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Defined as a careful consideration of study regarding a particular concern or a problem using scientific methods.
Research is a systematic inquiry to describe, explain, predict and control the observed phenomenon. Research
involves inductive and deductive methods.”
Sampling
process of selecting a part of the population. A population is a group people that is studied in a research.
Difficult for a researcher to study the whole population due to limited resources ex: time, cost and energy.
Terminologies in sampling:
Types of sampling
Probability sampling :
The members of the sample are selected randomly and purely by chance. Every member has an equal chance of
being selected in the sample, random selection of members does not affect the quality of the sample.
The population is divided into sub-groups(known as strata) on the basis of similar characteristics eg: sex, age,
profession, religion. then members from each group are selected randomly. This technique is adopted when the
population is not highly homogenous.
3. Systematic sampling
A member occurring after a fixed interval is selected. Ex: if a research wants to select member occurring after
every ten members, the Kth element become 10th element. Sample = ( 10, 20, 30, 40, 50)
4. Cluster sampling
Various segments of a population are treated as clusters and members from each cluster are selected randomly.
Though it seems similar to stratified sampling but there’s a difference in both. Stratified(look up). On the other
hand, cluster sampling, does not divide the population into sub-groups or cluster but randomly select from
already existing or naturally occurring subgroups(clusters) eg: families within a society, towns within a district.
5. Multi-stage Sampling
Complex form of cluster sampling. Each cluster of the sample is further divided into smaller clusters and
members are selected from each smaller cluster randomly. It is called a multi-stage sampling as it involves many
stages.
Inquiry Based-Learning
approach to learning that emphasizes the student’s role in the learning process. Rather than the teacher telling
students what they need to know, students are encouraged to explore the material, ask questions, and share
ideas.
Inquiry-based learning uses different approaches to learning, including small-group discussion and guided
learning. Instead of memorizing facts and material, students learn by doing. This allows them to build
knowledge through exploration, experience, and discussion.
ETHICS IN RESEARCH
Research should not harm participants. There are a number of types of harm that participants can be
subjected to as physical harm to participants, Psychological distress and discomfort ,social advantages and
financial status.
Informed consent means that participants should understand that (a) they are taking part in research
and (b) what the research requires of them.Another component of informed consent is the principle that
participants should be volunteers, taking part without having been deceived.
Protecting the anonymity and confidentiality of research participants is another practical component of
research ethics. Avoid publishing private information , if the researcher agrees to hold such information in
confidence.An alternative is to remove identifiers as names and geographical cues when writing up.
Research participants should always have the right to withdraw from the research process. Furthermore,
participants should have the right to withdraw at any stage in the research process. When a participant
chooses to withdraw from the research process, they should not be pressured or coerced in any way to try
and stop them from withdrawing.
5. Honesty
Honestly report data, results, methods and procedures, and publication status. Do not fabricate, falsify, or
misrepresent data.
WHAT IS LITERATURE REVIEW?
Definition :A literature review is an account of what has been published on a topic by scholars and
researchers. Literature reviews are designed to provide an overview of sources you have explored while
researching a particular topic and to demonstrate to your readers how your research fits within a larger
field of study.
Characteristics of Well Written Literature Reviews
1. Organization -the review should flow from general to specific. the writer presents information that is only
generally related to the topic and then progress to reseacrh questions. Writing the review in the form of general
to specific focuses on the topic of the study and helps direct the reader's attention to the importance of the
questions.
2. Relevance - This is a simple and easy to understand characteristic, but one that is often overlooked by writers.
Anything cited in the literature review should be relevant to the study.
3. Omissions - writer should take care to provide all points of view on a given topic. This does not mean that a
writer must include in the review every study conducted on a given topic; rather, this means that one makes an
honest attempt not to conceal points of view on a topic that may not support the writer's position.
4. Citations - Citations are the references a writer uses in the text.A few characteristics to be considered :
Primary vs. secondary citations (the author(s) are the ones who collected and analyzed the data),Empirical
research based citations (the authors collected data to address a question) and Recency of citations (ensure that
citations cover a wide range of time periods)
5. Summary - to help the reader see the connection between the literature review and the research questions or
hypotheses
-RESEARCH DESIGN:-
(a)strategy (methods)
3. SCHOOL (PRINCIPAL)
*instruments are used to measure (questionnaire). Anything that can’t be measured should be called as “A
TOOL”.
