AIOU Solved Assignments 1 & 2 Code 5649 Spring 2019

Course: Research Methods & Techniques for Librarians-I (5649)

Level: MLIS

Semester: Spring, 2019

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ASSIGNMENT No. 1

Q.1 Define research. What are the characteristics of a good research? Discuss.

Answer:

Research is “creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge, including

knowledge of humans, culture and society, and the use of this stock of knowledge to devise new

applications.” It is used to establish or confirm facts, reaffirm the results of previous work, solve new

or existing problems, support theorems, or develop new theories. A research project may also be an

expansion on past work in the field. Research projects can be used to develop further knowledge on a

topic, or in the example of a school research project, they can be used to further a student‟s research

prowess to prepare them for future jobs or reports. To test the validity of instruments, procedures, or

experiments, research may replicate elements of prior projects or the project as a whole. The primary

purposes of basic research (as opposed to applied research) are documentation, discovery,

interpretation, or the research and development (R&D) of methods and systems for the advancement

of human knowledge. Approaches to research depend on epistemologies, which vary considerably

both within and between humanities and sciences. There are several forms of research: scientific,

humanities, artistic, economic, social, business, marketing, practitioner research, life, technological,

etc. The scientific study of research practices is known as metascience.

Definitions

Research has been defined in a number of different ways, and while there are similarities, there does

not appear to be a single, all-encompassing definition that is embraced by all who engage in it.

One definition of research is used by the OECD, “Any creative systematic activity undertaken in order

to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use of

this knowledge to devise new applications.”

Another definition of research is given by John W. Creswell, who states that “research is a process of

steps used to collect and analyze information to increase our understanding of a topic or issue”. It

consists of three steps: pose a question, collect data to answer the question, and present an answer

to the question.

The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines research in more detail as “studious inquiry or

examination; especially : investigation or experimentation aimed at the discovery and interpretation of

facts, revision of accepted theories or laws in the light of new facts, or practical application of such

new or revised theories or laws”

Empirical– Empirical research is based on observed and measured phenomena and derives

knowledge from actual experience rather than from theory or belief

Key characteristics to look for:

· Statement about the methodology being used

· Research questions to be answered

· Definition of the group or phenomena being studied

· Process used to study this group or phenomena, including any

· controls or instruments such as tests or surveys

· Ask yourself: Could I recreate this study and test these results?

· Read the abstract of the article for a description of the methodology

http://www.libraries.psu.edu/psul/researchguides/edupsych/empirical.html

Interpretive– “Interpretive studies assume that people create and associate their own subjective and

intersubjective meanings as they interact with the world around them. Interpretive researchers thus

attempt to understand phenomena through accessing the meanings participants assign to them”

(Orlikowski and Baroudi 1991)

Critical– “critical social research attempts to reveal the socio-historical specificity of knowledge and to

shed light on how particular knowledges reproduce structural relations of inequality and oppression.”

John Muncie (n.d.) Critical Research. Retrieved from http://srmo.sagepub.com/view/the-sage-

dictionary-of-social-research-methods/n38.xml

Triviality – pertains to the reasons or purpose of doing the research. Research should be done to

enhance the knowledge of the profession and should contribute value. Triviality is often generated

when the researcher fails to „observe the theoretical attitude‟ of the first standard. (Marjorie M. Brown,

pg. 261)

Aggregates – a whole formed by combining several separate

elements http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/aggregate

Hermeneutic Research – Hermeneutic research enables you to make interpretations and gain an in-

depth understanding of the researched phenomenon. Hermeneutic research emphasizes subjective

interpretations in the research of meanings of texts, art, culture, social phenomena and

thinking. https://koppa.jyu.fi/avoimet/hum/menetelmapolkuja/en/methodmap/strategies/hermeneutic-

research

· Hermeneutics focuses primarily on the meaning of qualitative data, especially textual data

· The purpose of using hermeneutics is to aid human understanding

· It helps the qualitative researcher in business and management to understand what people say

and do, and why

Michael Myers, Qualitative Research and Business Management, PowerPoint 2008, Sage

Publications Limited

Standards of Good Research

1. Commitment to a Theoretical Attitude – aim is for objectivity, researcher puts aside personal beliefs

and judgments and records what is observed with the goal of learning the truth. Truth claim is only

true or valid if it is “objectively valid”

2. Research should contribute important knowledge to the profession – research should have a

purpose that is meaningful, not just to get the degree or for personal status. Should not be trivial but

instead and important contribution.

