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LYCEUM OF THE PHILIPPINES UNIVERSITY CAVITE

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
General Trias City, Cavite

Research/Capstone Project
Course Learning Kit

Subquarter A
February 8-26, 2021

This set of modules was prepared by Mr. Christopher A. Malay, Senior High School
faculty member of the LPU International School. The author of the modules may be
different from your actual subject teacher. Please refer to the Class Orientation Kit for
details and instructions from your subject teacher.

The use, disclosure, reproduction, modification and/or transfer of this document for any purpose, in any form or
by any means without approval from Lyceum of the Philippines University Cavite is strictly prohibited, and may be
subject to disciplinary and/or legal sanctions.
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LESSON 1: The Scientific Problem and Literature

In this course, students, under the guidance of a research adviser, will identify a
scientific, technological, or mathematical problem, design and apply an appropriate
methodology, formulate hypothesis, and draw conclusions based on their investigation.
Towards the end of the semester students will prepare a scientific report/paper to be
presented/defended in a forum.
In this lesson, students will analyze and critique research journals. This approach
allows students to integrate lessons to actual research reading and writing. At the end of
this lesson the students are expected to prepare a good introduction and a well-written
literature review.
This lesson includes two activities, a concept map and a research introduction and
literature review. This module lesson is equivalent to 3-class week.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

At the end of this session, you will be able to:

1. identify a scientific problem or question
2. differentiate applied and basic research problems the scientific literature and its
relevance to the chosen scientific problem
3. set selection criteria for studies relevant to a chosen scientific problem
4. review, digest, and concisely state the relevance of the studies cited

KEY TERMS

Scientific problem Research introduction Review of related literature

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CORE CONTENT

Preliminary
Checking Prior Knowledge. Provide a short answer for the following terms.
Define Answer

Research introduction

Literature review

Enumerate

Parts of an introduction

Sources of literature review

Lesson Proper

The Scientific Problem and Literature

Scientific research and problem

Scientific research are formal studies that is done systematically following the
scientific method. Research is done with the primary goal of contributing to the growing
body of scientific knowledge. It is imperative that before the conduct of a research, the
researcher should have determined the subject of the study, planned, and review existing
literature and identified the methodology. A well-planned research is a good research.

Distinct features of a formal research

1. It originates with a question or problem.
2. It requires clear articulation of a goal.
3. It requires a specific plan for proceeding.
4. It usually divides the principal problem into more manageable sub problems.
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by any means without approval from Lyceum of the Philippines University Cavite is strictly prohibited, and may be
subject to disciplinary and/or legal sanctions.
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5. It is guided by the specific research problem, question, or hypothesis.

6. It accepts certain critical assumptions.
7. It requires the collection and interpretation of data in to resolve the problem that
initiated the research.
8. It is, by its nature, cyclical or, more exactly, helical.

Characteristics of a good research

Research topics ranged from descriptive to analytical to social. With such immense
diversity it important that research topic should be interesting not only to the
researcher but also for the consumers (reader). An interesting topic or idea invokes
the mind and merits further questions, analyses, and even promote continuation of the
study. If a research is not interesting enough it may fail to persuade readers to
understand the idea being presented. Research should also be feasible. It the
research possible to do easily or conveniently? If yes, then it is feasible. There is not
point in doing a “near-impossible” research. Most of the research done in science are
validation of existing protocols and if not discovery of new techniques, organisms, or
entities. The latter is novel meaning new. With all the research done in the scientific
arena, novel findings really standout. Another consideration of research is that it
should be relevant. Relevant means being connected or appropriate to what is
considered timely, significant, or badly needed. Research interest dwindles when a
research is done irrelevantly. And lastly, a good research is ethical. Every research
relates to a certain moral principle of each discipline.

Nature and identification of a research problem

• A research problem is one which is defined by intellectual curiosity and not defined
by group or societal values.
• Research problems are those topics the researcher “would like to address,
investigate, or study, whether descriptively or experimentally”
• A researcher without a good research problem has a bad practical problem.

