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EIE 510 LECTURE NOTESRESEARCH METHODOLOGY
1 UNIT
Course Details
INTRODUCTION: Definition of Research, definition of
development, reasons for research, difference between
research and development.
Literature survey, Research proposal writing, data
collection and analysis, data mining, presentation of
technical information and Technical report writing
Intellectual property and patents, Turning research
findings into useful products, Prototyping and copyright
transfer.
Generating theorems from Research findings.
,What is Research?
Research is a systematic inquiry to describe, explain, predict and control the observed phenomenon.
To research is to purposely and methodically search for new knowledge and practical solutions in the
form of answers to questions formulated beforehand. Research is also defined as a systematic inquiry
that investigates hypotheses, suggests new interpretations of data or texts, and poses new questions for
future research to explore.
Usually Research consists of:
Asking a question that nobody has asked before;
Doing the necessary work to find the answer; and
Communicating the knowledge you have acquired to a larger audience.
Research is not a solitary activity –but an act of community. As a member of the research community,
you are building on the knowledge that others have acquired before you and providing a road map for
those who come after you. You are adding to a body of work that will never be complete. Research is
an ongoing, collaborative process with no finish line in sight.
According to Babbie, 1998, Research involves inductive and deductive methods. Inductive methods
analyze the observed phenomenon and identify the general principles, structures, or processes
underlying the phenomenon observed; deductive methods verify the hypothesized principles through
observations. The purposes are different: one (inductive method) is aimed at or directed to develop
explanations, and the other (deductive method) is aimed at or directed to test the validity of the
explanations.
Types of Knowledge that Research Contributes to Education:
, The following are the types of knowledge that research contributes to education:
1. Description: Results of research can describe natural or social phenomenon, such as
its form, structure, activity, change over time, relationship to other phenomena, etc.
The descriptive function of research relies on instrumentation for measurement and
observations. The descriptive research results in our understanding of what happened.
It sometimes produces statistical information about aspects of education. For example
if I carry out a research to describe the throughput obtained in IEEE802.11b WLAN
System, one of the major contributions to knowledge will be descriptive data which
describes the throughput based on certain agreed or defined parameters.
2. Prediction: Prediction research is intended to predict a phenomenon that will occur at
time Y from information at an earlier time X. It could also be to predict parameter A
(dependent variable) based on parameter B (independent variable). This usually
requires that models or equations be developed from collected data which can predict
the dependent variable from the independent variable. In educational research,
researchers have been engaged in:
o Acquiring knowledge about factors that predict students' success in schools
and in the world of work
o Identifying students who are likely to be unsuccessful so that prevention
programs can be instituted.
3. Improvement: This type of research is mainly concerned with the effectiveness of
intervention. The research approach includes experimental design and evaluation
research. It is aimed at providing improvement on an already established research or
fact.
4. Explanation: This type of research subsumes the other three: if the researchers are
able to explain an educational phenomenon, it means that they can describe, can
predict its consequences, and know how to intervene to change those consequences.
What are the Purposes of Research?
Patton (1990) pointed out the importance of identifying the purpose in a research process. He
classified four types of research based on different purposes:
1. Basic Research: The purpose of this research is to understand and explain, i.e. the
research is interested in formulating and testing theoretical construct and propositions
that ideally generalize across time and space. This type of research takes the form of a
theory that explains the phenomenon under investigation to give its contribution to
knowledge. This research is more descriptive in nature exploring what, why and how
questions.
2. Applied Research: The purpose of this research is to help people understand the
nature of human problems so that human beings can more effectively control their
environment. In other words, this type of research pursues potential solutions to
human and societal problems. This research is more prescriptive in nature, focusing
on how questions.
3. Evaluation Research (summative and formative): Evaluation research studies the
processes and outcomes aimed at attempted solution. The purpose of formative
research is to improve human intervention within specific conditions, such as
activities, time, and groups of people; the purpose of summative evaluation is to judge
the effectiveness of a program, policy, or product.
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