This module was designed and written with you in mind.

It is here to help you master the importance of

research in daily life. The scope of this module permits it to be used in many different learning situations. The
language used recognizes the diverse vocabulary level of students. The lessons are arranged to follow the
standard sequence of the course. But the order in which you read them can be changed to correspond with the
textbook you are now using.

OBJECTIVES

At the end of the unit, the students must have:

 Discuss the importance and benefits of research.
 Apply the concept of research ethics
 Identify and communicate well with the characteristics of researcher
 Develop their additional understanding about research in the development of man’s life.
 Evaluate one’s learning.

CONTENT
 Research defined in various authors
 Importance and benefits of research
 Qualities and Characteristics of research and the researcher
 Research Ethics

What is It

I. Research defined in various authors

If you think research is not for you, let me give you some instances that you might have applied “researching”.
Can you still recall when your Math teacher- asked you to solve a mathematical problem that you cannot
understand? Thus, no matter how you try you cannot find the right answer or concepts behind it Most probably,
you ask somebody to help you out or you open your cellphone and search for a video tutorial. Can you still
recall when you first played your favorite online game, and no matter how much you try, you still cannot defeat
your opponent’s hero? I think what you did was to ask your friend or an expert to help you out or you searched
on the internet for answers. The process that you have done is research. You had a problem, you established
your methods on how to solve your problem, you conducted a literature review or an actual interview and
survey, then you came up with solutions. These requires you to search and to overcome your problems.
Research flows in the same manner. Doing research does not necessarily mean creating extraordinary things
like Mark Zuckerberg who developed Facebook or even Zhang Yiming who created TikTok.
Etymologically, research came from “re” and “search”. "Re" is a prefix that means again and search is a word
which means to look for. Therefore, research is to look for something (Chapman 1979). There are two (2) things
that we need to take note of in this definition. First, research is not only about the discovery of something
unknown, it is coming up with a new explanation of something that is known. Second, research is a process. It
is a process of searching for something to solve an existing problem or difficulty to solve.
Research is also understood as a systematic investigation or inquiry entailing collection of data, documentation
of critical information, analysis, interpretation of information (Williams 2007). From the given definition, this
highlights the manner how research is conducted. It is systematic. The question is, how does it becomes
systematic and what makes it systematic. The term systematic entails the structure. To understand the word
system, just imagine your body. Are your hands located in your ears? Or is your nose located on your chin? Of
course, you will reason out that your hands are located to where it should be and your nose is located in the
middle of your face. The manner of how your body parts are structured and organized implies the system.
Research as systematic means it follows the structure or method. Therefore, whenever collecting data,
documenting information, analyzing, and interpreting information are conducted, a particular method is used.
On the other hand, research can be also viewed as the formation of new knowledge and the employment of
previous or existing knowledge into a new and creative way (O’Donnell 2012). Imagine these two (2) scenarios:
mother giving birth to a baby and a potter molding a pot. The creation of new knowledge can be compared to a
mother giving birth. The mother stands for the research itself and the baby is new knowledge. Thus, through
research, new knowledge is born. On the other hand, a potter molding a pot can be paralleled to the use of
existing knowledge in a new creative way. Here, the potter stands for the researcher, the clay as the existing
knowledge, and the pot itself is a new knowledge made creatively.
Now, do not be afraid to carry out research. It is because you can make a research. Why? First, it is not new to
you. You are not just fully aware that what you were doing is research and you have been doing many times.
Second, research is not a demanding activity that would exhaust your strength. However, some particular
techniques and processes are involved and needed to be carried out in conducting this activity. What you have
heard from others is a piece of hoax and challenges. It is a hoax for research is not after all difficult? It is a
challenge for you that needs dedication and commitment to successfully do this exciting activity.
II. Importance and benefits of research
Research is very significant on our lives, it has gradually changed human life
through history. Here are the five (5) importance of research to our daily lives.
1. Research aims for truth (Rolfe 2002).
2. Research improves quality of human life (Bornmann 2013).
3. Research saves life (Cancer Research UK 2019).
4. Research gathers necessary information (Igwenagu 2016).
5. Research explores humanity (Lee, Tran, and Lee 2007).

The research aims for truth. We crave truth for no one has the desire to live in lies (Rasmussen 2013).
Research is about establishing truth based on evidence or data. We conduct a study to seek for truth. Just
imagine, for many centuries people believe that the world is flat and it is over the giant turtle. Beyond the
horizon of the sea is an abyss. But there came Ferdinand Magellan who proved this otherwise. His courage and
research have made us live with the fact that the world is round. Have you ever heard about the belief that earth
is the center of the universe? Actually, for many years’ men believed that everything revolved around us. But
thanks to Copernicus, because of his tedious research, now we know that it is not Earth as the center of the
universe but the sun. I beat you can cite more examples related to this concern. Nonetheless, the main idea here
is that research provides us an explanation or solution to particular problem based on truth (Kasi 2009).

