FORMULATING RESEARCH

QUESTIONS, SCOPE AND

DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY,
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY,
STATING THE PROBLEM

Cherry Mae E. Puno, RN, LPT

CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE TITLES IN
RESEARCH STUDIES
1. Indicate accurately the subject and scope of
the study.
2. Avoid using abbreviations.
3. Use words that create a positive impressions
and stimulate reader interest. Be mindful of
the proper use of grammar and punctuation
4. Identify key variables, both dependent and
independent.
CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE TITLES IN RESEARCH STUDIES

6. May reveal how the paper will be organized.

7. Suggest a relationship between variables which
supports the major hypothesis.
8. Is limited to substantive words or descriptive terms and
phrases that accurately highlight the core content of the
paper.
9. Do not include words like “The study of,” “Analysis of,”
“An investigation of” or similar construction as these
would only lengthen the title.
10. Titles are usually in the form of phrase, but can also in
the form of a question. (Declarative)
CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE TITLES IN
RESEARCH STUDIES
11. If the quote is used as part of the title, the
source of the quote is cited using an asterisk and
footnote.
12. In academic studies, rarely is a title followed
by an exclamation mark. However, a title or
subtitle can be in the form of question.
13.The year the study has been conducted should
not be indicated unless it is a historical study.
CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE TITLES IN RESEARCH STUDIES

13. All nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs

that appear between the first and last words of the
title are also capitalized.
Example
1. Impact of Social Media Reviews on Brand Perception
2. The Effect of Using Video Lessons in Senior High
School Mathematics Classes and Student Achievement
3. The Effects of Arts-Integrated Instruction on
Arithmetic Skills of Students for S.Y. 2018-2019
14. Use current terminology.
15. Use the common name instead of chemical
formula (e.g., Ammonium instead of NH4).
16. Write and italicize full scientific names.
17. Make sure to reflect the tone of the paper.
An academic research paper has title which is
not casual, or informal, or does not contain
humor.
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.
Writing a Research Question
Writing a good research question means you have
something you want to study.
✔ 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
✔ This is the basic process in writing a research
question. Writing a good question will result in a
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.
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 your ideas into one or two
sentences. It should present the topic of your paper
and also make a comment about your position in
relation to the topic. Your thesis statement should tell
your reader what the paper is about and also help
guide your writing and keep your argument focused.
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…”
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
 Formulating Research Questions

• Research questions can be generally classified

into two: general and specific. The general
question of the study is derived from the
research problem while the specific questions
are anchored on the general research
problem.
 GENERAL PROBLEM
Research title:
Peer Tutoring: Its Effects on Reading Fluency of
Grade 11 Academic Senior High School Students
of Tacurong Nationa High School.
• The study aimed to determine peer tutoring
and its effects on reading fluency of Grade 11
students of Academic Senior High School of
Tacurong National High School.
 SPECIFIC PROBLEM
• 2 General Types
1. NON-RESEARCHABLE QUESTIONS – are
questions of value, answerable by YES or NO.
Ex. 1. Do all Grade 11 students eat breakfast
before attending to their morning class?
2. Should Senior High School students taking
ABM be good in Mathematics?
• 2. RESEARCHABLE QUESTIONS – are questions of
value, opinions or policy raised to gather data.
• -Use Who, What, When, Where, Why, How
Ex.
1. What is the profile of the students in terms of:
1.1 age;
1.2 gender;
1.3 grade and strand; and
1.4 health condition?
2. How does study habits influence the level of
achievement of Grade 12 students in English subject?

3. What are the effects of online learning on the level of

performance of Senior High School students? (Factor-
Relating

4. Based on the findings, what policy may be

formulated to improve the school’s modular distance
learning modality? (situation-producing question)
Question)
Spiral Curriculum in Mathematics Education: An Assessment (Bautista,
Perjes, et al., 2018)
Statement of the Problem
The study was directed towards its main objective of making an
assessment regarding the use of spiral curriculum in Mathematics
education.
Specifically, the researchers sought answers to the following questions:
1. How may the profile of Mathematics teachers be described in
terms of:
1.1 age;
1.2 gender;
1.3 highest degree of educational attainment; and
1.4 years of teaching Mathematics?
2. What are the perceptions of teacher-respondents in the spiral curriculum?
3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using spiral curriculum in
Mathematics?
Peer Tutoring: Its Effects on Reading Fluency of Grade 11
Academic Senior High School Students of the Tacurong National
High School.

