3 I’S
WORKSHEET NO. 2
problem Statement
is the main organizing principle guiding the analysis of
the paper. The problem under investigation offers occasion for
writing and a focus of what the researcher wants to know and
impart. It represents the core subject matter of scholarly
communication, and the means by which we arrive at other topics
of conversations and the discovery of new knowledge and understanding
(Alvesson, 2013).
Research is an investigation following ordered steps leading to the
discovery of new information or concept (Sanchez, 1999).
Topic refers to the guiding principle for the analysis of a
research paper. It provides avenue for writing and a focus to what
one intends to communicate. It is the center of a scholarly communication.
Research Problem
A research problem is a statement about an area of
concern, a condition to be improved, a difficulty to be eliminated,
or a troubling question that exists in scholarly literature, in theory,
or in practice that points to the need for meaningful
understanding and deliberate investigation. It is typically posed in the
form of a question
What are possible sources of research topics? Here are some questions that
may serve as your guide to generate ideas that may lead to your
possibleresearchtopics:
a. Do you have a strong opinion about a current issue?
b. Do you have an interest that you would like to know more about?
c. Are there aspects or concerns surrounding you that you are
interested in learning more about?
d. What are the current concerns or stories you want to learn
more about?
A. aspects
Choose one aspect through which you look at the research
problem. To put it more simply looks at just one facet of the
issue/problem
B. Components
Determine if your initial variable/unit of analysis can be
divided into more particular parameters which can be analyzed more
precisely.
C. Curiosity
Choose a topic that you know a little about. However you
have the desire to explore and learn more. There is no points in studying
something you already knew, no new knowledge
D. Interest
Choose a topic that seems interesting to you. If you do not
have any interest in a topic,you will not be able to do the study with
passion and probably you will not duly devote time for it.
E. Time and place
Remembers that the smaller the area of analysis, the narrower
the focus. Moreover, the shorter the available time period, the narrower
the focus should be. Narrow down your topic and review it several
times.
F. Type
Focus your topic in terms of a specific type/ class of people,
place or things. Otherwise, the conduct of the study will not be
manageable
G. Availability of resources
Check the availability of reference by visiting online libraries,
journals and research gates.
H. Significance of the study
The research topic chosen must be significant, and must
address a particular problem that will impact the life of the people in
general.
WORKSHEET NO. 3
Related Studies
Studies,inquiries or investigations already conducted to
which the present proposed study is relate or has some bearing or
similarity.
Related Literature
Is composed of discussions of facts and principles to which
the present study is related.
It is the sail that would give direction to whatever research
you’re engaged in. It will help you decide on what specific topic from
the broad subjects that’s making your research daunting.
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
Start by creating a list of keywords related to your research
question. Include each of the key concepts or variables you’re
interested in and list any synonyms and related terms
 Search for relevant sources
Use your keywords to begin searching for sources. Some
useful database to search for journals and articles.
 You can use boolean operators to help narrow down your
search
Step 2: evaluate and select sources
You probably won’t be able to read absolutely everything that has
been written on the topic-you’ll have to evaluate which sources are
are most relevant to your questions.
For each publications, ask yourself:
- What are the strengths and weaknesses of the research?
- What questions/ problem is the author addressing?
- What are the key concepts and how are they defined?
make sure the sources use are credible and make sure you
read any landmark studies and major theories in your field of
research
Step 3: identify themes, database and gaps
To begin organizing your literature review’s argument and
structure, you need to understand the connections and relationships
between the sources you’ve read
- trends and patterns (in theory, method or results):
Do certain approaches because more or less popular over time?
-themes:
What questions/concepts recur across the literature?
- debates, conflicts, and contradictions:
Where do sources disagree?
- pivotal, publications:
Are there any influential theories/ studies that can be changed the
direction of the field?
- gaps:
What is the missing from the literature? Are there weaknesses that
need to be addressed?
WORKSHEET NO. 4
Related Literature is composed of discussions of facts and principles
to which the present study is related Citation is a reference to a
source used in your research. It is how you give credit to the author
for their creative and intellectual works that you referenced as
support for your research. Plagiarism is using someone else's words
or ideas as your own without giving credit to that person or without
