METHODS OF RESEARCH

METHODS OF
RESEARCH
Transcript by: Nicka Mae
METHODS OF RESEARCH
What is Research?
Research is a process of systematic inquiry that
entails collection of data; documentation of
critical information; and analysis and
interpretation of that data/information, in
accordance with suitable methodologies set by
specific professional fields and academic
disciplines.
Characteristics of Research
1. The research should focus on priority
problems.
2. The research should be systematic.
3. The research should be logical.
4. The research should be reductive.
5. The research should be replicable.
6. The research should be generative.
7. The research should be action-oriented.
8. The research should follow an integrated
multidisciplinary approach, i.e., research
approaches from more than one discipline are
needed.
9. The research should be participatory,
involving all parties concerned (from
policymakers down to community members)
at all stages of the study.
10. The research must be relatively simple,
timely, and time-bound, employing a
comparatively simple design.
11. The research must be as much cost-effective
as possible.
12. The results of the research should be
presented in formats most useful for
administrators, decision-makers, business
managers, or the community members.
Quantitative Research
Quantitative research is the process of collecting
and analyzing numerical data. It can be used to
find patterns and averages, make predictions, test
causal relationships, and generalize results to
wider populations.
i. Quantifying a problem.
ii. Random sampling.
iii. Deductive reasoning.
iv. Object-based research.
v. Systematic operations.
vi. Advanced statistical analysis.
vii. Graphical data representation.
viii. Numerical projection of perceptions.
Qualitative Research
▪ Qualitative research involves collecting and
analyzing non-numerical data (e.g., text,
video, or audio) to understand concepts,
opinions, or experiences. It can be used to
gather in-depth insights into a problem or
generate new ideas for research.
▪ Qualitative research is commonly used in the
humanities and social sciences, in subjects
such as anthropology, sociology, education,
health sciences, history, etc.
i. One-on-one interview.
ii. Focus group.
iii. Ethnographic research.
iv. Case study research.
v. Record keeping.
vi. Process of observation.
Sample Gatherings
Data collection is a systematic process of
gathering observations or measurements.
Whether you are performing research for
business, governmental or academic
purposes, data collection allows you to gain
first-hand knowledge and original insights
into your research problem.
While methods and aims may differ between
fields, the overall process of data collection
remains largely the same. Before you begin
collecting data, you need to consider:
▪ The aim of the research.
▪ The type of data that you will collect.
▪ The methods and procedures you
will use to collect, store, and process
the data.
Observation
Questionnaires
Interviews
Focus Group Sessions
Lecture Video: https://youtu.be/mV0bUQpz468
What comes to mind when you think about
research? Probably a laboratory with test tubes,
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microscopes, and scientists wearing white lab
coats. This setup is ideal for researchers in some
disciplines, such as;
a. Virologists studying viral infections,
b. Physicists developing new electronic
devices, or
c. Chemists creating new materials.
d. Other possibilities, such as someone digging
through historical archives or
e. Someone distributing surveys about
consumer preferences, may also come to
mind. That’s research, too!
So what is research? What unites these very
different approaches?
They share the same fundamental goal: the
creation of new knowledge or ideas. Every
good research project begins with a question that
has no known answer. These questions vary from
field to field. A research product can be;
a. Something tangible, such as a new drug
for curing a particular disease,
b. Or it can be intangible, such as a new
understanding of an archival text.
Many people associate the idea of research with
the scientific method - a cyclical process of
posing questions and reaching conclusions.
1. The first step in this process is making
observations and asking questions.
2. Then, the researcher formulates
hypotheses, or educated guesses, that try
to answer those questions, and
3. Develops experiments to collect data
and produce results.
4. The results help the researcher to form a
conclusion.
5. The final step of the scientific method is
sharing the results of the research with
other scholars so that they can observe,
verify, and ask their own questions.
This process is an ongoing loop that pushes
discovery and innovation forward. But the
processes and principles of the scientific method
aren’t limited to the sciences.
