DEFINITION OF

RESEARCH
Over the years, many
experts have given their own
definitons of the word “research.”
Different perspectives on the
subject have been adopted that
resulted in the following defintions.
1.) Research follows a step-by-step process of
investigation that uses a standarized approach in
answering questions or solving problems (Polit & Beck,
2004).
2.) Research plays an important role in tertiary
education. Though there are many problems confronted
by higher education, developments are realized through
research. After all, its main purpose is to answer a
question or to solve an isse (Palispis, 2004).
3.) Research is continuous undertaking of making known the
unknown. It entails an investigation of new facts leading to the
discovery of new ideas, methods, or improvements. It is an
attempt to widen one's outlook in life. It always proceeds from
the known to the unknown. Thus, the end of research is to arrive
at a new truth. (Sanchez, 2002).

4.) Research is an investigation following ordered steps

leading to a discovery of new information or concepts
(Sanchez, 1999).
5. Research is a very careful investigation of something
that purports the cintribution of additional or new
knowledge and wisdon (Bassey, as cited by Coleman &
Briggs, 2002).
6. Research is a tested approach of thinking and
employing validated instruments and steps in order to
obtain a more adequate solution to a problem that is
otherwise impossible to address under ordinary means
(Crawford, as cited by Alcantara & Espina, 1995).
1.) Research provides a scientific basis for any practice or
methodology in any field or discipline . This is important since an entire
system or operation and all the stakeholders of an institution or
organization are at stake. Without scientific basis, someone may be
affcted or may suffer. For example, in the field of medicine, a new drug
must first be tested to rmine its efficacy in curinng sickness before it
can actually be prescribed.
2.) Research is undertaken for the continuous development and further
productivity in any field. Any system that will be utilized in any
organization must first be tried to determine its value and it must be
better than the previous system used. Simply, research is the result of
advancing knowledge from the past.
3.) Research helps develop tools for assesing effectiveness of
any practice and operation such as psychological tests,
intelligence quotient tests, psychological assessments, among
others. This importance of research is observed in behavioral
science, physical science, and others as well.
4.) Reseach provides solutions to problems concerning almost all
issues encounteredin the different areas of work . Some issues
include the tardiness of employess given to the staff,
sportsmanship among school athlete, and implementation of a
“clean and green” program in school. This also applies to higher
level problems.
5.) Research impacts decision-making. It is a common
mistake for people to make decisions without solid
information to back them up. It requires time, effort, and
sometimes money to gather the evidence needed for making
a sound decision. For example, for a teacher to change his
or her teaching methodology for the first-period classes, he
or she must conduct a study considering the time element,
enthusiam to teach, academic standing of the students,
instructional aides used, and several other factors.
6.) Research develops and evaluates alternative
approaches to the educational aspects of any discipline.
This enables the students to gain broad knowledge and
specialized ss for safe practice. For example, research
can help determine whether lecture is abetter method
than experiment in teaching Science.
7.) Research aims to advance the personal and
professional qualifications of a practitioner.
 Research is a scientific endeavor
which serves many goals in different
fields, educational disciplines and
even in the personal life of the
researcher.
1.) To produce evidence-based practice. Every discipline
or institution must provide the best practice of operation
based from research studies. In the health profession, for
example, a professional nursing practitioner must endure