Research improves the quality of human life. I believe that you often hear from your parents about their
experiences when they were young. Though it sounds so boring, they live without television, without the
internet, without a cellphone, without an air condition, without an electric fan, without computer, or online
games. Can you imagine that kind of life? But look at our situation now. Everything that they don’t have before,
we have it now. You can cook now without a fire stove. Now, it is a matter of pushing a button with the use of a
rice cooker or electric stove. You can call and see your friends abroad without hustles through the use of social
media platforms. You can travel anywhere by just a matter of hours or a few days using your motorcycles and
bikes. You can enjoy staying at home not going outside with the use of your smartphones. This is the life we
have now. Do you think it just went down from heaven like rain during the rainy season? All of the
technological advancements are brought by different researches (Gupta 2018). Without the people who
dedicated their lives for the sake of humanity, we will not have this kind of life. Through research, it improves
our standard of living.

Research saves a life. Through the course of human history, research has proven its worth and roles in our
lives. In the past, when penicillin was not yet discovered, people just die without proper medication. It was by
the research of Fleming that the first generation of antibiotics were discovered (Pandey et al. 2014). In the same
manner, how can we forget the research of Dr. Abelardo Aguilar, a Filipino doctor, one of the contributors to
the discovery of Erythromycin during the late 1940s? Now, we have effective medicine in bacteria that causes
infections in the respiratory tract (Peretti et al. 2011). Moreover, Dr. Fe Del Mundo improved the incubator and
jaundice relieving device. Now pre-matured babies and those suffering from jaundice can survive and enjoy life
in the future. With our situation now with the threat of COVID 19, the only hope is research. Research on
understanding the disease, development of vaccines, and medication will save us. Nonetheless, researchers are
doing their best working day and night to have a medical remedy for this pandemic. Later, research will succeed
and will continue to provide us a safer life.

Research gathers the necessary information. Conducting research implies gathering necessary data to explain
your problem and to answer your particular questions for example, you want to understand students’
perceptions about modular learning, then, you conduct survey to the projected respondents or direct interviews
with the projected participants. Thus, the content of the survey questionnaire and the guided interview must
have aligned to your problem and to the questions that you like to answer. On this manner, you are gathering
important data needed for your research. Another, when COVID 19 was just starting to spread, medical experts
are puzzled about the emerging disease (Vetter, Eckerle, and Kaiser 2020). Many of them wanted to know what
was the cause. Some of them investigated how it is being transmitted. Some experts dealt with medical
mapping. Others determined the incubation period and how it can be prevented. Each of them intensively
conducted a particular study to answer their inquiries. They did many laboratory experiments, observations, and
literature review. Data related only to their questions were considered. Now, we have at least a good perspective
on the manner the virus is transmitted, possible medication, ways to prevent it, incubation period, and location
affected by the pandemic. Thus, the necessary information to understand the situation was gathered.

Research explores humanity. Do you know that Bataeños have developed distinct Tagalog intonation and
words? Do you know that the song “Ati Ku Pung Singsing” is about the culture of the Kapampangan? Do you
know that in Zambales, the Aetas have customary maternal and infant care beliefs based on their tradition and
faith passed through generations? Do you know that the Dumagat of Aurora considered prayers as part of their
economic life? Do you know that the province of Tarlac came from the "Malatarlak"? I am quite sure that you
are familiar with some of these questions. These are just examples of how research explores the culture of
people.
Research likewise deals with the investigation of culture to understand and to appreciate others' practices, and
beliefs (Zion and Kozleski 2005). The way we understand others is the result of a long study of different
individuals to provide us explanations about group or individual culture. Because of this, we can now have
related, understand, and respect others. Probably you have your own, experience aware with your own
experience how research works, you can still cite importance of research. These five (5) importance are just the
representation of many benefits we can get out of research. Research is important because it aims for truth,
improves quality of human life, saves life, gathers necessary information, and explores humanity. Who knows
in the future, your research might be beneficial to humanity. Hand on your pencil! Let us start researching!

III. Qualities and Characteristics of research and the researcher

Characteristics of Research (Cristobal & Cristobal, 2017)
1. Research should be systematic.
- The researcher needs to carry out a series of interrelated steps in conducting the study. Such procedure must
follow a well-planned, sequential and organized structure from beginning to end.
- The research paper is divided into macrosystem and microsystem. The former refers to different chapters
labeled with main headings,
2. Research should be objective.
- The researcher needs to present information that are purely based on truths. It should always be anchored on
the factual basis in which the research work is founded, thus being free from any bias or personal opinion.
3. Research should be feasible.
- The researcher needs to consider the possibility and practicality of conducting the proposed study. All
significant factors like time, budget and access to resources must be analyzed to determine if the research can
actually be done.
4. Research should be empirical.
- The researcher needs to employ appropriate methods, either quantitatively or qualitatively, to produce
evidence-based information. They can be drawn from concrete experimentation, direct or indirect observation,
and verifiable experience.
5. Research should be clear.
- The researcher needs to use comprehensible language to present information and convey explanation
throughout the research process. The factors to be manipulated, measured or described in the study, also known
as variables, must be clarified using literature from published and unpublished materials. They should be
explained well from the introductory part of the research paper to ensure a deeper understanding of the study to
be conducted.

