NATURE OF INQUIRY AND RESEARCH

What is Inquiry?
 Inquiry is the process of finding answers to questions.
What is Research?
 Is a systematic inquiry that investigates hypotheses, suggests new
interpretations of data or text, and poses new questions for future research
to explore.
 The main purpose of research is to inform action, to prove a theory, and
contribute to developing knowledge in a field or study.
IMPORTANCE OF RESEARCH
1. A Tool for Building Knowledge and for Facilitating Learning
2. Means to Understand Various Issues and Increase Public Awareness
3. An Aid to Business Success
4. A Way to Prove Lies and to Support Truths
5. Means to Find, Gauge, and Seize Opportunities
6. A Seed to Love Reading, Writing, Analyzing, and Sharing Valuable Information
7. Nourishment and Exercise for the Mind

CHARACTERISTICS OF RESEARCH
1. Empirical - based on observations and experimentation on theories.
2. Systematic - follows orderly and sequential procedure.
3. Controlled - all variables except those that are tested/experimented upon are
kept constant.
4. Employs hypothesis - guides the investigation process
5. Analytical - There is critical analysis of all data used so that there is no error in
their interpretation
6. Objective, Unbiased, & Logical - all findings are logically based on empirical
7. Employs quantitative or statistical methods - data are transformed into numerical
measures and are treated statistically.
8. Timeliness- fresh, new, interesting to the present society.
9. Clarity- use simple, direct, correct language
10.Relevance- instrumental in improving society or in solving problems.

SEVEN STEPS OF RESEARCH PROCESS

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ETHICS OF RESEARCH

What is Ethics?

 Ethics are the moral principles that the persons must follow,
irrespective of the place or time.
 Research ethics focus on the moral principles that the researchers
must follow in their respective field of research.

The following is a general summary of some ethical principles:

Honesty:
Honestly report data, results, methods and procedures, and publication status. Do
not fabricate, falsify, or misrepresent data.
Objectivity:
Strive to avoid bias in experimental design, data analysis, data interpretation,
peer review, personnel decisions, grant writing, expert testimony, and other
aspects of research.
Integrity:
Keep your promises and agreements; act with sincerity; strive for consistency of
thought and action.
Carefulness:
Avoid careless errors and negligence; carefully and critically examine your own
work and the work of your peers. Keep good records of research activities.
Openness:
Share data, results, ideas, tools, resources. Be open to criticism and new ideas.
Respect for Intellectual Property:
Honor patents, copyrights, and other forms of intellectual property. Do not use
unpublished data, methods, or results without permission. Give credit where
credit is due. Never plagiarize.
Confidentiality:
Protect confidential communications, such as papers or grants submitted for
publication, personnel records, trade or military secrets, and patient records.
Responsible Publication:
Publish in order to advance research and scholarship, not to advance just your
own career. Avoid wasteful and duplicative publication.
Responsible Mentoring:
Help to educate, mentor, and advise students. Promote their welfare and allow
them to make their own decisions.
Respect for Colleagues:
Respect your colleagues and treat them fairly.
Social Responsibility:
Strive to promote social good and prevent or mitigate social harms through
research, public education, and advocacy.
Non-Discrimination:
Avoid discrimination against colleagues or students on the basis of sex, race,
ethnicity, or other factors that are not related to their scientific competence and
integrity.
Competence:
Maintain and improve your own professional competence and expertise through
lifelong education and learning; take steps to promote competence in science as a
whole.
Legality:
Know and obey relevant laws and institutional and governmental policies.
Animal Care:
Show proper respect and care for animals when using them in research. Do not
conduct unnecessary or poorly designed animal experiments.
Human Subjects Protection:
When conducting research on human subjects, minimize harms and risks and
maximize benefits; respect human dignity, privacy, and autonomy.

QUANTITATIVE VS. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Quantitative Research
 Is a form of research that relies on the methods of natural sciences which
produces numerical data and hard facts.
 It aims at establishing cause and effect relationship between two
variables by using mathematical, computational and statistical methods.
Qualitative Research
 Is primarily exploratory research that studies highly complex
phenomena that are impossible to elucidate with the quantitative
research.
 Provides insights and understanding of the problem setting.

Key Differences Between Qualitative and Quantitative Research

1. Qualitative research is holistic in nature while quantitative is particularistic.
2. The qualitative research follows a subjective approach as the researcher is
intimately involved, whereas the approach of quantitative research is
objective, as the researcher is uninvolved.
3. Qualitative research is exploratory while quantitative is conclusive.
4. The reasoning used in qualitative is inductive whereas in the case of
quantitative, the reasoning is deductive.
5. Qualitative research is based on purposive sampling; small sample size is
selected with a view to get through understanding of the target concept
while quantitative relies on random sampling; wherein a large
representative sample is chosen.
6. Verbal data are collected in qualitative research. Conversely, in quantitative
is measurable data are gathered.
7. Elements used in the analysis of qualitative research are words, pictures,
and objects while quantitative is numerical data.
 8. Qualitative research is conducted with the aim of exploring and discovering
ideas used in the ongoing processes while quantitative research is purpose
to examine cause and effect relationship between variables.
9. The methods used in Qualitative research are in-depth interviews or focus
groups while in quantitative research are structured interviews and
observations.
10. Qualitative research develops the initial understanding whereas
quantitative research recommends a final course of action.

