Lesson 1
Lesson 1
Lesson 1
Learning Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, the student should be able to:
1. Determine the contents the chapter one of researching writing.
2. Formulate the contents of the chapter one.
Concept/Discussion:
In this lesson, are going to discuss and determine the contents of the first chapter of
writing a research.
GUIDELINES TO BE OBSERVED:
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
a. All characters in the title heading are in bold, upper case letter, and centered.
b. Chapter Number is in Roman numerical.
c. Chapter title is written 2 spaces below the Chapter Number.
d. No page should be indicated at the start of every chapter but should be counted
a. Describe the problem situation by considering global, national, and local forces.
Discussions should be from macro to micro (general to specific).
b. Justify and authoritative sources which will add substance to the discussion.
c. Make a clinching statement/paragraph that relates /emphasizes the situational
analysis to the proposed study.
Your background should begin with defining a topic and audience. It is important that you
identify which topic you need to review and what your audience already knows about the topic.
You should proceed by searching and researching the relevant literature. In this case, it is
advisable to keep track of the search terms you used and the articles that you downloaded. It is
helpful to use one of the research paper management systems such as Papers, Mendeley,
Evernote, or Sente. Next, it is helpful to take notes while reading. Be careful when copying quotes
verbatim and make sure to put them in quotation marks and cite the sources. In addition, you
should keep your background focused but balanced enough so that it is relevant to a broader
audience. Aside from these, your background should be critical, consistent, and logically
structured.
Writing the background of your study should not be an overly daunting task. Many guides
that can help you organize your thoughts as you write the background. The background of the
study is the key to introduce your audience to your research topic and should be done with strong
knowledge and thoughtful writing.
The background study for a thesis includes a review of the area being researched, current
information surrounding the issue, previous studies on the issue, and relevant history on the
issue. Ideally, the study should effectively set forth the history and background information on
your thesis problem. The purpose of a background study is to help you to prove the relevance of
your thesis question and to further develop your thesis.
2. Read the information and develop a research question or thesis statement that will
guide your thesis. You will need to take notes and keep accurate track of the sources
that you used up to this point. Many people use note cards, but with current technology
there many electronic note taking programs available. Use a method of recording
source information that you are comfortable with. Be sure to cite the source of the
information on each note so you don't forget where each piece of information came
from, should you decide to use it in your thesis.
3. Write a thesis statement or research question. Think about what you've read and look
for issues, problems or solutions that others have found and determine your own
opinion or stance on the issue. Write out your opinion as an authoritative statement on
the issue, problem or solution. At this point, you can do more detailed research and find
sources that are more relevant to your thesis or research question.
4. Complete your research using your thesis statement and research question as your
guide. You will find relevant sources that will provide insight into your specific thesis
issue or problem. Make sure that your sources provide details on the history and past
research related to your research question.
PhilCST
PHILIPPINE COLLEGE OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY College of Criminal Justice
OLD NALSIAN ROAD, BRGY. NALSIAN, CALASIAO, PANGASINAN Education
5. Create relevant sections as you write the background study. As you evaluate your
research and begin to write the background study, create five separate sections that
cover the key issues, major findings, and controversies surrounding your thesis, as well
as sections that provide an evaluation and conclusion.
6. Conclude by identifying any further study that needs to be done in that area, or provide
possible solutions to the issue that haven't been considered before.
7. Revise and edit your background study. Complete several drafts of your work, revising
and filling in information as you go. Each time that you read over your work, try to leave
it better than it was before. It's also a great idea to have someone else look it over as
well.
Theoretical Framework
Note: Although there is no strict prohibition to use the two frameworks, either theoretical
framework or conceptual framework may be utilized in each thesis/research paper depending
on the need of the study and the discretion of the researcher.
Conceptual Framework
Definition
Theories are formulated to explain, predict, and understand phenomena and, in many cases, to
challenge and extend existing knowledge, within the limits of the critical bounding assumptions.
The theoretical framework is the structure that can hold or support a theory of a research study.
The theoretical framework introduces and describes the theory which explains why the research
problem under study exists.
PhilCST
PHILIPPINE COLLEGE OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY College of Criminal Justice
OLD NALSIAN ROAD, BRGY. NALSIAN, CALASIAO, PANGASINAN Education
Importance of Theory
A theoretical framework consists of concepts, together with their definitions, and existing
theory/theories that are used for your particular study. The theoretical framework must
demonstrate an understanding of theories and concepts that are relevant to the topic of your
research paper and that will relate it to the broader fields of knowledge in the class you are taking.
The theoretical framework is not something that is found readily available in the literature. You
must review course readings and pertinent research literature for theories and analytic models
that are relevant to the research problem you are investigating. The selection of a theory should
depend on its appropriateness, ease of application, and explanatory power.
