MODULE IN THE 321-UNDERGRADUATE THESIS 1-

PROPOSAL/OUTLINE DEVELOPMENT (BSAB 3A, B, JAS & BSABE 3)

THE INTRODUCTION:

THE OVERVIEW:

INSTRUCTION TO THE USER:

THE OBJECTIVES:

LEARNING ACTIVITIES:
The learner shall be able to:
1. Identify the steps in developing a research proposal.
2. Choose a topic and formulate a research question and working thesis.
3. Develop research questions and hypotheses.
4. Carry out a critical literature review, using well developed analytical and synthesis
skills.
5. Understand research design, and be able to choose rigorous and
practical research methods to address a problem focused research question(s).
6. Develop a research proposal.
THE 321
(UNDERGRADUATE THESIS 1- PROPOSAL/OUTLINE DEVELOPMENT)

LESSON 1: INTRODUCTION

PRE-TEST:
Direction: Answer the question comprehensively and concisely.
1. Explain the steps of the research writing process.
2. Explain the basic guidelines in conducting research.

Learning Activities:
The learner shall be able to:
1. Discuss what is a research proposal.
2. Discuss the purpose of a research proposal
3. Outline the steps of the research writing process.
4. Discuss the basic guidelines in conducting research.

WRITING RESEARCH PROPOSAL

The goal of a research proposal is twofold: to present and justify the need to
study a research problem and to present the practical ways in which the proposed
study should be conducted. The design elements and procedures for conducting
research are governed by standards of the predominant discipline in which the
problem resides, therefore, the guidelines for research proposals are more exacting
and less formal than a general project proposal. Research proposals contain extensive
literature reviews. They must provide persuasive evidence that a need exists for the
proposed study. In addition to providing a rationale, a proposal describes detailed
methodology for conducting the research consistent with requirements of the
professional or academic field and a statement on anticipated outcomes and/or
benefits derived from the study's completion.
What is your research proposal used for and why is it important?
1. It is used to establish whether there is expertise to support your proposed area of
research.
2. It forms part of the assessment of your application.
3. The research proposal you submit as part of your application is just the starting
point, as your ideas evolve your proposed research is likely to change.
How to Write a Research Proposal
A research proposal describes what you will investigate, why it’s important,
and how you will do the research. The format of a research proposal varies between fields,
but most proposals should contain at least these elements:
 Cover page
 Introduction
 Literature review
 Research design
 Reference list
Purpose of a research proposal
Academics often have to write research proposals to get funding for their projects.
As a student, you might have to write a research proposal to get your thesis or dissertation
plan approved.
All research proposals are designed to persuade someone — such as a funding body,
educational institution, or supervisor — that your project is worthwhile.
Research proposal aims
1. Relevance Convince the reader that your project is interesting, original
. and important.
2. Context. Show that you are familiar with the field, you understand the
current state of research on the topic, and your ideas have a
strong academic basis.
3. Approach. Make a case for your methodology, showing that you have
carefully thought about the data, tools and procedures you
will need to conduct the research.
4. Feasibility. Confirm that the project is possible within the practical
constraints of the programmed, institution or funding.

How long is a research proposal?

The length of a research proposal varies dramatically. A bachelor’s or master’s thesis
proposal can be just a few pages, while proposals for PhD dissertations and research funding
are often very long and detailed.
Although you write it before you begin the research, the proposal’s structure usually
looks like a shorter version of a thesis or dissertation (but without the results and
discussions sections).
Types of research proposal
Research proposals may be solicited, meaning that they are submitted in response
to a request with specified requirements, such as a request for proposal, or they may be
unsolicited, meaning they are submitted without prior request. Other types of proposals
include "preproposals", where a letter of intent or brief abstract is submitted for review
prior to submission of a full proposal; continuation proposals, which re-iterate an original
proposal and its funding requirements in order to ensure continued funding; and renewal
proposals, which seek continued sponsorship of a project which would otherwise be
terminated.
Academic research proposals are generally written as part of the initial
requirements of writing a thesis, research paper, or dissertation. They generally follow the
same format as a research paper, with an introduction, a literature review, a discussion of
research methodology and goals, and a conclusion. This basic structure may vary between
projects and between fields, each of which may have its own requirements.
Steps in Developing a Research Proposal
Writing a good research paper takes time, thought, and effort. Although this
assignment is challenging, it is manageable. Focusing on one step at a time will help you
develop a thoughtful, informative, well-supported research paper.
Steps:
1. Choose a topic.
When you choose a topic for a research paper, you are making a major
commitment. Your choice will help determine whether you enjoy the lengthy process of
research and writing—and whether your final paper fulfills the assignment
requirements. If you choose your topic hastily, you may later find it difficult to work with
your topic. By taking your time and choosing carefully, you can ensure that this
assignment is not only challenging but also rewarding.
Writers understand the importance of choosing a topic that fulfills the
assignment requirements and fits the assignment’s purpose and audience.
2. Develop research questions.
In forming a research question, you are setting a goal for your research. Your
main research question should be substantial enough to form the guiding principle of
your paper—but focused enough to guide your research. A strong research question
requires you not only to find information but also to put together different pieces of
information, interpret and analyze them, and figure out what you think. As you consider
potential research questions, ask yourself whether they would be too hard or too easy
to answer.
A research question is the core of a research project, study, or review of the
literature. It centers the study, sets the methodology, and guides all stages of inquiry,
analysis, and reporting.
A research question starts with a research problem, an issue that you would
like to know more about or change.
Research problems can be:
 Areas of concern
 Conditions that need to be changed
 Difficulties that should be erased
 Questions that need to be answered
A research problem leads to a research question that:
 Is worth investigating
 Contributes knowledge & value to the field
 Improves educational practice
 Improves humanity
The key features of a good research question:
 The question is viable.
 The question has clarity.
 The question has gravitas.
 The question is moral.
3. Constructing a Working Thesis.
A working thesis concisely states a writer’s initial answer to the main research
question. It does not merely state a fact or present a subjective opinion. Instead, it expresses a
debatable idea or claim that you hope to prove through additional research. You’re working
thesis is called a working thesis for a reason—it is subject to change. As you learn more
about your topic, you may change your thinking in light of your research findings. Let your
working thesis serve as a guide to your research, but do not be afraid to modify it based on
what you learn.
4. Creating a research proposal.
A research proposal is a brief document—no more than one typed page—that
summarizes the preliminary work you have completed. Your purpose in writing it is to
formalize your plan for research and present it to your instructor for feedback. In your
research proposal, you will present your main research question, related sub questions, and
working thesis. You will also briefly discuss the value of researching this topic and indicate
how you plan to gather information.
Parts of a Research Proposal
A research proposal includes four sections, and they are as follows:
 Section One: Introduction
 Section Two: Review of the Literature
 Section Three: Research Methodology
 Section Four: Bibliography
General guidelines
Research is of great importance – to individuals, to society and to global
development. Research also exercises considerable power at all these levels. For both these
reasons, it is essential that research is undertaken in ways that are ethically sound.
General guidelines for research ethics cannot replace subject-specific guidelines, but
should serve as a gateway to the principles and concerns of research ethics, including for
institutions and individuals who are not researchers themselves.
Prepared by the Norwegian National Committees for Research Ethics, 2014.General
guidelines for research ethics cannot replace subject-specific guidelines, but should serve as
a gateway to the principles and concerns of research ethics, including for institutions and
individuals who are not themselves researchers.
Principles
 Respect. People who participate in research, as informants or otherwise, shall be
treated with respect.
 Good consequences. Researchers shall seek to ensure that their activities produce
good consequences and that any adverse consequences are within the limits of
acceptability.
 Fairness. All research projects shall be designed and implemented fairly.
 Integrity. Researchers shall comply with recognized norms and to behave
responsibly, openly and honestly towards their colleagues and the public.
1. Quest for truth
Research activity is a quest for new knowledge, with critical and systematic
verification and peer review. Honesty, openness, systematisms and documentation are
fundamental preconditions for achieving this goal.
2. Academic freedom
Research institutions shall assist in ensuring the researchers’ freedom in their choice
of topic and methodology, implementation of research and publication of results. In
commissioned research, the commissioning agency has the right to define the topic,
research questions and scope of the research assignment in cooperation with the person or
institution undertaking the assignment. The commissioning agency should not seek to
unduly influence choice of methodology, implementation or publication.
3. Quality
Research should be of high academic quality. The researcher and institution are
required to possess the necessary competence, design relevant research questions,
undertake suitable choices of methodology and ensure sound and appropriate project
implementation in terms of data collection, data processing and safekeeping/storage of the
material.
4. Voluntary informed consent
Consent is the main rule in research on individuals or on information and material
that can be linked to individuals. This consent should be informed, explicit, voluntary and
documentable. Consent presupposes the capacity to give such consent. To ensure real
voluntariness, vigilance must be exercised in cases where the participant is in a dependency
relationship to the researcher or in a situation of restricted freedom.
5. Confidentiality
As a general principle, those who are made the subjects of research are entitled to
have their personal information treated confidentially. The researcher must prevent any use
and communication of information that might inflict damage on individuals who are the
subjects of research. Irrespective of the duty of confidentiality, researchers have a legal
obligation to avoid punishable offences. The researcher must decide when and in what way
the participant should be informed about limitations of the duty of confidentiality.
6. Impartiality
Impartiality means avoidance of confusing roles and relationships in a way that may
give rise to reasonable doubt concerning conflicts of interest. Openness regarding relevant
roles and relationships that the researcher is involved in must be maintained in relation to
colleagues, research participants, sources of finance and other relevant parties.
7. Integrity
The researcher is responsible for the trustworthiness of his or her own research.
Fabrication, falsification, plagiarism and similar serious violations of good academic practice
are incommensurate with such trustworthiness.
8. Good reference practice
Researchers must adhere to good reference practices, which fulfil requirements for
verifiability and form the basis for further research.
9. Collegiality
Researchers must show each other respect. They must agree on and comply with
good practices for data ownership and sharing, authorship, publication, peer review and
cooperation in general.

10. Institutional responsibility

The responsibility for ethical conduct rests not only with the individual researcher,
but also with the research institution. The institution is responsible for ensuring compliance
with good academic practice and for establishing mechanisms that can address cases of
suspected violations of ethical research norms.
11. Availability of results
As a main rule, research results should be made available. Openness regarding
research findings is essential for ensuring verifiability, for returning some benefit to the
research participants and society in general, and for ensuring a dialogue with the public.
Such communication is also a function of democracy.
12. Social responsibility
Researchers have an independent responsibility to ensure that their research will be
of benefit to research participants, relevant groups or society in general, and for preventing
it from causing harm. Research decisions must take into account any knowledge that the
development of a research area may entail ethically unacceptable consequences for
individuals, animals, society or the environment. It is absolutely essential that when
participating in public debate, the researcher clearly distinguishes between professional
comments made in his or her capacity as an expert on the one hand and statements of
personal opinion on the other, and refrains from abusing his or her authority.
13. Global responsibility
Research institutions and researchers have a responsibility to communicate relevant
knowledge to regions that are otherwise excluded for reasons of economic disadvantage.
Research should help counteract global injustice and preserve biological diversity.
14. Laws and regulations
In the field of research, there are national laws and regulations as well as applicable
international conventions and agreements, and researchers and research institutions must
abide by these.
Please carefully note the following issues:
The entire proposal should be no more than 40 pages excluding the title page and
the “References” section. Any page(s) over the 40th page will not be read.  All of the parts
must be typed, double-spaced, in a 12-point font, with 1-inch margins on all four sides of
each page.
POST-TEST:
Answer the following items briefly and concisely:
1. What is your research proposal used for and why is it important?
2. How to write a research proposal and what are the elements that contain in this
proposal?
3. Discuss the types of a research proposal.
4. Discuss the steps in developing a research proposal.

 
LESSON 2: INTRODUCTION, RESEARCH PROBLEM AND OBJECTIVES

PRE-TEST:
Direction: Answer the question comprehensively and concisely.
1. How can you identify a research problem stated in a study?
2. What are the components that comprise the introduction?
3. How can you distinguish purpose statement from a research objective?
4. What is the significance of the research study?

Learning Activities:
The learner shall be able to:
1. Identify a research problem stated in a study.
2. Familiarize on how to write a good introduction to an educational research study
and the components that comprise such an introduction.
3. Distinguish a purpose statement, research question and a research objective.
4. Design a good quantitative purpose statement and good quantitative research
questions.

How to Write an Introduction to a Research Paper?

Though introduction to any writing is frequently associated with beginning, it's not
that simple for an introduction to a research paper.
What is a Research Paper Introduction?
The introduction serves the purpose of leading the reader from a general subject
area to a particular field of research. It establishes the context of the research being
conducted by summarizing current understanding and background information about the
topic, stating the purpose of the work in the form of question, or research problem, briefly
explaining your rationale, methodological approach, highlighting the potential outcomes
your study can reveal, and describing the remaining structure of the paper.
An introduction is the initial part of a research paper and the part that a reader is
likely to read first (at least when focusing deeply and reading your paper in detail). Hence,
definitions, notions, and other information required for understanding the paper are
presented/listed here.
Every research paper needs context so that readers can understand why you have
created it. This is exactly what you can do in your research paper introduction. Of course,
this can mean that your introduction is the hardest part of the paper to write first. So, it is
essential that you take your time and make sure you get it right.
The introduction of writing is going to set out your rationale, which is what research
will be based around. Your readers should be able to tell what they are reading right from
the beginning and whether it interests them.
It is essential that you make the beginning of your research paper interesting and
engage with your readers from the first line. This will make sure that people continue to
read and learn about what you have found out. You must always include an introduction to
your paper.
Importance of a Good Introduction
Think of the introduction as a mental road map that must answer for the reader these four
questions:
 What was I studying?
 Why was this topic important to investigate?
 What did we know about this topic before I did this study?
 How will this study advance our knowledge?
A well-written introduction is important because, quite simply, you never get a second
chance to make a good first impression. The opening paragraph of your paper will provide
your readers with their initial impressions about the logic of your argument, your writing
style, the overall quality of your research, and, ultimately, the validity of your findings and
conclusions. A vague, disorganized, or error-filled introduction will create a negative
impression, whereas, a concise, engaging, and well-written introduction will start your
readers off thinking highly of your analytical skills, your writing style, and your research
approach.

