LCCM INSTITUTIONAL

RESEARCH FORMAT
PARTS OF A RESEARCH PAPER

 Title Page
 Acceptance and Approval Sheet
 Acknowledgement
 Dedication
 Abstract
 Certificate of Originality
 Table of Contents
PARTS OF A RESEARCH PAPER

 List of Figures
 List of Tables
 List of Appendices
CHAPTER 1

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Background of the Study
Statement of the Problem
Hypothesis
Significance of the Study
Scope and Limitation
CHAPTER 2

REVIEW OF RELATED WORKS

Thematic Review
Synthesis
Theoretical Framework
Conceptual Framework/Conceptual
Paradigm
Definition of Terms
CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research Design
Research Locale
Participants
Sampling Technique
Research Instrument
Chapter 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Data Gathering Procedure
Method of Data Analysis
Chapter 4

DATA PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION

Chapter 5

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND

RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary
Conclusions
Recommendations
REFERENCES
APPENDICES
RESEARCHER PROFILE / RESUME
 MAJOR PARTS OF A RESEARCH PAPER

 CHAPTER 1: THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

This section gives background information about the
paper. Necessary and relevant information leads to
doing the paper is given. It may justify the choice of the
research topic. It can explain why there is an identified
and perceived need to do this topic.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
This is the part of the paper where the issue or concern
that the researcher intends to find solution is stated. It
should be clear and brief. It consists of two parts, namely,
the general problem consisting the title of the paper
stated in declarative form, and specific problems or
supporting questions that will shed light to the problem,
stated in interrogative form.
HYPOTHESIS
This is the tentative answer (educated guess) to the
research questions. It shows the relationship or
difference between or among variables. Results of the
statistics will either accept or reject the stated
hypothesis. Level of significance should be stated
(usually α = 0.05 for behavioral research) and only the
null hypothesis is stated. In qualitative study, this part
may be omitted.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This refers to the value of the study, who will benefit
from it (population group, society, future researchers,
etc.) and to what extent, and to what will be its
contribution to the body of knowledge.
SCOPE AND LIMITATION
Scope is the coverage or extent of the study. It also
refers to the boundaries and depth of the study. The
specific aspect of the study should be identified.

Limitation is the perceived weakness of the study.

Common limitations include sampling deficiencies and
research design constraints.
 Chapter 2: REVIEW OF RELATED WORKS

THEMATIC REVIEW
This presents the researcher’s survey of literature,
studies and other resources that are relevant to the
study. The sources should be arranged thematically,
and not according to locale, or type of reviewed
materials. A title (theme) should be provided to classify
entries accordingly. Personal communications such as
interview, phone calls, and emails, as well as audio-
video materials are allowed.
Proper citation using American Psychological Association
(APA) format should be followed. Studies should not be
older than 10 years during the final defense.
SYNTHESIS
A summary emphasizing the relevance of the
literature to the current study; citing among others how
it is similar or different from a previous research.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Theoretical framework consists of theories, principles,
or models used as basis of the study or provided
legitimate basis for defining parameters of variables.
Borrowing theories from other fields (i.e., nursing thesis
borrowing theories from psychology or sociology) are
allowed for as long as they are applicable to the
present study.
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK / CONCEPTUAL PARADIGM
Conceptual framework is the schematic diagram
using arrows, lines, boxes, and other figures showing
the relationship of variables in the study. All variables
must be clearly discussed and explained.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
Key terms from the title and statement of the problem
used as variables should be included in this section.
They can be defined conceptually (dictionary or
universal definition) or operationally (how the term is
being used in the study) which may deviate from
standard definition. They should be arranged
alphabetically and incomplete sentence.
 Chapter 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

RESEARCH DESIGN
Major research design are qualitative (phenomeno-
logical, historical, ethnography, grounded theory, and
case study), quantitative, and mixed method. Other
research designs include experimental and non-
experimental and non-experimental. The choice of
research design should be explained.
RESEARCH LOCALE
This is the setting or where the study was conducted.
The locale should be described in terms of physical
appearance, landmarks, and historical significance. If
the study was done in a particular agency, the vision,
mission, brief history, and information about the
agency should be provided. Reasons why the study
was conducted in the locale should be provided.
PARTICIPANTS
Participants are the subject or respondents (for
quantitative research) or informants (qualitative
research) of the study. Inclusion or exclusion criteria in
the selection of the participants should be stated. In
final defense, response and attrition rate should be
included. Large attrition rate (more than 30%) should
be explained.
SAMPLING TECHNIQUE
The process of selecting participants of the study
(sample) from the population is referred to as the
sampling technique. Sampling unit (e.g., human,
animals, records, etc.) should be identified; the number
of population, sampling error, and formula used (e.g.,
Slovin’s) in determining sample size should be
explained. Sample size should be based on computed
value and not rough estimate. Universal or
population sampling is recommended if population
size is below 30. Qualitative research can have only
one to three informants. Selected sampling
techniques should be justified in terms of
appropriateness for the study.
RESEARCH INSTRUMENT
This refers to the tool or questionnaire used in data
gathering. Both adopted and researcher-made instruments
are allowed.
If the instrument is adopted, permission from the author
should be secured and the reply of the author should be
included in the Appendix. Adopted questionnaire cannot be
modified without permission from the author. Once modified,
it should be subjected to reliability test using Cronbach alpha
or similar statistical tools.
 The following should be included in this section: brief
description of the questionnaire (what it will measure); how
the questionnaire was developed; parts of the
questionnaire, how to answer it, and how the answers of
the respondents will be interpreted; who will validate it,
what type of validation was done and the qualifications of
the validators; how it was pilot tested and what is the result
of the pilot test (reliability).
DATA GATHERING PROCEDURE
Steps in data gathering procedure should be well
documented from securing of permits to conduct the study
up to data collection and data organizing. In
administrative clearance, how the clearance was secured
and who approved it and what office should be indicated.
In data collection, where and when the questionnaires
were distributed and collected should be described. When
interview was done, the process should also be described
in detail.
METHOD OF DATA ANALYSIS
Indicate the statistical tools used in the study. It
should be presented based on the statement of the
problem. The statistical tool should be explained and
what it will do to answer the problem. Formula may be
omitted. Do not include statistical tools used in
sampling technique and in reliability testing of
questionnaire.
 Chapter 4: DATA PRESENTATION AND
DISCUSSION

