Some issues about research

In the last session you asked me lots of good questions about research. I need to post the issues you addressed here.

1. Terms
These terms are synonymous: research, study, investigation, inquiry.
So in this context, study is not the same as learn. Rather, it refers to research.

2. Quantitative vs. Qualitative
Which one is better? Good question! The answer is: both.
The best research is the one that can provide the most appropriate answer to your research questions (problems). If you are wondering whether your teaching technique is effective and want to find out how many students can succeed when taught using that technique, then you must conduct quantitative research. If you conduct qualitative research to find out about this, then you're heading for the wrong direction. In this case, quantitative research is better than qualitative one.
But if you want to know how to apply a certain teaching technique in the classroom, then you must conduct qualitative research. In this case qualitative research is better than quantitative one.

3. Quantitative and Qualitative
One of you asked whether you could use both the quantitative and qualitative approaches in a single study. Good news, the answer is: yes. It's called mixed method. You need it when you have, for example, the following research questions:
1. How can songs be used to teach English to the 5th graders at Mbebekan elementary school? (qual.)
2. Can the use of songs improve the 5th graders' vocabulary size? (quan.)

4. Observation
The example of quantitative & qualitative observation can be downloaded here.

5. Questionnaire
The example of quantitative & qualitative questionnaire can be downloaded here.

Basic Course Outline

OK, so you’ve learned about statistics in my classes last semester. Statistics is just a tool to analyze data in research. You’ll find out more about the relationship between statistics and research in the Research Methodology course. Please download the BCO here.