Notes on Inquiries, Investigation, and Immersion

Module 1: Brainstorming for Research Topics

Inquiry- It is a question which you ask to get some information. It is the process of asking about
or investigating something to find out more about it.

Investigation- It is a proper inquiry or efficient study.

Immersion- It is the process of learning a skill by using nothing else but that skill. It is the fact of
becoming completely involved in something.

Research Study- Research is like exploring things to come up with the best idea/s to respond to
the needs of society.

Concept- It is a conceptual representation abstract objects, or abilities that make up the

fundamental building blocks of thoughts and beliefs.

Research is an investigation or experimentation aimed at the discovery and interpretation of

facts, revision of accepted theories or laws in the light of new facts, or practical application of
such new or revised theories or laws. It is also a practice of collecting information about a
particular subject.

Research provides the best solution to some of the world problems and also enhance the
knowledge of the researchers. It can give explanations to certain questions stated in the
research problem. Through the explanations, it serves as a tool for building knowledge and for
facilitating new learning.
Research also introduces new ideas, helps the researchers identify problems and appropriate
solutions in new ways and provide new framework to guide thinking and action. It informs
action, proves a theory and contributes to develop knowledge in a field or study. Therefore, it
understands various issues and increases public awareness.

An inquiry is a method that has the aim of extending knowledge, undertaking doubt, or solving
a problem. A theory of inquiry is an interpretation of the various types of inquiry and action of
the ways that each type of inquiry attains its aim.

Module 2: Identifying the Problem and Asking the Question

A research problem is a statement about an area of concern, a condition to be improved, a

difficulty to be eliminated, or a troubling question that exists in scholarly literature, in theory, or
in practice that points to the need for meaningful understanding and deliberate investigation. It
is typically posed in the form of a question.
INQUIRY is an investigation made by asking questions rather than by inspection, or by study of
available evidence: an inquiry into a proposed bond issue. Immersion refers to the deep-level
personal involvement of the researcher with the object of study. An INVESTIGATION is a
systematic, minute, and thorough attempt to learn the facts about something complex or
hidden; it is often formal and official: an investigation of a bank failure. Research is careful and
sustained investigation.

Research is “the systematic study of materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach
new conclusions” (Oxford English Dictionary, as cited in O’Leary 2004).

- Research begins with a question.

- You do research when you gather information to seek answers to your question. Let's now
proceed to a thorough discussion of your Chapter 1 of your research.

Background of the Study

“Why did you conduct the study?” --describes the circumstances that suggested in the
research.

Statement of the Problem

“What did you study?” --clearly, accurately and briefly states the issue that was studied. --may
be stated either in the declarative form or interrogative form.

Hypotheses

 Proposed solution
 Tentative explanation
 Educated Prediction
 Meant to be tested

--should be clear & brief. --should be based on past experiences or observations or on

information gathered from your research. --must be testable.

Significance of the Study

The relevance of the research to felt needs.  How the research output may be directly useful
to people?

The explanation of it is presented either 1. INDUCTIVE PERSPECTIVE – particular to general

2. DEDUCTIVE PERSPECTIVE – general to particular

Scope and limitation of the Study

Coverage of the study: Area , Subject/problem ,Research apparatus, equipment or

instrument ,Time frame , Any limitations in the reference population, sample size.

Definition of Terms

Includes terms which should be interpreted in a manner unique to your research.

Includes all the important variables in the study. The definitions may be:

1. CONCEPTUAL – based on concepts or hypothetic ones which are usually taken from
dictionary, encyclopedia & published journals.

2. OPERATIONAL – based on observable characteristics & how it is used

Module 3: Reading on Related Studies

Review of Related Literature

Presented in this chapter are foreign and local literatures and studies gathered from online
journal resources used by the researchers who was seeking of this paper as a guide in order to
have a more accurate studies. This Related Literature helped the researchers have a better
understanding and a wider perspective on the topic gathered.

 It gives direction to the researcher on how he will create his own conceptual framework.
 It allows the researcher to browse several kinds of research designs, sampling
techniques, statistical procedures, questionnaires and processes of presenting, analyzing
, and interpreting data, from where he could base his own choice for his paper.
 It gives a picture of a comparative analysis between variables used in reviewed materials
and those used in the current study.

Basis for a Good Review of Related Literature

 The review material must be current.

 Literature and studies reviewed must be relevant to the study.
 Findings or result of reviewed study should be objective and free of biases.

