Preparing a Research Project Proposal

Preparing a Research proposal

http://www.slideshare.net/ProfMKGhadoliya/preparing-a-research-proposal

1. 1. Preparing a Research Proposal Prof. Mahendra Kumar Ghadoliya ghadoliyaseconomics-mahendra.blogspot.in
2. 2. Research: Purpose and Question(s) – Why this Research? – Who owns it? For whom? Who funds it? – Research Questions and their evaluation: – From the owner, self and/ or colleagues – Brainstorming, prioritizing (using scoring, ranking or voting techniques). – Selecting one or more of them- it should be a guide, not too narrow, nor too broad. – Practical constraints of time, resources, etc.
3. 3. Literature Review – Essential Part of every research exercise – Not an extensive list of relevant references. – Should reflect: – Selective, purposeful and critical reading – That you have a reasonable understanding of the area of your research – Where your work fits in the area concerned - Could be a chapter or inter spread within the body of text
4. 4. Research type – Historical – Descriptive – Experimental
5. 5. Approach, Design, Tools – Large scale survey, in-depth case study, experimentation, participatory and action research,… – Surveys, Documentary analysis, Interviews, Focus group discussions experimental designs, mixed… – Interview schedules, Questionnaires,…
6. 6. Your work plan – Are you in a team or a sole researcher- your role – What is the locale of research and the time plan – What/who are you researching- How many groups or individuals? – How do you conduct it and with what tools? – What kind of data to collect, how to analyse it? – What constraints and biases do you see and their management? – How do you present, disseminate or use your findings?
7. 7. Research Activities – Decisions regarding the type, approach and design – Identification of the subject, sampling and grouping – Preparation of research instruments, testing of the instruments – Collection of Data, its organisation and analysis, reaching conclusions – Preparation of the report and dissemination of outcomes
8. 8. Outcomes – Findings and conclusions – Recommendations – A Manual, Guidelines for--- – Policy directions – Sequential findings (action research) for further work
9. 9. Dissemination of Outcomes – Preparation of Team mates, colleagues and/or stakeholders – Research report, papers for sponsors and journals. – Institutional, one’s own and/or other relevant websites – Outcome specific strategies
10. 10. Limitations and Delimitations – Handicaps: – Funds, time, geographical terrain, institutional constraints,… – Design: – Experiment related, sample, expert support – Execution: – Slipe, accidents,… – Delimitations: Limits of the exercise
11. 11. References – Format consistency: – Consistency within the text – Report-end details – Computer Packages: – Endnote for formatting – Website References: – Should be complete with dates and downloaded timings – Should be reliable
12. 12. Appendices – Any significant information/ detail that does not suit the flow of presentation in the report: – Questionnaire. Interview Schedule,… – Timetable – Budget – Etc.
13. 13. Timetable – Exploratory Work: – Identifying the purpose and the related Research Question and working out the rational for the exercise – Literature Review: – Consequent improvement in the research questions and the rationale – Research activities: – Preparation of report: – Dissemination:
14. 14. Customization – Presentation: – I /III person, consistent format for references. – Donors’ Format: – Goals, purpose, activities, outcomes, and costs; )measurable indicators, means of verification, assumption) – Ethics: – Subjects’ protection and other related issues

Developing hypothesis and research questions

Developing hypothesis and research questions

http://www.slideshare.net/ProfMKGhadoliya/developing-hypothesis-and-research-questions

