Nature of Inquiry and Research

Some Research Ethics Principles

1. Honesty
2. Objectivity
3. Integrity
4. Carefulness
5. Openness
6. Respect for Intellectual Property
7. Trustworthiness
8. Social and Legal Responsibility

Types of Research
Qualitative versus Quantitative Research

Qualitative Research Quantitative Research

The aim is a detailed description the aim is to classify features, count them, and
construct statistical models in an attempt to
explain what is observed.
Researcher may only know roughly Researcher knows clearly in advance what
in advance what he/she is looking he/she is looking for.
for.
The design emerges as the study unfolds. All aspects of the study are carefully designed
before data is collected.

Researcher is the data gathering instrument. Researcher questionnaires or equipment to

collect numerical data.

Data is in the form of words, pictures or Data is numerical in nature.

objects.
Subjective - individuals’ interpretation of Objective – seeks measurement and analysis of
events is important target concepts.

Qualitative data is more 'rich', time consuming, Quantitative data is more efficient, able to test
and not generalizable. hypothesis.

Researcher tends to become subjectively Researcher tends to remain separated from the
immersed in the subject matter. subject matter.
 Qualitative Research and Its Importance in Daily Life
I. Qualitative Research

According to Creswell (1994), as cited by Prieto, et. al (2017), Qualitative Research is an inquiry
process of understanding a social or human problem based on building a complex holistic picture
formed with words, reporting detailed view of informants and conducted in a natural setting.”

II. Characteristics of Qualitative Research

1. It takes place in a natural setting

- Home
- Office
- Institution
- Hospitals
- Community
2. It focuses on the participant’s perception and experiences and the way they make sense
of their lives.
3. Interactive and humanistic, calls for active participation, and sensitive to the needs of the
participants
4. New discoveries during the data gathering process can lead to a total revision of research
questions, among others
5. The researcher is the primary instrument in data collection.
6. Data collected is in the form of words or illustrations rather than numbers.
 Audio recordings
 diaries
 field notes
 memorandums
 official records
 personal comments
 photographs
 textbook passages
 transcripts of interview
 video tapes

III. Uses of Qualitative Research

 Draw meaningful information
 Learn directly from people and what is important to them
 Provide the context required to elicit quantitative results
 Identify variables important for further studies
 Determine one’s genre as a primary step to develop a quantitative survey
 Assess the usability of websites, databases, or other interactive media/services

IV. Strengths and Weaknesses of Qualitative Research

A. Strengths
 Provides in-depth information on individual cases
 Unravels complex phenomena embedded in local context
 Describes rich phenomenon situated in some exceptional environments
 Relays subjects’ experiences and perspectives in unusual details
 Conveys setting factors related to the situation of interest
 Allows flexibility in research-related processes
 Enables data to be collected in natural setting
 Determines possible causes of a particular event in another perspective as that given by
quantitative research
 Permits approaches that are responsive to local conditions and stakeholders’ needs
 Presents several options in the conduct of the research
 Tolerates shifts I focus based on research results
 Accepts unstructured interpretation of the participants, respecting anything that is in the
participants’ context.
B. Weaknesses
 Data gathering is often time-consuming
 Analysis of data takes longer time than that in quantitative analysis
 Interpretation of results is usually biased because it is influenced by the researcher’s
perspective
 Conclusions are not generalizable because the subjects are few and sometimes possess
unique characteristics compared to typical respondents.

V. Types of Qualitative Research

 Case Study - Attempts to shed light on phenomena by studying in depth a single case
example of the phenomena. The case can be experience, idea, reaction, preference, or
perception, of an individual person, an event, a group, or an institution.
 Grounded Theory - Theory is developed inductively from a corpus of data acquired by a
participant-observer.
 Phenomenology - Describes the structures of experience as they present themselves to
consciousness, without recourse to theory, deduction, or assumptions from other
disciplines
 Ethnography - Focuses on the sociology of meaning through close field observation of
sociocultural phenomena. Typically, the ethnographer focuses on a community.
 Historical - Systematic collection and objective evaluation of data related to past
occurrences in order to test hypotheses concerning causes, effects, or trends of these events
that may help to explain present events and anticipate future events.
Identifying the Inquiry and Stating the Problem

I. Research Title

A. Elements of a Research Title

1. Aim
2. Topic
3. Place
4. Period
5. Population or Respondents

II. The Research Paper

A. Background of the Study

1. The INTRODUCTION functions as the following:

 A teaser for your background

 Presents the topic and the basics about it like known definitions of key terms by
different source
 Grabs the attention of the reader, further leading them into the “deep waters” of your
background.

