This was one of the first papers I ever wrote for my current university. I wrote this almost two years ago (one day I'll graduate...) We were supposed to pose a question that could be answered through research, but my professor (who I loved) said this was actually impossible to answer because there are too many variables.
In research papers, there are three possible methods of research design. Research papers can be overwhelming as it is, and having to know which research method to use can make it even more so. It is crucial to have an understanding of these three methods in order to conduct better research. This essay will explain those three methods and then explore one method in-depth with my own research question.
The first kind of research is qualitative research. This type is used for the exploration and understanding of a topic, and deals with human opinions and emotions. Qualitative research answers the question of what people think, feel, and do—and why. As an example, a company could use this type of research to find out why customers react a certain way. Research would involve a lot of interviews and open-ended conversations, and working hands-on with people. Quantitative research involves testing theories and dealing with variables. A company may form a theory about customers reacting a certain way, and then conduct polls or surveys to acquire statistics backing the theory. It could help a company determine if customers support or oppose a change or a new product. Mixed-methods research combines both quantitative and qualitative research. This is used when one approach alone would not provide enough information. For example, both hands-on interviews and statistical data would be used. The value of mixed-method research is that it can really give companies a good grasp of information, since two kinds of research are involved.
To give an example of a research design project, I selected my own research question: Why does Finland receive top educational scores? I picked this question for a reason. Two years ago, I had to write a research project on any country in the world, and I randomly selected Finland, knowing nothing about it. While researching Finland, I noticed a trend: Finland consistently has outstanding educational scores on national exams, their literacy rate is 100%, and nationwide, they are second in science, third in reading, and fifth in math (Morgan, 2014). I wondered why this was. So when I had to choose a research question, I decided to investigate further into this issue and see what I could find. In the Finnish model of education, students rarely enter school before age 7 (Hyvonen 2011) and the school day is often only four hours long. There is no pressure to make a grade level, but less than 2% of students ever repeat a grade, and 97% of high school graduates go on to universities or vocational schools (Morgan). Authors Salokangas & Kauko (2015) and Manns (2016) go into detail about Finland's exceptional scores on the international PISA exams. This was an important issue to me because more than anything in life, I want to have kids someday, and I really do not want to put them into American public schools. I am close to many children in my life and I see them trudge home so tired from a long day at such a young age, and then have hours of homework to complete. I think public schools work well for some children, but for others, it is too much pressure and too long of a day. The Finnish model of education was very appealing to me, but we cannot believe everything we read. We need to have proof. As I searched for proof, I found a variety of ideas as to why this education model works, everything from the strict teacher guidelines to the hands-on curriculum, with author Eduardo Andere (2015) claiming that it doesn't even work at all. The only way I could be certain would be to conduct a research project myself.
If I were to conduct a real experiment on Finnish education, I would use mixed-method research. I would want to directly observe Finnish classrooms, interview students and teachers, and see how the people of Finland feel about their own education system. That is qualitative research. I would also employ quantitative methods of looking at pre-existing research and examining data such as PISA scores, graduate statistics, and so on. I think looking at both sides of an issue—qualitative and quantitative—paints a bigger picture to give researchers an even more accurate answer. In the journal articles I read, some authors, like Pirkko Hyvonen (2011), spent extensive time observing and interviewing, while others, like Andere (2015) and Morgan (2014), focused on statistical data. I would like to study both and see how the answer came out that way.
It is important to know how to conduct research, because reading other people's findings, thoughts, and opinions alone is not accurate enough. Neither is looking at data or statistics, for they may change rapidly with time or they may have massive variables not obvious at first. The only way to be sure of something is to conduct research and collect data yourself, and it helps greatly to also learn the opinions and emotions of others. This kind of research adds credibility to our writing and helps it to become a source worthy of readers' trust.
Works Cited
Andere, E. (2015) Are teachers crucial for academic achievement? Education Policy Analysis
Archive, 23, 1-27.
Hyvonen, P.T. (2011) Play in the school context? The perspectives of Finnish teachers.
Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 36, 1-20.
Manns, K. (2016) A comparison of educational reform in Finland and Washington State, USA.
International Dialogues on Education: Past and Present, 3, 83-90.
Morgan, H. (2014) The education system in Finland: a success story others can emulate.
Childhood Education, 90, 453-457
Salokangas, M. & Kauko, J. (2015) Borrowing Finnish PISA success? Educação e Pesquisa, 41,
1-12.
