Department of Education

Regional Office No VIII | Division of Northern Samar

LAOANG NATIONAL TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL
Laoang, Northern Samar

Practical Research 1 | Grade 11 TIRSO L. ONG, LPT

School Year 2022-2023 – Second Semester Subject Teacher

Chapter 6 RATIONALE OF THE STUDY

▪ Lesson 1: Rationale of the Study

֎ WHAT I NEED TO KNOW

This module is designed to let you

understand different reasons for conducting
research. As usual, there should always be a purpose
or motive in anything that you do. As a senior high
school student, you need to know the value of research
in your field of specialization so you can justify the need
to conduct a study.

֎ LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After going through this module, you are expected to be able to:
1. provide the justifications/reasons for conducting research.

Lesson 1 Rationale of the Study

In the previous lessons, you already designed a research project related to daily life and
eventually created your own research title for your proposed study in your area of interest or field of
specialization. Now, you have to start conceptualizing the contents of your research paper by rooting from
the reasons why you need to conduct a study about it.

Take note that it is necessary to be rational in everything that you do in research, or else it might
be a waste of time and effort.

֎ WHAT’S NEW?
In this lesson, you will learn about the rationale of the study. It is one of the major components in
the introductory part of your research paper. With this, let us first define what rationale is.

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 According to Merriam-Webster, a rationale is:
1 : an explanation of controlling principles of opinion, belief, practice, or phenomena
2 : an underlying reason : basis
In the context of research writing, a rationale pertains to the reasons why the study must be
conducted. Such justification is provided by the researcher to highlight the significant points of the
problem to be addressed in the study.

Now that you already have a glimpse of what rationale is, let us dig deeper on how it is used in
research question. Well, the reason behind maybe is that you are familiar enough with these various
social media sites and you already know what makes such applications a kind of social media platform.
Hence, this suggests that you have known enough important details regarding social media.

.֎ WHAT IS IT?

Rationale of the Study

As a student-researcher, you have to determine the sense of all the things you plan to do in your
proposed study. Consider the following questions: Is there a need to conduct a study about your chosen
research topic? Does it pose a significant research problem? Does it matter to your academic discipline?

If your answers in the previously asked questions are ‘Yes’, then that can be a good starting
point for establishing the rationale of your study.

Research justification is considered as the initial step in writing a research paper. This step
involves the skill on how the researcher will provide the readers with critical background or contextual
information that introduces the research topic. Moreover, it needs to indicate the reasons why theproposed
research actually matters. In doing so, the researcher must be able to get the audience's attention right
from the introduction.

How to Write the Rationale of the Study

The rationale of the study must contain the following components:

1. Existing Literature

⮚ a background on what researches have already been done about the given subject.

2. Relevance to Local/Global Context

⮚ situational interconnectedness of individuals or things in varying perspectives.

3. Critical Background/Contextual Information

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 ⮚ circumstances forming a background of an event, idea or subject, that enables the readers

to understand the nature of the problem.

4. Research Gap

⮚ problems, issues or questions that have not been addressed or are yet to be understood.

5. Proof of Urgency

⮚ an urgent need to solve the existing problem.

6. Research Goal/Objective

⮚ the purpose why there is a need for the proposed study to be conducted.

Here are some questions to be considered in presenting justifications:

a) Why is this research important?

b) What real life or everyday problem, issue, or question does the research relate to?

c) Can people relate to the problem in local or global context?

d) What benefit does the research promise?

e) Are the units of analysis and observation clearly identified?

f) What does the researcher hope to find out?

g) What was wrong or incomplete about prior efforts already conducted?

h) Does the research extend understanding of the phenomena being investigated?

i) Does it elaborate or fill in the gaps in the present knowledge?

j) What is the research ultimately trying to achieve?

Now, read and study the following sample of Rationale of the Study.

The Educated Citizen: Cultural and Gender Capital in the Schooling of

Aetas’ Children in the Municipality of January
(Moralista & Delariarte, 2014)
Republic Act No. 8371 is an act to recognize, protect and promote the rights of
indigenous cultural communities/indigenous peoples, created a National Commission on
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 Indigenous Peoples, established implementing mechanisms, appropriated funds
therefore, and for other purposes (Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives
of the Philippines in Congress, 1997). This Act is known as "The Indigenous Peoples
Rights Act of 1997." The State shall recognize and promote all the rights of Indigenous
Cultural Communities/Indigenous Peoples (ICCs/IPs) as enumerated within the
framework of the Constitution.

