Research Methodology

Research Methodology

by Vinod Chandra, Anand Harindran
Released October 2017
Publisher(s): Pearson Education India
ISBN: 9789353067090

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Book description

This book offers a standardized approach for research aspirants working in the various areas. At the same time, all the major topics in social research have also been detailed thoroughly which makes this book a very good frame of study for students and researchers in diverse fields. This book charts new and evolving terrain of social research by covering qualitative, quantitative and mixed approach. The chapters has extensive number of case studies that help researchers to understand practical implications of the research and includes plenty of diagrammatic representations for easy understanding of various theories and procedures. Each phase of research is explained in detail so that even beginners can also effectively utilize this book. It is written in a highly interactive manner, which makes for an interesting read. Templates of technical report, business report and research reports are also included in the book. This provides the reader with a hands-on experience.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. About Pearson
  3. Title Page
  4. Contents
  5. Preface
  6. Acknowledgements
  7. About the Authors
  8. Testimonials
  9. 1 Introduction
    1. 1.1 Objectives of Research
    2. 1.2 Definition and Motivation
      1. 1.2.1 Variables
    3. 1.3 Types of Research
    4. 1.4 Research Approaches
      1. 1.4.1 Quantitative Research Approach
      2. 1.4.2 Qualitative Research Approach
    5. 1.5 Steps in Research Process
      1. 1.5.1 Problem Definition
      2. 1.5.2 Setting Out a Plan
      3. 1.5.3 Literature Review
      4. 1.5.4 Analysis and Hypothesis Formulation
      5. 1.5.5 Presentation and Interpretation
      6. 1.5.6 Decision Making
      7. 1.5.7 Case Study: Sample Research Problem
    6. 1.6 Criteria of Good Research
      1. 1.6.1 Problems Faced by Researchers
    7. 1.7 Ethics in Research
      1. 1.7.1 Morals in Ethics
    8. Exercises
  10. 2 Research Formulation and Literature Review
    1. 2.1 Problem Definition and Formulation
      1. 2.1.1 Problem Selection
      2. 2.1.2 Necessity of Problem Definition
    2. 2.2 Literature Review
      1. 2.2.1 Critical Analysis
      2. 2.2.2 Critical Thinking
      3. 2.2.3 Critical Evaluation
      4. 2.2.4 Objectives of Literature Review
      5. 2.2.5 Importance of Literature Review
    3. 2.3 Characteristics of a Good Research Question
    4. 2.4 Literature Review Process
      1. 2.4.1 Primary and Secondary Sources of Literature
      2. 2.4.2 Identifying Literature Review Gaps
      3. 2.4.3 Literature Review Pitfalls
    5. Exercises
  11. 3 Data Collection
    1. 3.1 Primary and Secondary Data
      1. 3.1.1 Primary Data
      2. 3.1.2 Secondary Data
    2. 3.2 Primary and Secondary Data Sources
    3. 3.3 Data Collection Methods
      1. 3.3.1 Questionnaire
      2. 3.3.2 Questionnaire Design
      3. 3.3.3 Types of Questionnaires
      4. 3.3.4 Interviews
      5. 3.3.5 Types of Interview
      6. 3.3.6 Observation
      7. 3.3.7 Record Reviews
      8. 3.3.8 Schedules
    4. 3.4 Data Processing
      1. 3.4.1 Types of Data Processing
      2. 3.4.2 Data Processing Stages
    5. 3.5 Classification of Data
      1. 3.5.1 Quantitative and Qualitative Data
      2. 3.5.2 Discrete and Continuous Data
