Research

 a scientific investigation of phenomena which includes

collection, presentation, analysis, and interpretation of facts
that links man’s speculation with reality.

 is a study to create new knowledge or to add to the existing

store house of knowledge, may it be through observation or
by any other methods.
Reasons for Studying Research

 Becoming an informed research consumer.

 Finding out about your practice.
 Participating in the policy process.
 Undertaking postgraduate education.
 Developing social work knowledge and theory.
 Practicing in an ethically responsible manner.
Characteristics of Research
 Empirical – Research is based on direct experience or
observation by the researcher.
 Logical – Research is based on valid procedures and principles.
 Cyclical – Research starts with a problem and ends with a
problem.
 Analytical – Research utilizes proven analytical procedures in
gathering the data.
 Replicability – Research designs and procedures are replicated
to enable researcher to arrive at valid and conclusive results.
 Critical – Research exhibits careful and precise judgment; that is,
a higher level of confidence must be established.
1. Research is based on valid procedures and principles. Scientific
investigation is done in an orderly manner so that the
researcher has confidence on the results. What characteristic
of research is this?

a) analytical
b) logical
c) cyclical
d) empirical
Types of Research

 Pure research – also called basic research or fundamental

research which aims to discover basic truths and principles.
 Applied research – involves seeking new applications of
scientific knowledge to the solution of a problem.
 Action research – is a decision-oriented research involving the
application of the steps of the scientific method in response to
an immediate need to improve existing practices.
2. What type of research that is decision-oriented involving the
application of the steps of the scientific method in response
to an immediate need to improve existing practices?
a) pure research
b) basic research
c) applied research
d) action research
Variable
 is defined as a quantity or a characteristic that has two or more
mutually exclusive values of properties. Numerical values or
categories represent these quantities or characteristics.
Types of Variable
1) Independent Variable – this is the stimulus variable which is
chosen by the researcher to determine its relationship to an
observed phenomenon.

2) Dependent Variable – this the response variable which is

observed and measured to determine the effect of the
independent variable.
Variable
3) Moderate Variable – this is a secondary or special type of
variable chosen by the researcher to ascertain if it alters or
modifies the relationships between the IV and DV.

4) Control Variable – is variable controlled by the researcher in

which the effects can be neutralized by eliminating or
removing the variable.

5) Intervening Variable – is a variable which interferes with the

independent and dependent variables, but its effects can
either strengthen or weaken the IV and DV.
 Example of Variables

Consider the research problem

“The Effect of Jejemon Texting to the Spelling Ability of the High
School Students”. The independent variable is Jejemon Texting
and the dependent variable is Spelling Ability. If we categorize
the respondents by gender or by year level and determine
whether there is a significant difference in their spelling ability
then the moderator variables are Gender and Year Level
(1st – 4th year).
 Example of Variables

Consider also the study Philip Converse entitled “Information

Flow and the Stability Partisan Attitudes”.
The independent variable is Information Flow and dependent
variable is Stability of Partisan Attitudes while the intervening
variable is Exposure to Mass Media which is not seen.
 Example of Variables

