EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH 2.

It adopts primary and secondary research

refers to the systematic collection and analysis of methods in its data collection process.
data related to the field of education. It applies This means that in educational research, the
empirical methods and well-defined scientific investigator relies on first-hand sources of
processes to solve challenges in education which information and secondary data to arrive at a
includes student learning, teaching methods, suitable conclusion.
teacher training, and classroom dynamics
Educational Research is directed towards the Primary research is a type of research that
solution of a problem and knowledge requires the researcher to participate directly in
advancement in the field of education. the data-gathering process. In primary research,
the researcher does not depend on already
PURPOSES OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH existing data, rather he or she collects first-hand
The primary purpose of educational information which serves as research materials
research is to expand the existing body of for the systematic investigation.
knowledge by providing solutions to different
problems in pedagogy while improving teaching Secondary research is a type of research
and learning practices. approach in which the researcher relies solely on
Educational researches also seek answers existing research materials rather than gather
to questions bothering on learner-motivation, data directly for research. This research approach
development, and classroom management. is less expensive and time-efficient unlike
primary research. Data for secondary research
IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATIONAL can be accessed from the internet, archive,
RESEARCH libraries, educational institutions and
• Educational research plays a crucial role organisational reports.
in knowledge advancement across 3. It relies on empirical evidence. This results
different fields of study. from its largely scientific approach.
• It provides answers to practical 4. It is objective and accurate because it measures
educational challenges using scientific verifiable information.
methods. 5. It combines structured, semi-structured and
• Findings from educational research; unstructured questions to gather verifiable
especially applied research, are data from respondents.
instrumental in policy reformulation. 6. In educational research, the researcher adopts
• For the researcher and other parties specific methodologies, detailed procedures,
involved in this research approach, and analysis to arrive at the most objective
educational research improves learning, responses.
knowledge, skills, and understanding. Educational research findings are useful in the
• Educational research improves teaching development of principles and theories that
and learning methods by empowering the provide better insights into pressing issues.
teacher with data to help teach and lead
more strategically and effectively. CLASSIFICATION OF EDUCATIONAL
• Educational research helps students apply RESEARCH
their knowledge to practical situations. Based on functionality, educational research
can be classified into fundamental research,
CHARACTERISTICS OF EDUCATIONAL applied research, and action research.
RESEARCH
1. It sets out to solve a specific problem.
 Fundamental Research - The primary cooperative learning activities of
purpose of fundamental research is to provide Grade 6.
insights into the research variables; that is, to gain TYPES OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH
more knowledge. Fundamental research does not A. Descriptive Research
solve any specific problems. B. Correlational Research
Examples: C. Experimental Research
1. An investigation looking at what whether
stress levels influence how often students A. DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH
engage in academic cheating. Descriptive research is a type of research that
2. A study looking at how caffeine describes a population, situation, or phenomenon
consumptions impacts the brain of that is being studied. It focuses on answering the
learners. how, what, when, and where questions of a research
3. A study seeking whether men or women problem, rather than the why.
are more likely to suffer from depression. Example:
A school administrator wants to determine
Applied Research - is a research approach the enrolment trend in his institution. He needs to
that seeks to solve specific problems. Findings understand what the current state of the
from applied research are useful in solving institution is, how the enrolment changes
practical challenges in the educational sector such (increasing or decreasing), and when it changes
as improving teaching methods, modifying (year) before asking for the why. This is where
learning curricula, and simplifying pedagogy. descriptive research comes in.
Examples: This is mainly because it is important to have
1. The study on the most effective vaccine a proper understanding of what a research
against COVID 19. problem is about before investigating why it
2. The effect of immediate and delayed exists in the first place.
students’ feedback on student’s In descriptive research, the researcher merely
achievement. seeks to collect data with regards to the status quo
or present situation of things. The core of
Action Research - is tailored to solve descriptive research lies in defining the state and
immediate problems that are specific to a context characteristics of the research subject being
such as educational challenges in a local primary understudied.
school. The goal of action research is to proffer
solutions that work in this context and to solve Types of Descriptive Research
general or universal challenges in the educational • Developmental Research–looks at
sector. changes in behavior or knowledge across
Examples: years, growth or maturation.
