THE NATURE OF RESEARCH
In the start of the chapter few examples are coded to know what research is. These examples suggest that teachers, councilor, administrators, parents and students continually need information to do their jobs.
There are many ways of obtaining information. One can consult experts, review books and articles examine one’s own past experience, questioner observe colleagues etc. but the answers they provide are not always reliable. This is why knowledge of scientific research methodology can be of value. It provides information that is as accurate and reliable as we can get.
Then we study about the comparison of scientific knowledge with other ways of knowing like sensory experience, agreement with others, expert opinion, logic and the scientific method.
We see, we hear, we smell, we taste, and we touch. The information we take in from the world through our senses is the most immediate way we have of knowing something. Sensory knowledge is undependable; it is also incomplete. The data we take in through our senses do not account for all of what we seem to feel is the range of human knowledge. To obtain reliable knowledge, therefore, we cannot rely on our senses alone but must check what we think we know with other sources
One such source is the opinion of others. Not only can we share our sensation with others, we can also check on the accuracy and authenticity of these sensations. The problem with such common knowledge is that, it too can be wrong. Hence, we need to consider some additional ways to obtain reliable knowledge.
The Term Paper on Remote Sensing Research In Maya Area
Introduction During the second session of the summer 2000 WBRCP we gathered data for Remote Sensing research. Our objective is to locate cave sites and determine the usefulness of various remote sensing platforms for this purpose. Similar research has proven successful for locating surface sites in the Maya area, but this technology has not yet been applied for cave location. Finding cave sites is ...
All any expert can do is give us an opinion based of what he or she knows, and no matter how much this is, it is never all there to know.
We also know things logically. Our intellect, our capability to reason things out and allows us to use sensory data to develop a new kind of knowledge. There is a fundamental danger in logical reasoning; however it is only when the major and minor premises of a syllogism are both true that the conclusion is guaranteed to be true. If either of the premises is false, the may or may not be true.
The science as a method of knowing which is important to researchers.it involves testing ideas in a public arena. All most all of us humans are capable of making connections of seeing relationships and associations.
The term research can mean any sort of careful, systematic, patient study and investigation in some field of knowledge, undertaken to discover or establish facts and principles. Some of the most commonly used scientific methodologies in education are experimental research, correlational research, casual-comparative research, survey research, ethnographic research, historical research and action research.
Experimental research is the most conclusive of scientific methods. Because the researchers actually establishes different treatment and then studies the effects, results from this type of research are likely to lead to the most clear cut interpretations.
The origins of what is now known as chaos theory are usually placed in 1970s. Since then, it has come to occupy a prominent place in the mathematics and the natural sciences, to the social sciences. Another form of experimental research, single subject research, involves the intensive study of a single individual. Over the times these designs are particularly appropriate when studying individuals with special characteristics by means of direct observation.
The Research paper on Business Research Study Of Wal-Mart’s Profitability
... chosen for the research study. Each store is treated as an individual location with an ... be presented to the CEO. Research Design The research methodology used for this sample is ... 2012). Walmart and Local Economic Development: A Survey, SAGE Journals, Vol 26. Retrieved from ... There are different types of alternative viewpoints, when determining the type of environment to ...
This type of research is done to determine relationship among two or more variables and to explore their implications for cause and effect, this is called correlational research. This type of research can help us make more intelligent predictions.
Another type of research is intended to determine the cause for or the consequences of differences between group of people. This is called causal comparative research.
This type of research obtains data to determine specific characteristics of a group. This is called survey research. The difficulties involved in survey research are; One ensuring that the questions are clear and not misleading. Two, getting responding to answer questions thoughtfully and honestly. Three, getting a sufficient number of questionnaires completed and returned to enable making meaningful analyses. The gig advantage of survey research is that it has the potential to provide us with a lot of information obtained from the quite large sample of individuals.
In ethnographic study can be conducted, the emphasis in this type of research is on documenting or portraying the everyday experience of individual by observing and interviewing them and relevant others. In addition to ethnographic research, qualitative research includes historical research.
In the historical research, some aspects of the past is studied, either by perusing documents of the period or by interviewing individuals who lived during the time. The researcher then attempts to reconstruct as accurately as possible what happened during that time and to explain why it did.
Action research differs from all the preceding methodologies in two fundamental ways. The first is that generalization to other person, settings or situations is of minimal importance. The second difference centers around the attention paid to the active involvement of the subjects in a study as well as those likely to be affected by the study outcomes. Commonly used terms in action research, therefore are participants or stakeholders.