that he or she is able to give proper health care to his or her
patient. To do this, only the best clinical practices as proven
by nursing research should be provided. The principles on
which the tasks and function of a nurse are based can be
formulated through research. The different standard
operating procedures in hospitals, such as admission,
release, assessment, and diagnosis of patients must be
dealt with accordingly. The results of the research must be
published in books and journals for other health practitioners
to access and adopt for use in their respective communities.
2.) To establish credibility in the
profession. A profession is defined by the
body of knowledge and discipline it employs.
In line with this, research is essential for a
profession in producing new procedures,
programs, and practices. This continuous
improvements leads to distinctiveness which
can only be achieved when there are special
practices and peculiarity of services in a
given a or field. This sense of individuality
contributes to the credibility of a profession.
3.) To observe accountability for the profession.
Every action conducted by a professional must
have a rationale. There are principles that justify
why a nurse has to wash his or her hands regularly,
why a teacher has to prepare a lesson plan, why a
manager needs to plan ahead, why a
bussinessman needs to conduct feasibility studies,
and many more. The nurse, teacher, manager, or
businessman must be accountable for each task he
or she perfoms. All tasks must be carried out with
the circumspect care and awareness that
everything has to be done efficiently.
4.) To promote cost-effectiveness through
documentation. The findings of research must be
shared with and utilized by the individuals, group,
and community for which the study is intended. They
are useless if these results are not made known
publicly. These results, however, must first satisfy
the reseacher's goals before he or she can share
them with other reseachers and professionals who
may find these findings beneficial. Anybody whom is
in the same condition as the subject/s of the study
may also utilize the findings, thus saving on
expenses for doing the same research again.
1.) The research should be systematic. There
is a system to follow in conducting research as
there is a system for formulating each of its
parts. There is a big system (macro) and under it
are small systems (micro). In research writing,
what is referred to as the “system” is composed
of the chapters and their elements . The
macrosystem is composed of chapters that are
organized in a logical and scientific manner. On
the other hand, the microsystem consists of the
detailed contents of each chapter. The contents
are further divided into elements that are
orgaized following a systematic procedure.
2.) The research should be objective.
Research involves the objective process of
analyzing phenomena of importance to any
profession or to different fields or disciplines. A
research should objectively look at the basis on
which the work is founded. He or she must never
produce results out of nowhere; the results of
the research should be validated. These results
must be based from biases. It is very importants
for the researcher to clarify indications and
boundaries within which the research is confined
because these factors could affect objectivity.
(Nieswiadomy, 2005).
3.) The research should be
feasible. Any problem of
extraordinary nature that directly or
indirectly affects any profession is
a feasible problem to study. In
settings like int he community,
school, or workplace, unusual
phenomena may happen and can
turn into potential problems.
4.) The research should be empirical. There
should be supporting pieces of evidence and
accompanying details for every variable used
in the study. References and citations of facts
and information that the researcher has
gathered in his or her paper must be
included. Plagiarism constitutes claiming
another person's idea or intellectual property
as one's own. Through proper attribution, the
researcher states that the knowledge being
shared through the study was taken from the
study of other expeprts.
RESEARCH
DESIGN
 RESEARCH DESIGN

