LECTURE 1. Course Overviewpptx

EDUCATIONAL
RESEARCH
METHODS
CM SELEMANI-MBEWE LECTURE 1
EDUCATIONAL
RESEARCH
METHODS LECTURE
2
C.M. SELEMANI-MBEWE
WHAT IS RESEARCH?
◦ RESEARCH DEFINED
◦ WHY CONDUCT RESEARCH
◦ FUNCTIONS OF RESEARCH
◦ RESEARCH PARADIGMS
◦ TYPES OF RESEARCH
WHAT IS RESEARCH?
RESEARCH DEFINED
◦ MANY DIFFERENT DEFINITIONS AVAILABLE
◦ THE WORD “RESEARCH” CONSISTS OF TWO PARTS
◦ PREFIX “RE-” AND STEM (CORE PART “-SEARCH”
◦ RE- LIKE IN RE-USABLE MEANS CAN USE IT AGAIN AND AGAIN
◦ THEREFORE “RE- MEANS “AGAIN” OR “ANEW”
RESEARCH DEFINED
◦ SEARCH- “TO LOOK FOR SOMETHING” AS IN CAN YOU SEARCH FOR…
◦ COMBINING “RE-” AND “-SEARCH” MEAN LOOKING FOR SOMETHING AGAIN AND AGAIN
◦ QUESTION? WHAT DO WE EXACTLY LOOK FOR WHEN CONDUCTING RESEARCH?
◦ LOOKING FOR ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS, SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS OR SIMPLY TO
INCREASE OUR KNOWLEDGE
◦ RESEARCH GENERATES KNOWLEDGE THAT LEADS TO OUR UNDERSTANDING THE
WORLD AROUND US THAN BEFORE
WHAT IS RESEARCH?
◦ SOMETIMES DESCRIBED AS “INVESTIGATION”, “INQUIRY”, “STUDY”
◦ SYSTEMATIC PROCESS OF
-PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
-SEARCH FOR THEORY/FORMULATION OF CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
-IDENTIFICATION OF TARGET POPULATION
-SELECTION OF A REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE
-INSTRUMENTATION
WHAT IS RESEARCH?
-DATA COLLECTION
-DATA ANALYSIS
-REPORT RESEARCH FINDINGS
WHAT IS RESEARCH?
◦ ORGANISED, SYSTEMATIC AND CONSISTENT WAY OF COLLECTING, ANALYSING AND
INTERPRETING DATA FOR A CLEARLY DEFINED PURPOSE /SET OF PURPOSES
◦ COLLECTING INFORMATION IN A SYSTEMATIC WAY WITH THE AIM OF SOLVING
PROBLEMS AND TO EXPAND KNOWLEDGE (Drew, 1980)
WHY IS RESEARCH IMPORTANT
◦ EXPANSION/DEEPENING OF KNOWLEDGE
◦ FOR ADVANCED DEGREE
◦ FOR CURIOSITY
◦ TO INFORM POLICY AND PRACTICE
◦ TO INITIATE PROGRAMMES/ PROJECTS
◦ EVALUATING PROGRAMMES/PROJECTS
WHO DOES RESEARCH?
◦ ALMOST EVERYONE
◦ TEACHERS
WAYS OF KNOWING
COURSE OVERVIEW
◦Learn what research is and is not.
◦The research process
◦Deciding to conduct a research study
◦Choosing a topic
◦Literature review
COURSE OVERVIEW
◦ Writing a research proposal
◦ Data analysis
◦ Research Norms
◦ Ethical Issues in research
◦ Writing research report
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
◦ Attendance to lecturers
◦ Independent reading
◦ Submit assignments
◦ Presentations
◦ Write a research proposal
COURSE REQUIREMENTS cont’d
◦ Present your proposal
◦ Conduct individual research
◦ Write a research report
◦ Present research findings to an audience
◦ Continuous Assessment
◦ Final research report- presentation and final assessment
TOPICS OF STUDY
◦ THE NATURE OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH and
RESEARCH PARADIGMS
◦ KINDS OF RESEARCH
◦ THE RESEARCH PROCESS
-Planning and designing research
-Literature review
-Populations and sampling
TOPICS OF STUDY
-Data collection and analysis
-Preparing a research proposal
-Elements of a research proposal
-Proposal presentation
-Writing the research report
-Disseminating research findings
REFERENCES
◦ Balnaves, M. & Caputi, P. (2007) Introduction to Quantitative Research.
◦ Bassey, M. (1999) Case-study research in Educational Settings. Milton Keynes, Open
University Press
◦ Borg, W.R. & Gall, D. (1989) Educational Research: An introduction. New York, Longman
◦ Bryman, A. (2008) Social Research Methods. New York, Oxford University Press.
◦ Burns, B. (2000) Introduction to Research Methods: Sage Publications, London.
◦ Lincoln, Y.S. (Ed) Strategies of Qualitative Inquiry, 3rd Ed. London, Sage.
◦ Cohen & Manion (1994) Research Methods in Education 4th Ed. London, Routledge.
REFERENCES
◦ Creswell, J, (2009) Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches.
London, Sage.
◦ Creswell, J, (2007) Conducting and Designing Mixed Methods Research. London, Sage.
◦ Denscombe, M, 2002: Ground rules for good research: A Ten-point Guide. Milton Keynes, The UK Open
University Press.
◦ Denzin, N. (1970) The Research Act in Sociology: A Theoretical Introduction to Sociological Methods.
London, Butterworth.
◦ Field, A. (2009) Discovering Statistics Using SPS. London, Sage.
◦ Fielding, N. (2008) ‘Ethnography’ in (ed.) N. Gilbert Researching Social Life London: Sage
◦ Gorard, S. & Tylor, C. (2004) Combining Methods in Educational and Social Research. Milton Keynes,
The UK Open University Press
REFERENCES
◦ Hammersley, M. (2006) Ethnography: Problems and Prospects Ethnography
and Education 1, 1, 3-14
◦ Hammersley, M. & Atkinson, P. (2007) Ethnography: Principles in Practice,
2nd Edition. London, Routledge.
◦ Hen, M. (2006) A critical introduction to social Research. London, Sage.
◦ Holloway, I. (1997) Basic Concepts for Qualitative Research Oxford. Oxford,
Blackwell.
◦ Johnson, D. (2004) Introduction to Educational Research: South Alabama
Research, Milton Keynes, Open University Press
REFERENCES
◦ Johnson, B. & Christensen, L. (2008) Educational Research: Quantitative, qualitative and
mixed methods (Third Edition). Thousand Oaks. London, Sage.
◦ Miles M. and Huberman A. (1994) Qualitative Data Analysis: An Expanded Sourcebook, 2nd
Ed. London, Sage.
◦ Muijs, D. (2004) Doing Quantitative Research in Education with SPSS: An Investigative
Approach. London, Sage.
◦ Nudzor, H, (2009) A critical Commentary on Combined Methods approach to Researching
Educational and Social Sciences (Issues in Educational Research, 19(2)
◦ Pole , C. & Morrison, M. (2003) Ethnography for Education. Maidenhead, Oxford University
Press
REFERENCES
◦ Punch, K. (2009) Introduction to Research Methods in Education: London, Sage.
◦ Rubin, A. & Babbie, E. (2011) Research Methods for Social Work: Belmont, Brooks & Cole.
◦ Saris, W. & Gallhofer, I. (2007) Design, Evaluation, and Analysis of Questionnaires for Survey
Research. New Jersey, John Wiley & Sons.
◦ Stake, R. (1995) The Art of Case Study Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications
◦ Stake, R.E. (2006) Multiple Case- study Analyses. New York: Guilford Press
REFERENCES
◦ Taylor-Powell E. and Renner M. (2003) Analyzing Qualitative Data.
◦ Teddlie, C. & Tashakkori, A. (2009) Foundations of Mixed Methods Research:
Integrating Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches in the Social and
Behavioural Sciences. London, Sage.
◦ Willig, C. (2010) Introducing Qualitative Research in Psychology, 2nd Ed.
Maidenhead, UK Open University Press:
◦ Yin, R. K. (2003) Case-study Research: Design and Methods. London, Sage.
EDUCATIONAL
RESEARCH METHODS
LECTURE 2
C.M. SELEMANI-MBEWE
WHAT IS RESEARCH?
• RESEARCH DEFINED
• WHY CONDUCT RESEARCH
• FUNCTIONS OF RESEARCH
• RESEARCH PARADIGMS
• TYPES OF RESEARCH
WHAT IS RESEARCH?
RESEARCH DEFINED
• MANY DIFFERENT DEFINITIONS AVAILABLE
• THE WORD “RESEARCH” CONSISTS OF TWO PARTS
• PREFIX “RE-” AND STEM (CORE PART “-SEARCH”
• RE- LIKE IN RE-USABLE MEANS CAN USE IT AGAIN AND AGAIN
• THEREFORE “RE- MEANS “AGAIN” OR “ANEW”
RESEARCH DEFINED
• SEARCH- “TO LOOK FOR SOMETHING” AS IN CAN YOU SEARCH FOR…
• COMBINING “RE-” AND “-SEARCH” MEAN LOOKING FOR SOMETHING
AGAIN AND AGAIN
• QUESTION? WHAT DO WE EXACTLY LOOK FOR WHEN CONDUCTING
RESEARCH?
• LOOKING FOR ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS, SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS
OR SIMPLY TO INCREASE OUR KNOWLEDGE
• RESEARCH GENERATES KNOWLEDGE THAT LEADS TO OUR
UNDERSTANDING THE WORLD AROUND US THAN BEFORE
WHAT IS RESEARCH?
• SOMETIMES DESCRIBED AS “INVESTIGATION”, “INQUIRY”, “STUDY”
• SYSTEMATIC PROCESS OF
-PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
-SEARCH FOR THEORY/FORMULATION OF CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
-IDENTIFICATION OF TARGET POPULATION
-SELECTION OF A REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE
-INSTRUMENTATION
WHAT IS RESEARCH?
-DATA COLLECTION
-DATA ANALYSIS
-REPORT RESEARCH FINDINGS
WHAT IS RESEARCH?
• ORGANISED, SYSTEMATIC AND CONSISTENT WAY OF COLLECTING,
ANALYSING AND INTERPRETING DATA FOR A CLEARLY DEFINED
PURPOSE /SET OF PURPOSES
• COLLECTING INFORMATION IN A SYSTEMATIC WAY WITH THE AIM OF
SOLVING PROBLEMS AND TO EXPAND KNOWLEDGE (Drew, 1980)
WHY IS RESEARCH IMPORTANT
• EXPANSION/DEEPENING OF KNOWLEDGE
• FOR ADVANCED DEGREE
• FOR CURIOSITY
• TO INFORM POLICY AND PRACTICE
• TO INITIATE PROGRAMMES/ PROJECTS
• EVALUATING PROGRAMMES/PROJECTS
WHO DOES RESEARCH?
• ALMOST EVERYONE
• TEACHERS
WAYS OF KNOWING
EDUCATIONAL
RESEARCH
CM SELEMANI-MBEWE
LECTURE 3
RESEARCH PARADIGMS
• WAYS OF KNOWING
• RESEARCH PARADIGM DEFINED
• POSITIVIST (POSITIVISM)/NEO-POSITIVIST/ POST-POSITIVIST
• ANTI-POSITIVIST/CONSTRUCTIVIST [CONSTRUCTIONIST]/ INTERPRETIVIST
(INTERPRETIVISM)
• PRAGMATISTS (PRAGMATIVISM)
• RESEARCH METHODS IN RELATION WITH RESEARCH PARADIGMS
WAYS OF KNOWING
• GERMAN JURGEN HABERMAS IDENTIFIED THREE
WAYS OF KNOWING
• EMPIRICAL- ANALYTICAL
• HISTORICAL- HERMENEUTIC
• CRITICALLY ORIENTED SCIENCES
COGNITIVE INTERESTS OF
RESEARCHERS DETERMINES
• AIMS AND GOALS OF RESEARCH OR REASONS FOR DOING RESEARCH
• WHAT ARE CONSIDERED WORTHWHILE PHENOMENA FOR RESEARCH
• WHAT RESEARCH METHODS TO BE USED
• WHAT IS CONSIDERED KNOWLEDGE
IMPERICAL RESEARCH
• CONCERNED WITH PHENOMENA CONFIRMABLE THROUGH OBSERVATION AND
EXPERIENCE
• EMPRICAL DERIVED FROM EXPERIMENT
• EMPERICAL-ANALYTICAL SCIENCES-RESEARCHERS’ INTEREST IS USE OF
CONTROLLED OBSERVATIONS SUCH AS EXPERIMENTS TO FIND CAUSAL
RELATIONSHIPS-WHAT CAUSES CERTAIN THINGS AND WHAT EFFECTS CERTAIN
THINGS HAVE
• ACHIEVE THIS THROUGH CONTROLLED OBSERVATONS
HISTORICAL-HERMENEUTIC SCIENCES
• GOAL IS TO GET UNDERSTANDING OF PHENOMENA
• SHARING OF MEANING OR MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING COUNTS MORE THAN
EMPERICAL OBSERVATION IN MAKING KNOWLEDGE CLAIMS
• HAVE STRONG BELIEF THAT SOCIAL REALITY IS COMPRISED OF MEANINGFUL
ACTIONS, ARTEFACTS AND EVENTS WHICH NEED TO BE UNDERSTOOD FROM
DIFFERENT PEOPLE’S PERSPECTIVES /POINTS OF VIEW
VIEWS OF KNOWLEDGE
• OBJECTIVE
• SUBJECTIVE
OBJECTIVE KNOWLEDGE THINKERS
• KNOWLEDGE THAT IS NOT SUBJECTIVE
• IS CULTURE FREE
• VALUE FREE
• UNIVERSAL
• ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN
OBJECTIVE KNOWLEDGE THINKERS
• KNOWLEDGE OBTAINED THROUGH SCIENTIFIC MEANS BASED ON

