Practical_Research_1_final_reference book guide

Philippine Copyright 2016 by Rex Book Store, Inc. and Esther L. Baraceros RBS Practical Research 1 First Edition ISBN 978-971-23-8077-8 Classification: Worktext (89-AA-00005-0A) Published, copyrighted 2016, and distributed by Rex Book Store, Inc. (RBSI) with main office at 856 Nicanor Reyes Sr. St., Sampaloc, Manila / Tel. Nos.: 735-1364, 736-0567 RBSI Branches: LUZON •MORAYTA: 856 N. Reyes Sr. St., Sampaloc, Manila / Tel. Nos.: 736-0169, 733-6746; Telefax: 736-4191 •RECTO: 2161-65 Freedom Building, C.M. Recto Avenue, Sampaloc, Manila / Tel. Nos.: 522-4521, 522-4305, 522-4107, 733-8637 •RECTO (La Consolacion): Mendiola, Manila • MAKATI: Unit UG-2, Star Centrum Bldg., Sen. Gil Puyat Ave., Makati City / Tel. No.: 818-5363; Telefax: 893-3744 •ROCKWELL: 1st Floor, Ateneo Professional School, Rockwell Center, Bel-Air, Makati City / Tel. No.: 729-2015 •CUBAO: Unit 10 UGF, Doña Consolacion Bldg., Gen. Santos Ave., Araneta Center, Cubao, Quezon City /Telefax: 911-1070 •ORTIGAS: G/F East Tower, Philippine Stock Exchange Center, Exchange Road, Ortigas Center, Pasig City / Tel. No.: (02) 650-4347 •CAVITE: Block 4, Lot 20 Don Gregorio Heights 2, Zone 1-A Aguinaldo Highway, Dasmariñas, Cavite / Telefax: (046) 416-1824 •CAVITE (Tanza): (Display Area) Block 5, Lot 6, City View 4 and 5, Brgy. Tanauan, Tanza, Cavite •NAGA: 1-1A Geronimo Bldg., Barlin St., Sta. Cruz, Naga City, Camarines Sur/Telefax: (054) 811-6878 •LEGAZPI: Unit 6, 3rd Floor, A. Bichara Silverscreen, Legazpi City, Albay / Telefax: (052) 480-2244 •CALAPAN: Brgy. Salong, National Highway, Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro / Telefax: (043) 288-1650 •BATANES: L. Lopez St., Kayvalugan, Basco, Batanes •TUGUEGARAO: 10 Arellano Ext., Brgy. Ugac Sur, Tuguegarao, Cagayan / Telefax: (078) 844-8072 •CABANATUAN: Fontelera Building, 1271 Del Pilar Ext., Sangitan East, Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija / Tel. No.: (044) 464-2151; Telefax: (044) 600-5684 •URDANETA: Zone 6, Pinmaludpod, Urdaneta City, Pangasinan / Telefax: (075) 568-3975 •ANGELES: Unit H, JMS Bldg., MacArthur Highway, Brgy. Salapungan, Angeles City, Pampanga/Telefax: (045) 887-5371 • BAGUIO: Rex Hall Student Residences, Upper Gen. Luna cor. A. Bonifacio St., Baguio City, Benguet / Tel. No.: (074) 422-0574 VISAYAS •TACLOBAN: Brgy. 74 Marasbaras, Tacloban City, Leyte / Tel. No.: (053) 323-8976; Telefax: (053) 523-1784 •ILOILO: 75 Lopez Jaena St., Brgy. San Isidro, Jaro, Iloilo City, Iloilo / Tel. No.: (033) 329-0332; Telefax: (033) 329-0336 •BACOLOD: 28 Brgy. 36, Purok Immaculada, Quezon Ave., Bacolod City, Negros Occidental •CEBU: 11 Sanciangko St., Cebu City / Tel. Nos.: (032) 416-9684, 254-6773, 505-4313; Telefax: (032) 254-6466 MINDANAO •CAGAYAN DE ORO: J. Seriña St. cor. Vamenta Blvd., Carmen, Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental / Telefax: (088) 858-6775, 309-5881 •DAVAO: 156 C.M. Recto St., Davao City, Davao / Tel. Nos.: (082) 300-5422, 305-5772; Telefax: (082) 221-0272 •GENERAL SANTOS: Aparente St., Dadiangas Heights, General Santos City, South Cotabato / Telefax: (083) 554-7102 • ZAMBOANGA: San Francisco Loop, Mayor Agan Ave., Camino Nuevo B, Zamboanga City / Tel. No.: (062) 955–0887 No portion of this book may be copied or reproduced in books, pamphlets, outlines, or notes—whether printed, mimeographed, typewritten, photocopied, or in any form—for distribution or sale, without the written permission of the Publisher and Author/s. The infringer shall be prosecuted in compliance with copyright, trademark, patent, and other pertinent laws. INTERNET LINK DISCLAIMER REX PUBLISHING is not responsible for the accuracy, legality or content of the external sites and for that of subsequent links. These links are being provided as a convenience and for informational purposes only. Although verified at the date of publication, the publisher cannot guarantee that these links will work all of the time nor does it have control over the availability of linked pages. Moreover, the publisher does not warrant sites or the servers that make them available are free of viruses or other harmful components. REX PUBLISHING does not warrant or make any representations regarding the use or the results of the use of the materials in these sites or in third-party sites in terms of their correctness, accuracy, timeliness, reliability or otherwise. RBSI’s Book Association Memberships: Philippine Booksellers Association, Inc. (PBAI); Book Development Association of the Philippines (BDAP); Philippine Educational Publishers Association (PEPA); Book Exporters Association of the Philippines (BEAP); Academic Booksellers Association of the Philippines (ABAP); Children’s Literature Association of the Philippines, Inc. (CLAPI); Asian Publishers Resources Center (APRC) PEPA’s International Book Association Memberships: International Publishers Association (IPA); Asia Pacific Publishers Association (APPA); ASEAN Book Publishers Association (ABPA); Philippine Book Publishing Development Federation (Philbook) Printed by rex printing company, inc. 84-86 P. Florentino St., Sta. Mesa Heights, Quezon City / Tel. No.: 857-7777 iii UNIT I Nature of Inquiry and Research Lesson 1 Nature of Inquiry 1 Meaning of Inquiry Governing Principles or Foundation of Inquiry Benefits of Inquiry-Based Learning Lesson 2 Nature of Research 8 Meaning of Research Characteristics of Research Purposes of Research Types of Research Approaches to Research UNIT II Qualitative Research and Its Importance in Daily Life Lesson 3 Qualitative Research 19 Definition of Qualitative Research Characteristics of Qualitative Research Types of Qualitative Research Advantages or Strengths of Qualitative Research Disadvantages or Weaknesses of Qualitative Research Lesson 4 Qualitative Research in Different Areas of Knowledge 28 Subject Area Research Approaches Hard Sciences vs. Soft Sciences UNIT III Identifying the Inquiry and Stating the Problem Lesson 5 Subject Matter of the Inquiry or Research 35 Guidelines in Choosing a Research Topic Research Topics to be Avoided Sources of Research Topics Lesson 6 Research Problem and Research Question 45 Meaning of Research Problem Background of the Problem Research Questions Guidelines in Formulating Research Questions Contents Preface vii Acknowledgments ix iv UNIT IV Learning from Others and Reviewing the Literature Lesson 7 Review of Related Literature (RRL) 55 Meaning of Review of Related Literature Purposes of Review of Related Literature Styles or Approaches of RRL or Review of Related Literature 1. Traditional Review of Literature 2. Systematic Review of Literature Structure of the RRL Lesson 8 The Process of Review of Related Literature 65 Stage 1: Search for the Literature Stage 2: Reading the Source Material Stage 3: Writing the Review Lesson 9 Standard Styles in Review of Related Literature, Citation, or References 73 Purposes of Citation Styles of Citation Patterns of Citation Plagiarism UNIT V Understanding Data and Ways to Systematically Collect Data Lesson 10 Qualitative Research Designs 81 Definition Types 1. Case Study 2. Ethnography 3. Historical Study 4. Phenomenology 5. Grounded Theory Lesson 11 Sampling 92 Definition History Probability Sampling or Unbiased Sampling Types of Probability Sampling Non-Probability Sampling Types of Non-Probability Sampling UNIT VI Finding Answers through Data Collection Lesson 12 Observation 101 Definition Types Methods of Observation Methods of Indirect Observation Advantages Disadvantages v Lesson 13 Interview 110 Definition Types