- the research design enables the researcher to

organize the components of his or her research in
an orderly and coherent manner. This will ensure
that the research or study will effectively address the
research topic or problem. The research design is
also a template for the collection, surement, and
analysis of data. The research problem determines
the research design that will be used
in the study.
Having a well-developed research design will enable the
researcher to achieve the following:
1.) Clearly identify and describe the research problem or
topic, and justify the selection of the appropriate design to
be used.
2.) Review and synthesize previous studies and literature
related to the topic.
3.) Clearly identify hyotheses that are significant to the
problem.
4.) Determine the data necessary to test the hypotheses
and explain how the data will be obtained.
5.) Describe the methods of analysis that will be
used on the data gathered in order to evaluate the
hypotheses of the study.
Examples of research designs include the following:

1.) Action research. The research design follows a

cyclical process. First, the researcher identifies a problem
and determines a plan of action to address it. Then, the
action plan is implemented and data is gathered during the
implementation phase is analyzed and evaluated in order
to gain a better understanding of the problem and
determine the effectiveness of the solution implemented.
Action research is pragmatic and solution-driven, and any
information gathered is used to identify and implement a
solution to the problem. This design is appropriate for
community-based situations. It requires the researcher to
directly relate with his or her subjects and the community.
2.) Causal design. This research explores how a specific
change impacts a certain situation. This research design
employs hypotheses that seek to establish a cause-and-effect
relationship between variables. Essentially, this research
design seeks to determine whether “variable X caused Y.”
3.) Descriptive design. This design answers who, what, when,
where, and how questions related to a particular research
problem. This design is used to obtain information about the
present situation to gain an understanding of a certain
phenomena.
4.) Experimental design. In this design, the reseacher
controls the factors and variables related to a certain
phenomena and tries to change or manipulate one or several
factors to determine the possible effects.
5.) Exploratory design. This research focuses on
topics or problems which have had little or no studies
done about them. The purpose of this design is to gain
information and insight that can be used for later
reseaches. The design of often used to determine which
method or approach to use for a certain topicr problem.
6.) Cohort design. This research identifies a group of
people sharing common characteristics who are then
studied for a period of time. The researcher seeks to
identify how these groups are affected by certain factors
or changes and relates the information gathered to the
research topic or problem.
7.) Cross-section design. The research design looks into
a large group of people, composed of inviduals with varied
characteristics. The researcher seeks to determine how
these individuals are affected by a certain variable variae or
change and gathers data at a specific period of time.
8.) Longitudinal design. This research follows a group of
people over a long period of time. Throughout the period of
study, observations are made on the group to track
changes over time and identify factors that may have
caused them. This design also explores causal
relationships over time and determines how long these
relationship last and the extent of their effects oe group
being studied.
9.) Sequential design. This research is carried out in
stages to gather sufficient data to test the hypothesis.
This design is often combined with a cohort or cross-
sectional study as it identifies specific groups for each
stage. At the end of each stage, the data is collected and
evaluated. If there is insufficient data, the reseacher then
proceeds to the next stage with a new group of subjects.
10.) Mixed-method design. This research combines
aspects of various research designs and methods. It
primarily combines qualitative and quantitative research
methods to gain a complete picture of the research
problem and gather data that will fully determine the
validity of the hypotheses.
R E S E A R C H
P A R A D I G M
 The research paradigm is an outline
that guides the researcher in
conceptualizing and conducting the
research. An effective research must
address these two importants aspects:
research foundations and research
methology.
The research foundations refers to
the fundamental componets of research
such as the research problem, specific
questions to be addressed, and the
conceptual famework to be applied.
 In determining the research topic or problem, the
researcher must look at a significant real-life problem.
Formulating a research problem requires describing the
undesirable situations related to the problem and the needed
knowledge or information in order to solve that problem. The
purpose of the research describes how the study will fill this
“knowledge gap.” To address this purpose, the reseacher must
formulate necessary questions that will help distinguish the
significant points of the research.
The research questions may be either framed in a
quantitative (how much, how often, to what extent) or
qualitative (what, why, how) manner. The possible answers to
the research questions are the hypotheses, which will be either
confirmed or rejected by the data collected in the study. Lastly,
the conceptual framework is an outline or paradigm that
presents the topics to be studied, the various variables and
contexts, and how these relate to or influence each other.
 On the other hand, the research
methology describes how the
researcher will answer the research
questions in a credible manner.
Research methods are employed to
address the research purpose and
gain new information and insights to
answer the problem. The methology
of the research includes the review of
literature, research approach and
design, data collection, methods of
analysis, and conclusions.
 The review of literature analyzes the existing knowledge
regarding the research topic. It identifies gaps in information that may
be addressed by the research. It is also an important basis of the
conceptual framework of the study. With the existing knowledge about
the study, the research approach and design identifies what is the best
means to collect and analyze data in the study. The design is used to
clarify and improve the research problem, purpose, and questions.
Having the best way to gather the data, the researcher will proceed to
the data collection.
Data collection gives the methods to determine who will be the
participants in the study, how the variables will be measured, and how
data will be documented and collected. The collected data will then
undergo data analysis, which consists of the strategies and methods
that makes sense of the data to answer the research problem and
questions. Finally, the conclusion summarizes the key results of the
study and discusses how these are relevent to the research problem. At
this point, the research addresses the hypotheses and determines if
they are accepted or rejected. It also addresses the knowledge gap and
presents new insights into the problem.
 OUTLINE OF THE RESEARCH PAPER

CHAPTER I: The Problem & Its Background

a. Introduction, Background of the Study
b. Statement of the Problem
c. Scope and Delimitation
d. Significance of the Study

CHAPTER II: Theoretical Framework

a. Review of Related Literature
b. Review of Related Studies
c. Conceptual/Theoretical Framework
d. Hypothesis of the Study
e. Assumptions of the Study
f. Definition of Terms
CHAPTER III: Research Methodology
a. Research Design
b. Respomdemts of the Study
c. Instrument of the Study
d. Validity & Reliability
e. Statistical Treatment

