CHAPTER 1

WHAT IS RESEARCH?

OBJECTIVES
At the end of this chapter, the students will be able to
1. Define research;
2. Explain the importance of research in the daily life of an individual; and
3. Describe the characteristics of research and the goals for conducting such.

DEFINITION OF RESEARCH
Over the years, many experts have given their own definitions of the word
“research.” Different perspectives on the subject have been adopted that resulted
in the following definitions;
1. Research follows a step-by-step process of investigation that uses a
standardized approach in answering questions or solving problems (Polit
& Beck, 2004).

2. Research plays an important role in tertiary education. Though there are

many problems confronted by higher education, developments are
realized through research. After all, its main purpose is to answer a
question or to solve an issue (Palispis, 2004).

3. Research is a continuous undertaking of making known the unknown

(Sanchez, 2002). It entails an investigation of new facts leading to the
discovery of new ideas, methods, or improvements. It is an attempt to
widen one’s outlook in life. It always proceeds from the known to the
unknown. Thus, the end of research is to arrive at a new truth.

4. Research is an investigation following ordered steps leading to a

discovery of a new information or concepts (Sanchez, 1999).

5. Research is a very careful investigation of something that purports the

contribution of additional or new knowledge and wisdom (Bassey, as
cited by Coleman & Briggs, 2002).

6. Research is a tested approach of thinking and employing validated

instruments and steps in order to obtain a more adequate solution to a
problem that is otherwise impossible to address under ordinary means
(Crawford, as cited by Alcantara & Espina, 1995).

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CHARACTERISTICS OF RESEARCH
The abovementioned definitions of research lead to the following
common characteristics of research:
1. The research should be systematic. There is a system to follow in
conducting research as there is a system for formulating each of its
parts. There is a big system (macro) and under it are small systems
(micro). In research writing, what is referred to as the “system” is
composed of the chapters and their elements. The macrosystem is
composed of chapters that are organized in a logical and scientific
manner. On the other hand, the microsystem consists of the detailed
contents of each chapter. The contents are further divided into
elements that are organized following a systematic procedure.

2. The research should be objective. Research involves the objective

process of analysing phenomena of importance to any profession or to
different fields or disciplines (Newswiadomy, 2005). A researcher
should objectively look at the basis on which the work is founded. He
or she must never produce results out of nowhere; the results of the
research should be validated. These results must never be based from
biases. It is very important for the researcher to clarify indicators and
boundaries within which the research is confined because these
factors could affect objectivity.

3. The research should be feasible. Any problem of extraordinary

nature that directly or indirectly affects any profession is a feasible
problem to study. In settings like in the community, school, or
workplace, unusual phenomena may happen and can turn into
potential problems.

4. The research should be empirical. There should be supporting

pieces of evidence and accompanying details for every variable used
in the study. References and citations of facts and information that the
researcher has gathered in his or her paper must be included.
Plagiarism constitutes claiming another person’s idea or intellectual
property as one’s own. Through proper attribution, the researcher
states that the knowledge being shared through the study was taken
from the study of other experts.

5. The research should be clear. The choice of variables used in the

study should be explained by the researcher. This can be done
enriching the review of literature or by discussing the different
theories on which the selection of the variables is based. Therefore,

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 there must be sufficient indicators for each variable. These variables
can be gathered from different published and unpublished materials.

RESEARCH PARADIGM
The research paradigm is an outline that guides the researcher in
conceptualizing and conducting the research. An effective research must address
these two important aspects: research foundations and research methodology.
The research fonudations refer to the fundamental components of
research such as the research problem, purpose, specific questions to be addressed,
and the conceptual framework to be applied.
In determining the research topic or problem, the researcher must look
at a significant real-life problem. Formulating a research problem requires
describing the undesirable situations related to the problem and the needed
knowledge or information in order to solve that problem. The purpose of the
research describes how the study will fill this “knowledge gap.” To address this
purpose, the researcher must formulate necessary questions that will help
distinguish the significant points of the research. The research questions may
be either framed in a quantitative (how much, how often, to what extent) or
qualitative (what,why,how) manner. The possible answered to the research
questions are the hypotheses, which will be either confirmed or rejected by the
data collected in the study. Lastly, the conceptual framework is an outline or
paradigm that presents the topics to be studied, the various variables and
contexts, and how these relate to or influence each other.
On the other hand, the research methodology describes how the
researcher will answer the research questions in a credible manner. Research
methods are employed to address the research purpose and gain new
information and insights to answer the problem. The methodology of the
research includes the review of literature, research approach and design, data
collection, methods of analysis, and conclusions.
The review of literature analyses the existing knowledge regarding the
research topic. It identifies gaps in information that may be addressed by the
research. It is also an important basis of the conceptual framework of the study.
With the existing knowledge about the study, the research approach and
design identifies what us the best means to collect and analyse data in the study.
The design is used to clarify and improve the research problem, purpose and
questions. Having the best way to gather the data, the researcher will proceed to
the data collection. Data collection gives the methods to determine who will be
the participants in the study, how the variables will be measured, and how the
data will be documented and collected. The collected data will then undergo data
analysis, which consist of the strategies. Finally, the conclusion summarizes the
key results of the study and discusses how these are relevant to the research
problem. At this point, the research addresses the hypotheses and determines If

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they are accepted or rejected. It also addresses the knowledge gap and presents
new insights into the problem.

OUTLINE OF THE RESEARCH PAPER

A research paper is divided into chapters which are then subdivided into various
components of the research study. The following is the conventional outline of an
academic research paper:
Chapter 1: The Problem and its Background
a. Introduction, Background of the study
b. Statement of the Problem
c. Scope and Delimitation
d. Significance of the Study
Chapter 2: Theoretical Framework
a. Review of Related Literature
b. Review of Related Studies
c. Conceptual/Theoretical Framework
d. Assumptions of the Study
e. Definition of Terms
Chapter 3: Research Methodology
a. Research Design
b. Respondents of the Study
c. Instruments of the Study
d. Validity and Reliability
e. Statistical Treatment
Chapter 4: Presentation, Analysis, and Interpretation of Data
a. Presentation of Data
b. Analysis
c. Interpretation
d. Discussion
Chapter 5: Summary, Conclusion, and Recommendations
a. Summary of Findings
b. Conclusion
c. Recommendation

Various institutions often prescribe research outlines that are variations of the
outline presented above. It is therefore important for the researcher to
familiarize himself or herself with the standards and conventions of research
that is implemented within a certain field or discipline.

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ROLES OF THE RESEARCHER
According to Nieswiadomy (2005), the research serves different roles in
a study. These are as follows:
1. As principal investigator
2. As member of a research team
3. As identifier of researchable problems
4. As evaluator of research findings
5. As user of research findings
6. As patient or client advocate during study
7. As subject/respondent/participant

IMPORTANCE OF RESEARCH
Research is as important as any field or study. Its significance cuts across
all disciplines-engineering, architecture, medicine, arts and sciences, education,
management, tourist, among others. It also benefits all strata of society-people
with diverse jobs, different income rates, varying financial status, or distinct
social and political capabilities.
As such, following are the importance of research:
1. Research provides a scientific basis for any practice or methodology in any
field or discipline. This is important since an entire system or operation
and all the stakeholders of an institutions or organization are at stake.
Without scientific basis, someone may be affected or may suffer. For
example, in the field of medicine, a new drug must first be tested to
determine its efficacy in curing sickness before it can actually be
prescribed.
2. Research is undertaken for the continuous development and further
productivity in any field. Any system that will be utilized in any
organization must first be tried to its value and it must be better than the
previous system used. Simply, research is the result of advancing
knowledge from the past.
3. Research helps develop tools for assessing effectiveness of any practice and
operation such as psychological tests, intelligence quotient tests,
psychological assessments, among others. This importance of research is
observed in behavioral science, physical science, and others as well.
4. Research provides solutions to problems concerning almost all issues
encountered in the different areas of work. Some issues include the
tardiness of employees, incentives given to the staff, sportsmanship
among school athletes, and implementation of a “clean and green”
program in school. This also applies to higher level problems
5. Research impacts decision-making. It is a common mistake for people to
make decisions without solid information to back them up. It requires
time, effort, and sometimes money to gather the evidence needed for

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 making a sound decision. For example, for a teacher to change his or her
teaching methodology for the first-period and last-period classes, he or
she must conduct s study considering the time element, enthusiasm to
teach, academic standing of the students, instructional aides used, and
several other factors.
6. Research develops and evaluates alternative approaches to the educational
aspects of any discipline. This enables the students to gain broad
knowledge and specialized skills for safe practice. For example, research
can help determine whether lecture is better method the experiment in
teaching Science.
7. Research aims to advance the personal and professional qualifications of a
practitioner.

GOALS FOR CONDUTING RESEARCH

Research is a scientific endeavour which serves many goals in different
fields (workplaces, profit or non-profit organizations, governmental or non-
governmental entities), educational disciplines (medicine, engineering, sciences,
arts, humanities, and information technology), and even in the personal life of
the researcher: Some of the goals for research are as follows:
1. To produce evidence-based practice. Every discipline or institution
must provide the best practice of operation based from research studies.
In the health professions, for example, a professional nursing
practitioner must ensure that he or she is able to give proper health care
to his or her patient. To do this, only the best clinical practices as proven
by nursing research should be provided. The principles on which the
tasks and functions of a nurse are based can formulated through
research. The different standard operating procedures in hospitals, such
as admission, release, assessment, and diagnosis of patients must be
dealt with accordingly. The results of the research must be published in
books and journals for other health practitioners to access and adopt for
use in their respective communities.
Research findings can also be utilized in seminars, workshops,or
trainings so that new knowledge or methods in the delivery of more
effective health care can be shared. This can also be applied by
practitioners of other fields of study. Effective and efficient practices or
operations of research.

2. To establish credibility in the professions. A profession is defined by

the body of knowledge and discipline it employs. In line with this,
research is essential for a profession in producing new procedures,
programs, and practices. This continuous improvement leads to
distinctiveness which can only be achieved when there are special
practices and peculiarity of services in a given area or field. This sense of
individuality contributes to the credibility of a profession.

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 3. To observe accountability for the profession. Every action conducted
by a professional must have a rationale. There are principles that justify
why a nurse has to wash his or her hands regularly, why a teacher has to
prepare a lesson plan, why a manager needs to plan ahead , why a
businessman needs to conduct feasibility studies, and many more.
The nurse, teacher, manager, or businessman must be accountable for
each task he or she everything has to be done efficiently.

4. To promote cost-effectiveness through documentation. The findings

of research must be shared with and utilized by the individuals, group,
and community for which the study is intended. They are useless if these
results are not made known publicly. These results, however, must first
satisfy the researcher’s goals before he or she can share them with other
researchers and professionals who may find these findings beneficial.
Anybody who is in the same condition as the subject/s of the study may
also utilize the findings, thus saving on expenses for doing the same
research again.

CHAPTER SUMMARY
1. Research should be systematic, objective, feasible, empirical, and clear.
2. The research diagram guides the researcher in formulating and
implementing the research. It ensures that the research foundations and
methodology are well-defined and organized. The research foundations refer
to the fundamental components of research such as the research problem,
purpose, specific questions to be addressed, and the conceptual framework to be
applied. The methodology of the research includes the review literature, research
approach and design, data collection, methods of analysis and conclusions.
3. As a researcher, one can play the role of a principal investigator, a member of a
research team, an identifier of researchable problems, an evaluator of research
findings, a user of research findings, a patient or client advocate during study, and
a subject/respondent/participant.
4. Research is very important. It provides scientific basis for any disciplines and
its continuous development. It helps develop tools to improve the effectiveness
of solving various problems, and formulate solutions to problems concerning
almost all issues. It also allows the evaluation of alternative approaches to the
educational aspects of any discipline.
5. The goals of conducting research are to provide evidence-based practice; to
establish credibility in the profession;to observe accountability for the profession;
and to promote cost-effectiveness through documentation.

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 CHAPTER 2

DIFFERENT TYPES OF RESEARCH

OBJECTIVES

At the end of this chapter, the students will be able to

1. Identify the various types of research and

2. Differentiate qualitative and quantitative types of research

GENERAL FORMS OF RESEARCH

Before discussing the research designs, it is important to tackle first the

general forms of research. The general forms of research define the purpose and
approach of the study. These are as follows:

1. Scientific research is a research method that seeks to naturally

occurring phenomena in the natural world by generating credible
theories. It is a systematic process that involves formulating
hypotheses, testing predictions using relevant data and other
scientific methods, and finally coming up with a theory. As such, this
study requires rational and statistical evidence to draw conclusions.

2. Research in the humanities seeks to define the purpose of human

existence by tapping into historical facts and future possibilities.
While studies on natural and social sciences required hard evidence to
draw conclusions, this form of research derive explanations form
human experiences that cannot be simply measured by facts and
figures alone.

3. Artistic research provides alternative approaches to established

concepts by conducting practical methods as substitute for
fundamental and theoretical ones. The main purpose of this form of
research is to expound on the current accepted concepts and open
them to further interpretation. As such, the word “artistic” does not
solely refer to the arts but rather to the kind of approach a researcher
assumes in this type of research. This research generates new
knowledge through artistic practices such as defining new concepts,
creating new processes, and devising new methods.

Any of the three forms of study are by no means a better approach than
the other . However, what differs among the three is the objective of each study

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and the means to achieve it. Nevertheless, whichever of the three are followed by
the researchers,

the true goal of any research remain the same— to further the current
established knowledge on different areas of study.

RESEARCH DESIGN

The research design enables the researchers to organize the components

of his or her research in an orderly and coherent manner. This will ensure that
the research or study will effectively address the research topic or problem. The
research design is also a template for the collection, measurement, and analysis
of data. The research problem determines the research design that will be used
in the study

Having a well-developed research design will enable researcher to achieve the

following:

1. Clearly identify and describe the research problem or topic, and justify the
selection of the appropriate design to be used

2. Review and synthesize previous studies and literature related to the topic

3. Clearly identify hypotheses that are significant to the problem

4. Determine the data necessary to test the hypotheses and explain how the data
will be obtained

5. Describe the methods of analysis that will be used on the data gathering in
order to evaluate the hypotheses of the study

Examples of research design include the following:

1. Action research. This research design follows a cyclical process. First, the
research identifies a problem and determines a plan of action to address it. Then,
the action plan is implemented and data is gathered to determine the effects of
the action implemented. The information gathered during the implementation
phase is analyzed and evaluated in order to gain a better understanding of the
problem and determine the effectiveness of the solution implemented. Action
research is pragmatic and solution-driven, and any information gathered is used
to identify and implement a solution to the problem. This design is appropriate
for community-based situations. It requires the researcher to directly relate with
his or her subjects and community.

2. Casual design. This research explores how a specific change impacts a certain
situation. This research design employs hypotheses that seek to establish a

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cause-and-effect relationship between variables. Essentially, this research design
seeks to determine whether “variable X caused Y”.

3. Descriptive design. This design answers who, what, when, where, and how
questions related to a particular research problem. This design is

used to obtain information about the present situation to gain understanding of a

certain phenomena.

4. Experimental design. In this design, the researcher controls the factors and
variables related to a certain phenomena and tries to change or manipulate one
or several factors to determine the possible effects

5. Exploratory design. This research focuses on topics or problem which have

had little or no studies done about them. The purpose of this is often used to
determine which method or approach to use for a certain topic or problem.

6. Cohort design. This research identifies a group of people sharing common

characteristics who are then studied for a period of time. The researcher seeks to
identify how these groups are affected by certain factors or changes and relates
the information gathered to the research topic or problem.

7. Cross-sectional design. This research design look into a large group of

people, composed of individuals with varied characteristics. The researcher
seeks to determine how these individuals are affected by a certain variable or
charge and gathers data at a specific period of time.

8. Longitudinal design. This research follows a group of people over a long

period of time. Throughout the period of study, observations are made on the
group to track changes over time and identify factors that may have caused them.
The design also explores casual relationships over time and determines how long
these relationships last and the extent of their effects on the group being studied.

9. Sequential design. This research is carried out in stages to gather sufficient

data to test the hypothesis. This design is often combined with a cohort or cross-
sectional study as it identifies specific groups for each stage. At the end stage, the
data is collected and evaluated. If there is insufficient data, the researcher then
proceeds to the next stage with a new group of subjects.

10. Mixed-method design. This research combines aspects of various research

designs and methods. It primarily combines qualitative and quantitative
research methods to gain a complete picture of the research problem and gather
data that will fully determine the validity of the hypotheses.

QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS

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 There are two board categories of research methodology: qualitative
research and quantitative research. The research method determines the
approach the researcher takes in identifying relevant

data for the research, and collecting and analyzing the information gathered I’m
the research. Choosing either a quantitative or qualitative approach will affect
the components of the research. For instance, a researcher may choose to
undertake a scientific research. If he or she takes a qualitative approach, the goal
of the study will be to discuss and analyze the underlying concepts and theories
related to the research topic. If the researcher chooses a quantitative approach,
he or she will use statistical data to provide an explanation of the phenomenon.

QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH

Polit and Beck (2004) define quantitative research as “ the traditional

positivist scientific method which refer to a general set of orderly, disciplined
procedures to acquire information”. In their book, Nursing Research Principles
and Methods, they explain that the research method utilizes deductive reasoning
to generate predictions that are tested in the real world. It is systematic since the
researcher progress logically through a series of steps, according to a
prespecified plan of action.

Quantitative researchers gather empirical evidence that is within the

realm of the senses. The method used in the analysis of data is usually statistical
in nature. Thus, the resulting information

From the study is usually quantitative or measurable. Furthermore, another

criterion used in assessing the data in this kind of study is its capability to
generalize the effect of the results to the individuals outside of the study
participants.
However, a quantitative research has its disadvantages as well.
Quantitative research is considered to be limiting when it comes to studying the
complex and diverse minds of human experience (e.g., behavioral impulses and
varying personal preferences). In quantitative research, these human
complexities are usually controlled or removed entirely instead of being
analyzed. The inflexible and narrow vision of quantitative research tends to
present the human experience in a restricted manner.

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
Qualitative research is defined as the “naturalistic method of inquiry of
research which deals with the issue of human complexity by exploring it
directly.” (Polit and Beck, 2008) Unlike quantitative research, qualitative
research puts an emphasis on the analysis of the experience of individual. This

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type of research attempts to explain the human experience with its dynamic,
holistic, and individualistic aspects through the perspective of the individual
himself. This type makes use of qualitative materials that are narrative and
subjective.
Qualitative research focuses on gaining insights and understanding about
an individual’s perception and interpretation of events. This type of research
collects data through methods such us interviews and participative observation.
The task of the researcher is to determine the patterns and themes in the
acquired data rather than focusing on the testing of hypothesis. A qualitative
study researcher is not limited by existing theories but is rather open-minded to
new ideas and point of views. Lastly, the researcher does not have to be
concerned with numbers and complicated statistical analysis.
However, a major limitation of this model is its reductionist nature.
Qualitative research tends to reduce human experience to just the few concepts
under investigation, which are defined in advance by the researcher rather than
the experience of the respondents. Another limitation of qualitative research
involves the subjective nature of naturalistic inquiry, which sometimes causes
concern about the nature of the conclusion of the study. Polit and Beck (2008)
poses the question, “Would two naturalistic researchers studying the same
phenomenon in similar settings arrive at similar conclusions?” They added the
most naturalistic research studies usually utilize a small group of people as
subjects. This makes the findings from such naturalistic methods questionable,
as opposed to those of the quantitative research studies.

Table 2.1 ̵ Comparison between Quantitative and Qualitative Research

Quantitative Research Qualitative Research
Involves processes, feelings, and
Aims to Characterize trends and motives (the why’s and the how’s) and
patterns produces in-depth and holistic data

Usually starts with neither a theory nor Usually concerned with generating
hypothesis about the relationship hypothesis from data rather than
between two or more variables testing a hypothesis

Uses structured research instruments Use either unstructured or semi-

like questionnaires or schedules structured instruments

Use large sample sizes that are Use small sample sizes chosen
representatives of the population purposely

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Has high output replicability Has high validity

Used to gain greater understanding of Used to gain greater understanding of

group similarities individual differences in terms of
feelings, motives and experiences

Uses structured processes Uses more flexible processes

Methods include census, survey, Methods include field research, case

experiments and secondary analysis study, and secondary analysis

CHARACTERISTICS OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Kania (2008) presents the following key distinguishing characteristics of
qualitative research:
1. Qualitative research is conducted in a systematic and rigorous way.
However, it is more flexible than quantitative research.
2. It usually follows an iterative process, which means that data collection
and analysis occur simultaneously. Data already collected are updated by
the ongoing data collection.
3. It focuses on gathering information from people who can provide the
richest insights into the phenomenon or interest. As a result, small
samples are commonly used in qualitative research. Study participants
are usually selected in a purposive manner, using only those for whom the
topic under study is relevant.
4. Collection of data is continuous until saturation, or when it reaches the
point where no new information is revealed with respect to the key
themes emerging from the data.
5. Qualitative data collection examines everyday life in its natural context or
in an uncontrolled naturalistic setting.

THE VALUE OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Qualitative data provides context and meaning. If an organization wants
to assess the behavior of their clients, they can easily collect and analyze
information about top-selling items, buying trends in various geographic
locations, and overall sales figure by month. This will give a sense of the who,
what, when, and where of the study. Qualitative research can complete the
picture by delving into the why and the how. If quantitative research represents
the skeleton, the qualitative research represents, the flesh. It can explore

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narrowly-defined issues in greater depth, explaining the setting in which
behavior can take place. It gives the complete picture of the issue being studied.

The value of qualitative study comes from its focus on the lived
experience of the participants, which enabled development of a greater
understanding concerning the outcomes that are important, relevant and
meaningful to the people involved.

COMMON TYPES OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

The following are the various types of qualitative research based on
different fields or inquiry (Merriam, S.B., et al, 2002):
1. Phenomenological study. This type of research seeks to find the essence
or structure of an experience by explaining how complex meanings are
build out of simple units of inner experience. It examines human
experiences (lived experience) through the descriptions provided by
subjects or respondents. The goal of this study is to describe the meaning
that experiences hold for each subject. Some of the areas of concern for
these studies are humanness, self-determination, uniqueness, wholeness,
and individualism.

Example: What are the common experiences encountered by a person with

a spouse who undergoing rehabilitation?
With the given problem, the researcher has to discover the inner feelings,
emotional hardships, and mental disturbances that the respondents is
experiencing.
2. Ethnographic study. This study involves the collection and analysis of
data about cultural groups or minorities. In this type of research, the
researcher immerses with the people and becomes a part of their culture.
He or she becomes involved in the everyday activities problems in their
everyday lives. During the immersion process, the researcher talks to the
key persons and personalities called key important who provide
important information for the study. The main purpose of this study is the
development of cultural theories.

Example: What is the demographic profile and migratory adaptation of

squatter families in Barangay Cutcut, Angeles City (Dela Cruz, 1994)?
In studying the problem, the researcher immerses with subjects and
becomes involved with the activities that exemplify the cultural practices of the
respondents.

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3. Historical study. This study is concerned with the identification, location,
evaluation, and synthesis of data from past events. This is not only limited
to obtaining data from the past, but it also involves relating their
implications to the present and future time.

Examples: What were the roles of women in the Katipunan?

Some sources of data for a historical study are as follows:

a. Documents – printed materials that can be found in libraries,
archives, or personal collections.
b. Relics and artifacts– physical remains or objects from a certain
historical period.
c. Oral reports – information that is passed on by word of mouth.

The data sources are classified as follows:

a. Primary sources – materials providing first-hand information, e.g.,
oral histories, written records, diaries, eyewitness, accounts, pictures,
videos, and other physical evidence.
b. Secondary sources – second-hand information such as an account
based on an original source, or a material written as an abstract of the
original materials.

The validity of materials used in the study are assessed through the
following processes:
a. Internal Criticism. This involves establishing the authenticity or
originality of the materials by looking at the consistency of
information. Motives and possible biases of the author must be
considered in trying to determine the accuracy of the materials.
b. External Criticism. This is based on the analysis of the material: the
ink and the type of paper used, the layout and physical appearance,
and as well as the age and texture of the material itself.
The researcher can consult authentic and original resource materials
relevant to the problem to determine the accuracy of information
provided in the research paper.

