Lesson 1: Nature of Research

DEFINITION OF RESEARCH:

- Systematic study of materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach new
conclusions. (Oxford English Dictionary, as cited in O’Leary 2004)
- Starts with a question and ends up with an answer
- Research is a step-by-step process of investigation that uses standardized approach in
answering questions or solving problems (Denis F. Polit and Cheryl Tatano Beck,2004)

TWO TYPES OF RESEARCH

1. Basic Research
-to gain broader understanding of a problem or phenomenon
-new ideas, concepts or theories that broaden understanding but may not be applicable in
real life
- mostly theoretical
-usually, these involve "how," "what" and "why" questions to explain occurrences.

EXAMPLES:

- The role of government in providing basic social services

- Therapeutic effects of pet ownership
- Parenting styles across different Asian cultures

2. Applied Research
- To find solutions to actual problems
- New ideas and concepts that have direct real-life application
- Obvious and immediate applications

EXAMPLES:

- The effectiveness of vaccines in preventing infectious diseases

- The effectiveness of social media advertisements in increasing sales

IMPORTANCE OF RESEARCH:

- It helps us understand the world better

- It allows us to find answers to problems
- It enables us to evaluate our answers to different problems
Lesson 2: Research Process and Ethics

CHARACTERISTICS OF RESEARCH:

o CONTROLLED- must be controlled and manipulated to understand the relationship

between two variables.
o RIGOROUS- follows a stringent procedure to find out the answer to the question that is
relevant and appropriate in nature
o SYSTEMATIC – it follows a step by step procedure to answer research questions
o VALID- the data are correct and verifiable by the researcher and eventually, by the readers
of the research work
o EMPERICAL- research must be totally based on hard evidence gathered from observations
and real-life experiences.

RESEARCH PARADIGM:

-an outline that guides researchers in conceptualizing and conducting research.

RESEARCH PROCESS:

Phase 1: Research Proposal, chapter 1-3

Phase 2: Research Activities, chapter 4

Phase 3: Written Content, chapter 5

OUTLINE OF A RESEARCH PAPER:

● Chapter 1: The Problem and Its Background

- Introduction (Background of the Study)

- Statement of the Problem

- Hypothesis of the Study

- Conceptual or Theoretical Framework

- Scope and Delimitation

- Significance of the Study

- Definition of Terms

● Chapter 2: Review of Related Literature

- RRL

- RRS

● Chapter 3: Research Methodology

- Research Design

- Respondents of the Study

- Instrument of the Study

- Validity and Reliability

- Statistical Treatment

● Chapter 4: Presentation, Analysis, and Interpretation of Data

- Presentation of Data

- Analysis

- Interpretation

- Discussion

● Chapter 5: Summary Conclusions, and Recommendations

- Summary of Findings

- Conclusions

- Recommendations
RESEARCH ETHICS:

0 Honesty

- All researchers must honestly present information on data, results, research methods and
procedures, and status of work.
- Researchers must not falsify and distort the data to deceive the public.

0 Objectivity

- Research should remove any form of bias in all stages of research.

- All observations and data collected must not be changed in any way to agree with the
wants of the researchers

0 Prudence

- Researchers must be careful in evaluating their own work.

0 Responsible Publication

- Researchers must publish their results and share it to other people for the sake of science
and the pursuit of knowledge.

0 Confidentiality

- Researchers must save and secure confidential information of anyone involved in the
research project, especially the respondents for their target samples.

0 Respect for intellectual property

- The researchers must respect patents, copyright rights, and other forms of intellectual
property. It is a criminal act for anyone to plagiarize.

0 Social Responsibility

- Researchers must conduct research studies that could be beneficial to the entire society.

0 Anti Descrimination

- Researchers must avoid discrimination against any form of social labels like sex, gender,
religion, and etc.
Lesson 3: Characteristics of Qualitative Research

Natural Inquiry

- Qualitative research is a form of natural inquiry because it focuses more on natural

settings.

CHARACTERISTICS OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH:

0 Utilizes Inductive Analysis

- a qualitative approach that allows primary research findings to be derived from the most
dominant and significant themes being observed in society.
- Specific to general
- Observation

0 Holistic Approach

- focuses on the the entirety of the system. It assumes that the whole system is better
compared to the the sum of its parts.

0 Requires Personal Immersion

- researcher is required to become part of the observed group in order to acquire more
in-depth data for the research.

0 Objective

- results of the research must not be affected by the perception or personal

experiences of the researcher.

0 Emphatic Neutrality

- researcher must be keen in observing neutrality in compiling findings from the study.

0 Flexible research design

- Researchers may continue to conduct research on new objectives or questions that

emerged during the research process.

0 Qualitative data

- refers to the detailed documentation and description of certain events or phenomenon

being observed
 STRENGHTS AND WEAKNESSES OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Strengths Weaknesses

Utilizes qualitative data that Utilize a limited number of sample sizes. The conclusion cannot be
complements quantitative data generalized to the entire population since it utilizes a limited number
of sample sizes.

Results are based on Qualitative data can be more difficult to analyze because of non-
observations in a natural uniformity in the observed data.
setting.

Detailed information to Complete neutrality to avoid bias is hard to achieve. Most of the time,
explain complex issues data can be affected by the researcher’s opinion and personal
experiences.

Can utilize multiple methods Results can be unpredictable since changes in objective can happen
for gathering data on sensitive based on the flow of the research process.
subjects

Data collection is cost Data collection is usually time consuming and labor-extensive.
efficient.
Lesson 4: Identifying a Qualitative Research Problem

Identifying the Area of Inquiry

- ability to choose a topic is an essential skill to start a good research paper

- important that you pick out a relevant and valuable topic and maximize the resources that
you have

STEPS IN IDENTIFYING THE AIRE OF INQUIRY

1. brainstorming of ideas
- concentrate on topics that interest you. It is also helpful if you focus on your field.
- Brainstorming helps you in narrowing down the topics that you are mostly interested
in and look at other perspectives that might be related to it.

2. Read, read and read

- make sure that there are resources about your topic. It gives you a preview of the possible
availability of related literature for your topic of options.
- Use keywords and concepts related to your topics and explore on different sources.

3. Make your matrix

- Look into research gaps
- Research gaps are areas of study that remain unanswered

4. Describe your topic of interest briefly

- Analyze the angle of the topic you are really interested in. Know the value of the research
topic to focus on the perspective why it is relevant. Describing your topic briefly may
give you an overview if the topic is feasible to be researched about.

5. Read again
- You must check the availability of the literature of your chosen topic as you may
encounter modification in research writing.
- It may include changing the topic itself, the variables and others as there may be too much
or too little available literature.

6. Formulate the working title

- This may change
- Focuses on the direction of you study.
- Helps determine your variables