Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education
Regional Office IX, Zamboanga
Peninsula

11/12 Z P
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Z P
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Practical Research 2
Quarter 4 - Module 4
Presentation Of Written Research
Methodology

Name of Learner:
Grade and Section: _
Name of School:
 What I Need to Know

Research methodology is the specific procedures or techniques used to identify,

select, process, and analyze information about a topic. In a research paper, the
methodology section allows the reader to critically evaluate a study’s overall validity and
reliability. Now, this module is an instrument to help you acquire knowledge more about
presenting of written research methodology and the ways how to organize in such a way
your reader may gain interest and could understand the flow of its significance. This lesson
contains various instruments how to present written research methodology (CS_RS12-
IIa-c-7). At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
1. Describe the guidelines in writing research methodology
2. Identify the key components of methodology chapter: Introductory Paragraph,
Research Design, Research Environment, Research Participants, Sampling
Procedures, Research Instruments, Data Gathering Procedures, Statistical
Treatment of Data, and Ethical Considerations.
3. Show that you understand how all of the components combined form a logical,
interconnected sequence and contribute to the overall methodological integrity of
the study
These are the objectives that are used to develop and improve life-existence
inauguration to its full potential. Learners, hear this out! The youth is really the hope of this
corrupted generation, so fulfill your desire in research wherefore you could change something
that is very beneficial.

What’s New

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Definition
Research Methodology is the specific procedures or techniques used to identify, select,
process, and analyze information about a topic. In a research paper, the methodology section
allows the reader to critically evaluate a study's overall validity and reliability.

Elements of research methodology:

1. Research Design
2. Research Environment
3. Research Participants
4. Sampling Procedures
5. Research Instruments
 6. Data Gathering Procedures
7. Statistical Treatment of Data
8. Ethical Considerations

What Is It?

Research Design: Definition, Characteristics and Types

Research design is the framework of research methods and techniques chosen by a

researcher. The design allows researchers to home in on research methods that are suitable
for the subject matter and set up their studies up for success.
The design of a research topic explains the type of research
(experimental, survey, correlational, semi-experimental, review) and also its sub-type
(experimental design, research problem, descriptive case-study).
There are three main types of research design: Data collection, measurement, and
analysis. The type of research problem an organization is facing will determine the research
design and not vice-versa. The design phase of a study determines which tools to use and
how they are used.
An impactful research design usually creates a minimum bias in data and increases
trust in the accuracy of collected data. A design that produces the least margin of error in
experimental research is generally considered the desired outcome. The essential elements
of the research design are:
1. Accurate purpose statement
2. Techniques to be implemented for collecting and analyzing research
3. The method applied for analyzing collected details
4. Type of research methodology
5. Probable objections for research
6. Settings for the research study
7. Timeline
8. Measurement of analysis

Proper research design sets your study up for success. Successful research studies
provide insights that are accurate and unbiased. You’ll need to create a survey that meets all
of the main characteristics of a design.

There are four key characteristics of research design:

1) Neutrality: When you set up your study, you may have to make assumptions about
the data you expect to collect. The results projected in the research design should be
free from bias and neutral. Understand opinions about the final evaluated scores and
conclusion from multiple individuals and consider those who agree with the derived
results.
2) Reliability: With regularly conducted research, the researcher involved expects
similar results every time. Your design should indicate how to form
research questions to ensure the standard of results. You’ll only be able to reach the
expected results if your design is reliable.
3) Validity: There are multiple measuring tools available. However, the only correct
measuring tools are those which help a researcher in gauging results according to the
objective of the research. The questionnaire developed from this design will then be
valid.
4) Generalization: The outcome of your design should apply to a population and not just
a restricted sample. A generalized design implies that your survey can be conducted
on any part of a population with similar accuracy.
 The above factors affect the way respondents answer the research questions and so
all the above characteristics should be balanced in a good design.

A researcher must have a clear understanding of the various types of research design
to select which model to implement for a study. Like research itself, the design of your study
can be broadly classified into quantitative and qualitative.

Qualitative research design: Qualitative research determines relationships between

collected data and observations based on mathematical calculations. Theories related to a
naturally existing phenomenon can be proved or disproved using statistical methods.
Researchers rely on qualitative research design methods that conclude “why” a particular
theory exists along with “what” respondents have to say about it.
Quantitative research design: Quantitative research is for cases where statistical
conclusions to collect actionable insights are essential. Numbers provide a better perspective
to make critical business decisions. Quantitative research design methods are necessary for
the growth of any organization. Insights drawn from hard numerical data and analysis prove
to be highly effective when making decisions related to the future of the business.