4. Case Study. It is an in-depth examination of an individual, groups of

people, or an institution. Some of its purposes are to gain insights into
a little-known problem, provide background data for broader studies,
and explain socio-psychological and socio-cultural processes. A case
study also involves a comprehensive and extensive examination of a
particular individual, group, or situation over a period of time. It
provides information on where to draw conclusions about the impact
of a significant event in a person’s life (Sanchez, 2002)

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 Example: How do cancer survivors look at life?

The researcher is able to give an overview of the problem by

interviewing a cancer survivor about his or her experiences.

5. Grounded Theory Study. The method involves comparing collected units of

data against one another until categories, properties, and hypotheses that state
relations between these categories and properties emerge. These hypotheses are
tentative and suggestive, and are not tested in the study.
Example: Ten school counselors were given structured interviews to
help determine how their professional identity is formed.
The data was coded first to form concepts. Then, connections between these
concepts were identified. A core concept emerged and its process and
implications were discussed. School counselors' professional interactions were
identified as defining experiences in their identity formation (Brott & Myers,
1999).
6. Narrative Analysis. The main sources of data for this type of research are the
life account of individuals based on their personal experiences. The purpose of
the study is to extract meaningful context from these experiences.
The common types of narrative analysis are as follows:
a. Psychological - this involves analyzing the story in terms of internal thoughts
and motivations. It also analyzes the written text or spoken words for its
component parts or patterns.
b. Biographical - this takes the individual's society and factors like gender and
class into account.
c. Discourse Analysis - This studies the approach in which language is used in
texts and contexts.
7. Critical Qualitative Research. This type of research seeks to bring about
change and empower individuals by describing and critiquing the social, cultural,
and psychological perspectives on present-day contexts. As such, it ultimately
challenges the current norm, especially on power distributions, building upon
the initial appraisal of the said present-day perspective.
For example, a critical examination of consumer education texts used in adult
literacy programs revealed content thay was disrespectful for adult learners,
their previous experience as consumers, and promoted certain ideologies
regarding consumerism. The text also defended the status quo by blaming
individual inadequacies for economic troubles, ignoring societal inequities
(Sadlin, 2000).

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8. Postmodern Research. As opposed to the traditional forms of qualitative
analysis, the approach of this type of research seeks to analyze the facts that
have been established as truths, the ability of research and science to discover
truth, and all generalizations and typologies.
Merriam et. al. (2002) proposes the following three "crises" as a result of the
questioning performed:
a. whether the experience of another can be captured or whether it is created by
the researcher.
b. whether any study can be viewed as valid if traditional methodologies are
flawed.
c. whether it is possible to institute any real change.
Example: If our views of the self are themselves constructed by the society we live in
and the language we use, is true knowledge of the self, independent of these, even
possible? If our "selves" are constructed, then attempting to gain knowledge
through self-reflection is a miscognition and [it] instead results in the creation of a
less independent and more societal-regulated self (Bleakly, 2000).
9. Basic Interpretative Qualitative Study. This is used when the researcher is
interested in identifying how individuals give meaning to a situation or
phenomenon. It uses an inductive strategy which is a process of analyzing
patterns or common themes to produce a descriptive account that summarizes
and analyzes the literature that defined the study.
Example: An interview of 45 women from varying backgrounds and a comparison
of the developmental patterns discerned with earlier finding on male development.
They found women's lives evolved through periods of tumultuous structure
building phases that alternated with stable periods (Levinson&Levinson, 1996).

STRENGTH AND WEAKNESSES OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Anderson (2010), in her article "Presenting and Evaluating Qualitative
Research," lists the following strengths of a qualitative research:
1. The study requires few cases or participants. Data collected are based on the
participants' own categories of meaning.
2. It is useful for describing complex phenomena.
3. Issues can be examined in detail and in depth.
4. Interviews are not restricted to specific questions and can be guided or
redirected by the researcher in real time.
5. Subtleties and complexities about the research subjects or topic are often
missed by more positivistic inquires.

17
6. It provides individual case information.
7. Cross-case comparisons case and analysis can be conducted.
8. It provides understanding and description of people’s personal experiences of
phenomena (i.e., the emis or inders's viewpoint).
9. It can describe in detail the phenomena as they are situated and embedded in
local contexts.
10. The researcher usually identifies contextual and setting factors as they relate
to the phenomenon of interest.
11. The researcher can study dynamic processes (i.e., documenting sequential
patterns and change).
12. The researcher can use the primarily qualitative method of grounded theory
to inductively generate a tentative but explanatory theory about a phenomenon.
13. It can determine how participants interpret constructs (e.g., self-esteem and
IQ).
14. Data are usually collected in naturalistic settings in qualitative research.
15. Qualitative approaches are especially responsive to local situations,
conditions, and stakeholders' need.
16. Qualitative data in the words and categories of participants lend themselves
to exploring how and why particular phenomena occur.
17. You can use and important case to vividly demonstrate a phenomenon to the
readers.
18. It can determine ideographic causation (i.e., determination of causes of a
particular event).
Anderson (2010) also enumerate the following weaknesses of qualitative
research:
1. The knowledge produced might not be applicable to other people or other
settings (i.e., findings might be unique to the relatively few people invluded in
the research study).
2. Inflexibility is more difficult to maintain, access, and demonstrate.
3. It is sometimes not as well understood and accepted as quantitative research
within the scientific community.
4. The researcher's presence during data gathering, which is often unavoidable in
qualitative research, can affect the researchers' responses.
5. Issues of anonymity and confidentiality can present problems when
presenting findings.
6. It is difficult to make quantitative predictions.

18
7. It is more difficult to test hypotheses and theories with large participant pools.
8. It might have lower credibility with some administrators and commissioners
of program.
9. It generally takes more time to collect the data compared to quantitative
research.
10. Data analysis is often time consuming.
11. The result are more easily influenced by the researcher's personal biases and
idiosyncrasies.

CHAPTER SUMMARY
1. The general forms of research are scientific research, research in
humanities, and artistic research.
2. The research design enables the researcher to organize the components of
his or her research in an orderly and coherent manner. This will ensure that the
research or study will effectively address the research topicor problem. The
research design is also a template for the collection, measurement, and analysis
of data.
3. Quantitative and Qualitative research are two broad categories of research
methods. Qualitative Research aims to discuss and analyze the underlying
concepts and theories related to the study. Quantitative Research, meanwhile,
uses statistical data to explain a phenomenon.
4. The key distinguishing characteristics of qualitative research are as follows:
a. It is systematic and rigorous.
b. It follows an iterative process.
c. It focuses on people who provide the richest insights.
d. Collection of data is continuous until saturation points.
e. It examines experiences in a natural context.
5. The common types of qualitative research are phenomenological study,
ethnographic study, historical study, case study, grounded theory study,
narrative analysis, critical qualitative research, postmodern research, and
basis interpretative qualitative study.
6. Some of the strength of qualitative research are its requirement of only a
few cases or individuals for data collection; its usefulness in in describing
complex phenomena; its detailed and in-depth analysis of issues; its ability to
provide individual case information; and its capability to conduct cross-case
comparisons and analysis among others.

19
7. Some of the weaknesses of qualitative research includes its incapability to
maintain, assess, and demonstrate inflexibility. It Lso produces very specific
results leading to misunderstanding or inapplicability; creates distraction to the
subject's responses just by the presence of the researcher; presents problems on
issues of anonymity and confidentiality; makes quantitative predictions difficult
to do; and evolves large participant polls making hypothesizing and theorizing
difficult.

CHAPTER 3
ETHICS IN RESEARCH

OBJECTIVES
At the end of this chapter, the students will be able to
1. Discuss the importance of ethics in research;
2. Explain the ethical codes in the conduct of research, and the rights of research
participants;
3. Discuss the importance of ethics in research; and
4. Define plagiarism and identify techniques to avoid it.

ETHICS IN QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Ethical issues are present in any kind of research. The research process
creates tension between the aims of research to make generalizations for the
good of others, and the rights of participants to maintain privacy. Ethic pertains
to doing good and avoiding harm. Harm can be prevented or reduces through the
application of appropriate ethical principles. Thus, the protection of human
subjects or participants in any research study is imperative.
Violations of human rights in the name of scientific research have been
among the darkest events in history. From 1932 to 1972, more than 400 African-
American people who had syphilis were deliberately left untreated to study the
illness. Although the Tuskegee syphilis study was sponsored by the United States
Public Health Service, the disclosure of the 40-year study caused public outrage
(Captain, 1992)
Another example of unethical research is the experiment conducted
between 1950 and 1952, in which more than 1,000 pregnant women were given
diethylstilboestrol to prevent miscarriages. These women were subject to a
double-blind study without consent. Only 20 years later, when the children of

20
these women had high rates of cancer and other abnormalities, did the
participants learn they were subjects of these experiments (Capron, 1989).
The nature of ethical problems in qualitative research studies is subtle
and different compared to problems in quantitative research. For example,
potential ethical conflicts exist in regard to how a researcher gains access to a
community group and in the effects the researcher may have on participants. The
literature provides few examples of ethical issues in qualitative health research.
Punch (1994) claimed that one hardly ever hears of ethical failures in qualitative
research. However, Bachelor and Briggs (1994) claimed that the failure of
researchers to address ethical issues has resulted in those researchers being ill-
prepared to cope with the unpredictable nature of qualitative research.
Qualitative researchers focus their research on exploring, examining, and
describing people and their natural environments. Embedded in qualitative
research are the concepts of relationships and power between researchers and
participants. The desire to participate in a research study depends upon a
participant’s willingness to share his or her own experience. Nurse researchers
have to balance research principles as well as the well-being of clients (Ramos,
1989).
Qualitative health research is focused on the experiences of people in
relation to health and illness. Yet, nurse researchers may find that their roles as
researchers and as clinicians may be in conflict. Qualitative studies are
frequently conducted in settings involving the participation of people in their
everyday environments. Therefore, any research that includes people requires
an awareness of the ethical issues that may be derived from such interactions.
Ethics in health research includes appropriateness of the research design, the
methodological design, the funding sources, and the behaviors in reporting data.
The purpose of this paper is to show these and related ethical issues and
principles to be used in qualitative research (Orb, 2000).

IMPORTANCE OF ETHICS IN RESEARCH

Resnik (2007), in his article “What is Ethics in Research & Why is it
important?” explains the importance of ethics in research. These are as follows:

1. Ethics promotes the pursuit of knowledge, truth and credibility. It also

fosters value that are essentials to collaborative work. Research often
involve a great deal of cooperation and coordination among people in
different fields or disciplines. The important values include trust,
accountability, mutual respect and fairness.

2. Many of the ethical norms ensure that researchers are held

accountable to the public

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 3. Adherence to ethical principles helps build public support for research.
People are more likely to fund research studies that promote a variety of
important moral and social values such as social responsibilities, human
rights, animal welfare, and health and safety

ETHICAL CODES AND POLICIES FOR RESEARCH

Given the importance of ethics in the conduct of research, many
professional associations, government agencies, and universities have come up
with the following codes and policies for research:

1. Honesty. This must be maintained in all communications (e. g when

reporting data, results and procedures) Data should never be fabricated,
falsified, misrepresented.

2. Objectivity. Biases should be avoided in the experimental design, data

analysis, interpretation, expert testimony, and the other aspects of
research

3. Integrity. Consistency of thoughts and action in the foundation of the

credibility of any research work. Promises and agreement should be kept
and all actions should be made with a sincere purpose.

4. Care. Careless errors and negligence should be avoided. Your work and
the works of your peers should be critically examined. Record of research
activities should be kept in good order and coordination.

5. Openness. The researcher should be open to criticism and new ideas.

Research data, results, ideas and resources should also be shared with the
public.

6. Respect for Intellectual Property. Proper acknowledgement should

be given to all authors cited and sources used in your research. Patents
and copyright should be recognized. Any unpublished data, methods or
results should not be used without permission. Credit should be given to
where it is due.

7. Confidentially. Confidential communications or documents should be

protected.
8. Responsible publication. The study should be done with the purpose
of advancing

22
 9. Responsible mentoring. The research should seek to educate, mentor,
and advise student
10. Respect for a colleagues. All peer s should be treated fairly.
11. Social responsibility. Social group should be promoted and social
harm should be avoided.
12. Non-discrimination. All those eligible to participate in research
should be allowed to do so.
13. Competence. Professional competence and expertise should be
maintained and improved with the research.
14. Legality. A researcher should know and obey relevant laws, and
institutional and government policies.
15. Human subject protection. Harms and risks to human lives should
be minimized Human dignity, privacy, and autonomy should be among
the primary considerations of the research.

RIGHTS OF RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS

The main purpose of a research is to produce results that would benefit
the stakeholders in the study. Likewise, the participants are crucial elements of
the research and they have the same rights as the research beneficiaries. Some of
the rights of research participants are as follow (Trochim, 2006; Smith, 2003;
Polit, 2003):
1.
2. Informed consent. Prospective research participants must be fully
informed about the procedures and risks involved in the research. Their
consent to participate must be secured.
3. Risk of harm. Participants should be protected from physical, financial,
or psychological harm. The principle of non-maleficence states that it is
the researcher's duty to avoid, prevent, or minimize harm to the
participants of the study.
4. Confidentiality. Participants must be assured that their identity and
other personal information will not be made available to anyone who is
not directly involved in the study.
5. Anonymity. The participants must remain anonymous throughout the
study even to the researcher's themselves.

ETHICAL STANDARDS IN RESEARCH WRITING

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 It is a general notion that in the written work of any author, be it in books,
magazines, research papers for a degree program, or even those paper which are
to be submitted for funding programs, the reader assumes that the author is the
sole originator of the written work, that any text or ideas borrowed from others
are clearly identified as such by established scholarly conventions, and that the
ideas conveyed therein are accurately represented to the best of the author's
abilities. For a writing to be considered ethical, it should be clear, accurate, fair,
and honest (Kolin as cited by Roig,2006).
The following reminders must be taken into consideration for ethical
research writing (Logan University, 2016):
1. Findings should be reported with complete honesty.
2. Intentional misinterpretation, misinformation, and misleading claims
must be avoided.
3. Appropriate credit should be given when using other people's work.
4. Plagiarism should be avoided by fully acknowledge all content
belonging to others.

PLAGIARISM AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Plagiarism refers to the act of using another person's ideas, words,
processes, and results without giving due credit.
The following are considered as acts of plagiarism;
1. Claiming authorship of a work or creation done by another person
2. Copying an entire written work or a portion of it- including words,
sentences, and ideas without acknowledge the author
3. Failing to put quotation marks to distinguish a quotation taken directly
from a source
4. Giving incorrect information about the source of a quotation
5. Merely changing the words but retaining the sentence structure so that
the selection or quotes still bears a resemblance to the original source
6. Using so many words and ideas from the original source that it makes
up a large portion of your work, even if you acknowledge the original
author
Plagiarism should not be tolerated as the unauthorized use of original
ideas and works constitutes a violation of intellectual property rights. The World
Intellectual Property Organization has the following definition of intellectual
property:

24
 "Intellectual property refers to creation of the mind: inventions; literary
and artistic works; and symbols, names, and image used in commerce.
(WIPO, 2004)
Intellectual property covers two categories: industrial property, which
includes patents, trademarks, and industrial design; and copyright, which
includes published works such as literary works, textbooks, reference books, and
other artistic works such as creative design, film, music, radio broadcasts, and
performance art. Creator of such works and intellectual property are given rights
and protections, and the unauthorized use of intellectual property is subject to
legal sanctions.
In the Philippines, intellectual property is protected by Republic act 8293
or the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines. Following are the provisions
of the code regarding published works:
"Published works" means works, which, with the consent of the authors,
are made available to the public by wire or wireless means in such a way
that members of the public may access these works from a place and time
individually chosen by them: Provided, that availability of such copies has
been such, as to satisfy the reasonable requirements of the public, having
regard to the nature of the work...
Furthermore, the code also states the following provisions regarding copyright
ownership:
178.1 Subject to the provision of this section, in the case of original
literary and artistic works, copyright shall belong to the author of the
work;
178.2 In the case of works of joint authorship, the co-authors shall be the
original owners of the copyright, and in the absence of agreement, their
rights shall be governed by the rules on co- ownership. If, however, a
work of joint authorship consists of parts that can be used separately and
the author of each part can be identified, the author of each part shall be
the original owner of the copyright in the part that he has created.
This is the basis of ownership of any published article or materials in the
form of books, magazines and the like as well as those that are in electronic form.
Using these materials, in part or as a whole, in commercial publication such as
textbooks without recognizing the author or authors constitutes an infringement
of copyright which has corresponding consequences. This act states that in
determining the number of years of imprisonment and the amount of fine, the
court shall consider the value of the infringing materials that the defendant has
produced or manufactured and the damage that the copyright owner has
suffered by reason of the infringement.
Copyright infringement and its corresponding sanctions, however it only
apply to commercial use of intellectual property. In academic research

25
plagiarism and its related acts constitutes Academic Dishonesty and may be
cause for the invalidation of a research study and other sanctions on the
offender. Educational institutions and academic organization have their own
rules and sanctions regarding plagiarism. Students who commit plagiarism risk
academic sanction such as a failing grade in the course where such violation was
committed, and in extreme cases, the revocation of a degree conferred.
Sharma and Singh (2011) list of the following tips to avoid plagiarism:
1. Sufficient time should be allotted for writing.
2. Hard copies of all the relevant references should be collected.
3. All references should be read carefully and its important parts should
be highlighted.
4. Sufficient attribution should be placed when using the ideas of others.
5. Lines with factual details are to be referenced.
6. The appropriateness of inserting references should be determined.
7. Written permission should be acquired for text and figure copied from
other sources.
8. All the text should be paraphrased - that is, written by the author in his
or her own language.
9. Copying and pasting text from sources while writing should be avoided.
if one is not good at typing, he or she can request assistance from a typist.
10. Before submitting an article, all files, figures, and reference should be
prepared in accordance to the prescribed standards.

FAIR USE
The law, however, recognizes certain situations where the use of
copyrighted content is acceptable and constitutes "fair use” of intellectual
property. The intellectual property code identifies the following as acceptable
use of intellectual property:
1. Use the works in the public domain. An intellectual property is
considered to be in the public domain once the rights of the author have
lapsed after a period defined by law (50 years after the death of the
author)
2. Use of a copyrighted work for criticism, comment, news reporting,
teaching and classroom use, scholarship and research, and other similar
purposes.

26
 3. Reproduction of works as part of reports on current news which is
broadcast to the public.
4. Use of works and material from the government and its various
branches, departments, and offices, provided that permission for use is
acquired.
Although fair use gives academic researcher great freedom in the
selection and use of certain sources, due diligence should still be taken in citing
the sources and information the copyright owners regarding the use of their
work.

CHAPTER SUMMARY
1. Ethics in research promotes the pursuit of knowledge, truth, and credibility;
helps ensure researchers accountability; and builds public support for the study.
2. Some of the ethical codes are honesty, care, confidentiality, objectivity,
openness, respect intellectual property, and responsible mentoring.
3. Participants in a research have the rights to voluntary participation,
informed consent, freedom from risk of harm, confidentiality, and
anonymity.
4. For writing to be considered as ethical, the writing should be clear, accurate,
fair, and honest.
5. The purposes of literature review are to assess the body of the literature, to
synthesize previous works, and to locates gaps
6. The following are reminders for ethical writing: honesty with professional
colleagues.
7. Plagiarism is the claiming of other works as one's own work.
8. The Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines or R.A. 8293 contains
provisions regarding published works and copyright ownership.
9. Some tips to avoid plagiarism are to collect hard copies of all the relevant
references; read all the references carefully and highlight important areas; and
place sufficient attribution while using the ideas of others.

CHAPTER 4
RESEARCH TITLE, SOURCES, AND CONSIDERATIONS

27
OBJECTIVES
At the end of this chapter, the students will be able to

RESEARCH TITLE
A research title prefaces the study by providing a summary of the main
idea and is usually short and concise. Writing it may seem to be a simple task but
it actually requires more consideration on the part of the researchers. While he
or she may have written the contents of the study in great detail, researchers
may find it hard to create title for their study that is concise and represents all
the relevant elements of the study at the same time.

A research title should have the following characteristics:

1. It should summarize the main idea of the paper.
2. It should be a concise statement of the main topic.
3. It should include the major variables of the research study.
4. It should be self-explanatory.
5. It should describe or imply the participants of the study.

In general, the researcher should avoid using words that serve no

useful purpose and can mislead indexers. Words such as “methods,”
“result,” and “investigations” should not appear in the title. In many cases,
the general problem of the research or even the specific question that the
researcher intends to answer, when rewritten in a statement form, serve
as the title.

RESEARCH PROBLEM
The research problem states the area of concern of the research paper
whether it is a circumstance needing development, a difficulty requi8ring
attention, or an inquiry necessitating an answer. This section sets the direction of
the research study as it provides the foundation for the research hypothesis and
defines what kind of research study is suitable to address the problem. However,
it is important to note that this section should only state the problem and not
preface or suggest a solution for it.

SOURCES OF RESEARCH PROBLEMS

Research problems may be derived in almost any kind of setting such as
hospitals or clinics, schools, office, homes, or any part of the community.
Research problems can be commonly based from circumstances with the
following characteristics:
1. It conveys a feeling of discomforts of difficulty.
2. It has a perceived difficulty in broad subjects such as family affairs,
home management, and leadership system.

28
 3. It displays a gap between theory and practice: what is said by the elders
and what the students see and observe.
4. It utilizes a procedure requiring technologically advanced equipment.
5. It involves the experience of any kind of individual.
6. It shows some kind of pattern or trend.
7. It makes use of literature reviews, continuous reading, and past studies.
These readings can lead a student to a topic, and its scope and clues for
further studies. The repetition of a prior research study in the different
setting and time called replication.
8. It relates to an individual’s curiosity and interest.
Furthermore, a discerned problem is said to be researchable when the
following criteria are met:
1. Solutions are available but not yet tested and not yet known by the
practitioner.
2. No solutions are available to answer the gap or the problem being
assessed.
3. When the given answers or solutions, as well as the possible results, are
seemingly untested or are factually contradictory with each other.
4. A phenomenon requiring an explanation has occurred.
5. There are several possible and plausible explanation for the existence
of an undesirable condition.

CONSIDERATIONS IN FORMULATING THE RESEARCH PROBLEM

In the book A Research Guide In Nursing Education. Barrientos-Tan (1997)
discusses the different criteria a problem for research. These are as follows:
1. External Criteria
a. Novelty- This refers to the practical value of the problem due to its
“newness” in the field of inquiry.
b. Availability of Subjects- This refers to the people with the desired
capability and willingness to participate in the study. The sample of the
study participants must be representative enough to ensure reliability
and validity of the result.
c. Support of the Academic Community- This refers to the assistance
given by the members of the institutions, like the principal, the staff, the
students, and the parents, and the gathering of data and defraying the
cause of the study. Permission of those concerned for the participation in
the study of staff members, children, the aged, and the mentality
challenged should be secured.
29
 d. Availability and Adequacy of Facilities and Equipment- Devices such
as computer, and telephones used in undertaking the studies must be
considered.
e. Ethical Considerations- These include the avoidance of research
problems that pose unethical demands on the part of the research
participant.
2. Internal Criteria
a. Experience, Training, and Qualifications of the Researchers- These
constitute the researcher’s knowledge and expertise as a result of
experience and study.
b. Motivation, Interest, Intellectual Curiosity, and Perceptiveness of the
Researcher- These are essential attitudes that bring anticipated
satisfaction of enjoyment in the completion of research tasks.
c. Time Factor- This considers the fact that studies must be pursued within
a given time frame.
d. Costs and Returns- These factors matter in choosing research problem.
Research is an expensive undertaking. The amount of funding needed,
after all, depends on the size of the sample, the place where the research
is to be conducted, the treatment of data, and the kind of research design.
e. Hazards, Penalties, and Handicaps- These depend upon the
researcher’s physical and intellectual capacity and the moral judgement.

