UNIVERSITY OF PERPETUAL HELP SYSTEM DALTA

Graduate School

RITCHE M. APOLONIO DIONISIO G. MAGPANTAY

PhD Student / Group 1 Reporter / Member Course Professor

Course Title:
Advanced Methods of Research and Statistics with Computer Application

Topic: Nature of Research

NATURE OF RESEARCH

Definition of Research

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.”
(questionpro.com)

Other definitions:
 It is to search again, to take another more careful look, to find our more
(Selltiz, et.al., 1976)

 It is a systematic quest for undiscovered truth

(Leedy, 1974)

 It is a systematic attempt to provide answers to questions)

(Tuckman, 1972)

Research is conducted with a purpose to understand:

1. What do organizations or businesses really want to find out?

2. What are the processes that need to be followed to chase the idea?
3. What are the arguments that need to be built around a concept?
4. What is the evidence that will be required for people to believe in the idea or
concept?

Research is by definition original work, a searching to answer a question. The

popular concept of research can involve, for example, just looking up some statistics
in a book. A more formal definition of research would be:

“Studious inquiry; usually, critical and exhaustive investigation or experimentation

having for its aim the revision of accepted conclusions, in the light of newly
discovered facts.” (Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary)
Importance of Research

7 Reasons Why Research is Important,

(Leann Zarah, a freelance qualitative researcher, https://owlcation.com)

1. A Tool for Building Knowledge and Efficient Learning

2. Means to Understand Various Issues
3. An Aid to Business Success
4. A Way to Prove Lies and to Support Truths
5. Means to Find, Gauge, and Seize Opportunities
6. A Seed to Love Reading, Writing, Analyzing, and Sharing Valuable
Information
7. Nourishment and Exercise for the Mind

Kinds and Classification of Research

(Gerlie Joy D. Gonda & Rosalina A. Aspi,https://www.slideshare.net)

According to Purpose:
 Predictive or prognostic
 Directive
 Illuminative
According to Goal:
 Basic
 Applied
According to the level of investigation:
 Exploratory
 Descriptive
 Experimental

According to the Types of Analysis:

 Analytic approach
 Holistic approach

According to Scope:
 Action research

According to Choice of Answers to Problems:

 Evaluation research
 Developmental research

According to Time Element:

 Historical research
 Descriptive research
 Experimental research
Classification of Research

CLASSIFICATION OF RESEARCH BY PURPOSE & METHOD

(by Dr. SHAZIA ZAMIR, https://www.slideshare.net)

By Purpose:

Basic research is conducted solely for the purpose of theory development

and refinement. For example, much basic research has been conducted with
animals to determine principles of reinforcement and their effect on learning. Like the
experiment of skinner on cats gave the principle of conditioning and reinforcement.

Applied research is conducted for the purpose of applying or testing theory

and evaluating its usefulness in educational problems. For example, applied
research tests the principle of reinforcement to determine their effectiveness in
improving learning (e.g. programmed instruction) and behavior (e.g. behavior
modification).

Research and development

Research Brings new information to light. Focuses on the interaction between
research and the production and evaluation of a new product. This type of research
can be ‘formative’ (by collecting evaluative information about the product while it is
being developed with the aim of using such information to modify and improve the
development process).
For example, an investigation of teachers’ reactions to the various drafts and
redrafts of a new mathematics teaching kit, with the information gathered at each
stage being used to improve each stage of the drafting process.
It can be ‘summative’ (by evaluating the worth of the final product, especially
in comparison to some other competing product).
For example, a comparison of the mathematics achievement of students
exposed to a new mathematics teaching kit in comparison with students exposed to
the established mathematics curriculum.