You can further break down the types of research design into five categories:

1. Descriptive research design: In a descriptive design, a researcher is solely interested

in describing the situation or case under their research study. It is a theory-based
design method which is created by gathering, analyzing, and presenting collected data.
This allows a researcher to provide insights into the why and how of research.
Descriptive design helps others better understand the need for the research. If the
problem statement is not clear, you can conduct exploratory research.
2. Experimental research design: Experimental research design establishes a
relationship between the cause and effect of a situation. It is a causal design where
one observes the impact caused by the independent variable on the dependent
variable. For example, one monitors the influence of an independent variable such as
a price on a dependent variable such as customer satisfaction or brand loyalty. It is a
highly practical research design method as it contributes to solving a problem at hand.
The independent variables are manipulated to monitor the change it has on the
dependent variable. It is often used in social sciences to observe human behavior by
analyzing two groups. Researchers can have participants change their actions and
study how the people around them react to gain a better understanding of social
psychology.
3. Correlational research design: Correlational research is a non-experimental
research design technique that helps researchers establish a relationship between two
closely connected variables. This type of research requires two different groups. There
is no assumption while evaluating a relationship between two different variables, and
statistical analysis techniques calculate the relationship between them.

Research Environment

This discusses the place or setting of the study. It describes in brief the place where the
study is conducted. Only important features which have the bearing on the present study
are included. It also shows the target population.

2 classifications of research locale:

1. Laboratory studies – designed to be more highly controlled in relation to both the

environment in which the study is conducted and the control of extraneous and
intervening variables.
 2. Field Studies – done in natural settings and use a variety such as field
experiments, participant observations in villages or hospital wards, interviews in
home or office, questionnaire sent to research subjects and anything at all which
does not occur in a controlled laboratory setting.

Research Participant

A research participant, also called a human subject or an experiment, trial, or

study participant or subject, is a person who voluntarily participates in human subject
research after giving informed consent to be the subject of the research. A research
participant is different from individuals who are not able to give informed consent, such as
children, infants, and animals. Such individuals are preferentially referred to as subjects.

Sampling Procedure

Definition
• Sample: a portion of the entire group (called a population)
• Sampling procedure: choosing part of a population to use to test hypotheses
about the entire population. It is used to choose the number of participants,
interviews, or work samples to use in the assessment process.
• If the sample data will be generalized to reflect the population, statistical
selection processes should be used, e.g. random or stratified sampling.

Types of sampling procedures:

1) Purposeful sampling – chooses subjects that you believe will be able to provide
you with important information. Types of purposeful sampling: “maximum
variation”, “typical case”, “critical case” and “extreme or deviant case” (Patton,
1989, pg 100-107).
2) Key informant – a specific person that you believe will give you the most
information. It is sometimes used to develop interview questions or to begin
snowball sampling.
3) Snowball – you ask the participants to provide you with names of those that will
be able to provide you with important information.
4) Convenience – simply asking anyone to whom you have easy access. Avoid this if
possible.
5) Random table/random selection – when each person of the population has an
equal chance of being selected. Selection is based on random procedure such as
using random table of numbers. (Choosing every fifth person is NOT a random
selection.)
6) Stratified sampling – “stratified” means choosing from various sub-groups. The
population is divided into subpopulations and random samples are taken of each
subpopulation. For example, stratified by gender. If the population has 25%
females and 75% males, the sample should be chosen randomly by subpopulations
and consist of 25% females and 75% males.
7) Whole population – the entire population is used. (e.g., entire course, entire
university, all students within a program, etc). This is especially true if the
population is small.

How Many To Choose?

• Is the sample reflective of the variation of the group you are interested in? If you are
interested in differences between males and females, will your sample provide sufficient data
on both males and females? (Seidman, 1998)
• Assessment is used mostly for program improvement and usually not for scientific
research of effects on student learning.
• For statistical confidence and uses for generalization, then calculate the exact sample
size needed with a sample size calculator (Sample Size Calculator).

What’s More

Research Instrument

This explains the specific type of research instrument used such as questionnaire,
checklist, questionnaire-checklists, structured interview, teacher– made test, standardized
instrument which are adopted or borrowed with permission from the author or from other
sources.
The parts of the instruments should be explained and what bits of information are
derived. The establishment of validity and reliability should be explained and only experts
should be chosen to validate such instrument. Specific and appropriate statistical test used
should be given and the computed values derived. Interpretation should be included in the
discussions.
A good research instrument is one that has been validated and has proven reliability.
It should be one that can collect data in a way that’s appropriate to the research question
being asked.
The research instrument must be able to assist in answering the research aims,
objectives and research questions, as well as prove or disprove the hypothesis of the study.
It should not have any bias in the way that data is collected and it should be clear as
to how the research instrument should be used appropriately.

Data Gathering Procedures

When you know which method(s) you are using, you need to plan exactly how you will
implement them. What procedures will you follow to make accurate observations or
measurements of the variables you are interested in?
Sampling

You may need to develop a sampling plan to obtain data systematically. This involves
defining a population, the group you want to draw conclusions about, and a sample, the
group you will actually collect data from.
Your sampling method will determine how you recruit participants or obtain
measurements for your study. To decide on a sampling method you will need to consider
factors like the required sample size, accessibility of the sample, and timeframe of the data
collection.
Standardizing procedures

If multiple researchers are involved, write a detailed manual to standardize data

collection procedures in your study.
This means laying out specific step-by-step instructions so that everyone in your
research team collects data in a consistent way – for example, by conducting experiments
under the same conditions and using objective criteria to record and categorize observations.
This helps ensure the reliability of your data, and you can also use it to replicate the
study in the future.
 Creating a data management plan

Before beginning data collection, you should also decide how you will organize and
store your data.
If you are collecting data from people, you will likely need to anonymize and safeguard
the data to prevent leaks of sensitive information (e.g. names or identity numbers).
If you are collecting data via interviews or pencil-and-paper formats, you will need to
perform transcriptions or data entry in systematic ways to minimize distortion.

Statistical Treatment in Research

It explains how each statistical test is used in the treatment of data. If the research
instrument included options which are scaled, explain how each scale is given the weight, its
interval and class limits.
Every research student, regardless of whether they are a biologist, computer scientist
or psychologist, must have a basic understanding of statistical treatment if their study is to
be reliable. This is because designing experiments and collecting data are only a small part
of conducting research. The other components, which are often not so well understood by
new researchers, are the analysis, interpretation and presentation of the data. This is just as
important, if not more important, as this is where meaning is extracted from the study.

Statistical treatment of data is when you apply some form of statistical method to a
data set to transform it from a group of meaningless numbers into meaningful output.
Statistical treatment of data involves the use of statistical methods such as: mean,
mode, median, standard deviation, distribution range, regression, etc.

These statistical methods allow us to investigate the statistical relationships between

the data and identify possible errors in the study.
In addition to being able to identify trends, statistical treatment also allows us to
organize and process our data in the first place. However, to do this, we need to be able to
classify the population into different subgroups so that we can later break down our data in
the same way before analyzing it.

Statistical Treatment Example – Quantitative Research

For a statistical treatment of data example, consider a medical study that is

investigating the effect of a drug on the human population. As the drug can affect different
people in different ways based on parameters such as gender, age and race, the researchers
would want to group the data into different subgroups based on these parameters to
determine how each one affects the effectiveness of the drug.
 Ethical Considerations

It is imperative that ethical issues are considered during the formulation of the
evaluation plan. Ethical considerations during evaluation include:
Informed consent, Voluntary participation, Do no harm, Confidentiality, Anonymity, etc.

Informed consent means that the person participating in the evaluation is fully
informed about the evaluation being conducted.
Voluntary participation means that people participate in the evaluation free from
coercion. Participants are free to withdraw their participation at any time without negatively
impacting on their involvement in future services or the current program and relationships
with any of the researchers or research bodies involved
Do no harm emphasizes that harm can be both physical and/or psychological and
therefore can be in the form of stress, pain, anxiety, diminishing self-esteem or an invasion
of privacy.
Confidentiality means that any identifying information is not made available to, or
accessed by anyone but the program coordinator. Confidentiality also ensures such
identifying information is excluded from any reports or published documents.
Anonymity is a stricter form of privacy than confidentiality, as the identity of the
participant remains unknown to the research team. Only assess those components that
are of relevance to the program/initiative beingconducted.

References
BOOKS
Abino, A. C., Castillo, J. A. A., & Lee, Y. J. (2014). Assessment of species diversity, biomass and carbon
sequestration potential of a natural mangrove stand in Samar, the Philippines. Forest Science and Technology,
10(1), 2-8.
Emmel, N. 2013. Sampling and choosing cases in qualitative research. Los Angeles: Sage.
Morgan, D. L. 2014. Integrating qualitative and quantitative methods: A pragmatic approach.
Los Angeles: Sage.
INTERNET SOURCES
https://reboot.org/2012/02/19/design-research-what-is-it-and-why-do-it
https://learn.lexiconic.net/introparas
https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/rs/ethicsandintegrity/research-environment
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research
https://dasa.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/53/2015/09/methods_sampling
https://www.discoverphds.com/blog/research-instrument
https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/data-collection
https://www.discoverphds.com/blog/statistical-treatment-of-data
https://mypeer.org.au/monitoring-evaluation/ethical-considerations
https://www.questionpro.com/blog/research-design/
Research Methodology (slideshare.net)