Nature and types of research

Bouchaib Benzehaf
Applied Language and Culture Studies Lab
Department of English
Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences
Chouaib Doukkali University
 Chaos theory (Henri Poincare, early 1900’s)
 Chaos theory was introduced to the modern world by Edward
Lorenz in 1972 with conceptualization of “Butterfly Effect”.
 According to a major principle of chaos theory, precise
prediction of phenomena is in most cases impossible.
 Chaos is the science of surprises, of the nonlinear and the
unpredictable. It teaches us to expect the unexpected.
 However, repeated patterns can be discovered and used, even
when the content of the phenomena is chaotic.
 Understanding this theory will help make a complex system
more predictable. Thus when working with a system you
should be aware of all the inputs and keep them controlled.
 Chaos theory
 Chaos theory is a branch of mathematics focused on
the behavior of dynamical systems that are highly
sensitive to initial conditions.
 Chaos theory has been developed from the
recognition that apparently simple physical systems
which obey deterministic laws may nevertheless
behave unpredictably.
 Nonlinear systems can converge to an equilibrium
(steady state) or there can be a stable oscillation
(periodic behavior) or there can be chaotic change.
 Chaos theory
 Chaos is the science of surprises, of the nonlinear and
the unpredictable. It teaches us to expect the
unexpected.
 However, repeated patterns can be discovered and
used, even when the content of the phenomena is
chaotic.
 Understanding this theory will help make a complex
system more predictable. Thus when working with a
system you should be aware of all the inputs and keep
them controlled.
 Implications
1. Whatever “laws” we do discover may be seriously
limited in their applicability— across geography,
across individual and/or group differences, and across
time.
2. If chaos theory is correct, it would be difficult to
discover widely generalizable rules or laws in
education, let alone the social sciences in general.

This being so, researchers would rather concentrate on

studying topics at the local level (classroom, school,
agency) and would go for repeated studies over time to
see if such laws hold up.
 Implications
3. Educators should pay more attention to the intensive
study of the exceptional or the unusual, rather than
treating such instances as trivial, incidental, or “errors.”
4. Researchers should focus on predictability on a larger
scale: looking for patterns in individuals or groups over
larger units of time. This would suggest a greater
emphasis on long-term studies rather than the easier-to-
conduct (and cheaper) short-time investigations that are
currently the norm.
 Preliminaries
• Research: Systematic investigation
• Validity and reliability: Concepts to evaluate research
• Quantitative: Quantification (quantity)
• Qualitative: Use of non-numerical data
• Deductive: Theory to data
• Inductive: Data to theory
• Abductive: Interaction between theory and data.
Research paradigms
The research onion (Saunders, M., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A., 2015)
 Research: Definition
Research in common parlance refers to a
search for knowledge.
One can also define research as a scientific and
systematic search for pertinent information on
a specific topic.
Research is an art of scientific investigation.
Research is a problem solving activity.
 Research: Definition

Research comprises defining and redefining

problems, formulating hypotheses or suggested
solutions; collecting, organising and evaluating
data; making deductions and reaching
conclusions; and at last carefully testing the
conclusions to determine whether they fit the
formulating hypotheses.
 Scientific method
• The scientific method is a standardized way of
making observations, gathering data, forming
theories, testing predictions, and interpreting
results.
• The scientific method is a logically stepped process
used for investigating and acquiring or expanding our
understanding.
• Nonscientific methods rely on tradition, personal
experience, intuition, logic and authority to arrive at
conclusions.
Purpose of research
 Motivations in research
1. Desire to get a research degree along with its
consequential benefits;
2. Desire to face the challenge in solving the
unsolved problems, i.e., concern over practical
problems initiates research;
3. Desire to get intellectual joy of doing some
creative work;
4. Desire to be of service to society;
5. Desire to get respectability.
 Types of research
Two classifications of research:

Basic research and applied research and

Empirical research and conceptual research
 Types of research
 Based on purpose: Basic research aims to improve
scientific theories; applied research seeks to solve a
specific problem or provide innovative solutions to
problems.

 Based on usage of evidence in establishing a truth: in

empirical research, the inference is based on empirical
evidence where-as in conceptual research it is derived
from intellectual contemplations and reasoning.
 The Process of Research
• Step 1: The process is initiated with a question or problem

• Step 2: Next, goals and objectives are formulated to deal with

the question or problem

• Step 3: Review studies done about the topic.

