Foundation of Hypothesis .................................................................................................... 10 Chapter–5: Research Planning and Sampling ......................................................................................... 13 Chapter–6: Survey Method ..................................................................................................................... 14 Chapter–7: Historical Method ................................................................................................................ 16 Chapter–8: Philosophical Method .......................................................................................................... 18 Chapter–9: Experimental Method .......................................................................................................... 19 Chapter–10: Case Study Method ............................................................................................................ 20 Chapter–13: Tools of Research ............................................................................................................... 21 Chapter–14: Collection of Data............................................................................................................... 23 Chapter–15: Analysis of Data .................................................................................................................. 24 Chapter–16: Research Report ................................................................................................................. 25 BOOK s C‘ITICAL ‘EVIEW: ...................................................................................................................... 27

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FUNDAMENTAL OF RESEARCH METODOLOGY AND STATISTICS Author: YOUGESH KUMAR SINGH Lecturer at Department of Education, Mahata Gandhi Chirkot University, India. Published by New age publishers in 2006 and it s the o l editio till et. Dr. Y K Singh had written more than 15 books and few of his notable books are Research Methodology, Value Education and Sociological Foundation of Education.

REVIEW: Preface: In his preamble, Dr. Singh provided us with a critical evaluation of contemporary Indian Education system and highlighted its decent from British educational and research system and its u fit ess to a ds I dia de og aphi s. Although he did t de

the sig ifi a e of British

educational system and its qualities but regarded as irrelevant in their country and made case in point that rich history of Indian indigenous educational and research is being neglected. He concluded the purpose of life in better research based education which is only possible by good and effective educational system.

Chapter–1: Perception of Research

Questions were raised by him at the very beginning of his book about importance of research and its increase in social and economic aspects of life. He a gues a out pupil s ague definition and understanding of the term and its elements as an experimentation process.

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Meaning of Research: In simple language, looking for answers of those question that have not been answered yet is research and to exemplify the phenomenon very modest examples to differentiate between those questions which are part of research and those which are not, such as e a ple of

oo

he hu a s

e e t a le to stud it the e

e e o l assu ptio s

and few regularities in its activity but later on with the passage of time when humans had enough technology they visited moon and brought back its soil and other material evidences which in turn provided us with concrete answers. While on the other hand example of a question in stude t s e a

is ot a esea h e ause its a s e s a e

already available in textbooks etc. Planned and systematic collection of data, its analysis and interpretation is a research and it is an attempt to devise the principles and laws possessing regularities. It is a step which furnished human interest and enabled progression in its conflict resolution. There are other possible ways to do so but it is one of the effective one. But then again only fact finding is not research. If a person is observing a phenomenon again and again repeatedly and collecting data along, critical and analytical standing of that observer leads him to conclusion. In other words, it is relationship between anecdotes and consequents but under certain specific condition. Along delivering generalized approach and understanding of research, author peeked into academic definitions and quoted several renowned academicians in regards, such as Rusk, CC Crawford, Francis Cornell, George Mouly, W S Monroe. Hutchins and several other. All of them characterize research by few common underlying points as in it is systematic, formal and verifiable study and investigation which comprises of sophisticated techniques and steps but sole reason is generation of knowledge and every one of above mentioned academician agreed upon its exhaustion and hitherto process. R M Hutchins regarded research as the highest activity of academics specially in universities.

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A quick review of face of research is that it is gathering and cultivating only new knowledge and acquiring it first handedly through legit means and element of objectivity should be pivotal. Robert Rusk underpinned the notion of research question as sound philosophy and commonsense evoker. With a desire to do things better, means of speculation, description, explanation and interpretation is involved. And social researches are based on intangible and subjective phe o e o s hi h a e u a le to e dealt ith e pi i al app oa h. He e Mit hell

ithsta d

with his logical approach that no matter how statistics and measurements build our preassumption about a phenomenon, generalization of that phenomenon is still in qualitative form. Exceptional point is that researcher should leave his or her biases and persona feelings aside while gathering and analyzing data and should follow the scientific procedure even if it leads to conclusion which have a social disagreement, but should conclude cautiously. It is based on insight and imagination and requires inter disciplinary approach to study the complex relationships of facts but with a desire to do better as Stephan M Corey said. That relation is mostly of cause and its effect as per Mac Iver study, these are interchangeable in social sciences and both of them act as cause and effect at times. But a researcher has to embark on journey of unknown to bring back the genuine discovery. As pe D . “igh s app oa h

ai fu tio of esea h is to e te d a d efi e k o ledge a d

means of its generation to improve leaning. Another vital role research play is aiding social administrators to advance the system and its processes. In this book author pondered upon three objectives of a research, theoretical, factual and application research differing upon their nature and utilization. Theoretical is explanatory and adds in basic human knowledge such as physics, chemistry etc while factual is descriptive an objective research which describe past events and facts like history whereas applicative is innovation and modification in practice.

