RESEARCH-2-MIDTERM.docx

**[RESEARCH 2 MIDTERM]** 1. ***Background of the Study*** - It leads the reader from a general subject area to a particular field of research. **Steps in Writing an Effective Introduction** 1. Start broadly and then narrow down - Describe the broad research area and then narrow do...

**[RESEARCH 2 MIDTERM]** 1. ***Background of the Study*** - It leads the reader from a general subject area to a particular field of research. **Steps in Writing an Effective Introduction** 1. Start broadly and then narrow down - Describe the broad research area and then narrow down to your particular focus. This position your research topic within the broader field, making the work accessible to a broader audience, not just to specialists in your field. 2. State the aims and Importance - Show the imprtance importance of the topic clear motivation. Say what you want to achieve and why your reader should be interested in finding out whether you achieve it. 3. Cite thoroughly but not Excessively - 4. Avoid giving too many citations for one point - If 2 or more references are worth citing, they should be discussed in greater specificity. For example, \"A significant association has been found between X and Y in men \[4-7\], women \[8-11\], and children \[12-15\].\" 2. ***THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND OBJECTIVES*** - To craft research question, examine the research design and goals of the study. Oftentimes, researchers have an idea, goal, or purpose of why they are pursuing a particular inquiry. - Visualize the "bigger picture" and imagine the kinds of data they would want to collect and how such data would be collected. +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | RESEARCH DESIGN | RESEARCH GOALS | SAMPLE R.Q. | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | Experimental | To verify or test the | What is the **effect | | | hypothesis | of a herbal medicine | | | | treatment** to the | | | To determine the | amount of fasting | | | effects of an | blood sugar (FBS) of | | | intervention on a | diabetic patients | | | variable of interest | compared to those | | | | receiving standard | | | | care for diabetes? | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | Descriptive | To provide systematic | What are the reasons | | | information about a | why teenagers use | | | topic | social media? | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | Predictive | To predict or | What are the factors | | | forecast some event | affecting adjustment | | | or phenomenon in the | and academic | | | future without | performance in | | | necessarily | college? | | | establishing a | | | | cause-and-effect | | | | relationship | | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | Explanatory | To explain how | What are the roles of | | | theories or | peers and study | | | principles are at | groups in students' | | | work on a certain | academic achievement | | | phenomenon | and attitude toward | | | | learning mathematics? | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | Cross-sectional | To collect data at a | What are the beliefs, | | | single point in time | perceptions, and | | | and make comparisons | experiences of | | | across the variables | teachers as they | | | of interest | teach Grade 11 and 12 | | | | students? | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | Retrospective | To compare data | Is there a | | | collected in the past | relationship between | | | with the present | smoking and lung | | | | cancer? | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | Longitudinal | To collect data in | What is the effect of | | | the present and at | attending day care | | | some point in the | centers on the | | | future for comparison | language skills of | | | of past and future | kindergarten pupils | | | data sets | and as they reach | | | | Grade 1? | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ **Research Questions** It is placed after the background of the study. Present the general purpose of your study and the specific (must be clear and concise) questions that will be answered. - The specific questions can be written in numbered form. Research questions are the basis to craft the research simulacrum (simplified models, approximations, or even the reproduction of research methods and findings that appear valid on the surface but do not reflect rigorous scientific inquiry) and some parts of the methods (instrument and data analysis).. The questions must match the thrusts of query of the research instrument. - Research objective is stated in **declarative** form. Ex. This research explores the effects of social media usage on the academic performance of college students. - Research questions are stated in **interrogative** form. Ex. How does social media usage affect the academic performance of college students? [For Quantitative Research] State first the general objective of the study followed by the specifics in the form of questions. - Questions must be interconnected. [There are two types of questions: the **descriptive (objective)** ] - What is the average age of employees in the company? - How many people in the community own smartphones? - What is the most common mode of transportation used by university students? - How often do high school students participate in extracurricular activities? - What percentage of the population exercises regularly? - How much time do people spend on social media daily? - What is the income range of households in the city? - How many customers visit the store every week? - What is the graduation rate of students in public schools? - What is the average number of hours worked by employees each week? [and the **inferential (states the hypothesis of the study).