RESEA R C H S T R A T E G IE S :

UR O W N R ES EA R C H
PLANNING YO
N S, AND IM M ERSIO NS
INQUIRIES, INVESTIGATIO
R IE L M . A D EL A NT E
PASTOR A
TEACHER
 COMPONENTS OF A RESEARCH PROPOSAL
• A RESEARCH DESIGN IS IMPORTANT TO ENSURE THE SMOOTH FLOW OF THE RESEARCH
PROCESS. A WELL- PLANNED AND WELL- THOUGHT OUT RESEARCH DESIGN IS REFLECTED ON
THE QUALITY OF YOUR RESEARCH PROPOSAL. THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL IS A VERY IMPORTANT
ASPECT OF THE RESEARCH PROCESS REQUIRING LABORIOUS EFFORT.

• A STRONG PROPOSAL SHOULD BE PERSUASIVE ENOUGH TO EARN THE NOD OF GRANT

ORGANIZATIONS. THE APPLICATION FOR RESEARCH- FUNDING IS HIGHLY COMPETITIVE;
THEREFORE, PROPOSALS ARE EXPECTED TO BE OF HIGH QUALITY AND TO DEMONSTRATE
FEASIBILITY.
TIPS IN PREPARING A RESEARCH PROPOSAL
• POSE A WELL- FOUNDED RESEARCH QUESTION.
• IDENTIFY APPROPRIATE SUPPORTING/ FUNDING AGENCIES.
• DEMONSTRATE A MULTIDISCIPLINARY AND COLLABORATIVE APPROACH.
• PREPARE A HIGH- QUALITY WELL- WRITTEN PROPOSAL.
• ESTABLISH YOUR CREDENTIALS, QUALIFICATIONS, AND EXPERTISE, AND CREATE AN EXCELLENT RESEARCH TRACK RECORD.
• DRAFT A SOLID AND AN EFFECTIVE REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE TO DEMONSTRATE THAT YOUR PROPOSED STUDY IS
FEASIBLE.

• BE ACCOUNTABLE FOR EVERY ASPECT OF YOUR WORK

INTRODUCTION
• THE INTRODUCTION CONTAINS THE BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY, IT POTENTIAL SIGNIFICANCE OR
CONTRIBUTION TO EXISTING KNOWLEDGE, AND ITS SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS.

• A GOOD INTRODUCTION MUST PROVIDE ANSWERS TO THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

• 1. WHAT IS THE RESEARCH PROBLEM?
• 2. HOW IMPORTANT IS THE PROBLEM? WHAT IS THE POTENTIAL IMPACT OF BEING ABLE TO RESOLVE THE
PROBLEM?

• 3. HOW EXTENSIVE IS THE WORK DONE IN LINE WITH THE PURPOSE OF RESOLVING THIS PROBLEM?
• 4. WHAT ARE THE KEY ISSUES AND CONCERNS THAT ARE STILL UNANSWERED?
• 5. IS YOUR RESEARCH PROBLEM THE NEXT LOGICAL STEP? WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS AND THE
ANTICIPATED RESULTS FROM THIS PROPOSED STUDY?

• 6. WHAT PROBLEMS WOULD YOU LIKE TO RESOLVE?

• 7. WHAT WOULD BE THE SCOPE OF YOUR RESEARCH STUDY? (THIS GOES BACK TO TESTING THE
RESEARCH PROBLEM AND OBJECTIVES IF THEY MEET THE SMART CRITERIA.)

• 8. WHAT ARE THE LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY? HOW WILL THESE AFFECT ITS OUTCOME? ARE THE
LIMITATIONS REASONABLE ENOUGH IF YOU COMPARE THEM WITH THOSE OF OTHER STUDIES?

• 9. HOW DO YOU ADDRESS THE RESEARCH PROBLEM? (YOU MAY MENTION A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF
THE METHODS.)
 METHODOLOGY OR EXPERIMENTAL SECTION
• THIS GIVES DETAILS OF YOUR PLANNED RESEARCH APPROACH TO ADDRESS THE RESEARCH QUESTION.
EXPERIMENTATION IS UNDERTAKEN TO ESTABLISH CAUSE- EFFECT RELATIONSHIPS. THEREFORE, THERE ARE
INSTANCES THAT LABORATORY CONDITIONS MUST BE MODIFIED AND CONTROLLED TO CHECK THE
RELATIONSHIPS AMONG VARIABLES.

