Chapter two

TYPES OF RESEARCH
Types of research
 Based on goal/purpose:
◦ Basic/pure/fundamental
◦ Applied:
 Action research
 Developmental research
 Evaluative research
 Based on methods
◦ Survey research
◦ Experimental research
◦ Historical research
 Based on approach
◦ Quantitative
◦ Qualitative
◦ Mixed methods
 Based on purpose:
1. Basic/pure research
 concerned with theory development and its refinement.
 primary purpose:
◦ broadening of knowledge and not immediate solution of a
problem.
 directed towards evolving new and additional
knowledge or
 enhancement of subject matter that involves
developing and testing theories.
 It is usually conducted in the laboratory.
◦ For example: how did the universe begin?
◦ What are protons, neutrons, and electrons composed of?
2. Applied research
 directed towards practical application of knowledge and
 aims at finding an explanation for an observed
problem.
 It can also aim at testing theory to evaluate its
usefulness in education, business, management and
the like.
 Aims at solving immediate practical problems.
 The findings help educators to make rational practical
decisions about specific problems.
 Examples: applied researchers may investigate ways to:
◦ Improve agricultural crop production
◦ Treat or cure a specific disease
◦ Improving the energy efficiency of homes, offices, or modes of
transportation
2a. Action research
 concerned with the solution of a specific problem in
local situation.
 conducted by a person who uses the findings to
improve bothering current situations.
 is popularly used in school system as it discovers and
identifies a problem in the classroom, or in
management of the school for example and solving it
in the same setting.
 Results from action research cannot be generalized.
 2b. Developmental research
 directed to producing new materials, products and
devices;
 to installing new processes, systems and services and
 to improve substantially those already produced or
installed.
 Examples:
◦ BPR principle, BSC, KAIZEN, etc are processes for improving
service delivery
◦ Producing educational technology materials for supporting
teaching and learning
 Based on method: Descriptive research
 Types of descriptive survey:
◦ 1.Qualitative
 Case studies
 Ethnography
 Historical
 Grounded theory
 Document analysis
 Phenomenological study
 Narrative enquiry

◦ 2. Quantitative
 Surveys
 Experimental
 True experimental
 Quasi-experimental
 Correlational research
 Ex Post Facto research
Quantitative…Types
 True experimental  Surveys
 Quasi-experimental  Ex Post Facto
 Correlational

Experimental Non-experimental
Qualitative: Case studies
 Intensive and exhaustive or detailed or in-depth study
about:
◦ An individual
◦ Group of individuals
◦ An institution
◦ Organization
◦ Agency
◦ Association
◦ School
 Data can be gathered from the past and current status of
the subject/s.
 Relatively weak method in making generalisations.
 Observation is primary techniques of gathering information.
◦ Interviews
◦ Questionnaire
◦ Document analysis
 Quantitative:
1. Surveys
 Involves gathering limited data from large number of
cases/subjects inexpensively and easily.
 Obtain data from a population or sample to determine
current status of the population with respect to one or more
variables.
 Gather info about variables not about individuals.
 Measure the existing occurrences without inquiring into why
it exists.
 Tools for surveys include:
◦ Questionnaires: widely used and applied for large sample size.
◦ Tests
◦ Check lists
◦ Rating scales
◦ Interviews
◦ Inventories
◦ Observations
◦ Etc.
Surveys…examples
 Parents views on the current status of :
◦ Public and private schools
◦ Teachers’ status

 Do voters in our school district think we should raise

taxes in order to build new classrooms?
 What do TVET deans consider to be the major
problems in their TVET colleges?
Types of surveys
 Based on focus and scope:
◦ Census survey
◦ Sample survey

 Based on time of data collection

◦ Longitudinal surveys
 Study changes across time

◦ Cross-sectional surveys
 Focus on a single point in time
Surveys…contd
 Longitudinal surveys (types):
◦ Panel studies
 A single group over a number of times
 Example: Age and IQ relationship
 Reasoning skills of selected children at different times
◦ Trend studies
 Different indls drawn from the same general population surveyed at intervals
over a period of time.
 Example: National trends in Mathematics achievement in Ethiopia.
 The survey on drug, alcohol, tobacco, and other uses in Ethiopia.
 Traffic incidents in Ethiopia
◦ Cohort research
 a specific population is followed over a length of time with different random
samples studied at various points.
 Population remains the same
 Indls surveyed are different each time.
Cross-sectional survey

