What are the parts of an

action/applied research?
ACTION RESEARCH APPLIED/BASIC RESEARCH
I.CONTEXT AND RATIONALE
The nature, extent and salience of the
identified problem or issue are
comprehensively discussed. Different
aspects of the action research setting
should be elaborated showing in
depth and critical analysis of the
situation.
- The first paragraph should be the proponents idea. There should be
no citations of literatures and studies.

- The use of “inverted pyramid” model to introduce the context is one

way to present the issue:
a. Present the situation in the international level (if there is/are)
b.Present the situation in the national level (if there is/are)
c. Present the situation in the regional level (if there is/are)
d.Present the situation in your division level (if there is/are)
e.Present the situation in your district level (if there is/are)
f. Present comprehensively the situation in your school or
classroom
- The presentation of ideas/context should be
direct, concise, and condense.

- It should capture the real situation in the

classroom/school.
a.What are the underlying causes of the
problem/s?
b.What are the consequences of the
identified problem?
- The bases of the claim/problem/situation should be empirical
or evidence-based.
a.The reflection part of the lesson plan/log.
b.Anecdotal records of students.
c.Guidance record.
d.Grading sheets.
e.NAT Results
f. NCAE Results.
g.LAPG Results.
h.Item analysis
i. Other assessment documents.
- Observations based on common knowledge can
be used.
a.What interventions/actions are you going to
implement?
b.Which variable will cause change? (Your
intervention)
c.Which variable will be changed in response to
the variable that is changed? (Desired
outcome)
d. How do you plan to implement the proposed
intervention/strategy/innovation?
e.If you will be able to attain your objective,
what will be its consequences? How do you
think the result of this intervention could be
used in action planning?
f. Will my research contribute to the
intermediate outcomes of the DepEd?
The last paragraph/sentence should link the real
situation and the proposed intervention or the
conceptual framework of the study (for applied
research).
EXAMPLE
I.ACTION RESEARCH QUESTIONS
Identifies the problem/s which will be addressed
by the research in terms of investigating or
testing an idea; trying out solutions to a problem;
creating a new procedure or system; explaining a
phenomenon; or a combination of any of these.
The research question(s) logically proceeds from
the context of the inquiry. It clearly relates to the
identified problem or issue and conveys the
desired change or improvement.
- What relevant information/data do you need
to find o the effectiveness of the proposed
intervention/strategy/innovation?
- What variables will be involved in your
investigation?
- How will you know if the proposed
intervention/innovation/ strategy conveys the
desired outcome?
Example:
1.What is the performance of the respondents
before the implementation of Project LORD?
2.What is the performance of the respondents
after the implementation of Project LORD?
3.Is there a significant difference between the
performance of the respondents before and
after the implementation of Project LORD?
4.What is the effect-size of project LORD?
III. Proposed Intervention
The rationale, extent and
limitation of the intervention,
innovation or strategy are
explained in detail. Its plausibility
as a way to address the problem
or issue is given support.
- The title or name of the intervention should be
mentioned.
- There should be a detailed discussion on WHAT, HOW,
WHEN, WHERE, and WHO of the
intervention/action/solution.
- Discuss the plausibility/possibility of the intervention
on “how” it can/it may address the problem.
- If there are Related Literatures or related studies that
would support the intervention, place it in a brief
paragraph.
IV. Research Methods
(Write a brief statement on what
research design shall be utilized in
your research before Part A.
Participants and other Sources of
