Five ways we can know something Personal experience Tradition Experts and authorities Logic Inductive Deductive The

e The scientific method

Personal experience Relying on ones knowledge of prior experiences Limitations How one is affected by an event depends on who one is One frequently needs to know something that cannot be learned through experience

Tradition Doing things as they have always been done Limitations Traditions are often based on an idealized past Traditions can be distant from current realities and the complexities associated with them

Experts or authorities Relying on the expertise or authority of others Limitations Experts can be wrong Experts can disagree among themselves, as in a second opinion

Inductive reasoning Inductive reasoning, or induction, is reasoning from a specific case or cases and deriving a general rule. It draws inferences from observations in order to make generalizations. Limitations In order to be certain of a conclusion one must observe all examples All examples can be observed only in very limited situations where there are few members of the group

Deductive reasoning Reasoning from the general to the specific Deductive reasoning assumes that the basic law from which you are arguing is applicable inallcases. This can let you take a rule and apply it perhaps where it was not really meant to be applied. Limitations You must begin with true premises in order to arrive at true conclusions Deductive reasoning only organizes what is already known

The goal of the scientific method is to explain, predict, and/or control phenomena This involves the acquisition of knowledge and the development and testing of theory The use of the scientific method is more efficient and reliable than any other source of knowledge

Research, which first appeared in English in about 1577, comes from Middle French recherch /rSHerSH/ (1530s), which itself comes from Old French recercher (rEChershay) seek out, search closely' (re- `intensive' prefix+ cercher `to seek out'). Cercher comes ultimately from Latin circare (1460s)`go about, wander,' from circus `circle.' The meaning `a careful search for facts' first appears in English in the first half of the 17th century.

Plato indeed argued that true novelty and originality are impossible to achieve. In theDialogues, Plato has Meno ask Socrates: How will you look for it, Socrates, when you do not know at all what it is? How will you aim to search for something you do not know at all? If you should meet with it, how will you know that this is the thing that you did not know? And Socrates answers: I know what you want to say, Meno that a man cannot search either for what he knows or for what he does not know. He cannot search for what he knowssince he knows it, there is no need to searchnor for what he does not know, for he does not know what to look for.

An art of scientific investigation. It is regarded as a systematic efforts to gain new knowledge. The dictionary meaning of research is a careful investigation or enquiry especially through search for new facts in any branch of knowledge. Research comprises defining and redefining problems, formulating hypothesis or suggested solutions; collecting, organizing and evaluating data; making deductions and reaching conclusions; and at last carefully testing the conclusions to determine whether they fit the formulating hypothesis. - Clifford

Woody

Researchand experimental development is formal work undertaken systematically to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of humanity, culture and society, and the use of this stock of knowledge to devise new applications
(OECD (2002) Frascati Manual: proposed standard practice for surveys on research and experimental development, 6th edition)

Its about inquiry: it has two components; Process and Product. The Process is about an area of inquiry and how it is pursued. The Product is the knowledge generated from the process as well as the initial area to be presented. (David Nunan)

"In the broadest sense of the word, the definition of research includes any gathering of data, information and facts for the advancement of knowledge. (Martyn
Shuttleworth)

Creswell states "Research is a process of steps used to collect and analyze information to increase our understanding of a topic or issue". It consists of three steps:
Pose a question, collect data to answer the question, and present an answer to the question

Investigation using scientific procedures, by searching again and again to find out the truth Research is the continual search for truth using the scientific method. It is the pursuit of the truth with the help of study, investigation, observation, comparison and/or experimentation. A studious inquiry or examination; especially: investigation or experimentation aimed at the discovery and interpretation of facts, revision of accepted theories or laws in the light of new facts, or practical application of such new or revised theories or laws

(Maryam Webster Online Dictionary)

Research is a quest for knowledge through diligent search or investigation or experimentation aimed at the discovery and interpretation of new knowledge. (WHO Health research
methodology, 1992, a guide for training in research methods):

Scientific method is a systematic body of procedures and techniques applied in carrying out investigation or experimentation targeted at obtaining new knowledge. Here research and scientific methods may be considered a course of critical enquiry leading to discovery of facts or information which increases our understanding of human health and disease.

Thesis (according to Oxford English dictionary) A proposition laid down as a theme to be discussed and proved. A discussion to maintain and prove a thesis especially written or delivered by a candidate for university degree

Dissertation: Dissertation means to discuss. It is an academic activity laid down by the university for the partial fulfillment of a research degree. It is an exercise to train a student to plan, execute, evaluate, write and report a scientific project.

Dissertation: It is an in-depth study of a particular topic which contributes new information and knowledge in the field A formal, often lengthy treatise (a book or writing of some particular subject, one containing a methodical discussion or exposition of principles of subject) or discourse, especially one written by a candidate for a masters degree.