CHOOSING THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AS A HIGH SCHOOL

STUDENT
The background of the research is an important factor that defines the
selection of research problems and topic. A researcher in a particular field, like
medicine, engineering, or the social sciences, focuses on topics within their field
or discipline. A student researcher, on the other hand, focuses on more practical
and relatable topics for research. One useful guide to student researchers taking
this course is to consider their respective tracks for Senior High School. Students
on the STEM track should consider researching on topics related to science and
technology. ABM track students, meanwhile, should consider topics on business
and management, Finally, HUMSS track students can choose from the wide
variety of social science and humanities topics such as history, politics, society,
culture, arts, and music.
Researchers should also be aware of the following factors in determining
their research problem and topic:
1. The feasibility of the research study is very important consideration in
choosing the problem. The time needed to conduct the study must be
measured and its setting should be defined and located. The research
must have ready access to the relevant materials to the subject to be

30
 studied. The entire cost of the study must be estimated—the travel
expenses when meeting with the respondents, purchase costs of the
instrument to be used, and expenses incurred in encoding the result.
2. External support is also an essential element to look into when
determining whether a research is feasible or not. Is the teacher or
adviser present when conflict arise in the conduct of research? Are
experts in the field accommodating? Do they lend a hand when requested
for technical assistance in finishing the paper? These questions are also
important concerns to be addressed.
3. The innovative quality of the topic should still be considered. A review
of literature and studies ensures that solutions are yet to be proposed for
the problem, thus showing the need conduct the study.

CHAPTER SUMMARY
1. The title of the research should summarize the main, and include the major
variables and the participants of the study.
2. The potential sources of problems in research can stem from circumstances
which conveys a feeling of discomfort: have perceived difficulty: displays a gap
between theory and practice: involves experiences of oneself: shows some kind
of pattern or trend: makes use of literature review: and involves a personal
curiosity or interest.
3. The chosen topic or problem in research must pass different external and
internal criteria.
4. The external criteria include novelty, availability of subjects, support of the
academic community, availability and adequacy of resources, and ethical
considerations.
5. The internal criteria consist of experience, training and qualifications of the
researcher, motivation, interest and curiosity, time factor, and cost and returns.
6. Special considerations for high school students in choosing research problems
should be considered such as the relevance to the K-12 tracks, feasibility of the
study, external support, and innovative quality of the chosen study.

31
 CHAPTER 5

THE INTRODUCTION

OBJECTIVES
At the end of this chapter, the students will be able to
1. Identify the essential elements of the introduction
2. Formulate the introduction of the research.

BEGINNING OF THE RESEARCH

The first chapter of the research paper is entitled “The Problem and Its
Background.” Its purpose is to introduce the problem and clarify important
variables, its delimitations, and its significance to the field of study. It has the
following essential and elements:
1. Introduction
2. Statement of the problem
3. Scope and delimitation
4. Significance of the study
5. Notes in Chapter I
It should also be noted that the researcher has to introduce the different
elements of the first chapter by giving a brief description of each element, so that
the reader knows what to expect from the chapter.
Example:
This chapter represents the different essential elements: the introduction,
which contains the rationale (an explanation of the reasons for the conduct of the
research); the review of literature and statistical foundation; the statement of the
general and specific problems; the scope and delimitation which identifies the
major variables, sub-variables and the indicators; the significance of the study
which and enumerates the beneficiaries of the study and the corresponding
benefits each will receive; and lastly, the notations.

32
INTRODUCTION
The introduction is important in establishing the cognitive setting of the
research. It has the following elements:
1. Rationalization of the need to research on the problem
2. Classification of the important terminologies for leader to easily
understand what the research is about
3. Establishment of the degree of seriousness of the problem which
prompted the researcher to look for solutions
The following questions can aid the researcher in formulating the introduction:
1. What is the rationale of the problem? This question is answered by sharing
the reasons why the researcher decided to look for solutions to the problem. A
rationale may include the narration of personal experiences, and description of
an article read, as scene witnessed a news heard, or a fury that need to be
clarified. The researcher should describe the existing and prevailing problem
based on his or her experience. The scope may be local, national, or international.
Ideally, the rationale can start from a global perspective to a more personal one.
Example:
As a Grade 12 student, Arjohn David, experienced some difficulties
in performing well because of various factors such as the attitude of his
teachers as well as their teaching methods, the absence of laboratory
facilities and inadequacy of books in the library. He is having difficulties in
his quizzes and class performance.
2. What is the setting of the problem? The setting forms part of the
delimitation of the study. It defines the geographic boundaries and certain
characteristics of the research. This describes the place where the research was
conducted, scenes the setting has the significant bearing on the variables being
studies. In the description of the setting, its distinctive characteristics must be
highlighted.
Example:
Puting Capunitan Elementary School is one of the barrio schools in
Orion, Bataan where most enrollees are from disadvantaged families
whose immediate ancestors are either laborers or fishers folks. This
school is one of the schools with poorly performing students in their
division according to the Department of Education.
3. What is the basics literature foundation of the study? This is different
from the review of the related theories, conceptual literature, and research

33
literature. This part seeks to provide the researcher clarity on the terms or
variables used in the study. The terms and variables must be clear to the
researcher for an easy understanding of the readers. As such, sufficient
background can assist the investigator in determining the boundaries of the
study. This part is the derived from different sources. The use of various
references is crucial in this part of the first chapter.
Example:
As teaching is considered to be a complex activity (Medley, as cited
in Iqbal, 1996), the scholars and researchers in the field of education have
since long been exploring into and analyzing the teaching phenomenon.
Teaching is an arrangement and manipulation of a situation in which a
learner tries to overcome the learning problems. Teaching is also a
multidimensional set of activities intended to facilitate learning
(Torrington et al., 2003). However, it is universally recognized that
teachers’ Instructional performance plays a key role in students’ learning
and academic achievement ( Panda and Mohanty, 2003).
4. How serious is the chosen research problem? The researcher is tasked to
identify the intensity and magnitude of the problem. When the gravity of the
problem has already been described, he or she may then gauge the kind of action
to be used to identify the problem. In most cases, the researcher at this point
looks for statistical quantitative evidence to assess the significance of the
problem at hand.
Example:
Based on the DepEd Division Memo series 2012, among the 12
schools with the most poorly performing students, Putting Capunitan
Elementary Schools rank 12th.
5. What is the general objective of the problem? This is the general statement
of the problem or the major tasks of the researcher to discharge and should also
be the basic of the enumerated statement of specific problems.
Example:
With the above mentioned scenario and situation, it is the main
objective of the researcher to determine the common reasons of the poor
performance of the students. Therefore, the research finding on the
objective become the basic of an intervention program of school
effectiveness.
6. What is the overall purpose of the problem? It is important to note that the
researcher must be totally aware of the purpose of the research problem. He or
she must fully understand the implications of the resulting findings of the study.
Example:

34
 This is mainly for the purpose of letting the students acquire
needed competencies before graduation and enabling the school to
perform better in the Regional Achievement Examination.

INTRODUCTION SAMPLE
Predictors’ of Students Performance in Chemistry Laboratory of Selected
Private School (Estrella, 2009)

RATIONALE
Experimenting is one of the task in a science class. No science course is
ever complete unless student has been given the opportunity to conduct an
experiment. It opens opportunities to students to be exposed to hands on
activities where they discover answer to their scientific queries. Laboratory
activity requires students to use many of the other scientific process skills like
observation, measurements, inference, prediction, and generalization.
All levels of students from primary, secondary, and tertiary levels conduct
laboratory activities. It is a well-known fact that college students taking up
professional courses cannot do away with science as one of their basic subjects.
However, it has been observed that students still find difficulties even in
identifying common laboratory apparatus and following simple procedures. This
is despite the fact that they have been already exposed to science activities
during their high school years.

SETTING OF THE PROBLEM

To cite, they have integrated science in their first year, Biology in their
second year, Chemistry in third year, and Physics in their fourth year. It is
therefore, expected that they are already familiar with the basics in science
experiment. However, this is not the case. Most of the time, the teacher repeats
simple laboratory procedures, whereby, it must be explained properly “to the
letter”, and all the observations would lead the teacher to teach the “ABCs” of
doing a laboratory activity so that they can perform it correctly. In addition, the
teacher would have to orient the students on the basic and the most commonly
used laboratory apparatus.

LITERATURE FOUNDATION
35
 However, as cited by Cuyegkeng (2008), in the Philippine educational
system, one of the most disturbing problems is the poor achievement of Filipino
students in the areas of science and technology. Educators agree that one of the
major causes of this problem has to do with the method of facilitating the
learning of science concepts, process, and poor laboratory practices inside the
classroom. Somehow, this indicate that the current methods do not fully develop
the skills of students and teachers. Also, Puno (2005), citing specific issues
higher education, mentioned that academic excellence must be viewed in terms
of excellence in practical or applied learning theories. Application of these
theories and concepts will make the learner a productive member of society. It is
not the quantity of knowledge but more importantly how much of these
knowledge can be put to good use. We need graduates whose lives will be full of
action and not merely have heads which are just full of facts.

SERIOUSNESS OF THE PROBLEM

Earlier studies show that one of the problems of students, in general, is
the failure to connect the chemistry principles they have learned in class with the
problems in the real word. They fall the appreciate chemistry concepts and draw
connection between them because chemistry is usually presented as a very
theoretical, abstract body of knowledge. This is especially true if the teacher is
not properly trained, which is often the sad plight of Philippine Secondary
Schools. Coupled with poor learning facilities and materials, the result is a failure
in science education.
All these ideas point to the significance of learning by doing. For this
reason, it is viewed that in studying science, students may not only be more on
theories but application as well. There are many experiments that may be
conducted and performed in any science unit of study, and yet conducting them
may not be that effective and the mark of knowledge is absent.

GENERAL OBJECTIVE
At present, the researcher, as a college instructor, is experiencing the
above mentioned scenario in science education. If not dealt with properly, it
might result to poor performance in science laboratory activities. It is in this light
that this research was conducted to determine the factors affecting the student’s
performance in Chemistry laboratory.

GENERAL PURPOSE
To improve the performance of science instructors, which will result to
improved student performance in achievement examinations and a positive
impact in school effectiveness.

36
CHAPTER SUMMARY
1. The introduction of the problem has the following elements: rationale, setting,
literature foundation, proof of urgency, general research objectives, and general
purpose.
2. The rationale is formulated not only by stating the reasons of the conduct but
also narrating the incidences from international to local scenarios.
3. The setting of the problem describes the distinctive characteristics of the
geographical location of the place where the study is to be conducted.
4. The definition and the description of the major variables must be done
through analysing literatures.
5. The urgency of the problem must be proven by citing statistical evidences.
6. The general objective of the study is the major task of the researcher and it is
the general statement of the problem.
7. The general purpose is the general benefit or significance of the study.

CHAPTER 6
THE STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

OBJECTIVES
At the end of this chapter, the students will be able to
1. Differentiate the general problem from the specific problems of the research;
2. Compare the different types of research question; and
3. Formulate the general problem of the study and its specific questions.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

After the investigator has clarified the rationale, identify the degree of
seriousness of the problem, provided the literature review, and set the overall
objective, the formulation of the heart of the thesis⎼⎼the statement of the general
and the specific problems⎼⎼must be done. The opening paragraph of this section
contains the general problem of the study

37
WRITING THE GENERAL PROBLEM IN A QUALITTATIVE STUDY
In the book Principles of Qualitative Research: Designing a Qualitative
Study, Creswell and Clark (2014) provide the following criteria in writing the
purpose statement:
1. It should use single and not compound sentences.
2. It should clearly express the purpose of the study.
3. It should include the central phenomenon.
4. It should use qualitative words, e.g. explore, discover, and explain.
5. It should identify the participant in the study.
6. It should state the research site.
A sample pattern for the purpose statement is provided below.
The purpose of this (narrative, phenomenological, grounded theory,
ethnographic, case) is to (understand, describe, develop, discover) the (central
phenomenon of the study) for (the participants) at (the site). At this stage in the
research, the (central phenomenon) will be generally defined as (a general
definition of the central concept) (Creswell and Clark, 2014).
Below are some examples of a general problem.
Example 1:
The overall objective of this phenomenological study is to describe the
intrapersonal and interpersonal competencies of school principals, and their
relationship to the school effectiveness in the Division of Bataan for the school
year 2001-2002. The result is used as the basis for an intervention program
(Cristobal, 2003). Here, intrapersonal is the school managers’ own self-concept
and personality while interpersonal is their communication and expressions in
dealing with subordinates.
Example 2:
The objective of this ethnographic study is to differentiate the customs
and traditions of the Aetas and the locals of Zambales enrolled in Olangapo
National City High School for the school year 2014-2015. In this research, the
customs and traditions are defined as their practices in the celebration of the
feasts.
Example 3:
The objective of this grounded theory study is to characterized the
general study habits of the high school students that belong to the top 10 of the

38
class. The study habits are concentrated on the student’s preparation before
attending classes daily.
The general problem is followed by an enumeration of the specific
problems. These problems are usually stated as questions that the researcher
seeks to answer. Therefore, the specific problems must meet the following
criteria:
1. They must be in question form.
2. They must define the population and the samples of the study
(respondents).
3. They must identify the variables being studied.
According to Creswell and Clark (2014), there are two types of research
questions. These are as follows:
1. Central questions- These are most general questions that can be
asked.
2. Sub-questions- These questions subdivided the central question into
more specific topical questions and are only limited in number.
Creswell and Clark (2014) also provide some guidelines in formulating the
research question:
1. The question should begin with words such as “how” or “what”
2. The readers should be informed of the information that will be
discovered, generated, explored, identified, or described in the study.
3. The question “What happened?” should we asked to help craft the
description.
4. The question “What was the meaning to people of what happened?”
should be asked to understand the results.
5. The question “What happened over time?” should be asked to explore
the process.
In addition, Creswell and Clark (2004) also provide the following scripts as
a guide in designing qualitative central and sub-questions:
1. Central question script
a. “What is the meaning of/what does it mean to (central
phenomenon)? “
Examples:
i. What is the meaning of intrapersonal competencies?
ii. What does it mean to differentiate the customs and traditions of Aetas to
those of the locals?

39
 iii. What does it mean to characterize the study habits of the top 10
students of the class?
b. “How would (participants) described (central phenomenon)?”
Examples:
i. How would school managers describe interpersonal competencies?
ii. How would the Aetas and locals of Zambales differentiate their
customs and traditions?
iii. How would the top ten high school students characterize their
general study habits?

2. Sub-question script
“What (aspect) does (participant) engage in as a (central
phenomenon)?”
Examples:
a. What level of self-concept does the school managers engage in as
a characteristics of interpersonal competencies?
b. What nature of practices do the Aetas and locals of Zambales
engage in as a part of their customs and traditions?
c. What kind of preparation does the top 10 high school students
engage in as an indicator of their general habits?

TYPES OF RESEARCH QUESTIONS

In general, there are two types of questions formulated in research. These
are follows:
1. Non-researchable questions- These are questions of value and are
answerable by yes or no.
Examples:
a. Should all mothers breastfeed their babies?
b. Should high school teachers be watchful over their Grade 7
students?
c. Should the schools offering different major in senior high
schools require their students to have a mandatory review
before taking the National Assessment Exam?
d. Do all head teachers have a master’s degree?
e. Are family members helping their children in reviewing their
lessons?

40
2. Researchable questions- These are questions of opinions, perceptions, or
policy that are raised to accumulate data. Formulating a clear, significant
question prepares the researcher for subsequent decision-making on research
design, data collection, and data analysis.
Examples:
a. What are the common preparations done by Grade 7 students
during their first days in school?
b. How do senior high schools responds to their Math teacher?
c. What are the study habits of students who are poorly
performing?
d. What is the relationship of the attitudes of the adviser to the
classroom behaviour of Grade 9 students?
e. How do officers of the Parent-Teacher Community Association
assist in the improvement of school facilities?
Dickoff et. Al (as cited by Wilson, 1989) provide further classification to
research questions. These are as follows:
1. Factor-isolating questions- These ask the question “What is this?” These
questions are sometimes called factor-naming questions because they isolate,
categorize, describe, or name factors and situations.
Exmaples:
a. What is the profile of school principals in terms of the
following?
i. Age
ii. Management experience
iii. Civil status
b. What are the levels of competencies of school principals as
described by their respective teachers and themselves in term
of the following?
i. Intrapersonal
ii. Interpersonal
2. Factor-relating questions- These ask the question “What is happening here?”
The goal of these questions is to determine the relationship among factors that
have been identified.
Examples:
a. What is the relationship of the level of performance of the
senior high school teachers to the OIT performance of the
students enrolled in the business track of Saint Paul School of
Professional Studies?
b. How does the performance level of volleyball teams of boys
differ to that of the girls?

41
3. Situation-relating questions- These questions ask the questions “What will
happen if…?” These questions usually yield hypothesis testing or experimental
study designs in which the researcher manipulates the variables to see what will
happen.
Examples:
a. What are the effects of computer-learning assisted methods of
teaching to the interest level of the sophomores to their history
subjects?
b. How significantly different is the performance of the call centre
agents who are well rested than those who are not?
4. Situation-producing questions- These ask the question “How can I make it
happen?” These questions establish explicit goals for actions, development plans
or prescriptions to achieve goals, and specify the conditions under which these
goals will be accomplished.
Examples:
a. Base on the findings, what human relation intervention
program can be adopted to enhance or improve effectiveness of
existing teaching methods?
b. What faculty development activities can be sponsored by the
PTCA to improve the performance of graduating students in the
UP College Admission Test (UPCAT)?

CHAPTER SUMMARY
1. In writing a good qualitative general problem or central question, the
following criteria should be considered:
a. It should be written in a single sentence.
b. It should include the purpose of the study.
c. It should include the central phenomenon.
d. It should use qualitative words.
e. It should identify the participants in the study.
f. It should specify the research site.
2. The general problem can be followed by specific problems or sub-questions
which must satisfy the following criteria:
a. They must be in question form.
b. They should defined the population and the samples of the studies
(respondents).

42
 c. They should identify the variables being studied.
3. Questions in qualitative research usually ask how or what questions.
4. The two general types of research questions are researchable and non-
researchable questions. These are further classified in to four (4) types: factor-
isolating, factor-relating, factor-situation-relating, and situation-producing
questions.

CHAPTER 7
THE SCOPE AND DELIMITATION AND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE
STUDY

OBJECTIVES
At the end of this chapter, the students will be able to
1. Specify the different variables and indicators of the study and
2. Cite the potential benefits of the study.

SETTING THE SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The scope of the study is determined primarily by the selection of
variables that the research study will focus on. Defining the scope of the research
requires the careful selection of variables that will be investigated, as well as the
attributes that will define and measure these variables.
A variable refers to any characteristic that can have different values or
traits that may vary across research participants. Variables are measured,
controlled, and manipulated by the researcher. Examples include age, gender,
height, and weight. Based on the research problem, the researcher identifies the
possible variables that will be investigated to address the problem.
Attributes are important elements of a variable. It refers to the value
assigned to a specific variable. For example, if the researcher focuses on a gender
as a significant variable in the study, he or she then identifies male and female as
attributes of gender. The variable agreement may have the following attributes –
strongly agree, agree, disagree, and strongly disagree.
Variables have the following important characteristics:
1. Dependence – this refers to how the variable is considered in a cause-
and-effect relationship. Independent variables are those characteristics
that are changed, manipulated, or selected by the researcher. Dependent

43
 variables, on the other hand, are those that change because of changes to
the independent variable.
For example, in a study that investigates the use of computer-aided
teaching instruction on student performance, the independent variable is
teaching instruction as the researcher chooses to implement computer-
aided teaching in the classrooms. The dependent variable, therefore, is
student performance as it is expected to change in reaction to the
introduction of computer-aided teaching.
2. Mutually exclusive – this means that a participant or respondent cannot
possess two attributes of a variable. For instance, a person cannot be both
male and female.
3. Exhaustive – this means that the researcher should consider all possible
attributes of a certain variable. In identifying the possible responses of the
participants to survey questions, the researcher must identify all possible
answers or reactions. In reality, considering all possible attributes and
including them in the research study is a difficult and almost impossible
task. Therefore, selectin g the most relevant attributes for each variable is
a part of setting the scope of the study.

KINDS OF VARIABLES
1. Continuous variables – variables that amy have an infinite number of
values and may vary widely among the research participants. Examples
include age and weight.
2. Discrete variables – variables that have specific limits to their value.
Examples include income, number of children, or years of employment.
3. Categorical variables – these cannot be expressed in numbers but are
given in non-quantitative, descriptive terms. Examples include civil status
(single, married, widowed), and educational achievement (high school
graduate, college graduate, post graduate).

DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The delimitation of the study describes the various limitations that arose
during the design and conduct of the study. These include the characteristics of
the research design and methodology that affected or influenced the findings of
the study. These limitations are contains on certain aspect of the research, such
as the interpretation of data and applicability and usefulness of the results and
findings.
The limitations of the study are defined primarily by the scope of the study.
While the scope of the study defines the variables that are the focus of the
research, the delimitation of the study identifies the other variables that were
not considered for the study. The limitations that are identified are only those
that are significant or may have had an impact on the findings of the study. For

44
instance, in the study on the effect of computer-aided teaching on student
performance, the reasearcher only focused on students in a specific school.
Therefore, one limitation of the study would be that the findings and conclusions
are only applicable to the particular school that was selected and may not apply
to other schools in the country. The characteristics of chosen respondents, as
well as the time period and place where the research was done, are major
variables that define the scope and delimitation of a research.
The following may be the possible limitations that may arise form the research
design and methodology:
1. Sample size. The research design and methodology will determine
whether the research will have a small or large sample size. The sample
size will determine the quality of data and the relationships that will be
identified among the variables.
2. Lack of variable and/or reliable data. Missing and unreliable data will
limit the scope of analysis and the ability of the researcher to determine
meaningful trends and relationships among the data.
3. Lack of prior studies. This will limit the effectiveness of the literature
review and may limit the initial understanding of the research problem.
This, however, can be a basis for identifying avenues for further research.
4. Chosen data collection method. Limitations in the data collection
instrument may affect the quality of data collected. Unclear or vague
questions in a questionnaire will result to unclear or erroneous answers
from the respondents. The method employed in data collection may also
affect the quality of the data. For example, the researcher may have
conducted an interviewer survey at a time the respondents may be busy
or preoccupied; there may be a possibility that the respondents may not
have accomplished the survey form or answered the question thoroughly
and the responses given may have been vague.
5. Nature of the information collected. Relying on preexisting data may
impose limits on the researchers as he or she can no longer clarify certain
data. Self-reported data have the risk of being false and cannot be easily
verified.
Apart from the design and methodology, the characteristics of the researcher and
the limits that he or she experiences in the conduct of the research will also give
rise to limitations. These are as follows:
1. Access. The amount and quality of data will depend on the ability of the
researcher to access people, organizations, libraries, and documents that
can provide him or her the best available data.
2. Time period. The length of time devoted to the study will affect almost all
aspects of the research. It is advisable to select a research problem and
design that gives way to a more manageable time period.
3. Bias. This refers to a way of viewing a certain thing, issue, or idea, and
may be influenced by the researcher's background. The researcher,
therefore, should be aware of his or he personal biases and how these
45
 affect the conduct of the research. Biases may affect the way the
researcher states and defines the research problem, the selection of
research design and methodology, the variables chosen, data collection
methods, and the interpretation of data.
4. Language. This may have an effect on data collection, especially if the
researcher is involved with respondents that speak a variety of languages.
This especially a challenge in studies that involve documents that have
written in different languages.
It is important to state the limitations of the study in detailed but concise terms.
The researcher should also explain why such limitations arose in the conduct of
the study and provide a reason why these could not be overcome by the research
method employed. The impact of the limitation on the data collected, as well as
its effects on the interpretation and analysis, should also be assessed. The
limitations can also lead to further research, and the researcher should include a
brief explanation of how these can help future researchers improve their
research design and methods.

SCOPE AND DELIMITATION EXAMPLE 1:

The Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Competencies of School Managers
Basis for formulation of the Human Relation Intervention (Cristobal, 2003)
The study assessed the intrapersonal and interpersonal competencies of
the school managers in the Division of Bataan, school year 2001-2002. The
school managers that were included in the study were the secondary school
principals and head teachers of big national high schools in the division.
Moreover, teacher respondents include only the teacher who are teaching
Teknolohiya, Edukasyong Pangkabuhayan, at Pantahanan subject.
Robbins (1996) enumerated the intrapersonal competency was measured
by the variables as enumerated. According to him, the most powerful predictors
of behavior in an organization are the following specific personality traits: locus
of control; Machiavellianism; self-esteem; self-monitoring; risk-taking; and
personality A.
Appodaca (1997) discussed the five aspects of the supervisor's role in
order to maintain good relationship with others. Theses aspects are
management, learning and training aspect, motivation, developing positive
employee attitudes, and problem-solving techniques.
Finally, the school effectiveness variable was measured by the school
manager’s profile, teacher’s performance. Some indicators of school performance
like the dropout, completion, survival, and achievement rates were based from
the average rating of three consecutive school years, SY 1999-2000 to SY 2001-
2002

46
 A validated questionnaire-checklist served as the main instrument of the
study, a follow-up interview was also used to clarify vague answer and
documentary analysis was also employed to answer the specific questions raised
in the proposal.

