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Practical Research 2
Quarter 1 – Module 2:
 Designing a Research Useful in Daily Life
 Presenting Written Statement of the Problem
 Stating Research Questions
 Writing a Research Title
Practical Research 2 Grade 12
Quarter 1– Module 2: Designing a Research Useful in Daily Life,
Presenting Written Statement of the Problem, Stating Research
Questions, Writing a Research Title
First Edition, 2020

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Practical Research 2
Quarter 1 – Module 2:
 Designing a Research Useful in Daily Life
 Presenting Written Statement of the
Problem
 Stating Research Questions
 Writing a Research Title

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Introductory Message
For the facilitator:

Welcome to the Practical Research 2 Self-Engaging Module (SEM) on

Designing A Research Useful In Daily Life, Presenting Written
Statement Of The Problem, Stating Research Questions and Writing A
Research Title.
This module was collaboratively designed, developed and reviewed by
educators both from public and private institutions to assist you, the
teacher or facilitator in helping the learners meet the standards set by the K
to 12 Curriculum while overcoming their personal, social, and economic
constraints in schooling.

This learning resource hopes to engage the learners into guided and
independent learning activities at their own pace and time. Furthermore,
this also aims to help learners acquire the needed 21st century skills while
taking into consideration their needs and circumstances.

As a facilitator, you are expected to orient the learners on how to use

this module. You also need to keep track of the learners’ progress while
allowing them to manage their own learning. Furthermore, you are expected
to encourage and assist the learners as they do the tasks included in the
module

For the learner:

Welcome to the Practical Research 2 Self-Engaging Module (SEM)

Module on Designing A Research Useful In Daily Life, Presenting Written
Statement Of The Problem, Stating Research Questions and Writing A
Research Title.

This module was designed to provide you with fun and meaningful
opportunities for guided and independent learning at your own pace and
time. You will be enabled to process the contents of the learning resource
while being an active learner.

This module has the following parts and corresponding icons:

Let Us Learn! In this portion, objectives of the

new lesson

iii
 will be introduced

Let Us Try! This will give you an idea of the skills or

competencies you are expected to learn in
the module

Let Us Study This is where the new lesson is introduced

Let Us Practice This comprises of activities for independent

practice to solidify your understanding and
skills of the topic. You may check answers
to the exercises using the answer key at
the end of the module.

Let Us Practice More This section provides an activity which will

help you transfer your new knowledge into
real life situations or concerns

Let Us Remember This includes questions or blank sentences

paragraphs to be filled in to process what
you have learned from the lesson

Let Us Assess This is a task which aims to evaluate your

level of mastery in achieving the learning
competency.

Let Us Enhance In this portion, another activity will be

given to you to enrich your knowledge or
skill of the lesson learned

Let Us Reflect Closing note of the relevance,

meaning an
application of the concepts and skills
developed in the lesson to real life
experiences

At the end of this module you will also find:

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 References This is a list of all sources used in
developing this module.

The following are some reminders in using this module:

1. Use the module with care. Do not put unnecessary mark/s on any
part of the module. Use a separate sheet of paper in answering the
exercises.

2. Do not forget to answer Let us Try before moving on to the other

activities included in the module.

3. Read the instructions carefully before doing each task.

4. Observe honesty and integrity in doing the tasks and checking your
answers.

5. Finish the task at hand before proceeding to the next.

6. Return this module to your teacher/facilitator once you through with

it.

If you encounter any difficulty in answering the tasks in this module,

do not hesitate to consult your teacher or facilitator. Always bear in mind
that you are not alone.

We hope that through this material, you will experience meaningful

learning and gain deep understanding of the relevant competencies. You can
do it!

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 Let Us Learn!

“You will have a problem half-solved by defining it correctly on the

first day,” Philosopher Kaoru Ishikawa once said. The previous module gives
us an overview of potential research topics we can choose from. Once a topic
is chosen, the next stage is to explain the research problem. The research
problem establishes the importance of the topic and creates the readers’
interest. It also helps researchers to identify the purpose of the research.

At this point, there must be at least one research topic which you find
interesting and must have had your readings of a lot of related literature.
However, an interesting research topic and related literature are simply not
sufficient for academic research. Actual research starts with the preparation
of a well-rounded research problem. Therefore, research problem needs to
be well thought out and presented with a clear purpose so that your
research work contributes more value to existing knowledge (“What is a
Research Problem,” n.d., para. 6-9). Further, the problem statement must
be properly defined so that you will not keep on going back and forth
throughout the sequence of the research process.

This module will help you through the process of choosing your topic,
identifying and stating the research problem, and constructing research
questions.

After going through this module, you are expected to:

a. select a good research topic;

b. breakdown a chosen topic into smaller one;
c. determine the key characteristics of a statement of the problem;
d. construct a persuasive problem statement; and
e. formulate a research question.
f. categorize research titles according to types;
g. determine the characteristics of a good research title; and
h. formulate an informative, appropriate, and catchy title.

Competencies: The learner

1. Designing a Research Useful in Daily Life

2. presents written statement of the problem (CS_RS12-Id-e-7).; and
3. states research questions (CS_RS12-Id-e-4).
4. writes a research title (CS_RS12-Id-e-2).

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 Let Us Try!
A. Match column A with column B by identifying the kind of
research across fields is given by each of the following research
titles. Write only the letter of your answer on the box provided before the
number on a separate sheet of paper.

Column A Column B
Titles of Research Area of Research
_______1. Vegetable Pancit Noodle: A New
A. Business
Recipe for Non-Vegetable Eaters.
_______2. The Role of Salt in Food Preservation B. Mathematics
_______3. Stress Management of Senior High
School Students
_______4. Spending Practices of Teachers C. ICT
_______5. Electrical Continuity Voltmeter
Tester: An Alternative Tool Used to Test
D. Social
Electrical Wiring
Science
_______6. Chiffon Muffins Blended with Durian
and Blue Ternate Flower: A healthy Twist of
New Taste E. Science
_______7. Online Guidance Inquiry Reporting
System for Students and Guidance Counselor F. Automotive
of Tagum National Trade School Servicing
_______8. Far away from Home: Journey of
Senior High School Student Boarders
G. Electrical
_______9. Exploring SIMELE as a Teaching
Installation and
Model in Statistics and Probability
Maintenance
_______10. ELIBHUB: A Computer-based
Library Management System for Tagum
National Trade School H. Cookery

B. True or False
Write T if the statement is True, otherwise write F. Write your answer
on a separate sheet of paper.

1. A good research problem addresses a gap in knowledge.

2. A good research problem should be of interest to the researcher
and suit his/her skills, time, and resources.
3. Its approach towards solving the problem should be in
accordance to what is unethical.
4. For beginners, research topics that require extensive, technical
knowledge should be taken into consideration.
5. Research titles should indicate only the subject of the study.

