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Research is
a formal, systematic and intensive process of
analyzing problems through scientific means for
purposes of discovery and development of an
organized body of knowledge (Abdellah, 1986);
a way of dealing with ideas for purpose of
clarifying, verifying, and confirming data (Polit &
Hungler, 1985);
is a solving process that utilizes the scientific
method of discovery and developed ideas and
theories that give meaningful answers to
complex questions about human beings and
their environment (Clark, 1979);
a process of scientific thinking that leads to
the discovery or establishment of new
knowledge or truth (Isidro & Malolos, 1979);
the continuous discovery and exploration of
the unknown (Good and Scates, 1972);
a systematic and refined technique of
thinking, employing specialized tools,
instruments, and procedures in order to obtain
a more adequate solution of a problem than
would be possible under ordinary means. It
starts with a problem, collects data or facts,
analyzes these critically, and reaches decision
based on actual evidences. It involves original
work instead of a mere exercise of personal
opinion. It evolves from a genuine desire to
know rather than to prove something. It is
quantitative, seeking to know not only what but
how much, and measurement is therefore a
central feature of it (Crawford, 1946)
Why Research?
Research can facilitate managerial decision
making in all aspects of the firms marketing
mix: product, pricing, promotion, and
distribution. By providing the necessary
information on which to base marketing mix
decisions, marketing research can decrease the
risk of making a wrong decision in each area.
Sources of Knowledge
Traditions
Authority
Borrowing
Trial & Error
Personal
Experience
Role
Modeling
Intuition
Reasoning
Research

Purposes of Research
Identification
Exploration
Prediction
Description
Explanation
Control
Exploration
It is designed to discover the full nature of the
phenomenon, the causes, the manner in it is
manifested and other factors wherein it is
related
Examples:
What factors diminish or increase a patient's
stress?
To what extent stress relates to the patients
cultural background?
Identification
designed primarily to name or identify an
unknown phenomenon in relation to the
nursing practice
Example:
People with diabetes and hypertension
investigation aimed at discovering the basic
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social problems affecting their adherence to
health care directives
Description
designed primarily to describe what is going
on or what exists
The researcher observes, count, delineate,
and classify to provide new information
Example:
Patients stress and coping pain management,
adaptation process, health beliefs and practices,
rehabilitation success and nursing care
Explanation
It offers understanding, clarification and
information why a certain phenomenon occurs
Example:
Why do patients in the intensive care unit need
to feel safe?
Prediction
It estimates and anticipates the probability of
certain outcome in a specific situation.
It does not always mean modification or
control of the outcome
Example:
What are the effects of prolonged best rest on
the hospitalized patients recovery?
Control
It involves the manipulation of a certain
situation to produce the desired outcome
Example:
Educating women about the risks and offering
amniocentesis to women 35 years old and
above

Methods of Research
Quantitative Research
Qualitative Research
Outcome Research
Types of Quantitative Research
Descriptive Research
Correctional Research
Experimental Research
Types of Qualitative Research
Phenomenological Research
Ethnographic Research
Historical Research
Outcome Research
Outcomes used to develop Policy
Change Practice based on Research
Steps in Research Process:
1. Formulating the Research Problem
2. Extensive Literature Review
3. Developing the objectives
4. Preparing the Research Design including
Sample Design
5. Collecting the Data
6. Analysis of Data
7. Generalization and Interpretation
8. Preparation of the Report or Presentation of
Results-Formal writes ups of conclusions
reached.


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Sources of research problems
Research in Psychology revolves around four Ps:
People- a group of individuals
Problems- examine the existence of certain
issues or problems relating to their lives; to
ascertain attitude of a group of people towards
an issue
Programs- to evaluate
Phenomena- to establish the existence of
regularity.
In practice most research studies are based
upon at least a combination of two Ps.

