Module 2

Research Process:
Conceptualizing Research Study

BACC3
Business Research 1

to your second module!

This module is a
combination of
synchronous &
asynchronous
learning
and will last for two
week

C_Overview

REYNALDO N. SALVADOR
Instructor

No part of this module may be reproduced

in any form without prior permission in
writing from the Instructor.

September 13, 2021

Date Initiated
September 25, 2021
Date of Completion
 RESEARCH PROCESS : CONCEPTUALIZING A RESEARCH STUDY
Module 2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

MODULE OUTLINE

Overview 3
Module Duration 3
Learning Objectives 3
Input Information 3
Learning Activities 3
Assessment/Evaluation 3
Assignment 3
Learning Resources 4

MODULE PROPER

Research process 4
Research Topic
Conceptualizing a Research Topic
Research Problem 5
Topic problem identification
Statement of the problem
Research Title 6
Variables
Independent variable 7
Dependent variable
Writing an Introduction 8
Writing Background of the Study
Writing Significance of the Study 9
Scope and limitations 10
Definition of terms
Formulating of Hypothesis 11

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 RESEARCH PROCESS: CONCEPTUALIZING RESEARCH STUDY
MODULE 2 OUTLINE

MODULE DURATION

I. September 13 to September 25, 2021- Synchronous Meeting and Asynchronous Learning

II. For asynchronous learning inquiries, you may reach me through messenger group/ email message every asynchronous
meeting class schedule
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After completing this module, you are expected to:

I. identify the problem, state the background of the study;

II. hypothesize the problems and know how to state a null hypothesis:
III. determine what to include in the significance of the study:
IV. identify what to include in the scope and limitation of the study
V. Know what to include in the definition of terms.; and;
VI. appreciate the value of understanding the research process.

INPUT INFORMATION

Module 2 Research Process : Conceptualizing Research Study

LEARNING ACTIVITIES

Individual Activity. based on you chosen topic Date of Submission: September 18, 2021; 12 noon

I. State the main problem

II. State the sub problems

ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION

I. Synchronous Test with time limit.

Long test link will be provided through our group chat. This is a synchronous test with a time limit.

II. Asynchronous Learning

See: Individual Activity Below

ASSIGNMENT - Group Assignments:

Each member of the group shall participate in group collaboration. Each group shall come up three (3) research topic
(research title, main problem and sub problems).

LEARNING RESOURCES
 Research Methods for Business Students,5th Ed. Mark Saunders. Philip Lewis, and Adrian Thorn Hill -Pearson
Education
 Methods of Research ,2009 Ed by Estela Adanza , Permito Bermudo, Marieeta Rasonabe, Rex Book Course
Information Map, 2012 Ed, Allan B. de Guzman, UST Press
 Business Research with Statistical Application,2019 Edition, Danilo M. Te, Diviba sabanal, Jovelyn Castro,
Christopher Lalis. Rex Book Store
 Research Fundamental , Adalaida Almeida, Amelita Gaerlan, Norita Manly.. 2016 Ed, Adriana Publishing

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 RESEARCH PROCESS: CONCEPTUALIZING RESEARCH STUDY
MODULE 2 PROPER

RESEARCH PROCESS

Conceptual Process

1. Topic /Problem Identification

2. Review of Literature
3. Hypotheses
4. Framework Development
5. Objective Formulation

1.0 Research Topics

 Research is a systematic process .The first step in research is identifying topic. Research topic broadly defines the
area of research. They are not the same as the title of the research study. And there is a need of further work to
become feasible research studies.

1.1 Conceptualizing research topic according to (Moyer, 2011) would include:

1. Finding your focus
a. Which aspects of your discipline interest you most?
b. What have you observed that you have questions about?
c. What articles have you read that have raised questions in your mind?
2. What are the gaps in the literature?
a. By topic (what is not being look at?
b. Methods (what is not being done?
c. Populations (who is not being studied?
d. Comparisons (who is not being compared?
3. Where to start?
a. Read
b. Detailed Literature searches
c. Attend seminars, conferences and presentations
d. Discuss subject areas with peers
e. Listen and ask questions
4. Refining your research topic
a. Discuss with fellow researchers
b. Discuss with stakeholders
c. Assess what is most critical to learn
d. Assess research sources available
5. Questions to ask yourself
a. Is this a good idea?
b. Who cares?
c. Can it be addressed using appropriate research methods?
d. Will it stimulate interest by others and the sponsors?
e. Is it feasible/practical/doable?
f. Is it fundable?

