course: 124 Introduction to Educational Research

Research - Its Meaning and Definitions

Etymologically, the word ‘Research’ is derived from the French word ‘recherché’ which means ‘to seek again’.

Although human beings have not yet devised any perfect method of finding solutions to their problems found worthy of investigation, there is a general transition from acquiring knowledge based on customs, tradition, culture, authority and experience to the use of research incorporating the scientific method.

Research is a systematic attempt at seeking answers to meaningful questions about events, processes or phenomena through the application of the scientific method. In other words, research is a formal, logical, methodical and rigorous process aimed at discovering new knowledge and solving problems.

The advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English defines research as “a careful investigation or inquiry especially through search for new facts in any branch of knowledge.”

According to Kerlinger, “Scientific research is empirical and critical investigation of hypothetical propositions about the presumed relations among natural phenomena.”

On the other hand, Redman and Mory define research in a simplistic manner as a “systematized effort to gain new knowledge.” This is one of the earlier definitions of research.

Young defines social research as “the systematic method of discovering new facts or verifying old facts, their sequences, interrelationships, causal explanations and the natural laws which govern them.”‘.

Based on the preceding definitions, it may be said that research is an academic activity aimed at making original contribution to the available stock of knowledge thereby leading to progress and advancement. Research enables an individual to comprehend reality through a logical array of processed data and information. This is very clear from the definition of research as “a studious inquiry or examination, especially a critical and exhaustive investigation or experimentation having for its aim the discovery of new facts and their correct interpretation, the revision of accepted conclusions, theories or laws in the light of newly discovered facts or the practical application of such conclusions, theories or laws.” This definition implies that there is no research without discovery of new knowledge.

Need of Research as a Scientific Activity
Need of research can be as follows:

1.      It contributes to systematic and scientific development of new theories, laws and principles, i.e. creation of new knowledge in the academic discipline of education.

2.      It helps in testing existing theories and modifying them if necessary.

3.      To determining and describing the past and the present status of phenomena.

4.      Its purpose is to trace growth, developmental history, change and status of certain phenomena.

5.      It helps in ascertaining the nature, composition and processes that characterize selected events or phenomena.

6.      It is aimed at solving problems faced by practitioners in the field of education including teachers and principals.

7.      To prediction and ultimate control of events.

8.      It contributes to creating educational policies.

9.      Its purpose can be to study the cause-and-effect relationships among
and between certain phenomena.

10.  It is aimed at providing explanation of phenomena.

11.  Its purpose can include programme evaluation and improvement.

12.  It can be undertaken to understand events, processes, structure of phenomena and gain knowledge for its own sake. i.e. for intellectual curiosity.

Characteristics of Research
Characteristics of research are as follows:

1)      It is directed towards the solution of a problem. It therefore has specific goals.

2)       It is aimed at developing principles, laws, theories and generalizations to predict future occurrences. For example, if a researcher generalizes that school climate has a positive relationship with job satisfaction of teachers, it may be possible to predict that if the climate of a particular school is conducive, the job satisfaction of teachers in that school is expected to be high.

3)       It is based on observation, experience and experiments i.e. on empirical evidence. It is not based on conceptual or speculative thoughts of an individual.

4)      It requires accurate observation and description of phenomena, events, processes or structure. These observations and descriptions could be measured using quantitative measuring devices or qualitative verbal, in-depth narrations.

5)      It is based on the works of others i.e. on prior conceptual and empirical literature.

6)      It requires expertise. The researcher needs to know the existing subject-matter on the topic and how others have studied this topic in the past. This knowledge can be acquired through a review of related literature.

7)      It answers unsolved questions in an original manner, i.e. a good research study is original in nature and not a mere repetition of what others have done. However, sometimes, previously conducted studies can be replicated (repeated) deliberately using similar procedures on different samples, in different settings and at a different time. This could be done so as to confirm previous findings or to raise questions about the findings of a prior study. Sometimes
it is conducted to study the changes in the phenomena.

8)      It involves collecting new data from primary or first-hand sources. However, it may also use existing secondary data collected by other researchers to answer new questions. More reorganization of rearrangement of already known facts cannot be termed as research.

