PRACTICAL RESEARCH 1

Rationale of the Study

Quarter 3-LAS 5

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This module is designed to let you understand different reasons for conducting research. As
usual, there should always be a purpose or motive in anything that you do. As a senior high
school student, you need to know the value of research in your field of specialization so you
can justify the need to conduct a study.

At the end of this module, you are expected to learn the following competency:
1. Provide the justifications/reasons for conducting research

Lesson

1 Rationale of the Study

In this lesson, you will learn about the rationale of the study. It is one of the major
components in the introductory part of your research paper. With this, let us first define what
rationale is.

According to Merriam-Webster, a rationale is:

1 : an explanation of controlling principles of opinion, belief, practice, or phenomena

2 : an underlying reason : basis

In the context of research writing, a rationale pertains to the reasons why the study must be
conducted. Such justification is provided by the researcher to highlight the significant points
of the problem to be addressed in the study.

Now that you already have a glimpse of what rationale is, let us dig deeper on how it is used
in research.

Rationale of the Study

As a student-researcher, you have to determine the sense of all the things you plan to do in
your proposed study. Consider the following questions: Is there a need to conduct a study
about your chosen research topic? Does it pose a significant research problem? Does it
matter to your academic discipline?

If your answers in the previously asked questions are ‘Yes’, then that can be a good starting
point for establishing the rationale of your study.

Research justification is considered as the initial step in writing a research paper. This step
involves the skill on how the researcher will provide the readers with critical background or
contextual information that introduces the research topic. Moreover, it needs to indicate the

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reasons why the proposed research actually matters. In doing so, the researcher must be
able to get the audience's attention right from the introduction.

How to Write the Rationale of the Study

The rationale of the study must contain the following components:

1. Existing Literature
- a background on what researches have already been done about the given subject.

2. Relevance to Local/Global Context

- situational interconnectedness of individuals or things in varying perspectives.

3. Critical Background/Contextual Information

- circumstances forming a background of an event, idea or subject, that enables the
readers to understand the nature of the problem.

4. Research Gap
- problems, issues or questions that have not been addressed or are yet to be
understood.

5. Proof of Urgency
- an urgent need to solve the existing problem.

6. Research Goal/Objective
- the purpose why there is a need for the proposed study to be conducted.
Here are some questions to be considered in presenting justifications:
 Why is this research important?
 What real life or everyday problem, issue, or question does the research relate to?
 Can people relate to the problem in local or global context?
 What benefit does the research promise?
 Are the units of analysis and observation clearly identified?
 What does the researcher hope to find out?
 What was wrong or incomplete about prior efforts already conducted?
 Does the research extend understanding of the phenomena being investigated?
 Does it elaborate or fill in the gaps in the present knowledge?
 What is the research ultimately trying to achieve?

Now, read and study the following sample of Rationale of the Study.

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 The Educated Citizen: Cultural and Gender Capital in the Schooling of Aetas’ Children in
the Municipality of Janiuay (Moralista & Delariarte, 2014)

Republic Act No. 8371 is an act to recognize, protect and promote the rights of
indigenous cultural communities/indigenous peoples, created a National Commission on
Indigenous Peoples, established implementing mechanisms, appropriated funds therefore,
and for other purposes (Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
Philippines in Congress, 1997). This Act is known as "The Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of
1997." The State shall recognize and promote all the rights of Indigenous Cultural
Communities/Indigenous Peoples (ICCs/IPs) as enumerated within the framework of the
Constitution.
Toward these ends, the State shall institute and establish the necessary mechanisms to
enforce and guarantee the realization of these rights, taking into consideration their customs,
traditions, values, beliefs, interests and institutions, and to adopt and implement measures to
protect their rights to their ancestral domains (Republic of the Philippines Congress of the
Philippines Third Regular Session. No. 1728; H. No. 9125, 1997). The State recognizes its obligations
to respond to the strong expression of the ICCs/IPs for cultural integrity by assuring maximum
ICC/IP participation in the direction of education, health, as well as other services of ICCs/IPs, in
order to render such services more responsive to the needs and desires of these communities.
The UN Declaration of Human Rights especially on education and the 1987
Constitution of the Republic the Philippines are among the foundations on which this study
was anchored. As educators, the researchers are curious about the plight of the Aetas, their
hopes and how they see education in relation to their own indigenous culture.
This study aims to understand the cultural practices of Aetas’ children in the
Municipality of Janiuay; to investigate the gender capital in the schooling of Etas’ children in
the Municipality of Janiuay; to determine the Aetas’ role in preserving their cultural practices
as influence.

Here is another sample of Rationale of the Study for you to have a simpler idea on how to
make one. It is labelled with the components that you need to include in justifying the
reasons for conducting your proposed study. You can use this as a guide in composing your
write-up for your own rationale.

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 President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s Political Speeches: A Critical
Discourse Analysis (Remorosa, 2018)

A message from the president is given almost

unparalleled importance in contrast to other communications.
Speeches and addresses of any sort should therefore be read as
statements of presidential power and they are all attempts to
assert the power of
Existing literature
the presidency in some way either through policy proposal,
attempts to move public opinion through appeals to the people,
or direct address to specific audiences (Chimbarange,
Takavarasha,& Kombe, 2014).
The present study is concerned with investigating an aspect of
discourse that has not
received adequate attention within the Philippine Relevance to local political
discourse. The absence of a research study in and global context the national and local
setting has prompted more the researcher to conduct this investigation.
It has been found out that due to the pressure of media and its effort to catch
the attention of their consumers the traditional view of political speeches Critical
has been changing and is now nearer to the everyday background/
contextual informal speech. Political speeches should therefore be information
not only interesting but also entertaining so as to be enticing to
media holders who have the privilege of what would be
presented and how (Brno, 2011).
The researcher has noticed that analyses of oral texts,
particularly in political speeches as a discourse,
have been rarely studied by CDA researchers. Thus, Research gap Wang (2010)
calls for more attention to CDA studies since they can help explore the
relationship between language, ideology, and power.
There is an urgent need to pursue this research
Proof of urgency
because the Philippines is now facing a great change in
administrative reform, thus it is in the realm to listen to the core
messages of the current president and understand his plans as
well as visions to uplift
Research goal/
the life of every constituent, and the country as a objective
whole. Through Critical Discourse Analysis, this study aims to
bring understanding on the discourse of politics as well as power
and dominance.

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 ACTIVITY
At this point, you are heading your way on writing the content of your research paper. Remember
to use the same research topic and title based on your previous research tasks. Start drafting your
rationale by supplying the necessary information in the given template below. Write your output on
your notebook.

Research Topic: _________________________________________________________

Research Title: ___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________

Why is your research important?

__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________

What real life or everyday problem, issue, or question does your research hope to address?

___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

How does it relate to local or global context?

___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

What is your research eventually trying to achieve?

__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Compose your draft for a simple rationale of your proposed study by using the information you
have provided above. Write it on your notebook.

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