Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Designing A Research Project Related To Daily Life
Designing A Research Project Related To Daily Life
Designing A Research Project Related To Daily Life
DAILY LIFE
^|> INTRODUCTION ^
S ince qualitative research mostly investigates the complexities of human situations, human
behavior, social phenomena and poses inquiries about events in daily life, this kind of research is
closely tied to reality.
Unlike quantitative research, qualitative research designs do not use hypotheses. They merely
state a problem or pose questions, the answers to which are explored lengthily and deeply by way of
varied research designs like the case study, ethnography, phenomenological approach, and a host of
others.
After data have been gathered through procedures like the interview, participant observation,
focus group discussions and a lot more, data are subjected to analysis that requires categorizing of
data, coding, while at the same time, being attentive to themes that surface, which could be the
answers sought by the researcher.
Sources of research topics are likewise tied to real life experiences, and research is conducted in
the research participant’s natural setting.
In designing your research project, include the goals of your study, the theoretical frameworks,
the research questions (your guides), ethics and the methods you will use to analyse your data.
Cl
Secondary sources Constructionist TA Moderate/difficult Small/ moderate
Representation Such and GT, pattern-
based DA
as:
representations of
male and female
sexuality in women’s
magazines (Farvid &
Braun, 2006);
representations of
masculinity and the
metrosexual man in
men’s magazines
(Hall & Gough,
2011) Moderate/ difficult Small/ moderate
Secondary sources, Constructionist TA
Construction story completion task, and GT, pattern-
Such as young vignettes, interviews, based DA
people’s focus groups,
constructions of qualitative surveys,
eating disorders in a researcher- directed
story completion task diaries
(Walsh & Malson,
2010); constructions
of New Zealander’s in
accounts of sexual
health and risk
(Braun, 2008)
Language practice Discursive Difficult Small/ moderate
psychology,
Such as: how people Naturalistic data are conversations
construct, manage ideal-both mundane analysis and some
and undermine (e.g. audio recordings forms of narrative
'healthy eating’ talk in of someone’s home analysis
dinnertime telephone
conversations conversation) and
(Wiggins, 2004); how institutional (e.g.
veganism is audio or video
constructed ‘normal’ recordings of
in online discussions counseling sessions);
(Sneijder & te Molder, some secondary data
2009) sources (e.g.
broadcast media);
interviews and focus
groups also used
Braun, V.& Clarke. V. 2013. Legend:
TA-Transactional Analysis GT-Grounded Theory DA-Discourse Analysis
CHAPTER 3: LESSON 1: Designing a Researcr ^-qec Reasc 2 Oar. Je 47
Research Topics and their Sources
Research topics are as varied and numerous as the realities and complexities of daily life, on a
personal, institutional, national or global level.
3. Social Networking
The role of netizens in present-day society cannot be overemphasized. Netizens voice
their observations, opinions, even condemnation of current happenings, no- holds-barred.
Giant networks even devote a segment of their news broadcasts on what netizens say about
recent events or issues, as in the case of the first State of the Nation Address of the newly-
elected president, the deteriorating light trail transportation system, the horrific traffic
situation, and a host of others.
4. Replication
Theses and dissertations are good sources of topics. A theory used in a previous study
can still be further investigated. The thesis page showing “Recommendations for Further
Study” is a must read as well as the critical literature review. For example, in 2002, Dr. Liza
Daoanis of Centro Escolar University made a study of the surviving cultural heritage of the
Kankaneys (a group collectively called Igorots) of Dalipay, Batangan, Benguet. In 2014, Mr.
Lee Boy Villas replicated said study by studying the cultural beliefs and practices of another
group of Kankaneys, this time, those who inhabit Talingguroy, Wangal, La Trinidad, Benguet.
PRACTICAL RESEARCH 1
Cl
5. Lectures, Talks, Seminars
These are breeding grounds of ideas. Many researchers have claimed that their research topics
were offshoots of ideas heard in lectures or even during the open forum.
6. Gray Areas
These are points of interest but very little is known about them. Examples of these are: “Is
female circumcision still practiced among specific groups of people?
What is life like after the rescue of trafficked women or rape victims?