1. 1. Prof. (Dr.) M.K.Ghadoliya Director School of Distance Education and Learning, JNU Jaipur (Raj)
2. 2. Introduction  Processes involved before formulating the hypotheses.  Definition  Nature of Hypothesis  Types  How to formulate a Hypotheses in  Quantitative Research  Qualitative Research  Testing and Errors in Hypotheses  Summary
3. 3. The research structure helps us create research that is : •Quantifiable •Verifiable •Replicable • Defensible •Corollaries among the model, common sense & paper format •MODEL COMMON SENSE PAPER FORMAT •Research Question Why Introduction •Develop a Theory your Answer Methodology •Identify variables How Analysis •Identify hypothesis Expectations result •Test Collect Analyze data conclusion •Evaluate Result What it Means •Critical Review What it doesn't Mean
4. 4. Most research projects share the same general structure, which could be represented in the shape of an “Hourglass”. The ‘Hour Glass’ notion of research allows someone to breakdown what can see an overwhelming amount of information into manageable chunks, and allows you to see the whole picture in an understandable way. BEGIN WITH BROAD QUESTIONS NARROW DOWN, FOCUS IN OPERATIONALIZE OBSERVE ANALYZE DATA REACH CONCLUSIONS GENERALIZE GENERALIZE BACK TO QUESTIONS
5. 5. Where does the problem origination or discovery begin  Preview experience Triggered interest potential problem field Criteria of problem and problem statement Goal and planning Search Explore and Gather the Evidences Generate creative and logical alternative solutions.
6. 6. Definition of Hypothesis:  “Hypotheses are single tentative guesses, good hunches – assumed for use in devising theory or planning experiments intended to be given a direct experimental test when possible”. (Eric Rogers, 1966)  “A hypothesis is a conjectural statement of the relation between two or more variables”. (Kerlinger, 1956)  “Hypothesis is a formal statement that presents the expected relationship between an independent and dependent variable.” (Creswell, 1994) “A research question is essentially a hypothesis asked in the form of a question.”
7. 7. Definition of Hypothesis: “It is a tentative prediction about the nature of the relationship between two or more variables.”  “A hypothesis can be defined as a tentative explanation of the research problem, a possible outcome of the research, or an educated guess about the research outcome.” (Sarantakos, 1993: 1991) “Hypotheses are always in declarative sentence form, and they relate, either generally or specifically , variables to variables.”  “An hypothesis is a statement or explanation that is suggested by knowledge or observation but has not, yet, been proved or disproved.” (Macleod Clark J and Hockey L 1981)
8. 8. Nature of Hypothesis: The hypothesis is a clear statement of what is intended to be investigated. It should be specified before research is conducted and openly stated in reporting the results. This allows to: Identify the research objectives Identify the key abstract concepts involved in the research Identify its relationship to both the problem statement and the literature review A problem cannot be scientifically solved unless it is reduced to hypothesis form It is a powerful tool of advancement of knowledge, consistent with existing knowledge and conducive to further enquiry
9. 9. Nature of Hypothesis:  It can be tested – verifiable or falsifiable Hypotheses are not moral or ethical questions It is neither too specific nor to general It is a prediction of consequences It is considered valuable even if proven false
10. 10. An Example… Imagine the following situation: You are a nutritionist working in a zoo, and one of your responsibilities is to develop a menu plan for the group of monkeys. In order to get all the vitamins they need, the monkeys have to be given fresh leaves as part of their diet. Choices you consider include leaves of the following species: (a) A (b) B (c) C (d) D and (e) E. You know that in the wild the monkeys eat mainly B leaves, but you suspect that this could be because they are safe whilst feeding in B trees, whereas eating any of the other species would make them vulnerable to predation. You design an experiment to find out which type of leaf the monkeys actually like best: You offer the monkeys all five types of leaves in equal quantities, and observe what they eat. There are many different experimental hypotheses you could formulate for the monkey study. For example: When offered all five types of leaves, the monkeys will preferentially feed on B leaves. This statement satisfies both criteria for experimental hypotheses. It is a •Prediction: It predicts the anticipated outcome of the experiment •Testable: Once you have collected and evaluated your data (i.e. observations of what the monkeys eat when all five types of leaves are offered), you know whether or not they ate more B leaves than the other types.
