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CHAPTER 1:
NATURE AND INQUIRY OF RESEARCH

LESSON 1: INTRO TO RESEARCH

A. Definition of research
 Research comes from the two words: “re” – meaning again; and “search” – meaning to look for something.
Literally means “to look for something again”.
 It is systematic process of solving a problem or finding answers of an inquiry.
 It is a systematic process of collecting and logically analyzing information to gain new knowledge or to
complement an existing one.
 It is a method of acquiring knowledge based on the scientific method of inquiry to enrich the system of
objective knowledge in the fields of natural and social science.
 It is an organized ways of finding new ideas from the existing knowledge with the help of useful tools that
will lead us discover new and useful concepts in order to improve the quality of life.

B. Importance of Research in daily life

Research has many things to offer to the universe to include the human beings. Consider the following
importance of research in daily life:
1. Research improves human’s life. Looking back to the Stone Age, for instance, people struggled against not having
enough for something. They settled on various means to make a living such as rubbing stones to light a fire,
leaves to cover their body, herbs to heal their wounds, and the like. Ultimately, people thought of finding ways
and means to improve their life. Using their logical thinking skills, they began to discover technologies, enhance
and introduce them to society.

2. Research provides answer to a question. People have always been left with myriad of questions about anything
else in the environment. For example, a child may ask questions such as why the sun comes up, how birds lay
eggs, why people eat, and a lot more. At a higher level one may inquire about causes of climate change, nuclear
energy for water desalting, impact of online gaming to the youth, and others. This is where the science of
inquiry comes into play.

3. Research assist in decision-making. Depending on individual circumstance, research findings serve as an

excellent basis for making decisions. Suppose you are asked to plan and implement a school project as a
student-leader. At first you might be doubtful about what specific intervention to introduce to fellow students
given the issue on obesity. Probably, you might be left with several ideas in mind that you could hardly pin one
down. To help you out of this dilemma, a survey research may be conducted to selected students to find their
preferred student intervention project of the many projects you have listed. Once this is settled, you might to
know their level of participation in the project. This is why research plays a significant role in decision-making.

LESSON 2: CHARACTERISTICS OF RESEARCH

Research is a process of collecting of collecting, analyzing and interpreting information to answer questions.
But to be qualify as research, the process must have certain characteristics. Here are 10 characteristics of research:
1. Analytical – utilizes proven analytical procedures in gathering data.
2. Controlled – all variables except those that are tested/experimented upon are kept constant.
3. Critical – exhibits careful and precise judgment.
4. Cyclical – starts with a problem and ends with another problem
5. Empirical – based on observations and experimentation on theories and principles.
6. Employs Hypothesis – it guides in investigation process.
7. Logical – based on valid procedures and principles
8. Objective – setting aside biases or personal influence in analyzing and interpreting results.
9. Replicable – research design and procedures are repeated to enable the researcher to arrive at valid and
conclusive results.
10. Systematic – follows orderly and sequential procedure.

LESSON 3: RESEARCH AS A PROCESS

Research is the scientific process of collecting empirical data that are intended for drawing a conclusion. It
consists on the following 6 core steps:
1. Defining a research problem. Defining a research problem is usually carried by the researcher at the beginning
of the entire research process. Traditional researcher usually comply with SMART requirement of choosing a
research problem. This means the topic should be specific, measureable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound.

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Contemporary researchers, however added certain criteria for defining a research problem. It should possess
newness or novelty, and international characters especially if the research output is intended for presentation
in international conference, if not, publication in international scientific journals.

2. Developing a research plan. Doing a research is like building a house. Researchers have to lay out a plan in such
a way it will surely guide them through and through. Some essentials of research plan include specific research
aim, background and significance, related readings, and research designs and methods to use.

3. Collecting research data. One of the important steps in scientific inquiry is data collection. Primary data can be
collected through observation, interview, survey, experimentation, document analysis, etc.

