Language Research

Reviewer

Krigher C. Simbulan, PhD

TYPE OF RESEARCH ACCDG. TO NATURE
OF SUBJECT MATTER

1. Basic Research
• Basic (aka fundamental or pure) research is driven by a
scientist's curiosity or interest in a scientific question. The
main motivation is to expand man's knowledge, not to
create or invent something.
• The purpose of this research is to understand and explain.
This research is more descriptive in nature exploring what,
why and how questions.

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TYPE OF RESEARCH ACCDG. TO NATURE
OF SUBJECT MATTER

2. Applied Research
• Applied research, on the other hand, is designed to solve
practical problems, rather than to gain knowledge.
• This type of research pursues potential solutions to
human and societal problems. This research is more
prescriptive in nature, focusing on how questions.
• One might say that the goal of the applied scientist is to
improve the human condition.

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TYPE OF RESEARCH ACCDG. TO NATURE
OF SUBJECT MATTER

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TYPE OF RESEARCH ACCDG. TO
NATURE OF INFORMATION
1. Quantitative Research
• a systematic investigation of phenomena by
gathering quantifiable data and performing
statistical, mathematical, or computational
techniques.
• is used to quantify attitudes, opinions, behaviors,
and other defined variables.

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TYPES OF QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
DESIGN/ METHOD
a) Descriptive research
• aims to accurately and systematically describe a
population, situation or phenomenon. It can answer what,
where, when and how questions, but not why questions.
• In other words, it “describes” the subject of the research,
without covering “why” it happens.
• The most widely- used research design as indicated by
the theses, dissertation and research reports of
institutions.
• Its common means of obtaining information include the
use of survey questionnaire, interviews and observation.
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TYPES OF DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH
Descriptive-survey
 Descriptive survey research uses surveys to gather data
about varying subjects.
 Used when researchers attempt to analyze, interpret, and
report the present status of their subject matter or
problem.
 Data must be organized and presented systematically so
that valid and accurate conclusions may be drawn from
them.
 Uses a questionnaire or other instruments prepared by
the researcher to generate data.
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Descriptive Survey Method

Job- Related Problems and Job-Performance of Senior High School

Teachers
• To determine the extent of the chosen job-related problems met by SHS
teachers
• Each item in the questionnaire for job- related problems may be rated
according to four levels to be chosen by the respondents namely:
4- very serious problem
3- serious problem
2- fairly serious problem
1- not a problem at all
TYPES OF DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH

Descriptive Normative Survey

 Results/ findings of the study should be compared with the norm.
 English Achievement of Fourth Year Secondary Students in Region 1
 Research Instrument: Achievement test
 The results of the test are then compared with the regional norm.
 If performance is…
 One standard deviation above the mean (+1SD)= very satisfactory
 If within the mean= satisfactory
 One standard deviation below the mean (-1SD) = unsatisfactory/
needs improvement

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TYPES OF DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH
Descriptive- Comparative
 This is a design where the researcher considers two variables (not
manipulated) and establishes a formal procedure to compare and
conclude that one is better than the other.
Impact of teaching English using Communicative Approach and
Grammar Translation Method

Research instrument: tests

If significant difference exists, it means one approach is better
than the other.
If there is no significant difference, the two approaches are
almost the same.
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TYPES OF DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH
 Longitudinal study
 involves collecting data from a sample at different points
in time in order to study changes or continuity in the
samples’ characteristics.
 Researchers repeatedly examine the same individuals to
detect any changes that might occur over a period of time.
 Cross-sectional studies- the data are obtained at one
point in time, but from groups of different ages or at
different stages of development

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CROSS-SECTIONAL VS LONGITUDINAL EXAMPLE

 You want to study the relationship between smoking and

stomach cancer. You first conduct a cross-sectional
study to see if there is a link between smoking and
stomach cancer, and you discover that a link exists in
men but not in women.

 You then decide to design a longitudinal study to

further examine this relationship in men. Without the
cross-sectional study first, you would not have known to
focus on men in particular.

