Solved Assignment 8604

 

ASSIGNMENT 

 

  RESEARCH METHOD IN EDUCATION: (8604)

WRITTEN BY:                                       MADIHA AFZAL

PROGRAMME:                                           B.ED (1.5)

 SEMESTER:                                           FISRT    

ALLAMA IQBAL OPEN UNIVERSITY   ISLAMABAD

                                                           

Question No.1

       Discuss How questionnaires are useful and what are the problems face using a questionnaire?

Answer

What Is a Questionnaire?

                                          A questionnaire is a research tool featuring a series of questions used to collect useful information from respondents. These instruments include either written or oral questions and comprise an interview-style format. Questionnaires may be qualitative or quantitative and can be conducted online, by phone, on paper or face-to-face, and questions don’t necessarily have to be administered with a researcher present.

Questionnaires feature either open or closed questions and sometimes employ a mixture of both. Open-ended questions enable respondents to answer in their own words in as much or as little detail as they desire. Closed questions provide respondents with a series of predetermined responses they can choose from.

Definition:      

                                  A questionnaire is a research instrument consisting of a series of questions for the purpose of gathering information from respondents. Questionnaires can be thought of as a kind of written interview. They can be carried out face to face, by telephone, computer or post are quick and efficient way of obtaining large amounts of information from a large sample of people.

Data can be collected relatively quickly because the researcher would not need to be present when the questionnaires were completed. This is useful for large populations when interviews would be impractical.

However, a problem with questionnaires is that respondents may lie due to social desirability. Most people want to present a positive image of themselves and so may lie or bend the truth to look good, e.g., pupils would exaggerate revision duration.

Questionnaires can be an effective means of measuring the behavior, attitudes, preferences, opinions and, intentions of relatively large numbers of subjects more cheaply and quickly than other methods.

Often a questionnaire uses both open and closed questions to collect data. This is beneficial as it means both quantitative and qualitative data can be obtained.

Ethical Issues:

                                  The researcher must ensure that the information provided by the respondent is kept confidential, e.g., name, address, etc.

This means questionnaires are good for researching sensitive topics as respondents will be more honest when they cannot be identified.

Keeping the questionnaire confidential should also reduce the likelihood of any psychological harm, such as embarrassment.

Participants must provide informed consent prior to completing the questionnaire, and must be aware that they have the right to withdraw their information at any time during the survey/ study.

Problems with Postal Questionnaires:

                                            The data might not be valid (i.e., truthful) as we can never be sure that the right person actually completed the postal questionnaire.

Also, postal questionnaires may not be representative of the population they are studying?

• This is because some questionnaires may be lost in the post reducing the sample size.
• The questionnaire may be completed by someone who is not a member of the research population.
• Those with strong views on the questionnaire’s subject are more likely to complete it than those with no interest in it.

Disadvantages or Limitations of questionnaires

Questionnaires suffer from the following limitations:

• 1. Its reliability and validity are low. It gives secondary information when primary evidence is at hand.

·         It gives a biased sample. The matter of non-response is always a big question mark.

·         4. The respondents who return the questionnaire may not constitute a representative section of the entire group. Some of the important sections of the group may totally choose to remain silent.

·         5. If the subject misinterprets a question or gives an incomplete response, nothing can be done.

·          A questionnaire is not very helpful in finding information about complex emotional subjects.

·         7. Some respondents may not like to put their views on controversial issues in writing. Such views can be drawn out only through interviews.

·         8. The behavior, gestures, reactions, assertions and emotions of the respondents remain unnoticed.

·         9. Some people may not like to share information until they clearly understand the cause and purpose of the study. A questionnaire does not provide opportunity for the person conducting the study to develop rapport with the study groups.

·         10. If the area of research is sensitive or confidential in nature, designing questionnaire for such area is an hefty task.

·         11. It permits the respondents to modify his answers to earlier questions when he notices that he is contradicting himself while answering some later questions.

·         12. The questionnaire cannot be used with illiterate subjects and children.

 

Question No.2

When you can use interview as a research tool and what are the merits and demerits of interview as research tool?

Answer:

    Interview as a research tool:

                        Interview method is the most popular method for collecting primary data. It is widely used in every fields or sectors. The interview technique is one of the important and powerful tool for collecting the primary data in social research. The technique involves presentation of oral-verbal stimuli and reply in terms of oral-verbal responses. It is a direct method of data collection. The interview technique can be used through personal interviews and through telephone interviews.

