What is INQUIRY?
 An act of studying something carefully and extensively in order to
Inquiry is defined as “a seeking for truth, information or knowledge”. The
information is sought through questioning.
 Individuals carry on the process of inquiry from birth till death.
 The process of inquiry begins with gathering information and data
through applying the various human senses.
 Traditional educational system has discouraged the natural process
of inquiry.
The factors which involved in different kinds of inquiries in different
areas of knowledge and at different levels of experience:
• Selection of appropriate questions
• Formulation of appropriate questions
• Identification of key issues
• Search for valid and relevant evidence
• Interpretation and assessment of evidence
• Application of evidence to identified issues
• Presentation of coherent, conclusion, final or tentative
• Reflection on, and assessment of the learning process.
What is RESEARCH?
Research is the systematic investigation and study of materials and
source to establish facts and reach new conclusions.
 Not a single activity. It is multiple and adaptable.
 Come up with developing appropriate solutions to improve
individual’s quality of life.
attain deep knowledge.
 Contributes to the welfare of humanity. It can be creative, exploring
or just reasoning in nature.
 A great way to network and meet new people
 About solving problems and answering questions in all disciplines.
 It is an inquiry process
 It is a formal process of problem solving
 It is a set of procedures and stages.
 It originates with a question or a problem.
 Often it is an iterative process.
 A process that requires patience and thought.
 More of an art rather than a science.
 Expected to be organized which is shown when it utilizes a planned
procedures because there is a structure or method in going about
doing research.
Significance of Research
 To gather necessary information
 To make changes
 To improve the standard of living
 For a safer life
 To know the truth
 To explore our history
 To understand arts
As individual students, you may be asked to write a research paper
for these reasons:
 Research teaches methods of discovery
 Research teaches investigative skills
 Research teaches critical thinking
 Research teaches logic
  Research teaches the basic ingredients of argument 5. Health research contributes to a better understanding of the causes
of medical conditions.

Forms of undergraduate research experiences In general, research is an important aspect of any organization. In-
house research can be done in the different sectors of the
1. Class- based activities organization.
- Such as naturalistic observation, surveys and experiments can
often be structured to train students in the steps of the research
process.
Characteristics of Research
2. Class-based projects
- Like term papers, service learning and community-based and 1. Empirical
campus-based learning can be a research nature.
Research is based on observations and experimentation of theories. It
takes into account the direct experiences that fuse the researcher’s
speculation with reality. Most researchers are based on real-life situations.
Research is important in providing a solid foundation for the:
2. Systematic
 Discovery and creation of knowledge, theory-building
 Testing, confirmation, revision, and refutation of knowledge as Research follows orderly and sequential procedures, based on
theory valid procedures and principles. Researchers are advised to refer to the
 Advance a discipline or field research guidelines provided or prescribed by the school.
 Advancements and improvements in various aspects of life
3. Controlled
 Promotion and tenure of individuals.
In research, all variables, except those that are
tested/experimented on, are kept constant.
Research benefits can be seen and felt in the following fields
4. Employs hypothesis
1. Economic research refers to matters concerning the environment
The hypothesis guides the investigation process. Research refers
and which may lead to improved techniques to ensure sustainable
to a search for facts, answers to questions and solutions to problems.
food production.
2. Social research leads to an increased knowledge of people and 5. Analytical
their interactions with one another, which could be relevant to policy
makers. There is a critical analysis of all data used so that there is no error
3. Environmental research focuses on improved techniques to ensure in the researcher’s interpretations.
sustainable food production. 6. Objective
4. Cultural research leads to increased understanding of cultural
values or social approaches.
 The term also refers to the research as unbiased and logical. All  Validity and appropriateness to the research topic
findings are logically based on empirical data, which as earlier
 Manageability including time reserved
mentioned, are based on real life situations.
 Safety and ethical matters.
7. Original Work