citation Citing related literature using a standard style is a vital part
of doing a research. It allows a researcher to gather additional facts
and information which will make a study more robust and reliable.
Further, using standard styles of citation allows to give credit by
acknowledging the published and unpublished works and studies of
various authors utilized in a study. How Do I Choose A Citation
Style? different ways of citing resources from your research. The
 3 I’S
citation style sometimes depends on There are many the academic
23) (Taylor 23) 2 authors (Taylor & Kotler, 2018, p. 23) (Taylor and
discipline involved. For example 1. APA (American Psychological
Association) used by Education, Psychology, and Sciences, is an Kotler 23) (Taylor et al. 23) 3-5 authors First citation: (Taylor,
author/date-based style. This means emphasis is placed on the author Kotler, Johnson, & Parker, 2018, p. 23) Subsequent citations: (Taylor
and the date of a piece of work to uniquely identify it APA 7th
Edition Material Type A book (Sapolsky 2017) Bibliography et al., 2018, p. 23) 6+ authors (Taylor et al., 2018, p. 23) (Taylor et
Sapolsky, R. M. (2017) Behave: The biology of humans at our best al. 23)
and worst. Penguin Books. An article in a print (Weinstein, 2009)
Weinstein, J. (2009). "The market in Plato's journal In-text Citation Enter
(Grady et al. Republic Classical Philology, 104(4), 439-458 An You sent
article in an electronic journal 2019) A website (Bologna, Grady, J. ther key difference between APA and MLA Aspect Writing the
S., Her, M., Moreno, G., Pérez, C., & Yelinek, J. (2019). Emotions in
storybooks: A comparison of storybooks that represent ethnic and Author's name APA System Writing the title of the reading material
racial groups in the United States. Psychology of Popular Media Writing the copyright date Full surname first, then followed by
Culture, 8(3), 217 https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000185 Bologna, C
(2019, October 31) Why some people with anxiety love watching initials of first and middle name Italicized title with only the
horror movies HuffPost. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/anxiety- beginning word capitalized (exception: capital for every proper noun)
love-watching-horror- movies__5d277587e4b02a5a5d57b59e 2.
MLA (Modern Language Association) is most often applied in the MLA System Full surname first, followed by full first name, and
arts and humanities, particularly in the USA optional initial of the middle name Underlined or italicized title with
all content words capitalized Written after the author's name Written
In-text Citation Material Type In-text Citation Author's name in after the publisher's name Source Shona McCombes (February 19,
text Author's name in reference Two authors' Magny develops
2020) APA vs MLA The key differences Retrieved from
this argument (67-69). This argument has been developed
elsewhere (Magny 67-69) The most notorious foreign lobby in https://www.scribbr.com/citing sources/apa-vs-mla/ Retrieved July
Washington is the "Sugar Mafia" names in reference (Howe and 25, 2020. Scribbr Citation is necessary to avoid being accused of
Trott 134).
copying someone's original work or plagiarism According to
Quotation found in indirect or "secondhand" source Works cited Nellesca (2020) plagiarism can be considered if someone turned
Material Type Book in print Works Cited Card, Claudia. The
Atrocity Paradigm: A Theory of Evil. Oxford UP, 2005 An article in one's work as his own, failed to put quotation in quotation marks,
a print journal Doggart, Julia. "Minding the Gap. Realizing Our Ideal copied ideas from someone without giving credit, changed words but
Community Writing Assistance Program" The Community Literacy
Journal, vol 2. no 1, 2007, pp. 71-80 An article in an electronic copied the sentence structure of a source without giving credit and
journal Sherrard-Johnson, Cherene, "A Plea for Color Nella Larsen's used previous assignment or essay as a new assignment.
Iconography of the Mulatta." American Literature, vol. 76, no. 4,
2004, pp. 833-869, doi: 10.1215/00029831-76-4-833 A Page on
"Stunning Lakeside View on Lake Erie." VisitPA, Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania, 7 June 2018, www.visitpa.com/article/stunning-
lakeside-views-lake-erie. a Website with no author A Page on Del
Castillo, Inigo. "How Not to Kill Your Houseplants, According to
Botanists." Apartment Therapy, 29 Jan. 2020,
www.apartmenttherapy.com/houseplant-tips-botanists-36710191. 3.
Chicago/Turabian style is generally used by Business, History, and
the Fine Arts a Website with an author The philosopher Alain states
that "admiration is not pleasure but a kind of attention" (qtd in
Magny 66) Material Type Notes/Bibliography Style A book in print
Note Style: 1. Michael Pollan, The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural
History of Four Meals (New York: Penguin, 2006), 99-100.
Duplicate Note: 2. Pollan, Omnivore's Dilemma, 3. Bibliography:
Pollan, Michael. The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of
Four Meals New York: Penguin, 2006. A website Note Style 1
Google Privacy Policy, last modified March 11, 2009
http://www.google.com/intl/en/privacypolicy.html. Duplicate Note:
"Google Privacy Policy." Bibliography Google. "Google Privacy
Policy. Last modified March

