GUIDELINES IN
RESEARCH WRITING
DR. NELDA JIMENEA GARCIA
Faculty, Pangasinan State University
TITLE
Closely related to researcher’s professional
or personal goals, expertise, or interest.
 Must be reflective of the general problem
 Must be short and concise, not more than 14
words or two lines using the inverted
pyramid format.
 Avoid the use of such starter phrase “a study
of…an evaluation of… an assessment…”

Research Format
CHAPTER I
THE PROBLEM
Rationale
 Background of the study
 Describe the problem situation considering
global, national and local forces
 Justify the existence of the problem situation
by citing statistical data and authoritative
sources
 Make a clinching statement that will relate
the background to the proposed research
problem.
Statement of the Problem
The general problem must be reflected on the
title
 It should be stated in such a way that it is not
answerable by yes or no, not indicative of when
and where.
 It should reflect relationship between and
among variables
 Each sub-problem should cover mutually
exclusive dimensions (no overlapping)
 The sub-problems should be arranged in logical
order from factual to analytical following the
flow in the research paradigm

Hypothesis
A hypothesis should be measureable/
describable.
 It expresses expected relationship
between two or more variables.
 It is based on the theory and /or
empirical evidence

Hypothesis
There are techniques available to measure
or describe the variables
 It is on a one-to-one correspondence
with the specific problems of the study
 A hypothesis in statistical form has the ff.
characteristics:
 It is used when the tests of significance of
relationship and difference of measures
are involved
 The level of significance is stated.

Assumption (Optional)
Should be based on the general and
specific problems
 It is stated in simple, brief, generally
accepted statement
 It should help elaborate or delimit the
theoretical foundations of the study

Significance of the Study
It describes the contributions of the study
as new knowledge, make findings more
conclusive
 It cites the usefulness of the study to
specific groups

Scope and Delimitation of the
Study
Indicate the principal variables , locale,
timeframe, and justification.
 What, Where, When, How, Why…..

Definition of Terms
Only important terms taken from the
title, statement of the problem,
assumptions, hypothesis, and the research
paradigm are to be defined
 The terms should be arranged
alphabetically
 Should be defined lexically and/ or
operationally
 The operational definition may include
measures or indices used in measuring
each concept.

CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE AND STUDIES

This chapter starts with a very brief
introductory paragraph concerning the
researcher’s exploration of related
literature and studies on the research
problem. It states the main coverage of
the said chapter, to wit:
Related Literature
Arranged thematically as in the statements
of the problems.
Foreign
Local
Literature should be organized thematically
to conform to the specific problems
Related Studies
Arranged from the latest studies
conducted.
 Must be at least 5 years back only.
Foreign
Local
 Studies should synthesize evidence from
all studies reviewed to get the overall
understanding of the state of the
knowledge in the problem area.

Related Studies
The reviewed studies should be limited
within the last 5 years
 A clinching statement showing how the
related materials had assisted the
researchers in the present study should
be the last part .

Synthesis

Discuss the similarities and differences
between the reviewed literatures and
studies with your study.
Theoretical Framework

Discuss the theories and or concepts,
which are useful in conceptualizing the
research
Conceptual Framework/Paradigm

Identify and discuss the variable related to
the problem, present a schematic diagram
of the research and discuss the
relationships of the element/variable
therein
CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY

This chapter commences a brief
statement enumerating the main topics
that are to be covered within it: Research
Design, Sources of Data, Instrumentation
and Data Collection, and Tools for Data
Analysis
Methodology






Verb tense: past
Administrative procedures
Detailed Procedures must be provided with
sufficient information to ensure replication
How data was analyzed, it describes the
statistical treatment used
This includes the design
The details of the instrument, its validity,
reliability, how it is used, and the description
Research Design
The appropriate research design should
be specified and described.
 Do not indicate descriptive-normative
when the norms are not standardized:
normative when standards have been
established just like PAASCU.

