Identifying the Inquiry and Stating the Problem •

• Incidental from interesting topics of professors during the

course meeting/session.
RESEARCH TOPIC VS. RESEARCH TITLE • Offshoot of friendly conversations.
• Related studies and literatures.
• Existing needs of the community or society.
• Advice of authorities or experts from funding agencies.
Research Topic
• Existing problems in the school which one may want to solve
• Sometimes called as RESEARCH PROBLEM are good sources of research problems.
• Intellectual stimulus calling for an answer in the form of • Fields of interest or specialization or event from related fields.
scientific inquiry. • Different subjects taken and from them identify a problem that
interests a student researcher most.

Research Title How to choose a particular topic to work on?

• Prefaces the study by providing a summary of the main idea and

is usually short and concise.
 It should consider the training and personal qualifications of
the researcher.

Sources of Research Topics or Problems

• Prevailing theories or philosophy.

• Observations, institutions, or a combination of both.
• Repetitions or extensions of investigations already conducted
or may be an offshoot of studies underway (Angeles,1966, p.86)

• It should consider the availability of data involved and the

methods and techniques to be employed in gathering them.
• It should consider the availability of effective instruments for
gathering the data and their treatment. • •No punctuation marks at the end
• It should be of researcher’s interest and researcher must be
with the topic
• It should consider the time factor involved in the undertaking
• It must be original • •Do not underline the title of research or enclose it in quotation
• It should be clear, not ambiguous marks, instead, use a word processing program or printer that
permits italics. Use them in place of underlining.
• It should be specific, not general.
• It must necessarily arouse intellectual curiosity
• It should consider the financial capacity of the researcher to
support the project
• It should be something new or different from what has already • •The problem may be stated in question form or given as a
been written about. declarative statement.
• It should be significant to the field of study or discipline
• It should be a modest one for a beginner to be carried on within
a limited period.

Selected Guidelines in the Formulation of a Research Title:

• •The title must contain the following elements:

Characteristics of a Good Title:

a. The subject matter or research problem.

• A title should give readers information about the contents of the
research and is preferable to one that is vague or general.
b. The setting or locale of the study.

• •Titles do not need to be stuffy or dull, but they should generally

give readers some idea at the outset of what the research paper
will contain. C. the respondents or participants involved in the study; and

c. The time or period when the study was conducted (If the title
• •Choose a title that is a phrase rather than a complete sentence. becomes too long because of these elements, the timeframe or
period may be omitted except in evaluation studies.

• •Select a straightforward title over other kinds.

 • •The title must be broad enough to include all aspects of the
study but should be brief and concise as possible.
• •The use of terms as “analysis of”, “An Investigation of” and
the like should be avoided. All these are understood to have
been done in a research.
• •If the title contains more than one line, it should be written in
inverted pyramid.
• •When typed or encoded in the title page, all words in the title
should be in capital letters.
• •If possible, the title should not be longer than 15 substantive
word
• •Avoid a long, detailed title that gives too much information.
• •To shorten the title, delete the terms “assessment” or
“evaluation” if these are already emphasized in the text.
Writing a Rationale or Background of the Study
• Direct quotation must not be written as the first paragraph,
instead this can be rephrased to add substance to the details of
the problem.
• The succeeding paragraph must come from the researchers. This
must not be copied from any article.
• Describe the problem situation by considering global, national,
local forces.
• In the local scenario, cite the observations, local studies, and the
like. There must be emphasis on the local scenario to warrant
the existence of the research.
• Ensure coherence of ideas within and among paragraphs and
across sentences.
• End with the main objective of the study.
Statement of the Problem and the Scope and Delimitation of the
Study
Statement of the Problem
4Statement of the Problem
* tells what is done to make the situation that exists more like
what it should be; and
* exposes anything that is wrong with the situation or condition
or circumstance which is being described.
Two Main Elements of a Statement of the Problem
Objective or
Purpose of the Study
¢ The objective or purpose of the study is the first part of the
problem where the researcher states the object.
¢ This is a statement of a long-term objective expected to be
achieved by the study.
° This is derived by the identification and crystallization of the
research problem and as reflected in the title.
Research Questions or Investigative Problems
¢ The specific questions which are to be answered in the study.
«The problem should be limited enough in making a definite
conclusion possible.
Things to Remember
1. The major statement or question maybe followed by
minor statements or questions. The introductory
statement must be the purpose/aim or the objective of
the study.
Example: Specifically, the study aims to determine the causes of
low performance of selected programs in the board
examinations. Further, it seeks answer to the following sub-
problems: 1...2...3...etc.”
2. If the goal is specifically to test a given hypothesis
then the state so. In many cases, the objective will be
a more general statement than that of a hypothesis.
Example: The primary objective of this study is to test
the hypothesis that there is a relationship between
workplace condition and teaching performance of
faculty members.
3. Investigative questions are the specific topical
questions that one must resolve to achieve research
objective or test the research hypothesis.
Characteristics of a Good Research Question
1. Feasible – Is the research problem possible? Will it not
spend an unreasonable amount?
2. Clear
3. Significant – ask if your research questions are relevant or
important to ask.
4. Echical – always consider the welfare of people,
animals, or who so ever involved in your study
Formulation Research Question
General Types of Research Question Example: The following research questions  can be asked on
studies on elementary student’s remedial sessions and academic
1. Non-Researchable Question performance of students: ad
2.Researchable Question
Is there a significant difference in the posttest scores of the
Non-Researchable Questions control group and experimental group?

