PR1-Q1_W4_Identifying-the-Inquiry-and-Stating-the-Problem (1).pdf

Practical Research 1 Quarter 1 - Module 3: Identifying the Inquiry and Stating the Problem Related to Daily Life Learning Objectives: After studying this module, you will be able to: a. identify the steps in designing a research project, b. determine the guidelines in writing...

Practical Research 1 Quarter 1 - Module 3: Identifying the Inquiry and Stating the Problem Related to Daily Life Learning Objectives: After studying this module, you will be able to: a. identify the steps in designing a research project, b. determine the guidelines in writing a research title, c. Craft a research project related to daily life, and d. formulate a research title LESSON 1: DESIGNING A RESEARCH PROJECT RELATED TO DAILY LIFE Pre- Activity: Directions: From among the list, choose what you want to build, accomplish, create, or make. Then determine the materials that you need to accomplish it. List of choices: House Cake Car Dress Bag others, please specify Your answer here: I decided to make a ________. In making this, I need these materials: _________________________________ Designing a research is similar to making a house, car, bag, dress, cake, etc. which needs appropriate materials and necessary process or steps to follow. Then, you have to consider whether what you intend to make or invent has significance to you as a person. Otherwise, your efforts will not be put to use.  In designing your qualitative research, you have to consider whether the topic you have chosen is relevant to you as a learner, as a constituent in your barangay, and as a citizen of this country.  Therefore, the first question you should answer is, “What is the issue, phenomenon, or problem in my school, at home, and in the community that needs my special attention by conducting research?” Examples: 1. In School Based on observation, what are the issues and problems I encounter inside the classroom? Is it the lesson, teachers, learners’ attitudes, and hindrances to graduation? 2. At Home Considering my life daily, what are the things that bother me at home? 3. In the Community What are the usual complaints of my neighbor regarding ordinances, practices, and activities in the barangay? Or, what are the situations in my community that need to be improved? Once you have decided on the area where you can focus, you need to remember the design of the qualitative research you will venture into. LESSON 2: WRITING A RESEARCH TITLE  Guidelines for Choosing a Topic 1. Interest in the subject matter You are interested in the topic because you have experienced it. 2. Availability of information It is important that when you decide on a topic, sources of information are available. 3. Timeliness and relevance of the topic The topic you have chosen can be of significance to the community.  Guidelines for Choosing a Topic 4. Limitations on the subject Sometimes, the topic is limited to what the teacher suggests. An example of this is when the teacher asks the entire class to focus on the COVID-19 pandemic, then you have no freedom to explore other topics aside from what is given. 5. Personal resources Consider also if you can finish the research in terms of your intellectual and financial physical capabilities.  Topics to be Avoided 1. Controversial topics - Avoid highly opinionated topics. 2. Highly technical subjects - Too technical topics require expertise. If you don’t have enough knowledge about it, then look for another one. 3. Hard-to-investigate subjects - Unavailability of reading materials and materials that are not updated make the subject hard to investigate.  Topics to be Avoided 4. Too broad subjects - You lack focus if you deal with broad topics. The remedy is to narrow it down. 5. Too narrow subject - Some subjects are too narrow that extensive reading are required. 6. Vague subjects - Titles that start with indefinite adjectives such as several, many, some, etc., make the topic vague.  Sources of Research Topics 1. Mass media communication-television, newspaper, ads, radio, films, etc. 2. Books, internet, journals, government publications 3. Professional periodicals- specialized periodicals in different fields 4. General periodicals- Reader’s Digest, Time Magazine, Women’s Magazine, etc. 5. Previous readings 6. Work experience  Examples of Research Topics and their Sources Possible Area of Research Source Topic 1. Social Problems Magazines, journals, social media, books, Cyberbullying and coping newspapers mechanisms among senior high school students 2. Wide Reading/Critical Film Varied reading materials- books, journals, SONA as information Viewing magazines, newspaper, videos and campaign of the President’s documentaries programs and projects 3. Social Networking Social Media: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter Functionality of social media among students during the pandemic 4. Replication of research Compilation of research in the library Inadequacies of private schools in the K to 12 implementations 5. Gray Areas about issues, Lectures, Talks, Seminars The fallacy about COVID-19 phenomena, etc. vaccines How to Narrow Down a Topic 1. You can narrow down the topic by exploring and extending the explanation of a theory. 2. Talk over ideas with people who know research. 3. Focus on a specific group. Ex: Students, Mothers, Teachers 4. Define the aim or desired outcome of the study. a. Is the study exploratory, explanatory, or descriptive? b. Is the study applied or basic? Before deciding on your topic, ask: 1. What areas are not yet explored that I want to investigate? 2. Is my research useful to me, to my school, to my family and to my community?  