3. Reflects recognition of guiding interest – serves to provide value to the profession through

understanding. This knowledge helps to explain the purpose of the research and to determine how

the research should be performed.

4. Researcher is knowledgeable about the subject area and other related research – ensures that the

researcher understands the subject area and has a deeper understanding of the topic which allows

for greater understanding and ability to interpret and critically analyze data.

5. Needs clear understanding of symbol systems and open to questioning and revisions – symbols

are subjective and the researcher must understand the varying knowledge and interpretations of the

people they are researching. Additionally, good research is able to withstand questioning and

criticisms.

6. Conclusions have rational logic and are supported by evidence – conclusions are drawn by the

research conducted and there is data to support the claims of the researcher

7. Responds to challenge – good research stands up to questioning and criticisms of others. A

researcher should be able to defend their research and their conclusions

8. Researcher is socially responsible and observes ethical norms – researchers are expected to meet

ethical standards of the society as they pertain to their subjects, colleagues, employers and society as

a whole. Aiou Solved Assignments code 5649 ,

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AIOU Solved Assignments 1 Code 5649 Spring 2019

Q.2 What is the current scenario of Library and Information Science (LIS) research in

Pakistan? Discuss in detail.?

Answer:

Library and information science (LIS) (sometimes given as the plural library and information sciences)

or as “library and information studies” is a merging of library science and information science. The

joint term is associated with schools of library and information science (abbreviated to “SLIS”). In the

last part of the 1960s, schools of librarianship, which generally developed from professional training

programs (not academic disciplines) to university institutions during the second half of the 20th

century, began to add the term “information science” to their names. The first school to do this was at

the University of Pittsburgh in 1964. More schools followed during the 1970s and 1980s, and by the

1990s almost all library schools in the USA had added information science to their names. Weaver

Press: Although there are exceptions, similar developments have taken place in other parts of the

world. In Denmark, for example, the „Royal School of Librarianship‟ changed its English name to The

Royal School of Library and Information Science in 1997. Exceptions include Tromsø, Norway, where

the term documentation science is the preferred name of the field, France, where information science

and communication studies form one interdiscipline, and Sweden, where the fields of Archival

science, Library science and Museology have been integrated as Archival, Library and Museum

studies.

In spite of various trends to merge the two fields, some consider the two original disciplines, library

science and information science, to be separate.[6][7] However, the tendency today is to use the

terms as synonyms or to drop the term “library” and to speak about information departments or I-

schools. There have also been attempts to revive the concept of documentation and to speak of

Library, information and documentation studies (or science).

Relations between library science, information science and LIS

Tefko Saracevic (1992, p. 13) argued that library science and information science are separate fields:

The common ground between library science and information science, which is a strong one, is in the

sharing of their social role and in their general concern with the problems of effective utilization of

graphic records. But there are also very significant differences in several critical respects, among

them in: (1) selection of problems addressed and in the way they were defined; (2) theoretical

questions asked and frameworks established;(3) the nature and degree of experimentation and

empirical development and the resulting practical knowledge/competencies derived; (4) tools and

approaches used; and (5) the nature and strength of interdisciplinary relations established and the

dependence of the progress and evolution of interdisciplinary approaches. All of these differences

warrant the conclusion that librarianship and information science are two different fields in a strong

interdisciplinary relation, rather than one and the same field, or one being a special case of the other.