 Question of value
¢ Answerable by Yes or No

Example:

Do the Grade 12 under STEM Strand use Social Media

platforms?

Researchable Questions

 Question of value, opinions, or policy raised to gather data.

 Uses WH-Question Example: How often do the students

use Social Media?

SCOPE AND DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY

What are the effects of too much use of Social Media to the
students’ Academic Performance?

Research Questions for Descriptive Research

 Focuses on observing and reporting factors or aspects of

the research problem.

Example: You study the use of social media among Senior High
School Students, you can ask the following questions:

What are the various social media platforms used by Senior

High Students?

How many hours students do spend on social media per week?

Research Questions for Correlational Research

 Aim to determine the relationships among two or more

variables in your research problem.

Example: In the study of use of social students following

What is a Scope and a Delimit?
questions can be asked:
Scope- it specifies what is covered in terms of concept, number
What is the relationship between the length of hours spent on
of subjects or the population included in the study, as well as the
social media and level of digital literacy of students?
timeline when the study was conducted.
Is there a significant relationship between the type of social
Delimit- by citing factors or variables that are not to be included
media used and the level digital literacy of students?
and the boundary n terms of time frame, number of subjects,
participants or respondents who are excluded.
Research Questions for Ex Post Facto Research

 Attempt to identify the causes of the phenomenon in the

context of your research problem.

Example: ex post facto study on family background and digital

literacy of students, the following questions can be asked:

Is there a difference in the literacy level of students between

their cultural and educational family background?

Research Questions for Experimental and Quasi-experimental

Research
Delimit answers the following questions:
 Suggests that answers to these questions are brought about 1. What- the topic of investigation and the variables included
by manipulation or control of a certain variable during the 2. Where- the venue or the setting of the research
conduct of the study.
3. When- the time frame by which the study was conducted
4. Why- the general objectives of the research
5. Who- the subject of the study, the population and sampling?
6. How- the methodology of the research which may include the
research design, methodology and the research instrument.
Review of Related Literature

What is a Review of Related Literature?

CITATION GUIDE
- It is a compilation of studies related to a specific area of
research
- It evaluated, classifies, and summarizes all the relevant previous
studies conducted on a specified topic.

MODERN LANGUAGE ASSOCIATION (MLA)

- It is widely used for identifying research sources in the field of

arts and literature.
- Uses the term “Works Cited”in the bibliography section. It
Different Sources employs parenthetical citations in the text.

1. Primary Sources – diaries, people, events, and surveys.

2. Secondary Sources- news (television, radio, internet, books,
magazines)
3. Reference books – encyclopedias and time almanacs

REMEMBER!

Plagiarism is using other people’s words and ideas without giving

them credit. It is a form of intellectual stealing. (Write Source 2007,
369).