Practical Research 1

An Applied Subject for Grade 11 Students

Importance of
Learning Activity Sheet #1:

Research in Daily Life and Ethics of

Research
LEARNING TARGET: I can give importance to research in daily life
REFERENCES: Melegrito and Mendoza (2016). Applied Research: An Introduction to
Qualitative Research Methods and Report Writing.

Imagine a microbiology laboratory without a microscope. Will it be possible to identify

strains of viruses or classify good bacteria from bad ones? It is considered to be one of the most
important tool in the field of science. Like a microscope, research is also considered to be an
important tool for the basic inquiries in everyday life. And same with how a scientist handles
microscope to obtain information, ethics also is present to result from a valid and reliable data.

Research is a “systematic investigation designed to extend the knowledge of what is

already known of the physical, biological, or social world” (University of San Diego, para.1).
Coryn (2007) added that research is a “truth seeking activity which contributes to knowledge,
aimed at describing the world, conducted and governed by high level of proficiency or expertise”
(p.124)
Generally, research is to produce knowledge through inquiry and discovery. It is an inquiry
entailing collections of data, documentation and analysis of the data. (Hampshire College, para.1).
Why do we need to do research? Do we need to follow an ethical principle in making a research?

Research is very useful in everyday living. It answers inquiries. Below are the common
importance of research.
IMPORTANCE OF RESEARCH IN OUR DAILY LIVES
● It describes what is happening around us.
● It explains why things happen certain ways.

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 ● It predicts what will happen.o
● It evaluates what happened in our lives.
● It help solve our problem.

On the other hand, ethics comes hand in hand with research. Ethics in research refers to the
standards on what is morally right or wrong. Burnham, Gilland, Grant and Lyton-Henry (2004)
gave a set of five basic ethical principles to guide the conduct of the research.
1. Beneficence or the avoidance of harm- researchers ought to seek to do good rather than harm;
2. Veracity or the avoidance of deception- researchers ought to tell the truth and keeping promises;
3. Privacy or autonomy- individuals have a right to limit access to information about themselves;
4. Confidentiality- closely related to the notion of privacy, the right to control the use of
information about themselves;
5. Consent- the notion of informed consent is often recommended as an operational principle for
the conduct of research.
Keep in mind that writing a research paper or making investigations requires a process. It is not
easy. However, the outcome will be useful and fruitful.

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 Practical Research 1
An Applied Subject for Grade 11 Students

Qualitative vs.
Learning Activity Sheet #2:

Quantitative Research Research

LEARNING TARGET: I can compare and contrast qualitative and quantitative research
REFERENCES: iMotions.com. Quantitative vs. Qualitative Research: What is the Difference?

When you unwrap a stick of margarine and butter, you might not be able to tell the
difference between the two. The might be similar in texture and color and even used in the same
ways but these two are very different.
Butter is a dairy product made from cream or milk. Margarine is an oil-based product made
up of vegetable oil and water but tastes like butter. Even though appearance can be similar but its
usage can be different. Same with a research context, sometimes, a qualitative and quantitative
research have similarities yet there differences like the goal and usage allow them to standout from
each other.

Qualitative research generates “textual data” while quantitative research produces “numerical
data” or information that can be transposed into numbers.

Qualitative research is suitable for exploratory research. Its goal is to gain in-depth understanding
on an individual’s thoughts, experiences, problems and opinion. Semi- structured or unstructured
techniques can be used.

Quantitative research is all about numbers and figures. It is used to quantify attitudes, behaviors,
and opinions to refute a hypothesis about a problem which contextualizes from the study sample
in a wider population. It is more structured than qualitative research as it specifies what is measured
and how it is measured to uncover patterns (Farnsworth, 2019).

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 ASSUMPTION QUESTION QUALITATIVE QUANTITATIVE
Ontological What is the nature of Reality is subjective and multiple Reality is objective, out there and
(nature of being) reality? as seen by participants in the singular, apart from the researcher,
study. It is constructed by and can be measured objectively by
individuals involved in the using questionnaire.
research situation.

Epistemological What is the Research interacts with that being Researcher is independent from that
(Distinction between relationship of the researched. being researched.
belief and opinion) researcher to that
researched?

What is the role of

Value-laden and biased wherein Value-free and unbiased,
Axiological values? the researcher “admits the value- accomplished through entirely
(Nature of value) laden nature of the study and omitting statements about values from
a written report, using impersonal
actively reports his values and
language and reporting the facts.
biases, as well as the value nature
of information gathered.
Rhetorical What is the language ● Informal ● Formal
(to motivate, persuade, of research? ● Evolving decisions ● Based on set definitions
inform) ● Personal voice ● Impersonal voice
● Accepted qualitative ● Used of accepted
quantitative words
voice
Methodological What is the process ● Inductive process ● Deductive process
(system of methods) of research? ● Mutual simultaneous ● Cause and effect
shaping of factors ● Static design- categories
● Emerging design- isolated before study
● Context-free
categories identified
● Generalizations leading to
during research process prediction, explanation and
● Context-bound understanding
● Patterns, theories ● Accurate and reliable
developed for through validity and
understanding reliability
● Accurate and reliable
through verification
Adopted from Creswell J (1994) Research Design. New Delhi: Sage Publications, p.5
The diagram below shows more differences between quantitative research and qualitative research.