FACTS ALONE
• COMPLETELY FREE FROM PERSONAL FEELINGS OR OPINIONS
• METHODS USED PROVIDE FACTUAL EVIDENCE OF OCCURRENCE OF
PHENOMENA
• EVIDENCE UNINFLUENCED BY PEOPLE’S FEELINGS ABOUT THE
MATTER
SUBJECTIVE KNOWLEDGE THINKERS
• OBJECTIVE KNOWLEDGE IMPOSSIBLE
• SUBJECTIVE FACTORS PLAY A ROLE IN KNOWLEDGE ACQUISITION
• SUBJECTIVE FACTORS:
-RESEARCHER’S OWN INTEREST AND EXPECTATIONS IMPACT ON KINDS OF
QUESTIONS ASKED AND KINDS OF OBSERVATIONS
HENCE BELIEF IN THE MULTIPLE KINDS OF KNOWLEDGE AND DIFFERENT METHODS

OF KNOWLEDGE ACQUISITION
-
IMPORTANT RESEARCH
POSITIONS/TERMINOLOGY
• EPISTEMOLOGICAL POSITION
• ONTOLOGICAL POSITION
• METATHEORETICAL POSITION
• METHODOLOGICAL POSITION
• AXIOLOGICAL POSITION
EPISTEMOLOGICAL POSITION
• EPISTEMOLOGY IS A GREEK COMPOUND WORD- EPISTEME “KNOWLEDGE” AND
LOGOS OR LOGIA “THE STUDY OF/ SCIENCE OR THEORY OF”
• EPISTEMOLOGY – THE STUDY OF KNOWLEDGE
• DEALS WITH NATURE OF KNOWLEDGE AND DIFFERENT WAYS OF KNOWING
• DEALS WITH QUESTIONS SUCH AS WHAT COUNTS AS KNOWLEDGE AND WHAT
THE LIMITS OF KNOWLEDGE ARE
ONTOLOGICAL POSITION
• ONTOLOGY COMPOUND WORD WHOSE ROOTS ARE IN GREEK
• ONTOS “BEING, OR THAT WHICH IS”
• LOGOS “THE STUDY OF”
• ONTOLOGY “STUDY OF NATURE OF REALITY”/ “STUDY OF BEING,
EXISTENCE OR REALITY
• DEALS WITH QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT REALITY IS AND HOW WE
KNOW WHAT IS REAL
METATHEORETICAL POSITION
• META MEANS ABOUT
• METATHEORY THEN LITERALLY MEANS THEORY ABOUT THEORY
• METATHEORY REFERS TO EXPLORING THE THEORETICAL LENSES THAT PROVIDE DIRECTION TO
THE RESEARCH IN A PARTICULAR FIELD OF STUDY
• THEORY IS INSEPARABLE FROM RESEARCH AND GOOD RESEARCH STUDY IS USUALLY BUILT ON A
SOLID THEORETICAL FOUNDATION
• THEORY USED TO EXPLAIN PHENOMENA
• METATHEORY HELPS TO LOOK AT UNDERLYING ASSUMPTIONS AND IMPLICATIONS OF
PARTICULAR THEORIES
METHDOLOGICAL POSITION
• METHODOLOGY IS A GUIDING SYSTEM FOR SOLVNG PROBLEMS
• NOT SYNONYMOUS WITH METHODS
• BUT IT INCLUDES METHODS DEEMED MOST APPROPRIATE FOR COLLECTING AND
ANALYSING DATA TO GENERATE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE PHENOMENON BEING
STUDIED
• USUALLY REFERS TO QUALITATIVE, QUANTITATIVE OR MIXED-METHODS
RESEARCH
AXIOLOGICAL POSITION
• AXIOLOGY – ANOTHER COMPOUND WORD FROM
GREEK AXIOS MEANING “WORTHY” AND LOGOS
• AXIOLOGY THEN MEANS THE STUDY OF VALUES AND
VALUE JUDGMENTS
BASIS FOR DESCRIPTION OF
PARADIGMS
• EPISTEMOLOGICAL POSITION
• ONTOLOGICAL POSITION
• METATHEORETICAL POSITION
• METHODOLOGICAL POSITION
• AXIOLOGICAL POSITION
TYPES OF PARADIGMS
• POSITIVISM/ NEO-POSITIVISM/ POST-
POSITIVISM
• ANTI-POSITIVISM/ CONSTRUCTIVISM/
INTERPRETIVISM
• PRAGMATIVISM
RESEARCH
METHODS LECTURE
4
C.M. SELEMANI-MBEWE
Research paradigms
POSITIVISM/ NEO-POSITIVISM/
POST-POSITIVISM
ANTI-POSITIVISM/
CONSTRUCTIVISM/
INTERPRETIVISM
PRAGMATIVISM
WHAT IS RESEARCH PARADIGM?
 CANBE DEFINED AS A SET OF BELIEFS SHARED

BY A GROUP OF RESEARCHERS REGARDING
WHAT RESEARCH IS ALL ABOUT AND HOW IT CAN
BE DONE
 A SET OF
BELIEFS SHARED BY A GROUP OF
RESEARCHERS REGARDING WHAT KNOWLEDGE
IS AND HOW TRUE KNOWLEDGE CAN BE
OBTAINED
WHAT IS RESEARCH PARADIGM?
PARTICULAR COLLECTIONS OF
PHILOSOPHICAL AND
METHODOLOGICAL PREFERENCES
FOR EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH (COE,
2013)
POSITIVISM
 BELIEF THAT OBJECTIVE,OBSERVABLE

(EMPIRICAL) AND VERIFIABLE FACTS
SHOULD BE CONSIDERED WHEN WE
ATTEMPT TO UNDERSTAND AND EXPLAIN
NATURAL AND SOCIAL PHENOMENA
EPISTEMOLOGICAL POSITION OF
POSITIVISM
KNOWLEDGE CONFIRMED BY THE
SENSES CAN GENUINELY BE
CONSIDERED AS KNOWLEDGE
POSITIVISTS BELIEVE KNOWLEDGE IS
A RESULT OF EMPIRICAL
OBSERVATION ONLY
POSITIVISM
 KNOWLEDGE OBTAINABLE THROUGH
CAREFUL AND METICULOUS OBSERVATION
AND THE TESTING OF ASSUMPTIONS
(HYPOTHESES) AGAINST REAL WORLD
 BELIEVE
IN CONTROLLING SOME
VARIABLES WHEN TESTING HYPOTHESES
ONTOLOGICAL POSITION OF
POSITIVISM
 POSITIVISTS VIEW OFREALITY IS THAT
THERE IS A SINGLE, OBJECTIVE AND
STABLE SOCIAL AND PHYSICAL EXTERNAL
REALITY GOVERNED BY LAWS
 POSITIVISTS
BELIEVE THAT THIS REALITY
CAN BE OBSERVED AND MEASURED AND
CAN BE KNOWN
POSITIVISM
DUTY OF RESEARCHER IS TO
DISCOVER THE LAWS THAT GOVERN
REALITY
FOR POSITIVISTS, REALITY HAS
ORDER AND REGULARITY
POSITIVISM
 POSITIVISTS ARE
OF THE OPINION THAT A
GIVEN CAUSE HAS THE SAME EFFECT ON
ALL PEOPLE- NOT SELECTIVE
 THEREFORE,SOCIAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL,
HISTORICAL OR CULTURAL CONTEXTS
HAVE NO EFFECT ON BEHAVIOUR
POSITIVISM
NOT INTERESTED ON UNOBSERVABLE
INTERNAL MOTIVATIONS OF
INDIVIDUALS BEHAVIOUR
CONSEQUENTLY ASCRIBE
THEMSELVES TO WHAT IS KNOWN AS
OBJECTIVISM
METATHEORETICAL POSITION OF
POSITIVISM
 OVERALL AIMOF SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY IS
TO DEVELOP GENERALISATIONS ABOUT
CAUSAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
VARIABLES
 THEORIES MUST BE UNIVERSALLY VALID
OR TRUE, REGARDLESS OF CULTURE OR
HISTORY AND MUST BE UNIVERSALLY
APPLICABLE
POSITIVISM
 PLACEEMPHASIS ON VALUE-FREE
RESEARCH, WHERE THEORIES ARE TESTED
BY USING HYPOTHESES
 RESEARCH LEADS TO THEORY
POSTULATION TO EXPLAIN COMPLEX
PHENOMENA OF CASUAL RELATIONSHIPS
AFTER TESTING FOR VALIDITY AND
RELIABILITY
METHODOLOGICAL POSITION OF
POSITIVISM
 METHODOLOGICAL POSITION OF A TRADITION
MUST NOT BE CONFUSED WITH RESEARCH
METHODS ALTHOUGH THE RESEARCH METHODS
EMPLOYED IN A STUDY FORM AN IMPORTANT
PART OF THE METHODOLOGY
 POSITIVISTS
MAINTAIN THAT SCIENCE MUST BE
BASED ON EMPIRICAL DATA PRODUCED BY
DIRECT OBSERVATION
POSITIVISM
 AIMOF POSITIVISTIC RESEARCH IS TO
FIND VALID AND RELIABLE CASUAL
RELATIONSHIPS AND TO FURTHER
OBJECTIVITY AND PRECISION
 POSITIVISTS
FAVOUR RECORDING “FACTS”
IN TERMS OF QUANTITIES, OR NUMBERS,
THAT CAN BE PROCESSED BY STATISTICAL
TECHNIQUES
POSITIVISM
 QUANTITATIVERESEARCH IS AN EXAMPLE
OF RESEARCH STRATEGY WHICH
EMPHASISES QUANTIFICATION IN
COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA
 METHODS ARE TECHNIQUES A
RESEARCHER APPLIES WHEN
CONDUCTING RESEARCH
POSITIVISM
 FORPOSITIVISTS, METHODS MUST BE DEVISED
IN SUCH A WAY AS TO STUDY REALITY
OBJECTIVELY
 THEY FAVOURMETHODS SUCH AS DIRECT
OBSERVATION, MEASUREMENT AND
EXPERIMENTS IN LABORATORY CONDITIONS
WHERE RESEARCHER CAN CONTROLL
CONDITIONS OR VARIABLES
 FAVOURMETHODS THAT MAKE RELIABILITY
POSSIBLE
AXIOLOGICAL POSITION OF
POSITIVISM
 POSITIVIST PARADIGM
HAS AN
OBJECTIVIST AXIOLOGY THAT IS
INTEGRAL TO THE PARADIGM
 POSITIVISTS VALUE
OBJECTIVE AND
VALUE- FREE RESEARCH- NO PERSONAL
BIAS
 POSITIVIST RESEARCH VALUES
HONESTY
AND PERSONAL INTEGRITY MORE THAN
ANYTHING ELSE
POSITIVISM
 INSISTS THAT RESEARCH
FINDINGS
SHOULD BE AN ACCURATE REFLECTION
OR REPRESENTATION OF AN OBJECTIVE
REALITY
 INSITS
ON AN HONEST REPRESENTATION
OF FACTS HENCE RESULTS NEED TO BE
DESCRIBED EXACTLY WITHOUT ANY
DISTORTION
CONSTRUCTIVISM/
INTERPRETIVISM PARADIGM
 DEVELOPED AS A REACTION TO
SHORTCOMINGS AND LIMITATIONS OF
POSITIVISM AS APPLIED TO SOCIAL
SCIENCES
 MAINIDEA IS THAT PEOPLE ARE
DIFFERENT FROM OBJECTS AND CAN NOT
THEREFORE BE STUDIED LIKE OBJECTS
CONSTRUCTIVISM/
INTERPRETIVISM PARADIGM
 HUMAN BEINGS CHANGE ALL THE TIME
AND ENVIRONMENT CONSTANTLY HAS AN
INFLUENCE ON THEM
 THEREFORE RESEARCHERS SHOULD
STUDY AND DESCRIBE MEANINGFUL
SOCIAL ACTION
 AIM
IS TO UNDERSTAND HUMAN
BEHAVIOUR
INFLUENCES OF INTERPRETIVISM
HERMENEUTICS
PHENOMENOLOGY
SYMBOLIC
INTERACTIONISM
HERMENEUTICS
CONCERNED WITH THE “THEORY