**] - Is there a relationship between social media usage and academic performance among college students? - Does income level affect the likelihood of owning a car? - Do students who participate in extracurricular activities have higher grades than those who don't? - Is there a significant difference in job satisfaction between employees who work remotely and those who work on-site? - How does exercise frequency influence mental health among adults? - Does gender impact the choice of preferred learning methods in high school students? - Are people who regularly exercise more likely to have lower blood pressure? - Do marketing strategies affect customer loyalty in online stores? - Is there a significant difference in test scores between students who study in the morning versus at night? - How does age affect the usage of mobile banking apps? · Descriptive questions **describe the data**. · Inferential questions **interpret the data** and explore relationships or causality. 3. **HYPOTHESIS** - It is a tentative explanation or an answer to a question about variables. - It is an inferential thinking that makes you guess something based on factual knowledge or based on conclusions that were logically drawn by other research studies. - It has to be tested through analytical investigation to prove how true or false it is. 4. ***THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY*** - *Why the result would be beneficial* and its *applicability in the wider educational community*. - The researcher must uphold the sense of *inclusivity* while pertaining to all the target recipients of research. **CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY** 1. Mainly anchored from the Gap/s and Research Problem Should be based on the **research gaps** (missing or unexplored areas) and the **problem** your study addresses. It explains why your research is needed and what it will add to the existing knowledge. 2. Inclusive It should cover all the important groups or areas that will benefit from the study, such as different populations, fields, or sectors that will gain something from your findings. 3. No less than written as a Reason It should explain **why** the research matters and what positive impact it will have. 4\. Written as General to Specific and is Brief 5\. Still a part of Introduction Sets the stage for why the research is worth doing and connects with the problem statement and objectives. **Remember:** - The participants are the ones to benefit from the result of the study\-\-- mainly. - The contribution of the result to existing knowledge must be EMPHASIZED. - The gap must state the void that it fills. - The significance of the research must state the other recipients of the results of the study besides the participants. ***5.UNDERPINNING THEORY*** - Existing theory in a field of inquiry that is related and/ or reflects the hypothesis of the research study. - Proper selection and presence of a theoretical framework convinces the readers that the study is firmly rooted in an established theory selected from credible studies or literature (Akintoye, 2015). - If you cannot find any theory that will help you prove your hypothesis, you can adopt a **law, a Republic Act, or a memorandum**. **STEPS IN WRITING THE UNDERPINNING THEORY** 1. Determine the main concern for inquiry and variables of your research study. 2. Identify theory or theories that are connected to the main concern for inquiry and variables of your research study. 3. Discuss the propositions of each theory. 4. Explain how the variables of your research study are **related** to the theories and the importance of that theories to your research study. 5. Discuss the **limitations** of the selected theories that can be explained by the results of your research study or that may influence the results of your research study. 6. ***REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURES BY THEMES*** ***A. Fundamentals of Literature Review*** **What is Literature Review?** a\. What has been published by other researchers b\. Systematic, Explicit, and Reproducible \[SER\] method for identifying, evaluating and synthesizing the existing body of completed and recorded work c\. It serves as a logical story which guides the researcher in proving his claims/hypothesis in his exploration/investigation. **Characteristics of Related Literature** a.RECENT -Written in the last 5 years -Information swiftly changes b.RELEVANT (that is why it is called related literature) **Funtions of RRL** a\. Identify knowledge gaps b\. Provides justification of the proposed project c\. Defines boundaries of their study d\. What makes it different from other researches e\. Gives more credibility to interpret the significance of their results f\. Prevents duplication of previous work g\. Determine methods and design to be used **Sources of RRL** a\. Articles published in scholarly journals b\. Laws and constitution c\. Books and other general references d\. Grey literatures (not formally published) e\. Working papers f\. Conference proceedings g\. Reports from seminars, manuscripts, monographs and memoirs h\. Official reports from government i\. School records **What to Review** a\. **Present status of the research about a particular topic, question or field** -What has been written? -Who wrote them? -When and where were they written? -What were the issues explored? -Are there related issues that you can explore? b\. **Determine theoretical approaches used in the study** -Can it be adapted in the study? -What data collection instrument was used? -How were the data collected and treated statistically? B. ***Synthesizing and Citing Literatures*** Steps in Conducting a Literature Review \[CISRW\] a\. Choose a Topic b\. Identify Resources c\. Search and Refine d\. Read and Analyze e\. Write the RRL **Synthesizing Related Literature** a. Pick literatures which can be used in writing an identified theme b. **Compare findings** of gathered literatures, the variables used, the methods used and their objectives c. **Combining authors** that have the same findings or statements, methods, variables and objectives d. This will determine if there are sufficient studies that will support the present study. -Not sufficient -Sufficient