Lesson

The Subject Matter of the Research

1

Developing a good research topic may not be easy for you but it is an important skill. Your
teacher may assign you a particular topic but often requires you to choose a topic that interests
you .In this lesson you are given the guidelines in choosing a topic when you begin your research
work. These pointers will guide you in selecting a good topic. Other factors affecting in choosing and
writing your research are topics that need to be avoided this will help you focus clearly on your
subjects. Likewise the sources of information are important for you to know where your research topic
may come from.

What’s in?
(
In the previous lesson, you learned to illustrate the importance of qualitative research across
fields of inquiry .Research can be conducted in any field of knowledge .Whatever field you belong you
can freely choose the basic research approaches either the scientific ,naturalistic or mixed. The areas
of disciplines that are classified into soft and hard sciences assist you to understand where you really
fit. These will guide you into this next learning of designing a research project and writing a research
title.
What’s New?

I. What is a Research Title1?

1. The most important element that defines the research problem.

2. It is usually read first and the most read part of the research.
3. It contains the least words enough to describe the contents and the purpose of your research
paper.
4. It can be revised any and many times as the research develops and reach its final phase. It
becomes final on its final defence before the panel of judges.
 Elements of a Research Title

The research title does not need to be entertaining but informative.

A part of a research title has the following information:

1. The subject matter or topic to be investigated. (“What?”)
2. The place or locale where the research is to be conducted. (“Where?”)
3. The population like the respondents’ interviewees. (“Who”?)
4. The time period of the study during which the data are to be collected. (“When”?)

Example:

Subject matter: The teaching of English

Place or locale: in the high schools of Province A
Time period: during the school year 1989-1990
Population: as perceived by teachers and students

Subject matter: The effects of the use of cell phones on the academic performance
Population to senior high school students
Place or locale: at Department of Education
 Time period: during the first semester, school year 2018-2019

II. Rules in Choosing a Research Topic 1

1. Interest in the subject matter. Interest in a subject drives you to research, investigate, or inquire
about it with full motivation, enthusiasm, and energy.

2. Availability of information. Information will serve as evidence to support your claims about your
subject matter from varied forms of literature like books, journals, and newspapers, among others, is
a part and parcel of any research work.

What to include in the investigation of the available materials?

a. Update and authority of the materials.
b. Copyright dates of the materials? Are they new or old?
c. Expert or qualification of the writers of reading materials about your topic

. Timeliness and relevance of the topic.

How relevant is the topic?

a. It yields results that are useful in society
b. Related to the present. (Except for pure or historical research)

4. Limitations on the subject. Connect your choice with course requirements. You need to decide on
one topic to
finish your course.

5. Personal resources. Do an assessment on your research abilities in terms of your financial

standing, health condition, mental capacity, needed facilities, and time schedule to enable you to
complete your research. You have to raise an amount of money needed to spend on questionnaire
printing and interview trips.

III. Research Topics to be avoided 1

1. Controversial topics.
It depends more on the writer’s opinion leading to biases. Facts cannot support
this topic.

2. Highly technical subjects.

Not advisable for beginners as these topics require an advanced study, technical knowledge, and
skills.

3. Hard-to-investigate subjects.
Happens if there are no available reading materials about it and if such materials are not up-to-date.

4. Too broad subjects.

It prevents you from to focus on the subject matter of the paper.
Narrow down or limit the subject to eliminate the problem.

5. Too narrow subjects.

Subjects that are so limited where an extensive searching is necessary.

6. Vague subjects.
Titles beginning with indefinite adjectives such as several, many, some, etc., as in “Some
Remarkable Traits of a Filipino” or “Several People’s Comments on the RH Law,” are vague enough
to decrease the readers’ interests and curiosity.
 Sources of Research Topics1

1. Mass media communication – press (newspapers, ads, TV, radio, films, etc.)

2. Books, Internet, peer-reviewed journals, government publications

3. Professional periodicals like College English Language Teaching Forum, English

Forum, the Economist, Academia, Business Circle, Law Review, etc.

4. General periodicals such as Readers’ Digest, Women’s Magazine, Panorama

Magazine, Time Magazine, World Mission Magazine, etc.

5. Previous reading assignments in your other subjects

6. Work experience – clues to a researchable topic from full-time or part-time jobs, OJT (on-the-job
training) experience, fieldwork, etc.