• Step 4: Then the research design is developed to achieve the

objectives

• Step 5: Results are generated by conducting the research

• Step 6: Interpretation and analysis of results follow

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Development of a research question
 Reliability VS validity
Reliability and validity are concepts used to evaluate the
quality of research. They indicate how well a method,
technique or test measures something. Reliability is
about the consistency of a measure, and validity is about
the accuracy of a measure.
Reliability Vs validity
 Research approaches
Two basic approaches to research, viz.,
quantitative approach and the qualitative
approach.
 Qualitative and quantitative
• Quantitative research tends to be associated with numbers
and producing charts and graphs; it tends to be about
counting and measuring things.

• Qualitative research tends not to include numbers. It uses

words, thoughts and images to show things which aren’t
easily quantifiable.
 Qualitative and quantitative
• Quantitative research tends to be associated with the
positivist paradigm; qualitative with the interpretivist
paradigm.

• However, it is important to remember that quantitative and

qualitative are not incompatible; they can complement
each other.

• Much research uses a mixed methods approach.

 Quantitative approach
Quantitative researchers operate under the
assumption of objectivity. They assume that there is
a reality to be observed and that rational observers
who look at the same phenomenon will basically
agree on its existence and its characteristics. They
try to remain as neutral or value-free as they can,
and they attempt to avoid human bias whenever
possible. In a sense, quantitative researchers attempt
to study the phenomena that are of interest to them
“from a distance.”
 Qualitative approach
A qualitative approach is one in which the inquirer often
makes knowledge claims based primarily on
constructivist perspectives (i.e. the multiple meanings of
individual experiences, meanings socially and
historically constructed, with an intent of developing a
theory or pattern) or advocacy/participatory
perspectives (i.e. political, issue-oriented, collaborative
or change oriented) or both. (Creswell, 2003, p. 18)
 Exercise
Determine whether the following statements are about
qualitative or quantitative data:
• The baby weighs 20 pounds.
• My friend is very happy.
• Joe has $ 100.
• The sky is greyish-blue.
The continuum
 Mixed methods research
 Mixed methods research is a methodology for
conducting research that involves collecting,
analysing and integrating quantitative (e.g.,
experiments, surveys) and qualitative (e.g., focus
groups, interviews) research.

 This approach to research is used when this

integration provides a better understanding of the
research problem than either of each alone.
 Mixed methods research
 By mixing quantitative and qualitative research, the researcher
gains in breadth and depth of understanding and corroboration,
while offsetting the weaknesses inherent in using each
approach by itself.

 One of the most advantageous characteristics of mixed

methods research is the possibility of triangulation, i.e., the
use of several means to examine the same phenomenon.

 Triangulation allows one to identify aspects of a phenomenon

more accurately by approaching it from different vantage
points using different methods and techniques.
 Exercise: what type of research is it?
1. Conducting an experiment to investigate whether having regular
rest breaks during a prolonged study session improves
performance.
2. Observing the effects of using a treat as a reward to teach a dog
to sit on command.
3. Using a written questionnaire with closed-ended questions to
survey a large number of bushfire victims who may be
experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder.
4. Observing the social interactions of pre-school children in a
playgroup using pre-determined items on an observation checklist.
5. Investigating the effects of observing violence by analysing and
interpreting children's drawings after they have watched violent
cartoons on television.
 Exercise (follows)
6. Testing the relationship between the scores on an
intelligence test and scores on a personality test.
7. Observing whether drivers conform to road rules by
counting the number of drivers who disobey a stop sign at an
intersection.
8. Organising a small number of participants into a discussion
group to study the experience of sexual discrimination in the
workplace.
9. Investigating ways in which females are portrayed in the
print media by analysing newspaper and magazines
advertisements.
10. Studying the behaviour of newborn infants by observing
and recording their second-by-second movements during their
first 72 hours of life following birth.
Does philosophy dictate research approach?
The concrete research problem or aim rather than the
philosophical position determines the design of the
study. Depending on the nature and complexity of the
problem, the design can be either qualitative or
quantitative or a combination of both.
 Quantitative Research questions

 Usually start with ‘ how,’ ‘what’ or ‘why’, ‘to what

extent’, can be yes/no questions but should be
followed with statistical significance tests.

 Contain an independent and a dependent variable.

 Look at connections, relations or comparisons

between variables.
 Qualitative Research questions
 Usually start with ‘what’ or ‘how’ (avoid beginning
qualitative questions with ‘why’ as this implies cause and
effect).

 Identify the central phenomenon you plan to explore (tell

in your question what you are going to describe, explore,
generate, discover, understand).

 Avoid the use of quantitative words such as relate,

influence, effect, cause.
 Exercise: What type of questions are these?

