2.1 Research Methodology
Research Methodology
Research in simple words means a search for facts, answers to questions and solutions to problems. It is a purposive investigation. It is an “organized inquiry”. It seeks to find explanations to unexplained phenomenon, to clarify the doubtful propositions and to correct the misconceived facts. The search for facts may be made through arbitrary method or scientific method.
Arbitrary method of seeking answers to questions is based on imagination, opinion, blind belief or impression. Scientific method: this is a systematic rational approach to seeking facts. It is objective, precise and arrives at conclusions on the basis of verifiable evidences.
Types and Methods of Research
According to the intent, research may be classified as: Pure Research, Applied Research, Exploratory Research, Descriptive Research, diagnostic Research, Evaluation studies, Action Research. According to the methods of study, research may be classified as: Experimental Research, Analytical Study, Historical Research, and Survey.
Pure research: it is undertaken for the sake of knowledge without any intention to apply it in practice, e.g.: Galileo’s contribution. It is also known as basic or fundamental research. It is undertaken out of intellectual curiosity or inquisitiveness. It is not necessarily problem-oriented. It aims at extension of knowledge. It may lead to either discovery of a new theory or refinement of an existing theory.
Applied Research: It is carried on to find solution to a real-life problem, which in turn requires an action or policy decision. It is thus problem-oriented and action-directed. It seeks an immediate and practical result. E.g., marketing research carried on for developing a new market or for studying the post-purchase experience of customers.
Exploratory or Formulative research: Exploratory research is preliminary study of an unfamiliar problem about which the researcher has little or no knowledge at all. It is similar to a doctor’s initial investigation of a patient suffering from an unfamiliar malady for getting some clues for identifying it. It is ill-structured and much less focused on pre-determined objectives. It usually takes the form of a pilot study. The steps in exploration are: a review of pertinent literature, an experience survey and analysis of ‘insight stimulating’ cases.
Descriptive Research: it is a fact-finding investigation with adequate interpretation. It is one of the simplest types of research. It is more specific than an exploratory study, as it has focus on particular aspects or dimensions of the problem studied. It is designed to gather descriptive information and provides information for formulating more sophisticated studies. Data are collected by using one or more appropriate methods: observation, interviewing and mail questionnaire. All problems do not lend themselves to descriptive study.
Diagnostic Study: this is similar to descriptive study but with a different focus. It is directed towards discovering what is happening, why is it happening and what can be done about it. It aims at identifying the causes of a problem and the possible solution for it. A diagnostic study may also be concerned with discovering and testing whether certain variables are associated, e.g., Do more villagers than city-voters vote for a particular party?
Evaluation studies: it is one type of applied research. It is made for assessing the effectiveness of social or economic programmes implemented (e.g., family planning scheme) or for assessing the impact of developmental projects (e.g., irrigation project) on the development of the project area. Evaluation research is thus, directed to assess or appraise the quality and quantity of an activity and its performance, and to specify its attributes and conditions required for its success. Evaluations are of three types:
Concurrent evaluation: this is a continuous process and part takes the nature of an inspection or social audit of an on-going programme. It aims at the evaluation of the quality implementation and services as a feed back for improving the performance.
Periodic Evaluation: This is made after each distinct phase or state of a project has been completed. In the case of a medium period time-bound programme like 5 year plan, this evaluation may be done in the middle of the period and it may be called mid-term/interim evaluation.
Terminal evaluation: this is done after the completion of a programme or project (e.g., an irrigation project). This is designed to assess the extent of the achievement of its goals or objectives. It may also involve a benefit-cost analysis. In the case of a project with long-gestation period (e.g., an irrigation project), the appropriate methodology for terminal evaluation will consists of a survey-cum experimental design.
Action Research: it is a type of evaluation study. It is a concurrent evaluation study of an action programme launched for solving a problem/for improving an existing situation. In the quest for development, advancement, excellence and promotion of welfare of people, government, institutions and voluntary agencies undertake action programmes for achieving specific goals or objectives. Land reform programmes, agriculture extension programmes, social welfare programmes, human resource development programmes, managerial improvement programmes, rural development programmes, programmes for improving the quality of life in factories and offices, etc., are some examples of action programmes. The criterion of relevance for action is of critical importance in action research.
