Lesson 1 – Designing Research Topic

Lesson 2 – Research Title

Lesson 3 – Background of Research
Lesson 4 – Research Questions
Lesson 5 – Scope and Delimitation of the Study
Lesson 6 – Presenting the Statement of the Problem

At the end of this module, you should be able to:

1. design research useful in daily life (CS_RS12-Id-e-1);
2. write research title (CS_RS12-Id-e-2);
3. describe background of research (CS_RS12-Id-e-3);
4. state research questions (CS_RS12-Id-e-4);
5. indicate scope and delimitation of study (CS_RS12-Id-
e-5); and
6. present written statement of the problem (CS_RS12-Id-
e-7);
You have learned from LAST WEEK that quantitative research is
very useful in all fields of study because of its objectivity and fast
data collection and analysis. The different kinds of research
designs (descriptive, correlational, ex post facto, quasi-
experimental, and experimental) offer a viable and numerous
options for any type of inquiry. The field of studies where you can
apply quantitative research is practically countless. In this
lesson, you will expand your understanding of the
characteristics and different applications of quantitative
research and be able to design a study useful in daily life.
The first and foremost step in the research is selecting
and properly defining a research problem. Before starting
a laborious journey of finding the unknown, you need to
know first what it is that you want to find out, where and
how you are going to find the answers to your questions,
and what specific qualities are you looking for. For
instance, you want to find a specific kind of fish in the
ocean; however, the ocean is so vast that it is almost
impossible for you to achieve that goal of finding the fish
without equipping yourself with the right tools and
information about it. You may need to know first its
behavior and living conditions before you can precisely
pinpoint the perfect spot to find the fish. Thus, baseline
information is needed for a successful quest.
That fish analogy can be applied to finding a
research topic. A well-defined research topic
is essential for successful research.
When the topic is not well-defined, it
becomes unmanageable and may result in
some drawbacks during data collection and
analysis that could compromise the strength
of your study.
Hence, choosing a topic must undergo proper and
thorough planning and design. The four basic steps in
designing a research topic are the following:

(1) choose a broad topic,

(2) do preliminary research,
(3) define the problem, and
(4) refine the question. Guided with these steps, a
student researcher can certainly jumpstart a quantitative
research project.
 Steps in Developing Research Topic
Despite the advancement in knowledge and
technology, there is still a lot to discover in this
world. There is still an ocean of things that we are
yet to explore. It can be a difficult situation that
we want to improve or eliminate, a better
understanding of the unfamiliar, information
gaps we wish to fill, or theories that we want to
validate. What limits our choice of a topic are our
capacity, understanding, resources, and skill.
Most researchers will agree that choosing a
good topic is a challenging and tedious task.
Because a research topic serves as the
groundwork for any succeeding actions, it
must be defined appropriately at the
beginning of the research work. Otherwise,
it may result in unanticipated complexities
to the researcher.
Developing a research problem can
be done in four (4) steps:
1.Choose a broad topic
2.Do a preliminary research
3.Define the problem
4.Refine the question
As a student researcher, let us go through these
steps to guide us in choosing a quantitative research
topic related to our chosen field.