IV. Research Ethics

Importance of Ethics in Research
Resnik (2015), in his article, “What is Ethics in Research & Why is it important?”, as cited by Cristobal &
Cristobal (2017), enumerates the following reasons why it is important to follow ethical principles in writing
and
conducting a research:
1. It promotes the aims of research.
Ethics guides the researchers in obtaining knowledge, truth, and avoidance of error by prohibiting fabrication,
falsification and misrepresentation of research data.
2. It upholds values that are essential to collaborative work.
Many researchers who are working in different disciplines and institutions cooperate and coordinate to
accomplish a particular research. With ethics in mind, they also maintain trust, accountability, mutual respect,
and fairness.
3. It ensures that researchers can be held accountable to the public.
Ethical norms guarantee the public that researchers are deemed responsible for committing any form of research
misconduct.
4. It builds public support for research.
People express and lend their support by all means if they can trust the quality and integrity of research.
5. It promotes a variety of moral and social values.
Ethical principles help the researcher avoid practices that can adversely harm the research subjects and the
community. Thus, it encourages social responsibility, human rights, animal welfare, compliance with the law,
and
public health and safety.

Ethical Codes and Policies for Research

Cristobal & Cristobal (2017), in their book, “Practical Research 1 for Senior High School”, lists the following
ethical codes and policies that the researcher needs to consider in conducting a study:
1. Honesty
The researcher should strive to truthfully report data in whatever form of communication all throughout the
study.
2. Objectivity
The researcher should avoid being biased. The study should not be influenced by his/her personal motives,
beliefs and opinions.
3. Integrity
The researcher should establish credibility through the consistency of his/her thought and action. He/she should
act with sincerity especially on keeping agreements.
4. Care
The researcher should never neglect even the smallest detail of the study. All information should be critically
examined. Records of research activities should be properly and securely kept.
5. Openness
The researcher should be willing to accept criticisms and new ideas for the betterment of the study. Research
results and findings should be shared to the public.
6. Respect for intellectual property
The researcher should not plagiarize. Credit should be given to who or where it is due. All authors cited and
sources used in the study should be properly acknowledged.
- Plagiarism refers to the act of illegally using another person’s ideas, works, processes, and results. Thus, it
constitutes claiming an intellectual property as one’s own that can be penalized through Republic Act 8293
known as the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines.
7. Confidentiality
The researcher should take steps to protect all confidential communications or documents from being
discovered by others.
8. Responsible publication
The researcher should ensure that his/her work is clear, honest, complete, accurate, and balanced, thus avoiding
wasteful and duplicate publication. It should likewise refrain from selective, misleading, or ambiguous
reporting.
9. Responsible mentoring
The researcher should teach responsible conduct of research and share professional knowledge and skills
especially to new or less experienced researchers.
10. Respect for colleagues
The researcher should show courtesy to his/her colleagues by treating them equally and fairly.

11. Social responsibility

The researcher should promote social good by working for the best interests and benefits of the environment
and society as a whole.
12. Non-discrimination
The researcher should not discriminate based on sex, race, ethnicity, or any factor relating to scientific
competence and integrity. Thus, research should be open to all people or entities who will participate in
research.
13. Competence
The researcher should possess necessary knowledge and skills in conducting a study. He/she should be
equipped with a sense of professionalism and expertise to ensure competent results.
14. Legality
The researcher should know and abide by relevant laws, institutional and government policies concerning the
legal conduct of research.
15. Human Subject Protection
The researcher should protect human lives by preventing and minimizing harms and risks. He/she should
always uphold the human dignity, privacy, and autonomy of human subjects to be used in the study.

Rights of Research Participants

In every aspect of life, rights and responsibilities are inseparably linked to one another. This means that both the
researcher and the participant have necessary obligations to perform as a prerequisite of their privileges in
conducting research. According to Trochim (2006), Smith (2003) and Polit (2006), the following are some of
the rights of research participants, as cited by Cristobal & Cristobal (2017):

1. Voluntary participation
The research participants must be given the privilege to exercise their free will whether to participate or not.
They have the right to refuse involvement in the study. Thus, any person should not be forced to take part in any
research undertaking.
2. Informed consent
The research participants must be provided with sufficient information about the procedures and risks involved
in the research. It serves as an initial guide on why and how the study will be conducted. Hence, the researcher
must ensure that they fully understood and agreed upon the study.
3. Risk of harm
The research participants must be protected from any type of harm whether it may be physical, psychological,
social, or economic. The researcher must avoid, prevent, or minimize threats especially when they are exposed
and engaged in invasive and risky procedures.
4. Confidentiality
The research participants must be assured of their privacy particularly on personal information. The researcher
must secure that all information disclosed by them will not be used without authorized access.
5. Anonymity
The research participants must remain anonymous or unidentified throughout the study even to the researchers
themselves. They have te right to keep their identities secret as they participate especially in case sensitive
studies.

