Steps in Research Process

1. Formulating the Research Problem: Main function is to decide what you want to find out about. And the way you formulate a problem determines almost every step that follows.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.

2. Extensive Literature Review

 -Essential preliminary task in order to acquaint yourself with the available body of knowledge in your area of interest.
-Literature review is integral part of entire research process and makes valuable contribution to every operational step.
-Reviewing literature can be time-consuming, daunting and frustrating, but is also rewarding. Its functions are:

a. Bring clarity and focus to your research problem;
b. Improve your methodology;
c. Broaden your knowledge;
d. Contextualise your findings.

3. Developing the objectives

-Objectives are the goals you set out to attain in your study.
-They inform a reader what you want to attain through the study.
-It is extremely important to word them clearly and specifically.

Objectives should be listed under two headings:

Main objectives (aims):

The main objective is an overall statement of the thrust of your study. It is also a statement of the main associations and relationships that you seek to discover or establish.

Sub-objectives.

The sub-objectives are the specific aspects of the topic that you want to investigate within the main framework of your study.

-They should be numerically listed.
-Wording should clearly, completely and specifically communicate to your readers your intention.
-Each objective should contain only one aspect of the Study.
-Use action oriented words or verbs when writing objectives.The wording of objectives determines the type of research (descriptive, correlational and experimental) and the type of research design you need to adopt to achieve them.
e.g. 
Descriptive studies:
-To describe the types of incentives provides by Hotel XYZ to employees in Mumbai.
-To find out the opinion of the employees about the medical facilities provided by five star hotels in Mumbai.
Correlatinal studies:
-To ascertain the impact of training on employee retention.
-To compare the effectiveness of different loyalty programmes on repeat clientele.
Hypothesis –testing studies:
-To ascertain if an increase in working hours will increase the incidence of drug/alcohol abuse.
-To demonstrate that the provision of company accommodation to employees in Mumbai hotels will reduce staff turnover.

4. Preparing the Research Design including Sample Design

 Research design is the conceptual structure within which research would be conducted. The function of research design is to provide for the collection of relevant information with minimal expenditure of effort, time and money. The preparation of research design, appropriate for a particular research problem, involves the consideration of the following :

1. Objectives of the research study.
2. Method of Data Collection to be adopted
3. Source of information—Sample Design
4. Tool for Data collection
5. Data Analysis-- qualitative and quantitative

5. Collecting the Data

Having formulated the research problem, developed a study design, constructed a research instrument and selected a sample, you then collect the data from which you will draw inferences and conclusions for your study. Depending upon your plans, you might commence interviews, mail out a questionnaire, conduct experiments and/or make observations.

6. Analysis of Data

Processing and analyzing data involves a number of closely related operations which are performed with the purpose of summarizing the collected data and organizing these in a manner that they answer the research questions (objectives).

The Data Processing operations are:

1. Editing- a process of examining the collected raw data to detect errors and omissions and to correct these when possible.

2. Classification- a process of arranging data in groups or classes on the basis of common characteristics.

3. Tabulation-Tabulation is the process of summarizing raw data and displaying the same in compact form for further analysis. It is an orderly arrangement of data in columns and rows.

7. Generalization and Interpretation

8. Preparation of the Report or Presentation of Results-Formal write ups of conclusions reached

TYPES OF RESEARCH

Research can be classified from three perspectives:

1. Application of research study
From the point of view of application, there are two broad categories of research:
- pure research and
- applied research.
Pure research involves developing and testing theories and hypotheses that are intellectually challenging to the researcher but may or may not have practical application at the present time or in the future.

Applied research is done to solve specific, practical questions; for policy formulation, administration and understanding of a phenomenon. It can be exploratory, but is usually descriptive. It is almost always done on the basis of basic research. Applied research can be carried out by academic or industrial institutions. Often, an academic institution such as a university will have a specific applied research program funded by an industrial partner interested in that program.

2. Objectives in undertaking the research

From the viewpoint of objectives, a research can be classified as:
-descriptive
-correlational
-explanatory
-exploratory
Descriptive research attempts to describe systematically a situation, problem, phenomenon, service or programme, or provides information about, say, living condition of a community, or describes attitudes towards an issue.
Correlational research attempts to discover or establish the existence of a relationship/ interdependence between two or more aspects of a situation.
Explanatory research attempts to clarify why and how there is a relationship between two or more aspects of a situation or phenomenon.
Exploratory research is undertaken to explore an area where little is known or to investigate the possibilities of undertaking a particular research study (feasibility study / pilot study).
In practice most studies are a combination of the first three categories.

3. inquiry mode employed

From the process adopted to find answer to research questions – the two approaches are:
- Structured approach
- Unstructured approach
Structured approach: The structured approach to inquiry is usually classified as quantitative research. Here everything that forms the research process- objectives, design, sample, and the questions that you plan to ask of respondents- is predetermined. It is more appropriate to determine the extent of a problem, issue or phenomenon by quantifying the variation. e.g. how many people have a particular problem? How many people hold a particular attitude?
Unstructured approach: The unstructured approach to inquiry is usually classified as qualitative research. This approach allows flexibility in all aspects of the research process. It is more appropriate to explore the nature of a problem, issue or phenomenon without quantifying it. Main objective is to describe the variation in a phenomenon, situation or attitude. e,g, description of an observed situation, the historical enumeration of events, an account of different opinions different people have about an issue, description of working condition in a particular industry.

In many studies you have to combine both qualitative and quantitative approaches. For example, suppose you have to find the types of cuisine / accommodation available in a city and the extent of their popularity.
Types of cuisine is the qualitative aspect of the study as finding out about them entails description of the culture and cuisine. The extent of their popularity is the quantitative aspect as it involves estimating the number of people who visit restaurant serving such cuisine and calculating the other indicators that reflect the extent of popularity.

What is Research

When you say that you are undertaking a research study to find answers to a question, you are implying that the process;
1. is being undertaken within a framework of a set of philosophies ( approaches);
2. uses procedures, methods and techniques that have been tested for their validity and reliability;
3. is designed to be unbiased and objective .

The difference between research and non-research activity is, in the way we find answers: the process must meet certain requirements to be called research. We can identify these requirements by examining some definitions of research.

Research is a structured enquiry that utilizes acceptable scientific methodology to solve problems and create new knowledge that is generally applicable. Scientific methods consist of systematic observation, classification and interpretation of data.

Research is a process of collecting, analyzing and interpreting information to answer questions. But to qualify as research, the process must have certain characteristics: it must, as far as possible, be controlled, rigorous, systematic, valid and verifiable, empirical and critical.

Source: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ( For Private Circulation Only)