RESEARCH THESIS TITLE CREATION (Part 1)

Lecture: PSI – Research Method and Statistics

Instructor: AR. NKL-v. 02/18/2022

My advice, DO NOT focus on the TITLE but to the OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH. This so, because
the title will follow the research objectives NOT the other way around.

MODEL Template:
= Research Model Template analysis involves the development of a title ‘template’, which summarizes items identified by
the researcher(s) as important to structure or to craft a smooth-flowing THESIS TITLE and organizes them in a
meaningful and useful manner.

1. MODEL Template: Aim + Topic + Locale + Period + Population

2. MODEL Template: TOPIC + RESEARCH GAP + TERMINOLOGY + IDENTIFY THE VARIABLES
3. MODEL Template: Strand + Topic + Research Gap + Research Problem + Title
4. MODEL Template “GIDL”: Goal (G) + Independent Variable (IV) + Dependent Variable (DV)
+ Locale (L) = (QUANTITATIVE METHOD)
5. MODEL Template: GOAL + TOPIC + LOCALE + PERIOD = (QUALITATIVE METHOD)
6. OTHER MODEL/TECHNIQUE:

1. MODEL Template: Aim + Topic + Locale + Period + Population

Source: Calderon, Jose F. and Expectacion C. Gonzales (1993). Methods of Research and Thesis Writing.

THE ELEMENTS OF A RESEARCH PROBLEM TITLE:

The first thing that a reader will see is your thesis title, so it is very crucial to provide a concise view of the topic that
your thesis address. THESIS TITLE should be craft carefully and may change overtime during the course of writing
thesis paper.
= Are the Elements of Research Problem present? (Calderon and Gonzales, 1993, p. 21).
The term research problem implies that an investigation, inquiry, or study is to be conducted, or that the problem is
ready for investigation, inquiry, or study. There are certain elements that a problem must possess before it becomes a
research problem ready for investigation. These elements are:
I. AIM OR PURPOSE OF THE PROBLEM FOR INVESTIGATION.
= This answers the question “Why?” why is there an investigation, inquiry or study?

II. THE SUBJECT MATTER OR TOPIC TO BE INVESTIGATED.

= This answers the question “What?” what is to be investigated or studied? What is the problem?

III. THE PLACE OR LOCALE WHERE THE RESEARCH IS TO BE CONDUCTED.

= “Where” is the study to be conducted?

IV. THE PERIOD OR TIME OF THE STUDY DURING WHICH THE DATA ARE TO BE GATHERED.
= This answers the question “When?” when is the study to be carried out?

V. POPULATION OR UNIVERSE FROM WHOM THE DATA ARE TO BE COLLECTED.

= This answers the question “Who?” or “From whom?” who are the respondents? From whom are the data to be
gathered?

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Summarizing, the elements of a research problem are aim or purpose, subject matter or topic, place or locale, period or
time, and population or universe. They respectively answer questions starting with why, what, where, when and who or
from whom.

Example of a research problem:

“Reducing Mental Health Inequalities during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Public Spaces”

= Note: Title words Must NOT have more than 15 words.

TITLE ANALYSIS:

“REDUCING MENTAL HEALTH INEQUALITIES FOR AN

ADAPTABLE PUBLIC SPACES IN “X” CITY”

= 12 words, next step is to IDENTIFY THE VARIABLES of the title proposal.

= The thesis title must be informative to capture the attention of the reader.

Aim or purpose: REDUCING MENTAL HEALTH INEQUALITIES

Subject matter or topic: ADAPTABLE PUBLIC SPACES
Place or locale: “X” CITY
Period or Time: APRIL 2022
Population: The respondents are implied to be the architects, Engineers of the office of the building officials
and public users (Medical Field).
= It will be noted that the population as well as the period of study are omitted when writing the second form BUT they
must be mentioned in the scope and limitation of the study.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

2. MODEL Template: TOPIC + RESEARCH GAP + TERMINOLOGY + IDENTIFY THE VARIABLE (If
Quantitative Method)

“REDUCING MENTAL HEALTH INEQUALITIES FOR AN

ADAPTABLE PUBLIC SPACES IN “X” CITY”

I. TOPIC: COVID-19 PANDEMIC - PUBLIC SPACES

In choosing a research topic, make sure that there are available sources of information such as books,
magazines, journal entries, thesis, and articles that you may use to your research. These information’s should be recent
and not beyond 5 years.
= What topics have others previously published that still require further work.

Broader Topic >> sub topic >> select that interest you >> breakdown the subtopic >> read articles,
journals, related studies related to the subtopic.

II. RESEARCH GAP: MENTAL HEALTH INEQUALITIES

= The first step of conducting a study is identifying a previously unexplored area of research. Choosing an untapped area
in your research field will improve your chances of getting published. But the big question is: how to decide which
research problem should you study? Some researchers have clear ideas about the research problem they want to pursue.
However, researchers, particularly those who are at an early stage of their career, find themselves in a fix when they
have to zero down on a research topic that is original and innovative. The best way to do this is to identify a gap in
existing research in the field, i.e., finding a research gap! (Qureshi, 2019).
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What is a research gap?
Let us begin with understanding what a research gap means. When you read papers or books on topics of your interest,
you may realize there are some areas that have significant scope for more research but they have not been tapped by
other researchers. In other words, no one has picked up or worked on these ideas. A research gap or a literature
gap refers to such unexplored or underexplored areas that have scope for further research.