CHAPTER IV: Presentation, Analysis, & Interpretation of Data

a. Presentation of Data
b. Analysis
c. Interpretation
d. Discussion
CHAPTER V: Summary, Conclusions, &
Recommendations
a. Summary of Findings
b. Conclusions
c. Recommendation
 ROLES OF THE RESEARCH

According to Nieswiadomy (2005), the researcher serves

different roles in a study. These are as follows:

1. As principal investigator
2. As member of a research team
3. As identifier of researchable problems
4. As evaluator of research findings
5. As user of research of research findings
6. As patient or client advocate during study
7. As subject/respondent/participant
3.) Historical study. This study is concerned with the identification, location, evaluation,
and synthesis of data from past events. This is not only limited to obtaining data from the
past, but it also involves relating their implications to the present and future time.

Example: What were the roles of women in the Katipunan?

Some sources of data for a historical study are as follows:

a. Documents - printed materials that can be found in libraries, archives, or personal

collections.

b. Relics & artifacts - physical remains or objects from a certain historical period.

c. Oral reports - information that is passed on by word of mouth.

The data sources are classified as follows:

a. Primary sources - materials providing first -hand information, e.g., oral histories, written
records, diaries, eyewitness accounts, pictures, videos, and other physical evidence.

b. Secondary sources - second-hand information such as an account based on an original

source, or a material written as an abstract of the original materials.
The validity of materials used in the study are assessed through the following processes:

a. Internal critism. This involves establishing the authenticity or originality of the materials by
looking at the consistency of information. Motives and possible biases of the author must be
considered in trying to determine the accuracy of the materials.

b. External critism. This is based on the analysis of the material: the ink and the type of
paper used, the layout anphysical appearance, and as well as the age and texture of the
material itself.

The researcher can consult authentic and original resource materials relevant to the
problem to dtermine the accuracy of information provided in the research paper.

4.) Case study. It is an in-depth examination of an individual, groups of people, or an

institution. Some of its purposes are to gain insights into a little -known problem, provide
background data for the broader studies, and explain socio -psychological and socio -cultural
processes. A case study also involves a comprehensive and extensive examination of a
particular individual, group, or situation over a period of time. It provides information on where
to draw conclusions about the impact of a significant event in a person'ss life (Sanchez, 2002).
Example: How do cancer survivors look at life?

The researcher is able to given an overview of the problem by interviewing a

cancer survivor about his ormher experiences.

5.) Ground theory study. The method involves comparing collected units of data
against one another until categories, properties, and hypotheses that state relations
between these categories and properties emerge. These hypotheses are tentative and
suggestive, and are not tested in the study.

Example: Ten school counselors were given structured interviews to help determine
how their professional identify is formed.

The data was coded first to form concepts. Then, connections between these
concepts were identified. A core concept emerged and its process and implications
were discussed. School counselor's professional interactions were identified as
defining experiences in their identity formation (Brott & Myers, 1999).
6.) Narrative analysis. The main sources of data for this type of research are the life accounts
of individuals based on their personal experiences. The purpose of the study is to extract
meaningful context from these experiences.

The common types of narrative analysis are as follows:

a. Psychological - this involves analyzing the story in terms of internal thoughts and
motivations. It also analyzes the written text or spoken words for its component parts or
patterns.

b. Biographical - this takes individual's society & factors like gender and class into account.

c. Discourse analysis - this studies the approach in which language is used in texts &
contexts.

7.) Critical qualitative research. This type of research seeks to bring about change and
empower individuals by describing and critiquing the social, cultural, and psychological
pperspectives on present -day ntexts. As such, it ultimately challenges the current norm,
especially on power distributions, building upon the initial appraisal of the said present -day
perspectives.
 For example, a critical examination of consumer education texts used in adult literacy
programs revealed content that was disrespectful for adult learners, their previous experience
as consumers, and promoted certain ideologies regarding consumerism. The texts also
defended the status quo by blaming individual inadequacies for economic troubles, ignoring
societal inequities (Sandlin, 2000).

8.) Postmodern research. As opposed to the traditional forms of qualitative analysis, the
approach of this type of research seeks to analyze the facts that have been established as
truths, the ability of research and science to discover truth, and all generalizations and
typologies.

