RESEARCH

WHY IS RESEARCH IMPORTANT?

• LESSON 1
 KEY IDEAS
• Four reasons why research is important
• Problems with research today
• The Research Process
• Ethical Considerations in Research
• Skills needed for research
 Research Adds Knowledge
• Addresses gaps in knowledge
• Expands knowledge
• Adds voices of individuals to knowledge
 Research Helps Improve Practice
• Gain New Ideas
• Gain new insights into methods
• Gain new insights into students
Research Creates Data for Policy Discussions

• Research helps people weigh different

perspectives on issues
• Research helps people make informed
decisions regarding policy
 Research Helps Students Build Skills

• Organizational skills
• Analytical skills
• Writing Skills
• Presentation Skills
 Problems with Research Today
• Contradictory or vague findings
• Questionable data
• Unclear statement about the intent of the
study
• Lack of full disclosure of the data collection
procedure
• Inarticulate rendering of the research problem
 Research Defined
“ Research is a cyclical process of steps that
typically begins with identifying the problem
or issue of the study. It then consists of
reviewing the literature specifying a purpose
for the study, and forming an interpretation of
the information. This process culminates in a
report disseminated to the audience that is
evaluated and used in the educational
community.” John W. Creswell
Lines of Research
The Research Spiral
 Research Spiral: Identify the Research
Problem
• Specify problem
• Justify a problem
• Suggest a need to study it for audiences
 Research Spiral: Reviewing the Literature
• Locate the resources:
– Books
– Journals
– Electronic resources
• Select resources:
– Determine the relevant resources for the topic
– Organize the resources by developing a “literature
map”
• Summarize the resources in a Literature Review
 Research Spiral: Specify a Purpose for the
Research
• Identify the purpose statement
• Narrow the purpose statement to research
questions, hypothesis, or statement of Central
Phenomenon to be studied.
 Research Spiral: Collecting Data
• Determine the data collection method
• Select the individuals to study
• Design data collection instruments and outline
procedures
• Obtain permissions
• Gather information
 Research Spiral: Analyzing and Interpreting
Data
• Breaking down the data
• Representing the data
• Explaining the data
 Research Spiral: Reporting and Evaluating
Research
• Determine the audience for the report
• Structure the report
• Write the report sensitively and accurately
Ethical Considerations in Research
• Respect the rights of the participants
• Honor the requests and restrictions of the
research site
• Report the research fully and honestly
 Skills Needed for Research
• Curiosity to solve puzzles
• Lengthen your attention span
• Using the library and computer resources
• Writing and editing
QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE
APPROACHES

• LESSON 2
 KEY IDEAS
• Configurations of research
• Development of quantitative research
• Development of qualitative research
• Definitions of qualitative and quantitative
research
• The relationship between the research
process and qualitative research
THE THREE CONFIGURATIONS OF RESEARCH
 THE DEVELOPMENT OF QUANTITATIVE
RESEARCH: HISTORICAL TRENDS
• Statistical procedures
• Test and measurement practices
• Research designs
 HISTORICAL TRENDS: TESTING AND
MEASUREMENTS
• Testing mental abilities
• Measuring achievements
• Predicting achievement from standardized
measurements
 HISTORICAL TRENDS: RESEARCH DESIGNS

• Educational surveys (late 19th century)

• Simple experiments (early 20th century)
• Multiple groups and tests (by 1935
• Longitudinal designs
• Books on research designs (e.g. Kerlinger
1964)
 QUALITATIVE RESEARCH: PHILOSOPHICAL
IDEAS
• Naturalistic Inquiry or Constructivism
– Consider the participants point of view
– Describe participant’s view within a setting or
context
• This is an alternative perspective to traditional
research
 QUALITATIVE RESEARCH: PHILOSOPHICAL
IDEAS
• Naturalistic Inquiry or Constructivism
– Consider the participants point of view
– Describe participant’s view within a setting or
context
• This is an alternative perspective to traditional
research
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH: PROCEDURAL DEVELOPMENTS

• Central phenomenon rather than research

question/hypothesis
• Methods such as interviews, observations and
interviews
• Designs such as case studies, grounded theory
and narrative
 QUALITATIVE RESEARCH: ADVOCACY
PRACTICES
• The qualitative researcher is not objective,
politically neutral observer
• He is also an observer of human condition
• The meaning of the research is plural, political
and open
• The project is collaborative and participatory
CHARACTERISTICS OF QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE
RESEARCH IN THE PROCESS OF RESEARCH
CHARACTERISTICS OF QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE
RESEARCH IN THE PROCESS OF RESEARCH
DEFINITIONS OF QUALITATIVE AND
QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
QUANTITATIVE DESIGNS AND USE
QUANTITATIVE DESIGNS AND USE
COMBINED DESIGNS AND USES
IDENTIFYING A RESEARCH PROBLEM

• LESSON 3
 KEY CONCEPTS
• Defining the research problem
• Distinguishing the problem from the research
topic purpose and research questions
• Determining the research approach
• Introducing the problem
• The flow of ideas in a problem statement
 RESEARCH PROBLEM DEFINED
A RESEARCH PROBLEM IS AN EDUCATIONAL
ISSUE OR CONCERN THAT AN INVESTIGATOR
PRESENTS AND JUSTIFIES IN A RESEARCH
STUDY
 QUESTION TO ASK TO FIND THE RESEARCH
PROBLEM
• What was the issue or problem that the
researcher wanted to address?
• What is the concern being addressed “behind”
the study?
• Why was the study undertaken in the first
place?
• Why is this study important?
 DISTINGUISHING THE RESEARCH PROBLEM
FROM OTHER RESEARCH STEPS
• A research problem is an educational issue or
problem in the study
• A research topic is the broad subject matter
being addressed in a study
• A purpose is the major intent or objective of the
study
• Research questions are the researchers’
questions that would like answered or addressed
in the study
DIFFERENCES AMONG TOPIC, PROBLEM,
PURPOSE AND QUESTIONS

DISTANCE LEARNING

LACK OF STUDENTS IN DISTANCE CLASSES

TO STUDY WHY STUDENTS DO NOT STTEND DISTANCE

EDUCATION CLASSES AT A COMMUNITY COLLEGE

DOES THE USE OF WEB SITE TECHNOLOGY IN THE

CLASSROOM DETER STUDENTS FROM ENROLLING
IN A DISTANCE EDUCATION CLASS?
 CAN AND SHOULD THE PROBLEM BE
RESEARCHED?
• Determine if the study will contribute to
knowledge by advancing research
• Determine if the study will contribute to
knowledge by adding to effectiveness or practice
• Determine if there is adequate access to
participants and research sites
• Determine of you have the skills, resources and
time to conduct the study
 QUESTIONS REGARDING CONTRIBUTION TO
KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICE
• Does the study fill a void or contribute to existing
research?
• Does the study replicate a study with new
participants or new sites?
• Does the study addresses a new problem or has
this problem been understudied?
• Does the study give voice to people not heard,
silenced or rejected in society?
• Does the study inform practice?
 Determining the Research Approach
Use quantitative if your research problem
Use quantitative if your research problem
requires you to
requires you to

• Measure variables
• Learn about the views of the people
• Assess the impact of these variables on you plan to study
an outcome
• Assess a process over time
• Test theories or broad explanations
• Generate theories based on
• Apply results to a large number of participants perspectives
people
• Obtain detailed information about a
few people or research sites
 INTRODUCING THE TOPIC: THE NARRATIVE
HOOK
• The Narrative Hook is the first sentence of the
study
• The narrative Hook performs the following
functions:
– Causes the reader to pay attention
– Elicits an emotional or attitudinal response from
the reader
– Causes the reader to continue reading
STATING THE RESEARCH PROBLEM
• Questions to ask:
– What is the issue or concern the author is
addressing?
– Is there one issue or several in the study?
• Types of problems
– Practical research problems
– Study-based research problems
 JUSTIFYING THE RESEARCH PROBLEM

• Suggestions from other researchers

• Personal work experiences
IDENTIFYING DEFICIENCIES IN THE EVIDENCE

• Literature or practical experience do not

address the research problem
• The researcher must summarize the ways in
which the literature is deficient in the
statement of the problem
 RELATING THE DISCUSSION TO THE
AUDIENCE
• Visualize the statement of the problem as the
first five paragraphs
– Topic
– Research problem
– Justification
– Deficiencies
– Relate discussion to audience
FLOW OF IDEAS IN A PROBLEM STATEMENT
 ORGANIZING THE LITERATURE
• Copy and file materials
• Construct a literature map
 PROCEDURE FOR CONSTRUCTING A
LITERATURE MAP
• Identify key terms for the topics and put them
at the top of a map
• Sort studies into topical areas or “families of
studies”
• Provide a label for each box which ill become
a heading for the review
• Develop the map on as many levels as possible
 PROCEDURE FOR CONSTRUCTING A
LITERATURE MAP
• Draw a box toward the bottom of the figure
that says “my proposed study”
• Draw lines connecting the proposed study
with other branches of the literature
REVIEWING THE LITERATURE

• LESSON 4
 KEY CONCEPTS
• Functions of literature reviews
• Designing and constructing a literature review
 LITERATURE REVIEW IN A QUANTITATIVE
STUDY
• Documents the importance of the research
problem at the beginning of the study
• Supports the theory or explanation used in the
study
• Foreshadows the research questions
• Provides an explanation for the results in
other studies and in the theoretical prediction
at the end of the study.
 LITERATURE REVIEW IN A QUALITATIVE
STUDY
• Documents the importance of the research
problem at the beginning of the study
• Does not foreshadow the research questions
(which are broad in scope to encourage
participants to provide their own views)
• Is used to compare and contrast with other
studies at the end of the study
DESIGNING AND CONDUCTING A LITERATURE
REVIEW
• Identify key terms
• Locate literature
• Read and evaluate the relevance of the literature
to your topic
• After selection, organize the literature into a
coherent picture of studies and documents on
your topic
• Write a review by developing summaries of the
literature
 IDENTIFYING KEY TERMS
• Write a preliminary “working title” for the
project and select two of three key words that
capture the essence of the project
• Pose a short general research question that you
would like to answer in the study
• Look in a thesaurus of terms to find words that
math you topic
• Scan the contents in your library stacks and the
table of contents of journals
LOCATE THE LITERATURE: CLASSIFICATION OF
SOURCES
 LOCATE THE LITERATURE: EXAMPLE OF
SOURCES
• Stacks in the library
• Data bases
• Encyclopedias
• Summaries
• Dictionaries and glossaries of terms
• Handbooks
• Statistical indexes
• Review and synthesis
 EVALUATING THE RELEVANCE OF THE
LITERATURE: QUESTIONS TO ASK
• Topic relevance: is the literature on the same
topic as your proposed study?
• Individual and site relevance: does the
literature examine the same individuals and
sites you want to study?
 EVALUATING THE RELEVANCE OF THE
LITERATURE: QUESTIONS TO ASK
• Problem relevance: does the literature
examines the same research problem as you
propose in your study?
• Accessibility relevance: is the literature
available in your library or can it be
downloaded from a website?
 ORGANIZING THE LITERATURE
• Copy and file materials
• Construct a literature map
 PROCEDURE FOR CONSTRUCTING A
LITERATURE MAP
• Identify key terms for the topic and put them
at the top of the map
• Sort studies into topical areas or “families of
studies”
• Provide a label for each box which will
become a heading for the review
• Develop the map on as many levels as
possibles
 PROCEDURE FOR CONSTRUCTING A
LITERATURE MAP
• Draw a box toward the bottom of the figure
that says my proposed study
• Draw lines connecting the proposed study
with another branches of the literature
WRITING A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

• Identify and summarize each study in an

abstract that highlights important elements
• Write out complete citation for the summaries
with headings that use appropriate style
manual formats
• Write the review using writing strategies
related to the type and extent of the review
QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE ABSTRACT

Quantitative Qualitative
• The research problem • The research problem
• The hypothesis or • The central
research questions phenomenon
• A data collection • A data collection
procedure procedure
• Results of the study • Findings
SPECIFYING A PURPOSE, RESEARCH
QUESTIONS OR HYPOTHESIS

LESSON 5
 KEY IDEAS
• The difference between purpose statements,
hypothesis, and research question
• Variables in quantitative research
• Qualitative research considerations
PURPOSE STATEMENTS, RESEARCH QUESTIONS,
RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS, RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
• Purpose statements: a declarative statement
that advances the overall direction or focus for
the study
• Research questions: interrogative statements
that narrow the purpose statement to specific
questions that researchers seek to answer in
their study
PURPOSE STATEMENTS, RESEARCH QUESTIONS,
RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS, RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
• Research hypothesis: declarative statements
in quantitative research in which the
investigator makes a prediction or conjecture
about the outcomes relationship
• Research objective: statement of intent for the
study that specifies specific goals that the
investigator plans to achieve in a study
DISTIGUISHING AMONG VARIOUS FORMS OF
DIRECTION IN RESEARCH
DEFINITION OF THE VARIABLES
 VARIABLES AND CONSTRUCTS
• A variable is an attribute or characteristic
stated in a specific or applied way
• A construct is an attribute or characteristic
expressed in an abstract, general way.
CATEGORICAL AND CONTINUOUS SCORES

