Lesson Contents
- What is Research?
- Types of Research
- Differentiating the types of research
- Strengths and weaknesses of the type of research
- How is research conducted
What is Research?
It is a process of systematic inquiry that entails collection, documentation, analysis, and interpretation of data, in accordance with the standards and methods set by different fields (Hampshire College, n.d.)
- Process
- It is the activities undertaken to carry out the research.
- The research processes include the ways in which appropriate information is located, collected, analyzed, and selected from, for example, libraries, onlune sites, print and electronic media, and individuals.
- Inquiry
- It is an approach to learning that involves a process of exploring the the natural or material world, and that leads to asking questions, making discoveries, and testing those discoveries in the search for new understanding.
- Research Data
- It is any information that has been collected, observed, generated, or, created to validate original research findings.
- Although usually digital, research data also includes non-digital formats such as laboratory notebooks and diaries.
It is the creation of new knowledge or the use of existing knowledge in order to create or discover new concepts (Western Sydney University, 2020).
Types of Research
- Qualitative Research
- This type of research focuses on subjective qualities which are not numerically, statistically, or mathematiucally measurable.
- Instead it looks into experiences, stories, and narrations.
- The data is usually collected through interviews, document analysis and/or focused group discussions.
- Quantitative Research
- This type of research focuses on objective measurements involving statistical, numerical, or mathematical analysis of data.
- The data is usually collected through the use of polls, surveys, questionnaires, or the manipulation of data.
Example of Qualitative Research
- A study was conducted to determine the perception of college freshmen regarding the use of technology in learning and their readiness for college. The statements of these participants were collected through interviews and observations (Grundmeyer, 2012).
Differentiating Quantitative and Qualitative Research
| Type of Research | Nature | Data Collected | Data Collection |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quantitative Research | Focused on statistics, numbers, figures | Measurable Data (Statistical and Mathematical) | Surveys, Polls, Questionnaires |
| Qualitative Research | Focused on experiences, stories | Observable and non-measurable | Interviews, observations, document analysis |
Research
Systematic compilation of steps and procedures that aims to investigate, discover, solve a problem, suggest a solution, and provide answers to a specific question made by an intelligent inquiry.
Qualitative - exploratory in nature. Used to analyze some variables like reasoning, opinion, and drives.
Quantitative - used to quantify the research problem and interpreted by their numbers.
Research Importance
- It fuels the mind of an individual to ask and seek answers to all of his questions.
- It grows and influences our way of life
- Push further in technological discovery, high agricultural productions, advanced health safety, fast and efficient industries, strong economic growth, and more.
The Process of Research
- Identifying the field/ area where you want to look for a research problem (Education, Society, Politics, Biology, etc.)
- Identifying the research problem
- Establishing the research background
- Gathering relevant literature
- Identifying the appropriate research approach and methodology
- Data collection
- Data analysis
- Presentation of results and analysis
- Formulation of research conclusions and recommendations
- Publication of study
Qualitative Research
- Naturalistic inquiry
- Studying real-world situations as they unfold naturally; non-manipulative, unobtrusive, and non-controlling; openness to whatever emerges - lack of predetermined constraints on outcomes.
- Holistic perspective
- The whole phenomenon under study is understood as a complex system that is more than the sum of its parts; the focus is on complex interdependencies not meaningfully reduced to a few discrete variables and linear, cause-effect relationships.
- Inductive analysis
- Immersion in the details and specifics of the data to discover important categories, dimensions, and interrelationships; begin by exploring genuinely open questions rather than testing theoretically derived (deductive) hypotheses.
- Qualitative data
- Detailed, thick description; inquiry in depth; direct quotations capturing people’s personal perspectives and experiences.
- Personal contact and insight
- The researcher has direct contact with and gets close to the people, situation, and phenomenon under study; researcher’s personal experiences and insights are important part of the inquiry and critical to understanding the phenomenon.
- Systematic / Dynamic systems
- Attention to process; assumes change is constant and ongoing whether the focus is on an individual or an entire culture.
- Unique case orientation
- Assumes each case is special and unique; the first level of inquiry is being true to, respecting, and capturing the details of the individual cases being studied; cross-case analysis follows from and depends on the quality of individual case studies.
- Context sensitivity
- Places findings in a social, historical, and temporal context; dubious of the possibility or meaningfulness of generalization across time and space.
- Empirical/Objective/Emphatic Neutrality
- Complete objectivity is impossible; pure subjectivity undermines credibility; the researcher’s passion is understanding the world in all its complexity – not proving something, not advocating, not advancing personal agenda, but understanding; the researcher includes personal experience and empathic insight as part of the relevant data, while taking a neutral non-judgmental stance toward whatever content may emerge.
- All researchers should be objective. It should not influence the personal belief or motives of its researcher
- Not an opinion-based paper
- Design flexibility
- Open to adapting inquiry as understanding deepens and/or situations change; avoids getting locked into rigid designs that eliminate responsiveness; pursues new paths of discovery as they emerge.
- Controlled
- You are in control of selecting the topic and choosing the variables that may not be included in your research. You are the one who sets the condition of your subjects in an observation. You are the one who sets the time on how long you need to observe and gather some data in a case study.
- Employs hypothesis
- You are not allowed to give an opinion, but you are allowed to have a scientific guess. This is for the researcher to guide its investigation process and think of different variables that may affect the results of the study. The hypothesis also serves as an indicator of possible threats to the validity of the research.
Types of Qualitative Research
- Phenomenology
- It is an approach to philosophy and not specifically a method of inquiry; this has often been misunderstood.
- It is first and foremost philosophy, the approach employed to pursue a particular study should emerge from the philosophical implications inherent in the question.
- 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.
- Ethnography
- It is the direct description of a group, culture or community 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.
- Grounded Theory
- It is a development of theory directly based and grounded in the data collected by the researcher. It is a research methodology for discovering theory in a substantive area.
- Interview, observation, and documentary analysis are the data-gathering techniques for this study.
- Case Study
- It is used for a research approach with specific boundaries and can be both qualitative and quantitative. In addition, it is an entity studied as a single unit, and it has clear confines and a specific focus and is bound to context.
- 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.
- Varieties of data collection methods such as interviews, questionnaires, observations, and documentary analysis are used in a case study.
- Historical Analysis
- The examination of primary documents to make you understand the connection of past events to the present time.
- Content and Discourse Analysis
- Requires an analysis or examination of the substance or content of the mode of communication (letters, books, journals, photos, video recordings, SMS, online messages, e-mails, audio-visual materials, etc.) used by a person, group,…
Strengths of Qualitative Research
- Issues can be examined in detail and in-depth.
- Interviews are not restricted to specific questions and can be guided/redirected by the researcher in real-time.
- The research framework and direction can be quickly revised as new information emerges.
- The obtained data based on human experience is powerful and sometimes more compelling than quantitative data.
- Subtleties and complexities about the research subjects and/or topic are discovered that are often missed by more positivistic inquiries.
- Data usually are collected from a few cases or individuals so findings cannot be generalized to a larger population. Findings can however be transferable to another setting.
Weaknesses of Qualitative Research
- Research quality is heavily dependent on the individual skills of the researcher and more easily influenced by the researcher’s personal biases and idiosyncrasies.
- Rigor is more difficult to maintain, assess, and demonstrate.
- The volume of data makes analysis and interpretation time-consuming.
- Issues of anonymity and confidentiality can bring/result to problems when presenting findings
- Findings can be more difficult and time-consuming to characterize in a visual way.