The Subject Matter of the Research

I. What is a Research Title?

1. The most important element that defines the research problem.
2. It is usually read first and the most read part of the research.
3. It contains the least words enough to describe the contents and the purpose of your
research paper.
4. It can be revised any and many times as the research develops and reach its final
phase. It becomes final on its final defense before the panel of judges.

❖ Elements of a Research Title

The research title does not need to be entertaining but informative.
A part of a research title has the following information:
1. The subject matter or topic to be investigated. (“What?”)
2. The place or locale where the research is to be conducted. (“Where?”)
3. The population like the respondents’ interviewees. (“Who”?)
4. The time period of the study during which the data are to be collected. (“When”?)

Example:

Subject matter: The teaching of English

Place or locale: in the high schools of Province A
Time period: during the school year 1989-1990
Population: as perceived by teachers and students

Subject matter: The effects of the use of cell phones on the academic performance Population
to senior high school students
Place or locale: at Department of Education
Time period: during the first semester, school year 2018-2019

II. Rules in Choosing a Research Topic

1. Interest in the subject matter. Interest in a subject drives you to research, investigate,
or inquire about it with full motivation, enthusiasm, and energy.
2. Availability of information. Information will serve as evidence to support your claims
about your subject matter from varied forms of literature like books, journals, and
newspapers, among others, is a part and parcel of any research work.

What to include in the investigation of the available materials?

a. Update and authority of the materials.
b. Copyright dates of the materials? Are they new or old?
c. Expert or qualification of the writers of reading materials about your topic

3. Timeliness and relevance of the topic.

How relevant is the topic?
a. It yields results that are useful in society
b. Related to the present. (Except for pure or historical research)
4. Limitations on the subject. Connect your choice with course requirements. You need
to decide on one topic to finish your course.
 5. Personal resources. Do an assessment on your research abilities in terms of your
financial standing, health condition, mental capacity, needed facilities, and time
schedule to enable you to complete your research. You have to raise an amount of
money needed to spend on questionnaire printing and interview trips.

III. Research Topics to be avoided

1. Controversial topics. It depends more on the writer’s opinion leading to biases. Facts
cannot support this topic.
2. Highly technical subjects. Not advisable for beginners as these topics require an
advanced study, technical knowledge, and skills.
3. Hard-to-investigate subjects. Happens if there are no available reading materials about
it and if such materials are not up-to-date.
4. Too broad subjects. It prevents you from to focus on the subject matter of the paper.
Narrow down or limit the subject to eliminate the problem.
5. Too narrow subjects. Subjects that are so limited where an extensive searching is
necessary.
6. Vague subjects. Titles beginning with indefinite adjectives such as several, many, some,
etc., as in “Some Remarkable Traits of a Filipino” or “Several People’s Comments on the
RH Law,” are vague enough to decrease the readers’ interests and curiosity.

IV. Sources of Research Topics

1. Mass media communication – press (newspapers, ads, TV, radio, films, etc.)
2. Books, Internet, peer-reviewed journals, government publications
3. Professional periodicals like College English Language Teaching Forum, English Forum,
the Economist, Academia, Business Circle, Law Review, etc.
4. General periodicals such as Readers’ Digest, Women’s Magazine, Panorama Magazine,
Time Magazine, World Mission Magazine, etc.
5. Previous reading assignments in your other subjects
6. Work experience – clues to a researchable topic from full-time or part-time jobs, OJT (on-
the-job training) experience, fieldwork, etc.

ACTIVITY 1. Narrowing Your Topic

Given the following broad topics for research, select one topic of your choice and narrow or
limit the topic to make it specific. Use the narrowing chart to fill in the topic. Write your answer
in a sheet of paper.

Topics to choose:
1. Climate Change
2. Social Networking
3. Communication Skills
4. Medicinal Plants
5. Cultural Beliefs

Example: Topic Chocolate

Topic Chocolate
Sub-Topics History of chocolate, making of chocolate,
health aspects of chocolate, chocolate
addictions, brands of chocolate
 What sub-topics are of most interest to Health aspects of chocolate.
you?
What new questions do you have about Are there health benefits to eating
your topic? chocolate? Can chocolate boost your
mood? Is chocolate addictive?
Develop a topic statement I will explore the health benefits of eating
chocolate, specifically focusing on how
chocolate affects moods and brain
chemistry.

Narrowing Chart
Topic
Sub-Topics
What sub-topics are of most interest to
you?
What new questions do you have about
your topic?
Develop a topic statement

ACTIVITY 2. Direction: Identify how a research project is described on the following

statements. Write the letter of the correct answer.

