Republic of the Philippines

CAMARINES SUR NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

Naga City

BRAINSTORMING FOR RESEARCH TOPICS (Week 1)

(DR. VIVIAN C. BELTRAN: HUMSS Strand)

I. Introduction
Hi! Welcome to the culminating activity in Research Project… Do you still remember the
time when you and your groupmates faced challenges in Practical Research 1 (Qualitative
Research) and Practical Research 2 (Quantitative Research)? Well, this is now the time to realize
your main research goals where you can brainstorm for research problems and topics. Through
this phase, the result of research endeavor can help alleviate difficulties and challenges in your
respondents and his/her whole community as well.
The different activities herein enable you to achieve a level of competence in brainstorming
research problems and topics, thus, producing a Class Research Agenda while accomplishing the
different activities in this module, especially that face to face interaction between teachers and
students is not yet allowed because of COVID 19 pandemic. Please follow directions/instructions
carefully and as you go through the activities, please be honest in undergoing the test, eventhough
there are key to corrections provided, please do not go there directly so that you can properly assess
the extent of your developed competence. Goodluck!

II. Learning Competency(ies)/Objective(s)

In this module, you are expected to exhibit the following:
Learning Competency: Prepares a plan and a focus on issues and ideas in their respective field.
Objectives: 1. Choose research problems
2. Set criteria in selecting topics
3. Steps in selecting topics
4. Organize a plan of focus on issues and ideas in their respective field
5. Presents class research agenda
III. Pretest (Try This)
Instruction: Choose the correct answer by encircling the letter of your choice. NO
ERASURES, please.
1. In research, there are different areas to be considered. Select from the
following terms that improve a certain condition or situation?
a. Research problem c. Research agenda
b. Research topics d. Research methodology
2. Distinguish the creative technique by which efforts are made to find a conclusion for
a specific problem by gathering a list of ideas for an investigation:
a. Reading background information c. Listing of keywords
b. Focus on a topic d. Brainstorming for ideas
3. Arrange the following disorganized steps in selecting research topics:
i. Listing of useful keywords iii. Read general background information
ii. Brainstorm for ideas iv. Focus on a topic
a. i,ii, iii & iv b. iii, i, iv, & ii c. ii, iii, iv, & i d. ii, iv, ii, & i
 4. In organizing a plan of focus on issues and ideas in conducting research, scheduling
is important in order to:
a. Find a suitable place c. Narrow a broad topic
b. Decide when to do activities d. Get an overview of the topic

5. In presenting class research agenda, there should be an overarching goal to work on

like personal life, school, and local community, this geared towards:
a. Research themes c. Research topics
b. General questions d. Research objectives

IV. Lesson Proper (Keep This In Mind)

a. Activity
Activity 1. Choosing research problems
Consider the strand where you belong in SHS, focus on at least 6 research problems
within your area that needs improvement or development. Below is a problem tree, write
research problems identified.

RESEARCH PROBLEMS
Activity 2. Setting criteria in selecting topics
After choosing the research problems, how can you make sure that you meet the different
criteria in choosing research topics?

Criteria of Research Topics

Activity 3. Steps in selecting topics
You were done with identifying research problems and selecting research topics. Let us
proceed in determining the steps in selecting research topics.

STEPS IN SELECTING RESEARCH TOPICS

Activity 4. Organize a plan of focus on issues and ideas in one’s respective field
You are now about to organize the plan of focus on issues and ideas in your respective
field. Fill-in the table below:
PLAN OF FOCUS ON ISSUES AND IDEAS
Workspace Time
b. Analysis
Guide Questions:
a) What are the ease (easy) and difficulties that you met in choosing research problems? Explain
your answer.
b) How important are the criteria in setting research topics? Why?
c) How did you find the steps in selecting topics significant in research problems? Why?
d) Why is there a need to organize a plan of focus on issues and ideas? Explain your answers.

You can also watch this videoclip through this link:

https://www.verticalmeasures.com/content/six-creative-ways-to-brainstorm-ideas. If you don not
have access, please ask assistance from your subject facilitator for assistance.

