PRACTICAL RESEARCH 1

PRESENTATION
STATEMENT OF THE
PROBLEM AND RESEARCH
QUESTION
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
After the investigator has clarified the
rationale, identify the degree of seriousness of
the problem, provided the literature review,
and set the overall objective, the formulation
of the heart of the thesis—that statement of the
general and specific problem– must be done .
The opening paragraph of this section contains
the general problem of the study.
Writing the General Problem in a
Qualitative Study
In the book Principles of Qualitative Research: Designing a
Qualitative Study , Creswell and Clark (2014) provide the following
criteria in writing the purpose statement:
1. It should use single and not compound sentences.
2. It should clearly express the purpose of the study.
3. It should include the central phenomenon .
4. It should use qualitative words , e.g. , explore , discover , and
explain.
5. It should identify the participants in the study .
6. It should state the research site .
A sample pattern for the purpose statement is provided
below:
The purpose of this (narrative, phenomenological ,
grounded theory , ethnographic , case) is to
(understand , describe , develop , discover) the
(central phenomenon of the study) for (the
participants) at (the site) . At this stage in the
research , the (central phenomenon) will be
generally defined as (a general definition of the
central concept) (Creswell and Clark,2014).
 
 Below are some examples of a general problem.

Example 2:
The objective of this ethnographic study is to
differentiate the customs and traditions of the Aetas
and the locals of Zambales enrolled in Olongapo
National City High School for the school year 2014 to
2015 . In this research , the customs and traditions
are defined as their practices in the celebration of
feasts.
 Below are some examples of a general problem:

Example 1:
The overall objective of this phenomenological study is to
describe the intrapersonal and interpersonal competencies of
school principals, and their relationship to the school
effectiveness in the Division of Bataan for the school year 2001-
2002 . The result is used as a basis for an intervention program
(Cristobal, 2003). Here , intrapersonal is the school managers'
own self-concept and personality while interpersonal is their
communication expressions in dealing with subordinates.
 Below are some examples of a general problem.

Example 3:
The objective of this grounded theory study is to
characterize the general study habits of the high school
students that belong to the top 10 of the class. The
study habits are concentrated on the students
preparation before attending classes daily.
The general problem is followed by an enumeration of
the specific problems. These problems are usually
stated as questions that the researcher seeks to
answer. Therefore, the specific problems must meet
the following criteria:

1. They must be in question form.

2. They must define the population in the samples of

the studies (respondents).

3. They must identify the variables being studied.

According to Creswell and Clark (2014), there are
two types of research questions. These are as
follows:

1. Central questions—These are the most general

questions that can be asked.

2. Sub-questions— these questions subdivide the

central questions into more specific topical
questions and are only limited in number.
Creswell and Clark (2014) also provide some guidelines in
formulating the research question:
 
1. The question should begin with the words such as "how" or
"what".
2. The readers should be informed of the information that will be
discovered, generated, explored, identified, or described in the
study.
3. The question "What happened?" Should be asked to help craft
the description.
4. The question "What was the meaning to people of what
happened?" should be asked to understand the results.
5. The question "What happened over time?" should be asked to
explore the process.
In addition, Creswell and Clark (2004) also provide the following scripts as a
guide in designing qualitative central and sub questions:

1. Central question script

a. "What is the meaning of/what does it mean to ( central phenomenon )?“

Examples:
i. What is the meaning of interpersonal competencies?
ii. .What does it mean to differentiate the customs and traditions of Aetas to
those of the locals?
iii. What does it mean to characterize the study habits of the top 10 students of
the class ?
b. “How would (participants) describe (central phenomenon)?”

Examples:
i. How would school managers describe interpersonal competencies ?
ii. How would the Aetas and locals of Zambales differentiate their customs
and traditions?
iii. How would the top 10 high school students characterize their general
study habits?
2. Sub-question script

"What (aspect) does (participant) engaged in as a (central phenomena)?“

Examples:
a. What level of self-concept does the school managers engage in as a
characteristic of interpersonal competencies?
b. What nature of practices do the Aetas and locals of Zambales engage in
as a part of their customs and traditions?
c. What kind of preparation does the top 10 high school students engage in
as an indicator of their general study habits?
 