What could constitute a real research problem

1. A gap in the field’s knowledge

2. Something the field has not or should not have finished researching
3. An unexplained observation, an observation that sticks out
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by any means without approval from Lyceum of the Philippines University Cavite is strictly prohibited, and may be
subject to disciplinary and/or legal sanctions.
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4. Something that has not yet been categorized or analyzed

5. Something that does not seem right
6. Contrasts that can still be discussed
7. Something that is currently being debated in the field
8. Something that can and should be argued for
9. Something that conflicts with the general view
10. Something that must be (re)evaluated, changed, transformed, constructed, or
needs new designs.

Defining the research problem

A. Internal criteria- these are researcher dependent cause of problem.
• Interest
• Expertise
• Researcher’s own resource

B. External criteria- problems arising outside the capacity of the researcher

• Data availability
• Relevance
• Ethics
• Researchability of the problem
• Novelty of the problem
• Importance and urgency
• Facilities
• Feasibility
• Usefulness and social relevance
• Research personnel

Writing and Using Related Literature

Literature review is a comprehensive overview of prior research regarding a
specific topic. It shows the reader what is known about a topic, and what is not yet known.
It also highlights what has been done so far in the field of interest and how your findings
relate to earlier research. Furthermore, literature in a research study accomplishes
several purposes. It shares with the reader the results of other studies that are closely
related to the study being reported . It relates a study to the larger, ongoing dialog in the
literature about a topic, filling in gaps and extending prior studies. And lastly, it provides
a framework for establishing the importance of the study.

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by any means without approval from Lyceum of the Philippines University Cavite is strictly prohibited, and may be
subject to disciplinary and/or legal sanctions.
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The review of literature also indicates the following:

1. Approaches – are the steps done by the researchers in planning, doing, and
completing the research.
2. Methods – include the protocols, experiments, instruments, and other data
gathering procedures employed in the research.
3. Variables used – may include the stimulus, changes, or intervention done to
show cause-effect relationship.
4. Statistical procedure – is the statistical approached used to analyzed data in the
research

What Types of Sources are Appropriate to Use?

• Scholarly empirical articles, dissertations, and books.
• Scholarly, nonempirical articles and essays.
• Textbooks, encyclopedias, and dictionaries.
• Trade journal articles.
• Certain nationally and internationally recognized “good” newsmagazines.

Main importance of literature review

1. Improves Research Methodology- literature review helps researchers to acquire
methodologies used by other researchers to find and solve research questions like the
ones you are investigating. Literature review helps explain the procedures other
researchers used and methods like the ones the researcher is proposing. It gives
researcher an idea whether the methods of other researchers used worked for them and
what are the problems they faced. By doing a review of literature, researchers become
aware of pitfalls and problems and could strategize well to select a methodology that will
suit the research.
2. Focus on Research Problem- review of literature could help researchers shape their
research problem because the process of reviewing the literature helps understand the
subject area better and thus helps conceptualize the problem clearly and precisely. It also
helps understand the relationship between the research problem and body of knowledge
in the research area.
3. Cater to Knowledge Base for Research Area- literature review ensures that
researchers read widely around the subject area in which they intend to conduct research
study. It is fundamental that researchers know what others are doing in the field of interest

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by any means without approval from Lyceum of the Philippines University Cavite is strictly prohibited, and may be
subject to disciplinary and/or legal sanctions.
 7

or the similar topic that researchers have been working on as well as understanding
theories that have been put forward and gaps that exist in the field.
4. Contextualizing Research Findings- it helps researcher answer important questions
like: how do you answer your research questions compared to what other researchers
concluded? What is the new knowledge contribution from your research work? How are
your findings distinguished from those of other researchers?
5. Ensure Novelty in your Work- by doing a review of literature, you do not run the risk of
reinventing the wheel-wasting efforts on trying to rediscover something that is already
known or published in the research arena. Therefore, through literature review, you could
ensure novelty and new contribution in your research work.