Approaches Steps in Conducting an Interview Questionnaire UNIT VII Analyzing the Meaning of the Data and Drawing Conclusions Lesson 14 Data Analysis 119 Nature Data Matrix Qualitative Data Analysis Lesson 15 Drawing of Conclusions 127 Meaning of Conclusion Drawing Conclusions Pointers in Writing Conclusions UNIT VIII Reporting and Sharing the Findings Lesson 16 Reporting and Sharing the Findings 135 Meaning of Reporting and Sharing the Findings Structure or Format of the Research Report Referencing Your Research MLA Style Examples of MLA Referencing Style APA Style Examples of APA Referencing Style References 155 Index 159 vii Preface Wishing to know more about the world—its people, things, places, and more—is one aspect of your life that you want to realize through and through. You strive to know more about a lot of things because you are aware that knowledge is power. If you are knowledgeable, you are capable of doing great things for yourself, your loved ones, and the whole world. Imagine having knowledge in all areas of discipline from A to Z: Architecture, Biology, Commerce, Education, Geology, Law, Medicine, and so on. You will have enough knowledge to be successful in many aspects of your life. Apart from this, you will also be influential, powerful, rich, and capable of uplifting the living conditions of the people around you. How can you be this type of person, you ask? The answer is research! Research on things you want to know. To do this, you have to investigate, inquire, and ask things that you are curious about or find troublesome in your life. When you wonder or question certain ideas, you will feel the urge to discover ways and means to derive answers to them. And what do you think is the method to make you more knowledgeable about these things? Qualitative research is a type of research that will satisfy your curiosity. In your day-to-day life, you get to immerse yourself in different activities such as meeting people, doing business, appreciating things, visiting places, etc. All these activities will make you experience the positive and negative sides of life. Problems may connote the ugly side of life, but these are part and parcel of human life that you have to deal with. In order to succeed solving your problems, you must first discover how to overcome them, and at the same time, know how to become a better thinker as you go through the process of solving them. This is what this reading material, Practical Research 1, is about. As a reading material on research, particularly on qualitative research, this book aims not only to help you acquire declarative knowledge or ideas from varied sources of information, but also procedural knowledge or methods and techniques to hone your higher-order thinking strategies viii (HOTS), such as interpreting, criticizing, synthesizing, and creating, as you go through the stages of research in finding answers to your research questions or life problems. Each lesson in this book will increase your knowledge about research, in general, and qualitative research, in particular. It will require you to learn and do things using a discovery technique. Utilizing this learning technique, aided by your schemata or background knowledge about the topic, you will learn the concepts behind the subject matter and master them through individual and collaborative activities, requiring you to explain, elaborate, and transform the learned concepts and competencies of things that will be instrumental in achieving a more qualitative life or bringing positive changes in society. Hence, this book serves as your way of expanding your world perceptions, much more, of making yourself more intelligent as you strive to wrestle with confusing things in your life. E. L. B. ix Acknowledgments The author would like to thank all the writers and other sources of knowledge and information, where the research ideas and examples in this book came from. Special thanks go to the experts who evaluated this book to make this a worthy reading material on research, specifically on qualitative research. Likewise, I am grateful to the librarians of the University of Santo Tomas and other schools for assistance in the author’s search for varied sources of knowledge and information to complete this reading material. 1 Introduction Inquiry and Research are two terms that are almost the same in meaning. Both involve investigative work in which you seek information about something by searching or examining the object of your search. Inquiry is to look for information by asking various questions about the thing you are curious about while research is to discover truths by investigating on your chosen topic scientifically; meaning, by going through a systematic way of doing things wherein you are to begin from the simplest to the most complex modes or patterns of thinking. LESSON 1 Nature of Inquiry Intended Learning Outcomes After this lesson, you should be able to: 1. use some new terms you have learned in expressing their worldviews freely; 2. explain your understanding of the term “inquiry”; 3. outline all the ideas you have learned about inquiry; 4. infer about societal issues through speculative thinking; 5. enumerate the benefits of inquiry-based learning; 6. identify a question as simple or complex based on the kind of thinking it elicits from you; and 7. compose an essay to prove the extent of your understanding of inquiry. Connecting Concepts Linking Old and New Knowledge Activity 1: Making Words Meaningful Directions: INDIVIDUAL WORK. Complete the bubble graph or concept map by writing words associated with the middle word. Be guided by the clues in the sentences below each graph. Nature of Inquiry and Research Unit I 2 • PRACTICAL RESEARCH 1 INQUIRE The detectives need more time to inquire about the case. CRUCIAL The witness’ statement is crucial to the solution of the case. GUARANTEE The continuous presence of your name on the Dean’s List guarantees a good future for you. UNIT I – NATURE OF INQUIRY AND RESEARCH • 3 Activity 2: Using Newly Learned Words Directions: Use the new words in sentences and write them below. Stirring Up Imagination What comes to your mind upon reading the selection’s title, Inquiry-based Learning? Make inferences about this selection. Discovering More Concepts Read the following selection to see how correct your guesses are about the inquiry. INQUIRY-BASED LEARNING Meaning of Inquiry Learning is your way of obtaining knowledge about your surroundings. This takes place in many ways, and one of these is inquiry, which many people in the field of education consider effective. Inquiry is a learning process that motivates you to obtain knowledge or information about people, things, places, or events. You do this by investigating or asking questions about something you are inquisitive about. It requires you to collect data, meaning, facts, and information about the object of your inquiry, and examine such data carefully. In your analysis, you execute varied thinking strategies that range from lower-order to higher-order thinking skills such as inferential, critical, integrative, and creative thinking. These are top-level thinking strategies that you ought to perform in discovering and understanding the object of your inquiry. Engaging yourself in many ways of thinking, you come to conclude that inquiry is an active learning process. Putting you in a situation where you need to probe, investigate, or ask questions to find answers or solutions to what you are worried or doubtful about, inquiry is a problem-solving technique. Solving a problem by being inquisitive, you tend to act like scientists who are inclined to think logically or systematically in seeking evidence to support their conclusions about something. Beginning with whatever experience or background knowledge you have, you proceed like scientists with your inquiry by imagining, speculating, interpreting, criticizing, and creating something out of what you discovered. 