Chapter One

What Research Is
Albert C. Albina, PhD

Overview

Before exploring the intricacies of research, it is imperative to define it first. This Chapter
contains the definitions and stages of research. Specifically, research is emphasized as an
inquiry, a process, and a way to reach a conclusion. The stages of research explained in
this Chapter are the following: (a) writing of research proposals, (b) review and approval of
proposals, (c) conducting an approved study, (d) reporting a study, (e) peer review process,
(f) dissemination, (g) publication, and (h) utilization.

Intended Learning Outcomes

At the end of this Chapter, you will be able to:

a. explain the definitions of research;
b. describe the stages of research;
c. examine your preconceived notions of research, and
d. appreciate the process of doing research.

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A. Definitions of Research
The best way to start learning about something is to define it. The term research is defined in
various ways. For instance, Oxford Languages (n.d.) defines research as “the systematic
investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach new
conclusions." Meanwhile, Hampshire College (2022) defines it as “a process of systematic
inquiry that entails collection of data; documentation of critical information; and analysis and
interpretation of that data/information, following suitable methodologies set by specific
professional fields and academic disciplines.” Both definitions may be worded differently but
point out the same idea. It would prove helpful to dissect the two definitions provided above if
specific points are amplified, namely, research as an inquiry, research as a process, and
research as a way to reach a conclusion.

Research as an inquiry
Research is a form of inquiry or investigation into something. It is an exercise that aims to
increase our understanding of something. It wants to discover something that has yet to be
discovered. It invites us to think differently about something or analyze something from a new
lens or perspective. Hence, the statement attributed to the German philosopher Arthur
Schopenhauer and Hungarian biochemist Albert Szent-Györgi makes sense here: "Research is
to see what everyone else has seen and think what nobody has thought.”

Research as a process
The inquiry or investigation that goes on in research proceeds following an appropriate or sound
methodology or procedure – one that is accepted and practiced in specific fields. Therefore, the
methodology or procedure cannot and should not be arbitrary; it should be based on what the
scientific community accepts or considers sound or appropriate. Otherwise, the data a
researcher collects, how they are processed and analyzed, and even the conclusion would be
questioned if the methodology or procedure employed is not scientifically sound or appropriate.

Research as a way to reach a conclusion

One of the end goals of research is to reach a data-driven conclusion. Unfortunately, a common
mistake that students or researchers commit in writing their research report is their failure to
distinguish the findings from the conclusion. A conclusion is reached when a higher level of
analysis is performed to elicit the implications, theoretical and/or practical, of the findings.
Such analysis depends entirely on how a researcher makes sense of the findings by going
beyond what the data suggests.

B. Stages of Research
Research students, in general, whether in senior high school, undergraduate, or graduate level,
need to understand and appreciate the different research stages they must go through if they
want to call themselves researchers. Figure 1 illustrates the major stages of research, which
commence with the writing of research proposals and culminate in the utilization of research
findings, conclusions, and recommendations.

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Figure 1
Stages of Research

Writing of Research Proposals

When one intends to conduct research, either as an academic requirement or for funding, the
journey formally commences with writing a research proposal. However, one can only
effectively write a good research proposal by immersing oneself in extensive and intensive
reading of existing literature, particularly journal articles. Important instructions and tips on how
to read journal articles are explained in Chapter Two.

Review and Approval of Proposals

The review of research proposals by a panel of experts or evaluators is a necessary process
that needs to be hurdled by a proponent before approving his/her proposed study. Research
proposals are reviewed based on the technical and ethical aspects. The main goal in this stage
is to persuade the panel that there exists a need to conduct the proposed study that is anchored
on the research gap clearly identified and strongly argued by the proponent/s. In almost all
cases, the members who compose the panel experts or evaluators would further give their
comments and suggestions to clarify the proposed study's direction and methodology. The
comments and suggestions are the basis for the proponent to revise his/her research proposal.
The panel of experts or evaluators then approves the proposed study when everything is in
order. The essential parts of a research proposal and how it is evaluated are explained in
Chapter??.

Conducting an Approved Study

When a research proposal is approved, it is time for the researcher to conduct or implement it.
The conduct or implementation of such approved research should strictly adhere to the project's
methodologies; this refers to the study design, participants (if any), sampling (if any), setting (if
any), data gathering procedure, timeframe, analysis, ethical considerations, and the like. Any
plan to deviate from the project's approved methodologies should be consulted first with the
research adviser and panel members. The deviation may require the Ethics Committee's

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approval for extremely serious matters. Most importantly, the conduct or implementation of any
approved research should be guided by the study’s objectives or statement of the problem so
that they will be fully satisfied and wholly addressed when proceeding to the next stage, which
is the reporting of the study.

Reporting a Study
After conducting a study, reporting it comes next. Reporting a study that has been conducted
may come in various formats. Generally, it may be reported following a thesis/dissertation or
journal article format. On the one hand, for reporting using a thesis/dissertation format, the
academic institution has the final say regarding the guidelines on how to prepare it. On the other
hand, for reporting using a journal article format, the journal's guide for authors is typically used
to prepare it. Different academic institutions and different journals also have different
guidelines.

