Republic of the Philippines

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Region I
Schools Division Office I Pangasinan
Pangasinan National High School
Lingayen, Pangasinan

MINI LECTURE AND ACTIVITY SHEETS

IN PRACTICAL RESEARCH 1
QUARTER 3, WEEK 4

MELC:
CS_RS11-IIIce-4 States research question
CS_RS11-IIIce-5 Indicates scope and delimitation of research
CS_RS11-IIIce-6 Cites benefits and beneficiaries of research
CS_RS11-IIIce-7 Presents written statement of the problem

Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, the learners are expected to:
1. Formulate research questions based on the research title.
2. Identify and describe scope and delimitation of research based on the problem posed.
3. Enumerate and explain the benefits and beneficiaries of research.
4. Read and analyze the elements of a problem statement.
5. Determine the key characteristics of problem statement.
6. Construct and present a good problem statement.

Prepared by:

MARILYN R. ROXAS
Master Teacher II
 IDENTIFYING THE INQUIRY AND STATING THE PROBLEM
(Part 2)

Lesson 1: Stating Research Questions

The fundamental core of a research project is the research question. It focuses the study,
determine the methodology, and guides all stages of inquiry, analysis, and reporting. The specific
research questions let you identify or direct you to exact aspect of the problem that your study has to
focus on. You should ask a question about an issue that you are genuinely curious and/or passionate
about. The question you ask should be developed for the discipline you are studying.
According to Writing Center of George Mason University, a good research question should
have the following qualities:
• Clear. It provides enough specifics that one’s audience can easily understand its purpose
without needing additional explanation.
• Focused. It is narrow enough that it can be answered thoroughly in the space the writing
task allows.
• Concise. It is expressed in the fewest possible words.
• Complex. It is not answerable with a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’, but rather requires synthesis and
analysis of ideas and sources prior to composition of an answer.
• Arguable. Its potential answers are open to debate rather than accepted facts.

Writing a good research question means you have something you want to study. The following are
some of the steps and then look at how you could write a research question.
1. Specify your specific concern or issue.
2. Decide what you want to know about the specific concern or issue.
3. Turn what you want to know and the specific concern into a question.
4. Ensure that the question is answerable.
5. Check to make sure the question is not too broad or too narrow.
6. This is the basic process in writing a research question. Writing a good question will result in
a better research project.

How to State the Research Questions:

STEP ONE. To develop a strong research question from your ideas, you should ask yourself these
things.
1. Do I know the field and its literature well?
2. What are the important research questions in my field?
3. What areas need further exploration?
4. Could my study fill a gap? Lead to greater understanding?
5. Has a great deal of research already been conducted in this topic area?
6. Has this study been done before? If so, is there room for improvement?
7. Is the timing right for this question to be answered? Is it a hot topic or is it becoming
Obsolete?
8. If you are proposing a service program, is the target community interested?
9. Most importantly, will my study have a significant impact on the field?
STEP TWO. A strong research idea should pass the “so what” test. The potential impact of the
research being proposed must be thought about.
STEP THREE. A research focus should be narrow, not broad – based. Specify the research problem:
the practical issue that leads to a need for your study.
STEP FOUR. Fulfill the following criteria:
 ▪ Single sentence
▪ Include the purpose of the study
▪ Include the central phenomenon
▪ Use qualitative words
▪ Note the participants
▪ State the research site

Take this example and fill in the blanks:

The purpose of this ___ (narrative, phenomenological, ethnographic, case, etc.) study
is/was/will be to ___ (understand, describe, develop, discover) the ___ (central
phenomenon of the study) for ___ (the participants) at ___ (the site).

Example of a Purpose Statement:

This content analysis study aimed to determine whether hedges are used in press briefings
given by the press relations office of the president of the Philippines, the frequency of hedges in
press briefings, and the types of hedges found in the studied press briefings. The study also tried
to determine the purposes of the hedges used in press briefings.

Research questions serve to narrow the purpose of the study. There are two types: central and
sub-questions.
▪ Use good qualitative wordings.
▪ Begin with “How” or “what”
▪ Tell the reader what you attempt to discover, generate, explore, identify, or describe
▪ Ask “what happened?” to help craft your description.
▪ Ask “what was the meaning to people of what happened?” to understand your results.
▪ Ask “what happened over time?” to explore the process.
▪ Avoid words such as: relate, influence, impact, effect, cause, influence, compare, contrast, etc.

