INQUIRIES, INVESTIGATIONS & IMMERSION

MODULE 1
Lesson 1: Brainstorming for Research Topics

Inquiry
 It is a question which you ask to get some information.
 It is the process of asking about or investigating something to find out more about
it.
Investigation
 It is a proper inquiry or efficient study.
Immersion
 It is the process of learning a skill by using nothing else but that skill. It is the fact
of becoming completely involved in something.
Research
 It is an investigation or experimentation aimed at the discovery and interpretation
of facts, revision of accepted theories or laws in the light of new facts, or practical
application of such new or revised theories or laws.
Brainstorming
 It is a way of inquiring ideas that will help you to develop concepts and focusing
techniques by asking questions and knowing the interests of the persons
involved in the said issues.

Research Agenda
 format plan of action that summarizes specific issues and ideas in a subset of
any field of study
 a guiding plan that helps to put together a system of study

Guidelines in selecting a topic:

A common challenge when beginning to write a research paper is determining how
to narrow down your topic. To assist you in the selection process, here are some
guidelines given by Baraceros (2016).
1. Interest in the subject matter
2. Richness of available sources or supporting evidences
3. Timeliness and relevance of the topic
4. Limitations of the subject
5. Personal resources
Criteria in Choosing a Research Topic:
1. something new or different from what has already been written about
2. original
3. significant to the field of study or discipline
4. necessarily arouse intellectual curiosity
5. researcher’s interest
6. financial capacity of the researcher to support the project
7. time factor

Steps on how to trim down area of interest:

4. Assess the problem based on the 5 guidelines
5. Write your research problem.

Suggested Topics for a Research Study: Issues: Academic Track

1. Families, Food and Nutrition 1. Students
2. Health and Medicine 2. Teachers
3. History 3. School
4. The Internet 4. Community
5. Marketing and Communications 5. Government
6. Politics
7. Religion and Beliefs
8. Sociology and Social Concerns
9. Animals and Animals Rights
10. Art and Art History
11. Computers and Computer Science
12. Economics and Business Studies
13. Education and Schools
14. English Literature
15. Environmental Studies and Global Warming

Students:
1. Behavior of Grade 12 students in class
2. Effects of students’ class performances
3. Reasons of failures in the subject
4. Reasons of late submission of modules
Community:
1. Covid-19 pandemic implications in the community
2. Attitudes of youth in the community
3. Constraints in the time of pandemic
 MODULE 2
Lesson 1: Identifying the Problem and Asking the Questions

A. Background of the Study

 an explanation of the context of the study which involves the current data or
status of the problem and existing studies about it.
B. Statement of the Problem
 indicates the importance of meticulously crafting of the research questions as it
sets the focus and drives the course of the study.

 has 2 parts:

 general statement of the problem/ objective

 specific research questions

D. Significance of the Study

 pinpoints the benefits certain groups of people will gain from the findings of the
study.
 must start from the most to the least benefited ones.
E. Scope and Delimitations of the Study
 states the coverage of the study
 must answer the following parameters:
F. Conceptual Framework
 serves as an outline or blueprint that you can follow in doing your research
 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.
G. Definition of Terms
 lists down and defines the key terms as used in the study in alphabetical order.
 Operational definition
 Conceptual definition
 MODULE 3
Lesson 1:
Selecting Related Literature

Background Information for Learners

• Review of related literature involves analysis of different literature such as
published/printed materials like:
reference books
 textbooks
 manuals
 encyclopedia
 dictionaries
 broadsheets,
 journals
 periodicals
 electronic references from the Internet that have some bearing to the research
topic being studied.
 Review of related study allows the researcher to compare and contrast his/her
findings with those of past studies.
 The studies can be in the form of theses, dissertations or journal articles, among
others.

Steps in Writing Review of Related Literature:

Step 1. Search for relevant literature

 Before you begin searching for literature, you need a clearly defined topic.
 Make a list of keywords.
 Search for relevant sources.
Step 2. Evaluate and select sources
 Take notes and cite your sources.
Step 3. Identify Themes, Debates and Gaps
 Understand connections and relationships between sources.
 Look for:
 Trends and patterns
• Themes: what questions or concepts recur across the literature?
• Debates, conflicts and contradictions: where do sources disagree?
• Pivotal publications: are there any influential theories or studies that changed the
direction of the field?
• Gaps: what is missing from the literature? Are there weaknesses that need to be
addressed?

Step 4. Outline your literature review’s structure

1. Chronological
Examples:
Santos (2017) affirms that . . .
Tesoro (2018), meanwhile, found out that . . .
Further, Solano (2019) reported that . . .
2. By Topic/Concept
It is found out that the use of music in teaching mathematics has a significant
effect in the motivation of learners which contributed to their increasing numeracy skills
(Gonzales, 2016; Fernandez, 2013; Dionisio, 2012).
Step 5. Write your literature review
1. Introduction
2. Body
3. Conclusion

Guide in Citing Sources:

1. Primary Sources - are original materials on which other research is based.
 original written works
 poems, diaries, court records, interviews, surveys, and original
research/fieldwork, and
 research published in scholarly/academic journals.
2. Secondary Sources - those that describe or analyze primary sources.
 reference materials – dictionaries, encyclopedias, textbooks, and books and
articles that interpret, review, or synthesize original research/fieldwork

3. Tertiary Sources - those used to organize and locate secondary and primary
sources.
 Indexes – provide citations that fully identify a work with information such as
author, titles of a book, artile, and/or journal, publisher and publication date,
volume and issue number and page numbers.
 Abstracts – summarize the primary or secondary sources,
 Databases – are online indexes that usually include abstracts for each primary
or secondary resource, and may also include a digital copy of the resource.