Tajuk 2 Jenis Penyelidikan

Penyelidikan asas Penyelidikan gunaan Penyelidikan tindakan Penyelidikan penilaian

Jenis Reka Bentuk Penyelidikan

Penyelidikan kuantitatif - Kajian eksperimental - Kuasi-eksperimental - Kajian tinjauan - Kajian korelasi Penyelidikan kualitatif - Kajian etnografi - Kajian kes - Kajian sejarah

WHAT IS RESEARCH?

Research is the use of formal and systematic scientific methods to examine problems in a certain field/discipline. Because research in education is in a scientific and systematic form as well as based on certain knowledge, it must follow certain procedures. Firstly, a research must be well-planned to get valid findings.

PLANNED RESEARCH

After a research topic has been identified, we need to determine the aim, objective, questions and hypotheses (if any) of the research. Then, we need to plan the research method and procedure which would be carried out. This research plan will give a presumption on whom are the research participants, what are the research variables, type of research data and research tools which would be used; and how data is collected and analysed.

While you are identifying the research topic, you also need to think about what is the best form of research for the topic you have chosen, whether in quantitative or qualitative form. Planning a research using the quantitative method is different from planning a research using the qualitative method. You need to consider many different factors when you plan to use the quantitative or qualitative methods.

Research Questions and Data

Research questions are questions we ask, the answers to which can be used to achieve the aim of the research we will be carrying out. These questions can be answered by analysing research data after the data is collected. To collect this data, we need to prepare a detailed procedure to implement the research.

Data collecting procedure.

The procedure includes identifying research participants, strategy for collecting data and how, when, why and who to collect the data from. Indepth explanation can help us to implement the research smoothly, without having obvious problems. Mistakes that occur will affect the validity of the results.

Analysing data collected.

Data will be analysed differently, depending on the form of research. If the research is in a quantitative form, then the statistics analysis needs to be used to answer research questions and provide findings. Instead, if the research is in a qualitative form, a descriptive analysis must be used. Lengthy notes must be detailed and summarised. Observation made must be interpreted into a clearly and easily understandable

Presentation of research findings.

After data analysis, research results and findings must be reported and presented clearly. Besides that, implications of the research findings must also be made. These findings will benefit people, agencies or organisations for various reasons. The government may also use the research findings to tackle problems faced or to improve services available. School principals can also use the findings to improve school practices.

The Selection of a Research Design

A research design is a plan on how to divide research samples into groups, what treatment (if any) which would be given to the groups and what data and how are the data collected. According to Creswell (2002), there are eight research designs which can be used in educational research. Educational research design can either be quantitative, qualitative or a combination of both.

RESEARCH DESIGN
Quantitative - Experiment - QuasiExperiment - Correlation - Observation Combination Qualitative - of Quantitative Grounded and Qualitative - Combined Theory - Ethnography methods - Narrative - Action research

(a) Quantitative Research Design

Experiment Quasi-Experiment Correlation Observation

(i) Experimental design

This method is usually known as group comparison studies because the researcher compares groups from one or more experimental outcomes. Experiments are also known as intervention studies because we "change" or manipulate variables. Researchers will design the experiment to obtain maximum independent variable effects over the dependent variables, and at the same time, minimise the effect of the extraneous factors.

There are five main characteristics of experimental research designs which can be used as a guide: Research participants are chosen and divided into two groups, control and experimental groups; Intervention can be done to one or more groups, randomly if there is more than one group; Outcomes are measured at the end of the experiment; Research procedures are changed, so that threat to the validity of the outcome is controlled; and Statistical comparisons are made between

(ii) Quasi-Experiment Design

The situation in schools usually does not allow students to be divided from their intact groups (for instance, Standard 4 Jujur, Standard 4 Amanah). In the research, for example, for the new English programme, student cannot be chosen and divided randomly into control and experimental groups. In such a situation, where the children cannot be separated, we can use the quasiexperimental design with existing classes as the control and experimental groups.

