PRACTICAL RESEARCH 1 NOOOOOOTES

(Louella Grace B. Marungoy | BSED SS 4 | SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY)

This will only serve as your reviewer. Do not cite when constructing essays or doing your research projects.

Research - the creation of new knowledge and/or the use of existing knowledge in a new and creative way so
as to generate new concepts, methodologies and understandings. It is inquiry-based, so learning is focused on
investigating an open question or problem with the use of evidence-based reasoning and creative problem-
solving to arrive with a conclusion.
Terms describing concept of research
 Inquiry - process of searching for knowledge and information about a problem through asking questions
and probing
 Investigation - the organized process of inquiring about a problem through inspection and assessment.
 Immersion - the process whereby a researcher engage deeply in the data gathering activities and carefully
analyze data.
Critical thinking - a kind of thinking in which you question, analyse, interpret, evaluate and make a judgement
about what you read, hear, say, or write to form an argument, solve a problem, or reach a conclusion.
How is research important in our daily life?
 Can give explanation to certain questions - Explains a specific idea and can clear one's thoughts.
 Helps us develop skepticism - Research can help you acquire a certain attitude of not believing on
anything you see and hear of but take clarifications and further investigate and come up with a specific
answer.
 Exercises and sharpens our brains and minds.

Why is research important to students?

1. Enhances knowledge - The more the knowledge of the topic, the more successful is the research.
2. Clarifies confusion - It can help you clarify complicated facts and figures.
3. Properly understand the subject - To learn the subject and to know the unknown facts, research, detail
study, and full analysis is a must.
4. To learn about the proper methods and issues - You will be guided on how you are going to arrive with
the answers of issues to be researched.
5. Understand the published work - Understand the idea of those researchers that are essential when you
conduct related research.
6. Learn to create a balance between collaborative and individual work.
7. To know the interest.
8. To know how the original study originated.
Understanding the rationale - By engaging in the process of research, you understand the concept in an
easier manner as the rationale of the topic.

Importance of research to human beings

1. Understanding a society and its culture
2. Making the right choices for a career.
3. Knowing the truth.
4. Updates on technology
Why is research important in education?
1. Systematically analyses a topic.
2. Leads to great observations.
3. Constructs assumptions, theories, and principles
4. Improving practices
5. Develops new understanding related to teaching and learning
6. Helps in making an action-oriented decision
7. Brings consistency in the work
8. Motivate others

CHARACTERISTICS OF RESEARCH
1. Systematic - arranged steps or procedures
2. Controlled - scope and limitations; boundaries
3. Rigorous - strict; ensure the procedures are followed
 PRACTICAL RESEARCH 1 NOOOOOOTES
(Louella Grace B. Marungoy | BSED SS 4 | SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY)
This will only serve as your reviewer. Do not cite when constructing essays or doing your research projects.

4. Valid and verifiable - conclusions should be correct and can be verified by others
5. Empirical - conclusions are drawn based upon hard evidence gathered from information collected from real life experiences
or observations.
Critical - ability to withstand critical scrutiny; avoid drawbacks and problems

PROCESS OF RESEARCH
1. Formulating the research problem.
Research in social sciences revolves around four Ps: people, problems, programs, phenomena
Important considerations in selecting a research problem:
• Interest - to sustain the required motivation.
• Magnitude - narrow the topic to something manageable, specific, and clear.
• Measurement of concepts - be clear about the indicators and measurement of concepts (if used) in our study.
• Level of expertise - adequate level of expertise for the task
• Relevance - add to the existing body of knowledge, bridges current gaps and is useful in policy formulation
• Availability of data - before finalizing the topic, make sure that data are available.
• Ethical issues - can affect the study population
 Example of a research problem: Effect of eating breakfast on taking math exams
2. Literature Review: Findings or theories from scholarly sources such as books, journal articles, and theses related to your
research problem and will give support to your research findings.
3. Objectives: Specific goals made to attain in our study
 Example of a research problem’s objective: To assess the relationship between eating breakfast and the performance of
students during math exams
4. Hypothesis: is an assumption, an idea that can serve as the temporary solution of your research problem.
 Example of a research hypothesis: Students who eat breakfast will perform better on a math exam than students who do
not eat breakfast.
5. Research Design
 Example of a research design: Qualitative or mixed method.
A. Collection of Primary Data
a) Sampling Method (Example: get 40 STEM students from the overall STEM population as respondents for a research)
b) Questionnaire (Example: open questionnaire, multiple choice)
c) Personal Interview
B. Collection of Secondary Data (Example: research articles, journals)
C. Analysis of Data (Example: using t-test for data analysis)
6. Observation, Result & Discussion - Close observation and interpretation of gathered data to be discussed or interpreted as
its results.
7. Conclusions/Important Findings - Summarize key points of your
discussion, the essential features of your design, the significant outcomes of your investigation, or the aims of your research.
8. Recommendations: This contains the solution to a problem.
 PRACTICAL RESEARCH 1 NOOOOOOTES
(Louella Grace B. Marungoy | BSED SS 4 | SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY)
This will only serve as your reviewer. Do not cite when constructing essays or doing your research projects.

