Approaches to Geographical Research

•Approaches to Geographical Research

•Lecture Outline

•Scientific approach in geographical research

•Quantitative and qualitative research

•Theories in research

•Introduction

•Students, in our introduction of the subject lecture we discuss basic concepts in geographical research.

•In this lecture I introduce to you the approaches which used by geographers in conducting geographical research.

•To start with let’s discuss the scientific approaches in geographical studies.

•Scientific Approach in Geographical Research

•Geographical research as other types of research follows systematic steps in conducting it.

•The basic steps in geographical research include problem identification, hypothesis formulation and/or research questions, data collection and data processing and analysis.

•Problem Identification

•The first step in geographical research is to identify and define clearly the problem to be studied.

•Finding a problem is always easy but identifying that is researchable is challenging.

•A well defined research problem makes, other stages that follow easier.

•Cont…

•Research problem is an intellectual stimulus or feeling of discomfort to a researcher calling for an answer in the form of scientific inquiry.

•It is some difficulty facing a researcher in the context of either a theoretical or practical situation.

•Not all problems require research to be undertaken. A problem that requires research depends on three conditions.

•Cont…

1.There should be discrepancy between what is known and what should be known.

2.The reason(s) for the difference should be unclear, thus it makes sense to develop a research question.

3.There should be more than one possible answer. If there is only one possible answer to the problem then there is no need of research to that problem.

•Example 1: Non Research Problem

•Data from Tukuyu town shows that 500 patients are continuous users of ARV, but last month’s data indicate that none of these patients are using ARV.

•Discrepancy: all 500 patients should be using ARV, but all 500 patient are not using ARV.

•Research question: What are the factors responsible for all 500 patients discontinuing their use of ARV?

•Cont…

•Answer: Seasonal floods have prevented all new supplies of pills reaching the district and all old supplies have been exhausted.

•N:B: The research problem exist but the reasons for the problem are already known. It is non-researchable problem. It is managerial problem and does not require a research to be conducted.

•Example 2: Researchable Problem

•Mortality data from Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) from Tanzania and German shows that, German has higher life expectancy (low risk of death) (80 years) than Tanzania (52 years), but frequency of death as measured by crude death rate (CDR) shows that CDR of German and Tanzania is the same.

•Discrepancy: Tanzania should have higher CDR than German because of  having lower life expectancy.

•Cont…

•Research Question: What are the factors responsible for this discrepancy.

•Possible Answers:

1.Problems in data  From DHS of both German and Tanzania.

2.Difference in deaths patterns of both German and Tanzania.

•Hypothesis Formulation and/or Research Question

•All stated hypotheses require testing.

•Decision to accept or reject the stated hypotheses should be backed up by evidence.

•It is wealth mentioning here that hypothesis is applied in quantitative research while in qualitative research, research questions are used.

•Ways of stating the hypothesis

•Null hypothesis (Ho)

•The null hypothesis refers to the guess the researcher tests and hopes to prove wrong. Example: Ho:

•There is no significant relationship between distance to the market and crop grown.

•The aim of testing is to show that the hypothesis is false and therefore accept the alternative hypothesis.

•Alternative hypothesis (Ha)

•The alternative hypothesis is the opposite of null hypothesis.

•It refers to the guess researcher tests and hopes to prove correctly.

•It asserts that the value of the relationship between two or more parameters exist.

•Example: Ha: There is significant relationship between distance to the market and crop grown.

•Data Collection

•After formulating hypothesis then the next step is to gather available fact in order to accept or reject your null hypothesis.

•Data collection is done from both secondary and primary sources.

•Secondary data are obtained from published and unpublished sources such as reports, books, journals and archives.

•Primary data are original data from the field.

•Cont…

•This is done when secondary data do not provide adequate data for answering problem under study.

•Primary data are obtained through various ways such as questionnaire, interviews and focus group discussion.

•Also remote sensing equipment such as cameras, infrared imaging, radar and sonar provide ample data which can be used in solving problem under study.

•Data Processing and Analysis

•Technically speaking, processing implies editing, coding, classification and tabulation of collected data so that they are amenable to analysis.

•The term analysis refers to the computation of certain measures along with searching for patterns of relationship that exist among data-groups.

•Cont…

•Thus, “in the process of analysis, relationships or differences supporting or conflicting with original or new hypotheses should be subjected to statistical tests of significance to determine with what validity data can be said to indicate any conclusions”  

•Qualitative and Quantitative Approach in Research

•Quantitative approach involves the generation of data in quantitative form which can be subjected to rigorous quantitative analysis in a formal and rigid fashion.

•Qualitative approach to research is concerned with subjective assessment of attitudes, opinions and behaviour.

•Research in such a situation is a function of researcher’s insights and impressions.

•Cont…

•All quantitative analysis is based on qualitative judgments

•All qualitative data can be measured and coded using quantitative methods.

•Quantitative research can therefore be generated from qualitative inquiries.

•What’s the real difference between research approaches?

•The major difference between qualitative and quantitative research stems from the researcher’s underlying strategies.

•Quantitative research is viewed as confirmatory and deductive in nature  (use data to test theories)

•Qualitative research is considered to be exploratory and inductive (gather the data and learn what’s happening from the data and then generate theories)

•Questions to consider for qualitative versus quantifative research

•Is your aim the generation of new theories or hypothesis?

•Do you need to obtain a deep understanding of an issue? Is the issue too complex to quantify?

•Are you willing to trade detail for generalizability?  (e.g., someone’s experience of poverty vs. a quantifiable measure of income levels)

•Theories in Research

•Geographical research as any other kind of research must be guided by a theory.

•In short a theory explains how research variables interact to produce a desired answer in a research.

•It shows the way in which dependent variable is affected by other variables.

•Cont…

•In other words theory in research is the roadmap which used by researcher to investigate research problem in order to find answers of that problem.

•There are two types of theories which are used in research namely theoretical and conceptual framework.

•Theoretical Framework

•Theoretical framework is the examination of existing theories in relation to the research problem.

•It help researchers to determine what is known and what is not known.

•Also it avoid one to re-invent the wheel. For example if your doing a research on factors affecting industrial location in Morogoro municipality you can use Weber’s Industrial location theory.

•Cont…

•When you use theoretical framework you:-

1.State the theoretical framework,

2.Explain challenges of the framework,

3.Show plans to improve the framework by conducting investigation,

4.Use clear terms,

5.Explain what is the state of the art,

6.Specify what question(s) the framework you propose for your work seeks to answer.

•Conceptual Framework

•Conceptual framework is self formulated theory by a researcher presented in narrative or diagrammatic format showing variables to be studied and their hypothetical relationships, between or among them.

•Conceptual framework specifies more exactly the variables to be studied and the nature of their expected relationship between or among them.

•Cont…

•It is important because it streamlines the focus of research and confines literature review, analysis or discussion to only the hypothesized variables and their indicators.

•Seminar Question

1.Distinguish between the following concepts as used in research; research problem, research gap and statement of the problem?

2.Give example of two researchable problem and two non-researchable problem