COM101-FINALS

• Research


  Systematic inquiry that is designed to collect, analyze, and interpret data to understand, describe, or predict phenomenon

  
• Research involves investigation through questioning
• Research is a way of discovering new knowledge, applying knowledge in various ways as well as seeing relationships of ideas, events, and situations
• Principles of research


  • Research gathers relevant information and produces novel knowledge
  • Research improves the quality of life
  • Research promotes understanding of history
  • Research contributes to one's personal and professional development

  
• Characteristics of research


  • Accuracy
  • Objectiveness
  • Timeliness
  • Relevance
  • Clarity
  • Analytical
  • Scholarly
• Qualitative research


  • The researcher is required to become a primary and keen observer
  • Offers a wide array of designs, focusing on individual experiences, societies, cultures, languages and communication, and the like
  • Largely uses inductive reasoning in analyzing qualitative data
  • Highly concerned with meanings and interpretations
• Strengths of qualitative research

  • Can be examined with greater detail and depth
  • Research instruments can be made flexible based on information that has recently surfaced
  • Research framework can be fluid
  • Results generated are largely from human experiences and observations
  • Requires a small sample size
  • An open-ended process
  • Unique and specific cases are selected and studied
  • Data collection is usually conducted on-site

  
• Limitations of qualitative research

  • Qualitative data is generally subjective and can be influenced by the researcher's biases
  • Data obtained comes from a small sample size and therefore may not be statistically represented
  • Data analysis may be time consuming
  • Acceptability of qualitative data is not always guaranteed
  • Data cannot be reproduced; if so, duplication can be difficult
  • Selection of participants can be problematic due to ethical and confidential issues
• Quantitative research


  • Based on the research problem, the researcher frames clearly defined research questions and the answers to these questions are sought objectively
  • The researcher selects a sample from a specified population from which data is aimed to be collected
  • Deals with variables that the researcher manipulates and even controls the extraneous/controlled variables that can affect the research study
  • Deals with numbers and the data is collected with the help of structured or standardized research instruments
  • High on reliability and validity
  • Results obtained can be generalized and can also be used to effectively predict results and infer causal relationships

  
• Strengths of quantitative research

  • Provides an opportunity to collect data from a larger sample and helps in conducting broader study as well as generalization of results to a larger population
  • Helps the researcher to attain reliable, valid, accurate and objective results
  • Provides an opportunity to replicate and design similar studies
  • Provides an opportunity to conduct experiment under controlled environment and thus minimizes error variance
  • Uses close ended and structured questions which provide responses free from personal biases
• Limitations of quantitative research

  • Lacks contextual details
  • Limited to statistical approach and so lacks the grounds for the process of discovery
  • The closed ended or structured questions might reflect a limited and incomplete information
  • Results might provide much narrower and sometimes superficial data set
  • Does not involve interview or in-depth perception of individuals, so it does not provide complete insight of the real world
  • Might not yield natural and original responses of individuals
• The research process


  1. Identifying the research problem

  2. Reviewing the literature

  3. Specifying a purpose for research

  4. Collecting data

  
• Research topic


  • The broad subject matter addressed in the study
  • Helps in narrowing the topic down to something that is reasonable for conducting a study
  • A general issue, concern, or controversy addressed in research that narrows the topic

  
• Considerations in choosing a research topic

  • A difficulty or deficiency to be overcome
  • A condition to be improved upon
  • A gap in knowledge that exists in scholarly literature that is to be filled
  • A theory that requires meaningful understanding
  • A body of knowledge or view held in different clime that requires validation or confirmation for local application

  
• Research title


  • The initial aim is to capture the reader's attention and to draw his or her attention to the research problem being investigated
  • A working title, a guide to the entire research study

  
• When formulating your research title

  • Indicate accurately the subject and scope of the study
  • Avoid using abbreviations
  • Use words that create a positive impression and stimulate reader interest
  • Use current nomenclature from the field of study
  • Identify key variables, both dependent and independent
  • May reveal how the paper will be organized
  • Suggest a relationship between variables which supports the major hypothesis
  • Is limited to 10 to 15 substantive words
  • Do not include "study of," "analysis of" or similar constructions
  • Titles are usually in the form of a phrase, but can also be in the form of a question
  • Use correct grammar and capitalization with all first words and last words capitalized, including the first word of a subtitle. All nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs that appear between the first and last words of the title are also capitalized