1. Which of the following is a good way to find a research topic?

a. Personal experience
b. Getting an idea from your advisor
c. Looking for the next step in the research process
d. All of the above
2. What is a not true of a research title?
a. Read the most, and it is usually read first
b. Least important element that defines the research problem.
c. Contains few words that describe the purpose of the research
d. All of the above
3. What is the reason for consulting handbooks, yearbooks, encyclopedias, or reviews in the
initial stages of identifying a research topic?
a. They are readily available.
b. They provide an overview of the issues related to a topic.
c. They are primary sources.
d. They avoid reporting statistical data to interpret the results more readily.
4. Which of the following are excellent sources for research topics?
a. Theory
b. Personal experience
c. Replication of prior research
d. All of the above
5. Mr. Santos identified his research topic as "classroom assessment." He recognized very
quickly his topic was far too broad. Which of the following is likely to have led to that
conclusion?
a. There was far too much written on the topic to understand it all.
 b. It was difficult to organize the material collected in an effective manner.
c. The potential problems he began thinking would be next to impossible to study.
d. All of the above.
6. What is a research project?
a. A way of conducting research that is not grounded in theory.
b. A choice between using qualitative or quantitative methods.
c. A style in which you present your research findings, e.g. a graph.
d. A framework for every stage of the collection and analysis of data.
7. Which of these would be assured by you when selecting factors for a study in general?
a. They have been investigated before
b. They are available to investigate
c. They are not of interest to you
d. They do not lead to another question
8. A business student plans a research project; it is called a description of an online
business. On the limited information (the title), which one of these best applies to the idea?
a. It is too broad.
b. It is a highly technical subject.
c. It has an acceptable method.
d. It has an acceptable purpose.
9. What is the main advantage of producing a written research project?
a. Helps with liability.
b. Helps the society.
c. Informs all interested parties.
d. Helps keep people employed.
10. Good research proposals will always:
a. Focus on the written style.
b. Provides respondent names and addresses.
c. Consider all possible research previously been done on the topic.
d. Focus on addressing the research objectives.
e. They do not lead to another question
 The Research Problem and Research Question

Having a problem makes you anxious that pushes you to exert efforts on finding a
solution. There will be doubts that you are uncertain of your solutions thus conducting a
research is the best thing to do. Doing a research always begins with a problem which points
you to a topic to look out. Getting the background and establishing your research question that
causes the problem is a hint to start knowing what your problem is all about In this lesson you
have to study the concept of research problems and research questions including its scope
and delimitation, cite the significance.

I. An Overview of the Research Problem and Research Question

Chapter I of the research paper is called The Problem and Its Background (sometimes also
called The Introduction)
❖ It is composed of the following sections:
1) Background of the Study,
2) Statement of the Problem,
3) Scope and Delimitation, and
4) Significance of the Study.
Others have sections such as Objectives of the Study, Hypotheses but these will not be
considered in this lesson.

What is a research problem?

❖ The Research Problem (According to Calderon & Gonzales,1993)
A problem is “any significant, perplexing, and challenging situation, real or artificial, the
solution of which requires reflexive thinking”. In research, it is known as the research topic or
research title.
An illustration showing the description between a research topic, research problem, purpose
statement and research question.
A. Background of the Study
❖ Purpose of background of the study
a. The general definition of the topic/problem area
b. Historical basis for the existence of the problem
c. Efforts made towards addressing similar challenges
d. How the efforts failed to be realized hence the need for your study

❖ Contents of the background of the study:

a. Presentation of the problem. Describe the existence of an unsatisfactory condition or
a problem that needs a solution.
b. Historical background of the problem - Give the historical background of the problem,
if applicable.
c. Geographical conditions of the study locale - If applicable, describe the geographical
location of the study.
d. Rationale of the study - Give the reason(s) why the study should be conducted.

Example:
In 2004, the researcher migrated to the Philippines to accompany her spouse who was at the
time studying at the Adventist Institute for International Advanced Studies (AIIAS) in Silang,
Cavite. They discovered the study opportunities and were motivated by the quality of
education and low school fees being offered. They visited several colleges and universities to
collect pamphlets and sent them back to Vanuatu for educational awareness. The Ni-Vanuatus
became aware and decided to send students to study in the Philippines. The first two schools
to receive Vanuatu students were AMA Computer College in Dasmariñas, Cavite and Air Link
Aviation College in Paranaque City. The researcher came to know Cavite State University
(CvSU) in 2009 and transferred from AMA. (Ngwele, March 2011)

❖ The Do’s and Don’ts of Writing a Research Background Study

B. Statement of the Problem
(Purpose Statement and Research Questions)
A series of questions used in researching the topic.

