Types of Educational Research
EDUCATIONAL
RESEARCH
The utmost aim of all life is to
live happily and to attain development in all dimensions of it. Development
purely depends on the education one acquires. Good education paves way not only
to individual development but also the social development. Such education has to be revamped regularly
and it can be done through research. Research, in any field, is vital for
nation’s progress. Education means to bring change in ones behaviour. Better
education means development and formulation of instructional aids, better
motivation and evaluation. To promote behavioural change among students these techniques
in better education should be adopted. These techniques can be employed
successfully only when they are modified periodically according to the need of
the students, change of the curriculum and availability of the resources. Hence
educational research should be encouraged.
TYPES
OF RESEARCH
- · Fundamental
- · Applied
- · Action
Fundamental
Research
Definition
Fundamental
research means experimental or theoretical work under taken primarily to
acquire new knowledge of the underlying foundations of phenomena and observable
facts, without any direct practical application or use in view.
o It is otherwise known as basic or pure research.
o
It is directed towards finding information and
adds to the already existing organised body of scientific knowledge.
o
It is mainly concerned with generalizations and
with formulation of theory.
o
It is usually carried out in a laboratory and
often with animals as subjects
o
This is primarily the activity of Psychologists
than the educational researchers.
o
Discovery of concepts like motivation,
reinforcement, concept formulation in learning are results of fundamental
research.
Applied
Research
Applied
research aims at finding a solution to an immediate problem facing the society
or educational organisation. It is the research to identify social, economic or
political trends that may affect a particular institution. The purpose of
applied research is to improve a product or process by testing the theoretical
concepts in actual problem situations. Most of the educational research is
applied research as it attempts to solve problem.
The
theory of operant conditioning by B.F.Skinner as a result of his researches on
pigeons and rats resulted in “Programmed Learning”
Action
Research
Action
research is focused on the immediate application not on the development of
theory. It has placed its emphasis on a real problem, here and now in a local
setting.
-
John W.Best
ü It is
focused on the immediate application and not on generalization of the findings.
ü Its
purpose is to improve the school practices.
ü The
approach of the action research is to encourage teachers, administrative and
others to do research in order to improve themselves.
Salient
Features of Action Research:
a.
The person who faces the problems is involved in
the investigation
b.
All facts of the problem situation are taken into
account.
c.
There is no consideration of a sample but the
population itself is to be considered.
d.
The approach is experimental and tentative.
e.
Immediate implementation of the solutions or
findings form part of the research activity.
Different
Stages of Action Research:
1.
Identification of a problem
2.
Defining the problem
3.
Diagnosis of the problem
4.
Formulation of the hypothesis
5.
Testing of the hypothesis
A) Data to
be collected
B) Tools
employed
6.
Action programme
7.
Conclusion
8.
Follow up
Significance
of the steps:
1.
Identification of the problem
The
statement of the problem must be complete. It must be presented in a form that
makes it absolutely clear what data or evidence must be obtained to solve the
problem
2.
Defining the problem
According
to Whitney “To define a problem means to put a fence around it, to separate it
by careful distinctions form the questions found in related situations.”
specifying a problem explicitly and narrowing it down to workable size are
extremely important at the very start.”
3.
Diagnosis of the problem
The
researcher should locate and test the possible causes for the problem.
Example:
irregular attendance of the pupil
Probable
causes may be:
a)
Poor health
b)
Necessity to assist parents at home or elsewhere
c)
Lack of interest in studies
d)
Bad company
e)
Emotional disturbance
f)
Physical weakness
g) Abnormal family background
4.
Formulation of Action Hypothesis:
It is the
most important step in the research process. Hypothesis is formulated only as
the research process. Hypothesis is formulated only as the suggested solution
to the problem with the objective that the ensuring study may lead either to
its rejection or to its retention.
5. Testing
of Hypothesis:
The researcher should be clear about the data to
be collected in support of the action hypothesis and also the tools to be
collected in support of the action hypothesis and also the tools to be used and
procedures to be followed to collect the data. Van Dalen said that no single
method of obtaining data to test a hypothesis is perfect. So one or more tools
may be employed to collect data taking into consideration the nature of
investigation, objective and scope inquiry, financial resources, available time
and desired degree of accuracy.
6.
Action programme:
In sketching out the action programme, the
duration of the programme must be determined first and a format can be prepared
with a specified plan of work for a specified interval of time. Then the plan
is carried out with vigour.
7.
Conclusion
This pertains to the acceptance or rejection of
the action hypothesis. We should carefully analysis the data collected. We
should compare the pre-test and post-test results conducted along with the
action programme. On the basis of the evidence we may come to some definite
conclusion either to accept or reject the hypothesis.
8.
Follow up:
There is need for a fellow up in the case of rejection as well
as retention of hypothesis. In case of rejection, we formulate another
hypothesis process and in case of retention, we should try solve the problem by
adopting the same line of action.
REFERENCE
B.L. Sinha (2002) Statistics in
Psychology and Education. Anmol Publication Pvt.Ltd, New Delhi.
Garrett E. Henry (2005)
Statistics in Psychology and Education. Paragon International Publishers, New
Delhi
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