Practical Research 2

Quarter 1 – Module 3:
The Research Title
and Its Background
Practical Research 2
Alternative Delivery Mode
Quarter 1 – Module 3: The Research Title and Its Background
First Edition, 2020

Republic Act 8293, section 176 states that: No copyright shall subsist in any work of the
Government of the Philippines. However, prior approval of the government agency or office
wherein the work is created shall be necessary for exploitation of such work for profit. Such
agency or office may, among other things, impose as a condition the payment of royalties.

Borrowed materials (i.e., songs, stories, poems, pictures, photos, brand names, trademarks, etc.)
included in this module are owned by their respective copyright holders. Every effort has been
exerted to locate and seek permission to use these materials from their respective copyright
owners. The publisher and authors do not represent nor claim ownership over them.

Published by the Department of Education

OIC-Schools Division Superintendent: Carleen S. Sedilla CESE
OIC-Assistant Schools Division Superintendent: Brian E. Ilan EdD

Development Team of the Module

Writer: Glen I. Tio-an

Editor: Edwin I. Salviejo EdD

Reviewers: Maria Cristina Balmores

Layout Artist: Arnold G. Chan

Management Team: Angelita S. Jalimao

Chief Education Supervisor, Curriculum Implementation Division

Neil Vincent C. Sandoval

Education Program Supervisor, LRMS

Edwin I. Salviejo EdD

Division Science Coordinator/School Principal I

Printed in the Philippines by the Schools Division Office of Makati City through the
support of the City Government of Makati (Local School Board)

Department of Education – Schools Division Office of Makati City

Office Address: Gov. Noble St., Brgy. Guadalupe Nuevo

City of Makati, Metropolitan Manila, Philippines 1212
Telefax: (632) 8882-5861 / 8882-5862
E-mail Address: makati.city@deped.gov.ph
 What I Need to Know

An attractive research paper is something which draws its readers' attention. As

discussed in the first module, a good research paper must demonstrate clarity,
conciseness and attractiveness among all other qualities, in all its parts. On reading
one's research paper, the first few parts which readers and critics will see is the title
and background of the study. Titles and research backgrounds that do not observe these
aspects are typically skipped over although they may be good research papers with
interesting contents. Therefore, when drafting a manuscript, it is important to come up
with a good research title and an interesting research background.
This module is divided into two lessons, namely:
• Lesson 1 – Writing a Research Title
• Lesson 2 – Describing Background of the Study
At the end of this module, you should be able to:
1. define research title;
2. enumerate the components of a research title;
3. determine a good research title;
4. write a research title;
5. describe background of research; and
6. write a research background.

What I Know

Multiple Choice. Choose the letter of the best answer. Write the chosen letter on a
separate sheet of paper.
1. What part of the research paper identifies the history and nature of a well-defined
research problem with reference to the existing literature?
A. Abstract B. Background of the Study C. Conclusion D. Research Title
2. The question “What is my paper about?” refers to which of the following components
of a research title?
A. Method B. Narrative Tone C. Purpose D. Scope
3. Which of the following statements best describes the research title “Effects of Ngiti
Toothpaste to First Grade Children”?
A. It uses jargons. C. It is quite too long.
B. It lacks variables. D. The sample is missing.
4. What of the following ideas should NOT be considered in writing the background of
the study?
A. Partial opinion C. Previous studies
B. Relevant history D. Review of the area
5. Why is background study important to the research process?
A. It will help the researcher to prove or disprove his thesis.
B. It provides detailed and scholarly research on a specific area.
C. It gives readers a chance to figure out what the research is about.
D. It gives all information that the researcher will need to write a paper.

Lesson
Writing a Research Title
1
Writing a research title is probably the most significant undertaking in which a
researcher usually come across at the beginning of the research process. It is like
making a good impression to someone you admire. In the context of research, your title
is a golden opportunity for you to create a good first impression. Thus, this part is where

1
most research panel, editors, and fellow researchers are commonly and particularly
critical. Therefore, you must ensure that the title captures all of the important aspects
of your study in a way that is striking and captivating to readers.