Quiz # 1
Google form link: https://forms.gle/rEDsoN3damoXydJY7
I. Identify the word that is being described in each sentence.

_____________1. It is conducted if someone wants to know something. It starts with the letter “R” and ends
with the letter “H”.
_____________2. It stands for an action when someone follows structures or order in conducting research. It
starts with the letter “s” and ends with the letter “c”.
_____________3. The term represents for the something that someone can get after finishing a research. It
consists of two words? The longest word starts with the letter “k” and ends with the letter “e”.
_____________4. It happens when somebody wants to answer questions or inquiries. The longest word starts
with the letter “c” and ends with the letter “n”. Further, the word in the middle is a preposition.
_____________5. It happens when someone wants to answer something. It starts with the letter “p” and ends
with the letter “m”.
_____________6. This word refers to an act when someone seeks to inquire for a question. It starts with the
letter “a” and ends with the letter “r”.
_____________7. Researchers do with the help of experts. It can be one on one or with the group. It starts with
the letter “I”.
_____________8. The word refers to an action when you read articles and other materials to know more what
you are searching for. It starts with the letter “r” and ends in “w”.
_____________9. It refers to observation, survey or interview. This word starts with the letter “I” and ends with
the letter “n”.
_____________10. It stands for an action to answer queries, understand problems seek new knowledge or based
from existing knowledge in a new and creative way. It starts with the letter “r”.

II. Identify whether the following scenarios show different characteristics of a good research. Write
ACCEPT if it does, and REJECT if it does not.
__________ 1. Organizing the study in a logical manner
__________ 2. Disregarding the basis on which the work is founded
__________ 3. Validating the results of the study
__________ 4. Basing on biases
__________ 5. Analyzing phenomena of importance
__________ 6. Providing fabricated information
__________ 7. Presenting opinions
__________ 8. Considering the extraordinary nature of things
__________ 9. Evaluating sources of information
__________ 10. Counterchecking different evidence

III. Identify whether the following actions follow the ethical codes and policies for research. Write GO
if you think it is ethical, and STOP if it is unethical. Write your answers on your notebook.
__________ 1. Securing the safety of research participants
__________ 2. Rejecting criticisms from others
__________ 3. Exposing personal identity of respondents
__________ 4. Carrying out inconsistent actions
__________ 5. Treating all peers equally
__________ 6. Duplicating other publications
__________ 7. Obeying relevant laws
__________ 8. Keeping agreements
__________ 9. Searching from credible online sources of information
__________ 10. Falsifying reported data and results

IV. Read each statement carefully. Choose the letter of the best answer. Write your
answers on your notebook.
1. How does research become important to humanity?
a. It makes our lives easy and comfortable.
b. Researchers makes money out of it.
c. We are required to take this subject.
2. How can research save lives?
a. provides no solution to our health problems
b. saves live because it is harmless
c. provides medical explanations and probable solutions
3. How does research improve our lives?
a. continuous development of technology
b. using limited practices and technology
c. using old practices and technology.
4. What is the best example of exploring culture of individuals?
a. development of cellphone
b. space travel.
c. understanding cultural
5. Who is the main beneficiary of research?
a. dogs
b. humanity
c. animals
6. How does research provide answers to our inquiries?
a. drawing through intuition
b. making introduction.
c. inferring through evidences
7. How does research serve as a medium of understanding the culture of
others?
a. Research provides benefits to people.
b. Research becomes a platform or method.
c. Researcher just reflects without evidence.
8. In what way, does research gather information?
a. through interviews, observations and survey
b. through interviews only
c. through observations only
9. Why truth is the main aim of conducting research?
a. to seek for limitations
b. to seek for the truth
c. to know one’s purpose
10. What is the best explanation why we are conducting research?
a. to improve our lives.
b. make money out of it.
c. doesn’t have anything to do.
SOURCE/REFERENCES
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1515&context=sociologyf acpub
https://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/twc/sites/utsc.utoronto.ca.twc/files/resourcefiles/
LitReview.pdf

MODULE 2 (Week 4-5)

Key Concept in research

OBJECTIVES

At the end of the unit, the students must have:

 Analyzed the types of research and its components.
 Explain each type of research.
 Develop design and implement its research process.
 demonstrate basic components of research process
 Evaluate one’s learning

CONTENT:
 Technology Research
 The key steps of scientific method
 Components of research process

What is it?

I. What is Technology research?

Ida Solhiem and Ketil Stolen in their book “Technology Research Explained” defined Technology as the
knowledge of artefact emphasizing their manufacturing while Technology research is research for the purpose
of producing new and better artifacts. They also said that a technology researcher seeks principles and ideas of
manufacturing new and better artifacts, which maybe materials, automates, medicines, oil production methods,
computer programmers, etc.
Research is a systematic process based on the scientific method that facilitates the identification of relationships
and determination of differences in order to answer a question. The scientific method is a process that uses an
organized structure to formulate questions and determine answers in a research project.

