UNIT 1

THE NATURE OF RESEARCH

TOPIC
UNDERSTANDING RESEARCH
ACTIVITY

• Watch the following video

“The Research Process”.

• https://youtu.be/V8ndAyxk
xtA

▪ Share your thoughts.

The Research Process
McGraw-Hill, 2006
 Choose topic

Inform others
Focus research
question

Interpret data
Design study

Analyze data Collect data

Neuman, 2000
The Research Process
• While research is often depicted as linear, moving through each of the stages one
after the other, this is unlikely to be the case as in reality some stages will overlap
and often revisited several times during the process. For instance, you are likely to
revisit your research question(s) and objectives and working through them more
than once.
• Blankenship (2010) characterises the research process as one that focuses on
testing hunches or ideas in whatever setting through a systematic process. In this
process, the study is documented in such a way that another individual can
conduct the same study again. This is referred to as replicating the study. The
process also includes reflection.
The Research Process
Eight steps have been identified by Blankenship (2010) to the research
process. They are:
• Step 1: Identify the Problem
• Step 2: Review of Literature
• Step 3: Clarify the Problem
• Step4: Clearly define terms and concepts
• Step 5: Define the population
• Step 6: Develop the instrumentation Plan
• Step 7: Collect data
• Step 8: Analyze the data
The Research Process
• Whatever approach is followed, the steps are linked or interdependent.
• There are two models of what the research process is about, how one
conducts research.
• The deductive research process – here the researcher moves from a
known or assumed position to the particulars of the data supported by
a theory. That means, the investigation is grounded by theory. The
deductive approach typically relies on quantitative methods.
• The inductive research process – in this approach the researcher
moves from the specifics of the data to the more general explanation
of theory. This approach typically relies on qualitative methods.
 Select a topic - general area of study or issue

Specify the research question/hypothesis

Design study – decisions about details of the research such as how

many participants, how to select them, how to gather the data

The Steps
Collect data – ask the questions and record the answers

Analyze data – see what patterns emerge

Interpret the data

Inform others – prepare report that describes the study, findings

and conclusions
Problem Identification and Definition
• Sometimes topic and problem used interchangeably
• But a topic is not a problem
• For example: “Poor reading” is not a problem but a topic
• A topic is only a starting point – it is usually very broad
and must be narrowed down into a specific problem
or question
• For example: “Computers in education” is too broad and
cannot be studied
Sources of Research Topics
• Research topics originate in many ways:
• An observation
• Personal experience
• A policy issue
• A news report
• The state of knowledge in the field
• Needing to solve a problem
• A hunch about something
Problem Definition/Statement of the
Problem
• Problem must be clearly defined - clear statement of the problem is important to
guide the enquiry.
• A problem statement is the description of an issue or situation currently existing
which needs to be addressed.
• Consider size, location, distribution and severity - who is affected, where, since
when and what are the consequences.
• A good problem statement is just one sentence (with several sentences of
elaboration).
• The PS should have at least 2 components: the population of concern and the
variables.
The Research Questions
• The research question is the beginning of the research process
• RQs can be descriptive (describes characteristics), relational (looks
at the relationship between two variables), or causal (determines
whether one or more variables cause or affect other variables).

Descriptive RQs
• How do teachers in the primary school system rate the summer
training workshops?
• What do high school principals consider to be their most pressing
administrative problem?
The Research Question
• Correlational RQs
• Is there a relationship between students’ PEP scores and
their performance in Grade 7 (first year of high school)?

• Causal RQs
• What effect does preschool attendance have on social
maturity at the end of grade 1?
Formulating Research Questions
• Must be interrogative – i.e. in question format
• Must be able to be answered by collecting data
• Avoid questions that begin with “do” or “should” that can be
answered with “yes” or “no”
• Identify the variables of interest
• Independent variables (IV)
• Dependent variables (DV)
• Identify the IV and DV in the following RQ:
• How does the absentee rate of primary school children affect their academic
performance?
ACTIVITY
• Watch the following video
“Variables - Independent
and Dependent”.

• https://youtu.be/fq4Ak4g3F
jU

▪ Share your thoughts.