Structure and Writing Style

I. Structure and Approach
The introduction is the broad beginning of the paper that answers three important
questions for the reader:
 What is this?
 Why am I reading it?
 What do you want me to think about / consider doing / react to?
Think of the structure of the introduction as an inverted triangle of information. Organize
the information so as to present the more general aspects of the topic early in the
introduction, then narrow toward the more specific topical information that provides
context, finally arriving at your statement of purpose and rationale and, whenever possible,
the potential outcomes your study can reveal.
These are general phases associated with writing an introduction:
1. Establish an area to research by:
 Highlighting the importance of the topic, and/or
 Making general statements about the topic, and/or
 Presenting an overview on current research on the subject.
2. Identify a research niche by:
 Opposing an existing assumption, and/or
 Revealing a gap in existing research, and/or
 Formulating a research question or problem, and/or
 Continuing a disciplinary tradition.
3. Place your research within the research niche by:
 Stating the intent of your study,
 Outlining the key characteristics of your study,
 Describing important results, and
 Giving a brief overview of the structure of the paper.
NOTE: Even though the introduction is the first main section of a research paper, it is often
useful to finish the introduction very late in the writing process because the structure of the
paper, the reporting and analysis of results, and the conclusion will have been completed
and it ensures that your introduction matches the overall structure of your paper.
II. Delimitations of the Study
Delimitations refer to those characteristics that limit the scope and define the
conceptual boundaries of your study. This is determined by the conscious exclusionary and
inclusionary decisions you make about how to investigate the research problem. In other
words, not only should you tell the reader what it is you are studying and why, but you must
also acknowledge why you rejected alternative approaches that could have been used to
examine the research problem.
Obviously, the first limiting step was the choice of research problem itself. However,
implicit are other, related problems that could have been chosen but were rejected. These
should be noted in the conclusion of your introduction.
Examples of delimitating choices would be:
 The key aims and objectives of your study,
 The research questions that you address,
 The variables of interest [i.e., the various factors and features of the phenomenon
being studied],
 The method(s) of investigation, and
 Any relevant alternative theoretical frameworks that could have been adopted.
Review each of these decisions. You need to not only clearly establish what you
intend to accomplish, but to also include a declaration of what the study does not intend to
cover. In the latter case, your exclusionary decisions should be based upon criteria stated as,
"not interesting"; "not directly relevant"; “too problematic because..."; "not feasible," and
the like. Make this reasoning explicit!
NOTE: Delimitations refer to the initial choices made about the broader, overall design of
your study and should not be confused with documenting the limitations of your study
discovered after the research has been completed.
III. The Narrative Flow
Issues to keep in mind that will help the narrative flow in your introduction:
 Your introduction should clearly identify the subject area of interest. A simple
strategy to follow is to use key words from your title in the first few sentences of the
introduction. This will help focus the introduction on the topic at the appropriate level and
ensures that you get to the primary subject matter quickly without losing focus, or
discussing information that is too general.
 Establish context by providing a brief and balanced review of the pertinent
published literature that is available on the subject. The key is to summarize for the
reader what is known about the specific research problem before you did your analysis. This
part of your introduction should not represent a comprehensive literature review but
consists of a general review of the important, foundational research literature (with
citations) that lays a foundation for understanding key elements of the research problem.
See the drop-down tab for "Background Information" for types of contexts.
 Clearly state the hypothesis that you investigated. When you are first learning to
write in this format it is okay, and actually preferable, to use a past statement like, "The
purpose of this study was to...." or "We investigated three possible mechanisms to explain
the...."
 Why did you choose this kind of research study or design? Provide a clear
statement of the rationale for your approach to the problem studied. This will usually follow
your statement of purpose in the last paragraph of the introduction.
IV. Engaging the Reader
The overarching goal of your introduction is to make your readers want to read your
paper. The introduction should grab your reader's attention.
Strategies for doing this can be to:
1. Open with a compelling story,
2. Include a strong quotation or a vivid, perhaps unexpected anecdote,
3. Pose a provocative or thought-provoking question,
4. Describe a puzzling scenario or incongruity, or
5. Cite a stirring example or case study that illustrates why the research problem is
important.
NOTE:  Only choose one strategy for engaging your readers; avoid giving an impression that
your paper is more flash than substance.
What is background of the study?
The background of the study is a part of a research provided in the introduction
section of the paper. It is a compilation of adequate information that is based on the
analysis of the problem or proposed argument, the steps and methods needed to arrive at
the design, the implementation of the results achieved, and feasible solutions. It is different
from the introduction. The introduction only contains the preliminary information about
your research question or thesis topic. It is simply an overview of the research question or
thesis topic. But the background of your study is more in-depth - it explains why your
research topic or thesis is worth the time of your readers.
The background of study will provide your readers with context to the information
talked about throughout your research paper. It can include both relevant and essential
studies. The background of the study is used to prove that a thesis question is relevant and
also to develop the thesis. In summary, a good background of the study is the work done to
determine that your research question or thesis topic is a problem and that the method
used is the one required to solve the issue or answer the question.
What is the importance of background of the study?
The background of the study helps your reader determine if you have a basic
understanding of the research problem being investigated and promotes confidence in the
overall quality of your analysis and findings.
How to write background of the study in a research paper
Stage 1. At the beginning stages of formulating your thesis, many of the issues are still very
unclear, and you need to solidify your thoughts, so you should conduct preliminary
research. This will help you to put forward a research question or thesis statement that will
finally lead to more relevant and specific research. You can visit a library, check the internet
and other electronic databases to find preliminary sources such as scholarly journals and
books about your background of the study.
Stage 2. Read and gather the information you need to develop - a thesis statement or
research question that will guide your thesis. You should take notes and also keep an
accurate track of the sources of information you have used up to this point. A lot of people
use note cards, but it’s easier and better to use electronic note-taking programs in this
electronic age. Just make sure to use a form that is comfortable and easier for you. Also,
make sure you cite the source of every information you are using on each note so that you
won’t forget where you got the information from, just in case you want to use it in your
thesis.
Stage 3. Develop and pen down the research question or thesis statement. Think about the
things you’ve read and searched, and the issues or solutions that have been found by other
people, and then formulate your stance or opinion on the issue. Write out your position or
opinion as an authoritative statement. You may conduct more detailed research at this
point and look for more sources that are more relevant to your research question or thesis.
Stage 4. Complete your research using the thesis statement as your guide. Find sources that
are relevant to your specific thesis and provide more insight into your research question
using these sources. Your sources should provide information on the history and past
researches related to your thesis.
Stage 5. As you create your background study, create relevant sections. When you start
writing, create five different sections that have the key issues, major findings, and the
controversies that are surrounding your thesis, and also a section that provides evaluation
and a conclusion.
Stage 6. Identify the further studies that need to be done in the conclusion section. Also
mention possible solutions to the issues that have not been put into consideration in the
past.
Stage 7. Revise and edit your background of the study carefully. You can write out several
drafts of your work, revising, editing, and adding more information before coming up with
the final one. Make sure each draft is better than the previous. You can also ask someone
else to help you go through it.
The writing formats
You can follow this format when writing your background of the study:
 Start by giving a general overview of your thesis topic and introduce the key ideas
you will be making use of throughout your thesis.
 Then, give precise information about all the methodologies used in the research. This
can take up to several paragraphs depending on the individual and research question
or thesis topic.
 Cite your sources where necessary to avoid plagiarism.
 Then you can introduce the experiment by describing your choice of methodology
briefly, why you have decided to use this methodology instead of others, and the
objective of the methodology.
What does a good background of the study example contain?
A good example of background of the study is one that:
 Contains reviews of the area being researched.
 Has currently available information about the problem of the study.
 Captures the previous studies on the issue.
 Indicates the history of the issue of the study from previous researches done on the
subject.
What Makes the Introduction Different from the Background?
Your introduction is different from your background in a number of ways.
1. The introduction contains preliminary data about your topic that the reader will
most likely read, whereas the background clarifies the importance of the paper.
2. The background of your study discusses in depth about the topic, whereas the
introduction only gives an overview.
3. The introduction should end with your research questions, aims, and objectives,
whereas your background should not (except in some cases where your background
is integrated into your introduction). For instance, the C.A.R.S. (Creating a Research
Space) model, created by John Swales is based on his analysis of journal articles. This
model attempts to explain and describe the organizational pattern of writing the
introduction in social sciences.
A Statement of the Problem and Research Objectives
A statement of the problem is used in research work as a claim that outlines the
problem addressed by a study. The statement of the problem briefly addresses the
question: What is the problem that the research will address?
A problem statement should be concise and include the following: A brief description
of the problem and the metric used to describe the problem. Where the problem is
occurring by process name and location. The time frame over which the problem has been
occurring.
Research objectives describe concisely what the research is trying to achieve. They
summarize the accomplishments a researcher wishes to achieve through the project and
provides direction to the study.
A typical study may be expected to have between 1 and 6 research questions. Once
the writer has determined the type of study to be used and the specific objectives the
paper will address, the writer must also consider whether the research question passes the
"so what" test.
Why is a Statement of the Problem Important?
A problem statement is a communication tool. Problem statements are important to
businesses, individuals and other entities to develop projects focused on improvement.
Whether the problem is pertaining to badly-needed road work or the logistics for an island
construction project; a clear, concise problem statement is typically used by a project's team
to help define and understand the problem and develop possible solutions. These
statements also provide important information that is crucial in decision-making in relation
to these projects or processes.
How to write a statement of the problem.
1. Describe how things should work.
2. Explain the problem and state why it matters.
3. Explain your problem's financial costs.
4. Back up your claims.
5. Propose a solution.
6. Explain the benefits of your proposed solution(s).
7. Conclude by summarizing the problem and solution.
Then a research problem will follow because it’s all about an area to be concern or a
difficulty to be solved or a condition to be improved. Then Research objective is the last one
which describe what we expect to achieve. A statement about what the study aims to
achieve overall.
Specific objectives should systematically address the various aspects of
the problems defined under the statement of the problem and the key factors that are
assumed to influence or cause the problems. They should specify what you will do in your
study, where this study will be done, and for what purpose.
What are the key characteristics of a statement of the problem?
A good research problem should have the following characteristics:
1. It should address a gap in knowledge.
2. It should be significant enough to contribute to the existing body of research
3. It should lead to further research
4. The problem should render itself to investigation through collection of data
5. It should be of interest to the researcher and suit his/her skills, time, and resources
6. The approach towards solving the problem should be ethical
5 elements of the statement of the problem
 the problem itself,
 stated clearly and with enough contextual detail to establish why it is important;
 the method of solving the problem, often stated as a claim or a working thesis;
 the purpose, statement of objective and
 scope of the document the writer is preparing.
What are the goals of a statement of the problem?
The ultimate goal of a statement of the problem is to transform a
generalized problem (something that bothers you; a perceived lack) into a targeted, well-
defined problem; one that can be resolved through focused research and careful decision-
making.
Writing a statement of the problem should help you clearly identify the purpose of
the research project you will propose. Often, the statement of the problem will also serve as
the basis for the introductory section of your final proposal, directing your reader’s
attention quickly to the issues that your proposed.
A statement of problem need not be long and elaborate: one page is more than
enough for a good statement of problem.
A specific result that a person or system aims to achieve within a time frame and
with available resources. In general, objectives are more specific and easier to measure than
goals. Objectives are basic tools that underlie all planning and strategic activities.
5 Steps to Writing Clear and Measurable Learning Objectives
 Identify the Level of Knowledge Necessary to Achieve Your Objective. Before you
begin writing objectives, stop and think about what type of change you want your
training to make. ...
 Select an Action Verb. ...
 Create Your Very Own Objective. ...
 Check Your Objective. ...
 Repeat, Repeat, Repeat.
Research Aims and Questions
Formulating a Research Question
In forming a research question, you are setting a goal for your research. Your main
research question should be substantial enough to form the guiding principle of your paper
—but focused enough to guide your research. A strong research question requires you not
only to find information but also to put together different pieces of information, interpret
and analyze them, and figure out what you think. As you consider potential research
questions, ask yourself whether they would be too hard or too easy to answer.
What is a good research question?
Constructing a clear and focused research question (or questions) is crucial to
producing a good research proposal and, more importantly, shaping the direction of your
research. The question indicates exactly what you want to explore and allows the reader to
assess whether or not your project is viable. It also gives the reader a sense of the
arguments or findings that you might produce in response. This allows them to provide you
with useful feedback on the direction of your research.
The criteria for a good research question vary from one field of study to another. It is
therefore advisable that you consult with your supervisor and closely examine examples
from other theses and published studies to get a sense of the requirements in your field.
In general terms, however, a good research question should be:
 Relevant: It must clearly relate to the problems or issues that the project seeks to
address.
 Important: It should address a key problem in the field (see from identifying a gap to
constructing a problem above).
 Clear: It should be expressed using concise language and contain no ambiguity.
 Precise: What is being investigated should be clearly specified.
 Researchable: The information and sources required to answer the question must
exist and you must be able to access them (with the exception of data that you will
generate yourself through surveys, experiments, etc.).
In cases where there is more than one research question, the questions must be clearly
related to each other so that they add up to a coherent whole.
Constructing a research question
The wording of your research question (or questions) is important because it will
direct your approach and writing and help to shape the feedback that you receive from
readers of your proposal. It is important to understand that you can change your research
question at a later date if you think that the wording needs to be changed or if you make
discoveries that encourage a different approach to the topic. It is highly likely, in fact, that
the question that you pose in your proposal will be different from the question or questions
that your thesis actually answers.
Wording of research questions can vary significantly from one field of study to
another, so it is advisable that you consult with your supervisor and seek out examples from
other research proposals, theses, or published papers.
However, the following general points can be made:
 How and why questions are usually preferred as they generate analytical rather than
descriptive findings.
 The question should be worded in such a way that a number of different responses
would be possible.
 The wording should be neutral in tone. Avoid value judgements or untested
assumptions.
 The wording should include the key concepts and relationships that you have
identified.
What is the Significance of the Study?
The significance of the study is a section in the introduction of your thesis or paper.
Its purpose is to make clear why your study was needed and the specific contribution your
research made to furthering academic knowledge in your field.
Essentially, the section on the significance of the study provides information to the
reader on how the study will contribute. However, it must be expressly stated what the
study will contribute and who will benefit from it.
What does Significance of the Study mean?
The significance of the study is a written statement that explains why your research
was needed. It’s a justification of the importance of your work and impact it has on your
research field, it’s contribution to new knowledge and how others will benefit from it.
Why is the Significance of the Study important?
The significance of the study, also known as the rationale of the study, is important
to convey to the reader why the research work was important. This may be an academic
reviewer assessing your manuscript under peer-review, an examiner reading your PhD
thesis, a funder reading your grant application or another research group reading your
published journal paper. Your academic writing should make clear to the reader what the
significance of the research that you performed was, the contribution you made and the
benefits of it.
How do you write the Significance of the Study?
When writing this section, first think about where the gaps in knowledge are in your
research field. What are the areas that are poorly understood with little or no previously
published literature? Or what topics have others previously published on that still require
further work. This is often referred to as the problem statement.
The introduction section within the significance of the study should include you
writing the problem statement and explaining to the reader where the gap in literature is.
Then think about the significance of your research and thesis study from two perspectives:
(1) what is the general contribution of your research on your field and
(2) what specific contribution have you made to the knowledge and who does this benefit
the most.
For example, the gap in knowledge may be that the benefits of dumbbell exercises
for patients recovering from a broken arm are not fully understood. You may have
performed a study investigating the impact of dumbbell training in patients with fractures
versus those that did not perform dumbbell exercises and shown there to be a benefit in
their use. The broad significance of the study would be the improvement in the
understanding of effective physiotherapy methods. Your specific contribution has been to
show a significant improvement in the rate of recovery in patients with broken arms when
performing certain dumbbell exercise routines.
This statement should be no more than 500 words in length when written for a
thesis. Within a research paper, the statement should be shorter and around 200 words at
most.
Two tips in Writing the Significance of the Study
 Refer to the statement of the problem
Your problem statement can guide you in identifying the specific contribution of
your study. You can do this by observing a one-to-one correspondence between the
statement of the problem and the significance of the study.
 Write from general to specific contribution
Write the significance of the study by looking into the general contribution of
your research, such as its importance to society as a whole, then proceed downwards—
towards the individual level, and that may include yourself as a researcher. You start
broadly then taper off gradually to a specific group or person. It’s like an inverted
pyramid, a deductive approach. So, you write from the general to the particular uses of
your research’s findings.
Conclusion
The statement of the significance of the study is used by students and researchers in
academic writing to convey the importance of the research performed; this section is
written at the end of the introduction and should describe the specific contribution made
and who it benefits.
Definition of Terms in Research
Definition of terms is usually an annex to a work (book, research paper, pamphlet,
etc.) either at the beginning or more likely near the end with a list of acronyms, jargon,
credits, etc. This is an important part of Research paper or report is that in which the key or
important terms in the study are clearly defined. It is an alphabetical list of important terms
or acronyms that you define, particularly ambiguous terms or those used in a special way.
Any words, phrases, acronyms, etc. that will be used in your paper, specific to your
research, will defined in this section. Terms should be defined in the context of how they are
used in the study. Don’t define words that are common knowledge unless they are used in a
unique way in your study.
Researchers define terms so that readers can understand the context in which the
words are being used or their usual or unrestricted meaning. Define terms when they first
appear so that a reader does not read ahead in the proposal operating with one set of
definitions only to find out later that the author is using a different set.
What are the two types of the Definition of Terms?
Researchers develop two kinds of definitions:
1. Theoretical definition. A theoretical definition defines a term in an academic
discipline, functioning as a proposal to see a phenomenon in a certain way. A
theoretical definition is a proposed way of thinking about potentially related
events. Theoretical definitions contain built-in theories; they cannot be simply
reduced to describing a set of observations. The definition may contain
implicit inductions and deductive consequences that are part of the theory. A
theoretical definition of a term can changes, over time, based on the methods in the
field that created it.
2. Operational definition. Operational definition of terms refers to a detailed
explanation of the technical terms and measurements used during data collection.
This is done to standardize the data. Whenever data is being collected, it is necessary
to clearly define how to collect the data. Data that is not defined runs the risk of
being inconsistent and might not give the same results when the study is
replicated. Often, we assume that those collecting the data understand what to do
and how to complete the task. However, people may have differing views and
interpretations of the same thing, and this will affect the data collection. The only
way to ensure that the data is consistent is by means of a detailed operational
definition of terms. 
Why Definition of Terms Important?
Because definitions enable us to have a common understanding of a word or subject;
they allow us to all be on the same page when discussing or reading about an issue.
Why is it Important to have or include the Definition of Terms in a Research?
It is important to include definition of terms in your thesis or dissertation in order to
understand the key terms being used in the study. ... Terms defined should be arranged in
alphabetical order and acronyms should always spell out fully most specially if it is used for
the first time and not commonly known.

POST-TEST:
Answer the following items briefly and concisely:
1. What are the components that comprise the introduction?
2. What Makes the Introduction Different from the Background?
3. How you construct a good research question?
4. Why is the significance of the study important?
5. Explain the types of the definition of terms.
6. What is the difference between problem statement and objectives?
7. Why there is a concluding statement in the significance of the study?
8. Explain the general points on how to construct a research question.

LESSON 3: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

PRE-TEST:
Direction: Answer the question comprehensively and concisely.
1. What is a literature review?
2. What is the difference between a literature review and an annotated bibliography?
3. What is the purpose of a literature review?
4. How to create a literature review?
5. Why write a literature review?

Learning Activities:
The learner shall be able to:
1. Learn to review and assess scientific literature critically.
2. Write and present an overview of the relevant literature for a specific research topic.
3. Search the literature using appropriate keywords and databases.
4. Develop a protocol for a literature review of a research topic.
5. Prepare a critically appraised review of the topic.
6. Discuss the implications of the report.
7. Demonstrate competent verbal and written skills.

What is a literature review?

A literature review is not an annotated bibliography in which you summarize briefly
each article that you have reviewed. While a summary of the what you have read is
contained within the literature review, it goes well beyond merely summarizing professional
literature. It focuses on a specific topic of interest to you and includes a critical analysis of
the relationship among different works, and relating this research to your work. It may be
written as a stand-alone paper or to provide a theoretical framework and rationale for a
research study (such as a thesis or dissertation).
A literature review surveys books, scholarly articles, and any other sources relevant
to a particular issue, area of research, or theory, and by so doing, provides a description,
summary, and critical evaluation of these works in relation to the research problem being
investigated. Literature reviews are designed to provide an overview of sources you have
explored while researching a particular topic and to demonstrate to your readers how your
research fits within a larger field of study.
In essence, a literature review identifies, evaluates and synthesizes the relevant
literature within a particular field of research. It illuminates how knowledge has evolved
within the field, highlighting what has already been done, what is generally accepted, what
is emerging and what is the current state of thinking on the topic. In addition, within
research-based texts such as a Doctoral thesis, a literature review identifies a research gap
(i.e. unexplored or under-researched areas) and articulates how a particular research
project addresses this gap.
What is meant by the term literature?
Literature refers to a collection of published information/materials on a particular
area of research or topic, such as books and journal articles of academic value. However,
your literature review does not need to be inclusive of every article and book that has been
written on your topic because that will be too broad. Rather, it should include the key
sources related to the main debates, trends and gaps in your research area.
Why write a literature review?
When you write a thesis, dissertation, or research paper, you will have to conduct a
literature review to situate your research within existing knowledge.
The literature review gives you a chance to:
 Demonstrate your familiarity with the topic and scholarly context.
 Develop a theoretical framework and methodology for your research.
 Position yourself in relation to other researchers and theorists.
 Show how your research addresses a gap or contributes to a debate.
You might also have to write a literature review as a stand-alone assignment. In this
case, the purpose is to evaluate the current state of research and demonstrate your
knowledge of scholarly debates around a topic.
Importance of a Good Literature Review
A literature review may consist of simply a summary of key sources, but in the social
sciences, a literature review usually has an organizational pattern and combines both
summary and synthesis, often within specific conceptual categories. A summary is a recap of
the important information of the source, but a synthesis is a re-organization, or a
reshuffling, of that information in a way that informs how you are planning to investigate a
research problem.
The analytical features of a literature review might:
 Give a new interpretation of old material or combine new with old interpretations,
 Trace the intellectual progression of the field, including major debates,
 Depending on the situation, evaluate the sources and advise the reader on the most
pertinent or relevant research, or
 Usually in the conclusion of a literature review, identify where gaps exist in how a
problem has been researched to date.
What is the purpose of a literature review?
The purpose of a literature review is to:
 Place each work in the context of its contribution to understanding the research
problem being studied.
 Describe the relationship of each work to the others under consideration.
 Identify new ways to interpret prior research.
 Reveal any gaps that exist in the literature.
 Resolve conflicts amongst seemingly contradictory previous studies.
 Identify areas of prior scholarship to prevent duplication of effort.
 Point the way in fulfilling a need for additional research.
 Locate your own research within the context of existing literature [very important].
Components of the literature review
The literature review should include the following:
 Objective of the literature review
 Overview of the subject under consideration.
 Clear categorization of sources selected into those in support of your
particular position, those opposed, and those offering completely different
arguments.
 Discussion of both the distinctiveness of each source and its similarities with the
others.
What Your Literature Review Should Include:
 Overview of the subject and the objective(s) of the review.
 Analysis of works in favor, works against, and works with neutral views on the
subject. These should be clearly divided.
 Explanations of the similarities and differences between the works.
 Comparison of different views held by other authors.
 Critique of the methodology.
 Examination of gaps in the research.
 Evaluation of how each study contributes to the argument in question.
 Conclusion that summarizes the literature review.
How to write a literature review
A literature review is a survey of scholarly sources on a specific topic. It provides an
overview of current knowledge, allowing you to identify relevant theories, methods, and
gaps in the existing research.
Writing a literature review involves finding relevant publications (such as books and
journal articles), critically analyzing them, and explaining what you found.
There are five key steps:
 Search for relevant literature
 Evaluate sources
 Identify themes, debates and gaps
 Outline the structure
 Write your literature review
A good literature review doesn’t just summarize sources – it analyzes, synthesizes, and
critically evaluates to give a clear picture of the state of knowledge on the subject.
Length of a Literature Review
In the absence of specific instructions about the length of a literature review, a
general rule of thumb is that it should be proportionate to the length of your entire paper. If
your paper is 15 pages long 2-3 pages might suffice for the literature review.
The structure of a literature review
A literature review should be structured like any other essay: it should have an
introduction, a middle or main body, and a conclusion.
1. Introduction. The introduction establishes the significance of your topic and gives a brief
preview of the trends you have identified in the scholarship of the subject. This might be a
paragraph or section that lets your reader know what your literature review is going to
address.  You will describe how the literature review will be organized (for example,
what are the main points you are going to address and in what order will they
appear?).  You may choose to briefly describe search criteria (keywords, databases,
journals) in this section, or you may do it in different parts of the review.  It is
suggested that this introductory section be no longer than two pages in length.  The
purpose is to lead your reader further into the body of the literature review.
In the introduction, you will:
 Define or identify the general topic, issue, or area of concern thereby
providing an appropriate context for the remainder of the review
 Point out overall trends in what has been previously published on the topic;
or conflicts in theory, methodology, evidence, conclusions, or gaps in
research and scholarship
 Establish your reason for reviewing this research (point of view); explain the
criteria used to search the literature; the organization of the review
(sequence); and – if necessary – why certain literature either is or is not
included (scope)
 Demonstrate how your research either closes a gap in the literature, extends
earlier work, or replicates an important study thereby contributing new
knowledge to your discipline.
More tips for the Introduction:
 Consider presenting a historical frame of reference.
 Point out a landmark or seminal study.
 Provide definitions for important terms.
 Describe how your literature review was conducted.
 Describe any inclusion or exclusion criteria used.
2. Body. The body contains more extensive information about notable similarities and
differences, points of agreement and disagreement, patterns, trends you have discovered.
Use topic sentences to introduce and clarify these relationships among the separate
scholarly works you have examined. It summarizes individual studies or articles with as
much or as little detail as each merit according to its comparative importance in the
literature, remembering that space (length) denotes significance. Provide the reader
with strong “umbrella” sentences at beginnings of paragraphs, “signposts”
throughout, and brief “so what” summary sentences at intermediate points in the
review to aid in understanding comparisons and analyses.
Some general tips for writing the body of your literature review:
 Start broad and then narrow to show how past research relates to your
project.
 Make it clear to your reader where you’re going, follow a logical progression
of ideas
 When appropriate, cite two or more sources for a single point but avoid long
strings of references for a single point.
 Use quotes sparingly.
 Keep your own formal academic voice throughout and keep the review
focused and objective, following a logical structure.
 Point out consistent findings and emphasize stronger studies over weaker
ones.  Point out important strengths and weaknesses of research studies OR
contradictions and inconsistent findings.
 Implications and suggestions for further research, or where there are gaps in
the current literature, should be specific.
3. Conclusion. The conclusion provides an overview of what is known and thought
about the topic and what is left to explore. It summarizes major contributions of
significant studies and articles to the body of knowledge under review, maintaining
the focus established in the introduction. Evaluate the current “state of the art” for
the body of knowledge reviewed, pointing out major methodological flaws or gaps in
research, inconsistencies in theory and findings, and areas or issues pertinent to
future study, and conclude by providing some insight into the relationship between
the central topic of the literature review and a larger area of study such as a
discipline, a scientific endeavor, or a profession. Summarize your literature review,
discuss implications, and create a space for future or further research needed in this
area.  Like the introduction, this section should be around 3-5 pages in length.  How
do you know when you’re done?  
Can you answer these 11 questions?
 Have you clearly defined your topic and audience?
 Did you search and re-search the literature?
 Took notes while reading?
 Chosen the type of review you want to write?
 Have you kept the review focused throughout?
 Were you critical and consistent in your evaluation and synthesis?
 Is the structure of your review logical?
 Did you make use of feedback?
 Were you able to stay relevant and objective throughout?
 Did you maintain an objective voice?
 Did you cite current and older studies?
Step-by-step approach to drafting your literature review:
 Define Your Goal
If you are writing an argument paper, create a thesis statement with a clear
position. If you are evaluating scientific theories, develop a hypothesis to examine. If you
are providing a self-contained review of writings on a topic, state your project’s purpose.
At the beginning of any paper, define your paper’s purpose so that the literature
review will be anchored to a specific point of view.
 Do Your Research
Review a number of texts that most closely pertain to your topic and position, and
are written by relevant scholars. Understand who the top voices are in your topic’s
academic field, and be sure to include the most pertinent publications by those scholars.
 Ground Summary in Relevance
As you summarize each publication, provide the context for that publication’s
importance by tying its main points to your thesis, hypothesis, or project statement.
How does it relate? Establish its relevance to the discussion.