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 Practical Research 1
An Applied Subject for Grade 11 Students

Characteristics,
Learning Activity Sheet #3:

Strengths & Weaknessess of

Qualitative Research
LEARNING TARGET: I can give strengths and weaknesses of qualitative research
REFERENCES: Melegrito and Mendoza (2016). Applied Research: An Introduction to
Qualitative Research Methods and Report Writing
Baraceros (2016). Practical Research 1

Can a person be defined for who he is without understanding his personality or

characteristics? Definitely, NO! Can a qualitative research be defined without understanding its
characteristics, strengths and weaknesses? Also, NO! Like a person, qualitative research has its
own positive characteristics, strengths and weaknesses that elevates from other researches and
negative characteristics which sometimes causing it not to standout. All those characteristics-
either good or bad, bring a good research at its own purpose.

Qualitative research is like an umbrella that covers several types of inquiry that analyses and
explains meaning of a phenomena (Kielbon, 2001).
Characteristics of Qualitative Research
1. Human understanding and interpretation- Data analysis results show an individual’s mental,
social, and spiritual understanding of the world.
2. Active, powerful and forceful- There is no fixation on a certain plan. It is inclined to discover
the qualitative research design as study unfolds or reveals itself in accordance with the research
objectives.
3. Multiple research approaches and methods- Qualitative research is a multi-method research
wherein it applies all research types: descriptive, exploratory, explanatory, case study, etc.

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 4. Specificity to generalization- It follows an inductive or scientific method of thinking, where it
start from a specific concepts to more complex ideas.
5. Contextualization- The main goal here is to understand human behaviour which is to examine
the context of an individual’s life.
6. Diversified data in real-life situations- This research focuses on collecting data in a natural
setting.
7. Abound with words and visuals- Presenting people’s views through visual representation and
interviews are done verbally.
8. Internal analysis- There is an examination of data yielded by the internal traits of the subject
individuals.

Below are the following strengths and weaknesses of qualitative research.

STRENGHTS WEAKNESSES
● Adopts a naturalistic approach to its subject ● Involves a lot of researcher’s subjectivity in
matter data analysis
● Promotes a full understanding of human ● Hard to know the validity or reliability of the
behaviour in their natural setting data
● Instrumental for positive societal changes ● Open-ended questions yield “data overload
● Engenders respect for people’s individuality ● Time-consuming
● A way of understanding social interactions ● Involves several processes
● Increases researcher’s interest
● Offers multiple ways of acquiring and
examining knowledge about something

Example:
Strength Weakness

During an interview conducted by Jana for her If Jana is going to interview 20 survivors of colon
case study, she understands the importance of cancer, it will take her almost a year to
eating clean and healthy foods as she reflects contextualize and compile all her data properly.
from the experiences from the people she
interviewed who survived from colon cancer.

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 Practical Research 1
An Applied Subject for Grade 11 Students

Learning Activity Sheet #4: Types of Qualitative

Research
LEARNING TARGET: I can identify the types of qualitative research
REFERENCES: Baraceros (2016). Practical Research 1

Fruits have various kinds. Each kind has its unique tastes, use, and appearance. There are
fruits that can be used in different desserts. Let’s try to think of a favourite dessert called graham
float. You can put mango, durian or pineapple with it as it compliments with the milk and the
cracker. However, you can’t put chico or star apple with it. Qualitative research also has different
kinds with specific usage, characteristics and usage. Same with the mango in the graham float,
your study must also complement with its design to create a reliable and valid paper.

Comparative Summary of the Different Types of Qualitative Research

Types of Qualitative Research Defining Features

1. Phenomenology Both an approach and method of understanding the behavioural,
emotive and social meanings of lived experiences of individuals

2. Ethnography Focuses on studying the shared practices and belief systems of

people in a prolonged period of time
3. Grounded Theory Set of inductive data collection and analytic methods with the
purpose of construction theories grounded in the data
4. Case Study Allows the in-depth investigation of complex issues within a specific
context in a limited number of individuals
5. Discourse/ Conversation analysis Naturally occurring discourse and extract shared meanings from
such discourse
6. Narrative analysis Focuses on the narratives used as source of data

Phenomenological research helps readers understand the meaning of people’s lived experiences. It
explores what people experienced and focuses on those experiences as phenomena (Gumberg Library,
7
2011). Example: The Lived Experiences of COVID 19 Survivors.

