PRACTICAL RESEARCH 1 (QUALITATIVE RESEARCH)

I. NATURE OF INQUIRY AND RESEARCH

 What is Inquiry?
 Investigation and Immersion - What is Research?
 Purposes of Research
 Importance of Research in Daily Life
 Characteristics of Research
 The Seven Steps in the Research Process
 Research Ethics
 Intellectual Property
 Kinds of Research across Fields

1. What is Inquiry?
INQUIRY is an act of asking questions. It is a process that has the aim of augmenting
knowledge, resolving doubt or solving problem. In Merriam-Webster Dictionary, it is
synonymous with the word “investigation”.

2. Investigation and Immersion

INVESTIGATION has a deeper meaning compared to “inquiry”. It is a systematic examination
of a certain event or phenomenon. IMMERSION is a process whereby a researcher immerses
(deeply involves) himself in the data gathering activities and the data he has gathered is carefully
read or examined by him in detail. Combining the idea of “inquiry”, “investigation” and
“immersion”, the concept of “research” comes in.

3. What is Research?
Purposes of Research
- Research gives us a light or direction to inquire about the right information. - Research
develops our attitudes to not believe automatically without further investigation of the real
situation. - Research sharpens our mind to give a judicious vision to look.
- Research leads us to the ultimate philosophy of Life and it builds a graphic vision to
improve the community where we live.
- Research empowers us with knowledge and efficient learning of new things.
- Research helps us in understanding various issues of life and in giving solutions to our
problems.
- Research allows us to mark out the thin line between truths (fact) and lie (fallacy).
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- Research opens vistas news (new-age digital media platforms) of opportunity before we
pick and choose.
- Research makes good habits of reading, analyzing, thinking and learning.
- Research is a tool for building knowledge and for facilitating learning.
- Research is a means to understand various issues and to increase public awareness. -
Research is an aid to business awareness. - Research is a way to prove lies and support truths.
- Research is a means to find, gauge, and seize opportunities.
- Research is a seed of sharing valuable information.
- Research is the heart and soul of good writing.
Note:
All of the essay questions throughout the semester should be answered in paragraph forms. This
will let you to prepare for your Research Paper. Writing a Research Paper is done in
comprehensive paragraph forms with proper citation and referencing.

4. Characteristics of Research
The Seven Steps of the Research Process
Step 1. Define and develop your topic (Research Problem).
Step 2. Find background information about your chosen topic (Review of Related Literature).
Step 3. Plan your research design including your sample (Methodology).
Step 4. Gather necessary data using open-ended questions (for qualitative research) and closed-
ended questionnaire or paper pencil test questionnaire (for quantitative research) (Data Gathering
Activities).
Step 5. Process and analyze data using thematic analysis (for qualitative research) and statistical
tools (for quantitative research).
Step 6. Formulate new insights gained (for qualitative research), conclusions (for quantitative
research) and recommendations.
Step 7. Define new problem.

5. Research Ethics
Research ethics provides guidelines for the responsible conduct of research. In addition, it
educates and monitors researchers to ensure a high ethical standard. It promotes the aim of
research, such as expanding knowledge. It supports the values required for collaborative work,
such as mutual respect and fairness.
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INFORMED CONSENT: In order to safeguard the rights of the participants in your study,
secure informed consent. Inform your participants about the criteria set for choosing them as
informants and the schedule of one-on-one interview at the convenient time they are available.
Participation to the study will be completely voluntary.
HONESTY. Honestly report data, results, methods and procedures, and publication status. Do
not fabricate, falsify and misrepresent the data. OBJECTIVITY. Strive to avoid bias in
experimental design, data analysis, data interpretation, peer review, personnel decisions, grant
writing, expert testimony, and other aspects of research.
INTEGRITY. Keep your promises and agreements; act with sincerity; strive for consistency of
thought and action.
CAREFULNESS. Avoid careless errors and negligence; carefully and critically examine your
work and the work of peers. Keep good records of research activities.
OPENNESS. Share data, results, ideas, tools and resources. Be open to criticism and new ideas.
RESPECT FOR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY. Honor patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade
secrets and other forms of intellectual property. Do not use published or unpublished data,
methods, or results without permission. Give credit where credit is due.