1. CHOOSE A BROAD TOPIC. The

first step is quite simple. As a
Senior High School student, these
tips will surely guide you in
selecting a broad topic for
quantitative research:
A. Choose an interesting topic. Research is a very
challenging task that demands your time and
persistence. Your motivation to find the answer to the
problem should keep you going, thus building momentum
along the way. Therefore, your research topic must be
something that you are passionate about.
B. Select a significant topic. A topic that is worth
researching must be able to answer or solve
problems in the community. No one will take an interest
in your topic if it is obsolete and does not address any
real problem. To be proactive and to take part in
solving problems with socio-economic relevance gives
a sense of accomplishment. You do not even have to look
far, just look at your household, neighborhood, school,
group of friends or local community for a common
problem or difficulty.
C. Choose a topic relevant to your field. One of the
goals of this course is for you to be able to produce a
quantitative research study that is aligned to your chosen
track. An SHS student under ABM must choose a topic
related to business and management while students
taking HUMSS may consider choosing a topic about
politics, culture, and arts. Choosing a topic that you can
relate will certainly make your research project less
challenging.
2. DO A PRELIMINARY RESEARCH. The second step
is much more time-consuming. Once you have
chosen a broad topic, you need to have a better
understanding of it by reading some more articles,
journals, and related research studies. Find out how
other researchers gathered their data, what
research instruments were used, how the data
were analyzed, and what important findings they
shared. Take note of every relevant research study
for future reference. If you started the topic search
(first step) by doing a literature review, the second
step is just a continuation of what you started.
A much deeper discussion of the literature review will
be done in the next lesson.
3. DEFINE THE PROBLEM. After getting enough
information, you may be able to list some questions or
problems that you want to research. At this stage, you
should be able to narrow down a broad topic into feasible
and manageable research questions. A broad topic can
be narrowed down by limiting the population, place,
period, or a certain characteristic. However, be very
mindful that your problem may not be too narrow that it
becomes very simple and does not need to collect unique
data or does not generate new information. A very
narrow research question can be developed by doing a
comparative study or expanding the scope of the study
4. REFINE THE QUESTION. This step lets you
evaluate the questions formulated. What
specific questions should you ask? How
should you gather your data sufficient to
answer the questions? Are the questions too
narrow, or does it need to be trimmed
down? While evaluating the research
question, consider the requirements of the
course. How much time are you given to
finish the research? What resources do
you need and are they available?
At this point, you may already have an
interesting and relevant quantitative research
topic that is related to your chosen track.
The next step is for you to have a
suitable and captivating title for the research
study in mind. How is it done? Is writing a
research title similar to writing a title for
movies, songs, or poems, or is there a
guideline for it?
The old saying “never judge a book by its cover” applies
to research studies no matter how much we say
otherwise. When the title is poorly constructed that it
does not accurately describe the objective of your
research, it can discredit the value of the entire research,
let alone the implication of your research findings. It is,
therefore, important that you make your research title
accurate yet captivating.
After all, the research title is the first thing your
professor, fellow researchers, journal editors, or
reviewers get to see first. Once it captures the attention
of the readers, they will be enticed to read the entire
work and learn something from your research. Learning
how to make your research title create a good
impression is essential.
 Basic Guidelines in Make Research
Title
A research study title is the very first thing a reader
comes across when searching for scientific literature. It is
a concise description of the content of the research study
containing the fewest possible words, yet adequate to
describe the contents of the paper for a simple reason
that we do not want to mislead the readers. After
conceptualizing a most probable research topic, drafting
the title early in the research process helps in keeping
your focus on the subject.
The following are the basic guidelines
in making a research study title:
1. Use an accurate description of the subject and scope of
the study instead of using general terms.
2. Do not use abbreviations except for commonly known
ones like DNA and ICT.
3. Do not include words like “The study of,” “analysis
of,” “an investigation of” or similar construction as
these would only lengthen the title.
4. Include the main dependent and independent variables.
5. Be mindful of the proper use of grammar and
punctuation.
6. Capitalize all nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives,
adverbs as well as the first letter of the first and
last words.
7. State in a declarative form, although you may
also see titles in question form from time to time.
8. The year the study has been conducted
should not be indicated unless it is a
historical study.
9. Use current terminology.
10.Depending on the institutional requirements, 5
to15 words are sufficient to describe the
research study
11. Use the common name instead of
chemical formula (e.g., NH4)
12. Write and italicize the full scientific
names.
13. Must reflect the tone of the paper. An
academic research paper has title that is not
casual, or informal, or does not contain
humor.
The following steps can guide you in
writing your research title:
1. Determine what it is that you wish to accomplish or
know from your study. Write one to two sentences to
state the main objectives of your research project.
2. Include important keywords and variables. Revise the
sentences into one complete sentence that includes
important keywords and variables of the study.
3. Shorten the title by eliminating unnecessary words.
You may also shrink a phrase into a simpler phrase or
a single word. In doing this, make sure that the main
thought of the research study is retained.
4. Correct grammar and punctuation errors if
there is any.
5. Observe proper formatting. The format
may vary according to the requirements
of the course or school. Please seek
guidance from your professor.
Reading a well-written research title gives the reader an
insight into what the research study is all about. Although
it captures the main point of the study, it does not
sufficiently explain all the details of the study. Hence the
reader opts to read on for better understanding.
When introducing your study to the readers, you must
bridge the gap from what is known to what is unknown.
Establishing the importance of finding the answer to the
question makes the reader feel the need to answer such a
question. Thus, it makes the research project more
meaningful and valuable.
Choosing a sound research topic entails a considerable
amount of time, focus, and preliminary research. Before a
