Research

• Acquisition of new knowledge through:

o Purposive program of activities
o Organized ""
o Designed ""

Aims of Research
• Produce new knowledge/information
• Utilize new knowledge
• Validate existing knowledge
• Improve investigator/researcher

Characteristics
Empirical
• Direct experience/observation
Logical
• Valid procedures and principles
Cyclical
• Starts and ends w/ a problem
Analytical
• Utilizes proven analytical procedures in gathering data
Critical
• Careful and precise judgement
Methodical
• Conducted in a methodical manner
• W/out being biased
• Uses a systematic method and procedures
Replicability
• Replicated or repeated to arrive at valid and conclusive results

Process
1. Identify a research problem
2. Review the literature
3. Specify a purpose
4. Collect data
5. Analyze & Interpret Data
6. Report and Evaluate Research

Types of Research
Quantitative
• Description and explanation oriented
• Numerical based
Qualitative
• Exploratory and understanding oriented
Research Variable
• Any category that can be measured
Characteristics
o Prescriptive period/duration for start and stop
o Patterns
o Detailed
▪ Summary is thorough and profound
o May be dormancy
▪ Dormancy: time gap between measuring dependent and independent variable
• Some things do not take affect right away

Types
Dependent
• Depends on other factors that are measured
• Expected to change as result of experimental manipulation of other variables
• Presumed effect
Independent
• Stable and unaffected by other variables being measured
• Refers to a condition that is being manipulated
• Presumed cause
Intervening
• Hypothetical
• Used to explain casual links between other variables
Confounding/Extraneous
• Controls cannot explain a relationship between independent and dependent variables
• Can effect the result of the experiment if not accounted for
▪ CONSTRAINT

Introduction of the Study

1. Background
a. Problem to be addressed
2. Solution to the Problem
a. Solution provided by other studies
3. Research Gap
a. Possible solution that other studies were not able to look into
b. Our research topic
4. Research Variables
5. Purpose of the Study

Research Questions
• Questions the relationship between dependent and independent variable
Methodology
1. Research Design
a. Explains framework of methods
2. Setting and Participants
a. Where the experiment will take place
b. What samples will be used
c. How many samples will be needed
3. Data Gathering Procedure
a. Step-by-step procedure of the experiment
4. Analysis
a. Statistical treatment used for data
b. Must be best suited for the type of method used

Research Design
• Framework of research methods & techniques chosen by the researcher
Experimental
• Intervention studies/group comparison studies
• Manipulation of a variable
• Respondents are selected randomly
o They undergo a treatment to see the effect of such treatment
Correlational
• Measure the degree of association between two or more variable
• Explores the relationship between two ore more variables
• Nonexperimental

NOTE
o Manipulation of variable = EXPERIMENTAL
o Finding the certain relationship between variables = CORRELATIONAL

Survey
• Administer a survey/questionnaire to a sample
• Identify trends in:
o Attitude
o Opinions
o Behaviors
o Characteristics of a population
Grounded Theory
• General explanation
o View of participants
• Explains a:
o Process
o Action
o Interaction
• General explanation
 Ethnographic
• Describing, analyzing, interpreting a cultural group's shared patterns of:
o Behavior
o Beliefs
o Language
• Describes group within its setting
• Explores themes or issues that develop over time as group interacts
• Details a portrait of the group
• Culture
Narrative
• Describe the lives of individuals
• Collect & tell stories about their lives
• Write narratives about their experiences
Mixed Methods
Considerations:
1. Priority of each form of data (qualitative & quantitative)
2. Which form of data collected first
1. Sequential: qualitative or quantitative are collected after one another
a. Researcher explores people's beliefs & knowledge regarding nutritional
information by starting with in-store then uses an analysis of info to
develop a survey instrument.
2. Concurrent: both data types are collected at the same time
a. Researcher uses a survey to assess people's self-reported food safety
practices and also observes those practices in their natural environment.
3. How the data will be "mixed" (integrating or connecting)
4. Theory used/not used to guide the study
1. Advocacy, social science theory

Action Research
• Address improvements in the current situation
• Seek to address and solve local, practical problems
o Objective may be to:
• Empower individuals
• Transform ""
• Emancipate ""

Sampling
• Process of measuring a subset of individuals from a population
• Intend of obtaining information on a parameter of the population

Probability Sampling Techniques

• Every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected
Random Sampling
• No particular order in actual selection of samples
• Lottery, random number picking
Systematic Sampling
• Pre-selection system
• Complement the randomness of the selection process
 Stratified sampling
• Target population is divided into strata according to certain characteristics
Cluster Sampling
• Used when population is dispersed over a wide geographic region
• Groups are heterogeneous
• Select random groups

Non-Probability Sampling Techniques

• Researcher selects individuals
Convenience Sampling
• Selected sample through willingness of participant
• Unsure that sample is a representative of the population
Snowball Sampling
• Researcher asks participants to identify others to become members of the
sample

Parameters
• Fixed measure describing the whole population
o Mean, SD
Statistic
• Characteristic/measurement of a sample
o Mean, SD