Research is a systematic investigation designed to extend the knowledge of what is already known of the physical, biological, or social world (Coryn, 2007).
Research has also stages to undergo which require your patience and perseverance. You need to exert efforts in order to have quality output. Below is a diagrammatic presentation of the steps when doing research (Prieto et al, 2017).
Important Ethics (moral issues) in Research
▪ Honesty. Strive for honesty in all scientific communications. Honestly report data, results, methods and procedures, and publication status. Do not fabricate, falsify, or misrepresent data. Do not deceive colleagues, research sponsors, or the public. ▪ Objectivity. Strive to avoid bias in experimental design, data analysis, data interpretation, peer review, personnel decisions, grant writing, expert testimony, and other aspects of research where objectivity is expected or required. Avoid or minimize bias or self-deception. ▪ Integrity. Keep your promises and agreements; act with sincerity; strive for consistency of thought and action. ▪ Carefulness. Avoid careless errors and negligence; carefully and critically examine your own work and the work of your peers. Keep good records of research activities, ▪ Openness. Share data, results, ideas, tools, resources. Share your findings especially to your informants/respondents. ▪ Intellectual Property. Honor patents, copyrights, and other forms of intellectual property. Do not use unpublished data, methods, or results without permission. Give proper acknowledgement or credit for all contributions to research. Never plagiarize. ▪ Confidentiality. Protect confidential communications, such as papers or grants submitted for publication, personnel records, trade or military secrets, and patient records. ▪ Responsible Publication. Publish in order to advance research and scholarship, not to advance just your own career. Avoid wasteful and duplicative publication. ▪ Social Responsibility. Strive to promote social good and prevent or mitigate social harms through research, public education, and advocacy. ▪ Legality. Know and obey relevant laws and institutional and governmental policies. ▪ Non-Discrimination. Avoid discrimination against colleagues or students on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity, or other factors not related to scientific competence and integrity. ▪ Human Subjects protection. When conducting research on human subjects, minimize harms and risks and maximize benefits; respect human dignity, privacy, and autonomy; take special precautions with vulnerable populations; and strive to distribute the benefits and burdens of research fairly.
Four Kinds of Quantitative Research
1. Historical research studies events after the fact. It examines previous experience through documentation and is especially useful for studying the evolution of a particular characteristic over time. 2. Descriptive research systematically documents current events, lasting products or other phenomena that can be measured directly by researchers today. It can take the form of questionnaires, polls, surveys, or case studies. Descriptive statistics (mean, median, range, variance, and standard deviation) are used to summarize and give order to the measurements made in descriptive research. 3. Correlational research reveals systematic relationships between descriptive parameters (measurable features of a phenomenon under investigation). A correlation facilitates prediction of one parameter based on another. Correlations are restricted to prediction; the identification of causal variables requires an experimental analysis. 4. Experimental research reveals a cause-and-effect relationship by systematically manipulating one parameter (the independent variable) and observing the influence on another (the dependent variable). Quantitative Research designs are generally classified experimental and non-experimental. Experimental research includes True Experimental, Quasi Experimental and Pre-Experimental (Prieto, Naval & Carey, 2017).
PRE-EXPERIMENTAL TYPES OF RESEARCH
1. One Shot Case Study 2. One Group Pre-test and Post-test Design
Pre-experimental Types of Research
▪ Apply to experimental designs with the least internal validity. ▪ One type of pre-experiment, the single group, pre-test-posttest design, measures the group 2 times, before & after the intervention. ▪ Instead of comparing the pretest with the posttest within one group, the posttest of the treated groups is compared with that of untreated group (control group)
QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN ▪ The researcher can collect more data, either by scheduling more observations of finding more existing measures
TRUE EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
▪ Controls for both time-related and group-related threats. ▪ Employs both treated and control groups to deal with time-related rival explanations ▪ A Control Group reflects changes other than those due to the treatment that occur during the time of the study. Such changes include effects of outside events, maturation by the subjects, changes in measures and impact of any pre-tests. ▪ Offers the highest internal validity of all the designs.
Quasi-experimental design differs from true experimental design by the absence of random assignment of subjects to different conditions. Common in Quasi-experimental design and true experimental is that some subjects receive an intervention and provide data to reflect its impact.
TYPES OF QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
1. Non-equivalent control group design –refers to the chance of random assignment to equalize the conditions by converting a true experiment into the kind of design for purposes of analysis. 2. Interrupted Time Series Design- employs multiple measures before and after the experimental intervention.
NON-EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH DESIGN
▪ The researcher observes the phenomena as they occur naturally and no external variables are introduced. ▪ The variables are not manipulated nor is the setting controlled. Researchers collect data without making changes or introducing treatments.
Descriptive Research Design
▪ Its main purpose is to observe, describe, and document aspects of a situation as it naturally occurs and sometimes to serve as a starting point for hypothesis generation or theory development.
1. Survey- a research design used when the researcher intends to provide a quantitative or numeric description of trends, attitudes, or opinions of a population by studying a sample of that population (Creswell, 2003). 2. Correlational Research – 3 Types: Bivariate Correlation Studies, Prediction Studies, Multiple Regression
A. Bivariate Correlation Studies- Obtain scores from 2 variables for each subject. Then use them to calculate a correlation coefficient. The 2 variables are correlated B. Prediction Studies- Use correlation co-efficient to show how one variable (the predictor variable) predicts another (the criterion variable) C. Multiple Regression Prediction Studies- Variables can contribute to the over-all prediction in an equation that adds together the predictive power of each identified variable. 3. Ex-Post Facto Research Design ▪ These are non-experimental designs that are used to investigate causal relationships. ▪ They examine whether one or more pre-existing conditions could possibly have caused subsequent differences in groups of subjects. 4. Comparative Design ▪ Involves comparing and contrasting 2 or more samples of study subjects on one or more variables, often at a single point of time. ▪ It is used to compare 2 distinct groups on the basis of selected attributes such as knowledge level, perceptions, and attitudes, physical or psychological symptoms. 5. Evaluative Research ▪ Seeks to assess or judge in some way providing information about something other than might be gleaned in mere observation or investigation of relationships. ▪ Is conducted to elicit useful feedback from a variety of respondents from various fields to aid in decision making or policy formulation investigation of relationships. 6. Methodological ▪ In this approach, the implementation of a variety of methodologies forms a critical part of achieving the goal of developing a scale-matched approach, where data from different disciplines can be integrated.