It is a pre-requisite or academic activity for acquiring a masters degree or doctoral. To find out the truth which is hidden and which has not been discovered yet. To contribute new knowledge to the existing one as the scientific knowledge develops in increments. As a profession to conduct research in various aspects. To solve an existing problem. For thrill and enjoyment of discovering a new fact.

Two helpful ways to view research Purpose The degree of direct applicability of research to educational practices and settings Method The overall strategies followed to collect and analyze data

Primary vs Secondary Research Five categories Basic Applied Evaluation Research and development (R & D) Action

Primary Research vs Secondary Research Primary research and secondary research are two terms that are to be understood differently due to the fact that they differ in their concepts and methods. One of the major differences between primary and secondary research is that primary research is conducted with the help of the primary sources available whereas secondary research is conducted on the basis of some data collected from someone who had got it from some source.

Basic research Collection and analysis of data to develop or enhance theory It is usually considered to involve the search for knowledge without a defined goal of utility or specific purpose. Eg. A linguist tries to examine a language to find out its features that may or may not be similar or different to other languages or a dialect of the same language

Basic or pure research Applied research: Eg. A linguist trying to work out pronunciation problems of a non-native community in SLA

Applied research It is problem oriented and is directed towards a defined and purposeful end. Collection and analysis of data to examine the usefulness of theory in solving practical educational problems Example Developing a seventh grade social studies curriculum around a problemsolving approach to learning

The interaction of basic and applied research Basic research provides the theory that produces the concepts for solving educational problems Applied research provides the data to help support, guide, and revise the development theory

Evaluation research The collection and analysis of data to make decisions related to the merit or worth of a specific program Merit relates to a program accomplishing what it was supposed to accomplish Worth relates to the value attached to a program by those using it

Evaluation research Types of evaluation Formative evaluation is designed to inform and improve a program while it is being developed or implemented Summative evaluation is designed to make decisions regarding the overall quality of the program being evaluated

Evaluation research Examples The computerized algebra program being used in Quaid Middle School has been installed properly, is being used properly, and student achievement is increasing as a result of its use The computerized algebra program being used in Quaid Middle School is perceived to be an efficient and effective expenditure of district funds

Research and development The development of effective products for use in schools Examples The development of the software to create a computerized algebra program that incorporates an individualized mastery learning approach to teaching basic algebraic concepts The development of a Smart Board to enhance a teachers use of technology in the classroom

Action research The collection and analysis of data to provide a solution to the practical, valued problems of educators within their own school or organization Examples
How can our colleges move to a performance based model for undergraduate teacher preparation programs? How can disciplinary policies be enforced consistently in our schools?

Two general categories of methods currently being used in educational research Quantitative Qualitative

General purpose

Collect and analyze data to explain, predict, or control phenomena of interest Describe current conditions Investigate relationships Study causes and effects We live in a stable, uniform, and coherent world We can measure, understand, and generalize about our world Generally regarded as a positivistic perspective

Assumptions of the researcher

Characteristics
Numerical data Use of formally stated hypotheses and procedures Use of controls to minimize the effects of factors that could interfere with the outcome of the research Large numbers of participating subjects An objective, detached researcher Use of pencil and paper tests, questionnaires, etc.

 Five

basic designs

Descriptive Correlational Causal-comparative Experimental Single subject

Descriptive Purpose to describe the current status of a variable of interest to the researcher Examples
How many students drop out of school in Sargodha? What are the attitudes of parents, students, and teachers concerning an extended school year? What kinds of activities typically occur in sixthgrade art classes, and how frequently does each occur?

Correlational
Purpose to ascertain the extent to which two or more variables are statistically related Examples What is the relationship between TEFL scores and IELTS grades? Is a teachers sense of efficacy related to his/her effectiveness? Do significant relationships exist between the types of activities used in math classrooms and student achievement?

Correlational research involves the search for relationships between variables through the use of various measures of statistical association. Relationship means that an individuals status on one variable tends to reflect his or her status on the other. For example, an investigation of the relationship between teachers satisfaction with their job and various factors describing the provision and quality of teacher housing, salaries, leave entitlements, and the availability of classroom supplies.

Causal-comparative

Purpose to explore relationships among variables that cannot be actively manipulated or controlled by the researcher Examples
What is the effect of part-time employment on the achievement of high school students? What characteristics differentiate students who drop out from those who do not?

An important characteristic is that the independent variable has already been manipulated

Experimental Purpose to establish cause and effect relationships between variables Examples
What is the effect of teaching with (1) a co-operative groups strategy or (2) a traditional lecture approach on students achievement?

