Unit I: Nature of Inquiry and Research

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
At the end of this lesson, we should be able to:
 Explain your understanding of the term “inquiry”;
 Outline all the ideas you have learned about inquiry;
 Infer about societal issues through speculative thinking;
 Enumerate the benefits of inquiry-based learning; and
 Identify questions as simple or complex based on the
kind of thinking it elicit from you.

Inquiry
 a learning process that motivates an individual or a group to obtain knowledge or information
about people, things, places or events.
 it requires collection of data, facts and information about the object of inquiry and examine
such data carefully.

Foundation of Inquiry
 John Dewey’s theory of connected experiences for exploratory and reflective thinking.
 Lev Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) that stresses the essence of
provocation and scaffolding in learning.

 Jerome Bruner’s theory on learner’s varied world perceptions for their own interpretative
thinking .

BENEFITS OF INQUIRY-BASED LEARNING

⚫ elevates interpretative thinking

⚫ improves learning abilities
⚫ widens learner’s vocabulary
⚫ facilitates problem-solving acts
⚫ encourages cooperative learning
 ⚫ provides mastery of procedural knowledge
⚫ encourages higher-order thinking strategies
⚫ hastens conceptual understanding

RESEARCH
⚫ is a process of executing various mental acts of discovering and examining facts and
information to prove the accuracy or truthfulness of your conclusion about the topic of
your research.
⚫ systematic and controlled inquiry based on empirical data to arrive at new knowledge
about a certain subject or topic through a conclusion-bearing, problem solving process
by means of an effective method.
⚫ “Research requires you to inquire and investigate about your choses topic by asking
questions that will make you engage yourself in top-level thinking strategies of
interpreting, analyzing, synthesizing, criticizing, appreciating or creating to enable you
to discover truths about many things you tend to wonder about the topic of your
research work.” -(Litchman, 2013)

The main difference between Inquiry and Research is that the Inquiry is a process that has the aim
of augmenting knowledge, resolving doubt, or solving a problem and Research is a formal work
undertaken systematically to increase the stock of knowledge.

Characteristics of Research:
⚫ Accuracy. It must give correct or accurate data, which footnotes, notes and bibliographical
entries should honestly and appropriately documented or acknowledge.
⚫ Objectiveness. It must deal with facts, not mere opinions arising from assumptions,
generalization, predictions or conclusions.
⚫ Timeliness. It must work on topic that is fresh, new, and interesting to the present society.
⚫ Relevance. Its topic must be instrumental in improving society or in solving problems affecting
the lives of people in a community.
⚫ Clarity. It must succeed in expressing its central point or discoveries by using simple, direct,
concise, and correct language.
⚫ Systematic. It must take place in an organized or orderly manner.
PURPOSE OF RESEARCH
⚫ teach to be an independent learner
⚫ learn to work scientifically
⚫ train oneself to be a critical thinker
⚫ Elevate mental abilities by letting to think in higher-order thinking strategy (HOTS)
⚫ improve reading and writing skills
⚫ familiarize oneself to basic the tools of research
⚫ to free yourself to a certain extent

TYPES OF RESEARCH
- Pure Research. It deals with concepts, principles, or abstract things. Aims to discover
truths & is conducted for the intellectual pleasure of learning.
-Applied Research. It applies to societal issues/problems, finding ways to make
positive changes in society.
- Descriptive Research. Aims at defining or giving a verbal portrayal or picture of a
person, thing, event, group, situation, etc. This is liable to repeated research because its topic relates
itself only to a certain period of time.
-Historical Research. It aims to study the past and describe what was or what has
been. It includes the analysis of past events.
- Correlational Research. Shows relationships of two factors, circumstances, or agents
called variables that affect the research.
-Explanatory Research. Elaborates not just the reasons behind the relationship of two
factors, but also the ways by which such relationship exists.
-Exploratory Research. The purpose of this research is to find out how possible it is to
conduct a research study on a certain topic. Here, you will discover ideas on topics that could
trigger your interest in conducting research studies.
- Action Research. This research type studies an ongoing practice of a school,
organization, community, or institution for the purpose of obtaining results that will bring
improvements in the system.

