SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL – ACADEMIC TRACK

TITLE SHOULD BE INVERTED PYRAMID, 14 PT, BOLD, ALL CAPS, IDEALLY

12 TO 16 WORDS

A Research Paper Presented to the

Faculty of Academic Track
Tanza National Trade School
Paradahan I, Tanza, Cavite

In Partial Fulfillment of the

Requirements for the Subject
Practical Research II

FIRST NAME M. LAST NAME

Month and Year of Defense

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CHAPTER 1

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Introduction

The body of a manuscript opens with an introduction that presents the

specific problem under study and describes the research strategy. The introduction

enables the reader to see at a glance the entire contents of the research work. The

researcher should be able to explain to the reader the general concept that underlies

the study.

Before writing the introduction, consider the following questions: Why is this

problem important? If other aspects of this study have been reported previously,

how does this report differ from, and build on the earlier report? Rationale and

Research Gaps need to be identified.

A good introduction answers these questions in just a few paragraphs, and by

summarizing the relevant arguments and the past evidence, gives the reader a firm

sense of the background of the study and what was done, and why. Remember to

cite references for ideas taken from other sources (Author, year).

Statement of the Problem

This is the key of the research. It presents the major problem, which is

further discussed into subproblems that are researchable units addressed one at a

time.
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Steps in writing the statement of the problem:

1. Write the general problem.

2. Write the specific questions to be answered. Consider the following in writing the

research questions:

a. Start with the general objective and end with the end-view of your research.

b. Arrange the questions chronologically.

c. A research question is a question that CAN be answered in an objective way, at

least partially and at least for now.

d. Make sure that the research question can be answered using information that

already exists or that can be collected.

Hypothesis (Singular) Hypotheses (Plural)

The following hypotheses will be tested at 0.05 level of significance:

Ho1: Example: There is no significant relationship between the intelligence quotient

and the research writing skills of students.

Ho2: Example: There is no significant relationship between the intelligence quotient

and the research writing skills of students.

Note that qualitative studies do not have a hypothesis. Also, we only raise research

hypotheses for research problems that will be answered by inferential or

correlational statistics.
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Significance of the Study

The significance of the study includes possible contributions of the research

to the field of knowledge. In writing the significance of the study, list all beneficiaries

of the research. Then, discuss in two to three sentences the specific benefit they will

get from the thesis.

Write here the significance of your paper. Who will benefit from the findings

and what will they get from it? You may write it in paragraph form, or you may list

them down like this:

The researcher believed that the study is significant and noteworthy.

Specifically, it is beneficial to the following:

Students. The study could provide students more opportunities to love writing and

delete the notion that writing is dull as a field. This could also help them become

more responsible for their own learning by transforming them from being passive

recipients of information to being self-motivated, active meaning-makers, and expert

learners.

Teachers. This study could be of great help to the teachers of writing, especially

those teaching in the senior high school level, for it would provide them with

strategies related to the new trends the curriculum offers.

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Administrators. The results of this study could help administrators realize the need

for teachers to provide appropriate and new learning strategies to students in the

field of writing, specifically in the senior high school level.

Education Officials and Policy Makers. This study could encourage officials in the

education sector to motivate education leaders to acknowledge the Project-Based

Learning highlighting the Cognitivism and Social Constructivism in the teaching of

academic writing. Better yet, this research can encourage them to endorse a 21st

century method of teaching, especially in the senior high school level.

Curriculum Planners. The results of this study could provide curriculum planners

with the insights necessary for evaluating and monitoring the educational scheme or

curriculum. They may draw up plans to prepare teachers for a more active role in the

improvement and enhancement of the curriculum based on students' needs.

Future Researchers. Through the results of the study, educational researchers may

be guided and inspired to explore and study more about how to teach writing.

Scope and Delimitations

The scope presents the inclusions of the study, while delimitations present

what are not covered in the study or cannot be controlled for acceptable reasons. In

writing the scope and delimitations, discuss the scope and the limits or things not

included in the research. Include also a discussion on the scope and limit of the

research instrument or the product of the research.

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This section describes the extent of the study including the parameters

evaluated. It also discusses the weaknesses of the research in terms of methodology,

framework, and others. The scope composes the total area of the study establishing

the parameters and indicating the cut-offs of the projects.

In identifying the nature of the study, it is best to consider the area and time

coverage, area of sampling and the scope of treatment as these will provide the

information concerning the who, what, when, where, and how of the study.