Data presentation will follow the sequence of the

statement of the problem. Data can be presented in
tables and graphs with accompanying interpretation,
analysis and discussion. If figure is used, no need to
present the table or vice versa. Findings should be tied
up with the relevant literature. Cite the similarities,
differences or uniqueness of the results with the work of
others. Present the result in empirical form, do not
express opinion or reaction to the data.
 Report also the limitation of the study that might
have affected the results and have limited the
generalizability of the findings.
Findings are written in past tense because data have
already been gathered and analyzed before the
writing of the report.
Use APA format for table and figure presentation.
 CHAPTER 5: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, AND
RECOMMENDATIONS

SUMMARY
Summary is result or data (number or figures) only
based on statement of the problem and presentation
of data. No narratives should be included. Summary
also includes brief and concise statements of the main
purpose and specific problems of the study, the
significance of the study, the method of research
used, the respondents, the research instruments and
sampling technique.
CONCLUSIONS
Conclusion is the researcher’s judgement on the data
collected. It is the final answer to the research questions,
hypothesis, or whether the theoretical framework was
supported or not.
The sample size and population size from which the
sample was drawn must be taken into consideration when
making generalization. The words “appear” or “seems”
may be used if conclusion is to be generalized to other
settings or situations.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Recommendation is the possible suggestion or
application of the findings and its relevance in the real
world. It contains the “shoulds” that resulted in the
study. It also states whether the current practices,
beliefs, or assumptions are congruent with the results.
It can also suggest to further verify the results of the
study and to consider in the new study of the same
topic the limitations identified in the current study.
 GENERAL GUIDELINES

APPEARANCE
The manuscript must be computerized, neat in
appearance, and without error. Strikeovers, hand-written
corrections, or alterations are not accepted. Printing of
the research report should be in letter/laser quality with
dark black characters that are consistently clear and
dense. The manuscript should be printed on one side
only of each page. Reproduced copies are acceptable
only if high quality photocopying is used.
PAPER
Official LCCM paper with appropriate border and
logo must be used. Refer to LCCM Research Paper
Stationary Format.
MANUSCRIPT STRUCTURE
The following formats should be followed to ensure
consistency of the final paper.
Margins
Top 1.0” Right 1.0”
Bottom 1.0” Header 0.5”
Left 1.5” Footer 0.5”
Page Number
Position Top of page
Alignment Right
Show first page Off

Font
Type Times New Roman or Arial
Size 12 points (for letter and questionnaires and other
parts of the manuscript requiring more text per line,
use smaller size)
Paragraph
Alignment Justified or Left
Special First line, Indent, 0.5’
Before 0 point
After 0 point
Line Spacing Double
Headings and Subheadings
Level Format
1 Centered, Bold, All Caps
2 Left-aligned, Bold, Upper and Lowercase
3 Indented, bold, lowercase with period. Begin text
right after period.
4 Indented, bold, italics, lowercase with period.
Begin text right after the period.
5 Indented, italics, lowercase with period. Begin
text right after the period.
REQUIRED NUMBERS (MINIMUM) FOR SHS

Review of Related Works: 20 – 50

Locale/s: 1 – 3
Samples – Quantitative: 30 – 50
Instrument Validators: 3 (including the adviser)
Data Analysis: Descriptive, Correlation, Difference
APPENDICES

 Letter Asking Permission from Author of Research

Instrument (for adopted questionnaire only)
 Letter Seeking Permission to conduct the Study
(signed)
 Letter to the Respondents (signed)
 Informed Consent (sample only)
 Research Instrument
 Validator Profile (signed)
APPENDICES

 Questionnaire Reliability Result (signed by statistician)

 Raw Data Tally (quantitative study only)
 Grouped Data Presentation (quantitative study only)
 Interview Codes with category (qualitative study only)
 Coding Structure (qualitative study only)