TOPIC 1 INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH METHODS IN

EDUCATION. DEFINITION, AIMS,

CHARACTERISTICS AND PURPOSE OF
EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH.
SYNOPSIS
This topic provides you with an overview of the aims of educational research. It
discusses research paradigms and describes the purposes and ethical procedures
that a practitioner follows to generate new knowledge through educational enquiry. It
also provides a brief overview of the different types of educational research: the
positivist approach (quantitative), the interpretive approach (qualitative) and summary
of research ethics will also be given some coverage.
y the end of the module you should have an enhanced understanding of the
principles of educational research and how this operates in a range of educational
conte!ts. "ou will also be better equipped to identify opportunities for educational
research in your own practice. "ou will have the opportunity to e!plore how you think
the ideas relate to your own practice as a clinical teacher and supervisor, and be
provided with information about how to further develop your and others# research
skills.
$
LEARNING OUTCOMES
y the end of this topic, you will be able to:
give the definition of research paradigms in educational research
understand the aims and purposes of educational research
know the different types of educational research
positisit approach (quantitative)
interpretive approach (qualitative)
1
Cited from (%&'('%)$%): http:''www.faculty.londondeanery.ac.uk'e*learning'introduction*to*educational*research'getting*started .
understand the importance of ethics in educational research
identify the factors that influence educational research.
Framework of Top!"
Pre#ew
+uided discussion
,hat do I already know about educational research
,hat do I want to know'find out about educational research
-an you list (write down) the main reasons why you might want to do research.

C$a"" %"!&""o' (&e")o'"
I')ro%&!)o' )o e%&!a)o'a$ re"ear!*
/efinitions of
educational
research
0ims and
purposes
educational
research
Types of
educational
research
1thics of
educational
research
2actors
influencing
ethical
approaches
,hat e!perience do you have with research.
/escribe your perception of 3real research4.
In your opinion what is the purpose of educational research.
,hat are some of the reasons that teachers do educational research.
,hat do you think are some of the issues or barriers to carrying out
educational research for teachers in the 5alaysian classroom.
Def')o' of E%&!a)o'a$ Re"ear!*
1ducational research has been designed to investigate practices in order to
fundamentally improve the way we learn, know and describe our world (-ohen,
5anion 6 5orrison %))7). 5erriam ($(88: 9) points out:
1very discipline relies on research in order to e!pand its knowledge base as it
provides an architectural blueprint that helps its participants plan, assemble
and organi:e their discoveries and results in a systematic, understandable and
productive way.
%

The overall aim of e%&!a)o'a$ re"ear!* is to provide teachers, clinicians, managers
and learners with systematically obtained information that helps to improve the
quality of the learning process. The difference between doing educational research
and other healthcare research is that often the immediate effects of the intervention
are seen and assessed on the educators or their students, rather than on the
processes and outcomes of patients. Therefore, wherever possible, we should think
about how to measure the effects of an education intervention on the student.
2or e!ample, ;arsell and ligh ($((() suggest a number of reasons that stimulate
people to write educational (academic) research.
I')r'"! rea"o'" E+)r'"! rea"o'"
To share knowledge
2or career advancement
To increase status
0cademic pressures
To demonstrate a commitment to best
pedagogy
To improve practice
2
Hawkins, ELTC (2011): Strengthening English language edagog! with a"tion resear"h#
2or collegial approval
2or pleasure
To meet a challenge
To improve the learning environment
for teacher and students
To reflect advances in educational
technology
To monitor or evaluate changes in
educational delivery
5ulti*professional team*based practice
(professional learning community ;<-)
=bligations
Am" a'% P&rpo"e" of e%&!a)o'a$ re"ear!*
The educational research available to teacher practitioners can be constructed on the
basis of distinction between third person, second person, and first person research.
Third person research addresses persons as 3them, or it4 (>emmis $(($). The
researcher speaks about these people, describes their actions and activities from
what they believe is an ob?ective point of view.
This type of research is !a$$e% po")#"m where the people in the study are treated
as ob?ects and the researcher attempts to establish distinct relationship between
cause and effect (-ohen et al., %))7). Traditional third person research is where
e!pert researchers test their theories on practitioners and describe findings from
outside the event. @pectator research is where the e!pert comes in from outside to
test, manipulate the environment and observe particular relationships between
phenomena (5cAiff 6 ,hitehead %))9).
B