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 C. Answer the following questions of each category below and write
your answer on separate sheets of paper.

C.1. Narrowing broad topics

What are three areas you could investigate that fit into these very
broad topics?

1. Sports
a. __________________________________________________________________
b. __________________________________________________________________
c. __________________________________________________________________

C.2. Broadening narrow topics

How could you explain these topics to find more information?

1. A Korean Mother’s Cooking Notes

_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

C.3. Looking for keywords

Suppose that you have been assigned the following topics. Think of 3
keywords you might use to look for information on each.

1. How does air quality affect our health?

Keywords:
_____________,_____________,_____________

D. Match the title in Column A with the type of title in Column B.

Write your answer on a separate sheet of paper.

A B
_____1. The age of adolescence a. Titles that attract by
alliteration
_____2. Pre-writing: The relation b. Titles that state the findings
between thinking and feeling of a study
_____3. Asthma in schoolchildren is c. Titles that indicate that an
greater in schools close to answer to the question will
animal feeding operations be revealed
_____4. Abstracts, introductions, and d. Titles that particularize a
discussions: How far do they specific theme following a
differ in style? general heading

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_____5. Using colons in a title: a meta- e. Titles that emphasize the
analytic review methodology used in the
research
_____6. Legalese and legal ease f. Titles that announce the
topic in general

Let Us Study
The heart of every research project - the axis around which the entire
research endeavor revolves - is the problem the researcher wants to address.
Thus, it is crucial that the researcher is able to identify this problem with
clarity and precision (Leedy & Ormrod, 2015).

The research topic, the research problem, the statement of the

problem, and the research question seems similar but they are totally
different. Let us define these terms to avoid confusion.

The research topic is a brief description of the proposed area of

study, consisting at least two sentences (“From Problem Statement to
Research Questions,” n.d.).

A research problem is a statement about an area of concern, a

condition to be improved, a difficulty to be eliminated, or a troubling
question that exists in scholarly literature, in theory, or in practice that
points to the need for meaningful understanding and deliberate
investigation. In some social science disciplines, the research problem is
typically posed in the form of a question. A research problem does not state
how to do something, offer a vague or broad proposition, or present a value
question (“Organizing Academic Research Papers: The Research
Problem/Question,” n.d., para. 1).

A statement of the problem is used in research work as a claim that

outlines the problem addressed by a study. The statement of the problem
briefly addresses what the research wants to address in his or her research
(Bwisa, 2018).

A research question is the specific concern that you will answer

through your research. It is derived from your research problem but is
based on your study design. When you narrow down your research problem
to a specific idea that points towards a feasible way to investigate or address
your research problem, you get your research question (Qureshi, 2019).

Selecting a Topic

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 The topic you choose plays a large role in the outcome of your
research project. As you progress through the early stages of your research,
it is likely that your topic will change several times. You need not worry if
your first few ideas turn into dead ends (“Choosing a Research Topic,” n.d.,
para. 1). Here are a few suggested steps from University of Michigan-Flint’s
article entitled, “How to Select a Research Topic,” to help you get by in
selecting your research topic.

Read general
Brainstorm for Focus on your
background
ideas topic
information

Define your topic

Make a list of
Be flexible as a focused
useful keywords
research question

Research and read Formulate a

more about your statement of the
topic problem

Figure 1. Steps in Selecting a Research Topic

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?
 Is there an aspect of a class that you are interested in learning more
about?

The next thing you will have in mind is where to generate these topics
from? Here are some of the topically oriented Web sites and research sites
for ideas.

Recommended Web site Area or subject of interest

Washington File current events, government,

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 politics, or social sciences
Healthfinder.gov, health or medicine
Health & Wellness Resource Center,
National Library of Medicine
National Endowment for the humanities: art, literature,
Humanities music
Scout Report other subject areas
New York Times/College Web site
Table 1. Recommended Web sites for subject areas of interest

While going over with these sources of potential research topics, write
down any key words or concepts that may be of interest to you. Be aware of
overused ideas, such as abortion, gun control, teen pregnancy, or suicide,
unless you feel that you have a unique approach to the topic.

Step 2: Read general background information

Before you jump into looking for detailed sources on specific aspects
of your topic, it can be very helpful to get a lay of the land by doing some
background reading in reference sources. Reading an encyclopedia article or
other reference source is a quick way to:

 familiarize yourself with the basics of the topic: concepts,

controversies, time, and place.
 find the names of people who are associated with the topic
 decode some of the jargon associated with the topic
 possibly find additional sources using the bibliography of an article or
chapter

Here are four ways to find background sources:

 use the library catalog, which you can limit to search only books in
the reference collection
 use Reference Universe, a database that searches inside of print and
electronic books to locate articles on and references to your topic
 use the Reference or Background Info section of any library subject
guide to find reference sources recommended for your topic
 or choose the best electronic reference sources for your topic from our
online guide

And here's just a sampling of our electronic reference sources.

 Encyclopedia Britannica
 Oxford English Dictionary
 Oxford Reference Online

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  AccessScience
 Oxford Art Online
 Oxford Music Online

Step 3: Focus on your topic

Keep it manageable. A topic will be very difficult to research if it is too

broad or too 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 Davao
Region?

 by culture
Example: How does the environment fit into the Muslim’s 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
Example: What sources of pollution affect Barangay Visayan Village
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
Example: How can the environment contribute to the culture, politics
and society of Mindanao settlers?
 popular

Step 4: Make a list of useful keywords

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 Make a list of words that describe your topic. In addition to words for
broad concepts (e.g. poverty, feminism), consider brainstorming more
specific keywords, such as:

Event: an event within the context of your topic

Time: a particular time period connected to your topic
Person or group: an individual or group identified with the topic or
particularly affected by it
Place: a region, city or other geographical unit connected to your topic

Step 5: Be flexible

As you go along with the research process, it is common to modify

your topic. You may not wish to change it, but you may decide that some
other aspect of the topic is more interesting or manageable. When looking
for research ideas, you may find too much and need to narrow your focus,
or too little and need to broaden your focus (“Choosing a Research Topic,”
n.d., para. 9).

Step 6: Define your topic as a focused research question

Begin with a word. Then, develop a more focused interest in an aspect

of something relating to that word and begin to have questions about the
topic (“Choosing a Research Topic,” n.d., para. 10).

Example:

Ideas: Frank Lloyd Wright or modern architecture

Research Question: How has Frank Lloyd Wright influenced modern
architecture?
Focused Research Question: What design principles used by Frank
Lloyd Wright are common in contemporary homes?

