TOPIC 1: THE NATURE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF RESEARCH

Topic Outline:
A. Research Defined
B. Purposes of Research
C. Characteristics of Research
D. Types of Research
E. Qualities of a Good Researcher

Objectives:

1. to review the fundamentals of Research

2. to explicate the nature of research as a scientific inquiry aimed at providing a basis

for informed classroom decisions.

As a student, consider how many times you have heard, “evidence-based practice” or
“according to the research.” It seems that every new idea in education is research-based, but what
does that really mean? This chapter is a summary of important concepts such as the characteristics
and types of research and considerations related to research in education.

A. RESEARCH DEFINED

The word “research” originated from the old French word “recerchier” meaning to
search and search again. It literally implies repeating a search for something and implicitly
assumes that the earlier search was not exhaustive and complete in the sense that there is
still scope for improvement. Research in common parlance refers to a search for knowledge.
It may be defined as a scientific and systematic search for pertinent information on a specific
topic/area. In fact, research is an art of scientific investigation.

Research is a scientific approach to answering a research question, solving a problem,

or generating new knowledge through a systematic and orderly collection, organization, and
analysis of information with the ultimate goal of making the research useful in decision-making.
Systematic research in any field of inquiry involves three basic operations:

1. Data collection: It refers to observing, measuring, and recording information.

2. Data analysis: It refers to arranging and organizing the collected data so that we
may be able to find out what their significance is and generalize
about them.
3. Report writing: It is an inseparable part and a final outcome of a research study. Its
purpose is to convey the information contained in it to the readers
or audience.

What is Research in Education or Educational Research?

Education research is the scientific field of study that examines education and learning
processes and the human attributes, interactions, organizations, and institutions that shape
educational outcomes. Experts and practitioners in the field seeks to describe, understand,
and explain how learning takes place throughout a person’s life and how formal and informal
 contexts of education affect all forms of learning. Education research embraces the full
spectrum of rigorous methods appropriate to the questions being asked and also drives the
development of new tools and methods.

B. PURPOSES OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH

Educators need to be consumers (and producers) of research. Creswell (2002) notes the
following reasons, describing the various purposes of educational research:

1. Improve Practice

Research can suggest ways of improving practice that has been verified with many
applications and by many different types of people.

2. Add to Knowledge

Research can add to what we know about how people learn and what we can do help facilitate
the learning process.

3. Address Gaps in Knowledge

Research can address areas in which little is known, like perhaps the effects of online versus
traditional classroom learning.

4. Expand Knowledge

Research can allow us to extend what we know in ways we never conceived.

5. Replicate Knowledge

Research can act as a test to verify previous findings.

6. Add Voices of Individuals to Knowledge

Research can help develop your influence, self-efficacy and voice within your own school and
more widely within the profession. Much of the educational research prior to the Eighties is
based on able, white, middle-to-upper class males. This is certainly not reflective of our
increasingly heterogeneous students, and research helps revise theory and practice to reflect
different student needs.

These are only a few of the many reasons research is important, particularly to educators. In
an increasingly data-driven society, it is vital that educators know how to locate, find, and interpret
research on their own. Further, educators need to be able to conduct quality research to examine
issues within their own contexts.

C. CHARACTERISTICS OF RESEARCH

Certain terms are commonly used in research and the success of any research depends on
these terms. These terms determine whether a research is scientifically and ethically correct. They
are called the characteristics of research. These characteristics have been explained here in simplest
terms to understand and to implement.

1. Reliability
Reliability is a measure of repeatability or replicability. It is the repeatability of any research,
research instrument, tool or procedure. Today there are instruments that can estimate the
reliability of any research instrument. If any research yields similar results each time it is
undertaken with similar population and with similar procedures, it is called to be a reliable
research. Suppose a research is conducted on the “effects of single parenting on the class
performance of elementary school age children”. If the results conclude that it causes low
grades in class, these results should have to be reliable for another sample taken from a
similar population. Reliability adds to the consistency and predictability of research.

2. Validity
Validity is the strength with which we can make research conclusions, assumptions or
propositions true or false. It determines the applicability of the research. Validity of the
research instrument can be defined as the suitability of the research instrument to the research
problem or how accurately the instrument measures the problem. Some researchers say that
validity and reliability are co-related, but the validity is much more important than reliability.
Without validity, research goes in the wrong direction. To keep the research on-track define
your concepts in the best possible manner so that no error occurs during the measurement.

