PRACTICAL RESEARCH 1

Lesson 1
Inquiry - An inquiry is a question, a request for information (or further information), or even a process set in
motion to obtain a specific piece of information.
Research - A research is a process through which information is obtained, validated and compared to existing
data with the purpose of gathering information, increasing knowledge or providing answer to a problem. The
scientific investigation of phenomena which includes collection, presentation, analysis and interpretation of facts
that lines an individual‘s speculation with reality.

INQUIRY
- “Questioning” aspect
- to look for information by asking various
question about the thing you are curious about
RESEARCH
- One of the ways to “find answer”
- to discover truths by investigating on your
chosen topic— scientifically and in a
systematic way

Practical Research – a research directed towards problems which have a practical, “day-to-day” nature.

IMPORTANCE OF RESEARCH
1. GATHER RELEVANT INFORMATION - The result of research(es) are used as a springboard in
conducting more researches or in planning new projects.
2. IMPROVE QUALITY OF LIFE - Research undertakings basically geared toward improving the quality
of life. The major breakthroughs in the field of communication, transportation, medicine, entertainment,
and food and nutrition are all possible because of researches conducted.
3. UNDERSTAND HISTORY - Understanding our history can help us better understand our current
society and the behavior of people. It also provides possible solutions to the past pervading problems of
our society.
4. PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL DEV’T - Research challenges us to become better individuals
through new ideas, perspectives, and skills that we can get when doing research. Personally, you will gain
more knowledge and thus widen your perspective about life in general. Professionally, you will not only
meet your academic/school requirement but you will also advance to a more challenging and exciting
world of learning.

TYPES OF RESEARCH
1. Basic - adds to the existing body of knowledge; enhances our understanding of the world around us.
Doesn't necessarily provide results of immediate, practical use.
2. Applied - Used to answer a specific question that has direct applications to the world. It’s purpose is to
solve an immediate, practical problem.
3. Developmental - Focused on the progressive changes that occur as a phenomena develops. Involves
study of changes in behavior over a period of time.

CHARACTERISTICS OF RESEARCH
1. Empirical - Research is based on direct experience/observation by the researcher.
2. Logical – Research is based on valid procedures and principles.
3. Cyclical – Research is cyclical process because it starts with a problem and ends with a problem.
 4. Analytical – Research utilizes proven analytical procedures in gathering data, whether historical,
descriptive, and experimental and case study.
5. Critical – Research exhibits careful and precise judgment.
6. Methodical – Research is conducted without bias using systematic method and procedures.
7. Replicability – The research design and procedures are replicated and repeated to enable researcher to
arrive at valid conclusions.

PROCESSES
- 01 Select a general problem.
- 02 Review the literature of the problem.
- 03 Select a specific research problem, question, or hypothesis.
- 04 Collect data.
- 05 Analyze and present or display data.
- 06 Interpret the findings and state conclusions or generalizations regarding the problem

FACTORS TO CONSIDER IN SELECTING A RESEARCH PROBLEM

 Researcher‘s area of interest
 Availability of funds and resources
 Researcher‘s ability and training

ETHICS
generally considered to deal with beliefs about what is right or wrong, proper or improper, good or bad

Ethical
1. Objectivity and integrity
2. Respect of the research subjects‘ right to privacy and dignity and protection of from personal harm
3. Presentation of research findings
4. Misuse of research role
5. Acknowledgement of research collaboration and assistance
6. Distortions of findings by sponsor

Unethical
1. Deceiving a respondent about the true purpose of a study
2. Asking a respondent questions that cause him or her extreme embarrassment
3. Invading the privacy of a respondent
4. Studying the respondents or research subjects without their knowledge
5. When analyzing the data—revealing only part of the facts, presenting facts out of context, falsifying
findings or offering misleading presentation such as lying with statistics

QUANTITATIVE
- Researchers decides what to study;
- Ask specific, narrow questions;
- Collects quantifiable data from participants;
- Analyzes these numbers using statistics; and
- Conducts inquiry in an unbiased manner, objective manner.
QUALITATIVE
- Relies on the views of the participants;
- Asks broad, general questions; collects data consisting words (text) mainly from participants
- Describes and analyzes these words for themes;
- Conducts the inquiry in a subjective, biased manner

Quantitative Qualitative

- Quantification of - In-depth
Objectives data understanding of
- Measurement of underlying reasons
incident, etc. and motivations