Sources of Data
◦ Locale of the Study.
Describe the place where the study is to be
conducted/conducted and the rationale behind
its choice
◦ Population/Sampling.
Describe the population of interest and the
sampling subjects used in the study .
Instrumentation and Data Collection
 Describe the instrument, what it will
measure, how to interpret, to whom it will
be administered and if it is necessary,
describe how it will be administered
 Discuss how the validity and the reliability
will be established. Specify the level of
reliability
Instrumentation and Data Collection
Give details of instruction given to
assistance if persons other than the
researcher gather data
 State qualifications of informants if used in
the study

Tools for Data Analysis
Determine and justify the statistical
treatment for each sub-problem
 Determine and justify the scales of values
used and the descriptive equivalent
ratings if any

BIBLIOGRAPHY

It should include all materials used and
reviewed by the researchers arranged
according to types.
A. Books
B. Journals/Published Researches
C. Unpublished
Researches/Magazines/Periodicals
D.
Others(including internet sources
APPENDIX
Note: It contains the following:
 Letter and other forms of communication
 Instrument used
 Sample consumptions
 Additional tables and figures

CURRICULUM VITAE
PRELIMINARIES OF THE RESEARCH
PAPER
1. Title Page
 2. Approval Sheet
 3. Certificate of Admission to Candidacy
for the Degree
 4. Acknowledgement
 5. Abstract
 6. Table of Contents
 7. List of Tables
 8. List of Figures

CHAPTER IV
PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND
INTERPRETATION OF DATA
Present the findings of the study in the
order of the specific problem as stated in
the statement of the problem.
 Present the data in this form: textual,
tabular, graphical (optional)

PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND
INTERPRETATION OF DATA

The ZOOM LENS approach may
be used for purposes of clarity in
the presentation of data i.e.
general to particular, macro or
vice versa.
PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND
INTERPRETATION OF DATA
Data may be analyzed quantitatively
or qualitatively depending on the level
of measurement; and the number of
dimensions and variables of the study.
 Analyze in depth to give meaning to
the data presented in the table.

PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND
INTERPRETATION OF DATA
State statistical descriptions in declarative
sentence, e.g. in studies involving:
 a. Correlation
 State the level of correlation i.e. low,
moderate, high
 State whether positive or negative

PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND
INTERPRETATION OF DATA
Indicate the level of significance and make
a decision (accept or reject Ho)
 Difference of measures
 State the obtained statistical results
 Indicate the level of significance and make
a decision (whether to accept /reject Ho)
 Present the results of the analysis in a
clear and logically organized manner.

Interpretation of Data
Establish interconnection between
and among data.
 Check for indicators whether
hypothesis/es is/are supported or not
by the findings.
 Link the present findings with
previous literature.

Interpretation of Data
Use parallel observations with
contemporary events to give
credence to the rationale
presented in chapter 1.
 Draw out implications.


Results and discussion
1.
Clear answers to the problems. Follow the
sequence of the problem in the discussion.
Tables are not left hanging without
explanation, why such results taken.
There should be more citations in the
discussion to give strength to the results
There should be no sweeping statements in
the discussions.
Follow the rules for table writing.
2.
3.
4.
5.
CHAPTER V
SUMMARY,CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary

This briefly describes the problems , research design, and
the findings (answers to the sub problems) . The
recommended format is the paragraph form instead of
the enumeration form
For each problem, present the following: the
salient findings, and the results of the
hypothesis/es tested
Conclusions
These are brief, generalized statements
in answer to the general and of the
specific sub-problems.
 These contain generalizations in
relation to the population. These are
general inferences applicable to wider
and similar populations.

Conclusions
Flexibility is considered in the making of
conclusions. It is not a must to state
conclusions on a one to one
correspondence with the problems and
the findings as all variable can be
subsumed in one paragraph.
 Conclusions may be used as a
generalization from a micro to macro
level or vice versa (ZOOMS LENS
approach).

Recommendations
They should be based on the
findings and conclusions of the
study.
 Recommendations may be
specific or general or both. They
may include suggestions for
further studies.

Recommendations
They should be in non-technical
language.
 They should be workable,
flexible, feasible and adaptable,
doable and flexible.
 An action plan is optional.

End
of presentation