RESEARCH

METHODS
WHAT IS RESEARCH?

Leedy (1997) defines research as the systematic process of collecting and

analysing information (data) in order to increase our understanding of the
phenomenon with which we are concerned or interested. Leedy goes on to state
what research is not. Research is not mere:
information gathering;
transformation of facts from one location to the other;
rummaging for information; and
catchword to get information.
According to Leedy, research is an activity or process through which we attempt
to systematically and with the support of data, give an answer to a
question, the resolution of a problem or a greater understanding of a
phenomenon. This process is called research methodology.
THE PROCESS HAS THE FOLLOWING EIGHT
CHARACTERISTICS:

1. Research originates with a question or problem:

The world is filled with many unanswered questions and unresolved problems.
Everywhere we turn, there are things that make us wonder or ask questions. And
by asking questions, we strike the first spark igniting a chain reaction that
terminates in the research process. An inquisitive mind is the beginning of
research. He asserts that the hope of mitigating our ignorance lies in the question
we ask and the information we gather in whose collective meaning we may find
insight.
2. Researchers require a clear articulation of a goal:
a clear unambiguous statement of the problem is critical.
This statement means that ambiguity must be avoided in
research and goals must be stated clearly and precisely.
3. Research requires a specific plan of procedure:
Research is not an excursion into happy expectation of fondly hoping that the
data necessary to solve the problem will magically turn up. Rather it requires a
carefully planned attack, a search and discovery mission, properly planned in
advance. Researchers plan their overall research design and specific research
methods in a purposeful way – i.e. to yield data relevant to their particular
research problem. The research design and methods to be used depend on the
specific research question.
4. Research usually divides the principal problems into more manageable sub-
problems:
The whole is composed of some of its parts. That is, a universal
natural law, that is also a good precept to observe in thinking about
one’s principal goal in research. Principal problems are broken
down much more frequently than is realised. Definitely, most
researchers do not take time or the trouble to isolate the lesser
problems within the major problem and consequently their research
projects become cumbersome and unwieldy.
5. Researchers are guided by specific research
problems; questions or hypotheses:
A hypothesis is a logical supposition, a reasonable guess, an educated
conjecture. It may direct your thinking to the possible source of information that
will aid in resolving the research problem through the resolution of attendant sub-
problems. Hypotheses are constant recurring features of everyday life. They
present the natural working of the human mind. Each of these hypotheses
provides a direction for exploration to locate the information that may resolve the
problem of malfunction. It is noteworthy that hypotheses are never proved; they
are either rejected or accepted. After the hypotheses come data. The data either
support or fail to support the hypotheses. Many of the greatest discoveries in
science have begun as hypotheses.
6. Research accepts certain critical assumption:
The assumptions must be valid or else the research cannot proceed. For this
reason, careful researchers – certainly in academic research – set forth a
statement of the assumption as the bedrock upon which their study must rest. In
your research, therefore, it is important that others know what you assume with
respect to your study. Note, that an assumption is a condition that is taken for
granted, without which the result situation would be impossible. For the beginning
researcher, you need to state your assumptions, for it is better to be over explicit
than to take too much for granted.
7. Research requires the collection and interpretation of data in
attempting to resolve the problem that initiated the research:
Having isolated the problem, divided it into appropriate subproblems, posited
reasonable questions or hypotheses and recognised the assumptions that are
basic to the entire effort, the next step is to collect whatever data that seem
appropriate and to organise them in meaningful ways so that they can be
interpreted. Data, events, happenings and observations are of themselves only
data, events and observations – nothing more. The significance of the data
depends on the way the human mind interprets the information from those data.
In research, unprocessed data are worthless.
8. Research is by its nature, cyclical or more exactly helical:
The research process follows a cycle and begins simply. It follows logical
developmental steps. What however, seems like a neat circle may never be
conclusive. In exploring an area, one comes across additional problems that
need to be resolved. Research begets research. To view research this way is to
invest it with a dynamic quality i.e. its true nature which is different from the
conventional view, which sees research as static, self-contained and an end in
itself. Every researcher eventually learns that genuine research creates more
problems than it resolves.
WHY STUDY EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH?

To become "research literate."

Because we live in a society that's driven by research
To improve your critical thinking skills
To learn how to critically evaluate published research.
To learn how to conduct research.
WHAT ARE THE OBJECTIVES OF EDUCATIONAL
RESEARCH

Exploration:This is done when you are trying to generate ideas about something.
Description: This is done when you want to describe the characteristics of something or some
phenomenon.
Explanation: This is done when you want to show how and why a phenomenon operates as it
does. If you are interested in causality, you are usually interested in explanation.
Prediction: This is your objective when your primary interest is in making accurate predictions.
Note that the advanced sciences make much more accurate predictions than the newer social
and behavioral sciences.
Influence: This objective is a little different. It involves the application of research results to
impact the world. A demonstration program is an example of this.
Best and Khan (1995) define research as the systematic and objective analysis
and recording of controlled observations that may lead to the development of
generalisations, principles or theories, resulting in prediction and possibly
ultimate control of events. Due to the abstract nature of this definition, they stated
a summary of characteristics of research which according to Best and Khan
(1995) may help to clarify its meaning.
The characteristics are summarised below. Research:
emphasises the development of generalisations, principles or theories that will be
helpful in predicting future occurrences;
is based upon observable experience or empirical evidence;
involves gathering of new data from primary or first-hand sources or using
existing data for a new purpose;
is often characterised by carefully designed procedures that apply rigorous
analysis;
requires expertise;
strives to be objective and logical, applying every possible test to validate the
procedures employed, the data collected and the conclusions reached;
involves the quest for answers to unresolved problems;
is characterised by patient and unhurried activity;
is carefully recorded and reported;
and sometimes requires courage.
CLASSIFICATION OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH

Basic and applied research;

Qualitative and quantitative research;
Experimental research;
Quasi-experimental research;
Non-experimental quantitative research;
Historical research;
and Ethnographic research.
BASIC AND APPLIED RESEARCH

Basic reserch aims at obtaining empirical data to formulate and expand theory.
Aim is to expand the frontiers of knowledge without regard to practical
application.
Applied research aims at solving immediate problems
Tries to improve current practices
QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH;

When collecting and analyzing data, quantitative research deals with numbers and
statistics, while qualitative research deals with words and meanings. Both are
important for gaining different kinds of knowledge.
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.
Qualitative research: Qualitative research is expressed in words. It is used
to understand concepts, thoughts or experiences. This type of research
enables you to gather in-depth insights on topics that are not well
understood.
Common qualitative methods include interviews with open-ended questions,
observations described in words, and literature reviews that explore concepts
and theories.
Quantitative data collection methods
Surveys: List of closed or multiple choice questions that is distributed to a sample (online, in
person, or over the phone).
Experiments: Situation in which variables are controlled and manipulated to
establish cause-and-effect relationships.
Observations: Observing subjects in a natural environment where variables can’t be
controlled.
Qualitative data collection methods
Interviews: Asking open-ended questions verbally to respondents.
Focus groups: Discussion among a group of people about a topic to gather opinions that can
be used for further research.
Ethnography: Participating in a community or organization for an extended
period of time to closely observe culture and behavior.
Literature review: Survey of published works by other authors.
When to use qualitative vs. quantitative research
A rule of thumb for deciding whether to use qualitative or quantitative data is:
Use quantitative research if you want to confirm or test something (a
theory or hypothesis)
Use qualitative research if you want to understand something (concepts,
thoughts, experiences)
Quantitative research approach
You survey 300 students at your university and ask them questions such as: “on
a scale from 1-5, how satisfied are you with your professors?”
You can perform statistical analysis on the data and draw conclusions such as:
“on average students rated their professors 4.4”.
Qualitative research approach
You conduct in-depth interviews with 15 students and ask them open-ended
questions such as: “How satisfied are you with your studies?”, “What is the most
positive aspect of your study program?” and “What can be done to improve the
study program?”
Based on the answers you get you can ask follow-up questions to clarify things.
You transcribe all interviews using transcription software and try to find
commonalities and patterns.
Mixed methods approach
You conduct interviews to find out how satisfied students are with their studies.
Through open-ended questions you learn things you never thought about before
and gain new insights. Later, you use a survey to test these insights on a larger
scale.
It’s also possible to start with a survey to find out the overall trends, followed by
interviews to better understand the reasons behind the trends.
HOW TO ANALYZE QUALITATIVE AND
QUANTITATIVE DATA

Qualitative or quantitative data by itself can’t prove or demonstrate anything, but

has to be analyzed to show its meaning in relation to the research questions. The
method of analysis differs for each type of data.
Analyzing quantitative data

Quantitative data is based on numbers. Simple math or more advanced

statistical analysis is used to discover commonalities or patterns in the data. The
results are often reported in graphs and tables.
Applications such as Excel, SPSS, or R can be used to calculate things like:
Average scores
The number of times a particular answer was given
The correlation or causation between two or more variables
The reliability and validity of the results
Analyzing qualitative data
Qualitative data is more difficult to analyze than quantitative data. It consists of
text, images or videos instead of numbers.
Some common approaches to analyzing qualitative data include:
Qualitative content analysis: Tracking the occurrence, position and meaning of
words or phrases
Thematic analysis: Closely examining the data to identify the main themes and
patterns
Discourse analysis: Studying how communication works in social contexts
EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH;

What is Experimental Research?

Experimental research is a study that strictly adheres to a scientific
research design. It includes a hypothesis, a variable that can be
manipulated by the researcher, and variables that can be
measured, calculated and compared. Most importantly,
experimental research is completed in a controlled environment.
The researcher collects data and results will either support or reject
the hypothesis. This method of research is referred to a hypothesis
testing or a deductive research method.
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF EXPERIMENTAL
RESEARCH?

Experimental research seeks to determine a relationship between

two (2) variables—the dependent variable and the independent
variable. After completing an experimental research study, a
correlation between a specific aspect of an entity and the variable
being studied is either supported or rejected.
WHAT TYPE OF DATA ARE COLLECTED IN
EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH?
Data in experimental research must be able to be quantified, or measured. Data
collected could be acidity/alkalinity, area, circumference, density, electrical
current/potential/resistance, force, growth (time, weight, volume, length/width),
heat, humidity, light intensity, mass, pressure, sound intensity, temperature, time,
velocity, volume or weight. However, the entity should be carefully observed
qualitatively, or described using words and photographs. How does the entity
look, smell, sound, feel, and taste (when appropriate)? These types of
observations help supplement the measurements taken throughout the
experiment.
Experimental research is the most familiar type of research design
for individuals in the physical sciences and a host of other fields.
This is mainly because experimental research is a classical
scientific experiment, similar to those performed in high school
science classes.
Imagine taking 2 samples of the same plant and exposing one of
them to sunlight, while the other is kept away from sunlight. Let the
plant exposed to sunlight be called sample A, while the latter is
called sample B.
If after the duration of the research, we find out that sample A
grows and sample B dies, even though they are both regularly
wetted and given the same treatment. Therefore, we can conclude
that sunlight will aid growth in all similar plants.
PRE-EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH DESIGN

In pre-experimental research design, either a group or various dependent groups

are observed for the effect of the application of an independent variable which is
presumed to cause change. It is the simplest form of experimental research
design and is treated with no control group.
The pre-experimental approach helps give some sort of
guarantee that the experiment can be a full-scale successful
study.
Although very practical, experimental research is lacking in several areas of the
true-experimental criteria. The pre-experimental research design is further
divided into three types
One-shot Case Study Research Design
In this type of experimental study, only one dependent group or variable is
considered. The study is carried out after some treatment which was presumed
to cause change, making it a posttest study.
 One-shot case study design
1. This design practices the treatment of a single
group.
2. It only takes a single measurement after the
experiment.
3. A one-shot case study design only analyses post-
test results.
The one-shot case study compares the post-test results to the
expected results. It makes clear what the result is and how
the case would have looked if the treatment wasn’t done.
Example:
A team leader wants to implement a new soft skills program
in the firm. The employees can be measured at the end of the
first month to see the improvement in their soft skills. The
team leader will know the impact of the program on the
employees.
One-group Pretest-posttest Research Design:
This research design combines both posttest and pretest study by
carrying out a test on a single group before the treatment is
administered and after the treatment is administered. With the
former being administered at the beginning of treatment and later
at the end.
 One-group pretest-posttest design
1. Like the previous one, this design also works on just one
experimental group.
2. But this one takes two measures into account.
3. A pre-test and a post-test are conducted .
As the name suggests, it includes one group and conducts pre-test
and post-test on it. The pre-test will tell how the group was before they
were put under treatment. Whereas post-test determines the changes
in the group after the treatment.
This sounds like a true experiment, but being a pre-experiment design, it
does not have any control group.
Example:
Following the previous example, the team leader here will conduct two
tests. One before the soft skill program implementation to know the
level of employees before they were put through the training. And a
post-test to know their status after the training.
Now that he has a frame of reference, he knows exactly how the
program helped the employees.
Static-group Comparison:
In a static-group comparison study, 2 or more groups are placed
under observation, where only one of the groups is subjected to
some treatment while the other groups are held static. All the
groups are post-tested, and the observed differences between
the groups are assumed to be a result of the treatment.
 Static-group comparison
1. This compares two experimental groups.
2. One group is exposed to the treatment.
3. The other group is not exposed to the treatment.
4. The difference between the two groups is the result of the
experiment.
Example:
The team lead decides one group of employees to get the soft skills
training while the other group remains as a control group and is not
exposed to any program. He then compares both the groups and finds
out the treatment group has evolved in their soft skills more than the
control group.
Due to such working, static-group comparison design is generally
perceived as a quasi-experimental design too.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF PRE-EXPERIMENTAL
DESIGNS