Evaluation Research. The purpose of evaluation research is to facilitate

decision making regarding the relative worth of two or more alternative actions

By Method:

Historical research generates descriptions, and sometimes attempted

explanations, of conditions, situations, and events that have occurred in the past. For
example, a study that documents the evolution of teacher training programs since
the turn of the century, with the aim of explaining the historical origins of the content
and processes of current program
Descriptive research provides information about conditions, situations, and
events that occur in the present. It is also called 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,
averages, and other statistical calculations. Although this research is highly accurate,
it does not gather the causes behind a situation.
 Experimental research is used in settings where variables defining one or
more ‘causes’ can be manipulated in a systematic fashion in order to discern ‘effects’
on other variables. For example, an investigation of the effectiveness of two new
textbooks using random assignment of teachers and students to three groups – two
groups for each of the new textbooks, and one group as a ‘control’ group to use the
existing textbook.

Types of Research

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 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
Quantitative research is a structured way of collecting data and analyzing it to draw
conclusions. Unlike qualitative methods, this method uses a computational and
statistical process to collect and analyze data. Quantitative data is all about
numbers.

Quantitative research involves a larger population — more people means more data.
With more data to analyze, you can obtain more accurate results. This method
uses close-ended questions because the researchers are typically looking to gather
statistical data.

Research Techniques

Surveys often involve questions to which the respondents respond. These questions
may be open ended, semi open ended and closed ended questions.
(https://www.marketing91.com/research-techniques/)

1. Open-ended questions
Examples:
 What is your opinion on this?
 Why do you think it should not be done or it should be done?
 Describe your experience about a particular incident.

2. Close-ended questions
Examples:
 Do you agree with the hypothesis? answer in yes or no.
 On the scale of 1 to 5 how would you rate the restaurant 1 being the best and
5 being the worst.
 Which of the following would be your color of choice? Red, yellow, green or
blue.
 Which city did you grow up in?
 What is your age?

3. Semi open-ended questions

Example:
 How was your experience? Options – Good, Bad, Neutral, Other
(explain in detail)

4. Focus Groups
 Questionnaires are designed for focus group interviews also but there may
not be any questionnaires for focus group discussions. Although in such
cases follow up questions may also be presented to the participants after
completing the discussions. focus group interviews are used by many
companies before the launch of their product in order to understand the views
of the customers.

5. Interviews | Research Techniques

 Usually conducted interview requires a detailed plan about the process of
conducting an interview and the flow in which the interview is to be conducted.

6. Brainstorming
Examples:
  Quantity first
 No criticism
 Out of the box ideas
 Improvement by combination

7. Gamestorming | Research Techniques

Example:
If the ultimate goal of the business is to find the primary feature of the product
then the gamestorming game may involve each of the participants
accompanying with a limited set of features or specifications which will allow
them to bite or buy on different features and see which one is on top.

8. Web Analytics
 Web analytics can also be combined with gamification where buy bye we can
come to know about the impact on their behavior and we can adjust and
optimize the strategy as required.
5 ways:
 Set Goals. As we covered last week, people attach a great deal of importance
to metrics such as bounce rate, time on site, and page views. ...
 Check for Problem Pages. People will leave your site – that is a foregone
conclusion. ...
 Consider Your Target Audience. ...
 Leverage Top Traffic Sources. ...
 Curb Your Addiction.

9. A/B testing | Research Techniques

 The goal of AB testing is not to improve the single point but to improve the
overall experience.
Small and one by one changes can be introduced in a b testing so that over
time the entire collection of changes can result in a drastic change.
Example on A/B Testing in Travel Industry:
Increase the number of successful bookings on your website or mobile app,
your revenue from ancillary purchases, and much more through A/B testing.
You may try testing your home page search modals, search results page,
ancillary product presentation, your checkout progress bar, and so on.

10. Playtesting
 A non-disclosure agreement may be signed for all of the forms of playtesting
by the participants.
Examples:
 How many collision errors are there in my game?
 Where are the collision errors in my game?

References:
 questionpro.com
 https://owlcation.com
 Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary
 https://www.slideshare.net
 https://www.marketing91.com/research-techniques/