AND METHOD OF
INTERPRETATION OF HUMAN
ACTION” (Bryman, 2012: 28)
PHENOMENOLOGY
 LOOKS AT HOW HUMANSMAKE SENSE OF

THE WORLD AROUND THEM
 PHENOMENOLOGISTS ARE OF THE OPINION
THAT HUMAN ACTION IS MEANINGFUL
AND THAT PEOPLE THEREFORE ASCRIBE
MEANING BOTH TO THEIR OWN AND
OTHER PEOPLE’S ACTIONS
PHENOMENOLOGY
HENCE THE TASK OF THE

RESEARCHER IS TO INTERPRET AND
GAIN AN UNDERSTANDING OF
HUMAN ACTIONS AND THEN
DESCRIBE THEM FROM THE POINT OF
VIEW OF THE PERSON OR GROUP
BEING STUDIED
SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISTS
VIEW REALITY AS HIGHLY

SYMBOLIC AND
CONSTRUCTED
ARGUE THAT HUMAN ACTION
HAS LITTLE INHERENT
MEANING
SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISTS
 HOWEVER,HUMANS HAVE THE ABILITY TO

READ MEANING INTO ONE ANAOTHERS
ACTIONS BECAUSE OF A SHARED
MEANING SYSTEM LIKE LANGUAGE
 SHARED MEANING SYSTEMS ALLOW
PEOPLE TO INTERPRET SIGNS OR ACTIONS
AND GIVE MEANING TO THEM
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN
POSITIVISTS AND INTERPRETIVISTS
 INTERPRETIVISTS-
STUDY AND DESCRIBE MEANINGFUL SOCIAL

ACTION
 POSITIVISTS-
WANT TO DISCOVER AND EXPLAIN CAUSAL

RELATIONSHIPS IN ORDER TO PREDICT AND
CONTROL NATURE AND THE BEHAVIOUR OF
HUMANS AND ANIMALS
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN
POSITIVISTS AND INTERPRETIVISTS
CONT’D
 INTERPRETIVISTS MERELY WANT TO
UNDERSTAND HUMAN BEHAVIOUR- WHY
HUMANS DO THINGS THE WAY THEY DO
THEM
 IN
ORDER TO GAIN AN IN-DEPTH
UNDERSTANDING, IT OFTEN REQUIRES A
RESEARCHER TO SPEND MANY HOURS IN
DIRECT CONTANT WITH THOSE BEING
STUDIED
INTERPRETIVISM
ARGUE THAT COMMON SENSE GUIDES
PEOPLE IN DAILY LIVING
HENCE UNDERSTANDING OF HUMAN
BEHAVIOUR REQUIRES A GRASP OF
WHAT PEOPLE VIEW AS COMMON
SENSE
INTERPRETIVISM CONT’D
COMMON SENSE IS REGARDED AS
SOURCE OF INFORMATION FOR
UNDERSTANDING PEOPLE
INTERPRETIVISTS CHALLENGE IDEA
OF OBJECTIVE KNOWLEDGE AND
OBJECTIVE TRUTH
THEY SEE FACTS AS FLUID AND
EMBEDED WITHIN MEANING
SYSTEM
FACTS ARE NOT OBJECTIVE AND
NEUTRAL ESPECIALLY IN THE
SOCIAL SCIENCES
INTERPRETIVISM
 WHAT IS
FACTUAL DEPENDS HEAVILY ON
THE CONTEXT AND PEOPLE’S
INTERPRETATION OF INFORMATION
 PEOPLECAN ONLY ASSIGN APPROPRIATE
MEANING TO AN ACT IF THEY TAKE INTO
ACCOUNT THE SOCIAL CONTEXT IN WHICH
THE ACT OCCURS
 SINCE TRUTHIS DEPENDENT ON PEOPLE’S
INTERPRETATION OF FACTS, THEY ARE NOT
INTERESTED IN GENERALISATION OF
RESULTS
 METHODOLOGIES THEY USE ARE SENSITIVE
TO SPECIFIC CONTEXT AND NEVER
GENERALISED BEYOND THE CONTEXT IN
WHICH THE STUDY WAS CONDUCTED
INTERPRETIVISM
NO OBJECTIVE EXTERNAL REALITY IS
EXPERIENCED IN THE SAME WAY BY
EVERYONE
BELIEVE THAT REALITY IS SOCIALY
CONSTRUCTED
INTERPRETIVISM CON’D
 REALITY IS
DEPENDENT ON THE MEANINGS
THAT PEOPLE ASCRIBE TO THEIR OWN
EXPERIENCES AND INTERACTIONS WITH
OTHERS
 SOCIAL WORLD IS WHAT PEOPLE PERCEIVE IT
TO BE
 SOCIAL WORLDIS FLUID AND FRAGILE AND
CHANGES AS PEOPLE’S PERCEPTIONS CHANGE
 PEOPLEPOSSESS AN INTERNALLY
EXPERIENCED SENSE OF REALITY
 BELIEVE THAT DEPENDING ON
CIRCUMSTANCES, CULTURE, EXPERIENCES
AND SO ON, PEOPLE MAY OR MAY NOT
EXPERIENCE REALITY IN THE SAME WAY
 INTERPRETIVISTS RESEARCH IS NOT CHARACTERISED BY
THEORIES BASED ON HYPOTHESES THAT ARE TESTED
FOR RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY
 INTERPRETIVIST THEORY TELLS A STORY
 IT DESCRIBES AND INTERPRETS HOW PEOPLE LIVING IN A
PARTICULAR CONTEXT CONDUCT THEIR DAILY LIVES
 INTERPRETIVIST RESEARCH IS RICH IN DETAILED
DESCRIPTION OF PHENOMENA AND DIRECT QUOTES
FROM PARTICIPANTS
 AIMIS TO REVEAL THE MEANINGS AND VALUES
OF THE PEOPLE STUDIED TO AID IN OUR
UNDERSTANDING OF THE PEOPLE BEING
STUDIED
 INTERPRETIVISTSUSE CRITERIA SUCH AS
CREDIBILITY, TRANSFERABILITY,
DEPENDABILITY AND CONFIRMABILITY WHEN
EVALUATING KNOWLEDGE CLAIMS
 FOR
NTERPRETIVISTS, THEORIES SHOULD HELP
UNDERSTAND THE EXPERIENCES AND LIVED
REALITIES OF OTHERS THROUGH THICK
 SINCE THE AIMOF INTERPRETIVISTS IS TO
GAIN AN IN-DEPTH UNDERSTANDING OF
MULTIPLE REALITIES, THEY DEPEND ON
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
 QUALITATIVERESEARCH CAN BE
DESCRIBED AS A RESEARCH STUDY THAT
EMPHASISES WORDS THAN NUMBERS
(QUANTIFICATION) IN THE COLLECTION
AND ANALYSIS OF DATA
 AIM TOSTUDY REALITY SUBJECTIVELY
AND AS A RESULT THEY USE METHODS
THAT ARE SENSITIVE TO THE CONTEXT
AND THAT WILL HELP THEM TO GAIN AN
IN-DEPTH UNDERSTANDING
 USEMETHODS SUCH AS FOCUS GROUPS,
IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS, ETHNOGRAPHY
AND NARRATIVE INQUIRY
INTERPRETIVISM
 VALUE THECOMPLEX UNDERSTANDING
OF UNIQUE REALITIES
 DONOT ATTEMPT TO CONDUCT VALUE-
FREE RESEARCH
 OPENLY DISCUSS THE VALUES THAT SHAPE
THEIR RESEARCH, INCLUDING OWN
INTERPRETATIONS AND THOSE OF
PARTICIPANTS
CRITICAL REALISM PARADIGM/
PRAGMATISM
 ORIGINATED IN GERMANY
 BORN OUT OF FRUSTRATIONS OF BOTH
POSITIVISM AND INTERPRETISM
 POSITIVISM-
NON HUMANISTIC AND NARROW
FOCUS AND ITS EMPHASIS ON THE CAUSAL
NATURE OF UNIVERSAL LAWS
 INTERPRETIVISM-
CONSIDERED PASSIVE,
CONTEXTUAL, SUBJECTIVE AND RELATIVIST
VIEW
PRAGMATISM CONT’D
CRITICAL REALISM TOOK ASPECTS
FROM BOTH TRADIONS AND
COMBINED IT IN A UNIQUE WAY
CRITICAL REALISM HOLDS THAT REAL
STRUCTURES EXIST INDEPENDENT OF
HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS- VIEW
SHARED BY POSITIVISTS
PRAGMATISM CONT’D
 HOWEVER, CRITICAL REALISTS PROPOSE
THAT OUR KNOWLEDGE OF REALITY IS A
RESULT OF SOCIAL CONDITIONING
 THEY SUPPORT THAT KNOWLEDGE IS A
SOCIAL CONSTRUCT, WHICH IS SIMILAR TO
WHAT INTERPRETIVISTS BELIEVE (Saunders,
Lewis & Thornhill, 2007)
PRAGMATISM CONT’D
 AIM AT UNDERSTANDING AND EXPLAINING
RATHER THAN PREDICTING
 MAINTAIN THAT RESEARCHERS HAVE A
RESPONSIBILITY TO TRANSFORM SOCIAL
RELATIONS BY EXPOSING, CRITIQUING AND
CHANGING UNJUST PRACTICES IN SOCIETY
 THEY HAVE A TRANSFORMATIVE/
EMANCIPATORY/ EMPOWERMENT AGENDA/
APPROACH TO RESEARCH
CRITICAL REALISM/ PRAGMATISM
 KNOWLEDGE IS NOT PERMANENT BUT
SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BE
CONSIDERED WITHIN ITS HISTORICAL AND
SOCIAL CONTEXT
 KNOWLEDGE THAT RESEARCHER
PRODUCES IS CLOUDED BY VALUES OF
THE RESEARCHER
CRITICAL REALISM/PRAGMATISM
CONT’D
EVERYTHING PUT FORWARD AS
KNOWLEDGE SHOULD BE
QUESTIONED AND SCRUTINISED
KNOWLEDGE SHOULD BE GEARED
TOWARDS ACTION AND SHOULD
THEREFORE HAVE PRACTICAL VALUE
CRITICAL REALISM
 PROPOSE THAT CERTAIN INSTITUTIONS
(SCHOOLS, CHURCHES, THE FAMILY), PRACTICES
(WEDDINGS, RITES OF PASSAGE) AND
IDEOLOGIES ( CAPITALISM, TO WHICH MEMBERS
OF SOCIETY ASCRIBE DUE TO SOCIALISATION
AND INDOCTRINATION DETERMINE THEIR VIEW
REALITY
 THESEINSTITUTIONS, PRACTICES AND
IDEOLOGIES EMPOWER CERTAIN PEOPLE AND
CONSTRAIN OTHERS AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE’S
REALITIES
CONT’D
FOR CRITICAL REALISTS,
CERTAIN ASPECTS OF REALITY
ARE SEEN AS REAL AND EXIST
INDEPENDENTLY OF HUMAN
INTERPRETATION
CRITICAL REALISM
 KEY BELIEFIS THAT MATERIAL, CULTURAL
AND HISTORICAL CONDITIONS IN WHICH
PEOPLE FIND THEMSELVES MAY HOLD
THEM BACK
 THUS THE WORLD PEOPLE LIVE IN LIMITS
THEIR OPTIONS AND SHAPES THEIR
BELIEFS AND BEHAVIOUR
CONT’D
 CRITICAL REALISTS
EMPHASIS IS ON
CHANGE, THEY MAINTAIN THAT THEORY
SHOULD BE PRACTICAL AND INCLUDE PLAN
FOR CHANGE
 CRITICAL THEORY THEREFORESEEKS TO
PROVIDE PEOPLE WITH A RESOURCE THAT
WILL HELP THEM UNDERSTAND, QUESTION
AND CHANGE THE WORLD
METHEDOLOGICAL POSITION OF
CONT’D
 THECRITICAL REALISTS’ IDEA OF A MULTI-
FACETED REALITY THAT CAN BE
INVESTIGATED FROM DIFFERENT ANGLES
INFORMS THEIR BELIEF THAT NO SINGLE
METHOD CAN PROVIDE DEFINITE RESULTS
ABOUT ANY GIVEN OBJECT OF RESEARCH
 TEND TO
USE MIXED-METHODS/MULTI-
METHOD RESEARCH
METHEDOLOGICAL POSITION OF
CONT’D
 MIXEDMETHODS COMBINE METHODS
ASSOCIATED WITH BOTH QUANTITATIVE
AND QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
 AIM
IS FOR THE TWO TO SUPPLEMENT
EACH OTHER
 MULTIPLESOURCES OF DATA INCREASES
THE VALIDITY AND RELIABILTY OF THE
STUDY
 ACCEPT A DEGREEOF SUBJECTIVISM IN THEIR
RESEARCH AND SUPPORT THE IDEA THAT IT IS
ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO DO VALUE-FREE
RESEARCH, AS EVEN THE CHOICE OF A
RESEARCH TOPIC IS OFTEN VALUE LADEN
OFTEN ACCEPT OWN BIAS
VALUE EQUALITY AND HUMAN
FREEDOM AND CONSEQUENTLY HAVE
AN ORIENTATION TOWARDS
EMANCIPATION
SUMMARRY
ALL PARADIGMS HAVE ONE THING IN

