- PRACTICAL RESEARCH 2 SHIAHARII. CORTEZ,R.N., M.Ed.‘As a researcher and a human being we have always asked ourselves questions, as much bout the phenomena we observe on a daily basis as the deepest mysteries of nature. When curiosity and intuition are applied in a systematic approach to find the answers to questions like these, when we draw on experience and the knowledge we've already acquired, then we're doing research. All of us in our daily lives explore, investigate, invert, solving problems at work, trying out new recipes in the kitchen, finding the best way to prune a plant, or simply playing with the kids. Dedicating our lives to research means making, study and experiment our profession, and leads these activities to the acquisition of new knowledge. In this module, all the information was gathered through the use of the different inte met websites including different books in order to get the information needed to give an essential knowledge and skills of the young researcher like you! Unlock your imaginations and creativity, spread your eyes around you, and make research as your baseline in making decision. You can change the world by your own simple discovery. Come on! Join us in this adventure and let us see the treasure that we discoverNATURE OF INQUIRY AND RESEARCH Module 1 Introduction Aminguiry and research are two terms are almost the same in meaning. Both of them involved investigative work and any process that has the aim of augmenting knowledge, resolving doubt, or solving a problem. A theory of inquiry is an account of the various types of inquiry and 2 ‘weatment of the ways that each type of inquiry achieves its aim while research is to discover truths. by investigating on your chosen topic sciemtifically. Intended Learning Outeomes ‘After this lesson, you should be able to: 1. describes characteristics, stengths, weaknesses, and kinds of quantitative, rese 2. use some new terms you have leamed in ex pressing their world views frgdly; 5. understanding the kinds of quantitative research: \ 4. infer about the strengths and weaknesses of quantitative research; 5, illustrate the importance of quantitative research across fields: and. 6. differentiates kinds of variables and their uses PERFORMANCE STANDARD ‘The leamer is able to: decide on suitable quantitative research in different areas of interest, — ‘| THE CHARACTERISTICS, STRENGTHS, WEAKNESSES , AND KINDS OF QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH INQUIRY-BASED LEARNING What is Inquiry? Inquiry is a learning process that motivates you to obtain knowledge of information about people, things, places, or events, (Baraceras 2016) It requires you to collect data, meaning, facts, and information about the object of your inquiry, and examine such data carefully. On other hand, in your analysis, you execute varied thinking strategies that range from lower-order to higher-order thinking skills such as inferential, critical, integrative, creative thinking.Furthermore, according to Badke cited by Baraceros, solving problem, especially social issues, does not only involved yourself but other members of the society too. Whatever knowledge You have about warld bears the influence of your cultural, sociological, institutional, or ideological understanding of the world. (Badke 20 12 ‘THE NATURE OF RESEARCH ‘The research process is, for many of us, just the way we do things. We research the best n cars and appliances, we research book reviews before shopping for books, we research the best Schools for our children and ourselves, and we probably perform some kind of research in our jobs, Our search for information may lead us to interview friends or other knowledgeable people; read articles in magazines, joumals, or newspapers: listen to the radio: search an encyclopedia on CD-ROM: and even explore the Intemet and World Wide Web for information. We use our local public libraries and our schoo! Libraries. Research can be away of life: it is the basis for many of the important decisions in our lives Without it, we are deluged with information, subjected to the claims of advertisers, or influenced by hearsay in making sense of the world around us, This informal, experiential research helps us decipher the flood of information we encounter daily, Formal academic research differs from experiential research and may be mote investigative in nature, For example, it may require us to learn about an area in which we have little knowledge ‘ented or field-oriented, depending on the nature of the or inclination to learn. It may be library research, CHARACTERISTICS OF QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH, Your goal in conducting quantitative research study is to determine the relationship between fone thing (an independent variable) and another (a dependent or outcome variable) within a population, Quantitative research designs are either deseriptive (subjects usually measured once) or experimental (subjects measured before and after a weatment), A descriptive study establishes only associations between variables; an experimental study establishes causality. Quantitative research deals in numbers, logic, and an objective stance, Quantitative research focuses on numeric and unchanging data and detailed, convergent reasoning rather than divergentreasoning (ie., the generation of a variety of ideas about a research problem in a spontaneous, Free flowing manner) Its main