research types

Research Types

Research Types Prepared by: Mariam

Bedraoui

Research Types

What do you expect to get

out of our work on this

topic?

Research Types

s

Leading Questions

What is research?

What are the different types of

research?

Why are there different typologies

of research?

How are research types different?

What are the specific features of

every research type?

Research Types

OutlineI. What is Research?

1. Definition2. Features3. Purposes

II. What are Research Types?1. Quantitative and Qualitative Research2. Research Designs

i. The Experimental Research Designii. The Correlational Research Designiii. The Survey Research Design iv. The ethnographic Research designv. The Case Study Research Design

Research Types

I. What is Research? 1.

Definition

Research Types


Definition

“Research is a way of finding out answers to questions.”(Mackey & Gass: 2005, 1)

“Research is a process of steps used to collect and analyze information to increase our understanding of a topic or issue.”(Creswell: 2012, 3)

“Research is an art of scientific investigation.”(Khotari: 2004:1)

“Research contributes to a body of science and follows the scientific method.” (Bhattacherjee: 2012, 1)

[Research is applying a scientific method to investigate a problem or

phenomenon with the aim of finding an appropriate solution.]

Research Types


Definition

A scientific Method?

•Scientific method refers to a standardized set of techniques for building scientific knowledge, such as

• how to make valid observations,• how to interpret results, • and how to generalize those results.

(Bhattacherjee: 2012, 5)

Research Types

I. What is Research

Using a “scientific method”, researchers • identify the problem that define the goal of

the research;• make a prediction, that if confirmed,

resolves the problem;• gather data relevant to this prediction;• analyse and interpret the data to see if it

supports the prediction and resolves the question that initiated the research.(Creswell: 2012, 3)

A scientific Method?

1. Definition

Research Types

I. What is Research 1. Definition

Creswell, J. W. (2012). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research.

Research Types

What is Research?Precision

Theoretical concepts must be defined with such precision that

others can use those definitions to test the

research results.

ReplicabilityOthers should be able

to independently repeat a scientific study and obtain similar results.

FalsifiabilityA theory must be

stated in a way that can be disproven.

ParsimonyA solid theory is the one which tries to

explain a specific part of a phenomenon

making use of a few variables.

2. Features

Research Types

I. What is Research?

knowledge Practice Policy

3. Purposes

Research Types


Research adds to our knowledge by

addressing gaps in our knowledge; providing additional results to confirm or disconfirm the

findings of previous research; offering findings about people and social phenomena that

have never been submitted to study.

3. Purposes

Research Types


Research improves practice by: suggesting evidence-based ways for conducting

our professions. helping educators become more effective

professionals. allowing educators to share their best practices. maximising the learners’ educational gains.

3. Purposes

Research Types


Research informs policy-makers about:

the constraints attendant on educators and learners; the potentials of educators and learners to be

exploited; the impacts of their decisions and measures; new paths of change.

3. Purposes

Research Types

Part Two: Research Types

Research Types

II. Research TypesDifferent parameters can be used to distinguish between research types:

Type of Data: qualitative\quantitative

Nature of knowledge: Positivist/

interpretive

Reasoning Methods: Inductive/ deductive

Research Design: Experimental

research/ survey/ case study/

ethnography, etc.

Research Types

II. Research Types

Quantitative research “involves the generation of data in quantitative form which can be subjected to rigorous quantitative analysis in a formal and rigid way.” Mackey & Gass (2005: 5)

Examples of research questions that can yield quantitative data:

How does the number of times a teacher replays an audio- track influence the scores of students in a listening test?

What is the relation between students’ language proficiency and their understanding of implicature-laden texts.

What is the relation between students’ vocabulary load and their performance in writing tests?

1. Type of data

Quantitative research

Research Types

II. Research Types

“The Quantitative research follows the confirmatory scientific method because it focuses on hypothesis testing. Quantitative researchers consider it to be of primary importance to state one’ s hypothesis and then test this hypothesis with empirical data to see if it is supported.”Creswell (2012: 34)

Quantitative research

1. Type of data

II. Research TypesASSUMPTION POSITIVIST PARADIGMOntologic (What is the nature of reality?)

Reality exists; there is a real world driven by real natural causes.