In-text citations in APA and MLA An APA in-text citation includes

the author's last name and the publication year. If you're quoting or
paraphrasing a specific passage, you also add a page number An
MLA in-text citation includes the author's last name and a page
number The two styles also have different rules about when to
shorten citations with "et al." Check the table to compare in- text
citations for APA and MLA. APA MLA 1 author (Taylor, 2018, p.
 3 I’S
Worksheet No. 5
Synthesizing  means integrating facts and information from various
sources to determine and show how the research works together.  Paraphrasing is showing information in your own words and
Review usually means an overview summarizing major parts and
bringing them together to build a picture of what's out there. 
Literature means the major writings especially scholarly writings –
on the topic. Depending on your field "the literature" can include all
sorts of things: journal articles, books, published essays, government
reports, historical records, and statistical handbooks.
Synthesis means to combine a number of different pieces into a
whole. It is about concisely summarizing and linking different
sources in order to review the literature on a topic, make
recommendations, and connect your practice to the research.
Synthesis usually goes together with analysis because you break
down a concept/idea into its important parts/points (analysis), so you
can draw useful conclusions or make decisions about the topic or
problem (synthesis).
Synthesis helps to determine the following:
✓ Which sources overlap or share the same opinion/findings?
✓ Have you found any common traits or themes in the research
literature?
✓ What choice have you made about this dilemma? Why did you
make that choice and not another?
✓ What meaning or conclusions do you draw from the data on this
topic?
✓ How might that new meaning change or reinforce your practice?
✓ Why is the piece of research evidence weak or strong?
✓ Using the statistics, facts, or knowledge in the research, what kind
of story have you crafted for the reader? What is your angle or your
personal interpretation of the evidence?
✓ How have you shown the reader which parts of the argument (or
which pieces of research) are most useful or most important? Created
by Cosette Taylor, Communications Instructor for the Faculty of
Nursing at the University of Manitoba, Retrieved from:
umanitoba/faculties/nursing/students/What_is_synthesis.pdf
Example of Synthesizing
 Related Literatures
Author -- Concept/Meaningful Work 
Knowles (1978) --- Builds upon learner’s life experiences, and links
new knowledge with previous life experiences
Seifert (2004) -- Contributes to confidence
Rogers(2002) -- Tasks meet an immediate need Bandura(1997)
Leads to task persistence
Craft(2005) -- Reflective journals can be meaningful to the student
What does the student author think? -- I also find that I am more
motivated to do “real life” nursing tasks that are meaningful to my
future career
Synthesis of the related literatures: 
Given the importance of meaningful learning in increasing
student motivation and task persistence (Bandura, 1997; Craft, 2005;
Rogers, 2000; Seifert, 2004), it is important to provide relevant and
practical clinical teaching to clients. Bandura (1997) and Rogers’
(2000) findings indicate that meaningful tasks are more likely lead to
the completion of learning tasks or the fulfillment of a need.
However, the learning process itself is more enjoyable when the task
is important to the learner. Nurses should take both the learning
process and learning outcome into consideration.
acknowledging and citing the sources. It is one of the strategies to
create a more reader-friendly research.
How to paraphrase in five steps:
1. Read the passage several times to fully understand the meaning
2. Note down key concepts
3. Write your version of the text without looking at the original
4. Compare your paraphrased text with the original passage and
make minor adjustments to phrases that remain too similar
5. Cite the source where you found the idea
Example:
Original passage
“The number of foreign and domestic tourists in the
Netherlands rose above 42
million in 2017, an increase of 9% and the sharpest growth