1. Generally uses only one group for treatment which makes observation
simple and easy.
2. Validates the experiment in the preliminary phase itself.
3. Pre-experimental design tells the researchers how their intervention
will affect the whole study.
4. As they are conducted in the beginning, pre-experimental designs give
evidence for or against their intervention.
1. It does not involve the randomization of the
participants.
2. It generally does not involve the control group, but
in some cases where there is a need for studying
the control group against the treatment group,
static-group comparison comes into the picture.
3. The pre-experimental design gives an idea about
how the treatment is going to work in case of actual
true experiments.
 ADVANTAGES OF PRE-EXPERIMENTAL
DESIGNS
1. Cost-effective due to its easy process.
2. Very simple to conduct.
3. Efficient to conduct in the natural environment.
4. It is also suitable for beginners.
5. Involves less human intervention.
6. Determines how your treatment is going to affect the
true experiment.
DISADVANTAGES OF PRE-EXPERIMENTAL
DESIGNS

1. It is a weak design to determine causal

relationships between variables.
2. Does not have any control over the research.
3. Possess a high threat to internal validity.
4. Researchers find it tough to examine the results’
integrity.
5. The absence of a control group makes the results
less reliable.
 QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH
DESIGN
The word "quasi" means partial, half, or pseudo. Therefore, the quasi-
experimental research bearing a resemblance to the true experimental
research, but not the same. In quasi-experiments, the participants are not
randomly assigned, and as such, they are used in settings where
randomization is difficult or impossible.
This is very common in educational research, where administrators are
unwilling to allow the random selection of students for experimental
samples.
Some examples of quasi-experimental research design include; the time
series, no equivalent control group design, and the counterbalanced design.
Like a true experiment, a quasi-experimental design aims to establish a cause-
and-effect relationship between an independent and dependent variable.
However, unlike a true experiment, a quasi-experiment does not rely on
random assignment. Instead, subjects are assigned to groups based on non-
random criteria.
 TYPES OF QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL
DESIGNS
Nonequivalent groups design
In nonequivalent group design, the researcher chooses existing
groups that appear similar, but where only one of the groups
experiences the treatment.
In a true experiment with random assignment, the control and treatment
groups are considered equivalent in every way other than the
treatment. But in a quasi-experiment where the groups are not
random, they may differ in other ways—they are nonequivalent
groups.
Example: Nonequivalent groups design
You hypothesize that a new after-school program will lead to
higher grades. You choose two similar groups of children who
attend different schools, one of which implements the new
program while the other does not.
By comparing the children who attend the program with those
who do not, you can find out whether it has an impact on grades.
 NATURAL EXPERIMENTS

In both laboratory and field experiments, researchers normally control

which group the subjects are assigned to. In a natural experiment, an
external event or situation (“nature”) results in the random or random-like
assignment of subjects to the treatment group.
Even though some use random assignments, natural experiments are not
considered to be true experiments because they are observational in nature.
Although the researchers have no control over the independent variable,
they can exploit this event after the fact to study the effect of the
treatment.
 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

Higher external validity than most true experiments, because they often involve
real-world interventions instead of artificial laboratory settings.
Higher internal validity than other non-experimental types of research, because
they allow you to better control for confounding variables than other types of
studies do.
Lower internal validity than true experiments—without randomization, it can
be difficult to verify that all confounding variables have been accounted for.
The use of retrospective data that has already been collected for other
purposes can be inaccurate, incomplete or difficult to access.
TRUE EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH DESIGN