@econd person or qualitative research re?ects the impersonal language of positivism
and engages the research participants cultural values, interpretations and language
used to describe their world. @econd person researchers are more interested in
e!planations, understanding meanings or e!ploring feelings and will use far less
structured methods referred to as hermeneutic (interpretation) and re?ect ob?ectivist
notions of universal truth (positivism) (-ohen et al., %))7C >night %))%). @econd
person researchers recogni:e that sub?ects inherent values, cultural beliefs need to
be e!plored through their particular cultural lens in order to ascertain a clear conte!t
$
This section from Dawkins (%)$$).
for the research and describe any findings (@take 6 Trumbull %)$)). @econd person
research can be characteri:ed as Egoing native# as the researcher attempts to
understand, observe and describe the cultural field the research group interacts
within in the everyday language and cultural conte!t of the group under investigation.
The inherent strength and weakness of each approach is summari:ed by urke and
=nwuegbu:ie (%))F) in Table $:
Ta,$e 1- E%&!a)o'a$ Re"ear!* Para%.m"
Gesearch
Type
@trength ,eakness
B
rd
;erson
;ositivist
Huantitative
Test and validates how
phenomena occur and discovers
natural laws.
-an generali:e findings with
sufficient sampling.
2indings are reproducible under
similar research conditions.
-ontrol of variable shows cause
and effect relationships.
;rovides numerical data.
Gesearch may have credibility
with people in power,
government and people who
fund research.
Iseful for studying large
numbers of people.
The researcher#s categories
may not reflect local
understanding, traditions,
knowledge.
>nowledge produced may
be too abstract for direct
application.
=utsider research can lead
to massive pro?ection on the
researcher#s behalf. That
is, the researcher sees only
what they want to see.
%
nd
;erson
Hualitative
Gesearch
/ata is in the participants own
categories of meaning, words
and culture.
Iseful for describing comple!
phenomena in rich detail.
Inductively generates theory
from the ground up.
;roduces knowledge that is
specific and valuable to one
people or area.
It is difficult to make
quantitative predictions from
data.
/ata analysis is time
/ata is mined in the field or
natural setting.
Gesponsive to local situations,
conditions and stakeholders
needs.
Gesearch is fle!ible can change
during the study.
consuming pra!is.
Gesults are more easily
influenced by researcher#s
bias and idiosyncrasy.
/ata is difficult to obtain.
<ow credibility with
governmental and other
funding organi:ations.
$
st
;erson
0ction
Gesearch
Inductively generates theory
from the ground up.
uilds theory in real world
practice.
/ata is mined in the field or
natural setting.
Gesponsive to local situations,
conditions and stakeholders
needs.
Insider research, change comes
from local knowledge within not
from outside e!pertise.
Gesearch is fle!ible and evolves
with the study in an inductive
fashion.
Gesearch designed to
emancipate, cause improvement
and social action.
+enerates critical thinking and
reflection skills that are readily
transferable to teaching and
other situations.
Involves person in solving their
Gesults are more easily
influenced by researcher#s
bias and idiosyncrasy.
Gesults are only valuable in
conte!t and are often not
generalisable.
;roduces knowledge that is
specific and valuable to one
people or area.
Ises interpretations that
may not be e!pert or equal
and this undermines pra!is
and new knowledge claims.
Time constraint on teachers
restricts the quality and
rigour of action research.
own problems.
2ollows a logical sequence of
research cycles.
Ises mi! methods of
quantitative and qualitative
approaches to obtain data.
Table $: 1ducational Gesearch ;aradigms (from urke 6 =nwuegbu:ie %))F).
Po")#"m
The positivist paradigm of e!ploring social reality is based on the philosophical ideas
of the 2rench philosopher A&.&") Com)e, who emphasi:ed observation and reason
as means of understanding human behaviour. 0ccording to him, true knowledge is
based on e!perience of senses and can be obtained by observation and e!periment.
;ositivistic thinkers adopt his scientific method as a means of knowledge generation.
Dence, it has to be understood within the framework of the principles and
assumptions of science. These assumptions, as -onen et al (%)))) noted, are
determinism, empiricism, parsimony, and generality.
F
/De)erm'"m0 means that events are caused by other circumstancesC and hence,
understanding such casual links are necessary for prediction and control.
/Empr!"m0 means collection of verifiable empirical evidences in support of theories
or hypotheses. /Par"mo'10 refers to the e!planation of the phenomena in the most
economic way possible. /Ge'era$)10 is the process of generali:ing the observation of
