Introduction to Research Methodology

University of Juba

School of Medicine

Department of Community Medicine

5th Year, 2022

Kon P. Alier, B.Pharm (Hons), MPH

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 Outline
• Definition
• Different categories of research
• Scientific foundations of research
• Who is a good researcher?
• Formulation of objectives, research questions
and hypothesis

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 What is research?...(1)
Research:
•A course of critical inquiry leading to the discovery of
fact or information which increases our understanding
of human health and disease.
•A systematic structured enquiry that utilizes acceptable
scientific methodology to solve problems and create
new knowledge that is generally applicable.
• Re- means again, anew or over again
• Search means to examine closely and carefully, to
test and try, to probe

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 What is research?...(2)
Health systems research
 Concerned with enhancing the efficiency &
effectiveness of a health system, with a view
of improving the health of the community

Elements of health system

 Health needs
 Health services
 Health management & support systems
 Health outcomes

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 Why conduct research?...(1)
• Generate and expand knowledge
• Explain social life by providing reliable and
documented information
• Explore social realities to make further
research possible
• Describe events
• Academic award

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 Why conduct research?...(2)
• Evaluate the status of social issues and
effect on society and social progress
• To develop and test theories of social
reality
• To critique social institutions, structures
and phenomena
• To suggest possible solutions to social
problems

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 Key drivers of research
• Curiosity; attraction by fun of the chase
– Serendipity; the faculty of making happy
discoveries by accident
• Opportunity; often comes with availability of
funding
• Need; need for solution to problems
• Profit; e.g. research and development by
pharmaceutical companies

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 Categories of research
• Empirical and theoretical (philosophical)
• Empirical: based on observation and experience
e.g. epidemiological studies
• Theoretical: based on theories and constructs
• Basic and applied (functional)
• Basic or pure: search for new knowledge without
defined goal of utility or specific purpose
• Applied: aimed at solving existing problems
• Research triangle approach (operational)
• Biomedical, Health research and Behavioural
research
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Scientific foundations of research… (1)
• Order
– Classification of observations into organized ordered
properties and behaviors
• Inference and chance
– The force of advances in research. Inferential
suppositions, presumptions or theories may be so
developed, through careful construction, as to pose
testable hypotheses.
– All A is B and all B is C; therefore all A is C; this
syllogism is deductive reasoning; conclusion
necessarily follows from the premises or evidence
– HR follows inductive reasoning- building from
specific to general, chance must be fully accounted
for here
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Scientific foundations of research… (2)
• Evaluation and probability
– To ensure integrity of the study and prevent bias, use
representative sampling, randomization in the
selection of study groups, maintenance of comparison
groups as controls, blinding of experiments and
subjects, and the use of probability (statistical)
methods in the analysis and interpretation of outcome.
• Hypothesis
– carefully constructed statements about a phenomenon
in the population. Sometimes known as intelligent
guess
– May be based on deductive or inductive reasoning
from prior observations

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 Characteristics of research
• Clear statement of problem
• Controlled plan
• Rigorous; must follow a certain logical sequence
• Valid and verifiable methodology
• New data should be collected as required and
should answer the original question
• Empirical; conclusions are based on hard evidence
• Critical and Objective
• Ethical
• Builds on existing data= Re-search
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What it takes to be a Good researcher
• An analytical mind/Critical thinking
• The ability to stay calm
• Intelligence
• Curiosity; enthusiasm about new things
• Quick thinker
• Commitment
• Excellent written and verbal
communication skills
• Sympathetic
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 Formulating a research topic…(1)
 Starts with an interest; an area that you feel attracted to or
a general area of inquiry
 Narrow the interest to a plausible (reasonable) topic
 Question that topic from several points of view
 Define a rationale for your project
 Topics come from problems identified in the area of
practice
 Formulating a research topic…(2)
• Remember FINER: Your topic must be:
• Feasible; consider the time, resources, expertise (of
your supervisor and yours), number of subjects,
funding and the environment
• Interesting; people do well when they do what they
like most…
• Novel; aim at producing something new; new
ideas, new methods, refuting prior findings…
• Ethical; do not evoke political, cultural, religious
or private individual sentiments
• Relevant; your topic must be relevant to your
area of interest and practice
 Formulating a research topic…(3)
• The topic should not be more than 20
words
• Key words in the title should reflect the key
variables intended for study.
• Must be descriptive: covers purpose,
place, time etc
• Reflects scope and content of study as
well as aspects of the objectives.
 Problem Researchability…(1)
When there is perceived discrepancy
(difference) between what exists & the ideal
or planned situation

Reason (s) for the discrepancy should be

unclear

There should be more than one possible

solution to the problem
 Problem researchability…(2)
E.g.
Discrepancy
 35%of the households in Kenyi village should
have latrines, but only 15% do have them now
Research question
 What factors can explain this difference?
Possible answers
 Service-related factors
 Population-related factors
Prioritizing research problems…(1)
1.Relevance
2.Avoidance of duplication
3.Feasibility
4.Applicability
5.Politicalacceptability
6.Ethical acceptability
7.Urgency of data needed
Prioritizing research problems…(2)
Relevance
 Field of research
 How large or wide spread is the problem?

 Who is affected

 How severe is the problem

 Disruption in the family, society?

 Who sees the problem as important?

 This is a filter criterion— If you do not

consider a problem relevant, don’t apply

other rating criteria
Prioritizing research problems…(3)
Avoidance of duplication
 Ifyou can find answers to the problem from
available or unpublished sources, or from
common sense, drop it
 Unless there’s need to confirm or extend
knowledge in that area
Political acceptability
 Itis advisable to research a topic that has the
interest & support of the authorities
Prioritizing research problems…(4)
Feasibility considerations
 Resources, time, personnel (including the
need for technical staff)
Applicability
 Depends on the blessing of potential users
(including authorities), & resources for
implementation
Prioritizing research problems…(5)
Ethical acceptability:
 Issues to consider

Acceptability of research to those who

will be studied (cultural sensitivity)

Can informed consent be obtained from

the subjects
Will the subjects be offered any special

incentives
Urgency; consider when the results are

needed
 Homework
• Please formulate a research topic of your
interest putting into consideration the
attributes outlined above
 Research Objectives… (1)
General objective:
A general objective is usually stated first
Others refer to it as purpose of the study
A general objective is ideally the topic of study more
simplified
It is abroad statement of what the researcher intends to
study
Specific objectives
What you want to find out
They must be SMART
Avoid to document, find out other factors, to see, to make
recommendations
 Research Objectives… (2)
• Each specific objective must try to indicate the
two variables (IV and DV) under study or one
variable
• Specific objectives should cover the main parts
of a conceptual framework
• There should be a direct linkage between the
specific objectives and the conceptual
framework
 Research Objectives… (3)
• They must be linked to the topic other wise
one of them (objective, topic) will be thrown
out!
• They must be able to provide answers to the
problem statement
 Stating research objectives…(1)
To establish
To identify
To determine
( the relationship, the influence, association between, etc
Others: To examine, the level of utilization, to
investigate, to asses ….
Avoid:
To find out
To find out other factors
To make recommendations
To see
 Stating research objectives…(2)
 Advisably not more than four in number.
Should be numbered numerically
A study that involves determine the
prevalence…, such objective is the first
Affect the whole arrangement, size etc of the
research proposal and report
Influences the type of data collection tool
Ensure that you collect data for your objectives
 Stating research objectives…(3)
• The formulation of objectives will help us to:
– Focus on the study (narrowing it down to
essentials)
– Avoid collection of data that are not strictly
necessary for understanding and solving the
identified problem
– Organize the study in clearly defined parts

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 Stating research objectives…(4)
It is important to make sure objectives:
◦Cover the different aspects of the problem
and arranged in a logical sequence
◦Are clearly expressed in measurable terms
◦Are realistic considering local conditions
◦Meet the purpose of the study
◦Use action verbs that are specific enough to
be measured
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 Characteristics of research objectives… (1)

Research objectives should be:

Specific Measurable Achievable Relevant Time bound

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 Characteristics of research objectives… (2)

• Research objectives must be SMART, i.e.:

• Specific – What do you want to do or achieve?
• Measurable – How will you measure or determine whether
you have achieved the objectives?
• Achievable – Given the resources you have, are the set
objectives attainable or realistic?
• Relevant – Will the set objectives lead to the desired end
result or goal?
• Time bound – When will these objectives be accomplished
within a given time frame?

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 Research questions
A general question is usually put first
A general question is the question form of the general
objective
It is a research purpose stated in a question form
Specific Research questions are exactly the objectives but
this time in question form
Are the question form of objectives
Stated as What is…. Etc
Some require both objectives and questions, others
only objective
 Research hypothesis … (1)
A hypothesis predicts the nature of relationship
between an independent and dependent variable,
the relationship could be between two or more
variables.
Attempts to predict an answer to a research
question in quantitatively oriented studies
particularly analytical studies both research
questions and hypotheses should be given.
Hypotheses must be stated in such a way that they
are testable because at the end of the day, they will
be accepted or rejected.
 Research hypothesis … (2)
• A good hypothesis is clear, specific, testable and
value-free
• Note that not all proposed studies go with
hypothesis.
• Hypotheses are usually limited to analytical and
experimental study designs
 Research hypothesis … (3)
• Hypotheses should predict a relationship
between a presumed case and presumed
outcome, and in that sense give direction to
the proposed study.
• NB: Descriptive studies do not require a
hypothesis because they describe how
variables are distributed and not how they are
related
 Research hypothesis … (4)
• Null: What you want to nullify or accept
• We set to test a null hypothesis
• The opposite of a null hypothesis is an
alternative hypothesis
• Hypotheses are tested using statistical
packages
 Research hypothesis … (5)
Null Hypothesis; it's dented Ho and it indicates a
relationship or difference between the variables of the
study.
 Alternative Hypothesis; it's denoted as Ha and it
predicts the actual expectations of the study. It
indicates that a relationship or a difference exists
between the variables under study e.g. a relationship
between income and expenditure.
Characteristic of Hypothesis
 A good hypothesis should posses the following
attributes
– Should be clear and precise
– Should be testable
– It should be simple to understand
– Must indicate the relationship between the
variables
– Should be based on some known evidence or
theories
 Research hypothesis … (6)
Examples:
Taking sugary drinks daily leads to obesity.
Smoking cigarettes daily leads to lung cancer.
Getting 8 hours of sleep can lead to more alert
students.
There is no significant change in my health
during the times when I drink green tea only or
root beer only.
There is no significant change in my work habits
when I get 8 and when I get 9 hours of sleep.
 References
• World Health Organisation, 1992. Health Research
Methodology: A Guide for training in Research
Methods. Manila: World Health Organisation.
• Hulley, S. B. et al., 2013. Designing Clinical Research.
4th ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.

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