Identifying the Inquiry and Stating the Problem
undertaking
RESEARCH TOPIC VS. RESEARCH TITLE
Research Topic
• Sometimes called as RESEARCH PROBLEM
• Intellectual stimulus calling for an answer in the
form of scientific inquiry.
Research Title
• Prefaces the study by providing a summary of the
main idea and is usually short and concise.
Sources of Research Topics or Problems
• Prevailing theories or philosophy.
• Observations, institutions, or a combination of
both.
• Repetitions or extensions of investigations already
conducted or may be an offshoot of studies
underway (Angeles,1966, p.86)
• Incidental from interesting topics of professors
during the course meeting/session.
• Offshoot of friendly conversations.
• Related studies and literatures.
• Existing needs of the community or society.
• Advice of authorities or experts from funding
agencies.
• Existing problems in the school which one may
want to solve are good sources of research
problems.
• Fields of interest or specialization or event from
related fields.
• Different subjects taken and from them identify a
problem that interests a student researcher most.
How to choose a particular topic to work on?
• It should consider the training and personal
qualifications of the researcher.
• It should consider the availability of data involved
and the methods and techniques to be employed
in gathering them.
• It should consider the availability of effective
instruments for gathering the data and their
treatment.
• It should be of researcher’s interest and
researcher must be with the topic
• It should consider the time factor involved in the
• It must be original
• It should be clear, not ambiguous
• It should be specific, not general.
• It must necessarily arouse intellectual curiosity
• It should consider the financial capacity of the
researcher to support the project
• It should be something new or different from what
has already been written about.
• It should be significant to the field of study or
discipline
• It should be a modest one for a beginner to be
carried on within a limited period.
Characteristics of a Good Title:
• A title should give readers information about the contents
of the research and is preferable to one that is vague or
general.
• Titles do not need to be stuffy or dull, but they should
generally give readers some idea at the outset of what the
research paper will contain.
• Choose a title that is a phrase rather than a complete
sentence.
• Select a straightforward title over other kinds.
• No punctuation marks at the end
• Do not underline the title of research or enclose it in
quotation marks, instead, use a word processing program
or printer that permits italics. Use them in place of
underlining.
• The problem may be stated in question form or given as a
declarative statement.
Selected Guidelines in the Formulation of a Research Title:
• The title must contain the following elements:
a. The subject matter or research problem.
b. The setting or locale of the study.
c. the respondents or participants involved in the
study;
d. and the time or period when the study was
conducted (If the title becomes too long because
of these elements, the timeframe or period may be
omitted except in evaluation studies.