11. 11. Incorrect hypotheses would include: When offered all five types of leaves, the monkeys will preferentially eat the type they like best. This statement certainly sounds predictive, but it does not satisfy the second criterion: there is no way you can test whether it is true once you have the results of your study. Your data will show you whether the monkeys preferred one type of leaf, but not why they preferred it (i.e., they like it best). I would, in fact, regard the above statement as an assumption that is inherent in the design of this experiment, rather than as a hypothesis. When offered all five types of leaves, the monkeys will preferentially eat B leaves because they can eat these safely in their natural habitat. This statement is problematic because its second part ('because they can eat these safely in their natural habitat') also fails to satisfy the criterion of testability. You can tell whether the monkeys preferentially eat those leaves, but the results of this experiment cannot tell you why. In their natural habitat, howler monkeys that feed in B trees are less vulnerable to predation than monkeys that feed on A, C, D, or E.
12. 12. This is a perfectly good experimental hypothesis, but not for the experiment described in the question. You could use this hypothesis if you did a study in the wild looking at how many monkeys get killed by predators whilst feeding on the leaves of A, B etc. However, for the experimental feeding study in the zoo it is neither a prediction nor testable. When offered all five types of leaves, which type will the monkeys eat preferentially? This is a question, and questions fail to satisfy criterion #1: They are not predictive statements. Hence, a question is not a hypothesis.
13. 13. Types of Hypotheses NULL HYPOTHESES Designated by: 𝐻 𝑜 ALTERNATIVE HYPOTHESES Designated by: H1
14. 14. The null hypothesis represents a theory that has been put forward, either because it is believed to be true or because it is to be used as a basis for argument, but has not been proved.  Has serious outcome if incorrect decision is made! The alternative hypothesis is a statement of what a hypothesis test is set up to establish.  Opposite of Null Hypothesis.  Only reached if H0 is rejected. Frequently “alternative” is actual desired conclusion of the researcher!
15. 15. In a clinical trial of a new drug, the null hypothesis might be that the new drug is no better, on average, than the current drug. We would write H0: there is no difference between the two drugs on average. The alternative hypothesis might be that: the new drug has a different effect, on average, compared to that of the current drug. We would write H1: the two drugs have different effects, on average. the new drug is better, on average, than the current drug. We would write H1: the new drug is better than the current drug, on average.
16. 16. We give special consideration to the null hypothesis…  This is due to the fact that the null hypothesis relates to the statement being tested, whereas the alternative hypothesis relates to the statement to be accepted if / when the null is rejected.  The final conclusion, once the test has been carried out, is always given in terms of the null hypothesis. We either 'reject H0 in favour of H1' or 'do not reject H0'; we never conclude 'reject H1', or even 'accept H1 '.  If we conclude 'do not reject H0', this does not necessarily mean that the null hypothesis is true, it only suggests that there is not sufficient evidence against H0 in favour of H1; rejecting the null hypothesis then, suggests that the alternative hypothesis may be true.
17. 17. Formulating a hypothesis  Formulating Hypothesis is important to narrow a question down to one that can reasonably be studied in a research project.  The formulation of the hypothesis basically varies with the kind of research project conducted:  QUALITATIVE  QUANTITATIVE
