Research Methodology

This article provides an overview of research methodology, including the different types of research methodologies such as qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods. It discusses the importance of data collection and analysis in research and provides insights into ethical considerations. The article also explores the use of surveys, questionnaires, interviews, and case studies as common research methods.

Running Head : RESEARCH METHODLOGY
Research Methodology
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1RESEARCH METHOLOGY
Research Methodology
The research methodology can be considered to be the specific procedure or
technique used for identifying, selecting, processing and analysing information regarding a
particular topic. In a particular research paper, the methodology is a section which allows the
reader to evaluate critically a study’s overall reliability and validity (Ardani, Sulistiyorini &
Shulhan, 2019). There are usually three types of research methodologies such as the
qualitative, quantitative and the mixed.
The qualitative research methodology is about inquiring different researches founded
on the academic projects. Most of this is applied in the projects related to social sciences
along with the market based ones. The aim of the qualitative research methodology is to
study the human behaviours. There are varied researches which can be studied through the
qualitative research method. It also helps in assessing the human behaviours with an in-depth
view. Specifically, it can be said that the qualitative research methodology talks about why
certain decisions come forwards in specific circumstances (Grant-Muller et al., 2018). For
inquiring on the human behaviours, samples are taken from the population. In most of the
researches, small sample sizes are taken because small sample sizes are thought to be more
focused on the topic. The topics such as cultural, historical, comparative, descriptive, action
based and evaluative are studied under the qualitative research methodology.
On the other hand, the quantitative research methodology is another type which is
rather a systematic investigation in the social sciences consisting of mathematical, statistical
and computational techniques. The objectives of the quantitative research methodology are to
develop the mathematical models and theories for the study hypothesis. A methodology data
which is enclosed in numeric form comes under the category of the quantitative method. It is
the widely used methodology in the area of psychology, political studies, economics and

2RESEARCH METHOLOGY
sociology (Ibrahim, 2016). In the anthropological sciences, this study is not quite preferable.
This methodology helps in producing data and information regarding some specific cases.
The third method is the mixed method.
The mixed method helps in conducting the research which involves gathering,
analysing and integrating the quantitative and the qualitative research. The quantitative
method includes the surveys and experiments and qualitative method includes the interviews
and the focus groups. This particular research approach is used when there is better
understanding required of the research problem possible through this integration. This
method is used when one needs to validate or correlate the findings of other methods (Grant-
Muller et al., 2018). It is further used when one method is utilized for informing another
method. Additionally it is used when one tries to have a look into the research question from
various aspects and clarify the potential contradictions and unexpected findings. Any single
methodology alone cannot provide sufficient and reliable data on a given research question.
Through mixing both the qualitative and quantitative data and research, the depth of
understanding can be reached while offsetting the weaknesses which are inherent to using the
approach itself.
In this study, the quantitative method will be used as it will help in gaining in-depth
data on the research question that is How does Information technology contributing to the
Timor Leste infrastructure development?. There are valid reasons of rejecting the other two
methods. Although the mixed method helps in gaining combined strength of both the
qualitative and quantitative research methods, there are some of the drawbacks too. The
mixed method helps in gaining answers for a complex range of research questions.
Unfortunately, it is a difficult method to be handled by a single researcher. Furthermore, it
requires in-depth knowledge of multiple approaches and methods along with the technique to
mixing them. The mixed method becomes more expensive and time consuming too (Hum,

3RESEARCH METHOLOGY
2017). On the other hand, the reasons behind not using the qualitative method is that it fails in
its quest for an accurate research methods. The findings of the qualitative research method
cannot be generalized to other people or in other setting. The reason is that some of the
factors remain unique from one individual to the next individual. Additionally, it is difficult
to make the quantitative predictions and test hypotheses generated from the study. When
compared to the quantitative research method, it is extremely time consuming to interview
each people personally to collect the data. The data analysis part again becomes tiresome and
difficult (Ibrahim, 2016). Hence, the study will use the quantitative method as it has various
strengths. It helps to validate the already constructed theories and hypotheses testing also
become easier. It further helps in simplifying the findings of the research. Unlike the
qualitative research, the data gathered from the quantitative research can be used for the
predictions too. The research will become faster when quantitative method will be used.
Moreover, the entire process will consume less time and the information collected will be
more independent of the researcher containing statistical significance. Since the research will
include more than 50 participants, the quantitative research will be extremely helpful in the
mass studies.
Research Methods
There are various research methods and it is fundamental for obtaining accurate
results. Among various types of research methods, surveys, questionnaires, interviews, case
studies are common.
Data collection
The data collection can be referred to as a process of gathering and measuring the
information on the variables of interest. It is done in an established systematic way for
answering the research question, test all constructed hypotheses and evaluate all the

4RESEARCH METHOLOGY
outcomes. In most of the situations, the data collection is considered as the primary step of
the entire research in almost all field of study. For different study fields, the data collection
approach becomes different depending on the information that is required. The primary
objective of collecting data is to ensure that only reliable and information-rich data has been
collected for the statistical analysis which enables the data –driven decisions to be made
(Nasution, Yandra & Hasan, 2018). In this research, the survey as the quantitative research
method will be used for collecting data. Survey involves the collection of information, from
the largely fair groups of people through questionnaires. There are different types of surveys.
The “one shot survey” is conducted on a sample of people who are at a set point in time.
Another type of survey is the “before and after survey” completed by people before or after a
major event. The survey will be conducted through circulating questionnaires online among
the members to gather data for answering the research question. The questionnaires are an
extremely useful way of gaining information from a large number of people. The online
method will be adopted as it is cost friendly, self-administered and have lower probability of
the data errors.
Sample Size
The sample size is the count of the individual samples in any statistical setting. Taken
for example, the public opinion survey is conducted for a scientific experiment. The sample
size determination is a critical part of a given project (Mishra & Dewangan, 2019). An
extremely small sample size develops unreliable results while a large one asks from proper
time and patience along with the resources. In order to determine the sample size, a number
of desired factors has to be taken into account (Nasution, Yandra & Hasan, 2018).The factors
are the total size of the population, the margin of errors, the confidence level and standard
deviation. In this research, the small business of East Timor will be divided into agricultural
sector, finance sector, retail sector, hospitality and tourism sector along with the service

