BAPS2A-PS119 RESEARCH TOPICS PROPOSAL
A. RESEARCH TOPICS AND ITS CORRESPONDING RESEARCH PROBLEMS AND OBJECTIVES
Research Topics Research Problems
a.
b.
The increasing number of
misinformed Filipinos due to
1. Fake news and trolls the Proliferation of Fake News
and Trolls in Social Media
c.
a.
2. Political Activism The Vulnerabilities of Political b.
Activists in the Philippines
 
c.
COVID-19 Threat: A Test to
3. Philippine the Efficiency and a.
Government’s Crisis Competence of the Philippine
Management Government in Crisis
Management
 
Group Activity I
Research Objectives
To know the reasons behind
trolls and fake news that are
made even more rampant
today.
To study how fake news
and trolls influence the
decision making process of
individuals when it comes
to socio-political
phenomenon.
To study the actions or
initiatives of the
government and private
individuals in addressing
the proliferation of fake
news in the country.
To know how the spirit of
political activism arises or
to identify factors that
trigger political activism in
the Philippines.
To study the dangers of
being a political activist in
the Philippines.
To learn about the ways and
means utilized by political
activists to ensure their
safety and safeguard their
individual rights.
To gather information on
the government’s solutions
to the decline of the
economy, education, social
services, and others brought
about by the present crisis.
 b.
c.
a.
The Questionable
Enforcement of the War on b.
4. War on Drugs
Drugs Campaign of the
Duterte Administration
c.
a.
b.
5. Anti-Terrorism Act of
The Risks of the Anti-terror
2020 Law in the Perspective of
Filipino Netizens c.
To evaluate the outcomes of
the different policies and
governmental initiatives in
combating the virus.
To come up with other
possible techniques or
solutions that could be
utilized by the government
in times of crisis.
To study the effects of the
War on Drugs Campaign of
the Duterte Administration
in the lives of the Filipino
people.
To evaluate the possible
failures of the current
administration in enforcing
the war on drugs.
To replicate and strengthen
knowledge from other
researches with the same
topic.
To study how the Filipino
people view the recently
passed law.
To learn more of the pros
and cons of the said law.
To learn of ways to ensure
that our constitutional rights
and individual freedom will
not be put in jeopardy in the
enforcement and
implementation of the Anti-
Terror Law.
 B.   EVALUATION

Topic 1:    Fake news and Trolls

Unit of Analysis: (Individuals) Filipino netizens who are 18 years old above;
(Social Artifacts) Other researches and news articles regarding this topic.

Researcher’s Interest: We have always been interested and passionate in doing researches that
will enhance our knowledge regarding socio-political issues in our country and one of which is
that of the proliferation of fake news and trolls. We are mostly concerned with this issue
because fake news and trolls are factors that greatly affect the mindset of the Filipino people
especially during a crisis, an election and other important events or issues concerning politics.
Needless to say that in the long run, it takes a toll in our entire political system which basically
is our main focus in our field.
Researcher’s Competence, Capabilities and Limitations: As political science students, we
highly acknowledge our potentials to make this study a successful one. We believe in the
capacity of each member of the group. We will make it into a point to be able to at least
generate new knowledge regarding this topic more so because it is directly related to our
course.
Researcher’s Own Resource: Time-wise, we believe that there would be less of a problem
since our target unit of analysis in this research are not that difficult to reach out to. As to
financial and other resources, we will try our best to contribute as much as we can for the
success of this research.
"Researchability"  of the Problem: Admittedly, we know that there are already a lot of
scholarly articles tackling this topic but we also believe that there are still other underlying
factors behind the proliferation of fake news in the country which we seek to elaborate. We
also see this topic as debatable since many are still misinformed.
 Importance/Social relevance: This research is timely and relevant. While it is true that such
problem has already been a long standing issue in our political arena, its rise in today’s time is
made even more evident. Hence, we are not only after the knowledge and information here but
we also seek to come up with ways by which Filipinos could avoid being victimized by fake
news and trolls.
Novelty/Uniqueness of the Problem: This research is more of a replication of past researches
with the same topic. But while we do not guarantee absolute originality, we will only be
borrowing some concepts from published researches to analyze the effects of fake news and
trolls in the present scenario of the Philippines considering that many Filipinos today are
engaged in social media and are vulnerable to such.
Feasibility: Our unit of analysis are Filipino netizens who are 18 years old and above
preferably those who are active in social media which means that our target respondents can be
identified and approached easily. We can gather data from our classmates and our online
friends whom we believe will cooperate in our conduct of interview or survey.
Ethical: As responsible researchers, we will see to it that we will not cause any harm to anyone
in this research. Since we are in a group, we are ought to counter check each others’ use of
terminologies when addressing the respondents so as to make sure that we will not offend
anyone.