Again, consider the research problem “Academic Ability and

Socio-economic Status: Factors Affecting the Academic
Achievement of High School Students”.
The independent variable is Academic Ability and Socio-
economic Status, the dependent variable is the Academic
Achievement and the control variables can be Adult Acceptance
or Peer Approval.
3. What type of variable that is also called a response variable
which is observed and measured to determine the effect of
another variable?
a) independent
b) dependent
c) moderate
d) control
Types of Major Research Approaches
Quantitative Research
 This type of research is based on the idea that there is an
objective ‘reality’ which can be accurately measured, and which
operates according to natural laws which can be ‘discovered’ by
rigorous, objective research.
 Quantitative researchers typically use techniques such as
surveys, questionnaires and structured observations.
 Using statistics, they analyze the information they have collected
to see if their ideas about patterns or relationships are
supported by ‘the facts’ as revealed in their research.
Types of Major Research Approaches
Quantitative Research
 Examples of quantitative research
• The census
• Large opinion polls
• Some forms of evaluation, e.g. outcome evaluations, cost–
benefit analyses
• Research which aims to establish whether there is a
relationship between two or more variables, e.g. Is there a
relationship between income and religion?
Types of Major Research Approaches
Qualitative Research
 Instead of beginning with theories of patterns or relationships
and testing them in the ‘real world’, qualitative researchers
prefer to start the other way around and begin with their
experiences or specific observations. They begin their research
with no preconceived ideas, and allow the patterns or themes to
emerge from their experiences.
 From careful observations, immersion in the world of the
‘researched’, in-depth interviews, and a range of other
techniques, qualitative researchers build their theories from the
patterns they observe in their data (sometimes called ‘grounded
theory’) thus, their approach is inductive.
Types of Major Research Approaches
Qualitative Research
 Examples of qualitative research
• A researcher spends several months ‘hanging around’ with a
gang of ‘street kids’ to investigate their lifestyle and the issues
that are important to them (participant observation).
• In-depth interviews are conducted with rural women and
workers from relevant agencies to explore attitudes to
domestic violence in the country.
• Observations of council meetings and interviews with local
councilors are conducted to examine how they perceive ‘grass
roots democracy’.
Types of Major Research Approaches
Emancipatory Approach
 They view society as being full of contradictions and tensions
between dominant and oppressed groups, between those who
impose their reality on others and those who are the ‘others’.
 In this view, people are shaped by external forces operating in
the interests of the powerful (similar to the assumptions of
universal objective laws of quantitative researchers), but may
also be aware of their oppression and attempt to resist the
dominant group’s version of ‘reality’ (similar to the beliefs about
the importance of subjectivity of qualitative researchers).
Types of Major Research Approaches
Feminist Research
 Like other forms of emancipatory research, feminist research is
characterized by its goals rather than its methods.
 As an approach to research, it is in a stage of lively evolution.
 For example, feminist researchers highlighted the ‘gender-
blindness’ of official statistics which made it impossible to
determine the status and condition of women separately from
the male ‘head of the house’.
Types of Major Research Approaches
Feminist Research
 Four assumptions of feminist research
• All knowledge is socially constructed.
• The dominant ideology is that of the ruling group.
• There is no such thing as value-free science and so far the
social sciences have served and reflected men’s interests.
• The perspectives of men and women differ because people’s
perspectives vary systematically with their position in society.
Types of Major Research Approaches
 Examples of feminist research
• A researcher holds conversations with rural women over
several months to discuss and write up their experiences of
farming and attitudes towards these experiences.
• A women’s support group collects statistics and evidence about
how domestic violence is dealt with in their region compared to
other types of violence, in order to raise community awareness
and to lobby for a women’s refuge.
• A social welfare worker involves her colleagues in a study of
their daily work practices to analyze the similarities between
social work and traditional ‘women’s work’.
Types of Major Research Approaches
Postmodern Research
 Instead of certainties and ‘realities’ which can be scientifically
explored, postmodernism asserts that ‘truth’ or knowledge is
created through language and meanings and is different for
different people, depending on their experiences.
 Thus, instead of a single, knowable reality, postmodernist
researchers speak of a plurality of voices, each with its own
locally constructed reality.
 No single reality is more valid than another—indeed, diversity
and difference should be celebrated.
4. A researcher spends several months ‘hanging around’ with a
gang of ‘street kids’ to investigate their lifestyle and the
issues that are important to them is an example of what type
of research approach?

a) quantitative research
b) emancipatory approach
c) qualitative research
d) postmodern research
The Ethics of Research
Five ethical criteria for research
 Autonomy/self-determination (includes informed consent and
confidentiality)
 Non-maleficence (not doing harm)
 Beneficence (doing good)
 Justice (are the purposes just?)
 Positive contribution to knowledge
5. What ethical criteria of research that requires the researchers
not to harm their subjects in any way, instead, to do some
good, or to be of benefit, to the people who are being
researched?

