Lynn W Zimmerman, PhD

INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

What is Research? •endless•sometimes painful•convincing•experiment•findings•consistent•analysis• implications

•publish •statistics•never perfect•boring• time consuming•experts•unpredictable

University of Hawaii data

What is Methodology?

•A specific way or method of performing a process•An organized, documented set of procedures and guidelines•A step-by-step approach for carrying out the procedure

What is Research Methodology?•Methods to collect data, and the concepts and theories which underlie the methods•A scientific and systematic way to solve a research problem by using various logical steps•Helps to define and clarify the process and the product of the research•Aims to describe and analyze the methods themselves, to clarify their strengths and limitations

Influences on Research•Expectations and possibilities concerning research in your field •What do people in education do research on?•Effectiveness of teaching strategies •Student motivation•Effects of testing on learning • Influence on learning of sequence of instruction

Three Types of Research

Basic or theoreti

cal

PracticalApplied

Quantitative Research Methodologies•Quantitative research •collect quantitative data •measure variables •verify existing theories or hypotheses or questioning them•data often used to generate new hypotheses•emphasizes the measurement and analysis of causal relationships between variables, not processes.

Qualitative Research Methodologies•Qualitative research• to understand meanings• look at, describe and understand experience, ideas, beliefs and values•seeks answers to questions that stress how social experience is created and given meaning• subjects that are difficult to quantify

Side-by-Side Comparison ChartQualitative Quantitative

Data - words, pictures or objects. Data - numbers and statistics.Inductive - derived from specific examples.

Deductive - based on logical analysis of available facts

Researcher discloses biases, values, and experiences that may impact interpretation of results.

The researcher documents the results using objective language.

Gathers data through interviews, observations, content analysis, etc.

Uses tools, such as questionnaires or equipment to collect numerical data.

The design emerges as the study unfolds.

Researcher carefully designs all aspects of study before collecting data.

Researcher may only know roughly in advance what he/she is looking for.

The researcher knows clearly in advance what he/she is looking for.

What? Why? How many?Natural setting. Highly controlled.Quotes, bar/line graphs, pie charts. Pie charts, statistics, and graphs.

Example: Analysis of an Oil PaintingQualitative QuantitativeBlue/green colorGold frameSmells old and mustyTexture shows masterful brush strokesPeaceful scene of the countryside

Picture is 10” X 14”With frame, 14” x 18”Weight 8.5 poundsSurface area of painting = 140 sq. in.Cost = $300

Variables•Variable - something that changes• it changes according to different factors•Researchers, especially quantitative researchers are often seeking to measure variables. •The two primary types of variables are • Independent – the variable the researcher wants to measure (the cause)•Dependent – the effect (or assumed effect)

Mixed Method•A combination of both - often quantitative to establish baselines and background and qualitative for follow up• triangulate •back up one set of findings from one method of data collection supported by one methodology, with another very different method underpinned by another methodology

Why Do Research?•Objectives of research • To discover new facts• To verify or test important facts• To analyze an event, process or phenomenon• To identify a cause/effect relationship• To develop new scientific tools, concepts and theories to solve and understand scientific and nonscientific problems• To find solutions to scientific, nonscientific, and social problems• To overcome or solve problems occurring in our everyday lives

Bases for Research by Educators•Practical problems which arise in the classroom•Secondary sources – articles and conference presentations about someone else’s research which may raise questions for further research•Primary research – reports of data which may raise questions for further research

Qualitative and Quantitative Research in Education• Educational research • has moved away from relying only on quantitative research and toward more qualitative research

•Quantitative methods • developed by the natural science to study natural phenomena. • Examples: surveys, laboratory experiments, numerical methods, etc.

•Qualitative methods • developed in the social sciences to enable researchers to study social and cultural phenomena. • Examples: Action research, case study research

Purpose of Educational Research

•Advancement of knowledge of education and learning processes•Development of tools and methods necessary to support them. •May be undertaken at the individual, situational, institutional, and social structural levels of analysis

What Educational Researchers Do•Education researchers aim to describe, understand, and explain •how learning takes place throughout the life cycle •how formal and informal processes of education affect learning, attainment, and the capacity to lead productive lives.

•Unifying purpose - to build cumulative and sound knowledge about human and social process of fundamental significance to individuals, to groups, and to the larger society 

Revisit Your Definition•Research• Is planned, systematic investigation•has testable theories •attempts to study phenomenon through careful description and identification, sometimes controlling and manipulating them to study them in isolation to discover and obtain knowledge.

References• Brown, J. and Rodgers, T. (2002). Doing second language research. Oxford: Oxford University Press.• Perry, Jr., F.L. (2005). Research in applied linguistics: Becoming a discerning consumer. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.• Seliger, H. and Shohamy, E. (1989). Second language research methods. Oxford: Oxford University Press.