Course: Education Research (837)

Level: M.A/M. Ed
Semester: Autumn, 2019
Assignment No: 01

Q 1: Explain briefly each source of knowledge and discuss which source is most
important and why?

Answer:

Human body needs nutritious food for its healthy existence. Human mind also need nutritious

food for their healthy and brilliant functioning. Hence Knowledge is considered as the food of
mind. The definition of knowledge is ongoing debate among the philosophers in the field of

epistemology. According to Plato Knowledge is justified true belief. Knowledge can be defined
as a familiarity awareness or understanding of someone or something such as facts,

information, descriptions or skills, which is acquired through experiences or education by

perceiving, discovering or learning. Any new information acquired by an organism through

formal, informal or non formal way of inquiry can be termed as knowledge. Knowledge make
individuals more strength and confident in their activity. The activity of research builds new

knowledge, theory or formulates generalization.

Ways/Source of Acquiring Knowledge 

Curious to know about new things is the main motivating factor for searching new knowledge.
When a person feel disequilibrium regarding any matter of content, s/he start search for
reaching valid conclusion regarding the matter of doubt. The process of clarification leads them
to equilibration in their cognition. For the purpose of getting new information the human

beings are using following ways to accumulate new knowledge.

Sensory Perception 

Senses are the gate ways of knowledge. Five senses help an individual to get primary
information regarding any object, individual or events and so forth. For example, students can

see an experiment conducted by the teacher, hear the explanation, touch the object or product,
smell the output, taste the product etc. Through this five activity (five sense organs) or any one

activity (single sense organ) students are able to construct and verify information regarding the
experiment conducted. Hence sensory perceptions are the one important source or means of
acquiring knowledge. In the case of a researcher, the sensory perceptions are important to them

to collect information and verify the authenticity and originality of acquired knowledge.

Logical Reasoning

Logical reasoning is another way of acquiring Knowledge. It is related to brainy functioning.

Ignorance and blind believes made man as a sleeping brains, later, curiosity and search for

cause and effect relationship paved the way of unfolding natural truths and facts. People
become modern and developed by the way they approached the matters through logical

reasoning. Deductive as well as inductive reasoning are emerged by the time as methods of
logical reasoning. Individuals may infer things through deductive reasoning, abstract thinking,

finding relationship between events and variables and so forth. For example a competent
person can make valid conclusion regarding the nature and consequences of certain events by

observing behavior of individuals or analyzing chain of events, statement and attitude of

national leaders and so forth. Through the logical reasoning a researcher can deduct and infer

information regarding the research problem.

Deductive Reasoning 

It is the earlier philosophical method of Logical Reasoning. Categorical syllogism is considered

as the old systematic method of logical reasoning. The famous philosopher Aristotle developed

it as Deductive method of problem solving. Moving from General assumptions to specific

application, that means the general to particular principle (DGP). It can be understood by the

explanation of categorical syllogism given below.

Categorical Syllogism 

Syllogistic reasoning is a kind of logical argument that applies deductive reasoning for drawing
a valid conclusion based on two or more propositions. Categorical syllogism consists of three

components; such as Major premise, Minor Premise, Conclusion. It establishes a logical

relationship between them.

Major Premise:  it is a self evident assumption, previously established by metaphysical truth or

dogmas. For example all men are mortal 

Minor Premise:  it is a particular case related to the major premise. For example, Socrates is a
man 
Conclusion:  based on both premises conclusion and inference could be surly possible. For

example Socrates is mortal

Form the above example we can observe the general assumption in major premise; that is all

men are mortal. Then leads to particular observation in minor premise that Socrates is a man
and concludes that that’s why he is a mortal.

