INQUIRIES, INVESTIGATIONS AND IMMERSION

MODULE 1
THE RESEARCH PROCESS: AN INTRODUCTION

NATURE OF RESEARCH AND SOCIAL RESEARCH

What is RESEARCH?

Ardales(2001) A systematic, objective, and comprehensive investigation of

certain phenomenon which involves accurate gathering and recording, and critical
analyses and interpretation of all facts about the phenomenon for theoretical or
practical ends. (p.3)

Social research is “a process in which a researcher combines a set of principles,

outlooks, and ideas with a collection of specific practices, techniques, and strategies
to produce knowledge.”

USES AND PURPOSES OF RESEACH

Four important things that a researcher must consider in conducting a specific
type of research are (1) the use of the research, (2) the purpose of the study, (3)
the time dimension of the study design, and (4) the data gathering method or
technique to be used.

A. Use of Research
Social research has two main uses.
1. It is usually done to develop and produce new knowledge about the social world.
2. It is conducted to address a specific issue and concern and provide an answer or
solution to a problem affecting a person, group, or community, and the society in
general.

1. Basic Research
Basic research focuses on the advancement and production of new
knowledge. This form of research is used by academicians and scientists, the
primary consumers, of such research. According to Neumann (2007), basic
research has the following characteristics:
a. Its goal is to refute or support theories that explain how the social world works,
what causes things to occur, why society changes, and why social relations operate
in that manner.
b. It lacks practical application.
c. It provides a foundation for the advancement of knowledge in remote extra space
various fields of study and policy areas.

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d. It provides explanations and is a source of methods, theories, frameworks, and
concepts to understand the causes of how people act or think.
e. It is bounded by scientific method and requires the highest degree of academic
scholarship.
f. The research problems and topics are varied and diverse.
g. The results are usually published in scholarly journals, books, and other academic
publications or presented in academic conferences.

2. Applied Research
Applied research focuses on addressing a specific concern or usually offers a
solution to a social problem. Unlike basic research that emphasizes the testing and
development of theories to advance and produce new knowledge, applied research
is a small-scale study that introduces practical results that can be used in short
term. This form of research is usually done by practitioners in the business sector,
government, health care sector, social service organizations, political organization,
and educational institutions. The results of applied research are used in the
decision-making process of the company or organization. The primary consumers
of applied research are counselors, social workers, and decision-makers in the
government or companies like managers, agency administrators, and government
officials. Neuman (2007) gives the following characteristics of applied research:
a. Research conducted is part of the job.
b. Research problems are very specific according to the demands of the superiors.
c. Rigors and standards of scholarship depend on the use of the research results.
d. The goal of research is to provide generalizations to areas of interests of the
sponsors.
e. Success is determined when the sponsors used the research results in decision-
making.
f. Applied research results are not publicly disseminated or published in journals and
are usually made available to only a few decision-makers, practitioners, or research
sponsors.

EXAMPLES OF APPLIED RESEARCH

1. Evaluation Research Study
An evaluation research study is done to assess the effectiveness of a
program, policy, or campaign. This type of applied research is commonly conducted
by organizations such as businesses, schools, and government and
nongovernmental organizations to analyze the effectiveness of their programs. In
this type of applied research, decision makers and researches define the scope and
objective of the study. Most evaluation research studies do not undergo a peer
review process. The data gathered during the research are seldom communicated
to the public, and the focus of study is narrowed down because the inputs and
outputs used are limited or selective (Neumann, 2007).
2. Action Research Study
Action research study is a type of applied research that “treats knowledge as
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a form of power and abolishes the division between creating knowledge and using
knowledge to engage in political action” (Neumann, 2007, 14). The five major
characteristics of an action research study are the following:
a. The people being studied are actively participating in the research process.
b. The study includes ordinary or popular knowledge.
c. The research focuses on power issues.
d. The study wants to raise consciousness of people about issues.
e. The research is connected to a plan or program of action.
3. Social Impact Assessment Research Study
A social impact assessment research study gives the possible effects our
outcomes of a planned intervention (e.g. projects) or probable changes that might
happen in the future. This form of applied study can be environmental assessment
report of a program or project. In this study, the possible changes that a project or
an intervention causes in the social environment are predicted. Also, it provides
solutions as to how those changes that might affect people can be prevented.

B. Purposes of Research
Researches conduct studies for different reasons. Social research has
different purposes, the most common of which are exploration, description, and
explanation.
1. Exploratory Research
Most social research studies are conducted to explore a topic. A researcher
looks into a new area to identify a specific question that can be addressed in future
research. It is usually the first stage in a series of studies conducted by a
researcher. According to Earl Babbie (2013), exploratory research has the following
purposes:
a. To satisfy the researcher’s curiosity and desire for better understanding
b. To examine the viability of undertaking a more extensive study
c. To develop the methods to be used in future studies
Through exploratory research, researchers become familiarized with the facts,
setting, and concerns. They create a general picture of the conditions. Also, they
produce new ideas and hypotheses.
2. Descriptive Research
Social research studies provide descriptions. They aim to describe situations
and events. They answer the questions what, where, when, and how. In descriptive
research, the researcher observes and then provides a description of what he or she
has observed. The function of such research is to present a social setting or a
picture of a specific situation. Anthropological studies like ethnographies are
descriptive in nature; anthropologists observe in the field and document their
observations as part of their research. Neumann (2007) provides the following
functions of descriptive research:
a. Provides a detailed and accurate picture of the situation
b. Clarifies a sequence of steps or stages

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c. Documents a causal process or mechanism
d. Reports on the background or context of a situation
3. Explanatory Research
The third purpose of social research is to provide explanations. In explanatory
research, the researcher answers the question “why?”. It identifies the sources of
social behavior, beliefs, conditions, and events. It documents the causes, theories,
and reasons for the existence of an event or situation. According to Neumann
(2007), explanatory research has the following goals:
a. To test the predictions or principles of a theory
b. To elaborate and expand the explanation of a theory
c. To extend or develop a theory to new issues or topics
d. To support or contradict an explanation
e. To connect issues or topics with a general principle or theory
f. To determine which of the explanations is considered the best answer

STEPS IN THE RESEARCH PROCESS

Social research follows a sequence of steps to find answers to questions about

the social world. The research process has seven basic steps.
1. Selecting a topic. The research process starts with the identification of a topic.
2. Identifying the research question. In this step, the topic is narrowed down and
focused to a specific research question that can be answered. In narrowing down
and developing a research question, a review of related literature is necessary to
broaden the researcher’s knowledge about the books and other scholarly
literature written about the topic. Developing a hypothesis and applying a theory
are also important in this step.
3. Developing a research design. In this step, the researcher develops a detailed
research plan to show how the study will be done. The researcher decides on the
methodology and other important things to be considered before the collection of
data.
4. Gathering or collecting data. The researcher implements the research design
and gathers the data needed using a particular research methodology.
5. Carrying out a data analysis. The researcher identifies and examines the
patterns found in the data collected.
6. Interpreting data. In this step, the researcher explains the meaning of the
patterns in the data.
7. Communicating research findings and results. The researcher communicates the
findings by writing a report or paper, publishing the research, or presenting the
results in a conference.

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 Selecting a
topic

Identifying the
Communicating
reseach
reseach findings
question

Interpreting Developing a
data research design

Gathering or
Analyzing data
collecting data

Source: W. Lawrence Neumann, Basics of Social Research: Qualitative and Quantitative

Approaches (2007), 10.

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