INQUIRIES, INVESTIGATION AND

IMMERSION (III)
Name:
Grade & Section:
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Learning Module No. 4
THIRD QUARTER
What is this module all about?
The following topics are included in this module:
1. Research Questions
2. Research Title

What do you need to learn?

In this module, you are expected to meet the following competencies:
1. State research questions CS_RS12-Id-e-4 (DepEd MELC)
2. Write a research title. CS_RS12-Id-e-2 (DepEd MELC)
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DAY 1
PRETEST

Directions: Read and answer the following questions carefully. Write your answers on the space provided.
1. Why is formulating a research question central to the inquiry process?
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2. What is the importance of drafting a research title?
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DAY 1

LESSON 4. 1: RESEARCH QUESTION

Once you have chosen a research topic, the next step is to formulate the research questions. Research
questions tend to be the most critical part of research. They define the whole research process. Well-written
research questions should provoke the interest of your readers.

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Guidelines in Formulating the General Problem and Specific Questions
Jose F. Calderon, in his book Methods of Research and Thesis Writing, comprehensively gives the
guidelines in formulating the general problem and the specific sub problems or questions. The following are
suggested to guide you in the formulation of your general problem as well as specific questions. These are
also the characteristics of specific questions:

1. The general statement of the problem and the specific questions should be formulated first before
conducting the research.
2. It is customary to state subproblems in the interrogative form. Hence, subproblems are called specific
questions.
3. Each specific question must be clear and unequivocal, that is, it has only one meaning. It must not
have dual meanings.
4. Each specific question is researchable apart from the other questions, that is, answers to each specific
question can be found even without considering the other questions.
5. Each specific question must be based upon known facts and phenomena. Besides, data from such
known facts and phenomena must be accessible to make the specific question researchable.
6. Answers to each specific question can be interpreted apart from the answers to other specific questions.
7. Answers to each specific question must contribute to the development of the whole research problem
or topic.
8. Summing up the answers to all the specific questions will give development of the whole research
problem or topic.
9. The number of specific questions should be enough to cover the development of the whole research
problem or study.
10. Generally, there should be a general statement of the problem. Then, this should be broken up into as
many subproblems or specific questions as necessary.

Formulating Research Questions According to Research Design and Research Goal

According to Pulmones, (2016), one useful basis of crafting research questions is to examine the
research design and goals of the study. Oftentimes, researchers have an idea, goal, or purpose why they are
pursuing a particular inquiry. Unfortunately, in the early stages of the inquiry process, crafting the specific
research questions is a daunting task. A useful strategy for researcher is to visualize the bigger picture and
imagine the kind of data they would want to collect and how such data would be collected.

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 Below are some examples of research questions that are anchored on the research design and goals of
the study.

Research Design Research Goals Sample Research Questions

Experimental • To verify or test hypothesis What is the effect of an herbal treatment to
• To determine the effects of an the amount of fasting blood sugar of
intervention on a variable of interest diabetic patients treated with herbal
medicines compared to those receiving the
standard care for diabetes?
Descriptive • To provide systematic information What are the reasons why teenagers
about a topic smoke cigarettes
Predictive • To predict or forecast some event or What are the factors affecting adjustment
phenomenon in the future without and academic performance in college?
necessarily establishing cause and
effect relationship
Explanatory • To explain how theories or principles What are the roles of peers and study
are at work on a certain phenomenon groups in students’ academic achievement
and attitude toward learning in
mathematics?
Cross-sectional • To collect data at a single point in time What are the beliefs, perceptions, and
and make comparisons across the experiences of teachers as they teach
variables of interest Grade 11 and Grade 12 students?
Retrospective • To compare data collected in the past Is there a relationship between smoking
with the present and lung cancer?
Longitudinal • To collect data in the present and at What is the effect of attending day care
some point in the future for centers on the language skills of
comparison of past and future data sets Kindergarten pupils and as they reach
Grade 1?

Sample Problem Statement and Research Question

Your problem statement, research questions, and literature review will serve as the basis for preparing your
theoretical framework.
Problem: The main problem of the study is to cultivate Eucheuma in the municipal water of Ternate, Cavite,
using lantay and hanging method. Specifically, it attempts to answer the following questions:
1. What is the mean weight increment of Eucheuma cultured in the municipal water of Ternate, Cavite
using lantay and hanging method?

2. What are the mean temperature, pH, and oxygen dissolved of Eucheuma cultured using lantay and
hanging method?

3. Which between lantay or hanging method is more effective in cultivating Eucheuma in the municipal
water of Ternate, Cavite?

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 ACTIVITY

Directions: Evaluate the following research questions. Justify the feasibility and relevance of these research
questions based on the guidelines on how to formulate research questions. Write your answers on a separate
sheet of paper for submission. You may use the criteria below as a guide.