When a literary scholar reads a number of texts
by authors writing in the same time period and
notices thematic similarities - they’re making
observations. When they ask why these themes
are important to the writers in this time period,
they’re asking a research question. Then, they
might argue that the particular themes they are
seeing are a result of certain economic or social
conditions that characterized that time period -
this is a hypothesis. In order to collect data, the
scholar can read more texts from that time period
and contrast them with texts from other periods to
see if there are sufficient similarities and
differences. Finally, they can publish their work
and allow other scholars to study it and ask their
own questions.
Maybe you have a burning question that you’d
like to solve, or perhaps you’re itching to join an
existing research team. Luckily, there are
numerous ways that you can get involved with
research.
i. One pathway that leads to a career in
research involves attending college
and eventually pursuing an advanced
degree, such as a PhD.
ii. But even people who don’t have a
college education can contribute to
research projects, for instance by
participating in surveys or helping
researchers gather data.
iii. Through research, you can contribute
to tackling major obstacles of our
generation, from conserving
endangered species to monitoring
public health crises.
As long as you’re curious and hard-working,
research is for you!
Academic Honesty/Plagiarism
Academic Honesty
At most educational institutions, “academic
honesty” means demonstrating and upholding the
highest integrity and honesty in all the academic
work that you do. In short, it means doing your
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own work and not cheating, and not presenting
the work of others as your own.
The following are some common forms of
academic dishonesty prohibited by most
academic institutions:
1. Cheating
• Cheating can take the form of crib notes,
looking over someone’s shoulder during
an exam, or any forbidden sharing of
information between students regarding
an exam or exercise.
• Many elaborate methods of cheating have
been developed over the years—from
hiding notes in the bathroom toilet tank to
storing information in graphing
calculators, pagers, cell phones, and other
electronic devices.
• Cheating differs from most other forms of
academic dishonesty, in that people can
engage in it without benefiting themselves
academically at all.
• For example, a student who illicitly
telegraphed answers to a friend during a
test would be cheating, even though the
student’s own work is in no way affected.
2. Deception
• Deception is providing false information
to an instructor concerning an academic
assignment.
• Examples of this include taking more time
on a take-home test than is allowed, giving
a dishonest excuse when asking for a
deadline extension, or falsely claiming to
have submitted work.
3. Fabrication
• Fabrication is the falsification of data,
information, or citations in an academic
assignment.
• This includes making up citations to back
up arguments or inventing quotations.
Fabrication is most common in the natural
sciences, where students sometimes
falsify data to make experiments “work”
or false claims are made about the
research performed.
4. Plagiarism
• Plagiarism, as defined in the 1995
Random House Compact Unabridged
Dictionary, is the “use or close imitation
of the language and thoughts of another
author and the representation of them as
one’s own original work.”
• In an academic setting, it is seen as the
adoption or reproduction of original
intellectual creations (such as concepts,
ideas, methods, pieces of information or
expressions, etc.) of another author
(whether an individual, group, or
organization) without proper
acknowledgment.
• This can range from borrowing a
particular phrase or sentence to
paraphrasing someone else’s original idea
without citing it.
• Today, in our networked digital world, the
most common form of plagiarism is
copying and pasting online material
without crediting the source.
Common Form of Plagiarism
• Submitting someone else’s work as their
own.
• Taking passages from their own previous
work without adding citations.
• Rewriting someone’s work without
properly citing sources.
• Using quotations, but not citing the source.
• Interweaving various sources together in
the work without citing.
• Citing some, but not all passages that
should be cited.
• Melding together cited and uncited sections
of the piece.
• Providing proper citations, but failing to
change the structure and wording of the
borrowed ideas enough.
• Inaccurately citing the source.
• Relying too heavily on other people’s
work. Failing to bring original thought into
the text.
How to avoid Plagiarism?
i. Understand what constitutes
plagiarism.
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ii. Learn what does not constitute
plagiarism.
iii. Check out the rules regarding
plagiarism.
iv. Learn how to properly cite references.
v. Learn how to paraphrase.
vi. Review, review, review.
vii. Take advantage of your professor’s
knowledge.
