Teacher: JETHRO G.

OREJEULA Subject: Practical Research 1 (PR1)

Week: 3 Module: 3

IDENTIFYING THE INQUIRY AND

STATING THE PROBLEM
Intended Learning Outcomes:
designs a research project related to daily life
writes a research title
provides the justifications/reasons for conducting the research
states research question indicates scope and delimitation of research
cites benefits and beneficiaries of research
presents written statement of the problem
SUBJECT MATTER OF THE INQUIRY OR RESEARCH
You begin your research with a problem; that is, having a problem or topic to
work on. Mulling over a topic for your research work drives you to perform HOTS or
high-order thinking strategies of inferential, critical, integrative, and creative thinking in
finalizing your mind on one topic among several choices. A topic is researchable if the
knowledge and information about it are supported by evidence that is observable,
factual, and logical.

What is a Research Title?

1. The most important element that defines the research problem.
2. It is usually read first and the most read part of the research.
3. It contains the least words enough to describe the contents and the purpose of
your research paper.
4. It can be revised any and many times as the research develops and reach its
final phase. It becomes final on its final defense before the panel of judges.

The research title does not need to be entertaining but informative.

A part of a research title has the following information:
1. The subject matter or topic to be investigated. (“What?”)
2. The place or locale where the research is to be conducted. (“Where?”)
3. The population likes the respondents’ interviewees. (“Who”?)
4. The time period of the study during which 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

MR. JETHRO G. OREJUELA | 0951967174 | [email protected]

KING THOMAS LEARNING ACADEMY | SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT

 Guidelines in Choosing a Research Topic:
Interest in the subject matter
Your interest in a topic may be caused by your rich background knowledge about
it and by its novelty; meaning, its unfamiliarity to you. You real interest in a subject
pushes you to research, investigate, or unique about it with full motivation, enthusiasm,
and energy.
Availability of information
Collecting a lot of information as evidence to support your claims about you
subject matter from varied forms of literature like books, journals, and newspapers,
among others, is a part and parcel of any research work.
Timeliness and relevance of the topic
The topic is relevant if it yields results that are instrumental in societal
improvement. It is timely if it is related to the present.
Limitations on the subject
This makes you link your choosing with course requirements. For example, to
make you complete the requirements, your teacher instructs you to submit a paper that
will apply the key principles you learned psychology, education, and so on. In this case,
you have no freedom to choose your topic based on your interest, but has to decide on
one topic to finish your course.
Personal resources
Before sticking fully to your final choices, assess your research abilities in terms
of your financial standing, health condition, mental capacity, needed facilities, and time
allotment to enable you to complete your research.

Research Topics to be avoided:

1. Controversial topics. It depends more on the writer’s opinion leading to biases.
Facts cannot support this topic.
2. Highly technical subjects. Not advisable for beginners as these topics require
an advanced study, technical knowledge, and skills.
3. Hard-to-investigate subjects. Happens if there are no available reading
materials about it and if such materials are not up-to-date.
4. Too broad subjects. It prevents you from to focus on the subject matter of the
paper. Narrow down or limit the subject to eliminate the problem.
5. Too narrow subjects. Subjects that are so limited where an extensive searching
is necessary.
6. Vague subjects. Titles beginning with indefinite adjectives such as several,
many, some, etc., as in “Some Remarkable Traits of a Filipino” or “Several
People’s Comments on the RH Law,” are vague enough to decrease the readers’
interests and curiosity.

Sources of Research Topics:

1. Mass media communication - press (newspapers, ads, TV, radio, films, etc.)
2. Books, Internet, peer - reviewed journals, government publications
3. Professional periodicals like College English Language Teaching Forum,
English Forum, the Economist, Academia, Business Circle, Law Review, etc.
4. General periodicals such as Readers’ Digest, Women’s Magazine, Panorama
Magazine, Time Magazine, World Mission Magazine, etc.
 5. Previous reading assignments in your other subjects
6. Work experience - clues to a researchable topic from full-time or part-time jobs,
OJT (on-the-job training) experience, fieldwork, etc.

RESEARCH PROBLEM VS RESEARCH QUESTION

Meaning of research Problem

When you decide to do research, you begin with a problem that will lead you to
specific topic focus on. For instance, you are beset by a problem of year-by-year flash
floods in your community. This problem drives you to think of one topic you can
investigate or focus on for the solution to your community’s flood problem. Perhaps, you
can research only one aspect of the flood problem, like examining only the
neighborhood lifestyle in relation to floods in the area, the need to construct anti-flood
structures, or the capability of more footbridges in the area. (Gray 2013)

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:

1) Background of the Study
2) Statement of the Problem
3) Scope and Delimitation
4) Significance of the Study

Others have sections such as Objectives of the Study, Hypotheses but these will not be
considered in this lesson.

What is a research problem?

The Research Problem (According to Calderon & Gonzales,1993)
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.
Table showing description between a research topic, research problem, purpose
statement and research question.

