Lesson 3A
What Is a Literature Review?
A literature review is an academic text that
provides an overview of a particular topic. It helps
identify what is known and not known about a
certain subject of study. It involves the use of
higher-order thinking skill, such as the review,
evaluation, and synthesis of several scholarly
works. These scholarly works include journal
articles, professional books, online sources, and
specialized references.
It surveys scholarly articles, books and
other sources (e.g. dissertations, conference
proceedings) relevant to a particular issue, area of
research, or theory, providing a description,
summary, and critical evaluation of each work. The
purpose of a literature review is to offer an overview
of significant literature published on a topic.
USES AND PURPOSES OF A LITERATURE
REVIEW
A literature review may constitute an
essential chapter of a thesis or dissertation, or may
be a self-contained review of writings on a subject
(such as a journal article). In either case, its
purpose is to:
 Place each work in the context of its
contribution to the understanding of the
subject under review.
 Describe the relationship of each work to
the others under consideration
 Identify new ways to interpret, and shed
light on any gaps in, previous research
 Resolve conflicts amongst seemingly
contradictory previous studies
 Identify areas of prior scholarship to prevent
duplication of effort
 Point the way forward for further research
 Place one's original work (in the case of
theses or dissertations) in the context of
existing literature
 The literature review itself, however, does
not present new primary scholarship or
findings
GOALS OF LITERATURE REVIEWS
1. Theory development: the literature review is
used to provide the context for describing,
elaborating, and evaluating a new theory or
developing a theory by integrating the
material reviewed.
2. Theory evaluation: the existing literature
provides the data for assessing the merits of
existing conceptualizations.
3. Survey of the state of knowledge on a
particular topic: provides a useful overview
and integration of an area.
4. Problem identification: the review reveals
problems, weaknesses, contradictions or
controversies in a particular area.
5. Historical account: a review of the
development of theory and research in an
area.
Adapted from Baumeister, R.F., and M.R. Leary
(1997). Writing Narrative Literature Reviews.
Review of General Psychology, 1(3):311-320.
Stages in writing the Literature Review:
1. Searching for works relevant to the study.
2. Analyzing scholarly works.
3. Drafting the literature review.
LITERATURE SEARCH
is the stage in which the researcher
systematically looks for and select reference
materials relevant to the study. It is necessary to
survey all possible sources of references,
especially those that were written by the leading
scholars in yours field of study.
In assessing each piece, consideration should be
given to:
 Provenance: What are the author's
credentials and where is it published? Are
the author's arguments supported by
evidence (e.g. primary historical material,
case studies, narratives, statistics, recent
scientific findings)? Is the piece published in
a reputable source (e.g., peer reviewed
journal, unknown journal source, popular
press)?
 Objectivity: Is the author's perspective even-
handed or prejudicial? Is contrary data
considered or is certain pertinent
information ignored to prove the author's
point?
 Persuasiveness: Which of the author's
theses and/or data are most/least
convincing.
 Value: Are the author's arguments and
conclusions convincing? Does the work
ultimately contribute in any significant way
to an understanding of the subject?
Points to remember in conducting your literature
search:
1. Identify the topics and concepts that you
need to incorporate into your paper. Your
research title and specific research question
and objective can be a good source of these
topic or concepts.
2. Specify the type of sources that you will
use. Will they be mainly articles or a
combination of articles, books, and other
periodicals?
3. Search for scholarly work by visiting your
school library or popular online databases.
These include the following:
> Proquest > Springer
> Science Direct > Wiley
> JSTOR > Taylor and Francis
> EBSCO > Sage Publications
> Google Scholar
As much as possible, include only the references
published in reputable journals and publisher and
those written by experts who specialize in your
selected topic. Include also the landmark studies,
articles, reports, or books related to your topic.
4. Use relevant key words to find your desired
sources
Example: Effects of Online Games on the Digital
Literacy of Teenagers
Keywords: Online Games, Digital Literacy
 5. When conducting literature search online,
use links that are considered reliable.
Examples are websites that end in .gov,
.mil, and .edu. Although .com and .org are
acceptable, they must be associated with
recognized companies and organizations.
Examples are: www.un.org (United
Nations), www.unesco.org (UNESCO),
www.edition.cnn.com (CNN), and
www.rd.com (Reader’s Digest).
6. You may utilize Boolean searching
strategies in conducting literature search
online. It uses certain keywords to limit and
focus one’s online search of certain topic.
Examples:
a. Use AND if you want to search for
profiles or texts that contain the terms
connected by AND. (e.g. university AND
colleges)
b. Use OR if you want to search for profiles
or texts that contain either of the terms
connected by OR (e.g. university OR
colleges)
c. Use NOT if you want to exclude a
particular term in your search (e.g.
university NOT colleges)
d. Use quotation marks if you want to
search for a specific phrase (e.g. “Top
Philippine universities”)
Lesson 3B
CITING SOURCES
Documenting your sources is a crucial skill
in producing any academic work, including
research writing. Your ability to site sources shows
your credibility, intellectual honesty, and skills in
