IDENTIFYING THE INQUIRY &

STATING THE PROBLEM

MODULE 3
 01
The Subject
Matter of the
Research
Developing a good research topic may not be easy for you but it is an
important skill. Your teacher may assign you a particular topic but
often requires you to choose a topic that interests you .In this lesson
you are given the guidelines in choosing a topic when you begin your
research work. These pointers will guide you in selecting a good topic.
Other factors affecting in choosing and writing your research are
topics that need to be avoided this will help you focus clearly on your
subjects. Likewise the sources of information are important for you
to know where your research topic may come from.
 What is a Research Title

The most important element that

defines the research problem.
It is usually read first and the
most read part of the research.

It contains the least words . It can be revised any and many times
enough to describe the contents as the research develops and reach its
final phase. It becomes final on its
and the purpose of your research final defence before the panel of
paper. judges.
A part of a research title has the following information:

01 02
The subject matter or topic The place or locale where the research
to be investigated. (“What?”) is to be conducted. (“Where?”)

03 04
The population like the respondents’ The time period of the study during which
interviewees. (“Who”?) the data are to be collected. (“When”?)
 Example:

Subject matter: The teaching of English

Place or locale: in the high schools of Province A
Time period: during the school year 1989-1990
Population: as perceived by teachers and students
 Rules in Choosing a Research Topic

Interest in the subject matter. Availability of information.

Interest in a subject drives you to
Information will serve as evidence to
research, investigate, or inquire
support your claims about your
about it with full motivation,
subject matter from varied forms of
enthusiasm, and energy.
literature like books, journals, and
newspapers, among others, is a part
and parcel of any research work.
What to include in the investigation of the
available materials?
a. Update and authority of the materials.
b. Copyright dates of the materials? Are they new
or old?
c. Expert or qualification of the writers of
reading materials about your topic.
 Rules in Choosing a Research Topic

Timeliness and relevance of the topic. Limitations on the subject.

How relevant is the topic? Connect your choice with course
a. It yields results that are useful in society requirements. You need to decide
b. Related to the present. (Except for pure
or historical research)
on one topic to finish your course.
 Rules in Choosing a Research Topic

Personal resources
Do an assessment on your research abilities in terms of your financial
standing, health condition, mental capacity, needed facilities, and time
schedule to enable you to complete your research. You have to raise an
amount of money needed to spend on questionnaire printing and
interview trips.
Research Topics
to be avoided
 Research Topics to be avoided

Controversial topics. Highly technical subjects Hard-to-investigate

It depends more on the Not advisable for beginners as subjects
writer’s opinion leading to these topics require an Happens if there are no
biases. Facts cannot advanced study, technical available reading materials
support this topic. knowledge, and skills. about it and if such materials
are not up-to-date.
 Research Topics to be avoided

Too broad subjects. Too narrow subjects. Vague subjects

It prevents you from to focus Titles beginning with indefinite adjectives
Subjects that are so
such as several, many, some, etc., as
on the subject matter of limited where an in “Some Remarkable Traits of a
the paper. Narrow down extensive searching is Filipino” or “Several People’s
or limit the subject to necessary Comments on the RH Law,” are
eliminate the problem. vague enough to decrease the
readers’ interests and curiosity
 Sources of Research Topics

Books, Internet, peer-reviewed Professional periodicals like College English

Mass media communication – press Language Teaching Forum, English
(newspapers, ads, TV, radio, films, etc.) journals, government publications
Forum, the Economist, Academia, Business
Circle, Law Review, etc.
 Sources of Research Topics

General periodicals such as Readers’ Digest,

Previous reading assignments in your other Work experience – clues to a researchable topic from
Women’s Magazine, Panorama
subjects full-time or part-time jobs,
Magazine, Time Magazine, World Mission
OJT (on-the-job training) experience, fieldwork, etc.
Magazine, etc
 02
The Research Problem and
Research Question
Having a problem makes you anxious that pushes you to exert efforts
on finding a solution. There will be doubts that you are uncertain of
your solutions thus conducting a research is the best thing to do.
Doing a research always begins with a problem which points you to a
topic to look out. Getting the background and establishing your
research question that causes the problem is a hint to start knowing
what your problem is all about In this lesson you have to study the
concept of research problems and research questions including its
scope and delimitation, cite the significance
 An Overview of the Research Problem and Research
Question
Chapter I of the research paper is called The Problem and Its
Background (sometimes also called The Introduction)
It is composed of the following sections:

