EDEN UNIVERSITY

INSTITUTE OF DISTANCE EDUCATION

NAME KELVIN MUTALE

COMPUTER NO 2023080001

PROGRAM SECONDARY DEGREE

COURSE ATOMIC AND NUCLEAR PHYSICS

COURSE CODE PHY 120

LECTURER MR NDLOVOLO

TASK ASSIGNMENT TWO

DUE DATE AUGUST RESIDENTIAL, 2023

QUESTION

A student of research methodology ought to be aware of research needs in his or her subject area
or no educational field at large question or task. Investigate and explain in details the research
needs in education.

Educational research is a more formal, focused and an intensive process of carrying out a
scientific method of analysis. The main purpose of educational research is focused upon
scientific investigation and provide solutions to the problems in the field of education. Research
in education represents an activity, directed towards the development of an organized body of
scientific knowledge about the events with which educators are concerned. Educational research
is the part of behavioural sciences, in which, emphasis has been put upon understanding,
explaining, predicting and to some degree controlling human behaviour. Research in education is
use of the methods of scientific analysis to produce information, needed to make improvements
in educational planning, decision making, teaching and learning, curriculum development,
understanding of children and youth, use of instructional media, school organization and
education management. In this part of writing the needs of research methodology will be
discussed in details.

Research is simply the process of arriving as dependable solution to a problem through the
planned and systematic collection, analysis and interpretation of a data. There are a lot of needs
of research methodology and before there are explained I will discuss the importance and
characteristics of methodology. On the part of characteristics, Research is a systematic and
critical investigation to a phenomenon embedded in our society and education system. Research
aims at interpreting and explaining a phenomenon logically and systematically by adopting a
scientific method. Research is based on empirical evidences and observable experience and
develops generalizations, principles or theories and is directed towards finding answer to the
questions and solutions to the education related problems.

Research is important in different ways and some of the importance of research are as follows,
according to Rathnakar, G. (2018) “Research professionals are always learning, finding out
things, analyzing information, adapting their behaviour according to information received,
looking to improve and adapting to modern demands and thus social science research helps in
well-being of society, social and educational institutions”. Research findings could be beneficial
for teachers, teacher educators, administrators, policy makers, parents and other stakeholders
involved in the education sector. Sophia, K.A. (2012) stated that “research findings could be
implemented in classroom teaching learning process to bridge the learning gaps. Findings could
be used in teacher training programmes, curriculum development programmes and also in
formulating education policies.” In addition to this, Diery (2018) stated that “teachers should be
enabled to use and integrate relevant findings and scientific theories of educational research in
their professional actions and decisions”.

It deals with educational problems, regarding students and teachers as well. Within the
classroom setting and within the school environment, there are various issues and concerns that
are experienced by the teachers and the students. These may be concerned with the teaching-
learning methods, instructional strategies, infrastructure, understanding academic concepts,
performance evaluation techniques and so forth. Therefore, educational research is concerned
with conducting an analysis of these areas, finding the flaws and inconsistencies and
implementing measures to improve them.

It is precise, objective, scientific and a systematic process of conducting investigations.

Educational research not just involves viewing areas and conducting investigations, but it
involves conducting analysis and investigations in a specific, accurate, methodical and an
organized manner.. Educational research can be used to provide assistance to the educators to
observe that the impact of particular types of teaching and learning processes depends upon the
subject matter to be learned in relation to the skills, knowledge and attitudes that learners bring
into the learning environment and the purpose of learning and the assessments used to measure
that learning relative to those objectives.

It discovers new facts in new perspectives, i.e. it generates new knowledge. There are primarily
three ways of conducting research. First, it can be conducted through the use of books, articles,
documents, and internet. Through these sources, one can read, and analyse the information
obtained in an appropriate manner. Second, it can be conducted through interviewing techniques,
one can communicate verbally with others to obtain information. Person from whom information
is obtained can be within or outside the educational institutions, from whom information is
obtained. It is based on some philosophic theory. In most cases, research in education are based
on some philosophic theories. The theories that are included in this research may be logical,
rational, ethical, moral and theoretical. Education is a comprehensive field, hence, there may be
variations in the areas and regions regarding various aspects. Hence, the philosophic theories are
based upon these aspects.

It depends upon the ability, resourcefulness, creativity and experience of the researchers
for its interpretations and conclusions. In higher educational institutions, when the individuals
are working on projects, they are required to conduct research and analysis. When implementing
this task, it is vital for the individuals to possess the competencies and skilfulness to carry out the
job in an appropriate manner. Lack of skills and expertise would not generate the desired
outcome.

It needs interdisciplinary approach in providing solutions to educational problems. There

are various kinds of problems and challenges that exist in conducting research in education. For
instance, problems in obtaining the needed information from books and articles, negative
responses from the individuals in the field, refusals on their part in filling out the survey
questionnaires and showing reluctance in communicating in an adequate manner with the
researchers. Therefore, it is vital to make use of interdisciplinary approach in providing solutions
to various kinds of problems.

It demands subjective interpretation and deductive reasoning in some cases. When data is
collected through utilization of appropriate research methods, it is obtained in an unorganized
form. Hence, it is vital to organize it in an appropriate manner and interpret it. In quantitative
data, the software called Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) is mainly used to
conduct an analysis, hence, it is essential to ensure that the information obtained is suitable for
analysis.

Experienced teachers, who return to universities to attain graduate degrees, quite often
regret that their new role as a researcher puts emphasis upon the value of abstract, intellectual
activities, often in seclusion from the more human component, they came across while teaching.
The differences between the scholar’s view of education and the practitioner’s view of education
often lead to hindrance, in which the doctoral students would encounter the whole research
enterprise (Bulterman-Bos, 2008).
In conclusion, research is an imperative aspect that is primarily implemented in higher
educational institutions. When individuals are working on Masters or Doctoral thesis, they
conduct research regarding various areas. It involves systematic steps and procedures and
individuals are required to possess adequate knowledge regarding these, in order to carry out
their research in a productive manner.
REFERENCES

Bulterman-Bos, J.A. (2008). Will a Clinical Approach Make Education Research More
Relevant for Practice? Relevance in Education Research, 37(7), 412-420

Diery, Annika. & Vogel, Freydis. (2018). what is the role of educational research evidence
for teacher education? Retrieved from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329737038_What is the role of educational research
evidence for teacher education.

Pramodini, D.V., & Sophia, K.A. (2012). Evaluation of Importance of Research Education.
International Journal of Social Science & Interdisciplinary Research, 1(9), 1-6.
Rathnakar, G. (2018). Research in education its necessity of and importance a study.
ICTACT JOURNAL ON MANAGEMENT STUDIES.4 (1), 675-678.