 
TYPES OF RESEARCH QUESTIONS
In general , there are two types of questions formulated in
research. These are follows:

1. Non-researchable questions — these are questions of

value and are answerable by yes or no.
Examples:

a. Should all mothers breastfeed their babies?

b. Should high school teachers be watchful over their Grade 7 students?
c. Should the schools offering different majors in senior high schools
require their
students to have a mandatory review before taking the National
Assessment Exam?
d. Do all head teachers have a master’s degree?
e. Are family members helping their children in reviewing their lessons?
 
2. Researchable questions —These are questions of opinions,
perceptions, or policy that
Are raised to accumulate data. Formulating a clear, significant
question prepares the
Researcher for subsequent decision-making on research design,
data collection, and data
Analysis.
Examples:

a. What are the common preparations done by Grade 7 students during

their first days
In school?
b. How do senior high school students respond to their Math teacher?
c. What are the study habits of students who are poorly performing?
d. What is the relationship of the attitudes of the adviser to the
classroom behavior of
Grade 9 students?
e. How do the officers of the Parent-Teacher Community Association
assist in the improvement of school facilities?
Dickoff et. Al (as cited by Wilson, 1989) provide further
classification to research questions.

These are as follows:

 
1. Factor-isolating questions – These ask the question “What
is this?” These questions are sometimes called factor-
naming questions because they isolate, categorize,
describe, or name the factors and situations.
Examples:

a. What is the profile of school principals in terms of the following?

 
i. Age
ii. Management experience
iii. Civil status
 
b. What are the levels of competencies of school principals as described by
their
Respective teachers and themselves in terms of the following?
iv. Intrapersonal
v. Interpersonal
2. Factor-relating questions – These ask the question “What is
happening here? The goal of these questions is to determine the
relationship among factors that have been identified.
Examples:

a.What is the relationship of the level of performance of

the senior high school teachers to the OJT performance
of the students enrolled in the business track of Saint Paul
School of Professional Studies?

b. How does the performance level of volleyball teams of

boys differ to that of the girls?
3. Situation-relating questions – These questions ask the
question “What will happen if..? These questions usually yield
hypotheses testing or experimental study designs in which the
researcher manipulates the variables to see what will happen.
Examples:

a. What are the effects of computer-learning assisted methods

of teaching to the interest
Level of the sophomores to their history subjects?

b. How significantly different is the performance of the call

center agents who are well rested than those who are not.
4. Situation-producing questions – These ask the question
“How can I make it happen? These questions establish explicit
goals for actions, develop plans or prescriptions to achieve
goals, and specify the conditions under which these goals will
be accomplished.
Examples:

a. Based on the findings, what human relation intervention

program can be adopted to enhance or improve effectiveness
of existing teaching methods?

b. faculty development activities can be sponsored by the

PTCA to improve the performance of good reading students in
the UP College Admission Test (UPCAT)?
 
CHAPTER SUMMARY
1.In writing a good qualitative general problem or central question,
the following

Criteria should be considered:

a. It should be written in a single sentence,
b. It should include the purpose of the study,
c. It should include the central phenomenon,
d. It should use qualitative words,
e. It should identify the participants in the study
f. It should specify the research site.
2.The general problem can be followed by specific problems
or sub-questions then.

Must satisfy the following criteria:

a. They must be in question form.

b. They should define the population and the samples of the
study (respondents).
c. They should identify the variables being studied.
 
3.Questions in qualitative research usually ask how or what
questions.

4.The two general types of research questions are

researchable and non-researchable question . These are
further classified into four (4) types: factor-isolating, factor-
relating, situation-relating, and situation-producing
questions.
 
THANK YOU..