Lesson 7:

Designing a Research Project Related to Daily Life

Concept:
Designing research is like making a house, car, bag, dress, cake, etc. which needs
appropriate materials and necessary process or steps to follow.
In designing your qualitative research, you must consider whether the topic you have
chosen is relevant to you as a learner, as a constituent in your barangay, and as a citizen of this
country.
Examples
1. In School
Based on observation, what are the issues and problems I encounter inside the classroom?
Is it the lesson, teachers, learners’ attitude, and hindrances to graduation?

2. At Home
Considering my life daily, what are the things that bother me at home?

3. In the Community
What are the usual complaints of my neighbor regarding ordinances, practices,
and activities in the barangay? Or what are the situations in my community that need to
be improved?

Design of Qualitative Research

Qualitative research is an emergent design which means that it emerges as you make ongoing
decisions about what you have learned.
As a design, qualitative research requires researcher’s decision-making like how to gather
data, from where and whom to collect, when to gather, and for how long the process will be.
To have a holistic picture of qualitative research project, you must remember that in deciding
on a topic, you have to consider the kind and the field it belongs to, as well as its relevance to
your daily life.

Lesson 8:
Writing a Research Title

Guidelines in Choosing a Topic

1. Interest in the subject matter
You are interested about the topic because you have experienced it.
2. Availability of information
It is important that when you decide on a topic, sources of information are
available.
3. Timeliness and relevance of the topic
The topic you have chosen can be of significance to the community.
4. Limitations on the subject
Sometimes, the topic is limited to what the teacher suggests. An example of this is
when the teacher asks the entire class to focus on COVID-19 pandemic, then you have no
freedom to explore other topics aside from what is given.
 5. Personal resources
Consider also if you can finish the research in terms of your intellectual and
financial physical capabilities.

Topics to be Avoided
1. Controversial topics
Avoid highly opinionated topics.

2. Highly technical subjects

Too technical topics require expertise. If you don’t have enough knowledge about
it, then look for another one.

3. Hard-to-investigate subjects.
Unavailability of reading materials and materials that are not updated make the
subject hard to investigate.

4. Too broad subjects

You lack focus if you deal with broad topics. The remedy is to narrow it down.

5. Too narrow subject

Some subjects are too narrow that extensive and thorough reading are required.

6. Vague subjects
Titles that start with indefinite adjectives such as several, many, some, etc., make
the topic vague.

Sources of Research Topics

1. Mass media communication-television, newspaper, ads, radio, films, etc.
2. Books, internet, journals, government publications
3. Professional periodicals- specialized periodicals in different fields
4. General periodicals- Reader’s Digest, Time Magazine, Women’s Magazine, etc.
5. Previous readings
6. Work experience.

Examples of Research Topics and their Sources

How to Narrow Down a Topic
1. You can narrow down the topic by exploring and extending the explanation of a theory.
2. Talk over ideas with people who know research.
3. Focus on specific group. Ex: Students, Mothers, Teachers
4. Define the aim or desired outcome of the study.
a. Is the study exploratory, explanatory, or descriptive?
b. Is the study applied or basic?

Before deciding on your topic, ask:

1. What areas are not yet explored that I want to investigate?
2. Is my research useful to me, to my school, to my family and to my community?

Remember, a research study must be significant enough to make it worth your efforts as the
researcher.

Example of a Broad Topic Narrowed Down to Specific One

General Concept: Early Pregnancy
Narrow: Early Pregnancy among Senior High School Students
Narrow: Prevention of Early Pregnancy among Senior High School Students

More Examples of Broad and Specific Topics

How to Formulate a Research Title
 Research title is the most important element of your research as it clearly expresses the
problem to be explored.
 A research title capsulizes the main thought or idea of the whole research paper. It also
reflects the variables under study.
 It is expressed in few words possible and just enough to describe the contents and the
purpose of your research.
 It needs to be informative.
 It contains the:
 What: the subject matter or topic to be investigated
 Where: place or locale where the research is to be conducted
 Who: the participants of respondents of the study
 When: the time of the conduct of the study

Examples:
Struggles in Online Learning Modality among Students of Lila National High School
during School Year 2021-2021

What: Struggles in Online Learning Modality

Where: Lila National High School
Who: Students
When: School Year 2021-2021

Less Mastered Competencies of Senior High School Students in Lila during School Year
2020-2021

What: Less Mastered Competencies

Where: Lila
Who: Senior High School Students
When: School Year 2020-2021
 Lesson 9:
FORMULATING RESEARCH QUESTIONS, SCOPE AND DELIMITATION OF THE
STUDY, SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY, STATING THE PROBLEM

Concept:

Formulating Research Questions

The questions that you ask in your research will determine the data that you want to have,
answer, and specify in Chapter 4. Hence, it is a crucial stage to attain your research objective.
Research questions help writers focus their research by providing a path through the research and
writing process. You should ask a question about an issue that you are genuinely curious and/or
passionate about. The question you ask should be developed for the discipline you are studying.
A question directed towards Literature, for instance, is different from an appropriate one in
Mathematics to Biology.

