PRACRE Reviewer
quantitative research.
 Research design
- Enables the researcher to organize
the components of his or her
research in an orderly and coherent
manner.
1. Action research
- short-term research for an identified
problem that needs immediate
solution.
2. Causal design
- employs hypotheses that seek
establish a cause-and-effect.
3. Descriptive design
- answers who, what, when, where,
and how question related to a
particular research problem.
4. Experimental design
- controls the factors and variables
related to a certain phenomenon
5. Exploratory design
- topics or problems which have had
little or no studies.
6. Cohort design
- group of people sharing common
characteristics
7. Cross-sectional design
- large group of people composed of
individuals with varied
characteristics.
8. Longitudinal design
- follows a group of people over a
long period of time.
9. Sequential design
- carried out in stages.
- often combined with a cohort or
cross-sectional study
10. Mixed-method design
- combines aspects of various
research design and method.
- primarily combines qualitative and
 Ethical codes and policies for
research
1. Honest
- data should never be fabricated,
falsifies, or misrepresented.
2. Objectivity
- biases should be avoided
3. Integrity
- consistency of thought and action
4. Care
- careless error and negligence
should be avoided
5. Openness
- open to criticisms and new ideas
6. Respect for intellectual property
- proper acknowledgement should be
given to all authors cited and
sources used
7. Confidentiality
- confidential communications or
documents should be protected.
- RA 10173 or the Data Privacy Act
of 2012 in the Philippines.
8. Responsible publication
- should be done with purpose of
advancing in research
- papers should not be submitted to
two or more journals or publications
at the same time
9. Responsible mentoring
- research should seek to educate,
mentor, and advise students.
10. Respect for colleagues
- all peers should be treated fairly
11. Social responsibility
- social good should be promoted and
social harm should be avoided.
12. Non-discrimination
- all those eligible to participate in
research should be allowed to do so.
 13. Competence
- professional competence and
expertise should be maintained
14. Legality
- should know and obey relevant laws
 Rights of research participants
1. Voluntary participation
- any person should not be coerced to
participate in any research
undertaking.
2. Informed consent
- participants must be fully informed
about the procedures and risks
involved in the research.
3. Risk of harm
- Participants should be protected
from physical, financial, or
psychological harm.
4. Confidentiality
- participants must be assured that
their identity and other personal
information will not be made
available to anyone who is not
directly involved in the study.
5. Anonymity
- participants must remain
anonymous throughout the study.
 intellectual property is protected by
Intellectual Property Code of the
Philippines or Republic Act 8293
 Research title
- prefaces the study by providing a
summary of the main idea
 Characteristics:
1. should summarize the main idea
2. should be a concise statement of the
main topic
3. should include the major variables
4. should be self-explanatory
5. should describe or imply the
participants of the study
 Elements in the title:
1. Major Variables. must be
contained in the title; without
variables here is no research to be
conducted
2. Participants of the Study.
participants include either the
subjects or the respondents
3. Topics or Themes. the subject
matters or concepts that are the
focus of the investigation and
discussion in the paper
4. Outputs. main concrete
contribution after the data that are
gathered and interpreted
a) usually placed after a colon
usually as a subtle
 Considerations in Formulating the
Research Problem
1. External Criteria
i. Novelty - refers to the
practical value due to its
“newness”
ii. Availability of subjects -
refers to the people with the
desired capability and
willingness to participate
iii. Support of the academic
community - refers to the
assistance given by the
members of the institution
iv. Availability and adequacy of
facilities and equipment -
devices such as computers
and telephones must be
considered
v. Ethical considerations -
includes the avoidance of
research problems that pose
unethical demands
 2. Internal Criteria
i. Experience, training, and
qualifications of the researcher -
constitutes the researcher’s
knowledge and expertise
ii. Motivation, interest,
intellectual curiosity, and
perceptiveness of the
researcher- essential attitudes that
brings anticipated satisfaction or
enjoyment
iii. Time factor - considers the fact
that studies must be pursued within
a given time frame
iv. Costs and returns - matters in
choosing a research problem
v. hazards, penalties, and
handicaps - depend upon the
researcher’s physical and
intellectual capacity and moral
judgment
The Introduction
 the first chapter of the research paper
is usually titled “The Problem” or “The
Problem and Its Background”
 essential elements:
1. Introduction
2. Statement of the Problem
3. Scope and Delimitation (scope,
delimitation, and limitation)
4. Significance of the Study
5. Notes in Chapter I
 it is important in establishing the
cognitive setting of the research
 elements:
1. rationalization of the need to
research on the problem
2. clarification of the important
terminologies for the reader to easily
understand what the research is about
3. establishment of the degree of
seriousness of the problem which
prompted the researcher to look for
solutions
 questions that can aid the researcher in
formulating the introduction:
1. What is the rationale of the
problem? answered by sharing the
reasons why the researcher decided to
look for solutions
a) narrating incidences from
international to local scenarios
2. What is the setting of the problem?
defines the geographic boundaries.
Describes the place where the research
was conducted
3. What is the basic literature
foundation of the study? seeks to
provide the researcher clarity on the
terms or variables used in the study
4. How serious is the chosen
research problem? identify the
intensity and magnitude of the problem
5. What is the general objective of
the problem? the general statement of
the problem
6. What is the overall purpose of the
study? the researcher must be totally
aware of the purpose of the research
problem
a) who will benefit?
The Statement of the Problem
 heart of the thesis
 in the book Principles of Qualitative
Research: Designing a Qualitative
Study, Creswell and Clark (2014)
provide the following criteria:
1. should use single and not compound
sentences
2. should clearly express the purpose
of the study
 3. should include the central
phenomenon
4. should use qualitative words
5. should identify the participants
6. should state the research site
 the specific problems must meet the
following criteria:
1. must be in question form
2. must define the population and the
sample (respondents)
3. must identify the variables being
studied
 Types of Questions
1. Non-researchable questions -
answerable by yes or no
2. Researchable questions -
questions of opinions, perceptions, or
policy to accumulate data
 Dickoff et. al (as cited in Wilson, 1989)
provide further classification of
research questions are as follows:
1. Factor-isolating questions - ask
the question “What is this?”
a) sometimes called factor-naming
questions
b) isolate, categorize, describe, or
name factors and situations
2. Factor-relating questions - ask the
question “What is happening here?”
a) determine the relationship among
factors that have been identified
3. Situation-relating questions - ask
the question “What will happen if …?”
a) usually yield hypothesis testing
b) the researcher manipulates the
variables to see what will happen
4. Situation-producing question - ask
the question “How can I make it
happen?”
a) establish explicit goals for actions,
develop plans, and specify the
conditions
 according to Creswell and Clark (2014)
two types of research questions are as
follows:
1. Central questions - most general
questions that can be asked
2. Sub-questions - divide the central
question into more specific
a) only limited in number
Scope, Delimitation, and Limitation and
the Significance of the Study
 scope of the study - primarily by the
selection selection of variables that the
research study will focus on
 scope refers to the breadth and depth
 variable refers to any characteristics
that can have different values or traits
that may vary across research
participants
 attributes refers to the value assigned
to a specific variable
 important characteristics of variables:
1. Dependence - how the variable is
considered in a cause-and-effect
relationship
a) Independent variables (cause)
are variable that are changed,
manipulated, or selected by the
researcher
b) Dependent variables (effect) - are
those that change because of
changes applied to the
independent variable
2. Mutually exclusive/Mutual
exclusivity - participant or respondent
cannot possess two attributes
3. Exhaustive/Exhaustiveness - the
researcher should consider all possible
attributes
 Kinds of Variables
1. continuous variables - may have
an infinite number of values
 2. discrete variables - have specific
limits to their value
3. categorical variables - cannot be
expressed in numbers but given in non-
quantitative, descriptive terms
 delimitation of the study - controlled
by the researchers
- describe the boundaries that the
researcher has set for the study
 limitation of the study - cannot be
controlled by the researchers
 possible delimitation are as follows:
1. Sample size
2. Lack of available and/or reliable
data
3. Lack of prior studies
4. Chosen data collection method
5. Nature of the information
collected
 several limitations are as follows:
1. Access
2. Time period
3. Bias
4. Language
 significance of the study - describes
the contribution of the study to the
existing body of knowledge
- identify the beneficiaries
- should be specific in mentioning them
in the paper
 Definition of terms
a. Conceptual - from books,
dictionaries; “this refers…”
b. Operational - based on how
researchers used it; “in this study…”