Unit I Introduction to Educational Research
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1.1
Meaning of research and educational research
Research is a process of enquiry and investigation. It is
a systematic, methodical and ethical. Research is a logical and systematic
search for new and useful information on a particular topic. It is an
investigation of finding solutions to scientific and social problems through
objective and systematic analysis. It is a search for knowledge, that is, a
discovery of hidden truths. Here knowledge means information about matters. The information might be collected
from different sources like experience, human beings, books, journals, nature,
etc. A research can lead to new contributions to the existing knowledge. Only
through research is it possible to make progress in a field. Research is done
with the help of study, experiment, observation, analysis, comparison and
reasoning (Rajasekar, Philominathan &Chinnathambi, 2006). 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 steps:
1. Pose a question.
2. Collect data to answer the question.
3. Present an answer
to the question.
This should be a familiar process. You engage in solving
problems every day and you start with a question,
collect some information, and then
form an answer. Although there are a few more steps in research than these
three, this is the overall framework for research. When you examine a published
study, or conduct your own study, you will find these three parts as the core
elements (Creswell, 2012 p. 3).
Research is important because it adds to our knowledge,
improves practice and informs policy
debates education as well as ICT in education (Creswell, 2012).
Purpose of Research
Discover
New Knowledge – To explore unknown facts, theories, and concepts.
Solve
Problems – To find solutions to real-world issues.
Improve
Decision-Making – To provide accurate data for better choices.
Enhance
Understanding – To deepen knowledge of a specific subject.
Test
Hypotheses – To validate or disprove assumptions.
Inform
Policy and Practice – To guide actions in business, education, healthcare,
etc.
Identify
Trends – To observe patterns and predict future outcomes.
Develop
New Products/Services – To innovate and improve existing solutions.
Support
Growth and Development – To contribute to personal, professional, and
societal advancement.
Encourage Continuous Learning – To
promote curiosity and lifelong education.
(Collis & Hussey, 2003)
Ø to discover
new facts
Ø to verify and test
important facts
Ø to analyze
an event or process
or phenomenon
Ø to identify
the cause and effect relationship
Ø
to develop new scientific tools,
concepts and theories
to solve and understand
scientific and nonscientific problems
Ø to find solutions to scientific,
nonscientific and social
problems and
Ø
to overcome or solve the problems occurring in our everyday
life. (Rajasekar, Philominathan &Chinnathambi, 2006)
Education Research
Educational research is a type of systematic
investigation that applies empirical methods to solving challenges in
education. It adopts rigorous and well-defined scientific processes in order to
gather and analyse data for problem-solving and knowledge advancement. The primary purpose of educational
research is to expand the existing body of knowledge by providing solutions to
different problems in pedagogy while improving teaching and learning practices.
Educational researchers also seek answers to questions bothering on learner
motivation, development, and classroom management.
Definitions.
Ø Good. “Educational research is the study and investigation in the field of
education.”
Ø
Munroe. “The final purpose of educational research
is to ascertain principles and develop procedures for use in the field of
education.”
Ø
Mulay. “Any systematic
study designed to promote the development
of education as a science can be considered educational research.”
Ø
Crawford. “Educational research is a systematic and
refined technique of thinking, using special tools in order to obtain a mere
adequate solution of a problem.”
Ø
J. W. Best. “Educational research is that activity
which is directed towards development of a science of behaviour in educational
situations. The ultimate aim of such a science is to provide knowledge that
will permit the educator to achieve his goals by the most effective methods.”
Ø
W. M. Traverse. “Educational research is that
activity which is directed towards the development of science of behaviour in
educational situations.”
1.2
Research issues
and problems in educational field
1.3 Steps in
educational research
1.3.1
Selecting a problem
Researchers begins a study by identifying the research
problem. One of the most challenging aspects of conducting research is to
clearly identify the “problem” that leads to a need for your study. Individuals
do not seem to give enough attention to why they are conducting their studies.