The true experimental research design relies on statistical analysis to

approve or disprove a hypothesis. It is the most accurate type of
experimental design and may be carried out with or without a pretest
on at least 2 randomly assigned dependent subjects.
The true experimental research design must contain a control group, a
variable that can be manipulated by the researcher, and the
distribution must be random. The classification of true experimental
design include:
The posttest-only Control Group Design: In
this design, subjects are randomly selected and assigned
to the 2 groups (control and experimental), and only the
experimental group is treated. After close observation,
both groups are post-tested, and a conclusion is drawn
from the difference between these groups.
The pretest-posttest Control Group
Design: For this control group design, subjects are
randomly assigned to the 2 groups, both are presented,
but only the experimental group is treated. After close
observation, both groups are post-tested to measure the
degree of change in each group.
Solomon four-group Design: This is the
combination of the pretest-only and the pretest-posttest
control groups. In this case, the randomly selected
subjects are placed into 4 groups.
The first two of these groups are tested using the
posttest-only method, while the other two are tested
using the pretest-posttest method.
Advantages
The results of a true experimental design can be statistically
analyzed and so there can be little argument about the results.
It is also much easier for other researchers to replicate the
experiment and validate the results.
For physical sciences working with mainly numerical data, it is
much easier to manipulate one variable, so true experimental design
usually gives a yes or no answer.
Disadvantages
Whilst perfect in principle, there are a number of problems with this type of
design. Firstly, they can be almost too perfect, with the conditions being under
complete control and not being representative of real world conditions.

For psychologists and behavioral biologists, for example, there can never be
any guarantee that a human or living organism will exhibit ‘normal’ behavior
under experimental conditions.
True experiments can be too accurate and it is very difficult to obtain a
complete rejection or acceptance of a hypothesis because the standards of
proof required are so difficult to reach.
Examples of Experimental Research
Experimental research examples are different, depending on the type of
experimental research design that is being considered. The most basic example
of experimental research is laboratory experiments, which may differ in nature
depending on the subject of research.
Administering Exams After The End of Semester
During the semester, students in a class are lectured on particular courses and an exam is
administered at the end of the semester. In this case, the students are the subjects or
dependent variables while the lectures are the independent variables treated on the
subjects.
Only one group of carefully selected subjects are considered in this research, making it a
pre-experimental research design example. We will also notice that tests are only carried
out at the end of the semester, and not at the beginning.
Further making it easy for us to conclude that it is a one-shot case study research.
Employee Skill Evaluation
Before employing a job seeker, organizations conduct tests that are used to
screen out less qualified candidates from the pool of qualified applicants. This
way, organizations can determine an employee's skill set at the point of
employment.
In the course of employment, organizations also carry out employee training to
improve employee productivity and generally grow the organization. Further
evaluation is carried out at the end of each training to test the impact of the
training on employee skills, and test for improvement.
Here, the subject is the employee, while the treatment is the training conducted.
This is a pretest-posttest control group experimental research example.
Evaluation of Teaching Method
Let us consider an academic institution that wants to evaluate the
teaching method of 2 teachers to determine which is best. Imagine
a case whereby the students assigned to each teacher is carefully
selected probably due to personal request by parents or due to
stubbornness and smartness.
This is a no equivalent group design example because the samples
are not equal. By evaluating the effectiveness of each teacher's
teaching method this way, we may conclude after a post-test has
been carried out.
However, this may be influenced by factors like the natural
sweetness of a student. For example, a very smart student will
grab more easily than his or her peers irrespective of the method of
teaching.
WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF
EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH?

Variables
Experimental research contains dependent, independent and extraneous
variables. The dependent variables are the variables being treated or
manipulated and are sometimes called the subject of the research.
The independent variables are the experimental treatment being exerted on the
dependent variables. Extraneous variables, on the other hand, are other factors
affecting the experiment that may also contribute to the change.
Setting
The setting is where the experiment is carried out. Many experiments are carried out in the
laboratory, where control can be exerted on the extraneous variables, thereby eliminating
them.
Other experiments are carried out in a less controllable setting. The choice of setting used
in research depends on the nature of the experiment being carried out.
Multivariable
Experimental research may include multiple independent variables, e.g. time, skills, test
scores, etc.
WHY USE EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH DESIGN?