4 • PRACTICAL RESEARCH 1 Inquiry elevates your thinking power. It makes you think in different ways, enabling you to arrive at a particular idea or understanding that will motivate you to create something unique, new, or innovative for your personal growth as well as for the world. Inquisitive thinking allows you to shift from one level of thought to another. It does not go in a linear fashion; rather, it operates in an interactive manner. Solving a problem, especially social issues, does not only involve yourself but other members of the society too. Hence, inquiry, as a problem-solving technique, includes cooperative learning because any knowledge from members of the society can help to make the solution. Whatever knowledge you have about your world bears the influence of your cultural, sociological, institutional, or ideological understanding of the world. (Badke 2012) Governing Principles or Foundation of Inquiry Inquiry-based Learning gets its support from these three educational theories serving as its foundation: John Dewey’s theory of connected experiences for exploratory and reflective thinking; Lev Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) that stresses the essence of provocation and scaffolding in learning; and Jerome Bruner’s theory on learners’ varied world perceptions for their own interpretative thinking of people and things around them. Backed up by all these theories, inquiry, as a way of learning, concerns itself with these elements: changing knowledge, creativity, subjectivity, socio-cultural factors, sensory experience, and higher-order thinking strategies. All of these are achievable through the inquiry methods of fieldwork, case studies, investigations, individual group project, and research work. (Small 2012) Benefits of Inquiry-Based Learning In conclusion, you can say that Inquiry-based Learning gives you the following advantages: 1. Elevates interpretative thinking through graphic skills 2. Improves student learning abilities 3. Widens learners’ vocabulary 4. Facilitates problem-solving acts 5. Increases social awareness and cultural knowledge 6. Encourages cooperative learning 7. Provides mastery of procedural knowledge 8. Encourages higher-order thinking strategies 9. Hastens conceptual understanding Educators, businessmen, and other professionals consider all these benefits of Inquiry-based Learning in various fields of knowledge to be crucial to the success of anyone in the 21st Century. Therefore, knowing the ins and outs of Inquiry-based Learning will greatly guide you in deciding which learning method will guarantee successful learning in the present world, which is tagged by many as the Era of Globalization, Age of Knowledge Explosion, Age of Consumerism, Digital Age, Age of Instant World, etc. UNIT I – NATURE OF INQUIRY AND RESEARCH • 5 Explaining Learned Concepts Activity 1 Directions: WHOLE-CLASS ACTIVITY. Explain your understanding of inquiry by answering the following questions intelligently. (Depending on the teacher, the students may do this in a socialized recitation or in a small group-writing work.) 1. Compare and contrast the three foundation theories behind Inquiry-based Learning. ������������������������������������������������������������������ ������������������������������������������������������������������ 2. Describe one who thinks in a linear fashion. ������������������������������������������������������������������ ������������������������������������������������������������������ 3. How do you learn something through inquiry? ������������������������������������������������������������������ ������������������������������������������������������������������ 4. Why is inquiry a scientific way of thinking? __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ 5. In your opinion, is this an effective learning method? Why or why not? __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ 6. What kind of thinking is involved in this learning method? __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ 7. Do you agree that inquiring on something means you are researching about it? Explain your point. __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ 8. Was there an instance in your life when you, too, did a sort of an inquiry or research? Describe your experience. __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ 9. Do you know someone in your school or community who often does this kind of learning? Describe how he or she did it. __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ 6 • PRACTICAL RESEARCH 1 10. Characterize the person you are referring to in number 9. __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ Activity 2 Directions: PAIR WORK. Some of the following questions will require more complex thinking while some demand simple or less thinking. Put a check (ü) on the questions that require more complex thinking and put an X to those that trigger simple and less thinking. ������� 1. What’s the color of your gown? ������� 2. Who bought your gown? ������� 3. Why are some graduating students not willing to wear gowns? ������� 4. Which memo are you talking about? ������� 5. Do you agree that Mr. Cruz was the one who wrote the memo? ������� 6. Which article seems intriguing to the graduates? ������� 7. What is inside the pocket of the green gown? ������� 8. Who owns the gown? ������� 9. How can the gown make you look more attractive? ������� 10. Should you wear a gown during the graduation ball? Elaborating Learned Concepts Activity 1 Directions: INDIVIDUAL WORK. On a one whole sheet of paper, present your understanding of inquiry through a topical outline that uses either the traditional system (using Roman numerals, letters, and numbers) or the modern numbering system (using Arabic numbers). Activity 2 Directions: GROUP WORK. Form a group of four members. Choose any of the following group activities. 1. Speculations: Recall the hottest issue in town. Prove how inquisitive you are by raising top-level probing questions about it. 2. Role-Playing: Two will act as police authorities investigating a criminal case while the other two will play the role of suspected law violators. Ask probing questions. UNIT I – NATURE OF INQUIRY AND RESEARCH • 7 Assessing the Extent of Concept Learning Using numbers 1 to 5, rank the following based on how much you understood each given topic. _______ Elements of Inquiry _______ Process of Inquiry _______ Definition of Inquiry _______ Underlying Theories of Inquiry _______ Scientific Thinking Transforming Learned Competencies Activity 1: Municipal Hall Visit Find time to visit your municipal hall and inquire about the holding of inquisitions in your area. Ask how you can witness such investigative activity. Make a brief report explaining or describing facts and information you have gathered about it and their connection with what you have learned about Inquiry. Activity 2: Email Create an essay about inquiry-based learning and email this to some of your teachers, classmates, or friends. Request them to send also their comments or reactions about your email on inquiry. 