The Research Process

Phase Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3

Deciding Planning Conducting

Main Task
WHAT HOW COLLECTING
research to gather the required
questions to evidence to information
answer answer research
questions
Operational
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
steps

Phase 1: Deciding what to research

Step 1: Formulating a research problem

 Formulating a research problem is the first and most

important step.
 A research problem identifies your destination: what
you intend to research.
 The main function of formulating a research
problem is to decide what you want to find out.

Phase 2: Planning a research study

Step 2: Specifying research questions and
hypotheses
 Formulate specific research questions you want
answer
 Specify your tentative answers to your research
questions (hyphotheses)
 Review the literature related to your research
 questions and hyphotheses

Step 3: Conceptualizing a research design

 Select an appropriate research design that is valid,

workable, and manageable
 Justify your selection
 Explain logical details needed to implement the
selected design

Step 4: Constructing instruments

 Decide how you are going to collect data for your
study.
 Construct valid and reliable research instruments.
 Field testing instrument is an integral part of
instrument construction

Step 5: Selecting a sample

 The accuracy of your research findings largely
depends upon the way you select your sample.
 Define your population and how the sample will be
selected (sample design).

Phase 3: Conducting a research study

Step 6: Collecting data
 Use your research instruments to collect data from
your sample.
 Make sure that the data collection is undertaken
according to the standardized procedure.
 Consider ethical issues in data collection.

Step 7: Analyzing data

 Develop database system, data entry and data
cleaning
 Select methods and techniques of data analysis
appropriate for your research questions and
hypotheses
 Test hypotheses and make inferences

Step 8: Writing a research report

 Write a research report informing:
what you have done,
what you have discovered, and
what conclusions you have drawn from your findings.
 Your report should be written in an academic style.
 Research Process
1.
8. Writing Reserarch
report problem

2.
Research
7. Data Theory questions
Analysis and
hypothese
s

Confirm/ reject
Hypotheses
Hypotheses 3.
Conceptu
6. Data
alizing
collection
research
design
4.
5. Constructi
Selecting ng
sample instrumen
t

FORMULATING A RESEARCH PROBLEM

What is a Research Problem?
A research problem is a definite or
clear expression [statement] about:
an area of concern,
a condition to be improved upon,
a difficulty to be eliminated,
or a troubling question
that exists in scholarly literature, in theory, or within existing
practice that points to a need for meaningful understanding
and deliberate investigation.
What is a Research Problem?

 Any question that you want to answer

 Any assumption you want to investigate
 A research topic for your study
 A research problem establishes the means by which
you must answer the "So What" question
 If one wants to solve a problem, one must generally
know what the problem is.
 A large part of the problem lies in knowing what one
is trying to do.
(Fred Kerlinger, 1986)
Not all questions can be transformed
into research problems
Steps in formulating a Research Problem
Step 1 : Identify a broad field or subject area of interest
to you
Step 2 : Breakdown the broad area into subareas
Step 3 : Select what is of most interest to you
Step 4 : Raise research questions
Step 5 : Formulate objectives
Step 6 : Assess your objectives
Step 7 : Double-check

1. Identify a broad field or subject area of interest to you

Alcoholism

2. Breaking down the broad area into subareas

2. Breakingdown the broad area into subareas

Reasons for alcoholism

Profile of alcoholics
Subareas

Alcoholism
Impact of alcoholics on
family

Subject Area
Effectiveness of alcoholic
treatment

3. Select what is of most interest to you

Impact of alcoholics on family

4. Raise research questions

Impact of alcoholics on family:

 What impact has alcoholics on marital relations

 What are the effects on the family’s finance
 What does it affect the children’s life

5. Formulate objectives
Main objective:
To find out the effects of alcoholism on the family

Specific objectives:

 To ascertain the impact of alcoholism on marital

relations
 To determine the ways in which alcoholism affect
different aspects of children’s lives
 To find out the effects of alcoholism on the financial
condition of the family

6. Assess your objectives

Assess the objectives in terms of:

 the work involved

 the time available
 the financial resources
 your technical expertise in the area
 that you are really interested in the study
 that you agree with the objectives
 that you have adequate resources
 that you have the technical expertise to undertake the
 study

RESEARCH VARIABLE AND HYPOTHESIS

Concept, Variable, Construct
A concept is:
 an abstraction
 mental representation
 idea conceived in mind
about something or phenomena
Example: chair, wealth, achievement

In order to move from conceptual to empirical level,

concepts are converted into variables.

VARIABLE = Vary-able
 a concept or construct that is capable of measurement
or taking of different values
 something that varies
 empirical property

A construct:
 is a concept or a variable which is invented or adopted
for a scientific purpose
 can not be observed and measured directly
Example: stress, intelligence, happiness
 Construct
Concept Variable
(indirect
(conceptual (operational
measuring
definition) definition)
variable)

Theory:
Set of interrelated constructs in a systematic view

TYPE OF VARIABLE

DEPENDENT VARIABLE (DV) INDEPENDENT VARIABLE (IV)

ü Variable whose value depends
on that of another variable
ü Dependent on the independent
variable
ü outcome variable
ü Variable that is changed or
controlled
ü Causes change in dependent
variable
ü Change variable
 Change the value of independent variable will
change the value of independent variable.
IV causes DV

Intervening Variable

 Intervenes or mediates between IV and DV.

 used in the process of explaining an observed
relationship between IV and DV
 For example, the IV is money (or lack of) and the DV is
 longevity. Lack or access to healthcare or poor nutrition
intervene, or fill the gap, between IV and DV.

