Research Methods: Design, Locale, & Sampling

• These notes cover research methodology, results, and abstract writing.
• These notes are for students.

Research Design

• Research design is a layout of study.
• Plans are detailed on how valid research results are obtained.
• The research problem dictates the study type.
• A qualitative design uses in-depth answers from interviews or observation.
• Example: Qualitative research aims to...

Research Locale

• Research locale is where the study will be conducted.
• Reasons must be detailed for choosing the location.
• Reasons should not include convenience.
• Participants are persons in a qualitative research design.
• Subjects are persons involved in a case study.

Probability Sampling Techniques

• Probability sampling techniques are a range of ways to select a sample from a larger population to be statistically relevant.
• Simple random sampling gives each member equal chance for selection.
• Cluster random sampling selects groups of samples.
• Samples come from different individual groups comprising the population.
• Stratified random sampling selects samples in the same proportion from subgroups of strata.
• Fishbowl method: Lottery-like where participants are first randomly chosen and assigned list numbers.
• Example: Study of abused wives may seek help from someone who knows an abused wife.
• Purposive (judgmental) sampling: Selection decided by researcher criteria to meet study needs.
• Example: Teenage mother study uses mothers aged 10-15 with at least two children.
• Convenience sampling: Researcher selects readily available individuals.
• Example: Palatability study uses individuals entering between 8:00-10:00 a.m. to taste food.
• This sampling includes an indefinite number of participants.

Participants of the Study

• In a study of cooking habits, ten men and ten women aged 25-69 recruited using the "snowball" method were assessed.
• Inclusion criteria: engaging in cooking by choice, at least five hours a week, middle to middle-high socioeconomic classes.
• 70% were required to have academic education, while the others need to have high-school education.

Data Gathering Techniques

• Data can be gathered in a variety of ways:
• interviews
• document analysis
• observations

Data Gathering Procedure

• Data gathering procedure is focused on how data is gathered.
• A successful procedure answers:
• How will the data be gathered?
• What research instrument fits the research problem?
• How should the researcher administer the instrument?

Data Analysis

• Data analysis is a crucial research step.
• A researcher will reach the results of the study via data analysis.
• Analysis varies depending on data gathered.

Qualitative Data Analysis - The Three C's

• Qualitative data analysis is done using The Three C's.
• Categorizing is the classification of information.
• The classification of information is based on the research questions.
• Coding identifies common items via color or number.
• Concept is the formulation of theme.

Categorizing and Coding of Data

• Items go into categories.
• Assign codes to the data as the names of participants cannot be revealed.
• This is followed by the coding of items.

Results and Discussion Section

• The Results and Discussion Section presents answers to specific research questions or objectives from the introduction.
• Findings are compared to previous studies highlighted in the introduction.
• The section concludes with conclusions and recommendations.

Parts of the Results and Discussion Section

• The Results and Discussion section contains:
• Results
• Discussion
• Conclusion
• Recommendations

Results

• The results section underscores answers to specific research questions.
• Results contains a short introduction explaining the study.
• The Findings come after doing a data analysis.
• The Results follow the sequence of specific research questions.

Research Question Examples

• What do the corpora of students' comments reveal about the strengths of their ESL teachers?
• What does the students' qualitative evaluation say about the weaknesses of their ESL teachers?
• Research questions help form the results of the data analysis

Results Presentation

• Research results can either be presented:
• RESULTS followed by DISCUSSION
• RESULTS and DISCUSSION

Parts of the Results and Discussion Section

• It addresses what was obtained from data gathered via interviews, observation, document and audio-visual analysis, and research instrument administration.

Discussion of Results

• Discussion of Results includes:
• Patterns or trends determined from analysis of data.
• Reviews of salient findings in relation to previous studies in the introduction.
• Juxtaposition of findings discussing similarities with related studies.
• Portion of the Discussion juxtaposes findings with previous studies, including in-text citations of related literature.

Conclusion

• Expose contention to the meaning of the results.
• The conclusion presents the final worth of the paper.
• The final worth includes the implication and its usefulness.
• A conclusion gives the entire picture of research.
• Conclusion isn't just the conclusions and the term used is "Conclusion" and not "Conclusions".

Recommendations

• Provide recommendations on how others can benefit from study findings.
• Recommendations include:
• policies
• practices
• further studies regarding the problem at hand
• areas not fully addressed
• Conclusion and Recommendations are discussed in paragraph form.
• They are NOT bulleted or numbered.

Recommendation Examples

• Teachers should encourage students to ask questions or respond appropriately (practice).
• Teacher Education Departments should model questioning skills to enhance classroom interaction (practice).
• Smaller class sizes are needed to address student needs (policy).
• Administration should periodically upgrade teachers' skills in classroom technology (policy).
• Studies on communication should be conducted (study).

Research Abstract

• An abstract presents an descriptive overview of a paper-research output, journal article, conference paper, or proposal.
• It is a detailed presentation or summary of the paper.
• A reader will understand the paper, and initially gauge the worth of the paper merely by reading the abstract.

Elements of an Abstract

• An abstract contains:
• focus
• scope
• methods used
• results
• implications
• recommendations

Focus of the Paper

• The focus, states, defines, or describes what the paper is all about.
• The paper initially situates research against the backdrop of the three-fold function of a higher education institution, which is teaching, research, and community service.

Scope of the Paper

• Scope describes the parameters.
• The parameters are expressed in the form of an objective or purpose.
• It is cantered on the students' level of readiness in locating and evaluating Internet sources, and the difficulties encountered by students.

Methods Used

• Methods used is an element that highlights the method.
• It highlights what and how you did your research.
• The extent of early reading was measured through survey questionnaires dealing with parents' perspectives of children's exposure to reading materials before day-care enrolment, and day-care workers' perspectives on reading performance using different early reading techniques.

Results of the Study

• Results underscore salient results in the abstract.
• Results constitute the most important answers to your specific research questions.
• The study findings revealed that 29 out of the 50 language learning strategies in the SILL were "highly frequently used" by the respondents.

Implications of These Results or Main Conclusion

• This element presents the most significant implication and conclusion of your study.
• The local government officials, schools, and the church are potent forces in promoting, enhancing, and preserving the folk literature of the Ibanags

Main Recommendation

• Recommendation winds up an abstract via the most important recommendation logically resulting from results and discussion.
• That language teaching practitioners should assist the students in using SLLS and ALLS to enhance their learning of the language in terms of coping with language tasks.

Research Proposal Abstract

• The research proposal is a summary you submit for panel examination or research project requirement.
• It gives an overview of what the proposed paper is about.
• It covers the INTRODUCTION and METHOD with the elements:
• focus
• scope
• method