Practical Research Methods PDF

2nd Quarter Reviewer IN PRACTICAL RESEARCH 2  Observation researchers use all their senses to examine people in natural settings or naturally occurring situations  Controlled Observation it is usually used in experimental research and is done under a standard procedure.  Natural Obs...

2nd Quarter Reviewer IN PRACTICAL RESEARCH 2  Observation researchers use all their senses to examine people in natural settings or naturally occurring situations  Controlled Observation it is usually used in experimental research and is done under a standard procedure.  Natural Observation it is carried out in a non-controlled setting. It has greater ecological validity (i.e. flexibility of the findings to be generalized to real-life contexts). It also responds to other areas of inquiry not initially intended by the researcher.  Participant Observation it allows the observer to become a member of the group or community that the participants belong to.  Survey the collection of information from a sample of individuals through their responses to questions  Experiment A scientific test in which you perform a series of actions and carefully observe their effects in order to learn about something  Collecting data is the first step you need to perform before you proceed in writing your data analysis and interpretation  Questionnaire consists of a series of questions about a research topic to gather data from the participants. It consists of indicators that is aligned to the research questions.  Data Collection involves obtaining relevant information regarding the specified research questions or objectives  Structured Questionnaires employ closed-ended questions.  Unstructured questionnaires use open-ended questions in which the research participants can freely answer and put his thoughts into it  Semi-structured Questionnaires are combinations of both the structured and unstructured ones.  Tests are used for assessing various skills and types of behavior as well as for describing some characteristics.  Standardized test is scored uniformly across different areas and groups. It is usually administered by institutions to assess a wide range of groups such as students and test- takers.  Quantitative Data when research data appears to be measurable in the numerical form  Techniques in Collecting Quantitative Data  Observation. It is gathering information about a certain condition by using senses. The researcher records the observation as seen and heard. This is done by direct observation or indirect observation by the use of gadgets or apparatus. An observation checklist aids the researcher in recording the data gathered.  Survey. Data gathering is done through interview or questionnaire. By means of questionnaire you use series of questions or statements that respondents will have to answer. Basically, respondents write or choose their answer from given choices. On the other hand, interview is when you ask respondents orally to tell you the responses. Since you are doing quantitative research, it is expected that responses have numerical value either it is nominal or ordinal in form.  Experiment. When your study is an experimental design, it was already discussed in the previous lesson that it would use treatment or intervention. After the chosen subjects, participants, or respondents undergone the intervention, the effects of such treatment will be measured.  QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS comprise questionnaires, interviews, tests, and observation. On the other hand, DATA COLLECTION approaches for qualitative research usually involve: (a) direct interaction with individuals on a one-to-one basis, (b) and or direct interaction with individuals in a group setting.  Cluster Sampling this procedure is usually applied in large-scale studies, geographical spread of the population is a challenge, and gathering information will be very time- consuming.  Sample this refers to the representative subset of the population.  Data these are any pieces of information or facts that people have known.  Types of Validity of Instrument  Face Validity it is also known as ‘’logical validity.’’   Predictive Validity kind of instrument is particularly useful for aptitude tests.  Content Validity An instrument that is judged with content validity meets the objectives of the study. It is done by checking the statements or questions if this elicits the needed information.  Construct Validity. It refers to the validity of instruments as it corresponds to the theoretical construct of the study. It is concerning if a specific measure relates to other measures.  Concurrent Validity. When the instrument can predict results similar to those similar tests already validated, it has concurrent validity.  Data Analysis it is a process in which gathered information is summarized in such a manner that it will yield answers to the research questions.  Inferential Statistics it is used when the research study focuses on finding predictions, testing hypothesis; and finding interpretations, generalizations, and conclusions.  Common Scales Used in Quantitative Research  Likert Scale the most common scale used in quantitative research.  Semantic Differential In this scale, a series of bipolar adjectives will be rated by the respondents. This scale seems to be more advantageous since it is more flexible and easier to construct.  Correlation Analysis (Pearson’s r) is a statistical method used to estimate the strength of relationship between two quantitative variables.  Standard Deviation shows the spread of data around the mean.  Hypothesis testing A hypothesis test helps you determine some quantity under a given assumption.  Regression Analysis can be used to explain the relationship between dependent and independent variables.  Mean or average is the middlemost value of your list of values, and this can be obtained by adding all the values and divide the obtained sum to the number of values.  