Nature of Inquiry and Research

Some Research Ethics Principles Qualitative Research and Its Importance in Daily Life
1. Honesty—Intellectual honesty must be upheld in the I. Qualitative Research
planning, execution, and writing of the research According to Creswell (1994), as cited by Prieto, et. al
report. (2017), Qualitative Research is an inquiry process of
2. Objectivity—Research investigations must be free understanding a social or human problem based on
from any forms of bias. building a complex holistic picture formed with words,
3. Integrity—The research must uphold sincerity and reporting detailed view of informants and conducted
consistency. in a natural setting.”
4. Carefulness—Any research must be free of careless II. Characteristics of Qualitative Research
errors of negligence. 1. It takes place in a natural setting
5. Openness—Although research studies are based on - Home
thorough review of literature and brainstorming by - Office
their proponents, researchers must still be open to - Institution
constructive criticism. - Hospitals
6. Respect for Intellectual Property—Ideas, copyrights, - Community
and other forms of intellectual property owned by 2. It focuses on the participant’s perception
other individuals must be acknowledge properly when and experiences and the way they make
used as bases in any investigation. sense of their lives.
7. Trustworthiness—manifested in research if data and 3. Interactive and humanistic, calls for active
information about human respondents are used only participation, and sensitive to the needs of
for the purposes of the research. the participants
8. Social and Legal Responsibility—Legalities, rules, 4. New discoveries during the data gathering
and regulations of an institution or government must process can lead to a total revision of
be considered when conducting a study. research questions, among others
Types of Research 5. The researcher is the primary instrument in
Qualitative versus Quantitative Research data collection.
Qualitative Research Quantitative Research 6. Data collected is in the form of words or
illustrations rather than numbers.
The aim is a detailed the aim is to classify  Audio recordings
description features, count them, and  diaries
construct statistical models  field notes
in an attempt to explain  memorandums
what is observed.
 official records
Researcher may only know Researcher knows clearly in
 personal comments
roughly advance what he/she is
 photographs
in advance what he/she is looking for.
 textbook passages
looking
 transcripts of interview
for.
The design emerges as the All aspects of the study are  video tapes
study unfolds. carefully designed before III. Uses of Qualitative Research
data is collected.  Draw meaningful information
 Learn directly from people and
Researcher is the data Researcher questionnaires or what is important to them
gathering instrument. equipment to collect
 Provide the context required to
numerical data.
elicit quantitative results
Data is in the form of Data is numerical in nature.  Identify variables important for
words, pictures or objects. further studies
 Determine one’s genre as a primary
Subjective - individuals’ Objective – seeks step to develop a quantitative
interpretation of events is measurement and analysis survey
important of target concepts.  Assess the usability of websites,
Qualitative data is more Quantitative data is more databases, or other interactive
'rich', time consuming, and efficient, able to test media/services
not generalizable. hypothesis.
IV. Strengths and Weaknesses of Qualitative Research
Researcher tends to become Researcher tends to remain A. Strengths
subjectively immersed in the separated from the subject  Provides in-depth information on individual
subject matter. matter. cases
  Unravels complex phenomena embedded in
local context
 Describes rich phenomenon situated in some
exceptional environments
 Relays subjects’ experiences and perspectives
in unusual details
 Conveys setting factors related to the
situation of interest
 Allows flexibility in research-related processes
 Enables data to be collected in natural setting
 Determines possible causes of a particular
event in another perspective as that given by
quantitative research
 Permits approaches that are responsive to
local conditions and stakeholders’ needs
 Presents several options in the conduct of the
research
 Tolerates shifts I focus based on research
results
 Accepts unstructured interpretation of the
participants, respecting anything that is in the
participants’ context.
B. Weaknesses
 Data gathering is often time-consuming
 Analysis of data takes longer time than that in
quantitative analysis
 Interpretation of results is usually biased
because it is influenced by the researcher’s
perspective
 Conclusions are not generalizable because the
subjects are few and sometimes possess
unique characteristics compared to typical
respondents.
V. Types of Qualitative Research
 Case Study - Attempts to shed light on
phenomena by studying in depth a single case
