Education research is the scientific field of study that examines education and learning processes and the human

attributes, interactions, organizations, and institutions that shape educational outcomes. Scholarship in the field seeks to
describe, understand, and explain how learning takes place throughout a person’s life and how formal and informal
contexts of education affect all forms of learning. Education research embraces the full spectrum of rigorous methods
appropriate to the questions being asked and also drives the development of new tools and methods.

A cyclical process of steps that typically begins with identifying a research problem or issue of study. It then involves
reviewing the literature, specifying a purpose for the study, collecting and analyzing data, and forming an interpretation
of information. This process culminates in a report, disseminated to audiences, that is evaluated and used in the
educational community. (Creswell, 2002)

RESEARCH – Process of collecting/gathering data and information by a scientific or logical procedure that aims to solve a particular
scientific problem.
- From a French word”CERCHIER” meaning “to seek or to search.”•
- An attempt to solve or gain a solution to a problem.
- A systematic, controlled, empirical and critical investigation of hypothetical propositions about the presumed relations
among natural phenomenon. (Kerlinger, 1976)
- Is an honest, scientific investigation undertaken for the purpose of discovering new facts or establishing new relationships
among facts already known which will contribute to the present body of knowledge and can lead to an effective solution of
existing problems
What is the purpose of research???
- Corrects perceptions
- Develops and evaluates concepts, practices and theories
- Gathers information on a certain phenomenon that are lacking in knowledge
- Obtains knowledge for practical purposes.
- Provides hard facts that serves as a basis for planning, decision-making, project implementation, monitoring and evalution.
- Finding answers to questions or solutions to problems.
- Discovering and interpreting new facts.
- Testing theories to revise accepted theories or laws in the light of new facts.
- Formulating new theories.
Ethics in Research
1. A permit to conduct the study must be properly sought from authority.
2. Willingness of the prospective respondents must also be considered.
3. The researcher must assure the respondents of confidentiality of the data that will be gathered and used in the study.
4. The researcher must be willing to share the findings of the study with the institution where the respondents belong.
4. The researcher must maintain integrity in the publication of the findings and results of the study.
5. The researcher must not inflict harm to the respondents especially during an experimental research.
6. The researcher must consider the potential benefits that the respondents may get from the study.
7. The researcher must observe intellectual honesty in undertaking such research.

5 PARTS OF RESEARCH
1 THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND
2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
3 METHOD AND PROCEDURES
4 PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA
5 SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
MARY JEAN B. EMPENG
MAED-EA

1. WHAT IS REASEARCH IN EDUCATION?

o the scientific field of study that examines education and learning processes and the human
attributes, interactions, organizations, and institutions that shape educational outcomes.
Scholarship in the field seeks to describe, understand, and explain how learning takes place
throughout a person’s life and how formal and informal contexts of education affect all forms
of learning. Education research embraces the full spectrum of rigorous methods appropriate to
the questions being asked and also drives the development of new tools and methods.

2. IS IT NECESSARY TO CONDUCT RESEARCH? WHY?

o YES, because research improves the quality of life, improves instruction, reduces the burden of
work, improves the quality of good products.
o Research improve practice, add to knowledge, address gaps in knowledge, expand knowledge,
replicate knowledge and add voices of individuals to knowledge.
o Research provides hard facts that serves as a basis for planning, decision-making, project
implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
o Research help find answers to questions or solutions to problems.
o Educational research is important because of contributing knowledge development, practical
improvement, and policy information. Therefore, educators can use those research findings to improve
their competences and teaching and learning process.

3. WHAT MAKES RESEARCH SCIENTIFIC?

o In conducting research, we use/apply scientific method that makes research scientific. We use
scientific method because it is a standardized way of making observations, gathering data,
forming theories, testing predictions, and interpreting results.

4. WHAT ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITIES DOES A RESEARCHER OR ASSISSTANT HAVE?

o Safety of all interviewers, surveyors, experiments or observers
o Ethical behavior
o Protection of anonymity
o Professional standards
Why Educational Research?
Educators need to be consumers (and producers) of research. Creswell (2002) notes the following reasons, describing the
various purposes of educational research:
1. Improve Practice
Research can suggest ways of improving practice that have been verified with many applications and by many
different types of people, which is difficult for practitioners.
2. Add to Knowledge
Research can add to what we know about how people learn and what we can do help facilitate the learning
process.
3. Address Gaps in Knowledge
Research can address areas in which little is know, like perhaps the effects of online versus traditional classroom
learning.
4. Expand Knowledge
Research can allow us to extend what we know in ways we never conceived.
5. Replicate Knowledge
Research can act as a test to verify previous findings.
6. Add Voices of Individuals to Knowledge
Research can add an important perspective for different learning types. Much of the educational research prior to
the Eighties is based on able, white, middle-to-upper class males. This is certainly not reflective of our increasingly
heterogeneous students, and research helps revise theory and practice to reflect different student needs.
These are only a few of the many reasons research is important, particularly to educators. In an increasingly data-driven
society, it is vital that educators know how to locate, find, and interpret research on their own. Further, educators need to
be able to conduct quality research to examine issues within their own contexts.
What are the Basic Types of Research?
Briefly, get used to using the following words: quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods. We will review each on this
site, but for now, consider these brief descriptions:
1. Quantitative Research (QUANT)–descriptive and inferential statistics
This type of research design is best for “What?” questions.
2. Qualitative Research (QUAL)–descriptive and thematic analysis
This type of research design is best for “How?” and “Why?” questions.
3. Mixed Methods (MIXED)–integrated, synthesis, and multi-method approaches
This type of research design is good for any questions you can think of, particularly those that can’t be answer
easily with numbers alone. Consider the “best” way to evaluate student achievement, for example.
How is Research Distinguished?
The final emphasis point in this brief introduction is fundamental your understanding as a soon-to-be consumer/producer
of research. Where most introductory students struggle is in distinguishing primary and secondary sources. We’ll
return to this later, but to be sure we are clear from the beginning. . .
Empirical research implies that the study is original and stresses systematic observation. Journal articles and other types
of peer-reviewed sources (such as academic conference papers) are the main venue for empirical research. These first
publications of empirical research are also referred to as primary sources. In academic settings, you are generally only
to use primary sources. Your best source for journal articles is a research database.