• A categorical score is a value of a variable

assigned by the researcher into a small
number of categories
• A continuous variable is the value of a variable
assigned by the researcher to a point along
continuum of scores from low to high.
 FAMILIES OF VARIABLES
• Independent variable: an attribute or
characteristic that influences or effects an
outcome of the independent variable.
– Treatment variable
– Measured variable
– Control variable
– Moderating variable
 FAMILIES OF VARIABLES
• Intervening variable (mediating variables) : an
attribute or characteristic that “stands
between” the dependent and independent
variables.
• Dependent Variables: An attribute or
characteristic influenced by the independent
variable.
 FAMILIES OF VARIABLES
• Confounding variables (spurious variables):
Attributes or characteristics that the
researcher cannot directly measure because
their effects cannot be easily separated from
the other variables, even though they may
influence the relationship between the
independent and the independent variable.
THE FAMILY OF VARIABLES IN QUANTITATIVE
STUDIES

PROBABLE CAUSE: EFFECTS:

Independent Variables Intervening Dependent

• Treatment Variables Variables
• Measured
Confounding
Control Variables Variables

Moderating Variables
INTERVENING VARIABLES “STAND BETWEEN”
INDEPENDENT AND DEPENDENT VARIABLES

Step 1 Independent Dependent

Variables Variables
Examples
Convenient office hours Student risks
For students help from faculty

Step 2 Independent Intervening

Variables Variable
Example Convenient office hours Student becomes willing
For students To take risks
Step 3
Independent Intervening Dependent
Example Variables Variable Variables
Convenient office hours Student becomes willing Student risks
For students To take risks help from faculty
 THEORIES AS BRIDGES BETWEEN
INDEPENDENT AND DEPENDENT VARIABLES

Independent Dependent
Variables Variables
 DIFFERENT TYPES OF EXPLANATIONS IN
QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH

EXTENSIVE TESTS BY BROAD

OTHER RESEARCHERS ABSTACTIONS
As a formal theory that is expressed by connected
Hypothesis and variables identified by authors

As a conceptual framework often expressed as a

Visual model by other authors for relationship

As a theoretical rationale posed by other authors

Based on studies for relationship

NARROW
NO TEST As explanation posed by the author as a hunch for APPLICATION
Why the independent variable relates to the
dependent variables
 WHETHER VARIABLES PROVE PROBABLE
CAUSE
• Probable causation: The researchers attempt
to establish a likely cause/effect relationship
between variables rather than prove the
relationship.
• Control is vital: Control means that the
researcher attempts to study all factors that
might help explain the relationship between
an independent and dependent variable.
FOUR TYPES OF PROBABLE CAUSALITY
 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE
PURPOSE STATEMENTS AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS

QUANTITATIVE –more closed QUALITATIVE –more open ended

1. PROBABLE CAUSE/EFFECT (WHY DID 1. DESCRIPTIVE (WHAT HAPPENED?)
IT HAPPEN?) 2. INTERPRETATIVE (WHAT WAS THE
2. USE OF THEORIES (WHY DID IT MEANING TO PEOPLE OF WHAT
HAPPEN IN VIEW OF AN HAPPENED?)
EXPLANATION OR THEORY?) 3. PROCESS-ORIENTED (WHAT
3. ASSESSING DIFFERENCES AND HAPPENED OVER TIME?)
MAGNITUDE
HOW MUCH HAPPENED?
HOW MANY TIMES DID IT HAPPEN?
WHAT WERE THE DIFFERENCES AMONG GROUPS
IN WHAT HAPPENED?
HOW RESEARCHES EXPLAIN OR PREDICT VARIABLES VERSUS
EXPLORING OR UNDERSTANDING A CENTRAL PHENOMENON

QUANTITATIVE QUALITATIVE

EXPLAINING OR UNDERSTANDING OR EXPLORING

PREDICTING VARIABLES A CENTRAL PHENOMENON

X Y Y

THE INDEPENDENT VARIABLE (X) IN DEPTH UNDERSTANDING OF Y EXTERNAL

INFLUENCES A DEPENDENT VARIABLE (Y) FORCES SHAPE AND ARE SHAPED BY Y
 QUALITATIVE RESEARCH CONSIDERATION

• More open ended

• The direction of the study is focused on how
to best learn from the participants
• The focus of the research is around a central
phenomenon which is an issue or what
process the researcher would like to study
• Qualitative research is built on an emerging
design
COLLECTING QUANTITATIVE DATA

• LESSON 6