WRITING THE RESEARCH

PAPER
TOPIC LEARNING OUTCOMES
Write and present academic papers using appropriate tone, style,
conventions and reference styles.

Adapt awareness of audience and context in presenting ideas.

Convey ideas through oral, audio-visual, and/or web-based presentations for different
target audiences in local and global settings using appropriate registers.
 TOPIC LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1 2 3 4

Determine the Define the parts of Develop appreciation on

the importance of making
Identify the parts of the
different parts of a the research paper research and its
research papers on the specified functions
research paper. through their growth of understanding
through an individual
individual functions. regarding the world.
activity.
 RESEARCH PAPER

A research paper is a
formal written research
report or output
undertaken by a single
individual or a group of
researchers in a school,
firm or organization.
 Cont’d.

Burns and Gove (1987)

define research as “the root
meaning of the word
research is to search again
or to examine carefully. It
is systematic inquiry or
investigation to validate old
knowledge and generate
new knowledge.
CHARACTERISTICS OF RESEARCH

It is generated by a question.

It necessitates clarification of a goal.

It is aimed at increasing understanding by interpreting

facts or ideas and reaching some conclusions about their
meaning.

It requires reasoned argument to support

conclusions.

It is reiterative in its activities.

MAIN PARTS OF A RESEARCH PAPER

Introduction/ Review of Research Design/ Results and Summary,

Background of the Related Methodology/ Discussion Conclusions and
Study Literature Recommendatio
Procedures ns
 PRELIMINARIES (FRONT)
Title page

Approval Sheet

Abstract

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
THE TEXT (BODY)
The Problem and its Background
Rationale / Introduction
Statement of the Problem
Objectives of the study
Significance of the study
Assumptions of the study
Hypothesis
Scope and Delimitation of the study
Definition of terms
EXAMPLE OF TITLE
PAGE

[TITLE OF THE RESEARCH]

[Name of the Researcher(s)]
[Submission Statement]
[Degree/Course]
[Date]
SAMPLE FORMAT
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page …………………………………………………………………. i
Approval Sheet ………………………………………………………… ii
Acknowledgment ……………………………………………………. iii
Table of Contents ……………………………………………………. iv
List of Figures ………………………………………………………….. v
List of Tables ………………………………………………………….. vi
ABSTRACT ………………………………………………………………..
x CHAPTER 1 …………….……………………………………………
page
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 2 ………..………………………..……………………… page
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
CHAPTER 3 ………………………………………………………….. page
THEORETICAL/CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
CHAPTER 4 …………………………..……………………….……. page
METHODOLOGY
CHAPTER 5 ………………………………….……………..……….. page
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
CHAPTER 6 …………………………………….……………………..page

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS

REFERENCES ……………………………………….……………
page APPENDICES …………………………………………....………
page CURRICULUM VITAE ……………………….……………….
….page

EXAMPLE OF TABLE OF
 THE APPROVAL SHEET

It provides a space for the

It presents the researcher’s signature of the adviser,
compliance for the research panelists, dean, and other
requirements. people involved indicating
their acceptance of the work
 ABSTRACT

This page normally contains the title,

It presents a brief name/s of the researcher/s, institution,
descriptive summary of background of the study, research
problem, methodology, findings,
the research study. conclusions, and recommendations.
 This study was conducted to determine whether the use of collaborative learning
method could have an effect to the reading comprehension of the students.
Specifically, it aimed to find out if significant mean gain exists in pretest-posttest
scores across the revised edition of Bloom’s Taxonomy by Anderson and
Krathwohl (2001) reading comprehension levels- remembering, understanding
and analysis on the reading comprehension performance of the students after
their exposure to the cooperative learning strategy. The study made use of one-
group pretest-posttest design which involved 50 Grade 7 students of National
High School-B. These respondents were considered experimental group. The
Example of experimental group was exposed to collaborative learning method for 10 days.
Results revealed that: (a) students’ reading comprehension level proficiency
across the revised edition of Bloom’s Taxonomy by Anderson and Krathwohl
Abstract (2001) – remembering, understanding and analysis is high; (b) The collaborative
learning method is an effective tool in promoting Grade 7 students’ reading
comprehension level in remembering and understanding level only. The study
recommended that schools and teachers should utilize the use of collaborative
learning method in promoting the comprehension levels of the students. Future
researchers may replicate the study utilizing another grade level, expanding the
duration of the study and by considering a control group as one of the variables
of the study to show effectiveness of the method used.
Keywords/phrases: reading comprehension, collaborative learning method
 THE PROBLEM AND ITS
BACKGROUND

