LESSON 1

NATURE AND INQUIRY OF RESEARCH

DEFINITION OF RESEARCH

 Derived from the Middle French “recherché” which means “to go about seeking”
 Systematic investigation to establish facts or collect information on the subject or based on word
derivative which means to search again.
 A cyclical process.
 A continuous undertaking of making known the unknown.
 An investigation following ordered steps leading to a discovery of new information or concepts.
IMPORTANCE OF RESEARCH

 To confirm certainty
 To give substance to views and arguments
 To give new information
 To provide key information for a clearer strategy
CHARACTERISTICS OF RESEARCH

 Research is SCIENCE

S - Organized set of rules on a step-by-step process

C - Setting the limits and scope of an inquiry
I - A question, the start of an inquiry focused on the need to investigate
E - Gathering of factual data derived from physical observation
N - Implication of the study and validation of scholarly knowledge which is a
contribution to a field being studied
C - To find answers to the questions
E - The technique in conducting research as the means to an end to arriving at data
through specifying the design, identifying samples/participants of the study,
preparing the tools/instruments for data-gathering procedures and analysis

 Research is a “Systematic and Controlled Inquiry based on Empirical data to arrive at New knowledge
about a certain subject or topic through a Conclusion-bearing problem solving process by means of an
Effective method.”
ETHICS OF RESEARCH

 Social research involves human subjects, the conduct of any inquiry must be treated with candor and
care.
 Ethical system describes the critical process of how we work through moral issues.
 3 requirements of informed consent:
o Disclosure- sincerity in supplying the information (about the research topic) necessary in a
language that is clearly understood to make a free decision.
o Capacity- pertains to the comprehension and ability of the human subjects to understand the
information provided
o Voluntariness- refers to the free will of human subjects in decision making without being
subjected to external pressure
 Ethical guidelines applied to research:
o Deception- participants must know what the study is about
o Protection of participants from harm- procedures protect the participants from psychological
and physical harm
o Right to withdraw- participants have the right to discontinue their participation
 o Debriefing- participants should be informed of the nature and purpose of the research including
the results of the study
o Confidentiality- all information obtained is confidential
o Privacy- respect for participant’s privacy and psychological well-being
o Concern- researchers who notice or know of any unethical practice of fellow researchers can
report this in observance of ethics in research
DIFFERENTIATING QUALITATIVE FROM QUANTITATIVE

 QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
o Designed to reveal participant’s range of views and perspectives with reference to specific topics
or issues.
o Numberless
o Goes with the saying “size does not matter”
o Participants think “outside the box”
 QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
o Uses statistics to seek empirical support for research hypothesis
o Uses numbers
o Respondents think “inside the box”

COMPARISON CRITERIA QUALITATIVE QUANTITATIVE

State postulates/assumptions
General Framework Test hypothesis (inflexible)
(flexible)

To qualify and describe

Objective To quantify
experiences

Question Format Open-ended/expounded Close-ended/fixed

Samples with statistical

Sampling Technique Purposive representation of the
population

Sample Called Participants/informants Respondents

Phenomenology/
Design Ethnography/ Historical/ Case Survey/Experiment
Study

Interview/Observation/Focus
Data Gathering Tools Questionnaire/ Inventory
Group Discussion

Data Format Textual narratives Numerical in tables/graphs

 LESSON 2
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH—IMPORTANCE IN DAILY LIFE

VALUES OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

 Qualitative researches can learn the behavior of the participants that can give them a broad sense of
who is doing what, when, where, how, and why.
 The goal is to build a complete picture of the issue being studied.
CHARACTERISTICS OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

 An inquiry on understanding the meaning people constructed in making sense of their world and the
experiences they have in the world.
 “emic”
o An approach on how people think, how they categorized the world, and put meaning for them,
and how they imagine and explain things from a genuine view.
o Selected participants will have to speak from the inside, thus called “insider’s point of view”
o Through the power of words, the social reality can be dissected and represented through social
interaction among people, and thereby transcending individual motives and actions. When
persons and groups interact in a social system, these concepts or mental representations of each
other’s actions eventually become part of their lives. When these concepts turned into reciprocal
roles played by the people, these roles then become made available to other members of society
through social interaction that becomes permanent.
 WORDS (World Of Reality DissectionS)
 Involves 7-10 participants
KINDS OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
1. PHENOMENOLOGY
 From the Greek words phainomenon which means “that which appears” and logos, meaning “a
study”
 Any event of happening involving an issue or a problem in the social world.
 How individuals share their “lived experience”\
 The goal is to describe experiences as they are lived, and to examine the uniqueness of
individual’s lived situations as each person has own reality that can become subjective
Example: student-achievers
(In this inquiry, the achievers may be asked through an interview to describe their lived excellence.
This is the possible question on this topic: “How do students spend a life of excellence and lead into
great achievements?”)
2. ETHNOGRAPHY
 From the Greek word ethnos, meaning “a company, a people, a nation” and –graphy, meaning
“field of study”
 A study of people in a community that shows how actions in one world make sense from the point
of view of another.
 An ethnographer frequently lives or visits people and seemingly immerses to become part of their
culture. This will enable the researcher to explore the participants’ rituals and customs
Example: Life Transformation In A Remote Village in Mindanao—Traditions and Values for Education
 3. CASE STUDY
 Kind of analysis of persons, events, decisions, periods, projects, policies, institutions, or other
systems that are studied holistically by one or more method.
 an in-depth and detailed investigation of the development of a single event, situation, or an
individual over a period of time.
 Example: Filipino Youth as Addicted “Titans” of the Games Clash of Clans (CoC)
4. ACTION RESEARCH
 Aimed at solving an immediate problem or a reflective process of progressive problem solving.
5. HISTORICAL RESEARCH
 Examines historical events in order to create explanations that are valid beyond a particular time
and place
STEPS IN QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
1. Reflect on what interests the researcher to identify a general research idea question.
2. Conduct a literature review about the idea and draft a statement identifying your preliminary area of
interest.
3. Hone the topic and give your topic a focus.
o Who do you want to study?
o When would you focus on this phenomenon?
o Where would you observe or interact this phenomenon?
o Why would you study this phenomenon?
o How will you generate data in order to study the phenomenon?
4. Compose the research questions.
5. Select parameters by choosing research design (method, site, and participants)
6. Determine methods of collection of data (interview/observation guide, document analysis)
7. Study the ethical implications of the study (confidentiality and sensitivity)
8. Collect data until you complete the inquiry.
9. Compare patterns of data and develop a tentative answer as common patterns emerge.
10. Interpret data and relate concepts and theories, compose the report and submit.