MODULE 11

TOPIC:
Writing Scientific and Technical
Paper
Module Overview: This module is designed for Education students to utilize their skills when
they engage themselves in more academic papers such as the research paper or thesis.

Module Outcomes:
At the end of the module the students should have;
 identified the methods/ techniques of technical writing;
 applied the effective principles of classification methods in writing;
 write technical reports using each of the methods/ techniques

Module Content:

 ESSENTIALS OF RESEARCH
Course Content
Activity Description Time
Overview
1 Interactive Discussion/Power point presentation through 30 minutes
Messenger
2 Video Clip Presentation 10 minutes
3 Discussion 20 minutes

DISCUSSIONS

The development of a research article can be helpful for the promotion of scientific thinking and
the advancement of effective writing skills, allowing authors to participate in broader scientific
discussions beyond their scope of practice or discipline. However, in order for the full impact of
research to be achieved and to have any effect on the wider research and scientific community, it
must be published in an accessible outlet." Dowdall, 2016
"Generally speaking, when we write a research about our research, we are making a contribution
to the scientific community and disseminating the results of our writing in scientific articles."
(Borras, 2017).

Everyone undertaking research should have a basic understanding of how to produce a research
article for publication, and be aware of the important considerations relating to submission to a
peer-reviewed journal. However, as noted by Perneger and Hudelson (2004) writing research
papers does not come naturally to many of us. The typical research paper is a highly codified
rhetorical form. What this means is an extensive knowledge of the rules that can get your paper
accepted in a peer reviewed journal.

The very essence of a school is to educate the students and transform them into learned
individuals, able to read and write, think critically, and voice out their thoughts and ideas among
others. To communicate is vital in an academic setting because the absence of it defeats the
purpose of the school. As the school provides the learners the necessary knowledge and hones
their skills, the ultimate measure is for the learners to put these learning into practice.

Students can pass the examinations, recite in class and participate in class discussion but what
would test them most would be involving them in a critical study. In any college or university, it
is now mandatory for the students to come up a research paper or thesis. Thus, in the new senior
high school curriculum, the research writing subject has been included to prepare the students
when they get to college.

In college, research writing is a competency required by the curriculum. It is a task which entails
the application of the principles of grammar and semantics and the research process itself.

Many authorities in the field of research have given various definitions linking research to a
process that requires originality, systematic, scientific and objective search for increasing
knowledge and establishing facts and principles, proving or disproving or even modifying a
theory or even leading to the development of new ideas, new materials, devices, processes or
products.

In other words, research is the process of solving problems and finding facts in an organized
manner.
Characteristics of a Research

1. Systematic - the researcher observes a system or certain procedures before he/she undergoes
the actual research project.

2. Objective -the conclusions are always based on findings.

3. Organized -the researcher conforms to certain standards of research.

4. Follows ethical principles or standards, the researcher observes confidentiality of the data
he/she gathers and uses it for academic purpose alone.

5. Significant - every research should always be worth investigating.

6. Feasibility- the research should always contain questions that can be investigated with
available resources and within an allotted time.

7. Clarity- a research must always have a clear purpose, clear research problems, clear
methodologies and clear presentation, among others.

TYPES OF RESEARCH

1. Basic or Pure Research is a type of research aimed to increase knowledge in science. The
primary aim of the researcher is a fuller knowledge or understanding of the subject under study.

2. Oriented Fundamental Research is focused on the fundamental sciences where the

researcher tries to solve the problem presented by nature and to extend man's knowledge and
understanding without concrete utilization application.

3. Applied Research pertains to studies on the utilization of basic facts discovered in the
process of pure or fundamental research. This usually covers social science areas and entails
large-scale studies with subsequent problems on data collection.

4. Developmental Research centers on the adaptation of research findings to experimental,

demonstration or clinical purposes, including the experimental production and testing of
models, devices, equipment, materials, procedures and processes. Developmental research is
related to work on an existing model, device, equipment, and material or product process. It
differs from applied research since the study is concentrated on products, processes, techniques
or devices that have recently been discovered or invented. It is the practical application
generally immediate or nearly. This type of research is often used in engineering and technology
areas.

Research Methods

Methods refer to different basic and fundamental procedures of approach which the
researcher needs to follow to bring about the results of their studies. Device and techniques
differ from methods because these terms refer to instruments or tools used to gather and collect
needed data and materials to support the methods adopted.

Type of Research Methods

1. Experimental Method involves a variable that can be controlled and another isolated
variable for measurement of its change.

Basic Guides for Experimental Method:

a. Careful definition of an important feasible problem

b. Exact description of experimental factors
c. Control of all factors in accordance with the law of single variables
d. Selection of the best techniques for the experimental set-up
e. Administration of an adequate measurement program using valid and reliable tests
f. Adequate reporting of the experiment including the interpretation of significant
differences
g. Provision for the possibility of repetition of the study and further research in the same
field

2. Descriptive Research is fact-finding with adequate interpretation.

Characteristics of a Descriptive Research

a. The study depends on new data gathered.
b. The concept of the trait being studied is carefully defined.
c. The procedure followed in making the study is described at length.
d. The study is related to its social background.
e. The data are specific and definite and are presented in a systematic fashion.
f. The data appear to have been completely gathered.
g. Auxiliary data which throw light on the conditions which give added meaning to the
facts presented frequently.
h. The data are summarized and interpreted.
i. Needs for further research are described.
j. The report is reviewed by other experts, giving the reader additional assurance.

