Chapter 1

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Introduction

The introduction enables the readers to see at a glance the entire contents of the research
work. The researcher should be able to explain to the reader the general concept that underlies the
study.

The background of the study, in continuity with the introduction, should explain the more
detailed scenario of the topic by explaining the relative scenario.

Guidelines:

 Cite the reasons why you have chosen the topic of your study
 Cite the problematic situation which prompted you to conduct the study from the macro to
micro levels, that is, globally, regionally, nationally, and locally, to zero-in on the local setting
of the study.
 Support your discussion with legal basis relevant to your study
 Pertinent statistical data should support your claims.
 Make your presentation emphatic and explosive. It should create an impact to the reader of
your research. It should prod your reader to go on and find out what good is there in your
research study.

Statement of the Problem

This is one of the most important parts of the research report. The researcher outlines the
questions that he sought to be answered at the end of the study.

Guidelines:

 Cite the specific problems in logical and sequential order as they appear in your paradigm.
 The problems must jive with the paradigm, conceptual framework, hypothesis, methodology
and research instrument.

Hypotheses

The hypotheses to be tested are formulated here based on the research problems.
 Guidelines:

 The null hypotheses should be clearly stated. Using the null hypotheses will aid in rejecting or
accepting it.
 The null hypotheses should jive with the number of variables to be studied.

Conceptual Framework

The Conceptual Framework is the basis and format that will guide the researcher in the course
of the study. The researcher can:

 Copy an existing framework and apply it to the subject that is being undertaken;
 Adopt a framework that closely conforms with the subject being undertaken and improve it;
 Create an entirely new conceptual framework.

Guidelines:

 The paradigm, which is a schematic illustration of the conceptual framework should be

discussed comprehensively to encompass the parameters of the investigation.
 Describe how your variables will relate to each other
 The variables should be appropriately placed in their corresponding boxes. The use of a one-
headed or two-headed arrows will clarify which variables are to be correlated.
 The hypotheses to be tested should be clearly explained in this portion.

Scope and Limitation of the Study

The researcher identifies the boundaries or coverage of the study in terms of subjects,
objectives, facilities, area, time frame, and the issues to which the research is focused.

The delimitations of the study defines the constraints or weaknesses, which are not within the
control of the researcher, therefore, they are not expected to be covered by the study.

Significance of the Study

The researcher expresses the value or importance of the research study. It is where the
significant contributions of the results of the study are enumerated. Such contributions may be viewed
from the point of the target beneficiaries like the researcher himself, target users of the system,
implementers, the community, the institution or the readers of the research study.
 Guidelines:

 Name those who are to benefit from the study – people, institution, agencies.
 Cite how they will benefit from the findings of the research
 Do not fail to include the researchers as beneficiaries and what they are expected to benefit.

Definition of Terms

The researcher defines the important or key terms substantially and clearly according to how
they are used in the study in order to facilitate understanding of the problem and avoid ambiguous
meaning to terms which can be otherwise interpreted in different ways.

Guidelines:

 define the key terms and phrases operationally or how these are taken to mean in your
study.
 Terms to be defined should be arranged alphabetically.

Chapter 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

The review of related literature and studies is one of the components of a research process. The
researcher needs to review the write-ups, readings, and studies related to the present study in order to
determine the similarities and differences of the findings between the past and present studies. This
also aims to gain insight into the aspects of the problem that are critical and controversial. Likewise, the
review provides the investigator a background regarding the aspects, which have and not have been
studied yet. The reviews included in the research must directly relate to the present study.

Review of Related Literatures

 These are local and foreign literatures, cited by the researcher, that are relevant to his/her
study. Any written matter such as book, journal, magazine, novel, poetry, yearbook, and encyclopedia
are considered as literatures.

Guideline:

 Long citations should be paraphrased; restate the author’s thoughts in your own words.

Review of Related Studies

These are local and foreign studies, cited by the researcher, that are relevant to his/her study. A
work that was concluded after a thorough experiment or investigation is considered as a study. Books,
theses, dissertations, research projects, and research papers are all studies.

Guideline:

 Present the related studies by citing the research methodologies used, the respondents, the
statistical treatment, and the major findings.

Chapter Guidelines

 Write an introductory paragraph before you present your related literatures and studies.
 Give at least 5 local and 5 foreign literatures, 5 local and 5 foreign studies. (Determining whether
it is local or foreign is based on the place of publication and not the nationality of the writer.)
 Cite similarities of the related study with your study and the aspects where they differ.
 Cite the aspects that make your study original or novel.
 Similarities and differences should be compared even to the minor details.
 Have a last paragraph that would recapitulate the similarities and differences.
 Use APA (American Psychological Association) style.