II. The key steps of scientific method are:

1. Generate a hypothesis or ask a research question. Research ideas usually start with a vague understanding
of some problem. This understanding is usually based on one's readings, observations, or other experiences in
day- to-day life. In this step, the researcher usually refines the research question or hypothesis so that it is
focused and testable.
2. Observation or data collection. The types of data and methods to collect them are determined by the
research question. Methods of data collection include surveys, questionnaires, anthropometrics, observations,
and so on.
 3. Testing the hypothesis through data analysis. This step involves analyzing the data to draw conclusions to
support/refute the hypothesis or answer the research question.
4. Conclusions. Results of the analysis are interpreted vis-à-vis the hypothesis or research question.
5. Compare the results to previous established theory. The findings from the research are compared to the
established theory to determine whether or not they "fit” or support the theory.

III. Component of Research Process

 Research process
Regardless of the area of research or choice of methodology, the researcher process involves similar
activities. The process is an expression of the basic scientific method using the following steps:
statement of the problem, generating a hypothesis, review of relevant studies, creating measures,
choosing the sample, collecting data, and reporting results. Figure 1-1 illustrates the research process

Statement of the Problem Hypothesis or Formulating Research Review of Literature

Question (precise testable
(specify and justify the problem) statements/question of the research (Collection and summary of prior
problem) relevant studies)

Data Analysis
Sample Selection
(using statistical techniques to Measurements
summarize and interpret the findings) (group of people from which data will be
collected) (Operationalization of concepts)

Figure 1-1 Illustration of the research process

Statement of the Problem
The first step in research is pinpointing the topic interest. Researchers usually start out with vague idea of some
problem and then slowly try to refine this idea into a concise statement. They review studies to this topic to
further illuminate the problem sand refines the research question. A strong problem statement is one supported
by a thorough review of relevant study result and a strong rationale or justification for performing the study.
How will this study advance the field interest?

Generating a hypothesis/Formulating a Research Question

Hypotheses and questions are precise statements or question of the research problems. A hypothesis is a
prediction of what is expected to occur, or a relationship expected between concept of interest. The hypothesis
is typically tested with some form of experiment. Not all studies test hypotheses. Some ask more general
question about the problem of interest. The focus can be largely descriptive.

Review of the Literature: Relevant Studies

A thorough search of literature is a relevant important component of research process. The review involves the
collection and summary of prior studies that are relevant to the hypothesis or research question. This process
assesses what is already know about the problem and refines research questions for extending knowledge in this
field. The important focus should be the determination of what this study will add to what is already known.
The review can also provide ideas of what method and instrument can be used to collect data.
Measurement
Measurement are important component of research. Individual vary in their interpretations of particular terms or
concepts. For example, height =60 could mean 60 inches, or 60 centimeters. Hence, key terms in the problem
statement should be defined clearly. To follow example of height, the researcher should indicate that height is
measured in centimeters. The process of definition is called operationalization: The concept in the researcher’s
head is translated into something that can be observed, measured, and understand by others.
Sample
If the study involves human subjects, then sample means a group of people from which data will be collected
(subject of the study). If the study is analyzing secondary data collected by another investigator, then sample
refers to the data sets. Usually the sample is a group of people representing a target population, and the
population is the larger group to whom the results are to be generalized. Types of research bias or systematic
errors can be avoided with precise definition of the target population and rigorous sampling strategies.
Instrumentation
Instruments are tools that collect and measure data. The selection of the tool depends on the focus and type of
research study (case study, observational study, cohort, and so on) being conducted. Each tool that will be used
to collect data should be as precise (reliable) as possible and measure the intended concept (validity).
Data Analysis
This step in the process involves the use of statistical techniques to summarize and interpret relevant research
result. Basic descriptive statistic (i.e., measure of incidence and prevalence, central tendency, dispersion) are
part of every quantitative research study. Inferential statistics are used in studies that test hypothesis. The main
objective of data analysis is to answer the research question or test hypothesis. Based on the analysis results,
conclusion is drawn and interpreted in the context of previous studies.

