1. INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH
Dr. MUSTAQUE AHMED & Dr. JOHNSON ALEX

2. OBJECTIVE OF THE CLASS
At the end of the class students should be able to:
• definition and meaning of Research
• describe the purpose of Research
• explain the characteristics of Research
• list the types of research.
Course Name and No. HBM 202/Beh Sc.

3. MEANING OF RESEARCH
Research is an essential and powerful tool in leading man towards progress. Without systematic research there would have been very little progress.
Word ‘Research’ comprises of two words = Re+Search. It means to search again.
“Re” is the prefix meaning ‘Again or over again or a new’ and “Search” is the latter meaning ‘to examine closely and carefully’ or ‘to test and try’.
So research means a systematic investigation or activity to gain new knowledge of the already existing facts.
The study of conducting research is called Research Methodology.

4. DEFINATION OF RESEARCH
The systematic
method problem,
consisting of formulating a
enunciating the
hypothesis, collecting the facts or data, analysing the facts and reaching certain conclusion either in the form of solutions
towards the concerned certain generalisations theoretical formulation.
problem or in
for some

5. Research can also be defined as
Search for knowledge
Systematic and scientific search for getting relevant answers on any taken up specific topic.
Scientific enquiry into a subject.
Research is a movement from the unknown to the known.
It is the voyage of discovery

6. OTHER DEFINATIONS OF RESEARCH
“Research is a systematic effort to gain new knowledge.” -Redman & Mori
“Research comprises defining and redefining problems ,formulating hypothesis or suggested solutions, collecting ,organizing and evaluating data, making deductions and reaching conclusions and at last careful testing the conclusions to determine whether they fit the formulated hypothesis.” -Clifford Woody

7. PURPOSE /OBJECTIVES OF RESEARCH
The purpose of research is to discover answers to questions through the application of scientific procedures and improve the quality of life.
1. To gain familiarity with a phenomenon or to achieve new insights into it .(studies with this objective are known as exploratory or formative research studies).
2. To portray accurately the characteristics of a particular individual, situation or a group(studies with this objective are known as descriptive research studies )
3. To determine the frequency with which something occurs or with which it is associated with something else.( studies with this objective are known as diagnostic research studies).
4. To test a hypothesis of a causal relationship between variables( studies with this objective are known as hypothesis-testing research studies ) .

8. Funding Curiosity Quality of Life Utility of Applications
Advancement of
Technology
Amount of
knowledge
Application
Development
Applied Research
Basic Research 6

9. MOTIVATION IN RESEARCH
What makes people to undertake research? This is a question of fundamental importance. The possible motives for doing research may be either one or more of the following: 1. Desire to get a research degree . 2. Desire to face the challenge in solving the unsolved problems, i.e., concern over practical problems initiates research; 3. Desire to get intellectual joy of doing some creative work. 4. Desire to be of service to society.

10. Research Methodology
Research Methodology is understood as a science of studying how research is done scientifically. In it we study the various steps that are generally adopted by researcher in studying his research problem along with the logic behind them.
When we talk of Research Methodology, we not only talk of research methods but also consider the logic behind the methods we use in the context of our research study and explain why we are using a particular method or we are not using a particular method or technique so that research results are capable of being evaluated either by the researcher.

11. Steps:
1. Understanding the nature of problem to be studied and identifying the related area of knowledge.-Why a particular research study has been undertaken?
2. Reviewing literature to understand how others have approached or dealt with the problem.-How the Research problem has been defined?
3. Collecting data in an organized and controlled manner so as to arrive at valid decisions.- How the data were collected?
4. Analyzing data appropriate to the problem.- Why a particular technique of analyzing data is used?
5. Drawing conclusions and making generalizations.-Finally what was the solution for the Research problem?

12. As against research in many subjects which are undertaken on a philosophical or intellectual level, i.e.concerned with knowledge for its own sake, research in medicine is conducted only for the purpose of gathering knowledge or information for improving the health of the community or for improving the service delivery network.
Research provides answers to questions relevant to daily living Is there any danger if I consume iodised salt everyday? What should be the level of fluoridation of water supplied? At what age should my daughter be given a dose of MMR? Is there any benefit of substituting coconut oil with cotton seed oil for my cooking?. Therapeutic query like Menopausal women who took estrogen for long time were also found to be at higher risk of getting ovarian cancer And many more. There is no end to research applications.