Lesso The Research Problem and

n Research Question
2

Having a problem makes you anxious that pushes you to exert efforts on finding a solution.
There will be doubts that you are uncertain of your solutions thus conducting a research is the best
thing to do. Doing a research always begins with a problem which points you to a topic to look out.
Getting the background and establishing your research question that causes the problem is a hint to
start knowing what your problem is all about In this lesson you have to study the concept of research
problems and research questions including its scope and delimitation, cite the significance
What’s New?

I.An Overview of the Research Problem and Research Question

Chapter I of the research paper is called The Problem and Its Background (sometimes also called
The Introduction)

 It is composed of the following sections:

1) Background of the Study,
2) Statement of the Problem,
3) Scope and Delimitation, and
4) Significance of the Study.

Others have sections such as Objectives of the Study, Hypotheses but these will not be considered in
this lesson
What is a research problem?

 The Research Problem (According to Calderon & Gonzales,1993)

A problem is “any significant, perplexing, and challenging situation, real or artificial, the solution of
which requires reflexive thinking”. In research, it is known as the research topic or research title.
An illustration showing the description between a research topic, research problem, purpose
statement and research question.

General
A research topic is the Topic: Distance Learning
broad subject matter
of the study
Research Problem:
A research problem is
a general issue or Lack of learners knowledge
concern about the about distance in distance
research that narrow education .
the topic.

A purpose of the study Purpose Statement:

used to address the
problem.
A research question
narrows the purpose
into specific questions
that the researcher
would like to answer
in the study
Specific
To study why learners do not
attend distance education
classes in a community college
Research Questions:
Does the use of website
technology in the classroom
deter learners from enrolling in a
distant education class?

A. Background of the Study

 Purpose of background of the study

a. The general definition of the topic/problem area

b. Historical basis for the existence of the problem
c. Efforts made towards addressing similar challenges
d. How the efforts failed to be realized hence the need for your study

 Contents of the background of the study:

a. Presentation of the problem. Describe the existence of an unsatisfactory condition or a

problem that needs a solution.

b. Historical background of the problem - Give the historical background of the

problem, if applicable.

c. Geographical conditions of the study locale - If applicable, describe the

geographical location of the study.

d. Rationale of the study - Give the reason(s) why the study should be conducted.
Example:

In 2004, the researcher migrated to the Philippines to accompany her spouse

who was at the time studying at the Adventist Institute for International Advanced
Studies (AIIAS) in Silang, Cavite. They discovered the study opportunities and
were motivated by the quality of education and low school fees being offered.
They visited several colleges and universities to collect pamphlets and sent them
back to Vanuatu for educational awareness. The Ni-Vanuatus became aware
and decided to send students to study in the Philippines. The first two schools to
receive Vanuatu students were AMA Computer College in Dasmariñas, Cavite
and Air Link Aviation College in Paranaque City. The researcher came to know
Cavite State University (CvSU) in 2009 and transferred from AMA.
(Ngwele, March 2011)

1
 The Do’s and Don’ts of Writing a Research Background Study

Do‘s!
 Explain the importance of your
research topic
 Talk about the main
developments and missing links
and gaps in your research area
 Focus on the relevant aspects
of your study explaining how it
will lead to the progress of
scientific knowledge.
 Engage your findings in a
chronological findings
 Articulate your ideas in a clear
and concise manner
 Engage the readers by building
a story around the central
theme of your research
Don’ts!
o Write a background that is too
long or short
o Be ambiguous in your writing,
disorganized and discuss
unrelated subjects.
o Forget the reader may not be
familiar with the details of your
work.
o Elaborate on your background
literature
o Forget to provide a historical
perspective
o Forget to check your target
journal’s instruction for presenting
the study background

B.Statement of the Problem

(Purpose Statement and Research Questions)

A series of questions used in researching the topic.

It is composed of
1. The general statement of the problem (the purpose statement) and
2. The specific sub-problems or sub-questions (or research questions).

 Guidelines in Writing the Statement of the Problem

(According to Calderon & Gonzales,1993)

1. The general statement of the problem and the research questions should be formulated first before
conducting the research.
2. Research questions should be stated in the interrogative and each should be clear to avoid
confusion.

3 Each research question should be researchable separately from the other questions and must be
based upon known facts and phenomena which is accessible to the researcher.
4. Answers to each research question can be interpreted apart from the answers to the other specific
questions and must contribute to the development of the whole research study.

