DIFFERENT TYPES OF RESEARCH

GENERAL FORMS OF RESEARCH

SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
It is a research method that seeks to explain naturally occurring phenomena in the natural world by generating credible
theories. It is a systematic process that involves formulating hypotheses, testing predictions using relevant data or other
scientific method and finally coming up with a theory.

RESEARCH IN THE HUMANITIES

This seeks to define purpose of human existence by tapping into historical facts and future possibilities. While studies on
natural and social sciences required hard evidence to draw conclusions, this form of research derive explanations from
human experiences that cannot be simply measured by facts and figures alone.

ARTISTIC RESEARCH
This provides alternative approaches to established concepts by conducting practical methods as substitutes for
fundamental and theoretical outcomes. The main purpose of this form of research is to expound on the current
accepted concepts and open them for further interpretation.

Thus the word “artistic” does not solely refer to the arts but rather the kind of approach a researcher assumes in this
type of research.
This research generates new knowledge through artistic practices such as defining new concepts, creating new
processes, and devising new methods

RESEARCH DESIGNS
ACTION RESEARCH
This research design follows a cyclical process.
• First, the researcher identifies a problem and determines a plan of action to address it.
• The action plan is implemented and data is gathered to determine the effects of the action implemented.
• The data gathered during the implementation phase is analyzed and evaluated in order to gain a better
understanding of the problem and determine the effectiveness of the solution implemented.
• This design is appropriate for community-based situations.
CAUSAL DESIGN
• This research explores how a specific change impacts a certain situation. This research design employs
hypothesis that seek to establish a cause-and-effect relationship between variables.
• Essentially, it seeks to determine whether “variable X caused Y”.

DESCRIPTIVE DESIGN
• This design answers who, what, when, where, and how questions related to a particular research problem. This
design is used to obtain information about the present situation to gain understanding of a particular
phenomena.

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
• In this design, the researcher controls the factors and variables related to a certain phenomena and tries to
change or manipulate one or several factors to determine the possible effects.

EXPLORATORY DESIGN
• This focuses on topics or problems which have little or no studies done about them. The purpose is to gain
information and insight that can be used for later researches. This is often used to determine which method or
approach to use for a certain topic or problem.

COHORT DESIGN
• This research identifies a group of people sharing common characteristics who are then studies for a period of
time. The researcher seeks to identify how these groups are affected by certain factors or changes and relates
the information gathered to the research topic or problem.
CROSS-SECTIONAL DESIGN
• This design looks into a large group of people , composed of individuals with varied characteristics. The
researcher seeks to determine how these individuals are affected by a certain and gathers data at a specific
period of time.

LONGITUDINAL DESIGN
• This research follows a group of people over a long period of time. Throughout the period of study, observations
are made on the group to track changes over time and identify factors that may have caused them.

SEQUENTIAL DESIGN
• This research is carried out in stages to gather sufficient data to test the hypothesis. This design is often
combined with a cohort or cross-sectional study as it identifies specific groups for each stages. At the end of
each stage, data is collected and evaluated. If there is insufficient data, the researcher then proceeds to the next
stage with a new group of subjects.

MIXED-METHOOD DESIGN
• This research combines aspects of various research designs and methods. It primarily combines qualitative and
quantitative research methods to gain a complete picture of the research problem and gather data that will fully
determine the validity of the hypothesis.

QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS

APPROACHES TO RESEARCH

QUANTITATIVE APPROACH
 Quantitative researchers gather empirical evidences that are within the realm of senses.
 The method used in the analysis of data is usually statistical in nature. Thus, the resulting information from the
study is usually quantitative or measureable.
 However, one disadvantage of Quantitative research is that it is considered limiting when it comes to studying
the complex and diverse minds of human beings
 -based on numbers and mathematical calculations

QUALITATIVE APPROACH
 One in which the inquirer often makes knowledge claims based primarily on constructivist perspectives (i.e., the
multiple meanings of individual experiences, meanings socially and historically constructed, with an intent of
developing theory or pattern) or advocacy/participatory perspectives.
 It also uses strategies of inquiry such as narratives, phenomenology, ethnographies, grounded theory studies, or
case studies. THE RESEARCHER COLLECTS OPEN-ENDED, EMERGING DATA WITH THE PRIMARY INTENT OF
DEVELOPING THEMES FROM THE DATA
 based on written or spoken narratives
 It focuses on gaining insights and understanding about an individuals perception and interpretation of events.
This type of research collects data through methods such as interviews and participative observation.
 The task of the researcher is to determine the patterns and themes in the acquired data rather than focusing on
testing the hypothesis.
 The researcher does not have to be concerned with numbers and complicated statistical analyses.

