Vocabulary Words
FOUNDATION OF INQUIRY
1. Holistic
 Relating or concerned with whole or with
complete systems rather than with the
analysis of treatment.
2. Ambiguous
 Unclear; inexact
3. Marginalized
 A marginal position within a society or
group
 Insignificant; powerless; unimportant
4. Abstraction
 Obtaining ideas from a source
5. Emergent
 Arising unexpectedly
6. Essence
 Basic, indispensably quality of something
7. Comprehensive
 Including all elements or aspects of
something
8. Discourse
 Exchange of ideas
9. Rhetoric
 Persuasive speaking or writing
10. Narrative
 Something that is narrated
 Way of presenting or understanding a
situation or series of events.
Research and Inquiry
Inquiry is the process of finding answers to questions.
-It is the act of asking questions.
-basedMethod
Socrates –Socratic on the belief that understanding is constructed
in the process of people working and conversing together as
they pose and solve the problems, make discoveries and
rigorously testing the discoveries that arise in the course of
shared activity.
-Inquiry-based learning contrasts with traditional
education, which generally relies on the teacher presenting
facts and his or her knowledge about the subject.
-form of active learning that starts by posing
questions, problems or scenarios.
“Inquiry elevates your thinking power.”
GOVERNING PRINCIPLES OR - Enactive Representation (action-based)
- Iconic Representation (image-based)
1. Experiential Education - Symbolic Representation (language-based)
- proposed by John Dewey, an American -He agrees with Vygotsky that children learns through
psychologist, philosopher and education reformer
- also referred to as Instrumentalism or Pragmatism
- For Dewey, thought was the means through which
man came to understand and connect with the world around
him.
- He believed that education should be based on the
principle of learning through doing.
2. Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)
- proposed by Lev Vygotsky, a Soviet psychologist
- a major component of Social Development Theory
- For him, young children are curious and actively scaffolding, discovery learning, and spiral approach.
involved in their own learning.
- He sees the ZPD as the area where the most Nature of research
sensitive instruction or guidance should be given – allowing RESEARCH pertains to any systematic investigation
the child to develop skills they will then use on their own - of any social or natural phenomena where results and
developing higher mental functions. conclusions are aimed at contributing to generalizable
knowledge.
Requires you to inquire or investigate about your
chosen 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 many
Research becomes scientific if it satisfies two requirements.
1. It contributes to a body of science.
3. Theory of
2. It follows the scientific method.
Development
WHAT IS SCIENCE?
-proposed by Jerome Bruner, an American
It refers to a systematic and organized body of knowledge in
psychologist
any area of inquiry that is acquired using the scientific method.
-He proposed three modes of representation:
WHAT IS SCIENTIFIC METHOD?
It refers to a standardized set of techniques for building
scientific knowledge, such as how to make valid observations,
how to interpret results, and how to generalize those results.
This allows the researcher to independently and impartially
test theories and prior findings.
Purposes of Research
1. To verify existing knowledge.
2. To acquire new knowledge
2. To elevate your mental abilities by letting you think in
higher-order thinking strategies (HOTS)
3. To improve your reading and writing skills
4. To apply newly-acquired knowledge
5. To learn how to work systematically and scientifically for
the advancement of one’s expertise
6. To be familiar with the basic tools of research and the
various techniques of gathering data and of presenting research
findings
Characteristics of Research
1. ACCURACY - It must give correct and accurate data.
2. OBJECTIVITY - It must deal with facts, not with mere
opinions arising from assumptions, generalizations, bias, Characteristics
prejudice, or predictions.
3. TIMELINESS - It must work on a topic that is fresh, new, Numbers needed)
and interesting to the present society.
4. RELEVANCE - Its topic must be instrumental in improving
society or in solving problems affecting the lives of people in a
community.
5. CLARITY - It must succeed in expressing its central point
by using simple, direct, concise, and correct language.
6. SYSTEMATIC - It must take place in an organized and
orderly manner.
Characteristics of Successful Researcher
1. Curious willing to discover and learn new things
2. Efficient –proper use of time, effort and resources for an
intended purpose.
3. Logical – follow procedures
4. Effective - know how to foresee and minimize errors