BASED ON TYPES OF DATA NEEDED

- Qualitative Data. These data are non-numerical and immeasurable, which means the research
uses words rather than numbers to express results of investigation about people’s thought, beliefs,
feelings, views, and lifestyles regarding the object of the study.
- Quantitative Data. These data involves measurement. It presents research findings referring to the
number or frequency of something in numerical forms (i.e., percentages, fractions, numbers)

Primary Data. These data are obtained through direct observation or contact with people,
objects, artifacts, paintings etc.
These data are new and original information resulting from your sensory experience.
Secondary Data. These data have already been written about or reported on and are available for
reading purposes.
APPROACHES OF RESEARCH
Scientific/Positive Approach
In this approach, you discover and measure information as well as observe and control
variables in an impersonal manner.
Naturalistic Approach.
In contrast to the scientific approach, this approach uses qualitative data. It speak of how
people behave toward their surroundings.

Triangulation Approach
The combination of scientific and naturalistic approaches.

GUIDELINES IN CHOOSING A RESEARCH TOPIC

1. INTEREST IN THE SUBJECT MATTER
Your real interest in a subject pushes you to conduct investigation or research about it
with full motivation, enthusiasm, and energy.
2. AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION
Varied forms of literature like books, journal, and newspapers is a part & parcel of any
research. Ask these questions to yourself: a. What are the copyright dates?; b. How old or new are
they?; and c. How expert the authors are?
3. TIMELINESS & RELEVANCE
The topic is relevant if it yields results that are instrumental in societal improvement and
it is timely.
4. LIMITATIONS ON THE SUBJECT
This makes you link your choosing with the course requirements.
5. PERSONAL SOURCES
Before sticking fully to your final choice, assess your resource in terms of your financial
standing, health condition, mental capacity, needed facilities, and time allotment to enable you to
complete your research.

RESEARCH TOPICS TO BE AVOIDED

1. CONTROVERSIAL TOPICS
These are the topics that depend greatly on the writer’s opinion, which may tend to be
biased or prejudicial. Facts cannot supports topics like these.
Example: personal stories & information, abortion, same-sex marriage, religion, cloning and
mutation obesity etc
 2. HIGHLY TECHNICAL SUBJECTS
For a beginner, researching on topics that require an advanced study, technical
knowledge, and vast experience is a very difficult task.
Example: politics, quantum mechanics, and some hard sciences.
3. HARD-TO-INVESTIGATE SUBJECTS
A subject is hard to investigate if there are no available reading materials about it and if
such materials are not up-to-date.
Examples: theology, history, etc.
4. TOO BROAD SUBJECTS
A subject that are too broad will prevent you from giving an in-depth analysis of the
subject matter of the paper. The remedy id to narrow it down.
Example: violence, education, computer games, global warming, health etc.
5. TOO NARROW SUBJECTS
These subjects are so limited or too specific that an extensive searching for information
about these are necessary.
Examples: “Common foods eaten by Eskimos”, women and cancer, computer games violence,
etc.
6. VAGUE SUBJECTS
Choosing vague topics will prevent you from having a clear focus. Indefinite
adjectives such as several, some, many etc., are vague enough to decrease the readers’ interest
and curiosity.
Examples: Several Reasons of Bullying, Some Effects of Global Warming, Many Perceptions
on Bullying

SOURCES OF RESEARCH TOPICS

1. Mass media communication – press (newspapers, ads, TV, films)
2. Books, internet, peer-reviewed journals, gov’t publications
3. Professional periodicals like College English Language Teaching Forum, English Forum, The
Economist, Academia, Business Circle, Law Review, etc.
4. General periodicals like Readers’ Digest, Women’s Magazine, Panorama, Time Magazine,
World Mission Magazine, etc.
5. Work experience – clues to a researchable topic from full-time or part-time jobs, OJT
experience, fieldwork, etc.