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2.0 Research Problems, Purpose, Questions and Hypothesis

A research problem is considered a professional situation in need of improvement, change or a solution.

(Houser, 2012) considered research problem to be the “why”

Problematic Problem
Situation ( Presented as
(Justification for problem
researching the statement )
problem)

2.1 Topic /Problem Identification

For academic research, identifying the problem is a formal process and should conforms with the format and
content prescribed by the APA.
a. It is important for students and researchers to choose a topic that they are interested in or knowledgeable
of.
b. They may look for pressing problems in the various fields or industries in business by reading business
magazines, online news, and articles.
c. They may consider the research agenda of their university or local business associations.
d. It is possible that students may want to study further those studies that were already made in the past using
different factors this time- If the studies conducted before used descriptive methods only, it is also possible,
that students may opt to use another method like triangulation to have deeper analysis of the variables
being studied.

Whatever the reasons or options;

The students should face it objectively and begin his/her LITERATURE BUILDUP
Reading on studies where the problem is linked would be a good direction as it crystallizes some areas that were
previously unclear.

It would pave the way for understanding the VARIABLES involved in the study as manifested by the theory.

PART OF THE LITERATURE BUILD-UP IS TO READ ANUMBER OF JOURNALS A NUMBERS OF JOURNALS AND
ARTICLES RELATED TO THE CHOSEN TOPIC

If there are published studies that are related to the field, then it is easier to find a gap that needs to be studied further.

In addition, checking on the existence of relationship among variables will likely increase the success and
generalizability of the study

A portion of the published studies is the recommendation for future researcher-It will give an idea on what to research.

The student or the researcher should begin to scout for any problematic situation, a situation that warrants a study as it
has not been addressed before.

This problematic situation must be of importance to warrant such study.

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2.2 STATEMENT of the PROBLEM
The problems and sub problems of the study are presented in the statement of the problem
EXAMPLE: Statement of the Problem
Main Problem: What attracts the shoppers to Davao City malls?
Sub-problems:
1. What are the factors influencing mall choice?
2. How the shoppers should be segmented based on the attraction variables?
3. What are the preferences of shoppers in terms of retail outlet and day time shopping

EXAMPLE: Statement of the Problem

2..3 Research Topic Research Problem RESEARCH TITLE

Here are the basic questions asked about the research title
1. Does the title describe what the study is all about?
2. Does the title contain high specificity level?
3. Is the title academically phrased is not verbose?
4. Is the title within the twelve (12) substantive word requirement of the American Psychological associations (APA)?

Read the following titles. Do they meet the basic questions asked?
1. Portfolios: A Tool for reflective Thinking in teacher Education
2. Impact of parental support on the Academic Performance and Self-Concept of the Students
3. Influence of family and Socio-Demographic variables on Students with Low academic Achievement
4. Private Tutoring and Social Cohesion
5. Attachment and Socialization the Positive side of Social influence.

2.4 EXAMPLE of COMMON TECHNICAL WORDS USED IN SUBPROBLEMS ARE THE FOLLOWING:

Words to be used in the research problems Equivalent statistical treatment

1. Level 1. Central tendency

2. Relationship 2. Pearson R for parametric data
Kendal’s B for spearman Rho
Chi Square for nonparametric data
3. Influence / Predict 3. Regression
4. Moderate / Difference 4. T test, ANOVA
5. Perception 5. multi- dimensional scaling
multi- dimensional unfolding and
correspondence analysis

