Apostolic Vicariate of Tabuk Catholic Schools System, Inc.

7 St. William’s Academy Bulanao, Inc.

Senior High School Department
Bulanao, Tabuk City, Kalinga, 3800 Philippines
School Year 2020 – 2021

LEARNING MODULE IN PRACTICAL RESEARCH 1

Name:

MODULE NO. 4-6 CONCEPT MODULE

TOPIC: IDENTFYING THE INQUIRY AND STATING THE PROBLEM

Dear Parents;
In this time of health pandemic, we would be glad if you could help us facilitate this lesson to our learners to be able to
continue his/her the holistic development. Thank you and we will heal and journey as one.
School Administration
I. LEARNING TARGETS:
1. design a research project related to the daily life
2. write a research title
3. describe the reasons for conducting the research
4. state research questions
5. indicate scope and delimitation of research
6. cite the benefits and beneficiaries of research
7. present written statement of the problem
II. LESSON PROPER:
The Subject Matter of the Research
What is a Research Title?
1. The most important element that defines the research problem.
2. It is usually read first and the most read part of the research.
3. It contains the least words enough to describe the contents and the purpose of your research paper.
4. It can be revised any and many times as the research develops and reach its final phase. It becomes final on its
final defense before the panel of judges.
Elements of a Research Title
The research titledoes not need to be entertaining but informative.

A part of a research title has the following information:

1. The subject matter or topic to be investigated. (“What?”)
2. The place or locale where the research is to be conducted. (“Where?”)
3. The populations like the respondents’ interviewees. (“Who”?)
4. The time period of the study during which the data are to be collected. (“When”?)

Example:
Subject matter: The teaching of English
Place or locale: in the high schools of Province A
Time period: during the school year 1989-1990
Population: as perceived by teachers and students

Subject matter: The effects of the use of cell phones on the academic performance
Population to senior high school students
Place or locale: at Department of Education
Time period: during the first semester, school year 2018-2019

Rules in Choosing a Research Topic

1. Interest in the subject matter. Interest in a subject drives you to research, investigate, or inquire about it with full
motivation, enthusiasm, and energy.

2. Availability of information. Information will serve as evidence to support your claims about your subject matter from
varied forms of literature like books, journals, and newspapers, among others, is a part and parcel of any research work.
What to include in the investigation of the available materials?
a. Update and authority of the materials.
b. Copyright dates of the materials? Are they new or old?
c. Expert or qualification of the writers of reading materials about your topic

3. Timeliness and relevance of the topic.

How relevant is the topic?
a. It yields results that are useful in society
b. Related to the present.(Except for pure or historical research)
4. Limitations on the subject. Connect your choice with course requirements. You need to decide on one topic to finish
your course.

5. Personal resources. Do an assessment on your research abilities in terms of your financial standing, health condition,
mental capacity, needed facilities, and time schedule to enable you to complete your research. You have to raise an
amount of money needed to spend on questionnaire printing and interview trips.

Research Topics to be avoided

1. Controversial topics. It depends more on the writer’s opinion leading to biases. Facts cannot support this topic.
2. Highly technical subjects. Not advisable for beginners as these topics require an advanced study, technical knowledge,
and skills.
3. Hard-to-investigate subjects. Happens if there are no available reading materials about it and if such materials are not
up-to-date.
4. Too broad subjects. It prevents you from to focus on the subject matter of the paper. Narrow down or limit the subject
to eliminate the problem.
5. Too narrow subjects. Subjects that are so limited where an extensive searching is necessary.
6. Vague subjects. Titles beginning with indefinite adjectives such as several, many, some, etc., as in “Some Remarkable
Traits of a Filipino” or “Several People’s Comments on the RH Law,” are vague enough to decrease the readers’ interests
and curiosity.

Sources of Research Topics

1. Mass media communication – press (newspapers, ads, TV, radio, films, etc.)
2. Books, Internet, peer-reviewed journals, government publications
3. Professional periodicals like College English Language Teaching Forum, English Forum, the Economist, Academia,
Business Circle, Law Review, etc.
4. General periodicals such as Readers’ Digest, Women’s Magazine, Panorama Magazine, Time Magazine, World
Mission Magazine, etc.
5. Previous reading assignments in your other subjects
6. Work experience – clues to a researchable topic from full-time or part-time jobs, OJT (on-the-job training) experience,
fieldwork, etc.
The Research Problem and Research Question
I. An Overview of the Research Problem and Research Question
Chapter I of the research paper is called The Problem and Its Background (sometimes also called The Introduction)
It is composed of the following sections:
1) Background of the Study,
2) Statement of the Problem,
3) Scope and Delimitation, and
4) Significance of the Study.
Others have sections such as Objectives of the Study, Hypotheses but these will not be considered in this lesson

What is a research problem?

