Chapter II

IDENTIFYING THE INQUIRY

AND STATING THE
PROBLEM
 Lesson 5
Background
of the Study
 Background of the Study
• Aside from the title of the research, the
background of the study is one important part of
your research paper that will help entice your
readers.
• This part of the research provides the rationale of
your paper from general discussions to the
specific problem you are addressing and is trying
to answer.
• It focuses your readers on the importance of the
problem you are researching about. (Faltado et
al. 2016; Olawale 2020)
 Background of the Study
• This is used to orient readers of what they are to
expect to see on the following pages.
• This also helps establish the connection of your
present study to the previous ones in a brief manner
before a broad discussion on the next chapters.
• This serves as an overview of your study giving
readers some idea of your paper’s structures, aims
and themes.
•

• This is a compilation of different information that are

based on analysis and various arguments about the
problem at hand (Olawale 2020; Alleyne n.d.).
 Background of the Study
• This gives a more in-depth discussion about your topic and
why your research paper is worth the time of your readers. It
is used to prove that your research question is relevant, your
topic is truly a problem and the method you used is the best
one to solve it.

A good background must include the following (Faltado et al. 2016):

1. Discussion of the problem from general observation to
specific experiences of the researchers.
2. Concepts, ideas, and terminologies related to the problem.
3. Discussion of the existing conditions and/or the gaps to be
filled in by the research.
4. Discussion of the aims of the paper for the future.
 Stages of Writing the
Background of the Study
(Adapted from Olawale 2020 and Alleyne n.d.)

1. Preliminary Research – Look for specific and relevant

studies in different sources such as books, scholarly
journals, and the likes.

2. Read and gather information – You must take notes of

the different information you have gathered in the
preliminaries. You may opt to keep a research diary, note
cards or even electronic notes to keep you in track of the
sources. Make sure to cite the sources of each
information you wrote so that you will not forget where
you got the idea from.
 Stages of Writing the
Background of the Study
(Adapted from Olawale 2020 and Alleyne n.d.)

3. Write the research questions or problem statement – Since

you have your topic and have started searching related studies
about it, you may now start writing your research questions.
You must find gaps or issues related to your topic and turn it
into a research question. Then you can now search for sources
that are related to the question or problem.

4. Complete your research – Look for all the possible sources

and information about your topic. Make sure that these
sources will provide insights, details on history and past
research that are related to your research topic or questions.
 Stages of Writing the
Background of the Study
(Adapted from Olawale 2020 and Alleyne n.d.)

5. Create sections – Form a structured background of the

study by creating sections that may cover key issues, major
findings, controversies, and even conclusions about past
studies that will build the importance of the problem you
identified.

6. Identify any further study – As you read through the

relevant studies you may identify other studies that needs
to be done or possible solutions to the issue. You may write
this as a concluding part of your background or as part of
the conclusion of your research paper.
 Stages of Writing the
Background of the Study
(Adapted from Olawale 2020 and Alleyne n.d.)

7. Revise and edit – Continue to proofread the

background of the study by reading it through over
and over until you have come up with the best
version or you have cited all the sources that is
needed to highlight the importance of your paper.

The background of your study will vary

depending on the nature of your topic, so there is no
specific format, structure or writing style for this part of
the research paper.
 Background of the Study
If you are having trouble in writing, you may be
guided by the following questions: (adapted from USC Libraries n.d.)

1. Are there concepts, theories or ideas that need

further explanation?
2. Are there historical elements that need to be
discussed to establish a foundation for better
understanding of the problem raised?
3. Is the research study unfamiliar to learners that it
needs more background information and further
explanations?