Quotes: If you quote another work directly in
your work, cite your source.
Paraphrase: If put someone else’s idea into your
own words, you still need to cite the author.
Visual Materials: If you cite statistics, graphs, or
charts from a study, cite the source. Keep in mind
that if you didn’t do the original research, then
you need to credit the person(s) or institution, etc.
that did.
Video Lecture:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AKdsDMP
v20
Academic integrity means acting with honesty,
trust, fairness, respect and responsibility in
learning, teaching and research.
This includes
a. Doing your own original work,
b. Respecting and acknowledging the work
of other people, and
c. Clearly stating when you use someone
else's ideas, words or images by citing
correctly in the body of your work and
referencing your sources accurately.
Academic integrity involves recognizing people
and publications that have influenced your
thinking and taking personal responsibility for the
way you behave in an academic context. It's
important to complete individual assignments on
your own or acknowledge who you work with in
group assignments.
You should always behave with integrity in
exams and assessments. Failing to recognize
someone else’s ideas by:
a. Not referencing,
b. dishonestly working with another student
on an individual assignment, or
c. Cheating on an exam or assignment,
d. Can result in a charge of Academic
Misconduct.
e. Other examples include paying or asking
someone to write an assignment for you
or attempting to bribe someone in the
academic community.
Academic Misconduct can have serious
consequences for both your academic and
professional career.
In some academic cultures, copying content may
be seen as honoring the creator. However, at
RMIT you must clearly state where ideas,
words and images originated because they
belong to the person or people who created them.
Everyone has a responsibility for maintaining
academic integrity, but don't worry, there's lots of
support available. You can ask your tutor or
lecturer to clarify the task.
You can also take your assignment to the study
support hub for extra help or use the Ask the
Library online chat service. While they can’t
write the content for you, they can help you with
structure and grammar.
By strengthening your understanding of
academic integrity, you can develop skills which
will be valuable throughout your work and life.
Types of Research
1. Descriptive Research
• Descriptive research is a type of research
that describes a population, situation, or
phenomenon that is being studied. It
focuses on answering the how, what, when,
and where questions in a research problem,
rather than the why.
• This is mainly because it is important to
have a proper understanding of what a
METHODS OF RESEARCH
research problem is about before
investigating why it exists in the first place.
Example:
An investor considering an investment in
the ever-changing Amsterdam housing
market needs to understand what the
current state of the market is, how it
changes (increasing or decreasing), and
when it changes (time of the year) before
asking for the why. This is where
descriptive research comes in.
2. Analytical Research
• Analytical research is a specific type of
research that involves critical thinking
skills and the evaluation of facts and
information relative to the research being
conducted.
• A variety of people including students,
doctors and psychologists use analytical
research during studies to find the most
relevant information
• From analytical research, a person finds out
critical details to add new ideas to the
material being produced.
3. Applied Research
• Applied research is a methodology used to
solve a specific, practical issue affecting an
individual or group. This scientific method
of study and research is used in business,
medicine, and education in order to find
solutions that may improve health, solve
scientific problems or develop new
technology.
• It typically address the real world problem.
Applied Research Fields
i. Health
ii. Education
iii. Society
iv. Technology
v. Crime
vi. Business
vii. Government
4. Fundamental Research
• Fundamental research is defined as basic
and applied research in the areas of science
and engineering where the resulting
information is intended to be published and
shared broadly within the scientific
community with no governmental
restrictions.
5. Basic Research
• Basic research refers to the activities of
scientists who are investigating theoretical
questions for the sake of building
knowledge.
• Basic research is constituted by the types of
investigative practices that both inform and
reflect the current understanding of “basic
science.”
• These forms of research practice and
scientific knowledge form a reciprocal
relationship, in that knowledge informs the
basis of research methods, and these
methods in turn shape the questions and
even the findings of scientists.
6. Empirical Research
• Empirical research is a type of research
methodology that makes use of verifiable
evidence in order to arrive at research
outcomes. In other words, this type of
research relies solely on evidence obtained
through observation or scientific data
collection method.
• Empirical research can be carried out using
qualitative or quantitative observation
methods, depending on the data sample,
that is, quantifiable data or non-numerical
data. Unlike theoretical research that
depends on preconceived notions about the
research variables, empirical research
carries a scientific investigation to measure
the experimental probability of the
research.
Qualitative Research Method
I. Context-dependent finding by
evaluating a subject or a predicate.
II. Popular researches through
communication, ethnography, and
phenomenology.
METHODS OF RESEARCH

III. Critical analysis and assessment of the Basic research is equally important as it
findings to identify its veracity and enhances our understanding of the world
integrity. around us. This is because basic research
IV. Building negative hypothesis and provides us with a systematic and deep insight
compelling readers to think the other into a problem that can have practical
way. significance to our life and the society as a
V. Growing dependency through whole scholar’s further divide basic research
intellectual decency and confirmation. into pure and strategic types of research.
Or…
I. Quantifying a problem a. Pure research is conducted without any
II. Random sampling specific outcome in mind other than the
III. Deducting reasoning advancement of knowledge
IV. Object-based research b. Strategic research is conducted with the
V. Systematic operation intention of providing a broad base of
VI. Advanced statistical analysis knowledge which may help in addressing
VII. Graphical data representation a specific problem
VIII. Numerical projection of perceptions
2. Applied Research
Video Lecture #1: i. Applied research on the other hand is a
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEZjwlDNE type of research that aims at finding
HY solutions to pressing problems that
society organizations and the like are
Types of research facing by employing well-known theories
There are two types of research in terms of the and principles.
nature and purpose of the study namely ii. Sometimes applied research is conducted
to determine the possible uses or
1. Basic or Fundamental Research applications of the findings of basic
i. Is a type of research that investigates the research.
basic reasons and principle behind the iii. An example of an applied research is a
occurrence of a particular phenomenon or study that attempts to determine the
event? impact of mining and the socio-economic
ii. Basic research is also referred to as life of the indigenous peoples.
theoretical research as a theoretical
research. Now basic and applied research are further
iii. Basic research therefore is driven by divided into three types of research in terms of
pure curiosity and the desire to expand methods namely
one's knowledge on a specific subject
matter or discipline. 1. Quantitative Research
iv. Hence as we can see basic research may Quantitative research method is a systematic
not necessarily lead to an immediate use investigation of observable phenomena
or application. through a computational mathematical
and most especially statistical technique.
An example of basic research is an Hence in quantitative research method the
investigation that looks at the factors that researcher analyzes the data with the help of
trigger depression although this type of statistics and hopes that the figures will
research does not directly address real-world produce logical and unbiased results.
issues or problems.
Now in terms of purpose quantitative
research method aims to develop
METHODS OF RESEARCH
mathematical models hypotheses and
theories that pertain to the quantifiable
phenomena under investigation as we can see
quantitative research method is numerical in
nature and employs statistics and
mathematics in the interpretation of data.
This explains why results in the quantitative
research method are presented in tables and
graphs as a matter of fact research papers that
employ. A quantitative research method are
replaced with tables and graphs as is well
known quantitative research method is
widely employed in the social sciences.
Such as sociology psychology gender studies
development studies economics community
health demography and political science
researchers in education. Also employ
quantitative research method although other
educational research themes can be
conducted using a qualitative research
method.
2. Qualitative Research
Now let's discuss the qualitative research
method qualitative research method is a type of
research that does not require a
sophisticated statistical treatment. Defined
more broadly qualitative research method is a
scientific investigation of non-quantifiable
phenomena such as experiences with the
intention of understanding a particular
phenomenon through a holistic description and
exploration of the meaning nature and
dynamics of the said phenomenon or situation.