18. 18. can be divided into; Deductive Inductive Theory Hypothesis Observation Confirmation Pattern Tentative Hypothesis Theory observation
19. 19. Qualitative Approach  The use of Research Questions as opposed to objectives or hypothesis, is more frequent.  Characteristics  Use of words- what or how.  Specify whether the study: discovers, seeks to understand, explores or describes the experiences.  Use of non-directional wording in the question.  These questions describe, rather than relate variables or compare groups during study.  The questions are usually open-ended, without reference to the literature or theory.  Use of a single focus.
20. 20. The rules of Qualitative research  Kleining offers four rules for a scientific and qualitative process of approaching understanding to reality.  Rule 1 (refers to subject / researcher)  "Prior understandings of the phenomenon to be researched should be seen as provisional and should be transcended with [the discovery of] new information with which they are not consistent."
21. 21. The rules of Qualitative research  Rule 2 (refers to the object of study)  "The object is provisional; it is only fully known after the successful completion of the process of discovery."  Rule 3 (refers to action in relation to the subject of research, hence to data collection)  "The object should be approached from "all" sides; rule of the maximum variation of perspectives.“  Rule 4 (refers to the evaluation of information gathered, hence to data analysis)  "Analysis of the data for common elements."
22. 22. Quantitative Approach  In survey projects the use of research questions and objectives is more Frequent.  In experiments the use of hypotheses are more frequent. comparison between variables  Represent, relationship between variables Characteristics :  The testable proposition to be deduced from theory.  Independent and dependent variables to be separated and measured separately.
23. 23. Characteristics contd... Independent and dependent variables to be separated and measured separately. To be either writing-questions, or objectives or hypotheses, but not a combination. Consider the alternative forms for writing and make a choice based on the audience for the research
24. 24. Generation of Research Hypothesis Problem statements become research hypotheses when constructs are operationalized Initial Ideas (often vague and general) Initial observations Search of existing research literature Statement of the problem Operational definitions of constructs Research hypothesis (a specific deductive prediction)
25. 25. Quantitative Approach To be either writing-questions, or objectives or hypotheses, but not a combination. Consider the alternative forms for writing and make a choice based on the audience for the research
26. 26. Example: Consider the example of a simple association between two variables, Y and X. 1.Y and X are associated (or, there is an association between Y and X). 2. Y is related to X (or, Y is dependent on X). 3. As X increases, Y decreases (or, increases in values of X appear to effect reduction in values of Y).
27. 27. Contd…  The first hypothesis provides a simple statement of association between Y and X. Nothing is indicated about the association that would allow the researcher to determine which variable, Y or X, would tend to cause the other variable to change in value.  The second hypothesis is also a simple statement of association between Y and X, but this time it may be inferred that values of Y are in some way contingent upon the condition of the X variable.  The third hypothesis is the most specific of the three. Not only does it say that Y and X are related and that Y is dependent on X for its value, but it also reveals something more about the nature of the association between the two variables.
28. 28. Testing and Chhalenge-  The degree of challenge to the hypothesis will depend on the type of problem and its importance. It can range from just seeking “a good enough” solution to a much more rigorous challenge.  The term Challenge may include  Verification Justification Refutability Validity Rectification Repeatability Falsification  There are two possibilities  1. Nothing Happened the Null Hypothesis - Ho  2. Something Happened the Alternative Hypothesis - H1