 Develop Review Logically

Think of your literature review as a development of an argument—what were the
earliest ideas on the topic and how did they grow and evolve in the academic conversation
of these publications? First things first.
 Include References/Works Cited List
As you are writing the literature review you will mention the author names and the
publication years in your text, but you will still need to compile comprehensive citations
for each entry at the end of your review. Follow APA, MLA, or Chicago style guidelines, as
your course requires.
Evaluating sources
In assessing each source, consideration should be given to:
 What is the author's expertise in this particular field of study (credentials)?
 Are the author's arguments supported by empirical evidence (e.g.
quantitative/qualitative studies)?
 Is the author's perspective too biased in one direction or are opposing studies and
viewpoints also considered?
 Does the selected source contribute to a more profound understanding of the
subject?
Ways to Organize Your Literature Review
A. Chronology of Events
If your review follows the chronological method, you could write about the
materials according to when they were published. This approach should only be
followed if a clear path of research building on previous research can be identified and
that these trends follow a clear chronological order of development. For example, a
literature review that focuses on continuing research about the emergence of German
economic power after the fall of the Soviet Union.
B. By Publication
Order your sources by publication chronology, then, only if the order
demonstrates a more important trend. For instance, you could order a review of
literature on environmental studies of brown fields if the progression revealed, for
example, a change in the soil collection practices of the researchers who wrote and/or
conducted the studies.
C. Thematic [“conceptual categories”]
Thematic reviews of literature are organized around a topic or issue, rather
than the progression of time. However, progression of time may still be an important
factor in a thematic review. For example, a review of the Internet’s impact on American
presidential politics could focus on the development of online political satire. While the
study focuses on one topic, the Internet’s impact on American presidential politics, it will
still be organized chronologically reflecting technological developments in media. The
only difference here between a "chronological" and a "thematic" approach is what is
emphasized the most: the role of the Internet in presidential politics. Note however that
more authentic thematic reviews tend to break away from chronological order. A review
organized in this manner would shift between time periods within each section
according to the point made.
D. Methodological
A methodological approach focuses on the methods utilized by the
researcher. For the Internet in American presidential politics project, one
methodological approach would be to look at cultural differences between the
portrayal of American presidents on American, British, and French websites. Or the
review might focus on the fundraising impact of the Internet on a particular political
party. A methodological scope will influence either the types of documents in the
review or the way in which these documents are discussed.
E. Theoretical
A literature review is often the foundation for a theoretical framework. You can
use it to discuss various theories, models, and definitions of key concepts. You might
argue for the relevance of a specific theoretical approach, or combine various
theoretical concepts to create a framework for your research.
F. Other Sections of Your Literature Review
Once you've decided on the organizational method for your literature review,
the sections you need to include in the paper should be easy to figure out because they
arise from your organizational strategy. In other words, a chronological review would
have subsections for each vital time period; a thematic review would have subtopics
based upon factors that relate to the theme or issue. However, sometimes you may
need to add additional sections that are necessary for your study, but do not fit in the
organizational strategy of the body. What other sections you include in the body is up
to you but include only what is necessary for the reader to locate your study within the
larger scholarship framework.
Here are examples of other sections you may need to include depending on the type of
review you write:
 Current Situation: information necessary to understand the topic or focus of the
literature review.
 History: the chronological progression of the field, the literature, or an idea that is
necessary to understand the literature review, if the body of the literature review is
not already a chronology.
 Selection Methods: the criteria you used to select (and perhaps exclude) sources in
your literature review. For instance, you might explain that your review includes only
peer-reviewed articles and journals.
 Standards: the way in which you present your information.
 Questions for Further Research: What questions about the field has the review
sparked? How will you further your research as a result of the review?
Writing Your Literature Review
Once you've settled on how to organize your literature review, you're ready to write
each section. When writing your review, keep in mind these issues.
 Use Evidence
A literature review section is, in this sense, just like any other academic research
paper. Your interpretation of the available sources must be backed up with evidence
[citations] that demonstrates that what you are saying is valid.
 Be Selective
Select only the most important points in each source to highlight in the review. The
type of information you choose to mention should relate directly to the research
problem, whether it is thematic, methodological, or chronological. Related items that
provide additional information but that are not key to understanding the research
problem can be included in a list of further readings.
 Use Quotes Sparingly
Some short quotes are okay if you want to emphasize a point, or if what an author
stated cannot be easily paraphrased. Sometimes you may need to quote certain
terminology that was coined by the author, not common knowledge, or taken directly
from the study. Do not use extensive quotes as a substitute for your own summary and
interpretation of the literature.
 Summarize and Synthesize
Remember to summarize and synthesize your sources within each thematic
paragraph as well as throughout the review. Recapitulate important features of a
research study, but then synthesize it by rephrasing the study's significance and relating
it to your own work.
 Keep Your Own Voice
While the literature review presents others' ideas, your voice [the writer's] should
remain front and center. For example, weave references to other sources into what you
are writing but maintain your own voice by starting and ending the paragraph with your
own ideas and wording.
 Use Caution When Paraphrasing
When paraphrasing a source that is not your own, be sure to represent the author's
information or opinions accurately and in your own words. Even when paraphrasing an
author’s work, you still must provide a citation to that work.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
These are the most common mistakes made in reviewing social science research
literature.
 Sources in your literature review do not clearly relate to the research problem;
 You do not take sufficient time to define and identify the most relevant
 sources to use in the literature review related to the research problem;
 Relies exclusively on secondary analytical sources rather than including relevant primary
research studies or data;
 Uncritically accepts another researcher's findings and interpretations as valid, rather
than examining critically all aspects of the research design and analysis;
 Does not describe the search procedures that were used in identifying the literature to
review;
 Reports isolated statistical results rather than synthesizing them in chi-squared or meta-
analytic methods; and,
 Only includes research that validates assumptions and does not consider contrary
findings and alternative interpretations found in the literature.

POST-TEST:
Answer the following items:
1. Discuss the components of literature review.
2. How to write literature review?
3. Discuss the structure of literature review.
4. What are the issues in writing literature review?
5. Discuss the ways to organize literature review.
6. How to write the body of literature review?
7. Discuss the steps in drafting the literature review.

LESSON 4: RESEARCH DESIGNS

PRE-TEST:
Direction: Answer the question comprehensively and concisely.
1. What is research design?
2. What is the purpose of research design?
Learning Activities:
The learner shall be able to:
1. Understand a general definition of research design.
2. Identify the overall process of designing a research study from its inception to its
report.
3. Identify a research problem stated in a study.
4. Distinguish a purpose statement, a research question or hypothesis, and a research
objective.
5. Distinguish appropriate research designs and methodologies to apply to a specific
research project.

Research design definition

Research design is the framework of research methods and techniques chosen by a
researcher. The design allows researchers to hone in on research methods that are suitable
for the subject matter and set up their studies up for success.
The research design refers to the overall strategy that you choose to integrate the
different components of the study in a coherent and logical way, thereby, ensuring you will
effectively address the research problem; it constitutes the blueprint for the collection,
measurement, and analysis of data. Note that your research problem determines the type
of design you can use, not the other way around!
Research design is a plan to answer your research question.  A research method is a strategy
used to implement that plan.  Research design and methods are different but closely related,
because good research design ensures that the data you obtain will help you answer your research
question more effectively.
The function of a research design is to ensure that the evidence obtained enables
you to effectively address the research problem as unambiguously as possible. In social
sciences research, obtaining evidence relevant to the research problem generally entails
specifying the type of evidence needed to test a theory, to evaluate a program, or to
accurately describe a phenomenon. However, researchers can often begin their
investigations far too early, before they have thought critically about what information is
required to answer the study's research questions. Without attending to these design issues
beforehand, the conclusions drawn risk being weak and unconvincing and, consequently,
will fail to adequate address the overall research problem.
  Given this, the length and complexity of research designs can vary considerably, but
any sound design will do the following things:
1. Identify the research problem clearly and justify its selection,
2. Review previously published literature associated with the problem area,
3. Clearly and explicitly specify hypotheses [i.e., research questions] central to the
problem selected,
4. Effectively describe the data which will be necessary for an adequate test of the
hypotheses and explain how such data will be obtained, and
5. Describe the methods of analysis which will be applied to the data in determining
whether or not the hypotheses are true or false.
What is a good research design?
A good research design is characterized by its flexibility, efficiency, appropriateness
etcetera. A research design is one that has little to no error.
Having a clear objective for research is a reflection of how explicit the research question is.
Depending on the research problem, you have to combine a number of design approaches to
end up with the required outcome.
Contents of Research Design:
The most common aspects involved in research design include at least followings:
1. Statement of research objectives, i.e., why the research project is to be conducted
2. Type of data needed
3. Definition of population and sampling procedures to be followed
4. Time, costs, and responsibility specification
5. Methods, ways, and procedures used for collection of data
6. Data analysis – tools or methods used to analyze data
7. Probable output or research outcomes and possible actions to be taken based on
those outcomes.
How to develop a research design?
1. Classify the intended outcome of what needs to be understood
2. Developing the research question
3. What needs to be measured
4. Select the population for the experiment
5. Identify the ideal data collection method
6. Construct Interrelated characteristics
7. Use correct analysis tools
8. Choose a channel for disseminating your findings
For students who are interested in reading about how to write a good research proposal
to apply for the scholarship, must have a clear objective to persuade the admission
committee.  A research proposal is also required to contain a well-written study plan for
submission.
Types of Research Design
A. Action Research Design
Definition and Purpose
The essentials of action research design follow a characteristic cycle whereby
initially an exploratory stance is adopted, where an understanding of a problem is
developed and plans are made for some form of interventionary strategy. Then the
intervention is carried out (the action in Action Research) during which time, pertinent
observations are collected in various forms. The new interventional strategies are
carried out, and the cyclic process repeats, continuing until a sufficient understanding of
(or implement able solution for) the problem is achieved. The protocol is iterative or
cyclical in nature and is intended to foster deeper understanding of a given situation,
starting with conceptualizing and particularizing the problem and moving through
several interventions and evaluations.

B. Case Study Design

Definition and Purpose
A case study is an in-depth study of a particular research problem rather than a
sweeping statistical survey. It is often used to narrow down a very broad field of
research into one or a few easily researchable examples. The case study research design
is also useful for testing whether a specific theory and model actually applies to
phenomena in the real world. It is a useful design when not much is known about a
phenomenon.
C. Causal Study Design
Definition and Purpose
Causality studies may be thought of as understanding a phenomenon in
terms of conditional statements in the form, “If X, then Y.” This type of research is
used to measure what impact a specific change will have on existing norms and
assumptions. Most social scientists seek causal explanations that reflect tests of
hypotheses. Causal effect (nomothetic perspective) occurs when variation in one
phenomenon, an independent variable, leads to or results, on average, in variation in
another phenomenon, the dependent variable.
Conditions necessary for determining causality:
 Empirical association--a valid conclusion is based on finding an association between
the independent variable and the dependent variable.
 Appropriate time order--to conclude that causation was involved, one must see that
cases were exposed to variation in the independent variable before variation in the
dependent variable.
 Nonspuriousness--a relationship between two variables that is not due to variation
in a third variable.
D. Cohort Design
Definition and Purpose
Often used in the medical sciences, but also found in the applied social
sciences, a cohort study generally refers to a study conducted over a period of time
involving members of a population which the subject or representative member
comes from, and who are united by some commonality or similarity. Using a
quantitative framework, a cohort study makes note of statistical occurrence within a
specialized subgroup, united by same or similar characteristics that are relevant to
the research problem being investigated, rather than studying statistical occurrence
within the general population. Using a qualitative framework, cohort studies
generally gather data using methods of observation.
A cohort study is a type of longitudinal research that samples a cohort (a
group of people with a shared characteristic) while doing a cross-section at specific
time intervals. It is a type of panel study where the individuals in the panel share a
common characteristic.
Cohorts can be either "open" or "closed."
 Open Cohort Studies [dynamic populations, such as the population of Los Angeles]
involve a population that is defined just by the state of being a part of the study in
question (and being monitored for the outcome). Date of entry and exit from the
study is individually defined, therefore, the size of the study population is not
constant. In open cohort studies, researchers can only calculate rate-based data,
such as, incidence rates and variants thereof.
 Closed Cohort Studies [static populations, such as patients entered into a clinical
trial] involve participants who enter into the study at one defining point in time and
where it is presumed that no new participants can enter the cohort. Given this, the
number of study participants remains constant (or can only decrease).
E. Cross-Sectional Design
Definition and Purpose
Cross-sectional research designs have three distinctive features: no time
dimension, a reliance on existing differences rather than change following
intervention; and, groups are selected based on existing differences rather than
random allocation. The cross-sectional design can only measure differences between
or from among a variety of people, subjects, or phenomena rather than change. As
such, researchers using this design can only employ a relative passive approach to
making causal inferences based on findings.
F. Descriptive Design
Definition and Purpose
Descriptive research designs help provide answers to the questions of who,
what, when, where, and how associated with a particular research problem; a
descriptive study cannot conclusively ascertain answers to why. Descriptive research
is used to obtain information concerning the current status of the phenomena and to
describe "what exists" with respect to variables or conditions in a situation.
This is a theory-based design, where the researcher is primarily interested in
describing the topic that is the subject of the research. It is applied to case studies,
naturalistic observations, surveys, and so on.
This method includes data collection, analysis, and presentation. It lets the
researcher clearly present the problem statement in order to allow others to better
understand the need for this kind of research. Without a clear problem statement,
you’re not doing descriptive but exploratory research.
G. Experimental Design
Definition and Purpose
A blueprint of the procedure that enables the researcher to maintain control
over all factors that may affect the result of an experiment. In doing this, the
researcher attempts to determine or predict what may occur. Experimental Research
is often used where there is time priority in a causal relationship (cause precedes
effect), there is consistency in a causal relationship (a cause will always lead to the
same effect), and the magnitude of the correlation is great. The classic experimental
design specifies an experimental group and a control group. The independent
variable is administered to the experimental group and not to the control group, and
both groups are measured on the same dependent variable. Subsequent
experimental designs have used more groups and more measurements over longer
periods. True experiments must have control, randomization, and manipulation.
Whether it is a field experiment, a controlled experiment, or a quasi-
experiment, this is one of the research designs types that establishes a relation
between the cause and effect of a particular happening.
Here, the researcher observes the influence of an independent variable on
the dependent one. For instance, you can observe the impact of the price (an
independent variable) on customer satisfaction (a dependent variable).
Usually, this type of research design contributes to solving a particular
problem by manipulating the independent variables to observe the change they have
on the dependent one. For example, you can experiment with changing the price
and observe the effect it has on customer satisfaction.
H. Exploratory Design
Definition and Purpose
An exploratory design is conducted about a research problem when there are
few or no earlier studies to refer to. The focus is on gaining insights and familiarity
for later investigation or undertaken when problems are in a preliminary stage of
investigation.
This design is followed to discover ideas and insights to generate possible
explanations. It helps in exploring the problem or situation. It is, particularly,
emphasized to break a broad vague problem statement into smaller pieces or sub-
problem statements that help forming specific hypothesis.
The hypothesis is a conjectural (imaginary, speculative, or abstract)
statement about the relationship between two or more variables. Naturally, in initial
state of the study, we lack sufficient understanding about problem to formulate a
specific hypothesis. Similarly, we have several competitive explanations of marketing
phenomenon. Exploratory research design is used to establish priorities among those
competitive explanations.
The exploratory research design is used to increase familiarity of the analyst
with problem under investigation. This is particularly true when researcher is new in
area, or when problem is of different type.
This design is followed to realize following purposes:
1. Clarifying concepts and defining problem
2. Formulating problem for more precise investigation
3. Increasing researcher’s familiarity with problem
4. Developing hypotheses
5. Establishing priorities for further investigation
Exploratory research design is characterized by flexibility to gain insights and
develop hypotheses. It does not follow a planned questionnaire or sampling. It is
based on literature survey, experimental survey, and analysis of selected cases.
Unstructured interviews are used to offer respondents a great deal of freedom. No
research project is purely and solely based on this design. It is used as
complementary to descriptive design and causal design.
The goals of exploratory research are intended to produce the following possible insights:
 Familiarity with basic details, settings and concerns.
 Well-grounded picture of the situation being developed.
 Generation of new ideas and assumption, development of tentative theories or
hypotheses.
 Determination about whether a study is feasible in the future.
 Issues get refined for more systematic investigation and formulation of new research
questions.
 Direction for future research and techniques get developed.
I. Historical Design
Definition and Purpose
The purpose of a historical research design is to collect, verify, and synthesize
evidence from the past to establish facts that defend or refute your hypothesis. It
uses secondary sources and a variety of primary documentary evidence, such as,
logs, diaries, official records, reports, archives, and non-textual information [maps,
pictures, audio and visual recordings]. The limitation is that the sources must be both
authentic and valid.
J. Longitudinal Design
Definition and Purpose
A longitudinal study follows the same sample over time and makes repeated
observations. With longitudinal surveys, for example, the same group of people is
interviewed at regular intervals, enabling researchers to track changes over time and
to relate them to variables that might explain why the changes occur. Longitudinal
research designs describe patterns of change and help establish the direction and
magnitude of causal relationships. Measurements are taken on each variable over
two or more distinct time periods. This allows the researcher to measure change in
variables over time. It is a type of observational study and is sometimes referred to
as a panel study.
A longitudinal study is a research design that involves repeated observations
of the same variables over short or long periods of time. It is often a type of
observational study, although they can also be structured as longitudinal randomized
experiments.
K. Observational Design
Definition and Purpose
This type of research design draws a conclusion by comparing subjects
against a control group, in cases where the researcher has no control over the
experiment. There are two general types of observational designs. In direct
observations, people know that you are watching them. Unobtrusive measures
involve any method for studying behavior where individuals do not know they are
being observed. An observational study allows a useful insight into a phenomenon
and avoids the ethical and practical difficulties of setting up a large and cumbersome
research project.
L. Philosophical Design
Definition and Purpose
Understood more as
a broad approach to examining a research problem than a methodological
design, philosophical analysis and argumentation is intended to challenge deeply
embedded, often intractable, assumptions underpinning an area of study. This
approach uses the tools of argumentation derived from philosophical traditions,
concepts, models, and theories to critically explore and challenge, for example, the
relevance of logic and evidence in academic debates, to analyze arguments about
fundamental issues, or to discuss the root of existing discourse about a research
problem.
These overarching tools of analysis can be framed in three ways:
 Ontology -- the study that describes the nature of reality; for example, what is real
and what is not, what is fundamental and what is derivative?
 Epistemology -- the study that explores the nature of knowledge; for example, on
what does knowledge and understanding depend upon and how can we be certain
of what we know?
 Axiology -- the study of values; for example, what values does an individual or group
hold and why? How are values related to interest, desire, will, experience, and
means-to-end? And, what is the difference between a matter of fact and a matter of
value?
L. Sequential Design
Definition and Purpose
Sequential research is that which is carried out in a deliberate, staged
approach [i.e. serially] where one stage will be completed, followed by another, then
another, and so on, with the aim that each stage will build upon the previous one
until enough data is gathered over an interval of time to test your hypothesis. The
sample size is not predetermined. After each sample is analyzed, the researcher can
accept the null hypothesis, accept the alternative hypothesis, or select another pool
of subjects and conduct the study once again. This means the researcher can obtain
a limitless number of subjects before finally making a decision whether to accept the
null or alternative hypothesis. Using a quantitative framework, a sequential study
generally utilizes sampling techniques to gather data and applying statistical
methods to analyze the data. Using a qualitative framework, sequential studies
generally utilize samples of individuals or groups of individuals [cohorts] and use
qualitative methods, such as interviews or observations, to gather information from
each sample.
Elements of the research design
The essential elements of the research design are:

