Research:
A Way of
Thinking

In this chapter, we will learn
about:
• Research: an integral part of your practice
• Research: a way to gather evidence for your practice
• Applications of research
• Research: what does it mean?
• The research process: characteristics and requirements
• Types of research
• Paradigms of research
 Types of research: application perspective
 Types of research: objectives perspective
 Types of research: mode of enquiry perspective

How can research be an integral
part of our practices?

 Research is undertaken within most
professions.
 More than a set of skills, research is a way
of thinking:
 examining critically the various aspects of our day-to-
day professional work.
 understanding and formulating guiding principles
that govern a particular procedure.
 developing and testing new theories for the
enhancement of our professions.
 It is a habit of questioning about what you
do, and empirical examination to find
answers, with a view to instituting
appropriate changes for a more effective
delivery of professional service, more
efficient operations, better understanding of
a phenomenon, etc.

• Research: a way to gather evidence for our
practices:
 (EBP) Evidence-based practice is the
delivery of services based upon
research evidence about their
effectiveness; the service provider’s
clinical judgment as to the suitability
and appropriateness of the service for
a client; and the client’s own
preference as to the acceptance of the
service. EBP is fast becoming a
service delivery norm among many
professions.

• Research: what does it mean?
• Can we call every method that
we follow to answer our
questions a research?

 There are several ways of obtaining answers to our
professional questions.
 Research is one of these ways.
(1) is being undertaken within a
framework of a set of philosophies,
(2) uses procedures, methods and
techniques that have been tested for their
validity and reliability, and
(3) is designed to be unbiased and
objective.
 Adherence to the following three criteria enables the
process to be called ‘research’.

What are the characteristics
and requirements of a
research process?

 So, research is a process for collecting, analyzing,
and interpreting information to answer questions.
But to qualify as research, the process must have certain
characteristics: it must, as far as possible be:
 Rigorous:
 Systematic:
 Controlled :
 Valid and verifiable:
 Empirical:
 Critical:
The concept of control implies that, in exploring causality in relation to two
variables, you set up your study in a way that eliminates or minimizes the
effects of other factors affecting the relationship.
You must be scrupulous in ensuring that the procedures followed to find answers
to questions are relevant, appropriate, and justified.
Systematic implies that the procedures adopted to undertake an investigation
follow a certain logical sequence.
This means that any conclusions drawn are based upon hard evidence gathered
from information collected from real life experiences or observations.
These concepts imply that whatever you conclude on the basis of
your findings is correct and can be verified by you and others.
Critical in research refers to the state of the method, finding, and conclusion of the research.
The process of research undertaking and its finding should have full proof of critical reviews
so that result will be justice worthy. If the research is containing any drawbacks it would not
be called good research.

Types of research from the point of view of
 Application
there are two broad categories:
 applied research:
 Pure research:
 the research techniques,
procedures, and methods
that form the body of
research methodology are
applied to the collection of
information about various
aspects of a situation, issue,
problem or phenomenon so
that information gathered
can be used in other ways —
such as for policy
formulation, administration,
and the enhancement of
understanding of a
phenomenon.
 Pure research involves
developing and testing
theories and hypotheses
that are intellectually
challenging to the
researcher.
 Basic (pure) research is
also concerned with the
development, examination,
verification, and refinement
of research methods,
procedures, techniques
and tools that form the
body of research
methodology.

Types of research from the point of view of
 Objectives
From this perspective, a research endeavor can be classified as:
 descriptive  correlational  explanatory  exploratory
 attempts to
describe
systematically a
situation,
problem,
phenomenon,
service, or
program, or
provides
information
about, say, the
living conditions
of a community,
or describes
attitudes towards
an issue.
 to discover or establish
the existence of a
relationship/association/i
nterdependence between
two or more aspects of a
situation.
 attempts to
clarify why
and how
there is a
relationship
between two
aspects of a
situation or
phenomenon.
 It is usually
carried out
when a
researcher
wants to
explore areas
about which
s/he has little or
no knowledge

Types of research from the point of view of
 Type of Information Sought through research activity.
 From this perspective, research can be classified as: qualitative or
quantitative.
 The quantitative—qualitative classification
is dependent on three criteria:
(1) the purpose of the study,
(2) how the variables are
measured, and
(3) how the information is
analyzed.

 The study is classified as qualitative if:
 the purpose of the study is primarily to describe a situation, phenomenon,
problem or event.
 the information is gathered through the use of variables measured on
nominal scales or ordinal (sometimes) scales (qualitative measurement
scales); and
 if the analysis is done to establish the variation in the situation,
phenomenon, or problem without quantifying it.
o The description of an observed situation
 On the other hand, if you want to quantify the variation
in a phenomenon, situation, problem, or issue, if the
information is gathered using predominantly
quantitative variables, and if the analysis is geared to
ascertain(check) the magnitude of the variation, the
study is classified as a quantitative study.

NOTE:
These three classifications are not mutually
exclusive — that is, a research study
classified from the viewpoint of
“application” can also be classified from the
perspectives of “objectives” and “type of
information sought.”

Paradigms of research
 There are two main paradigms that form the basis of research
 The paradigm that is rooted in the physical sciences is
called the systematic, scientific or positivist approach.
The opposite paradigm has come to be known as the
qualitative, ethnographic, ecological or naturalistic
approach.
 However, there is a distinction between qualitative research on
the one hand and naturalistic and ethnographic research on the
other as they follow different value systems and to some extent
different methodologies