topic was finalized, you may have read and evaluated
the question many times and even consulted professionals
or instructors to ensure its validity and feasibility. How you
relay to the reader the implication of the research problem
formulated is what constitutes the background of the study
section of your paper. At the end of this lesson, you should
be able to describe the background of the research and
will learn what salient information should be included in the
background of the study segment of your paper.
 Background of the Study
The background of the study is the part of your paper
where you inform the reader of the context of the study.
When we say context, it means the situation or
circumstances within which your research topic was
conceptualized. Ideally, this part is written when you
have already conducted a literature review and has a
good perception of the topic so you can articulate
the importance and validity of the research problem. It is
also in this part of the paper where you justify the need
to conduct a research study about the topic selected by
establishing the research gap.
A research gap is an under or unexplored area of a
topic that requires further exploration. The gap can be
in a form of other variables, conditions, population,
methodology, or test subject. To identify research gaps,
an exhaustive literature review regarding the topic is
required.
You may have to look for similar or related studies
employing quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods
from legitimate sources and examine the gray areas.
Reading through the Discussion, Conclusion, or the
Recommendations sections of the articles will help you
know potential areas of study that need further
attention. Identifying research gaps sometimes would
even make researchers modify their research problem
as they get noteworthy ideas from fellow researchers.
While both the Background of the Study and the
Review of Related Literature involves reading past
related studies, they differ in some aspects. The
former is at the introductory part of the paper, with
the purpose of relaying the importance of your
research study; the latter is more comprehensive
and thoroughly discuss the studies mentioned
in the background of research. Moreover, the
background of the study will answer the following
questions:
1. What is already known about the
topic?
2. What is not known about the topic?
3. Why do you need to address those
gaps?
4. What is the rationale of your study?
While answering these questions, keep in mind that the
studies you include in this part of the paper are laid down
as part of the introduction and should not be discussed in
great detail. The depth and length of the background
information largely depend on how much information you
think the reader needs to know to have a full grasp of the
topic being discussed.
In previous lessons, you were taught how to design
interesting research and something that you are passionate
about. You have learned that research problems are
actually within your environment or area of interest. You
are given various activities to learn how to produce interesting
and useful research problems.
Identification of the research problems and research questions
will be furthered explained in this lesson. You have also
learned how to craft qualitative research problems and
questions when you took Practical Research 1. In this lesson,
quantitative research problems and types of quantitative
research questions will be elaborated.
 Nature of Quantitative Research
Problem
Once a person encountered uncertainty,
being inquisitive, you will find ways for
answers or solution. Ignited by interest,
curiosity, or need you will find yourself
pondering about the current problem you are
facing. When you are thinking and behaving
this way, you are then confronted by a
problem that can be a source of a research
problem.
A research problem is simple as a
problem you would like to research.
Quantitative Research Problem dealt
more with the precision and specificity
of the problem. Furthermore, the
quantitative research problem describes
the trends and patterns of a
phenomenon.
When you have identified your quantitative
research problem, you can now state it and
make sure to establish its place in your
study. In your written paper, this can be
found as Statement of the Problem, where
it formally introduces the problem that
you want to investigate or address. Then
you will start specifying what you want to
answer in your study.
 Research Problem and Research
Questions
The research questions help to clarify and
specify the research problem. Research
questions are also considered as sub-
problems of your research problem. These
questions are informative. It specifies the
method of collecting and analyzing data and
the type of data to be collected since you are
exploring a quantitative research problem.
 Characteristics of Good Research
Questions
Once you have already enumerated
your research questions for your study,
you must consider its quality to
answer and explain your research
problem. The following are good
characteristics of research questions,
as described by Fraenkel and Wallen
(2020).
• Feasible. Consider the amount of time, energy, money,
respondents, and even your current situation as a
student-researcher. Is the research problem possible?
Will it not spend an unreasonable amount? Consider
these examples: “How do parents feel about the blended
learning modality for elementary learners?” and “How
would giving each learner their laptop to be used in this
blended learning modality affect their performance
tasks?” The first example is a more feasible research
question. Considering the resources, it is more possible
to gather the data needed to answer the question.
• Clear. The readers of your study have a
uniform agreement as to the meaning
of the questions stated. Since your
research questions are also
considered as the focus in the
gathering and analyzing of the data, it
is therefore very important that these
are stated clearly.
• Significant. Ask if your research questions are
relevant or important to ask. Will answering these
questions provide an additional contribution to address
the given research problem? In other words, are the
research questions worth investigating? 16
At this point, you do not just consider the time and
money that you will spend, but more importantly, the
value of what you are trying to investigate. So aside from
the reason that your chosen research problem is within
your interest, you should also provide a sound
justification of your choice as a researcher
• Ethical. Always consider the welfare of
people, animals, or who so ever
involved in your study. Look into ways
of answering the research questions
without inflicting physical and
psychological harm to persons
involved.
 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.
For example:
This study aims to determine the relationship between the
types of learning delivery mode and students’ learning
styles. Furthermore, it seeks to answer the following
research questions:
(1) What are the different learning delivery modes of the
school?
(2) What are the various learning styles of the students?
(3) Is there a significant relationship between the
different learning delivery modes of the school and the
learning styles of its students?
Notice that a general problem was presented first. Then it
was followed by the specific questions considered as
research questions of the study.

