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Article in the library, many books have been read and still I have nothing to show”, is probably the famous words of every prospective researcher or student. The painful truth, however, is that valuable time has in fact, been lost. The solution to this problem is to be found in establishing a proce...

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in the library, many books have been read and still I have nothing to show”, is probably the famous words of every prospective researcher or student. The painful truth, however, is that valuable time has in fact, been lost. The solution to this problem is to be found in establishing a process that could enable the researcher to define his field of study into manageable concepts and dimensions as soon as possible. This conceptualisation phase is of crucial importance in any scientific research project as it forms the basis of all further phases in the traditional research cycle (Abrahamson, 1983:130-133). The dendrogram technique was specifically developed as a technique to guide the researcher through the conceptualisation phase in such a way that it forms the basis of all the following phases in the research cycle, event up to the point of report writing.

Theoretical structure Any research project starts with a clear problem formulation and delineation. This often proves to be a phase that could be a cumbersome experience. The typical situation during this phase is that the researcher has a broad area of interest, but not a clearly demarcated topic formulation. The result often is that the researcher reads about everything he/ she could lay his/her hands on that might, or might not be relevant to the proposed (still to be formulated) research topic under investigation. Needless to say that often, precious time is lost during this phase and irrelevant reading is done. In short, this is the time when the researcher gets irritated because the research simply does not get going. To put the seriousness of the effect of this initial problem in perspective, one has to understand the cumulative impact of poor planning during the initial phases of any research project. In doing so, it is necessary to have some understanding of the different phases that all scientific research projects/theses will go through, irrespective of the discipline. In doing so, a short discussion of the traditional phases in scientific research follows.

Traditional phases in the research cycle All scientific research projects go through different phases, although each phase may not be equally distinguishable in practice. Most authors distinguish between four and nine phases (5 phases – Mouton and Marais, 1990:23-26; 5 phases – Cilliers, 1973:32-54; 6 phases – Brynard and Hanekom, 1997:3,4; 6 phases – Joubert 1973: 109-129; 7 phases – Bless and Higson-Smith, 1995:13, 14; 9 phases – Babbie, 1992:103-109), depending on which activities are incorporated in the phases involved. Joubert’s classification is used in this discussion, because it corresponds most with the author’s practical research experience. As good research results always create further questions in the minds of scientists, the different phases form a cycle, which is often called the research cycle. The research cycle used in this discussion includes the following phases (Joubert, D. 1973:109-129):

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• theory (Testing of new ideas, re-testing of existing theories or other generally accepted points of departure ); • previous research results (To confirm or prove previous research results wrong) • practical concerns (Typical client research to overcome problems experienced in certain environments); • personal interest (The proverbial bee under your bonnet, or pet problem that stimulates by your curiosity). The origin of the topic typically begins with the researcher’s thoughts, observations and interests. It is also to be mentioned that the cost of any research project in terms of time and money makes an appeal to all scientists to be responsible (and ethical) in the selection of a research topic and not to wander into esoteric fields that has no relevance to the sciences and/or society. During the beginning of the first phase, the researcher has to distinguish between the broad research area and the ultimate research problem that is to be investigated. Remember, all research projects begin with a thorough literature review on available relevant topic(s). One simply needs to acquaint oneself with all the available knowledge regarding the topic under study and demarcate the research topic clearly. Often students would comment to their study leader that they could not find any research already done on the topic. If that is the case, one should not bother to start working on the topic. However, the reality is that it is seldom true that no information is available on a specific topic. One has just not searched well enough or the research topic needs to be rephrased. But, what is a good research topic? On the one hand there are no restrictions as to what can be researched and what cannot be researched. Scientists do have a responsibility towards the sciences and the society. In practice, any research topic is usually evaluated against: • empirical testability (falsification); • feasibility in practice (time, money, etc.); • influence on the critical mass; • interest (motivation) of the researcher; • theoretical value for the sciences; • practical value for human existence.

Phase 2: Planning of the research program During this phase the researcher must be able to formulate a clear research problem for investigation. It is also during this phase that the research problem is operationalised through the formulation of one or more hypotheses and it is the phase during which the entire nature and direction of the research is identified. All proper research is operationalised through the formulation of a hypothesis. Though volumes have been written on what a hypothesis is, the consensus among the main authors is that a hypothesis is a preliminary answer to a research problem. Some researchers are very sensitive to the possibility that their hypotheses might be proven wrong. Far from that. As a hypothesis is only a preliminary answer to a problem and proving it wrong is as much

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a contribution to the sciences as proving a hypothesis right. It simply means that one has the facts regarding the possible answer to the research question. Take for instance the hypothesis: Alcohol intake reduces your reaction time. If the hypothesis is rejected (proven wrong), one knows that alcohol intake does not have an effect on your reaction time. If the hypothesis is accepted, one knows that alcohol intake reduces reaction time. Thus, whether research has accepted or rejected the hypothesis, it is still a contribution to the body of knowledge regarding the link between alcohol intake and reaction time, provided the research was done according to generally accepted scientific principles. As mentioned above, the hypothesis gives a clear direction as to what the research will entail. Turning to the example above, it is clear that the research will focus on the effect of alcohol on the nervous system, the measurement of reaction time to a particular stimulus and the amount of alcohol consumed. It is also to be noted that hypotheses of descriptive research usually identify the aspects that are to be investigated and that will be used to describe a specific phenomenon or various phenomena, whereas hypotheses in explanatory research usually suggest tentative answers to the question that led to the research that are to be shown as true of false. To conclude the discussion on the second phase in the research cycle. During this phase the researcher has to compile a programme or framework to determine how he/she will approach the work to see whether the preliminary answers to the problem (hypotheses) are correct or not. It is important that the researcher gains clarity concerning the following aspects in the research programme: • a clear demarcation of the field of research; • a clear description of the problem and the basic units that the researcher will work with; • a clear hypothesis (Possible answers to the research problem that instigated the research); • which procedure(s) and technique(s) will be followed to collect information and the basic units that will be used during measurement.

