CHAPTER 1

THE PROBLEM AND ITS

BACKGROUND
 INTRODUCTION

- Contains the rationale (an

explanation of the reasons for the
conduct of research)
Questions answered:
• What am I studying?
• Why is this topic important to investigate?
• What do we already know about this topic or what have
other experts discovered about the topic?
• How will my research advance new knowledge or new
ways of understanding?
 Components of an
Introduction
1. Establish the problem or issue you want to
research
- Highlight the importance of the problem/issue
- Make general statements about the problem/issue
- Present an overview on current research on the issue
or problem
2. Provide an overview of existing
thinking about and/or research into your
research problem
3. Identify a gap, problems or unresolved
issues in the existing knowledge/research
can fill or identify a research focus that
will be useful.
4. State your research question, your
hypothesis (if applicable) and your knowledge
claim, making sure to place your research
within the gap in existing knowledge.
• State the intent of your study
• Outline the key characteristics of your study
• Describe important results that you have found or
hope to find
5. State the value and relevance of
your research.
• Why is it relevant?
• What will it contribute to the field
(and beyond)?
• Why should we care about your
research?
The following questions
can aid the researcher
in formulating the
introduction:
1. What is the rational of the problem?

• May include the narration of personal

experiences, a description of an article read, a
scene witnessed, a news heard, or a theory that
needs to be clarified.
• The researcher should describe the existing and
prevailing problem based on his or her
experience.
 Example
As a grade 12 student, Arjohn David, experienced
some difficulties in performing well because of
various factors such as attitude of his teachers as well
as their teaching methods, the absence of laboratory
faculties, and inadequacy of books in the library. He is
having difficulties in his quizzes and class
performance.
 2. What is the setting of the
problem?
• It defines the geographic boundaries and certain
demographic characteristics of the research. This
describes the place where the research was
conducted.
• In the description of the setting, its distinctive
characteristics must be highlighted.
 Example
• Puting Capunitan Elementary School is one of the
barrio schools in Orion, Bataan where most enrolees
are from disadvantaged families whose immediate
ancestors are either labourers or fisher folks. This
schools is one of the schools with poorly performing
students in their division according to the Department
of Education.
 3. What is the basic literature
foundation of the study?
•This part seeks to provide the
researcher the clarity on the
terms or variables used in the
study.
 Example
• As teaching is considered to be a complex activity
(Medley, as cited in lqbal 1996), the scholars and
researchers in the field of education have since long
been exploring into and analysing the teaching
phenomenon. Teaching is an arrangement and
manipulation of a situation I which a learner tries to
overcome the learning problems.
 4. How serious is the chosen research
problem?

•The researcher is tasked to

identify the intensity and
magnitude of the problem.
 Example
• Based on the DepEd Division Memo
series 2012, among the 12 schools
with the most poorly performing
students, Putting Elementary Schools
ranked 12th.
 5. What is the general objective of the
problem?

• This is the general statement of the

problem or the major tasks of the
researcher to discharge and should also
be the basis of the enumerated
statements of specific problems.
 Example
• With the above mentioned scenario and situations, it is
the main objective of the researcher to determine the
common reasons of the poor performance of the
students. Therefore, the research findings on that
objective become the basis of an intervention program
for the school effectiveness.
 6. What is the overall purpose of the
problem?

•The researcher must fully

understand the implications of
the resulting findings of the
study.
 Example
• This is mainly the purpose of letting the
students acquire the needed
competencies before graduation and
enabling the school to perform better in
the Regional Achievement
Examinations