Data/Information)
Detailed description
of specific situation(s)
using interviews ,
observations, and
document review.
 Numerical
descriptions
(Average,
Frequency)
 Quantitative
analyses of the
strength of two or
more variables
 Comparing a group that gets
a particular intervention with
another group that is similar in
characteristics but did not
receive the intervention. There
is no random assignment
 Comparing a group that gets
a particular intervention with
another group that is similar in
characteristics but did not
receive the intervention. There
is random assignment
A.Participants and other Sources of
Data/Information
Details are provided about the target
participants (ex: number, characteristics,
sampling procedure, if any) and/or other
sources of data and information. Clear
rationale for their inclusion in the study is
given.
- Who will be your target
respondents/participants?
- How many respondents/participants
do you plan to involve in your
research?
- How will you get your participants to
be involved in your investigation?
- Why do you want them to be involved in your
research?
- What other sources of information do you
need to get irrelevant data needed to answer
your research questions? proposed
intervention/strategy/innovation?
- Do you need the Grades of students?
- Will you be needing their NAT/NCAE Scores?
EXAMPLE
B. Data Gathering Methods
The proposal explains why the selected
gathering method(s) is suited to the nature
and purpose of the action research. The
data gathering method(s) is aligned with
the research questions(s). Research
instruments, if any, are appropriate for
obtaining the desired kind of
data/information.
- How do you describe your data collection method/s?
- What sort of data do you need to collect?
- How are you going to collect the data?
- Are you going to use questionnaire/s? if yes, did you
adopt it or is it researcher made?
- Material/s (e.g. questionnaires, pre and post-test, SIM
and the likes) to be used should be checked by
immediate superior and/or supervisor expert on the
area of research)
- How long will it take you to collect all data needed?
In this part, include also the ethical issues:
- To whom did you ask permission for the conduct of
your research? How did you do it?
- Were the participants of your research informed that
they are going to be part of a research? If Yes, how did
you inform them?
- If the respondents are children, the parents should
also be informed that their children will be part of your
study.
- Did you use any literature? If yes, did you acknowledge
them properly? How?
 In conducting this proposed study, the researcher takes into consideration
issues that have occurred and may arise.
Prior to the researcher’s formulation of a proposed solution, she first
conducted a pre-test which is a diagnostic assessment required in her English
class for the Fourth Quarter. This is to determine how far the students are
performing in terms of English proficiency in the language and multiliteracies
curriculum. Upon noticing that the Grade 10 classes got low mean scores in their
reading comprehension, she asked permission from the Related Subjects
Department Head who is in-charge of the English Department to conduct a
survey using the Metacomprehension Strategy Index. She then informed the
parents and students of Grade 10-Courageous about the MSI survey and what the
survey aims to accomplish. After a written agreement (see appendix A)
safeguarding the confidentiality of the students’ responses and the proper
handling of results and data of the study were signed by both respondents and
parents, the researcher conducted the MSI survey. From the survey, the
researcher prepared a proposal to address the low reading comprehension and
metacognition skills of Grade 10 students.
C. Data Analysis
- How are you going to analyze your gathered
data?
- What appropriate statistical tool do you need
to interpret the result of your data?
- The plan for data analysis should presented in
a one-to-one correspondence with the
research questions.
TEST OF
DIFFERENCE