- Statistical - Non-statistical
Data Analysis - Contextual
- Thematic

- Broad based insights - Not conclusive nor

Outcomes - Population based generalizable
understanding

DIFFERENCES IN METHODOLOGIES

QUANTITATIVE QUALITATIVE
 - Deductive process (general to specific)
- Cause and effect
- Static Design (categories isolated before study)
- Generalization leading to prediction,
explanation, and understanding
- Data is reduced to numerical scores
- Much attention to assessing and improving
reliability of scores obtained from instruments
- Assessment of validity through a variety of
procedures with reliance on statistical
treatment
- Accurate and reliable through validity and
reliability
- Inductive process (specific to general)
- Multi Simultaneous shaping of factors
- Emerging Design (categories identified during
research process)
- Patterns, theories developed for understanding
- Preference for narrative description
- Preference for assuming that reliability of
inferences is adequate
- Assessment of validity through cross checking
sources of information (triangulation)
- Accurate and reliable through verification

DIFFERENCES IN PHILOSOPHICAL ASSUMPTIONS

QUANTITATIVE QUALITATIVE

- There exists a reality – “out there,” independent of
us, waiting to be known. The task of science is to
discover the nature of reality and how it works.
- Research investigations can potentially result in
accurate statements about the way the world
really is.
- It is possible for the researcher to remove him-
or herself – to stand apart – from that which is
being researched.
- The individuals involved in the research situations
construct reality; thus, realities exist in the form
of multiple mental construction.
- Research investigations produce alternative
visions of what the world is like.
- It is impossible for the researcher to stand
apart from the individuals he or she is
studying.

LESSON 2 AND 3

Major Characteristics of QUALITITATIVE

1. Naturalistic Inquiry - Studying real world situations, as they unfold naturally; non-manipulative,
unobtrusive, and noncontrolling; openness to whatever emerges—lack of predetermined constraints on
outcomes.
2. Inductive Analysis - Immersion in the details and specifics of the data to discover important
categories, dimensions, and interrelationships; begin by exploring genuinely open questions rather than
testing theoretically derived hypotheses.
3. Holistic Perspective - Focus is on complex interdependencies not meaningfully reduced to a few discrete
variables and linear, cause-effect relationships.
 4. Qualitative Data - Detailed, thick description; inquiry in depth; direct quotations capturing people‘s
personal perspectives and experiences.
5. Personal Contact and Insight - The researcher has direct contact with and gets close to the people,
situation, and phenomenon under study; researcher‘s personal experiences and insights are
important part of the inquiry and critical to understanding the phenomenon.
6. Dynamic System - Attention to the process; assumes change is constant and ongoing whether the focus
is on an individual or an entire culture.
7. Unique Case Orientation - capturing the details of the individual cases being studied
8. Context Sensitivity - Places findings in a social, historical, and temporal context; dubious of the possibility
or meaningfulness of generalization across time and space.
9. Emphatic Neutrality - includes personal experience and empathic insight as part of the relevant data,
while taking a neutral nonjudgmental stance toward whatever content may emerge.
10. Design Flexibility - Open to adapting inquiry as understanding deepens and/or situations change; avoids
getting locked into rigid designs that eliminate responsiveness; pursues new paths of discovery as they
emerge.

TYPES OF QUALITATIVE
1. Phenomenology - approach to philosophy and not specifically a method of inquiry; employed to
pursue a particular study emerged from the philosophical implications inherent in the question.
2. Ethnography - the direct description of a group, culture or community; an overall term for a number of
approaches
3. Grounded Theory - a development of theory directly based and grounded in the data collected by the
researcher. It is a research methodology for discovering theory in a substantive area.
4. Case Study - used for a research approach with specific boundaries and can be both qualitative and
quantitative; an entity studied as a single unit, and has clear confines and a specific focus and is bound
to context

STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF QUALITITATIVE

STRENGTHS LIMITATIONS

- Issues can be examined in detail and in depth.
- Interviews are not restricted to specific
questions and can be guided/redirected by the
researcher in real time.
- The research framework and direction can be
quickly revised as new information emerges.
- Data usually are collected from a few cases or
individuals so findings can’t be generalized to a
larger population.
- The obtained data based on human experience is
powerful and sometimes more compelling than
quantitative data.
- The volume of data makes analysis and
interpretation time consuming.
- Research quality is heavily dependent on the
researcher’s skills and more easily influenced
by personal biases.
- The researcher's presence during data gathering,
can affect the subjects' responses
- Findings can be more difficult and time
consuming to characterize in a visual way.
- Issues of anonymity and confidentiality can
bring/result to problems when presenting findings
LESSON 4
Literature - means the works consulted in order to understand and investigate a research problem

A LITERATURE REVIEW surveys sources relevant to a particular issue, area of research, or theory, and by so
doing, provides a description, summary, and critical evaluation of these works in relation to the research problem
being investigated

Literature reviews are designed to provide an overview of sources you have explored while researching a
particular topic and to demonstrate to your readers how your research fits within a larger field of study.

Features of a good LITERATURE REVIEW

1. Gives a new interpretation of old material or combine new with old interpretations.
2. Traces the intellectual progression of the study.
3. Depending on the situation, evaluate the sources and advise the reader of the research on the most
pertinent or relevant research.
4. Usually in the conclusion of a literature review, identifies where gaps exist in how a problem has been
researched to date.

