RESEARCH METHODS VERSUS METHODOLOGY

It seems important to elaborate on the difference between research methods and research methodology. Research methods may be understood as all those methods/techniques that are used for the conduction of research. Research methods or techniques, thus, refer to the methods the researchers use in performing research operations. In other words, all those methods which are used by the researcher during studying his research problem are termed research methods.

Since the object of research, particularly applied research, is to solve a given problem, the available data and the unknown aspects of the problem have to be related to each other to make a solution possible. Keeping this in view, research methods can be put into the following three groups:

1. In the first group, we include those methods which are concerned with the collection of data. These methods will be used where the data already available are not sufficient to arrive at the required solution.

2. The second group consists of those statistical techniques which are used for establishing relationships between the data and the unknowns.

3. The third group consists of those methods which are used to evaluate the accuracy of the results obtained. Research methods falling in the last two groups of the above-stated are generally taken as the analytical tools of research.

1. Library Research i. Analysis of historical records ii. Aanlysis of documents

Recording of notes, Content analysis, Tape and film listening and analysis.

Statistical compilations and manipulations, Reference and abstract guide, Content analysis

2. Field Research i. Non- Observational behavior participant direct observation ii. Participant observaion scales, use of score cards, etc. iii. Mass observations Recording mass behavior, interview using independent observers in public places. iv. Mail Questionnaire v. Opinionnaire Use of attitude scales, projective techniques, use of socioeconomic scales vi. Personal interview

Interactional recording, possible use of tape recorders, photographic techniques.

Identification of social and economic background of participants.

Interviewer uses a detailed schedule with open and closed questions vii. Focused interview Interviewer focuses attention upon a given experience and is effects viii. Group interview ix. Telephone survey

Small groups of responders are interviewed simultaneously

Used as a survey technique for information and for discerning opinion; may also be used as a follow up for a questionnaire x. Case study and life history

Cross sectional collection of data for intensive analysis, longitudinal collection of data of intensive character

According to the table above, we can say that methods are more general. It is the methods that generate techniques. However, in practice, the two terms are taken as interchangeable and when we talk of research methods we do, by implication, include research techniques within their compass.

Research methodology is a way to systematically solve the research problem. It may be understood as a science of studying how research is done scientifically. In methodology, we study the various steps that are adopted by a researcher in studying his research problem along with the logic behind them. The researcher must know not only the research method and techniques but also the methodology.

Researchers not only need to know how to develop certain indices or tests, how to calculate the mean, the mode, the median or the standard deviation or chi-square, and how to apply particular research techniques, but they also need to know which of these methods or techniques, are relevant and which are not, and what would they mean and indicate and why.

Researchers also need to understand the assumptions underlying various techniques and they need to know the criteria by which they can decide that certain techniques and procedures will apply to certain problems and others will not.

All this means that the researcher must design his methodology for his problem as the same may differ from problem to problem. For example, an architect, who designs a building, has to consciously evaluate the basis of his decisions, i.e., he has to evaluate why and on what basis he selects a particular size, number, and location of doors, windows, and ventilators, uses particular materials and not others and the like. Similarly, in research, the scientist has to expose the research decisions to evaluation before they are implemented. He has to specify clearly and precisely what decisions he selects and why he selects them so that they can be evaluated by others also.

Based on what has been stated, we can say that research methodology has many dimensions and research methods constitute a part of the research methodology. The scope of the research methodology is wider than that of research methods.

As a result, when we talk of research methodology, we not only talk of the research methods but also consider the logic behind the methods we use in the context of our research study and explain why we are using a particular method or technique and why we are not using others so that research results are capable of being evaluated either by the researcher himself or by others. Why a research study has been undertaken, how the research problem has been defined, in what way and why the hypothesis has been formulated, what data have been collected and what particular method has been adopted, why a particular technique of analyzing data has been used and a host of similar other questions are usually answered when we talk of research methodology concerning a research problem or study.

Research is classified into two major groups based on the application of its findings: Basic Research and Applied (Clinical) Research (Polit & Hungler, 1983).

Basic research is the purest form of research which entails gathering information relating to a specific topic to extend the knowledge of the such topic (Burns & Grove, 1987).

Basic research is also undertaken to formulate a theory or refine one, approve the models within the theory, and generate novel relationships between concepts within the theory, thus producing new theories.