Did any of those topics interest you? If your answer is yes, you will surely come up with a
research project useful to daily life. Your interest will bring you to wider reading, pursuit of
relevant materials like pictures, videos and the like, and equally important, to people who have
knowledge or interest in your topic.
C INTRODUCTION ^
50 PRACTICAL RESEARCH 1
Techniques for Narrowing a Topic Into a Research Question
1. Examine the literature. Published articles are an excellent source of ideas for research questions.
They are usually at an appropriate level of specificity and suggest research questions that focus
on the following:
a. Replicate a previous research project exactly or with slight variations.
b. Explore unexpected findings discovered in previous research.
c. Follow suggestions an author gives for future research at the end of an article.
d. Extend an existing explanation or theory to a new topic or setting.
e. Challenge findings or attempt to refute a relationship.
f. Specify the intervening process and consider linking relations.
2. Talk over ideas with others.
a. Ask people who are knowledgeable about the topic for questions about it that they
have thought of.
b. Seek out those who hold opinions that differ from yours on the topic and discuss
possible research questions with them.
3. Apply to a specific context.
a. Focus the topic on a specific historical period or time period.
b. Narrow the topic to a specific society or geographic unit.
c. Consider which subgroups or categories of people/units are involved and whether
there are differences among them.
4. Define the aim or desired outcome of the study.
a. Will the research question be for an exploratory, explanatory, or descriptive study?
b. Will the study involve applied or basic research?
Source: Neuman, W.L. (2007).
From the examples given in the table, you can see that research titles are clearly stated, concise
or specific (just a minimum number of words,) and reflect clearly the problem statement or inquiry.
Moreover, from the titles alone, you can see that qualitative research uses objective methods that seek
to explore and describe phenomena, aspects of human behaviour, human interactions or simply events
in daily life, on a personal, organizational or societal level.
On the other hand, the quantitative research titles alone call for presentation of facts and figures,
or offer up statistical analysis of problems to be solved.
You must also have surmised from the research titles that qualitative studies can focus on only
one person, group or community. A case study focuses on one social unit in depth, by describing
different facets of the group in a natural environment.
For example, you can focus on special students enrolled in a school’s inclusion program. This
kind of study was done at Centro Escolar University’s School of Education which has an inclusion
program for college students. The title of the research was “The Services and Facilities Provided by the
CEU Inclusion Program for Students with Special Needs: An Assessment.” The research aimed to
assess the services and facilities of CEU’s Inclusion Program, as perceived by the students with special
needs and their parents, with the objective to give recommendations for the improvement of the
PRACTICAL RESEARCH 1 Inclusion Program. Said services are:
IS
1. Academic Consultation
2. Social Skills
3. Self-enhancement
4. Classroom Management
5. Parent Training
6. Student Management Team
Another service rendered by the CIP is the orientation of faculty members in whose classes the
special students are enrolled, at least two weeks before the semester starts.
The findings of the study yielded the following results: Self-enhancement skills obtained the
highest rating among the services of the CIP, while academic consultation and social skills training
were ranked lowest by the parent and student respondents.
Both the students with special needs and their parents agreed that the facilities provided by the
CIP are adequate for the needs of the students but technology and communication facilities need
improvement. Specifically, they suggested that more computers be installed, with strong internet
connection.
They further recommended that the CIP team should assign to mainstream students who are
classmates of the special students to do peer tutoring-to clarify or even re-teach lessons learned in the
classroom. They likewise recommended that the CIP team should expose the special students to
situations which would make them practice better their decision making skills.
Now, let us move on to the Senior High School track you are enrolled in.
Before you make a final decision on your topic, reflect on these questions:
1. What area/s not covered in classroom lessons/discussions do I still want to know/
. investigate in my specific track?
2. If I do this research project, how useful will it be to me as a senior high school graduate
and to the community where I belong, and even to the larger community, the Philippines,
ASEAN, and the world?
Your research project will be worth all the planning, execution of plans, resources in time,
manpower and budget if it will reflect or concretize your knowledge and skills, as well as attitudes, as a
successful senior high school graduate in your specific track, and if it will contribute to the well-being
or progress of the beneficiaries of your study:
• ABM - Accounting, Business, Mathematics
• STEM - Science, Technology, Engineering, Management
• HUMSS - Humanities and the Social Sciences
• Sports
• Technical / Vocational
• Information and Communication Technology
• Arts and Design
• Technology / Livelihood / Entrepreneurship
T he world is rapidly changing. People’s values, lifestyles and ways of doing things have drastically
changed.
