Types of Educational Research: Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methodology

Types of Educational Research:Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methodologies

EDU 702 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Presented by

Nur Zahira Bt Samsu Zaman @ TaufiqAgalita ak Joseph

Marliana Bt Baharudin

Definition ofQuantitative and Qualitative Research

Quantitative research generates statistics through the use of large-scale survey research, using methods such as questionnaires or structured interviews. This type of research reaches many more people, but the contact with those people is much quicker than it is in qualitative research.

Qualitative research explores attitudes, behaviour and experiences through such methods as interviews or focus groups. It attempts to get an in-depth opinion from participants. As it is attitudes, behaviour and experiences which are important, fewer people take part in the research, but the contact with these people tends to last a lot longer. Under the umbrella of qualitative research there are many different methodologies.

Quantitative Research Methodologies

Experimental

Single-subject

CorrelationalCausal Comparative

Survey

Experimental Research

Experimental Research means, DOING EXPERIMENT. Doing experiment is the best way to establish cause-and-effect relationship among variables.

Examples:

“Quality of learning with an active VS passive motivational set”

“Mnemonic versus nonmnemonic vocabulary-learning strategies for children”


Essential Characteristics of


Comparison of Groups

Manipulation of the

Independent Variable

Randomization

Experimental Group

Control/Comparison Group

COMPARISON OF GROUPS

A group receives a treatment of some

sort

A group receives no treatment

MANIPULATION OF THE INDEPENDENT VARIABLE

The researcher manipulates the independent variables.

The researcher determines what forms the independent variable will take and then which group will get which form.

Independent variables that can be manipulated: teaching method, type of counseling, learning activities, assignments, materials.

Independent variables that can’t be manipulated: gender, ethnicity, age, religious preference.

Methods to establish independent variable in experimental study?

• One form VS another• Presence VS absence

• Varying degrees of the same form

RANDOMIZATION

Random assignments of subjects to groups.

Random assignments mean every individual who is participating in an experiment has an equal chance of being assigned to any of the experimental or control conditions being compared.

3 things to consider when using random assignments of subjects to groups.

•It takes place before the experiment begins•It is a process of assigning or distributing individuals to groups, not a result of such distribution•Groups are equivalent at the beginning of the study and only differ in variables of interest.

Single-Subject Research

Typically examines one participant at a time to investigate the effects of an Independent Variable (IV) on a Dependent Variable (DV)(e.g. a treatment on some behavior of that participant.

Generally will use multiple (i.e. 6-10 participants) which are basically replications of the research each time an additional participant is used.

3 Characteristics of Single-Subject Research:

•Uses repeated measures (need reliable measurement/instrument)• Requires a clear description of conditions and the DV(measurement, IV and DV operationally defined)•2 general types of phases (baseline and treatment conditions, but could have probes, etc.)



Single-Subject GraphingBASELINE• Period of no treatment (Independent Variable) or traditional treatment (reflects

natural state)• Allows research to have a comparison for the effect of Independent Variable and to

determine if extraneous variables are operating (i.e. the control condition)

INTERVENTION/TREATMENT• Introduction of the Interdependent Variable• Phase length should be approximately at least as long as baseline (for comparison

purposes)• Repeated measurement of the Dependent Variable continues

The Six Single-Subject Design• The A-B Design• The A-B-A Design• The A-B-A-B Design• The B-A-B Design• The A-B-C-B Design• Multiple-Baseline Design

Single-Subject ResearchThe A-B DESIGN

Baseline Treatment

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Single-Subject ResearchThe A-B DESIGN

•1 baseline and 1 treatment phase

•Consider the example below:

•Problem:

“A child having trouble working on school work (i.e. staying on task), the treatment is setting up a reinforcement contingency that gives him a Ringgit

for every minute he stays on task”

There is a limited control over threats to internal validity. No control for extraneous variables - that is changes in the Dependent

Variable could be caused by numerous things

LIMITATION!!

Single-Subject ResearchThe A-B-A DESIGN

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Single-Subject ResearchThe A-B-A DESIGN

•1 baseline - 1 treatment – 1 baseline phase.•Advantage

•Consider the example below:

•Problem:• Doesn’t completely control for extraneous variables (but more

evidence!)• Irreversibility (Some IVs can’t be withdrawn and some behaviors can’t

be reversed)

LIMITATION!!

A child having trouble working on school work (i.e. staying on task), the treatment is setting up a reinforcement contingency that gives

him a Ringgit for every minute he stays on task

The withdrawal strengthens the relationship between the IV and DV

Correlational Research

Also known as associational research.