This explains why qualitative research is the
best method when it comes to researching
about the why and how questions of human
experience. A concrete example of a
qualitative research is a study that attempts to
determine the lived experiences of senior high
school teachers who were asked to teach
subjects that are not aligned with their field of
specialization.
For instance in the Philippines educational
system many humanities graduate teachers in
the senior high school were asked to teach
science subjects needless to say these teachers
have been experiencing problems in terms of
mastery and content delivery.
Thus one of the best ways to help these teachers
deliver a quality instruction is to know their
lived experiences particularly their difficulties
and challenges. This is because once we know
the difficulties and challenges that these
teachers have been experiencing. We can easily
offer some practicable alternatives that may
help address the problem.
As we can see a qualitative research method
is non-numerical descriptive exploratory
and narrative in nature. It investigates the
why and how questions of human experience
and attempts to understand holistically.
A particular phenomenon or situation and in
terms of purpose a qualitative research method
primarily aims to know the meaning nature and
dynamics of a particular phenomenon or
situation under investigation.
3. Mixed Research Method
Lastly we have the mixed research method the
mixed research method as the name suggests
involves a systematic integration or
combination of both quantitative and
qualitative research methods in the
investigation of a particular phenomenon
event or situation
The fundamental premise of this method or
type of research is that the integration or
combination of both the quantitative and
qualitative methods and types of research will
result in a holistic and more meaningful
interpretation of data. In most cases the
qualitative aspect of this type of research
supports the findings and conclusion arrived at
the quantitative interpretation of data.
But of course on the other hand the quantitative
aspect may also support the findings and
METHODS OF RESEARCH
conclusion arrived at in the qualitative
interpretation of data mixed method originates
in the social sciences. But it has been expanded
recently into the medical and allied health
sciences such as nursing social work
community health mental health pharmacy and
alternative medicine.
As we can see mixed method may involve
analyzing both numerical and non-
numerical data. It may also present results
in tables and graphs backed up by a strong
narrative mixed method can also be
exploratory and conclusive at the same time.
Video Lecture #2:
(40) PRACTICAL RESEARCH 1 - Types of
Qualitative Research - EP.6 (Research
Simplified) - YouTube
Qualitative Research
• No numbers involved (no surveys, no
yes/no, no true/false, no set of options)
• Use explanations, experiences, stories,
and observations.
• Not everything may be quantifies.
• No calculations
• Aims to understand the human mind,
behavior, and characteristics.
• Uses interview questions (face-to-face,
calls, video calls, and chats through
gadget.
• A platform to understand the human
mind.
• Promotes respect for peoples
individuality.
• Prone to biases/subjectivity.
Strengths of Qualitative Research
• Natural Setting
• Elevates respects for individualities
• Promotes positive societal changes.
Naturalistic Approach – observing or detailing
real-life events in their natural settings.
Weaknesses of Qualitative Research
• Time consuming
• Involves subjectivity
Types of Qualitative Research
1. Case Study – why cases happens and
seeks to find answers as to why a certain
thing occurs to the subject.
2. Ethnography – understanding a certain
group of people. The lives, beliefs,
cultures, and practices of a certain ethnic
group. Involves the study of a group to
understand its organizational set up,
internal operation, and lifestyle.
3. Phenomenology – lived experiences.
Refers to the study of how people find
their experiences meaningful.
4. Content and Discourse Analysis –
language used in communication. A
study of social life and how people
interact with each other. Focuses on the
substance of the mode of
communication.
5. Historical Analysis – the past events and
how these events affect our present and
future. Examines primary documents to
find the connection of past events to the
present/future times.
6. Grounded Theory – Reveals a
discovery of a new theory at the time of
data collection and analysis.
7. Narrative Report – narration of what
happened in the past. Factual explanation
of what happened in the past. Presents
events which happened in the past
through a logical progression.
8. Biography – study of an individual’s life
and concerned with reconstruction of life
histories. Studies an individual’s life
struggles, and their relation to societal
times.
9. Action Research – a classroom based
type of qualitative research. That seeks
for transformation through actions that
needs to be taken.
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