Chapter 3

Research Design

The researcher describes the methods or techniques used in the study for data collection and
data analysis. A given research design can employ not just one but a combination or a variety of
methods for collecting and analyzing data.

Research Locale
 The researcher gives a brief description of the locale or place where the participants or
respondents are to be obtained.

Population and Sample

The researcher identifies the people, groups or companies that were involved in obtaining the research
information. The opinions of the respondents are the backbone of the study.

The researcher defines the sample (persons, events, places or things) used as the source of data in the
research and the technique used in selecting the sample.

Guideline:

 Describe your respondents; their characteristics and profile and how you are going to
identify them.

Research Instrument

The researcher identifies the research instruments and techniques used in the study. Each part
of the research instrument is explicitly explained. Questionnaire, test, interview, observation, checklist,
rating scale may be described by the researcher.

Guidelines:

 Decide on the type of research instruments that will best gather the data and information
needed in your study.
 Be sure that the instruments are reliable and valid.

Data Gathering Procedure

The researcher describes the process of preparing and collecting data, The purpose of data
collection is to obtain information to keep on record, to make decisions about important issues, to pass
information on to others. Primarily, data are collected to provide information regarding a specific topic.

Statistical Treatment of Data

The researcher specifies the statistical computation used in summarizing the collected
information (the answers of the respondents).

Guidelines:
  Describe the statistical tools you are going to use and for what purpose you are going to use
them.
 Indicate the different formula and the legend for the symbols used.
 Indicate also at what level of significance will the interpretations be based.

Chapter 4

PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA

Data Presentation

The researcher organizes the data into logical, sequential, and meaningful categories and
classification to make them amenable to the study and interpretation. Analysis and presentation put
data into proper order and in categories reducing them into forms that are intelligible and interpretable
so that the relationship between the research specific questions and their intended answers can be
established. There are two ways of presenting data namely, (a) Tabular Presentation and (b) Graphical
Presentation.

Guidelines:

 Use tabular presentation.

 Presentation of data should be arranged as they appear in the statement of the problem.

Data Analysis and Interpretation

The researcher explains the data or facts in terms of quantity, quality, attributes, traits,
patterns, trends, relationships among others so as to answer research questions which involve statistical
techniques and procedures.

Guidelines:

 Analysis should be done first before interpretation. An analysis is useless without

interpretation while interpretations are impossible without analysis.
 In analyzing the data, use statistical techniques to give meaning to the data gathered from
the respondents.
 Analyzing and interpreting the raw data should go hand in hand in order to give meaningful
results. Interpretation is important to have a clearer meaning of the research findings.
 Chapter 5

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Summary of Findings

In this section, the researcher summarizes the results of the research based on Chapter 4.

Guidelines:

 There should be a brief statement about the main purpose of the study.
 The findings may be lumped up all together but clarity demands that each specific question
under the statement of the problem must be written first to be followed by the findings that
would answer it.
 The findings should be textual generalization, summary of the important data consisting of
text and numbers. Every statement of fact should consist of words, numbers or statistical
measures woven into a meaningful statement. No deduction on the interpretations must be
made.
 The findings should be stated as concisely as possible.
 If there are only three specific questions stated in Chapter 1 and answers in Chapter 4, there
are only three results summarized in this section
 No presentation of tables.

Conclusions

Rejection and acceptance of hypotheses are explained by the researcher in this section.
Conclusions are valid outgrowth of the findings. They are arranged as they appear in the findings.

Guidelines:

 They should not contain any numerals

 They approximately answer the specific questions raised at the beginning of the
investigation
 No conclusions should be drawn from the implied or indirect effects of the findings.
 They should not be given any hint at the researcher doubts. The use of qualifiers such as,
probably, perhaps, may be and others should be avoided as much as possible
  They should not be repetitions of any statements anywhere in the research, thesis and
dissertations. They may be recapitulations if necessary but they should be worded differently
and they should convey the same information as the statements recapitulated.

Recommendations

The researcher enumerates the recommendations based on the conclusions. These are appeals
to people or entities concerned to solve or help solve the problems.

Guidelines:

 It should aim to solve the problems in the study.

 It ensures a continuous benefit being accorded to the universe involved
 It should be logical and valid to recommend the acquisition of the lacking of the facilities
 It should recommend a further study or research in wider applications.