The Nature of Research
What is Research?
The ability to answer a question or concern
facing many of us in our daily and
professional lives.
Scientists, engineers, doctors, teachers,
counselors, administrators, parents, and
students continually need to seek
information in order to perform their jobs.
Slide 1
How Does One Obtain Information?
People do the following to obtain information:
Consult experts
Review books and articles
Question/observe colleagues
Rely on past experience
Use intuition
Using scientific research provides another way to
obtain information
Information is reliable and accurate
Allows an understanding of why research is valuable
Slide 2
Ways of Knowing That Things Exist
Personal Experience
Agreement/Sharing with Others
Expert Opinion
Logical Reasoning
The Scientific Method
Slide 3
The Scientific Method
The goal of the scientific method is to
explain, predict, and/or control phenomena
This involves the acquisition of knowledge
and the development and testing of theory
The use of the scientific method is more
efficient and reliable than any other source
of knowledge
Slide 4
The Scientific Method
5 distinct steps:
State the problem
Formulate of hypotheses
Collect data - how to gather the information
How to organize and analyze the information
obtained
How the information is interpreted
EDS 502
Slide 5
Classification of Research
Research
Descriptive
EDS 502
Associational
Intervention
Slide 6
General Research Types
Descriptive studies describe a given state of
affairs
Associational studies investigate
relationships
Intervention studies assess the effects of a
treatment or method on outcomes
EDS 502
Slide 7
Classification of Research
Research
Qualitative
EDS 502
Quantitative
Slide 8
Quantitative Research
Purpose: Collect and analyze data to explain, predict a
phenomena of interest (describe current conditions,
investigate relationships, study causes and effects)
a positivistic perspective
Characteristics
Numerical data
Use of formally stated hypotheses and procedures
Use of controls to minimize the effects of factors
Large numbers of participating subjects
An objective, detached researcher
Use of pencil and paper tests, questionnaires, etc.
EDS 502
Slide 9
Qualitative Research
Purpose: To probe deeply into the research setting to
obtain in-depth understandings about the way things
are, why they are like that, and how participants
perceive them
Characteristics
There are no hypotheses guiding the researcher
Problems and methods tend to evolve over the course of
the study
Phenomena are examined as they exist in a natural
context, and they are viewed from the participants’
perspectives
There are few participants involved in the study
Data analysis is interpretative in nature
EDS 502
Slide 10
Exercise
Educational researchers have been interested in
identifying ways to reduce students' test anxiety.
Describe a research question that a quantitative
researcher might define and one that a qualitative
researcher might define to guide a literature search on
this problem
EDS 502
Slide 11
Sample answers
Quantitative
Are female math students significantly different
from male math students in their level of test
anxiety?
What is the relative cost-effectiveness of
different interventions for reducing test
anxiety?
Which measure of test anxiety best predicts
test anxiety among high school students?
EDS 502
Slide 12
Sample answers
Qualititative
What are the specific aspects of taking a test
that create anxiety among students?
How do students describe their experience of
test anxiety before, during, and after a test?
How do students who are high in test anxiety
differ from those who are low in test anxiety in
terms of their coping strategies?
EDS 502
Slide 13
The Research Process
Statement of the problem: description of
the background and rationale for
performing the study
Hypothesis: prediction of what is expected
to occur, or relationship expected between
the variables (factors being considered)
Definitions: key terms in the problem
statement
EDS 502
Slide 14
The Research Process
(cont.)
Review of Literature: past or current
studies that are relevant to the study
Sample: subjects of the study
Instrumentation: what will be used to
measure or collect data
Procedures: step-by-step directions,
outlining what will occur from beginning
to end
Data Analysis: statistical procedure to
analyze and explain the data
EDS 502
Slide 15
Research process (Figure 1.4)
EDS 502
Slide 16