REVIEWER IN PRACTICAL RESEARCH 1

Characteristics of Research

• Research should be systematic.

o The researcher needs to carry out a series of interrelated steps in conducting the study. Such
procedure must follow a well-planned, sequential and organized structure from beginning to
end.
• Research should be objective.
o The researcher needs to present information that are purely based on truths. It should always be
anchored on the factual basis in which the research work is founded, thus being free from any
bias or personal opinion.
• Research should be feasible.
o The researcher needs to consider the possibility and practicality of conducting the study. All
significant factors like time, budget and access to resources must be analyzed to determine if
the research can be done.
• Research should be empirical.
o The researcher needs to employ appropriate methods, either quantitatively or qualitatively, to
produce evidence-based information. They can be drawn from concrete experimentation,
direct or indirect observation, and verifiable experience
• Research should be clear.
o The researcher needs to use comprehensible language to present information and convey
explanation throughout the research process. The factors to be manipulated, measured or
described in the study, also known as variables, must be clarified using literature from published
and unpublished materials. They should be explained well from the introductory part of the
research paper to ensure a deeper understanding of the study to be conducted.

Purpose of Research
• To Explore
o Exploratory research is best utilized in pioneering studies that focus on topics that have not been
investigated before or that use new techniques in collecting and analyzing data. It allows the
researcher to become familiar with the topic, come up with new ideas, direct the research
questions, and find out how to best approach the topic under study.
• To Describe
o Another purpose of research is to describe a topic of interest or an event. The researcher dives
into the field of study and simply describes what he or she has found out about it. This is done by
painting a vivid picture of the scenario or phenomenon using detailed descriptions of what the
researcher sees, feels, hears, tastes, and smells.
• To Explain
o Another reason why people conduct research is to explain things, events, and phenomena,
discovering the answers to “why” it has become so. Such research can be utilized to support or
refute an explanation and link issues to existing theories and frameworks. These questions revolve
around events and seek to examine why these events happened.

Five (5) importance of research to our daily lives.

• 1. Research aims for truth (Rolfe 2002).
• 2. Research improves quality of human life (Bornmann 2013).
• 3. Research saves life (Cancer Research UK 2019).
• 4. Research gathers necessary information (Igwenagu 2016).
• 5. Research explores humanity (Lee, Tran, and Lee 2007).

Qualitative Research requires non-numerical data, which means that the research uses words rather than
numbers to express the results, the inquiry, or investigation about people’s thoughts, beliefs, feelings, views, and
lifestyles regarding the object of the study. These opinionated answers from people are not measurable; so
verbal language is the right way to express your findings in qualitative research.
A research gap is a topic or area of study where there is a lack of information or insufficient data to answer a
question. Research gaps can be identified in a number of ways, including when a topic is new, outdated, or
understudied.

Types of Qualitative Research

1. Caste Study - This type of qualitative research usually takes place in the field of social care, nursing,
psychology, rehabilitation centers, education, etc. This involves a long-time study of a person, group,
organization, or situation. It seeks to find answers to why such thing occurs to the subject. Finding the
reason/s behind such occurrence drives you to also delve into relationships of people related to the
case under study. Varieties of data collection methods such as interviews, questionnaires, observations,
and documentary analysis are used in a case study.
2. Ethnography - Falling in the field of anthropology, ethnography is the study of a particular cultural group
to get a clear understanding of its organizational set-up, internal operation, and lifestyle. A particular
group reveals the nature or characteristics of their own culture through the world perceptions of the
cultural group’s members.
3. Historical Analysis - Central to this qualitative research method is the examination of primary documents
to make you understand the connection of past events to the present time. The results of your content
analysis will help you specify phenomenological changes in unchanged aspects of society through the
years.
4. Phenomenology - Coming from the word “phenomenon,” which means something known through
sensory experience, phenomenology refers to the study of how people find their experiences
meaningful. Its primary goal is to make people understand their experiences about death of loved ones,
care for handicapped persons, friendliness of people, etc. In doing so, other people will likewise
understand the meanings attached to their experiences. Those engaged in assisting people to manage
their own lives properly often do this qualitative kind of research.
5. Content and Discourse Analysis - Content analysis is a method of quantitative research that requires an
analysis or examination of the substance or content of the mode of communication (letters, books,
journals, photos, video recordings, SMS, online messages, emails, audio-visual materials, etc.) used by a
person, group, organization, or any institution in communicating. A study of language structures used in
the medium of communication to discover the effects of sociological, cultural, institutional, and
ideological factors on the content makes it a discourse analysis. In studying the content or structures of
the material, you need a question or a set of questions to guide you in your analysis.
6. Grounded Theory - Grounded theory takes place when you discover a new theory to underlie your
study at the time of data collection and analysis. Through your observation on your subjects, you will
happen to find a theory that applies to your current study. Interview, observation, and documentary
analysis are the data gathering techniques for this type of qualitative research.

