Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Add to Knowledge
Examination can add to what we think about how individuals realize and what we
can do help encourage the learning methodology.
Extend Knowledge
Research can permit us to broaden what we know in ways we never considered.
Reproduce Knowledge
Research can go about as a test to confirm past discoveries.
The literacy rate in Pakistan is recorded as about 57% in 2015-2016. The first goal
of the Dakar Framework of Action, is to expand and improve ECE for all children,
especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged. The Education Policy 1998-
2010 developed a policy naming National Plan of Action (NPA) to support and focus
on ECE. Hence, due to scarcity of resources and lack of proper planning NPA could
not achieve its target so far. Current observation reveals that quality of primary
education is alarming in most of the public schools. The performance of children in
basic literacy and numeracy is falling behind. Learning outcomes of government
primary schools across the nation shows that 52% of children in class 5 can-not
read a story, 56% cannot read a sentence in English, 58 % cannot solve a two digit
division problem. Hence, presently, the education sector is facing crisis and falling
behind at wider level. Following are the major threatening problems in education
system in our country.
1. The parallel structure of education i.e. private schools and Madrasas affects
uniformity in education. This results in lack of uniformity and forms an uneven
playing field that promotes inequities in the communities. The education
policy (2009) is aware of historical context and suggests to merge them in to
the national educational system. Yet no efforts have been put to improve this
condition.
2. Weak Governance is another main issue in education. The Educational
policy review suggests a public private partnership to implement public policy
for better allocation and management of public resources.
3. The aspect of social development and social inclusiveness is mislaid in our
education system. Yet no education policy in Pakistan has contributed to
increase social inclusiveness in education system. Uneven distribution of
resources and opportunities promote social exclusion that increases poverty,
inequity, political instability and injustice in society.
4. Corporal punishment exists in almost all provinces of Pakistan but there is
lack of Policy action for eliminating this issue.
5. Weak quality of education at primary level has put the system in risk of
defaulting on EFA 2015 targets. Continuous low performance of children in
exams compel the parents to send their children to either private schools or
prefer to give tuition services by spending huge amount of money.
6. The annual school budget must be properly utilized to improve classrooms
and libraries rather wasting public money on making offices luxurious and
attractive.
7. The recent observations reveal that besides, trainings and experience the
teachers display lack of motivation and ownership which create hurdles in
improving the Education system.
8. Various NGOs are rigorously putting their efforts and resources for quality
education but their impact is very limited because these organizations are
working in isolation not focusing on national objectives. Thus, these
organizations need to come together to get best return on investments and
efforts. They should work on a common vision of education in whole country.
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Conclusion
This crucial issue requires a paradigm shift in education through addressing vision
and objectives of education, prioritization of issues and allocation of resources
unanimously. In this regard NGOs must facilitate public private partnership in
education sector including education departments, schools, communities and
relevant stakeholders. This will be accommodated with the provision of resources to
ensure the quality education in schools.
Good quality research provides evidence that is robust, ethical, stands up to scrutiny
and can be used to inform policy making. It should adhere to principles of
professionalism, transparency, accountability and auditability.
Ensure that the research design and methods are appropriate for the research topic
or question.
Ensure that sampling is fit for purpose – e.g. if a survey, use a sufficiently large and
representative sample to enable meaningful statistical analysis; not using qualitative
data for quantitative conclusions; ensure that qualitative interviewees are purposively
selected to reflect the range and diversity of the population of interest.
Reporting
Report the actual questions asked of children and the exact dates and
circumstances of data collection.
Publish the findings of the research along with an account of its methodology
(sufficient for another researcher to replicate the study).
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Qualitative reports should present the range and diversity of views expressed.
Accountability
Ensure the full research report is accessible and/or provide contact details for
interested parties to follow up with the researchers and ask about the research
conduct or data analysis.
What Is Plagiarism?
Plagiarism is usually defined as a discrete offense, a specific failure to give credit to a
particular source. But it actually raises a much more fundamental question for writers:
―Where is my voice in this project?‖ Seen in this light, the strategies that help you avoid
plagiarism can also be strategies that help you gain power as a writer. Once your guiding
question about your relationship to sources is ―Where is my voice?‖ you are well on your way
to using sources in an effective and legitimate way.
Plagiarism is the use of another‘s work, words, or ideas without attribution. The word
―plagiarism‖ comes from the Latin word for ―kidnapper‖ and is considered a form of theft, a
breach of honesty in the academic community. Plagiarizers suffer serious consequences in
Yale College—including suspension or expulsion from school.
You must always make clear in your written work where you have borrowed from others—
whether data, opinions, questions, ideas, or specific language. This obligation holds whether
the sources are published or unpublished and whether they are in print or on the Internet.
When in doubt, be sure to check with your instructor about how to acknowledge sources in
your papers, especially since every academic discipline has its own conventions
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Plagiarism in Research
It‘s easy to find information for most research papers, but it‘s not always easy to add that
information into your paper without falling into the plagiarism trap. There are easy ways to
avoid plagiarism. Follow some simple steps while writing your research paper to ensure that
your document will be free of plagiarism.
Participant Observation:
The participant observation means watching the events or situation or activities from
inside by taking part in the group to be observed. He freely interacts with the other
group members, participates in various activities of the group, acquires the way of
life of the observed group or his own, and studies their behaviour or other activities
not as an outsider but by becoming a member of that group.
Some of the examples of studies using the method of participant observation are:
W.F. White‘s study of Cornville social and Athletic Club and P.V. Young‘s study of
Molokan people. The famous studies of Margaret Mead on primitive societies were
also based on participant observation.
For the success of participant observation it is essential that the respondents being
studied should not have any doubt about the intention of the research worker. A
fruitful result of participant observation is very much dependent upon the
resourcefulness, tactfulness, personality manners and wit of the research worker.
