Methods of Research:

 

Methods of Research:

Experimental Research:  

The experimental research designs involve manipulation of certain stimuli, or treatments or environmental conditions to make an observation on how such manipulations affect the behaviour of the subject. While doing such manipulation the researcher must be aware of other factors which can affect the outcome, which he/ she either remove or control. Thus, the four basic essential characteristics of an experimental research design can be explained as:

 1. Control: Those variables which are not of interest to researcher and they can still affect the result also called the extraneous variables are either removed or the arrangements are made to minimize their effects. These arrangements can be either the random assignment of subjects to the groups, matching the subjects on extraneous variables and at times keeping groups homogenous or using some form of statistical technique.

 2. Manipulation: In an experimental research, manipulation refers to a deliberate introduction or operation of an independent variable on the subjects in experimental group. This operated independent variable is also called the treatment variable or an experimental variable.

3. Observation: After introducing an independent variable, the researcher observes its effect on dependent variable. This task is called observation in experimental research.

4. Replication: It refers to conducting sub experiments under a large experimental design. The researcher can combine a number of experimental and control groups in singe design.

Descriptive Research:

Descriptive research describes and interprets what is. It is concerned with conditions or relationships that exist, the practices that prevail, the beliefs or attitudes that are held, the processes that are going on; effects that are being felt or trends that are developments. The approach is directed towards identifying various characteristics of research problems and to create observations conducive to further research. Descriptive research describes characteristics of an existing phenomenon. Descriptive research provides a broad picture of a phenomenon you might be interested in exploring. Current employment rates, census of any country, number of working single parents are examples of descriptive research. The purpose of descriptive studies is to observe, describe & document aspects of a situation as it naturally occurs, & sometimes to serve as a starting point for hypothesis generation or theory development.

Main Features –

Ø Descriptive designs are used to observe, document describe a phenomenon occurring in its natural setting without any manipulation or control.

Ø The descriptive studies are designed to gain more information about characteristics within a particular field in the real world.

Ø Descriptive studies provide an impression of a situation as it occurs in natural settings.

Ø Descriptive studies do not involve the manipulation of variables & variables are studies as they exist in the real world.

Ø   Descriptive design may be used to develop theories, identify problems with current practices, justify current practices, make judgments, or determine other practices in similar situations.

Ø Descriptive studies, bias is prevented through operational definitions of variables, large sample size, random sampling techniques, valid & reliable research tools and formal data collection methods.

Ø Descriptive designs include identification of phenomenon of interest, identifying the variables within the phenomenon, developing operational definitions of the variables & describing the variables.

 

Historical Research

Historical research analyzes documents and artifacts and/or uses interviews with eyewitnesses to gain insight into past events. The success of historical research depends on the accuracy and completeness of the source material. The researcher must establish the authenticity of the documents used, as well as the validity of their contents. An educational researcher might want to investigate the trends in kindergarten education in a particular school district from its beginnings to the present. Also, one might investigate the methods used to teach reading in the past or study school practices and policies such as grade retention. Some of the data collected in historical research might be quantitative, such as when an investigator compares a school district’s reading achievement scores when one teaching method was used with the scores obtained when another method was in vogue.

 Historical research involves studying, understanding and interpreting past events. The purpose of historical research is to reach insights or conclusions about past persons or occurrences. Historical research entails more than simply compiling and presenting factual information; it also requires interpretation of the information. Typically, histories focuses on particular individuals, social issues and links between the old and the new. Some historical research is aimed at reinterpreting prior historical works by revising existing understandings and replacing them with new, often politically charged ones.

The main emphasis in historical research is on interpretation of documents, diaries and the like. Historical data are categorized into primary or secondary sources. Primary sources include first-hand information, such as eyewitness reposts and original documents. Secondary sources include second-hand information, such as a description of an event by someone other than an eyewitness, or a textbook author’s explanation of an event or theory. Primary sources may be harder to find but are generally more accurate and preferred by historical researchers. A major problem with much historical research is excessive reliance on secondary sources.

Researches cannot accept historical data at face value, since many diaries’ memoirs, reposts and testimonies are written to enhance the writer’s position, stature, or importance. Because of this possibility, historical data has to be examined for its authenticity and truthfulness. Such examination is done through criticism; by asking and researching to help determine truthfulness, bias, omissions and consistency in data.

Qualitative Research:

Qualitative researchers seek to understand a phenomenon by focusing on the total picture rather than breaking it down into variables. The goal is a holistic picture and depth of understanding rather than a numeric analysis of data. Qualitative research aims to explore, discover, understand or describe phenomena that have already been identified but are not well understood.

Characteristics of Qualitative Research:

Ø Qualitative research makes use of naturalistic inquiry. It aims at studying real world situations as they unfold naturally without any manipulation and predetermined constraints on outcomes.

Ø  It employs inductive or ‘bottom-up’ approach. The researcher generates new hypotheses and grounded theory from data collected during field work. It aims to discover important categories, dimensions, and interrelationships. In the process of induction, the researcher begins by exploring genuinely open questions rather than testing theoretically derived (deductive) hypotheses. The data are used to develop concepts and theories that help the researcher to understand the phenomenon.

Ø Most of the common research objectives in qualitative research aim at description, exploration, and discovery using ‘wide-angle’ and ‘deep-angle’ lens approach so as to examine the breadth and depth of phenomenon and to learn more about it.

Ø The behavior of the subjects under study is assumed to be fluid, dynamic, situational, social, contextual and personal. The behavior is studied in the natural environments not under the controlled conditions.

Ø Qualitative research makes use of qualitative data which are gathered from natural settings. The total emphasis is on understanding of the situation in all its complexity by not proving something, not advocating, not advancing personal opinions and views, but researcher includes his personal experiences and emphatic insight as part of the relevant data while taking a “neutral non judgmental stance toward whatever content may emerge”.

Ø  Purposive sampling is the dominant strategy in qualitative research. The researcher uses small samples. The researcher is the primary data collection instrument, “researcher’s personal experiences and insights are an important part of inquiry and critical to understanding the phenomenon”. The data are in the form of words, images, and categories.

Ø  Qualitative research emphasizes “unique case orientation”. It assumes each case is special and unique. Cross-case analysis follows from and depends on the quality of individual case studies.

Ø The analysis of qualitative data requires organizing raw data into logical, meaningful categories, and examining them in holistic fashion for interpretation to others.

Quantitative Research :

  Quantitative research is a type of educational research in which the researcher decides what to study; asks specific, narrow questions; collects quantifiable data from participants; analyzes these numbers using statistics; and conducts the inquiry in an unbiased, objective manner. Quantitative research is an inquiry into an identified problem, based on testing a theory, measured with numbers, and analyzed using statistical techniques. The goal of quantitative methods is to determine whether the predictive generalizations of a theory hold true.

Characteristics of Quantitative Research:

Ø Quantitative research uses deductive or ‘top-down’ approach. The researcher formulates and uses hypotheses and theory with data.

Ø It is based on logical-positive paradigm which utilizes experimental methods and quantitative measures to test specific hypothetical generalizations with narrow angle lens.

Ø  Quantitative research uses scientific method with ‘hard science’ trappings. The researchers treat their subjects of study as having an existence independent of themselves and without any intrinsic meaning. - Behavior of the subjects under study is assumed to be regular and predictable.

Ø  Most of the common research objectives in quantitative approach aim at description, explanation and prediction of social phenomenon. The emphasis is not on the deep understanding of the phenomenon or content.

Ø  Quantitative research attempts to study behavior under controlled conditions. The nature of observation is objective, i.e., different observers agree on what is observed.

Ø Closed ended structured questionnaires, tests, attitudes scales, rating scales, etc. are used to collect quantitative data based on precise measurement.

Ø The dominant sampling strategy in quantitative research is probability sampling, which depends on the selection of a random and representative sample from a larger population. The purpose of probability sampling is subsequent generalization of the research findings to the population from which the sample was selected. Generally, large samples are used in quantitative survey studies.

Ø  Quantitative research is deductive in that it tests theories which have already been proposed. It aims at analysis of representative and validated quantitative data, through the use of sophisticated statistical methods and software packages.

Ø The findings are based on identified statistical relationships and generalizable findings. Using the principles of probability, quantitative research Make predictions representative of a large population.

Ø The form of final report is statistical with details about the use of various types of statistics, e.g., correlations, comparison of means, percentages, etc. and the, Statistical significance.

 Finally, we can say Quantitative research involves successive phases of hypothesis formulation, data collection, analysis and interpretation. Using deductive approach, it seeks to establish facts, make predictions, and test hypotheses that have already been stated.