SCOPE AND DELIMITATION EXAMPLE 2:

Problems of Middle Level Managers in State Universities and Colleges:
Basis for the Development of a Management Intervention Program (Muello,
2002)
This study was concerned with the development and evaluation of a
management intervention program after a thorough identification and analysis
of conflicts/problems as experienced by middle – managers in Region IV state
universities and colleges. Middle level managers, such as deans, directors,
chairmen and department heads, and principals, with at least two years of
continuous service in the same institution, were the respondents of the study.
Personnel outside the main campus were not included since the problems they
met were perceived to resemble that of the mother units. Transportation
constraints in the island provinces turned out to be another problem, thus, other
personnel in the other campuses were not included.
The study produced an intervention program composed of a training
package on leadership and motivation. The said program is deemed important in
developing the managerial skills of middle level managers in terms of their
management functions such as planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. It is
assumed that their competencies will eventually be enhance after developing the
five – day seminar workshops.

Prior to the conceptualization of the management intervention program,

the data gathering procedure was conducted from January 1999 to June 1999.
Open – ended questioners, interviews, and observations were used as data
gathering instruments.

SCOPE AND DELIMITATION EXAMPLE 3:

Predictors of Students’ Performance in Chemistry laboratories
of Selected Private Schools (Estrella, 2009)

This study was focused on the factors affecting student’s performance in

chemistry laboratory in selected schools in Balanga City for the school year 2008
– 2009.

47
 In this study, the student’s performance refers to the average grade of the
students in their chemistry laboratory from first to third grading period.
Chemistry, the chosen field for the study, is the science with more abstract
theories which must be proven with actual events through experiments by the
students.
The grade point average (GPA) were gathered and tabulated to measure their
performance in the chemistry laboratory.
The study considered the following schools in Balanga City School as the
research locale of the investigation: Tomas del Rosario College, Asia Pacific
College of Advanced studies, and Bataan Christian School. This is because these
schools belong to the sam category as private institutions.
Specifically, the factors in this research were student – related ones which
pertain to the attitude of the students in the chemistry laboratory. The teacher –
related factors pertain to the teaching strategies, competencies and teacher’s
attitude in conducting experiments in the chemistry laboratory. Lastly laboratory
– related factors pertain to adequacy, availability, and usability of the laboratory
equipment and the laboratory manual and facilities

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Research is a very noble undertaking if it makes significant to the community
or the academic field or discipline where the researcher is affiliated with. That is
why the significance of the study should clearly discuss the purpose that the
research will serve to society, the country, the government the institution or
agency concerned, the curriculum planners and developers, and the research
community. This section describes the contribution of the study to the existing
body of knowledge. It could be in the form of new knowledge in the field, a
confirmation of the major findings of other studies, verification of the validity of
finding in a different population, analysis of trends over time, and validation of
other findings using different methodologies.
The researcher also has to identify the beneficiaries who will directly gain
from the results of the study. In identifying the beneficiaries, the researcher
should be specific in mentioning them in the paper. The specific benefits must
also be enumerated and explained if necessary. It is also important that the
beneficiaries should be listed according to the significance of the study’s results
to them.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY EXAMPLE 1:

48
 The Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Competencies of School Manager’s
Basis for the Formulation of the Human relation Intervention Program (Cristobal
2003)

Studies on how to improve management competencies are numerous.

However the researcher focused on the development of human intervention
program, which was evaluated by management experts. The human relation
intervention program considered the enhancement of the intrapersonal and
interpersonal competencies of school management in the division of Bataan.
Questionnaires were faileded first and interviews were done before the
intervention program was conceived.

The information generated from this research can provide the respondents,
the school managers in the Division of Bataan, with insights on how to enhance
their human relation skills. The researcher can provide a database of information
for future reference. Likewise, the findings can showcase ideas and suggestion
for the improvement of their management competency, specifically in dealing
with their subordinates and establishing good rapport and stable relationships.
This can also serve as a tool for school managers for self – analysis on how good
they are as managers. Moreover, the assessment that was conducted can serve as
a guide for managers and teachers for a more affective discharge of their duties.
It can also help identify and clarify the problems and issues related to human
relation, and can encourage the educational community to extend more
cooperation and support for school effectiveness.
Future administrators can gain insights in the development of their
intrapersonal competencies. Organizations and school officials can be provided
with information in the necessity of upgrading the different competencies
through seminars, workshops, and in - service training and the like. Researchers
can be motivated to make similar studies that treat other variables not
mentioned in the study. They can also profit from the result of this study since
the paper presents a framework that can be utilized in other institutions and
localities.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY EXAMPLE 2:

The Effects of Computer – Assisted Instruction in the Performance of the
Students in Asian History and Civilization (Cuenca,2008)
The findings of the study may provide deeper insights on how teaching can
be made easier and more meaningful by the use of computer – aided instruction.
The study determined the significant effects of slide presentation in instruction, a
form of computer instruction on the performance of the student in the subjects
Asian History and Civilization.

49
 To the students, the results may serve as an inspiration for them to
continuously improve their skills in using computers because they will realize
the comfort that computer skills offer in complying with the requirements of
major subjects in the coming year.
To the administrators, the results may serve as a guide in the program –
planning and implementation of the IT department so that they can be of great
help to the teachers of the university.
To the teachers, the results may serve as an eye opener for those who are not
comfortable on the use of computers in their class lesson presentations. The
findings of this study may encourage more of them to apply computer – aided
instruction in teaching.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY EXAMPLE 3:

Staff Nurses’ Roles on the Accuracy of Specimen Collection in Selected
Government and Private Hospitals in Bulacan: Relationship to Their work
Performance (Reyes,2007)
The results of this study will be of great benefit to the following:

Clinical instructors. The results of the study will provide them research – based
information as to the extent of participation engaged in infection control. From
the results, they could identify which areas they need to enhance and improve as
well as the areas needed to be sustained for better implementation.
Head nurses. This will provide a clear picture of the performance of their
subordinate nurses. This will enable them to give emphasis in supervising and
coaching the staff nurses so as to increase their level of performance.
Furthermore, this will determine the type of management skills that head nurses
need to function effectively in the organization and will shed light on areas in the
current management practices that needed to be worked up.
Nursing personnel. This study will provide information on the extent of
managerial skills that head nurse actually employs. This can be realized if these
nurses become aware of their behavior towards other which must be in accord
with the standard values of the nursing profession.
Other researchers. This research can be a source of another study or can be
replicated using additional variables in another locale or setting or with different
respondents. The results will be a possible research literature for their own
study. Enrichment or validation of the study of the same variables in
recommended for them to be able to reinforce the results of this study. The
findings of this study can also serve as a conceptual framework of another
research.

50
CHAPTER SUMMARY
1. The scope of the study is determined by the major variables of the study while
the sub – variables serve as the delimitation.
2.The scope of the study identifies and defines the significant variables that are
the focus of the study. It also determines the relevant attributes of each variable.
3.The different characteristics and kinds of variables include the following:
independent, variable, dependent variable, continuous variable, discrete
variable, and categorical variable.
4.The delimitation of the study identifies and describes the limitations
encountered by the study. The limitations of the study may arise from the
research design and methodology and the specific limitations encountered by the
researcher in the conduct of the study.
5. The significance of the study discusses the benefits of the study to the society
in general and to its beneficiaries in particular.

CHAPTER 8

THE REVIEW PROCESS

OBJECTIVES
At the end of this chapter, the students will be able to

1. Differentiate the different processes of reviewing literature and

2. Apply the symbols used in marking the pages of a book.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE
The review of literature is the process of compiling, classifying, and
evaluating what other researchers have written on certain topic. It can be partial
of component of research undertaking, but it can also stand alone as a self –
contained review of writing on a subject. The review of literature is a crucial
aspects of research, and serves the following purposes.

51
 • It helps in placing the work being reviewed in its
context

• It describes the relationships of each work to the

research being undertaken.

• It identifies new ways to interpret and shed light to

various gaps base from previous researches.

• It helps in solving conflicts among seemingly

contradictory previous study.

• It identifies the areas that are subject to a prior study to

prevent duplication of effort.

• It points to another research undertaking

TYPES OF READING
The investigators reading skills are essential in conducting the review of
literature. In the book, Research in nursing, Wilson (1990) identifies four
different of reading:

 Elementary reading: this is the most common kind of reading. Its

consists merely of the recognition of letters and the basic sounds of and
the literal comprehension of the sentences. It is primarily useful that an individua
lcan recognize letters and sounds correctly, but it is better if she or he comprehends
the ideas presented in each sentence after reading.
 Systematic skimming: Research demands a lot of reading . Hence, the
reader must establish a system through which he or she can maximize
time in searching for pertinent or irrelevant literature. The reader must
therefore choose wisely before investigating time in a book or an article

The following are some guidelines for systematic skimming:

a. The title page and the page and the preface of the abstract should be
quickly read.
b. The table of contents should be on studied carefully. Alternatively, the
headings or subheads of the article can be scanned. These act as
roadmaps by informing the reader in advance where he or she is headed.
c. The index should be checked. A quick estimated of the range of topics
included should then be made to see which ones are relevant to the study.

52
d. The publisher blurb or any boldface excerpts should be read. It is
common for authors and summarize their main points in these parts.
e. From the reader’s knowledge of the general nature of the books or
articles or content, chapters or sections that seem pivotal should be
carefully scrutinized. For example, in case of research report, the section
with the heading “findings” o “conclusions” should be read.
f. Finally, the whole paper should be leafed through, It should be
remembered to read a few lines, because most authors sum up important
points at the end.

· ANALYTIC READING: The reader asks question to understand the article

such as “ what is the book or article all about?”, what is being said in detail and
how?”, and “ what of it?” He or she takes time to understand every detail of price

The following are some guideline to analytical reading:

a. It should be discerned whether they were arrived at through personal trial

and error, or what is often called “ conventional wisdom”
b. It should be stated in a sentence or two what the reader has gained from
reading.
c. The book of article should be thoroughly scanned to uncover the the
structure and organization of the major parts.
d. The main questions or problems that the article or book is set out to answer
or solve should be determined. When reading a thesis, the reader should be
able to do this by comparing findings and conclusions to the purposes or
objectives.
e. Important and unfamiliar words should be noted and defined.
f. The most important sentences in an article or book should be marked, and
the propositions they contain they contain should be uncovered. This is best
done when reading the conceptual framework of the study proposal or
report.
g. The basic arguments or premises should be identified
h. The solutions or conclusions an author has to come up with should be
recognized even before reading about them,
i. Before writing a critique paper, the reader should have a thorough
understanding of its contents

· COMPARATIVE READING: This is the highest level of reading which

requires the reader to place what he or she is currently reading in relation
to their materials he or she has previously read. This type of reading helps
the reader identify the similarities and differences between two or more
articles in term of their variables and propositions. This skill is very
essential in research, as one has to look for similar studies for the firm
foundation of study.

53
EXAMPLE OF ANNOTATIONS:

“Studying at Stanford, I began to think seriously about class

differences. To be materially underprivileged at a university
where most folks (with the exception of workers) are
Is this
What based
materially privileged provokes such thought. Class
What
kind
differences
of on
boundar
kind of
were boundaries no one wanted to face or talk about. It was
easier to downplay them, to act as though we were all fromCoping &
privileged backgrounds, to work around them, to confront Anxiety
them privately in the solitude of one’s room, or pretend
that just being chosen to study at such an institution meant

already
Guilt that
Guil those of us who did not come from privilege were

? in transition toward privilege. To not long for such

transition
marked one as rebellious, as unlikely to succeed. It was a
How
kind Howdo
do
parents
anxieties of treason not to believe that it was better to identified with
anxieties
influence the world of material privilege than with the world of the
influence
their working class, the poor. No wonder our working-class
parents
from poor backgrounds feared our entry into such a world
intuiting perhaps that we might learn to be ashamed of
where
we had come from, that we might never return home, or
come
back only to lord it over them.”

Source: http://www.cpp.edu/~ramp/program-materials/marking
-your-textbook.shtml

54
CHAPTER SUMMARY
1. Review and literature is the process of compiling, classifying, and evaluating
what other researchers have written on a certain topic.
2. The purposes of reviewing literature are to help place the work being
reviewed in its context; describe the relationship of each work to the research
being undertake identify new ways to interpret various gaps based from
previous researcher; solve conflicts among seemingly contradictory previous
studies; identify topic that an subjects of an previous studies; and point out new
topics for a study.
3. The levels of reading are elementary reading, systematic skimming, critical
reading, and comparative reading.
4. The three steps in conducting the review of literature are finding relevant
literatures, actual reading, and note-taking.
5. The three strategies in reviewing literature are previewing, highlighting and
annotating.

CHAPTER 9
THE STANDARD STYLES OF WRITING

OBJECTIVES
At the end of this chapter, the students will be able to
1. Differentiate the styles of research writing and
2. Apply the styles of research writing in the proposed research study.

DIFFERENT STYLES OF RESEARCH WRITING

In research writing, there are many different style guides that are followed by
researchers. However, the three most common styles followed at present are the
Modern Language Association (MLA) Style, American Psychological Association (APA)
Style, and Chicago Style or Turabian.

MODERN LANGUAGE ASSOCIATION

55
 The Modern Language Association (MLA) is an American professional
organization for scholars of literature and language based in New York City. It
publishes the MLA stylebook titled MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly
Publishing with its first edition printed in 1985 and its third edition in 2008. The MLA
began in 1883 at Purdue University as a discussion group for literature and modern
language. Today, several regional associations compose the MLA.

FORMATTING A PAPER USING THE MLA STYLE

By Peter Gallagher and Brian Scott
1. Alignment. Align the text flush left. If your word processor, such as
Microsoft Word, has a “full justify” setting. Which spreads the text and
aligns it both left and right, do not use it. Leave the text ragged on the
right side.
2. Binding. MLA Style calls for binding the pages with a simple paper clip or
spring clip. Do not use a staple or other permanent binding system, unless
your instructor requests it.
3. Endnotes and footnotes. You may use endnotes or footnotes with MLA
Style, but they should only be used to further explain a term or a complex
idea beyond what you are able to include in the main text. Endnotes and
footnotes should not be used to cite sources. Save those for the “Works
Cited” page.
4. Font. MLA Style calls for a 12-point font size, along with an easily
readable font such as Times New Roman.
5. Headings. In MLA Style, headings and subheads that break up the text are
optional. Check with your instructor before using them.
6. Indentions. You will need to indent the first line of any paragraph by one-
half inch from the left margin. If you are not using word processing
software, indent by five spaces.
7. Italics. You should use italics for titles of longer works. MLA Style also
allows the use of italics within the body of the text for emphasis of a
particular word or phrase, but use such items sparingly.
8. Margins. All four sides of the MLA paper—top, bottom, right, and left—
require a margin of 1 inch. The only items that should appear outside the
margins are the page numbers.
9. Page numbering. Place the page number in the upper right corner of
every page. Use Arabic numerals for the page numbers. The page number
should appear one-half inch from the top of the paper and even with the
right margin (1 inch from the edge of the paper). If you choose to use an
optional title page, you should not number it. If you choose not to create a
separate title page, instead including the title and other relevant
information on the first page of the main text, you must use “1” as the
number of that page.

56
 10. Paper type. Use standard, 20-pound white paper that measures 8.5 by 11
inches.
11. Punctuation. Follow all standard punctuation marks with just one space,
including colons, commas, periods, and semicolons. Some instructors still
prefer the old rule of using two spaces after periods that end sentences.
MLA Style does allow some flexibility in punctuation when the instructor
requests a change from the standard MLA Style.
12. Quotation blocks. Whenever using a quotation that will be longer than
four typed lines, set the entire quotation block apart by indenting it form
the left margin 1 inch (or 10 spaces). Double-space within quotation
block. You do not need to use quotation marks with a quotation block.
13. Spacing. You will need to double-space all of the text within the paper,
except in special circumstances as directed by your instructor. All
quotations, notes, and lists of works cited should be double-spaced.
14. Tittle. MLA Style does not require a separate title page. You can include
the information used for the title on the first page of the paper, and begin
the paper’s main text on the same page. All text should be double-spaced
on the first page. You can place the page number in the upper right
corner, In the upper left corner, flush left, and beginning at the margins,
include your name, the instructors name, the course, and the date. Then,
center the text for the title, mixing uppercase and lowercase letters. If you
choose to skip the separate tittle page, you can begin the main text
immediately after the title text.
15. Underlining. With the third edition of the MLA Style Manual, the new
guidelines have eliminated the use of underlining. Now, italicize all
published works, rather than underlining.

AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION (APA)

The American Psychological Association or APA developed its own
uniform style or formatting written works. Originally, the resulting style book
was provided to their associates as a guide for composing scientific publications,
articles, handbooks, journals, and the like for the organization. It was in 1929
when the original APA style guidelines were featured in a magazine write-up. It
was only in 1959 when an official APA style manual became publicly available.
Because of the practicability it brings, many education institutions use the APA
style as the standard for writing research papers.

FORMATTING A PAPER USING THE APA STYLE

by Peter Gallagher and Brian Scott
1. Abbreviations. Avoid using abbreviations in your paper. However, if you
need to use an abbreviation or acronym, that is recognized in your
language, and you can find it in the dictionary, them you can use it.

57
 2. Hyphenations. Do not separate and hyphenate words at the end of a line.
Rather, leave one line slightly short and put the complete word on the
next line; otherwise, proceed a couple of characters past the right margin
to adjust the complete word on the line.
3. Indentions. Indent paragraphs within the primary text of the paper one-
half inch if using a word processing program or indent five to seven
spaces in if typing on a typewriter. However, do not indent in these
unique circumstances: the abstract, block quotations, figure captions,
notes, reference list entries, table titles, and titles or headings.
4. Margins. Use 1-inch margins on all four sides of the paper; top, bottom,
right, and left. Old rules required 1.5-inch margins, but these rules are
now obsolete.
5. Page numbering. Number nearly every page in the paper, including the
title page. Put the number in the upper-right corner of the page, and use
only Arabic numbers. Put the number “1” on the title page and the
number “2” on the abstract page. Begin the main body of the text on the
page number “3”. Do not number pages that consist of only statistics or
illustrations.
6. Paper type. Use regular white, 20-pound bond paper that has
measurements of 8.5 by 11 inches. If printing from a computer, use an
inkjet or laser printer to print the paper: if you must use a tractor-feed
printer, make sure to tear off the pinhole borders from the sides of the
paper.
7. Parenthesis. Aim to restrict parentheses to separate or divide items that
are structurally independent, such as listing a number or illustration that
is associated with a sentence. If you are enclosing a full sentences in a
parentheses, position that punctuation inside the parentheses. If you are
enclosing only a piece of a sentence inside parentheses, then place the
punctuation outside the parentheses.
8. Punctuations. In most cases, use single space after all common
punctuations marks, such as periods, commas, col0onc, and semicolons.
There are three exceptions to this norm(1) do not use space after periods
inside an abbreviation, such as when writing U.S. for United States; (2) do
not use a space after a colon in a ratio, such as 4:7; and (3) some
professors like the outdated rule of using two spaces after periods that
end sentences. If you are using Courier or another mono-space font, APA
Style does permit two spaces between sentences, although one space is
recommended.

CHAPTER 10
RESEARCH FRAMEWORKS

OBJECTIVES

58
At the end of this chapter, the students will be able to.
1. Discuss relevant theories and
2. Formulate relevant theories for the study.
A framework is defined as “a set of ideas that provide support to
something “(Merriam Webster, n.d). Essentially, any concept of theory requires a
strong framework to establish its general feasibility. In the case of research, it
serves as the building blocks for the foundation of the study. There are two types
of research framework: theoretical framework and conceptual framework.

THEORETICAL AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

The theoretical framework is from existing theories and serves the
foundation of the study. The present study can adopt the original model used by
the cited theorist. However, the researcher can modify the variables of the
original framework to better suit the study, provided that the whole theory is
utilized.
In the contrast the conceptual framework is derive from a combination of
theories or parts of theories. This framework guides the researcher in
synthesizing the different theories used in formulating a new one.
Ideally the theoretical frame work is more suitable for student researcher
than the conceptual framework because of the former’s simpler approach. That
is, it is less complicated to directly base on existing theories than to formulate a
new one. Although creativity and variability in research are valuable, a student
researcher should also consider the extent of his or her access to resource
materials, which may limited. With that consideration in mind, the following
chapter discussions are tailored for theoretical framework.

ELEMENTS OF THE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Since the theoretical framework preface the entire study by providing
background information, it should be supported by established facts from
different resource materials. In order to formulate the framework of study, the
following major elements should be present:
1. Relevant theories. These are theories that are partially or fully relevant
to the present study and are discussed to provide a basis for the variables
being tested.
2. Review of related literature. These are published materials that
compare the study with existing knowledge on the research topic. This
part defines. Classifies, and facilitates objective comprehension of the
variables being studied.

59
 3. Review of related studies. This part includes the theses or dissertations
on research topics carrying the same variables. The finding from the
previous studies define the approach that the researcher took in
measuring the variables.
4. Paradigm of study. This is a diagrammatic presentation of the study
used to visually summarize the whole study. It is the result of a clearer
understanding of the theoretical or conceptual framework. It is usually
comprised of symbols and figures such as lines, shapes and arrows.

DEVELOPING THE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

A theoretical framework serves the basis of the research it points out,
though It’s cited theories, which specific variables will be the focus of the study.
In doing so, the approach that the researcher will adopt in evaluation and
interpretation of the data is better established. It also preface the new
knowledge introduced in the research by validating or challenging theoretical
assumptions. Thus, writing a sound theoretical framework provides the readers
a better understanding of the research study.
The University of South California (2016) providesthe following
strategies in formulating the theoretical framework.
1. Examine your thesis title and research problem. The research
should be well-founded since it serves as the foundation of the theoretical
framework.
2. Brainstorm about what is consider as the key variables in the
research. The factors that are presumed to have significant bearing on
the result of the study should be identified.
3. Reviews related literature and studies. The basis of the research
should be supported by relevant literature and studies from authors who
had conducted an extensive research on the topic.
4. List the constructs and variables. Constructs are information inferred
from observation while variables literatures are research factors that are
measured in the study. These should be identified to create the
framework.
5. Review key theories. The theories that best explain the relationships
between the key variables in the study should be identified.
Discuss the assumption or proposition. The relevance of the cited theories
to the research should be established to effectively support the framework of the
study.

RELEVANT THEORIES

60
 The word "theory" is derived from the Greek word theories, which means
"vision". Singh (2009) defines theory as non-observable construct that is
inferred from observable facts and events that are thought to have an effect on
the phenomenon under study and is primarily concerned with determining
cause-effect relationship among variables.
In this part of the theoretical framework, the researcher cites and
discusses related theories that serve as the foundation of the variables and their
relevance to the study. It prefaces the readers on what theories are used. As the
basis of the research story.
In the discussion of relevant theories, the following parts are mentioned:
1. Name/s of the author/s
2. Title/s of their theory/ies
3. Theoretical statement or principles
4. Explanation of the theoretical statement
5. Relationship of the theory to the present study

RELEVANT THEORIES EXAMPLE 1:

Correlates of English Performance of Second Year Students in Selected High
School Congressional District II, Nueva Ecija (Valenton, 2009)
There are four theories on how children learn a language: behaviorism,
linguistics, social interactionism, and the neurobiological perspective (Vukelich,
2002). Only the theory of social interactionism (theory title) is adopted in this
study.
Social interactionist does not come from either side of the nature or
nurture debate. Rather, it acknowledges the influence or genetics and parental
teaching (theory statement). However, it shares with behaviorists the belief that
the environment plays a central role in children's language development.
Likewise, along with nativists, it poses the belief that children possess an innate
predisposition to learn language. Parents and teachers also support the
children's effort to learn language by focusing the child's attention on objects in
the immediate environment and labeling each object and its action (theory
explanation).
This social interactionist theory was conceptualized in English language,
since English is the Philippines' second language. This study assumed that the
English performance of second year high school students in terms of their
English factors such as social-demographic, school, and home (relationship to
present study). Considering the generally recognized performance of students in
the achievement tests and poor command of the English language, this study

61
aims to find out what influences their performance for the school year 2008-
2009.