Research problems are the educational issues, controversies, or concerns that guide the need for conducting a study. These problems
concern personnel in our schools, classrooms, and
college campuses. In writing about the research problem, authors state
it as a single sentence or several sentences in a research report. To locate
the research problem in a study, ask yourself:
·
What was the issue, problem, or controversy that the researcher wanted to address?
· What controversy leads to a need for this study?
· What was the concern being addressed “behind” this study?
· Is there a sentence
like “The problem addressed
in this study is . . .”?
You can find “problems” in the introduction to a study.
They are included in a passage called the “statement of the problem” section.
You can locate this passage in the opening, introductory paragraphs of a
research report. We study research problems so we can assist policy makers when
they make decisions, help teachers and
school officials solve practical problems, and provide researchers with a
deeper understanding of educational issues. From a research standpoint,
specifying a research problem in your
study is important because it sets the stage for the entire study. Without
knowing the research problem, readers do not know why the study is important
and why they should read the study. What are some educational issues that you
might research? Write down these issues. (Creswell,
2012 p. 59).
In the brief definitions that follow, consider the
differences among the parts of research (Creswell, 2012 p. 59):
·
A
research topic is the broad subject matter addressed by the study. Maria,
for example, seeks to study weapon possession by students in schools.
·
A research problem is a general educational issue,
concern, or controversy addressed in research that narrows the topic. The
problem Maria addresses is the escalating violence in schools due, in part, to
students possessing weapons.
·
A purpose is the major intent or
objective of the study used to address the problem. Maria might state the
purpose of her study as follows:
“The purpose
of my study will be to identify factors that influence
the extent to which students carry weapons in high schools.”
·
Research questions narrow the
purpose into specific questions that the researcher would like answered or
addressed in the study. Maria might ask, “Do peers influence students to carry
weapons?”
1.3.2
Reviewing the literature
The review of literature is a summary of research
journal, reports, books and other documents. It is important to know who has
studied the research problem you plan to examine. You may fear that you will
initiate and conduct a study that merely replicates prior research. However,
faculty and advisors
often fear that you
will plan a study
that does not build on existing knowledge
and does not add to the accumulation
of findings on a topic. Because of these concerns, reviewing the literature is
an important step in the research process. Reviewing the literature means
locating summaries, books, journals, and indexed publications on a topic;
selectively choosing which
literature to include in your review; and then summarizing the literature in a
written report. The skills required for reviewing the literature develop over
time and with practice. You can learn how to locate journal articles and books
in an academic library, access computerized databases, choose and evaluate the
quality of research on your topic,
and summarize it in a review. Library resources can be overwhelming, so having
a strategy for searching the literature and writing the review is important
(Creswell, 2012 p. 8-9). The review of literature is necessary while planning,
conducting and reporting the research work. Thus, the literature review is
necessary because it helps to;
· Avoid duplication
· Identify problem
· Builds research
skills
· Aids contribution
· Justify the problem and importance
· Provide theoretical foundation
· Framing valid research methodologies
1.3.3
Designing the research
How does the researcher choose a research methodology? At
this point, a decision about what type of research is most appropriate to best
answer the research questions developed in Step 3 is needed. Research
can be categorized multiple ways but
for this workshop, I will
discuss three types of research methodologies: quantitative, qualitative, or
mixed methods. Quantitative research is a means for testing objective theories
by examining the relationship among variables. Qualitative research is a means for exploring and understanding the meaning individuals or groups ascribe
to a social or human problem.
Qualitative research is best used to understand concepts and phenomenon, especially if little research has been done on
the topic and research problem. Qualitative methodology is useful if the researcher does not know important
variables to examine. Mixed methods research is an approach to inquiry that
combines both qualitative and quantitative measures. Mixed methods
research is used when the quantitative or
qualitative research approach by itself
is not adequate to best
understand a research problem or when the strengths of both quantitative and
qualitative research methodologies provide the best understanding of the
research problem (Creswell, 2009 cited in Charles, 2016 p. 7).