5. Active – involve in all research procedures and willing to
collaborate with others
6. Practical – find ways to compensate for things needed
without compromising the output, making use of available
resources.
7. Inventive – find new and unique
8. Honest – intellectual honesty
TYPES OF RESEARCH (based on APPLICATION)
1. PURE (BASIC) RESEARCH - if it involves discovery of
new phenomena or deals with concepts and principles which
aims to increase your knowledge about something.
2. APPLIED RESEARCH - if the intention is to apply existing cooperation, coordination, mutual respect, and fairness among
knowledge to practical problems or issues, finding ways to others.
make positive
TYPES OF RESEARCH (based on PURPOSE)
1. DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH - directed at making careful
observations and detailed documentation of a phenomenon
2. CORRELATIONAL RESEARCH - directed at showing
Some Research Ethics Rules
relationships between two or more factors, called variables that
affect the research.
3. EXPLORATORY RESEARCH - conducted in new areas of
BE HONEST
inquiry, where the goals of the research are to scope out the
As researcher, we should maintain intellectual honesty in all
extent of a phenomenon, to generate some initial ideas
times especially in reporting findings in our investigation.
(“Hunches”) about a phenomenon, or to test the feasibility of
doing a more extensive study regarding the phenomenon.
BE OBJECTIVE
4. EXPLANATORY RESEARCH - directed at seeking
explanations of observed phenomenon by attempting to
Being objective means avoiding bias in research at all times.
elaborate not just the reasons behind the relationships of the
variables, but also the ways by which such relationships exist
BE A PERSON OF INTEGRITY.
We should be consistent with all our thoughts and actions. We
should act with sincerity and should be able to keep our words
TYPES OF RESEARCH (based on TYPE OF DATA
true.
1. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH - requires non-numerical
BE CARING.
data; research used words rather than numbers to inquire,
investigate, interpret and express the results
We should be after the welfare and benefit of our subjects
2. QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH - involves measurement of
especially when dealing with human participants or animal
data; research findings are expressed in numerical form
subjects.
TYPES OF RESEARCH (based on APPROACH or method)
1. INDUCTIVE RESEARCH – also called theory-building
BE OPEN.
research, the goal is to infer theoretical concepts and patterns
from observed data
Be willing to share your ideas, results, and resources. Also, be
2. DEDUCTIVE RESEARCH – also called theory-testing
willing to accept suggestions and comments for the
research, the goal is to test concepts and patterns known from
improvement of your work.
theory using
BE CAREFUL.
Definition of Ethics
ETHICS is anchored on the moral standards that we follow.
Ideas of others must be acknowledged. We should treat our
MORALITY is a set of “unwritten” rules that guides us on the
colleagues fairly and justly.
things that we should or should not do in order to attain
harmony and orderliness in any undertaking.
BE TRUSTWORTHY.
Importance of Ethics in Research
Ethics is important in research because it keeps the
We should keep confidently of all data and information
researcher from committing errors while seeking knowledge
contained in our research unless otherwise needed to be known
and truth. It promotes essential values that help researchers
by the public.
working on a topic to have a common understanding of how
things should go about.
BE RESPONSIBLE.
Since research may involve experts coming from
different fields of expertise, ethics binds them together by
Consider the legalities, rules, and regulations of an institution
considering the important values such as accountability,
or government when conducting a study. Be of help in
publishing research which aim to advance knowledge and
which could help promote social welfare, minimize harm and
risk, and maximize the benefits for the target population.
RIGHTS OF HUMAN RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS
RIGHT TO VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION.
All human participants should participate in a research study
out of his free will.
RIGHT TO INFORMED CONSENT.
All participants must know all things above the research they
will be participating in. They should be informed of all
procedures, risk, and potential benefits the research will bring
to participants.
RIGHT TO BE PROTECTED FROM HARM.
It is researcher’s responsibility to protect the participants from
any form of harm that may affect them.
RIGHT TO CONFIDENTIALITY.
All personal information about the participants shall be made
confidential and should not be brought out to the public.
RIGHT TO ANONYMITY.