Merriam et al. (2002) proposes the ff. three “crises” as a result of the questioning
performed:

a. Whether the experience of another can be captured or whether it is created by the

researcher.

b. Whether any study can be viewed as valid if traditional methodologies are flawed.

c. Whether it is possible to institure any real change.

Example: If our views of the self are themselves constructed by the society we live in &
the language we use, is true knowledge of the self, independent of these, even
possible? If our “selves” are constructed, then attempting to gain knowledge
through self-reflection is a miscognition & instead results in the creation of a
less independent & more societal -regulated self (Bleakly, 2000).

9.) Basic interpretative qualitative study. This is used when a researcher is interested
in identifying how individuals give meaning to a situation or phenomenon. It uses an
inductive strategy which is a process of analyzing patterns or common themes to produce
a descriptive account that summarizes and analyzes the literature that defined the study.

Example: An interview of 45 women form varying backgrounds and a comparison of the

developmental patterns discerned with earlier findings on male
development. They found women's lives evolved through periods of tumultuous,
structure- building phases that alternated with stable periods (Levinson &
Levinson, 1996).
ETHICS IN
RESEARCH
 Ethics in Qualitative Research
Ethical issues are present in any kind of research.
The research process creates tension between the aims of
research to make generalization for the good of others, and
the rights of participants to maintain privacy. Ethics pertains
to doing good and avoiding harm. Harm can be prevented or
reduced through the application of appropriate ethical
principles. Thus, the protection of human subjects or
participants in any research study is imperative.

Violations of human rights in the name of scientific

research have been amo the darkest events in history. From
1932 to 1972, more than 400 African-Amrican people who
had syphilis were deliberately left untreated to study was
sponsored by the U.S. Public Health Service, the disclosure
of the 40-year study caused public outrage (Caplan, 1992).
 Another example of unethical research is the experiment
conducted between 1950 and 1952, in which more than 1,000
pregnant women were givengiven diethylstilbestrol to prevent
miscarriages. These women were subject to a double -blind
study without consent. Only 20 years later, when the children of
these women had high rates of cancer and other abnormalities,
did the participants learn they were subjects of these
experiments (Capron, 1989).

The nature of ethical problems in qualitative research

studies is subtle and different compared to problems in
quantitative research. For exa, potential ethical conflicts exist in
regard to how a researcher gains access to a community group
and in the effects the researcher may have on participants. The
literature provides few examples of ethical issues in qualitative
health research. Punch (1994) claimed that one hardly ever
hears of ethical failures in qualitative research.
 However, Batchelor and Briggs (1994) claimed that the
failure of researchers to address ethical issues has resulted in
those researchers being ill -prepared to cope with the
unpredictable nature of qualitative research. Qualitative
researchers focus their research on exploring, examining, and
describing people and their natural evironmentals. Qualitative
research are the concepts of relationships and power between
researchers and participants. (Ramon, 1989).

Qualitative health research is focused on the

experiences of people in relation to health and illness. Yet,
nurse researchers may find that their roles as researchers and
as clinicians may be in conflict. Therefore, any research that
includes people requires an awareness of the ethical issues
that may be derived from such interacyions. The purpose of this
paper is to show these and related ethical issues and principles
to be used in qualitative research. (Orb, 2000).
QUALITATIVE AND
QUANTITATIVE
RESEARCH
METHODS
 There are two broad categories of research
methodology: QUALITATIVE REaSEARCH &
QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH. The research method
determines the approach the researcher takes in
identifying relevant data for the research, and collecting
and analyzing the information gathered in the research.
Choosing either a quantitative aor qualitative approach
will affect the components of the research. For instance,
a researcher may choose to undertake a scientific
research. If he or she takes a qualitative approach, the
goal of the study will be to discuss and analyze the
underlying concepts and theories related to the resarch
topic. If the researcher chooses a quantitative
approach, he or she will use statistical data to provide
an explanation of the phenomenon.
QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
Polit and Beck (2004) define quantitative research as
“the traditional positivistientific method which refers to a
general set of orderly, desciplined procedures to acquire
information.” In their book, Nursing Research Principles and
Methods, they explain that the research method utilizes
deductive reasoning to generate predictions that are tested in
the real world. It is systematic since the researcher progress
logically through a series of steps, according to a prespecified
plan of action.