Inductive Reasoning

Later much creative criticism had been raised regarding the process drawing conclusion from

general phenomenon. Because of the reason that there might be some dogmas and myths,
baseless beliefs which had not been empirically proved but believed that, they are true and as

well as had impacted the conclusion. So it leads to creating unreliable and error information to
the people. Hence many centuries later Francis bacon advocated the inductive method of

reasoning or problem solving which had kicked back the limitation of the deductive method. It
is the process of specific observations of phenomenon which leads to generalization. Here

individuals arrive to conclusions after the empirical verification of many individual observations
of a common phenomenon. Hence there is no possibility to adopt any dogmas or myth as a

foundation of knowledge. Here the problem solver ensures the mortality of the human beings
or any organism in particular case. For example a person analyzing the life history of great

personalities, such as Mahathma Gandhi, Nehru, Maulana Abul kalam azad, Abrahaam Lincon
and so forth. S/he could be reach a conclusion that even though these personalities had a

strong back up of the political power they could not overcome the death. And there is no
organism can be found on earth alive after a reasonable length of period. Hence it is concluded

that every organism with soul or life should breathe its last after a while.

Authority

There are several occasions where a researcher needs authoritative knowledge. All official
information can be termed as authoritative knowledge. One can get information from concern

authority regarding their concerned. Right to information act is a good example for the same. If
any individual need authentic information regarding any authority s/he can file a query

regarding his information concerned through RTI to concerned authority. This process ensures
an information seeker to get authentic knowledge from authority. For example if a researcher

needs information regarding the enrollment, dropout rate, literacy rate, budget allocation to
different educational sector, s/he can be collect information from the concern authority
regarding the above. The information provided by the concerned authority would be the

knowledge from authority or authoritative knowledge.

Traditions 

Traditions are another important source of knowledge. Much social related knowledge are
preserved and transmitted through traditions. For example social skills, values, social functions

are entirely routed in traditions of the society. Traditions have local as well as national impact. A
researcher can get information regarding the indigenous treatment system, folklore arts, skilled

based traditional social class are available from social traditions. There much information which
is largely depends on traditions.

Experience 

Personal as well as professional experience of an individual contributes much in his knowledge.

Personal experience in family, society, and neighborhood taught humans many lessons
regarding the behavior, adjustment, social dealings, patience and so forth. Professional

experiences make an individual perfectly professional. Knowledge of matters regarding to be

performed or not to be do in personal as well as professional situation create through

experiences. Learning by doing is also come under this category.

Naturalistic Inquiry 

Thirst for knowledge is the uniqueness of human being. When s/he wants to solve a certain
problem or confront a curious situation. S/he starts searching for the solution of the problem in

naturalistic way. The final solution will be found out by getting new information regarding the
problem through the inquiry. For example a researcher felt a problem of why the students of

backward areas are less enrolled in higher education. The researcher may formulate possible
reasons and possibilities of the problem. Empirically collect information from the original

sources, s/he may go to the community location and approach the concerned subject of the
study and their social situation. Through this inquiry process the researcher get much valuable

information and thereby infer the solution of the problem. The knowledge construction through
this process can be termed as naturalistic Inquiry.

Trial and Error 

Trial and error is one of the ways of acquiring new knowledge. The term trial and error is

contributed by famous psychologist E.L. Thorndike. Individuals learn more things through trial
and error process. Knowledge related to practical, professional, skilled and semi skilled

professions are largely depends on this source of knowledge. For example knowledge of use of
computer, smart phone, driving, playing cricket, football, teaching etc can be acquired through

trial and error.

Scientific approach 

Knowledge can be created or accumulated through various means. Scientific approach is very
important means of knowledge acquisition. Scientific approach ensures the reliability and

rationality of the information or knowledge acquired. The knowledge constructed through

scientific approach has following features.

1. Body of Knowledge

2. Universal application

3. Empirically proved

4. Experimental

5. Measurable

6. Observable

7. Trustworthiness

8. Objectivity

9. Validity

10. Reliability

11. Predictability

Scientific Method in Developing Knowledge 

Scientific method ensures the reliability and validity of the knowledge constructed through its
process. The adoption of the scientific method eliminates the biasness as well as the fake

information regarding the matter of concern. John Dewey (1938) identified the following steps
for scientific method which constitute the elements of deductive and inductive reasoning.

1. Identification and definition of problems 

2. Formulation of hypotheses 
3. Collection, organization and Analysis of data 

4. Formulation of conclusion 

5. Verification, Rejection, or Modification of hypotheses

Intuition 

Knowledge revealed from insight is another means of knowledge acquisition. Archimedes’s

Principles, Lord Buddha are the living examples of acquired knowledge through intuitions. Many
of the life situations we also had experienced intuitive knowledge to solve our life problems.