1. Effects on the quality of student Cross-
writing when peer editing is sectional–
implemented throughout Grade 9 multiple
English classes. ages
2. The impact of computers to the studied
students writing process in grade 4 simultaneo
classrooms. usly. Ex. A
3. Effects of heterogenous groups to study on
students; academic performance in Students
wearing
 eye glasses Ex. Study on the most popular social
Longitudin media platform for students.
al–same • Ex post facto (After the fact)– Uses data
group that have already been collected. It seeks
studied to explain the present by looking at data
across from the past. It is Also called “causal-
time. comparative”. Ex. Study on the academic
Ex. Children’s vocabulary growth and performance of malnourished children in
Students achievement school.
Study on the Academic Achievement of
• Case study–strives for an in-depth the Grade I pupils who attended
understanding of a single situation or preschool versus those who did not
phenomenon. A case can be a person, attend.
program, institution, project or a concept. Examples of Descriptive Research:
Ex. Case: Special
education • Comparing Student Performance
teachers use Comparison of the performances of junior
bilingual in high school students in English language and
instructions?
Mathematics.
Case:
Students
who has • Scientific Classification
trouble to Scientific classification of plants, animals, and
read. periodic table elements, the characteristics and
components of each subject are evaluated and
• Correlational–to determine if a used to determine how they are classified.
relationship exists between two variables Example: Living things may be classified into
measured on the same individual. kingdom Plantae or kingdom animal is
Ex. Is there a relationship between family depending on their nature. Further classification
income and GWA of students. may group animals into mammals, pieces,
vertebrae, invertebrate, etc.
• Normative Survey– establishes norms for
abilities, performances, beliefs and • Human Behavior
attitudes on samples of people of different Studying human behaviour based on a factor
ages, genders and other classifications. or event, the researcher observes the
Ex. An achievement test of Grade 6 in characteristics, behaviour, and reaction, then use
Filipino in Public schools in Bataan was if to conclude. This may be done by observing
studied and the result of this will be then
how its target reacts to a competitor's product,
compared to the regional norm.
then use it to determine their behaviour.
• Survey–the most common type of
descriptive research. It tries to ascertain Why Use Descriptive Research Design?
It is used in multiple ways by different
opinions and practices through interviews
organizations, and especially when getting the
and questionnaires. It makes comparison,
required information about their target audience.
determine trends, reveals
Descriptive research can be used to
strengths/weaknesses, uses information
investigate the background of a research problem
for decision-making.
and get the required information needed to carry
out further research. It is used in multiple ways Examples:
by different organizations, and especially when • Research to discover the relationship
getting the required information about their between students' behaviors and
target audience classroom performance.
• Define subject characteristics: • A study into the relationship between
It is used to determine the characteristics of the students' social skills and their learning
subjects, including their traits, behaviour, behaviors.
opinion, etc. This information may be gathered
with the use of surveys, which are shared with C. EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH
the respondents who in this case, are the research A scientific approach to research, where one
subjects. or more independent variables are manipulated
Ex: A survey evaluating the number of hours and applied to one or more dependent variables
millennials in a community spends on the to measure their effect on the latter. It is based on
internet weekly. the comparison between two or more groups
with a straightforward logic, which may,
• Measure Data Trends however, be difficult to execute. It adopts
It helps to measure the changes in data over quantitative research methods in order to
some time through statistical methods. determine the cause and effect in terms of the
Ex: The use of Digital Literacy as a platform research variables being studied. This method is
for the last ten years. widely used in physical and social sciences,
psychology, and education.
• Validate existing conditions It involves two groups – the control group
When you are not sure about the validity of and the experimental group. The researcher
an existing condition, you can use descriptive introduces some changes to the experimental
research to ascertain the underlying patterns of group such as a change in environment or a
the research object. This is because descriptive catalyst, while the control group is left in its
research methods make an in-depth analysis of natural state. The introduction of these catalysts
each variable before making conclusions. allows the researcher to determine the causative
factor(s) in the experiment. At the core of
• Comparison experimental educational research lies the
Descriptive research is also used to compare formulation of a hypothesis and so, the overall
how different demographics respond to certain research design relies on statistical analysis to
variables. approve or disprove this hypothesis. The effect of
Ex: An organization may study how IV on DV is usually observed and recorded over
people with different income levels react to the some time, to aid researchers in drawing a
launch of a new mobile phone. reasonable conclusion regarding the relationship
between these 2 variable types.