 A cross-sectional study would compare the vocabulary

skills of a sample of children from grades 1, 4, and 7
 The cross-sectional survey is the method of choice if
you want to gather the data at one point in time.
Survey technique

 Conducting a survey requires careful planning,

implementation, and analysis if it is to yield reliable
and valid information.
 Six basic steps are involved in a survey research:
◦ Planning
◦ Defining the population
◦ Sampling
◦ Constructing the instrument
◦ Conducting the survey
◦ Processing the data
Data gathering techniques in a survey
 Generally there are two techniques:
◦ Interview
 Personal interview
 Focus group
 Telephone interview
 Computer assisted telephone interview (CATI)

◦ Questionnaire
 Mailed questionnaire
 Electronic mail surveys
 Internet surveys
 Directly administered questionnaire
Quantitative:
2. Correlational research

 a study conducted to find out if any relationship exists

between variables.
 Used for the purpose of:
◦ Prediction.
◦ Assessing relationships
◦ Assessing consistency
 We use measure of correlation to determine the
magnitude and direction of relationship.
◦ Positive correlation/relationship
◦ Negative/inverse relationship
◦ No correlation/relationship
 Studies pre-existing variables.
 Variables cannot be manipulated
 Correlation coefficient does not signify cause and effect
relationships.
 It is non-experimental research
Relationship… examples…contd
 What is the relationship between self-esteem and
academic achievement?
 Is there a relationship between musical aptitude and
mathematics achievement among 6-year-olds? and
 What is the relationship between watching media
violence and aggression in children?
Prediction …example…contd

 The higher the correlation, the more accurate the

prediction.
 Prediction studies are frequently used in education.
◦ Example: High school grades are related to College GPA.
◦ This high school grades predicts college performance. Those
students who scored high at high schools will score high at
college and vice-versa.
Quantitative:
3. Ex post facto…Introduction

As researchers probe such educational questions as “Why are some children

better readers than others?” “What is the effect of single-parent homes on
achievement?” and “Why do some youths become delinquent while others do
not?” they find that only some questions can be investigated through
experimental research. If you want to investigate the influence of such
variables as home environment, motivation, intelligence, parental reading
habits, age, ethnicity, gender, disabilities, self-concept, and so forth, you
cannot randomly assign students to different categories of these variables.
Independent variables such as these are called attribute independent
variables. An attribute variable is a characteristic that a subject has before a
study begins. In such a case it is better to deal with Ex Post Facto type of
research.
Quantitative:
3. Ex Post Facto research

 Means “after the fact”.

 Conducted where both the effect and hypothetical cause/s
have already occurred.
 This type of study lacks manipulation of variables:
◦ We cannot control the independent variables that cause a certain effect
◦ Such variables like sex, race, intelligence, aptitude, creativity,
personality, socio-economic status, etc. cannot be directly
manipulated.
 Example 1: Traffic incidents
 Ex post facto research can also be used instead of an
experiment, to test hypotheses about cause and effect
◦ Example 2:
 Family violence caused poor school performance.
 Do children who eat breakfast get better grades in school?
 Remark:

 In Ex post facto research, there is :

◦ Lack of manipulation of independent variables and
◦ Lack of randomization
 In ex post facto research, selected variables are used to
make comparisons
◦ between two or more existing groups.

 But correlational research assesses the relationships

among two or more variables:
 In a single group.

 Ex post facto research investigates possible cause-and-

effect relationships;
 But not correlational research
 Quantitative:
4. Experimental research

 Controls the whole research process except for the Ivs.

 Ivs are thought of as the cause of an effect.
 The variable that is manipulated is referred to as:
◦ Independent variable
◦ A treatment variable
◦ A cause variable
◦ Predictor variable

 The outcome or effect variable is called the:

◦ DV (dependent variable).
◦ Predicted variable

 This is the only type of research that can really ascertain the
cause and effect relationships.
 Identifying the dependent and independent variables.
 Examples
 A study investigated the difference in grammar performance
between high school students taught by two different
methods.
◦ (a) What is the independent variable in this study?
◦ (b) What is the dependent variable?

 In a study designed to determine the effect of varying amounts of

sleep deprivation on the learning of syllables, identify the following:
◦ a. What is the independent variable?
◦ b. What is the dependent variable?

