Sources of Research

Topics:
• Interests – “this is where your
heart is”
• Personal experience
• Issues/Social concerns
• Personal values
• Everyday life
• Other researches
• The Internet
– Source: Dr. Aleli Quirante, UP CMC
SOURCES OF RESEARCH PROBLEMS

 Classroom Lectures

 Class Discussions
 Seminars

 Reading Assignments

 Experiences and Observations

 Courses you have taken
 Vast amount of literature

 Journals, books, magazines, abstracts

 Theses and Dissertations

 Professors and Classmates

 RESEARCH PROBLEM INDICATORS

 When there is an absence of information

resulting in a gap in our knowledge
 When there are contradictory results

 When a fact exists and you intend to make your

study to explain it
Source: Dr. Allan de Guzman, UST
FROM TOPIC TO
PROBLEM:
Some Guidelines
 A good research
problem:
 addresses a need or gap in the topic
area
 challenges you to question your own
assumptions
 is doable given your time and
resources
 is not too general that would result
in a multitude of sub-questions
 is not too narrow that it would
exclude the emergence of other
 Background of the
problem:
• Your research problem should show
lineage from the background of
existing knowledge, previous studies,
or contemporary practice. You must
be able to answer:
– What do you already know?
– How does your particular question relate
to what you already know?
– Why select this particular method of
investigation/research?
Narrowing down a topic:
 Assess what you already know
about it and then specify:
the time period you want to cover

 the group/s you want to study

 the specific aspect of the topic

Source: Dr. Aleli Quirante, UP CMC

 Let’s investigate some
ordinary
but exciting

WORLD
PHENOMENA

Source: Dr. Allan de Guzman, UST

 PHENOMENA POSSIBLE FIELDS OF ORIGIN
EXPLANATION

• the ball is light

• it’s natural for the
(a ball is thrown ball to float in
into the water) water
 PHENOMENA POSSIBLE FIELDS OF ORIGIN
EXPLANATION

What if

• the chair is light

• the chair is also a
ball

/ DENSITY / SCIENCE
/ BUOYANCY
 PHENOMENA POSSIBLE FIELDS OF ORIGIN
EXPLANATION
• God is punishing RELIGION
us
• God is crying

/ PRECIPITATION
It’s raining / SCIENCE
/ CONDENSATION
/ EVAPORATION
PHENOMENA POSSIBLE FIELDS OF ORIGIN
EXPLANATION

• Filipino psyche / SOCIOLOGY

• Bandwagon
thinking
/ Law of supply / BUSINESS
and demand
• Fillet-o-fish
vs.
Hamburger
PHENOMENA POSSIBLE FIELDS OF ORIGIN
EXPLANATION

/ Elevation / Engineering

• UST is really • Observation /

proned to flooding History
DLSU
UST / Osmotic process / Science
UP
PHENOMENA POSSIBLE FIELDS OF ORIGIN
EXPLANATION

KEEP RIGHT • Always keep right • Rule Orientation

/ Brain / Psychology
Hemisphericity
 PHENOMENA POSSIBLE FIELDS OF ORIGIN
EXPLANATION

? Why do people hangout / Man by nature is / Anthropology

NOMADIC
 PHENOMENA POSSIBLE FIELDS OF ORIGIN
EXPLANATION

? Why do students cheat • the proctor is not / Anthropology

during exams doing his duty
well
• they did not study
their lessons
• the classroom is
conducive to
cheating
/ LAW of the
JUNGLE
 PHENOMENA POSSIBLE FIELDS OF ORIGIN
EXPLANATION
• Good teachers
are not born
overnight
• You can bring a
horse to the river
? Why can some teachers
but you cannot
perform at their level best
force the horse to
while others cannot
drink water from it
• FULL CUP • Pedagogy
THEORY