Chap 1

• Research, guided by the scientific method, involves formulating hypotheses, conducting experiments, and systematically refining knowledge through iterative processes, emphasizing systematic approaches, rigorous methods, and continuous improvement.
• Research is a structured enquiry that utilizes acceptable scientific methodology to solve problems and create new knowledge that is generally applicable.
• Scientific methods are more formal, rigorous, verifiable, and general valid than everyday generalizations.
• Research serves as the catalyst for new discoveries supporting truth, aiding in understanding complex phenomena, informing decision-making, enhancing university teaching, fostering business improvement, guiding policy creation, and addressing societal or organizational challenges on local, national, regional, and international levels.
• Funded research aligns with national development plans, emphasizing relevance, responsiveness to societal needs, and practical utilization of generated data for organizational improvement.
• Empirical, systematic, and controlled, utilizing hypotheses for guided investigation, analytical through critical data analysis, and objective, unbiased, and logical in deriving findings from transformed numerical measures using quantitative or statistical methods.
• Research is classified based on application (Basic, Applied, Developmental), objectives (Descriptive, Non-Causal, Causal, Exploratory), and inquiry mode (Structured, Unstructured, Mixed), with additional distinctions in research designs (Experimental, Quasi-experimental, Non-experimental).
• A thesis is academic research proving or disproving theories, contributing to theoretical knowledge, while a feasibility study assesses the practical application and viability of the thesis's basic idea in real-world terms.
• Challenges in research include selecting a focused and appropriate topic, choosing the correct methodology aligned with research questions, and obtaining quality research material from academic journals and university libraries.
• Research is a systematic process involving the discovery of gaps in existing knowledge, formulation of specific research questions and hypotheses, and the execution of surveys, experiments, and data analysis.
• The research process includes formulating objectives, searching for relevant literature, proposing a thesis with a clear purpose, significance, and research questions, gathering data, and writing the final thesis with distinct chapters covering literature review, methodology, findings, and discussions.
• Research topics can be derived from published materials, grey literature, current affairs, guidance from supervisors and mentors, scholarly events, national and international development blueprints, calls for research papers, and suggestions from past research projects indicating areas for future exploration.
• A good research topic is characterized by clarity, ensuring a single, easily understandable interpretation, directional focus, and an unambiguous nature.
• The research topic must have current importance, providing relevance and benefit to the field of study.