Step 7: Research and read more about your topic

You have to do some research and reading before you select your final
topic using the key words you have gathered in catalogs, article databases,
and Internet search engines (“Choosing a Research Topic,” n.d., para. 11).

While having your readings, do not forget to keep track of the citations
of these materials. Determine if your citations are for books, articles, or
other types of sources. Different citation styles arrange them in different

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orders. Here are the things you should be able to find out about a source
from its citation:

 Name of the author or authoring organization

 Title of the article or book chapter
 Title of the book or journal in which an article is published
 Date of publication
 Name of the publisher, either a book press or a journal title
 Page numbers of articles or book chapters

Step 8: Formulate a problem statement

Construct a problem statement. This answers your research question

and shall consist a clear statement of the purpose of your research. It is
usually a one or two-sentence paragraph which states precisely what is to
be answered, proven, or what you will inform your readers about your topic.
Remember that the title of your paper, which will be discussed in the next
module, may not be exactly the same as your research question or your
research statement, but the title should clearly convey the focus, purpose
and meaning of your research (“Choosing a Research Topic,” n.d., para.
12,14).

Formulating a Research Problem

Problems in need of research are everywhere. Leedy & Ormrod (2015)

presented two types of research projects: basic and applied.

Some research projects can enhance our general knowledge about our
physical, biological, psychological, or social world or shed light on historical,
cultural, or aesthetic phenomenon. Such research projects, which can
advance theoretical conceptualizations about a particular topic, are known
as basic research. Meanwhile, other research projects address issues that
have immediate relevance to current practices, procedures, and policies.
Such projects, which can inform human decision making about practical
problems, are known as applied research. Whether you conduct basic or
applied research, a research project is likely to take a significant amount of
your time and energy, so whatever problem you study should be worth your
time and energy.

Here are two important criteria, emphasized by Leedy & Ormrod

(2015), as you begin the process of identifying a suitable research problem
to tackle.

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 1. Your problem should address an important question, such that the
answer can actually make a difference in some way.
2. It should advance frontiers of knowledge, perhaps by leading to new
ways of thinking, suggesting possible applications, or paving the way
for further research in the field.

To accomplish both of these ends, your research project must involve

not only the collection of data but also the interpretation of those data.

Some problems are not suitable for research because they lack the
interpretation-of-data component; they do not require the researcher to go
beyond the data themselves and reveal their meaning. Following are four
situations to avoid when considering a problem for research.

1. Research projects should not be simply a trick for achieving self-

enlightenment.
2. A problem whose sole purpose is to compare two sets of data is not a
suitable research problem.
3. Simply calculating a correlation coefficient between two related sets of
data is not acceptable as a problem for research.
4. Problems that result only in a yes-or-no answer are not suitable
problems for research.

After identifying a research problem, it is important to articulate it in

such a way that it is carefully phrased and represents the single goal of the
total research effort. Following are several general guidelines suggested by
Leedy & Ormrod (2015) to help you.

1. State the problem clearly and completely. When communicating your

research problem to others, you should state it so clearly that anyone
else can understand the issue(s) or question(s) you want to
investigate. However, you can state your problem clearly only when
you also state it completely. Here is an example of a half-statement
that one student in sociology drafted as his problem statement:
Welfare on children's attitudes
Ask yourself whether you understand exactly what this student-
researcher plans to do. You are right. This statement lacks clarity. Let
us take this fragment and develop it into a more complete sentence
that describe a researchable problem. This can be stated as:
What effect does welfare assistance to parents have on the attitudes of
their children toward work?
2. Think through the feasibility of the project that the problem implies.
Consider the following research proposal submitted by a student:

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 This study proposes to study the science programs in the secondary
schools in the Philippines for the purpose of...
The Philippines has about 900 public and private secondary schools.
These schools, north to south, are located in different islands. How
does this student intend to contact each of these schools? It would
cost him so much time to gather data from these schools. Obviously,
this student did not intend to survey every secondary school in the
country, yet that is what he wrote that he would do.
3. Say precisely what you mean. Consider the problem statement in the
previous item. We could assume that the student means to fulfill
precisely what he has stated (although we would doubt it, given the
time and expense involved). Had he intended to survey only some
schools, he should have said so plainly:
This study proposes to study the science programs in selected
secondary schools throughout the Philippines for the purpose of...
Or perhaps he could have limited his study to a specific geographical
area or to schools serving certain kinds of students. Such an
approach would give the problem constraints that the original
statement lacked and would communicate to others what he intended
to do - what he realistically could commit to doing. Furthermore, it
would have preserved his reputation of integrity and precision.
4. State the problem in a way that reflects an open mind about its
solution. A student once proposed this research project:
In this study, I will prove that obese adults experience greater
psychological distress than adults with a healthy body mass index.
This is a presumed answer to a research question. If this student
already knew the answer to her question, why was she proposing to
study it? We might obtain a data consistent with what we believe to be
true, but in the world of research we can rarely say with 100%
certainly that it is true. Good researchers try to keep open minds
about what they might find. Let us rewrite the preceding research
problem, this time omitting any expectation of results that the
research effort may yield:
In this study, I will investigate the possible relationship between body
mass index and psychological stress, as well as two more specific
psychological factors (depression and anxiety) that might underlie
such a relationship.
Such a statement clearly communicates that the researcher is open-
minded about what she may or may not find.

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 5. Edit your work. You can avoid the difficulties we have been discussing
by carefully editing your words.

Writing a Statement of the Problem

Writing a statement of the problem should help you clearly identify

the purpose of the research project you will propose. Often, the statement of
the problem will also serve as the basis for the introductory section of your
final proposal, directing your reader’s attention quickly to the issues that
your proposed project will address and providing the reader with a concise
statement of the proposed project itself (Bwisa, 2018).

Key Characteristics of a Statement of the Problem

A good research problem should have the following characteristics:

 addresses a gap in knowledge;

 significant enough to contribute to the existing body of research;
 lead to further research;
 render itself to investigation through collection of data;
 should be of interest to the researcher and suit his/her skills, time,
and resources; and
 its approach towards solving the problem should be ethical.

Steps in Writing a Statement of the Problem

The problem statement will look different depending on whether you’re

dealing with a practical real-world problem or a theoretical scientific issue.
But all problem statements follow a similar process (McCombes, 2019).