Based on application
Based on objective
Based on mode of inquiry
KINDS OF RESEARCH
Pure research  Developing and testing theories and hypotheses
 Seeking to understand
Applied research  Solve a specific problem or provide innovative
solutions
Descriptive research  Describe systematically a phenomenon, issue, problem,
topic
Correlational research  Discover or establish the existence of a
relationship/interdependence between two or more
aspects
Explanatory research  Clarify why and how there is a relationship between
two or more variables
Exploratory research  Explore an area where little is known
Structured research  Quantitative
 Determine the extent of a problem, issue, or
phenomenon by
 quantifying the variation
Unstructured research  Qualitative
 Describe the variation in a phenomenon, situation, or
attitude and explore its nature

FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES AND GUIDELINES OF RESEARCH ETHICS

1. Respect for persons
2. Beneficence
3. Justice (principle) and honesty (guideline)
4. Objectivity, integrity, carefulness
5. Openness, respect for intellectual property, confidentiality
6. Responsible publication, responsible monitoring, respect for colleagues
7. Social responsibility, non-discrimination, competence
8. Legality, animal care, human subjects protection

Strengths
 Analyze issue through detailed examination
 Not being delimited to specific questions
 Easy revision as new information appears/emerges
 Obtained data from human experience = POWERFUL
 Findings cannot be generalized to a larger population
Weaknesses
 Heavily depends on the researcher’s skills
 May be influenced by the researcher’s outlooks
 Bulky information = time-consuming
 Hard to prove sometimes
 Anonymity and confidentiality issues
 Findings = more difficult, visualization is more time-consuming

IMPORTANCE OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH ACROSS VARIOUS FIELDS

Education Technological Marketing Advertising
communication
International business Psychology Social Work

Guidelines in Choosing a Topic

1. Interest in the subject matter - You are interested, intrigued, and eager to know more about the topic.
2. Availability of information - It is important that when you decide on a topic, sources of information are available.
3. Timeliness and relevance of the topic - The topic you have chosen can be of significance to the community.
4. Limitations on the subject - Sometimes, topic is limited to what the teacher suggests.
5. Personal resources - Consider also if you can finish the research in terms of your intellectual, financial, and physical
capabilities.

Research Topics to Avoid

1. Controversial topics - Avoid highly opinionated topics.
 PRACTICAL RESEARCH 1 NOOOOOOTES
(Louella Grace B. Marungoy | BSED SS 4 | SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY)
This will only serve as your reviewer. Do not cite when constructing essays or doing your research projects.

2. Highly technical subjects - Too technical topics requires expertise.

3. Hard-to-investigate subjects - Unavailability of reading materials and materials that are not updated make the subject
hard to investigate.
4. Too broad subjects - You lack focus if you deal with broad topics. The remedy is to narrow it down.
5. Too narrow subject - Some subjects are too narrow that extensive and thorough reading are required.
6. Vague subjects - Titles that start with indefinite adjectives such as several, many, some, etc., make the topic vague.
Sources of Research Topics
 Mass media communication - television, newspaper, ads, radio, films, etc.
 Books, internet, journals, government publications
 Professional periodicals - specialized periodicals in different fields
 General periodicals - Reader’s Digest, Time Magazine, etc.
 Previous readings
 Work experience

Research question - an answerable inquiry into a specific concern or issue. It is the initial step in a research project.
Writing a Research Question
Writing a good research question means you have something you want to study.