Interviews are designed to collect a richer source of information from a small number of people about:

• Attributes
• Behavior
• Preferences
• Feelings
• Attitudes
• Opinions
• Knowledge
• Interviews are most effective for qualitative research:
• They help you explain, better understand, and explore research subjects' opinions, behavior, experiences, phenomenon, etc.
• Interview questions are usually open-ended questions so that in-depth information will be collected.

Interviews are primarily done in qualitative research and occur when researchers ask one or more participants general, open-ended questions and record their answers. Interviews are particularly useful for uncovering the story behind a participant's experiences and pursuing in-depth information around a topic. In sum, interview research is especially useful when the following are true: You wish to gather very detailed information. You anticipate wanting to ask respondents follow-up questions based on their responses.

Explation:

                  You plan to ask questions that require lengthy explanation. Knowing how to create and conduct a good interview is one of those skills you just can’t go wrong having. Interviews are used by market researchers to learn how to sell their products, journalists use interviews to get information from a whole host of people from VIPs to random people on the street. Regis Philbin (a sociology major in collegeThis information comes from the following list of famous sociology majors provided by the American Sociological Association on their website: http://www.asanet.org/students/famous.cfm.) used interviews to help television viewers get to know guests on his show, employers use them to make decisions about job offers, and even Ruth Westheimer (the famous sex doctor who has an MA in sociologyRead more about Dr. Ruth, her background, and her credentials at her website: http://www.drruth.com.) used interviews to elicit details from call-in participants on her radio show.Interested in hearing Dr. Ruth’s interview style? There are a number of audio clips from her radio show, Sexually Speaking, linked from the following site: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~chuck/ruthpg. Warning: some of the images and audio clips on this page may be offensive to some readers. It seems everyone who’s anyone knows how to conduct an interview. From the social scientific perspective, interviews are a method of data collection that involves two or more people exchanging information through a series of questions and answers. The questions are designed by a researcher to elicit information from interview participant(s) on a specific topic or set of topics. Typically interviews involve an in-person meeting between two people, an interviewer and an interviewee. But as you’ll discover in this chapter, interviews need not be limited to two people, nor must they occur in person.

The question of when to conduct an interview might be on your mind. Interviews are an excellent way to gather detailed information. They also have an advantage over surveys; with a survey, if a participant’s response sparks some follow-up question in your mind, you generally don’t have an opportunity to ask for more information. What you get is what you get. In an interview, however, because you are actually talking with your study participants in real time, you can ask that follow-up question. Thus interviews are a useful method to use when you want to know the story behind responses you might receive in a written survey.

Interviews are also useful when the topic you are studying is rather complex, when whatever you plan to ask requires lengthy explanation, or when your topic or answers to your questions may not be immediately clear to participants who may need some time or dialogue with others in order to work through their responses to your questions. Also, if your research topic is one about which people will likely have a lot to say or will want to provide some explanation or describe some process, interviews may be the best method for you. For example, I used interviews to gather data about how people reach the decision not to have children and how others in their lives have responded to that decision. To understand these “how’s” I needed to have some back-and-forth dialogue with respondents. When they begin to tell me their story, inevitably new questions that hadn’t occurred to me from prior interviews come up because each person’s story is unique. Also, because the process of choosing not to have children is complex for many people, describing that process by responding to closed-ended questions on a survey wouldn’t work particularly well.

 

            The major merits of interview technique can be summarized as:

·                      More accurate information can be obtained.

·                     Personal information can as well be obtained easily under this method.

·                     Due to personal presence of the interviewer, there is flexibility in the inquiry.

·                     Additional supplementary information can also be obtained.

·                     The interviewer can usually control which person will answer the questions.

·                     Generally non-response remains very low in this method.

·                     Observation method can as well as applied to recording verbal answers to various questions.

·                     Representative and wider distribution of sample is possible by using the method.

·                     The interviewer contact the informants personally, they can exercise their intelligence, skill, tact etc. to extract correct and relevant information by cross examination of the information, if necessary.

·                     The language of the interview can be adopted to the ability or educational level of the person interviewed and as such misinterpretations concerning questions can be avoided.

Interview techniques have many  merits but it have also many demerits. The main demerits of this techniques are given below:

·                     It is a very expensive method, specially when large and widely spread geographical sample is taken.

·                     There remains the possibility of the bias of interviewer as well as that of the respondent.

·                     This method is relatively more-time consuming, specially when the sample is large.

·                     Certain types of respondents may not give true answers to the questions.

