PRELIMINARIES TO WRITING A RESEARCH PAPER

• Empirical Research – one has to consider describing the experiences of the people or experiment conducted in the school, workplace, or
community settings.

• Applied Research – one has to report the discovery of new uses or new applications of a product such as drugs, and equipment or of an idea
in inventions or interventions.

• Marketing Research – one has to provide product information that is distinct from the rest and available product for the same indications or
uses.

Ways of Stating the Research Problem and Sub-Problems

SOCIAL

The identification of research problem is the first and foremost step that every researcher has to undertake. At times, it becomes rather
difficult for an inexperienced researcher or a novice/beginner in research to conceptualize a research problem. In general, a research problem
should be understood as some difficulty, unclear situation which a researcher experiences in practical or theoretical context and wants to
obtain a tangible explanation, clarification or offer solution to it. For students, this problem may be as a result of theoretical encounter in the
area of specialization. As such, before embarking on any research, you should identify the major research area of your interest, mostly the area
of your specialization.

Research follows a series of steps such as:

RESEARCH

Social

Variables in Research Title:

o Selecting a topic

o Narrowing a topic

o Formulating a title

o Formulating the major problem

o Determining the sub-problems

o Surveying related-literature and studies

o Immediate Solution

o Derive Knowledge

o Apply Theories

o Immediately applicable to solve problems

Indicators of Child Maltreatment

• Condenses the paper’s content in a few words

• Captures the readers’ attention

• Differentiates the paper from other papers of the same subject area

Dependent Variables - are factors affected or changed by the independent variables.

Pollution

Applied Research

1. Interrogative form

Example: What are the graduates’ feelings about the incidents they describe, and what are the outcomes of the incidents?
2. Objective form

Example: This study was undertaken to assess the curriculum in terms of the achievement of its objectives, curriculum, instruction, faculty, and
administrative support.

3. Declarative form

Example: The study determined problems’ met in the implementation, relevance and impact on the students’ preparation for professional
course and employment.

4. Objective form of the stamen of the problem and the sub-problems through interrogative form

Example: Needs Analysis of Junior Nursing Faculty on Research and Mentoring

SEO

Causes of Air Pollution

It presents your own interpretation or evaluation or argument. When you write a research paper you build upon what you know about the
subject and make a deliberate attempt to find out what experts know. A research paper involves surveying a field of knowledge in order to find
the best possible information in that field.

CMS

Independent Variables- are factors or stimuli that directly affects or cause changes to the dependent

variables.

Statement of the Problem – It is a statement about an area of concern, a condition to be improved upon, a difficulty to be eliminated, or a
troubling question that exists in scholarly literature, in theory, or in practice that points to the need for meaningful understanding and
deliberate investigation. The research process begins with a problem. Thus, it is extremely necessary to express the statement of the problem
in a simple but clear, direct, and precise manner. The statement of the problem relates to the principal issue which serves as the basis of
inquiry.

Selecting the Topic

Formulating the Major Problem and Sub-Problems

Effects of Cigarette, Pollution, Basic or Pure Research

A good research paper title:

Purposes of Research

PRELIMINARIES TO WRITING A RESEARCH PAPER

Formulating the Title

Statement of the Problem

The purpose of this study is to analyze the needs of the junior nursing faculty members of the school of health science at St. Paul University in
research and mentoring.

Specifically it seeks to answer the following questions:

What is the profile of the Junior Nursing Faculty in terms of:

a. Age b. Civil status c. Length of employment?

What are the research and mentoring competencies of Junior Nursing Faculty members in developing research projects in terms of:

a. Knowledge b. Skills c. Attitude?

Why Research Paper

is Related to Science?

• Journals particular to your discipline

• Published/unpublished research articles

• Research abstracts particular to your discipline

• Indices

• Reference cited in the previous studies

How to choose a good topic that relates to a researchable problem?

• A researchable entails originality

• A researchable problem is interesting

• A researchable problem has significance

• A researchable problem is practical

• A researchable problem is measurable

PLATFORMS

• brainstorm for ideas

• choose a topic that will enable you to read and understand the literature

• ensure that the topic is manageable and that material is available

• make a list of key words

• be flexible

• define your topic as a focused research question

• research and read more about your topic

• formulate a thesis statement

Child Maltreatment

Example: Identifying the competencies of the Deans of Nursing in the Philippines: A DACUM Process

IV – DACUM Process

DV- Identifying the competencies of the Deans of Nursing

Inverted Pyramid

There are three ways to state the main problem.

1. In an interrogative form – a major question that governs the entire study.

Example: In this study the researchers explored how mothers and fathers of children 6-12 years old with chronic illness such as leukemia, view
their experiences with the child’s illness and its impact on their personal and family life.

2. In a declarative form – a general statement that guides the entire study.

Example: Iridology provides a new method of diagnosing ailments.

3. In an objective form – the research problem also refers to the goal of the study.

Example: The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of online gaming to teenagers’ perspective about competition.

Three basic tips to keep in mind while writing a title:

One can survey the following as he/she looks for an interesting topic for his/her study:

Behavioral
Identifying Researchable Problems

Statement of the Problem

o Basis for future research

o Acquire new knowledge

o Develop or refine theories

o Not immediately applicable to solve problems

Characteristics of Researchable Problem

Specific purpose for the investigation

• Keep it simple, brief and attractive: The primary function of a title is to provide a precise summary of the paper’s content. So keep the title
brief and clear. Use active verbs instead of complex noun-based phrases, and avoid unnecessary details. Moreover, a good title for a research
paper is typically around 10 to 12 words long. A lengthy title may seem unfocused and take the readers’ attention away from an important
point.

• Use appropriate descriptive words: A good research paper title should contain key words used in the manuscript and should define the nature
of the study. Think about terms people would use to search for your study and include them in your title.

• Avoid abbreviations and jargon: Known abbreviations such as AIDS, NATO, and so on can be used in the title. However, other lesser-known or
specific abbreviations and jargon that would not be immediately familiar to the readers should be left out.

When deciding on a topic, there are a few things that you will need to do:

Narrowing the Topic

Air Pollution

Physical

What is a Research Paper?

• One may begin by assessing his/her interest so that he/she would consider writing a research paper an academic burden.

• One may think that he/she is just a beginning researcher.

• One must realize the value of an initial research task because it will help him/her undertake complex research projects later.

• One can master and appreciate doing research when he/she considers his/her interest and skills first.

• As a future professional, one has greater access to his/her clients and he/she can help improve their condition by finding better ways of doing
through research.

The manner of stating the sub-problems depends entirely on the way the general statement is expressed. Thus, if the statement of the problem
uses the interrogative form, so do the sub-problems.

Narrowing Topic

Sub-Problems

Purpose

Selecting topic

Science