Each of the research methodologies described constitutes a different way of inquiring into reality and is thus a different tool for understanding what goes on in education. Individual research methodologies can be classified into general research types. Descriptive studies describe a given state of affairs. Association studies investigate relationship. Intervention studies assess the effects of treatment or method on outcomes.
The Research paper on Changing a Qualitative Research Into a Quantitative Study
Fry and her colleagues undertook a qualitative research to develop a moral distress model in military nursing. Using the same problem statement, literature analysis and background information, this paper aims at converting the qualitative study carried out by Fry and her colleagues into a quantitative study. The study entails setting different research questions and collecting data that aims at ...
Quantitative and qualitative research methodologies are based on different assumptions. They also differ on the purpose of research, the methods used by researchers, the kinds of studies undertaken, the researcher’s role and the degree to which generalization is possible. Sometimes the researchers use both qualitative and quantitative approaches in the same study. This is referred to as mixed method research.
Meta- analysis attempts to synthesize the result of all the individual studies in the given topic by statistical means.
Critical analysis of research raises basic question about the assumptions and implications of educational research.The first issue is the question of reality. The second issue the question of communication. The third issue is the question of values. The fourth issue is the question of unstated assumptions. The fifth issue is a question of societal consequences. All these issues are the vocal part of the research community.
Almost all research plans include a problem statement, an exploratory question or hypothesis, definitions, a literature review, a sample of subject, instrumentation, a description of procedures to be followed, a time schedule, and a description of intended data analysis.
FUNADAMENTALS OF RESEARCH
Human beings are the unique product of their creation and evaluation. In contrast to other forms of the animal life, their more highly developed nervous system has enabled them to developed sounds and symbols that make possible the communication and recording of their questions, observations, experiences and ideas. Over many centuries people began to develop what seemed to be plausible explanations. But gradually people began to see that the operations of the forces of nature were not as capricious as they had been led to believe. They began to observe orderliness in the universe and certain cause and effect relationship. They discovered that under certain conditions events could be predicted with reasonable accuracy.
It was only when people began to think systematically about thinking itself that the era of logic began. The first systematic approach to reasoning, attributed to Aristotle and the Greek, was the deductive method. This deductive method, moving from the general assumptions to the specific application, made an important contribution to the development of the modern problem solving. But it was not fruitful in arriving at new truths. Centuries later Francis Bacon advocated directed observation of phenomena, arriving at conclusions or generalizations through the evidence of many individual observations. Bacon recognized the obstacle that the deductive process placed in the way of discovering new truth.
The Essay on Research hypotheses and questions
It is hypothesized that first grade girls will show better reading comprehension than first grade boys. In Example 1, the author is predicting that he or she will find higher comprehension among girls than boys. To test it, a nonexperimental study would be appropriate because nothing in the hypothesis suggests that treatments will be given. A simple research hypothesis predicts a relationship ...
The method of inductive reasoning proposed by Bacon, is alone did not provide a completely satisfactory system for solution of problems. Random collection of individual observations without a unifying concept or focus often obscured investigations rarely led to the organization or theory. The deductive method of Aristotle and the inductive method of Bacon were fully integrated in the work of Charles Darwin in the nineteenth century. This deductive – inductive method is now recognized as an example of a scientific approach. John Dewey in 1938 suggested a pattern that is helpful in identifying the elements of a deductive – inductive process.
The term science may be thought of as an approach to the gathering of knowledge rather than as a field or subject matter. Science, put simply, consists of two primary functions. One is the development theory and two is the testing of substantive hypotheses that are deduced from theory.
To many people the term theory suggests an ivory tower, something is unreal and of little practical value. On the contrary, a theory establishes causes and effect relationship between variables with the purpose of explaining and predicting phenomena. Piaget theory of cognitive development is a good example of a theory that has been developed with little or no concern for a application. Piaget aim was to understand the cognitive structures and functioning of children and adults, his theory has been embraced by educators and psychologists who has investigated ways in which it could be used to improve educational practice.
Operational definitions must be based on a theory that is generally recognized as valid. Operational terms do not always prove useful in describing variables, for they could conceivably be based on irrelevant behavior.
The Term Paper on Temperature Control Theory Process Variable
Process control systems serve two different purposes. Generally the first of these purposes is to effect a change in a certain output variable, commonly encountered in the startup of a process. The second of these is to regulate or hold an output variable constant despite any changes in an input variable, which usually cannot be easily managed [1]. In order to discuss process control, in detail it ...
