DEPARTMENT OF STATISTICS RESEARCH METHODOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF STATISTICS

Introduction to research This chapter clearly defines the research methods used to conduct the study. The researcher explains how the necessary data and information to address the research objectives and questions was collected presented and analyzed. Reasons and ju stifications for the research design,resea rch instruments, data sources, data collection techniques, data presentation techniques andanalytical techniques used are given.

RESEARCH DESIGN A research design serves as a master plan of the methods and procedures that should beused to collect and analyze data need ed by the decision maker. The research  design is adeliberately planned arrangement of conditions for the analysis and collection of data in a manner that aims to combine relevance to research purpose with the economy procedure.

TYPES OF RESEARCH Quantitative research Qualitative research Pragmatic approach to research Advocacy/participatory approach to research (emancipatory)

What is data collection Data Collection is an important aspect of any type of research study. Inaccurate data collection can impact the results of a study and ultimately lead to invalid results Data collection methods for impact evaluation vary along a continuum. At the one end of this continuum are quantatative methods and at the other end of the continuum are Qualitative methods for data collection 

Questionnaire DESIGN Paper-pencil-questionnaires Web based questionnaires Questionnaires often make use of Checklist and rating scales.These devices help simplify and quantify people's behaviors and attitudes.A checklistis a list of behaviors,characteristics,or other entities that te researcher is looking for.Either the researcher or survey participant simply checks whether each item on the list is observed, present or true or vice versa.A rating scale is more useful when a behavior needs to be evaluated on a continuum

Nominal scales This, the crudest of measurement scales, classifies individuals, companies, products, brands or other entities into categories where no order is implied. Indeed it is often referred to as a categorical scale. It is a system of classification and does not place the entity along a continuum. It involves a simply count of the frequency of the cases assigned to the various categories

Ordinal scales and Interval scales Ordinal scales involve the ranking of individuals, attitudes or items along the continuum of the characteristic being scaled It is only with an interval scaled data that researchers can justify the use of the arithmetic mean as the measure of average. The interval or cardinal scale has equal units of measurement, thus making it possible to interpret not only the order of scale scores but also the distance between them. However, it must be recognised that the zero point on an interval scale is arbitrary and is not a true zero.

REGISTRATION DEPARTMENT OF STATISTICS ROOM NO:216