III- Reviewer

Brainstorming for Research Topics

1. Be original.
2. Be ambiguous.
3. Fill in a research gap.
4. Be costly and ambitious.
5. Be general and not specific.
6. Arouse intellectual curiosity.
7. Be within the researcher’s interest.
8. Make use of ineffective research instrument.
9. Be completed beyond the given period of time.
10. Be insignificant to the field of study or discipline.

1. INTEREST IN THE SUBJECT MATTER

Being interested in a topic is usually due to the richness of your stock knowledge about it or because
of its familiarity to you. Curiosity about an issue/topic is one of the factors that motivate a person to
unravel the unknown in a topic. Thus, the researcher’s interest increases the possibility of the
success of the study.

2. RICHNESS OF AVAILABLE SOURCES OR SUPPORTING EVIDENCES

One of the things that you should do is to collect a lot of information on your topic of interest. This
enables you to find evidences that would support your topic. You must ensure that your sources
come from a wide variety of literature such as books, journal, periodicals, online articles, etc. Hence,
going to the library and surfing the internet are some of the activities that you should do as a
researcher.

3. TIMELINESS AND RELEVANCE OF THE TOPIC

Your topic should be relevant and timely. A topic is relevant if it serves as an instrument in improving
the society or if it answers or solves current issues which are some of the reasons why research is
conducted.

A. The background of the study is an explanation of the context of study which involves the current
data or status of the problem, existing studies about it and its history that paved way to the
development of the research problem. It explicates the rationale why you, as a researcher, are
conducting the study. Writing this particular part of the paper may lead you to your research
questions.
As you write the background of the study or introduction, take into consideration the following
guidelines:
1. It should clearly state the reason for conducting the study.
2. It should move from broad to specific.
3. It should state the current condition of the research problem.

B. The next part to be accomplished is the statement of the problem. Aside from being a tool in
solving dilemmas in the society, another purpose of research is to guide people towards a better
understanding of phenomena, human behavior, human interactions and other events in daily life. This
premise indicates the importance of meticulously crafting of the research questions as it sets the
focus and drives the course of the study.
The statement of the problem has two parts:
1. General statement of the problem/Objective
2. Specific research questions

C. A hypothesis is a preconceived idea, assumed to be true and is tested for its truth or falsity. It has
two types: the null hypothesis and alternative hypothesis. The null hypothesis indicates that there is
no significant difference or relationship between specified populations or variables. Significant
difference is used when testing whether there is difference between the means of two or more
populations or variables while significant relationship is used in situations where one is examining the
association between any two sets of variables (King’oriah, 2004). Null hypothesis is the hypothesis
the researcher will try to disprove or discredit. An alternative hypothesis, on the other hand, is one
that states that there is a significant difference or relationship between specified populations or
variables.

D. The significance of the study pinpoints the benefits certain groups of people will gain from the
findings of the study. It must start from the most to the least benefitted ones.

E. Scope and Delimitations of the Study states the coverage of the study. It must answer the
following parameters as much as possible:
What •the topic and the variables to be included
Why •the general objectives
Where •the specific locale
When •the time frame
How •research design,instrument and methodology

F. A conceptual framework serves as an outline or a blueprint that you can follow in doing your
research. It is presented in a flow chart, map, diagram or narrative form. When using a diagram, it is
still a must to include narrative to explain the details. Here you show the variables that influence your
research. Variable is anything that has quantity or quality that varies in a research. For example, if
you are studying the COVID-19 outcomes, you might study home life, school and community. For
school, your variables might be learning process and quality of learning. To make your conceptual
framework thorough, it is encouraged to make it more detailed.

Related Literature
Literature, in the context of research, refers to a collection of published information or materials on a
particular area of research or topic, such as books and journal articles of academic value.
Literature review is a process of studying what has already been written on a particular topic. The
process involves identifying, locating, and analyzing documents that contain information related to a
researcher’s research topic (Avilla, 2016). Likewise, Aveyard (2010) defined it as a “comprehensive
study and interpretation of literature that addresses a specific topic.”
Prieto, et. Al (2017) listed down the purposes for which literature review is done:
GOALS OF LITERATURE REVIEW
1. To demonstrate a familiarity with a body of knowledge and establish credibility. A good review
increases a reader’s confidence in the researcher’s professional competence, ability and
background.
2. To show the path of prior research and how a current project is linked to it. A good review
places a research project in a context and demonstrates its relevance by making connections
to a body of knowledge.
3. To integrate and summarize what is known in an area. A good review points out areas where
prior studies agree, where they disagree and where major questions remain. It also indicates
the directions for future research.
4. To learn from others and stimulate new ideas. A good review identifies blind alleys and
suggests hypotheses for replication and gain new insights.

The following are the five basic criteria for evaluating information from any sources:
Accuracy
• Is the information reliable?
• Is the information error-free?
• Is the information based on proven facts?
• Can the information be verified against other reliable sources?

Authority
• Who is the author?
• Does he or she have the qualifications to speak or write on that topic?
• Is the author affiliated with a reputable university or organization in this subject field?

Objectivity
• What is the intended purpose of the information?
• Is the information facts or opinions?
• Is the information biased?

Currency
• When was the information published?
• Is the information current or outdated?
• Does currency matter in this topic?

Coverage
• Does the information covered meet your information needs?
• Does it provide basic or in-depth coverage