The participant may choose not to disclose his or her identity
to anyone including the researchers themselves.
The Data Privacy Act of 2012
Republic Act No. 10173, also known as the “Data
Privacy Act of 2012, is an act protecting individual personal
information and communications systems in the government
and the private sector creating for this purpose a national
privacy commission, and for other purposes.
An independent body known as “National Privacy
Commission was created to administer and implement the
provisions of this act and to monitor and ensure compliance of
the country with international standard set for data protection
This act is based on standards set by the European
Parliament and at par with the Asia Pacific Economic
Cooperation (APEC) Information Privacy Framework
standards. The Data Privacy
Act of 2012 mandates the public and private
institutions to protect and preserve the integrity and
confidentiality of all personal data that they might gather, in
compliance with international data security standards.
As researchers, we are expected to follow the rules
and the proper conduct in making research. All of the ethical
considerations must be adhered to. Moral and social values are
always considered and should be given much importance.
Without following these rules of proper conduct, we
are committing scientific misconduct as researchers.
Areas of Scientific Misconduct
(1) FABRICATION AND FALSIFICATION OF DATA.
This is sometimes called as ‘cooking the data’. Here,
data are produced without actual experimentation or the data is
altered in recording.
(2) NON-PUBLICATION OF DATA.
In contrast with the first, this time, instead of making
up data that will support the hypotheses, the researcher choose
not to include the data gathered from the participants who do
not conform to the hypotheses.
(3) FAULTY DATA-GATHERING PROCEDURES.
This can be brought about by errors in measurements
or errors in the measuring instruments, like faulty measuring
equipment. This may also be cause by in appropriate treatment
of the subjects, invalid procedures and poor data recording.
(4) PLAGIARISM.
This refers to using of others as your own.
Plagiarism is an act of owning one’s ideas, work or
publication as your own. This happens very often specially in
scientific publications.
Types of Plagiarism
• Clone. An act of submitting other’s work, word- for-word, as
one’s own.
• Ctrl+C (copy-paste). A written piece that contains significant
portions of text from a single source without alterations.
• Find-Replace. The act of changing key words and phrases but
retaining the essential content of the source in a paper.
• Remix. An act of paraphrasing from other sources and
making the content fit together seamlessly.
• Recycle. The act of borrowing generously from one’s own
previous work without citation. This is called “self-
plagiarism”.
• Hybrid. This act of combining perfectly cited sources with
copied passages – without citation – in one paper.
• Mash-up. A paper that represents a mix of copied materials
from several different sources without proper citation.
• 404 Error. A written piece that includes citations to
nonexistent or inaccurate information about sources.
• Aggregator. This paper includes proper citation, but contains
almost no original work.
• Re-tweet. This paper includes proper citation, but relies too
closely on the text’s original wording and/or structure.
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
“Qualitative research is an inquiry process of understanding a
social or human problem based on building a complex holistic
picture, formed with words, reporting detailed views of
informants, and conducted in a natural setting.” – Creswell,
1994
“Qualitative research emphasizes looking into meanings,
perspectives, experiences, or processes that are not easily
quantifiable. The focus is on providing depth and detail to the
phenomenon under study, taking into consideration the context
of the study, the relational aspect between the researcher and
those being investigated, and the voice of research
participants.” – University of Southern California, 2016
POSSIBLE TOPICS FOR QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
According to Creswell (2014), qualitative study originated
from several disciplines, which include anthropology,
sociology, humanities, and evaluation.
Qualitative research may be used in various fields such as
EDUCATION, SOCIOLOGY, PSYCHOLOGY, HISTORY,
EVALUATION, MEDICINE AND HEALTHCARE, etc.
According to Jon and Lyn Lofland (Babbie, 2005), qualitative
research can be utilized best when studying the following
aspects:
1. Practices 6. Groups
2. Episodes 7. Organizations
3. Encounters 8. Settlements
4. Roles 9. Social Worlds
5. Relationships 10. Lifestyles/ Subcultures
1. PRACTICES
- Habits, customs, traditions, and behaviors such as
washing of hands, storytelling, and tattooing