Never plagiarize, fabricate and falsify.

CONFIDENTIALITY. Protect confidential communications, such as papers or grants submitted
for publication, personnel records, trade or military secrets, and patient records. RESPONSIBLE
MENTORING. Help to educate, mentor, and advise others. Promote their welfare and allow
them to make their own decisions.
RESPONSIBLE PUBLICATION. Publish in order to advance research and scholarship, not to
advance your own career. Avoid wasteful and duplicative publication.
RESPECT FOR COLLEAGUES. Respect your colleagues and treat them fairly. Don’t outsmart
others. Respect their opinions.
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY. Strive to promote social acceptance and prevent or mitigate social
harms through research, public education, and advocacy. NON-DISCRIMINATION. Avoid
discrimination against colleagues or students on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity, or other factors
that are not related to their scientific competence and integrity.
COMPETENCE. Maintain and improve your own professional competence and expertise
through lifelong education and learning; take steps to promote competence in science as a whole.
LEGALITY. Know and obey relevant laws and institutional and government policies.
ANIMAL CARE. Show proper respect and care for animals when using them in research. Do not
conduct unnecessary or poorly designed animal experiments.
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HUMAN SUBJECTS PROTECTION. When conducting a research on human subjects,

minimize harms and risks and maximize benefits; respect human dignity, privacy, and
anonymity.
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY is an ethical framework or a duty that every researcher has to
perform so as to promote social acceptance and prevent or mitigate social harms through
research, public education and advocacy.
HUMAN RIGHTS are moral principles or norms that describe certain standards of human
behavior and are regularly protected as natural and legal rights. They constitute a set of rights
and duties necessary for the protection of human dignity, inherent to all human beings.
Intellectual Property refers to the protection of creations of the mind, which have both a moral
and a commercial value. It is the umbrella term encompassing both copyright and industrial
property such as trademarks, patents and trade secrets.
Voluntary Participation. The principle of voluntary participation requires that people must not
be coerced into participating in research process. Essentially, this means that prospective
research participants must be informed about the procedures and risks involved in research and
must give their consent to participate.
Anonymity refers to the protection of people’s identity through not disclosing their name or not
exposing their identity. It is a situation in data gathering activities in which informant’s name is
not given nor known.
Privacy refers to someone’s right to keep his personal matters and relationships secret. It is the
ability of an individual to seclude himself from disturbance of any research activity.
Research Misconduct includes fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism. It doesn’t include honest
error of differences of opinion. It can erode trust between researchers and funding agencies,
which make it more difficult for colleagues at the same institution to receive grants.
PATENT is a form of intellectual property that gives the owner the legal right to exclude others
from making, using, selling and importing an invention for a limited period of years.

