Research methodology

chapter 1
Meaning of Research:
• Research is composed of two syllable, a prefix “re” and a verb
“search.”
• Re means again, anew, over again.
• Search means to examine closely and carefully to test and
try, to prove.
• Research is about inquiry: it has two components; process
and product.
• The process is about an area of inquiry and how it is
persued.
• The product is a knowledge generated from the process as
well as initial area to be presented.
Definitions of Research
“Research is a care full investigation or inquiry especially
through search for new facts in any branch of knowledge.”
“Research comprises defining and redefining problems,
formulating hypothesis or suggested solution; collecting,
organizing and evaluating data; making deductions and
reaching conclusions determine whether they fit the
formulating hypothesis”
“Research and experimental development is a formal work
undertaken systematically to increase the stock of
knowledge, including knowledge of humanity, culture and
society, and the use of this stock of knowledge to devise
new application”
“In the broadest sense of world, the definition of
research includes any gathering of data
information and facts for the advancement of
knowledge.”
“Research is a process of steps used to collect and
analyze information to increase our understanding
of a topic or issue. It consists of three steps:
• Pose a question
• Collect data to answer the question
• Present an answer to the question”
“Research is a quest for knowledge through
diligent search or investigation or experimentation
aimed at the discovery and interpretation of new
knowledge.”
Classification of Research
There are two helpful ways to view research.
• Purpose:
The degree of direct applicability of research to
educational practices and setting.
• Methods:
The overall strategies followed to collect and analyze data.
Research is classified into two types.
1. Primary Research
2. Secondary Research
Primary Research
• The research that is conducted with the help of primary sources.
• Common methods of primary research include:
• Surveys, interviews experiments, observations.
Advantages:
• It provides specific data.
• It offers control over data collection Methods.
Disadvantage:
• It’s time consuming.
• It is often expensive.
• It requires more efforts in designing.
Secondary Research
“Secondary research is conducted on the basis of some data
collection from someone who had got it from some source.”
• Sources of secondary research includes:
• Book and articles , government reports, online databases .
• Advantages:
• It is cost effective and less time consuming.
• It provides a wide range of data Source.
Disadvantages:
• Data can be out dated or not entirely reliable.
• Limited control over how data was collected or it’s accuracy.
Categories of Research

1. Basic Research
2. Applied Research
3. Evaluative Research
4. Research and development
5. Action Research
Basic Research
“It is the collection and analysis of data to
develop or enhance theory.”
• It usually considered to involve the search for
knowledge without a defined goal of utility or specific
purpose .
• Example:
a linguistic tries to examine a language to find out
features that may or may not be similar or different to
the other languages or a dialect of same language.
Applied Research

“It is collecting and analysis of data to examine the

usefulness of theory in solving practical educational
problems.”
• It is problem oriented and is directed towards a defined and
purposeful end.
Example:
Developing a seventh grade social studies curriculum around a
problem solving approach to learning.
Evaluative Research
“The collection and analysis of data to make decisions
related to the merit or worth of a specific program.”
• Merit relates to a program accomplishing what it was
supposed to accomplish.
• Worth relates to the value attached to a program by those
using it.
Types of evaluative research:
1. Formative Research
2. Summative Research
Formative Research:
• It is conducted during the development or early
implementation of a program to access it’s design, Identify
potential problem and make improvements.
 Summative Research:
• It is conducted after program implementation to access
ita overall effectiveness and impact, often involving
comparison of outcomes before and after the
intervention.
• Example:
A school introduces a new reading program and
evaluatesit’s impact by comparing students Reading
score before and after program.
Research and development
“It is a process that companies and organizations
use to create new products or improve existing
ones.”
It consists of two parts:
1. Research:
This part involves gathering information and exploring
new ideas.
2. Development:
This part takes the Findings from research and turn
them into practical products or solutions.
Example:
• A company conducts research to find a new medicines for a disease.
They then develop the drug, create the formula, and test it on patients
before it’s proved for sale.
Action Research :
“The collection and analysis of data to provide a solution to
practical, valued problems of educator within their own school
or organization.”
Example:
A teacher notices that students are not engaged during math lessons.
They implement interactive games to make learning more fun. After
observing the students reactions and assessing their performance the
teacher reflects on the changes and adjusts the games to better suits
the student needs.
Methods:
• There are following methods of research:
1. Quantitative method
2. Qualitative method
3. Mixed method
Quantitative method
• The general purpose of quantitative method is to
collect and analyze data to explain, predict or control
phenomena of interest.
• It describe the current conditions.
• It investigate relationships.
• It studies causes and Effects.
Assumption:
• It must be stable, uniform and coherent.
• It can be measurable, understandable and generalized.
• It is regarded as positivistic perspective.
Characteristics:
• It collects numeric data that can be quantified.
• It involves hypothesis testing.
• It often involves larger sample sizes to enhance
reliability.
• It rely on objective measures and standardized
procedures.
• It uses pencil and paper text, questionnaires etc.
• It is more focused and outcome oriented.
• It is deductive.
