RESEARCH METHODOLOGY a step-by-step guide for beginners SAGE has been part of the global academic community since 1965, supporting high quality research and learning that transforms society and our understanding of individuals, groups, and cultures SAGE is the independent, innovative, natural home for authors, editors and societies who share our commitment and passion for the social sciences Find out more at: www.sagepublications.com 3rd edition RESEARCH METHODOLOGY a step-by-step guide for beginners Ranjit Kumar © Ranjit Kumar 1999, 2005, 2011 First edition published 1999 Second edition published 2005 Reprinted 2007, 2008 (twice), 2009 (twice) This third edition published 2011 Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form, or by any means, only with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publishers SAGE Publications Ltd 1 Oliver’s Yard 55 City Road London EC1Y 1SP SAGE Publications Inc 2455 Teller Road Thousand Oaks, California 91320 SAGE Publications India Pvt Ltd B 1/I 1 Mohan Cooperative Industrial Area Mathura Road New Delhi 110 044 SAGE Publications Asia-Pacific Pte Ltd 33 Pekin Street #02-01 Far East Square Singapore 048763 Library of Congress Control Number available British Library Cataloguing in Publication data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978-1-84920-300-5 ISBN 978-1-84920-301-2 (pbk) Typeset by C&M Digitals (P) Ltd, Chennai, India Printed and bound in Great Britain by TJ International Ltd, Padstow, Cornwall Printed on paper from sustainable resources To my daughter, Parul Contents List of figures List of tables Preface Research: a way of thinking Research: an integral part of your practice Research: a way to gather evidence for your practice Applications of research Research: what does it mean? The research process: characteristics and requirements Types of research Types of research: application perspective Types of research: objectives perspective Types of research: mode of enquiry perspective Paradigms of research Summary The research process: a quick glance The research process: an eight-step model Phase I: deciding what to research Step I: formulating a research problem Phase II: planning a research study Step II: conceptualising a research design Step III: constructing an instrument for data collection Step IV: selecting a sample Step V: writing a research proposal Phase III: conducting a research study Step VI: collecting data Step VII: processing and displaying data Step VIII: writing a research report Summary STEP I FORMULATING A RESEARCH PROBLEM Reviewing the literature The place of the literature review in research Bringing clarity and focus to your research problem Improving your research methodology Broadening your knowledge base in your research area Enabling you to contextualise your findings How to review the literature Searching for the existing literature Reviewing the selected literature Developing a theoretical framework Developing a conceptual framework Writing about the literature reviewed Summary Formulating a research problem The research problem The importance of formulating a research problem Sources of research problems Considerations in selecting a research problem Steps in formulating a research problem The formulation of research objectives The study population Establishing operational definitions Formulating a research problem in qualitative research Summary Identifying variables What is a variable? The difference between a concept and a variable Converting concepts into variables Types of variable From the viewpoint of causal relationship From the viewpoint of the study design From the viewpoint of the unit of measurement Types of measurement scale The nominal or classificatory scale The ordinal or ranking scale The interval scale The ratio scale Summary Constructing hypotheses The definition of a hypothesis The functions of a hypothesis The testing of a hypothesis The characteristics of a hypothesis Types of hypothesis Errors in testing a hypothesis Hypotheses in qualitative research Summary STEP II CONCEPTUALISING A RESEARCH DESIGN The research design What is a research design? The functions of a research design The theory of causality and the research design Summary Selecting a study design Differences between quantitative and qualitative study designs Study designs in quantitative research Study designs based on the number of contacts Study designs based on the reference period Study designs based on the nature of the investigation Other designs commonly used in quantitative research The cross-over comparative experimental design The replicated cross-sectional design Trend studies Cohort studies