9)      It is an objective, rational, unbiased and logical activity. The researcher attempts to eliminate his/her personal bias in selecting the sample, collecting data, analyzing and interpreting findings.

10)  It uses carefully designed procedures, reliable and valid tools, unbiased and representative samples and applies rigorous analysis to data.

11)   It needs to be recorded and reported carefully. The report needs to carry definition of important terms, details of tools, sample and methods, references and objectively arrived at conclusions. These need to be reported with scholarly caution and in an un-emotional manner. Findings should not contain value judgments.

12)   Reporting and publishing research findings sometimes necessitate courage. For example, if an agency gives financial aid to a researcher for evaluating a programme being conducted and if the researcher finds the programme to be of poor quality the researcher needs to report the findings without fear (even if it implies that next time he / she will not get research grant or assignment from the agency).

13)  Research can be replicated.

14)  Its findings can be generalized to other settings.

15)  It is incremental in nature. i.e. each research study makes some contribution to existing body of knowledge and leads to further research.

16)  It is cyclic in nature as it generates new questions.

17)   It should be confined for the benefit and improvement of society.

  

Research Cycle

The various steps involved in the research process can be summarized as shown in figure.

Let us now try to understand this process with the help of an example.

Step 1: Identifying the Gap in Knowledge

The researcher, based on experience and observation realizes that some students in the class do not perform well in the examination. Therefore, he / she pose an unanswered question: “Which factors are associated with students’ academic performance?”

Step 2: Identifying the Antecedent Causes

Based on experience, observation and a review of related literature, he / she realize that students who are either very anxious or not at all anxious do not perform well in the examination. Thus, he / she identify anxiety as one of the factors that could be associated with students’
academic performance.

Step 3: Stating the Goals

The researcher now states the goals of the study:

       I. To ascertain the relationship of anxiety with academic performance
      of students.

    II.To ascertain the gender differences in the anxiety and academic performance of students. .

 III.To ascertain the gender difference in the relationship of anxiety with academic performance    

  of students. ’

Step 4: Formulating Hypotheses

The researcher may state his / her hypotheses as follows:

1. There is a significant relationship between anxiety and academic performance of students.
2. There is a significant gender difference in the anxiety and academic performance of students.
3. There is n significant gender difference in the relationship of anxiety with academic performance of students.

Step 5: Collecting Relevant Information

The researcher uses appropriate tools and techniques to measure anxiety and academic performance of students, selects a sample of students and collects data from them.

Step 6: Testing the Hypotheses

He / she now use appropriate statistical techniques to verify and test the hypotheses of the study stated in Step 4.

Step 7: Interpreting the Findings

He / she interpret the findings in terms of whether the relationship between anxiety and academic performance is positive or negative, linear or curvilinear. He/she finds that this relationship is curvilinear i.e. when a student’s anxiety is either very low or very high, his / her academic performance is found to be low. However, when a student’s anxiety is moderate, his/her academic performance is found to be high. He/she now tries to explain this finding based on logic and creativity.

Step 8: Comparing the Findings with prior researchers’ Findings

At this step, the researcher tries to find out whether his/her conclusion matches those of the prior researchers or not. If not, then the researcher attempts to find out why conclusions do not match with other researchers by analyzing prior studies further.

Step 9: Modifying Theory

Based on steps 7 and 8, the researcher speculates that anxiety alone cannot influence academic performance of students. There could be a third factor, which influences the relationship between anxiety and academic performance of students. This third factor could be study habits of students. For instance, students who have very low level of anxiety may have neglected their studies throughout the year and hence their academic performance is poor. On the other hand, students who have very high level of anxiety may not be able to remember what they have learnt or cannot concentrate on studies due to stress or may fall sick very often and hence cannot study properly. Hence, their academic performance is poor. However, students with a moderate level of anxiety are motivated enough to study regularly and systematically all through the year and
hence their academic performance is high. Thus, the loosely structured theory on students academic performance need to incorporate one more variable, namely, study habits of students. In other words, it needs to be modified.

Step 10: Asking New Questions

Do study habits and anxiety interact with each other and influence academic performance of students? i.e. we can now start with a fresh topic of research involving three variables rather than two.