Introduction to

Research

Deny A. Kwary
Airlangga University
www.kwary.net
A research can be undertaken for two different
purposes:
1. To solve a currently existing problem
(applied research)
2. To contribute to the general body of
knowledge in a particular area of interest
(basic/fundamental research)
 Ways to select a topic
Personal experience
Curiosity based on something in the
media
The state of knowledge in a field
Social premiums
Personal values
 Major Limitations in
Conducting a Research
Time
Costs
Access to resources
Approval by authorities
Ethical concerns
Expertise
 Quantitative vs. Qualitative
Methodological Assumption
(Cresswell 1994: 5)
Quantitative Qualitative
Deductive process Inductive process

Cause and effect Mutual simultaneous shaping of

factors
Static design categories isolated Emerging design categories
before study identified during research process
Generalization leading to prediction, Patterns, theories developed for
explanation, and understanding understanding
Accurate and reliable through Accurate and reliable through
validity and reliability verification
 Six assumptions of qualitative
designs (Merriam 1988: 19-20)
1. Qualitative researchers are concerned primarily with process,
rather than outcomes or products.
2. Qualitative researchers are interested in meaning.
3. The qualitative researcher is the primary instrument for data
collection and analysis. Data are mediated through this human
instrument, rather than through inventories, questionnaires, or
machines.
4. Qualitative research involves fieldwork. The researcher physically
goes to the people setting, site, or institution to observe or record
behavior in its natural setting.
5. Qualitative research is descriptive in that the researcher in
interested in process, meaning and understanding gained through
words or pictures.
6. The process of qualitative research is inductive in that the
researcher builds abstractions, concepts, hypotheses, and
theories from details.
 Quantitative Methods
Quantitative Descriptive
Descriptive statistics: graphical and
numerical techniques for summarizing
data.
Quantitative Analytic
Inferential statistics: procedures for
making generalizations about
characteristics of a population based on
information obtained from a sample taken
from that population
Population, Sample, Respondent, Informant, Corpus
Population: any set of individuals (or objects)
having some common observable
characteristics.
Sample: the subset of a population which
represents the characteristics of the
population.
A sample consists of respondents or subjects
An informant: a person from whom a linguist
obtains information about language, dialect, or
culture.
A corpus is a collection of written or spoken
material.
 Types of Sampling

Probabilit Non-
y probability

Simple Cluster Convenience Quota

Random Random

Stratified Systematic Judgement / Snowball

Random Random Purposive