IDENTIFYING A TOPIC,

STATING THE PROBLEM

AND FORMULATING
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
Learning Objectives

• Identify a topic of interest for

quantitative research
• Distinguish credible literature for
identifying researchable topics
• Formulate a working research title
• Describe a research problem
• Formulate research questions based
on the research problem
 What’s that one
thing you’ve ever
been curious
about?
Research is interest-driven
and a problem-solving
activity.
Identifying a Research Topic

What do I Why will I do

want to know? this?
Identifying a Topic in Literature
Reliable vs.
Unreliable Sources
Remember!

Anyone can post

information on the
internet, and we
need to be CRITICAL
READERS in order to
determine what to
believe!
While you still need to read critically, here is a list of the types of
sources that are often reliable and would be good places to start
research:
• Books
• Newspapers and magazines
• Peer reviewed journals
• Peer reviewed articles
• Master’s or PhD dissertations
• Public library
• Scholarly articles
• Academic research
• Educational institutions and
their websites
•Always choose a topic
that will make you enjoy
what you do, a topic that
will motivate you to act.
Writing a Working Research Title
• Make sure your title captures what you want to explain.
• Use words that reflect the kind of research you want to
undertake.
• Be brief and avoid wasting words (consider having a title not
longer than 12 words).
• Eliminate unnecessary words such as ‘An Approach to’ or ‘A
study of’.
• Eliminate most articles or prepositions.
• Use a single title or a double title.
Sample Research Titles
1. Learning Styles of Grade 12 STEM Students at Jose Rizal University
2. Factors Affecting Speaking Skills of Senior High School Students in
Jose Rizal University
3. Writing Needs and Motivations of Technical-Vocational Livelihood
Students in Jose Rizal University
4. The Relationship Between Mathematical Abilities and Reading
Comprehension Skills of Grade 11 ABM Students
5. Effects of Playing Online Games to Students’ Mental Health
• Your working research title
is important because it
helps focus the direction of
your study. You can always
change it as you progress
with your research.
Background of the Study

The research topic

The area being researched

Previous studies and relevant information

being studied.
• The background of your
research demonstrates the
relevance of the research
question.
Describing the Background: Sample
Social Networking Sites (SNS) are the emerging online platforms used for
information exchanges in the 21st century. The importance of SNS has been
extensively studied by many researchers in the field (Brown, 2010; Lock,
2013; Riggs; 2018). According to Black (1988), using SNS can speed up the
transmission of information from one source to another……

Previous studies however heavily focused on…….Obviously, only few studies

if any investigated the ……. There is clearly a need to…..

Thus, this study is a step towards addressing this issue by…..

Research Problem
• “the main organizing principle guiding the analysis of
your paper”
• A particular issue which you will address in your study
as well as the specific area of concern of the research
• States what is to be investigated, identifies the
variables, and discusses their relationships.
Useful Phrases for Stating the Problem
• This study aims to….
• This research attempts to…
• The present study investigates…
• This paper describes…
• The purpose of this study is to…
Research Questions

•The foundation of your study

•The key to your research
•They point to of where you are going
Categories of Research Questions
Type Examples of RQs
Descriptive What is the frequency of the use of different training methods
in industry?
Explorative Is there any relationship between age and perception of quality
of music?
Evaluative Which teaching approach had the greatest appeal to the
learners?
Predictive Do people who are good at Mathematics, Science or Technical
Subjects tend to be poor at English?
Explanatory Which side of the brain is predominantly responsible for
computer mouse manipulation?
Control Can stress in patients about to undergo surgery be reduced by
specific types of nurse intervention?
Criteria for Evaluating Research
Questions

Connected to
Clear Researchable
theories

Neither too
Linked to each
broad nor too Original
other.
specific.