Four important steps in literature review

Step 1: Search the Existing Literature in your Research Area of Interest
• Narrow your topics so that you can cover in depth.
• To effectively search literature, have in mind some idea of the broad subject area
and the problem you wish to investigate.
• The first task would be compiling a bibliography in your research area.
• The sources include:
• Indices of Journals ( e.g. ACM, IEEE Transcations and Elsevier )
• Abstracts of articles (e.g. Dissertaions Abstracts International, Emerald and
IT Knowledge Base)
• Citation indices(e.g. ProQuest and Scopus)
• In most libraries, information on books, journals, dissertations and so on are stored
in computers and CD-ROMs.

Step 2: Review the Literature Obtained once you have identified several journals
• Read and read! That is the bottom line of doing a review.
• If you do not have a framework or theme to begin your research with, use a
separate paper to jot down the main points you extract from journal articles and
books.
• As you read further, do some critical review with particular references to the
following aspects:
• Note the theories put forward, critics, methods used (sample size, data
used, measurement procedure)
• Note whether the knowledge relevant to your designed framework has been
confirmed beyond doubt
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by any means without approval from Lyceum of the Philippines University Cavite is strictly prohibited, and may be
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• Find differences of opinions among researchers and jot down your opinions
about their validity
• Examine the gaps that exist in the body of knowledge

Step 3: Develop a Conceptual/Theoretical Framework

• Reviewing the literature can be a never-ending task.
• Every information you obtain from literature sources must be sorted out
accordingly with the themes and issues you put in your framework.
• The best practice would be to develop a framework first and then dive into literature
search or vice versa.

Step 4: Writing up the Literature Review

• Begin your review with some theme or points that you want to emphasize.
• Organize and list all the themes you would like to discuss and relate.
• While writing, identify and describe various theories relevant to your field and
specify gaps in body of the knowledge in that area.
• Proceed to explain recent advances in the area of study as well as current trends.
• Do a comparison and evaluate findings based on:
• Assumptions of research
• Theories related to the area of study
• Hypotheses
• Research designs applied
• Variables selected
• Potential future work speculated by researchers
• Most importantly, avoid plagiarism when writing.

Common weaknesses in writing the literature review

1. Researchers tend to cut and paste, which SHOULD NOT be encouraged.
2. Original works should be cited and quoted.
3. Journals or reports that are included are not critically evaluated.

Procedure in evaluating a research journal

• Step 1: Read and Understand the Abstract- what was the research about? Are the
objectives or aims of the study specified clearly? Was the design used described?
What are the reasons for understanding the research?

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by any means without approval from Lyceum of the Philippines University Cavite is strictly prohibited, and may be
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 9

• Step 2: Read and Understand the Introduction- researchers should keep in mind
that the author is assuming that the reader is an expert in the field and has some
background knowledge about it. References made may be short and brief because
it is assumed that researcher know the people in the field. Do some critique on the
research questions whether it is applicable to the theme mentioned or not.
• Step 3: Read the Methodology Section- describe the methods used to collect data
and the background of the subjects used. Researcher should be able to do some
critique on whether the subjects selected is clear. Are the issues of validity and
reliability discussed? If the topic was design and development, was the framework
explained in sufficient detail? Could it have been done in another way?
• Step 4: Read the Results Section- result describes the connection between the
results and the research questions or hypotheses.It also reports results relating to
the research questions and other statistically significant results. Were the results
clearly reported and presented? (e.g. usage of tables and graphs). Do the results
reflect predictions made in the Introduction section?
• Step 5: Read and Understand the Discussion Section- this section describes main
findings and relating it to the introduction section. It also speculates reasons for
the results. Researcher needs to identify what are the weaknesses or limitations
identified by the author or something you found but was not mentioned.
Researcher must analyze whether the author’s way is the only way to interpret the
predicted results

IN-TEXT ACTIVITIES

To jumpstart the writing process. Select 5 research paper from a peer-reviewed journal
website. These 5 papers should be at least similar to your working topic. Read the
introduction and literature review and fill out the following table. This activity will be graded
as a Written Work.