The first major challenge in choosing research problems lies in brainstorming for research
topics that are to be reflected in the class research agenda. Being a Senior High School (SHS)
student, your choice determines how long it will take you to complete your study within the second
semester in the current school year you are enrolled.

For most of the grade 12 learners like you, it is an

agonizing decision, mainly because of the uncertainty
surrounding it. To know whether or not, the research problems
that you considered has been researched already, or if it is
important to the field, you must first immerse yourself in the
literature base. It is also not worthwhile to conduct another study
about a problem that has been sufficiently investigated unless,
however, you conducted literature synthesis. (Roberts, 2019).
c. Abstraction and Generalization

CHOOSING RESEARCH PROBLEMS

Looking back to what you learned from Qualitative

Research (Practical Research 1) and Quantitative Research Is it worth
(Practical Research 2), how is Research Problem being defined? investigating?
According to Cristobal Jr. and Cristobal (2017), Research (Roberts, 2018)
Problem states the area of concern of the research paper whether it
is a circumstance needing development, a difficulty requiring
attention, or an inquiry necessitating an answer. This section sets
the direction of the research study as it provides the foundation for
the research hypothesis and defines what kind of research study is
suitable to address the problem. However, it is important to note
that this area should only state the problem and not a preface or to
suggest a solution for it.
In this case, if you look around you and use your
observation, research problems are just within your reach! You just need have to be aware what is
happening in the society that needs accurate solution through a research process. Let us take for
example this Pandemic (COVID 19 that affected countries around the world), where families were
ordered to “STAY AT HOME”. Is this really a measure that declined the cases of the virus? Why
some families cannot bear with it? How can this pandemic be soon to an end? What are the
underlying circumstances if we break the health protocols? So, if you are sensitive of what happen
in your own environment, research problems can be chosen from the existing condition that need
solutions through a research process.
Please read and understand the next section below, how you can find effective and
efficient ways in setting criteria for research topics.

Setting Criteria for research topics

Research Topics is defined as a subject or issue that a researcher is interested in when
conducting research (Liu, 2020). This is the starting point of every successful research project.
Choosing a topic is an ongoing process by which researchers explore, define, and refine their
ideas.
Commonly, you may consider about three to five potential topics before finally setting on
one. Scrapping a research topic and starting over at least once is usually the norm (Roberts,
2019).
Here are some general criteria for considering potential topics:
1. It needs to hold interest for a long time. It takes longer than you anticipate to write an
acceptable research.
2. It must be manageable in size. Most students begin with a topic that is too large.
Remember cannot “do it all”. Your goal is to add a small but significant piece to the
knowledge base.
 3. It must have the potential to make an
original and significant contribution to
knowledge. Can you find a hole, a gap, a
missing piece in the knowledge base you Effective and efficient
ways to select
can fill and would be useful to theory and research topics
practice? (Roberts, 2019)
4. It is doable within your time frame and
budget. Given your current situation, is it a Relevant
feasible topic to undertake? Traveling to one Literatures
province to another province to conduct a
certain study may not be possible. Discussions
5. It has obtainable data. You must be able to
collect data for the study from an
appropriate sample size in a reasonable
Topic
period of time.
Writing
6. It has already been sufficiently researched.
There is no value to conducting one more
study about a topic that has been researched
over and over again.
7. It should be acceptable to you research
adviser (usually your subject facilitator and
panel members). The signatures of these
individuals determine whether or not you can conduct and share the findings of your
study.

You have set criteria for selecting topics, let us proceed to the steps in selecting topics.

STEPS IN SELECTING TOPICS

The ability to develop a good research topic is an important skill. In your past experience
in research writing, your instructor assigned you a specific topic, but most often instructors require
you to select your own topic of interest. When deciding on a topic, there are a few things that you
will need to do:

Step 1: Brainstorm for ideas

Choose a topic that interests you. Use the following questions to help generate topic ideas.

