Characteristics of Research
Research as a purposeful activity to increase knowledge and understanding
of phenomena has some characteristics
. Understanding these characteristics
will help you to know more about what research in education is.
Leedy (1974) pointed out that research has, at least, seven characteristics. The
characteristics are described below.
(a) Research begins with a question, an issue o,r problem in the mind
of the researcher.
This characteristic points out that when you set to do research you must have in mind a question to answer, an issue to explain, or a problem to solve. Unless you begin your research in this way you will not be doing what scholars term research.
You must note that research usually arises from a question, an issue or, a problem that a researcher has observed and
I puzzle him/her. So, if in your teaching you observe that a
the particular method is not effective in promoting your students’
understanding and learning, then you have a problem you can seek a solution to through research. You can find out why the method ds does not work well with you.
Your observation that the method is not effective and your concern for finding out why it does not work may begin the research into the method. Remember every useful
research begins with a problem of some sort.
(b) Research requires a plan. the research tails a clearly stated plan, including direction and procedures. Research is a purposeful activity and for it to be successful, it requires a plan.
In research language, the plan is known as a research proposal. The research plan (proposal) is important in the sense that if you set out on a journey without knowing your destination you cannot get there!
By developing a plan you get to know what specific questions you want to answer, what data to collect, how to aan analyze data, and what conclusion to reach. This does not rule out accidental f dings in research. However, meaningful research must have a
plan for it to proceed purposively.
This characteristic behooves you
to plan your project work once you have identified the problem or
I use you want to study. We explain the research plan and its c ponents in detail in Session Six of this Unit