Extraneous variable
 variables the influence the outcome of an experiment,
though they are not the variables that are actually of
interest.
 These variables are undesirable because they add error
to an experiment.
 For example, an educational psychologist examining the
effectiveness of a learning strategy (IV) on the
student’s achievement (DV). One obvious extraneous
variable would be pre-knowledge of the students on
topic studied

TYPE OF HYPOTHESIS

RESEARCH HYPOTHESES
ALTERNATE (STATISTICAL)
Expected relationship HYPOTHESES
Declarative forms No relationship
Directional or Null form
nondirectional

RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

 Tentative answers to your research problems and

questions
  Educated guess about relationship of variables
 Your expectation concerning the relationship of
variables
 Stated in declarative form

Hypothesis is a bridge between theory and empirical inquiry

Directional statement:
Example:
High school students who receive online learning get higher
mathematics achievement than higher school students who
receive regular (conventional) instruction.
Non-directional statement:
Example:
There is a significant difference in mathematics
achievement of high school students who receive online
learning than higher school students who receive regular
(conventional)

instruction.
ALTERNATE (STATISTICAL) HYPOTHESIS
Null hypothesis statement:
There is a no difference in mathematics achievement of high
school students who receive online learning than higher
school students who receive regular (conventional)
instruction.
SOURCE OF HYPOTHESIS

 Professional literature
(Book and Journal)
 Critical review
  State of the art of knowledge

LITERATURE REVIEW

Purpose of Literature Review : to acquaint yourself with the

available body of knowledge in your area of interest.
The Importance of Literature Review
Literature Review:

 is an integral part of the research process

 makes a valuable contribution to almost every
operational step

Functions of Literature Review

 It provides a theoretical background to your study.

 It helps you establish the links between what you are
proposing to examine and what has already been
studied.
 It enables you to show how your findings have
contributed to the existing body of knowledge in your
profession.
 It helps you to integrate your research findings into
the existing body of knowledge.

Literature Review Helps Researcher

1. Bring clarity and focus to your research problem

2. Improve your research methodology
3. Broaden your knowledge base in your research area
4. Contextualize your findings.
How to Review the Literature

1. Searching for the existing literature in your area of

study
2. Reviewing the selected literature
3. Developing a theoretical framework
4. Developing a conceptual framework

Searching Sources for the Existing

Literature

Book Scientific Journal

Internet

Searching Sources for the Existing Literature

BOOK

• Use library calague

Advantage: • Library of Congress Subject
coherent body of knowledge Headings
• Book ReviewIndex
Disadvantage: • Check bibliographies of books
(cross-referenced)
not completely up-to-date
• Make an annotated bibliography
• Use Card Index
 Searching for the Existing Literature
SCIENTIFIC JOURNAL

• Provides up-to-date • Indices of journals (e.g.

information
• Mostlyresearch-based
paper
• Published byprofessional
association/institution
Humanities Index)
• Abstracts of articles (e.g. ERIC)
• Citation indices (e.g. Social
Sciences Citation Index)

APA PsycINFO

• Title
• Publication year
• Author
• Affiliation
3 million records
devoted to peer- • Source
reviewed literature from • Abstract
the 1800s to the • Key phrase
present • Descriptors
• Population
• Age group
• Reference

Reading Journal Article

Structure of an Article
Abstract
General Statement of the Problem
Hypothesis
Method
Results
Discussion
INTERNET
Use search engine: google, yahoo, etc.
Use keyword
Use Boolean logic (AND, OR, NOT)

Reviewing the selected literature

Carefully and critically examine it with respect to the

following aspects:

 Relevant to your theoretical framework

 Note the theories, the criticism, and methodology
 Examine to what extent the finding can be
generalized
 Give your opinion about the research validity
 Identify the gaps that exist in the body of
knowledge

the "five C’s" of writing a literature

review

Cite
Compare
Contrast
Critique
Connect
 Developing a theoretical framework

Until you go through the literature you cannot develop a

theoretical framework
and
until you have developed a theoretical framework you cannot
effectively review the literature

Iterative process

Developing a theoretical framework

 Writing the idea

 Start with general information
 Gradually narrowing it down to the specific

Developing a theoretical framework

Example:
Relationship of IQ and
learning achievement (LA)
Review of literature on:
IQ, Learning Achievement,
relationship of IQ and LA
Outline:
• IQ theory
• IQ as aptitude aspect
• Factor affecting IQ
• Measurement of IQ
• LA definition
• Measuring LA
• Relationship of IQ and LA

Developing a conceptual framework

 The conceptual framework is the basis of your research
problem
 It stems from the theoretical framework and usually
focuses on the section(s) which become the basis of
your study
 The theoretical framework includes all the theories
 The conceptual framework is focused on your research
problem

Writing about the Literature Reviewed

Summarize and review what the related theories and

previous researches,
not a listing of existing theories and previous
researches