NOTRE DAME OF TRECE MARTIREZ

GRADE LEVEL: 11
WEEK: 3
SUBJECT: PRACTICAL RESEARCH 1
LESSON 3

CONTENT STANDARDS:
The learner demonstrates understanding of the range of research topics in the area of inquiry.
PERFORMANCE STANDARDS:
The learner is able to formulate clearly statement of research problem
MOST ESSENTIAL LEARNING COMPETENCIES
The learner will be able to decide on a research topic to investigate.

LECTURE
1

Research Topic
A research topic is a subject or issue that a researcher is interested in when
conducting research. A well-defined research topic is the starting point of every successful
research project. Choosing a topic is an ongoing process by which researchers explore,
define, and refine their ideas.
Difference between Research Topic and Research Question
It is important, at this point, to distinguish the difference between the research topic
and the research question.
RESEARCH TOPIC
 It is a specific part of study in a broader area of study.
 It may be an idea or subject that the researcher is interested in, or a problem in our
society that requires solutions which research can help identify.
 Refers to the general area of inquiry.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
It pinpoints exactly what you want to find out and gives your work a clear focus and
purpose. You will usually write a single research question to guide your reading and writing.
All research questions should be:
 Focused on a single problem or issue.
 Researchable using primary and/or secondary sources.
 Feasible to answer within the timeframe and practical constraints.
 Specific enough to answer thoroughly.
 Complex enough to develop the answer over the space of a paper or thesis.
 Relevant to your field of study and/or the society more broadly.
 NOTRE DAME OF TRECE MARTIREZ

Strategies in Choosing a Research Topic

According to several authors (Silverman, 2013; Merriam, 1988; Creswell, 2014), the
following strategies may help you select a research topic:
1. Look into your own personal experiences.
For example you may have observed top performing students in your school
and gotten curious about how to improve one’s study habits. A possible topic could
then be the success factors that affect academic excellence in school.
Another example, you might be interested in how your school principal runs the
school. What sort of challenges does he or she encounter, how does he or she find the
job and what inspires him or her to do well?
2. Read literature in your field of study.
Literature here usually pertains to existing researches, studies and other scholarly
works like articles in journals, thesis, dissertations or any refutable reference
materials.
 Sources of criticism. When reading an article, you may find yourself
disagreeing with the author’s position. In such cases, you may be inspired to do
your own research and provide evidence to refute the stance and offer a
counterargument.
 Sources of new ideas. Reading literature can also lead you to new insights
and ideas.
 Sources of interdisciplinary insight. Reading existing studies on a
particular topic may also lead you to consider how the same topic will look like
if approached from a different field of study.
3. Reflect on existing issues in society.
For example, you may feel a strong social obligation to address a social issue and do
something about it through your own research. To find possible research topics, you
may read newspaper or watch the news. You may also study policy debates in the
government.
“Cyberbullying” as it has become a relevant issue for the youth with the rise of social
media. You may seek to describe the phenomenon, see how bullying done online and
describe the different forms of Cyberbullying. You may also examine its effects on the
individuals being bullied. A different take on the topic would be exploring possible ways to
address cyberbullying and support mechanisms to prevent it.
Research Topic Examples
There is a wide variety of what qualitative research can cover. Below you’ll find a
qualitative research topics list with some initial ideas that can get you started.
 Understanding the effects of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in rural areas and how
this negatively impacts women in such areas
 Social investigation into the cause of dropping out of the school of teenagers and
young adults and some of the ways through which it can be addressed
 Benefits of engaging in social activities to depressed people and those struggling
with certain mental health challenges
 The need to promote free education across every learning environment
 Investigating the root causes of food insecurities in low-income neighbourhoods
 Displacement and its accompanying effects: a look into the mental health of
homeless people
 The effects of alcohol on college students

PRACTICAL RESEARCH 1 LESSON: 3 WEEK: 3

NAME: ___________________________________________
STRAND/SECTION: ______________________________ TEACHER:
 NOTRE DAME OF TRECE MARTIREZ

ACTIVITY #1
At this point, do you already have a research topic in mind? It can be a subject,
phenomenon, problem, or issue that you are interested to find the answers to. Write down 5
research topics with 1 accompanying research question in the scroll below. 10 points.

