109590538-Educational-Research.doc

8/17/2019 109590538-Educational-Research.doc

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1EDUCATIONAL RESEARCHUnit Structure

1.0 Objectives1.1 Introduction1.2 Sources Acquiring Knowledge1.3 Meaning, Stes and Scoe o! "ducational #esearc$1.% Scienti!ic Met$od, ai&s and c$aracteristics o! researc$ as a scienti!ic activit'1.( "t$ical considerations in "ducational #esearc$1.) *aradig&s o! "ducational researc$1.+ 'es o! #esearc$1.+.a -unda&ental1.+.b Alied #esearc$

1.+.c. Action #esearc$1.0 OBJECTIVES :A!ter reading t$is unit, 'ou will be able to1o e/lain t$e concet o! "ducational #esearc$2o describe t$e scoe o! "ducational #esearc$3o state t$e urose o! "ducational #esearc$%o e/lain w$at is scienti!ic enquir'.(o e/lain i&ortance o! t$eor' develo&ent.)o e/lain relations$i a&ong science, education and educational researc$.+o Identit' !unda&ental researc$

o Identit' alied researc$o Identi!' action researc$10o i!!erentiate between !unda&ental, alied, and action researc$11o Identi!' di!!erent aradig&s o! researc$21.1 INTRODUCTION : #esearc$ uri!ies $u&an li!e. It i&roves its qualit'. Itis searc$ !or nowledge. I! s$ows $ow to Solve an' roble& scienti!icall'. It is acare!ul enquir' t$roug$ searc$ !or an' ind o! Knowledge. It is a journe' !ro&nown to unnown. It is a s'ste&atic e!!ort to gain new nowledge in an' ind o!disciline. 4$en it Sees a solution o! an' educational roble& it leads to

educational researc$. 5uriosit', inquisitiveness are natural gi!ts secured b' a &an.$e' insire $i& to quest, increase $is t$irst !or nowledge 6 trut$. A!ter trial anderror, $e wored s'ste&aticall' in t$e direction o! t$e desired goal. 7is adjust&entand coing wit$ situation &aes $i& success!ul in $is tas. $ereb' $e learnsso&et$ing8s, beco&es wise and reares $is own scienti!ic rocedure w$ile er!or&ing t$e sa&e tas !or second ti&e. So is t$ere an' relations$i a&ongscience, education and educational #esearc$9 :#esearc$ is t$e vo'age o!discover' . It is t$e quest !or answers to unsolved roble&s. #esearc$ is required‖


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in an' !ield to co&e u wit$ new t$eories or &odi!', accet, or nulli!' t$e e/istingt$eor'. -ro& ti&e i&&e&orial it $as been seen so &an' discoveries andinventions too lace t$roug$ researc$ and world $as got so &an' new t$eoriesw$ic$ $el t$e $u&an being to solve $is roble&s. ;ra$a& site on internet.

12. Tr#$iti&n : 7u&an beings easil' accet &an' o! t$e traditions o! t$eir cultureor !ore!at$ers. -or e/a&le, in &atters o! !ood, dress, co&&unications, religion,$o&e re&edies !or &inor ail&ents, t$e wa' a !riend will react to an invitation, onerelies on !a&il' traditions. On t$e ot$er $and, students, in case o! ad&issioncriteria and rocedures, e/a&ination atterns and rocedures, &et$ods o!&aintaining disciline, co>curricular activities, accetable &anner o! greeting

teac$ers and eers rel' on sc$ool traditions. ?ong establis$ed custo&s or racticesare oular sources o! acquiring nowledge. $is is also nown as tenacit' w$ic$i&lies $olding on to a ersective wit$out an' consideration o! alternatives.

13. E()erience : Our own rior ersonal e/eriences in &atters o! roble&>solving or understanding educational $eno&ena is t$e &ost co&&on, !a&iliarand !unda&ental source o! nowledge.

1%. Scienti*ic +et%&$ In order to co&re$end and accet learning acquiredt$roug$ t$ese sources, we use certain aroac$es w$ic$ are as !ollows

0 @a E,)irici-, : It i&lies rel'ing on w$at our senses tell us. $roug$ aco&bination o! $earing and seeing we co&e to now t$e sound o! a train. i.e.t$roug$ t$ese two senses, we learn to associate seci!ic sounds wit$ seci!icobjects. Our senses also enable us to co&are objects 6 $eno&ena 6 events. $e' rovide us wit$ t$e &eans !or stud'ing and understanding relations$is betweenvarious concets @eg. level o! education and inco&e.


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0 @b R#ti&n#i-, : It includes &ental re!lection. it laces e&$asis on ideasrat$er t$an &aterial substances. i! we see logical interconnectedness between twoor &ore t$ings, we accet t$ose t$ings. -or e/a&le, we &a' reason t$atconducive sc$ool 6 college environ&ent is e/ected to lead to better teac$er er!or&ance.

0 @c Fi$ei-, : It i&lies t$e use o! our belie!s, e&otions or gut reactionsincluding religion. 4e believe in ;od because our arents told us t$oug$ we $adnot sensed ;od, seen or $eard $i& nor $ad concluded t$at t$at $is e/istence islogicall' roved.%1./ +EANIN STES AND SCOE OF EDUCATIONAL

RESEARCH : +EANIN OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH : "ducational#esearc$ as not$ing but cleansing o! educational #esearc$ is not$ing butcleansing o! educational rocess. Man' e/erts t$in "ducational #esearc$ as

under> According to Moul', :"ducational #esearc$ is t$e s'ste&atic alicationo! scienti!ic &et$od !or solving !or solving educational roble&. ravers t$ins,‖:"ducational #esearc$ is t$e activit' !or develoing science o! be$avior ineducational situations. It allows t$e educator to ac$ieve $is goals e!!ectivel'.‖According to 4$itne', :"ducational #esearc$ ai&s at !inding out solution o!educational roble&s b' using scienti!ic $iloso$ical &et$od. $us, "ducational‖#esearc$ is to solve educational roble& in s'ste&atic and scienti!ic &anner, it isto understand, e/lain, redict and control $u&an be$aviour. "ducational#esearc$ 5$aracteriBes as !ollows 1> It is $ig$l' urose!ul.

2> It deals wit$ educational roble&s regarding students and teac$ers as well.3> It is recise, objective, scienti!ic and s'ste&atic rocess o! investigation.%> It atte&ts to organiBe data quantitativel' and qualitativel' to arrive atstatistical in!erences.(> It discovers new !acts in new ersective. i. e. It generates new nowledge.)> It is based on so&e $iloso$ic t$eor'.+> It deends on t$e researc$ers abilit', ingenuit' and e/erience !or itsinterretation and conclusions.> It needs interdiscilinar' aroac$ !or solving educational roble&.(

1> It de&ands subjective interretation and deductive reasoning in so&e cases.2> It uses classroo&s, sc$ools, colleges deart&ent o! education as t$e laborator'!or conducting researc$es.

STES OF RESEARCH : $e various stes involved in t$e researc$ rocess can be su&&arised as !ollows C Ste) 1 : I$enti*'in t%e #) in !n&3e$e $eresearc$er, on t$e basis o! e/erience and observation realises t$at so&e studentsin t$e class do not er!or& well in t$e e/a&ination. So $e 6 s$e oses an


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unanswered question :4$ic$ !actors are associated wit$ students8 acade&ic er!or&ance9‖ Ste) 2 : I$enti*'in t%e Antece$ent 4 C#u-e- On t$e basis o!e/erience, observation and a review o! related literature, $e 6 s$e realises t$atstudents w$o are eit$er ver' an/ious or not at all an/ious do not er!or& well int$e e/a&ination. $us $e 6 s$e identi!ies an/iet' as one o! t$e !actors t$at could be

associated wit$ students8 acade&ic er!or&ance. Ste) / : St#tin t%e - $eresearc$er now states t$e goals o! t$e stud' 11. o ascertain t$e relations$i o! an/iet' wit$ acade&ic er!or&ance o!students.22. o ascertain t$e gender di!!erences in t$e an/iet' and acade&ic er!or&ance o! students.33. o ascertain t$e gender di!!erence in t$e relations$i o! an/iet' wit$ acade&ic er!or&ance o! students.

Ste) 5 : F&r,u#tin H')&t%e-e- $e researc$er &a' state $is 6 $er $'ot$eses

as !ollows11. $ere is a signi!icant relations$i between an/iet' and acade&ic er!or&anceo! students.22. $ere is a signi!icant gender di!!erence in t$e an/iet' and acade&ic er!or&ance o! students.)13. $ere is a signi!icant gender di!!erence in t$e relations$i o! an/iet' wit$acade&ic er!or&ance o! students.

Ste) 6 : C&ectin Ree7#nt In*&r,#ti&n $e researc$er uses aroriate tools

and tec$niques to &easure an/iet' and acade&ic er!or&ance o! students, selectsa sa&le o! students and collects data !ro& t$e&. Ste) 8 : Te-tin t%eH')&t%e-e- 7e 6 s$e now uses aroriate statistical tec$niques to veri!' and testt$e $'ot$eses o! t$e stud' stated in Ste %. Ste) 9 : Inter)retin t%e Fin$in-7e 6 s$e interrets t$e !indings in ter&s o! w$et$er t$e relations$i betweenan/iet' and acade&ic er!or&ance is ositive or negative, linear or curvilinear. 7e6 s$e !inds t$at t$is relations$i is curvilinear i.e. w$en a student8s an/iet' is eit$er ver' low or ver' $ig$, $is 6 $er acade&ic er!or&ance is !ound to be low.


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$is t$ird !actor could be stud' $abits o! students. -or instance, students w$o $avever' low level o! an/iet' &a' $ave neglected t$eir studies t$roug$ out t$e 'earand $ence t$eir acade&ic er!or&ance is oor. On t$e ot$er $and, students w$o$ave ver' $ig$ level o! an/iet' &a'+

not be able to re&e&ber w$at t$e' $ave learnt or cannot concentrate on studiesdue to stress or &a' !all sic ver' o!ten and $ence cannot stud' roerl'. 7encet$eir acade&ic er!or&ance is oor. 7owever, students wit$ a &oderate level o!an/iet' are &otivated enoug$ to stud' regularl' and s'ste&aticall' all t$roug$ t$e'ear and $ence t$eir acade&ic er!or&ance is $ig$. $us, t$e loosel' structuredt$eor' on students8 acade&ic er!or&ance needs to incororate one &ore variable,na&el', stud' $abits o! students. In ot$er words, it needs to be &odi!ied. Ste) 10 :A-=in Ne3 Que-ti&n- o stud' $abits and an/iet' interact wit$ eac$ ot$er andin!luence acade&ic er!or&ance o! students9 i.e. we can now start wit$ a !res$toic o! researc$ involving t$ree variables rat$er t$an two. C%ec= '&ur r&re--

>1? 1. 4$at is t$e ai& o! "ducational #esearc$92. Da&e t$e &et$od w$ic$ is &ainl' alicable in "ducational #esearc$93. 4 $ic$ aroac$ is adoted in "ducational #esearc$9%. Da&e t$e laces w$ic$ can act as lab orator' !or conducting "ducation#esearc$..SCOE OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH : Da&e o! "ducational #esearc$c$anges wit$ t$e gradual develo&ent occurs wit$ resect to nowledge andtec$nolog', so "ducational #esearc$ needs to e/tend its $oriBon.


