Copyright (D 1974, Paul D. Leedy Printed in the United States of America All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or trans- Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc. Collier-Macmillan Canada, Ltd. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Leedy, Paul D. 1. Research I. Title. Printing:6 7 8 Year:8 9 0 Table of Contents
vii About This Book In a sense this is a do-it-yourself, understand-it-yourself manual. It is not a programmed text, but it will guide you, step by step, in planning and designing a research project, however large or small it may be. This is a practical manual, born from years of teaching research
methodology to both graduate and undergraduate students and from observing, after the course was over, all their doubts and uncertainties in the face of a practical research undertaking. Many knew the theoretical aspects of research methodology thoroughly, yet they had difficulty planning a practical research project, preparing an acceptable proposal, or writing a research report. This may have been because the practical base under the theoretical structure was not as supportive as
it should have been. Perhaps students had merely done lip-service to research, learning the essentials and proper orientations to theoretical methodology, without coming to grips with the mundane considerations that every researcher must learn if he is to get his project off the ground. ix is not supportive enough for the practical needs of many students who must get
their research off the launch pad of theory into the orbit of creativity. For this, theoretical methodology alone simply does not provide sufficient thrust! P. D. L. x1 What Is Research? Research is a very confusing term. WHAT RESEARCH IS NOT To understand more readily what research is, we should begin by considering what research is not. Some of the statements that follow may come as a distinct shock to the conventional way in which you have accepted the meaning of the term research. The reason for your surprise may be in part because you have been conditioned to the term in so many connotative frameworks that you may not be
sure exactly what the term really does mean. Hence, when many students encounter the term for the first time in a truly professional and academic sense, it bewilders them. 3 RESEARCH AND THE TOOLS OF RESEARCH information comes to him through "market research" which the "research analysts" of the company make available to him. WHAT RESEARCH IS Having discussed at some length what research is not, let us consider what it is. Successful research begins with a proper orientation. It is essentially a way of thinking; it is a manner of regarding accumulated fact so that a collection of data becomes articulate to the mind of the researcher in terms of what those data mean and what those facts say. 4 WHAT IS RESEARCH? Many students need to understand the implications of these statements. They need to see clearly the characteristics of what for many of them is an unfamiliar procedure. Research is simply the manner in which men solve the knotty problems in their attempt to push back the frontiers of human ignorance. We shall discuss these characteristics in the order in which they appear logically in the research process.Characteristics of Research Research has seven discrete characteristics which appear sequentially. Every researcher is familiar with these
steps, which taken together comprise the particular approach to the discovery of truth which we call research. 5 RESEARCH AND THE TOOLS OF RESEARCH Because many researchers take neither the time nor the trouble to isolate the lesser problems within the major problem area,
they find their research project becoming poorly defined, cumbersome, and unwieldy. From a practical standpoint, therefore, it is more expedient to divide the main problem into appropriate subproblems, all of which when resolved will result in the solution of the main research problem.
These three lesser problems, answered in terms of data derived from documents, addresses, university publications, and similar sources will provide an answer to the principal problem.
Each of these assumptions provides direction in seeking out the facts to determine the real reason why the car will not start. At this point you go in search of the facts. You check the fuel tank: it is half full. That rules out hypothesis 1. The motor has just been reconditioned, and new spark plugs were installed. That invalidates hypothesis 2. You glance out of the window of the car. You note that the other automobiles have condensation on them from the humidity and early-morning fog. Hypothesis 3 may lead you to 6 WHAT IS RESEARCH? the solution of the problem of your stalled car. To test this hypothesis you remove the distributor cap, wipe out the moisture that is indeed there, and replace it. The car starts. Hypothesis 3 is supported.Similarly, when you are faced with a problem for research, you make educated guesses to assist you in discovering the solution and in giving you direction in looking for the facts. * Research deals with facts and their meaning. Having now isolated the problem, subdivided it into appropriate subproblems, and posited hypotheses which will suggest the direction in which the facts may lie, the next step is to collect whatever facts seem to be pertinent to the problem and to organize them into meaningful aggregates, capable of being interpreted. We shall suggest methods of such organization in a later chapter. Facts, events, happenings, observations are in themselves merely facts, events, and happenings-nothing more. They are, nevertheless, potentially meaningful. Frequently, however, the significance of the data depends upon the way in which the facts are seen, the manner in which the data are regarded. Often different researchers read entirely different meanings from the same set of data. And, for the researcher, there is no single rule which will guide him unerringly to one "correct" interpretation. Two historians may study the same series of events. Each may be equally competent, both scrupulously honest in their reactions. One may read the meaning of the facts of history one way; the other, viewing precisely the same facts, may arrive at an entirely divergent interpretation. Which one is right? Perhaps both are, or perhaps neither is. There was a time when we considered that clocks measured time and yardsticks measured space, and in one sense they do; but we further assumed that time and space were two separate and discrete entities. Now we regard both of these factors differently and deal with them within a more sophisticated concept called the time-space continuum. The facts of time and space have always been the same. The difference between the earlier and later concepts is not in the facts themselves, but in the increased keenness of insight that the researcher has had into their meaning. * Research is circular. The research cycle begins simply: a questioning mind is confronted by a perplexing situation. To see his target clearly, the researcher isolates the central problem for research. This central problem is then further divided into subproblems, each of which is an integral part of the larger whole, and all of which collectively comprise the principal research problem. What we have been calling the environment out of which the researchable problem arises is more appropriately called the research universe,1 and it is potentially fact-laden. The researcher seeks from within the universe for those particular facts which seem to be pertinent to the solution of the problem and its attendant subproblems. His search is facilitated by the construction of tentative hypotheses. They point in the direction of relevant facts. The collected facts are then organized, analyzed, and interpreted for the purpose of discovering what the facts mean. Such discovery aids, in turn, in solving the problem; and this, then, satisfies the question which gave rise to the research originally. Thus, the cycle is completed. Such is the format of all basic research. Schematically, the "circle of research" might be represented by the diagram on p. 8. This diagram may be thought of more as a helix than as a circle. In the helical process of solving problems, we create still more problems; consequently, research continues progressively onward. To see research in this way is to invest it with a dynamic quality-a far cry from the common view of research as a static, end-in-itself matter. 1 The term universe is perhaps better understood when it is looked at in terms of its elemental meaning. It means simply an "area" surrounding the problem which may contain facts relevant to the problem. Literally, the word signifies the factual area that revolves around the central inquiry, or main problem of the research. The word derives from unus, "one," and vertere, "to turn": that which turns or revolves around one central inquiry. 7 RESEARCH AND THE TOOLS OF RESEARCH THE RESEARCH PROCESS Practical Application This book is more than a theoretical discussion of research and its methodology. In addition to the discussion-which is a very practical, grass-roots,
"how-to-get-it-done" approach-this manual will provide you with an opportunity to apply those matters that have been discussed. It will provide you with an opportunity to go into the field and to observe research and to evaluate it. These applications of principle to operational research practices will be given in a special section at the back of the book. 8 What characteristic of research states that it must take place in an organized and orderly manner Brainly?Systematic - follows orderly and sequential procedure.
Which characteristics of research is described in this statement it must take place in an organized or orderly manner?Systematic. It must take place in an organized or orderly manner.
What are the 5 basic characteristics of research?Characteristics of Research:. Research should be controlled-. Research should be rigorous-. Research should be systematic-. Research should be valid-. Research should be empirical-. The foundation of knowledge-. Which characteristic of research is shown when all the data information is correct?Accuracy. As the name implies, this data quality characteristic means that information is correct. To determine whether data is accurate or not, ask yourself if the information reflects a real-world situation.
|