4. Analyzing research data. This step is carried out when all necessary data are intact and ready for analysis. An
inquiry that uses qualitative method usually requires a different method of analysis. A quantitative research,
however, requires a different technique which is statistical in nature.

5. Presenting the findings. Checking the accuracy and completeness of the research data is an essential task before
writing and revising the contents of the research paper; otherwise the presentation of data would appear
insufficient, and yes, even questionable.

6. Disseminating and utilizing the findings. Regardless of stature in conducting research, one should strive to
disseminate the research results which may be considered an excellent baseline information for another study.
Modern-day research scientists present their research findings in research conference; others publish them in
reputable journals. And this should be made the ultimate purpose of knowledge creation.

LESSON 4: TYPES OF RESEARCH and RESEARCH ACROSS FIELDS

A. Types of Research
1. Pure Research. It is sometimes called the “fundamental or basic research”. This type of research is for searching
knowledge for its own sake, the search for truth for truth sake.
2. Applied Research. This type of research is carried out to find answers to a research problem and apply
knowledge in certain situation.
3. Qualitative Research. It is a type of research concerned with inquiring about certain phenomena or event,
individual’s behavior, culture, practice, and values such as beliefs and perceptions. The data are then described
and reported in textual form.
4. Quantitative Research. It is a type of research that also dwells on investigating certain phenomenon or event
wherein data are usually characterized by numerical measures.

B. Kinds of Research Across fields

Here are examples of research studies that were conducted from the different disciplines.
RESEARCH TITLE AUTHOR DISCIPLINE
Production of Cellulase and
Bioethanol from lignocellulosic
Akilesh, B. (2012) Science
materials using Apergillus niger and
Sacchromyces cerevisiae
Descartes Configuration Formula and
Ashfaque, J. M. (2016) Mathematics
The Quadratic Formula
Role of Commercial Banks in the
Economic Development of Rural Samuel, J. (2015) Business
areas in Nigeria
Creative Cycle Theory as ‘Laucs
Autopoiesis’ for Social Responsibility Pecek, T. B. (2019) Social Science
of Society
Bilingual Children’s Acquisition of
English Verb Morphology: Effects of
Paradis, J. (2017) Language
Language Exposure, Structure
Complexity, and Task Type
Contemporary Aboriginal Art from
Australia’s Desert: Context, Debates, Alcaraz, A. L. (2015) Arts
and Analysis
Engaging Young People in Golf: A
Bailey, R. (2018) Sports
Delphi Expert Consensus Study

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LESSON 5: ETHICAL PRINCIPLES IN RESEARCH

Ethics are the moral principles that a person must follow, irrespective of place or time. Behaving ethically
involves doing the right thing at the right time. Research Ethics focus on the moral principles that researchers must
follow in their respective fields of research.
A. Principle of research ethics
1. Minimizing the risk of harm. Research should not harm participants in the study. Where there is the possibility
that participants could be harmed or put in a position of discomfort, there must be strong justifications for this.
There are the number of harms that participants can be subjected to. These include:
 Physical harm
 Physiological distress and discomfort
 Social disadvantage
 Privacy and anonymity

2. Obtaining Informed Consent. One of the foundations of research ethics is the idea of informed consent. Simply
put, informed consent means the participants should understand that they are taking part in research and what
the research requires them. Such information may include the purpose of research, the methods being used,
the possible outcomes of the research, as well, as associated demands, discomforts, inconvenience and risks
that the participants may face.

3. Protecting anonymity and confidentiality. Protecting the anonymity and confidentiality of research participants
is another practical component of research ethics. After all, participant will typically only be willing to volunteer,
especially information of a private or sensitive nature, if the researcher agrees to hold such information in
confidence.

