4. Research is searching
for truth in a systematic
way or in a scientific
method.
Existing within the bounds of science that
quite different from other subjects because of
its inclination to special or abstract terms,
search is likewise pregnant with extraordinary
terms because it has a language of its own.
Endowed with special
knowledge-meaning,
ideas that are applicable
to a particular purpose,
you possess a certain
expertise that only people
belonging to your area of
specialization find
understandable and easy
to relate themselves with.
5. For non-researchers, unless they purposely read
books on the subject, the language of research
appears as a jargon Jargons are terms
considered as technical because these are
commonly used only by people belonging to the
same field of specialization. Exclusively used by
specific set of persons, like the engineers,
doctors, lawyers, architects, and businessmen,
among others, these terms do not sound familiar
or understandable to ordinary persons in the
society (Trochim, 2006; Shields & Rangarajan,
2013).
6.
7. The specialized forms of the language research can
be attributed the following factors(Trochim, 2006):
MULTISYLLABLE WORDS
Some terms refelcting the inherent characteristics of research as a
scientific method are made up to a number of syllables such as the
following:
• theoritical- concepts
• emipirical- observable
• probabilistic- uncertain
• quantitive- numerical
• scientific- systematic
• inquiry-investigation
8. TYPES AND FORMS OF QUESTION
2. Research has its own types of questions. It has to ask questions that
describe, show relationships, and give reasons behind the occurrence of
something. For instance, for a qualitative research, questions to be asked
must elicit views, emotions, or opinions of people. Quantitative research,
on the other hand, asks questions about the exact number, percentages, or
frequency of things. Informative questions, rather than yes- or-no
questions, are the appropriate questions to ask in research.
9. SPAN OF TIME COVERED BY THE RESEARCH
Owing to the length of time-months or years-that takes place in a
study, research introduced the terms cross-sectional and
longitudinal studies. Cross-sectional study involves a one-time
collection of data in a span of time; longitudinal study, meanwhile is
a repeated collection of data to find out the changes of patterns
over time.
10. VARIABLES RELATIONSHIPS
Concerning itself with whether or not a variable has effects on another variable,
based on cause-effect relationships and on a certain pattern that may result in
positive or negative relationship, research came out with the following terms for
variables:
a. Independent variables - the cause of something
b. Dependent variables - bears the effect of the independent variable
C. Extraneous variable - extra or unexpected variable cropping up outside the
research design
d. Confounding variable- unstable variable
11. FORMULATION OF HYPOTHESIS
Forming of hypotheses indicates the staging of a research. It
signals the occurrence of a scientific or investigative way of doing
things. Hence, the following terms are used: null hypotheses for
guessing negative results of the research and alternative
hypotheses for positive results.
12. DATA
These are facts, information, or logically derived forms of
knowledge that are called qualitative data if they are verbally and
subjectively expressed, and quantitative data if they are numerically
and objectively expressed.
13. Unit of analysis
The subject or object of your research study makes up one major
entity and this may either be one of the following:
a. Individual, group, artifact (painting, book, travelogue)
b. Geographical unit (municipality, province, country)
C. Social interaction (husband-wife, teacher-learner, employer-
employee)
14. MEANING OF OPERATIONAL DEFINITION
A theoretical definition (explanation based on the
concepts or knowledge related to the field of discipline
and widely accepted as correct) prevents the readers
from immediately seeing the relationships or relevance
of things involved in the research. One way of giving a
clear meaning of a concept or anything involved in the
research is to define it operationally.
What is an operational definition? Operational definition is making
the concept or the thing meaningful by specifying the way your
research should measure such concept. It defines the basic concept
through the operation used or research activity involved to measure
the concept.
15. Gleaned from books on research are the following pointers on
defining terms
1. Have a clear understanding of the concept focused on by your
study before you begin defining such concept operationally.
2.Base your operational definition on the concept under study.
3.Express the operational definition in only one sentence.
4. Let the operational definition explain the measurement of variables
clearly.
5. Construct an operational definition that other researchers can
understand, assess, and repeat in other research studies.
16. 1. Defining Temperature
Theoretical/Conceptual Definition: heat flowing between infinite reservoirs
Operational Definition: define temperature in relation to operations with gas thermometers
2.Defining Electric Current
Theoretical/Conceptual Definition: force between two parallel conductors
Operational Definition: mention the device, current balance, to measure electric
current
3.Defining Anger
Theoretical/Conceptual Definition: intangible; not directly measured by observation
Operational Definition: mention facial expressions, vocabulary, or voice tone to measure anger
4.Defining Virgo
Theoretical/Conceptual Definition: constellation of stars (cannot tell the process of formation)
Operational Definition: mention the way of locating Virgo in the sky (repeatable
process)
Examples of Operational Definitions