Toward these ends, the State shall institute and establish the necessary
mechanisms to enforce and guarantee the realization of these rights, taking into
consideration their customs, traditions, values, beliefs, interests and institutions, and to
adopt and implement measures to protect their rights to their ancestral domains
(Republic of the Philippines Congress of the Philippines Third Regular Session. No. 1728;
H. No. 9125, 1997). The State recognizes its obligations to respond to the strong
expression of the ICCs/IPs for cultural integrity by assuring maximum ICC/IP
participation in the direction of education, health, as well as other services of ICCs/IPs,
in order to render such services more responsive to the needs and desires of these
communities.
The UN Declaration of Human Rights especially on education and the 1987
Constitution of the Republic the Philippines are among the foundations on which this
study was anchored. As educators, the researchers are curious about the plight of the
Aetas, their hopes and how they see education in relation to their own indigenous
culture.
This study aims to understand the cultural practices of Aetas’ children in the
Municipality of January; to investigate the gender capital in the schooling of Etas’
children in the Municipality of January; to determine the Aetas’ role in preserving their
cultural practices as influence.
Here is another sample of Rationale of the Study for you to have a simpler idea on
how to make one. It is labelled with the components that you need to include in
justifying the reasons for conducting your proposed study. You can use this as a guide in
composing your write-up for your own rationale.

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s Political Speeches:

A Critical Discourse Analysis (Remorosa, 2018)
A message from the president is given almost
unparalleled importance in contrast to other communications.
Speeches and addresses of any sort should therefore be read as
statements of presidential power and they are all attempts to
assert the power of the presidency in some way either through
policy proposal, attempts to move public opinion through
appeals to the people, or direct address to specific audiences
(Chimbarange, Takavarasha,& Kombe, 2014).

The present study is concerned with investigating an

aspect of discourse that has not received adequate attention
within the Philippine political discourse. The absence of a
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 research study in the national and local setting has prompted
more the researcher to conduct this investigation.

It has been found out that due to the pressure of media

and its effort to catch the attention of their consumers the
traditional view of political speeches has been changing and is
now nearer to the everyday informal speech. Political speeches
should therefore be not only interesting but also entertaining so
as to be enticing to media holders who have the privilege of
what would be presented and how (Brno, 2011).

The researcher has noticed that analyses of oral texts,

particularly in political speeches as a discourse, have been
rarely studied by CDA researchers. Thus, Wang (2010) calls for
more attention to CDA studies since they can help explore the
relationship between language, ideology, and power.

There is an urgent need to pursue this research because

the Philippines is now facing a great change in administrative
reform, thus it is in the realm to listen to the core messages of
the current president and understand his plans as well as
visions to uplift the life of every constituent, and the country as
a whole. Through Critical Discourse Analysis, this study aims to
bring understanding on the discourse of politics as well as
power and dominance.

֎ WHAT’S MORE?
Read and analyze the following research topics. Provide at least three possible reasons why each study
must be conducted. You may support your answer by citing researched information from reputable
sources. This part may be not recorded but you are encouraged to answer this item to help you
understand further the discussion.

A. Depression
1. _________________________________________________________________
2. _________________________________________________________________
3. _________________________________________________________________
B. Corona Virus Disease (CoViD-19)
1. _________________________________________________________________
2. _________________________________________________________________
3. _________________________________________________________________
C. Teenage Pregnancy
1. _________________________________________________________________
2. _________________________________________________________________
3. _________________________________________________________________

֎ NOW DO IT!

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Read and analyze the given rationale of the study. Then, answer the questions that follow. This part may
be not recorded but you are encouraged to answer this item to help you understand further the
discussion.