the particular phenomenon to the world at large. ,ith these assumptions of science,
the ultimate goal of science is to integrate and systematise findings into a meaningful
pattern or theory which is regarded as tentative and not the ultimate truth. Theory is
sub?ect to revision or modification as new evidence is found. ;ositivistic paradigm
thus systemati:es the knowledge generation process with the help of quantification,
which is essential y to enhance precision in the description of parameters and the
discernment of the relationship among them. The e!amples of positivist paradigm
and quantitative approach are provided in Table %.
%
&uoted from 'ash (200()#
0lthough positivistic paradigm continued to influence educational research for a long
time in the later half of the twentieth century, it was critici:ed due to its lack of regard
for the subjective states of individuals. It regards human behaviour as passive,
controlled and determined by e!ternal environment. Dence human beings are
dehumani:ed without their intention, individualism and freedom taken into account in
viewing and interpreting social reality. 0ccording to the critics of this paradigm,
ob?ectivity needs to be replaced by sub?ectivity in the process of scientific inquiry.
This gave rise to naturalistic inquiry.
The positivist approach (quantitative research) relies primarily on numbers as the
main unit of analysis. 0lthough quantitative methods, such as surveys, are used in
educational research, the vast ma?ority of research is relatively small scale, intensive,
focused on change and involves human perceptions. 1ducational research relies
much more heavily on qualitative methods.
=ne of the most common instruments to gather numerical data in education
(particularly in evaluation of programmes) is the questionnaire survey, using a series
of closed questions to which responses are given against a <ikert or other type of
scale. =pen questions can also be included to gather richer data. <arge amounts of
data can be gathered from a wide number of people and the results can be analysed
by computer (either by an optical mark reader or through an online survey instrument
such as /S&r#e1 Mo'ke10), thus making it fairly straightforward to research a large
sample of respondents. @urvey questionnaires can be given out and collected face to
face, sent by post or posted online. If achieving a high response rate is important,
then note that the less personal involvement there is with potential respondents, the
lower the response rate. @o, typically, online surveys may have a response rate of
under %)J, whereas if the questionnaires are given out and collected face to face,
you may achieve a very high response rate.
I')erpre)#e approa!*
The interpretive approach (qualitative research) relies primarily on words as its unit of
analysis and its means of understanding. Dowever, it can also use voice tone,
loudness, cries, sighs, laughs, and many other ways of human communication (the
human conte!t of the story). The words may be spoken in individual interviews (face
to face or on the telephone) or groups, or they may be written, so you may have to
analyse the spoken words of an interview, focus group or conversations (for e!ample
between a student and teacher or student and student), or the written words of an
account or description or ?ournal record.
=n the whole, qualitative research tends to be small scale, simply because it is
hugely labour intensive. 2or e!ample, interviews or focus groups will usually need to
be transcribed before they can be analysed. In addition, the researcher is often more
involved with the person producing the words, and so it is sometimes helpful for
others to conduct the analysisC again this can be costly. Daving said that, nothing else
can provide the same level of richness as qualitative data, and at the very least,
adding space for respondents to provide some words to describe what might be
otherwise gathered by numbers is immensely useful to the researcher, and may
even, in some situations, be a help to the sub?ect. /ash (%))&) highlights the
educational research field in 2igure F:
Ta,$e 2- Se$e!)o' of re"ear!* para%.m" a'% re"ear!* me)*o%" 3Da"*, 24456
Re"ear!*
para%.m"
Re"ear!*
approa!*
Re"ear!*
me)*o%"
E+amp$e"
;ositivism Huantitative
@urveys:
longitudinal,
cross*sectional,
correlationalC
e!perimental, and
quasi*e!perimental
and
e!*post facto
research
* 0ttitude of distance learners towards
online based education
* Gelationship between students#
motivation and their academic
achievement.
* 1ffect of intelligence on the academic
performances of primary school
learners
Interpretive Hualitative
iographicalC
;henomenologicalC
1thnographicalC
case study
* 0 study of autobiography of a great
statesman.
* 0 study of dropout among the female
students
* 0 case study of a open distance
learning Institution in a country.