1. Contextualize the problem. The problem statement should frame your

research problem in its particular context and give some background
on what is already known about it. For practical research, focus on
the concrete details of the situation by answering the following guide
questions:
 Where and when does the problem arise?
 Who does the problem affect?
 What attempts have been made to solve the problem?
Example:
Voter turnout in region X has been decreasing steadily over the
past ten years, in contrast to other areas of the country. According to
surveys conducted by organization Y, turnout is lowest among under-
25s and people on low incomes. There have been some effective
attempts at engaging these groups in other regions, and in the last

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 two elections parties A and B increased their campaigning efforts in
region X, but these interventions have yet to have any significant
effect on turnout.
2. Show why it matters. The problem statement should also address the
relevance of the research: why is it important that the problem is
solved? This doesn’t mean you have to do something groundbreaking
or world-changing. It’s more important that the problem is
researchable, feasible, and clearly addresses a relevant issue in your
field. Practical research is directly relevant to a specific problem that
affects an organization, institution, social group, or society more
broadly. To make it clear why your research problem matters, you can
ask yourself:
 What will happen if the problem is not solved?
 Who will feel the consequences?
 Does the problem have wider relevance (e.g. are similar issues
found in other contexts)?
Example:
Low voter turnout has been shown to have negative associations
with social cohesion and civic engagement, and is becoming an area of
increasing concern in many European democracies. When specific
groups of citizens lack political representation, they are likely to
become more excluded over time, leading to an erosion of trust in
democratic institutions. Addressing this problem will have practical
benefits for region X and contribute to understanding of this
widespread phenomenon.
3. Set your aims and objectives. Finally, the problem statement should
frame how you intend to address the problem. Your goal should not be
to find a conclusive solution, but to seek out the reasons behind the
problem and propose more effective approaches to tackling or
understanding it. The aim is the overall purpose of your research. It is
generally written in the infinitive form:
 The aim of this study is to determine…
 This project aims to explore…
 I aim to investigate…
The objectives are the concrete steps you will take to achieve the
aim:
 Quantitative methods will be used to identify…
 I will use surveys to collect…
 Using statistical analysis, the research will measure…
Example:

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 The aim of this research is to investigate effective engagement
strategies to increase voter turnout in region X. It will identify the
most significant factors in non-voting through surveys and interviews,
and conduct experiments to measure the effectiveness of different
strategies.

The aims and objectives should lead directly to your research

questions.

Format in Writing the Statement of the Problem

A persuasive statement of problem is usually written in three parts:

Part A (The ideal): Describes a desired goal or ideal situation; explains how
things should be.

Part B (The reality): Describes a condition that prevents the goal, state, or
value in Part A from being achieved or realized at this time; explains how the
current situation falls short of the goal or ideal.

Part C (The consequences): Identifies the way you propose to improve the
current situation and move it closer to the goal or ideal.

Here is an example:

Statement A

The Ministry of Youth is dedicated to allocating enterprise

development funds to both the youth and women. These funds are made
available in order to start entrepreneurial ventures that create and expand
employment. (Provide relevant statistics and quote)

Statement B

One of the main focuses of the ministry is consistency. Unfortunately,

consistency in allocating funds to the next generation of recipients requires
prior knowledge of previous allocations and established practices. The
current continuous disbursement method does not allow for adequate
analysis of previous disbursements before a current disbursement is done.

Statement C

Continuing with this current disbursement method prevents

consistency and causes decisions to become grossly political, which in turn
inhibits the achievement of the goals of the funds. Developing a more
informed disbursement system could help better implement the consistency

19
focus of the ministry and at the same time help the ministry better monitor
and evaluate its funds.

This proposed research aspires to explore options for a new funds

disbursement system that would focus on consistency. To do this, the
researcher will carry out a full stakeholder analysis and use it to propose
appropriate policy interventions.

Establishing Research Questions

Types of Quantitative Research Questions

The following are the three types of quantitative research questions:

descriptive, comparative, and relationship-based ("Types of Quantitative
Research Question," n.d.).

Descriptive research questions aim to describe or quantify the

variables you are measuring. These questions may start with words such as
"How much?", "How often?", "What percentage?", and "What proportion?",
but also sometimes these questions start with "What is?" and "What are?".
Often, descriptive research questions focus on only one variable and one
group, but they can include multiple variables and groups.

Examples:

Question: How many calories do Filipinos consume per day?

Variable: Daily calorific intake
Group: Filipinos

Question: What percentage of Filipino men and women exceed

their daily calorific allowance?
Variable: Daily calorific intake
Group: 1. Filipino men
2. Filipino women

Question: What are the most important factors that influence the
career choices of Mindanao university students?
Variable: Factors influencing career choices
Group: Mindanao university students

Question: How often do male and female Mindanao university

students upload photos and comment on other users'
photos on Facebook each week?
Variable: 1. Weekly photo uploads on Facebook
2. Weekly comments on other users’ photos on Facebook

20
 Group: 1. Male, Mindanao university students
2. Female, Mindanao university students

Question: What proportion of Mindanao male and female university

students use the top 5 social networks?
Variable: Use of top 5 social networks (i.e. Facebook, Tiktok,
Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram)
Group: 1. Male, Mindanao university students
2. Female, Mindanao university students

The units that we used to quantify the variables will differ depending
on what is being measured.

Comparative research questions aim 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 (e.g.,
daily calorific intake) between two or more groups (e.g., Filipino men and
Filipino women).

Examples:

Question: What is the difference in the daily calorific intake of

Filipino men and women?
Dependent variable: Daily calorific intake
Groups: 1. Filipino men
2. Filipino women

Question: What is the difference in the weekly photo uploads on

Facebook between male and female Mindanao university
students?
Dependent variable: Weekly photo uploads on Facebook
Groups: 1. Male, Mindanao university students
2. Female, Mindanao university students

Relationship-based research questions are interested in the causal

relationships, associations, trends and/or interactions amongst two or more
variables on one or more groups. These questions typically start with "What
is the relationship?", usually followed by the words, "between or amongst",
then list the independent variables and dependent variables, "amongst or
between" the group(s) you are focusing on.

Examples:

21
 Question: What is the relationship between gender and attitudes
towards music piracy amongst adolescents?
Dependent variable: Attitudes towards music piracy
Independent variable: Gender
Group: Adolescents

Question: What is the relationship between study time and exam

scores amongst university students?
Dependent variable: Exam scores
Independent variable: Study time
Group: University students

Question: What is the relationship amongst career prospects, salary

and benefits, and physical working conditions on job
satisfaction between managers and non-managers?
Dependent variable: Job satisfaction
Independent variables: 1. Career prospects
2. Salary and benefits
3. Physical working conditions
Groups: 1. Managers
2. Non-managers

Structuring Quantitative Research Questions

There is no "one best way" to structure a quantitative research

question. However, to create a well-structured quantitative research
question, here is an approach that is based on four steps ("How to Structure
Quantitative Research Questions," n.d.):

Choose the type of quantitative research

question you are trying to create.

Identify the different types of variable you are

trying to measure, manipulate and/or control,
as well as any groups you may be interested in.

