Research methodology

DETAILED NOTE

Sources for Problem Selection 

As noted above, it is important that a researchable area has been selected first before locating a research problem or research topic. Four important sources which can facilitate this have been underlined by Koul (2007) discussed as follows.

Professional Literature

One needs to locate the most authentic professional literature in one’s discipline and the area of research. In every discipline and/or area of research, the experienced professors and researchers are aware of the most authentic reference and research literature, and the sources of their availability. These include reference work/books; experiential notes available as monographs or occasional papers or simply teacher notes available at university website; research work published in refereed journals, available as OER, or as research monograph, and problem-based accounts written by teachers, researchers, students, graduates, among others and available as blogs, web postings or experiencial papers published in journals and newspapers. The major sources of such literature include various Encyclopedia of Educational Research, Survey of Educational Research (CASE, MSU/NCERT), Dissertation Abstracts, OER Search Engines. Some of the sites for authentic OER include those of UNESCO and MERLOT, among others. A survey of these literature facilitates location of ‘suggestions for further research’ in those literature which can further ignite the mind of the researcher to ponder over possible research problem and research title. While examining the related research studies, the researcher may also locate and jot down the limitations of research design, sampling procedure as also any contradictory findings which necessitate to re-examine the phenomenon/research problem in different contexts.

Theories

While examining the related and authentic reference works, the researcher may examine description and analysis of theoretical and/or conceptual frameworks which could have been drawn from cognate disciplines of philosophy, psychology, sociology, and the field of education itself. These theoretical frameworks may also suggest and motivate the researcher to proceed exploration of a particular variable or problem area.

Personal Experience

It is all the more essential that the researcher interacts with teachers, peers, and even students to obtain if some area of research or some type of research problems are worth examining further. The researcher may personally encounter sparkling ideas while engaged in various tasks and problems relating to curriculum design, teaching-learning, assessment and evaluation, among others. This could, at the least, lead to conduct of some action-research which every teacher is required to undertake as a reflective practitioner/reflective professional. One’s own developmental work as also those of others get further disseminated in seminars and conferences which one should attend from time to time and tap recent development in the chosen field of research. Another source of encountering authentic and practical experience is interaction with the community and ascertaining any constraints faced by them. This may lead to further crystalisation of a research problem and research investigation.

Socio-Economic-Political-Technological Changes

As we remain alert in respect of what is happening around us, in our country as also globally, we encounter significant changes in social dynamics/social order, emergence of new social issues, economic upheavals in local markets as also in international trade, changes in political dynamics leading to changes in educational policies and regulations, and also changes in technology and especially ICT and social technologies and social networks. These changes both provide for ample research problems to further investigate as also enlighten and motivate the researcher to proceed to conduct a piece of research