 The Research Problem (According to Calderon & Gonzales,1993)

A problem is “any significant, perplexing, and challenging situation, real or artificial, the solution of which requires
reflexive thinking”. In research, it is known as the research topic or research title.
An illustration showing the description between a research topic, research problem, purpose statement and research
question.

A. Background of the Study

 Purpose of background of the study
a. The general definition of the topic/problem area
b. Historical basis for the existence of the problem
c. Efforts made towards addressing similar challenges
d. How the efforts failed to be realized hence the need for your study
 Contents of the background of the study:
a. Presentation of the problem. Describe the existence of an unsatisfactory condition or a problem that needs a
solution.
b. Historical background of the problem - Give the historical background of the problem, if applicable.
c. Geographical conditions of the study locale - If applicable, describe the geographical location of the study.
d. Rationale of the study - Give the reason(s) why the study should be conducted.

B. Statement of the Problem (Purpose Statement and Research Questions)

A series of questions used in researching the topic.
It is composed of
1. The general statement of the problem (the purpose statement) and
2. The specific sub-problems or sub-questions (or research questions).
 Guidelines in Writing the Statement of the Problem
(According to Calderon & Gonzales,1993)
1. The general statement of the problem and the research questions should be formulated first before conducting the
research.
2. Research questions should be stated in the interrogative and each should be clear to avoid confusion.
3 Each research question should be researchable separately from the other questions and must be based upon known facts
and phenomena which is accessible to the researcher.
4. Answers to each research question can be interpreted apart from the answers to the other specific questions and must
contribute to the development of the whole research study.
5. The summary of the answers to all the specific questions will give a complete development of the entire study.
6. The number of research questions should be enough to cover the development of the whole research study.

C. Scope and Delimitation of the Study

 Scope of a Study-It is the coverage of the research to be explored which includes the facts and theories
about the subject
Example:
a. A research study on the impact of social networking on the attitude of senior high school learners.
b. It is not possible to cover all aspects of the selected subject. The scope will have to be restricted to a specific
section of the target population over a specified duration.
c. In the above-cited study, a group of 40learners in senior high school at one particular school would be an ideal
coverage to study their attitude for five months.

 Delimitation of Study- It limits the scope and outlines the boundaries of the study.
These limitations include the following:
1. Sample size. The research design and method will determine whether if it is small or large sample size.
The sample size will determine the quality of data and the relationships that will be identified among the
variables.
2. Lack of available and/or reliable data. This will limit the scope of analysis and the ability of the researcher to
determine meaningful trends and relationships among the data.
3. Lack of prior studies. This will limit the effectiveness of the literature review and initial understanding of the
research.
4. Chosen data collection method. The quality of data collected must be clear to avoid erroneous answers from the
respondents.
5. Nature of the information collected. Researcher should not rely on pre-existing data.
6. Access. The amount and quality of available data will depend on the ability of the researcher to access people,
organizations, libraries, and documents.
7. Time period. It is advisable to select a research problem and design
8. Bias. The researcher should be aware of his or her personal biases .
9. Language. This may have an effect on data collection, especially if the researcher is involved with respondents
that speak a variety of languages.

D. Significance of the Study

 The significance of the study discuss the purpose that the research will serve to society, the country, the
government, the institution or agency concerned, the curriculum planners and developers, and the research
community.
 Describes the contribution of the study to the existing body of knowledge.

It could be the following:

a. A form of new knowledge in the field,
b. A validation of the major findings of other studies,
c. A verification of the validity of findings in a different population,
d. Analysis of trends over time, and validation of other findings using different methodologies.

