RESEARCH II

PREPARED BY: CHRISTIAN PAUL C. GUTIERREZ

What is RESEARCH?
Research is a careful, systematic and
objective investigation conducted to
obtain valid facts, draw conclusions, and
establish principles regarding an
identifiable problem in some field of
knowledge.
-Clarke and Clarke
 What is RESEARCH?
"Research is a diligent and systematic
inquiry or investigation into a subject
in order to discover facts or
principles."
- American College Dictionary, 1964
 What is RESEARCH?
 Research comprises “creative work undertaken
on a systematic basis in order to increase the
stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man,
culture and society, and the use of this stock of
knowledge to devise new applications.”
-OECD, 2002
QUANTITATIVE
RESEARCH
•Itis used to quantify the problem by
way of generating numerical data
that can be transformed into
useable statistics.
•Quantitative Research uses
measurable data to formulate facts
and uncover patterns in research.
•It is used to quantify
attitudes, opinions,
behaviors, and other
defined variables – and
generalize results from a
larger sample population.
CHARACTERISTICS OF QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
•The data is usually gathered using
structured research instruments.
•The results are based on larger sample
sizes that are representative of the
population.
•The research study can usually be
replicated or repeated, given its high
reliability.
CHARACTERISTICS OF QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
•Researcher has a clearly defined research
question to which objective answers are
sought.
•All aspects of the study are carefully
designed before data is collected.
•Data are in the form of numbers and
statistics, often arranged in tables, charts,
figures, or other non-textual forms.
CHARACTERISTICS OF QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
•Project can be used to generalize
concepts more widely, predict future
results, or investigate causal
relationships.
•Researcher uses tools, such as
questionnaires or computer software,
to collect numerical data.
Characteristics of Quantitative Research
 Methods or procedures of data gathering include
items like ages, gender, educational status, among
others, that call for measurable characteristics of the
population.
 Standardized instruments guide data collection, thus,
ensuring the accuracy, reliability and validity of data.
 Figures,
tables or graphs showcase summarized data
collected in order to show trends, relationships or
differences among variables. In sum, the charts and
tables allow you to see the evidence collected.
A large population yields more reliable data,
but principles of random sampling must be
strictly followed to prevent researcher’s bias.
 Quantitative methods can be repeated to verify
findings in another setting, thus, reinforcing
validity of findings.
 Quantitative research puts emphasis on proof,
rather than discovery.
 STRENGTHS OF QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH

•Allows for a broader study,

involving a greater number of
subjects, and enhancing the
generalization of the results;
•Allows for greater objectivity
and accuracy of results.
 STRENGTHS OF QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
•Applying well established standards
means that the research can be
replicated, and then analyzed and
compared with similar studies;
•You can summarize vast sources of
information and make comparisons
across categories and over time; and,
 STRENGTHS OF QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
•Personal bias can be
avoided by keeping a
'distance' from participating
subjects and using accepted
computational techniques.
 LIMITATIONS OF QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
•Quantitative data is more
efficient and able to test
hypotheses, but may miss
contextual detail;
•Uses a static and rigid approach
and so employs an inflexible
process of discovery;
 LIMITATIONS OF QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
•The development of standard questions
by researchers can lead to "structural
bias" and false representation, where the
data actually reflects the view of the
researcher instead of the participating
subject;
•Results provide less detail on behavior,
attitudes, and motivation;
 LIMITATIONS OF QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
•Researcher may collect a much
narrower and sometimes superficial
dataset;
•Results are limited as they provide
numerical descriptions rather than
detailed narrative and generally provide
less elaborate accounts of human
perception;
 LIMITATIONS OF QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
•The research is often carried out in an
unnatural, artificial environment so that a
level of control can be applied to the
exercise.
•Present answers will not necessarily
reflect how people really feel about a
subject and, in some cases, might just be
the closest match to the preconceived
hypothesis.
Strengths and weaknesses of
Quantitative Research
 Quantitative research design is the most reliable and valid
way of concluding results, giving way to a new hypothesis
or to disproving it.
 Because of bigger number of the sample of a population,
the results or generalizations are more reliable and valid.
 Quantitative experiments filter out external factors, if
properly designed, and so the results gained can be seen,
as real and unbiased. Quantitative experiments are useful
for testing the results gained by a series of qualitative
experiments, leading to a final answer, and narrowing
down of possible directions to follow.
Weaknesses
 Quantitative
research can be costly, difficult and time-
consuming-difficult because most researchers are non-
mathematicians.
 Quantitative studies require extensive statistical treatment,
requiring stringent standards, more so with confirmation of
results. When ambiguities in some findings surface, retesting
and refinement of the design call for another investment in
time and resources to polish the results.
 Quantitative methods also tend to turn out only proved or
unproven results, leaving little room for uncertainty, or grey
areas. For the social sciences, education, anthropology and
psychology, human nature is a lot more complex than a
simple yes or no response.
 Quantitative Research Designs
 Research design- refers to the overall strategy that you
choose in order to integrate the different components of
the study in a coherent and logical way. Furthermore, a
research design constitutes the blueprint for the
selection, measurement and analysis of data. The
research problem determines the research design you
should use.
 Experimental research is commonly used in sciences
such as sociology and psychology, physics, chemistry,
biology and medicine etc. It is a collection of
research designs which use manipulation and
controlled testing to understand causal processes.
Generally, one or more variables are manipulated to
determine their effect on a dependent variable.
The experimental method is a systematic and
scientific approach to research in which the researcher
manipulates one or more variables, and controls and
measures any change in other variables.
 TYPES OF QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
Experimental Designs, often called true
experimentation, use the scientific method to
establish cause-effect relationship among a group
of variables in a research study. Researchers make
an effort to control for all variables except the one
being manipulated (the independent variable). The
effects of the independent variable on the
dependent variable are collected and analyzed for
a relationship.
A Quasi-Experimental Design (often referred to as Causal-
Comparative)-Quasi-experimental design involves selecting
groups, upon which a variable is tested, without any random
pre-selection processes.
 Forexample, to perform an educational experiment, a class
might be arbitrarily divided by alphabetical selection or by
seating arrangement. The division is often convenient and,
especially in an educational situation, causes as little
disruption as possible.
 After
this selection, the experiment proceeds in a very similar
way to any other experiment, with a variable being
compared between different groups, or over a period of time.
Types of Quasi-Experimental Design
1.Non-equivalent control group
design-refers to the chance failure of
random assignment to equalize the
conditions by converting a true
experiment into this kind of design, for
purposes of analysis.
2. Interrupted Time Series Design- employs
multiple measures before and after the
experimental intervention. It differs from
the single-group pre-experiment that has
only one pretest and one posttest. Users
of this design assume that the time threats
such as history or maturation appear as
regular changes in the measures prior to
the intervention.
A Descriptive Design seeks to
describe the current status of a
variable or phenomenon. The
researcher does not begin with a
hypothesis, but typically develops
one after the data is collected.
Data collection is mostly
observational in nature.
Types of Descriptive Research Designs
 1.Survey - a research design used when the
researcher intends to provide a quantitative or
numeric description of trends, attitudes or opinions
of a population by studying a sample of that
population (Creswell, 2003). For example,
universities regularly float surveys to determine
customer satisfaction, that is, the students‘
attitudes toward or opinions regarding student
services like the canteen, clinic, security, the
guidance and counseling services, and the like.
2. Correlational - Correlational Research has
three types:
- Bivariate correlational studies- obtain scores from
two variables for each subject, then use them to
calculate a correlation coefficient. The term
bivariate implies that the two variables are
correlated (variables are selected because they
are believed to be related).
 Examples: Children of wealthier (variable #1),
better educated (variable #2) parents earn higher
salaries as adults.
-Prediction studies-use correlation co-efficient to show
how one variable (the predictor variable) predicts
another (the criterion variable).
Examples: Which high school applicants should be
admitted to college?