reporting other’s work.
As a writer you must cite facts and figures,
original ideas of other researchers, and other
people’s exact words. If you fail to do this, you can
be accused of plagiarism and other forms of
academic dishonesty. In addition, citing your
sources provides evidence for your claims and a
trail from which other researchers can use to
identify their possible sources relevant to the topic
you studied.
2 Forms:
I. In-text citation, which requires the
researcher to indicate the source of the
information within the body of the text. The
citation usually includes the last name of the
author and the year the source was
published.
Three of the most popular documentation styles:
a. American Psychological Association (APA
Style) – used in business, economics,
education, hotel and restaurant
management, and other fields of social
sciences.
b. Modern Language Association (MLA) Style -
English and some fields in the humanities
and arts.
c. Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) – various
disciplines, but most popularly used in
history and music.
Examples:
1. APA
This phenomenon was attributed by some
scholars to high achieving students’ tendency
to be realistic (Falchikov & Boud, 1989)
 When incorporating direct quotations in the
text, the page number of the source where
the direct statement must also be cited.
(Falchikov & Boud, 1989, p. 415)
2. MLA
This phenomenon was attributed by some
scholars to high achieving students’ tendency to be
realistic (Falchikov and Boud 415)
3. CMOS
This phenomenon was attributed by some
scholars to high achieving students’ tendency to be
realistic (Falchikov and Boud 1989, 415)
II. Reference Citation, which refers to the
complete bibliographic information of the
reference used. Reference citation usually
appears at the end of the paper. The
compilation of these references is known as
the reference list.
1. APA Style
Falchikov, N. & Boud, D. (1989). Student
self-assessment in higher education: A meta-
analysis. Review of Educational Research, 59
(4), 395-430.
2. MLA Style
Falchikov, Nancy, and David Boud. “Student
Self-assessment in Higher Education: A Meta-
Analysis.” Review of Educational Research, vol. 59,
no. 4, 1989, pp. 395-430.
3. CMOS
Falchikov, Nancy and David Boud. “Student
Self-assessment in Higher Education: A Meta-
analysis.” Review of Educational Research 59, no.
4 (1989): 395-430
In text citations and reference citations always go
together. This means that every time you cite a
source within a text, the same source should
appear in the reference list with its complete
bibliographic information. Be sure that both these
forms use a consistent style.
Lesson 3C
EVALUATION AND ANALYSIS OF THE
SELECTED WORKS
The stage is performed once you have
selected all your potential references. In this stage,
you further screen the selected references for
reliability and usefulness. This stage also further
ensures that the materials you will use in your
paper are only those that are closely related to your
research topic. The following are strategies you can
use evaluating and analyzing your selected
references:
1. Obtain an overview of the reference you
selected. This helps you determine the relevance of
its content to your research. For example, for
research articles, you may perform in a brief survey
by reading the abstract of each article; for books,
you may look into the preface to see their summary
and find out the authors intention in writing it.
2. When evaluating research articles, find out
if they are published by a reputable publisher/
journal and written by legitimate scholars in your
field of study. You may refer to the Thomson
Reuters Master Journal [http;// ip - which explains concepts relevant to your study, and
science.thomsonreuters.com/mjl/] or Scopus
Source List
[https;//www.elsevier.com/solutions/scopus/content]
for the list of reputable research journals.
3. As much as possible, refrain from using
references published by predatory journals or
publishers as they do not guarantee quality.
Predatory publishers and journals are those that
publish research papers for financial gain and do
not follow the ethics in producing an academic
work.
4. Refrain from using materials that do not
directly explain the concepts related to your study.
5. As much as possible, use references that
have been published within the last five years
,unless you are writing a historical paper, which
may entail the use of sources from earlier periods
of time.
6. Group the references according to the
categories you used during your literature search
.You may use online tools [e.g. Zotero] in tagging
[or labeling] and classifying these references.
7. If a material appears to be relevant to your
topic, [ i.e., published in the last five years], and
reliable, continue reading its content. However, if
material does not meet these standards, exclude it
from your literature review.
8. Carefully read each of the materials you will
incorporate into your literature review. Note down
the key information in these materials. Determine
which information you can include in your literature
review.
9. Use a concept map if you want to see the
relationship, similarities, and differences among the
materials you have read.
Lesson 3D
DRAFTING THE LITERATURE REVIEW
It is in this stage where you actually write your
literature review. In drafting your review, you need
to consider how you are going to arrange the works
you will cite. You also need to consider how these
works will be linked to one another, to better
provide an overview of the topic you are studying in
your research.
1. One strategy that you may use in writing
your literature review is to get a model paper that
deals with a topic similar to yours. You may pattern
the sequence of your ideas in your model paper.
2. In the introductory portion, provide an
overview of what can be found in your literature
review.
Refer to the following example:
This section contains literature and studies on
