LESSON 1:

WHAT IS RESEARCH?
Ma. Lourdes G. Olegario
Instructor
What is Research?
Any honest attempt to study a problem
systematically or to add to man’s knowledge of a
problem may be regarded as research.
(Theodorson and Theodorson 1969 cited in Reber
1995, p.663)

The aim, as far as I can see, is the same in all

sciences. Put simply and cursorily, the aim is to make
known something previously unknown to human
beings. It is to advance human knowledge, to make it
more certain or better fitting
. . . the aim is, as I have said, discovery.
(Elias 1986, p.20)
 WHY UNDERTAKE RESEARCH?

• To investigate some existing situation or

problem.
• To provide solutions to a problem.
• To explore and analyse more general issues.
• To construct or create a new procedure or
system.
• To explain a new phenomenon.
• To generate new knowledge.
• A combination of two or more of any of the
above.
(Hussey and Hussey 1997)
TYPES OF RESEARCH

Exploratory research

Takes place where there is little or no prior knowledge of a

phenomenon.

An exploratory research project is an attempt to lay the

groundwork that will lead to future studies, or to determine if
what is being observed might be explained by a currently
existing theory. Most often, exploratory research lays the
initial groundwork for future research.
Descriptive research

Describes a particular phenomenon, focusing upon the

issue of what is happening, or how much of it has
happened, rather than why it is happening.

Ex: Maybe you want to know if a relationship exists

between two things, like how much time a person spends
studying for a test and their subsequent grade on that
test, so you design a correlational study.
Explanatory research

This type of research is involved in explaining

why something happens, and assessing causal
relationships between variables.

A study that attempts to explain why

pedestrians exhibit unsafe behavior is
considered explanatory research because it
seeks to find causes that are associated with
the behavior.
Predictive research

• Involved with the forecasting (predicting) of a

likelihood of something happening.
• This research usually begins with, or leading to,
finding what will happen, given that some baseline is
already known and involves some form of human
behavior decision or condition.

For example if we know that teens in intercity schools,

aged 13-16, are prone to high dropout rates, predictive
research might assess (predict) a relationship between
age or gender and not graduating from high school.
THEORETICAL AND EMPIRICAL RESEARCH

Theoretical research generally uses the findings from

existing works to develop new ideas through analysing
existing theory and explanations. These new ideas are not
tested through collecting evidence in the form of primary
data.

Empirical research supports the development of new

ideas through the collection of data (empirical =
observation or measurement rather than theoretical
reasoning).
Parts of a research paper (IMRaD)

◦Introduction
◦Methods
◦Results
◦Discussion
Abstract
◦ An abstract summarizes, usually in one
paragraph of 300 words or less, the major aspects
of the entire paper in a prescribed sequence that
includes:
25% on importance of the research
25% on what you did (Methods)
25% on what you found (Results)
25% on the implications of the research
(Discussion)
INTRODUCTION
SECTION
WHY DID YOU START?
Use the introduction to show that you are
knowledgeable about your field of study and
existing research.
Your introduction should:
1. Highlight the trend in the field/
pinpoint the key issues.
2. Expose the "gap" or problem in the
field.
3. Provide rationale for your research/
significance of your study
--- con't. ---
5. State aim of the study
6. Review pertinent literature
7. Written in present tense
LITERATURE
REVIEW
Your review of literature should…

◦ establish the relevance of your study

◦ establish the research gap that your study intends
to fill in
◦ provides important information about your topic
and related concepts
◦ presents the contradictions between and among
previous literature
Your review of literature should…

◦ justify your research methodology

◦ present and discuss your theoretical and
conceptual framework
Doing your Literature Review

◦ Use relevant key words to find your desired

sources
◦ Look first for studies that deal with the same
topic and methodology but conducted in different
contexts
◦ Then, search for studies that deal with the topic
or methodology similar to yours
Doing your Literature Review

◦ Divide the literature review into two subsections:

(1) conceptual literature
(2) related studies
◦ Define important terms and cite your reference
◦ Use headings and subheadings
METHOD SECTION
WHAT DID YOU DO?
Use your method chapter to show that you
arrived at your results by applying valid and
reliable methods.
The Method section consists of the:
1. Participants/Population
2. Apparatus/Materials Used
3. Procedure
Past tense
Participants "Who were in your
study?"
1. the total number of participants and the number
assigned to each experimental condition
2. the major demographic characteristics of the
participants (such as age, sex, etc.)
3. how were the participants selected?
Were they randomly selected from the whole
population or only from volunteers?
Were they not randomly selected but only
volunteers?
4.indicate if the participants are not
representative of the general population
and if the selection process was restricted
in any way.
Did the study use only psych majors, only
women, only deaf, only students of a
particular university, only housewives?
Did the study eliminate any people with
vision problem, color-blindness, hearing
problems, etc.
5.indicate how the participants were
assigned. Were they all assigned to the
same group or did different ones go to
different groups.
If they went to different groups, were they
randomly assigned?
Apparatus/Materials
it tells the reader what equipment and
tools are used to run the experiment and to
acquire data
Apparatus – if describing mechanical
devices (e.g. computer)
Materials – if describing mostly paper
and pencil type items
(e.g. survey questionnaire)
Procedure

it gives the reader a summary of each step

in the execution of the research
this summary must be concise, precise,
and logical
do not burden the reader with too much
detail but give enough so the reader can
follow what is being done
RESULTS SECTION
WHAT DID YOU FIND OUT?
Results are where the findings and
outcomes of the research go.
In this section you should:
◦Present the findings either in tables or
figures
◦make sure all tables and figures are
labeled and numbered separately
◦captions go above tables and beneath
figures
◦past tense
DISCUSSION AND
CONCLUSION
WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
This section contains the following:
◦summary of the main findings
◦connect these findings to other research
◦discuss flaws in the study
◦use these flaws as reasons to suggest
additional, future research
◦state the implications of findings for
future policy or practice
◦written in present tense
END OF LESSON 1