Research Methods:
At the start of any research project, you must select your research questions and overall design. This involves determining the type of research you will be conducting. While the language used to explain research varies across disciplines, your design will typically be shaped by:
the kind of knowledge you are attempting to discover,
the data you will gather and examine, and
the logistical concerns of your study, such as sampling, timeframe, and environment.
There are two general approaches utilized in data analysis:
Quantitative research employs numerical data and statistical methods, and
Qualitative research deals with meaning and interpretation through textual and observational data.
Each yields separate and valuable insights.
Quantitative research employs numerical data and statistical methods, typically illustrated in the form of graphs, to test hypotheses and draw generalizable facts. Quantitative research aims to produce objective measurements and test dominant theories. Common methods involve controlled experiments, quantitative observation, and questionnaires with standardized, closed-ended questions. However, researchers must be aware of and avoid potential biases, such as information bias, omitted variable bias, sampling bias, and selection bias, that could weaken the validity of the findings.
Qualitative research looks into the language world, trying to make sense of ideas, concepts, and everyday lives. Qualitative research provides thick, descriptive insights into issues requiring close examination. Some fundamental approaches involve open-ended, face-to-face interviews, descriptive observational research, and intensive literature studies focusing on underlying concepts and theories. However, researchers need to be just as sensitive to potential biases, such as the Hawthorne effect, observer bias, recall bias, and social desirability bias, which may impact the direction of findings.
Action Research is a circular research approach utilized to understand and solve a problem within a given setting. Action Research is characterized by the fact that it is an interactive process and addresses the simultaneous process of implementing action and research. Widely used across the social sciences, although particularly in the field of education, it seeks to require instructors to conduct organized research and thoughtful practice in their efforts to integrate theory and practice. That is a cycle that lies behind the title that the procedure has acquired and now goes under of 'cycle of action' or 'cycle of inquiry.'
Action research is usually conducted in two ways: participatory and practical.
Participatory action research is concerned with engaging the members of the community as co-researchers, enabling the people most impacted by the outcomes of the research and prioritizing their lived experiences. Practical action research is concerned with research as a process itself, aiming to solve tangible, real-time problems. Both concern building the capability of future practitioners more than adding to theoretical knowledge.