QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH

METHODOLOGY

HMEF5093

SEMINAR 1
Introduction
Research Defined
Research Methodology: An Overview
Doing Quantitative Research
Constructs & Variables
Theory and Review of Literature

What is research?
Research is a scientific or systematic process
of steps used to gather and analyze information
to increase our understanding of a phenomenon
(topic or issue)
Examples of phenomena:
What is the motivation level of my students in
learning English?
Can cooperative learning improve the
students performance in Mathematics?

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: An Overview

RESEARCH
QUANTITATIVE
(Positivist Approach)

STATUS
STUDY

INTERVENTION
STUDY

Experimental

QUALITATIVE
(Phenomenological Approach)
STATUS STUDY

Case
Study

Survey
Correlational
Causal-comparative

QuasiExperimental

INTERVENTION
STUDY

Action
Research

Ethnography
Generic Qualitative method

Preliminary Understanding of Quantitative &

Qualitative Research
Examine the two research studies on Reasons for
discipline problems in school and decide which is
quantitative and which is qualitative. Justify your answers.
Researcher A identifies
factors that influence/
affect discipline,
develop a questionnaire
and administer it to a
sample of problem
students. He then
analyses the data and
identify significant
factors or rank the
factors in order of
dominance.

Researcher B interviews a
sample of problem students
individually or as a small
group. He interacts with
them and observes their
behaviours. He also
examines counsellors
reports and school report
cards. He records all the
information obtained and
analyses it for patterns that
emerge.

Quantitative Research

Qualitative Research

Philosophy

Positivism:
Knowledge can only come from positive
affirmation of theories through strict
scientific method

Phenomenology
Knowledge is discovered through an open,
unbiased description of experience

Purpose/
Goal

To study relationship, cause and effect

To test hypotheses & to make predictions

To study social phenomena or things as they

appear in our experience.
To explain, interpret and describe phenomena

Focus

Quantity (Variables - How much & How

many)

Quality (Features- What)

Design

Structured, predetermined
(Developed prior to study)

Flexible, emerging
(Evolves during study)

Method

Experiment, quasi-experimental, survey,

etc

Ethnography, case study, etc

Sample

Large, random, representation

Small, purposeful

Data
Collection

Tests, questionnaires, controlled

intervention

Interviews, observation, documents, artifacts

Analysis

Statistical methods

Narrative/descriptive and interpretation by

researcher

Findings

Specific, precise & numerical

Holistic, detailed & descriptive

Researcher

Detached

Immersed

DEDUCTIVE APPROACH IN
RESEARCH
4. Confirm or revise
theory based on the
hypotheses
tested/answers to
research questions

INDUCTIVE APPROACH IN
RESEARCH
4. Formulate and
generate theory based on
rich descriptive data

3. Conduct the study to

collect data

3. Formulate tentative
hypotheses & gather further
information

2. Design an empirical study

to test hypotheses/answer
research questions

2. Look for patterns in the forms

of themes, categories that
emerge.

1. Formulate research questions

and/or hypotheses based on
available theory/theories

1. Conduct observation
(Participant/non-participant)

Doing Quantitative Research:

The Research Process

STEPS IN CONDUCTING
QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)

Generating research ideas

Formulating the research problem
Developing hypotheses/research questions
Designing a study to test hypotheses/answer
research questions
Collecting data
Analysing and interpreting data
Communicating results

Doing Quantitative Research

Gap-filling Research
- To solve a knowledge-deficiency problem
(gap in literature)
Problem-solving Research
- To solve an ecological problem
(problems in research setting)
Problem-solving & Gap-filling Research
- To solve an ecological problem as well as a
knowledge-deficiency problem

Gap-filling Research:
(Generating Research Ideas)
Identify a general research area of interest
Read extensively to identify the GAP to
establish the research problem (RP)
Questions need to be asked:
What has been researched?
What has not been researched?
What needs to be further researched? Why?
Gap-filling research will ultimately lead to Problem-Solving as a
contribution ( Significance of the Study)

Problem-Solving Research:
(Generating Research Ideas)
Conceptualise and contextualise an ecological
problem
Read extensively to find solutions to the
problem in order to establish the research
problem (RP)
Questions need to be asked:
What has been researched ?
Can the ecological problem be solved with currently
available research findings?
If not, why? What needs to be researched?