29. 29. Hypothesis testing is a four step procedure: 1.Stating the hypothesis (Null or Alternative) 2. Setting the criteria for a decision 3. Collecting data 4. Evaluate the Null hypothesis
30. 30. Hypothesis testing is a four step procedure:  Hypothesis testing involves making a decision concerning some hypothesis or statement about a population parameter such as the population mean, using the sample mean, to decide whether this statement about the value of is valid or not.  The steps of the hypothesis testing : 1- The first step is to formulate a null hypothesis written . The statement for is usually expressed as an equation or inequality as follows: H0: µ = given Value, H0: µ ≤ given Value, H0: µ ≥given Value
31. 31. Hypothesis testing is a four step procedure: The alternative hypothesis suggests the direction of the actual value of the parameter relative to the stated value. The statement of in the form of an inequality that indicates that the investigator has no opinion as to whether the actual value of is more than or less than the stated value but the feeling is that the stated value is incorrect. In this case the test is two-tail test. Statements in the form of strictly greater than or strictly less than relationship indicate that the investigator has an opinion as to the direction of the value of the parameter relative to the stated value. In this case it is called one-tail test.
32. 32. Hypothesis testing is a four step procedure:  State the level of significance of the test and the corresponding Z values (for large sample tests), or the corresponding T values ( for small sample tests). The hypothesis test is frequently conducted at the 5%, 1% and 10% levels of significance. Some can use the Z values. For a test conducted at any other level of significance, we simply use the normal distribution table to determine a corresponding Z value.  3- Calculate the test statistic for the sample that has taken.  4- Determine the boundary (or boundaries) for the area of rejection regions using either or values. A critical value is the boundary or limit value that requires as to reject the statement of the null hypothesis.
33. 33. Hypothesis testing is a four step procedure: Also in this step it is stated an alternative hypothesis, written , a statement that indicates the opinion of the conductor of the test as to the actual value of . is expressed as follows: Ha: µ ≠given Value, Ha: µ >given Value, Ha: µ
34. 34. Two types of mistakes are possible while testing a Hypothesis :  Type I  Type II  Example: Your actual health doctor Sick well Says Sick You are sick Doctor confirms it Get scared nothing RIGHT wrong Type I error Well Doctor missed your real sickness you are really not sick Type II error RIGHT
35. 35.  Type I Error:  A type I error occurs when the null hypothesis (H0) is wrongly rejected.  For example: A type I error would occur if we concluded that the two drugs produced different effects when in fact there was no difference between them.
36. 36.  Type II Error:  A type II error occurs when the null hypothesis H0, is not rejected when it is in fact false.  For example: A type II error would occur if it were concluded that the two drugs produced the same effect, that is, there is no difference between the two drugs on average, when in fact they produced different ones..
37. 37. Reject H0 Don’t Reject Ho H0 Type I Error Right Decision H1 Right Decision Type II Error To Generalise: A type I error is often considered to be more serious, and therefore more important to avoid, than a type II error. T R U T H
38. 38. Research questions and hypotheses become “signposts” for explaining the purpose of the study & guiding the research…”, Creswell A hypothesis is an explanation, tentative and unsure of itself, for specific phenomena about which you have questions. A well-crafted hypothesis very often suggests the best way to perform the research and gives you clues as to your research design
39. 39. There are different types of hypotheses. Deductive Inductive Research Hypothesis can either be non-directional or directional. There exists a hypothesis that is opposite of the positively stated one, i.e. the null hypothesis Thus to conclude it would be fitting to say “hypothesis is perhaps the most powerful tool, man has invented to achieve dependable knowledge” – Fred Kerlinger…