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3.0 Variables
 Variables are “changing qualities or characteristics” of persons or things like age, gender, intelligence,
confidence, and others that are involved in your research study. In research especially in quantitative research,
one important thing you have to focus on at the start of your study is to determine the variables involved in your
study. Unless you spend time pondering on variables on your research , your work has no chance of attaining its
goal.
Basic Types of Variables
1. Independent variables are those that cause changes in the subject.
2. Dependent variables are those that bear the effects caused by the independent variables a causal relationship,
the cause comes from the independent variables while the effect comes from the dependent variables
Variables Relationship
 In scientific way of studying cause-effect relationships, these two variables, independent and dependent are part
of the research because the first one is the cause and the second one is the effect that you can subject to any
form of measurement.
 As you carry out the research it is possible that one. two , or more variables or extra variable crop up to create
an impact on the relationship between the independent and dependent variables. Being extra variables they
form this other type of variables called extraneous variables.
Examples Identifying the Variables
1. What does collaborative learning increase communicative competence?
2. What are the factors affecting human capital development?
3. What extent does texting decrease grammatical competence?

Independent Variable Dependent Variable

Product
Price
Distribution Customer Satisfaction
Promotions

Secondary sources for background Knowledge

1. Journals :Searching the internet
a. Google search-Internet Search
b. Science Direct Journal Database Type “Elsevier Science Journals or Science Direct
c. EBSCO Multi-disciplinary full text journals
d. J STOR Multi-disciplinary full text journal
2. Journals are known as “periodicals”, “serial” and “magazines” and are published on a regular basis and many journals
contents pages can also be browsed via the internet.
a. Articles in refereed academic journals are evaluated by academic peers prior to publications.
b. Professional Journal is produced for their members by the organizations. They contain a mix of news related
items and articles that are more detailed. They rarely contain articles based on empirical research and some
provides summaries of research.

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4.0 WRITING an INTRODUCTION
An Introduction answers the following questions:
1. What is the problem?
2. Why is it a problem?
3. How it should be solved?
4. Why it should be solved?
5. What is the purpose of the study?

Research Topic
Research Problem
Research Title

WRITING an INTRODUCTION

SAMPLE INTRODUCTION
“A Study of a Standardized Assessment of Noise Concept of middle and figh Grade Elementary School Students”

5.0 WRITING the BACKGROUND of the STUDY

Answer the following questions in writing the background of the study
1. What are some research result?
2. What is the research question?
3. What is the research statement?
4. How would you complete your research?
1. What is the purpose of a significance of the study?
One of the preliminary steps to completing a thesis /dissertation is the background of the study. The background of
the study includes:
a. a review of the area being researched
b. current information surrounding the issue
c. previous studies of the issue
d. relevant history of the issue, and
e. effectively set forth the history and background information on the problem
The purpose of a background study is to help you prove the relevance of your research questions and to further
develop your thesis
2. Why do a background of the study?
In addition to gaining general knowledge about your topic areas, your goals are to determine the current state of
knowledge and to become familiar with current research. (Gravatter and Forzano, 2016) pointed out that once you
have a general idea for a research study, the next step is to go to the library to gather background that you have
identified.
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 3. How do you write a background of the study?
a. Write a thesis statements or research questions. Think about what you read and look to issues, problems
that others have found and determine your own opinion or stance on the issue. use as your guide.
b. Identify the further study what needs to be done in the area or provide possible solutions to the issue that
haven’t been considered before
c. Revise and edit your background of your study.

6.0 WRITING the Significance of the STUDY

1. What should be included in the significance of the study?
The Significance of the study is an important component of research. If there is nothing in the study can contribute
significantly, then it has little value to the study or research. If such is the case, then it is not worth emulating by
other researchers or stake holders.
a. It should be arrange either from general (macro) to specific (micro) significance or from specific general :
either way is correct.
b. The macro level may include institutions, groups, or associations, whereas micro may include specific
individuals from various fields who will benefits from the findings of the study.
c. This people may get idea from the recommendations of the researcher to incorporate in their strategy
improvements and major decisions making.