A research question is an answerable inquiry into a specific concern or issue. It is the

initial step in a research project. The research question is the first active step in the research
project. Let us use this metaphor - the research project is a house. Your data collection forms the
walls, and your hypothesis that guides your data collection is the foundation. So, what is the
research question? It is the ground beneath the foundation. It is what everything in a research
project is built on. Without a question, you can't have a hypothesis. Without the hypothesis, you
won't know how to study what you're interested in.

A research question forms the base of where you are going, so we must write a good
research question. If your foundation is built on something shifty, like a house built on sand, then
everything following that will be about correcting that initial issue instead of on making an
awesome home/research project.

Writing a Research Question

Writing a good research question means you have something you want to study. Let's say
you're interested in the effects of television. We will examine the steps and then look at how you
could write a research question.

✔ Specify your specific concern or issue

✔ Decide what you want to know about the specific concern or issue
✔ Turn what you want to know and the specific concern into a question
✔ Ensure that the question is answerable
✔ Check to make sure the question is not too broad or too narrow

A research question should be (from the Writing Center of George Mason University):
 ✔ Clear. It provides enough specifics that one’s audience can easily understand its
purpose without needing additional explanation.

✔ Focused. It is narrow enough that it can be answered thoroughly in the space the
writing task allows.

✔ Concise. It is expressed in the fewest possible words.

✔ Complex. It is not answerable with a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’, but rather requires synthesis
and analysis of ideas and sources prior to composition of an answer.

✔ Arguable. Its potential answers are open to debate rather than accepted facts.

Please check for the following examples for reference:

Unclear: How should social networking sites address the harm they cause?

Clear: What action should social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook take to
protect users’ personal information and privacy?

The unclear version of this question doesn’t specify which social networking sites or
suggests what kind of harm the sites might be causing. It also assumes that this ‘harm’ is proven
and/or accepted.

Writing the Thesis Statement

Every paper you write should have a main point, a main idea, or central message. The
argument(s) you make in your paper should reflect this main idea. The sentence that captures
your position on this main idea is what we call a thesis statement.

A thesis statement focuses on your ideas into one or two sentences. It should present the
topic of your paper and make a comment about your position in relation to the topic. Your thesis
statement should tell your reader what the paper is about and help guide your writing and keep
your argument focused.

You should provide a thesis early in your essay -- in the introduction, or in longer essays
in the second paragraph -- in order to establish your position and give your reader a sense of
direction.

Tip: In order to write a successful thesis statement:

A. Avoid burying a great thesis statement in the middle of a paragraph or late in the paper.

B. Be as clear and as specific as possible; avoid vague words.

C. Indicate the point of your paper but avoid sentence structures like, “The point of my
paper is…”

Please see these examples on how to improve your thesis:

 Original thesis: There are serious objections to today's horror movies.

Revised theses: Because modern cinematic techniques have allowed filmmakers to get
more graphic, horror flicks have desensitized young American viewers
to violence.

The pornographic violence in "bloodbath" slasher movies degrades both

men and women.

Today's slasher movies fail to deliver the emotional catharsis that 1930s
horror films did.

Tips in Writing Clear Thesis:

Your thesis statement is no exception to your writing: it needs to be as clear as possible.

By being as clear as possible in your thesis statement, you will make sure that your reader
understands exactly what you mean.

Tip: In order to be as clear as possible in your writing:

✔ Unless you're writing a technical report, avoid technical language. Always avoid
jargon, unless you are confident your audience will be familiar with it.

✔ Avoid vague words such as "interesting,” "negative, "exciting,” "unusual," and

"difficult."

✔ Avoid abstract words such as "society," “values,” or “culture.”

SCOPE AND DELIMITATION

The scope of study in your research paper contains the explanation of what information
or subject is being analyzed. It is followed by an explanation of the limitations of the research.
Research is usually limited in scope by sample size, time, and geographic area, while the
delimitation of study is the description of the scope of study. It will explain why definite aspects
of a subject were chosen and why others were excluded. It also mentions the research method
used as well as the certain theories applied to the data.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Writing a research paper has its purpose - may it be for you (as a researcher) or even for
others. That is why you need to identify the key reason/s why you are taking a step forward and
make your query into a formal writing. In this stage, your ‘WHYs’ and ‘HOWs’ will be answered
and explained.

Tips in Writing the Significance of the Study (Regoniel, 2015)

A. Refer to the statement of the problem.

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

B. Write from general to specific contribution.

Write the significance of the study by looking into the general contribution of
your study, such as its importance to society, then proceed downwards - towards its
contribution to individuals and that may include yourself as a researcher. You start off
broadly then taper off gradually to a specific group or person.