2. Statement of the Problem

 It is the situation that needs a solution.

 It is a discrepancy of what is and what is ought to be.
 It is the gap knowledge that needs to be filled.
 The introductory statement of this section is usually the general problem or goal based
from the research title and followed by specific problems or objectives that will be
thoroughly studied in the course of the research.

3. Hypotheses

 Hypothesis is defined as a temporary answer to a research problem

 It serves as a guide as to what processes are needed in answering the research questions
and what research design is to be undertaken in the study.

Types of Hypothesis

1. Scientific hypothesis provides an answer to research question based on the review of

related literature.

2. Statistical hypothesis presents the standard hypothesis for the statistical procedure to
be employed in the study.
 a. Null hypothesis suggests a negative relation between variables. It negates the
existence of a characteristic or a difference in effect of the variables.

b. Alternative hypothesis suggests a positive relation between variables, the

existence of a characteristic, or a difference in the effect of the variables.

4. Theoretical and Conceptual Framework

I. Described as the abstract, logical structure of meaning that guides the development of
the study.

a. Theoretical Framework is adopted when a particular theory is enough to provide

theoretical basis for the conduct of the study.

b. Conceptual Framework is used when the concepts from different theories are borrowed
to provide bases for an investigation, because one theory does not cover all the concerns of
the study.

5. Significance of the Study

II. Explains how the study will be beneficial to the different stakeholders of the society.

6. Scope and Delimitation

7. Definition of Terms

 Presents the key terms used in the study

Conceptual definition explains the meaning of a particular term using the dictionary.

Operational definition describes a term by how the researcher used it in his/her study.
 Learning from Others and Reviewing the Literature
I. Functions of Literature

 It provides information about past research studies related to the intended investigation.
Preventing the duplication of research undertakings
 It presents gaps in the field of study. Gaps may either be areas in the body of knowledge that
are not explored yet or parts where research studies yielded inclusive results.
 It affords confidence and authority to the researchers since reviewing the literature can
provide them all possible constructs and perspectives of the present study.
 It gives information about the methods used in similar studies, including;
o characteristics of the samples;
o the sampling techniques or the process of selecting research participant;
o the variables considered, the kinds of data gathered; and
o the type of analysis and interpretation done on the collected data
 It enumerates finding from previous studies that may support those of the present study.
 It provides ideas on how implications may be drawn out of the analysis and interpretation
of data.

II. Types of Sources

1. General references – sources that are first accessed by researchers to give them information
about other sources such as:

 research articles;
 professional journals;
 books;
 monographs;
 conference proceedings; and
 similar proceedings

2. Primary sources – those that provide first-hand information about experts’ and other
researchers’ publications. Examples are academic and research journals published by universities
and learned organization.

3. Secondary sources – are those written by authors that describe another researcher’s works. It
may only contain summaries or interpretations of the research reports. Examples are textbooks,
single-authored books and books edited by different authors.

4. Tertiary sources – are books and articles based on secondary sources. It synthesizes and explains
the work of others.

III. Writing the Review of Related Literature

1. Introduction – discusses briefly the research problem and significance of the study and may also
present the organization of the related literature.
2. Body – contains a narrative of relevant ideas and findings found in the reports of the researchers.

3. Synthesis – ties together the main ideas revealed in the review of related literature.

4. Bibliography – contains full bibliographic information of all sources mentioned in the review.

IV. Organization of Information from Related Literature

In ordering the topics, three major approaches are considered:

1. Chronological - applicable if the topics are arranged for a usual timeline of development

2. Conceptual – if the study is set in clear and interrelated concepts.

3. Stated hypotheses - the topics are listed based on each hypothesis made in the research and the
discussion is done according to this topic listing.

