MICHAEL LORENZ J. ROY DR.

VALERIANO DAGONOS

MED-FILIPINO

METHODS OF RESEARCH

1. What is Research?

Research is a systematic investigative process employed to increase or

revise current knowledge by discovering new facts. It is divided into two general

categories: (1) Basic research is inquiry aimed at increasing scientific knowledge,

and (2) Applied research is effort aimed at using basic research for solving

problems or developing new processes, products, or techniques.

Research is a general term that covers all processes aiming to find responses to

worthwhile scientific questions by means of a systematic and scientific approach.

In fact, research is the search for scientific knowledge, a systematically formal

process to increase the fund of knowledge and use it properly for the

development of novel applications. There are two main research processes, i.e.,

qualitative and quantitative studies. Although very different in structure and

methods, these studies represent two arms of the same research body.

Qualitative studies are based mainly on human experience, using notions and

theoretical information without quantifying variables, while quantitative studies

record information obtained from participants in a numerical form, to enable a

statistical analysis of the data. Therefore, quantitative studies can be used to

establish the existence of associative or causal relationships between variables.

2. Why do we conduct research?

Educators need to be consumers (and producers) of research. Creswell (2002)

notes the following reasons, describing the various purposes of educational

research:

a. Improve Practice - Research can suggest ways of improving practice that have

been verified with many applications and by many different types of people,

which is difficult for practitioners.

b. Add to Knowledge - Research can add to what we know about how people

learn and what we can do help facilitate the learning process.

c. Address Gaps in Knowledge - Research can address areas in which little is

know, like perhaps the effects of online versus traditional classroom learning.

d. Expand Knowledge - Research can allow us to extend what we know in ways

we never conceived.

e. Replicate Knowledge - Research can act as a test to verify previous findings.

f. Add Voices of Individuals to Knowledge - Research can add an important

perspective for different learning types. Much of the educational research prior to

the Eighties is based on able, white, middle-to-upper class males. This is

certainly not reflective of our increasingly heterogeneous students, and research

helps revise theory and practice to reflect different student needs.

3. What makes research beneficial to learning?

The Benefits of Good Research

Whether you need to do research for a class or for another sort of

assignment, there are many advantages to using as many research tools as you

can.

a. More facts corroboration: When you find a fact in one reference source that is

supported in another reference source, you can be assured that the fact you are

using in your business paper or assignment is accurate.

b. More viewpoints: The more resources you use, the more viewpoints you will

consider during your topic exploration. This allows you to consider more ideas

than the original one you may have been assigned.

c. More facts: When you use more research skills and sources, you will be able to

gain more facts for your final project.

d. Larger frame of understanding: Because different research sources offer

different kinds of information, you can find different ways to understand your

topic, depending on the manner in which you need to present your findings.

e. Gain knowledge quickly: If you need to prepare for a presentation or a test,

you want to be able to find the facts about your topic quickly. With basic

research skills, you will find what you need promptly.

The many benefits of good research are not surprising, though many

people still believe that research is something that can be neglected until the last

minute.