example of the phenomena. The case can be
experience, idea, reaction, preference, or
perception, of an individual person, an event,
a group, or an institution.
 Grounded Theory - Theory is developed
inductively from a corpus of data acquired by
a participant-observer.
 Phenomenology - Describes the structures of
experience as they present themselves to
consciousness, without recourse to theory,
deduction, or assumptions from other
disciplines
 Ethnography - Focuses on the sociology of
meaning through close field observation of
sociocultural phenomena. Typically, the
ethnographer focuses on a community.
 Historical - Systematic collection and
objective evaluation of data related to past
occurrences in order to test hypotheses
concerning causes, effects, or trends of these
events that may help to explain present
events and anticipate future events.
Identifying the Inquiry and Stating the Problem
I. Research Title
A. Elements of a Research Title
1. Aim
2. Topic
3. Place
4. Period
5. Population or Respondents
II. The Research Paper
A. Background of the Study
1. The INTRODUCTION functions as the following:
 A teaser for your background
 Presents the topic and the basics about it
like known definitions of key terms by
different source
 Grabs the attention of the reader, further
leading them into the “deep waters” of
your background.
2. Statement of the Problem
 It is the situation that needs a solution.
 It is a discrepancy of what is and what is
ought to be.
 It is the gap knowledge that needs to be
filled.
 The introductory statement of this
section is usually the general problem or
goal based from the research title and
followed by specific problems or
objectives that will be thoroughly
studied in the course of the research.
3. Hypotheses
 Hypothesis is defined as a temporary answer
to a research problem
 It serves as a guide as to what processes are
needed in answering the research questions
and what research design is to be undertaken
in the study.
Types of Hypothesis
1. Scientific hypothesis provides an answer to
research question based on the review of related
literature.
2. Statistical hypothesis presents the standard
hypothesis for the statistical procedure to be
employed in the study.
a. Null hypothesis suggests a
negative relation between variables. It negates the
existence of a characteristic or a difference in
effect of the variables.
b. Alternative hypothesis suggests a positive
relation between variables, the existence of a
characteristic, or a difference in the effect of the
variables.
4. Theoretical and Conceptual Framework
I. Described as the abstract, logical
structure of meaning that guides the
development of the study.
 a. Theoretical Framework is adopted when a
theory is enough to provide theoretical basis
for the conduct of the study.
b. Conceptual Framework is used when the
concepts from different theories are
borrowed to provide bases for an
investigation, because one theory does not
cover all the concerns of the study.
5. Significance of the Study
II. Explains how the study will be beneficial
to the different stakeholders of the
society.
6. Scope and Delimitation
7. Definition of Terms
 Presents the key terms used in the study
Conceptual definition explains the meaning
of a particular term using the dictionary.
Operational definition describes a term by
how the researcher used it in his/her study.
Learning from Others and Reviewing the
Literature
I. Functions of Literature
 It provides information about past research
studies related to the intended investigation.
Preventing the duplication of research
undertakings
 It presents gaps in the field of study. Gaps
may either be areas in the body of
knowledge that are not explored yet or parts
where research studies yielded inclusive
results.
 It affords confidence and authority to the
researchers since reviewing the literature can
provide them all possible constructs and
perspectives of the present study.
 It gives information about the methods used
in similar studies, including;
o characteristics of the samples;
o the sampling techniques or the
process of selecting research
participant;
o the variables considered, the kinds
of data gathered; and
o the type of analysis and
interpretation done on the collected
data
 It enumerates finding from previous studies
that may support those of the present study.
 It provides ideas on how implications may be
drawn out of the analysis and interpretation
of data.
II. Types of Sources
1. General references – sources that are first accessed by
researchers to give them information about other
sources such as:
 research articles;
 professional journals;
 books;
 monographs;
 conference proceedings; and
 similar proceedings
2. Primary sources – those that provide first-hand
information about experts’ and other researchers’
publications. Examples are academic and research
journals published by universities and learned
organization.
3. Secondary sources – are those written by authors
that describe another researcher’s works. It may only
contain summaries or interpretations of the research