3. Accuracy
Accuracy means that each process in the research has been undertaken accurately. It is also
the degree to which each research process, instrument, and tool is related to each other.
Accuracy also measures whether research tools have been selected in best possible manner
and research procedures suits the research problem or not. For example if a research has to
be conducted on the transgender people, several data collection tools can be used depending
on the research problems but if you find that population less cooperative the best way is to
observe them rather than submitting questionnaire because in questionnaire either they will
give biased responses or they will not return the questionnaires at all. Choosing the best data
collection tool improves the accuracy of research.

4. Credibility
Credibility comes with the use of the best source of information and best procedures in
research. If you are using second-hand information in your research due to any reason your
research might complete in less time but its credibility will be at stake because secondary data
has been manipulated by human beings and is therefore not very valid to use in research. A
certain percentage of secondary data can be used if the primary source is not available but
basing a research completely on secondary data when primary data can be gathered is least
credible. When researcher gives accurate references in the research the credibility of the
research increases but fake references also decrease the credibility of the research.

5. Empirical
Empirical nature of research means that the research has been conducted following rigorous
scientific methods and procedures. Each step in the research has been tested for accuracy
and is based on real life experiences. Quantitative research is easier to prove scientifically
than qualitative research. In qualitative research biases and prejudice are easy to occur. There
are tools that can improve the trustworthiness of qualitative research. The qualitative
 researcher should know how to control biases and subjectivity that can make a research less
scientific.

6. Systematic
Every research follows an approach or paradigm of research but regardless of any paradigm
the research should have one main approach, i-e, systematic approach to research. This
systematic approach helps the researcher understand the steps to be taken and in what order
to take each step. There are set of procedures that have been tested over a period of time
and are thus suitable to use in research. Each research, therefore, should follow a procedure.

7. Verifiability
This is an important characteristic of every research. Research methods and findings are
presented to the professional community for other researchers to analyze, confirm or reject
them. Research is a social enterprise and its information is open for public scrutiny. This
characteristic of research, i.e. verifiability, is related to the criteria of objectivity and precision.
Only through further investigation or replication of studies can the results of a single study be
confirmed or revised. Through this process, a body of new knowledge is developed and new
questions are identified. Verifiability is achieved primarily through two different approaches:
first, analyzing the same data on the same sample through alternative analytical tools
(statistical methods), and second, replicating the study on a different sample.

D. TYPES OF RESEARCH

Research can be classified:

1. on the basis of objectives
2. on the basis of the method
3. on the basis of collecting and analyzing data

1. On the basis of objectives:

1.1 Theoretical Research

Theoretical research also referred to as pure, basic, or fundamental research, focuses on
generating knowledge, regardless of its practical application. Here, data collection is used to
generate new general concepts for a better understanding of a particular field or to answer a
theoretical research question.

Results of this kind are usually oriented towards the formulation of theories and are usually
based on documentary analysis, the development of mathematical formulas, and the reflection
of high-level researchers.

E.g. Examples related to learning theory

• Constructivism
• Mastery learning
• Gardner’s multiple intelligences

1.2 Applied research

Applied research is inspired by the needs of social action and aims at finding a practical
solution for a problem making optimal use of the available resources. Applied research draws
on theory to generate practical scientific knowledge, and its use is more common in STEM
fields such as engineering, computer science, and medicine.

Example:
• Developing a seventh-grade social studies curriculum around a problem-solving approach
to learning
• Examining the effectiveness of a computer-based algebra program developed around a
mastery learning approach
• Accommodating varied learning styles when teaching lessons in modern literature

Note: Applied research is usually based on knowledge or results obtained through theoretical
research. In fact, it is common for research projects to first establish the theoretical framework
both to define the field of study and to identify possible theories that could be tested or applied
to solve the specific problem posed in the project.

The figure below differentiates basic research from applied research based on few
parameters.

1.3 Action Research

Action research is systematic inquiry done by teachers (or other individuals in an
educational setting) to gather information about, and subsequently improve the ways their
particular educational setting operates, how they teach, and how well their students learn
(Mills, 2000).

