Pr 1 reviewer
MODULE 1
LESSON 1: The Importance of Research in Daily Life
In this section, help the students appreciate the importance of research in daily life. Tell them to
compose an essay regarding the use of research in their daily life as a student. This is an important
skill that should be developed in every student. This is necessary in order for them to realize the
value of research.
LESSON 2: The Characteristics, Processes, and Ethics
of Research
Research is defined as the scientific investigation of phenomena which includes collection,
presentation, analysis and interpretation of facts that lines an individual's speculation with reality.
Characteristics of Research
1. Empirical. Research is based on direct experience or observation by the researcher.
2. Logical. Research is based on valid procedures and principles.
3. Cyclical. Research is a cyclical process because it starts with a problem and ends with a
problem.
4. Analytical. Research utilizes proven analytical procedures in gathering the data, whether
historical,
descriptive, and experimental and case study.
5. Critical. Research exhibits careful and precise judgment.
6. Methodical. Research is conducted in a methodical manner without bias using systematic
method
and procedures.
7. Replicability. The research design and procedures are replicated or repeated to enable the
researcher
to arrive at valid and conclusive results.
Research process:
1. Select a general problem.
2. Review the literature of the problem.
3. Select a specific research problem, question, or hypothesis.
4. Collect data.
5. Analyze and present or display data.
6. Interpret the findings and state conclusions or generalizations regarding the problem.
Factors to Consider in Selecting a Research Problem
1. Researcher's area of interest
2. Availability of funds
3. Investigator's ability and training
Ethics in Research
Ethics generally is considered to deal with beliefs about what is right or wrong, proper or improper,
good or bad. According to a dictionary definition (Webster's 1968), to be ethical is to conform to
accepted professional practice.
Ethical considerations in conducting research
1. Objectivity and integrity
2. Respect of the research subjects' right to privacy and dignity and protection of subjects
from personal harm
3. Presentation of research findings
4. Misuse of research role
5. Acknowledgement of research collaboration and assistance
6. Distortions of findings by sponsor
Unethical practices in conducting research
1. Deceiving a respondent about the true purpose of a study
2. Asking a respondent questions that cause him or her extreme embarrassment; guilt
emotional turmoil by remaining him or her of an unpleasant experience
3. Invading the privacy of a respondent
4. Studying the respondents or research subjects without their knowledge
5. When analysing the data-revealing only part of the facts, presenting facts out of context,
falsifying findings or offering misleading presentation such as lying with statistics
LESSON 3: Quantitative and Qualitative Research
Definition of Quantitative and Qualitative Research
Quantitative research is a type of educational research in which the researcher decides what to
study; asks specific, narrow questions; collects quantifiable data from participants; analyzes these
numbers using statistics; and conducts the inquiry in an unbiased, objective manner.
Qualitative research is a type of educational research in which the researcher relies on the views of
participants; asks broad, general questions; collects data consisting largely words (text) from
participants; describes and analyzes these words for themes; and conducts the inquiry in a
subjective, biased manner.
LESSON 4: The Kinds of Research Across Fields
Determine if the students are familiar with different researches in various areas of interest (arts,
humanities, sports, science, business, agriculture and fisheries, information and communication
technology, and social inquiry). This is done to facilitate the teaching and learning process. In doing
this activity, the students will be exposed to different researches across fields. Tell the students
that as they go through this lesson, they have to think of the following essential questions for
understanding the different examples of researches: What are the different researches that you
have read? Why do we need to determine the different research areas?
To strengthen student's knowledge of the kinds of researches across fields, discuss and show
examples of researches conducted across fields. Finally, tell the students to look for published or
unpublished researches in different areas of interest: arts, humanities, sports, science, business,
agriculture and fisheries, information and communication technology, and social inquiry.
MODULE 2
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH AND ITS IMPORTANCE IN DAILY LIFE
LESSON 1, 2, 3, & 4: The Value of Qualitative Research
—
Its Kinds, Characteristics, Uses, Strengths, and
Weaknesses and the Importance of Qualitative Research
Across Fields of Inquiry
Major Characteristics of Qualitative Research
Naturalistic inquiry - Studying real-world situations as they unfold naturally; non-manipulative,
unobtrusive, and non-controlling; openness to whatever emerges —lack of predetermined
constraints on outcomes.