Basic research is commonly used in medical research to define and further clarify physiological and psychological behaviors and pathways of humans. Basic research findings tend not to have any practical use. However, because the findings are theoretical, they can be generalized to a variety of settings (Polit & Hungler, 1983).

The definition of clinical research might appear to be self-evident; however, some researchers have narrowly defined clinical research to refer to clinical trials (i.e., intervention studies in human patients), while others have broadly defined it as any research design that studies humans (patients or subjects) or any materials taken from humans.

This latter definition may even include animal studies, the results of which are more or less directly applicable to humans. For example, in 1991, Ahrens included the following in the definition of clinical research: studies on the mechanisms of human disease; studies on the management of the disease; in vitro studies on materials of human origin; animal models of human health and disease; the development of new technologies; the assessment of health care delivery; and field surveys.

The Association of American Medical Colleges Task Force on Clinical Research defined clinical research as "a component of medical and health research intended to produce knowledge essential for understanding human disease, preventing and treating illness, and promoting health. Clinical research embraces a continuum of studies involving interaction with patients, diagnostic clinical materials or data, or populations, in any of these categories: disease mechanisms; translational research; clinical knowledge; detection; diagnosis and natural history of the disease; therapeutic interventions including clinical trials; prevention and health promotion; behavioral research; health services research; epidemiology; and community-based and managed care-based research".

Medical research is classified into primary and secondary research. Clinical, also referred to as experimental, studies are performed in primary research, whereas secondary research consolidates available studies as narrative reviews, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses. Three main areas in primary research are basic medical research, clinical research, and epidemiological research.

Basic research includes fundamental research in fields shown in Figure x. In almost all studies, at least one independent variable is varied, whereas the effects on the dependent variables are investigated. Clinical studies include observational studies and interventional studies and are subclassified as in Figure x.

Knowing common research terminology helps you understand how to read and interpret scholarly journal articles so you can more effectively apply the results to real world human performance. The following are basic research terms and definitions.

1. Abstract: a brief overview of a research study.

2. Constitutive definition: the basic, dictionary meaning.

3. Construct: a term that describes a human variable that is not directly measurable (e.g., motivation, self-esteem). Also known as a psychological construct.

4. Control group: in experiments, the one that doesn't get the treatment.

5. Correlational study: a type of research design that depicts a relationship between variables, but not necessarily one of cause-effect.

6. Data: information. can be numbers or words. plural form of datum. the "data show" not "shows."

7. Dependent variable: the quality you are observing.

8. Descriptive study: research design that describes "what is" (e.g., a survey.)

9. Experiment: a research design used to find relationships between variables.

10. Experimental group: the one that get the treatment.

11. External validity: how generalizable the results are outside of the study as it concerns other populations and locations.

12. Independent variable: the one you are manipulating. The effect of (independent, such as smoking) on ( dependent, lung cancer).

13. Measures of central tendency: averages, e.g., the mean.

14. Measures of variability: spread, e.g., standard deviation.

15. Operational definition: how a term is used in a study.

16. Population: all of a group of interest.

17. Random sample: everybody had the same chance of being assigned to any group. sometimes confused with who you ran into by chance.

18. Research: a systematic, objective way to generate facts or knowledge.

19. Research design: the plan or method for finding out what you want to know. experiments, correlations, descriptive studies.

20. Sample: a smaller group that represents a population of interest.

21. Significance: two meanings: significance of the study means why it is important. Also see statistical significance.

22. Standard deviation: a measure of spread. the average deviation of a group of scores from the mean.

23. Statistical significance: an important finding that did not likely happen by chance. p<.05 means that there were less than 5 chances in 100 that the result would have happened randomly.

24. Statistics: mathematical tools based on the normal curve used to analyze data. researchers must match statistics with research designs.

25. T-score: a standard score on the normal curve where the mean is assigned "50" with deviations of "10". Allows a more simple interpretation of student achievement.

26. T-test: a parametric statistical tool that compares differences between the means of two groups; assumptions for use include normal distribution and at least interval data.

27. The extent to which: a favorite phrase of researchers that means "how much". implies ranges and probabilities and avoids absolutes.

28. Validity: accuracy. the extent to which a test or study measures what it is supposed to measure.

29. Z-score: a standard score on the normal curve. Each z-score is counted as "1" from the mean, plus or minus.