Remember, a research study must be significant enough to make it worth your efforts as the researcher. Example of a Broad Topic Narrowed Down to Specific One General Concept: Early Pregnancy Narrow: Early Pregnancy among Senior High School Students Narrow: Prevention of Early Pregnancy among Senior High School Students  More Examples of broad and specific topics: Broad Specific Lack of Self-esteem Lack of Self-Esteem among Introverts: Remedies and Intervention Drug Addiction Health Hazards of Vaping: Prevention and Intervention Suicide Suicidal Teenagers in Urban Areas: A Case Study COVID-19 Causes, Prevention, and Treatment of COVID-19 Now, we will tackle how you will formulate your research title. ⮚ The research title is the most important element of your research as it clearly expresses the problem to be explored. ⮚ A research title capsulizes the main thought or idea of the whole research paper. It also reflects the variables under study. ⮚ It is expressed in few words possible and just enough to describe the contents and the purpose of your research. ⮚ It needs to be informative. ⮚ It contains the: What: the subject matter or topic to be investigated Where: place or locale where the research is to be conducted Who: the participants of respondents of the study When: the time of the conduct of the study Examples: Struggles in Online Learning Modality among Students of Quezon National High School during School Year 2021-2021 What: Struggles in Online Learning Modality Where: Quezon National High School Who: Students When: School Year 2021-2021 Less Mastered Competencies of Senior High School Students in Bukidnon during School Year 2020-2021 What: Less Mastered Competencies Where: Bukidnon Who: Senior High School Students When: School Year 2020-2021  LESSON 3: FORMULATING RESEARCH QUESTIONS, SCOPE AND DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY, SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY, STATING THE PROBLEM  In the previous lesson, you learned how to design a research project and identify topics based on your interests. You are also introduced to some red flags in choosing a topic for you to avoid them.  Further, the following are the important concepts that you need to remember from the previous lesson: ⮚ Qualitative research is an inquiry process of understanding a social or human problem based on building a complex holistic picture formed with words, reporting detailed views of informants, and conducted in a natural setting (Creswell, 1994). ⮚ Participant Observation, Observation, In-depth interviewing, Focus Group Interviewing, Content Analysis, Narratology, and Films are the kinds of data utilized for Qualitative Research ⮚ A research title capsulizes the main thought or idea of the whole research paper. It also reflects the variables under study  Formulating Research Questions The questions that you ask in your research will determine the data that you want to have, answer, and specify in Chapter 4. Hence, it is a crucial stage to attain your research objective. Research questions help writers focus their research by providing a path through the research and writing process.  You should ask a question about an issue that you are genuinely curious and/or passionate about. The question you ask should be developed for the discipline you are studying. A question directed towards Literature, for instance, is different from an appropriate one in Mathematics to Biology.  Let’s get into the details A research question is an answerable inquiry into a specific concern or issue. It is the initial step in a research project. The research question is the first active step in the research project. Let us use this metaphor--the research project is a house. Your data collection forms the walls, and the hypothesis that guides your data collection is the foundation. So, what is the research question? It is the ground beneath the foundation. It is what everything in a research project is built on. Without a question, you can't have a hypothesis. Without the hypothesis, you won't know how to study what you're interested in. A research question forms the base of where you are going, so we have to write a good research question. If your foundation is built on something shifty, like a house built on sand, then everything following that will be about correcting that initial issue instead of making an awesome home/research project.  Writing a Research ✔ Specify your specific concern or Question issue ✔ Decide what you want to know Writing a good research about the specific concern or issue question means you have ✔ Turn what you want to know and something you want to the specific concern into a question study. Let's say you're ✔ Ensure that the question is interested in the effects of answerable television. We will examine ✔ Check to make sure the question is the steps and then look at not too broad or too narrow how you could write a ✔ This is the basic process in writing research question. a research question. Writing a good question will result in a better research project. A research question should be (from the Writing Center of George Mason University): ✔ Clear. It provides enough specifics that one’s audience can easily understand its purpose without needing additional explanation. ✔ Focused. It is narrow enough that it can be answered thoroughly in the space the writing task allows. ✔ Concise. It is expressed in the fewest possible words. ✔ Complex. It is not answerable with a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’, but rather requires synthesis and analysis of ideas and sources prior to composition of an answer. ✔ Arguable. Its potential answers are open to debate rather than accepted facts. Please check for the following examples for reference: Unclear: How should social networking sites address the harm they cause? Clear: What action should social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook take to protect users’ personal information and privacy? The unclear version of this question doesn’t specify which social networking sites  Writing the Thesis Statement Every paper you write should have a main point, a main idea, or central message. The argument(s) you make in your paper should reflect this main idea. The sentence that captures your position on this main idea is what we call a thesis statement.  