WHAT IS RESEARCH: DEFINITION

Research is defined as a careful consideration of study regarding a particular concern or a problem using scientific
methods. According to the American sociologist Earl Robert Babbie, “Research is a systematic inquiry to describe, explain,
predict and control the observed phenomenon. Research involves inductive and deductive methods.”
Inductive research methods are used to analyze the observed phenomenon whereas; deductive methods are used to
verify the observed phenomenon. Inductive approaches are associated with qualitative research and deductive methods are
more commonly associated with quantitative research.
One of the most important aspects of research is the statistics associated with it, conclusion or result. It is about the
“thought” that goes behind the research. Research is conducted with a purpose to understand:
 What do organizations or businesses really want to find out?
 What are the processes that need to be followed to chase the idea?
 What are the arguments that need to be built around a concept?
 What is the evidence that will be required that people believe in the idea or concept?

QUALITIES OF EFFECTIVE RESEARCHERS

The success of a research paper depends on the ability of researchers who write it. Below are some of the qualities
that researchers must possess:
1. They must be organized especially with time.
2. They must be highly motivated and creative.
3. They must read often to get new ideas and identify knowledge gaps.
4. They must be effective communicators
5. They must be participative and collaborative.
6. They must be analytical and critical about matters relevant to them, to others, or to the society.
7. They must be open-minded and good listeners.

PARTS OF A RESEARCH PAPER

There is no one right style or manner for writing an education paper. Content aside, the writing style and presentation of
papers in different educational fields vary greatly. Nevertheless, certain parts are common to most papers, for example:
1. Title page – contains an informative title (i.e., describes the content of the paper), name of the author/s with their
addresses or affiliation, and date submitted. Below are examples of informative titles:
a. Effect of Facebook on the Academic Achievement of First Year Students
b. Development and Validation of a Software for Detecting Plagiarism
There are different types of titles according to Derntl (2014). These are descriptive, declarative, interrogative, and
compound.
Types Descriptions Examples
Descriptiv Describes what the paper is Investigating the Impact of ASEAN Integration Policy on Higher
e about Educational Institutions in the Philippines
Declarativ States the results of the ASEAN Integration Policy Impacts Higher Educational Institutions
e research in the Philippines,
Interrogat Poses a Question Does ASEAN Integration Policy Impact Higher Educational
ive Institutions in the Philippines?
Compoun Combines two titles and Does ASEAN Integration Policy Impact Higher Educational
d separate them with a colon Institutions in the Philippines?: An Empirical Study
2. Abstract – contains the summary of the findings and conclusions. It briefly presents the context of the study,
research questions or objectives, methodology, major findings, conclusions, and sometimes implications. An abstract
does not only contain any citation and a great deal of statistical results. Its length ranges from 100 – 250 words.
 Background/Motivation: Why was the research conducted? (30%)
 Aim/Purpose/Problem Statement: What is the purpose of your research? (10%)
 Methods: What methods or techniques did you use? (10%)
 Results: What are your most important findings? (40%)
 Conclusions: What are your conclusions? (10%)
Your abstract should not include references, slang words, abbreviations, and non-essential numbers and statistics.
Ideally, your abstract should not exceed 250 words.
3. Introduction – A good introduction states the main research problem and thesis argument. What precisely are you
studying and why is it important? How original is it? Will it fill a gap in other studies? Never provide a lengthy
justification for your topic before it has been explicitly stated.
Its length usually ranges from three to five paragraphs.
General
Current State of the Topic
Know ledge
Gaps/Problems
relevant to the Topic
 Purpose/Probl
em Statement
Specific
4. Literature Review - A literature review surveys scholarly articles, books and other sources relevant to a particular
issue, area of research, or theory, and by so doing, providing a description, summary, and critical evaluation of these
works. Literature reviews are designed to provide an overview of sources you have explored while researching a
particular topic and to demonstrate to your readers how your research fits into the larger field of study.
5. Methodology - The methods section describes actions to be taken to investigate a research problem and the rationale
for the application of specific procedures or techniques used to identify, select, process, and analyze information
applied to understanding the problem, thereby, allowing the reader to critically evaluate a study’s overall validity
and reliability. The methodology section of a research paper answers two main questions: How was the data
collected or generated? And, how was it analyzed? The writing should be direct and precise and always written in
the past tense.
This section contains the context and participants, instruments used, data gathering procedure, and data
analysis. The context and participants section explains the number and demographic profile of participants
involved as well as the place where the study was conducted. The instrument section presents tools used in
gathering data. These may include questionnaires, interviews, focus group discussions, and tests among others. All
of the instruments used should be described in detail and how they are validated. Finally, the data gathering section
presents the details on how the data were collected whereas the data analysis section presents how the data were
analyzed, qualitatively (coding scheme) or quantitatively (statistical tools).
6. Results - In this section, the results of the analysis are presented. How the results are presented will depend upon
whether the research study was quantitative or qualitative in nature. This section should focus only on results that
are directly related to the research or the problem. Graphs and tables should only be used when there is too much
data to efficiently include it within the text. This section should present the results, but not discuss their
significance.
7. Discussion – presents the why’s of the results. This section provides an explanation of all the results in relation to
the previous studies presented in the literature review. In this section, you need to restate your research problems or
objectives in the first paragraph as well as the major findings.
The succeeding paragraphs should explain whether your study supports or rejects previous findings and
explain the reason for this claim. You should also state the new findings that you have uncovered. Similar to the
flow of the results, this section follows the flow of your research problems or objectives.
8. Conclusion – contains the restatement of major findings, limitations of the study, recommendations, and
implications. Note that in some cases, the conclusion is integrated into the discussion section.
9. References/Bibliography - The research paper is not complete without the list of references. This section should be
an alphabetized list of all the academic sources of information utilized in the paper. The format of the references
will match the format and style used in the paper. Common formats include APA, MLA, Harvard and so forth.

STEPS IN WRITING A RESEARCH PAPER

Set Work Schedule/Timetable - Since you will have several weeks to complete a research paper, it is easy to ignore—and
thus put off—requirements that are not due immediately. Use a check sheet, like the one on the reverse side, to keep you on
schedule. First, write in your final due date and work backwards to today.
Identify General Topic and Begin Library Work - Brainstorm topics that interest you, subjects you want to know about.
Select one topic you want to read about, don’t already have a strong opinion about, and have some background to
understand. Before you begin to research, take time to learn to use various library and Internet resources.
Clarify Required Documentation Style - You must credit the authors of all the facts and opinions you use in your paper;
you must document your sources. Although there are several different documentation styles, your instructor will
require/recommend one specific style—probably MLA or APA. Consistent, accurate documentation is critical to good
research.
Read To Narrow Topic -Read several general pieces about your topic to help you decide which aspect of the subject will be
your focus. Once you narrow your topic, run a preliminary database/indices search to be sure there is enough accessible
material to support your research in that area. Decide if your primary purpose is to explain or persuade.
Draft Preliminary Thesis - Like any good thesis statement, your research paper thesis must state your controlling idea
about your topic. Keep revising your thesis statement until you clearly communicate your controlling idea.
Begin Research and Notetaking - Without purposeful, critical reading and meaningful, accurate notetaking, you cannot
produce a good research paper no matter how excellent a writer you are. Always note complete citation information.
Draft Tentative Working Outline -This informal outline will help you organize the main ideas and the major and minor
details you want to use to develop and support your thesis. In addition, outlining helps you present ideas in a logical order.
Continue Research and Notetaking
Draft Final Outline -If an outline is required, it should use the conventions of formal outlining.
Refine Thesis and Write First Draft -From your reading you should be ready to rewrite your thesis statement into a clear,
brief sentence that precisely focuses your paper. Your draft should be a well-crafted combination of direct quotes, idea
summaries, paraphrased ideas—all properly credited—and your original writing.
Read to Fill-In Any Gaps In Research
Develop Works Cited Sheet -In addition to citing with parenthesis in the body of the paper, you must develop a list of
Works Cited at the end of your paper—an alphabetical listing of all your sources in the style your instructor requires.
Write Draft Two, Three, Four… - Remember, the key to good writing is rewriting. Having someone, like a tutor, read your
draft may be helpful.
Edit, Format, and Double-Check Citations
Complete Final Draft and Proofread

POWER TIPS FOR WRITING A RESEARCH REPORT

1. Fifty (50) to seventy five (75) percent of the paper should be devoted to results and discussion.
2. Be sure to cite all your sources whether they are paraphrased or directly quoted.
3. Use direct quotation sparingly. Paraphrase as much as possible.
4. Strictly follow the required documentation and citation style.
5. Topics should be relevant, interesting, current, and manageable in terms of resources, skills needed, and time. They
should not be too sensitive and controversial as well.
6. Research questions should directly address the given topic or thesis statement.

SELECTING A TOPIC
Consider the following questions in choosing an appropriate topic for research:
1. Am I really interested in the topic? Is it useful to my field of interest?
2. Is it relevant? Will it impact me, others, or the society? Will it benefit my target audience?
3. Are sources available and accessible?
4. Will there be enough time to write about it?