RELEVANT THEORIES EXAMPLE 2:

High School Classroom Climate Quality: Basis for Creating Faculty
Development Activities (Landar, 2008)
As cited by Jarvilehto (1999), environment is defined not as it is, but as it
is perceived and experienced. This phenomenological approach was expanded by
Lewin's (1936) field theory of life space as discussed by Smith (2001). Lewin
defined behavior not as a function of the objective physical properties of the
stimulus environment, but as an environment transformed into an "inner world"
by a cognizing organism. Thus, it is the psychological environment rather than
the physical environment that determines the way an individual will respond.
Dorman (2002), in his review of the classroom environment research,
described that on Lewin's approach, Murray (1938) developed a "need-press
model". Murray introduced the terms "alpha press" that describes the
environment from the point of view of someone involved in the experience.
In the need-press model, personal needs are motivated by personality
characteristics representing tendencies to move in the direction of certain goals.
On the other hand, environment press provides an external situational
counterpart that supports or frustrates the expression of internalized
personality needs. Furthermore, the theory holds that people have needs for
human fulfillment that include students' needs for classroom involvement and
the students' needs for classroom affiliation. Building upon need-press theory,
Knight and Waxman (1990) reasoned that study perceiving that their classroom
affiliation tend to be environmentally encouraged toward developing positive
academic self-concepts. While for Frazer, Fisher, and MacRobbie (1996),
environmental measures were rarely considered, but various numbers of
measures of personality were developed from Murray's need-press theory in
early studies. They argues that when the study of human environments was
being established, researchers recognized that different people bring different
perspectives to research, which in turn may lead to different interpretations of
results.
The prevailing model for assessing school climate involves the use of
survey-type objective inventories in this present study. This approach in
assessing school climate is typically used by researcher to also determine the
present classroom climate in the area of study.
The assumed interplay of the students' profile and classroom climate
quality could influence the nature and the kind of faculty development activities
a school may create. Likewise, the faculty development activities, to some extent,
may directly or indirectly affect the classroom climate quality and aspects of the

62
student's profile. Recognizing the cognitive and affective needs of the teacher in
improving student performance in the classroom and enhancing the teacher's
ability to provide and adapt instruction to meet the needs of each individual
student is assumed to lead in establishing and maintaining a harmonious and
dynamic classroom climate. Assessing the present classroom climate quality of
high school students will help the school plan and implement a feasible
intervention porgy if a need warrants it.

CHAPTER SUMMARY
1. A framework is defined as "a set of ideas that provides support to something".
In the case of research, it serves as the building blocks for the basis of the study.
2. The word "theory" is derived from the Greek word theories, which means
"vision".
3. A theory is a non-observable construct that is inferred from observable facts
and events that are thought to have an effect on the phenomenon under study
and is primarily concerned with determining cause-effect relationships among
variables.
4. The theoretical framework is formulated from existing theories and serve as
the foundation of the study. It points out, through its cited theories, which
specific variables will be focused in the study.
5. The conceptual framework is derived from the combination of theories or
parts of theories. This framework guides the researcher in synthesizing the
different theories used in formulating a new one.
6. The elements of the theoretical framework are the relevant theories, review of
the related literatures, review of related studies, and the paradigm of the study.
7. The following are some strategies in formulating the theoretical framework:
a. Examine your thesis title and research problem.
b. Brainstorm about what is considered as the key variables in the research.
c. Review related literature and studies.
d. List the constructs and variables.
e. Review key theories.
f. Discuss the assumption or propositions.
8. In writing the relevant theories, the following must be included: names of the
authors; titles of their theories; theoretical statement or principles; explanation
of the theoretical statement; and relationship of the based theory to the present
study.

63
 CHAPTER 11
RELATED LITERATURE

OBJECTIVES
At the end of this chapter, the students will be able to.
1. Describe the variables and sub-variables of the study and
2. Write a review of related literature.

INVESTIGATION

RELATED LITERATURE
The related literature examines facts and principles from other
resources that are related to the present study. That is, a research study on the
learning curves of high school students would utilize literatures that deal with
the same subject. These resource materials include books, encyclopedias,
published journals, newspapers, and magazines.
The related literature, which is called conceptional literature, serves to
clarify the different variables being studied. It removes any vagueness
surroundings the central concepts of the research. As the literature is gathered,
the different major variables, as well as the sub-variables.
Are clarified and the denomination of the study is established. The
indicator for each variable are identified and objectively established.
The major variable is the central idea of the entire literature. Its sub-
variable help specify which particular aspect of the major variable is being
referred to. The indicators, on the other hand, are specific information that
describes the sub-variables.
Examples:
a. Major variables study habits
b. Sub-variables: Time required for studying methods of studying, and place for
studying.
c. Indicators: Employing patterned time intervals in memorizing the terms; and
studying in one's ideal environment.
The American Psychological Association (2001) states that review articles
(called the literature review for research papers) are crucial in the review
process. A review article summarize all the related literature and their relation

64
to the study. Readers who are not knowledgeable on the topic are provided with
a basic understanding of the research before the new findings are presented.
APA providers the following definition for a review article:
Review articles, including meta-analyses, are critical evaluations of
materials previously published. By organizing, integrating, and evaluating such
materials, the author of a review article considers the progress of current
research towards clarifying a problem. In a sense, a review article is a "tutorial"
in which the author defines and clarifies the problem; summarizes previous
investigation in order to inform the reader of the state of current research;
identifies relations, contradiction, gaps, and inconsistencies in the literature; and
suggest the next step in solving the problem. (P. 7)
The different variables used in the study are the focus of the review of
literature. The title, statement of the problem, scope and delimitation, as well as
the framework of the study are the elements that give the researcher an idea of
its relevance to his or her own research.
The number of resource material to be gathered for the review of literature
depends upon the researcher's judgment. If he or she believes that the important
concepts and variables have been adequately explained and that enough
indicators have been established, then the review of related literature is consider
sufficient.
It is traditional practice that the review of related literature is divided into
foreign and local literature. It is highly recommended that the researcher use the
different variables and sub-variables being studied as subtitles in the review.
This is very beneficial to the researcher and the future investigators studying
similar problems as there is a clear and logical organization of the variables
under investigation. With this system, the researcher can systematically define
the important concepts and variables as well as the discussions, description, and
other information gathered from the different sources. When the related
literature is arranged systematically, the construction of the research instrument
(e.g., questionnaire) will be easier since the indicators are presented logically
and sequentially.
Related literature also includes works of experts in refereed or peer-
reviewed journals. Expert readers or peers who are recognize authorities on the
topic are consulted to a review the written works of the researchers to
determine if they meet the standards of a good reference material, I, e reliability
and timeliness. Refereed journals are published nationally and internationally.

WRITING THE LITERATURE REVIEW

In her book, Conducting literature review: from the internet to paper, fink
(2009)defines a literature review or review literature as a presentation of the
analysis, patterns and critiques of individual sources or the body literature as a
65
whole, its purpose is to offer a wide review of referred scholarly articles, and
other sources like journals, thesis, and dissertation.
It is important to note that in reviewing literature, understanding and
comprehension both matter. Thus, the write-up expressed in one's own words is
the measure of the researcher’s synthesis of the reviewed materials.

ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF A LITERATURE REVIEW

The literature review serves as in- depth summary of the related
literatures to the study. It does not only restate facts about rather critiques and
highlight their relevance to the research. In doing so, several elements should be
observed in writing this section:
1. Overview of the subject or topic, issues, or theories to be considered.
2. Division of works such as those that support a particular position, those
against, and those that offer other ideas.
3. Explanation of the comparison of the gathered literature
4. Conclusion and the best arguments.

STAGES OBSERVED IN WRITING THE LITERATURE REVIEW

Since a literature review serves to preface the purpose of the study, the
related literature cannot be evaluated without setting the foundation for the
review. A literature review, therefore follows a systematic approach in writing
its content. The premise of the review should be clarified and the relation of the
cited resource materials to the study should be established. Thus, different
stages are observed when writing the literature review:
1. Problem Formulation. The researcher must determine the research
problem before the review of literature to fully understand the variables
considered in the study.
2. Literature search. Any reading material that is related to the study
must include a discussion and explanation of at least one of the variables.
3. Data evaluation. The indicators that are synthesized from various
relevant sources must further build the researcher's confidence as the
variables of his or her study are made clear.
4. Analysis and interpretation. Breaking the entire reading article into
smaller parts will help the researcher correctly interpret the information
in the reviewed materials.

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FORMAT OF A LITERATURE REVIEW
In writing the literature review, the researcher can be flexible in utilizing
different related literature. However, as stated earlier, the literature review is
not merely a restatement of facts. Thus, the organization of thought should be
duly considered when writing the review.
The general format of a literature review is as follows:
1. The Introduction
a. The general problem and the variables should be defined.
b. Every important data should be highlighted to effectively discuss the
problem or the variables such as the theory, methodology, evidence,
conclusions, or even gaps.
c. The criteria in selecting the literature should be considered to asses
which resources are pertinent and should be included, and which are
irrelevant and should be removed.
2. The Body
a. Chosen approaches, conclusion of authors, specific objective, and the
like should be included.
b. Studies and literature should be summarized. For the studies, primary
consideration must be given to the result of the studies that includes the
variables.
In choosing the literature, the following should be considered:
I. Provenance. This refers to the author's credentials and the empirical
basis of the article in literature.
II. Objectivity. This refers to the rationally of every data or facts cited.
III. Persuasiveness. This refers to the degree of credibility of the data.
IV. Value. This refers to the contribution of the literature to clarify
variables.
3. The Conclusion
a. Major contributions of the studies or articles should be summarized.
b. Current developments and new information should be evaluated.
c. The review should be concluded by relating the data to the central
theme or problem.

PRACTICAL TIPS IN WRITING THE LITERATURE REVIEW

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Now that the technical aspects are laid out, one should have a better
understanding of the purpose of the literature review in a research paper. Since
it prefaces the entire research study, the researcher should observe meticulous
writing of the each section of the paper, After all, a well-written literature review
can help readers to easily grasp the actual content.
The following are helpful tips in writing the review:
1. Sources scholarly works, and other materials that are refereed and
indexed should to be used. Electronic sources should be properly
scrutinized since the contained information are sometimes inaccurate or
erroneous.
2. Each source should be selected based on its contribution to the topic
under review.
3. The relationship of one source to another should be described.
4. Interpretation should be done appropriately by looking into the gaps of
previews research.
5. Conflicts or contradiction should be resolved.
6. Areas of prior scholarship should be identified.
7. One's original work should be placed in the context of existing
literature.

REVIEW RELATED LITERATURE EXAMPLE1:

Skipping Breakfast of High School Students (Bacsal, et al, 2015)
On Eating Breakfast is often called the most important meal of the day
(Henager, 2010). Eating breakfast can be a great way to function properly. It is
true that many students are coming to schools without eating breakfast times for
many reasons including: not enough time in the morning, eating habits, and food
preferences. According to Baley (2003), any of these can lead to lack of
concentration at school or throughout the day or even weight issues in the
future. Poor breakfast choices can be blamed on education, historical
developments, and income and social determinants. In addition, children who
skip meals barely meet the required dietary intake. This results to lethargy and
difficulty in doing metal tasks (Bailey and Earl, 1993).
On the Types of Breakfast Prepared. Choosing the right breakfast foods is
very important to make sure you get 1/3 of your daily nutrient requirements.
That is why you must realize that skipping meals is not a quick way to lose
weight (Bailey, 1993). Creveling (2014) noted that a morning meal will help you
power through a workout, as compared to those who fasted until noon. Control
of food choice like starchy carbohydrate intake must be considered to avoid fat

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gains (Mehdi, 2009). Thus, one should adopt healthy habits such as regularly
exercising, eating healthy foods such as fruits, vegetable, and whole grains.

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE EXAMPLE 2:

The Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Competencies of Principals
(Cristobal, 2003)

On management roles. A manager of an organization plays various roles that

need specific skills and competencies in order for him or her to be effective.

According to George (1994), a manager needs the following competencies to

be turned as a "total quality manager".

1. Courage. A courageous manager stands up in unpopular ideas, does not

avoid confrontations, and gives feedback to subordinates and superiors;
his confidence is his own capability;
2. Dependability. A dependable leader follows through, upholds
commitments, meets deadlines, takes and accepts responsibilities for
actions, admits mistakes to superiors, work effectively with little or no
supervision from supervisors, and keeps supervisors informed of his/her
progress;
3. Flexibility. Functions effectively in a changing environment, provides
stability, remains objective when confronted with many responsibilities
at once, and handles several problems simultaneously;
4. Integrity. Adheres to a code of ethics and moral values, behaves in a
manner that is inconsistent with organizational climate and professional
responsibility, does not abuse management privileges, gains trust and
respect, and serve as a model to his or her peers;
5. Judgment. Carries logical and intellectual assessment to reach sound
evidence of alternative actions, bases decisions on logical and factual
information, and considers the welfare of other people in his or her
judgment; and
6. Respect for others. Honors rather than belittles the opinions or works
of others and demonstrates a belief on each individual's value regardless
of their status in the organization.

On management practices. There are five behavioral management practices in

order to become effective managers according to Posner (1987). These are as
follows:

1. They challenge the process. They are willing to take the status quo.
They make mistakes to push innovations.
2. They inspire a shared vision. That have a dream and purpose, a goal,
or agenda. They live their lives backwards by studying a practice in their
work. They are interested to share passionately that vision and make it
happen.

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 3. They enable others to act. They focus on "we" to build coalition and
encourage collaboration. They build teams and empower others.
4. They model the organization. They are clear about their beliefs and
act consistently within their beliefs. They show others their values by
behaving as they expect others to act.
5. They encourage the heart. They celebrate and offer dramatic
encouragement and rewards. They show their members they can win and
that winning is exciting.

Allen (in De Guiana, 1998) presents only four major functions: planning,
organizing, leading and controlling. He reduced the five functions to four by
incorporating Payol's "coordinating" with "organizing"; by changing
"commanding" to the less autocratic "leading"; and retaining to planning and
controlling.

He broke down all four functions into nineteen specific activities:

1. Planning - forecasting, establishing objectives, programming,
scheduling, budgeting, formulating policies, and establishing procedures.
2. Organizing - developing organization structure, delegating, and
establishing relationship.
3. Leading - decision-making, communicating, motivating, selecting
people, and developing.
4. Controlling - establishing performance standards, performance
measuring, evaluating, and correcting.

The school managers are endowed not only with a higher degree of
responsibility, but also of discretionary powers. Thus, this responsibility and
authority include coordinating all resources of their work group to achieve set
goals. They have to organize direct, motivate, communicate, control, evaluate,
and develop people in his work group. Leveriza (1995) regards the managers as
supervisors or overseers. This is because they deal not only with people but also
with objectives. In actual practice, the supervisor is more than a manager or
overseer if people. He is the organization's man responsible for the conduct of
others in the achievement of various organizational tasks: the maintenance of
quality standards, the protection and care of materials, and the services to be
rendered under his control.

Likewise, Bittle (1991) looks at the school manager's responsibilities in

five directions, enabling them to fill effectively the following five different roles:
leaders and trainers of their employees; implementers of ideas; co-workers with
other supervisors; subordinates to their own supervisors; and mediators of
employees' needs.

Clearly, these roles indicate that a manager is not only responsible for the
development of his people, but also for the maintenance of things, materials, and
equipment within the organization.

On intrapersonal competency. It is the ability to relate effectively with

subordinates, colleagues, superiors, and representatives of other organizations.

70
In the US, an ASCR sponsored research protect yielded 12 dimensions of
outstanding supervisors, gleaned from the literature of the past 15 years and
verified by experts. These are community staff development, instructional
program, planning and change, motivating and organizing, observation and
conferencing, curriculum, problem-solving and decision-making, service to
teachers, personal development, community relation, and research and program
evaluation.

Telephone surveys were made to confirm further the importance of the

12 dimensions. There was a strong belief in the importance of human relation
and that a key to a supervisor's effectiveness is the "love and like of people". A
supervisor should be willing to give other people credit for success and should
be more of a "cheerleader" than a "scorekeeper".

Supervisors, according to Pajak (1990), are a very person-oriented

activity. They require knowledge and skill but the human element is paramount.
As asserted by one of the respondents in his study, "you always have to
remember that people are important".

Intrapersonal competency is termed by Holmes (1990) as intrapersonal

intelligence. According to him, it includes the thoughts and feelings of an
individual. The more one can bring into his own consciousness, the better he can
see his inner world to the outer world of experience. It helps an individual
understand his desires and goals and emotional nature. He describes a person
with a well-developed intrapersonal competence as one who is aware of his
range of emotion, finds approaches and outlets to express his feelings and
thoughts; develops an accurate model of selt; is motivated to identify and pursue
goals; establishes and lives by an ethical value system; works independently; is
curious about the big questions in life: meanings, roles, and purposes; manages
ongoing learning and personal growth; attempts to seek out and understand
inner experience; gains insights into the complexities for self and human
conductions; strives for self-actualities; and empowers others.

Dr. Howard Gardner (1992), in his theory of eight multiple intelligences,

defines intrapersonal competence as referring to having an understanding of
oneself and of knowing who he is, what he can do, what wants, how to act on
things, which to avoid,
And which things he can have. He seeks to know what he cannot do and tends to
know where to go if he needs help. The individual loves to control his own
feelings and moods, pursue personal interest and set his individual agenda, learn
organization by observing and listening, and use meta-cognitive skills. Another
scholar, Chase (2000), termed intrapersonal competency as personal mastery.
According to him, personal mastery takes many different forms depending on the
person's background and life experience. The focus may be on overcoming ones
limitations such as procrastination or a particular learning disability .other may
struggle with addiction or dependency. Stress may also fall under personal
mastery, as does the actual day-to-day implementation of that idealistic time
management program you would like to adopt. An often overlooked dimension

71
of personal mastery is the development of an ethical stance on all aspects of the
organizational life.

To be an effective agent of change, this intrapersonal competence is

necessary. According to Whittaker (2000), those involved in work as agent of
change need to appreciate that the personal lives of individuals are characterized
by a struggle to secure and find fulfillment. The ways that an individual behaves
in an organization and reacts to the change in expectations may be determined
similarly with the developed struggle, as described by Erickson with regard to
the particular detail of the organizational issues at stake. A curiosity about
human behavior and sensitivity of the psychological struggle of human beings
are important part of being an effective manager and leader. Many educators and
scholar used personality life of intrapersonal competence. According to Apodaca
(1997) to better understand how to work effectively with people, it is necessary
for a manager to first understand himself. Studying and understanding one's own
desires mental make-up can accomplish this. This is better known as looking at
one's personality.

Personality is the sum total of the qualities and characteristics is a person

as shown in his manner of walking, talking, dressing, attitude, interests, and
ways of reaching out to other people. It refers to all the factors within the person
that influence his character, behavior, thinking, and feelings (Santos, 1997).
Personality is a dynamic organization within the individual reacts to and
interacts with others (Robbins'1996). It is also a secondary description of
psychology , which characterize the individual's unified adjustment to his or her
and experiences , which characterize the individual's unified adjustment to his or
her lit situation (Allyn,1999)

Personality needs personal skills and abilities in order to be effective

according to book (1998). Personal skills and abilities include the three areas of
managing self. These are self -awareness; personal effectiveness, the number of
key skills and competencies that can be used to help people achieve their goals;
and self – development to help people learn to cope with changing circumstances
and demands in their skills and competencies. Self-awareness, as mentioned by
Boak, is synonymous to intrapersonal competencies. It has five useful metal
models. These are assertive behavior, foundations of assertiveness, life position,
drivers, and personality. Personality, as one of the factors, is given importance in
this study. As defined by Boak, these are more or less stable internal factors that
make one person's behavior consistent from one time to another and different
from the behaviors that other people would manifest in comparable situations.

Personality plays an important role in an individual's personal,

educational, vocational adjustment, and success. The probability of success in
these three areas is determined to a large extent by personality factors. There
have been studies of failure and maladjustments in these areas which are usually
attributed to the lack of necessary personality traits. Employers of big firms
resort to personality testing to meet and get an objective, unbiased, and accurate
assessment of their prospective employees' personalities.

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 An individual's written account of his past behaviors, feelings, and wishes
can also be a good source of information about his personality, since the kind and
quality of behavior directly affect work output or performance. Plunket (1990)
mentioned that aptitude areas of a person’s personality may or may not be
developed. They are related to different competencies because they are the areas
in which competencies are developed. A person with aptitude with an aptitude
for determining special relationships has the potential to become effective
managers.

Moreover, Santos (1997) continued that knowing one’s personality is so

important that though understanding of it and the personalities of others. An
understanding of one’s own personality and of other can make the difference
between satisfactory and unsatisfactory adjustment. One of the most widely used
personality framework is called the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Test. It
is essentially a 100-question personality test that asks people how they usually
feel of act in a particular situation.

On the basis of the answer of individuals in the test, they are classified as
extroverted or introverted (E or I) , sensing or intuitive (S or N) , thinking or
feeling (T or F), and perceiving or judging (p or j). There is also the five factor
model of personality dimensions (Robbins 1996 ) . These are as follow:
1. Extroversion and Introverts. This dimension captures one comfort
level with relationships. Extraverts tend to be friendly and outgoing and
spend much of their time maintaining and enjoying a large number of
relationships. Introverts tend to be reserved and have fewer relationships
and they are more comfortable being solitary than most people.
2. Agreeableness. This dimension refers to an individual`s propensity to
differ with one another. Highly agreeable people value harmony more
than they value having their way. They are cooperative and trusting with
others. People who score low on agreeableness focus more on their own
needs than on needs of others.
3. Conscientiousness. This dimension refers to the number of goals on
which a person focuses on. A highly conscientious person pursues fewer
goals in a purposeful way. A highly persistent person tends to be more
easily distracted, pursues many goal goals, and is more hedonistic.
4. Emotional stability. This dimension taps a person ability to withstand
stress. People with positive emotional stability tend to be characterized as
calm, enthusiastic, and secure. Those with high negative scores tend to be
nervous, depressed, and insecure.
5. Openness to experience. The final dimension addresses one`s range of
interests. Extremely open people are fascinated by novelty and
innovations. They tend to be imaginative, artistically sensitive, and

73
 intelligent. Those at the other end of the openness category appear more
conventional and find comfort in the familiar.
The terms used by Ormrod (1995), which are related to the intrapersonal
competence, are self-concept and self-esteem. Self-concept, according to him, is
the belief in one's self, character, strengths, and weaknesses. Self-esteem is the
extent to which you believe yourself to be capable and worthy individual.
Individuals who have positive self-concept and high self-esteem are more likely
to succeed academically, socially, and athletically. There are also factors to
negative and positive self-concept. These are behavior and performance. She also
gave reasons why self-concept is resistant to change:
1. People usually behave in ways consistent with what they believe
about themselves, so their behaviors are likely to produce reactions
on others that confirm their self-concept.
2. People tend to seek out information that confirms what they already
believe about themselves. Individuals with positive self-concept are
more likely to seek positive feedback whereas those with negative
self-concept may actually look for the information about their
weaknesses and limitations.
3. People often put themselves in situations where they believe they
would not succeed, thereby eliminating any possibility of discovering
that they can succeed.

CHAPTER 12
RELATED STUDIES

OBJECTIVES
At the end of this chapter, the students will be able to
1. Describe the different research literatures that are related to the problem and
2. Construct a review of related studies for a research study.
The review of related studies is an essential part of the planning and
research stage of the study. That is, determining if the research is objective and
empirically-based entails the surveying of previous studies that involve similar
variables. In doing so, it provides insight into the methods through which validity
of the results is to be established.
The review of the related studies serves as the basis of the analysis of
results because it allows the researcher to compare and contrast his or her
findings with those of past studies. The results of a study are verified by similar
findings or negated by different findings for other researchers. The studies can
be in the form of theses, dissertation, or journal articles.

74
 The gathered studies are related to the present study when they have the
following similarities:
1. They use the same variables, sub-variables, concepts and construct.
2. They have the same subject or topic.
The researcher should be reminded however, that even if a previous
research used the same variations of his or her study, the two studies may
vary in the delimitation in terms of the sub-variables investigated or in
terms of focus and purpose.
In writing a review of a related study, the following data must be
indicated:
1. The name of the author, the date, and the setting of the study.
2. The title
3. The salient findings, which are the most important "ingredient" to
include since the discussion of the variables and their relationship/s will
be based on them.