Relationships among two or more variables are studied without any attempt to influence them.

Investigates the possibility of relationships between two variables.

There is no manipulation of variables in Correlational research.

Correlational Research

Purposes of Correlational

Research

Explanatory Studies

Prediction Studies

Correlational ResearchExplanatory Studies

T

Explaining human behavior.

To clarify our understanding of important phenomena by identifying relationships among variables.

Examples:Identify factors which might have caused underachievement among senior

high school students

Results: Study habits were highly associated with the students’ academic performance

Correlational ResearchPrediction Studies

T The variable that is used to make the prediction = Predictor Variable The variable about which the prediction is made = Criterion Variable

If a relationship of sufficient magnitude exists between two variables, it becomes possible to predict a score on one variable if a score on the other variable is known.

For example:

Secondary school grades are highly related to university/college grades. (Secondary school grades can be used to predict university/college grades)

Prediction: A person with a high grade/CGPA in Secondary School would likely to have a high grade/CGPA in college.

Predictor Variable: Secondary school gradesCriterion Variable: University/college grades

Correlational ResearchPrediction Studies

Correlational ResearchPrediction Using a Scatterplots

Correlational ResearchExamples of Study

What is the relationship between TV violence and aggressive behavior?

How to determine the association among levels of academic achievement, motivation and persistence for high school gifted and talented seniors in the sciences?This study is to determine the predictive ability of high school grade point average (GPA) to forecast first to fourth year College GPA.

Is maternal smoking during pregnancy related to increased of crime in adult offspring?

Causal-Comparative Research

Aim:

To determine the cause of existing differences among groups. Whereas correlational research involves collecting data on TWO or more variables on ONE group, causal comparative research involves the collection of data on ONE independent variables for TWO or more groups.

Three types of causal-comparative research

Type 1

• Exploration of effects (dependent variable) cause by membership in a given group

• Question: What differences in abilities are caused by gender?

• Research hypothesis: Females have a greater amount of linguistic ability than males.

Type 2

• Exploration of causes (independent variable) of group membership

• Question: What causes individuals to join a gang?

• Research hypothesis: Individuals who are members of gangs have more aggressive personalities than individuals who are not members of gangs.

Type 3

• Exploration of the consequences (dependent variable) of an intervention

• Question: How do students taught by the inquiry method react to propaganda?

• Research hypothesis: Students who were taught by the inquiry method are more critical of propaganda than are those who were taught by the lecture method.

Causal-comparative versus Correlational Research

SimilaritiesAssociational research – researchers seek to

explore relationship among variables.

Explain phenomena of interest.

Identify variables that are worthy of later exploration through experimental research

Provide guidance for subsequent experimental studies.

Neither permits the manipulation of variables by the researcher.

Explore causation (in both cases, causation must be argued)

DifferencesCausal-comparative studies typically compare

two/more groups of subjects while correlational studies require a score on each

variable for each subject

Correlational studies investigate two (or more) quantitative variables, whereas causal-comparative studies typically involve at least

one categorical variable.

Correlational studies often analyze data using scatter plots and/or correlational coefficient,

while causal-comparative studies often compare averages or use crossbreak tables.

Causal-comparative versus Experimental Research

SimilaritiesOne categorical variable.

Compare group performances (average score) to determine relationship.

Compare separate groups of subjects. *

DifferencesIn experimental research, the independent variable is

manipulated; in causal-comparative research, no manipulation takes place.

Causal comparative studies are likely to provide much weaker evidence for causation than do experimental

studies.

In experimental research, the researcher can sometimes assign subjects to treatment groups; in causal-comparative research, the groups are already formed – the researcher

must locate them.

In experimental studies, the researcher has much greater flexibility in formulating the structure of the design.

* Except in counterbalanced, time-series, or single-subject experimental designs (see Chapters 13 and 14)

Survey ResearchMajor Characteristics

Information is collected from a group of people in order to describe some aspects or

characteristics of the population of which that group is a part.

The main way in which information is collected is

through asking questions; the answers to these questions by

the members of the group constitute the data of the study.

Information is collected from a sample rather than from

every member of the population.

The Purpose of Survey Research

To describe the characteristics of a population

To find out how the members of a population distribute themselves on one or

more variables

Rarely is the population as whole studies, however. Instead, a sample is surveyed and a description of the population is inferred

from what the sample reveals.

Types of Survey

Cross-sectional surveys• A cross-sectional survey collects information

from a sample that has been drawn from a predetermined population.