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> #esults de&ocratic education are slow and so&eti&es de!ective. So it needs"ducational #esearc$ to solve educational roble&s. > "ducational #esearc$involves individuals lie teac$ers 6 students and educational institutions. It coversareas !ro& !or&al education to non!or&al education.10

> "ducational #esearc$ solves educational roble&s, uri!ies educative rocessand generates new nowledge. UNIT END E@ERCISE : @1 4$at is &eant b'"ducational #esearc$9 @2 4$at is t$e need o! "ducational #esearc$9 @3 4$at isits scoe9 @% State t$e urose o! "ducation #esearc$9 Que-ti&n1 @i to solveeducation roble& @ii scienti!ic &et$od @iii interdiscilinar' aroac$ @ivclassroo&, sc$ool, college, deart&ent o! education. Que-ti&n2 @v *$iloso$',*s'c$olog', Sociolog', 7istor', "cono&ics. @vi Since it i&arts nowledge @viiIt e/lains woring o! $u&an &ind6growt$, educational rogra& @viii Don!or&aleducation, educational tec$nolog'. @i/ 5urriculu&, te/tboos, teac$ing &et$ods.@/ eac$ers, Students, "ducational &anagers, *arents. @/i Sc$ool, college,

researc$>institutes. @/ii Fdated nowledge, i&agination, insig$t, scienti!icattitude. @/iii to generate new nowledge. Re*erence- 4 Sue-te$ re#$in-. 1to develo a t$eor'. > to deduce $'ot$esis !ro& t$at t$eor'. Scientist uses ane&irical aroac$ !or data collection and rational aroac$ !or develo&ent o!t$e t$eor'. #esearc$ s$ows a wa' to solve li!e E roble&s scienti!icall'. It is areliable tool !or rogress o! nowledge.


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Knowledge is educator8s need. 5uriosit' and t$irst !or searc$ &aes $i& to !ollowscienti!ic wa' wisel'. Indirectl', $e la's a role12o! educational researc$er. Flti&atel' $e is able to solve t$e educational roble&and generate new nowledge. All t$e t$ree asects. @Science, education and

educational researc$ $ave trut$ as a co&&on basis, More or less, t$e' neede/actness and recision. 4$ile solving a roble&. AI+S ANDCHARACTERISTICS : An enquir' is a natural tec$nique !or a searc$.


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be considered w$ile stating a t$eor'9 iv "/lain t$e relations$i a&ong Science,"ducation and "ducational #esearc$9 Sue-te$ Re#$in- 4 Re*erence-: 1


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3$e researc$er s$ould &ae $is 6 $er data available to eers !or scrutin'.%$e resondents 6 subjects 6 articiants s$ould be rovided wit$ t$e reasons !ort$e e/eri&ental rocedures as well as t$e !indings o! t$e stud' i! t$e' so de&and.($e researc$er s$ould give due credit to all t$ose w$o $ave $eled $i& 6 $er int$e researc$ rocedure, tool construction, data collection, data anal'sis or

rearation o! t$e researc$ reort.)I! at all t$e researc$er $as &ade so&e ro&ise to t$e articiants, it &ust be$onoured and !ul!illed.

1.8 ARADI+S OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH : $e idea o! socialconstruction o! rationalit' can be ursued b' considering Ku$n8s idea o! scienti!ic aradig&. $o&as Ku$n, $i&sel! a $istorian o! science, contributed to a !ruit!uldevelo&ent in t$e $iloso$' o! science wit$ $is boo :$e Structure o!Scienti!ic #evolutions ublis$ed in 1)2. It broug$t into !ocus two strea&s o!‖t$ining about w$at could be regarded as Hscienti!ic8, t$e Aristotelian tradition

wit$ its teleological aroac$ and t$e ;alilean wit$ its causal and &ec$anisticaroac$. It introduced t$e concet o! Haradig&8 into t$e $iloso$ical debate.De*initi&n #n$ +e#nin &* #r#$i, &* Re-e#rc% : :*aradig& derives !ro&‖t$e ;ree verb !or :e/$ibiting side b' side . In le/ica it is given wit$ t$e‖translations :e/a&les or table o! c$anges in !or& and di!!erences in !or&.‖$us, *aradig&s are wa's o! organiBing in!or&ation so t$at !unda&ental, abstractrelations$is can be clearl' understood.1)$e idea o! aradig& directs attention to science as $aving recogniBed atterns o!co&&it&ents, questions, &et$ods, and rocedures t$at underlie and give direction

to scienti!ic wor. Ku$n !ocuses uon t$e aradig&atic ele&ents o! researc$ w$en$e suggests t$at science $as e&otional and olitical as well as cognitive ele&ents.4e can distinguis$ t$e underl'ing assu&tions o! a aradig& b' viewing itsdiscourse as $aving di!!erent la'ers o! abstractions. $e la'ers e/istssi&ultaneousl' and are sueri&osed uon one anot$er. $e concet o! aradig& rovides a wa' to consider t$e divergence in vision, custo&, and tradition. Itenables us to consider science as $aving di!!erent sets o! assu&tions,co&&it&ents, rocedures and t$eories o! social a!!airs. A aradig& deter&ines t$ecriteria according to w$ic$ one selects and de!ines roble&s !or inquir' and $owone aroac$es t$e& t$eoreticall' and &et$odologicall'. A aradig& could be

regarded as a cultural &an &ade object, re!lecting t$e do&inant notions aboutscienti!ic be$aviour in a articular scienti!ic co&&unit', be it national orinternational, and at a articular ointing ti&e. *aradig&s deter&ine scienti!icaroac$es and rocedures w$ic$ stand out as e/e&lar' to t$e new generation o!scientists E as long as t$e' do not oose t$e&. A :revolution in t$e world o!‖scienti!ic aradig&s occurs w$en one or several researc$ers at a given ti&eencounter ano&alies or di!!erences, !or instance, &ae observations, w$ic$ in astriing wa' to not !it t$e revailing aradig&. Suc$ ano&alies can give rise to a


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crisis a!ter w$ic$ t$e universe under stud' is erceived in an entirel' new lig$t.*revious t$eories and !acts beco&e subject to t$oroug$ ret$ining and revaluation.Hi-t&r' &* #r#$i,- &* Re-e#rc% :

"ducational researc$ !aces a articular roble&, since education, is not a wellde!ined, unitar' disciline but a ractical art. #esearc$ into educational roble&s

is conducted b' sc$olars wit$ &an' discilinar' a!!iliations. Most o! t$e& $ave a bacground in s'c$olog' or ot$er be$avioural sciences, but quite a !ew o! t$e&$ave a $u&anistic bacground in $iloso$' and $istor'. $us, t$ere1+cannot be an' revailing aradig& or Hnor&al science8 in t$e ver' &ulti!aceted!ield o! educational researc$. 7owever, w$en e&irical researc$ conducted b' be$avioural scientists, articularl' in t$e Anglo>Sa/on countries, in t$e 1)08s andearl' 1+08s began to be accused o! do&inating researc$ wit$ a ositivistquantitativel' oriented aradig& t$at revented ot$er aradig&s o! a $u&anistic or dialectical nature being e&lo'ed, t$e accusations were directed at t$ose wit$ a

be$avioural science bacground. uring twentiet$ centur' two &ain aradig&swere e&lo'ed in researc$ing educational roble&s. $e one is &odeled on t$enatural sciences wit$ an e&$asis on e&irical quanti!iable observations w$ic$lend t$e&selves to anal'ses b' &eans o! &at$e&atical tools. $e tas o! researc$is to establis$ causal relations$is, to e/lain. $e ot$er aradig& is derived !ro&t$e $u&anities wit$ an e&$asis on $olistic and qualitative in!or&ation andinterretive aroac$es. $e two aradig&s in educational researc$ develoed$istoricall' as !ollows. 1(+ develoed ositivis& in sociolog' and =o$n Stuart Mill @10)>1+3e&iricis& in s'c$olog'. $e' ca&e to serve as &odels and t$eir revailing

aradig& was taen over b' social scientists, articularl' in t$e Anglo Sa/oncountries. In "uroean 5ontinent t$ere was anot$er !ro& ;er&an idealis& and7egelianis&. $e :;alilean &ec$anistic concetion beca&e t$e do&inant one‖ articularl' wit$ &at$e&atical $'sics as t$e &et$odological ideal. $ere aret$ree strands !or t$e ot$er &ain aradig& in educational researc$. According to t$e!irst strand, 4il$el& ilt$e' @133>111 &aintained t$at t$e $u&anities $ad t$eir own logic o! researc$ and ointed out t$at t$e di!!erence between natural sciencesand $u&anities was t$at t$e !or&er tried to e/lain, w$ereas t$e latter tried tounderstand t$e unique individual in $is or $er entire, concrete setting.$e second strand was reresented b' t$e $eno&enological $iloso$'develoed b' "d&und 7usserl in ;er&an'. It e&$asiBed t$e i&ortance o!taing a widened ersective and o! tr'ing to :get to t$e roots o! $u&an activit'.‖$e t$ird strand in $e1$u&anistic aradig& consists o! t$e critical $iloso$', w$ic$ develoed wit$certain a&ount o! neo>Mar/is&. $e aradig& deter&ines $ow a roble& is!or&ulated and &et$odologicall' $andled. According to t$e traditional ositivistconcetion, roble&s related to, !or e/a&le, to classroo& be$viour s$ould be


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investigated ri&aril' in ter&s o! t$e individual actor, eit$er t$e uils, w$o &ig$t be neurotic, or t$e teac$er w$o &ig$t be ill reared !or t$is $er job. $e ot$erconcetion is to !or&ulate t$e roble& in ter&s o! t$e larger setting, t$at o! t$esc$ool, or rat$er t$at o! t$e societ' at large. structural, objective E rational, goal>directed,&aniulative, $ierarc$ical, and tec$nocratic aroac$. On t$e ot$er $and, t$ere ist$e interretivist, $u&anistic, consensual, subjective, and collegial one. $e !irstaroac$ is derived !ro& classical ositivis&. $e second one, &ore oular now, artl' derived !ro& t$e critical t$eor' o! t$e -ran!urt sc$ool, articularl' !ro&7aber&as8s t$eor' o! co&&unicative action. $e !irst aroac$ is :linear and‖

consists o! a straig$t !orward rational action toward reconceived roble&. $esecond aroac$ leaves roo& !or reinterretation and res$aing o! t$e roble&during t$e rocess o! dialogue rior to action and even during action. Keeves@1 argues t$at t$e various researc$ aradig&s e&lo'ed in education, t$ee&irical>ositivist, t$e $er&eneutic or $eno&enological, and t$e et$nogra$ic>ant$roological are co&le&entar' to eac$ ot$er. 7e tals about t$e :unit' o!educational researc$, &aes a distinction between aradig&s and aroac$es, and‖contends t$at t$ere is, in t$e !inal anal'sis, onl' one aradig& but &an'aroac$es.1

-or e/a&le, t$e teac$ing>learning rocess can be observed and 6or videorecorded. $e observations can be quanti!ied and t$e data anal'Bed b' &eans o!advanced statistical &et$od. 5ontent can be studied in t$e lig$t o! nationaltraditions, and t$e $iloso$' underl'ing curriculu& constructions. learning rocess and its outco&es can be studied in a co&arative, cross>national ersective. eending uon t$e objective o! a articular researc$ roject, e&$asis is laid &ore on t$e one or on t$e error aradig&. $usqualitative and quantitative aradig&s are &ore o!ten t$an not co&le&entingeac$ ot$er. -or e/a&le, it is not ossible to arrive at an' valid in!or&ation abouta sc$ool or national s'ste& concerning t$e level o! co&etence ac$ieved in, !orinstance, science b' visiting a nu&ber o! classroo&s and t$ereb' tr'ing to collecti&ressions. Sa&le surve's lie one collected b' I"A @International Association!or t$e "valuation o! "ducational Ac$ieve&ent would be an i&ortant tool.


