CHAPTER 3 – LESSON 2

WRITING A RESEARCH TITLE

INTRODUCTION
A research title is not like manna that will fall from heaven, and presto! You have a title!
A research title, or research project, is a product of real world observations, dilemmas, wide
reading, selective viewing (television programs, films, documentaries, videos, etc.) meaningful
interactions with significant others, and deep reflection.
As you think of a research title, it is in your reflective moments that rich ideas flow one after the other and
when they do, questions about your own ideas arise. It's like you 'brainstorming" with yourself. You first
come up with broad ideas, then, further thinking and reflection will help you shape the idea, the research
topic or research title into a specific one, that is, a researchable one.
The title of the research is the research problem or inquiry in capsule form. Great care must be
taken in the formulation of the research title. It must clearly reflect the topic of investigation. And it must
be original, clear, concise or specific.
When you finally decide on a research topic, make sure that your research topic and research
questions match.

Broad and Specific Topics

Too broad topics will lead you nowhere. In order to narrow down broad topics to specific ones, the
purpose or intent of the study must be clear.
The following are examples of broad topics:
 Lack of Self-confidence
 Smoking Hazards
 Marketable Popular Garment Brand
 Human Immunodeficiency Virus (IIIV)

The following are examples of specific topics: ~

 Lack of Self-confidence in Adolescents: Root Causes, Manifestations andIntervention
 Health Hazards of Direct and Indirect Smoking: Prevention and Cure
 Marketability of a Popular Garment Brand: A Case Study
 HIV: Causes, Prevention, Treatment and Care

Techniques for Narrowing a Topic Into a Research Question

1. Examine the literature. Published articles are an excellent source of ideas for research questions. They
are usually at an appropriate level of specificity and suggest research questions that focus on the
following:
a. Replicate a previous research project exactly or with slight variations.
b. Explore unexpected findings discovered in previous research.
c. Follow suggestions an author gives for future research at the end of an article.
d. Extend an existing explanation or theory to a new topic or setting.
e. Challenge findings or attempt to refute a relationship.
f. Specify the intervening process and consider linking relations.

2. Talk over ideas with others.

a. Ask people who are knowledgeable about the topic for questions about it that they have thought
of.
b. Seek out those who hold opinions that differ from yours on the topic and discuss possible
research questions with them.
3. Apply to a specific context.
a. Focus the topic on a specific historical period or time period.
b. Narrow the topic to a specific society or geographic unit.
c. Consider which subgroups or categories of people/units are involved and whether there are
differences among them.

4. Define the aim or desired outcome of the study.

a. Will the research question be for an exploratory, explanatory, or descriptive study?
b. Will the study involve applied or basic research?

Source: Neuman, W.L. (2007).

Other Topics of Interest

1. Issues like poverty, informal settling in congested cities, the traffic issue, the transportation problem,
human rights, etc.
2. Gender inequality or transgenders, • sensitive issues like families or individuals trapped in sibling
rivalry, infidelity of spouse, financial crises, brought about by unemployment among others.
3. On-line selling or on-line business from varied marketing aspects like what sells online and what does
not; consumer psychology or buyer behaviour.
4. Online Games: Positive and Negative Effects on Garners
5. Behavioral Problems like extreme shyness, being a loner or sociophobia.

Examine the table that follows which shows research titles of actual studies done, using qualitative
and quantitative research designs.

EXAMPLES OF RESEARCH TITLES OF ACTUAL STUDIES

Qualitative Research Quantitative Research

1. Experiences of Reaction and Coping of Filipino
Fathers and Mothers: During and After a Natural
Disaster
2. The Lived Experiences of Trauma and Post-
traumatic Growth of Women with History of Social
Abuse
3. Employee Commitment to Environmental
Stewardship as a Component of Corporate Social
Responsibility
4. The Meaning Behind the Journey Towards
Acceptance:
An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of
Accounts of Parents of Transgender Women
5. I Am Your Father: A Qualitative Study on the
Perspective of a Father with a Homosexual Son
1. The Potential of Pseudomonas Aeruginosa in
Reducing Phosphate in Polluted Waters
2. Establishing Hydroponics Farming in Pasig
City
3. Economic Benefits of Cityhood: The Case of
Tarlac City
4. The Socio-Psychological Effects of the Soap
Opera Rubi on Selected College Women in the
Mendiola Consortium
5. Establishing of Dog Mobile Grooming Service
in Village East and Vista Verde, Cainta Rizal
6. The Face of Cigarette Advertising: The 6. Influences and Consequences of Participation in
Constitutionality Community Development Projects in Pililia, Rizal
of the Tobacco Advertisement Ban