8. The summary of the answers to all the specific questions will give a complete development of the
entire study.

9. The number of research questions should be enough to cover the development of the whole
research study.

Example:

This research aims to develop an evaluation model of a web-based tool used in

test administration for Grade 11 and 12 students. (Leanillo, 2016)

Specifically it aims to answer the following questions:

1. What are the commonly used web-based tools used in test administration?
2. How are these web-based test tools evaluated?
3. How could evaluation model be designed for web-based test administration?
IV.Sco and Delimitation of Research

C.Scope and Delimitation of the Study1

 Scope of a Study

It is the coverage of the research to be explored which includes the facts and theories about the
subject

Example:

A research study on the impact of social networking on the attitude of senior high school learners.

It is not possible to cover all aspects of the selected subject. The scope will have to be restricted to a
specific section of the target population over a specified duration.

In the above-cited study, a group of 40 learners in senior high school at one particular school would
be an ideal coverage to study their attitude for five months.

____________________
1
For more information about scope and delimitation of the study see Cristobal, A.P., Jr, & Cristobal, M.D. (2016). Practical Research 1
for Senior High School. Ist ed.C & E Publishing Inc. Quezon City.
These would form the next parameter.

 Delimitation of a Study

It limits the scope and outlines the boundaries of the study.

These limitations include the following:

 1. Sample size.
a. The research design and method will determine whether if it is small or large sample size.
b. The sample size will determine the quality of data and the relationships that will be
identified among the variables.

2. Lack of available and/or reliable data.

This will limit the scope of analysis and the ability of the researcher to determine
meaningful trends and relationships among the data.

3. Lack of prior studies.

This will limit the effectiveness of the literature review and initial understanding of the
research.

4. Chosen data collection method.

The quality of data collected must be clear to avoid erroneous answers from the
respondents.

5. Nature of the information collected.

Researcher should not rely on pre-existing data.

6. Access.
The amount and quality of available data will depend on the ability of the researcher to
access people, organizations, libraries, and documents.

7. Time period.
It is advisable to select a research problem and design

8. Bias.
The researcher should be aware of his or her personal biases .

9. Language.
This may have an effect on data collection, especially if the researcher is involved with
respondents that speak a variety of languages.

When writing the paper, the researcher should ensure that any delimitation factor is noted
down at the introduction, discussion, and conclusion sections. He or she should clarify why the study
included and excluded some delimitation.

D.Significance of the Study

 The significance of the study discuss the purpose that the research will serve to society, the
country, the government, the institution or agency concerned, the curriculum planners and
developers, and the research community.

 Describes the contribution of the study to the existing body of knowledge.

It could be the following:

a. A form of new knowledge in the field,
b. A validation of the major findings of other studies,
c. A verification of the validity of findings in a different population,
d. Analysis of trends over time, and validation of other findings using different methodologies.
  The researcher must identify specifically the beneficiaries who will directly gain from the results
of the study mentioning them in the paper according to the significance of the result. The
specific benefits must also be enumerated and explained if necessary.

Example:

The Effects of Computer-assisted Instruction in the Performance of Students in

Asian History and Civilization (Cuenca, 2008)

The findings of the study may provide deeper insights on how teaching can be made
easier and more meaningful by the use of computer-aided instruction. The study determined the
significant effects of slide presentation in instruction, a form of computer instruction on the
performance of the students in the subjects Asian History and Civilization.

To the students, the results may serve as an inspiration for them to continuously
improve their skills in using computers because they will realize the comfort that computer skills
offer in complying with the requirements of major subjects in the coming years.

To the administrators, the results may serve as a guide in the program-planning and
implementation of the IT department so that they can be of great help to the teachers of the
university.

To the teachers, the results may serve as an eye opener for those who are not
comfortable on the use of computers in their class lesson presentations. The findings of this
study may encourage more of them to apply computer-aided instruction in teaching.

II. Presenting Written Statement of the Problem

The following sections compose the presentation of the written statement of the problem

1. Introduction

States briefly the background of the study and identifies the rationale of the research problem.

It begins with a general statement of the problem, outlines the specific problem or issue within
the existing literature.

2. Statement of the Problem

States clearly the purposes or interest of the study, poses specific questions about research
problem.

3. Scope and Delimitation

Sets the boundaries and parameters of the study, narrows the scope of the inquiry.

4. Significance of the Study

Shows the benefits of the study to address issues and l problems, in improving economic and
health conditions or even finding solutions to problems encountered in daily life.