Types of Descriptive Methods

a. Survey Research is an organized attempt to analyze, interpret and report the present status
of social institution. It deals with the cross-section of the present time. Its purpose is to get
groups of classified, generalized, and interpreted data for the guidance of application in the
immediate future.

b. Continuity Description is a method wherein knowledge about the operation of natural or

social forces may be obtained by watching them analytically at stated interval in their
development over a long period of

c. Case study Research is a complete analysis of and report on the status of an individual
subject with respect to specific phases of his total personality.
d. Job and Activity Analysis is a method to gain an analytical knowledge of the details of
human activity for the purpose of improvement in industry and business, and for activity
analysis.

d. Library and Documentary Research is a descriptive research in terms of surveys and

critical of available data in printed form. It constitutes one technique of historical research as
history deals with records of the past.

3. Historical Research interprets past trends of attitude, event or fact. Its aim is to apply the
method of reflective thinking to social problems.

Four Common Elements in Historical Writing

a. Mastery of materials
b. Working outline
c. Art of narration
d. Dramatization

4. Ex-Post Facto Research (Causal-comparative-from after the fact) investigates a problem

by studying the variables in retrospect. The researcher attempts to determine the cause or
reason for existing differences in the behavior on status of groups of individuals. In a sense, the
researcher observes the groups' differences on some variables and identifies the major factor
which causes the difference.

5. Participatory Research focuses on a problem identified by the people themselves who

develop their own theories and solutions to the problem. How they will solve the problem
depends on how they perceive it themselves and on their resources which are available to enable
them to solve it.

Phases of Research

1. Choosing the subject of research

The subject of a research paper may be assigned by the instructor or may be chosen by
the student in consultation with his adviser. The choice of the subject should take into account
ease of handling, availability of source materials', interest in the topic, and having the time to do
the research and to locate all the source materials. The work should be important, interesting
and feasible to him under his peculiar circumstances.

2. Recognition of problem

a. Designate general area of interest as early as possible. By selecting the area early, you will be
able to keep your eyes and ears open for any matter which affects the area. For instance, if the
topic is about canning then you may focus on any innovation or changes in the canning industry,
like tin can prices or plastic container availability.
b. Specify the objectives of the chosen problem. It is wise to state the general objectives
separately.

c. Conduct some preliminary search of resources. Before beginning the actual collection of
materials you may want to do some preliminary reading to have a general view of the subject, to
locate as many sources of the information as possible, and to verify that the research is feasible.
If topics are considered, exploratory reading may indicate the suitability of one of these topics or
may suggest a new one.

To have a successful research, the problem you work on must be one for which you can get
enough and varied materials to insure thorough coverage. You must be able to locate pertinent
information and interesting details in books, journals, encyclopedias, theses, and other scientific
papers.

3. Formulation of an outline and experimental design

A good outline not only indicates the scope of the study but also the rela tionship of the
several sections. Either the topic or the sentence outline may be used but topic headings and
sentence heading should not be mixed in me outline (Barry, 1972). Allridge (1959) suggests the
use of nouns for the topic headings. A well-ordered outline requires logical thinking and
discriminatim of values. Take time in formulating the thesis based on the outline.

4. Collecting data and materials

There is no standard way of collecting data and materials. How you go about it will
depend very much on the circumstances. Oftentimes, you win use books and journals,
sometimes catalogues and patent specifications. Other times you will rely on your own
observations and personal communications resulting from experiments you have performed or
interviews you have conducted (Cooper, 1964).

There are three important guidelines in the collection of data:

a. Make full use of the library. Reams of papers and even months of work may be saved by a
thorough review of literature. It is quite possible for to select a problem, do the experimental
work, and then find similar work reported in the literature. If the student allows himself/herself
to do this it would save him/her more time and effort. He/she must know how maximize the use
of the library.

b. Have a preliminary bibliography. This is your own list of references that might be of use to
you.

c. Have a systematic method of information gathering. A systematic method of gathering

information is a necessary tool for the review of literature. The general method of procedure for
tracing a topic is as follows:
  If a fairly comprehensive review of the subject is available, use that for background.
Whenever possible, read the most pertinent articles referred to in review. Remember
that a review may be influenced somewhat by the point of view of the reviewer.

 Consult indices or abstracts of journals for more recent articles of the subject. Abstract
may serve to guide you in the selection of articles when it is impossible to read all the
materials on the subject.

 Consult current number of journals most appropriate to contain materials on the topic.
Indices and abstracts of journals are usually from 3 months to a year behind the current
journals,

 The December issue of many journals contain table of contents for the preceding year,
both under the authors' names and titles.

 Take careful notes on all the materials which pertain to the topic under investigation.
Credit must be given by a suitable citation, usually an author-year citation enclosed in
parentheses.

5. Writing the first draft of your research

Allot time and write the draft as soon as possible. Pour out all your thoughts on the
subject matter without being conscious of the mechanical details. Be guided by the objectives of
the work.

Start working on the first chapter which entails establishing the general and specific
problems, the objectives of the study, significance of the study, theoretical and conceptual
framework of the study.

The second chapter focuses on the related literature and studies to the proposed research
study. The third chapter centers on the research methodology the researcher plans to use and
the statistical method to be used for the study. (With limited time, we will concentrate only on
the first three chapters, which will be presented as thesis proposal)

6. Editing the first draft

After having a first draft, read and review what you have written. Check it for
completeness of technical details, correctness of results reported and discussed. Read it once
more to check on the conciseness and clarity of statement. Ask also someone else to read it, this
time for the mechanical details.

7. Making the final draft

 Very rarely can a first draft be perfect. One should prepare several drafts. Time, thought
and a lot of patience are needed then between the first and final drafts.

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ACTIVITY

Assessment

Assessment 1: Answer the following comprehensively. (10 points each)

1. In your own word, define research?

2. In the field of education, why research is important?

References:
Dapito, C., et al., (2014) Writing in the Discipline
Coronel, B. et al., (2013) Basic English
Fernandez, E.et al., (2015) Getting High on English

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