01 Background of the Study, Others have sections such as

Objectives of the Study,
Hypotheses but these will not
02 Statement of the Problem be considered in this lesson

03 Scope and Delimitation

04 Significance of the Study
A. Background of
the Study
What is a research problem?

A problem is “any significant, perplexing,

and challenging situation, real or artificial,
the solution of which requires reflexive
thinking”. In research, it is known as the
research topic or research title
According to Calderon & Gonzales,1993)
 An illustration showing the description between a research topic, research problem,
purpose statement and research question.

General A research topic is the broad Topic: Distance Learning

subject matter of the study

A research problem is Research Problem:

a general issue or Lack of learners knowledge
concern about the about distance in distance
research that narrow education .
the topic.

Purpose Statement:
A purpose of the
To study why learners do not
study used to address
attend distance education
the problem.
classes in a community college
A research question
Specific narrows the purpose
into specific questions Research Questions:
that the researcher Does the use of website
technology in the classroom
would like to answer
deter learners from enrolling in a
in the study distant education class?
 Background of the Study
Purpose of background of the study

01 02 03 04
The general Historical basis for Efforts made How the
definition of the the existence of towards efforts failed to
topic/problem the problem addressing be realized
area similar hence the need
challenges for your study
 Contents of the
background of the
study

Presentation of Historical background Geographical conditions Rationale of the study

the problem of the problem of the study locale
Describe the Give the historical If applicable, describe the Give the reason(s) why
existence of an background of the geographical location of the study should be
unsatisfactory problem, if applicable. the study. conducted.
condition or a problem
that needs a solution
Example:
In 2004, the researcher migrated to the Philippines to
accompany her spouse who was at the time studying at the
Adventist Institute for International Advanced Studies
(AIIAS) in Silang, Cavite. They discovered the study
opportunities and were motivated by the quality of
education and low school fees being offered. They visited
several colleges and universities to collect pamphlets and
sent them back to Vanuatu for educational awareness. The
Ni-Vanuatus became aware and decided to send students
to study in the Philippines. The first two schools to receive
Vanuatu students were AMA Computer College in
Dasmariñas, Cavite and Air Link Aviation College in
Paranaque City. The researcher came to know Cavite State
University (CvSU) in 2009 and transferred from AMA.
(Ngwele, March 2011)
The Do’s and Don’ts
of Writing a
Research
Background Study
 Do‘s! Don’ts!
Explain the importance of Write a background that is too long or
your research topic short

Talk about the main developments Be ambiguous in your writing,

and missing links and gaps in your disorganized and discuss unrelated
research area subjects.

Focus on the relevant aspects of Forget the reader may not be

your study explaining how it will familiar with the details of your
lead to the progress of scientific work.
knowledge.
Elaborate on your background
Engage your findings in a literature
chronological findings
Forget to provide a historical
Articulate your ideas in a clear perspective
and concise manner

Engage the readers by building a Forget to check your target

story around the central journal’s instruction for presenting
theme of your research the study background
B. Statement of
the Problem
Purpose Statement and Research Questions

A series of questions used in researching

the topic.
It is composed of
1. The general statement of the problem (the
purpose statement) and
2. The specific sub-problems or sub-questions (or
research questions). Guidelines in Writing the
Statement of the Problem
(According to Calderon & Gonzales,1993)
 Statement of the Problem

01 02 03
The general statement of the problem Research questions should be stated in Each research question should be
and the research questions should be the interrogative and each should be researchable separately from the
formulated first before conducting clear to avoid confusion other questions and must be based
the research. upon known facts and phenomena
which is accessible to the researcher.