CONSIDERATIONS IN FORMULATING THE RESEARCH PROBLEM

External Criteria
• Novelty – This refers to the practical value of the problem due to its “newness” in the field of inquiry.
• Availability of subjects – This refers to the people with the desired capability and willingness to
participate in the study. The sample of the study participants must be representative enough to
ensure reliability and validity of the results.
• Support of the academic community - This refers to the assistance given by the members of the
institution, like the principal, teachers, staff, students, and the parents, in the gathering of data and
defraying the cost of the study. Permission of those concerned for the participation in the study of
staff members, children, the aged, and the mentally challenged should be secured.
• Availability and adequacy of facilities and equipment – Devices such as computers, and telephones
used in undertaking the study must be considered.
• Ethical considerations – These include the avoidance of research problems that pose unethical
demands on the part of the research participants.
Internal Criteria
• Experience, training, and qualifications of the researcher – These constitute the researcher’s knowledge
and expertise as a result of experience and study.
• Motivation, interest, intellectual curiosity, and perceptiveness of the researcher – These are essential
attitudes that bring anticipated satisfaction or enjoyment in the completion of research tasks.
 • Time factor – This considers the fact that studies must be pursued within a given time frame.
• Costs and returns – These factors matter in choosing a research problem. Research is an expensive
undertaking. The amount of funding needed, after all, depends on the size of the sample, the place
where the research is to be conducted, the treatment of data, and the kind of research design.
• Hazards, penalties, and handicaps – These depend upon the researcher’s physical and intellectual
capacity and moral judgment.

RESEARCH DESIGN
The research design enables the researcher to organize the components of his or her research in an orderly
and coherent manner. This will ensure that the research or study will effectively address the research topic or
problem. The research design is also a template for the collection, measurement, and analysis of data. The
research problem determines the research design that will be used in the study.

SCOPE AND DELIMITATION

While the scope of the study defines the variables that are the focus of the research, the delimitation of the
study identifies the other variables that were not considered for the study.

The scope of the study is determined primarily by the selection of variables that the research study will focus on.
Defining the scope of the research requires the careful selection of variables that will be investigated, as well as
the attributes that will define and measure these variables. The delimitation of the study describes the various
limitations that arose during the design and conduct of the study. These include the characteristics of the
research design and methodology that affected or influenced the findings of the study.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Research is a very noble undertaking if it makes significant contributions to the community or the academic
field or discipline where the researcher is affiliated with. Therefore, the significance of the study should clearly
discuss the purpose that the research will serve to society, the government, the institution, or agency
concerned, the curriculum planners and developers, and the research community.

This section describes the contribution of the study to the existing body of knowledge. It could be in the new
form of knowledge in the field, a confirmation of the major findings of other studies, verification of the validity of
findings in a different analysis of trends over time, and validation of other findings using different methodologies.
The researcher also must identify the beneficiaries who will directly gain from the results of the study. In
identifying the beneficiaries, the researcher should be specific in mentioning them in the paper. The specific
benefits must also be enumerated and explained if necessary. It is also important that the beneficiaries should
be listed according to the significance of the study’s results to them