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CHARACTERISTICS OF RESEARCHPROBLEM

According to Venancio B. Ardales, in selecting a good research problem, the following criteria will be useful:

1. Great interest to the researcher. With much interest on the topic the researcher is motivated and determined to work on it until its completion. 2. Relevant and useful to a specific group of people. The knowledge that the result of ones work will be of much use to a group of people provides the researcher an input or drive with which to pursue the problem until solutions to it are discovered or known. 3. A good problem is novel. This implies avoiding doing a study on topics which have been over studied, and pursuing those which were not subjected to any investigations. 4. Well-defined or specified. The researcher must set the scope or limits of his study. 5. Measurable. If the variables involved in the problem do not allow measurement, the researcher will have an impossible task of reporting the results or findings or his study. 6. Time-bound. This means that a study which can be finished within a time frame, the shorter the better, is more attractive than that which can be completed in an indefinite or longer period of time. 7. Contribute to the refinement of certain important concepts, creation or improvement of research instruments and analytical system, and will permit generalizations. All these are deemed invaluable to future researches and to understanding certain conditions or situational problems. 8. Investigators capability to meet what it requires. A good research problem should require expertise, manpower, money and time. As per Francisco M. Zulueta and Nestor Edilberto B. Costales, Jr. the other characteristics of a good problem in the acronym S-M-A-R-T.

1. Specific. The problem should be specifically stated. 2. Measurable. It is easy to measure by using research instruments in collecting data. 3. Achievable. The data are achievable using correct statistical techniques to arrive at precise results. 4. Realistic. Real results are not manipulated, and 5. Time-bound. Timeframe is required in every activity because the shorter the completion of the activity is the better.

SOURCES OF RESEARCH PROBLEM 1. Actual problem encountered. Many of the problems confronted in the classroom, the school, or the community lead themselves for investigation and they are perhaps more appropriate for the beginning researcher than problems more remote from his experience. 2. Technological changes and curricular developments. These changes and developments are constantly bringing forth new problems and new opportunities for research. 3. The graduate academic experience. This kind of experience stimulates the questioning attitude towards prevailing practices and effectively promotes problem awareness. 4. Consultation. This pertains to graduate students consultation with the course professor and adviser. 5. Specialization. The scholarship that should result from intensive specialization in one or more subdivisions of the chosen field of training will reveal both the accomplishments of completed research and the problems yet unsolved. 6. Analysis of an area of knowledge. In analysing a field of knowledge, the area under consideration should be reasonably limited in scope. 7. Consideration of existing practices and needs. A systematic analysis of existing practices and needs in a particular field is local, provincial, regional or national. 8. Repetition or extension of investigation. It is sometimes pointed out, that history is never complete, that surveys of status can be accurate for the time and area represents, and that many experiments should be repeated for purposes of verification. 9. Off-shoots of studies under way. Sometimesa problem, method or discovery that buds out of an investigation in progress proves more fruitful than the original line of research.

OTHER SOURCES OF RESEARCH PROBLEM a. b. c. d. Personal experience Symposia, dialogues, ordinary meetings Journal, books, theses or dissertations and the mass media Theories

Evaluation of the Appropriateness of a Research Problem Criteria of a Good Research Problem 1. Interesting 2. Innovative 3. Cost-effective 4. Relevant to the needs and problems of people 5. Relevant to government thrusts 6. Measurable and time-bound

Samples of Guide Questions: 1. Is the problem a current and timely one? 2. Is it pervasive of widespread? 3. Does it affect a special group of people such as mothers or children? 4. Does it relate to on going programs such as land reform, family, planning, etc.? 5. Does it relate to broad social, economic, and health issues, such as unemployment, income misdistribution, aggression, etc.? 6. Who else is concerned about the problem? 7. What are its direct and indirect, short and long ranged contributions, to the welfare of a group of people or to the whole society?

Research Proposal Document that is typically written by a scientist or academic which describes the ideas for an investigation on a certain topic. The research proposal outlines the process from beginning to end and may be used to request financing for the project, certification for performing certain parts of research of the experiment, or as a required task before beginning a college dissertation.