References: The Research Process – Overview(n.d.). Retrieved from

http://samples,jbpub.com/9781449627843/Chapter1.pdf

ACTIVITY # 1
Google Form Link: https://forms.gle/dNsSmQ3M8PM94BUh6
1.1. List at least ten (10) technologies that are relevant to your course and that you think have contributed
significantly to the country’s and economic development
Example: Cellphone
1. ___________________ 2. ___________________
3. ___________________ 4. ___________________
5. ___________________ 6. ___________________
7. ___________________ 8. ___________________
9. ___________________ 10. __________________

1.2. Propose at least three inventions that are not yet available in the market and you want to make or
fabricate as a future innovator.
1. _________________________________________________________
2. _________________________________________________________
3. ____________________________________________________
 MODULE 3 (Week 6-8)
Research Problem

OBJECTIVES
 Analyzed research problem
 Create and identify one’s research problem or proposed study.
 Clarify the difference between a research problem and hypothesis
 Formulate research problem, hypothesis and or assumptions
 Evaluate one’s learning.
CONTENT:
 Research Problem
 Research Question
 Elements and sources of research problem
 Assumption & Hypothesis

As depicted from the scenario presented in the reading selection, students at their age can also face different
struggles. This further implies that nobody is exempted, that is, problems which may be represented as a
challenge or a difficulty can be possibly encountered by anyone. Now, as a College student, it is undeniable that
you are encountering problems as well. Perhaps, you may also relate yourself with the situations of the
characters from the selection whose problem may arise from issues and concerns regarding time management,
study habit, motivation, and the like which later can affect the academic performance. As a starting student-
researcher, you must remember that a situation that brings you a feeling of discomfort or something that you
find as challenging and difficult can be considered as a source of problem. Such a problem may later help you
to design your study which primary aims are to investigate, explore, and understand the phenomenon. The
findings then can be used to suggest what potential solution may address the problem.
In this module, you will explore the other sources of a research problem aside from a situation that brings you
discomfort. Moreover, you will also be informed of other considerations in the selection of a research problem
as well as in the formulation of its possible research title. This phase of your research journey is really
important. You must first secure your problem before you can possibly conduct a study.
The Research Problem
In starting with a research project, the researcher must have a clear problem in mind. Basically, a research
problem refers to a statement that promptly suggests for conducting an investigation. Moreover, a research
problem to be designed must deal with some concerns in a particular field that may need an improvement or a
solution. The researcher must also observe gaps in existing scholarly literature, theories, and practices in order
to come up with a good and relevant research problem. This designed problem then will serve as a guide to
know what kind of research study will be most suitable to address the perceived concern.
Sources of Research Problem
There is a need for a socially relevant problem when the researcher will attempt to conduct a study. Hence, it is
said that identifying and designing a research problem is quite a challenging task. Familiarity with the potential
sources, meanwhile, may help the researcher to come up with a good research problem. As cited from Sacred
Heart University Library (2020), four (4) varied sources can be considered. These are as follows:
1. Theory. Existing social philosophies and generalizations which the researcher is familiar with may be of a
great help to design a research problem. The researcher may observe if there is a gap between theory and
practice. Difference between what is said by the elders and what the youngsters see and observe may be a
potential source of a problem.
2. Practitioners. Consultation with the people who have direct experiences in a field of interest may provide the
researcher an idea of what relevant problem he/she may investigate. Practitioners such as teachers, social
workers, health care providers, etc. are considered to be a good source of problem since they are directly
experiencing difficulties and challenges which are needed to be addressed.
3. Personal experience. Daily experiences can provide the researcher an idea of what problem that needs a
solution. Observation on what is happening in the community may allow him/her to see the common concerns
of people or institutions which may be subjected for investigation.
4. Relevant literature. An extensive and thorough review of literature and studies relevant to the problem
interest of the researcher may enable him/her to come up with a potential study. Through reviewing other
available researches, the researcher may be able to determine gaps in knowledge and to subject them for
replication. Thus, a good research problem will be ensured.

Considerations in Formulating the Research Problem

As cited from the book of Cristobal and Cristobal (2017), there are criteria which should be considered by the
researcher in order to arrive with a good research problem. Here they adopted the proposed criteria of
Barrientos-Tan (1997) from the book entitled A Research Guide in Nursing Education. These are further
subdivided into external and internal criteria.
1. External Criteria
a. Novelty. The research problem must carry “newness.” With this, its practical value would be easily perceived.
b. Availability of subjects. A research problem, when is subjected to a further investigation, requires data from
the target subjects. Hence, the researcher must ensure that there will be available participants who are capable
of
providing data needed for the study.
c. Support of the academic community. The academic community, which consists of administrators, teachers,
staff, students, and parents, should be considered by the researcher in what particular problem will be
investigated. Each member plays a vital role in the conduct of the study. Hence, the research problem should be
clearly perceived as beneficial once it is subjected for investigation. In addition, securing permission among the
said members must be done before conducting the actual data collection procedure.
d. Availability and adequacy of facilities and equipment. Necessary common devices such as computers and
telephones which will be used in undertaking a study should be considered. Likewise, other needed materials
required by the research problem should be checked if they are available and sufficient.
e. Ethical considerations. A research problem, when is subjected to a study, must not pose any unethical
demands most especially on the part of the research participants.
2. Internal Criteria
a. Qualifications of the researcher. These pertain to the expertise of the researcher to the problem. It is
important to the researcher that he/she has enough knowledge and training when the research problem is
subjected to further investigation so as to ensure the success of the undertaking.
b. Motivation and interest of the researcher. The research problem which is in the interest of the researcher may
give him/her satisfaction and enjoyment. Hence, completion of the research tasks will be efficiently attained.
c. Time factor. A research problem, when is subjected to a study, should suggest to be time-efficient. With this,
the undertaking will be possibly accomplished in a given time frame.
d. Costs and returns. It is also important that the researcher should consider a research problem which suggests
to be cost-efficient. When it is subjected to a study, it must not be a sort of an expensive undertaking.
e. Hazards and handicaps. This means that a research problem should not put the researcher in danger. The
proposed study should be safe not only to the participants but moreover to the researcher himself/herself.
Physical and mental health of the researcher must always be considered.