• VARIABLES- ARE FACTORS THAT CAN BE MANIPULATED AND MEASURED. THOSE CAN BE MANIPULATED AND
SUBJECTED TO EXPERIMENTS ARE CALLED INDEPENDENT VARIABLES, WHILE THOSE OBSERVED UPON THE
SUBJECTS AFTER THEY HAVE BEEN INFLUENCED BY INDEPENDENT VARIABLES ARE CALLED DEPENDENT VARIABLES.
SHOULD THERE BE A NEED A NEED FOR A SURVEY OR AN INTERVIEW, THEN THE INSTRUMENT MUST BE DRAFTED
AND WRITTEN UNDER THIS SECTION.
 REFERENCES
• A COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF REFERENCES IS HIGHLY IMPORTANT IN YOUR
PROPOSAL AS IT WILL STRENGTHEN YOUR ARGUMENT BY DEMONSTRATING
TRACEABILITY. REVIEWERS WILL BE ABLE TO CONFIRM THE RATIONALE FOR YOUR
RESEARCH QUESTION/ PROBLEM BECAUSE THEY CAN RETRIEVE SOME OF THE
PUBLISHED PAPERS THAT YOU HAVE USED AS YOUR REFERENCES. REFERENCES
MAY INCLUDE JOURNAL ARTICLES, MAGAZINES, BOOKS, A CHAPTER IN A BOOK,
TECHNICAL REPORTS, THESES, AND OTHER PUBLICATIONS.
 PROPOSED TITLE
• THE TITLE OF A RESEARCH PROPOSAL USUALLY COMPRISES 12 TO 15 WORDS. THE TITLE MUST BE
SUGGESTIVE OF THE PURPOSE OF THE PLANNED STUDY AND THE OVERALL GOAL OF THE INQUIRY. IT
SHOULD BE SPECIFIC AND SELF- EXPLANATORY. WHEN DEVELOPING A TITLE, YOU SHOULD USE WORDS
THAT DENOTE NOVELTY, INNOVATION, OR BREAKTHROUGH. DO NOT USE SUCH FLAT PHRASES AS “THE
STUDY OF…,” “THE EFFECT OF…,” AND “INVESTIGATION OF…,” AS THEY IMPLY WEAKNESS AND LACK OF
DEPTH.

• EXAMPLE OF TITLE AND STYLES OF WRITING REFERENCES:

SCIENCE DIRECT PUBLICATIONS
KARIMI, AZADEH, BROWN, GREG AND HOCKINGS, MARC. (2015) “METHODS AND PARTICIPATORY
APPROACHES FOR IDENTIFYING SOCIO- ECOLOGICAL HOTSPOTS, “APPLIED GEOGRAPHY 63, 9-20.
 BUDGET PROPOSAL
• A RESEARCH UNDERTAKING OR INQUIRY CAN BE COSTLY ESPECIALLY IF IT REQUIRES
EXPERIMENTATION. RESEARCH WORK INVOLVING REAL SITUATIONS WOULD THRIVE
ON FINANCIAL SUPPORT FROM RESEARCH AFFILIATED ORGANIZATIONS AND
GOVERNMENT AGENCIES (FOR INSTANCE, THE PHILIPPINES’ DEPARTMENT OF
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, TAIWAN’S MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY,
AUSTRALIA’S ENDEAVOR PROGRAM, USA’S NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION), AND
NONPROFIT, NONGOVERNMENT ORGANIZATIONS SUCH AS THE INTERNATIONAL
FOUNDATION FOR SCIENCE (IFS) AND THE ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT FOUNDATION.
SYMBOLS COMMONLY USED IN THE PREPARATION OF FLOWCHARTS
SYMBOL NAME UTILITY

OVAL / OBLONG SIGNIFIES START OR END OF PROCESS

DENOTES CONNECTION BETWEEN STEPS

ARROW REPRESENTED BY SYMBOLS

SIGNIFIES THAT DECISION HAS TO BE

DIAMOND MADE

PARALLELOGRAM INDICATES DATA (INPUT OR OUTPUT)

RECTANGLE SUGGESTS A PROCESS

 SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM
• ON THE OTHER HAND, SCHEMATIC DIAGRAMS ILLUSTRATE SPECIFIC
PROCEDURES OR METHODOLOGIES THAT MAY BE QUITE DIFFICULT TO VISUALIZE
MENTALLY. THE SCHEMATIC DIAGRAMS TEND TO SIMPLIFY AMBIGUOUS
PROCEDURAL STEPS IN THE METHODOLOGY. SYNTHETIC ROUTES OR SCHEMES
MAY BE REPRESENTED BY SCHEMATIC DIAGRAMS. TECHNICAL ILLUSTRATIONS
ALSO USE SYMBOLS TO SHOW THE COMPONENTS OF A SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM.
 SEAT WORK: TO BE SUBMITTED TODAY
• EVALUATE YOUR PERSONAL LIFE AND DAILY EXPERIENCES. THEN, DETERMINE WHICH
ASPECT OF YOUR PERSONAL LIFE WOULD MERIT IN- DEPTH RESOLUTION, THAT IS, A
GOAL, AN ISSUE, OR A CONCERN THAT CAN BE ADDRESSED OVER A CERTAIN PERIOD
OF TIME. REFLECT ON THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:
• 1. HOW DO YOU INTEND TO RESOLVE IT?
• 2. WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS AND APPROACHES TO ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS OR
OBJECTIVES IN LIFE?