Panel studies Blind studies Double-blind studies Study designs in qualitative research Case study Oral history Focus groups/group interviews Participant observation Holistic research Community discussion forums Reflective journal log Other commonly used philosophy-guided designs Action research Feminist research Participatory and collaborative research enquiry Summary STEP III CONSTRUCTING AN INSTRUMENT FOR DATA COLLECTION Selecting a method of data collection 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Social Research Methods: An Australian Perspective, Melbourne, Oxford University Press Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, 1976, G & C Company, Springfield, MA Yegidis, Bonnie & Robert Weinback, 1991, Research Methods for Social Workers, New York, Longman Young, Pauline V., 1966, Scientific Social Survey Research (4th edn), Englewood Cliffs, NJ, Prentice Hall Index 100 percent bar chart 301–2 ABI/INFORM 36 accidental sampling 201 action research 131 active variables 71 after-only designs 215 Alkin, M.C 324 alternate hypothesis 85 applications of research 6 applied research 9, 10 area chart 305–6 attitudinal scales 167–76 calculating attitudinal score 172 difficulties in developing 169 functions 168 in qualitative research 175 in quantitative research 168 relation to measurement scales 175 types 170–5 attitudinal score 172–3 attitudinal value 174 attitudinal weight 174 attribute variables 71 authenticity 184 Babbie, E 178 Bailey, K.D 10, 74, 83, 245 bar chart 298–300 before-and-after studies 107–10 bias 5, 141, 164, 246 bibliography 403–7 Black, J.A 63 blind studies 126 books, reviewing 34 Bulmer, M Burns, R.B 8, 144, 313 calculation of sample size 209–12 case studies 126 categorical variable 72 causal change dependent variable 97–9 independent variable 97–9 total 97–9 cause variable 66–9 Champion, D.J 63 chance variables 96–9 CINAHL 36 classificatory scale 74–6 closed questions 145, 151–4 cluster sampling 204–5 code book 257–68 code of conduct 241 coding 256–74 coding qualitative data 277–88 coding quantitative data 255–77 Cohen, M.R 63 Cohen and Nagel 63 cohort studies 125 column percentage 295–7 community forums 129, 160, 330 community surveys 330 concepts converting into indicators 64–6 difference between concepts and variables 63–4 measurement 73–7 conceptual framework 40 concurrent validity 180 conditioning effect 110 confidentiality 242, 246 confirmability 185 consent, 244 constant variable 73 construct validity 180 consumers, opinions 336 content analysis 277–88 content validity 179 continuous variables 73 control group 117 control studies 117–19 correlational research 9–11 cost–benefit analysis 341–2 credibility 185 cross-sectional studies 107 cross-tabulations 294 cumulative frequency polygon 303–3 data collection in qualitative studies 159–63 focus-group interviews 160 in-depth interviews 160 narratives 161 oral histories 161 data collection in quantitative studies 138–59 difference in quantitative and qualitative research 138 methods 138–59 prerequisites 159 primary sources 140–59 secondary sources 163–4 using attitudinal scales 167–75 data processing 253–88 coding 256–88 display 291–308 editing 255–6 in qualitative studies 277–88 in quantitative studies 255–77 data saturation point 213 databases 36 dependent variables 66–71 dependability 185 Denzin and Lincoln 184 descriptive research 10 dichotomous variables 72 disproportionate stratified sampling 203–4 Donnelly and Trochim 185 double-barrelled questions 155 double-blind studies 126 dropouts from an intervention 334 Duncan, O.T 74 editing, data 255–6 elevation effect 142 equal-appearing interval scale 174 ERIC 36 error of central tendency 142 ethics in research 241–8 concept 241–2 participants 244–6 researcher 246–7 sponsoring organisation 247–8 stakeholders 243 evaluation, practice 323–52 consumer-oriented/client-centred 342–3 cost–benefit/cost-effectiveness 341–2 definitions 324–5 developing evaluation objectives 344–7 ethics 352 focus of evaluation 329 goal-centred/objective-oriented 342 holistic/illuminative 343 impact/outcome 337–41 improvement-oriented 329, 343 intervention–evaluation process 327–8 involving stakeholders 351–2 philosophical base 342–3 process monitoring/service delivery 335–7 program/intervention planning 330–2 target population participation 333–5 types 328–9 undertaking evaluation 343–51 why 325–6 evidence-based practice 4 experimental group 113 experimental study designs 113–26 after-only 115 before-and-after 116 comparative 120 control-group 117 cross-over comparative 123 double-control 119 matched-control 121 placebo 122 replicated cross-sectional 124 expert panel 125 expert