INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Educational Journal, 2023

In the simplest of terms, the research definition is a process of seeking out knowledge. This knowledge can be new, or it can support an already known fact. The purpose of research is to inform and is based on collected and analyzed data. This exploration occurs systematically, where it is either tested or investigated to add to a body of knowledge. Research is a systematic and scientific approach to understanding the world around us. It is a process of inquiry that involves the collection and analysis of data to answer questions or solve problems.

It is an investigation of finding solutions to scientific and social problems through objective and systematic analysis. It is a search for knowledge, that is, a discovery of hidden truths. Here knowledge means information about matters. The information might be collected from different sources like experience, human beings, books, journals, nature, etc. A research can lead to new contributions to the existing knowledge. Only through research is it possible to make progress in a field. Research is indeed civilization and determines the economic, social and political development of a nation. The results of scientific research very often force a change in the philosophical view of problems which extend far beyond the restricted domain of science itself. Research is not confined to science and technology only. There are vast areas of research in other disciplines such as languages, literature, history and sociology. Whatever might be the subject, research has to be an active, diligent and systematic process of inquiry in order to discover, interpret or revise facts, events, behaviours and theories. Applying the outcome of research for the refinement of knowledge in other subjects, or in enhancing the quality of human life also becomes a kind of research and development. Research is done with the help of study, experiment, observation, analysis, comparison and reasoning. Research Methods and Research Methodology Research methods are the various procedures, schemes and algorithms used in research. All the methods used by a researcher during a research study are termed as research methods. They are essentially planned, scientific and value-neutral. They include theoretical procedures, experimental studies, numerical schemes, statistical approaches, etc. Research methods help us collect samples, data and find a solution to a problem. Particularly, scientific research methods call for explanations based on collected facts, measurements and observations and not on reasoning alone. They accept only those explanations which can be verified by experiments. Research methodology is a systematic way to solve a problem. Foundations of research are built and conducted over a structure called methodology (Remenyi et al. 1998) and a valid study will always adapt encouraging research methodology (Buckley et al. 1975). It is a science of studying how research is to be carried out. Essentially, the procedures by which researchers go about their work of describing, explaining and predicting phenomena are called research methodology. It is also defined as the study of methods by which knowledge is gained. Its aim is to give the work plan of research. It consists a logical sequence of steps or actions that are necessary to effectively solve a research problem.

The purpose of your research can be exploratory, descriptive, explanatory or policyoriented. These categories are not mutually exclusive, they are a matter of emphasis. As any research study will change and develop over time, you may identify more than one purpose. These four types of research are discussed below.

2013

Experience shows that the question of whether or not to introduce a hypothesis is most vital in methodology, but special importance is assigned to its conceptual definition: how it originates and is discovered, its functionality, classification, and structure, and the derivation of the hypothesis and its indicators. In methodology exists an understanding that the hypothesis role is not important, but necessary for elaborate subjects of research and is a basic term that is usually expected from a PhD thesis title. It is an issue regarding whether it is possible to conduct research without the pursuance of a hypothesis, which requires the additional effort of researcher to formulate said hypothesis and adjust the paper to its operational determination of the subject of the research. There is a second opinion based on the fact that hypotheses make up the research process framework, and suggests the other elements of the research goal are not as important. This understanding directly pr...

2022