2. What should be included in the scope and limitations of the study?

The scope and limitations of the study discusses briefly what is being covered in the study. (what and who are
included in the study),a s well as the limitation that is evident or might be encourage during the data gathering
phase or analysis phase, Some limitations I the study may include in the following : the number of respondents to
be surveyed, financial constraints, access to relevant information, unsafe locations etc.
Example
The senior students currently enrolled in Davao City> HEI’s were included in the study. The study covered 300
students coming from the different HEI’s in Davao City.. The other stakeholders like parents and alumni were
excluded because senior college students are presumed to be mature enough to decide what is best for the when
it comes to educations and future opportunities. .Only 10schools were included in the study because of the
technical limitations of MDS in processing more than 10objets (schools)

3. What should be included in the definitions of terms?

The definitions of terms include the conceptual and operational definitions of terms used extensively in the study.
a. The conceptual definitions is intended to clarify the meaning of a particular term (which can be sourced
easily from the dictionary) and to guide the reader on how it is intended to be used in the study.
b. The operational definitions is about how a term is technically use in th study and how such term is applied
to the variables of the study.
c. The definitions of terms must be arranged alphabetically 9and0 there is no need to separate or group the
conceptual terms from the operational terms)
7.0 FORMULATING the HYPOTHESIS
1. What is a Hypothesis?
a. Hypothesis is a tentative statement about the relationship between two or more variables. A hypothesis is
a specific, testable prediction about what you expect to happen in your study (Kumar, 1996).
b. Hypothesis must be empirically grounded and lead to the main contributor of the investigation. A research
hypothesis is the statement you created when you speculate upon the outcome of the structure, as the

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 ultimate aim of any experiment. It is a statement that predicts the relationship between the independent
(causal) and dependent (outcome)
c. Hypothesis (plural, hypotheses) is proposed explanation for a phenomenon. Hypothesis consists of
independent and dependent variables. The dependent variables is the outcome you are interested in
studying the effect. The independent variables is the variable that is producing a change in the dependent
variable –the cause
d. Hypothesis is a statement in terms of statistical significance about an educated guess on the effect of a
particular variable to other variable / s. The effect could be measured in terms of statistical significance (P-
value of 0.05 or less) or through other measures where the difference can be computed or observed.
e. Hypothesis can be stated I negative form (Null Hypothesis) or in positive form (alternative
hypothesis).Some schools would prefer or state both forms, whereas others would go only for the Null
hypothesis. Statistician would agree that it is easier to measure the null hypothesis as only needs to
disprove it. The alternative hypothesis meanwhile, must be proven thoroughly for its significance to be
worth its acceptance.

2. Which problem /s should be hypothesized?

Not all problems need hypothesis testing. If the problem is going to be addressed descriptively, then it is hypothesis
free. However, for problems that would require significance testing (P-value of 0.05 or less) or significant
measurement (e.g. significant factor loading ,significant beta coefficient), then there is a need of hypothesis testing.

3. How should a null hypothesis be tested?

A null hypothesis is a statement explaining how it is tested negatively by inserting the word “no”.
Example
There is NO significant relationship between variable A and variable B.
If the word NO is not included in the statement, then it becomes an alternative hypothesis.
There is significant relationship between variable A and variable B
Another way:
Null Hypothesis - Variable A does NOT significantly relate to variable B
Alternative Hypothesis- Variable A does NOT relate to variable B

LEARNING RESOURCES
 Research Methods for Business Students,5th Ed. Mark Saunders. Philip Lewis, and Adrian Thorn Hill -Pearson
Education
 Methods of Research ,2009 Ed by Estela Adanza , Permito Bermudo, Marieeta Rasonabe, Rex Book Course
Information Map, 2012 Ed, Allan B. de Guzman, UST Press

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  Business Research with Statistical Application,2019 Edition, Danilo M. Te, Diviba sabanal, Jovelyn Castro,
Christopher Lalis. Rex Book Store
 Research Fundamental ,Adalaida Almeida, Amelita Gaerlan, Norita Manly.. 2016 Ed, Adriana Publishing

END OF MODULE 2

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