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collectivit' t$an in t$e individual c$ild. $e' oerate !ro& t$e ersective o! t$ew$ole s'ste&. 4$ereas, t$e classroo& ractitioners are not ver' &uc$ $eled b'generaliBations w$ic$ al' :on t$e w$ole or :b' and large because t$e' are‖ ‖concerned wit$ t$e ti&el', t$e articular c$ild $ere and now. Nee$ *&rc&nte,)&r#r' #))rc%e- : $e be$avioural sciences $ave equied educational

researc$ers wit$ a store o! researc$ tools, suc$ as observational &et$ods and tests,w$ic$ $els t$e& to s'ste&atiBe observation w$ic$ would ot$erwise would not$ave been considered in t$e &ore $olistic and intuitive atte&ts to &ae, !orinstance, in!or&al observations or to conduct ersonal interviews.20$ose w$o turn to social science researc$ in order to !ind t$e :best edagog' or‖t$e &ost :e!!icient &et$ods o! teac$ing are in a wa' victi&s o! traditional‖science w$ic$ clai&ed to be able to arrive at generaliBations alicable in racticall' ever' conte/t.


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t$e rincile o! conditioning and rein!orce&ent. According to ravers, basic researc$ isdesigned to add to an organiBed bod' o! scienti!ic nowledge and does not necessaril' roduce results o! i&&ediate ractical value.


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researc$ to co&lete its t$eoretical !or&ulations. A classroo& learning e/eri&entcan t$row so&e lig$t on t$e learning t$eor'. -urt$er&ore, observations in t$e ractical situations serve to test t$eories and &a' lead to t$e !or&ulation o! newt$eories. Most educational researc$ studies are classi!ied at t$e alied end o! t$econtinuu&C t$e' are &ore concerned wit$ :w$at wors best t$an wit$ :w$' .‖ ‖

-or e/a&le, alied researc$ tests t$e rincile o! rein!orce&ent to deter&inet$eir e!!ectiveness in i&roving learning @e.g. rogra&&ed instruction and be$aviour @e.g. be$aviour &odi!ication. Alied researc$ $as &ost o! t$ec$aracteristics o! !unda&ental researc$, including t$e use o! sa&ling tec$niquesand t$e subsequent in!erences about t$e target oulation. Its urose, $owever, isi&roving a roduct or a rocess E testing t$eoretical concets in actual roble&situations. Most educational researc$ is alied researc$, !or it atte&ts to develogeneraliBations about teac$ing E learning rocesses and instructional &aterials.$e alied researc$ &a' also be e&lo'ed a universit' or researc$ institute or&a' be !ound in rivate industr' or woring !or a govern&ent agenc'. In t$e !ield

o! education suc$ a erson &ig$t be e&lo'ed b' a curriculu& ublis$ingco&an', a state deart&ent o! education, or a college o! education at a universit'.Alied researc$es are also !ound in t$e settings in w$ic$ t$e alication or ractitioner8s role is ri&ar'. $is is w$ere t$e2%teac$ers, clinical s'c$ologists, sc$ool s'c$ologists, social worers $'sicians,civil engineers, &anagers, advertising secialists and so on are !ound. Man' o!t$eses eole receive training in doing researc$, and t$e' use t$is nowledge !ortwo urose. @1 o $el ractitioners understand, evaluate, and use t$e researc$ roduced b' basic and alied researc$es in t$eir own !ields and, @2 o develo a

s'ste&atic wa' o! addressing t$e ractical roble&s and questions t$at arise ast$e' ractice t$eir ro!essions. -or e/a&le, a teac$er w$o notices t$at a seg&ento! t$e class is not adequatel' &otivated in science &ig$t loo at t$e researc$literature on teac$ing science and t$en s'ste&aticall' tr' so&e o! t$e !indingssuggested b' t$e researc$. So&e o! t$e recent !ocus o! alied educationalresearc$ $ave been grading ractices, collective bargaining !or sc$ool ersonnel,curriculu& content, instructional rocedures, educational tec$nolog', andassess&ent o! ac$ieve&ent. $e toics $ave been investigated wit$ an aliedresearc$ because t$e questions raised in t$ese areas generall' $ave li&ited or noconcrete nowledge o! t$eor' we can draw uon directl' to aid in decision&aing. C%ec= '&ur )r&re-- 2 : Answer t$e !ollowing questions J.1 4$atdo 'ou &ean b' alied researc$9J.2 Alied researc$ be conducted91.9.c ACTION RESEARCH :

#esearc$ designed to uncover e!!ective wa's o! dealing wit$ roble&s in t$e realworld can be re!erred to as action researc$.2(


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$is ind o! researc$ is not con!ined to a articular &et$odolog' or aradig&. -or e/a&le, a stud' o! t$e e!!ectiveness o! training teenage arents to care !or t$eirin!ants. $e stud' is based on statistical and ot$er evidence t$at in!ants o! teenage&ot$ers see&ed to be e/osed to &ore riss t$an ot$er in!ants. $e &ot$er andc$ildren were recruited !or articiation in t$e stud' w$ile t$e c$ildren were still

in neonate eriod. Mot$ers were trained at $o&e or in an in!ant nurser'. Acontrolled grou received no training. $e &ot$ers trained at $o&e were visited at2>wees interval over a 12>&ont$ eriod. $ose trained in nurser' setting attended3>da's er wee !or ) &ont$s, were aid &ini&u& wage, and assisted as sta!! incentre. #esults o! t$e stud' suggested t$at t$e c$ildren o! bot$ grou o! trained&ot$ers bene!ited &ore in ter&s o! t$eir $ealt$ and cognitive &easures t$an didt$e controlled c$ildren. ;enerall' greater bene!its were realiBed b' t$e c$ildren o!t$e &ot$ers trained in t$e nurser' t$at wit$ t$e &ot$ers trained at $o&e. $us t$estud' s$ows t$at suc$ researc$es $ave direct alication to real world roble&s.Second, ele&ents o! bot$ quantitative and qualitative aroac$es can be !ound in

t$e stud'. -or e/a&le, quantitative &easure o! weig$t, $eig$t, and cognitive sillswere obtained in t$is stud'. 7owever, at t$e start itsel! !ro& t$e ersonali&ressions and observations wit$out t$e bene!it o! s'ste&atic quantitative data,t$e researc$es was able to sa' t$at t$e &ot$er in t$e nurser' centre s$owed so&eune/ected vocational asirations to beco&e nurses. $ird, treat&ents and&et$ods t$at are investigated are !le/ible and &ig$t c$ange during t$e stud' inresonse to t$e results as t$e' are obtained. $us, action researc$ is &ores'ste&atic and e&irical t$an so&e ot$er aroac$es to innovation and c$ange, but it does not lead to care!ul controlled scienti!ic e/eri&ents t$at aregeneraliBable to a wide variet' o! situations and settings.

$e urose o! action researc$ is to solve classroo& roble&s t$roug$ t$ealication o! scienti!ic &et$ods. It is concerned wit$ a local roble& and isconducted in a local setting. It is not concerned wit$ w$et$er t$e results aregeneraliBable to an' ot$er setting and is not c$aracteriBed b' t$e sa&e ind o!control evidence in ot$er categories o! researc$. $e ri&ar' goal o! actionresearc$ is t$e solution o! a given roble&, not contribution to science. 4$et$er2)t$e researc$ is conducted in one classroo& or &an' classroo&s, t$e teac$er is ver'&uc$ a art o! t$e rocess. $e &ore researc$ trainings t$e teac$er involved $ave$ad, t$e &ore liel' it is t$at t$e researc$ will roduce valid, i! not generaliBableresearc$. $e value o! action researc$ is con!ined ri&aril' to t$ose w$o areconducting it. esite its s$ortco&ings, it does reresents a scienti!ic aroac$ tot$e roble& solving t$at is considerabl' better t$an c$anged based on t$e allegede!!ectiveness o! untried rocedures, and in!initel' better t$an no c$anges at all. Itis a &eans b' w$ic$ concerned sc$ool ersonnel can atte&t to i&rove t$eeducational rocess, at least wit$in t$eir environ&ent. O! course, t$e true value o!action researc$ to true scienti!ic rogress is li&ited. rue rogress requires t$edevelo&ent o! sound t$eories $aving i&lications !or &an' classroo&s, not just


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one or two. One sound t$eor' t$at includes ten rinciles o! learning &a'eli&inate t$e need o! $undreds o! would E be action researc$ studies. ;iven t$ecurrent status o! educational t$eor', $owever, action researc$ rovides i&&ediateanswers to roble& t$at can not wait !or t$eoretical solutions. As =o$n


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13M. i&e !ra&e1%D. A? +EANINDEFINITION UROSE AND CO+ONENTS OF RESEARCH

DESIN +e#nin &* Re-e#rc% De-in :


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will $el t$e researc$er to carr' out t$e stud' in a s'ste&atic wa'. UROSE OFRESEARCH DESIN :

1A researc$ design $els t$e investigator to obtain answers to researc$ roble&and issues involved in t$e researc$, since it is t$e outline o! entire researc$ rocess.

2esign also tells us about $ow to collect data, w$at observation are to be carr'out, $ow to &ae t$e&, $ow to anal'se t$e data.3esign also guides investigator about statistical tec$niques to be used !oranal'sis.311esign also guides to control certain variables in e/eri&ental researc$.

$us, design guides t$e investigator to carr' out researc$ ste b' ste in ane!!icient wa'. $e design section is said to be co&lete 6 adequate i! investigatorcould carr' out $is researc$ b' !ollowing t$e stes described in design. 2.2 >B?

DIFFERENCE BET"EEN THE TER+S RESEARCH +ETHODAND RESEARCH +ETHODOLO : 4$ile rearing t$e design o! t$estud', it is necessar' to t$in o! researc$ &et$od. It is si&l' t$e &et$od !orconducting researc$. ;enerall', suc$ &et$ods are divided into quantitative andqualitative &et$ods. Suc$ quantitative &et$ods include descritive researc$,evaluation researc$ and assess&ent researc$. Assess&ent t'e o! studies includesurve's, ublic oinion olls, assess&ent o! educational ac$ieve&ent. "valuationstudies include sc$ool surve's, !ollow u studies. escritive researc$ studies areconcerned wit$ anal'sis o! t$e relations$is between non &aniulated variables.Aart !ro& t$ese quantitative &et$ods, educational researc$ also includes

e/eri&ental and quasi e/eri&ented researc$, surve' researc$ and causal>co&arative researc$. Jualitative researc$ &et$ods include et$nogra$', $eno&enolog', et$no&et$odolog', narrative researc$, grounded t$eor', s'&bolicinteraction and case stud'. $us, t$e researc$er s$ould &ention about &et$ods o!researc$ used in $is researc$ wit$ roer justi!ication !or its use.32$e ter& H&et$odolog'8 see&s to be broader, in t$e sense it includes nature o! oulation, selection o! sa&le, selection 6 rearation o! tools, collection o! dataand $ow data will be anal'sed. 7ere t$e &et$od o! researc$ is also included. 2./>C? RESEARCH ROOSAL : ITS +EANIN AND NEED : *rearing

t$e researc$ roosal is an i&ortant ste because at t$is stage, entire researc$ roject gets a concrete s$ae. #esearc$er8s insig$t and insiration are translatedinto a ste b' ste lan !or discovering new nowledge. *roosal is &ore t$anresearc$ design. #esearc$ design is a subset o! roosal. Ordinaril' researc$design will not tal &uc$ about $eoretical !ra&e wor o! t$e stud'. It will be alsosilent about t$e review o! related studies. A strong rationale !or conductingresearc$ is also not art o! researc$ design. At t$e stage o! writing roosal, t$e


