Lec 02 Nature of Educational Research

THE NATURE OF
EDUCATIONAL
RESEARCH
By
Masood ur Rehman
Objectives of The Lesson
• 1-Define and explain the concept of scientific research

• 2- Clarify the nature of research
• 3- Application and exercises ( identification of the research type).
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
• RESEARCH BY PURPOSE • RESEARCH BY METHOD
• BASIC RESEARCH • QUANTITATIVE APPROACH
• APPLIED RESEARCH • QUALITATIVE APPROACH
• RESEARCH AND • MIXED METHOD APPROACH

DEVELOPMENT
• ACTION RESEARCH
• The following characteristics are related in
that they describe the nature of research:
• 1. Research is empirical
• 2. Research is systematic
NATURE OF
EDUCATIONAL • 3. Research should be valid
RESEARCH
• 4. Research should be reliable
• 5. Research can take on a variety of

forms.
RESEARCH IS EMPIRICAL
• Empiricism is the concept that all knowledge is
derived from a sense experience; this experience
results in some information form—data– so that
knowledge can be generated upon it. Researchers
work upon data; this may involve organizing them,
generating hypotheses, testing them and so on.
• McMillan and Schumacher (1989) define research as “a
systematic process for collecting and analyzing
information (data) for some purpose.” (P. 8) Kerlinger
defines scientific research as “systematic, controlled,
SYSTEMATIC empirical and critical investigation of natural
phenomena guided by theory and hypotheses about the
PROCESS OF presumed relations among such phenomena.” (P. 10)

• To make research systematic, researchers use the
RESEARCH approach of scientific inquiry and scientific method.
• Scientific Inquiry: search for knowledge through
recognized methods of data collection, analysis and
interpretation.
• Scientific Method: research process is considered to consist of a
series of sequential steps.
• 1) Identifying a problem The nature of the problem is to be
defined; related knowledge is identified and a framework to
conduct the research is established. In addition, necessary
SYSTEMATIC assumptions and conditions are also identified.
• 2) Review information The researcher reviews how others
PROCESS OF approached a similar problem; i.e. Literature review.

• 3) Data collection: Collecting data requires a proper
organization and control to validate the data to make decisions
RESEARCH… upon them
• 4) Data analysis: Data analysis must be done in a manner
appropriate to the problem.
• 5) Drawing conclusions Following data analysis, researchers
draw conclusions and make generalizations based on the data
they had collected.
• Researches must be based on facts; i.e. capable to be justified.
There are two concepts: internal validity and external validity.
•  Internal Validity: it is the extent to which the results of
a research can be interpreted accurately and with
confidence. • An Example of high internal validity:
THE VALIDITY •  External Validity: the extent to which research results
can be generalized.
OF •  Internal validity is a prerequisite for external validity

because if the results cannot be interpreted accurately with
confidence, researchers cannot generalize them.
EDUCATIONAL •  Generalizability does not mean that the study must be
generalized to many various situations and populations; external
RESEARCH validity, rather, depends upon the conditions and purposes of the
specific research study.
•  It is impossible to reach perfect internal and external validity;
researchers must work to reach a balance so that results can be
interpreted with confidence and still have some useful
generalizability.
THE RELIABILITY OF
EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH
• Reliability refers to the consistency of the research and the extent to which studies can be replicated. 1. Internal
reliability refers to the extent that data collection, analysis, and interpretation are consistent under the same
conditions. - If internal reliability is lacking, the data becomes a function of who collected them rather than what
actually happened. 2. External reliability deals with the issue of whether or not independent researchers can
replicate studies in the same or similar settings with consistent results.
• Good description of procedures and conditions is necessary to replicate researches. Reliability is a necessary
characteristic for validity; a study cannot be valid unless it is reliable. If it is unreliable, results cannot be
interpreted with confidence and cannot be generalized.
•  Reliability + validity = credibility of research Reliability of research concerns the replicability and consistency
of the methods, conditions, and results.
RESEARCH
CAN TAKE • Research has a Variety of Forms Different forms
ON A or types of research involve classification
systems.
VARIETY
OF FORMS
ANY QUESTION?
Thank You

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THE NATURE OF

• 1-Define and explain the concept of scientific research

• APPLIED RESEARCH • QUALITATIVE APPROACH

• RESEARCH AND • MIXED METHOD APPROACH

• 5. Research can take on a variety of

PROCESS OF presumed relations among such phenomena.” (P. 10)

PROCESS OF approached a similar problem; i.e. Literature review.

OF •  Internal validity is a prerequisite for external validity

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