Practical Research

• Lesson 1: NATURE OF INQUIRY
• INQUIRY is the process of asking questions. This is used to look for information by asking various questions about the thing you are curious about.
• Moreover... This is a problem-solving technique and a learning process that motivates you to obtain knowledge or information about people, things, places, or events
• INQUIRY


  1. Ask question / propose a problem

  2. Find ways to answer the question / solve the problem

  3. Arrive at an answer / solution
• INQUIRY is a problem-solving technique
• Elements of INQUIRY


  • Changing knowledge
  • Creativity
  • Subjectivity
  • Socio-cultural factors
  • Sensory experiences
  • Higher-order thinking strategies
• Foundations of INQUIRY


  • Theory on Connected Experiences for Exploratory and Reflective Thinking
  • Theory of Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)
  • Theory of Constructivism or Discovery Learning
• Theory on Connected Experiences for Exploratory and Reflective Thinking

  1. Experiential learning or learning by doing

  2. Supported by John Dewey

  3. Students learn best when they have firsthand experience about the subject matter
• Theory of Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)


  1. Proposed by Lev Vygotsky

  2. The distance between what students can do by themselves and the next learning that they can be helped to achieve with complete assistance
• Theory of Constructivism or Discovery Learning

  1. Backed by Jerome Bruner

  2. Students can discover answers / construct their own learning by making use of their schemata, prior knowledge, or experience
• BENEFITS OF INQUIRY-BASED LEARNING

  • Elevates interpretative thinking skills through graphic skills
  • Improves student learning abilities
  • Widens learner’s vocabulary
  • Facilitates problem-solving acts
  • Increases social awareness and cultural knowledge
  • Encourages cooperative learning
  • Provides mastery for procedural knowledge (knowledge in performing a task)
  • Encourages higher-order thinking strategies
  • Hastens conceptual understanding
• Research is a process of executing various mental acts for discovering and examining facts and information. It is analogous to inquiry in that both involve investigation of something through questioning
• Research does not center mainly on raising questions but also on carrying out a particular order of research stages
• Purposes of Research


  • To learn how to work independently
  • To learn how to work scientifically or systematically
  • To have an in-depth knowledge about something
  • To elevate your mental abilities by letting you think in HOTS
  • To improve your reading and writing skills
  • To be familiar with the basic tools of research and the various techniques of gathering data and of presenting research findings
  • To be free from the domination or strong influence of a single textbook, teacher’s lone viewpoint, or spoon-feeding
• Types of Research based on Purpose

  • Descriptive Research
  • Correlational Research
  • Explanatory Research
  • Exploratory Research
  • Action Research
• Types of Research based on the Data Needed

  • Approaches to Research
  • Scientific/Positive
  • Naturalistic
  • Triangulation
• Scientific/Positive approach uses numbers to express data and allows observation and control of variables. It is suitable for quantitative research
• Naturalistic approach uses words and deals with qualitative data that speak of how people behave towards their surroundings
• Triangulation is the combination of the scientific/positive and naturalistic approaches, giving the opportunity to view every angle of the research from different perspectives