Research Techniques and Methods

Welcome to Restechandmeth!

[restechandmeth]

PROJECTIVE RESEARCH DEFINITION

In this post, you will find three concepts that will help you understand what this type of research is. The first two definitions are brought to this post thanks to books and online educational articles; the third definition is a definition created by us, the creators of the blog, to explain with our own words how the study is defined.

Projective Techniques are indirect and unstructured methods of investigation which have been developed by the psychologists and use projection of respondents for inferring about underlying motives, urges or intentions which cannot be secure through direct questioning as the respondent either resists to reveal them or is unable to figure out himself. These techniques are useful in giving respondents opportunities to express their attitudes without personal embarrassment. These techniques help the respondents to project his own attitude and feelings unconsciously on the subject under study. Thus Projective Techniques play an important role in motivational research or in attitude surveys. (Juneja, 2009)

This is the method of data gathering through doll play, picture interpretation or sentence completion, which can be used with both children and adults. It is used as a means to draw out the respondent’s inner feelings when a direct question is inappropriate or when the true purpose of the study cannot be revealed. These methods are open-ended and unstructured. The other method is to ask the respondent to describe other persons’ motives or attitude, which actually reflects the attitude of the respondent itself. (Sociology Group, 2019)

Projective research is used to estimate depth opinions, thoughts, perspectives, and feelings that cannot be expressed with words of the units of analysis through interviews by using  different techniques such as role play, drawing, personification, among others.

[restechandmeth]

ACTION RESEARCH

In this post, you will find three concepts that will help you understand what this type of research is. The first two definitions are brought to this post thanks to books and online educational articles; the third definition is a definition created by us, the creators of the blog, to explain with our own words how the study is defined.

Action research in education is any systematic inquiry conducted by teachers, principals, school counselors, or other stakeholders in the teaching–learning environment that involves gathering information about the ways in which their particular schools operate, the teachers teach, and the students learn. (Gay, Mills and Airasian, 2012, p. 250)

Action research refers to a wide variety of evaluative, investigative, and analytical research methods designed to diagnose problems or weaknesses—whether organizational, academic, or instructional—and help educators develop practical solutions to address them quickly and efficiently. Action research may also be applied to programs or educational techniques that are not necessarily experiencing any problems, but that educators simply want to learn more about and improve. The general goal is to create a simple, practical, repeatable process of iterative learning, evaluation, and improvement that leads to increasingly better results for schools, teachers, or programs. (Sagor, 2013)

Action research is a process in which the investigator gathers data about the phenomenon to help entities enhance the way either they or an organization operates.

[restechandmeth]

SURVEYS DEFINITION

In this post, you will find three concepts that will help you understand what this type of research is. The first two definitions are brought to this post thanks to books and online educational articles; the third definition is a definition created by us, the creators of the blog, to explain with our own words how the study is defined.

Survey research is a quantitative approach that features the use of self-report measures on carefully selected samples. It is a flexible approach that can be used to study a wide variety of basic and applied research questions. (Price, 2013)

Survey research is a quantitative approach that features the use of self-report measures on carefully selected samples. It is a flexible approach that can be used to study a wide variety of basic and applied research questions. (Mathers et al, 2007, p. 6)

A survey research is conducted to collect data, opinions, behaviors, and characteristics about the chosen sample. This type of research is made by asking different questions to the population.

[restechandmeth]

DOCUMENT REVIEW DEFINITION

In this post, you will find three concepts that will help you understand what this type of research is. The first two definitions are brought to this post thanks to books and online educational articles; the third definition is a definition created by us, the creators of the blog, to explain with our own words how the study is defined.

Document review is a way of collecting data by reviewing existing documents. The documents may be internal to a program or organization (such as records of what components of an asthma management program were implemented in schools) or may be external (such as records of emergency room visits by students served by an asthma management program). Documents may be hard copy or electronic and may include reports, program logs, performance ratings, funding proposals, meeting minutes, newsletters, and marketing materials. (CDC, 2018, p. 1)

It is a formalized technique of data collection involving the examination of existing records or documents. (Ventureline, 2010)

Document review is the discriminated data selected by the researchers depending on their perspective, analysis, and opinion of the problematic situation being studied.

[restechandmeth]

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH DEFINITION

In this post, you will find three concepts that will help you understand what this type of research is. The first two definitions are brought to this post thanks to books and online educational articles; the third definition is a definition created by us, the creators of the blog, to explain with our own words how the study is defined.

