PRACTICAL RESEARCH 1

Quarter 3- Module 3.1:

Identifying the Inquiry and Stating the
Problem
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 What I need to know

Did you know that parachutes function only when opened? In the same manner
your minds work when unlocked. Research study is like you are planning to travel to a
place you have not been to and the question is where and how do you start. ? Where
should you start a research? How do you choose a topic? What far will it go and who
will benefit from it. In research, you are inclining to think in various stages that sorts out
from the simplest to the most intricate thoughts. You are beginning to perform what you
want to research intending to know a new subject into higher levels of thinking as you
go through the several conditions. The quality of thinking and devotion you give to your
actions of choosing your research, identifying question, knowing the coverage and the
significance of your research study strongly determined the success of your research
work.

This module will assist you in understanding the following lessons:

Lesson 1 Subject Matter of the Research

Learning Objectives
After going through this module, you are expected to be able to:

1. design a research project related to the daily life

2. write a research title
3. describe the reasons for conducting the research

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 What I know

Direction: Identify how a research project is described on the following statements.

Encircle the letter of the correct answer

1. A business student plans a research project of an online business. Due to its limited
information (the title) on the nature of the business, which one of these best applies to
the idea?
a. It is too broad.
b. It is a highly technical subject.
c. It has an acceptable method.
d. It has an acceptable purpose.
2. What is the main advantage of producing a written research project?
a. Helps with liability.
b. Helps the society.
c. Informs all interested parties.
d. Helps keep people employed.
3. Good research proposals will always:
a. focus on the written style.
b. provides respondent names and addresses.
c. consider all possible research previously been done on the topic.
d. focus on addressing the research objectives.
4. What is the reason for consulting handbooks, yearbooks, encyclopedias, or reviews
in the initial stages of identifying a research topic?
a. They are readily available.
b. They provide an overview of the issues related to a topic.
c. They are primary sources.
d. They avoid reporting statistical data to interpret the results more readily.
5. Which of the following are excellent sources for research topics?
a. Theory
b. Personal experience
c. Replication of prior research
d. All of the above
6. Mr. Santos identified his research topic as "classroom assessment." He recognized
very quickly his topic was far too broad. Which of the following is likely to have led to
that conclusion?
a. There was far too much written on the topic to understand it all.
b. It was difficult to organize the material collected in an effective manner.
c. The potential problems he began thinking would be next to impossible to
study.
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 d. All of the above.
7. What is a research project?
a. A way of conducting research that is not grounded in theory.
b. A choice between using qualitative or quantitative methods.
c. A style in which you present your research findings, e.g. a graph.
d. A framework for every stage of the collection and analysis of data.
8. Which of these would be assured by you when selecting factors for a study in
general?
a. They have been investigated before
b. They are available to investigate
c. They are not of interest to you
d. They do not lead to another question
9. Which of the following is a good way to find a research topic?
a. Personal experience
b. Getting an idea from your advisor
c. Looking for the next step in the research process
d. All of the above
10. What is not true of a research title?
a. Read the most, and it is usually read first
b. Least important element that defines the research problem.
c. Contains few words that describe the purpose of the research
d. All of the above

Lesson
1 The Subject Matter of the Research

Developing a good research topic may not be easy for you but it is an important
skill. Your teacher may assign you a particular topic but often requires you to choose a
topic that interests you .In this lesson you are given the guidelines in choosing a topic
when you begin your research work. These pointers will guide you in selecting a good
topic. Other factors affecting in choosing and writing your research are topics that need
to be avoided this will help you focus clearly on your subjects. Likewise the sources of
information are important for you to know where your research topic may come from.

What’s in?
(
In the previous lesson, you learned to illustrate the importance of qualitative
research across fields of inquiry .Research can be conducted in any field of
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knowledge .Whatever field you belong you can freely choose the basic research
approaches either the scientific, naturalistic or mixed. The areas of disciplines that are
classified into soft and hard sciences assist you to understand where you really fit.
These will guide you into this next learning of designing a research project and writing
a research title.

What’s New?

I. What is a Research Title1?

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 defence before the panel of judges.

 Elements of a Research Title

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 like 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

Subject matter: The effects of the use of cell phones on the academic
performance
Population to senior high school students
Place or locale: at Department of Education
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 Time period: during the first semester, school year 2018-2019

II. Rules in Choosing a Research Topic1

1. Interest in the subject matter. Interest in a subject drives you to research,

investigate, or inquire about it with full motivation, enthusiasm, and energy.

2. Availability of information. Information will serve as evidence to support your claims

about your subject matter from varied forms of literature like books, journals, and
newspapers, among others, is a part and parcel of any research work.

What to include in the investigation of the available materials?

a. Update and authority of the materials.
b. Copyright dates of the materials? Are they new or old?
c. Expert or qualification of the writers of reading materials about your topic

3. Timeliness and relevance of the topic.

How relevant is the topic?

a. It yields results that are useful in society
b. Related to the present. (Except for pure or historical research)

4. Limitations on the subject. Connect your choice with course requirements. You need
to decide on one topic to
finish your course.

5. Personal resources. Do an assessment on your research abilities in terms of your

financial standing, health condition, mental capacity, needed facilities, and time
schedule to enable you to complete your research. You have to raise an amount of
money needed to spend on questionnaire printing and interview trips.

III. Research Topics to be avoided1

1. Controversial topics.
It depends more on the writer’s opinion leading to biases. Facts cannot support
this topic.

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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.

IV. Sources of Research Topics1

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.

Activity 1: Question and Answer

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

1. What are the rules in choosing a research topic?

2. What are those topics to avoid in preventing you to have a clear focus on your
research paper?

3. Where can you find sources of research topics to create ideas of selecting a good
subject matter?

What is it?