It comprises the
introduction/rationale, statement
of the problem, significance of
This is the first chapter of the
the study, assumptions or
paper.
hypotheses, scope and
delimitation, and the definition
of terms.
RATIONALE/INTRODUCTION

 The main purpose of the

introduction is to give a brief
explanation of why your research
topic is worthy of study and why it
may make a significant contribution
to the body of already existing
research.
 GUIDELINES IN WRITING
RATIONALE
Start by describing the problem
situation in a global, national, and
local settings or perspectives.
Justify the existence of the
problem situation by citing
statistical and authoritative
sources as bases to support the
problem.
Use a deductive line of
reasoning, from macro to
micro perspective.

Make your At the end of the rationale, cite

rationale/introduction as motives and justification which
short as possible with an prompted you to conduct such
average of 3 pages. study.
 GUIDELINES IN WRITING
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
It must be a completely researchable unit.

It should be specifically, correctly, and grammatically worded in the

language of the research.

It should not be answerable by yes or no.

Each specific problem has a corresponding statistical tool.

 EXAMPLE OF
STATEMENT OF THE
PROBLEM

What is the pretest reading

comprehension performance of the
students?

What is the posttest reading

comprehension performance of the
students?
Title: Effectiveness of
Is there a significant mean gain on the
Collaborative Learning
reading comprehension performance of the on Students’ Reading
students after their exposure to the
cooperative learning strategy? Comprehension
GUIDELINES IN DEVELOPING
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

It should be relevant, feasible, logical, observable,

unequivocal, and measurable.

It should be closely related to the research

problem.

It should be phrased in operational terms, specifying

exactly what the researcher/s is going to do, where
and for what purpose.

It should be static once the study work

begins.
QUESTIONS TO DETERMINE SIGNIFICANCE
OF THE STUDY

Of what use is the Why should my study What practical values

study? be published? does the study have?

What significant scientific

contribution is my study
making to the field of
research?
ASSUMPTIONS OF THE STUDY

Assumptions are realistic expectations which are

something we believed to be true.

“What am I taking for granted with respect to the problems?”

The answer to that question will bring your assumption into
view”
GUIDELINES IN WRITING HYPOTHESIS

It is in a statistical form with a level

It should be measurable. of significance.

ItIt cannot
cannot be
be accepted
accepted nor
nor rejected
rejected in
in aa
ItIt states
states expected
expected relationship
relationship decision
decision making
making activity
activity without
without
between
between two two or
or more
more variables
variables as
as statistical
statistical significance
significance which
which is
is usually
usually ..
answers
answers to
to the
the problems.
problems. 05
05 or
or .01.
.01.
 SCOPE AND DELIMITATION OF THE
STUDY

o This indicates the coverage of the study (scope) and the

variables excluded (delimitation)
o Limitation of the study indicates the variables that are to be
contained/studied in the research study, while delimitation
of the study are those which are not part (excluded) of the
study
 T.H.E.S.I.S
True Happiness Ended Since It Started
 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Before you start writing your Review of Related Literature or

RRL, it is highly essential to make sure that you have already
defined your topic and research problem. This ensures that you
are already certain of the scope of your research. This will make
it easier for you to find related research works and articles on
your chosen topic.
 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

A review of related literature collects and analyzes

previous research and other existing works on the topic
that you are working on. When writing your RRL, make
sure to only include relevant findings that are related to
your study.
 LITERATURE REVIEW

A literature review surveys books, scholarly articles, and any

other sources relevant to a particular issue, area of research, or
theory, and by so doing, provides a description, summary, and
critical evaluation of these works in relation to the research
problem being investigated.
 RELEVANCE OF RRL

It helps gather valuable data and information that will serve as guide
for your research.

It serves as a support to your study.

It explains different aspects and information already established from

previous researches.
Readers of your research paper would appreciate the various research
works you have studied and referred from.
 FOUR STAGES OF RRL

Problem Literature Data Analysis and

Formulation Search Evaluation Interpretation
DIFFERENT WAYS TO ORGANIZE RRL

1 According to the chronology of the events

2 According to themes

3 According to methodologies used

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

The theoretical framework is the structure that can

hold or support a theory of a research study. The
theoretical framework introduces and describes the
theory that explains why the research problem under
study exists.
 Cont’d.