▪ Do you have a strong opinion on a current social or political controversy?

▪ Did you read or see a news story recently that has piqued your interest or
made you angry or anxious?
▪ Do you have a personal issue, problem or interest that you would like to
know more about?
▪ Do you have a research paper due for a class this semester?
▪ Is there an aspect of a class that you are interested in learning more about?

Look at some of the following topically oriented Web sites and research sites for ideas.
 ▪ Are you interested in current events, government, politics or the social sciences?
• Try Washington File
▪ Are you interested in health or medicine?
• Look in Healthfinder.gov, Health & Wellness Resource Center or the National
Library of Medicine
▪ Are you interested in the Humanities; art, literature, music?
• Browse links from the National Endowment for the Humanities
▪ For other subject areas try:
• the Scout Report or the New York Times/ College Web site
Write down any key words or concepts that may be of interest to you. Could these terms help be
used to form a more focused research topic?

Be aware of overused ideas when deciding a topic. You may wish to avoid topics such as,
abortion, gun control, teen pregnancy, or suicide unless you feel you have a unique approach to
the topic. Ask the instructor for ideas if you feel you are stuck or need additional guidance.

Step 2: Read General Background Information

▪ Read a general encyclopedia article on the top two or three topics you are considering.
Reading a broad summary enables you to get an overview of the topic and see how your
idea relates to broader, narrower, and related issues. It also provides a great source for
finding words commonly used to describe the topic. These keywords may be very useful
to your later research. If you cant find an article on your topic, try using broader terms
and ask for help from a librarian.

For example, the Encyclopedia Britannica Online (or the printed version of this
encyclopedia, in Thompson Library's Reference Collection on Reference Table 1) may not
have an article on Social and Political Implications of Jackie Robinsons Breaking of the
Color Barrier in Major League Baseball but there will be articles on baseball history and
on Jackie Robinson.

Browse the Encyclopedia Americana for information on your topic ideas. Notice that both
online encyclopedias provide links to magazine articles and Web sites. These are listed in
the left or the right margins.

▪ Use periodical indexes to scan current magazine, journal or newspaper articles on your
topic. Ask a librarian if they can help you to browse articles on your topics of interest.
▪ Use Web search engines. Google and Bing are currently considered to be two of the best
search engines to find web sites on the topic.
Step 3: Focus on Your Topic
Keep it manageable

A topic will be very difficult to research if it is too broad or narrow. One way to narrow a broad
topic such as "the environment" is to limit your topic. Some common ways to limit a topic are:

▪ by geographical area

Example: What environmental issues are most important in the Southwestern United
States

▪ by culture

Example: How does the environment fit into the Navajo world view?

▪ by time frame:

Example: What are the most prominent environmental issues of the last 10 years?

▪ by discipline

Example: How does environmental awareness effect business practices today?

▪ by population group

Example: What are the effects of air pollution on senior citizens?

Remember that a topic may be too difficult to research if it is too:

▪ locally confined - Topics this specific may only be covered in these (local) newspapers, if
at all.

Example: What sources of pollution affect the Genesee County water supply?

▪ recent - If a topic is quite recent, books or journal articles may not be available, but
newspaper or magazine articles may. Also, Web sites related to the topic may or may not
be available.
▪ broadly interdisciplinary - You could be overwhelmed with superficial information.

Example: How can the environment contribute to the culture, politics and society of the
Western states?

▪ popular - You will only find very popular articles about some topics such as sports
figures and high-profile celebrities and musicians.
Step 4: Make a List of Useful Keywords
Keep track of the words that are used to describe your topic.

▪ Look for words that best describe your topic

▪ Look for them in when reading encyclopedia articles and background and general
information
▪ Find broader and narrower terms, synonyms, key concepts for key words to widen your
search capabilities
▪ Make note of these words and use them later when searching databases and catalogs

Now that you learned about the steps in choosing research topics, can you recall the
different research topics you have formulated in Qualitative or Quantitative Researches? You can
enumerate several, right? The next pace will be the organization of a plan that focus on issues and
ideas in your respective field.

