Research
Aristotle P. Carandang, Ph.D.
dos
The Research Problem
1) Any significant, perplexing and challenging
situation, real or artificial, the solution of
which requires reflective thinking; and
2) A perplexing situation after it has been
translated into a question or series of questions
that help determine the direction of subsequent
inquiry
-Dewey (Good, p.414) in Calderon and Gonzales, 1993
2014 reprint, National Bookstore
Elements of the Research Problems
The term research problem implies
that an investigation, inquiry or
study is to be conducted, or that the
problem is ready for investigation,
inquiry or study. There are certain
elements that a problem must
possess before it becomes a research
problem ready for investigation.
These are:
Elements of the Research Problems
1. Aim or purpose of the problem
for investigation. This answers
the question “Why?” Why is
there an investigation, inquiry, or
study?
2. The subject matter or topic to be
investigated. This answers the
question “What?”. What is to be
investigated or studied?
Elements of the Research Problems
3. The place or locale where the
research is to be conducted. This
answers the question “Where?”.
4. The period or time of the study
during which the data are to be
gathered. This answers the question
“When?” When is the study to be
carried out?
Elements of the Research Problems
5. Population or universe from
whom the data are to be collected.
This answers the question “Who?”
or “From whom?”. Who are the
respondents? From whom are the
data to be gathered?
Example of a research problem
To determine the status of teaching science in the high
schools of Province A during the school year 1989-
1990
Aim or Purpose : To determine status of
Subject matter or topic : The teaching of science
Place or locale : In the high schools of Province A
Period of time : During the school year1989-1990
Population : The respondents are implied
to be either the teachers or the
pupils or both
Guidelines in the Selection of a Research
Problem or Topic
1. The research problem or topic must be
chosen by the researcher himself/herself.
This is to avoid blaming others or offering
excuses for any obstacle encountered.
Guidelines cont’d
2. It must be within the interest of the researcher.
This is to make sure that the researcher will focus
his/her full attention on the research work.
3. It must be within the specialization of the
researcher. This will in some way make the work
easier for him/her because he/she is working on
familiar grounds. Besides, this may improve
his/her specialization, skill, and competence in his
profession.
Guidelines cont’d
4. It must be within the competence of the
researcher to tackle. The researcher must know
the method of research and other research
procedures applicable to his/her problem and
he/she must know how to apply them. He/She
must have a workable understanding of the
study.
Guidelines cont’d
5. It must be within the ability of the researcher
to finance, otherwise he/she must be able to
find funding for his research. Research involves
not a small amount of expense and the
researcher must be able to foot the bills until
his/her study is complete. There must be a
budget which he/she must be able to shoulder.
Guidelines cont’d
6. It is researchable and manageable, that is,
a. Data are available and accessible. The
researcher must be sure that the participants in
the investigation possess the needed data and
that they are within his reach. So, one must not
choose a problem in which the locations of the
data are too far away, say foreign land.
Guidelines cont’d
b. The data must meet the standards of
accuracy, objectivity, and verifiability. This is
important. The data gathered must be accurate,
objective and not biased, and can be verified if
there arises a need, otherwise, the results of the
study will not be valid and the generalizations
formulated will be faulty.
Guidelines cont’d
c. Answers to specific questions (subproblems)
can be found. The data to be collected must
supply the necessary answers to the specific
questions. Suppose the question is ‘how
qualified are the teachers handling science?”
The data to be gathered are the education
attainments and the fields of specialization of
the teachers to be checked against the
regulations of the school system. This way, the
answer to the question can be found.
Guidelines cont’d
d. The hypotheses formulated are testable, that
is, they can be accepted or rejected. Hypotheses
are not proved, they are only determined as
true or not. If the findings from the data do not
conform to the hypotheses, the latter are
rejected. If the findings conform to the
hypotheses, the latter are accepted as true and
valid.
Guidelines cont’d
e. Equipment and instruments for research are
available and can give valid and reliable results.
The construction and validation of research
instruments are fully discussed in a later
chapter.
Guidelines cont’d
7. It can be completed within a reasonable time
unless it is a longitudinal research which takes
a long time for its completion. Although
research is unhurried, there must be a timetable
for its completion.