Writing the Thesis Statement A thesis statement focuses your ideas into one or two sentences. It should present the topic of your paper and also comment on your position concerning the topic. Your thesis statement should tell your reader what the paper is about and also help guide your writing and keep your argument focused.  Tip: To write a successful thesis You should provide a statement: thesis early in your essay -- in the A. Avoid burying a great thesis introduction, or in statement in the middle of a longer essays in the paragraph or late in the paper. second paragraph -- to establish your B. Be as clear and as specific as position and give possible; avoid vague words. your reader a sense of direction. C. Indicate the point of your paper but avoid sentence structures like, “The point of my paper is…” Please see these examples of how to improve your thesis: Original thesis: There are serious objections to today's horror movies. Revised theses: Because modern cinematic techniques have allowed filmmakers to get more graphic, horror flicks have desensitized young American viewers to violence. The pornographic violence in "bloodbath" slasher movies degrades both men and women. Today's slasher movies fail to deliver the emotional catharsis that 1930s horror films did. Tips for Writing a Clear Thesis:  Your thesis statement is no exception to your writing: it needs to be as clear as possible. By being as clear as possible in your thesis statement, you will make sure that your reader understands exactly what you mean. Tip: To be as clear as possible in your writing: ✔ Unless you're writing a technical report, avoid technical language. Always avoid jargon, unless you are confident your audience will be familiar with it. ✔ Avoid vague words such as "interesting,” "negative, "exciting,” "unusual," and "difficult." ✔ Avoid abstract words such as "society," “values,” or “culture.” SCOPE AND DELIMITATION The scope of study in your research paper contains the explanation of what information or subject is being analyzed. It is followed by an explanation of the limitation of the research. Research is usually limited in scope by sample size, time, and geographic area; while the delimitation of study is the description of the scope of study. It will explain why definite aspects of a subject were chosen and why others were excluded. It also mentions the research method used as well as the certain theories applied to the data.  YOUR STUDY AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE Writing a research paper has its purpose-- may it be for you (as a researcher) or even for others. That is why, you need to identify the key reason/s why you are taking a step forward and make your query into formal writing. In this stage, your ‘WHYs’ and ‘HOWs’ will be answered and explained. Before taking this step, read the following notes: Tips in Writing the Significance of the Study (Regoniel, 2015) A. Refer to the statement of the problem Your problem statement can guide you in identifying the specific contribution of your study. You can do this by observing a one-to-one correspondence between the statement of the problem and the significance of the study. For example, if you ask the question ‘Is there a significant relationship between the teacher’s teaching style and the students’ long quiz scores in Mathematics?’ then the contribution of your research would probably be a teaching style or style that can help students perform better in Mathematics. Your research will demonstrate that teaching style works. That could be a groundbreaking approach that will change the way teachers teach Mathematics which students are hesitant of. B. Write from general to specific contribution Write the significance of the study by looking into the general contribution of your study, such as its importance to society as a whole, then proceed downwards--towards its contribution to individuals and that may include yourself as a researcher. You start broadly then taper off gradually to a specific group or person. Sample Significance of the Study The findings of this study will underscore the benefit of society considering that mathematics plays an important role in science and technology today. The greater demand for graduates with a Mathematics background justifies the need for more effective, life- changing teaching approaches. Thus, schools that apply the recommended approach derived from the results of this study will be able to train students better. Sample Significance of the Study Administrators will be guided on what should be emphasized by teachers in the school curriculum to improve students’ performance in Mathematics. For the researcher, the study will help them uncover critical areas in the educational process that many researchers were not able to explore. Thus, a new theory on learning mathematics may be arrived at.  GROUP ACTIVITY: Given the notes on writing research questions, formulate three (3) research questions from your research title in the previous lesson. Indicate your thesis statement to guide you in making clear, focused, and concise questions. Title: ____________________________________________________________ Thesis Statement: __________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ Research Questions: ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________