Critiques on Research Titles and Objectives
Tentative Titles
“The Effectiveness of Non-Verbal
(Language) for Communication of the
1st Year Education Major in English”
Tentative Objectives Comments/Clarifications/Caveats
To:
 Determine the effectiveness of
non-verbal language in everyday
communication
 Measure how helpful non-verbal
language to the students to
express themselves
 Know the importance of non-
verbal language to the students
inside the classroom
Suggestions/Ponder Points
Re Title:
 Non-verbal language? Non-
verbal cues? Non-verbal
communication? Which is
which?
 Parentheses enveloping
Language is unnecessary. It
muddles and meddles at the
middle of the idea.
Re Objectives and Topic:
 As early as now, if you’re
going to pursue effectiveness
how will you gauge that it is
effective? Is there a theory or
framework that measures
such?
 Why select in everyday
communication? Where?
 Third objective is more
feasible and open than the
second one. The last
objective can eventually
generate more questions.
 Clarify if you want to seek
effectiveness or effect.
Re Title:
 There’s a more concise and
catchier way to phrase your
title.
 Remove parentheses.
Re Objectives and Topic:
 If there is no theory that will
support, then you’re bound
to create one (grounded
theory) or devise an
instrument. Interviews will
work well but think how
you’ll extract the level of
effectivity from your
respondents.
 Select a more specific space
where the communication is
done unless you plan to tag
around with your respondent
24/7.
 You may remove the second
objective.
 This study leans toward a
quantitative approach if
effectiveness will be the
focus. (Contention is who
gets to rate the
effectiveness? The
researcher/s or the
respondent?)
 This study leans toward a
qualitative approach if
effects will be the focus.
Depending on the literature
and research questions, it
Grounded Theory or

“Factors Affecting the Reading
Comprehension of BSED – 1 Major in
English of the University of Eastern
Pangasinan (UEP)”
To:
 Identify reasons behind the lack of
reading comprehension of the
students
 Distinguish some strategies to
improve the students’
comprehension in reading as well
as listening
Re Title:
 Title is direct to the point.
 Topic is timely.
Re Objectives and Topic:
 Is there a reading
comprehension deficit? You’ll
need to needs analysis, or do
and/or ask teacher
assessments.
 Think of how you’ll collect
data (in any case this study
will be executed). Will it be
through interviews?
Questionnaires?
Observations? Document
analysis? Combination of
aforementioned sources?
 Second objective is
misaligned since it adds
listening comprehension.
 Why is there a need to
intervene? What if the
intervention is
individualized? Or by cohort?
Can you address all those
obstacles?
Phenomenology is
recommended.
Re Title:
 There’s a more concise and
catchier way to phrase your
title.
 If you’re adding intervention,
it should also capture that
idea in the title.
Re Objectives and Topic:
 This study can either go
quantitative (Principal
Component Analysis) or
qualitative. Qualitative would
be a better route at the
moment. It offers a rich mine
to dig into.
 Focus on one macro-skill (i.e.
reading).
 Providing intervention points
to production of materials or
deployment of strategies. In
any case, who gets to do this
(material making or strategy
usage)? Who gets to collect
and evaluate the data?
 An easier route would be to
do a case study. Determine a
band of students who have a
homogenous problem so
you’ll only do one kind of
intervention.
 Should you push through
with intervening, what
particular material or
strategy will you use?
 Search or construct a
framework that informs the

“Effectivity of Senior High School
Curriculum to the Academic
Performances of the BSED II-A
students of UEP”
“The Level of English Speaking Skills
of 2nd Year Students Major in English
at UEP”
To:
 Determine the effect of new
curriculum
 Know how far they had gone to
their academic performances
 See their general performance as
the product of Senior High School
To:
 Determine the level of speaking
skills
 Identify the factors which result in
Re Title:
 Title is direct to the point.
 Poses perils as seen below.
Re Objectives and Topic:
 Principles of curriculum
analysis require at least one
batch that has finished the
entire curriculum (Kinder to
Tertiary). Some suggest a
five-year leeway should be
given to analyze its strengths
and weaknesses.
 Remember that SHS has
many strands.
 Knowing how far they had
gone leads you to
investigating their academic
background; hence,
rummaging through their
Form 137/138 and/or
interviewing each students’
teachers for all subjects from
Grade 11 to 12.
 Why general? Your subject is
Language and
Research/Language
Research. Your research
niche should be on Language,
Linguistics, Literature
interfaced with Language,
Macro-Skills, and Language
Teaching.
Re Title:
 Title is not
encompassing/encapsulating.
It misses components from
intervening material or
strategy.
Re Title:
 There’s a more concise and
catchier way to phrase your
title.
 Immediately state your
concerned cohort.
Re Objectives and Topic:
 You may state the
delimitation of cohort (i.e.
Pioneer batch of SHS
graduates).
 Select a strand or two.
 Perhaps select a skill or skill
set (speaking, presenting,
writing, making visuals,
analyzing, etc.) that you want
to measure, something that
is anchored or fostered by a
course during Grade 11/12
(OralComm, MIL, Reading
and Writing, EAPP, etc.).
Re Title:
 There’s a more concise, more
accurate, and catchier way to
phrase your title.