sampling 207 explanatory research 9, 11 exploratory research 9, 11 external consistency procedures 182–3 extraneous variables 96–9 face validity 179–80 feasibility study 11 feminist research 132 Festinger and Katz 18 fishbowl draw 200 focus group 127–8 frame of analysis 274–6 frequency distributions 274 frequency polygon 302 functional analysis studies 336 Gilchrist, L 244 graphs 297–307 Grinnell, R 7, 83 Guba, E.G 185 Guttman scale 175 halo effect 143 harm, caused by research 245 Hawthorne Effect 141 HEALTHROM 36 histogram 298 holistic research 129 Humanities Index 36 Huxley, T.H 81 hypothesis alternate 85 of association 87 characteristics 84–5 definition 81–3 of difference 86 errors 87–8 functions 83 null 86 of point-prevalence 87 qualitative research 88–9 types 85–7 impact assessments after-only design 115, 338 before-and-after design 116, 339 comparative study design 120–1, 339 double control 119–20 experimental-control design 117–19, 339 interrupted time-series design 340 matched control 121–2 placebo 122 reflexive control design 339 replicated cross-sectional design 124, 340 incentives, providing 245 independent variables 66–71 indicators 64–6, 347–9 information inappropriate use 247 misuse 248 sensitive 156–8, 245 informed consent 244 inquiry mode 9 internal consistency procedures 183–4 internet 37 interpretive paradigm 14 interval scale 74–7 intervening variables 69–71 intervention–development–evaluation process 327–8 interviewing 144–5 advantages 149–50 constructing schedule 156–7 disadvantages 150 forms of questions 151–4 formulating effective questions 154–5 schedule 145, 148 structured 145 unstructured 145 versus questionnaires 148–9 journals, reviewing 35–6 judgemental sampling 198, 207 Katz, D 18 Kerlinger, F.N 8, 44, 62, 82, 94, 98, 178 leading questions 155 Likert scale 170–4 limitations, research 236–7 Lincoln and Guda 185 line diagram 305–6 Lipsey, M.W 324 literature review 31–42 reviewing procedure 33–40 searching exiting literature 34–5 why 31–3 writing 40–1 longitudinal studies 110 Lundberg, G.A matching 100 maturation effect 109 ‘maxmincon’ principle 95–8 measurement of concepts 64–6 measurement scales 73–7 interval 75, 77 nominal or classificatory 75, 76 ordinal or ranking 75, 76 ratio 75, 77 MEDLINE 36 Meenaghan, T.M 44 multiple responses 259 multi-stage cluster sampling 205 Nagel, E 63 narratives (information gathering) 161 need-assessment surveys 330 negative statements 172 neutral items 173 nominal scales 76 non-discriminatory items 171–2 non-experimental studies 113–14 non-probability sampling 197–8, 206–8 non-random sampling 197–8, 206–8 null hypothesis 86 numerical scale 171 objectives, formulating 50, 54 observation 140–4 non-participant 141 participant 141 problems 141 recording 142–4 situations 141–2 100 percent bar chart 301–2 open-ended questions 151–3 operational definitions 55–7 oral histories 161–2 ordinal scales 74–6 outline (chapterisation) 314–19 panel of experts 337 panel studies 125 paradigms of research 14–15 participant observation 128, 141 participatory research 131–3 percentages 295–7 pie chart 304–5 pilot study 11 placebo effect 122 planning a research study 23–6 Poincaré 18, 73 polytomous variables 72–3 positive statements 172 positivist paradigm 14–15 Powers, G.T 44 prediction 193 predictive validity 180 pre-test 158 primary data 138 primary sources 138 probability sampling 198–205 proportionate stratified sampling 203–4 prospective studies 111 pure research 9–10 purposive sampling 207 qualitative–quantitative study designs, differences 103–5 qualitative research analysis 277–88 compared to quantitative research 20 sampling 212–13, 206–8 quantitative research compared to qualitative research 20 frame of analysis 274 questionnaires 145 administering 146–8 advantages 148 covering letter 150–1 disadvantages 149 versus interviews 148 questions advantages 153–4 close ended 151–2 disadvantages 151–2 forms of 151–3 formulating 154–5 open-ended 151–2 order 158 personal 156–8 pre-testing 158–9 sensitive 156–8 quota sampling 206–7 random designs 115–24 numbers 200–1 randomisation 114 sampling 198–206 ratio scale 74–5, 77 raw data 255 reactive effect 109, 395 reconstructing the main concepts 275 reference period 106, 111 referencing 320 reflective journal 130 regression effect 109–10 reliability concept 181 determining 182–4 factors affecting 182 in qualitative studies 184–6 report writing bibliography 321 outline 314–19 referencing 320 about a variable 319–20 research applications 4–6 characteristics 8–9 definitions 5, 7–8 objectives 50, 54 operational steps 18–23 paradigms 145 problem 44–7 process 18–27 proposal 217–37 reasons for 1–4 types 9–14 what does