Topic 2: Political Activism

Unit of Analysis: Political activists from UC Baguio

Researcher’s Interest: This topic actually peaks the interest of the researchers mainly
because they also consider themselves as political activists. We believe that everyone will
partake well in the conduct of this study because this is closely related to our field
considering that we are expected to be politically active and critical about laws, policies,
statutes and ordinances that are being enforced in the country.
Researcher’s Competence, Capabilities and Limitations: Although this topic requires an
in-depth analysis regarding political activism and that the conduct of the study could be rigid,
we believe that we are not bounded by what we lack of but rather, driven by our desire to
provide sufficient information to make this research prosper.

Researcher’s Own Resource: The unit of analysis in this topic are political activists from
the same school where we are enrolled so we expect to not spend much time nor money in
gathering data for our research.

"Researchability"  of the Problem: There are so many things going on in our country and
most of which are concerning the government paving the way to a divided views of people.
This topic then is very much debatable and researchable for we do not only seek to study the
dangers of being a political activist in the country but also, we are looking forward to
formulate solutions on red-tagging issue based from the data that we will be able to gather.

 Importance/Social relevance: The issue on political activism is on the rise again in the
Philippines since most individuals and groups are being red-tagged. Thus, we believe that
this topic is timely and relevant.
Novelty/Uniqueness of the Problem: For sure there are other researchers that had covered
the same topic before but what we aim here is to come up with new knowledge about the the
topic or to further strengthen past researches on this. Honestly, we had a research prior to this
and we found only few researches tackling the same topic with the same objectives and they
are mostly concentrated in the national level.

Feasibility: We do not overlook the fact that some of our target respondents may not fully
cooperate and that they may be reluctant to respond to some questions since the topic is
somehow sensitive and controversial. However, we deem the political activists as vocal,
active and courageous enough to express themselves. We also believe that it is only a matter
of choosing the right respondents.

Ethical: It is our responsibility as researchers to ensure the safety of our respondents. Thus,
we will make sure to protect their identity at all cost especially that this topic is controversial.

Topic 3: Philippine Government’s Crisis Management

Unit of Analysis: (Individuals) Baguio City officials, Residents from Baguio City and Law
enforcers
Researcher’s Interest: We came up with this topic mainly because this caught our interest.
As students of political science, we are taught to be vigilant when it comes to the
government’s actions and since most of the researchers are residents of Baguio City, it is
expected that all of them will give their best to fulfill the objectives of this research.
Researcher’s Competence, Capabilities and Limitations: There is not much question in the
capabilities and competence of the researchers to conduct this study since the topic is agreed
upon. Each member then assumes that everyone will pushed through their limitations just to
fulfill the goals of this study.
Researcher’s Own Resource:  The unit of analysis does not include an entire organization or
that of a large population so we expect that this research will not be needing a large amount
of money for funding. To ensure that the research will be completed within the given duration,
we will see to it that division of labor is done equally.
"Researchability"  of the Problem: There is still a gap of knowledge in this particular topic
which the researchers would like to fill in since this is in lieu of the present situation of the
Philippines on the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, the topic is debatable since it
evaluates two sides-- that of the law enforcers of Baguio City and their constituents.
 Importance/Social relevance: The researchers highly believe that this research passes the
criteria of importance and/or relevance for the reason that, we do not only intend to look for
the outcomes of the different initiatives of Baguio City Officials in addressing the present
COVID-19 crisis. We are also aiming to come up with effective techniques in crisis
management that can also be utilized by other cities and even the national Government.
Novelty/Uniqueness of the Problem: This research is unique in the sense that, we are to
make an analysis of the Government’s Crisis Management only in Baguio City in lieu of the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Feasibility: Most members of this group of researchers reside in Baguio City. Thus, location
and availability of the respondents is attainable. Data will be gathered from Baguio City
Officials and ordinary residents who are are all readily available sources.
Ethical:We will see to it that utmost respect will be accorded to our respondents in conducting
this study. We commit to remain neutral so as to not inflict offensive remarks while gathering
data from our respondents (Baguio City officials and residents of Baguio City). Rest assured
that their anonimity will be protected.

