CHAPTER I:

Nature of Inquiry and Research

 A. Definition
Research is a scholarly activity that consist of addressing a specific
problem through the collection, analysis, and interpretation of
data. This leads us to define research in different stages. First is to
identify the problem. Then develop a plan on how to gather
information about how to address that problem. After the plan is
well design, we implement it by collecting data. Once we have our
data recorded and well organize, we analyze, interpret it and
provide solution to the problem. This last stage is called drawing
the conclusion.
Conducting research is about systematically
finding solution to specific a problem that people
face. It includes generating solutions by using
specific scholarly steps.
 B. Importance of Research
The world has so many problems right now. And
we need to use scholarly methods to try solve some
of the problems. We can help address immediate
problems or issues in our surroundings or local
community. We can use research to propose
solution that are base on data. With research we can
make our world a better place to live.
 From scholarly perspective, we do research for the following
reason:

• To solve specific problem

• To improve the way people do things
• To test an existing theory
• To discover something new that was not known before
• To learn more about certain topic of interest
• To complete our school/program requirement
 C. Characteristics, Process, and Ethics of
Research
1. Research Characteristics:
• Empirical- It must be based on experience or observation. The experience or
observation must be intentionally done for the purposes of research. 5
• Systematic- It must follow a specific process and specific set of guidelines and
principles. This are the guidelines that we follow to collect, analyze, and
interpret data. 4
• Credible- It must make the research believe what was found in the research
study. It should be based on real facts that anyone who follows your methods or
steps can also find. It must have facts as found in the collected data 6
 C. Characteristics, Process, and Ethics of
Research
1. Research Characteristics:
• Objective – The term also refers to the research as unbiased and logical.
All findings should be based on empirical data, which as earlier mentioned
are based on real life situations. 7
• Original Work – Requires effort to get at the researcher’s own
investigation and produce the needed data. The researcher should make
sure that the study being employed and the justifications must be a
product of his/ her own and not copied from others. 8
• Focused on one specific problem- It must be focused on one
specific problem because research is there to help us solve
problems. This is true about most research conducted with
human beings. 2
• Logical-it should be based on evidence that is convincing to the
readers. Part of making logical research is to document all the
steps that we take in collecting, analyzing, and interpreting our
data. 3
• Critical/ Analytical- It must be based on careful evaluation of
data that we collect. And it should be free from error. 1
2. Research Process
• Step 1: Identify your research topic- choose a topic that you are interested in. It must be
related to you, your school, family, community, organization, or your country. From the topic,
you need to choose a specific focus of the topic.
• Step 2: Identify a specific problem- Find out what is the specific problem related to your
specific topic.
• Step 3: Write down specific research question- these question are written in third person to
help you guide your research. Usually about 3 to 5 questions. It help you address the whole
problem you plan to explore.
• Step 4: Conduct Literature Review- Take some time to read what other people written about
your topic.
• Step 5: Plan your research study- Develop a complete plan of how you will collect and analyze
your data. Explain the steps that you will take and resources you will need to collect and analyze
your data.
• Step 6: Implement your research study- You do all the steps that you planned in Step 5 to
collect your data.
• Step 7: Analyze your data- present the data that you found.
• Step 8: Interpret your data- Base on the data analysis, discuss what all this evidence means
for your topic.
• Step 9: Draw the Conclusion- You synthesize the major lessons that you learned and
solution to the problem. You also make recommendation of what people should start
doing as a result of your study and of what other research should be done to continue the
work on your topic in the future.
• Step 10:Check the quality of your research- Read the whole research paper and make sure
that;
a. It is well organized
b. Written in good English
c. It shows all the characteristic of research
d. The whole paper has effectively addressed the research problem and research
questions that you started with
e. Provide clear answers to the problem you decided to study.
3. Research Ethics
• Voluntary Participation- You must ask people to voluntarily participate in your research
study. To make sure that they are willing to voluntarily you must; a)explain what your
research is about, b)ask them to sign a document that they are voluntarily participating,
c)tell them that they Are free to stop participating in your study if they want to. 12
• Confidentiality- Inform your participant that you will keep their personal information.
Never share the private information of your research participant with anyone else. 11
• Privacy- Respect the privacy of your participant. Work with them in a place and time that
fit well for them. 10
• Accuracy- Accurate representation of your participant’s data. Be good at recording the
information that you receive. 9
• Truth- Tell the truth that is relevant to your research topic. Never misinterpret the
participants or the truth that come from the data. 13
 D. Qualities of a Good Researcher
• Curious- a good researcher is usually curious about why people
do things a certain way, why certain problem exist, and why no
solution is present about different problems of life. 14
• Effective and efficient- a good researcher works in a way that
will be easier and does not take to much time for the research
study to be completed. 15
• Creative- a good researcher finds different way to deal with
different issues that may slow down the research process. 16