E)*!" of e%&!a)o'a$ re"ear!*
1ducational researchers have a duty to ensure that knowledge production is created
in con?unction with a moral responsibility toward participants rights during the
research study. These rights include the right to informed consent, trust, a right to
withdraw and confidentiality (Gyen, %)$)). Gesearchers need to consider the ethical
implications of the research they are planning to carry out prior to finalising a
research plan. 5aking sure that your research is ethical focuses primarily on the
following.
The first concerns the rights of students, staff (principals, parents, teachers) and
learners to be treated as openly and fairly as possible within the research, and be
sure to obtain informed consent 12=G1 taking part in the research study. In other
words, study participants should receive informed consent that their participation is
voluntary and that they had the right to withdraw from the study at any time without
e!planation or notice to the research team .
The process of applying for ethical approval is useful in pushing you to clarify the
aims, process and outputs of the research. 1thical considerations may lead to
modification of your planned research: you may decide that the time frame, scale or
scope of the research is unrealistic.
0nother issue that you will need to consider as you plan and carry out educational
research is that of your own position as researcher 3per"o'a$ ,a"6. This is
particularly relevant if you are researching your own organisation or have a position
of influence over research Esub?ects#. In educational research, which often involves
qualitative methodologies, this issue is typically brought to the foreground as part of
the methods selected, and in the analysis and discussion.
I'forme% !o'"e') me!*a'"m
Informed consent mechanism
/ear ;articipant (parent, principal, guardian),
,e are undertaking an action research pro?ect to study my own practice as a
lecturer(s) in the T1@< degree course at I;+>< >uching @arawak 5alaysia %)$%.
This ethics statement is to assure you that we will observe good ethical practice
throughout the research.
This means that:
,ritten ethical permission will be secured before the research commencesC
-onfidentiality will be observed at all times, and no names or identifying
personal features will be revealed during the studyC
;articipants will be kept informed at all times and will have access to the
research report before it is publishedC
,e will report only that which is in the public domain and in accord with
5alaysian <awC
0ll participants have the right to withdraw from the research at anytime and all
data relating to them will be destroyed.
&
"our signatureKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK
-ontact information:
I;+>< -ampus >uching
1nglish /epartment, Labatan ahasa
/r. Leff Dawkins: Leffhawk779Mgmail.com
Top! 1- T&)ora$ Ta"k"
(
)"*iff + ,hitehead (2010: -1) .ou and .our /"tion 0esear"h ro1e"t, S/2E#
0nswer the following questions with e!amples from the course reading.
$. ,hy is it important for teachers to do educational research.
%. ,hat is quantitative research.
B. ,hat is qualitative research.
F. ,hy are there so many different types of research.
&. ,hat is research ethics and why is it important.
9. ,hat is personal bias and how does that impact research outcomes.
E+er!"e 2
,ork with a partner and think of as many intrinsic and e!trinsic reasons for doing
research into your teaching or educational practice.
.
M1 I')r'"! rea"o'" M1 e+)r'"! rea"o'"
*helps make informed decisions *to receive a high marks in this course
T1pe" of e%&!a)o'a$ re"ear!*
There are several types of educational research that have different purposes. ,ork
with a partner and fill in the chart below:
Ta,$e 1- E%&!a)o'a$ Re"ear!* Para%.m"
Re"ear!*
T1pe
S)re'.)* 7eak'e""
B
rd
;erson
;ositivist
Huantitative
Test and validates how
phenomena occur and discovers
natural laws.
=utsider research can lead
to massive pro?ection on the
researcher#s behalf. That
is, the researcher sees only
what they want to see.
%
nd
;erson
Interpretive
Hualitative
Gesearch
/ata is in the participants own
categories of meaning, words
and culture.
;roduces knowledge that is
specific and valuable to one
people or area.
E+er!"e 8- E)*!" S)a)eme') a'% I'forme% Co'"e')
$. ,hat is the purpose of ethics in educational research.
%. ,hat is researcher bias and why do we need to be aware of it.
B. ,hat challenges do you anticipate with creating an informed consent
mechanism.
F. ,hat I want to know about research ethics.
*
*
E+er!"e 9- M1 Ref$e!)o'
In the bo! below reflect on what you have learnt today.
,hat I learnt today:
,hat I want to learn (what I want to know):
,hat action I can take to enhance my learning:
Refere'!e"

-ohen, <ouisC <awrence, 5anion and 5orrison, >eith (%)))). Research Methods in
Education (& th 1d.). <ondon .
/ash, A.>. ($((B). Gesearch ;aradigms in 1ducation: Towards a Gesolution. Journal
of Indian Education $((%), pp$*9.
Dabermas, L. ($(7)). Knowledge and Human Interests (L. @hapiro.Trans.). <ondon :
Deinemann.
>eat, G. ($(8$). he !olitics of "ocial heory. =!ford : asil lackwell.
>uhn, T.@. ($(9%) he "tructure of "cientific Revolution# -hicago : Iniversity of
-hicago ;ress.
<akomski, +. ($(((). -ritical theory. In L. ;. >eeves and +. <akomoki (1ds.). Issues
in Educational Research. =!ford: 1lsevier @cience <td., $7F*8%.
/ownloaded from the world wide web: %&'('%)$%:
http:''www.faculty.londondeanery.ac.uk'e*learning'introduction*to*educational*
research'getting*started