Quantitative research gather empirical evidence that is

within the realm of the senses. The method used in the analysis
of data is usually statistical in nature. Thus, the resulting
information from tudy is usually quantitative or measurable.
 Furthermore, another criterion used in assessing the
data in this kind of study is its capability to generalize the
effect of the results to the individuals outside of the study
participants.
However, a quantitative research has its disadvantages
as well. Quantitative research is considered to be limiting when
it comes to studying the complex and diverse minds of human
beings. This is because quantitative research can only explain
a small fraction of the human experience (e.g., behavioral
impulses and varying personal preferences). In quantitative
research, these human complexities are usually controlled or
removed entirely instead of being analyzed. The inflexible and
narrow vision of quantitative research tends to present the
human experience in a restricted manner.
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
Qualitative research is defined as the
“naturalistic method of inquiry of research which
deals with the issue of human complexity by
exploring it directly.” (Polit and Beck, 2008). Unlike
quantitative research, qualitative research puts an
emphasis on human complexity and man's ability to
decide and create his or her own experience. This
types of research utilizes naturalistic methods of
inquiry as the research places great emphasis on
the analysis of the experience of the individual.
 Qualitative research focuses on gaining
insights and understanding about an individual's
perception and interpretation of events. This type
of research collects data through methods such as
interviews and participative observation. The task
of the researcher is to determine the patterns and
themes in the acquired data rather than focusing on
the testing of hypotheses. And it is not limited by
existing theories but is rather open-minded to new
ideas and points of views. Lastly, the researcher
does not have to be concerned with numbers and
complicated statisticaal analyses.
 However, a major limitation of this model is its
reductionist nature. Qualitative research tends to reduce
human experience to just the few concepts under investigation,
which are defined in advance by the researcher rather than the
experience of the respondents. Another limitation of qualitative
research involves the subjective nature of naturalistic inquiry,
which sometimes causes concerns about the nature of the
conclusion of the study. Polit and Beck (2008) poses the
question, “Would two naturalistic researchers studying the
same phenomenon in similar settings arrive at similar
conclusions?” They added that most naturalistic research
studies usually utilize a small group of people as subjects.
This makes the findings from such naturalistic methods
questionable, as opposed to those of the quantitative research
studies.
VERSUS
 Andersn (2010), in her article
“Presenting & Evaluating Qualitative
Research,” lists the ff. strengths:
1.) The study requires a few cases or
participants. Data collected are based
on the participants's own categories of
meaning.
2.) It is usedful for describing complex
phenomena.
3.) Issues can be examined in detail
and in depth.
4.) It provides individual cse
information.
5.) Cross-case comparisons & analysis
can be conducted.
Andersn (2010), also
enumerate th ff. weaknesses:
1.) Inflexibility is more difficult to
maintain, assess, & demonstrate.
2.) It is sometimes not as well
understood & accepted as quantitative
research within the scientific
community.
3.) Issues of anonymity &
confidentiality can present problems
when presenting findings.
4.) It is more difficult to make
quantitative predictions.
5.) Data analysis is often time-
consuming.
 GENERAL
FORMS OF
RESEARCH
1.) Scientific research is a
research method that seeks to
explain naturally occuring
phenomena in the natural world by
generating credible theories. It is a
systematic processthat involves
formulating hypotheses, testing
predictions using relevant data and
other scientific methods, and
finally coming up with a theory. As
such, this study requires rational
and satistical evidence to draw
conclusion.
2.) Research in the humanities
seeks to define the purpose of
human existence by tapping into
historical facts and future
possibilities. While studies on
natural and social iences
required hard evidence to draw
conclusions, this form of
research derive explanations
from human experiences that
cannot be simply measured by
facts and figures alone.
3.) Artistic research provides alternative
approaches to established concepts by
conducting practical methods as
substitutes for fundamental and
theoretical ones. The main purpose of
this form of research is to expound on the
current accepted concepts and open them
to further interpretation. As such, the
word “artisitc” does not solely refer to the
arts but rather to the kind of approach a
researcher assumes in this type of
research. This research generates new
knowledge through artistic practices such
as defining new concepts, creating new
processes, and devising new methods.