HANDOUT IN RESEARCH PRELIMINARIES PART 1

CHAPTER 1 – THE NATURE OF INQUIRY AND RESEARCH

Research is a systematic process of collecting, analyzing, and interpreting information in order to increase our
understanding of a phenomenon about which we are interested or concerned (Leedy & Ormrod, 2013).
A. The Importance of Research in Daily Life
1. Research is a tool for building knowledge.
2. Research serves as means to understand various issues.
3. Research is a way to prove lies and support truths.
4. Research serves a seed to love reading, writing, analysing, and sharing valuable information.
5. Research nourishes the mind and serves as exercise for the mind.

B. THE CHARACTERISTICS, PROCESSES, AND ETHICS OF RESEARCH

CHARACTERISTICS OF RESEARCH
1. Empirical – research is based on direct experience or observation by the researcher.
2. Logical – research is based on valid procedures and principles.
3. Cyclical – research is cyclical process because it starts with a problem and ends with a problem.
4. Analytical – research utilizes proven analytical procedures in gathering the data, whether historical,
descriptive, and experimental and case study.
5. Critical – research exhibits careful and precise judgment.
6. Methodical – research is conducted in a methodical manner without bias using systematic method
and procedures.
7. Replicability – the research design and procedures are replicated or repeated to enable the
researcher to arrive at valid and conclusive results.

C. RESEARCH PROCESSES
1. Select a general problem.
2. Review the literature of the problem.
3. Select a specific research problem, question, or hypothesis.
4. Collect data.
5. Analyze and present or display data.
6. Interpret the findings and state conclusions or generalizations regarding the problem.

D. ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND GUIDELINES FOR RESEARCHERS

1. Informed consent - The participants must be fully informed about the nature of research, its purposes
and potential risk and benefits.
2. Beneficence and nonmaleficence - This is a fundamental ethical principle in research, which means, “to
do good” and “to do no harm” to study participants.
3. Respect for human dignity - The rights of the study participants must be well protected and respected.
4. Justice and fairness - Study participants deserve fair and equitable treatment before, during and after
the study period. The researcher should provide equal chances in the selection process, must comply with
agreements in regard to procedures, techniques or benefits due to participants.
5. Intellectual honesty and respect - Giving acknowledgment/recognition or due respect to the
original/previous works.

• HONESTY – honestly report data, results, methods and procedures, and publication status. Do not
fabricate or falsify, or misinterpret data.
• OBJECTIVITY – strive to avoid bias in experimental design, data analysis, data interpretation, peer
review, personnel decisions, and other aspects of research.
• INTEGRITY – keep your promises and agreements; act with sincerity; strive for consistency of thought
and action.
• CAREFULNESS – avoid careless errors and negligence; carefully and critically examine your own work
and the work of your peers. Keep records of research activities.
• OPENNESS – share data, results, tools, resources. Be open to criticism and new ideas.
• RESPECT FOR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY – honor patents, copyrights, and other forms of
intellectual property. Do not use unpublished data, methods, or resuts without permission. Give credit
where credit is due. Never plagiarize.
• CONFIDENTIALITY – protect confidential information and communications.
• NON-DISCRIMINATION – avoid discrimination against colleagues or respondents on the basis of sex,
gender, ethnicity, or other factors that are not related to their scientific competence and integrity.
E. RIGHTS OF RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS
• Voluntary participation - Any person should not be coerced to participate in any research
undertaking.
• Informed consent - Prospective research participants must be fully informed about the procedures
and risks involved in the research. Their consent to participate must be secured.
• Risk of harm - Participants should be protected from physical, financial, or psychological harm. The
principle of non-maleficence states that it is the researcher’s duty to avoid, prevent, or minimize
harm to the participants of the study.
• Confidentiality - Participants must be assured that their identity and other personal information will
not be made available to anyone who is not directly involved in the study.
• Anonymity - The participants must remain anonymous throughout the study even to the
researchers themselves.