What is a survey?

What is a survey?
A survey is any activity that collects information in an Scientific and methodical
manner about characteristics of subject from some or all units of a population using well-defined concepts, methods and procedures, and presents such information into a useful form. A survey usually begins with the need for information or knowledge where no data – or insufficient data – exist. Sometimes this need arises for framing a policy and sometimes it results from a request from any institution or agency which could be another government agency or department, or a private organization. Typically, the statistical agency or the client wishes to study the characteristics of a population, build a database for analytical purposes or test a hypothesis.

Steps of a Survey:

The steps of a survey are:
- Objectives;
- Sample design;
- determination of the sample size;
- Interview Schedule /questionnaire Preparation and testing;
- Data collection;
- Classification and coding; Tabulation
- Editing and imputation;
- Estimation;
- Statistical Analysis;
-  Report writing

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Review of Literaure

http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/mkghadoliya-2775008-review-literature/

Review of Literature

Review of literature

1. 1. Prof. M.K.Ghadoliya , Director, Jaipur National University, Jaipur
2. 2.  Many Research students are instructed, as part of their research, to perform a literature reviewliterature review, without understanding what it is. Read more: http://www.experiment-resources.com/what-is-a-literature-review.html#ixzz1QGfAxinx
3. 3.  Two types of Sources:  Primary: Primary sources are “materials that you are directly writing about, on the basis of the raw materials of your own research.”  Secondary: Secondary sources are “books and articles in which other researchers work results of their research based on (their) primary data or sources.”
4. 4.  A review of literature is an account of what has been published on a topic by other scholars and researchers.  A separate Chapter in M.Phil/Ph.D. thesis should highlight your review.  It should not be in a mechanical way. A researcher should comment on the review and clearly write his opinion.
5. 5. • Purpose is to convey what knowledge and ideaswhat knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic, and whathave been established on a topic, and what their strengths and weaknesses are.their strengths and weaknesses are. • As a piece of writing, the literature review must be defined by a guiding conceptdefined by a guiding concept (e.g., our research objective, the problem or issue you are discussing, or your argumentative thesis). • It is not just a descriptive list of the material available, or a set of summaries
6. 6. ◦ Only chronological arrangement of all of the sources is not the review, but an evaluation of the previous research together is essential, ◦ All sides of an argument must be clearly explained, to avoid bias, and areas of agreement and disagreement should be highlighted. ◦ good literature review should also have some evaluation of the quality and findings of the research.
7. 7. • to identify gapsidentify gaps in the research area • to avoid reinventing the wheelavoid reinventing the wheel • to carry on from where others have alreadycarry on from where others have already completedcompleted • to identify other people working in the same fieldsidentify other people working in the same fields • to the refresh the of knowledgethe refresh the of knowledge the debate going on the subject
8. 8. • to identify other researchers viewsother researchers views • to put your work into wider perspectiveput your work into wider perspective • to identify methodsmethods that could be relevant to your project. • to identify seminal worksidentify seminal works in your area • to provide the intellectual context for your own work, enabling you to position your project inproject in relationrelation to other work
9. 9. • Besides enlarging the knowledge about the topic, writing a review lets you gain and demonstrate skills in two areas: 1. information seeking: the ability to scan the literature efficiently, using manual or computerized methods, to identify a set of useful articles and books 2. critical appraisal: the ability to apply principles of analysis to identify unbiased and valid studies
10. 10.  be organized around and related directly to the thesis or research question we are developing  synthesize results into a summary of what is and is not known  identify areas of controversy in the literature  formulate questions that need further research
11. 11.  What is the specific thesis, problem, or research question that my literature review helps to define?  What type of literature review am I conducting? Am I looking at issues of theory? methodology? policy? quantitative research (e.g. on the effectiveness of a new procedure)? qualitative research (e.g., studies )?
12. 12. • What is the scope of my literature review? • What types of publications am I using (e.g., journals, books, government documents, popular media)? • What discipline am I working in (e.g., para-Medical, Engineering, Humanities, Pharmacy, Education, Journalism, Management? • How good was my information seeking? Has my search been wide enough to ensure I've found all the relevant material? Has it been narrow enough to exclude irrelevant material? Is the number of sources I've used appropriate for the length of my paper?
13. 13. • Have you critically analysed the literature You use? • Have you followed through a set of concepts and questions, comparing items to each other in the ways they deal with them? • Instead of just listing and summarizing items, do Assess and discuss strengths and weaknesses? • Will the reader find my literature review relevant, appropriate, and useful?
14. 14. • Has the author formulated a problem/issue? • Is it clearly defined? Is its significance (scope, severity, relevance) clearly established? • Could the problem have been approached more effectively from another perspective? • What was the author's research orientation (e.g., interpretive, critical, or scientific)? • What was the author's theoretical framework (e.g., psychological, developmental, feminist)?
15. 15. • Has the author evaluated the literature relevant to the problem/issue? Does the author include literature taking positions she or he does not agree with? • In a research study, how good are the basic components of the study design (e.g., population, intervention, outcome)? • How accurate and valid are the measurements? Is the analysis of the data accurate and relevant to the research question? Are the conclusions validly based upon the data and analysis?
16. 16. • How does the author structure the argument? where it breaks down logically (e.g., in establishing cause-effect relationships)? • In what ways does this book or article contribute to our understanding of the problem under study, and in what ways is it useful for practice? What are the strengths and limitations? • How does this book or article relate to the specific thesis or question I am developing?
17. 17.  Include references carefully for all the books, articles, web site and give their complete address separately following the standard pattern of you discipline.  Do not include review of studies that you have not seen yourself otherwise you will face the problems in Viva voce examination.  Follow the pattern of your discipline while giving bibliography