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Q 2: Define research. Explain the important characteristics of research?

Answer:

A careful consideration of study regarding a particular concern or problem using scientific

methods. According to the American sociologist Earl Robert Babbie, “Research is a systematic
inquiry to describe, explain, predict, and control the observed phenomenon. Research involves

inductive and deductive methods.”

Inductive research methods are used to analyze an observed event. Deductive methods are

used to verify the observed event. Inductive approaches are associated with qualitative
research and deductive methods are more commonly associated with quantitative research.

Research is conducted with a purpose to understand:

 What do organizations or businesses really want to find out?

 What are the processes that need to be followed to chase the idea?

 What are the arguments that need to be built around a concept?

 What is the evidence that will be required for people to believe in the idea or concept?

Characteristics of research

1. A systematic approach must be followed for accurate data. Rules and procedures are an
integral part of the process that set the objective. Researchers need to practice ethics

and a code of conduct while making observations or drawing conclusions.

2. Research is based on logical reasoning and involves both inductive and deductive

methods.
 3. The data or knowledge that is derived is in real time from actual observations in natural

settings.

4. There is an in-depth analysis of all data collected so that there are no anomalies

associated with it.

5. Research creates a path for generating new questions. Existing data helps create more

opportunities for research.

6. Research is analytical in nature. It makes use of all the available data so that there is no

ambiguity in inference.

7. Accuracy is one of the most important aspects of research. The information that is

obtained should be accurate and true to its nature. For example, laboratories provide a
controlled environment to collect data. Accuracy is measured in the instruments used,

the calibrations of instruments or tools, and the final result of the experiment.

What are the types of research?

Following are the types of research methods:

Basic research: A basic research definition is data collected to enhance knowledge. The main

motivation is knowledge expansion. It is a non-commercial research that doesn’t facilitate in

creating or inventing anything. For example: an experiment to determine a simple fact.

Applied research: Applied research focuses on analyzing and solving real-life problems. This
type refers to the study that helps solve practical problems using scientific methods. Studies

play an important role in solving issues that impact the overall well-being of humans. For
example: finding a specific cure for a disease.

Problem oriented research: As the name suggests, problem-oriented research is conducted to

understand the exact nature of a problem to find out relevant solutions. The term “problem”

refers to multiple choices or issues when analyzing a situation.

For example, revenue of a car company has decreased by 12% in the last year. The following

could be the probable causes: there is no optimum production, poor quality of a product, no
advertising, or economic conditions.
Problem solving research: This type of research is conducted by companies to understand and

resolve their own problems. The problem-solving method uses applied research to find
solutions to the existing problems.

Qualitative research: Qualitative research is a process that is about inquiry. It helps create in-
depth understanding of problems or issues in their natural settings. This is a non-statistical

method.

Qualitative research is heavily dependent on the experience of the researchers and the

questions used to probe the sample. The sample size is usually restricted to 6-10 people. Open-
ended questions are asked in a manner that encourages answers that lead to another question

or group of questions. The purpose of asking open-ended questions is to gather as much

information as possible from the sample.

The following are the methods used for qualitative research:

1. One-to-one interview

2. Focus groups

3. Ethnographic research

4. Content/Text Analysis

5. Case study research

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Q 3: How can educational research are used to improve the system of education?
Support your answer with arguments?

Answer:

Over the past century, the focus of education has changed from building students’ literacy and
numeracy skills to preparing them to find and evaluate information, express themselves clearly,

and think critically and collaboratively to solve complex problems. So how do we make sure that
educational practice reflects this shift? Given the expanding expectations of the education

system, the rapid pace at which information is generated, and the realities of the job market,
educational practice must reflect what science says about how people learn and in which

environments they learn best, so many more students can get over the higher bar that’s been
set.

This may seem obvious – we can best teach students by understanding how they learn and
applying that understanding to teaching. But despite recent demands for evidence- and
research-based tools and curricula, much of the science about how people learn does not

influence teaching practice or reach entrepreneurs and developers of learning tools.

As such, educators, researchers, and developers are missing opportunities and insights that can

not only improve the quality of their work, but student outcomes. Here are three steps we can
take to make sure research is being put to work in schools.

