Methods of Research

Lesson 1: Research a Way of Thinking

Research is a way of looking at reality…
 What is research?

• “to search for, to find out”

• “Re” (again) and “cercier” (to search) [Latin]
• “Chercher” “seek” [French]
• “Looking for information about something”
 What is research?

• Investigation or experimentation aimed to the discovery

of facts, revision of accepted theories or laws in the light
of new facts or practical application of such new or
revised theories or laws (Babbie, 1998).
 What is research?

• A careful, systematic, patient study and investigation in

some field of knowledge, undertaken to establish facts
or principles (Grinnell, 1993)
 What is research?

• Structured inquiry that utilizes acceptable scientific

methodology to solve problem and create new
knowledge that is generally applicable (Grinnell, 1993)
 What is research?

• A systematic, controlled, empirical, and critical

investigation of propositions about the presumed
relationships between various phenomena (Kerlinger,
1986).
 What is research?

• A systematic investigation to find answer to a problem

(Burns, 1994).
 What is research?

• Is primarily committed to establishing systematic,

reliable, and valid knowledge about the social world
(Bulmer, 1977).
 Research in a nutshell

• Application of scientific method to study a problem.

• A way to acquire dependable and useful information.
• To discover answer to meaningful questions through the
application of scientific procedures.
 Characteristics of Research

• Controlled • Empirical
• Rigorous • Valid and Verifiable
• Systematic • Critical
 Types of Research

• Application of the research study

• Objectives in undertaking the research
• Inquiry mode employed
Types of Research
 Types of Research

• According to application of the research study

• Pure Research-involves developing and testing theories
and hypotheses that are intellectually challenging to
the researcher but may or may not have a practical
application at the present time or in the future.
 Types of Research

• Applied Research-involves the application or

proposition to solve a problem; It has a purpose of
acquiring knowledge for useful ends
 Types of Research

• According to objectives in undertaking the

research
• Descriptive Research-attempts to describe
systematically a situation, problem, phenomenon,
service or program
 Types of Research

• Correlational research-aims to discover or establish the

existence of a relationship /association/
interdependence between two or more aspects of a
situation.
 Types of Research

• Explanatory research-attempts to clarify why and how

there is a relationship between two aspects of a
situation or phenomenon.
 Types of Research

• Exploratory research-it is undertaken with the objective

either to explore an area where little is known or to
investigate the possibilities of undertaking a particular
research study.
• Feasibility study
• Pilot Study
 Types of Research
• According to inquiry mode
• Structured approach (Quantitative Research)-
everything that forms the research process (objectives,
design, sample, and questions) is predetermined
Quantitative research/studies
 Comes from the Latin “quantitas” meaning “how great”
“how much” “how many”
 Numbers, magnitude, and measurement
 Types of Research
• Unstructured approach (Qualitative Research)- allows
flexibility in all aspects of the research process.

Qualitative research/studies
 Comes from the Latin “qualitas” meaning “of what kind”
 Evaluation, judgment, and taste
 Quantitative vs. Qualitative Research

• Quantitative Research—the interest is in generalizing to

more than just the individual; Concerned with the
recurrence of data that can be translated or reduced to
numbers; Focuses on counting.

• Qualitative Research—no intention of going beyond—just

deep into—the individual; Concerned with the occurrence
of the communication event; Focuses on the
phenomenon and the process involved.
 Quantitative vs. Qualitative Research

Quantitative Qualitative
Counts, Measures Evaluates
Processes data collected Uses concepts to explicate
Statistical Theoretical
Describes, explains and predicts Interprets
Leads to hypothesis or theory Leads to an evaluation
Methodology can be attached Interpretation can be attached
 Quantitative vs. Qualitative Research

Quantitative
Accused of being too narrow,
basing their research on what
they can count, measure, and
observe, and neglecting other
matters.
Qualitative
Accused of being “reading into”
texts things that are not there
or having opinions or making
interpretations that seem odd,
excessive or even
idiosyncratic.
 When to use Quanti or Quali?

• Aim of the inquiry- exploration, confirmation or

quantification
• Use of the findings- policy formulation or process
understanding
The mixed methods approach has attributes
from both the other approaches, that is , some
aspects of the research process may have
flexibility and others may completely lack it ,
depending upon the paradigm to which they
belong.
Mixed methods research is the type of
research in which a researcher or team of
researchers combine elements of qualitative
and quantitative research approaches ( e.g. ,
use of qualitative and quantitative viewpoints,
data collection, analysis, inference techniques)
for the purposes, breadth, depth of
understanding, and corroboration (Johnson et
al.,2007)
 End!
Thank you
Lesson 1: Research a Way of Thinking