(d) the tools and procedure for collecting and analysing empirical materials
sample population
-QUANTITATIVE:-
*comparing groups
*relating variables
*experimental
*quasi- experiment
*correlational surveys
-VARIABLES:-
*control variable variables that may influence the independent and dependent variables)
example:-
participant
-EXPERIMENT:-
*inference - differences in the dependent variable are due/caused by the treatment/independent variable
-EXAMPLES:-
Group A R------0---------X-----------0
Group B R-----0-----------------------X
Group A R--------------X-------------0
Group B R----------------------------0
Group A R-----0-----X--------0
Group B R------0--------------0
Group C R--------------X------0
Group D R----------------------0
0-0-0-0-0-------------X-X-X-X-X---------------0-0-0-0-0
-QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN:-
*comparison groups
-EXAMPLES:-
Group A 0--------------X-----------0
Group B 0---------------------------0
Group A 0---0---0----0----X-----0-----0-----0----0
Group A 0---0---0----0----X-----0-----0-----0----0
Group B 0---0---0----0----0-----0-----0-----0----0
-EXAMPLES(TITLES):-
-SURVEY DESIGN:-
*sample of a population
*from the sample results, the researcher generalizes or makes claims about the population
1. Qualitative:-
* Case Study:-
~ study of a particular unit or sets of units ( eg:- individuals, institutions, programmes, events, etc)
~ intrinsic or instrumental
~any qualitative methods- multiple sources of information (in-depth interviews, observation (naturalistic), etc)
~ Examples:- a single teacher or group of students - exploring how the relationship develops as the latter settle
into a new language school.
*Ethnography:-
~ seeks to describe and understand the behaviour of particular social or cultural group.
~ researcher tries to see things from the perspective of members of the group ( joins the group that is being
tested , in order to learn and observe the group/community closely)
~method- fieldwork, researcher as participant observer - observation, interviews - field notes, documents
~ Examples:- study of a group of teachers in their institutional setting over a term or a year focusing on their
relationships with students
*Grounded Theory:-
~ methods -observation and interviews , documents, diaries, photographs, etc( open to a wide range)
~ analysis- coding procedures to identify categories, write theoretical memos on the emergent theorising - uses
this to inform further data gathering which is the basis for further coding, theorising, and data collection-
process of refinement to articulate a core explanatory theory
~ Examples:- a study of the experience of the first few weeks at a new language school from the learner’s point
of view.
*Action Research:-
~ to understand better some aspect of professional practice as a means of bringing about improvement.
~ improvement of practice, understanding of the practice by its practitioners, the situation in which the
practice takes place.
~ methods - cycle of planning - action and observing - reflecting - planning - interviews, observations,
documents , journals
# not allowed for masters/ phd students as are being trained to become researcher
*Conversational Analysis:-
~ how speakers jointly construct conversation and their shared understanding of what is happening in it.
~ methods- focuses on the sequential development of the conversation - everything interpreted in terms of the
participant’s own understanding of it as revealed in their talk
~ Four methodological rules - use naturally occurring data, move from observation to hypothesis, rule nothing
out, and focus on consequences.
~ Examples:- an aspect of classroom interaction such as the way in which certain talk is oriented to by the class.
Tools or instrument
Survey- method
Questionnaire –instrument
Interview – method
Semi-structured, Structured
Observation – method
Data Analysis
Data analysis is how researchers go from a mass of data to meaningful insights. There are many different data
analysis methods, depending on the type of research.
The two most commonly used quantitative data analysis methods are descriptive statistics and inferential
statistics.
Descriptive Statistics
first level of analysis. It helps researchers summarize the data and find patterns.used for analysing single
variables. A few commonly used descriptive statistics are:
For example, a percentage is a good way to show the gender distribution of respondents. For example, if you
are comparing the percentage of children vaccinated in two different villages, then descriptive statistics is
enough.
Inferential Statistics
These complex analyses show the relationship between multiple variables to generalize results and make
predictions.
Correlation : relationship between two variables. If a correlation is found, it means that there is a relationship
among the variables. For example, taller people tend to have a higher weight. Hence, height and weight are
correlated with each other. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that one variable causes the other (e.g.
gaining weight doesn’t cause people to grow taller).
Regression : shows the relationship between two variables. For example, regression can help us guess
someone’s weight based on their height.
Analysis of variance: used to test the degree to which two or more groups vary or differ in an experiment.
Content Analysis
used to analyze documented information in the form of texts, media, or even physical items. Content analysis is
usually used to analyze responses from interviewees.
Narrative Analysis
used to analyze content from various sources, such as interviews of respondents, observations from the field, or
surveys. It focuses on using the stories and experiences shared by people to answer the research questions.
Discourse analysis:
Like narrative analysis, discourse analysis is used to analyze interactions with people. Discourse analysis also
looks at the respondent’s day-to-day environment and uses that information during analysis.
Grounded Theory
explain why a certain phenomenon happened. It does this by studying a variety of similar cases in different
settings and using the data to derive causal explanations. Researchers may alter the explanations or create new
ones as they study more cases until they arrive at an explanation that fits all cases.
Answer: A variable is an object, event, idea, feeling, time period, or any other type of category you are trying to
measure. There are two types of variables-independent and dependent
The independent variable (sometimes known as the manipulated variable) is the variable whose change isn’t
affected by any other variable in the experiment. Either the scientist has to change the independent variable
herself or it changes on its own; nothing else in the experiment affects or changes it. Two examples of common
independent variables are age and time. There’s nothing you or anything else can do to speed up or slow
down time or increase or decrease age. They’re independent of everything else.