RELATED STUDIES EXAMPLE 1:

The Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Competencies of School Managers:
Basis for the Formulation of the Human Relation Intervention Program
(Cristobal, 2003)
As this study is focused on the effectiveness of managers, a study
conducted by (Catacutan, 1992) is related. Its objective is to analyze the
effectiveness of middle-level managers in six selected private elementary schools
in Metro Manila where she analyzed 42 subject coordinators, 25 head teachers, 6
principals, and 275 teachers. The study utilized the variables like management
skills focusing on human relation and non-manipulative variables like
educational attainment, years of experience as managers, and management
trainings, as well as the kind of respondents she found out the following:
1. 42 years, female, married, has a doctorate degree in Education, has
earned MA units, has received no honors, has administrative experience
of 15 years, has attended more than 40 seminars, and has a "very
satisfactory" performance rating.
2. Excellent in the performance of the four management skills and the five
leadership styles.
3. The correlation of the effectiveness of middle-level managers are the
teachers' rating on management skills, schools where they graduated, age,
honors, and awards received.

75
 4. The best predictors of the middle-level managers are the school where
they graduated from, housing, and honors and awards received.
Becoming (1993) determined the teacher's relating and affective
behaviors among mentors with or without SEDP training and their personality
variables among faculty members of five private schools in Pablo City. She
arrived at the following conclusions:
1. Trainings such as SEDP have minimal effects on both relating and
affective behaviors among teachers.
2. Some personality variables relate to relating behaviors of teachers.
However, such correlations are moderately small.
3. Some personality variables relate in varying degrees with affective
behaviors of teachers. The correlation is negligible to low. This study is
related to the present because of some personality variables of mentors
that are also variables under the study and the effects of training in their
personality.
Buenafe (1983) conducted a study that was designed to determine the
relationship between the job performance of principals and teachers, and the
principals' managerial, attitudes, needs, personality traits, and mental ability
among 50 principals and 388 teachers in three dioceses in Abra, Ilocos Sur and
Ilocos Norte. She found out that there was significant relationship existed among
variables measured. Teacher's performance correlated meaningfully to the
principal's attitudes, personality, and mental ability. There was also a positively
marked relationship between the teachers and principals performance. Some
variables on personality and on performance of both the teachers and principals
and the respondents are similar with the present study. It differs on needs and
mental ability since these are not taken variables of the present research.
Another research on personality was conducted by dela Cruz (1996) that
aimed to assess the personality traits and leadership effectiveness skills of the
public elementary school principals in the Division of Laguna. Her respondents
were 38 public elementary school principals, 68 teachers, 13 education
supervisors, and 9 districts. Her findings were as follows:
1. The public elementary school principals possessed the personality
traits in terms of ability, occupation achievement, decisiveness, self-
actualization, and initiative. Majority of the principals obtained scores
above the average and in the border line.
2. There was a significant difference in the personality traits of public
elementary principals.
3. The highly favorable and evident leadership effectiveness should reveal
that a public elementary school principal possessed technical, human
relations, conceptual skills.

76
 4. The leadership effectiveness skills in terms of technical and human
relation skills differed significantly while leadership effectiveness skills in
terms of conceptual skills were similar as prescribed of the principal
themselves, peers, teachers, and education experience.
5. Among the demographic variables, only years of teaching experience
correlated significantly with personality traits in terms of decisiveness.
The present study differs for it will focus on high school principals and
not utilize the response of supervisors, but the study of dela Cruz is
mostly related in most aspects.
Del Rio (1993) conducted a study about the influence of management
competencies of school principals in the performance of pupils. Her study aimed
to determine the perceived influence of management competencies of the grade
school principals
Buenafe (1983) conducted a study that was designed to determine the
relationship between the job performance of principals and teachers, and the
principals’ managerial attitude, needs, personality traits, mental ability among
50 principals and 388 teachers in three diocese in Abra, Ilocos Sur and Ilocos
Norte. She found that there a significant relationship existed among variables
measured. Teacher’s performance correlated meaningful to principal’s attitude,
personality and mental ability. There was also a positively marked relationship
between the teachers and the principal’s performance. Some variables on
personality and on performance of the both teacher and principals and the
respondents are similar with present study. It differs on need and mental ability
since these are not taken variables of the present research.
Another research on personality was conducted by Dela Cruz (1996) that
aimed to access the personality traits and leadership effectiveness skills of the
public elementary school principals in the division of Laguna. Her respondents
were 34 public elementary school principals, 68 teacher, 13 education
supervisor, and 9 district her findings were as follow:
1. The public elementary schools possessed the personality traits in terms
of ability, occupation achievement decisiveness, self –actualization, and
initiative. Majority of the principals obtained scores above the average
and in board line.
2. There was a significant difference in the personality traits of public
elementary principals.
3. The highly favorable and evident leadership effectiveness should reveal
that a public elementary school principal possessed technical, human
relations, and conceptual skills.
4. The leadership effectiveness skills in term of technical and human
relation skills differed significantly while leadership effectiveness skills in

77
 terms of conceptual skills were similar as prescribe of the principal
themselves, peers, teachers and education experience.
5. Among the demographic variables, only years of teaching experience
correlated significantly with personality traits in terms of decisiveness.
The present study differs for it will focus on high school principals and
not utilize the response of supervisors, but the study of dela Cruz is
mostly related in most aspect.
Del Rio (1993) conducted a study about the influence of management
competencies of school principals in the performance of pupils. Her study aimed
to determine the perceived influence of management competencies of the grade
school principals on teachers and pupils performance among the elementary
schools in San Pablo City.
She had the following results:
1. That the grade school principals perceived themselves as very
satisfactory in there management competencies.
2. That the teachers with very satisfactory performance tended to rate the
principals higher than those teachers with outstanding.
3. That the Grade VI pupils’ perceptions of the teaching performance of
their teachers indicated to some extent the perceived influence of the
management competencies of the grade school principals; and
4. That the scholastic performance or ability is not a factor in the
perception of teaching performance of teachers and pupils. Only she
conducted it in elementary schools.
Asp, a study was conducted by Fontenilla (1996) who identified the
correlates of professionals and competencies among tertiary schools middle-
level managers of three colleges in Nueva Viscaya. Findings of his study revealed
that the correlates of competencies, which came out very high, are organization
skills, work values and attitudes, vision, external services, and community
relations.
Cortes (1992) conducted a study in the competencies of president of state
colleges and universities in the Philippine. Some of her findings were as follows:
1. In terms of decision-making, the presidents were rated most effective
as perceived by themselves.
2. The correlates of competencies of president of stage colleges and
universities are education, scholarships, experience, travel, training
fellowships, and study grants.
3. The factor that affect performance of these presidents are development,
professional maturity, and recognition.

78
 Years of experience, self-concept, and personality characteristics are
some of the variables studied by Brawner (1980). These are variables that are
also considered in the present study. Her study found out that the non-promoted
principals had the highest profile on four aspects of promotion: policies,
pressures, smooth interpersonal, relations, and personality factors.
Ramos (1986) gave the five most important skills/competencies, listed in
the order of priority, which are expected of teachers generally at all levels:
1. Fluency and proficiency in the language of instruction
2. Skill in the use of teaching methods appropriate for the class activities
of the day
3. Mastery of the subject/ discipline he teachers
4. Skills in maintaining order and discipline in class
5. Skills in evaluating the achievements

RELATED STUDIES EXAMPLE 2:

On the Spending Habits of Student (Abas, 2015)
The study entitled “Let the game begin: Gaming Technology and
Entertainment Among Students,” which was conducted by Steve Jones, a
professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Illinois at
Chicago found out that there is a significant impact of video games on young’s
people’s lives. Thorough gaming, extra expenses are incurred by students.
Another study by Rosenthal (1989) when she studied how and where the ml end
female students spend their money, she found out that female students are more
interested in social activities than males. Also, female have significantly higher
interest than males in hobbies, social funs, trips, and church but significantly less
interested in sports.
“Your Spending Habits as an Adult are Affected by Your Childhood
Experiences” is a research conducted in the University of Minnesota’s Carlson
School of Management by Charlene Owen in 2013, which is based from the
theory of “life history” or that the events in an organism’s life are guided by its
need to produce the largest possible number of surviving offspring and is
dependent on its environment. In this study, she hypothesized that how a person
uses money during dire times is affected by their life style during their younger
years. She found out that in two experiments, volunteers were asked to complete
task related to risk-taking with the premise of experiencing economic recession.
Those who grew up in low-income homes tended. To be more impulsive; they
gravitated quicker toward luxury goods, and were loose with money whenever
they had a lot of it. On the other hand, those who grew up in financially stable
homes were more cautious; they gravitated less toward luxury goods and
believed in delayed gratification.

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 The student conducted by Reosenthal and Owen are related to the
present study since the two researchers and the new study focuses on the
spending habits of the high schools students.

CHAPTER SUMMARY
1. Related studies serve as the basis of the analysis of result because it allows the
researcher to compare and contrast his or her findings with those of past studies.
2. Studies are related when they used the same variables, sub-variables, concepts
or construct, and they have the same subject or topic of the study.
3. In writing a review of related study, the following data must be indicated: the
name of the author, the date and the setting as in when and where the study was
conducted; the tittle; and the same salient findings.

CHAPTER 13
METHODOLOGY AND DESIGN FOR QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

OBJECTIVES
At the end of this chapter, the students will be able
1. Display fundamental knowledge of various qualitative research designs
and
2. Differentiate the commonly used qualitative research designs from each
other.
3.

INTERVIEW AS PARTS OF DAILY LIFE

By Cesar A. Cisneros-Puebla, Robert Faux & Gunter Mey
Interviews have become a part of our daily lives. We read interviews in
the press; we see people interviewed in television; many of us know of the
“celebrity interview” One consequence of this familiarity is a tendency to
simplify. An interviewer asks the interviewee questions–a question eliciting an
answer (Gubrium & Holstein, 2002). However, the interview in qualitative
research is a critical method in much of the work many of us do. Unlike the
interview of the “popular” media with its rigid question and answer format, the
interview in qualitative research comes in many guises, as can be seen in this
issue. It goes beyond mere fact gathering and attempts to construct meaning and
interpretation in the context of conversation (Kvale, 1996).
The interview, as a way to gather information, is to fairly recent origin;
there being a time when an interview as such did not exist. Of course, as Benney

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and Hughes (1956) point out, people have always asked questions and most of
the time, people have responded, but these encounters would not be perceived
as an interview. The emergence of the interview only came about when the roles
“interviewer” and “interviewee” became formalized.
The development of interviews reflected changing relationships between
individuals. It gradually became commonplace for "strangers” to ask questions of
one another to gain knowledge. Riesman and Benney (1956) see this change as
the result of" the modern temper." More recently, David Silverman (1997),
seeing the widespread use and impact of interviews on contemporary life, has
suggested that we live in an "interview society” (p. 248). Among the conditions
required by an interview society, silverman sees an informing subjectivity–the
evolution of a self as an object of narration. This can come about only when
individuals correspondents are perceived as offering meaningful knowledge to
share with others interpersonally, this is seen in the democratization of the
interpretations of one's experiences;
Individuals are seen as “significant commentators on their own
experience” (Gubrium & Holstein 2002, p.5). What this means, in part, is that the
traditional roles of interviewer and interviewee have become more fluid.
Individuals are able to come together in dialogue and meaningfully discuss their
experiences.
We see a transformation of the individual through the interview. The
interview gives individual appropriate outlets through which their experiences
and thoughts can be shared with others in meaningful interactions. But, given the
widespread use of interviews, have they, the interviews, transformed society?
Gubrium and Holstein (2002) rightly suggest that interviews have prepared us"
as both questioners and answerers to produce readily the society of which we
are a part. The modern temper gives us the interview as a significant means for
realizing that subjectivity and the social contexts that bring it about"(p.9).

GATHERING AND GENERATING DATA

Having established what previous researchers have discovered,
documented, and published on the topic of interest, the next step in conducting a
study is gathering and generating new data.
This step requires the researchers to answer the following questions:
 What are the gaps in existing knowledge that the study seeks to fill?
 What kind of information is needed to fill those gaps?
 How will the study collect the information?
 How does one ensure that the information collected in the research is the
kind needed to fill the gaps and answer the initial inquiry?

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 Before proceeding, it is necessary to define the terms that will be used in this
chapter, and to differentiate them from one another.
 A method is a technique which the researcher uses to gather and
generate data about the subjects of their study.
 A methodology is the section of the research paper which explains why
the researcher chose to use particular methods. The methodology also
includes descriptions of any and all theoretical and/or ideological
concepts informing and influencing the course of the study, and the
researcher's rationale behind adhering to these concepts.
 A research design is a plan which structures a study to ensure that the
data collected and generated will contain the information needed to
answer the initial inquiry as fully and clearly as possible.

MAIN METHODS USED IN QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

As the qualitative approach to research focuses less on “hard,” numerical
data and more on abstract information, the methods used to collect and generate
data for qualitative research should be designed to be descriptive, conceptual,
and analytical. Some of the most commonly used data collection methods in
qualitative research are individual interviews, group interviews, observations,
and surveys.
Individual interviewers are like conversations which we are designed to elicit
the information that the researcher needs. However, unlike casual, everyday
conversations, interviews must be conducted as rigorously, systematically, and
transparently as possible to ensure the reliability and validity of the information
obtained.
Group interviews are conducted with several participants simultaneously, and
may be more appropriate in some cases, such as when the study concerns a
community issue or shared experience.
Observations are conducted to document and analyze behavior and social
phenomena as they occur in their natural context and may be useful in
identifying for example, discrepancies between what people say (such as in
interviews) and what they do.
Although surveys and questionnaires are more often used in quantitative
research, they may also be designed to be applicable qualitative studies. Doing to
requires that the questions be structured to be open-ended, with few to no
restrictions on the respondent's answers resembling an interview but in written
form.

COMMON RESEARCH DESIGNS

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 As stated, the objective of a research design is to ensure that the data
collection and generation methods are geared towards gathering the specific
information in which will help answer the initial inquiry as clearly and fully as
possible. If the researcher does not design their study carefully and
appropriately, the data they gather may be extraneous or irrelevant to the
problem. As a result, the study may prove weak or inconclusive.
It must be asserted, then, that there is no single best way to conduct research,
nor is there a universally applicable research design only general approaches
which the researcher will, to varying extents, have to modify and adjust to best
suit their study. The following are some of the more common designs used in
qualitative research.

PHENOMENOLOGICAL DESIGN
The design focuses on obtaining descriptions of the subjects or
respondent's lived experiences either in writing or through interviews. The goal
of this study is to analyze the meaning behind these experiences for each subject,
rather than generalizing to a greater population (Donalek, 2004)
To wholly understand the subjects experiences, the researcher must be
set aside their own feelings and expectations towards the study. Those feelings
and expectations may hinder the researcher from seeing the experience through
the subjects perspectives. This process is called bracketing.
Example: What are the experiences of a student who failed in his or her subject?
The researcher may have their own notions regarding this problem due to
first-hand or second-hand experience. During the data collection, the researcher
must put aside all the assumptions in order to identify the real essence of the
answers of the participants.
The following are characteristics of a phenomenological design:
1. The researcher applies bracketing by focusing on the meaning of the
perceived experience or on the interpretation of the said data.
2. It uses unstructured or semi-structured data collection. When
conducting and interview, the researcher starts with an open-ended
question followed by general probes.
3. It uses appropriate and systematic data analysis methods or adapts
established and credible processes to suit the study's purposes.
4. The research process is transparent.
5. It uses the first person perspective. For example, the participant may
say, "I am experiencing sleepless nights...."

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 6. The researcher identifies the phenomenon not just in themes or
categories.
7. It collects data in groups, such as in a focus-group interview.

HISTORICAL DESIGN
This design focuses on the identification, location, evaluation, and
synthesis of data or evidence from the past to confirm or reject a hypothesis.
Data for historical research may be found in printed documents, such as relics,
maps, pictures, and audiovisual material.
A Historical study must be unobtrusive, meaning that the process of
research must not involve any interventions which will affect the result s of the
study for different variables or contexts. On the other hand, this non-invasive
approach is well-suited for archival purposes such that sources of historical data
may be stored accurately and consistently, and be accessed and used over and
over to study various research problems.
When material provides first-hand information, then it is considered as a
primary source. Examples are oral histories, written records, diaries,
eyewitnesses’ accounts, pictures, videos, and other physical evidence. The
minutes of meetings can also be considered primary sources. Secondary
sources are materials containing second-hand information, such as when a
person reinterprets information from the original source, or commentary on and
analyses of an original document. When the minutes of historical meetings are
summarized and transferred to a different medium, they are now considered
secondary sources.
The most valuable criterion for historical data sources is authenticity, and
any source to be used for historical research must undergo internal and external
criticism. External criticism is based on the analysis of the printed material; the
ink and the type of paper used; the layout and physical appearance; as well as its
age and texture. Carbon dating is useful in determining the age of substances in
objects such as paper. Internal criticism involves establishing the authenticity
and originality of the materials by looking at the consistency of information.
Motives and possible biases of the author must be considered in trying to
determine the accuracy of the materials.

CASE STUDY DESIGN

A case study I a comprehensive, in-depth examination of a specific
individual, group of people, or institution. It may be used to gain insights into an
obscure or specific problem; provide background data for broader studies; or
explain socio-psychological and socio-cultural processes. Some of the
disadvantages of case studies are the problems of general application, since the

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study focuses only on specific subjects; the difficulty of determining the
adequacy of data; the possibility of biases; and the expense entailed by the
design.
A case study may be considered quantitative or qualitative research,
depending on the purpose of the study and the approach chosen by the
researcher. This is also true to other types of qualitative studies, for a case study
to be considered qualitative, the researcher must be interested in abstract ideas
and concepts, such as the meaning of an experience to a subject, rather than in
generalizing results to other groups of people. Case studies are not used to test
hypotheses, but hypotheses may be generated from case studies (Younger, 1985)
The data from case studies is evaluated through content analysis. It
involves the examination of communication messages. Care must be exercised in
selecting subjects for case studies. The researcher should avoid choosing only
those participants who are expected to respond favorably or unfavorably to the
instrument.
The following are characteristics of a case study:
1. Case studies are time-consuming and may be quite costly.
2. It needs in-depth analysis of single or multiple case/s.
3. It uses multiple sources of data such as documentation, interviews,
observation, and environmental detail.
4. It may result in descriptions of themes and assertions.
5. It clarifies cases and contexts.
6. It can select and develop issues.

GROUNDED THEORY DESIGN

Grounded theory is a systematic research approach developed by two
sociologist, Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss, in which rigorous procedures
(such as open coding---identifying, naming, categorizing, and describing
phenomena encountered in the study, as well as their characteristics) are used to
collect data, analyze that data, and formulate a theory in the matter at hand. This
theory can then be used to explain, provide a perspective on, or even predict
behavior in and of the particular context of the study’s subject.
The grounded theory method uses both an inductive and deductive
approach to theory development. According to Field and Morse (1985),
“constructs concepts that are grounded in the data and hypotheses are tested as
they arise from the research.” In a deductive grounded theory. A theory is
formulated, then the collection of data follows. Ina an inductive approach,
collection of data is conducted first, and then through the analysis of these data,
the synthesized form is the theory itself. Leininger (1985) asserts that a pre-
study of the literature search could lead to “premature closure.” This means that

85
the researcher would go into the research setting expecting to find what is
reported in the literature.
The following are characteristics of grounded theory Design:
1. Purposeful sampling is used. The researcher looks for certain subjects
who will be able to shed new light on the phenomenon being studied.
Diversity rather than similarity in sought in the people are sampled.
2. Data is gathered in naturalistic settings (field setting). Data connection
primarily consist of participant observation and interviews, and data are
recorded through handwritten, notes and tape recordings.
3. Data collection and data analysis occur simultaneously. A process called
constant comparison is used, in which data gathered in the course of the
duty is constantly compared to other data that had been gathered in
previous studies.
4. It presumes that it is possible to discover fundamental patterns in all
social life. These patterns are called basic social processes.
5. It is more concerned with the generation rather than testing of
hypotheses.
6. Theoretical sampling used is a part of analysis.
7. A core category grounded in the data is identified (a study may not be
able to fully develop an explanatory theory but may usefully inform by
description and exploration).

ACTION RESEARCH DESIGN

Action research is a design which involves a cycle of identifying a problem
regarding a situation or process, developing a strategy for intervention, (the
action) with the purpose of improving said situation or process, implementing
said intervention, and observing and analyzing the results until a sufficient level
of understanding of (or valid solution to) the problem is achieved, generalizing
the findings is not a goal of this study, as in the case of quantitative research
studies. In action research, the implementation of solutions occurs as an actual
part of the research process.
Participatory Action Research is a special kind of community-based
action research in which there is a collaboration between the respondents or
participants and the researcher in all the steps of the study including the
determination of the problem, identification of the research methods to use,
analysis of data, and deciding how the study results will be used. One can say
that the participants and the researcher are co-researchers throughout the entire
research study.

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META-ANALYSIS DESIGN
This design is a systematic evaluation of multiple individual studies on a
topic in order to not only summarize the result, but also develop a new
understanding of the research problem.
This design may also be used to analyze discrepancies in the result of
individuals studies, and its own result have a bigger potential for generalization
to greater population. However, due to its complexity studies following such a
design may prove difficult, expensive, and time-consuming.
A good meta-analysis study is characterized by:
1. Precisely define objectively, variables, and outcomes;
2. Well-developed reasoning for its selection of studies, including an
assessment and acknowledgement of any bias that may have influenced
said selection;
3. A detailed description and analysis of the degree of heterogenicity in
the sample; and 4 justification for the techniques use in the analysis of the
sample.

PLANNING THE RESEARCH DESIGN

Steps in planning the design
1. Establishing the purpose. Why do you want to address this research?
What are its expected benefits? Who will benefit from the research?
2. Methodological location. What methods and strategies do you intend
to use?
3. Scoping. Revisit the scope and delimitation of your research. What will
study cover? What will it not cover? What major and sub-variables will
you focus on? This detail will significantly affect what kind of research
design will best suit your study.
4. Nature of the data. Take a look at the research problem. What kind of
data is needed to answer the inquiry? What sorts of data are relevant and
available? How should the data be handled? What research methods will
most likely generate the data needed? Does the study intend to focus
specific, isolated subject, or generalize to a greater population? Will the
study implement or avoid direct intervention in generating and collecting
data?
5. Thinking ahead. How big will the data be? What is the intended result
of the study? At this stage, the researcher must be analytical and skeptical.
Asking other researchers can help in planning the design best suited to
the study.

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STAGES OF THE PROJECT
Planning your research design will also entail delineating the stage of the
study and setting a pace for completion. A good rule of thumb is to schedule the
different tasks well ahead of time, in order to avoid unnecessary time
constraints.
1. Conceptualizing stage. This includes the literature review and the
critiquing of other studies. A poorly or hastily conceptualized project may
lead to hazy, inconclusive result.
2. Setting up a data management system. This should be planned
meticulously. Failing to systematize data collection can prove disastrous
of a project.
3. Sampling and theoretical sampling, unless you should not assume
that your intended subjects are readily and immediately available. Take
the necessary time to locate your sample.
4. Collecting and generating data. All the preparations made thus far
were dine for this stage of the study. This is where you will put your
chosen methods to work. Depending on the nature of the study, this is
may require fieldwork entering a physical location or a social space from
which you will gather information. Take time to acclimatize to the field in
question, whether your study is observational or interventional in nature.
5 Analysis. In addition to the actual analysis if the data, you should also
allow time for the coding of data, recoding validation and reliability
exploration.
Time should be allotted for asking questions and incorporating the
answers into the analysis, and, above all, for writing, rewriting, revisiting the
data, and verifying the conclusions.

RESEARCH DESIGN EXAMPLE 1:

A researcher wants to explore the impact of social media on first-time
voters and their choice of candidates in the 2016 Philippine national elections.
Due to the nature of the study, the researcher decides to employ a combination
of phenomenological and case study designs, using one-on-one interviews with
first-time voters from ten different colleges and universities.

RESEARCH DESIGN EXAMPLE 2:

A researcher notes that a number of studies have been conducted on the
long, storied career of a beloved president of her alma mater, under whose term

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that school became one of the top educational institutions in the Philippines.
However, despite focusing on the same general topic the factors that made this
presidents career so successful, including progressive educational reforms
implemented during his term these studies have somewhat inconsistent
conclusions. The researcher then decides to conduct a meta-analysis of all these
previous studies in an attempt to gain a better perspective of the bigger picture.