Statement of the Problem

The study aimed to determine peer tutoring and its effects on
reading fluency of Grade 11 students of Academic Senior High
School of Tacurong National High School.
Specifically, it sought to answer the following questions:
1. How many peer tutoring be described as a strategy in
reading?
2. What is the level of reading fluency of Grade 11 students of
Academic Senior High School of Tacurong National High
School?
Research Questions for Descriptive Research focus on
observing, describing, and reporting factors or aspects
of the research problem. Phrases such as how
often/frequently, how many/much, what is/are, to what
extent/degree, and the likes are used in these questions.
For example, you study the use of social media among
Senior High School Students, you can ask the following
questions:
• What are the various social media platforms used by
Senior High Students?
• How many hours students spend on social media per
day?
 Scope and Delimitation
• In doing research study, we make sure that we
have certainty and reasons for drawing the
inclusion and exclusion of research variables. We
do not write for the sake of writing the parts of
the research paper, such as setting the scope and
delimitation of your study. It is important because
it draws the boundary of your study. Without
doing so, research procedures and results will not
be coherent to the goal of your study.
• The scope specifies the coverage of your study
such as variables, population or participant,
and timeline. Delimitation cites factors of your
study that are not included or excluded or
those you will not deal in your study.
• In this section of your research paper, you may
also state the reasons why you did not include
the variables. A clearly written scope and
delimitation of the study will make it definitely
easier to answer questions which are related
or not related to your study.
 Components of Scope and Delimitation
• In writing the scope and delimitation of your study, you are also
asking the basic profile questions of your research. The following are
the components of the scope and delimitation of the study but not
limited to:
• Topic of the Study. What are the variables to be included and
excluded?
• Objectives or Problems to be Addressed. Why are you doing this
study?
• Time Frame. When are you going to conduct this study?
• Locale of the Study. Where are you going to gather your data?
• Characteristics of the Respondents. Who will be your respondents?
• Method and Research Instruments. How are going to collect the
data?
 DELIMITATIONS - LIMITATIONS
DELIMITATIONS LIMITATIONS
- Aims to narrow the -Aims to identify the potential
scope of the study weakness of the study
- These are choices made -These are influences,
and boundaries set by shortcomings or conditions
that the researcher cannot
the researcher which
control
should be mentioned
- Written and mentioned into
- Is placed in CHPATER 1 or the FINAL SECTION of the
sometimes in the study , usually in the results
METHODOLOGY SECTION and discussion
 SCOPE OF THE STUDY AND DELIMITATION
SCOPE OF THE STUDY DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY
- The extent to which the - The boundaries of the
research area will be study
explored
- Aims to narrow the scope
- Explains the parameters
of the study
within which the study will
be operating Example
Example THE STUDY WILL BE LIMITED
THIS STUDY WILL FOCUS ON…. TO…
THE SCOPE OF THE STUDY THIS STUDY IS CONFINED TO
WILL BE….. ….
THIS STUDY WILL COVER … THE STUDY WILL NOT COVER
THE STUDY WILL CONSIST OF… THE….
YOUR STUDY AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
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. Before taking this step,
read the following notes:
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.
For example, if you ask the question ‘Is there a significant
relationship between the teacher’s teaching style and the
students’ long quiz scores in Mathematics?’ then the
contribution of your research would probably be a teaching
style or styles that can help students perform better in
Mathematics. Your research will demonstrate that teaching
style really works. That could be a groundbreaking
approach that will change the way teachers teach
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 as a whole,
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.
 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

AS A STUDENT…
IN SCHOOL…
IN COMMUNITY…