Research Methods

The term research is an academic activity and it is therefore used in a technical sense. The activity comprises defining and redefining problems; formulating hypotheses; collecting, organizing and evaluating data; making deductions and drawing conclusions; and, carefully testing the conclusions to determine whether they fit the formulated hypothesis. Research is an attitude of mind. Research methods refer to the methods the researchers use in performing research operations and they can be categorized into: The methods which are concerned with the collection of data; The statistical techniques which are used for establishing relationships between the data and the unknowns; and, Those methods which are used to evaluate the accuracy of the results obtained.