 The effect of motivation on achievement.

◦ Independent variable
◦ Dependent variable
 Features of experimental research

 The simplest type of experimental research has at least two

groups:
◦ 1. Experimental group ( is exposed to the influence of):

◦ a factor,
◦ An intervention or
◦ Treatment
◦ 2. Control group ( is not exposed to):

◦ any type of treatment or

◦ intervention.

 And at least two variables:

◦ Independent and
◦ Dependent variables
Experimental research designs
 Weak/pre- experimental research designs:
◦ One -shot design
◦ One group pretest-posttest
◦ Static-group comparison

 True experimental designs:

◦ Posttest only group design
◦ Pretest-posttest control group design
◦ Randomized Solomon four-group design

 Quasi-experimental designs:
◦ Matching only design
◦ Time series design
Experimental research designs
 Pre-experimental designs:
◦ Do not have random assignment of subjects to groups or
◦ Do not employ other strategies to control extraneous variables
◦ Have the least internal validity
 True experimental designs:
◦ Have random assignment of subjects to groups and
◦ Provide maximum control of extraneous variables
◦ Have greatest internal validity
◦ They are the most highly recommended designs.
 Quasi-experimental designs:
◦ Lack randomization and
◦ But employ other strategies to provide some control over
extraneous variables
◦ Used for when intact classrooms are used as the experimental and
control groups
◦ Have somewhat less internal validity
One shot design
One-shot design…contd
 Consists only one group.
 This group exposed to treatment (X).
 After some time, the group is post-tested (O).
 No control group.
 No random assignment of subjects
 Example : giving training to this group of students for
a limited amount of time.
One group pretest-posttest design
Contd…
 One group pretest-posttest…contd

 Only one group.

 No control group.
 No random assignment of subjects to the exprtal
group.
 Pre-test is given.
 Post-test is also given after treatment.
 Result of pre-and post-tests will be compared.
 Limitations:
◦ experimenter cannot assume that any improvement in scores is due to the new
technique/treatment.
◦ History and maturation are the two most uncontrolled extraneous variables.
◦ No way to assess the effect of the pretest
Example
 Assume that an elementary teacher wants to evaluate the
effectiveness of a new technique for teaching fourth-grade math.
 At the beginning of the school year, the students are given a
standardized test (pretest) that appears to be a good measure of
the achievement of the objectives of fourth-grade math.
 The teacher then introduces the new teaching technique and at the
end of the semester administers the same standardized test
(posttest), comparing students’ scores from the pretest and
posttest in order to determine if exposure to the new teaching
technique made any difference.
 The limitation of this design is that because no control group is used,
the experimenter cannot assume that any improvement in scores is
due to the new technique.
 Design 3: Static-group comparison

 Contains two groups.

◦ One experimental and
◦ one control groups.
 The experimental group is exposed to treatment.
 No treatment for the control group.
 Both groups post-tested.
 To find out the effect of treatment, the results of the
two groups are compared.
◦ Experimental Group X O1
◦ Control Group O2
 Example: wheat seed splited into two equal parts.
◦ Split one is exposed to normal conditions: soil, warmth, water
and light and no other factors.
◦ Split two is exposed to the same conditions as above but with
the addition of fertilizer.
 Limitations of static group design

 Neither randomization nor even matching on a pretest is used.

 Selection bias, maturation, and mortality are treats to the
internal validity of this design.
 One could not conclude that the outcome is a result of the
experimental treatment.
True experimental design
Posttest only design: Contd…
Posttest only group design…contd
 Control and experimental groups.
 Participants are randomly assigned in the two groups.
 Here, no pretest for the two groups.
 The experimental group receives intervention.
 The design looks the following:
◦ Experimental Group R X O1
◦ Control Group R O2
Pretest-posttest only design…Contd…
Pretest-posttest control group design…contd
 There is random assignment of subjects in the two
groups
◦ Experimental Group R O1 X O3
◦ Control Group R O2 O4

Example: cooperative learning using 1 to 5 grouping and its

effect on students’ achievement.
This design cannot control the effect of the pretest.
Contd…
Solomon 4 design…Contd…
Quasi-experimental designs

 No random assignment of subjects

 Experiment in the natural setting but variables are
isolated, controlled, and manipulated.
Types..
Contd…
Contd…
Contd…