Research gap is a research question or problem which has not been answered appropriately or at all in a given
field of study. Research gap is actually what makes your research publishable, why? Because it shows you are
not just duplicating existing research; it shows you have a deep understanding of the status of the body of knowledge in
your chosen field; and finally, it shows that you have conducted research which fulfills that gap in the literature (Moeini,
2014).
Sometimes, a research gap exists when there is a concept or new idea that has not been studied at all.
Sometimes you will find a research gap if all the existing research is outdated and in need of new/updated
research (studies on Internet use in 2001, for example). Or, perhaps a specific concept applied to a building has
not been well studied (perhaps there are plenty of studies on concept and principle for a commercial building, but not
enough studies on educational building, for example). These are just a few examples, but any research gap you find
is an area where more studies and more research need to be conducted.

How do I find one?

It will take a lot of research and reading. You will need to be very familiar with all the studies that have already been
done, and what those studies contributed to the overall body of knowledge about that topic. Make a list of any questions
you have about your topic and then do some research to see if those questions have already been answered
satisfactorily. If they have not, perhaps you have discovered a gap!

Here are 6 tips to identify research gaps:

1. Look for inspiration in published literature
= Read books and articles on the topics that you like the most. This will not only help you understand the depth of
work done by researchers in your field but also provide an opportunity to ask questions that can lead you to a research
gap.
2. Seek help from your research advisor
= Discuss the issues and problems in your field with your research advisor to generate ideas for research.
3. Use digital tools to seek out popular topics or most cited research papers
= To familiarize yourself with the trending queries in your field, you can use digital tools as they can save time and help
you cast a wider net in your search for a research gap. Ex. Websites like Essential Science Indicator, Google Trends.
4. Check the websites of influential journals
= The websites of prominent journals often have a section called ‘key concepts’ where experts in an area highlight the
central ideas in that field. Reading through this section can help you gain a lot of insights and generate new ideas as well.
Moreover, you should also look through the reference section of these papers as it can lead you to important resources
on the topic.
5. Make a note of your queries
= It is a good practice to note all the questions that cross your mind while reading any published literature. If possible,
you should map the question to the resource it is based on. "Keep track of what the authors told you and the questions
that occur to you whenever you read anything - an article, a book, a book chapter, a dissertation, etc."
6. Research each question
= Once you have a list of questions that could be explored, you must conduct thorough research on them. What does
this mean? Read more about each doubt or query that you have. Find out if other researchers have had similar questions
and whether they have found answers to them. This will help you avoid duplication of work.
Your research project is something that you will invest a lot of time in, so make sure it is something that arouses your
interest and passion.

III. TERMINOLOGY:
= Be sure you are familiar with the terms to use
Ex. Public Spaces, what does it mean? What are the types/components? Use the internet like the link below:
https://publicspaces.guide/20-types-of-urban-spaces/
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Inequalities = is synonym to discrimination, differences, disparities.

IV. IDENTIFY THE VARIABLES (Quantitative Method)

= Independent Variable and Dependent Variable are to be indicated in the title. Example the same Title…

“REDUCING MENTAL HEALTH INEQUALITIES FOR AN

ADAPTABLE PUBLIC SPACES IN “X” CITY”

Problem: REDUCING MENTAL HEALTH INEQUALITIES (Independent Variable (IV))

Solution: ADAPTABLE PUBLIC SPACES (Dependent Variable (DV))

In statistics (Quantitative Method), researchers are often interested in understanding the relationship between
independent variable and a dependent variable. Qualitative Method does NOT usually use variables. However,
you can use the idea of cause and effect in your question protocol to analyze the perceptions of your
interviewees.

INDEPENDENT VARIABLE (IV)

(REDUCING MENTAL HEALTH INEQUALITIES)

We want to know if
the Independent Variable
(ID) Affects the Dependent
Variable (DV)

DEPENDENT VARIABLE (DV)

(PUBLIC SPACES)

INDEPENDENT VARIABLE
= Manipulated, cause or influence (Presumed or possible CAUSE). In our Title example the word “Adaptability”

DEPENDENT VARIABLE
= Receives the EFFECT (Presumed result). In our Title example the word “Public Spaces”

QUANTITATIVE METHOD VERSUS QUALITATIVE METHOD QUESTIONS

QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH QUESTIONS QUALITATIVE RESEARCH QUESTIONS

How does age impact the degree of mental health
diagnosis of people in using public spaces?
What is the mental health relationship between age or
gender identity of people using public spaces?
How does mental health inequality affect ambivalence in
high density public spaces in urban areas?
What are the mental health experiences of people at
different age bracket in using public spaces during the
COVID 19 pandemic?
How would age or gender identity of users describe their
mental health usage of the public places?
What does age or gender identity ambivalence mean to
the users of public spaces?

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References:
Qureshi, Fatima (2019). Don’t know where to start? 6 Tips on identifying research gaps. Downloaded from
https://www.editage.com/insights/dont-know-where-to-start-6-tips-on-identifying-research-gaps
Moeini, Sina, (2014). 6 (very useful!) Approaches to identify research gaps and generate research questions. Downloaded
from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140912150946-275561203-6-very-useful-approaches-to-identify-research-gaps-
and-generate-research-questions.

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