- Multiple Regression Prediction Studies- suppose the high

school GPA is not the sole predictor of college GPA, what
might be other good predictors? All of these variables
can contribute to the over-all prediction in an equation
that adds together the predictive power of each
identified variable.
 3. Ex-Post Facto Research Design- These are non-
experimental designs that are
used to investigate causal relationships. They
examine whether one or more pre-existing
conditions could possibly have caused subsequent
differences in groups of subjects. Researchers
attempt to discover whether differences between
groups have results in an observed difference in the
independent variables.
Examples: What is the effect of home schooling on
the social skills of adolescents?
 4.Comparative design - involves comparing and
contrasting two or more samples of study subjects
on one or more variables, often at a single point of
time. Specifically, this design is used to compare
two distinct groups on the basis of selected
attributes such as knowledge level, perceptions,
and attitudes, physical or psychological symptoms.
For example, a comparative study on the
effectiveness of teaching Science to Gr. 12
students using structured and unstructured
approach.
5. Evaluative Research - seeks to assess or
judge in some way providing information
about something other than might be
gleaned in mere observation or
investigation of relationships.
For example, where a test of children in
school is used to assess the effectiveness
of teaching or the deployment of a
curriculum.
Formative evaluation is used to
determine the quality of implementation
of a project, the efficiency and
effectiveness of a program, assessment
of organizational processes like
procedures, policies, guidelines, human
resource development and the like.
6. Methodological - in this approach,
the implementation of a variety of
methodologies forms a critical part of
achieving the goal of developing a
scale-matched approach, where
data from different disciplines can be
integrated.
 Experimental research design allows the researcher to
control the situation. In so doing, it allows the researcher
to answer the question, “What causes something to
occur?” This kind of research also allows the researcher
to identify cause and effect relationships between
variables and to distinguish placebo effects from
treatment effects.
Further, this research design supports the ability to limit
alternative explanations and to infer direct causal
relationships in the study; the approach provides the
highest level of evidence for single studies.
 Pre-experimental types of research apply to experimental designs with the least
 internal validity. One type of pre-experiment, the single group, pre-test-post-test
design,
 measures the group two times, before and after the intervention.
 Instead of comparing the pretest with the posttest within one group, the posttest of
 the treated groups is compared with that of an untreated group. Measuring the
effect as
 the difference between groups marks this as between-subjects design. Assuming
both
 groups experienced the same time-related influences, the comparison group feature
 should protect this design from the rival explanations that threaten the within-subject
 design.