V. Citation Guidelines (APA Format)

A. In-Text Citation

1. Two Authors. Name both authors in the parentheses. Use “and” between the authors’ names
within the text and ampersand (&) in the parentheses.

Research is. . . (Robinson & Levin, 1997)

Robinson and Levin (1997) discussed. . .

2. Three to Five Authors. Include the entire author’s surname in parentheses the FIRST TIME the
source is cited.

Kim, Song, Chang, Kang, and Park (2013) posited. . .

Learning is. . . (Kim, Song, Chang, Kang, & Park, 2013)

In subsequent citations, only use the first author’s surname followed by “et al.”

Kim et al. (2013) stated. . .

3. Six or more Authors. Use the first author’s name followed by et al. in parentheses.

Choi et al. (2013) reported. . .

If two sources have six or more authors but with some identical surnames, cite the first author
followed by as many names to distinguish one source from the other.

Orleans, Nueva Espana, Palomar, Camacho, Avilla, Sotto (2014) suggested. . .

Orleans, Nueva Espana, Palomar, Florentino, David, Abulon (2014) claimed. . .

In the subsequent citations, the following is observed:

 Orleans, Nueva Espana, Palomar, Camacho et al. (2014) argued. . .

Orleans, Nueva Espana, Palomar, Florentino et al. (2014) maintained. . .

4. Associations, corporations, government agencies, etc. as an author. If the name of an

association in the source, it should be cited as follows:

According to the Department of Education (2013). . .

However, if the association has a well-known abbreviation, the abbreviation in brackets is included
the first time it appears and then only the abbreviation in later citations.

First citation: Commission on Higher Education [CHED] (2012). . .

Second citation: CHED (2012). . .

5. Citing indirect sources. If a source was mentioned in another source, the citation is as follows:

Smith argued that. . . (as cited in Johnson, 2005, p. 92).

6. Electronic sources. Electronic documents are cited the same way as any other document by
using the author-date style.

Briones (2009) explained. . .

7. Citing websites. Websites are cited the same way as any other source, using the author-date
style if known. If there is no author, the title and the date are cited as in the in-text citation.

a. For sources with no date, “n.d.” in place of the year is placed.

Andrews, n.d.

b. With no author

Bulacan has become. . . (Provincial Governement of Bulacan, 2007)

 Reference entry:

Provincial Government of Bulacan. (2007). Retrieved from

http://www.bulacan.gov.ph/business/products.php

c. Section of websites with no author

In addition, bamboo. . . (“Philippine Bamboo Bikes Hit”, 2012).

 Reference entry:

Philippine Bamboo Bikes Hit Market. (2012). Manilla Bulletin. Retrieved from
https://ph.news.yahoo.com/phili. . .html
Ethical Standards on Writing the Related Literature

1. Plagiarism

2. Self-Plagiarism

3. Copyright
 Understanding Data and Ways to Systematically Collect Data
I. Steps in Selecting Appropriate Strategies for Qualitative Inquiry

1. Identify the specific strategy of inquiry that will be used.

2. Provide some background information about the strategy, such as discipline, origin, applications,
and definition.

3. Discuss why it is an appropriate strategy to use in the proposed study.

4. Identify how the use of the strategy will be helpful as to the types of questions asked, the form of
data collection, the steps of data analysis , and the final write-up.

II. Sampling

Population – complete group of people, animals, or objects that possess the same characteristics .

Sample – represents the characteristics of a population.

III.Advantages of Sampling

1. It saves times, effort, and resources.

2. It minimizes casualties.

3. It paves the way for thorough investigations.

4. It allows easy data handling, collection, and analysis.

IV. Sampling in Qualitative Research

1. Extreme or deviant case sampling -

2. Intensity sampling

3. Maximum variation sampling

4. Homogeneous sampling

5. Typical case sampling

6. Critical case sampling

7. Snowball or chain sampling

8. Criterion sampling

9. Operational construct or theoretical sampling

10. Confirming and disconfirming sampling

11. Stratifies purposeful sampling

12. Opportunistic or emergent sampling

13. Purposeful random sampling

14. Convenience sampling

15. Combination or mixed sampling