Select the appropriate structure for the chosen

type of quantitative research question, based on
the variables and/or groups involved.

Write the problem or issues you are trying to

address in the form of a complete research
question.

22
 Figure 2. Steps in Structuring Quantitative Research Questions

To give you a better view on the steps in structuring research

questions, example hereunder is provided using a title of the school based
(TNTS) studies conducted during S.Y. 2019-2020 to illustrate this process.

COMPUTER-AIDED ASSESSMENT AND ATTITUDE OF STUDENTS IN

EMPOWERMENT TECHNOLOGY
(Lavadia, R., Maureal, H., Cabanlit, R., Pineza, D., & Tanguan, L., 2018)

The main thrust of this study was to find out the effect of computer-
aided assessment to the attitude of the students in Empowerment
Technology.

Specifically, this study sought to answer the following research

questions.

1. What is the level of students’ acceptability

of computer-aided assessment in Empo-
werment Technology in terms of:

1.1 perceived usefulness

1.2 perceived ease of use

1.3 perceived fairness? Descriptive

2. What is the level of attitude of the questions
students in Empowerment Technology in terms of:
2.1 affective
2.2 effort
2.3 interest
4.4 cognitive?

5. Is there a significance on the difference

of the students’ attitude in E-Tech when Comparative
they are grouped by: Question
3.1 grade level
3.2 sex?
4. Is there a significance on the relationship
between the students’ acceptability of Relational-based
computer-aided assessment and their attitude? Question

Writing a Research Title

How do authors come up with a perfect research title? By now, you

must be wondering how to condense your more or less hundred-pages-paper
in a few words that will capture the readers’ attention. It is a challenging

23
task, indeed, to introduce your study to the fullest extent in brief and
concise manner.

Before we get to the main task of writing a title, let us first focus on
the different concepts needed to writing a good research title.From the 13
types of titles presented by Hartley, Bavdekar (2016) considered three broad
categories: declarative, descriptive or informative, and interrogative.

Declarative titles provide the main findings or conclusions.

Example: Eerdun Wurile protects neuron and promotes neurite outgrowth

through regulation of apoptotic gene expression in PC-12 cells

Descriptive titles cover the focus of the article and do not reveal the
findings.

Examples:

“Comparison of battery life across real-world automotive drive-cycles”

“Impacts of regional electricity prices and building type on the

economics of commercial photovoltaic systems”

“Hippie food: how back-to-the-landers, longhairs, and revolutionaries

changed the way we eat”

A descriptive title may rather be too long as it includes all aspects of

the research question studied such as participants, interventions, or control
and outcome, while not revealing the main findings of the study or its
conclusions. However, this may be an advantage as the readers get complete
information about the content of the study. In addition, as the title includes
keywords, its possibility of being discovered by search engines increase
(Bavdekar, 2016, p. 53).

Interrogative titles introduce the subject focus in the form of a question.

Example: “Are there rearrangement hotspots in the human genome?”

The question-based or interrogative title poses the study’s hypothesis

as a query. This format can be distracting and authors are often advised to
avoid it as it details only one of the aspects of a study most sought-after by
the readers – the hypothesis (Fox & Burns, 2015; Lebrun, 2007).

With the increasing digitalization of research, more and more people

are using online databases to look for relevant sources like articles and
journals. Thus, it is important to use the right words for your research title.

24
 Russel (2017) presented fundamental aspects of a strong research title
– the 3 B’s.

Fundamental Aspects: The 3 B’s

Be Clear. A research title has to be both informative and specific.

Be Concise. A research title must clearly convey the study’s main

ideas while it is presented in a concise manner. Articles with short titles
reporting study findings have been found to attract higher numbers of
‘views’ and citations (Habibzadeh & Yadollahie, 2010). Avoid titles that are
too long. A title must be no more than 12 to 16 words (Darmoni et al, 2012).
A title should balance the number of words needed to describe the content
of the article against losing or confusing the reader. It has to be as long as it
needs to be to communicate your message clearly. Just remember that
articles with longer titles are more difficult to grasp, and are cited less
frequently than those with shorter titles (Jamali and Nikzad, 2011; Paiva et
al, 2012).

Be informative. A research title should include details of the study

design to assist the reader in making an informed choice about the type of
project being presented.

Although it is considered a virtue for titles to be concise, they can also

be short that they tell the reader little about the focus of the article. Over-
zealous editing for brevity can be detrimental. A helpful acronym to
remember when considering the composition of a balanced title is ‘SPICED’
(Gupta & Singh, 2014). The acronym refers to the six key elements of a title,
that is, Setting, Population, Intervention, Condition, End-point, and Design.

Setting: This refers to the situation in which the research took place.
For example, it could be community-based, home-based,
school-based, hospital-based or conducted in the laboratory
based.

Population: Explicitly state the profile of the subjects studied

including age and/or sex, where relevant.

Intervention: Identify any procedure or intersession.

Condition: The clinical presentation or study subject characters (in

the cases of medically-related studies).

25
 End-point: This would include the parameter measured to determine
whether or not the objective of your hypothesis had been
achieved.

Design: Describe the study structure used to perform your hypothesis

testing.

Now that we are familiar with the types of titles and the fundamental
aspects that a good title has, the next question in mind must be what
should a research title consist? According to Russel (2017), a strong title has
three elements – keywords, emphasis, and impact.

Keywords

Impact Emphasis

Keywords and terms play an important role and should be chosen

carefully using the same terms that indexing services such as PubMed and
search engines like Google employ (Darmoni et al., 2012).

Using the right keywords will make internet retrieval more likely
(Kabirzadeh et al, 2013). The specificity of a paper is directly proportional to
the number of keywords used in the title (Lebrun, 2007). In order to
determine which keywords you should use, read through your paper and list
the terms, phrases, and abbreviation that appear frequently. The keywords
or terms used in a title should mirror those in the body of your text (Russel,
2017). This means that you should set a working title while going through
with the rest of the parts of your paper. While working on them, it is natural
to change some aspects of your title that you may not have considered at the
start.

With well-chosen keywords, you will be able to put emphasis in your

title and will eventually leave an impact to the readers.

Another important thing to keep in mind in constructing the research

title is to avoid the use of abbreviations. This is because abbreviations could
possibly confuse and lose readers if they are not experts in your subject
matter. Unless an abbreviation is an accepted standard abbreviation (used

26
by indexing services), your article would not get indexed properly, and thus
missed by potential readers (Russel, 2017).

Now that we are equipped with the knowledge of what makes a strong
research title, let us proceed with constructing our research title, following
the steps below.

Steps in Constructing a Research Title

Step 1: Ask yourself a few questions about your research paper.