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Simple classification is at two levels, basic and applied. As clear by name basic is to add in s ie tifi k o ledge a d does t possess i

ediate appli atio like applied esea hes and

also not as much complex. Painting the large picture, author provided us with multi-level classification of researches depending upon nature of research and its utilization. In this book they are catalogued under different names but purpose is still intact, which is to elaborate and categorize researches on basis of their nature. Clubbing these types of researches under an umbrella is to have a broad understanding by researches about research in their desired field and opting for a particular approach, its methods and implications. objectives of research, its approaches, findings, nature of findings such as explanatory and descriptive, classified by National Science Foundation and other general classification including adoc research, empirical and explained researches etc. Dr. Singh focused at Action research, particularly, being a practical approach, also known as applied research. This type is defined by M. Corey as one scientifically guiding practitioners in correction and critical evaluation of their actions and improve practices. Being an education practitioner Dr. Singh exemplified applied research through school problems and its improvement by personals. Furthermore, objective of action researches which are to improve current practices and develop new scientific approaches towards it. Singh deliberated the traditional six scientific steps of applied research as identification of a problem or issue, defining and delimiting it, analyzing and formulating hypothesis, design to test and concluding the project which will provide a new verifiable solution to problem. Focus on the role of investigator is thoughtful in regards. I must say, this chapter was concluded thoroughly by comparison of basic (fundamental) and applied (action) research in 15 distinguished points in the form of table, demarking a clear divide in both types. By studying this table, drawn at the end of first chapter, one can plan a project and by simply following these steps and conduct a research to add or delete from knowledge. 5

Chapter–2: Assortment of a Problem Dr. Singh peeked into human psyche and thinking process at the very beginning of this chapter and its relation with identification of problem as the basic ingredient of research. He branded thinking of human being as divergent, reflective, convergent and scientific thinking, and elaborated their phenomenon. Where reflective thinking is one possessing the mastery of thinker about the scenario or content and perceiving it creatively. Whereas scientific thinking is either induction or deduction and underlying regularities in it but foremost important element of it is the empirical evidences which pay the path of research and build cause and effect relation. As we know it is scientific thinking so there are certain criteria from where we seek evidences such as any authority, scientific inquiry and experimentation, customs and traditions, syllogistic reasoning, personal experiences, self-evident proposition etc. Very basics of human behavior today is depiction of its procedural and evolving thinking such as our clothing, food and the way we live and this was only made possible by its way of thinking and reasoning about the problem and its solution and opted by customs and traditions of time which in turn leave its mark for forth coming generations. Similarly, once when tribal wise men and gods were source of inspiration, then superseded by secular and religious personalities and i stitutes a d o a da s s hola s, philosophe s, s ie tists et . a e autho itati e sou es Ma u scripting its course of life. Intelligent beings gather and share the wisdom by their experiences so here personal experience of family member, friends and acquaintances etc. is the source of direction for esea h ut a poi t to keep i

i d that the a e t a u ate all the ti e so dis epa ies do

exist in them. Another major source of evidence for scientific thinking is syllogistic reasoning build upon self-evident propositions, found by Aristotle and comprises of major premise, minor premise and conclusion and had been source of mental training as well.

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IDENTIFICATION OF A PROBLEM A researcher must possess qualities required to investigate a problem and a basic one is to recognize the problem by having an insight and intellect to identify the reasons giving rise to it. This step will definitize and delimit the duty of researcher. Here author provided simple steps to follow and spot the far lying reasons and major tasks an investigator should opt for better analytical understanding of the problem. Such as accumulation of facts, observation for their relevance, cause and effect relation, irrelevance of facts and explanations. Source of problem is equally significant, because time and energy is committed by a researcher for academic purposes and bases to precede with a problem. Few of them narrated by author are personal experiences, extensive study of the relevant field or subject, developments and innovations in the field and most importantly experiences of scholars and supervisors of research because all of them will provide a handful insight of the problem and mark weightage of problem and its proximity. Criterion for selection of a problem are either personal or external, where external is availability of data and resources while personal is interest, specialization and curiosity of investigator. Whereas this is better defined by Good and Scates as; novelty and avoiding duplicating, significance, implementations and implications, cost and time factor, availability of data and i estigato s t ai i g a d e pe ie e, a aila ilit of data a d sa pli g app oa h et . To reach the core of problem usually starts from analyzing it periphery and impacts first, so in case we have to define and pin point the problem, Dr. Singh exemplified it as thread bare analysis. He identified needs of defining it, ways of defining, precautions and steps to be followed and finally formulating a statement to isolate the problem and to mark out the course of study. He also quoted Kerlinger who specified the elements a good problem statement must possess such as it could be tested empirically and should be clear and definite etc. The necessity of delimiting a problem is to confine the efforts of researcher in a particular direction and achieve forecasted results as it may delimit to the certain variables, to sample size, area etc. and provide researcher with options to opt for best available technique and tools. 7