a) autonomy/self determination
b) non-maleficence/beneficence
c) principles of justice or fairness
d) positive contribution to knowledge
Steps in the Research Process
 Defining the problem
 Choosing the methodology
 Reviewing the literature
 Preparation
 Research design:
• Sampling
• Data collection
• Administration
• Data analysis
• Reporting
 Conducting the research
 Disseminating the findings
Steps in the Research Process
 DEFINING THE PROBLEM
• In any research you must define your problem, note the
dimensions of the issue, the target group affected, the political
context, and the anticipated outcomes.
• Decide whether your research is to be exploratory, descriptive or
explanatory.
• Remember that your topic must be relevant, researchable,
feasible and ethical.
• A good research problem is characterized by the acronym
‘SMART’:
Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-bounded
5. A good research problem is characterized by the acronym
‘SMART’. What does this stands for?

a) Simple, Manageable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound

b) Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound

c) Simple, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound

d) Specific, Manageable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound

Steps in the Research Process
 METHODOLOGY
 This include quantitative and qualitative approaches.
 A quantitative methodology would be most useful where you
have extensive knowledge of the environment or situation you
wish to study and are looking to test the hypotheses about the
relationships between variables and to make statistical
inferences from your quantifiable data. Quantitative research is
generally about testing theory.
Steps in the Research Process
 METHODOLOGY
 A qualitative methodology enables you to further your
knowledge of the situation when seeking to describe social
reality.
 An emancipatory approach, using quantitative and/or
qualitative methodologies, would be appropriate if you wish to
conduct research that centralizes the concerns of marginalized
or disempowered people. You should be aware that you might
choose a combination of approaches if this best suits your study.
Steps in the Research Process
 LITERATURE REVIEW
 Conducting a literature review is a vital part of your research. If
you have prepared a research proposal you will have already
read widely.
 A literature review allows you to discover what knowledge is
already available about the issue you wish to investigate, to
determine how your study will differ from existing work and
hence add to our knowledge in the area, and it enables you to
conceptually frame your work.
Steps in the Research Process
LITERATURE REVIEW
 Older works are not necessarily inferior and you should consider
references which are classical representations of new ideas or
groundbreaking developments.
 Essentially, your literature review should indicate that you are
up-to-date with current thinking in the area of study.
6. A vital part of the research process which allows the
researcher to discover what knowledge is already available
about the issue to investigate and to determine how the
study will differ from existing work.
a) defining the problem
b) methodology
c) research design
d) literature review
Steps in the Research Process
 PREPARATION
 Once you have defined your topic and analyzed and reviewed
the literature, you have a number of tasks to undertake before
you can launch into the research.
 Funding the project will be an issue for any piece of research.
You should develop a research proposal for your agency or for a
funding body.
Steps in the Research Process
PREPARATION
 A further issue which must be dealt with during this preparatory
stage is seeking ethics approval from the ethics committee at
your agency, your university or the funding body.
 You should also spend some time discussing the proposed
research with experienced researchers, colleagues and friends in
order to help you develop a suitable design and to gain the
benefit of others’ experience.
Steps in the Research Process
RESEARCH DESIGN
 Having defined your problem, chosen your methodology,
reviewed the literature and completed the preparatory stages,
you must now develop an appropriate research design.
 A research design indicates how your data will be collected,
analyzed and reported and includes the types of sampling,
methods of data collection and analysis to be used.
 Your design is a plan of action which indicates how you propose
to research the defined problem and is necessarily shaped by
the problem and the methodology.
Research Design
Kinds of Research Design
 Historical design is a systematic and critical inquiry of the whole
truth of past events using the critical method in the
understanding and the interpretation of facts which are
applicable to current issues and problems.

 Descriptive design – the study focuses at the present condition.

The purpose is to find new truth. The truth may have different
forms such as increased quantity of knowledge, a new
generalization or a new law, an increased insight into factors
which are operating, the discovery of a new causal relationship,
a more accurate formulation of the problem to be solved and
many others.
Research Design
Kinds of Research Design
 Experimental design is a problem-solving approach that the
study is described in the future on what will be when certain
variables are carefully controlled or manipulated.

