INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH

Lovelyn F. Laresma, M.A.CP

What is RESEARCH?
• Coined from the French word cerhier, which means
“seek”. The prefix “re” means to repeat. Literally,
RESEARCH is to repeat looking for something.

• RESEARCH is a systematic process geared towards

working on exhaustive inquiry, investigation or
experimentation with the aim of finding new facts
(knowledge) in explaining the problems associated
with our day to day relations with our environments
(social, natural, political, economics) and coming up
with solutions in facing them.
RESEARCH…

• It deals in bringing in something new or novel

through analytical reasoning, which the product is an
organised knowledge.
• It is the crux of human development—a human
product that is generating more and new products
and/or ideas.
Qualities of a Good Quantity Inquirer

• Technical Competency
• Utility Competency
• Patience
• Service
• Effort
• Gut and Risk
• Care
Philosophical Views in Research

• Post-positivist – Researchers in this category subscribes

to the idea that everything should be quantified to produce
meaningful concrete results.

Example. Satisfaction of Students would be expressed in

percentage in relation to numbers.
• Constructivist – Researchers believe that experience
expressed through words can paint a better picture of a
certain phenomena.
Example. Analyzing the satisfaction of students should be
their verbatim comments and experiences rather than
numbers.
• Transformative – Researchers support the idea that
research should be conducted to increase quality of life
and produce better societies.
Example. A researcher conducts research on waste
segregation since he believe that the result may help
development of programs and aid in policy making.
• Pragmatic – Researchers promote the use of both
quantitative and qualitative and quantitative data in
expressing research findings.
Example. A student reports the percentage of smokers in
the campus, as well as the reasons for smoking in a study.
Research Process

• Conceptualization Phase
• Design Phase
• Empirical Phase
• Analytical Phase
• Dissemination Phase
Conceptualization Phase

• Where the topic is identified

• Topic Selection
• Identify the “Central Question”
• Review related literature
Design Phase

• Planning phase
• Detailed procedures in gathering and analyzing data.
• Decide on how, where and when the study will be
conducted and analys
Empirical Phase

• Actual data gathering and collection is conducted.

• Should be equipped with the necessary attitude, behavior
and tools in gathering data.
Analytical Phase

• Preparation and assessment of data.

Dissemination Phase

• Manuscript is to be shared to the general public.

Basic Terminologies in Research

• Method
– What data will be gathered?
• Technique
– How data will e gathered
• Approach
– How data will be processed
Approaches in Research

• Qualitative Research – an approach for exploring and

understanding the meaning individuals or groups ascribe
to a social or human problem.
Most common designs:
Narrative; Phenomenological; Ethnography; Case studies;
Grounded theory
• Quantitative Research - an approach for testing
objective theories by examining the relationship among
variables.
• Mixed Approach – inquiry involving collecting both
quantitative and qualitative data, and integrating the two
forms of data.
Types of Mixed Approach:
Convergent Parallel; Explanatory Sequential; Exploratory
Sequential
Research Manuscript

• Final written output of a research study.

• Written and/or soft copy form.
• Follows specific research content guidelines or format
(Chapter-based or IMRAD)
• Content is based on American Psychological Association
(APA, 6th edition) Standards.
Qualitative Versus Quantitative
The aim is a complete detailed
description
Researcher may only know roughly in
advance what he is looking for.
Researcher is the data gathering
instrument.
Data is in form of words, picture or
object.
Subjective
More rich, time consuming, less likely
to be generalized
The aim is to classify features, count
them and construct statistical models
in an attempt to explain what is
observe.
The researcher already knows what
he is searching for.
Questionnaires or laboratory equipment to
collect numerical data
Data is in form of number and
statistics
Objective
More efficient and able to test
hypothesis