Description
- Research is a quest for an answer to a question.
- Knowing the answer to a question requires a scientific method and not merely asking from various persons or merely observing several situations that may out-rightly provide haphazard answers to posed questions.
- Systematic process of collecting and analyzing information in order to increase our understanding of the phenomenon about which we are concerned or interested.
- Is a careful, systematic study and investigation in some fields of knowledge undertaken to discover or establish facts or principles.
- The scientific method of doing a research may be briefly stated in these steps:
Step 1. Identify the problem
A research originates from a problem, an unanswered question or an unsolved problem. An inquisitive person sparks the conduct of knowing why things go wrong or unusual that in some ways those may affect human life.
Step 2. Limit the problem
The problem may be very broad. Try to focus, know the scope, established boundaries, set the breadth or make a demarcation line so that you will know what are included and what are excluded. This will ultimately make your study manageable or specific.
Step 3. Formulate Hypothesis
Hypothesis is a brilliant conjecture or a tentative solution to a problem. It is testable statement of a resolution to a verifiable question. Some studies use the term assumption to mean the expected outcome of an investigation or inquiry.
Step 4. Collect Data
Implausible statements shall be supported by factual, unbias, truthful, and convincing evidences gathered through the execution of a carefully devised plan. The preponderance of needed information will make a genuine research.
Step 5. Interpret Data and Make a Conclusion
Extract meanings from tabulated, collated, sifted or organized data. Data will be meaningless if you will not deduce meanings or generalizations from them. Statistical tools may aid you in measuring the significance of one factor to another. The researcher may evaluate, accept, reject, decide or conclude based on the data gathered.
Pure versus Applied Research
- Pure or basic research is a study oriented towards the development of a theory. It aims to provide knowledge or understanding.
- Applied research is an investigation that enriches a solution to a practical problem. It seeks to improve human condition by providing knowledge that can be used for practicalapplication.
Qualitative versus Quantitative Research
- Qualitative Research is undertaken to answer questions about the plethora of phenomena primarily aimed at giving attributes and understanding of nature based on the observer’s view point. It also inquires on context and meaning, embarks on content analysis observation.
- Quantitative Research is conducted to find answers to questions about relationships among measurable variables with purpose of explaining, controlling, and predicting phenomena. It is knowing the outcome stated in numerical data.
COMPARATIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE RESEARCHES
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FEATURE |
QUANTITATIVE |
QUALITATIVE |
| Purpose |
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| Process |
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| Data Collection |
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| Data Analysis |
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| Report of findings |
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