Requires effort to get at the researcher’s own investigation and

produce the data needed to complete the study. Go to the library to What is ETHICS?
check on the originality of your work.
The most common way of defining “ethics” is to refer to it as norms for
conduct that distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable behavior.
Types of Research  It as a method, procedure or perspective for deciding how to act
and for analyzing complex problems and issues.
1. Library Research

This type of research is done primarily in the library where answers to A research project needs to be designed to create valid outcomes if it
specific questions or problems are available. is believe to be pursuing truth.
Research that is untrustworthy is unethical, because it is of no benefit
2. Field Research
in developing the society’s knowledge base and wastes the resources
The research is done in the natural setting such as barangay, school or of researchers and other participants.
factory.
Functions of Ethics
3. Laboratory Research
1. Norms promote the aims of research such as knowledge, truth,
This type is conducted in an artificial or controlled conditions by doing the and evidence of error.
study in a thoroughly specified and equipped area. 2. Ethical standards promote the values that are essential to
collaborative work such as trust, accountability, mutual respect and
fairness.
The Research Process 3. Ethical norms ensures that researchers can be held accountable
to the public.
Define the Research Problem Review the Literature 4. Ethical norms in research, is research, is research that helps
Design Research Formulate Hypothesis build public support quality and integrity of research.

Interpret and Report Analyze Data

Collect Data Broad Categories of Research

 These processes are considered and selected, based on the Research can be divided into broad categories of qualitative and
following factors: quantitative research and a number of approaches can be identified, some
of which are:
 1. Action Research  Covering the contextual condition within which people live the
2. Ethnographic Study social institutions and environmental conditions within which live.
3. Case Study They may influence all human events.
4. Experimental Research  Contributing insights into existing or emerging concepts y help or
5. Participatory Research explain human social behavior. Research can be instances for
developing new concepts.
Both qualitative and quantitative researches stem from different  Striving to use multiple sources of evidence is better than relying
philosophical assumptions. on a single source alone.
 Seeks to collect, integrate and present data from a variety of
sources of evidences as part of a given study.
What is QUALITATIVE RESEARCH?  An inquiry process of understanding a social or human problem
based on building a complex holistic picture formed with words,
Qualitative research is based on an approach which sees the individual and reporting detailed views of informants and conducted in a natural
the world around him/ her as interconnected. setting.
 It sees social reality as unique and therefore, human behavior can  Interpretive, follows a non-linear research path and speaks a
only be understood by focusing on the events based on their language of “cases and contexts.” Cases that arise from daily life
meanings for the people involved. and closely examined
 It is what people experience– how they do and perform as well as
think and feel.
 This type of research is associated with research methods used in In addition, qualitative research has its roots in positivism (Walker,
anthropology, history and other social sciences. 2010), a philosophic view formulated in Europe in the 19th century.
 Generally associated with research in the natural science. (Walker, Two beliefs held by positivism are:
2010).
1. General principles or laws govern the social world and
 Deals with designs, techniques and measures that do not produce
discrete numerical data. 2. Observation is the primary source of dependable knowledge
 Primarily an exploratory research.
Positivism is considered as a traditional scientific method which
 More flexible allowing more naturalness and acclimatization for the
involves hypothesis testing and objective data gathering
interaction and collaboration between the researcher and
participant.
 Studying the meaning of people’s lives, under real-world
conditions; people will not limited by the confines of a laboratory Characteristics of QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
 Representing the views and perspective of the people or 1. Concern for context and meaning
participants of the study in the results of the research mirror the
values and meanings of the people who live them, not by the Qualitative research is bounded by a particular context which the
researcher. research aims to study. Since it is context bound, the human experience
takes its meaning from social, historical, political and cultural influences.
 2. Naturally occurring settings
Qualitative research studies behavior as it happens naturally in