Improving how research is communicated to practitioners

One of the key reasons for the gap between the learning science and practice is that research is

not published in a manner that is readily accessible to the broader education community. The
media and other organizations, such as Education Week and KQED Mind/shift, do communicate

promising research findings to the public and translate these findings into actionable
information for practitioners.

Communication between researchers and educators allows teacher perspectives to help learning
scientists develop more relevant research questions.

But media outlets are not always reliable messengers and communicating research this way
creates a one-way conversation. Because researchers also benefit from improved understanding

of the teaching practice, two-way communication between these groups allows teachers’
perspectives and expertise to help learning scientists develop more relevant research questions.

Connecting research to the classroom

Another significant obstacle in applying research findings to practice: what is shown to improve

learning outcomes in controlled research environments does not always “work” in real-world
settings. Performing very controlled experiments allows researchers to isolate one aspect of

learning or cognition, or the effect of a certain intervention. This is very useful for scientists, but
not particularly helpful for practitioners, who are left to determine how to implement research

findings in complex and highly variable classrooms.

For example, simply knowing about the spacing effect – the well-documented finding, first

described by psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus in 1885, that long-term retention is improved

when learning events occur over time – only goes so far. It doesn’t tell an educator how long

each lesson should last, how much time to allow between lessons, or how to use the concept
with curriculum that is often organized to teach one topic at a time.
Educators need support to try learning science principles in their schools, and the skills to

determine whether changes or applications are successful.

Ideally, there would be a professional niche to fill this gap, translating scientific findings into

practical and effective teaching and learning practices. To date, this task has primarily fallen
onto already overloaded practitioners. (In contrast to the medical field, where clinicians are not

expected to read through countless journal articles in order to make informed treatment
decisions).

To overcome this challenge, teachers and curriculum directors need support and resources to
find and evaluate learning science principles to try out in their schools, and the skills necessary

to determine whether changes or applications are successful. Further, an online community of

practitioners and researchers would help educators document these important processes, and

get valuable feedback from learning science experts.

Adapting research practices to changing technology

The increased use of technology in schools creates both new challenges and opportunities for
connecting research and practice. Only a percentage of products that claim to be “research-

based” go beyond paying lip service to learning science and actually apply scientific
understanding of learning and cognition in meaningful ways. This means it’s even more crucial

to support practitioners in evaluating evidence. Additionally, developers must embrace their

role in bringing scientific understanding of learning into the classroom through digital tools. In

a much-hyped education technology market, efficacy, not marketing, should drive decisions.

Technology can also help researchers more easily perform studies in both formal and informal

real-world settings. Data generated in online environments allow scientists to observe and

analyze the learning process in new ways, and to better understand learning differences

between individuals. With the rapid pace of ed-tech development, studies that evaluate digital
learning tools should be published quickly and, taking advantage of the distribution power of

the Internet, disseminated widely in order to be relevant.

Despite the challenges, individuals, organizations, and companies are working to improve

teaching and learning through research.

Enthusiastic practitioners seek out research and apply the findings to solve challenges they face

in their classrooms. Developers use findings from cognitive science and learning analytics to
create personalized learning opportunities that engage and motivate kids. Researchers continue

to uncover new information about the mind, brain, and the design of learning environments,
and are beginning to identify promising techniques for improving student learning.

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Q 4: Differentiate among basic, applied and action research and discuss in detail the
need and use of action research?

Answer:

Research is a calculated investigation that provides a base for the decision-making. It can be
understood as the study undertaken by an individual or entity systematically, for finding out

solutions to the problems under consideration. Survey or experiment are carried out to gather
information as per the objectives. Based on utility, research is divided into two categories, i.e.

basic and applied research, wherein basic research is one that adds further knowledge to the
actual knowledge.

On the contrary, applied research implies the research that is put to practical use and is
beneficial to solve practical problems. This article might help you in understanding the

difference between basic and applied research.

Definition of Basic Research

Basic Research or otherwise called as pure or fundamental research, is one that focuses on
advancing scientific knowledge for the complete understanding of a topic or certain natural

phenomenon, primarily in natural sciences. In a nutshell, when knowledge is acquired for the
sake of knowledge it is called basic research.