COMMON. WHAT IS IT?
THEY DIFFER IN TERMS OF THE AIMS
OF RESEARCH, WHAT COUNTS AS
KNOWLEDGE AND WHAT METHODS
OF DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
THEY USE TO PRODUCE VALUABLE
KNOWLEDGE
SUMMARRY
DIFFERENCES SHOULD NOT DIVIDE

US
EACH PARADIGM MAKES A UNIQUE
CONTRIBUTION TO THE BODY OF
KNOWLEDGE AND OUR
UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD
CHOOSING A RESEARCH
PROJECT
CM SELEMANI-MBEWE
Lecture 5
STRUCTURE OF THE
PRESENTATION
• What gives rise to the research project? (Choosing a research
project)
• The importance of the research
• The purposes of the research
• Is the research practicable?
• Research questions
• The scope of the literature review
CHOOSING A RESEARCH PROJECT
• A problem encountered in
everyday work or outside everyday
work;
• An issue that the researcher has
read about or seen;
• A problem that has arisen in the
locality, e.g. in response to
government policy or practices or
to local developments;
• An area of the researcher’s own
interest;
CHOOSING A RESEARCH
PROJECT
• An area of the researcher’s own experience;
• A perceived area of importance;
• An interesting question;
• A testable guess or hunch;
• A topical matter;
• Disquiet with a particular research finding that one has
met in the literature or a piece of policy;
• An awareness that a particular
issue or area has been
incompletely studied, and a wish to
plug the gap;
• A wish to apply a piece of
conceptual research to actual
practice, or to test a theory in
practice;
• A wish to rework the conceptual or
• A wish to revise or replace the methodologies
that are often used in researching a specific
area;
• A desire to improve practice in a particular
area;
• A desire to involve participants in research
and development;
• A desire to test out a particular
methodology in research;
• An interest in seeing if reported
practice holds true for the
researcher’s own context (e.g. a
comparative study);
• An interest in investigating the causes
of a phenomenon or the effects of a
particular intervention in the area of
the phenomenon;
• A priority identified by funding agencies;
• An issue identified by the researcher’s
supervisor or a project team of which the
researcher is a member.
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE RESEARCH
• Is the research significant?
• What difference will the research make?
• Does the originality of the research render it
significant?
• How and where does the research move forward
the field?
• Where do originality and significance lie in the
research:
– Conceptually
– Theoretically
– Methodologically
– Substantively
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE RESEARCH
• What is the likely impact of the
research?
• What is the use of the research –
what will it ‘deliver’?
• What benefit will the research
bring, and to whom?
• Is the research worth doing?
THE PURPOSES OF THE RESEARCH
• What are the ‘deliverables’ in the research?

• What does the research seek to do?
• What do you wish to come from the research?
EXAMPLES OF DIFFERENT PURPOSES
OF RESEARCH
• To test a theory/hypothesis • To examine effects of
• To test practice causes
• To clarify concepts • To evaluate an intervention
• To identify common features • To examine causes of
effects
• To investigate and examine
• To look at an issue in detail
• To generalize
• ...
EXAMPLES OF DIFFERENT PURPOSES
OF RESEARCH
• To collect opinions • To look at long-
• To model term effects
• To compare • Classroom-based
• To look at trends research
• To collect views • To investigate
sensitive issues or
• To critique
groups
policy/practice
• To develop theory
• To see what
happens if
FITNESS FOR PURPOSE: PURPOSES OF RESEARCH
DRIVE DIFFERENT KINDS OF RESEARCH
• Accounts • Grounded theory

• Action research • Historical research
• Case study • Ideology critique
• Comparative study • Interpretive research
• Correlational research • Literature-based research
• Covert research • Longitudinal research
PURPOSES OF RESEARCH
DRIVE DIFFERENT KINDS OF
RESEARCH
• Descriptive • Meta-analysis
research
• Multi-level
• Discourse analysis research
• Ethnography • Multiple regression
• Evaluative • Network analysis
research
• Observational
• Experiment study
FITNESS FOR PURPOSE: PURPOSES OF RESEARCH
DRIVE DIFFERENT KINDS OF RESEARCH
• Observational study
• Personal constructs
• Research synthesis
• Role play
• Simulation
• Structural equation modelling and causal modelling
• Survey
• Testing
IS THE RESEARCH PRACTICABLE?
• Access
– People
– Institutions
– Data sources
• Permission
– People
– Institutions
– Review panels
• )
IS THE RESEARCH PRACTICABLE?
• Informed consent and ethical
issues
• Scope of research
• Disposition, commitment and
expertise of researcher
• Duration of research
• Availability of resources
(human, material, temporal,
administrative, supervision
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
Research questions must be operational, yielding concrete
answers to research purposes and research objectives.
• Clarity
• Complexity
• Comprehensibility
• Comprehensiveness
• Concreteness
• Contents
• Difficulty,
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
• Ease of answering
• Focus
• Kinds of data required to answer them
• Purposes
• Specificity
• Utility of the answers provided
TYPES OF RESEARCH QUESTION
• ‘How?’ • How to achieve outcomes
• ‘Wh’ questions: who, • How to achieve something
where, why, what, what if, • How to do something
when • How to improve or develop
• Achievement something
• Alternatives to something • Prediction
• Causation • Processes
• Comparisons • Properties and
characteristics
TYPES OF RESEARCH QUESTION
• Correlations • Relations (e.g.
• Description between
• Evaluation variables,
people, events)
• Explanation • Stages of
• Exploring something
• Factors • Structures of
• Function or purpose something;
• Testing
• Types of
something
SCOPE OF THE LITERATURE REVIEW
• Gives credibility and legitimacy to

the research;
• Shows that the research is up-to-
date, focuses on key issues, is
aware of the theoretical,
conceptual, methodological and
substantive problems in the field;
• Clarifies key concepts, issues,
terms and meanings;
• Leads into the researcher’s study, raising
issues, showing where there are gaps in the
research field, how to move the field forwards,
and justifying the need for the research;
• Shows the researcher’s own critical judgment
on prior research or theoretical matters in the
field;
• Provides new theoretical, conceptual, methodological and
substantive insights and issues for research;
• Sets the context for the research and establishes key issues to be
addressed;
• The literature must inform the research, not simply stand alone
with no relation to what comes after.
ISSUES TO BE FACED IN
CHOOSING A PIECE OF
RESEARCH
CM SELEMANI MBEWE
LECTURE 6
GUIDING PRINCIPLES
• Make the topic small
• Limit the scope and scale of the research
• Think narrow rather than broad
• Keep the focus clear, limited and bounded
• Don’t be overambitious
• Be realistic on what can be done in the time available
GUIDING PRINCIPLES….
• Make it clear what has given rise to the research –
why choose this topic/project
• Choose a topic that might enable you to find your
niche or specialism in the research or academic world
or which might help to establish your reputation
• Decide why the research is important, topical,
interesting, timely, significant, original, relevant and
possibly challenging
• Decide what contribution the research will make to the
conceptual, practical, substantive, theoretical,
methodological fields
• Choose a research project that will be useful, and decide
how and for whom it will be useful
• Decide why your research will be useful and who will/might
be interested in it
• Decide what might be the impact of your research, and on
whom
• Choose a topic that is manageable and practicable
• Choose a topic that will enable rigour to be
exercised
• Choose a topic that has clear boundaries or
where clear, realistic, fair boundaries can be set
• Decide what the research will “deliver”
• What will the research do?
GUIDING PRINCIPLES…
• What will the research seek to find out?
• Choose a topic for which there is a literature
• Decide whether you will have the required access and access
to what/whom in order to be able to conduct the research
• Decide what can and cannot be done within the time and
timescales available
• Decide what can and cannot be done within the personal,
people-related, material, effort-related, financial and scope
of the research
GUIDING PRINCIPLES
• Consider the likely clarity, scope, practicability,
comprehensiveness, ease of answering, framing, focus, kinds
of data required, comprehensibility of the research questions
and their combination
• Consider whether the research will influence, or make a
difference to practice, and, if not, why it might still be
important
• Consider whether you have the right personality,
characteristics, experience, and interpersonal behaviour to
conduct the proposed piece of research
• Consider whether the research will sustain your creativity,
imagination, positive attitude and motivation over time
• Choose a topic for which you know you will be able to
receive expert, informed supervision
• Be clear on why you – personally, professionally, career-
relatedly – want to do the research, and what you
personally want out of it, and whether the research will
enable you to achieve this. How will the research benefit
you?
• How will the research benefit the participants?
• How will the research benefit the world of education?
• Choose a topic that will sustain your interest over the
duration of the research
• Consider whether you have sufficient experience,
skills and expertise in the field in which you want to
conduct the research for you to be able to act in an
informed way
• Consider whether it is advisable to embark on a piece of
research that deliberately does not have research questions
• Consider the necessary complexity (where it exists) of the
research phenomenon, scope and conduct of the research,
and the difficulty of the research issues, foci and conduct
• Consider how future research will be able to build on your
research, i.e. that the research opens up possibilities rather
than closes them down
PLANNING EDUCATIONAL
RESEARCH
CM SELEMANI-MBEWE
LECTURE 7
STRUCTURE OF THE PRESENTATION
• Approaching research planning
• A framework for planning research
• Conducting and reporting a literature review
• Searching for literature on the internet
• Orienting decisions in planning research
• Research design and methodology
• How to operationalize research questions
• Data analysis
• Presenting and reporting the results
• A planning matrix for research
• Managing the planning of research
• Ensuring quality in the planning of research
KINDS OF RESEARCH KINDS OF RESEARCH
PURPOSE
Does the research want to test Experiment, survey, action
a hypothesis or theory? research, case study
Does the research want to Ethnography, qualitative
develop a theory? research, grounded theory
Does the research need to Survey, experiment
measure?
Does the research want to Ethnographic and interpretive/
understand a situation? qualitative approaches
Does the research want to see Experiment, participatory
what happens if . . . ? research, action research
Does the research want to find Mixed methods research
out ‘what’ and ‘why’?
Does the research want to find Historical research
out what happened in the
past?
ELEMENTS OF RESEARCH DESIGN
• Statement of the problem/ • Ethical issues;
what gave rise to the • Ownership of the research
research;
• Grounding in literature; and data;
• Constraints on the research • Politics of the research;
(e.g. access, time, people, • Audiences of the research;
politics); • Instrumentation;
• Aims and purposes; • Sampling;
• Intended outcomes; • Piloting;
• Nature of the phenomena to • Time frames and sequence;
be investigated • Resources required;
• Operationalizing research • Reliability and validity:
aims and purposes;
• Research questions; • Data analysis;
• Foci of the research; • Verifying/validating data;
• Priorities for the research; • Reporting/writing up the
• Methodology/kind of research; research.
WHAT KIND OF RESEARCH?
• Positivist • Ethnographic
• Post-positivist • Experimental
• Quantitative, scientific and • Ideology critical
hypothesis-testing • Participatory
• Qualitative • Feminist
• Interpretive • Political
• Naturalistic • Complexity theoretical
• Phenomenological • Evaluative
• Existential • Mixed methods
• Interactionist
A POSSIBLE SEQUENCE OF QUANTITATIVE
RESEARCH
1. Literature review →
2. Generate and formulate the hypothesis/the theory to
be tested/the research questions to be addressed →
3. Design the research to test the hypothesis/theory (e.g.
an experiment a survey) →
4. Conduct the research →
5. Analyze results →
6. Consider alternative explanations for the findings →
7. Report whether the hypothesis/theory is supported or
not supported, and/or answer the research questions
→
8. Consider the generalizability of the findings.
A POSSIBLE SEQUENCE OF QUALITATIVE
RESEARCH
1. Identify the topic/group/phenomenon for research →
2. Literature review →
3. Design research questions, research and data collection →
4. Locate fields of study and your role in the research/situation →
5. Locate informants, gatekeepers, sources of information →
6. Develop working relations with participants →
7. Conduct the research and the data collection simultaneously →
8. Conduct the data analysis either simultaneously, on an ongoing
basis as the situation emerges and evolves, or conduct the
data analysis subsequent to the research →
9. Report results and the grounded theory or answers to the
research questions that emerge from the research →
10. Generate a hypothesis for further research or testing.
A POSSIBLE SEQUENCE OF MIXED
METHODS RESEARCH
• Identify the problem or issue to investigate →
• Formulate research questions →
• Identify the several kinds of data and the methods for
collecting them which, together and/or separately will
yield answers to the research questions →
• Plan the mixed methods design (e.g. parallel mixed
design, fully integrated mixed design, sequential mixed
design →
• Conduct the research →
• Analyze results →
• Consider alternative explanations for the findings →
• Answer the research questions →
• Report the results.
MAXWELL’S INTERACTIVE MODEL OF
RESEARCH DESIGN
GOALS
CONCEPTUAL RESEARCH
FRAMEWORK QUESTIONS
VALIDITY METHODS
A SEQUENCE OF CONSIDERATIONS
Ontology, epistemology, constraints,
PREPARATORY
purposes, foci, ethics, research
ISSUES question, politics, literature review
METHODOLOGY Approaches, reliability, validity
SAMPLING &
Reliability, validity, piloting
INSTRUMENTATION
TIMING &
SEQUENCING
A SEQUENCE OF CONSIDERATIONS
ORIENTING
DECISIONS
E.G. SURVEY,
EXPERIMENT,
RESEARCH DESIGN NATURALISTIC, CASE
& METHODOLOGY STUDY, ACTION
RESEARCH, TESTING
DATA ANALYSIS
PRESENTING AND
REPORTING RESULTS
ORIENTING DECISIONS
1. Who wants the research?
2. Who will receive the research?
3. What powers do the recipients of the research have?
4. What are the time scales of the research?
5. What are the purposes of the research?
6. What are the research questions?
7. What must be the focus in order to answer the
research questions?
8. What costs are there – human, material, physical,
administrative, temporal?
9. Who owns the research?
10. At what point does the ownership pass from the
respondent to the researcher and from the
researcher to the recipients?
RESEARCH DESIGN & METHODOLOGY
1. What are the specific purposes of the research?
2. How are the general research purposes and aims
operationalized into specific research questions?
3. What are the specific research questions?
4. What needs to be the focus of the research in order
to answer the research questions?
5. What is the main methodology of the research?
6. How will validity and reliability be addressed?
7. How will reflexivity be addressed?
8. What kinds of data are required?
9. From whom will data be acquired (i.e. sampling)?
10. Where else will data be available?
11. How will the data be gathered (i.e. instrumentation)?
12. Who will undertake the research?
DATA ANALYSIS
1. How will the data be analyzed?
2. How to verify and validate the data and their
interpretation?
PRESENTING & REPORTING THE RESULTS
1. How to write up and report the research?
2. When to write up and report the research (e.g.
ongoing or summative)?
3. How to present the results in tabular and/or
written-out form?
4. How to present the results in non-verbal forms?
5. To whom to report (the necessary and possible
audiences of the research)?
6. How frequently to report?
A SAMPLE PLANNING MATRIX
Time Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4 Stage 5
Sample (start) (3 months) (6 months) (9 months) (12 months)
Principal/ Documents Interview Documents Interview Documents