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TYPES OF LONGITUDINAL RESEARCH
 Trend Studies –samples different groups of people at different points in
time from the same population.
 For example: Before an election a sample of adults is drawn. A year
later, a different sample drawn from the same population shows a
change.
 Cohort research a specific population is studied repeatedly as well, but
these studies center around how given groups with a common
characteristic view social phenomena over time. A common cohort
design uses a class of students as its population.
 For example, the freshman class of 2008 would be given a survey, and then the
freshman class of 2009 at the same school would be given the same survey, and any
differences in opinion would be noted.
 Panel studies utilize the same sample from the same population over
time. While more complicated and difficult to carry out, this is the best
design to truly find out changes over time, because you are tracking
opinions of the exact same respondents repeatedly.
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TYPES OF INSTRUMENTS IN DESCRIPTIVE
OR SURVEY RESEARCH

 Questionnaire - this is a type of instrument in which the

respondents are asked to express their views, opinions,
or knowledge using a scale.

Types of Questions
 Closed-ended questions are easy to use, score, and code for
analysis on a computer. Since all subjects respond to the same
opinions; standardized data are provided.
 Open-ended questions- allow for more individualized
responses, but they are sometimes difficult to interpret. They
are also often hard to score, since so many different kinds of
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responses are received.
KINDS OF QUESTIONNAIRE

 Postal questionnaires –this involves sending of ‘self-

completion’ questionnaire through the post. This involves a
coverage of a large geographical area.

 E-questionnaire – this involves sending of ‘self-completion’

questionnaire through email or other electronic means. This
also has a large geographical area coverage.

 Interview - a measure that specifies the questions to be

asked of each research participant, the sequence in which
they are to be asked, and guidelines for what the interviewer
is to say at the opening and closing of the interview
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KINDS OF INTERVIEW

 Face to face interview – allows a direct interface between

the research or data gatherer and the respondent.

 Telephone interview – uses the phone to gather data from

the respondents. Other prefer a telephone interview because
it is cheaper and faster than the face-to-face interview.

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TYPES OF QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
DESIGN/ METHOD

b) Correlational research
 attempts to determine the extent of a relationship
between two or more variables using statistical data.
 Sometimes correlational research is considered a type of
descriptive research, and not as its own type of research,
as no variables are manipulated in the study.
a) The relationship between intelligence and self-esteem
b) The relationships between the types of activities used in
English classrooms and student achievement
c) The covariance of smoking and lung disease 17
CORRELATIONAL RESEARCH

Scattergram or scatter plot – is a pictorial representation

of the correlation between two variables. The scattergram
tells the type of correlation evident between the two
variables.

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19
STRENGTH OF RELATIONSHIP

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TYPES OF QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
DESIGN/ METHOD

c) Causal-comparative/ex post facto research

attempts to establish cause-effect relationships
among the variables.

– determines the cause, or reason for existing

differences in the behavior or status of groups

a) The effect of peer tutoring on the academic

performance of students 21
TYPES OF QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
DESIGN/ METHOD

d) Experimental Research-
 provides a systematic and logical method for
answering the question on what will happen if
experiments are done in carefully controlled
conditions.
 In this study, the researchers manipulate certain
stimuli, treatments or environmental conditions
and observe how the condition or behavior of the
subject is affected or changed. 22
TESTS IN AN EXPERIMENTAL
RESEARCH

Pre-test – a measure that is administered prior to an

experimental treatment or other intervention

Posttest – a measure that is administered following

an experiment or control treatment or other
intervention in order to determine the effects of the
intervention 23
GROUPINGS IN AN EXPERIMENTAL
RESEARCH

Control Group - a group of research participants

who receive no treatment or an alternate treatment
so that the effect of unimportant variables can be
determined.

Experimental Group – a group of research

participants who receive treatment
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TYPES OF EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS

a) Pre-Experiment – Pre-experimental designs are

called such because they often happen before a true
experiment is conducted.

It is characterized by:
(1) lack of a control group;
(2) failure to provide for the equivalence of a control
group
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EXAMPLES OF PRE-EXPERIMENTAL
DESIGNS
One-shot case study design
 a type of experimental design in which an
experiment treatment is administered and then a
posttest is administered to measure the effects of
the treatment.
 A single group is studied at a single point in time
after some treatment that is presumed to have
caused change.
 No control or comparison group is employed.
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EXAMPLES OF PRE-EXPERIMENTAL
DESIGNS

One-group, pretest-posttest design

 A single case is observed at two time points, one before
the treatment and one after the treatment.
 Changes in the outcome of interest are presumed to be
the result of the intervention or treatment.
 No control or comparison group is employed.