What does your paper seek to answer and what does it accomplish?
Try to answer these questions as briefly as possible, with one or two
sentences each. You can create these questions by going through each
section of the paper and finding the most relevant information.

“What is my paper about?”

“My paper studies how program volume affects outcomes for liver
transplant patients on waiting lists.”

“What methods/techniques did I use to perform my study?”

“I employed a correlational design.”

“What or who was the subject of my study?”

“I studied 150 cases of liver transplant patients on a waiting list

throughout Davao Region aged 20-50 years.”

“What were the results?”

“My study revealed a positive correlation between wait list volume

and negative prognosis of transplant procedure.”

Step 2: Identify and list keywords and phrases from these responses

-program volume
-outcomes -Davao Region/ages 20-50
-liver transplant patients -positive correlation
-waiting lists -negative outcome
-case study -transplant procedure
-150 respondents

Step 3: Use these keywords to create one long sentence

27
 “This study employed a case study of 150 liver transplant patients
around Davao Region aged 20-50 years to assess how the waiting list volume
affects the outcome of liver transplantation in patients; results indicate a
positive correlation between increased waiting list volume and a negative
prognosis after the transplant procedure.”

This sentence is obviously much too long for a title, which is why you
will trim and polish it in the next two steps.

Step 4: Creating a working title

To create a working title, remove elements that make it a complete

“sentence” but keep everything that is most important to what the study is
about. Delete all unnecessary and redundant words that are not central to
the study or that researchers would most likely not use in a database
search.

“This study used a case study of 150 liver transplant patients around
Davao Region aged 20-50 years to assess how the waiting list volume affects
the outcome of liver transplantation in patients; results indicate a positive
correlation between increased waiting list volume and a negative prognosis
after transplant procedure.”

Now shift some words around for proper syntax and rephrase it a bit
to shorten the length and make it leaner and more natural. What you are
left with is:

“A case study of 150 liver transplant patients around Davao Region

aged 20-50 years assessing the impact of waiting list volume on outcome of
transplantation and showing a positive correlation between increased waiting
list volume and a negative prognosis.” (Word Count: 38)

This is getting closer to what we want in a title, which is just the most
important information. But note that the word count for this working title is
still 38 words, whereas the average published journal article is 16 words or
fewer. Therefore, we need to eliminate some words and phrases that are not
essential to this title.

Step 5: Eliminate all extra words or phrases to meet a suitable word count;
place keywords at the beginning and end of your title

Since the number of patients studied and the exact outcome are not
the most essential parts of this paper, remove these elements first:

28
 “A case study of 150 liver transplant patients around Davao Region
aged 20-50 years assessing the impact of waiting list volume on outcome of
transplantation and showing a positive correlation between increased waiting
list volume and a negative prognosis.” (Word Count: 19)

In addition, the methods used in a study are not usually the most
searched-for keywords in databases and represent additional details that
you may want to remove to make your title leaner. So, what is left is:

“Assessing the impact of waiting list volume on outcome and prognosis

in liver transplantation patients” (Word Count: 15)

In this final version of the title, one can immediately recognize the
subject and what objectives the study aims to achieve. Note the important
terms are written at the beginning and end of the title: “Assessing,” which is
the main action of the study, is placed at the beginning; and “liver
transplantation patients,” the specific subject of the study, is placed at the
end. This will aid significantly in being found in search engine and database
queries, meaning that a lot more researchers will be able to locate your
article once it is published.

Adding a subtitle

If you feel that a subtitle might be needed to give more immediate

detail about methodology or sample, you can do this by putting this
information after a colon:

“ : a study of Davao Region adult patients ages 20-25”

If we abide strictly by our word count rule, this may not be necessary
or recommended. But every journal has its own standard formatting and
style guidelines for titles, so it is a good idea to be aware of these while
writing both the title and the study itself.

Let Us Practice
A. Choose a topic that interests you and will sustain your
interest. Brainstorm your ideas by writing them down. Let your
thoughts flow and list three possible ideas on the table below.
Provided in the table below are examples for your reference.
BRAINSTORMING Can you narrow the topic down even
General Topic Ideas more?
Example: “Healthcare Professionals” Example: “Nurses” and “Nurse
training programs”

29
 B. Browse for references of your topics and list down the sources,
keywords, and the library results.
Sources Keywords,
Refined Topics consulted for synonyms Library results
ideas identified
Example: Example: E- Example: Example: Nursing
“Nursing” library, the “Training”, magazine (in library),
Refined: How LIRN, “Career”, ORNurse magazine
to become a magazines, the “Education” (in library), databases
nurse, what Librarian (virtual library)
education is
involved, and
career outlook.

C. Categorize which types the following journal titles belong. Choose from
declarative, descriptive, or interrogative. Write your answers on your
answer sheets.
________________1. Estimation of road transport vehicle dynamic
characteristics using random decrement analysis and on-
the-road vibration data
________________2. Hybrid powertrain efficiency improvement by using
electromagnetically controlled double-clutch
transmission

30
________________3. Could the Next Indonesian Income Tax Law Adopt
the Concept of Income under IFRS?
________________4. Coronavirus (COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2) and supply
chain resilience: a research note
________________5. Management practices in micro and small enterprises:
the relationship between practices adopted and funding

Let Us Practice More

A. Critically analyze each problem statement contained in the

table. Explain how to make these statements better by answering
the guide questions enumerated below the table. Write your answer
on your answer sheets.

Statement A

The Department of Justice (DOJ) found that minority applicants are

disproportionately denied business loans. A quantitative descriptive study is
needed to investigate how the required monitoring data, reported by decision
(accept/deny) and geography (Census tract), and the means of obtaining the loan
(face-to-face/electronic) are related and what could be done to develop strategies to
correct unfair lending practices.

Statement B
Anxiety, frustration, pressure and stress cause many doctoral degree
seeking learners to abandon doctoral programs. Brown and Rudestine (1992) found
that over 40% of those who begin the process never graduate. Long, Convey, and
Chwalek (1985) pointed out that selecting and developing a dissertation topic is one
of the important yet difficult steps in completing doctoral degree. This becomes
even more difficult in a nontraditional, distance learning doctoral program where
f2f meetings between mentors and mentees are infrequent.
In order to offer appropriate assistance to nontraditional distance doctoral
students, it is important that a rigorous descriptive quantitative study be
conducted to determine how successful graduates of non-traditional doctoral
programs selected their topics, and what type of support could be offered to those
who are struggling.

Statement C
Bullying is one of the most critical issues facing middle school education.
Beane (2008), found that two in several children is subjected to bullying behavior
and that it affects about ten million middle school children. Bullies who once
cornered their victims on the playground are now tormenting them online (Blaire,
2009). E-mail messages and Web sites have increasingly become vehicles to
threaten, tease, and humiliate other students.