8 LESSON 2 Nature of Research Intended Learning Outcomes After this lesson, you should be able to: 1. widen your vocabulary through contextual clues; 2. examine things appealing to senses to hone your investigative thinking; 3. discuss the characteristics of research; 4. classify research based on a set of criteria; 5. differentiate the various types of research; and 6. describe completed or published research studies based on concepts learned about research. Connecting Concepts Linking Old and New Knowledge Activity 1: Making Words Meaningful Directions: INDIVIDUAL WORK. Relying on your stock knowledge, write on the lines provided the meaning of the following words used in the selection that you will read later. Be guided by some clues in the given sentences. 1. Absolute__________________________________________________________ Man has no absolute power over something; God has. 2. Abstract__________________________________________________________ A stone is concrete; intelligence is abstract. 3. Portrayal__________________________________________________________ Give a clearer portrayal of what is in your mind by drawing it on that paper. 4. Adopt____________________________________________________________ Adopt a lawful procedure in adopting those orphans. 5. Hallmark_________________________________________________________ One hallmark you ought to treasure is your golden trophy. 6. Perspective________________________________________________________ Change your sitting position to have a better perspective about the whole thing. UNIT I – NATURE OF INQUIRY AND RESEARCH • 9 7. Hone_____________________________________________________________ Hone your reading skills by spending more time in reading books. 8. Superb___________________________________________________________ For the actor’s superb performance, he won an award. 9. Ins and outs_______________________________________________________ First, know the ins and outs of marriage before deciding to tie the knot with him. 10. Trigger___________________________________________________________ Say a line on love to trigger off a conversation between those two people. Activity 2: Using the Newly Learned Words Directions: PAIR WORK. Have a conversation with your seatmate about one topic familiar to both of you. Use the newly learned words in your conversation. Stirring Up Imagination Directions: Picture Analysis. Examine these different scenic places. Which of these places interest you the most? Why? Would you like to know more about them? How do you think will you be more knowledgeable about your favorite or most loved places? Discovering More Concepts Will the following text tell you a certain method or technique to learn more about the place you find interesting? Read it to find out. 10 • PRACTICAL RESEARCH 1 DOING A RESEARCH IN COLLEGE Meaning of Research In college, you involve yourself in varied school activities such as academic contests, sports fests, elocution contest, music festivals, college week celebrations, art exhibits, research work, debate competitions, and many more. All of these activities are aimed to let you develop a well-rounded personality. But one or two of them gave emphasis in honing a particular ability (e.g., making you excel in mathematics, science, arts, music, and many more). One school activity that every college student has to excel in is research. This is a hallmark of a university or college education. Your research abilities reflect the quality of your school. If you graduate from a school with superb knowledge of research work, you can tell yourself that, “I am a product of a quality college or university.” Hence, the greatness of a higher education institution depends on how knowledgeable its faculty and students are about the ins and outs of research; more so, on the application of this to their everyday life for the progress of the whole world. What is research? A number of books on research define this term in many ways, but such varied definitions boil down to the primary meaning of this word, which is: Research is a process of executing various mental acts for discovering and examining facts and information to prove the accuracy or truthfulness of your claims or conclusions about the topic of your research. Research requires you to inquire or investigate about your chosen research topic by asking questions that will make you engage yourself in top-level thinking strategies of interpreting, analyzing, synthesizing, criticizing, appreciating, or creating to enable you to discover truths about the many things you tend to wonder about the topic of your research work. (Litchman 2013) Research is analogous to inquiry, in that, both involve investigation of something through questioning. However, the meaning of research is more complicated than inquiry because it does not center mainly on raising questions about the topic, but also on carrying out a particular order of research stages. Each stage of the research process is not an individual task because the knowledge you obtain through each stage comes not only from yourself but other people as well. Thus, similar to inquiry, research involves cooperative learning. Central to research is your way of discovering new knowledge, applying knowledge in various ways as well as seeing relationships of ideas, events, and situations. Research then puts you in a context where a problem exists. You have to collect facts or information, study such data, and come up with a solution to the problem based on the results of your analysis. It is a process requiring you to work logically or systematically and collaboratively with others. To sum up your concepts about the nature of research, the following will give you the characteristics, purposes, classification, types of, and approaches to research. (Badke 2012; Silverman 2013; De Mey 2013) UNIT I – NATURE OF INQUIRY AND RESEARCH • 11 Characteristics of Research 1. Accuracy. It must give correct or accurate data, which the footnotes, notes, and bibliographical entries should honestly and appropriately documented or acknowledged. 2. Objectiveness. It must deal with facts, not with mere opinions arising from assumptions, generalizations, predictions, or conclusions. 3. Timeliness. It must work on a topic that is fresh, new, and interesting to the present society. 4. Relevance. Its topic must be instrumental in improving society or in solving problems affecting the lives of people in a community. 5. Clarity. It must succeed in expressing its central point or discoveries by using simple, direct, concise, and correct language. 6. Systematic. It must take place in an organized or orderly manner. Purposes of Research 1. To learn how to work independently 2. To learn how to work scientifically or systematically 3. To have an in-depth knowledge of something 4. To elevate your mental abilities by letting you think in higher-order thinking strategies (HOTS) of inferring, evaluating, synthesizing, appreciating, applying, and creating 5. To improve your reading and writing skills 6. To be familiar with the basic tools of research and the various techniques of gathering data and of presenting research findings 7. To free yourself, to a certain extent, from the domination or strong influence of a single textbook or of the professor’s lone viewpoint or spoon feeding Types of Research 1. Based on Application of Research Method Is the research applied to theoretical or practical issues? If it deals with concepts, principles, or abstract things, it is a pure research. This type of research aims to increase your knowledge about something. However, if your intention is to apply your chosen research to societal problems or issues, finding ways to make positive changes in society, you call your research, applied research. 