• Honest- a good researcher is interested in telling the truth to complete
study. 20
• Interested in improving life- a good researcher has interest in people.
Understand the human suffering and interested in addressing the
problems of humanity. 17
• Meticulous- a good researcher pays attention to details to make sure that
carelessness does not creep in. 18
• Systematic- a good researcher has way to plan his/her research,
implement the plan, and make sure the plan works. 19
 E. Qualitative and Quantitative Research
• Definition of Quantitative Research
Quantitative research is a research concept that refers
to the type of research that relis heavely on numbers
more than any other way. It is use for understanding what
a large number of people think about a certain topic. For
instance, we aggregate people’s opinion through survey.
Characteristic of Quantitative Research
• Objectivity-The data must be objective. You cannot give your personal opinion on
things, everything must be based on the research participant.
• Use of numbers- All quantitative research must primarily and mainly use numbers. It
uses different ways that help collect data that is measurable by numbers. It is based
on statistical analysis.
• Use of quantitative data collection method- we must have a specific plan to collect
data. This tool(e.g. survey) is used mainly to collect numerical data.
• Focus on predetermined set of concepts- Focus only on one set of concepts that
you preselect to measure in your research study. This measurable concepts are called
variables.
• Definition of Qualitative Research
It is a research approach that allows the researcher to
interpret the life of people in order to understand their
problems better in order to generate solution that are
relevant to the situation. Instead of representing it in
numbers, the researcher observe the situation and hear
their personal stories.
Characteristic of Qualitative Research:
• Rich- Ability to explore problems in-depth, using multiple sources of data
and multiple perspective on the same problem.
• Open- If something is not clear when collect or analyze data, check it with
more data collection until your satisfied with the result.
• Subjective- It is not free from bias. When we observe or interview people,
we use our own background experiences and preconceived ideas to lead
our understanding.
• A great approach to deal with complex issues- we are not limited by a
specific number of variables. We can dig as deep as we want without
restriction.
 Similarities and Difference of Qualitative and Quantitative
Research
• Similarities: Help address human problems and issues. Both
require a systematic way of conducting research designs and
have specific research design. Have specific research data
collection and analysis methods. Both require critical mind and
hard work. Both require us to plan well and be organized
throughout the whole research process.
• Differences: Qualitative research is primarily about words while
quantitative is primarily about numbers. Quantitative research focuses on
predetermined variables and measurable tools while qualitative is based
on complex issues explained in more detailed way. Quantitative helps you
to generalize over a large number of people while in qualitative you can
only generalize over the setting where you conducted your research study.
In qualitative the generalization of findings is on the hands of researcher
while in quantitative, it is base on the readers of the research report.
Quantitative needs a large number of participant while qualitative can be
done with a small number.
 F. Strength and Weaknesses
• Strength of quantitative research- it captures data and reality
from a large group of people at once. It is objective and does
not support researcher’s bias. It test theories statistically and has
well-structured data.
• Weaknesses of quantitative research- it is limited by factors that
researcher can study at a time. Does not put personal experience
into consideration. It is based on truth expressed by majority;
minority opinions does not count. Hard for people not good
with statistic, it sometimes leads to erroneous result.
• Strength of qualitative research- Helps study complex issues. Base
on data from natural settings; which can reflect more closely to the
reality of the research participants. It takes into account the real
life of people by using their stories and settings. It provides
multiple perspective about the same problems from different
perspective.
• Weaknesses of qualitative research- Based on limited number of
participant. It is subjective; the researcher’s bias may affect the
data. It can be difficult because data does not follow the same
structure as quantitative research. It consume more time that
quantitative research.
 G. Type of Research Across Fields
• Library research- Library research is not even considered research in some
field. However, It is accepted as the research that you conduct by going to the
library, read materials on certain topic, and critically and systematically
synthesize what you read about that topic. In library research, you doesn’t need
to collect data from human participant. It is simple a synthesis of existing
literature.
• Basic research- sometimes called pure research. This research study that you
conduct simply to create new knowledge or testing previous theories.
• Applied research- It is a type of research that focuses on solving a specific
problem of human beings. It helps improve life and way of people do their
work.
• Field research- this research is conducted as part of program or
project implementation.
• Laboratory Research- This type of research requires you to
conduct an experiment and report the outcome of that
experiment. Usually this type of research starts by designing a
specific experiment to test something. Implement it carefully,
following the plan that you developed. In the data interpretation,
show the effect of that experiment on the people who
participate in the study.
Conclusion:
Research is an interesting scholarly activity that everyone at
school needs. It helps us solve different types of problems in
order to improve life or the way we word. There are different
types of research. There are specific characteristics that help
define the quality of a good research study. Everyone can be
trained in research. However, everyone must make an effort to
improve his/her skills.