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Introductory Concepts and Definitions

This document introduces key concepts and definitions related to research. It discusses research as a disciplined inquiry aimed at answering questions to learn more about the world. Research is driven by questions and aims to find answers through either secondary research (reviewing what others have said) or primary research (conducting original data collection and investigation). Research can be classified based on the research strategy, purpose (explanatory, descriptive, exploratory), or location (library, natural environment, fieldwork, laboratory). Different research paradigms exist that are grounded in objective versus subjective and quantitative versus qualitative approaches.

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Lina Demian
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28 views

Introductory Concepts and Definitions

This document introduces key concepts and definitions related to research. It discusses research as a disciplined inquiry aimed at answering questions to learn more about the world. Research is driven by questions and aims to find answers through either secondary research (reviewing what others have said) or primary research (conducting original data collection and investigation). Research can be classified based on the research strategy, purpose (explanatory, descriptive, exploratory), or location (library, natural environment, fieldwork, laboratory). Different research paradigms exist that are grounded in objective versus subjective and quantitative versus qualitative approaches.

Uploaded by

Lina Demian
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Introductory concepts

and definitions
Dr. Codruta Gosa
[email protected]

Major issues to be discussed

Introductory concepts
Ethics in research
The research proposal
Quantitative research: logic,
methodology, methods, analysis
Data analysis in quantitative research
Qualitative research: logic,
methodology, methods, analysis
Data analysis in qualitative research
The research report

What is research?

In the most profound sense,


research simply means trying to
find answers to questionsto
learn more about the world
around us. Or in short,
research is disciplined inquiry.
(Drnyei, 2007: 15)

Keywords

Rigorous
Systematic
Through appropriate
Research question(s)
Research method(s)

Research is Question(s)
driven

Think

of your BA

paper
Try

to formulate a
question that drives
it

Two ways to find answers to


questions

By looking at what other people


have said (labelled as
secondary, conceptual,
library research)
By conducting your own databased investigation (labelled as
primary, empirical research)

Classification of research

According to the research


strategies
According to the purpose of
research
According to the basic
location of research

Types of research: purpose of


research
Explanatory:

seeks an
explanation of a situation or
problem (causal relationships),
quantitative and/or qualitative

Experiments

are seen as most


appropriate for explanatory work

Descriptive: seeks to elicit the


characteristics of a particular
social phenomena from a
certain group of people, i.e.
present a certain social status
quo
Surveys

are seen as most


appropriate for descriptive work

Exploratory: to find out what is


happening, seek new insights,
to assess phenomena in anew
light, usually qualitative
Case

studies are seen as most


appropriate for exploratory work

Types of research: in the field,


at the desk?

Library
Natural environment: associated
with ethnography (the researcher
becomes part of the group under
study)
Fieldwork: used to refer to the
collection of data using
observational methods
Laboratory

Research paradigms
They are both ontologically and
epistemologically grounded

Objective versus subjective


Quantitative versus qualitative

References
Drnyei, Z, 2007: Research Methods in
Applied Linguistics, Oxford: Oxford
University Press
Hatch, E.M., Lazaraton, A. 1991: The
Research Manual: Design and Statistics
for Applied Linguistics, New York;
Newbury House
Mason, J., 2002: Qualitative Researching
(2nd ed.), London, Thousand Oaks, New
Delhi: Sage
, (2nd ed)Oxford: Blackwell

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