What to write in the Scope? Include discussions on the physical scope of the study;

subjects and independent variables; sources of data; methodology; time; and

controls for internal and external validity.

Limitations refer to the elements over which the researcher has no control.

These are potential weaknesses in the study. For example, the study will use a self-

report instrument that may result in biased ratings of the construct. Limitations also

explain how the researcher intends to deal with the limitations he/she is aware of so

as not to affect the outcome of the study.

Please write in paragraph format, as demonstrated in the example below:

This study was conducted to test the effectiveness of the Project-Based

Learning strategy in teaching English for Academic and Professional Purposes. It

dwelled on the following topics: academic writing, particularly reaction, concept, and

position papers among the Grade 12 students of Siena College of Taytay. The study

was only limited to academic writing-both the concepts and actual application.
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Moreover, this study was limited only to the outputs of the two classes in the

English for Academic and Professional Purposes of the Grade 12 level. Each class had

40 respondents. The study was conducted during the first semester of academic year

2018-2019.

The pretests and posttests were administered to test the effectiveness of the

strategy. The tests were a combination of knowledge and skills as well as actual

academic writing tests.

All outputs done during the teaching-learning process were evaluated

through the use of researcher-made analytic rubric. The purpose of using a rubric

was to avoid biases. The rubric was objective in nature; thus, the researcher and two

other evaluators checked the Content, Organization, Vocabulary, Language Use, and

Mechanics in the papers.

Theoretical Framework

This is a research framework based on a particular theory. It makes use of

tested theories related to the research topic/objective. Theories are generalized

observations/statements that explain facts or phenomena.

The theoretical framework can be developed by reading literature. Kumar

(2011, Chapter 3) provided some guidelines on how to develop it. He noted that:

As you start reading the literature, you will soon discover that the problem

you wish to investigate has its roots in several theories that have been developed
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from different perspectives. The information obtained from different books and

journals now needs to be sorted under the main themes and theories, highlighting

agreements and disagreements among the authors and identifying the unanswered

questions or gaps. You will also realize that the literature deals with many aspects

that have a direct or indirect bearing on your research topic. Use these aspects as a

basis for developing your theoretical framework. Your review of the literature should

sort out the information, as mentioned earlier, within this framework. Unless you

review the literature in relation to this framework, you will not be able to develop a

focus in your literature search: that is, your theoretical framework provides you with

a guide as you read. This brings us to the paradox mentioned previously: until you go

through the literature you cannot develop a theoretical framework, and until you

have developed a theoretical framework you cannot effectively review the literature.

The solution is to read some of the literature and then attempt to develop a

framework, even a loose one, within which you can organize the rest of the

literature you read. As you read more about the area, you are likely to change the

framework. However, without it, you will get bogged down in a great deal of

unnecessary reading and note-taking that may not be relevant to your study.

Literature pertinent to your study may deal with two types of information –

universal and more specific (i.e. local trends or a specific program). In writing about

such information, you should start with the general information, gradually narrowing

it down to the specific.

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Conceptual Framework

This framework is based on the researcher’s idea of how the research

problem will have to be explored. It is normally founded on the theoretical

framework. It describes/summarizes the relationships between the variables and

presents relevant research that supports the relationship. It presents a schematic

diagram of the relationships between key variables.

Whereas the theoretical framework consists of the theories or issues in which

your study is embedded, the conceptual framework describes the aspects you

selected from the theoretical framework to become the basis of your inquiry. The

conceptual framework grows out of the theoretical framework, previous research,

and relates to the specific research problem. That is why the conceptual framework

is the basis of your research problem (Kumar, 2011).

If you will use a figure to illustrate your conceptual framework, you have to

be careful with the use of shapes and arrows. Take note of the following

information:

1. Use simple shapes – boxes or circles. In using more advanced statistical tools such

as structural equation modeling, the use of shapes and circles have meanings. The

boxes and circles are referred to as conceptual bins.

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Examples:

2. Use simple lines and arrows. Take note that the presence/absence of arrowheads

means a lot in the framework especially for establishing correlation/causation

among the variables. Study the following arrows and their meanings:

Definition of Terms

Important words, specialized terms, or technical expressions should be given their

authoritative and/or operational definitions in the context of the study. Definitions should

have an authoritative basis (taken from books, etc.), thus sources are cited. Operational

definitions are usually based on authoritative definitions, although with slight variations to

suit the needs of the proposed study.

Operational definition
Conceptual definition

vs. -how the term applied or used in

- The basic dctionary definition
research
- The universal meaning of the terms
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