Action Research has its origin in the works of the social psychologist Kurt Lewin (1946).
He developed the ideas of group decisions and commitment to improvement in work situations
(classroom and administrative). It is an act of analyzing a situation leading to certain actions
for improvement and evaluating the result of the tried-out action. Action research is focused
on immediate application. It places the emphasis on the problem here and now, in a school
setting. Its findings are to be evaluated in terms of local applicability and improvement in
school practices. The whole purpose of Action Research is to involve classroom teachers to
attempt to solve their classroom problems.
 Applied and action research share commonalities in a lot of areas. However, in our
course, they can be distinguished through the following:

Applied Action
To find solutions to a problem To find solutions for a problem for
encountered by a wider local concern
population; to test theories
Considerable training is required Little training is required to conduct
study
More rigorous Less rigorous
General applicability Local applicability

Example:
• How can our college move to a performance-based model for undergraduate teacher
preparation programs?
• How can disciplinary policies be enforced consistently in our school?

1.4. Evaluative Research

Evaluation research is educational research that is conducted to investigate
educational programs (e.g., federal and state initiatives, school-based professional
development programs, new curricula, and new methods for teaching and discipline).
Furthermore, it is used to provide feedback on an event, organization, policy, technology,
person, activity, etc.

Evaluative research attempts to:

• Assess implemented activities;
• Examine the effects of activities;
• Assess short-term effects;
• Determine the impact of a program; and
• Evaluate the success of an intervention.

Example:
• A Review of Subject Matter Topics Researched in Agricultural and Extension
Education
• Evaluating the School Policies

2. On the Basis of Method

2.1 Exploratory Research

Exploratory research is used for the preliminary investigation of a subject that is not yet well
understood or sufficiently researched. It serves to establish a frame of reference and a
hypothesis from which an in-depth study can be developed that will enable conclusive results
to be generated.

Because exploratory research is based on the study of little-studied phenomena, it relies less
on theory and more on the collection of data to identify patterns that explain these phenomena.
 2.2 Descriptive Research:
It includes case studies, surveys and fact-findings enquiries of different kinds. The major
purpose of descriptive research is description of the state of affairs, as it exists at present. The
main characteristic of this method is the researcher has no control over the variables; s/he
can only report what has happened or what is happening. Descriptive research studies deal
with collecting data and testing hypotheses or answering questions concerning the current
status of the subject of study. It deals with the question ‘what is’ of a situation. It concerns with
determining the current practices, status or features of situations. Another aspect of
descriptive research is that data collection is either done through asking questions from
individuals in the situation (through questionnaires or interviews) or by observation. Market
study on people’s choice is mostly descriptive research.

2.3 Correlational Research:

Researchers often want to go beyond mere description and begin discussing the relationship
that certain events might have to one another. The most likely type of research to answer the
relationship among variables or events is called correlational research. It aims at determining
the degree of relationship between two or more quantifiable variables. Secondly, the
relationship thus determined could be used for making predictions. A high value of
relationship, however, does not signify a cause and effect relationship which must be verified
through experimental study.

2.4 Experimental Research:

We already know that correlational research can help establish the presence of a relationship
among variables but does not give us any reason to believe that variables are causally related
to one another. Experimental research finds out if the characteristics or behaviors or events
are related in such a way that the relationship is a causal one. The primary characteristic of
experimental research is manipulation of at least one variables and control over the other
relevant variables so as to measure its effect on one or more dependent variables. The
variable (s) which is manipulated is also called an independent variable, a treatment, an
experimental variable or the cause. Experimental research will always have two or more
groups for comparison on the dependent variables. It is the only type of research that can truly
establish cause and effect relations.

3. On the basis of collecting and analyzing data

3.1 Qualitative Research

Qualitative methods are often used in the social sciences to collect, compare and interpret
information, have a linguistic-semiotic basis and is used in techniques such as discourse
analysis, interviews, surveys, records and participant observations.

In order to use statistical methods to validate their results, the observations collected must be
evaluated numerically. Qualitative research, however, tends to be subjective, since not all data
can be fully controlled. Therefore, this type of research design is better suited to extracting
meaning from an event or phenomenon (the ‘why’) than its cause (the ‘how’).
 3.2 Quantitative Research

Quantitative research is expressed in numbers and graphs. It is used to test or confirm theories
and assumptions. This type of research can be used to establish generalizable facts about a
topic.

Common quantitative methods include experiments, observations recorded as numbers, and

surveys with closed-ended questions.

E. QUALITIES OF A GOOD RESEARCHER

What makes a good researcher? Is it some undefinable, innate genius, or is it something that
we can practice and build upon? If it was just the former, then there would be far fewer innovations in
the history of humankind than there have been. A careful look at researchers through the ages reveals
that they all have certain attributes in common that have helped contribute to their success.

1. Curiosity: Becoming a good researcher requires a curious mind and an ability to look at
things from different perspectives. Good researchers are observant about the world around
them and open to new ideas and possibilities; they are always asking questions and looking
for answers. This ability to see the bigger picture while being curious about the smaller details
is what drives good researchers to explore new ideas, test hypotheses, and make new
discoveries.

2. Objectivity: Nurturing preconceived notions is detrimental to research. Avoid temptations

to make inconclusive statements or introduce personal biases into research, which will impact
your research and standing in the long run. Becoming a good researcher means consciously
keeping aside personal preferences and biases and applying sound judgment to your work
even when under pressure.

3. Collaborative spirit: Becoming a good researcher is possible when you’re able to work
well with others. With a shift toward more collaborative research, successful researchers often
connect with and work with peers to come up with innovative approaches to research
problems. While sharing ideas and partnering with other researchers can lead to
breakthroughs and boost your researcher’s reputation, it also opens the door for your work to
reach and potentially benefit a wider audience.

4. Attention to detail: A key characteristic to becoming a good researcher is being meticulous

in your work. Researchers need to pay attention to every detail, from the design of an
experiment to the analysis of data, and further in writing and submitting their manuscript for
publication. This crucial characteristic can help you ensure your research is accurate, testable,
and reliable, and also gives your manuscripts a better chance of acceptance.

5. Time management: A key consideration when asking yourself how to become a better
researcher is whether you can manage your time well. Most successful researchers organize,
prioritize, and optimize their time efficiently, allowing them to not only keep up with their
responsibilities but also make time for personal tasks. If you’re being pulled in different
directions or overwhelmed with trying to manage your research, stay updated on your research
 reading, or meet your writing deadlines, consider honing this skill as a prerequisite to
becoming a good researcher.

6. Persistence & flexibility: Research can be a long, difficult process with several hurdles
and changes along the way. One of the key requirements to becoming a good researcher is
being able to adapt to new technologies and changing circumstances and persevere despite
setbacks and challenges that inevitably arise. Learning how to be a better researcher means
anticipating problems, adjusting plans to tackle challenges head-on, and being patient while
moving forward toward achieving your goals.

7. Analytical ability and foresight: Researchers look for connections. Information is useless
without interpretation. What drives research forward is finding meaning in our observations
and data. Good researchers evaluate data from every angle and search for patterns. They
explore cause and effect and untangle the tricky web that interconnects everyday phenomena.
And then take it one step further to ask, ‘What is the bigger picture? How will the research
develop in the future?’

8. Focus on self-care: Anxiety, stress, and mental health issues are common among
academics. Successful researchers are better equipped to manage this by adopting a healthy
balanced lifestyle. Understanding what works for you can also improve your efficiency and
productivity. Being aware of your strengths and weaknesses and using this to your advantage
is key to becoming a good researcher.

In conclusion, becoming a good researcher is not a quick or easy journey, but by

developing or strengthening these essential characteristics, you will be well on your way to
finding success as a well-established researcher.

References:

Creswell, J. W. (2002). Educational Research. Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating

Quantitative and Qualitative Research. London: Pearson Education.

Kumar R. (2011). Research Methodology: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners. 3rd Edition.
Sage Publications: London. Pp- 28-29.

Streefkerk, R. (2023, January 03). Qualitative vs. Quantitative Research | Differences,

Examples & Methods. Scribbr. Retrieved March 7, 2023, from
https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/qualitative-quantitative-research/

Williams, C. (2007). Research Methods. Journal of Business & Economics Research

(JBER), 5(3). https://doi.org/10.19030/jber.v5i3.2532