acquisition-learning integration, the biological basis
behind the separation of the learning acquisition,
comprehensible input, grammar, affective factor,
and communicative competence. These materials
were gathered from books on language teaching,
psychology and curriculum development, journals
and other periodicals, theses and dissertation,
online sources, and other unpublished materials.
These materials provided the researcher with an
exhaustive review of the topic and the essential
background knowledge to pursue this study.
3. Divide the literature review into two
subsections: (a) the conceptual literature section
(b) the related studies section which presents
studies similar to your own.
4. When writing the conceptual literature, you
may use concepts from the title of the reference or
the specific questions and objectives of your
research. For the related studies you may arrange
them in three ways: by them (i.e., similar studies
are grouped together), by chronology (i.e., from the
earliest to the latest), or by type (foreign or local
studies). These three ways of writing the related
studies section depend on the objectives and
features of your review.
A. Thematic arrangement- if your intention is to
make the readers focus on how your study is
similar to or different from the previous ones.
B. Chronological arrangement- If you want to
emphasize the development and progress in a
specific field of study.
C. Typological arrangement- if there are
sufficient studies conducted locally about the topic
of your research.
5. At the end of the related studies section,
write a synthesis that shows the research gap.
6. Define important terms in your study. Aside
from the informal or formal ways, definitions can be
made operationally or conceptually. An operational
definition is a type of definition specially made for
your study, while a conceptual definition is the
definition of a term which is generally used in a
specific discipline. This definition is often times
used by scholars. Citations are often required when
using conceptual definitions.
7. If you cannot explain some concept in detail
due to space constraints, you may direct the
readers to a particular scholarly work that
discusses the said topic more extensively. This is
done by using the following citation format (see
author, year).
8. Use cohesive devices throughout the
literature review to link one idea to another.
Examples of cohesive devices are transitional
devices, conjunction, pronouns and repetition of
terms for referencing ideas.
9. Use headings and subheadings. This will
help you organize the studies and references you
have gathered. This will also aid the reader in
making sense of the ideas and related studies to
your research.
10. Be sure to apply the principle of
cohesiveness when writing your literature review.
This means that each paragraph should focus only
on one main idea, and these ideas should be linked
to one another.
11. Use direct quotation sparingly. Direct
quotation is typically use when stating laws and
principles and when explicitly showing an author’s
intention. You can also use direct quotation if you
think that it is the best to present the ideas of
certain historical figures and experts in you field.
12. Write a brief synthesis at the end of the
literature review to show how these scholarly works
shape your paper, and to further reinforce the
research gap that this studies have yet to fill.
13. Survey all possible sources before claiming
that no studies have been conducted on a
particular topic or saying that your topic is
underexplored.
14. Cite your sources. Use appropriate
documentation and citation style in your literature
review. Three of the most popular used
documentations styles are from the American
Psychological association ( APA) style, the modern
language Association (MLA) style, and the Chicago
manual of style (CMOS). The documentation and
citation style you will use depends on the subject
matter of your research. Be consistent in using it
when documenting sources and writing your
literature review. Documentation style will be
discussed in detail later in the lesson.
Important skills in drafting the Literature Review
There are two skills that are particularly important in
drafting the literature review. The first is
synthesizing. This skill involves the review of
several references that task about the same
subjects and consolidating them into one cohesive
text.
Synthesizing can be done at micro and macro
levels. Microlevel synthesis involves the
consolidation of ideas to explain a concept. To
effectively perform microlevel synthesis you may
follow these strategies:
1. Look into and take note of related ideas in the
materials you are examining.
2. Cluster the ideas shared among the materials,
determine those that are distinct, and put them
in a separate list.
3. Decide on how you will arrange the ideas.
Discuss first the common ideas to give a
general overview of the topic. Then, present the
distinct ideas and relate them to your study.
4. Use multiple citations if one idea can be found
in several sources.
5. Insert the corresponding citations while writing
the synthesis.
Macrolevel synthesis, on the other hand, is
performed when several studies are consolidated to
establish a research gap and not just to explain a
concept. It also involves drawing conclusions based
on the similarities and differences of the reviewed
references and studies. This type of synthesis does
not only involve the description of certain aspects in
these materials such as the methods and
conclusions generated. It also relates the various
issues and topics in these materials to one another,
highlights how these can be used in your paper.
Here are some strategies that you can use in
synthesizing your references:
1. Note any similarities and differences across
your references that are relevant to your paper.
2. Take note of issues that were not addressed by
your references.
3. Arranged the related studies and references