5RESEARCH METHOLOGY
sector. From all these sectors, five SMEs will be selected to conduct survey among the
members of the organizations. From each SME, 20 people will be selected through random
sampling method from each department. Hence, for the quantitative research, the total sample
size will be 100. The questionnaires help people to take their own time and answer the
question without thinking about the reactions of the researcher. The participants can easily
state all their views or the feelings privately and freely. The participants will be encouraged
to answer the questions honestly for avoiding the false conclusions of the study. The
questionnaires contain usually the attitude scales, the multiple choice questions, open ended
and close ended questions. In the questionnaires, there will be 80 multiple-choice close ended
questions related to how information technology is contributing to the infrastructure
development of Timor Leste.
Data Analysis
Data analysis is the process for evaluating data having used statistical and analytical
tools for discovering the useful information and aid in the decision making. There are
various data analysis methods such as data mining, business intelligence, text analytics and
data visualization. It is part of a larger process for deriving the business intelligence
(Sumardiono, Matin & Widiasa, 2018). The data analysis process consists of the steps such as
defining the objectives, posing questions, collection of data, wrangling of data, analysis of the
data and drawing conclusions through it and making predictions. There are many methods of
analysing the quantitative data and in this research the descriptive statistics will be used as
the data analysis method. The percentage form will be used to provide a pictorial view of the
collected data.

6RESEARCH METHOLOGY
Ethical considerations
The study will follow the ethical guidelines and will not refrain from it. The research
participants will not be harmed in any way and will be respected with full dignity. Their
values and requests will be prioritised first along with taking their signed consent of
participating in the research. The privacy of the research will be protected and when asked
their names will also be kept confidential. For the rest of the data, adequate confidentiality
will be maintained along with the anonymity of the organizations they belong to (Warr et al.,
2016). The study will also avoid exaggeration or deception of the aims and objectives of the
research. It will further declare any affiliation in any forms, all the possible conflicts of
interest and source of funding (Vermeulen, 2016). The study will keep the transparency of
communication a priority and honesty will be maintained too. It will also avoid any type of
misleading information. During collecting the secondary data, it will acknowledge the
authenticity of the articles, journals and cite them appropriately.

7RESEARCH METHOLOGY
Summary
In this study, the quantitative method will be used as it will help in gaining in-depth
data on the research question. The survey as the quantitative research method will be used for
collecting data. The small business of East Timor will be divided into agricultural sector,
finance sector, retail sector, hospitality and tourism sector along with the service sector. From
all these sectors, five SMEs will be selected for survey through circulating questionnaires
online among the members. From each SME, 20 people will be selected through random
sampling method from each department. Hence, for the quantitative research, the total sample
size will be 100. The descriptive statistics will be used as the data analysis method. The
percentage form will be used to provide a pictorial view of the collected data.

8RESEARCH METHOLOGY
Reference
Ardani, A. F., Sulistiyorini, D., & Shulhan, M. A. (2019). Experimental Study Of Installation
Of Non Centric Light Steel C Profile On Light Steel Beam Frame. Journal of Green
Science and Technology, 3(2).
Grant-Muller, S., Hodgson, F., Harrison, G., Malleson, N., Redfern, T., & Snowball, R.
(2018, September). Transport-Health Equity Outcomes from mobile phone location
data–a case study. In 2nd International Conference on Advanced Reserach Methods
and Analytics (CARMA 2018) (pp. 256-256). Editorial Universitat Politècnica de
València.
Hum, A. M. M. (2017). The Newest Survey on Language Attitude of Sundanese Urban
Community in West Java Province, Indonesia Against Sundanese, Indonesian, And
Foreign Language: A Study on Multilingual Speaker. International Journal of
Applied Linguistics and English Literature, 7(1), 223-230.
Ibrahim, A. A. (2016). Definition Purpose and Procedure of Developmental Research: An
Analytical Review. Asian Research Journal of Arts & Social Sciences, 1-6.
Mishra, A., & Dewangan, J. K. (2019). Effect of employment on women empowerment-a
study on Sonepur district of Odisha, India. Indian Journal of Economics and
Development, 7(5).
Nasution, N., Yandra, A., & Hasan, M. A. (2018). E-Service in University
Research. International Journal of Engineering & Technology, 7(2.14), 212-215.
Sumardiono, S., Matin, H. H. A., & Widiasa, I. N. (2018). Optimization of Total Solid (TS),
Temperature, and Rumen Fluid Content During Biogas Production from Cattle

9RESEARCH METHOLOGY
Manure Using Response Surface Methodology. Advanced Science Letters, 24(12),
9791-9793.
Vermeulen, G. (2016). Access to and use of judicial and other personal data in criminological
research: Privacy and data protection perspectives. In Research Integrity Workshop.
Department Criminology, Criminal Law and Social Law, Ghent University.
Warr, D., Waycott, J., Guillemin, M., & Cox, S. (2016). Ethical issues in visual research and
the value of stories from the field. In Ethics and Visual Research Methods (pp. 1-16).
Palgrave Macmillan, New York.