KINDS OF RESEARCH ACROSS THE FIELDS

Field research is defined as a qualitative method of data collection that aims to
observe, interact and understand people while they are in a natural environment.
1.Direct Observation
In this method, the data is collected via an observational method or subjects in a
natural environment. In this method, the behavior or outcome of situation is not
interfered in any way by the researcher.
2.Participant Observation
In this method of field research, the researcher is deeply involved in the research
process, not just purely as an observer, but also as a participant
3.Ethnography
Ethnography is an expanded observation of social research and social perspective
and the cultural values of an entire social setting. In ethnography, entire
communities are observed objectively.
4.Qualitative Interviews
Qualitative interviews are close-ended questions that are asked directly to the
research subjects. The qualitative interviews could be either informal and
conversational, semi-structured, standardized and open-ended or a mix of all the
above three.
5.Case Study
A case study research is an in-depth analysis of a person, situation or event. This
method may look difficult to operate, however, it is one of the simplest ways of
conducting research as it involves a deep dive and thorough understanding the
data collection methods and inferring the data.

THE VALUE OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

CHARACTERISTICS OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

1.Natural setting
Qualitative researchers often collect data in the field at the site where
participants experience the issues or problem under study.
2.Researcher as key instrument
Qualitative researchers collect data themselves through examining documents,
observing behavior, and interviewing participants. They may use an instrument,
but it is one designed by the researcher using open-ended questions.
3.Multiple methods
Qualitative researchers typically gather multiple forms of data, such as interviews,
observations, and documents, rather than rely on a single data source.
4.Complex reasoning
Qualitative researchers build their patterns, categories, and themes from the
"bottom up," by organizing the data inductively into increasingly more abstract
units of information. This inductive process involves researchers working back and
forth between the themes and the database until they establish a comprehensive
set of themes.
5.Participants' meanings
In the entire qualitative research process, the researchers keep a focus on
learning the meaning that the participants hold about the problem or issue, not
the meaning that the researchers bring to the research or writers from the
literature.
6.Emergent design
The research process for qualitative researchers is emergent. This means that the
initial plan for research cannot be tightly prescribed, and that all phases of the
process may change or shift after the researchers enter the field and begin to
collect data.
7.Holistic account
Qualitative researchers try to develop a complex picture of the problem or issues
under study. This involves reporting multiple perspectives, identifying the many
factors involved in a situation, and generally sketching the larger picture that
emerges.

SIX TYPES OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

1. Phenomenological
Literally, the study of phenomena; describing situations or something that
exists as part of our world.
2. Ethnography
The scientific study of human social phenomena and communities, involves
the descriptive study of culture and people, traditions and norms as they
are in specific geographical locations
3. Grounded Theory
Using empirical data without preconceived theories, involves the
development of new theories by collecting and analysis of data about a
phenomena.
4. Case Study
In-depth study of a particular situation or an intensive analysis of an
individual unit.
5. Historical Model
The historical method of qualitative research describes past events in order
to understand present patterns and anticipate future choices.
6. Narrative Model
The narrative model occurs over extended periods of time and compiles
information as it happens.
Businesses use the narrative method to define buyer personas and use
them to identify innovations that appeal to a target market.
USES OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH


STRENGTH AND WEAKNESS OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Strengths
1. Subject materials can be evaluated with greater detail.
2. Qualitative research data is based on human experiences and observations.
3. Qualitative research is an open-ended process.
4. Creativity becomes a desirable quality within qualitative research.
5. Qualitative research can create industry-specific insights.
6. Smaller sample sizes are used in qualitative research, which can save on
costs.
7. Qualitative research provides more content for creatives and marketing
teams.
8. Attitude explanations become possible with qualitative research.

Weaknesses
1. The quality of the data gathered in qualitative research is highly subjective.
2. Mining data gathered by qualitative research can be time consuming.
3. Qualitative research creates findings that are valuable, but difficult to
present.
4. Data created through qualitative research is not always accepted.
5. Researcher influence can have a negative effect on the collected data.
6. Replicating results can be very difficult with qualitative research.
7. Difficult decisions may require repetitive qualitative research periods.
8. Qualitative research is not statistically representative.

IMPORTANCE OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH