Republic of the Philippines

President Ramon Magsaysay State University

(Formerly Ramon Magsaysay Technological University)
Iba, Zambales, Philippines
Tel/Fax No.: (047) 811-1683
COLLEGE OF TEACHER EDUCATION
Iba Campus

College/ Department College of Teacher Education

Course Code EDE
Course Title Introduction to Research
Place of the Course in the Program BEED
Professional Education
3rd Year, 1st Semester
Semester & Academic Year 1st Semester, AY 2021-2022

MODULE 4
Introduction
This course focuses on the development of competence and skill in research
methodology through exposure to different research models and techniques.

Intended Learning Outcomes

1. Introduce students to quantitative and qualitative methods for conducting
meaningful inquiry and research.
2. Learn about the research process, including its guiding principles, common
procedures, written fundamentals, and basic phases.
3. Gain an overview of research intent and design, methodology and technique,
format and presentation, and data management and analysis informed by
commonly used statistical methods.

Discussion

LESSON 7

TYPES OF RESEARCH

The basic types of research are as follows:

Descriptive vs. Analytical: Descriptive research includes surveys and fact-finding

enquiries of different kinds. The major purpose of descriptive research is description of the
state of affairs as it exists at present. The main characteristic of this method is that the
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researcher has no control over the variables; he can only report what has happened or what
is happening. Most of this research projects are used for descriptive studies in which the
researcher seeks to measure such items as, for example, frequency of shopping, preferences
of people, or similar data. Descriptive research also include attempts by researchers to
discover causes even when they cannot control the variables.

In analytical research, on the other hand, the researcher has to use facts or
information already available, and analyze these to make a critical evaluation of the material.

Quantitative vs. Qualitative: Quantitative research is based on the measurement

of quantity or amount. It is applicable to phenomena that can be expressed in terms of
quantity.

Qualitative research, on the other hand, is concerned with qualitative phenomenon,

e.g., phenomena relating to or involving quality or kind. For instance:

 Investigating the reasons for human behavior (e.g., why people think or do
certain things),
 Discovering the underlying motives and desires, using in depth interviews for the
purpose.
 Other techniques of such research are word association tests, sentence
completion tests, story completion tests and similar other projective techniques.
 Attitude or opinion research e.g., research designed to find out how people feel
or what they think about a particular subject or institution is also qualitative
research.

Qualitative research is especially important in the behavioral sciences where the aim
is to discover the underlying motives of human behavior. Through such research we can
analyze the various factors which motivate people to behave in a particular manner or which
make people like or dislike a particular thing.

Empirical Research

On the other hand, empirical research relies on experience or observation alone, often
without due regard for system and theory. It is data-based research, coming up with
conclusions which are capable of being verified by observation or experiment. We can also
call it as experimental type of research.

In such a research it is necessary to:

 Get facts firsthand, at their source, and actively to go about doing certain things to
stimulate the production of desired information.
 The researcher must first provide himself with a working hypothesis or guess as
to the probable results.

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  The researcher works to get enough facts (data) to prove or disprove his
hypothesis.
 The research is thus characterized by the experimenter’s control over the
variables under study and his deliberate manipulation of one of them to study its
effects.

Experimental research is appropriate when proof is sought that certain variables

affect other variables in some way. Evidence gathered through experiments or empirical
studies is today considered to be the most powerful support possible for a given hypothesis.
Experimental studies are done in carefully controlled and structured environments
and enable the causal relationships of phenomena to be identified and analyzed. The
variables can be manipulated or controlled to observe the effects on the subjects studied. For
example, sound, light, heat, volume of work levels etc can be managed to observe the effects.
Studies done in laboratories tend to offer the best opportunities for controlling the
variables in a rigorous way, although field studies can be done in a more ‘real world’
environment. However, with the former, the artificiality of the situation can affect the
responses of the people studied, and with the latter, the researcher has less control over the
variables affecting the situation under observation.

Other Forms of Research

Surveys. Surveys involve selecting a representative and unbiased sample of subjects

drawn from the group you wish to study. The main methods of asking questions are by face-
to-face or telephone interviews, by using questionnaires or a mixture of the two.
There are two main types of survey:
a. descriptive survey: concerned with identifying & counting the frequency of a
particular response among the survey group, or an
b. analytical survey: to analyze the relationship between different elements
(variables) in a sample group.

Case Studies. A case study offers an opportunity to study a particular subject, for
example one organization, in depth, or a group of people, and usually involves gathering and
analyzing information; information that may be both qualitative and quantitative. Case
studies can be used to formulate theories, or be:
a. Descriptive (e.g. where current practice is described in detail)
b. Illustrative (e.g. where the case studies illustrate new practices adopted by an
organization
c. Experimental (e.g. where difficulties in adopting new practices or procedures
are examined)
d. Explanatory(e.g. where theories are used as a basis for understanding and
explaining practices or procedures).

Action Research. Action research involves an intervention by a researcher to

influence change in any given situation and to monitor and evaluate the results.

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  The researcher, working with a client, identifies a particular objective, e.g. ways
of improving telephone responses to ‘difficult’ clients, and explores ways this
might be done.
 The researcher enters into the situation, e.g. by introducing new techniques, and
monitors the results.
 This research requires active co-operation between researcher and client and a
continual process of adjustment to the intervention in the light of new information
and responses to it from respondents.

Ethnography (Participant Observation). This form of research evolved from

anthropology and the close study of societies.

Ethnography is more usually described as participant observation, and this is where

the researcher becomes a working member of the group or situation to be observed. The aim
is to understand the situation from the inside: from the viewpoints of the people in the
situation. The researcher shares the same experiences as the subjects, and this form of
research can be particularly effective in the study of small groups/small firms.

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 Name: Module 4
Course/Year/Section:
Date received:
Date submitted:
Score:

Activity
Using the Venn diagram below, compare and contrast the following type of research.
(30pts.)

Descriptive Analytical

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 Quantitative Qualitative

Exercises
Use the template to complete the Matirx of Research below. (30pts.)
Researcher (s) Title of Research Date of Research Type of Research

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 Researcher Title of Research Date of Research Type of Research

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Suggested Readings

 Tamban, Victoria, Maningas, Ofelia & Maningas, Rolando (2019). Methods of Research
a Textbook/Workbook: St. Andrew’s Publishing House, Bulacan, Philippines
 An Introduction to Research http://www.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/
upmbinaries/29985_Chapter1.pdf
 Driscoll, Dana Lynn (2011). Introduction to Primary Research: Observations, Surveys,
and Interviews. ISBN 978-1-60235-184-4
http://www.parlorpress.com/pdf/driscoll--introduction-to-primary-research.pdf
 D. Slesinger and M. Stephenson (1930). The Encyclopaedia of Social Sciences, Vol. IX,
MacMillan, 1930.
Resources and Additional References

 UNESCO. (2005). Educational research: Some basic concepts and terminology.

France: International Institute for Educational Planning/UNESCO.
 Research an Introduction
http://www.newagepublishers.com/samplechapter/000896.pdf
 Research Methodology: An Introduction
http://www.limat.org/data/research/Research%20Methodology.pdf
 Research Methods, Data Analysis, and Reporting
http://www.cdse.edu/documents/education/ED508samplesyllabus.pdf
 Undergraduate Research Methods Course
http://mcnair.usc.edu/Research%20Methods%20Course,%20Spring%202012.pdf

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