• The title must be broad enough to include all aspects of
the study but should be brief and concise as possible.
• The use of terms as “analysis of”, “An Investigation of”
and the like should be avoided. All these are understood to
have been done in a research.
• If the title contains more than one line, it should be written
in inverted pyramid.
• When typed or encoded in the title page, all words in the
title should be in capital letters.
• If possible, the title should not be longer than 15
substantive word
• Avoid a long, detailed title that gives too much
information.
• To shorten the title, delete the terms “assessment” or
“evaluation” if these are already emphasized in the text.
Writing a Rationale or Background of the Study
• Direct quotation must not be written as the first
paragraph, instead this can be rephrased to add
substance to the details of the problem.
• The succeeding paragraph must come from the
researcher/s. This must not be copied from any article.
• Describe the problem situation by considering global,
national, or local forces.
o In the local scenario, cite the observations,
local studies, and the like. There must be
emphasis on the local scenario to warrant the
existence of the research.
• Ensure coherence of ideas within and among
paragraphs and across sentences.
• End with the main objective of the study.
Statement of the Problem and the Scope and Delimitation
of the Study
Statement of the Problem
• Tells what is done to make the situation that exists more
like what it should be; and
• Exposes anything that is wrong with the situation or
condition or circumstance which is being described.
•
• This is the basic difficulty, the issue, the area of concern,
the circumstances which exist then, and how they
ought to be. The researcher should give the
background which led to these circumstance that
exist. Briefly describe the condition or situation exists
which is perceived as something less than ideal; or
what it should be and how you see it to be.
Two Main Elements:
1. Objective or Purpose of the Study
• The objective or purpose of the study is the first part of
the problem where the researcher states the object.
• This is a statement of a long-term objective expected
to be achieved by the study.
• This is derived by the identification and crystallization of
the research problem and as reflected in the title.
• Example: “The main objective of this study is to..”
2. Research Questions or Investigative Problems
• The specific questions which are to be answered in the
study
• The problem should be limited enough in making a
definite conclusion possible.
Things to Remember:
• The major statement or question maybe followed by
minor statements or questions. The introductory
statement must be the purpose/aim or the objective of
the study.
• If the goal is specifically to test a given hypothesis, then
the state so. In many cases, the objective will be a more
general statement that that of a hypothesis.
• Investigative questions are the specific topical
questions that one must resolve to achieve research
objective or test the research hypothesis.
Characteristics of a Good Research Questions:
• Feasible (Is the research problem possible? Will it not
spend an unreasonable amount?)
• Clear
• Significant (Ask if your research questions are relevant
or important to ask.)
• Ethical (Always consider the welfare of people animals,
or who so ever involved in your study.)
Formulating Research Question
General Types of Research Question:
• Non-Researchable Question
• Researchable Question
Non-Researchable Questions Research Questions for Experimental and Quasi-
experimental Research:
• Question of value
• Answerable by Yes or No • Suggests that answers to these questions are brought
• Example: Do the Grade 12 under STEM Strand use about by manipulation or control of a certain variable
Social Media platforms? during the conduct of the study.
• Example: The following research questions can be
asked on studies on elementary student’s remedial
sessions and academic performance of students:
Researchable Question
o Is there a significant difference in the posttest
• Question of value, opinions, or policy raised to gather scores of the control group and experimental
data. group?
• Uses WH-Question
• Example: How often do the students use social media.
• Example: What are the effects of too much use of social
Scope and Delimitation of the Study
media to the students' Academic Performance

It may also discuss why certain variables were not included

in the research.
Research Questions for Descriptive Research:
Scope
• Focuses on observing and reporting factors or aspects
of the research problem.
- It specifies what is covered in terms of concept, number of
• Example: You study the use of social media among
subjects or the population included in the study, as well as
Senior High School Students, you can ask the following
the timeline when the study was conducted.
questions:
o What are the various social media platforms
Delimit
used by Senior High Students?
o How many hours students do spend on social
media per week? - By citing factors or variables that are not to be included
and the boundary in terms of time frame, number of
subjects, participants, or respondents who are excluded.
Research Questions for Correlational Research:

• Aim to determine the relationships among two or more

variables in your research problem.
• Example: In the study of use of social media and level Delimit answers the following basic questions:
of digital literacy of students following questions can be
• What - the topic of investigation and the variables
asked:
included
o What is the relationship between the length of
• Where - the venue or the setting of the research
hours spent on social media and level of digital
• When - the time frame by which the study was
literacy of students?
conducted
o Is there a significant relationship between the
• Why - the general objectives of the research
type of social media used and the level digital
• Who - the subject of the study, the population and
literacy of students?
sampling?
• How - the methodology of the research which may
include the research design, methodology and the
Research Questions for Ex Post Facto Research: research instrument

• Attempt to identify the causes of the phenomenon in

the context of your research problem.
• Example: ex post facto study on family background BACKGROUND OF RESEARCH
and digital literacy of students, the following questions
can be asked: Research Background
o Is there a difference in the literacy level of
students between their cultural and • Dr. Rishibha Scahdev said that the background of
educational family background? the study establishes the context of research. The
writer adds that it should provide general
information about the topic of your research and
emphasize the main aims of the study (Sachdev
2018).
WRITING A RATIONALE OR BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY Primary Sources:

• Original source
• Direct quotation must not be written as the firs
• Inform you directly, not through another person’s
paragraph, instead this can be phrased to ass
explanation or interpretation
substance to the details of the problem.
• Diaries
• The succeeding paragraph must come from the
• People
researcher/s. This must not be copied from any
• Events
article.
• Surveys
• Describe the problem situation by considering
global, national, local forces. Discussion should be
from macro-micro (general to specific0. Emphasize
situations using facts and statistics. These Secondary Sources:
discussions must have sources. Following
referencing format using APA style. • Third-person accounts found in research done by
• In the local scenario, cite the observations, local other people.
studies, and the like. There must be emphasis on the • News
local scenario to warrant existence of the research. • Television
More discussions and descriptions must be seen in • Radio
this part. Statistics should even be cited fore more • Internet
emphasis. • Books
• Make a clinching statement/paragraph that • Magazines
relates/ emphasizes the situational analysis to the
proposed study. Always link one paragraph to the
other. Ensure coherence of the ideas within and Reference Books:
among paragraphs and across sentences.
• End with the main objective of the study. • Special kinds of nonfiction books that contain
specific facts or background information
GUIDELINES IN WRITING THE BACKGROUND OF RESERCH • Encyclopedia
• Time Almanacs
• Discuss the problem in general and the specific
situations as observed and experienced by the
researcher (macro to micro approach); Plagiarism
• Using the concept mapping in the What’s In?
part, discuss the concepts and ideas related to the
- Is using other people's words and ideas without giving
problem including clarification of important
them credit. It is a form of intellectual stealing. (Write Source
terminologies; and
2007, 369)
• Discuss the existing or present conditions and what
is aimed to be in the future or the gap to be filled-
- To avoid stealing intellectual property and to maintain
in by the research.
credibility in your writing, you must employ citation guides.
• Limit your background to 2-3 pages only because
the elaboration of the concepts and ideas will be
done in the Review of Related Literature

Citation Guide:

Review of Related Literature

- It is a compilation of studies related to a specific area of Citation Styles:

research.
Modern Language Association (MLA)
- It evaluates, classifies, and summarizes all the relevant
previous studies conducted on a specified topic.
- It is widely used for identifying research sources in the field
of arts and literature.
Sources
- Uses the term "Works Cited" in the bibliography section. It
• These are all the materials used to gather employs parenthetical citations in the text.
information. They are classified into two: Primary
Sources and Secondary Sources. These are where
you get information from your background and
RRL.
Chicago Manual of Style (CMS)

4. In all subsequent citations per paragraph, include only

- Is a style guide for American English that covers topics from
the surname of the first author followed by “et al”
manuscript preparation to grammar, usage, and how to
(Latin for “and others”) and the year of publication.
format citations.
Example:
- It has two different citation systems: the Notes-Bibliography
• Mendoza et al (2000) found...
System (NB), which is used in the arts and humanities, and
the Author-Date System, which is used in physical, natural,
and social sciences.
In-Text Citation:

Parenthetical: last - (Grady et al., 2019).

American Psychological Association (APA)
Narrative: first - Grady et al., (2019)
- It is widely used for identifying research paper sources in
the field of social sciences.

- Uses the term "Reference" in the bibliography section. It

employs in-text citations in the text. This format or citation
guide will be used in the learner's research paper.
In-Text Citation:
5. Works by associations, corporations, government
agencies, etc.: The names of groups that serve as
authors (corporate authors) are usually written out
each time they appear in a text reference.
Example:

• National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH, 2007]

- The last name of the author and the year of publication
are inserted in the text at the appropriate point from theory
on bounded rationality (Simon, 1945)
6. When appropriate, the names of some corporate
authors are spelled out in the first reference and
- Simon (1945) posited that if the name of the author or the
abbreviated in all subsequent citations. The general
date appear as part of the narrative, cite only missing
rule for abbreviations in this manner is to supply enough
information in parentheses.
information in the text citation for a reader to locate its
source in the Reference List without difficulty.
Example:
If the work is made by multiple authors, apply the following:
• (NIMH, 2007)

If the work is made with no indicated authors, apply the

1. When a work has two authors, always cite both following:
author’s last name and joined with an ampersand (&).
Example:

• As has been shown (Roldan & Sabio, 2000) 1. When a work has no author, use the first two or three
words of the work’s title (omitting any initial articles) as
your text reference, capitalizing each word. Place the
2. In the narrative text, join the names with the word title in quotation marks if it refers to an article, chapter
“and” of a book, or Web page. Italicize the title if it refers to a
book, periodical, brochure, or report.
Example:
Example:
• As Roldan and Sabio (2000) found...
• On climate change (“Climate and Weather,”
2010)
• Guide to Agricultural Meteorological Practices
3. When a work has three, four or five authors, cite all
(2010)
authors the first time the reference occurs.
• Anonymous authors should be as such followed by
Example: a comma and the date.
Example: On climate change (Anonymous, 2010)
• Mendoza, Roldan, Sabio, and Yguinto (2000)
wrote...

APA In-Text Citation with No Author:
- (Existence of Life on Other Planets, 2019)
- Title of the article, year of publication
Tips:
• Italicize
• Title case
2. Anonymous authors should be listed as such followed
by a comma and the date.
Example:
• On climate change (Anonymous, 2010)
Some experts claim otherwise
- (Anonymous, 2018)
When citing a specific part of a source, you must:
1. To cite a specific part of a source (always necessary for
quotations), include the page, chapter, etc. (with
appropriate abbreviations) in the in-text citation.
Example
• (Stigter & Das, 1981, p.96)
• De Waal (1996) overstated the case when he
asserted that “we seem to be reaching…from the
hands of philosophers” (p. 218).
2. If page numbers are not included in electronic sources
(such as Web-based journals), provide the paragraph
number preceded by the abbreviation “para.” Or
the heading and following paragraph.
Example:
• (Monnich & Spiering, 2007 para. 9)
We can use these citation guides in:
Theoretical Framework
- It is a symbolic construction which uses abstract concepts,
facts or laws, variable and their relations that explain and
predict how an observed phenomenon exists and
operates. (Calmorin and Calmorin 2007, 35)
Conceptual Framework
- This framework presents specific and well-defined
concepts which are called constructs. (Calmorin and
Calmorin 2007, 35)
Review of Related Literature
- This section includes sources of information taken from
books, journals, magazines, novels, poetry, and many
others. (Calmorin and Calmorin 2007, 44)
- This section includes published and unpublished research
studies. Calmorin and Calmorin 2007, 46)
Quiz: (Newton)
Statement of the Problem - This is the basic difficulty, the
issue, the area of concern, the circumstances which exist
then, and how they ought to be.
Objective or Purpose of the Study - This is a statement of a
long-term objective expected to be achieved by the study.
Research Questions or Investigative Problems - The specific
questions which are to be answered in the study.
Scope - It specifies what is covered in terms of concept,
number of subjects or the population included in the study,
as well as the timeline when the study was conducted.
Delimit - Factors or variables that are not to be included and
the boundary in terms of time frame, number of subjects,
participants or respondents who are excluded.
Sources - These are all the materials used to gather
information.
Reference Books - Special kinds of nonfiction books that
contain specific facts or background information like
encyclopedias and time almanacs.
Plagiarism - Using other people’s words and ideas without
giving them credit. It is a form of intellectual stealing.
Modern Language Association - It is widely used for
identifying research sources in the field of arts and literature.
Chicago Manual of Style - Style guide for American English
that covers topics from manuscript preparation to
grammar, usage, and how to format citations.
American Psychological Association - It is widely used for
identifying research paper sources in the field of social
sciences.
Theoretical Framework - This framework shapes the
justification of the research problem/research objectives to
provide the legal basis for defining its parameters.
Conceptual Framework - This framework presents specific
and well-defined concepts which are called constructs.

Review or Related Literature - This section includes sources

of information taken from books, journals, magazines,
novels, poetry, and many others.

Review of Related Studies - This section includes published

and unpublished research studies.

Primary - Diaries

Primary - People

Secondary - News

Primary - Events

Primary - Surveys