Typical Parts of a Research Proposal Title (or Cover) Page Abstract Table of Contents Introduction (including Statement of Problem, Purpose of Research, and Significance of Research) Background (including Literature Survey) Description of Proposed Research (including Method or Approach) Description of Relevant Institutional Resources List of References Personnel Budget

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

A problem statement is a clear description of the issue(s), it includes a vision, issue statement, and method used to solve the problem. The 5 'W's can be used to spark the discussion about the problem. A problem statement expresses the words that will be used to keep the effort focused and it should represent a solveable problem.

How to Write a Problem Statement A problem statement is a clear concise description of the issue(s) that need(s) to be addressed by a problem solving team. It is used to center and focus the team at the beginning, keep the team on track during the effort, and is used to validate that the effort delivered an outcome that solves the problem statement. It has a specific form:

Vision - what does the world look like if we solve the problem? Issue Statement - one or two sentences that describe the problem using specific issues. It is not a "lack of a solution" statement. Method - the process that will get followed to solve the problem.

How to get started The 5 'W's - Who, What, Where, When and Why - is a great tool that helps get pertinent information out for discussion. Who - Who does the problem affect? What - What are the boundaries of the problem ? What is the issue? - What is the impact of the issue? - What impact is the issue causing? - What will happen when it is fixed? - What would happen if we didnt solve the problem? When - When does the issue occur? - When does it need to be fixed? Where - Where is the issue occurring? Only in certain locations, processes, products, etc. Why - Why is it important that we fix the problem?

Each of the answers will help to zero in on the specific issue(s) and frame the Issue Statement. Your problem statement should be solveable. That is, it should take a reasonable amount of time to formulate, try and deploy a potential solution.

A problem statement is a concise description of the issues that need to be addressed by a problem solving team and should be presented to them (or created by them) before they try to solve the problem. When bringing together a team to achieve a particular purpose provide them with a problem statement. A good problem statement should answer these questions: 1. What is the problem? This should explain why the team is needed. 2. Who has the problem or who is the client/customer? This should explain who needs the solution and who will decide the problem has been solved. 3. What form can the resolution be? What is the scope and limitations (in time, money, resources, technologies) that can be used to solve the problem? Does the client want a white paper? A web-tool? A new feature for a product? A brainstorming on a topic?

The primary purpose of a problem statement is to focus the attention of the problem solving team. However, if the focus of the problem is too narrow or the scope of the solution too limited the creativity and innovation of the solution can be stifling. In project management, the problem statement is part of the project charter. It lists what's essential about the project and enables the project manager to identify the project scope as well as the project stakeholders

A research-worthy problem statement is the description of an active challenge (i.e. problem) faced by researchers and/or practitioners that does not have adequate solutions available including the argumentation for its viability based on solid peerreviewed sources as well as theoretical foundation. The research-worthy problem statement should address all six questions: what, how, where, when, why, and who. On the other hand, a statement of the problem is one or two sentences claim that outlines the problem that the study addresses. The statement of the problem should briefly address the question: What is the problem that the research will address?

ASSUMPTIONS Assumptions are statements of facts related to the research problem which are presumed to be true on the basis of observations and experience although not actually verified. They are stated so as to provide foundation from which the study will proceed, an additional basis for the validation of variables of interest to the study. As the term suggests, assumptions do not require testing nor confirmation.

SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS Scope and Limitations comprise one important section of a research report. The Scope defines the coverage or boundaries of the study in the terms of the area or locality and subject or population covered, the duration or period of the study, and the research issues or concerns to which the investigation is focused. The Limitations are statements which alert the reader of the research report to certain constraints over which the researcher has no control. Such factors or constraints have direct bearings on the result of the study such that, without them, the study would be more encompassing, definitive or conclusive. Stating the study limitations not only provides extra credence to the study but provides the reader cautions not to expect beyond what the study can and promises to deliver, notwithstanding certain constraints.

DEFINITION OF TERMS This part of the study facilitates understanding of the problem investigated for here the key concepts are defined according to how they are used in a particular study. It also establishes the rules and procedures the investigator will use to measure the variables and it provides unambiguous meaning to terms that otherwise can be interpreted in different ways. Conceptual Definition Universal meaning and that is the meaning understood by people. it is abstract and most general in nature. The usual source of the conceptual definition is the dictionary, which is the reference book of everyday language. Operational Definition It is the meaning of the concept or term as used in a particular study.