T-Test ANOVA
 T-TEST
Number of GROUPS to be studied:

One
Two Groups of
Group of
students
students

Paired Sample Independent

t-test Samples t-test
 Paired Sample
t-test
Data come from
one group only.
Pretest – Posttest
Analysis
 Paired Sample
t-test

Pretest Posttest
Intervention

CLASS O1 X1 O2
 Constructing Research
Questions and Choosing the
appropriate Statistical Tools

Example:
USING PROBLEM-BASED
LEARNING (PBL) APPROACH IN
ENHANCING STUDENTS’
UNDERSTANDING OF GAS LAWS
CONCEPTS IN CHEMISTRY I
 Constructing Research
Questions and Choosing the
appropriate Statistical Tools
General
This study aims to investigate
Question:
whether the Problem-Based
Learning (PBL) Approach can
enhance students’
understanding of the Gas
Laws concepts in Chemistry I.
 Constructing Research
Questions and Choosing the
appropriate Statistical Tools
Specifically, it aims to answer
the following questions:
1. What are the
mean scores of the Mean and
respondents before Standard
and after the Deviation
implementation of
the intervention?
 Constructing Research
Questions and Choosing the
appropriate Statistical Tools

2. Is there a significant
difference on the mean Paired
scores of the respondents samples
before and after the
implementation of the T-test
intervention?
 Constructing Research
Questions and Choosing the
appropriate Statistical Tools

3. What is the effect size

(magnitude of the difference)
of Problem-Based Learning
Approach to enhance the Eta squared
students’ understanding of
the concepts?
Independent Samples
t-test
Data come from
two groups.
Pretest (A) – Posttest (A) –
Pretest (B) Posttest (B)
Analysis Analysis
 Independent Samples
t-test
Pretest (A) – Pretest (B) Posttest (A) – Posttest (B)
Analysis Analysis

Pretest Posttest
Intervention

Experimental O1 X1 O2

Control O3 O4
 Constructing Research
Questions and Choosing the
appropriate Statistical Tools

Example:
USING PROBLEM-BASED
LEARNING (PBL) APPROACH IN
ENHANCING STUDENTS’
UNDERSTANDING OF GAS LAWS
CONCEPTS IN CHEMISTRY I
 Constructing Research
Questions and Choosing the
appropriate Statistical Tools
General
Question: This study aims to investigate
whether the Problem-Based
Learning (PBL) Approach can
enhance students’
understanding of the Gas
Laws concepts in Chemistry I.
 Constructing Research
Questions and Choosing the
appropriate Statistical Tools
Specifically, it aims to answer
the following questions:
1. What are the mean Mean
scores of respondents
and
before and after the
implementation of the Standard
intervention? Deviation
 Constructing Research
Questions and Choosing the
appropriate Statistical Tools

2. Is there a significant
difference in the mean
scores of both groups Independent
before and after the Samples
implementation of the
intervention?
T-test
 Constructing Research
Questions and Choosing the
appropriate Statistical Tools

3. Is there a significant
difference in the mean Paired
Samples
pre-test and posttest
scores of each of the T-test
groups?
V. WORK PLAN
Contains the research strategies,
programs, activities, tasks, resources, and
timelines – when will the project begin and
how long will it take for it to be completed,
include time estimates for each step in the
research process.
 WORK PLAN

SPATResT Format
Resources
Strategies Program Activities Task Persons Timeline
Materials Financial
Involved

The strategy focuses on the general objective of

the research. should be stated using verb in
future tense (e.g. Identify predictors that
influence the NAT performance…, Intensify
computer hardware servicing concept through
Self-Paced Modular Instruction… etc.).
WORK PLAN

Resources
Strategies Program Activities Task Persons Timeline
Materials Financial
Involved

Program pertains to the

intervention or approach to be
used in the study (e.g. SPMI
Approach)
WORK PLAN

Resources
Strategies Program Activities Task Persons Timeline
Materials Financial
Involved

Activities are actions to be accomplished by the

researcher in the conduct of the study. It should be stated
in future tense. (e.g. Preparation of the Research Proposal,
Manuscript Writing, Conduct/Implementation of the
Research, Dissemination of the Results. )
WORK PLAN
Resources
Strategies Program Activities Task Persons Timeline
Materials Financial
Involved

Task are more specific activities to be

conducted.(e.g. Identify the low performing
schools in the district, Write the Manuscript,
Submit the research proposal to the school
head for his perusal. Etc..)
WORK PLAN
Resources
Strategies Program Activities Task Persons Timeline
Materials Financial
Involved

Resources pertains to the person/s involved, materials, and

the financial amount to be used in each of the task stated.
 Eligible expenses In-eligible expenses
- Supplies and materials - Equipment
(Consumables) - Software
- Domestic Travel expenses - Salary, overtime pay or honorarium
- Communication expenses for resource persons, statisticians,
- Reproduction, printing, and binding and other service providers
costs - Utilities
- Food and other incurred expenses - Office rentals
during conduct of research (surveys, - All overseas travel and all items not
FGDs); included in the approved research
- Other expenses related to the proposal
conduct of research not listed in the
non-eligible expenditures
- Expenses related to research
dissemination
WORK PLAN
Resources
Strategies Program Activities Task Persons Timeline
Materials Financial
Involved