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by any means without approval from Lyceum of the Philippines University Cavite is strictly prohibited, and may be
subject to disciplinary and/or legal sanctions.
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APA citation General and Independent Dependent Methods/ protocols/ Statistical analysis
specific objectives variable variable instrument employed

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of the Philippines University Cavite is strictly prohibited, and may be subject to disciplinary and/or legal sanctions.
 11

Supplementary online videos

1. How to Write a Research Paper Introduction https://youtu.be/FTC-5P1VFFU

SUMMARY

• Scientific research are formal studies that is done systematically following the
scientific method.
• Formal research originates with a question or problem, requires clear articulation of a
goal, and a specific plan for proceeding.
• A good research is interesting, feasible, novel, relevant, and ethical.
• A research problem is one which is defined by intellectual curiosity and not defined by
group or societal values.
• Research problem could be internal or researcher dependent cause of problem and/or
external criteria- problems arising outside the capacity of the researcher.
• Literature review is a comprehensive overview of prior research regarding a specific
topic.
• The review of literature also indicates the approaches, methods, variables used, and
statistical procedure.
• Sources of literature review include scholarly empirical articles, dissertations, and
books, nonempirical articles and essays, textbooks, encyclopedias, and dictionaries.
• Steps in literature review; 1) search the existing literature in your research area of
interest, 2) review the literature obtained once you have identified several journals, 3)
develop a conceptual/theoretical framework, and 4) writing the literature review.
• Common weaknesses in writing the literature review includes students copy-pasting
original works without paraphrasing and failing to evaluate the content of the research.

SELF- ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS

Researchers are to develop a mind map of the introduction and literature review on their
given topic. The following rubric will be used.

Criteria 5points 3 points 1 point

Structure: Non- Ideas provide a Some ideas Few ideas
linear structure complete picture radiate out from radiate out from
provides a with a high center but are center. Not very
complete picture of degree of not suitable to clear
your ideas. imagination and topic
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by any means without approval from Lyceum of the Philippines University Cavite is strictly prohibited, and may be
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creativity
Exploratory: Map Clear and highly Some ideas move Ideas are not
shows complex effective from most connected from
thinking about the indication of complex to most complex to
meaningful connection simplest simplest
relationships between ideas
between and central image
ideas, themes, and
the framework.
Relationships: Highly effective Key words are Limited use of
Relative importance use of key words used. Average key words. Some
of ideas is indicated and images and understanding of images are not
and both simple deep topic applicable
and complex understanding of
relationships are topic
mapped very
effectively.
Connections: Effective use of Some effort to Little or no use
Information is color, codes, or use color, codes, of color, codes,
presented clearly links to make or links to show or links to show
and allows for a connections connections connections
high level of between ideas between ideas between ideas
understanding meaningful
Extent of Highly effective Good or Limited or
Coverage: Map effort to connect adequate effort to ineffective effort
shows complex main ideas connect main to connect main
thinking about the together ideas together ideas together
meaningful
relationships
between ideas,
themes, and the
framework.

REFERENCES

1. Anthony, M. (2017). Writing for Publication. In Home healthcare now (Vol. 35,
Issue 6). https://doi.org/10.1097/NHH.0000000000000558
The use, disclosure, reproduction, modification and/or transfer of this document for any purpose, in any form or
by any means without approval from Lyceum of the Philippines University Cavite is strictly prohibited, and may be
subject to disciplinary and/or legal sanctions.
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2. Baraceros, E. (2016). Practical Research 2 (1st ed.). REX Book Store.

3. Barrett, D. W. (2008). The Importance of Doing Research ( Earnestly !). Journal
of Undergraduate Psychological Research, 3(1997), 2008.
4. Bespalov, A., & Michel, M. C. (n.d.). Good Research Practice in Pharmacology
and Biomedicine.
5. Çaparlar, C. Ö., & Dönmez, A. (2016). What is scientific research and how can it
be done? In Turk Anesteziyoloji ve Reanimasyon Dernegi Dergisi (Vol. 44, Issue
4, pp. 212–218). AVES Ibrahim Kara. https://doi.org/10.5152/TJAR.2016.34711

The use, disclosure, reproduction, modification and/or transfer of this document for any purpose, in any form or
by any means without approval from Lyceum of the Philippines University Cavite is strictly prohibited, and may be
subject to disciplinary and/or legal sanctions.