Chapter 2

Principles of research
Introduction
 Research has originated from man's curiosity and

developed though the centuries by the application of

logical and then scientific moods of thinking.
 Although the process of conducting research has been

going under constant modifications, certain principles

have been established, consolidated, and become
conventional in research.
 A) characteristics of research

major principles of B) Goals of research

research
C) Kinds of research

D) Steps in conducting research

 1) Research is Systematic

2) Research is Logical
A) Characteristics
of 3) Research is Reductive
research
4) Research is Replicable

5) Research is Generative
Research is Systematic
 That is, a researcher should employ a structured procedure.
Every step in research, from the beginning to the end,
should follow certain pre- established rules and regulations.
 Contrary to beliefs that the real world is not controllable and

it exists beyond the capacity of human mind, scientists

believe that there is uniformity in nature and many natural
events happen quite systematically in the world. They also
believe that generalizations can be formulated only by
observing and classifying systematic events.
 Most generalizations are made on the basis of the

principle of "constancy" in nature. Constancy means

that some phenomena do not change their basic

characteristics in a given period of time.

 The concepts of constancy and uniformity in nature

form the foundation of "systematic approach" in

research.

 Thus to be systematic is a relative term and its degree

depends on the kind, nature, and area of research.

2) Research is logical

 In formulating a question, in choosing a systematic

way, in interpreting the results, and in making

conclusions and generalizations, logic plays an
important role.
3) Research is reductive
 Reductively in research has both conceptual and practical implications. As a

conceptual phenomenon, it refers to observing, classifying, and thus reducing many

individual instances into a general statement. This helps researchers to avoid

complications which originate from too many individual cases.

 As a practical phenomenon, reductivity refers to deducing researchers'

responsibility. This means findings to one researcher is transferred to other

researchers to present them from repeating the same research.

 In scientific studies, a phenomenon is not discovered all at once or by one scientist.

Scientists will have neither time nor facilities to uncover all the parameters of a

phenomenon in their lifetime. Therefore, their findings will be transmitted to other

scientists, even sometimes to scientists of other generations. And they will pursue

the investigation on the basis of the findings of previous researchers.

4) Research is replicable
 Many researchers may want to confirm the findings of the previous research in a new

environment, with a new group of subjects, or at a different point in time.

 Although the procedure followed in the original research and in the follow – up

research may be quite similar, the two research projects may lead to different outcomes.
 Replication acts as a validation technique research. It should be carried out with great

care.
 It is of utmost importance for all researchers to report their projects with great care.

Otherwise, the discrepancies the findings similar research projects conducted at

different places or times will not be justifiable, not because of the procedures followed

in the new research but because of the incomplete, inappropriate, or incomprehensive

reports upon which replications have been made.

Research is generative )5
 The feeling that all questions are potentially

answerable through conducting research. This is an

unjustified feeling because of two main reasons.

 First, human beings possess an incredible intellectual

capacity through which an endless number of

questions can be set forth.

 Second, is the generative nature of research.

 Through the process of research, however, researchers
face many unexpected situations in which different
factors interact and create new situations leading to
new questions. This is not of the most valuable
characteristics of research because answering one
question leads to generating many other new
questions.
 That is how science develops.
 The answer to one question leads to the generation of
other questions. This generativeity of research implies
that there is no end to research. Nor is there an end to
human activities to finding new facts and relations
among facts because research always generates new
areas for further research.
 1) Description

2)Prediction
Goals of research
3) Improvement

4) Explanation

Through following a systematic and logical method, researchers

try to achieve the goals set forth by scientists for the
development of science. The main goals of scientific research
are to describe, to predict, to improve, and to explain a
phenomenon.
1) Description
 One of the major goals of research is to describe

natural or man–made phenomena – how they are

formed, what their structures are, how they function,
how they develop or change over time, how they relate
to other phenomena, and so on.
 Description is often based on the information

obtained from some sort of instrumentation such as

observations (direct or indirect), questionnaires, or
paper and pencil tests.
2) Prediction

 A major objective of a researcher is to go beyond

description and try to predict the future course of

action with a fairly high degree of confidence.
 Accumulating knowledge through description will

enable the researcher to predict a phenomenon that

may occur at a particular time in future.
3) Improvement
 Research is to help scholars answer questions in order to

solve some of the pressing problems of human life. The

findings of research in education should help educators
improve the quality of education. There are numerous
factors contributing to the effectiveness of language
teaching and learning.