A research topic is the broad subject Topic: Distance Learning

matter of the study
A research problem is a general issue or Research Problem: Lack of learners’
concern about the research that narrow knowledge about distance in distance
the topic. education.
A purpose of the study used to address Purpose Statement: To study why
the problem. learners do not attend distance education
classes in a community college
A research question narrows the purpose Research Questions: Does the use of
into specific questions that the researcher website technology in the classroom deter
would like to answer in the study learners from enrolling in a distant
education class?

A. Background of the Study Topic:

Purpose of background of the study:

a. The general definition of the topic/problem area
b. Historical basis for the existence of the problem
c. Efforts made towards addressing similar challenges
d. How the efforts failed to be realized hence the need for your study

Contents of the background of the study:

a. Presentation of the problem. Describe the existence of an unsatisfactory
condition or a problem that needs a solution.
b. Historical background of the problem - Give the historical background of the
problem, if applicable.
c. Geographical conditions of the study locale - If applicable, describe the
geographical location of the study.
d. Rationale of the study - Give the reason(s) why the study should be conducted.

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)
2. The specific sub-problems or sub-questions (or research questions).

Guidelines in Writing the Statement of the Problem (According to Calderon &

Gonzales, 1993):
1. The general statement of the problem and the research questions should be
formulated first before conducting the research.
2. Research questions should be stated in the interrogative and each should be
clear to avoid confusion.
3. Each research question should be researchable separately from the other
questions and must be based upon known facts and phenomena which is
accessible to the researcher.
4. Answers to each research question can be interpreted apart from the answers
to the other specific questions and must contribute to the development of the
whole research study.
5. The summary of the answers to all the specific questions will give a complete
development of the entire study.
6. The number of research questions should be enough to cover the
development of the whole research study.
 C. Scope and Delimitation of the Study

Scope of a Study 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 limits the scope and outlines the boundaries of the study.
These limitations include the following:

1. Sample size. (a) The research design and method will determine whether if it is
small or large sample size. (b) The sample size will determine the quality of data
and the relationships that will be identified among the variables.
2. Lack of available and/or reliable data. This will limit the scope of analysis and
the ability of the researcher to determine meaningful trends and relationships
among the data.
3. Lack of prior studies. This will limit the effectiveness of the literature review and
initial understanding of the research.
4. Chosen data collection method. The quality of data collected must be clear to
avoid erroneous answers from the respondents.
5. Nature of the information collected. Researcher should not rely on pre-existing
data.
6. Access. The amount and quality of available data will depend on the ability of
the researcher to access people, organizations, libraries, and documents.
7. Time period. It is advisable to select a research problem and design
8. Bias. The researcher should be aware of his or her personal biases.
9. Language. This may have an effect on data collection, especially if the
researcher is involved with respondents that speak a variety of languages.

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

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. It describes the contribution of
the study to the existing body of knowledge.

It could be the following:

 a. A form of new knowledge in the field.
b. A validation of the major findings of other studies.
c. A verification of the validity of findings in a different population.
d. Analysis of trends over time, and validation of other findings using different
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.
For queries and clarifications you may contact:

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
problems in improving economic and health conditions or even finding solutions to
problems encountered in daily life.
Name: ______________________________________ Strand/Section: ____________
Teacher: JETHRO G. OREJEULA Subject: Practical Research 1 (PR1) Week: 3
Type of Assessment: Formative Assessment Deadline: March 12, 2020

Directions: Answer the questions in 3-5 sentences only. Write your answers on the
space provided.

1. What is Chapter 1 of a research paper and its sections that comprise?

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2. What is the difference between a research problem and research topic?

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3. What are the guidelines in writing statement of the problem?

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4. Why do we need to limit the scope of the study?

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MR. JETHRO G. OREJUELA | 0951967174 | [email protected]

KING THOMAS LEARNING ACADEMY | SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT

 Name: ______________________________________ Strand/Section: ____________
Teacher: JETHRO G. OREJEULA Subject: Practical Research 1 (PR1) Week: 3
Type of Assessment: Summative Assessment Deadline: March 19, 2020

writes a research title

provides the justifications/reasons for conducting the research
states research question indicates scope and delimitation of research
cites benefits and beneficiaries of research
presents written statement of the problem
Submit your manuscript- Chapter 1.

Rubrics:
Category: 4 3 2 1
Use Every major Every major Every major point Every major
facts/Statistics point was well point was was supported point was not
supported with adequately with facts, supported
several relevant supported with statistics and/or
facts relevant facts examples, but the
relevance of
some was
questionable
Organization All arguments Most arguments All arguments Arguments
were clearly tied were clearly tied were clearly tied were not
to an idea and to an idea and to an idea, but clearly tied to
organized in a organized in a the organization an idea
tight, logical tight, logical was sometimes
fashion fashion not clear or
logical
Understanding The team clearly The team clearly The team The team did
of the topic understood the understood the seemed to not show an
topic in-depth topic in-depth understood the adequate
and presented and presented topic and understanding
their information their information presented their of the topic
forcefully and with ease information with
convincingly ease

Approved:

Mr. Jethro G. Orejuela

Research Adviser

MR. JETHRO G. OREJUELA | 0951967174 | [email protected]

KING THOMAS LEARNING ACADEMY | SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT