Introduction-to-the-research-process.ppt

An Introduction to the
Research Process
Dr Vicente Chua Reyes, Jr.

© 2009, Vicente Chua Reyes, Jr. PHD. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
All rights reserved.
By the end of this module, you
should be able to:
 Define educational research
 Identify the importance of educational
research
 Name problems with research today
 Describe the research process
 Identify ethical considerations in conducting
research
 Reflect on the skills you bring to the research
process
Adapted from : John W. Creswell Educational Research:
Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and
Qualitative Research, third edition

What Is Research?
 The researcher asks a question.
 The researcher collects data.
 The researcher indicates how the data
answered the question.

A Definition of Research
Research is a process of steps used to
collect and analyze information in order to
increase our understanding of a topic or
issue.
What are the factors that determine student achievement?

Importance of Research
 Reason 1: Research adds to our
knowledge.
 Addresses gaps in knowledge
 Expands knowledge
 Replicates knowledge
 Adds voices of individuals to knowledge
• Gender, Race, Student Background, Family – Student level factors
•Teacher, Classroom, School Budgets, School equipment – School level factors
• Is there INTERACTION between Student level and School level factors?

Importance of Research (cont’d)
 Reason 2: Research helps improve
practice.
 Educators gain new ideas for their job.
 Educators gain new insights into approaches.
 Educators can connect with other educators.
• Student level factors – What are the implications to teaching practice? Mother
tongue?
• School level factors – What are the implications to school practices? Streaming?

Importance of Research (cont’d)
 Reason 3: Research helps inform policy
debates.
 Research allows people to weigh different
perspectives on issues.
 Research enables people to make informed
decisions regarding policy.
•Student level factors – What is the impact of existing policy/ies? School vouchers?
•School level factors – What kind of policy interventions are necessary? Government
funding

Problems with Research Today
 Contradictory or vague findings
 Questionable data
 Unclear statements about the intent
of the study
 Lack of full disclosure of the data
collection procedure
 Inarticulate rendering of the
research problem

The Process of Research
Identify the
Research Problem
Review the
Literature
Report
and
Evaluate Research
Specify a
Research
Purpose
Collect Data
Analyze and
Interpret
Data

The Process of Research:
Identify the Research Problem
 Specify a problem
 Justify a problem
 Suggest a need to study the problem for
audiences

Review the Literature
 Locate 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

Specify a Research Purpose
 Identify the purpose statement
 The major intent of the study
 The participants in the study
 The site of the study
 Narrow the purpose statement
 Quantitative: Write research questions
and/or hypothesis
 Qualitative: Identify a central
phenomenon and write sub-questions
• Quantitative approach – Mean scores of student achievement (SAT, PSLE);
controlling for student and school level factors
• Qualitative approach – Nuances in classroom sub-cultures that promote or impede
student achievement, for example: “student voice”, “teacher-talk”

The Research Process:
Collect Data
 Determine the data collection method
 Select the individuals to study
 Design data collection instruments
and outline data collection procedures
 Obtain permissions
 Gather data

Analyze and Interpret Data
 Take the data apart to look at individual
responses
 Represent the data in tables, figures,
and pictures
 Explain conclusions from the data that
address the research questions

Report and Evaluate Research
 Report research
 Determine the audience for the report
 Structure the report
 Write the report sensitively and accurately
 Evaluate research
 Assess the quality of research using
recognized standards in a discipline
 Standards can come from the academic
community, school districts, or federal or
state agencies

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
 Long attention span
 Library and computer resource skills
 Writing and editing skills

Introduction-to-the-research-process.ppt

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