characteristics are ‘The data is usually gathered using structured research instruments ‘The results are based on larger sarmple sizes that are representative of the population. ‘The research study can usually be replicated or repeated. given its high reliability, Researcher has a cleatly defined research question to which objective answers are sought. All aspects of the study are carefully designed before data is collected. Data are in the form of numbers and statistics, often arranged in tables, charts, figures, or other non-textual forms. Project can be used to generalize concepts more widely, predict future results, or investigate causal relationships, Researcher uses tools, such as questionnaires or computer software, to collect numerical data ‘The overarching aim of a quantitative research study is to classify features, count them, and construct statistical models in an aliemptto explain what is observed. ‘Things to keep in mind when reporting the results of a study using Quantitative methods: Explain the data collected and their statistical treatment as well as all relevant results in relation to the research problem you are investigating. Intexpretation of results is not ‘appropriate in this section Report unanticipated events that occurred during your data collection, Explain how the ‘actual analysis differs from the planned analysis. Explain your handling of missing data and Why any missing data does not undermine the validity of your analysis, Explain the techniques you used 10 “clean” your dataset ‘Choose a minimally sufficient statistical procedure; provide a rationale for its use and a reference fori, Specify any comp uter programs used. Describe the assumptions for each procedure and the steps you took to ensure that they were not violated.When using inferential statistics, provide the descriptive statistics, confidence intervals, and sample sizes for each variable as well as the value of the test statistic, its direction, the degrees of freedom, and the significance level [report the actual p value. Avoid inferring causality, particularly in nonrandomized designs or without further experimentation. Use tables to provide exact values: use figures to convey global effects. Keep figures stall in size; include graphic sepresentations of confidence intervals whenever possible, Always tell the reader what to look for in tables and figures. STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES Quantitative method Quantitative data are pieces of information that can be counted and which are usually ‘gathered by surveys from large numbers of respondents randomly selected for inclusion. Secondary data such as census data, government statistics, health system metrics, etc. ae often included in quantitative research, Quantitative data is analyzed using statistical methods Quantitative approaches are best used to answer what, when and who questions and are not well suited to how and why questions. Strengths Weaknesses Findings can be generalized ifselection process Relaied secondary data is sometimes not is well-designed and sample is representative of available or accessing available data is study population difficulvimpossible Relatively easy to analyze Difficult to understand context of a phentomenon Datacan be very consistent, precise and reliable Data may not be robust enough to explain complex issues IMPORTANCE OF QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH 1, More reliable and objective More reliable and objective Can use statistics to generalize a finding Often reduces and restructures a complex problem toa limited number of variablesLooks at relationships between variables and can establish cause and effect in highly controlled circumstances ‘Tests theories or hypotheses ‘Assumes sample is representative of the population Subjectivity of researcher in methodology is recognized less Less detailed than qualitative data and may miss a desired response from the participant ‘THE NATURE OF VARIABLES: All experiments examine some kind of variable(s). A variable is not only something that we measure, but also something that we can manipulate and something we can contol for. To understand the characteristics of variables and how we use them in research, this guide is divided into three main seetions. First, we illustrate the role of dependent and independent variables, Second, we discuss the difference between experimental and non-experimental research, Finally, we explain how variables can be characterized as either cate gorical or continuous. VARIABLES. - A variable is a label of name that represents a concept or characteristic that varies (e.g. gender, weight, achievement, attitudes toward inclusion, ete.) Conceptual and operational definitions of variables Conceptual and operational definitions of variables, Conceptual (i... constitutive) definition: the use of words or concepts to define a varlable Achievement: what one has learned from formal instruction Aptitude: one’s capability for performing a particutar task or skill Operational definition: an indication of the meaning of a variable through the specification of the manner by which it is measured, categorized, or controlled & A test soore % Income levels above and below $45,000 per year 4 The use of holistic or phonetic language instruction‘TYPES OF VARIABLE, Dependent and Independent Variables ‘Amindependent variable, sometimes called an experimental or predictor variable, is