2. Based on Purpose of the Research Depending on your objective or goal in conducting research, you do any of these types of research: descriptive, correlational, explanatory, exploratory, or action. 12 • PRACTICAL RESEARCH 1 Descriptive Research – This type of research aims at defining or giving a verbal portrayal or picture of a person, thing, event, group, situation, etc. This is liable to repeated research because its topic relates itself only to a certain period or a limited number of years. Based on the results of your descriptive studies about a subject, you develop the inclination of conducting further studies on such topic. Correlational Research – A correlational research shows relationships or connectedness of two factors, circumstances, or agents called variables that affect the research. It is only concerned in indicating the existence of a relationship, not the causes and ways of the development of such relationship. Explanatory Research – This type of research elaborates or explains not just the reasons behind the relationship of two factors, but also the ways by which such relationship exists. Exploratory Research – An exploratory research’s purpose is to find out how reasonable or possible it is to conduct a research study on a certain topic. Here, you will discover ideas on topics that could trigger your interest in conducting research studies. Action Research – This type of research studies an ongoing practice of a school, organization, community, or institution for the purpose of obtaining results that will bring improvements in the system. 3. Based on Types of Data Needed The kind of data you want to work on reflects whether you wish to do a quantitative or a qualitative research. Qualitative research requires non-numerical data, which means that the research uses words rather than numbers to express the results, the inquiry, or investigation about people’s thoughts, beliefs, feelings, views, and lifestyles regarding the object of the study. These opinionated answers from people are not measurable; so, verbal language is the right way to express your findings in a qualitative research. Meanwhile, quantitative research involves measurement of data. Thus, it presents research findings referring to the number or frequency of something in numerical forms (i.e., using percentages, fractions, numbers). The data you deal with in research are either primary or secondary data. Primary data are obtained through direct observation or contact with people, objects, artifacts, paintings, etc. Primary data are new and original information resulting from your sensory experience. However, if such data have already been written about or reported on and are available for reading purposes, they exist as secondary data. UNIT I – NATURE OF INQUIRY AND RESEARCH • 13 Approaches to Research After choosing your topic for research, what is your next move? In other words, how are you going to approach or begin your research, deal with your data, and establish a connection among all things or activities involved in your research? There are three approaches that you can choose from. The first is the scientific or positive approach, in which you discover and measure information as well as observe and control variables in an impersonal manner. It allows control of variables. Therefore, the data gathering techniques appropriate for this approach are structured interviews, questionnaires, and observational checklists. Data given by these techniques are expressed through numbers, which means that this method is suitable for quantitative research. The second approach is the naturalistic approach. In contrast to the scientific approach that uses numbers to express data, the naturalistic approach uses words. This research approach directs you to deal with qualitative data that speak of how people behave toward their surroundings. These are non-numerical data that express truths about the way people perceive or understand the world. Since people look at their world in a subjective or personal basis in an uncontrolled or unstructured manner, a naturalistic approach happens in a natural setting. Is it possible to plan your research activities based on these two approaches? Combining these two approaches in designing your research leads you to the third one, called triangulation approach. In this case, you are free to gather and analyze data using multiple methods, allowing you to combine or mix up research approaches, research types, data gathering, and data analysis techniques. Triangulation approach gives you the opportunity to view every angle of the research from different perspectives. (Badke 2012; Silverman 2013) Explaining Learned Concepts Activity 1 Directions: INDIVIDUAL WORK. Express your judgment or decision about each line by checking the box representing your choice. On the lines provided, write your reasons to justify your agreement or disagreement on the given statement. 1. Your zero or poor knowledge of research means you are not in a quality school. Agree Disagree __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ 14 • PRACTICAL RESEARCH 1 2. To have a rich understanding of every aspect of your research means to approach it in a naturalistic way. Agree Disagree __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ 3. You can quantify people’s worldviews. Agree Disagree __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ 4. Research is exactly the same as inquiry. Agree Disagree __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ 5. You behave like a scientist in research. Agree Disagree __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ Activity 2 Directions: WHOLE-CLASS ACTIVITY – QUESTION HOUR. Raise your questions about research—its characteristics, types, and importance to your everyday life. Direct your inquiry to any of your classmates, who, in turn, will also ask a question after succeeding in answering the question given to him or her. UNIT I – NATURE OF INQUIRY AND RESEARCH • 15 Elaborating Learned Concepts Activity 1 Directions: PAIR WORK. Do the following activities with a partner: 1. Identify the specific type of research for each given topic by entering the letter of the research type in the correct column. Likewise, below the letter representing your answer, write the importance of such research in your day-to-day life. Action Pure Applied Descriptive Explanatory Correlation a. Theory of Relativity b. University Belt Street Foods c. Landline vs. Cellphone d. Reasons Behind Tuition Fee Increases e. Manila Flash Flood Solutions f. College Assessment Practices g. Critical Thinking and Creative Thinking in Learning-Teaching Situations h. The Why and How of Internet Use i. Effects of Korean Telenovelas on Filipino TV Viewers j. Digital Age k. Teaching Through PowerPoint Presentations l. Archimedes’ Principle of Buoyancy 16 • PRACTICAL RESEARCH 1 2. In the space provided, make a graphical presentation of the classification and types of research. Activity 2 Directions: GROUP WORK. Form a group of three. Think of your own topics for each research type. Keeping in mind what you have learned from this lesson, come to an agreement about the reasons to justify the specific research type for each chosen topic. Activity 3 Directions: WHOLE-CLASS ACTIVITY. Make a group presentation of the results of your discussions in Activity 3. Critique each other’s presentation on the basis of learned