1. Accurate purpose statement

2. Techniques to be implemented for collecting and analyzing research
3. The method applied for analyzing collected details
4. Type of research methodology
5. Probable objections for research
6. Settings for the research study
7. Timeline
8. Measurement of analysis

Essential characteristics of good research design

Any type of research design is valid only if its results are reliable. Nevertheless, a lot
of companies nowadays make vital decisions based on unreliable research. In many cases,
this is because they fail to account for various types of bias in research.
To get accurate data from your research, you need to do everything in your power to
protect your research results against bias and achieve utmost neutrality. Also, the outcome
of your research should be applicable to an entire population and not just a limited sample.
To ensure that’s the case, make sure you got your sampling right and take into account the
potential margin of error just to be on the safe side.
Proper research design sets your study up for success. Successful research studies
provide insights that are accurate and unbiased. You’ll need to create a survey that meets all
of the main characteristics of a design. There are four key characteristics of research design:
 Neutrality: When you set up your study, you may have to make assumptions about
the data you expect to collect. The results projected in the research design should be
free from bias and neutral. Understand opinions about the final evaluated scores
and conclusions from multiple individuals and consider those who agree with the
derived results.
 Reliability: With regularly conducted research, the researcher involved expects
similar results every time. Your design should indicate how to form
research questions to ensure the standard of results. You’ll only be able to reach the
expected results if your design is reliable.
 Validity: There are multiple measuring tools available. However, the only correct
measuring tools are those which help a researcher in gauging results according to
the objective of the research. The questionnaire developed from this design will then
be valid.
 Generalization: The outcome of your design should apply to a population and not
just a restricted sample. A generalized design implies that your survey can be
conducted on any part of a population with similar accuracy.
The above factors affect the way respondents answer the research questions and so all
the above characteristics should be balanced in a good design.

POST-TEST:
Answer the following items briefly:
1. Explain briefly the types and purpose of a research design.
2. What the essential characteristics of good research design?
3. What are the goals of exploratory research?
4. What is the difference between open & closed cohort studies?
5. How to develop a research design?
6. What are contents of research design?

LESSON 5: SAMPLING DESIGN

PRE-TEST:
Direction: Answer the question comprehensively and concisely.
1. Explain briefly the meaning of sampling.
2. Explain briefly what is sample size.
Learning Activities:
The learner shall be able to:
1. Define principal concepts about sampling.
2. Describe the steps in the sampling process, including how they differ for probability
and nonprobability sampling.
3. Distinguish among probability sampling designs, such as simple random sampling,
stratified sampling, and cluster sampling.
4. Understand the factors to consider in determining an appropriate sample size.
5. Determine the sampling design and perform appropriate tests based on the type of
population under investigation and convey the result either.

What is sampling?
Sampling is a technique of selecting individual members or a subset of the
population to make statistical inferences from them and estimate characteristics of the
whole population. Different sampling methods are widely used by researchers in market
research so that they do not need to research the entire population to collect actionable
insights.
It is also a time-convenient and a cost-effective method and hence forms the basis of
any research design. Sampling techniques can be used in a research survey software for
optimum derivation. For example, if a drug manufacturer would like to research the adverse
side effects of a drug on the country’s population, it is almost impossible to conduct a
research study that involves everyone. In this case, the researcher decides a sample of
people from each demographic and then researches them, giving him/her indicative
feedback on the drug’s behavior.
In research terms a sample is a group of people, objects, or items that are taken
from a larger population for measurement. The sample should be representative of the
population to ensure that we can generalize the findings from the research sample to the
population as a whole.
What is the purpose of sampling?
To draw conclusions about populations from samples, we must use inferential
statistics, to enable us to determine a population’s characteristics by directly observing only
a portion (or sample) of the population. We obtain a sample of the population for many
reasons as it is usually not practical and almost never economical.
There would also be difficulties measuring whole populations because:
• The large size of many populations
• Inaccessibility of some of the population - Some populations are so difficult to get
access to that only a sample can be used. E.g. prisoners, people with severe mental
illness, disaster survivors etc. The inaccessibility may be associated with cost or time
or just access.
•Destructiveness of the observation- Sometimes the very act of observing the
desired characteristic of the product destroys it for the intended use. Good examples
of this occur in quality control. E.g. to determine the quality of a fuse and whether it
is defective, it must be destroyed. Therefore, if you tested all the fuses, all would be
destroyed.
• Accuracy and sampling - A sample may be more accurate than the total study
population. A badly identified population can provide less reliable information than a
carefully obtained sample.
Sampling Error
A sample is expected to mirror the population from which it comes, however, there
is no guarantee that any sample will be precisely representative of the population. Chance
may dictate that a disproportionate number of untypical observations will be made.
Sampling error can make a sample unrepresentative of its population.
Sampling error comprises the differences between the sample and the population
that are due solely to the particular participants that have been selected.
The main cause of sampling error is:
• Chance: That is the error that occurs just because of bad luck. This may result in
untypical choices. Unusual units in a population do exist and there is always a
possibility that an abnormally large number of them will be chosen. The main
protection against this kind of error is to use a large enough sample.
Sampling bias
Sampling bias is a tendency to favor the selection of participants that have particular
characteristics. Sampling bias is usually the result of a poor sampling plan. The most notable
is the bias of non-response when for some reason some participants have no chance of
appearing in the sample e.g. no internet access for completion of an online questionnaire.
There can be two causes of this type of bias.
• The wrong study population were selected
• The study population was all inclusive but the poor design of the study introduced
the bias e.g. only one group within the study population agreed to participate in the study
Non-sampling error (measurement error)
A non-sampling error is an error that results solely from the manner in which the
observations are made. It can occur whether the total study population or a sample is being
used. It may either be produced by participants in the study or be an innocent by product of
the sampling plans and procedures. The simplest example of a non-sampling error is
inaccurate measurements due to malfunctioning instruments or poor procedures. These
biased observations can be innocent but very devastating to the findings of the study.
In studies observing personal characteristics, unintended errors may result from:
• The manner in which the response is elicited
• The social desirability of the persons surveyed
• The purpose of the study
• The personal biases of the interviewer or survey writer
Checks need to be put in place to ensure this type of error is minimal.
The interviewer’s effect - No two interviewers are alike and the same person may provide
different answers to different interviewers. The manner in which a question is formulated
can also result in inaccurate responses. Individuals tend to provide false answers to
particular questions.
The respondent effect – Participants may deliberately give incorrect answers (for many
reasons). This type of error is the most difficult to prevent because it results from outright
deceit. It is important to acknowledge that certain psychological factors induce incorrect
responses and great care must be taken to design a study that minimizes their effect.
Knowing the study purpose - Knowing why a study is being conducted may create incorrect
responses. If you are looking at a particular behavior and the study participant knows what
you are studding this may change that behavior in the study participant.
There are two ways of avoiding this:
1. Change your study methodology
2. Ask a sequence of questions rather than just one question.
Induced bias
Finally, it should be noted that the personal prejudices of either the designer of the
study or the data collector may tend to induce bias. In designing a questionnaire, questions
can be slanted in such a way that a particular response will be obtained even though it is
inaccurate. To protect against induced bias, share your questionnaire widely, particularly
with your professional peer group and if available seek the advice of an individual trained in
statistics and someone else who can look at the questionnaire objectively. Don’t forget to
Pilot the questionnaire this not only checks for ambiguities but also could give an indication
of bias if the questions are slanted in a particular direction.
Selecting the Sample
The sampling error may be due to either bias or chance. The chance component (sometimes
called random error) exists no matter how carefully the selection procedures are
implemented, and the only way to minimize chance-sampling errors is to select a sufficiently
large sample (sample size is discussed towards the end of this tutorial). Sampling bias on the
other hand may be minimized by the wise choice of a sampling procedure.
Types of Samples

• The convenience sample – the research population is chosen out of convenience from a
population for observation e.g. recruiting patients with a particular illness from support
groups.
• Purposeful sample – A sample collected from information rich cases for in-depth study.
The size and specific cases depend on the study purpose
Types of Purposeful sampling;
 Extreme and deviant case sampling
 Intensity Sampling
 Homogenous sampling
 Typical case sampling
 Stratified purposeful sampling
 Snowball or chain sampling
 Theory based sampling
 Opportunistic sampling
 Convenience sampling
• The judgement sample – The research population is obtained according to the discretion
of someone who is familiar with the research populations relevant characteristics
• The random sample – A sample chosen at random from the research population using a
recognized method
Types of random samples;
Simple random sample
 A systematic random sample
 A stratified sample
 A cluster samples
Sample Size
Before deciding how large a sample should be, you have to define your study
population (who you are including and excluding in your study). The question of how large a
sample should be is a difficult one.
Sample size can be determined by various constraints (funding available, the time
constraints etc.)
Sample size depends on
• The type of data analysis to be performed
• The desired precision of the estimates one wishes to achieve
• The kind and number of comparisons that will be made
• The number of variables that have to be examined simultaneously
• How heterogeneous the sampled population is.
Deciding on a sample size for qualitative inquiry can be even more difficult than
quantitative because there are no definite rules to be followed. It will depend on what you
want to know, the purpose of the inquiry, what is at stake, what will be useful, what will
have credibility and what can be done with available time and resources. You can choose to
study one specific phenomenon in depth with a smaller sample size or a bigger sample size
when seeking breadth.
Sample Size Determination
There are several approaches to determining your sample size and the most popular
of these is the one that studies the power of a test of hypothesis. (Power calculation)
Therefore to undertake this approach the researcher must be clear what the researcher is
looking at and what it hopes to find at the end of the study. That is research must have a
hypothesis.
For projects, other than small-scale projects, it is advisable to employ the skills of a
statistician to help you with your power calculation. This will ensure that your sample size is
large enough to ensure that your results are statistically significant but not so big that you
could have achieved the same results with a much smaller size.
For small scale studies
Once you have the information required to do your power calculation there are
computer software packages (available free on the web) that you can use to determine your
sample size.
Sampling Methods
A. Probability Sampling refers to sampling when the chance of any given individual
being selected is known and these individuals are sampled independently of each
other.  This is also known as random sampling.  A researcher can simply use a
random number generator to choose participants (known as simple random
sampling), or every nth individual (known as systematic sampling) can be included. 
Researchers also may break their target population into strata, and then apply these
techniques within each stratum to ensure that they are getting enough participants
from each stratum to be able to draw conclusions.  For example, if there are several
ethnic communities in one geographical area that a researcher wishes to study, that
researcher might aim to have 30 participants from each group, selected randomly
from within the groups, in order to have a good representation of all the relevant
groups.
Probability Sampling Methods
1. Simple random sampling
In this case each individual is chosen entirely by chance and each member of the
population has an equal chance, or probability, of being selected. One way of obtaining a
random sample is to give each individual in a population a number, and then use a table of
random numbers to decide which individuals to include.1 For example, if you have a
sampling frame of 1000 individuals, labelled 0 to 999, use groups of three digits from the
random number table to pick your sample. So, if the first three numbers from the random
number table were 094, select the individual labelled “94”, and so on. As with all probability
sampling methods, simple random sampling allows the sampling error to be calculated and
reduces selection bias. A specific advantage is that it is the most straightforward method of
probability sampling. A disadvantage of simple random sampling is that you may not select
enough individuals with your characteristic of interest, especially if that characteristic is to
contact them, especially if different forms of contact are required (email, phone, post) and
your sample units are scattered over a wide geographical area.
2. Systematic sampling
Individuals are selected at regular intervals from the sampling frame. The intervals
are chosen to ensure an adequate sample size. If you need a sample size n from a
population of size x, you should select every x/nth individual for the sample.  For example, if
you wanted a sample size of 100 from a population of 1000, select every 1000/100 =
10th member of the sampling frame.
Systematic sampling is often more convenient than simple random sampling, and it is
easy to administer. However, it may also lead to bias, for example if there are underlying
patterns in the order of the individuals in the sampling frame, such that the sampling
technique coincides with the periodicity of the underlying pattern. As a hypothetical
example, if a group of students were being sampled to gain their opinions on college
facilities, but the Student Record Department’s central list of all students was arranged such
that the sex of students alternated between male and female, choosing an even interval (e.g.
every 20th student) would result in a sample of all males or all females. Whilst in this example
the bias is obvious and should be easily corrected, this may not always be the case.
3. Stratified sampling
In this method, the population is first divided into subgroups (or strata) who all share
a similar characteristic. It is used when we might reasonably expect the measurement of
interest to vary between the different subgroups, and we want to ensure representation
from all the subgroups. For example, in a study of stroke outcomes, we may stratify the
population by sex, to ensure equal representation of men and women. The study sample is
then obtained by taking equal sample sizes from each stratum. In stratified sampling, it may
also be appropriate to choose non-equal sample sizes from each stratum. For example, in a
study of the health outcomes of nursing staff in a county, if there are three hospitals each
with different numbers of nursing staff (hospital A has 500 nurses, hospital B has 1000 and
hospital C has 2000), then it would be appropriate to choose the sample numbers from each
hospital proportionally (e.g. 10 from hospital A, 20 from hospital B and 40 from hospital C).
This ensures a more realistic and accurate estimation of the health outcomes of nurses
across the county, whereas simple random sampling would over-represent nurses from
hospitals A and B. The fact that the sample was stratified should be taken into account at the
analysis stage. Another example, a researcher looking to analyze the characteristics of people
belonging to different annual income divisions will create strata (groups) according to the
annual family income. Eg – less than $20,000, $21,000 – $30,000, $31,000 to $40,000,
$41,000 to $50,000, etc. By doing this, the researcher concludes the characteristics of people
belonging to different income groups. Marketers can analyze which income groups to target
and which ones to eliminate to create a roadmap that would bear fruitful results.
Stratified sampling improves the accuracy and representativeness of the results by
reducing sampling bias. However, it requires knowledge of the appropriate characteristics of
the sampling frame (the details of which are not always available), and it can be difficult to
decide which characteristic(s) to stratify by.
4. Clustered sampling
In a clustered sample, subgroups of the population are used as the sampling unit,
rather than individuals. The population is divided into subgroups, known as clusters, which
are randomly selected to be included in the study. Clusters are usually already defined, for
example individual GP practices or towns could be identified as clusters. In single-stage
cluster sampling, all members of the chosen clusters are then included in the study. In two-
stage cluster sampling, a selection of individuals from each cluster is then randomly selected
for inclusion. Clustering should be taken into account in the analysis. The General Household
survey, which is undertaken annually in England, is a good example of a (one-stage) cluster
sample. All members of the selected households (clusters) are included in the survey. 1
Cluster sampling can be more efficient that simple random sampling, especially
where a study takes place over a wide geographical region. For instance, it is easier to
contact lots of individuals in a few GP practices than a few individuals in many different GP
practices. Disadvantages include an increased risk of bias, if the chosen clusters are not
representative of the population, resulting in an increased sampling error.
5. Multi-stage sampling
Is an additional progress of the belief that cluster sampling have. Normally in multi-
stage sampling design is applicable in a big inquires of geographical area, for the entire
country. Multistage sampling has to with the combination of the various methods of
probability sampling in most effective and efficient approach.
6. Area sampling
Is a design sampling that deals with subdivision of environment that represents
clusters of units that centered on terrestrial location.
Uses of probability sampling
There are multiple uses of probability sampling:
 Reduce Sample Bias: Using the probability sampling method, the bias in the sample
derived from a population is negligible to non-existent. The selection of the sample
mainly depicts the understanding and the inference of the researcher. Probability
sampling leads to higher quality data collection as the sample appropriately
represents the population.
 Diverse Population: When the population is vast and diverse, it is essential to have
adequate representation so that the data is not skewed towards one demographic.
For example, if Square would like to understand the people that could make their
point-of-sale devices, a survey conducted from a sample of people across the US
from different industries and socio-economic backgrounds helps.
 Create an Accurate Sample: Probability sampling helps the researchers plan and
create an accurate sample. This helps to obtain well-defined data.
B. Non-Probability Sampling, or convenience sampling, refers to when researchers
take whatever individuals happen to be easiest to access as participants in a study. 
This is only done when the processes the researchers are testing are assumed to be
so basic and universal that they can be generalized beyond such a narrow
sample. For example, snowball sampling is an approach for locating information-rich
key informants. Using this approach, a few potential respondents are contacted and
asked whether they know of anybody with the characteristics that you are looking
for in your research. Snowball sampling is not a stand-alone tool; the tool is a way of
selecting participants and then using other tools, such as interviews or surveys.
Non-Probability Sampling Methods
1. Convenience sampling
Convenience sampling is perhaps the easiest method of sampling, because
participants are selected based on availability and willingness to take part. Useful results can
be obtained, but the results are prone to significant bias, because those who volunteer to
take part may be different from those who choose not to (volunteer bias), and the sample
may not be representative of other characteristics, such as age or sex. Note: volunteer bias
is a risk of all non-probability sampling methods.
2. Quota sampling
This method of sampling is often used by market researchers. Interviewers are given
a quota of subjects of a specified type to attempt to recruit. For example, an interviewer
might be told to go out and select 20 adult men, 20 adult women, 10 teenage girls and 10
teenage boys so that they could interview them about their television viewing. Ideally the
quotas chosen would proportionally represent the characteristics of the underlying
population. Whilst this has the advantage of being relatively straightforward and potentially
representative, the chosen sample may not be representative of other characteristics that
weren’t considered (a consequence of the non-random nature of sampling). 
3. Judgement (or Purposive) Sampling
Also known as selective, or subjective, sampling, this technique relies on the
judgement of the researcher when choosing who to ask to participate. Researchers may
implicitly thus choose a “representative” sample to suit their needs, or specifically approach
individuals with certain characteristics. This approach is often used by the media when
canvassing the public for opinions and in qualitative research.
Judgement sampling has the advantage of being time-and cost-effective to perform whilst
resulting in a range of responses (particularly useful in qualitative research). However, in
addition to volunteer bias, it is also prone to errors of judgement by the researcher and the
findings, whilst being potentially broad, will not necessarily be representative.
4. Snowball sampling