What’s In

The previous module covering the lesson on Designing a Research Useful in Daily
Life has taught you to identify and narrow down your research area into a specific
research topic and problem. These skills are pre-requisites for you to be able to advance
to the next lesson, which is writing a research title.
Let’s us have a quick recall of the following concepts.
• Research Field refers to all areas undertaken within a particular scientific
discipline.
• Research Area is a part or section of a research field.
• Research Topic is the broad subject matter addressed in a study.
• Research Problem is the specific subject matter being addressed in a study.

What’s New
Before we look at how to title a research paper, let us take a look at the given situation
which emphasizes why a good research paper should have a strong title.

Situation:
You are researching on online gaming in relation to problem solving, and you want to
determine whether mathematical problem-solving skills among senior high school
students differ depending on the type of online games they play. In your computer you
type in the keywords “online gaming’’ and “mathematical problem-solving skills”.
The search engine provides you the following titles:
1. Online Gaming A New Approach to Problem Solving
2. What Problem Does Online Gaming Solve?
3. Online Gaming and Problem Solving
4. Examining the Link Between Online Game Preferences and the Mathematical
Problem-Solving Skills of the Senior High School Students

All of these titles may sound similar but they don’t share similar impressions.

Title 1 : describes the topic and the method of the study but is not particularly
interesting
Title 2 : partly describes the topic, but does not give any information about the
method of the study
Title 3 : is somewhat more captivating but gives almost no information at all
about the article
Title 4 : is compelling and gives information about the content and method of
the study

What is It

The Research Title and Its Characteristics

The research title is a brief summary of the main idea or ideas of the research
paper (https://library.sacredheart.edu/). It is a research problem or inquiry in a
capsule form which composes of concise words that are enough to describe the contents

2
of the research, i.e. the purpose of the research, the scope of the research, the
methods used, the narrative tone of the paper and the sample. Let’s dissect the
example given earlier in the discussion and apply these concepts.
Example Research Title:
EXAMINING THE LINK BETWEEN ONLINE GAME PREFERENCES
AND THE MATHEMATICAL PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS
OF SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

Components Question Form Details

Why is there an To determine a relationship
Purpose
investigation, inquiry or
study?
Online Game Preferences and
Scope What is to be investigated?Mathematical Problem-Solving
Skills
What methods/techniques Descriptive Correlational Method
Method(s)
used to perform the study?
Mathematical problem-solving
Narrative skills among senior high school
What is the paper about?
Tone students differ depending on the
type of online games they play
Sample Who are the respondents? Senior High School Students
Guidelines in Writing a Research Title
Although writing a research title is most often subject to scrutiny in the initial
phase of the research process, the goal of a title is to capture the reader’s interest in the
research problem being investigated. Hence, a researcher must observe the following
guidelines in developing his research title (https://libguides.usc.edu/).
• Indicate accurately the subject and scope of the study.
• Avoid using abbreviations (except the standard or commonly interpreted ones such
as HIV, AIDS, DNA, RNA etc.), initials, acronyms, roman numerals and numerical
exponents or units.
• Avoid Italics unless used for the species name of an organism being studied.
• Suggest a relationship between variables which supports the major hypothesis.
• Limit the words to 10 to 15 functional words.
• Avoid using obvious or non-specific openings with a conjunction: e.g., "study of,"
"analysis of" or phrases of similar form.
• A research title is rarely followed by a period or an exclamation mark.

Creating a Working Title

Usually, the final title you submit to your teacher is constructed once the research is
completed so that the title accurately captures relevant aspects of the study.

The following are the basic steps in constructing a title. Let’s work on the given research
problem.
Research Problem: This research addresses the issue as to whether or not exposure to
social media sites influences the senior high school students’ ability to write an essay
in Matapang Senior High School.

Step 1: Ask yourself a few questions about the research paper.

Example:

Why is there an My study aims to know whether or not the degree

investigation, inquiry or of exposure to social media affect the ability of the
study? students in writing an essay.