but with contradictions -Sufficient but results are not conclusive **Citation of Sources** a\. Citing is when researchers refer to another author's work in his paper b\. Citing of source 1\. When to cite: -When the researcher *paraphrases statements of another researcher* -When the researcher *summarizes the ideas of another* -When the researcher *is quoting what was written by another* -When the researcher *makes reference to ideas or theories of another* 2\. Purpose: \- Help readers detect and locate the source of the work \- Proves that the opinion is well researched \- Acknowledges the author of an original concept or theory presented. NOTE: It is important to connect the themes with your research questions because the research questions are in themselves the outline of your research story. **Characteristics of a Good Literature Review** 1. Must explain the body of knowledge in area including the major issues about the topic.\ 2.Increase the reader's confidence with regard to the \[CAAP\] Competence, Ability, and Academic Preparation of the researcher.\ 3. Sketches the direction of the research. It should be able to contextualize the research project properly. 4. Produce a good integration and synthesis of the different research findings. Highlights the different areas where different studies **agree and disagree** and **where knowledge gaps occur**. It should be able to explain the **future direction** of the research as well.\ 5. Identifies **unstudied areas** and proposed hypotheses that other researchers can study as well. CHECKLIST: - Does the review thoroughly cover previous research related to the topic? Were important topics highlighted? - Does the number of studies in the review reflect research activity in that area? - Are the articles included in the review a result of empirical research? - Are the articles up to date(MOST RECENT)? - Does it reflect an analysis of the different articles or studies and *not simply a summary of findings of one article after another?* This analysis could be a **critique of a methodology**, **inappropriate generalizations**, or a **discussion of conflicting results**. - **Is the review of literature organized by the topics and not by the authors? Does the review cite similar articles together?** - Does it summarize minor studies and discuss major studies in detail? Does the review **concentrate on major studies** as well as milestone studies related to your topic? Does the review of major studies **relate to the research problem** or methods of the current study? - Does the review of literature provide a logical basis for the hypothesis? (This means that the hypothesis is a logical afterthought that is based on the literature). - Is there a clear connection among the research problem, review, and hypothesis? - Does the review establish a conceptual framework for the research problem? Does the review provide a theoretical context of the study? - Does the review help establish the significance of the study? Does the review address the gaps in the literature? 7. ***Research Paradigm/ Simulacrum*** - In a quantitatuve study, the variables used are the ones to be included in the diagram to be used. Whereas, the variables are defined. - In a qualitative study where the researchers cannot identify the variables - but just concepts, the study will make use of research simulacrum. Main Difference: **Paradigm**: This is like a **big picture** or **framework** for how research is done. It *includes the general theories* and *methods* used in a field. For example, in science, the **scientific method** is a paradigm that guides how experiments and studies are conducted. **Simulacrum**: This is a **copy** or **imitation** of something, but it might not be very accurate or detailed. It looks like the real thing but doesn't always fully represent it. For example, a simple model that tries to explain a complex topic might be a simulacrum if it misses important details. - It could be presented both in graphical (traditionally called paradigm) and narrative form (especially for qualitative studies). - These are supported by hypotheses (quantitative studies) or assumptions (qualitative studies) **Example 1: Correlational Studies** Research Title: *Math Anxiety and Mathematics Performance of STEM-Non Health Students in Basic Calculus*  **Figure 1:** The figure shows that math anxiety might cause decreased performance and poor performance might elicit math anxiety.  The processes and the concentrations used to test the antibacterial activity of the plant. This figure starts off with the preparation of the disc diffusion method and the administration of the different groups. The zone of inhibition will be measured after 24 hours. Shows that the 7Ps Marketing Mix elements will be the medium in measuring the level of customer satisfaction in local bakeries which helps the business to maintain stability and profitability in order to prevent bankruptcy. The original 4Ps namely product, place, price and promotion together with the extended marketing mix elements which are process, people and packaging are the elements that directly affects the customer satisfaction. In the case of a qualitative study, concepts are the ones which connected to one another, which can be presented similarly with a descriptive study. **Example:** Research Title: The Use of Herbal Plants in an Ethnic Community These plants will be described by the informants of the study as to their parts being used to cure a sickness, how is it processed and how is it administered. **Symbols used in each of the example has meaning:** *Box* -- it contains the variables. Normally, it answers a question in the Statement of the Problem which needs descriptive analysis. *One--headed arrow* -- influence on one variable or another. *Two--headed arrow* -- association or relationships between variables. *Connector line* -- connects one variable with another but does not necessarily mean that the variables will be subjected to a statistical tool.