Citation, in research, is defined as a means of informing your readers that certain information
came from a specific source and you just borrowed it to widen the explanation of a certain
situation or data of your research. When citing sources, you must see to it that the information
borrowed from other authors are properly cited. Citing of sources comes in two (2) manners,
namely: a) in-text citation and b) referencing list.
Ethics in Research

Ethics in research can be defined as the norms for conduct that distinguish between acceptable
and unacceptable behaviors. It can also be defined as a process of applying moral standards
and principles in any undertaking. In general, the ethical standard in research is used so that a
researcher will be able to define right from wrong.

Ethics serve a very vital role in conducting a research study. It can keep the researcher from
committing misconduct while seeking knowledge and truth, and respecting and protecting the
rights of the respondents-humans and animals. Ethics also promote essential values that help
researchers to have a common understanding and work on a topic harmoniously. Also, ethics
bind different experts together in the spirit of important values such as accountability,
cooperation, coordination, mutual understanding, respect, and fairness, among others.

Upon the absence of Ethics in conducting your research, you might be able to do some
unethical deeds commonly known as scientific misconduct. The following are the possible
scientific misconducts that can be done in research:
1) Fabrication and falsification of data- also known as “cooking of data”. This scientific
misconduct involves producing data without actual experimentation or altering data in
recording for the intention to fit them to what is expected.
2) Non-publication of data- In contrast with fabrication and falsification, nonpublication of data
involves choosing not to include data because they do not conform to the well-established
body of knowledge or are unsupportive of the research hypothesis. Only the results that do not
reject the hypothesis are reported and published.

3) Faulty data gathering procedures- It is referred to as negligence or carelessness that leads to

errors in measurement or faulty research instruments. An Error may also be caused by
inappropriate application of treatment to the subjects and poor data recording.

4) Plagiarism- It is a fraudulent act that involves claiming another person’s ideas, work, or
publication. It is a form of intellectual property stealing and dishonesty that usually happens in
scientific publications.

Module 4: Understanding Ways to Collect Data

Research Methodology

Begin the chapter with a brief explanation of what the chapter is all about. The common
introductory explanation is as follows: Writing the Introductory Paragraph This chapter
presents the discussion on the research methodology of the study, the subjects, sampling
technique, research instruments, procedure of data gathering, and statistical treatment that
will be used for accurate data analysis and interpretation

Research Design- This section specifies what method of research will be used. The research
design is the conceptual structure within which research is conducted ; it constitutes the blue
print for the collection , measurement and analysis of data.

The research design provides the back bone structure of the study, it supports the study and
hold it's together. • The research design refers to the researcher overall plan for answering the
research question or testing the research hypotheses.

DIFFERENT RESEARCH DESIGNS 1. Exploratory type research design 2. Descriptive type research
design 3. Experimental type research design 4. Experimental type research design

Experimental Research Design. Experiment is a study in which the investigator manipulates or

varies (called the independent variables) & measures other variables (called the dependent
variables).

When an experiment is possible it is the most effective method of testing a hypothesis. i.e; one
variable ‘X’ casually influences another variable ‘Y’

There are three basic principles of experimental designs : 1. The principle of replication 2. The
principle of randomization 3. The principle of local control

1. THE PRINCIPLE OF REPLICATION According to this , the experiment should be repeated more
than once. Thus, each treatment is applied in many experimental units instead of one. By doing
so, the statistical accuracy of the experiments is incresed.

2. THE PRINCIPLE OF RANDOMIZATION This provides protection against the effects of

extraneous factors by randomisation. We may apply randomisation principle and protect
ourselves against the effects of the extraneous factors.

3. THE PRINCIPLE OF LOCAL CONTROL According to this principle, we first divide the field into
several homogeneous parts, known as blocks, and then each such block is divided into part
equal to the number of treatments.

Subjects/Respondents of the Study • A distinction should be made between subjects and

respondents of the study. Subjects are persons investigated in the study.

Sampling Procedure. It is important to state your number of subjects or respondents and who
they are. Also, explain how the number will be decided upon.
Data Gathering Procedure • Identify your sources of data. If a questionnaire will be used,
explain what kind and how it will be constructed if it is original, how it is pre- tested,
distribution, retrieval, collation, etc. Thus, your procedures may include: Construction of the
questionnaire, Validation, Distribution, Retrieval, Collation, Presentation of Data and
Interpretation of Data.

Statistical Treatment of Data • Specify the statistical treatment/s you will use for interpreting
your data and why they are necessary. Also, include the scale or verbal interpretation for the
statistical processing of your data;

Population -refers to a total number of people who serve as subjects or respondents of the
study.

Sampling Procedure -method in identifying part of the respondents of the study.

Statistics -a branch of mathematics that deals with the analysis and interpretation of numerical
data in terms of samples and populations.