31
 Yet, to date, there has been little, if any, formal evaluation of online bullying,
referred to by many as "cyberbullying." Incidents of online bullying can be just as
hurtful as face to face bullying, yet are less likely to be detected or prevented by
adults. In order to be able to understand the complexities of online bullying, it is
important that a case study be conducted to determine the ill effects of online
bullying and examine a case where online bullying was detected and dealt with.

Guide Questions:

1. What is the overriding problem?

2. Is sufficient and convincing evidence provided?

3. What is the population and sample that are affected by this

problem?

4. Will this study be qualitative or quantitative?

5. What type of methodology will be used?

6. What type of data will be collected?

7. What possible outcomes are expected?

B. Imagine that you are researching meditation and nursing, and you
want to find out if any studies have shown that meditation makes nurses
better communicators. You conduct a keyword search using the keywords
“nursing”, “communication”, and “meditation.” You come up with results
that have the following titles:

1. Effects of a Meditation Program on Nurses' Power to Communicate

2. Why Mindful Nurses Make the Best Communicators?

3. Meditation Gurus

4. Training Nursing Skills: A Quantitative Report on How Meditation Can

Improve Nurse Performance

Examine these research titles and fill in the table below with “Yes,” if
the title satisfies the criteria, and “No,” if it does not. Write your answers on
your answer sheets.

Title Does the Is the title Does the Does the title
title predict interesting? title reflect contain
the content the tone of important
of the the writing? keywords?
research

32
 paper?
1. Effects of a
Meditation
Program on
Nurses' Power to
Communicate
2. Why Mindful
Nurses Make the
Best
Communicators?
3. Meditation
Gurus
4. Training
Nursing Skills: A
Quantitative
Report on How
Meditation Can
Improve Nurse
Performance

Let Us Remember

A. Read the questions carefully and choose the best answer. Write
your answers on your answer sheet.

1. Which problem(s) could you encounter if you choose a topic that is too
broad?

A. You will not be able to adequately analyze the topic in the assigned length
of the paper.
B. You may over-generalize or summarize rather than analyze the topic.
C. Both A and B.

2. If your assignment is to write a research paper for a Philippine Literature

class, you should…

A. make sure to choose an interesting topic about which you can find
specific information
B. pick the first topic that pops into your mind, even though you are not
interested in the subject
C. select an extremely broad topic so you can use all the information you
find about the topic

33
3. The research problem determines

A. how good your research skills are

B. the amount of support you get from your teacher
C. what methodology will be used

4. The formulation of a research problem is the most __________ part of the

research journey because the quality and relevance of the project entirely
depends upon it.

A. important B. trivial C. repetitive

5. Which of the following helps when developing a research question?

A. a big budget
B. knowledge of the subject area
C. formulating objectives

6. A researcher working on discovering how to improve elementary school

students' test scores would be most likely characterized as conducting

A. basic research
B. applied research
C. observational research

7. The group of people identified in the research question is called the

A. sample B. survey C. population

8. A researcher looks for the relationship between students’ standardized

test scores and their household income in a particular city. Her data can be
described as

A. quantitative B. qualitative C. experimental

B. Determine whether the following statements are True or False. If the

statement is true, write TRUE. Otherwise, write FALSE.
_________1. Using words or phrases, which are likely to be employed when
searching using database, must be avoided.
_________2. A research title must be stated in a complete sentence and must
contain punctuation marks such as period and question marks.
_________3. Titles that are too long must be avoided as much as possible.
_________4. The acronym SPICED stands for Setting, Population,
Intervention, Condition, End-point, and Design.
_________5. The key words or terms used in a title may not always mirror
those in the body of the research paper.

34
_________6. The use of abbreviations in titles is not permitted or is
discouraged.

Let Us Assess

A. Think like a researcher and focus on the research question rather

than the research topic. Articulate the problem that underlies the question
and must have social significance. Formulate a research question and
determine the underlying problems, social significance, and
proposal/solution for each topic given below. Write your answer on a
separate sheet.
Issue Research Underlying Social Proposal/Solution
(broad) Question Problem(s) Significance What is your
What is the (narrower) What is the Does your proposal for
issue or overall What is a problem that problem have addressing this
topic that specific makes your social problem? Is your
interests you? research question worth significance? proposal both
question you investigating? arguable & feasible?
want to Is this an
investigate? actual problem
or an assumed
problem?
Example: Example: Example: Example: Example: Senior high
Campus Safety Does under- Inappropriate Public Health school students
age alcohol use of alcohol (Mental & under the age of 21
use contribute contributes to Emotional) should be
to a higher a number of Public Safety automatically
incidence of social issues expelled if caught
date rape on including date drinking on campus.
college rape. Date rape
campuses? causes severe
emotional
distress,
jeopardizing
personal and
professional
goals.
Violence in the
media

Law
Enforcement
Practices

35
Organic
Farming

B. Given a title below, complete the table as required. Write your

answer on a separat sheet.

Title: “Classroom Management of Teachers: Its Effect to Students’

Learning Interest and Performance”

Variables Types of questions

Independent Dependent Descriptive Comparative Relational

C. Improve the given titles presented below by following the tips in writing a
good research title. Write your answers on your answer sheets.

1. Drug XYZ has an effect of muscular contraction for an hour in snails of

Achatina fulcia species

36
Tip: Keep it simple, brief, and attractive. The primary function of a title is
to provide a precise summary of the paper’s content. So, keep the title brief
and clear. Use active verbs instead of complex noun-based phrases, and
avoid unnecessary details.

Your improved version of the title: _________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

2. Effects of drug A on schizophrenia patients: study of a multicenter mixed

group

Tip: Use appropriate descriptive words. A good research paper title should
contain key words used in the manuscript and should define the nature of
the study. Think about terms people would use to search for your study and
include them in your title.

Your improved version of the title: _________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

3. MMP expression profiles cannot distinguish between normal and early

osteoarthritic synovial fluid

Tip: Avoid abbreviations and jargon. Known abbreviations such as AIDS,

NATO, and so on can be used in the title. However, other lesser-known or
specific abbreviations and jargon that would not be immediately familiar to
the readers should be left out.

Your improved version of the title: _________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

Let Us Enhance

A. Work through the boxes from top to bottom to craft a problem

statement by following the description given in each box.
Original problem or focusing question
State the initial issue you are interested in exploring, or write a focusing
question about that issue.

Example: Too many students in Davao region are not reading at grade level
by grade 3. Many studies have shown that if students are not at grade level
by year 3, they will continue to struggle throughout their school years.