B. CORRELATIONAL RESEARCH
A type of research that seeks insights into Types of Experimental Research Design
the statistical relationship between two research A. Pre-experimental Design
variables. This type of research is descriptive, Pre-experimental design is a research format
unlike experimental research that relies entirely in which some basic experimental attributes are
on scientific methodology and hypothesis. used while some are not. With this factor causes
In correlational research, the researcher an experiment to not qualify as truly
studies two variables intending to establish a experimental. Here, a group, or various groups,
connection between them. are kept under observation after implementing
factors of cause and effect. This type of design is administered at the beginning of treatment
commonly used as a cost-effective way to conduct and later at the end.
exploratory research to see if there is any Ex: Employee Skill Evaluation
evidence that warrants a full-scale experimental In the course of employment,
study. organizations also may carry out
In pre-experimental research design, either a employee training to improve employee
group or various dependent groups are observed productivity and generally grow the
for the effect of the application of an independent organization. Further, evaluation is
variable which is presumed to cause change. It is carried out at the end of each training to
the simplest form of experimental research design test the impact of the training on
and is treated with no control group. employee skills, and test for
improvement. Here, the subject is the
Three Types of Pre-experimental Research employee, while the treatment is the
Design: training conducted. This is a pretest-
• One-shot Case Study Research Design posttest control group experimental
In this type of experimental study, only one research example.
dependent group or variable is considered. The
study is carried out after some treatment which • Static-group Comparison:
was presumed to cause change, making it a In a static-group comparison study, 2 or
posttest study. more groups are placed under observation,
Ex: Administering Exams at the End of where only one of the groups is subjected to
Semester some treatment while the other groups are
During the semester, students in a class held static. All the groups are post-tested, and
are lectured on particular courses and an the observed differences between the groups
exam is administered at the end of the are assumed to be a result of the treatment.
semester. In this case, the students are the
subjects or dependent variables while the B. True Experimental Design
lectures are the independent variables The true experimental research design relies
treated on the subjects. on statistical analysis to approve or disprove a
Only one group of carefully selected hypothesis. It is the most accurate type of
subjects are considered in this research, experimental design and may be carried out with
making it a pre-experimental research or without a pre-test on at least 2 randomly
design example. We will also notice that assigned dependent subjects.
tests are only carried out at the end of the The true experimental research design must
semester, and not at the beginning. contain a control group, a variable that can be
Further making it easy for us to conclude manipulated by the researcher, and the
that it is a one-shot case study research. distribution must be random. The classification of
true experimental design includes:
• One-group Pre/Post Tests Research
Design: • The Post Test-Only Control Group
This research design combines both post- Design: In this design, subjects are
test and pre-test study by carrying out a test randomly selected and assigned to the 2
on a single group before the treatment is groups (control and experimental), and
administered and after the treatment is only the experimental group is treated.
administered. With the former being After close observation, both groups are
 post-tested, and a conclusion is drawn • Methodology
from the difference between these groups. The major difference between
correlational research and experimental
• The Pre/Post Test Control Group Design: research is methodology. In correlational
For this control group design, subjects are research, the researcher looks for a
randomly assigned to the 2 groups, both statistical pattern linking 2 naturally-
are pretested, but only the experimental occurring variables while in experimental
group is treated. After close observation, research, the researcher introduces a
both groups are post-tested to measure catalyst and monitors its effects on the
the degree of change in each group. variables.

• Solomon Four-Group Design: This is the • Number of Variables

combination of the pre-test-only and the Experimental research caters to an
pretest post-test control groups. In this unlimited number of variables.
case, the randomly selected subjects are Correlational research, on the other hand,
placed into 4 groups. The first two of these caters to only 2 variables.
groups are tested using the post-test-only Experimental research is causative while
method, while the other two are tested correlational research is relational.
using the pretest-posttest method. Correlational research is preliminary and
almost always precedes experimental
C. Quasi-Experimental Design research.
The word "quasi" means partial, half, or Unlike correlational research,
pseudo. Therefore, the quasi-experimental experimental research allows the
research bearing a resemblance to the true researcher to control the variables.
experimental research, but not the same. In
quasiexperiments, the participants are not • Observation
randomly assigned, and as such, they are used in In correlational research, the researcher
settings where randomization is difficult or passively observes the phenomena and
impossible. This is very common in educational measures whatever relationship that
research, where administrators are unwilling to occurs between them. However, in
allow the random selection of students for experimental research, the researcher
experimental samples. Some examples of quasi- actively observes phenomena after
experimental research design include; the time triggering a change in the behavior of the
series, no equivalent control group design, and variables.
the counterbalanced design.