school, classroom, community or an organization. It is based on the
premise that setting affects the findings.
3. Humans as Instruments
The researcher is the primary instrument for gathering and for
analyzing data. He/She responds to the need for capturing the complexity
of human experience, as well as in adapting and responding to the
environment. Only a human being can do the field work methods such as
interview, observation and documentary analysis.
4. Descriptive Data
Data used in qualitative studies are in the form of words or pictures
or other visual rather than numbers and statistics. The participants,
experiences and perspectives culled from varied types of documents
enable the researcher to present a holistic description of the subject/s of
the study.
5. Emergent Design
In qualitative research, the design cannot be finalized at the onset
because the researcher continues to adjust his/ her methods and ways of
proceeding as the study progresses. It is also difficult to predict what may
happen during the actual interactions between the researcher and the
participants.
Characteristics and uses of qualitative research
■ The researcher takes place in a natural setting- a home, office, an
institution, or a community where human behavior and events
occur. This enables the researcher to be immersed in the actual
experiences of the research participants and to get as much
detailed data as s/he needs.
■ The focus of qualitative research is on the participants’ perceptions
and experiences and the way they make sense of their lives
(Franenkel and Wallen, 1998 in Cresswell, 2013).
■ The methods are interactive and humanistic, call for active
participation of research participants, and on the part of the
researcher, sensitivity to the needs of the participants.
■ It uses various ways of collecting data: observations, structured or
semi-structured interviews, documents, and now, e-mails, blogs,
videos, stills and a host of others.
■ Qualitative research results being emergent, new discoveries
during the data gathering process can lead to a total revision of
research questions, among others.
■ The theory or general pattern of understanding will emerge as it
beings with initial codes, develops into broad themes, and
coalesces into a ground theory of broad interpretation (Cresswell,
2003).
■ It is fundamentally interpretative. This includes a description of an
individual or setting, analyzing data for themes or categories, and
finally, making an interpretation or drawing conclusions about its
meaning, personally and theoretically, stating the lessons learned
and offering further questions to be asked. (Wolcott, 1994, as cited
in Cresswell, 2013).
■ The researcher is the primary instrument in data collection. S/he
views phenomena holistically. The more complex, interactive and
encompassing the narrative, the better is the qualitative study.
The qualitative researcher systematically reflects on who he or she is
in the inquiry and is sensitive to his/her personal bias and how it shapes
the study. The persona-self becomes inseparable from the researcher-
self. (Mertens, 2003, as cited in Cresswell 2013).
Strengths and weaknesses of qualitative research
 Qualitative research can offer the best light on or best answers to
certain phenomena-social, economic, political or even
psychological.
 Research results are exhaustive; even underlying meanings
surface.
 It offers several avenues to understand phenomena, behavior,
human conditions and the like.
 It can build on, or even develop theories through consistent themes,
categories relationships, interrelationships that are crystallized
during the data gathering and data analysis processes.
The so-called weaknesses of qualitative research will not affect the serious
researcher who is willing to invest any amount of time or resources in this
endeavor.
 Total immersion in the natural setting of the research can be time-
consuming and tedious and resource-draining, as well.
 There comes a point when the personal-self and the researcher-
self are inseparable, so, subjectively, on the part of the researcher,
can happen. To prevent this, Locke et al. (1987) stress that from
the beginning of the study, the researcher must identify his/her
personal values, assumptions and biases.
Kinds of QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
1. Participant Observation
Demands immersion in the natural setting of the research participant/s.
This way, the researcher participant is able to hear, see and experience
reality as the research participants perform activities and deal with one
another during a period of time.
2. Observation
Entails the systematic noting or recording of events, behaviors and artifacts
(object) in the social setting chosen for study. Through this method, the
researcher learns about behaviors and the meanings attached to those
behaviors. The value here is that the researcher is able to discover the
recurring patterns of behavior and relationships. Likewise, s/he is able to
note body language and affect, in addition to the person’s words.