Your turn:

Stakeholders who are most affected by the problem

37
Who is most directly impacted by this problem? Alternately, who would
benefit the most if this problem were resolved?

Example: Third grade students, teachers, administrators, and parents in

Davao region.

Your turn:

Type of problem
For example, skills, attitudes, knowledge, or resources. Some problems are
about attitudes.

Example: We are proposing this is primarily a problem of resources: Without

proper resources, training programs suffer. Schools are over-crowded and
record-keeping is not consistent. Without good information about where our
kids are starting, we have no way of knowing if our goals may be
unattainable.

Your turn:

Suspected cause of the problem

Based on interviews, research, data analysis and/or the root cause analysis,
what do you think is/are the most significant cause(s) contributing to this
problem? What, if addressed, would make the greatest impact on resolving
the problem? (Include specific evidence - or a plan for getting specific
evidence).

Example: Teachers don’t get sufficient training and support in our reading
programs. Students’ reading levels are not measured accurately in grades K–
3.

Your turn:

Goal for improvement and long-term impact

The wishes, dreams, and general vision describing how you envision your
design to impact the problem. You will write a clearer, measurable goal
statement later on in the process. For now, stay with your vision of what
success could be.

Example: We want all our third graders to read at grade level or above.

Your turn:

Proposal for addressing the problem

Plan your strategy for addressing the problem. Use research, local
knowledge, and local expertise to guide you. (Note sources if possible). This
will become the basis for subsequent action planning.

Example: Start a teacher mentoring program in reading. Implement more

38
rigorous reading assessments in grades K–3.

Your turn:

Final problem statement

Tie the above statements into 3–5 coherent sentences that could be easily
understood by a wide range of stakeholders.

Example: Many third-grade students in Davao region do not read at grade

level. We believe that this is a result of teachers not having sufficient training
in our reading program and not accurately measuring students’ reading levels
in grades K–3. We want all third graders in our schools to read at grade level
or above. We will start a teacher mentoring program focused on reading and
implement more rigorous reading assessments in the primary grades. At the
same time, we will implement a system that will more accurately record and
report student reading ability in K-3 throughout the system.

Your turn:

B. Applying the steps in constructing a research title, fill in the required

statements in step 2 to step 5 based on the initial statements in step 1
below. Write your answer on your answer sheets.

Step 1: Ask yourself a few questions about your research paper.

“What is my paper about?”

“My paper studies whether X therapy improves the cognitive function of

patients suffering from dementia.”

“What methods/techniques did I use to perform my study?”

“It was a randomized trial.”

“What or who was the subject of my study?”

“I studied 140 cases from six cities in Davao Region.”

“What were the results?”

“There was an improvement in the cognitive function of patients.”

Step 2: Use the answers in step 1 to list key words

___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

Step 3: Build a sentence with these key words

39
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

Step 4: Delete all unnecessary and repetitive words; link the remaining

___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

Step 5: Delete non-essential information and reword

___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

Let Us Reflect

A. Earlier in this module, guidelines for identifying and stating an

appropriate research problem and establishing research questions were
presented. Here we offer a few general suggestions by Leedy & Ormrod
(2015), for fine-tuning the problem you have identified.

1. Conduct a thorough literature review.

2. Try to see the problem from all sides.

3. Think through the process.

4. Discuss your problem with others.

5. Remember that your project will take time—lots of time.

6. Remember that the first drafts of whatever you write will almost
certainly not be your last ones.

Nevertheless, by putting your problem statement on paper early in

your research project, you have begun to focus your research efforts.

Some Title Tips to Keep in Mind in Writing a Title

In addition to the steps given above, there are a few other important
things Heintz (n.d.) want you to keep in mind when it comes to titles
regarding formatting, word count, and content:

 Write the title after you’ve written your paper and abstract.
 Include all of the essential terms in your paper.
 Keep it short and to the point (~16 words or fewer).
 Avoid any jargon or abbreviations.

40
  Use keywords that closely relate to the content of your paper.
 Never include a period at the end—your title is not a sentence.
May you find these tips helpful as you craft this very important part of
your manuscript.

41
 Answer key
Let Us
Remember
Let Us Try A

A 1. B
C
1. H 1. True
2. A
2. E 2.
3. True
C
3. D 3. False
4. C
4. A 4.
5. False
B
5. G 5. False
6. B
6. H 7. C
7. C 8. A
8. D
9. B
10.C
Let Us Try

C
For Part A, the following are the possible areas we can investigate
out of each item.

C.1. Sports
a. Can cheerleading be considered a sport and should be treated as
such?
b. What are the impacts of major sports events on the country’s
economy?
c. How does hosting the Olympics affects the country that hosts it?

For Part B, the following are the possible broader topics that
may cover each item.

C.2. A Korean Mother’s Cooking Notes

Answers to other activities may vary.
This narrowed topic may be about a cookbook or about the cuisine
that a Korean mom makes. A cookbook could tell so much especially
way back in the 80’s or 90’s. It generally tells us about food.

For Part C, the following are the possible keywords for each item.

C.3. How does air quality affect our health?

Keywords: air, effects, health, quality

42
 Let Us Practice More Let Us Practice Let Us
B C Remember
1. yes, yes, yes, yes 1. descriptive B
2. no, yes, yes, no 2. descriptive 1. false
3. no, yes, no, no 3. interrogative 2. false
4. yes, yes, yes, yes 4. descriptive 3. true
5. declarative 4. true
5. false
6. true
Let Us Enhance
B
Step 2: X therapy, randomized trial, dementia, 6 cities, 40 cases,
improved cognitive function
Step 3: This study is a randomized trial that investigates whether X
therapy improved cognitive function in 40 dementia patients from 6 cities
in Davao Region; it reports improved cognitive function. (29 words)
Step 4:
 This study is a randomized trial that investigates whether X therapy
improved cognitive function in 40 dementia patients from 6 cities in
Davao Region; it reports improved cognitive function
 Randomized trial of X therapy for improving cognitive function in 40
dementia patients from 6 cities in Davao Region (19 words)
Step 5:
 Randomized trial of X therapy for improving cognitive function in 40
dementia patients from 6 cities in Davao Region reports improved
cognitive function
 Randomized trial of X therapy for improving cognitive function in 40
dementia patients (13 words)
 OR, (reworded with subtitle and a focus on the results): X therapy
improves cognitive function in 40 dementia patients: A randomized
trial (12 words)

Let Us Assess
C
1. Drug XYZ induces muscular contraction in Achatina fulcia snails
2. Psychosocial effects of drug A on schizophrenia patients: a multicenter
randomized controlled trial
3. Matrix metalloproteinase protein expression profiles cannot distinguish
between normal and early osteoarthritic synovial fluid

43
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