  
• Research variables


  • Measurable factors that are subjected to change due to circumstances
  • An object, event, idea, feeling, time period, or any other type of category you are trying to measure
  • Central to research because the title of a research is made up of it and it is also the focus of the study
  • Not only something to be measured, it is what a researcher can also manipulate and control for as obtainable in experimental research
  • An operationalized construct or a particular property in which the researcher is interested
• Types of research variables

  • Based on cause-and-effect
  • Based on the value taken by the variable
  • Based on scales of measurements
• Independent variable


  • The input variable, which causes a particular outcome
  • A stimulus that influences a response, an antecedent or a factor which may be modified (e.g. under experimental or other conditions) to affect an outcome
• Dependent variable


  • The outcome variable, which is caused by the independent variable
  • Relies on and can be changed by other components
• Extraneous variable


  • A variable which is either assumed or excluded from the investigation but has to be controlled because it interferes with the relationship between the dependent and independent variable
  • May affect research outcomes but have not been adequately considered in the study
• Continuous variable


  • Can be measured by scales such that the subsets or groupings are different from each or one another on the basis of quantity, degree, level or amount
  • Measurements with fractional values
• Discrete variable


  • Also known as discontinuous variable
  • Can assume only a finite number of real values within a given interval
• Categorical variable


  • Variables that cannot be quantified
  • Have a limited number of distinct values, that is, they can be classified into distinct limited categories
• Nominal variable


  • Classification of the values is based on equality or sameness or difference
  • No category can be said to be greater than or less than the other
• Ordinal variable


  • Have two or more categories but they can be ordered or ranked
  • A category can be said to be greater or less than another
• Continuous variable


  Can be measured by scales such that the subsets or groupings are different from each or one another on the basis of quantity, degree, level or amount. These are measurements with fractional values.
• Discrete variable


  Also known as discontinuous variable. It can assume only a finite number of real values within a given interval.
• Scales of measurement


  • Categorical
  • Nominal
  • Ordinal
  • Interval
  • Ratio

  
• Nominal variable


  Classification of the values is based on equality or sameness or difference. No category can be said to be greater than or less than the other.
• Ordinal variable


  Have two or more categories that can be ordered or ranked. A category can be said to be greater or less than another.
• Interval variable


  Numerical scales in which intervals have the same interpretation throughout. Employs an arbitrary zero point that does not represent complete absence of the attribute.
• Ratio variable


  The most informative scale. It is an interval scale with the additional property that its zero position indicates the absence of the quantity being measured. There is a true zero point.
• Literature review


  Involves the systematic compilation, classification, analysis, and evaluation of documents containing information related to the research problem. It is the written component of a research plan or report that discusses the reviewed documents.
• Literature review can include

  • Articles
  • Abstracts
  • Reviews
  • Monographs
  • Dissertations
  • Other research reports
  • Electronic media
• Purpose of literature review

  • To tell the story of what is known about the topic and identify the strengths and weaknesses of that knowledge, including the gaps
  • To let the world know that the researcher has a clue on what they are talking about. It provides a means to sell the research proposed. It offers an opportunity to make the argument as to why the research is important
  • To situate the current study into the broader body of scholarship. It provides an understanding of related research that has been done, the populations research has focused on, and the context of prior studies. This highlights the contribution of the proposed study.
• Literature review contains


  • Previous research on the topic
  • Background theory which is relevant to the project
  • Description and synthesis of major studies related to the topic of the research
  • Demonstration of the relationship between the current study and what else has been done in the particular area

  
• Areas to focus on when conducting a literature review

  • Background of the study
  • Focus of the study
  • Data of the study
  • Contribution of the study
• Importance of citing references

  • Allows the readers to distinguish which part of the paper is the writer's original ideas and which ones are appropriated
  • Enables the readers to countercheck the writer's ideas and to track them
  • Proves that the writer has done extensive research on relevant resource materials
• Introduction


  Contains background information that may include previous studies and current issues. It also articulates the research gap. It entails how the study would fill-in the gap and contribute to the new body of knowledge. It helps prove the relevance of the study. It also presents the rationale of the study which entails the justification for the study.