Discussion of Activity 1
You just learned the rules in choosing a research subject. These includes topics to
be avoided and the sources of where to search.
1. What topics you find most relevant in your daily life potential to research? Cite
two issues.

2. How about a writing a good research title? Present (1) one good example of a
research title and (1) NOT so good title. Describe each.

What’s more?

Narrowing Your Topic

Given the following broad topics for research, select one topic of your choice and
narrow or limit the topic to make it specific. Use the narrowing chart to fill in the topic.

Topics to choose:
1. Climate Change
2. Social Networking
3. Communication Skills
4. Medicinal Plants
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 5. Cultural Beliefs
Example: Topic Chocolate

Topic Chocolate

Sub-Topics History of chocolate, making of chocolate,

health aspects of chocolate, chocolate
addictions, brands of chocolate

What sub-topics are of most interest to Health aspects of chocolate.

you?

What new questions do you have about Are there health benefits to eating
your topic? chocolate? Can chocolate boost your
mood? Is chocolate addictive?

Develop a topic statement I will explore the health benefits of eating

chocolate, specifically focusing on how
chocolate affects moods and brain
chemistry.

Narrowing Chart

Topic

Sub-Topics

What sub-topics are of most interest to

you?

What new questions do you have about

your topic?

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Develop a topic statement

What I have learned

Think of this statement: A good research is seen in the way its topic is outlined. When
you choose topics for your research, you have to think about the reasons why you
identified those topics.
How will you write a good research topic?

What I can do

Recall or search on the following as a research topic:

a. Essays or reflections you have written from past classes and other activities you
have taken or a lecture you have attended
b. Life experiences
c. Issues or problems observed in your surroundings

Thinking back, what subject matter most interesting to you?

Propose a title out of the above research topics. Write your title on the spaces
provided. (Save the titles for the additional activity to be done)

Additional Activity

From the topics or titles you had saved, browse through some current articles that
relates to the subject matter that interest you to research. Read and summarize the

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topic using the narrowing chart on page 9 of this lesson. It is important that you save
this task for your next lesson.

Assessment

Direction: Identify how a research project is described on the following statements.

Encircle the letter of the correct answer

1. Which of the following is a good way to find a research topic?

a. Personal experience
b. Getting an idea from your advisor
c. Looking for the next step in the research process
d. All of the above
2. What is a not true of a research title?
a. Read the most, and it is usually read first
b. Least important element that defines the research problem.
c. Contains few words that describe the purpose of the research
d. All of the above
3. What is the reason for consulting handbooks, yearbooks, encyclopedias, or reviews
in the initial stages of identifying a research topic?
a. They are readily available.
b. They provide an overview of the issues related to a topic.
c. They are primary sources.
d. They avoid reporting statistical data to interpret the results more readily.
4. Which of the following are excellent sources for research topics?
a. Theory
b. Personal experience
c. Replication of prior research
d. All of the above
5. Mr. Santos identified his research topic as "classroom assessment." He recognized
very quickly his topic was far too broad. Which of the following is likely to have led to
that conclusion?
a. There was far too much written on the topic to understand it all.
b. It was difficult to organize the material collected in an effective manner.
c. The potential problems he began thinking would be next to impossible to
study.
d. All of the above.
6. What is a research project?
a. A way of conducting research that is not grounded in theory.
10
 b. A choice between using qualitative or quantitative methods.
c. A style in which you present your research findings, e.g. a graph.
d. A framework for every stage of the collection and analysis of data.
7. Which of these would be assured by you when selecting factors for a study in
general?
a. They have been investigated before
b. They are available to investigate
c. They are not of interest to you
d. They do not lead to another question
8. A business student plans a research project; it is called a description of an online
business. On the limited information (the title), which one of these best applies to the
idea?
a. It is too broad.
b. It is a highly technical subject.
c. It has an acceptable method.
d. It has an acceptable purpose.
9. What is the main advantage of producing a written research project?
a. Helps with liability.
b. Helps the society.
c. Informs all interested parties.
d. Helps keep people employed.
10. Good research proposals will always:
a. Focus on the written style.
b. Provides respondent names and addresses.
c. Consider all possible research previously been done on the topic.
d. Focus on addressing the research objectives.
d. They do not lead to another question

11
REFERENCES

Abdullah, S.N. (2018) .Practical Research 1: Qualitative Research [PowerPoint

slides].Retrieved from http://www.academia.edu./ppt

Babbie, E. (2014).The Basics of Social Research. 6th ed. Wadsworth-Cengage

Learning.USA.

Barbour, R. (2014). Introducing Qualitative Research: A Student Guide. Los Angeles:

Sage.

Calmorin, L.P. (2016).Research and Thesis Writing with Statistics and Computer
Application .Rev.ed.Rex Book Store.Manila

Cristobal, A.P., Jr, & Cristobal, M.D. (2016). Practical Research 1 for Senior High
School .Ist ed.C & E Publishing Inc.Quezon City.

Accessed in June 2020

https://wps.prenhall.com/chet_airasian_edresearch_7/5/1488/380982.cw/index.html

https://wps.pearsoned.co.uk/
ema_uk_he_saunders_doingresearch_1/209/53534/13704779.cw/
index.html /Copyright © 1995-2010, Pearson Education, Inc.

Key Answer

Pretest

1. b 2.a 3.c 4.b 5.b 6.d 7.a 8.b 9.d 10.b

Post test 12

1. d 2.b 3.b 4.d 5.d 6.a 7.b 8.b 9.a 10.c

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