Types Patents
There are three common types of PATENTS: utility patents, design patents and plant patents.
Utility patents protect the utility or function of a product. Design patents protect the aesthetic
appearance of the product. Plant patents protect the discovery or invention of plants that are
asexually reproduced.
COPYRIGHT is an exclusive legal right given to an originator or an assignee to print, publish,
perform, film, or record literary, artistic, or musical material, and to authorize others to do the
same.
Copyrightable works include the following categories:
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(1) Literary works, (2) musical works, (3) dramatic works, (4) choreographic works, (5) pictorial,
graphic and sculptural (PGS) works, (6) audio-visual works, (7) sound recordings and (8)
architectural works.
TRADEMARK is a recognizable name, insignia, phrase, word, or symbol that denotes a specific
product and legally differentiates it from all other products of its kind.
Types of Trademarks
Types of trademarks for products include five main categories:
(1) Generic trademark, (2) descriptive trademark, (3) suggestive trademark, (4) fanciful
trademark, and (5) arbitrary trademark.
Generic trademarks include phrases/taglines like “We find ways” of BDO, “Making things
possible” of Globe, “Bida and Saya” of Jollibee, and “Astig Tayo Dito” of TM. They are the
weakest forms of trademarks.
Descriptive Trademarks immediately identify the characteristics of the products or services to
which the marks pertain. Marks that are merely descriptive are not protected or accorded
trademark rights.
Examples of Descriptive Trademarks/Marks Descriptive trademarks include
“McDonald’s”, “Wendy’s”, and “Ayala Malls”.
Descriptive marks include “Tubeless” for computer monitor, “Holiday Inn” for hotels and “Cold
and Creamy” for ice cream.
Suggestive Trademarks are usually suggestions of the quality or nature of the products or
services, but don’t straightforwardly describe themselves because they require the consumers to
use their imagination or perception to understand what the product is.
Examples of Suggestive Trademarks:
Fanciful Trademarks
Fanciful trademarks are terms, names or logos that are different from anything else that exists.
They are the strongest type of trademarks. They include Kodak, Adidas, Merrell, Caltex, Pepsi,
Petron, etc. These words are not found in the dictionary and had no meaning before they were
adopted and used as trademarks.
Arbitrary Trademarks
Arbitrary trademarks might include a term or phrase with a well-known meaning, but the
meaning in its case is different. The best example an arbitrary trademark is Apple. Other
examples are Shell Gas Station and Camel cigarettes.

6. Types of Intellectual Property

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TRADE SECRET is type of intellectual property in the form of a formula, practice, process,
design, instrument, pattern, commercial method, or compilation of information that is not
generally known or reasonably ascertainable by others, and by which a person or company can
obtain an economic advantage over competitors.
Copyright Infringement is the use or production of copyright-protected material without
permission of the copyright holder. Copyright infringement means that the rights accorded to the
copyright holder, such as the exclusive use of a work for a set period of time, are breached by a
third party.
Examples of Copyright Infringement
1. Downloading movies and music without proper payment for use
2. Recording movies in a theater
3. Using others’ photographs for a blog without permission
4. Copying software code without giving proper credit
5. Creating videos with unlicensed music clips

7. Kinds of Research across Fields

1. Arts-Based Research is defined as the use of personal expression in various art forms as a
primary mode of inquiry. It includes studies that may accompany or include the artistic
expressions of others. It is making and doing of art as a means of understanding life.
Examples of Arts-Based Research:
a. “How the Arts Benefit Student Achievement”
b. “The Arts and the Transfer of Learning”
c. “The Role of Color in Beautification and Urban Aesthetics” and “Positive Classroom
Environment through Classroom Design”.
2. Research in Humanities is designed to explore human culture such as philosophy, religion,
literature, linguistics and history. It also includes ancient and modern languages, human
geography, laws, politics and other social sciences.
Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture.
Examples of Research in Humanities:
a. “Religious Education in the Private Schools: Practices and Challenges”.
b. “Political System Government in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim
Mindanao (BARMM)”.
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3. Sports Research is designed to help athletes reach and sustain their ideal body and wellness
goals through proven high quality products. It is conducted to explain the underlying
mechanisms how athletes maintain their good physical appearance and healthy lifestyle. It gives
the coaches and athletes a way to gain solid information and apply it to sports performance. It
helps the coaches form beliefs to develop programs and coaching techniques.
The examples of sports research are:
a. “Participation of Students in Athletics and their Academic Performance”
b. “The Role and Experiences of the Sports Team Captains”
c. “The Impact of Sports Activities on the Self-Efficacy of Students”
d. “The Untold Stories of Sports Enthusiasts”.
4. Science Research is designed to discover laws, postulates theories that can explain natural or
social phenomena. In other words, Science research builds scientific knowledge. Science
Research is performed by applying systematic and constructed scientific method to obtain,
analyze and interpret data. A strong and testable hypothesis is the fundamental part of the
scientific research.