concepts about research types. Assessing the Extent of Concept Learning Directions: Grade yourself on how well you have learned each topic below. Rank it from 3.0 (lowest) to 1.0 (highest). Classification of research types _____________ School reputation vs. Research_____________ Scientific thinking _____________ The role of higher-order thinking in research _____________ Approaches to research _____________ Why people do a research _____________ Inquiry in Research _____________ Triangulation _____________ Determining the quality of research _____________ UNIT I – NATURE OF INQUIRY AND RESEARCH • 17 Transforming Learned Competencies Visit your school library. Find out which library section has been keeping research studies done by academic members. Examine five of these research studies. Based on what you have learned about research, make a report on each book containing information or descriptions about these aspects of the study: topic, approach, importance, and type based on different methods of classifying research. Share your discoveries about these research studies with your teacher and classmates by giving them a copy of your report. 19 Unit II Qualitative Research and Its Importance in Daily Life Introduction Around you are different people, things, and places. All these vary from one another as regards character or qualities. Curious about a person or a thing, you are inclined to conduct a qualitative research to discover such individual’s thoughts, feelings, and attitudes about a certain topic, or to find out something beneath the surface of an inanimate thing or the effects of such object or place to some people. To discover facts and information about the object of your interest is to work collaboratively with some people, for the answers to your questions about your topic do not come only from yourself but from others as well. Here lies the importance of qualitative research. It promotes people’s interdependence or interpersonal relationships that the world needs for solving its societal problems. LESSON 3 Qualitative Research Intended Learning Outcomes After this lesson, you should be able to: 1. analyze the use of an unfamiliar term in a sentence to know its meaning; 2. obtain a thorough or in-depth knowledge of qualitative research; 3. clarify your understanding of qualitative research; 4. explain the elements or characteristics of qualitative research; 5. justify the usefulness of qualitative research; 6. compare and contrast the types of qualitative research; and 7. match a given research topic with the right research type. Connecting Concepts Linking Old and New Knowledge Activity 1: Making Words Meaningful Directions: INDIVIDUAL WORK. You will encounter the following words in the reading selection that you will read a few minutes from now. Recall whatever previous knowledge you have about them to know their meanings. Get clues also from how they were used in the sentences. 20 • PRACTICAL RESEARCH 1 1. Premium – Which must you put a premium on, good reputation or material wealth? 2. Emanating – Feelings that are emanating from the orphan reflect his social indifference. 3. Constantly – Pray constantly as if it was an act of breathing and eating. 4. Fixated − Don’t allow yourself to be fixated on such line of thinking. 5. Abound − Cultivate an area abound with earthworms for hamburger production. 6. Vision − He has a vision in life that makes him see himself sitting in a palace. 7. Gear − To whom will he gear such ironical line, to Brutus or Augustus Caesar? 8. Yield − Watering it daily will make that tree yield fruits. 9. Diverse − You may choose one from those diverse Chinese products. 10. Indispensable − In general, rice is indispensable to Filipinos like pizza is to Italians. Activity 2: Using the Newly Learned Words Directions: GROUP WORK. Form a triad. Exchange ideas with one another about the hottest issue in town. Use the newly learned words in your conversation. Stirring Up Imagination BRAINSTORMING SESSION Directions: How knowledgeable are you about your surroundings? How can you know more about people, places, and things in this world? Share with your classmates some ways and techniques you know about becoming knowledgeable about a lot of things in this world such as those within your own world, among your friends, schoolmates, loved ones, and so on. What do you know about qualitative research as a method of understanding your surroundings better? Discovering More Concepts Read this text to find out more about qualitative research. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH Definition of Qualitative Research As a curious student, you want to know so many things about your surroundings as well as the people, places, and things you find interesting, intriguing, mysterious, UNIT II – QUALITATIVE RESEARCH AND ITS IMPORTANCE IN DAILY LIFE • 21 or unique. Try looking at the people around you. Perhaps, you are interested in knowing these people’s ideas, views, feelings, attitudes, or lifestyle. The information these people give you reflect their mental, spiritual, emotional, or social upbringing, which in turn, show how they view the world. Resulting from internal aspects, people cannot measure worldviews but can know them through numbers. Obtaining world knowledge in this manner directs you to do a research called Qualitative Research. This is a research type that puts premium or high value on people’s thinking or point of view conditioned by their personal traits. As such, it usually takes place in soft sciences like social sciences, politics, economics, humanities, education, psychology, nursing, and all business-related subjects. Subjectivity in qualitative research is true, not only for an individual or a group under study, but also for you, the researcher, because of your personal involvement in every stage of your research. For instance, during interviews, you tend to admire or appreciate people’s ideas based on their answers or your observations and analysis of certain objects. By carefully looking at or listening to the subject or object in a natural setting, you become affected by their expressions of what they think and feel about a topic. (Coghan 2014) In a qualitative research, the reality is conditioned by society and people’s intentions are involved in explaining cause-effect relationships. Things are studied in their natural setting, enough for you to conclude that qualitative research is an act of inquiry or investigation of real-life events. Giving you more concepts about a qualitative research are the following paragraphs that comprehensively present the elements or characteristics, types, and advantages of this kind of research (Silverman 2013; Litchman 2013; Walliman 2014; Suter 2012): Characteristics of a Qualitative Research 1. Human understanding and interpretation Data analysis results show an individual’s mental, social, and spiritual understanding of the world. Hence, through their worldviews, you come to know what kind of human being he or she is, including his or her values, beliefs, likes, and dislikes. 2. Active, powerful, and forceful A lot of changes occur continuously in every stage of a qualitative research. As you go through the research process, you find the need to amend or rephrase interview questions and consider varied ways of getting answers, like shifting from mere speculating to traveling to places for data gathering. You are not fixated to a certain plan. Rather, you are inclined to discover your qualitative research design as your study gradually unfolds or reveals itself in accordance with your research objectives. 