13. Types of Research
Research can be classified from the view point or perspectives as,
Application
objective
Inquiry mode
1) Pure Research
1) Descriptive
1) Quantitative Research
2) Applied Research
2) Analytical
2) Qualitative Research
3) Correlative
4) Exploratory
5) Explanatory

14. Pure Research: (Basic or Fundamental Research)
Gathering, knowledge is termed as ‘pure’ or ‘basic’ research. Just to gather knowledge in order to formulate or generalize theories .In medicine, basic research is generally at the cellular level for studying various biological processes.
Applied Research (Problem oriented) : To find an immediate solution for a practical problem. Applied medical research could be on the diagnostic and therapeutic modalities, on agenthost- environment interactions, or health assessments.

15. Descriptive Research: The major purpose of descriptive research is description of the state of affairs as it exists at present.eg Survey or fact finding enquires of different kinds. The reseacher has no control over the variables.
In Analytical research, on the other hand, the researcher has to use facts or information already available, and analyze these to make a critical evaluation.
Correlative Research: Goes on to discover the existing relationship between two or more aspects / variables. Also known as comparative study.
Explanatory Research: Attempts to clarify or explain why and how, any particular research problem arises and can be solved.
Exploratory Research: Study undertake to explore a new area . The objective of exploratory research is the development of hypotheses rather than their testing

16. Quantitative Research:Quantitative research is based on the measurement of quantity or amount. Also known as structured Research. In this type of Research, the objectives, design, sample and all the other factors influencing the research is determined.
The research problem and its solution will be expressed in terms of quantity and hence statistical analysis is adapted in this type of Research.
Qualitative Research: Also known as unstructured research. Study the aspects related to quality / kind or texture. Eg: Behaviour science (i.e., why people think or do certain things)

17. other types of Research are
Conceptual Research: Research related to some abstract idea or theory Used by philosophers or thinkers for developing new concepts.
Empirical research (based on experiments )- Also known as experimental type of Research. It is data-based research, coming up with conclusions which are capable of being verified by observation or experiment.

18. Research Approaches in public Health
There are two broad areas of research in public health.These are: 1. Quantitative research methods 2. Qualitative research methods. Quantitative research methods-These are the traditional methods used in epidemiology and clinical medicine. These are also called evidence based research methods. Epidemiological studies, like Case Control Studies,Cohort Studies, and Cross Sectional Studies are quantitative methods. Intervention studies like Community Trials and Vaccine Trials or Drug Trials are also quantitative methods. Qualitative Research Methods- The common feature of these methods is that they do not primarily seek to provide quantified answers (like prevalence rates, odds ratio, etc.) to research questions. They help in understanding social phenomenon as they occur in their natural settings without any intervention. An example is to understand why and how health education messages on stopping smoking can be well known to teenagers but still they fail to give up smoking.

19. Characteristics of Research:
Following are the characteristics of research;
1. Research is directed toward the solution of a problem.
2.Research requires expertise.
3.Research emphasizes the development of generalizations, principles, or theories that will be helpful in predicting future occurrences.
4.Research is based upon observable experience or empirical evidences.
5.Research involves gathering new data or using existing data.
6.Research is characterized by carefully designed procedures that apply rigorous analysis.
7.Research strives to be objective and logical, applying every possible test to validate the procedures and data collected and the conclusions is generalized.

20. Criteria of Good Research
1.The purpose of the research should be clearly defined and common concepts be used. 2. The research procedure used should be described in sufficient detail to permit another researcher to repeat the research for further advancement. 3. The procedural design of the research should be carefully planned to yield results that are as per objective. 4. The researcher should report with complete frankness, flaws in procedural design and estimate their effects upon the findings. 5. The analysis of data should be sufficiently adequate to reveal its significance and the methods of analysis used should be appropriate. The validity and reliability of the data should be checked carefully. 6. Conclusions should be confined to those justified by the data of the research.

21. In other words, we can state the qualities of a good research as under: 1.Good research is systematic: It means that research is structured with specified steps to be taken in a specified sequence in accordance with the well defined set of rules. 2.Good research is logical: This implies that research is guided by the rules of logical Reasoning. In fact, logical reasoning makes research more meaningful in the context of decision making. 3.Good research is empirical: It implies that research is related basically to one or more aspects of a real situation and deals with concrete data. 4. Good research is replicable: This characteristic allows research results to be verified by replicating the study .

22. Importance of Knowing How Research is Done
A student preparing himself for a career of carrying out research as his profession - trained better to do research - develop disciplined thinking - observe the field objectively. - understand the logic behind the research problem. - increase the ability to evaluate the results. - helpful in various fields such as Govt. Business, administration, community development & social work. The knowledge of methodology helps to evaluate and to take rational decisions

23. THANK YOU