      3. 3.5.3 Univariate and Bivariate Data
    6. Exercises
  12. 4 Basic Statistical Measures
    1. 4.1 Types of Scales
      1. 4.1.1 Nominal Scale
      2. 4.1.2 Ordinal Scale
      3. 4.1.3 Interval Scale
      4. 4.1.4 Ratio Scale
    2. 4.2 Measures of Central Tendency
      1. 4.2.1 Mean, Median and Mode
      2. 4.2.2 Geometric and Harmonic Mean
    3. 4.3 Skewness
      1. 4.3.1 Measuring Skewness
      2. 4.3.2 Relationship of Mean and Median
      3. 4.3.3 Kurtosis
    4. 4.4 Measure of Variation
      1. 4.4.1 Range
      2. 4.4.2 Absolute Deviation
      3. 4.4.3 Standard Deviation
      4. 4.4.4 Average Deviation
      5. 4.4.5 Quartile Deviation
      6. 4.4.6 Coefficient Deviation
    5. 4.5 Probability Distribution
      1. 4.5.1 Binomial Distribution
      2. 4.5.2 Poisson Distribution
      3. 4.5.3 Uniform Distribution
      4. 4.5.4 Exponential Distribution
      5. 4.5.5 Normal Distribution
    6. Exercises
  13. 5 Data Analysis
    1. 5.1 Statistical Analysis
    2. 5.2 Multivariate Analysis
    3. 5.3 Correlation Analysis
    4. 5.4 Regression Analysis
    5. 5.5 Principle Component Analysis
    6. 5.6 Sampling
      1. 5.6.1 Important Terms
      2. 5.6.2 Characteristics of Good Sample Design
      3. 5.6.3 Types of Sampling
      4. 5.6.4 Steps in Sampling Process
    7. 5.7 SPSS: A Statistical Analysis Tool
      1. 5.7.1 Opening SPSS
      2. 5.7.2 File Types
      3. 5.7.3 Analysis of Functions
    8. Exercises
  14. 6 Research Design
    1. 6.1 Need for Research Design
    2. 6.2 Features of a Good Design
    3. 6.3 Types of Research Designs
      1. 6.3.1 Exploratory Research Design
      2. 6.3.2 Conclusive Research Design
      3. 6.3.3 Experimental Research Design
    4. 6.4 Induction and Deduction
      1. 6.4.1 Deduction
      2. 6.4.2 Induction
    5. Exercises
  15. 7 Hypothesis Formulation and Testing
    1. 7.1 Hypothesis
      1. 7.1.1 Null Hypothesis H0
      2. 7.1.2 Alternate Hypothesis H1
    2. 7.2 Important Terms
    3. 7.3 Types of Research Hypothesis
      1. 7.3.1 Characteristics of Qualitative Methods
      2. 7.3.2 Characteristics of Quantitative Methods
      3. 7.3.3 Generation of Research Hypothesis
    4. 7.4 Hypothesis Testing
      1. 7.4.1 Hypothesis Testing
      2. 7.4.2 Test the Level of Significance
    5. 7.5 Z-Test
    6. 7.6 t-Test
    7. 7.7 f-Test
    8. 7.8 Making a Decision: Types of Errors
      1. 7.8.1 Confusion Matrix
      2. 7.8.2 Quantification of Classification
    9. 7.9 ROC Graphics
    10. Exercises
  16. 8 Test Procedures
    1. 8.1 Parametric and Non-parametric Tests
    2. 8.2 ANOVA
      1. 8.2.1 Tricks and Technique – ANOVA
      2. 8.2.2 One-way and Two-way ANOVA
    3. 8.3 Mann-Whitney Test
      1. 8.3.1 How to Perform Mann-Whitney Test in SPSS?
    4. 8.4 Kruskal–Wallis Test
      1. 8.4.1 Step-by-Step Kruskal-Wallis Test
      2. 8.4.2 Steps for Kruskal-Wallis Test in SPSS
    5. 8.5 Chi-Square Test
      1. 8.5.1 Test Procedure
      2. 8.5.2 Chi-Square Test Procedure in SPSS Statistics
      3. 8.5.3 Example – Chi-Square Test
    6. 8.6 Multi-Variate Analysis
      1. 8.6.1 Test Procedure in SPSS-MANOVA
    7. Exercises
  17. 9 Models for Science and Business
    1. 9.1 Algorithmic Research
      1. 9.1.1 Analysis of Algorithm
      2. 9.1.2 Design of Algorithms
    2. 9.2 Methods of Scientific Research
    3. 9.3 Modelling
      1. 9.3.1 Steps in Modelling
      2. 9.3.2 Research Models
    4. 9.4 Simulations
      1. 9.4.1 Types of Simulation Models