Epistemologic (How is the inquirer related to those being researched?)

The inquirer is independent from those being researched; findings are not influenced by the researcher.

Axiologic (What is the role of values in the inquiry?)

Values and biases are to be held in check; objectivity is sought.

Methodologic (How is knowledge obtained?)

Deductive processes / Emphasis on discrete, specific concepts/ Fixed design/ emphasis on measured, quantitative information; statistical analysis/ Seeks generalizations.(Polit & Beck,

2003)

1. Type of data

Research Types

II. Research Types

• In quantitative data collection, a researcher uses an instrument to measure the variables in the study.

• A research instrument is a tool for observing, measuring, or documenting quantitative data.

• Examples of instruments are • survey questionnaires, • tests, • checklists used to observe a student’s or teacher’s

behaviors.

1. Type of Data

Quantitative Research

Research Types

II. Research Types

A problem to investigate?

Most Moroccan students do not score well in the writing part of the standardized national test. This is a multi-dimensional problem that needs investigation from different perspectives:

Teachers’ practices/ attitudes Students’ language proficiency/ learning styles/

strategies. Type of materials used. The amount of writing lessons scheduled in the syllabus

Type of Data

Research Types

Research Types

Research question: do intensive activities in the pre-writing stage help second year Bac. level students improve their performance in writing?

Design Use of an

experimental design. Collection of

quantitative data. Instruments: number

of activities, students’ scores in tests.

1. Type of Data

Research Types

II. Research TypesQualitative research

Qualitative research is multi-method in focus, involving an interpretive,naturalistic approach to its subject matter. This means that qualitativeresearchers study things in their natural settings, attempting to make senseof, or interpret, phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them.Qualitative research involves the studied use and collection of a variety ofempirical materials—personal experience, introspective, lifestory, interview, observational, historical, interactional, and visual texts—that describe routine and problematic moments and meanings inindividuals’ lives.

(Denzin & Lincoln cited in Anderson & Arsenault: 1998, 127)

1. Type of Data

Research Types

II. Research Types

Natural Setting: A fundamental assumption is that a profound understanding of the world can be

gained through conversation and observation in natural settings rather than through experimental manipulation under artificial conditions.

Interpretive perspective: The aim of qualitative research is to explore phenomena through first-hand

experience and present a structured attempt at understanding how people derive meaning from their surroundings and how their meanings shape their behaviours.

Exploratory Motives: No prior knowledge about a phenomenon. A need for an initial exploration of recurrent patterns and concepts in a research

area.

Flexible Designs: Study design is iterative: concepts and data collection methods can be adjusted as

the research progresses.

1. Type of Data

Qualitative Research

Research Types

II. Research TypesQualitative research

In Qualitative research, data is collected in the form of words by conducting:• Observation• Field notes• Video and tape recording• Focus group discussions• Semi-structured and in-depth interviews

• During qualitative data analysis, the researcher tries to identify categories that describe what happened, and organise them into major themes that provides broader explanations to the phenomenon under study.

1. Type of Data

Research Types

II. Research Types

Research question:How do teachers’ conceptions of what a good piece of writing is influence their ways of teaching writing?

Design Research design: A

case study Collection of data:

In-depth interviews, video/ recording, observation.

1. Type of Data

Research Types

II. Research TypesDifferent parameters can be used to distinguish between research types:

Type of Data: quantitative\qualitative

Research Design: Experimental

research/ survey/ case study/

ethnography, etc.

Research Types

Creswell (2012, 12)

Research Types

Task

Type of research:…………………………………….Research question:…………………………………..Research Design: ……………………………………

Research Types

II. Research Types

2. Research Design

Research Types

II. Research Types

Research design refers to the decisions the researcher needs to make concerning data collection and data analysis so as to answer the research question plausibly and economically.

Decisions need to be made about: Where will the study be carried out? What type of data is required? Where can the required data be found? What periods of time will the study include? What will be the sample design? What techniques of data collection will be used? How will the data be analysed?