The dependent variable (sometimes known as the responding variable) is what is being studied and
measured in the experiment. It’s what changes as a result of the changes to the independent variable. An
example of a dependent variable is how tall you are at different ages. The dependent variable (height) depends
on the independent variable (age).
An easy way to think of independent and dependent variables is, when you’re conducting an experiment, the
independent variable is what you change, and the dependent variable is what changes because of
that. You can also think of the independent variable as the cause and the dependent variable as the effect.
Action Research
Action research can be defined as “an approach in which the action researcher and a client collaborate in the
diagnosis of the problem and in the development of a solution based on the diagnosis”
In other words, one of the main characteristic traits of action research relates to collaboration between researcher
and member of organisation in order to solve organizational problems.
Positivist approach to action research, also known as ‘classical action research’ perceives research as a social
experiment. Accordingly, action research is accepted as a method to test hypotheses in a real world
environment.
Interpretive action research, also known as ‘contemporary action research’ perceives business reality as
socially constructed and focuses on specifications of local and organisational factors when conducting the action
research.
Critical action research is a specific type of action research that adopts critical approach towards business
processes and aims for improvements.
The following features of action research need to be taken into account when considering its suitability for any
given study:
It is applied in order to improve specific practices. Action research is based on action, evaluation and
critical analysis of practices based on collected data in order to introduce improvements in relevant practices.
This type of research is facilitated by participation and collaboration of number of individuals with a
common purpose
Such a research focuses on specific situations and their context
Survey research designs are procedures in quantitative research in which investigators administer a survey to a
sample or to the entire population of people to describe the attitudes, opinions, behaviors, or characteristics of
the population.
In this procedure, survey researchers collect quantitative, numbered data using questionnaires (e.g., mailed
questionnaires) or interviews (e.g., one-on-one interviews) and statistically analyze the data to describe trends
about responses to questions and to test research questions or hypotheses.
Surveys help identify important beliefs and attitudes of individuals, such as college students’ beliefs about what
constitutes abusive behaviors in dating relationships.
To follow up analysis. They may be used to follow up with graduates 5, 10, or 15 years after college to learn
about their present careers.
Surveys provide useful information to evaluate programs in schools, such as the success of a robotics program
in science education.
Trend Studies
In some surveys, researchers aim to study changes within some general population over a period of time
(Babbie, 1998). Trend studies are longitudinal survey designs that involve identifying a population and
examining changes within that population over time.
Cohort Studies
A cohort study is a longitudinal survey design in which a researcher identifies a subpopulation based on some
specific characteristic and then studies that sub population over time.
Panel Studies
A panel study is a longitudinal survey design in which the researcher examines the same people over time. The
advantage to this type of study, however, is that the individuals studied will be the same each time, allowing the
researcher to determine actual changes in specific individuals.
Mailed Questionnaires
A mailed questionnaire is a form of data collection in survey research in which the investigator mails a
questionnaire to members of the sample. A mailed questionnaire is economical because it involves only
duplication and mailing expenses.
One-on-One Interviews
In one-on-one interviewing in survey research, investigators conduct an interview with an individual in the
sample and record responses to closed-ended questions. In one-on-one interviewing in survey research,
investigators conduct an interview with an individual in the sample and record responses to closed-ended
questions.
Instrument Design
Designing good survey instruments is a challenging and complex process. When survey researchers design an
instrument for data collection, they typically perform the following steps:
1. They write different types of questions. These include personal, attitudinal, and behavioral questions;
sensitive questions; and closed- and open-ended questions.
2. They use strategies for good question construction. This includes using clear language, making sure the
answer options do not overlap, and posing questions that are applicable to all participants.
3. They perform a pilot test of the questions. This consists of administering the instrument to a small number of
individuals and making changes based on their feedback
Sensitive Questions
Some surveys contain sensitive questions that must be developed and used with care.
Question Construction
Using good questions helps participants feel that they understand the question and can provide meaningful
answers. Good questions are clear and unambiguous, and they do not confuse the participants. They also show
respect for the participant by being sensitive to gender, class, and cultural needs of participants. When you
construct questions for a survey questionnaire or interview, fit the questions to answers, include suitable
response options, and do not overlap
1. Introduce the reader to the importance of the topic being studied. The reader is oriented to the
significance of the study and the research questions or hypotheses to follow.
2. Places the problem into a particular context that defines the parameters of what is to be investigated.
3. Provides the framework for reporting the results and indicates what is probably necessary to
conduct the study and explain how the findings will present this information.
Key takeaways:
A statement of the problem is used in research work as a claim that outlines the problem addressed by a study.
A good research problem should address an existing gap in knowledge in the field and lead to further research.
To write a persuasive problem statement, you need to describe (a) the ideal, (b), the reality, and (c) the
consequences.
Writing a statement of the problem should help you clearly identify the purpose of the research project you will
propose. Often, the statement of the problem will also serve as the basis for the introductory section of your final
proposal, directing your reader’s attention quickly to the issues that your proposed project will address and
providing the reader with a concise statement of the proposed project itself.
A statement of problem need not be long and elaborate: one page is more than enough for a good statement of
problem.