Every research study has two aspects:
1. Study population- People: individuals,
organizations, groups, communities (
they provide you with the information
or you collect information about them)
2. Subject area-
Problems: issues, situations, associations,
needs, profiles
Program: content, structure, outcomes,
attributes, satisfactions, consumers, Service
providers, etc.
Phenomenon: cause-and-effect relationships,
the study of a phenomenon itself (Information
that you need to collect to find answers to your
research questions)

Qualities of Good Research
1.SYSTEMATIC- Reject the use of guessing &
intuition, but does not rule out creative thinking
2.CONTROLLEDVariables are identified
& controlled, wherever possible
3.LOGICAL-Guided by rules of logical reasoning
& logical process of induction & deduction
4.EMPIRICAL-Provides a basis for external
validity to results (validation)
5.REPLICABLE-Verified by replicating the study
6.SELF CORRECTING-Built in mechanism & open
to public scrutiny by fellow professionals

REMINDER:
You can examine the professional field of your
choice in the context of the four Ps in order to
identify anything that looks interesting.

CONSIDERATIONS IN SELECTING
A RESEARCH PROBLEM:
These help to ensure that your study will remain
manageable and that you will remain
motivated.
1. Interest: a research endeavor is usually time
consuming, and involves hard work and
possibly unforeseen problems. One should select
topic of great interest to sustain the required
motivation.
2. Magnitude: It is extremely important to
select a topic that you can manage within the
time and resources at your disposal. Narrow the
topic down to something manageable, specific
and clear.
3. Measurement of concepts: Make sure that
you are clear about the indicators and
measurement of concepts (if used) in your
study.
4. Level of expertise: Make sure that you have
adequate level of expertise for the task you are
proposing since you need to do the work
yourself.
5. Relevance: Ensure that your study adds to
the existing body of knowledge, bridges current
gaps and is useful in policy formulation. This will
help you to sustain interest in the study.
6. Availability of data: Before finalizing the
topic, make sure that data are available.
7. Ethical issues: How ethical issues can affect
the study population and how ethical problems
can be overcome should be thoroughly
examined at the problem formulating stage.







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STEPS IN FORMULATION OF A
RESEARCH PROBLEM:
Working through these steps presupposes a
reasonable level of knowledge in the broad
subject area within which the study is to be
undertaken. Without such knowledge it is
difficult to clearly and adequately dissect a
subject area.
Step 1 Identify a broad field or subject area of
interest to you.
Step 2 Dissect the broad area into sub areas.
Step 3 Select what is of most interest to you.
Step 4 Raise research questions.
Step 5 Formulate objectives.
Step 6 Assess your objectives.
Step 7 Double check.

RESEARCH PROBLEM :
So far we have focused on the basis of your
study, the research problem. But every study in
social sciences has a second element, the study
population from whom the required information
to find answers to your research questions is
obtained.
As you narrow the research problem, similarly
you need to decide very specifically who
constitutes your study population, in order to
select the appropriate respondents.

