Page 167 - DLIS401_METHODOLOGY_OF_RESEARCH_AND_STATISTICAL_TECHNIQUES

Methodology of Research and Statistical Techniques

Notes Use verb tenses consistently. Descriptions of the field situation may be stated in the past tense
(e.g., ‘Five households owned less than one acre of land.’) Conclusions drawn from the data
are usually in the present tense (e.g., ‘Food taboos hardly have any impact on the nutritional
status of young children.)

Notes For a final check on readability you might skim through the pages and read the
first sentences of each paragraph. If this gives you a clear impression of the organisation
and results of your study, you may conclude that you did the best you could.

Group Work

1. Make an outline for your report on a flipchart, after reviewing your objectives, your
sources of information and the outcomes of your data analysis. Number proposed sections
and subsections. Stick the outline to the wall in a visible place. Leave sufficient space
between the lines for additions (more subsections, for example) and for changes.
2. Start writing, beginning with the chapter on findings. Decide with your facilitator whether
you will interpret the data presenting it by variable, by objective or by study population.
If you are unsure in the beginning which method of organising the presentation will
work best, record your findings and interpretations by study population. In the second
draft you can decide how to reorganise and shorten the presentation. Divide writing
tasks among sub-groups of one or two persons.
3. Discuss your findings in relation to each other, to the objectives and to other literature,
and write the chapter Discussion. Then list the major conclusions in relation to possible
recommendations.
4. Develop at the same time the introductory chapters (background and statement of the
problem, including new literature, objectives and methodology), adapting what you prepared
for the proposal.
5. Finally, develop the summary following the outline given earlier in this module. Take
at least half a day for this, working systematically.
6. Keep track of progress in writing and typing, making notes on the flipchart that has the
outline of your report.
7. Go over the first draft with the group as a whole checking it for gaps, overlaps, etc.
before the second draft is prepared. Have a facilitator from another group read the
whole draft report before it is finalised.

12.5 Bibliometrics

Bibliometrics is a type of research method used in library and information science. It utilizes
quantitative analysis and statistics to describe patterns of publication within a given field or
body of literature. Researchers may use bibliometric methods of evaluation to determine the
influence of a single writer, for example, or to describe the relationship between two or more
writers or works. One common way of conducting bibliometric research is to use the Social
Science Citation Index, the Science Citation Index or the Arts and Humanities Citation Index
to trace citations.

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