Generating Research Ideas

(Finding a research problem)
Identify a broad problem in your area
Conduct a systematic programme of reading
Relate your research problem to a theory/theories
Reading
Instruction

Comprehension
Performance

Reading
problems
Reading
Comprehension
Reading
strategies

Reading
Activity
Reading
materials

Reading
programme

Reading
assessment

Theories
of visual
learning
Schema
theory
Reading
models
Information
processing
theory

Generating
research
ideas

Comprehension Performance
Reading Material
Reading Activity

Recall
Illustration
Pre-reading
activity

Formulating
Research
Problem

Effects of illustration on the reading

comprehension of expository text by ESL Learners

(2)

Formulating the Research Problem

(Writing the statement of the problem)
Research Problem Statement:
describes what the research is about and its aims
focuses on the variables involved and the direction
of the research
can be stated in declarative or question form
Declarative form:
The effects of illustration as a prereading activity on the reading
comprehension performance of expository text among Year 4 pupils
Question Form
How does illustration as a prereading activity affect the reading
comprehension performance of expository text among Year 4 pupils?

A good problem statement should

express a relation between two or more variables,
e.g. illustration, reading ability, content familiarity
and reading comprehension
be stated clearly and unambiguously
Example of unclear and ambiguous:
The effects of reading materials on reading
comprehension
imply possibilities of empirical testing
Can the variables be measured and the relationship
tested?

Class Discussion
Can you make the following statements clearer and
unambiguous so that they can be used as research
problem statements?
The Use of Computer Technology in schools
The leadership style of school principals
The methods of teaching science in primary school
The effects of using courseware X on Mathematics achievement of form
4 students
The leadership style of school principals and its relationship with the job
satisfaction of secondary school teachers
The effects of the discovery learning approach on the science
achievement of Year-6 pupils.

(3)

Developing Hypotheses/Research Questions

The research problem is broken down into subproblems

to be expressed in hypotheses or research questions
Examples of research question:
Is there any significant difference in the reading comprehension
performance of Year 4 pupils when they read expository text with
and without illustration? (Analysis focused research Question)
OR
Does illustration have any affect on the reading comprehension
performance of Year 4 pupils when they read expository text?
(Finding focused research question)

Examples of Hypotheses
There is no difference in the reading
comprehension performance of Year 4
pupils when they read expository text with
and without illustration?
IMPORTANT:
The decision on which methodology (esp. research
design and method of data collection & analyses) to use
depends the research problem & research
questions/hypotheses

(4) Collecting Data

Develop Instruments
Reading comprehension text
Illustrations
Comprehension test - comprehension
performance

Administer instruments to a sample of

Year 4 pupils

(5) Analysing & interpreting Data

Quantitative Data Analyses
Descriptive Statistics
Inferential Statistics

Communicating Results
Thesis/Dissertation/Project
Conferences/seminars
Publications in Journals/Books

Characteristics of Research
Research begins with a problem
Research requires a plan
Research demands a clear problem statement
Research deals with the main problem through
subproblems operationalised as research
questions/hypotheses
Research seeks direction through research
questions/hypotheses
Research deals with facts and their meaning

CONSTRUCTS & VARIABLES

Constructs are theoretical concepts that are used
to describe specific attributes.
e.g. intelligence, motivation, self-esteem, reading
comprehension performance, etc.
In research, a construct is loosely referred to as a
variable (i.e. something that varies) because it
can take on different numerical values or
classification labels.
e.g. intelligence (IQ 50 -150),reading
comprehension performance (Score 1 100),
gender (Male; Female), SES (Low, Middle, High),
etc

(A) Variables In Quantitative Research

Independent Variable
- Can be manipulated
e.g. Illustration (With & Without)

Dependent Variable
- Cannot be manipulated

e.g. Reading comprehension performance

score

Class Discussion

Can you identify the independent and

dependent variables in the following
research?