rate since 2006, the national statistics office CBS reported
on Wednesday” (DutchNews.nl, 2018)
Paraphrased version
According to the national statistics office, the Netherlands
experienced dramatic growth in tourist numbers in 2017.
More than 42 million tourists travelled to or within the
Netherlands that year, representing a 9% increase – the
steepest in 12 years (DutchNews.nl, 2018).
• The text is rewritten in your own words
• The meaning of the text did not change
• The source is cited correctly according to APA in-text
citation rules
Paraphrasing tips
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The five steps to paraphrasing may seem straightforward, but writing The summarized idea comes after the citation. The author’s
an idea in a name/s is/are connected by an appropriate reporting verb.
different way than the published version can be difficult. These are Example: The study of Kabilan, Ahmad and Abidin (2010) shows
four tricks you can that the students perceived FB as an online environment to expedite
apply to help you do so. language learning specifically English. Donmus (2010) asserts that
1. Start your first sentence at a different point from that of the educational games on FB fecundate learning process and make
original source students’ learning environment more engaging.
2. Use synonyms (words that mean the same thing)
3. Change the sentence structure (e.g. from active to passive voice, Date Heading Format 
simple to
The summarized idea comes after the date when the
compound or complex, etc.)
material was published. Example: In their 2004 study on the impact
4. Break the information into separate sentences
of participatory development approach, Irvin and Stansbury argue
that participants can be valuable to the participants and the
We have applied these four tips to the example below:
government in terms of the process and outcomes of decision
Original quote:
making.
“But the hearing was about more than Facebook; it
exposed a critical turning point as the power,
sophistication and potential exploitation of technology
.
Source: Marian A. Habla (Jul 23, 2017). Basics in summarizing.
outpaces what users, regulators or even its creators
Retrieved from slideshare/marian10788/basics-of-summarizing.
expected or seem prepared to handle” (Roose & Kang,
Retrieved July 25, 2020.
2018, para. 11).
Paraphrased version:
The hearing made it apparent that the expectations of
creators, regulators and users have been rapidly eclipsed
by technology in general, not only Facebook. Such
technologies now extend beyond what these parties are
able to manage, due to their immense influence, potential
for exploitation and sophistication (Roose & Kang, 2018, para. 11).
1. Start your first sentence at a different point from that of the
original source
In the example, you can see that we started by introducing the
context (the hearing) followed by the last part of the original
sentence: the expectations of creators, regulators and users. In fact,
the key pieces of information are mentioned in a completely different
order

2. Use as many synonyms as possible

Synonyms are words or phrases that means the same thing. Our
example uses several synonyms:
• “exposed a critical turning point” → “made it apparent”
• “outpaces” → “rapidly eclipsed”

3. Change the sentence structure

For example, if the sentence was originally in the active voice,
change it to passive. The active voice is when a sentence is led by the
subject (the thing doing the action). When the object (the thing
receiving the action) leads the sentence, that sentence is written in the
passive voice.
• “Technology outpaces what users, regulators or even its
creators
expected” → “The expectations of creators, regulators and users
have been
rapidly eclipsed by technology“

4. Break the information into separate sentences

Although paraphrasing will usually result in a word count roughly
the same as an original quote, you may be able to play with the
number of sentences to make the text different.

Formats in summarizing and paraphrasing

Idea Heading Format 
The summarized idea comes before the citation
Example: Bench marking is a useful strategy that has the potential to
help public officials improve the performance of local services (Folz,
2004; Ammons, 2001).
Author Heading Format