At the end of this chapter, students will be able to:

design a research used in daily life;

write a research title;
describe background of research;
state research questions;
indicate scope and delimitation of study; and
present written statement of the problem.

LESSON 1 RESEARCH AS THE ART OF INQUIRY

Research is composed of two words, “re” and “search”. “Re” is a prefix which means
again and “search” is a verb meaning to examine closely and carefully, to test and try, or to
probe or to study thoroughly. Together, they form a noun describing field of knowledge,
undertaken to establish facts or principles (Grinnell, 1934: p.4). Research is the primary source
8 CHAPTER
of knowledge. II –toIDENTIFYING
It aims THE INQUIRY
develop new knowledge and applyAND STATING
scientific THE PROBLEM
and engineering principles
to connect the knowledge in one field to that in others (Roussel et al., 1991).
To Grinnell (1993), research is a structural inquiry that utilizes acceptable scientific
methodology to solve problems and creates new knowledge that is generally acceptable. It is
essential to human’s existence to keep abreast with the continuous technological advancement,
fast changing environment, ever evolving competition, and even to some extent, a mean for
survival.

Research Topic
The first challenge of any researcher is the identification of a research topic. A research
topic or problem is an intellectual stimulus calling for an answer in the form of scientific inquiry.
Topics or problems are general questions about relations among variables, or characteristics of
the phenomenon which a researcher needs to undertake (Birionetal, 2005, p.7).

Sources of Research Topics or Problems

The following are the things that may be considered before starting the research activity:
1. Prevailing theories or philosophy.
2. Observations, intuitions or a combination of both.
 3. Different subjects taken and from them identify a problem that interests a student-
researcher most.
4. Fields of interest or specialization or event from related fields.
5. Existing problems in the classroom/school/campus/university which one may want to
solve are good sources of research problems.
6. Existing needs of the community or society.
7. Repetition or extension of investigations already conducted or may be an offshoot of
studies underway.
8. Related studies and literatures.
9. Advice of authorities or experts from funding agencies.
10. Offshoots of friendly conversations.
11. Incidental from interesting topics of professors during the course meeting/session.

Selecting the Research Topic

In choosing a research problem, be guided by the following criteria:
1. It should be something new or different from what has already been written about.
2. It must be original.
3. It should be significant to the field of study or discipline.
4. It must necessarily arouse intellectual curiosity.
5. It should be of researcher’s interest and researcher must be with the topic.
6. It should be a modest one for a beginner to be carried on within a limited period of time.
9 7. CHAPTER
It should be II – IDENTIFYING
clear, not ambiguous. THE INQUIRY AND STATING THE PROBLEM
8. It should be specific, not general.
9. It should consider the training and personal qualifications of the researcher.
10. It should consider the availability of data involved in the study and the methods and
techniques to be employed in gathering them.
11. It should consider the availability of effective instruments for gathering the data and their
treatment.
12. It should consider the financial capacity of the researcher to support the project.
13. It should consider the time factor involved in the undertaking.

Selected Guidelines in the Formulation of a Research Title

1. The title must contain the following elements:
a. The subject matter or research problem;
b. The setting or locale of the study;
c. The respondents or participants involved in the study; and
d. The time or period when the study was conducted (if the title becomes too long
because of these elements, the timeframe or period may be omitted except in
evaluation studies).
2. The title must be broad enough to include all aspects of the study but should be brief and
concise as possible.
 3. The use of terms as “Analysis of”’, “A Study of”’, “An Investigation of”’ and the like
should be avoided. All these are understood to have been done in a research.
4. If the title contains more than one line, it should be written in inverted pyramid.
5. When typed or encoded in the title page, all words in the title should be in capital letters.
6. If possible, the title should not be longer than 15 substantive words.
7. Avoid a long, detailed title that gives too much information.
8. To shorten the title, delete the terms “assessment” or “evaluation” if these are already
emphasized in the text.

Characteristics of a Good title

1. A title should give readers information about the contents of the research and is
preferable to one that is vague or general.
2. Titles do not need to be stuffy or dull but they should generally give readers some idea at
the outset of what the research paper will contain.
3. Choose a title that is a phrase rather than a complete sentence.
4. Select a straightforward title over other kinds.
5. Use no punctuation at the end of the title.
6. Do not underline the title of research or enclose it in quotation marks, instead, use a word
processing program or printer that permits italics. Use them in place of underlining.

10 CHAPTER II – IDENTIFYING THE INQUIRY AND STATING THE PROBLEM

Instructions: Form a group with six (6) members, discuss with your groupmates the topic of
your interest in designing a research. Be sure that the topic is related to your strand. Start
reviewing literatures related to your topic. Submit your topic/title to your teacher for approval.