This method is commonly used in social sciences when investigating hard-to-reach

groups. Existing subjects are asked to nominate further subjects known to them, so the
sample increases in size like a rolling snowball. For example, when carrying out a survey of
risk behaviors amongst intravenous drug users, participants may be asked to nominate
other users to be interviewed.
Snowball sampling can be effective when a sampling frame is difficult to identify.
However, by selecting friends and acquaintances of subjects already investigated, there is a
significant risk of selection bias (choosing a large number of people with similar
characteristics or views to the initial individual identified).
Uses of non-probability sampling
Non-probability sampling is used for the following:
 Create a hypothesis: Researchers use the non-probability sampling method to create
an assumption when limited to no prior information is available. This method helps
with the immediate return of data and builds a base for further research.
 Exploratory research: Researchers use this sampling technique widely when
conducting qualitative research, pilot studies, or exploratory research.
 Budget and time constraints: The non-probability method when there are budget
and time constraints, and some preliminary data must be collected. Since the survey
design is not rigid, it is easier to pick respondents at random and have them take the
survey or questionnaire.
Bias in sampling
There are five important potential sources of bias that should be considered when selecting
a sample, irrespective of the method used. Sampling bias may be introduced when:
 Any pre-agreed sampling rules are deviated from
 People in hard-to-reach groups are omitted
 Selected individuals are replaced with others, for example if they are difficult to
contact
 There are low response rates
 An out-of-date list is used as the sample frame (for example, if it excludes people
who have recently moved to an area)
How do you decide on the type of sampling to use?
For any research, it is essential to choose a sampling method accurately to meet the
goals of your study. The effectiveness of your sampling relies on various factors. Here are
some steps expert researchers follow to decide the best sampling method.
 Jot down the research goals. Generally, it must be a combination of cost, precision,
or accuracy.
 Identify the effective sampling techniques that might potentially achieve the
research goals.
 Test each of these methods and examine whether they help in achieving your goal.
Select the method that works best for the research.
Difference between probability sampling and non-probability sampling methods
The significant differences between probability sampling methods and non-
probability sampling methods are as below:

Probability Sampling Methods Non-Probability Sampling Methods

Probability Sampling is a sampling Non-probability sampling is a
technique in which samples from sampling technique in which the
Definition a larger population are chosen researcher selects samples based on
using a method based on the the researcher’s subjective judgment
theory of probability. rather than random selection.
Alternatively
Random sampling method. Non-random sampling method
Known as
Population The population is selected
The population is selected arbitrarily.
selection randomly.
Nature The research is conclusive. The research is exploratory.
Since there is a method for Since the sampling method is
deciding the sample, the arbitrary, the population
Sample
population demographics are demographics representation is
conclusively represented. almost always skewed.
Takes longer to conduct since the This type of sampling method is
research design defines the quick since neither the sample or
Time Taken
selection parameters before the selection criteria of the sample are
market research study begins. undefined.
This type of sampling is entirely
This type of sampling is entirely
biased and hence the results are
Results unbiased and hence the results
biased too, rendering the research
are unbiased too and conclusive.
speculative.
In probability sampling, there is
an underlying hypothesis before In non-probability sampling, the
Hypothesis the study begins and the hypothesis is derived after
objective of this method is to conducting the research study.
prove the hypothesis.

POST-TEST:

Answer the following items briefly:

1. What are the potential sources of bias?

2. Discuss the types of purposeful sampling?

3. Discuss the probability and non-probability sampling methods.
4. Discuss significant differences between probability sampling methods and non-
probability sampling methods in terms of:
a. Definition
b. Population selection
c. Sample
d. Results
e. Hypothesis

LESSON 6: DATA PROCESSING & STATISTICAL TREATMENT, DATA ANALYSIS &

INTERPRETATION

PRE-TEST:
Direction: Answer the question comprehensively and concisely.
1. What is Data Analysis?
2. Why do we Analyze Data?
3. Discuss the coding of data.
4. Why you tabulate your data?

Learning Activities:
The learner shall be able to:
1. Categorize code and tabulation for easy manipulation.
2. Identify appropriate statistical tool for data analysis.
3. Analyze data and interpret the results.

Data Collection and Analysis

Collection of Data
Data means information. Data collected expressly for a specific purpose are called
‘Primary data’ e.g., data collected by a particular person or organization from the primary
source for his own use, collection of data about the population by censuses and surveys, etc.
Data collected and published by one organization and subsequently used by other
organizations are called ‘Secondary data’. The various sources of collection for secondary
data are: newspapers and periodicals; publications of trade associations; research papers
published by university departments, U.G.C. or research bureaus; official publications of
central, state and the local and foreign governments, etc. The collection expenses of
primary data are more than secondary data. Secondary data should be used with care. The
various methods of collection of primary data are: (i) Direct personal investigation
(interview/observation); (ii) Indirect oral investigation; (iii) Data from local agents and
correspondents; (iv) Mailed questionnaires; (v) Questionnaires to be filled in by
enumerators; (vi) Results of experiments, etc. Data collected in this manner are called ‘raw
data’. These are generally voluminous and have to be arranged properly before use.
What is Data Analysis?
Data analysis is defined as a process of cleaning, transforming, and modeling data to
discover useful information for business decision-making. The purpose of Data Analysis is to
extract useful information from data and taking the decision based upon the data analysis.
A simple example of Data analysis is whenever we take any decision in our day-to-
day life is by thinking about what happened last time or what will happen by choosing that
particular decision. This is nothing but analyzing our past or future and making decisions
based on it. For that, we gather memories of our past or dreams of our future. So that is
nothing but data analysis. Now same thing analyst does for business purposes, is called Data
Analysis.
Why Data Analysis?
To grow your business even to grow in your life, sometimes all you need to do is
Analysis! If your business is not growing, then you have to look back and acknowledge your
mistakes and make a plan again without repeating those mistakes. And even if your business
is growing, then you have to look forward to making the business to grow more. All you
need to do is analyze your business data and business processes.

Why do we Analyze Data?

The purpose of analyzing data is to obtain usable and useful information. The
analysis, irrespective of whether the data is qualitative or quantitative, may:
• describe and summarize the data
• identify relationships between variables
• compare variables
• identify the difference between variables
• forecast outcomes
Data Analysis Tools
Data analysis tools make it easier for users to process and manipulate data, analyze
the relationships and correlations between data sets, and it also helps to identify patterns
and trends for interpretation. Here is a complete list of tools used for data analysis in
research.
Types of Data Analysis: Techniques and Methods
There are several types of data analysis techniques that exist based on business and
technology. However, the major data analysis methods are:
 Text Analysis
 Statistical Analysis
 Diagnostic Analysis
 Predictive Analysis
 Prescriptive Analysis
Text Analysis
Text analysis is also referred to as data mining. It is one of the methods of data
analysis to discover a pattern in large data sets using databases or data mining tools. It used
to transform raw data into business information. Business Intelligence tools are present in
the market which is used to take strategic business decisions. Overall, it offers a way to
extract and examine data and deriving patterns and finally interpretation of the data.
Statistical Analysis
Statistical analysis shows "What happen?" by using past data in the form of
dashboards. Statistical Analysis includes collection, Analysis, interpretation, presentation,
and modeling of data. It analyses a set of data or a sample of data. There are two categories
of this type of analysis:
1. Descriptive Analysis - analyses complete data or a sample of summarized
numerical data. It shows mean and deviation for continuous data whereas
percentage and frequency for categorical data.
2. Inferential Analysis - analyses sample from complete data. In this type of analysis,
you can find different conclusions from the same data by selecting different
samples.
Diagnostic Analysis
Diagnostic analysis shows "Why did it happen?" by finding the cause from the insight
found in Sta -tistical Analysis. This Analysis is useful to identify behavior patterns of data. If a
new problem arrives in your business process, then you can look into this Analysis to find
similar patterns of that problem. And it may have chances to use similar prescriptions for
the new problems.
Predictive Analysis
Predictive analysis shows "what is likely to happen" by using previous data. The
simplest data analysis example is like if last year I bought two dresses based on my savings
and if this year my salary is increasing double then I can buy four dresses. But of course, it's
not easy like this because you have to think about other circumstances like chances of prices
of clothes is increased this year or maybe instead of dresses you want to buy a new bike, or
you need to buy a house!
So here, this Analysis makes predictions about future outcomes based on current or
past data. Forecasting is just an estimate. Its accuracy is based on how much detailed
information you have and how much you dig in it.
Prescriptive Analysis
Prescriptive analysis combines the insight from all previous Analysis to determine
which action to take in a current problem or decision. Most data-driven companies are
utilizing Prescriptive Analysis because predictive and descriptive Analysis are not enough to
improve data performance. Based on current situations and problems, they analyze the data
and make decisions.

Types of data in research

Every kind of data has a rare quality of describing things after assigning a specific
value to it. For analysis, you need to organize these values, processed and presented in a
given context, to make it useful. Data can be in different forms;
Here are the primary data types:
 Qualitative data: When the data presented has words and descriptions, then we call
it qualitative data. Although you can observe this data, it is subjective and harder to
analyze data in research, especially for comparison. 
Example: Quality data represents everything describing taste, experience, texture, or
an opinion that is considered quality data. This type of data is usually collected
through focus groups, personal interviews, or using open-ended questions in
surveys.
 Quantitative data: Any data expressed in numbers of numerical figures are
called quantitative data. This type of data can be distinguished into categories,
grouped, measured, calculated, or ranked. 
Example: questions such as age, rank, cost, length, weight, scores, etc. everything
comes under this type of data. You can present such data in graphical format, charts,
or apply statistical analysis methods to this data. The (Outcomes Measurement
Systems) OMS questionnaires in surveys are a significant source of collecting
numeric data.
 Categorical data: It is data presented in groups. However, an item included in the
categorical data cannot belong to more than one group. 
Example: A person responding to a survey by telling his living style, marital status,
smoking habit, or drinking habit comes under the categorical data. A chi-square test
is a standard method used to analyze this data.
Data analysis in qualitative research
Data analysis and qualitative data research work a little differently from the
numerical data as the quality data is made up of words, descriptions, images, objects, and
sometimes symbols. Getting insight from such complicated information is a complicated
process. Hence it is typically used for exploratory research and data analysis.

Finding patterns in the qualitative data

Although there are several ways to find patterns in the textual information, a word-
based method is the most relied and widely used global technique for research and data
analysis. Notably, the data analysis process in qualitative research is manual. Here the
researchers usually read the available data and find repetitive or commonly used words. 
For example, while studying data collected from African countries to understand the
most pressing issues people face, researchers might find “food” and “hunger” are the most
commonly used words and will highlight them for further analysis.
The keyword context is another widely used word-based technique. In this method,
the researcher tries to understand the concept by analyzing the context in which the
participants use a particular keyword.  
For example, researchers conducting research and data analysis for studying the
concept of ‘diabetes’ amongst respondents might analyze the context of when and how the
respondent has used or referred to the word ‘diabetes.’
The scrutiny-based technique is also one of the highly recommended text
analysis methods used to identify a quality data pattern. Compare and contrast is the widely
used method under this technique to differentiate how a specific text is similar or different
from each other. 
For example: To find out the “importance of resident doctor in a company,” the
collected data is divided into people who think it is necessary to hire a resident doctor and
those who think it is unnecessary. Compare and contrast is the best method that can be
used to analyze the polls having single answer questions types.
Metaphors can be used to reduce the data pile and find patterns in it so that it becomes
easier to connect data with theory.
Variable Partitioning is another technique used to split variables so that researchers can find
more coherent descriptions and explanations from the enormous data.
Methods used for data analysis in qualitative research
There are several techniques to analyze the data in qualitative research, but here are some
commonly used methods,
1. Content Analysis: It is widely accepted and the most frequently employed technique
for data analysis in research methodology. It can be used to analyze the documented
information from text, images, and sometimes from the physical items. It depends
on the research questions to predict when and where to use this method.
2. Narrative Analysis: This method is used to analyze content gathered from various
sources such as personal interviews, field observation, and surveys. The majority of
times, stories, or opinions shared by people are focused on finding answers to the
research questions.
3. Discourse Analysis: Similar to narrative analysis, discourse analysis is used to analyze
the interactions with people. Nevertheless, this particular method considers the
social context under which or within which the communication between the
researcher and respondent takes place. In addition to that, discourse analysis also
focuses on the lifestyle and day-to-day environment while deriving any conclusion.
4. Grounded Theory: When you want to explain why a particular phenomenon
happened, then using grounded theory for analyzing quality data is the best resort.
Grounded theory is applied to study data about the host of similar cases occurring in
different settings. When researchers are using this method, they might alter
explanations or produce new ones until they arrive at some conclusion.
Data analysis in quantitative research
Preparing data for analysis
The first stage in research and data analysis is to make it for the analysis so that
the nominal data can be converted into something meaningful. Data preparation consists of
the below phases.
Phase I: Data Validation
Data validation is done to understand if the collected data sample is per the pre-set
standards, or it is a biased data sample again divided into four different stages
Fraud: To ensure an actual human being records each response to the survey or the
questionnaire
Screening: To make sure each participant or respondent is selected or chosen in compliance
with the research criteria
Procedure: To ensure ethical standards were maintained while collecting the data sample
Completeness: To ensure that the respondent has answered all the questions in an online
survey. Else, the interviewer had asked all the questions devised in the questionnaire.

Phase II: Data Editing

More often, an extensive research data sample comes loaded with errors.
Respondents sometimes fill in some fields incorrectly or sometimes skip them accidentally.
Data editing is a process wherein the researchers have to confirm that the provided data is
free of such errors. They need to conduct necessary checks and outlier checks to edit the
raw edit and make it ready for analysis.
Phase III: Data Coding
Out of all three, this is the most critical phase of data preparation associated with
grouping and assigning values to the survey responses. If a survey is completed with a 1000
sample size, the researcher will create an age bracket to distinguish the respondents based
on their age. Thus, it becomes easier to analyze small data buckets rather than deal with the
massive data pile.
Methods used for data analysis in quantitative research
After the data is prepared for analysis, researchers are open to using different
research and data analysis methods to derive meaningful insights. For sure, statistical
techniques are the most favored to analyze numerical data. The method is again classified
into two groups. First, ‘Descriptive Statistics’ used to describe data. Second, ‘Inferential
statistics’ that helps in comparing the data.
 Descriptive statistics
This method is used to describe the basic features of versatile types of data in
research. It presents the data in such a meaningful way that pattern in the data starts
making sense. Nevertheless, the descriptive analysis does not go beyond making
conclusions. The conclusions are again based on the hypothesis researchers have
formulated so far.
Here are a few major types of descriptive analysis methods.
A. Measures of Frequency
1. Count Frequency
2. Percent Frequency
 It is used to denote home often a particular event occurs.
 Researchers use it when they want to showcase how often a response is given.
B. Measures of Central Tendency
1. Mean
2. Median
3. Mode
 The method is widely used to demonstrate distribution by various points.
 Researchers use this method when they want to showcase the most commonly or
averagely indicated response.
C. Measures of Dispersion or Variation
1. Range
2. Variance
3. Standard deviation
 Here the field equals high/low points.
 Variance standard deviation = difference between the observed score and mean
 It is used to identify the spread of scores by stating intervals.
 Researchers use this method to showcase data spread out. It helps them identify the
depth until which the data is spread out that it directly affects the mean.
D. Measures of Position
1. Percentile ranks
2. Quartile ranks
It relies on standardized scores helping researchers to identify the relationship between
different scores.
It is often used when researchers want to compare scores with the average count.
For quantitative market research use of descriptive analysis often give absolute numbers,
but the analysis is never sufficient to demonstrate the rationale behind those numbers.
Nevertheless, it is necessary to think of the best method for research and data
analysis suiting your survey questionnaire and what story researchers want to tell. For
example, the mean is the best way to demonstrate the students’ average scores in schools.
It is better to rely on the descriptive statistics when the researchers intend to keep the
research or outcome limited to the provided sample without generalizing it. For example,
when you want to compare average voting done in two different cities, differential statistics
are enough.
Descriptive analysis is also called a ‘univariate analysis’ since it is commonly used to
analyze a single variable.
 Inferential statistics
Inferential statistics are used to make predictions about a larger population after
research and data analysis of the representing population’s collected sample. For
example, you can ask some odd 100 audiences at a movie theater if they like the movie
they are watching. Researchers then use inferential statistics on the collected sample to
reason that about 80-90% of people like the movie. 
Here are two significant areas of inferential statistics.
1. Estimating parameters: It takes statistics from the sample research data and
demonstrates something about the population parameter.
2. Hypothesis test: It’s about sampling research data to answer the survey
research questions. For example, researchers might be interested to understand if
the new shade of lipstick recently launched is good or not, or if the multivitamin
capsules help children to perform better at games.
These are sophisticated analysis methods used to showcase the relationship between
different variables instead of describing a single variable. It is often used when researchers
want something beyond absolute numbers to understand the relationship between
variables.
Here are some of the commonly used methods for data analysis in research.
1. Correlation: When researchers are not conducting experimental research wherein
the researchers are interested to understand the relationship between two or more
variables, they opt for correlational research methods.
2. Cross-tabulation: Also called contingency tables, cross-tabulation is used to analyze
the relationship between multiple variables.  Suppose provided data has age and
gender categories presented in rows and columns. A two-dimensional cross-
tabulation helps for seamless data analysis and research by showing the number of
males and females in each age category.
3. Regression analysis: For understanding the strong relationship between two
variables, researchers do not look beyond the primary and commonly
used regression analysis method, which is also a type of predictive analysis used. In
this method, you have an essential factor called the dependent variable. You also
have multiple independent variables in regression analysis. You undertake efforts to
find out the impact of independent variables on the dependent variable. The values
of both independent and dependent variables are assumed as being ascertained in
an error-free random manner.
4. Frequency tables: The statistical procedure is used for testing the degree to which
two or more vary or differ in an experiment. A considerable degree of variation
means research findings were significant. In many contexts, ANOVA testing and
variance analysis are similar.
5. Analysis of variance: The statistical procedure is used for testing the degree to which
two or more vary or differ in an experiment. A considerable degree of variation
means research findings were significant. In many contexts, ANOVA testing and
variance analysis are similar.
Considerations in research data analysis
 Researchers must have the necessary skills to analyze the data, Getting trained to
demonstrate a high standard of research practice. Ideally, researchers must possess
more than a basic understanding of the rationale of selecting one statistical method
over the other to obtain better data insights.
 Usually, research and data analytics methods differ by scientific discipline; therefore,
getting statistical advice at the beginning of analysis helps design a survey
questionnaire, select data collection methods, and choose samples.
 The primary aim of data research and analysis is to derive ultimate insights that are
unbiased. Any mistake in or keeping a biased mind to collect data, selecting an
analysis method, or choosing audience sample il to draw a biased inference.
 Irrelevant to the sophistication used in research data and analysis is enough to
rectify the poorly defined objective outcome measurements. It does not matter if
the design is at fault or intentions are not clear, but lack of clarity might mislead
readers, so avoid the practice.
 The motive behind data analysis in research is to present accurate and reliable data.
As far as possible, avoid statistical errors, and find a way to deal with everyday
challenges like outliers, missing data, data altering, data mining, or developing
graphical representation.
The sheer amount of data generated daily is frightening. Especially when data analysis
has taken center stage in 2018. In last year, the total data supply amounted to 2.8 trillion
gigabytes. Hence, it is clear that the enterprises willing to survive in the hypercompetitive
world must possess an excellent capability to analyze complex research data, derive
actionable insights, and adapt to the new market needs.
QuestionPro is an online survey platform that empowers organizations in data analysis
and research and provides them a medium to collect data by creating appealing surveys.
Data classification or Categorization
Data classification is the process of organizing data into categories that make it is
easy to retrieve, sort and store for future use.
A well-planned data classification system makes essential data easy to find and
retrieve. This can be of particular importance for risk management, legal discovery
and compliance. Written procedures and guidelines for data classification policies should
define what categories and criteria the organization will use to classify data and specify the
roles and responsibilities of employees within the organization regarding data stewardship.
Once a data-classification scheme has been created, security standards that specify
appropriate handling practices for each category and storage standards that define
the data's lifecycle requirements need to be addressed.
Purpose of data classification
On top of making data easier to locate and retrieve, a carefully planned data
classification system also makes essential data easy to manipulate and track. While some
combination of all of the following attributes may be achieved, most businesses and data
professionals focus on a particular goal when they approach a data classification project.
The most common goals include but are not limited to the following:
 Confidentiality. A classification system that values confidentiality above other
attributes will mostly focus on security measures, including user permissions
and encryption.
 Integrity of data. A system that focuses on data integrity will require more storage,
user permissions and proper channels of access.
 Availability of data. When security and integrity do not need to be perfected, it is
easiest to make data more easily accessible to users.