1.3.4
Collecting the data
Evidence helps provide answers to your research questions
and hypotheses. To get these answers, you engage in the step of collecting or gathering data. Collecting data
means identifying and selecting individuals for a study,
obtaining their permission to study them, and gathering information by asking
people questions or observing their behaviours. Of paramount concern in this
process is the need to obtain accurate data from individuals and places. This
step will produce a collection of numbers (test scores, frequency of
behaviours) or words (responses, opinions, quotes). Once you identify these
individuals and places, you write method or procedure sections into your research
studies (Creswell, 2012 p. 9-10).
There are five steps in the process of quantitative data
collection. This process involves more than simply gathering information; it
includes interrelated steps. It involves the steps of determining the
participants to study, obtaining permissions needed from several individuals
and organizations, considering what types of information to collect from
several sources available to the quantitative research, locating and selecting
instruments to use that will net useful data for the study, and finally, administering
the data collection process to collect data (Creswell, 2012 p. 141). Similarly,
in qualitative research, there are five interrelated steps in the process of qualitative data collection. These steps should not be seen
as linear approaches, but often one step in the process does follow
another. The five steps are first to identify participants and sites to be
studied and to engage in a sampling strategy
that will best help you understand your central phenomenon and the
research question you are asking. Second, the next phase is to gain access to
these individuals and sites by obtaining permissions. Third, once permissions
are in place, you need to consider what types of information will best answer
your research questions. Fourth, at the same time, you need to design protocols
or instruments for collecting and recording the information. Finally and fifth,
you need to administer the data collection with special attention to potential
ethical issues that may arise (Creswell, 2012 p. 205).
1.3.5
Analysing the data
During or immediately after data collection, you need to
make sense of the information supplied by individuals in the study. Analysis consists of
“taking the data apart” to determine individual
responses and then “putting it together” to summarize it. It representing it in tables,
figures, and pictures to summarize it; and explaining the conclusions in words to provide
answers to your research questions (Creswell, 2012 p. 10).
The various data analysis techniques could be used to
analyse the quantitative and qualitative data. In quantitative side, there are
several interrelated steps used in the process of analysing quantitative data.
The first step is to prepare the data for analysis.
This involves determining how to assign numeric scores to the data, assessing
the types of scores to use, selecting a statistical program, and inputting the
data into a program, and then cleaning up the database for analysis. The second
step begins the data analysis. Typically you conduct a descriptive analysis of
the data reporting measures of central tendency and variation. Then you conduct
more sophisticated inferential analysis to test hypotheses and you examine
confidence intervals and effect sizes. The next step is to report the results
that are found using tables, figures, and a discussion of the key results.
Finally, you interpret the results from the data analysis. This consists of
summarizing the results, comparing the results
with past literature and theories, advancing the limitations of the study, and
ending with suggestions for future research (Creswell, 2012 p. 175). Another
side, in qualitative side, the first major steps in this process by examining
the “bottom-up” approach to analysis the qualitative data. The qualitative
researchers first collect data and then prepare it for data analysis. This
analysis initially consists of developing a general sense of the data, and then coding
description and themes
about the central
phenomenon (Creswell, 2012 p. 237). In the data analysis
process, the researcher organized, transcribe, coding and theme develop the raw
data.
1.3.6
Interpreting the
findings
It involves analysing and understanding the results of
research studies, experiments, or surveys, and drawing meaningful conclusions
from the data. During or immediately after data collection,
you need to make sense of the information supplied by individuals in the study. Analysis consists of
“taking the data apart” to determine individual responses and then “putting it
together” to summarize it. Analysing and interpreting the data involves drawing
conclusions about it; representing it in tables, figures, and pictures to
summarize it; and explaining the conclusions in words to provide answers to
your research questions. You report analysis and interpretation in sections of
a research report usually titled Results, Findings, or Discussions (Creswell,
2012 p. 10).
1.3.7
Drawing conclusions
The drawing conclusions is a final step of any scientific research process. It serves to
help the reader for why research
should matter to the concerned
people. It reflects the insights gained from the research findings. The
conclusions might arise from a comparison between the results of the study and
findings of others study. It also be developed with referencing the objectives
or research questions of the study.
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