• The information is collected at just one point in time.

• When an entire population is surveyed, it is called a census.

Types of Survey

Longitudinal survey• Information is collected at different points in time.• Three longitudinal designs commonly employed in survey

research are:• Trend study: different samples from a population whose

members may change are surveyed at different points in time.

• Cohort study: sample from a particular population whose members do not change over the course of the survey.

• Panel study: sample are the same sample of individuals at different times during the course of the survey.

Qualitative Research Methodologies

Phenomenology

Case Studies

Observation and

InterviewingEthnographic

Historical

The Nature of the Qualitative Research

Qualitative research – studies that investigate the quality of relationships, activities, situations, or materials.

The natural setting is a direct source of data, and the researcher is a key part of the instrumentation process in qualitative research.

Qualitative researchers are especially interested in how things occur and particularly in the perspectives of the subjects of a study.

Qualitative researchers do not, usually, formulate a hypothesis beforehand and then seek to test it. Rather, they allow hypotheses to emerge as a study

develops.Qualitative data are collected mainly in the form of words/pictures and seldom involve numbers. Content analysis is a primary method of data

analysis.Qualitative and quantitative research differ in the philosophic assumptions

that underlie the two approaches.

Approaches to Qualitative Research

Phenomenology

To investigate various reactions to, or perceptions of, a particular phenomenon.

Data are usually collected through in-depth interviewing.

Researchers seek to identify, understand, and describe some commonality to how human beings perceive and interpret similar

experiences.

Phenomenology

Examples of topics for a phenomenological study

African American students in a

predominantly high school.

Teachers who have used the

inquiry approach in teaching ninth-

grade social studies.

Civil rights workers in the

South during the 1960s.

Approaches to Qualitative Research

Case Studies

A detailed study of one or (at most) a few individuals or other social units, such as a classroom, a school, or a neighborhood. It can also be

a study of an event, an activity, or an ongoing process.

Intrinsic case study: the researcher is primarily interested in understanding a specific individual or situational.

Instrumental case study: the researcher is interested in understanding something more than just a particular case.

Multiple- (or collective) case study: a researcher studies multiple cases at the same time as part of one overall study.

Which is to be preferred, multiple – or single - case designs?

Multiple-case designs have both advantages and disadvantages when compared to single-case

designs.

The results of multiple-case studies are often considered

more compelling, and they are more likely to lend themselves

to valid generalization.

Certain types of cases require single-case research.

Multiple case studies often require extensive resources and

time.

Observation & Interviewing

Ethnographic Research

Historical Research

Observation

Why observation?Certain kinds of research questions can best be answered by observing how people act or how things look.

Example:Researcher could interview teachers about how their students behave during class discussions, but a more accurate indication of their activities would probably be obtained by actually observing such discussions while they take place.

Two types of observation:

Participant Observation (researchers participate in

the situation they are observing)

Complete participant

Participant-as-observer

Nonparticipant Observation (researchers do not

participate in the situation they are observing)

Observer-as-participant

Complete observer

Participant Observation

• Researcher’s identity is not known to any of the individuals being observed.

• Interacts with members of the group as naturally as possible.

Complete participant

• Researcher participates fully in the activities of the group being studied, but also makes it clear that he is doing research.Participant-as-

observer

Nonparticipant Observation• She identifies herself as a researcher but

makes no pretense of actually being a member of the group she is observing.Observer-as-

participant

• The researcher observes the activities of a group without in any way participating in those activities. Complete

observer

Naturalistic Observation

Observing individuals in their natural settings.

The researcher makes no effort to manipulate variables or to control the activities, but simply observes and records what happens as things naturally occur.

Example: Jean Piaget (child psychologist)

Limitation of Observation• She/he create a situation and ask subjects to act out, or simulate

certain roles.Simulation

• She/he produces other than normal behavior• She/he influenced by the researcher’s purpose

Observer effect

• She/he “expect” a certain type of behavior, which may not be how the subjects normally behave.Observer bias

Interviewing

Purpose:

- To find out how they think or feel about something- To find out what is on their minds

Four (4) types of interviews are:- Structured- Semi-structured- Informal- Retrospective

• Verbal questionnaires.• Consist of a series of questions

designed to elicit specific answers from respondents.

Structured and semi-structured

interviews

• Much less formal than structure and semi-structured.

• Do not involve any specific type or sequence of questions. Informal

interviews

• Can be structured, semi-structured, or formal.

