WEEK 6: Writing a Report- Formulating Guide Questions

At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:

 determine the objectives and structure of writing various reports;
 design tests and identify essential questions; and
 formulate guide questions in writing a research report.
Now, let's take another step as unfold the knowledge as we answer this
essential question:

WRITING A REPORT
As current researchers, learning to write a report is indispensable,
and so is formulating questions. In conducting a field or research report,
one must know it’s basic nature and objectives. After knowing such,
questions are formulated to gather the data needed to answer questions
and obtain objectives.
 

WHAT IS A FIELD/ RESEARCH REPORT?

It is a systematic data collection approach. Researchers use all of
their senses to examine people in natural settings or naturally occurring
situations. Observation of a setting involves: prolonged engagement in a
setting or social situation. This report is often used in the sciences,
engineering and psychology. It contains the presentation of a research
conducted in a particular field. The main objective of writing a report
is to articulate the research to the public in a manner that the readers
can easily understand the report- what it is all about, its purpose, and
the results.
 
 
 

FORMULATING QUESTIONS

    The first step deals with constructing and drafting questionnaire

pertinent to gathering information of the study. A questionnaire is an
objective data gathering tool. The sit-in questionnaire is answered by the
respondent manually(quantitative), while the interview questionnaire is
accomplished by the researcher while conducting an interview with the
 participant(qualitative). As regards to survey questionnaire, researchers
may just borrow a ready-made, validated questionnaire prepared by
others (give credit to the original author by citing his/her work), or make
their own questionnaire. A self-made questionnaire has several parts:
1. Personal details of subject- depends on nature of analysis. 
- Example: Name (optional), age, gender, year level
2. Introductory Paragraph- consists of the following: a) greeting, b)
introduction, c) request for compliance, d) purpose for survey
3. Questions - the formulated questions to be answered by the
respondent. Most important part
4. Thank you note
 

Guide in Formulating Questions

In formulating questions, certain aspects need to considered, just
like it’s length, possible response, order, appropriateness, level of
difficulty, and clarity. Here are the dos and don’ts in formulating
questions.
Dos
The following are guidelines on how to formulate questions for your
research questionnaire:
1. Ask easy to answer questions first
  do not start with difficult questions for the respondents not be
discouraged
      2. Ask information needed for subsequent questions first
  some questions need prior questions to be understood easily.
      3.Place questions in logical order
 arrange in a way that answers the objectives of your study.
      4. Avoid establishing a response set 
 tendency to reply in a certain way
 it gives limitations to respondent’s response
     5.Vary questions by length and type
  length and type may vary depending on the nature of the question
     6. Put sensitive and open-ended questions last
 these questions are usually considered as difficult and needs to be
answered with enough time
Don’ts
These are the things that should be avoided in constructing questions:
1. Double- barreled questions, two answers to one question
 as much as possible, one answer per question
      2. Ambiguous or confusing questions
 be more specific in your questions; provide examples if necessary
      3. Leading questions
 do not prompt respondents to answer in a particular way
      4. Sensitive or threatening response categories
 do not put inconsiderate questions that offend respondents
 

Questions to Evaluate your

Questionnaires 
To avoid pitfalls in your survey questionnaire, it would be helpful for you to evaluate
your questionnaire by answering the following questions:
1. Is the question on the subject?
2. Is the question clear?
3. Is there a reasonable variation of possible answers to the question?
4. Does the question fit the general pattern of the questionnaire?
5. Are all important items included?

Sample Questionnaire: (taken from the thesis entitled Development of Tasked-

Based Instructional Materials in Speech Communication for Sophomore Students by
Tandoc, Sheilla)
 

NEEDS AND LEARNING STYLE PREFERENCE SURVEY

QUESTIONNAIRE
 

Dear Respondent,
The researcher is presently conducting an action research entitled Students’
Needs and Learning Style Preferences in Second Language Acquisition: Basis for
Materials Development in English Classes. In line with this, she needs to assess the
students’ learning needs (style of learning and preferences, etc.). Please read
 carefully and answer each question to the best of your ability. Responses will be
treated with strict confidentiality. Thank you.
 
The Researcher
 

     I. Your Personal Profile

Name: ____________________________________
Age: ______________________________________
Course: ___________________________________
Year Level:  _________________________________ 
 

     II. Your Interests

1. What is your favorite subject when you were in high school? If answer is more than
one, indicate order of interest. ___________________
2. What is your favorite subject now? If answer is more than one, indicate order of
interest. ___________________
3. Rank the subjects that you want to enroll in. Number 1 is as first in the order of
interest.
_______a. Remedial Grammar
_______b. Intensive Grammar
_______c. Developmental reading
_______d. Technical Writing
 

     III. Your Lack

Rank the subject difficulty, 10 being the most difficult.
I have difficulty in…
             ________1. Understanding unfamiliar words
            ________2. Finding the right words for my idea
            ________3. Getting the main idea of the paragraph
            ________4. Stating my main idea in writing with correct grammar
 

    IV. Your Learning Style

Answer each statement to show how you prefer to learn English. Refer below for
your responses.
 SA- Strongly Agree
 A- Agree
 U- Undecided
 D- Strongly Agree
Statements
 _____1. When teacher tells me the instructions, I understand better.
_____2. I prefer learning by doing something in class.
_____3. I get my work done when I work with others.
_____4. I learn more when I study with a group.

GENERALIZATION 
            Research is to journey to a place you haven’t been yet, and asking questions is
your guide that will take you to the right road. So, formulating wrong questions is
like misleading yourself to the wrong route, and eventually you will get lost. Curiosity
is the root of knowledge, and with curiosity comes questions. Writing a report
requires facts and information that aims to be beneficial and interesting to the
audience. As a researcher, establishing your research questions is crucial in your
path to sought answers. It is on what you ask that determines what you will obtain.
In writing a report, a question has their own identity that reflects desired answers.
That’s why one must consider the length, appropriateness or sensitivity to the
respondents, clarity, order, level of difficulty, and possible responses in formulating
questions. Formulating questions may be quite tedious, but knowledge only comes
to those who are willing to seek for it, because a person who asks is wiser than a
person who claims to know it all.

For better understanding, click the link to watch the video:

 

VALUE STATEMENT:
“The important thing is not to stop questioning.
Curiosity has its own reason for existing”
Albert Einstein