RESEARCH DESIGN EXAMPLE 3:

This study utilized the qualitative type of study which according to
Nieswiadomy (2004) is a naturalistic method of inquiry of research, which deals
with the issue of human complexity by exploring it directly. In this type, the
emphasis is on the complexity of humans, their ability to shape and create their
own experience, and the idea that truth is a composite of reality. This study
utilizes the case study method. Case study method involves a comprehensive and
extensive examination of a particular individual, group, or situation over a
period of time. It provides information on where to draw conclusion about the
impact of a significant event in a person's life (Sanchez, 2002).
This design is fitted to this present study since the focus is on the
psychological processes of a group of students who failed on their academic
performance in physics, soliciting their personal views and perceptions relative
to the queries given by a panel of interviewers during the third quarter of the
school year 2013-2014.

CHAPTER SUMMARY
1. Some of the more common qualitative research designs include:
phenomenological design, historical design, case study design, grounded theory
design, action research design, and meta-analysis design.
2. the phenomenological design. Examines human experiences through the eyes
of the subject/s and with the help of a process called bracketing.
3. The historical design concern the identification, evaluation and synthesis of
data from the past to confirm or reject a hypothesis.
4. The study design is an in-depth examination of an individual, group of people,
or entity, and usually does not intend to generalize its conclusions to greater
population.
5. The grounded theory design involves a rigorous, systematic collection of rich
data and formulating a theory base on that data.
6. Action research seeks to improve practice through the implementation of
interventional action and study the effects of those action.

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7. There are five steps in planning the design: establishing the purpose,
methodological location, scoping, nature of the data and thinking ahead.
8. The stage of the project are as follows: conceptualizing stage, setting up and
managing a data management system, sampling and theoretical sampling,
collecting and generating data, and analysis.

CHAPTER 14
SAMPLING FOR RESEARCH

OBJECTIVES
At the end of this chapter, the students will able to
1. Differentiate the various methods of sampling and
2. Formulate the criteria for choosing the participants of their respective
studies.

SAMPLING IN RESEARCH
Sampling is a process through which a researcher selects a portion or
segment from the population at the center of the researcher’s study. The
population is a group of persons or objects that process some common
characteristics that are of interest to the researcher, and about which the
researcher seeks to learn more. There are two groups of population: the target
population and the accessible population. The target population is composed of
the entire group of people or objects to which the researcher wishes to
generalize the findings of the study, while the accessible population is a portion
of the population to which the researcher has reasonable access. For example, in
a study about the common difficulties encountered by senior high school
students in their first semester of school year 2016-1017, the target population
may be all senior high school students in Metro Manila. However, the researcher
may have access only to the students of a specific school-these student comprise
the accessible population.
Researcher commonly select samples for study rather than entire
population due to constraints in budget, time, and manpower. A good sample
should be representative of the population, such that the characteristics of the
population-especially those pertinent to the study-are reflected in the sample
with a fair amount of accuracy.
The individual participants in the study are often referred to as subjects
or respondents. The subject are individual or entities which serve as the focus of
the study. Respondents are individual or groups of people who actively serve as

90
sources of information during data collection. The subjects of a study may also be
its respondents, but there also times that these are two groups of different
individuals or entities. Subject and respondents may also be referred to as
elements-particularly if said elements are objects, rather than people.
Take for example a study focused on the behavior of the students who
belong to broken families. The students who belong to these families are the
subjects of the study, which may also be the respondents the researcher seek to
interview directly, if the researcher interviews or surveys the classmate of these
students, the students remain the subject, and the classmate then become the
respondents.
A statistic is a number describing a property of a sample, whereas a
parameter is a number describing a property of a population. A statistic can be
used to estimate the parameter in what is called a statistical inference. For
example: a researcher, examining all marriages in the Philippines in this year
2016, wants to find a particular parameter-the mean age of all the men in those
marriages. From a sample of 1,000 subjects the obtains a sample mean of 31
years. This figure is a statistic. Using this figure, she concludes that the mean age
of Filipino men who married in 2016 is likely to be close to 31, as well.
It is important for the researcher to use an acceptable sample size to
ensure that their study will be accurate. Generally, the larger the sample, the
more reliable the results of the study will be. Hence, it is advisable to have a
sample large enough to yield reliable results, yet small enough to be manageable
within the constraints of the study.

FACTORS TO CONSIDER IN DETERMINING THE SAMPLE SIZE

1. Homogeneity of the population. The higher the degree of homogeneity of
the population, the smaller the sample size that can be utilized.
2. Degree of precision desired by the researchers. The larger the sample
size, the higher the precision accuracy of the results will be.
3. Types of sampling procedures. Probability sampling uses smaller sample
size than non-probability sampling.

VARIOUS APPROACHES TO DETERMINING THE SAMPLE SIZE

1. Sample size as small as 30 are generally adequate to ensure that the
sampling distribution of the mean will approximate the normal curve
(Scott, 1990).
2. When the total population is equal to or less than 100, this same number
may serve as the sample size. This is called universal sampling.
3. Slovin’s formula is used to compute for sample size. (Sevilla, 2003)

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1. According to Gay (1976), the following are the acceptable sizes for
different types of research:
a. Descriptive Research- 10% to 20% may be required
b. Comparative research- 15 subjects or groups
2. By using Calmorin’s formula, the problem is solved as follows:

Ss = NV + [Ss² + (1 - p)]__
NSe + [V² + p(1 - p)]

Where: Ss – sample size

N – population size
V – standard value (2.58) of 1% level of probability with
99% reliability
Se – sampling error
P – the largest possible proportion
Example: Getting statistics from a parameter of 800

Ss = NV + [Ss² + (1 - p)]__
NSe + [V² + p(1 - p)]
= 800 (2.58) + [(0.01)² + (1-0.50)]___
800 (0.01) + [(2.58)² + 0.5(1-0.50)]
= 2064 + (0.0001) (0.5)
8 + 6.66 (0.5)(0.5)
= 2046.00005
8 + 1.665
= 214

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 TABLE 14.1 – COMPUTED SAMPLE SIZES USING THE
CALMORIN’S FORMULA

N n N N N n N n
150 122 400 182 650 205 900 218
200 141 450 188 700 208 950 220
250 155 500 194 750 211 1,000 221
300 166 550 198 800 214 2,000 238
350 175 600 202 850 216 3,000 244

Legend: N – population
n – sample

TYPES AND SUBTYPES IF SAMPLING

In the book, Nursing Research: Principles and Methods, Polit and beck (2004) list
the different types and subtypes of sampling:
1. Probability Sampling is a type of sampling in which all the members of
an entire population have a chance of being selected. This is also called
scientific sampling.
a. Simple random sampling is a method of choosing samples in which
all the members of the population are given an equal chance of being
selected. It is an unbiased way of selection, as samples through simple
random sampling (Treece & Treece, 1986). These include the roulette
wheel, fishbowl method, and the use of a table of random numbers.
b. In stratified random sampling, the population is first divided into
different strata, and then the sampling follows. Age, gender, and
educational qualifications are some possible criteria used to divided a
population into strata.
Example:
A researcher will study the common effects of smoking on high
school students.
The researcher decides to select equal numbers of students from the
freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior levels.

c. Cluster sampling is used in large-scale studies, where the population

is geographically
Spread out. Sampling procedures may be difficult and time-
consuming.
Example:
A researcher wants to interview 100 teachers across the country.
It will be difficult and expensive on their part to have respondents in
100 different cities or provinces. Cluster sampling is helpful for the

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 researcher who randomly selects the region (first cluster), then
selects the school (second cluster), and then the number of teachers.

d. Systematic sampling is a method of selecting every nth element of a

population e.g., every fifth, eighth, ninth, or eleventh element until the
desired sample size is reached.

The fishbowl method observes the following steps:

i. The sampling frame, or a list of all the subjects or elements in the
population in question, should be prepared.
ii. All the names of the subjects or elements should be written own on
strips of paper (one name per strip of paper).
iii. The strips of paper with the listed names are then placed in a bowl
or container.
iv. Samples can be drawn as desired.

A more systematic procedure for randomly selecting samples

is the use of a table of
random numbers (see Figure14.2). This table is a list of numbers
that
have been generated in such a manner that there is no order or
sequencing of numbers. This table can be generated by a computer.
These random numbers can have any number of digits and are
dependent on the size of the population.

21 71 89 96 97
82 59 22 78 12
76 93 64 79 28
20 60 70 34 51
93 58 36 93 90
68 63 19 21 91
18 32 36 27 71
58 80 58 67 50
66 25 20 31 62
17 25 07 94 18
02 29 30 15 62
17 25 07 94 18
02 29 30 15 92
55 06 25 09 26
38 11 01 47 93
42 47 73 25 84
82 04 23 08 88
37 24 51 98 05
94 58 85 86 71
37 91 27 20 58

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 29 64 13 05 24
85 48 37 37 66
33 23 13 82 54
62 11 29 17 37
01 57 73 53 97
34 19 75 62 16
81 10 55 36 36
92 33 43 20 08
10 50 18 85 27
TABLE 14.2- TABLE OF RANDOM NUMBERS
Using a table of random numbers entails the following steps:
i. A number should be assigned to each element of the accessible
population.
ii. The table of random numbers should be entered at an arbitrary or
random starting point. This can be done by closing one’s eyes and
using a pen to point at a number.
iii. A systematic movement should be followed for going up or down,
left or right, or diagonally. The direction is not important but
should be decided before starting the process. This direction shall
continue until the total sample is selected.
iv. Continue to select numbers until the desired sample is reached.
2. Non-probability sampling. It is a process of selecting respondent in which
not all members of the entire population are given a chance of being selected as
samples. There are cases that certain segments of a population, This is also called
when a researcher does not intend to generalize to a larger population. This is
also called non-scientific sampling, and is commonly used in qualitative
research.
a. Convenience sampling. It is called accidental or incidental sampling
Example:
A researcher intends to study the elementary students of a
particular school, and has determined the desired sample size. Due to
the study’s constraints, the elementary pupils who are present at the
time of the researcher’s visit to the school will be chosen as
respondents.

b. Quota sampling is somewhat similar to stratified sampling, in that the

population is divided into strata, and the researcher deliberately sets
specific proportions in the sample, whether or not the resulting
proportion is reflective proportion is reflective of the total population.
This is commonly done to ensure the inclusion of a particular segment
of the population.
Example:

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 A researcher wants to survey the employees of a company
regarding their thoughts on the company’s new policies. The researcher intends
to have representatives from all departments in his sample, but one departmet is
so small that doing random sampling might result in that department not being
represented. The researcher then sets a quota of respondents from that
department to ensure their inclusion in the sample.
c. Purposive sampling involves handpicking subjects, usually to suits
very specific intentions. This is also called judgmental sampling.

Example:
In a study about honor students, the researcher uses a list of honor
students and chooses the necessary number of respondents, to the
exclusion of all other students.
In selecting the sample of a study, the following elements must be
properly discussed: the total population and its parameters; the sample and it’s
statistics; the sampling method with references to support it; an explanation and
discussion of the sampling method; an explanation of how the sampling was
done; an enumeration of the qualifying criteria; and the profiles of the subjects
and/ or respondents.

RESPONDENTS AND SAMPLING PROCEDURE EXAMPLE 1:

The Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Competencies of School Managers:
Basis for the Formulation of the Human Relation Intervention Program
(Cristobal, 2003)
There were two groups of respondents of this study, as shown in Table 1:
the school managers and their corresponding secondary teachers.

TABLE 1
POPULATION OF THE STUDY
Secondary
School Name Principal Head Teachers Total
Teachers
Bataan National 1 5 24 30
High School
B. Camacho High 1 5 11 17
School

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Biotechnic School of 1 3 20 24
Fisheries
Hermosa High 1 3 7 11
School
Lima High School 1 5 11 17
Luakan High School 1 3 8 12

Mariveles-Cabcaben 1 4 9 14
High School

Mariveles-Poblacion 1 4 10 15
High School
04P. Roman High 1 8 7 16
School
TOTAL 9 40 107 156

The school managers included the 9 secondary school principals and 40

head teachers of the public high school in the division of bataan.
The secondary school teachers included 107b teachers who are teaching
in the public high schools in the division under the school managers mentioned
above handling the teknolohiya, edukasyong pantahanan at Pangkabuhayan
subjects. The four major areas of the subject are agriculture and fishery, home
economics, industrials arts, and entrepreneurship.

RESPONDENTS AND SAMPLING PROCEDURE EXAMPLE 2:

Management by Culture of Kapampangan School Managers
in Selected Universities and Colleges (De La Cruz, 2002)
Two universities and six colleges in Pampanga were considered in the
study. These schools include the Holy Angel University, University of the
Assumption, AMA Computer College (Angeles City), Systems Plus Computer
College, STI Computer College, Republic Central Colleges. Philippine State College
of Aeronautics, and Pampanga Agricultural College. The main respondents in this
study included the college deans, assistant college deans, and area chairpersons
of the eight educational institutions. For in-depth probe, 10% of the college
faculty of each university or college was chosen using the simple random
fishbowl technique.

RESPONDENTS AND SAMPLING PROCEDURES EXAMPLE 3:

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Correlates of English Performance of Second Year Students in Selected High
School Congressional District II, Nueva Ecija (Valenton, 2009)
The number of sample respondents from each school was determined using the
proportional allocation-based size and the following formula:
ni = number of student respondents for each school
n = desired number of respondents
Ni = total number of second year students in each school
N = total number of second year students in the congressional district
The sample number was equivalent to 30% of the second-year population in the
selected high schools of Congressional District 2, Nueva Ecija (Table 1). Lottery
method was used to arrive at 438 student respondents. The total population of
second year students was 1,462. Complete enumeration was used in determining
the English teacher respondents (51) from first to fourth year in the secondary
schools (Table 1).

TABLE 1. POPULATION OF THE SCHOOLS AND THE SAMPLE

STUDENT AND TEACHER RESPONDENTS
English Second Students
School Teachers Year Sample
Population

Talugtog National High School 6 208 62

Digdig National High School 5 176 53
Patabangan National High School 8 171 51
Llanera National High School 6 148 44
Tondod National High School 6 148 44
Canaan East National High School 4 138 41
A. Bonifacio National High School 4 130 39
Bicos National High School 4 129 9
San Isidro National High School 4 122 37
Capintalan National High School 4 92 28
TOTAL 51 1462 438

CHAPTER SUMMARY
1. The individual participants in a study are referred to as subjects,
respondents, or elements. Subjects are those who are the focus of the

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 study, and may or may not be the source of the data. Respondents are
sources of data, but may or may not be subjects themselves. Elements are
objects, entities, or non-human subjects.
2. A population is the complete set of persons, entities, or objects that
possess some common characteristics that are of interest to the
researcher and are the focus of the study. Populations are classified into
target populations and accessible population.
3. A parameter is a numeric characteristic of population.
4. A statistic is a numeric characteristic of a sample.
5. A sample is a subset of the entire population and serves as respondents
of the study
6. The factors in determining sample size are homogeneity of the population,
degree of precision, and the types of sampling procedures.
7. The types and subtypes of sampling include probability sampling,
where all the elements of the population are given equal chances to be
included in the sampling, and Non-probability sampling, where not all
elements of the population are given with equal chances to be part of the
sampling.

CHAPTER 15
DATA COLLECTION

OBJECTIVES
At the end of this chapter, the students will be able to
1. Differentiate the various type of data-gathering methods and their tools and
instruments and
2. Choose or design their own data-gathering methods and instruments.

RESEARCH METHODS AND THEIR INSTRUMENTS

An exciting part of research is personally meeting the subjects or
respondents of the study or reading their responses through the data-gathering
instruments. The task of the researcher is to devise away the examine and
analyze the variables of interest so that the answers to the research problem can
be derived. The decisions on what tools and instruments to use and how they are
implemented are very critical issue that determine the variability and reliability
of the findings.

MOST FREQUENTLY USED DATA COLLECTION METHODS

Individual interview

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 Interviews are conversations that are designed to obtain specific kinds of
information. The skill of the interviewer is necessary to enable the reviewer to
express his or her thoughts clearly. Life histories are also needed in this area.
These are narrative self-disclosures about the individual’s life experiences. The
interview must guide the respondents to narrate the accounts in sequence.
Data obtained from the interview may be recorded on audiotapes or
videotapes with the permission of the respondent. This is because some
researchers believe that recording responses by hand jeopardizes rapport,
reduce the amount of eye contact, and me disrupt the pace and flow of the
interview.

TYPES OF INTERVIEW
1. Unstructured. The researcher must be skilled in steering the course of the
interview. The interviewer must be knowledgeable on the subject or topic of
concern. This can be in the form of normal conversations or a freewheeling
exchange of ideas.
2. Structured. The conduct of questioning follows a particular progression and
has a well-defined content. The interviewer does not ask questions that are not
part of the questionnaire but he or she asks the interviewer to clarify his or her
answers.
3. Semi-structured. There is a specific set of questions that are not included in
the list of original questions. Through this process, the researcher can gather
additional data from a respondent that may add depth and significance to the
findings.
The instrument often used in this method is the interview schedule. Although
interviews are often dynamic,and it is very difficult to get different interviews
with different people to follow exactly the same flow. Researchers can use
interview schedules to ensure that the interview stays in track,and even to give
their interview the desired amount of structure.
Sample schedule for individual interview:
The research and teacher learning study (kennedy 2001)
Topic: views about teaching
Before we start, could you just remind me again of the following?
- What grade are you currently teach?
- Have you always taught at this level?
- Where is your school?
- How long have you been teaching?
- What was your major field of study in college?

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1. First, try to think about the best teacher you know of. This could be
someone you actually had as a teacher or someone you know about as a
colleague or have observed somewhere?
a. why do we think the person this person is such a good teacher?
[if nothing is said about the teacher’s practice]

b. what kinds of things does he or she do in the classroom?

[if nothing is said about student work]

c. what kinds of things do the students do? What is the most atmosphere like in
his or her classroom?

d. are the particular things (he, she) is especially good at helping students learn?
Why?

e. are there particular types of students (he, she) is especially successful with?
Why?

2. Now I’d like you to tell me about your own teaching.

a. what is your favorite subject to teach and why? In your mind, what is this
subject about?

b. what is your least favorite subject to teach and why? In your mind, what is the
subject about?

3. I’d like you to think back over the last two or three weeks and recall a
particular lesson that you were especially pleased with.

a. what happened that day that made you satisfied with the lesson?

b. if I have been observing your class that day, what would I have seen? (if
nothing is said about the teacher’s role) what would I have seen doing?
[if nothing is said about the students]

c. what would I have seen your students doing?

What do you think the value of this lesson was for the students?

4. Now try to recall an even that you were especially disappointed with.
What happened that day that disappointed?

a. if I had been observing your class that day, what would I have seen?
[if nothing is said about the teacher’s role]

b. what would I have seen you doing? [If nothing is said about the students]

c. what would I have seen your students doing?

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d. what do you think the students learned compared to what you had hoped they
would learn?

5. Suppose you were in a middle of a lesson in (your favorite subject) and a

student said,
“This is boring. Why do we have to learn this?”

a. how would you respond and why?

6. Now, imagine that at the beginning of the year, your principal calls each
teacher in to learn what their goals are for the school year.

a. what would you tell the principal your goals would be for (your most favorite
subject)?

b. what would you tell the principal your goals would be for (your least favorite
subject)?

7. Now I would like you to imagine that you are teaching seventh or eighth
grade and the students in your class are writing reports. One of your
students, Jessica, hands you this report:

[Hands interviewee Jessica’s report]

a. what do you think Jessica understands and does not understand about writing
reports?

b. how would you respond to Jessica? Why?

8. Now here is a copy of some math homework from Bill.

[Hands interviewee Bill’s math paper]

a. what do you think Bill understand and does not understand about subtraction?

b. how would you respond to Bill? Why?

(Then, a closing section in which the teacher is given some articles to read in
preparation for the next interview)

GROUP INTERVIEWS
GROUP INTERVIEWS are interviews conducted with several respondents
simultaneously-ideally six to ten people. This method may be used when a certain effect is
desired, or if a topic class for it. For example, if the stud seeks to examine a communal
experience like commuting to school or work, rather than a personal experience, then
engaging respondents via group interview may yield better results. Researchers
conducting group interviews often use instruments called topic guides, which resemble

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interview schedules, but are less restrictive in structure to allow the respondents a more
free and dynamic exchange of ideas. It ia not uncommon to have two researchers
moderating a group interview—one to facilitate the discussion, and other to take notes,
handle logistics and the like. With permission from all the respondents, a group interview
may also be documented via a video or audio recording device.
Group interviews can be classified into two types:
1. Focus groups – participants in a focus group are selected by the researcher according
to specific sampling criteria, e.g., licensed dermatologists who have been practicing for at
least ten years; current college students majoring English who are vying for honors
2. Natural groups – The participants belong to a group that exists independently of the
stud, e.g., all members of the marketing department of a certain company; members of a
local sports team.

OBSERVATION
This method enables the researcher to conduct research in an immersive
manner, collecting data on a natural phenomenon or behavior as it occurs. The
instruments often used in conjunction with this method is called an observation
checklist or observation guide. Observation checklists are quantitative in nature and
make use of ratings or numerical rankings; observation guides are more qualitative, and
allow for more general, descriptive documentation.
Observation must be done in a quiet, inconspicuous, and unobtrusive manner to
get realistic data. It can be used to gather information such as the characteristics and
conditions of individuals, verbal communication, non-verbal communication and
activities, and environment conditions. The following dimensions should be taken into
consideration: the focus of observation: concealment, the condition wherein the subject of
observation has no knowledge of that he or she is being observed; duration; and the
method of recording the observation.

EXAMPLE OF AN OBSERVATION CHECKLIST:

FACULT EVALUATION FORM

NAME:__________________ SUBJECT:_________________
TIME\DAYS:_______________

INSTRUCTION; Please rate the instructor/professor based on the scale below by

encircling the number that corresponds to our rating.
5 – Superior (5): (4.2-5) – when the indicator is 81% to 100% observed

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4 – Above Average (AA); (3.4-4.1) – when the indicator is 61% to 80% observed
3 – Average (A); (2.6-3.3) – when the indicator is 41% to 60% observed
2 – Below Average (BA); (1.8-25) – when the indicator 21% to 40% observed
1 – Poor (P); (1-1.7) – when the indicator is 1% to 20% observed
0 – Not Observed (NO)- when the indicator is not observed

I. Teacher’s Personality
1. Level of grooming/modest dressing/uniform 5 4 3 2 1 0
2. Level of composure 5 4 3 2 1 0
4. Modulation of voice 5 4 3 2 1 0
5. Level of communication 5 4 3 2 1 0
6. Level of enthusiasm 5 4 3 2 1 0
7. Dedication of teaching 5 4 3 2 1 0
8. Fluency in the use of medium teaching 5 4 3 2 1 0
9. Respectful of students 5 4 3 2 1 0
10. Role modeling of institutions’ values 5 4 3 2 1 0

II. Instructional Competencies

1. Mastery of the subject matter 5 4 3 2 1 0
2. Clarity of tasks and learning objectives 5 4 3 2 1 0
3. Organization of presentation and lesson 5 4 3 2 1 0
4. Relating the topic to other fields 5 4 3 2 1 0
5. Provocation of critical thinking ability 5 4 3 2 1 0
6. Ability to motivate students 5 4 3 2 1 0
7. Skills in asking questions 5 4 3 2 1 0
8. Skills in using teaching aids 5 4 3 2 1 0
9. Ability to answer queries 5 4 3 2 1 0
10. Maximization of time 5 4 3 2 1 0
11. Variety of methods and strategies in TLP 5 4 3 2 1 0
12. Application of principles of the TLP 5 4 3 2 1 0

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III. Classroom Management
1. Course requirements implementation 5 4 3 2 1 0
2. Clarity of grading system 5 4 3 2 1 0
3. Application of rules and regulation 5 4 3 2 1 0
4. Presence of routines 5 4 3 2 1 0
5 Clarity of producers 5 4 3 2 1 0
6. Presence of positive atmosphere 5 4 3 2 1 0
7. Checking assigned task 5 4 3 2 1 0
8. Notation of orderliness and sanitation 5 4 3 2 1 0

Iv. Student’s Behavior

1. Wearing a prescribed uniform 5 4 3 2 1 0
2. Level of participation 5 4 3 2 1 0
3. Level of attention 5 4 3 2 1 0
4. Level of enthusiasm 5 4 3 2 1 0
5. Rapport with each other 5 4 3 2 1 0
6. Level of freedom and acceptance 5 4 3 2 1 0
7. Level of intelligence 5 4 3 2 1 0

V.TOTAL

CRITERIA VM CRITERIA VM AWD VD

Classroom
Teacher’s Personality Management

Student’s
Instructional Behavior
Competencies

Legends; WM – Weighted Mean (Add all scores/Numbers of indicator)

AWM – Average of WM

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 VD – Verbal Description

VI. REMARKS

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________

There are two types of observation;

1. Structured – The researcher devices a checklist as a data collection tool wherein
expected behaviors of interest have been specified. The researcher just records the
frequency of the occurrences of the behavior.
2. Unstructured – This is performed by the researcher as he or she tries to explain events
without any preconceived ideas about what will be observed. The researcher observes
things as the happen.