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EXAMPLES OF PRE-EXPERIMENTAL
DESIGNS
Static-group comparison
 this design compares the status of a group that has
received an experimental treatment with one that has not.
Observed differences between the two groups are
assumed to be a result of the treatment.
 In some books, this design is classified under the quasi-
experimental design.

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TYPES OF EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS
b) Quasi-Experimental

 The prefix quasi means “resembling.” Thus quasi-

experimental research is research that resembles
experimental research but is not true experimental
research.

 A quasi-experimental design is one that looks a bit like an

experimental design but lacks the key ingredient –
random assignment

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TYPES OF EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS

c) True Experimental designs –

 in this design the subjects are randomly assigned to
treatment groups.

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EXAMPLES OF TRUE EXPERIMENTAL
DESIGNS
Posttest-only control-group design
a type of experiment that includes three phases:
a) random assignment of research participants to the
experimental and control groups;
b) administration of the treatment to the experimental group
and either no treatment or an alternative treatment to the
control group; and
c) administration of a measure of the dependent variable to
both groups. (post test)

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EXAMPLES OF TRUE EXPERIMENTAL
DESIGNS

Pretest-Posttest Control Group Design

 This differs from the posttest-only control group design
solely in the use of a pretest.
 Two groups of subjects are used, with both groups being
measured or observed twice.

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EXAMPLES OF TRUE EXPERIMENTAL
DESIGNS
Solomon four-group design
 a type of experiment involving two treatment groups and two
control groups, so that the researcher can determine the effect of
both the treatment variable and the pretest on the dependent
variable.
 participants are randomly divided into four groups and each group
experiences a different combination of experimental manipulations:
 the first group (A) receives the pretest, the treatment, and the
posttest;
 the second group (B) receives only the treatment and posttest;
 the third group (C) receives the pretest, no treatment, and a posttest;
 and the fourth group (D) receives only a posttest.
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TYPE OF RESEARCH ACCDG. TO
NATURE OF INFORMATION

2. Qualitative Research
• When the data presented has words and
descriptions, then we call it qualitative data.
• Although you can observe this data, it is subjective
and harder to analyze data in research, especially
for comparison.

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TYPES OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Action Research –
a type of applied research that is conducted primarily
to improve educational practices, including
management of the classroom, classroom practices
and interaction, classroom instruction, among others.

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TYPES OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Case Study Research-

This type of research is an in-depth study of cases
which include an individual, a group, and a
community. This investigates the perspective of the
participants involved in the phenomenon or issue.

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TYPES OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Historical Research
The study of the past phenomenon for the purpose
of gaining a better understanding of present
institutions, practices, trends, and issues.

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TYPES OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Ethnographic Research
In anthropology, an in-depth study of the features of
life in a given culture and the patterns in those
features.

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PARTS OF A RESEARCH REPORT

Chapter 1
The Problem and Its Background

 This section includes the introduction of the study,

statement of the problem, scope and delimitation,
importance of the study, and the definition of terms. It is
also in this part that the hypotheses and assumption of
the study are stated.

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SUBTOPICS IN CHAPTER 1

a) Introduction
b) Theoretical Framework or Conceptual Framework
c) Statement of the Problem
d) Hypotheses of the Study
e) Assumptions of the Study
f) Significance of the Study
g) Scope and Delimitation of the Study
h) Definition of Terms

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PARTS OF A RESEARCH REPORT

Chapter 2
Review of Related Literature and Studies

This section presents the theories, concepts and studies

related to the research topic.

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PARTS OF A RESEARCH REPORT

Chapter 3
Research Methodology
This section clears out the processes used to answer the
research questions. This section also states the research
methods and design, sampling, statistical treatment,
procedures, and other related concepts necessary for data
gathering.

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PARTS OF A RESEARCH REPORT

Chapter 4
Presentation, Analysis and Interpretation of Data

This section presents the interpretation and analysis of the

results.

