Nature of Research
Lesson 2
Stirring Up Imagination
Directions: Picture Analysis. Examine these different scenic places. Which of these places interest you the
most? Why? Would you like to know more about them? How do you think will you be more
knowledgeable about your favorite or most loved places?
What is research?
Research is a process of executing various mental acts for discovering and
examining facts and information to prove the accuracy or truthfulness of your
claims or conclusions about the topic of your research. Research requires you
to inquire or investigate about your chosen research topic by asking questions
that will make you engage yourself in top-level thinking strategies of
interpreting, analyzing, synthesizing, criticizing, appreciating, or creating to
enable you to discover truths about the many things you tend to wonder about
the topic of your research work. (Litchman 2013)
Characteristics of Research
Accuracy
Objective Timeliness
ness
Characteristics of
Research
Systematic Relevance
Clarity
Purpose of Research
• To learn how to work independently
• To learn how to work scientifically or systematically
• To have an in-depth knowledge of something
• To elevate your mental abilities by letting you think in higher-order thinking
strategies (HOTS) of inferring, evaluating, synthesizing, appreciating,
applying, and creating
• To improve your reading and writing skills
• To be familiar with the basic tools of research and the various techniques of
gathering data and of presenting research findings
• To free yourself, to a certain extent, from the domination or strong influence of
a single textbook or of the professor’s lone viewpoint or spoon feeding
Types of Research
Based on Application of Research Method
● Is the research applied to theoretical or practical issues? If
it deals with concepts, principles, or abstract things, it is a
pure research. This type of research aims to increase your
knowledge about something. However, if your intention is
to apply your chosen research to societal problems or
issues, finding ways to make positive changes in society,
you call your research, applied research.
Based on Purpose of the Research
●Descriptive Research
●Correlational Research
●Explanatory Research
●Exploratory Research
●Action Research
Descriptive Research
●This type of research aims at
defining or giving a verbal
portrayal or picture of a person,
thing, event, group, situation, etc.
Correlational Research
● A correlational research shows relationships or
connectedness of two factors, circumstances, or
agents called variables that affect the research. It is
only concerned in indicating the existence of a
relationship, not the causes and ways of the
development of such relationship.
Explanatory Research
● This type of research elaborates or
explains not just the reasons behind the
relationship of two factors, but also the
ways by which such relationship exists.
Exploratory Research
● An exploratory research’s purpose is to find
out how reasonable or possible it is to
conduct a research study on a certain topic.
Here, you will discover ideas on topics that
could trigger your interest in conducting
research studies.
Action Research
● This type of research studies an ongoing
practice of a school, organization,
community, or institution for the purpose of
obtaining results that will bring
improvements in the system.
Based on Types of Data Needed
● Qualitative Research
● Quantitative Research
Qualitative research
● Requires non-numerical data, which means
that the research uses words rather than
numbers to express the results, the inquiry,
or investigation about people’s thoughts,
beliefs, feelings, views, and lifestyles
regarding the object of the study
Quantitative research
● Involves measurement of data. Thus, it presents
research findings referring to the number or
frequency of something in numerical forms (i.e.,
using percentages, fractions, numbers).
Primary data
● These are obtained through direct
observation or contact with people, objects,
artifacts, paintings, etc. Primary data are
new and original information resulting from
your sensory experience
Secondary data
●If such data have already been
written about or reported on and
are available for reading purposes
Approaches to
Research
Approaches to Research
Scientific or positive approach
● You discover and measure information as well as observe and control
variables in an impersonal manner.
● It allows control of variables. Therefore, the data gathering techniques
appropriate for this approach are structured interviews, questionnaires,
and observational checklists. Data given by these techniques are
expressed through numbers, which means that this method is suitable
for quantitative research.
Naturalistic approach
● In contrast to the scientific approach that uses numbers to express data,
the naturalistic approach uses words. This research approach directs
you to deal with qualitative data that speak of how people behave
toward their surroundings. These are non-numerical data that express
truths about the way people perceive or understand the world. Since
people look at their world in a subjective or personal basis in an
uncontrolled or unstructured manner, a naturalistic approach happens
in a natural setting.
Triangulation approach
● In this case, you are free to gather and analyze data using
multiple methods, allowing you to combine or mix up
research approaches, research types, data gathering, and
data analysis techniques. Triangulation approach gives you
the opportunity to view every angle of the research from
different perspectives. (Badke 2012; Silverman 2013)