·                     The presence of the interviewer on the spot may over-stimulate the respondent.

·                     Training and supervising of the interviewers is more complex.

·                     Systematic errors may arise.

Question No.4

What are the components a research report? Provide guidelines to write a good research report.

Answer         

Components a research report:

 

Major components of research paper are selection of title, abstract, introduction, literature review, research methodology, results, discussion, managerial implications, conclusion, limitations and future scope

 

What are the six components of research report?

research components, introduction, literature review, method, results, discussion, conclusion

 

A research report has seven components:

·         Abstract or Summary.

·         Introduction.

·         Review of Literature.

·         Methods.

·         Results.

·         Conclusions and Discussion.

·         References.

Research Reports: Definition

Research reports are recorded data prepared by researchers or statisticians after analyzing information gathered by conducting organized research, typically in the form of surveys or qualitative methods.

Reports usually are spread across a vast horizon of topics but are focused on communicating information about a particular topic and a very niche target market. The primary motive of research reports is to convey integral details about a study for marketers to consider while designing new strategies. Certain events, facts and other information based on incidents need to be relayed on to the people in charge and creating research reports is the most effective communication tool. Ideal research reports are extremely accurate in the offered information with a clear objective and conclusion. There should be a clean and structured format for these reports to be effective in relaying information.

A research report is a reliable source to recount details about a conducted research and is most often considered to be a true testimony of all the work done to garner specificities of research.

The various sections of a research report are:

1.      Summary

2.      Background/Introduction

3.      Implemented Methods

4.      Results based on Analysis

5.      Deliberation

6.      Conclusion

Components of Research Reports

Research is imperative for launching a new product/service or a new feature. The markets today are extremely volatile and competitive due to new entrants every day who may or may not provide effective products. An organization needs to make the right decisions at the right time to be relevant in such a market with updated products that suffice customer demands.

The details of a research report may change with the purpose of research but the main components of a report will remain constant. The research approach of the market researcher also influences the style of writing reports. Here are seven main components of a productive research report:

·         Research Report Summary: The entire objective along with the overview of research are to be included in a summary which is a couple of paragraphs in length. All the multiple components of the research are explained in brief under the report summary. It should be interesting enough to capture all the key elements of the report.

·         Research Introduction: There always is a primary goal that the researcher is trying to achieve through a report. In the introduction section, he/she can cover answers related to this goal and establish a thesis which will be included to strive and answer it in detail. This section should answer an integral question: “What is the current situation of the goal?”.  After the research was conducted, did the organization conclude the goal successfully or they are still a work in progress –  provide such details in the introduction part of the research report.

·         Research Methodology: This is the most important section of the report where all the important information lies. The readers can gain data for the topic along with analyzing the quality of provided content and the research can also be approved by other market researchers. Thus, this section needs to be highly informative with each aspect of research discussed in detail. Information needs to be expressed in chronological order according to its priority and importance. Researchers should include references in case they gained information from existing techniques.

·         Research Results: A short description of the results along with calculations conducted to achieve the goal will form this section of results. Usually, the exposition after data analysis is carried out in the diResearch Discussion: The results are discussed in extreme detail in this section along with a comparative analysis of reports that could probably exist in the same domain. Any abnormality uncovered during research will be deliberated in the discussion section. While writing research reports, the researcher will have to connect the dots on how the results will be applicable in the real world.

·         Research References and Conclusion: Conclude all the research findings along with mentioning each and every author, article or any content piece from where references were taken.

15 Tips for Writing Research Reports

Writing research reports in the manner can lead to all the efforts going down the drain. Here are 15 tips for writing impactful research reports:

·         Prepare the context before starting to write and start from the basics: This was always taught to us in school – be well-prepared before taking a plunge into new topics. The order of survey questions might not be the ideal or most effective order for writing research reports. The idea is to start with a broader topic and work towards a more specific one and focus on a conclusion or support, which a research should support with the facts. The most difficult thing to do in reporting, without a doubt is to start. Start with the title, the introduction, then document the first discoveries and continue from that. Once the marketers have the information well documented, they can write a general conclusion.

·         Keep the target audience in mind while selecting a format that is clear, logical and obvious to them: Will the research reports be presented to decision makers or other researchers? What are the general perceptions around that topic? This requires more care and diligence. A researcher will need a significant amount of information to start writing the research report. Be consistent with the wording, the numbering of the annexes and so on. Follow the approved format of the company for the delivery of research reports and demonstrate the integrity of the project with the objectives of the company.