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 Ethnography research is the study on the analysis of culture or society based on an
observation and resulting a written work of a people, institution or place. It focuses on
an in depth definable group of people (Coleman & Simpson, n.d.). Example: The movie
NGAT IS DEAD is an ethnographic study showing a traditional exchange of
ceremonies on the small island of Baluan in Pacific Ocean.

Grounded theory develops a theory that enables an explanation about a concern in

population and how that concern is resolved (Grounded Solutions Ltd, 2020). Example:
Nathan’s study the moral distress and the core category which processed their concern
was moral reckoning.

Case study is a detailed study that focuses only on a specific person, place, event, or
phenomenon. This is used in educational, clinical, social, and business research. In 1960s,
www.FlyClipart.com
Roseto, Pennsylvania was discovered to have a very low rates of heart disease compared
to US. It became an important case study for understanding neglected causes of heart
disease (Scribbr, n.d).

Narrative analysis is an interpretation of the researchers from stories that are told within the context
of research shared in everyday life (Allen, 2017).

Conversation analysis is an approach on the talk in interaction rooted on the sociological study of
everyday life which gives influence to the humanities and social sciences (Sidnell, 2016).

Quasi experiment is a research wherein a treatment or stimulus is administered to

only one of two groups whose members are randomly assigned which is considered to be
the standard in assessing the hypothesis. Let’s look on this example. Researcher want to
study the effect of alcohol to pregnant mother. A strict experimental design would include
mothers were randomly assigned to drink alcohol. This is very illegal because of the
possible harm it may cause the embryo. So instead, researchers can ask people how much
alcohol mothers used in their pregnancy and assign0 them in groups. This research is
more integrated with individual case studies thus there is no extensive pre-screening and
randomization needing to be undertaken (ResearchConnections, 2019).

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 Practical Research 1
An Applied Subject for Grade 11 Students

Learning Activity Sheet #5: Research Title

LEARNING TARGET: I can create a research title out from a research problem
REFERENCES: Uy et al. (2016) Practical Research 2

When you are searching for an article or a study on a particular topic, you probably notice
that studies with interesting titles draw you in. By contrast, research titles with descriptive format
are usually passed over, even though they may be good papers with useful contents. This simply
shows the importance of creating a good research title for your paper when you draft your
manuscript.

Research problem is an area affected by the identified topic or trend in the field that needs
to be address, investigate or study (de Guzman, 2015). It is the focus for engaging in the research
as a topic, phenomenon or a challenge a researcher is interested with. However, a problem will not
come to life without the title. The title summarizes all the ideas and information of the study.
A good title:
• Condenses the essay/paper’s content in a few words (typically 10-12)
• Uses descriptive terms and phrases that highlight the core content of the
essay/paper
• Captures the reader’s attention
• Differentiates the essay/paper from other

Tips for writing a good title:

1. Keep it simple, brief and attractive.

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 2. Use appropriate descriptive words: an honest research paper title should contain
key words utilized in the manuscript and will define the character of the study.

3. Avoid abbreviations and jargon: Known abbreviations like AIDS, NATO, then
often utilized in the title. However, other lesser-known or specific abbreviations
on are and jargon that might not be immediately familiar to the readers should
be overlooked.

4. Avoid language such as "An Examination of the...." or "A Study to Investigate

the..." as they are general superfluous unless they are necessary to convey the
scope, type of study or intent.
5. Short title sometimes uses words which are too broad and, thus, does not
emphasizes the problem. An example is “Philippine Politics” is a non-specific title
that can be considered a book title and ambiguous that it could refer to anything
associated with politics in the Philippines.

6. Catchy phrases can be used, but only if it's within the context of the study
[e.g., "Fair and Impartial Jury--Catch as Catch Can"]. However, in most cases,
you ought to avoid including words or phrases that don't help the reader
understand the aim of your paper.

7. Elude using funny or ingenious journalistic styles of phrasing in title creation. In

addition, a humorous title can merely detract from the seriousness and authority
of your research.

8. Titles do not have to observe grammatical or stylistic standards. For example, it

might be appropriate to start a title with a coordinating conjunction [i.e., and,
but, or, nor, for, so, yet] if it is sensible to try and doesn't detract from the aim of
the study [e.g., "Yet Another check out open-end fund Tournaments"] or
beginning the title with an inflected sort of a verb such as those ending in -ing
[e.g., "Assessing the Political Landscape: Structure, Cognition, and Power in
Organizations"].
Source: University of Southern California, 2020

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 Practical Research 1
An Applied Subject for Grade 11 Students

Learning Activity Sheet #6: Introduction

LEARNING TARGET: I can evaluate a good introduction
REFERENCES: Creswell, J.W. (2012). Educational Research: Planning, Conducting and
Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research. 4th ed.