THEORETICAL AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

The theoretical and conceptual framework provides explicit explanations why the problems under study exist by showing how the variables involved in the problem are related to each other. Theoretical Framework makes use of a theory or theories in explaining why certain phenomenon, the subject of the study occurred. Basically, a theory is a set of concepts and their relations which explains, predicts and interprets how a particular phenomenon exists and operates. The theoretical framework uses abstract concepts, although in some instance, it is a combination of abstract and welldefined concepts. The Conceptual Framework has the same function of the theoretical framework. The difference lies in the types of concepts which they use. While the theoretical framework makes use of abstract concepts, the conceptual framework utilizes specific and well-defined ones which are called constructs.

Reviews of Related Literature - A literature review is designed to identify related research, to set the current research project within a conceptual and theoretical context. When looked at that way, almost no topic is so new or unique that you can't locate relevant and informative related research. Here are some tips about conducting the literature review. First, concentrate your efforts on the scientific literature. Second, do the review early in the research process. Conceptual Literature - It contains literature coming from books, journalism, and other forms of material, concerning or relevant to the study, but are data-free or nonempirical material, coming from both foreign and local sources. Research Literature - These are empiricallybased, like scientific paper, theses, and dissertations, both published and unpublished, coming from local and foreign sources.

Research Methods Descriptive Research Method

-It is a fact finding investigation which is aimed at describing the characteristics of individual, situation or a group (or) describing the state of affairs as it exists at present. a) Observational methods - With the observational method (sometimes referred to as field observation) animal and human behaviour is closely observed. b) Case Study Methods - Case study research involves an in-depth study of an individual or group of individuals. Case studies often lead to testable hypotheses and allow us to study rare phenomena. c) Survey Methods - In survey method research, participants answer questions administered through interviews or questionnaires. Historical Research Method

It is the study of past records and other information sources, with a view to find the origin and development of a phenomenon and to discover the trends in the past, in order to understand the present and to anticipate the future. a) Deliberate The Historical research is deliberate when there is a conscious effort to preserve information like in diaries and epitaphs. b) Incidental The Historical research is incidental when it supplies information that was not the original intention.

Methods of Historical Research o Formulating the Problem o Gathering your Historical Materials o Classifying Historical Resources o Systematizing your Note taking o Criticizing your Gathered Materials -External Criticism -Internal Criticism Experimental Research Method

It is designed to assess the effect of one particular variable on a phenomenon by keeping the other variables constant or controlled.

ETHICAL GUIDELINES TO BE USED IN RESEARCH PROJECTS INVOLVING HUMAN SUBJECTS Ethics is the practical science of the morality of human conduct. It delves into every way of human existence, mans action, problems and destiny. Ethics examines all human conduct. Ethics in research is to conform to accepted professional practices. Ethical Standards Researcher Should Uphold The guiding ethical standards that must be observed and uphold are: 1. Researchers should conduct their professional lives. 2. Researchers must not fabricate, falsify or misrepresent authorship, evidence, data, findings or conclusions. 3. Researchers should honestly and fully disclose their qualifications and limitations when providing professional opinions. 4. Researchers must not knowingly or negligently use their professional roles for fraudulent purposes. 5. Researchers should report their findings to all relevant stockholders. 6. Researchers should report research conceptions, procedures, results and analyzes accurately and adequately in details to allow. 7. Researchers reports to the public should be written straightforwardly to communicate the practical significance for policy. 8. Researchers must take care not to misrepresent the practical or policy implications of their research. 9. Researchers who participate in actions related to selection hiring, retention and advancement should not discriminate. 10. Researchers have a responsibility to make candid, forthright personnel recommendations and not to recommend who are manifestly unfit for the position. 11. Researchers should decline request to review the work of others where strong conflicts of interests are involved or when such requests cannot be conscientiously fulfilled on time. 12. Researchers should avoid all forms of harassment, not merely those overt actions or threats that are due cause for legal action. 13. Researchers should not be penalized for reporting in good faith violations of these or other professional ethical standards.