 • Great research starts with great questions!
• FINER Criteria
• Feasible
• Interesting
Quality • Novel
Research • Ethical

Questions • Relevant

(Farrugia, Petrisor, Farrokhyar, & Bhandari,

2010)
Research Hypotheses
• Hypotheses are tentative answers to research questions.
• A hypothesis states that there is a relationship between two
concepts and suggests the direction of that relationship. For
example:
• Secondary school academic performance is related to academic
performance at the college level
• Active participation in extracurricular activities leads to better
academic performance
• Hypotheses can specify certain conditions under which the
relationship will hold.
Research Hypotheses
• Are declarative – not in question format and
usually written in the future tense.
• Are mostly used in quantitative research.
• There can be several hypotheses for each
research question but only one issue per
hypothesis.
Research Objectives
• Summarize what the study should achieve.
• Objectives transform research questions into behavioral aims by
using action-oriented words such as 'to find out', 'to determine', 'to
ascertain' and 'to examine‘, ‘to measure’, ‘to explore’.
• They address various aspects of the research problem as expressed
in the problem statement.
• Are breakdowns of the overall purpose of the study – should specify
what you will do in the study, where and for what purpose.
• So, they are closely related to the statement of the problem and the
purpose of the research
Research Planning
Planning your research requires consideration of the following:
• The conceptual approach - the philosophical underpinnings of research
• Research design - how data collection is organized
• Data collection techniques - how data are collected
• Sampling - from whom data are collected
• Types of information outputs required - who needs the information and for what
purposes
• Research resources - time, funds, facilities, staff, and access
• Ethical considerations. For example: Does the plan involve any risks to the safety
of the researcher and/or research subjects?
Conceptual Approach
• Philosophical underpinnings - research paradigm.
• A research paradigm is a framework that guides how research should
be conducted, based on people’s philosophies and assumptions
about the world and the nature of knowledge.
• Is reality objective or subjective?
• How does one acquire knowledge?
• These worldviews help to determine whether a quantitative,
qualitative or mixed method design is used.
 Research Design
• Lays out the details of the research: what will be studied, how, when and
where it will take place, how it will be executed and how the data will be
analyzed:
• Unit of analysis – who or what are data being collected from or about?
• What data do I need to collect to answer this question?
• What is the best way to collect this data?
• What overall research design should I use? For example, a cross-
sectional, experimental or longitudinal design?
• Will I need to collect primary or secondary data?
Research Design
• What methods, for example interviews, questionnaire
surveys and so on, will be best to collect the primary data?
• Who should participate in the research?
• How will I gain access to them?
• What are the exact procedures that I should adopt in my
data collection to ensure reliability and validity?
• Are there any ethical issues associated with the research?
Data Collection

• Data collection is an important aspect of any type of

research study.
• Inaccurate data collection can impact the results of a study
and ultimately lead to invalid results
• You have to consider:
•which methodology (general research strategy 0 methods
approaches and procedures) to choose, and
• which methods (tools) to utilise .
 Action
Research
The action research
process is expressed
in a slightly
different manner
from how the
traditional research
process is
presented.
Action Research
Traditional vs. Action Research
• Reflect on the diagrams of the traditional
research and action research.
• What is the most glaring difference between
them?
Traditional vs. Action • Read the
Research document
entitled
“Traditional
Educational vs
Action Research
in Education”.
Make note of the
differences in
your personal
course notes.
Research Activity: Types of Research
• Do an internet search for an action research report
in your area of specialization. What was the
problem that the research sought to address? Did
the research use a quantitative, qualitative or
mixed method approach?
• Share your findings on the discussion board.
• Overall- Which approach to research do you think is
better – quantitative or qualitative?
• Use the links in the resource folder as references.
 Complete the Lesson Review Activity on Moodle.
https://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=practice-
research-quiz-ch-1-3a
 REFERENCES
Blackenship, D. (2010). Steps of the research process. Human Kinetics.
https://us.humankinetics.com/blogs/excerpt/steps-of-the- research-process

Hampshire College. (n.d.). What is research? https://www.hampshire.edu/dof/what-is-research

Science in Motion. (2020, July 18). The research process [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/V8ndAyxkxtA

Siegle, D. (2019, June 18). Types of research. University of Connecticut.

https://researchbasics.education.uconn.edu/category/uncategorized/