It is composed of
1. The general statement of the problem (the purpose statement) and
2. The specific sub-problems or sub-questions (or research questions).

❖ Guidelines in Writing the Statement of the Problem

(According to Calderon & Gonzales,1993)

1. The general statement of the problem and the research questions should be
formulated first before conducting the research.
2. Research questions should be stated in the interrogative and each should be clear to
avoid confusion.
3. Each research question should be researchable separately from the other questions
and must be based upon known facts and phenomena which is accessible to the
researcher.
4. Answers to each research question can be interpreted apart from the answers to the
other specific questions and must contribute to the development of the whole research
study.
5. The summary of the answers to all the specific questions will give a complete
development of the entire study.
6. The number of research questions should be enough to cover the development of the
whole research study.

Example:
This research aims to develop an evaluation model of a web-based tool used in test
administration for Grade 11 and 12 students. (Leanillo, 2016)

Specifically, it aims to answer the following questions:

1. What are the commonly used web-based tools used in test administration?
2. How are these web-based test tools evaluated?
3. How could evaluation model be designed for web-based test administration?

C. Scope and Delimitation of the Study

❖ Scope of a Study
It is the coverage of the research to be explored which includes the facts and theories about
the subject.

Example:
A research study on the impact of social networking on the attitude of senior high school
learners.

It is not possible to cover all aspects of the selected subject. The scope will have to be
restricted to a specific section of the target population over a specified duration.
In the above-cited study, a group of 40 learners in senior high school at one particular school
would be an ideal coverage to study their attitude for five months.

❖ Delimitation of a Study
It limits the scope and outlines the boundaries of the study.

These limitations include the following:

1. Sample size.
a. The research design and method will determine whether if it is small or large sample
size.
b. The sample size will determine the quality of data and the relationships that will be
identified among the variables.
2. Lack of available and/or reliable data.
This will limit the scope of analysis and the ability of the researcher to determine meaningful
trends and relationships among the data.
3. Lack of prior studies.
This will limit the effectiveness of the literature review and initial understanding of the
research.
4. Chosen data collection method.
The quality of data collected must be clear to avoid erroneous answers from the
respondents.
5. Nature of the information collected.
Researcher should not rely on pre-existing data.
6. Access.
The amount and quality of available data will depend on the ability of the researcher to
access people, organizations, libraries, and documents.
7. Time period.
It is advisable to select a research problem and design
8. Bias.
The researcher should be aware of his or her personal biases.
9. Language.
This may have an effect on data collection, especially if the researcher is involved with
respondents that speak a variety of languages.

When writing the paper, the researcher should ensure that any delimitation factor is noted
down at the introduction, discussion, and conclusion sections. He or she should clarify why
the study included and excluded some delimitation.

D. Significance of the Study

❖ The significance of the study discuss the purpose that the research will serve to society,
the country, the government, the institution or agency concerned, the curriculum
planners and developers, and the research community.
❖ Describes the contribution of the study to the existing body of knowledge.
It could be the following:
a. A form of new knowledge in the field,
b. A validation of the major findings of other studies,
c. A verification of the validity of findings in a different population,
d. Analysis of trends over time, and validation of other findings using different methodologies.
 ❖ The researcher must identify specifically the beneficiaries who will directly gain from
the results of the study mentioning them in the paper according to the significance of
the result. The specific benefits must also be enumerated and explained if necessary.

Example:

II. Presenting Written Statement of the Problem

The following sections compose the presentation of the written statement of the problem

1. Introduction
States briefly the background of the study and identifies the rationale of the research
problem.

It begins with a general statement of the problem, outlines the specific problem or issue
within the existing literature.

2. Statement of the Problem

States clearly the purposes or interest of the study, poses specific questions about
research problem.

3. Scope and Delimitation

Sets the boundaries and parameters of the study, narrows the scope of the inquiry.

4. Significance of the Study

Shows the benefits of the study to address issues and l problems, in improving
economic and health conditions or even finding solutions to problems encountered in
daily life.
ACTIVITY 3. Directions: Answer the questions in 3-5 sentences only. Write your
answers on a sheet of paper.
1. What is Chapter 1 of a research paper and its sections that comprise?
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2. What is the difference between a research problem and research topic?

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3. What are the guidelines in writing statement of the problem?

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4. Why do we need to limit the scope of the study?

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