logically; this can be done either thematically or
chronologically.
4. Draw conclusions about the materials in order
to highlight their importance.
Note-taking is another skill that you can
particularly use in drafting the literature review as
well as in the other stages of the research
undertaking. It involves writing information from a
source text and integrating this information into
your current study. Two of the most common forms
of note-taking in writing academic works are
summarizing and paraphrasing.
Summarizing is a form of note-taking that involves
condensing a lengthy piece of source material. It
can be done in two ways: an outline or a non-
outline form. Though effective summarizing, you
can improve your skills in studying, writing and
reading, as well as establish your credibility as a
researcher.
Paraphrasing is a form of note-taking that involves
rewording ideas from the original text in a more
detailed way. Since paraphrasing focuses on the
details and not only on the main idea, the length of
a paraphrased text is almost the same as that of
the original text. Paraphrasing is typically done to
simplify a complex text. Below are the strategies
you can use for effective paraphrasing.
1. Read the passage thoroughly and
comprehend it fully.
2. Highlight the relevant words and phrases in
the passage and retain them in your
paraphrased text. However, you need to
present these words and phrases in a
different manner.
3. You may also annotate the text if needed to
help you make sense of details from the
original text in your own way.
4. Refrain from constantly looking at the
original text when paraphrasing. Doing so
may tempt you to copy the exact words from
the text.
5. When paraphrasing text at the word level,
use a synonym that fits the text. Rephrased
the words that can be changed (i.e.,
common terms) and retain those that cannot
be changed (i.e., proper terms)
6. When paraphrasing text at the sentence
level, transform an active sentence into
passive or vice versa, and transform a
complex sentence into simple sentence or
vice versa. This will further ensure that the
content from the original text is expressed in
a different way.
7. Retain the tone of the original text.
8. Compare the paraphrased text with the
original text to ensure accuracy.
9. Properly cite the source of the text you
paraphrased.
Lesson 3E
ETHICAL STANDARDS IN WRITING THE
LITERATURE REVIEW
Writing the literature review does not only
entail naming your sources and mentioning the
ideas that they contain. Writing the literature review
requires honesty, objectivity and other ethical
principles observed in scholarly work. The following
are ways to observe ethical standards in writing
your literature review and your research as a
whole:
1. Report the findings in your cited studies
objectively. Refrain from distorting the
findings of other research works.
 2. Avoid injecting editorial comments or
manipulating the ideas in a certain study
just to make it support your own claims.
3. Always cite your sources as a way of
acknowledging the studies relevant to your
own and practicing intellectual honesty.
4. Refrain from fabricating information or
making up data and reporting them as
actual data from a certain research work.
5. Avoid plagiarism.
Plagiarism refers to using ideas and information
created by other people but without attribution to
them. There are different levels of plagiarism which
may vary from one institution to another. The
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
(IEEE) in New Jersey recognizes five levels of
plagiarism:
 Level 1 is the gravest level of plagiarism. It
involves copying a full paper word for word,
without acknowledging the source.
 Level 2 involves lifting a large portion of a
research work (up to 50%) without citing its
source.
 Level 3 involves copying specific portions of
another work without citing it. These portions
may include sentences or paragraphs.
 Level 4 involves not only the failure to cite
another work used in a certain study but also
the failure to correctly paraphrase the
portions of this used work.
 Level 5 is the lowest level of plagiarism. It
involves citing a certain source and copying
heavily from it.
The penalties against plagiarism may vary
among countries or institutions. Plagiarism
sanctions may range from oral warnings to
suspensions. In some cases, however,
committing plagiarism may result in a student's
expulsion from an academic institution
Below are some ways by which plagiarism may
be avoided:
1. Keep track of all your print and non-print
sources. Always file and label the sources
you have gathered. Being unable to keep
track of your references might lead to the
failure of citing certain vital information to
your research.
2. Understand the context in which your
sources were written. Clearly understand
what the points of your sources actually
mean, as this can affect how you
paraphrase them.
3. Jot down the ideas and important details
from your sources. Through this you are
able to make sense of your sources in your
own way. Avoid copying them word-for-
word. You can take your notes either
manually or electronically. You may keep
these notes for future use as well.
4. Refrain from the practice of copy-and-paste.
Paraphrase and summarize sources
carefully and acknowledge them. This
applies in all stages of writing your research
paper.
5. Always cite field-specific knowledge. These
are pieces of information that can only be
found within a particular field of study.
Lesson 3F
THEORETICAL AND CONCEPTUAL
FRAMEWORKS
Theoretical Framework- a general frame of
reference used for observation, designing
concepts, developing research designs, and
interpreting and generalizing findings.
Conceptual Framework- system of ideas, beliefs
and assumptions, and theories that inform, support
and cater specifically to your study.
Together, they function as a map or travel plan that
will help you travel in an unfamiliar territory. In other
words, the theoretical and conceptual framework