Another indication of the different uses of the two terms are the indexing in UMI‟s Dissertations

Abstracts. In Dissertations Abstracts Online on November 2011 were 4888 dissertations indexed with

the descriptor LIBRARY SCIENCE and 9053 with the descriptor INFORMATION SCIENCE. For the

year 2009 the numbers were 104 LIBRARY SCIENCE and 514 INFORMATION SCIENCE. 891

dissertations were indexed with both terms (36 in 2009).

It should be considered that information science grew out of documentation science and therefore has

a tradition for considering scientific and scholarly communication, bibliographic databases, subject

knowledge and terminology etc. Library science, on the other hand has mostly concentrated on

libraries and their internal processes and best practices. It is also relevant to consider that information

science used to be done by scientists, while librarianship has been split between public libraries and

scholarly research libraries. Library schools have mainly educated librarians for public libraries and

not shown much interest in scientific communication and documentation. When information scientists

from 1964 entered library schools, they brought with them competencies in relation to information

retrieval in subject databases, including concepts such as recall and precision, boolean search

techniques, query formulation and related issues. Subject bibliographic databases and citation

indexes provided a major step forward in information dissemination – and also in the curriculum at

library schools.

Julian Warner (2010) suggests that the information and computer science tradition in information

retrieval may broadly be characterized as query transformation, with the query articulated verbally

by the user in advance of searching and then transformed by a system into a set of records. From

librarianship and indexing, on the other hand, has been an implicit stress on selection

power enabling the user to make relevant selections.

Difficulties defining LIS

“The question, „What is library and information science?‟ does not elicit responses of the same

internal conceptual coherence as similar inquiries as to the nature of other fields, e.g., „What is

chemistry?‟, „What is economics?‟, „What is medicine?‟ Each of those fields, though broad in scope,

has clear ties to basic concerns of their field. […] Neither LIS theory nor practice is perceived to be

monolithic nor unified by a common literature or set of professional skills. Occasionally, LIS scholars

(many of whom do not self-identify as members of an interreading LIS community, or prefer names

other than LIS), attempt, but are unable, to find core concepts in common. Some believe that

computing and internetworking concepts and skills underlie virtually every important aspect of LIS,

indeed see LIS as a sub-field of computer science! [Footnote III.1] Others claim that LIS is principally

a social science accompanied by practical skills such as ethnography and interviewing. Historically,

traditions of public service, bibliography, documentalism, and information science have viewed their

mission, their philosophical toolsets, and their domain of research differently. Still others deny the

existence of a greater metropolitan LIS, viewing LIS instead as a loosely organized collection of

specialized interests often unified by nothing more than their shared (and fought-over) use of the

descriptor information. Indeed, claims occasionally arise to the effect that the field even has no theory

of its own.” (Konrad, 2007, p. 652-653).

A multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary or monodisciplinary field?

The Swedish researcher Emin Tengström (1993) described cross-disciplinary research as a process,

not a state or structure. He differentiates three levels of ambition regarding cross-disciplinary

research:

The “Pluridisciplinary” or “multidisciplinarity” level

The genuine cross-disciplinary level: “interdisciplinarity”

The discipline-forming level “transdisciplinarity”

What is described here is a view of social fields as dynamic and changing. Library and information

science is viewed as a field that started as a multidisciplinary field based on literature, psychology,

sociology, management, computer science etc., which is developing towards an academic

discipline in its own right. However, the following quote seems to indicate that LIS is actually

developing in the opposite direction:

Chua & Yang (2008) studied papers published in Journal of the American Society for Information

Science and Technology in the period 1988-1997 and found, among other things: “Top authors have

grown in diversity from those being affiliated predominantly with library/information-related

departments to include those from information systems management, information technology,

business, and the humanities. Amid heterogeneous clusters of collaboration among top authors,

strongly connected crossdisciplinary coauthor pairs have become more prevalent. Correspondingly,

the distribution of top keywords‟ occurrences that leans heavily on core information science has

shifted towards other subdisciplines such as information technology and sociobehavioral science.”