CHAPTER I
THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND
Purpose: This chapter should clearly and
precisely explain the issue/problem that has
been selected for study. It is, in essence, your
theory about your topic. The reader should
know what the project is about and why it is
important.
Sections:
1.Introduction. This section discusses history
and trends related to the topic, unresolved
issues, social concerns, etc. It provides the
reader with a contextual overview and
understanding of the proposed study. This
section moves from the general to the specific.
The proponent should describe the existing and
prevailing problem situation based on his/her
experience. This scope may be global, national,
regional and local.
The proponent should give strong justification
for selecting such research problem in his/ her
capacity as a researcher. Being a part of the
organization or systems and the desire and
concern to improve the systems.
The researcher should link and relate the
background of the study to the proposed
research problem.
2. Conceptual / Theoretical Framework. This
section concisely specifies the focus of the
proposed study; that is, the basic difficulty, the
area of concern, the need, etc. It presents the
overall purpose of the study, and, as such, is
goal oriented and emphasizes practical
outcomes or products. This section should flow
naturally out of the background.
The theoretical framework consists of theories,
principles, generalizations and research findings
which are closely related to the present study
under investigation. It is in this framework
where the present research problem
understudy evolved.
Authors of these theories and principles should
be cited. As much as possible research findings
and theories should be correct.
3. Research Paradigm. It is a graphical
representation of the study (Input
Process Output)
The schematic diagram which shows the
variables included in the study.
Arrows or line should be properly placed and
connected between boxes to show the
relationship between the independent and
dependent variables.
All the independent and dependent variables
should be clearly discussed and explained how
these would influence the results of the study.
4. Statement of the Problem. This includes the
question(s) to be answered. This section is a
restatement of the problem statement in the
form of a question. It should be brief, clear and
concise, and inform the reader exactly what the
research is about.
There should be an introductory statement
which reflects the main problem of the study.
Sub-problem should be stated in such a way
that it is not answerable by either yes, no, when
and where.
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Sub-problems should include all the
independent and moderate variables which are
reflected in the conceptual framework.
Subproblems should be arranged in logical
order and extensive in coverage and must be
mutually exclusive in its dimensions.
If the research is quantitative avoid the how
questions."
5. Statement of Hypothesis (es), or research
objectives. In this section, the projected and
predicted outcomes of the investigation are
stated.
6. Significance of the Study.
This section describes the contributions of the
study to knowledge. This could be in the form of
new knowledge in the field, a check on the
major findings of other studies, a check on the
validity of findings in a different population, a
check on trends over time and a check on the
other findings using different methodology.
It discusses the importance of the study to the
society, the country, the government, the
community, the institution, the agency
concerned, the curriculum planners and
developers and to the researchers.
It expounds on the studys probable impact to
education, science, technology, ongoing
researchers and etc.
7. Scope and Limitations of the Study.
This section explains the nature, coverage, and
time frame of the study.
It presents in brief the subject area of
investigation, the place, the time period, or
school year covered.
It discusses the variables included in the study
and the exclusion of other variables which are
expected to be included. It indicates the extent
of capability of results arising from the sampling
population
8. Definition of Terms. The terms which
connote different meaning from the conceptual
or dictionary definitions should be operationally
defined to facilitate the full understanding of
the text by the readers. The terms to be
operationally defined are those used
throughout the study and may be a word or a
phrase, usually taken from the title, the
statement of the problem or hypothesis.
The terms should be arranged in alphabetical
order and the definitions should be stated in
complete sentences.

Research Ethics
Prohibit researcher from:
Using treatment that could harm people
Asking question that is embarrassing or
threatening
Reporting information that against privacy
The researcher should honest in observing,
analyzing and reporting finding (misreport
sources or invent results).
The researcher must avoid plagiarism - the act
of stealing (borrowing, using, copying) and
passing off as ones own the ideas and words of
another

What is a Literature Review?
A literature review is an examination of the
research that has been conducted in a
particular field of study
Hart (1998) defines it as:
The selection of available documents
(both published and unpublished) on the topic,
which contain information, ideas, data and
evidence.
The effective evaluation of these documents
in relation to the research being proposed (p.
13).

What is the Purpose of a Literature Review?
It is a critical and evaluative account of what
has been published on a chosen research topic.
Its purpose is to summarize, synthesize and
analyze the arguments of others. (It is not an
academic research paper, the main purpose of
which is to support your own argument.)
You should describe and analyze the
knowledge that exists and what gaps occur in
research related to your field of interest. (This
should clarify the relationship between your
own research and the work that has previously
been done.)
To evaluate and synthesize the information in
line with the concepts that you have set
yourself for the research.
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To produce a rationale or justification for your
study.

How to Evaluate Literature?
Evaluate means that you constantly ask
questions such as:
How is this piece of literature furthering my
research agenda?
How is this useful for developing my topic?
Why is this adequate or inadequate to my
purposes?
In a literature review, you demonstrate your
understanding of the relevant works of others
and your ability to summarize this information
for the convenience of your readers.

