Reflection Paperin Practical Research 1

SETH LOUISE LOPEZ 11 ABM Gates
Assessment #2 in Practical Research 1
Task 1.
Research is a systematic process of collecting, analysing, and interpreting information in

order to increase our understanding of a phenomenon about which we are interested or concerned
(Leedy and Ormrod, 2013). It is a systematic and objective creation of knowledge. It has two major
approaches: the qualitative and the quantitative research. Qualitative research is a type of
educational research in which the researcher relies on the views of the participants; asks broad,
general questions; collects data consisting largely words from participants; describes the analyses
these words from themes; and conducts the inquiry in aa subjective, biased manner. In other words,
this is a systematic, interactive and subjective approach used to describe life experiences and give
them meaning (Burns and Grove, 2006). The second approach which is the quantitative research is
a type of educational research in which the researcher decides what to study; asks specific, narrow
questions; collects quantifiable data from participants; analyses these numbers using statistics; and
conducts the inquiry in an unbiased, objective manner. Quantitative research is a formal, objective
and systematic process in which numerical data are used to obtain information about the world. This
type of approach mainly involve life sciences studies while the qualitative approach is mainly about
the psychological aspect of a human. There are sets of differences in these two approaches. They
have different objectives, data analysis, methodologies and different philosophical assumptions. But
what I will tackle is the the differing philosophical assumptions between the two approaches
Research philosophical paradigm are sets of beliefs and practices that regulate inquiry
within discipline by providing lenses, frames and processes through which study is carried out. It
directs the perspective from which researcher formulate research questions, plan how problem can
be investigated, select research design as well as identify what methods are used and how data are
collected, analysed and interpreted (Steven and Edwards, 2008). Philosophy of qualitative research
is interpretative, humanistic and naturalistic (Creswell, 2007). One assumption is that the
individuals involved in the research situations construct reality; thus, realities exist in the form of
multiple mental constructions. This is an ontological assumption that means there is no single
reality but encompasses multiple realities for any phenomenon (Speziale and Carpenter, 2003).
Moreover, every individual perceive, interpret and experience a situation or phenomena of interest
from one own point of view, since every individual has a different experience of reality (Polit and
Beck, 2008). Other assumption is that research investigations produce alternative visions of what
the world is like. This is because qualitative study is generally conducted in the naturalistic
environment or setting rather than in a laboratory. Therefore, qualitative research can be best
understand and sort by embedding researcher in the situation thus giving the researcher a different
view of life from the other side leading to a deeper understanding of the world. The last assumption
is that it is impossible for the researcher to stand apart from the individuals he/she is studying. This
is because in a qualitative research, the researcher needs to interact with the participants in order to
explore perceptions, feelings, thoughts, beliefs, expectations and behaviour to obtain knowledge
about the phenomena of interest.
Philosophy of quantitative research is emerged fro positivist paradigm. Positivist paradigm
places considerable value on rationality, objectivity, prediction and control (Burns and Grove,
2006). One assumption states that, “There exists a reality out there, independent of us, waiting to be
known. The task of science is to discover the nature of reality and how it works. This is an
ontological assumption that means there is one reality which exists and can be validated through the
senses (Brink and Wood, 2001). The other assumption is that researcher investigations can
potentially result in accurate statements about the way the world really is. Researcher believe that
all human behaviour is objective, purposeful and measurable, thus, it encompasses the study of
research questions or hypothesis that identify the prevalence and characteristics of the concept, test
the relationship, assess cause and effect relationship between variable and tests for intervention
effectiveness which will then give a wider scope of knowledge that can help the researcher
understand the mere existence of an individual. The last quantitative research assumption is that it is
possible for the researcher to remove him or herself to stand apart from that which is being
researched. This is because the researcher needs to find or develop the instrument or tool to measure
the phenomenon of concern thats why researcher will remain detached from the study in order to
prevent personal values and biases to influence the study results (Polit and Beck, 2008).
The methodology chosen depend on what one are trying to do; researcher’s purpose and
question to investigate rather that commitment to a particular paradigm (Brink and Wood, 2001).
The researchers does not always state the philosophical stance on which the study is based;
however, one can identify the stance by carefully reading the literature review, identifying the
research question, understanding the purpose of the study and examining the researcher’s method.
Moreover, the researcher’s knowledge of both types of research approach endorse accurate
selection of the methodology for the problem identified (Carr, 1994).

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SETH LOUISE LOPEZ 11 ABM Gates

Assessment #2 in Practical Research 1

Research is a systematic process of collecting, analysing, and interpreting information in

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