C2: Research process PDF

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Research Methodology: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners...

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Chapter 2: The Research Process 1. The eight steps of the research process i. Formulating a research problem: What do you want to find out about? Have you got sufficient funds to do the research? Have you got the time available to conduct the study? Have you got knowledge of relevant disciplines? Do you have sufficient knowledge of skills needed? ii. Conceptualising a research design: Qualitative/Quantitative/Mixed methods iii. Constructing an instrument for data collection: How you collect your data lies on the nature of rese Primary data: collected directly by the researcher (e.g. through interviews or experiments) Secondary data: data has already been collected by someone else (e.g. in government surveys or Pre-test research tools: Pilot study iv. Selecting a sample: Select appropriate sample/participants to represent the study population. Appropriate sample: Avoid bias, Be aware of strength and weakness v. Writing a research proposal: Write detailed plan about research (Present form) Proposal + Framework + Methodology vi. Collecting data: Interview / mail questionnaires / focus group discussion / observation Ethical issues vii. Processing and displaying data: What you found out and analyze depends on the nature of data. Descriptive Quantitative (statistical procedures) Qualitative (narrative, content analysis etc) Attitudinal viii. Writing a research report: (Past Form) What you have done What conclusions you have drawn from the findings Different format for quantitative and qualitative research Structure using main themes of study Adhere to academic conventions...