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entire researc$ wor s$aes into concrete !or&. In t$e roosal, t$e researc$erde&onstrates t$at $e is !a&iliar wit$ w$at $e is doing. -ollowing are a !ew uroses o! a researc$ roosal 1$e roosal is lie t$e blue rint w$ic$ t$e arc$itect designs be!ore constructiono! a $ouse. It conve's t$e lan o! entire researc$ wor along wit$ justi!ication o!

conducting t$e sa&e.2$e roosal is to be resented to !unding agenc' or a deart&ental researc$co&&ittee. Dow resentation o! researc$ roosal is co&ulsor' be!ore t$eco&&ittee as er F.;.5. guidelines o! =ul' 200. In suc$ a co&&ittee, a nu&bero! e/erts articiate and suggest i&ortant oints to $el and guide researc$er. In!act, t$is is a ver' constructive activit'. In 5.A.S."., a researc$ roosal is resented on t$ree occasions. -irst, in t$e researc$er8s !oru& on Saturda', secondin uesda' se&inar and !inall' be!ore t$e co&&ittee consisting o! ean,3317ead, ;uide and ot$er e/erts. Suc$ !ruit!ul discussion $els in resolving &an'

issues. 4$en suc$ resentation is t$ere, it alwa's brings seriousness on t$e art o!researc$er and guide also. uring suc$ resentation, strengt$s and li&itations o! roosal will be co&e out. -unding agenc' also rovides !unds based on strengt$and qualit' o! roosal.2#esearc$ roosal serves as a lan o! action. It conve's researc$er and ot$ers asto $ow stud' will be conducted. $ere is indication o! ti&e sc$edule and budgetesti&ates in t$e roosal w$ic$ guides researc$er to co&lete t$e tas in ti&e wit$in sanctioned budget.3$e roosal aroved b' co&&ittee serves as a bond o! agree&ent betweenresearc$er and guide. "ntire roosal beco&es a &irror !or bot$ to e/ecute t$e

stud' !urt$er.$us, a researc$ roosal serves &ainl' !ollowing uroses. @i It co&&unicatesresearc$er8s lan to all ot$ers interested. @ii It serves as a lan o! action. @iii It isan agree&ent between researc$er and t$e guide. @iv Its resentation be!ore e/erts rovide !urt$er ret$ining on t$e entire wor. -ollowing co&onents are generall'included in t$e researc$ roosal. It is not necessar' to !ollow t$is list rigidl'. Its$ould rovide use!ul outline !or writing o! an' researc$ roosal. Dor&all', aresearc$ roosal begins wit$ an Introduction, t$is gives clearl' t$e bacground or $istor' o! t$e roble& selected. So&e also calls t$is as a t$eoretical 6 concetual!ra&ewor. $is will include various t$eories 6 concets related to roble&selected. $eoretical !ra&e wor s$ould $ave logical sequence. Suoseresearc$er wants to stud' t$e ac$ieve&ent o! class I students in &at$e&atics in articular area, t$en concetual !ra&e &a' include1Objectives o! teac$ing &at$e&atics, its urose o! secondar' sc$ool level3%1I&ortance o! ac$ieve&ent in &at$e&atics2?evel o! ac$ieve&ent as studied b' ot$er researc$ers


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3-actors a!!ecting ac$ieve&ents o! &at$e&atics%Garious co&&issions and co&&ittees views on ac$ieve&ent in &at$e&atics.

All t$ese oints can be ut into sequence logicall'. 4$enever needed t$eoreticalsuort be given. $is is an i&ortant ste in researc$ roosal. ;enerall' an'

roosal begins wit$ t$is t'e o! introduction. A. I$enti*ic#ti&n &* Re-e#rc%T&)ic : S&urce- #n$ Nee$ : As discussed earlier, researc$er will sell out as to$ow t$e roble& e&erged, its social and educational conte/t and its i&ortance tot$e !ield. So&e researc$ers na&e t$is cation as bacground o! t$e stud' or$eoretical 6 5oncetual !ra&e wor o! t$e stud'. In s$ort, $ere t$e entire toic o!t$e researc$ is brie!l' introduced along wit$ related concets and t$eories in t$e!ield. B. Re7ie3 &* Re#te$ Liter#ture : In t$is section, one resents w$at is so!ar nown about t$e roble& under investigation. ;enerall' t$eoretical 6concetual !ra&e wor is alread' reorted in earlier section. In t$is sectionresearc$er concentrates on studies conducted in t$e area o! interest. $ere, a

researc$er will locate various studies conducted in $is area and interest. r' to justi!' t$at all suc$ located studies are Hrelated Hto 'our wor. -or locating suc$studies one will re!er !ollowing docu&ents 6 sources.1Surve's o! researc$ in education @"dited earlier b' *ro!. M.


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24$ere9 @Area wise34$en9 @Near wise%7ow9 @Met$odolog' wise3)14$at needs to be done9

$us, t$e researc$er will identi!' t$e H#esearc$ ;a8. C. R#ti&n#e #n$ Nee$ &*t%e Stu$' : #ationale s$ould answer t$e question E Hw$'8 t$is stud' isconducted9 It Hw$'8 is answered roerl', t$en rationale a strong one. -or strongrationale, t$e earlier section o! review will be o! &uc$ $el. Identi!ied researc$gas will conve' as to w$' t$is stud' is conducted. Suose t$e investigator wantsto stud' t$e !ollowing roble& Hevelo&ent and r' out o! 5AI in eac$ing o!Science !or 5lass GIII in Mu&bai . 7ere, t$e researc$er s$ould tr' to answer w$'‖5AI onl'9 4$' it is in Science teac$ing onl'9 4$' it is !or class GIII onl'9 4$'it is in Mu&bai onl'9 I! t$ese questions are answered adequatel', t$en rationale

beco&es strong. 7ere one $as to identi!' gas in t$e area o! Science teac$ingeseciall' wit$ re!erence to 5AI. Aart !ro& t$is, t$e need !or conducting t$e resent stud' be justi!ied. D. De*initi&n &* Ter,- : "ver' researc$ stud' involvescertain e' or tec$nical ter&s w$ic$ $ave so&e secial connotation in t$e conte/to! stud'C $ence it is alwa's desirable to de!ine suc$ e' words. $ere are twot'es de!initions, @i $eoretical 6 constitutive and @ii Oerational.A constitutive de!inition elucidates a ter& and er$as gives so&e &ore insig$tinto t$e $eno&ena described b' t$e ter&s. $us, t$is de!inition is based on so&et$eor'. 4$ile an oerational3+

de!inition is one w$ic$ ascribes &eaning to a concet b' seci!'ing t$e oerationst$at &ust be er!or&ed in order to &easure t$e concet, e.g. t$e word Hac$ieve&ent8 $as &an' &eanings but oerationall' it can be de!ined as, :t$escores obtained b' t$e students in "nglis$ test constructed b' researc$er in 200.7ere it is clear t$at ac$ieve&ent in "nglis$ will be &easured b' ad&inistering totest constructed b' Mr. So and So in 200. Aart !ro& oerational de!initions, onecan de!ine so&e ter&s w$ic$ $ave de!inite &eaning wit$ re!erence to articularinvestigation. $e ter&s lie ?o =u&bis$, Mini&u& ?evels o! ?earning,*rogra&&ed ?earning etc. can be de!ine in articular conte/t o! researc$. E.V#ri#e- : Gariables involved in t$e researc$ need to be identi!ied $ere. $eiroerational de!initions s$ould be given in t$e researc$ roosal. "seciall' instud' w$ere e/eri&ental researc$ is conducted, variables be seci!ied wit$enoug$ care. $eir classi!ication s$ould be done in ter&s and deendent variables,indeendent variables, intervening variables, e/traneous variables etc. 5ontrollingo! so&e variables need to be discussed at an aroriate stage in roosal. F.Re-e#rc% ue-ti&n- &ecti7e- #n$ %')&t%e-e-: 4$ile reading t$e state&ent o!t$e roble&, t$ere &a' be bit con!usion to avoid suc$ con!usions t$ere is a need to$ave seci!ication o! a researc$ roble&. $is seci!ication can be done b' writing


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researc$ questions, objectives, $'ot$eses, b' writing oerational de!initions t$us,objectives give &ore clarit' to researc$ers and reactors objectives are t$e!oundations o! t$e researc$, as t$e' will guide t$e entire rocess o! researc$. ?isto! objectives s$ould not be too lengt$' not a&biguous. $e objectives we statedclearl' to indicate w$at t$e researc$er is tr'ing to investigate.

34$ile conducting an' researc$, researc$er would de!initel' ai& at assuring certainquestions. $e researc$er s$ould !ra&e suc$ questions in a raise wa'. So&eresearc$ers si&l' ut t$e objectives in t$e question !or&, w$ic$ is justdulication o! objectives, w$ic$ be avoided. eending on t$e nature o! stud', t$eresearc$er would !or&ulate $'ot$eses, $e roosition o! a $'ot$esis is derived!ro& t$eoretical constructs, revious researc$es on earlier researc$es, t$eresearc$er can write researc$ or will $'ot$esis will be &ore suitable $owever as er evidences !ro& revious researc$es one can decide t$e nature o! $'ot$esis.-or&ulation o! $'ot$esis is an indication t$at researc$er $as su!!icient

nowledge in t$e area and it also gives direction !or data collection and anal'sis. A$'ot$esis $as to be @I testable, @ii $ave e/lanator' ower, @iii state e/ectedrelations$i between variables. @iv consistent wit$ e/isting bod' o! nowledge.. A--u,)ti&n-: Be-t #n$ !#%n >2005? #--u,)ti&n- #re -t#te,ent- &* 3%#t

t%e re-e#rc%er eie7e- t& e *#ct- ut c#nn&t 7eri*'. I! t$e researc$er is roceeding wit$ certain assu&tions, t$en sa&e need to be reorted in t$e researc$ roosal. H. Sc&)e Li,it#ti&n- #n$ Dei,it#ti&n-:3In an' researc$, it is not ossible to cover all asects o! t$e area o! interest,variables, oulation and so on. $us, a stud' $as alwa's certain li&itations.

?i&itations are t$ose conditions be'ond t$e control o! t$e researc$er t$at &a' la'restriction on conclusions. So&eti&es, t$e tool used is not revalidated. $is itsel! beco&es li&itation o! t$e stud'. $us li&itation is a broad ter&, but deli&itation isa narrow ter&. It indicates boundaries o! t$e stud'. $e stud' on ac$ieve&ent in"nglis$ can be deli&ited to onl' grant>in>aid sc$ool, w$ic$ includes sc$ools w$o!ollow Ma$aras$tra State


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strati!ication. #esearc$er s$ould &ention about robabilit' non robabilit'sa&ling design. Accordingl' selection o! sa&le need to be detailed out alongwit$ its justi!ication. Man' researc$ers write about rando&iBation wit$out&entioning siBe o! oulation. t$e researc$er also writes about strati!ied sa&lingwit$out details o! various strata along wit$ its siBe. As !ro& t$e sa&le statistics,

oulation ara&eter is to be esti&ated, solution o! sa&le be done wit$ enoug$care.%0In case o! qualitative researc$, investigator &a' go !or t$eoretical sa&ling. It isnecessar' to $er#ie$ &ut %#7e , it need be, descrition o! !ield is necessar'. T&&-: Nou $ave alread' s$ared about various tools o! data collection. In t$is section o! roosal selection and descrition o! tool is !or be reorted wit$ roer justi!ication. Stes o! construction o! articular tool need to be reorted in brie!. I!read'&ade tools are used t$en its related details need to be reorted. etails lieaut$or o! t$e tool, its reliabilit', validit', and nor&s, along wit$ scoring rocedure

need to be reorted. It $as been !ound t$at &an' researc$ers !ail to reort t$e 'earw$en tool was constructed. As !ar as ossible, ver' old tools need to be avoided.In case o! read'&ade tools, alwa's loo !or w$ic$ oulation it was desirable touse valid and reliable tools. J. Sini*ic#nce &* t%e Stu$' : I! we $ave alread'reorted strong rationale t$en, $ardl' t$ere is an' need to go !or signi!icance. Inrationale art, one &ust describe as to $ow t$is stud' will contribute to t$e !ield o! education. 7ow t$e !indings 6 results o! articular researc$ will in!luenceeducational rocess in general need to be reorted in t$e rationale onl'. @N&te :$ere are various &odels !or writing researc$ roosal. It di!!ers !ro& universit'to universit'. Man' !unding agencies $ave t$eir own !or&at !or roosal. !.