4. Avoiding deceptive practices. At first sight, deceptive practices fly in the face of informed consent. After all, how
can participants know that they are taking part in research and what the research requires of them if they are
being deceived? This is part of what makes the use of deceptive practices controversial. For this reason, in most
circumstances, research should avoid any kinds of deceptive practices. However, this is not always the case.
Deception is sometimes a necessary component of covert research, which can be justified in some cases. Covert
research reflects research where the identity of the observer and/or the purpose of the research is not known
to participants. Cases where you may choose to engage in covert research may include instances where:
 It is not feasible to let everyone in a particular research setting know what you are doing.
 Overt observation or knowledge of the purpose of the research may alter the particular phenomenon
that is being studied.
Imagine some of the following scenarios where covert research may be considered justifiable:
Scenario A
You are conducting a piece of research looking at prejudice. While participants are given a questionnaire to
complete that measures their prejudice, it is not obvious from the questions that this is the case. Furthermore,
participants are not told that the research is about prejudice because it is felt that this could alter their
responses. After all, few people would be happy if other people thought they were prejudice. As a result, if
participants knew that this is the purpose of the study, they may well provide responses that they think will make
them appear less prejudice.
Scenario B
You are interested in understanding the organizational culture in a single firm. You feel that observation
would be an appropriate research method in such a naturalistic setting. However, you feel that if employees
knew that you were monitoring them, they may behave in a different way. Therefore, you may have received
permission to go undercover or provide a story to explain why you are there, which is not the truth.

B. 3R’S OF ANIMAL RESEARCH

The welfare of animals used in research is very important. There are good ethical, scientific, legal and
economic reasons for making sure that animals are looked after properly and used in minimum numbers. The
guiding principles underpinning the humane use of animals in scientific research are called the three Rs. Any
researcher planning to use animals in their research must first show why there is no alternative and what will be
done to minimize numbers and suffering. These are the following:
1. Replace the use of animals with alternative techniques, or avoid the use of animals altogether.
2. Reduce the number of animals used to a minimum, to obtain information from fewer animals or more
information from the same number of animals.
3. Refine the way experiments are carried out, to make sure animals suffer as little as possible. This includes better
housing and improvements to procedures which minimize pain and suffering and/or improve animal welfare.

C. REPUBLIC ACT No. 8485

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The Republic Act No. 8485 or also known as the “Animal Welfare Act of 1998” establishes rules and
regulations for promoting animal welfare throughout the country. It is the purpose of this Act to protect and
promote the welfare of all animals in the Philippines by supervising and regulating the establishment and operations
of all facilities utilized for breeding, maintaining, keeping, treating or training of all animals either as objects of trade
or as household pets.
Section 8 of the act states that any person who violates any of the provisions of this Act shall, upon conviction by
final judgment, be punished by imprisonment of not less than six (6) months nor more than two (2) years or a fine of
not less than P1,000.00 nor more than P5,000.00 or both at the discretion of the Court. If the violation is committed
by a juridical person, the officer responsible therefor shall serve the imprisonment when imposed. If the violation
is committed by an alien, he or she shall be immediately deported after service of sentence without any further
proceedings.

D. REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10173

The Republic Act No. 10173 or also known as the “Data Privacy Act of 2012”, is an act protecting individual
personal information and communications systems in the government and the private sector. It aims to protect the
fundamental human right of privacy, of communication while ensuring free flow of information to promote
innovation and growth. This act is based on the standards set by the European parliament and a part with the Asia
Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Information Privacy Framework standards.

E. SCIENTIFIC MISCONDUCT
Scientific dishonesty happens when a researcher deviates from the acceptable norms of conduct while
doing his or her study. These include:
 Plagiarism – using other people's work without acknowledging their contribution.
 Fabrication – making up results and recording or reporting them.
 Falsification – manipulating research materials, equipment or process or changing or omitting data or
results such that the research is not accurately represented in the research record.

REFERENCES:

Amorado, R. (2017). Qualitative Research: A Practical Approach. Mutya Publishing House, Inc. Malabon City
Fernandez, F. & Ramos, L. (2014). Handbook on Research Writing.
Mason, J. (2002).Qualitative Researching, 2nd Edition. Sage Publishing, Inc. London
Yin, R. (2011). Qualitative Research from Start to Finish. The Guilford Press. New York

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