CHAPTER 2:
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
AND STUDIES
Purpose: To place the current study into the
context of previous, related research. As such,
the literature review emphasizes the
relatedness between the current study and the
work of other authors. The reader should be
familiarized with points of agreement and
disagreement among the previous studies, as
well as with the theoretical and/or empirical
relevance of each to the present research.
Contents: This section should contain a review
of 15 books (with local and foreign authors), 6
journals articles and 4 websites.
The selection and arrangement of the books
and/or articles reviewed is often in terms of
questions to be considered, hypotheses set
forth, or the objectives or specific purposes
delineated in Chapter One.
Related literature includes research findings,
published or unpublished theories and
principles formulated by experts or authorities
in some field or discipline; and ideas or opinions
of experts contained in books, pamphlets
magazines and periodicals.
It should be written in terms of the purpose of
the study.
It should give more weight to studies
considered more authoritative as evaluated and
should give reference to primary rather than
secondary sources.
It should be organized thematically to
conform to the specific problems.
It should be synthesized such that evidence
from all the studies reviewed would get an
overall understanding of the state of knowledge
in the problem area.
The literature" means the works you
consulted in order to understand and
investigate your research problem. In other
words, the literature review is a critical look at
the existing research that is significant to the
work that you are carrying out.
How useful are the following sources
(Literature search)?
Journals
Books
Conference
Report
Newspapers
Thesis
Internet
CD-ROM
Magazines
Journal articles: these are good especially for
up-to-date information. Bear in mind, though,
that it can take up to two years to publish
articles. They are frequently used in literature
reviews because they offer a relatively concise,
up-to-date format for research, and because all
reputable journals are refereed (i.e. editors
publish only the most relevant and reliable
research).
Books: books tend to be less up-to-date as it
takes longer for a book to be published than for
a journal article. Text books are unlikely to be
useful for including in your literature review as
they are intended for teaching, not for research,
but they do offer a good starting point from
which to find more detailed sources.
Conference proceedings: these can be useful
in providing the latest research, or research that
has not been published. They are also helpful in
providing information on which people are
currently involved in which research areas, and
so can be helpful in tracking down other work
by the same researchers.

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Government/corporate reports: many
government departments and corporations
commission or carry out research. Their
published findings can provide a useful source
of information, depending on your field of
study.
Newspapers: since newspapers are generally
intended for a general (not specialized)
audience, the information they provide will be
of very limited use for your literature review.
Often newspapers are more helpful as providers
of information about recent trends, discoveries
or changes, e.g. announcing changes in
government policy, but you should then search
for more detailed information in other sources.
Theses and dissertations: these can be useful
sources of information. However there are
disadvantages: 1) they can be difficult to obtain
since they are not published, but are generally
only available from the library shelf or through
interlibrary loan; 2) the student who carried out
the research may not be an experienced
researcher and therefore you might have to
treat their findings with more caution than
published research.
Internet: the fastest-growing source of
information is on the Internet. It is impossible
to the information available but here are some
hints about using electronic sources: 1) bear in
mind that anyone can post information on the
Internet so the quality may not be reliable, 2)
the information you find may be intended for a
general audience and so not be suitable for
inclusion in your literature review (information
for a general audience is usually less detailed)
and 3) more and more refereed electronic
journals (e-journals) are appearing on the
Internet - if they are refereed it means that
there is an editorial board that evaluates the
work before publishing it in their e-journal, so
the quality should be more reliable (depending
on the reputation of the journal).
CD-ROMS: at the moment, few CR-ROMs
provide the kind of specialized, detailed
information about academic research that you
need for your own research since most are
intended for a general audience. However,
more and more bibliographies are being put
onto CD-ROM for use in academic libraries, so
they can be a very valuable tool in searching for
the information you need.
Magazines: magazines intended for a general
audience (e.g. Time) are unlikely to be useful in
providing the sort of information you need.
Specialized magazines may be more useful (for
example business magazines for management
students) but usually magazines are not useful
for your research except as a starting point by
providing news or general information about
new discoveries, policies, etc. that you can
further research in more specialized sources.
Tips for performing literature search
Note interesting quotes and their references
as you go along
Use outstanding review articles
Reference correctly from the start
Organize material you read
Start with a broad search before you focus
WHY WRITE A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE?
It is not supposed to be just a summary of
other people's work!
You evaluate relevant research work, show
the relationships between different work, and
show how it relates to your work ( what work
has already been done in your research area).
Show how it relates to the other work (e.g.
what other methodologies have been used?
How are they similar? How are they different?)
And show how it relates to your work (what is
its relationship to your methodology?).
The spectrum of the related issues
Here are some of the questions your literature
review should answer:
1. What do we already know in the immediate
area concerned?
2. What are the characteristics of the key
concepts or the main factors or variables?
3. What are the relationships between these
key concepts, factors or variables?
4. What are the existing theories?
5. Where are the inconsistencies or other
shortcomings in our knowledge and
understanding?
6. What views need to be (further) tested?
7. What evidence is lacking, inconclusive,
contradictory or too limited?
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8. Why study (further) the research problem?
9. What contribution can the present study be
expected to make?
10. What research designs or methods seem
unsatisfactory?
HOW CAN I WRITE A GOOD LITERATURE
REVIEW?
Remember the purpose: it should answer the 10
questions. Look at how published writers review the
literature. You'll see that you should use the
literature to explain your research - after all, you are
not writing a literature review just to tell your reader
what other researchers have done. Your aim should
be to show why your research needs to be carried
out, how you came to choose certain methodologies
or theories to work with, how your work adds to the
research already carried out, etc.
Read with a purpose: you need to summarize the
work you read but you must also decide which ideas
or information are important to your research (so
you can emphasize them), and which are less
important and can be covered briefly or left out of
your review.
You should also look for the major concepts,
conclusions, theories, arguments etc. that underlie
the work, and look for similarities and differences
with closely related work. This is difficult when you
first start reading, but should become easier the
more you read in your area.
Write with a purpose: your aim should be to
evaluate and show relationships between the work
already done (Is Researcher Y's theory more
convincing than Researcher X's? Did
Researcher X builds on the work of Researcher Y?)
And between this work and your own. In order to do
this effectively you should carefully plan how you are
going to organize your work.