 When the importance and effectiveness of any given

factor is determined, it would help language educators

to improve the quality of their instruction.
4) Explanation
 The ultimate goal of research is to explain phenomena. If

researchers can explain a phenomenon, it means that they

can describe, predict, and control the improvement of that
phenomenon with a certain degree of certainty and accuracy.

 Researchers are not even interested in generalizations that

explain a limited body of facts. They are rather in query of

formulating theories and finding laws. That is, they want to
go beyond simple generalizations and try to find the most
comprehensive explanations for the phenomena.
Kinds and Methods of research
These two terms are usually, but erroneously, used interchangeably.

These terms are not synonymous. The term kind refers to the

nature of research, whereas method refers to the procedures

employed in order to answer the research question. In terms of

kind, there are two kinds of research called exploratory and

confirmatory. Each of these kinds has two levels of pure and

applied. In terms of method, however, there exists a variety of

methods in research. Historical, descriptive, and experimental

methods are three major methods each of which gas some sub

categorizations.
Kinds and Methods of research

1) Exploratory and Confirmatory

2) Pure and Applied Research

1) Exploratory and Confirmatory

 Exploratory research is to explore the mysteries of the

universe.
 Many discoveries and inventions have been partially the

outcome of exploratory research. Conducting exploratory

research is quite difficult because there is no helpful
guideline for the researcher to follow.
 On the other hand, confirmatory research refers to exact or

partial replication of previous research in order to consolidate

already discovered facts and relations among facts.
2) Pure and Applied Research

 Pure research is, in simple terms, research for the sake of research. This

kind of research is conducted to find out the relationship among different

factors. A pure researcher is not very much concerned with the

applications or implications of his findings to the real world. He tries to

uncover new relations, to add to human body of knowledge, and to

formulate generalization and laws.

 Applied research, on the other hand, attempts to utilize the findings of the

pure research. An applied researcher tries to apply the findings of pure

researchers to the real world. Applied researchers are mainly responsible

for the good or the evil of the findings.

 The two dimensions of classification of the kind of research, i. e.,

pure vs. applied and confirmatory vs. exploratory, are not

mutuality exclusive. That is, a research project can be exploratory

and pure or exploratory and applied; or it can be confirmatory

and pure or confirmatory and applied. In other words, these two

dimensions operate independently from one another.

 A major difference between natural and social sciences is the

nature of the phenomenon under investigation. The major

subject of investigation in social sciences is human being and

contexts in which human beings are involved.

 The findings of research in social sciences are not as

straightforward or concrete as those of physical sciences.

Another important difference between natural and social
sciences is that in the former, events either repeat themselves
or can be repeated under experimental condition. In the
latter, however, phenomena are not repeatable, at least with
precision. In most cases, human beings change form
moment to moment. That's why in social sciences,
researchers are more cautious and make more probabilistic
statements than they are in natural sciences.
 1) forming a research question
Steps 2)selecting an appropriate research method
in 3) testing the research hypothesis
Conducting Research 4)preparing the research report

A systematic approach simply means that a researcher

should observe certain established principles and
follow certain steps. These steps should be followed in
such an order that they would lead the researcher from
the question to the answer in the most efficient way
possible.
Forming a research question
 Formulating a research question is the starting point for

research. The researcher feels a problem, observes some relevant

events, and a question. In order for the researcher to process the
question and get to the answer, the research question should be
changed into a hypothesis. A hypothesis is a tentative statement
about the outcome of research.
 In order to state a hypothesis, the researcher should identify the

factors involved in research. A hypothesis usually states a

relationship between two or more factors. These factors are
called variables.
Selecting an appropriate
 There are many methods available to researchers. In order

to select the most suitable and efficient method, the

researcher should construct a research design. A research
design is a schematic representation of the factors
involved in research. There are different research designs
depending on the nature, kind, number, and
characteristics of the factors being investigated.
Constructing research designs will facilitate researchers'
task in selecting an appropriate method.
Testing the research hypothesis
 In order to test the hypotheses, the researcher should
collect information on the factors involved in research.
This process is called data collection.
 When data are collected, they should be analyzed. The
process of data analysis often requires statistical
techniques. It is important for researchers to utilize
appropriate statistical procedures.
 After analyzing the data, the researcher should
interpret the results of the analysis. Interpretation of
the results is a delicate part of the hypothesis testing
process because, at this stage, the researcher may get
trapped in potential misinterpretations.
Preparing the research report
The purpose of preparing a report is to share the
findings with other researchers. Through the
research report, the researchers allow other to read
and thus become informed about the findings of
research. The report should be written following
one of the internationally accepted styles.
The End