Introduction:

Nature and
Background of
the Study
Learning Objectives
 describes background of research
 states research questions
 indicates scope and delimitation of study
 cites benefits and beneficiaries of study
 presents written statement of the problem
 Introduction to Research Study
 Chapter 1 of your research study includes the introduction of the
topic under investigation.
 In this section of your study, you pinpoint the essence of pursuing
your research and provide an overview of the focus of your study.
 A good introduction composes the following subsections:
1. Nature and background of the study
2. Statement of the problem/research questions
3. Purpose/objectives of the study
4. Significance of the study
5. Scope
 Nature and Background of the study
 Your introduction should hook readers into reading your study.
 Include existing literature, current issues, and present problems
and circumstances associated with the study.
 Indicate the gaps of knowledge which initiated the need for
further investigation, identifying the particular one which you
want to focus on.
 Note the rationale, or the importance of doing the
investigation to strengthen the beneficial purpose of
conducting researches.
Nature and Background of the study
 Having enough background information will provide a
gist of important and relevant research studies upon
which your research studies upon which your research
problem is based.
 The following are the suggested information that
you can include in the background of your study.
1. Definition – you may define the concepts or constructs included in
your study.
Example: “ Test anxiety is a “situation-specific personality trait that
occurs before, during and after testing session” (Michele, 2006). It
may also be defined as “the uneasiness, apprehension, or nervousness
felt by the students who have a fear of failing an exam” (Ogundokun,
2011)
2. Cause and effect – when discussing the research
problem at hand, you may highlight its causes and effects to
the concerned subjects.
Example: “Test anxiety has cognitive causes that bring
out psychological effects. A person with test anxiety
experiences tension due to fear as manifested by their
increase in heart rate, rapidity of breathing, and
immobilization.
2. Cause and effect – when discussing the research problem at
hand, you may highlight its causes and effects to the concerned
subjects.
Example: “Test anxiety has cognitive causes that bring out
psychological effects. A person with test anxiety experiences
tension due to fear as manifested by their increase in heart rate,
rapidity of breathing, and immobilization.
3. Methodology – you may cite the methods used in others
researches to address the problem and hand.
Example: “Test anxiety can be investigated through
experimental study. Using this method, the researcher is tasked
to create conditions which could stimulate test anxiety and
provide possible treatment to battle it out.”
4. Historical Background – you may mention notable
researchers from which your topic is based.
Example: “Dance may have originated in the form of
rudimentary as early as 1.8 million years ago, when the
bipedal anatomy of Homo ergaster can move the body fully
which enhanced the communication and body language.
(Mithen,2005 as cited in Sevdalis and Keller, 2011)
5. Problems/issues – currents issues or problems regarding your
specific topic should also be seen in your background.
6. Comparison of ideas/methods used – you may compare and
contrast the ideas and method indicated in previous researches
related to your topic.
7. Advantages and/or disadvantages – you may highlight the
need for further investigation of your topic presenting its
advantages and disadvantages as cited in previous researches.
 Steps in Writing Nature and Background of
the Study
1. Present the general statement of fact related to the study. You may
use the definition of terms in stating general knowledge.
2. Indicate a more specific statement about the issue or problems
already proven in other related researches. You may compare or
contrast the methods and findings discussed in the related studies.
3. Use statements that lead to the need for more investigation. You
must emphasize the rationale of doing your research by using
statements.
 Statement of Problem / Research Questions
 This section of the introduction concentrates on the issue or
problem that the research intends to investigate.
 The statement of the problem is written an a declarative sentence.
Example: “The study will test the effectiveness of music on the
spatial reasoning of children so that it can be considered as part of
teaching strategies in this educational level.
 Experimental research designs that establish the cause and
effect through testing of treatment, and quasi-experimental
designs that allow you to investigate natural phenomena to seek
and prove a given fact, apply the term “research hypothesis.”
Example: An improvement in test scores can be expected
when students are allowed to review before a written test.
 Surveys and nonexperimental researchs (such as correlational,
case studies, causal-comparative and archival researches) use the
term “research questions.”
Example:
1. Is there a significant difference between rewards and high
test scores?
2. What is the degree of relationship between rewards and
test scores?
 Purpose/Objective of the Study
 This part of introduction is confined with a broader explanation behind
the reasons for doing the study.
 You will also discuss your intention for conducting it.
 State the results that you expect to discover from your study.
Example: The objective of this study is to determine which of the two
coaching styles, specifically autocratic and participative, will best influence
dancers in increasing dance performance.
Null Hypothesis of the study: Either of the two types of coaching style in
this study will have no significant difference on dance performance.
 Significance of the Study
 The significance of the study point outs the advantage that will
come from results.
 It emphasizes the concerned population to which the findings will
be favorable.
 Scope of the Study
 This section of your study launches the limits of the process in
which your study will be conducted.
 You will discuss the variables that you will examine and the
method that you are going to use.
 You will also mention the number of participants, the place
where you will get your data, the instrument to be used, and the
time frame for completing your study.
Example:
The study has chosen test anxiety and student’s
achievement as variables to be investigated through methods
of association. One hundred participants from the different
colleges in the university have to complete survey questions
and teats as means of gathering the needed data. The study is
expected to be completed in a quarter.