Advantages of Observation
1. It is the most direct measure of behavior.
2. It provides direct information.
3. It is easy to complete and efficient.
4. It can be used in natural or experimental settings.
Disadvantage of Observation
1. It am require training.
2. It is susceptible to bias.
3. Observer’s presence may create an artificial situation.
4. It can potentially overlook meaningful aspects.
5. It is open to misinterpretation.
6. It is difficult to analyze.
Improving your Observation Skills (Revenaugh, 2010: Cox, 2015)
1. Look at everyday life in a clear manner, Empty yourself of preoccupied thoughts.

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 2. Be curious, as you look for some objects try to focus and look at ever side of it, the color,
the shape, what makes it up and other details.
3 Be inquisitive. Always try to ask people questions.
4. Be open to new experiences. develop a positive attitude towards experiencing new
things.
5. Know your behavior, attitude and personal skills and how they impact others.
Go on research. Surf the net. Read more.
6. Be willing to seek the inputs of others. Be humble enough to receive criticism, this will
open mind to new avenues and perceptions.
7. Be open to new ideas. Listen to someone. Attend meeting and convocations.
8. Practice good listening skills.
9. Set aside personal biases.
10. Be comfortable with ambiguity.

SURVEYS OR QUESTIONNAIRES
Surveys, also known as questionnaires, are perhaps the most used instruments
in research—particularly in quantitative research. It is a list of planned, written question
about a particular topic, with spaces provided for the response to each question, intended
to be answered by a number of persons. This means that questionnaires are both method
are both a method and an instruments. It is relatively inexpensive, easy to administer,
potentially more consistent than the other methods, assures confidentiality, and
minimizes biases based on question- phrasing modes. However, it also has its own
disadvantages: respondents my interpret the questions differently and may answer them
in ways the researcher did not intend. There is also the strong possibility that some
respondents will choose not to fill out or return their questionnaires
The questionnaires can be structured or unstructured. It is structured if
possible answers are provided and respondents just have to select form them. It
is unstructured if the questions are open-ended—no options are provided and
the respondents are free to answer however they wish. Structured questionnaire
generally used for quantitative research, while unstructured questionnaires are
more suited to qualitative research.

WORDINGS OF QUESTION
Nieswiadomy (2014) provides the following guidelines in formulating questions:
1. Questions should be stated in an affirmative rather than in a negative
manner.

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2. Ambiguous questions, such as those which contain words like many, always,
usually, and few should be avoided
3. Double negative questions, e.g., “Don’t you disagree with the idea that…?”,
should also be avoided.
4. Double-barreled questions, like when asking two questions in one, should not
be practiced. For example, “Do you want to become the class president and
seek a position in the student council?”

CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD DATA-COLLECTION INSTRUMENT

1. It must be concise yet able to elicit the needed data. According to
Shelley (1984), the length of a questionnaire must be two to four
pages and the maximum time of answering is ten minutes. Shelley
added that a desirable length of each question is less than 20 words.
2. It seeks information which cannot be obtained from other sources like
documents available at hand
3. Questions must be arranged in sequence, from the simplest to the
most complex.
4. It should pass validity and reliability tests.
5. It must be easily tabulated and in interpreted.

SCALES COMMONLY USED IN AN INSTRUMENT

Particularly for quantitative research, the data collected via the various
instrument needs to be managed in a measurable manner. The following scales
are used in research instruments to make respondents’ answers uniformly
measurable.
1. Likert Scale. It is a common scaling technique which consists of
several declarative statements that express a viewpoint on a topic.
The respondents are asked to indicate how much they agree or
disagree with the statements. The answers usually come in the form of
acronyms, e.g., SA for Strongly Disagree, A for Agree, D for Disagree,
and SD for Strongly Disagree.
Example: A Likert scale that measures attitudes towards the ban
of cell phones in school

ITEMS
a. There would be difficulty in contacting my parents. SA A
D SD
b. I will be able to concentrate my time in listening SA A
D SD
to my teachers.

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 c. It would stop cell phone thefts in school. SA A
D SD

2. Semantic Differential Scale. The respondents are asked to rate

concepts on a series of bipolar adjectives. The advantages in using that
it is flexible and easy to construct.
Example: Description of the School Librarian
Competent 5 4 3 2 1 Incompetent
Punctual 5 4 3 2 1 Not punctual
Pleasant 5 4 3 2 1 Unpleasant

The following items should be discussed on the formulation of the

instrument of the study the type of instrument used; the conceptual definition of
the instrument with corresponding references; the rationale of reasons why the
reasercher decided to use the instrument; and description of the essential parts of
the instrument.

DATA-GATHERING INSTRUMENT EXAMPLE 1:

The Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Competencies of School Managers:
Basis for the formulation of the Human Relation Intervention Program
(Cristobal, 2003)
The data gathered to answer the specific questions were drawn by sets of
questionnaires, documents like the Performance Appraisal for Secondary Teachers
(PAST), division reports, and other school records.
The questionnaires used were composed of two sets. The first set was for
the school managers that were composed of three parts. The first part was to find
out the personal profile of the school managers which included age, working
experience as managers, educational attainment, work values, home atmosphere,
home management styles, level of religiosity, hobbies, human virtues, health
condition, and involvement in civic and religious organization. The second set
assessed the awards received by the teachers and students in the national, regional,
and district level.
Part 3 assessed the intrapersonal competency of school principals, which
is sub-divided into six major variables. These are locus of control, Machiavellianism,
self-esteem, self-monitoring, risk-taking, and type “A” personality. These variables
were based from the book of Stephen Robbins (1996) entitled Organizational
behaviors. The standardized tests presented in the book was improved to fit in the
Philippine culture and with the addition of some items in several related literatures,
the assessment checklist was completed then validated: Each variable has a
minimum of ten indicators. The responses used were the following:

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 5= Completely True (81% to 100% True)
4= Generally True (61% to 80% True)
3= Moderately True ( 41% to 605 True)
2= Partly True ( 21% to 40% True)
1= Not all True ( 0% to 20% True)
Thus, when a respondent indicated his response as “5”, this would mean
that a particular statement is observed to be commonly practiced 81% 100% or
believed all the time by school manager. Whereas, a response of “1” would mean
that a particular statement has never been observed to be practiced by the
school manager, or it is 0% to 20% true to the school manager.

Part B of the third part assessed the interpersonal competency of the

school managers which is composed of 5 variables: role in management; learning
and training; understanding and motivating teachers; and positive attitudes and
problem solving techniques. These variables were based from the book of Ernesto
Appodaca (1997) entitled, Human Relations for Supervisors. The guide questions
presented in the book with the addition of other items other sources were the
basis of the items in the checklist; it was then improved and validated. This was
composed of 60 items, 10 times per variable. The same responses in the
assessment of intrapersonal competency were used.
Thus, when the respondent indicated his response as “5”, this would
mean that a particular statement is 80% to 100% observed to be commonly
practiced by the school managers. Whereas a response of “1” would mean that a
particular statement is 0% to 20% unobserved to be practiced by the school
managers.
A parallel questionnaire was designed for the secondary school teachers.

DATA-GATHERING INSTRUMENT EXAMPLE 2:

Extend of Participation of Nursing Students in Infection Control Practices at
the Neon-Natal Intensive Care Unit (NICU): Basis for Enhanced RLE
Supervisory Program
(Quiazon, 2007)
The study used a questionnaire as the primary research instrument.
Padua (2001) defined a questionnaire as a list of planned, written question. In
the same manner, the questionnaire is commonly used in normative survey and
in the measurement of attitudes and opinions (Good, 1991). In the words, the
questionnaire is the best instrument that can supply the necessary information

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 to complete a research study as it is commonly used in behavioral research or
social research (Calderon & Gonzales, 2005)
Two sets of questionnaires were prepared: one for the student
respondents and another for the clinical instructors. The student’s questionnaire
included the respondent’s profile namely; age, gender, civil status, and type of
hospital assigned . The second part that of the student-respondents except that
this did not contains the questions on the profile of the student-respondents.

The researcher employed the rating skill which has the following descriptions or
verbal interpretation:
Value Scale Verbal Interpretation
5 4.20-5.00 Very Great Extend
4 3.40-4.19 Great Extend
3 2.60-3.39 Moderate Extend
2 1.80-2.59 Low Extend
1 1.00-1.79 No Extend

DATA-GATHERING INSTRUMENT EXAMPLE 3:

Management by Culture of Kapampangan School Managers in Selected
Universities and Colleges (dela cruz, 2002)
The study called for the development and use of instrument to measure
the application of Management by Culture. These instruments are the following:
a. Personal Data Sheet. This includes the personal attributes of the
respondents and other relevant information vital to the study. Specifically it
includes the following variables: age, sex, civil status, highest educational
attainment, managerial position & experiences and duration of stay in
Pampanga.
b. Questionnaire
1. Managerial Practices. To determine the responses of the respondents, a
five-point scale was used from greater extend, great extent, less extent,
lesser extent, and does not practice.
2. Kapampangan Managerial Traits. This includes the top ten desirable
and ten undesirable managerial traits.

c. Interview Schedule. This method was used to check (to verify or to refute)
the accuracy of the impression the researcher gained through observations

DATA-GATHERING INSTRUMENT EXAMPLE 4:

Correlates of English Performance of Second Year Students in Selected High
School Congressional District II, Nueva Ecija (Valenton, 2009)

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 The main instrument in data-gathering is the survey questionnaire for the
students and for the teachers. The student questionnaire was divided into three
parts, namely, socio-demographic characteristics, home factors, and school factors.
The first part (A) of the students’ questionnaire was designed to elicit
information on students’ age, sex parents’ highest educational attainment, parents’
occupation, monthly family income, extra-curricular activities, favorite subject,
ambition in life, and study habits. The second part (B) was intended to inquire
about their home factors in terms of availability of reading materials, language and
dialect spoken, and exposure to media and technology. Finally, the last part (C)
gathered, data on school factors about the exact count of the school’s instructional
and non-instructional resources. This was verified from the school’s property
custodian’s records.
On the other hand, the teachers’ questionnaire was divided into three
parts, namely professional competencies, teaching methods, and school facilities.
The first part comprised a checklist and questions regarding teacher’s age, sex,
highest degree earned in a field of specialization, present position, length of
teaching experience, and English-related seminar/In-service trainings attended for
the last 3 years. The second part was an evaluation checklist concerning their
perceptions on the frequency and effectiveness of teaching methods and
approaches they use in teaching English. This was rated in a five-point scale where
5 is always used and very effective and 1 is never used and very ineffective.
Secondary data like the NAT results, average English grades, and
inventory of school resources and facilities were obtained with permission from
official records at the school office.

CHAPTER SUMMARY
1. The most frequently used data collection methods are: individual
interviewers, group interviewer’s observations, and questioners.
2. Individual interview are conversations designed to obtain specific
information.
Interview schedules are the tools used for interviewing, Interviews can be
structured, semi-structured, or unstructured.
3. Group Interviews are discussions among several respondents
simultaneously. Topic guides are used to facilitate group interviews and keep
them on track while giving respondents room discuss.
4. Observation is an immersive method of collecting information or data on
natural phenoma or behavior as it occurs. Obsevation guides or checklists
are instruments used to facilitate observations.
5. Surveys or questionnaries are the most commonly used instrument in
research, and are made of a list of planned written question or statements of
a particular topic. They are both a method and an instruments, and can be
structured or unstructured.

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 CHAPTER 16
VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY

OBJECTIVES
At the end of this chapter, the students will be able to
1. Differentiate validity from reliability and
2. Establish the validity and reliability of an instrument.

INVESTIGATION

Some qualitative studies combine quantitative aspects in its research

methods, e.g., sampling and analysis of quantitative elements. In this highly
technological age, studies seek to create new knowledge and lean more towards
technical and scientific research topics rather than philosophical and descriptive
ones. In doing so, research topics that have a qualitative theme utilize
quantitative methods in establishing the credibility of its results. This is why
evaluating the validity and reliability of the instrument to be used is also essential
in a qualitative study.

VALIDITY

Validity refers to the quality of the instrument of being functional only

within its specific purpose. That is, an instrument is valid if it measures what it is
supposed to measure. Since the instruments of the study are used by the
researcher in the methodology to obtain the data, the validity of each one should
be established beforehand. This is to ensure the credibility of the findings, and
the correctness and accuracy of the following data analysis. For instance, when a
study investigates the common causes of absences, the content of the instrument
must focus on these variables and indicators. Similarly, when a researcher
formulates a problem about the behavior of the students during school

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assemblies, the instrument must consist of the indicators or measures of the
behavior of students during such times.

TYPES OF VALIDITY

In Educational Testing and Measurement: Classroom Application and

Practice, Kubiszyn and Borich (2007) enumerate the different types of validity.

1. Face validity. Also known as logical validity, it involves an analysis of

wether the instrument is using a valid scale. The procedure calls only for intuitive
judgment. Just by looking at the instrument, the the researcher decides if it has
face validity. It includes the font, size, spacing, the size of the paper used, and
other necessary details that will not distract respondents from answering the
questionnaire.

2. Content validity. This kind of validity is determined by studying the

questions to see whether they are able to elicit the necessary information. An
instrument with high content validity has to meet the objectives of the the
research. This type of validity is not measured by a numerical index, but instead
relies on logical judgment as to wether the test measures its intended subject.

Content validity is measured by subjecting the instrument to an analysis by a

group of expert who have theoretical and practical knowledge of the subject.
Three to five experts would suffice. The experts assess the items of the
questionnaire and determine if the items measure the variables being studied.
Then, the experts’ criticisms will be considered in the revision of the instrument.

3. Construct validity. This type of validity refers to whether the test

corresponds with its theoretical construct. It is concerned with the extent to
which a particular measure relates to other measures and to which it is
consistent with the theoretically-derived hypothesis. Therefore, the process of
construct validation is theory-laden. Factor analysis, a relevant technique to
construct validity, is a refined statistical procedure that is used to analyze the
interrelationships of behavior data.

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 4. Criterion-related validity or equivalent test. This type pf validity is an
expression of how scores from the test are correlated with an external criterion.
There are two types of this validity.

a. Concurrent validity. It deals with measures that can be administered and

validated at the same time. It is determined by administering both the new test
and the established test to a group of respondents, then finding the correlation
between the two sets of the scores. Validity is established with an accepted and
availed second test that measures what the researcher is trying to measure.

Example:

The Stanford-Binet V, a widely accepted standardized IQ test is used to

determine the IQ of nursing students. A researcher published a design for a short
screening test that measures the same. The scores on the Standard-Binet V and
the short screening are compared to assess the relationship between scores.

b. Predictive validity. It refers to how well the test predicts the future
behavior of the examinees. This is particularly useful in aptitude tests, which are
tests to predict how well test-takers will perform in some future setting.

It is advised that when a drafted questionnaire is to be subjected for validation,

a rating sheet of the acceptability of the indicators must be provided for the
experts to mark and give his judgment. The markings and comments of the
experts that validated the proposed questionnaire will be the basis of the revision
of the proposed instrument or questionnaire

RELIABITY

Reliability refers to the consistency of the results of an instrument in

repeated trials. A reliable instrument can also be used to verify the credibility of
the subject if the latter yield the same results in several test. However, this is only
true if the instrument used is valid. It is important to note that, while a valid
instrument is always reliable, a reliable instrument is not always necessarily
valid. This is most especially true when the subjects are human, who are

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governed by judgment and prone to error. Nevertheless, testing the reliability of
an instrument is very critical in research studies that deal with a lot of samples.

For example, Jaycee, who is monitoring her weight, uses a weighing scale.
She weighed herself in the morning, afternoon, and the evening and recorded the
results afterwards. Her recorded weights are 65 lbs, 68 lbs, and 70 lbs
respectively. The weighing scale can be considered reliable since the deviation of
the results is small and negligible.

METHODS IN ESTABLISHING RELIABILITY

1. Test-retest or stability. In this method, the same test is given to a group of

respondents twice. The scores in the first test are correlated with the scores in
the second test. When there is a high correlation index, it means that there is also
a high reliability of the test. Some of the problems here are the observations that
some subjects may be able to recall certain items given during the first
administration of the test, and that the scores may differ because the students
have adapted to the test.

Carmines and Zeller (1979), in their book Reliability and validity

Assessment, list the weaknesses identified in using the test-retest method:

a. Even if the test-retest correlation can be computed and established, its

interpretation is not necessarily straightforward. A low test-retest
correlation may not indicate that the reliability of the test is low but rather signify
instead that the underlying theoretical framework has changed. The longer the
time interval between measurements, the more likely that the concept has
changed.

b. Reactivity refers to the fact that sometimes, the very process is not done
logically and that phenomenon can induce change in itself.

c. Overestimation due to memory is another weakness in using the test-retest

method. The person’s mental recollection of his or her responses which he or she
gives during the first measurement is quite likely to influence the responses

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which he or she gives during the second measurement. Memory effects may
influence reliability estimates.

2. Internal consistency. If the test in question is designed to measure a single

basic concept, it is reasonable to assume that a respondent who gets one item
right is likely to be right in another similar item. In other words, items should to
be correlated with each other and the test ought to be internally consistent.

OTHER CRITERIA FOR ASSESSING VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY

There are also other forms of criteria that can be used in assessing the
literature (Polit & Beck, 2004):

1. Sensitivity. The instrument should be able to identify a case correctly, i.e., to

screen or diagnose a condition correctly.

2. Specificity. The instrument should be able to identify a non-case correctly, i.e.,

to screen out those without the condition correctly.

3. Comprehensibility. Subjects and researchers should be able to comprehend

the behavior required for accurate and valid measurements.

4. Precision. The instrument should discriminate among people who exhibit

varying degrees of an attribute as precisely as possible.

5. Speed. The researcher should not rush the measuring process so that he or she
can obtain reliable measurements.

6. Range. The instrument should be capable of detecting the smallest expected

value of the variable to the largest, in order to obtain meaningful measurements.

7. Linearity. The researcher normally strives to construct measures that are

equally accurate and sensitive over the entire range of values.

8. Reactivity. The instrument should, as much as possible, avoid affecting the

attribute being measured.

The following are examples of establishing the validity and reliability of an

instrument:

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EXAMPLE 1:

Correlates of English Performance of Second Year Students in Selected

High School Congressional District II, Nueva Ecija (Valenton, 2009)

Data gathering employed two sets of survey questionnaires for the

students and for the teachers. This was developed by the researcher of the
approval of the advisory committee.

Pre-testing was done to improve the survey-questionnaires for the students of

Doñ a Juana Chico National High School and for the teachers of Rizal National High
School. They did not serve as respondents of the study.

The results of the pre-test were analyzed to ensure clarity and to

determine whether they could yield data needed in the study. The pre-test results
showed a Cronbach’s Alpha Reliability Coefficient of 0.923, indicating a good
reliability of the instrument. As a rule, Cronbach Alpha Reliability must be at least
0.80 to be considered reliable.

EXAMPLE 2:
‘Staff Nurse’ Roles on the Accuracy of Specimen Collection in Selected
Government and Private Hospital in Bulacan: Relations to their Work
Performance (Reyes, 2007)
The instrument underwent validation, it was pre-tested at Dr. Gloria D.
Lacson General hospital in San Leonardo, Nueva Ecija, which is not included in
the study.
A group of seven staff nurses, and two nurse supervisors were requested
to answer the questionnaires, upon approval of the permit addressed to the
director. Result were checked and analyzed. After 15 days, the corrected
questionnaire was administered to the same respondents. A reliability coefficient
of 80% and above indicated that the instrument. Is already valid, reliable and
ready to use.

EXAMPLE 3:

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The Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Competencies of School Managers:
Basic for the Formulation of the Human Relation Intervention Program
(Cristobal, 2003)
The researcher collected information from different literatures like books,
journals, and unpublished materials like these and dissertations. The field and
experts, the variables used to measure the intrapersonal and interpersonal
competencies were selected.
The first draft of questionnaires had 140 items. This first draft was
submitted to the advisers, master teacher, and a head teacher. With their
comments, corrections, and suggestions, suggested additional variables for
measuring school effectiveness. Thus, variables like work values, home
atmosphere, home management styles, level of religiosity, human virtues,
hobbies, health condition, and involvement to civic and religious organizations
were included and then permitted for face and content validation.
A group of expert was chosen to scrutinize and evaluate the instrument.
The following comments were recorded: “Has very long Instrument is very
exhaustive, remove “most” “always”, and “enough;” avoid duplication, there’s a
need of rephrasing: and observe uniform format and make a clear instruction.”
These comments and suggestion to improve the questionnaire were integrated
to revise and polish the questionnaire. Beside the comments and suggestions, the
evaluators rated each item in accordance with the item appropriateness: 3 for
“Very Appropriate”, 2 for “Appropriate”, and for “Not Appropriate”. The items
that were rated “Not Appropriate” were removed from the list and for
uniformity. Each variable the level appropriateness was computed and it showed
that all of the variables were rated “Very Appropriate” and it has a grand mean of
2.59 and equivalent of “Very Appropriate” the content validation took place from
September 16, 2002 to September 30, 2002. To establish the reliability of the
instrument, the questionnaires were administered to 4 School Manager, 3 Master
Teacher, and 15 TEPP Teacher and the re – administration was done after two
weeks. This is shown in Table 2 in the next page. The r was 0.75 and showed high
relationship. This means that there is a high relationship between the two tests
score, therefore, the instrument used is very reliable. Downie and heath (1974)
state that there are various conditions, which affect the technique, limiting its
effectiveness. The length of time between the administrations of the test is
important in determining the size of reliability coefficient. In general, the longer
the time between the administration of the test, the lower the correlation is, if
the period between the administrations of the second test immediately following
the first, individuals may remember their answers and put the same responses
down the second time without making a new effort to react to the test item. Such
behavior tends to make the reliability coefficient artificially high. When the
period between testing is short, memory may be an important factor affecting
the result. As the period lower the correlation coefficient, the coefficient of
reliability was obtained by test and re-test methods computing the Pearson-
product moment coefficient of correlation.

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 The total-item correlation was computed for the construct validity and
internal consistency of the instrument. The cut-off point of confidence of the item
used was 0.05 and 0.0001. (Note: This is just a part of the original validation of
instrument in the original manuscript.)

Table 2. Correlation of the First and Second Test Showing Test

Reliability

Case First Test Second Test

1 3.15 3.10
2 3.05 3.00
3 3.38 3.43
4 3.28 3.16
5 3.94 3.85
6 3.40 3.60
7 3.90 4.30
8 1.95 2.05
9 2.72 2.83
10 3.45 3.30
11 3.78 3.80
12 4.04 4.01
13 4.49 4.45
14 3.04 2.95
15 3.50 3.34
16 3.95 3.93
17 3.75 3.93
18 2.79 2.79
19 3.43 3.17
20 3.74 3.57
21 2.86 3.30
22 2.79 4.45
23 3.90 3.85
24 3.78 4.63
25 3.40 3.31
26 3.26 2.97
Reliability Coefficient 0.75

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CHAPTER SUMMARY
1. Validity refers to the quality of the instruments of being functional only
within its specific purpose.
2. The types of validity are face validity, content validity, construct validity,
and criterion related validity.
3. Reliability refers to the consistency of the result of an instrument in
repeated trials.
4. The methods in testing reliability are test-retest or stability test and
internal consistency test.
5. The other criteria used to assess validity and reliability are sensitivity,
specificity comprehensibility, precision, speed, ranger, linearity, and
reactivity.

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