Tec%niue4- &* D#t# An#'-i- :$is is crucial ste in roosal. As to $ow collected data will be tabulated andorganiBed !or t$e urose o! !urt$er anal'sis is to%1 be reorted in t$is section. I! it is a quantitative researc$, ara&etric or non> ara&etric statistical tec$niques will be used need to be reorted.


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listed in bibliogra$'. Aut$ors w$o are not quoted but t$e' are use!ul !or !urt$erreading be also listed. 5onsistenc' and uni!or&it' be observed in reortingre!erences. +. Ti,e Fr#,e : $e roosal sub&itted !or M.*$il or *$.. degrees,generall' do not require ti&e !ra&e in all universities, but t$ere is a !i/ed li&it !ort$ese courses. It is alwa's advisable to give detailed sc$edule i! researc$ wor, as

it $els to ee researc$er alert. *roosals to be sub&itted to !unding agenc'de!initel' as !or ti&e !ra&e. i&e !ra&e need to be reorted eeing !ollowing oints in view. i&e 6 duration &entioned b' !unding agenc' be roerl'dividend.%21i&e required !or reli&inar' wor lie review o! literature.2i&e required !or rearing tool6s.3i&e require !or data collection, !ield visits etc.%i&e required !or data anal'sis and reort writing.

N. Bu$et : $e roosal sub&itted to t$e !unding agenc' needs details regarding!inancial esti&ates. It &a' include e/ected e/enditure eeing various budgetneeds. -ollowing budget needs be et in view along wit$ a&ount.1#e&uneration !or roject tea&, i.e. rincial investigator and roject tea&.2#e&uneration !or secretarial sta!! lie cler, data entr' oerator, accountants,$elers etc.3#e&uneration !or aointing roject !ellow, !ield investigators etc.%"/enditure towards urc$ase o! boos, journals, tools etc.("/enditure towards rinting, /ero/ing, stationer' etc.)"/enditure !or data entr', tabulation and anal'sis o! data.

+"/enditure !or !ield wor, travel !or &onitoring urose etc."/enditure !or rearing !inal reort.

4$ile rearing budget, e/a&ine t$e guidelines given b' articular !undingagenc'. O. C%#)teri-#ti&n :;enerall' sc$e&e o! c$aterisation is given in s'nosis. I! at all it is to be reortedin researc$ roosal write down various%3cation, sub cations in eac$ c$ater, !or&at !or t$esis is given b' !ewuniversities, sa&e be !ollowed. C%ec= &ur r&re-- I1@a Select one toic !or researc$ in education and write a various stes o! researc$ roosal at lengt$.

Sue-te$ Re#$in- : 1


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3 VARIABLES AND HYPOTHESES UnitStructure

13.0 Objectives0 3.1 Introduction1 3.2 Meaning of variables2 3.3 Types of variables (independent, dependent,!traneous, Intervening and Moderator"3 3.# $oncept of %ypot%esis# 3.& 'ources of %ypot%esis& 3. Types of %ypot%esis ()esearc%, *irectional, +on*irectional, +ull, 'tatistical and uestion for- 3. /or-ulating %ypot%esis

3. $%aracteristics of a good %ypot%esis 3. ypot%esis testing and t%eory 3.10 rrors in testing of %ypot%esis10 3.11 'u--ary

13.0 OBJECTIVES:

fter reading t%is unit you 4ill be able to51*e6ne variables2Identify t%e di7erent types of variables

3'%o4 t%e relations%ip bet4een t%e variables#!plain t%e concept of %ypot%eses#&1'tate t%e sources of %ypot%eses2!plain di7erent types of %ypot%esis3Identify types of %ypot%esis#/ra-e %ypot%eses s8illfully&*escribe t%e c%aracteristics of a good %ypot%esis!plain t%e signi6cance level in %ypot%esis testingIdentify t%e errors in testing of %ypot%esis

3.1 INTRODUCTION: ac% person9t%ing 4e collect data on iscalled an observation (in our researc% 4or8 t%ese are usuallypeople9subjects". Observation (participants" possess a variety ofcharacteristics. If a c%aracteristic of an observation(participant" is t%e sa-e for every -e-ber of t%e group i.e. itdoes nt vary, it is called a constant . If a c%aracteristic of an


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observation (participant" di7ers for group -e-bers it is called avariable. In researc% 4e do nt get e!cited about constants(since everyone is t%e sa-e on t%at c%aracteristic": 4e !re -oreinterested in "!ri!#$e%. 3.& 'EANIN( O) VARIABLES Avariable is any entity that can take on different values. So w$at does t$at &ean9

An't$ing t$at can var' can be considered a variable. -or instance, age can beconsidered a variable because age can tae di!!erent values !or di!!erent eole or!or t$e sa&e erson at di!!erent ti&es. Si&ilarl', country can be considered avariable because a ersons countr' can be assigned a value. A variable is aconcept or abstract idea that can be described in measurable terms. In research,

this term refers to the measurable characteristics, qualities, traits, or attributes

of a particular individual, object, or situation being studied. Gariables are roerties or c$aracteristics o! so&e event, object, or erson t$at can tae ondi!!erent values or a&ounts.%)

Variables are things that we measure, control, ormanipulate in research. They difer in many respects,most notably in the role they are given in our researchand in the type o measures that can be applied to them.;y itself, t%e state-ent of t%e proble- usually provides onlygeneral direction for t%e researc% study: it does not include allt%e speci6c infor-ation. T%ere is so-e basic ter-inology t%at ise!tre-ely i-portant in %o4 4e co--unicate speci6c infor-ationabout researc% proble-s and about researc% in general. constant? condition of t%e study. ftert%e di7erent teac%ing -et%ods %ave been i-ple-ented, t%e 6ft%=graders involved 4ould be -easured 4it% a science ac%ieve-enttest. It is very unli8ely t%at all of t%e 6ft%=graders 4ould receivet%e sa-e score on t%is test, *ence t%e score on t%e scienceac%ieve-ent test beco-es a variable, because di7erentindividuals 4ill %ave di7erent scores: at least, not all individuals

4ill %ave t%e sa-e scores. @e 4ould say t%at scienceac%ieve-ent is a variable, but 4e 4ould -ean, speci6cally, t%att%e score on t%e science ac%ieve-ent test is a variable. T%ere isanot%er variable in t%e +rece,in- e!a-ple A t%e teac%ing-et%od. In contrast to t%e science ac%ieve-ent test score, 4%ic%undoubtedly 4ould be -easured on a scale 4it% -any possiblevalues, teac%ing -et%od is a categorical variable consisting of


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only t4o categories, t%e t4o -et%ods. T*u%, 4e %ave di7erent8inds of variables and di7erent na-es or classi6cations for t%e-. concept 4%ic% can ta8e on di7erent uantitative values iscalled a variable. s suc% t%e concepts li8e 4eig%t, %eig%t,inco-e are all e!a-ples of variables. Bualitative p%eno-ena (or

t%e attributes" are also uanti6ed on t%e basis of t%e presence orabsence of t%e concerning attributes(s". ge is an e!a-ple of#continuous variable, but t%e nu-ber of !$e !n, /e!$ere%+n,ent% is an e!a-ple of discrete variable.0 3.3 TYPES O) VARIABLES:

T%ere are -any classi6cation syste-s given in t%e literature t%ena-es 4e use are descriptive: t%ey describe t%e roles t%atvariables play in a researc% study. T%e variables described belo4

by no -eans e!%aust t%e di7erent syste-s and na-es t%at e!ist,but t%ey are t%e -ost useful for co--unicating abouteducational researc%.13.3.1 In,e+en,ent "!ri!#$e%:

Independent variables are variables 4%ic% are -anipulated orcontrolled or c%anged. In t%e e!a-ple Ca study of t%e e7ect ofteac%er praise on t%e reading ac%ieve-ent of second=gradersD,t%e e7ect of praise, t%e researc%er is trying to deter-ine 4%et%ert%ere is a cause=and=e7ect relations%ip, so t%e 8ind of praise is

varied to see 4%et%er it produces di7erent scores on t%e readingac%ieve-ent test. @e call t%is a !ni+u$!te, in,e+en,ent"!ri!#$e tre!tent "!ri!#$e. T%e a-ount and 8ind of praiseis -anipulated by t%e researc%er. T%e researc%er could analyEet%e scores for boys and girls separately to see 4%et%er t%eresults are t%e sa-e for bot% genders. In t%is case gender is aclassiying or attributes in,e+en,ent "!ri!#$e. T%eresearc%er cannot -anipulate gender, but can classify t%ec%ildren according to gender.13.3.& De+en,ent "!ri!#$e%:

*ependent "ariables are t%e outco-e variables and are t%evariables for 4%ic% 4e calculate statistics. T%e variable 4%ic%c%anges n !ccunt / independent variable is 2nn !%,e+en,ent "!ri!#$e.#


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fe-ale. De+en,ent "!ri!#$e: 'core on a professional attitudeinventory.13.3.3 E4tr!neu% "!ri!#$e:

Independent variables t%at are not related to t%e purpose of t%e

study, but -ay a7ect t%e dependent variable are ter-ed ase!traneous variables. 'uppose t%e researc%er 4ants to test t%e%ypot%esis t%at t%ere is a relations%ip bet4een c%ildren?s gains insocial studies ac%ieve-ent and t%eir self=concepts. In t%is caseself=concept is an independent variable and social studiesac%ieve-ent is a dependent variable. Intelligence -ay as 4ella7ect t%e social studies ac%ieve-ent, but since it is not related tot%e purpose of t%e study underta8en by t%e researc%er, it 4ill beter-ed as an e!traneous variable. @%atever e7ect is noticed ondependent variable as a result of e!traneous variable(s" is

tec%nically described as an >e!peri-ental error?. study -ustal4ays be so designed t%at t%e e7ect upon t%e dependentvariable is attributed entirely to t%e independent variable(s", andnot to so-e e!traneous variable or variables.&0E.-. 7ectiveness of di7erent -et%ods of teac%ing 'ocial'cience. ere variables suc% as teac%er?s co-petence, Teac%er?sent%usias-, age, socio econo-ic status also contributesubstantially to t%e teac%ing learning process. It cannot becontrolled by t%e researc%er. T%e conclusions lac8 incredibility

because of e!traneous variables.13.3.7 Inter"enin- "!ri!#$e%:

T%ey intervene bet4een cause and e7ect. It is diHcult toobserve, as t%ey are related 4it% individuals feelings suc% asboredo-, fatigue e!cite-ent t ti-es so-e of t%ese variablescannot be controlled or -easured but %ave an i-portant e7ectupon t%e result of t%e study as it intervenes bet4een cause ande7ect. T%oug% diHcult, it %as to be controlled t%roug%appropriate design. g. C7ect of i--ediate reinforce-ent on

learning t%e parts of speec%D. /actors ot%er t%an reinforce-entsuc% as an!iety, fatigue, and -otivation -ay be interveningvariables. T%ey are diHcult to de6ne in operational, observableter-s %o4ever t%ey cannot be ignored and -ust be controlledusing appropriate researc% design.13.3.8 ',er!tr:


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t%ird variable t%at 4%en introduced into an analysis alters or%as a contingent e7ect on t%e relations%ip bet4een anindependent and a dependent variable. -oderator variable isan independent variable t%at is not of pri-ary interest t%at %aslevels, 4%ic% 4%en co-bined 4it% t%e levels of t%e independent

variable of interest produces di7erent e7ects.&1/or e!a-ple, suppose t%at t%e researc%er designs a study todeter-ine t%e i-pact of t%e lengt%s of reading passages on t%eco-pre%ension of t%e reading passage. T%e design %as t%reelevels of passage lengt%5 100 4ords, 200 4ords, and 300 4ords.