Headteacher Interview Questionnaire 2 Interview
Questionnaire 1 Questionnaire 3
Teacher Questionnaire 1 Questionnaire 2 Questionnaire 3

group 1
group 2
group 3
Students Questionnaire 2 Interview
Parents Questionnaire 1 Questionnaire 2 Questionnaire 3
University Interview Interview

staff Documents Documents
THE LITERATURE REVIEW MUST . . .
• Set out the argument(s) that it will advance.

• Set out points in favour of the argument(s) or thesis to be
advanced/supported.
• Set out points against the argument(s) or thesis to be
advanced/supported.
• Have a conclusion based on the points raised and evidence
presented.
THE LITERATURE REVIEW . . .
• establishes and justifies the need for the research ,its
significance, originality and foci;
• establishes and justifies the methodology to be adopted;
• has an organized and developed argument, not just a
descriptive summary;
• presents, contextualizes, analyzes, interprets, critiques,
and evaluates sources and issues, not just accepting
what they say;
• presents arguments and counter-arguments, evidence
and counter-evidence about an issue;
• reveals similarities and differences between authors,
about the same issue;
• states its purposes, foci, methods of working,
organization and how it will move to a conclusion, i.e.
what it will do, what it will argue, what it will show, what it
will conclude, and how this links into or informs the
subsequent research project;
THE LITERATURE REVIEW . . .
• is a springboard into, and foundation for, all areas
and stages of the research in question: purpose,
foci, research questions, methodology, data
analysis, discussion and conclusions;
• must be conclusive;
• must be focused yet comprehensive in its coverage
of relevant issues;
• must present both sides of an issue or argument;
• should address theories, models (where relevant),
empirical research, methodological materials,
substantive issues, concepts, content and elements
of the field in question;
• must include and draw on many sources and types
of written material and kinds of data.
SOURCES OF LITERATURE IN A LITERATURE
REVIEW
• Books • Theses and
• Journal articles: dissertations
academic & • Manuscripts
professional • Databases (hard copy/
• Empirical research online)
• Non-empirical research • Conference papers
• Reports • Electronic media
• Policy documents • Primary sources
• Public and private • Secondary sources
records • Tertiary sources
• Research papers &
reports
OPERATIONALIZING RESEARCH
• Specify a set of operations or behaviours that
can be measured, addressed or manipulated.
• Translate a very general research aim or
purpose into specific, concrete questions to
which specific, concrete answers can be given.
• Move from the general to the particular, from the
abstract to the concrete.
• Break down each general research purpose or
general aim into more specific research
purposes and constituent elements, continuing
the process until specific, concrete questions
have been reached to which specific answers
can be provided.
A GOOD HYPOTHESIS . . .
• is clear on whether it is directional or non-directional;
• is written in a testable form;
• is written in a form that can yield measurable results .
A FOUR-STAGE PLANNING PROCESS
STAGE ONE:
IDENTIFY THE PURPOSES OF THE RESEARCH
STAGE TWO:
IDENTIFY AND GIVE PRIORITY TO THE CONSTRAINTS
UNDER WHICH THE RESEARCH WILL TAKE PLACE
STAGE THREE:
PLAN THE POSSIBILITIES FOR THE RESEARCH
WITHIN THESE CONSTRAINTS
STAGE FOUR:
DECIDE THE RESEARCH DESIGN
ENSURING QUALITY IN RESEARCH
PLANNING (Furlong and Oancea, 2005)
FITNESS FOR PURPOSE
• Theoretical and methodological robustness:
– The trustworthiness’ of the research;
– Its ‘contribution to knowledge’;
– Its ‘explicitness in designing and reporting’;
– Its ‘propriety’ (conformance to legal and ethical
requirements);
– The ‘paradigm-dependence’(fidelity to the
paradigm, ontology and epistemological premises
of the research) that the research demonstrates;
FITNESS FOR PURPOSE
• Value for use:
– The ‘salience/timeliness’ of the research;
– Its ‘purposivity’ (fitness for purpose);
– Its ‘specificity and accessibility’(scope,
responsiveness to user needs, and predicted
usage);
– Its ‘concern for enabling impact’(dissemination for
impact); and
– Its ‘flexibility and operationalisability’(development
into practical terms and utility for audiences).
FITNESS FOR PURPOSE
• Capacity building and value for people:
– ‘Partnership, collaboration and engagement’;
– ‘Plausibility’ (‘from the practitioner’s perspective’);
– ‘Reflection and criticism’(research that develops
reflexivity and self-reflection);
– ‘Receptiveness’(research that enhances the
receptiveness of practitioners and a wider
audience);
– ‘Stimulating personal growth’.
FITNESS FOR PURPOSE
• Economic dimension:
– ‘Cost-effectiveness’;
– ‘Marketability’ and ‘competitiveness’(e.g. in
the research market);
– ‘Auditability’;
– ‘Feasibility’;
– ‘Originality’;
– ‘Value-efficiency’.
RESEARCH DESIGNS
CM SELEMANI-MBEWE
OUTLINE OF PRESENTATION
• CLASSIFICATION OF RESEARCH
• RESEARCH DESIGN DEFINED
• TYPES OF RESEARCH DESIGNS
• CHARACTERISTICS OF EACH RESEARCH DESIGN
• EXAMPLES OF RESEARCH UNDER EACH RESEARCH DESIGN
RESEARCH DESIGN DEFINED
• The research design refers to the overall strategy that
you choose to integrate the different components of
the study in a coherent and logical way, thereby,
ensuring you will effectively address
the research problem; it constitutes the blueprint for
the collection, measurement, and analysis of data.
RESEARCH CLASSIFICATION
• DIFFERENT CLASSIFICATION CRITERIA USED
• FOR EXAMPLE CLSSIFIED BY
-FUNCTION
- DESIGN
RESEARCH CLASSIFIED BY FUNCTION
• BASIC RESEARCH
• APPLIED RESEARCH
• ACTION RESEARCH
• DESIGN RESEARCH
BASIC RESEARCH
• Basic research, also called pure research or
fundamental research, is scientific
research aimed to improve scientific theories for
improved understanding or prediction of natural
or other phenomena
BASIC RESEARCH…
• Aimed at obtaining empirical data used to formulate and expand
theory.
• Not oriented in design or purpose toward the solution of practical
problems.
• Essential aim is to expand the frontiers of knowledge without
practical application
BASIC RESEARCH
• Knowledge obtained is sought in order to add to existing body of
knowledge or research methods
• “Pure research concerned with development, examination,
verification and refinement of research methods, procedures,
techniques and tools that form body of research methodology”
(Kumar, 2011 : 10)
APPLIED RESEARCH
• Applied research is a form of systematic inquiry
involving the practical application of science. It
accesses and uses some part of
the research communities' (the academia's)
accumulated theories, knowledge, methods, and
techniques, for a specific, often state-, business-, or
client-driven purpose.
APPLIED RESEARCH…
• The purpose of applied research is to investigate practical issues in
order to find solutions that can be implemented in practice.
• It is research performed in relation to practical problems and under
the conditions in which they appear in practice.
• Use theories developed by basic research to solve practical problems.
• Educators can solve classroom related problems using applied
research
• Applied research may solve some specific problems but may not
provide general knowledge to solve other problems
APPLIED RESEARCH UNDERTAKEN
TO…
• Investigate whether solutions to social problems can be found
• Describe and assess social needs
• Assess and evaluate existing policies and practices
• Recommend and implement change; and
• Identify new areas of research (Davis, 2014 in du Plooy-Celliers, Davis
& Bezuidenhout, 2014)
ACTION RESEARCH
• Action research is either research initiated to solve an
immediate problem or a reflective process of progressive
problem solving led by individuals working with others in
teams or as part of a "community of practice" to improve the
way they address issues and solve problems.
• Conducted by practitioners to study a particular context and
use findings to change practice
ACTION RESEARCH… EXAMPLE
(stopped)
• An in-service training programme to help teachers develop new skills
in facilitating class discussions; to experiment with new approaches to
teaching reading to bilingual children; to develop more effective
counselling techniques for under achievers
• Lesson study in Japan
• SMASSE
PRACTICAL ACTION RESEARCH
• Practical action research – this is intended to
address a specific problem within a classroom,
school or other communities.
• It can be carried out in a variety of settings such
as the educational, school service or business
locations
EVALUATION RESEARCH
• Involves systematic process about determining the
worth, merit, importance or quality of a programme
• Basically focuses on the value of a programme or
project by asking a question “How important it was?”
“Was it worth doing?”
• Done in order to determine value for money
TYPES OF EVALUATION
• Can be classified in different ways using different classification criteria
• E.G. Can be classified depending on the time when the evaluation
occurs within the programme/ project implementation
• For-example: Before commencement of the programme/project-
Baseline evaluation/Diagnostic evaluation; During the implementation
of the programme/project- Formative Evaluation; at the end of the
programme/project- Summative Evaluation
BASELINE EVALUATION/ NEEDS
ASSESSMENT
• Done before introduction of an innovation
• Aims at finding out what the situation on the ground
is like
• In other words aims at establishing a need
FORMATIVE EVALUATION
• An on-going type of evaluation as the programme/project is being
implemented
• Aimed at obtaining lessons as the implementation is being done
• Can assist in tracking when the implementation is on course or is
trying to achieve what it intends to achieve
• Can identify challenges and offer solutions before it is too late as it is
aimed at programme/project improvement
• Can also be referred to as mid-term evaluation
SUMMATIVE EVALUATION
• Done at the of a programme/project; unit; phase
• To establish whether it has accomplished what it
intended to achieve and what lessons have been
learned
• Aimed at making summary judgements a programme
and to make decisions whether to either continue or
discontinue with a programme
OTHER CLASSIFICATIONS
• Needs Assessment- Question “Is there a need for
introducing a particular programme?”
• Theory Assessment- “Is this programme
conceptualised in a way that it should work?”
• Implementation Assessment “Was the programme
implemented properly and according to the
programme plan?”
OTHER CLASSIFICATIONS
• Impact assessment “Did the programme have an impact on its
intended targets?” Or “What impact did the programme make on its
intended targets?”
• Efficiency assessment- “Is this programme cost effective?”
REFLECTION
• What do you observe in the way evaluation has
been classified between the earlier classification
and the other classifications?
WHO DOES EVALUATION?
• Done by evaluators
• Could be internal or external
• Each has its own advantages and disadvantages?
• What are these?
• i)
• ii)
• iii)
• Etc.,
DESIGN RESEARCH
• Design research was originally constituted as
primarily research into the process of design,
developing from work in design methods, but the
concept has been expanded to
include research embedded within the process
of design, including work concerned with the context
of designing and research-based design practice.
DESIGN RESEARCH…
• By ‘design research’, is meant research specifically
undertaken to support the strategic design and
development of products, services, and programs.
• Research carried out to provide solutions to complex
educational problems for which no answer/solution is
available through an iterative/cyclic process of
designing, developing and evaluating the prototypes
until a satisfying product is reached
RESEARCH CLASSIFIED BY DESIGN
• QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
• QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
• MIXED-METHODS/ MULTI-METHODS RESEARCH
APPROACHES OF BASIC QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
DESIGNS/METHODS
• DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH
• EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH
• QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH
• CORRELATIONAL DESIGN
DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH (STOPPED)
• Describes systematically a situation or area of interest factually and
accurately
• Main objective is accurate portrayal of the characteristics of
individuals, situations, or groups and the frequency with which
certain phenomena occur
• Descriptive research is used to describe characteristics of a
population or phenomenon being studied. It does not answer
questions about how/when/why the characteristics occurred.
DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH-EXAMPLES
• Surveys of the nutritional status of low income school children
• Survey of physical condition of school buildings in order to establish a
descriptive profile of the facilities that exist in a typical school
• School feeding programme and its impact on pupils’ performance
• Population census
• Public opinion surveys
• Fact finding surveys
DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH-SUMMARY
• Extremely important in laying a foundation for later research.
• Provides information about conditions, situations, and events that
occur in the present
• Describes phenomena as it is
EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH
• In experimental research, the researcher is an active agent in
experimental work
• The word experimental research has a range of definitions. In the
strict sense, experimental research is what we call a true experiment.
This is an experiment where the researcher manipulates one variable,
and control/randomizes the rest of the variables.
• Investigator manipulates one or more independent variables (the
treatment) and observes the effect on one or more dependent
variables
WHAT IS AN EXPERIMENT?
• An experiment is a situation in which a
researcher objectively observes phenomena
which are made to occur in a strictly controlled
situation where one or more variables are varied
and the others are kept constant
AN EXPERIMENT…
• The interest of a researcher in an experiment is always determining
cause and effect
• Casual variable is the independent variable
• The effect or outcome variable is the dependent variable
• Experimental research allows us to identify causal relationships
because we observe the result of systematically changing one or more
variables under controlled conditions
COMMON TERMS USED IN
EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH
• Variable
• Independent variable
• Dependent variable
• Control group
• Experimental group
• Randomization of subjects
• Manipulation
VARIABLE
• Phenomenon that changes
• Not consistent or having a fixed pattern; liable to change (changeable)
• An element, feature, or factor that is liable to vary or change
• A characteristic, number, or quantity that increases or decreases over
time, or takes different values in different situations
INDEPENDENT VARIABLE
• That can take different values and can cause