PURPOSE OF LITERATURE REVIEW

1. Define and Limit a Problem - a literature review allows identification of key issues within a broad
research area so that a definition of an area of interest can be pursued.
2. Place your study in perspective - The purpose of academic research is to push out and to the current
body of knowledge within a particular field. Unless you are aware of the work of others, you cannot
build upon an established foundation
3. Avoid unintentional replication of previous studies - Sometimes it is appropriate to replicate a previous
study, but this should be done intentionally and for a particular purpose.
4. Select methods and measures - You can assess what has worked before (or not worked) in previous
contexts and why. You may be alerted to new methodologies and procedures and different types of tests,
technologies and measures.
5. Relate Findings to Previous Knowledge and Suggest Areas for Further Research - The findings on
ones own research need to be related back to earlier studies. This ―places‖ ones work and can point to
areas that need further investigation.

SOURCES

1. Journal articles - up-to-date information

- relatively concise, up-to-date format for research, and because all reputable journals are refereed (i.e.
editors publish only the most relevant and reliable research).
2. Books
- tend to be less up-to-date (longer publication period).
- unlikely to be useful for including in your literature review (intended for teaching, not for research)
- a good starting point (to find detailed sources).
3. Government/Corporate Report - useful source of information, depending on the field of study.
 4. Newspaper
- generally intended for a general (not specialized) audience
- Information provided is very limited information about recent trends, discoveries or changes, e.g.
announcing changes in government policy.
5. Thesis and Dissertations
useful sources with disadvantages:
1) they can be difficult to obtain since they are not published, (library shelf or interlibrary loan)
2) the student researcher may not be an experienced researcher. Treat findings with more caution than
published research.
6. Internet - fastest-growing source of information.
7. Magazines - unlikely to be useful in providing information but specialized magazines more useful (ex.
business magazine).

ELEMENTS OF A TYPICAL RESEARCH LITERATURE

1. JOURNALS
- Research Journals
- Professional Journals
2. THESES AND DISSERTATIONS
3. CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS
4. BOOKS AND TEXTBOOKS

CATEGORIES OF LITERATURE

Theoretical Literature
- describes expected or anticipated relationships about the way things happen.
- a theory is developed that is then refined or refuted when further evidence is obtained
Research Literature
- refers to a report of a systematic investigation that has been undertaken in response to the need to answer a
specific question
Empirical Research
- a research that is undertaken through the observation and measurement of the world around us. It studies
the use of observation, experience or experimentation to collect new data. Data can be collected in a variety
of ways.
Practice Literature
- written by practitioners about their field of expertise. This can come in many different forms—expert
opinion, discussion papers, debate, information from websites, patient information leaflets, and reports of
good practice.
Policy Literature
- tells practitioners how to act in a set of circumstances. Policies and guidelines can be written from a given
set of circumstances or from a local, national or international perspective.

TYPES OF REFERENCE STYLE

APA: Psychology, Education and other Social Sciences
MLA: Arts and Humanities
Chicago: History and many other subjects in scholarly and non-scholarly work
 Turbian: an adoption of the Chicago Style
AMA: Medicine, health, and Biological courses

LESSON 5 - Understanding Data…

Qualitative Research Designs

1. Ethnography - direct description of a group, culture or community; method within the social
anthropological tradition
2. Grounded Theory - generates and modifies a theory; the finished product is also called a GT—a
development of theory directly based and grounded in the data collected by the researcher
3. Narrative Inquiry - includes stories that reflect on people‘s experience and the meaning that this
experience has for them; useful way of gaining access to feelings, thoughts and experience in order to
analyze them.
4. Phenomenology - focuses on the subjective experience of the individual and seeks to understand the
essence or structure of a phenomenon from the perspective of those who have experienced it.
5. Case Study - a bounded system, a single entity, a unit around which there are boundaries. It has definite
quality (time, space and/or components comprising the case). *isa lang pinag-aaralan*

Three MAIN TYPES OF QUALITATIVE SAMPLING

1. Purposive - selected when they based the criteria.
2. Quota - participant quotas are preset prior to sampling. Typically, the researcher is attempting to gather
data from a certain number of participants that meet certain characteristics that may include things such
as age, sex, class, marital status, HIV status, etc..
3. Snowball - also known as chain referral sampling; participants refer the researcher to others who may be
able to potentially contribute or participate in the study.

RULES OF THUMB

Research Approach Rule of Thumb

Case study Select one case or person.

Phenomenology Assess 10 ppl

Grounded Theory/Ethnography/action research 20-30 ppl

Interviewing key informants Approx. 5 ppl

In-depth interviews Approx. 30 ppl

Ethnographic surveys Large and representative

Focus Groups Average 5-10 ppl