Research Methodology

Abstract

The shortest way of describing the contents of this course is to say that it provides a starting point for the student’s research efforts. It introduces the elements of the research process within quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods approaches. Participants will use these theoretical underpinnings to begin to critically review literature relevant to their field or interests and determine how research findings are useful in forming their understanding of their work This course is primarily intended to serve as a textbook for first year students. It is hoped that the course shall provide guidelines to all interested in research studies of one sort or the other. It is divided into 6 chapters. • Chapter 1, entitled “Formulating the research problem”, defines the research problem and explains its importance in research. • Chapter 2, entitled “Extensive literature survey” defines the process literature review and discusses its objectives. • Chapter 3, entitled “Developing the hypothesis”, defines the concept hypothesis and discusses its advantages in research. • Chapter 4, entitled “Preparing the research design and Determining sample design” discusses two distinguished research processes: research design and research samples. • Chapter 5, entitled “Collecting and analyzing data” explains the data collection process and how data could be analyzed. • Chapter 6, entitled “Hypothesis testing” explains how hypothesis is to be tested. It also sheds some light on the importance of hypothesis testing in research.