Qualitative research involves collecting and analyzing non-numerical data (e.g., text, video, or audio) to understand concepts, opinions, or experiences. It can be used to gather in-depth insights into a problem or generate new ideas for research. (Bhandari, 2020)

Qualitative research is a type of social science research that collects and works with non-numerical data and that seeks to interpret meaning from these data that help understand social life through the study of targeted populations or places. (Crossman, 2020)

A qualitative research is a social study which aims to look for people’s opinions and feelings toward a phenomena to help a society understand the problematic situation.

[restechandmeth]

EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH DEFINITION

In this post, you will find three concepts that will help you understand what this type of research is. The first two definitions are brought to this post thanks to books and online educational articles; the third definition is a definition created by us, the creators of the blog, to explain with our own words how the study is defined.

Experimental research is the only type of research that can test hypotheses to establish cause–effect relations. It represents the strongest chain of reasoning about the links between variables. In experimental research the researcher manipulates at least one independent variable, controls other relevant variables, and observes the effect on one or more dependent variables. (Gay, Mills and Airasian, 2012, p. 250)

An experimental research is a type of study designed specifically to answer the question of whether there is a causal relationship between two variables. In other words, whether changes in an independent variable cause changes in a dependent variable. (Price, 2013)

The experimental research is utilized to test a hypothesis  in a sample group under controlled conditions to discover a cause-effect relationship between two or more variables within the study.

[restechandmeth]

QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH DEFINITION

In this post, you will find three concepts that will help you understand what this type of research is. The first two definitions are brought to this post thanks to books and online educational articles; the third definition is a definition created by us, the creators of the blog, to explain with our own words how the study is defined.

Quasi-experimental research involves the manipulation of an independent variable without the random assignment of participants to conditions or orders of conditions. Quasi-experimental research eliminates the directionality problem because it involves the manipulation of the independent variable. It does not eliminate the problem of confounding variables, however, because it does not involve random assignment to conditions. (Price, 2013) 

Quasi-experimental research is research that resembles experimental research but is not true experimental research. Although the independent variable is manipulated, participants are not randomly assigned to conditions or orders of conditions (Cook and Campbell, 1979).

This research involves the analysis of a condition or phenomena within different contexts in which the independent variable can be controlled, leading, perhaps, to different outcomes or different dependent variables. It aims to identify the impact of a particular event.

[restechandmeth]

HISTORICAL RESEARCH DEFINITION

In this post, you will find three concepts that will help you understand what this type of research is. The first two definitions are brought to this post thanks to books and online educational articles; the third definition is a definition created by us, the creators of the blog, to explain with our own words how the study is defined.

Historical research studies the meaning of past events in an attempt to interpret the facts and explain the cause of events, and their effect in the present events. In doing so, researchers rely heavily on primary historical data (direct accounts of events, archival data - official documents, personal records, and records of eyewitnesses) and less frequently on secondary historical data (information from persons who didn’t witness the event; e.g. textbooks, newspapers, encyclopedias). (Clinfowiki, 2011)

Research in history involves developing an understanding of the past through the examination and interpretation of evidence. Evidence may exist in the form of texts, physical remains of historic sites, recorded data, pictures, maps, artifacts, and so on. (Hacker and Fister, 2010)

Historical research is a study focused on collecting and evaluating reliable evidence or data of the past to understand and interpret past events.

[restechandmeth]

CHECKLISTS DEFINITION

In this post, you will find three concepts that will help you understand what this type of research is. The first two definitions are brought to this post thanks to books and online educational articles; the third definition is a definition created by us, the creators of the blog, to explain with our own words how the study is defined.

Checklists are used to encourage or verify that a number of specific lines of inquiry, steps, or actions are being taken, or have been taken, by a researcher. (Given, 2008)

Checklists are used to encourage or verify that a number of specific lines of inquiry, steps, or actions are being taken, or have been taken, by a researcher. (Writer, 2020)

Checklists are instruments that include a list of things, behaviors, and/or attitudes to take into account when carrying out a research study for observing the sampling or having steps neatly.

[restechandmeth]

QUESTIONNAIRES DEFINITION

In this post, you will find three concepts that will help you understand what this type of research is. The first two definitions are brought to this post thanks to books and online educational articles; the third definition is a definition created by us, the creators of the blog, to explain with our own words how the study is defined.