Research Title
Once the researcher has already had a problem that will be subjected for a study, he/she may now begin
formulating a good research title that will best represent the problem and the study itself in general. As cited
from Sacred Heart University Library (2020), a research title should help the readers to see the main idea as
well as the
summary of the whole study. Further, it usually contains fewest possible words that can bring understanding of
the content and the purpose of the study among the readers.

Characteristics of a Research Title

As commonly observed, a research title is the first one to be read before proceeding to the other parts of the
research paper. Hence, it is really important to know for the researcher what makes a research title an effective
one in order to capture the interest of the readers towards the problem to be investigated. Here are some of the
characteristics of a research title that the researcher should put into considerations:
1. It should be limited only to substantive words with high consideration to the key variables such as the
phenomenon under investigation, the participants, and the setting of the study.
2. It should use words that can create a positive impression among the readers. Avoid using abbreviations as
well as some word constructions such as: “method,” “result,” and “investigation.”
3. It should be in the form of a phrase with correct use of capitalization, that is, the first letter appeared in the
title as well as the first letter of each noun word should be capitalized.
4. It should be concise by adequately implying the participants and the coverage of the study.

In addition, a researcher may also put a subtitle which is commonly employed in social science research papers.
This subtitle may be done: (1) to state the scope, context, and theory under investigation; and (2) to provide a
substantive and appealing literary title.

Some Example of Technical Research Title

1. Development of Automotive Technician Multi-Purpose Tool Box
2. Development of Livestock Wiring Device
3. Fabrication of Multi-Purpose Construction Tools S Box
4. Production of Batuhan Tea (Garcinia Binucao)
5. Production of Powdered Batuhan Seasoning (Garcinia Binucao)
6. Development of Electronic Devices Detector

Now that you have already known the considerations in selecting a research problem and in formulating its
corresponding title, there is no doubt that you may begin to propose a study by clearly indicating the problem
with its corresponding title that is highly relevant to your need, experience, interest, and capability as a student
researcher.

What Is a Research Question?

A research question is a way of expressing your interest in a problem or phenomenon. Research
questions are not necessarily an attempt to answer the many philosophical questions that often arise in schools,
and they are certainly not intended to be an avenue for grinding personal axes regarding classroom or school
issues. You may have more than one research question for a study, depending on the complexity and breadth of
your proposed work. Each question should be clear and specific, refer to the problem or phenomenon, reflect an
intervention in experimental work, and note the target population or participants (see Figure 2.1). Identifying a
research question will provide greater focus to your research or clarify the direction of your investigation,
whether the research is descriptive or experimental. Quite significantly, a well-written research question will
also shed light on appropriate research methods (e.g., specify the intended actions of the variables and how an
experimental intervention might be measured).

Figure 2.1 Characteristics of Good Research Questions

➢ Are specific.
➢ Are clear.
➢ Refer to the problem or phenomenon.
➢ Reflect the intervention in experimental research.
➢ Note the target group of participants.
Characteristics and Examples of Good Research Questions
Given the characteristics of good research questions noted in Figure 2.1, let’s take a look at some
examples, and no examples, of good research questions. Table 2.1 illustrates a few of each type and includes
explanations of why a researcher would categorize them as one or the other.

Here are some additional examples of good experimental research questions from existing literature:

 Will the use of the Self-Regulated Strategy Development model for written ••expression improve the
composition skills of students with ADHD (Reid & Lienemann, 2006)?
 Would students in classrooms of teachers receiving professional develop••ment in early literacy
skills show greater gains in cognitive development when compared to those in control classrooms
(Landry, Swank, Smith, Assel, & Gunnewig, 2006)?
 Would a combined repeated reading and question generation intervention ••improve the
reading achievement of fourth- through eighth-grade students with learning disabilities or
who are at risk for reading failure (Therrien, Wickstrom, & Jones, 2006)?

The following are additional examples of good questions from descriptive research:
  What are the beliefs and self-perceived knowledge of middle school general ••education mathematics
teachers regarding teaching students with learning disabilities (DeSimone & Parmar, 2006)?
 How are the alternate assessments and achievement standards implemented ••for students with the
most significant cognitive disabilities across 16 states (Kohl, McLaughlin, & Nagle, 2006)?
 What are the achievement goals of students with ADHD (Barron, Evans, ••Baranik, Serpell, &
Buvinger, 2006)?

