REVIEWER FOR 3Is

SELECTED GUIDELINES IN THE FORMULATION OF A RESEARCH

1. The title must contain the following elements:
a. the subject matter of research problem;
b. the setting or locale of the study;
c. the respondents or participants involved in the study; and
d. the time or period when the study was conducted (If the title becomes too long because of these elements, the
timeframe or period may be omitted except in evaluating studies.
2. The title must be broad enough to include all aspects of the study but should be brief and concise as possible.
3. The use of terms as “Analysis of”, “A study of”, “An Investigation of” and the like should be avoided. All these are
understood to have been done in a research.
4. If the title contains more than one line, it should be written in inverted pyramid.
5. When typed or encode in the title page, all words in the title should be in capital letters.
6. If possible, the title should not be longer than 15 substantive words.
7. Avoid a long, detailed title that gives too much information.
8. To shorten the title, delete the terms “assessment” or “evaluation” if these are already emphasized in the text.

CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD TITLE

1. A title should give readers information about the contents of the research and is preferable to one that is vague or
general.
2. Titles do not be stuffy or dull but they should generally give readers some idea at the outset of what the research
paper will contain.
3. Choose title that is phrase rather than a complete sentence.
4. Select a straightforward title over other kinds.
5. Use no punctuation at the end of a title.
6. Do not underline the title of research or enclose it in enclose it in quotation marks, instead, use a word processing
program or printer that permits italics. Use them in place of underlining.

BACKGROUND OF THE RESEARCH

This part of research includes information which would focus attention on the importance and validity of the
problem. It is the general orientation to the problem area. A brief rationale to justify the problem must be provided.
This is the present state of knowledge regarding the problem. Answer these questions: What facts of the problem
(phenomenon) are known and what need further investigation? What approaches have been used previously in
research of the problem?
For a good background, the researcher can state the antecedents of the study the reasons why this topic is
proposed relative to previous studies. The Background includes:
1. Discussion of the problem in general and the specific situations as observed and experienced by the researcher
(macro to micro approach);
2. Concepts and ideas related to the problem including clarification of important terminologies; and
3. Discussion of the existing or present conditions and what is aimed to be in the future or the gap to be filled - in
by the research.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

 This is the basic difficulty, the issue, the area of concern, the circumstances which exist, then how they ought
to be. The researcher should give the background which led to this circumstances that exist. Briefly describe
the condition or a situation that exists which is perceived as something less than the ideal, or what it should
be and how you see it to be. Answer the following questions: What are the reasons for this circumstance? Is
it answerable or possible to be solved or changed? What are the specific problems that the study aims to
answer?
 The statement of the problem tells what is done to make the situation that exist more like what it should be.
It exposes anything that is wrong with the situation or condition or circumstances which is being described.
It has two main elements
1. the objective; and
2. research question

OBJECTIVE OR PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

 The objective or purpose of the study is the first part of the problem where the researcher states the
objective. This is the statement of a long - term objective expected go be achieved by the study. This is
derived by the identification and crystalization of the research problem and as reflected in the title.
It is prefixed by these introductory phrases.
Example: "The main objective of this study is to...
RESEARCH QUESTIONS OR INVESTIGATIVE PROBLEMS
The specific question which are to be answered in the study are called research questions or investigative
questions, and are all in question form. The answers to be research questions should lead to the solution of the
research problem. Is the objective or purpose of the study observable, measurable or verifiable? Focus on a clear
goal or objective. State the precise goal. The problem should be limited enough in making a definite conclusion
possible.
1 The major statement or question may be followed by minor statements or questions. The introductory statement
must be the purpose/aim or the objective of the study.
Example: Specifically, the study aims to determine the causes of low performance of selected programs in
the board examinations. Further, it seek to answer the following sub problems 1........2........3 etc...

2. If the goal is specifically to test a given hypothesis that state so. In many cases the objective will be a more general
statement than that of a hypothesis.

3. Investigative question are the specific topical questions that one must resolve to achieve research objective or test
the research hypothesis.