3. Multiple research approaches and methods Qualitative research allows you to approach or plan your study in varied ways. You are free to combine this with quantitative research and use all gathered data and analysis techniques. Being a multi-method research, a qualitative study applies to all research types: descriptive, exploratory, explanatory, case study, etc. 22 • QUALITATIVE RESEARCH 4. Specificity to generalization Specific ideas in a qualitative research are directed to a general understanding of something. It follows an inductive or scientific method of thinking, where you start thinking of particular or specific concept that will eventually lead you to more complex ideas such as generalizations or conclusions. 5. Contextualization A quantitative research involves all variables, factors, or conditions affecting the study. Your goal here is to understand human behavior. Thus, it is crucial for you to examine the context or situation of an individual’s life—the who, what, why, how, and other circumstances—affecting his or her way of life. 6. Diversified data in real-life situations A qualitative researcher prefers collecting data in a natural setting like observing people as they live and work, analyzing photographs or videos as they genuinely appear to people, and looking at classrooms unchanged or adjusted to people’s intentional observations. 7. Abounds with words and visuals Words, words, and more words come in big quantity in this kind of research. Data gathering through interviews or library reading, as well as the presentation of data analysis results, is done verbally. In some cases, it resorts to quoting some respondents’ answers. Likewise, presenting people’s world views through visual presentation (i.e., pictures, videos, drawings, and graphs) are significantly used in a qualitative research. 8. Internal analysis Here, you examine the data yielded by the internal traits of the subject individuals (i.e., emotional, mental, spiritual characteristics). You study people’s perception or views about your topic, not the effects of their physical existence on your study. In case of objects (e.g., books and artworks) that are subjected to a qualitative research, the investigation centers on underlying theories or principles that govern these materials and their usefulness to people. Types of Qualitative Research 1. Case Study This type of qualitative research usually takes place in the field of social care, nursing, psychology, rehabilitation centers, education, etc. This involves a long-time study of a person, group, organization, or situation. It seeks to find answers to why such thing occurs to the subject. Finding the reason/s behind such occurrence drives you to also delve into relationships of people related to the case under study. Varieties of data collection methods UNIT II – QUALITATIVE RESEARCH AND ITS IMPORTANCE IN DAILY LIFE • 23 such as interviews, questionnaires, observations, and documentary analysis are used in a case study. 2. Ethnography Falling in the field of anthropology, ethnography is the study of a particular cultural group to get a clear understanding of its organizational set-up, internal operation, and lifestyle. A particular group reveals the nature or characteristics of their own culture through the world perceptions of the cultural group’s members. 3. Phenomenology Coming from the word “phenomenon,” which means something known through sensory experience, phenomenology refers to the study of how people find their experiences meaningful. Its primary goal is to make people understand their experiences about death of loved ones, care for handicapped persons, friendliness of people, etc. In doing so, other people will likewise understand the meanings attached to their experiences. Those engaged in assisting people to manage their own lives properly often do this qualitative kind of research. 4. Content and Discourse Analysis Content analysis is a method of quantitative research that requires an analysis or examination of the substance or content of the mode of communication (letters, books, journals, photos, video recordings, SMS, online messages, emails, audio-visual materials, etc.) used by a person, group, organization, or any institution in communicating. A study of language structures used in the medium of communication to discover the effects of sociological, cultural, institutional, and ideological factors on the content makes it a discourse analysis. In studying the content or structures of the material, you need a question or a set of questions to guide you in your analysis. 5. Historical Analysis Central to this qualitative research method is the examination of primary documents to make you understand the connection of past events to the present time. The results of your content analysis will help you specify phenomenological changes in unchanged aspects of society through the years. 6. Grounded Theory Grounded theory takes place when you discover a new theory to underlie your study at the time of data collection and analysis. Through your observation on your subjects, you will happen to find a theory that applies to your current study. Interview, observation, and documentary analysis are the data gathering techniques for this type of qualitative research. 24 • PRACTICAL RESEARCH 1 Advantages or Strengths of Qualitative Research 1. It adopts a naturalistic approach to its subject matter, which means that those involve in the research understand things based on what they find meaningful. 2. It promotes a full understanding of human behavior or personality traits in their natural setting. 3. It is instrumental for positive societal changes. 4. It engenders respect for people’s individuality as it demands the researcher’s careful and attentive stand toward people’s world views. 5. It is a way of understanding and interpreting social interactions. 6. It increases the researcher’s interest in the study as it includes the researcher’s experience or background knowledge in interpreting verbal and visual data. 7. It offers multiple ways of acquiring and examining knowledge about something. Disadvantages or Weaknesses of Qualitative Research 1. It involves a lot of researcher’s subjectivity in data analysis. 2. It is hard to know the validity or reliability of the data. 3. Its open-ended questions yield “data overload” that requires long-time analysis. 4. It is time-consuming. 5. It involves several processes, which results greatly depend on the researcher’s views or interpretations. Explaining Learned Concepts Activity 1 Directions: INDIVIDUAL WORK. Explain the concepts you have learned by answering the following questions. 1. What comes to your mind the moment you hear qualitative research? _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ 2. If you want to conduct a research study about your favorite restaurant in town, what method of qualitative research is appropriate for your study? Explain your choice. _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ UNIT II – QUALITATIVE RESEARCH AND ITS IMPORTANCE IN DAILY LIFE • 25 3. Differentiate subjectivity from objectivity. _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ 4. Explain the connection between subjectivity/objectivity and your research work. _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ 5. How is grounded theory different from other qualitative research methods? _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ 6. Is the researcher himself the data gathering instrument? Why? Why not? _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ 7. Can all research methods be used in one research study? Give reasons for your answer. _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ 8. Pretend you are the subject of a phenomenological study, how will the researcher obtain data through you? _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ 9. Given the chance to research, would you right away choose qualitative research? Give reasons for your answers. _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ 10. If you will do a qualitative research about the area in which your house is situated, what could be your research problem or topic? _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ Activity 2 Directions: Name the type of qualitative research best suited for the following topics. 