LESSON 2

Identifying the Inquiry and Stating the Problem

Prepared By: Rey John D. Caballero
Steps in Selecting your Research Topic

Step 1 – Brainstorm for Ideas Step 7 – Research and Read More

about Your Topic
Step 2 – Read General Background Step 8 – Know your Scopes and
Information Delimitations
Step 3 – Focus on your Topic Step 9 - Know the Importance of
Step 4 – Make a List of Useful Keywords your Topic
Step 10 – Formulate a Statement of
Step 5 – Be Flexible
the Problem
Step 6 – Define Your Topic as a Focus Step 11 – Create your Research Title
Research Question
Step 1 - Brainstorm for Ideas
 Choose a topic that
interests you.
 Look at some of the
following topically
oriented Web sites and
research sites for ideas.
 Write down any key
words or concepts that
may be of interest to you.
RESEARCH TOPICS AND
THEIR SOURCES
 Sources of Research
1. Pressing issues on
an individual,
organizational or
societal level or
success stories.
 Sources of Research

2. Wide Reading or
Critical Film
Viewing
 Sources of Research

3. Social
Networking Sites
 Sources of Research

4. Replication
“Recommendations
for furthers studies”
Sources of Research

5. Lectures,
Talks and
Seminars
Sources of Research

6. Gray Areas
of your subject
matter
Step 2 – Read General
Background Information
Read a general encyclopedia
article on the top two or three
topics you are considering.
 Use periodical indexes to scan
current magazine, journal or
newspaper articles on your
topic.
 Use Web search engines
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:
Step 3 – Focus on Your Topic
by geographical area
What environmental issues are most important in the Coron,
Palawan?
by culture
What is the current status of the environment governed by
Aetas in Pampanga?
by time frame:
What are the most prominent environmental issues of the last 10
years?
Step 3 – Focus on Your Topic
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?
Step 4 – Make a List of Useful
Keywords
Keep on track of the words
Look for the best words
Look for them in reference materials
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
Step 5 – Be Flexible

It is common to modify your topic during the

research process. You can never be sure of what
you may find.
You may find too much and need to narrow your
focus, or too little and need to broaden your
focus.
Step 6: Define Your Topic as a
Focused Research Question
A research question is a clear, focused,
concise, complex and arguable
question around which you center your
research. You should ask a question
about an issue that you are genuinely
curious about.
Types of Research Question

Descriptive
Comparative
Relationship-based
 1) Descriptive Research Question

It aims to describe the variables you are

measuring.
When we use the word describe, we mean
that these research questions aim
to quantify the variables you are interested
in.
1) Descriptive Research Question

Think of research questions that start with

words such as "How much?", "How
often?", "What percentage?", and "What
proportion?", but also sometimes questions
starting "What is?" and "What are?".
1) Descriptive Research Question

Example: How often do male and

female high school students of PUP-
SHS upload photos and comment on
other users' photos on Facebook each
week?
 2) Comparative Research Question

It aims to examine the differences between two

or more groups on one or more dependent
variables (although often just a single dependent
variable).
Such questions typically start by asking "What is
the difference in?“ a particular dependent
variable between two or more groups.
 2) Comparative Research Question

Example: What are the differences in usage

behaviour on Facebook between PUP-SHS
male and female high school students?
 3) Relationship-based Research Question

This research question are interested in

the causal0relationships, associations, tr
ends and/or interactions amongst two
or more variables on one or more
groups.
 3) Relationship-based Research Question

We typically start a relationship-based

quantitative research question, "What is the
relationship?", usually followed by the
words, "between or amongst.
Then list the independent variables (e.g.,
gender) and dependent variables (e.g.,
attitudes towards music piracy), amongst or
between" the group(s) you are focusing on.
3) Relationship-based Research Question

Example: What is the relationship

between study time and exam scores
amongst university students?
Importance of a Good
Research Question
A good research question defines the focus of
your research project. Your research question
helps readers to know the specific subject matter
you will be addressing within the broad topic.
A research question can set boundaries to help
you figure out where to go next. A research
question defines which data you need to collect
and which methods you will use to access and
analyze your documents.
Importance of a Good
Research Question
However, as you collect data, your question is
likely to change and grow.
Defining questions within your project is not a linear
process. Rather, questions will define your
directions of inquiry and, in turn, the results of your
inquiries will refine your question.
Developing research questions is an iterative
process evolving with your project.
Taking into consideration all of the above, start asking
yourself open-ended “how” and “why” questions about
your general topic. Evaluate your question.
 Is your research question clear? With so much research
available on
 any given topic, research questions must be as clear as
possible in
 order to be effective in helping the writer direct his or her
research.
Is your research question focused? Research questions
must be specific enough to be well covered in the
space available.
Is your research question complex? Research questions
should not be answerable with a simple “yes” or “no”
or by easily-found facts. They should, instead, require
both research and analysis on the part of the writer.
Step 7: Research and Read
More About Your Topic
Use the key words you have gathered to
research
Find more information to help you answer
your research question.
You will need to do some research and
reading before you select your final topic.
Can you find enough information to
answer your research question?
- Remember, selecting a topic is an
important and complex part of the research
process.
Step 8 – Know your Scopes and
Delimitations
The scope and delimitation should include the following:
1. A brief statement of the general purpose of the
study.
2. The subject matter and topics studied and
discussed.
3. The locale of the study, where the data were
gathered or the entity to which the data belong.
4. The population/number and location from
which the respondents were selected. This must
be large enough to make generalizations
significant.