·         Have a clear research objective: A researcher should read the entire proposal again, and make sure that the data they provide contributes to the objectives that were raised from the beginning. Remember that speculations are for conversations, not for research reports, if a researcher speculates, they directly question their own research.

·         Establish a working model: Each study must have an internal logic, which will have to be established in the report and in the evidence. The researchers’ worst nightmare is to be required to write research reports and realize that key questions were not included.

·         Gather all the information about the research topic. Who are the competitors of our customers? Talk to other researchers who have studied the subject of research, know the language of the industry. Misuse of the terms can discourage the readers of research reports from reading further.

·         Read aloud while writing. While reading the report, if the researcher hears something inappropriate, for example, if they stumble over the words when reading them, surely the reader will too. If the researcher can’t put an idea in a single sentence, then it is very long and they must change it so that the idea is clear to everyone.

·         Check grammar and spelling. Without a doubt, good practices help to understand the report. Use verbs in the present tense. Consider using the present tense, which makes the results sound more immediate. Find new words and other ways of saying things. Have fun with the language whenever possible.

·         Discuss only the discoveries that are significant. If some data are not really significant, do not mention them. Remember that not everything is truly important or essential within research reports.

·          

·         Try and stick to the survey questions. For example, do not say that the people surveyed “were worried” about an issue, when there are different degrees of concern.

·         The graphs must be clear enough so that they understand themselves. Do not let graphs lead the reader to make mistakes: give them a title, include the indications, the size of the sample, and the correct wording of the question.

·         Be clear with messages. A researcher should always write every section of the report with an accuracy of details and language.

·         Be creative with titles– Particularly in segmentation studies choose names “that give life to research”. Such names can survive for a long time after the initial investigation.

·         Create an effective conclusion: The conclusion in the research reports is the most difficult to write, but it is an incredible opportunity to excel. Make a precise summary. Sometimes it helps to start the conclusion with something specific, then it describes the most important part of the study, and finally, it provides the implications of the conclusions.

·         Get a couple more pair of eyes to read the report. Writers have trouble detecting their own mistakes. But they are responsible for what is presented. Ensure it has been approved by colleagues or friends before sending the find draft out.

Question No.5

What type of research tools are used in qualitative research? Mention the characteristics of any three tools for qualitative research.      

Answer

Qualitative research:

                      However, the three most commonly used qualitative research methods are in-depth interviews, focus group discussions (FGDs) and observation.

 

3 Qualitative Research Methods :

                                       Imagine that you want to understand why your mother loves making pancakes for breakfast. You could sneak around the kitchen, tracking when and how she makes pancakes, or you could just sit down and have a chat with her. Most people would agree that the chat will give a much better answer.

If you want to understand people’s beliefs or thoughts, numbers (i.e. quantitative research) don’t always give the full picture. Interactions or conversations with people (i.e. qualitative research) often help researchers gain deeper insights into why people do what they do.

What is qualitative research?

                                     “Conversations with people” isn’t very specific, so let’s go a little deeper. By definition, qualitative research is an inquiry into the way people interpret a certain social condition around them. It usually involves interviews or conversations, which produce non-numerical data. An example of qualitative research is identifying how effective a government welfare program is by talking to the people directly affected by it. Qualitative research is often time intensive, primarily because it requires collecting data by interacting with people over long periods of time. Then, after collecting data, analyzing conversations and bringing out insights is also time consuming.

Qualitative research is useful in two situations:

·         When research questions need to be sharpened: In the beginning of any study, researchers may only have a rough idea what they want to collect data on and how they can collect that data. Using qualitative research can help researchers understand their problem, zero in on their hypothesis, and create a design for further research (either qualitative or quantitative) as the study unfolds.

·         When you need detailed description of an issue: For complex issues, simple statistics may show what is happening, but not why it’s happening. In these scenario, qualitative research is helpful for exploring social conditions and explaining them in detail. For example, quantitative data may show how many girls drop out of school, but qualitative data can help researchers understanding the barriers that stop parents from sending girls to school.

There are several different qualitative research methods. Which method you should use depends on what you’re trying to achieve. However, the three most commonly used qualitative research methods are in-depth interviews, focus group discussions (FGDs) and observation.

Method 1: In-depth interviews

What is an in-depth interview?

                      One-to-one interviews are the most commonly used qualitative research method. They are semi-structured, which means that the questions to be asked and issues to be addressed are fluid and take shape as the interview unfolds.

How long do in-depth interviews take?