Giant leaps in information and technology, climate change, inequalities, the culture of violence in
some parts of the world, among others, have been in the forefront of transformations, deterioration of
values, on a personal, national or global scale. Moreover, several experts believe that the growing
individualization of ways of living have brought to the level of “insufficient” “unmatched”, even
“irrelevant” traditional ways of doing research.
Rapid social change and the resulting diversification of life worlds are increasing, confronting
social researchers with new social contexts and perspectives. These are so new for them that their
traditional deductive methodologies-deriving research questions and hypotheses from theoretical
models and testing them against empirical evidence-are failing in the differentiation of objects. Thus,
research is now making use of inductive strategies, instead of starting from theories and testing them
(Gertz, 1983, as cited in Flick, 2002).
Simply stated, conducting qualitative research is justified because it can help solve or shed light
on problems or issues encountered day to day by individuals, organizations, communities, industries,
business, among others.
Lincoln and Guba (1985), on the other hand, cite the following factors for the soundness and
justification of qualitative studies:
PRACTICAL RESEARCH 1
A private educational institution was in the headlines for a period of time, not to
mention a main topic of broadcast talk shows, and commentaries for several days
because of the problem of bullying.
The institution commissioned a qualitative research to get at the root of bullying,
the nature of the bully and impact of the harassment and mistreatment on the bully’s
victims.
A questionnaire was first floated to get the demographic profile of the respondents
and to determine bullying behaviour and the effects of bullying on the victims.
To triangulate survey results, interviews, both structured and unstructured, were
done, as well as focus group interviews.
One of the offshoots of said research is that the bullying problem was reduced to a
minimum.
Close monitoring and caring of students by parents, school administration,
faculty, the school community, particularly, units like the Guidance and Counselling,
can put a stop to this negative behaviour of some students.
This is one instance when qualitative research found a solution to a problem in daily life, which, if
unchecked or not investigated, could have led to more serious problems.
(\INTRODUCTION ^
W henever one does research, his/her goal is to help people, groups or organizations understand
better phenomena, human behaviour, human interactions and other complex events. With this in
mind, the researcher’s formulation of research questions is of primary importance.
Throughout the research process, the researcher makes crucial decisions, particularly in the
choice of methods of data collection, and in data analysis procedures. The research questions
formulated give focus to the research, as well as guides the appropriately of decisions made by the
researcher.
If the research questions are not clearly formulated, or have no direction, so to speak, the
researcher will find himself/herself with too much data, and yet, not knowing what to do with them.
Suffice it to say that the research questions express clearly the specific direction or focus of the
research problem or inquiry. Needless to say, the research questions comprise the core of the study.
58 PRACTICAL RESEARCH 1
2. Talk over ideas with others.
a. Ask people who are knowledgeable about the topic for questions about it that they
have thought of.
b. Seek out those who hold opinions that differ from yours on the topic and discuss possible
research questions with them.
3. Relate the topic to a specific context.
a. Focus the topic on a specific historical period or time period.
b. Narrow the topic to a specific society or geographic unit.
c. Consider which subgroups or categories of people/units are involved and whether
there are differences among them.
4. Define the aim or desired outcome of the study.
a. Will the research question be for an exploratory, explanatory, or descriptive study?
b. Will the study involve applied or basic research?
Examples of Research Questions
1. On Lack of Self-confidence in Adolescents
a. What are the root causes of lack of self-confidence in adolescents?
b. What kind of behavior do adolescents who lack self-confidence manifest?
c. What can the following groups of people do to boost up the self-confidence of
adolescents?
• The parents
• The Siblings
• The Church
• The Teacher
• The Guidance Counselors
• The Peers
2. On Smoking Hazards
a. What dangers to one’s health can smoking bring about?
b. How is a non-smoker’s health affected when in the presence of people smoking?
c. What medical interventions can address the problem of smoking?
d. What psychological interventions can address the problem of smoking?