(iii) Correlation Design

A science teacher wants to know the accuracy of the presumption that student who are good in mathematics are also good in science. To decide this, the teacher compares the students' examination results for the two subjects. He correlates/links the students' achievements in mathematics and science. In principle, if students who achieve high marks in mathematics also do so for science, then we can presume there is a positive relationship between achievements in mathematics and science. If this result is consistent with the findings of other researches, we can then say the assumption is true.

The story above elaborates on one correlation design used in education. Correlation research in this case only used a simple linear correlation procedure. Besides that, we can also used more advanced statistical method, such as regression, path analysis and causal modelling, research correlation can be classified as a quantitative research. Correlation research can be used in two forms, which are, to explain the relationship between two or more variables or predicting an outcome.

(iv) Observation Design

If the Ministry of Education wants to know the opinion of parents and students about a singlesession school, where students need to be present in school between 8am and 4pm, an example of a research question which can be asked would be: " What are the students' and parents' opinions about a single session school?' By using observational designs, the ministry can collect information from students and their parents. This is a method which can save cost and time, when there are many research participants. In this matter, the education ministry chooses the respondents randomly from two groups (parents and students), and later sends questionnaires, analyses data obtained and makes a population generalisation.

This observation method is often used by schools. Usually, the observation design is used to: Explain a certain trend; Determine the opinion about certain issued in relation to policies, like giving loans to all students at institutions of higher learning; Determine background of lecturers from colleges and private universities; Identify certain practices, like bringing weapons to schools and gangsterism; and Evaluate programmes, such as using English in Mathematics and Science.

There are two types of survey design: cross-sectional and longitudinal. The cross-sectional design is used to collect data which portrays behaviour, opinion and current beliefs. The longitudinal design is used to examine individuals in a certain timeframe, such as examining what happens to those who achieve high and low marks in school after five years.

(b) Qualitative Research Design

Grounded Theory Ethnography Narrative

(i) Grounded Theory Research Design

A teacher who has been teaching for the past 20 years, has taught students from various different socioeconomic backgrounds. He found the students with high achievements are usually from families with higher socio-economic background, while students with low achievements are from families with lower socioeconomic beckground. The teacher creates his own "theory": Parents with high socio-economy level are more attentive so that their children get better grades. They emphasise on discipline and help in their childrens' homework, which result in their children achieving academic excellence. Instead, children from lower socio-economy families are not so keen on their studies, their parents are less attentive towards them and their surrounding environment are not conducive to study. All these do not help the children in their studies. In the end, the teacher intends to examine the phenomenon which has become his "grounded" theory.

He wants to test the following hypothesis: Students of high socio-economic level spend more time studying; Parents from high socio-economic background send their children for tuition classes; and Students with high socio-economy have model relatives with high achievements.

The appropriate type of research to test this hypothesis is qualitative research. Such theory-based research needs observation and interviews. Data collected could be long and qualitative. These data need to be analysed and a report must be made.

(ii) Ethnography Design

The hidden meaning of ethnography is "writing about people in groups" (LeCompte & Schensul, 1999: 21). By using the ethnography design, you can identify a group of people to be examined, visit group setting, record how they behave and interact with others, how they think and build a general picture about their group.

This information can give a detailed picture of their daily activities. For example, we look at "The life of students in full-boarding schools in Malaysia." This research needs you to observe students and note their daily activities. You can be a participant observer to know and understand their daily life in detail. By being with them for a period of time, you can 'picture' their life ethnographically. The ethnography design is a qualitative research procedure to explain behaviours, beliefs and languages for certain groups, which they have built over a long period of time. For the case of the students in fullboarding schools, they have their own behaviour and values which are different from students who do not stay in boarding school.

Van Maanen (1988); Denzin (1997); LeCompte, Preissle and Tesch (1993) classified nine ethnography forms as shown in Table 5.1.