Inductive analysis - Immersion in the details and specifics of the data to discover important
categories, dimensions, and interrelationships; begin by exploring genuinely open questions rather
than testing theoretically derived (deductive) hypotheses.
Holistic perspective - The whole phenomenon under study is understood as a complex system that
is more than the sum of its parts; focus is on complex interdependencies not meaningfully reduced
to a few discrete variables and linear, cause-effect relationships.
Qualitative data - Detailed, thick description; inquiry in depth; direct quotations capturing people's
personal perspectives and experiences.
Personal contact and insight
The researcher has direct contact with and gets close to the people, situation, and phenomenon
under study; researcher's personal experiences and insights are important part of the inquiry and
critical to understanding the phenomenon.
Dynamic systems - Attention to process; assumes change is constant and on-going whether the
focus is on an individual or an entire culture. Unique case orientation. Assumes each case is special
and unique; the first level of inquiry is being true to, respecting, and capturing the details of the
individual cases being studied; cross-case analysis follows from and depends on the quality of
individual case studies.
Context sensitivity - Places findings in a social, historical, and temporal context; dubious of the
possibility or meaningfulness of generalization across time and space.
Emphatic neutrality
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agenda, but understanding; the researcher includes personal experience and empathic insight as
part of the relevant data, while taking a neutral non-judgmental stance toward whatever content
may emerge.
Design flexibility - Open to adapting inquiry as understanding deepens and/or situations change;
avoids getting locked into rigid designs that eliminate responsiveness; pursues new paths of
discovery as they emerge.
TYPES OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
● Phenomenology
It is an approach to philosophy and not specifically a method of inquiry; this has often been
misunderstood. It is first and foremost philosophy, the approach employed to pursue a particular
study should emerge from the philosophical implications inherent in the question.
● Ethnography
It is the direct description of a group, culture or community. Nevertheless, the meaning of the word
ethnography can be ambiguous; it is an overall term for a number of approaches. Sometimes
researchers use it as synonymous with qualitative research in general, while at other times it's
meaning is more specific.
● Grounded theory
It is a development of theory directly based and grounded in the data collected by the researcher. It
is a research methodology for discovering theory in a substantive area.
● Case Study
It is used for a research approach with specific boundaries and can be both qualitative and
quantitative. In addition, it is an entity studied as a single unit, and it has clear confines and a
specific focus and is bound to context.
● Historical Research
A narrative description or analysis of events that occurred in the remote or recent past.
Critical Social Theory
Critical theorists and constructivists
– see/view reality from a dynamic standpoint; reality is shaped by social, political, cultural,
–
economic, ethnic and gender values
– a philosophy of science based on a belief that revealing the unrecognized forces that control
human behavior will liberate and empower individuals
● Participatory Action Research
process of critical inquiry is informed by and responds to the experiences and needs of oppressed
people.
Module 3
IDENTIFYING AND STATING THE PROBLEM
In this lesson the students are expected to demonstrate understanding of the range of research
topics in the area of inquiry, the value of research in the area of interest and the specificity and
feasibility of the problem posed. Specifically, the students should be able to design a research
project related to daily life, write a research title, describe the justifications/reasons for conducting
the research, state research questions, indicate scope and delimitation of research, cite benefits
and beneficiaries of research and present written statement of the problem.
In addition, discuss to students the strengths and weaknesses of qualitative research. Below are
sample strengths and weakness of qualitative research
Strengths of Qualitative Research
1. Issues can be examined in detail and in depth.
1. Interviews are not restricted to specific questions and can be guided/redirected by the
researcher in real time.
2. The research framework and direction can be quickly revised as new information emerges.
3. The obtained data based on human experience is powerful and sometimes more compelling
than quantitative data.
4. Subtleties and complexities about the research subjects and/or topic are discovered that
are often missed by more positivistic inquiries.
5. Data usually are collected from a few cases or individuals so findings cannot be generalized
to a larger population. Findings can however be transferable to another setting.