1. The Mangyans’ Burial Practices ______________________________________ 2. Relatives of Typhoon Victims ________________________________________ 3. The Effectiveness of the K–12 Curriculum _____________________________ 26 • PRACTICAL RESEARCH 1 4. Spiderman: The Very First Film in the 21st Century_____________________ 5. Philippines’ Political Party System: Then and Now _____________________ 6. Filipino Caregivers in Japan _________________________________________ 7. Travails of Senior Citizens at the LRT/MRT Stations ____________________ 8. The Lone Grade VI Speed Reader of UST High School __________________ 9. Grade 11 Science Textbook __________________________________________ 10. Student Activism Since the Marcos Era _______________________________ Elaborating Learned Concepts Activity 1 Directions: GROUP WORK. Form a group of five. Using a Manila paper, do any of the following activities. A. Do a semantic map showing your imagination of the way a researcher conducts his or her ethnographic research in a certain place. B. Sketch the varied observational activities the researcher will do to gather data about this topic: “The Favorite Brand of Sardines of Residents in the Happy Nook Subdivision.” C. Draw a table with three columns where you can list down topics of your own for a qualitative research. The first column is for the topic, second, for the purpose, and third, for the type of qualitative research to be used. Assessing the Extent of Concept Learning Directions: Enter in the right column the topic that corresponds to the right headword indicating how much you have learned. Topics Poor Good Better Best 1. Definition of Qualitative Research 2. Types of Qualitative Research 3. Characteristics of Qualitative Research 4. Advantages of Qualitative Research Transforming Learned Competencies Directions: Ponder on things in your surroundings—the construction of your house, your computer, the composition of your family, TV programs, social networking (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter), cell phones, tablets, destructive plastic bags, religious groups, your classmates, your school, fast food restaurants, etc. UNIT II – QUALITATIVE RESEARCH AND ITS IMPORTANCE IN DAILY LIFE • 27 Mulling over these things, think of one good topic you can research on qualitatively. But before doing an actual research, write a descriptive essay about the application of qualitative research on your chosen topic. Let your teacher or classmates have an idea of your thoughts or plans on a qualitative research by giving them a copy of your descriptive essay that explains the connection of your topic with all the essential things you have learned about qualitative research. 28 LESSON 4 Qualitative Research in Different Areas of Knowledge Intended Learning Outcomes After this lesson, you should be able to: 1. widen your vocabulary; 2. express your worldviews using newly learned words; 3. explain how qualitative studies take place in other areas of knowledge; 4. differentiate hard sciences from soft sciences concerning research studies; and 5. specify the data collecting technique for a certain area of knowledge. Connecting Concepts Linking Old and New Knowledge Activity 1: Making Words Meaningful Directions: INDIVIDUAL WORK. Using the other words in the cluster as clues, give the meaning of the underlined word in each set. 1. granted, yielded, given, imparted 2. real, true, certain, actual 3. ethical, decent, moral, righteous 4. essential, basic, necessary, indispensable 5. dichotomy, opposition, separation, division 6. mutual, symbiotic, reciprocal, complementary 7. believed, derived, concluded, deduced Activity 2: Using Newly Learned Words Directions: Do the KIM (Key, Information, Memory). Complete the following grid with ideas or pieces of information indicated by the headings. KEY TERMS Information/Meaning Memory Clues (sentence expressing your experience about the key term) 1. yielded 2. actual 3. ethical UNIT II – QUALITATIVE RESEARCH AND ITS IMPORTANCE IN DAILY LIFE • 29 4. indispensable 5. dichotomy 6. symbiotic 7. deduced Stirring Up Imagination What course would you like to take after finishing high school? Are you interested in becoming a businessman, an engineer, a nurse, a lawyer, a doctor, a teacher, or other professions? How do you think is research done in these areas of discipline? Discovering More Concepts How similar are your guesses to what the following reading material presents about research? Read to discover more about research in different fields of knowledge. RESEARCH IN DIFFERENT AREAS OF KNOWLEDGE Subject Area Research Approaches Research studies happen in any field of knowledge. Anthropology, Business, Communication, Education, Engineering, Law, and Nursing, among others, turn in a big number of research studies that reflect varied interests of people. Don’t you wonder how people in these areas conduct their research studies? Belonging to a certain area of discipline, you have the option to choose one from these three basic research approaches: positive or scientific, naturalistic, and triangulation or mixed method. The scientific approach gives stress to measurable and observable facts instead of personal views, feelings, or attitudes. It can be used in researches under the hard sciences or STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Medicine) and natural sciences (Biology, Physics, Chemistry). The positive or scientific approach allows control of variables or factors affecting the study. (Laursen 2010) To become positivist or scientific in conducting your research study, you must collect data in controlled ways through questionnaires or structured interviews. For instance, in the field of medicine, to produce a new medicine, a medical researcher subjects the data to a controlled laboratory experiment. These factual data collected are recorded in numerical or statistical forms using numbers, percentages, fractions, and the like. Expressed in measurable ways, these types of data are called quantitative data. The naturalistic approach, on the other hand, is people-oriented. Data collected, in this case, represent personal views, attitudes, thoughts, emotions, and other subjective traits of people in a natural setting. Collecting data is done in family homes, playground, workplaces, or schools. In these places, people’s personal traits or qualities naturally surface in the way they manage themselves or interact with one 30 • PRACTICAL RESEARCH 1 another. The naturalistic approach focuses on discovering the real concept or meaning behind people’s lifestyles and social relations. Unlike the scientific approach that makes you express and record your findings quantitatively, which means in numerical forms, the naturalistic approach lets yo