Topic 4: War on Drugs

Unit of Analysis: (Individuals) Police officers, Barangay law enforcers and individuals who
are directly/indirectly affected by the “War on Drugs” campaign of the Duterte
Administration
Researcher’s Interest:  This topic is close to our heart not only as political science students
but mostly, as citizens of the country because it is no news to us how the said campaign
brought chaos and lots of debate from various sectors and individuals in our country. It also
paved the way to differing views and opinions of the masses. We are very much interested to
learn more of what could have gone wrong in the implementation of the said campaign.
Researcher’s Competence, Capabilities and Limitations: There is no limit to one’s ability
in generating new knowledge. In our field, there is no room for incompetence and lack of
empathy to people’s sufferings. This we say because we believe in the capability of each one
to make this research worthy.
Researcher’s Own Resource: As to time, we admit that it might take us a while since our
unit of analysis includes people who are mostly busy but when it comes to cost and other
resources, we believe that there are other alternatives like that of social articacts that the
researchers can use.
"Researchability"  of the Problem: The researchers posit that this topic is very much
researchable as it is clear in the news and in the different social media platforms how the war
on drugs campaign have caused debates from various sectors and individuals in the
Philippines.
 Importance/Social relevance: This is relevant as it seeks to evaluate both sides of the topic
for future reference of other researchers. This will also help hasten our understanding and
knowledge of the War on Drugs campaign of the Duterte administration.
Novelty/Uniqueness of the Problem: We will make use of past researches and other
scholarly articles that tackled this same topic but we ill make sure to come up with a new
knowledge. We only tend to strengthen the facts of other researches on this topic and
subsequently, might also disprove/weaken other theories.
Feasibility: It is feasible since we can make use of verified articles and documentaries to
supplement the data that we will be able to gather from law enforcers and those that are
mostly affected by the said campaign.
Ethical: Just as we kept on reiterating on protecting the anonimity of our respondents, it
applies to whatever topic we will be researching on. We believe that we can avoid possible
threats and harm by firmly proof reading our sets of questions first before sending them or
before we go through the data gathering part.

Topic 5:      Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020

Unit of Analysis: Social Media Bloggers & News Articles
Researcher’s Interest: In political science, laws are common specification of study. Political
science students are most likely to step in law schools after the undergrad level. It is therefore
important to grab a comprehensive understanding of controversial laws and issues related to
Political Science as a field of expertise.
Researcher’s Competence, Capabilities and Limitations: This research will be conducted by
Political Science students, the competence and capabilities are guaranteed. It is because we are
taught to analyze and understand issues in all social aspects.
Researcher’s Own Resource: The unit of analysis is not concentrated on large population so it
is more likely that the research will not cost us a lot. It will also be supplemented with news
articles where we will be using books and internet as a source of other relevant data. News
articles are incorporated in this research as such does not require a lot of time. It is to ensure that
the research will be completed within the given duration.
"Researchability"  of the Problem: The Anti-Terrorism Act was questioned by netizens.
Accordingly, the law concentrates on the interest of the political elites disregarding that of the
common Filipino people. There is a lack of understanding on the stipulations that even the
netizens are susceptible to harm. It includes the question on the requisites of a social media post
or behavior to constitute terrorism, considering that we also possess Constitutional rights on the
freedom of speech.

 Importance/Social relevance: Obviously, most of the critiques of government and other

social controversies are political scientists and this research will serve as a guide for them to
distinguish the difference between being guilty and not guilty of terrorism when posting on
social media. It is also a big help for common people to be more careful in their behaviors when
it comes to posting their views and comments concerning the government, people, and
organizations especially political groups and personalities.
Novelty/Uniqueness of the Problem: There must be an existing research on this topic,
however, this research is into providing a conclusive explanation and deeper understanding on
the specified research problem.

Feasibility: Political Science students are not only capable of merely writing, we also
communicate with diverse people. Through effective communication, we will be able to gather
respondents willingly to answer to our questions. We can also investigate on whether our target
respondents are interested with this topic before seeking help from our seniors to help us in
approaching the respondent. We will make sure that we are informed of the availability of the
respondents and their preferred place for answering the questions. Furthermore, all documents
that will support the questions will be prepared and presented before the respondents in order
that it will be easier for them to have an idea on what the questions are referring to.

Ethical: We will be doing a background check on all available information to know more about
the respondents before conducting the research: beliefs; political affiliations; political
personalities and groups they support.