corresponding changes in other variables
• It is the variable assumed to be the cause of
the effect
• Variable that the researcher varies or
manipulates
DEPENDENT VARIABLE
• That can take different values only in

response to an independent variable
DISCRETE VARIABLE
•Discrete data can be numeric -- like

numbers of apples -- but it can also be
categorical -- like red or blue, or male or
female, or good or bad.
CONTINUOUS VARIABLE
• Continuous variable is information that can be measured on a
continuum or scale.
• Continuous data can have almost any numeric value and can be
meaningfully subdivided into finer and finer increments, depending
upon the precision of the measurement system (e.g temperature,
height)
• Continuous data are not restricted to defined separate values, but can
occupy any value over a continuous range
CONTROL GROUP
• The basic element of experimentation

• The control group in an experiment is
the group who does not receive any
treatment and is used as a benchmark
against which other test results are
measured
EXPERIMENTAL GROUP
• An experimental group is the group in

an experiment that receives the variable
being tested. One variable is tested at a
time.
RANDOMIZATION OF SUBJECTS
• Systematic procedure of assigning objects/ participants in a research
study to either treatment or control groups
• Many procedures have been proposed for the random assignment of
participants to treatment groups in clinical trials.
• The process of assigning patients to these groups by chance is called
randomization.
• Provides the most effective method of eliminating systematic bias and
minimizing the effect of extraneous variables
MANIPULATION
• Refers to conducting a study again, the second study
may be a repetition of the original using different
subjects or may change specified aspects of the study
• The thing that is changed on purpose is called
the manipulated variable.
• Sometimes it is also called the independent variable.
WAYS OF MANIPULATING THE
INDEPENDENT VARIABLE
• Presence vs Absence technique
• Amount technique
• Type technique
PRESENCE VS ABSENCE TECHNIQUE
•The independent variable can be

manipulated by presenting a condition
or treatment to one group of individuals
and withholding the condition or
treatment from another group of
individuals
AMOUNT TECHNIQUE
• The independent variable can be manipulated by
varying the amount of a condition
• E.g. varying the amount of a drug given to
children with a learning disorder
TYPE TECHNIQUE
• The independent variable is manipulated by

varying the type of condition or treatment
administered.
• For example two groups of students can be
taught using two different teaching
methods in order to find out the
effectiveness of the methods.
QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH
• Type of research in which the investigator can control the treatment
and the measurement of the dependent variable but cannot control
the assignment of the subjects to treatment using random
assignment.
• Quasi-experiment is the type of research that approximates the
conditions of the true experiment in a setting which does not allow
control and/or manipulation of all relevant variables
CORRELATIONAL RESEARCH
• Type of research that attempts to determine the extent and the
direction of the relationship between two or more variables
• E.g., teachers’ satisfaction with their job with performance
• Correlational research involves calculation of correlation co-efficient
• Correlation co-efficient range from -1.0 to +1.0
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
DESIGNS/METHODS
• CASE STUDY
• ETHNOGRAPHY
• PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY
• GROUNDED THEORY
• CONTENT ANALYSIS
• HISTORICAL
CASE STUDY/IDEOGRAPHIC
RESEARCH
• Designed to study intensively the background, current status, and
environmental interactions of a given social unit
• A particular individual, programme, organisation, institution or event
is studied in depth for a defined period of time
• E.G. a medical researcher might study the nature, cause and
treatment of a rare illness for a particular patient
RESEARCH
• An educator might study and analyse the instructional
strategies that a master teacher uses to teach high school
history
• A political scientist might study the origins and development
of a politician’s campaign as she or he runs for a public office
• A case history of a child with an above average IQ but with
severe learning
• An intensive study of a group of teenage youngsters on
probation for drug abuse
RESEARCH
• Can focus on a single case perhaps due to its unique or
exceptional qualities that can promote understanding or
inform practice for similar situations.
• Researchers can also study two or more cases-often cases
that are either similar or different in certain key ways (Such
as….?) to make comparisons, build theory, or propose
generalisations
• When this is done it is referred to as multiple or collective
case study
RESEARCH-METHOD
• Collection of extensive data on the individual(s),
programme(s), or events on which the investigation is
focused
• Data collection include: Observations, interviews, documents
(e.g., newspaper articles, lesson plans, minutes of meetings,
schemes and records of work, past records e.g., test scores,
audio-visual materials (e.g., photographs, videotapes,
audiotapes)
RESEARCH-METHOD
•Researcher spends an extended period
of time on site and interact regularly
with the person or people being studied
RESEARCH-METHOD
• Researcher records details about the context
surrounding the case, including information
about the physical environment, and any
historical, economic, and social factors that have
bearing on the situation
• Helps other researchers in drawing conclusions
about the generalizability of research findings
DATA ANALYSIS STEPS (Creswell, 2007;
Stake, 1995)
• Organisation of details about the case- specific
facts about case arranged logically
(chronologically)
• Data categorisation Categories identified to help
cluster data into meaningful groups
Stake, 1995)
• Interpretation of single instances- specific documents,
occurrences, and other bits of data are examined for
specific meanings that they might have in relation to
the case
• Identification of patterns- Data and their
interpretations scrutinised for underlying themes and
other patterns that characterise the case
Stake, 1995)
• Synthesis and generalisations- presenting an overall
portrait of case
• Drawing conclusions that may have implications
beyond the specific case that has been studied
• Generalisations in most cases are tentative when only
single case is studied
• Data analysis often begin during data collection
ETHNOGRAPHY
• Origins- Greek
• Ethnos “A nation or other close-knit group of people”
• Graph “Something written or recorded”
• Ethnographic researcher studies a group in its natural setting
for a lengthy time period, often several months or years
• Focus of investigation is on everyday behaviours of the
people in the group e.g., interactions, language, rituals) with
an intent to identify cultural norms, beliefs, social structures
and other patterns
ETHNOGRAPHY
• A form of qualitative research that aims for a
holistic picture of a cultural group
• Researcher looks in depth at an entire group,
that shares a common culture
• An approach that uses in-depth interviewing and
prolonged participant observation (Ary et.al,
2006)
ETHNOGRAPHY
• Ethnographic researcher identifies both explicit and
implicit cultural patterns
• Explicit- those readily acknowledged by group
members or easily observable in objects or behaviour
• Implicit- those beliefs and assumptions that have such
a below-the surface, taken for granted quality that
even group members aren’t always consciously aware
of them
ETHNOGRAPHY
• Originally focus was cultural groups but recently ethnography has
been used to study “cultures” like adult work environments,
elementary school classrooms, violent adolescent groups
• An ethnography specially useful for gaining an understanding of
complexities of a particular social group
ETHNOGRAPHY-METHOD
• Site-based fieldwork
• Prolonged engagement in the group’s natural
setting- gives researcher time to observe and
record processes that would be almost
impossible to learn about by using any other
approach
METHOD- STEPS
• Gaining access to site appropriate for answering research
problem
• Ideally site should be one in which researcher is “stranger”
and has no vested interest in the outcome of the study.
WHY?
• Researcher can gain access to research site through a
gatekeeper-person who can provide a smooth entrance into
the site e.g., tribal chief, a principal or teacher in a
classroom, or a programme director of an orphanage
• Researcher should then establish rapport with and gain the
trust of the people being studied
METHOD- STEPS
• Intermingling with everyone getting an overall
sense of the social cultural context
• Identification of key informants who can provide
information and insights relevant to research
question and can facilitate contacts with other
helpful individuals
METHOD- STEPS
• Participant observation may occur- researcher
moving from “outsider” to “insider”-to gaining more
insights but this could have its disadvantage-
researcher may be so emotionally involved as to lose
the ability to assess the situation accurately
• In some situations researcher may even “go native”,
joining the group and therefore becoming unable to
complete the study (Creswell, 2007)
METHOD- STEPS
• Researcher is a careful observer, interviewer, and listener throughout
fieldwork
• Takes extensive field notes (written either on site at the time or in
private later in the day) in the forms of dialogue, diagrammes, maps,
etc.
• Recording lengthy conversations using audiotapes and videotapes
• Collecting artefacts (e.g., tools, ritualistic implements, artistic
creations) and records (e.g., accounting ledgers, personal journals,
lesson plans) from the group
METHOD- STEPS
• Needs patience and tolerance to do

ethnographic research-as participants often
talk too much and hear too little
METHOD- DATA ANALYSIS
• Data collection and analysis occur
simultaneously just as in cases study
DATA ANALYSIS (Wolcott, 1994, p. 348)
• Description- organising the information in a logical
structure by:
-Describing events chronologically
-Describing a typical day in the life of the group or of
an individual within the group
-Focusing on a critical event for the group
-Developing a story, complete with plot and characters
DATA ANALYSIS (Wolcott, 1994, p. 348)
• Analysis- Categorization of data to their meanings
• Identification of patterns, regularities and critical
events
• Interpretation- Inferring general nature of group and
its practices from the categories, meanings, and
patterns identified
PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY
• Phenomenology refers to a person’s perception of the

meaning of an event, as opposed to the event as it exists
external to the person
• Phenomenological study is a study that attempts to
understand people’s perceptions, perspectives, and
understandings of a particular situation
• Tries to answer “What is it like to experience such-and-such?
• Experiences of people caring for a chronically or terminally ill
relative, living in an abusive relationship, or home-schooling
a child
PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY
• Sometimes researcher might have personal
experiences related to the phenomenon in
question and wants to gain a better
understanding of the experiences of others (You
dropped out from a subject and want to learn
experiences of others who also dropped out
from a subject)
METHOD
• Phenomenological researchers depend exclusively on lengthy
unstructured interviews with a carefully selected sample of
participants
• Typical sample size 5-25 participants with direct experience
with the phenomenon being studied (Creswell, 2007;
Polkinghorne, 1989)
• Researcher must be alert for subtle yet meaningful cues in
participants’ expressions, pauses, questions, and occasional
sidetracks.
GROUNDED THEORY
• Grounded theory research is designed to