04 05
The summary of the answers to all the
06
Answers to each research question can The number of research questions
be interpreted apart from the answers specific questions will give a complete should be enough to cover the
to the other specific questions and development of the entire study. development of the whole research
must contribute to the development of study
the whole research study.
Example:
This research aims to develop an evaluation model of a web-
based tool used in test administration for Grade 11 and 12
students. (Leanillo, 2016)
Specifically it aims to answer the following questions:
1. What are the commonly used web-based tools used in test
administration?
2. How are these web-based test tools evaluated?
3. How could evaluation model be designed for web-based test
administration?
C. Scope and Delimitation
of the Study
 Scope of a Study
It is the coverage of the research to be
explored which includes the facts and
theories about the subject
Example:
A research study on the impact of social networking on the
attitude of senior high school learners.

It is not possible to cover all aspects of the selected subject.

The scope will have to be restricted to a specific section of
the target population over a specified duration.

In the above-cited study, a group of 40 learners in senior high

school at one particular school would be an ideal coverage
to study their attitude for five months.
Delimitation of a Study
It limits the scope and outlines the
boundaries of the study.
 These limitations include the following:

Lack of available
Sample size Lack of prior studies
and/or reliable data
a. The research design and
method will determine This will limit the scope of This will limit the
whether if it is small or large analysis and the ability of effectiveness of the
sample size. the researcher to determine literature review and
b. The sample size will meaningful trends and initial understanding of
determine the quality of data relationships among the the research.
and the relationships that will data.
be identified among the
variables.
 These limitations include the following:

Chosen data Nature of the Access.

collection method information collected
This will limit the
The quality of data collected Researcher should not rely on effectiveness of the
must be clear to avoid pre-existing data. literature review and
erroneous answers from the initial understanding of
respondents. the research.
When writing the paper, the
researcher should ensure
that any delimitation factor
is noted down at the
introduction, discussion, and
conclusion sections. He or
she should clarify why the
study included and excluded
some delimitation.
D. Significance of the
Study
Significance of the Study
• The significance of the study discuss the
purpose that the research will serve to society,
the country, the government, the institution or
agency concerned, the curriculum planners and
developers, and the research community.
• Describes the contribution of the study to the
existing body of knowledge.
 It could be the following:

01 02
A form of new knowledge in A validation of the major
the field, findings of other studies,

03 04
Analysis of trends over time,
A verification of the validity and validation of other
of findings in a different findings using different
population, methodologies.
The researcher must identify
specifically the beneficiaries
who will directly gain from
the results of the study
mentioning them in the
paper according to the
significance of the result.
The specific benefits must
also be enumerated and
explained if necessary.
Example:
The Effects of Computer-assisted Instruction in the Performance of
Students in Asian History and Civilization (Cuenca, 2008)
The findings of the study may provide deeper insights on how teaching can
be made easier and more meaningful by the use of computer-aided
instruction. The study determined the significant effects of slide
presentation in instruction, a form of computer instruction on the
performance of the students in the subjects Asian History and Civilization.
To the students, the results may serve as an inspiration for them to
continuously improve their skills in using computers because they will
realize the comfort that computer skills offer in complying with the
requirements of major subjects in the coming years.
To the administrators, the results may serve as a guide in the program-
planning and implementation of the IT department so that they can be of
great help to the teachers of the university.
To the teachers, the results may serve as an eye opener for those who are not
comfortable on the use of computers in their class lesson presentations.
The findings of this study may encourage more of them to apply computer-
aided instruction in teaching.
 II. Presenting Written
Statement of the Problem
The following sections compose the presentation of the written statement of the problem.
 1. Introduction
• States briefly the background of the study and identifies the
rationale of the research problem.

• It begins with a general statement of the problem, outlines the

specific problem or issue within the existing literature.
 2. Statement of the
Problem
• States clearly the purposes or interest of the study, poses
specific questions about research problem.
 3. Scope and
Delimitation
• Sets the boundaries and parameters of the study, narrows the
scope of the inquiry.
 4. Significance of the
Study
• Shows the benefits of the study to address issues and l
problems, in improving economic and health conditions or even
finding solutions to problems encountered in daily life.
 THANKS!

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