A more recent study revealed that 31% of the papers published in 31 LIS journals from 2007 through

2012 were by authors in academic departments of library and information science (i.e., those offering

degree programs accredited by the American Library Association or similar professional organizations

in other countries). Faculty in departments of computer science (10%), management (10%),

communication (3%), the other social sciences (9%), and the other natural sciences (7%) were also

represented. Nearly one-quarter of the papers in the 31 journals were by practicing librarians, and 6%

were by others in non-academic (e.g., corporate) positions.

As a field with its own body of interrelated concepts, techniques, journals, and professional

associations, LIS is clearly a discipline. But by the nature of its subject matter and methods LIS is just

as clearly an interdiscipline, drawing on many adjacent fields (see below). Aiou Solved Assignments

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AIOU Solved Assignments 2 Code 5649 Spring 2019

Q.3 What is research problem? Discuss various types of research problems and its

sources.

Answer:

A research problem is a statement about an area of concern, a condition to be improved, a difficulty

to be eliminated, or a troubling question that exists in scholarly literature, in theory, or in practice that

points to the need for meaningful understanding and deliberate investigation. In some social science

disciplines the research problem is typically posed in the form of a question. A research problem does

not state how to do something, offer a vague or broad proposition, or present a value question.

Importance of…

The purpose of a problem statement is to:

1. Introduce the reader to the importance of the topic being studied. The reader is oriented to the

significance of the study and the research questions or hypotheses to follow.

2. Places the problem into a particular context that defines the parameters of what is to be

investigated.

3. Provides the framework for reporting the results and indicates what is probably necessary to

conduct the study and explain how the findings will present this information.

So What!

In the social sciences, the research problem establishes the means by which you must answer the

“So What?” question. The “So What?” question refers to a research problem surviving the relevancy

test [the quality of a measurement procedure that provides repeatability and accuracy]. Note that

answering the “So What” question requires a commitment on your part to not only show that you have

researched the material, but that you have thought about its significance.

To survive the “So What” question, problem statements should possess the following

attributes:

Clarity and precision [a well-written statement does not make sweeping generalizations and

irresponsible statements],

Identification of what would be studied, while avoiding the use of value-laden words and terms,

Identification of an overarching question and key factors or variables,

Identification of key concepts and terms,

Articulation of the study‟s boundaries or parameters,

Some generalizability in regards to applicability and bringing results into general use,

Conveyance of the study‟s importance, benefits, and justification [regardless of the type of

research, it is important to address the “so what” question by demonstrating that the research is not

trivial],

Does not have unnecessary jargon; and,

Conveyance of more than the mere gathering of descriptive data providing only a snapshot of the

issue or phenomenon under investigation.

Types of Research Problem, Theoretical, Applied & Action

There are three types of research problem

1. Theoretical research problem

2. Applied research problem

3. Action research problem

Theoretical Research Problem

It is the theoretical explanation of a research problem. It gives only theory and meaning of the

problem. It defines the problem theoretically. This type of research has no need of hypothesis and

verification.

Features

1. It is exploratory

2. It is theoretical in nature

3. It provides basic meaning

Applied Research Problem

An applied social research problem is a practical use of the theoretical knowledge. In that type the

field work and visits to the problematic situation is necessary. It has the design of hypothesis and

verification.

Features

1. It is practical in nature

2. It has exploratory hypothesis

3. It wants the verification

Action Research Problem

Action research problem is that one for which the immediate solution is required. It has millions of

problems in the world that type of research is continuous and needs quick solution in emergency

basis.

Features

1. It is welfare oriented.

2. It is service oriented.

3. It is sensitive and immediate decision required for solution. Aiou Solved Assignments code 5649

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AIOU Solved Assignments Code 5649 Spring 2019

Q.4 Write a comprehensive note on the need and worth of reviewing literature in research.