      2. 9.4.2 Tools for Simulations
    5. 9.5 Industrial Research
      1. 9.5.1 Operational Research
    6. Exercises
  18. 10 Social Research
    1. 10.1 Theory of Social Research
      1. 10.1.1 Social Research Characteristics
      2. 10.1.2 Scope of Social Research
      3. 10.1.3 Objectives of Social Research
    2. 10.2 Perspectives of Social Research
      1. 10.2.1 Complementary Perspectives
    3. 10.3 Methods of Social Research
    4. 10.4 Social Science Approaches
      1. 10.4.1 Alternative Approaches
      2. 10.4.2 Interdisciplinary Approaches
      3. 10.4.3 Role of Statistics
    5. 10.5 Social Research Design
    6. 10.6 Quantitative and Qualitative Social Research
      1. 10.6.1 Quantitative Research Methods
      2. 10.6.2 Qualitative Research Methods
      3. 10.6.3 Comparison of Quantitative and Qualitative Research
      4. 10.6.4 Social Surveys
    7. 10.7 Ethics and Politics in Social Research
      1. 10.7.1 Principles in Research Ethics
      2. 10.7.2 Politics in Research
    8. Exercises
  19. 11 Presentation of the Research Work
    1. 11.1 Business Report
      1. 11.1.1 Planning a Business Report
      2. 11.1.2 Structuring of Business Report
    2. 11.2 Technical Report
      1. 11.2.1 Components of Technical Report
    3. 11.3 Research Report
      1. 11.3.1 Preliminary Section
      2. 11.3.2 Body of the Report
      3. 11.3.3 Supplementary Materials
    4. 11.4 General Tips for Writing Report
      1. 11.4.1 Technical Writing
      2. 11.4.2 Goal of Technical Writing
      3. 11.4.3 Foundations of Effective Technical Writing
      4. 11.4.4 Qualities of Good Technical Writing
    5. 11.5 Presentation of Data
    6. 11.6 Oral Presentation
      1. 11.6.1 General Tips
      2. 11.6.2 Advantages of Oral Communication
      3. 11.6.3 Disadvantages of Oral Communication
      4. 11.6.4 Effective Oral Presentation
    7. 11.7 Bibliography and References
      1. 11.7.1 Harvard Style
      2. 11.7.2 Numeric (Vancouver) Style
      3. 11.7.3 References Organization
    8. 11.8 Intellectual Property Rights
      1. 11.8.1 Copyright©
      2. 11.8.2 Patents
      3. 11.8.3 Layout Design
      4. 11.8.4 TrademarkTM
      5. 11.8.5 Geographical Indications (GI)
    9. 11.9 Open-Access Initiatives
      1. 11.9.1 Open-access Publishing
    10. 11.10 Plagiarism
    11. Exercises
  20. 12 LaTeX-Document Generation Tool
    1. 12.1 Document Generation Tools
    2. 12.2 Getting Started
    3. 12.3 How LaTeX Works
    4. 12.4 Document Creation
      1. 12.4.1 Page Setup, Page Numbering and Headings
      2. 12.4.2 Creating a Title Page
      3. 12.4.3 Sections
      4. 12.4.4 Font Size and Formatting
      5. 12.4.5 List – Enumerate
      6. 12.4.6 List – Itemize
      7. 12.4.7 Comments
      8. 12.4.8 Special Characters
    5. 12.5 Tables
    6. 12.6 Figures
    7. 12.7 Math Mode
    8. 12.8 Algorithm Mode
    9. 12.9 Bibliographic References
      1. 12.9.1 BibTeX File
    10. 12.10 Preparation of Presentation
    11. 12.11 Templates
      1. 12.11.1 Articles
      2. 12.11.2 Thesis and Conference Proceedings
      3. 12.11.3 Books
    12. 12.12 Nuts and Bolts
    13. Exercises
  21. Laboratory Questions
  22. Latex Mathematical Symbols
  23. Symbols Used in this Book
  24. Index
  25. Copyright

Product information

  • Title: Research Methodology
  • Author(s): Vinod Chandra, Anand Harindran
  • Release date: October 2017
  • Publisher(s): Pearson Education India
  • ISBN: 9789353067090