T%e participants in t%e study are fourt%=6ft%= and si!t%=graders.'uppose t%at t%e t%ree grade levels all did very 4ell on t%e 100=4ord passage, but only t%e si!t%=graders did very 4ell on t%e300=4ord passage. T%is 4ould -ean t%at successfully

co-pre%ending reading passages of di7erent lengt%s 4as-oderated by grade level. C*ec2 5ur +r-re%%: 1. @%at is aariableJ2. Identify t%e variables in t%is e!a-ple 9 Teac%ing e7ectivenessof secondary sc%ool teac%ers in relation to t%eir presagec%aracteristicsD.0 3.7 CONCEPT O) HYPOTHESIS(2ypot%esis is usually considered as t%e principal instru-ent inresearc%. T%e derivation of a suitable %ypot%esis goes %and in

%and 4it% t%e selection of a researc% proble-. %ypot%esis, as atentative %unc%, e!plains t%e situation under observation so as todesign t%e study to prove or disprove it. @%at a researc%er isloo8ing for is a 4or8ing or positive %ypot%esis. It is very diHcult,laborious and ti-e consu-ing to -a8e adeuate discri-inationsin t%e co-ple! interplay of facts 4it%out %ypot%esis. It givesde6nite point and direction to t%e study, prevents blind searc%and indiscri-inate gat%ering of data and %elps to deli-it t%e 6eldof inuiry.13.7.1 'e!nin-:

T%e 4ord *5+t*e%i% (plural is *5+t*e%e%" is derived fro- t%eGree8 4ord – >%ypotit%enai? -eaning >to put under? or >tosuppose? for a %ypot%esis to be put for4ard as a %cientic*5+t*e%i%, t%e scienti6c -et%od reuires t%at one can test it.ty-ologically %ypot%esis is -ade up of t4o 4ords, C%ypoD (lesst%an" and Ct%esisD, 4%ic% -ean less t%an or less certain t%an a


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t%esis. It is t%e presu-ptive state-ent of a proposition or areasonable guess, based upon t%e available evidence, 4%ic% t%eresearc%er see8s to prove t%roug% %is study. According to ?undberg,:A $'ot$esis is a tentative generalisation, t$e validit' o! w$ic$ re&ains to betested. In its &ost ele&entar' stage, t$e $'ot$esis &a' be an' $unc$, guess,

i&aginative idea, w$ic$ beco&es t$e basis !or action or investigation. ;oode and7att $ave de!ined it as :a roosition w$ic$ can be ut to test to deter&ine itsvalidit' . A $'ot$esis is a state&ent te&oraril' acceted as true in t$e lig$t o!‖w$at is, at t$e ti&e, nown about a $eno&enon, and it is e&lo'ed as a basis !oraction in t$e searc$ o! new trut$. %ypot%esis is a tentative assu-ptiondra4n fro- 8no4ledge and t%eory 4%ic% is used as a guide in t%einvestigation of ot%er facts and t%eories t%at are yet un8no4n.&3It is a guess, supposition or tentative inference as to t%ee!istence of so-e fact, condition or relations%ip relative to so-e

p%eno-enon 4%ic% serves to e!plain suc% facts as already are8no4n to e!ist in a given area of researc% and to guide t%esearc% for ne4 trut%. ypot%eses reKect t%e researc% 4or8er?sguess as to t%e probable outco-e of t%e e!peri-ents. %ypot%esis is t%erefore a s%re4d and intelligent guess, asupposition, inference, %unc%, provisional state-ent or tentativegeneraliEation as to t%e e!istence of so-e fact, condition orrelations%ip relative to so-e p%eno-enon 4%ic% serves toe!plain already 8no4n facts in a given area of researc% and toguide t%e searc% for ne4 trut% on t%e basis of e-pirical evidence.

T%e %ypot%esis is put to test for its tenability and for deter-iningits validity. In t%is connection


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In e!peri-ental researc%, t%e researc%ers is interested in -a8ingpredictions about t%e outco-e of t%e e!peri-ent or 4%at t%eresults are e!pected to s%o4 and t%erefore t%e role of %ypot%esesis considered to be of ut-ost i-portance. In t%e %istorical ordescriptive researc%, on t%e ot%er %and, t%e researc%er is

investigating t%e %istory of a city or a nation, t%e life of a -an,t%e %appening of an event, or is see8ing facts to deter-ine t%estatus uo of so-e situation and t%us -ay not %ave a basis for-a8ing a prediction of results. %ypot%esis, t%erefore, -ay notbe reuired in suc% fact=6nding studies. ill4ay (1#" too is oft%e vie4 t%at C4%en fact=6nding alone is t%e ai- of t%e study, a%ypot%esis -ay not be reuired.D Most %istorical or descriptivestudies, %o4ever, involve not only fact=6nding but interpretationof facts to dra4 generaliEations. If a researc%er is tracing t%e%istory of an educational institution or -a8ing a study about t%e

results of a co-ing asse-bly poll, t%e facts or data %e gat%ers4ill prove useful only if %e is able to dra4 generaliEations fro-t%e-. @%enever possible, a %ypot%esis is reco--ended for all-ajor studies to e!plain observed facts, conditions or be%aviourand to serve as a guide in t%e researc% process. T%e i-portanceof %ypot%eses -ay be su--ariEed as under.11. ypot%eses facilitate t%e e!tension of 8no4ledge in an area.

T%ey provide tentative e!planations of facts and p%eno-ena, andcan be tested and validated. It sensitiEes t%e investigator tocertain aspects of situations 4%ic% are relevant fro- t%e

standpoint of t%e proble- in %and.

12. ypot%eses provide t%e researc%er 4it% rational state-ents,consisting of ele-ents e!pressed in a logical order ofrelations%ips 4%ic% see8 to describe or to e!plain conditions orevents, t%at %ave not yet been con6r-ed by facts. T%e%ypot%eses enable t%e researc%er to relate logically 8no4n factsto intelligent guesses about un8no4n conditions. It is a guide tot%e t%in8ing process and t%e process of discovery. It&&

1is t%e investigator?s eye A a sort of guiding lig%t in t%e 4or8 ofdar8ness.

13. ypot%eses provide direction to t%e researc%. It de6nes 4%atis relevant and 4%at is irrelevant. T%e %ypot%eses tell t%eresearc%er speci6cally 4%at %e needs to do and 6nd out in %isstudy. T%us it prevents t%e revie4 of irrelevant literature and t%e


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collection of useless or e!cess data. ypot%eses provide a basisfor selecting t%e sa-ple and t%e researc% procedures to be usedin t%e study. T%e statistical tec%niues needed in t%e analysis ofdata, and t%e relations%ips bet4een t%e variables to be tested,are also i-plied by t%e %ypot%eses. /urt%er-ore, t%e %ypot%eses

%elp t%e researc%er to deli-it %is study in scope so t%at it doesnot beco-e broad or un4ieldy.

1#. ypot%eses provide t%e basis for reporting t%e conclusions oft%e study. It serves as a fra-e4or8 for dra4ing conclusions. T%eresearc%er 4ill 6nd it very convenient to test eac% %ypot%esisseparately and state t%e conclusions t%at are relevant to eac%.On t%e basis of t%ese conclusions, %e can -a8e t%e researc%report interesting and -eaningful to t%e reader. It provides t%eoutline for setting conclusions in a -eaningful 4ay.

ypot%esis %as a very i-portant place in researc% alt%oug% itoccupies a very s-all pace in t%e body of a t%esis. It is al-osti-possible for a researc% 4or8er not to %ave one or -ore%ypot%eses before proceeding 4it% %is 4or8. 3.8 SOURCES O)HYPOTHESIS:

T%e derivation of a good %ypot%esis de-ands c%aracteristic ofe!perience and creativity. T%oug% %ypot%esis s%ould precede t%egat%ering of data, a good %ypot%esis can co-e only fro-e!perience. 'o-e degree of data gat%ering, t%e revie4 of related

literature, or a pilot study -ust precede t%e develop-ent andgradual re6ne-ent of t%e %ypot%esis. good investigator -ust&%ave not only an alert -ind capable of deriving relevant%ypot%esis, but also a critical -ind capable of rejecting faulty%ypot%esis. ;*!t i% t*e %urce / *5+t*e%e%


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#!ploratory personal investigation 4%ic% involves original 6eldintervie4s on a li-ited scale 4it% interested parties andindividuals 4it% a vie4 to secure greater insig%t into t%e practicalaspects of t%e proble-.&Intuition is often considered a reasonable source of researc%

%ypot%eses == especially 4%en it is t%e intuition of a 4ell=8no4nresearc%er or t%eoretician 4%o C8no4s 4%at is 8no4nD)ational Induction is often used to for- Cne4 %ypot%esesD bylogically co-bining t%e e-pirical 6ndings fro- separate areas ofresearc%Lrior e-pirical researc% 6ndings are per%aps t%e -ost co--onsource of ne4 researc% %ypot%eses, especially 4%en carefullyco-bined using rational inductionT%us %ypot%esis are for-ulated as a result of prior t%in8ingabout t%e subject, e!a-ination of t%e available data and -aterial

including related studies and t%e council of e!perts.

C*ec2 5ur +r-re%%:&1. *e6ne %ypot%esis.2. ypot%esis is stated in researc%es concerned 4it%3. @%at are t%e sources of %ypot%esesJ3.= TYPES O) HYPOTHESIS :3.=.1 Re%e!rc* *5+t*e%i%: @%en a prediction or a%ypot%esiEed relations%ip is to be tested by scienti6c -et%ods, it

is ter-ed as researc% %ypot%esis. T%e researc% %ypot%esis is apredictive state-ent t%at relates an independent variable to adependent variable. sually a researc% %ypot%esis -ust contain,at least, one independent and one dependent&variable. researc% %ypot%esis -ust be stated in a testable for-for its proper evaluation. s already stressed, t%is for- s%ouldindicate a relations%ip bet4een t%e variables in clear, concise,and understandable language. )esearc% %ypot%eses areclassi6ed as being directional or non=directional.

13.=.& Directin!$ *5+t*e%i%: T%e %ypot%eses 4%ic% stipulatet%e direction of t%e e!pected di7erences or relations%ips areter-s as directional %ypot%eses. /or e!a-ple, t%e researc%%ypot%esis5 CT%ere 4ill be a positive relations%ip bet4eenindividual?s attitude to4ards %ig% caste indus and %is socio=econo-ic status,D is a directional researc% %ypot%esis. T%is%ypot%esis stipulates t%at individuals 4it% favourable attitude


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to4ards %ig% cast indus 4ill generally co-e fro- %ig%er socio=econo-ic indu fa-ilies and t%erefore it does stipulate t%edirection of t%e relations%ip. 'i-ilarly, t%e %ypot%esis5Cdolescent boys 4it% %ig% IB 4ill e!%ibit lo4 an!iety t%anadolescent boys 4it% lo4 IBD is a directional researc% %ypot%esis

because it stipulates t%e direction of t%e di7erence bet4eengroups.23.=.3 Nn>,irectin!$ *5+t*e%i%: researc% %ypot%esis4%ic% does not specify t%e direction of e!pected di7erences orrelations%ips is a non=directional researc% %ypot%esis. /ore!a-ple, t%e %ypot%eses5 CT%ere 4ill be di7erence in t%eadaptability of fat%ers and -ot%ers to4ards rearing of t%eirc%ildrenD or CT%ere is a di7erence in t%e an!iety level ofadolescent girls of %ig% IB and lo4 IBD are non=directionalresearc% %ypot%eses. lt%oug% t%ese %ypot%eses stipulate t%ere

4ill be a di7erence, t%e direction of t%e di7erence is not speci6ed. researc% %ypot%esis can ta8e eit%er statistical for-, declarativefor-, t%e null for-, or t%e uestion for-.