• A researcher tries to get a respondent to recall and then reconstruct from memory something that has happened in the past.Retrospective

interviews

Six types of interview questions are:

Background ( or demographic)

questions

Knowledge questions

Experience (or behavior) questions

Opinion (or values)

questions

Feeling questions

Sensory questions

Interviewing BehaviorRespect the culture of the group being studied

Respect the individual being interviewed

Be natural

Develop an appropriate rapport with the participant

Don’t interrupt

Ethnographic Research

• Particularly appropriate for behaviors that are best understood by observing them within their natural settings.

• Variety of approach are used in an attempt to obtain as holistic a picture as possible of a particular society.

• The emphasis is on documenting/portraying the everyday experience of individual observation and interview.

• The sample is almost always purposive.

Ethnographic Concepts Culture

Holistic Perspective

Contextualization

An Emic Perspective

Thick Description

Member Checking

A Nonjudgmental Orientation

Data Analysis in Ethnographic Research

Triangulation

Patterns

Key Events

Statistics

Visual Representations

Crystallization

Advantages and Disadvantages of Ethnographic Research

Advantages•Provide a much more

comprehensive perspective.•Its lends itself well to topics that

not easily quantified.•Particularly appropriate for

studying behaviors.

Disadvantages•Highly dependent on the

particular researcher’s observations.

•Bias•Generalization is practically

nonexistent

Historical Research

• The systematic collection and evaluation of data to describe, explain and thereby understand actions or events that occurred sometime in the past.

• An attempt is made to establish facts in order to arrive at conclusions concerning past events or predict future events.

• To understand present educational practices and policies more fully.

The purposes of Historical Research

To make people aware of what has happened in the past .

To learn how things were done in the past to see if they might be applicable to

present-day problems. To assist in prediction. To test hypothesis concerning

relationships or trends.

Four (4) Steps Involved in Historical Research

Defining the problem or questions to be investigated.

Locating relevant sources of historical information.

Summarizing and evaluating the information obtained from these sources.

Presenting and interpreting this information as it relates to the problem or question that originated the study.

Four Basic categories of historical source materials

Documents

Numerical records

Oral statements

Relics

Primary and Secondary Sources

Primary Sources

One prepared by an individual who was a participant in or a direct

witness to the event being described.

Example :Essays written during World War II by students in response to the question,

original documents, artifacts.

Secondary Sources

Document prepared by an individual who was not a direct witness to an event but who obtained his or her

description of the event from someone else.

Example:A textbook on educational research,

newspapers.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Historical Research

Advantages

It is the only research method that can study evidence from the

past .

Wider range of evidence than most other methods

Disadvantages

The measures used in other methods to control for threats to

internal validity are simply not possible in a historical study.

Bias

Quantitative Vs Qualitative

Quantitative

Preference for precise hypothesis

Data reduced to numerical score

Much attention to assessing and improving reliability of score obtained from instruments

Assessment of validity through a variety of procedures with reliance on statistical indices

Qualitative

Preference for hypotheses that emerge as study develops

Preference for narrative description

Preference for assuming that reliability of inferences in adequate

Assessment of validity through cross-checking sources of informational (triangulation)

Quantitative

Preference for specific design control for procedural bias

Preference for breaking down complex phenomenon into

specific parts analysis

Willingness to manipulate aspects, situations, or conditions in studying complex phenomena

Qualitative

Primary reliance on researcher to deal with procedural bias

Preference for holistic description of complex phenomena

Unwillingness to tamper with naturally occurring phenomenon

Quantitative Vs Qualitative

Which types of educational research to use?

QualitativeResearch?

Mixed Research?

Quantitative Research?

Mixed-Method ResearchMixed-Method research involves the use of both quantitative and qualitative methods in a single study.

Strengths of Mixed-Method Research:

•Help to clarify and explain relationships found to exist between variables.•Allow researchers to explore the relationships between variables in depth.•Help to confirm or cross-validate relationships discovered between variables, as when quantitative and qualitative methods are compared to see if they converge on a single interpretation of a phenomenon.

Examples:

“Combining Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Health Research with Minority Elders: Lessons from a Study of Dementia Caregiving”

“Investigating Classroom Environment in Taiwan and Australia with Multiple Research Methods”

Mixed-Method ResearchTypes of Mixed-Method Design

Qualitative Study(higher priority)

The Exploratory

Design

Quantitative Study

(lower priority)

Combine and interpret result

time

The Explanatory

Design

Quantitative Study

(higher priority)

Qualitative Study(lower priority)


time

The Triangulation

Design Quantitative Study

(higher priority)

Qualitative Study(higher priority)


time