Qualitative Methods
“The general purpose of qualitative method is to
explore complex phenomena to gain deeper
insight and also to describe social context to
generate new ideas.”
• It is getting a deeper understanding about the way
things are, why they are like that and how participants
perceive them.
Assumption:
• Reality is subjective.
• Different people have different perspective context.
• It is regarded as post- positivistic perspective.
Characteristics:
• It is conducted in material environment.
• It uses open ended methods such as interviews, case
studies and observation.
• It works with smaller sample size.
• There is no hypothesis but a general issue.
• It is more holistic and process oriented.
• It is inductive.
Mixed method
“Mixed methods research combines elements of
quantitative research and qualitative research in
order to answer your research question”
• It can help you gain a more complete picture than a
standalone quantitative or qualitative study, as it
integrates benefits of both methods.
• It is often used in behavioral, health and social sciences.
• Mixed method is a research approach whereby
researchers collect and analyze both quantitative and
qualitative data with same study.
• It draws on the potential strength of both qualitative
and quantitative methods.
Advantages:
• Mixed method research is flexible to use.
• It allows to tackle broad range of research questions.
• It helps researcher to get stronger evidence to
collaborate their findings.
• Mixed methods researchers have a complete
understanding of the topic and phenomena under study.
Disadvantage:
• It is labor intensive and time- consuming.
• It’s results are difficult to interpret if you get different
result from two data types.
• It requires you to understand multiple methods and how
to combine them appropriately.
There are two designs of mixed methods.
1. Sequential design
2. Concurrent design
1. Sequential design:
It focus on the rule of one after the other.
You might first collect quantitative data like survey and then collect
qualitative data. You should start with qualitative data like
interviewing people and then use insights you get to design a
quantitative survey.
2. Concurrent design:
It focus on the rule of both at same time.
You gather both type of data at same time. For example, you could
conduct a survey and at the same time do interviews or
observation. Then, you analyze both sets of data together to
compare and cross check your results.
Quantitative designs
There are five basic quantitative designs.
• Descriptive
• Correlation
• Casual – comparative
• Experimental
• Single subject
Descriptive
Descriptive research is also called as “statistical
Research.”
“The main goal of this type of research is to
describe the data and characteristics about what is
being studied.”
• The idea behind this type of research is to study
frequencies, average and other statistical
calculations.
• This research is highly accurate, it does not gather the
causes behind a situation.
• Example:
Correlational
It is a type of non- experimental research used to
explore the relationship between two or more variables.
• It helps researchers to see if changes in one thing are
connected to change in other, without trying to change or
control anything.
• Example:
What is the relationship between TEFL scores and ILETS grades?
• It involves the search for relationship between variables
through the use of various measures of statistical association.
• Relationship means that an individuals status on one variable
tends to reflect his or her status on the other.
Casual- comparative
“It is a type of research that looks for cause and
effect relationships between two things by
comparing different groups.”
• However, the researcher does not control or change
anything they just study groups that already exist.
• An important characteristic is that the independent
variable has already manipulated.
• Example:
What is the effect of part-time employment on the
achievement of high school students?
Experimental
“ This type of research is to establish cause and effect
relationship between variables, the variable is manipulated by
researcher.”
• Whereas in casual- comparative research the independent variable
cannot be manipulated, should not be manipulated, or simply are not
manipulated.
• Example:
What Is the effect of teaching with
1. A co- operative groups strategy or
2. A traditional lecture approach on student achievement?
• Experiment al research is used in settings where variables defining one
or more ‘ cause’ can be manipulated in a systematic fashion in order to
discern ‘effect’ on the variables.
Single- subject
“ This type of research is to investigate cause and
effect relationship with sample of one.”
• This approach help researchers see how a specific
treatment or intervention affect that individual.
• Example:
What is the effect of a behavior modification
program on ali’s conduct in class?
Qualitative method designs
There are two basic designs of qualitative methods.
1. Narrative
2. Ethnography
• Narrative:
“It is a research approach that focuses on under-standing and
interpreting the stories and personal experience of individuals.”
• It focuses on studying single person and gathering data through the
collection of stories that are used to construct a narrative about the
individual’s experience and meaning he/ she attributes to them.
• Example:
What are the experience of a veteran teacher who has been moved into
an administrative position in her school.
Ethnography
“It’s purpose is to obtain an understanding of the shared
beliefs and practices of a particular group or culture.”
• It is based on learning about a context and people living in it,
by understanding their values, needs and vocabulary.
• It usually consists of a description of events that occur within
the life of a group- with particular reference to the interaction
of individuals in the context of the sociocultural norms, rituals
and belief shared by group.
• Example:
Why does a sense of failure permeate everything about
particular high school?
Ways of knowing things
• There are five ways of knowing things:
1. Personal experience
2. Tradition
3. Expert or authorities
4. Logic
5. The scientific method
Personal experience
• Personal experience is all about relying on someone’ s
knowledge
• That someone must have prior Experience.
Limitations:
There are following limitations:
• How someone is effected by an event depends on who
one is.