Examples of Research Questions from Actual Qualitative Studies

1. What reactions do Filipino fathers and mothers experience during and after a natural disaster?
2. How do they cope with the experience of a natural disaster?
3. How do the experiences of Filipino fathers and mothers differ in terms of coping and reaction?

Examples of Research Questions for Different Qualitative Methodologies

Different types of studies go under the umbrella of qualitative research; each with its own
philosophy and ways of looking at the world 'as well as various methods of interpreting data. Here are
some qualitative research question examples that could be used through different qualitative
approaches:

Grounded theory:
• What are the attitudes of elderly people with stroke towards the daily use of assistive devices
and technologies?
Phenomenology:
• What role does the therapist's spirituality play in the treatment of his or her patients?
• How do female high school teachers who have been physically assaulted by students overcome
their fears so they can effectively teach?
Ethnography:
• How do adolescent Filipinos conceptualize classroom participation processes shape active oral
participation?

Narrative Inquiry:
• How does a good everyday life come about when living with chronic rheumatic conditions?

Case Study:
• What strategies are being used by small businesses that have effective and viable
workplace wellness programs?

("Qualitative Research Question Examples- Thesis Writing& Dissertation | Academic Writing Help for Those Feeling
Stuck," 2017)

Lesson 2: Scope and Delimitation of Research

The scope and delimitation of the study are the two elements of a research paper that inform
the reader what information is included in the research and explain why the author chose that
information.
The scope of study in your research paper contains the explanation of what information or
subject is being analyzed. It is followed by an explanation of the limitation of the research. Research
usually limited in scope by sample size, time, and geographic area, while the delimitation of study is
the description of the scope of study. It will explain why definite aspects of a subject were chosen and
why other were excluded. It also mentions the research method used as well as the certain theories
applied to the data.
Limitation and delimitation are two different concepts. Limitation of the study identifies
potential weaknesses of the study and is associated with qualitative study as related to validity and
reliability. On the other hand, delimitation of the study is a place to explain the following:
• the things that you are not doing (and why you have not chosen to do them)
• the literature you will not review (and why not).
• the population you are not studying (and why not).
• the methodological procedures you will not use (and why you will not use them).
• limit your delimitations to the things that a reader might reasonably expect you to do but
that you for clearly explained reasons, have decided not to do.

How to Indicate the Scope and Delimitation of the Study

STEP 1
• Start with any of these sample phrases that express the scope of the study:
The coverage of this study…
The study consists of …
The study covers the …
The study is focused on…
STEP 2
• Explain what information or subject is being studied or analyzed
• Explain the limitations of the research like the sample size, time frame, geographic area,
subjects, facilities, and the issues to which the research is focused.
STEP 3
• Start with any of these sample phrases that express the delimitation of the study:
The study does not cover the….
 The researcher limited this research to ….
This study is limited to ….

STEP 4
• Describe the scope of the study.
• Explain why definite aspects of a subject were chosen and why others were excluded.
• Mention the research method used as well as the certain theories that applied to the data.
• Explain why you are delimiting the research to a specific geographic location.
• Identify the constraints or weaknesses of your research which are not within the control of
the researcher.

Examples of Delimitation of Research

1. This study covers only those families in Barangay San Jose, Pasig City, benefited by the
government’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program.
2. This study includes only those English Freshmen classes that use both Blended Learning and
standard ways of Language teaching.
3. This research investigation covers only Landbank- sponsored livelihood projects in Barangay
San Juan, Apalit, Pampanga.

Lesson 3: Significance of the Study

Writing a research paper has its purpose. Therefore, there’s a to identify the key reason/s why
you are taking a step forward and make your query into a formal writing. In this stage, your ‘WHYs’
and ‘HOWs’ will be answered and explained.
“Beneficiaries of the study” are those persons, group of persons, or organization/s or
communities or other legal entity that the researcher/s target to benefit either directly or indirectly
from any action or program, as a result of the study.
In other formats of research, this section is called “Significance of the Study”. It is a brief
declaration that such study is very important and necessary.

Tips in Writing the Significance of the Study (Regoniel, 2015)

1. Refer to the statement of the problem
Your problem statement can guide you in identifying the specific contribution of your
study. You can do this by observing a one-to-one correspondence between the statement of the
problem and the significance of the study.

2. Write from general to specific contribution

Write the significance of the study by looking into the general contribution of your study,
such as its importance to society as a whole, then proceed downwards-towards its contribution to
individuals and that may include yourself as a researcher. You start off broadly then taper off
gradually to a specific group or person.