reports. Examples are textbooks, single-authored
books and books edited by different authors.
4. Tertiary sources – are books and articles based on
secondary sources. It synthesizes and explains the work
of others.
III. Writing the Review of Related Literature
1. Introduction – discusses briefly the research problem
and significance of the study and may also present the
organization of the related literature.
2. Body – contains a narrative of relevant ideas and
findings found in the reports of the researchers.
3. Synthesis – ties together the main ideas revealed in
the review of related literature.
4. Bibliography – contains full bibliographic
information of all sources mentioned in the review.
IV. Organization of Information from Related
Literature
In ordering the topics, three major approaches are
considered:
1. Chronological - applicable if the topics are arranged
for a usual timeline of development
2. Conceptual – if the study is set in clear and
interrelated concepts.
3. Stated hypotheses - the topics are listed based on
each hypothesis made in the research and the
discussion is done according to this topic listing.
ETHICAL ISSUES IN RESEARCH
In conducting a research, some ethical issues must be
considered- These are animal rights and welfare,
human rights, and scientific misconduct.
1. Animal Welfare Act of 1998
Philippine Republic Act No. 8485-The purpose of
this act is to protect and promote the welfare of all
animals in the Philippines by supervising and regulating
the establishment and operations of all facilities
utilized for breeding, maintaining, keeping, treating, or
training of all animals either as objects of trade,
subjects of research, or household pets.
 Reduce—The least number of animal subjects
is recommended. If casualties cannot be
avoided, these should be minimized without
sacrificing the quality of research result.
 Refine—If harm cannot be avoided, research
procedures are evaluated and refined
carefully to minimize possible pain and
suffering of the animal subjects.
  Replace—If there is a possibility of replacing
animals by other materials or other nonliving
or non-biological subjects, replacement
option must be explored.
HUMAN RIGHTS IN RESEARCH
 Right to voluntary participation—All human
respondents should participate in a research study
out of his free will.
 Right to informed consent—All respondents
should inform all the procedures, potential risks,
and benefits that the research would bring.
 Right to protected from harm—The respondents
shall not be subjected to anything that may cause
them inconvenience or physical, emotional, and
psychological harm.
 Right to confidentiality—All personal information
extracted from the respondents shall made
confidential and should not be disclosed to the
public at all conditions.
 Right to anonymity—A respondent may choose
not to disclose his or her identity to anyone,
including the researchers themselves.
4. Remix—The act of paraphrasing from other
sources and making the content fit together
seamlessly.
5. Recycle—The act of borrowing generously from
one’s own previous work without citation. This is
also called self-plagiarism.
6. Hybrid—The act of combining perfectly-cited
sources with copied passages-without citation-in
one paper.
7. Mashup—The act of mixing copied materials from
several different sources without proper citation.
8. 404 error—The act of including non-existent
citations or inaccurate information about sources.
9. Aggregator—The act of including proper citations
but containing almost no original work.
10. Re-tweet—The act of including proper citation
but relying too closely on the text’s original
wording and/or structure.
1.

2. Data Privacy Act of 2012

This law aims to protect individual personal
information from the information and
communications systems in the government and the
private sector.

3. Scientific Misconduct
Researchers are expected to follow rules and
proper conduct in doing research. However, due to
immense external pressure, there are some researchers
who break the rules and oftentimes deviate from
proper protocols, resulting to scientific misconduct.

4. Areas of Scientific Dishonesty

 Fabrication and Falsification of data- Producing
data without an actual experimentation or
altering data in recording for the intention to fit
them to what are expected.
 Non-publication of data- Choosing not to include
the data because they do not conform to the well-
established body of knowledge.
 Faulty data gathering procedures- Negligence or
carelessness lead to errors in measurement or
faulty research instruments.
 Plagiarism- This fraudulent act involves claiming
another person’s ideas, work, or publication.

TYPES OF PLAGIARISM
1. Clone—The act of submitting another’s work,
word for-word, as one’s own.
2. crtl+C (copy-paste)—The act of writing a study
that contains significant portions of text from a
single source without alteration.
3. Find-replace—The act of changing key words and
phrases but retaining the essential content of the
source in a paper.