a variable that is being manipulated in an experiment in order to observe the effect on ‘a dependent variable, sometimes called an outcome variable. Imagine that a tutor asks 100 students to complete a math test. The tutor wants to know why some students perform better than others, Whilst the tutor does not know the answer to this, she thinks that it might be because of two reasons: (1) some students spend more time revising for their test: and (2) some students are naturally more intelligent than others. As such, the tutor decides to investigate the effect of revision time and intelligence on the test performance of the 100 students, ‘The dependent and independent variables for the study are: Dependent Variable: Test Mark (messured from 0 to 100) Independent Variables: Revision time (measured in hours) Intelligence (measured using 1Q score) ‘The dependent variable is simply that, a variable that is dependent on an independent Variable(s). For example, in our ease the test mark that a student achie ves is dependent on revision time and intelligence. Whilst revision time and intelligence (the independent vatiables) may (or may hot) cause a change in the test mark (the dependent variable), the reverse is implausible; in other words, whilst the number of hours 2 student spends revising and the higher a student's 1Q score may (or may not) change the test mark that a student achieves, a change in a student's test mark has no bearing on whether a student revises more or is mote intelligent (this simply doesn't make sense). ‘Therefore, the aim of the tutors investigation is to examine whether these independent variables - revision time and 1Q - result in a change in the dependent variable, the students’ test scores. However, it is also worth notin g that whilst this is the main aim of the experiment, the tutor may also be interested to know if the independent variables - revision time and IQ - are also connected in some way. In the section on experimental and non-experimental research that follows, we find out a litle more about the nature of independent and dependent variables,‘Three types of variables defined by the context within which the variable is discussed Independent and dependent Variables Extraneous and confounding variables Continuous and categorical variables 1, Independent and dependent (ie., cause and effect) Independent variables act as the “cause” in that they precede, influence, and predict the dependent variable Dependent variables act as the effect in that they change as a result of being influenced by an inde pendent variable Examples & The effect of two instructional approaches (independent variable) on student achievement (dependent variable) ‘The use of SAT scores (independent variable) to predict freshman grade point averages (dependent variable) 2. Extraneous and confounding variables Extraneous variables are those that affect the dependent variable but ate not controlled adequately by the researcher & Not controlling for the key-boarding skills of students in-a study of computer assisted instruction Confounding variables are those that vary systematically with the independent variable and exert influence of the dependent variable Not using counselors with similar levels of experience in a study comparing the effectiveness of two counseling approaches 3. Continuous and categorical variables, Continuous variables are measured on a seale that theoretically ean tke om an infinite number of values Test scores range froma low of 0 to a high of 100 Attitude scales that range from very negative atO to very positive at 5 & Students” ages Categorical variables are measured and assigned to groups on the basis of specific characteristics Examples = Gender: male and female 7= Socio-economic status: low middle, and. ‘The term level is used to discuss the groups or eategories = Gender has two levels - male and female = Socio-economic status has three levels - low, middle, anel high. Continuous. variables can be converted to categorical variables, but categorical variables camnot be converted to continuous variables, 1Qis.a continuous variable, but the researcher can choose to group students into three levels based on IQ scores - low is below a score of 84, middle is between 85 and 115, and high is above 116 ‘Test scores are continuous, but teachers typically assign letter grades on a ten paint seale (ie.,atorbelow 591s an F, 60 to 69 is aD, 70 10 79 is a C, 80-89 is a B, and 90 to 100 is an A Categorical and Continuous Variables Categorical variables are also known as diserete or qualitative variables. Categorical variables ean be further categorized as nominal, ordinal or dichotomous, Nominal variables are variables that have two or more categories, but which do not have an intrinsic order. For example, a real estate agent could classify their types of property into distinet categories such as houses, condos, co-ops or bungalows. So “type of property” is a nominal variable with 4 categories called houses, condos, co-ops and bungalows. Of note, the different categories of a nominal variable can also be referred to as groups or levels of the nominal variable. Another example of a nominal variable would be classifying where people live in the USA by state. In this case there will be many more levels of the nominal variable (50 in fact). Dichotomous variables are nominal variables which have only two eategories or levels. For example, if we were