• Causality
Examples of Experimental Educational Research In experimental research, the researcher
• A study to determine the best teaching introduces a catalyst and monitors its
and learning methods in a school. effects on the variables, that is, cause and
• A study to understand how effect. In correlational research, the
extracurricular activities affect the researcher is not interested in cause and
learning process. effect as it applies; rather, he or she
• Evaluation of Teaching Method identifies recurring statistical patterns
connecting the variables in research.
What are the Differences between Correlational
and Experimental Research? Why Use Experimental Research Design?
 Experimental research design can be majorly easier to administer because they help you to
used in physical sciences, social sciences, collect accurate data and to also reach a larger
education, and psychology. It is used to make sample size.
predictions and draw conclusions on a subject • Interviews
matter An interview is a qualitative data collection
Some uses of experimental research design method that helps you to gather information from
are: respondents by asking questions in a
• Medicine: Experimental research is used conversation. It is typically a face-to-face
to provide the proper treatment for conversation with the research subjects in order to
diseases. In most cases, rather than gather insights that will prove useful to the
directly using patients as the research specific research context.
subject, researchers take a sample of the Interviews can be structured, semi-structured
bacteria from the patient's body and are or unstructured.
treated with the developed antibacterial A structured interview is a type of interview
that follows a premeditated sequence; that is, it
• Education: Asides from science subjects makes use of a set of standardized questions to
like Chemistry and Physics which gather information from the research subjects.
involves teaching students how to
perform experimental research, it can also Characteristics of a Structured Interview
be used in improving the standard of an A structured interview utilizes a standardized
academic institution. This includes testing process of inquiry.
students' knowledge on different topics, • It is a quantitative method of observation.
coming up with better teaching methods, • A structured interview is easy to replicate.
and the implementation of other • This type of interview is sequential in
programs that will aid student learning. nature
Examples of Structured interview:
• Human Behavior: Social scientists are the 1. How often do you use our product?
ones who mostly use experimental Weekly Bi-monthly
research to test human behaviour. For Yearly
example, consider 2 people randomly 2. Do you enjoy using our product?
chosen to be the subject of the social Yes No
interaction research where one person is 3. How likely are you to recommend our
placed in a room without human services?
interaction for 1 year. Very likely Somewhat likely
Highly Unlikely
EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH METHODS
• Surveys/Questionnaires An unstructured interview is a type of
A survey is a research method that is used to interview that does not make use of a set of
collect data from a predetermined audience about standardized questions. Here, the interviewer
a specific research context. It usually consists of a does not generate any specific set of standardized
set of standardized questions that help you to questions for research, rather he or she asks
gain insights into the experiences, thoughts, and different questions in line with the context and
behaviors of the audience. purpose of the systematic investigation. it is non-
Surveys can be administered physically using directive. During an unstructured interview, the
paper forms, face-to-face conversations, telephone researcher does not make use of a set of
conversations, or online forms. Online forms are predetermined questions rather, he or she
spontaneously asks questions to gather relevant respondents and in qualitative information, the
data from the respondents. researcher aims at collecting qualitative data from
In many ways, this type of interview can be respondents.
viewed as an informal, everyday conversation Qualitative observation can further be
because of its extremely colloquial style. An classified into participant or non-participant
unstructured interview is mostly used to collect observation. In participant observation, the
data in qualitative research researcher becomes a part of the research
environment and interacts with the research
subjects to gather info about their behaviors. In
Characteristics of an Unstructured Interview non-participant observation, the researcher does
• Flexible in nature not actively take part in the research
• It relies on spontaneity in its method of environment; that is, he or she is a passive
inquiry. observer.
• It is a method of qualitative observation.
• It is descriptive in nature.
Example questions in Unstructured Interview
1. What do you enjoy most about our product?
2. What do you not like about our service
delivery?
3. How do you think we can improve our service
delivery?
4. Why do you use our product?
5. What specific needs does our product meet for
you?
A semi-structured interview is the mid-point
between structured and unstructured interviews.
Here, the researcher makes use of a set of
standardized questions yet, he or she still makes
inquiries outside these premeditated questions as
dedicated by the flow of the conversations in the
research context.
Data from Interviews can be collected using
audio recorders, digital cameras, surveys, and
questionnaires.
• Observation
Observation is a method of data collection
that entails systematically selecting, watching,
listening, reading, touching, and recording
behaviors and characteristics of living beings,
objects, or phenomena. In the classroom, teachers
can adopt this method to understand students'
behaviors in different contexts.
Observation can be qualitative or quantitative
in approach.
In quantitative observation, the researcher
aims at collecting statistical information from