3. On the Market Success of a Garment Popular Brand
a. What are the items in a market plan?
b. What factors contribute to the successful marketability of a selected garment popular
brand?
c. Why is the buying behavior of consumers an important factor to consider in a
market plan?
d. What are the success indicators of the market plan of a selected garment popular brand?
4. Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
a. What is human immunodeficiency syndrome?
b. How do humans get this virus?
c. What are the causes of HIV?
d. What are ways of preventing this virus to affect human health?
V.
e. What caring interventions can be done to ensure the full recovery of an HIV
victim?
Concrete Research Questions Congruent with Data Collection Procedures and Data
Analysis
Research questions should be congruent with data collection procedures and data analysis.
1. Understanding and Perception:
Example: Perceptions on the impact of low grades on a student’s selfesteem.
Methods of data collection can be personal blogs or compositions and interviews.
Analytic methods are discourse analysis, conversation analysis among others.
2. Practices / Accounts of Practice:
Example: The nuptial or wedding practices of selected ethnic groups. Methods
of data collection can be qualitative surveys, interviews, observations; secondary
sources like videos, pictures, newspapers, magazines. Analytic methods can be
ascertaining patterns, themes, conversation analysis and the like.
3. Influencing Factors:
Examples: Factors that influence some women’s desire to be and to stay slim.
Factors that influence the modem young professionals’ decisions to live in’
condominiums rather than stay in their parents’ homes. Data collection for the latter
can be interviews, directed diaries, focus group discussions; for the former will be
mainly interviews and focus groups interviews also. Secondary sources can be print
and broadcast media, social networks like the Facebook. Analytic procedures can be
conversation analysis, narrative analysis, observations.
4. Construction:
Example: Accounts of parents of children with addiction problems, accounts of
single parents or of parents of special children. Also accounts of children whose
mother or father have Alzheimer’s disease. Data collection methods can be narrative
or story completion tasks, interviews, focus group discussions; secondary sources can
be print media, videos, and directed diaries. Analytic method can be conversation
analysis, discourse analysis, video analysis, and analysis of news and future articles.
5. Language Practice
Example: How people construct, manage and undermine use of language in text
messages (SMS), Facebook, and the like. Analytic procedures are discourse analysis,
interviews, analysis of posts on social networks.
It is important at this point to reiterate that qualitative research is such that somewhere in the
course of the investigation like data gathering or data analysis, new questions can crop up, so the
researcher will have to refine previous questions or add new ones in the light of new discoveries
during the research process.
Clear ideas about the nature of the research questions are also necessary for checking the
appropriateness of methodological decisions in the following respects: which methods are necessary to
answer the questions?
PRACTICAL RESEARCH 1
The Research Question in the Research Process
Flick (2002) elaborates on the formulation of the research question in the research process as
shown in the following figure:
Collection of data
dft
Evaluation and reformulationlof the specific research questions
Analysingtfie data
''' ■
(^LESSON 5^) SCOPE AND DELIMITATION OF RESEARCH (\INTRODUCTION *
A s mentioned in Lesson 2, too broad topics will lead the research nowhere.
The scope and delimitation of the study sets boundaries and parameters of the problem
inquiry and narrows down the scope of the inquiry. The scope is the domain of your research-what is
in the domain, and what is not. You need to make as clear as possible what you will be studying and
what factors are within the accepted range of your study. For example, if you are studying the ill
effects of bullying on school children, the scope could include both face-to-face bullying and cyber-
bullying in grades 6 through 8.
PRACTICAL RESEARCH 1
• organization of the administration of clients as “case”;
• organization and maintenance of a specific professional identity (for example, to be a
helper under unfavorable circumstances)
• subjective or objective manifestations of the patient’s “career”
Another example of a delimited general topic like accreditation can be any one of the following
areas of accreditation:
• Instruction
• Faculty
• Administration
• Physical Plant
• Student Services
• Library
• Philosophy and Objectives
• Community Extension
• Research
3. Title of the Study: Experiences of Reaction and Coping of Filipino Fathers and Mothers:
During and After A Natural Disaster (Casal I.J., Chingkoe, J.C., Gonzales, K.J., Tan, M.V.,
2015).