Importance of data classification

Data classification is a way to be sure that a company or organization is compliant
with company, local or federal guidelines for data handling and a way to improve and
maximize data security.
Common steps of data classification
Most commonly, not all data needs to be classified, and some is even better
destroyed. It is important to begin by prioritizing which types of data need to go through the
classification and reclassification processes. Next, data scientists and other professionals
create a framework within which to organize the data. They assign metadata or other tags
to the information, which allow machines and software to instantly sort it in different
groups and categories. It is important to maintain at every step that all data classification
schemes adhere to company policies as well as local and federal regulations around the
handling of the data.
In addition, companies need to always consider the ethical and privacy practices that
best reflect their standards and the expectations of clients and customers:
 Scan. This step involves taking stock of an entire database and making a digital game
plan to tackle the organization process.
 Identify. Anything from file type to character units to size of packets of data may be
used to sort the information into searchable, sortable categories.
 Separate. Once the data is categorized with a system the data science professional
implements, it can be separated by those categories whenever the system is called
to bring them up.
Unauthorized disclosure of information that falls within one of the protected categories of a
company's data classification systems is likely a breach of protocol and, in some countries,
may even be considered a serious crime. In order to enforce proper protocols, the protected
data needs to first be sorted into its category of sensitivity.
Data classification can be used to further categorize structured data, but it is an especially
important process for getting the most out of unstructured data by maximizing its
usefulness for an organization.
Types of data classification
In computer programming, file parsing is a method of splitting packets of information
into smaller sub-packets, making them easier to move, manipulate and categorize or sort.
Different parsing styles help a system to determine what kind of information is input. For
instance, dates are split up by day, month or year, and words may be separated by spaces.
Within data classification, there are many kinds of intervals that can be applied, including
but not limited to the following:
 Manual intervals. Using manual intervals involves a human going through the
entire data set and entering class breaks by observing where they make the most
sense. This is a perfectly fine system for smaller data sets, but may prove
problematic for larger collections of information.
 Defined intervals. Defined intervals specify a number of characters to include in a
packet. For example, information might be broken into smaller packets every three
units.
 Equal intervals. Equal intervals divide an entire data set into a specified number of
groups, distributing the amount of information over those groups evenly.
 Quantiles. Using quantiles involves setting a number of data values allowed per class
type.
 Natural breaks. Programs are able to determine wherever large changes in the data
occur on their own and use those indicators as a way of determining where to break
up the data.
 Geometric intervals. For geometric intervals, the same number of units is allowed
per class category.
 Standard deviation intervals. These are determined by how much the attributes of an
entry differ from the norm. There are set number values to show each entry's
deviations.
 Custom ranges. Custom ranges can be created and set by a user and changed at any
point.
Classification is an important part of data management that varies slightly from data
characterization. Classification is all about sorting information and data, while categorization
involves the actual systems that hold that information and data.
There are certain data classification standard categories. Each one of these standards may
have federal and local laws about how they need to be handled. They include the following:
 Public information. This standard is maintained by state institutions and subject to
disclosure as part of certain laws.
 Confidential information. This may have legal restrictions about the way it is
handled, or there may be other consequences around the way it is handled.
 Sensitive information. This is any information stored or handled by state institutions
that include authorization requirements and other rigid rules around its use.
 Personal information. Generally, peoples' personal information is considered
protected by law, and it needs to be handled following certain protocols and rules
for proper use. Sometimes there are gaps between the moral requirements and
contemporary legislative protections for their use.
A regular expression is an equation used to quickly pull any data that fits a certain category,
making it easier to categorize all of the information that falls within those particular
parameters.
Various tools may be used in data classification, including databases, business
intelligence software and standard data management systems. Some examples of business
intelligence software used by companies for data classification include Google Data Studio,
Databox, Visme and SAP Lumira.
Benefits of data classification
Using data classification helps organizations maintain the confidentiality, ease of
access and integrity of their data. It also helps to lower the danger of unstructured sensitive
information becoming vulnerable to hackers, and it saves companies from steep data
storage costs. Storing massive amounts of unorganized data is expensive and could also be a
liability.
GDPR (EU General Data Protection Regulation)
The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a set of international guidelines
created to help companies and institutions handle confidential or sensitive data carefully
and respectfully. It is made up of seven guiding principles: fairness, limited scope, minimized
data, accuracy, storage limitations, rights and integrity. There are very steep penalties for
not complying with these standards in some countries.

Examples of data classification

A number of different category lists can be applied to the information in a system.
These lists of qualifications are also known as data classification schemes. One way to
classify sensitivity categories might include classes such as secret, confidential, business-use
only and public. An organization might also use a system that classifies information as based
on the type of qualities it drills down into. For example, types of information might be
content info that goes into the files looking for certain characteristics. Context-based
classification examines applications, users, geographic location or creator info about the
application. User classification is based on what an end user chooses to create, edit and
review.
Data reclassification
As part of maintaining a process to keep data classification systems as efficient as
possible, it is important for an organization to continuously update the classification system
by reassigning the values, ranges and outputs to more effectively meet the organization's
classification goals.
Regression algorithm vs. classification algorithm
Both regression and classification algorithms are standard data management styles.
When it comes to organizing data, the biggest differences between regression and
classification algorithms fall within the type of expected output. For any systems that will
produce a single set of potential results within a finite range, classification algorithms are
ideal. When the results of an algorithm are continuous, such as an output of time or length,
using a regression algorithm or linear regression algorithm is more efficient.
Data classification process
If you’re wondering how to classify data, then you’ll need some sort of a base to
work from. In some cases, data classification as a process might become complicated and
cumbersome very quickly, and while the automatization of the classification process helps a
lot – the company itself must perform a variety of operations for the entire process to work
properly, including:
 Finding out the correct criteria and/or categories that would be used to perform the
entire data classification process;
 Implement various security-related measures based on the results of the
classification process;
 Ensure the maintaining of proper data classification protocols by outlining the
responsibilities of a company’s employees.
This process should provide both the company with an operational data classification
framework to work with. Each category should also include additional information around
security considerations, data types and rules that relate to various processes that can be
performed with said data (storage, retrieval, transmission and other processes).
Data classification and compliance
Some compliance regulations also put a lot of weight towards a company to
implement data classification, in one way or another. A good example of such a regulation is
GDPR, implying that if your company works with EU citizens in any way – you have to know
what that data is, where it is stored, and protect it with appropriate security measures.
There’s also the fact that compliance regulations like GDPR often demand much
heavier security measures for specific data categories. For example, GDPR prohibits any sort
of processing of data that’s related to philosophical beliefs, racial or ethnical origins, or
political opinions. The properly performed classification procedure should be able to
alleviate a lot of risk that comes with such specific topics, thus lessening the chances of a
company having compliance issues and ultimately paying for any mistakes.
Data classification general steps
While there are some possible deviations in the way specific companies approach
the topic of data classification, you can always use the general three-step recommendation
about the data classification-related procedures if you don’t know where to begin.
1. Understanding where your data is located and what regulations your organization is
bound to comply with is a good first step in regards to data classification as a
complicated process.
2. Classification policy is the top priority for any company that doesn’t have one, since
it’s the set of rules that your classification process would be relying on.
3. Classification process can safely begin as soon as you have both the idea of where
your data is, and a policy in regards to what you should do with this data.
It would be unfair to say that data classification only makes everything easier to find, and
that’s it. The current world’s enterprises are often operating with massive amounts of data,
and finding out what is where in such a big data lake is much easier if the data in question is
already classified and faster to work with.
5 steps to data classification
It’s incredibly hard to have a proper sensitive data handling system without a correct
data classification framework in place. However, there’s also a lot of examples when
companies can’t find the right approach to their data classification system, making it either
too complicated or rendering it useless in the first place. Here are five general steps that you
should follow for a successful classification system:
1. Risk assessment. Clear understanding of all of the requirements from the
confidential and privacy standpoint is a requirement to begin.
2. Classification policy development. A comprehensive classification policy without
overcomplicating everything is another big step towards a decent data classification
system.
3. Data categorization. Understanding your data types and how important they might
be beforehand is also heavily recommended before starting.
4. Data location discovery, identification and classification. The main part of the
process when it comes to classifying data is the actual data discovery, along with
identification and subsequent classification.
5. Security measures and maintenance. Applying appropriate security measures and
updating them when necessary is the last significant part of the data classification
system.
Data classification policy
One of the prime purposes of a data classification policy is to define who is
responsible for the process in question. It can be someone responsible for the data
correctness, the information creators, or subject matter experts.
Your classification policy is basically the data classification standard, specifying how
to do it in the first place, as well as various specifics. There are also more specifics that a
policy should be able to define in regards to the data classification process, including the
time periods between subsequent data classifications, what types of data are classified, how
to classify data (the appliance that performs data classification), and so on. It’s also
important to remember that a classification policy remains a part of the general information
security policy – the one that specifies the means of protecting sensitive data in the first
place.
A few questions to consider when forming a data classification standard:
 Who is responsible for the data being accurate and complete?
 Who is the creator/owner of this information?
 Is this information a subject to any compliance regulations? What are the
consequences of non-compliance in that case?
 Which part of the organization has the most information about the context and/or
content of this specific data?
 What is the storage location of this data?
Data classification methods of scaling
At some point you won’t be working with just a basic set of rules anymore and this is
where various data classification methods come in to help you make the scanning more
efficient.
One way of doing it is to leverage the metadata of already scanned files to further
increase the accuracy of the subsequent content search. If you can filter out the files that
you are not interested in based on metadata, then you are saving precious time by not even
sending them for content classification.
Another tip is to attempt incremental scanning instead of everything in one go. This
allows for more agile and faster feedback to ensure your rules and logic is accurate.
More complicated scaling techniques involve various modern technologies like machine
learning, comprehensive audit, permission logging, and so on.
Primary Rules of Classification [C.A. Foun. Nov. 1997]
In quantitative classification, we classify data by assigning arbitrary limits called
class-limits. The group between any two class-limits is termed as class or class-interval.
The primary rules of classification are given below:
(i) There should not be any ambiguity in the definition of classes. It will
eliminate all doubts while including a particular item in a class.
(ii) All the classes should preferably have equal width or length. Only in some
special cases, we use classes of unequal width.
(iii) The class-limits (integral or fractional) should be selected in such a way
that no value of the item in the raw data coincides with the value of the
limit.
(iv) The number of classes should preferably be between 10 and 20, i.e.,
neither too large nor too small.
(v) The classes should be exhaustive, i.e., each value of the raw data should
be included in them.
(vi) The classes should be mutually exclusive and non-overlapping, i.e., each
item of the raw data should fit only in one class.
(vii) The classification must be suitable for the object of inquiry.
(viii) The classification should be flexible and items included in each class must
be homogeneous.
(ix) Width of class-interval is determined by first fixing the no. of class-
intervals and then dividing the total range by that number.
Modes of Classification
There are four types of classification, viz., (i) qualitative; (ii) quantitative; (iii) temporal and
(iv) spatial.
(i) Qualitative classification: It is done according to attributes or non-measurable
characteristics; like social status, sex, nationality, occupation, etc. For example,
the population of the whole country can be classified into four categories as
married, unmarried, widowed and divorced. When only one attribute, e.g., sex, is
used for classification, it is called simple classification. When more than one
attributes, e.g., deafness, sex and religion, are used for classification, it is called
manifold classification.
(ii) Quantitative classification: It is done according to numerical size like weights in
kg or heights in cm. Here we classify the data by assigning arbitrary limits known
as class-limits. The quantitative phenomenon under study is called a variable. For
example, the population 4 Business Statistics of the whole country may be
classified according to different variables like age, income, wage, price, etc.
Hence this classification is often called ‘classification by variables.
(a.) Variable: A variable in statistics means any measurable characteristic or
quantity which can assume a range of numerical values within certain limits,
e.g., income, height, age, weight, wage, price, etc. A variable can be classified
as either discrete or continuous.
(1) Discrete variable: A variable which can take up only exact values and not any
fractional values, is called a ‘discrete’ variable. Number of workmen in a factory,
members of a family, students in a class, number of births in a certain year,
number of telephone calls in a month, etc., are examples of discrete-variable.
(2) Continuous variable: A variable which can take up any numerical value
(integral/fractional) within a certain range is called a ‘continuous’ variable.
Height, weight, rainfall, time, temperature, etc., are examples of continuous
variables. Age of students in a school is a continuous variable as it can be
measured to the nearest fraction of time, i.e., years, months, days, etc.
(iii) Temporal classification: It is done according to time, e.g., index numbers arranged
over a period of time, population of a country for several decades, exports and
imports of India for different five-year plans, etc.
(iii) Spatial classification: It is done with respect to space or places, e.g., production
of cereals in quintals in various states, population of a country according to
states, etc.
Coding of data
Refers to the process of transforming collected information or observations to a set
of meaningful, cohesive categories. It is a process of summarizing and re-presenting data in
order to provide a systematic account of the recorded or observed phenomenon. Data refer
to a wide range of empirical objects such as historical documents, newspaper articles, TV
programming, field notes, interview or focus group transcripts, pictures, face-to-face
conversations, social media messages (e.g., tweets or YouTube comments), and so on.
Codes are concepts that link data with theory. They can either be predefined by the
researcher or emerge inductively from the coding process. By coding data, researchers
classify and attach conceptual labels to empirical objects under study in order to organize
and interpret.
Why Coding?
All research collects data of some sort. In order to make sense of the data, it must be
analyzed. Analysis begins with the labeling of data as to its source, how it was collected, the
information it contains, etc.
Working with original data, however, can be very cumbersome, whether it is
hundreds of mailed questionnaires, figures on yearly accident rates for the fifty states, or
observations of classroom behavior of school children. For this reason, data are often coded.
Coded allow the researcher to reduce large quantities of information into a form
than can be more easily handled, especially by computer programs. Not all data need to be
coded. For example, the accident rates for the fifty states would not be coded, but each
state could be assigned a number (1 through 50) instead of using the state name. There are
also content analysis computer programs that help researchers to code textual data for
qualitative or quantitative analysis.
Steps in data management:
a) prepare the data collection instrument and collect the data;
b) prepare the data dictionary or codebook;
c) prepare the data matrix worksheets;
d) prepare instructions for data entry and data analysis.
A.) Prepare the data collection instrument and collect the data. Example:  Quality of Work
Life Questionnaire
1. Name of Division where you work: _____________________________
2. How long have you been an employee in this company? _______years
3. How many county-sponsored training sessions have you attended? _____
4. What is your job classification?
_____Management
_____Technical
_____Administrative
_____Clerical
5. Is your position
_____supervisory
_____non-supervisory
6. Sex
_____male
_____female
7. In what area would you like to receive additional training? ___________

B.) Prepare the data dictionary or codebook.

If data are to be entered into a computer program, whether a spreadsheet, data
base, or statistical program, they must be entered in exactly the same way for each person,
questionnaire, state, or other unit of analysis.
Many computer programs have limits on way data can be entered, stored, and
retrieved. These limits should be reflected in the codebook. For example, the names of your
variables often cannot exceed eight characters. Use short variable names, preferably all
letters. You generally can use numbers as well as letters in variable names, but you cannot
use spaces, punctuation, or other special characters.
The variable names you assign to the data should reflect the nominal definitions of
the variables themselves, such as "age," "jobclass," "seniority," and so forth. You may want
to adopt a rule such as using only lower-case letters for any alphanumeric data that you
enter, or only uppercase letters. This will make typing variable names easier later when you
must tell the computer program which variables to analyze.
    Data can be stored in many ways. The most common form for variables is numeric
data, consisting only of numbers. Usually this allows for fractions to be stored as decimals,
for example, 2.3 or 0.888
    Data can also be stored as letters, called alpha-numeric format. This allows the
variable to be stored as either letters or numbers or a combination of the two. For example,
you could store first names, such as "Amy," "Brad," "Caroline," etc. or combinations such as
apartment numbers (102b), or license plate numbers (3XGJ429), etc.
    In neither case should data ever be entered with spaces, punctuation marks, or any
special characters of any kind. Large numbers should not have any commas placed in them;
names should not have any periods, dashes, quotation marks, etc.
    The codebook tells the coder how each questionnaire will be coded for data entry. It
specifies the question on the questionnaire from which the data is taken, the variable name,
the operational definition of the variable, the coding options, and the type of variable
(numeric or alpha-numeric) and the number of columns the variable requires.

