INTRODUCTION TO ACADEMIC WRITING (ENG102)

Introduction to Research
The Information Age
One way to contribute to the knowledge economy is to find answers to questions
worth answering and to write an answer for a group of people who need to know.
How to find good questions (Ramage, Bean & Johnson, 2001)
1 Discover holes in your knowledge of something.
2 Note gaps or inconsistencies in the evidence for something, or realize that
you and someone else are drawing different conclusions from the same set of
facts.
3 Think about contradictions among different perspectives.
4 Consider why you are dissatisfied with someone else's explanation of a
phenomenon, analysis of an event, or solution of a problem.
5 Feel curious about the cause, consequence, purpose, function or value of
something.
6 Note discrepancies between the ideal and the real, between what someone
values and what he/she does, between the current state of something and
your desired state of something.
What is Research?
A process of posing a research problem, gathering information and determining
relationships, and writing up the paper. Most of the time, research is
disseminated through publication or through oral presentation in a research
convention.
May include library research, interviews, survey, experiments, or combination of
any two or more methods.
Research is important in any discipline as it identifies problems, compares
solutions, and offers better options.
Learning how to conduct research is a process that hones critical reading and
writing as well as problem-solving skills which are important in the real world. In
addition, the finished output reflects your ability to synthesize information,
evaluate evidence and present new relationships that only careful analysis can
provide.
Research Tips:
Understand the requirements and submit them on time. Make a calendar.
Make sure that the topic is acceptable and research-worthy (SMART).
Go through each stage of the research process.
Organize your files/papers and other research tools and materials.
Do what you have to do regardless of the circumstances. Dont wait for the right
mood to write. Plunge head on.
AVOID ALL FORMS OF PLAGIARISM!
Parts of the Research Paper:
Research Title
o What will be investigated, determined, or discovered?
o Who are the participants/respondents?
o Where will the research be conducted? (research locale/setting/place;
optional)
o Functions and Perceptions of Code Switching in an Informal Meeting
among ESL Teachers

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ENG102 Intro to Research

INTRODUCTION TO ACADEMIC WRITING (ENG102)

Introduction to Research
o

A Study of the Information Seeking Behavior of Upper-class College

Students at De La Salle University

Background of the Study

o Must arouse the interest of the readers
o Describes the prevailing problem situation at the global, national, regional
or local level that motivate the conduct of the study
o Explains what the study is all about
o Provides a strong justification for the study (what need is being responded
to, who benefits from the study, research gap being addressed, need for
further investigation due to inconsistent results in earlier studies,
persisting problems, etc.)

Review of Related Literature

o Sources: books, pamphlets, magazines, conference papers, other
periodicals: theses, dissertations, journal articles, and other publications
o Related insofar as the literature resembles the focus and/or methodology
of the present research; or covers some or all of the variables covered by
the present study.
o Establishes what is already known about the problem and what needs to
be investigated

Conceptual and Theoretical Framework

o Derived from the related literature; it provides the conceptual/theoretical
underpinning of the study
o Start with the theory that will be investigated/verified or will guide the
conduct of the research

Statement of the Problem

o Questions or problems that the research is trying to answer and/or solve.

Methodology
o Research Design: Presents and briefly discusses the research
design/method (historical, ethnographic, etc.)
o Setting and Participants: the respondents; the where and when of datagathering
o Instrument: tool used in gathering data; what it consists of
o Procedure: how data are gathered
o Method of Analysis
For qualitative information - explanation of the techniques of data
analysis; for quantitative data: the descriptive and/or inferential
statistical tools/tests to be used and the purpose for which those
are used)
If the research instrument includes options which have numerical
weights, an explanation of scoring and interpretations of scores
o Scope and Limitations
Presents briefly the nature, content coverage or area of the
investigation, geographical area and time period covered by the
study; population and the sample drawn from this population
Indicates the extent of applicability of results

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ENG102 Intro to Research

INTRODUCTION TO ACADEMIC WRITING (ENG102)

Introduction to Research

Limitations (weaknesses or accepted shortcomings of the study will

be known after its completion. These weaknesses are
acknowledged in this section.

Results and Discussion

o Results (presentation of findings or results of data analysis: tabular,
graphical, textual)
o Discussion (interpretations of findings, tying up with related
literature/theory; plausible logical explanations for unexpected findings,
implications drawn in the light of current educational practice, process or
product)

Conclusions and Recommendations

o Summary: brief account of the study stating the objectives, methods,
findings and conclusions)
o Conclusions: must be related to the objectives/problems stated in the
study.
o Recommendations: establishes the connection of the findings and
conclusion; presents some probable areas/direction for future research

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ENG102 Intro to Research