Experimental research: it is designed to assess the effects of particular variables on a phenomenon by keeping the other variables constant or controlled. It aims at determining whether and in what manner variables are related to each other. The factors, which are influenced, by other factors are called a dependent variable, and the other factor, which influence it, are known as independent variables. For example: agricultural productivity.
Analytical study or Statistical method: it is a system of procedures and techniques of analysis applied to quantitative data. It may consist of a system of mathematical models or statistical techniques applicable to numerical data. Hence, it is also known as the statistical method. This study aims at testing hypothesis and specifying and interpreting relationships. It concentrates on analyzing data in depth and examining relationships from various angles by bringing in as many relevant variables as possible in the analysis plan. This method is extensively used in business and other fields in which quantitative numerical data are generated. It is used for measuring variables, comparing groups and examining association between factors. Data may be collected from either primary sources or secondary sources.
Historical Research: it is a study of past records and other information sources with a view to reconstructing the origin and development of an institution or a movement or a system and discovering the trends in the past. It is descriptive in nature. It is a difficult task; it must often depend upon inference and logical analysis of recorded data and indirect evidences rather than upon direct observation. Its objective is to draw explanations and generalizations from the past trends to understand the present and to anticipate the future. It enables us to grasp our relationship with the past and to plan more intelligently for the future. The past contains the key to the present and the past and the present influences the future. Historical study helps us in visualizing the society as a dynamic organism and its structures and functions as evolving, steadily growing and undergoing change and transformation.
Surveys: it is a ‘fact finding’ study. It is a method of research involving collection of data directly from a population or a sample thereof at particular time. It must not be confuse with the mere clerical routine of gathering and tabulating figures. It requires expert and imaginative planning, careful analysis and rational interpretation of the findings. Data may be collected by observation, or interviewing or mailing questionnaires. It is always conducted in a natural setting; it is a field study. It seeks responses directly from the respondents. It can cover a very large population.
Case Study: it is an in-depth comprehensive study of a person, a social group, an episode, a process, a situation, a programme, a community, an institution or any other social unit. It is one of the popular types of research methods. Its purpose may be to understand the life cycle of the unit under study or the interaction between factors that explain the present status or the development over a period of time. The case study method describes a case in terms of its peculiarities. It gives us an insight into the typical or extreme cases whose unique features are not reflected by the usual statistical method. It examines complex factors involved in a given situation so as to identity causal factors operating in it. A case study aims at studying everything about something rather than something about everything as in the case of a statistical method.
Field Studies: they are scientific enquiries aimed at discovering the relations and interactions among sociological, psychological and educational variables in social institutions and actual life situations like communities, schools, factories, organizations and institutions. A social or institutional situation is selected and the relations among the attitudes, values, perceptions and behaviours of individuals and groups in the selected situation are studied. In building a science of social psychology, field studies have unique roles to play.
Methods of Data Collection
Sources of Data can be classified into primary sources and secondary sources.
Primary sources are original sources from which the researcher directly collects data that have not been previously collected, e.g., collection of data directly by the researcher on brand awareness, brand preference, brand loyalty and other aspects of consumer behavior from a sample of consumers by interviewing them. Primary data are first-hand information collected through various methods such as observation, interviewing, mailing etc.
Secondary Sources are sources containing data which have been collected and compiled for another purpose. The secondary sources consist of readily available compendia and already complied statistical statements and reports whose data may be used by researchers for their studies, e.g., census reports, statistical statements and so on.
Methods of collecting primary data
Observation: it means viewing or seeing. We go on observing something or other while we are awake. But observation in a method of data collection is different from such casual viewing. It may be defined as a systematic viewing of a specific phenomenon in its proper setting for the specific purpose of gathering data for a particular study. Observation as a method includes both seeing and hearing, it is accompanied by perceiving as well. Observation is a classical method of scientific enquiry. Observation plays a major role in formulating and testing hypothesis in social sciences. There are various types of observation like: participant observation- in this observation, the observer is a part of the phenomenon or group which is observed and he acts as both an observer and a participant.
Non- participant observation: in this method, the observer stands apart and does not participate in the phenomenon observed. Naturally, there is no emotional involvement on the part of the observer.
