I .
Background of the study
 Gives the readers important information about the research being conducted.
Features ( Background of the study)
 Cites the reason why the researcher chose to study a particular topic.
 Writes personal observations, difficulties, issues, and other relevant
experiences that led to conduct a study
 Cite relevant studies that might have caught his/her interest to pursue such
study
 Describes the setting or the place.
 Different localities have different needs to be addressed.
 Gives special consideration to the needs of that particular locality
 Present bases that may support or negate the claims of the researcher
( relevant literatures)
 Gives justification for the need for the research study.
 Cites benefits and other benefits and other advantages that the research
study might present after it has been done.
 Establish the importance to conduct the research study.
 Once this has been established, he/she may push to start working on the
problem
II . Statement of the problem
 It is the heart of a research study
 Where the general and specific problems or objectives are presented
 The introductory statement in this section is usually the general problem or
goal based from the research title
 Followed by the specific problems or objectives that will thoroughly studied in
the course of the research. Specific problems are stated in interrogative form,
while research objectives are stated in declarative form
 Specific problems need to be answered by statements of hypotheses, while
research objectives may not be followed by a hypothesis
Types of Research Questions
1. Factor-isolating questions - The purpose of these questions is to categorize or
name factors and situations.
Ex. What are the possible reasons for the low grades of students in English?
2. Factor-relating questions - These questions aim to establish relationships
between the factors that have been identified.
Ex. What relationship exists between variable A and variable B?
3. Situation-relating questions - These questions aim to see the changes that
might happen to one variable when the other variable changes. These
questions usually need experimentation in order to get results.
Ex. What is the effect of the changes in climate to the behavior of animals living in the
grass fields?
4. Situation-producing questions - These lead to promote explicit course of
action or conditions under which a goal could be accomplished. ( common in
action research)
Ex. What appropriate classroom management technique could be devised to maintain
classroom cleanliness?
II . Significance of the study
 Explains how study will be beneficial to the different stakeholders of the
society
 Identifies the target beneficiaries or target users of the current study
 Clear to beneficiaries the advantages and the significance of the research
results
 The researcher must establish that the current study is beneficial in relation
to:
 solving a particular problem or addressing a particular need
 Contributing additional knowledge to what already exists
 Bridging the gap of knowledge or ideas
 Improving social, economic, cultural, sociopolitical conditions an research
methods
 Supporting government’s thrust
Scope and Limitations
 Presents the variables or subjects of the study, the extent to which the
researcher will cover, the possible factors or nuances that will be given focus
on the course of the study, the possible challenges that the researcher might
encounter, and other things that might be related to the topic but are beyond
the control of the researcher.
Scope and Limitations
1. Scope
 Covers the explanation as to up to what extent the researcher would want to
explore or interpret in his/her research
2. Limitations or delimitations
 A justification as to the “limits” or boundaries of the research
• Limitations
 The conditions beyond the control of the researcher that may cause
restrictions and make the conclusions to be generalizable only to the
conditions set by the researcher.
• Delimitations
 The conditions that the researcher purposely controlled. These are
the limits beyond the concern of the study.
Scope and Limitations
• Assumptions
 accepted cause –effect relationship
 Estimates of the existence of a fact from the known existence of other facts
 Provide bases for action and create “What if” scenarios to simulate different
realities or possible situations
 Will be of help for the researcher in keeping things and situations under his/her
control
 Support the researcher to be economical since he/she will be guided on the things
that is of concern of the research or not
Definition of terms
- Presents the key term used in the study
1. Conceptual definition
• explains the meaning of a particular term using the dictionary.
• Based on established concepts and ideas(common and understood by others)
- Presents the key term used in the study
2. Operational definition How might a conceptual framework be developed?
• describes a term by how the researcher used it in his/her study Use both types • The pieces of the conceptual framework are borrowed but the researcher provides
of definition is encouraged to make the meaning clear to the readers It is the structure. To develop the structure you could:
recommended to start with simple introductory paragraph followed by the o Identify the key words used in the subject area of your study.
alphabetical list of terms and their corresponding definitions o Draw out the key things within something you have already written about the
subject area – literature review.
Framework o Take one key concept, idea or term at a time and brainstorm all the other
• Provides an explicit explanation why the problem under study exists by showing how things that might be related and then go back and select those that seem most
the variables relate to each other. relevant.
• Whichever is used it will take time and a number of iterations and the focus is both
A Theory on the content and the inter-relationships.
• A theory comprises a generalization that systematically explains the relationship
between phenomena. What general forms might a conceptual framework take?
• Its basic components are concepts • Process frameworks
• Thus the theory is a set of statements, each of which expresses a relationship o Set out the stages through which an action moves from initiation to conclusion.
among the concepts. These relate to the ‘how?’ question.
• Content frameworks
Functions of Theory o Set out the variables, and possibly the relationship (with relative strengths)
1. It identifies the start for the research problem by presenting the gaps, weak between them, that together answer the ‘why?’ question.
points, and inconsistencies in the previous researches.
 This provides the study with a conceptual framework, justifying the need for What specific forms might a conceptual framework take?
investigation. ■ The possibilities include:
2. It puts together all the constructs or concepts that are related with the o Flow charts.
researcher’s topic.
o Tree diagrams.
 The theory then leads you into the specific questions to ask in your own
o Shape based diagrams
investigation.
3. It presents relationships among variable that has been investigated. o triangles, concentric circles, overlapping circles.
 This process enables the researcher to view the topic on hand against the o Mind maps.
findings earlier bared. These findings have the function of explaining the o Soft systems
phenomena.
Why are conceptual frameworks useful?
Conceptual Framework ■ Conceptual frameworks provide researchers with:
• A written or visual presentation that: o The ability to move beyond descriptions of ‘what’ to explanations of ‘why’ and
 “explains either graphically, or in narrative form, the main things to be studied ‘how’.
– the key factors, concepts or variables and the presumed relationship o A means of setting out an explanation set that might be used to define and
among them”. make sense of the data that flow from the research question.
o An filtering tool for selecting appropriate research questions and related data
What inputs go into developing a conceptual framework? collection methods.
■ Experiential knowledge of student and supervisor: o A reference point/structure for the discussion of the literature, methodology
o Technical knowledge. and results.
o Research background. o The boundaries of the work.
o Personal experience.
o Data (particularly for qualitative). The overall contribution of the conceptual framework
■ Literature review: ■ The conceptual framework encapsulates the research as it:
o Prior ‘related’ theory – concepts and relationships that are used to represent o Sets out the focus and content.
the world, what is happening and why. o Acts as the link between the literature, the methodology and the results
o Prior ‘related’ research – how people have tackled ‘similar’ problems and what ■ Thus it can be/will be the focus/starting point of the evaluation of originality in terms
they have learned. of the criteria outlined by Hart (1998). For example:
o Other theory and research - approaches, lines of investigation and theory that o Is what has been focussed on entirely new?
are not obviously relevant/previously used. o Is the way the subject been investigated different to the ‘normal’ approaches?
o Has new light been shed on previously explored issues?