 The researcher must identify specifically the beneficiaries who will directly gain from the results of the study
mentioning them in the paper according to the significance of the result.The specific benefits must also be
enumerated and explained if necessary.
 II. Presenting Written Statement of the Problem
The following sections compose the presentation of the written statement of the problem
1. Introduction States briefly the background of the study and identifies the rationale of the research problem.
It begins with a general statement of the problem, outlines the specific problem or issue within the existing
literature.
2. Statement of the Problem States clearly the purposes or interest of the study, poses specific questions about
research problem.
3. Scope and Delimitation Sets the boundaries and parameters of the study, narrows the scope of the inquiry.
4. Significance of the Study Shows the benefits of the study to address issues and l problems, in improving economic
and health conditions or even finding solutions to problems encountered in daily life.

Prepared By: Ms. LykaFrancess S. Balunggay, LPT Checked by: Mr. Alexis Luban

Parent’ Signature: ______________________________Date: ___________________

 Apostolic Vicariate of Tabuk Catholic Schools System, Inc.

7 St. William’s Academy Bulanao, Inc.

Senior High School Department
Bulanao, Tabuk City, Kalinga, 3800 Philippines
C.N:

School Year 2020 – 2021

LEARNING MODULE IN PRACTICAL RESEARCH 1

C.N: Name: Section:
Direction: Identify how a research project is described on the following statements. Encircle the letter of the correct
answer
1. A business student plans a research project of an online business. Due to its limited information (the title) on the nature
of the business, which one of these best applies to the idea?
a. It is too broad. b. It is a highly technical subject.
c. It has an acceptable method. d. It has an acceptable purpose.
2. What is the main advantage of producing a written research project?
a. Helps with liability. b. Helps the society.
c. Informs all interested parties. d. Helps keep people employed.
3. Good research proposals will always:
a. focus on the written style.
b. provides respondent names and addresses.
c. consider all possible research previously been done on the topic.
d. focus on addressing the research objectives.
4. What is the reason for consulting handbooks, yearbooks, encyclopedias, or reviews in the initial stages of identifying a
research topic?
a. They are readily available.
b. They provide an overview of the issues related to a topic.
c. They are primary sources.
d. They avoid reporting statistical data to interpret the results more readily.
5. Which of the following are excellent sources for research topics?
a. Theory b. Personal experience
c. Replication of prior research d. All of the above
6. Mr. Santos identified his research topic as "classroom assessment." He recognized very quickly his topic was far too
broad. Which of the following is likely to have led to that conclusion?
a. There was far too much written on the topic to understand it all.
b. It was difficult to organize the material collected in an effective manner.
c. The potential problems he began thinking would be next to impossible to study.
d. All of the above.
7. What is a research project?
a. A way of conducting research that is not grounded in theory.
b. A choice between using qualitative or quantitative methods.
c. A style in which you present your research findings, e.g. a graph.
d. A framework for every stage of the collection and analysis of data.
8. Which of these would be assured by you when selecting factors for a study in general?
a. They have been investigated before
b. They are available to investigate
c. They are not of interest to you
d. They do not lead to another question
9. Which of the following is a good way to find a research topic?
a. Personal experience b. Getting an idea from your advisor
c. Looking for the next step in the research process d. All of the above
10. What is not true of a research title?
a. Read the most, and it is usually read first
b. Least important element that defines the research problem.
c. Contains few words that describe the purpose of the research
d. All of the above
Direction: Read the following statements. Answer TRUE if the statement describes a research, FALSE if you think it is
not. Write your answers on the blank spaces provided.
________ 1.Research question come from any of several sources namely, personal interest and experiences.
________2. The research question should be either too broad or too narrow.
________3. The objective of the research is sometimes referred to as delimitations of the study.
________4. Scope and Delimitation or research indicates the boundaries, exceptions, reservation and qualification in your
study.
________5. Objectives of the research indicate what will the research will do, for instance, discover, explain or seek.
________6. The rationale of the study gives the reasons why the study should be conducted.
________7. The starting point in any research project is to formulate a question.
________8.The researchers own personal interests and observations may be a valuable source of questions.
________9. Theories of other researchers are not a particularly good source of research questions.
________10.Successful research often raises new questions, even while it answers old questions.
________11.A research question transforms into your conclusion.
________12.You should never consider matching your interest to a funder interest.
________13.A problem statement identifies the nature of the problem being addressed, and its context and significance.
________14. The "purpose" of a study is the same thing as the "objective" of a study.
________15. The "specific aims" of a study are the same thing as the "objectives" of a study.