Example: This study attempted to evaluate the status an extent of implementation of the Computer Education
Program in the Division of Rizal SY 2015-2016 as perceived by teacher and student respondents. Specifically this
sought answer to the following questions:
1. What is the profile of the respondents in terms of:
1.1 Teacher-respondents
1.1.1 Sex
1.1.2 Field of specialization;
1.1.3 Educational attainment;
1.1.4 Length of service; and
1.1.5 Computer education seminar/training attended
1.2 Student- respondents
1.2.1 Sex;
1.2.2 Monthly, family income;
1.2.3 Parents educational background
1.2.4 Accessibility to computer; and
1.2.5 Performance in English and Mathematics
2. What is the extent of the Computer Education Program implementation as perceived by the teacher- respondents
with respect to:
2.1 objectives and content of instruction
2.2 teaching competencies
2.3 learning competencies
2.4 methods of teaching employed; and
2.5 performance in English and Mathematics?
3. What is the extent of the Computer Education Program implementation as perceived by the students-respondents
with respect to:
1.1 objectives and content of instruction
1.2 teaching competencies
1.3 learning competencies

SCOPE AND DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY

 The scope describes the coverage of the study. It specifies what is covered in terms of concept, number of
subjects or the population included in the study, as well as the timeline when the study was conducted.
 Delimit by citing factors or variables that are not to be included and the boundary in terms of time frame,
number of subjects, participants or respondents who are excluded. Specify that which you will not deal
within the study.

This section discusses the parameters of the research in paragraph. It answers the basic questions:
1. What – The topic of investigation and the variables included.
2. Where – The venue or the setting of the research.
3. When – The time frame by which the study was conducted.
4. Why – The general objectives of the research.
5. Who – The subject of the study, the population and sampling.
6. How – The methodology of the research which may include the research design, methodology and the research
instrument.

It may also discuss why certain variables were not included in the research.
 Example:
The main purpose of the study is to provide information regarding metro-sexuality and how being a
metrosexual affects the lifestyle of the student. The study considers the student’s personal information such as
their name(optional) gender, age, and section.
The researchers limited the study to 80 male and female secondary education students enrolled in the
second semester of school year 2015-2016 of Technological Institute of the Philippines. Each of the respondents
was given a questionnaire to answer. The students selected came from four different sections to prevent bias
and get objective perceptions.

SELECTING RELEVANT LITERATURE

The literature review is an important aspect in doing a research. With a wide range of materials to choose
from, the researcher needs to select materials relevant to the study. There are two main ways to do a literature
search which are using the traditional paper approach and electronically, by means of a computer.

WHAT IS LITERATURE REVIEW?

A literature review provides an overview of what has been written about a specific topic, the review of literature
includes practically all the information and data which are authoritative and relevant to the topic of the study as in
the case of research and similar scholarly undertakings. The literature can cover a range of sources, namely:
1. Journal articles
2. Monographs
3. Computerized database
4. Conference proceedings
5. Theses dissertation
6. Empirical studies
7. Government reports and reports from other bodies
8. Historical record
9. Statistical handbooks

THESE ARE SOME QUESTIONS THAT CAN HELP YOU TO YOUR CHOICE:
1. Have you clearly indicated the scope and purpose of the review?
2. Have you included a balanced coverage of what is available?
3. Have you included enough materials to show the development and limitations in this area?
4. Have you included the most recent and relevant studies?
5. Have you indicated the source of the literature by referencing accurately?
6. Have you used mostly primary sources or appropriate secondary sources?

WHY DO A LITERATURE REVIEW?

Literature reviews may be great way to help you come up with enriching your research idea. There are also
means of ensuring that your idea/s has not been researched on by someone else.
Dempster and hannah (2016) provide some reasons why a review is done. These are the following:
 To indicate the research that has been conducted in the area before, to ensure that you are not reinventing
the wheel.
 To demonstrate that you’re aware of important and recent studies in your study area. This way, you ensure
that you haven’t missed an important study that makes your research idea seem less brilliant than you first
imagined.
 To ensure that you haven’t missed literature detailing a novel way for you to conduct your study or to
pointing you a data-collection tool that is most appropriate for your study.
 To explain that theoretical background to your proposed research project .
 To demonstrate your ability to critically analyze the literature in your study area. This indicates that your
research idea is based on a good understanding of previous research in the area, and it
 Also demonstrates your ability to highlight the existing gap or any disagreements in the research area that
your study addresses.