2. EPISODES
- Life events or scenarios such as marriage and
sickness or societal events like revolutions or prosperity
3. ENCOUNTERS
- Meetings between or among people and their
interactions
4. ROLES
- The “positions” people take on, and the “behaviors”
associated with those positions such as in the family,
workspace, indigenous groups, etc.
5. RELATIONSHIPS
- Actions and expressions between “pairs or sets of
roles” such as mother-child, politician-constituent, and
supervisor-employee
6. GROUPS
- Sets of people sharing a common characteristic or
interest such as clubs
7. ORGANIZATIONS
- Formal organizations such as hospitals and schools
8. SETTLEMENTS
- smaller units of society like villages and
neighborhoods
9. SOCIAL WORLDS
- Ambiguous social entities with vague boundaries
and populations such as “the sports world” and “Wall Street”
10. LIFESTYLES OR SUBCULTURES
- The way of living of a certain group of people such
as the elites, marginalized groups, or those with unique
practices, such as gamers, nerds, etc.
CHARACTERISTICS OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
1. NATURAL SETTING
Qualitative research involves fieldwork, where the
actual setting of the phenomenon or reality under study is
happening. In some instances, the researcher would live in the
community for extended periods of time to fully understand
the people’s culture, see their way of life, and get a sense of
their beliefs, perspectives, and views.
2. RESEARCHER AS KEY INSTRUMENT
The researcher is the primary instrument for data
collection and analysis. Data are mediated through this human
instrument rather than through inventories, questionnaires, or
machines. The researcher’s ability to communicate and
observe makes them a central figure in qualitative research.
3. MULTIPLE SOURCES OF DATA
Doing qualitative research entails collecting data from
different sources which can be interviews, focus group
discussions, observations, document reviews, etc. Then the
researcher would come up with categories or themes that “cut
across” these data sources.
4. INDUCTIVE DATA ANALYSIS
Data analysis involves looking at the data “from the
bottom up”. The process of qualitative research is inductive in
that the researcher builds abstractions, concepts, hypotheses,
and theories from details (Merriam, 1988).
5. PARTICIPANTS’ MEANINGS
Qualitative researchers are interested in meaning –
how people make sense of their lives, experiences, and their
structures of the world. They put emphasis on the participants’
interpretations or meanings that they associate with a particular
reality or phenomenon.
6. EMERGENT DESIGN
Though qualitative research makes use of a plan, its
process can be emergent. The sequence of data collection and
its phases may change once the researcher has entered the field
or research setting.
7. REFLEXIVITY
The researcher usually would reflect on his/her
personal history, background, culture, and experiences and
how these have possibly affected and shaped his/her
interpretation of the collected data and the direction the
research has taken.
8. HOLISTIC ACCOUNT
A qualitative researcher must present a general picture
emerging from the data collected which will give a
comprehensive and complex view of the particular
phenomenon being studied. This may be done by using visual
representations like charts, tables, figures, diagrams, etc.
TYPES OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
1. PHENOMENOLOGY
It emphasizes individual experiences, beliefs, and
perceptions. It is a study wherein human experiences are
examined through the detailed descriptions of the people being
studied – a study of essences (Nagy, Biber, and Leavy, 2011).
“Not everything that counts can be counted and not everything that
2. ETHNOGRAPHY
can be counted counts.”
It means “to write about a group of people”. Early 20th
- Albert Einstein
century anthropologists Bronislaw Manilowski and Franz Boas
pioneered traditional ethnography. It is focused on studying
shared practices and belief systems of a group of people in
their natural context over a prolonged period of time.
3. INDUCTIVE THEMATIC ANALYSIS
This type of research is primarily concerned with
presenting the stories and experiences voiced by study
participants as accurately and comprehensively as possible.
Unlike in grounded theory wherein the research leads to a
theoretical model, ITA results in recommendations for
program and policy.
4. GROUNDED THEORY
Grounded theory is a set of inductive data collection
and analytic methods with the purpose of constructing theories
grounded in the data themselves.
5. CASE STUDY
According to Zainal (2007), it can be considered as a
robust research method particularly when a holistic, in-depth
investigation is required. This allows the in-depth investigation
of complex issues within a specific context, based on a small
geographical area or a very limited number of individuals as
the subjects of the study.
6. DISCOURSE AND CONVERSATION ANALYSES
These involve examination of recorded naturally
occurring language, usually of conversations between
individuals within the study population. These look at the
interaction between two or more speakers to understand how
shared meanings are socially constructed.
HOW SHOULD A RESEARCH BE STARTED? discover and introduce new strategies or techniques in solving
a problem. The word “problem” may make you worry and may
Research usually starts from the researcher’s interests, which push you to focus only on major issues around you but
may be affected by several factors: understand that “problem” may just mean a topic or area you
• Daily life experiences plans can focus on. A research problem is the main organizing
• Academic readings principle guiding the analysis of your paper.
• Personal hobbies
• Attention-catching situations / areas of concern When you decide to tackle a “problem” that will lead
• Plans you to a specific topic to focus on, the next thing to do is turn
this into an idea that will answer the question “What do I want
From these interests and factors, a broad idea of the topic is to know or understand or learn about?” Writing your research
formed. Subsequently, specific or narrow topics and questions topic as a question may help you focus your topic in a clear
emerge. and concise way.