You are interested to find out if students

who are exposed to project-based method
(PBM) would perform better in science
than those who are taught using the
traditional lecture method (TLM). Besides,
you want to know if it would benefit high
achiever more or low achiever more

Independent Variables

Dependent Variables

PBM
Teaching
Method

TLM

High
Academic
Achievement

Low

Science
Performance

2 x 2 Factorial Design
PBM

High
Achiever
Low
Achiever

TLM

(B) Variables In Quantitative Research

Continuous Variable
- capable of taking on an ordered set of values
within a certain range (1, 2, 3.20)
e,g. temperature, height, weight, attitude
score, achievement score, etc
Categorical Variable
- measures of differences in type, not number
or amount, providing label classifications
e.g. race (Malay, Chinese, Indian, Others);
gender (M, F); SES (High, Middle, Low),
Proficiency level (Good, Poor)

Conversion
Subject

Reading Score (20)

Type of Reader

Poor

Poor

Poor

Continuous

Poor

Categorical

13

Variable

Good

Variable

16

Good

19

Good

20

Good

Operational definition of variables

Variables used in a study must be operationally defined
as they are used in the context of the study. This is
especially important when they have different definitions
in different contexts or when you are using them in a way
different from the commonly held definitions. Clear
operational definition of variables will eliminate confusion.
Variables need to be operationally defined to facilitate
measurement. Not all variables are directly observable,
thus they cannot be measured directly. For instance, we
cannot observe and measure learning directly but we can
see its effect on performance. We can thus operationally
defined learning as an increase in performance. So, if we
give a test to students after a learning process and their
performance improves, we can conclude that learning
has occurred.

Constitutive Definition Vs Operational definition

Given below are two definitions on reading
comprehension ability
The ability of pupils to read and interpret written or
printed material with understanding
The performance of pupils in interpreting written or
printed material as expressed by numerical scores in
the reading comprehension test devised by the class
teacher.
Which definition is more appropriate to be used in
research?

Data Types
Nominal data
E.g. % of students who passed/failed a test
Ordinal data
E.g. Ranking scores
Interval data
E.g. Attitude scores, IQ
Ratio Data
E.g. Test scores

Theory & Review of Literature

Theory
a statement or set of statements that explain and
predict phenomena.
a statement that indicates the relationship
between two or more events
Ausubels Meaningful Learning Theory
Meaningful Learning takes place when a learner
integrate new information with old information
What does Ausubel.s Theory predict?
What variables does the theory try to relate?

THE ROLE OF THEORY IN EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH

Theory provides an important guide or focus for the
direction of research by pointing to areas in which
meaningful relationships of events (variables) are likely
to be found.
Theory provides a rational basis for explaining or
interpreting the results of the research.
Theory enables the researcher to make predictions
about a wide range of situations

Review of Literature
An in-depth account of key works and information available on
a research topic

Aspects normally covered:

specific areas investigated
theories & approaches used
samples involved
variables examined
analyses used
findings obtained

Sources:
research articles (e.g. Journals)
& academic writings (e.g.
books)

How are the studies related to

your research?
What has been researched &
what needs further research?
What insights have you
obtained about the area to be
studied (e.g. approaches,
methodologies. analyses and
interpretation of findings) and
the trends that have emerged?

PURPOSE OF LITERATURE REVIEW

To gain insights into the theories, approaches and
methodologies adopted by different researchers. This will
provide sound theoretical and methodological
frameworks for the intended study.
To identify gaps in the literature so that the intended
study can focus on a research area that is significant and
that has not been explored adequately. This will ensure
that the research done will contribute towards knowledge
and/or theory development.
To help researchers to delimit the research problem and
define it clearly so that it has the right focus. Delimiting
the research problem can only be achieved if the
researcher reads extensively and intensively available
literature about the problem to be investigated.

To ensure that research to be done is on the right track

in line with the current trends. Such information can be
obtained from the section, Recommendations for further
research, that is found in every research study. These
recommendations are useful because they represent the
insights of the researcher after he/she has studied the
phenomenon.
To provide the intellectual context for the research to be
done, enabling the researcher to position his/her work
relative to other work. This is possible because the
review will show what has been done in the field and
how the new study relates to earlier research.

Sources of Literature Review

Secondary Sources
Materials written based on the works of others (e.g.
reference books, text books, published academic
writings, etc)
Primary Sources
Materials written by someone who actually conducted
the investigation 1st hand information. (e.g. research
articles published in journals.)
Note: Research articles also contain information from secondary
sources when the writers quote the works of other people

Common weaknesses in Lit. Review

Mere presentation of research information without
relating it to the intended study
*Mere presentation of research information without any
critical evaluation
Mere listing of past studies in isolation without making
any connection among them differences & similarities
Heavy reliance on secondary sources and/or outdated
studies
Poor citations (Refer to APA)
Plagiarism
* Note: Refer to the module for the guidelines

GOOD LUCK &

HAPPY STUDYING

THANK YOU