In stating quantitative research questions, you should also

consider the design of your quantitative research.
Quantitative research designs will be elaborated in the next
lesson. To write your research question, here is a quick
guide of research questions for descriptive research,
correlational research, Ex Post Facto research,
Experimental, and Quasi-experimental research.
Research Questions for Descriptive Research focuses on
observing 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 do spend on social media per
week?
Research Questions for Correlational Research aim to
determine the relationships among two or more
variables in your research problem.
Correlational research questions usually begin with the
phrases “Is there a significant relationship” or “What is
the relationship between/among”.
In the study of use of social media and level of digital
literacy of students following questions can be asked:
What is the relationship between the length of hours
spent on social media and level of digital literacy of
students?
Is there a significant relationship between the type of
social media used and the level digital literacy of
students?
Research Questions for Ex Post Facto Research attempt to
identify the causes of the phenomenon in the context of
your research problem. It is also assumed that no control
or manipulation of variable has been done in order to
cause the effect. It is understood that the cause of the
problem already exists before you conducted your study.
For example, ex post facto study on family background
and digital literacy of students, the following questions
can be asked: Is there a difference in the literacy
level of students between their cultural and
educational family background?
Research Questions for Experimental and Quasi-
experimental Research suggests that answers to these
questions are brought about by manipulation or control
of a certain variable during the conduct of the study.
These questions provide explanation to the causal
relationship of variables.
The following research questions can be asked on studies
on elementary student’s remedial sessions and academic
performance of students:
Is there a significant difference in the posttest
scores of the control group and experimental group?
You were taught how to identify and
differentiate various research variables and their
uses. Identifying your research variables is very
important since it will set the parameters of your
study. Carefully selecting your research variables
also helps you determine what will be
investigated. As a result, it will be easier for you
to set the scope and delimitation of the study.
This lesson focuses on how you are going to
indicate the scope and delimitation of your study
 Scope and Delimitation
In doing a 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 with in
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?
Difference between Delimitation and
Limitation of the Study
The limitation of the study describes the various
restrictions that are out of your control. These
limitations arise as you conduct your study. Limitations will
affect the design and findings of your research study;
hence, it must be included in your research report.

On the other hand, the delimitations are constraints in the

study that are within your control. An example of this
are the variables included and excluded in your study.
The delimitation defines the scope of your research study.