it mean 5, 7–8 writing 313–14 research design definition 94 functions 94–5 theory of causality 95–9 research journey 18–27 research problem 44 aspects 45–7 considerations in selecting 47–8 steps in formulating 48–50, 51–3 formulation of objectives 50, 54 narrowing 48–50 operational definitions 55–7 qualitative research, in 57–8 sources 45–7 study population 55 research proposal 217–38 contents 218 data analysis 232–4 ethical issues 231 hypotheses 226–7 measurement procedures 230 objectives 224–6 preamble 220–2 problem and limitations 236–7 research problem 224 sampling 231–2 setting 230 structure of the report 235–6 study design 227–9 work schedule 237 researcher, ethical issues 246–7 retrospective–prospective studies 111–12 retrospective studies 111–12 Rossi, P.H 324 row percentage 295–6 Rutman, L 324 sampling 192–214 accidental 207 cluster 204–5 concept 193 design 194 disproportionate sampling 203 element 194 error 195 frame 194 judgemental 207 non-probability 198, 206–8 non-random 198, 206–8 population 193–4 principles 194–7 probability 199–206 proportionate 206 purposive 207 in qualitative and quantitative research 192 quota 206–7 random 199–206 with or without replacement 202–3 size 194 snowball 208 statistics 194 stratified 203–4 systematic 208–9 terminology 194 unit 194 saturation point 213 scattergram 307 schedule, work 237 Schinke, S.P 244 search engines 37 Selltiz, J 94 secondary data 163–4 secondary sources 138–9 semi-experimental studies, 106, 113–14 sensitive information 156–8 service delivery, evaluating 335–7 Shinkfield, A.J 324, 342 simple random sampling 203 snowball sampling 208 Social Sciences Citation Index 35 Solomon, L.C 324 sponsoring organisation, ethical issues 247–8 stacked bar chart 301 stakeholders 243 statistics and research 308 stem-and-leaf display 304 Stevens, S.S 74 stratified random sampling 203–4 structured inquiries 11–12 structured interviews 144–5 stub 294 study designs, philosophy oriented 130–3 action research 131–2 feminist research 132 participatory and collaborative research 132–3 study designs in qualitative research 126–30 case study design 126–7 community discussion forums 129–30 focus groups/group interviews 127–8 holistic design 129 oral history design 127 participant observation 128–9 reflective journal log 130 study designs in quantitative research 105–24 before-and-after 107 comparative study designs 120–1 control studies 117–19 cross-over comparative designs 123 cross-sectional 107 double-control designs 119–20 experimental 113–14 longitudinal 110 matched-control designs 121 non-experimental 113–14 placebo design 122 prospective 111–12 random 114 replicated cross-sectional designs 124 retrospective 111–12 retrospective–prospective 111–12 semi-experimental or quasi-experimental 113–14 study population 55–6, 193 definition 55 ethical issues affecting 244–5 evaluating participation 333–5 Stufflebeam, D.L 324 subject area 46–7 subjectivity 5 summated rating scale 170–4 systematic sampling 208–9 tables 292–5 target population 193 text 292 thematic writing 41 theoretical framework 38–40 Thurstone scale 174 Thyer, B.A 94 time-frame 237 time-and-motion studies 336 total percentage 297 transferability 185 treatment group 113 trend curve 305 trend studies 124–5 Trochim 185 Twoomey, B.G 44 Type I error 88 Type II error 88 unit of measurement 62 unstructured inquiries 11–12 unstructured interviews 144–5 validity 178–81 concept 178–9 concurrent 180 construct 180–1 credibility 184–5 dependability 184–5 face 179–80 predictive 180 in quantitative research 179–81 in qualitative research 184–6 transferability 185 types 179–81, 184–6 variables 62–73 active 71–2 attribute 71–2 categorical 72–3 chance 97–8 change 66, 68 and concepts 63–4 connecting 69–70 continuous 72–3 definition 62–3 dependent 66–70 dichotomous 72–3 extraneous 66–8 independent 66–70 intervening 69–70 measurement scales 73–7 outcome 68–71 polytomous 72–3 types 66–73 work schedule 237 working definitions 55–7 Young, P.V 63 ... Content analysis in qualitative research – an example The role of statistics in research Summary 16 Displaying data Methods of communicating and displaying analysed data Text Tables Graphs Summary STEP VIII WRITING A RESEARCH REPORT... Problems with using data from secondary sources Summary 10 Collecting data using attitudinal scales Measurement of attitudes in quantitative and qualitative research Attitudinal scales in quantitative research Functions of attitudinal scales... correlational research, descriptive research, empirical, explanatory research, exploratory research, evidence-based practice, interpretive paradigm, positivistic paradigm, pure research, qualitative