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
 is defined as the “naturalistic method of inquiry of research which deals with the issue of human complexity by
exploring it directly.” (Polit and Beck, 2008)
 This type of research focuses on gaining insights and understanding about an individual’s perception and
interpretation of events.
 This type of research collects data through interviews and perceptive observation.
 The task of the researcher is to determine the patterns and themes in the acquired data rather than focusing on
the testing of the hypothesis.

COMMON TYPES OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

• PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY
• this type of research seeks to find the essence or structure of an experience by explaining how complex
meanings are built out of simple units of inner experience.
 • It examines human experiences through the description provided by the respondents.
• the goal of this study is to describe the meaning that experiences hold for each subject.
• Some of the areas of concern for these studies are humanness, self-determination, uniqueness, wholeness, and
individualism.
• Example: What are the common experiences encountered by a teenager with a parent undergoing drug
rehabilitation?
• With the given problem, the researcher has to discover the inner feelings, emotional hardships, and mental
disturbances that the respondent is experiencing.

ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY
 This study involves the collection and analysis of data about cultural groups or minorities.
 In this type of research, the researcher immerses with the people and becomes a part of their culture.
 He or she becomes involved in the everyday activities of the subject and gets to empathize with the cultural
groups experiencing issues and problems in their everyday lives.

HISTORICAL STUDY
 This study is concerned with the identification, location, evaluation, and synthesis of data from the past events.
 This is not only limited to obtaining data from the past, but also involved relating their implications to the
present and future time.
 Example: What were the roles of women in the Katipunan?
 What were the human rights violations experienced by mediamen during martial law?
 The researcher can consult authentic and original resource materials relevant to the problem to determine the
accuracy of information provided in the paper.
Some sources of info for Historical Study
 Documents- printed materials that can be found in the libraries, archives, or personal collections.
 Relics and Artifacts- physical remains or objects from a certain historical period
 Oral Reports- information that is passed on by word of mouth

Data Sources could be classified as:

 Primary Sources- materials providing first-hand information (e.g. oral histories, written records, diaries,
eyewitness accounts, pictures, videos, and other physical evidences).
 Secondary sources- second-hand information such as an account based on an original source, or a material
written as an abstract of the original material.

CASE STUDY
• it is an in-depth examination of an individual, groups of people, or an institution.
• Some of its purposes are to gain insights into a little-known problem, provide background data for broader
studies, and explain socio-psychological and socio-cultural processes.
• it also involves a comprehensive and extensive examination of a particular individual, group, or situation over a
period of time.
• It provides information on where to draw conclusions about the impact of a significant event in a person’s life.
• Example: How do cancer survivors look at life?
• The researcher is able to give an overview of the problem by interviewing a cancer survivor about his/her
experiences.

GROUNDED THEORY STUDY

– The method involves comparing collected units of data against one another until categories, properties, and
hypotheses that states relations between these categories and properties emerge.
– The hypotheses are tentative and suggestive and are not tested in the study.
– Example: Ten school counselors were given structured interviews to help determine how their professional
identity is formed.
– This data was coded first to from concepts. Then connections between these concepts were identified. A core
concept emerged and its process and implications were discussed.

NARRATIVE ANALYSIS
– The main source of data for this type of research are the life accounts of individuals based on their professional
experiences.
– The purpose of this study is to extract meaning context from these experiences.
Types of Narrative analysis
1. Psychological- this involves analyzing the story in terms of internal thoughts and motivations. It also analyzes the
written text or spoken words for its components parts or pattern.
2. Biographical- This takes the individual’s society and factors like gender and class into account.
3. Discourse Analysis- this studies the approach in which language is used in text and context.

CRITICAL QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

• This type of research seeks to bring about change and empower individuals by describing and critiquing social,
cultural, and psychological perspectives on present-day context.
• For example, a critical examination of consumer education texts used in adult literacy programs revealed
content that was disrespectful for adult learners, their previous experience as consumers, and promoted certain
ideologies regarding consumerism. The text also defended the current situation by blaming individual
inadequacies for economic troubles, ignoring social inequalities (Sandlin, 2000)

Strengths and Weaknesses of Qualitative Research

STRENGTHS
1. The study requires a few cases of participants.
2. It is useful for describing complex phenomena.
3. Issues can be examined in detail and in depth.
4. Interviews are not restricted to specific questions and can be guided or redirected by the researcher in real time.
5. Subtleties and complexities about the research subjects or topic are often missed by more positivistic inquiries.
6. It provides individual case information.
7. Cross-case comparison and analysis can be conducted.
8. It provides understanding and description of people’s personal experiences of phenomena
9. It can describe in detail the phenomena as they are situated and embedded in local contexts.
10. The researcher usually identifies contextual and setting factors ass they relate to the phenomenon of interest.
11. The researcher can study dynamic processes
12. The researcher can use the primary qualitative method of grounded theory to inductively generate a tentative
but explanatory theory about a phenomena.
13. It can determine how participants interpret concepts/ideas
14. Data are usually collected in naturalistic settings.
15. Qualitative approaches are especially responsive to local situations, conditions, and stakeholders’ needs
16. Qualitative data in the words and categories of participants lend themselves to exploring how and why a
particular phenomena occur
17. You can use an important case to vividly demonstrate a phenomenon to the readers.
18. It can determine idiographic (concrete or unique) causation or causes of a particular event.