The important characteristics are that the researcher manipulates the independent variable and controls extraneous variables

Experimental research is used in settings where variables defining one or more causes can be manipulated in a systematic fashion in order to discern effects on other variables.
For example, an investigation of the effectiveness of two new textbooks using random assignment of teachers and students to three groups two groups for each of the new textbooks, and one group as a control group to use the existing textbook.

Single subject

Purpose to investigate cause and effect relationships with samples of one Examples
What is the effect of a behavior modification program on Alis conduct in class? What is the effect of a behavioral training program on Alis ability to complete his performance tasks?

The important characteristic is the use of specific interventions to cause behavioral changes in low incidence populations (e.g., special education)

General purpose

To probe deeply into the research setting to obtain indepth understandings about the way things are, why they are like that, and how participants perceive them
The need to create a sustained, in-depth, in context study that allows the researcher to uncover subtle, less overt personal understandings

Assumptions of the researcher

All meaning is situated in a particular perspective or context Different people and groups often have different perspectives and contexts, so there are many different meanings in the world Generally regarded as a post-positivistic perspective

Characteristics

There are no hypotheses guiding the researcher, rather a general issue known as the foreshadowed problem suggests the general issues of concern Problems and methods tend to evolve over the course of the study as understanding of the research context and participants deepens Phenomena are examined as they exist in a natural context, and they are viewed from the participants perspectives There are few participants involved in the study Data analysis is interpretative in nature The researcher interacts extensively with the participants

 Two

basic designs

Narrative Ethnography

Narrative Purpose focus on studying a single person and gathering data through the collection of stories that are used to construct a narrative about the individuals experience and the meanings he/she attributes to them Examples
What are the experiences of a veteran teacher who has been moved into an administrative position in her school? What does inclusion mean to a special needs child who is placed in a regular education classroom?

 Ethnography

Purpose to obtain an understanding of the shared beliefs and practices of a particular group or culture Examples
What is the nature of the problems teachers encounter when they begin using a constructivist approach to instruction after having taught using a very traditional approach for ten years? Why does a sense of failure permeate everything about this particular high school?

Ethnographic research usually consists of a description of events that occur within the life of a group with particular reference to the interaction of individuals in the context of the sociocultural norms, rituals, and beliefs shared by the group. The researcher generally participates in some part of the normal life of the group and uses what he or she learns from this participation to understand the interactions between group members.
For example, a detailed account of the daily tasks and interactions encountered by a school principal using observations gathered by a researcher who is placed in the position of Principals Assistant in order to become fully involved in the daily life of the school.

Complementary nature of quantitative and qualitative approaches

Different purposes of research
Explanatory Exploratory

Consideration of the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches for specific purposes

Quantitative versus Qualitative Research

The ultimate goal when choosing a design is to produce a credible answer to the research question
The research question drives the choice of a research design The characteristics of specific designs suggest they will produce more credible answers to specific types of research questions than other designs Specific purposes Specific procedures and analyses for each design

Quantitative research It focuses on numbers or quantities. Quantitative studies have results that are based on numeric analysis and statistics. Often, these studies have many participants. It is not unusual for there to be over a thousand people in a quantitative research study. It is ideal to have a large number of participants because this gives analysis more statistical power.

Qualitative research studies are focused on differences in quality, rather than differences in quantity. Results are in words or pictures rather than numbers. Qualitative studies usually have fewer participants than quantitative studies because the depth of the data collection does not allow for large numbers of participants.

Historical research generates descriptions, and sometimes attempted explanations, of conditions, situations, and events that have occurred in the past. For example, a study that documents the evolution of teacher training programs since the turn of the century, with the aim of explaining the historical origins of the content and processes of current programs

Case study research generally refers to two distinct research approaches.

The first consists of an in-depth study of a particular student, classroom, or school with the aim of producing a nuanced description of the pervading cultural setting that affects education, and an account of the interactions that take place between students and other relevant persons. For example, an in-depth exploration of the patterns of friendship between students in a single class.

The second approach to Case Study Research involves the application of quantitative research methods to nonprobability samples which provide results that are not necessarily designed to be generalizable to wider populations.
For example, a survey of the reading achievements of the students in one rural region of a particular country.

Empirical researchis a way of gaining knowledge means of direct and indirect observationor experience. Empirical research is based on observed and measured phenomena and derives knowledge from actual experience rather than from theory or belief. Theoretical research is research that happens only in theory as opposed to in practice, i.e. you pretend that it's happening to examine or justify the consequences. Theoretical methodology is the practice of developing a basic theory that is then proved through research, observations, and facts. Theoretical methodology is the framework used to achieve an effective hypothesis, or "educated guess".