Percentage is any proportion from the whole.  Graphs focuses on how a change in one variable relates to another. Graphs use bars, lines, circles, and pictures in representing the data. In interpreting the graph, it is the same process in table. In choosing what type of graph to use, determine the specific purpose of the presentation.  Line Graph illustrates trends and changes in data over time.  Bar Graph illustrates comparisons of amounts and quantities.  Pie Graph (Circle Graph) displays the relationship of parts to a whole.  Table helps summarize and categorize data using columns and rows. It contains headings that indicate the most important information about your study.  Research design is defined as the logical and coherent overall strategy that the researcher uses to integrate all the components of the research study.  Reliability of Instrument -refers to the consistency of the measures or results of the instruments.  Test-retest Reliability. It is achieved by giving the same test to the same group of respondents twice. The consistency of the two scores will be checked.  Equivalent Forms Reliability. It is established by administering two identical tests except for wordings to the same group of respondents.  Internal Consistency Reliability. It determines how well the items measure the same construct. It is reasonable that when a respondent gets a high score in one item, he will also get one in similar items. There are three ways to measure the internal consistency; through the split-half coefficient, Cronbach’s alpha, and Kuder- Richardson formula.  Types of Quantitative Research Design  Descriptive Research It is a design that is exploratory in nature. The purpose of descriptive research is basically to answer questions such as who, what, where, when, and how much  Correlational Research. The main goal of this design is to determine if variable increases or decreases as another variable increases or decreases. This design seeks to establish an association  between variables. It has two major purposes: (a) to clarify the relationship between variables and (b) predict the magnitude of the association.  Ex Post Facto the researcher has no control over the variables in the research study thus, one cannot conclude that the changes measured happen during the actual conduct of the study.  Quasi-Experimental. This research design aims to measure the causal relationship between variables. The effect measured is considered to have occurred during the conduct of the current study.  Experimental Research. This research design is based on the scientific method called experiment with a procedure of gathering data under a controlled or manipulated environment. It is also known as true experimental design since it applies treatment and manipulation more extensively compared to quasi-experimental design.  Population is the totality of all the objects, elements, persons, and characteristics under consideration. Two types of population: target population and accessible population  Target population -actual population (enrolled in a school)  Accessible population -is the portion of the population in which the researcher has reasonable access (part of the enrolled student in the school)  Sampling pertains to the systematic process of selecting the group to be analyzed in the research study.  Approaches in Identifying the Sample Size  Heuristics. This approach refers to the rule of the thumb for sample size.  Literature Review. Another approach is by reading similar or related literature and studies to your current research study.  Formulas. Formulas are also being established for the computation of an acceptable sample size. The common formula is Slovin’s Formula.  Power Analysis. This approach is founded on the principle of power analysis. There are two principles you need to consider if you are going to use this approach: these are statistical power and effect size.  The probability of rejecting the null hypothesis is called statistical power. It suggests that indeed there is a relationship between the independent and dependent variables of the research study.  The level of difference between the experimental group and the control group refers to effect size.  Probability Sampling in Quantitative Research  Simple Random Sampling. It is a way of choosing individuals in which all members of the accessible population are given an equal chance to be selected. These are fishbowl technique, roulette wheel, or use of the table of random numbers.  Stratified Random Sampling. The same with simple random sampling, stratified random sampling also gives an equal chance to all members of the population to be chosen. This procedure is best used when the variables of the study are also grouped into classes such as gender and grade level.  Cluster Sampling. This procedure is usually applied in large-scale studies, geographical spread out of the population is a challenge, and gathering information will be very time- consuming. It is a method where multiple clusters of people from the chosen population will be created by the researcher in order to have homogenous characteristics.  Systematic Sampling. This procedure is as simple as selecting samples every nth (example every 2nd, 5th) of the chosen population until arriving at a desired total number of sample size.  Research Instruments are basic tools researchers used to gather data for specific research problems. Common instruments are performance tests, questionnaires, interviews, and observation checklist. The first two instruments are usually used in quantitative (performance tests, questionnaires research) while the last two instruments are often in qualitative research (interviews, and observation checklist). However, interviews and observation checklists can still be used in quantitative research once the information gathered is translated into numerical data.