Basic Research is completely theoretical, that focuses on basic principles and testing theories. It
tends to understand the basic law.

Basic Research deals with generalization and formulation of theory about human behaviour. It is
aligned towards collecting information that has universal applicability. Therefore, basic research

helps in adding new knowledge to the already existing knowledge.

Definition of Applied Research

Applied Research can be defined as research that encompasses real life application of the
natural science. It is directed towards providing a solution to the specific practical problems and

develop innovative technology.

In finer terms, it is the research that can be applied to real-life situations. It studies a particular

set of circumstances, so as to relate the results to its corresponding circumstances.

Applied research includes research that focuses on certain conclusions experiencing a business

problem. Moreover, research that is aligned towards ascertaining social, economic or political
trends are also termed as applied research.

Definition of Action research

Action research is a philosophy and methodology of research generally applied in the social

sciences. It seeks transformative change through the simultaneous process of taking action and
doing research, which are linked together by critical reflection. Kurt Lewin, then a professor at

MIT, first coined the term "action research" in 1944. In his 1946 paper "Action Research and
Minority Problems" he described action research as "a comparative research on the conditions

and effects of various forms of social action and research leading to social action" that uses "a
spiral of steps, each of which is composed of a circle of planning, action and fact-finding about

the result of the action".

Key Differences

The points given below explain the differences between basic and applied research:

1. Basic Research can be explained as research that tries to expand the already existing

scientific knowledge base. On the contrary, applied research is used to mean the
scientific study that is helpful in solving real-life problems.

2. While basic research is purely theoretical, applied research has a practical approach.

3. The applicability of basic research is greater than the applied research, in the sense that

the former is universally applicable whereas the latter can be applied only to the specific
problem, for which it was carried out.

4. The primary concern of the basic research is to develop scientific knowledge and
predictions. On the other hand, applied research stresses on the development of

technology and technique with the help of basic science.

5. The fundamental goal of the basic research is to add some knowledge to the already

existing one. Conversely, applied research is directed towards finding a solution to the
problem under consideration.
The type of research may vary on the basis of the level at which research is carried out and its

purpose. One can choose basic research over applied research when the purpose is to add
certain scientific knowledge, whereas when it is important to identify a proper solution to the

problem under study, applied research is preferable.

Need and use of action research:

Teachers are constantly tinkering, creating, learning, and growing. Action research is a slightly
formalized version of what skilled teachers do every day. By honoring action research as

systematic professional inquiry, we empower teachers to improve their practice. It’s easy to get
started undertaking a small, powerful action research project in your classroom. Let’s see what it

can look like. What it looks like and why it’s worth it

Classrooms are complex social environments. In addition to subject matter and developmental

expertise, teachers possess very specific knowledge about the learning dynamics of a classroom.
Teachers understand that everything from the culture of the school to the current dating status

of particular class members may influence the success of a lesson. This complexity means that
large-scale education research has limited applicability on a day-to-day basis. There are just too

many contextual factors affecting the implementation of any generalized approach. This means
that most of the daily dilemmas of teaching, top-down policies and large-scale research are not

detailed or nuanced enough to be useful.

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Q 5: Differentiate between historical and experimental research and discuss the process
of experimental research?

Answer:

When we think of research, we often think of a laboratory or classroom where two or more

groups receive different treatments or alternative training methods. We would then determine
if the treatment or training had an impact on some outcome measure. This type of research is

the best at predicting cause and effect relationships and is often cited as the most rigorous and
standardized form.

While the experiments described above have a definite place in the research arena, sometimes
we gain the best knowledge by looking into the past rather than into the future. Historical

research attempts to do just that. Through a detailed analysis of historical data, we can
determine, perhaps to a lesser extent, cause and effect relationships. We can also help prevent

the present day teachers, managers, and other users of research from making the same
mistakes that were made in the past.

Historical research can also mean gathering data from situations that have already occurred and
performing statistical analysis on this data just as we would in a traditional experiment. The one

key difference between this type of research and the type described in the first paragraph
concerns the manipulation of data. Since historical research relies on data from the past, there

is no way to manipulate it. Studying the grades of older students, for example, and younger
students may provide some insight into the differences between these two groups, but

manipulating the work experience is impossible. Therefore, historical research can often lead to
present day experiments that attempt to further explore what has occurred in the past.

