Nature of Inquiry and Research

Definition, Importance, Characteristics and Processes of Research

Lecture 1

Lecture Objectives
 Define and explain the importance of research
 Describe the process, types and characteristics of research
 Discuss the qualities of a good researcher
 Shares research experiences

How do you define research?

Research is a SCHOLARLY activity that consists of addressing a specific problem

through a collection, analysis and interpretation of data (Wa-Mbaleka and Gladstone,
2018).

Research is a systematic investigation of any social or natural phenomena where

results and conclusions are aimed at contributing to generalizable knowledge.

As a systematic investigation, research requires that data are collected, analyzed

and interpreted in order to understand, describe, predict or control a phenomenon to
empower individuals in contexts (Mendoza and Melegrito, 2017).

Importance
 From a scholarly perspective, we do research for the following reasons:
 To solve a specific problem
 To improve the way people do things
 To test an existing theory
 To discover something new that was not known before
 To learn more about a certain topic of interest
 To complete school program requirement

Characteristics
 Empirical
o based on experience or observation that is intentionally done
o verifiable by observation or experience rather than theory or pure logic
 Systematic
o must follow a specific process and a specific set of guidelines and principles
 Credible
o must make the readers believe what was found in the research study. It
must have facts as found in the collected data.
 Focused on one specific problem
o Research helps us to solve problems.
 Logical
o part of making a logical research is to document effectively all the steps in
the process
 Critical
o must be based on careful evaluation of the collected data.
Steps in Conducting a Research
 Identify a research topic
 Identify specific problem
 Write down specific research questions
 Conduct the literature review
 Plan your research study
 Implement your research study
 Analyze your data
 Interpret your data
 Draw the conclusion
 Check the quality of your research

Qualities of a Good Researcher

 Scientific attitude
 Unquenchable thirst for knowledge
 Devotion
 Scientific solution
 Keen observation and independent thinking ·
 Seeker of knowledge
 Systematic worker
 Research mindedness
 Unbiased attitude
 Research Ethics

Ethics
- From the Greek word ethos which means “character” (Hesse-Biber and Leavy,
2011).
- Ethics in research refer to the standards on what is morally right or wrong in
conducting research (Burnham et al. 2004).
- Ethics in research involve human issues of values.

Research Ethics involves the application of fundamental ethical principles to planning,

conducting & publishing of research.

Why is research ethics important?

- It is a reflection of respect for those who ‘take part’ in research.
- It ensures no unreasonable, unsafe or thoughtless demands are made by
researchers.
- It ensures sufficient knowledge is shared by all concerned.
- It imposes a common standard in all the above respects.

What projects need ethical approval?

- Human participants
- Use of the ‘products’ of human participants
- Animal participants
- Work that potentially impacts on human participants

Key Ethical Issues

 Informed Consent - special consideration for minors
 Deception
 Need for debriefing
 Right to withdraw
 Confidentiality
 Safety and risk

Ethical Pitfalls in Qualitative Research

 Exploitative social research
 Deception
 Identification of subjects’ identities
 Fraternizing with groups we dislike and
 Participating in doubtful bargains (Silverman 2006)

Identify ethical issues in the following scenarios:

1.) Two graduate students have made some measurements on a new material. The data
points are as shown. To prove their hypothesis the results should lie on the curve shown.
The two students considered omitting the two data points which were off the theoretical
curve.

Answer:
- Unethical as it would amount to falsification of data.
- Should include outliers and give probable reasons or find out statistically
acceptable ways of trimming outliers
2.) A group of medical students conducted a research on the awareness of diabetic diet
in medical clinic participants. Their research was recognized as the best undergraduate
research and later they submitted the same research paper to two different journals to
see which journal publishes it first.