“Worthiness of Authentic Materials
in the English Language Classroom of
UEP”
speaking problem
 Find out reasons of students’
reluctance in English speaking
skills
To:
 Know if teachers are aware and
use such materials in the
classroom
 Know the meritorious contribution
of authentic materials in the
English language classroom
 Restore from an unused state of
authentic materials in a classroom
objectives (if left un-
rephrased).
Re Objectives and Topic:
 Is there a need for this study?
 There should be a
classification or taxonomy
that would help you place at
which level is the speaker at
already.
 So what after determining
the level of speaking?
 Are you looking for accuracy,
fluency, or both?
 Objectives are all over the
place. First tackles on level,
second seeks for problems,
and third points to
reluctance.
Re Title:
 “Worthiness” is such a strong
word, evoking and implying
as if current materials might
be unworthy.
Re Objectives and Topic:
 Topic is relevant.
 “English language classroom”
needs clarification.
 First objective needs to
approach target respondents
(teachers) with caution. Such
might be a sensitive topic to
tread upon. Especially that a
faculty needs to be
identified.
 Who gets to enumerate the
Re Objectives and Topic:
 Establish why there is a need
to conduct this study.
 This can go different ways in
terms of methods and
designs. Certainly, this
requires a battery of
speaking tests.
 Who gets to assess? Plus, the
assessors should have a
single interpretation to yield
reliable assessments and
results.
 Zero in on an aspect of
speaking. Be laser focused on
that target. Recast objectives
as needed.
 Factors and reasons for
reluctance calls for
qualitative methods.
Re Title:
 There’s a better and catchier
way to phrase your title.
Re Objectives and Topic:
 Topic is interesting because it
can be strongly triangulated
(POV from researcher’s
observation, POV of teacher,
POV of students). A lot of
work is at store.
 Select classes under a
common course that
encourages speaking and
where authentic material
flourishes and can flourish.
 Consider who gets to
“restore” the lost legend of

“Advantages of English Only Policy
inside the Classroom in Terms of
Speaking Skills of BSED I students
Major in English in University of
Eastern Pangasinan”
“The Significance of Code Switching
from English to Filipino in the
To:
 Determine the advantages of
English Only Policy inside the
classroom in terms of speaking
skills
 Develop various skills of speaking
that are useful in the classroom
 Enhance their speaking skills
effectively
To:
 Investigate the importance of
meritorious contributions? authentic materials.
Researcher? Teacher?
Students?
 Do the faculty use authentic
materials?
 How will you coordinate the
revitalization of the authentic
material movement?
 Stating restoration suggests a
pre-conceived bias that
authentic materials seem
obsolete, if not rarely used.
Re Title: Re Title:
 Title is clear and  There’s a more concise, more
straightforward. accurate, and catchier way to
 Two objectives are not phrase your title.
captured in the title.
Re Objectives and Topic:
Re Objectives and Topic:  Construct other objectives.
 First objective directly relates  Consider comparing the
with the title. advantages and
 Second and third are off disadvantages.
tangent. They speak about Metaphorically, the spotlight
nurturing a macro-skill rather shines brighter when the
than recognizing its dark areas surround it after
advantages. It also hints a all.
bias that an EOP  Method-wise, qualitative
environment is a more methods are encouraged.
favorable classroom than  Specify a class where you will
others that deviate from its be conducting the study so it
implementation. would limit your scope.
 Topic is one-sided. I fear that
it might not be
comprehensive enough.
 There might be an idea that
you will survey the students
during all of their classes.
Re Title: Re Title:
 Title is very accurate.  There’s a more concise and
Learning Process of 1st Year CTE
Students Major in English”
“Effectiveness of Using English
Language as a Medium of Instruction
in the Learning of BSED Second Year
Math Major Students in University of
Eastern Pangasinan”
code-switching in the learning
process of students
 Gather information that meet our
curiosity regarding to the
significance of code-switching
 Know how code-switching can
profit the students’ in expressing
their ideas
To:
 Know the effects of using English
as a medium of instruction to the
Math-major students
 Know the advantages and
disadvantages of using English to
learn Mathematics
 Know if English is an efficient
language to use teaching Math for
the BSED Math major students
Phenomenon, Target, and
Respondents are clear.
Re Objectives and Topic:
 Second objective uses a
personal pronoun.
 Third objective: profit or
benefit?
 Importance vs significance.
Be consistent which is term
will be used.
 You might need to pick a
specific class or classes, one/s
that prescribes speaking in
English but populated by
“code switchers”.
 How does learning process
come into the picture?
Re Title:
 Title is very accurate.
Phenomenon, Target, and
Respondents are clear.
Re Objectives and Topic:
 Topic is interdisciplinary,
which is good.
 Topic is highly relevant,
contributory, and informative
to the concerned field.
catchier way to phrase your
title.
Re Objectives and Topic:
 As much as possible, refrain
from using personal
pronouns unless the situation
calls for it.
 Selecting a research method
and design will be tricky
given the topic. This might
call for a case study or
classroom ethnography
methods. Otherwise,
comparison of classes might
be needed (i.e. experimental
method).
 Copious readings on
sociolinguistics in classrooms
is needed, which is good
because it’s a (quoting
Robert Frost) “road less
travelled by.”
 If done qualitatively, it can
directly address your
objectives. If done
quantitatively, this might
require pre- and posttests.
Re Title:
 There’s a more concise way
to phrase your title.
Re Objectives and Topic:
 This needs two classes for
comparison.
 Choose one mathematical
discipline (statistics,
probability, algebra,
geometry, calculus, etc.)
 Is English the medium of  Qualitative, Quantitative, or
instruction? Survey first. Mixed Method Approaches
Classrooms might be can be ventured.
practicing otherwise.  Make sure that third
 First and second objective objective is not transformed
are almost synonymous. You into a yes/no question.
may strike one out
depending on your aim.
 Mathematics is a broad field.
 Third objective: efficient
(connoting ease and speed)
or effective (connoting
potency to absorb)?
 The third objective might be
a problem when translated
into a research question.