Bibliography

At the end page of research report, books, periodicals articles, lectures, interviews etc. we have usually seen the bibliography. So, all of us are familiar with the term ‘Bibliography.’ But it seems difficult to define the term in an exact word.

A bibliography is a serially numbered list of written sources either published or unpublished, consulted in the preparation of the report during the course of research report, books, periodical articles, lectures, interviews, etc.

The main objectives of bibliography are to permit the reader to find the exact item the researcher consulted. It may be arranged according to the alphabetical order or chapter wise. Generally a bibliography should be listed at the end page of the report. It the articles of journals bibliography are given at the end of the articles.

Review of literature means stock taking of available literature in one’s field of research. By reviewing of literature researcher get or collect the more information about his/her research problem. Scientific research process may be based on past knowledge. The previous study provides the foundation to the present study. The knowledge of previous study can be obtained by reviewing literature. Bibliography has a great significance in reviewing of literature. Bibliography provides the sources of information about the researcher’s research topic.

The following steps can be followed for composing bibliography:  

1. Refer the available encyclopedias for obtaining a information relevant to the topic. 
2. In the library, consult the card catalog and decide whether the related materials about the topics are available or not. In the library, there is the card catalog which will be the most useful. The card catalog contains three types of cards; author, title and subject. For the general search one will probably look under the subject. If the researcher receives a recommendation for a particular book from another source, then he/she should look in the card catalog under the title or author. In the subject card catalog subject’s name, author’s name, date of publication etc. specified. In the library must of the books used will be located through the card catalog.
3. Check journal indexes for related articles.

After collecting the available literature from concerned sources, the researchers have prepared 3’’*5’’ punch card of titles from which the material has reviewed. It helps the researcher to prepare the bibliography list as well as to select the material from concerned shelves of the library.

Bibliographic representation directs researcher for the first place to go for reviewing literature. It provide basis for identifying and defining the problem, and for the formulation of research hypothesis.

Objectives of Research

Objectives differ with nature of studies and goals to be attained. Some research studies aim to gather descriptive data or explanatory data or data from which theoretical constructions could be deduced or data, which promote administrative changes or comparisons. The main objectives of research are,

1. Development of Knowledge: Every science tries to collect a systematized body of knowledge about the subject matter that is studied. For this it used the research as a method. The main objective of research is to add to the knowledge. Similarly business research is an organized and scientific effort to acquire further knowledge.
2. Scientific Study of Social Life: Social research is an attempt to acquire scientific knowledge about the social phenomenon and social facts. The social researcher makes study of the collective process, social change, social structure, social processes etc by collecting information and formulating into rules.
3. Welfare of Humanity: Researcher should not make the study for the sake of study alone, but the study should be for the human welfare.
4. Classification of Fact: Social research aims to clarify facts. They conduct research to determine the sequences and interrelationship of facts.

Scope and Purpose of Research

Today, knowledge is the biggest asset and valuable resource of mankind. Without knowledge, we are handicapped in every sphere of our life. Knowledge can be acquired through various sources, whatever it may be; research is the prime source of knowledge generation. Research provides new evidence; it reordered old evidence and gathered new facts.

1. Exploration: The first purpose of research is to explore the reality. By exploring the reality we will be familiar with social phenomena. When any research is conducted, exploration is the part, which brings better understanding the situation. For example: if we walk through Mandala at Maitighar we saw lots of people there doing strike, then we are curious and want to find why people are dong strike at there and we ask people who are there seeing the demonstration. In this way we make our confusion clear by exploring the phenomenon. 
2. Description: Description plays a wide role in research. It adds more to our existing knowledge. It explains nature of variables involved. It shows how the variables are interrelated.
3. Explanation: Although description and explanation have similar meaning, explanation goes beyond description and it explains reason for the phenomena. Explanatory research studies the relationships between two or more variables that contained in the situation to explain the phenomenon that exists.
4. Generalization: Generalization means the application of findings from sample to a large population. It can be happened when one could find the relationship between variables, how they involved in the situation.
5. Prediction: The aim of research will not end after formulating, generalizing. The purpose of research is also to predict the situation. The prediction in business research, medical research, etc plays a vital role.
6. Theory Building: The purpose of conducting research is to generate more knowledge and understanding the situation that occurs and to build the theories based on the research result. Such theories become the foundation for further study of the situation. So, the process of building on existing knowledge is the genesis of theory building.

Research Hypothesis

In common term, a hypothesis is a mere assumption or some supposition to be proved or disproved. But in a research process a hypothesis is a format question that the researcher intends to resolve.

Every research is carried out to develop some theory, to prove or disprove some facts. To do these things the researchers make assumption or presumption about the facts. This assumption or presumption is known as the research hypothesis. The whole research process is carried out to test the research hypothesis. A hypothesis helps the researcher in proceeding further or finding solution of the problem which researcher wants to study.

The logical relationship between two or more variables in the form of testable statements is known as hypothesis. When the relationship is tested by some scientific methods, it is termed as research hypothesis. The research hypothesis is a predictive statement that relates an independent variable to a dependent variable. Usually a research hypothesis must contain at least one independent and one dependent variable that are assumed but not to be tested, are not termed as research hypothesis.

Research hypothesis is the backbone of the research process. There is no any readymade research hypothesis. So it should be formulated with proper care. It should be formulated on the basis of researcher’s area of interest, subject matter, availability of resources etc.

Formulation of research hypothesis

The formulation of hypothesis is an important step which must be accomplished with due care in accordance with the object and nature of problem under consideration. One difficulty that the research worker usually encounters is the formulation of research hypothesis. Some of the main difficulties or problems are given below:

• If the research problem is too general, it is usually too vague and cannot be put in the form of research hypothesis. A researcher must remember that narrower hypothesis is generally more testable.
• Personal judgments, preferences, value statements are difficult to put in a form of a research hypothesis.
• Scientific investigation is empirical. If the researcher believes something is so, he must somehow or other put his belief to a test outside himself. In practical situations many problems cannot be put in a form of research hypothesis because they are not amenable to testing.
• Some researches are concerned with the multivariate relationship of the variables. Generally in psychological, sociological and educational research, this is the case. In such case it is difficult to formulate a research hypothesis in univariate form.
• Some of the variables under study have not any relationship and most of the formulate research hypothesis are very difficult or impossible.
• Research is carried out to develop some theory or to verify some existing facts but in some case the researcher has not such aim. In such case it is worthless to formulate a research hypothesis.
• In some cases, time constraints also influence in formulating a research hypothesis. Researchers have an excellent hypothesis but he has not a sufficient time to test it, then it becomes meaningless.
• Research hypothesis should be such which is accepted easily in society. It should not be such which rules out the rules and norms of the society.