Phase 3: Collecting information In any empirical research, data is collected. It is during this phase that the researcher decides upon the procedure(s) and technique(s) that will yield the most valid and reliable information for the research topic. Which procedure and technique to use are usually determined by the topic under investigation and the nature of the anticipated reactivity. To lessen the human factor during data collection, especially when using the experimental and survey procedures, researchers often make use of instruments to sensitise; and standardise one’s ability to differentiate between measurements. Statistics often play an important role in this regard. When documenting the research results, the reader must be furnished with information regarding the following issues: • procedure that were followed; • technique(s) that were used to collect information/data; • target population of the study (Universum); • sampling technique that were followed; De Wet Schutte

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• how, by whom and when the data was collected. When writing a research proposal, the content of the proposal becomes hypothetical in the sense that it informs the reader what the researcher proposes to do. That is, how the researcher intends to do the data collection. Still, the content remains the same and the researcher has to inform the reader of the proposal e.g. on which procedure he/ she intends to follow, which techniques he/she intends to use.

Phase 4: The Organisation and classification of information Once the data has been collected, it must be prepared for analysis and interpretation. During this phase of the research projects, the information is captured. I.e. when using the survey procedure, this includes that the response to, for instance, open questions must be grouped in meaningful classifications that have significance for the purpose of the study. Needless to say, this is done against the hypothesis being investigated. For this, the researcher organises/classifies the information into clusters/categories that make sense to the researcher and link up with the hypothesis formulated during phase two of the research. When organising and classifying data, the researcher should use concepts and categories that are precise. In the sciences the researcher tries to be as accurate as possible, and that includes the use of concepts and categories in which information are clustered. The researcher always makes sure that the concepts used are appropriate, have only one meaning and are fundamental/indispensable to the research topic. The categories/clusters that are used must be mutually exclusive to avoid overlaps between categories, but at the same time all-inclusive. That is to make sure that all possible answers are catered for.

Phase 5: Analysis and interpretation The analogy of building a puzzle is appropriate during phases four and five. During phase four the different parts of the puzzle are scanned to find those that belong together. I.e. the blue parts that represent the sky are clustered together, those that represent the trees, are clustered together. During phase five, the different parts of the puzzle are put in place to reveal the picture. The latter is typical of the analysis phase. The data is dissected with the help of i.e. statistical inference, and in the case of qualitative research, content analysis, etc. The purpose of the analysis phase is usually a search to show what is typical in the measurements, to what extent units vary or agree, how the measured units are distributed and what the relationship between variables are. It is to be remembered that research is not a mere opinion poll indicating how many people will vote for which party. Research goes beyond this, and ask questions like: What are the characteristics of the people that vote for a certain political party and why? In the case of explanatory research, the necessary statistical processing of the data is done as part of the search for connections between the causal and dependent variables. In the case of descriptive research the researcher usually aims at indicating which characteristics are typical, how characteristics vary or differ from each other and/

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It might also prove that an authoritative source found a record of achievement, and not merely qualification obtained, to be relevant. This will have to be incorporated into the dendrogram and means that a question on the respondent’s results achieved while obtaining the tertiary qualification should be included in the questionnaire. Another source might point to the role of a lecturer’s interest in the subject he/s he is teaching. Be that as it may, the literature search is now directed/ structured according to the dendrogram and as the sources/arguments branches into more levels in the dendrogram, the theoretical structure/foundation of the research project is formed. It is clear that in using this technique, the original research subject forms the golden thread in this theoretical structure, as it was created by repeating the question “is determined by ...... ?”. If the dendrogram is read from the bottom up, the theoretical argument builds up to the original research subject.

Search for relevant literature The search for relevant literature and other sources of knowledge on the particular subject is limited to the individual subject(s) and sub-subjects as identified by the dendrogram. With the help of the dendrogram technique, the search for literature on the subject under investigation, now takes the form of a methodical search for more specifically directed relevant information that will result in further possible branch levels. Remember that branching not only takes place according to logic, but mainly by means of the available literature on the topic of the investigation. This process offers more than the mere creation of the theoretical structure of the study. When one has to define a hypothesis as the preliminary answer to the primary question, the hypothesis for the research can usually be found on the first branching level. The remainder of the dendrogram provides the conceptualisation of elements deemed relevant by the researcher for the purposes of the specific study.

The questionnaire Considering the dendrogram as being the theoretical structure or summary of the literature study, it is now possible to formulate relevant questions for a measuring instrument/questionnaire. Questions are always formulated to elucidate the elements at the lowest branching levels in the dendrogram. Consider the previous example again. Questions should be asked that could shed more light on the particular lecturer’s tertiary qualifications. The questions put in this study relate to establishing his/her tertiary qualifications. However, the tertiary qualifications for purposes of this study relate to expertise qualifications obtained in his specific field of study; and didactic-related qualifications. From the example dendrogram it is clear that the researcher is, as far as didactic- related qualifications are concerned, specifically interested in qualifications obtained by means of formal; informal; and self-study. Therefore, for purposes of this study, didactic-related qualifications will imply qualifications obtained through formal and informal education, as well as self’-study. De Wet Schutte

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