Experimental research is any research conducted with a scientific approach, where a set of
variables are kept constant while the other set of variables are being measured as the subject of

experiment. There are times when you don’t have enough data to support your decisions. In
such situations, you need to carry out experiments to discover the facts. Experimental research

can gather a lot of data that can help you make better decisions.

Experimental research is one of the founding quantitative research methods.

The simplest example of an experimental research is conducting a laboratory test. As long as

research is being conducted under scientifically acceptable conditions – it qualifies as an

experimental research.  A true experimental research is considered to be successful only when

the researcher confirms that a change in the dependent variable is solely due to the

manipulation of the independent variable.

Experimental research should establish a cause and effect of a phenomenon, i.e. effects are

observed from an experiment due to the cause. As naturally, occurring event can be confusing
for researchers to establish conclusions. For instance, if a cardiology student conducts research

to understand the effect of food on cholesterol and derives that most heart patients are non-
vegetarians or have diabetes. They are aspects (causes) which can result in a heart attack

(effect).

Experimental research is conducted in the following situations:

 Time is a vital factor for establishing a relationship between cause and effect.
  Invariable behavior between cause and effect.

 The eminence of cause-effect relationship is as per desirability.

Process of experimental research:

Experimental research can be roughly divided into five phases:

Identifying a research problem

The process starts by clearly identifying the problem you want to study and considering what
possible methods will affect a solution. Then you choose the method you want to test, and

formulate a hypothesis to predict the outcome of the test.

For example, you may want to improve student essays, but you don't believe that teacher

feedback is enough. You hypothesize that some possible methods for writing improvement
include peer workshopping, or reading more example essays. Favoring the former, your

experiment would try to determine if peer workshopping improves writing in high school
seniors. You state your hypothesis: peer workshopping prior to turning in a final draft will

improve the quality of the student's essay.

Planning an experimental research study

The next step is to devise an experiment to test your hypothesis. In doing so, you must consider
several factors. For example, how generalizable do you want your end results to be? Do you

want to generalize about the entire population of high school seniors everywhere, or just the
particular population of seniors at your specific school? This will determine how simple or

complex the experiment will be. The amount of time funding you have will also determine the
size of your experiment.

Continuing the example from step one, you may want a small study at one school involving
three teachers, each teaching two sections of the same course. The treatment in this experiment

is peer workshopping. Each of the three teachers will assign the same essay assignment to both
classes; the treatment group will participate in peer workshopping, while the control group will

receive only teacher comments on their drafts.

Conducting the experiment

At the start of an experiment, the control and treatment groups must be selected. Whereas the
"hard" sciences have the luxury of attempting to create truly equal groups, educators often find
themselves forced to conduct their experiments based on self-selected groups, rather than on

randomization. As was highlighted in the Basic Concepts section, this makes the study a quasi-
experiment, since the researchers cannot control all of the variables.

For the peer workshopping experiment, let's say that it involves six classes and three teachers
with a sample of students randomly selected from all the classes. Each teacher will have a class

for a control group and a class for a treatment group. The essay assignment is given and the
teachers are briefed not to change any of their teaching methods other than the use of peer

workshopping. You may see here that this is an effort to control a possible variable: teaching
style variance.

Analyzing the data

The fourth step is to collect and analyze the data. This is not solely a step where you collect the

papers, read them, and say your methods were a success. You must show how successful. You
must devise a scale by which you will evaluate the data you receive, therefore you must decide

what indicators will be, and will not be, important.

Continuing our example, the teachers' grades are first recorded, then the essays are evaluated

for a change in sentence complexity, syntactical and grammatical errors, and overall length. Any
statistical analysis is done at this time if you choose to do any. Notice here that the researcher

has made judgments on what signals improved writing. It is not simply a matter of improved
teacher grades, but a matter of what the researcher believes constitutes improved use of the

language.

Writing the paper/presentation describing the findings

Once you have completed the experiment, you will want to share findings by publishing
academic paper (or presentations). These papers usually have the following format, but it is not

necessary to follow it strictly. Sections can be combined or not included, depending on the
structure of the experiment, and the journal to which you submit your paper.

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