Guidelines cont’d
8. It is significant, important, and relevant to the
present time and situation, timely, and of current
interest. This means that the research project must
be able to make a substantial impact upon
situations and people it is intended for or addressed
to. It must be able to arouse the interest of the
people concerned. If the study is about drug abuse,
it must be able to draw attention of those engaged
in the habit and those assigned to stop it.
Guidelines cont’d
9. The results are practical and implementable. If
the investigation is about drug addiction,
addiction, are the recommendations or its
eradication applicable with the expected
effectiveness?
Guidelines cont’d
10. It requires original, critical, and reflective
thinking to solve it. To be able to apply these, the
research project must novel, new or original. The
study is considered novel and new if it has not yet
been studied before and the data are gathered from
new and original sources. However, the study may be
a replication, that is, the study has already been
conducted but in another place, not in the place it is
intended to be studied again. The purpose of study
replications is to determine if conditions in one place
are also true in other places so that generalizations of
wider application can be formulated.
Guidelines cont’d
11. It can be delimited to suit the resources of
the researcher but big or large enough to be
able to give significant, valid, and reliable
results and generalizations. The area and
population may be reduced but only to such an
extent that the generalizations can be
considered true and useful.
Guidelines cont’d
12. It must contribute to the national
development goals for the improvement of the
quality of human life. This is the ultimate aim
of research, to improve the quality of human
life. Research must improve or show how to
improve unsatisfactory conditions.
Guidelines cont’d
13. It must contribute to the fund of human
knowledge. All the facts and knowledge that we
have are mostly the products of research. Any
study to be conducted must add a new bit of
knowledge to what we already have.
Guidelines cont’d
14. It must show or pave the way for the
solution of the problem or problems intended
to be solved. Usually, after an inquiry has been
conducted, recommendations are made for the
solution of problems discovered which, if
implemented, can solve the problems.
Guidelines cont’d
15. It must not undermine the moral and
spiritual values of the people. It must not
advocate the promotion of antisocial values
such as drug addiction, cruelty, hatred,
divisiveness, multiple sex mating, etc. As much
as possible it must advocate the promotion of
divine values and those admirable human
values such as love, peace, goodwill, etc.
Guidelines cont’d
16. It must not advocate any change in the
present order of things by means of violence
but by peaceful means. It must not advocate
subversion, revolution, or the like to wrest
control of the government or change the form
of government. If there is a needed change, it
must be made by any means but the means
must be peaceful and legitimate.
Guidelines cont’d
17. There must be a return of some kind to the
researcher, either one or all of the following, if
the research report is completed:
a. Monetary, either increase in salary or
publication of the results in which there is
some kind of royalty.
Guidelines cont’d
b. Advancement in position, promotion.
Generally, after finishing a graduate course,
there is a promotion especially in the
educational system. It is easier to get a
promotion with a graduate degree than without
one.
Guidelines cont’d
c. Improved specialization, competence, and
skill in professional work especially if the
research subject is related to the profession.
Suppose a teacher makes a study of the school
management of school principals in a certain
area. So, when this teacher gets promoted to
the principalship he/she already knows how to
manage his/her own school because of what
he/she has learned from the study.
Guidelines cont’d
d. Enhanced prestige and reputation. Usually,
it is a big honor, especially among colleagues,
on the part of one who completes a research
project and be able to write a thesis about
his/her research project. This is so because of
the intellectual activity, effort-making capacity,
and big expenses involved in the work, and of
course, because of a higher degree earned.
Guidelines cont’d
e. Satisfaction of intellectual capacity and interest,
and being able to discover truth. It is always out
experience that after being able to solve a difficult
intellectual problem we are engulfed with so much
elation and satisfaction that we forget all the
sacrifices and difficulties that we have gone
through. This is also the feeling of those who are
able to finish their research projects and reports,
the latter in the form of theses or dissertations,
especially after passing a very rigid oral defense.
Guidelines cont’d
18. There must be a consideration of the hazards
involved, either physical, social, or legal.
Physical – going to the mountains ignoring dangers
from wild animals and the immediate environment
Social – encroaching upon socially approved
norms especially about censorship and criticism
Legal – affecting the honor and integrity of certain
people, a libel suit may ensue
Methods of Research and Thesis Writing
Jose F. Calderon, Ed.D.
Expectacion C. Gonzales