Answer:

A literature review is a text of a scholarly paper, which includes the current knowledge including

substantive findings, as well as theoretical and methodological contributions to a particular topic.

Literature reviews are secondary sources, and do not report new or original experimental work. Most

often associated with academic-oriented literature, such reviews are found in academic journals, and

are not to be confused with book reviews that may also appear in the same publication. Literature

reviews are a basis for research in nearly every academic field. A narrow-scope literature review may

be included as part of a peer-reviewed journal article presenting new research, serving to situate the

current study within the body of the relevant literature and to provide context for the reader. In such a

case, the review usually precedes the methodology and results sections of the work. Producing a

literature review may also be part of graduate and post-graduate student work, including in the

preparation of a thesis, dissertation, or a journal article. Literature reviews are also common in a

research proposal or prospectus (the document that is approved before a student formally begins a

dissertation or thesis).

Types

Literature reviews are pervasive throughout various academic disciplines, and thus you can

adopt various approaches to effectively organize and write your literature review.

The University of Southern California created a summarized list of the various types of literature

reviews, reprinted here:

Argumentative Review This form examines literature selectively in order to support or refute an

argument, deeply imbedded assumption, or philosophical problem already established in the

literature. The purpose is to develop a body of literature that establishes a contrarian viewpoint.

Given the value-laden nature of some social science research [e.g., educational reform; immigration control] , argumentative approaches to analyzing the literature can be a legitimate and important form of

discourse. However, note that they can also introduce problems of bias when they are used to to

make summary claims of the sort found in systematic reviews.

Integrative Review Considered a form of research that reviews, critiques, and synthesizes

representative literature on a topic in an integrated way such that new frameworks and

perspectives on the topic are generated. The body of literature includes all studies that address

related or identical hypotheses. A well-done integrative review meets the same standards as

primary research in regard to clarity, rigor, and replication.

Historical Review Few things rest in isolation from historical precedent. Historical reviews are

focused on examining research throughout a period of time, often starting with the first time an

issue, concept, theory, phenomena emerged in the literature, then tracing its evolution within the

scholarship of a discipline. The purpose is to place research in a historical context to show

familiarity with state-of-the-art developments and to identify the likely directions for future research.

Methodological Review A review does not always focus on what someone said [content],

but how they said it [method of analysis]. This approach provides a framework of understanding at

different levels (i.e. those of theory, substantive fields, research approaches and data collection

and analysis techniques), enables researchers to draw on a wide variety of knowledge ranging

from the conceptual level to practical documents for use in fieldwork in the areas of ontological and

epistemological consideration, quantitative and qualitative integration, sampling, interviewing, data

collection and data analysis, and helps highlight many ethical issues which we should be aware of

and consider as we go through our study.

Systematic Review This form consists of an overview of existing evidence pertinent to a clearly

formulated research question, which uses pre-specified and standardized methods to identify and

critically appraise relevant research, and to collect, report, and analyse data from the studies that

are included in the review. Typically it focuses on a very specific empirical question, often posed in

a cause-and-effect form, such as “To what extent does A contribute to B?”

Theoretical Review The purpose of this form is to concretely examine the corpus of theory that

has accumulated in regard to an issue, concept, theory, phenomena. The theoretical literature

review help establish what theories already exist, the relationships between them, to what degree

the existing theories have been investigated, and to develop new hypotheses to be tested. Often

this form is used to help establish a lack of appropriate theories or reveal that current theories are

inadequate for explaining new or emerging research problems. The unit of analysis can focus on a

theoretical concept or a whole theory or framework. Aiou Solved Assignments code 5649 ,

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AIOU Solved Assignments 1 & 2 Code 5649

Q.5 Define hypothesis and discuss its various types. Also, describe the characteristics of a

good research hypothesis.