3
 The degree of exposure to social media and its
What is to be investigated? corresponding effect to the ability of the students
in writing an essay
What method(s) did I use to
I used an experimental study.
perform my study?
My paper studies how varying degrees of exposure
What is my paper about? to social media affect the ability of the students in
writing an essay.
Who or what are the subject I performed the study to 80 senior high school in
of my study? Matapang Senior High School.
Step 2: Identify and list keywords and phrases from these statements.
Example:
degree of exposure writing an essay
social media experimental study
effect 80 senior high school students
ability Matapang Senior High School
Step 3: Use the above keywords and phrases to create a long sentence.
Example:
This study used an experimental study of 80 senior high school students in Matapang
Senior High School to examine the effect of exposure to social media at varying degrees
to the ability of the students in writing an essay.

Step 4: Create a working title.

a. Remove words or phrases that are not necessary to the study, including redundant
words.
Previous:
This study used an experimental study of 80 senior high school students in
Matapang Senior High School to examine the effect of exposure to social media at
varying degrees to the ability of the students in writing an essay.
Revised:
Experimental study to examine the effect of exposure to social media at varying
degrees to the ability of the senior high school students in writing an essay.
b. Rephrase the sentence briefly to shorten the length and to make it more concise.
Example:
Experimental study on the effect of the use of social media to the senior high school
students’ formal writing skills

Step 5: Eliminate all extra words or phrases to meet a suitable word count.
Example: EFFECT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE FORMAL WRITING SKILLS
OF SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

What’s More
Activity 1.
Directions: Examine the research titles below. Select all applicable errors that
describe(s) each title. Write only the letter that corresponds to your answer on the
"Remarks" column.

A. Too long/unconcise E. Used obvious opening

B. Too short F. Unclear scope of study
C. Used Italics G. Keywords were not capitalized
D. Used abbreviations/initials H. Indicated unnecessary punctuation marks

4
 Title Remarks
1. The Role of BL in the 12th Grade Classroom as it Effects Physical Science
and Reading Scores!
2. A study of purification and characterization of the Kinetic Parameters of
Cellulases Produced from Wheat Straw by A. niger and its Salt Tolerance
3. Calculators in Twelfth Grade: effects on mathematics and reading
4. Knowledge Acquisition Through Computer-Mediated Discussions;
Potential of Semantic Network Representations and Effect of Conceptual
Facilitation Restrictiveness
5. Mobilizing IFC in Cyber Space: Online Social Networks and Knowledge
Sharing.
6. Defining RC: A Study on the Reading Comprehension Level of Senior High
School Students
7. Students’ Extra Curricular Activities.
8. an examination of the differences in flow between Individual and Team
Athletes.
9. Readiness of the of FBS Students
10. Can anonang (Chroma dichtoma) roots extract and eggplant (Solanum
melongena) seeds extract be a source of paint?

What I Have Learned

Directions: Accomplish the KWL Chart to create mental pictures about the lesson
“Writing a Research Title”. Provide extra sheets of paper for your inputs.
What I already Know? What I Want to know? What I Learned?

What I Can Do
Directions: This activity requires the narrowed research topic/problem which you
developed from the previous module. Write your research title according to the
guidelines presented in this module. You may use extra sheets of paper if you need more
space to write on.
Step 1. State your research problem.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________

Step 2. Ask yourself a few questions about the research paper.

Why is there an investigation,
inquiry or study?
What is to be investigated?
What method(s) did I use to
perform my study?
What is my paper about?
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________

Who or what are the subject of ____________________________________________________________

my study? ____________________________________________________________
Step 3. Identify and list keywords and phrases from these statements.
_____________________ _____________________ _____________________
_____________________ _____________________ _____________________
Step 4. Use the above keywords and phrases to create a long sentence.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________

5
Step 5. Create a working title.
a. Remove words or phrases that are not necessary to the study, including redundant
words.
Previous:______________________________________________________________________________________
Revised:_______________________________________________________________________________________
b. Rephrase the sentence briefly to shorten the length and to make it more concise.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Step 6. Eliminate all extra words or phrases to meet a suitable word count.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________

Lesson
Describing Background of the Study
2
By this time, your research topic has probably already been narrowed into a well-
constructed research title. The next step after writing the research title is the
establishment of a comprehensive introduction of the entire research paper. This
preliminary step refers to the background of the study. A well-written background of the
study will also inspire readers to read the rest of your paper.