Specify your specific concern or issue Effects of browsing social media

Decide what you want to know about the specific concern
or issue
Turn what you want to know and the specific concern
into a question -
Ensure that the question is answerable
The effects of browsing social media apps on the mental
health of high school students
What are the effects of browsing social media apps on the
mental health of high school students?
Body image issues, detachment from reality

Check to make sure the question is not too broad or too Maybe too broad? Let’s narrow it down to:
narrow  What are the effects of browsing social media apps on
the mental health of high school students?
 What are the effects of browsing Instagram on the
mental health of senior high school students in
BCNSHS?
 What are the effects of browsing Instagram on the
mental health of STEM students in BCNSHS?

This is the basic process in writing a research question. Writing a good question will result in a better research
project.

A research question should be (from the Writing Center of George Mason University):
 Clear - enough specifics for one’s audience to easily understand its purpose without needing additional explanation.
 Focused. It is narrow enough that it can be answered thoroughly in the space the writing task allows.
 Concise. It is expressed in the fewest possible words.
 Complex. It is not answerable with a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’, but rather requires synthesis and analysis of ideas and
sources prior to composition of an answer.
 Arguable. Its potential answers are open to debate rather than accepted facts.
Writing a thesis statement
Thesis statement - tells your reader what the paper is about and
also helps guide your writing and keep your argument focused.
 Avoid burying a great thesis statement in the middle of a paragraph or late in the paper.
 Be as clear and as specific as possible; avoid vague words.
 PRACTICAL RESEARCH 1 NOOOOOOTES
(Louella Grace B. Marungoy | BSED SS 4 | SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY)
This will only serve as your reviewer. Do not cite when constructing essays or doing your research projects.

 Indicate the point of your paper but avoid sentence structures like, “The point of my paper is…”
Original thesis: There are serious objections to today's horror movies.
Revised thesis: Because modern cinematic techniques have allowed filmmakers to get more graphic, horror flicks have
desensitized young American viewers to violence.

Research Problem
- “problem” - pushes you to exert considerable effort in finding a solution for it --> think of conducting a research,
investigation, or inquiry
- research - considered as a remedy for getting over any problem
- your research problem will lead you to a specific topic to focus on
Background of the Problem
- Spend time getting background knowledge about the problem that triggered your research topic -> discover its relation to what
the world, particularly the experts, professionals, and learned people, know about your topic
- Discover some theories or principles -> support your study
- Helps you identify the research problem and thus, formulate your research questions
Research Questions
- Review of related literature (RRL) - intensive reading, helps you: (1) determine your problem, (2) adopt appropriate research
method, and (3) understand thoroughly the knowledge area of the research
- Investigate specific aspects of the research problem; possibility - a specific question may have another sub-problem or sub-
question -> require a different data-gathering technique and may direct to a mixed method approach
Sub-questions - help you determine the type of data and the method of collecting, analyzing, and presenting data

GUIDELINES
 Establish a clear relation between research questions and the problem/topic.
 Base your research questions on the RRL - existing published works build your good background knowledge of the
research problem.
 Formulate research questions that can spark your curiosity - especially about a problem that was never investigated upon.
 State your research questions in such a way that they include dependent and independent variables referred to by the
theories, principles, or concepts underlying your research work.
 Let the set of research questions or sub-problems be preceded by one question expressing the main problem of the
research. (One main question --followed by--> set of sub-questions)
 Avoid research questions that are answerable with “yes” or “no” --> quantitative research.
 Be guided by SMART in formulating research questions).
 SPECIFIC - exact answers and observable things
 MEASURABLE - extent or limit of the data colllected
 ATTAINABLE - within reach and not too difficult to achieve
 REALISTIC - conclusion should be indicative or related to what are objective, factual, and real in this world.
TIME-BOUND - time frame and completion period of the study

Hindi ‘to complete pero sana makatulong. XD

GOOD LUCK SA EXAM! :* I HOPE YOU LEARNED A THING OR TWO FROM ALL OUR PREVIOUS DISCUSSIONS!
FOR MORE STUDY MATERIALS, VISIT THIS VERY HELPFUL LINK THAT SAVED ME FROM FAILING EXAMS.
https://r.mtdv.me/upValVe7fQ

STAY CURIOUS,
Teacher Louella :>