develop a theory of social phenomena
based on the field data collected in a study.
• Experience with the data generates insights,
hypotheses, and questions, which researchers
pursue with further data collection.
Grounded Theory
• From an inductive analysis of the data, the

researcher constructs concepts.
• He or she then forms a theory or laws by
proposing plausible relationships among the
concepts.
Grounded theory
• The theory is thus said to be grounded in the data.
• For example, a researcher interested in
mainstreaming in elementary school could observe
a number of classrooms and conduct interviews
with teachers and students.
• Analysis of the data could lead to a theory about
mainstreaming in the elementary school.
Historical Research
• Analyzes documents, and artifacts and/or uses interviews
with eyewitnesses to gain insight into past events.
• The success of historical research depends on the accuracy and

completeness of the source material.
• The researcher must establish the authenticity of the documents

used, as well as the validity of their contents.
Examples of Historical Research
• An educational researcher might want to
investigate the trends in kindergarten education
in a particular school district from its beginnings
to the present.
• Investigating the methods used to teach reading
in the past
• A study of school practices and policies such as
grade retention
Type of data collected
• Some of the data collected in historical research
might be quantitative, such as when an
investigator compares a school district’s reading
achievement scores when one teaching method
was used with the scores obtained when
another method was in vogue.
CONTENT ANALYSIS
• Content analysis focuses on analysing and

interpreting recorded material to learn about human
behaviour.
• The material may be public records, textbooks, letters,
films, tapes, diaries, themes, reports, or other
documents.
• Content analysis usually begins with a question that
the researcher believes can best be answered by
studying documents.
Content Analysis
• For example, what was the employment
situation like for married women teachers in the
early 80s?
• Content analysis is sometimes quantitative, such
as when one investigates middle school science
textbooks to determine the extent of coverage
given to the achievements of minority scientists.
Types of Qualitative Research-Summary
Type Major Question
Basic interpretive studies How are events, processes, and activities perceived by the participant?
Case study What are the characteristics of this individual, organization, or group?
Document analysis What can be learned about this phenomenon by studying certain documents?
Ethnography What are the culture and perspectives of this group of people in its natural
setting?
Grounded theory What theory can be derived inductively about a phenomenon from the data
collected in a particular setting?
Historical studies What insights or conclusions can be reached about this past event?
Narrative inquiry What insights and understandings about an issue emerge from examining life
stories?
Phenomenological study What does this experience mean for the participants in the experience?
MIXED-METHODS DESIGN
• EXPLORATORY MIXED- METHODS
• EXPLANATORY MIXED-METHODS
• SEQUENCIAL MIXED METHODS
EXPLORATORY MIXED METHODS
EXPLANATORY MIXED-METHODS
SEQUENTIAL MIXED-METHODS
Sampling techniques
C.M. Selemani-Mbewe
PRESENTATION OVERVIEW
• The population
• Population types
• What is sampling?
• Why sample?
• Sampling considerations
• Sampling techniques
The population
• Consists of the totality or aggregate of the
observations with which the researcher is concerned
• Population is an accessible group of people who
meets a well-defined set of eligibility criteria.
• The utmost importance in selecting a population is
that – “the population should be clearly defined so
that the sample can be accurately identified.”
Population types
• Target population - is a group of individuals who meets the

criteria.
• Accessible population-Population that can be easily
reached
• Subject or respondent population - refers to a group of
individuals participating in the study
• Strata or stratum - is described as a mutually exclusive
segment of a population established by one or more
characteristics
What is sampling?
• Sample – Subset of the population that is selected for

a study
• Also called subjects or respondents of the study
• A shortcut method for investigating a whole
population
• Data is gathered on a small part of the whole parent
population or sampling frame, and used to inform
what the whole picture is like
Sampling
• Process of choosing a representative portion

of the entire population. – an integral part
of research methodology. – involves
selecting a group of people, events,
behaviours or other elements with which to
conduct a study.
• Element – most basic unit about which information is
collected.
• Representativeness – means that the sample must be
like the population in as many ways as possible.
• The accessible population must be representative of
the target population
.
Why sample?
• In reality there is simply not enough; time, energy, money,

labour/man power, equipment, access to suitable sites to
measure every single item or site within the parent
population or whole sampling frame.
• Therefore an appropriate sampling strategy is adopted to
obtain a representative, and statistically valid sample of the
whole.
Example of a sample
• The population of ODL students is 600, only 200 BSN
students are included as the target population and
only 100 students are chosen as samples for the
actual study.
Eligibility criteria
• A description chosen by the researcher to define
which elements should be included in or excluded
from the population.
• Such criteria may include sex, age, marital status,
education level.
Sampling theory
• Developed to determine mathematically the
most effective way to acquire a sample that
would accurately reflect the population under
study.
Key Concepts of Sampling Theory
• SAMPLING UNIT - refers to specific place or location which can be
used during sampling process.
• SAMPLING FRAME - describes the complete list of sampling units
from which the sample is drawn
• SAMPLING CRITERIA-refers to the essential characteristics of a
subject or respondent such as ability to read and write responses on
the data collection instruments
Steps involved in sampling
• Identify the target population
• Identify the subject or respondent population•
• Specify the criteria for subject or respondent selection
• Specify the sampling design
• Recruit the subjects
Sampling considerations
• Larger sample sizes are more accurate representations

of the whole
• The sample size chosen is a balance between
obtaining a statistically valid representation, and the
time, energy, money, labour, equipment and access
available
• A sampling strategy made with the minimum of bias is
the most statistically valid
Sampling considerations
• Most approaches assume that the parent population has a

normal distribution where most items or individuals
clustered close to the mean, with few extremes
• A 95% probability or confidence level is usually assumed, for
example 95% of items or individuals will be within plus or
minus two standard deviations from the mean
• This also means that up to five per cent may lie outside of
this - sampling, no matter how good can only ever be
claimed to be a very close estimate
Sample size
• Prior to the selection of sampling technique, the nurse-researcher
must first determine the size of the sample
• A sample size can be determined using the Slovin’s (1960) formula,
which is as follows: N n = --------------- 1 + Ne2 Where: n is the sample
size N is the population size e is the margin of error 1 is a constant
value
• Example: – From the population of 10,000 clients with tuberculosis, a
nurse-researcher selected a sample size with a margin of error of 5%.
– The desired sample size is computed to be 385
Types of sampling techniques
• Two basic sampling techniques used research:

• probability (random) sampling
• nonprobability (non-random) sampling.
Non-probability Sampling Techniques
• CONVENIENCE
• SIMPLE RANDOM
• QUOTA
• SYSTEMATIC
• PURPOSIVE
• STRATIFIED
• CLUSTER
• MULTI-STAGE
Probability Sampling
• Involves the selection of elements from the population using random
in which each element of the population has an equal and
independent chance of being chosen.
Simple Random Sampling
• Each member of the population has an equal chance of being
included in the samples
• Most commonly used method is the lottery or Fish Bowl technique
• In using the lottery method, there is a need for a complete listing of
the members of the population.
Simple Random Sampling
• The names or codes of all members are written on pieces of paper
cards and placed in a container.
• The researcher draws the desired number of sample from the
container.
• The process is relatively easy for small population but relatively
difficult and time consuming for a large population
Systematic Sampling Technique
• Type of probability sampling which selects samples by
following some rules set by the researcher which
involves selecting the Kth member where the random
start is determined.
• A system is a plan for selecting members after a
starting point or random start has been determined.
• Then every nth member of the population will be
determined by the system in drawing or selecting the
members of the sample
Stratified Random Sampling
• Type of probability sampling which selects
members of the sample proportionally from
each subpopulation or stratum.
• Used when the population is too large to handle
and is divided into subgroups (called strata)
Stratified Random Sampling
• Samples per stratum are then randomly selected,
but considerations must be given to the sizes of
the random samples to be drawn from the
subgroups.
• An example of procedure to use is proportional
allocation which selects the sample sizes
proportional to the sizes of the different
subgroups.
Cluster Sampling
• Used when population is divided into groups or
clusters
• Samples are selected in groups rather than
individuals which is employed into a large-scale
survey
Multi-Stage Sampling
• Selects samples using more than two sampling
techniques
• Rarely used because of the complexity of its
application
• Requires a lot of effort, time, and cost
Non-Probability Sampling
• Involves the selection of elements from a

population using non random procedures.
Characteristics of Non-Probability Sampling
• The members of sample are drawn or selected based
on the judgment of the researcher.
• The results of these techniques are relatively biased.
• The techniques lack objectivity in terms of the
selection of samples.
• The samples are not so reliable.
• The techniques are convenient and economical to use.
Types of Non-Probability Sampling
• Convenience or Accidental Sampling
• Involves the non-random selection of subjects based
on their availability or convenient accessibility.
• Quota Sampling – Involves the non-random selection
of elements based on the identification of specific
characteristics to increase the sample’s
representativeness.
Types of Non-Probability Sampling3
• Purposive Judgmental Sampling – Involves the non-
random selection of elements based on the
researcher’s judgment and knowledge about the
population.
• This is useful when a group of subjects is needed to
participate in a pre-test of newly developed
instruments or when a group of experts is desirable to
validate research information
The Research Process
Notes Developed by
Dr Dominic M Ndeng
Presented by
C.M. Selemani Mbewe
What is a research process?
• Lacey and Gerrish (2006, p.16) define a research process as “a
series of steps that need to be undertaken to carry out any
piece of research”. It normally will contain the following
common elements:
1. Identification of a problem and developing a critical research
question and sub-questions
2. Exploring and evaluating related literature
3. Choosing a research paradigm, design and methodology
4. Developing a research proposal
6. Defining the unit of analysis and sampling
techniques
7. Data collection in the field
8. Data analysis
9. Problem solved and go to no.9 or go back to
no.1
10. Writing a research report : Problem solved
11. Dissemination of research results
Procedure in choosing a topic
• Choosing a research topic or a phenomenon to

study is one of the most tedious activities for
post graduate students, who may spend sleepless
nights pondering over what topic they would like
to research on. Although there is no hard and
fast rule on it, the following tips might help you
come up with a reasonable research topic.
• First select a general subject area which is related to your field
or specialization or interest. Read critically research literature
around your subject of specialization. In some universities,
they will not allow you to come up with any research title
before you have done extensive literature review.
• As you read, pick up specific problems in the subject area;
these could be issues raised by other researchers.
• Narrow down the issue to a single topic that you think you can
research upon. Try to formulate a couple of problem
statements or questions that are a puzzle to you, which you
want your research to disentangle. Finally choose one that you
think is more relevant.
• Talk over your research topic with colleagues or other
professionals in the same field.
• The topic you have chosen should be as original/novel
as possible, interesting, important
Sources of Research Topics
• Your own experience at work or in the classroom:
– You might find research topics from class discussions that might ignite special interest in a given area.
You may also develop an interest in a topic following interactions with the public or through reading
newspapers and magazines.
• From research reports.

– A number of research reports include areas of further research. You might wish to pursue those areas
further. Some of the research might require replicating but in different context or using a different
sample.
• Library search
– This is the most common and traditional way of searching for research topics. In the library you will
come across indexes, abstracts, bibliographies, theses/dissertations that could provide useful
information on research topics.
– A number of research reports include areas of further research. You
might wish to pursue those areas further. Some of the research might
require replicating but in different context or using a different sample.
• Library search
– This is the most common and traditional way of searching for
research topics. In the library you will come across indexes, abstracts,
bibliographies, theses/dissertations that could provide useful
The Research Proposal
Part 1: The Research Title
• Although the title conventionally appears first thing in a