help navigate through the understanding of your
research.
It may be presented in two forms:
1. Visual form-characterized by the use of
diagrams and charts.
2. Narrative form-characterized by the use of
paragraphs that explain visual
representation of the framework.
Similarities:
1. Both of them provide a comprehensive
explanation of a phenomenon.
2. They provide a theory that underpins your
study.
3. They help justify the methods you will use
and assumptions that you will make in your
research.
4. They help you refine your objectives,
develop relevant research questions,
choose appropriate methods, and identify
possible threats to validity.
5. They guide you in exploring and interpreting
your data to arrive at you desired results.
Because of these similarities, they are sometimes
used interchangeably.
Differences:
1. The theoretical framework is broader in
scope and derived from theories that are
already used in the field while the
conceptual framework is narrower in scope
and uses specific concepts which are
identified from the study itself.
2. The theoretical framework presents one
theory at a time while the conceptual
framework may synthesize one or more
theories.
Summary of their differences:
Theoretical Conceptual
Framework Framework
Scope Broader, and More focused as
can be used in it directly relates
different studies to a specific
study
Focus of A particular A set of related
Content theory concepts that will
be specifically
used in the study
Number of Contains onlyMay combine 2 Types:
Theories one theory in different theories 1. Null Hypothesis (Ho)-states that there is no
one framework into one relationship between variables. In
cohesive correlational studies, it merely states that
framework the relationship is absent. In experimental,
Time of Already existing Developed while quasi-experimental and ex post facto
Development prior to the planning and studies, it states that the independent
conduct of the writing a specific variable has no effect on the dependent
study research variable.
2. Alternative Hypothesis (Ha)-states that there
Guidelines for Selecting the Theoretical Framework is a relationship between variables. In
1. Understand the variables included in your correlational studies, it merely expresses
study as well as their relationship with each the existence of a relationship. Meanwhile,
other. in experimental, quasi-experimental and ex
2. Review the existing literature related to your post facto studies, it states that the
research. independent variable has an effect on the
3. Using the information that you have dependent variable.
gathered from the literature, look for A hypothesis can have direction. The direction of a
possible theories that may potentially hypothesis points out if the variables have a
account for the expected results in your negative or positive relationship with each other. If
research topic. the hypothesis explicitly suggests a positive or
4. From these theories, select the one that is negative relationship between two variables, it is
most relevant to your study and can provide called a directional hypothesis. On the other hand,
a blueprint for your research. if the variable does not specify a specific direction,
Strategies for Developing a Conceptual Framework it is called a non-directional hypothesis. Consider
1. Identify the key concepts in your study by the example:
referring to your research questions and Research Type Research Null Hypothesis Alternative Hypothesis
objectives. Title Directional Non- Directional Non-
2. Search for existing theories that incorporate Directional Directional
Correlational The There is no There is no There is a There is a
the same concepts and look into their relationshi positive relationship positive relationship
relationships with one another. p between relationship between a relationship between a
a person’s between a person’s between a person’s
3. Using the existing theories as a guide, plot weight person’s weight and person’s weight and
your conceptual framework as a guide. and the weight and the length of weight and the length of
length the length of time spent in the length of time spent in
4. In the case that there are concepts not of time time spent in watching TV. time spent in watching TV.
covered by the selected theories, spent watching TV. watching TV.
watching
incorporate them into your framework. TV.
However, make sure that you are Experimental, The effects Group Study Group Study Group Study Group Study
quasi- of group will not will not will improve will affect
incorporating this concept into your experimental, study on improve the affect the the academic the academic
framework because it is necessary for your or ex post academic academic academic performance performance
facto performan performance performance of high of high
paper. ce of of high of high school school
5. After completing the initial draft of your students. school school students. students.
students. students.
conceptual framework, write a narrative
explanation of each concept and how each
of them relates to one another. Again, there
should be a basis for the relationship When formulating hypothesis, follow the guidelines
between the concepts being incorporated. below:
6. Refer once again to your to your research 1. Identify the independent and dependent
questions. Check if the conceptual variables in your study, as they need to be
framework is aligned with them. stated your hypothesis.
7. Note that the process of creating a 2. Your hypothesis must be falsifiable. This
conceptual framework is developmental. means that your hypothesis can be proven
This means that it may still be refined or wrong through experiments or empirical
changed as you read more literature and data.
look into more theories. 3. You hypothesis must show a relationship
8. In some cases, the research hypotheses between variables. Will your dependent
are presented at the end of the conceptual variable increase, improve or decrease with
framework. the dependent variable?