Organizing a plan of focus on issues and ideas in their respective field

As stated by Dr. Amadeo Pangilinan-Cristobal Jr. (2020), “The background of a student-

researcher like you focuses on more practical and relatable topics for investigation. One useful
guide to student researchers taking this course is to consider their respective tracks for Senior High
School. Students on the STEM track should consider researching on topics related to science and
technology. ABM track students, meanwhile, should consider topics on business and management.
Finally, HUMSS track students can choose from the wide variety of
social science and humanities topics such as history, politics, society, Organizing is what you do before
you do something so that when you
culture, arts, and music”.
do it, it's not all mixed up.
Successfully completing your dissertation requires (Christopher Robin in A. A.
organization and planning. Working hard is not enough, you must Milne's Winnie the Pooh as
also work smart. Working smart means organizing a place conducive stated in the work of Roberts,
to writing and developing a time schedule to which you faithfully 2019)
adhere even if you lack inspiration. Knowing yourself, the peaks and
draw back from your energy patterns, is also essential to efficiently
getting the job done. Working smart also requires maintaining balance in your life. (Roberts,
2019).
Try these suggestions from Dr. Carol M. Roberts (2020), how to organize your research
plan from organizing your workspace, your time, and yourself for effective research works and
maintaining balance in the process. Think of these suggestions as options.
 ORGANIZING YOUR WORKSPACE
Please find a suitable place for where you
? Personal
can productive. It should be quiet, private, and Life ? Government

free of interruptions and distractions such as (Family

and
posters, TV, and pleasure books. Wherever you when
Friends)
work, make sure you have the following access: organizing a
research plan
• Computer and printer Relationship
• A comfortable, “healthy” chair with
colleagues &
• A well-built, decent-sized desk ? School mentors
• Good lighting
• Appropriate reference materials
(dictionary, research books, manuals,
Other areas
etc.) ? Local of interest or
• Internet Community concern

• File boxes
• Writing materials (pens, pencils,
post-it notes, etc.)
• “Ideas” notebook to jot down ideas
that come to you

ORGANIZING YOUR TIME

“Time can escape quite easily”. It is a big challenge to “find time” in an already busy daily
schedule. The reality is that you have to “make time.” Planning and scheduling time are the keys
to making things happen. Planning is deciding what to do. Schedule is deciding when to do it—
picking the time to do the activities. To be truly efficient, create at least three scheduling plans.
1. The Research Timeline
Design an overall research timeline, which help you list and see the major phases
or specific activities from the start of your research until you share the findings of your
study or the Title or Final Defense of your investigation. You can devise a Gantt chart that
shows the detail of your research phase.

Research Timeline using Gantt Chart

Research Phase January, February, March, 2021 April,2021
2021 2021
The Problem and Its
Background
Review of Related
Literature
Research Methodology
Title Defense
Presentation, Analysis,
and Interpretation of Data
Summary Conclusion and
Recommendation
Final defense
Note: the shaded areas indicate that on the particular month, research phase will be
implemented.
 2. Time Schedule
Creating a strict schedule of hours each day or week to work on your dissertation is
essential. As much as possible, maintain daily progress—even if it is only 15 minutes at a time.
This keeps you moving and motivated.
3. To-Do List
“Once you list it, do it”. Make sure that what you list is “doable”. List to-do-things that are
achievable like you list 4 important phases to be done, finish it for your accomplishment.
4. Take care of your health
“Listen to your body”. If you work on your research then your mind dictates that you are
hungry, eat your meal, if you feel sleepy, take a rest. As the saying goes, health is wealth in
research. Its time for you to present the class research agenda that you gathered from the identified
research problems and topics.

