A Guide to Research Methodology

Book excerpt: Research Methodology is meant to provide a broad guideline to facilitate and steer the whole of a research activity in any discipline. With the ambit and amount of research increasing by the day, the need for Research Methodology is being widely appreciated. Against this backdrop, we notice the dearth of well-written books on the subject. A Guide to Research Methodology attempts a balance between the generic approach to research in any domain and the wide array of research methods which are to be used in carrying out different tasks in any research. Discussions on these research methods appropriate in various disciplines have focused on the research tasks, keeping in mind the fact that a single such task like a comparison among alternatives may involve several methods from seemingly distinct areas. Unique features of this volume, as will be evident to a discerning reader, include: A detailed discussion on problem areas for research in several domains An illustrative and ampliated list of research problems drawn from different disciplines which can be pursued by interested research workers A comprehensive delineation of Research Design supported by illustrations An elaborate engagement with models with a note on model uncertainty Focus on recent and emerging models, methods and techniques A novel treatment of data analysis where the nature of data and the objective(s) of analysis justify drawing upon a variety of techniques for analysis This book will serve the purpose of a pre-PhD or a Master-level course-work for students of any discipline with a basic knowledge of quantitative analysis. In fact, anyone aspiring to take up meaningful research work will find the content useful and interesting.