Example: Quality of Work Life Codebook

Q.  Variable  Operational Definition Coding Col. 

No. Name type
ID Questionnaire Number 001-999 1-3 
num
1 DIVISION Name of Division where you work? Planning=1  4 
Traffic=2  num
Engineering=3 
Enforcement=4 
missing=9
2 LENGTH How long have you been an employee 01-98  5-6 
in this company? missing=99 num
3 TRAINING How many county-sponsored training 00-98  7-8 
sessions have you attended? missing=99 num
4 JOBCLASS What is your job classification?  Management=1  9 
Management, Technical, Technical=2  num
Administrative, Clerical Administrative=3 
Clerical=4 
missing=9
5 SUPER Is your position supervisory or non- non-supervisory=0  10 
supervisory?  supervisory=1  num
missing=9
6 SEX Sex: male, female male=0  11 
female=1  num
missing=9
7 NEEDS In what area would you like to receive supervising=1  12 
additional training? budgeting=2  num
computers=3 
personnel=4 
other=5 
missing=9

 
 

Tips on Coding:
1. Use numbers to represent response categories. For example,

on a scale of attitudes about on a survey of where city on a survey of college

work,  residents live,  majors, 
5=Very satisfied  Central=1  Business=1 
4=Satisfied  Eastside=2  Education=2 
3=Neutral  North=3  Engineering=3 
2=Dissatisfied  Westside=4 Health=4 
1=Very Dissatisfied Liberal Arts=5 
Science=6

2. Use zero and one to code variables with binary response categories, such as:
Are you a supervisor? No=0 Yes=1
Sex: Male=0 Female=1
Are you at headquarters or in the field? Headquarters=0 Field=1
(Be sure to use the number zero, and not the letter "O"; and the number one, not the letter
"L").
3. The same data can be coded in more than one way. For example, the following data on
what materials the library should acquire can be coded in two different ways:

data:  Code for Subject Matter, Code for type of material,

-books on the middle ages  e.g.:  e.g.: 
-data bases  History  reference works 
-journals in criminal justice  Business  electronic media 
-videos & films  Art  books 
-reference works  Government journals 
-business reports  reports
-government documents 
-Internet contacts

 
4. One question on a questionnaire can yield more than one variable. For example: What
type of training would you like to receive?
_____supervising _____budgeting _____computers _____personnel

This can be coded as one Or as two variables, Or as four variables,

variable,  indicating first and second indicating a yes/no
TRAINING  choices:  preference for each type: 
1=supervising  TRAIN1  TSUPER 
2=budgeting  1=supervising  0=no 1=yes 
3=computers  2=budgeting  TBUDGET 
4=personnel 3=computers  0=no 1=yes 
4=personnel  TCOMPUT 
TRAIN2  0=no 1=yes 
1=supervising  TPERS 
2=budgeting  0=no 1=yes
3=computers 
4=personnel

The researcher has to try to anticipate how the data will look. A good idea of this
can be gained from doing a pilot test of the instrument, and a dry run of the data collection
process. It is important to be sure to leave enough columns to properly code the
information for each variable, and to provide enough variables to capture all the richness,
complexity, and variety of data that has been collected.
    If a sample of college students is asked about barriers, they encounter is attempting
to use the campus library, will students be asked to list the one main barrier, to rank order
all the barriers, or to choose only the barriers relevant to them? And what if the students do
not follow the instructions? Depending on what shape the data come in, the researcher will
have to decide how to code this information, using one, two, or many variables.
C. Prepare the data matrix worksheets;
    When data are to be entered into a computer program for statistical analysis, usually
this takes the form of a matrix. The variable names are entered at the tops of the columns
which will contain the data for that variable, and the case records are entered across the
rows.
Example:
Data Entry Worksheets Quality of Work Life Codebook
 

Id  Division  Length  Training  Jobclass  Super  Sex  Needs 

1-3 4 5-6 7-8 9 10 11 12
001 3 22 15 4 0 1 4
002 1 1 3 2 1 0 1
003 2 9 99 3 0 0 3
  Each single numeral or character that is entered into a computer program takes up
one column of space. Each datum can be found by knowing its location by column number
in the matrix.
Columns 1 through 3 taken together represent the person's employee ID number.
Column 4 represents the division worked in.
Columns 5-6 represent the length of time employed.
Columns 7-8 represent the number of training classes taken (note that the information on
number of classes taken is missing for person number 003).
Column 9 represents the person's job classification.
Column 10 indicates whether the person is a supervisor or not.
Column 11 indicates whether the person is male or female.
Column 12 indicates what type of training the person wants in the future.
Each record, case, questionnaire, or other unit of analysis is represented by a single
row of data across the matrix. For example, person 001 is found in row 1; person 002 in row
2; and person 003 in row 3.
    Each record must be entered in exactly the same way. If the position of the data is to
be entered in fixed-columns, this is referred to as fixed-field format. If data are missing for a
record on any of the variables, something must still be entered into that field. Usually this is
a number indicating that the data is missing. For a 1-column field, use the number 9; for a
two-column field, use 99; and so forth. Just make sure that "9" or "99" is not also a valid
response. In that case, use some other number; some computer programs will allow you to
use a period (".") as a placeholder that is also an indicator of missing data.
    When you ask the computer, for example, the compute the average length of time
employed of all the employees in your survey, the computer will look in columns 5-6 of each
record. It will take whatever it finds there, and attempt to compute an average. It is
important, therefore, that all length of employment data be in columns 5-6 for every record,
and that no other type of data be in columns 5-6. The computer will disregard missing data
codes (i.e., values of "99") in computing the average.
    Many computer programs have a limitation of a total of 80 columns of data per
record. This is a holdover from when data were punched on cardboard cards that were fed
into card readers, rather than entering data directly into the computer. If your data require
more than 80 columns, you will have to construct additional data matrices to record the
remainder of the information for each record.
 D. Prepare instructions for data entry and data analysis.
Data coding may be done directly on the data collection instrument (e.g.,
questionnaire) and then transferred to the data coding sheets, or entered directly into the
computer. It is important to prepare detailed instructions for data coding and data entry,
especially if these tasks are shared among or performed by several different people.
    There are a number of statistical, spreadsheets, and data base programs that can be
used for data entry. Most programs will save the data and allow it to be output as a plain
text or ASCII file, which is accepted by most statistical programs, such as SAS, SPSS, or
STATA. Most of these programs are available in a desktop version, and many also come in
cheaper student versions as well, such as Student Stata and Mystat.
    There are also a number of stand-alone products such as Data Perfect, which can be
easily programmed to look just like the data collection instrument, making data entry quite
easy and eliminating the need for a data entry matrix to be filled in. These programs also
have built-in safeguards, so that, for example, alpha-numeric data cannot be entered into a
variable that is for numeric data only; data are constrained to a limited number of columns
so that four digits can't be entered into a three-digit variable; etc.
TABULATION OF DATA
The process of placing classified data into tabular form is known as tabulation. A
table is a symmetric arrangement of statistical data in rows and columns. Rows are
horizontal arrangements whereas columns are vertical arrangements. It may be simple,
double or complex depending upon the type of classification.
Types of Tabulation:
(1) Simple Tabulation or One-way Tabulation
When the data are tabulated to one characteristic, it is said to be a simple tabulation
or one-way tabulation. For example: Tabulation of data on the population of the world
classified by one characteristic like religion is an example of a simple tabulation.
(2) Double Tabulation or Two-way Tabulation
When the data are tabulated according to two characteristics at a time, it is said to
be a double tabulation or two-way tabulation. For example: Tabulation of data on the
population of the world classified by two characteristics like religion and sex is an example
of a double tabulation.
(3) Complex Tabulation
When the data are tabulated according to many characteristics, it is said to be a
complex tabulation.
What is Tabulation of Data? Discuss the Importance of Tabulation.
Tabulation of Data: The tabular presentation of data is one of the techniques of
presentation of data. The tabular presentation means arranging the collected data in an
orderly mariner in rows and in columns.
The horizontal arrangement of the data is known as rows, whereas the vertical
arrangement is called columns. The classified facts are recorded in rows and columns to give
then tabular form.
Importance of Tabulation:
1. Systematic Presentation of Data
Generally, the collected data is in fragmented form. The mass of data is presented in
a concise and simple manner by means of statistical tables.
Thus, tabulation helps in presenting the data in an orderly manner.
2. Facilitates Comparison of Data:
If the data is in the raw form, it is very difficult to compare. Comparison is possible
when the related items of data are presented in simple and concise form.
The presentation of complete and unorganized data in the form of tables facilitates the
comparison of the various aspects of the data.
3. Identification of the Desired Values:
In tabulation, data is presented in an orderly manner by arranging it in rows and
columns. Therefore, the desired values can be identified without much difficulty. In the
absence of tabulated data, it would be rather difficult to locate the required values.
4. Provides a Basis for Analysis:
Presentation of data in tabular form provides a basis for analysis of such data. The
statistical methodology suggests that analysis follows presentation of data.
A systematic presentation of data in tabular form is a prerequisite for the analysis of
data. Statistical tables are useful aids in analysis.
What Is Statistical Analysis?
Statistical analysis is, according to one service provider, "the science of collecting,
exploring and presenting large amounts of data to discover underlying patterns and trends."
In an effort to organize their data and predict future trends based on the
information, many businesses rely on statistical analysis.
While organizations have lots of options on what to do with their big data, statistical
analysis is a way for it to be examined as a whole, as well as broken down into individual
samples.
Types of statistical analysis
There are two main types of statistical analysis: descriptive and inference, also known as
modeling.
1. Descriptive statistics
According to the website My Market Research Methods, descriptive statistics is what
organizations use to summarize their data.
"Descriptive statistics intend to describe a big hunk of data with summary charts and
tables, but do not attempt to draw conclusions about the population from which the sample
was taken," the company writes on its website. "You are simply summarizing the data you
have with pretty charts and graphs — kind of like telling someone the key points of a book
(executive summary) as opposed to just handing them a thick book (raw data)."
Since charts, graphs and tables are primary components, descriptive statistics makes
it easier to understand and visualize raw data. Laerd Statistics, which helps students with
their statistic work, notes that descriptive statistics are simply a way to describe data and
are not used to make conclusions beyond the analyzed data or reach conclusions regarding
any hypotheses that were made.
"Descriptive statistics therefore enables us to present the data in a more meaningful
way, which allows simpler interpretation of the data," Laerd writes on its website.
Among some of the useful data that comes from descriptive statistics includes the mode,
median and mean, as well as range, variance and standard deviation.
2. Statistical interference
The second type of statistical analysis is inference. Inferential statistics are a way to study
the data even further.
According to My Market Research, inference statistics allows organizations to test a
hypothesis and draw conclusions about the data. In these cases, a sample of the entire data
is typically examined, with the results applied to the group as a whole.
The statistical analysis processes
According to online textbook provider Boundless, the conclusions of a statistical
inference are a statistical proposition. Some common forms of statistical proposition they
point to include:
a. Estimates: A particular value that best approximates some parameter of interest is
called an estimate.
b. Confidence interval: An interval constructed using a data set drawn from a
population so that, under repeated sampling of such data sets, such intervals would
contain the true parameter value with the probability at the stated confidence level
is defined as a confidence interval. In other words, the confidence interval is a
measure of how well the model predicts the data that is actually recorded.
c. Credible intervals: A set of values containing, for example, 95% of posterior belief is
referred to as a credible interval. It’s a way of standardizing confidence intervals.
When you read about a study with 95% confidence, they are referencing a credible
interval.
In the end, descriptive statistics are used to describe the data, while inferential statistics are
used to infer conclusions and hypotheses about the same information.
Statistical Treatment of Data
‘Statistical treatment’ is when you apply a statistical method to a data set to draw

meaning from it. Statistical treatment can be either descriptive statistics, which describes
the relationship between variables in a population, or inferential statistics, which tests a
hypothesis by making inferences from the collected data.

Introduction to Statistical Treatment in Research

Every research student, regardless of whether they are a biologist, computer
scientist or psychologist, must have a basic understanding of statistical treatment if their
study is to be reliable.
This is because designing experiments and collecting data are only a small part of
conducting research. The other components, which are often not so well understood by new
researchers, are the analysis, interpretation and presentation of the data. This is just as
important, if not more important, as this is where meaning is extracted from the study.
What is Statistical Treatment of Data?
Statistical treatment of data is when you apply some form of statistical method to a
data set to transform it from a group of meaningless numbers into meaningful output.
Statistical treatment of data involves the use of statistical methods such as:
 mean,
 mode,
 median,
 regression,
 conditional probability,
 sampling,
 standard deviation and
 distribution range.
These statistical methods allow us to investigate the statistical relationships between the
data and identify possible errors in the study.
In addition to being able to identify trends, statistical treatment also allows us to
organize and process our data in the first place. This is because when carrying out statistical
analysis of our data, it is generally more useful to draw several conclusions for each
subgroup within our population than to draw a single, more general conclusion for the
whole population. However, to do this, we need to be able to classify the population into
different subgroups so that we can later break down our data in the same way before
analyzing it.

Statistical Treatment Example – Quantitative Research

For a statistical treatment of data example, consider a medical study that is
investigating the effect of a drug on the human population. As the drug can affect different
people in different ways based on parameters such as gender, age and race, the researchers
would want to group the data into different subgroups based on these parameters to
determine how each one affects the effectiveness of the drug. Categorizing the data in this
way is an example of performing basic statistical treatment.
Type of Errors
A fundamental part of statistical treatment is using statistical methods to identify
possible outliers and errors. No matter how careful we are, all experiments are subject to
inaccuracies resulting from two types of errors: systematic errors and random errors.
Systematic errors are errors associated with either the equipment being used to collect the
data or with the method in which they are used. Random errors are errors that occur
unknowingly or unpredictably in the experimental configuration, such as internal
deformations within specimens or small voltage fluctuations in measurement testing
instruments.
These experimental errors, in turn, can lead to two types of conclusion errors: type I
errors and type II errors. A type I error is a false positive which occurs when a researcher
rejects a true null hypothesis. On the other hand, a type II error is a false negative which
occurs when a researcher fails to reject a false null hypothesis.
What is Data Interpretation?
Data interpretation is the process of reviewing data through some predefined
processes which will help assign some meaning to the data and arrive at a relevant
conclusion. It involves taking the result of data analysis, making inferences on the relations
studied, and using them to conclude.
Therefore, before one can talk about interpreting data, they need to be analyzed
first. What then, is data analysis? Data analysis is the process of ordering, categorizing,
manipulating, and summarizing data to obtain answers to research questions. It is usually
the first step taken towards data interpretation.
It is evident that the interpretation of data is very important, and as such needs to
be done properly. Therefore, researchers have identified some data interpretation methods
to aid this process.
What are Data Interpretation Methods?
Data interpretation methods are how analysts help people make sense of numerical
data that has been collected, analyzed and presented. Data, when collected in raw form,
may be difficult for the layman to understand, which is why analysts need to break down
the information gathered so that others can make sense of it. For example, when founders
are pitching to potential investors, they must interpret data (e.g. market size, growth rate,
etc.) for better understanding.
There are 2 main methods in which this can be done, namely; quantitative methods and
qualitative methods. 
1. Qualitative Data Interpretation Method 
The qualitative data interpretation method is used to analyze qualitative data, which
is also known as categorical data. This method uses texts, rather than numbers or patterns
to describe data.
Qualitative data is usually gathered using a wide variety of person-to-person
techniques, which may be difficult to analyze compared to the quantitative research
method.
Unlike the quantitative data which can be analyzed directly after it has been
collected and sorted, qualitative data needs to first be coded into numbers before it can be
analyzed.  This is because texts are usually cumbersome, and will take more time and result
in a lot of errors if analyzed in its original state. Coding done by the analyst should also be
documented so that it can be reused by others and also analyzed. 
There are 2 main types of qualitative data, namely; nominal and ordinal data. These
2 data types are both interpreted using the same method, but ordinal data interpretation is
quite easier than that of nominal data.
In most cases, ordinal data is usually labelled with numbers during the process of
data collection, and coding may not be required. This is different from nominal data that still
needs to be coded for proper interpretation.
Quantitative Data Interpretation Method
The quantitative data interpretation method is used to analyze quantitative data,
which is also known as numerical data. This data type contains numbers and is therefore
analyzed with the use of numbers and not texts.
Quantitative data are of 2 main types, namely; discrete and continuous data. Continuous
data is further divided into interval data and ratio data, with all the data types being
numeric.
Due to its natural existence as a number, analysts do not need to employ the coding
technique on quantitative data before it is analyzed. The process of analyzing quantitative
data involves statistical modelling techniques such as standard deviation, mean and median.
Some of the statistical methods used in analyzing quantitative data are:
1. Mean
The mean is a numerical average for a set of data and is calculated by dividing the
sum of the values by the number of values in a dataset. It is used to get an estimate of a
large population from the dataset obtained from a sample of the population. 
2. Standard deviation
This technique is used to measure how well the responses align with or deviates
from the mean. It describes the degree of consistency within the responses; together with
the mean, it provides insight into data sets.
3. Frequency distribution
This technique is used to assess the demography of the respondents or the number
of times a particular response appears in research.  It is extremely keen on determining the
degree of intersection between data points.
Some other interpretation processes of quantitative data include:
1. Regression analysis
2. Cohort analysis
3. Predictive and prescriptive analysis
Tips for Collecting Accurate Data for Interpretation 
1. Identify the Required Data Type
  Researchers need to identify the type of data required for particular research. Is
it nominal, ordinal, interval, or ratio data? 
The key to collecting the required data to conduct research is to properly understand
the research question. If the researcher can understand the research question, then he can
identify the kind of data that is required to carry out the research.
For example, when collecting customer feedback, the best data type to use is
the ordinal data type. Ordinal data can be used to access a customer's feelings about a
brand and is also easy to interpret.
2. Avoid Biases
There are different kinds of biases a researcher might encounter when collecting
data for analysis. Although biases sometimes come from the researcher, most of the biases
encountered during the data collection process is caused by the respondent. 
There are 2 main biases, that can be caused by the President, namely; response bias and
non-response bias. Researchers may not be able to eliminate these biases, but there are
ways in which they can be avoided and reduced to a minimum.
 Response biases are biases that are caused by respondents intentionally giving
wrong answers to responses.
 Non-response bias occurs when the respondents don't give answers to questions at
all. Biases are capable of affecting the process of data interpretation.
3. Use Close Ended Surveys
Although open-ended surveys are capable of giving detailed information about the
questions and allow respondents to fully express themselves, it is not the best kind of survey
for data interpretation. It requires a lot of coding before the data can be analyzed. Close-
ended surveys, on the other hand, restrict the respondents' answer to some predefined
options, while simultaneously eliminating irrelevant data.  This way, researchers can easily
analyze and interpret data.
However, close-ended surveys may not be applicable in some cases, like when
collecting respondent's personal information like name, credit card details, phone number,
etc.
Advantages of Data Interpretation 
 It helps to make informed decisions and not just through guessing or predictions.
 It is cost-efficient
 The insights obtained can be used to set and identify trends in data.
Conclusion  
Data interpretation and analysis is an important aspect of working with data sets in
any field or research and statistics. They both go hand in hand, as the process of data
interpretation involves the analysis of data.
The process of data interpretation is usually cumbersome, and should naturally
become more difficult with the best amount of data that is being churned out daily.
However, with the accessibility of data analysis tools and machine learning techniques,
analysts are gradually finding it easier to interpret data.
Data interpretation is very important, as it helps to acquire useful information from a
pool of irrelevant ones while making informed decisions. It is found useful for individuals,
businesses, and researchers.

POST-TEST:
Discuss the following items briefly.
1. What is data?
2. Why do we Analyze Data?
3. Discuss statistical analysis.
4. Discuss the types of data in research.
5. How do we analyze data in:
a. Qualitative analysis?
b. Quantitative analysis?
6. Discuss the purpose of data categorization.
7. What is coding of data.
8. What are the steps in data management?
9. Discuss the tips on coding.
10. Discuss the importance of tabulation.
LESSON 7: RESEARCH INSTRUMENT

PRE-TEST:
Direction: Answer the question comprehensively and concisely.
1. In your own opinion, which is better a valid test or reliable test? Why?
2. Why do you think students’ score in a particular test sometimes vary?
3. Discuss what makes test items/test results invalid?
Learning Activities:
The learner shall be able to:
1. Define and explain the characteristics of a good measuring instruments;
2. Identify the types of validity;
3. Describe what conditions can affect the validity of test items;
4. Discuss the factors that affect the reliability of test;
5. Estimate test reliability using different methods;
6. Enumerate and discuss the factors that determine the usability of test; and
7. Point out which is the most important characteristics of a good test.

What is a Research Instrument?