What’s In

Before describing the research background, the following essential concepts have to be
reviewed.
• The research title is a brief summary of the main idea or ideas of the research
paper.
• The title describes the purpose of the research, the scope of the research, the
methods used, the narrative tone of the paper and the sample.

What’s New

Directions: Read the selection and answer the following guide questions. You may use
extra sheets of paper if more space is necessary.
The researcher, as a teacher of Practical Research 2 in the Senior High School
Department of Matapang National High School, has experienced difficulty in facilitating
his students’ research writing requirement due to lack of the necessary skills in basic
research writing. Students who are now in their Senior High School are required to
prepare mini researches for both English and Filipino courses. As observed, these
students find it difficult to come up with research paper reports due to shortfalls on
research writing abilities. This is the reason why the researcher opted to find ways in
helping these students enhance or improve their skills in research writing.
Guide Questions:
1. What was the selection all about?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. What does the author want to know?

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. What led the author to do the investigation?

_________________________________________________________________________________________________
4. In what part of the research proposal will you find the same information that leads
the readers to the topic of the study?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

6
 What is It

The Research Background

The background of the study is basically a brief outline of the important studies
presented in a chronological order and usually takes between (1) to one and a half (1 ½)
pages. It is a comprehensive introduction that explains what led the researcher to
launch the study (Prieto, Naval, & Carey, Describing Background of the Study, 2017).
The outline may include any of the following: (a) a review of the area being researched;
(b) current information surrounding the issue; (c) previous studies on the issue and (d)
relevant history on the issue.

How to Do a Background Study for Research (Alleyne, n.d.)

1. Conduct a preliminary study to come up with a relevant research question.
2. Read and take note of all relevant information including its sources through note
cards and other electronic means.
3. Write a thesis statement and give an authoritative opinion or position about the
research from these readings.
4. Create a good structure. Discuss key issues and major findings that are related to
the issue at hand.
5. End by identifying any further study that needs to be done or provide
recommendations to solve the problem.
6. Proofread your work.
7. Revise and edit the background of the study.

Background Outline
A research background must have (Fitterling, n.d.): (1) Introductory thesis
statement, research question, hypothesis; (2) Statement of relevance of study; (3)
Specific aims and research objectives; (4) Summary of current research; (5) History or
problems with previous studies; (6) Key issues and significance of research and (7)
Conclusive statement

What’s More

Directions: Read the selection below and study how the researchers developed their
research background by answering the following questions. Choose only the letter that
corresponds to the correct answer.
Anti-Thrombolytic Effect of Tridax procumbens and Cosmos caudatus Extracts
as Inferred from Human Blood Coagulation Time (Mariano et al., 2012)
Blood loss is one of the common problems encountered during accidents. Many
victims suffer from pain as a result of internal or external bleeding. In order for them to
stop the bleeding, they use first aid treatments such as applying direct pressure, cold
applications and tourniquet. But using those methods are very complicated and may
lead to more serious damage if not properly handled. Alternative medication can be used
to prevent blood loss caused by wounds, and this is by using plant extracts. Plants have
great potential of managing and treating wounds due to the presence of wound healing
properties such as flavonoids, terpenoids and other phytochemical constituents
(Thakur, et.al. 2011). Those properties are evident in the plants like asters, which are
traditionally used by the Native Americans to treat arrow wounds (Nuffler, 2008).
With existing information on the ability of plants to be used as a remedy for blood
coagulation, very few literatures cite and compare the different weeds and plants of the
Philippines as a potential alternative. This study attempts to determine the reaction
times to blood of three members of Family Asteraceae that is common in the Philippines
(Tridax procumbens and Cosmos caudatus).