Research methodology is a way to systematically solve the research problem. It may be understood as a science of studying how research is done scientifically. In it we study the various steps that are generally adopted by a researcher in studying his research problem along with the logic behind them It is a way to systematically solve the research problem. It is necessary for the researcher to design his methodology for his problem, as the same may differ from problem to problem i.e. Why a research study has been undertaken How the research problem has been defined In what way and why the hypothesis has been formed

What data has been collected What particular method has been adopted for collection of data Why a particular technique of data collection has been used And a host of similar questions are usually answered when we talk of research methodology, so that research results are capable of being evaluated either by the researcher himself or by others

Research methods: methods/ techniques that are used for conducting research are termed as research methods or research techniques. They fall into 3 groups

Those concerned with collection of data Those statistical techniques which are used for establishing relationship between the data and the unknown Those methods which are used to evaluate the accuracy of the results obtained.

We can say that Research Methodology has many dimensions and Research Methods do constitute a part of the research methodology. The scope of research methodology is wider than that of research methods.

Sample means a small group drawn from a population, carefully selected to reflect closely the characteristics of a population. Samples are used in research because it is often impossible, and almost always inconvenient, to study the entire population. Samples need to represent population closely because researchers wish to generalize to the population what is learnt from studying the samples. For example, the researcher selects the employees serving at University of Lahore, Sargodha Campus for his research, then those employees would be treated as sample.

Subject When people and other living things are being studied in research, they are called subjects. Subjects are frequently members of samples. Aresearch populationis generally a large collection of individuals or objects that is the main focus of a scientific query. A research population is also known as a welldefined collection of individuals or objects known to have similar characteristics. All individuals or objects within a certain population usually have a common, binding characteristic or trait.

A variable is a concept or construct that can vary or have more than one value. Some variables can be quite concrete such as gender, birth order, weight, or shoe size. Others can be considerably more abstract, vague, and squishy. For example, sense of well being, self-esteem, strength of belief in religion, or IQ. Basically, variables are the things about people that we can say one person has more of than another. So we find that people vary in their gender and shoe size, and their self-esteem and their IQ.

An ethic is a moral principle or a code of conduct which governs what people do. It is concerned with the way people act or behave. The term ethics usually refers to the moral principles, guiding conduct, which are held by a group or even a profession (though there is no logical reason why individuals should not have their own ethical code) (Wellington, 2000: 54)

Not just something that occurs at the beginning of a research project / prior to fieldwork (Lewis, 2004). Ethical concerns should be at the forefront of any research project and should continue through to the write-up and dissemination stages (Wellington, 2000: 3)

Respect for human dignity Respect for free and informed consent Respect for vulnerable persons Respect for privacy and confidentiality Respect for justice and inclusiveness Balancing harms and benefits Minimizing harm Maximizing benefit

Cardinal Principle Basis of ethical obligations Two essential components The selection and achievement of morally acceptable ends Protect the multiple and interdependent interests of the person (bodily, psychological, cultural integrity)

Presumption that individuals have capacity and right to make free and informed decisions In research = dialogue, process, rights, duties, requirements for free and informed consent by the research subject Your research cannot proceed without consent Consent must be maintained throughout

Ethical obligations towards vulnerable persons Diminished competence Diminished decision-making capacity Entitled to special protection, special procedures to protect their interests Entitlement (based on grounds of human dignity, caring, solidarity, fairness) to special protection against abuse, exploitation, discrimination

Fundamental to human dignity Standards protect the access, control, dissemination of personal information Helps to protect mental, psychological integrity

5. Harms and Benefits

Balance critical to ethics of human research Foreseeable harms should not outweigh anticipated benefits Harms-benefits analysis affects welfare and rights of subjects

i.e., fairness and equity Procedural justice: Application process Distributive justice: Harms and benefits

7. Non-malfeasance
Duty to avoid, prevent or minimize harm No unnecessary risk of harm Participation must be essential to achieving scientifically and societally important aims that cannot be realized without the participation of human subjects Minimizing harm requires smallest number of human subjects that will ensure valid data

The duty to benefit others The duty to maximize net benefits Produce benefits for subjects themselves, other individuals Produce benefits for society as a whole and for the advancement of knowledge (usually the primary benefit)

Reliability deals with the consistency of measurement in research. Reliability is the quality that guarantees us that we will get similar results when conducting the same test on the same population every time. Consider the example of a ruler Each ruler will give the same answer each time Each ruler is reliable

Validity deals with the accuracy of the measurement Consider the two rulers

Internal Validity: are we testing what we think we are. External Validity: can generalize our results to a larger or different population. There are other types of validity that focus on specific concerns researchers have concerning possible errors of accuracy in their studies. We need both reliability and validity in research to insure that we have consistent, accurate answers to our research questions. Research must reflect reality and without reliable, valid data (which is interpreted correctly and consistently) research is meaningless.

THANKS FOR THE PATIENCE