Presenting Class Research Agenda

What comes into your mind once you hear research agenda? Based from DepEd Order No.
39. s. 2016, Research Agenda identifies research topics that will
fill in critical knowledge gaps and respond to pressing concerns
in Philippine basic education, consistent with the department’s
vision, mission, and target outcomes and in line with local and
international developments in the sector. Just like what you did in
brainstorming the research topics, choosing a particular field of
study until you grouped together the research topics and issues
that are needed to be resolved in your study.
The big question is, how are you going to make a research
agenda then present it? Reedy (2017) described research agenda as a plan and focus on issues and
ideas in a subset of your study in the SHS. You cannot study everything in your field during your
Senior High School days, so decide what to focus on now, and what to defer until another day. He
suggested how to present a class research agenda. Please follow the following steps:
1. Talk with subject facilitator in research project about your general interests. They can
be a means of a resource to find out which topics are over-studied and where additional
work is needed.
2. If there are other SHS students with similar or overlapping interests, get their
perspectives as well.
3. Read various related literatures, even in the early weeks of your research work. Be open
to reading research outside your immediate areas of interests and seeing how they link
to your own areas.
4. Identify key authors relevant to your interests. Read their scholarly works and
understand their works that has informed their research.
5. For your class, think specifically about the research questions you wanted to ask, and
think about how you will answer them. Then pick research agenda to help you in
reaching this goal, to present an agenda for research.

d. Application (Apply what you have learned)

In presenting a class research agenda, this must be composed of research themes, general
questions and research topics. Research themes express the overarching goals of your research
work, whether in a personal life, school, local community, government, relationships with
colleagues and mentors and other areas of issues or concern. General questions are answerable
inquiry into a specific concern or issue which is broad or wide in concept that need have to be
trim-down into smaller concepts while research topics are subjects or issues that you are interested
to when conducting research.
Now is the time for you to present a class research agenda.
Direction:
1. Follow the same format below and use this as guide in making a class research
agenda (The research topics should be related with your strand):

CLASS RESEARCH AGENDA

(Adapted from the work of Cristobal Jr. and Cristobal, 2017)

RESEARCH THEMES
Theme 1 Personal life (Family and friends)
General Questions Topics
Why parent’s house rules affect their • Responsible Parenthood
children? • Parent-Child Relationship
Theme 2 School
General Questions Topics
What factors affecting the students’ • Bullying
school behavior? • Truancy
Theme 3 Local Community
General Questions Topics
How do the community preserve local • Culture and Tradition
heritages? • Courtship and Marriage
Theme 4 Government
General Questions Topics
What is the extent of services rendered • Distribution of relief
by the elected officials in times of • Political strategies
COVID 19 Pandemic?
Theme 5 Relationships with colleagues and
mentors
General Questions Topics
What are the root cause of Interpersonal • Classroom discipline
Communication Problems? • Interpersonal Relationships
Theme 6 Other areas of interest or concern
How vaccines are developed for • Safety Measures
COVID 19? • Handwashing

V. Learning Insights/Reflection (Reflect)

1) Is choosing the correct research problems important in an investigation? Why?
2) Why is it significant to set criteria in selecting research topics? Explain your answer.
3) How can you find out if you accurately followed the steps in selecting research topics?
Explain your answer.
4) How can you determine if the plan of focus on the research issues and ideas are well-
organized? Explain your answer.
5) Are you confident to present your research agenda? Why?

VI. Reinforcement and Enrichment

Learning Feedback Diary
This Learning Feedback Diary (LFD) is a reflection on how you apply the knowledge
gained in order to comprehensively present a class research agenda that focuses research
problems and topics which can alleviate difficulties/challenges in a certain community. By
filling-out this LFD, you are aware on how far you gained your learning in this module.