The examples of science research are:

a. “The Role of Sugar in Food Preservation”
b. “Making Soup Out of Guava”
c. “Electrical Resources Out of Fruits and Vegetables”
d. “Use of Reciprocal Peer Tutoring (RPT) in Improving the Problem Solving Skills of
Students in Chemistry and Physics”.
5. Mathematics Research is a study that looks at the myriad problems to enhance critical and
logical thinking abilities. It gives the opportunity to master mathematics topics and it provides an
understanding of mathematics as an exact science. Mathematics Research helps us to develop
confidence and increase enthusiasm to do more mathematical problems. It may lead to find new
formulas and it can help finding ways to simplify calculations or problems.
The examples of mathematics research are:
a. “Practical Work Approach (PWA) and Problem Solving Skills of Students in Algebra”
b. “Students Misconceptions and Errors in Trigonometry”
c. “Common Errors of Students in General Mathematics: Analysis and Remediation”
d. “Mathematics Experiences of Women and Girls: A Narrative Inquiry”.
6. Agriculture Research is aimed at improving productivity and quality of crops by their generic
improvement, better plant protection, irrigation, storage methods, farm mechanization, efficient
marketing, and better management of agricultural resources. Agriculture plays a crucial role in
the life of an economy. It is the backbone of the economic system. It does not only provide food
and raw material but also employment opportunities.
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The examples of agriculture research are:

a. “Effect of Different Rates of Nitrogen Fertilizers on Growth and Quality of Rice and
Corn”
b. “Shaping the Modern Farming Through AgTech Fusion”
c. “Growth and Development of Eggplant (Solanum Melongena) as Influenced by Various
Organic Fertilizers”
d. “Modern Farming Methods: Changing the Face of Agriculture”.
7. Fisheries Research is conducted to increase the production of fishery resources for the
purpose of providing human food. It helps the fisheries management authority such as Bureau of
Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) to protect different bodies of water so that sustainable
supply of aquatic resources is maintained.
The examples of fisheries research are:
a. “Vulnerability of Inland and Coastal Aquaculture to Climate Change”
b. “Effect of Commercial Fishing Technologies on Marine Ecosystem”
c. “Dredging: Habitant Destruction of Clams and other Aquatic Resources”
d. “Why Do Fish Stocks Collapse? An Exploratory Study”
8. Information and Communication: Technology (ICT) Research is designed to ease
knowledge-gathering process and to enhance resource-development. It is conducted to make us
ready to adapt with the changing times and to understand today’s fast changing knowledge and
its peculiarities.
The examples of ICT research are:
a. “The Role of ICT within Small and Medium Enterprises in the Municipality of
Esperanza, Sultan Kudarat”
b. “Implementation of DepEd Computerization Program (DCP) in the Public High Schools
in Sultan Kudarat”
c. “Art and Mathematics Modelling in Computers” and “Role of Computers in Digital
Forensics”.
9. Business Research is a process of acquiring detailed information of all the areas of business
and using such information in maximizing the sales and profit of the business. It helps business
firms determine which product or service is most profitable or in demand.
The examples of business research are:
a) “Financial Literacy, Spending Practices and Performance of Teachers“
b) “Budgeting Practices and Business Efficiency of Large Enterprises at Sultan Kudarat”
10. Social Science Research is a study that focuses on finding reasons for human behavior. It is
conducted to gather information about people and societies. It can change the already accepted
principles through its new research methodologies and findings.
The examples of social science research are:
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a. “The Impact of Deforestation on Wildlife”,

b. “Emotional Intelligence and Social Competence: Antecedents of School Administrators,
Transformational Leadership Qualities”,
c. “Implementation of Ecological Solid Waste Management (RA 9003) in the Municipality
of Esperanza, Sultan Kudarat”.