The study covers individual experiences and coping of Filipino fathers and mothers. It
will focus only on individuals who were affected by natural disasters, specifically those who
were affected by floods due to typhoons. The researcher focused only on two specific
typhoons: Ondoy and Habagat, because they believed that these typhoons had the most
significant impact on people’s lives. The severity of the impact of these typhoons was so tragic
that the research participants were able to instinctively recall information and their experiences
that happened during those events.
This research focused on the perspective of fathers and mothers. Another limitation of
this research was the area covered wherein the researchers focused only on Filipino
participants who resided in the National Capital Region (NCR) during and after the typhoons
struck.
4. Title of the Study: Personality Traits, Emotional Quotient and Resiliency Level of High
School Cyber Bullying Victims: Basis for Life Skills Session Program (Valencia, A., 2013)
This study was limited to cyber bullying victims, with ages ranging from 11 to 18 years
old and who were enrolled during the school year of 2012-2013 at the
This study was undertaken from June 2012 to March 2013. The students in this condition
were presented with different issues, but the researcher focused on theory, emotional quotient
and resiliency level. Other aspects of their personality were considered in this study. Thus, the
High School Personality Questionnaire was used as one of the instruments in this study to
identify the fourteen personality traits of the respondents. The BarOn Emotional Quotient
Inventory: Youth Version (BarOn EQ-iYV) was utilized for the respondents’ level of
emotional quotient. More so, the Resilience Scale for Adolescents was employed to determine
the respondents’ resiliency level.
Respondents of this study were victims of cyber bullying who signified to have
experienced three or more of the cyber bullying types and were given consent by their parents
to participate in the study.
PRACTICAL RESEARCH 1
LESSON 6 BENEFITS AND BENEFICIARIES OF RESEARCH
^INTRODUCTION
E ssentially, this lesson informs the reader on how the study will contribute to the well-being of a
person or progress of a group or society in general. For example, in addressing social problems
like malnutrition of children in a specific barangay or locality, in a research study, the findings can
benefit, first and foremost, the malnourished children themselves and their respective families, policy
makers like the Department of Health, Department of Education, Department of Social Welfare and
Development, practitioners (Health and Nutrition), leaders, both local and national government, as
well as NGO’s.
When you mull over who/what benefit from your study, focus on your problem which will guide
you in identifying the specific contribution of your study. The challenge of this section of the Problem
Statement is to situate the study as addressing a particular, important, or even pressing problem.
Defining the problem shapes the research study’s significance (Marshall and Rossman, 1995). For
example, a research study can focus on end of contract schemes (popularly called ENDO) practiced by
several institutions, organizations or establishments, wherein the employee’s contract is terminated
after six months of work.
Framing said study as a policy study requires that the problem be situated in national labor
policies. The researcher’s challenge is to describe how the results of the study will contribute to the
well-being of both the work force and establishment.
Qualitative studies investigating impact of certain projects, activities or programs can best
showcase benefits and beneficiaries of the study in the fields of accountancy, business, management,
science, technology, mathematics, humanities, social sciences, engineering, and other fields.
Aspects of Significance
1. Significance for Theory
In this section of the problem statement, the researcher can outline the research study’s
contribution to fundamental knowledge by describing how the study fits into the theoretical
traditions in the sciences or applied fields in ways that will be new, insightful or creative
(Marshall and Rossman, 1995). The significance statement should show how the study will
contribute to research traditions. Often, the research study identifies gaps in the literature to
which the study will contribute. If the research is an area where theory is well-developed, the
study may be a significant test or expansion of the theory. The researcher may use concepts
developed by previous researchers and formulate questions similar to those used in previous
research. Data collection, however, may be in a different setting, with different groups, and at
a different time. Thus, the results of the research will be an extension of a previous
theory.
The results of the study clearly benefited first, the elderly themselves. The results of the
study made Centro Escolar University’s School of Education-Liberal Arts- Music-Social
Work respond more effectively to the needs of the elderly, while at the same time, deepening
their values. The results of the study shed light on the community
PRACTICAL RESEARCH 1
outreach program implementation itself, aside from the relevance or meaningfulness of the current
activities being undertaken by the CEU-SELAMS COP for the elderly to improve their livings
conditions.