7. Your Life Design: A Qualitative Study on the 7. Employment Flexibility and Career Mobility
Contributions of Feng Shui to Life Satisfaction Among
BPO Employees in Metro Manila
8. Impact of the Use of Social Networking on Non- 8. An Integrating Marketing Campaign For the
governmental Organization Effectiveness Merato Centrale Group
9. A PWD's Battle: A Qualitative Study on the 9. A Computer-Aided Seismic Hazard Risk
Reactions and Experiences of Persons with Disabilities Assessment Tool to Promote Safety in School
Communities
10. Understanding Teacher Leadership in Elementary 10. Determinants of Profitability of Creative Arts
Schools in China and Entertainment Companies in Metro Manila

From the examples given in the table, you can see that research titles are clearly stated, concise or
specific (just a minimum number of words,) and reflect clearly the problem statement or inquiry.
Moreover, from the titles alone, you can see that qualitative research uses objective methods that seek to
explore and describe phenomena, aspects of human behaviour, human interactions or simply events in
daily life, on a personal, organizational or societal level.
On the other hand, the quantitative research titles alone call for presentation of facts and figures,
or offer up statistical analysis of problems to be solved.
You must also have surmised from the research titles that qualitative studies can focus on only one
person, group or community. A case study focuses on one social unit in depth, by describing different
facets of the group in a natural environment.
For example, you can focus on special students enrolled in a school's inclusion program. This
kind of study was done at Centro Escolar University's School of Education which has an inclusion
program for college students. The title of the research was "The Services and Facilities Provided by the
CEU Inclusion Program for Students with Special Needs: An Assessment." The research aimed to assess
the services and facilities of CEU's Inclusion Program, as perceived by the students with special needs
and their parents, with the objective to give recommendations for the improvement of the Inclusion
Program. Said services are:
1. Academic Consultation
2. Social Skills
3. Self-enhancement
4. Classroom Management
5. Parent Training
6. Student Management Team

Another service rendered by the CIP is the orientation of faculty members in whose classes the
special students are enrolled, at least two weeks before the semester starts.
The findings of the study yielded the following results: Self-enhancement skills obtained the
highest rating among the services of the CIP, while academic consultation and social skills training were
ranked lowest by the parent and student respondents.
Both the students with special needs and their parents agreed that the facilities provided by the
CIP are adequate for the needs of the students but technology and communication facilities need
improvement. Specifically, they suggested that more computers be installed, with strong internet
connection.
They further recommended that the CIP team should assign to mainstream students who are
classmates of the special students to do peer tutoring-to clarify or even re-teach lessons learned in the
classroom. They likewise recommended that the CIP team should expose the special students to situations
which would make them practice better their decision making skills.
Now, let us move on to the Senior High School track you are enrolled in.

Before you make a final decision on your topic, reflect on these questions.
1. What area/s not covered in classroom lessons/discussions do I still want to know/
investigate in my specific track?
2. If I do this research project, how useful will it be to me as a senior high school graduate
and to the community where I belong, and even to the larger community, the Philippines,
ASEAN, and the world?

Your research project will be worth all the planning, execution of plans, resources in time,
manpower and budget if it will reflect or concretize your knowledge and skills, as well as attitudes, as a
successful senior high -schooL graduate in your specific track, and if it will contribute to the well-being
or progress of the beneficiaries of your study:
 ABM - Accounting, Business, Mathematics
 STEM - Science, Technology, Engineering, Management
 HUMSS - Humanities and the Social Sciences
 Sports
 Technical / Vocational
 Information and Communication Technology
 Arts and Design
 Technology / Livelihood / Entrepreneurship