Lesson 2 Week1

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LOOKING FOR A

RESEARCH TOPIC
lesson 2
WORKING COLLABORATIVELY AS A
GROUP

1. Designate a group leader and set clear expectations


for each member.

2. Be honest about your abilities.

3. Set deadlines for the various tasks, and stick to


them.
WORKING COLLABORATIVELY AS A
GROUP

4. Meet regularly, and check the work of each other.

5. Give each member due respect.


IDENTIFYING TOPICS FOR A QUALITATIVE
RESEARCH STUDY
A. Here are some things to remember when you are choosing
your research topic (Babbie 2013 and Ranjit 2011)

1. Choose a topic that will satisfy your curiosity and interest.


2. Your topic should be manageable.
3. Your topic must be significant and relevant.
IDENTIFYING TOPICS FOR A QUALITATIVE
RESEARCH STUDY
B. On the other hand, there are also topics that you should
avoid when looking for one.

1. Over-exhausted topics: These are topics that have been


used over and over again by researchers that there are already
a plethora of outputs on them in existence. Using over-
exhausted topics for research may end as a mere duplicate of
other outputs of the same topic.
IDENTIFYING TOPICS FOR A QUALITATIVE
RESEARCH STUDY
2. Too challenging topics: A research becomes challenging if
you end up not finding enough materials about the subject
matter. On one hand, having a challenging topic is good, as
this indicates that there are not much studies of its kind.
However, if no material at all comes up even after extensive
searches, it is best to explore other topics.
IDENTIFYING TOPICS FOR A QUALITATIVE
RESEARCH STUDY
4. Too broad or too narrow topics: A common pitfall that
researchers fall into is working on a topic that is too broad
(very generalized) or too narrow (very limiting). In order to
avoid committing this mistake, try to make an outline about
the topic and look for the "middle ground."
IDENTIFYING TOPICS FOR A QUALITATIVE
RESEARCH STUDY
5. Too vague topics: Topics that are vague are those which
are not clear. If you happen to get topics of this kind, you will
not clearly see the direction which you wish to pursue
THE RESEARCH PROBLEM

The quality of a research problem defines the success of a


study. It is the foundation of the whole research process.
Therefore, it is important that the problem must be clearly
stated so that the study will be systematically directed
towards a definite goal.
THE RESEARCH PROBLEM

There are three general types of research problems under


qualitative research: descriptive, relational, or causal.
THE RESEARCH PROBLEM: DESCRIPTIVE

1. This type focuses on issues that needs further study.


2. To conceptualize descriptive types of research problems,
you may use the pattern:
What is _____________?
What are ____________?

Examples: What are the factors that cause emotional stress among
high school students?
What is the role of placebo treatment in experiments?
THE RESEARCH PROBLEM: DESCRIPTIVE

3. For the descriptive type of study, it is better to use surveys (face-


to-face through interviews, by mail, or through online or offline
surveys), and opinion polls.

4. The results of descriptive surveys are nondirectional; meaning, the


results are based on the actual results of the survey and cannot be
altered by the researcher.
THE RESEARCH PROBLEM: RELATIONAL

1. This type of problem aims to prove that some sort of relationship


exists between two variables. Hence, it seeks to investigate the
qualities or characteristics that are interrelated in some ways.

2. To conceptualize this type of problem, the following pattern may


be used: Is/Are (Variable 1) related to (Variable 2)?
Example: Are student performances during examinations related to the type
of test questions given by the teachers?
THE RESEARCH PROBLEM: CAUSAL

1. This type of problem focuses in identifying the extent and nature


of the cause and effect relationships of the variables; or in
identifying the patterns of the relationship between different
elements.
2. To conceptualize causal research problems, the following pattern
may be followed:
How does (Variable 1) affect (Variable 2)?

Example: How does Brand A affect the skin when applied daily?
THE RESEARCH PROBLEM: CAUSAL

3. To gather data for this type of study, the researcher may resort to
laboratory experiments or through field experiments.

4. The resulting data in this type of test is directional; meaning, they


may be framed according to the researcher's perspective.
FORMULATING RESEARCH QUESTIONS
There are two types of questions used for research studies: general and specific
research questions.

A. The General Research Question


The sample questions representing the problems earlier stated gives the "big
picture" or the main issues that the researcher wishes to address. They are the
main questions that will be answered by the study. They are referred to as the
general research questions.
1. What are the factors that cause emotional stress among high school students?
2. Are student performances during examinations related to the type of questions
given by the teachers?
3. How does Brand A affect the skin when applied daily?
FORMULATING RESEARCH QUESTIONS
B. The Specific Research Questions
There is another set of questions which can be derived from the general research
question. These are the specific research questions. These refer to the "smaller
targets" or sub-problems of the study which directly targets the aspects of the
general question. The number of specific questions depends upon the scope of the
research; however, a set of, at least, three questions is reasonable enough.
Specific questions, just like the general question, must be clearly stated to lead
the researcher to arrive at a meaningful conclusion.

:
FORMULATING RESEARCH QUESTIONS
From a chosen topic, see how you will state your research title, research problem,
general questions, and specific questions concerning your research.

Research Topic: Suppose that you have chosen to research about online schooling
and students' school performance.
Decide first the type of research that you would like to pursue. Will it be a
descriptive, relational, or causal research?
FORMULATING RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. For a descriptive type of research, you may come up with the following
formulations.

Research Title: The Effects of Online Schooling in Students' School Performance

General Research Question: What are the effects of online schooling on the
students' school performance?
FORMULATING RESEARCH QUESTIONS
2. For a relational type of research, you may come up with the following:

Research Title: The Relationship between the Types of Schooling and Students'
School Performance

General Research Question: Is there a relationship between the types of schooling


and students' school performance?
FORMULATING RESEARCH QUESTIONS
3. For a causal type of research, you may have the following:

Research Title: The Adverse Effects of Online Schooling on Students' School


Performance

General Research Question: How does online schooling affect the students
academic performance?
FORMULATING RESEARCH QUESTIONS
In stating your specific questions, you need to do some readings first: Look for
relevant literature about your proposed title. Browse through some topics which
may help answer your research question.

From your outline, derive some specific questions you want to be answered in
your research.
Here are some examples:
1. What are the types of schooling offered in schools?
2. What is the meaning of online schooling? How does it differ from onsite
schooling?
3. What are the indicators of a successful school performance?

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