TRAPS
Some traps to avoid:
Trying to read everything! As you might already
have discovered, if you try to be comprehensive
you will never be able to finish the reading! The
idea of the literature review is not to provide a
summary of all the published work that relates to
your research, but a survey of the most relevant
and significant work.
Reading but not writing! It's easier to read than
to write: given the choice, most of us would rather
sit down with a cup of coffee and read yet another
article instead of putting ourselves in front of the
computer to write about what we have already
read! Writing takes much more effort, doesn't it?
However, writing can help you to understand and
find relationships between the work you've read,
so don't put writing off until you've "finished"
reading - after all, you will probably still be doing
some reading all the way through to the end of
your research project. Also, don't think of what
you first write as being the final or near-final
version. Writing is a way of thinking, so allow
yourself to write as many drafts as you need,
changing your ideas and information as you learn
more about the context of your research problem.
Not keeping bibliographic information! The
moment will come when you have to write your
references page . . . and then you realize you have
forgotten to keep the information you need, and
that you never got around to putting references
into your work. The only solution is to spend a lot
of time in the library tracking down all those
sources that you read, and going through your
writing to find which information came from
which source. If you're lucky, maybe you can
actually do this before your defense - more likely,
you will unable to find all your sources, a big
headache for you and your committee. To avoid
this nightmare, always keep this information in
your notes. Always put references into your
writing. Notice how on this course we have
referenced the works that we have referred to -
you should do the same.
Notice how the writers have:
grouped similar information: "Steudell [13],
Tanchoco and Agee[14], Tanchoco et al.
[15] and Grasso and Tanchoco [5] studied
various aspects of this subject."
shown the relationship between the work
of different researchers, showing
similarities/differences: "The general
results, reflecting the stochastic nature of
the flow of goods, are similar to those
reported by Rosenblatt and Roll [12]."
indicated the position of the work in the
research area history: "Early work by
Hausman, Schwarz and Graves [6, 7] . . "
moved from a general discussion of the
research in AS/RS to the more specific area
(optimal container size) that they
themselves are researching i.e. they relate
previous work to their own to define it,
justify it and explain it.