RESEARCH PROTOCOL

Front page
It is the first preliminary page of the research paper and must contain the following information:
Name of the University and Logo, Name of the Degree, Name of the Work, Name of the Student,
Name of the Professor, Place and Date.

Index
It is the list that indicates each of the parts of the research work, with the corresponding page
numbering, and with the traditional enumeration.

Summary
This section presents the results of the research work. It consists of a concise summary of the
study, conclusions and recommendations using an organized and condensed format. The extract is
placed at the beginning of the work so that the reader can quickly determine the essential
elements, which is why the extract is the research work in microcosm. The length should be a
maximum of one page and should be written after the research work is finished.

Introduction
It is a general and summarized description (in brief form) of the research work, its objective is to
present the reader with a general overview of the work carried out, awakening their interest and
inviting them to read it.

Research topic.

Indicate a clear and precise idea of the problem, quickly and synthetically show the problem to
be addressed and its variable(s) or analysis categories.

Be precise, brief, well-defined (making it univocal), but not sacrificing clarity at the expense of
conciseness (done with the following criterion: the shorter the length, the greater the
understanding and vice versa).

In conclusion, it is important to conceive a well-defined topic, which is of small or medium

length, truly original and which contributes to covering a need (in this case institutional),
which is viable within the personal and institutional circumstances of the researcher, as well as
of the institution, being able to lead our reflection to a very specific question:

Background.
Once the topic of study has been determined, the state of development of knowledge around the
chosen topic will be determined, which consists of the review of all work carried out prior to the
formulation of the problem posed, which serves to clarify, judge and interpret the problem under
study. The way in which this section will be constructed is through a conceptual synthesis (or
conclusions) of the research or work carried out on the topic raised, which will allow:

Greater knowledge of the subject, which will enable you to be in a better position to refine and
structure the research idea (delimitation). Selecting topics or aspects that have not been studied in
depth, and not researching an aspect that has already been studied in depth, if necessary giving
direction on aspects of said topic but that have been studied or explained in little depth.

One aspect that must be taken into account is that the background should not be a historical
account, nor the presentation of bibliographic sources to be used. It is important to avoid
backgrounds that have not been worked on with some kind of relationship to the problem.

Problem statement.
Typically, the researcher starts with a general and vague idea; however, it is necessary to consider
that not all aspects related to the problem can be investigated in a single study, which requires it
to be delimited and contextualized, leaving open other possibilities that can be reviewed in
subsequent studies.

Every problem must arise from a difficulty, a need, where there are unresolved situations. This
approach must be resolved through a deep and calm reflection carried out by the researcher after
having thoroughly reviewed the corresponding literature (theoretical and empirical background)
and internalized the main concepts and theoretical propositions that allow him to formulate with
complete clarity and mastery the problem that is intended to be solved with the research.

Problem description.
Describing the research problem consists of stating clearly and specifically what is going to be
investigated through an argument, for which it is necessary to state it adequately from the
following stages: description and characterization, delimitation and definition, and formulation of
the research question. Problematization seeks to identify the situation that draws the researcher's
attention.

Justification.
Explains the purpose and benefits derived from research, as well as its importance. In this section,
the completion of the research work must be supported with convincing arguments. It contains
the fundamental information that supports the research to be carried out, emphasizing mainly the
technical and social nature. Answer the question: Why and for what purpose do research? Here it
is appropriate to make an assessment of the problem to be investigated, answering the following
questions:

Is the problem real?

Is it feasible to carry out the research?

Is what is to be investigated relevant?

Will it bring new knowledge?

Theoretical framework.
The development of the theoretical framework refers to theoretically supporting the study. It
consists of presenting and analyzing the theories, conceptualizations, theoretical perspectives and
research in general, which are considered valid for the correct framing of the study (Rojas, 2002),
through a compendium developed in a comprehensive and coherent manner. In this case, the
theoretical guidelines that guide the study are presented, clearly describing the general (complete)
panorama of schools or theories that address the topic and the main empirical evidence in
national and international literature. Answer the question:

What do I rely on to study this reality?

Without a theoretical framework, the phenomena you intend to investigate cannot be addressed
and explained.

The construction of the theoretical framework can begin by presenting the different definitions on
the subject, then moving on to describe the theoretical models that have explained it and, finally,
proposing the specific theoretical model on which the research will be based.

Goals.
It is the description of the aspects that are desired to be studied regarding the problem, in order to
provide a global response to it. Its purpose is to obtain knowledge about the object of study and
from this, derive actions to achieve the purpose of transformation.