Direct observation: this means observation of an event personally by the observer when it takes place. This method is flexible and allows the observer to see and record subtle aspects of events and behavior as they occur. He is also free to shift places, change the focus of the observation.
Indirect Observation: this does not involve the physical presence of the observer, and the recording is done by mechanical, photographic or electronic devices, e.g. recorder, camera. It provides a permanent record for an analysis of different aspects of the event.
Controlled observation: this involves standardization of observational techniques and exercise of maximum control over extrinsic and intrinsic variables by adopting experimental design and systematically recording observations.
Uncontrolled observation: this does not involve control over extrinsic and intrinsic variables. It is primarily used for descriptive research. Participant observation is a typical uncontrolled one.
Experimentation: it’s used to study the casual relationship between variables. It aims at studying the effect of independent variables on dependent variables by keeping the other independent variable constant through some type of control.
Simulation: it is a process of conducting experiments on a symbolic model representing a phenomenon. It is applied to various categories of problems like political, economic, business and war strategies and tactics.
Interviewing: it may be defined as a two way systematic conversation between an investigator and an informant, initiated for obtaining information relevant to a specific study. It involves not only conversation, but also leaning from the respondent’s gestures, facial expressions and pauses, and his environment. Interviewing requires face-to-face contact or contact over telephone and calls for interviewing skills. It is done by using a structured schedule or an unstructured guide.
Panel Method: it is a method of data collection, by which data is collected from the same sample respondents at intervals either by mail or by personal interview. This is used for longitudinal studes on economic conditions, expenditure pattern, consumer behavior, recreational pattern, effectiveness of advertising, voting behavior and so on. The period over which the panel members are contacted for information may spread over several months or years. The time interval at which they are contacted repeatedly may be 10 or 15 days, or one or two months depending on the nature of the study and the memory span of the respondents.
Mail survey: is another method of collecting primary data. This method involves sending questionnaires to the respondents with a request to complete them and return them by post. This can be used in the case of educated respondents only. The mail questionnaire should be simple so that the respondents can easily understand the questions and answer them. It should preferably contain mostly closed-end and multiple-choice questions so that it could be completed within a few minutes. The distinctive feature of the mail survey is that the questionnaire is self-administered by the respondents themselves and the responses are recorded by them, and not by the investigator as in the case of personal interview method.
Projective techniques: it involves presentation of ambiguous stimuli to the respondents for interpretation. In doing so, the respondents reveal their inner characteristics. The stimuli may be a picture, a photograph, an ink blot or an incomplete sentence. The basic assumption of projective techniques is that a person projects his own thoughts, ideas and attributes when he perceives and responds to ambiguous or unstructured stimulus materials. Thus a person’s unconscious operations of the mind are brought to a conscious level in a disguised and projected from, and the person projects his inner characteristics.
Sociometry: is a method for discovering, describing and evaluating social status, structure, and development through measuring the extent of acceptance or rejection between individuals in groups. It is a means for studying the choice, communication and interaction patterns of individuals in a group. It is concerned with attractions and repulsions between individuals in a group. In this method, a person is asked to choose one or more persons according to specified criteria, in order to find out the person or persons with whom he will like to associate.
Content Analysis: is a research technique for making inferences by objectively and systematically identifying specified characteristics of contents of documents. This is a method of data collection and analysis. This is used for gathering data from archival records, documents, newspapers, diaries, letters, minutes of meeting and like. The content of the written materials serves as a basis of inference. The analysis is made objectively and systematically. Content analysis can be applied to available materials such as letters, diaries, newspaper articles and editorials, etc. and to materials like stories or essays especially produced for a particular research problem (Krishnaswami, 2008).
2.2 Objectives
· To study the portrayal of mental disorders or disabilities in bollywood feature films with a case study on the film- My name is Khan.
· To find out the change in attitude of the students towards a person with mental disorders due to watching these films.
· To study the new trends wherein films with mental disorders used as themes.
· To study how cinema as a medium of communication has influenced the public in spreading social awareness.
· To learn whether films portray mental disorders in a negative or positive way.
· To find out if films are an effective medium of communication of social awareness messages.
2.3 Research Design
This thesis uses quantitative collection of data as an input method.
The research took place in these six stages:
1) Selection of the topic: The topic chosen here was: Portrayal of mental disorders in bollywood films, with a special case study of the film ‘My Name is Khan’.
2) Research design planned for this study was using case study and survey method. Case study mainly included viewing of the films many times and analyzing its content.
This study is mainly descriptive research and uses a case study to get insight into the topic. For this study, both qualitative as well as quantitative method was used. This means triangulation method was used i.e. combination of both qualitative and quantitative method. The case study was done by studying the movie in-depth. Watching the film and reviewing it and analyzing it helped to understand the film and how as a medium of communication it has conveyed the message to the audience. The survey method was conducted with the help of a questionnaire. The sampling method used for this was Non-Probability sampling. The type of probability sampling used was purposive sampling method. The questionnaire was given to the students with a purpose and the purpose was to give the questionnaire to those who have watched the film ‘My Name is Khan’. The types of questions asked were close-ended questions. This means the fixed choice questions. They require the respondents to choose a response from those provided by the researcher. For e.g., whether a person has watched the movie My Name is Khan. The response options available were ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Some questions had three choices and others had multiple choice answers to choose from.
3) Planning a sample: Here the sampling method used was non-probability sampling. Sample size was 200 students in and around Mangalore.
4) Collection of Data: Data was collected with the help of a questionnaire. This questionnaire was distributed to the students of various colleges using purposive sampling method.
5) Analyzing the data: The data was analyzed with the help of pictographs. The calculation and tabulation were done manually.
6) Preparing the report: After analyzing the data, the summary of the report, was given.
The methodology used for this study is survey and case study.
Survey: It is basically a fact finding study. It is a method of research which involves collection of data directly from the population or a sample at a particular time. It requires careful analysis, expert and imaginative planning and rational interpretation of the findings. The data for this method may be collected by observation or interviewing or mailing a questionnaire. The analysis of data may be made by using simple or complex statistical techniques depending on the objective of the study. It is mainly conducted in a national setting. It seeks responses directly from the respondents. It can cover a very large population. It mostly involves extensive and intensive study. Moreover it covers a definite geographical area: a city, district, or a state.
Case Study: It is an in-depth, comprehensive study of a person, an episode, a social group, a programme, a situation, a process, a community, or an institution. Its purpose is to mainly understand the life cycle of the unit under study and interaction between factors that explain the present status or the development over a period of time. For e.g. A study of juvenile delinquency or a study of urban poor. It examines complex factors involved in a given situation so as to identify causal factors operating in it. A case study aims at studying everything about something rather than something about everything as in the case of statistical method. Case study gives a total view of a unit or a clear insight into a situation, a process in its total setting. The perspective of a case study is both qualitative and organic. It mainly gives an overall generic picture of a problem. It uses historical method, employs descriptive method where a factual method is needed, and also employs interviewing, mail questionnaire, checklist etc. Here the case study is on the film- ‘My Name is Khan’. Therefore the analysis of the movie is found in the introduction part of this study and also in the literature of review.
Questionnaire: the case study was on the film- My Name is khan, therefore to conduct a survey, questionnaires were used to collect data. This method is the most common method of data collection. They contain set of questions logically related to a problem under study. These questionnaires aim to elicit responses from the respondents. In this case, close end questions were used. Some questions had multiple choice answers.
The sources of data collection were both primary and secondary. The questionnaire method was used to conduct the survey which elicited primary data. For the analysis of the film, again, the primary data method was used, i.e.: viewing of the film. To get the in-depth picture of the study, secondary data was collected via books, articles, journals and so on.
2.4 Survey Method
To conduct the survey, questionnaire method was used to elicit primary data from the students. The sample size for the data collection was 200 students in Mangalore above the age of 18 years till 28 years and doing their graduation or post graduation course.
Questionnaire Method (17 Questions)
Sample Size: 200 students in Mangalore
Male: 91
Female: 109
UG Students: 167
PG Students: 33
2.5 Summary
Herein, the methodologies and strategies used for the collection of data have been discussed and elaborated. This chapter gives an insight into various types of methods used for data collection and types of research. It also provides information regarding the sources of data and the sample size used to accumulate the data. Moreover, a brief introduction to the type of methods used in this study has been mentioned and also the methods have been described in detail to get the overview of the methods used.
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