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PARTS OF A RESEARCH REPORT

Chapter 5
Summary, Conclusions, and Recommendations

This section presents the implications of the study and

future research

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TYPES OF EFFECTS ON THE
PARTICIPANTS
Hawthorne’s Effect (Observer effect)

 The Hawthorne Effect occurs when individuals

adjust their behaviour as a result of being watched
or observed.
 For instance, employees may work harder and
more diligently knowing their manager is closely
watching, or children behave better because they
are being watched by their parents.
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TYPES OF EFFECTS ON THE PARTICIPANTS
Halo effect
 The "halo effect" is when one trait of a person or thing is used to
make an overall judgment of that person or thing. It supports rapid
decisions, even if biased ones.

The halo effect works both in both positive and negative

directions:
 If you like one aspect of something, you'll have a positive
predisposition toward everything about it.
 If you dislike one aspect of something, you'll have a negative
predisposition toward everything about it.
 A negative halo effect is sometimes called the "devil effect" or
the "pitchfork effect," but that seems to be taking the metaphor
too far. Thus, it is recommended to use the term "halo effect" for
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both positive and negative biases.
VARIABLES AND HYPOTHESIS

Variables – a quantitative expression of a construct that can vary in

quantity or quality in observed phenomenon. It stands for variation
within a class of objects.
The different types of variables are:

a. Independent variable – a variable that the researcher thinks

occurred prior in time to, and has an influence on another variable or
on the dependent variable.

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VARIABLES AND HYPOTHESIS

b. Dependent variable
 a variable that is affected by or influenced by an independent
variable.
 relies on and can be changed by other components.
A grade on an exam is an example of a dependent variable
because it depends on factors such as how much sleep you got
and how long you studied.
 Independent variables can influence dependent variables, but
dependent variables cannot influence independent variables.
For example, the time you spent studying (dependent) can
affect the grade on your test (independent) but the grade on
your test does not affect the time you spent studying.
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VARIABLES AND HYPOTHESIS
c. Intervening variable
 a variable which cannot be controlled or measured directly that has
an important effect upon the outcome.
 is a theoretical variable the researcher uses to explain a cause or
connection between other study variables—usually dependent and
independent ones. They are associations instead of observations.
 For example, if wealth is the independent variable, and a long
life span is a dependent variable, the researcher might
hypothesize that access to quality healthcare is the intervening
variable that links wealth and life span.

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Population vs. Sample

•The population is the entire

group that you want to draw
conclusions about.

•The sample is the specific

group of individuals that you will
collect data from. The group of
individuals who will actually
participate in the research.
Probability Sampling Methods

• every member of the population has a

chance of being selected.
• mainly used in quantitative research.
Simple random sampling

• every member of the population has an equal

chance of being selected
• sampling frame should include the whole
population.

Example
You want to select a simple random sample of 100
students of School A. You assign a number to every
student in the students database from 1 to 1000,
and use a random number generator to select 100
numbers.
Systematic sampling

• Every member of the population is listed with

a number, but instead of randomly
generating numbers, individuals are chosen
at regular intervals.

All students of School A are listed in alphabetical

order. From the first 10 numbers, you randomly
select a starting point: number 6. From number 6
onwards, every 10th person on the list is
selected (6, 16, 26, 36, and so on), and you end
up with a sample of 100 people.
Stratified sampling

• divide the population into subgroups (called strata)

based on the relevant characteristic
• calculate how many people should be sampled
from each subgroup.
• Then you use random or systematic sampling to
select a sample from each subgroup.
Cluster Sampling

• often used to study large populations,

particularly those that are widely
geographically dispersed.
• each subgroup should have similar
characteristics to the whole sample.
Non-probability sampling methods

• Individuals are selected based on non-random

criteria, and not every individual has a chance of
being included.
• easier and cheaper to access, but it has a
higher risk of sampling bias.
• are often used in exploratory and qualitative
research.
Convenience Sampling

• includes the individuals who happen to be most accessible

to the researcher.
• an easy and inexpensive way to gather initial data
• no way to tell if the sample is representative of the
population, so it can’t produce generalizable results.

You are researching opinions about student support

services in your university, so after each of your classes,
you ask your fellow students to complete a survey on the
topic. This is a convenient way to gather data, but as you
only surveyed students taking the same classes as you at
the same level, the sample is not representative of all the
students at your university.
 Voluntary response sampling

• mainly based on ease of access.