looking at gender, we would most probably categorize somebody as either "male" or "female". This is an example of a dichotomous variable (and also a nominal variable). Another example might be if we asked a person if they owned a mobile phone. Here, we may categorize mobile phone ownership as either "Yes" or "No", In the real estate agent example, if type of property had been classified as either residential or commercial then "type of propenty" would be a dichotomous variable,Ordinal variables are variables that have two or more categories just like nominal variables only the categories can also be ordered or ranked. So if you asked someone if they liked the policies of the Democratic Party and they could answer either "Not very much", "They are OK" or "Yes, a lot" then you have an ordinal variable. Why? Because you have 3 categories, namely "Not very much”, "They are OK" and "Yes, a lot" and you ean rank them from the most positive (Yes, a lot) to the middle response (They ate OK), to the least positive (Not very much). However, whilst we ean rank the levels, we cannot place a "value" to them: we cannot say that "They are OK" is twice as positive as "Not very much’ for example. Continious variables are also known as quantitative variables. Continuous variables can be further categorized as either interval or ratio variables Interval variables are variables for which their central characteristic is that they can be measured along a continuum and they have a numerical value (for example, temperature measured in degrees Celsius or Fahrenheit). So the difference between 20C and 30C is the same as 30C to 40C. However, temperature measured in degrees Celsius or Fahrenheit is NOT a ratio variable. Ratio variables are imerval variables. but with the added condition that 0 (zero) of the measurement indicates that there is none of that variable. So, temperature measured in degrees Celsius or Fahrenheit is not a ratio variable because OC does not mean there is mo temperature, However, temperature measured in Kelvin isa ratio variable as 0 Kelvin (often called absolute zero) indicates that there is no temperature whatsoever. Other examples of ratio variables include height, mass, distance and many more. ‘The name "ratio" reflects the fact that you can use the ratio of measurements, So, for example, a distance of ten meters is twice the distance of 5 meters, Ambiguities in classifying a type of variable In some cases, the measurement scale for data is ordinal, but the variable is treated as continuous. For example, a Likert scale that contains five values - strongly agree, agree, neither agree nor disagree, disagree, and strongly disagree - is ordinal. However, where a Likert seale contains seven or more value - strongly agree, moderately agree, agree, neither agree nor disagree, disagree, moderately disagree, and strongly disagree - the underlying scale is sometimes treated as continuous (although where you should do this is a cause of great dispute) 9CHECK YOUR KNOWLEDGE (Short Answer Question) (POINTS EACH) Read the question carefully. Write your answer on the space provided, Is a learning process that motivates you to obtain knowledge or information about people, things, places, or events? Can be a way of life: it is the basis for many of the important decisions in our lives Focuses on numeric and unchanging data and detailed, convergent reasoning rather than divergent reasoning (i., the generation of a vatiety of ideas about a research problem in a spontaneous, free- flowing manner), ‘This data are the pieces of information that can be counted and Which ate usually gathered by surveys from large numbers of respondents randomly selected for inclusion. ‘Sometimes called an experimental or predictor variable ‘The aim is to manipulate an independent variable(s) and then examine the effect that this change has on a dependent variable(s) ‘The relationships between two variables Design involves selecting groups, upon which a variable is tested ‘without any random pre-seleetion process. Statement to be proven or disproved, Uses interviews, questionnaires, and sampling potls to get a sense of behavior with intense precision. Variables that have two or more categories, but which do not have ‘an intrinsie order Nominal variables which have only two categories or levels Variables for which their central characteristic is that they can be measured slong acontinuum and they have a numerical value Interval variables, but with the added condition that 0 (zero) of the measurement indicates that there is none of that variable ‘The researcher does not manipulate the independent variablets). >=Ditections: INDIVIDUAL WORK. Complete the concept map by writing words associated with the middle word. Be guided by the clues in the sentence below each graph,‘The continuous presence of your name on the Dean's list guarantee a good future for you. REFERENCE | EDD-904 Understandin g & Using Data: Characteristics of Quantitative Researeh hip //spalding.libguides.com/e.php? g=461 133&p=3 153088 hups:/écoursedev.umuc.edwWRTG999A feh apter4/ch4-011.html What is the nature of research? | Insights Association \Wwwwinsightsassoctation.org/faq/what-nature-research hutp:/betterthesis dk/research-metho ds/lesson- different -approaches-to-research/strengths-and- limitations Baraceros, Esther L., PRACTICAL RESEARCH 1,First Edition 2016, Rex Book Store, 856 Nicanor, Sr. St., Manila, Philippines.