IDENTIFYING A RESEARCH TOPIC GOOD VS. BAD RESEARCH QUESTIONS

WRITING A RESEARCH TITLE
Once interest is recognized, a particular research topic can be 1. Questions should have complex answers. The first thing that is usually seen or read is the
identified. This idea should be explored thoroughly by Avoid questions that can be answered with "yes" or "no" or a research title. Well- written research titles draw interest from
scanning and reviewing related literature through: single word or phrase. They should be clear, in the sense of the readers. Most of the time, the research gives weight and
• reading books, research articles, and other professional reputation to the research paper.
being intelligible.
publications regarding your topic of interest; In qualitative research, a researcher may start with a tentative
• asking help from experts in the field for more relevant ideas 2. Good research questions need focus. title.
and perspectives; and If a question is too general or doesn't stay on one topic, you As the study progresses, the context of the study and the
• observing things for some experiences about this interest. can fix it by deciding which part of the topic you want to manner of the research respondents are revealed. These
research. This will give you a more detailed answer - one that highlights are then included in the final title.
GUIDELINES IN CHOOSING YOUR FINAL is strong enough to be the topic of your project or paper.
RESEARCH TOPIC 3. Good questions don’t ask for opinions. NARROWING DOWN A BROAD RESEARCH
TOPIC TO A WORKING RESEARCH TITLE
An opinion or value judgment isn't a good start for a strong
• Interest in the subject matter
• Availability of information research paper. Instead, you want to create it based on data and Once topic has been identified, it has to be narrowed down to a
• Timeliness and relevance of the topic objective evidence. specific one. Researchers suggest several ways to do this:
• Limitations on the subject matter 4. Questions should be related to each other. 1. Brainstorming/Mind Mapping
• Personal resources Your questions should be linked to each other. They must 2. Inverted Pyramid
follow a logical order and usually start with “what” or “how”, 3. W-Who,What,Where,When,Why and H-How Questions
Do not get too fascinated with a topic without considering the in descriptive and exploratory research.
possible consequences that the research may bring about. For 1. BRAINSTORMING/MIND MAPPING
5. Good research questions are original.
this reason, here are some research topics to be avoided: Brainstorming, mind maps and concepts maps are
If you ask a question that's already been answered a thousand terms that are often used interchangeably. They all refer to a
• Controversial topics • Vague topics times before, you're only doing research that someone else has quick, simple technique for generating and focusing ideas and
• Highly-technical topics • Topics with unreliable sources already done. Instead, ask a question from a different making connections between concepts.
• Hard-to-investigate topics • Topics that have already been perspective or in a contemporary setting. 2. INVERTED PYRAMID
proven 6. Good research questions are SMART.
• Too broad topics • Insignificant topics
• Too narrow topics • Personal information

WHAT IS THE “PROBLEM”?

The ultimate goal of a research is not only to propose

ways of studying things, people, places, and events, but also to
3. THE 5W1H QUESTIONS
ELEMENTS OF A RESEARCH TITLE
• Aim (Purpose) answers the question “Why do I want to
conduct this study?”.
• Topic (Subject Matter) answers the question “What do I want
to study about?”.
• Place (Locale) answers the question “Where do I conduct the
study?”.
• Time (Period) answers the question “From what period will
my data come from or be collected?”.
• Population (Respondents) answers the question “From whom
will my data come from or be collected?”.
INTRODUCTION
The primary purpose of the introduction is to give the
readers an overview of what the entire study is all about. It
aims to introduce the readers to the research topic and research
problem that the study is trying to address. A well-written
introduction persuades the reader that the study is important
and interesting.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This tells your readers why the study is valuable, what
it contributes, and why the reader should devote time to
reading it. There are three basic questions to consider in
establishing the significance of the study:
1. Why is the study important?
2. What are its contributions to the specific discipline?
3. To whom will it be important?
SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
Here is where we set the parameters of the study. The
scope is where you clearly set what your study covers, its time
period, location, subjects, context, and its specific objectives.
In the limitations section of your paper, you clearly state the
limitations encountered during the research process and how
much these aspects detract you from your overall purpose.
Think of this as a humble acknowledgment of your current
capabilities and gaps.

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The primary purpose of the background is to provide
the reader with the context and explain the circumstances that
led to the study. It provides insights to the motivations and
perspectives of the researchers. This can start with a real-world
problem or situation that you want to solve or investigate.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

This is also known as the problematique. It is a formal
articulation of the specific topic which you intend to address in
your research. The specific situation, problem, or issue must be
explicitly stated in this section. This is followed by the set of
research questions.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS
These are specific and well-articulated questions that
can provide a clear sense of what the research is about and
what it wishes to achieve. This section consists of one main
question and several sub questions.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

This explains the reason why the study is conducted.
Just like the statement of the problem, it basically restates the
research problem but in declarative form. To state the research
problem, researchers use action verbs provided by the Bloom’s
Taxonomy.