STRATEGIES IN GENERATING IDEAS FOR A RESEARCH TOPIC

1. Using your own personal experiences – A personal interest in specific areas and disciplines can yield specific
topics.
2. Discussing with family members, friends or teachers - Sitting in a class discussion in Visiting Forces Agreement
(VFA) between the US and the Philippines might trigger your interest in writing this topic. Impact of VFA on the
Economic Development Programs of the Philippines. Or, while having informal meeting with a friend over a cup of
coffee, you thought about writing this topic. “Giving Rewards to Minimize Gossiping in Workplace,” after a fun
conversation about gossiping in schools, restaurants, offices and public transportation.
3. Freewriting – This refers to writing continuously without giving attention to grammar, style, coherence, punctuation
marks, or even penmanship. The purpose of this is to free yourself from a “writer’s block” (a common condition
when writers cannot think what to write about).
4. Listing – this refers to listing down key terms related to your interest of study. Let’s say the field of study you are
interested in is health. Below is a list of keywords related to health.
 Department of Health  World Health  Health Research
 Ebola Virus Organization Institute
 Health care  Dengue  HIV/AIDS hospital
 Mobile clinics facilities
From the list, you can pick up one, which can address the questions in choosing an appropriate topic for research.
5. Webbing or clustering – This refers to creating a web or cluster of ideas around a primary idea. You can start with
writing one topic in mind at the center of the paper. Then, generate a multitude of ideas related to the topic.
Societal
Can promote
political
integrity and
honor
Advantag Definition
e Constitutional
Allow
chances for
policy
dynamism Politic
al
Dynas
ty 1987
Monopolizes
political Constitution
power of the
Philippines
Disadvantage Policy (Art 11, Sec
Law 26)

Does not Senate Bill

expand the 2649 (for
economy approval)
 Using this strategy, your specific topic may be: Impact of Political Dynasty on the Philippine Democratic
Government, or Effects of Political System in Laguna.

6. Asking Questions – This refers to asking questions focusing attention on the main issue related to the topic that you
want to work on.
The topics in your mind may be as follows:
a. Biodiversity
b. Traffic Management

Questions that may be asked for each topic can be as follows:

a. Biodiversity
 What are the existing policies that protect biodiversity?
 How do these policies respond to the issues on biodiversity?
 What are the malpractices of fisher-folks that affect biodiversity?

b. Traffic Management
 What are the improvements on traffic management in Sta. Cruz, Laguna?

Note that by asking questions on a working topic, you can determine a key issue worthy of research. Likewise,
answering these questions can lead you to constructing a preliminary thesis statement.

SOME TOPICS TO AVOID

1. Too broad (e.g., parliamentary system [What about it? What is your focus?])
2. Explanation of a process (e.g., Ways of protecting a student from bullying)
3. Biography or autobiography (e.g., Duterte and his journey to the Philippine presidency)
4. Trivial (e.g., A comparison of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck)
5. Questions on morality and religion (e.g., Does God exist?)
6. Worn-out (e.g., Effects of marijuana on mental health)
7. Too little information (Note: Always consider the availability of resources in your library)

STRATEGIES IN NARROWING DOWN A GENERAL TOPIC

Once you have decided on your general topic, you need to narrow it down into a more specific and focused one. You can still
use the aforementioned strategies in generating ideas for a working topic when you narrow down your topic. However, the
most common strategy in refining the focus of your general topic can be done through the inverted pyramid

General Topic: Political Dynasty

Political Dynasty in the Philippines

Political Dynasty in the Philippines and its Effects

Specific Topic:
Effects of Political
Dynasty on the
Political System in
Laguna
 COMPREHENSION CHECK
Name:
Section:

I. Write T on the blank if the statement is true and F if it is false.

1. One skill that an effective researcher must possess is critical thinking.
2. The abstract provides recent findings of the research conducted.
3. The problem statement should appear first in the introduction.
4. The list of references may not be included in the parts of research paper.
5. The abstract should be written prior to writing a conclusion.
6. An informative title is preferred when writing a research report.
7. The conclusion contains the details of the findings obtained from the study.
8. Majority of the paper content should be devoted to the literature review.
9. It is better to have as many direct quotations as possible,
10. Survey instruments should be aligned to the research questions,
11. Tables and graphs for the data gathered are presented under the introduction section.
12, The discussion section presents the procedure undertaken to complete the study.
13. The introduction contains the purpose and the current state of the field study.
14. The literature review contains the explanation of the relevant concepts and related studies.
15. The methodology contains the description of participants and instruments,
16. Any topic is appropriate for research writing.
17. Personal observation is a jumpstart in the selection of a topic.
18. Conversations can be a resource for identifying a research topic.
19. In asking critical and relevant questions, one can form an argument, which can eventually become a thesis
statement.
20. Topics that have limited references may be avoided.

II. Identify a strategy that best describes the following situations. Write your answer on the space provided.
1.Since student A couldn’t think of what to write, he resorted to writing aimlessly for two
minutes without minding the grammar and mechanics.
2.Student B used her general topic to generate an array of ideas using lines and boxes to
show the relationships of ideas.
3.Student C has a lot of ideas in mind. To organize and connect them, she used lines and
circles.
4.Student D participates in class discussion to refine his research topic.
 5. After engaging in a symposium, student E wrote down his experience and began to reflect
about his topic.
6.Student F converts her general topic into an interrogative form to produce more relevant
questions out of it.
7.Student G enumerates all words associated with her general topic.
8.Student H actively involves himself in environmental protection campaign.