The timeline should be realistic and

attainable. It should be specifically stated
such that the dates(if possible) should be
definite. (e.g. January 4-15, 2017)
WORK PLAN
VI. COST ESTIMATE

It includes detailed research cost,

broken down per research task,
activity and/or deliverable. It can
be further grouped by tranche for
easier reference of the evaluation
committee.
VII. ACTION PLAN

It indicates how the results of the action

research will be utilized.
IX. REFERENCES Use APA Style
For an entire book, use the following reference formats:

Author, A. A. (Year of Publication). Title of work. Location: Publisher.

Author, A. A. (Year of Publication). Title of work. Retrieved from http://www.xxxxxxx

Author, A. A. (Year of Publication)). Title of work. doi (digital objectidentifier):xxxxx

Editor, A. A. (Ed.). (Year of Publication). Title of work. Location: Publisher.

For a chapter in a book or entry in a reference book, use the following formats:

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (1995). Title of chapter or entry. In A. Editor, B. Editor, & C. Editor
(Eds.), Title of book (pp. xxx-xxx). Location: Publisher.

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (1993). Title of chapter or entry. In A. Editor & B. Editor (Eds.), Title of
book (pp. xxx-xxx). Retrieved from http://www.xxxxxxx

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (1995). Title of chapter or entry. In A. Editor, B. Editor, & C. Editor
(Eds.), Title of book (pp. xxx-xxx). doi:xxxxxxx
Periodicals

Periodicals include items published on a regular basis such as

journals, magazines, newspapers, and newsletters.
General reference form:

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (year). Title of

article. Title of Periodical, xx, pp-pp. doi:xx,xxxxxxxxxx

Journal Articles

Author, A.A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (2004). Title of

article. Title of Journal, volume, page-numbers.
Doctoral Dissertations and Master’s Theses
For a doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis available from a database service, use the following reference
template:
Author, A. A. (2003). Title of doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis (Doctoral dissertation or master’s
thesis). Retrieved from Name of database. (Accession or Order No.)
For an unpublished dissertation or thesis, use the following template:
Author, A. A. (1978). Title of doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis (Unpublished doctoral dissertation
or master’s thesis). Name of Institution, Location.
Master’s thesis, from a commercial database
McNeil, D. S. (2006). Meaning through narrative: A personal narrative discussing growing up with an
alcoholic mother (Master’s thesis). Available from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database.
(UMI No. 1434728)
Doctoral dissertation, from an institutional database
Adams, R. J. (1973). Building a foundation for evaluation of instruction in higher education and
continuing education (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from http://www.ohiolink.edu/etd/
Doctoral dissertation, from the web
Bruckman, A. (1997). MOOSE Crossing: Construction, community, and learning in a networked virtual
world for kids (Doctoral dissertation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology). Retrieved from
http://wwwstatic.cc.gatech.edu/~asb/thesis/
Doctoral dissertation, abstracted in DAI

Appelbaum, L. G. (2005). Three studies of human information processing: Texture amplification,

motion representation, and figure-ground segregation. Dissertation Abstracts International:
Section B. Sciences and Engineering, 65(10), 5428.

Video

American Psychological Association (Producer). (2000). Responding therapeutically to patient

expressions of sexual attraction [DVD]. Available from http://www.apa.org/videos/

Music recording

lang, k. d. (2008). Shadow and the frame. On Watershed [CD]. New York, NY: Nonesuch Records.

Measurement instrument

Friedlander, M. L., Escudero, V., & Heatherington, L. (2002). E-SOFTA: System for observing family
therapy alliances [Software and training videos]. Unpublished instrument. Retrieved from
http://www.softa-soatif.com/