LESSON 2 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

For a good background, the researcher can state the antecedents of the study, the reasons
why this topic is proposed relative to previous studies.
The background includes:
1. discussion of the problem in general and the specific situations as observed and
experienced by the researcher (macro-micro approach).
 2. concepts and ideas related to the problem including clarification of important
terminologies; and
3. discussion of the existing or present conditions and what is aimed to be in the future or
the gap to be filled – in by the researcher.

Introduction
This is the description that leads the reader to understanding the research questions and
appreciate why they are asked.
In the introduction, it is important to give the reader a clear notion of the general scope of
the problem investigated. The reader should be given enough idea about similar problems from
other country (mega level), in our country (macro level) and the particular place where the
research is conducted (micro level). The writer should underscore the difficulties caused by the
problem and the importance of investigating it. Hence, this part of the study, the introduction, is
primarily designed to meet this felt need to the reader. The presentation of the investigation
should very naturally lead to the objectives of the study.
NOTE:
• Introduce and briefly define the variables under study
• Cite the most important study or related literature
• Be consistent with terms used
• Ensure that paragraphs summarize unresolved issues, conflicting findings, social
11 concerns, or II
CHAPTER educational, national, THE
– IDENTIFYING or international
INQUIRYissues.
AND STATING THE PROBLEM
• Write the last paragraph to highlight the research gap

Example:
SHS Students’ Social Media Usage and Their Attention Span in Class
Over the past decade, social media has drastically increased its breadth in terms of the
number of people who use it significantly. In fact, Facebook alone, as of January 2017 has
reached a record high of approximately 1,850,000,000 active users as compared to 400 million in
2012 (Smith, 2017). This exponential increase in social media activity has fueled the interest of
various researchers on the effect of social media usage. Social media are forms of electronic
communication devices through which users create online communities to share information,
ideas, personal messages, and other content (Merriam-Webster, 2017).
Due to this, several studies have examined the effect of social media on student
academics (Matthews, 2014; Johnson & Johnson, 2016), its relationship with stress (Santos,
2015; Chan, 2016), and attention span (Microsoft Corp., 2014; Jackson, 2016)
According to a study funded by Microsoft in 2014, people now generally lose
concentration after eight seconds, highlighting the effects of an increasingly digitalized lifestyle
on the brain. Attention span, as defined by Webster (2011) is the amount of concentrated time a
person can spend on a task without becoming distracted.
 Microsoft found that since the year 2000 the average attention span dropped from 12
seconds to eight seconds. That is less than the nine-second attention span of the average goldfish.
In the Philippines, there is still a limited number of literature that directly links the use of
social media to attention span, especially those that look into the Senior High School (SHS)
students and their ability to maintain concentration. Furthermore, the international researches
conducted on this topic does not provide evidence that the results transcend through different
cultural backgrounds and age groups. It is in this light that the purpose of this study to determine
whether social media usage possess any significant relationship with the attention span of Grade
12 students of De La Salle Araneta University.

Statement of the Problem

The statement of the problem tells what is done to make the situation that exists more like
what it should be. It exposes anything that is wrong with the situation or condition or
circumstance which is being described. It has two main elements:

Research Questions or Investigative Problems

The specific questions which are to be answered in the study are called research
questions or investigative questions, and are all in question form. The answers to the
research questions should led to the solution of the research problem.
12 CHAPTER II – IDENTIFYING THE INQUIRY AND STATING THE PROBLEM
1. The major statement or question may be followed by minor statements or questions. The
introductory statement must be the purpose /aim or the objective of the study.
Example: Specifically, the study aims to determine the causes of low performance of
selected programs in the board examinations. Further, it seek to answer the following
sub-problems: 1… 2… 3… etc.
2. If the goal is specifically to test a given hypothesis, then state so. In many cases, the
objective will be a more general statement than that of a hypothesis.
Example: The primary objective of this study is to test the hypothesis that there is a
relationship between workplace condition and teaching performance of faculty
members.
3. Investigative questions are the specific topical questions that one must resolve to achieve
research objective or test the research hypothesis.
Examples:
RESEARCH QUESTION 1: Does a SHS student’s academic performance in Math have any
association with his/her stress tolerance?

This study generally aims to determine if a SHS students’ academic performance in

Mathematics have any association with his/her stress tolerance.
Specifically, this study shall seek answers to the following questions:
 1. What is the level of social media usage of Grade 12 students of De La Salle Araneta
University (DLSAU) in terms of:
a. forms of social media?
b. frequency of social media use?
c. mode of social media use?
2. What is the level of attention span in class of Grade 12 students of DLSAU?
3. Is there a significant relationship between the frequency of social media use and the
attention span of Grade 12 students of DLSAU?

Objective or Purpose of the Study

The objective or purpose of the study is the first part of the problem where the researcher
states the objective. This is a statement of a long-term objective expected to be achieved by the
study. This is derived by the identification of the research problem and as reflected in the title.
The objectives of the study may be classified into general and specific. The general
objective is a broad statement of purpose, which uses the abstract of concepts. The specific
objective is an activity necessary to attain the general objective.