KINDS OF LITERATURE
After having answered the questions above and having known the reasons for doing a literature review, you
should note the kinds of literature review. These are the following: Traditional. Also referred to as narrative
literature review, it provides a quick overview of current studies. It helps explain why your study is important in the
context of the integrative. This review synthesizes findings from different approaches ( Whittermore & knafl, 2005)
This approach allows for the integration of qualitative with quantitative studies.
Syntactic. This review synthesizes high quality empirical information to answer a given research question.
Conducting a systematic review involves following rigorous, predefined protocols “that minimize bias and ensure
transparency” (guides.library). Scoping . This review involves a broad research question that explores the current
evidence base (Armstrong, Hall, Doyle & Waters, 2011). It can help inform areas that are appropriate for a
systematic review.
CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD LITERATURE REVIEW
Consider now the materials you may cited, relative to your study by using the characteristics that define a
good literature review. These characteristics can serve as criteria in selecting materials for a Review of literature.
1. Materials must be as recent as possible. This is important because of the changes that are going on. Sources
to be looked into must give information that are attuned to the time frame indicated in the study.
2. Materials must be as objective and unbiased as possible. Avoid data and materials which are extremely one-
sided.
3. Materials must be relevant to the study. Whatever kind of materials is needed to explain or support the
study must have a bearing on the topic.
4. Materials must not be too few but nor too many. Use your discretion on how much or many to include but
there should be enough materials will also be a determining factor.

TYPES OF SOURCES
The other element in selecting relevant materials for the literature review is the types of sources
with which you have to be familiar with. Searching for information related to the research being undertaken
needs time and much thought. The sources can be classified into the following:

1. PRIMARY SOURCES – publication in which researchers report the results of their studies. Findings are
communicated by authors directly to the readers. Most materials that fall under this type are journals which are
usually published monthly, quarterly or bi-annually. Each article deals with a particular research or study.

2. SECONDARY SOURCES – Publications in which authors describe the work of others (Fraenkel & Wallen, 2008).
Textbook is a familiar example of this type. This is also used for different courses offered in the curriculum. Other
examples used are encyclopedias, research reviews and yearbooks.

There is also a mention of general references which can direct you in what other materials you can get
information from related to your topic. These may be articles, monographs books and other documents. An example
frequently used by researchers in education is current indexes to journals in education. A commonly used abstract is
psychological abstracts (fraenkel and wallen, 2008).

USING COMPUTER ON LITERATURE REVIEW

With the easy accessibility to the use of computers, they have become one of the rich sources for writing a
review of literature. A most commonly used database is education resources information center (ERIC). Information
that can be located are from data that date back to 1966. A vast reservoir of information on all sorts of topics which
should be considered is the world wide web (WWW) which is part of the internet. You can locate information on
various topics with just a few click of the mouse button.
On the other hand, if you want more specific information, such as the life history of George Bernard Shaw,
you should use a search engine. This computer feature searches all the contacts of a website. An example is google.
A literature review will try to look for as much material as possible of this existing research. It will review
major scholarly books in the relevant area, but will also take a keen interest in journal articles, which in may subjects
give more up to date material.

PREPARING A LITERATURE REVIEW THUS INVOLVE:

 Searching for reliable, accurate and up-to-date material on the topic or the subject.
 Reading and summarizing the key points from this literature
 Synthesizing these key ideas, theories and concept into a summary of what is known
 Discussing and evaluating these ideas, theories and concepts
 Identifying particular areas of debate or controversy
 Preparing the ground for the application of these ideas to new research

CITING RELATED LITERATURE USING STANDARD STYLE

WHAT AM I CITING?
 BOOKS-A collection of books that provides information about a certain topic.
 MAGAZINES-a popular work published periodically (weekly, monthly, etc.) focusing on a specific subject of
interest.
 NEWSPAPER-A periodical publication containing news, events, interview and opinion article.
 COMPUTER-a collection of electronic materials that provides information about a certain.
 JOURNAL-A scholarly work published periodically containing highly classified research.
 FILM-a motion picture or movie. Can be fictional, documentary or even YOUTUBE videos.

REFERENCING STYLES
Here are the styles for indicating your sources both in the body of the report or in the reference section at the end of
your research paper.
  APA is an author/date based style. This means emphasis is placed on the author and the date of piece of
work to uniquely identify it.
 MLA is most often applied in the arts and humanities, particularly in the U.S.A.
 HARVARD is very similar to APA. It is the most well used referencing style in the UK and Australia, and it is
encouraged for use with the humanities.
 CHICAGO AND TURABIAN are two separate styles but very similar. They are also widely used for history
and economics.
WAYS OF CITING RELATED LITERATURE
1. By author or writer
Example: According to Felipe (2015)…………………..
2. By topic
Example: It has been found out that…………………(Felipe, 2015)
3. By Chronology – According to the year, the literatures were written, usually from earliest
to the latest.