An in-depth interview may last 60–90 minutes and is conducted face to face.

Do participants need to give their permission?

Yes. Participation must be voluntary, and each person must give informed consent before they participate in an interview.

When are in-depth interviews useful?

In-depth interviews are ideal in situations where:

·         The research topic is complex. (For example, what factors affect whether men of a certain strata use contraceptives?)

·         The research topic is sensitive. (For example, understanding the prevalence of alcoholism among a group of people.)

·         The study requires detailed information.

In-depth interviews can be used at any stage of research. For example, they can be conducted in the beginning of a program to explore hypotheses and set the research plan, in the middle to benchmark the program’s progress, or at the end to understand the effectiveness of a program’s implementation.

Who should interview participants?

                                          Highly skilled interviewers are important for effective in-depth interviews. It is critical that interviewers are sensitive, empathic, and able to establish a comfortable environment for interviewees. Interviewers should also have a deep understanding of both the topic under study and the research objectives, so they can ask questions that provide relevant and actionable insights. Poor interviewing skills, poor phrasing of questions, or inadequate knowledge of the subject’s culture or frame of reference may result in data that isn’t accurate or useful. While selecting interviewers, researchers may also need to weigh personal characteristics that will make interviewees more comfortable with interviewers. For example, age, sex and profession may be important characteristics.

How should researchers prepare for in-depth interviews?

                                                     In-depth interviews typically start with open-ended questions, then interviewers use further questions to probe into different topics. The interviewer should have a guide prepared with a list of issues that are to be explored along with some suitable questions or probes for each issue.

How should researchers collect data during in-depth interviews?

                                                    The interview should be recorded. Preferably, it should also be transcribed immediately so that invisible information such as body language and expressions are not lost in the annals of time.

Advantages of in-depth interviews

·         Yield rich data and new insights

·         Allow face-to-face interaction

·         Allow in-depth conversation about the topic being studied

·         Can capture both affective and cognitive aspects

·         Give the interviewer the opportunity to clarify or explain the question/topic for better responses

Limitations of in-depth interviews

·         Costly and time-consuming

·         Require highly trained interviewers

·         May obtain a massive amount of information, which makes transcription and data analysis difficult

·         Create exploratory, not conclusive, results. This means that their findings usually cannot be generalized for the entire population.

 

 

Qualitative research gathers rich data about experiences, motivations, beliefs and mental and social dynamics. It strives for understanding, holistic descriptions and deep insights. Unlike quantitative research, it studies relatively small samples of respondents and rarely, if ever, uses statistical methods for data analysis. Qualitative researchers use a variety of tools and methods in their research.

1.      Tools versus Methods

·         The term "research tool" can simply be another name for a research method, or it can apply to specific techniques and materials that researchers use in the study.

·         Qualitative research uses three main methods of data collection: interviewing, observation and artifact analysis. Main interview types that qualitative researchers use are in-depth, one-on-one interviews and focus-group interviews. Artifact analysis usually means analysis of written texts, but sometimes objects, such as art work, undergo analysis. Each of these methods employs specific tools that facilitate and enrich the data collection process.

2. Role of the Researcher

                                     The main tool of qualitative research (be it in-depth individual interviews, focus groups or observations) is the researcher. Qualitative approaches emphasize the role of the researcher, accept that all data gathering is more or less subjective and value-laden. In many ways, qualitative interviewing is a two-way process.

3. Interviewing Tools

                                 Interviewing techniques that qualitative research uses often derive from clinical and diagnostic interviews in medicine or psychology. In addition to straightforward questioning, qualitative interviewers use probing, clarification requests, paraphrasing, reflection, laddering and listening techniques to explore the topic in depth.

Most qualitative interviews use a topic list, sometimes called the guide or the agenda. This might be a short overview of all issues that the researcher needs to cover or a more specific list of questions, usually open ended. In all cases, the focus is on obtaining particular information, not on asking a specific, standard question.

4. Projective Techniques

                                            Qualitative studies often incorporate projective techniques. Projective techniques have roots in the psycho-dynamic tradition, and work on the assumption that people cannot easily access certain mental content directly, but can express it indirectly by “projecting” their feelings and beliefs on other objects. Projective techniques are popular in marketing research, particularly brand image and attitude studies.

Popular projective and indirect techniques include personification/animization (if this brand was a person/animal, what kind of person/animal would they be?), word association, collage, expressive drawing, imaginary party (if these brands, people or places were at the party, what would they do and how would they behave?), mapping and sorting; sentence completion and many others.