 Case Study design – is a problem solving technique that the

study is described from the past, present, and future. It is an
intensive investigation of a particular individual, institution,
community, or any group considered as a unit which includes
the developmental, adjustment, remedial, or corrective
procedures that suitably follow diagnosis of the causes of
maladjustment or of favorable development.
7. What kind of research design that is being described as a
systematic and critical inquiry of the whole truth of past
events using the critical method in the understanding and
the interpretation of facts which are applicable to current
issues and problems?
a) historical design
b) descriptive design
c) experimental design
d) case study design
Research Process
RESEARCH PAPER
Preliminary Sections
Title Page. The first page of the paper which includes: title of the
study, name of the researcher, relationship of the study to a course or degree
requirement, name of the school, college or university where the research paper
is to be submitted, and the date of presentation.
Acknowledgment. It is written if the researcher wishes to acknowledge the
persons who extended assistance in the completion of the study.
Dedication. Expresses the researcher’s intention to dedicate the work especially
to his/her love ones.
Table of Contents. Presents the major divisions of the paper: the
different chapters and their titles with their topics and the pages
Research Process
RESEARCH PAPER
Preliminary Sections
for each topic.
List of Tables. Provides three kinds of information: the table
numbers, the title of each table, and the corresponding page
numbers. The titles are worded exactly as they appear in the text.
List of Figures. A figure is device that presents statistical data in
graphic form which may also include graphs, charts, diagrams,
maps, computer printouts, etc. The titles of the figures as they
appear in the text should be printed with corresponding numbers
and pages.
Research Process
RESEARCH PAPER
Body of the Paper (Divided into Five Chapters)
Chapter 1. Includes the introduction, statement of the problem,
theoretical and conceptual framework, hypothesis, significance
of the study, and scope and limitations.
Chapter 2. Includes the review of literature and related studies.
This part provides a background for the development of the
present study and gives evidence of the researcher’s knowledge
of the field of the study.
Chapter 3. Explains the research design, the instrument used in
gathering data, the respondents and the sampling procedure
used, the data gathering procedure, and the statistical tools
Research Process
RESEARCH PAPER
used in analyzing data.
Chapter 4. Involves the presentation, analysis and interpretation of
data. This is the most important part of the research paper. Data
gathered from the questionnaires are presented in tables
together with their in-depth analysis and interpretation.
Chapter 5. This consists of the summary of the study. Conclusions
are drawn from the findings after which the recommendations
are presented by the researcher.
Reference Section
Bibliography or References. A list of the books, articles, margins,
newspapers, thesis, manuscripts used by the researcher in
Research Process
RESEARCH PAPER
conducting the research and in writing the research paper.
References are arranged in alphabetical order, the last name of
the author is listed first.
Appendix. Provides a place for materials not absolutely necessary
to the text. Among the materials that maybe included in this
section are letters of request and approval to conduct the study,
questionnaires, interview guides, copies of documents,
statistical tables that may not be included in the text etc.
 Exercise

8. Which of the following is not included in the

preliminary section of a research paper?
a) Acknowledgment b) Introduction
c) List of Tables d) Table of Contents
Guidelines in Writing Research Paper
1. The research report should be presented in a style that is
creative, clear, and concise. Ideas should be explained in
simple language and coherent sentences and should be
presented in a logical or systematic manner.
2. The personal pronouns, I, we, you, my, our, and us should
not be used, instead use expressions as “the researchers” or
“the investigators”.
3. The past tense should be used in describing research
procedures that have been completed. Past tense is also
used for review of related literature. Present tense should be
used in discussing findings that are presented in tables,
figures, or illustrations and for generalization or conclusion.
Guidelines in Writing Research Paper
4. Formats and Mechanics
a. Margin: 1 ½ inches at the left, 1 inch on each of the three
sides except on the first page of each chapter where the margin is 1
½ inches from the top.
b. Spacing: Double spacing is used in the text. Quotations of
more than five lines should be single spaced. Sections headings
should be typed three spaces below the last of the previous
paragraph. Three spaces should be used between the Chapter title
and the first line of the test in that Chapter. The same number of
spaces should be used between the tables or illustrations and the
text materials.
 Exercise

9. Which of the following is true when writing a

research paper?
a) Personal pronouns such as I, you, we, my, our are
allowed to be used.
b) Present tense should be used in describing research
procedure that have been completed.
c) Research report should be presented in a style that
is creative, clear, and concise.
d) Past tense should be used in discussing findings,
conclusion or generalization.