Week 2-Tools of Research

Chapter Two
Tools of Research
Practical Research: Planning and Design, Ninth Edition © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.
Paul D. Leedy and Jeanne Ellis Ormrod 1
Research Tool vs Research
Methodology
• Research Tool: A specific mechanism or

strategy the researcher uses to collect,
manipulate, or interpret data.
• Research Methodology: The general

approach the researcher takes in
carrying out the research project.
The Six General Tools of Research
1. The library and its resources
2. The computer and its software
3. Measurement techniques
4. Statistics
5. The human mind
6. Language
The Library and Its Resources
As a Tool of Research
•The library of the quiet past
•The library of the stormy present
How to Access Information
Quickly and Efficiently
• Library Catalogs
• Indexes and Abstracts
• Reference Librarian
• Library Shelves
Principle Systems for Classification
of Knowledge
• Dewey decimal system: Classifies knowledge
according to 10 basic areas of human knowledge,
each divided decimally. The principle classification
system in public libraries and probably the most
generally accepted system worldwide.
• Library of Congress system: Classifies knowledge

by alphabetical categories. The principle
classification system used in college and university
libraries.
The Computer and Its Software As a
Tool of Research
• World Wide Web (WWW)
- Web pages
- URL (Uniform Resource Locator)
- Web browser
- Web link
• Electronic Mail
• News
- list servers
Guidelines: Getting Started on E-mail
1. Get an e-mail account on a computer system.
2. Find out how to access the system and obtain

the needed software to do so.
3. Find the e-mail addresses of people you wish

to contact.
4. Connect to the computer system that services

your e-mail account and send a short message
to a friend.
Measurement as a Tool of Research
Measurement: limiting the data of any
phenomenon—substantial or insubstantial—
so that those data may be interpreted and,
ultimately, compared to a particular
qualitative or quantitative standard.
* Substantial measurements = those things being

measured that have physical substance.
* Insubstantial measurements = exist only as concepts,

ideas, opinions, feelings, or other intangible entities.
Four Scales of Measurement:
• Nominal
• Ordinal
• Interval
• Ratio
Nominal Scale of Measurement
• Measures data by assigning names to them
• Things can be measured nominally in an infinite

number of ways
• Simplistic
• Divides data into discrete categories
• Statistical procedures = mode, percentage,

chi-square test
Ordinal Scale of Measurement
• Think in terms of symbols (>; <)
• Allows data to be rank-ordered
• Statistical procedures = median, percentile rank,

Spearman’s rank-order
correlation
Interval Scale of Measurement
• Has equal units of measurement
• Zero point established arbitrarily
• Rating scales, such as surveys, assumed to

fall on interval scales
• Statistical procedures = means, standard

deviations, Pearson
product moment
correlations
Ratio Scale of Measurement
• Characterized by equal measurement units
(similar to an interval scale)
• Has an absolute zero point (0 = total absence

of the quality being measured)
• Can express values in terms of multiples and

fractional parts
• Ratios are true ratios (ex. Yardstick)
• Relatively rare outside the physical sciences

Summary of the Four Scales of
Measurement:
• Nominal scale: One object is different from another.
• Ordinal scale: One object is bigger or better or more

of anything than another.
• Interval scale: One object is so many units (degrees,

inches) more than another.
• Ratio scale: One object is so many times as big or

bright or tall or heavy as another.
Validity and Reliability of Measurement
• Validity = the extent to which a

measurement instrument measures
what it is intended to measure.
• Reliability = the consistency with which a

measurement instrument yields a
certain result when the entity being
measured hasn’t changed.
Statistics as a Tool of Research
• Principle Functions of Statistics:
1. describe the data, and
2. draw inferences from the data
• Descriptive Statistics summarize the general

nature of the data obtained.
• Inferential Statistics help the researcher make

decisions about the data.
The Human Mind as a Tool of Research
• Critical Thinking
• Deductive Logic
• Inductive Reasoning
• The Scientific Method
• Theory Building
Critical Thinking = evaluating
arguments in terms of their
accuracy and worth. May take a
variety of forms:
- verbal reasoning
- argument analysis
- decision making
- critical analysis of prior research
Deductive Logic: begins with one
or more premises—statements or
assumptions that the researcher
initially takes to be true; valuable
for generating research hypotheses
and testing theories.
Inductive Reasoning: begins with an
observation of a specific event to draw
conclusions about entire classes of
objects or events (i.e., observe a sample
and then draw conclusions about the
population from which the sample has
been taken).
The Scientific Method: the means
whereby insight into the unknown is
sought by
1. identifying a problem that defines the goal of
one’s quest;
2. positing a hypothesis that, if confirmed,
resolves the problem;
3. gathering data relevant to the hypothesis; and
4. analyzing and interpreting the data to see
whether they support the hypothesis and
resolve the research question.
Theory Building: is based on
facts rather than naïve beliefs
and subjective impressions about
the world:
- involves thinking actively and
intentionally about the phenomena at
hand,
- yields hypotheses to be tested,
- tends to be a slow process,
- usually involves collaboration with
others.
Language as a Tool of Research
• Language enables effective thinking.
• Words enhance thinking by:

- reducing the world’s complexity,
- allowing abstraction of the environment,
- enhancing the power of thought,
- facilitating generalization and inference
drawing in new situations.
Communicating Effectively Through Writing
•Say exactly what you mean.
•Keep your primary objective in mind at all
times.
•Provide an overview of what you will be
discussing.
•Organize ideas into general and more
specific categories by using headings and
subheadings.
•Use transitional phrases, sentences, or
paragraphs to help readers follow your train
of thought.
Communicating Effectively
Through Writing, continued
• Use concrete examples to make
abstract ideas more understandable.
• Use appropriate punctuation.
• Use figures and tables for clarification.
• At the end of chapters and major
sections, summarize what you’ve said.
• Anticipate having to write multiple
drafts.

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Chapter Two

• Research Tool: A specific mechanism or

• Research Methodology: The general

2. The computer and its software

5. The human mind

•The library of the quiet past

•The library of the stormy present

• Indexes and Abstracts

• Library of Congress system: Classifies knowledge

2. Find out how to access the system and obtain

3. Find the e-mail addresses of people you wish

4. Connect to the computer system that services

* Substantial measurements = those things being

* Insubstantial measurements = exist only as concepts,

• Things can be measured nominally in an infinite

• Divides data into discrete categories

• Statistical procedures = mode, percentage,

• Think in terms of symbols (>; <)

• Allows data to be rank-ordered

• Statistical procedures = median, percentile rank,

• Zero point established arbitrarily

• Rating scales, such as surveys, assumed to

• Statistical procedures = means, standard

• Has an absolute zero point (0 = total absence

• Can express values in terms of multiples and

• Ratios are true ratios (ex. Yardstick)

• Relatively rare outside the physical sciences

• Ordinal scale: One object is bigger or better or more

• Interval scale: One object is so many units (degrees,

• Ratio scale: One object is so many times as big or

• Validity = the extent to which a

• Reliability = the consistency with which a

• Descriptive Statistics summarize the general

• Inferential Statistics help the researcher make

• The Scientific Method

• Language enables effective thinking.

• Words enhance thinking by:

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