You go to a restaurant and ordered your favorite dish. The waiter will not automatically
give you the main dish. Instead, he will serve an appetizer. An appetizer is a food or a drink serve
before the meal in order to stimulate the appetite of the customer. Like in research, the background
of the study serves as the appetizer. It stimulates the mind of the readers to anticipate for the result
(main dish) of the study. If introduction is done right, it can perfectly prepare you for the main
course. If done carelessly, it can ruin your appetite for the results and conclusions.

Introduction is the first thing to be notice in a journal article, research paper or dissertation.
It set the state for the entire study by establishing the concern leading to the research process. The
author describes the problem that can be easily understand by exploring the concept of the
phenomenon. A researcher explores a topic when the theory or variables are unknown.
This part discourage or encourage the readers to further read the paper and
show the significance of the study.

www.clipart.com
How can your structure your introduction?
Introduction is commonly broad in the beginning that answers three important questions
1. What is this?
2. Why should I read it?
3. What do you want me to think about/consider doing/react to?

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 Organize information from general aspects of the topic down to the narrow analysis which
provides context which arrives at the research problem and rationale.
These are the three phases in writing an introduction (Cassuto, Leonard, 2018):
1. Establish an area to research by:
● Making general statements about the topic
● Highlighting the importance of the topic
● Presenting an overview on the current research on the subject
2. Identify the research niche
● Revealing a gap in existing research
● Continuing disciplinary tradition
● Opposing an existing assumption
● Formulating a research problem
3. Place your research within the research niche by:
● Outlining the key characteristics of the study
● Giving a brief overview
● Stating the intent of the study
● Describing important results.
Example of an introduction:
In response, educators and others have advanced educational arguments supporting affirmative action,
claiming that a diverse study body is more educationally effective that a more homogenous one. Harvard
University president Neil Rudenstine claims that ‘fundamental rational for student diversity in higher
education [is] its educational value”(Rudenstine,1999,p.1). Lee Bollinger, Rudenstine’s counterpart at the
University of Michigan, has asserted, “A classroom that does not have a significant representation from
members of different races produces an impoverished discussion” (Schmidt, 1998,p.A32). […] [Authors
identify the research problem]

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 Practical Research 1
An Applied Subject for Grade 11 Students

Research Questions,
Learning Activity Sheet #7:

Aims and Objectives

LEARNING TARGET: I can evaluate on the accuracy of research questions, aims and objectives
REFERENCES: Thomas,D.R. & Hodges, I. Designing and Planning Your Research Project:
Core Skills for Social and Health Researchers. Sage Publications, 2010.

A research paper is like a house. The data collected are the walls and the hypothesis that
guides the data collection is the foundation. The research questions, aims and objectives serve as
the ground beneath the foundation. Without the research question, research aims and objective, it
can’t answer the problem. And like the house, without the foundation, things might collapse easily.

In a research, the terms research questions, research aims and research objectives have specific
meanings.

Research aims refers to the main goal or purpose of a research projects. Research papers
will have only one broad aim.
Research objectives are statements that indicate key issues to be focused in the research
paper. A research paper have several specific research objectives.
Research questions are answerable inquiry into a specific issue. It is the alternative of
research objectives but in question form.

GUIDELINES IN WRITING GOOD RESEARCH AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

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 1. Read around your subject.
2. Analyse previous studies.
3. Draft up an initial statement of your aims and objectives.
4. Avoid a single statement combining the aim and objectives
5. Do not write ambiguous aim.
6. Avoid mixing objectives and questions.
7. Adhere to the research topic/problem. www.
objectshowfanonpedia.fandom.com
GUIDELINES IN FORMULATING RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. Establish clear relation between the research questions and research topic/problem.
2. Base the research question on the Review of Related Literature as it will help get a good
background.
3. Formulate questions that will arouse curiosity.
4. State research questions that includes dependent and independent variables.
5. Avoid asking questions answerable by “yes or no”. Use “how” questions.
6. Be guided by the acronym SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-
bounded) in formulating research questions.
Example of a good research aim:
1. To investigate factors associated with partner violence
Example of good research objectives
1. To examine whether alcohol consumption is associated with increased partner violence
2. To examine whether labor force status is associated with variations in the incidence of
partner violence
3. To explore the differences between couples with extended history of partner violence and
couples with only a brief, recent history of partner violence
Example of a good research questions:
1. Is alcohol consumption associated with increased partner violence?
2. Is labor force status associated with variations in the incidence of partner violence?
3. Are there differences between couples with extended history of partner violence and
couples with only a brief, recent history of partner violence?'

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