LECTURE
2
Research Title
 Summarizes the main idea or ideas of a certain study.
 According to Creswell (2014, 26), research title can be compared to “a major road
sign in research”.
 In addition, it helps convey to others the central idea behind the research.
DRAFTING A RESEARCH TITLE
Drafting a research title is a key task in research as it will capture the essence of what
you wish to do in your inquiry. These are the various ways to do research title drafting:
 Identify the main ideas behind your research topic. Try to form a possible title
using the main ideas. For example, if your research topic is about vegetarians and the
motivation behind their decision to become so, your main idea are vegetarians and
their motivation.
 Mention several features of your research such as its purpose, approach and
methods.
 Create the research title as brief as possible and to avoid “unnecessary words”.
For example avoid using these:
“An Approach to…”
“A Study of…”
 You may develop a single title or two-part title. The following are examples of
two-part titles:
“Reading Castaneda: A Prologue to the Social Sciences”
“Policing the Lying Patient: Surveillance and Self- Regulation in Consultations with
Adolescent Diabetics”

In a two-part title, the first part is a snappy phrase intended to catch attention while the
second part describes the actual study. A two-part title can also give readers an idea
regards to the research such as:
 NOTRE DAME OF TRECE MARTIREZ

 Context  Approach
 Temporal Scope  Methodology
 Main Theory

EXAMPLES:
1. ADDITIONAL CONTEXT
“Lessons from Running an Enterprise: Case Studies of Four Filipino-Chinese Families”
2. TEMPORAL SCOPE OF THE RESEARCH
“A Comparison: Human Rights under the Corazon Aquino and Benigno Aquino III
Administrations”
3. MAIN APPROACH USED
“The Feminist Approach: Therapy of Battered Wives”
4. METHODOLOGY USED
“An Ethnography: Understanding a Child’s Perception of Divorce”

PRACTICAL RESEARCH 1 LESSON: 3 WEEK: 3

NAME: ___________________________________________
STRAND/SECTION: ______________________________ TEACHER:
____________________________
ACTIVITY #2
DIRECTION: Choose 2 research topics that you have written on Activity 1. Write a
Research Title for each research topic. (10 points each)
RESEARCH TOPIC 1:
_______________________________________________________________________________________
________________
TITLE:________________________________________________________________________________
_________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
________________
RESEARCH TOPIC 2:
_______________________________________________________________________________________
________________
TITLE:________________________________________________________________________________
_________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
________________

LECTURE
3
HOW TO WRITE A RESEARCH PAPER INTRODUCTION?
The introduction to a research paper is where you set up your topic and approach for
the reader. It has several key goals:

 Present your topic and get the readers’ interest.

 Provide background or summarize existing research.
 Position your own approach.
 Detail your specific research problem.
 Give an overview of the paper’s structure.

The following steps will help you put together an effective introduction for either type of research
paper.
 NOTRE DAME OF TRECE MARTIREZ

 STEP 1: Introduce your topic. The first job of the introduction is to tell the reader what
your topic is and why it’s interesting or important. This is generally accomplished with a
strong opening sentence that clearly conveys the relevance of your topic. Think of an
interesting fact or statistic, a strong statement, a question, or a brief anecdote that will
get the reader wondering about your topic.
 STEP 2: Describe the background. Provide only the most relevant background
information. The introduction isn’t the place to get too in-depth; if more background is
essential to your paper, it can appear in the body.
 STEP 3: Establish your research problem. The next step is to clarify what problem it
addresses and explain why it is a concern in your community or society. Establish your
research problem. You can make the connection between your problem and the existing
resources that you have gathered.

PERFORMANCE TASK WEEK: 3

NAME: ___________________________________________ LESSON: 3

STRAND/SECTION: ______________________________
PERFORMANCE TASK
TEACHER: ____________________________

DIRECTION: Using the given the research topic, write your own research title and write a brief
introduction about the given research topic. Write your answer on a separate sheet of paper.

“Effective Teaching Strategies compared between Face to Face and

Modular Learning”