13.=.7 St!ti%tic!$ *5+t*e%i%: @%en it is ti-e to test 4%et%ert%e data support or refute t%e researc% %ypot%esis, it needs to betranslated into a statistical %ypot%esis. statistical %ypot%esis isgiven in statistical ter-s. Tec%nically, in t%e conte!t of inferentialstatistics, it is a state-ent about one or -ore para-eters t%atare -easures of t%e populations under study. 'tatistical

%ypot%eses often are given in uantitative ter-s, for e!a-ple5CT%e mean reading&1ac%ieve-ent of t%e population of t%ird=grade students taug%t byMet%od euals t%e mean reading ac%ieve-ent of t%epopulation taug%t by Met%od ;.D T%erefore 4e can say t%at%t!ti%tic!$ *5+t*e%e% are, concerned 4it% populations understudy. @e use inferential statistics, to dra4 conclusions aboutpopulation values even t%oug% 4e %ave access to only a sa-pleof participants. In order to use inferential statistics, 4e need to

translate t%e researc% %ypot%esis into a testable for-, 4%ic% iscalled t%e null %ypot%esis. n alternative or declarative%ypot%esis indicates t%e situation corresponding to 4%en t%e null%ypot%esis is not true. T%e stated %ypot%esis 4ill di7er dependingon 4%et%er or not it is a directional researc% %ypot%esis.


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3.=.8 Dec$!r!ti"e *5+t*e%i%: @%en t%e researc%er -a8es apositive state-ent about t%e outco-e of t%e study, t%e%ypot%esis ta8es t%e declarative for-. /or e!a-ple, t%e%ypot%esis5 CT%e acade-ic ac%ieve-ent of e!troverts issigni6cantly %ig%er t%an t%at of t%e introverts,D is stated in t%e

declarative for-. In suc% a state-ent of %ypot%esis, t%eresearc%er -a8es a prediction based on %is t%eoreticalfor-ulations of 4%at s%ould %appen if t%e e!planations of t%ebe%aviour %e %as given in %is t%eory are correct.13.=.= Nu$$ *5+t*e%i%: In t%e null for-, t%e researc%er -a8esa state-ent t%at no relations%ip e!ists. T%e %ypot%esis, CT%ere isno signi6cant di7erence bet4een t%e acade-ic ac%ieve-ent of%ig% sc%ool at%letes and t%at of non at%letes,D is an e!a-ple ofnull %ypot%esis. 'ince null %ypot%eses can be tested statistically,t%ey are often ter-ed as statistical %ypot%eses. T%ey are also

called t%e testing %ypot%eses 4%en declarative %ypot%eses aretested statistically by converting t%e- into null for-. It statest%at even 4%ere it see-s to %old good it is due to -ere c%ance. Itis for t%e researc%er to reject t%e null %ypot%esis by s%o4ing t%att%e outco-e -entioned in t%e declarative %ypot%esis does occurand t%e uantu- of it is suc% t%at it cannot be easily dis-issedas %aving occurred by c%ance.013.=.? @ue%tin /r *5+t*e%i%: In t%e uestion for-%ypot%esis, a uestion is as8ed as to 4%at t%e outco-e 4ill be

instead of stating 4%at outco-e is e!pected. 'uppose aresearc%er is interested in 8no4ing 4%et%er progra--edinstruction %as any relations%ip to test an!iety of c%ildren.

1T%e declarative for- of t%e %ypot%esis -ig%t be5 CTeac%ingc%ildren t%roug% t%e progra--ed instruction -aterial 4illdecrease t%eir test an!ietyD.

1T%e null for- 4ould be5 Cteac%ing c%ildren t%roug% progra--edinstruction -aterial 4ill %ave no e7ect on t%eir test an!iety.? T%is

state-ent s%o4s t%at no relations%ip e!ists bet4eenprogra--ed instruction and test an!iety.

1T%e uestion for- puts t%e state-ent in t%e for-5 C@ill teac%ingc%ildren t%roug% progra--ed instruction decrease t%eir testan!ietyJD


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0 3.? )OR'ULATIN( HYPOTHESIS:

ypot%eses are guesses or tentative generaliEations, but t%eseguesses are not -erely accidents. $ollection of factualinfor-ation alone does not lead to successful for-ulation of%ypot%eses. ypot%eses are t%e products of considerablespeculation and i-aginative guess 4or8. T%ey are based partlyon 8no4n facts and e!planations, and partly conceptual. T%ereare no precise rules for for-ulating %ypot%eses and deducingconseuences fro- t%e- t%at can be e-pirically veri6ed.o4ever, t%ere are certain necessary conditions t%at areconducive to t%eir for-ulation. 'o-e of t%e- are51Richness of background knowledge. researc%er -ay deduce%ypot%eses inductively after -a8ing observations of be%aviour,noticing trends or probable relations%ips. /or e!a-ple, a

classroo- teac%er daily observes student be%aviour. On t%e basisof %is e!perience and %is 8no4ledge of be%aviour in a11sc%ool situation, t%e teac%er -ay atte-pt to relate t%ebe%aviour of students to %is o4n, to %is teac%ing -et%ods, toc%anges in t%e sc%ool environ-ent, and so on. /ro- t%eseobserved relations%ips, t%e teac%er -ay inductively for-ulate a%ypot%esis t%at atte-pts to e!plain suc% relations%ips.

;ac8ground 8no4ledge, %o4ever, is essential for perceiving

relations%ips a-ong t%e variables and to deter-ine 4%at 6ndingsot%er researc%ers %ave reported on t%e proble- under study.+e4 8no4ledge, ne4 discoveries, and ne4 inventions s%ouldal4ays for- continuity 4it% t%e already e!isting corpus of8no4ledge and, t%erefore, it beco-es all t%e -ore essential to be4ell versed 4it% t%e already e!isting 8no4ledge. ypot%eses -aybe for-ulated correctly by persons 4%o %ave ric% e!periencesand acade-ic bac8ground, but t%ey can never be for-ulated byt%ose 4%o %ave poor bac8ground 8no4ledge.1Versatility of intellect 5 ypot%eses are also derived t%roug%

deductive reasoning fro- a t%eory. 'uc% %ypot%eses are calleddeductive %ypot%eses. researc%er -ay begin a study byselecting one of t%e t%eories in %is o4n area of interest. fterselecting t%e particular t%eory, t%e researc%er proceeds todeduce a %ypot%esis fro- t%is t%eory t%roug% sy-bolic logic or-at%e-atics. T%is is possible only 4%en t%e researc%er %as aversatile intellect and can -a8e use of it for restructuring %is


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e!periences. $reative i-agination is t%e product of an adventure,sound attitude and agile intellect. In t%e %ypot%eses for-ulation,t%e researc%er 4or8s on nu-erous pat%s. e %as to ta8e aconsistent e7ort and develop certain %abits and attitudes.Moreover, t%e researc%er %as to saturate %i-self 4it% all possible

infor-ation about t%e proble- and t%en t%in8 liberally at it andproceed furt%er in t%e conduct of t%e study.2 Analogy and other practices. nalogies also lead t%e researc%erto clues t%at %e -ig%t 6nd useful in t%e for-ulation of%ypot%eses and for 6nding solutions to proble-s. /or e!a-ple,suppose a ne4 situation rese-bles an old situation in regard to21a factor N. If t%e researc%er 8no4s fro- previous e!periencet%at t%e old situation is related to ot%er factors and P as 4ell asto N, %e reasons t%at per%aps a ne4 situation is also related to

and P. T%e researc%er, %o4ever, s%ould use analogies 4it%caution as t%ey are not fool proof tools for 6nding solutions toproble-s. t ti-es, conversations and consultations 4it%colleagues and e!pert fro- di7erent 6elds are also %elpful infor-ulating i-portant and useful %ypot%eses.

0 3. CHARACTERISTICS O) A (OOD HYPOTHESIS

ypot%esis -ust possess t%e follo4ing c%aracteristics51i" ypot%esis s%ould be clear and precise. If t%e %ypot%esis is

not clear and precise, t%e inferences dra4n on its basis cannot beta8en as reliable.2ii" ypot%esis s%ould be capable of being tested. 'o-e priorstudy -ay be done by researc%er in order to -a8e %ypot%esis atestable one. %ypot%esis Cis testable if ot%er deductions can be-ade fro- it 4%ic%, in turn, can be con6r-ed or disproved byobservation.D3iii" ypot%esis s%ould state relations%ip bet4een variables, if it%appens to be a relational %ypot%esis.#iv" ypot%esis s%ould be li-ited in scope and -ust be speci6c.

researc%er -ust re-e-ber t%at narro4er %ypot%eses aregenerally -ore testable and %e s%ould develop suc% %ypot%eses.&v" ypot%esis s%ould be stated as far as possible in -ost si-pleter-s so t%at t%e sa-e is easily understandable by all concerned.;ut one -ust re-e-ber t%at si-plicity of %ypot%esis %as not%ingto do 4it% its signi6cance.


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vi" ypot%esis s%ould be consistent 4it% -ost 8no4n facts i.e. it-ust be consistent 4it% a substantial body of establis%ed facts. Inot%er 4ords, it s%ould be one 4%ic% judges accept as being t%e-ost li8ely.

vii ) The hypotheses selected should be amenable to testingwithin a reasonable time. T%e researc%er s%ould not select aproble- 4%ic% involves %ypot%eses t%at are not agreeable totesting 4it%in a reasonable and speci6ed ti-e. e -ust38no4 t%at t%ere are proble-s t%at cannot be solved for a longti-e to co-e. T%ese are proble-s of i--ense diHculty t%atcannot be pro6tably studied because of t%e lac8 of essentialtec%niues or -easures. viii" ypot%esis -ust e!plain t%e factst%at gave rise to t%e need for e!planation. T%is -eans t%at by

using t%e %ypot%esis plus ot%er 8no4n and acceptedgeneraliEations, one s%ould be able to deduce t%e originalproble- condition. T%us %ypot%esis -ust actually e!plain 4%at itclai-s to e!plain, it s%ould %ave e-pirical reference. C*ec2 5ur+r-re%%: 1. @%at are t%e di7erent types of %ypot%esisJ2. e!peri-ental %ypot%esis=testing researc%? and a researc% in4%ic% an independent variable is not -anipulated is called >non=e!peri-ental %ypot%esis=testing researc%?.