Problem statement is evaluated on basis of its intensity, credibility, soundness and questions it is raising. But more importantly in contemporary research it is evaluated on the basis of availability of data, significance of issue, its newness and feasibility.

THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL OR SYNOPSIS

It is outline of the research which serve as guide line for investigator, also act as proposal for research by students in universities and its approval by supervisors will be a green signal to go ahead otherwise amendments or revisions are provided by them to guide a student to halt if he is overlapping anything mentioned in above topics. It comprises of clear and short statement of the problem, hypothesis involved, acknowledgement of the worth of the problem, definitions of significant terms, assumptions and limitations, insight of correlated literature, an analysis of projected researchers, and a time bar. All of these elements combined together in a proposal to map the research and providing a blue print of it. It is evaluated by its significance, quality, and reasonableness of budget and qualification of researcher and adequacy of facilities such as labs or sampled area etc.

Chapter–3: Appraise of Related Literature

In this chapter author defined the term of review of literature by human nature of preserving, transmitting and advancing knowledge. So, knowledge building blocks is literature in regards a d esea hi g

sta di g at the shoulde s of p e ious k o ledge a d he e it is lite atu e as

scholars input. A researcher has to be certain and proximate to literature of the subject or area of study, any problem cannot be built in vacuum and must possess underlying foundation of previous knowledge. Reviewing theoretical and research literature is an early and developmental stage of a research. 8

Term literature review refers to already available knowledge of any discipline and organization of knowledge to show that research to be conducted will be an addition to the previous one. Author provide us with different definitions by renowned scholars such as Good, Barr and Scates, W.R. Borg, Charter V. Good and John W. Best. And common construct in all of these s hola s pe eptio of e ie i g lite atu e is a a kg ou d edu atio al i fo

atio p o idi g

us with latest development in field and comparative data for analysis. Main objectives to consider appraising literature before conducting a research is to have an insight of theories, ideas and hypothesis which can aid in formulation of new ones. It provides us with evidences already available to solve a problem, sources for explanation, suggestions to opt methods and techniques appropriate to the problem, and last but not the least, a comparative analysis of conclusion of former with latter ones. In regards Bruce W. Tuckman (1978) furnished four simple purposes, first to discover the vital variable, then to distinguish what has already been done, to produce available knowledge in present perspective and to pin-point the proximity and deviation of research with previous ones. While Edward L. Vockell (1983) refers the relevance of literature review to build credibility of author by readers and relating it to already acquired knowledge. Literature review, in general, furnishes the limitations of previous studies and lacking points that should be carried out in research but under certain rules and principles.

SOURCES OF REVIEW OF LITERATURE: Under this title author connected the researcher to means of literature reviewing and specially to the source where one can easily find literature relevant to the subject or area o study. Dr. Singh said that to review literature, author provide several sources while categorizing them under three main sources such as books and textbooks, periodical literature and general references. Books and text books are catalogued by their publishing dates in cumulative book index, book review index and so on. Sources of information are organized on basis of author names, title and their works. 9

Whereas periodicals are publications in parts, at regular intervals. They are to identify the recent trends, and subjects matter under study. Few renowned of them are International Abstracts, Journals, Newspapers, Magazines, International Index to Periodicals. While other are abstracts, encyclopedias, Almanacs, Handbooks, Yearbooks etc.

PRINCIPLES AND PROCEDURES: Reviewing literature is a hectic process and take weeks and sometimes months as well, and in order to carry out this tiring process efficiently and effectively there are certain parameters one need to follow such as starting from a text-book to have an understanding, meaning and nature of problem; it will elaborate the theoretical concepts and variables of field as well. Along this investigator have to review empirical researches of the area systematically and thoroughly by keenly taking notes side by side.

Chapter–4: Foundation of Hypothesis

In this chapter author provided an insight on term hypothesis, its nature and functions and significance in a research. He also illu...