The term research instrument refers to any tool that you may use to collect or obtain
data, measure data and analyze data that is relevant to the subject of your research.
Research instruments are often used in the fields of social sciences and health
sciences. These tools can also be found within education that relates to patients, staff,
teachers and students.
The format of a research instrument may consist of questionnaires, surveys,
interviews, checklists or simple tests. The choice of which specific research instrument tool
to use will be decided on the by the researcher. It will also be strongly related to the actual
methods that will be used in the specific study.
Characteristics of a Good Research Instrument
 Valid and reliable
 Based on a conceptual framework, or the researcher's understanding of how the
particular variables in the study connect with each other
 Must gather data suitable for and relevant to the research topic
 Able to test hypothesis and/or answer proposed research questions under
investigation
 Free of bias and appropriate for the context, culture, and diversity of the study site
 Contains clear and definite instructions to use the instrument
What Makes a Good Research Instrument?
A good research instrument is one that has been validated and has proven reliability.
It should be one that can collect data in a way that’s appropriate to the research question
being asked.
The research instrument must be able to assist in answering the research aims,
objectives and research questions, as well as prove or disprove the hypothesis of the study.
It should not have any bias in the way that data is collect and it should be clear as to
how the research instrument should be used appropriately.
Choosing a Research Instrument
Choosing a Research Instrument is done after conceptualization and the units of
analysis have been chosen, and before operationalizing concepts construct instruments:
1. Select a topic
2. Formulate a thesis statement
3. Choose the types of analyses
4. Research and write a literature review
5. Formulate the research questions
6. Conceptualize a topic, refine thesis
7. Choose research method and research instrument
8. Operationalize concepts construct instruments
9. Formulate the data collection strategy
10. Perform a pilot study
11. Collect data
12. Prepare the data for processing & analysis
13. Process & analyze data
14. Interpret & make inferences about data
15. Write the research paper
16. Publish data
Qualities of a Good Measuring Instrument
A. Validity – is the most important characteristics of a good test. Validity – refers to the
extent to which the test serves its purpose or the efficiency with which it measures what it
intends to measure.
The validity of test concerns what the test measures and how well it does for. For
example, in order to judge the validity of a test, it is necessary to consider what behavior the
test is supposed to measure.
A test may reveal consistent scores but if it is not useful for the purpose, then it is
not valid. For example, a test for grade V students given to grade IV is not valid.
Validity is classified into four types: content validity, concurrent validity, predictive
validity, and construct validity.
a. Content validity – means that extent to which the content of the test is truly a
representative of the content of the course. A well-constructed achievement test
should cover the objectives of instruction, not just its subject matter. Three domains
of behavior are included: cognitive, affective and psychomotor.
b. Concurrent validity – is the degree to which the test agrees with or correlates with a
criterion which is set up an acceptable measure. The criterion is always available at
the time of testing.
Concurrent validity or criterion-related validity- establishes statistical tool to
interpret and correlate test results. For example, a teacher wants to validate an
achievement test in Science (X) he constructed. He administers this test to his
students. The result of this test can be compared to another Science students (Y),
which has been proven valid. If the relationship between X and Y is high, this means
that the achievement test is Science is valid. According to Garrett, a highly reliable
test is always valid measure of some functions.
c. Predictive validity – is evaluated by relating the test to some actual achievement of
the students of which the test is supposed to predict his success. The criterion
measure against this type is important because the future outcome of the testee is
predicted. The criterion measure against which the test scores are validated and
obtained are available after a long period.
d. Construct validity – is the extent to which the test measures a theoretical trait. Test
item must include factors that make up psychological construct like intelligence,
critical thinking, reading comprehension or mathematical aptitude.
Factors that influence validity are:
1. Inappropriateness of test items – items that measure knowledge cannot measure
skill.
2. Direction – unclear direction reduce validity. Direction that do not clearly indicate
how the pupils should answer and record their answers affect validity of test items.
3. Reading vocabulary and sentence structures – too difficult and complicated
vocabulary and sentence structure will not measure what it intends to measure.
4. Level of difficulty of Items – too difficult or too easy test items cannot discriminate
between bright and slow pupils will lower its validity.
5. Poorly constructed test item – test items that provide clues and items that are
ambiguous confuse the students and will not reveal a true measure.
6. Length of the test- a test should of sufficient length to measure what it is supposed
to measure. A test that is too short cannot adequately sample the performance we
want to measure.
7. Arrangement of items – test item should be arranged according to difficulty, with the
easiest items to the difficult ones. Difficult items when encountered ahead may
cause mental block and may also cause student to take much time in that number.
8. Patterns of answers – when students can detect the pattern of correct answer, they
are liable to guess and this lowers validity.
How is the validity of an assessment instrument determined?
Validity of assessment instruments requires several sources of evidence to build the
case that the instrument measures what it is supposed to measure. Determining validity can
be viewed as constructing an evidence-based argument regarding how well a tool measures
what it is supposed to do. Evidence can be assembled to support, or not support, a specific
use of the assessment tool. Evidence can be found in content, response process,
relationships to other variables, and consequences.
 Content includes a description of the steps used to develop the instrument. Provide
information such as who created the instrument (national experts would confer
greater validity than local experts, who in turn would have more validity than
nonexperts) and other steps that support the instrument has the appropriate
content.
 Response process includes information about whether the actions or thoughts of the
subjects actually match the test and also information regarding training for the
raters/observers, instructions for the test-takers, instructions for scoring, and clarity
of these materials.
 Relationship to other variables includes correlation of the new assessment
instrument results with other performance outcomes that would likely be the same.
If there is a previously accepted “gold standard” of measurement, correlate the
instrument results to the subject's performance on the “gold standard.” In many
cases, no “gold standard” exists and comparison is made to other assessments that
appear reasonable (eg, in-training examinations, objective structured clinical
examinations, rotation “grades,” similar surveys).
 Consequences means that if there are pass/fail or cut-off performance scores, those
grouped in each category tend to perform the same in other settings. Also, if lower
performers receive additional training and their scores improve, this would add to
the validity of the instrument.
How can researchers enhance the validity of their assessment instruments?
First, do a literature search and use previously developed outcome measures. If the
instrument must be modified for use with your subjects or setting, modify and describe
how, in a transparent way. Include sufficient detail to allow readers to understand the
potential limitations of this approach.
If no assessment instruments are available, use content experts to create your own
and pilot the instrument prior to using it in your study. Test reliability and include as many
sources of validity evidence as are possible in your paper. Discuss the limitations of this
approach openly.

B. Reliability means consistency and accuracy. It refers then to the extent to which a
test is dependable, self-consistent and stable. In other words, the test agrees with
itself. It is concerned with the consistency of responses from moment to moments
even if the person takes the same test twice, the test yields the same result. For
example, if a student got a score of 90 in an English achievement test this Monday
and gets 30 on the same test given on Friday, then both scores cannot be relied
upon. Inconsistency of individual scores however may be affected by person’s
scoring the test, by limited samples on certain areas of the subject matter and
particularly the examinees himself. If the examinees mood is unstable this may affect
his score.
Factors that affect reliability are:
1. Length of the test. As a general rule, the longer the test, the higher the reliability. A
longer test provides a more adequate sample of the behavior being measured and is
less distorted by chance factors like guessing.
2. Difficulty of the test. When a test is too easy or too difficult, it cannot show the
differences among individuals; thus, it is unreliable. Ideally, achievement tests should
be constructed such that the average score is 50 percent correct and the scores
range from near zero to near perfect.
3. Objectivity. Objectivity eliminates the bias, opinions or judgments of the person who
checks the test. Reliability is greater when test can be scored objectively.
4. Heterogeneity of the student group. Reliability is higher when test scores are spread
over a range of abilities. Measurement errors are smaller than that of a group that is
more heterogeneous.
5. Limited time. a test in which speed is a factor is more reliable than a test that is
conducted at a longer time.
Methods in Testing the Reliability of a Good Research Instrument
a. Test-retest method – In this method, the same instrument is administered twice to
the same group of subjects and the correlation coefficient is determined.
b. Parallel-forms method – Parallel or equivalent forms of a test may be administered
of the group of subjects, and the paired observations correlated.
c. Split-half method – The test in this method may be administered twice, but the test
items are divided into two values.
d. Internal-consistency method – This method is used with psychological test which
consist of dichotomously scored items.
How is reliability measured?
Reliability can be estimated in several ways; the method will depend upon the type
of assessment instrument. Sometimes reliability is referred to as internal validity or internal
structure of the assessment tool.
For internal consistency 2 to 3 questions or items are created that measure the same
concept, and the difference among the answers is calculated. That is, the correlation among
the answers is measured. Cronbach alpha is a test of internal consistency and frequently
used to calculate the correlation values among the answers on your assessment
tool. Cronbach alpha calculates correlation among all the variables, in every combination; a
high reliability estimate should be as close to 1 as possible.
For test/retest the test should give the same results each time, assuming there are
no interval changes in what you are measuring, and they are often measured as correlation,
with Pearson r. Test/retest is a more conservative estimate of reliability than Cronbach
alpha, but it takes at least 2 administrations of the tool, whereas Cronbach alpha can be
calculated after a single administration. To perform a test/retest, you must be able to
minimize or eliminate any change (ie, learning) in the condition you are measuring, between
the 2 measurement times. Administer the assessment instrument at 2 separate times for
each subject and calculate the correlation between the 2 different measurements.
Interrater reliability is used to study the effect of different raters or observers using
the same tool and is generally estimated by percent agreement, kappa (for binary
outcomes), or Kendall tau.
Another method uses analysis of variance (ANOVA) to generate a generalizability
coefficient, to quantify how much measurement error can be attributed to each potential
factor, such as different test items, subjects, raters, dates of administration, and so forth.
This model looks at the overall reliability of the results.
C. Usability means the degree to which the tests are used without much expenditure of
time, money and effort. It also means practicability.
Factors to Determine Usability
1. Base of administration. To facilitate the administration of a research instrument,
instruction should be complete and precise.
2. Base of scoring. It depends on the following aspects:
 Construction of a test in the objective type.
 Answer keys are adequately prepared.
 Scoring directions are fully understood.
3. Ease of interpretation and application. Results of test are easy to interpret and apply
if tables are provided.
4. Low cost. It is more practical if the test is low cost material-wise.
5. Proper mechanical make-up. A good research instrument should be printed  
             clearly in an appropriate size for the grade or year level for which the instrument
             is intended.
What are the Different Types of Interview Research Instruments?
The general format of an interview is where the interviewer asks the interviewee to
answer a set of questions which are normally asked and answered verbally.
There are several different types of interview research instruments that may exist.
1. A structural interview may be used in which there are a specific number of questions
that are formally asked of the interviewee and their responses recorded using a
systematic and standard methodology.
2. An unstructured interview on the other hand may still be based on the same general
theme of questions but here the person asking the questions (the interviewer) may
change the order the questions are asked in and the specific way in which they’re
asked.
3. A focus interview is one in which the interviewer will adapt their line or content of
questioning based on the responses from the interviewee.
4. A focus group interview is one in which a group of volunteers or interviewees are
asked questions to understand their opinion or thoughts on a specific subject.
5. A non-directive interview is one in which there are no specific questions agreed upon
but instead the format is open-ended and more reactionary in the discussion
between interviewer and interviewee.
What are the Different Types of Observation Research Instruments?
An observation research instrument is one in which a researcher makes observations
and records of the behavior of individuals.

There are several different types.

1. Structured observations occur when the study is performed at a predetermined
location and time, in which the volunteers or study participants are observed used
standardized methods.
2. Naturalistic observations are focused on volunteers or participants being in more
natural environments in which their reactions and behavior are also more natural or
spontaneous.
3. Participant observation occurs when the person conducting the research actively
becomes part of the group of volunteers or participants that he or she is researching.
What are the Different Types of Survey Research Instruments?
Survey research encompasses any measurement procedures that involve asking
questions of respondents. The types of surveys can vary on the span of time used to conduct
the study. They can be comprised of cross-sectional surveys and/or longitudinal surveys.
Types of questions asked in surveys include:
1. Free-Answer: Also referred to as open-ended questions, these include unrestricted,
essay, or unguided questions.
2. Guided Response Type: Recall-type questions asking the participant to recall a set of
categories. Multiple-choice or multiple response questions.
Creating and Validating an Instrument
To determine if an appropriate instrument is available, a researcher can search
literature and commercially available databases to find something suitable to the study.  If it
is determined that there are no instruments available that measure the variables in a study,
there are four rigorous phases for developing an instrument that accurately measures the
variables of interest (Creswell, 2005).  Those four phases are: planning, construction,
quantitative evaluation, and validation.  Each phase consists of several steps that must be
taken to fully satisfy the requirements for fulfilling a phase.
 The first phase is planning and the first step of planning includes identifying the
purpose of the test and the target group.  In this step, the researcher should identify the
purpose of the test, specify the content area to be studied, and identify the target group. 
The second step of phase one is to, again, review the literature to be certain no instruments
already exist for the evaluation of the variables of interest.  Once the researcher is certain
no other instruments exist, the researcher should review the literature to determine the
operational definitions of the constructs that are to be measured.  This can be an arduous
task because operationalizing a variable does not automatically indicate good measurement
and therefore the researcher must review multiple literatures to determine an accurate and
meaningful construct.  From this information, the researcher should develop open ended
questions to present to a sample that is representative of the target group.  The open-ended
questions aid the researcher in determining areas of concern around the constructs to be
measured.  The responses to the open-ended questions and the review of the literature
should be used in unison to create and modify accurate measures of the constructs.
 The second phase is construction and it begins with identifying the objectives of the
instrument and developing a table of specifications.  Those specifications should narrow the
purpose and identify the content areas.  In the specification process, each variable should
be associated with a concept and an overarching theme.  Once the table of specification is
completed, the researcher can write the items in the instrument.  The researcher must
determine the format to be used, ie. Likert scale, multiple choice, etc.  The format of the
questions should be determined by the type of data that needs to be collected.  Depending
on the financial resources of the research project, experts within the field may be hired to
write the items.  Once the items are written, they need to be reviewed for clarity,
formatting, acceptable response options, and wording.  After several reviews of the
questions, they should be presented to peers and colleagues in the format the instrument is
to be administered.  The peers and colleagues should match the items with the specification
table and if there are not exact matches, revisions must be made.  An instrument is content
valid when the items adequately reflect the process and content dimensions of the
objectives of the instrument (Benson & Clark, 1982).  Again, the instrument should be
distributed to a sample that is representative of the target group.  This time the group
should take the survey and critique the quality of the individual items and overall
instrument.
 Phase three is quantitative evaluation and includes administration of a pilot study to
a representative sample.  It may be helpful to ask the participants for feedback to allow for
further refinement of the instrument.  The pilot study provides quantitative data that the
researcher can test for internal consistency by conducting Cronbach’s alphas.  The reliability
coefficient can range from 0.00 to 1.00, with values of 0.70 or higher indicating acceptable
reliability (George and Mallery, 2003).  If the instrument is going to be used to predict future
behavior, the instrument needs to be administered to the same sample at two different
time periods and the responses will need to be correlated to determine if there is
concurrent validity.  These measurements can be examined to aid the researcher in making
informed decisions about revisions to the instrument.
 Phase four is validation.  In this phase the researcher should conduct a quantitative
pilot study and analyze the data.  It may be helpful to ask the participants for feedback to
allow for further refinement of the instrument.  The pilot study provides quantitative data
that the researcher can test for internal consistency by conducting Cronbach’s alphas.  To
establish validity, the researcher must determine which concept of validity is important. 
The three types of validity include content, criterion-related, and construct.  Content validity
is the extent to which the questions on a survey are representative of the questions that
could be asked to assess a particular construct.  To examine content validity, the researcher
should consult two to three experts.  Criterion-referenced validity is used when the
researcher wants to determine if the scores from an instrument are a good predictor of an
expected outcome.  In order to assess this type of validity, the researcher must be able to
define the expected outcome.  A correlation coefficient of a .60 or above will indicate a
significant, positive relationship (Creswell, 2005).  Construct validity is established by
determining if the scores recorded by an instrument are meaningful, significant, useful, and
have a purpose.  In order to determine if construct validity has been achieved, the scores
need to be assessed statistically and practically.  This can be done by comparing the
relationship of a question from the scale to the overall scale, testing a theory to determine if
the outcome supports the theory, and by correlating the scores with other similar or
dissimilar variables.  The use of similar instruments is referred to as convergent validity and
the use of dissimilar instruments is divergent validity.
How to Determine the Validity and Reliability of an Instrument
Validity and reliability are two important factors to consider when developing and
testing any instrument (e.g., content assessment test, questionnaire) for use in a study.
Attention to these considerations helps to ensure the quality of your measurement and of
the data collected for your study.
Understanding and Testing Validity
Validity refers to the degree to which an instrument accurately measures what it
intends to measure.
Three common types of validity for researchers and evaluators to consider are content,
construct, and criterion validities.
1. Content validity indicates the extent to which items adequately measure or
represent the content of the property or trait that the researcher wishes to measure.
Subject matter expert review is often a good first step in instrument development to
assess content validity, in relation to the area or field you are studying.
2. Construct validity indicates the extent to which a measurement method accurately
represents a construct (e.g., a latent variable or phenomena that can’t be measured
directly, such as a person’s attitude or belief) and produces an observation, distinct
from that which is produced by a measure of another construct. Common methods
to assess construct validity include, but are not limited to, factor analysis, correlation
tests, and item response theory models (including Rasch model).
3. Criterion-related validity indicates the extent to which the instrument’s scores
correlate with an external criterion (i.e., usually another measurement from a
different instrument) either at present (concurrent validity) or in the future
(predictive validity). A common measurement of this type of validity is the
correlation coefficient between two measures.
Often times, when developing, modifying, and interpreting the validity of a given
instrument, rather than view or test each type of validity individually, researchers and
evaluators test for evidence of several different forms of validity, collectively (e.g.,
see Samuel Messick’s work regarding validity).
Understanding and Testing Reliability
Reliability refers to the degree to which an instrument yields consistent result.
Common measures of reliability include internal consistency, test-retest, and inter-rater
reliabilities.
1. Internal consistency reliability looks at the consistency of the score of individual
items on an instrument, with the scores of a set of items, or subscale, which typically
consists of several items to measure a single construct. Cronbach’s alpha is one of
the most common methods for checking internal consistency reliability. Group
variability, score reliability, number of items, sample sizes, and difficulty level of the
instrument also can impact the Cronbach’s alpha value.
2. Test-retest measures the correlation between scores from one administration of an
instrument to another, usually within an interval of 2 to 3 weeks. Unlike pre-post-
tests, no treatment occurs between the first and second administrations of the
instrument, in order to test-retest reliability. A similar type of reliability
called alternate forms, involves using slightly different forms or versions of an
instrument to see if different versions yield consistent results.
3. Inter-rater reliability checks the degree of agreement among raters (i.e., those
completing items on an instrument). Common situations where more than one rater
is involved may occur when more than one person conducts classroom observations,
uses an observation protocol or scores an open-ended test, using a rubric or other
standard protocol. Kappa statistics, correlation coefficients, and intra-class
correlation (ICC) coefficient are some of the commonly reported measures of inter-
rater reliability.
Developing a valid and reliable instrument usually requires multiple iterations of piloting
and testing which can be resource intensive. Therefore, when available, I suggest using
already established valid and reliable instruments, such as those published in peer-reviewed
journal articles. However, even when using these instruments, you should re-check validity
and reliability, using the methods of your study and your own participants’ data before
running additional statistical analyses. This process will confirm that the instrument
performs, as intended, in your study with the population you are studying, even though they
are identical to the purpose and population for which the instrument was initially
developed.

POST-TEST:
Discuss the following items briefly.
1. What is a Research Instrument?
2. Discuss characteristics of a good research instrument.
3. How to make a good research instrument?
4. How to choose a research instrument?
5. Discuss the qualities of a good measuring instrument.
6. What are the four rigorous phases for developing an instrument that accurately
measures the variables of interest.