What is research ?
Research: is a process of steps used to collect and analyze
information to increase our understanding of a topic or
issue. At a general level, research consists of three points:
1. Pose a question.
2. Collect data to answer the question.
3. Present an answer to the question.
Steps of research
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Identifying a Research Problem
Reviewing the Literature
Specifying a Purpose and Research Questions or Hypotheses
Collecting Quantitative/ qualitative Data
Analyzing and Interpreting Quantitative / Qualitative Data
Reporting and Evaluating Research
Problem Statement
Research problems are the educational issues, controversies, or
concerns that guide the need for conducting a study.
The statement of the problem includes :
1. The topic.
2. The research problem.
3. A justification of the importance of the problem.
4. The deficiencies in our existing knowledge about the
problem.
5. The audiences that will benefit from a study of the problem.
Flow of ideas
Step 2: Reviewing the Literature
 A literature review is a written summary of journal
articles, books, and other documents that describes the
past and current state of information on the topic of your
research study.
Example
Maria needs to identify key terms to help her locate literature on
weapon possession by high school students. After thinking about how
she might get started, she writes down a working title, “Weapon
Possession by High School Students.” She begins by going to the
ERIC Website and enters the words weapon possession in the
search terms procedure. She examines the articles identified in her
search and feels that narrowing her search to high school students will
provide more targeted references in the literature. She then uses the
feature of searching within results and adds the additional term, high
school students. She has now sufficiently narrowed her search and
will closely examine the references in the literature that her search
has yielded.
Step3: Specifying a Purpose and Research Questions
or Hypotheses
The Purpose Statement: is a statement that advances
the overall direction or focus for the study.
For Example:
The purpose of this study is to examine the
relationship between use of Internet communication
between teachers and parents in a Midwestern school
district and student achievement on tests in high
school social studies.
Research Questions
Research questions are questions that narrow the purpose
statement to specific questions that researchers seek to
answer.
Example:
 Do parent–teacher Internet communications affect student
performance in the classroom?
 What types of Internet experiences do parents have with
teachers about the performance of the parents’ children?
Hypotheses
 Hypotheses are statements in quantitative research in which
the investigator makes a prediction about the outcome of a
relationship among attributes or characteristics.
 Example:
Students in high schools in the school district in which
parents and teachers communicate through the Internet
will have higher grades than students whose parents and
teachers do not communicate through the Internet.
Research Objectives
 A research objective is a statement of intent used in a
research that specifies goals that investigator plans to
achieve in a study.
Example:
 To describe the frequency of Internet communication
between parents and teachers regarding the parents’
children in high school social studies classes
Step 4: Collecting Data
 Identify Your Unit of Analysis; e.g., individuals or schools etc….
 Specify the Population and Sample; e.g., a specific classroom of
students
 Locate or develop instrument/s; e.g., interview/ questionnaire…
 Gain access; e.g., get approval from MoE
Step5: Analyzing and Interpreting
Collected Data
 Analyzing data requires understanding how to make sense
of text and images so that you can form answers to your
research questions.
Step 6: Reporting and Evaluating Research
 A research report is a completed study that reports an
investigation or exploration of a problem; identifies
questions to be addressed; and includes data collected,
analyzed, and interpreted by the researcher.
Types of Research Reports
 Dissertations and Theses
 Dissertation and Thesis Proposals
 Journal Articles
 Conference Papers and Proposals
 Report for Policy Makers or School Personnel
References
 Creswell, J. (2012). Educational research: Planning,
conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative
research (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Publications.
 Denscombe, M. (2010). The good research guide: For
small scale research projects (4th ed.). Maidenhead:
McGraw-Hill Open University Press.
Thank you so much for your careful listening