research, it is not the primary focus when it comes to conceiving
the idea of research. What comes to you is the problem; that is
what is troubling you so that you decide to research upon it.
Your research title, however, should be comprehensive enough
and yet as concise as possible. It should spell out what is to be
studied (unit of analysis), where (site) with whom (the
participants) and how (a broad methodological approach).
• Title should be comprehensive enough and yet as concise as
possible. It should spell out what is to be studied (unit of
analysis), where (site) with whom (the participants) and how
(a broad methodological approach).
For Example:
• An Investigation of causes of cheating in examination among secondary
schools learners in the Northern Education Division (NED).
The research proposal
Introducing the Study
• The Problem Statement and context of the problem
• Whether the research proposal is for academic work or for
project funding, the first thing to articulate is your problem;
therefore, the problem statement should appear the first in
your introduction (Punch 2006; Creswell, 2007). Readers are
more interested in the problem to be investigated than
anything else. The problem statement must be as clear as
possible and must be supported by some literature quotes..
The research proposal:
• Immediately after the problem statement, indicate the
role your proposed research is to play. For example, in
spite of all efforts by Malawi National Examinations
Board, cheating in public examinations continues
unabated (Malawi News, 23rd July, 2008).
• Therefore there is need to establish the causes of this
continued trend in cheating by students. Following your
problem statement, you may now briefly discuss the
context or background to the problem, explaining the
context in which the problem occurs
• This process is known as contextualizing the
problem. Do not make this section too long;
after all, you will discuss more in the
literature review.
Writing Problem Statement
• As A statement (See above)
• As a question:
– Why is it that in-spite of the re-admission policy, teenage mothers
do not return to school after delivery?
• As a hypothesis: Students that did well during university
entrance tests display significantly higher academic
achievement than those that who di not.
Writing Research questions
• Critical research question: This directly arises from your
problem statement. If it is in the form of hypothesis, or a
question, we normally ignore this part.
• Examples:
• The problem statement, the research question become the
focus of your research throughout.
Example:
– Why is cheating in examinations on the increase in
schools in-spite of all efforts by MANEB to curb the
malpractice?
– Do students who did well in a university entrance test
display significantly higher academic achievement
than those that who di not.
Writing research questions
• Research questions: These are sub sets of the critical research
questions. They unpack the critical research question; they
must directly relate to your critical research question. Ideally
not more than five.
EXAMPLES
– What forms of cheating are common in schools?
– How is cheating done in schools?
– What do schools do to curb cheating?
– What does MANEB do to curb cheating?
– What should be done to curb the malpratice?
# Research Question
Research Matrix
What data? From How?
Whom?
1. What forms of cheating are Facts Teachers, Questionna
common in schools? learners, ire,
parents, Interviews,
SEMAS, observation
MANEB
officials,
DEMS
2. How is cheating done in Facts, opinions Learners, Question-
schools teachers, naires,
SEMAS, interviews,
MANEB observation
Officials
3. What do schools do to curb Facts Teachers, Question-
cheating head naires,
teachers, interviews,
learners observation
4. What does MANEB do to curb Facts, MANEB Questionna
cheating? Officials, ires,
DEMS intereviews
5. What should be done to curb Facts Teachers, Questionna
The Purpose of the Study
• The purpose of the study is your critical research
question but put in affirmative form
– Example: To examine the factors for the increase in
cheating during examinations in-spite of all efforts to
curb the malpractice
Objectives of the Study
• These are your research questions turned
affirmative.
• Note: Some Supervisors/Examiners may just
require either research questions or
objectives of the study
The Rationale/ Motivation
• The rationale is a statement of how you came to develop an
interest in the research topic and why you think the research is
worth doing. Here you might wish to put upfront your own
personal experience. Your rationale might also be as a result of
the gap or silence in the literature you have read on the topic,
or dissatisfaction with the existing practice.
Significance of the Study
• Here you justify what contributions your study will make to
practice. Often this section is combined with the section on
rationale. Be articulate enough to convince your readers that
the study is indeed worth doing and how it will contribute to
practice
Part 2: Review of Related Literature
• Read widely around your topic
• Understand the boundaries of your study (Scope)
• Have ready pieces of paper on which to write whatever you
come across and jot down specific areas of interest including
bibliographic details
• Identify gaps in the literature: scope, methodology
– these are what your study will close.
• All literature reviewed should be orderly written-
structure needed.
• Argue around your topic- Put your voice over what
you write.
Research Proposal
Part 3: Study Design and Methodology
• Research design: What is it and justify its use.
• Research paradigm and justify its use
• Issues of validity, reliability and trustworthiness: How will you
ensure
Research Proposal
• Theoretical/conceptual Frameworks: What and justify their
use.
• Research site, sample (Population) and Sampling Techniques.
• Data Collection Methods: What methods and why?
Research Proposal
• Data Analysis Techniques: What techniques for
qualitative/quantitative data and why?
• Limitations of the study: Confine to design
Research Proposal
• Ethical issues: What issues and how do you plan to go round
them?
Readings
• Read text in research methods widely for you to justify your
choices.
The Research Process
Notes Developed by
Dr Dominic M Ndeng
Presented by
C.M. Selemani Mbewe
• Lacey and Gerrish (2006, p.16) define a research process as “a
series of steps that need to be undertaken to carry out any
piece of research”. It normally will contain the following
common elements:
1. Identification of a problem and developing a critical research
question and sub-questions
2. Exploring and evaluating related literature
3. Choosing a research paradigm, design and methodology
4. Developing a research proposal
6. Defining the unit of analysis and sampling
techniques
7. Data collection in the field
8. Data analysis
9. Problem solved and go to no.9 or go back to
no.1
10. Writing a research report : Problem solved
11. Dissemination of research results
• Choosing a research topic or a phenomenon to

study is one of the most tedious activities for
post graduate students, who may spend sleepless
nights pondering over what topic they would like
to research on. Although there is no hard and
fast rule on it, the following tips might help you
come up with a reasonable research topic.
• First select a general subject area which is related to your field
or specialization or interest. Read critically research literature
around your subject of specialization. In some universities,
they will not allow you to come up with any research title
before you have done extensive literature review.
• As you read, pick up specific problems in the subject area;
these could be issues raised by other researchers.
• Narrow down the issue to a single topic that you think you can
research upon. Try to formulate a couple of problem
statements or questions that are a puzzle to you, which you
want your research to disentangle. Finally choose one that you
think is more relevant.
• Talk over your research topic with colleagues or other
professionals in the same field.
• The topic you have chosen should be as original/novel
as possible, interesting, important
• Your own experience at work or in the classroom:
– You might find research topics from class discussions that might ignite special interest in a given area.
You may also develop an interest in a topic following interactions with the public or through reading
newspapers and magazines.

– A number of research reports include areas of further research. You might wish to pursue those areas
further. Some of the research might require replicating but in different context or using a different
sample.
• Library search
– This is the most common and traditional way of searching for research topics. In the library you will
come across indexes, abstracts, bibliographies, theses/dissertations that could provide useful
– A number of research reports include areas of further research. You
might wish to pursue those areas further. Some of the research might
require replicating but in different context or using a different sample.
• Library search
– This is the most common and traditional way of searching for
research topics. In the library you will come across indexes, abstracts,
bibliographies, theses/dissertations that could provide useful
Part 1: The Research Title
• Although the title conventionally appears first thing in a

research, it is not the primary focus when it comes to conceiving
the idea of research. What comes to you is the problem; that is
what is troubling you so that you decide to research upon it.
Your research title, however, should be comprehensive enough
and yet as concise as possible. It should spell out what is to be
studied (unit of analysis), where (site) with whom (the
participants) and how (a broad methodological approach).
• Title should be comprehensive enough and yet as concise as
possible. It should spell out what is to be studied (unit of
analysis), where (site) with whom (the participants) and how
(a broad methodological approach).
For Example:
• An Investigation of causes of cheating in examination among secondary
schools learners in the Northern Education Division (NED).
The research proposal
• The Problem Statement and context of the problem
• Whether the research proposal is for academic work or for
project funding, the first thing to articulate is your problem;
therefore, the problem statement should appear the first in
your introduction (Punch 2006; Creswell, 2007). Readers are
more interested in the problem to be investigated than
anything else. The problem statement must be as clear as
possible and must be supported by some literature quotes..
• Immediately after the problem statement, indicate the
role your proposed research is to play. For example, in
spite of all efforts by Malawi National Examinations
Board, cheating in public examinations continues
unabated (Malawi News, 23rd July, 2008).
• Therefore there is need to establish the causes of this
continued trend in cheating by students. Following your
problem statement, you may now briefly discuss the
context or background to the problem, explaining the
context in which the problem occurs
• This process is known as contextualizing the
problem. Do not make this section too long;
after all, you will discuss more in the
literature review.
Writing Problem Statement
• As A statement (See above)
• As a question:
– Why is it that in-spite of the re-admission policy, teenage mothers
do not return to school after delivery?
• As a hypothesis: Students that did well during university
entrance tests display significantly higher academic
achievement than those that who di not.
Writing Research questions
• Critical research question: This directly arises from your
problem statement. If it is in the form of hypothesis, or a
question, we normally ignore this part.
• Examples:
• The problem statement, the research question become the
focus of your research throughout.
Example:
– Why is cheating in examinations on the increase in
schools in-spite of all efforts by MANEB to curb the
malpractice?
– Do students who did well in a university entrance test
display significantly higher academic achievement
than those that who di not.
Writing research questions
• Research questions: These are sub sets of the critical research
questions. They unpack the critical research question; they
must directly relate to your critical research question. Ideally
not more than five.
EXAMPLES
– What forms of cheating are common in schools?
– How is cheating done in schools?
– What do schools do to curb cheating?
– What does MANEB do to curb cheating?
– What should be done to curb the malpratice?
Research Matrix
# Research Question What data? From How?
Whom?
1. What forms of cheating are Facts Teachers, Questionna
common in schools? learners, ire,
parents, Interviews,
SEMAS, observation
MANEB
officials,
DEMS
2. How is cheating done in Facts, opinions Learners, Question-
schools teachers, naires,
SEMAS, interviews,
MANEB observation
Officials
3. What do schools do to curb Facts Teachers, Question-
cheating head naires,
teachers, interviews,
learners observation
4. What does MANEB do to curb Facts, MANEB Questionna
cheating? Officials, ires,
DEMS intereviews
The Purpose of the Study
• The purpose of the study is your critical research
question but put in affirmative form
– Example: To examine the factors for the increase in
cheating during examinations in-spite of all efforts to
curb the malpractice
Objectives of the Study
• These are your research questions turned
affirmative.
• Note: Some Supervisors/Examiners may just
require either research questions or
objectives of the study
The Rationale/ Motivation
• The rationale is a statement of how you came to develop an
interest in the research topic and why you think the research is
worth doing. Here you might wish to put upfront your own
personal experience. Your rationale might also be as a result of
the gap or silence in the literature you have read on the topic,
or dissatisfaction with the existing practice.
Significance of the Study
• Here you justify what contributions your study will make to
practice. Often this section is combined with the section on
rationale. Be articulate enough to convince your readers that
the study is indeed worth doing and how it will contribute to
practice
• Read widely around your topic
• Understand the boundaries of your study (Scope)
• Have ready pieces of paper on which to write whatever you
come across and jot down specific areas of interest including
bibliographic details
• Identify gaps in the literature: scope, methodology
– these are what your study will close.
• All literature reviewed should be orderly written-
structure needed.
• Argue around your topic- Put your voice over what
you write.
Research Proposal
• Research design: What is it and justify its use.
• Research paradigm and justify its use
• Issues of validity, reliability and trustworthiness: How will you
ensure
Research Proposal
• Theoretical/conceptual Frameworks: What and justify their
use.
• Research site, sample (Population) and Sampling Techniques.
• Data Collection Methods: What methods and why?
Research Proposal
• Data Analysis Techniques: What techniques for
qualitative/quantitative data and why?
• Limitations of the study: Confine to design
Research Proposal
• Ethical issues: What issues and how do you plan to go round
them?
Readings
• Read text in research methods widely for you to justify your
choices.

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EDUCATIONAL

• KNOWLEDGE OBTAINED THROUGH SCIENTIFIC MEANS BASED ON

HENCE BELIEF IN THE MULTIPLE KINDS OF KNOWLEDGE AND DIFFERENT METHODS

 CANBE DEFINED AS A SET OF BELIEFS SHARED

 BELIEF THAT OBJECTIVE,OBSERVABLE

CONCERNED WITH THE “THEORY

 LOOKS AT HOW HUMANSMAKE SENSE OF

HENCE THE TASK OF THE

VIEW REALITY AS HIGHLY

 HOWEVER,HUMANS HAVE THE ABILITY TO

STUDY AND DESCRIBE MEANINGFUL SOCIAL

WANT TO DISCOVER AND EXPLAIN CAUSAL

ALL PARADIGMS HAVE ONE THING IN

DIFFERENCES SHOULD NOT DIVIDE

• What are the ‘deliverables’ in the research?

• Accounts • Grounded theory

• Gives credibility and legitimacy to

METHODOLOGY Approaches, reliability, validity

Principal/ Documents Interview Documents Interview Documents

Teacher Questionnaire 1 Questionnaire 2 Questionnaire 3

Parents Questionnaire 1 Questionnaire 2 Questionnaire 3

University Interview Interview

• Set out the argument(s) that it will advance.

• That can take different values and can cause

• That can take different values only in

•Discrete data can be numeric -- like

• The basic element of experimentation

• An experimental group is the group in

•The independent variable can be

• The independent variable is manipulated by

• Needs patience and tolerance to do

• Phenomenology refers to a person’s perception of the

• Grounded theory research is designed to

• From an inductive analysis of the data, the

• The success of historical research depends on the accuracy and

• The researcher must establish the authenticity of the documents

• Content analysis focuses on analysing and

• Target population - is a group of individuals who meets the

• Sample – Subset of the population that is selected for

• Process of choosing a representative portion

• In reality there is simply not enough; time, energy, money,

• Larger sample sizes are more accurate representations

• Most approaches assume that the parent population has a

• Two basic sampling techniques used research:

• Involves the selection of elements from a

• Choosing a research topic or a phenomenon to

• From research reports.

• Although the title conventionally appears first thing in a

• Choosing a research topic or a phenomenon to

• From research reports.

• Although the title conventionally appears first thing in a

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