Practical Research

• Research


  A systematic process geared towards working on exhaustive inquiry, investigation, or experimentation with the aim of finding new facts (knowledge) in explaining the problems associated with our day-to-day relations with our environments (social, natural, political, economics) and coming up with solutions in facing them
• Research


  • Requires you to inquire or investigate about your chosen research topic by asking questions that will make you engage yourself in top-level thinking strategies of interpreting, analyzing, synthesizing, criticizing, appreciating, or creating to enable you to discover truths about the topic
• Under the Article XIV, Section 10 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, it was mandated that "The state shall give priority to research and development, invention, and innovation..."
• Importance of research


  • Research is a vehicle for mobility and progress
  • Research is important in decision-making
  • Research is critical to lending credibility to arguments
  • Research is useful in promoting interdependence or interpersonal relationships that the world needs for solving its societal problems
• Characteristics of research


  • Empirical - based on direct experience or observation by the researcher; includes data gathering
  • Logical - based on valid procedures and principles; should be reasonable
  • Cyclical - starts with a problem and ends with a problem
  • Analytical - utilizes proven analytical procedures in gathering the data
  • Replicable - the research designs and procedures are replicated to enable the researcher to arrive at valid and conclusive results
  • Critical - exhibits careful and precise judgment
• Inquiry


  A learning process that motivates an individual to obtain knowledge or information about people, things, places, or events
• John Dewey's Theory of Connected Experiences


  • Emphasizes human experiences as basis for exploratory and reflective thinking
  • Dewey's most concise definition of experience: "Our experience is simply what we do"
  • Learners are aware of and control their learning by actively participating in reflective thinking – assessing what they know, what they need to know, and how they bridge that gap – during learning situations
• Lev Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development


  • Stresses the essence of provocation and scaffolding in learning (learning based on age/proximal level)
  • The distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem-solving under adult guidance, or in collaboration with more capable peers
• Jerome Bruner's Theory on Learner's Varied World Perceptions


  • Focuses on a person's own interpretative thinking/ getting information
• Critical Thinking


  The habit or practice of non-prejudicial and uncompromising analysis and inquiry, thinking from multiple perspectives, and adopting positions considering all available information
• Focus


  When deciding what the main issue/ problem is. The requirement of having a focus is highly encouraged so that researchers take on a topic that is highly interesting to them. This choice of pursuing interests allows the researchers to be engaged in the research process which is undoubtedly a long and strenuous one
• Sources of Knowledge


  • Experience
  • Authority
  • Deductive Reasoning
  • Inductive Reasoning
  • Scientific Approach
• Experience


  The freest source of knowledge; you can find the answers to your questions just by experience
• Authority


  People often seek knowledge from someone who has had an experience with the problem or has some other source of expertise
• Deductive Reasoning


  Introduced by Aristotle, deductive reasoning can be described as a thinking process in which a person proceeds from general to specific statements using prescribed rules of logic
• Inductive Reasoning


  An investigator should establish general conclusions based on facts gathered through direct observation from specific to general
• Scientific Approach


  Also known as the inductive-deductive method, differs from the inductive reasoning that in that it uses hypotheses
• Five Basic Sources of Researchable Problem

  • Professional Experience
  • Professional Trends
  • Public Research
  • Societal Trends
  • Existing Theory
• Professional Experience


  Daily ideas and confusions that arise from professional challenges often yield significant areas of inquiry
• Professional Trends


  Research topics can also be found or come from publications and newsletters
• Public Research


  Professional journals that are available to the public provide an overview of the important studies that are being conducted in a topic area of interest
• Societal Trends


  Observations of what's happening right now in society offer research opportunities
• Existing Theory


  An inquiry related to theory development is intended to substantiate the theory and advance its development or modify it
• Research question


  An issue, difficulty, contradiction, or knowledge gap that you want to address in your research
• Sources where a research problem can be found

  • Real Life - experiences, world problems
  • Scholarly Arena - gap in knowledge
• Guidelines for developing a good research topic

  • Check resources that are related to your topic in the library or credible online sites
  • Avoid a too specific topic that it becomes difficult for you to research it
  • Avoid topics that you do not have any knowledge of at all
  • Researchers must always consider the availability of resources
  • Avoid vague, intangible, debatable, or not easily answerable topics
  • Choose a topic that is not yet overly written on by other researchers in a field
  • Ensure that you have the necessary funds or resources to collect data over a period of time
  • Consider the resources or budget needed to analyze data or information gathered
• Research question


  Points out exactly what you want to be answered in your research and gives your research paper a clear focus
• Characteristics of a strong research question

  • Focused on a single problem or issue
  • Researchable using primary and/or secondary sources
  • Feasible to answer within the timeframe and practical constraints
  • Specific enough to answer thoroughly
  • Complex enough to develop the answer over the space of a paper or thesis
  • Relevant to your field of study and/or society more broadly
• Types of research


  • Qualitative
  • Quantitative
  • Mixed Methods
• Qualitative research


  Deals with questions of quality that pertain to characteristics or descriptions. Usually answers the questions "What" or "Why."
• Quantitative research


  A systematic and empirical investigation of observable phenomena using statistical, mathematical, or computational techniques. Usually answers the questions "How Many?" and "What is the relationship/difference between them?"
• Mixed methods research


  A type of research wherein the researcher collects both quantitative and qualitative data
• Difference between qualitative and quantitative research


  • Framework
  • Objectives
  • Type of Data
  • Flexibility in Study Design
• Qualitative research framework


  • Instruments use more flexible, repetitive style of getting and categorizing responses to questions. Use semi-structured methods such as in-depth interviews, focus groups, and participant observation
• Quantitative research framework


  • Instruments use a more rigid style of obtaining and categorizing responses to questions. Use highly structured methods such as questionnaires, surveys, and structured observation
• Qualitative research objectives


  • To describe variation, to describe and explain relationships, to describe individual experiences, to describe group norms
• Quantitative research objectives


  • To quantify variation, to predict causal relationships, to describe the characteristics of the population
• Qualitative data


  • Data are measures of 'types' and may be represented by a name, symbol, or a number code. Qualitative data are data about categorical variables (e.g. what type)
• Quantitative data


  • Data are measures of values or counts and are expressed as numbers. Quantitative data are data about numeric variables (e.g. how many; how much; or how often)
• Qualitative study design


  • Study design is iterative, that is, data collection and research questions. Participant responses affect how, and which questions researchers ask next