STA630 Midterm Short Notes Set 2

Lesson No.1

Introduction, Definition, & Value of Research

Q what is research and what’s the value of research?

Solution

Research is something to do with the laboratory where scientists are apparently doing some experiments / the process of finding solutions to a problem after through studying and analyzing the situational factors. It is gathering information needed to answer a question, and thereby help in solving a problem.

Value of Research_

The nature of research problems could vary. Problems may refer to some undesirable situation or these may refer to simply a snooping of the research that may be agitating his or her mind. For example, in a recent BA/BS examination of the Punjab University 67 percent of the students failed. That is a colossal wastage of the resources, hence an undesirable situation that needs research to find a solution. The researchers may come up with a variety of reasons that may relate with the students, the teachers, the curricula, the availability of books, the examination system, the family environment of the student, and many more. So a study may be carried out diagnose the situation, and the recommendations to be applied to overcome the undesirable situation of mass failure of students. The value of research for policy makers, planners, business managers, and other stakeholders is that it reduces uncertainty by providing information that improves the decision making process. Decision making process associated with the development and implementation of a strategy involves four interrelated stages, 1 Identifying problems or opportunities 2 Diagnosing and accessing problems or opportunities 3 Selecting and implementing a course of action 4 Evaluating the course of action

Lesson No.2

Scientific Method of Research & Its Special Features

What is Scientific method and write down its features or characteristics?

Solution

Science is a way to produce knowledge, which is based on truth and attempts to be universal. Science is a method or procedure to produce knowledge, which could be used for the solution of problems as well as for the generation of universal theories, principles and laws through the process of observation and re observation. Observation here means that scientists use “sensory experiences” for the study of phenomenon. They not only do the observation of a phenomenon but also repeat the observation several time because they want to definite and positive about their findings, rather the results are organized, systematized, and made part of the existing body of knowledge, all this procedure for the creation of knowledge is called “scientific method”.

Important Features or Characteristics of Scientific Method

Empirical_ Scientific method is concerned with the realities that are observable through sensory experience and generates knowledge which verifiable by experience or observation. Some of the realities could be observed directly but some are not observed directly but researchers have designed ways to observe these indirectly. Verifiable_ Knowledge observes through scientific method again verified by the same researcher or other using senses to confirm, and place more faith and confidence in those findings or conclusions, If similar findings emerge on the basis of data collected by other researchers using the same method. They will gain confidence in the scientific nature of our research. Cumulative_ prior to the start of any study the researchers try to scan through literature and see that their study is not a repetition in ignorance. Instead of reinvesting the wheel the researchers take stock of the existing body of knowledge and create a linkage between the present and previous body of knowledge has to be established and that is how the knowledge accumulates. Deterministic_ Science is based on the assumption that all events have antecedent causes that are subject to identification and logical understanding. The scientific researchers try to explain the emerging phenomenon by identifying its reasons. The researcher tries to narrow down the large number of reasons which implies the explanation with the minimum number of variables that are responsible for an undesirable situation in such a way some action could taken. Ethical and Ideological Objectivity_ The conclusions drawn though interpretation of the results of data analysis should be objective that is they should be based on the facts of the finding derived from actual data and not on our emotional values. Any interference of their personal likings and dis liking in their research can contaminate the purity of data, which ultimately can affect the predictions made by the researcher. Statistical Generalization_ Generalizability refers to the scope of the research findings in one organization setting to other settings. For wider Generalizability, the researcher sampling design has to be logically developed and a number of other details in the data collection methods need to be carefully followed. Here the use of statistics becomes very helpful in making generalizations which is one of the goals of scientific method because it is a device for comparing what is observed and what is logically expected. Explanation_ Science is fundamentally a explanation activity and scientific explanation must make sense. Inductive Logic_ One starts from observed data and develops a generalization which explains the relationships between the objects observed. Deductive Logic_ One starts from some general law and applies it to a particular instance. Important features of scientific method say that there are two power bases of scientific knowledge (i) Empiricism such as Sensory Experience or Observation and (ii) Rationalism such as the logic explanations for regularity and then consequence ional argumentation for making generalizations. Experimental Design_ A study design in which the researcher might create An artificial setting, control some variables and manipulates the independent variable to establish cause-and-effect relationship is called Experimental Design.

Lesson No. 3

Classification of Research

What is exploratory research and write down goals of this research and also write about sources used by exploratory research for collection of information?

Solution

If the issue was new or the researcher has written little on it, you began at the beginning, this is called “exploratory research”. Its may be the first stage in a sequence studies, and useful preliminary step for new researcher’s. Exploratory research rarely yields definitive answers. It addresses the “what” question i.e. what is this social activity really about, and difficult to conduct because there are few guidelines to follow.

Goals of Exploratory Research

1 Develop well grounded picture of the situation. 2 Determine the feasibility of conducting the study. 3 Become more familiar with the facts, setting, and concerns. 4 Formulate questions and refine issues for more systematic inquiry. 5 Develop tentative theories, generate new ideas.

Exploratory Research used following sources / tools for collecting information. 1 Experience Surveys. In experience survey the researcher tries to contact individuals who are knowledgeable about a particular research problem.