Prayer to the Holy Spirit

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful

and enkindle in us the fire of your Love.
Send forth your Spirit and we shall be created
and we shall renew the face of the earth.
O God you instructed the hearts of your faithful
by the light of the Holy Spirit.
Grant us in the same spirit to be truly wise
and rejoice in your consolation
through Christ our Lord. Amen.
IDENTIFYING THE INQUIRY AND STATING THE PROBLEM

Introduction
Research Topics and Their Sources
Congruence of Research Questions,
Data Collection and Data Analysis
Introduction
Since qualitative research mostly
investigates the complexities of
human situations, human behavior,
social phenomena and poses inquiries
about events in daily life, this kind of
research is closely tied to reality.
Qualitative Research

• The word qualitative implies an emphasis on the qualities of

entities and on process and meanings that are not
experimentally examined or measured (if measured at all) in
terms of quantity Reality is what we
perceive it to be

• It stresses the socially constructed nature of reality, the

intimate relationship between the researcher and what is
studied and the situational constraints that shapeReality
inquiryis not
fixed, thus,
cannot be
measured
Introduction
Unlike quantitative research, qualitative
research designs do not use hypotheses.
They merely state a problem or pose
questions, the answers to which are explored
lengthily and deeply by way of varied
research designs like the case study,
ethnography, phenomenological approach,
and a host of others.
Introduction
After data have been gathered through
procedures like the interview, participant
observation, focus group discussions and a
lot more, data are subjected to analysis that
requires categorizing of data, coding, while at
the same time, being attentive to themes that
surface, which could be the answers sought
by the researcher.
Introduction
Sources of research topics are likewise tied to
real life experiences, and research is conducted
in the research participant’s natural setting.
In designing your research project, include
the goals of your study, the theoretical
frameworks, the research questions (your
guides), ethics and the methods you will use to
analyze your data.
Stirring Up the Imagination
Directions: Examine the following
list of topics. If you decide to talk
or write about any of these topics,
which among them would you like
to focus on? Why do you like that
and not the others?
List of Topics
• Systemic Functional Grammar
• Forensic Linguistics
• Social Media Network
• Ho Chi Minh City
• Mt. Kilimanjaru
• Ku Klux Klan
• Philippines Underground River
• Climate Change
• The Digital Era
• Carcinogenic Foods
SUBJECT MATTER OF THE INQUIRY OR RESEARCH
You begin your research work with a problem, that
is, having a problem or topic to work on. Mulling
over a topic for your research work drives you to
perform HOTS or higher-order thinking strategies of
inferential, critical, integrative and creative thinking
in finalizing your mind on one topic among several
choices. A topic is researchable if the knowledge
and information about it are supported by evidence
that is observable, factual, and logical. (Babbie 2013)
Guidelines in Choosing a Research Topic

•Interest in the subject matter

•Availability of Information
•Timeliness and relevance of the topic
•Limitations on the subject
•Personal Resources
Interest in the Subject Matter
Your interest in a topic may be caused by your rich
background knowledge about it and by its novelty;
meaning, its unfamiliarity to you. Being curious
about a subject, like a conundrum or a puzzle makes
you determined to unravel the mystery of the
intriguing thing behind it. Your real interest in a
subject pushes you to research, investigate, or
inquire about it with full motivation, enthusiasm, and
energy.
Availability of Information
Collecting a lot of information as evidence to
support your claims about your subject matter
from varied forms of literature like books, journals,
and newspapers, among others, is a part and
parcel of any research work. Hence, reading
materials on your chosen topic. Included in your
investigation of the availability of reading materials
are questions on how updated and authoritative
the materials are.
Availability of Information
Let these questions linger as you tour
the library: What are the copyright
dates of the materials? How old or new
are they? How expert or qualified the
writers are in coming out with such a
kind of reading materials about your
topic?
Timeliness and relevance of the topic
The topic is relevant if it yields results that
are instrumental in societal improvement. It
is timely if it is related to the present. For
instance, unless, it is pure or historical
research, a research in the ins and outs of
people’s revolutionary acts will prosper more
if it tackles the contemporary revolutionary
actions rather than those in the ancient times.
Limitations on the subject
This makes you link your choosing with course
requirements. For example, to make you complete
the requirements, your teacher instructs you to
submit a paper that will apply the key principles
you learned in business, psychology, education,
and so on. In this case, you have no freedom to
choose your topic based on your interest, but has
to decide on one topic to finish your course.
Personal resources
Before sticking to your final choice, assess your
research abilities in terms of your financial standing,
health condition, mental capacity, needed facilities,
and time allotment to enable you to complete your
research. Imagine yourself pouring much time and
effort into its initial stage, only to find out later that
you are unable to complete it because of your failure
to raise the amount needed for questionnaire
printing and interview trips (Barbour 2014).
Research Topics to be Avoided
• Controversial Topics
• Highly technical subjects
• Hard-to-investigate subjects
• Too broad subjects
• Too narrow subjects
• Vague subjects
CONTROVERSIAL TOPICS
These are topics that depend greatly
on the writer’s opinion, which may tend
to be biased or prejudicial. Facts
cannot support topics like these.
HIGHLY TECHNICAL SUBJECTS
For a beginner, researching on
topics that require an advanced
study, technical knowledge and
vast experience is a very
difficult task.
HARD TO INVESTIGATE SUBJECTS
A subject is hard to investigate if
there are no available reading
materials about it and if such
materials are not up-to-date.
TOO BROAD SUBJECTS
Topics that are too broad will
prevent you from giving a
concentrated or an in-depth analysis
of the subject matter of the paper.
The remedy to this is to narrow or
limit the topic to a smaller one.
TOO NARROW SUBJECTS
These are so limited or
specific that an extensive or
thorough searching or reading
for information about these is
necessary.
VAGUE SUBJECTS
Choosing topics like these will prevent you
from having a clear focus on your paper. For
instance, titles beginning with indefinite
adjectives such as several, many, some, etc.,
as in “Some Remarkable Traits of a Filipino”
or “Several People’s Comments on the RH
Law”, are vague enough to decrease the
readers’ interests and curiosity.
Sources of Research Topics
• Mass Media Communication – Press (Newspapers, ads, TV,
radio, films)
• Books, internet, peer-reviewed journals, gov’t publications
• Professional periodicals (College English Language Teaching
Forum, English Forum, The Economist, Academia, Business
Circle, Law, Review)
• General Periodicals ( Readers’ Digest, Women’s Magazine,
Panorama Magazine, Time Magazine, World Mission Magazine)
• Previous Reading Assignments in your other subjects
• Work Experience