The theoretical framework must demonstrate an

understanding of theories and concepts that are
relevant to the topic of your research paper and that
relate to the broader areas of knowledge being
considered.
 Cont’d.

The theoretical framework strengthens the study,

specifically:
o The theoretical framework connects the researcher to
existing knowledge. Guided by a relevant theory, you are
given a basis for your hypotheses and choice of research
methods.
 EXAMPLE

Study:

Effectiveness of Collaborative Learning

Method on Students’ Reading
Comprehension
 EXAMPLE
This study is primarily anchored on the Social
Interdependence Theory by Johnson and Johnson (1995).
Social interdependence exists when the accomplishment of
each individual’s goals is affected by the actions of others
(Deutsch, 1949, 1962; Johnson, 1970; Johnson & Johnson,
1989).
 EXAMPLE
Another theory is the Socio-cognitive conflict theory,
which argues that dissent with one or several partners over a
task in which learning is concerned may stimulate task-
related cognitive activity and result in progress (Doise &
Mugny, 1984).
 EXAMPLE

Intersubjectivity Theory (Vygotsky, 1978), according to this

theory, inter-psychological processes precede genetically to the
intra-psychological processes. This implies that individual
consciousness emerges due to and through communicative
interaction with others.
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

The conceptual framework offers a logical structure

of connected concepts that help provide a picture or
visual display of how ideas in a study relate to one
another within the theoretical framework (Grant &
Osanloo, 2014).
 Independent Dependent

Collaborative
Reading
Learning Comprehension
Method

Figure 1. The schematic diagram showing the variables of the study.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The Significance of the Study describes what contribution

your study will make to the broad literature or set of broad
educational problems upon completion. It is determining what
you hope will benefit others and/or how readers will benefit or
learn from your study.
 EXAMPLE
The results of the study would be of great benefit to the
following:
o Students
o Teachers
o School
o Future Researchers
 DEFINITION OF TERMS

o Terms may be arranged alphabetically or according to their importance or

use in the study. Refer to your institutional policy.
o Always indent the terms.
o Emphasize the terms to be defined either by a bold print, underlining, or by
italicization. Refer this matter to the institutional policy.
o Do not number the terms to be defined.
o Do not capitalize the terms; only the first letter is capitalized.
 METHODOLOGY

The methodology of your research paper shows

the different methods and processes that will
help you systematically solve your research
problem. The list of methods to utilize should be
grounded by academic reasons, not personal
choices.
 RESEARCH DESIGN

As defined by Burns and Grove (2003), a research

design serves as “a blueprint for conducting a study
with maximum control over factors that may interfere
with the validity of the findings.”
 OTHER RESEARCH DESIGNS

Quasi-
Correlation Experimental Narrative
experimental

Note: Refer to the next slide for the definitions.

 It describes what exists at the moment (conditions, practices,
Correlation processes, structures etc.) and is therefore, classified as a type
of descriptive method.
Is a type of evaluation that seeks to determine whether a
Experimental program or intervention had the intended causal effect on
program participants.

They are often conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of a

Quasi- treatment—perhaps a type of psychotherapy or an educational
experimental
intervention. 

It is a literary form of qualitative research. It is qualitative

Narrative method of collecting and telling stories from a person’s life.
TWO APPROACHES OF RESEARCH

Qualitative Quantitative
 QUALITATIVE RESEARCH QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
PURPOSE To understand and interpret social interactions. To test hypotheses, look at cause & effect, & make
predictions.
GROUP STUDIED Smaller and not randomly selected Large and randomly selected
TYPE OF DATA COLLECTED Words, images, or objects Numbers and statistics

FORM OF DATA COLLECTED Qualitative data such as open-ended responses,
interviews, participant observations, field notes, and reflections.
TYPE OF DATA ANALYSIS Identify patterns, features, and themes.
RESULTS Particular or specialized findings that is less generalizable.
SCIENTIFIC METHOD Exploratory or bottom-up; the researcher generates a
new hypothesis and theory from the data collected.
Quantitative data based on precise measurements
using structured & validated data-collection
instruments.
Identify statistical relationships.
Generalizable findings that can be applied to other
populations.
Confirmatory or top-down; the researcher tests the
hypothesis and theory with the data.

VIEW OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR Dynamic, situational, social, and personal. Regular and predictable.

FOCUS Wide-angle lens; examines the breadth and depth of Narrow-angle lens; tests a specific hypotheses.
phenomena.
NATURE OF OBSERVATION Study behavior in a natural environment. Study behavior under controlled conditions.