Two important functions that hypotheses serve in scientific inquiry are the development of theory and the statement of parts of an existing theory in testable form. The most common use of hypotheses is to test whether an existing theory can be used to solve the problems.
The research or scientific hypothesis is a formal affirmative statement predicting a single research outcome, a tentative explanation of the relationship between two or more variables. For the hypothesis to be testable, the variables must be operationally defined.
Most often this research hypothesis suggests that a difference of some kind will occur. Later at stage of the statistical analysis of the observed data, they restate this hypothesis in negative or null form. In rare cases the research hypothesis could be the same as the null hypothesis. The null hypothesis asserts that observed differences or relationship result merely from chance error inherent in the sampling process. Most hypothesis is the opposite of the null hypothesis. In such a case if the researcher rejects the null hypothesis, he or she accepts the research hypothesis, concluding that the magnitude of the observed variable relationship is probably too great to attribute to sampling error.
A sampling is a small portion of a population selected for observation and analysis. By observing the characteristics of the sample, one can make certain inferences about the characteristics of the population from which it is drawn. Contrary to some popular opinion, samples are not selected haphazardly; they are chosen in a systematically random way so that chance or the operation of probability can be utilized.
The concept of randomness has been basic to scientific observation and research. It is based on the assumption that while individual events cannot be predicted with accuracy, aggregate events can. In the simple random sample the individual observations or individuals are chosen in such a way that each has an equal and independent chance of being selected. A more convenient way of selecting a random sample or assigning individuals to experimental and control groups so that they are equated is by the use of a table of numbers.
The Essay on Research Hypothesis
Null Hypothesis: The new developed drug has no considerable difference from the standard multi-drug regimen used by most cancer patients (µ1 = µ2). Alternative Hypothesis: The new developed drug is considerably better from the standard multi-drug regimen used by most cancer patients (µ1 > µ2). The dependent variable in the study is the so-called ‘level of efficacy’ (or in simple term, the level ...
A systematic sample consists of the selection of each nth term from a list. At times it is advisable to subdivide the population into smaller homogeneous groups to get more accurate representation. This method results in the stratified sample.
The area a cluster sample is the variation of the simple random sample that is particularly appropriate when the population of interest is infinite, when a list of the members of the population does not exist, or when the geographic distribution of the individuals is widely scattered. Nonprobability samples are those that use whatever subjects are available rather than following a specific subject selection process. Some nonprobability sampling procedures may produce samples that do not accurately reflect the characteristics of a population of interest.
Research has drawn its pattern and spirit from the physical sciences and has represented a rigorous, structured type of analysis. An approach which often leads to knowledge for knowledge’s sake is the approach of basic or fundamental research. Fundamental research is usually carried on in a laboratory or some other sterile environment, sometime with animals. This type of research, which generally has no immediate or planned application, may later result in further research of an applied nature.
Applied research has most of the characteristics of fundamental research, including the use of sampling techniques and the subsequent inferences about the target population. However, its purpose is improving a product or a process-testing theoretical concept in actual problem situation.
Action research is focused on immediate application, not on development of theory or on generalization of application. It has placed its emphasis on a problem here and now is local setting. Its findings are to be evaluated in terms of local applicability.
The term descriptive research has often been used incorrectly to describe three types of investigation that are different.
Assessment is a fact finding activity that describes conditions that exist at a particular time. No hypotheses are proposed or tested, no variables relationships are examined, and no recommendations for action are suggested. In education assessment may be concerned with the determination of progress that students have made toward educational goals.
Evaluation is concerned with the application of its findings and implies some judgment of the effectiveness, social utility or desirability of a product, process, or program in terms of carefully defined and agreed on objectives or values. It may involve recommendations for action.
Descriptive research, unlike assessment and evaluation, is concerned with all of the following: hypothesis formulation and testing, the analysis of the relationships between no manipulated variables, and the development of generalization. It is this last characteristic that most distinguishes descriptive research from assessment and evaluation.
Any attempt to classify types of educational research poses a difficult problem. The fact that practically every textbook suggests a different system of classification provides convincing evidence that there is no generally accepted scheme. All research involves the elements of observation, description, and the analysis of what happens under certain circumstances. A rather simple four point analysis may be used to classify educational research. Practically all studies fall under one, or a combination, of these types: Historical research describe what was, Descriptive research(quantitative) uses quantitative methods to describe what is, Qualitative descriptive research uses nonquantitative methods to describe what is, Experimental research describes what will be when certain variables are carefully controlled or manipulated.