Realist Ethnography Confessional Ethnography Life-history Ethnography Auto Ethnography Micro Ethnography Ethnographic Case Study Critical Ethnography

An objective ethnography and written scientifically. A report on fieldwork of an ethnography member. Research on an individual in his cultural context. A self-reflection from an individual's observation, in his cultural context. A research that focuses on once aspect of a cultural group. An analysis of an individual, event, activity or process. Research on women and cultural practices which have unique power and pressure them. Written ethnography to challenge problems in our society. Fiction writing which focuses on a cultural aspect of acertain group.

Post-modern Ethnography Ethnographic Novel

(iii) Narrative Design

Narrative design is a method used by an individual to personally tell researchers what happened to them. In narrative research, researchers explain the life of an individual, collect and relate about a person and write a narrative about the experience of an individual (Connelly & Clandinin, 1990). As a different form of qualitative research, narrative research usually focuses on examining a person and collecting data from a set of stories.

Narrative research can use various types of writings. Narrative research can also use all kinds of research practices, as stated by Casey (1995, 1996). Examples of narrative research forms/design are as follows:

Autobiographies Biographies; Personal accounts; Narrative interviews;

Life writings; Personal documents;

Documents of life; Life stories and histories life Oral histories; Ethnohistories; Ethnobiographie s; AutoEthnopsycholog Person-centred ethnographies ies ethnographies; Popular Latin-American memories; testimonies; and Polish memoirs.

For school teachers in Malaysia, not all the narratives above can be used. Only some of them are usually used, such as autobiographies and biographies, which can be used in a research.

Combination of the Qualitative and Quantitative Method Design

The following segment will explain the combination of the qualitative and quantitative method design.

(i) Combination Method Design

The combination method design is a procedure to collect both types of data, which is qualitative and quantitative in a research. Since the 1930s, researchers in the education and social science field have combined several research methods to collect their data (Sieber, 1973). Sieber suggested combining the two in-depth research cases by survey, which created a new style in carrying out research, whereby the quantitative and qualitative methods are used in the same research. The rationale for using the combination design is to ensure that almost all factors that influence a situation are examined. Almost all the variables can be studied using the quantitative method, but variables which cannot be examined through this method, can be studied using the qualitative method.

(ii) Action Research Design

Action research is a research which tries to find a solution to problems or specific issues relating to our daily professional practices. Like the combination research method, action research is used to collect qualitative or quantitative data. Action research also gives a chance to teachers to carry out a classroom research for them to reflect on their teaching (methods). Hence, through this research, teachers can improve their professional values and at the same time, solve problems they faced in school.

Kaedah Kajian Yang Lain

(1) Pemerhatian

Pemerhatian adalah suatu kaedah penyelidikan yang penting. Kaedah itu memerlukan pengkaji mempunyai latar belakang pengetahuan serta pemahaman situasi yang luas untuk membuat pemerhatian situasi yang sebenar. Lazimnya, pemerhatian melibatkan bukan sahaja aktiviti

aspek-aspek yang perlu diambil kira:

Tumpuan pemerhatian
Siapakah yang akan membuat pemerhatian? Siapa atau apa yang akan diperhatikan? Di tempat-tempat manakah pemerhatian akan dilaksanakan? (elok adakan pemerhatian di beberapa tempat dan situasi untuk mendapatkan kepelbagaian maldumat)

Masa pemerhatian
Bilakah pemerhatian akan dijalankan? (elok adakan pemerhatian pada masamasa yang berlainan untuk mendapatkan kepelbagaian maklumat)

Cara Pemerhatian
Bagaimanakah pemerhatian itu akan dicatatkan atau dirakamkan? Apakah prosedur yang patut diikut untuk memastikan pemerhatian itu boleh dipercayai (reliable) dan ada keesahan (valid)?

Panduan Untuk Melaksanakan Pemerhatian Pengajaran Dalam Kelas

Terangkan dengan tepat perkaraperkara berikut: Apa yang dikatakan oleh guru atau pelajar? Apa yang dilakukan oleh guru atau pelajar? Apakah tugas-tugas yang diberikan kepada pelajar-pelajar dan muka surat buku teks yang diguna?