In participant observation, the observer has a very good rapport with the
respondents. He has a very close primary relationship with the group members.
Because of this he can participate in all activities from a close angle and thus can
better interpret the situation than a non-participant observer.
Often in order to study the actual behaviour, the group research requires close
participation and contact with the group members. Through participant observation
the observer can make an intensive and inclusive study of the group and can gain
into the real character of such group.
4. Better Understanding.
In participant observation the observer can better understood the feeling of the
respondents than an outsider. For example, a person who is actually living in a slum
area can realise the feeling and hardship of the slum dwellers in a better way than an
outsider.
By becoming members of a group and participating very closely in it, the observer
may lose his objectivity. His emotional and sentimental association with the group
kills his impartiality and unbiased analysis. He may develop some soft corner for that
group member and because of this; he may often justify their evil activities as just
activity.
Because of his close association and emotional participation with the group
members the researcher creates a special position for himself in that group. He may
be influenced or pleased by this and begins to support them blindly. Due to this he
observes the things from his own personal point of view rather than scientific point of
view.
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Non-Participant Observation:
When the observer observes the group passively from a distance without
participating in the group activities, it is known as non-participant observation. Here
he does not try to influence them or take part in the group activities.
If an observer participates in the event actively and emotionally he may try to justify
the evil things of the group as just things. In this frame of mind he cannot analyze the
phenomena with neutrality. But in non-participant observation, the objectivity or
neutrality can be maintained. The observer in this type of observation gives a
detached and unbiased view about the group.
Often people do not feel shy to disclose their secrets, weaknesses or informal things
to a stranger. But they always become reluctant to disclose these things to a known
person.
4. Careful analysis.
In participant observation because of the much familiarity with the events, sometimes
the observer does not realize the significance of same events and neglects them.
But in non- participant observation the researcher does not even miss a minute
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thing. He carefully judges the merits and demerits of each and every phenomenon
under study.
In non-participant observation the observer does not have clarity about certain
events on activities. He cannot clear his doubts by asking various questions to the
group members. Therefore he has to simply understand and interpret what he sees.
This lack of understanding may make some of his findings biased and coloured by
his personal prediction, belief and pre-conception.
2. Inadequate observation.
The observer can observe only those events which take place in front of him. But
that is not enough and only a part of the phenomena as a vast range of information
required for the research. He can know many things about the group when he
participates in the group and interacts with the group members.
Not all studies have hypotheses. They are usually used in experimental quantitative
research studies. They are useful in testing a specific theory or model. A complete
hypothesis always includes the variables, population and the predicted relationship
between the variables. The main disadvantage of hypotheses is that their tendency
to blind a researcher to unexpected results.
Research Question
A research question is the question a research study sets to answer. However, a
research study can have more than one research question. The research
methodologies, tools used to collect data, etc. all depend on the research question.
Research questions are often used in qualitative research, which seek to answer
open-ended questions. But they can also be used in quantitative studies. Research
questions can be used instead of hypotheses when there is little previous research
on the subject. Research questions allow the researcher to conduct more open-
ended queries, and a wide range of results can be reported. A properly constructed
research question should always be clear and concise. It should include the
variables, population and the topic being studied.
Nature
Existing Research
Quantitative vs Qualitative
Outcomes
Non-researchable questions could be too broad or vague, or they could be questions for
which answers are easily obtainable.
An example of the former could be ―Is there a God?‖ and the latter ―How many cars were
registered in 2017?‖. The former lacks a defined framework for testable criteria, data
collection and analysis, and the latter is readily answered by counting records.
Closed-Ended Questions
If you can answer a question with only a "yes" or "no" response, then you are
answering a closed-ended type of question.
Examples of closed-ended questions are:
Are you feeling better today?
May I use the bathroom?
Is the prime rib a special tonight?
Will you please do me a favor?
Have you already completed your homework?
Were you planning on becoming a fireman?
Closed-ended questions should not always be thought of as simple questions that
anyone can quickly answer merely because they require a yes or no answer.
Closed-ended questions can also be very complicated. For example, "Is 1 in binary
equal to 1 in counting numbers?" is a closed-ended question that not everyone
would be able to quickly answer.
Open-Ended Questions
Open-ended questions are ones that require more than one word answers. The
answers could come in the form of a list, a few sentences or something longer such
as a speech, paragraph or essay.
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Analysis is done on historical data to identify the trend or pattern. This trend or
pattern gives useful information about the design or system. The trend identified will
give the correlation between the dependent variable and the independent variable.
The trend or pattern gives a way to compare variables and also seek the difference
between variables. The analysis phase of the performance measure predicts the
outcome and associates logical relationships.
Predicting the outcome, observing the output response and associating meaning to
that output is known as interpretation. Interpretation is making the numerical data
(numbers) speak. Giving importance to language spoken by the numbers and
providing appropriate and sufficient is useful during performance measure.
During performance measure if comparison is made, one can identify the similarity,
difference or contrast between the chosen set of variables. Arriving at logical
relationship facilitates to find a reason or come to a valid conclusion. Identifying the
cause of the performance measure increases the ability of the investigator to
interpret the data.
Quantitative Research
The data collected by the researcher can be divided into categories or put into rank,
or it can be measured in terms of units of measurement. Graphs and tables of raw
data can be constructed with the help quantitative research, making it easier for
the researcher to analyse the results.
11. Lastly, the methods used in qualitative research are in-depth interviews, focus
groups, etc. In contrast, the methods of conducting quantitative research are
structured interviews and observations.
12. Qualitative Research develops the initial understanding whereas quantitative
research recommends a final course of action.
THE END