PRACTICAL RESEARCH 1

QUARTER 1 – WEEK 4

Identifying the Inquiry and Stating the Problem

MELC:
After going through this module, you are expected to be able to:
1. Provides the justifications/reasons for conducting the research CS_RS11-IIIce-3
2. States research question CS_RS11-IIIce-4
3. Indicates scope and delimitation of research CS_RS11-IIIce-5
4. Cites benefits and beneficiaries of research CS_RS11-IIIce-6
5. Presents written statement of the problem CS_RS11-IIIce-

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
What’s in?
In the previous lesson, you learned to how to choose research topics and write a title.
Following those rules and what to avoid had guide you to create a good topic for your
research. You have the sources of research topics which you can use to find a researchable
topic. Even your work experiences can be a clue to a research topic which relates to daily life
situations.

What’s new?
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:
• Background of the Study,
• Statement of the Problem,
• Scope and Delimitation, and
• 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?

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 • 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.
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 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 fess 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 Parañaque City. The researcher came to know Cavite State University
(CvSU) in 2009 transferred from AMA. (Ngwele, March 2011)

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

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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).

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 • 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:

• What are the commonly used web-based tools in test administration?
• How are these web-based test tools evaluated?
• 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.
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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,
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 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 (The
Problem and Its Background
1. Introduction /Background of the Study
• 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.
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 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 1. Direction: Based on what you learned, answer the questions listed below.
1. What is the difference between the Research Problem and Research Topic?
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2. Why is the Background of the Study important?

__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
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3. Differentiate the Scope from the Delimitation of the Study. Why do we need to limit the
Scope of the Study?
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4. Among the Research Titles you have written and keeping in mind what you have learned,
which of those you think should be addressed? Kindly elaborate further on this matter.
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________

ACTIVITY 2. Direction: With your top two Research Topics, identify at least three research
problems for each and explain why you chose them.

Topic A: _____________________________________
Proposed Research Title:
_________________________________________________________
Problem
1.
2.
3.
Reasons:
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__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________

Topic B: _____________________________________
Proposed Research Title:
_________________________________________________________
Problem
1.
2.
3.
Reasons:
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________

From your top two research topics choose one as your proposed research study which you will
use on the later part of this lesson.

ACTIVITY 3. Direction: From your proposed research study present your written Statement
of the Problem (The Problem and its Background) which comprises the following sections:

Introduction /Background of the Study

Statement of the Problem

Scope and Delimitation

Significance of the Study

Prepared by:

HANNAH ALEXIS M. ASILO KIM RUSSEL O. BORROMEO

Special Science Teacher I Special Science Teacher I

Implementer:

MYLENE S. PADUL
Teacher I

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