• One frequently needs to know something that cannot be
learned through experience.
Tradition
“It belongs to the customs of doing things as they have
always been done.”
Limitations:
• Traditions are often based on the idealized past
• Tradition can be distant from current realities and the complexities
associated with them.
Experts and authorities:
“ It is relying on the expertise or authority of others.”
Limitations:
Experts can be wrong.
Experts can disagree among themselves, as in a “second opinion”.
Logic
• It involves two types of reasoning.
1. Inductive reasoning:
“Inductive reasoning, or induction, is reasoning from a
pecific case or cases and deriving a general rule.”
• It draws influences from observation in order to make
generalization.
• Example:
Observation 1.
The sun has risen in the east everyday so far.
Conclusion:
The sun will rise in the east tomorrow.
• Limitations:
• In order to be certain of a conclusion one must observe all examples.
• All examples can be observed only in very limited situation where
there are few members of the group.
Deductive reasoning:
“It’s a reasoning from general to specific.”
• It assumer that basic law from which you are arguing is applicable in
all cases.
• If the premises are true and reasoning is valid the conclusion is
granted to be true.
• Example:
• Premise 1: All humans are mortal.
• Premise 2: Socrates is human.
• Conclusion: Therefore, Socrates is mortal.
Limitations:
• You must begin with true premises in order to arrive at
true conclusions.
• Deductive reasoning only generates what is already
known.
The scientific method
“The goal of scientific method is to explain, predict
and/ or control phenomena.”
• This involves the acquisition of knowledge and
development and testing to theory.
• The use of scientific method is more effective and
reliable than any other source of knowledge.
Thesis
“ It is a statement or central argument that a writer
or researcher proposes and supports with evidence
throughout a work.”
• It is written for master degree.
• It focus on showcasing the student’s understanding of the
material studied on particular topic.
• It generally shorter( 100 pages), less complex.
• It takes about 1-2 years to complete.
• Student working on a thesis often have more guidance
from advisor.
Dissertation
“It is lengthy formal piece of writing that presents
original research on a specific topic, typically submitted
as apart of requirements for a doctoral degree.”
• It is written for a doctoral degree.
• It focuses on conducting original research to provide new
findings or theories.
• It is longer and more in- depth, often hundreds of pages,
involving extensive research.
• It can take 3-7 years or longer to complete.
• Student working on dissertation are expected to show more
independence in their work.
Historical Research
“ It is a process of investigating and interpreting
past events, societies and cultures through the
systematic collection, analysis, and evaluation of
primary and secondary resources such as
documents, artifacts and oral histories.”
• This type of research aims to understand historical
development, causes and effects and to reconstruct
past realities.
• Example:
The studying of WW II by examining soldiers, letters and
government documents.
Case study Research
• It is a in- depth study of investigation of single
case to explore complex issues in real world
contexts.”
• It refers to two distinct research approaches.
• First, it consists of in- depth study of a particular
student, class room, or school with aim of producing
description of pervading cultural setting that effect
education and account of interaction that take place
between students and other relevant persons.
• Secondly, it involves the application of quantitative
research method which results that are not necessarily
designed to be generalized to wider population.
• Example:
Survey of the reading achievement of students in
one rural region of a particular country.
Empirical Research
• “ it is a way of gaining knowledge by direct or
indirect observation and experience.”
• It is based on observed and measured phenomena.
• It believes on the knowledge that is from actual
experience rather than from theory or belief.
• Example:
Conducting a survey to measure customer satisfaction
with a new product and analyzing the collected
responses to draw conclusions.
Theoretical Research
“It involves developing and exploring abstract
ideas, methods of framework to understand the
phenomena.
Theoretical methodology :
“It is a practice od developing the basic theory
that is proved through research, observation and
facts.”
• It is a framework used to achieve an effective
hypothesis, or educated guess.
Research methodology
“it is a systematic approach, and techniques used
by researchers to collect, analyze and interpret
data in order answer research questions.”
• It is a way to systematically solve the research problem.
• It is necessary for the researcher to design his
methodology for his problems.
Sample, subject, population and
variable
Sample:
It means a small group drawn from a population, carefully
selected to reflect closely the characteristics of a population.
• Sample are used in research because it is impossible and always
inconvenient, to study the entire population.
• Samples need to represents population closely because wish to
generalize to population what is learnt from studying the samples.
• Subject:
People and other living things are being studied in research, they
are called subjects.
• Subjects are frequently member of samples.
Population:
“It is generally large collection of individuals or objects
that is main of scientific query.”
• It is known as well defined collection of individuals or
objects to have similar characteristics.
• All individuals or objects within a certain population
usually have common, binding characteristics or traits.
Variables:
“It is any characteristic, trait or factor that can change.”
Variable are the things about the people that we can say
one person has more than another.
People vary in their gender and show size and self
esteem.
Paradigms of research
“It is framework that guides how research is
conducted, including the nature of knowledge, the
methods of data collection and the way results are
interpreted.”
• It determined that how researcher View reality.
• And how the believe they gained knowledge.
• And which methods are suits best the aim for research.