Ways in choosing Considering criteria

research problems in research topics
____________________ _________________
____________________ _________________
____________________ _________________
____________________ _________________
____________________ _________________
_______________. ________________.
_________________
___
______________
PRESENTING _.
CLASS
RESEARCH AGENDA

Planning to focus on
Following the steps in issues and ideas
selecting topics _____________________
____________________ _____________________
____________________ _____________________
____________________ _____________________
____________________ _____________________.
__________________.
VII. Post Test (Assess What You Have Learned)
Instruction: Choose the correct answer by encircling the letter of your choice. NO ERASURES,
please.
1. Research problem is being defined as the:
a. “Area of concern on the research paper that needs development, a difficulty
requiring attention, or an inquiry necessitating an answer”
b. “Subject or issue that a researcher is interested in when conducting research”
c. “Ability to develop a good research topic”
d. “The research topics that fill in critical knowledge gaps and respond to pressing
concerns”

2. In setting criteria for research, researcher should observe the following:

i. Holding interest iii. Doable within time frame
ii. Manageable in size iv. Sufficiently researched
a. i, & ii, b. iii, & iv c. i, ii, & iii d. i, ii, iii & iv

3. Performing a creative technique by finding a conclusion for a specific problem

towards in formulating good research topic is:
a. Reading literature c. Focusing on research topic
b. Brainstorming for research topics d. reading related studies

4. By using Gantt Chart, a researcher can easily view his/her:

a. Plan of action c. Research Timeline
b. Research observation d. Assessment

5. To comprehensively present the issues and problems in a certain community, this

plan support the goals of researchers:
a. Research Goals c. Research objectives
b. Research questions d. Class research agenda

VIII. Glossary
Class research agenda-the research topics that fill in critical knowledge gaps and respond to
pressing concerns in Philippine basic education, consistent with the department’s vision, mission,
and target outcomes and in line with local and international developments in the sector (Based
from DepEd Order No. 39. s. 2016)
Plan of focus on issues and ideas on the respective strands of SHS- a practical and relatable
topics planned for investigation of student researchers in Academic and TVL tracks respectively.
Research problems-the area of concern in the research paper whether it is a circumstance
needing development, a difficulty requiring attention, or an inquiry necessitating an answer.
(Cristobal Jr. and Cristobal, 2017).
Research topics- the subject or issue that a researcher is interested in when conducting research
(Liu, 2020).
Steps in selecting research topics- the ability of researchers to develop a good research topic.
IX. Answer Key

Pre-test Post-Test
1. a 1. a
2. d 2. d
3. c 3. b
4. b 4. c
5. a 5. d

X. References
➢ https://www.google.com
➢ DepEd Order No 69 s 2016 https://peac.org.ph/wp-
content/uploads/2018/08/DO_s2016_039.pdf
➢ Justin Reedy (May 20, 2009) https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2009/05/20/creating-
research-agenda Retrieved: June 18, 2020, 10:13 am
➢ https://www.pinterest.ph/pin/394346511094241844/
➢ Roberts, Carol M. (2019). “The Dissertation Journey. A Practical and Comprehensive Guide to
Planning, Writing, and Defending Your Dissertation” A SAGE Publication Company, California,
U.S.A.
➢ https://www.westminster.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/research-degrees/entry-
requirements/how-to-write-your-research-proposal. June 20, 2020. 8:13am
➢ DepEd Order No. 39. s. 2016: ADOPTION OF THE BASIC EDUCATION RESEARCH AGENDA
➢ Justin Reedy (MAY 20, 2017) https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2009/05/20/creating-
research-agenda
➢ University of Michigan-Flint (2020): https://www.umflint.edu/library/how-select-research-topic
➢ Amadeo Pangilinan Cristobal, Jr., Ed.D., and Maura Consolacion De la Cruz-Cristobal, Ed.D. “
Practical Research 1 for Senior High School (2017). Copyright © 2017 by C & E Publishing, Inc.,
Published by C & E Publishing, Inc., 839 EDSA, South Triangle, Quezon City
➢ https://www.verticalmeasures.com/content/six-creative-ways-to-brainstorm-ideas.June 21,
2020. 2:30pm
➢ https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1366&bih=625&ei=zQvvXuieDNXj-
AaWmrm4DQ&q=quotes+in+research+topics&oq=quotes+in+research+topics&gs Date
retrieved: June 21, 2020. 3:39pm.
➢ Xun Liu (2020). https://sk.sagepub.com/reference/the-sage-encyclopedia-of-communication-
research-methods