“Questionnaires are any written instruments that present respondents with a series of questions or statements to which they are to react either by writing out their answers or selecting from among existing answers.” (Brown, 2001, p. 6)

A questionnaire is a research instrument that consists of a set of questions or other types of prompts that aims to collect information from a respondent. A research questionnaire is typically a mix of close-ended questions and open-ended questions. Open-ended, long-form questions offer the respondent the ability to elaborate on their thoughts. Research questionnaires were developed in 1838 by the Statistical Society of London. (QuestionPro, 2020)

A questionnaire is an instrument for gathering data in different types of research studies. It is formed by standardized questions that are related and look for information about the phenomena being studied.

[restechandmeth]

TECHNOLOGICAL RESEARCH DEFINITION

In this post, you will find three concepts that will help you understand what this type of research is. The first two definitions are brought to this post thanks to books and online educational articles; the third definition is a definition created by us, the creators of the blog, to explain with our own words how the study is defined.

Technology research and development refers to the invention, design, improvement, and construction of new types of products, equipment, and machinery. (Jefrress, 2021)

Technology research is “research for the purpose of producing new and better artefacts” (Solheim and Stølen, 2007, p. 3)

Technological research refers to the action of looking for methodologies and ways to improve technological artifacts and equipment that already exists.

[restechandmeth]

MIXED METHODS RESEARCH DEFINITION

In this post, you will find three concepts that will help you understand what this type of research is. The first two definitions are brought to this post thanks to books and online educational articles; the third definition is a definition created by us, the creators of the blog, to explain with our own words how the study is defined.

“The term “mixed methods” refers to an emergent methodology of research that advances the systematic integration, or “mixing,” of quantitative and qualitative data within a single investigation or sustained program of inquiry. The basic premise of this methodology is that such integration permits a more complete and synergistic utilization of data than do separate quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis.” (PCMH Resource Center, 2013)

The term ‘mixed methods research’ is broadly accepted to refer to research that integrates both qualitative and quantitative data within a single study (Wisdom et al., 2012, Creswell and Plano Clark, 2011). A key aspect of the definition of mixed methods research is the ‘mixing’ of the qualitative and quantitative components within the study (Simons and Lathlean, 2010, Maudsley, 2011). ‘Mixing’ refers to the process whereby the qualitative and quantitative elements are interlinked to produce a fuller account of the research problem (Glogowska, 2011, Zhang and Creswell, 2013). This integration can occur at any stage(s) of the research process, but is vital to the rigor of the mixed methods research (Glogowska, 2011)

Mixed methods research combines quantitative and qualitative approaches by including both quantitative and qualitative data in a single study. The purpose of mixed methods research is to build on the synergy and strength that exists between quantitative and qualitative research methods to understand a phenomenon more fully than is possible using either quantitative or qualitative methods alone. (Gay, Mills and Airasian, 2012, p. 481)

[restechandmeth]

QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH DEFINITION

In this post, you will find three concepts that will help you understand what this type of research is. The first two definitions are brought to this post thanks to books and online educational articles; the third definition is a definition created by us, the creators of the blog, to explain with our own words how the study is defined.

“Quantitative research is the collection and analysis of numerical data to describe, explain, predict, or control phenomena of interest. However, a quantitative research approach entails more than just the use of numerical data. At the outset of a study, quantitative researchers state the hypotheses to be examined and specify the research procedures that will be used to carry out the study. They also maintain control over contextual factors that may interfere with the data collection and identify a sample of participants large enough to provide statistically meaningful data. Many quantitative researchers have little personal interaction with the participants they study because they frequently collect data using paper-and-pencil, noninteractive instruments.” (Gay, Mills and Airasian, 2012, p. 7)

“Quantitative research is based on the aspect of quantity or extent. It is related to objects that can be expressed in terms of quantity or something that can be counted. Such type of research involves systematic experimental analysis of observable phenomena via statistical, mathematical or computational techniques in numerical form such as statistics, percentages, etc.” (Dr. Mishra and Dr. Alok, 2017, p.3)

Quantitative research is the type of research in which the researchers collect numerical data by means of surveys, questionnaires and other instruments that can be measured by categorizing the quantity of each of the responses. Besides, this research has the purpose of determining whether a theory is true or not.