Lesson 1 - Introduction to Research

Research
- comes from the French word “recherche” which means the act of searching closely
- combination of re- and search
- looks for new information, answers questions, solves a problem, and sheds a light on
confusing facts
- a way of thinking and asking questions
a.) examining critically the various aspects of your day-to-day professional work
b.) understanding and formulating guiding principles that govern a particular procedure
c.) developing and testing new theories that contribute to the advancement of your
practice and profession

Research questions answer the problems with factual answers based on evidence using surveys
and interviews as an instrument.

Lesson 1.2 - Scientific Method

Characteristics of Scientific Method:
- orderly and systematic processes
- based on empirical evidences
- can be generalized to more than one study
- based on assumptions and hypotheses
- conducted to develop or test hypotheses

● Empirical Approach
- direct observation and experimentation
- gathered through scientific procedures
- ignores preconceived notion and disregards feelings and opinions
● Observation
- self-awareness might result to bias
- measures using appropriate instruments to increase the veracity of information
● Inquiries
- questions should be answerable
- answers should be factual, evident, and concrete
● Hypothesis
- educated guess
- helps formulate a prediction
- must be available for analysis and interpretation
- can be proven through experimentation
● Experiments
- testing the hypothesis for accuracy and reliability of the results
 ● Analysis
- minimizes faulty conclusions
- Data - analyzed through statistical methods
- Statistics - numerical evidences
● Conclusion
- supported by meticulous analysis of data
- should avoid adding and deducting information based on opinion
● Replication
- doing the same research to a different set of participants
- to establish reliability of findings
- discover new knowledge
- know if results can be applied to other participants
● Concepts and Constructs
- ideas based on based on observations and experiences
- Concepts - general
- Constructs - particular
● Variables
- refers to anything you are trying to measure
- can be observed directly or indirectly and used for additional knowledge
- should be quantifiable

Lesson 1.2.1 - Measures of Quality in a Quantitative Research

● Validity - the extent to which a concept is accurately measured in a quantitative study.
● Reliability - consistency of research instrument results on repeated occasions.

Lesson 1.2.2 - Goals of Research

● Description
- essential information
● Prediction
- consider possibilities
- control one’s action and behavior
● Understanding / Explanation
- explain relationships or phenomena

Lesson 1.2.3 - Importance of Research

- Knowledge is established
- Phenomena is validated
- Perceptions are corrected
- Present Solutions are tested for effectivity
- Problems are solved
Lesson 2 - Qualitative VS Quantitative Research
● Qualitative Research
- provides description of characteristics, kind, and quality of a subject and
interprets it.
- narrative descriptions for in-depth interviews
- done in social studies
● Quantitative Research
- data should be quantifiable
- emphasizes objective measurement and statistical analysis
- questions have definite answers; usually answerable by yes and no or multiple
choices
- focuses on generalized numerical data
- sample size should be majority of the population

Strengths of Quantitative Research Limitations of Quantitative Data

- greater number of subjects leads to - may lack source of data
broader study - limited outcomes or responses
- objective and accurate - analysis demands a lot of time
- bias can be avoided
- can be replicated and compared to
similar works

When to use qualitative vs quantitative research:

Use qualitative research to understand Use quantitative research to confirm or test a
concepts, thoughts, and experiences. theory or hypothesis.

Lesson 2.1 - Types of Quantitative Research

● Descriptive Research
- used to observe and measure variables to investigate a phenomenon, situation, or
population
- focuses on answering how, what, when, and where questions
- common methods of collection include case studies, observations, and surveys
- Limitations:
> can’t be used for cause and effect relationships
> respondents may not be honest when answering
> the choice of wording in the questions may influence the findings
● Correlational Research
- non-experimental research method
- assesses statistical relationships between two variables
- the correlation coefficient and the probability value determines the relationship

● Causal-Comparative Research
- attempts to establish cause-effect relationships between variables
- tests how the independent variable can cause a significant effect on the dependent
variable

● Experimental Research
- also known as true experimentation
- measures the effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable
- involves conducting a set of procedures to test the hypothesis of the study
- Components:
> A comparison group of participants who are randomly selected and assigned to
experimental and control
> An independent variable, which can be referred to as the experimental variable
that can be applied to the experimental group
> A dependent variable, which can be referred to as the effect or posttest variable
that can be measured in an identical manner for all groups

● Quasi-Experimental Research
- “quasi” means partial
- the participants are not randomly assigned and are used in settings where
randomization is difficult or impossible
Lesson 3 - Quantitative Research
1. Picking a Topic
- narrowing down a topic or a researchable topic.
- looking at the different possible sources:
> General - articles, monographs, books, and other documents
> Primary - journals
> Secondary - textbooks
- give all possible topics a preliminary title, a brief description of the content, and
how the topic should be developed.
- consider the implications of your choice in finalizing a topic:
> What problem does it intend to explain?
> Is it significant enough to contribute to new knowledge in the field?
> Can data be gathered locally?
> Is the technology needed to gather data readily available?

2. Research Title
- summarizes the main idea or ideas of your study.
- should contain the fewest possible words needed to describe the content or
purpose of your research paper.
- avoid using abbreviations.
- use words that can capture the interest of the reader.
- can be in the form of a phrase or question.
- use correct grammar and capitalization.

● Chapter 1 - The Problem and Its Background

3. Introduction
- presents the background of your study.
- introduces your topic, aims, and gives an overview of your paper.
- explains why your research topic is worth studying by showing why the topic is
important.
- uses the present form of the verb.

4. Statement of the Problem

- about an area of concern or condition to be improved.
- introduces the importance of the study.
- places the problem in a particular context and provides a framework for reporting
the results.
Four General Conceptualizations of a Research Problem:
● Casuist Research Problem
- questions conduct or conscience by analyzing moral dilemmas through
application of general rules.
● Difference Research Problem
- used when researchers compare or contrast two or more phenomena.
● Descriptive Research Problem
- has the underlying purpose to describe a situation, state, or existence of a
certain phenomenon.
● Relational Research Problem
- suggests a relationship between two or more variables.

Characteristics of a Good Research Statement:

● Compelling Topic
- must be important to you and to a larger community and gives motivation to be
addressed.
● Supports Multiple Perspectives
- generates various viewpoints from a composite audience.
● Researchable
- can be supported by resources available to you.

Types of Hypothesis:
● Null Hypothesis
- proposes that no statistical significance exists between two or more variables.
● Alternative Hypothesis
- proposes that there is a relationship between two or more variables.

5. Significance of the Study

- a detailed statement that points out the advantages that will come from the results.

● Chapter 2 - Review of Related Literature

6. Review of Related Literature (RRL)
- critical analysis of available sources that are related to your study.
- not a summary.
- sources should be at least 5 years ago.
- 20 - 30 sources.
- has an introduction, body, and conclusion.
7. Citations
- acknowledging the sources of information used in the research.
- common format is (Doe, 2022)
- can be put at the beginning or the end of the statement.
- in case there is no date of publication, you can put nd, (Doe, nd)
- if two or more authors presented the same idea, they can be put together in the
citation.

8. Hypothesis
- a proposition or predictive statement about the possible outcome of a scientific
research.

● Chapter 3 - Methodology
9. Scope and Delimitation
- explains the extent to which the research will be explored.
- specifies the parameters within the operation of the study.