Lesson 3H
FORMULATING THE RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS
Hypothesis-is a statement that defines the testable
relationship you expect to see from examining the
variables in your research. It helps you make
statements predicting what will happen in your
research. Hypothesis formulation is employed when
conducting correlational, ex post facto, quasi-
experimental and experimental studies.
Lesson 3I
WRITING DEFINITION OF TERMS
usually an annex to a work (book, research paper,
pamphlet, etc.) either at the beginning or more
likely near the end with a list of acronyms, jargon,
credits, etc. This is an important part of Research
paper or report is that in which the key or important
terms in the study are clearly defined.
Types: 5. Definitions should a\be brief, clear, and
1. CONCEPTUAL unequivocal as possible.
- is the universal meaning that is attributed
to a word or group of words and which is
understood by many people.
- abstract and most general in nature. The
usual source of conceptual definition is the
DICTIONARY which is the reference book of
everyday language.
2. OPERATIONAL
- is the meaning of the concept or term as
used in a particular study. Unlike the conceptual
definition, it is stated in concrete term in that it
allows measurement.

It is important to include definition of terms in your

thesis or dissertation in order to understand the key
terms being used in the study. These terms should
be clearly defined according how they are used in
the study in order to make easy understanding of
the problem and avoid ambiguous meaning to
terms which can be otherwise interpreted in
different ways.
Terms defined should be arranged in
alphabetical order and acronyms should always
spell out fully most specially if it is used for the first
time and not commonly known
Make sure to define though common may
have special meaning or used differently.
Complicated and lengthy definition should be
included in your appendix.

Guidelines in defining terms:

1. Only terms, words, or phrases which have

special or unique meanings in the study are
defined. For instance, the term non-teaching
facilities may be used in the study of the teaching of
science. Non-teaching facilities may be defined as
facilities needed by the students and teachers but
are not used to explain the lesson or to make
instructions clearer. Examples are toilets or comfort
rooms, electric fans, rest rooms or lounges, and the
like. They may also be called non- instructional
facilities.

2. Terms should be defined operationally, that is

how they are used in the study. For instance, a
study is made about early marriage. What is meant
by early marriage? To make the meaning clear,
early marriage may be defined as one in which the
contracting parties are both below eighteen years
of age.

3. The researcher may develop his own definition

from the characteristics of the term defined. Thus, a
house of light materials may be defined as one with
bamboo or small wooden posts, nipa, buri, or nipa
walls; split bamboo floor and cogon or nipa roof.
This is also an operational definition.

4. Definitions may be taken from encyclopedias,

books, magazines and newspaper articles,
dictionaries, and other publications but the
researcher must acknowledge his sources.
Definitions taken from published materials are
called conceptual or theoretical definitions.