3. In-depth Interviewing
Resembles conversations, but with pre-determined response categories. A
degree of systematization in questioning may be necessary, especially in
a multisite case study r when many participants are interviewed. This way,
large amounts of data are gathered quickly and immediate follow-up and
clarifications are possible. Interviewers should have excellent listening
skills, and be equally skillful at personal interaction, question framing and
gentle probing for elaboration.
4. Focus Group Interviewing
Involves 7-10 at times 6-8 people, who are unfamiliar with one another and
have been selected because they share certain characteristics that are
relevant to the research inquiry or a problem. The interviewer creates a
permissive environment, asks focused questions, in order to encourage
discussion and the expression of differing opinions and points of view.
This method also provides quick results; the discussion is free-wheeling,
not “stiff”, which can happen in a one-on-one interview. The moderator or
researcher must be an expert in keeping the discussion focused on the
research problem or inquiry.
5. Content Analysis
Calls for systematic examination of forms of communication to document
patterns objectively-as shown in letters, emails, minutes of meetings, policy
statements and a lot more.
6. Narratology
Can be applied to any spoken or written story. Narrative inquiry requires a
great deal of sensitivity between participant and researcher. Ideally, a
friendly atmosphere pervades during the story telling, retelling and reliving Differences of Qualitative and Quantitative
of personal experiences. Needless to say, the researcher must be an active
Criteria Qualitative Research Quantitative Research
listener and an adept reader (for written stories), attentive to recurring
Purpose To understand and To test hypothesis, look at
patterns, as well as the narrator’s feelings, views, and values as reflected
in both oral and written stories. interpret social cause and effect and
interactions make predictions
7. Films, Videos, and Photographs Group Satisfied Smaller and not Larger and randomly
randomly selected selected
These provides visual records of events, especially the films and videos
Variables Study of the whole, not Specific variables studied
which capture the perspective of the filmmaker or videographer. Pictures,
variables
on the other hand, manifest the intent, interest, and values of the
photographer. Form of Data Qualitative data such as Quantitative data based
Collection open-ended responses, on precise measurements
interviews, participant using structured and
observations, field validated data-collection
What is QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH?
notes and reflections. instruments.
Quantitative research includes designs, techniques and measures that Type of Data Identify patterns, Identify statistical
produce numerical or quantitative data which analysis is mainly statistical. Analysis features, themes relationships
Role of Researcher and their Researcher and their
 More often associated with hard data.
Researcher biases may be known to biases are not known to
 This research is used to quantify– that is to put numerical
participants in the study participants in the study
equivalents to findings.
and participant and participant
 This type of research is not limited to mathematics.
characteristics may be characteristics are
known to the deliberately hidden from
researcher the researcher (double
Similarities of Quantitative and Qualitative Research Bachman (2009)
blind studies)
1. Empirical research is aimed at creating new knowledge Results Particular or Generalizable findings
specialized findings that can be applied to
2. Research creates knowledge by observing phenomena that is less other populations.
3. All the entities of interest like attitudes, motivates and learning can generalizable.
be inferred from observing what people do or say in a given setting Scientific Exploratory or bottom- Confirmatory or top-down:
Method up: the researcher the researcher tests the
4. All researchers are concerned about the universality of ideas or generates a new hypothesis and theory with
expressing an idea in general statement; that is, they desire to find hypothesis and theory the data.
meaning for the research results beyond a particular study. from the data collected
View of Human Dynamic, situational, Regular and predictable
Behavior social, and personal
Most Common Explore, discover and Describe, explain and
Research construct predict
Objectives
Focus Wide-angle lens; Narrow angle lens; tests
examines the breadth specific hypothesis
and depth of
phenomena
Nature of Study behavior in a Study behavior under
Observation natural environment controlled conditions:
isolate causal effects.
Nature of Multiple realities; Single reality; objective
Reality subjective
Final Report Narrative report with Statistical report with
contextual description correlations, comparisons
and direct quotations of means and statistical
from research significance of findings.
participants.