NATURE OF REALITY Multiple realities; subjective. Single reality; objective.

FINAL REPORT Narrative report with contextual description and direct Statistical report with correlations, comparisons of
quotations from research participants. means, and statistical significance of findings.

COMPARATIV
E
 RESEARCH INSTRUMENT

A research instrument is a survey, questionnaire, test,

scale, rating, or tool designed to measure the
variable(s), characteristic(s), or information of interest,
often a behavioral or psychological characteristic.
 SAMPLING SIZE

Sampling
Respondents Locale of the Procedure
Who will take part Study
How do we come
in your study? Where is the up
How many will research
they be? conducted with your
respondents?
RANDOM SAMPLING
PROCEDURE
 DIFFERENT TYPES OF SAMPLING
PROCEDURE USING

Key Purposive Random Stratified

Snowball
Informant Sampling Sampling Sampling
 DATA GATHERING PROCEDURE

o How will the investigation be conducted? What will

be the research instruments that will be used?
o Data gathering procedures may include interviews,
focus group discussions, surveys, questionnaires, and
many more.
 DATA GATHERING PROCEDURE

For example, if you did an interview, make sure to indicate and

discuss the following:
o How did you prepare for the interview?
o What type of interview was used?
o What is the manner of the interview? How was it conducted?
o Who is/are interviewed? What makes them credible for the said interview?
o What are the kind of question asked?
The following steps were observed in the gathering of data:
 
Permission and approval for the conduct of the study. A letter was given to the Principal
of National High School B. The principal signed and approved the letter the following
day.

Administration of the pre-test. Pretest was immediately administered to the respondents

to describe the level of academic performance of each student prior to the intervention.
 
Retrieval of the pretest. When done, the researchers gathered and collected the pre-test
from the respondents.
 

EXAMPLE
Conduct of the method. Discussions were followed utilizing the collaborative learning
method. The respondents were observed on how they interacted and collaborated among
others.
 
Administration of the posttest. Posttest was then administered the following day with
the application of the intervention.
 
Retrieval of the posttest. The researchers then retrieved and collected the accomplished
instruments.
 
Tallying. Responses were tallied accordingly and with confidentiality.

EXAMPLE
 STATISTICAL TREATMENT

o Frequency and Percentage Distribution. Used to determine the

percentage usually for data on profile(e.g. level, age, gender, etc.) 
o Mean. Used to get average or central value (e.g. level, extent, status,
etc.)
o T-test. Used to determine two (2) variable means which differ
significantly or to test the significant difference between 2 variable
means
 STATISTICAL TREATMENT

o Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Used to find out if the frequency of two

or more variables in the study differ significantly or test the significant
difference among several groups.
o Pearson Product – Moment Correlation Coefficient. Used to find the
degree of the association of two sets of variables, X and Y or to test the
significant relationship between the two variables Multiple Correlation
Used to test if the independent variables have influence on the dependent
variables.
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Right after gathering data from your research respondents, there

is a need to present, analyze, and interpret data findings. In
this part of your research paper, there is a need for a thorough
analysis of the information that you have collected.
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Presentation of Analysis of Interpretation

data data of data
 SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS

This is the last part of the research process. In this chapter of

your study, you have to create the summary of the whole
research. Moreover, conclusions and recommendations for
further research and other improvements should also be
included.
 SUMMARY and CONCLUSIONS

o The summary is a condensed form of all the major points and

content of a research paper. It should be brief in form, yet
substantial.
o The conclusion focuses on providing answers to the specific
problems of the research. It serves as a logical outgrowth of your
findings.
 RECOMMENDATIONS

The recommendations are derived from the

conclusion of the study. The main goal of this part is
to offer general or specific actions that may lead to
the improvement or development of the research.
Students should embrace the use of collaborative learning method in the learning process as an
effective tool in interacting one another and developing confidence among others.

Teachers should utilize the use of collaborative learning method in improving the reading
comprehension levels of the students especially with those reading difficulty.

School should encourage the teachers to utilize and make a habit in applying the collaborative
learning method in maximizing students’ full participation in class and in promoting the
comprehension levels of the students.

Future researchers may replicate the study utilizing another grade level, expanding the duration of
the study and by considering a control group as one of the variables of the study to show
effectiveness of the method used.