• Instead of the researcher choosing
participants and directly contacting them,
people volunteer themselves (e.g. by
responding to a public online survey).
• always at least somewhat biased, as some
people will inherently be more likely to
volunteer than others.
Purposive Sampling

• Purposive sampling (also known as judgment,

selective or subjective sampling), involves the
researcher using their expertise to select a sample
that is most useful to the purposes of the research.
• often used in qualitative research
• An effective purposive sample must have clear
criteria and rationale for inclusion.
• Its main objective is to produce a sample that can
be logically assumed to be representative of the
population.
Example

You want to know more about the opinions and

experiences of disabled students at your
university, so you purposefully select a number of
students with different support needs in order to
gather a varied range of data on their experiences
with student services.
 https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/sampling-methods/

Snowball Sampling

• snowball sampling can be used to

recruit participants via other
participants if the population is hard to
access.
You are researching experiences of LGBT
members in your city. Since there is no list
of this, probability sampling isn’t possible.
You meet one person who agrees to
participate in the research, and she puts
you in contact with other LGBT members
that s/he knows in the area.
VARIABLES AND HYPOTHESIS
Hypothesis – this pertains to a researcher’s prediction of the
tentative results and findings of a study based on a theory or
assumption of the variables measured in the study. This likewise
presents the relationship between variables. The types of
hypothesis are:

a. Null Hypothesis – a prediction that no relationship between

two measured variables will be found or that no difference
between two groups on a measured variable will be found.
b. Alternative hypothesis - is what you might believe to be true
or hope to prove true.
Ho: There is no significant relationship
Ha: There is a significant relationship 64
THREE TYPES OF ALTERNATIVE
HYPOTHESIS

Positive Directional Hypothesis

Used when the researcher seeks of an increase of one variable
over the other.
H1= A > B

The performance of Section A in English is greater than Section

B’ s

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THREE TYPES OF ALTERNATIVE
HYPOTHESIS
Negative Directional Hypothesis
Used when the researcher seeks of a decrease of one variable
over the other.
H1= A < B
The performance of Section A in English is weaker than
Section B’ s
Section A performed significantly weaker than Section B

Note: However, it is more difficult to use the negative

hypothesis, since it will be using negative numbers. Thus, it is
better to revert it to positive directional. 66
THREE TYPES OF ALTERNATIVE
HYPOTHESIS

Non-directional hypothesis
Used when the researcher desires to know the difference only,
and is not interested whether there is an increase or decrease of
variables.
H1: A≠ B

Ex. The performance of Section A is not equal to Section B’s

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VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY IN RESEARCH
Validity tells you how accurately a method measures something.
 If a method measures what it claims to measure, and the results closely correspond to real-world values,
then it can be considered valid.
There are four main types of validity:
Construct validity:
 evaluates whether a measurement tool really represents the thing we are interested in measuring
 Does the test measure the concept that it’s intended to measure?
Content validity:
 To produce valid results, the content of a test, survey or measurement method must cover all relevant
parts of the subject it aims to measure.
 Is the test fully representative of what it aims to measure?
Face validity:
 Does the content of the test appear to be suitable to its aims?
 It’s often considered the weakest form of validity. However, it can be useful in the initial stages of
developing a method.
Criterion validity:
 evaluates how well a test can predict a concrete outcome, or how well the results of your test approximate
the results of another test.
 Do the results accurately measure the concrete outcome they are designed to measure?
 A university professor creates a new test to measure applicants’ English writing ability. To assess how well
the test really does measure students’ writing ability, she finds an existing test that is considered a valid
measurement of English writing ability, and compares the results when the same group of students take
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both tests. If the outcomes are very similar, the new test has high criterion validity.
VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY IN RESEARCH

Reliability – in a qualitative research, it is the extent to which other

researchers would arrive at similar results if they studied the same
case using exactly the same procedures as the first researcher. In
classical test theory, it refers to the amount of measurement error in
the scores yielded by a test.
Types of reliability
i) Inter-observer reliability – it is the extent to which the scores
assigned by one observer of events correlate with the
scores assigned by another observer of the same
events.
ii) Intra-observer- reliability – it is the extent to which an observer
makes consistent recordings of observational variables
while viewing a videotape or listening to an audiotape of
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an event on several occasions