Limitations of Qualitative Research
1. Research quality is heavily dependent on the individual skills of the researcher and more
easily influenced by the researcher's personal biases and idiosyncrasies.
2. Rigor (Define rigor: harsh inflexibility in opinion, temper, or judgment: severity) is more
difficult to maintain, assess, and demonstrate.
3. The volume of data makes analysis and interpretation time consuming.
4. It is sometimes not as well understood and accepted as quantitative research within the
scientific community
5. The researcher's presence during data gathering, which is often unavoidable in qualitative
research, can affect the subjects' responses.
6. Issues of anonymity and confidentiality can bring/result to problems when presenting
findings
7. Findings can be more difficult and time consuming to characterize in a visual way.
Module 4
LEARNING FROM OTHERS AND REVIEWING THE LITERATURE
A literature review may consist simply of a summary of key sources. It usually has an organizational
pattern and combines both summary and synthesis, often within conceptual categories.
The teacher can outline the following features of good literature review:
– Gives a new interpretation of old material or combine new with old interpretations,
– Traces the intellectual progression of the study,
– Depending on the situation, evaluate the sources and advise the reader of the research on
the most pertinent or relevant research, or
– Usually in the conclusion of a literature review, identifies where gaps exist in how a problem
has been researched to date
The teacher can quote McMillan and Schumacher (1984) who identified five purposes of the
literature review. A literature review allows you to:
1. Define and limit a problem
If your literature review is part of a larger research project, the literature review helps to identify the
parameters of a study. Most research areas are broad: a literature review allows identification of key
issues within a broad research area so that a definition of an area of interest can be pursued.
2. Place your study in perspective
The purpose of academic research is to push out and add to the current body of knowledge within a
particular field. Unless you are aware of the work of others, you cannot build upon an established
foundation.
3. Avoid unintentional replication of previous studies
Sometimes it is appropriate to replicate a previous study, but this should be done intentionally and
for a particular purpose. A literature review helps you to make informed choices about a research
topic within a scholarly context.
4. Select methods and measures
The success or failure of previous investigations can provide useful material for you when you are
designing your own research methodology. You can assess what has worked before (or not worked)
in previous contexts and why. You may be alerted to new methodologies and procedures and
different types of tests, technologies and measures.
5. Relate findings to previous knowledge and suggest areas for further research The findings on
ones own research need to be related back to earlier studies. This —placesll ones work and can
point to areas that need further investigation. The research is much more a coherent whole if your
discussion section draws on and contrasts with the literature review.
A Review of the Related Literature provides a concise summary of information and data findings
that describe current knowledge and facts. It offers a rationale for conducting future researches. An
important area of a literature review is an understanding of a gap. It is an important research
question relevant to a given domain that has not been answered adequately or at all in existing
peer-reviewed scholarship. A gap will hopefully ensure that the research will likely have valuable
practical and/or theoretical implications. Synthesis and generalization as the last important area of
literature lead to the identification and purpose of the proposed study. In all reviews, some
recommendations or implications for practice, education and research should be included.
The different elements of a typical research literature which will include the following:
1. Journals are published in issues at regular intervals usually weekly, monthly or quarterly.
Because of the regularity of publication they are also known as periodicals or serials. This
regularity means that each new issue contains articles that describe the latest research
findings; this is a distinct advantage over other publication media such as books that take
longer to produce and update. There are basically two main types of journal: 1) Research
journals are published peer-reviewed articles; 2) Professional journals are published articles
on professional issues, service developments, the use of research findings in practice and
some short research articles.
2. Theses and dissertations are very detailed and comprehensive accounts of research work.
They are usually submitted for a higher degree at a university. Like reports their publicity and
distribution may be
3. Conference proceedings comprise brief summaries of research work presented at
conferences. A more detailed and complete account of the work may appear at a later date in
a journal article, report or thesis. Researchers often use conferences to present preliminary
findings of their work.
4. Books and textbooks generally provide comprehensive overviews of a particular subject. In
doing so they may refer to, sometimes extensively, the research literature found in journal
articles, reports, conference proceedings or theses. They are not usually used to present new
research findings. There are, however, a few exceptions to this and some very important and
influential research findings have been published in book format.