• How often do people aged 30 to 40 visit their

parents?
• What is it like growing up in a single-parent family in
a rural environment?
• What are the experiences of people working night
shifts in health care?
• Does a stressful work environment lead to higher
turnover rates?
 Types of qualitative research
 Ethnography: one of the most popular and widely
recognized methods of qualitative research; it
immerses researcher in a culture with the goal being to
learn and describe the culture's characteristics. Rather
than relying on interviews or surveys, you experience
the environment first hand, and sometimes as a
“participant observer.”
 Types of qualitative research
 Phenomenology: describes how any one participant
experiences a specific event. It utilizes interviews,
observation and surveys to gather information from
subjects.
 Types of qualitative research
 Grounded theory: explain why a course of action
evolved the way it did. Grounded theory looks at large
subject numbers. Theoretical models are developed
based on existing data.
 Types of qualitative research
 Case study: provides an in-depth look at one test
subject. The subject can be a person or family, business
or organization, or a town or city. Data is collected
from various sources and compiled using the details to
create a bigger conclusion.
 Types of qualitative research
 Narrative: weaves together a sequence of events,
usually from just one or two individuals to form a
cohesive story. You conduct in-depth interviews, read
documents, and look for themes. Often interviews are
conducted over weeks, months, or even years, but the
final narrative doesn’t need to be in chronological
order. Rather it can be presented as a story (or
narrative) with themes, and can reconcile conflicting
stories and highlight tensions and challenges which can
be opportunities for innovation.
 Focus Data Collection
Method Sample Size

Observation &
Ethnography Context or culture —
interviews
Individual Stories from
Narrative experience & 1 to 2 individuals &
sequence documents

People who have

Phenomenological experienced a 5 to 25 Interviews
phenomenon

Develop a theory Interviews, then

Grounded Theory grounded in field 20 to 60 open and axial
data coding
Organization, Interviews,
Case Study entity, individual, — documents, reports,
or event observations
 Types of quantitative research
 Survey Research: the most elementary tool for all
sorts of quantitative research techniques. The very
most important purpose of the research is to widely
explain the characteristics of a particular group or a
bunch of population.
 Types of quantitative research

 Exploratory research: as the name implies, it intends

merely to explore the research questions and does not
intend to offer final and conclusive solutions to
existing problems. This type of research is usually
conducted to study a problem that has not been
clearly defined yet. It is the initial research, which
forms the basis of more conclusive research.
 Types of quantitative research
 Correlational research: is used to establish a
relationship between two or more variables and to
determine how one impacts the other. This type of
research will recognize trends and patterns in data,
but it does not go so far in its analysis to observe the
different patterns.
 Types of quantitative research
 Experimental research: uses the scientific method to
establish the cause-effect relationship among a group
of variables that make up a study. A true experiment is
any study where an effort is made to identify and
impose control over all other variables except one. An
independent variable is manipulated to determine the
effects on the dependent variables. Subjects are
randomly assigned to experimental treatments rather
than identified in naturally occurring groups.
 Types of quantitative research
 Causal-Comparative research: a family of research
designs used to examine potential causes for observed
differences found among existing groups. Causal-
comparative research is useful for the study of causes
where experimental assignment or manipulation is
infeasible, unethical, or in some way prohibited.
 Types of quantitative research
 A meta-analysis is a statistical procedure for
combining numerical data from multiple separate
studies. A meta-analysis should only ever be conducted
in the context of a systematic review. A key benefit of
this approach is the aggregation of information leading
to a higher statistical power and more robust point
estimate than is possible from the measure derived
from any individual study.
 Meta-analysis: a synthesis of available studies about a
topic to arrive at a single summary. It combines the
results of several studies that address a set of related
hypotheses.
 Types of quantitative research

A systematic review is a detailed, systematic

and transparent means of gathering, appraising
and synthesising evidence to answer a well-
defined question by collecting and
summarizing all empirical evidence that fits
pre-specified eligibility criteria.
 Components of a paper
• Title
• Abstract
• Introduction
• Theoretical framework
• Literature Review
• Methods
• Results
• Discussion
• Conclusion
• References
 Components of an abstract
An abstract summarizes, usually in one paragraph of 300
words or less, the major aspects of the entire paper in a
prescribed sequence that includes: 1) the overall purpose
of the study and the research problem(s) you investigated;
2) the basic design of the study; 3) major findings or
trends found as a result of your analysis; and, 4) a brief
summary of your interpretations and conclusions.
Thanks!