Answer:

A hypothesis is a tentative relationship between two or more variables which direct the research

activity to test it. A hypothesis is a testable prediction which is expected to occur. It can be a false or a

true statement that is tested in the research to check its authenticity. Sometimes, it is very difficult to

start a research without having a valid foundation. Hence, the research builds a logical relationship

between various phenomena to start working on the research. This logical relationship is relevant to

the theme of the research. This logical relationship between various phenomena is called a

hypothesis. This logical relationship or testable assumption gives a direction to the research, specifies

the focus of the research and helps in framing research techniques.

For instance, a researcher, working on a topic „Discrimination against Women in a Rural Society‟, will

construct the following hypotheses:

Higher the illiteracy in a society, higher will be the discrimination against the women

Higher the patriarchy in a society, higher will be the discrimination against the women

Higher the traditional practices in a society, higher will be discrimination against the women

Similarly, a researcher working on a topic „Extent of Use of Family-Planning Practice in an area‟ will

devise the following hypothesis:

Higher the standard of education, higher will be the use of family-planning practice

Higher the availability of family-planning services, higher will be the use of family planning practice

Higher the standards of living, higher will be the use of family-planning practice.

TYPES OF HYPOTHESIS

Simple Hypothesis

A simple hypothesis is a hypothesis that reflects a relationship between two variables – independent

and dependent variable.

Examples:

Higher the unemployment, higher would be the rate of crime in society.

Lower the use of fertilizers, lower would be agricultural productivity.

Higher the poverty in a society, higher would be the rate of crimes.

Complex Hypothesis

A complex hypothesis is a hypothesis that reflects relationship among more than two variables.

Examples:

Higher the poverty, higher the illiteracy in a society, higher will be the rate of crime (three variables –

two independent variables and one dependent variable)

Lower the use of fertilizer, improved seeds and modern equipments, lower would be the agricultural

productivity (Four variable – three independent variables and one dependent variable)

Higher the illiteracy in a society, higher will be poverty and crime rate. (three variables – one

independent variable and two dependent variables)

Working Hypothesis

A hypothesis, that is accepted to put to test and work on in a research, is called a working hypothesis.

It is a hypothesis that is assumed to be suitable to explain certain facts and relationship of

phenomena. It is hoped that this hypothesis would generate a productive theory and is accepted to

put to test for investigation.

It can be any hypothesis that is processed for work during the research.

Alternative Hypothesis

If the working hypothesis is proved wrong or rejected, another hypothesis (to replace the working

hypothesis) is formulated to be tested to generate the desired results – this is known as an alternate

hypothesis. As the name mentions, it is an alternate assumption (a relationship or an explanation)

which is adopted after the working hypothesis fails to generate required theory. Alternative Hypothesis

is denoted by H1.

Null Hypothesis

A null hypothesis is a hypothesis that expresses no relationship between variables. It negates

association between variables.

Examples:

Poverty has nothing to do with the rate of crime in a society.

Illiteracy has nothing to do with the rate of unemployment in a society.

A null hypothesis has its purpose. A null hypothesis is made with an intention where the researcher

wants to disapprove, reject or nullify the null hypothesis to confirm a relationship between the

variables. A null hypothesis is usually made for a reverse strategy – to prove it wrong in order to

confirm that there is a relationship between the variables. A null hypothesis is denoted by HO.

Statistical Hypothesis

A hypothesis, that can be verified statistically, is known as a statistical hypothesis. It can be any

hypothesis that has the quality of being verified statistically. It means using quantitative techniques, to

generate statistical data, can easily verify it. It can also be said that the variables in a statistical

hypothesis can be transformed into quantifiable sub-variable to test it statistically.

Logical Hypothesis

A hypothesis, that can be verified logically, is known as a logical hypothesis. It is a hypothesis

expressing a relationship whose inter-links can be joined on the basis of logical explanation. It is can

be verified by logical evidence. Being verified logically does not necessarily mean that it cannot be

verified statistically. It may or may not be verified statistically but it can be verified logically. Aiou

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