Ethics on Using Human Subjects Ethical guidelines for the treatment of human beings are subjects that are based on four primary moral principles advocated by researchers, as follows: (1) benefit the people being studied (2) protect their privacy (3) provide them with free choice (4) treat people with respect

NOTE TAKING AS AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE RESEARCH ACTIVITY Note taking is a skill needed in jotting down important ideas and topics from materials or sources read. There are three types of notes derived from sources of information or reference materials: direct quotation, paraphrase and summary. 1. Direct Quotation- this is an important portion copied exactly from a reference. Example: In some urban classrooms, children arrive without any notion of sharing behavior. If they have grown up as street survivors, without strong early mediation for sharing, they may come to school ready to do battle to the death (Rodriguez and Bellanca 135)

2. Paraphrase- this is a restatement of the authors ideas in about the same number of words as in the original. Example: Original passage: Annie Oakley's life spanned years of tremendous change for American women. By the time of her death in 1926, Americans were celebrating the liberated, urban-focused, modern times of the Jazz Age. Women had won the right to vote, wore less restrictive clothes, and followed a changing ideal that was loosening some of the restrictions on women's roles and behavior that had reigned through the nineteenth century. Correct paraphrasing: As discussed in the biography on PBSs American Experience web page, sharpshooter Annie Oakley lived through a period of many liberating changes for women, from the Victorian era through the first quarter of the 20th century. Examples include voting rights for women as well as the freedom to wear comfortable and practical clothing.

3. Summary- this consists of a summary of a topic that is pertinent to your topic. It is a brief restatement of the original text copied verbatim. Example: Original passage: By 1964, there were an estimated 33,500 restaurants in the United States calling themselves driveins, but only 24,500 offered hot food, the remainder being ice cream and soft-drink stands primarily. Layout varied from drive-in to drive-in, but three principal spaces could always be found: a canopy-covered driveway adjacent to the building, a kitchen, and a carhop station linking kitchen and parking lot. The smallest drive-ins offered carhop service only, but many also featured indoor lunch counters and booths, sometimes on the scale of the coffee shop. Summary: In the chapterQuickService Restaurants in the Age of Automobile Convenience, The authors note that by the mid-1960s, nearly 35,000 self-proclaimed drivein restaurants in the United States existed. Most servehot meals while others served just ice creaman d soft drinks. No specific blueprint defined the typical drivein however, three characteri stics describe this new type of casual eating establishment: a covered driveway, a kitchen, and a carhop station (Jackle and Sculle 55).

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Destacamento, Ma. Paula A., Esperida, Pia Merla M. et.al. Technical Writing. Manila: Mary Jo Publishing Incorporated, 2009.

Costales, Nestor Edilberto B. and Francisco M. Zulueta. Methods of Research Thesis Writing and Applied Statistics. Navotas: Navotas Press, 2003.

Cabrera, Lucia D., and Belen Z. de Asis. Essentials of Research and Business Correspondence. National Bookstore Inc, 2007.

Amante, Diosdado a. et. Al. Essential of Research Methodology, Mandaluyong City; Cacho Hermanas Incorporated, 2008

Calmarin , Paler, Laurentina and Calmarin Melchor. Methods of Research and Thesis Writing. Quezon City; Rex bookstore Inc. 1995

Adanza, Estela G. Research Methods; Principles and Applications, Manila; Rex Bookstore Inc., 1995

Ardales, Venancio B. Basic Concepts and Methods in Research. Manila; Educational Publishing House, 2008

http://orsp.umich.edu/proposals/pwg/pwgparts.html

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/research-proposal.html

LEADER: Patricia Claire T. Bautista MEMBERS: Richard M. Baul Christine Khay G. Bulawit Mimries Angeline Casildo Zaileen Culata Maria Loren de Chavez Lester P. del Prado

CHARACTERISTICS OF RESEARCH PROBLEM SOURCES OF RESEARCH PROBLEM ; OTHER SOURCES OF RESEARCH PROBLEM EVALUATION OF THE APPROPRIATENESS OF A RESEARCH PROBLEM RESEARCH PROPOSAL STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM ASSUMPTIONS; SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS THEORETICAL AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK REVIEWS OF RELATED LITERATURE METHODS OF HISTORICAL RESEARCH ETHICAL GUIDELINES TO BE USED INRESEARCH PROJECTS INVOLVING HUMAN SUBJECTS BIBLIOGRAPHY

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