Assumption and Hypothesis

A research hypothesis essentially is a declarative statement of how you expect the research to turn out.
In a way, it is a possible answer to your research question. It should be brief, note your important variables, and
suggest something you can test or descriptively investigate. It is typically included in experimental research but
is also found in descriptive research such as factor analyses or survey-based investigations. It is not typically
included in qualitative research in which the results are intended to be emergent (refer to Chapter 7). In the case
of experimental research and quantitative types of descriptive research, your research question often directly
leads to your hypothesis. Therefore, it is good practice to ensure that your research topic or problem statement,
research question, and hypothesis use consistent language regarding variables and any anticipated outcomes.
Certainly, you would write a hypothesis for each question that you propose.
Let’s go back to a couple of the good example research questions noted in Table 2.1 and see how a
hypothesis might be written for each.

Question: Do students in Algebra I classes who engage in the XYZ curriculum perform significantly differently
on state tests than students who do not participate in that curriculum?
Possible hypothesis: Students who participate in the XYZ curriculum in Algebra I classes will perform
significantly differently on state achievement tests than students who do not participate in that curriculum. If
one wanted a directional hypothesis, one also could have written that the target students will perform
significantly better on the tests. A directional hypothesis is one that implies a difference in a particular
direction when one compares two groups or a group at different points in time (i.e., if one wants to project a
difference in favor of one group or condition).
Question: Do general education teachers evaluate student homework differently than special education teachers,
based on five criteria?
Possible hypothesis: General education and special education teachers evaluate student homework significantly
different on each of five given criteria.

You may have previously heard the term null hypothesis. A null hypothesis is simply a statement
saying that you expect no differences in outcomes between groups or that no relationships exist between the
given variables in your hypothesis. Some researchers do not think that a null hypothesis adds substantial value
to research, while others do. Your advisor may want you to include it in your proposal. The null hypothesis for
the example above regarding the way teachers evaluate homework might be simply this: General education and
special education teachers do not significantly differ on any of five given criteria for student homework
evaluation.

Before leaving this discussion of research questions, let’s focus for a moment on the concept of
significance. You may have noticed the adjective significantly in front of the word different in each of the
example hypotheses and null hypotheses above.
Significance refers to the notion that differences between two groups or conditions are not simply due to
chance or any other known variable (Gall, Gall, & Borg, 2006). The term is also typically used in reference to
statistical differences that may be noted in the analysis.

Depending on whether you are a teacher, graduate student, administrator, or have another role, you may have
one or more purposes for conducting a literature review. There are actually many potential purposes, but let’s
focus on a few common ones: (a) to help figure out what works; (b) to pursue a topic, problem, or question of
professional and/or personal interest; (c) to pinpoint an area of further study; (d) to provide a
rationale/background for study; (e) to survey or analyze research methodology. You may have one or more, or
even all, of these purposes for conducting a literature review.
REFERENCES AND MORE INFORMATION

Bryman, Alan. “The Research Question in Social Research: What is its Role?” International Journal of Social Research
Methodology 10 (2007): 5-20.
Gall, M. D., Gall, J. P., & Borg, W. R. (2006) Educational research: An introduction (8th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

McMillan, J. H. (2004). Educational research: Fundamentals for the consumer (4th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

https://research.phoenix.edu/blog/how-identify-appropriate-research-problem
SOURCE: Identifying Reseacrh Problem and Question, and Searching Relevant Literature(n.d.) Retrieved:
http://sk.sagepub.com/books/conducting-educational-research/n2.xml

Quiz # 2
GOOGLE FORM LINK: https://forms.gle/hcCoqcHqu9qmyrhs7
Write Yes if the given situation from each item indicates good practice in the selection of the
problem or in the formulation of the title and No if not.
____1. Harold conducts a study which has already been done in his school with similar
objective and participants.
____2. Jessica pursues her study because she observes that there are existing research
gaps in her field of interest.
____3. Gerald plans to consult the SPED teachers in his community in order to know the
focus of his study regarding the life of SPED students.
____4. Joana secures the approval of the school administrator before subjecting her
perceived problem into a study.
____5. The research problem proposed by Ulysses requires more time and may exceed the
target time frame when it is subjected into a study.
____6. In the formulation of his research title, Willy includes only essential words and
variables of the study.
____7. To make her research title appears brief, April used the abbreviation of a
terminology.
____8. Bea capitalizes all the first letters of each word appearing in her research title.
____9. Xian includes his participants and the setting of the study in his research title.
____10. In order to indicate clearly the context of her study, Olivia used a subtitle.

Activity 2.
Google form link: https://forms.gle/q5EPAQyjdSEy4EPP9
Based on your answer in Module- 2 (Activity 1.2) formulate a Research Title for every
innovation that you want to proposed. After you formulate connect to your instructor and
present your chosen title for the possible revision.
1._______________________________________________________________________________
2._______________________________________________________________________________
3._______________________________________________________________________________