13 It is prefixed
CHAPTERby these
II introductory
– IDENTIFYINGphrases:
THE INQUIRY AND STATING THE PROBLEM
Example: “The main objective of this study is to….”
NOTE:
Good objectives of the study have an acronym of S-M-A-R-T-E-R that will be useful in
remembering as follows:
1. They should be stated in simple language;
2. They use measurable concepts;
3. They are attainable;
4. They are result-oriented;
5. They are time-bounded;
6. They generate enthusiasm;
7. They make use of the local resources.
The objectives of the study should not only flow from the identified study but should lead
also to the statement of the problem.

The main objective of this study is to evaluate the status and extent of implementation of
the Computer Education Program in the Division of Rizal SY 2015-2016 as perceived by teacher
and student respondents.
Specifically, this aims to:
1. To determine the frequency of social media usage of Grade 12 students of De La
Salle Araneta University (DLSAU) in terms of:
 a. forms of social media?
b. frequency of social media use?
c. mode of social media use?
2. To measure the level of attention span in class of Grade 12 students of DLSAU?
3. To evaluate the significant relationship between the frequency of social media use
and the attention span of Grade 12 students of DLSAU?

Instruction: Once the topic/title is approved, write the statement of the problem and the
objectives of study.

14 CHAPTER II – IDENTIFYING THE INQUIRY AND STATING THE PROBLEM

LESSON 3 SCOPE AND DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY

This presents the coverage of the research in terms of location, time, respondents, etc.,
and the potential weaknesses or problems with the study identified by the researcher.

The scope describes the coverage of the study. It specifies what is covered in terms of
concept, number of subjects or the population included in the study, as well as the timeline when
the study was conducted.

Delimit by citing factors or variables that are not to be included and the boundary in
terms of time frame, number of subjects, participants or respondents who are excluded. Specify
which you will not deal within the study.

This section discusses the parameters of the research in paragraph. It answers the basic
questions:

1. What – the topic of investigation and the variables included

2. Where – the venue or the setting of the research
3. When – the time frame by which the study was conducted
4. Why – the general objectives of the research
5. Who – the subject of the study, the population and sampling
 6. How – the methodology of the research which may include the research design,
methodology and the research instrument

It may also discuss why certain variables were not included in the research.

NOTE:

SCOPE: Identify the boundaries of the study in terms of respondents, objectives, facilities, area,
time frame, and the issues to which the research is focused.

DELIMITATION: State the delimiting factors of the study by geographic location, age, sex,
population size, etc.

Example:

The study is a correlational research focusing on the association between the use of social
media and attention span of 50 senior high school students of De La Salle Araneta University
under the Humanities and Social Sciences strand in the first term of the academic year, 2017-
2018.

Furthermore, the study delimits itself to attention span in class and will not attempt to
measure this variable in other environment. Social media use will be limited to the use of social
networking sites and exclude the use of the internet by the respondents for educational purposes.

15 CHAPTER II – IDENTIFYING THE INQUIRY AND STATING THE PROBLEM

Significance of the Study

In this part of the research, the researcher defines who will benefit out of the findings of
the study. He/She describes how the problem will be solved and specifically pinpoints who will
benefit from such findings or results. Usually, the beneficiaries of the study are those experts
concerned about the problem, the administrators or policy-makers who make the decisions or
implement programs, the subject themselves, future researchers and those who are directly or
indirectly affected by the problem.

In this portion of the study, one may also state the specific sectors who will benefit from
the study. The part also justifies the rationale of the undertaking. Thus, this should answer “What
will be the general contribution of your research as a whole? Which group of people will
specifically benefit from the study? How exactly?”

Tips in Writing the Significance of the Study

1. Refer to the statement of the problem.

 Your problem statement can guide you in identifying the specific contribution of the
study. You can do this by observing a one-to-one correspondence between the
statement of the problem and the significance of the study.

2. Write from general to specific.

Write the significance of the study by looking into general contribution of your study,
such as its importance to society as a whole, then to individuals which may include
yourself as a research.

Example:

This study will be able to contribute research-based data and knowledge on the possible
relationship between SHS students’ use of social media and their attention span. Furthermore, the society,
in general can make informed decisions that are relevant to this area.

More specifically, this study shall be beneficial to the various groups of people.

Students. Not only in the senior high school level can use the information which this
study will produce to regulate and be more responsible their use of social media to hopefully
improve their performance and concentration in class.
Teachers and professors…
Parents…
University and school administrators…
16 CHAPTER II – IDENTIFYING THE INQUIRY AND STATING THE PROBLEM
Other researchers…

Instruction: Write the background of your study, scope and limitation and its significance.
17 CHAPTER II – IDENTIFYING THE INQUIRY AND STATING THE PROBLEM