Whether a researcher prepares a report using a thesis/dissertation format or journal article

format, there are universally accepted reporting standards. One reporting standard widely used
worldwide is the American Psychological Association (APA) standard, particularly on citations
and referencing. More specifically, APA formulated the Journal Article Reporting Standards or
JARS for quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods research. Refer to this link
https://apastyle.apa.org/jars for more details.

Peer Review Process

Just as a research proposal is reviewed, a report from an approved proposal that is successfully
conducted requires reviewing by the same panel of experts or evaluators who previously
approved the proposal. The objectives of this review include but are not limited to the following:
(a) evaluate how the research methodologies were adhered to, (b) evaluate the correctness of
data processing and analysis, (c) evaluate the soundness of discussion, conclusion, and
recommendations, (d) decide whether to approve or reject the report, or advise the researcher
to revise it based on the comments and suggestions provided by the panel.

For purposes of checking the revised manuscript, it may prove helpful if the researcher prepares
an Action Made Matrix so that the panel of experts or evaluators can easily keep track of the
enhancements, modifications, and deletions made by the researcher on the manuscript. See
Appendix ?? for the sample template of the Action Made Matrix. While there are semblances,
the peer review we are talking about in this stage is not the same as the peer review that a paper
undergoes when submitted to a journal for possible publication. Particularly in the Philippine
setting, we call this review a final defense.

Dissemination
Salient findings of completed research should be disseminated to certain groups of people,
organizations, institutions, or agencies. Primarily, researchers ought to disseminate their
research findings to the data source. For instance, if the data source is a school, Local
Government Unit, women's organization, farmers, or whatever, researchers should return to
them to disseminate salient research findings once a research report has been prepared and
reviewed. Institutionalizing dissemination of research findings sends out a clear message that
researchers are not "data vampires" who "suck" (or extract) “blood” (or data) from anyone (e.g.,
research respondents/participants), and leave the latter behind after the former gets what they
wanted.

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 Another way to disseminate research findings is to present them at a conference organized by
reputable academic institutions, credible professional organizations, or legitimate scientific
societies. A research conference is a gathering (in-person, virtual, or hybrid) of scholars, experts,
researchers, scientists, and practitioners in a particular field or discipline. Emphasis is placed
on the reputation, credibility, and legitimacy of conference organizers because several groups
currently utilize a purely business-oriented framework, thus ultimately motivated to make
money out of the conferences they organize and not the furtherance of specific fields or
disciplines through research.

Publication
Publication is probably the most challenging stage in the entire research process, especially for
neophyte researchers, more so when we consider having our paper published in a journal that
is indexed, for instance, in Scopus (by Elsevier), Web of Science (by Clarivate Analytics),
PubMed, EBSCO, DOAJ, ASEAN Citation Index, and the like. Though challenging, researchers
(especially students who do research as an academic requirement) must know that publication
is part of the research process. Doing research and writing a research report is a futile exercise
if publication is not considered. Hard-bound theses, for instance, submitted by students are
useless when they only gather dust in libraries.

If we go back to the second stage of research (Review and Approval of Proposals), it was
mentioned that the main goal in this stage is to persuade the panel of experts or evaluators that
there exists a need to conduct the proposed study anchored on the research gap clearly
identified and strongly argued by the proponent/s. Suppose a research proposal is approved
because the proponent was able to establish and identify the research gap in the existing
literature and suppose such an approved proposal was successfully implemented and a report
was written out from it; the pre-identified research gap would remain as a research gap if the
research report or paper is not published; hence no contribution was made to the scientific
community.

Utilization
Utilization of research findings is highly essential, especially in the context of applied research,
wherein research is done to offer practical solutions for specific problems as opposed to basic
research, wherein the primary motivation is the expansion of knowledge and the increased
understanding of theories and principles. For example, suppose you are studying the academic
performance of students with two parents in contrast to those with only one or no parent at all,
and you find out that students with two parents perform significantly better in school than their
peers with only one or no parent at all. In that case, this finding must have practical implications
for school administration policies in general and learning interventions in particular.

In the context of applied research, researchers are duty-bound to make recommendations to

the organization where they conducted their research and sit down with the management or
administration to discuss the possibility of utilizing the data-informed and solution-driven
recommendations through the implementation of new or modification of existing programs and
policies.

C. H

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Task #1

Name : ___________________________ Date: _____________________

Instructor/Professor : ___________________________ Program: _________________

Semester & School Year : ___________________________ Year Level: ________________

Instructions: Please answer what is asked in each item below. Write your answers in the spaces
provided.

1. Before enrolling in this course/subject, you are assumed to have preconceived notions about
research. Now, what preconceived notions do you have about research that are different from
or contrary to the ideas discussed in this Chapter? Elaborate your answer. Cite at least two
notions.

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2. What ideas about research discussed in this Chapter are entirely new to you? Elaborate your
answer. Cite at least two ideas.

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