Likewise, the results of the study guided the management and staff of Lualhati Ng Maynila,
Boystown Complex, in dealing with and handling the situation of the elderly.
This research study also provided insights for more productive collaborative efforts among the
Social Workers, Administration, staff and volunteers for the benefit of the elderly of Lualhati Ng
Maynila.
The students, or CEU-SELAMS volunteers, benefited from this study in a way that their sense of
service, commitment and compassion was deepened through the encounters and services they did for
the elderly. The results of the study likewise served as inspiration to the faculty, and non-teaching staff
towards more involvement in the Community Outreach Program of the University.
Over-all, the results of the study became the basis for an enhanced Community Outreach
program for the elderly of Lualhati Ng Maynila.
Title of the Study: “The Surviving Cultural Heritage of the Kankeneys of Benguet: Basis of a
Proposed Program for Cultural Preservation and Development (Daonis, 2002).
The beneficiaries of the study were clearly the cultural minorities themselves, the Kankaneys,
because the study was designed to identify their needs and concerns that pertinent remedies or
programs can be done to improve on their situation.
The government (GO’s) and non-government organizations (NGO’s) were likewise benefited by
the cultural minorities benefited by the study in the sense that its findings helped them identify the
needs of the people and served as a basis for them to design an integrated, comprehensive and
attainable program for the cultural preservation and development of the respondents.
For the teachers, educators, curriculum planners, administrators and researchers, the findings of
the study facilitated the formulation of implementing guidelines in the teaching of culture in all school
levels nationwide, to acquaint them of the different cultural aspirations of the different cultures.
68
ID
with the aim of increasing food production and nutritive value of crops. Moreover, the study itself can
be used as a ‘prototype’ for developing studies of even larger and more scientifically advanced
hydroponics farming systems. It is equally important that this study emphasizes the utilization of
business as a driver to move progress in economic sectors, not as a tool to pool wealth in the smaller
fractions of the industry.
The best significant role that the study might contribute to the country as a whole is its
enlightening the government and its people in using technology to provide practical solutions to long-
term economic problems. Hence, using the study as a basis of proposing bills and/or programs that
may implement new agricultural methods and technical assistance to farmers will be a milestone in
Philippine agriculture. It is noteworthy to pursue a new age of agriculture in the country, given little or
undocumented progress in the farming sector, and hydroponics farming is one of the best available
technologies available to catalyze the advancement of farming in the nation.
r -----
PRACTICAL RESEARCH 1
LESSON 7 PRESENTATION OF WRITTEN STATEMENT OF THE
PROBLEM
^t> INTRODUCTION 1
R esearch studies generally include the following interrelated parts, with each one building on the
other: the introduction, which includes an overview of the research study, the statement of the
problem, its significance, the research questions and the scope and limitations of the research study,
the review of related literature and the research design and research methods.
Marshall and Rossman (1995) explain clearly the purposes of the problem statement or inquiry:
1. to describe the substantive focus of the research study
2. to frame it as
a. a larger theoretical policy
b. a practical problem and thereby, develop its significance
3. to pose initial research questions
4. to forecast the literature to be discussed in the second section and
5. to discuss the limitations of the study.
Let us suppose that in the course of your reading a newspaper, you come across an article that so
interested you that you decided to do a qualitative research on the problem discussed in the article.
This is a preliminary procedure which will lead you to a statement of the problem.
New York- Sammie, a shy 13-year-old from New Jersey, stepped out of the shower and pulled
on a plain gray T-shirt. She left her hair wet and decided not to apply make-up. Careful not to wake up
her family, she looked into the camera and spoke in a low whisper.
“People at my school and camp say that I’m the ugliest person they’ve ever seen, “she said,” and
that I could be the ugliest person that could ever be living.”
“Be honest and tell me if I am ugly or not,” she continued. “I can take it, but please don’t say
really mean stuff.”
She titled the video, “Am I Ugly or Pretty?” and like thousands of other young girls who have
made similar videos, uploaded it to YouTube. Several months, 72,000 views and more than 2,000
comments later, she was no less insecure about her appearance, she said in a
68
ID