Medicine: Experimental research is used to provide the proper treatment for

diseases. In most cases, rather than directly using patients as the research
subject, researchers take a sample of the bacteria from the patient's body and
are treated with the developed antibacterial
The changes observed during this period are recorded and evaluated to
determine its effectiveness. This process can be carried out using different
experimental research methods.
Education: Asides from science subjects like Chemistry and Physics which
involves teaching students how to perform experimental research, it can also be
used in improving the standard of an academic institution. This includes testing
students' knowledge on different topics, coming up with better teaching methods,
and the implementation of other programs that will aid student learning.
Human Behavior: Social scientists are the ones who mostly use
experimental research to test human behaviour. For example, consider 2 people
randomly chosen to be the subject of the social interaction research where one
person is placed in a room without human interaction for 1 year.
The other person is placed in a room with a few other people, enjoying human
interaction. There will be a difference in their behaviour at the end of the
experiment.
WHAT ARE THE DISADVANTAGES OF
EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH?

It is highly prone to human error due to its dependency on variable control which may
not be properly implemented. These errors could eliminate the validity of the
experiment and the research being conducted.
Exerting control of extraneous variables may create unrealistic situations. Eliminating
real-life variables will result in inaccurate conclusions. This may also result in
researchers controlling the variables to suit his or her personal preferences.
It is a time-consuming process. So much time is spent on testing dependent
variables and waiting for the effect of the manipulation of dependent variables to
manifest.
It is expensive.
It is very risky and may have ethical complications that cannot be ignored. This is
common in medical research, where failed trials may lead to a patient's death or
a deteriorating health condition.
Experimental research results are not descriptive.
Response bias can also be supplied by the subject of the conversation.
Human responses in experimental research can be difficult to measure.
WHAT ARE THE DATA COLLECTION METHODS
IN EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH?

Observational Study
This type of study is carried out over a long period. It measures and observes the
variables of interest without changing existing conditions.
Simulations
This procedure uses mathematical, physical, or computer models to replicate a
real-life process or situation. It is frequently used when the actual situation is too
expensive, dangerous, or impractical to replicate in real life.
Surveys
A survey is a tool used to gather relevant data about the characteristics of a
population and is one of the most common data collection tools. A survey
consists of a group of questions prepared by the researcher, to be answered by
the research subject.
Not much control
WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN
EXPERIMENTAL AND NON-EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH

In experimental research, the researcher can control and manipulate the

environment of the research, including the predictor variable which can be
changed. On the other hand, non-experimental research cannot be controlled or
manipulated by the researcher at will.
This is because it takes place in a real-life setting, where extraneous variables
cannot be eliminated. Therefore, it is more difficult to conclude non-experimental
studies, even though they are much more flexible and allow for a greater range of
study fields.
The relationship between cause and effect cannot be established in non-
experimental research, while it can be established in experimental research. This
may be because many extraneous variables also influence the changes in the
research subject, making it difficult to point at a particular variable as the cause
of a particular change
Independent variables are not introduced, withdrawn, or manipulated in non-
experimental designs, but the same may not be said about experimental
research.
HISTORICAL AND ETNOGRAPHIC RESEARCH

Historical research enables you to explore and explain the meanings, phases and
characteristics of a phenomenon or process at a particular point of time in the past. We
differentiate historical research as a research strategy from the research of history, which refers
to research in the discipline of history.
The variable focus of your research is time. Your essential aim is to identify appearances of your
chosen phenomenon in a temporally defined situation and environment. The strategy of
historical research is also suitable in other disciplines as it enables you to focus on exploring the
historical appearances of phenomena.
The strategy of historical research is linked to the strategy of hermeneutics, as defining and
explaining events in the past are based on interpretations. You can, as in hermeneutic research,
use various approaches. You can use a variety of methods of analysis. Qualitative analysis is
the norm, but quantitative analysis can also explain the past.
Ethnographic research is a qualitative method where researchers observe and/or
interact with a study’s participants in their real-life
environment. Ethnography was popularised by anthropology, but is used across a
wide range of social sciences.
Within the field of usability, user-centred design and service design, ethnography is used
to support a designer’s deeper understanding of the design problem –
including the relevant domain, audience(s), processes, goals and context(s) of use.
The aim of an ethnographic study within a usability project is to get ‘under the skin’ of a
design problem (and all its associated issues). It is hoped that by achieving this, a
designer will be able to truly understand the problem and therefore design a far better
solution.
THANK YOU