7
1. How did the authors introduce the study background?
A. By stating the problem behind their investigation
B. By discussing the historical development of the study
C. By describing how plants can be used to prevent blood loss
D. By explaining the anti-thrombolytic effect of Tridax procumbens
2. What does the background reveal about the study?
A. Relevant history C. A review of the area being researched
B. Current information on the issue D. All of these
3. What prompted the researchers to conduct the study?
A. Wounds that don’t heal C. First Aid response during trauma
B. Blood loss due to accidents D. Plant extracts as remedy to prevent bleeding
4. What is the purpose of the study?
A. To know the various first aid treatments to prevent excessive blood loss
B. To describe the different alternative approach to lessen the risk of blood loss
C. To explore the factors that affect bleeding time of wounds caused by traumas
D. To determine the reaction times of Tridax procumbens and Cosmos caudatus to blood
5. Which of the following ideas was NOT featured in the selection?
A. Blood loss as a problem C. Potential of plants to wound healing
B. Antimicrobial properties of asters D. First aid treatments to control bleeding

What I Have Learned

Directions: Complete the paragraph below by filling in the blanks from the options
provided within the parenthesis.

The __________________ of the study is an __________________ of important

(background, hypothesis) (explanation, overview)
studies to give the readers a chance to figure out what the research is all about.

It provides information such as __________________ of the area being researched,

(review, summary)
current information surrounding the issue, __________________ studies on the
(outdated, previous)
issue, and relevant history on the issue. In addition, a good research background

must have the following components: introductory thesis statement, research

question, hypothesis; statement of __________________ of study; specific aims and

(problem, relevance)
research __________________; summary of the current research; history or
(objective, topic)
problems with previous studies; key __________________ and significance of
(factors, issues)
Research; and conclusive statement.

What I Can Do
Directions: Using your working title as a requirement for this activity, write your
background of the study following the steps discussed in the “What is It” section of this
module. Write your inputs on a separate sheet(s) of paper.

Assessment
Multiple Choice. Choose the letter of the best answer. Write the chosen letter on a
separate sheet of paper.

1. Which of the following parts of a research paper contains fewest possible words to
summarize the main idea of the study?
A. Abstract B. Background of the Study C. Conclusion D. Research Title

8
2. Which of the following questions applies to the “Sample” indicated in the research
title?
A. What is to be studied? C. What is the paper about?
B. Why is there an inquiry? D. Who are the respondents?
3. Which of the following statements is TRUE when writing a research title?
A. It must indicate the scope of the study.
B. It must be lengthy to look more structured.
C. Abbreviations and initials are commonly allowed.
D. Numbers and chemical formulas in a research title are acceptable.
Items 4-5. Read the given example background of the study.
Students have different ways in processing information; some may prefer audio-
visual presentation; others drama and imitating or reasoning logically and intuitively,
or analyzing and envisioning. Teacher style also vary. Some teachers used the traditional
way of teaching; others, used the new trend in technology; some focus on principles and
others on presentations.

When the learning style of teachers are incompatible, the students may become
inattentive, distracted, uninterested, their achievement level goes down, and eventually
leads to school dropout. For intervention used in this study is the student’s devised
game-simulation. Game-simulation is introduced as a method in teaching in medical
fields recently through interactive video games (Rosser, Lynch, Caddihy, Gentile,
Klansky, & Merrill, 2007)

4. What idea did the researcher presented in the first paragraph?

A. Previous studies related to the current investigation
B. Student learning styles and teaching styles of teachers
C. Historical background of Game Simulation as a teaching method
D. The causes of inattentiveness of students using traditional method
5. What led the researcher to conduct the study?
A. The different teaching styles of teachers
B. The inattentiveness of the students during game-simulations
C. The incompatibility of the learning styles of the teacher and the students
D. The poor performance of students using game simulations as an innovative method
of teaching.

Additional Activities
Exercise
Directions: Think of another research topic of interest and narrow it into a title following
the guidelines in the previous module. Then, construct a well-organized background of
the study using the given template. Use separate sheet(s) if necessary.
Research Topic: _________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________

Research Problem: _________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

Research Title _________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

Background of the Study

________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________