CRITERIA Score
Content and Organization 5
Sentence structure and word choice 5
Relevance to the guidelines 5
Total: 15

Research Problem: The main problem of this study is to identify the relationship between job-related
problems and job performance of nurses in the private and government hospital in Trece Martires City, Cavite.
Specifically, it seeks to answer the following questions:

1. What is the demographic profile of the nurses in terms of: age, gender, civil status, and length of
nursing practice?
2. What are the job-related problems and the extent of seriousness in the private and government hospitals
as perceived by the nurses?
3. What is the mean job performance of the nurses in the private and government hospitals in Trece
Martires City?
4. What is the correlation between the job-related problems and job performance of nurses in private and
government hospitals in Trece Martires City?
5. Is there a significant difference on job-related problems and job performance as perceived by nurses
in private and government hospitals in Trece Martires City, Cavite?

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DAY 2

LESSON 4. 3: RESEARCH TITLE

Getting Started: Deciding on a Research Topic

• Identify a Topic of Interest. It may be something you have read about or heard about from a friend.
It may be something you have been interested in since you were in high school, or it could be something
that is important to a certain group of people or the entire society. It may also be based on your personal
life experiences.

• Focus on the Topic of Interest. Provide a brief description of your research topic. What is it about
the issue that piques your interest? What element of the subject would you like to investigate, and
why? Try to describe your topic of interest in a brief but succinct way by completing the following
sentences.

My study is about:
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 In the study, I would like to look into:
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ACTIVITY

Direction: Below are different research titles with given outlines. Encircle the least related outline in each
research title. Write your answer on a separate sheet of paper for submission.

1. Impact of Multimedia to Teenagers

a. Effect of Television to Viewers
b. Types of Multimedia
c. Penalties for Policy Violators on Internet Games

2. Rampant Drug Addiction among Youth

a. Reasons of drug addiction
b. Common prohibited drugs
c. Roles of parents in rearing their children

3. Study Habits of Criminology Students

a. Habits of Concentration
b. Distribution of Time
c. Relaxation Technique
d. Reading Comprehension

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DAY 3

Draft a Working Title

According to rhetoric scholars Hairston and Keene cited by Enago Academy, (2019) making a good
title for a paper involves ensuring that the title of the research accomplishes four goals. First, a good title
predicts the content of the research paper. Second, a good title should be interesting to the reader. Third, it
should reflect the tone of the writing. Fourth and finally, it should contain important keywords that will make
it easier to be located during a keyword search.

Guidelines in Writing the Title

The researcher should be guided by the following in the formulation of research title.

1. Generally, the title is formulated before the start of the research work. It may be revised and refined
later if there is a need.
2. The title must contain the subject matter or the topic of the study, the locale of the study, and the
population involved or the sample.

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 3. Avoid unnecessary words and jargons. You want a title that will be comprehensible even to people
who are not experts in your field.
4. Avoid using the terms “An analysis of,” “A study of,” “An investigation of,” and the like. All these
things are understood to have been done or to be done when a research is conducted.
5. Make sure your title is between 5 and 15 words in length.
6. If you are writing a title for a research paper or for a particular academic journal, verify that your title
conforms to the standards and requirements for that outlet. For example, many journals require that
titles fall under a character limit, including spaces. Many universities or schools require that titles take
a very specific form; limit your creativity.
7. If the title contains more than one line, it must be written like an inverted pyramid, all words in capital
letters.

Some of the Examples of a Complete Research Title:

1. UTILIZATION AND COMMERCIALIZATION OF FISH BONE AND OFFAL OF MIKFISH, GOATFISH,

AND TILAPIA INTO LUNCHEON MEAT

2. CULTIVATION OF EUCHEUMA USING LANTAY AND HANGING METHODS IN THE MUNICIPAL

WATER OF TERNATE, CAVITE

3. AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MULTIMEDIA IN COLLEGE

ENGLISH TEACHING

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DAY 4
ACTIVITY

Directions: Choose one experimental research topic that interests you and write the following. Write your
written output on a separate piece of paper for submission.

1. Additional information on the topic

2. A perspective or issue that you want to associate with the topic
3. Independent and dependent variables associated with the topic
4. A research problem
5. Research questions based on the research problem
6. A working title of the study

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DAY 5
ACTIVITY
Directions: Read and analyze each question carefully. Then, provide an answer to what is being asked.
Please refer to the rubric below as a guide.

RUBRIC:
Criteria 1 point 2 points 3 points 4 points
Content & Answers are quite Answers the Answers the Answers the
Word Choice relevant to the question correctly. question correctly question with full
question. and is connected to relevance and has a
Word choice is the topic. good explanation.
Many words are merely adequate,
used and the range of Word choice is Word choice is
inappropriately, words is limited. good. The writer consistently precise
confusing the Some words are often goes beyond and accurate.
reader. used the generic word to
inappropriately. find one more
precise and
effective.
Organization The writing is not In general, the The ideas are The ideas are
logically organized. writing is arranged arranged logically to arranged logically to
Frequently, ideas logically, although support the central support the purpose
fail to make sense occasionally ideas purpose or or argument. They
together. fail to make sense argument. flow smoothly from
together. one to another and
are clearly linked to
each other.

1. How is a problem known to be a research problem?

2. How important is a research question?

3. How is the title of the research formulated?

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No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any

means without the prior written permission of the author.

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 MY NOTES