How to Write the Benefit and Beneficiaries/Significance of the Study

Step 1. Identify the beneficiary or beneficiaries.

Step 2. Describe the “benefit or benefits” that will be derived from the research study.
Lesson 4: Statement of the Problem
A problem statement is a brief piece of writing that usually comes at the beginning of a report
or proposal to explain the problem or issue the document is addressing to the reader. It is the
description of an issue currently existing which needs to be addressed. It provides the context of the
research study and generates the questions which the research aims to answer. In general, the problem
statement will:

1. outline the basic facts of the problem;

2. explain why the problem matters; and
3. pinpoint a solution as quickly and directly as possible.

The ultimate goal of a problem statement is to transform a generalized problem (something

that bothers you or a perceived lack) into a targeted, well-defined problem one that can be resolved
through focused research and careful decision making. It does not need be long and windy. One page
is more than enough for a good statement of the problem.

Key Characteristics of a Statement of the Problem

A good research problem should at a minimum:
1. address a gap;
2. be significant enough to contribute to the existing body of research;
3. be one that will lead to more research;
4. render itself to be investigated via the collection of data;
5. be interesting to the researcher and suit his/her skills, time and resources;
6. be ethical.

Writing the Problem Statement in a Qualitative Research

In formulating the problem statement in a research paper, the two types of problems which
should be considered. These are the general problem and the specific problems.
General problem pertains to the opening paragraph that gives specific details on other essential
elements which are the purpose, major variables, participants, setting, and time coverage of the study.
The said elements serve as a guide in order to properly formulate the general problem. Cristobal and
Cristobal (2017) from their book Practical Research 1 for Senior High School presented guidelines in
the writing of the general problem. These are as follows:
1. The general problem should clearly state the main task/s of the researcher.
2. The general problem should present the major variable/s related to the phenomenon to be
investigated.
3. The general problem should identify the participants of the study.
4. The general problem should state the research setting as well as the time period of the study.
5. The general problem may indicate the intended output of the study such as an intervention
program, module, policies, etc.

An example of a general problem is presented below.

This study aims to determine the functions of emojis in an online communication. The
study was conducted among the different strands of grade 11 students in the senior high school
department of Lamao National High School during the school year 2019-2020. The result of the
study was used as a basis for proposing a learning content presentation strategy in language
teaching.
 to determine - main task
functions, emojis, online communication - major variables
grade 11 students - participants
Lamao National High School - setting
school year 2019-2020 - time period
learning content presentation strategy - intended output

After formulating the general problem of a study, enumeration of its specific problems should
follow. Unlike the general problem, which is stated in a declarative form, the specific problems are
stated as questions. These formulated questions, moreover, should all be anchored on the general
problem. With this, the researcher will be guided on how he/she will seek an answer to the problem.

In addition, the researcher must also know that a specific question to be formulated must be a
researchable question, that is, it should begin with words such as “what” and “how.” In this case, the
researcher may be able to solicit responses which can ensure detailed data necessary to the study.
Non-researchable questions, as in, those which are answerable by “yes” or “no” should be avoided.

Examples of non-researchable and researchable questions are presented below.

Non-Researchable Questions:
1. Do the participants use social media platforms for their communication purposes?
2. Are the participants using emojis in their online communication?
3. Can the participants understand the meaning of emojis used in conversations?
4. Will the emojis be used for a language content learning presentation strategy?

Researchable Questions:
1. What are the most frequently used emojis by the participants in the corpus?
2. What are the pragmatic functions of emojis in the corpus?
3. How do multiple emojis affect the meaning of the discourse?
4. What learning content presentation strategy can be proposed based on the results of the
study?

References:

Baraceros, Esther L. 2016. Practical Research 1. Manila: Rex Book Store, Inc.

Department of Education. 2019. "Practical Research 1 – Senior High School Alternative Delivery
Mode: Quarter 3 Module 7: The Statement of the Problem." Balanga City: Schools Division
of Bataan.

Garcia, Miriam Del Rosario, Violeta L. Jerusalem, Jonas M. Palencia, and Marjueve M. Palencia.
2017. Practical Research 1: Basics of Qualitative Research. Manila: Fastbooks Educational
Supply, Inc.

Prieto, Nelia G., Victoria C. Naval, and Teresita G. Carey. 2017. Practical Research I. Quezon City:
Lorimar Publishing, Inc.