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Generally, in %ypot%esis testing 4e proceed on t%e basis of null%ypot%esis, 8eeping t%e alternative %ypot%esis in vie4. @%y soJ

T%e ans4er is t%at on t%e assu-ption t%at null %ypot%esis is true,one can assign t%e probabilities to di7erent possible sa-pleresults, but t%is cannot be done if 4e proceed 4it% t%e alternative

%ypot%esis. ence t%e use of null %ypot%esis (at ti-es also 8no4nas statistical %ypot%esis" is uite freuent.1a" T*e $e"e$ / %i-nic!nce: T%is is very i-portant concept int%e conte!t of %ypot%esis testing. It is al4ays so-e percentage(usually &Q" 4%ic% s%ould be c%osen 4it% great care, t%oug%t andreason. In case 4e ta8e t%e signi6cance level at & per cent, t%ent%is i-plies t%at 0 4ill be rejected 4%en t%e sa-pling result (i.e.observed evidence" %as a less t%an 0.0& probability of occurring if 0 is true. In ot%er 4ords, t%e & percent level of signi6cance-eans t%at researc%er is 4illing to ta8e as -uc% as

&1a & percent ris8 of rejecting t%e null %ypot%esis 4%en it (0"%appens to be true. T%us t%e signi6cance level is t%e -a!i-u-value of t%e probability of rejecting 0 4%en it is true and isusually deter-ined in advance before testing t%e %ypot%esis.

1b" T%e criteria for rejecting t%e null %ypot%esis -ay di7er.'o-eti-es t%e null %ypot%esis is rejected only 4%en t%e uantityof t%e outco-e is so large t%at t%e probability of its %avingoccurred by -ere c%ance is 1 ti-e out of 100. @e consider t%e

probability of its %aving occurred by c%ance to be too little and4e reject t%e c%ance t%eory of t%e null %ypot%esis and ta8e t%eoccurrence to be due to a genuine tendency. On ot%er occasions,4e -ay be bolder and reject t%e null %ypot%esis even 4%en t%euantity of t%e reported outco-e is li8ely to occur by c%ance &ti-es out of 100.'tatistically t%e for-er is 8no4n as t%e rejectionof t%e null %ypot%esis at 0.1 level of signi6cance and t%e latter ast%e rejection at 0.& level. It -ay be pointed out t%at if t%eresearc%er is able to reject t%e null %ypot%esis, %e cannot directlyup%old t%e declarative %ypot%esis. If an outco-e is not %eld to be

due to c%ance, it does not -ean t%at it is due to t%e very causeand e7ect relations%ip asserted in t%e particular declarativestate-ent. It -ay be due to so-et%ing else 4%ic% t%e researc%er-ay %ave failed to control.

1c" Deci%in ru$e r te%t / *5+t*e%i%: Given a %ypot%esis 0and an alternative %ypot%esis a 4e -a8e a rule 4%ic% is 8no4n


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as decision rule according to 4%ic% 4e accept 0 (i.e. reject a" orreject 0 (ie. accept a". /or instance, if 0 is t%at a certain lot isgood (t%ere are very fe4 defective ite-s in it" against a t%at t%elot is not good (t%ere are too -any defective ite-s in it", t%en 4e-ust decide t%e nu-ber of ite-s to be tested and t%e criterion

for accepting or rejecting t%e %ypot%esis. @e -ig%t test 10 ti-esin t%e lot and plan our decision saying t%at if t%ere are none oronly 1 defective ite- a-ong t%e 10, 4e 4ill accept 0 ot%er4ise4e 4ill reject 0 (or accept a". T%is sort of basis is 8no4n asdecision rule.

1d" T>t!i$e, !n, One>t!i$e, te%t%: In t%e conte!t of%ypot%esis testing, t%ese t4o ter-s are uite i-portant and -ustbe clearly understood. t4o=tailed test rejects t%e null%ypot%esis if, say,

1t%e sa-ple -ean is signi6cantly %ig%er or lo4er t%an t%e%ypot%esiEed value of t%e -ean of t%e population. 'uc% a test isappropriate 4%en t%e null %ypot%esis is so-e speci6ed value andt%e alternative %ypot%esis is a value not eual to t%e speci6edvalue of t%e null %ypot%esis. In a t4o=tailed test, t%ere are t4orejection regions, one on eac% tail of t%e curve 4%ic% can beillustrated as under5

If t%e signi6cance level is & per cent and t%e t4o=tailed test is to

be applied, t%e probability of t%e rejection area 4ill be 0.0&(eually divided on bot% tails of t%e curve as 0.02&" and t%at oft%e acceptance region 4ill be 0.& ;ut t%ere are situations 4%enonly one=tailed test is considered appropriate. one=tailed test4ould be used 4%en 4e are to test, say, 4%et%er t%e population-ean is eit%er lo4er t%an or %ig%er t%an so-e %ypot%esiEedvalue. @e s%ould al4ays re-e-ber t%at accepting 0, on t%ebasis of sa-ple infor-ation does not constitute t%e proof t%at 0,is true. @e only -ean t%at t%ere is no statistical evidence toreject it. 3.10 ERRORS IN TESTIN( O) HYPOTHESIS Type I

and Type II errors5 in t%e conte!t of testing of %ypot%eses, t%ereare basically t4o types of errors 4e can -a8e. @e -ay reject 04%en 0 is true and 4e -ay accept 0 4%en in fact 0 is not true.

T%e for-er is 8no4n as Type I error and t%e latter as Type II error.In ot%er 4ords, Type I error -eans rejection of %ypot%esis 4%ic%s%ould %ave been accepted and Type II error -eans accepting t%e%ypot%esis 4%ic% s%ould %ave been rejected. Type I error is


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denoted by (alp%a" 8no4n as (alp%a" error, also called t%e level of signi6cance of test: and Type II error is denoted by R (beta"8no4n as R error. In a tabular for- t%e said t4o errors can bepresented as follo4s5T!#$e

3.1

Deci%i

n)+ccept 0 )eject 00(true"

$orrect decision Type I error (alp%aerror"

0(false"

Type II error (Rerror"

$orrect decision

T%e probability of Type I error is usually deter-ined in advance and isunderstood as t%e level of signi6cance of testing t%e %ypot%esis. If type

I error is 6!ed at & per cent, it -eans t%at t%ere are about & c%ances in100 t%at 4e 4ill reject 0 4%en 0 is true. @e can control Type Ierror just by 6!ing it at a lo4er level. /or instance, if 4e 6! it at 1per cent, 4e 4ill say t%at t%e -a!i-u- probability of co--itting

Type I error 4ould only be 0.01. ;ut 4it% a 6!ed sa-ple siEe, n,4%en 4e try to reduce Type I error, t%e probability of co--itting

Type II error increases. ;ot% types of errors cannot be reducedsi-ultaneously. T%ere is a trade=o7 bet4een t4o types of errors4%ic% -eans t%at t%e probability of -a8ing one type of error canonly be reduced if 4e are 4illing to increase t%e probability of

-a8ing t%e ot%er type of error. To deal 4it% t%is trade=o7 inbusiness situations, decision=-a8ers decide t%e appropriate levelof Type I error by e!a-ining t%e costs or penalties attac%ed tobot% types of errors. If Type I error involves t%e ti-e and troubleof re4or8ing a batc% of c%e-icals t%at s%ould %ave beenaccepted, 4%ereas Type II error -eans ta8ing a c%ance t%at anentire group of users of t%is c%e-ical co-pound 4ill be poisoned,t%en in suc% a situation one s%ould prefer a Type I error to a TypeII error. s a result one -ust set very %ig% level for Type I error inone?s testing tec%niue of a given %ypot%esis. ence, in t%e

testing of %ypot%esis, one -ust -a8e all possible e7ort to stri8ean adeuate balance bet4een Type I and Type II errors. C*ec25ur +r-re%%: 1. !plain t%e ter- level of signi6canceJ2. @%at are t%e t4o types of error in t%e testing of t%e%ypot%esisJ3.11 SU''ARY It is i-portant for t%e researc%er to for-ulate%ypot%eses before data are gat%ered. T%is is necessary for an


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objective and unbiased study. It s%ould be evident fro- 4%at you%ave read so far t%at in order to carry out researc%: you need tostart by identifying a uestion 4%ic% de-ands an ans4er, or aneed 4%ic% reuires a solution. T%e proble- can be generatedeit%er by an initiating idea, or by a perceived proble- area. @e

also studied t%at t%ere are i-portant ualities of %ypot%eses4%ic% distinguis% t%e- fro- ot%er for-s of state-ent. good%ypot%esis is a very useful aid to organiEing t%e researc% e7ort. Itspeci6cally li-its t%e enuiry to t%e interaction of certainvariables: it suggests t%e -et%ods appropriated for collecting,analyEing and interpreting t%e data: and t%e resultantcon6r-ation or rejection of t%e %ypot%esis t%roug% e-pirical ore!peri-ental testing gives a clear indication of t%e e!tent of8no4ledge gained. T%e %ypot%esis -ust be conceptually clear.

T%e concepts utiliEed in t%e %ypot%esis s%ould be clearly de6ned

A not only for-ally but also if possible, operationally. ypot%esistesting is t%e often used strategy for deciding 4%et%er a sa-pledata o7er suc% support for a %ypot%esis t%at generaliEation canbe -ade. T%us %ypot%esis testing enables us to -a8e probabilitystate-ents about population para-eter(s". BIBLIO(RAPHY11. ;est S.@, a%n S. :( 200": Research in education, tent%edition, *orling indersley (India" Lvt


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sa-pling #.& $%aracteristics of a good sa-ple #. Tec%niues ofsa-pling #. Types of probability sa-pling #. Types of +on=probability sa-pling #.


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1Ecnic!$ : Manageable sa-ple 4ill reduce t%e cost co-pareto entire population.2Incre!%e, %+ee, : T%e process of researc% li8e collection ofdata, analysis !n, Interpretation of data etc ta8e less ti-e t%ant%e population.

3(re!ter Sc+e : andling data beco-e% easier and-anageable in case of a sa-ple. Moreover co-pre%ensive scopeand Ke!ibility e!ists in t%e case of a sa-ple.#Accur!c5 : *ue to li-ited area of coverage6 co-pleteness andaccuracy is possible. T%e processing of data is done accuratelyproducing aut%entic results.&R!++rt : ;etter rapport is establis%ed 4it% t%e respondents,4%ic% %elps in validity and reliability of t%e results.

Di%!,"!nt!-e% / S!+$in- :

31Bi!%e,ne%% : C*!nce% of biased selection leading to erroneousconclusions -ay prevail. ;ias in t%e sa-ple -ay be due to faulty-et%od of selection of individuals or t%e nature of p%eno-enonitself.2Se$ectin / true re+re%ent!ti"e %!+$e : It t%e proble-under study is of a co-ple! nature6 it beco-es diHcult to selecta true representative sa-ple, ot%er4ise results 4ill not beaccurate U 4ill be usable.3Nee, /r %+eci!$ie, 2n$e,-e : T*e researc%er need%

8no4ledge, training and e!perience in sa-pling tec%niue,statistical analysis and calculation of probable error.


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2/ree fro- error due to bias3deuate in siEe for being reliable#nits of sa-ple s%ould be independent !n, relevant&nits of sa-ple s%ould be co-plete precise !n, up to date/ree fro- rando- sa-pling error

voiding substituting t%e original sa-ple for convenience.

C*ec2 Yur Pr-re%% > I B.1 *e6ne t%e follo4ing#(a" 'a-ple (b" 'a-plingB.2 @rite any t%ree points for t%e follo4ing. (a" +eed for sa-pling(b" dvantages of sa-pling (c" *isadvantages of sa-pling (d"$%aracteristics of a good sa-ple&7.= TECHNI@UES O) SA'PLIN( : T%ere are di7erent types

of %!+$in- tec*niue% based on t4o factors viE. (1" t%erepresentation basis and (2" t%e ele-ent selection tec%niue ont%e representation basis. T*e sa-ple -ay be probabilitysa-pling or it -ay be non=probability sa-pling. On t%e ele-entbasis6 t%e sa-ple -ay be eit%er unrestricted or restricted. ere4e 4ill discuss about t4o types of sa-pling viE. (a" Lrobability'a-pling and (b" +on=Lrobability 'a-pling. Dierence#eteen Pr#!#i$it5 !n, Nn

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