By virtue of its application nature, good theory in the social sciences is of value precisely because
it fulfills one primary purpose: to explain the meaning, nature, and challenges of a phenomenon,
often experienced but unexplained in the world in which we live, so that we may use that
knowledge and understanding to act in more informed and effective ways.
The Conceptual Framework. College of Education. Alabama State University; Drafting an Argument. Writing@CSU. Colorado State University; Trochim,
William M.K. Philosophy of Research. Research Methods Knowledge Base. 2006.
1. Examine your thesis title and research problem. The research problem anchors your
entire study and forms the basis from which you construct your theoretical framework.
2. Brainstorm on what you consider to be the key variables in your research. Answer the
question, what factors contribute to the presumed effect?
3. Review related literature to find answers to your research question.
4. List the constructs and variables that might be relevant to your study. Group these
variables into independent and dependent categories.
PhilCST
PHILIPPINE COLLEGE OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY College of Criminal Justice
OLD NALSIAN ROAD, BRGY. NALSIAN, CALASIAO, PANGASINAN Education
5. Review the key social science theories that are introduced to you in your course readings
and choose the theory or theories that can best explain the relationships between the
key variables in your study [note the Writing Tip on this page].
6. Discuss the assumptions or propositions of this theory and point out their relevance to
your research.
A theoretical framework is used to limit the scope of the relevant data by focusing on specific
variables and defining the specific viewpoint (framework) that the researcher will take in analyzing
and interpreting the data to be gathered, understanding concepts and variables according to the
given definitions, and building knowledge by validating or challenging theoretical assumptions.
II. Purpose
Think of theories as the conceptual basis for understanding, analyzing, and designing ways to
investigate relationships within social systems. To the end, the following roles served by a theory
can help guide the development of your framework. *
• Means by which new research data can be interpreted and coded for future use,
• Response to new problems that have no previously identified solutions strategy,
• Means for identifying and defining research problems,
• Means for prescribing or evaluating solutions to research problems,
• Way of telling us that certain facts among the accumulated knowledge are important and
which facts are not,
• Means of giving old data new interpretations and new meaning,
• Means by which to identify important new issues and prescribe the most critical research
questions that need to be answered to maximize understanding of the issue,
• Means of providing members of a professional discipline with a common language and a
frame of reference for defining boundaries of their profession, and
• Means to guide and inform research so that it can, in turn, guide research efforts and
improve professional practice.
*Adapted from: Torraco, R. J. “Theory-Building Research Methods.” In Swanson R. A. and E. F. Holton III , editors. Human Resource Development
Handbook: Linking Research and Practice. (San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler, 1997): pp. 114-137; Sutton, Robert I. and Barry M. Staw. “What Theory is
Not.” Administrative Science Quarterly 40 (September 1995): 371-384.
theory help explain intra-state actions, such as, the growing split between southern and northern
Sudan that may likely lead to the creation of two nations?
However, you may not always be asked by your professor to test a specific theory in your paper,
but to develop your own framework from which your analysis of the research problem is
derived. Given this, it is perhaps easiest to understand the nature and function of a theoretical
framework if it is viewed as the answer to two basic questions:
1. What is the research problem/question? [e.g., "How should the individual and the state
relate during periods of conflict?"]
2. Why is your approach a feasible solution? [I could choose to test Instrumentalist or
Circumstantialists models developed among Ethnic Conflict Theorists that rely upon
socio-economic-political factors to explain individual-state relations and to apply this
theoretical model to periods of war between nations].
The answers to these questions come from a thorough review of the literature and your course
readings [summarized and analyzed in the next section of your paper] and the gaps in the research
that emerge from the review process. With this in mind, a complete theoretical framework will
likely not emerge until after you have completed a thorough review of the literature.
In writing this part of your research paper, keep in mind the following:
• Clearly describe the framework, concepts, models, or specific theories that underpin
your study. This includes noting who the key theorists are in the field who have conducted
research on the problem you are investigating and, when necessary, the historical context
that supports the formulation of that theory. This latter element is particularly important
if the theory is relatively unknown or it is borrowed from another discipline.
• Position your theoretical framework within a broader context of related frameworks,
concepts, models, or theories. There will likely be several concepts, theories, or models
that can be used to help develop a framework for understanding the research problem.
Therefore, note why the framework you've chosen is the appropriate one.
• The present tense is used when writing about theory.
• You should make your theoretical assumptions as explicit as possible. Later, your
discussion of methodology should be linked back to this theoretical framework.
• Don’t just take what the theory says as a given! Reality is never accurately represented
in such a simplistic way; if you imply that it can be, you fundamentally distort a reader's
ability to understand the findings that emerge. Given this, always note the limitations of
the theoretical framework you've chosen [i.e., what parts of the research problem require
further investigation because the theory does not explain a certain phenomena.