2. Research Design

meriem

research design is not a work plan. a work plan is the list of activites scheduled on a timeline as to what, when and how and where to do a research step.research design has to do with logic and not logistics. RD needs to ensure that the collected evidence enables us to answer thr initial question in an unequivocal and economic way.

meriem

sampling design: which deals with the method of the selecting

Research Types

II. Research Types

Sampling design

• deals with the methods of selecting items to be observed in a given study.

Data collection design

• aims at specifying the research instruments to be adopted in gathering data.• makes accounts for the conditions in which data is going to be collected.

Data analysis design

•concerns decisions made on the statistical tools or the inferential strategies adopted in data analysis.

2. Research Design

Khotari (2005: 32) breaks down the process of research design into three major parts:

Research Types

II. Research Types

Validity• “the extent to

which a piece of research actually investigates what the researcher purports to investigate” (Nunan: 1996, 14)

Reliability• It “refers to the

consistency of data collection, analysis and interpretation.” (Nunan: 1996, 14)

2. Research Design

The quality of research designs is evaluated with regard to two major criteria:

Research Types

II. Research Types

Research SituationA researcher wants to test whether an educational practice makes a difference for students.

“Experimental Research is a collection of research designs which use manipulation and controlled testing to understand causal processes. Generally, one or more variables are manipulated to determine their effect on a dependent variable.”

1. Experimental Design

Research Design?

meriem

A research wants to establish cause and effects realtionship between the studied variables

Research Types

II. Research Types

A VariableA characteristic that does not remain constant and that can assume different

forms of value.

Independent

Variable

Dependent

VariableIndependent Variable:

the variable that the

experimenter expects to be influential.

Dependent Variable:The variable expected to

be influenced by the independent variable.

• Manipulating existing methods of instruction.• Introducing new methods of instruction

• Students’ results in language tests

• Students’ patterns of behaviours.


Research Types

II. Research Types 1. Experimental Design

Control Group:a group of subjects excluded from the experimental design so that it can not be influenced by the manipulated factors. Forming a control group helps rule out alternate explanations of the experimental results.

Experimental group:a group of subjects in a scientific experiment who receive the special treatment of the experimental design. This group is exposed to the independent variable for a certain period of time and subjected to observation and tests.

Research Types

Task

Please study the two abstracts illustrating experimental research and specify

1. the variables 2. the groups of subject

Research Types

II. Research Types 1. Experimental Design

A hypothesisBeginner language learners understand listening texts

better when these texts are presented in the form of video clips for watching.

meriem

thjere are many ways to test whether this H. is valid or not:1. you could survey the students's opinions through questionnaires and interviews.2. you can obsrve the participants through an ethnographic record of the teachinbg and learning going on.3. you might be tempted to test your students at the end of the semester and present the results to your colleagues, but.. next slide

Research Types

II. Research Types

Test students’ performance of listening comprehension when using videos.

Test two groups of students, one has used the innovative material and the other has not.


The students in the two groups may have

different levels and this could have affected

their performances in the test.

Steps Expected Problems

Many other variables could have accounted for students’ positive

performance.

Controlling Variables

Research Types

II. Research Types

randomly assign individuals to treatment, and make both groups sit a pre-test and a post- test.


Steps Results• Random assignment is used so that any bias in the personal characteristics of individuals in the experiment is distributed equally among the groups.

•Random assignment provides control for extraneous variables that might influence the outcome.

II. Research Types

Research Types

Criteria to evaluate experimental research


The experiment has a powerful intervention.

The treatment groups are few in number and an

adequate number of participants

were used in the study

The researcher derives the number of

participants per group in some

systematic way.

The researcher controls for extraneous

factors that might influence the

outcome.

Research Types

II. Research Types

Research SituationA researcher wants to examine the association between variables as they interact in their natural environment. He is also unable to provide an intervention or to assign individuals to groups.

“Correlational designs are procedures in quantitative research in which investigators measure the degree of association (or relation) between two or more variables using correlational statistical procedures.” (Creswell: 2012, 338)

1. Correlational Design

Research Design?

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II. Research Types

Research Types

Because researchers do not compare

different groups in correlational studies, research questions

focus on one group of individuals.