Weaknesses (Anderson, 2010)

1. The knowledge produce may not be applicable to other people or other settings.
2. Inflexibility is more difficult to maintain, assess, and demonstrate.
3. It is sometimes not as well understood and accepted as quantitative research within the scientific community.
4. The researcher’s presence during data gathering which is often unavoidable in qualitative research, can affect
the subject’s responses.
5. Issues of anonymity and confidentiality can present problems when presenting findings.
6. It is difficult to make quantitative predictions.
7. It is more difficult to test hypothesis and theories with large participant pools.
8. It might have lower credibility with some administrators and commissioners of programs.
9. It generally takes more time to collect the data compared to quantitative research.
10. Data analysis is often time consuming.
11. The results are more easily influenced by the researcher’s personal biases and peculiarities.

RESEARCH TITLE, SOURCES AND CONSIDERATIONS

RESEARCH TITLE
A research title prefaces the study by providing a summary of the main idea and is usually short and concise.

CHARACTERISTICS OF A RESEARCH TITLE

1. It should summarize the main idea of the paper.
2. It should be a concise statement of the main topic.
3. It should include the major variables of the research study.
 4. It should be self-explanatory.
5. It should describe or imply the participants of the study.

RESEARCH PROBLEM
 The research problem states the area of concern of the research paper whether it is a circumstance needing
development, a difficulty requiring attention, or an inquiry necessitating an answer.
 This section sets the direction of the research study as it provides the foundation for the research hypothesis
and defines what kind of research study is suitable to address the problem.
 However, it is important to note that this section should only state the problem and not preface or suggest a
solution for it.
Sources of Research Problem
Research problems can be commonly based from circumstances with the following characteristics:
 It conveys a feeling of discomfort or difficulty.
 It has a perceived difficulty in broad subjects such as family affairs, home management and leadership system.
 It displays a gap between theory and practice: what is said by the elders and what the students see and observe.
 It utilizes a procedure requiring technologically advanced equipment
 It involves the experiences of any kind of individual.
 It shows some kind of patterns or trends.
 It makes use of literature reviews, continuous readings and past studies. These readings can lead a student to a
topic, and its scope and clues for further studies. The repetition of a prior research study in a different setting
and time is called replication.
 It relates to an individual’s curiosity and interest.

A discerned problem is said to be researchable when the following criteria are met:
1. Solutions are available but not yet tested and not yet known by the practitioner.
2. No solutions are available to answer the gap or the problem being assessed.
3. When the given answers or solutions, as well as the possible results, are seemingly untested or are factually
contradictory with each other.
4. A phenomenon requiring an explanation has occurred.
5. There are several possible and plausible explanations for the existence of an undesirable condition.

CONSIDERATIONS IN FORMULATING THE RESEARCH PROBLEM

Barrientos-Tan (1997) discusses the different criteria for choosing a research problem. These are as follows:
1. EXTERNAL CRITERIA
a. Novelty- this refers to the practical value of the problem due to its “newness” in the field of inquiry.
b. Availability of Subjects- This refers to the people with the desired capability and willingness to participate in the
study.
c. Availability and Adequacy of Facilities and Equipment- Devices such as computers and telephones used in
undertaking the study must be considered.
d. Ethical Considerations- these include the avoidance of research problems that pose unethical demands on the
part of participants.

2. INTERNAL CRITERIA
a. Experience, training, and qualifications of the researcher
- these constitutes the researcher’s knowledge and expertise as a result of experience and study.
b. Motivation, Interest, intellectual curiosity, and perceptiveness of the researcher
- These are essential attitudes that bring anticipated satisfaction or enjoyment in the completion of
research task.
c. Time Factor- This considers the fact that studies must be pursued within the given time frame.
d. Hazards, penalties, and handicaps- these depend upon the researcher’s physical and intellectual capacity
and moral judgement
e. Costs and Returns- these factors matter in choosing a research problem. Research is an expensive undertaking.
The amount of funding needed, after all, depends on the size of the sample, the place where the research is to
be conducted, the treatment of the data, and the kind of research design.