F. PLAGIARISM AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

1. Complete plagiarism
This overt type of plagiarism occurs when a writer submits someone else’s work in their own name. Paying
somebody to write a paper for you, then handing that paper in with your name on it, is an act of complete
plagiarism—as is stealing or “borrowing” someone’s work and submitting it as your own.
An example of complete plagiarism is submitting a research paper for English class that your older sister
wrote and submitted when she took the class five years ago.
2. Direct plagiarism
Direct plagiarism is similar to complete plagiarism in that it, too, is the overt passing-off of another writer’s
words as your own. The difference between the two is how much of the paper is plagiarized. With complete
plagiarism, it’s the entire paper. With direct plagiarism, specific sections or paragraphs are included without
crediting (or even acknowledging) the author.
An example of direct plagiarism is dropping a line or two from your source directly into your work without
quoting or citing the source.
3. Paraphrasing plagiarism
Paraphrasing plagiarism is what happens when a writer reuses another’s work and changes a few words
or phrases. It’s a common type of plagiarism, and many students don’t even realize it’s a form of
plagiarism. But if you’re presenting someone else’s original idea in your writing without crediting them,
even if you’re presenting it in your own words, it’s plagiarism.
4. Self-plagiarism
Let’s say you wrote an essay about the pros and cons of changing your city’s zoning laws two years ago,
and now you’re writing a research paper about how adopting certain zoning laws has impacted other cities
in the past decade. Reusing content from your essay in your research paper would be an act of self-
plagiarism. You can absolutely use the same sources and if you cite them properly, you don’t have to
worry about being accused of plagiarism.
Self-plagiarism can be an issue if you write professionally. When you’re commissioned to write for a client,
the client owns that work. Reusing your own words for subsequent clients is plagiarizing your own work
and can damage your professional reputation (as well as make your clients look bad).
5. Patchwork Plagiarism
Also known as mosaic plagiarism, patchwork plagiarism refers to instances where plagiarized work is
interwoven with the writer’s original work. This kind of plagiarism can be subtle and easy to miss, and it
may happen in conjunction with direct plagiarism.
An example of patchwork plagiarism is taking a clause from a source and embedding it in a sentence of
your own.
6. Source-based Plagiarism
Source-based plagiarism can be a tricky one to understand. With this kind of plagiarism, the writer might
cite their sources correctly but present the sources in a misleading way.
For example, the writer might reference a secondary source in their work but only credit the primary source
from which that secondary source is derived. Other examples include citing an incorrect source and even
making up sources.
7. Accidental Plagiarism
Accidental plagiarism is perhaps the most common type of plagiarism because it happens when the writer
doesn’t realize they are plagiarizing another’s work. Accidental plagiarism includes the following:
• Forgetting to cite your sources in your work
• Not citing your sources correctly
• Failing to put quotes around cited material
• Even accidental plagiarism is subject to consequences, such as failing your assignment.
 G. QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH VERSUS QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
A. GENERAL DIFFERENCES
Assumption about the world
Research Purpose
Research Methods and
Processes
Researcher’s Role
Generalizability
B. SPECIFIC DIFFERENCES
Sources of Differences
When to use it?
Objectives and Main Features
Data Format
Type of Questions
Methods
Sampling
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Quantitative Research
Single reality
Establish relationship and
explain cause of
correlation
Pre-established design
Detached researcher
To generalize
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
• In-depth understanding of
specific issues is required.
• Emphasize a holistic
approach (processes and
outcomes)
• Explore, understand
phenomena
• Perspectives,
opinions, and
explanations.
Mainly textual (words,
pictures, audio) but also
categorical
Open-ended
• Individual interviews.
• Key informant interviews.
• Focus group discussions
• Observation.
Non random
(purposive)
MR. JAYBEN P. LOCION, CSPE, LPT, IDELM, IDAR, MAT (car)
Qualitative Research
Multiple realities
Understand social
situations from
participant’s perspective
Emerging design
Immersed researcher
To assess applicability
QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
• When accurate and
precise data is required.
• Produce evidence about
the size and type of
problems.
• Seek precise
measurement,
quantify, confirm
hypothesis.
• Objectively verifiable
Numerical and categorical
values.
Closed-ended
• Sampling surveys
• Population movement
tracking
• Structured interviews
Random
Prepared by:
SPST-I/Research Teacher