EXAMPLE
 APPENDIX

The appendix includes all the supplementary

materials that are relevant to the research.
WRITING REFERENCES:
APA FORMAT
 Bibliography Reference
o Include citations to o Citations are meant to
o Both appear at
works which might not direct reader to
the book
be mentioned in the o Both include particular works cited
text. in the text.
similar info o Sources cited need to be
o Citations are included o Both include
for suggested further mentioned in the text.
alphabetically o Used in scholarly
reading or background arranged
purposes. papers and your
citations
o There’s no APA style research paper.
for bibliographies. o There’s an APA style
for reference lists (also
called works cited list.)
 Basics

Your list of works cited should begin at the end

of the paper on a new page with the centered
title, References.
 Example

Patrick Smithson
John Mercado Cruz

Cruz, J.M. (Publication Date)

Smithson, P. (Publication Date)
 For dates

dd-mm-yy (22 July 1999)

mm-dd-yy (July 22, 1999)
 Underlining or Italics

If you write a reference by hand, you should still

underline the names of publications. But, if you
use a computer, then publication names should
be in italics.
 Capitalization, Abbreviation, and
Punctuation

The APA guidelines specify using sentence-style

capitalization for the titles of books or articles,
so you should capitalize only the first word of a
title and subtitle.
 Book Format

Author's last name, first initial. (Publication

date). Book title. Additional information. City of
publication: Publishing company.
 Tyron Allen
Vanishing wildlife of North America
1974
National Geographic Society
Washington, D.C
Allen, T. (1974). Vanishing wildlife of North America. Washington,
D.C.: National Geographic Society.

SINGLE-AUTHOR BOOK
 What about a book written by 
MORE THAN ONE AUTHOR?

Natarajan, P., & Chaturvedi, R. (2003). Geology of the

Indian Ocean Floor. Hartford, CT: Merganser University
Press.
 What happens if my book has
NO AUTHOR OR EDITOR listed?

Computers in the world of business communicators. (1983).

Hartford, CT: Capital Press.
Encyclopedia & Dictionary Format

Author's last name, first initial. (Date). Title of

Article. Title of Encyclopedia (Volume, pages).
City of publication: Publishing company.
 Encyclopedia Example

Bergmann, P. G. (1993). Relativity. The new

encyclopedia britannica (Vol. 26, pp. 501-508).
Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica.
 Dictionary Example

Merriam-Webster’s collegiate dictionary (10th

ed.). (1993). Springfield, MA: Merriam-
Webster.
 Magazine & Newspaper Articles

Author's last name, first initial. (Publication

date).Article title. Periodical title, volume
number(issue number if available), inclusive
pages. 
 Example

Harlow, H. F. (1983). Fundamentals for preparing

psychology journal articles. Journal of Comparative
and Physiological Psychology, 55, 893-896.
 Website or Webpage Format

Online periodical:

Author's name. (Date of publication). Title of

article. Title of Periodical, volume number, Retrieved
month day, year, from full URL
 Example

Devitt, T. (August 02, 2001). Lightning injures four at

music festival. The Why? Files. Retrieved January
23, 2002, from
http://whyfiles.org/137lightning/index.html
 Format

Online document:

Author's name. (Date of publication). Title of work.

Retrieved month day, year, from full URL 
 Example

Health Canada. (February 2002). The safety of genetically

modified food crops. Retrieved March 22, 2005, from
http://www.hc
sc.gc.ca/english/protection/biologics_genetics/gen_mod_foods
/genmodebk.html
 Parenthetical Citation

A typical citation of an entire work consists of

the author's name and the year of publication.
 Example

Charlotte and Emily Bronte were polar

opposites, not only in their personalities but in
their sources of inspiration for writing (Taylor,
1990).
 In-text Citations

If the author is named in the text, only the year

is cited.

According to Irene Taylor (1990), the

personalities of Charlotte. . .
 PLAGIARISM
Plagiarism is the act of passing off somebody else’s ideas,
thoughts, pictures, theories, words, or stories as your own. If a
researcher plagiarizes the work of others, they are bringing
into question the integrity, ethics, and trustworthiness of the
sum total of his or her research.
 Cont’d.
In addition, plagiarism is both an illegal act and punishable,
considered to be on the same level as stealing from the author
that which he or she originally created (A Guide to Research
Ethics, 2003).
 AUTHORSHIP
Authorship is the process of deciding whose names belong
on a research paper. It should be based only on:
o Substantial contributions to conception and design, or
acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data.
 Cont’d.
o Drafting the article or revising it critically for important
intellectual content; and
o Final approval of the version to be published
o Conditions 1,2, and 3 must all be met.