5. The period of the study. This is the time, either

months or years, during which the data were
gathered
Example:
This investigation was conducted to determine the
status of the teaching of science in the high schools of
Province A as perceived by the teachers and students
in science classes during the school year 1989-1990. The
aspects looked into were the qualifications of teachers,
their methods and strategies, facilities forms of
supervisory assistance, problems and proposed solutions
to problems.
Step 9: Know the Importance of
Your Topic
1. Statement of the problem will guide you
to write a significance of the
study. Based on your statement of the
problem you will see the potential
benefits of your study.
Just answer this question, “What are the
benefits or advantages of the study based
on statement of the problem?”
Step 9: Know the Importance of
Your Topic
2. Write the significance of the study by
looking into the general contribution of
your study, such as its importance to
society as a whole, then proceed
downwards—towards its contribution to
individuals and that may include yourself
as a researcher.
Example
Step 10: Formulate a Statement of
the Problem
A statement of the problem is the
description of an issue currently existing
which needs to be addressed.
It provides the context for the research
study and generates the questions which
the research aims to answer.
The statement of the problem is the
focal point of any research.
A good problem statement is just one
sentence.
 What are the key components of a
statement of the problem?
Problem statements often have three elements:
1. The problem itself, stated clearly and with enough
contextual detail to establish why it is important

2. The method of solving the problem, often stated as a

claim or a working thesis

3. The purpose, statement of objective and scope of the

project being proposed.
 Criteria for Research Problem
Statement
• The statement of the problem should clearly
indicate what is to be investigated.
• The actual statement may be in a declarative
or in a question form.
• The statement should indicate the variables of
interest and the specific relationship between the
variables that are to be studied.
STEP 10 – Writing a Research Title

5 Steps in Writing a Research Title

 STEP 1 Ask yourself these questions
and make note of the answers.
•What is my paper about?
My paper studies whether X therapy improves the cognitive
function of patients suffering from dementia.
•What techniques/ designs were used?
It was a randomized trial.
•Who/what is studied?
I studied 40 cases from six cities in Japan.
•What were the results?
There was an improvement in the cognitive function of patients.
STEP 2 – Use your answers to list
keywords
•X therapy Following the steps
•Randomized trial outlined above will help
you arrive at an
•Dementia effective title for your
•6 Japanese cities research paper.
•40 cases
•Improved cognitive function
X therapy improves cognitive function in 40 dementia
patients: A randomized trial
(Title length: 12 words)
 STEP 3 – Create a sentence that
includes the keywords you listed.

This study is a randomized trial that investigates

whether X therapy improved cognitive function in
40 dementia patients from 6 cities in Japan; it
reports improved cognitive function.
(Current length: 28 words)
 STEP 4 - Delete all unnecessary/
repetitive words and link the remaining.

This study is a randomized trial that investigates whether X

therapy improved cognitive function in 40 dementia
patients from 6 cities in Japan; it reports improved
cognitive function
Randomized trial of X therapy for improving cognitive
function in 40 dementia patients from 6 cities in Japan
(Length of revised title: 18 words)
 STEP 5 – Delete Non-essential
Information and reword the title
Randomized trial of X therapy for improving cognitive function in 40
dementia patients from 6 cities in Japan reports improved cognitive function
Randomized trial of X therapy for improving cognitive function in 40
dementia patients
(Length of finalized title: 13 words)
OR
Include a subtitle
X therapy improves cognitive function in 40 dementia patients: A
randomized trial
(Title length: 12 words)

Following the steps outlined above will help you arrive at an effective title for
your research paper.
 Do’s and Don’ts in Writing a
Research Title

Do: write a title that describes and explains the core

focus of your writing. Your title should be such that the
reader should be able to get full idea about what your
research is all about. It should tell the purpose, theories
supported by your research, the variables tested, the
design, methodology adopted, etc.

Don’t: The topic should not be general.

 Do’s and Don’ts in Writing a
Research Title

Do: The topic should be precise but not

necessarily short. It should be concise and should
explain in fewest words the nature of your
research. The title must not exceed with 15 words.
Don’t: Do not be vague. Avoid making a
complicated title with word combinations that are
difficult to understand.
 Do’s and Don’ts in Writing a
Research Title
Do: The title should present clear picture and
should not give the reader an idea about one
thing when the whole paper is about something
else. Your title should be able to convey the
research you have performed.
Don’t: Avoid being inconsistent in the language
used in the research content and the title. This is
considered a good practise.
 Do’s and Don’ts in Writing a
Research Title

Do: Short forms, abbreviations, etc. should be

used in the main content where there is option to
explain their full forms.
Don’t: Acronyms, initials, abbreviations should not
be used in the main title of as it can create
confusion.
 Do’s and Don’ts in Writing a
Research Title
Do: Cute and teasing titles can be great way to spark
interest and can be used depending on the nature of
the topic.
Don’t: However, at times it a cute and teasing title can
make it harder for the readers to understand what your
research is about unless they read the abstract of the
research. Moreover, if the readers are only going to be
from academics, catchy and humorous titles are best
to be avoided.
 Do’s and Don’ts in Writing a
Research Title
Finally, it can be said that the core focus of your write-up
should be reflected by the title.
Each component of the title should represent something or
the other about your research as already mentioned. The
title should directly relate to the topic, this will enable you to
get information quickly for your topic.
Also, if other scholars look for information on the same
topic, they should also be able to find your dissertation
easily.