Education during COVID-19 Era: Are Learners in a Less-Economically

Developed Country Ready for E-Learning? (Alipio, 2020)
The Coronavirus-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic remains a compelling issue
destabilizing not just the economy, but also the education in most parts of the world,
especially the less economically developed countries. As of April 25, 2020, 2,833,961
confirmed cases with 197,368 deaths were reported affecting 210 countries and
territories around the world and 2 international conveyances.
Geographical variation of case severity was observed with less economically
developed countries anecdotally being reported to suffer the most due to poverty and low
testing capacity. The Philippines, one of the less-economically developed countries, is a
hotspot of COVID-19 case in Southeast Asia with an accumulated total case of 7,192 and
deaths of 477. Existing evidence shows that areas in the country with low accumulated
annual income had high COVID-19 cases and high case fatality rates. With the current
state of Philippine government coupled with the crippling pandemic, notable impact on
economy and education has been observed. The recent adoption of K-12 program, the
transition of first K-12 completers to college, and provision of free and inclusive
education have challenged the education governing bodies in the country even more.
In response to the rise in confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Philippines,
President Rodrigo Duterte suspended classes at all levels in Metro Manila initially on
March 9, 2020 and provided indefinite date of resumption. Concordant with the public
health emergency measures, the Department of Education issued guidelines prohibiting
public schools in areas with suspended classes from administering the final
examinations for students and instead compute the final grades of students for the
academic year based on their current academic standing. The department also advised
schools in areas without suspension to immediately administer final examinations within
that week on a "staggered basis" and for teachers and students to observe social
distancing measures.

Parallel to the Department of Education, the Commission on Higher Education

(CHED) advised other institutions of higher education in the Philippines in the
Philippines to implement distance education methods of learning for its classes, such as
the use of educational technology, to maximize the academic term despite the
suspensions. The commission has also advised other institutions of higher education in
the Philippines to implement distance education methods of learning for its classes, such
as the use of educational technology, to maximize the academic term despite the
suspensions. Several other public and private tertiary institutions implemented such
arrangements for its classes; however, several student groups appealed to CHED to
suspend mandatory online classes in consideration of the logistical limitations and
well-being of a majority of students.
With the ongoing surge of cases in the country, a possible alternative to continue
education while preventing potential infection spread, is electronic learning (e-learning).
E-learning has been a common delivery media for education in developed countries.
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 Several developing countries like the Philippines have attempted to embrace the new
learning space; however, financial and acceptance factors remain to be a problem that
would limit its potential use. While both the supply and demand for e learning
opportunities have risen in recent years, many professionals are beginning to question
whether students are prepared to be successful in an online learning environment. After
all, the demonstrated success of students in a conventional education and training
classroom may not be an adequate predictor of success in an e-learning classroom.
Drawn on the existing pandemic and potential shift to full e-learning, this study has
focused on the descriptive evaluation of readiness of higher education Filipino students
for e-learning.
GUIDE QUESTIONS:

1. Is the given research problem important to a senior high school student like you? Why?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

2. Was the proposed study well-justified by the researcher? Why do you think so?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

3. How did the researcher provide justifications on the need to conduct the study?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

4. What was the goal of the proposed study?

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

5. If you were the researcher, what other justifications would you provide aside from those given?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

ACTIVITY 1: What You have Learned

Directions Fill in the blanks to show your understanding about rationale of the study. Reread the
discussion to find out the correct answer for this activity.
Write your answer on the Activity Sheet provided for you.
In the context of research writing, a (1). __________________ pertains to the reasons why
the study must be conducted. It involves the skill on how the researcher will provide the readers
with (2). ____________ or (3). ______________ that introduces the research topic.

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 The researcher must also be able to get the audience’s (4). __________________ and
show them why the research actually matters. Moreover, the researcher needs to be acquainted
with the (5). _______________ on the research topic. He/she must look for (6). _____________
that are related to the study and identify the (7). __________________ in the current literature.
These gaps in the literature pertain to problems, issues or questions that have not been addressed
or are yet to be understood. Furthermore, it will be more reasonable to conduct research if there is
an (8). __________________ to solve the existing problem and if it is relevant to either (9).
__________________ contexts, or both. People will more likely appreciate the study if they can
relate to it and if they can somehow benefit from the (10). _______________ of the study.

ACTIVITY 2: Fact of Bluff

Directions: Read and analyze the following statements about rationale of the study. Write FACT if
it is true, and BLUFF if it is false. Write your answer on the Activity Sheet provided for you.

1. Rationale pertains to the reasons for conducting the study.

2. The researcher may consider what was wrong or incomplete about prior efforts conducted on the
same problem.
3. The proposed study can still be conducted even if there are already sufficient solutions to the given
problem.
4. Providing justifications does not require reasoning skills and processes.
5. An anecdote or evidence from personal experience can serve as a valid justification.
6. It will be more reasonable to conduct research if there is no urgent need to solve the existing
problem.
7. The researcher needs to provide the readers with critical background or contextual information that
introduces the research topic.
8. Validity of justification can be expressed by referring to a policy, press report, or other reputable
information source.
9. The study must relate to either local or global context, or both.
10. Research gaps pertain to problems, issues or questions that have already been addressed and
understood.

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