Answer:
- Unethical as it would result in "inadvertent double-counting or inappropriate
weighting of the results of a single study, which distorts the available evidence
- It would give a false idea of the number of publications in a given area
- Wasting of resources on the review and publication process
- Should submit to one journal and wait for response prior to submitting to
another

3.) Students are required to prepare a research proposal during their undergraduate
program. Student A developed the idea for his project and discussed with a friend. Several
months later, he found that his idea had been submitted as a research proposal by his
friend without his knowledge.

Answer:
- Unethical as failure to give credit to the person whose idea it is (intellectual
property) amounts to plagiarism
- Should discuss and include as co-author

4.) Four friends decide to work together on a research project during the vacation. One
of them went abroad during the vacation and did not contribute to the research. The
friends include all 4 names in a presentation made at a scientific congress.
Answer:
- Unethical as only those who contributed intellectually should be cited as
authors
- Those who contribute in other ways may be acknowledged

5.) A group of undergraduate students planned a research project on the detection of

fetal abnormalities in the second trimester, by ultrasound scanning. They collected data
from the scan room without informing the mothers.

Answer:
- Unethical as informed consent was not taken
- Should have informed mothers of their intent even though there is no
particular advantage/disadvantage to the mother in doing so.

6.) A group of undergraduate students collected data from a group of bank officers, with
their consent, regarding their working hours and salary with regards to the prevalence of
high blood pressure. Subsequently the researchers gave the same data to another
group who were in need of same data variables.

Answer:
- Unethical as violating principles of consent and confidentiality
- Data can be used for a secondary purpose which was not first considered as
long as:
o informed consent for sharing has been given
o identities anonymised
o due consideration to access restrictions
Why should there be research ethics?
 To protect participants/society/resources
o Protect from harm
o Show respect
 privacy /confidentiality
 Informed consent
 To ensure accuracy of scientific knowledge
o Should be methodically rigorous - Scientific validity
o Fair subject selection: with inclusion / exclusion criteria & a valid number
of subjects in order to project results to the population
o State research method clearly so that another person can conduct
advanced study in future by using publication
o Do not gloss research method
o Should not falsify/modify/omit data
o Use actual data for analysis/cannot include someone else's data
o Report errors
o Be aware of conflict of interest
o Should not withhold information
o Keep data and material for 5 years
o Data and material should be available to others
o Do not present/publish paper from incomplete research or from anticipated
outcomes
o Should not duplicate publications and submissions
o Should be reviewed Independently by unaffiliated individuals

 To protect intellectual and property rights

o Citation and authorship
 inclusion
 Writing and significant scientific contribution
 order
 order of contribution
 actual researchers
 approval must be sought to include a name

 Whenever somebody else’s work is quoted reference should be made to the

original author (Piracy vs plagiarism)
 Acknowledgement should include the names of person who helped

Breach of ethics in research would amount to scientific misconduct

Scientific Misconduct
 Fraud
o invention/fabrication of data
 Plagiarism
o copying data, ideas, text without acknowledgement of source
 Piracy
o infringement of a copyright
 Submitting/Publishing the same paper to different journals
 Not informing a collaborator of your intent to file a patent in order to make sure
that you are the sole inventor
 Including a colleague as an author on a paper in return for a favor even though
the colleague did not make a serious contribution to the paper
 Trimming outliers from a data set without discussing your reasons in paper
 Using an inappropriate statistical technique in order to enhance the significance
of your research
 Bypassing the peer review process and announcing your results through a press
conference without giving peers adequate information to review your work
 Conducting a review of the literature that fails to acknowledge contributions of
others
 Stretching the truth on a grant application in order to convince reviewers that
your project will make a significant contribution to the field
 Giving the same research project to two graduate students in order to see who
can do it the faster
 Overworking, neglecting, or exploiting research students
 Making derogatory comments and personal attacks in your review of author's
submission
 Making significant deviations from the research protocol approved by the Review
Board without informing the committee
 Not reporting an adverse event in a human research experiment
 Wasting animals in research
 Exposing students and staff to biological risks
 Rejecting a manuscript for publication without even reading it
 Sabotaging someone's work
 Rigging an experiment so you know how it will turn out
 Deliberately overestimating the clinical significance of a new drug in order to
obtain economic benefits
 Nature of Inquiry and Research
Quantitative vs Qualitative Research
Lecture 3