The Conceptual Framework. College of Education. Alabama State University; Conceptual Framework: What Do You Think is Going On? College of
Engineering. University of Michigan; Drafting an Argument. Writing@CSU. Colorado State University; Lynham, Susan A. “The General Method of Theory-
Building Research in Applied Disciplines.” Advances in Developing Human Resources 4 (August 2002): 221-241; Tavallaei, Mehdi and Mansor Abu Talib. A
General Perspective on the Role of Theory in Qualitative Research. Journal of International Social Research 3 (Spring 2010); Trochim, William M.K.
Philosophy of Research. Research Methods Knowledge Base. 2006.
PhilCST
PHILIPPINE COLLEGE OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY College of Criminal Justice
OLD NALSIAN ROAD, BRGY. NALSIAN, CALASIAO, PANGASINAN Education
a. The main problem is stated in declarative form and should reflect the title; integral
with it is the objective of the study; and it must reflect the general output/result of
the study.
b. The specific problems are written in question form. They could be a combination of
descriptive and inferential questions.
c. Descriptive questions tend to elicit responses that are general through means,
frequencies, ranks, standard deviations and other descriptive statistical tools.
Generally, they are gathered directly or indirectly through interviews, questionnaire,
test, observation, and other appropriate methods.
d. Inferential questions link one or more descriptive questions by asking differences or
relationships among the variables found in the descriptive questions. Inferential
questions are asked through inferential statistics (test of difference or test of
relationship) applied on data derived from previous questions.
e. Specific problems should be arranged in logical order, from factual to analytical
(descriptive to inferential).
f. They must cover mutually exclusive dimensions (no overlapping), not answerable by
yes or no, not indicative of when and where; but rather, should reflect relationships
between and among variables as indicated in the conceptual framework/research
paradigm.
g. The research questions should imply the possibility of empirical testing.
h. The general problem must be typed after an Arabic Numerical (e.g. 1, 2, 3 etc.,)
while the sub-problems must be numbered as per decimal in letter (e.g. a., b., c., etc.,)
i. This section should be written in the present tense.
The first and most important step in any research is to identify and delineate the research
problem: that is, what the researcher wants to solve and what questions he/she wishes to answer.
A research problem may be defined as an area of concern, a gap in the existing knowledge, or a
deviation in the norm or standard that points to the need for further understanding and
investigation. Although many problems turn out to have several solutions (the means to close the
gap or correct the deviation), difficulties arise where such means are either not obvious or are not
immediately available. This then necessitates some research to reach a viable solution.
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 the question: What is the
problem that the research will address?
that your proposed project will address and providing the reader with a concise statement of the
proposed project itself.
A statement of problem need not be long and elaborate: one page is more than enough for a good
statement of problem.
Hypothesis
A hypothesis is a statement that can be tested by scientific research. If you want to test a
relationship between two or more things, you need to write hypotheses before you start your
experiment or data collection.
What is a hypothesis?
A hypothesis states your predictions about what your research will find. It is a tentative answer
to your research question that has not yet been tested. For some research projects, you might
have to write several hypotheses that address different aspects of your research question.
A hypothesis is not just a guess — it should be based on existing theories and knowledge. It also
has to be testable, which means you can support or refute it through scientific research
methods (such as experiments, observations and statistical analysis of data).
(Assumptions)
It is important to narrow down your thesis topic and limit the scope of your study. The
researcher should inform the reader about limits or coverage of the study. The scope
identifies the boundaries of the study in term of subjects, objectives, facilities, area, time
frame, and the issues to which the research is focused.
• Sample phrases that help express the scope of the study:
The coverage of this study……….
The study consists of …….
The study covers the ……….
This study is focus on…….
The delimitation of the study is delimiting a study by geographic location, age, sex,
population traits, population size, or other similar considerations. Delimitation is used to
make study better and more feasible and not just for the interest of the researcher. It also
identifies the constraints or weaknesses of your study which are not within the control of
the researcher.
Appendix L
Illustration of Paradigm
of the Study
Figure 1
Paradigm of the Study
PhilCST
PHILIPPINE COLLEGE OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY College of Criminal Justice
OLD NALSIAN ROAD, BRGY. NALSIAN, CALASIAO, PANGASINAN Education
Definition of Terms
a. Include only key terms from the title and research problems.
b. The terms should be written in bold letters and arranged alphabetically and should
be defined operationally using complete sentences. Moreover, cluster definitions, if
any, should be arranged in the same order as they appear in the research problems
or objectives.
c. Operational definitions should be specific and unambiguous.
d. Conceptual or “dictionary” definitions should be documented, as to reference. The
researcher must always cite the source or sources of the meaning/meanings used
in defining a particular term, phrase or clause.
e. A term may start with its conceptual and followed by its operational definitions.
f. Every term or phrase must be indented, bold letters and in upper-lower case
followed by a period, then two spaces, then the actual meaning which must be in a
sentence form.
Learning Sources:
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