They represent the concrete actions that the researcher will carry out to try to answer the
research question and thus solve the problem.

At the end of the research, the objectives must be identifiable with the results, that is, the entire
research must respond to the proposed objectives.

The objectives must:

Be concrete, clear and realistic.

Detach yourself from the research question and the variables or categories of analysis.

Modify or adapt throughout the research process, mainly through literature review.

Start your writing with a verb in the infinitive, followed by the statement that refers to the aspect
that is being discussed and what you want to achieve with the research.

For both quantitative and qualitative research, they are presented at two levels of resolution:
general and specific.

General Objective

It seeks to reach the unknown or information that is represented in the research question. It
requires completion at the end of the study, so this objective is written from the research
question.

To achieve the general objective, it is important to rely on the formulation of specific objectives.

Specific objectives

The general objective gives rise to the specific objectives, which identify the actions to be carried
out to achieve the general objective.

In quantitative research, specific objectives arise from the variable(s).

In qualitative research, specific objectives arise from the analysis categories or codes. The specific
objectives are those that are investigated and not the general objective, since this is achieved as a
result. They answer the question: What do I want to achieve to answer the research question?

Proposal for information collection

Here the conditions and the way in which the instruments or techniques for collecting information
will be applied must be detailed. This moment is usually called "field work", a concept that refers
to the special displacement of the work of the research team, differentiating between office work
(research design, data analysis, decision-making) and on-site work (in direct contact with the
environment and the population), the latter being intended to obtain information that accounts
for the reality that is intended to be analyzed.

Research development
After the protocol has been drawn up (which was described in the previous steps), the research
work is formally developed, which will result in the final report and will present the overall
(complete) structure of the process. It is essential that the final report be prepared in a very
careful language, focused directly on the key issues (concrete and precise) and demonstrating the
systematicity and rigor inherent to any scientific research process.

Application of instruments and presentation of results

This section must contain in detail the way in which the instruments or techniques used to obtain
the information were applied or used. If the protocol is followed correctly, this step should be the
description of the planned information collection proposal. A summary of the data collected, as
well as its statistical or qualitative treatment, must also be included. Present the data in sufficient
detail to justify the analysis and conclusions. Mention all relevant results, including those that
contradict the hypothesis.

Analysis of results
After presenting the results, you are in a position to evaluate and interpret their implications,
especially with respect to your stated hypothesis or assumptions. Here you should have the
freedom to examine, interpret and rate the results, as well as to draw inferences from them.

Conclusion
After the main body chapters, the chapter called “Conclusions” continues, which offers the reader
the main results achieved in the work. The conclusion is not a summary of the data presented
above, but rather an interpretation of them. In conclusion, the results obtained in the study itself
are compared with those of other previous studies and similarities and differences are discussed.
It may also include the development of more elaborate theoretical interpretations that serve as
future hypotheses, leaving open topics for further research.

This section should highlight the main findings and ideas of the research and should serve, in itself,
as a basic report of results for those who cannot or do not wish to read the results of the research.
Therefore, conclusions should be written as statements in which the basic aspects of each idea are
highlighted, eliminating possible contradictions or ambiguities. It is also important that they are
presented in a logical order, which may be based on the priority of objectives that the research
sets out.

Proposed solutions
Once the results of the research work have been analyzed, a process of proposing alternatives
begins, with the aim of establishing the basic lines of the intervention that is intended to be
carried out.

These proposals must be appropriate and realistic in all their rigor and depth. This analysis should
allow for the provision of alternatives and/or proposals for changing the situation and sufficient
information to choose the most appropriate one among the alternatives.
The knowledge obtained from the development of the previous steps will be applied in solving the
problem.

Literature
This section highlights the breadth of the consultation carried out and the relevance of the sources
that support the work. It contributes to the identification of authors who have previously dealt
with the topic being discussed, and therefore plays an important role in exploring the thematic
field.

Contains data from all sources used as a basis, reference or useful for further reading when
conducting the research. Care must be taken to ensure that all references that appear in the
document are noted in this section, as well as that any work that appears in the bibliographical
references is cited in the text.

Annexes
These are documents that constitute a secondary source of information and are provided only as a
complement or evidence. Its inclusion is based on the criteria of the researcher and/or his/her
advisor:

They are used to present relevant material that is not essential to the body of the thesis.

This may include information of a technical and complex nature, descriptions of data collection
techniques (case studies that are too extensive to be incorporated into the text and official
documents that are not generally available to the reader).