Lecture Objectives
 Differentiate between quantitative and qualitative research
 Distinguish between strengths and weaknesses of quantitative and qualitative
research
 Provide examples of research in areas of interest
 Use appropriate kind of research in undertaking a study

Quantitative vs Qualitative Research

 Definition
- Quantitative Research
o An inquiry into a social or human problem, based on testing a theory
composed of variables, measured with numbers and analyzed with
statistical procedures in order to determine whether the predictive
generalizations of the theory hold true (Creswell 1994).

- Qualitative Research
o An inquiry process of understanding a social or human problem based
on building a complex, holistic picture, formed with words, reporting
detailed views of informants and conducting in a natural setting
(Creswell 1994).

 What is the nature of reality?

- Quantitative Research
o Reality is “objective” and can be measured objectively by using a
questionnaire or an instrument.

- Qualitative Research
o Reality is subjective as seen by participants in a study. It is
“constructed by the individuals involved in the research situation.”
Researcher must “report faithfully these realities and to rely on voices
and interpretations of informants.”

 What is the relationship of the researcher to that researched?

- Quantitative Research
o Researcher is independent from that being researched. Researchers
attempt to control bias and be objective in assessing a situation.

- Qualitative Research
o Researcher interacts with that being researched. It may be in the form
of living with or observing informants over a prolonged period of time.

 What is the role of values?

- Quantitative Research
o Value-free and unbiased.
o Accomplished thru omitting statements about values from written
reports, using impersonal language and reporting facts only.
 - Qualitative Research
o Value-laden and biased wherein the researcher actively reports his or
her values and biases.

 What is the language of research?

- Quantitative Research
o Formal
o Based on set definitions
o Impersonal voice
o Use of accepted quanti terms like “relationship” and/or
“comparison”.

- Qualitative Research
o Informal
o Evolving decisions
o Personal Voice
o Use of accepted QLR terms like “understanding” and/or “meaning”.

 What is the process of research?

- Quantitative Research
o Deductive process
o Cause and effect
o Context-free
o Generalizations leading to prediction, explanation and understanding
o Accurate and reliable thru validity and reliability

- Qualitative Research
o Inductive process
o Mutual simultaneous shaping of factors
o Emerging designs, categories are identified during research process
o Context-bound
o Patterns and theories are developed for understanding
o Accurate and reliability thru verification.

Quantitative vs Qualitative Research

Common Contrasts

QUANTITATIVE QUALITATIVE
Numbers Words
Point of view of researcher Point of view of participants
Researcher distant Researcher close
Theory testing Theory emergent
Static Process
Structured Unstructured
Generalization Contextual understanding
Hard, reliable data Rich, deep data
Macro Micro
Behavior Meaning
Artificial settings Natural settings
 Quantitative vs Qualitative Research
Strengths

QUANTITATIVE
 It captures data and reality from a
large group of people at once.
 It helps generalize over a large
population.
 It helps test theories and variables
statistically.
 It has a well-structured data.
QUALITATIVE
 It helps study complex issues or
problems.
 It is based on data from natural
settings.
 It takes into account the real life of
people by using their stories and
their settings.
 It provide multiple perspectives
about the same problem from
multiple sources.

Quantitative vs Qualitative Research

Weaknesses

QUANTITATIVE
• It is limited by the variables that a
researcher can study at a time.
• It doesn’t put personal experience
into consideration.
• It is only based on truth expressed
by the majority and minority
doesn’t count.
QUALITATIVE
• It is based on a limited number of
participants.
• It is subjective that bias may affect
the data.
• It can be cumbersome because data
doesn’t follow the same structure
as in quantitative research.