Samples of research questions:

1. Is creativity related to IQ scores for elementary students?

2. Is there a connection between the personality type of beginner foreign language learners and their speaking abilities in the target language?

1. Correlational Design

Research Types

II. Research Types 1. Correlational Design

“Correlational tests are statistical means used to determine how far do the tendencies or patterns for two variables or two sets of data vary consistently.”(Creswell: 2012:, 338)

Positive correlation: a direct relationship whereby the amount of one variableIncreases, the amount of a second variableincreases. Negative correlation: as the amount

of onevariable goes up, the amount of a second variable goes down.

No correlation: no relation exists between the two variables under study.

Research Types

II. Research Types Research Situation

The researcher needs to: describe trends in a large population of

individuals; determine individual opinions; evaluate programs. assess community needs for educational

services.

“Survey research designs are procedures in quantitative research in which investigators administer a survey to a sample or to the entire population to describe the attitudes, opinions, behaviours, or characteristics of a population."

3. Survey Design

Research Design?

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Research Types

II. Research Types 3. Survey designs

Examples of research questions:

Data Collection

Data Analysis

Researchers collect quantitative data using:Mailed/ web-based questionnaires, One-on-one interviews Focus group interviews

• What type of activities do EFL teachers assign for the pre-reading stage?• What are the expectations of secondary school students from learning English?

Data are analysed by means of both descriptive and inferential statistics.

II. Research Types

Research Types

Surveys

Cross-sectional

longitudinal

3. Survey designsCross-sectional survey allows researchers to examine current attitudes, opinions and practices. The researcher collects data at one point of time.• Longitudinal surveys allow researchers to examine certain phenomena over a period of time, sometimes lasting for several years.• Data is collected at the outset of the study and at different points of time throughout the time span allotted for the study.

Research Types

II. Research Types Research Situation

The researcher wants to conduct an in-depth study about the social and cultural patterns among the members of a class.

“Ethnography involves the study of the culture/ characteristics of a group in real-world rather than laboratory settings. The researcher makes no attempt to isolate or manipulate the phenomena under investigation, and insights and generalizations emerge from close contact with the data rather than from a theory of language learning and use” (Nunan: 1996, 55)

4. Ethnographic Design

Research Design?

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Research Types

II. Research Types

Tasks Tools and Strategies

Outcomes

Collecting data

Participant observationIn- depth interviewsFocus groups

Field notesAudio/ Video recordingsTranscripts

Examining data

Highlight points in the textWrite comments on the marginWrite reflections on the data

Identifying common themes

Contextualise and annotate data

Provide references to related literature

Describing Data

Classifying Data

Connecting Concepts

4. Ethnographic design

Research Types

II. Research Types Tasks: the researcher has to• organise data in an invented but

systemic way• identify major categories in the data.

These categories have to be both inclusive and exclusive

Strategies: the researcher needs to • summarise the data• experiment with a number of

formulations• tabulate categories on a chart• sketch diagrams

Describing Data

Classifying Data

Connecting Concepts


Research Types

II. Research Types

Describing Data

Classifying Data

Connecting Concepts

The aim of the researcher is to identify regularities, singularities and variations in the analysed data. research yields three major types of research:

1. The construction of typologies and modals.

2. The production of intensive analytic studies, of what Denzin (1989) call “thick descriptions”.

3. The generation of valid theories which are the outcome of rigorous analytical procedures.


II. Research Types

Research Types

A case study is “the study of an instance in action. In other words, one selects an instance from the class of objects and phenomena one is investigating, (for example, ‘a second language learner’ or ‘ a science classroom’) and investigates the way this instance functions in society.”(Nunan: 1996, 75)

A researcher wants to understand how people function in

specific contexts and what phenomena

affect their behaviours

4. Case Study

Research Design?

Research Types

II. Research Types

The researcher takes one single unit for his study purpose. It can be a student, a teacher, a class or a school.

The selected unit is studied intensively. The study extends over a long period of time to ascertain the natural history of the unit so as to obtain enough information for drawing correct inferences.

The researcher tries to understand the complex factors that are operative within the unit and tries to study its aspects through direct observation and in-depth interviewing.

4. Case Study

Features of case studies